Lemon and Cinnamon Scented Flan...and Citrus Love Month

Since I'm into my second week of the WeightWatchers diet program, you would think that I gave up after this super delicious flan...but I did not give up, I am continuing with more enthusiasm, as ever! I lost an additional pound...4 lbs, loss, as of this morning. Yesterday, I went to the gym to work out for 50 minutes, and I mean...really work out, cardio, 30 minutes, and weights, another 20 minutes. I wanted to join in on the Citrus Love Month with something used with citrus. I can't be spending too much time with desserts, knowing that I can only have one bite, or maybe 1 cookie for a treat, so I'm sharing my flan to link up! Also, I will show off my very well planned out dinner...but only, when I have dinner at my daughter Lora's is when I get enthusiastic about it...otherwise, it's dinner for one, and it better be from the WeightWatchers, or similar type of dish!

Lemon and Cinnamon Scented Flan
inspired by Food & Wine

2 1/2 cups whole milk
Peel of half lemon
1 medium cinnamon stick, broken
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
5 large eggs

1. Preheat the oven to 300°. Set six 5- to 6-ounce ramekins or custard cups in a medium baking pan.
2. In a medium saucepan, combine the milk, lemon peel and cinnamon stick and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and let stand for 15 minutes; discard the lemon peel and cinnamon stick pieces.
3. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, cook 1/2 cup of the sugar with the water over moderately high heat, stirring just until the sugar dissolves. Lower the heat to moderate and let the sugar syrup simmer, without stirring, until a deep amber caramel forms, about 15 minutes. Immediately pour the caramel into the ramekins, tilting them as necessary to evenly coat the bottoms.
4. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs with the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar. Slowly whisk in the warm milk, then strain through a fine sieve into a large measuring cup or a bowl. Pour the custard into the ramekins. Pour enough hot water into the baking pan to reach halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake for about 40 minutes, until a knife inserted into a flan comes out clean. Transfer the ramekins to a rack and let the flans cool to room temperature. Refrigerate the flans for at least 4 hours or overnight.
5. To serve, run a thin knife around each flan. Top each flan with an inverted dessert plate and unmold, letting the caramel run over the flans. Serve at once.

Make Ahead: The flans can be refrigerated for up to 2 days in the ramekins.

Linking to: Citruslove @ Mis Pensamientos

                   Full Plate Thursday 1-12-12 @Miz Helen's Country Cottage

                   Thursday Favorite Things @ Katherines Corner

 I would like to share with you my well planned day of delicious home made meals, from breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I usually have old fashioned oatmeal, with raisins, and cinnamon, sweeten it with organic agave nectar, my usual coffee with milk...actually, caffe latte, because I make it with espresso coffee, and heat up 1 cup of low-fat milk with it. Oatmeal, is 4 points, and coffee w/milk is 1 point, but this morning, I opted for half a banana bread, and my coffee=3points I made a delicious WeightWatchers Corn Chowder...minus the (turkey bacon)

Corn Chowder with Bacon (optional)

adapted from: Weight Watchers Complete Cookbook

2 Tbsp canola oil

1 onion chopped

1 yellow bell pepper chopped

1 red bell pepper chopped

salt, and white pepper to taste

4 cups basic vegetable stock

4 medium all purpose potatoes peeled

and cubed

4 whole ears of corn shaved, or 2 cups frozen

corn kernels

1/2 cup water, mixed with 1 Tbsp corn starch

1/4 cup heavy cream

In a medium soup pot, saute the chopped onions, till wilted. Add the stock, and the cubed potatoes. Cook until almost tender, about 15 minutes. Stir in the corn, simmer for about 5 minutes. (for the chopped peppers, you can microwave them in a small bowl for about 1 or 2 minutes to stir in the chowder at the end) Add the salt and pepper, and take half the portion of the soup to put into a blender. Puree, and put back into the pot. Now, you can add your cornstarch mixed in the 1/2 cup of water, and add the heavy cream. Heat gently till thickened. Stir in the steamed chopped peppers, or you can omit them. If you're using the turkey bacon, fry them till crispy, and chop them and top the chowder! Either way, it is a delicious and satisfying chowder, or soup, depending how thick you want it!

