50 Women Game Changers in Food - #24 Paula Deen - Peanut Butter Gooey Butter Cake

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Paula Deen has been described by those who know her as a force of nature. That may be an exaggeration, but it is fun to think of her as an aproned Mother Nature hurling thunderbolts from the tip of her stainless whisk and wooden spoon. She's been the butt of endless butter and cream jokes, but she takes them in her stride and seems to have been given that most precious of gifts, the ability to laugh at oneself. She has many detractors, but even they cannot deny that she's brought huge numbers of women back to the kitchen and codified the cooking of a region and an era in the process. I must tell you that while I'm not a fan, I am an admirer. Paula began professional cooking following a divorce that left her with $200 and responsibility for two teenage sons. She was considered to be a good Southern cook, so, lacking other marketable skills and suffering from agoraphobia that kept her housebound, she started a small catering business called The Bag Lady. She made and bagged meals that her boys delivered them to customers. The Bag Lady was very successful and she soon outgrew the space in her home. She moved on to the kitchen of a hotel in Savannah and stayed there for five years before opening her own successful restaurant, The Lady and Sons. In 1997, she self-published her first cookbook, The Lady and Sons Savannah Country Cooking. The book was noticed by a literary agent and it went on to become an enormously successful best seller. She has since written three more books. She first appeared on the Food Network in 1999 and has remained their ever since. Her credits also include a role in the movie, Elizabethtown. Paula Deen has establish an empire that centers around cooking and hospitality. She has been very successful and helped rekindle an interest in Southern home cooking. She has, for the most part, left healthier cooking to others, and I suspect she'd tell her many critics that she never planned to be a missionary. I think she's earned her place on the Gourmet Live list of 50 Women Game-Changers in food. I did some quick research before selecting the recipe I wanted to feature today. Paula's gooey butter cakes have consistently been the most popular of her recipes. They are actually a version of Southern chess cakes, but they are much easier to prepare. I chose to make the version that uses peanut butter because it National Peanut Butter Lover's Month and, besides, someone else was making the pumpkin version. If you love sweet things, I think you'll love these cake squares. If I make them again, I'll add a cup of salted peanuts to the cream cheese mixture. Here's the recipe.

Peanut Butter Gooey Butter Cake...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Paula Deen

Ingredients:
1 (18 1/4-ounce) package chocolate cake mix
1 egg
8 tablespoons butter, melted
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 cup creamy peanut butter
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
8 tablespoons butter, melted
1 (16-ounce) box powdered sugar

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 13 x 9-inch pan. Set aside
2) Combine cake mix, egg, and butter and mix well with an electric mixer. Pat mixture into bottom of prepared baking pan.
3) To make filling: Using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese and peanut butter in a large bowl until smooth. Add eggs, vanilla, and butter, and beat until combined. Add powdered sugar and mix well. Spread mixture over cake and bake for 40 to 50 minutes. Do not overbake. Center of cake should remain a bit gooey. Yield: 12 to 16 servings.

The following bloggers are also featuring the recipes of Paula Deen today. I hope you'll visit all of them. They are great cooks who have wonderful blogs.

Val - More Than Burnt Toast, Joanne - Eats Well With Others
Taryn - Have Kitchen Will Feed, Susan - The Spice Garden
Claudia - A Seasonal Cook in Turkey, Heather - girlichef
Miranda - Mangoes and Chutney, Jeanette - Healthy Living
April - Abby Sweets, Katie - Making Michael Pollan Proud
Mary - One Perfect Bite, Kathleen - Bake Away with Me
Viola - The Life is Good Kitchen, Sue - The View from Great Island
Barbara - Movable Feasts, Kathleen - Gonna Want Seconds
Amy - Beloved Green,Jeanette - Healthy Living
Linda - Ciao Chow Linda, Linda A - There and Back Again
Martha - Lines from Linderhof, Nancy - Picadillo
Mireya - My Healthy Eating Habits, Veronica - My Catholic Kitchen
Annie - Most Lovely Things

Next week we will highlight the career and recipes of Paula Wolfert. It will be really interesting to see what everyone comes up with. If you'd like to join us please email me for additional information no later than Monday, November 21st.

