Sasha's Kitchen: Blood Orange Creme Brulee

Ah, creme brulee old friend, where have you been? We have not seen each other in awhile! So yes, it has been awhile since I have made and posted a recipe for creme brulee, but it has been in the works for sometime. I have wanted to do a citrus inspired creme brulee, maybe meyer lemon flavored. But, I decided that it was finally time to try a blood orange creme brulee. I devised this recipe that has exactly the consistency of a properly made creme brulee, but has the tangy orange flavor of the blood orange. The result was a wonderful, tangy creme brulee that was a pretty peachy color. This is a great party recipe, as the recipe makes about eight creme brulees (unfortunately I only had four dishes), and you can let each guest brulee their own with the creme brulee kitchen torch, after going over safety rules of course.

Sasha's Blood Orange Creme Brulee
1/2 cup of granulated sugar
7 egg yolks
2 cups of heavy cream
1 cup blood orange juice (you could also use blood orange puree)

To make the creme brulee, combine the sugar, heavy cream and blood orange juice in a saucepan. Heat over low heat and stir until sugar is dissolved, and the mixture bubbles slightly around the edges. Beat the egg yolks in a bowl. Remove the cream mixture from the heat and add in the egg yolks. Meanwhile boil a large pot of water.

Add the mixture to each of the brulee dishes and place in a large high walled pan (I used a broiling pan). Fill the pan with the hot water about 2/3 of the way up the sides of the creme brulee dishes. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes.

Chill for at least two hours - even overnight is fine. Top with a bit of granulated sugar in a thin later (superfine sugar is even better for this) and brulee, following the instructions of your kitchen torch.

Sasha's Kitchen: Blood Orange Creme Brulee

Sasha's Kitchen: Veal With Shallots, White Wine, Blood Orange and Tomatoes

I love veal – it is definitely my favorite white meat, as I am not huge chicken fan, with a few notable exceptions. I love preparing dishes with veal scaloppini and veal cutlets.  To date, most of my veal dishes are fairly traditional, like the veal marsala that Brad and I prepared a few months ago.

This dish is a traditional veal dish in that it incorporates some of the usual suspects – white wine, tomatoes and shallots. However, it also incorporates one of my favorite innovative ingredients to cool with – blood orange juice.  I simply love the flavor of blood orange juice in so many dishes, from my scallops in a blood orange vinaigrette to my summer citrus salad.  In preparing this dish, I also used my favorite olive oil – blood orange olive oil from Round Pond Estate in Napa Valley.

Sasha’s Veal with Blood Orange, White Wine, Tomatoes and Shallots

¾ cup blood orange juice

½ cup Riesling or white cooking wine

¼ cup minced shallots

¼ cup of heavy cream

3 T butter

sprig of thyme

2 large fresh plum tomatoes

¼ cup diced fresh basil

veal cutlets or scaloppini (enough for two people)

Prepare the veal (season with salt and pepper first) by sautéing in a pan with Round Pond Estate’s Blood Orange Olive Oil.  In a small saucepan, combine the blood orange juice, white wine, thyme and shallots and reduce to about half a cup.  Add the heavy cream and heat for a few minutes until slightly thickened.  Coat the veal in the sauce and add the fresh tomatoes and basil.  This was delicious and I really liked the way that the blood orange flavors turned a traditional veal dish upside down – in the best way possible!

I’m back now blogging every day, after five days of no internet connection, which seemed like forever.  So stay tuned for more great recipes.

Sasha's Kitchen: Veal With Shallots, White Wine, Blood Orange and Tomatoes

Sasha's Kitchen: Succulent Citrus Salad With Honey Vinaigrette

Citrus fruits are perfect for summer, and while summer is not quite here just yet, it is the perfect time for a juicy citrus salad.  All citrus fruits taste very different and this salad would be great with a combination of any different flavors.  What’s most important is using fresh, juicy organic fruits – the best you can find – because the salad depends on their quality.  I selected tangerines, Valencia oranges and blood oranges, along with blackberries.  Other great fruits to use include Satsuma oranges, Mandarin Oranges, grapefruits and raspberries.  I would have actually preferred raspberries but they are not in season yet and are exorbitantly expensive right now.

