Flan – Puerto Rican Egg Custard Recipe

This is a family “Heirloom Recipe” that my mother has been making for as long as I can remember. Flan is a Spanish caramel cream custard that is popular in Puerto Rico and many other Latin American countries. This is a simple yet elegant dessert you must try!

 

Special equipment;

• Bundt pan
• Deep roasting pan
• Round platter slightly larger than the Bundt pan with raised edges

Ingredients;

• 5 extra-large eggs
• 1 – 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
• 1- 12 oz. can evaporated milk
• 12 oz. whole milk
• 1 1/4 cup sugar
• enough hot water to fill roasting pan 2 inches high

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

Assemble all of the ingredients.

Place eggs in the blender and whip for 15 seconds.

Add sweetened condensed milk and evaporated milk to the blender. Then use empty can of evaporated milk to measure whole milk. Add the whole milk to the blender and whip for 30 seconds. Set aside.

Place sugar in  a dry sauce pan. Cook over medium high heat.

After 5 minutes sugar will begin to clump up. Break up clumps with a wooden spoon.

Continue to cook sugar until it liquefies and turns a light caramel color. Don’t go too dark or it will get a burnt flavor.

Pour caramel into Bundt pan.

Using a wooden spoon, spread caramel half way upsides of pan including tube.

Place coated Bundt pan into roasting pan.

Pour custard mixture into Bundt pan.

Place roasting pan with Bundt pan into pre-heated oven. then pour hot water into roasting pan. About 2 inches high. Bake for 45 minutes or until an inserted knife comes out clean.

After removing from the oven allow to cool for 15 minutes then using a thin knife separate top edge of flan from the pan.

After flan has cooled tilt pan back and forth until you can see the caramel oozing up the sides of the pan. Cover and refrigerate for 6 hours or over night.

Place the inverted platter on top of the Bundt pan. Now comes the fun part. Holding the platter tight against the Bundt pan flip the pan over being careful not to lose the liquid caramel.

Note: After removing Flan from the pan there will be some hard caramel in the bottom of the pan. Don’t worry you can boil some water and pour it in the Bundt pan and it will melt away.

Sofrito and Red Kidney Beans

Sofrito is a blend of peppers, onions, garlic, spices and herbs used to flavor the food from Puerto Rico and many other Latin American countries. I always keep some in my freezer. When I make up a batch I freeze it in small pre-measured containers so it is ready to go when I am making rice and beans. I also use it to marinate meat.

This is the basic recipe I use to make my sofrito.

• 2 large green peppers (coarsely diced)
• 2 medium onions (coarsely diced)
• 6 cloves garlic
• 1 jalapeno pepper
• 1 tsp. black pepper
• 2 tsp. salt
• 3 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
• 1 tsp. dried cilantro
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil or light olive oil

Place all ingredients in a food processor and puree for 10 seconds. Spoon 4 tablespoons  of mixture into small plastic cups or into hole of ice cube tray and freeze. After freezing I place the cups or cubes into a large freezer bag until ready to use.

To make Red Kidney Beans I use :

• 1 plastic cup of sofrito or 1 cube from ice cube tray
• 3 tbsp. vegetable oil
• 2 – 15 oz. cans Red Kidney beans (do not drain liquid)
• 1 – 8 oz. can tomato sauce

Place sofrito and oil into medium sized sauce pan over low heat until thawed. Then raise the heat to medium low and continue to cook for 3 minutes. Add beans and sauce to pan and simmer for 20 minutes. Serve over white rice.

Espero que disfrute de esta receta.

(Translation: I hope you enjoy this recipe.)

Date Nut Muffins

This article is the product of a long search for a Date Nut Bread recipe that tastes like the loaf made by Thomas’. They stopped making their loaf years ago and since then I have craved a slice of it smeared with cream cheese. In my quest I found a recipe that was originally printed in the food section of the Houston Chronicle. After trial and error and a few modifications to that recipe I think I am finally ready to sit down with a muffin and some cream cheese and go to heaven! Please don’t interrupt me until I’m done.

 

• 8 oz. package pitted dates
• 3 cups hot water
• 1 1/2 sticks butter
• 1 1/2  cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 tbsp. molasses
• 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 3/4 cup flour
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 cup pecan pieces

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Cut dates into 4 pieces. Place chopped dates into hot water for 10 minutes(do not soak for longer than 10 minutes or they will get too mushy). Drain dates and reserve 1 1/2 cups of the soaking liquid. Set liquid and dates aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer combine the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, molasses, vanilla and the 1 1/2 cups of reserved water. Stir to combine. (It will looked like mixture is curdled - that is ok. Don’t worry keep baking!)

