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#FlanFridays Special for Father’s Day. Sweet Corn Flan.

It’s #FlanFridays! That means a new yummy flan that will tickle your taste buds and excite the senses. In this case, it’s going to exploit all possibilities of perfect combinations.

Today’s is going to be one inspired my dad. As American culture is celebrating Father’s Day this sunday and loved ones are pulling all strings (though no where near as glamourous as we do for our mami’s) to make him feel special, I’m thinking of how I can feed him virtually. Since I won’t be in DC this weekend, I need to make him feel like the King of the Hill.

( me and Papi in Paris celebrating his goddaughter’s baptism)

My father and I are best friends. We have a very open relationship, but one where we test each other’s patience. We challenge each other’s authority and I usually end up losing after intense and borderline screaming debates (which drives my mother batty!). I only lose b/c he’s papi and always has to have the last word. And, I do respect him. Growing up, we’d fight to the point where my mother had to separate us. It was usually about my choices in boyfriends, my ornate and gawdy jewelry, phone calls from teachers because I talked and disrupted class too much or because I didn’t commit to playing my cello 2 hours a day.
As an adult now, we fight over more substantive matters like my political dislike for Sarah Palin, the way I hawk-eye his every move, race relations, the color of my hair, my decision to live in Atlanta, my use of written colloquialisms and more recently how much heat I put in food when I cook at home.

But he buys me flowers just because and that’s reason enough to forgive his oft-time unreasonable political rhetoric.

None of these arguments take away the impact and importance of his role in my life. He’s my confidant and has instilled a deep sense of womanhood and integrity. He used to blow gaskets if any of us ever lied. I’m now kind of like that, only I can control my temper a bit better.  He’s also opened up my eyes to so many profound things, having sacrificed more than I can tell to introduce the world to us through international travel and other experiences. He’s taught me the beauty of music, languages, the importance of not taking anything for granted — he demonstrates the highest level of patriotism — and is the one that’s bailed me out of tough situations over and over again. I mean at my age, there are still times when I call him begging him for this, that or the other. We’ve agreed that if I’m not married by the time I’m 40, he’d have to be my main man and maintain me. I know he’s vetting men in my life and desperately working on securing a husband for me. He recognizes my  aptitude to be  high maintenance and would probably opt not to be responsible for placating me.

So because he’s so good to me and seldom says no, I have to reverse the role and treat him to a flan I know will giddy him up. There’s no ulterior motive in making this one, but if I had something in mind, I’d be making it to get a pair of shoes out of him. Oh yes, my dad loves my style and often compliments my wardrobe. He thinks some of my shoes are lady gaga-ish but still appreciates their art.

I’ll save a bribe for something bigger and not so ordinary. Plus it’d take more than a flan to entice him to drop some loot for me. But I want to indulge him from 650 miles away and make him drool. See, papi loves corn. Especially cornbread. Like loves, loves, loves him some cornbread. At one point, Jiffy box worked but as he refined his palate, homemade bread was the only option.  I soon jumped on his bandwagon and started loving all his cornbread hype and it became a joke between us. We had to order cornbread every time we went out to eat.

While there’s a vast menu of corn-based foods, including  tamales, which we both love as well, I thought of how I could incorporate the sumer crop into a flan. Sometime last year, I made him short ribs with a sweet corn purée which garnered me much kudos from him. Since he loved it so much the idea of a sweet corn or polenta flan got me super excited. If I know my dad, I  know he’ll love it!

But, the challenge is that my father is a purist when it comes to our [Cuban] food. He’s been very candid in telling me he prefers a traditional flan over any other and definitely my mother’s before mine! That’s fine. I’ve blown his mind away several times already and will continue to feed him new flavors until he gives in and acknowledges that fusion can be great when done properly.

(sky-diving in Hawai’i last October)

Plus, if’ he’s adventurous enough to jump out of plane at 14k feet at the tender age of 63, surely he can try yet another flan.

A corn-infused flan may sound insane and he may even say “boff” to the idea, but the result was quite genius. I modified the corn purée recipe I used for the short ribs entrée and added it to the custard mix. It was my first attempt so I was careful not to underestimate the flavor profile. I didn’t want to sacrifice the creaminess of the flan for which its known for, but I did want to accomplish a subtle amount of texture. Without much tweaking or altering my method, I put my lil’ ramekins in the pressure cooker and let them cook. They took a few minutes longer than other flavored flans, but sure as hell was worth the multiple pressure releases I did.

My sweet little friend was divine (please help me find another word as I’m so over using it!). It was savory but had sufficient sweetness to qualify as a dessert. And the combination of corn and dripping caramel was insanely marvelous. The texture wasn’t as smooth as I would have liked but it worked–it just made it more of a polenta type custard. And, the sea salt offered a lovely touch of contrast to the sweetness.

Needless to say I quickly ate both 6 oz.

In honor of  all wonderful father’s and my papi in particular, here’s a flan that’ll have any of them slide down in his chair as he bites into a spoonful of creamy corn custard with a generous amount of  oozing caramel tantalizing his lips! This is fusion as its best.

Happy Father’s Day! Happy #FlanFridays and here’s to all the wonderful men that are called dad! From me to you, papi!

Visit my Facebook page to see some wonderful things to see and do in Atlanta for  Father’s day.

Don’t forget to enter the LatinaSmart giveaway here. Monday’s the last day!

Eat well, love unapologetically, pray with true intention, and take care of yourself.

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74 thoughts on “#FlanFridays Special for Father’s Day. Sweet Corn Flan.

