Whenever I discover something I like I can have it over and over again. That applies to music, movies and of course food. Now that I have figured out how to properly make crème brûlée, I want to do it in all possible colors, styles and flavors. So this month’s edition of SHF (Cooking up Custard) hosted by Elise of Simply Recipes came in perfectly handy for more crème brûlée adventures.

Nutella Crème Brûlée
What sparked the idea for a Nutella flavored crème was actually a Nutella-cookbook I decided to buy as a gift for a nutella maniac. After reading some reviews on the book, it became quite obvious that the recipes contained in it, had basically one thing in common: 2 tbsp of nutella. Ok, if that’s all it is to it, why bother and spend any money on the obvious?! Picking a more or less standard crème brûlée recipe as a basis seemed like a good idea, including- …three spoons of Nutella! After preparing the crème, I divided the mixture, left about two thirds normal and added the Nutella to the last third. In a last step I tried to combine the two crèmes in one little dish, to provide a twofold taste experiences. It turned out so good, even O., usually not too thrilled about Nutella, liked it a lot.

Sautéed Nectarines Crème Brûlée
A different variation of crème brûlée I wanted to give a fruity touch. I chose nectarines, because – sautéed in butter with a bit of brown sugar and a decent shot of Marillen Schnapps – they very nicely complemented the crème. In case you’re wondering where they’re hiding, the pieces of sautéed nectarines were placed at the bottom of the dish just before pouring in the custard.

For general cooking direction please refer to Chocolate Crème Brûlée.

Some time last week I noticed a cookbook at a friend’s house. One I was sure of not to have in my collection yet – Oliver would probably laugh out loud at this point, asking ‘You sure?!? Moving at the speed of lightning my hands reached out and had secured it in no time. Moments later I was skimming through the content, highly intrigued by a recipe for salmon mi cuit. Hm, although it had crossed my mind, I couldn’t just hide it under my shirt and sneak out the back door, so I took a few notes, hoping that these would be sufficient.

Back home with only a few notes and what I could remember off the top of my head I wasn’t sure if I could pull it off. I had a lengthy debate with myself about the sides (yellow zucchini, wild rocket, basil oil potato puree etc. – what would go nicely with it and what wouldn’t), long story short the result completely wow ‘ed me.

The method used to cook the salmon in some way reminded me of Clement’s sous vide approach, using a vacuum sealed container and low temperature. This recipe actually calls for an even lower temperature, however in connection with a longer “cooking” time. The low temperature purportedly avoids the protein in the fish to set and thus ensures the flesh to remain soft (incredibly soft!). Hardened protein is what makes the fish tough.

The infused cooking oil for the salmon as well as the basil oil for the potato puree should be done in advance, up to a day if the schedule permits.

prep Infused cooking oil: add all ingredients (corn & olive oil, scraped out vanilla bean & seeds, peppercorns, bay leaves) in a pot and heat slowly to about 50 to 60 °C (140-160 °F). Keep it on the stove for 30 to 40 minutes, then remove and let cool down to room temperature.

prep Basil oil: Using a food processor, simply liquidize parsley and basil with the olive oil. Strain mixture through a fine sieve. Avoid pushing it through, as this would promote more particles to enter the oil and make it more turbid. To get an extra clear oil, use a fine kitchen cloth to strain it again, but in lack of time (and a clean cloth) I went for the little less pure oil this time. In any case it should have a strong basil flavor.

For the basil oil potato puree, cook potatoes for about 15 min. – the exact duration depends on the size of the potatoes of course, basically until they are soft, then peel. Mash potatoes, beat in butter and milk to desired texture. Almost any cookbook tells you NOT to use a handheld mixer or your puree would get gooey. Ha! BS! It might get gooey, if you use your mixer for several minutes, but if you use it for let’s say about 20 seconds, it will be perfectly smooth – never heard the slightest complaint! Finally add salt and strained basil oil to taste (start with about 2-3 tbsp).

Heat the cooking oil for the salmon fillets to 35-40 °C (95-104 °F). Easier said then done ;) I checked the temperature with an older meat thermometer – worked out pretty good, even though I wasn’t sure, whether or not to trust this old fossil gadget. Once the cooking oil is at the required temperature, lay the salmon pieces in a casserole dish and pour the oil with its content over them and keep in the oven for about 40 minutes at about 40 °C (104 °F). Once ready, the flesh will still be light pink/orange, but it’ll be perfectly half-cooked. Mi cuit!

Just before you take out the salmon, heat up a table spoon of olive oil in a little skillet. Add the finely diced yellow zucchini and saute for 2-3 minutes. Add a pinch of salt.

Now carefully place salmon fillets on a bed of wild rocket, which has been washed, cleaned and dressed with a little olive oil, salt and pepper. Add the basil potato puree as well as the zucchini cubes and drizzle additional basil oil over the potato puree.