Makes 4 servings-Points value: 4

Pane e Vino-Bread and wine

Spaghetti w/homemade tomato sauce, Panko coated baked fresh Grouper fish

Pasta with sauce and Parmesan cheese: 4points, simple salad with balsamic vinegar-0, Grouper fish 4points, wine-2points a small piece of bread (from the piece in photo) 2points 1 Tbsp Flan 2 points. So, this is how the points were broken down...Total points 21, of my 22 allowed points...not too shabby, and even enjoyed that 1 Tbsp of the rich, and silky flan...yumm! If I can do it...so can you. Still not late to start a NEW YOU!

Chocolate Chip Fudge Brownies...and Breast Cancer Awareness!

I have featured my brownies quite a few times since a little over a year ago that I have been blogging...but trust me, this one is so different...so perfect...so chocolaty goodness...fudgy, and oh, so yummy! Really! I kid you not!

Exactly one year ago..give or take a week earlier, or later, I posted my Breast Cancer Awareness Month post, and  linked it back to my sweet food blogger friend, Joanna, from ChicGorgeous  since she had the most gorgeous pink cupcakes posted.

Linking this with Hearth and Soul Blog Hop #69

Chocolate Chip Fudge Brownies
adapted from: Bon Appetit magazine 1999

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
4 ounces bittersweet Girardelli chocolate chopped
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 cup bittersweet Girardelli chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 13x9x2 inch metal baking pan. Stir butter and bittersweet chocolate in heavy medium saucepan over medium-low heat until melted and smooth. Remove from heat. Whisk eggs and 1 1/2 cups sugar in large bowl until pale yellow and light, about 3 minutes. Gradually, whisk in warm chocolate mixture. Whisk in vanilla, then flour. Mix in chocolate chips. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake brownies until tester inserted into center comes out with moist crumbs attached, about 25 minutes. Cool brownies completely in pan on rack. Cut into squares. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead.) Store in airtight container at room temperature. You can sift powdered sugar over the top!


“When you do nothing, you feel overwhelmed and powerless. But when you get involved, you feel the sense of hope and accomplishment that comes from knowing you are working to make things better."

~ Maya Angelou

Me and Cara, at Peter's house at  Rosh Hashanah celebration...Oct. 2011

At any rate, I did receive the most beautiful pretty little bracelet from my amazing daughter in-law Cara, whose mother also lost the battle...as did my own mother!

 so beautiful, and absolutely affordable to give as gifts for a tribute to family and friends who lost their battle  with breast Cancer. Check out the beautiful  Chan Luu  Breast Cancer Awareness Bracelet!

"Perfect Brownie Pan" Brownie...and a Giveaway!

In all my years of baking brownies, I have never come across a brownie bake set called, Perfect Brownie Pan. It's a
bake, slice, and serve pan, with a cooling rack, that is included with it. Just to prove how easy it is, I put my 5 year old granddaughter Mattia to the test...but first check out this gadget!

Hi friends-here's the link to Wal-Mart for the Perfect Brownie Pan Set


I'm linking this to: Full Plate Thursday, 6-2-11 @ Miz Helen's Country Cottage

I did not purchase this brownie pan...my friend Barbara gave this to me as a gift. They sell it at Wal-Mart and she said it literally flies off the shelves. She should know, because she works there. Now, if you take a good look, the way the slice that I featured on the first photo...is a "fluke"...really, it turned out that way because I decided to take the cutter insert out of the pan before I baked it, and then put the divider back into the brownie pan, so when the brownie was done, some of the slices came out with little borders around them that was kind of cute!

Actually, the brownies turned out extremely yummy...recipe book that was included with the brownie pan has a nice selection of brownie and other sheet cake recipes.

