Presley's Pantry

I am known to adore many things, but one of my favorite foods is coconut.  I heart coconut confections, cookies, cakes, paletas,  you name it…. if one of the ingredients is coconut there is a good chance I love it.  The real truth is I have never made anything from a whole coconut, I usually buy the shredded sweetened coconut in a package, and go from there.  This time I tested my kitchen skills and decided to break open a fresh coconut to make a coconut flan.  I was nervous to see what the results would bring.  Me and my loved ones were smitten by the gorgeous scent this flan perfumed my kitchen with, so the anticipation of the actual taste was utter excitement.  ONE bite in,  I knew this flan was the one for me…. I’ll never be the same.

All photos taken by: Nicole Presley 

Ingredients for coconut flan:

1 – Melissa’s Produce sweet young coconut (to make 12 oz. coconut milk)

5 – large eggs

6 – ounces cream cheese

1/2 – tablespoon almond extract

1/2 – tablespoon vanilla extract

1 – can sweetened condensed milk (14oz.)

3/4 – cup cajeta

3/4 – cup shredded sweetened coconut

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

First things first. Take your sweet young coconut and cut off the diamond shaped point on top with a sharp knife. Then poke a hole in the exposed shell and pry off the circular crown.

Drain and reserve all the liquid. Once all the liquid is drained, break the coconut in half and spoon out the flesh.

Marry the two in a blender and blend for 3 minutes to get a thick coconut milk. Then pour through a sieve and collect the coconut milk…. this should make 12 ounces.

Pour coconut milk back in the blender, along with the eggs, cream cheese, almond extract, vanilla extract, and sweetened condensed milk. Blend for a minute or until completely combined.

Spray a bundt pan with a non stick baking spray, then fill the bottom with cajeta.

Next pour in flan mixture. Then top with shredded sweetened coconut.

Cover the pan with aluminum foil and place inside a large pyrex baking dish. Pour hot water into the pyrex baking dish to fill up half way.

Then place the baking dish into the oven and bake for 1 hour.

Once out of the oven, remove from water bath and uncover to allow cooling. Run a small knife around the edge to ensure it from sticking.  Let the flan rest for one hour then flip it over onto a plate. Slowly lift pan up away from plate. Then put in the fridge for 5 hours or overnight.  ENJOY!!!!!!

No compensation was received for this post. I was provided with a sample of  Melissa’s Produce young sweet coconuts to aid this recipe. The recipe and opinions are my own.

When I eat this dessert I feel like I should be sitting at a table surrounded by aristocrats. Oohing and Awwing over the beauty of the taste that has somehow caught people off guard.  This dessert is magical in the way of being able to transport me to many places, it reminds me of times in my life I will never forget.  It is the taste of conversations with my dearest friend. It is the taste I remember most when my palate was coming of age. It is the taste of unusual decadence. It is the taste of my Latina culture amplified by 10. The pairing of Wonderful Pistachios with membrillo, manchego, and cream is a taste EVERYONE should be fortunate enough to savor and enjoy!

All photos taken by: Nicole Presley

This recipe will make 4 desserts

Ingredients for decadent dessert:

A slab of membrillo (quince jam)

1/4 – cup grated manchego cheese

1/8 – cup whipping cream

10 – wonderful pistachios (chopped)

For a single serving…. grab a little dessert plate and place a small slice of membrillo in center.

Then take a small pinch of grated manchego  and place on top.

Then pour a little bit of whipping cream over the top.

Lastly sprinkle with your chopped Wonderful Pistachios…. A pairing worth celebrating!

Try not to gobble it all down in two seconds!

No compensation was received for this post. I was provided with a sample of  Wonderful Pistachios to aid this recipe. The recipe and opinions are my own.

Here’s a cute idea if your having a dinner party…. serve your dessert in a spoon for a bite size portion.

Ay cabron, que bueno!

I don’t remember the year exactly…. It might have have been 1991 or 1992, the Pixies were playing a private show for Halloween here in Los Angeles at a club that was called 1970’s on Highland.  I found out about it because KROQ was giving away  tickets to listeners. Like many, I tried winning some but my phone was never the 106th caller.  Turns out, at the last minute a family friend of a friend knew somebody at the club and I was able to get into the show.  Due to overcrowding and my moxie, I ended up sitting on top of Kim’s amp as she played the show.  It wasn’t like I just jumped up there right before the show started, I was being smashed on the stairwell and made eye contact with her.  I motioned to her with a sad face if I could sit on her amp and she said “yes.”  Fast forward 20 years and who would have thought I would be talking with Kim about frijoles and tortillas?

