Presley's Pantry

Christmas is long gone but Dia De Los Reyes is just around the corner. Typically children in Latin America and Spain celebrate the Three Kings on January 6th, which marks the 12 days of Christmas. It is believed that three kings came on the 12th day by guidance of the north star and found baby Jesus along with his parents in Bethleham.  The kings bestowed gifts on the new born king, and during the celebration of three kings day on Jan. 6th gifts are exchanged and it is a serious celebration had by all. People also either make or buy a rosca de reyes (Three Kings bread), and it has little toy babies baked inside it (usually between 1 – 3 babies per rosca, depending on who is making it). Enjoying the rosca becomes a big event where a group of people gather to eat it, and if your slice has a toy baby in it, then you are appointed to provide a tamale dinner for the people at the rosca gathering on Feb. 2nd for Dia De La Candelaria. It sounds complicated, but it’s sort of like a game… The rules: if you find a baby in your bread you make a tamale dinner on Feb. 2nd for the group of people at the gathering.

Get all your supplies to make your own Rosca De Reyes at Walmart….  and if you think you’ll get the toy baby, stock up on your tamale supplies there too.

Ingredients for Rosca De Reyes:

• 1/2 – cup water
• 4 – anise stars
• 1 – packet yeast (about 2 1/4 teaspoons)
• 1/4 – cup milk
• 1/3 – cup sugar
• 4 – tablespoons butter
• 1 – tablespoon vanilla extract
• 3 – eggs
• 3 3/4 – cups flour
• 1/2 – cup dried cherries or craisins

Egg Wash:

• 1 – egg
• 1 – tablespoon water

Pasta Topping:

• 2/3 – cup sugar
• 1 – stick butter (1/2 cup)
• 1 – cup flour

Optional:

• dried fruit or paste
• toy babies

Directions:

1. In a small sauce pan over a medium flame add in water and anise stars. Bring to a boil and allow to boil for 5 minutes. Remove from flame and cool for 20 minutes. Remove anise stars and pour water into a bowl, it should measure out to 1/3 cup.
2. Pour yeast into the warm anise water bowl and set to the side for a minimum of 5 minutes. the yeast will start to foam.
3. In a small sauce pan over a medium-low flame add in milk, sugar, butter, and vanilla. Stir to combine and melt. 
4. As soon as the ingredients come together allow to cool for about 5 minutes then add in the yeast/anise water. Mix well. Set to the side.
5. In a separate bowl beat the eggs.
6. Fill a large bowl with flour and cherries, then pour in the sugar/milk/yeast mixture and the eggs. Mix with your hands till the dough comes together.  
7. Then on a lightly floured surface knead bread, and make into a round loaf. 
8. Place the loaf in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let it rest in a warm place for a minimum of on hour or overnight or until loaf doubles in size. 
9. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit.
10. On a lightly floured surface roll the dough out with your hands into a long snake. 
11. Make a little slit on top of the bread and insert baby. 
12. Then form the dough into an oval shaped ring binding the ends together. 
13. Make the egg wash: In a small bowl whisk egg and water together. Then brush the top of the ring with the egg wash. 
14. Make the pasta: In a mixer beat sugar and butter until fluffy and light, then add in flour. Mix till combined. It will feel like thick paste, and be slightly crumbly. Gather the mixture and place on a surface and roll out with a rolling pin. Traditionally people cut pasta into thick strips, I decided to cut mine into stars to represent the stars the three kings followed. 🙂 
15. Place rosca on a baking mat on top of a cookie sheet, then pasta shapes and dried fruits onto rosca/ring and bake for 25 minutes. 
16. Cut and enjoy with hot chocolate. 

Some people believe that you should eat something round for New Year’s Eve. It is suppose to be symbolic of bringing the year to a full circle. I like the idea of anything that is full circle getting the full comprehension of the year, and especially when it is in the form of cake. Hahhahhahhaa silly me…. I just brought cake into the equation. I needed to find a way to make sense of my cake addiction and New Year’s Eve traditions….. and I just made my own.

