Well, it has been a while, hasn’t it? The end of the summer was much crazier than I anticipated it would be, so I haven’t really had a lot of time to play around in the kitchen. Between trips out of town, visitors in town, and plenty of social obligations (I know… poor me), it’s nice to finally have some quiet time on the weekends to experiment with new recipes.

Last weekend, I was dying to make something sweet. Conveniently, I had just flipped through Food Network Magazine and found this amazing recipe for Salted Caramel Pots de Creme. It was a relatively straightforward recipe to follow, and the end result was SO decadent! I was a little worried at first that the sticky caramel would create lumps in the custard, but when I strained the custard after everything was combined, there was not a lump in sight!

A few pointers for those who might be new to caramel or custards:

• The recipe indicates that you should use a “small” saucepan for the sugar and water that will become your caramel. Before you start, remember that you’ll be pouring 2 1/2 cups of cream and milk into this at the end, and it will bubble up somewhat furiously at first. I’d go with more of a “medium” pan!
• When your caramel is cooking, take it off the heat just before it reaches the color that you’d like it to be. When you add the cream to it, it will continue to cook and darken. I find that it starts to taste a little burnt if I let it get too dark before I add the cream to it!
• Tempering is important! Be sure to keep whisking those eggs as you add the hot caramel to them — otherwise you’ll end up with strings of scrambled eggs. Yuck.
• Let the jiggle be your guide to knowing when the pots de creme are finished cooking. My oven tends to run a little low temperature-wise, and I find that it can take up to 10 additional minutes for custards to be cooked properly. Look for the custard to be nicely set around the edges and don’t worry if the center still seems wiggly — it will set up more when you take it out of the oven.

What are you cooking up this fall?