December 03, 2013

Cuban Flan Recipe de La Reina

December 03, 2013/ Marta M. Darby

My mom calls herself La Reina del Flan (which would make me the Reigning Princess of Egg Custard, but that’s not important right now). On Christmas Eve, we sometimes have other desserts along with it, but in my big, fat, Cuban family, my mom’s flan is a given.

I have a ritual I go through every Christmas with her. She’s 99 now and even though she’s moving slower these days, she’s still sharp as a tack and is a wonderful storyteller. I invite her over to help me make a flan.

This is her specialty and, of course she insists I can’t make a proper flan without her.

She comes and watches me carefully as I start cooking the sugar to make the caramel, instructing me to make sure the color is a golden brown, although, she will always remind me, some people like it a little on the darker side, but not quite burnt.

I usually double the recipe so that I fill one mold and then I have a clean coffee can I use to make a smaller flan. I know I can probably find a smaller mold, but there’s a reason I use the can. When she sees the can, it reminds her of her own mother and so she begins to tell me the story of how my grandmother would make a flan every single night for my grandfather.

Perez puelles fam106

It was around 1930 when they lived in the small port town of Manati, Cuba. She points to this framed photo I have of her family to illustrate the time and place. (My mom is the one in the back row with the Wilma Flinstone necklace.)

She loves to tell me how my grandmother used a can to make the flan in, and how she cooked it in a coal burning stove. A coal burning stove! She pauses in her story so that I can make the proper exclamation of amazement. Yes, her mother made flan every single night in a tin can because it was the perfect size for just one serving. Apparently, my grandfather insisted on having his flan every night for dessert.

She finishes up with awe in her voice: “siempre le quedaba perfecto.”

Okay, so the truth is that I know how to make a flan. And I know that if I double the recipe, I will have too much batter for my ceramic mold. And I don’t have to, but I use the can on purpose. Because I get to hear the story of my amazing grandmother, and the tin can, and the coal stove, and the perfect flan . . . one more time.

Can of flan

Feliz Navidad!

Flan de la reina

Cuban Flan Recipe de La Reina

½ cup sugar
Squeeze of lemon juice
1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
1 can of water
1 tablespoon Vanilla extract
1 whole egg, lightly beaten
4 egg yolks, lightly beaten
Cinnamon

Caramel Coating:

1) Heat the sugar with a few drops of water in a small saucepan with a squeeze of lemon juice and let it cook but do NOT stir. Move the pan around until it gets to a nice golden brown.

Carmelize sugar

2) Pour the caramelized sugar into your mold, moving the mold around to coat the bottom and sides if you wish.

Coat bowl

3) Set it aside and let it cool completely. It will feel smooth and hard, like glass.

Flan:

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixer or blender (I use the mixer because I make a lot!), mix together the condensed milk and water until it’s completely well blended.

2) Add the beaten eggs and the vanilla.

3) Sift as you pour into the caramelized mold. (you’re sifting out any large pieces of egg white)

Sift eggs

4) Sprinkle with cinnamon.

5) Cover tightly with aluminum foil.

6) Put your flan into an ovenproof dish or baking pan and fill with hot water to about half-way up the sides, or as high as you can go without spilling hot water on yourself. Bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees F, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Keep an eye on the level of water - it can easily evaporate.

Cover flan

7) Remove from oven and water bath and let it cool completely, then refrigerate to chill.

8) Chill for at least one hour before serving.

9) Run a knife around the edge, place on a serving platter (large enough to hold the caramel) and invert.

Flan

A Very Merry Christmas to you all!

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November 02, 2011

Guava Cheesecake Recipe: Move Over, Pumpkin Pie!

November 02, 2011/ Marta M. Darby

So, I’m still on my quixotic quest of declaring November as National Guava Month. To that end, I am happy to share my recipe for Guava Cheesecake in time for you to make it for “El Sanguibin.”

Of course, the main ingredient in cheesecake is cream cheese, which is inexorably tied to Philadelphia (thank you, Kraft Foods). And when you think of Philadelphia, you inevitably think of liberty. At least, I do. (You know, where the Declaration of Independence was signed, the Liberty Bell, Benjamin Franklin and all that…)

But you know…we Cubans love our guayaba con queso crema. (Guava with cream cheese.)

And yes, I know that Thanksgiving is a purely American holiday. But I offer you this thought:

Once you add the guava, the quintessential Cuban fruit of choice, to the oh-so American cream cheese base, it becomes a wonderful representation of us Cuban-Americans.

Therefore, it is my strong belief that Guava Cheesecake should be THE dessert staple of every liberty-loving, Cuban-American family’s Thanksgiving holiday celebration.

Happy Thanksgiving, my guava-and-cream-cheese-loving friends.

