Comfort Food

It's a dreary weekend, with the weather alternating between freezing rain and icy sleet. A good day to hibernate - tuck under the covers and cuddle,

...or experiment in the kitchen!

Hmmmm... Why not do both?

Stuffed Cabbage Filling --------------->

Stuffed Cabbage ready to be baked...

If S.'s favorite comfort food was Mac n' Cheese, P.s is Stuffed Cabbage. It doesn't matter how much I'll cook - he'll finish it off. If not today, then tomorrow... or the next day. He'll bring some to work... He'll even freeze the rest! What's great is that its a ridiculously easy dish to make.

The original recipe is tomato-based, which he's not too fond of. He'd rather have it swimming in mushroom gravy, topped with loads of shredded mozzarella cheese.

Baking it in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes gave us loads of time to catch up on the cuddling part.

Leche Flan served with a dollop of Argentinean Dulce de Leche

I still had a few unused Christmas tree-shaped foils left over from the Holidays and I really wasn't too keen about keeping them for another year. But instead of chucking the lot, S. and I decided to save two and use them for our first ever venture in Leche Flan making.

It was passable, to say the least. It didn't quite turn out as firm as I hoped it would - I think the fancy-schmanzy shape prevented me from securing the seal tightly so some of the steam went in. I was also too careful about not burning the caramel, thus I ended up having a batch of "anemic' looking flans instead. In fairness, after putting heaps of organic brown sugar on the top and broiling the pan for 3-4 minutes, it came out much more aesthetic to the eye and markedly improved its taste. I guess it wasn't a total loss after all.

As they say, "Practice Makes Perfect". I wrapped one of the pans to give to my neighbor - she had mentioned that she was a willing guinea pig to all the new recipes I make.

I'm hoping her cholesterol level's below 200.