Sweets For My Sweetheart and His Sweet Tooth.

My pyro of a boyfriend decided to buy a torch one day, so that we could make crème brulée; a French dessert of custard and caramelized sugar, topped with fruit of choice. I don't typically crave dessert, but he can't go a day without having something sugary.

Since crème brulée takes about half a day to make, David made the custard and refrigerated it overnight. All we had to do after was cover it with a coat of sugar, and, as I always say, the more the better!

Thanks to our handy-dandy torch, we were well-equipped for the grueling task of caramelizing sugar! 

I thought the process was going to be daunting and complicated, but in actuality it was rather fun!

You can caramelize and personalize your crème brulée any way you want. Here are some views of the finished products:

It was fun to see the marble-like caramelization the torch naturally creates, but I wanted to see if I could attempt a shape. See my heart below <3

We were so excited, we forgot to put the cut-up strawberries on top until after the dishes were washed.

People say that you're either a baker or a cook. I say that's a load of crockpot! You'll see why in my next post :o)

Tip: Invest in a crème brulée torch and some dishes. You can make a simple custard AMAZING just by adding some fire. Oh, and don't forget the garnishments!

Great Runs, Sick Plays, Perfect Days

I'm just going to cut to the chase. Superbowl Sunday is famous for many things. Unparalleled commercial creativity, a ridiculous halftime show, football world championship, and my favorite: the food.

I just did a post about my friend Michelle's amazing talent for cooking... but I'm going to brag once again. Driving up to Los Feliz, I couldn't help but hype up the spread we were about to feast on to both my boyfriend, David, and my friend Krit. But nothing, NOTHING, could have prepared me for the amount of food I would see prepared throughout the day.

Below is just a fraction of the dishes to which our palates were privvy:

 Turkey Sandwiches

 Guacamole in Avacado Cups with Shrimp

Tangy Ribs

Buffalo Wings and Sweet Chili Wings (Michelle did I say that right?)

And as if all of the above wasn't more than enough, our hostess accommodated special requests for international dishes as well. Before halftime, I went into the kitchen and noticed that Michelle was cutting potatoes. When I asked her what she was doing, she said she was making a dish specific to Montreal for a couple of our friends who had tried it before. 

I then watched her fry the potatoes and season them with salt, then put pieces of cheese curd, imported from Montreal, on top of the fries and slather it all with a classic French gravy. It turned out to be my favorite of the day!:

Dish of Amazingness.

Hostess Michelle with Nachos Supreme!

While the food was certainly a highlight, I couldn't help but excuse myself to take some photos of her lovely home:

To sum up, the food was phenomenal, the home was immaculate, and the game was certainly worth the wait. The absolute BEST part of the day though? The people I got to share it all with.

 Tip: For those of you whose days off are few and far between, make sure the days you can take for yourself are fun, memorable and spent with the people you love. (Oh, and stop feeling guilty. You deserve it!)

La Cuisine D'Arbour: Très Belle. Très Chic. Très Délicieuse.

After my post, It's Certainly not ALL About the Cake, my beautiful, French-Canadian friend, Michelle, was determined to show me what a true Croque Monsieur looks and tastes like. The description alone was enough to get me to her pad in Los Feliz!


The night started off with a couple bottles of Cabernet and a slice of brie cheese to spread on tiny bread. (The brie and bread were short-lived. Michelle took it away from us so we would have room for the feast at hand.)

As we were enjoying our GNI (Girls' Night In) with inappropriate banter and the slight influence of fermented grapes, Michelle was piling gruyère onto bowls of French Onion Soup. I took a couple shots of the soup going into the oven. Here is the before: 

And after... :)

As the Croque was a'cookin, the four of us migrated to the dining table to enjoy can you guess?... More cheese! We delicately (and by delicately I mean voraciously) devoured our French Onion soup while dipping small pieces of bread in home-made cheese fondue!

Wine was graciously poured by our hostess.

Needless to say, the French Onion soup did not last long. 

The guest of honor? Monsieur Croque. Michelle had explained to me that a true French Croque Monsieur is a sandwich made with sliced bread spread with dijon mustard, some folded smoked ham, a TON of gruyère cheese, toasted to melted perfection and topped with a fried egg, salt and black pepper. 
Ummm YES PLEASE? It's not that expensive to make either. Check out her masterpiece below:

And what meal would be complete without the greens? After all, something had to break up all that cheese! I had told Michelle that the only thing needed to break up cheese is wine, but of course, she already had something else in mind. With our Croque Monsieur came an amazing salad with arugula, thinly sliced pears, onions, avocado, and champagne vinaigrette dressing (made from scratch, of course).

Finally, staying true to French custom, we enjoyed some pressed croissants with nutella and strawberries. Jo and I had bought an assortment of pastries from Il Tramezzino, an Italian cafe in the heart of Beverly Hills. Below is just a portion of the desserts we savored:

Chocolate Cannoli and Tiramisu

Classic Cannoli with Strawberries and Cream

So, while I stick to my guns about the Croque Monsieur du Jour at What a Dish, I will take my girl's home-made cooking ANY DAY.

Tip: French food can be fun, inexpensive, and easy to make. All you really need is cheese, bread, spread, and any protein you want! Oh, and a (cheap) bottle of wine.