Oh yes... and Happy National Guava Month!

Guava-cheesecake-400x300

Guava Cheesecake Recipe

1 3/4 cups sugar, divided

1 1/4 cup graham cracker crumbs

4 Tbsp. butter, melted

Cooking spray

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup lime juice

8 ounces guava paste, cut into small pieces (about 1/2 a bar)

5 large egg whites, divided

1/2 cup sour cream

2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/8 tsp. salt

1. Preheat oven to 400°.

2. Coat a 9-inch springform pan with cooking spray.

3. In a large bowl, combine 1/4-cup sugar, graham cracker crumbs, and butter. Press mixture into bottom and 1/2 inch up sides of the springform pan.

Press-graham-cracker-crumbs-400x300

4. Bake at 400° for 7 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

5. Reduce oven temperature to 325°.

6. Combine 1/2-cup sugar, 1/2-cup water, lime juice, and guava paste in a small saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cool slightly.

Melting-guava-400x300

7. Pour mixture into a blender, and process until smooth. Cool completely. Stir in 1 of the egg whites.

Guava-in-blender1

8. Combine remaining ingredients: sugar, sour cream, and cheese in a medium bowl; beat with a mixer at low speed until smooth. Beat in vanilla and salt. Gradually add remaining 4 egg whites, beating well after adding each one.

Cream-cheese-in-blender-400x300

9. Pour cream cheese mixture into prepared pan.

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10. Drizzle guava mixture over cheese mixture.

Pouring-guava-on-cheesecake-400x300

11. Swirl them together using the tip of a knife.

Swirl-with-knife-400x300

12. Bake at 325° for 45 minutes or until cheesecake center barely moves when touched. (It may crack a little along the edges.)

13. Turn the oven off; cool cheesecake in closed oven 30 minutes.

14. Remove cheesecake from oven. Run a knife around outside edge.

Guava-cheesecake-in-pan-400x300

15. Allow it to cool to room temperature.

16. Cover and chill at least 8 hours before serving.

September 16, 2011

Fricase de Pollo Recipe - a lo Cubano

September 16, 2011/ Marta M. Darby

As you know, I've recently been participating in Mizkan's™ Cooking Challenges. See here and here.

To kick off Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15 through October 15), we were asked to share a recipe from our country, or "Receta de Mi Pais."

For this challenge, I chose to enter one of my family's favorites, Fricasé de Pollo.

The Original Story* about the Fricasé de Pollo goes like this:

The first time my husband (then boyfriend) was to meet my big, fat, Cuban family, my mom made what we would consider a regular (albeit wonderful!) Cuban meal.

I spent days and hours preparing Eric for the meet and greet. I explained our customs, our politics, what topics were allowed and what NOT to bring up. I could have written a complete guide to meeting the Cuban girlfriend’s parents.

In fact, I still may. I think I’ll call it - “Huat to Especk if Ju Don’ Espik Espanish.”

I coached him on what to say to my dad. I told him how he was expected to treat my mom. I told him our island history and my family history. I told him the number and names of all my siblings and their offspring.

I explained that if all else failed, to just nod and smile. I thought I had told him everything he needed to know.
For the dinner, my mom made a typical Fricasé de Pollo.

So it surprised me, after he passed the Cuban Family Review (with flying colors, of course), when he said:

“You didn’t tell me your mom was an amazing gourmet cook.”

“Umm… she’s not. She’s just Cuban. Like me.”

He proposed just a few days later. =D

*posted on Babalú blog on August 9, 2007

Fricasé de Pollo Recipe a lo Cubano

(This recipe works well for both slow cookers and pressure cookers)

The challenge was to use one of the Holland House brands in the recipe. I chose Holland House White Cooking Wine.

3-4 lbs. Chicken pieces (I use boneless, skinless chicken breasts and thighs)
1 tsp. salt
½ tsp fresh ground black pepper
½ tsp. cumin
garlic powder
1/3 cup olive oil
3 cups red potatoes, cut into cubes
1 large yellow onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
6 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 - 15 oz. can tomato sauce
2 packets Goya® Sazón Completo
1 1/2 cup Holland House® White Cooking Wine
1 cup Bitter Orange Juice* (see recipe below)
½ cup green olives (stuffed with pimientos)
½ cup raisins
1 tsp. oregano
2 bay leaves

Make the sofrito by sautéing the onion, bell pepper, and garlic until the onion is translucent.
Season the chicken pieces with cumin and garlic powder.
Add chicken back into the slow cooker or pressure cooker along with the rest of the ingredients.
In the slow cooker - cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or on high for 4 to 5.
In the pressure cooker - cook on high pressure for 35 minutes.
Serve over white rice.