Creme brulee is one of my Momma’s favorite desserts. If there’s creme brulee on a dessert menu, consider it ordered. Today, I set out to make creme brulee to serve as her birthday “cake.” I was little bit scared since it was my first time attempting to make it, but there’s a first for everything, right?
(We didn’t have ramekins so I used mini loaf pans. Ya do whatcha gotta do…)
I figured it was also a good opportunity for me to break out the butane torch that my brother got me for Christmas. However, I didn’t realize I needed to fill it up with gas first, which we didn’t have. They don’t come with gas?! Who has gas in their house? Come on!
I made it to the gym this afternoon and as always, I felt 80x better afterwards. I completed 60 min. elliptical, 10 min. incline walking (treadmill), and 10 min. lower body strength training. Hallelujah!
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To celebrate my Momma’s birthday, we went out to eat at Mezza Grill, a Mediterranean restaurant serving Greek, Turkish and Lebanese cuisine. I found the restaurant on restaurant.com, where I bought a few deeply discounted gift certificates a few months ago.
Peter got a Turkish beer called Efes and insisted I take a photograph.
To start, we ordered the Mezza Sampler: A selection of hummus, falafel, dolma, fettoush, and baba ghannouj.
What a phenomenal platter! We didn’t leave a single crumb on that [gorgeous] plate.
The hummus was silky smooth, but my favorite part, by far, was the falafel.
I wasn’t kidding…
My mom and I shared the Mediterranean Shrimp. They were jumbo, juicy, and oh so so succulent.
I also ordered a Greek Salad with pita, which I probably could have done without. Though, it never hurts to get some veggies in.
Peter ordered the daily special, Lamb Chops w/ potatoes and steamed vegetables.
When we got home, I set out to caramelize the sugar-topped creme brulee by using the broiler setting on our toaster oven. I stacked it on a cake pan so I could get it closer to the coils.
The creme brulee didn’t come out very well. It was too soft and the sugar didn’t really caramelize at all. Oh well, it’s the thought that counts, right?
I’m currently chomping on an orange while watching the State of the Union Address. It’s weird to think all those important politicians are only a short drive away.
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Tell me: your ideal birthday cake/dessert…
{ 37 comments… read them below or add one }
Oh goodness! I would not know how to use that torch, but it seems like a fun idea! Mezze grill looks amazingggg!
Ideal b-day dish? Poundcake in custurd!
oh. my. gosh. awesome!!!!
I looove Mediterranian food and creme brulee! Happy birthday to your mom
I pretty much love all cake! Red velvet is my fave.
Aw, even though it didn’t come out well, it was sweet of you to make it for your mom!
The best bday cake I ever had was definetely a chocolate chip cookie dough CHEESECAKE…thinking about makes me drol
Your dinner looks amazing!! happy birthday to your mom
that mediterranean food made me drool… yum
You’re so sweet to make that for your mom!
The best birthday dessert is anything coffee flavored, sooo Tiramisu. or better yet Tiramisu froyo.
done and done.
That rest. looks delish-i loooove falafel! I always want to buy one of those flame torches but know that i’ll prob never cook something that will need it, haha-love that you have one! Good job on the attempted dessert-are you going to try again?
I might! Although I’d wait to get gas in my torch first. That sounds so wrong…
Ideal would be strawberry shortcake. I actually have no idea what that’s SUPPOSED to be, but in my impression it’s fluffy yellow cake frosted with whipped cream and when you slice it you see pretty halves of strawberries. Aww
Happy birthday to your mom! Even though the creme brulee didn’t come out as well as you would have thought, it’s the thought that counts. Besides, you can always make it up to her with some fro-yo… I remember she liked that a lot, right? 
CUSTARD VERSION :O
Wait, I know – make fro-yo, freeze it, roll it fully covered in sugar, then caramelise it!
Yeah. Wait. Never mind. It was an okay idea at the time…
Sorry for the novel there. Heh.