Resume: A little time consuming due to some unusual steps, yet so rewarding – simply because of its taste and consistency. The next time (there will definitely be a next time!), I’d use even more spices (especially pepper and vanilla) to enhance the nuances of the infused oil. The structure of the salmon was unlike any salmon I have ever eaten before, soft, juicy, light and so colorful. But remember: As the salmon is only cooked with a temperature of about 40 °C (104 °F), it is warm, not hot when served!

How much jam can a person handle? If you ask me, quite a lot! Three new jams stepped into my kitchen, unexpected yes but certainly not uninvited…

Jam, part I:
SHF is not only a fun and inspiring event, it – SHF no. 10 to be specific – also was the starting point for an email correspondence with dear Fatemeh, creator of Gastronomie. She was on the hunt for the coconut honey we featured. The idea was born in an instant, to swap and send some local delicacies on a voyage.

Oblivious to what I was up for, I received a generous and huge food package! Besides wonderful food magazines, Hawaiian sea salt, unknown (to me) spices for Fatemeh’s favorite Persian dish, fruit leather and luscious grape seed oil,… I found something, I have been wanting to try for ages, ever since I had read about it on various occasions: June Taylor jam! Yummm!! All the praise I have read is true, the jam (Santa Rosa Plum) is sweet (just a little), a bit tartish, has a natural color, smooth consistency and totally leaves a “homemade” impression. A perfect ten – if it was only available here in Germany ;)

Jam, part II:
Last Wednesday, a regular day at work: While in the midst of tedious, not-so-out-of-my-socks-knocking fine-tuning of presentations, our company’s cleaning lady poked her head in the door and asked if she may interrupt for a second. Presentations versus distraction, it took me 0.0001 seconds to make the call – Suuure thing! She approached my desk and handed me a little jar of jam: “Because you’re always so nice to me.” Besides some guttural sounds, I was speechless. She told me that she loves to make jam for her family and thought she’d surprise me with some as well. What a lovely gesture! But her words also made me think about the whole scene. Usually when I run into her in the hallway we always have a little chat about this, that and the other (she is so into cooking…) – sadly, a lot of people completely ignore her, at best. She is a very friendly and polite lady in her late fifties, working hard for her money. A little respect, is that too much to ask for…? Please, don’t let me ever get that snobby and uptight!

Jam, part III:
Sometimes I just forget about a dish, recipe or ingredient, temporarily cached by my subconsciousness so to speak. In this specific case for almost 21 years, I’d say! Pursuing my daily blog reading, I came across this post from David Lebovitz, a dedicated food blogger. As soon as my eyes caught sight of the Reine Claude plums I instantaneously felt overwhelmed by a wealth of renewed memories. Me and the-best-(-and-most patient)- grandparents-ever on holiday near Strasbourg, discovering Reine Claudes for the first time. Grandpa relentlessly on the search for more Reine Claudes for his dear (and bugging) grandchild ;)

As unexpected as they entered my young culinary life, as quickly they vanished again – just to be re-discovered last week. Needless to say, I tasked myself to find some of these oh-so-delicious plums on my next visit to Viktualienmarkt, and I was lucky! I bought almost a kilo and ate the first, unwashed on my way home (I told myself that rubbing them a little on my jeans would do the job). How can a little green plum (green to me always meant SOUR) be so sweet and yummy? Earlier I was talking to the stand owner, weighing arguments for and against making a cake or alternatively jam. She fully supported the jam concept, and with the “Mirabellen Liqueur” I already had at home – which she highly recommended for the Reine Claude jam – I gave it a go. The result: Amazing, rather unusual jam-color, sweet and smooth, almost velvet-like texture, with a certain tang of the liqueur. I think I have to make some more, to stock up for the cold winter months…

1 Wash Reine Claude plums thoroughly under water, cut them in halves, remove pits and mince them coarsely.

2 Take a large pot, add the plums, the sugar and a generous shot of Mirabellen-Liqueur. For the sugar I chose the 1plus2 type (1 part sugar used with 2 parts fruit), because the plums themselves are quite sweet. Bring the mix to a boil rapidly, while stirring. When it begins to bubble vigorously, let boil for about 5 minutes. As the mixture thickens, keep stirring to prevent sticking. Puree the mixture directly in the pot, using a hand blender. Carefully sample the jam, you may want to add some more liqueur.

3 Sterilizing the jam jars: keep empty jars with screw lids in boiling water for few minutes. Carefully take them out (I use my BBQ tongs), place them on clean kitchen towels and fill them with the boiling hot jam immediately. Try not to spill any jam on the edges, because it’s really important to work as scrupulously clean as possible! Make sure to leave a little less than a centimeter of margin, close it with the lid (use a clean towel to prevent burning your fingers) and let them rest upside down for about 10 minutes (and then back in the normal position ;). This will create a vacuum and make the jam jars perishable for about 4-6 months. Allow to cool down for a few hours.