I’m no domestic diva, but when it comes to Burnt Cream (or crème brulee, the French translation) I may actually have a leg up on my mother this Christmas—sorry, Mom. Kate in False Alarm may never get to cook again with her mother’s new boyfriend around—he really is the Pillsbury Doughboy in the kitchen. But thanks to technology and the Crazy Husband’s 50,000 btu butane torch, my sugar crust is crispier than my mother’s. I make up individual creams before burning them and freeze, then when I need them I just sprinkle with sugar and the Crazy Husband fires up the torch (makes him think he’s participating in the way that men barbecue, but I still take full credit at dinner parties). It’s fun for the whole family. No need to even defrost (my type of recipe). Just be careful and keep a fire extinguisher at hand. A pyromaniac like Kate’s husband will go nuts for this device. It’s the type you attach to a propane tank that you have to wheel into the kitchen and looks like it could blow-up a boat. In spite of this torch’s superior nuking power, Mom still insists on crisping her creams the old-fashioned way under the broiler—not that I want to give the impression that we are much in the way of housewives. I was taken aback by the1950s housewife fashions that we’re supposed to wearing—Mad Men inspired, I’m told. The throwback fashions were even noted in the Wall Street Journal.  Is this for real? No way can I see Kate’s mother, Virginia, even wearing Oscar de la Renta. She insists on toe cleavage, even in winter. I don’t think she can be domesticated.

Burnt Cream recipe:

2 cups whipping cream

½ cup sugar

4 egg yolks

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Scald cream in pan over low heat until bubbles form on edge.

Beat egg yolks and sugar together thoroughly and add vanilla to eggs.

Beat warm cream and egg mixture together and pour into 6 oven-safe cups.

Put cups in oven in a pan of tepid water to bake until mix is set and top is golden brown (Try 25 minutes at 375 degrees).

Cool the cups. Sprinkle ½ teaspoon or more of granulated sugar over top.

Torch.