Irish Steel-Cut Oatmeal Crème Brûlée with Apple/Fig Salad
Yield: 6 servings
low simmer; cook 20 minutes, stirring
frequently. Add blueberries and pears;
cook an additional 10 minutes, or until
water is absorbed. (Oats should be
creamy.) Fold in hazelnuts, maple syrup
and crème fraîche. Divide among 6
(6-oz.) ramekins. Spread 1 T. sugar
evenly over top of each oatmeal-filled
ramekin. Caramelize to mahogany-
brown using crème brûlée torch or blow
torch. Garnish with apple/fig salad.
Bernard Guillas, Executive Chef
The Marine Room, La Jolla Beach &
Tennis Club
La Jolla, Calif.
4 cups water
½ t. salt
1 cup Irish steel-cut oatmeal
¼ cup sun-dried blueberries
¼ cup chopped sun-dried pears
¼ cup chopped toasted hazelnuts
1 T. pure maple syrup
2 T. crème fraîche
6 T. turbinado sugar
Apple/Fig Salad (recipe follows)
APPLE/FIG SALAD
6 large black mission figs, stemmed, cut
in 8 wedges
1 green apple, cored, cut in matchsticks
2 T. finely chopped mint leaves
1 t. hazelnut oil
Method: In medium saucepan, combine
water and salt over medium-high heat.
Bring to a boil. Gradually add oats,
stirring constantly. Reduce heat to a
1 t. vincotto vinegar
Method: Gently toss figs, apple, mint, oil
and vinegar in medium mixing bowl.
Cara Cara orange marmalade and crème
fraîche are placed on top of the custard
to add even more depth of flavor. “Pastry
sometimes can be overwhelming and overly
sweet, so I try to balance my desserts,”
Goldsmith says. “This particular dessert
has some sour from the crème fraîche, rich
tartness from the citrus, aromatic from the
tarragon, salty and sweet from the donuts
and sweetness from the marmalade.”
Goldsmith says her French toast panini is
reminiscent of a wonderful morning meal.
“When the item is baking on the panini
press, the entire restaurant is perfumed
with the smell of French toast,” she says.
Two bite-size donuts, including the donut
holes, are served per order. “I try to keep
my desserts on the smaller size, because I
believe too much food is overwhelming and
guests may not finish what they ordered,
which is such a waste,” Goldsmith explains.
“I want desserts to be manageable-looking
and manageable to finish.”
When the donuts come out of the hot oil,
they are tossed with an anise-seed sugar
so they are slightly salty and sweet. To add
more excitement to the dessert, guests
are encouraged to dip the donuts in the
blackberry tarragon marmalade to turn
them into miniature jelly donuts.
Jackie Sayet
Goldsmith’s pot de crème is made in a
somewhat nontraditional way because she
uses a common breakfast drink, juice, as
a key ingredient. Typically, pot de crème is
made with all cream, but because Michael’s
Genuine Food & Drink is in Florida,
Goldsmith has an abundance of citrus crops
to choose from and makes custards with
different juices. Her recipe calls for one part
fresh-squeezed tangerine juice to three
parts heavy cream. “The dessert is still rich,
because it has egg yolks and heavy cream,
but the richness of the dessert is cut by half
because of the citrus,” she says.
Hedy Goldsmith’s tangerine creamsicle
pot de crème comes with hot buttermilk
donuts and blackberry tarragon marmalade
at Michael’s Genuine Food & Drink.
The panini is a great item because it can
be served year-round by changing the
ingredients based on the season. “It could
be feta and Honeycrisp apples, pears and
Manchego, or bananas, toffee, dulce de
leche, sweet condensed milk and sea salt.
The possibilities are endless,” Goldsmith
says. The ingredients are sandwiched
between two slices of buttered brioche
sprinkled with cinammon sugar, which is
then pressed in the panini maker. The panini
is served with a mini hot fudge sundae
topped with pieces of salted peanut brittle.
Desserts are priced at $9 each, with food
costs at 18%.
HEALTHY AND SATISFYING
Guillas says he wants to include at
least one dessert (if not more) that is
healthy and balanced in flavor, so he
settled on a staple breakfast ingredient
to reinterpret the classic dessert crème
