Caramelized-Coffee Bean Pots de Crème

This latest recipe we made is a coffee flavored custard that got such raving reviews, it shocked me. As my son finished his, he looked at me and said it may be his favorite in a long time…and…is there more? I mean what more can you ask for right?! 😍

This dessert is not hard to make, although it does take time and has a lot to do with the espresso beans haha. It had me buying them which was a first, crushing them, caramelizing them and not getting alarmed when they smoke, and then straining them from the milk/cream. The beans are the integral part of this dessert, although I don’t think it matters what kind you choose. I think this dessert will be a success with whichever you use.

I mistakenly described this dessert to my husband as something like “coffee flavored flan”…he was not that eager to try it based on that description haha but did, and absolutely loved it…everyone loved it and was asking when I could make it again. 😃

Apple Custard Crisp

We are told this is an unusual crisp, more like a crustless tart. I say, it is the best part of an apple pie…apples and the streusel…who needs the crust. 😍

This got rave reviews from all of my tasters: comments like it could be in the top group of all the recipes you have made, worthy of ordering in any restaurant…and just the all around…this is SOOO delicious!!

I was a little leery of this one just because I am not much of a custard fan, but so glad I tried it because the custard was really not too present… more of a filler binding the apples together. I really thought it tasted like the best part of an apple pie…and really so much simpler to make.

I used gala apples; did a bit more of a sprinkling than a pinch of cinnamon in the custard, and definitely went the spackling rather than the speckling of the streusel as Dorie put it. I used it all…there can never be too much streusel. 😃.

I ate mine plain, but we had all the range from my tasters…adding varieties of whip cream, ice cream, cinnamon sugar, and salted caramel. This was a huge winner with all of us and I am sure will be repeated many times!

Lightning-Fast Tahini Pork

This was a fun one since we were using ingredients I had never cooked with…tahini, harissa, and turmeric. I enjoy the challenge of a hunt. Thankfully Trader Joe’s made it simple having both the tahini and the harissa…although it was in paste form, not powder. There were quite a few ingredients for coating the pork and making the sauce….5 spices, tahini, lemon juice, olive oil, honey, cider vinegar, water and pepper.

While this was an easy recipe, I am not sure I would classify it “lightening-fast” 😂 although for the short amount of time you sure got a sophisticated, flavorful dish!

I was worried about adding the harissa full strength after reading it is a “ferociously hot North African spice blend”. I tasted a bit and thought it was too hot for me so I added about half the amount called for of the optional substitute, chili powder, figuring my son and husband could add the harissa to their’s individually. I think that is why my sauce is a little lighter than Dorie’s and more yellow.

I served my pork with roasted broccoli and fingerling potatoes. I actually really liked the flavor of the pork and thought it was really complex with all of the spices and sauces involved…I thought the cumin came in the strongest. Both my son and husband thought it was a little bland and went ahead and added the harissa paste into their sauce…quite a bit of harissa actually. I was like, be careful it said ferociously hot haha. They really liked that flavor and didn’t think it was particularly hot at all 😳. They like hot and spicy foods! My son loved it and my husband said “although I like it, it isn’t something I would be craving”…so mixed reviews in our house. I think we will still have it a time or two simply because I now have the ingredients haha.

On a side note, I can’t tell you how many times I have re-made the shrimp tacos and the green as spring soup! 😂😂

Croquets

In our intro we learn from Dorie that these are unusual, and could win a prize for the crunchiest cookies!

They look like biscotti but are not twice baked and do not behave as well. These crack all over the place, but we are told their imperfection is their charm. I was able to get long, whole pieces but seem to have had a little more issue because of the almonds. It made the cutting even more difficult. For those of you who didn’t make these this go around, I would suggest chopping your nuts up to help with this problem. After I made these, I re-read the intro and it does say chop the nuts but in the recipe it calls for whole almonds and never mentions chopping them. I would encourage you to do so. 😃

Everyone who tried these thought they were like nothing they had ever had before….and most everyone loved them, I think only my niece was a so-so. Interesting mix of chewy and crunchy that keeps you coming back for more. These were fun to try as no one had any expectations of what they would be like. I would say these are a keeper.