Haha yes, obsessed with froyo. Next time I’ll make a froyo CAKE
What a fabulous birthday dinner. Everything looks so scrumptious and I’m sure your mom LOVED the Creme Brule. That is my husband’s favorite dessert ever. He always orders it when we go out and oddly enough, it happens to be my worst favorite dessert.
Hands down – red velvet cake. It’s my all time favorite!
Im sure the creme brule was still good and your mom was prob so happy you made all that effort to make that for her! Looks like she had a great birthday!
p.s. I know what you mean about the president and politicians being so close, I thought that too when I lived there!
The creme brulee still looks pretty good!
I alternate between pumpkin pie and carrot cake for my birthday desserts.
Chocolate on chocolate cake. And the icing must be deep dark chocolate. I die. You’re such a sweet daughter to attempt your mom’s favorite dessert.
cheesecake! But only with fruit on top, not mixed in. I hate it when people mess with a perfectly good cheesecake.
My ideal cake would either be chocolate or red velvet!
That restaurant sounds absolutely amazing!!! And ideal birthday cake? Probably Tres Leche. Because it is delicious.
Falafel is by far one of my favorite things to get at Mediterranean/Greek places. But, my favorite Turkish dish of all time is Sultan’s Delight. Oh my heavens. We have a place here called the Raindrop Turkish House and the Turkish women there know how to do it so perfectly. They are also the most humble and sweetest people I have ever met. Let’s not even get in to their baklava they taught me how to make! I’ll never go back to the Greek baklava ever again (Greek baklava is made with honey and Turkish baklava is with simple syrup).
Nice try with the brulee! I don’t think I will attempt that any time soon. Too bad about the torch too!
Ideal breakfast dessert? Well, last year we had banana cashew egg rolls for dessert which were AMAZING but normally I’m down for some banana cream pie or a big ass brownie!
Yayyy! Happy Birthday Mama! I wouldn’t guess a day over 34.
That dinner looks AMAZING. Ugh, I want greek salad and falafel SO badly right now! What a great b-day dinner.
As much as I love chocolate, my perfect birthday cake is a traditional yellow cake with vanilla buttercream frosting. Can’t beat nostalgia.
Mediterranean food is my faaavorite! And I’m impressed you tried your hand at making creme brulee! My mom has been making me the same birthday cake for years now… an oatmeal spice cake with caramel pecan frosting! It is heavenly
looks like a great birthday with great eats!!
creme brulee is definitely an intimidating dessert to tackle – good for you for trying! i don’t know if i would have even attempted it : )
messa grill looks super good! i’ve never been…
http://www.cailenascher.blogspot.com
Ideal cake (which I’m going to attempt for my hubs birthday next week) is cheese cake cake with an all over crust. We’ll see how that goes!
I looove the baking mitt that the brulee is on in the last picture. Toile is my favorite.
My ideal birthday cake is full of chocolate and not much else. I’m SUPER excited for the next two days, because I’ll be eating my two favorite desserts at my two favorite restaurants!! Happy birthday to me
We got it on clearance at Williams Sonoma Outlet! It’s so pretty I don’t want to use it. It doesn’t help that I keep burning it in the toaster oven.
Happy Birthday!!
Looks like a great birthday!
My ideal dessert is a homemade ice cream cake.
Kudos for trying to make creme brulee. It’s my mom’s favorite too…you’ve sort of inspired me to try it on her bday – Dec. 12. SO….I have some time to practice
Also, I LOVE cheesecake and would do anything to have it on my bday…or anyday
Definitely practice! And read through the a couple recipes. The one I used was not very detailed. I think Alton Brown’s (on the FN website) is the most thorough.
I’m sure that your mom still loved the fact that you tried to make creme brulee for her, even if it didn’t turn out!
My ideal birthday dessert would be either carrot cake or triple chocolate cheesecake. Only… 4 more months til my birthday haha.
Wow! That restaurant looks great! And that mosaic plate IS gorgeous! I’m not a big cake person, but I love cheesecake…and pumpkin pie…ohh, how about pumpkin cheesecake?! Mmm…
PEANUT BUTTER PIE!!!!!!! with an oreo crust of course!!!! YUM-O!
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