Rising Crème

One of the things I learned to make while in Paris was crème caramel. It wasn't what I had intended to sign up for (I meant to do a croissant class), but it turned out OK. I haven't tried making it since Paris (which was nearly 2 years ago), and this was my first time making it unsupervised, so I was a bit surprised that it turned out so well.

I feel like I've come a long way as a cook, since my humble beginnings during university. Similar to how I came to think Subway cookies were the best cookies ever, someone told me that risotto was incredibly difficult to make, and something only left to the best chefs. It's also one of those things that's almost always made with butter, so it was never something I had ever tasted.

After watching the movie Ratatouille, I felt like maybe Chef Gusteau is right: anyone can cook. Sure, you need the right tools, ingredients and recipes, but with the Internet, and YouTube in particular, I feel like the days where making fancy meals was only for Michelin star chefs is long gone. OK, so I'm not going to start making elaborate chocolate constructions, but things like risotto are not unreachable.

French desserts have always been something held in high regard for me, I can't even remember when I started believing that, or who told me. Though it might have something to do with one of the most famous difficult foods to cook: the soufflé. I've still yet to attempt one, as there hasn't been any occasion to, but it is something I'd like to do before I die.

Though we did manage to find soufflé pancakes while in Tokyo - we even had to wait 20 minutes for them to be served, just like if we ordered a real soufflè! Definitely something I want to try soon.

Crème brûlée is also on that list, but as I'm banned from buying a blow torch, and I don't want to make it any other way, I will have to settle for crème caramel for now. Onwards and upwards, to the next cooking adventure. I'm not entirely sure what it is yet, but I'm sure inspiration will strike soon.