Kabocha Flan

For those who have not had Kabocha before, it has the flavor of acorns. It takes quite well to honey. I think this recipe is a nice change from a regular flan. You will enjoy the nice hints of acorn and Frangelico.






To prepare this recipe you will need to bake the squash cut up into slices in a 350 degree oven for an hour. Do not peel the squash until it has been baked. As it will be easy to peel when done.Then place the peeled cooked Kabocha into a food processor and blend until smooth. Next you will need to make the caramel. Place two cups of sugar into a sauce pan with one cup of water. Add half of a split vanilla bean to the pan.Turn the heat up and cook until deep amber. Then place the caramel into ramekins or a flan pan. Remove the vanilla bean. Set aside to cool.    

2 1/4 cups of milk
1/4 cup of sugar
3 tablespoons of honey
1/2 of a vanilla bean

3/4 teaspoon of salt

5 whole eggs and 2 egg yolks

1/4 teaspoon of grated fresh nutmeg

3/4 teaspoon of cinnamom
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1/2 teaspoon of ground cardamon
1/2 teaspoon of ground ginger
1 tablespoon of Frangelico

Preheat  your oven to 325 degrees and place a kettle on for the boil.Then place the milk into a sauce pan and bring just to a boil. Set the pan aside. In a mixer place the eggs and all the other ingredients into the mixing bowl. Turn the mixer on and add the milk in a stream. You will then pour the mixer through a fine sieve. This will remove any cooked egg or spices that did not get mixed well. Once the mixture has been forced through the sieve, pour the flan into your ramekins or flan pan. Place the flans into a roasting pan and pour the boiling hot water around the ramekins. Cover the flan loosely with foil. Bake for one hour or so. Remove the plan from the water bath and cool for a bit. Then you will refrigerate overnight. To unmold the flan dip bottom of pan into hot water for a minute, then run your knife around the edge of the pan. Invert pan onto serving plate.

White Balsamic Dressing Potato Salad

3 pounds of yukon gold potatoes
1/4 cup of white balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons of  kosher salt

Pour 1/4 cup of the Napoleon White Balsamic Vinegar and 2 teaspoons of kosher salt into a mixing bowl. Set this aside. Then place a large stock pot full of cold water on the range. Add two tablespoons of kosher salt and the 3 pounds of whole unpeeled yukon gold potatoes. Bring the contents to a boil. Cook for 30 minutes. Now drain the potatoes and peel. Dice the potatoes and add them to the vinegar mixture.

You will now prepare the added ingredients to the salad.

2 diced stocks of celery
1 small garlic clove mashed into a paste
3 hard boiled eggs diced
1/4 teaspoon of fennel seeds crushed
zest of one lemon
2 teaspoons of lemon thyme
1/4 of a red onion diced
12 small cornichon diced
1 tablespoon of pepperoncini diced

Add the above ingredients to the bowl of diced potatoes.

For the dressing add the following to the bowl.
1/3 cup of best foods mayonnaise
1/3 cup of sour cream
1 teaspoon of kosher salt
crushed black pepper
juice of half a lemon

Refrigerate overnight and enjoy over these hot next couple of days.

Black & White Cookies

Having a hankering to make cookies,  
this recipe is very simple.

3 cups of AP flour
3/4 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon of baking soda
1 1/3 cups of sugar
2/3 of a cup of butter
1/2 cup of Crisco
2 eggs
2 vanilla bean seeds
2 teaspoons of corn syrup
1 teaspoon of lemon zests
1/3 cup of sour cream

Set your oven temperature to 350 degrees and then you will line cookie sheets with parchment paper. In a bowl stir together the flour, salt and baking soda. In a mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until light and creamy. Then add the Crisco, vanilla seeds, lemon zests, corn syrup and the eggs one at a time. Once or twice stop the mixer and scrape down the bowl. Now add the flour and sour cream. Roll a little less then 1/4 cup of dough into a balls.


Then you will place them very wide apart on the baking sheet. Press the balls down with a three inch round base until they are the same size. You will bake the cookies for 14 minutes and will need to rotate the trays half way into the baking time. Let the cookies cool completely before icing.

For the Fondant icing you will need the following ingredients.


1/4 cup of corn syrup                                     
5 cups of powder sugar
2 ounces of unsweetened chocolate
1 teaspoon of vanilla

In a sauce pan place one quarter of a cup of corn syrup and one half of a cup of water into the pan. Bring to a boil and then remove the pan from the stove. Place the powder sugar and vanilla into the sauce pan and whisk until you have all the sugar incorporated. Next place the two ounces of unsweetened chocolate into a microwave bowl. Add half of the vanilla fondant to the chocolate and mix well. You are now ready to frost your cookies. I add a line of chocolate to mark the half way mark on the cookie. It makes it easier to frost. They will need to set for sometime. It will take a least a couple of hours.