Flan

I have series of books I love called Culinaria. These food encyclopedias focus on a country , break it down by region, and give all sorts of recipes, essays, photos,history,culture,and culinary information.A real treasure trove of information. I love these tomes because not only can I read about the familiar,but the non familiar.Culinaria was a concept by German publisher Konemann. I believe they were very expensive at first when published and went out of print. However I fall upon them from time to time in Borders and Costco at reduced prices. I have paid $9.99-$19.99 for these books . Some are hardcover and some reduced paperbacks. So far I have Spain, Germany, Hungary, and France.I love to pick up and read sections of these books, however have never tried a recipe.
One of the first dishes I mastered as a child was a simple flan, or Creme Caramel as I used to say( I was studying French). I love the simplicity and richness of this dessert. Its funny because flan and crema catalana( similar to creme brulees) may actually be attributed to the Spanish origins first.A possibility.Regardless I love this dessert. Culinaria shows a traditional recipe for flan , as well as fried flan( see something new to me!). Flan takes on many variations depending on the region .Who knew something so simple can become so interesting. Any way I’m hibernating today in this Chicago deep freeze , and what better comfort dessert.

Flan Al Caramelo adapted from Culinaria Spain 2004/2007
Caramel Custard
serves 4

* I added a splash of Cointreau for flavor
1 1/4 cups/250 g sugar
4 eggs , plus 2 egg yolks
2 cups/500 ml whole milk

Put half the sugar and 1/2 cup /125 ml of water in sauce pan. Bring to a boil, then turn down and simmer until a thick golden syrup forms.Pour into the four ramekins so the bottoms are evenly coated.
Preheat oven to 300 degrees F/150 C. Beat eggs, remaining sugar, and yolks. Bring milk to a boil and remove from heat. Allow to cool a bit and add gradually to the egg mixture.Pour into ramekins. Place ramekins in a baking dish and fill with water so it comes up halfway to the sides if the ramekins. Bake approx 45 minutes. Check to see if water doesn’t evaporate and fill again if necessary.Remove custards from pan and allow to cool. Place ramekins in the refrigerator to continue cooling.
Before serving, dip the base of each ramekin in hot water, and carefully loosen the sides. Turn onto dessert plate and serve.


Sausauge Making Part 2

Not another sausage post! When you find something fun you want to improve on it. Last week or so I attempted sausage making for the first time. Certain Someone loved them and ate them all up. We both agreed however we didn’t care for the collagen casings. Maybe it was my cooking method. But we cut it away. Nevertheless who knew he would devour chicken sausage. I found natural hog casings on the Internet and decided to try them. They came dry packed in salt and I had to soak them for one hour.Natural Hog Casings reminded me of chitterlings( which I guess they are without the lings).
I took approximately 6 pounds of lean stewing beef and pork loin and ran it through the Kitchen Aid food grinder. Certain Someone and I had seen Tina Nordstrom make Swedish meatballs using pork and beef , and figured why not make our sausage this way. I added a leek to the grinder as well.I had made a seasoning in the spice grinder using juniper berries, a dried chipolte chile, mustard seeds, salt, brown sugar,garlic granules, and paprika. Juniper berries are common in marinades and German cooking. Next was the down and dirty part. I rolled up my sleeves to blend in my spices in the meat mixture. I attached my sausage hose and took one of the long hog casings. Amazingly that one casing was enough for all but a little meat! I still had about 11 more casings soaking I didn’t want to waste. They ran about $3.25 but I hate waste!So I figured you could freeze chitterlings, I would freeze the casings and that and re soak for another time.And I still have another dry pack from the order. The hog casing is very thin but durable. I had to use the smaller stuffer, but they expanded to accommodate the meat nicely. If your squeamish about meat and casing which a lot of people are then you may have a problem. I’m all about the process and its great to learn how things we take for granted are made. I feel way better about eating it. These sausages cooked up great. The casings didn’t slip, shrink or break way. They browned nicely. Certain Someone gave his approval. He has his supply for the mans weekend he planed. We are checking out the Boat Show(indoors) in this – 3 degrees weather outside.We can dream about summer days on the lake. And his games tomorrow. All in all it took me about 2 hours to process and cook. But that’s me .

When Life Hands You Lemons…You Make A Martini

Today mine, along with all the other Account Executives,clerical staff, etc., positions were eliminated. My company is under a reorganization under a new regime and we have been told we are free to reapply to a few new positions being created, and essentially let the chips fall where there may. I have anticipated this for a while, and the whole retail sector is rocky. Oddly I feel OK. I will reapply there, and else where.When one door closes another opens, and this is my wake up call to do what I love perhaps. I have been dabbling in PT food and wine jobs over the years to help make ends meet, and you know what ‘I LOVE IT!”. I’m grateful for my past opportunities, being hired directly by a legendary minority history maker,who has since departed this earth , but have always felt it was time to move on. I was stagnating in a place with no room for growth.I have amazing support from Certain Someone and my friends and family, who have all assured me I will be OK. So tonight I raise a rosy glass( Skane Aquavit and X Rated Fusion Liqueur) to my rosy future. I know I’m not alone in that these are hard times all over. The other day I visited the neighborhood supermarket that was in the process of closing. It was weird seeing the stores shelves half empty for quick clearance. I thought about the people who worked there, those who relied on this neighborhood store because no where else was close by, etc. Its all a domino effect. So I will chill this evening and wake up hungry and ambitious ready to start a new day, and a new life.

Chicken,Leek ,and Wild Rice Soup

This is not a pretty soup, but its a pleasing soup. I love wild rice, and what better to pair wild rice with than some chicken? I’ve had my share of great chicken and wild rice soups on buisness trips to Minnesota. I decided to play on my own and come up with my own version. The thing about soup is that you can follow a recipe, but sometimes the best ones are ad lib.

I essentially took five chicken drumsticks and roasted them with a few strips of cut of bacon. Something about bacon used in cooking that just imparts a wonderful flavor and aroma. I cleaned and sliced one leek and added it to the roasting pan.I used my enameled Le Creuset dutch oven so it can go from oven to burner. I roasted the chicken and leeks for approx 1 hour to get a nice brown carmelization. I then transferred to pot to the burner and deglazed my pan with Sherry.I added dried shitake mushrooms,that had been soaking for the past hour and sliced,water, spices( herbs de Provence,ground sage,salt,pepper,a dash of sugar,etc.).I let it simmer for about another hour, with periodic stirrings from Certain Someone for his proclaimed magic touch.Around the last half hour I added heavy cream mixed with cornstarch for thickening.It didn’t get as thick as I would have liked , but it was fine just the same.Certain Someone ate two bowls and was happy. I’m not a big soup person but he seems to like my soup concoctions. Now if they only looked as good as they tasted..

Slow Cooked Apple Sauce …Comfort Food Cook Off

Apple sauce is one of my favorite comfort foods. Ever since I was a child I could eat up jars of it. My tastes outgrew the commercial made canned and jar products.A blogger I love, did a post recently on hot spiced apples with all sorts of tips. I had been toying with making a apple sauce and I had come across this crock pot recipe. The only change I made was adding a cinnamon stick in addition to the cinnamon as it cooks. I can’t describe the wonderful homey aroma that filled the air. The perfect aromatherapy for a lazy winter day. I plan to eat this alone or on top of Sunday pancakes or waffles.

This is also my entry for the Comfort Food Cook off. Now all I need is my spoon.