Deconstructed S'Mores

Hey y'all! I'm in Oklahoma City right now, so I can say that. :-)

It's been pretty quiet around these parts for a while now, but all that is changing in the next few months. My perfectionist-nature has held me back from writing so many blog posts on my favorite recipes these last 6 months. Now that I'm in my last year of medical school, I have a lot more time to blog and do other things I love but have put on the back burner for too long. Move over Ms. If-it's-not-perfect-and-shot-with-my-Nikon-it's-not-going-on-the-blog!! Let's start with my newest creation that I'd love to share with you all: Deconstructed S'mores! I had some OKC friends over for dinner and made one of their favorites. For dessert, I thought I'd pull out something new from my (nonexistent) chef's toque. For those who know me, I LOVE marshmallows! My favorites are toasted burnt marshmallows made over an open fire AND homemade marshmallows (this will be a post for the holidays). I love all things marshmallow, even those Pinwheels that no one seems to buy...

So I made this recipe mainly because I wanted an excuse to eat toasted marshmallows for dessert. I let it get fancy schmancy since it was for company. For the base and the component that brings out the campfire taste, I made the famous chocolatier, Michael Recchiuti's, burnt sugar pot de cremes. I might experiment by adding a little whiskey or even a drop or two of this premium liquid smoke. But honestly, that complex caramel flavor was everything, and I'm afraid of messing it up. Even though this recipe looks super complicated, if you follow the directions-- it's very doable! Now go forth and brûlée, my friends!!

KiwiConfections Deconstructed S'Mores

Makes 7-8 Servings

6 large egg yolks

2 cups heavy cream

3/4 cup whole milk

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 tablespoons water

6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips

3-4 Graham Crackers

1 package Large Marshmallow

To Make Burnt Sugar Pot de Crèmes

1. Separate egg yolks out while eggs are cold. Cover your bowl of egg yolks and allow to come to room temperature.
2. Heat the oven to 300°F and arrange a rack in the middle.
3. Decide on a pan that you want to use as your bain marie. In a kettle, boil enough water to fill your bain marie pan with a ½ inch of water.*
4. Combine the cream and milk in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat; remove from the heat and keep warm. Whisk it while it’s warming up to prevent a film or skin forming on the milk mixture.
5. Combine the sugar and 2 tablespoons of measured water in a medium heavy-bottomed medium-sized saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally until the sugar has completely dissolved. Continue to cook without stirring, until the mixture turns a dark amber color. Immediately remove from the heat!
6. While whisking, carefully add about 1/2 cup of the warm cream mixture to the caramel (it will bubble up and sputter so be sure to only add a small amount at a time), making sure to whisk the bottom of the pan, until the bubbles subside. Continue to slowly add the cream mixture 1/2 cup at a time while slowly whisking to incorporate it, until all of the mixture has been added; set aside.
7. Whisk the yolks in a small heatproof bowl until blended. While whisking constantly, slowly pour about ½ Cup of the cream mixture into the yolks until combined. Continue to add/whisk ½ Cup of the caramel/milk mixture into the eggs.
8. Pour and evenly divide the custard among the ramekins filling them three-quarters full.
9. Cover each ramekin with aluminum foil. Place each of ramekins into the pan you’ve designated as your bain marie.
10. Being careful not to get any water inside the ramekins, add enough of the boiled water to the bain marie so that the water level reaches ½ inch up the sides of ramekins.*
11. Carefully transfer the pan to the oven and bake until the tops of the custards are darkened in color and almost set, about 30 minutes.* (The entire custard will still jiggle, but it will set as it cools.)
12. Using tongs and being careful not to get any water inside the ramekins, remove each custard from the bain marie to let cool to room temperature.
13. Serve or leave covered with foil and refrigerate overnight. If refrigerated, let the custards sit at room temperature for 20 minutes before serving.

*I used oval ramekins, which are wide and shallow compared to the classic ramekin which is circular and deep. If you use the circular, deeper ramekins, you’ll need the water level to reach 1 inch up the sides of ramekin. Also, it took about 30-45 minutes for my oval ramekin custards to finish cooking, but the deeper ramekins will mean your custards will take longer to cook (closer to 1 hour).