She is an L.A. resident (temporary) these days and living not too far from me, so we met at her place.  Kim Deal is a busy gal with a full calendar, in a little over a month she will embark on a Pixies US tour called ‘Lost Cities’ performing the classic ‘Doolittle’ album.  She is also in the studio making new music for her own band.  Kim has been hailed as one of rocks most influential musicians by critics and fans alike.  She was also titled the “coolest person in the world” by the Washington Post.  She is one of the most down to earth individuals with a heart of gold.  Her voice has the strength to pull you in and never let go.  Her songwriting with The Breeders is flawless….. but enough about all that music- jazz, let’s talk to Kim about her thoughts on food!

Me: When you’re home in Dayton, do you grow your own vegetable garden?

Kim: When I’m actually home in Dayton.  Now I’m going to say what regularly happens because this year was a little different…. I was gone.  Tomatoes are a big thing for me.  Home grown tomatoes.  You know the past couple of years they haven’t done well.  They haven’t turned red…. it’s a very weird thing.  They’re OHIO tomatoes, there’s just no talking about it.  We have VERY GOOD tomatoes.  Early Girls are what I like to plant so they come out first.  Then the beefsteaks,  I love those.  But their are all sorts of varieties with the cutest names.  For me the more citric acid in a tomato the better, and I like to salt them.  I put a lot of salt.  Some people like black pepper on them but I don’t.  Kelley likes black pepper.  I can obsess over tomatoes, especially the beefsteak.

Me: You’ve traveled all around the world. What is your favorite food city?

Kim: Tel Aviv.  Now they have ful medames over there.  It’s made with fava beans, garlic, lemon juice and oil.  I’m from Huber Heights, Ohio it’s a suburb of Dayton.  Think of how small that is?  The sign reads 30,000 happy people.  It’s the biggest community of brick homes.  So when I moved to Boston, I tried hummus and had no idea what it was.  It was delicious, I loved it but I had never heard of any of this stuff.  Then I went to the Middle East Cafe in Cambridge, Massachusetts.  I walk in and they got this menu I start ordering, and I ordered the ful medames. OH MY GOD, IT’S SO GOOD, and all the delicious salads there.  So I begin loving these flavors.  Then I go to Tel Aviv for the first time, and I was in heaven.  Everything was so delicious.  I can’t even explain it.  I mean you could describe a dish by saying “it was so good” “Oh I like it” …. that’s all I could do.  Everything was so fresh and delicious.  I love Ful.  I love Middle Eastern food.  I love Tel Aviv.

Me: Well this question ties in with your last answer. What’s your ideal meal? If you could have ANYTHING you want…. What is it?

Kim: Mexican!  (She burst into a happy laughter)  After saying all that about Tel Aviv, now I’m saying I love Mexican food.  No, I want Mexican.  I love Mexican food and always have.  I mean I worked at Taco Bell when I was in high school as my first job.  It was the first time I ever even thought of anything called Mexican food.  You didn’t use to go out in the mid-west and get Mexican food.  There was no Taco Bell.  There were BURGERS!  I don’t even think Mexican food had hit America yet.  I remember working at Taco Bell, before it was owned by Pepsi, and everything we served was fresh.  I once served a bug from the lettuce in someone’s food because the produce came straight from the farm.  I was like “I’m sorry.”  We would grate our own cheddar cheese.  We would make the beans and meat in the back.  It was delicious.  I mean it wasn’t the Mexican food where you ground up the corn in a molcajete to make your own tortillas.  It wasn’t that for god-sakes, that’s, oh my goodness.  If I could as an ideal meal it would be tamales, enchiladas in a verde sauce not too spicy, with beans and cheese, and sour cream.  Oh I want fresh hot tortillas with some creamy guacamole and beautiful salsa. Mmmmm.

Me: When you cook or you get a hankering for cooking, what is your specialty?

