Custard Pie

Welcome back to my little corner of the world wide web. What I have for you today is as simple as the name of the dish itself. Custard Pie. And that's exactly what this dessert is. Custard baked in a pie shell.

While the dessert itself is rather easy to prepare, there are a few little tips and tricks you can do to ensure that this dish is the best it can be. Before we get to that, lets start with the basics: The Recipe.

Honestly, there are so many recipes of this dessert online, I feel like I don't even need to post it. Most of the recipes I found were only different by the smallest variation, be it a few ounces of sugar or milk. But, I don't think it's fair to the reader to not know what I used to get the results I achieved. So, here it goes!

Custard Pie

1                    9 inch pie shell

2 1/4 cups     Milk
1/2                Vanilla bean, split and seeded

2                   Eggs
2                   Egg yolks
3/4 cup         Sugar
                     Freshly grated Nutmeg

If you don't have any fresh vanilla bean, you can add a couple teaspoons of good vanilla extract in place of the bean.

This first step is really for using the vanilla bean. If you don't have the bean, skip this step.

Start by slicing your vanilla bean in half and scraping out the seeds with your knife. Place the pod and seeds in a pot with the milk and bring it to a simmer. When you see the milk start to steam, turn the heat off. Stir for a second to mix the vanilla seeds around, then let it rest for at least 15 minutes. Doing this will create a stronger vanilla flavor.

Now it's time to pre-bake the pie shell. First, spray your pie tin with non-stick spray. I used a French tart shell because I like the appearance a little better. 

Once sprayed, Lay down your pie dough and make sure to press it in all the nooks and crannies. After you trim the edges, get a fork and punch a bunch of holes in the bottom to keep it from rising too much. Bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes. You want it to be a light brown. Remember, it's going back in the oven later.

Now, the rules of baking say you need to weigh down the center with beans or pellets. I didn't do that because I was being lazy. When it came out of the oven, it did bubble in the center, but I just pushed it down with my hand while it was still hot. It turned out just fine.

With the shell done, it's time to make the filling. Crack your eggs and egg yolks and mix well. Stir in your sugar and mix until combined. 

Take out the vanilla pod from the milk and stir the milk into the egg mixture slowly. Once that is mixed, you are almost done.

Pour the mix into the cooked pie shell and bake.  I sprinkled fresh nutmeg over the top before baking, but this can be done after baking. 

Most recipes will call for you to bake this at 350. I baked mine at 325 to be on the safe side. 

After about 28 minutes or so, the pie was done. To check to see if it's done, give the tray a couple taps. It will jiggle slightly, but stop quickly. If it needs more time, it will jiggle, but look watery.

If you look at the picture above, you can see it's a bit wavy at the bottom of the pie. When I took it out, it had puffed up like a balloon  in that section. I don't know why it did that, but it didn't make much of a difference in the end.

After letting the pie cool and making some whipped cream, it was time to eat.

A little more fresh nutmeg on top and this baby was ready to go.

This thing tasted great! The nutmeg and vanilla shined through. The texture was creamy, while the pie crust was still crisp. Pre-baking the shell really helps.

As good as it was, the real treat didn't come until the next morning. I woke up and got a small slice to start my day. This pie tasted even better cold! 

Well, that's really about. I know this one might have seemed a tad long winded, but it's really easy to make. If you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment and I will get back to you.

Oh yeah, Custard Pie is also the name of a pretty good Led Zeppelin song.

I'm out.

A Lunch Of Korean BBQ

Glad you could make it back for another round of food blogging. Sorry I have been so negligent with the blog lately. Seriously, if this blog was a puppy, it would have starved to death by now. Don't worry, it would have at least gotten a proper burial. No garbage bags into the ocean like my boy Dexter!

Anywho, late last month, a couple coworkers/friends treated me to lunch for my birthday. The spot was a Korean BBQ house, and all of us were looking forward to some good food!

The handsome gentleman on the left is Richard, and the gorgeous lady on the right is Sue. I consider the both of them great friends and great all around people. If I see both of them at work, I know the day won't be that bad.

Over the last weekend, Sue went from being single to being married! Congratulations Sue! I wish nothing but happiness for you and the hubby!

Back to the lunch!

To start, I'm no expert at Korean BBQ. My knowledge is limited to the few experiences I've had with it. If you have never tried it, my advice is to find a place near you and try it immediately!

