Month: February 2022

flan a la antigua

dessert, mexican

ingredients

  • 2 ½ cups sugar
  • 3 cups whole milk, or 2 cups whole milk and 1 cup heavy cream
  • 2 strips lemon zest
  • ⅛ teaspoon salt
  • 6 large eggs
  • 2 egg yolks
  • ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

instructions

To make the cake:

  1. Make caramel: Heat oven to 325 degrees. Pour 1 cup sugar into a saucepan, preferably one that is white or light-colored inside. Place over medium heat until deep amber in color, swirling the pan occasionally to caramelize evenly, about 10 minutes total. Constantly stir the sugar while it heats until it browns and turns into caramel. Do not overcook since the caramel will burn and have a sour taste. Watch the pan carefully after the mixture starts turning golden; it will quickly become light brown, then amber, then dark amber. Immediately pour caramel into a 9- by -5-inch loaf pan and swirl to coat the bottom evenly. Set aside to harden.
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  2. Combine milk, lemon zest, salt and remaining 1 1/2 cups sugar in a saucepan and cook. Over low heat or in the microwave, heat through, stirring to melt the sugar. Set aside.
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  3. In a blender (or using a hand blender in a pitcher), combine eggs, egg yolks and vanilla. Blend until smooth.
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  4. Remove the lemon zest strips from the hot milk mixture. With the blender running, gradually pour the milk mixture into the eggs. Go very slowly at first so that the eggs don’t cook from the heat of the milk. Blend just until smooth. Pour egg-milk mixture into the caramel-lined pan.
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  5. Place a 9- by- 13-inch baking dish in the lower third of oven. Carefully place the loaf pan in the baking dish. Pour hot tap water into the baking dish until it comes about halfway up the sides of the loaf pan. (Don’t worry if the oven seems to be losing heat; the flan will adjust.)
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  6. Bake 55 to 65 minutes, until flan is set but still jiggly in the center. Remove flan from water bath and cool on a rack for 30 minutes. Refrigerate, uncovered, until cold and firm, at least 8 hours or up to 3 days. The caramel will soften as it sits.
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  7. To unmold, run a thin sharp knife around the edges. Center a flat-bottomed platter or serving dish with a rim on top of the pan and, holding both, carefully flip the pan and plate together. The flan will fall onto the plate with a squelch; lift off the pan and let the caramel run all over the top. (If the flan doesn’t come out, flip it back over and rest the bottom of the pan on a hot wet kitchen towel for a few minutes, to melt the caramel.) Serve chilled, in slices.

From https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1018487-flan-de-leche

“This traditional Iberian flan, is now sometimes called “Flan a la Antigua,” or Flan of the Past. That’s because it doesn’t include the common New World ingredients of condensed and evaporated milk. Instead, it is pure poetry made of eggs, sugar and milk. It does call for modern technology — blender and microwave — to streamline the preparation. The edge of sharp caramel against the round sweetness of custard is what makes the dish, so be sure to cook the caramel well past golden.”

Julia Moskin, NY Times Cooking

https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1018487-flan-de-leche and https://www.thespruceeats.com/caramel-flan-individual-servings-2343004

donna’s pistachio cake

dessert, holiday food

ingredients

For the cake:

  • 1 box vanilla cake mix, (or white/yellow cake mix)
  • 1 (3.4 oz) box instant pistachio pudding
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 cup oil
  • 1 cup milk
  • green food coloring optional

For the frosting:

  • 1 (3.4 oz) box instant pistachio pudding
  • ½ cup milk
  • 1 (8 oz) tub frozen whipped topping (COOL WHIP), thawed

instructions

To make the cake:

  1. Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Spray two pie pans with cooking spray and line with parchment paper.
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  2. Combine dry cake mix with dry instant pistachio pudding. Mix those together until combined. Then add in eggs, oil and milk. Stir just until combined. Stir in about 6 to 8 drops of green food coloring until fully incorporated. Pour into prepared baking dish.
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  3. Bake for about 25-30 minutes. If you insert a toothpick into it, it should come out clean when done. Allow cake to cool completely before making frosting.

To make frosting:

  1. Pour instant pistachio pudding mix into a mixing bowl. Add in ½ cup cold milk. Stir until combined.
  2. Stir in the thawed whipped topping.
  3. Put in a few drops of green food coloring to really bring out that green color. About 5 drops or so.
  4. Spread frosting onto cooled cake.
  5. Slice and serve. If you like, sprinkle with some crushed pistachios.

from https://www.thecountrycook.net/pistachio-cake/

seitan breakfast sausage

breakfast, Seitan

ingredients

  • ½ cup chickpeas – cooked
  • ½ cup vegetable stock
  • 2 tbsp maple syrup
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 cup vital wheat gluten
  • ⅓ cup nutritional yeast
  • 2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp sage
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • ½ tsp fennel seeds
  • ½ tsp thyme leaves
  • ½ tsp red pepper/chili flakes – optional*
  • ¼ tsp cloves
  • pinch of black pepper

instructions

  1. Blend together chickpeas, vegetable stock, maple syrup and soy sauce until there are no large chunks of chickpeas.
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  2. Whisk together the remaining ingredients. Stir in the chickpea/veggie stock mixture. 
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  3. Knead for about five minutes to develop the gluten (the dough will change in consistency when it’s ready). I like to use the dough hook.
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  4. Divide the ball into 8-10 pieces and roll into sausage links. Wrap the sausage links in foil and twist the ends like you would a piece of candy (think Tootsie Roll style – see photo above).
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  5. Steam the sausages for 45 minutes and store. Or, pan fry and serve.

