Crème Brûlée

In a large, heavy saucepan, combine the cream, milk and 1/2 cup of the sugar.

Place the pan over high heat and bring to a boil, watching carefully to prevent a boil-over, then remove from the heat.

Add 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, or, if using a vanilla bean, cut the vanilla bean on a cutting board in half lengthwise and scrape the seeds out with the tip of a sharp knife.

Add the seeds and the pod to the pan.

Let the cream mixture stand for 30 minutes.