My Grandpa's Specialty (Flan Dessert)

The first time I had ever heard of this dessert was while sitting at a very inclusive and upscale Mexican restaurant with my family while on the beaches of Cozumel, Mexico. It was our last night and my dad was in a generous mood to treat his three lovely ladies out to dinner. For dessert my mom had ordered the flan, which I had never heard of before so I was eager to see what this "flan" was all about. And wow, the second the waiter placed that flan in front of my mother, silence over took and I was in utter awe. It just looked so eloquent and FANCY! I thought for sure the chefs slaved over that little and petite dessert for hours, but years later I would soon discover how wrong I had been. . .

So my first encounter with a flan happened a few years back, and my next encounter with a flan wouldn't happen until this past Sunday when my grandparents came in town. My grandfather had told me he wanted to teach me how to make flan and only if i wanted to and if it was up to par shall I write about it in my blog. Ha! He really made me laugh, because anything and everything that I cook is usually posted into my blog, especially such a decedent dessert like the flan! My grandfather kept reassuring me that I didn't have to put the recipe in my blog unless I felt that I absolutely wanted to. First off, my grandfather only knows how to cook the best of the best, so why wouldn't I want to write about his upscale dessert?! And second, I just could not wait to write about how giddy and excited he seemed over the fact that this fancy dessert only took a whopping eleven (yes, only eleven!) minutes! And third, I am thinking that he was also just so eager to be mentioned in my blog, because he kept bringing the subject up!. . . So this post is dedicated one hundred percent to my grandfather; the chef who cooks in style while wearing corduroy pants and a golfing vest with a martini by his side.

At first I always thought that a flan was a Mexican dessert or something that was originated from Latin America, because that is what I was always told. However, after doing a little research upon the dessert I came to find that actually it was first originated in France, Spain, and Rome. Okay, so maybe I don't quite know where this classy, little dessert originated from, but that is simply because every website had something different to say about the flan. (I mean how can one dessert somehow originate in multiple countries?) Well regardless of its origin, most all websites did agree upon the flan being mostly enjoyed by us Americans, Latin Americans, and Filipinos (So Vlad, if you are reading this. . . looks like I have found a step up from boxed brownies next time you're in town!) As my own unique definition, I would describe a flan as part custard/cake/pudding/jiggly jello and tastes a bit like a sweet custard with the definition of a cake and the texture of pudding. So basically this is a soft and cold dessert that is purely wonderful! I love you grandpa for teaching me this oh so easy recipe!

Ingredients:

12 ounces evaporated milk

1/4 cup sugar AND THEN 1/3 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

pinch of salt

LETS COOK!

Crack eggs into a medium sized bowl. Pour evaporated milk into the same bowl, as well as the 1/4 cup sugar, and salt. Whisk together. In a serving dish, fill about half inch up with hot water. Place mini (5) ramekins into the water in the serving dish. (The water will be on outside of ramekins but inside of dish). Now over very low heat in a small sauce pan pour remaining sugar and stir watching carefully that sugar does not burn and melts to for a liquid. Remove immediately from heat when all clumps are gone and evenly pour into ramekins. Pour liquid mixture on top evenly in all ramekins. Preheat oven to 350 and bake for about 55 min or when a knife can come out clean in the center of the dessert. After, put in refrigerator and cool until ready to serve (stays good for days!) Flip the dessert over onto a plate where the carmalized sugar shows on top. Serve, and enjoy!

Mexican Night! (Vegetarian Cheese Enchiladas)

It was fiesta night at the Brown's house as we celebrated well...nothing in particular! But my grandparents were over and so of course lots and lots of food was involved in the process upon their arrival.! Therefore, it is completely safe to say how lucky of a granddaughter I am to have spent my Sunday night in the kitchen with some of the best San Antonian cooks in all of San Antonio, my grandma and my grandpa.

