Manang Kusinera

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

2010-12-01T13:41:00.001-05:00

Last year's Thanksgiving introduced my and my sons' taste buds to pumpkin whoopie pies. We have always had the classic chocolate whoopie pies, which, according to my husband, was the reason he bought a Kitchen Aid mixer as a birthday gift to me on m our first year as a couple. When my MIL prepared these pumpkin whoopie pies last year, my husband did not try them at all (which is nothing new). My sons, however, liked them, as I did. I was surprised that this year, after my sons carved out our pumpkins for Halloween, the younger one was anticipating that my MIL would make pumpkin whoopie pies again for Thanksgiving (my MIL was so gracious to host Thanksgiving this year). But my sons was disappointed because my MIL did not make them this time. So I promised him that I would make pumpkin whoopie pies the next day, and I will make it a Thanksgiving or Halloween tradition to make them yearly. I based my recipe on Nestle's VeryBestBaking.com website, with only the addition of two other spices.

Ingredients:
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
dash of nutmeg
dash of powdered cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature, lightly beaten
1 cup LIBBY'S® 100% Pure Pumpkin
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
6 tablespoons butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Instructions:

FOR COOKIES:

PREHEAT oven to 350° F. Lightly grease or line four baking sheets with parchment paper.
COMBINE flour, baking powder, baking soda,spices and salt in medium bowl. Beat butter and sugar in large mixer bowl on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add pumpkin and vanilla extract; beat until smooth. Stir in flour mixture until combined. Drop by heaping measuring teaspoons onto prepared baking sheets. (A total of 72 cookies are needed for the recipe.)
BAKE for 10 to 13 minutes or until springy to the touch. Cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

FOR CREAM CHEESE FILLING:

BEAT cream cheese, butter and vanilla extract in small mixer bowl on medium speed until fluffy. Gradually beat in powdered sugar until light and fluffy.
SPREAD a heaping teaspoon of filling onto flat side of one cookie; top with flat side of second cookie to make a sandwich. Repeat with remaining cookies and filling. Store in covered container in refrigerator.

Our Family's Thanksgiving Tradition

2010-11-28T13:51:00.000-05:00

Our family tries to stick to traditions, and part of that is celebrating the four major holidays with my in-laws. There are 4 of us families in all -- my parents-in-law, my husband's brother's family, his sister's family, and our very own, that take turns hosting the four major holidays, and for this year's Thanksgiving, my mother-in-law was the "IT." In addition, we have her father with us as well, so that makes for four generations in these gatherings.

I was excited when Eric and Tiffany of theguerrilagourmet.com emailed me for an invitation to be a part of their holiday project - The Gorilla Gourmet -- to represent Maine. It is an honor for me to do so.

Our family probably typically represents the Mainers in that we try our best to be together with family (and exclusively family) during the Holidays. My mother-in-law prepares her fruit cocktail with mostly canned fruits that they picked from their own trees and bushes.

Our usual menu stars THE TURKEY and it will never be Thanksgiving if we prepare an entreé other than the turkey. (Oh, the Filipina in me tried to do that before, and it was like a major violation to them true Mainers!). The turkey is roasted with stuffing that is usually prepared the night before then stuffed into the turkey's cavity just before roasting.

Mashed potatoes are also prepared using potatoes they harvested from their own garden. White bread is prepared using a breadmaker (and no, we don't mill our own flour; we get that from Hannaford stores). Other sides are pitted olives, cranberry salad, bread and butter pickles, boiled onions (a Tibbetts family tradition that I am still trying very hard to assimilate), and mashed turnips.

My mother-in-law also prepared three various pies -- pecan pie, pumpkin pie and raspberry pie, but I forgot to take photos of these desserts before they were gone. One thing that my mother-in-law prepared last year that she skipped this year was the pumpkin whoopie piea, something that was not really traditionally prepared in our family during Thanksgiving, but my younger son was somehow anticipating this year. Now if there is something in our menu that I would be almost sure was very Maine-ly, it would be whoopie pies. So I decided to make the whoopie pies the very next day (recipe coming soon), and I promised to my son that from now on, pumpkin whoopie pies will be part of the Thanksgiving tradition in our family.

From the slideshow above, you can see how closely-knit our families are. I feel so blessed to have in-laws who treat my sons as if they are true blood relations, and that is something worth thanking for. We have a lot other things to be thankful for, but that would be something exclusively for our family to ponder upon.

Tassimo Brewing Machine

2010-11-27T19:15:00.000-05:00

Last Christmas, I asked hubby for this gift....because I love coffee...and I wanted to have
immediate access to Starbucks-type of coffee. If you are familiar with Keurig, this is pretty much the same. I chose this, though, because among those that I looked at, this was one that made hot chocolate drinks as well. My husband is not a coffee drinker, but he loves hot cocoa!

Since getting this, my husband has concocted his own recipe for hot chocolate drink. I just get the usual packs available for caffe latté, caffe macchiato, and the regular ones. Gevalia brand has become my favorite, as I find Starbucks too strong. Of course, it has its cons, like I get too much trash (no recycling program by Tassimo for their pods), and I get to do maintenance (so does a regular coffee brewer) - daily wiping, change of filter, and descaling every three months....but it is so worth it!

If at times it does not seem to work okay, it could be that the bar code reader is dirty. I just get a cotton cloth (I get the rags sold by Wal-mart), dampen it and wipe the reader. Instructions say not to use paper towel for the bar scanner since that will damage the see through material (glass? or plastic? I can't remember).

I also got some teas (yellow tea, black tea and green tea, Tazo brand) for use on those times when I feel bloated.

Apple Dumplings

2010-11-07T21:17:00.004-05:00

We had these apple dumplings when we ate supper at my mother-in-law's one night. We loved them so much that I asked for a recipe. Surprisingly, it was easy to make, using ready-made dough. I made it the very next day at home. Hubby was even surprised to find that orange juice makes a good flavor combination with apples!

Ingredients:
2 cortland apples, peeled, cored and cut into quarters (to come up with 8 wedges)
1 tube of crescent rolls, divided into 8 parts (cut along the perforations)
1 cup orange juice
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg

Instructions:
Boil together in a small saucepan the butter, orange juice and sugar.
Pre-heat oven to 350 deg F.
Wrap each apple wedge with the dough, place on a deep 9x9 baking dish.
Pour the mixture on top. Sprinkle with nutmeg and cinnamon.
Bake for 45 minutes.

7-Up Citrus Pork Chop

2010-05-05T21:33:00.002-05:00

Today I used our grill for the first time this year. Because I had been meaning to try this 7-Up Citrus Marinade on pork chops. I got the marinade from Hannaford sometime last winter (the 7-up caught my attention, since Pinoy style barbecues and even fried chicken are usually marinated or cooked with 7-up. Unfortunately, the fried chicken pre-cooked with 7-up was not well-accepted by hubby. He said it was too sweet.)

I had 8 pieces of pork chops. I marinated 6 pieces in this 7-Up Citrus Marinade for 1.5 hours (Meanwhile, I was transplanting seedlings that I bought from a greenhouse into hanging baskets). I left two pieces unmarinated just in case hubby would not like the marinated ones, just like he did not like the 7-up cooked fried chicken. These I just flavored with salt and pepper, basted with bacon drippings.

I fired up the grill (it's now officially summer in my book!), and cooked the chops, basting with bacon drippings from time to time until I was satisfied with the doneness (I just gauge by the looks...no thermometer, no timing).

Served them while hot...oriented hubby which ones were plain and the marinated. To my surprise, he tried both, and tried the marinated ones first, and loved it! Maybe because the flavor was more of citrus, and that the flavor did not overpower the chops (since they were marinated less than two hours). Then he had a plain one and liked it too...Maybe it was the bacon drippings used for basting...

What a satisfying meal on this hot summery spring day!

Maple-Garlic Beef Short Ribs

2010-04-29T13:33:00.002-05:00

I made this for supper tonight, using the exact same ingredients as the maple-garlic chicken, and the same method except that I used pressure cooker. (I added two slices of sirloin steaks for hubby because he does not like ribs -- "too much work for so little meat"). My MIL recently gave me two quartz of maple syrup, and one quart is almost out now, with some sediments forming at the bottom. We usually do not use this part of maple syrup for pancakes, but I hate throwing it away, so cooking or baking with it is the best way to use it up.

We loved the effect just as much as we did with the chicken.

Ingredients:
1 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 cup white vinegar
1 cup soy sauce
3-5 lb beef short ribs
cornstarch-water mixture (probably 1/2 cup water + 3 heaping tbsp cornstarch)

Instructions:
Mix all the sauce ingredients. Place beef ribs in pressure cooker. Pour the sauce. Close lid and turn oven on high. Once pressure gets high, simmer for 45 minutes.
Release pressure. Turn oven to low broil. Place beef ribs on baking sheet. Broil 1-2 minutes to dry up the surface. Meanwhile, make sauce thicker using cornstarch-water mixture (Sauce should be boiling briskly, then pour the CW mixture in slow stream while stirring).

Baste beef ribs with sauce and broil two minutes. Do this two times on one side then flip over and do this again twice. Basting and broiling gives the glazed effect (the sugar content caramelizes under the high heat and gives that beautiful highly-appealing sheen).
Place remaining sauce in a gravy boat. Serve with the beef ribs. Garnish with snips of chives as desired. Serve over plain rice or mashed potatoes with boiled veggies.

Easy Shrimp Alfredo

2010-04-28T16:21:00.000-05:00

Being crunched for time, I have to think nowadays of what I can fix quickly, easily, without need for too many ingredients. Here is one of them. My sons and I love shrimps, so I fix seafoods at times, and fix something else for hubby and stepd (or have TV dinner for them).

Ingredients:

1 lb pasta, prepared as directed (I used rotini here, but you can use linguine or farfelle)
1 lb large shrimps, shelled
1 each of zucchini and summer squash
1-2 tbsp butter
salt, pepper and ground basil leaves
1 jar (15 oz) Classico Roasted Garlic Alfredo Sauce
1 can (~12? oz -- I forgot to take note) of Campbell's condensed cream of shrimp
Enough water to thin the sauce a bit (1/2 cup to 3/4 cup)

Instructions:
While cooking pasta, melt butter in saucepan, add zucchini, summer squash and the shrimps and stir fry until shrimps turn pink (about 2-3 minutes). Do not overcook, or shrimps get rubbery. Remove from pan, transfer to a bowl, and set aside. Keep warm,
Pour into the saucepan both sauces (alfredo and condensed cream). Add enough water to thin as you desire, stir until boiling. Turn off the heat. Serve on pasta and add the shrimps/veggies on top. Consume immediately.

Fiddleheads with Coconut Milk

2010-04-25T20:14:00.000-05:00

I was craving for some vegetable-based dish one day, then one of my co-workers left a gallon bag full of fiddleheads inside the fridge for anyone interested to take home. The unit sec and I decided to divide that. That's what I cooked in a laing-inspired fashion, although I decided to add some vinegar toward the end of cooking.

My craving was satisfied, and my sons enjoyed it as well.

Ingredients:
1/4 lb pork liempo, sliced thinly
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium onion, sliced
2-3 tbsp patis (fish sauce)
1 (13.5 oz) can premium coconut milk (first press)
1/2 cup to 1 cup water
qt fiddle heads
salt and pepper to taste
dash of ground basil leaves
2-3 tbsp cider vinegar

Instructions:
Add about 1/4 cup water to pork and sautee until pork renders fat. Add salt and pepper. Add garlic and sautee until light brown. Add onions and sautee until caramelized. Add patis and let sizzle. Add coconut milk and fiddle heads. Add about 1/4 cup water and stir. Let simmer uncovered until coconut turns creamy (add water if it turns too dry). Season with salt, pepper and ground basil leaves. Add vinegar and let simmer another 5 minutes. Serve with plain rice.

Happy 101 Award

2010-04-20T20:12:00.000-05:00

I received this Happy 101 Award from Le, a newbie foodblogger who told me I was among those who inspired her to start her foodblog (mainly because I was in the same boat she is in now when I started my own foodblog...if you don't know it yet, you can read on my About Me page).

I feel honored to be a recipient of this award, and even though lately I am very busy, I am taking some time off to (1)enumerate and reflect on things that make me happy, and (2) pass this award on to others who have been making other people inspired and happy.

10 Things that make me happy:

1. Family time (watching, outing, traditional celebrations, target shooting, just having fun)
2. My sunroom and the sampaguita flowers
3. Cooking and baking, and people appreciating my efforts (blog readers, family, friends)
4. When my patients express appreciation for what I do for them, or when I see them improve under my care
5. When our cat Mimzy jumps on my lap to be petted (she is usually snobby)
6. When my kids get good grades
7. When other people speak highly of my kids
8. When hubby reminds me how much he loves me (he does by building our house and my computer custom-made for ME)
9. Having exercise time (which I barely get nowadays)
10. Looking at our photos to see how much things/people have changed.

I am passing on the awards to:
1. MaMely of http://pinoyamericanrecipes.blogspot.com
2. Claire of http://www.clairebakescakes.blogspot.com
3. Vanjito of http://panlasangpinoy.com
4. JMom of http://amoores.com

Here are the rules:
1 Copy and paste the award on your blog.
2 List who gave the award to you and use a link to her blog (or hyperlink).
3 List 10 things that make you happy.
4 Pass the award on to other bloggers and visit their blog to let them know about the award

Piaya/Piyaya

2010-04-18T21:56:00.000-05:00

Piaya --- I got my first taste of this Bacolod delicacy when my Ilonggo friend (classmate from high school to college) gave some to me. It was not love at first bite. It was more of an acquired taste for me. And after several bites, I was hooked (same thing happened to me with the pinasugbo that she also introduced me to).

A reader asked me before for the recipe, and I searched and recommended one that seemed promising. If I remember it right, it was this recipe by blueapron. While my outcome was good, it was not exactly how I remember it, or maybe it was my lack of skills in making it that made it different. For one thing, the filling crystallized and hardened after cooling (should still remain gooey and the whole piaya should remain a bit pliable still). Second, I had holes because it was quite hard to flatten the disk without making holes...I probably should have used bread flour and a little bit more water to come up with stronger dough. Don't get me wrong; the outcome was good. And I think I can remedy some issues with my notes below.

However, after my kids and hubby tasted it and liked it as is, I think I am going to stick to the recipe. So, thanks, blueapron!

My apologies for posting about something that I tried only for the first time. Read my notes below before you proceed to see if you would like to experiment some more. This one is time-consuming (like most Filipino delicacies are), and I don't think I will try to experiment again anytime soon.

Also, I have a video of these, but I really don't have the time to edit them and make into a video worthwhile of your viewing time, so please bear with the photos. The written instructions should be clear enough to guide you.

Ingredients:
2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick; 1/4 lb)
1/4 cup + 1 to 2 tbsp water
250 gm muscovado sugar (I used 1 tbsp per dough ball, so roughly around 20 tbsp)
1 cup of sesame seeds (you will most probably have leftovers)

Instructions:

Soften butter or cut into small cubes. Mix with flour. Add 1/4 cup water and knead to form a dough. If you need to add more water to make it more cohesive, add 1 tbsp at a time and knead until you have a soft and pliable dough that is not sticky to touch. Let rest for about 10 minutes wrapped in plastic.

Divide into twenty pieces (I measure about 18-20 gm per dough ball). Roll to flatten using rolling pin. Measure sugar (1 tbsp if you want it sweet; use less if you don't) and compact that (by pushing the sugar against the spoon with your thumbs) before placing at the middle of the flattened dough (so that it does not crumble right away as soon as you fold the edges over the sugar). Gather edges together and pinch. Flatten a bit with your palm. Dunk in sesame seeds and press slightly for the seeds to adhere. Transfer to countertop and flatten carefully with the rolling pin. Keep covered in plastic until ready to cook.

Heat a nonstick pan on low. Lightly brown one side then flip. Some sugar may ooze out. Wipe the pan to remove excess sugar and sesame seeds before proceeding with the next batch. Cool completely on wire rack then place in ziploc bag.

Notes: Some of the commenters at blueapron's said the piaya filling was supposed to still be gooey even when cooled and not return to crystallized form. I tend to agree with that. Probably for experiments, you might want to try adding a little bit of water and flour or cornstarch or tapioca, just like in Ferna's website. The purpose for the water is to dissolve the flour/starch/tapioca while cooking, and act as colloidal glue for the caramelizing sugar, so that come cooling time, instead of crystallizing, the caramelized sugar will stay in the colloid mixture and not re-crystallize, hopefully resulting to the gooey consistency that stays like paste.

Arrowroot Cookies

2010-04-18T06:23:00.000-05:00

TYPE SUMMARY HERE

Ingredients:
MARCIA'S ARROWROOT COOKIES
My friend Marcia shared this more traditional recipe in the comments on the earlier post. Makes 3-1/2 dozen.

1/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup arrowroot
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with a Silpat or parchment paper, or grease the baking sheet with butter. Set aside.