  1. A wonderful post about your father!

    That flan is perfect for father’s day, especially if your papi is Latino!

    Cheers,

    Rosa

  2. I have to admit to have gotten misty eyed … that is, until you had to bring your dislike for Sarah Palin into the mix (PLZZZZZ, give it a break!!! what’s the obsesssion with the lady!!) Also, mind you, your not-so-subtle attempt at bribing me for a pair of shoes failed miserably … when you botched my age. OMG!!!! That being said, yes, let all your readers know that we DO have a special relationship and I would never change anything, screaming matches included, because it is all based on the deepest mutual love and respect. Finally, I’m sure you were thinking of the corn bread event many years ago at KFC in Harrisonburg when you decided to go for a corn bread flan. Hmm, intriguing, admittedly, so I will have to try it. Thank you, flaca. May I call you flaca in public without embarrassing Chef Bren? 🙂 This was very sweet … pun intended. 🙂

  3. muy bonito lo que dices de tu papi ,se lo merece y se ve que le gustan los retos felicidades por tu papi .

  4. Yummm! I love flan de elote! I can’t wait for fresh corn season to start so I can make some. 🙂

    And what a beautiful post about your dad. I hope he has a Happy Father’s Day. 🙂

  5. Mi’ja – your papi is NOT 63!!! DAMNNNN – he is a hottie. Your mami is one lucky lady. As are you for having such a supportive father. Now I will never do for you what he has but what can a chica like me to do get you to make her a flan like this one. Que ricura! It looks amazing.

  6. Awww so sweet to see how much love you put out there for your dad. The flan is as amazing as it looks. So decadent and scrumptious every bite is a big “O”!

  7. SweetLife: I love that pic, too. He’s sooo courageous, I can’t stand it!

    Rosa: thank you dear. he deserves it.

    Dad aka David: awww, I didn’t mean to get you all teary eyed. It’s all in sincerity. It’s all true and you know it. Even the Palin talk. She’s so damn overrated. Ugh. Get over her. She’s ain’t ur friend! ha. And, can you believe I do not remember the KFC incident… wow. uve got great memory. But I know we used to order cornbread everywhere we’d go… it’s been a minute though. And no, I don’t mind you calling me flaca–in fact, it makes me look good! I’ll get my shoes–don’t u worry! Happy, happy day to you. Muah!

    Betty: gracias! si se los mereces. ugual que mi madre!

    Leslie: It was almost me de elote if I made it creamier… this was was a bit chunkier but next time I make it, I’ll make sure to share it… will make it ultra smooth. I didn’t pulse the corn for this one.

    Karriann: Thanks! He’s quite bold and unafraid!

    Eliana: Girl, don’t I know it! I’ve lived my whole life hearing from my girlfriends how fine my father is and how they’d make him their sugar daddy! And, it doesn’t help that he’s such a damn flirt. He calls it being charming. ha. imaginate. I’ll make you this flan when I come to NY!

    Mihele: he’s so sweet so i don’t mind sharing our love. he’s great. and yes, the flan was decadent! 🙂

  8. That’s a cool pic of you and your dad. You guys have a great relationship and he is one of the smartest and coolest guys I know.

  9. As always, another great flan creation. If you have any left let me know and I’ll head out there to get a slice. 🙂

    Great post about your dad. Like you, my Dad and I used to butt heads a lot. What can you say when you put two strong-minded people in the same room? LOL

    But I wouldn’t trade him for the world. A great man in every respect.

  10. Fabulous…love how you incorporated your father’s love of corn to the flan. love the pic in Paris.

  11. Oh…How I loved this post. The bond between father and daughter is so special and it is wonderful you have that with your dad. Although I have only met him once, he left quite a wonderful impression. He needs to give my dad some lessons! Both your parents are just lovely, and please send them my love. 🙂

  12. Dullah: awww, thanks babe. you know how incredible he is to me! the best.

    Itzel: Papi se cre un chulo! I love every bit of it tho! 🙂

    Rohan: Oh my goodness. If you only knew the childhood stories! Too much bumping of heads…. we argued about everything. Glad to know you and ur pops getting along. And hey, don’t forget my dad is Jamaican! ha.

    Merari: Thanks!

    Bellini: He sure is and ur right! I got my guts from him. He’s pretty audacious!

    Chris: ur too sweet. thanks for sharing your own experience with them on here. they’ll appreciate it.

  13. LOL @ Dad and the cornbread event in the KFC. That was some pretty funny stuff. Great post as always sis, I’m positive dad would love that flan. As far as the pictures of Hawaii go.. I think I left a big chunk of me on that island.. I have to go back asap.

  14. I can only imagine the heat generated by your father/daughter “discussions!” You are so lucky to have such a great relationship with your father. AND he jumps out of airplanes. Ugh! The corn in the flan sounds good to me and I think would improve my attitude of flan which isn’t a fave. I love sweet corn and its texture, and yes, I’d say this was very dessertlike. Nice.

  15. WHOOOOP WHOOOOP. Looks Amazing Sis. Always love the way you cook and all the new flavors you expose me to. Great Post about the Old Man as well

  16. Hi Chef,
    Would you be able to post a recipe of this delicious looking sweetcorn flan? It would be much appreciated by aspiring chefs like myself.

  17. 22056 112443I like the valuable information you supply in your articles. Ill bookmark your blog and check once again here regularly. Im quite certain Ill learn a lot of new stuff appropriate here! Excellent luck for the next! 840532

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