Pots de Creme

 “Po de Krehm”
This is an extremely easy version of the French classic. If you find yourself without the special lidded pots de creme cups you can use small ramekins, demitasse cups, sherry glasses, anything small and attractive. If you have tiny demitasse spoons use those, too.

12 oz. weight semi-sweet chocolate chips
4 whole eggs at room temperature
2 tsp. vanilla (or cognac, Grand Marner, etc)
1 pinch salt
8 oz. strong hot coffee (I use decaf to cut down on the amount of caffeine).

First thing to do is take your eggs out of the refrigerator ahead of time and let them come to room temperature before starting.

When eggs are at room temperature you can begin by placing the chocolate chips into a blender. Follow this with the eggs and the vanilla (or liqueur). Add the pinch of salt, turn on blender.

While it is blending, remove the circular disk from the blender lid and very slowly pour in 8ozof strong, VERY HOT coffee. It is essential that your coffee be extremely hot in order for the final product to be the right consistency and texture. Blend for a minute or so until mixture is smooth and fairly free of visible bits of chocolate.

If the eggs are not at room temperature or the coffee is not really hot the chocolate will not melt properly and you'll have lumpy pots de creme... which isn't awful but disappointing.

Pour the mixture into your serving glasses or cups, leaving plenty of room to add a heap of whipped cream later.

Place in refrigerator for at least 3 to 4 hours so the mixture has a chance to set. Garnish with lightly whipped whipping cream or creme fraiche and maybe a chocolate curl or two.

Makes about 8 small servings, it is very rich!

Sausage Souffle

I first had this when a clever friend brought it all prepared and frozen, ready to pop in the oven, on a Tahoe ski trip, years ago. I have since served it time and again, at home and away. Thank you, Wynne! It's also good substituting half the sausage with sauteéd mushroom pieces.

8 slices firm white bread, crusts removed, cut in 1" cubes
3/4 lb. grated cheddar cheese
1 1/2 to 2 lbs. little sausages, browned and cut in 1" pieces (I like to use the fresh ones, not in a casing, but with seasonings)

4 eggs, lightly beaten
2 1/4 cups milk (1 or 2%)
salt
1/4 tsp dry mustard

1 can cream of mushroom soup
paprika


Butter a 9x12" dish. Spread bread cubes on bottom, then the grated cheese, then the browned sausages. Mix eggs, milk, salt and mustard and pour over the first three. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight. Spread soup on top and sprinkle with paprika. Freeze or bake at 325° for one hour.

Serves 8-10

Baked Oatmeal

Combine:
3 cups oatmeal (not instant)
4 1/2 cups boiling water

Combine dry ingredients:
3/4 cup brown sugar or less (my sister's recipe calls for 1/3 cup)
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Combine wet ingredients:
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 slightly beaten eggs

Optional: dried or fresh fruit and/or nuts. I like dried cherries or cranberries, dried blueberries, raisins, some chopped walnuts

Mix all together and pour into 9x12 Pyrex dish and bake at 350° for 30 minutes

Alternately:
Mix everything together and let stand overnight in refrigerator. Bake as above or slightly longer.

Refrigerate leftovers and reheat in microwave or freeze then thaw and reheat in microwave.

Ulu (Breadfruit) Wasabi Salad

Daughter Andee is mad for ulu so on a recent visit we spent hours, days experimenting with recipes. We collected ulu from 3 different sources, in various stages of ripeness. You want very ripe, rather soft fruit for sweet things, such as muffins and cookies, and not so ripe for savory... more like a potato. For the less ripe dishes you have to boil the whole ulu in water for about an hour before proceeding.

5# ulu (this is a lot so you might want to adjust to a smaller amount and proportion other ingredients) boiled about 1 hour, peel and cut into bit-size pieces (as for potato salad).

Whisk the following together and add to ulu:
1 cup Veganese
1/2 cup tamari or Braggs
1-2 Tbsp agave or honey
1 1/2 T. wasabi paste or to taste
1 1/2 tsp water or fresh coconut water
1/2 T dry mustard
1/2 T fresh dill

Mix and add:
3/4 cup finely sliced red cabbage
3/4 cup grated carrot
1 cup green onion or finely chopped sweet onion

Mix all. The ulu will soak up a lot of the sauce so don't be afraid to have the ulu pieces well coated. Keeps well in refrigerator.

Kale and Ricotta Salata Salad

yield: Makes 6 servings

active time: 25 min

total time: 25 min

A delicious and more last minute kale salad from Leslie.

Ingredients

• 3/4 to 1 pound Lacinato kale (also called Tuscan kale) or tender regular kale, stems and center ribs discarded (I've also used "curly" kale and that's fine, too.)
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped shallot
• 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 4 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 ounces coarsely grated ricotta salata (1 cup)

Preparation

Working in batches, cut kale crosswise into very thin slices.

Whisk together shallot, lemon juice, salt, and pepper in a small bowl, then add oil in a slow stream, whisking until combined well.

Toss kale and ricotta salata in a large bowl with enough dressing to coat well, then season with salt and pepper.

Fish Tacos

When the Hewitt family came to visit us in Kauai they took over the kitchen and served up some extremely tasty meals. This one, from Leslie and Matt, was such a big hit we did it twice, using a Pacific Ocean fish (mahi mahi and opakapaka). The sauce is also excellent on crab cakes (from Costco) or thinned with a little rice wine vinegar for salad dressing.

1 1/2 tablespoons grated orange rind
1 tablespoon grated lime rind
2 tablespoons tequila
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons warm water
1 pound halibut fillets or fish of your choice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon olive oil

Sauce:
1/4 cup reduced-fat mayonnaise or Veganese
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 1/2 teaspoons finely chopped chipotle chile, canned in adobo sauce (about 1 chile), more or less to taste. I remove the seeds from the chile but add a little of the adobo sauce.

8 (6-inch) corn tortillas
2 cups trimmed arugula

Combine first 5 ingredients in a large zip-top plastic bag. Add halibut to bag; seal and marinate in refrigerator 30 minutes, turning occasionally. Remove halibut from bag; discard marinade. Pat halibut dry; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add halibut; cook 4 minutes on each side or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork or until desired degree of doneness. Break fish into chunks.
Combine mayonnaise, cilantro, juice, and chipotle.
Warm tortillas according to package directions. Divide fish evenly among tortillas; top each tortilla with 1/4 cup arugula and about 2 teaspoons mayonnaise mixture. Fold in half.