In a separate bowl combine flour baking soda and salt.

Add flour mixture to wet mixture in stand mixer. Stir until just combined. Fold in reserved dates and pecan pieces. Line muffin pan with cupcake liners. Spoon mixture to the top of lined muffin pan. Bake for 30 minutes. Recipe makes 24 muffins.

2012 in review

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

600 people reached the top of Mt. Everest in 2012. This blog got about 7,800 views in 2012. If every person who reached the top of Mt. Everest viewed this blog, it would have taken 13 years to get that many views.

Click here to see the complete report.

Shrimp and Crab Salad

 

This recipe is an old family favorite that I will credit to my mother. My mom makes it whenever she invites friends for a party. But it is so good that I find any excuse to make it.

1 lb. cooked shrimp peeled and diced

1 lb. Surimi (flake style imitation crab) diced

1/4 cup finely diced onion

1/4 cup finely diced celery

2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

1/8 tsp black pepper

1/8 tsp old bay seasoning

1/2 cup mayonnaise

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Serve with assorted crackers.

New Years Eve 2013 Party

NEW YEARS EVE PARTY MENU

Appetizers

Shredded Roast Pork with

Small Dinner Rolls

Arroz con Gandules

(Yellow Rice and Pigeon Peas)

Chili Cheese Dip

Shrimp and Crab Salad

With Assorted Crackers

Crock Pot Beer Cheese

with Tortilla Chips

Avocado Dip

with Tortilla Chips

Pigs in a Blanket

Pepperoni and Cheese Platter

With Assorted Crackers

Desserts

Flan- Apple Strudel – Jello

Here are a few recipes from my New Years Eve Party:

The recipes for the Roast Pork and Arroz con Gandules I used for this menu are

http://thefloribeancook.wordpress.com/2010/12/28/puerto-rican-roast-pork-pernil-horneadoand-arroz-con-gandules-rice-with-pigeon-peas/

Shrimp and Crab Salad

1 lb. cooked shrimp peeled and diced

1 lb. Surimi (flake style imitation crab) diced

1/4 cup finely diced onion

1/4 cup finely diced celery

2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

1/8 tsp black pepper

1/8 tsp old bay seasoning

1/2 cup mayonnaise

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl.

Crock Pot Beer Cheese

2 tbsp butter

1/4 cup diced onions

2 tbsp chopped garlic

1 cup beer

4 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1 tbsp flour

splash Worcestershire sauce

1 tbsp horse-radish

splash hot sauce to taste

Pace butter garlic and onions in a sauce pan over low heat. Cook for 3 minutes then add beer and bring to a boil. In a separate bowl toss cheese with the flour. Place cheese and flour into crock pot set at low. Pour boiling beer mixture over cheese then add remaining ingredients to crock pot stir until completely melted. Continue stirring about every 10 minutes for 30 minutes. When ready to serve ladle over tortilla chips. If cheese gets too thick add cream or half and half. It is also great to use as a cheese fondue.

Avocado Dip

2 ripe Has avocados

1 – 16 oz jar medium thick and chunky salsa

1 – 24 oz. sour cream

In a large bowl mash avocados with a fork. Add remaining ingredients and stir to combine. Serve with scoop style tortilla chips.

I will be adding pictures to this post on january 1, 2013

 

Panna cotta with Blackberry/Merlot Compote

I promised a few friends that I would share this recipe. You will be surprised, even though it looks fancy and has an exotic name, how easy this dessert is to make. Don’t tell your friends, they will be so impressed.

Ingredients

1 Quart Heavy cream

5 wide strips of orange rind (no white)

1 cup sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 packages unflavored gelatin

6 tbsp. cold water

cooking spray

 

Heat cream, orange rind and sugar in a heavy bottomed sauce pan until just before it begins to boil. Add vanilla. Then set cream mixture aside.

 

See that wasn’t too hard. Place water in a separate bowl and sprinkle gelatin on top.

Stir to dissolve.

Let gelatin stand 10 minutes. Spray Bundt pan with oil.

Pour warm cream into bowl with gelatin and stir to combine. Then pour mixture into oiled Bundt pan. Refrigerate over night or 24 hours.

