Creme Brulee

Creme brulee (sorry yes I know that it's supposed to have a bunch of accents and whatever but I don't know how to type those) was the dessert part of my New Year's Eve extravaganza. It's my dad's favorite dessert, and although it seems complicated, it just takes a little bit of care and other than that it's simple and fun. You will need ramekins, a large casserole pan, and a torch.
My mom bought the torch we have for my dad years ago, but we never actually used it until I made creme brulee. You need butane gas for it, so don't forget that! The torch is for caramelizing the sugar on top of the creme brulee, which gives it a nice hard "shell" or "crust". I've been able to do the same thing with the broiler in my oven, but it's much fussier and it heats up the custard, so you have to cool it back down again. The torch is much easier.
As for the ramekins, make them all the same size. I didn't, and while most turned out okay, the medium sized ones didn't bake correctly and remained mostly liquid. I took the smallest ones out first and left the rest in for a little while longer, which worked for most of them. You'll notice that I didn't have enough ramekins, so I used some small glass bowls. The smaller one turned out well, but the medium ones (about the same size as the medium ramekins) had the same liquid fate.

Keep in mind that these have to chill for about 3 hours, so make sure to leave plenty of time in advance of when you need them. The cooked custards can be kept in the fridge for up to three days after you bake them, and just caramelized as needed.
One of my favorite sounds in the world is the sound of a spoon cracking the burned sugar top of a creme brulee.

Also PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE use high quality vanilla for this. I used my Madagascar vanilla and my mother, who doesn't normally like creme brulee, loved it. It really showcases the vanilla so the better vanilla you use, the better it will turn out. And save the egg whites to make an angel food cake!

Creme Brulee

Ingredients

4 cups heavy cream

1 T vanilla

10 egg yolks

3/4 cup sugar

1 T sugar for each ramekin (for the top)

Instructions

1. Pour the cream and the vanilla into a sauce pan and simmer over medium-low heat.
2. Whip the egg yolks with the sugar until pale yellow and thick.
3. Whip yolks while you very slowly drizzle in one cup of the warm cream. Once the first cup is added, slowly add the remaining cream.
4. Place ramekins into a large casserole pan. Pour custard mixture into ramekins (I poured the mixture into a large measuring cup for this). Pour water into the bottom of the casserole until it comes halfway up the ramekins. Bake for 30-45 minutes, or until just set. Do not allow to get brown (I generally find it easier to take out the ramekins individually rather than trying to remove the whole pan. Leave the pan in the oven as it cools so that the water cools down and it becomes safer to handle).
5. Cool ramekins on countertop, then chill for at least 2-3 hours, covered in plastic wrap.
6. To serve, sprinkle 1 T of sugar over each ramekin of custard. Use a torch to quickly and carefully brown the sugar. There should be a thin, crisp surface of burned sugar on the top.
7. Eat.

Source: The Pioneer Woman

Scallion Pancakes

So I saved all of my blog posts for when I got back to school, to take up all of the time that I'm just sitting around. I didn't want to spend my whole break on the computer, you see. But now I'm back in Boston, so prepare for a ton of recipes!
Like I said in the Hong Kong Style Chow Mein post, I made the noodles and scallion pancakes for New Year's Eve dinner, along with creme brulee for dessert.

Scallion pancakes are one of my favorite things when I get take out, and they're fun to make as well. If you don't know what scallion pancakes are, they are savory pancakes with chopped up green onions (scallions) in them. They're good with a soy sauce-based dipping sauce.

It took me a couple tries to get these right. Make sure you let the dough sit for enough time, even more than what is specified. Also make sure you are using plenty of oil in the pan when you cook them.

Scallion Pancakes

Makes 2 Pancakes

Ingredients:

1 cup flour (plus more for rolling)

1/2 t kosher salt

1 T shortening

1/4 cup water

2 T milk

1/2 cup scallion rounds (finely sliced, green part only)

1 T vegetable oil (I used sesame oil)

Instructions:

1. In a bowl, stir together the flour and salt.
2. Combine water and milk in a small measuring cup. Warm in microwave at full power for one minute. Pour into flour and stir with a fork until the dough comes together. I used my food processor for this, it was a lot easier but you can do either.
3. Turn the dough out onto a lightly-floured surface and knead for a minute. Divide dough evenly into two pieces. Roll each piece into a ball and let rest, covered by a barely damp paper towel, for at least five minutes.
4. On a lightly-floured surface, using a generously floured rolling pin, roll out one of the balls into a 9" circle. Using your fingers, smear half of the shortening over the dough circle. Beginning at an edge, roll up the dough into a tight log. Then, from one end of the log, roll up the log into a spiral. Tuck the end under and set aside, covered with the slightly damp paper towel, for at least five minutes. Repeat with the other dough ball.
5. On a lightly-floured surface, using a generously floured rolling pin, roll out one spiral of dough into a 9" circle again. Sprinkle half of the scallions evenly over the dough. Beginning at an edge, roll up the dough into a tight log. Then, from one end of the log, roll up the log into a spiral. Tuck the end under and set aside, covered with the slightly damp paper towel, for at least five minutes. Repeat with the other dough spiral.
6. On a lightly-floured surface, using a generously floured rolling pin, roll out one spiral of scallion-filled dough into an 8" circle. Set aside and cover with the damp paper towel. Repeat with the other dough spiral.
7. Heat half of the oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Carefully lay one pancake in the skillet, and cook until the underside has brown splotches. Flip and cook on the other side until it is also splotchy (make sure there is enough oil in the pan for the second side).
8. Remove to a plate and cut into triangles. Repeat with other pancake.
9. Eat.

