Wednesday, June 29, 2011

egg cup custard

good morning!

my parents are two of the most happily married folks i know, to degrees that used to be embarrassing when i was a kid - back then, their public displays of affection made me duck my head and moan "moooOOOM!" but now i'm old enough to know better, and hope sam and i are as happy as they 30 years in. my sisters and i are going home to california for their 30 year wedding anniversary this august and making them a big, fancy dinner; i decided to test out one of my courses for sam and i a couple night ago.

i've been wanting to try out a custard served in its shell for awhile. i have a thing for eggs in egg cups - soft boiled eggs are a bit boring for my taste, but i eat them anyway, just for the joy of sprinkling them with salt & pepper and spooning them out of their shell. i received 8 little white egg cups along with a bunch of other kitchen goodies, and decided it was time to give this a try.

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sage & truffle custard with parmesan crisp & tomato foam (adapted from here.)

1 egg
6 egg shells
a few leaves of sage
1/3 cup milk
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 T truffle or mushroom oil
paprika
salt
pepper

for the foam: juice of one tomato and 1/4 t soy lecitithin (you can find it at GNC, whole foods & the like)

parmesan cheese for the crisp

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preheat oven to 275.

measure the milk, cream, and sage leaves (torn up a bit) into a small saucepan. turn on low heat until it simmers, then let it cool off so the sage can infuse.
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while you're doing this, cut the tops off 6 eggs over an airtight tupperware. set aside. clean the egg shells verrry carefully under a gentle stream of cold water; it'll kind of feel like peeling off a sunburn. make sure to get all the membrane out. place these in a cardboard egg carton and hold on.
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strain the sage out of the milk and pour the milk into a food processor or mixing bowl; i used my immersion blender. add salt, pepper, paprika, & oil, & blend; then add one egg from the bowl and blend. pour this through a sieve into a container with a good lip for pouring. (i used a gravy boat.) place the egg shells in a oven proof container with tall-ish sides (i used a cake pan,) boil some water, place the pan in your preheated oven and pour water about halfway up the egg shells. set a timer for 30 minutes - the original recipe said it'd take 40-45, but mine was perfect after 30. if they are set, remove them and let them cool.
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while the custards are baking, simply grate some parmesan cheese into little piles on a silpat or piece of parchment paper. stick it in the oven for ten minutes or so, until it starts to brown. let them cool and voila! parmesan chips.
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for the tomato foam, juice a tomato, then add the soy lecitithin - this just helps the foam keep its structure longer, so you don't end up with tomato juice floating atop your custard. i used a little aerolatte foamer to whisk it up into a foamy frenzy, then spooned it atop the custard & crisp.
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and voila! a beautifully delicate & tasty appetizer or amuse bouche that's lovely to look at and sooo tasty. don't be shy with the salt & pepper on this one.


more from this meal soon!

xo audrey

4 comments:

  1. oh wow, looks beautiful! & do-able too, thanks for sharing the recipe!

    Katie x

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  2. gorgeous, such an imaginative and unique idea! I made cakes in egg shells for easter, such fun, but this is just on a whole other level! The recipe sounds really interesting, never seen anything quite like it. Lovely :)

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  3. Amazing...I've never seen anything like this either, but it sounds delicious.

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