Wednesday, September 30, 2020

What Is the Difference Between Crème Brûlée and Flan?

Is it only surface level, or are there other distinctions?


Silky smooth, sweet, rich custards are a sensual way to end a nice meal without being too heavy. Dessert custards all share something in common: a glossy, silken texture and lavish flavor. The difference between crème brûlée and flan (two of our favorite kinds of custard) lies in four factors: the ratio of ingredients, the manner in which the custard is thickened, the method of cooking, and any additional components. Those extra components—different toppings and presentation—are easiest to see.

The Balance of Eggs, Sugar, and Dairy
In custards, the proportion of eggs to sugar to dairy is critical, since texture and flavor hang in delicate balance. Eggs lend sturdiness, and the most opulent custard desserts contain only egg yolks. Sugar also affects texture: The more sugar in a custard, the less firm it will tend to be, and the longer it will take to set. And the amount of fat in your dairy, whether cream or milk, will affect the dessert’s level of richness.

Which Thickening Agent?
Custard is set in one of three different ways: with eggs, starch, or gelatin. Crème brûlée, pots de crème, and flan are thickened with egg; in contrast, pastry cream and American-style cheesecake often employ cornstarch or flour. Gelatin is used to add a gel-like consistency to Bavarian cream and most mousse recipes. And Mexican flan uses condensed milk and evaporated milk along with eggs.

Cooking and Serving Method
All custards are set using low, gentle heat. However, they fall into one of two categories: stirred (cooked on the stovetop) or baked (set in a water bath in the oven). Crème anglaise, pastry cream, mousse, and pudding are stirred; flan, crème brûlée, and pots de crème are baked. Custards can also be served at a wide range of temperatures: Serve crème anglaise warm, and it’s a sauce; freeze it and it becomes ice cream (and vice versa).

Additional Components
More elaborate custard desserts involve additional components, such as toppings or coatings. Crème brûlée contains a layer of hard caramelized sugar on top, achieved by melting sugar with a blowtorch; crème caramel is coated in a layer of soft caramel sauce before being turned out.

When it comes to crème brûlée and flan, it’s mostly the toppings that distinguishes the two, as well as the presentation. The former has that signature crackly sugar crust on top, and the latter has the gooey, soft caramel top. Crème brûlée is served within mini soufflé dishes, and flan is served out of the baking dish, standing alone. And it’s also the culture each dessert hails from: French and Latin American cuisines, respectively.

Try your hand at one or the other, or both, and don’t forget your spoon!

Article Source: https://www.chowhound.com/food-news/158647/creme-brulee-vs-flan-what-is-the-difference/

Sunday, September 27, 2020

It's Always a Good Time for Tacos!


Tacos available at Favela's Mexican Grill

Traditional Soft Street Tacos
Tacos are made with two soft corn tortillas, your choice of meat and fresh salsa topped with cilantro.

Meat Choices
Carne asada steak • Pollo asado (grilled marinated chicken) • Al pastor (marinated pork in red chile)
Chile colorado port • Chile verde with green peppers • Picadillo short rib pulled beef

TRADITIONAL TWO TACO COMBO $12.75
Your choice of two traditional street tacos topped with fresh salsa and cilantro and served with rice, your choice of beans, ships and salsa.
A la carte single taco $3.79

FAVELA'S STYLE TACO COMBO $14.45
Favela's style tacos with BIGGER tortillas, choice of meat, cheese, sour cream, guacamole and salsa.
Favela's style single taco $5.25

SHRIMP TACOS $13.25
Two soft tacos made with jumbo shrimp sauteed in garlic and onions, topped with cabbage, salsa and served with chips and rice.
A la carte single taco $4.25

FISH TACOS $13.25
Two sauteed diced Mahi Mahi tacos, topped with cabbage, fresh salsa and served with chips and rice, with little spice.
A la carte single taco $4.25

VEGETARIAN TACOS $12.00
Two soft tacos made with corn tortillas topped with sauteed zucchini, onions, lettuce, tomatoes and bell peppers and served with rice, beans, chips and salsa.
(2) tacos a la carte $7.00

Monday, September 21, 2020

Why Avocados Shouldn't Exist


The avocado is highly regarded by many people as delicious and nutritious, but the most extraordinary thing about avocados may be their very existence.

Friday, September 18, 2020

Small Bites - Big Flavor!


Small Bites Available at Favela's Mexican Grill
We use only the best, highest quality ingredients to bring the freshest Mexican food experience around to you.

CHIPS AND SALSA FRESCA

ORIGINAL GUACAMOLE 
Made with fresh chunky avocados, tomatoes, jalapenos, queso, fresco sprinkled and cilantro.

NACHOS 
Freshly made chips, topped with lard-free beans, jack cheese, sour cream, guacamole, fresh salsa and your choice of meat.

