Flan: a perfect, complete, nutritious meal

My grandmother (carne fria) hasn't been feeling too well lately. She's been pretty under the weather for a few months now and today, I got such a kick from a comment she made, I had to post it on my Facebook page.

Mi abuela was telling me about how much my kids love sweets (no kidding). She then went on to tell me about how flan is the perfect food.

Huevos, leche y azucar - ¿que más quieres?

She does have a point, of course. And many of you agreed with her. Enough to add your own family items to the list of perfect foods - filling, nutritious, wholesome (most of the time) and perfect for a merienda (afternoon snack):

1. Vino Sanson with an egg yolk (Danny tells me Vino Sanson is a dessert wine from Spain; this is one of those mythical foods I would only hear of, but never see, whilest growing up).


2. A shot of Bailey's is good for the mothers-in-waiting (not enough alcohol according to Mrs. P's abuela).


3. Whiskey, honey and lemon, slightly heated, cures a bad cough. Mayra has been having that at her grandma's house since she was a kid.


4. Croquetas, according to Grecia. Complete meal indeed - protein, starch, maybe a veggie (if you count the onions in the bechamel).


5. Puré de malanga, calabaza and all other root vegetables. My grandmother used to make mashed potatoes, butter only, for me whenever I was sick. Any type of sick. And it is the one thing I still crave when I'm sick and have no ganas (no desire) to eat.


6. Beets for good blood. Really, Dina?


7. Malta con leche condensada. This was given to kids that were "too skinny". Seriously? When did you ever meet a Cuban that was "too skinny"?

I thought today's commentary was worth a post. I hope you did, too. Of course I left some of your family's perfect foods out. Share them with us here. Who knows, I may have to jump on it for The Project!

Ham and Cheese Roll-ups

I feel a confession coming on…Bless me Father for I have sinned. It has been 18 days since my last cooking session.

I don’t know if it was the hangover from the holidays, or the madness of trying to get back into a routine, but I just could not get it together for the life of me to sit, plan and attack another recipe. Until I found this one.

Recipe #622: Rollitos de Jamón y Queso

Three ingredients? Only three ingredients – this was surely the one to get me back in The Project again. I never knew Nitza even found it acceptable to have a recipe with anything less than seven ingredients.

When I was little, I remember my grandmother used to make rollitos de jamón y queso for me as my merienda (after-school snack), but they were always just rolled up ham and American cheese. When I read that this recipe had cream cheese and Roquefort (I used Publix Blue Cheese because I couldn’t find Roquefort specifically that day) inside the ham, I was sold. This was like a grown-up merienda.

You mix the room temperature cream cheese and half the container of the blue cheese together until you get a smooth paste. You spread the cheese mix on deli-sliced ham (I used two ham slices at a time because I typically get thin sliced ham) and you roll the ham into a roll. You wrap the rolls with parchment paper and you put it in the fridge for at least two hours.

When ready, you unwrap the rolls from the parchment paper and you slice them, sushi style. You can eat them alone, or on top of a saltine cracker. But I must warn you, if you’re watching your calories, take one and run away. This is one addictive treat. And for those of you that aren't blue cheese fans, something happens when you blend it with the cream cheese that really softens the blue cheese tang.

I took them to the office in a Tupperware container and they held up at room temperature for a good part of the workday. It wasn’t long before word had gotten out that I had samples from The Project and there were plenty of taste testers involved. Before the day was done, all forty pieces were gone. Make this for your next party and let me know how it goes. Real easy and real good.