Kim: I feel my specialty is opening cans.  I stumbled into something this past summer. Kelley has been saying she is trying to feed her inner body and not her inner child.  So I’ve been trying to feed my body and not my inner child.  I’ve stumbled on this thing that I cook in a skillet.  Cut veggies with a little bit of olive oil, then I add some chicken and artichokes, and right before it’s done I add spinach for it to wilt a little.  I like my eggs too.  I think I do a good egg and that’s a good stand-by food when I’m in Japan. Sometimes the menu can get scary there with fish-heads on it.

Me: What is your guilty food pleasure?

Kim: CHOCOLATE.  Everything gets TRUMPED by chocolate.  Dark.  Delicious.  Tobacco Chocolate.

Me: Who’s house do you secretly wish to be invited to for dinner?

Kim: Either Martha Stewart or Paula Deen.  Who ever is not having fish that evening. Even though I bet Martha does a good fish.  I bet Martha has all the fresh gorgeous good ingredients too.

Me: Yeah…. she has a farm.

Kim: Yeah Paula Deen probably would have too much sausage.  She would have a lot of cream.  Probably be HEAVY.  Martha Stewart.

Me: What’s a ‘must have’ backstage?

Kim: NOT AQUAFINA! NOT DISANI! I like Evian water.  Also right now when I go back there,  Fruits.  You know what’s strange, it seems like the only time I could get good vegetables, even in my life is when we go on tour, and we ask for vegetables back stage. Partly because they are all done in crudites.  Sliced up.  Once in a while they are no good because they bought the plastic container of cut veggies.  I like to have good vegetables and fruit backstage.  BUT the must have is the water, and non-alcoholic beer.  It’s like a baby bottle.  My favorite non-alcoholic beer is Beck’s, St. Pauli Girl, and Clausthaler. Those are my 3 favorites.

Me: What dessert puts a smile on your face?

Kim: I can do cheesecakes.  Oh my god!  You brought over those fucken Sprinkles cupcakes that time.  I was obsessed for those Nicole, for like a year.  I made my friend Cheryl from Los Angeles take Sprinkles Cupcakes to Ohio with her at the beginning of the summer.  I MADE her take them for my birthday.  She took a dozen I think.  It was like I was a bulimic.  I’m obsessed with those cupcakes and I had them in my room and I wasn’t sharing them with anybody.  My friend Kyle asked for one and I told him “NO.”                    I remember calling Sprinkles last year, just sitting there thinking “I wonder if they deliver?”  I called them up and asked “Can you  deliver to Ohio?”  Sprinkles lady said “No, we don’t deliver we just do dry packaging, I could send you that.”  I said “No, that’s okay.”  Then I told her “Sometimes I just sit around and think of Sprinkles Cupcakes.” She said “I think that’s one of the nicest compliments we’ve ever gotten.”                                                The RED VELVET is my favorite.                                                                                     You know who else has a dessert worthy of a smile?  Dayton has this little Dorothy Lane market that has these cookies.  They’re called Laura’s cookies.  It’s just a sugar cookie that is so darn good, and they cut them according to the season.  Flowers for spring, pumpkins for Halloween.                                                                                                 Cheesecake, Sprinkles Cupcakes, and Laura’s Sugar cookies.

Me: I hear from an excellent source that your mom is a stand out cook. What’s your favorite dish that she makes?

Kim: I don’t think she actually was a good cook, but she makes good hillbilly food.  Well my parents are from Appalachia.  So my mom will make a delicious spaghetti, you know she’ll take the pork loin or whatever.  Fry it in the bottom of a big pot till it browns.  Then she’ll add tomatoes and tomato paste.  There’s nothing in it really though.  I guess the Italians call it gravy, you know I’m use to seeing spaghetti sauce with green peppers and mushrooms the way you see it in a jar.  The way my mom makes it, she said the girl from Tali Hill taught her.  My parents lived on Tater Hallow…. Tater Holler is Potato Hallow.  She got the recipe from some lady in Tali Hill which is Italian Hill.  There’s no chunks in it or anything.  It’s just gravy.

Me: So that’s your favorite dish your mom makes is this spaghetti?