The place we went to had an All You Can Eat deal. For about $17, you are given a list of meats and seafood you can eat. You start by ordering 3 items. The server will bring them to your table, and from there, you cook your proteins right there at the table. After some time of cooking and eating has passed, your server will come back ready to take an order for more food. From here, the cycle continues.

The picture above does tell a detailed story. First, you have the star of the show, the grill located in the center of the table. The server will turn this on for you and set it low enough so even the worst cook won't be able to burn anything to a crisp. With 3 cooks at the table, plus Sue being the Korean BBQ expert, we had nothing to worry about.

The next thing that catches your eye in the picture is all these little fucking plates! I guess it's a normal part of the Korean dining experience. The last place I went to for Korean grub had the same deal with a lot of little dishes with sides and condiments. There is absolutely nothing wrong with it, but it can seem a bit overwhelming to the uninitiated.

Once all the food hits the table and you start cooking, that's when it hits you how cool it really is. It stops feeling like a restaurant and starts feeling like a buddy's backyard cookout. Just being able to laugh and joke with your friends while one of you is tending the grill just brings up a myriad of feelings and memories. And just as you are feeling uplifted with the vibe, the food brings you to a place of pure delight.

Of course, I can't remember all the things I had that day. Some of the things I can remember are beef tongue, baby squid, octopus, spicy pork, brisket and a few more tasty treats that had all of us making those wonderful little moans you make when eating really good food!

I think it was after the third round of food from the server that all of us were stuffed and ready for a nap. I think we were there for almost 2 hours. Just cooking and chatting, enjoying the moment like only good friends can.

Yeah, it was a good time. :)

Incheonwon BBQ House
13321 Brookhurst St
Garden Grove, CA 92843
(714) 638-9292

I'm out.

Haus Of Pizza

What's going on people!?!? I hope all of you are doing well out there. I apologize for the extended gap between posts. Life has been throwing me one curve ball after another. While I don't like making excuses, I will say that my want to sit down at the computer and write has been fleeting. Until now, that is. Today, I feel like writing. Today, I want to sit down and share a little piece of my life with the world.

In my neck of the woods, most of the Italian food sucks balls. I'm not going to name names, but most of the Italian food in Garden Grove is bland, lacks any type of depth, and isn't worth the money you are spending. Because of this, I tend to just make my own Italian food.

A few weeks ago, a friend invited me to lunch at a small pizza place in Costa Mesa called Haus Of Pizza. She said it was really good, but I still had my reservations. With all the lack luster food I've tried recently, I wasn't expecting much.

I didn't know anything about this place, but when you walk in, it automatically has that feel of a place that's been there a long time. There is all kinds of shit on the wall, and I say that in the most lovingly way. The walls look like it started with one or two things, and over time, they just kept adding to it!

When we sat down, the server dropped the menus off and gave us a few minutes to look it over. I was in shock as to how low everything was priced. Especially in Costa Mesa! It seemed like most of the menu was around 5 or 6 bucks.

My friend told me the pizza was really good, but, I wasn't really in the mood for pizza. I saw that they had a meatball sub and wanted to order that. My friend, being the stubborn little stinker that she is, was very insistent that we try a pizza. So, we agreed to split the sandwich and the pizza.

When the food came out, I was surprised and excited with how good it all looked.

Can't forget about the pizza!

Personally, I'm very picky about meatball subs. There's only a few places I trust to make it right. But, if this place was any kind of decent Italian eatery, their meatball sub couldn't be that bad. Was I ever surprised! This sub was fucking ridiculous! The meatballs were tender and full of flavor. The sauce was on point. You could just taste the time and love put in to it. But, the best part was all the wonderful melted cheese on top. When they put the cheese on there and place it in the oven, something happens that just moves a sub from good to great. The cheese gets all stringy, the edges of the bread get all toasty and crunchy. GODDAMN that sub was good!

The pizza had artichoke, sausage, and....a bunch of other shit I can't recall. Yes, the pizza was good, and any other day, I would be going into detail about it. But that sub was a monster. Everything else got shoved to the side after one bite of that delicious meatball sandwich.

I can't remember much after diving into that sub. I know I thanked my friend for telling me about this place. After that, it's all a blur. Oh well.

I hope you enjoyed this partially remembered story. Next post, I'll try and write something I can remember better. No guarantee on that last part. :)

Haus Of Pizza
1500 Adams Ave.
Costa Mesa, CA
(714)751-8777

I'm out.