Bourbon Brûlé Food

BOURBON PECAN CREME BRULEE

Steps:

• Preheat your oven to 350.
• Heat the cream to a simmer, stirring occasionally to prevent a skin from forming.
• Meanwhile fork together the egg yolks and sugar, taking care not to incorporate any air into the mix.
• When cream is hot, remove from heat and add vanilla and bourbon.
• Slowly pour cream into eggs, mixing with fork, being careful not to incorporate any air into the mix. You have to pour slowly, otherwise the hot cream will cook the egg.
• Divide custard between 6 ramekins and place in a baking dish. Add water to the baking dish so that it comes up the sides of the ramekins to the level of the custard inside. Take care not to splash any water into the ramekins.
• Carefully place baking dish in the oven (don't splash water into the ramekins) and bake about half an hour. Custard is done when it is set but still jiggly.
• Remove from the oven and take the ramekins out of the water bath. Allow to cool to room temperature, then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least a couple hours, and up to 2 days.
• When ready to serve, cover each custard with about 2 tsp of brown sugar and caramelize with a torch (or you can use the broiler in your oven, but be careful, the line between caramelized and burned is a fine line). Top with toasted pecans.

PECAN BOURBON CREME BRULEE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F
• Place six 3/4-cup custard cups in large roasting pan.
• Whisk egg yolks, sugar, bourbon and vanilla extract in large bowl to blend. Bring whipping cream to boil in heavy medium saucepan. Gradually whisk hot whipping cream into egg yolk mixture. Pour custard into souffl
 dishes, dividing equally.
• Pour enough hot water into roasting pan to come halfway up sides of souffl
 dishes. Bake custards until just set in center, about 30 minutes.
• Remove from water and cool completely. Cover and refrigerate at least 6 hours. (Custards can be prepared up to 2 days ahead. Keep covered and refrigerated.).
• Preheat broiler. Arrange custard dishes on baking sheet. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon golden brown sugar evenly over each. Broil until sugar melts and turns dark brown, rotating baking sheet for even browning and watching closely, about 2 minutes. Sprinkle creme brulees with chopped toasted pecans, dividing equally.

BOURBON BRûLé

Steps:

• Slice the orange in half horizontally. Cut a thin slice (no more than 1/8 inch) from each half. Coat one side of each slice with the sugar. Heat a small, heavy skillet, preferably cast iron, on high. Place the orange slices, sugar-side down, in the skillet and sear for a couple of minutes, until lightly caramelized. Remove from pan and let cool, browned side up. Juice the rest of the orange; you should have about 1/4 cup. *For a smokier taste we used a culinary blowtorch on the sliced oranges instead of the skillet.
• Combine bourbon, sherry, ginger liqueur and orange juice in a cocktail shaker with a few ice cubes. Stir briefly to chill. Strain over ice into two rocks glasses. Place an orange slice, caramelized side up, directly in each glass, sitting on top of the rocks. Serve.

BOURBON-SWEET POTATO BRULEE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Pierce the sweet potatoes all over with a fork, and then bake on a shallow baking pan until soft, about 1 hour (no need to wrap in foil). Remove the potatoes to cool. Lower the oven temperature to 325 degrees F.
• While the potatoes are cooling, whisk together the cream, brown sugar, bourbon, salt, and nutmeg. (You could also add cinnamon, though it may suggest pumpkin pie flavors and will over shadow the smoky bourbon flavor.)
• Peel the potatoes, and then cut into 2-inch pieces and mash until very smooth. Add the mashed potatoes to the cream mixture and whisk well to thoroughly combine.
• Pour the mixture into a 2-quart flameproof baking dish and bake 40 to 45 minutes. The custard will be firm but not dry looking when done.
• When ready to serve, evenly sprinkle the turbinado sugar over the top. Position the blowtorch flame just above the sugar and move the flame back and forth in rows until the entire top is slightly burnt. Let stand until the sugar hardens, about 4 to 5 minutes, and then serve. (No blowtorch? Run the dish under the broiler, 4 inches from the flame, about 5 to 8 minutes.)

BRûLéED BOURBON-MAPLE PUMPKIN PIE

Steps:

• For chocolate pie dough:
• Pulse cocoa powder, granulated sugar, salt, and 1 1/4 cups plus 1 tablespoon flour in a food processor to combine. Add butter and shortening and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal with a few pea-size pieces of butter remaining. Transfer to a large bowl.
• Whisk egg yolk, vinegar, and 1/4 cup ice water in a small bowl. Drizzle half of egg mixture over flour mixture and, using a fork, mix gently just until combined. Add remaining egg mixture and mix until dough just comes together (you will have some unincorporated pieces).
• Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface, flatten slightly, and cut into quarters. Stack pieces on top of one another, placing unincorporated dry pieces of dough between layers, and press down to combine. Repeat process twice more (all pieces of dough should be incorporated at this point). Form dough into a 1"-thick disk. Wrap in plastic; chill at least 1 hour.
• DO AHEAD: Dough can be made 2 days ahead. Keep chilled, or freeze up to 3 months.
• For filling and assembly:
• Roll out disk of dough on a lightly floured surface into a 14" round. Transfer to a 9" pie dish. Lift up edge and allow dough to slump down into dish. Trim, leaving about 1" overhang. Fold overhang under and crimp edge. Chill in freezer 15 minutes.
• Place a rack in middle of oven and preheat to 350°F. Line pie with parchment paper or heavy-duty foil, leaving a 1 1/2" overhang. Fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake until crust is dry around the edge, about 20 minutes. Remove paper and weights and bake until surface of crust looks dry, 5-10 minutes. Brush bottom and sides of crust with 1 beaten egg. Return to oven and bake until dry and set, about 3 minutes longer. (Brushing crust with egg and baking will prevent a soggy crust.)
• Whisk pumpkin purée, sour cream, bourbon, cinnamon, salt, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, mace, if using, and remaining 3 eggs in a large bowl; set aside.
• Pour maple syrup into a small saucepan; scrape in seeds from vanilla bean (reserve pod for another use) or add vanilla extract and bring syrup to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-high and simmer, stirring occasionally, until mixture is thickened and small puffs of steam start to release, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and add cream in 3 additions, stirring with a wooden spoon after each addition until smooth. Gradually whisk hot maple cream into pumpkin mixture.
• Place pie dish on a rimmed baking sheet and pour in filling. Bake pie, rotating halfway through, until set around edge but center barely jiggles, 50-60 minutes. Transfer pie dish to a wire rack and let pie cool.
• Just before serving, sprinkle pie with granulated sugar and, using a kitchen torch, brûlée until sugar is melted and dark brown.
• DO AHEAD: Pie can be baked 1 day ahead (do not brûlée). Cover and chill.