Kim: No…. Probably not.  I like her coleslaw and potato salad.  Sometimes there are pieces of fat on the pork and that grosses me out.  If she got rid of the pork pieces, but still cooked it with pork then I would like it.  What else?  She makes a good meatloaf.  Oh her cornbread!  My parents will take a big tall glass and fill it up with cornbread, then pour buttermilk over the top and swish it up then take a spoon to it.  To them that is just heaven.  I mean they will argue for days who makes better sausage gravy and bisquits.  My mom ruled with the gravy.  But when they got it wrong you should hear them (her voice goes wobbly to imitate her parents bicker) “You should have used more flour!”

Me: Do you like bacon?

Kim: Well I like bacon.  I like it crispy like when I go to Cracker Barrel or some place like that.  Evidently you are not suppose to go to Cracker Barrel because they don’t have a kind policy towards hiring gay people.  Chris Glass told me that.

Me: Black beans, Coffee beans, bean and cheese burritos… Seems like you are a closeted beaner?

Kim: Yeah, I love them.  Black beans I love them , it’s true.  I love lentils.  I have a can of progresso lentils right over there.  That’s a great dish my dad makes…. a big pot of pinto beans.  Again as long as they don’t have too much pork in them.  You know guys, they cram everything with meat.  It’s so gross.  But if he could back off,  my dad could make the best pot of pork and beans.  He told me a story the other day about cheek meat… he called it “jowel meat.”  He said they were so poor, that’s what he lived on once.  You know him and my mom will have these who can ‘out-poor’ eachother stories.  My mom always wins by the way, and dad gives it to her, because she wins.  We are talking newspaper on the inside of the wall as a heat source.  There was no refrigeration, they would put their milk in the cold creek.  They would have to go outside to get the milk.  He told me how they lived for a week off of jowel meat and pinto beans and some sort of bread product because they were poor, eating off the jowel meat.

Me: You lived in East Los Angeles for a couple of years. What did you like to eat there?

Kim: Guacamole.  I’ll tell you what was good in East Los… skirt steak-carne asada.  Also my friend Alex’s family would fry up carnitas in a big copper pot.  That was delicious. Home made meals out of people’s homes were fucken good.  Carnitas was my favorite.

Me: Are you annoyed with people obsessed with food?

Kim: I’m so not a foodie.  I’M NOT!  You know I’ll get in a Pixies tour bus and I will just want to shoot myself in the face.  The guys are talking about what they just ate, what they are going to eat,  and the meal they had yesterday.  That’s all they do is talk about food. IT’S THE WHOLE TOUR!  It’s the only conversation in the bus.  It’s the only conversation.  Joe is a huge foodie.  David loves food.  I mean we roll into a town and the tour manager, Joe, David and even Charles will be planned out.  They are the types that talk about what’s good to eat in each city.  If they’ve heard of a restaurant, they’ll have to go there.  Joe will even eat cheek meat, brains….stuff like that.  They adore it.  They don’t entertain me with tales of food, it’s just them yammering away.  I could get an omelette with cheese and a side green salad, and I’m good.

* Pixies tour starts Oct 27th and goes through Nov. 21st. Buy tickets here!

Photo taken by: Mando Lopez

I was under the impression everyone knew how to make hard shell tacos.  My tia makes killer tacos, my future mother in law makes delicious tacos, my nina makes yummy tacos. Hell, even my neighbor who never cooks makes decent tacos.  It’s a Mexican staple that has gone global, or at least I thought so.  Not to long ago I went to a party and lo and behold, tacos were being served as the main dish.  Unfortunately this party thrower missed the mark COMPLETELY!  The crazy part is this person is a excellent cook and all the other dishes served were really good, so I couldn’t chalk it up to this person not knowing their way around the kitchen.  It made me realize maybe I’m taking the hard shell taco recipe for granted.  I decided to make the most commonly made taco in my neck of the woods, which is carne molida con papa (ground beef with potato).  Take this ordinary taco and add some cheddar cheese and a dill pickle to the top to make it extraordinary.  Yes…. I said a dill pickle!

All photos taken by: Nicole Presley

Ingredients for ground beef and potato tacos:

2 – idaho potatoes, medium size (peeled, diced and boiled)

1 – tablespoon olive oil

3/4 – cup diced onion

1/2 – pound ground beef

1/2 – pound ground pork

1 – teaspoon minced garlic

1 – teaspoon salt

1 – teaspoon black pepper

1/2 – teaspoon oregano

1/2 – teaspoon ground chipotle pepper

15 – corn tortillas

1 1/2 – cups vegetable oil

toothpicks

(additional ingredients)

dill pickle spears

grated cheddar cheese

your favorite salsa

sour cream

slices of avocado

Fill a medium pot with water to the halfway mark, then place over a medium high flame. Bring to a boil.  Take your two potatoes and peel and dice them.  Boil for 10 minutes. Remove from flame and drain.  Set to the side.

