Thanksgiving Recipe Recap, Part 2

Soooooooo. Thanksgiving. That holiday that I was so excited about that I consulted five different holiday food magazines in order to find the right recipes? That was a week ago.

A week ago.

And I’m just now picking up where I left off in terms of recipe reviews.

I am a bad bad bad blogger.

What can I say….after devouring a delicious Thanksgiving meal I spent most of the rest of the holiday weekend devouring The Hunger Games and its two sequels Catching Fire and Mockingjay (Note to my fellow book clubbers—if anyone wants to borrow either of the other two books, let me know!) Needless to say I was a big fan.  Before I knew it my vacation was over and I was back to work and headed to Kansas City.  And my poor blog was left all by its lonesome.

Well I’m back and I want to make sure I share the recipe that was the biggest hit at our Thanksgiving table: pumpkin crème brulee.  Pumpkin carmelized greatness. In Jason’s words anyway. And I’d say it was pretty accurate. Light, creamy, and tastes like fall….the perfect end to a hearty holiday meal. Plus it has the added bonus of being set on fire.

Although crème brulee may sound intimidating, it really isn’t. Sure it takes a few steps but none are extraordinarily difficult. And the end result is well worth it.

Pumpkin Crème Brulee
Adapted slightly from Emeril Lagasse

Ingredients:
2 cups heavy cream
¼ cup brown sugar
¼ cup granulated sugar plus 4 teaspoons
8 large egg yolks
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1 cup pumpkin

1.Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Arrange 8 small (approximately ½ cup in size) ramekins in a large metal baking pan.
2.In a medium saucepan, combine cream, brown sugar, and ¼ cup granulated sugar.  Bring to a bare simmer over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Remove from heat.
3.In a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks until frothy. Slowly whisk in ¾ cup of the hot cream mixture, whisking constantly. Add the egg mixture to the hot cream and whisk.  Add pumpkin and whisk until smooth. Strain into a large bowl through a fine mesh strainer. Stir in vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg. Divide among the ramekins.
4.Add enough hot water to come halfway up the sides of the cups. Bake until custards are set in the center but not completely stiff, about 40-45 minutes. Remove from the oven and chill for at least 3 hours or overnight.
5.When you are ready to serve, sprinkle each custard with ½ teaspoon of sugar. If you have one, use a kitchen torch to caramelize the sugar. If you don’t, place under a hot broiler until sugar caramelizes (1-2 minutes). Serve!