Orange Kahlua Flan

orangekahluaflan

Originally uploaded by mosli

 

 

There is one cooking mantra that my mum and I often repeat: “What would Joanne do? Add more Garlic!” Joanne is a family friend and the best freakin’ cook I’ve ever met. Everything she makes tastes amazing and you always want more. I would love to have some of her recipies. Unfortunately, I only have three of them. And two of them are sweet (alas, none of that pungent secret ingredient). The other is Kapusta, and I have to experiment with a veggie version of that (if its possible… maybe facon?)

Her recipe for flan is wonderful: rich and creamy. I’ve changed it around a bit (of course) because I have difficulty following directions exactly. Oh come on, all cooks do. More of this, less of that, substitute this…or maybe that’s just me? In this case I had some orange sugar leftover as a bi-product from making candied orange and thought it would be a nice partner with the creamy coffee taste of Kahlua.

 

Orange Kahlua Flan

• 1 cup orange sugar (biproduct of making candied orange)
• 4 large eggs
• 1 14oz can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 12oz can evaporated milk
• 3 or so tbsp Kahlua (or similar)

Melt the orange sugar in a pan until its liquid, then pour into a flan pan or 9″ round pan, swirling to coat evenly, and set aside to cool.  Starting with the eggs and adding one ingredient at a time, whisk together until well blended. Put sugared pan into a larger roasting pan. Fill sugared pan with the custard mixture. Pour hot water into the larger roasting pan until its about 1/2 full. Bake in a 350F oven for 1hour. Then, remove the custard from the water bath and let it cool for a bit before refridgerating for a few hours.  Dip the custard pan in hot water to loosen, then invert onto a serving dish.

Broccoli Beer Cheese Soup Experiment

broccolibeercheesesoup

Originally uploaded by mosli

 

 

 

You know, I just like cheese. When you’re from Wisconsin (like me), its nearly genetic. There’s at least one kind of cheese that can go with anything, and eveything can taste good with some kind of cheese. No really, think about it. Brie and fruit, cheddar and eggs, provolone and onion, creamcheese and chocolate, the list can go on forever. I grew up with a variety of cheese and cheese dishes. In fact, I don’t remember there ever being a time when the refridgerator was cheese-less.

But this is about soup. I like soup. I like broccoli cheese soup. I like beer-cheese soup. So I thought, “Hey, why not combine the two?” So I did. I liked it a lot, but D wasn’t too thrilled. I suppose you have to like beer-cheese soup to begin with.  I’ll make this again for myself, but I’ll make sure its when D is out of town.

 

Broccoli Beer Cheese Soup Experiment

• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup + 1 tbps butter
• 1/4 cup flour
• 2 cups (1 pint) half and half
• 1 12oz bottle beer (light to medium beer is bes t- dark beer overpowers the soup)
• 1/2 lb broccoli, flourettes separated, stalks peeled and shreaded
• 2 carrots, shreaded
• 1/2 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup grated Montery Jack cheese
• salt and pepper to tazste
• nutmeg

Saute onion in 1 tbsp butter on med-low heat until translucent, then set aside. Melt remaining butter in pot and add flour. Whisk over medium heat for 5 minutes to make roux.  Whisking constantly, slowly add half and half and beer. Simmer for 20 minutes, whisking regularly to prevent a skin from forming. Add broccoli, carrots, and onions to put and cookk over low heat 20 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat and blend soup until smooth. Return to low head and stir in the grated cheese. Serve with sprinkle of nutmeg and any other garnish you wish.

Florida Shrimp Boil

floridashrimp

Originally uploaded by mosli

 

 

Nothing beats a good shrimp boil. Its straight-forward fast food and darn good. When my family lived in Florida, we would head over to Pass-a-grille beach and eat at The Wharf. Its still my idea of what a beach bar should be. My mum and I would both get boiled shrimp, and while licking our fingers watch the dolphins play in the channel.

I really had the taste for something homey, so I put together this shrimp boil with key lime mustard dipping sauce, plantains, and grilled salad.

Florida Shrimp Boil
1 can beer per 1lb shrimp
1 tbsp Old Bay Seasoning per 1lb shrimp
Bring beer and Old Bay to boil in a pot. Add shrimp and cook until done. TaDa! that simple.

Key Lime Mustard dipping sauce
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 tsp sugar
1 1/2 tbps Dijon mustard
1/4 cup key lime juice
3 dashes Tabasco sauce
salt and pepper to taste
Stir all ingredients together. Chill for an hour or longer.