Have you ever had a Jarritos cake? A delicious cake made with pudding and citrus soda….. it’s so moist and close to perfect, and I personally love it. Especially when you find the Jarritos at Walmart for .50 cents a bottle. That makes it real easy to pick up a few bottles drink a couple and use one for your Jarritos cake. This is one of the desserts I will be making for New Year’s Eve this year. I will say it is for the kids to eat, but in reality it will be for me. Happy New Year Friends! Enjoy!

Ingredients for Jarritos cake:

• 3/4 – cup Jarritos grapefruit or lime soda
• 1 – box yellow cake mix
• 1 – small box lemon pudding
• 3/4 – cup vegetable oil
• 4 – eggs

Icing:

• 2 – cups confectioners sugar
• 2 – tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 – tablespoons milk

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees fahrenheit.
2. Spray a bundt pan with non-stick baking spray, and set to the side.
3. In a large mixer add all cake ingredients and mix until smooth for about 5 minutes.
4. Pour into the prepared bundt pan and place in the oven for 50 to 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. 
5. Allow to cool completely before flipping it over onto a plate.
6. Then whisk together the icing ingredients and drizzle over the top of the cake. 
7. Enjoy!

I made this cool wreath made out of corn flakes.  It’s the same idea as a Rice Krispie treat… only different.  Click here to see the step by step instructions on Babble and make it for your Christmas table!

Disclosure: This is part of a sponsored campaign with the California Milk Processor Board and Latina Mom Bloggers. However, all opinions expressed and recipe is are 100% my own.

Let me tell you about my Nina… she is a hot little spit fire packaged in a petite frame and has long luscious locks that drape her face. She has green piercing eyes and a voice that can carry through the French alps if it needed to. In other words she is loud and feisty and good looking. This firecracker was always kind to me growing up and bossy at the same time. As you can imagine she gave direction well, and didn’t take anyone’s crap. My Nina has always been surrounded by a gang of yappy little mean chihuahuas who were meaner than the Grinch. If people came to visit her they  would nip at the ankles of the guests and tug at their pant hemlines. I use to find this amusing since that was the opposite treatment they gave me. They would jump on their hind legs with their tongues sticking out and their tails wagging. The baby puppies loved me. I think it might have been because I always shared my food with them. Let me add this tidbit, my Nina is an excellent cook, and makes very traditional foods. One day many moons ago she was instructing me in a louder than usual volume to try this arroz con leche she had made. I dug my spoon in and savored the sweetness in my mouth. She watched with knowing eyes that her’s was the best. Then that little kitchen filled up with her loud bullhorn voice and she said ” You like it ha Mija? It’s probably one of the best you’ve ever had. Right?” I felt like Dorothy  when she first encounters the wizard of oz…. no room to agree or disagree. I nodded my head. That was that… I never asked what was in her arroz con leche, but I surely wanted to know.

In my quest to eat the most magical arroz con leche… I decided to mix in chocolate and dried cherries. I still wanted it to be super yummy and didn’t know if that would do the trick so I made it tres leches, and low and behold I figured out exactly what my Nina had made that day.

Here are more creamy delicious milk recipes for your viewing pleasure! Or download a MILK coupon here.

Ingredients for Chocolate Cherry Arroz Con Tres Leches:

• 3 – cups water
• 2 – cinnamon sticks
• 1 – tablespoon vanilla
• 1 1/2 – cups long grain rice
• 1 – cup dried cherries
• 1 – cup milk
• 1 – can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 – can media crema
• 3 – Mexican chocolate disks

Directions:

1. In a pot over a medium high flame add in water, cinnamon sticks, and vanilla. Bring to a boil. 
2. Add in rice and dried cherries. Mix to combine, then bring to a boil. 
3. Once boiling lower flame to a simmer and cover with a lid.
4. Allow rice to simmer for 20 minutes.
5. Once rice is cooked, remove from flame and discard cinnamon sticks. Allow rice to rest for a few minutes. 
6. While rice is resting. In a separate pot over a medium low flame mix together media crema and Mexican chocolate disks. Mix until fully dissolved and a chocolate sauce is formed. Set the the side. 
7. In a large bowl add in cooked rice and cherries, milk, sweetened condensed milk, and chocolate sauce.
8. Mix to combine and serve either warm or cold.
9. Enjoy!