Of Cabbages and Kings - Turkey, Leftovers and Julia Child's Senegalaise Soup

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite..."The time has come," the Walrus said, "To talk of many things: Of shoes and ships and sealing wax, of cabbage and kings....." Even the Jabberwocky would be impressed by the amount of ground we are about to cover. So, relax, grab your favorite beverage and once you're comfortable, we'll start talking turkey, or lack thereof.

Many of you were surprised to learn that my holiday dinner plans did not include a turkey. Rest assured, there is nothing subversive or elitist in that decision. As it happens, there will be no children at the table this year, so I felt no compunction to prepare a ritual meal. I've made a lot of turkeys in my day. When my children were small, we had turkey at least once a month. Back then, turkeys weren't brined or salted, so roasting a bird was a simple undertaking. It was also a marvelously inexpensive way to feed a family. Some of you may be old enough to remember when supermarkets actually gave turkeys away during the holiday. Even in off-season, it was not unusual to find birds that cost 19 to 29 cents a pound. A lot of us ate a lot of turkey back in the day, and I suspect it lost its "special" status because of that. Those of you who worry about such things will be happy to know we had turkey for our dinner last night. While a just roasted bird may not be our favorite meal, the dishes made from its leavings number among those at the top of the list. This soup is one of them.

The soup, called Veloute De Volaille a La Senegalaise, is Julia Child's version of curried turkey soup. It is made from carcass stock, good curry powder and leftover vegetables. The finished soup is worthy of company and I guarantee it will impress your guests. As a matter of fact, I'll be serving it as a first course on Saturday night as a prelude to the star of the evening, a gorgeous beef filet . The soup is a two step process that I hope you'll try. I use a mild curry powder to make this. If you prefer to use one with more heat, proceed with caution. The soup can be made well ahead of time, though you'll want to film it with a light coat of cream to prevent a skin from forming. You can also freeze it.



Before moving onto the recipe, I wanted to let you know about a cookbook that has been written by a fellow blogger, Stephen Crout. Stephen's blog is called The Obsessive Chef and his new book, A Cook's Book for Cooks, can be purchased here. Stephen is a talented writer and while his book is more a dialogue on food than a standard recipe book, I think you'll find it both interesting and provocative.






Julia Child's Curried Turkey Soup - Veloute De Volaille a la Senegalaise...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Julia Child

Ingredients:
4 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup finely minced onions
1-3 tablespoons curry powder
4-8 tablespoons flour (dependent on amount of mashed potatoes, if used)
5-6 cups poultry stock (see below)
Optional: leftover vegetables
1/2 cup heavy cream or half-and-half
1 cup diced cooked turkey meat
4 tablespoons minced parsley or chives

Directions:
Melt butter in a large saucepan. Stir in curry powder and cook slowly for 1 minute. Add onions and cook for about 10 minutes without browning. Stir in flour and cook for 2 minutes. Remove pan from heat. Vigorously beat in poultry stock with a wire whisk. If you are using leftover mashed potatoes, they should be added at this time. Return soup to heat and whisk in cream, one tablespoon at a time, until soup is of desired thickness. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in turkey, herbs and up to 1 cup diced leftover vegetables, if using. Bring to a simmer just before serving. If soup is not to be served immediately or will be served cold, film surface with stock or cream to prevent a skin from forming. Chill if to be served cold. Yield: 6 servings.


Julia Child's Poultry Stock

Ingredients:
1 turkey carcass
2 to 3 pounds turkey necks, hearts and gizzards
2 tablespoons salt
2 large carrots, roughly chopped
2 celery stalk, roughly chopped
2 leeks, roughly chopped
2 peeled onions stuck with 2 cloves
1 large herb bouquet: 8 parsley sprigs, 1 bay leaf, 1 teaspoon thyme or sage

Directions:
Chop up carcass and place in a large kettle with necks and other poultry parts. Cover by 2 inches of water. Add salt and bring to a simmer. Skim surface to remove scum for about 5 minutes, or until it almost ceases to rise. Add vegetables and herb bouquet and simmer, uncovered, for about 4 hours, skimming fat and scum as required. Add water if required to keep ingredients covered. Strain liquid into a large bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Let cool uncovered, then chill. When chilled, scrape off surface fat. Keep refrigerated until ready to use. Stock can be frozen.