In a large bowl or in a Kitchenaid-type mixer, cream butter and sugar. Beat in egg and vanilla. In a small bowl, stir together remaining (dry) ingredients, and add to the egg mixture. Mix well. Flour your countertop or board, and roll dough to 1/8-inch thick (or slightly thicker, to taste). Cut into 2-1/2 inch rounds, and place on the baking sheet. Prick each cookie several times with a fork. Bake until golden, 8-10 minutes, or longer if your cookies are thicker.
http://www.theperfectpantry.com/2008/03/arrowroot-and-c.html
Instructions:

Tender and Moist Wheat Pan de sal

2010-04-07T23:54:00.000-05:00

Denise, an fb friend, once asked me if I have a good recipe for wheat pandesal, and I made a suggestion using my pandelimon recipe with wheat flour replacing half of the bread flour. When she had a good outcome that her friends and family all enjoyed and since then made every week, I felt the need to try it myself, although I used only one cup of whole wheat. The result was not the typical dry choking-hazard wheat breads, but one that was moist and tender. As always, the "secret" ingredient to make it softer and moister was the mashed potatoes (or sweet potatoes, whichever you prefer).

Ingredients:
1 / 2 cup milk
1 / 4 cup water
1 / 2 cup boiled and mashed regular or sweet potato
1 / 4 cup butter or margarine
1 large egg
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 cups bread flour + 2-3 tbsp while kneading
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp Fleischmann's bread machine yeast

Instructions:

Mix the milk, potato water and mashed potatoes and heat in the microwave for 30 seconds or so. Add the butter and egg, beat to mix then check temperature. It should be between 70-80 deg F (room temp). Pour into the bread machine pan. Add the dry ingredients. Set at dough cycle. after about 10 minutes, start adding flour gradually so that the dough is not too sticky (try to poke from time to time with fingers). It should appear relatively smooth and moist, not wet and flaky. The kneading ends on the 30th minute, then it rises for 1 hr.

Transfer the dough on a lightly greased and floured surface. Stretch and form into a log. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs. Slice every 1-1.5 inches intervals. Coat with breadcrumbs. Lay on sliced side on baking pan, 1 to 2 fingers apart. Let rise in warm oven for 30 minutes. Bake at 375 deg F for 10 minutes, rotate the pan, then bake for additional 2-3 minutes or until browned to your liking. Enjoy with butter, or your favorite "palaman" (I used dulce de leche and butter on the photo above) and cool the rest on wire rack for at least 30 minutes before storing in ziploc bag.

Rice Puto

2010-04-03T16:22:00.000-05:00

I would have said "Putong Puti" on the title, but because I used several flavorings to come up with bite-size puto to bring tomorrow to my SIL's for Easter celebration, these mini-puto have pastel colors,and will be the right way to Filipinize Easter, I would say!

I used rice flour (to save time), and added coconut milk instead of plain water just because I love the flavor imparted by it. I also added fresh pandan leaves to the boiling water for additional flavor.

My kids liked them, tasting each and seeing which flavor they liked best. Hubby was likewise delighted.

I also experimented with using additional tapioca starch (added 1 tsp to 1 tbsp to one of the 4 colors) to see whether it would help prevent the "eruption"; I also tried to lessen the heat as soon as I placed the bamboo steamer, so as not to make "gulat" and create that erupted look. Not that I don't like the erupted top; I was just wondering how some puto vendors manage not to have any on theirs. These seem effective, and tapioca subtly changes the consistency to make it a little bit chewier (almost rubber-like, but not tough, whereas pure rice would result to a more crumbly texture, especially if batter is not thin enough, or if rice did not soak long enough).

I will have to make special mention of MaMely of PinoyAmericanRecipes for the puto molds and the wonderful Pinoy flavorings she sent to me. Thanks, MaMely!

Ingredients:
1 package (16 oz or 1 lb) rice flour (regular, red writings on package)
1-1/2 cup water
1 can (14 oz or 13.5 oz) premium coconut milk (unsweetened, first pressing)
1-1/2 cup sugar
a dash or two of salt
1 tbsp baking powder
few drops of McCormick flavorings (langka, ube, pandan)

Optional:
tapioca starch (1 tbsp for the whole batch, or 1 tsp for each after dividing)
pandan leaves for the boiling water

Instructions:

In a plastic container, blend rice flour with water very well. Cover and let rest in room temp overnight.

Next morning, add everything else except flavorings and mix very well until smooth. Batter will be very very thin. Do not be tempted to add any more flour.

Prepare water for steaming. Add pandan leaves if desired.

Divide batter into 4. Add a few drops of the flavorings to 3, leaving one white, so you end up with 4 different colors. You may add tapioca (1 tsp each) to each of these, or try one with tapioca and see if you like the result. If you don't, leave the rest alone.

Lay the puto molds on top of cloth lining as shown (I use the ones in the photo below; I bought it from Walmart, where the housekeeping/building stuff are). Pour the batter almost to the brim of the molds. When water is briskly boiling, steam the puto and time for 10 minutes for these bite-size puto (muffin size will probably take 15-20 minutes). If using metal pan, line the lid also with dry cloth to absorb moisture and prevent condensation. Do not steam the puto too long that the excess moisture gets absorbed by the cooked puto that might result to sogginess. In trying to figure out the right steaming time for your size of puto, try a few, steam for about 10 minutes, try it (or break in half to see the middle), before you proceed with the rest of the batter.

Once done, remove right away from the mold and cool on wire rack so excess moisture evaporates. These puto molds easily releases the puto; I just had to slip the tip of a toothpick at one side, the gently pull it out and drop onto the cooling rack. Store (what you will not eat right away) in airtight container when cooled completely.

Reader's Gallery #15

2010-04-01T20:18:00.000-05:00

Thanks to Mercie for sharing a photo of the binangkal that she made.

Mercie was the one who requested that I make the binangkal, so I owe it to her to learn how to make this snack that is popoular in Cebu.

Ham Lentil Potato Soup

2010-03-30T15:02:00.000-05:00

Something I made to use up leftover boiled ham. I did not expect hubby to like this, and I was preparing a TV dinner for him and stepd. He tasted some (because the aroma of simmering soup had been enticing him), and he actually liked it! He said, "I should have this instead of the TV dinner. Next time you fix this, remind me that I liked it."

Ingredients:
2 cups cubed ham (fat trimmed off)
2 stalks celery, sliced
1 medium onion, chopped
1 cup dried lentil
1 cup cubed carrots (I used leftover from boiled ham, so I placed these in the pot toward the end of cooking)
5 cups water + 2 cups tomato juice* (or just use plain water)
1 cup leftover mashed potato (mix this well with some of the water before placing in the pot
2 cloves garlic
1 bay leaf
dash of ground basil leaves
2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp ground black pepper

Instructions:
Dump everything (if using uncooked carrots) in a big pot and stir. Let boil then lower heat and simmer covered for 1-1/2 hrs, stirring occasionally. Enjoy with freshly baked bread (and rice for you Filipinos). (If you are using the bread machine, prepare your bread before you start fixing this soup.)

*Note: The tomato juice I used was from canned raw tomatoes, which I drained to use for lasagna. I always save the juice and use it for things like this, or for sweet and sour sauce of escabeche.

Pinoy Cheese Cupcake

2010-03-28T16:01:00.000-05:00

This is what the typical neighborhood type of Filipino bakeshops would tout as their "special"kababayan in the sense that it uses cheese. A closer look at the ingredients would indicate that this is basically a muffin topped with grated cheese. Contrary to how the Western cheesecake is, this does not have any form of cream cheese (or anything cheese) in its batter.

This was my favorite muffin in my Tatay's bakery, especially when fresh out of the oven with its crunchy top. Once cooled, I would wrap them individually in small clear plastic bags and seal using the candle (I got proficient at making the seal without actually touching the flame; just the heat, so that the plastic would not have any dark marking as it does when it touches the yellow flame).

Husband had a taste of the batter and thought it tasted like butter cookies. (Hmmmm....maybe I should try making some into drop cookies.) When it was done, I had hubby taste it. His reaction was..."Hmmm, that's good!" Kids' reaction? Same. (gaya-gaya, puto-maya...)

This recipe was adapted from Mrs. Daisy Alonzo's recipe.

Ingredients:
1 bar (1/2 cup) butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
4 eggs
2 cans (14 oz each) sweetened condensed milk
3-2/3 cups all purpose flour
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla
cheddar cheese, finely grated, for topping

Instructions:

Line 2 muffin pans with paper cups.
Preheat oven to 350 ° F
Mix flour and baking powder well in a bowl.
Using a stand mixer, cream butter and sugar together on medium speed. Turn speed to slow and add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually increase speed to medium and beat well.
Turn speed to slow and slowly add the condensed milk. Beat well on medium speed for about a minute.
Turn to slow again and add the dry ingredients. Increase speed to medium and add oil. Beat well for about another minute. Add vanilla and beat to blend.
Transfer batter to a piping bag and pipe into the muffin cups, leaving about 1/4 inch space at the top.
Top with grated cheese (preferably the orange-colored cheddar cheese).
Bake for 15 minutes, then rotate the pans for even baking. (If you want, you may add some more cheese at this point).Bake for another 10 minutes. Enjoy with maple syrup or condensed milk if desired.
Transfer to cooling rack and completely cool before storing in ziploc bags those that you will not be able to consume right away.

The original recipe that I got from asiarecipe.com forum was as follows:
Pinoy Cheese Cupcake-Kababayan
(Pinoy Cheese Muffin)
Recipe courtesy of Mrs. Daisy Alonzo
Ingredients:
1 bar butter
4 eggs
100 grams sugar
2 can of condensed milk
15 grams cooking oil
5 grams baking powder
500 grams. all-purpose flour
you will need:
cheese grater
2 ounce paper baking cups
cake mixer, mixing bowl and spatula
Paraan ng pagluluto:
Hiwa-hiwain muna ang butter para madali itong lummbot.
Ilagay ang butter sa isang mixing bowl, ihalo ang asukal at apat na itlog.
Haluin ang mga sangkap na ito sa cake mixer. Gamitin ang pinakamahinang
speed upang hindi tumapon ang butter mixture.
Idagdag na din sa mixture ang dalawang lata ng condensed milk.
Ihinto muna ang mixer.
Pagsamahin naman ang harina at baking powder at saka ihalo sa butter mixture.
Paandarin muli ang mixer sa pinakamahinang speed. Haluing mabuti hanggang sa
maging basa ang mga sangkap.
Ihalo ang 15 grm ng mantika.
Pabilisin ang mixer hanggang maging pino ang sangkap.
Patayin ang mixer, ito na ngayon ang cupcake mixture.
Ihanay ang paper baking cups. Magbuhos ng cupcake mixture sa bawat baking cups
Punuin hanggang ikatlong bahagi ng bawat cups
Lagyan ng grated cheese ang cupcake mixture.
Ipasok sa mainit na oven, ihurno ng mga 30 minuto.
Luto na ang cheese cupcake. Palamigin

Binangkal

2010-03-27T02:06:00.000-05:00

Last week I was emailed by a reader requesting for a post on Binangkal, which is popular in Cebu. I had no idea what it was, but I was intrigued enough, especially with some craving to make some munchies soon because I was not making any the past weeks due to the dust all over the house as my husband was working on our sunroom.

Plus, I needed a break too. Cooking/baking has always been therapeutic for me. So I tried this recipe I had been eyeing since last week. I wanted to decrease the ingredients but the list makes it hard to do that. So I followed the recipe. I had a lot of dough to start with, but since I had no idea what binangkal was, except that it was pretty much like doughnut in that it was fried dough, I thought it would be just fine as the first batches could be a learning phase for me.

True enough, pingpong-sized round dough dropped into the medium hot oil gave me darkly browned binangkal with uncooked middle dough. How could I come up with cooked middle without burning the outside? I came up with this solution: smaller dough, flattened somehow into discs. Rationale: Flatter dough means the heat will be close enough to the middle to cook that part well. The smaller dough ensures cooking the middle part without burning the outer.

I had the extra advantage of having the puffing up of the middle part as a visual cue that the middle is getting done. That was quite unexpected but very effective means of assessing the doneness (aside from brown color at the outside).

Kids approved it, and especially enjoyed these treats with maple syrup. Hubby tried it and said it was different, then got a can of Pepsi and had some more binangkal. So I guess he kinda liked it, although it was "different." It is wonderfully crunchy on the outside (Hey, Claire, you will not break your teeth with this one, I promise!)

Ingredients:

5 Cups All Purpose Flour
5 1/2 Teaspoon Baking Powder (preferably Calumet)
1 Box Dark Brown Sugar GH (2 1/2 cups)
3 While Eggs
1 Small Can Evaporated Milk (2/3 cup) + 2 tbsp milk (whole milk or if you have extra evap milk)
1 tsp Vanilla

Instructions:

Mix dry ingredients thoroughly until fine (I used the food processor in pulses.)
Mix remaining ingredients: eggs, vanilla, milk.
Combine all dry and liquid ingredients by hand.
Add more milk if it is too dry until you obtain the correct consistency. The dough should
be stiff enough to mold into a ball. Don't make it too wet (read on and you will see why).
(Adjust to your preferred Binangkal size).
Lay the pinched dough on aluminum foil.
Get a cup of tap or filtered water as preferred (this is why you should not make the dough too wet in the first place).
Dip two fingers of your hand and wet the palm of the other hand for molding the dough.
Pick up each dough and roll between both palms of your hand to shape into balls.
Roll dough in a bowl of sesame seeds then press between fingers to make them flat (depressed more at the middle than at the sides). When done, you are ready to fry.
Heat your frying pan in high heat then lower to Medium-LOW when you begin frying because the pan must be very hot to start. You can try one first to gauge your own stove and adjust in the next batches. Start with few, try to open some and see if you already like what you have before going full blast with more per batch.
Place only about 6-8 pieces per batch. Once all have floated, wait until the top parts puff up and crack, then tip over to cook the other side. Count about 30 seconds once you have tipped over all pieces. Take note of which ones are the first, as they are the ones to get out first. Check to see doneness of the underside (should be uniformly browned, not whitish in the cracks. (My video below is quite different at I tipped too soon just by counting. It will be more reliable to wait for puffing up of the middle before tipping over.)
Prepare a cooling wire rack over a cookie sheet to hold cooked Binangkal for cooling purposes and to let excess oil drip.
Line your storage container with paper towel. Store in airtight container when completely cool.
The Binangkal will keep for a week (according to recipe source).

To Mercie, I hope you will like this!

Kababayan (Filipino Muffins)

2010-03-23T20:39:00.000-05:00

This recipe and photo above were shared by my fb friend Aileen Nopuente. Thanks for your generosity, Aileen!

Ingredients:
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
4 tsp. cream of tartar
3/4 cup softened butter( room temperature)
2 cup all purpose flour
2 cups cake flour
1 Tbs. baking powder 1 Tbs. vanilla extract
1 cup warm water
yellow food colouring,as needed for colour
28 ounces,sweetened condensed milk (2 cans)
1/2 cup vegetable oil

Directions:
- Pre-heat oven to 190"C .
- Combine sugar,salt,sugar,cream of tartar and soft butter in the bowl of an electric mixer.blend for 4 mins at lowest speed.
- Stir together in a separate bowl the all-purpose flour,cake flour & baking powder.
- Stir togeteher vanilla,water,yellowcolour and condensed milk in another small bowl.
- Add wet and dry ingredients along with oil alternately to mixer until it forms a smooth batter.
- Fill-each well-greased muffin cup with 1/2 cup batter.bake for 22 mins. or until toothpick inserted in cake center comes out clean.
- When the muffin is almost done, turn off the oven & partially open the oven door for another 5 mins. before taking out the muffin.

Manang's Pancit Sotanghon

2010-03-15T21:50:00.000-05:00

This is one of the many ways I cook sotanghon...my typical ingredients are the usual ingredients for pancit: holy trinity of ginisang bawang, sibuyas, at kamatis (sauteed garlic, onions, and tomatoes), carrots and cabbage, with chicken broth, chicken/pork meat or shrimps and squid, with some soy sauce, patis, oyster sauce, ground pepper, and a drizzle of sesame oil

However, one day I had an intense craving, and all I had at home were the garlic and onions, carrots, and celery, with some leftover chicken and turkey breasts. And in my pantry were (Asian ingredientrs) canned baby corn, straw mushrooms, water chestnut, and quail eggs...and I had in my freezer several pints of chicken broth.

Hmmm...seems like I can make a somewhat more-Chinese-ish version of pancit. So I did, and I managed to satisfy my cravings.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp oil
3 cloves garlic, sliced
1 medium onion, sliced
1 carrot, sliced thinly
3 stalks celery, sliced thinly
1/2 the contents of each canned straw mushrooms, baby corns, quail eggs, and water chestnut (don't forget to drain)
1 cup cubed chicken/turkey breasts
2 cups chicken broth
salt and pepper to taste
cornstarch+water to thicken a bit

You might be wondering why only half of the canned products...well, I had to save some for another batch this time using a cup of squid and 1/2 pound of shrimps (seafood version, which I made the next day).

