The Nibble: Crème Anglaise

Serve fettuccine with a crème anglaise or chocolate anglaise sauce, and white, milk or dark chocolate shavings. The crème anglaise recipe is from Mastering The Art of French Cooking, by Julia Child, Louisette Bertholle and Simone Beck, published by Alfred A. Knopf.

Ingredients

Chocolate or regular fettuccine
Chocolate for shaving

For the crème anglaise:

½ cup granulated sugar
4 egg yolks
1 teaspoon cornstarch or potato starch
1-3/4 cups milk
1 tablespoon vanilla—or for chocolate crème anglaise, 3 ounces of semisweet chocolate melted in the milk and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract stirred into the finished sauce

Preparation

In a 3-quart mixing bowl, gradually beat the sugar into the egg yolks and continue beating for 2 to 3 minutes until the mixture is pale yellow and forms a ribbon.
Beat in the starch.
While beating the yolk mixture, very gradually pour on the boiling milk in a thin stream of droplets, so that the yolks are slowly warmed.
Pour the mixture into a heavy-bottomed enameled or stainless steal saucepan and set over moderate heat, stirring slowly and continuously with a wooden spatula or spoon. Reach all over the bottom and sides of the pan, until the sauce thickens just enough to coat the spoon with a light, creamy layer.
Do not let the custard come anywhere near a simmer. It should be a maximum of 170 degrees on a candy thermometer.
Then beat the sauce off heat for a minute or two to cool it. Strain it through a fine sieve, and beat in the vanilla.
To serve hot: Keep the sauce over warm but not hot water. If you wish, beat in 1 to 2 tablespoon of unsalted butter just before serving.
To serve cold: Set the saucepan in a pan of cold water, and stir frequently until cool. Then cover and chill.
Prepare fettuccine according to package directions. Serve hot or allow to cool. Top with sauce and shaved white, milk or dark chocolate.

Continue To Page 6: Fettuccine With Chocolate Sauce & Orange Spaghetti

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