Roasted Apple Salad with Bacon and Mixed Greens

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...No feast would be complete without rabbit food and this salad, with a slight change or two, will be a part of our Thanksgiving dinner. It is beautiful to look at, and the juxtaposition of sweet roasted apples with bitter greens and salty bacon create a dish with layered flavors that I hope will add interest and sophistication to our holiday table. I make this salad often using the recipe that appears below. The Silver Fox comes from German stock and dressings made with bacon drippings and vinegar were part of his childhood. Not surprisingly, he loves this salad and its warm, salty dressing. I'm a fan of the roasted apples and bitter greens. It is a marriage made in heaven and it will be wonderful with the cider marinated pork I plan to serve as our main course. All of the elements of the salad can be readied early in the day, but they can't be combined until just before serving. If you plan to use the bacon dressing, the drippings must be warmed before they are combined with vinegar. The salad can also be dressed with oil and vinegar if you prefer something simpler. I really think you'll enjoy this salad and I hope you'll give it a try. It adds great color and taste to a meal and it is something that you don't often see. Here's the recipe.

Roasted Apples with Bacon and Mixed Greens...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite inspired by Sunset magazine

Ingredients:
2 large apples (Braeburn or Fuji), peeled, cored, and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon salt plus more to taste
1/2 teaspoon pepper plus more to taste
2 medium shallots, very thinly sliced and separated into rings
3 tablespoons sherry vinegar
4 slices thick-cut maple-smoked bacon, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch strips
2 medium bunches frisée lettuce, tough outer leaves removed
3 Belgian endive, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch slices

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. In a small bowl, combine apples, olive oil, syrup, salt, and pepper. Toss to coat, then transfer apple slices to a nonstick baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Stir, then continue to cook until golden brown and tender, 10 to 15 minutes more. Set aside.
2) Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine shallots and vinegar. Set aside.
3) In a heavy frying pan over medium heat, cook bacon until crisp and brown, about 7 minutes; drain on paper towels. Pour off all but 3 tablespoons of accumulated bacon fat and return pan to low heat. Remove shallots from vinegar, reserving shallots, and add vinegar to hot bacon fat, whisking until dressing is emulsified.
4) Arrange frisée and endive in a bowl and add apples, bacon pieces, and shallots. Pour warm dressing over greens and toss to coat. Serve immediately. Yield: 4 to 6 servings.








One Year Ago Today: Dal Bhat in Pokhara - the Gateway to Shangri-La














Two Years Ago Today: Kitchen Reveal Day

Sweet Potato Home Fries

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...The menu for our Thanksgiving feast is falling into place. I had great plans for a meal of lamb or salmon, but their cost proved to be unconscionable for the number of people we'll be feeding. If you don't believe me, ask the Silver Fox who, on hearing quotes from the fish monger and butcher, put on a performance worthy of an Academy Award. We are going to have beef tenderloin this weekend and turkey or chicken had already been ruled out, so, with lamb or fish no longer in play, only pork or tofu remained as options for our main course. The Silver Fox is a committed carnivore, so the only true choice was pork. Backed into that corner, I thought an herbed pork loin that had been brined in cider would be perfect for our holiday feast. With that decided, I could move on to the other elements of our dinner. I thought these sweet potato home fries would be a nice addition to our unconventional feast. I love their color and the surprising sweet-savory flavor they pick up as they roast with the garlic. They have the added virtue of being easy to make and can be assembled hours before roasting. I really think you'll like these and hope you'll give them a try. Here's the recipe.

Sweet Potato Home Fries ...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Mark Bittman

Ingredients:
4 pounds sweet potatoes (about 3 or 4 large potatoes), peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 cup chopped parsley leaves

Directions:
1) Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt water and add potatoes, cooking until barely tender, about 5 minutes. Do not overcook. Drain and plunge into a bowl filled with ice water to stop cooking. When cool, drain again.
2) Toss potatoes with olive oil and garlic. Turn them into a roasting pan large enough to hold them in a single layer.
3) Preheat oven to 500 degrees F. Roast potatoes, tossing them occasionally, until tender and lightly browned, 15 to 20 minutes. Toss with parsley, salt and pepper, and serve. Yield: 8 to 10 servings.