Blackberry Compote

1 cup plus 2 cups Fresh Blackberries

1/4 cup Merlot wine

1/2 cup sugar

Place 1 cup blackberries sugar and wine in a sauce pan and bring to a boil stirring occasionally. Allow mixture to cool. Push mixture though a fine strainer using the back of a spoon. Add remaining whole berries to liquid and refrigerate over night.

Remove Panna cotta from mold by dipping mold in hot water being careful not to get water into mold. Dry bottom of mold with a towel then  flip mold over onto serving dish and the Panna cotta will fall out.

Pour cooled berry mixture over the top.

 

 

Carne Guisada – Puerto Rican Beef Stew

Tonight’s dinner started out as beef stew then I went to my pantry and came out with some olives, capers, cilantro and cumin. With a few  ingredients I converted  a plain old stew into a savory Caribbean staple. If you are looking for a great recipe to make when the weather begins to get cold, this is it. This stew is so tender and  easy to make. It has a thick and a mildly spicy gravy which I ladled over rice. It is a wonderful way to feed a hungry crowd.

3 tbsp. olive oil

1/2 cup flour for dusting

2.5-3 Lb. chuck roast

1 med onion (diced)

3 carrots (diced)

1 green pepper (diced)

3 cloves garlic

2 tsp. Dried cilantro

1 tsp. dried oregano

1 tbsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. black pepper

1 tbsp. salt

2 bay leaves

2 lbs. red potatoes (1″ dice)

24 Manzanilla stuffed olives

2 tbsp. capers

2 cups chicken stock

 

Dice chuck roast into 1-1/2″ cubes

Heat oil in a large thick bottomed pot over med heat.

Lightly dust  beef cubes with flour.

When oil is hot brown beef cubes a few pieces at a time. Do not crowd the pot. Then remove from the pot and set aside.

When done browning beef lower the heat to medium-low then add onions, green peppers, carrots and garlic to pot and cook until onions and peppers get soft (about 5 minutes). Then add browned beef back into pot. Add the remaining ingredients to the pot. Increase heat and bring to a boil with pot uncovered.  When liquid begins to boil, lower heat to a simmer then cover the pot and cook for an additional 1 – 1/2 hours.

Serve with rice

Easy Honey Wheat and Oatmeal Bread

This is a hearty wheat bread with a slightly sweet taste. It is so good you will convert even those family members who don’t like whole wheat bread into believers! The best part about this bread is that the mixer does all the kneading. That is why I call this recipe Easy Honey Wheat and Oatmeal Bread.

• 1 packet dry yeast
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 ¼  cup warm water (about 100 degrees)
• 3 tbsp honey
• 2 tbsp molasses
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 3 tbsp sweetened condensed milk
• 2 cups bread flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• ½ cup oatmeal
• 1 tsp salt

 

Put yeast, sugar and water into bowl of stand mixer. Allow yeast mixture to rest for 10 minutes to proof. If the yeast is good it will now have a foamy top. Add honey, molasses, olive oil and sweetened condensed milk. Whisk to combine. Add bread flour, whole wheat flour, oatmeal and salt to the bowl. Use a dough hook to combine at low-speed. Once dough balls up, increase the speed to number 2 and mix for an additional 8 minutes. This will knead the dough. Remove the bowl from stand and cover with a towel and allow the dough to rise for 1 hour.

Remove dough from bowl and roll out to 9” x15”.

Starting from the small side, roll up the dough. Grease a 9×5 loaf pan with vegetable shortening.

Place roll into pan seam side down.

Cover with a towel and allow the loaf to rise for 1 hour.

Using a sharp knife cut a slit 1/4′” deep on top of the loaf.

Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown.

After 15 minutes remove loaf from pan and finish cooling on a wire rack.

Mounds Bites

-

This is a fun candy to make with the family if you can keep them from eating the candies as they go.

• 1/4 pound butter
• 2 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 2 cups flaked coconut
• 1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 ½  cups semi-sweet  or bitter-sweet chocolate chips

Directions

In bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Add coconut, milk, and vanilla; stir until blended. Chill for 1 hour or until firm.

Use scoop to make 1” balls. Insert a toothpick in each ball. Place balls on baking sheet; freeze.

Use a double boiler to melt chocolate.

Then using toothpicks as handles dip frozen balls into melted chocolate. I also use a spoon to assist me in covering the balls then I place  them onto a cookie sheet with the tooth picks in the upright position.

Chill until firm (about 1 hour) in the refrigerator.

Remove picks from balls and then dip fork into melted chocolate then drizzle chocolate on top of the candy to cover the hole where you removed the toothpick.

Makes about 48 candies