1 pack of bean vermicelli noodles (about 14 ounces?)
hot water to soak noodles in for 5 minutes
2-3 cups chicken broth to cook the noodles in
2 tbsp oyster sauce
soy sauce, salt and pepper to taste
1 tbsp anatto oil (optional- see here for instructions)
drizzle of sesame oil

Instructions:

Soak the noodles in HOT water for 5 minutes. Drain well.

Sautee, in the following order, garlic (until golden brown), onions (until translucent), carrots, celery, baby corn, water chestnut, and straw mushrooms for about 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from pan. Put the 2 cups broth into the pan and let boil. Thicken a bit with cornstarch-water mixture. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Place the veggies back into the pan, add the quail eggs and stir until veggies are coated with the slightly thickened sauce. When it starts to boil/bubble, cook some more, uncovered, for additional 1 minute, stirring occasionally.

Set aside. (Note: I gave some to my friend Anna, with the noodles separated. She ate this with plain rice, not realizing that it was supposed to go with the noodles, which she was saving for another meal time, thinking it was complete pancit already.)

For the noodles, bring the broth to a boil, season with the other ingredients except sesame oil, and dump the wet noodles into it. Stir, stir, stir until noodles have absorbed the broth. Bite into a noodle. If it still is too tough, add some more broth (or water). Do not be too concerned if it is not that salty, as you can easily adjust the salt with soy sauce once you serve. Remove from heat, drizzle with sesame oil, and stir.

Pour the prepared sauce/veggie/meat (or seafood) on top of hot noodles.

Enjoy!

Puto Pao/Cua Pao

2010-03-09T17:50:00.000-05:00

I am not really sure what this is called. The first time I tasted what seemed like puto with filling like that of siopao, it was when a sister-in-law brought some from Laguna. I loved it then. She said it was called cuapao. The shape was rectangular.

With previous browsing on the net, some called it puto pao. The cua pao search I made led me to a photo that did not look like what my ex-SIL brought. So, I don't know what this is really called. But simply put, that pao that I had then from SIL is basically puto with siopao filling. Period.

Now, with my easy method of making puto from boxed white cake mix (and I recently bought a pint of pure pasteurized egg whites), I made some puto pao (or cua pao?). After my kids loved them paos, I thought I should have a set of rectangular or square silicone muffin cups. So I bought a set of square and triangular. Next time I make puto pao again, I will use the square ones(they are larger too than the typical muffin cup shape). We already tried them with brownies and once the brownies were cool enough, they were easy to remove from the silicone cups.

I used leftover beef pares for filling (note: the beef pares link will lead you to my blog post which had a very old unappealing photo of my beef pares, which does not do justice to how scrumptious this dish is, so please do not be discouraged. It has been a tried and tested and loved recipe by several of my readers, and a favorite special beef roast recipe in my household that even my in-laws love it). I chopped the meat roughly, mixed that with the sauce, adjusted the sauce with thickener (cornstarch-water mix), salt, sugar, pepper as necessary. Then I chilled the mixture prior to making the puto pao. The chilling enables me to shape the filling into disks which I could lay flat over half of the puto batter before I top with the other half.

I get the water boiling even before I start preparing the batter. I use any white cake mix in my pantry, with the required egg whites and oil, then mix thoroughly with a hand mixer until batter looks fluffy. I place about a teaspoon at the bottom of the muffin paper liner, then carefully top with flattened filling (I measure using cooking scoop), then finally add another teaspoon or so of white cake mix batter, or enough to cover sides and top of the filling (I avoid adding too much). The slide show has some photos with sliced cheese on top, or plain, or some puto pao with the filling on top only (I experimented to place the filling on top, expecting it to sink to the middle while steaming, but it did not).

The result got my kids excited, they had these for snacks that night, and saved some for the next morning for their breakfast.

As expected, hubby only ate the plain puto. :(

Egg Tarts

2010-03-06T20:44:00.000-05:00

'
Another recipe shared by my fb friend Leslie Ruelan. Thanks a lot, Leslie, for sharing your tried and tested recipes, especially at these times that I am too busy to bake something new or to even try new recipes.

Ingredients:
30 pcs. tart shells
10 pcs. egg yolks
1 can 300 ml. condensed milk
1 can 370 ml. evap. milk
1 tsp. vanilla

Instructions:

1.) mix all ingredients (except tart shells) until egg is well dispersed.
2.) pour into each tart shells
3.) bake at 350F for 25 mins. or until golden brown

Old Fashioned Buttermilk Bread

2010-03-03T16:18:00.000-05:00

Makes 1 loaf.

Do not make loaves larger than recommended by bread machine manufacturer. Use the 1-pound recipe if your bread machine pan holds 10 cups or less of water. Use the 2-pound recipe if the pan holds 13 cups or more.

	1-lb loaf (8 slices)	1-1/2 lb loaf (12 slices)	2-lb loaf (16 slices)
Buttermilk	¾ cup + 2 tbsp	1 cup + 2 tbsp	1-2/3 cup
Butter, cut up	1 tbsp	1-1/2 tbsp	2tbsp
Bread flour	2 cups	3 cups	4 cups
Sugar	1 tbsp	4 tsp	2 tbsp
Salt	¾ tsp	1-1/4 tsp	1-1/2 tsp
Baking soda	1/8 tsp	1/8 tsp	¼ tsp
Bread machine yeast	1 tsp	1-1/2 tsp	1-1/2 tsp


Directions

Measure all ingredients into bread machine pan in the order suggested by manufacturer, addingbaking soda with flour. 

Process on basic/white bread cycle; use medium/normal crust color setting. Do not use delayed-bake feature. Remove bread from pan; cool on wire rack.

Sugar Twists/Siakoy/Pilipit/Linubid

2010-03-01T19:36:00.000-05:00

Another recipe from Leslie Ruelan. He shared three of his favorite Filipino snack recipes with me (after he added my supersoft ensaymada to his favorite recipes). Thanks, Leslie!

Ingredients:

5 tbsp. yeast
1 tsp. sugar
1/2 c warm water (to be used with the yeast)
1/2 c oil
1/2 c sugar
2 tsp. salt
6 ~ 7 c bread flour
1 c milk
3/4 c water

Instructions:
1.) mix yeast with the 1/2 c warm water (set aside)
2.) mix all dry ingredients first before placing all the remaining ingredients
3.) knead the dough for about 10 mins. (if using the manual method)
4.) cover the dough and let it rest for 10 mins.
5.) cut and roll the dough like you're making ensaymada then twist it as shown in the picture
6.) let rise for 1/2 hour or more depending on the size you want
7.) deep fry the twists on medium heat until golden brown
8.) remove and let the oil drip by placing it in a wire rack
9.) when its not too hot anymore, you can dip in a bowl of sugar* or use a zip lock with sugar then shake.

*Note from me: You can make vanilla sugar by placing a vanilla bean pod (cut in half) inside a jar of sugar.

Torta Mamon Cebuano

2010-02-27T23:42:00.000-05:00

The photo above and the recipe below are courtesy of my online/fb friend Leslie Ruelan (I did have the same recipe shared to me long ago by another online friend/ED nurse Glenn A. through email he sent me, but he did not have photos, and I lost my photos of it when I made them. They are so good!). Thanks for these generous people who were willing to pass on recipes handed to them through generations. I never really heard of torta cebuana until I met friends online. Just a reminder for those who do not know what to do with the egg whites, turn them into lengua de gato or sans rival (both recipes available in this kusina).

Ingredients:

1 c sugar
10 egg yolks
1/2 c water
1 1/2 tbsp. baking powder
3 c all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. anise powder
1/2 c butter, melted
1/2 c vegetable oil
1 can 300 ml. condensed milk

Procedure:
1.) boil sugar and water for 5 mins. to make a syrup. Set aside to cool.
2.) combine flour and anise powder in a bowl.
3.) pour in melted butter, prepared syrup, oil, condensed milk and egg yolks
4.) stir using mixer until smooth
5.) sift in baking powder
6.) pour into wax paper-lined torta molds and
7.) bake at 350F for 22 mins. or until inserted toothpick comes out clean
8.) brush the top with margarine and sprinkle with refined sugar; enjoy with prepared syrup.

Lukban Hardinera

2010-02-26T23:45:00.000-05:00

Please welcome Jun Avila as my guest blogger for this post...Everything below is his own words...I got his permission to share this recipe. While I am too busy at the moment, I figure I'd post recipes shared by my online friends (with their permission, of course!) and probably blog about some gadgets of mine. Bookmark it for your next handaan with your Pinoy friends because this one sure sounds like a winner!

Description:
WHILE most meat loaves have ground meat as base, there’s a kind of meat loaf in Lucban that instead uses diced pork. Called hardinera, it’s unique in other ways as well. For one thing, it’s cooked in a llanera, an oval pan commonly used for leche flan. For another, it is not baked in an oven, like most meat loaves, but is instead steamed.

What also makes it different is the garnishing of hard-boiled eggs, bell pepper strips and pineapple slices that go into the bottom of the pan. When inverted onto a serving platter, these garnishings form a colorful topping. The beaten raw eggs poured into the llanera form a coating that gives the hardinera the look of an aspic.

Ingredients:

¼ c cooking oil, divided
1 onion, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 kilo pork kasim, diced into cubes
(See tips.)
1 tbsp salt
½ tsp pepper
1-2 c pork broth (See tips.)
1 c tomato sauce
1 c finely diced sweet mixed pickles or pickle relish
½ c diced frankfurters
1/3 c raisins
1 c canned pineapple tidbits, well drained
1 small can red pimiento, drained and diced
1 85-g can liver spread (1/3 c)
½ c grated Cheddar cheese
1 c bread crumbs
2 hard-boiled eggs, sliced
3-4 canned pineapple slices, each cut into 3-4 pieces
1 small green bell pepper, cut into fine strips
1 small red bell pepper, cut into fine strips
3 uncooked eggs

Directions:
Grease 3-4 small llaneras and line with banana leaves or with nonstick baking paper. Set aside.

Heat 2 tbsp oil in a large pan and sauté onions and garlic about one minute (do not let garlic burn).

Heat remaining 2 tbsp oil and add pork. Season with salt and pepper and stir-cook pork until brown.

Pour in pork broth and tomato sauce and simmer until pork is tender, about 15-20 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool.

Meanwhile, mix together pickles, frankfurters, raisins, pineapple tidbits, red pimiento, liver spread, cheddar cheese and bread crumbs. Add the cooked pork. Do not include the sauce in which it was cooked. (See tips.) Mix until well combined.

Arrange slices of hard-boiled eggs, pineapple, and green and red pepper strips on the bottom of the prepared llaneras. Beat the 3 eggs and pour into llaneras, dividing equally. Spoon the pork mixture equally among the llaneras, pressing top to smoothen.

Cover tops of llaneras with foil and steam in a large steamer for about 45 minutes or until firm. If the four llaneras do not fit into the steamer, cook them in batches (two at a time).

To serve: Run a spatula or the dull edge of a knife along the sides of llaneras to loosen the jardinera. Invert onto a serving platter and tap llaneras lightly to release the jardinera. Remove llaneras and peel off banana leaves or baking paper before serving.

TIPS

Llaneras are small, oval-shaped aluminum pans often used for making leche flan. This recipe makes enough to fill four small llaneras.

If llaneras are not available, you can use loaf pans. The recipe can probably fill two loaf pans.

The pork should be diced into pieces slightly smaller than that used for menudo.

To make pork broth: boil one pork broth cube (or one pork bouillon cube) in 2 c water until cube dissolves. Use as per direction above.

Instead of pork broth, you can use plain water.

If desired, use the broth and the tomato sauce in which the pork was tenderized as sauce: Simmer in a small saucepan. Dissolve 1 tbsp cornstarch in ¼ c water and pour into sauce. Season to taste with salt, pepper and liquid seasoning. Simmer until slightly thick. Add one to 2 tbsp butter and heat until butter dissolves. Serve with the hardinera.

Drain the canned pineapple tidbits and the canned pineapple slices very well so mixture doesn’t become soggy.

Thanks for sharing this recipe, Jun!

Banoffee Pie

2010-02-25T12:02:00.000-05:00

This is a recipe shared by one of kusina's reader, Joy C. I am using photos she submitted for the slideshow.

Thanks to Joy C. for this recipe and the photos!

INGREDIENTS:

1 pack graham crackers (crushed); you can use less if you want
nuts of your choice (Joy used chopped almonds)
1/2 cup butter, melted
5 or more pieces of ripe bananas, sliced into discs
1-1/2 cup whipping cream (depends on how much you want)
1/4 cup sugar or use more according to your taste, added to whipped cream towards the end of whipping
1 can (pressure-cooked) dulce de leche to serve as toffee
optional: chocolate shavings (you can buy this in small packages in the baking section)

INSTRUCTIONS:

Crush graham crackers either by using a chopped or food processor (best) or placing in a ziploc bag and crushing with rolling pin.

Mix crushed graham, nuts and butter then press onto a springform pan. Refrigerate for 1-2 hours or until the crust hardens.

Pour the dulce de leche/toffee on top then chill again.

Whip the cream and add sugar to taste.

Distribute sliced bananas on top of the toffee then top with the whipped cream.

Garnish with chocolate shavings if desired.

Manang's Lechon Manok

2010-02-15T22:21:00.000-05:00

Syempre hindi kumpleto ang Pinoy food cravings ko kung walang lechon manok. That is the main reason why I got myself a rotisserie. Actually, my friend Ana has it, and cooked lechon manok in it using cornish hens. That's what gave me the idea of getting myself this rotisserie.

My favorite back when I was in Pinas was the Baliwag style, although Andok's was more ubiquitous. But I had a different experience when I bought some at one of the MRT stations near JR Memorial Hospital (can't remember the name of the stall). The outlet was small, yet the machine was more high tech, and I love the spicy taste (although it was a bit too hot for my kids). I think the different spice flavor was due to the five-spice, which I tried below. And I added some other spices to experiment. If you notice, the two chickens below have different colors. That's because of different flavors. The chickens were the smallest ones among our very own homegrown chickens. Love them with atsarang papaya and steamy rice, plus sarsa ni Mang Tomas, of course. Hubby had the potato with it, and does not care for veggies.

Ingredients:
Whole chickens (that will fit in the rotisserie)
5 cloves garlic each
1 onion each
lemongrass stalks
celery stalks
whole peppers
several fenugreek seeds (I love the smell of it)
kosher salt to taste (in the cavity and on the skin)
various spices (I experimented with five spice, paprika, curry powder, ground pepper, etc -- up to you to experiment. Use your nose to see what you think will give you superb flavor)
Blocks of butter to keep skin moist.

Instructions:
Photos below pretty much self-explanatory. Cooking time depends on weight of chicken (about 2 hours for these two small chickens to make sure they are done. You can always check by prying with a fork or using a thermometer).
Add the veggies one hour before done.
Let sit on the platter for about 10 minutes before attacking to allow for the juices to redistribute.

Choco Cornets

2010-02-15T21:42:00.000-05:00

My older son was intrigued because of some anime cartoon show that featured this pastry. So I went on to search for a recipe, and got one from a Japanese site, which luckily has an English translation. I modified the dough by looking at the ingredients and finding a similar one from breadworld.

Ingredients & Instructions:

Dough --

Place in bread machine the liquid ingredients at room temp.
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp + 1 tsp (that's 95 ml) of water
2 large eggs
3 tbsp butter

Add the dry ingredients.
3/4 tsp salt
2-1/4 cup bread flour
2 tbsp sugar
1-1/2 tsp BM yeast

Run on dough cycle.
Transfer to lightly floured surface. Flatten with palm of your hand and divide in two (sprinkle flour as needed for easier handling). Fold the ends of each so that you make 2 layers and create a square. Fold each lengthwise, then cut into 6 portions each (so you have a total of 12 pieces).
Starting at the middle going outwards with your hands and the surface well greased, roll with your palms to make into ropes.
Wrap around the greased cornets (I found it easier to do if I let the rope stay on the table and start wrapping by rolling the horn mold along the rope).
Place on baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Let rise about 20 minutes (or 10 in warmed oven)
Brush with egg wash*.
Bake at 400 °F for 10 minutes.
Remove from molds and place on cooling rack. Cool completely (maybe 10 mins or more).
Pipe custard into the cooled cornets.

*Egg Wash --

1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 tbsp sugar

Chocolate Custard Cream --

Whip together --
2 tbsp sugar divided
2 egg yolks
Sift together --
3 tbsp Cake flour
2 tbsp + 1 tsp Cocoa powder
Heat up until steamy –
¾ cup milk
4 tbsp sugar
Add some of this to yolk mixture and blend well,
Pour the yolk-milk mix to hot milk mixture.
Continue cooking on low until creamy thick.
Add –
1 tbsp butter
1/2 tsp vanilla
½ tsp chocolate syrup
2 oz (1 square) Baker’s bittersweet baking chocolate

Cool and beat with ½ pkg (4 oz) of softened cream cheese.

