Coconut Flan

I downloaded this recipe from Project Foodie for several reasons. One, I love flan. Two, I love coconut. Three, I discovered that I had accumulated, over the years, three cans of condensed milk, one can of evaporated milk, and six cans of coconut milk when I was taking inventory of my foodstuffs. Four, I love bundt pans (even if some are tempted to put flower pots in the center; see My Big Fat Greek Wedding). Five, the recipe looked really easy. Six, almost everything can be kept in the pantry in case a last-minute dessert is needed. Seven, it feeds a lot of people. This recipe did not disappoint on any of these counts.

I went on a scavenger hunt to locate cajeta and found it at my local Redner’s market in the Goya aisle. On the bottle, I discovered that it is the same as dulce de leche, with which I was already familiar. I was delighted to see that it has a hechsher. Mine looked just like the photo, and was it ever creamy, caramel-y, rich, and delicious! The recipe is from the Mexican Made Easy Cookbook by Marcela Valladolid. 

We had it as a treat after lunch at Jess and Alex’s on the first Shabbat that Izzy read Torah. Her reading was flawless!

Coconut Flan

• non-stick cooking spray
• 1 cup cajeta or caramel sauce, warm
• 3 (14-ounce) cans sweetened condensed milk
• 1 (14-ounce) can unsweetened coconut milk
• 1 (14-ounce) can evaporated milk
• 6 large or extra-large eggs
• 1 Tbsp. pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup shredded coconut, toasted (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Spray a bundt pan with cooking spray and drizzle the cajeta into the pan, turning to coat the bottom and sides.

Using an electric mixer, beat the condensed milk, coconut milk, evaporated milk, eggs, vanilla and salt.

Pour the mixture over the cajeta into the bundt pan.

Put the pan inside a larger roasting pan and place in the oven.

Pour water carefully into the roasting pan until it reaches about halfway up the sides of the bundt pan.

Cover the bundt pan with foil.

Bake until the center jiggles slightly when the pan is moved, about 1 hour 40 minutes.

Remove from the oven and let cool for 30 minutes, then transfer to the refrigerator and chill for at least 3 hours or overnight.

Turn the flan out onto a platter. Sprinkle with toasted coconut if desired, and serve.

Serves 12-16. Do not freeze.

Crispy Steelhead Trout with Dill Horseradish Sauce

During the week of Passover, we get usually get tired of eating meat in all its various forms, especially since we are not big meat eaters during the rest of the year, with the exception, maybe, of Alex, and Izzy. We ordinarily get through the week on all the yummy leftovers from the seders, but even the variety of yummy leftovers with which we are blessed gets tiresome and heavy after several days. So this year, Saul, the girls, and I went shopping at  Costco and bought a large filet of steelhead trout and brought it home to add some variety to our meals.

We were craving crispy and decided to make some homemade potato chips fried in about an inch of vegetable oil liberally laced with macadamia nut oil that was kosher for Passover. When we had finished frying up all of the potatoes that I had left, the oil in the pan still looked fresh and usable, so I decided to use it for the steelhead as well. The result was this recipe that we loved so much, we made it again as an appetizer two days later when we had a large Passover Shabbat dinner. The sauce is my attempt to duplicate one that Alex had made for his salmon appetizer at the seders, with the addition of fresh dill, which we all like, but Jessica doesn’t. Beth’s friend, Paul, liked it so much, he put the sauce boat next to him and would not let anyone take it off the table until we finally replaced it with a sauce boat of raspberry sauce for the mocha mousse crepes.

Crispy Steelhead Trout with Lemon and Honey

• 2 to 2-1/2 lb. filet of steelhead trout
• 1 cup vegetable oil, approximately
• 3 Tbsp. macadamia nut oil
• 1/4 cup tapioca starch, approximately
• kosher salt
• freshly ground pepper
• 1-1/2 Tbsp. honey
• juice of 1/2 large lemon

Pat steelhead filet with paper towels until completely dry. Sprinkle both sides liberally with salt and pepper.

