12696 Makes 3 cups Wed Aug 06 07:41:18 -0700 2008 Wed Feb 04 04:12:37 -0800 2009 Licensed http://www.chow.com/recipes/12696 Wed, 04 Feb 2009 12:12:37 GMT This crème anglaise sauce made with real vanilla bean is an essential addition to fruit crumbles (see page 194). It is made very much the same way as pudding but its finished consistency is thinner than pudding. We serve it warm, pooled around an individual serving of fruit crumble in a bowl.

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In a nonreactive medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the milk, cream, and vanilla bean. When it forms small bubbles at the edge and steams slightly, turn off the heat. Remove it from the heat and scrape the seeds of the vanilla bean into the milk; dispose of the pod.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the yolks and sugar until ribbony and pale. During the next steps, stir constantly or the eggs will coagulate and you'll have scrambled eggs. Take a ladleful of hot milk and pour it in a thin stream into the eggs, whisking constantly. Continue stirring and add a few more ladlefuls of hot milk to the eggs in the same way. The tempered eggs are now ready to add back into the hot milk.

To do this, whisk the hot milk constantly and slowly and pour the tempered eggs in. When fully combined, put this mixture back on the stovetop over medium-low heat. Stir with a wooden spoon until steaming and the foam clears. Do not heat past this point or the sauce will curdle easily. It should lightly coat the back of the spoon. Remove it from the heat immediately and pour it through a fine-mesh sieve. Do not force it through, to avoid getting any congealed or curdled bits in the sauce.

Cool and refrigerate the sauce tightly covered in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

]]> http://www.chow.com Ron Silver and Jen Bervin 50 Main 1½ cups whole milk

]]> ½ cup heavy cream

]]> 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise

]]> 8 large egg yolks

]]> ½ cup sugar

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