Place in Ziploc bag and cool completely until cornets are ready.

Reader's Gallery #14

2010-02-14T23:56:00.000-05:00

This is long overdue!!! Lowiela Ellen sent me these photos of mamon late last year, with the following email.

hello manang,

i tried your special mamon yesterday and tasted so good!!!!though the first batch was just too short in the oven so the 2nd batch i do it bit longer...

tried also the leche flan using whole eggs but was not able to take photo it turned out also perfect with the 2nd batch and so so the first batch but was own mistake and learned from it!!!

thank you manang!!!!

Thanks, Lowiela, and sorry for this delayed posting...

Butter Spritz Cookies

2010-02-10T22:57:00.000-05:00

My new favorite spritz cookies because they are easy enough to press out the cookie press, bakes for 6-8 minutes only, tender enough for me, great-tasting, and easily slides off the traditional aluminum (non-insulated pan using a little nudge by a brownie spatula. Most of all, hubby does not really notice the difference from the first two recipes (or so he says).

Ingredients:
2-1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salst
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1-1/3 cups confectioners sugar
2 egg yolks
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400 deg F. Sift together the flour and salt; set aside.
Cream together the softened butter and sugar. Mix in egg yolks, almond and vanilla extracts. Blend in dry ingredients. Fill cookie press and shoot cookies 1.5" apart on ungreased aluminum non-insulated cookie sheet. You may decorate with sprinkles or sugar before baking.
Bake 6-8 minutes until slightly golden brown at the edges.

Chocolate Oat Cookies

2010-02-05T10:19:00.000-05:00

I got this recipe (original name Double Chocolate Oat Cookies) from a booklet sampling of favorite brand recipes. However, when I made this the first time, I found it too soft/gooey, although very good. So the second time I made it, I used the one on the internet, but that gave me very tough and dry cookies. So this time, I resorted back to the first one I used, but I doubled the amount of oats (which makes it healthier, doesn't it? Ok, ok, at least I have less guilt with this choco-laden recipe), and I got the consistency and taste that I expected.

Kids and hubby love these cookies, and so do I.

Ingredients:
2 cups swemisweet chocolate chips, divided in two
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1/4 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup all purpose-flour
1-1/2 cup Quaker Oats (quick or old-fashioned, uncooked)
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt (optional)

Instructions:
Heat oven to 375° F. Melt 1 cup chocolate chips in small saucepan; set aside.
Beat butter and sugar until fluffy.
Stir in melted chocolate, egg, and vanilla.
Combine flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix this with the liquid ingredients.
Stir ini remaining chocolate chips.
Drop dough by rounded tablespoon onto parchment sheet placed on cookie sheets (I used a cookie scoop).
Bake 8-10 minutes or just until set (Do not overbake. Centers should look soft.)
Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets; transfer to wire rack and cool completely. Store tightly covered.

Frenchie Minute Steaks (or Frenchie Beef Lengua)

2010-01-26T15:19:00.000-05:00

Minute steaks are very thin cuts of beef sirloin or round, so thin that you can cook each side for one minute and it is done.

I cooked this for the first time just googling french onion soup with beef and got the idea to
add frenchies, basing on my husband's favorite beef dinner at Longhorn Steakhouse, Chop Steak. While not exactly the same, my husband excitedly exclaimed that they look and tasted almost the same. Chop steak is "ground beef, seasoned, grilled and smothered with sautéed mushrooms, red wine Bordelaise sauce and crisp onion straws." This dish quickly became a favorite in my household. It is so good, that I decided to make my beef lengua last Pinoy Christmas Party the same way.

Ingredients:
1 lb minute steaks
1 small can (4 oz) sliced mushrooms
2 envelopes Lipton Recipe Secret Onion soup mix*
1-1/2 cup red wine (or water)
Frenchies french fried onions for topping.

*Note: If you are using the Campbell's french onion soup, use only 3/4 cup red wine/water.

Instructions:
Prepare the french onion soup as directed in the package, except use red wine (or plain water if you don't have red wine) for the liquid. Double the amount of red wine (or water) to allow for evaporation during pressure cooking. (alternative: Campbell's French Onion Soup)
Drain and sautee mushrooms. Set aside.
A few pieces at a time, brown each side of the minute steaks and set aside on the same platter you placed the mushrooms on.
Place back everything in the pot and add the soup mixture (or campbell's french onion soup with red wine/water). Let boil.
Cover. Pressure cook for 10 minutes (if you are using thicker slices like in stir-fries, you can extend to 15 minutes).
Stir and place on a platter.
Sprinkle with Frenchies fried french fried onions and serve with mashed potatoes or plain rice.

Note: If you are going to use beef lengua, prepare the lengua first (pressure cook for 30 minutes then peel off the white coating, then slice at 1/2-inch thickness. These will now be the substitute for minutes steaks.

The Perfect Empanada de Kaliskis Dough

2010-01-20T14:16:00.000-05:00

Bago ang lahat, salamat po sa mga loyal na tagasubaybay na nakakaalalang magpipindot ng mga gugelads ko. :)

I had been experimenting with different recipes for this type of empanada which reminds me of my favorite empanadas in the Philippines I used to buy from Merced Bakedshop. I had no idea it was what some regions in the Philippines would call empanada de kaliskis. And I don't know how the consistency is in those regions, because apparently, they don't taste as good as they look like. However, as far as my tastebuds remember, the gorgeous scale-like appearance, flaky, yet very tender dough of empanadas that I bought from Merced Bakeshop then was what I would call as the perfect empanada crust.

I was browsing a Malaysian food blog sometime in September when I chanced upon the gorgeous layers of what looked like empanada, but they called it spiral (curry) puffs. More searches led me to other sites showing detailed photos of how to create the layers, and they called it in their native tongue as "karipap". Around December, I tried a recipe but it did not get my approval, so no empanadas for Christmas give-aways. That recipe had egg, but it resulted to chewy yet flaky dough which was not really tender for me, and the flavor was so-so. (I am not talking about the filling here; just the dough. Filling is easy enough to make and to adjust according to taste preference). It probably is the same recipe used by the ones featured by Market Manila here.

I got back to trying out such recipes this January when I chanced upon a Filipino blog post on empanada de kaliskis. This second recipe I tried left a very greasy feel to my mouth, albeit flaky and tender enough. While my kids liked them, it was not what I was looking for, so my search continued.

So, it took me a total of three recipes to finally settle for this one below which I would consider the closest to what I am craving for. The characteristic appearance and flaky layers are a result of overlapping water dough and oil dough. I am settling for this one, as this was not only easy to manipulate and fill (did not easily crack), it also had a seemingly good proportion of flour to lard (or shortening) that (1)-the oil dough did not easily leak out of the water dough despite repeated rolling/folding, (2)-the dough remained intact while filling and crimping, and (3)-the cooked empanada was not too fragile to handle. I am not sure if substituting shortening would give the same results, but I am very satisfied with the results I got using pork leaf lard (that I rendered myself) for the dough, then using pork lard from fat back (that I rendered too) for deep frying. (I know, it is cholesterolific, but hey, no trans-fat here!). One of these babies is enough to satisfy a hungry tummy during merienda.

Now like most Filipino goodies I have on my site, this recipe and method are here for the purpose of (1) satisfying my ~~gluttony for punishment~~ hunger for challenges, (2) satisfy my curiosity on how things are made, and (3) making use of leftovers. So I probably will not be making this too often (as is the case with siopao and hopia and monay and siomai and lumpia and the other labor-intensive, time-consuming recipes). I do hope, however, that some entrepreneur (especially in the Philippines) will find this helpful.

This post has two parts: dough and filling. Filling recipe way below.

The dough recipe here is courtesy of ch3rri-blossom for her flaky taro mooncake recipe. Although she cut both water and oil doughs into 4, I chose to make mine one whole piece, so as to have more open edges (her 4 pieces each cut into 3 led to the end slices having only one open end, so that the un-open end had the water dough covering the oil dough so less layering effect on that -- don't bother to try to understand this if it confuses you).

I did not bother to convert to cups. So get yourself some digital kitchen scale with grams/oz measurement. And please do not ask me for the conversions. I am sure you can use google for that purpose if you really want to try this.

Water Dough:

200 gm all purpose flour
1/2 tsp white vinegar
50 gm pork lard (or shortening)
30 gm sugar
100 gm water

Oil Dough:

180 gm all purpose flour
100 gm pork lard (or shortening)

Method:

1. For water dough, mix water, sugar, and vinegar. Mix in flour then add pork lard (or shortening). Knead to a soft dough. Wrap in plastic and let rest for at least 30 minutes.
2. For oil dough, use a food processor to blend well (use short bursts to make it crumb-looking).
3. Use a rolling pin to flatten water dough (please see slideshow below). Distribute oil dough on half of water dough. Cover the oil dough with the other half of water dough so the water dough completely envelopes oil dough. Leave as little of the water dough at the edges just so you can seal water dough nicely all around oil dough.
4. Flatten and pop any bubble, but seal tightly so oil dough does not leak out.
5. Fold into thirds (the ends of the long rectangle) then fold in two so you end up with a squarish form. Flatten again to make it rectangular then fold in two again to make it square.
6. Flatten again to make it rectangular, about 9x13, then roll like jelly roll to form a log using the longer side.
7. Tap the ends of the log to make them flatter before starting to slice.
8. Slice every 3/4" to 1 inch (or slice and fill one at a time).
9. Use your palm to initially flatten, then use the rolling pin. Flatten the edges more since those are going to be crimped/pleated (and therefore, if you make it thick at the start, pleating will make it thicker). The middle should be thick enough so it does not break open when you put the filling in.
10. Place about 1 tbsp of filling. Pinch the edges and pleat/crimp. See here for a demo.
11. Deep fry in 375 deg F oil for about 2 minutes, then drain on paper towel.

After frying two batches, I wrapped each individually then froze for future merienda use (or to add to the stock, possibly to cook when we have another gathering). For frozen ones, what I probably will do is to deep fry for two minutes and finish cooking the filling by placing them on a rack in a heated oven (350 deg F, partially open).

If you are interested in the filling, here's how I made it.
Roughly chop some turkey leftover meat (about 2 cups).
Dice potatoes and carrots; boil in chicken stock for 10 minutes. Drain.
Chop about 1/4 cup of raisins.
Heat up some turkey gravy (about 1 cup) then add the meat and veggies. Adjust taste with salt and pepper.
Cool completely (easier to scoop it up to fill the dough when it is chilled in the fridge first).

Classic Spritz Cookies

2010-01-18T00:07:00.000-05:00

This is the second recipe I tried for use with my new ~~toy~~ cookie press. I must say I and my kids prefer this recipe, as this is lighter than the Marcato biscuits. Plus, the dough itself was very easy to squeeze out, I did not have to use the force of my body. The downside only was that it was harder to remove from the baking pan than the Marcato biscuits once baked, even after cooling for some time. So maybe next time I can experiment by actually greasing the pan with butter before squeezing out the dough (with the possibility of the dough not sticking to the pan). Or I can just try using parchment paper and holding the paper before pulling the cookie press up after squeezing out the dough.

Hubby, as I said in my previous post, preferred the denser Marcato biscuits (although he found it hard to admit it to me).

Just a note on the cheaper Norpro brand (link shown here):
I received it already. Made of aluminum, it is lighter and thinner than the Marcato I bought earlier (which, interestingly, also bears the Norpro mark on the box, but is made in Italy). I would think it will not be up to denser cookie dough like the Marcato biscuits. However, I think it is still a better option than plastic ones. I will also someday try its butter spritz cookie recipe included in the manual. The light dough below should not be a problem with this cheaper Norpro cookie press.

Wilton's Classic Spritz Cookies

Ingredients:

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 cups butter softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon clear vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon no-color almond extract
Makes: 7-8 dozen cookies.

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350ºF.

In bowl, combine flour and baking powder. In large bowl, beat butter and sugar with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add egg, milk, vanilla and almond extract; mix well. Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture; beat until combined. Do not chill. Fill cookie press with dough and with desired disks, press cookies onto ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake 10-12 minutes or until edges are light golden brown. Cool 2 minutes on cookie sheet on cooling rack. Remove from sheet; cool completely.

Marcato Biscuits (Cookies)

2010-01-16T23:23:00.000-05:00

I bought a cookie press sometime last year, foreseeing some cookie-making for cookie swap come Christmas...but in the busy-ness of the Holidays, I did not actually get to practice with my new gadget until after Christmas.

The motivation I had to get myself a cookie press was when hubby previously commented on lengua de gato that made me recall this neat gadget which my Nanay used to have (although I never actually saw her use it).

I got one that I realized now is too pricey, it seems, as I perused amazon.com for the same item. (Probably, amazon did not have the $14.99 at the time I purchased mine). But I guess, with this price and the good reviews as to how sturdy it is, I think I made a good choice nevertheless. Just out of curiosity, I got myself this $14.99 to see if it is the same sturdy construction. Then I will update you readers who might be interested to get it.

My first cookies were overbaked, tough, and brown. I let hubby try one and he suggested I bake them for a shorter time. He then liked the ones baked only up to the point that edges start to turn brown. I also had to get used to pumping out the dough, and to try not greasing the baking sheet. Probably oven temps and environmental conditions and baking pan differences accounted for my initial results despite following the recipe in the manual. After I adjusted the baking time and omitted greasing the baking sheets (I used insulated nonstick aluminum), my hubby now has a new favorite homemade cookie. He can finish a whole batch in two days. (Sadly, my kids and I are not that crazy over this; we like the lengua de gato better.)

This is the first recipe I will post for cookie press.

Basic dough recipe:

500 g (~ 1 lb) flour
250 g (~1/2 lb) sugar
250 g (~ 1/2 lb or 2 sticks) butter
pinch of salt
2-3 oz milk
3 egg yolks

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350 deg F and place the rack at the middle.

Melt the butter in the microwave for about a minute and stir; set aside in room temp. Place the flour into a bowl mixing it with the sugar and a pinch of salt. Pour the egg yolks in the center and mix the dough with a fork. Add the butter previously melted, then the milk, and knead with your hands until completely uniform and soft.

Coming up is another recipe that I and the kids preferred, but my husband likes ok (he still prefers the more dense recipe above).

How to Use the Cookie Press

2010-01-14T13:52:00.000-05:00

I bought a cookie press last December, triggered by a my husband's comment in relation to lengua de gato. Somehow, the image of my Nanay's plastic cookie press flashed in my mind, and I knew I had to get myself this toy.

At the time I got mine, it was the $41, chosen because of some good reviews on amazon. Then as of typing this, I saw the $14.39. I was intrigued by the cheap price. The gadget itself seemed the same. So I decided to order this just to see if it was made of the same material, and if constructed the same. Will update this post once I got a hold of the cheaper one.

I never saw my mother use hers. So I looked at some videos on how to use the cookie press. Got some ideas from Wilton's.

I used the ONLY recipe (coming up next) that came with the gadget, and while it said to grease the baking sheet, I found out that if I don't, the dough stays on the sheet after coming out of the press. If I did grease the baking sheet, the dough just would not stay on it. The Wilton video I saw suggested ungreased sheet anyway. I also had to shorten the baking time, and I placed the rack at the middle of the oven to not burn the cookies. After I developed the rhythm of pressing and baking, my husband is now a happy cookie muncher.

The baking pan I used is a nonstick insulated aluminum pan as pictured below in the link from amazon.

How to use the cookie press:

Unscrew the closing ring and raise the piston. Fill the entire cylinder with part of the dough prepared. Insert the desired die-plate into the closing ring.
The raised part of the die-plate must be facing downwards. Screw the closing ring onto the cylinder. Grrease a cookie sheet evenly. Choose the size of the biscuits you wish to obtain by rotating the regulator (1=small biscuits; 2=large biscuits).
Turn the knob so that the jack on the lever meets the notches on the rod. Pump the lever a few times until the dough comes out of the holes of the die-plate evenly. Remove this first dough so that the die-plate stays clean.Place the machine on the cold cookie sheet and push the lever downwards.
Raise the lever and move the machine to make another biscuit.
Bake the oven for approximately 12-15 minutes (or until the edges start to brown). You might have to rotate the pan to brown the cookies evenly.
Take the sheet out of the oven and let cool for about a minute before transferring the cookies onto the cooling rack.

Here's a video of me pressing the cookie out onto sheets. Sorry I am not a good video editor. No words here. But you will get the gist anyway...Pardon the mess, please. I was also making empanada at the time; hence, I had flour and bowls around.

Goodie Bars

2010-01-12T23:57:00.000-05:00

Last time I worked, one of the CNA's came at 2PM and brought a tin can of cookies and bars. I had a taste of some of them, but this one really made me ask for a recipe. She did not have the recipe on hand, and just described the ingredients somehow, but promised me that she would write it down sometime and leave a copy in my mailbox.

