Pot de Creme

The piece de resistance for our Christmas dinner was my husband's pot de creme. This was amazingly delicious--creamy, sweet, salty & spicy. We had tasted this at Truett Hurst winery on the Wine & Food event in November and he modified it by adding Espelette peppers. The peppers were from our trip last year to the Basque region and gave it the right amount of spice.

Pot de Creme

1 cup zinfandel wine

pinch nutmeg

1/8 tsp clove

¼ tsp cinnamon

1 ½ cups cream

1 Tbs brown sugar

8 oz semisweet chocolate chips

4 egg yolks

2 tsp Espelette pepper

2 tsp smoked Maldon sea salt

Place the zinfandel and spices in a small saucepan and reduce by half. Whisk in the cream and bring to a simmer. Cover and turn off the heat.

In a small double boiler, melt the chocolate with the brown sugar, stirring to combine, Whisk in the warm cream mixture.

Beat the egg yolks in a small bowl and add 4 Tbs of the chocolate mixture, 1 Tbs at a time, whisking throughout each addition. Whisk the tempered yolks into the chocolate on the double boiler and continue to cook, whisking for 5 more minutes over low heat. Add the Espelette pepper.

Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer into a small pitcher. Pour into 8 ½-cup ramekins. Allow to cool for 10 minutes. Sprinkle ½ tsp of smoked salt on each and allow to cool for 4-6 hours until set.

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