ROLLITOS
Two rolled crispy flour tortillas filled with shredded chicken, topped with guacamole, sour cream and crisp greens.

TAQUITOS 
Three rolled crispy corn tortillas filled with shredded beef, topped with guacamole, sour cream and crisp greens.

QUESADILLA
½ folded grilled flour tortilla, filled with jack cheese, served with greens and guacamole. With choice of meat | With shrimp 

SUPER QUESADILLA
Full size double tortilla, plus with your choice of meat. With shrimp 

TOSTADA
A crispy corn tortilla topped with mashed beans, your choice of shredded beef or chicken, lettuce, jack cheese, sour cream, guacamole and salsa.

CHICKEN TACO SALAD 
Crisp greens topped with marinated grilled chicken breast, sour cream, guacamole, fresh salsa and served in one of our freshly made taco shells.

Tuesday, September 15, 2020

Favela's Mexican Grill is Open for Outdoor Seating and Food To-Go!!


Although we are temporarily unable to offer indoor seating, we at FAVELA’S are doing our best to provide outdoor seating so you can enjoy some sort of dinning. 

Remember we Specialize in packing food to go.... we also offer GRUBHUB AND DOORDASH WITH FREE DELIVERY

Favela’s Mexican Grill delivers a fun Mexican dining adventure at a moderate price. We have become Solano County’s favorite Mexican Restaurant by being a place where every guest will enjoy fast friendly service and delicious food.

Saturday, September 12, 2020

Wednesday, September 9, 2020

The Unique History of Flan, a World Traveled Dessert


With Cinco de Mayo approaching, we were trying find a delicious South of the Border dessert to make for a blog post. This led a topic of great debate in our kitchen. Where the heck does flan come from? They serve it at Mexican restaurants, we’ve all had it in Mexico, and yet the name in no way sounds Mexican. I was sure it was of Spanish descent, Tina, our graphic designer, attested to it being French, and Lucretia, our marketing specialist, swore it was Italian.

So I did some research and it turns out we were all kind of right.

Dessert: Flan

Pronunciation: According to the Mother Ship of all pronunciation websites, Forvo, you’re supposed to say “flayn,” as in it rhymes with “plan.” Glad that’s settled.

Origin of the Name: The name comes from the Old French word, “flaon,” from the Late Latin word, “fladon,” which is derived from the Old High German word “flado,” which means a flat cake or object.

History: Like many desserts, flan’s existence began during the Roman Empire. The Romans were the first to domesticate chickens and they found themselves in the middle of an egg surplus. So they used techniques they stole learned from the Greeks to develop new egg-based recipes. These recipes, as you can imagine, resulted in loads of dishes and desserts, including flan.

Back then, most versions of the dessert were savory rather than sweet and included flavors like eel sprinkled with pepper. But a few early recorded recipes contained the only sweetener of the day: honey. And as the Romans conquered basically all of Europe, their customs, beliefs, and recipes went with them. The sweet variety of flan gripped the newly vanquished lands and when the Empire fell in 476 CE, flan survived.

Of all the peoples introduced to this dessert, the Spanish were particularly taken with it (and were the first to top it with a sweet caramel sauce). Like the Romans before them, the Spaniards brought flan to new lands, when in 1518, the famous conquistador Hernán Cortés landed in the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico.

The Mexicans took flan to a whole new level. They created coffee, chocolate, and even coconut flavors and the recipes became popular not only in Mexico, but the rest of Latin America.

We hope you enjoy this traditional, worldly dessert on Cinco de Mayo (or any time, really) and from all of us at the bakery, thank you for visiting!

Article Source: https://www.cheesecake.com/Blog/post/the-unique-history-of-flan-a-world-traveled-dessert.aspx

Thursday, September 3, 2020

Burritos at Favela's Mexican Grill



Choice of flour, wheat, tomato or spinach tortilla filled with rice, pinto whole beans and mashed beans (lard-free) or black beans and fresh salsa. 

Carne Asada
Marinated, charbroiled chopped steak

Pollo Asada
Marinated boneless and skinless chicken breast

Carne Al Pastor
Lean marinated pork

Chile Verde
Lean sauteed pork with green peppers

Chile Colorado
Lean sauteed pork in red chile

Picadillo
Steamed shredded beef

Vegetarian
Your choice of beans, rice, jack cheese, guacamole, salsa and sour cream

Vegetable
Sauteed zucchini, onions, tomatoes and bell peppers with rice lettuce, sauce and your choice of beans

Frijoles Y Queso
Your choice of beans and jack cheese

Favela's Burrito
Same as above plus cheese, sour cream and guacamole

Shrimp Burrito
Sauteed jumbo shrimp, rice, cabbage and fresh salsa. Not available at downtown Fairfield