The baked custards are a nice finishing touch to a meal.

Ingredients

• Melted Butter for greasing ramekins
• 3 eggs
• 4 tablespoons superfine sugar
• 2 cups milk
• 1/2 cup cream
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• nutmeg

Method

Preheat oven to 315 degrees and grease 4 ramekins.
Whisk eggs and sugar in a large bowl.

Heat milk and cream in a small saucepan over medium heat for 4-5 minutes.

Add to the egg mixture with vanilla and strain into ramekins. Sprinkle with nutmeg.

Place the dishes into a large roasting pan with hot water halfway up the side of ramekins.

Bake 25 minutes or until set.
Remove from the pan and let sit for 10 minutes before serving.

In the kitchen, you often prepare dishes utilizing raw eggs. Whether you’re making mayonnaise, chocolate mousse or cookie dough ice cream, these recipes call for using raw eggs – whites or yolks.

While most eggs are perfectly fine to eat raw, there is always a very small risk that one egg might be contaminated by bacteria. According to the American Egg board, about one in every 20,000 eggs might be contaminated by Salmonella.

Naturally, eggs are surrounded by a protective layer that prevents bacteria from entering and growing. In the United States though, that protective layer is eliminated as all eggs are washed with a special detergent according to government regulations.

To avoid the risk of illness, there are a few things to consider. First of all, make sure to only utilize fresh, whole, grade A or AA eggs. If the egg smells strange or if it's discolored, then throw it away.

Secondly, you can pasteurize raw eggs before making dishes with them. When you pasteurize eggs you bring them up to about 140-150 degrees for 3-5 minutes depending on the age and the size of the eggs. If the temperature goes any higher you start to cook the egg. Pasteurizing eggs won’t completely eliminate the risks that eating raw eggs bring, it will however drastically reduce the chance of contamination. You can purchase pasteurized eggs at the grocery store, but it’s really easy to do yourself.

How To Pasteurize Raw Eggs

Place the eggs in a pot with cold water. Put the water on medium heat and stand by to watch as the temperature rises. You don’t want the temperature of the water to exceed 150 degrees. If you want to be exact, you can keep a thermometer probe in the water, if not 140-150 degrees is the stage before bubbles start to form. At that temperature, you can just about keep your finger in the water for a few seconds before you burn yourself. When you reach this temperature, try to keep it. So lower the heat, and watch so the temperature doesn’t rise, then keep the eggs in the water for about 3-5 minutes.

If you want to be even more careful, you can soft boil the eggs as this will work for some recipes. Some dressings for example that call for a raw egg yolk, will taste fine if you utilize a soft-boiled egg yolk, or even better sometimes. If however, you’re making chocolate mousse or parfait, then you’re better off pasteurizing the egg and not soft boiling it.

There is certainly an art to making omelets. Too high heat and your omelet will turn dry and watery; too low heat and the consistency will be affected; too much stirring and it won't keep together; no stirring and it won't set properly. A perfect omelet is creamy and evenly cooked, leaning towards under-cooked and slides off the pan without breaking. So how do you make a perfectly cooked omelet?

Let's start with the cookware.

While you can make an omelet in a regular stainless steel skillet, most people prefer non-stick for a reason. Eggs and non-stick go hand in hand since the eggs won't get stuck in the pan. Another alternative is a copper saute pan, if you happen to have one on hand. This kind of pan transfers heat very well, and cooks eggs nicely, but you have to be a little more careful so the eggs won't stick.

Your safest bet is to go with a non-stick saute pan, it will make your job easier and you can find one very affordable. An 8 to 10 inch pan is the best size for an individual omelet. We have also found that a silicon spatula works best for stirring.

Now let's get back to making the omelet. We prefer to make each omelet individually, and usually go for 2 eggs per person.

1. Warm the eggs up a little by placing them in a bowl of warm water – or even better take out the eggs about 30 minutes to an hour before you start so they won't be so cold.

2. Next, break the eggs and whisk them together in a bowl. Add a tablespoon of water and about ½ teaspoon of salt plus some freshly ground pepper.

3. Put your pan on the stove on medium heat. Once the pan is warm, add about ½ tablespoon of butter if you are using a non-stick pan, otherwise double the amount. Once the butter is bubbly, spread it out with your spatula. Make sure the pan is warm enough for the butter to melt, but not so hot that it starts to burn.

4. Now gently pour the egg mixture in. Immediately stir with your spatula around in the egg mixture in a few places in the pan. You can also gently touch the sides of the eggs as well as tilt the pan to let some of the eggs gather on the sides and cook. Now, lower your heat a little and stop stirring - if you stir too much your omelet won't form properly.

5. Back away and let your omelet cook on medium-low heat. If you want to add flavorings such as grated cheese, chopped herbs, cooked ham or other ingredients, this would be the time. We recommend to not go overboard – add a few selected ingredients or simply some cheese on half the side of the omelet primarily.

6. Once the omelet looks almost cooked through but still a little wiggly on the top, remove from the heat. Carefully slide of the pan and place “half” the omelet on a plate, then tilt the pan and flip it over, so the omelet is folded. Voila! Possibly sprinkle with some herbs or simply some freshly grounded pepper and serve immediately.

Our favorite omelet flavorings:
1. sharp cheddar cheese and smoked ham
2. fresh spinach, chopped olives and parmesan cheese
3. sauteed vegetables and swiss cheese
4. black beans and sausage, served with salsa and sour cream

Serving suggestion:

Omelets are fun for a brunch, gather people in the kitchen and let everybody choose their own flavorings. Or why not serve with a light salad and a glass of white wine for lunch.

Sugar cookie dough is a great way to create all sorts of interesting cookies with the same basic dough. Depending on how you cut the dough, or form certain shapes, the possibilities are endless.

See also:

Making and Decorating Sugar Cookies with Icing

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon milk
• Powdered sugar, for rolling out dough

Method

Place flour, baking powder, and salt in a work bowl, whisk together to combine. Set aside.

Place butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat until light in color.

Add egg and milk and beat to combine.

Put mixer on low speed, gradually add flour, and beat until the dough comes together.

Place the dough on parchment paper and form into a log. Roll up in the wax paper and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. This dough can be left in the refrigerator for the next day, or frozen for a month.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Now that the dough has harneded in the refrigerator unwrap the parchment paper and slice your cookies with a sharp knife to about 1/4 inch thick.

Lay out your sliced dough on a cookie sheet and place back in the refrigerator for 10-20 minutes.

Then bake for 10-14 minutes.

Store in airtight container for up to 1 week.

• 1/2 cup instant tea
• 1 cup of sugar
• 1 cup of dry milk
• ½ cup of dry creamer

• 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon of ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon of ground allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon of ground cloves
• ½ teaspoon of salt
• ½ teaspoon of freshly ground nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon of cayenne