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Two Years Ago Today: Liptauer Cheese Spread

Persian Fried Chicken

The Valley of the Fairy Chimneys

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...This is an absolutely wonderful dish that I first sampled while we were in the Valley of the Fairy Chimneys in Turkey. The dish is actually Persian, but I had the good fortune to have a cooking instructor whose husband was Iranian and she often prepared this chicken for him. Working on the assumption that all Americans love fried chicken, she also made the dish for us. Strangely, despite requests, she refused to share her recipe with us. Her rationale was that the dish was Persian and we had come to her kitchen to learn Turkish cooking. Her logic may have been convoluted, but her resolve was a straight as an arrow and she refused to be swayed. After the fact, I realized that her language skills were limited and that while she spoke English, she couldn't write it. Her wonderful recipes had been translated for us by someone else and her refusal was not as arbitrary as I first had thought. I so liked the chicken that I refused to give up on it, and, once home, began to search for something like it. Thanks to Google and The New York Times I've found it and can now share the recipe with you. I think you, too, will love the dish. The chicken is very easy to prepare, but it is a bit pricey and requires some advance planning. The chicken must marinate for several hours before it can be cooked and the marinade contains that costliest of spices, saffron. I promise the wait and cost are worth it, and as long as you don't serve it every week, I think a good case can be made for an occasional caloric splurge. Here's the recipe. Enjoy and hold onto your socks!

Persian Fried Chicken...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of The New York Times

Ingredients:
1/2 teaspoon saffron
2 cups plain whole-milk yogurt
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
2-1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons paprika
1 tablespoon dried mint
1 tablespoon salt, more for sprinkling
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Oil for frying
1 cup walnut pieces
1 lemon, cut into wedges

Directions:
1) In a small bowl, combine saffron with 1 tablespoon water and let soak 10 minutes. Place in food processor with yogurt and garlic and purée until smooth and yellow. Place chicken in glass or ceramic bowl; pour yogurt mixture on top, turn to coat; cover and refrigerate at least 3 hours or overnight.
2) In a medium bowl, combine flour, paprika, mint, salt and pepper. Heat a generous half-inch oil in a deep skillet over medium heat. Drop in a bit of bread to test temperature; oil should bubble vigorously. Working in batches to avoid crowding, dredge chicken pieces in flour mixture, then fry until golden brown on both sides, about 7 minutes a side. Remove and drain on paper towels.
3) Sprinkle with salt and serve immediately, topped with walnuts and lemon wedges. Yield: 6 servings.


***The photo of the Fairy Chimneys was taken by Dick Wolfe who traveled with us throughout Turkey. He is a great photographer and an even better companion. Thanks Wolfie :-)***








One Year Ago Today: Tibetan Momo
















Two Years Ago Today: Mulled Cranberry and Apple Cider

Pumpkin-Apple Streusel Coffee Cake

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...This moist pudding-like cake is nice for a brunch table or a morning coffee meeting. I like it for its seasonality and the ease with which it can be made. It actually is the only recipe in my hopper that uses both apples and pumpkin and therein lies its charm. A pumpkin-spice cake batter is topped with caramelized apples and liberally sprinkled with streusel before baking. It's baked until it's golden brown and bubbling and when you're sure its aroma will drive you to madness, you declare it done. The cake is best eaten within hours of being made. It is a moist cake to begin with, and if allowed to sit overnight it becomes goopy. I like to serve it while still warm, with a dollop of cinnamon-flavored whipped cream or a scoop of really good vanilla ice cream. I don't want to mislead lead you here. This is not a cake that will make your reputation. The adjective that best describes it is nice. If you are looking for a seasonally appropriate cake that is a bit different than most, I think you'll enjoy this one. It probably won't make your top ten list but it is sufficient to the day. Here's the recipe for those of you who have a surplus of apples and pumpkins on hand. Enjoy!