Scallion Pancake Dipping Sauce

Ingredients:

2 T soy sauce

1 T rice wine vinegar

1 T Chinese rice cooking wine

Pinch grated ginger

Scallion slices

Instructions:

1. Mix ingredients together in a small bowl.
2. Serve with scallion pancakes.
3. Eat.

Source: Food52

Lemon Shortbread

My mom has been keeping a Google drive folder full of recipes that she has been wanting me to make when I'm home, and since I got home she's asked me several times to make this recipe for lemon shortbread. Finally I made it while I was on another baking spree (another angel food cake, some box mix scones, pizza dough). And oh my goodness, these are good.
It's a simple recipe, although it did break my stand mixer (I accidentally tried to cream frozen butter and the poor thing died). The original recipe called for lemon sugar, which I guess is some sort of lemon infused turbinado sugar. I just used some raw cane sugar because I didn't want to go find that specific ingredient. You can do either.
My mom was telling me that when she was little she used to get shortbread at a bakery nearby, and that she hadn't had shortbread with the same texture until she had these cookies. They're flaky and crumbly and light.
It'd be interesting to try these with other citrus zests.... lime sounds good!

Lemon Shortbread

Ingredients:

1 2/3 cup flour

1/3 cup corn starch

1/4 t salt

1 cup unsalted butter (room temperature)

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 t vanilla

1 T lemon zest

Turbinado sugar (for sprinkling)

Instructions:

1. Sift together the flour, corn starch, and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.
2. With an electric mixer, beat together the butter and the sugar until smooth, about 1-2 minutes. Beat in the vanilla extract and the lemon zest until just combined. 
3. With the mixer on lowest speed, gradually add the flour and mix until just combined. Do not overmix.
4. Remove the dough from the bowl and form it into a flattened disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. 
5. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to 1/4". Cut shapes out with the cookie cutter of your choice. Place cookies on a parchment lined baking sheet at least 1" apart.
6. Bake the cookies at 375 degrees for 14-16 minutes or until very lightly browned.
7. Allow cookies to cool on the pan for 1 minute before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
8. Eat.

Source: That Winsome Girl

Hong Kong Style Chow Mein

In China, it is traditional to eat noodles on New Year's Eve, as well as birthdays and other occasions, because long noodles symbolize long life. I made Hong Kong style chow mein for my family for New Year's Eve, as well as some scallion pancakes and creme brulee. It was a feast.

If you don't know what Hong Kong style chow mein is, go to your nearest Chinese food joint and order some. It's one of my favorite dishes. It has thin noodles that are fried so they're crispy, and it's topped with a delicious sauce with bok choy and seafood and whatever else you like.
Oh. That's another thing. I started eating meat again. I'm such a picky eater that dorm food wasn't really working out for me as a vegetarian, and when I fainted at the gym when I took a break from the elliptical, I decided to start eating meat again. I don't eat a lot, but just enough to keep up my iron and protein levels.
This dish has shrimp and chicken in it, but the sauce is vegetarian so if you'd rather use tofu or something else then go ahead.
A few tips: if you have a wok, use it. It will help greatly. Also, prepare everything beforehand because the cooking goes fast. I doubled the recipe, but the amount of noodles was too much to handle, so 1 1/2 times the amount of noodles is fine. We had leftovers for days.

Hong Kong Style Chow Mein

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 16 oz package Hong Kong Style Noodles

1 small chicken breast (sliced thinly)

15-20 small shrimp (peeled and deveined)

1 stalk bok choy (cleaned and cut)

2 cloves garlic (minced)

Oil for sauteeing

Marinade A:

1 t corn starch

1 t sesame oil

1 t soy sauce

1 t oyster sauce

Salt/pepper (to taste)

Marinade B:

1 t corn starch

1 t sesame oil

Salt/pepper (to taste)

Sauce:

1 T oyster sauce

1 T soy sauce

1 cup water

1 t sugar

1 t cooking wine

Thickening:

1 T corn starch

2 T water

Instructions:

1. Heat oil in a pan over medium high heat. Add the noodles. They will brown quickly. Make sure they brown evenly by moving them around with a pair of tongs or a spatula. Once they are mostly brown and crispy, plate the noodles and set aside.
2. Marinate chicken with marinade A. Set aside. Marinate shrimp with marinade B. Set aside.
3. In a separate bowl, combine ingredients for sauce. In a smaller bowl, combine ingredients for thickening. Set aside.
4. Add oil to the pan and saute garlic until lightly brown. Add shrimp and cook thoroughly. Remove and set aside.
5. Add oil to the pan and cook chicken until done. Set aside.
6. Add oil to the pan and cook the bok choy until done. Add salt to taste. Put shrimp and chicken back into the pan, stir well, and add the sauce mixture. Bring to a boil.
7. Add the thickening and stir. Bring to a boil.
8. Pour everything on top of the noodles.
9. Eat.

Source: Sugarlens