You see, there was a time I was in a baking frenzy making "bars" using the recipes on Nestle and Hershey's chocolate websites, but after tasting several of them, I was sick all too soon with the sweetness, and I had a tough time cutting through the bars that they did not look at all like the ones in the photos (must be something I did wrong, but the results discouraged me from making them again). I cut them bite-size (because I could not tolerate a big chunk) but they lasted a whole month with nobody in the household taking a second serving. I chucked the whole batch then...hard and dry already. What a waste.

On the contrary, that goodie bar was something that I had to restrain myself from getting some more, so as to leave enough for the other co-workers. It was that good.

Well, as soon as I got home, despite the start of a migraine attack, I dreadfully faced the glare of my laptop to look for a recipe with the few ingredients I remembered my co-worker told me it had. This one came close. So last night I baked it (without the almond toffee bits because I mistakenly got a package of milk chocolate toffee bits instead and opted to just leave that out). The result???

It was the right recipe although it seemed sweeter.

After baking it for 45 minutes (because I was afraid the 50 mins recommended might dry up the whole thing), I let it stand overnight, with the pan resting on a cooling wire rack, the top protected by a sheet of paper towel. It was still super moist by the time I cut it (completely cold then) and I made a mental note to bake it for the full 50 minutes next time). I had a hard time cutting through because it was sticky, but nevertheless, it was so good, crunchy at the bottom and gooey at the top. After cutting them into bite-size pieces, I let them stand with enough space in between to further dry up the pieces.

The kids loved these. They munched quite a lot when they came home from school. They said, "This is really good!"

I let hubby taste it and he liked it alright. He said his mom made something like it when he was a child, but it was called Congo squares and with chocolate bits. However, he told me not to bother with those, because as long as I make the cookies that I made today with a cookie press, he'd be happy (I will post about it next).

Goodie Bars recipe by Mike and Alicia Orth of Creative Pixels

Cake:
1 (18.25-ounce) box yellow cake mix
1 large egg
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
Filling:
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 (16-ounce) box confectioners' sugar (optional to save some for sprinkling on top)
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 cup almond toffee bits (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan.

2. With an electric mixer stir together the butter, cake mix and 1 egg. Spread into the greased pan and pat down. (I used a hand mixer.)

3. Still using an electric (hand) mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Beat in the eggs and vanilla. Add the confectioners' sugar and beat well. Reduce the speed and slowly pour in the butter. Mix well. Fold in the toffee bits (I did not).

4. Pour filling onto cake mixture and spread evenly. (Optional to sprinkle some confectioner's sugar on top). Bake for 50 minutes. Don't be afraid to make a judgment call on the cooking time, because oven temperatures can vary. You want the center to be a little gooey, so don't bake it past that point!

Egg-In-A-Hole

2010-01-11T19:31:00.000-05:00

I was watching "V" at home one night (for the second time) and I again saw this part where V was cooking egg-in-a-hole. The first time I saw that, I did not know how it was called. Then sometime later I read in a blog (I cannot remember now which one) about this style of cooking egg and toast. It is called several names, but I stuck to this name, easiest to remember and does not make it seem to mystical. Egg-in-a-hole apparently has its origins in the UK (and the movie "V" is set in England).

I tried it and loved it! Perfect for breakfast!

What you need are:

biscuit cutter, skillet, cover
slices of bread
eggs
butter
salt and pepper
(optional) ground basil (or whatever spices you want)

How to:
Heat the skillet on medium. Melt some butter.
Make a hole in the bread slice using a biscuit cutter.
Place bread slice on the skillet. Add some more butter into the hole.
Crack an egg and carefully place into the hole. Sprinkle spices.
Cover to hasten cooking (time will depend on how done you want it).
Flip and briefly cook the other side. You might also want to brown the round bread piece sliced off the center.
Enjoy with a cup of freshly brewed coffee.

The Ultimate Brownie from Scratch

2010-01-07T23:30:00.000-05:00

Yesterday my kids came home from school, and the first thing my older son wanted to do was bake this recipe. (He had that recipe open on my laptop since yesterday.) I was busy putting away Christmas decors and gave him my permission.

After eating stir-fried beef for supper, we tasted what he baked. Hubby quipped it was just like the brownies he used to have as a kid -- baked from scratch and tasted same.

Me: "So you like this?"

Hubby: "Oh yeah! It's good!"

Me: "Oh, and I have often avoided baking brownies from scratch because I felt that you preferred the boxed brownie mixes because that was what you were used to."

Hubby: "I got to use the mixes after I was out of my parents' house. When we were kids, they never bought boxed mixes because they could not afford them."

Me: "So, is this a keeper?"

Hubby: "Definitely!"

So I told my older son, "You are now the official brownie baker in this household."

Recipe from about.com --

Ingredients:

8- 1 ounce squares of unsweetened chocolate
1 cup butter
5 eggs
3 cups sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla
1-1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
2-1/2 cups chopped pecans or walnuts, toasted (He actually used white chocolate chips)

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a 9 x 13 pan.
Melt chocolate and butter in a saucepan over low heat; set aside. In a mixer, beat eggs, sugar and vanilla at high speed for 10 minutes**. Blend in chocolate mixture, flour and salt until just mixed. Stir in the nuts. Pour into prepared pan.

Bake for 35-40 minutes. (Don't overbake.) Cool and frost if desired, but that is not necessary.

How to Cook the Perfect Steak: Sous Vide Cooking

2010-01-07T01:14:00.000-05:00

I don't remember how I stumbled upon a blog post by an American guy who shared what he did to produce a perfectly (and fully!) cooked steak that is medium rare (in appearance), tender and juicy. I can't even remember the blog, but it got me reading more into sous vide cooking.

As I read and learned more about the technique, and the very few affordable choices of home cooks, I set out to get the equipment I needed to add to my existing kitchen gadgets to take the plunge and see for myself. I chose the least expensive one: a PID thermostat coupled with my 6-qt slow cooker.

I was determined to learn this method because my husband is a steak eater (as much as I am a fried fish eater).

I have often wondered how restaurants always would come up with tender and juicy steaks even when very well done (as how my hubby always likes his steaks). At home we have our homegrown, grass-fed beef. While it sounds ideal and romantic, grass-fed beef are not exactly as great as those in the restaurants. Flavor is superb and the meat is really lean, and whatever bit of fat left is the good stuff, having had grass instead of grain providing the building material for the fatty acids. But consistency sucks -- tough and stringy -- what with all the freedom our beef had in their life span, and the lack of hormones. Not wanting to waste a lot of steaks this year as I did last year (I gave away a lot of unused steaks because I was getting discouraged), my readings on sous vide cooking gave me hope. Now I can see this household running out of steaks before the next year's supply comes. It seems like this was the way to cook steaks "very well done" without drying it up.

For this post, I used T-bone steaks, which already partly has tenderloin. Although I used 140 deg F (which gave the appearance of medium rare), I was explaining to hubby and kids about the technique (hubby was particularly intrigued with my PID temp controller and the seemingly elaborate and unusual setup), discussing about killing of pathogens at such temp for several hours of cooking, so that psychologically he was primed to see reddish middle of this fully cooked steak. I did brown the steaks in butter for a period long enough to make it as brown as possible without drying. However, I noticed that the longer the cut meat was exposed to air (and oxygen), the redder it got at the middle (a result of oxidation). Good thing I assured everyone already that that was fully cooked. With their concerns answered, they were reassured and pacified, and we all ate the steaks and savored the goodness...they were indeed excellent!

The next batch of steaks I cooked at 170 deg F. This time they were really brown...and tender and juicy.

So if you are interested, there is a sous vide cooker meant for home cooks at a whopping price of $449. Or, if you already have a good sized slow cooker, and are willing to invest on a PID temperature controller available in ebay for $156, here's how I prepared my first sous vide cooked steaks.

1. Thaw the steaks.

2. Season with salt and pepper (or spices...avoid fresh garlic as this can be over powering. If you want garlic flavor, use powder.)

3. Vacuum pack the steaks (I used food saver. Their plastic bags are food grade and are ok for low temp simmering.)

4. Place a spacer on each steaks (I used the lids for canning).

5. Stack the steaks inside the slow cooker and fill with water (spacer ensures the warm water bathes each steak all around).

6. Submerge the temperature sensor.

7. Cover the slow cooker, plug it to the PID temp controller, turn it on low setting, plug the PID into power supply, and set the PID thermostat to desired temp (see Table 2.3).

7. Allow at least two hours for the water in the slow cooker to reach the desired temperature according to Table 2.2 here. Then add the cooking time per recommendation in Table 2.3 if cooking thawed meat, or Table 2.4 if cooking frozen. Take note that this is the minimum time to ensure safety.I cooked mine for a total of 6 hours from turning on the unit.

8. Remove from pouches and wipe with paper towels.

9. Briefly pan-fry in butter (longer if you want it more brown).

10. Serve immediately.

More readings avaialable here in a downloadable pdf format.

HOW TO USE THE PID THERMOSTAT:

Make sure you are using a slow cooker or rice cooker that has manual controls instead of electronic.

Plug the cooker into the PID unit. Plug the PID into the power supply.

Turn on the slow cooker on low setting, place the sensor in the water in the slow cooker. Plug the PID into power supply.

Set the temperature and time (including the two hours to get the water up to the desired temp).

PID thermostat will beep when time is up.

So if you are interested in sous vide cooking, the equipment you need (if you are not getting the above mentioned sous vide cooker) are:

- a large capacity rice cooker or slow cooker with manual controls

- PID temperature controller

- vacuum sealer (I have Food Saver) and bags

Pinoy-Style Fruit Salad

2010-01-02T17:48:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the blurry pic...

I made this to bring fruits to the New Year Party we had yesterday at my friend Cecilia's house. I also brought frozen almond brazo de mercedes that went untouched during the Christmas Dinner I hosted (because my MIL brought cheesecake so I did not bother to bring the BDM out).

Although some of the fruits were not typically added in the usual fruit salad I used to have back in the Philippines, I just gathered the canned fruits I had in my pantry and made the dressing as close as I could get to the taste of that dressing my Nanay used to make. Cream cheese is a good substitute for Nestle Cream that is not available here.

I have not offered this to my American family/relatives, because I doubt they will like it. But my kids, including stepd, like this salad.

Ingredients:
Canned fruits
4 oz (1/2 package) cream cheese
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
a dollop of mayonnaise

Instructions:
Let cream cheese sit out at room temp to soften.
Drain the fruits.
Using hand mixer, blend cream cheese and condensed milk, add a little of mayonnaise and blend. Taste and see if you like the balance of sweetness (condensed milk), saltiness (cream cheese), and creaminess (cream cheese and mayo). Adjust as needed. (I usually don't need any more than the ingredients I listed above).

Blend gently using a silicone spatula the fruits and the dressing. Place in a covered container and chill.

Serve chilled after at least 3 hours.

Sabi ng friends ko as they introduced me to new Pinay friends, "Lagi namin inaabangan ang dala nyan kasi masarap!"

I came home with empty containers of the fruit salad and BDM. I brought home containers filled with leftovers of anything else in the party.

Pork Hamonado

2009-12-18T08:57:00.000-05:00

I was asked recently by two fb friends about a hamonado recipe. I presumed it was the pork, since that was what we always used to have when I was still in the Philippines. I did not really have a recipe, but I do remember my Nanay simmering a big cut of pork, usually pigue in lots of pineapple juice, flavored with soy sauce and brown sugar.

Ingredients:
1 pork ham (roast cut, about 5-6 pounds - whether cured or not, it won't matter)
1 liter pineapple juice (about 40 oz)
1 small can of pineapple, round slices, for garnishing (up to you if you want more)
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 bay leaves
10 peppercorns

Instructions:
I slow cooked the whole ham in the pineapple, soy sauce, spices and brown sugar on high for about 4 hours (although my son disturbed the whole process by opening the lid after 3 hours, so instead of being completely done by the end of the 4 hours, it was still quite tough although done). I served this as is during the Filipino Christmas Party for the sake of our American hubbies (two attended, so that makes it three including my husband). Knowing my hubby would have liked it drier and more tender, I did not expect him to eat much of it since it was swimming in its own juice plus the pineapple juice and was very wet. But I did not have the time then to fix it some more to his liking. I did so the next day for supper using the big left over.

For those who will attempt to make it the way I did, the gist of the steps is: (1) boil ham in the mixture until just done, but will remain whole when lifted out of the pot instead of fall-off-the-bone tender; (2) remove fat and make the sauce; (3) roast ham with pineapple on top, basting from time to time with the sauce. They way I presented this recipe here is more like narration of how I made mine, adjusting under the circumstances. I encourage you to proceed as it suits yours.

To continue with the details of the next steps after boiling/simmering...

That night, I placed the big leftover ham in a roasting pan and left it out in the garage which serves now as my big refrigerator. The next day, I removed all the fat that solidified on top, then simmered the ham covered inside that roasting pan for about an hour, basting from time to time with the sauce. More fat shed oil, so that at the end of 1 hour (which assured me the ham was heated all the way to the middle), I used the fat separator in making the sauce. [Please take note that if you directly roast after slowcooking, you will not need to simmer again. I did this only to reheat before I roasted.] Leaving about a cup of sauce in the pan, I transferred the rest to a small saucepan. I drained the juice off pineapple slices and placed the slices on top of the ham while I heated up the oven to 400 deg F. I placed the pan uncovered in the lower rack and started making the sauce in the saucepan. I just let it boil for about 10 minutes then started adding water-cornstarch mixture (about 1/4 cup of water with 2 tbsp cornstarch), and added in thin stream into the boiling sauce until it was thick as desired. Then I basted the roast/pineapple slices with this sauce about 3 times in intervals of 5 minutes, until the meat achieved a good browning and the pineapple slices were glazed good.

I took out the whole ham and placed it on a platter, then poured some more sauce on top, and had the rest of the sauce in a gravy boat for each person to pour as desired on their slices of ham. The ham remained intact as we sliced, yet very tender and done just to my husband's liking. And we shared with my in-laws, who found the taste delightfully good! This time, we had just a little left over, about 3/4 cup chopped meat, enough for me to make a small batch of pork hamonado siopao.

LP: Paskong Pinoy: Our Filipino Christmas Party 2009

2009-12-15T19:13:00.000-05:00

I modified this post to participate in this week's LP theme: Paskong Pinoy. I have a related post in my tahanan blog here.

What are the major differences between the Filipino Christmas Party and a typical American Christmas Dinner? These are the differences in the two parties I hosted and will be hosting.

Pinoy - you will find a lot of main entrees (needless to say, some of which may be repulsive to some Americans
American - One main entree

Pinoy - buffet type table, with people in line waiting to dig in
American - Serve formally on the table

Pinoy - everyone can pitch in
American - I am expected to be able to make everything since I am hosting.

However, since I will have to include traditional desserts that I cannot make from bought groceries, my MIL and SIL offered to make them, especially that those are not my specialties. I will, however, make desserts that they truly find interesting and to die for (at least, in my MIL's opinion -- SANS RIVAL). And though they would be forgiving as to have bread from a bread maker due to time constraints and the stress of prep, I am inclined (still!) to make rolls (espcially that hubby requests it)...something that my in-laws are in awe of me for. To them I am the yeast roll/bread master.

Anyway, this post is about our recent Filipino Christmas Party. My close circle of friends always look forward to it now, especially with my penchant for preparing truly Filipino traditional favorites and my perseverance to find ingredients for it.

Hubby had to ask me which foods he had to avoid...not surprisingly, 3 out of 4 meaty dishes I prepped were not American-friendly. Good thing my friends brought some foods that our kids and hubbies would eat. Even among the desserts, many of our hubbies did not care for the consistency of rice- or cassava- or custard-based desserts, nor did they care for the coconuts. They liked the puto I made using white cake mix, though.

We would have had monito monita exchange gifts, but I myself forgot to get one, so Thess announced that instead of that, they would just give me the gifts since it was my birthday the past day. Nobody contradicted! It was done on a Sunday and some had to go to church, so we only had afternoon to be together and have some chitchat. They had to leave as early as 4pm (there was a snow storm beginning), no karaoke this time. But we had fun, especially with the buko salad!

I admit it was a stressful event, with lots of hard work from me and my kids who helped me prepare, but it was all worth it. Once a year indulgence in exotic ingredients...once a year reveling in each other's friendship...actually, twice a year now...if you count summer get-togethers for cookout. Filipino gathering just somehow brings me back home, and it is all worth the effort...

Do you need Buko? Here's a tip...

2009-12-11T23:46:00.000-05:00

I so want to post more about food, but these times are busy. However, I am posting this, hoping to help anyone in the US (particularly in New England) who needs buko/young coconuts in time for Christmas.