from https://www.karissasvegankitchen.com/vegan-maple-breakfast-sausage/

garlic soup

asian, dinner

ingredients

  • 1 ½ quarts chicken stock, vegetable stock or water
  • 6 garlic cloves, minced or sliced
  • 4 small or 2 large sage leaves
  •  Salt to taste
  • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (optional)
  • 2 eggs
  • 6 ounces sugar snap peas, trimmed
  • 1 ⅓ cups cooked quinoa, warmed

instructions

  1. Combine the stock or water, garlic, sage leaves and salt in a heavy saucepan or soup pot, and bring to a simmer. Cover and simmer 15 to 20 minutes until the flavor of the garlic is no longer sharp. Taste and adjust seasoning.
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  2. Add the snap peas to the simmering soup, and simmer two to three minutes until crisp but tender.
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  3. Beat the eggs in a bowl with the olive oil. Whisk in about 1/2 cup of hot soup. Take the soup off the heat, then whisk the tempered eggs into the soup. Taste and adjust seasoning.
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  4. Place 1/3 cup of quinoa in each soup bowl. Ladle in the soup and serve.

From https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1014125-garlic-soup-with-quinoa-and-snap-peas

shortcut horchata

dessert, dinner, mexican

ingredients

  • 1 cup uncooked white long-grain rice
  • 5 cups water
  • ½ cup milk
  • ½ tablespoon vanilla extract
  • ½ tablespoon ground cinnamon 
  • ⅔ cup white sugar 

instructions

  1. Pour the rice and water into the bowl of a blender; blend until the rice just begins to break up, about 1 minute. Let rice and water stand at room temperature for a minimum of 3 hours.
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  2. Strain the rice water into a pitcher and discard the rice. Stir the milk, vanilla, cinnamon, and sugar into the rice water. Chill and stir before serving over ice.

From https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/141828/lolas-horchata/

mom’s mole

dinner, mexican

ingredients

  • 3 cups unsalted vegetable broth or water
  • 3 tablespoons neutral oil, such as canola
  • 3 dried pasilla chiles, stemmed and seeded
  • 4 dried guajillo chiles, stemmed and seeded
  • 1 medium yellow onion, coarsely chopped
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 6 tablespoons unsalted roasted natural peanut butter or almond butter
  • 3 tablespoons tahini
  • 2 tablespoons turbinado or raw sugar
  • 2 tablespoons cacao or unsweetened cocoa powder
  • ¼ cup dark chocolate chips or chunks
  • 1 tablespoon dried oregano, preferably Mexican
  • ¼ teaspoon plus ⅛ teaspoon ground cumin
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 6-inch corn tortilla, toasted, or 1 tostada
  • Salt and pepper

instructions

  1. Heat broth in a small saucepan over medium-high until steaming; remove from heat. Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons oil in a medium pot over medium. Add all the dried chiles and sear until darkened, turning constantly so they don’t burn and become bitter, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer chiles to the hot broth to rehydrate for 10 minutes. Set a bowl over the chiles to keep them submerged.
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  2. Add the remaining tablespoon oil and the onion to the same medium pot (no need to wash). Cook over medium, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until lightly toasted, about 1 minute. Transfer to a blender, along with the chiles and their soaking liquid, the peanut butter, tahini, sugar, cacao, chocolate, oregano, cumin, cinnamon and toasted tortilla. Blend until completely smooth and creamy. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
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  3. Pour the mole back into the same medium pot and set over high heat. Once the mole starts to bubble, lower heat to medium and simmer, stirring every couple of minutes to make sure the mole isn’t burning or sticking to the pot, until the flavors marry, at least 10 minutes and up to 30 minutes. Use immediately or refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
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  4. If you like it saucier, beat in some cream or milk to thin it out.

From https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1022654-30-minute-mole

Black Beans and Rice

dinner, mexican

ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 small yellow onion, diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/2 cup mild salsa
  • 1 (15 oz.) can black beans, drained
  • 1 cup long grain white rice, rinsed well
  • 2.5 cups water
  • Salt and pepper

instructions

  1. Rice ya rice until water is clear (I like to put it in a pan with water that i refresh until it’s about clear).
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  2. In a large cast iron skillet, add olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and garlic and cook until veggies soften, 3-4 minutes. Then add salsa and stir together. Season mixture with cumin and a pinch of salt and pepper.
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  3. Then add rice to the skillet along with drained and rinsed black beans. Stir together well.
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  4. Add water (or stock) to the skillet and bring to a slight simmer. Turn heat down to low and cover. Cook rice and beans for 15-18 minutes until rice is cooked and water is evaporated. Stir once or twice during cooking to make sure the rice isn’t clumping or cooking too quickly. If the rice and beans seems particularly dry, add another 1/2 cup of liquid.

Adapted from https://www.macheesmo.com/easy-cheesy-rice-and-beans/