Traditional Homemade Brownies
adapted from Perfect Brownie Pan recipe book

2 1/3 cup butter (1 1/2 stick)
2 cups sugar
5 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
4 ounces semisweet chocolate
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 1/4 cup all purpose. flour

Preheat  oven to 350 degree F. Melt butter, chocolate, and cocoa powder in a saucepan, or in a microwave proof dish in the microwave. Whisk eggs and sugar in a large bowl. Add the flour, and stir until smooth, as in the photo on the right. Stir in most of the chocolate chips, and leave a few for the top, just before baking, scatter some on the top of the batter.

Granddaughter Mattia  volunteered to be my helper...standing on her little stool.

Add the melted chocolate, cocoa, and butter mixture, and the vanilla. Whisk until smooth without any lumps.
Spray brownie pan with nonstick cooking spray.
Bake for 25-30 minutes, for fudgy brownies, or 30-35 minutes for more firm.

You can of course bake this in a regular brownie square pan, or a rectangular pan, but if you can get a brownie bake pan like this it's really easy, and fun. The bottom of the pan is removable for easy handling.

This is a classic photo...while 5yr old Mattia was taking the photo of her "work well done"...I clicked my own photo, as well. At any rate, the brownie was a winner:D

I hope you all had a wonderful Memorial Day...we had a very nice relaxing day, with mostly sunny skies, and a delicious cookout. My son is a very neat grill cook. He has to have everything neatly set up, The flank steak marinated, the asparagus already marinated as in my previous post for the indoor pan grilling, salmon burgers as well.

 A beautiful combination of potatoes being roasted...by d-in-law Cara!

Have you ever seen a more perfect, tender and juicy flank steak?...perfectly grille by my son!

Thai, the 13 yr. old Black Lab mix, was keeping my son company at the grill...we came inside to eat, because it was quite hot outside...even at 5:PM...She darted right to the back patio door.

She was patiently waiting at the door to be let inside...She is such a sweetheart, so sweet, loyal, at the ripe old age of 13, still going strong and is quite healthy and happy:D

Now...about my Giveaway!

It's another great cookbook (a thrift find)...which in this case is a rarity...autographed by the author, brand new book, 2007 edition. You don't have to do a thing, just let me know if you are following me on Twitter, on my blog, or on Foodbuzz. That's all! You can enter as many as 3 or 4 entries if you like...entries will close Fri. June 4th, 2011 and I will announce the winner on Saturday morning, June 5th. Winner will be chosen by Random.org generated number. It's really a great book, so don't miss it!

About Impress for Less by Hope Fox

In Impress for Less!, Hope Fox takes recipes from 100 of the top restaurants in the nation, and re-creates them with ingredients that can be found in the grocery store. Impress for Less! already is resonating with celebrated chefs, authors and personalities, like Jean-Georges Vongerichten, Bob Bowersox and Patti LaBelle. And, restaurants, retailers and cooking schools are lining up to sell it. Impress for Less! hits store shelves nationwide in early August 2007.
Ever since Hope was a little girl, she was taught to entertain with a full heart and cook with love. For more than 30 years, she has been entertaining with a generous yet simple approach and style. Hope makes every occasion – from birthdays to holidays to afternoon summer picnics – inviting and memorable. She makes the complicated look easy and takes the ordinary to extraordinary, whether it is planning for a fabulous dinner party or connecting with viewers on television.
For the past 10 years, Hope has regularly appeared on QVC, the world’s largest and most successful electronic retailer. Her keen sense of what women want has helped her capture their attention and sell some of the world’s most respected brands, like Conair, Farberware, Pollenex, Sabatier and Weight Watchers, to more than 90 million households.
Outside of television, Hope is a passionate cook, fervent entertainer and regular restaurant patron. She simply loves food, style and people. Hope has more than 200 cookbooks in her personal collection and frequently combs through them to share recipes with family and friends – and even strangers.

