The Pot de Creme Meltdown!

Since our theme was apres ski cuisine, we asked our friends Bob and Lynn and their cute daughter Caroline to be this week's judges.  Lynn was the maid of honor at our wedding and has attended Connie's self-titled 'Pumpkin Pie from Scratch" class which is actually hanging out around our kitchen baking pumpkin pies and then heading out to lunch!  And Bob and Caroline are now being featured in commercials and other productions as aspiring extras.

They have a family condo in Colorado where they enjoy beautiful mountain scenery and great skiing so we knew they'd have some strong opinions about pot de creme!

                                       Colorado Ski Trees

                                       Caroline Ready to Hit the Slopes


Connie was easily able to follow Betty's instructions and the end results looked and tasted like pot de creme we've had in the past.  The only thing she'd change about this recipe is that because it is so rich it would have been nice to top it with whipped cream.

                                                   Betty's Pot de Creme

And then there was Bruce's Challenger recipe.  We've said it before...Bruce has a very hard time sticking to a recipe...he is simply too creative (and self-confident)!  He decided to add a roasted marshmallow on top of his pot de creme and he spent quite a lot of time trying to perfect that for this dish.  He also spent at least 10 minutes in the Dollar Store finding Betty Crocker measuring cups for his serving dish to confuse our judges.  He should not have messed with Betty!

After he chilled his pot de creme for hours, he realized that it did not have the right consistency...it was more like chocolate milk.  He was devastated (Connie's words, not his).  In fact, he seemed quite contrite in saying, "Don't give Bob and Lynn my dish...just let them have yours because this is so awful."

                          Bruce's Pot de Creme Masqueraded as Betty's

The hour of judgement arrived. Connie met Lynn for lunch and handed off both dishes!  Since Lynn is a lawyer by trade, she wanted precise directions about how to serve the dish.  Connie's instructions:  "Serve the one in the glass dish as is and enjoy.  The one in the Betty Crocker cup has a problem.  Try freezing it for 20 minutes and then serving it".  We thought that might make it taste more like pot de creme ice cream!

Bob, Lynn, and Caroline followed the instructions given and proved to be very diplomatic (and kind) judges.  About Betty's they said, "It has a creamy, smooth texture and an interesting balance of cholocate and other flavors".  Unfortunately, the Challenger's dish did not freeze (perhaps it could be used in the South Pole for explorers?).  However, they bravely tasted it and commented that, "it tasted like cold hot chocolate -- not bad, just odd". 

In other words, Betty Crocker rocks on!

                             Caroline Enjoying This Week's Winner

One final note:  one of our most astute bloggers (Jim) checked out the recipe that Bruce used this week and noted that there were no reviews for it.  He therefore speculated that this might be Betty's week.  Hmmm....maybe Bruce should check that out next time!

This Week's Scorecard:
Betty:                         5
The Challenger          3