Triple Creme Cheese With Armagnac Soaked Raisins Recipes

Steps:

• Place 3 cups of water in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Turn off the heat, add the tea bags, and steep for 5 minutes. Discard the tea bags, add the prunes and honey, turn the heat to medium-high, and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer uncovered for 3 minutes to plump the prunes.
• Pour the prunes and all the liquid into a medium bowl and stir in the Armagnac, vanilla, orange juice, vanilla bean, and cinnamon sticks. With a vegetable peeler, cut 4 large strips of zest from 1 lemon and add to the mixture. Cut the lemon in half, cut 4 (1/2-inch-thick) slices, and add to the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside at room temperature for 6 to 12 hours. (If you're not serving the prunes that day, refrigerate them in their liquid.)
• To serve, place the prunes in shallow dessert bowls and serve cold, at room temperature, or slightly warmed, spooning the macerating liquid over them. Add a scoop of ice cream, a drizzle of Armagnac, a drizzle of honey, and a sprinkling of grated lemon zest. (You'll be surprised how much flavor this adds!) Serve immediately.

Steps:

• Prepare the crepes: In a bowl, combine flour, sugar, salt, eggs and melted butter. Stir until smooth. Add milk and mix well. Strain.
• Heat a 7-inch crepe pan or non-stick omelet pan and melt 1 teaspoon butter over moderate heat. Pour in 2 or 3 tablespoons of batter. Cook the crepe until it is golden brown on the bottom; then flip it, using a spatula. Remove when golden brown on both sides. Continue until all the batter is used.
• In a food processor, combine sugar and lemon zest and process until lemon zest is minced. Add the cheese, butter, 1 egg, and a pinch of salt. Process until cheese is smooth. With the motor running, add the remaining eggs through the feed tube, one at a time. Add creme fraiche and process just to combine. Transfer to a bowl and stir in raisins and vanilla. Refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight.
• Make the glaze: Whisk together eggs and sugar. Whisk in heavy cream. Reserve.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Butter individual gratin dishes. Place about 2 tablespoons of filling in each crepe and roll to enclose. Arrange two or three crepes in each gratin dish.
• Pour glaze over crepes and bake until lightly browned, about 30 minutes.
• Serve in gratin dishes directly from the oven. Top with apricot marmalade.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 13x9x2-inch metal baking pan. Soak raisins in rum in bowl until plump, about 30 minutes. Stir butter and unsweetened chocolate in heavy medium saucepan over low heat until smooth. Cool slightly. Whisk in sugar and eggs. Mix in raisins with liquid, then flour. Mix in chips. Transfer batter to pan. Bake until tester inserted into center comes out with moist crumbs attached, about 20 minutes. Cool brownies in pan on rack. Cut into squares.

Steps:

• Find a mason jar or other glass container with a tight-fitting lid.
• Place the raisins in the jar.
• Pour the bourbon (I use Maker's Mark)over the raisins--enough to cover them.
• Give them a shake and close up the jar.
• Let it sit in your cupboard for a few days (although after just a few hours the raisins will begin to plump), inverting the jar occasionally to make sure all the raisins are getting coated.
• Voila!
• For bourbon or dark rum, I suggest dark raisins.
• For white rum, I suggest golden raisins.