Cocoa Brownies with Browned Butter and Walnuts

I was so determined to make these brownies from my Bon Appetit magazine, but I just hesitated because I have never made brownies with browned butter. I do like browned butter on pasta, but have not tried it in a cake or brownie recipe. Browned butter does have a rich, and nutty flavor, so why not add it in the brownies. Also, one other important result, that the recipe did promise, is the fudgy  and chewy outside, with a shiny, crackly top. Just look how it turned out...yumm! It was not very popular with my little ones, (my grandchildren)...my grandson was trying to pick out the walnut pieces, but I had one cup of toasted walnut pieces in the batter. It did not call for toasting the walnuts, but I know that toasting nuts would release the oils from the nuts, and would make it more tasty, and crunchy.
Cocoa Brownies with Browned Butter and Walnuts slightly adapted from Bon Appetit magazine, February, 2011

Nonstick Vegetable spray
10 Tablespoon s (1 1/4 stick) unsalted butter
cut into 1 inch pieces
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder
(spooned into cup to measure, then leveled)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs, chilled
1/2 cup plus 1 Tablespoon unbleached all purpose unbleached flour
1 cup walnut pieces

Position rack in bottom third of oven. Preheat to 325 degrees to 325 degrees F. Line 8x8x2 inch metal baking pan with foil, pressing foil firmly against pan sides and leaving 2 inch overhang. Coat foil with nonstick spray.
Melt butter in medium saucepan over medium heat. Continue cooking until butter stops foaming and brown bits form at bottom of the pan, stirring often about 5 minutes.

Remove from heat: Immediately add sugar, cocoa 2 teaspoons water, vanilla, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Stir to blend. Let cool 5 minutes (mixture will still be hot.) Add eggs to hot mixture 1 at a time, beating vigorously to blend after each addition.When mixture looks thick, and shiny, add flour and stir until blended.
Bake brownies  until toothpick inserted in center comes out almost clean, with a few more crumbs attached. Bake for 25 minutes. Cool in pan on a rack.

Using for overhang, lift brownies from pan. Cut into 4 strips. Cut each strip crosswise into 4 brownies. Makes a total of 16 brownies. Store in airtight, at room temperature.
(I put mine in the fridge for a more firm fudge effect.)


(In my opinion, these brownies were fabulous, but 1/2 cup flour is not enough to spend all this time, and just make a small amount. The amount should have been 1 cup of flour, and double the recipe. You could still make it in a 8x8 pan, but then it would have to make at least 45 minutes.The best part was, that all you need is just the one saucepan to mix everything together. I set up my bowl to mix, but it was not needed. The easiest way to get everything right, is to have all your ingredients set up...sure makes your work faster, and more efficient. This is the first time I made these brownies, and will make it again, soon...but without the walnuts for the kids.)

Removing pan from heat immediately, add sugar, cocoa, 2 teaspoons water, vanilla, and salt: stir  to blend.

Cool 5 minutes, mixture will be still warm, but you can add 2 eggs, 1 at a time.

Stir until thick and shiny. Next, add the flour.

 Add flour, and stir until blended. Beat vigorously, 60 strokes.

Stir in walnuts

Transfer batter to prepared pan, and bake for 25 minutes at 325 degrees F.

This is the part I hate...the cleanup...ugh! Just look at the sticky mess, that have to be soaked in soapy water. Good thing I don't have any other dirty dishes than the ones I used, but the outcome is so well worth it. The best brownies...ever!...smiles...

Trim the ends and cut into 4 even pieces, then into 4 smaller pieces from each section...total of 16 pieces.

Four large pieces of the brownie, so perfect, not too gooey, or fudgy, just the right amount of sweetness. I used 1 cup of sugar, and not 1 1/4 cups, like the original recipe suggested.

Just look at the perfect shiny crackly top...just the way it's supposed to look. The browned butter certainly added an amazing flavor, alone with the toasted walnuts, which was my adaptation. Enjoy!

Herb Biscuits, and a Giveaway Winner!

