Butterscotch Pudding

I've gots me a new favorite recipe: Butterscotch Pudding from The SoNo Baking Company Cookbook that I got for Valentine's Day from my aunt and uncle (thanks again!!). It's truly heaven. The texture is so smooth and the flavor a perfect balance of vanilla bean, dark brown sugar and half-and-half. It melts in your mouth and makes you forget you had to make two batches to get it right. I screwed up the first one by letting it boil too long. It curdled and I had to toss it into the organic waste. I was totally annoyed, needless to say. But I was determined so I went to the supermarket to buy another round of eggs and half-and-half and tried again. And it was oh so worth it!

Serves 6

4 large egg yolks, at room temperature

1/4 c cornstarch

31/4 c half-and-half

1/4 tsp coarse salt

1c firmly packed dark brown sugar

1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise and scraped, or 1 tbsp pure vanilla extract

1/2 c (1 stick, 110 g) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons

1. In a medium heatproof bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, cornstarch, 1/4 c of the half-and-half, and the salt; set aside.

2. In a saucepan, combine the remaining 3 c half-and-half, 1/4 c of the dark brown sugar, and the vanilla bean and seeds, if using. Bring to a simmer.

3. Meanwhile, in a second saucepan, combine the remaining 3/4 c brown sugar and the butter. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring often, until the butter melts and the mixture is smooth and bubbly and smells a little nutty, about 2 minutes. Pour into the saucepan with the hot half-and-half and whisk until smooth.

4. Whisking constantly, pour the hot mixture into the egg mixture, gradually at first to temper it and then more quickly. Place a strainer over the saucepan and strain the custard mixture back into the saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, whisking constantly. Boil for 10 seconds, whisking. (Make sure the custard boils for 10 seconds in the center of the pan, not just around the sides). The mixture should thicken to a pudding-like consistency. Discard the vanilla bean, if using. 

5. Fit a standing mixer with the paddle attachment and pour the pudding mixture into the bowl (I used a hand mixer). Beat on medium speed for 2 to 3 minutes to cool slightly. Add the vanilly extract, if using. Transfer to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until chilled, 3 to 4 hours. 

Top with whipped cream!

Oil and Grease in Madrid

I'd heard before that food in Spain wasn't particularly good, which was always hard to imagine considering the good climate and all the fruits and vegetables that grow there. When I had the chance to finally visit Spain (Madrid) while on a business trip, I decided to arrive a few days in advance to be able to explore Madrid and also see whether the food really was as greasy as people had told me. 

The first evening I met up with a coworker who also arrived in advance and we went for tapas as it was 8pm and we were hungry, but couldn't go to a restaurant because they don't open till 9:30 or 10pm. We walked around Sol station and ended up at La Catedral where we  tried paquetitos crujientes de ternera y queso azul (crunchy parcels of veal and blue cheese) and croquetas de queso manchego e ibérico (manchego-a sheep cheese-and Iberian ham croquettes). All fried and served with, ta-da-daaaa...fried potatoes in the form of potato chips! Of course things that are fried are tasty, but it's not something I would want to eat on a regular basis. Fortunately drinking beer with tapas does help "dissolve" the grease and creates an appetite for more grease! I don't know how the Madrileños do it: staying up late eating greasy foods and drinking alcohol but going to work pretty much at the same time we do in Switzerland.

The next morning I headed to Chocolatería San Ginés, which is probably the most famous churros café in Madrid. Churros are fried pieces of dough, which are often dipped in hot chocolate. Now, before I went to this place I was picturing churros similar to the ones I knew from my childhood in California when we used to buy them from a cart while visiting the Los Angeles Zoo. Those churros were long fried dough sticks covered in cinnamon and sugar. Unfortunately that is not at all what I got in Madrid. What I got were several thin sticks of fried dough pretty much without flavor and without sweetness (sorry, I need sugar) which oozed grease when bitten into and the chocolate served along with it is not even close to any chocolate I'm used to as a German national and Swiss resident (and food snob). It was a huge disappointment. It'd be interesting, though, to find out if I still liked the churros at the LA zoo or whether it's some precious childhood memory of mine that would burst like a bubble if I ventured there again.

On the first night all my coworkers were in Madrid we went to Cervecería Santa Ana where we got several different tapas, my favorite of which were Jabugo ham and manchego cheese. After tapas and beer we continued to the restaurant Medina Mayrit that serves food with, as their website says, Muslim, Jewish and Christian influences. The dinner was outstanding (except for the dessert--unfortunately a common thing in Spain). We first got a cold roasted tomato soup followed by a salad of frisee lettuce, tomatoes, walnuts and pomegranate seeds with a honey dressing (or so it tasted) and meat croquettes. For dinner we could choose between a few mains. I decided on chicken tagine stewed with almonds, prunes and apricots. Dessert was a white chocolate mousse, but it was not very good as it had no flavor and I suspect it was made with gelatin, so it had more of a jell-o than mousse-texture. 

The other restaurants we went to while in Madrid aren't really worth mentioning. But I do think that there must be some hidden gems somewhere. Better luck next time!

Slow Food in Torino

Last October my mom and I went to Torino to visit the Salone del Gusto (the "Salon of Taste"), the major biennial Italian event where producers of food and consumers come together. I'd already visited the event twice before during my studies and was interested in going again, this time as a consumer and not as a student. Having seen many of the same producers before I was particularly focused on those stands that offered artisanal products, such as nocino, a walnut liquor, or organic rice for risotto. A particulary interesting stand was that of Koppert Cress, which specializes in "seedlings of unique plants", as their website says. There we tried various cresses and other plants, all of which had intense flavors and some of which were spicy. They mainly deliver these cresses to chefs, restaurants and hotels--I'd love to try some dishes specially prepared with these cresses as I'm sure it would be a flavorful experience. Who knows, maybe it's the next big thing?

What's interesting about Torino is that I never hear people talk about it although it's a beautiful city. I figure its location off the major railway network and freeways make it less attractive for visiting but I think it's well worth the visit.

The first evening, the evening before we went to the Salone del Gusto, we ate at le vitel étonné where we had a really lovely meal of salad, rack of lamb and tajarin with chanterelle mushrooms. The dessert was okay, but not a must-have.

The second night we met up with a friend of mine whom I met at Slow Food Nation in San Francisco in 2008 and who was also visiting the Salone del Gusto and the Terra Madre, a parallel event dedicated to talks and discussion forums about sustainable agriculture and food production. We met at Caffè Mulassano, a charming old caffè great for getting a quick something to drink (see photo at top).

On our third and last day we started out the morning with a trip to Caffè al Bicerin where we finally tried the famous Bicerin, a hot drink made with espresso, chocolate and cream. Unfortunately I was disappointed because I was picturing a mocha-like drink with whipped cream but instead the drink was like a coffee soup with cocoa and the cream on top was literally cream, no whip. Needless to say, I've crossed Bicerin off my list. What saved the visit was the delicious cake we ordered with it. 

 

For lunch we went to the famous Baratti e Milano caffè where we had lunch followed by coffee and cake. The salad and the risotto with pumpkin were very good. For coffee I had the Caffè Baratti&Milano, which was coffee with hazelnut cream, topped with whipped cream and hazelnuts. We shared the Torta Baratti, a  truffle cake, which was very good. All sweetened and coffeed up we were ready to head back home.