Dust both sides liberally with tapioca starch. (I use a scissor-handled mesh tea ball to shake spices and powders over dishes. Works great for paprika over deviled eggs!)

Meanwhile, begin heating combined oils in very large skillet until bubbles appear when you place the top of a wooden spoon into the oil. The oil should be 3/4 to an inch deep. Be careful not to overheat the oil.

Slowly and carefully slide the filet into the hot oil, skin side up. Once in the pan, do not move the filet until it has been frying for a few minutes or it will stick. Fry until golden brown and crisp on the bottom, basting on top occasionally with spoonfuls of the hot oil, about 7 to 10 minutes.

Carefully flip over the filet with a large spatula and fry the skin side also for about 5 minutes until crisp.

Transfer to a serving platter and drizzle with honey and lemon. Serve warm or cold with Dill Horseradish Sauce on the side.

Dill Horseradish Sauce

• 1-1/2 cups mayonnaise
• 1 small garlic clove, grated finely on microplane
• grated rind and juice of 1 large lemon
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh dill
• 2 Tbsp. prepared white horseradish
• 2 tsp. kosher salt
• freshly ground pepper to taste

Combine above ingredients until blended well and let stand for a half hour before serving.

Egg “Bow Tie” Cookies (Eir Kichlah)

Saul asked me to make something for Chestnut Hill College’s “Taste the Nations” fund raiser. This cookie recipe is in my own Bubbie’s Kitchen cookbook which is a curriculum for teaching Ashkenazic, or Eastern European Jewish cooking to groups. I made it many times with my classes over the years I was teaching this subject, and it was one of the classes’ favorites from the book. The invitation to sprinkle granulated sugar all over the place was irresistible.

My grandfather, Eugene, worked in a Jewish bakery called “The White Palace,” in our neighborhood of Logan in Philadelphia. I have a memory of these cookies, warm from the oven, being delivered to our house in brown paper bags. Saul also reminded me that there was another type of eir kichlah that was shaped like a cup and had almost no sugar. I haven’t seen those since my childhood. At the time, they were not one of my favorites. As a child, and like most children, I liked all the eewy, gooey, ultra-sweet things like high hats, pig’s ears, raspberry twists, almond horseshoes, and giant chewy Chinese cookies with large chocolate centers.

I have intended, many times, to make these with my granddaughters, but somehow, we always do something else, and the idea of cleaning up the kitchen when a two-year-old gets a hold of sugar and a rolling pin has not been a great incentive either. I made these myself yesterday with organic sugar after many years hiatus and forgot how crisply good they really are and how wonderful they smell when they are baking. They are also pareve and non-chocolate. How could I have let this recipe lapse for so long?

Egg “Bow Tie” Cookies (Eir Kichlah)

• 4 large or extra large eggs
• 1/2 cup sugar (preferably organic)
• 7 Tbsp. vegetable oil
• 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• Extra sugar for rolling out cookies 

Use an electric mixer to beat the eggs with the 1/2 cup sugar for several minutes until very light and fluffy; then beat in the oil and vanilla.

Stir in the flour and baking powder and mix just until combined. If the dough is very sticky, add a little more flour.

Gather the dough into a ball and wrap it in plastic wrap. Let it rest at room temperature for 5 to 10 minutes.

Using extra sugar, instead of flour, to keep the dough from sticking, roll out the dough to about a 1/4-inch thickness. Sprinkle more sugar on top and gently press it in with the rolling pin.

Using a fluted pastry wheel, cut the dough into rectangles about 1 inch wide by 2-1/2 to 3 inches long. Carefully twist each rectangle twice in the center so that the sugared surface faces upward. Pinch gently into shape in the center.

Transfer cookies to a non-stick spray-coated baking sheet, keeping them at least 1/2 inch apart.

Bake the cookies in a preheated 350°F. oven for about 20 minutes (12 to 15 minutes if using a convection oven), or until they are lightly browned. Remove them from the sheet while still warm and cool them on a wire rack.

Makes about 5 dozen bow ties.

These may be frozen, layered between sheets of waxed paper in an airtight container.