Here’s a little video showing you how:

Buñuelos de viento =  light as air fritters that are melt in a crunchy type of way delicious. These Mexican fritters are made with a rosette and so easy to make. I know for many people buñuelos are made by rolling out dough or frying a flour tortilla, and I do celebrate that type as well. This year I wanted to make a fancy version for my posada , so I decided to give the rosette a try. In essence a buñuelo is a fritter, it could be shaped in a ball, or flat as a disk, but if it’s deep fried and powdered with cinnamon/sugar then it’s a buñuelo.

Buñuelos are certainly enjoyed throughout Christmas time and served with a hot glass of champurrado. I feel like I’m over explaining this delicate crisp friend of mine, when all I really need to say is …. if you’ve never had a buñuelo…. now is the time. Enjoy them this posada season and never look back.

Watch the short video at the very bottom of this post to see exactly how to make these treats.

Ingredients for buñuelos de viento:

• 2 – eggs
• 1 – tablespoon vanilla
• 2 – tablespoons sugar
• 1 – cup milk
• 1 – cup flour
• 1/4 – teaspoon salt
• vegetable oil for frying
• rosette set
• cinnamon sugar mixture

Directions:

1. In a bowl whisk together the eggs and vanilla. 
2. Add in the sugar and whisk well.
3. Add in the milk and whisk to combine completely. 
4. In a separate bowl mix flour and salt together then sift into the egg/milk mixture. Whisk to combine. It should have the consistency of a thick cream.  
5. Set batter to the side for 10 minutes.
6. In a small frying pan fill with 2 inches deep of frying oil. Place pan over a medium flame and allow to get hot.
7. Place rosette on the timbale and place to locked position. Then dip the rosette into the hot oil allowing it to get hot. 
8. Remove it from the oil and blot off excess oil.
9. Then dip the rosette into the batter, but make sure to leave the top of the rosette exposed. Do not submerge it all the way. 
10. Then dip the rosette back into the hot oil. Fry the batter for about 20 seconds then the rosette will easily slip off. Once the rosette slips off, place it to the side and use thongs to flip the buñuelo over and cook it on the inside.
11. Let fry until golden crisp.
12. Drain each buñuelo on a paper towel lined plate.
13. Then dip the buñuelos into the cinnamon sugar mixture and serve. 
14. Enjoy!

Since we are in the thick of the posada days (from Dec.16th to Dec.24th), I am going to be making ponche, frying up buñuelos, and singing loud and proud.  I am making posada bags today for my #presleyposada this weekend….. I put step by step instructions on what I use in mine on Babble. Click here to make some.

Are you getting ready for the holidays? I like to cozy up to a nice cup of hot chocolate every time the moment presents itself. Just got home from holiday shopping at Walmart? A cup of hot chocolate. Gonna decorate the tree? A cup of hot chocolate. Baking cookies? A cup of hot chocolate. Christmas morning? You get the picture. My grandfather always sipped on a cup of hot chocolate during the holidays growing up and I followed suit, except this year I wanted to make it more interactive for my son, and possibly give my hot chocolate away as a gift. I thought “how can I transform that holiday magic from my cup into gifts for my family and friends?”  I decided to make hot chocolate cubes, that could be stirred into a cup of hot milk, and or be eaten as a lollipop. Wrap them up and tie them with a bow.

Ingredients for hot chocolate cubes:

• Chocolate chips or pieces (semi sweet, milk chocolate, dark chocolate, or white)
• Silicone ice cube tray
• mini marshmallows
• candy cane sticks
• christmas sprinkles
• lollipop sticks

Directions:

1. In a double boiler melt chocolate. (If you don’t have a double boiler: place water in a pot over a high flame then place a metal bowl over the boiling water in the pot and put the chocolate in there, stir till melted.)
2. Pour melted chocolate into silicone ice trays (fill 3/4 of the way up) and place in the fridge for 25 minutes. 
3. Remove from fridge and insert candy cane sticks, decorate with marshmallows, sprinkles, and for the cubes without a candy cane stick insert a lollipop stick. 
4. Place back in the fridge for 2 hours.
5. Remove from fridge and let sit for 5 minutes, then carefully push them out of the silicone ice cube tray. 
6. If you wrap them up they work great…
7. Or stir one into a cup of hot milk and embrace the warm chocolate beverage.  They’re great for coffee as well. 
8. Enjoy!