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.

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Thanks to Melissa’s Produce I’m on a hatch chile kick.  All sorts of chile dishes have been made in my kitchen this week.  Some traditional, others experimental.  No one is complaining, just devouring dish after dish.  I’ve brought a few friends through my door with the mere mention of hatch chile….. Oh the power they have over us chile lovers.  I decided to highlight this rendition of Chicken Cordon Bleu, minus the ham, insert the HATCH.  It turned out to be a hit.  I’m glad I made a few, because there would have been several frowns around my house if there were none left over for tomorrow.

All photos taken by: Nicole Presley

Ingredients for chicken hatch en blu:

5 – hot hatch chiles (roasted, peeled, deseed, and sliced)

2 – chicken breast (sliced into 1/4 inch thick slices) (each breast should make 3 slices)

6 – blue granite jack slices or a cup of crumbled blue cheese

salt and pepper to taste

2 – eggs beaten

2 cups panko

3 – tablespoons olive oil

toothpicks

Let’s start with basic 101 of roasting chiles. Place hatch chiles over an open flame. Then once skin is charred place in a ziplock bag and let steam for an hour. Remove from bag, and peel off charred skin under a slow stream of water. Then remove stem and seeds from chile. Cut into long strips.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Then line a cookie sheet with foil and set to the side.

Slice your chicken into 1/4 inches.

Get all your ingredients ready to roll.

Take a chicken slice and place roasted chile on top then layer with blue granite jack.

Then slowly roll, and close with a toothpick.

Once you get all your chickens in a roll…. season with salt and pepper.

Prepare panko crumbs by pouring olive oil over the top and mixing evenly.  This will help your panko crumbs to brown.  Take a chicken hatch roll and dip in beaten eggs.  Next dip into prepared panko.  Place on cookie sheet.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until chicken is not pink. Your chicken hatch en bleu will be spilling over with cheese.  Just the way I like it!  Spicy, crunchy, blue cheesy, and yummy.

No compensation was received for this post. I was provided with a sample of  Melissa’s Produce hatch chiles to aid this recipe. The recipe and opinions are my own. Thank you Melissa’s Produce for the wonderful batch of hatch!

I get home Tuesday night to a big Fed-Ex box waiting at my doorstep.  Immediately I act like it’s Christmas, I tell Mando “Grab some scissors so I could pop this box open.”   I spy to see the return address is Melissa’s Produce, this sets excitement to my creative mood.  Pulling the flap up to the box  a crowd of HATCH CHILES reveal themselves.  I see the chiles have decided to group into cliques labeled “HOT” and “MILD”…. Who do I want to enjoy first?  I know,  I will test the waters with the mild chiles initially and work my tolerance up to the hot…. Sounds like a plan.  Here’s what happened next:  Brainstorming, market run, roasting chiles over an open flame, and peeling all the charred skin away. Corn bread strata is what I came up with for the mild hatch chiles, wait a couple of days and I’ll deliver what kind of dance the hot hatch chiles did for me! Thank you again Melissa’s Produce!

All photos taken by: Nicole Presley

Ingredients for hatch chile corn bread:

3/4 – cup milk

1 – cup grilled corn

1/2 -cup melted butter

2 – beaten eggs

3/4 – cup mild hatch chile (roasted, peeled, seeded, and chopped) (about 3 chiles)

1 1/2 – cups yellow cornmeal plus 1/4 cup

1/4 – cup flour

1 – teaspoon baking powder

1/2 – teaspoon baking soda

1 – teaspoon sugar

1 -teaspoon salt

1 – cup grated sharp cheddar cheese

First start by roasting hatch chiles over an open flame. Then once skin is charred place in a ziplock bag and let steam for an hour. Remove from bag, and peel off charred skin under a slow stream of water. Then remove stem and seeds from chile. Lastly cut into long strips then chop into small pieces.

Next take your grilled corn on the cob and remove kernels.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees fahrenheit. Then take a 9×13 metal cake pan and grease with butter and shake with 1/4 cup of cornmeal. This will ensure your corn bread does not stick.

In a mixing bowl add milk, grilled corn, butter, eggs, and mild hatch chiles. Mix well.

In a large mixing bowl add cornmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and salt. Whisk together. Then add wet mixture to dry mixture and mix until combined.

Pour into prepared metal cake pan, and spread evenly. Then top with 1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese.

Bake for 25 minutes.  Corn bread is done!

Ingredients for strata:

1 – pan of hatch chile corn bread

1 – cup grilled corn

4 – mild hatch chiles (roasted, peeled, seeded, and butterflied)

5 – ounces artichoke hearts (chopped)

1/2 – cup pepitas

2 – cups grated jack cheese

1/2 – cup chopped green onion

1/2 – tablespoon dried chili flakes

1 – teaspoon black pepper

1 – teaspoon Lawry’s

2 – cups grated sharp cheddar cheese

1 – tablespoon spicy brown mustard

8 – eggs

1 – cup milk

1 – cup 1/2 & 1/2

Butter a 9×13 glass baking dish. Then take corn bread and cut into small pieces. Then line glass baking dish with corn bread pieces. Make sure to leave 1/8 of corn bread behind for a later use.

Then sprinkle with grilled corn.

Then add butterflied mild hatch chiles to the next layer.

Now add the artichoke hearts and pepitas.

Now for the jack cheese, chopped green onion, dried chili flakes, black pepper, and Lawry’s.

Now take the remaining cornbread (that 1/8 you saved), and break it up over the top.

Let’s be fair and sprinkle in some sharp cheddar cheese to the top.

In a bowl beat mustard, eggs, milk, and 1/2 & 1/2.  Then pour mixture over the top of the strata.  It should look like this from the side.

Now cover the strata and place in the refrigerator for 12 hours or over night. This is the hard part. Waiting.

Preheat oven to 350 Fahrenheit.  Bake strata for 45 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean!

Enjoy!  Serve for breakfast with some sausage on the side or with a side of black beans and sour cream.  I’ll take both. 🙂

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