Tipnique of the week, September 27, 2013

Last week's tip on separating eggs was first step in one of my all time favorite foods, homemade custard. That's pudding, but with eggs as well as cornstarch to thicken it up.
This week's tip deals with the all crucial moment when the eggs are called upon to do their business, and it's all about tempering.
No, not as in

"you must control your temper!!!!"

more like this kind of temper:

In this recipe, and in many others, the eggs are added to the hot liquid. The thing is, if you add cold eggs to hot liquid, you get a potful of milk filled with scrambled eggs, don't you? If only there were a way to make the eggs and milky stuff the same temperature. 

Well, there is, and it starts here

1. Whisk away with one hand, and with the other, dribble in the steaming hot liquid. If you add it all at once, scrambled eggs will ensue, so slowly with the dribbling hand and quickly with the whisking hand, ok? It's just as fun as it sounds.

2. Once the eggs are about the same temperature as the milk in the pot, whisk the egg mixture back into the rest of the steaming hot milk. 

There. You've tempered eggs. Next up, tempering the layered steel of a samurai sword. Or finishing up a bowl of warm custard. Whichever comes first.

Here's the recipe, and it's a winner on it's own as a snack or dessert, as the filling of a pie or a trifle, as a sauce over fruit, bread pudding or french toast. And if you have any left in the fridge when morning rolls around, it's  a more nutritious brekkie than, say, white toast  or toaster waffles.  I've even put it into an ice cream freezer, with smashing results.

Vanilla Custard

Ingredients:

3/4 cup of sugar

4 cups milk (or half and half or evaporated milk or combination)

1/4 tsp. salt

6 egg yolks

4 T cornstarch

2 T butter

2 T vanilla

1.  Mix sugar, milk and salt in a saucepan and bring slowly to a simmer.

2. While the milk heats, whisk together the cornstarch and egg yolks.

3. Temper the yolks with a cup or so the hot milk, and then whisk them slowly back into the saucepan of milk.

4. Continue to stir and heat until the mixture thickens to pudding consistency.

5. Turn off the heat and add the vanilla and the butter. 

6. At this point, you can turn it chocolate by adding about half a bag of chocolate chips, or a nice bar of dark chocolate.