Mmmm....

It's Ohio Brew Week in Athens! Which, obviously means all things Ohio Brews. To us, however, it's also all things food. We have the pleasure of judging the Craft Brew Cooking-Athens Cuisine Showcase and Competition this Tuesday. Then the Brew-B-Q Cook-Off Competition on Friday. This will be our third year judging the Craft Brew battle. Each year the entries have really wowed us. Always unique; always delicious. We always leave with new ideas for cooking at home and extremely full bellies.

Since it's a foodie week for us, it seems appropriate to get crackin' on the food blog. I'm going to get as many recipes up this week as I can, including a Feta Spread that's been getting a request or two.

But first - the glory that is Creme Brulee. I'm in love with Creme Brulee. In fact, I'm having an affair with Creme Brulee. Scratch that, Brian & I are BOTH having an affair with it. I ask for it... he cooks it... and we both devour it. Back in June, I bought him a very self-serving gift. A Creme Brulee kit complete with 4 ramekins and a mini-blowtorch. The latter being the main reason he so enjoys cooking it, I might add.

So we've made it numerous ways so far and served it with various fresh fruits. Here is the basic recipe we've been using.

Creme Brulee (4 servings)

You'll need:

1 pint heavy cream

1 vanilla bean, split and scraped

1/4 cup sugar, divided

3 large egg yolks

The steps:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Place cream, vanilla bean (and pulp) into a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. NOTE: Should you want flavored Creme Brulee, add something! This is the time to do so; while your cooking the cream & vanilla. We've added lemon zest, juice & zest of orange, and almond extract. They've all been delicious.

Remove from heat, cover, let sit for 15 minutes. Remove vanilla bean.

Meanwhile, in a medium sized bowl, whisk together sugar and the egg yolks until well blended and begins to lighten in color. Temper in the cream - going very slow making sure the eggs don't scramble, stirring continuously.

Pour the mixture into ramekins (approx. 7-8 oz size). Place the ramekins into a cake pan or roasting dish. Pour enough hot water into the pan to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins.

Bake until the creme brulee is just set - still trembling in the center (40-45 minutes).

Remove the ramekins and refrigerate for at least several hours.

Just before serving:

Remove creme brulee from refrigerator for approx. 30 minutes.

Sprinkle a layer of sugar on top of the creme brulees. Make sure it's an even covering. Using a torch (Brian's FAVORITE part), melt the sugar to form the crispy top.

Allow to sit for about 10 minutes before serving.

Top with fresh fruit. Blueberries, blackberries, wineberries, Clementine slivers, or whatever is fresh at the farmers market.

EAT. ENJOY. And DON'T FEEL GUILTY ABOUT IT.

CAUTION! Making this recipe just one time can severely screw your diet. I believe we've made it 4 times since mid-June. I feel only slightly guilty about that. Oops. Sorry waistline.... I'll see you again soon.