Last week I went to Hannaford hoping to find some buko (young coconuts) to make into pichi-pichi (for the juice) and to mix with cassava cake and sapin-sapin. I did not find a single one. Desperate to get them, I approached a guy unloading some produce from crates, asking who I could talk to if I wanted 15 pieces of young coconut, which I knew they carried before. I was asked for my name and telephone number, and would be referred to their manager (in the produce section). I told them I would need the coconuts by the next week. I also added 5 yucca (although I had several frozen grated yucca packages in my freezer).

Next morning, I had a follow up phone call about who would be the acting manager to assist me (they left a message). I was told they would try to see what they could do about my order.

In the afternoon I was told the coconuts would be coming to their store the next day, then I would just have to ask a guy to get them from the cooler at the back. Whoa!!! So soon! I did not expect that! I was expecting them in about 5 days if they could actually get those.

So off I went to the store on the afternoon of the second day after I made my request. Now they are sitting in a cooler, out in the garage (protected somehow from freezing by the insulation of the cooler.)

Now I am thinking of making them tomorrow into buko salad (although I originally intended to make a fruit salad) instead of just using some in pichi-pichi or cassava cake. My Filipino Christmas party will be on Sunday. My menu so far includes cassava cake, sapin-sapin, dinuguan at puto, bopis, escabecheng tilapia, beef lengua with onions and mushroom, and humba. Giveaways will be hopia, siopao, ensaymada, pan de coco, and lengua de gato plus some jams and pickles. I told my friends it would be potluck.

I hope you have a Hannaford store near you so you can do the same if you plan to make anything with more than 5 buko for Christmas or New Year. I love how they have accommodated my request and so fast too! They just made me into a loyal customer!

Thanksgiving/Christmas Dinner

2009-11-25T18:11:00.000-05:00

It is not my turn to host the Thanksgiving Dinner this year nor last year. So I am not hysterical at the moment...I will come Christmas time. Haha! But since we have basically the same menu for both Holidays, it is like having a preview before I actually have my turn to host.

Anyway, this post is about the traditional Thanksgiving/Christmas dinner our family has...We cannot deviate from the basics...we can only add if we want anything new, but there should always be the following:

Roast Turkey & Gravy with Stuffing
Bread (usually white bread)
Mashed Potatoes
Boiled and Mashed Turnips
Boiled and Mashed Onions
Cranberry Salad
Fruit Salad
Bread & Butter Pickles
Pitted Olives

No we are not pumpkin lovers, so there are no pumpkins here.

We usually get 20++ lb turkey for a gathering of 14 people. The stuffing is cooked with diced celery and onions sauteed in butter. Some stuffing is stuffed into the turkey cavity, and some kept warm in a slow cooker.

My in-laws love the boiled-mashed-buttered turnips and onions (I tried, but they don't appeal to me at all, and they laugh about it, being smug that they found out something I would not eat!).

The cranberry salad is something my SIL Stacey makes, a mixture of cranberry and marshmallows and whipped cream, but I do not know the recipe. I like it, but not so much that I want to learn the recipe.

I love the fruit salad, but my MIL and FIL make that using their own canned fruits (peaches and kiwi in particular came from their own trees, which they canned right after harvesting, and the only fruit here that they get from the store is the cherry topping).

Bread & Butter Pickles is a must for my FIL.

Pitted olives from the grocery store is part of the tradition.

White Bread is made using bread machine/breadmaker.

[Now my frustration is, the same menu is what we have for Christmas. I would want to deviate, but my husband and in-laws are such traditionalists, so I cannot. Ham is for Easter. I can add other desserts, but I cannot change the entree.]

What we are thankful for? That we have a happy and closely-knit family. No one is antagonistic to others. No one is envious or jealous. Everyone is supportive, warm, and loving. The youngest generation, for the most part, behave how they should behave. And of course we are thankful for generally good health for everyone, and all the blessings we receive.

Here's wishing a Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

Buttermilk Donuts

2009-11-21T22:49:00.000-05:00

TYPE SUMMARY HERE

Ingredients:

1 beaten eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup buttermilk
1-1/2 tablespoons melted butter
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt

Instructions:
Preheat lard to 375 deg F. Lard should be enough so that donut will float when cooking without touching the bottom.
Mix wet ingredients. Mix dry ingredients together.
Mix them together until soft dough forms.
Transfer dough to a well-floured surface and knead.
Use rolling pin to flatten to about 1/4 inch thick.
Grease and flour your donut cutter before cutting.
Deep fry until well browned.
Let drip on rack liked with paper towel.
Sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar.

Hopia

2009-11-19T01:40:00.003-05:00

Per redvelvet's request, I am reposting here the hopia recipe which I posted in series of 3 at my new kusina.

Stage I - FILLING

My family went skiing today (it's my first time!) and my body is S-O-R-E all over. Blame my blogging for the lack of exercise, so my muscles were not in their optimum condition to be subjected to this new activity. My upper body strength proved to be almost nil as I tried to get up several times when I chose to fall to the ground rather than roll down the (almost flat) hill. Pathetic...I (alone) never had the courage to go up the hill. My excuse: I am too old for this...I can easily get a fracture with one major wrong move.

Anyway, that is the reason why this is ~~another teaser post~~ the first in 3 (1/3) in my Hopia Series. I will continue tomorrow and the next day as I recuperate from my seemingly major injuries (muscle strain...akkk! I need a soak in the tub but my husband temporarily disconnected it from the pipe as he works on our bedroom...sigh!)

Of course, at least a day before, we ought to prepare the filling. It will be much easier to wrap the filling when it is cold and easily moldable.

My favorite fillings are ube and munggo (mung beans). As you probably know by now, I made ube haleya recently. I had several 8-oz jars in the fridge, some of which were used for the ube cake roll and ube cream cheese filling, and some I reserved for hopia.

Needless to say, I do not have to post here what the recipe for ube filling is for this hopia.

Following is how I prepared the yellow split mung bean filling, following a recipe found here (I did make my own version of the dough).

Ingredients:
14 ounces dried peeled split yellow mung beans
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt

Instructions:
Soak beans for at least 8 hours. Drain and rinse well.
Add more water to about an inch above. Boil for about 30 minutes (keep watching so it does not dry out). Skim the scum as it arises.
Puree in food processor by batches (see the max capacity of your container). You may want to leave some intact for interesting texture (my kids did not like it, though).
Place back in saucepan and continue cooking.
When almost dry, add salt and sugar. Continue stirring to cook further until dry enough.
Transfer to jars and refrigerate.

Stage 2 - HOPIA DOUGH

Photo above shows the very first homemade hopia I sunk my teeth into.

As promised, I am posting here today the dough for hopia. Thanks to these two recipes that gave me the idea on how to make this pinoy favorite snack that I have missed so much. When my older son tried it, he said that the dough was very much like that of the eng bee tin hopiang ube that I made him taste several days ago, but I noticed the big difference in taste because of 100% ube haleya I used here (the bought one just did not taste quite like the hopiang ube I used to buy back in the Philippines. I don't know if eng bee tin has changed their recipe). The only thing is that the underside is quite thick because of several layers of dough, but it was not too bad once baked.

Just like in one of the above links, I used lard in making the dough. But I used my homemade pork lard. My Nanay has taught me how to render the fat of some meat to use for sauteeing, and I learned how to render my own pork lard when I came to the US. Others might say "ew!" but nothing beats pork lard when it comes to flaky pie crust. Besides, it is very mildly sweet scented with the flavor of pork fat, it is so subtle and pleasant. Every year, I make this after our pig has been slaughtered, so I know where the pork came from, how it was raised, what it ate during its lifetime. In other words, my pork source would be the envy of a lot of real food foodies. You want to question the health implications for this? Here is a quote coming from my previous correspondence with fanatic, a nutritionist by profession.

My opinion about pastry ... there's nothing better than lard for making pastry (with a little butter for flavor). Lard is almost 100 percent fat, where butter is only about 80 percent fat, the other 20 percent is protein and moisture. Butter's moisture (water) makes it a poor choice for pastry (when used exclusively), since water will form gluten when it comes in contact with flour ... making the final product chewy instead of flaky.

I stay away from vegetable shortening. Even though it has about the same fat content as lard (making flaky pastry), the trans fatty acids from the process of hydrogenation are now supposedly more of a health concern than the saturated fat in lard. Shortening is pretty tasteless too.

The lard I can purchase here, believe it or not, is hydrogenated. It also contains BHA and BHT (known carcinogens) as preservatives. It's hardly a product I would consume. You deserve a pat on the back for rendering your own lard!Just yesterday I purchased a new product. It's an organic non-hydrogenated shortening, made from palm oil. Palm oil is very saturated naturally, so it's more solid at room temperature.

Another benefit of using animal fat (lard) for use in cooking ... it has a high smoking point so you can brown with it and it will not break down (oxidize). Most vegetable-based liquid oils cannot be exposed to high temperatures without oxidizing, and oxidized (rancid) fat is carcinogenic. And as your Nanay says ... fresh lard tastes better. I think you need to weigh the costs and benefits of the fat you plan on using.In the end, as long as you eat in moderation and are relatively active in life, I don't believe small amounts of animal fat are deleterious.

With that said, I present to you my recipe for a special hopia dough (I have a hunch that the same practice is done by hopia makers in the Philippines.) If you want, you may use shortening or vegetable lard. If you are interested to make your own, feel free to approach the butcher in your grocery store to inquire. They might even give this to you for free. You can freeze pork lard to keep them fresh longer. Thaw in the fridge when you are about to use. I also use it nowadays for making pie crusts, instead of vegetable shortening.

Ingredients:
Dough 1:
1 cup flour
1/4 cup pork lard

Mix together until crumbly (or it appears like coarse meal). Use your hands.
Divide into 4.

Dough 2:
Mix together until crumbly (same as in dough 1):
2 cups flour + 1 tbsp sugar
1/2 cup pork lard

Once thoroughly mixed, add 1/2 cup water to the above and mix with your hand. Divide into four. This dough is not really sticky compared to my pie crust dough, but the principles are almost the same.

Once the two are ready, proceed as follows for each part of the two types of dough (which you now have 4 of each):

Use cling wrap above and under dough 2 to make it easier to maneuver. Flatten with rolling pin and shape into a rectangle. Distribute dough 1 above. Roll the two together. Wrap tightly with cling wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Note: The contact of water in the above mixture will result to gluten formation. Gluten is what makes dough pliable and chewy. The rest time is necessary for the full development of gluten and making this dough more pliable come rolling and wrapping time. Chilling ensures that dough 1 remains physically "unmixed" with dough 2 despite proximity. The flour+lard (or flour+oil or flour+shortening) in between sheets of flat glutinous dough will create air pockets in between the sheets during baking and the results is hopia pastry with very thin flaky "crust" which is not at all crunchy or hard.

[You might be wondering why I have gloves on. Since working as an RN, I have developed dishidrosis, aka "homemaker's hands" and for me, I can very well call it "nurse's hands" because this condition develops when the hands are subjected to frequent handwashing. My skin gets tiny blisters that itch a lot, then turn flaky and super dry, then they crack and it's ouch! So I try to avoid washing my hands as much as possible. Using gloves and washing them instead of my skin helps me avoid exposure to too much handwashing, especially if I want my cracks to heal before my next duty at the hospital. It's not because I am too particular about "cleanliness" when cooking or baking. It's merely to protect my hands. Baka sabihin nyo, ang arte ko. Hindi no!]

Stage 3 - WRAPPING THE FILLING & BAKING

This is my final hopia post in a series of 3. I am writing this while waiting for my cinnamon rolls to rise (using supersoft ensaymada dough).

Photo above shows my first batch, with experimentations on different wrapping. Slideshow below shows few hopia I made with the last roll of dough I prepared before (one of 4 rolls), baked in oven toaster set at 450 deg F for 15 minutes or so. Each roll of dough could make 4-5 pieces of good-sized hopia. (Suggestion: Maybe a better method would be to flatten the whole roll and then punch out circles before putting filling in, rather than flattening each piece. )

The slideshow is pretty much self-explanatory.

While my first batch was baked in my oven set at 350 deg F, I figured, I would try baking at almost the same temp I bake my empanada. The main objective anyway is to cook and brown the dough wrapping. The filling itself was precooked, so there is no danger of underbaking.

And since I was left with only a roll of the dough I prepared earlier, I had only 8 pieces to bake. I did not feel like wasting that much energy by heating up the big space of conventional oven, so I opted to use the oven toaster. The only thing to keep in mind when doing this is not to burn the ones closest to the heating element; i.e., the middle row. So after about 10 minutes, I rotated the pieces so that the brownnest ones I placed at the periphery and vice versa, to achieve even browning of all pieces.

Baked at this temp, the crust had more crunch to it, which will only hold true for when it is freshly baked, of course. If you refrigerate then reheat later, you might not have the same crunchiness anymore. Not that a lot of Filipinos will miss this "freshly baked" sensation because a lot of us are used to the already cold hopia in the bakeries. I myself had only a few chances of getting really freshly baked hopia when I was still in PI. The hopiang baboy my Manong and the other bakers in our cheap (neighborhood type) bakery was not one I really liked, mainly because I knew there really was no "baboy" in it; only lots of onions in oil. (That said, please know that I will never have a recipe here for hopiang baboy. Now that I have shared how to make the dough and wrap the filling, it will be up to you to experiment making hopiang baboy or hopiang hapon (although I think hopiang hapon uses a different dough recipe/method).

UPDATE: Here is a recipe for hopiang hapon by Mrs. Rusty. (Note to Mrs. Rusty: Many times I would have wanted to leave a message on your site but I would have to register in Multiply so I back out. I tried to look for a way to send you a message, but it's the same thing. Please know that I love visiting your site!)

I HOPIA all enjoyed my hopia series!

Reader's Gallery # 13

2009-11-01T23:49:00.000-05:00

Email by ellen b:

Dear Manang,
i would like to congratulate you for a job very well done when it comes to cooking. most of the food you're making are my favorite so i followed your blog right away. Bravo on the recipes! it is very detailed, with matching pictures and videos pa. every time i make something, like ensaymada for instance i make sure i watch the slide shows too that way when i make it i can picture it on my mind how it's supposed to look like and if it is not similar with your picture i know i did something wrong na or if it is somewhat similar then i can be confident and say that the end product will be good. i was also doubting the comments at first, you know they might not be real or something but when i tried my ensaymada (your supersoft ensaymada recipe) it was really good...

i have been searching on the net for recipes for pan de coco, pan de sal and the like, for a long time na and you are one of the few na ung recipe is very reliable. some sites will give you some of the recipes but not their secret ingredient so everytime i make them it's always not perfect kc me kulang always. i can understand nman why some people don't wanna give their secret ingredient just like that, maybe for business purposes... by the way, i also shared the recipes to my other filipinos friends here, that way they can make filipino foods eventhough they are so far from home (philippines). another thing i like about your site is that you also make an effort to give a different method/instruction on how to make the recipes especially to those people who doesn't have a high tech kitchen equipment such as the bread machine. i am doing all my pastries and breads manually cause i don't have the budget to buy a bread machine and a mixer ang mahal kasi...heehhe... pero ok lang worth it nman kahit manual and pagod masyado kc ang product is excellent!!!

Saludo ako sayo Manang, you are a blessing sa lahat ng mga filipino na nasa ibang bansa tulad ko who craves for filipino food. you make our lives a little bit easier and belly happier...
thanks so much!!! God bless and more cooking pa ha!!!
Aabangan ko yan lagi.

How to Hard-Boil a Single Egg in Microwave

2009-11-01T10:53:00.000-05:00

I posted before how I make hard-boiled egg in the microwave, for purposes of adding to noodles, which I cooked together with the egg (see here).

Some of the most common reason readers land on that post was they were looking for a way to hard-boil egg in the microwave. Here is a method for those who want only ONE egg for salads, sandwiches or as snack, not for noodles. If you would like to cook more than one egg, this post is not for you. Personally, if I am going to boil several eggs, then I would just use the stovetop, or as MaMely did, use the rice cooker.

This time, my post is about preparing hard-boiled egg in the microwave using only water, a bowl, and paper towel. NO, YOU DON'T NEED A SPECIAL GADGET FOR THIS. Please take note that my microwave is a 1.6 kW one, so if you are going to try this, you will have to modify the time and experiment until you get it right.

I also have to let you know (so you won't have to repeat this) that prior to coming up with the method below, I experimented placing an egg with cracked end inside a cup with water only, and it exploded within 30 secs (I tried 3 times, using different power levels, then I gave up). Knowing that the egg does not explode when it was with noodles, I then thought, maybe the egg should have some other "competition" for the microwave energy, so it is not too concentrated in the egg and cause sudden increase in temp then explode. Hence, I thought I would try the paper towel, soaked in water so it would not burn. The first time I did this for 2 minutes, the egg had some leaked soft egg white so I nuked 30 seconds more, and the result was perfect. The second time I tried it for 3 minutes, the egg exploded before it reached 3 minutes. The third time was for 2.5 minutes, and that is the method I describe below, which gave me perfectly hard-boiled egg. Lessen the time if you want soft-boiled.