As far as the lettuce, I recommend using Boston butter lettuce, my absolute favorite kind of lettuce.  Please do not substitute other types of lettuce in this salad as none will have the buttery sweet flavor of Boston lettuce, which complements the citrus fruit and the sweet honey vinaigrette perfectly.

Sasha’s Succulent Citrus Salad (makes about 3-4 salads, depending on the size)

2 tangerines

1 large Valencia orange

2 medium sized blood oranges

2 small heads of Boston butter lettuce

fresh tarragon

½ cup canola oil

¼ cup champagne vinegar

15 blackberries

2T honey

Slice the peels off the fruit and separate into segments.  Prepare each salad with the Boston lettuce and equal portions of the fruits.  Combine vinegar, canola oil and honey into a vinaigrette.  Top with the vinaigrette and a bit of fresh tarragon.

Sasha's Kitchen: Succulent Citrus Salad With Honey Vinaigrette

Sasha's Kitchen: Scallops With Papaya, Blood Orange Vinaigrette and Caramelized Shallots

Pan seared scallops are one of my favorite subjects for an appetizer.  I love the flavor of any pan seared scallop, whether it is prepared in butter, or in a healthier olive oil / canola oil.  In my opinion, scallops present nicely as an appetizer.  A couple days ago, I wrote about another scallop appetizer that I developed for pan seared scallops with organic mushrooms in a lemongrass-thyme coconut broth with pomegranate.  That recipe would also make an excellent scallop entree if it were scaled up a bit.


Last night, I created an easy citrus, sweet scallop appetizer that was just as satisfying to the palette using papaya and blood orange juice to accompany the scallops.  This recipe was very simple to prepare, and makes lovely eye candy as an appetizer for upcoming dinner parties.  The melange of flavors was perfect - it has a lovely sweetness to it, but not an overpowering or cloying sweetness.  I was really happy with the outcome.  Papaya and blood oranges are two of my favorite fruits, and I think both combined nicely with the pan seared scallop.  I even used blood orange olive oil, from Round Pond Estate in Napa Valley, to pan sear the scallops.  Feel free to double or triple the recipe, as this is perfect for parties and other gatherings.

Sasha's Pan Seared Scallops With Papaya, Caramelized Shallots and Blood Orange Vinaigrette
4-6 scallops
1 1/2 cups of blood orange juice
1/3 cup olive oil (plain)
several tablespoons of Round Pond's Blood Orange Olive Oil
pepper to taste
1/2 cup diced papaya
2 diced shallots
A couple teaspoons of pomegranate seeds


First, I prepared the blood orange vinaigrette by reducing the orange juice.  Add the blood orange juice to the stove and boil for about 25 minutes until reduced to about 1/2 a cup.  Mix the blood orange juice with about 1/3 a cup of canola oil or olive oil an season with pepper.  Put in a salad shaker and shake the dressing well.


To prepare the shallots, caramelize by sautéing two diced shallots in 1 tablespoon of Round Pond's Blood Orange Olive Oil and one teaspoon of sugar.  Dice the papaya and set aside.


Pan sear the scallops in about one to two tablespoons of Round Pond's Blood Orange Olive Oil.  Season the scallops on both sides with pepper first, and cook on medium heat until lightly browned.  Serve with the diced papaya, caramelized shallots and a sprinkling of pomegranate seeds.  Drizzle a tablespoon of the blood orange vinaigrette on top of each serving.

Other Scallop Recipes On A Kitchen In Brooklyn:


My Scallops With Organic Mushrooms, Lemongrass-Thyme Coconut Broth and Pomegranate
Eric's Fettuccine With Scallops and Mushroom Cream Sauce

Stay tuned to a A Kitchen In Brooklyn for exciting upcoming giveaways in March!

Sasha's Kitchen: Scallops With Papaya, Blood Orange Vinaigrette and Caramelized Shallots