If you don’t want to go into baking overdrive, you can surprise your guests with just a spoon or a fork. You can buy the cookie cutters online:

 
You can make the cookies to serve with anything, from ice cream to oversize cups of coffee, tea or hot chocolate. The cookies are five inches long.
 
 
CRÈME CARAMEL RECIPE

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. PREHEAT oven to 325°F with a rack in the middle. Place ramekins in a roasting pan and set aside.

2. COMBINE the turbinado sugar in a stainless steel sauce pan with the water. Swirl pan to blend; heat over medium until a clear syrup forms. When the sugar is completely dissolved, raise the heat until the caramel darkens slightly to an amber color.

[2] Classic crème caramel (French), also called flan (Spanish—photo © Le Coq Rico | New York City [now closed]).

3. WHISK the eggs, granulated sugar and salt in a bowl. In a medium sauce pan over medium heat, bring the milk to a gentle simmer. Add the vanilla and pour it slowly over the egg-sugar mixture, whisking to blend. Distribute the custard evenly among ramekins.

4. ADD at least 1-1/2 inches of water to the bottom of the roasting pan (this creates a water bath or bain-marie). Place the roasting pan on the middle rack of the oven and bake until they are firm in the center, 45 to 55 minutes. Cool for 30 minutes and refrigerate until ready to serve.

5. RUN run a knife around the top edge of each ramekin and turn the ramekin upside down on a plate. When you unmold, the caramel at the bottom of the ramekin becomes the sauce on top of the custard, running down the sides and pooling on the plate.

NOTE: The pastry chef at the Chocolate Lab did not use ramekins with the caramel at the bottom. Instead, as you can see in the photo above, the crème caramel was baked in bowls with the caramel on top, and was served in the bowl in which it was baked. You can do the same.
 

WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CRÈME CARAMEL, CARAMEL CUSTARD & FLAN?

Flan is the Spanish name for crème caramel, the lightest of the classic French custards. Caramel syrup is poured into the mold or ramekin before adding the custard base.

After the custard is baked, it is unmolded, leaving the caramel sauce on top and pooling around it. In caramel custard, caramelized sugar is mixed into the custard prior to baking.

See the different types of custard in our Custard Glossary.

Unless you’re a vegetarian, a “salad sandwich”—dressed salad on toast—might not sound as appealing as other options.

But call it a “gazpacho sandwich,” and ears perk up.

So today’s tip is: Create a refreshing summer sandwich or snack by chopping up your favorite salad vegetables, tossing with vinaigrette to moisten, and serving on crunchy toast or grilled bread. Call it a gazpacho sandwich.

We went through our vegetable bin and pulled out:

If you serve the sandwich open-face, you can call it gazpacho crostini.
 
 
GAZPACHO RECIPES

How about a “gazpacho sandwich” with a gazpacho chaser?

Gazpacho is a cold raw vegetable soup that originated in Andalusia, the southernmost region of Spain. There are many variations based on local ingredients and preferences. Over the centuries, fruits were added to the vegetables. (Chilled fruit soup without vegetables is simply “fruit soup.”)

Turning avocation into career, in 2001 she founded Isabella’s Cookie Company, so that everyone could enjoy her fresh baked, all natural cookie creations.

The company is based in Redondo Beach, California, and the cookies are carried by many local retailers (here’s the store locator).

You can order online and send a gift box of luscious cookies to friends, family, hosts, campers and others deserving of sweet, buttery goodness. Don’t want butter? There are seven vegan varieties. And if you need a themed cookie, there are hand-decorated cookies in every shape imaginable (we love the billy goats). The entire line is certified kosher by KOF-K.

The only problem is what to order. We tried two delicious flavors (Limey and Muffy—see below), but everything sounds soooo good. For starters are the the flavors you’d anticipate (chocolate [including chipotle chocolate], peanut butter, chocolate chip-PB chip and oatmeal with both chocolate-covered and regular raisins).

The Muffy: a blueberry-muffin inspired cookie. Photo by Elvira Kalviste | THE NIBBLE.

Nut Allergies?

While the bakery does use nuts in some of the cookies, they follow a strict allergen control program: a chemical cleanup upon the completion of using the nuts, and no co-mingling of ingredients.
 
TOO MANY COOKIES?

You don’t have to eat them all at once: You can freeze them. Here’s how to store cookies.

Check out some of the world’s favorite types of cookies in our delicious Cookie Glossary.

Even if you think your guacamole recipe is the best, there are so many guac lovers tweaking the basic recipe that you need to keep tasting!

Now that it’s corn season, Top Chef Master and America’s best-known master of Mexican cuisine, Chef Rick Bayless, has put a new spin on guacamole. His special ingredients: grilled corn, from the season’s bounty, and poblano chile.

Chef Bayless created this tasty recipe for AvocadosFromMexico.com, which has as many recipes with avocado as your heart could desire.

You can roast the corn in the oven instead of grilling it.

GRILLED CORN AND POBLANO GUACAMOLE

Ingredients

Preparation

1. PREHEAT gas grill to medium or prepare a charcoal grill. Grill corn, turning occasionally, until golden on all sides, about 5 minutes. When cool enough to handle, cut kernels from the cob; remove to a large bowl.

2. GRILL the chile and tomatillos, turning until skins are nicely charred, about 10 minutes. When cool enough to handle, peel the charred skin from the poblanos with your fingers. Remove stem, core and seeds; chop chile and remove to the bowl.

3. CHOP the tomatillos finely, capturing the juices, and add to the bowl. Add avocado, onion, cilantro and salt. Coarsely mash avocado and gently stir to combine all ingredients.
 
LOVE AVOCADO?
Check out the history of the avocado.
  

Four New Pints, Seven New Pops

Our favorite ice cream maker, Talenti Gelato, has introduced four welcome new flavors. The company has also turned seven of the most popular flavors into chocolate-covered ice cream bars.

As with everything, they done a masterful job with:

 
Also joining the family are chocolate-covered ice cream pops in seven of the company’s most popular gelato flavors: Black Raspberry, Caribbean Coconut, Coffee, Double Dark Chocolate, Mediterranean Mint, Sea Salt Caramel and Tahitian Vanilla.
Read the full review.

ICE CREAM VERSUS GELATO

Here’s the difference between ice cream and gelato, plus an Ice Cream glossary featuring all the different types of frozen desserts.