Pots de Creme or French Silk

Luxuriously smooth

Decadent

Elegant

This ain't no pudding in a cloud.

Pots De Creme

Just so you sound as elegant and refined as this tastes, 

here's how it's pronounced

Poe-duh-Krem 

(with a big, phlemy, back of your throat, French twist on the Krem)

Or, you can just call this 

French Silk.  

Now you now what I'm talking about, don't ya. 

 This is so unbelievably smooth and creamy.  

I love it because it's a great make-ahead dessert when you are having company over, plus looks as decadent as it tastes.  

But the part that makes your eyes roll back into your head is the phenomenal creaminess.  

Let me just give a shout out to the egg yolks. They are the champions, the reason it's smoother than a used car salesman.

 But unlike many Pots de Creme recipes, this one partially cooks them custard-style first so you can fully savor every mouthful without being grossed out.

And as a former chicken farmer, that's a good thing.

This is the kind of dessert that brings people into 

submissive silence without them knowing it. 

Pots de Creme

2 1/2 cups good quality chocolate chips, semi sweet or milk
1 1/2 cups whole milk (can't use skim in this one)
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
7 egg yolks, room temperature (important - makes a difference)
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 t. salt
1 T vanilla

Top with: 1 cup cream
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 t. vanilla

Place the chocolate chips in a blender, and give a rough pulse or two to kind of break them up. Add vanilla.  

In a heavy saucepan, combine milk, cream, egg yolks, sugar, and salt.  Whisk over medium heat until slightly thickened - enough to coat a spoon, about 6 minutes or so.  Stir constantly.

Immediately pour milk mixture over the chocolate chips in the blender, cover and blend until combined and smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides as needed.  I blended mine while I poured, which worked great except I 'Pots de Cremed' the whole kitchen one droplet at a time with my Ninja.

Pour into six serving dishes (or 8 if you want way-too-small portions/disappointed guests).  Chill for at least 2 hours.  Whip remaining cream until soft peaks form, add powdered sugar and vanilla.  Top pots de creme, and garnish with grated chocolate if desired. 

Note:  Separating the eggs takes a minute but it's also what makes this an over-the-top dessert, so don't try and substitute 3 or 4 whole eggs.  Also, your results will be so much better if they are at room temperature.

Note:  This is basic, there are many other flavor options you can add that would be wonderful with this.  Or, leave the Pots de Creme the same and flavor the whipped cream.  I'm making round 2 of this today and am using white chocolate chips and adding fresh raspberries to the whipped cream.

It's most wonderful.

So right for the most wonderful time of the year.

Cheesy Corn Chowder

Oh, the weather outside is frightful!

- Like a friggin' frozen -9 degrees.  

What's up with that?

Emergency precautions must be taken.

Hot Tub

Good Movie

Cuddling

and

Cheesy Corn Chowder

I love this soup!!

Cheesy Corn Chowder is so flavorful with the sweet corn and savory bacon, delightfully creamy like Broccoli Cheese Soup (I burned out of that one in the 90's), and has just the right amount of texture and color.  Just throw in a big green salad and you're good to go. 

And like most chowdery soups, it tastes even better the next day.  Serve it in mugs and you dim the lights, sit by the fire or watch a great movie at the same time.

With a high of 27 degrees this week, nothing says 'bring it on' like a steaming hot mug of flavorful goodness (and some fuzzy socks).

Cheesy Corn Chowder

1/2 pound bacon
2 large onions, chopped
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup butter
1/2 t. pepper
1 t. salt
1/4 t. turmeric
1 1/2 lbs. red potatoes, diced with skins left on
6 cups water
3 T chicken base or bouillon
1 1/2 lb. pkg. frozen corn (I used white)
1 1/2 cups half and half
2 cups grated cheddar cheese, plus more for garnish

In a large dutch oven, brown bacon until crisp.  Remove from heat and set aside.  Add butter to pan, along with the bacon fat, and add onions.  Saute until translucent, about 10 minutes. 

Stir in the flour, turmeric, salt, and pepper.  Cook, stirring occasionally for about 4 minutes.  Add hot water and chicken soup base and potatoes.  Simmer gently for about 15 minutes or until potatoes are tender.  Add corn, half and half and cheddar cheese.  Cook gently for another 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.  

Garnish with crumbled cooked bacon and additional cheddar cheese.  
Note:  You could use fresh corn, but here's the deal with that... Even though it would be most delicious, if fresh corn is in season, it's sure won't be cold enough to be making chowder. 

Festive Mini Cheese Balls

I love when the kids come to visit!

One of our favorite things to is put the little munchkins to bed and bust out the cheese and crackers. 

We catch up on everything and laugh till we cry.

 You won't find any squirt cheese here.
Save that for scout camp.

Store bought cheese balls.  

 Pungent, neon orange, tastes like bandaids.
We can't have that now, can we?

But, how can Christmas go on without a 
cheese ball?

Well, it can't.  

So unless you want to be responsible for cancelling Christmas, I suggest you make a cheese ball.  Or better yet,

Festive Mini Cheese Balls

As long as there are cheese balls, Christmas may continue.

Check out these adorable little cheeseballs!
They just scream Christmas Partay.

These were rolled in either Parmesan Cheese or toasted pecans. I can't emphasize enough how much better your pecans will be if you toast them.  The stepped up flavor and texture you will get is well worth it.

 This is about how fine you want them.

So gather everyone around, bond and get cheesy.

Festive Mini Cheese Balls

1 8 oz. pkg cream cheese, softened
2 T butter, softened
3/4 cup grated sharp white cheddar cheese (I used an Irish Cheddar)
1/2 cup feta or blue cheese (blue would be better, but if you have to err on the safe side, go with feta)
3/4 cup craisins, finely minced (I did this in the food processor, dried cherries would also be great)

1 cup pecans, toasted and finely chopped

Cheese Mixture:
Mix together the cream cheese, butter, cheddar cheese, and feta or blue cheese.  Blend well then add the craisins.  

Make balls:  
Using a 1 T. scoop, scoop balls onto a tray.  You don't want them a whole lot bigger than this because you want one cheese ball per cracker. Otherwise, people are gonna be wondering what to do with it.  Don't worry too much if they're not perfectly round yet.  Let chill for about an hour, and then they should be firm enough to roll perfectly round.  Here's your chance to show your skills - no flying saucer shapes here.

For pecans:  
Toast in a skillet over medium heat for 5-6 minutes.  Stirring (or tossing them in the air) frequently. Let cool and finely chop.  I did this in a food processor because I wanted them really fine.  Roll balls in pecans.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.

I rolled a few of them in Parmesan cheese for a friend with a nut allergy.

Serve:
Place a pretzel stick in each cheese ball and arrange on a tray.  Don't put the pretzel in ahead of time or it will get soggy.  Serve with crackers or toasted baguette slices.

Makes about 28.