Pumpkin-Apple Streusel Coffee Cake...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Bon Appetit

Ingredients:
Apples
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 cups diced peeled cored Granny Smith apples (about 4 large)
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Cake
1-1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup (firmly packed) golden brown sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup toasted chopped walnuts
3/4 cup canned pure pumpkin
1/3 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 large eggs

Directions:
1) Prepare apples: Melt butter in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add apples; sauté until apples begin to brown, about 5 minutes. Add sugar and cinnamon and sauté until golden brown, about 3 minutes longer. Cool.
2) Prepare cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter 9-inch-diameter springform pan. Combine flour, brown sugar, butter, and salt in large bowl. Using electric mixer, beat until mixture resembles coarse meal. Place walnuts in a small bowl. Add 2/3 cup of crumb mixture to nuts and set aside. Beat pumpkin, sour cream, 2 tablespoons sugar, spice, and baking soda into remaining flour mixture, beating just until smooth. Beat in eggs. Transfer batter to pan. Scatter apples evenly over top. Sprinkle reserved topping over apples.
3) Bake cake: Transfer pan to oven and bake until topping is golden brown and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 1 hour 10 minutes. Cool cake in pan on rack 20 minutes. Run knife around pan sides to loosen cake. Release pan sides from cake. Transfer cake to platter. (Can be made 6 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.) Serve warm or at room temperature with ice cream. Yield: 6 to 8 servings.








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Two Years Ago Today: Butterscotch Pudding

Carrot and Fennel Soup

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...At risk of life and limb, I'm throwing tradition to the wind and plan to serve a non-traditional feast on Thanksgiving Day. I'm not jaded or blase, I'd just like something different for a change. At some point before the holiday, I'll stuff and roast a turkey. That will guarantee the aromas of the holiday grace my kitchen and assure leftovers for midnight sandwich raids, but the big day itself is going to feature new dishes that we've tried and found to be exceptional. My intent, please God, is to prepare a meal where every course has the socks of the assembled guests going up and down. I plan to start with a soup that was new to us this year. It has quite a pedigree. Amanda Hesser created a chunky version of the soup for The New York Times Magazine and Molly Wizenberg featured a pureed version of it on her blog, Orangette. It is wonderful either way, but I'm going with the pureed version of it for the holiday. I have lovely small cups for creamed soups that I like to use as starters for holiday meals and they are perfect for serving small portions of this vibrant, nearly creamless, soup. It is, of course, delicious, but it has the added virtues of being cheap and easy. While my description is a bit inelegant, it is apt, and the soup is a perfect starter for special meals. It has bright and layered flavors and can be made a day or two ahead of serving, so please hold on to your socks. You are going to love this one. Here's the recipe.

Carrot-and-Fennel Soup...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Amanda Hesser and Molly Wizenberg

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter or olive oil
1 medium fennel bulb, trimmed and thinly sliced; fronds reserved
1-1/2 pounds carrots, peeled and thickly sliced
2 large garlic clove, thinly sliced
4 to 5 cups vegetable broth
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1/3 cup fresh orange juice
2 to 4 tablespoons creme fraiche or sour cream
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:
1) In a large heavy saucepan, over medium heat, melt butter until foamy. Add fennel slices and cook, stirring, until softened. Add carrots and garlic and cook another minute or two. Pour in 4 cups of vegetable stock and season with salt. Simmer, covered, until carrots are very tender, about 20 minutes.
2) Remove soup from heat and stir in orange juice, sour cream and reserved fennel fronds. If you have an immersion blender puree soup in pot, otherwise puree in batches using a food processor or blender. If soup appears too thick, thin with reserved vegetable stock. Adjust seasoning to taste. Yield: 4 to 5 servings.









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Two Years Ago Today: Pistachio Coffee Ring

50 Women Game Changers in Food - #23 Nancy Silverton - Butterscotch Budino

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Nancy Silverton, founder of Campanile restaurant and the famous La Brea Bakery in Los Angeles, has recently partnered with Mario Batali and Joe Batianich in a venture that led to the creation of two new restaurants, Osteria Mozza and Pizzeria Mozza. Her eighth book, The Mozza Cookbook, was also published this fall. She was raised in Encino, California and attended Sonoma State College before dropping out to attend Le Cordon Bleu in London. She returned to California and began her career in the pastry kitchen of Michael's restaurant in Santa Monica. She perfected her pastry skills when she returned to Europe to study at the Lenotre Culinary Institute in France. When she returned to the United States she became the head pastry chef at Wolfgang Puck's restaurant, Spago. She left Spago to open her own restaurant, Campanile, but in the process found she was unable to find a source for the type of bread she had tasted and learned to make in Europe. To fill that need, she began to teach the art of sourdough bread baking and went on to establish the reknowned La Brea Bakery. She sold the bakery for 6 million dollars, but lost all of it in when the Madoff Ponzi scheme unraveled. As resilient as the spores in her sourdough, she has moved on to partner in the "Mozza" restaurants and continues to write and teach. She is completely deserving of the position she's earned on the Gourmet Live list of 50 Women Game-Changers in Food. I have a great deal of admiration for this woman and I was a bit nonplused when the time came to pick a recipe to showcase her work. I toyed with the idea of making bread, but when I saw and tested her recipe for Butterscotch Bodino the game plan changed. Her breads are wonderful, but this signature pudding will make your socks go up and down. It is sublime. I really hope you'll try it. Here's the recipe.