These herb biscuits were actually made yesterday morning, for Cookbook Sunday, which I did not post, since my mentor Brenda, from Brenda's Canadian Kitchen is vacationing, and celebrating her birthday, in
Las Vegas.
Brenda  is having the time of her life, in Las Vegas, and keeping us posted with such beautiful and envious photos of the places she visited, and having a glorious time.
But in the meantime, her 8 days are almost over, and she will be back continuing her drool worth cooking, and baking....moving on!


WE HAVE A WINNER for the GIVEAWAY!!!

Congratulations, Carolyn.. from. All Day I Dream About Food.  has such a beautiful light, and balanced food blog, with yummy main dishes, like this recent Lemon Tarragon Chicken  Soup and the unforgettable
Pumpkin Bourbon Cheese Cake with a Spiced Pecan Crust.
You gotta check it out, and browse through all her other delicious recipes.

Carolyn is a gracious and lovely lady, who always visits so many blogs, and leaves such upbeat, and kind comments, you can't help but notice. This is what friendship, and support is all about...and not just...me, me, and only me, and myself. I cannot tell you how it irritates me, when you have a friend request on Foodbuzz, and they answer you back, with "don't forget to visit, and follow my blog, etc. etc., or with a "you're welcome"...and nothing else, or better yet: :DITTO...well, ditto to you too, but I don't want to say it, just keep thinking, Ughhh!...OK. that's enough of that, now I sound like an old Yenta!

You are the winner of the Giveaway cookbook. I left you a comment on your blog, and also where to contact me, so I can mail the book out to you, by tomorrow. I know you will love this book or the person you will be giving it to, as a gift.

Thanks to all of you for participating...and thank you, Carolyn, enjoy the book!

I also would like to let all my friends know that I will be giving away more books, since I have such easy access to them at such a ridiculous small price, no more than $3.00 tops, for a book that is worth at least $30.00, and in new condition. Apparently in this area, either people are just buying them and recycling them, or getting them as gifts and not liking them. At any rate we're the winners for being able to acquire such great books.

Again, I bought this book at yet, another thrift store, that is a huge warehouse, and one entire large section, is loaded with all kinds of books, including great cookbooks. I have a photo of this fabulous book section in my previous post about a month or two ago.

This place is called  World Thrift, and here, you can find everything to your heart's desire. Prices are a little higher than Goodwill, but you have a lot more choices. Books range between $.95 to $3.95 for a recently published book....no kidding. Dressed to Grill, is a hard back cover book, with spiral notebook look, inside. It is inspired for single ladies wanting to please their guy. No photos, just cute drawings, and cute, and silly names for recipes.
For instance, this herb biscuits is called: Hey, I bake biscuits, too! This is a 2002 edition, retails, at $16.95, I paid $.95...now how can you not want to buy a great book for 95 cents?

Recipe, for Herb Biscuits

2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
4 Tbsp. ice cold unsalted butter cut into
small pieces
2 Tbsp. minced fresh parsley
1 Tbsp. fresh rosemary
3/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp. buttermilk, or plain
yogurt
1 1/2 Tbsp. olive oil for brushing

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients. Scatter the butter over the top. With a pastry cutter, or your fingertips, work the butter into the flour until the pieces are no larger than peas. Add the herbs and buttermilk or yogurt, stirring just to blend. (Handle the dough as little as possible to keep the biscuits, tender and light.)

Turn the dough out unto a lightly floured work surface, then, with your fingertips, (I used a rolling pin) press, or roll into a circle about 1/2 in. thick. Cut 3 inch rounds, (I used 2 /12in.) with a biscuit cutter, or the rim of a glass.
Reshape any remaining dough and cut more biscuits. Place the rounds on an ungreased baking sheet. (If making ahead, cover, and refrigerate until ready to pop in the oven.)

Brush the biscuits with olive oil. Bake until golden brown, about 18-20 minutes.
Makes 10 to 12 biscuits. (Incidentally, mine turned out super golden, and flaky.)