2 posts tagged “food”

Here is a very yummy and super easy-to-make recipe I learned from Mom.  I make it at least once a year and share it with co-workers around this time of year.  Happy Holidays!

1 14oz can condensed milk
1 cup whole milk
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup sugar

Makes about 6-8 desserts

For water bath:
Rectangular baking pan (fill 1/2 with tap water)
PYREX® Prep  6-oz Dessert Dish or similar


1 . Caramalize sugar in small pan or pot on medium heat.  Once the sugar has melted and is a light brown color, pour into dessert dishes. (Do this fast because as the sugar cools it will begin to harden).  Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. Blend condensed milk, whole milk, eggs and vanilla for 5 minutes on high.

3. Pour mixture into dessert dishes covering caramelized sugar.

4. Cover dessert dishes with aluminum foil leaving a few holes for air at the top. Place in baking pan with water.  This should make the water rise to about 3/4 full.  Bake at 350°F for 2 hours 15 minutes. 

Once done, refrigerate.  Dessert is best eaten cold.  Yum Yum!

Every year for Halloween I try to make Mom's Dulce de Calabaza.  She gave the me recipe a few years ago and ever since I have enjoyed making it.  Dia de Muertos is probably the holiday I like the most, because it reminds me of living in Mexico.  Around this time too I'm tempted to put up a shrine to conmemorate the dead. It doesn't always happen but I like the idea of just doing it.

Ingredients:

1 small Pumpkin
2 Piloncillo cones (Ethnic food aisle at your local grocery store) but you can substitute dark brown sugar (2-3 cups) –  http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/piloncillomexicansugar.htm
5 cups orange juice
2 cups water
1 large orange
1 large lemon
4 cloves
½ cup of honey
1 tablespoon of ground cinnamon
2 cinnamon sticks

1. Cut pumpkin in half longwise. Keep cutting halves until you can cut them into cubes lengthwise, like a watermelon.

2. Place pumpkin in a large pot.
I cook mine with everything in the pumpkin because I like the seeds and I like the stringy inside.  Traditionally my Mom cooks it this way too, but you can remove the seeds and skin once it’s cooked pretty easily.

3. Add water and orange juice.

4. Add juice from orange and lemon, cut orange and lemon peels and add to pot

5. Add Piloncillo (you don’t need to cut these because they melt pretty fast)

6. Add cloves, honey and cinnamon

7. Cook for about 1 hour on medium heat (4 or 5 on your dial). 

8. Stir occasionally so that all pumpkin pieces cook throughout.

You can tell it’s done once pumpkin is soft and juice is a little syrupy. It’s the best right after cooking, so enjoy!