In a large frying pan over a medium flame add olive oil and allow to get hot. Then add onion, and saute for 5  minutes. Mix your onions around every so often so they don’t burn.

Once your onions are a bit translucent add the ground beef, and mix into the onions. Then add garlic, salt, black pepper, oregano, and ground chipotle pepper. Mix well and cook for 7 to 10 minutes or until ground beef turns brown. Then add boiled potatoes to the gound beef mixture. Mix well and remove from flame.  Place in a bowl to start assembling your tacos.

Warm your each corn tortilla on an open flame for 15 seconds on each side. Then place them in a towel to stay warm or a tortilla holder. This step will keep your tortilla from breaking.

Let’s start making tacos.  In a large frying pan over a medium flame add vegetable oil and allow oil to warm while you assemble your tacos. Take a warm corn tortilla and fill with 1 1/2 tablespoons ground beef and potato mixture. Place the filling in the middle for easy folding.

Then fold tortilla over and close taco with a toothpick right in the middle or use two toothpicks along the side. Continue till done with all tortillas.

Your vegetable oil should be hot by now…. take your tacos and fry them up.  About 5 minutes on each side or until gold brown and shell is hard.

That’s it your done. Remove toothpick closure, and fill with your favorite toppings. For me that is a pile of cheddar cheese, some delicious red salsa, and a dill pickle…..

If I’m feeling really adventurous I will add pickled jalapenos too. Enjoy!

Who wants to come over for dinner?

There I am.  Happy as a camper at The Taste.  It was little over a week ago I started planning which events I would attend.  I felt like a little kid going to Disneyland for the first time.  Giddy, nervous, not knowing what to expect, just confidant it was going to be GOOD.  I wasn’t disappointed.  The Taste was everything it promised to be and more.  Let me take you along for an abbreviated ride of the events through my experience.

Friday Night: September 2nd

Location: Paramount Studios Back Lot

Event: The Art of Mixing

This event celebrated mix drinks and some food.  Music was provided by KCRW.  Jason Bentley spun his magic for our listening pleasure then shortly after Mariachi El Bronx took the stage much to the crowd’s excitement.  The highlight of the evening for me was the demonstration provided by Chef Ricardo Zarate (Chef of the year by: Food & Wine) and Chef John Rivera Sedlar.  Ricardo taught us how to fillet a fish and John taught us some of his signature salsas.

The dish of the night that stood with me was surprisingly a delicious little pink cake.  It was brought to The Taste by Cakes Suzette.  Champagne cake that was moist, rich, dense, buttery, perfectly sweet, and covered in chocolate.  Heaven to the tongue.

The next day I went back for round two…….

Saturday day: September 3rd

Location: Beverly Hills

Event: Secrets from the Kitchen & Cellar

This was family day for me.  My fiance and our son Max joined me on this jaunt.  We watched Chef Celestino Drago make a beet risotto, then he served it on little platters and Max rarely eats anything but he couldn’t pass up the opportunity to sample some of Drago’s cooking.  We sat in on the interview with Chef Ludo and Krissy Lefebvre.  Not to mention the food was so sensational….. we might have over eaten.  Eeeeek.

Sunday Night: September 4th

Location: Downtown Los Angeles

Event: Food Noir

Sunday night The Taste came to my part of town and in my opinion it was the best of all the events I attended. Film + Food = Happy Me.  I had a great time and the food was knock my socks off good.

Us food bloggers were in our element.  We took a minute away from eating and made a picture.  Me- Presley’s Pantry,  Quyen- Kitchen Runway,  Ericka – Nibbles & Feasts

The stand out dish of the night came from Rivera Restaurant: A corn flan with black quinoa poured over the top.

Monday Afternoon: September 5th

Location: Beverly Hills

Event: Picnic in the Hills

The last day was celebrated with a bang.  We ate well, drank lots of wine and lemonade, and learned how to make strawberry sprinkles cupcakes by none other then Candace Nelson….. Don’t be jealous.

