Brulee, Pork Roast, Granola Bars

DEAR SOS: I am interested in a recipe for the Chocolate Creme Brulee served at Pinot in Studio City.

--MARC

DEAR MARC: Joachim Splichal, chef-owner of Pinot and Patina in Los Angeles, sent us this recipe.

CHOCOLATE CREME BRULEE

1 quart whipping cream

2 cups milk

1 cup granulated sugar

1 vanilla bean

10 egg yolks

9 ounces fine-quality dark sweet chocolate (such as Valhrona Majari), melted

Raw sugar

Combine cream, milk, 1/2 cup sugar and vanilla bean in saucepan. Bring to boil over medium heat. Mix yolks with remaining 1/2 cup sugar. Add 1/2 cup milk mixture to egg mixture to temper. Then pour egg mixture into remaining milk mixture and stir. Add melted chocolate and stir to mix. Strain.

Pour into 8 (1-cup) ramekins. Place ramekins in another pan filled halfway with water and bake at 275 degrees 45 minutes.

Refrigerate until set. Sprinkle with raw sugar. Place ramekins under broiler until sugar melts. Makes 8 servings.

Each serving contains about:

667 calories; 137 mg sodium; 510 mg cholesterol; 54 grams fat; 39 grams carbohydrates; 9 grams protein; 0 fiber.

DEAR SOS: A long time ago you published a recipe for Peppered Pork Roast, which had a crust of ground pepper and was served with hot red cabbage. My mother saved the recipe and it became a family favorite, but she has since passed away and with her went the recipe. I would love to prepare this dish for my brother’s birthday dinner. Is it possible to find the recipe?

--MARTHA

DEAR MARTHA: And a happy birthday to your brother.

PEPPERED PORK ROAST

1 (3-pound) boneless pork loin roast

1 cup vinegar

1/4 pound margarine, melted

2 tablespoons black pepper

Place pork loin roast in roasting pan. Combine vinegar, margarine and pepper for basting sauce. Roast pork at 400 degrees 1 hour, basting with sauce every 15 minutes.

Reduce oven temperature to 250 degrees. Continue roasting pork loin 2 hours, basting with sauce every 20 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to stand 20 minutes before carving. Makes 6 to 8 servings

Each serving contains about:

340 calories; 199 mg sodium; 102 mg cholesterol; 20 grams fat; 3 grams carbohydrates; 35 grams protein; 0 fiber.

Note: This pepper paste will form very spicy crust, which may have overpowering flavor and bite. If hot and spicy foods are not to your liking, scrape crust off. Only surface of meat will reflect flavor of pepper crust.

DEAR SOS: My husband loves chewy granola bars, especially the ones with peanut butter and chocolate chips. I am sure these are simple to duplicate and would be much less expensive than the packaged ones.

--BETTY

DEAR BETTY: You’re absolutely correct. Be sure to let the granola stand until firm before cutting.

PEANUT BUTTER-GRANOLA BARS

1 (6-ounce) package semisweet chocolate pieces

1 (6-ounce) package butterscotch pieces

1/2 cup peanut butter

1 cup miniature marshmallows

5 cups oven-toasted rice cereal

Butter

Combine chocolate and butterscotch pieces with peanut butter in heavy 3-quart saucepan. Cook and stir over low heat until blended. Remove from heat. Add marshmallows and cereal, stirring until both are well coated.

Press mixture into buttered 13x9-inch pan, then let stand in cool place until firm. Cut into 2x1-inch bars. Makes 48 bars.

Each bar contains about:

63 calories; 26 mg sodium; 1 mg cholesterol; 3 grams fat; 7 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram protein; 0.15 gram fiber.

Only recipes of general interest will be printed. Send recipe request to Culinary SOS, Food Section, The Times, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles 90053. Include restaurant address when requesting recipes from restaurants. We are unable to answer recipe requests by mail .

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