I tried making creme caramel for the first time, from Tom Douglas’ recipe in Seattle Kitchen (if you’ve ever been to one of his restaurants, this is almost always on the menu, along with coconut creme pie). Ten egg yolks, four cups of heavy cream, with sugar and vanilla. Serves 8. Yes, it was every bit as rich as it sounds.

I have no pictures of the final product. We were able to unmold the custards, with some difficulty, but they all got eaten, practically within seconds. Then people took the emptied ramekins, poured Cardamaro inside, and scraped them out with spoons. There was no remaining evidence.

Not the prettiest dish in the world, but extremely good. And easy!

The sauce, a mixture of tomato, cream, green chile, cilantro and spices, is straight from a Madhur Jaffrey recipe, but she wants you to serve it with prawns. We made it that way for a while, then hit on the idea of stirring in lightly cooked peas instead of shrimp. We’ve done it this way ever since.

First, your tomatoes. I often use one of those small cans of Hunt’s tomato sauce, but any tomato puree will do. Then measure in the garam masala, salt and ground cumin, and just a pinch of cayenne. I like to grate the chile and ginger on a microplane, but you could chop it by hand if you like little bursts of flavor. Add a handful of chopped cilantro and some lemon juice. Stir it all together. Then pour in some cream. Cook the peas lightly in boiling water, drain, and stir into the sauce. Eat over rice.

Or, make the sauce, hold the peas, and serve it as a chilled soup. That would be pretty awesome. Leftovers of this, with or without rice, are rather good with scrambled eggs. Or just eaten straight for breakfast with a spoon.

Peas in Spiced Tomato-Cream Sauce

Adapted from Madhur Jaffrey’s Spice Kitchen: Fifty Recipes Introducing Indian Spices and Aromatic Seeds

• 8 oz tomato puree or sauce
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 3/4 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• pinch cayenne (or more if you’re a heat fiend)
• 1 green chile (serrano or jalapeño), chopped or grated
• 1 tsp fresh ginger, chopped or grated
• 3 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2 cup cream
• 1-2 cups frozen or fresh peas (depending on how saucy you want the final dish), lightly boiled and drained

Combine everything except the peas and stir well. When the peas are cooked (as much as you want – I like them still a bit firm), drain them and stir them into the sauce. Serve warm or room temperature.

Some people like chocolate, so I hear. The sort of people who say “eat dessert first,” and mean it. The sort of people who really would rather have something sweet than almost anything else. I am not one of those people. I like potatoes. The saltier, the better, but chances are good that if it is made of potatoes, I will probably like it. Potato chips are one of the finest things life has to offer, in my opinion (and I am vindicated in my opinion by the Parsi food pyramid). I am also very fond of small yellow potatoes roasted until they are creamy inside and crusty outside. But I don’t complain about potatoes bathed in heavy cream, herbs and cheese. Nope.

Yes, I was on a low-carb diet at one time. No, it didn’t stick. For obvious reasons. And this is why I walk several miles a day. To avoid being potato-shaped as well as potato-obsessed. Anyway…

We made scalloped potatoes a few days ago, for a celebratory dinner at home. We pulled out two pretty beef tenderloin steaks, threw together a Caesar salad, and tried a new potato recipe out of America’s Test Kitchen, which was still open from making challah the previous evening. The whole dinner was wonderful, but these potatoes really clinched it for me.

When making scalloped potatoes, it’s a very handy thing to own a mandoline (we have this one). It lets you make perfect thin slices that will cook evenly in the cream, so you don’t end up with mush and crunky bits. Make sure you don’t add your fingertips to the recipe, though.

Scalloped Potatoes

adapted from The America’s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook 

• 2 Tbsp butter
• 1 onion, thinly sliced
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• salt and pepper
• 2 1/2 pounds russet potatoes, sliced 1/8″ thick
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 cup grated parmesan

Preheat the oven to 425°.

Melt the butter in a Dutch oven or other large heavy pan. Add the onions and saute until they soften. Add the thyme, garlic, salt and pepper, and stir briefly. Add the potatoes, broth, cream and bay leaves. Stir carefully (not wanting to break up the potatoes) and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook for ten minutes, until the potatoes are just tender.

Pour the contents of the pan into a gratin pan or baking dish. Sprinkle the cheese over the top and bake 15-20 minutes, until bubbling and golden. Let rest ten minutes or so before digging in.

This month for Mixology Monday we were faced with the theme Dizzy Dairy. In other words, any cocktail involving eggs, milk, cream, yogurt or butter. The first thing that came to my mind was Irish Coffee, one of my favorites, but that seemed far too obvious.  We did some research and applied ourselves to some experimentation.

We began with an Angostura Fizz. A tart mixture of lime juice and Angostura bitters, this also had cream and grenadine, and was shaken vigorously with one egg white. Poured into a pint glass and topped up with seltzer, it offered an intriguing combination of bitter, frothy and creamy. I’d never tasted anything quite like it. I wouldn’t mind trying it again sometime, but I’m not really sure what the right time would be: to go with a burger? An afternoon pick-me-up?

Jon tried making himself a Snowball, which was simply gin, pastis and cream. We each took a sip, then poured it down the sink. Ew.

We had better luck with the Scotch Solace, a soothing blend of Scotch, honey, milk, cream and Cointreau. It was served cold, but I could totally see it as a frothy warm drink to sip by the fire.

The Belmont was at least somewhat successful. Composed of gin and cream with a dab of raspberry syrup, it was rather like a cocktail glass of melted ice cream with a faint gin edge. Not terrible, but kind of weird. We wouldn’t make it again.

The upshot of all this testing was the realization that the Irish Coffee really is my drink of choice when it comes to dairy and alcohol. Plus, it appeals to me because it can so easily be built to taste. How much whiskey do you want? Pour it in. Make the coffee as strong as you like. Add whatever kind of sugar you prefer: raw, white, brown, it will all work. Make your whipped cream as sweet as you want, and pile it on as thickly as you want. Every cup will be a little bit different. And that, frankly, is how I cook.

Irish Coffee

Pour 1-2 ounces of Irish whiskey (I like Jameson’s) into a mug or Irish Coffee glass. Pour in hot coffee, leaving some room at the top. Add sugar to taste. Top with sweetened whipped cream. Wrap yourself up in a blanket by the fire, invite a cat up to sit, and enjoy.