Mmmmmm gorgeous bread topped with burrata, grilled grapes, olive oil, salt and a little basil leaf.  I about fainted from the happiness this dish brought me.

The outstanding exhibitor for Monday was Fig and Olive….. Everything I sampled at their post was sublime and tap danced on my taste buds.

At the end of the 4 days I had expired. I was exhausted and fell asleep with a smile on my face much like when I was a kid at the end of my Disneyland visit.

Thank you Los Angeles Times / Food & Wine for bringing such a wonderful event to my town.

All photos taken by: Nicole Presley, Mando Lopez, and Ericka Sanchez

Smokey Robinson sang “People say I’m the life of the party cuz I tell a joke or two.” Well let me tell you this is EXACTLY THE CASE when Javier “Poty” Castillo is in the room.  Mr. “Poty” is surrounded by a wonderful energy, and makes everyone feel at ease. You are endeared to his character and admire his humble view of the world even though he is sitting at the top. No wonder Latinos EVERYWHERE have fallen in love with him. He has been named the Latin Dance sensation, director of choreography for the leading dance reality television show “Mira Quien Baila.”

I had the privilege of having breakfast with him not too long ago. I sat and listened to his life story and found myself reliving his journey in a nutshell. How he enrolled in the army, while serving his country he began a love for dance and how two German instructors discovered him. He then was taught the basics of ballet in a room with older stuffy conservative women, and just when he thought he couldn’t take another day of training under these conditions he was whisked off to the conservatory of dance! He tells it all in such a way that you begin rooting for him and his success! Have no fear …..he eventually got there. Poty has teamed up with Nescafe and is currently touring the country inspiring Latinos to embrace their passion for dance and in turn create an active and healthier lifestyle for themselves.  Collectively they have launched a campaign called “Celebra Nuestro Ritmo”, and are offering fans a chance to win a trip to New York which will include a private dance lesson with POTY!  Enter to win at: Facebook.com/NescafeLatino

Would you like to enter to win 4 beautiful red mugs, and a autographed picture of Poty as well? If so, you have from now till Sept. 11th, 2011 midnight to test your luck.  Rules listed below. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for you.

For up to 3 chances to win:

Like Nescafe Latino on Facebook. Leave a comment letting me know.

Follow Presley’s Pantry on Twitter. Leave a comment letting me know.

Tell me your most treasured memory of drinking Nescafe in the comment section!

Winner will be notified by email Sept.12 by noon.

Coco of VidaCoco , Poty, Myself, and Stephen of LatinoFoodie

I belong to a group of Latina bloggers, and within the group there are a few of us obsessed with food.  One of my blogging hermanas decided to call a Latina Cook-Off challenge. The only criteria is we use pistachios and bacon in our recipe and post it on Saturday September 3rd. Here is my entry to the cook off…. a simple appetizer that will be gone faster then you can say WONDERFUL PISTACHIOS!

All photos taken by: Nicole Presley

Ingredients for pistachio cheese filled dates wrapped in bacon:

16 – medjool dates

1/4 – cup cream cheese

1/4 – cup goat cheese

17 – wonderful pistachios (shelled and chopped)

4 – stalks green onion (chopped)

1/4 – teaspoon Lawry’s seasoning salt

1/4 – teaspoon black pepper

8 – slices bacon

Take dates and slice down one side and remove pit.

In a small mixing bowl add cream cheese, goat cheese, chopped wonderful pistachios, chopped green onion, Lawry’s and black pepper. Mix well. Then fill a teaspoon with a heaping amount of cheese filling and fill date. Repeat till done.

Grab your bacon and slice in half.

Take a half piece of bacon wrap it around date and close with a toothpick. Repeat until done.

Place all bacon wrapped dates on a aluminum foil lined cookie sheet.

Place under the broiler on high  and cook on first side for 6 to 8 minutes or until golden crisp, then remove from broiler flip them over and cook on the other side for an additional 4 minutes.  PERFECT PISTACHIO CHEESE FILLED DATES WRAPPED IN BACON!!!!!!

No compensation was received for this post. I was provided with a sample of  Wonderful Pistachios to aid this recipe. The recipe and opinions are my own.