Scallion Corn Muffins & Bailey's Irish Creme Creme Brulee

Our friends, Erika and Jeff, came over for dinner last night.  It was a late dinner since a few of us had to work late, but it was nice to spend the night eating and chatting away.  It was a simple but delicious menu...

Appetizers:  Bacon Cheddar Toasts and Goat Cheese, Sundried Tomato, & Pesto Torte

Main Course:  Oven-fried buttermilk chicken, Cucumber, Shallot & Celery Salad, and Scallion Corn Muffins

Dessert:  Bailey's Irish Cream Creme Brulee

Yep, I did it again...I successfully made Creme Brulee again!  This time, added with the Bailey's, it was fantastic.  I stole the recipe from The Happy Housewives Club.  Simple and perfect.

(I forgot to take pictures last night, so I found this picture online...looks very similar to what we had!)

The entire main course, I took from Martha Stewart's Everyday Food June 2010 issue.  It was the perfect late summer meal...light and refreshing.    This was my first attempt at cornbread.  I'm definitely going to make cornbread more often.  This was so simple to make!  It came together in a snap and tasted delicious.  The scallions really added some depth to the cornbread.

Can you see the little bits of scallion? 

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Creme Brulee

I finally made a decent Creme Brulee!!

Seriously, I've tried to make creme brulee several times, and it never works out quite right.  Its either not done, too done or just plain gross.  There was the time I tried to make a triple chocolate creme brulee for my friend, Katie, and her husband...we call that chocolate soup now.  Or the time I tried to make pumpkin pie creme brulee and forgot to add sugar.  Creme Brulee and I have had a difficult relationship.  Until today...we made ammends.  I stuck with a simple vanilla bean recipe out of the cookbook that came with my torch that I bought several years ago with dreams of weekly creme brulee in my head.   The only part that didn't quite work out was that all of the vanilla beans were on the bottom of the ramekins instead of mixed in with the custard.  Hmmmm.....any ideas on how to fix that?

A nice crispy crust on top. 

Creamy deliciousness in the middle. 

Creme Brulee Cupcakes

What is better than Creme Brulee?

Not much, in my opinion.  It is absolutely my favorite dessert.  If it is on the menu when we go out to eat, I'm ordering it.  I've tried a couple of times to make it at home, and my attempts have been futile.  It is disappointing, but I will keep trying.  However, I recently found this recipe on my friend's fantastic baking blog...SUGAR SHOCK!  I knew I had to try it.  My cousin, Hilary, is home from college this week, and her parents graciously invited us over to dinner, and I thought it was the perfect opportunity to try the recipe.  Matt and I just sampled one, and I want to eat more of them.

Next time, I think I'll use more brown sugar on top for extra delicious crunchiness...