Here's how:
1. Make a ring out of paper towel and place in a small bowl. Add water to soak the paper.
2. Using a corner of a table of your stovetop, gently crack the wider end of an egg to make a small depression. This will serve as an outlet for escaping steam and excess pressure as the egg is cooking and getting hotter.
3. Place the egg cracked end up in the middle of the bowl, supported by the paper
towel.
4. Microwave on high for 2.5 minutes (or stop as soon as you notice the depressed crack rise up so it becomes level with the rest of the shell again). You will also notice that cracks will also develop originating from this depression as the egg expands a bit while cooking.
5. Let it sit for 2 minutes. The egg will continue to cook with its heat and that of the water around.
6. Use tongs to get the egg and run it under cold tap water to stop the cooking process and to make it easier to handle and easier to peel (the cold shrinks the egg and it separates a bit from the shell).
7. Peel, slice and enjoy!

No-Knead Bran Bread

2009-10-21T15:23:00.000-05:00

From breadworld.com

3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup instant non-fat dry milk
1/4 cup sugar
2 envelopes FLEISCHMANN’S RapidRise Yeast
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
1-1/2 cups water
1/3 cup butter or margarine
2 cups all-bran or bran buds cereal*
1 egg, large
1 tablespoon melted butter (optional)

Directions
In large bowl, combine 1 cup flour, dry milk, sugar, undissolved yeast, and salt. Heat water and butter until very warm (120 to 130oF). Stir in all-bran cereal; let stand about 2 minutes or until cereal is softened. Stir into dry ingredients. Beat 2 minutes at medium speed of electric mixer, scraping bowl occasionally. Add egg and 1/2 cup flour. Beat 2 minutes at high speed, scraping bowl occasionally. Stir in remaining flour to make stiff batter. Place into 2 (8 -1 / 2 x 4 -1 / 2-inch) greased loaf pans. Cover; let rise in warm, draft-free place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Bake at 375oF for 25 minutes or until done. Remove from pans. Brush tops of loaves with melted butter, if desired. Cool on wire racks.

* 4 cups 40% bran flakes may be substituted

Reader's Gallery # 12

2009-10-18T10:06:00.000-05:00

This latest email with photos I received from MPC sounds like a blog post. She definitely has a very engaging style of writing.

To MPC,
Thank you so much for your email and photos (I love your teapot!) and your wonderful feedback!
MK

"Dear Manang,

I never thought I'd say this, but I successfully made Ensaimada and Pandesal this weekend after reading your blog for the first time last Thursday!

For me, home-made Pandesal and Rich Ensaimada was practically an urban legend.
I've always imagined that breadmaking is only limited to bakeries who have access to a Pugon or other Industrial Ovens whose temperature can shoot to a high 500 degrees or at least those who would be lucky enough to possess a terracotta Pizza Stone! (sighs) So I just got to be contended with dabbling on flatbreads and baking cupcakes, brownies and cookies. (I make a mean Chocolate Chip Cookie, learned it from reading the back of labels of Nestle and Hershey products, where else?! heehehe)

Then I chanced upon your blog after searching for a good Ensaimada recipe. Long story short, I got tired of eating Pita Bread, Focaccia, Tortilla, good as they are, but after 3 straight days?! Balik pinoy pa rin ako! hehehe.

So on to search for Pinoy recipes..

Other than the fact that your blog was very user-friendly, the recipes were very easy to understand and the illustrations were a great help.

I successfully made "home-baked Buttery/Supersoft Ensaimada" on my first attempt (a few tweaks like combination of shortening and margarine, less egg yolk, no cheese ... in other words, "kung ano lang available na ingredients ko that night", hehehe) I also made Pandesal almost immediately after baking the Ensaimada (super excited?!). Thus, my back is practically aching right now propably from all the kneading that I did. I don't have a bread machine nor do I have access to Rapid Rise Yeast (only ADY) so everything had to be done manually. Ang yabang ko pa with the "coil" method of Ensaimda since I had a lot of time to spare, but after the 20th piece my fingers were practically twisted!

Ang hirap pala, especially for first timers like me! Kaya pala may "pang tamad" na method, para shortcut! hehehehe.

BUT, after one taste of the Ensaimada and another of the Pandesal... alas! I'M IN BREAD PARADISE.

I ate 5 fairly large ensaimadas right out of the oven, and gave the rest to my family, otherwise, baka atakihin na ko sa puso! (hehehe) Quite a novelty, "Death by Ensaimada?" hhmmm...

Manang, you are truly heaven sent Many thanks for your kindest generosity in sharing
your ideas with the rest of the world. Your recipes are to be treasured and passed on for many generations.

May God continue to bless you and your family.

love,

MPC

P.S. I was able to take a picture of a few pieces of breads before my family wolfed it all down. In a few minutes, ubos na siya! Hence, I'm off to make another batch today "if I I still value my life" (as in kung gusto ko pa mabuhay!) hehehe.

Much love from the Philippines ... MPC

Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

2009-10-14T08:20:00.000-05:00

After my first ever successful (as in not flat!) chocolate cookie chip recipe, I looked for another recipe to try to see if I would get another satisfactory result. And I did, with these cookies that have both semi-sweet and white chocolate chips. Recipe courtesy of Bev who posted it on recipezaar. I edited the procedure because it was quite confusing, and changed dark brown to light brown because that was what I had on hand and it turned out great anyway.

All the kids and the big boy (and me!) loved these cookies.

22 min | 10 min prep

36 Cookies
Ingredients:
3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup sugar
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
2/3 cup unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup vegetable shortening
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips

Instructions:

Place oven rack at the center. Preheat oven to 350°F degrees.
Whisk flour, baking soda and salt together; Set Aside.
Cream the sugars, butter, shortening, eggs and vanilla together using handheld mixer.
Mix in Flour Mixture into Creamed mixture just until blended.
Then Stir in chocolate chips.
Scoop out and drop onto parchment paper on cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. For into pyramids for thicker cookies.
Bake on center rack of oven 12-14 mins, until lightly browned and edges are set.
Remove from oven; wait about 2 minutes to firm up; transfer to wire rack to cool.

Note: You can reuse the parchment paper after you have removed the baked cookies.

Crispy Pata, the Healthier Way

2009-10-13T11:50:00.000-05:00

How do you cook crispy pata with less guilt? Use the oven!

No wasted gallons of cooking oil...no need for oversized pots....no splatters!

And you end up with crispy pata that has the crackled look on the skin, which has dripped some of its melted fat onto the pan it sits on (and you can even use the drippings to make pork gravy later)...

How to make crispy pata the healthier way?

This was a eureka moment for us... We were celebrating my friend Fe's birthday party last Saturday. As I said in my previous post, I brought pandan chiffon cake (which Fe and her son love!) Cecilia brought a big chunk of pork pata that she had been cooking since 3:30 am and still had not achieved the crunchy skin stage (we know about the skin being smooth and crunchy on traditional lechon...that's what we wanted to achieve). When we arrived at Fe's house, she was still out WORKING! But she was coming home soon, so we started to fiddle with her oven. We really did not know how to set the digital controls...We placed the pan on the lower third of the oven.

When she came back, we cooked rice...then she noticed the lechon...and that the oven was warm but not baking at that time she checked (off, in other words!). Cecilia went on to say, "Hindi pa malutong yung balat eh. Pano ba gamitin yang oven mo?" Fe checked, and said, "I-broil na lang natin." So she set her oven to broil.

After 5 minutes we took a look and saw what you see in the pictures on the slideshow above.

I then realized...the traditional way to cook chicharon or lechon kawali or crispy pata was to boil the pork/rind first in some mixture of water, vinegar and spices, then dry, then deep-fry. This accidental discovery was the short cut method in that you cook the pork first by roasting for about 3 hours to fully cook it (provided you brined the pork or flavored it somehow with spices prior, or placed spices like lemongrass, bay leaf, peppercorn, etc. underneath the roast while roasting, along with a sprinkle of garlic salt on the skin), then broil to create the crackled effect on the skin. (Did I not post about chicken skin chicharon, where I said I turn it to chicharon by using my nuwave to broil/bake the pre-cooked chicken skin? I also posted about smaller pork roast using the rotisserie after cooking/boiling and letting dry the chunk of pork pata.)

We wolfed down this roast in less than 30 minutes...nagpipigil pa so everyone (including our kids) can have his/her share! The thing was, we did not have Sarsa ni Mang Tomas! So we just made our own alternative dip of vinegar with chili, soy sauce, salt and pepper.

The cut that Cecilia brought had no skin underneath, but if you will try this method using pork pata with skin all around, I suggest that once the "cooking" phase is done and you are ready to broil the pata, use a wire rack to elevate the pata so the underside is open to hot air and is not soaked in juices, then after crisping the top, rotate so you crisp the bottom also (have not tried this, but it is an idea.)

Try it yourself! You won't regret it!

Pandan Chiffon Cake

2009-10-12T22:07:00.000-05:00

Before I start, may I please request for one of my readers to please send me some more of pandan paste (as in the slide show below) or the canned pandan extract (that I used in buco pandan salad)? I would gladly pay for them (just could not find them here). My previous supply was sent by a co-blogger, stel of babyrambutan.net, and my present pandan and buco-pandan extracts were sent to me by Deb from California. Thanks to them, but I do not feel like requesting from them again. Dyahe....

The pandan chiffon cake recipe I have below is courtesy of my online friend Helen in Australia. I made it for the first time last Friday to bring to my friend Fe's birthday celebration last Saturday.

Helen cuts the sugar and coconut milk in half per her preference. I used the exact amounts stated in the procedure and still found the cake a bit less sweet than I had anticipated, although the sweet frosting made up for it. Fe, however, is like Helen in that she always cuts her sugars in half whenever she makes cakes, rolls, or kakanin. It is a matter of preference, so feel free to experiment with yours.

The pandan butter-coco-cream frosting was something I made up basing on some online recipes I found.

(The chocolate writing on the frosting was melted semi-sweet morsels that I piped out to write onto a parchment paper then cooled. Too bad it broke when I was trying to stand it up on the cake, so we just laid it down.)

Just this afternoon, Fe called me to ask whether I had posted the recipe yet, because she only had a slice of our leftover (We had two cakes, a white cake from my friend Ana, and this one, so Fe ended up with leftover of both. She had half of pandan cake left that Saturday). Then her son had finished the rest of the leftover, so now she wants to bake one.

Thanks, Helen, for this delightful pandan chiffon cake recipe!

Ingredients:
-Batter-
2 cups cake flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 cup sugar or to taste
1/3 cup oil
6 egg yolks
1 cup coconut milk
1 tsp pandan extract (I used paste)

-Meringue-
6 egg whites
1 tsp lemon (or vinegar)
1/2 cup sugar

-Pandan Butter-Coco-Cream Frosting-
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1/2 cup coconut milk
1 tsp buco pandan extract (McCormick)
2-4 cups confectioner's sugar (depends on how sweet you want it)

Instructions:
Sift dry ingredients together (up to 3 times, ideally). Mix well.
Make a well at the center then add oil, yolks, coconut milk and pandan paste. Mix well.
Beat egg whites with vinegar until soft peak forms. Add sugar slowly while beating, beat until stiff but still glossy (do not overbeat).
Add a little of the meringue to batter mixture and blend well, before slowly folding in the rest of the batter into the beaten whites.
Pour into an UNGREASED bundt pan or angel food cake pan (no grease apparently helps keep the volume fluffed up by helping the cake cling onto the walls).
Bake at 350 deg F for 45-50 minutes.
After baking, invert onto a wire rack WITHOUT REMOVING THE PAN. Let the cake COOL COMPLETELY before easing it out of the pan. You may use spatula to let the cake loose. (Again, these apparently help keep the chiffon cottony fluffy.)

Note: The emphasis I made in the procedures were tips I read about AFTER I made the cake. My chiffon cake was quite dense but still of satiny texture, and maybe I should have read more on those tips to maximize its volume and make it lighter.

For the icing, heat up the coconut milk on medium, stirring constantly until creamy. Let cool.

Cream the softened butter with 2 cups confectioner's sugar and pandan flavor, and add the coconut milk gradually. Taste if you like the sweetness already. If not, add some more sugar to taste. If it becomes to thick, you can thin to your desired spreading consistency by adding a little (about 1 tbsp increments) of regular milk or cream (if you have run out of heated coconut milk).

Let cake cool completely before spreading the pandan icing/frosting.

Reader's Gallery # 11

2009-10-11T09:13:00.000-05:00

Thanks to Jane for sharing her photos of empanada.

Manang K,
Thanks for the recipe again... this is my second attemp to bake Empanada, my first is when I was pregnant ( last year pa yun) hehehe. My hubby loves it so much and even my baby.=) di ko na napicturan si hubby 3 bite lang yung empanada ubos na yung 1 piraso.
Thanks again Manang, now I can say everyone can bake!!!

Pork Sesame Siopao (Pork Sesame Steamed Buns)

2009-10-08T07:10:00.000-05:00

I have long posted about how I turn leftover beef pares into siopao or the baked version beef asado roll. Now I made use of leftover pork roast (the one with Mang Tomas Sarsa, but if you plan to do the same, you can also use the simple pork roast with just salt and pepper, or leftover meat from a whole lechon, as long as you remove the fat first).

I got the sauce ingredients from Gary Lee's WOK Appetizers and Light Snack cookbook. It has wonderful flavor! I brought these to my friend's birthday (along with Pandan Chiffon Cake) and our kids just gobbled them up in no time!)

Ingredients and Procedures:

2 cups leftover roasted pork (fat trimmed off, then meat chopped roughly)

-Sauce-

1 medium onion, chopped (optional)
1 tbsp oil (optional)
2 tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 cup water
2 tbsp oyster sauce

Trim fat and chop the meat, then set aside.
(optional) On medium heat, sautee onion in oil. [Since I had onions in my leftover pork, I skipped this part)
Mix all other ingredients and whisk well. Add to pan and whisk to cook until thick.
Add sauce to meat and mix well. Chill overnight or until cool enough to feel solid.

Dough (I used my favorite siopao dough for Parker House Rolls, as I posted in previous siopao entry)

4-3/4 to 5-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 envelopes FLEISCHMANN'S RapidRise Yeast
1-1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup milk
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1 large egg
1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted

Directions
In large bowl, combine 2 cups flour, sugar, undissolved yeast, and salt. Heat milk, water, and 1/4 cup butter until very warm (120o to 130oF). Stir into flour mixture. Beat 2 minutes at medium speed of electric mixer, scraping bowl occasionally. Add egg and 1/2 cup flour; beat 2 minutes at high speed. Stir in enough remaining flour to make a soft dough. Knead on lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 8 to 10 minutes. Cover;* let rest 10 minutes.

Instructions to assemble:

Cut or pinch off dough into just a tad bigger than a pingpong ball and lay on greased baking sheet. Let rest for further 10 minutes to develop the gluten some more and give you more volume to play with as you fill each piece with the meat mixture.

Flatten each piece using your palm, making the edge thinner than the center. Scoop out roughly a tbsp of the filling and place at the center of the dough. Pull the edges to envelope the filling and pinch to seal. Place seam side up (if you want it smooth like I do), of you may want to do it the same way the Chinese make them (turn them into graceful pleats that are positioned at the top). Place on coffee filters cut into squares (cut in half, then fold and cut again, then trim off the rounded sides to come up with squares).

Boil about a cup of water with 1 tbsp of vinegar (I used distilled). Position the buns about 1-2 inches apart on the bamboo steamer lined with either flour sack or parchment paper. Spray with some oil to lessen possible sticking to the side of the steamer or to one another. Cover and steam on briskly boiling water for 12 minutes.

Transfer to wire rack to cool before storing in ziploc and refrigerating if not consuming right away. You can also freeze at this point (lay on pan first before stuffing them all into plastic bag. To reheat, microwave each piece for 30 seconds for chilled and 1 minute for frozen while still in its ziploc bag or use a covered plate (the idea is to let it steam again with its own juice, without drying it up). It will be piping hot, so let it sit at room temp for about 1 minute before you eat. If reheating a big batch, steam again, or you can try microwaving them in a covered container for about a minute then check for hotness/coldness and heat some more in increments of 30 seconds until you are satisfied that they are hot enough.

Chicken Skin Chicharon

2009-10-07T09:24:00.000-05:00

Not much of a post here, but just to give you an idea of how much I hate wasting food...

There are times when I would cut up a whole chicken, and remove the skins prior to cooking (let's say for chicken alfredo or chicken tocino). I then boil the bones and skin along with some seasoning for chicken stock that I use in pancit or arroz caldo. Or if I have roasted chicken then I would boil the carcass for that. In both cases, I have to have the skins pre-cooked. Then I would place them in the oven (I like using the nu wave for this purpose, sprinkle some garlic salt, and bake the skins until they are crispy and all the fat have dripped underneath. (My nu wave rack has just the right amount of surface to make chicharon out of the skin I get from one chicken. If I do have more, I will just probably deep fry on medium low heat until they get crispy and have rendered their fat to add to the oil.) It requires about 30 minutes to get to a crispy state. The thing I like about nu wave is, one glance at it and I know if it is done. No need to open.