Butterscotch Budino with Caramel Sauce and Whipped Crème Fraîche...from the kitchen of One perfect Bite courtesy of Nancy Silverton

Ingredients:
Budino
3 cups heavy cream
1-1/2 cups milk
1 cup + 2 tablespoons firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoons kosher salt
1 large egg
3 large egg yolks
5 tablespoons cornstarch
5 tablespoons butter
1-1/2 tablespoons dark rum
Caramel Sauce
1/2 cup heavy cream
Scrapings from 1-inch piece of vanilla bean, or 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/2 cup sugar
2 to 4 tablespoons water
Whipped Crème Fraîche
1-1/4 teaspoons fleur de sel
1/4 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup crème fraîche

Directions:
1) To make budino: Combine cream and milk in bowl or pitcher, set aside. Whisk egg, egg yolks and cornstarch in medium bowl, set aside. Combine brown sugar, kosher salt and 1/2 cup water in pot. Place over medium-high heat and let sit without stirring until edges start to brown. Tilt pot as needed to assure even browning. Cook until mixture is a deep dark brown, smells nutty and is caramelized, about 10 minutes. Immediately whisk in cream mixture, mixture will steam and caramel will seize. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium. Whisk caramel cream, a cup at a time, into egg mixture until half of it is incorporated. Remove from heat, and immediately whisk egg mixture back into pot until custard is very thick, about 2 minutes. Whisk in butter and rum. Pass through a fine mesh strainer and divide among 10 (6-ounce) ramekins. Cover with plastic wrap, allow to cool, and refrigerate until chilled, about 3 hours or up to 3 days.
2) To make caramel sauce: Combine cream and vanilla in medium saucepan. Heat until simmering. Add butter and remove from heat; set aside. Combine corn syrup and sugar in a large heavy bottomed saucepan. Add enough water to make a wet sandy mixture. Cook over medium-high heat until mixture is medium amber in color, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and carefully whisk in cream mixture; set aside and let cool. (May be refrigerated and reheated before serving.)
3) To make cream topping: Whisk heavy cream in a large bowl until it begins to thicken. Add crème fraîche and whisk until thick and fluffy. To serve, spoon a tablespoon of warm caramel sauce over each budino. Sprinkle with 1/8 teaspoon fleur de sel, and add a dollop of cream topping. Yield: 10 servings.

The following bloggers are also featuring the recipes of Nancy Silverton today. I hope you'll visit all of them. They are great cooks who have wonderful blogs.


Val - More Than Burnt Toast, Joanne - Eats Well With Others
Taryn - Have Kitchen Will Feed, Susan - The Spice Garden
Claudia - A Seasonal Cook in Turkey, Heather - girlichef
Miranda - Mangoes and Chutney, Jeanette - Healthy Living
April - Abby Sweets, Katie - Making Michael Pollan Proud
Mary - One Perfect Bite, Kathleen - Bake Away with Me
Viola - The Life is Good Kitchen, Sue - The View from Great Island
Barbara - Movable Feasts, Kathleen - Gonna Want Seconds
Amy - Beloved Green,Jeanette - Healthy Living
Linda - Ciao Chow Linda, Linda A - There and Back Again
Martha - Lines from Linderhof, Nancy - Picadillo
Mireya - My Healthy Eating Habits, Veronica - My Catholic Kitchen
Annie - Most Lovely Things

Next week we will highlight the career and recipes of Paula Deen. It will be really interesting to see what everyone comes up with. If you'd like to join us please email me for additional information no later than Monday, November 14th.