Pre-Holiday Vacation

With multiple Thanksgiving and Christmas celebrations J and I get pretty exhausted. This year we decided to visit our neighbor to the South. Joe and I have been to some pretty exotic locations but neither of us have ever visited Mexico. We decided it was time! We stayed at the beautiful Marriott (of course) and were not disappointed.

We basically lounged by the pool for 5 days. We only left twice... to deep sea fish and to visit the town of Puerto Vallarta. Fishing was fun and we saw a lot of whales as well. It was a private charter, so I was able to stretch out a take a nap or 2 on the boat. I tell ya, waking up at 6 am is ridiculously early when on vacation (or really anytime for me nowadays).

"exploring" the town of Puerto Vallarta...

Adios Mexico! It was a lot of fun while it lasted...

Thanksgiving Recipe

I was in charge of making a Thanksgiving dessert for the celebration at my parent's house. It was our THIRD T-day meal and I thought I could use a reprieve from pumpkin pie (especially considering I don't even like pie... unamerican... I know... I know!). I made a Pumpkin Creme Brulee instead. I had purchased some Ikea ramekins more than a year ago and I have been itching to use them. It also gave me a good excuse to buy a fun kitchen torch! The recipe was much easier than it sounds and the best part is that it can be made in advance.

Pumpkin Creme Brulee (www.foodnetwork.com)

Ingredients

• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup sugar, plus 4 teaspoons
• 8 large egg yolks
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon grated nutmeg
• 1 cup mashed cooked pumpkin

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Arrange 8 (1/2-cup) ramekins or custard cups in a large metal baking pan.

In a medium saucepan, combine the cream, brown sugar, and 1/4 cup granulated sugar. Bring to a bare simmer over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Remove from the heat.

In a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks until frothy and lemon-colored. Slowly add 3/4 cup of the hot cream mixture, whisking constantly. Add the egg mixture to the remaining hot cream, and whisk. Add the vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and pumpkin, and whisk until smooth. Strain through a fine mesh strainer into a large bowl. Divide among the prepared custard cups.

Add enough hot water to come halfway up the sides of the cups. Bake until the custards are just set in the center but not stiff, 45 minutes to 55 minutes. Remove from the oven and refrigerate until well chilled, at least 3 hours or overnight.

Sprinkle each custard with 1/2 teaspoon of the remaining sugar. Using a kitchen torch, caramelize the sugar. (Alternately, preheat the broiler, and broil until the sugar melts and caramelizes, watching closely to avoid burning and rotating the cups, about 1 to 2 minutes.) Place on small dessert plates and serve.