Things began to heat up as we all were in to impress one another and make a spectacular dinner for the whole family to enjoy. Three generations of women were cooking aways on the enchiladas while I was also making a fabulous, six star dessert with my grandfather, all while my dad and his lawful dog kicked back against the couch for ABC's evening news with a beer and salted peanuts. (typical weeknights. . . hah! :)

Not only do I love these enchiladas because everything always taste better when made over a few laughs and lots of love, but because my mother and grandmother showed their love for me by making sure that all ingredients were vegetarian friendly. (And I truly do thank them for that!) These cheesy enchiladas were truly delightful with all the cheeses, sauce, and corn tortillas. (Which corn tortillas aren't just better for you, but taste better than flour too!) They may have come out a bit messy when served, but that is why I love cooking for family over friends to impress. . . they don't care about the looks as long as it taste good! And the enchiladas were no disappointment.
Ingredients:
can of vegetarian re fried beans
can of mild, chopped green chilies
bag of corn tortillas
pack of cream cheese
about half cup or more grated white cheddar cheese
large can mild enchilada sauce
mexican style four cheese (comes in a bag grated)
LETS COOK!
preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit. In a small frying pan, heat small amount of canola oil and add tortilla frying each side for a few seconds. Once both sides are slightly fried, place on paper towel and add a small amount of cream cheese, white cheddar cheese, 1/2 tablespoon of the beans, about a teaspoon of the chilies, and wrap tightly up. Place wrapped tortilla inside a serving dish. Repeat until serving dish is filled. Pour enchilada sauce on top of tortillas (as much as desired) and cover the top with the mexican cheese. Bake about 15 min, serve and enjoy!

Figuring Out Things As I Go. . . (Baked Eggs with Potatoes)

First off, I would like(scratch that) LOVE to say thank you to all my devoted online readers who take the time out of their schedules to read such a blog about an amateur's life through food and simple enjoyments. To my giddy surprise Little Blue Box has reached the triple zeros in a mere four months. It blows my mind that somehow this blog has reached the ends of New York, across the sea to England, Australia and the United Kingdom, up to Michigan, Washington D.C., back down to my home state Texas, and who even knows where else my little blue box has been shipped off to. I feel that I am finally beginning to live my dream of simply getting my voice heard across the world wide web, and proving to my self that all dreams can be reached and goals are set for reasons. So to this I clink my glass and say cheers, and to challenge those reading;  to pass the box around the table continuing the cycle of sharing the little pleasures in life.

And now to what I love to do most; write on and on and on about the joys of food until my fingers go numb and the play list on itunes has repeated its self nearly five times. As I listen to Ingrid Michaelson and Matt White, I can't help but just feeling so happy about life. Their music is pure and blissful, and maybe I shall just write about them rather than my latest dinner dish? This is almost truly a hard decision to make, but for now I shall stick with my first and foremost favorite passion- food. I found this recipe through a blog site while viewing endless blogs on a slow and dreary day. Somehow, this particular recipe caught my eye and forced me to read on about it. Maybe it was the fact that eggs were to be eaten with potatoes, or the fact that I was going to bake an egg in an oven for the first time if I chose to forgo this splendid recipe. I thank my eyes for gazing at the site now, for this was such a simple yet absolutely outstanding and delicious recipe that I know for a fact I will be making more in the near future. However, I did not have many of the ingredients that it called for and MEAT (yes, MEAT!. . . GASP!) was involved in the original recipe, therefor substitutes had to be made and ingredients had to be changed up to make it my own version. So below is a recipe that I created, yet was formed around another food junkie blog which was only intended to be shared with other world wide web food junkies such as myself, and know to my faithful followers.

Ingredients:

2 eggs

3 tablespoons of skim milk
5 cooked new potatoes

3 tablespoons of freshly grated white cheddar cheese

A small handful of finely chopped flat leaf parsley

LETS COOK!

Preheat your oven to 400F. Take out a small serving dish. Dice the potatoes into bite-size pieces.

Neatly place the potatoes into the pan and pour milk over. Crack an egg into a small bowl and pour over one side of  the potatoes. Do the same for the other end of the pan. Season with a little salt and pepper and top with the cheese.

Bake for 15 minutes or until the egg is just set. Wrap foil over the pan and bake for about 5 to 10 more minutes or until eggs are thoroughly cooked through. Serve, and enjoy! (Serves about 2 to 3 people)