How to Create Chocolate Pretties

To Assemble Deconstructed S'Mores

1. Crumble up graham crackers
2. Sprinkle crumbled graham crackers on a burnt sugar pot de crème
3. Place 2 marshmallows on top of the crumbled graham crackers
4. Use a culinary torch to brûlée the marshmallows to your preferred level of toastiness
5. Place a chocolate pretty on top!

Burnt Sugar Pot de Crème Recipe Adapted from Michael Recchiuti

Bad Reviews

"I'm an A student. I'm addicted to feedback, and I want to please people. That's sort of how I've gotten to where I am. And I think that it's insidious to be spending more of your time reflecting and talking about [critics], and talking more and more in smart ways about your otherness, rather than doing the hard work of your job." -- Mindy Kaling speaking with Rachel Martin of NPR's Morning Edition

(hear the interview here)

I heard that interview this morning and figured it was serendipity and great inspiration for this here little 'ol blog. Like many, I can completely relate to Ms. Kaling's people-pleasing compulsion. It's something I wish I could change about myself, but it's also what's gotten me to accomplish a few things I'm pretty proud of. Nevertheless, that need for an A+ or a pat on the back from your boss or the acceptance from a new group of peers never quenches the thirst of a true people-pleaser. That's because there's always someone else to impress, something else to achieve, another gold star to jump through hoops for. It turns into a tiring and not-so-fun race against yourself-- a race you can never, ironically, win. The blogosphere is full of lots of how-I-live-my-perfect-life-and-how-you-should-live-yours. I get it-- I love reading those blogs too! This blog or at least this post is a bit more...."ain't no body got time for that!" Next month I'll  become another year older, and although I feel like a life-long adolescent what with the being in 19th grade and all...It's probably time to give up the life-long pursuit of getting an A+ in every aspect of life. Recently I found out that someone I really wanted to like me did not feel even close to that way about me, and my immediate people-pleasing gut reaction was to think 'wait, what did I do wrong? how can I fix it? how do I get them to like me back?' and then I realized....I have spent WAAAAY too much time being concerned with these ridiculous questions and quite frankly-- I am in 19th grade and ain't no body got time for that! 

"7 Habits of Remarkably Happy People: #1. They choose (and it is a choice) to embrace who they really are."
This is not a photo I authorized taking (as you might be able to tell), but here in my PJ's enthralled in making the best meringue I could manage, I didn't notice I'd gotten it in my hair-- that's who I really am :-)

Now, what I do have time for is this incredibly easy and fast breakfast. I'm a morning person (there! I said it), and the one thing I'm always running out of time for is eating a great breakfast. With this gem of a recipe, you will still have time for your morning workout, shower, blow dry, 'I have nothing to wear' mini meltdown, and commute. Also, did I mention that it tastes phenomenal and actually keeps you full 'till lunch?!

KiwiConfections Spicy Avocado Egg-wich

Serves 1

1 whole egg

1 egg white

Salt and Pepper to taste

1 Half of a small/medium avocado, sliced

1 Slice Low Sodium Ezekiel Bread*

1-2 teaspoons Hot Sauce

Directions

1. Spray a small/medium frying pan with some non-stick cooking spray. Heat the pan on medium/high heat.
2. As the pan is warming up, slice up half of an avocado. (Store the other half in a Tupperware container and place back in the fridge.)
   
3. Crack the eggs into the pan, salt and pepper the eggs, and flip to cook both sides
4. While the eggs are cooking, toast the bread
5. Once the eggs are cooked, remove the pan from the heat.
   
6. Once the toast pops out, place your sliced avocado on top of the toast.  Dribble hot sauce on top of the avocado. Place the fried egg on the top.
7. Enjoy immediately 
   

*”Sprouted Grain breads made of a variety of grains and legumes, like Ezekiel bread, deliver all of the amino acids necessary to make up a complete protein. And while most of us don’t rely on grains as a good source of protein, sprouted grains can be a good place for vegetarians to pick up some of the complete protein they’re missing out on by not eating meat.” -- Monica Reinagel MS, LD/N, CNS