This page I am dedicating to recipes. I would like to post some recipes here and in turn I would like for some of my readers to share some of theirs as well. I’m hoping for a sort of recipe exchange blog. Food and wine tips are also appreciated as well as any thoughts on how to tweak existing recipes.
My grandmother was always the cook in the family and I grew up watching her. I learned a thing here and there. I took a couple of cooking classes in high school, developed a small interest, but nothing more. Only the last few years have I really become the amateur foodie that I claim to be. I can sit for hours on end and watch the food network. I’ve yet to attend the South Beach Food & Wine Festival, which kind of sucks since I live here. I like to play around in the kitchen when I get inspired (which is usually after a foodnetwork marathon). I have a few friends that are chefs and at my job I enjoy hanging out in the kitchen and am constantly asking questions (thanks to all of you that have politely endured me and my quest for more food knowledge).
So here is my first recipe to share with you:
This came from last Thanksgiving. I was inspired to combine some traditional Thanksgiving flavors withsome local (Miami) twists, and began to brainstorm on a pumpkin flan. Flan is tremendously popular here in Miami. Every thanksgiving I would make some pumpkin pies and get a little creative but adding cranberries to them. This past year I wanted to go wit the pupmpkin theme, but something different than pie and this was my inspiration. Since my thoughts on it were last minute I had to search and find a recipe online. So I am sharing that recipe with you. When I play around with it again and make it my own, I will post that one, but I wanted to start you off with something. The pumpkin flan turned out to be a big hit, so I will definitely be working on it more. Enjoy!
Pumpkin Flan
(Courtesy of foodnetwork.com)
Prep Time: 8 hours
Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Yield: 8-10 servings
1 1/3 cups sugar
6 large eggs
2 cups canned pumpkin puree
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
2 cups heavy cream
Cinnamon whipped cream as an accompaniment (optional)
In a small skillet combine 2/3 cup of the sugar with 1/4 cup water and bring the mixture to a boil, stirring and washing down any sugar crystals clinging to the sides with a brush dipped in cold water until the sugar is dissolved. Cook the syrup, swirling the skillet, until it is a deep caramel, pour it into a warm 2-quart glass loaf pan, tilting the pan to coat the bottom evenly, and let the caramel harden.
In a bowl beat the eggs with the remaining 2/3 cup sugar, beat in the pumpkin puree, salt, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, and cream, and pour the custard into the loaf pan. Set the loaf pan in a deep baking pan, add enough hot water to the baking pan to reach halfway up the sides of the loaf pan, and bake the flan in the middle of a preheated moderate oven (350 degrees F) for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the flan cool and chill it, covered, overnight. Run a thin knife around the edge of the loaf pan, invert a platter over the pan, and invert the flan onto the platter. Serve the flan, cut into slices, with the cinnamon whipped cream.