As soon as the aroma fills the house, my kids rush down to the kitchen and ask what I am cooking, then eagerly wait for these chicharon. My kids love them!

On a side note, sometimes I chop the cooked skin and render its oil to use for sauteeing when cooking chicken-based dishes. Also, if I have oil on the broth that I prepared, I separate the fat from the broth and chill this, then gather the oil/chicken fat later, place it in a jar, and use it for sauteeing, frying rice, and in the future, I plan to try using it for chicken empanada dough. Health buffs might turn up their noses at me for this, but I am no health food fanatic and I do not pay attention to food fads...I try to stick to traditional methods of preparing foods...the less "refining" process involved, the better. The closer it is to natural state, the better. So if you have something bad to say about this, keep it to yourself and don't bother to leave a harsh opinionated comment, or I will delete it.

Blue Ridge Mountain Chocolate Chip Cookies

2009-10-03T09:33:00.000-05:00

A confession I have to make: I had always been afraid to bake chocolate chip cookies...until I tried this recipe.

Now why was I afraid? Well, I had always used the Nestle Toll House Cookie recipe at the label of the chocolate chips, and my stand mixer, then my cookies would always be flat. If I use the Choc-Oat Chip cookie recipe, they might not be that flat...but they are still too flat for me.

This is the first time I tried a recipe off recipezaar for a cookie. And this is the first chocolate chip cookie recipe that removed my anxiety over baking cookies.

I also realized that I should stick to creaming the butter within 30 minutes of being in room temp, and to only use hand mixer instead of the stand mixer.

Then maybe I will try again Nestle Toll House recipe...we will see if those were indeed the factors that make my cookies flat.

In the meantime, my kids are happy with these, and I am gonna have them in my recipe collection here in my kusina.

Blue Ridge Mountains Chocolate Chip Cookies

30 min | 10 min prep

2 -3 dozen

1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs
2 3/4 cups bleached all purpose flour (see note below)
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups chocolate chips (I use Ghirardelli brand)
Note: The recipe initially calls for 2 1/2 cups flour, but with the added note if you want them more softer and rounder cookie to add 1/4 cup flour. I add the 1/4 cup making it 2 3/4 cups total.
Cream shortening, butter, sugars, then eggs and vanilla and almond extracts.
Blend dry ingredients and add to mixture.
Stir in Chocolate chips.
Drop by large tablespoons (I use cookie scoop) onto ungreased cookie sheet, leaving 2-inches room in between to allow cookies to spread. I press down lightly with a measuring cup to bake more uniform cookies).
Bake at 375° for 10 minutes until lightly brown.
Makes 2-3 dozen cookies depending on size.

Lengua De Gato (Cat's Tongue)

2009-10-01T18:58:00.000-05:00

Who does not love lenguas de gato??? I have yet to meet one who doesn't.

I am not sure how and why I started looking for a recipe of this, but I ended up seeing a starting point with rushlynn's post here. I guess it was an attempt to use the 2 egg whites I had in the fridge, which was about 1/4 cup.

This post is a result of my third attempt at baking these delightful lenguas de gato.

The first time I tried to bake using the above link's recipe, I burned the first batch after baking for a full 10 minutes without watching carefully. I piped the dough thin and flat. The next unburned batches tasted very good, but I felt it was too tough for me. I thought maybe the flour was too much (the fluffiness of butter-sugar-eggwhites gone after beating in the flour). In any case, my kids liked it so much.

I attempted a second time, after gathering and printing out a lot of different recipes online, and experimenting with amounts, and piping them round instead of flat. It was a disaster.

So in the third attempt, I went back to the original recipe I saw, decreased the flour amount, and doubled everything, sifted the flour before adding gradually to the mixture, and beating slowly just until blended. The reason why I wanted double batch was so I would have enough to play with in case I bork up the first few batches again. I also modified the flavors, including lemon because a hint of lemon always results to more interesting flavors, and almond extract just because I love almond flavor. I went back to piping flat, bought a whole set of piping tips to get the biggest flat tip I could find, and disposable piping bags that were big enough and sturdy to remain intact as I squeeze. You will just have to excuse the odd shapes I created, as I never had artistic and steady hands.

I loved the result, and so did my husband and kids.

Hubby: (after I handed to him a handful, "Want some?") "Oh! Cat's tongue! I love that!"
(He remembered the name after I gave him some of the first batch I made!)
Later on he said to me, while still munching on them, "You know what makes them so good? They taste like the butter cookies, if you will be able to make them round with sprinkle of crystal sugars...hmmmm!"

Now that's an idea, but I don't know if they will have the crispiness if they are that thick. Maybe I should use cake flour instead, or add baking powder to puff them up...and use a cookie press. Made a mental note for such future experiments.

Kids: "Those are so good they are addicting!"

Here's my final recipe, and please feel welcome to experiment using cake flour.

Ingredients:
1 cup butter (soften at room temp for 30 mins)- I used salted butter
1-1/3 cup sugar
4 egg whites (about 1/2 cup)
1/2 tsp salt
1-1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp almond extract
few drops lemon extract
2 cups all-purpose flour (measure then sift)

Equipment/Tools:
piping tip (cake decorating) #47
piping bag
parchment paper (I measured out 4)
non-insulated aluminum baking sheet (I used two)
hand mixer
cooling wire racks

Instructions:
After getting the butter out of the fridge, time for 30 minutes and start measuring the other ingredients.
Cream the butter and sugar well. Add the egg whites gradually, beating well. Mix in salt, vanilla, almond extract, and lemon extract. Add half of the flour, beat some, add the rest of the flour, and beat just until blended. Assemble the piping bag and tip. Place some of the dough in the bag, and keep the rest chilled in the fridge. Pre-heat the oven to 375 deg F while you pipe out dough about 3 inches long, flat, and about 1/8 inch high, just a little bit wider than the piping tip, onto parchment paper. (If parchment paper tends to slide off the baking pan, stick it to the pan using a thin smear of Crisco shortening at the four corners of the pan). Space them apart about 1-1/2 inch to allow for expansion while it melts some more during baking. bake for about 5 minutes, rotate the pan, then bake some more for about 2-3 minutes, depending on how thick your dough is. Transfer the parchment paper onto cooling racks, and remove the parchment paper after about 2 minutes to cool completely before transferring to a box or cookie jar.

NOTES:
(1) Baking time may be shorter or longer, depending on whether your oven actually is hotter or cooler than mine, and maybe you piped out not quite exactly right. For the first batch, wait until you get the result, cool some, and have a bite. Correct the thickness and the width of the dough and baking time accordingly on the next batch, and watch carefully until you have learned the right combination of these factors. Once you got it right, proceed with better rhythm of piping the dough onto parchment paper while the other batch is baking.

(2) You can re-use the parchment paper after removing the baked lenguas. That is why 4 of them pre-cut are enough.

(3) While one pan is inside the oven, and the other pan already has dough piped on, you can place the other parchment paper on the table or countertop and pipe out some more. Once you have a hot pan out and you have removed the parchment paper and cookies, let it cool down some (at the same time you are piping dough onto PP on the table), then spray with cold water and wipe dry when you are ready to place a the next batch into the oven. (magulo ba?) What I am trying to say is, since I only had two aluminum pans, one is still warm by the time I am ready to take out the other, so to be able to place the next batch right away, my PP is ready with the dough on the table, and I just have to cool down the pan using cold tap water. With this setup, I had two PP ready on the table, just waiting for the cookies to bake while cooling down the other pan.

(4) If I try to make the piped dough higher (thicker) or so much wider, the middle part tends to get chewy instead of crispy, which I do not like.

(5) If I bake and do NOT wait for the sides to get golden brown (so that they appear light brown all over), I end up with chewy cookies even if they are flat. I don't like that.

(6) This recipe will be enough to fill half of a typical cookie jar (hard to keep track of the number, as it will vary depending on how much you pipe out per piece, and you will tend to munch some of those done while you bake the rest. It is that addicting!)

UPDATE 1/7/10:
This is a feedback by Chef Vanessa (an fb friend):
"I made the recipe you shared for Leguas De Gato and my kids absolutley loved it and it didn't even hit 48 hours in the jar hahahhaa..The first recipe I made was from a site but it did not turned out right..It was too leathery and tasted like flour.Thanks for sharing that recipe!!!"

Thanks for your feedback, Chef!

Pan de Pula/Pan de Regla/Kalihim/Kabukiran

2009-09-27T21:34:00.000-05:00

For a good story on how this tinapay's name evolved through time, read here.

Maybe, for me, the most apt name would be kalihim, in reference to bucaio's theory that it got that name from the sweet secret of using old rolls.

In my father's bakery (now gone), we did use stale breads to make this tinapay (which we simply referred to as "pula'). I have to confess that I never liked this tinapay, and it was not because of this secret (because we had another tinapay, "pudding," that used old breads also and was brown and chewy but I loved it very much).

However, in my compulsion to add to my list of Filipino rolls and breads in my kusina, I tried to come up with my own version. And while my own version did not taste at all like the pan de pula my father's bakery used to make, I actually ended up liking this version, and made me wonder whether other bakeries made theirs like this, because if they did, then there is no wonder anymore why lots of Filipinos love "kalihim" or "pan de regla." Even my kids loved them (this batch was gone within 24 hours). Having said this, please do not treat/expect this recipe as an authentic pan de pula or pan de regla or kalihim or kabukiran recipe. I will leave it up to you if you want to try this. My method is how I imagined it was probably done by my father's bakers back then. I did not know exactly how they prepared the filling, but I knew they wrapped it in dough, and proceeded pretty much like how I did. I also did not know their recipe for the dough, but one time I was talking to my mother about it, she said to have a dough that had a small amount of yeast so that it would not be thick. I got the dough recipe from breadworld.com, as usual, and liked it. As for the filling, I made a pudding recipe based on the usual ingredients: stale bread, milk, eggs, sugar and vanilla. I used red food coloring mainly because that was what I knew we used in my father's bakery.

Ingredients:
Pudding Filling --
stale bread, cut into pieces (I used white bread, and filled a loaf pan 2/3 up)
2 cups milk
3 eggs
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
red food coloring (or whatever color you prefer or none at all)

Dough --
1-1 / 2 to 2 cups all-purpose flour
1 envelope FLEISCHMANN’S RapidRise Yeast
3 / 4 teaspoon salt
2 / 3 cup very warm water (120o to 130oF)
1 tbsp oil
egg glaze (beaten 1 egg white plus 1 tbsp water)

Instructions:

Prepare the filling first. Place the cut up stale bread in a loaf pan up to 2/3 full. Mix all other ingredients in a bowl. Press the stale bread pieces then pour the mixture and let soak. Press some more with fork to make sure you release gas and bread pieces absorb the mixture. You may let this sit in the fridge for several hours or overnight.

Puree the pudding in a food processor. Cook in a saucepan on medium heat, stirring frequently to avoid scorching. Stop when it is thick. Let cool down then form into a log using a cling wrap. Chill when cool enough to place in the fridge.

Prepare the dough. In a large bowl, combine 1 cup flour, undissolved yeast, and salt. Gradually add very warm water and oil to flour mixture. Beat 2 minutes at medium speed of electric mixer, scraping bowl occasionally. Stir in enough remaining flour to make a soft dough. Knead on lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 8 to 10 minutes. Cover; let rest 10 minutes.

Roll dough to 12 x 10-inch rectangle. Place the pudding log onto it and wrap with the dough. Pinch seams to seal. Place on a greased baking sheet seam side down. Flatten a bit. Brush with egg glaze. Pierce with fork tines on several spots for vents. Place in warmed oven (or a draft-free moist and warm place) to rise for about 30 minutes.

Bake at 400 deg F for about 20 minutes. Let cool for about 10 minutes before slicing. Cool completely before placing in ziploc bags.

Reader's Gallery # 10

2009-09-21T17:03:00.000-05:00

Many thanks to Yvette for sharing her photos of spanish bread and ube ice cream, yummily being enjoyed by her son.

To Yvette: Thanks for your email and photos!

hi manang! just want to share you some of my work. thanks for the wonderful recipes! patok sa family ko!

Pork Roasted in Mang Tomas Sarsa

2009-09-15T05:50:00.000-05:00

Our supper menu on that day:
Pandelimon with butter (This is our favorite dinner roll)
Fresly picked cukes from my garden (sliced)
mashed potatoes
Pork Roasted in Mang Tomas Sarsa ng Lechon

Hubby loved it! And when hubby likes a food, it almost certainly is liked by everyone in our family. He is that picky. Ingredients are few and preparation is super simple! I just need to have time, so it is perfect on a day off when I have got so many chores to do.

Ingredients:
pork roast (butt cut maybe? spinal column at one side)
1 bottle of Mang Tomas All Purpose Sauce (Sarsa ng Lechon) (11.64 oz)
2 medium onions, sliced

Instructions:
I started this with the pork fresh from the freezer so total cooking time was 4 hours. If you are using non-frozen, you can cut the time to 3 hours for really well-done.
Place sliced onions at the bottom of roasting pan. Add the sauce and distribute evenly.
Place the roast on top. Cover. Place this on the lower rack of the oven and bake at 350 deg F for 3 hours (less if not frozen). (If you are planning to make pandelimon as well, start preparing the pandelimon after baking the pork for an hour, and that leaves you total of 3 hours to prepare the dough and bake them).
Uncover, and glaze the top of the roast with the sauce (which now contains a lot of juice from the pork itself). Continue baking for an hour uncovered, checking from time to time that sauce does not totally evaporate (may add little water as needed to keep a good volume). Also baste the roast repeatedly as needed for a nice glaze. (With pandelimon rolls, transfer the roast at the very bottom of the oven and bake the rolls on the upper rack, upper 1/3 of the oven, for about 12-15 minutes).

What to do with leftovers (you can only eat so much, you know!), gather all the sauce with onions, add some more water and stir to get all the flavor from the pan. Sieve through and catch all liquid into fat separator. Place this in a small saucepan and boil until reduced to a good amount and consistency. Meanwhile, shred the leftover pork meat, discarding the fat, then grind or roughly chop. Mix with the sauce. You can adjust the taste to your preference. Then you can use this for a differently flavored pork siopao (either steamed or baked).

Grilled Stuffed Squids & Cuttlefish

2009-09-15T04:58:00.000-05:00

I had several bags of frozen cleaned squids and cuttlefish, and had been meaning to have grilled squids, but I have always wanted some meat stuffing in it. Especially so after I saw Panlasang Pinoy's post about it.

Well, I had some plain cooked ground beef (as in S&P add-ons only) that was leftover from two times (both times were prepared fresh as he does not like eating leftovers) of serving my hubby one of his fave meals: ground beef, boiled potatoes and brocolli. I thought I'd use that as filling, but I added veggies (finely chopped 1 carrot, 2 celery stalks and 1 onion plus garlic powder) for additional flavor, and added a beaten egg to hold them together as they cook. I used toothpicks for the cuttlefish because it had a cut on one side.

I used several pre-heated sizzling plates sprayed with some oil, cooked the squids and cuttlefish about 2 mins on each side, then just combined them all on one when cooked. They turned out moist and soft and chewy, not at all rubbery dry.

Some squids had no filling because I ran out.
Grilled seafood always satisfies my Filipino palate, and those of my boys. We ate them with fried rice prepared with leftover pork tocino cut into small pieces. I never bothered to offer this to hubby, as he is so grossed out by tentacles and is not crazy over seafood in general anyway.

How to Cook/Prepare The Perfect (Pork) Tocino

2009-09-07T19:02:00.000-05:00

Tender, juicy, and glazed tocino without the burn (go ahead and click on the photo to see a closer and bigger look at it). My husband loves this so much that he can eat as much as 3 chops even if he is not really a big eater.

I am not talking about a recipe. Rather, I am talking about the method that I have been using to cook pork tocino to perfection (according to my standards, that is). This is my method on how to cook tocino without burning them and without turning my pan into a burnt mess. (If you want to know the recipe from DOST teknotulong website, I pasted it down below, so scroll down some more. But please be aware that I have not tried it.)

Method:
Whether or not you use your own recipe, maybe you will like this method as well. I still am using my Mama Sita tocino mix (I got tons of them since my husband expressed loving this pork "casino" -- he could not remember the right term).

I marinate 8 pork chops using 2 packets at least overnight to 1 day, keeping them in the chiller bin of my fridge, with frequent turning. Then I place them all, including the marinade, in a big saucepan, cover and boil. As soon as it boils, I turn down the heat to #2 or #3 and simmer for about 25 minutes. About 5 minutes before simmering ends, I heat up the oven on broil (hi), place the griddle on the rack at the upper third of the oven. I spray with just a little bit of oil to prevent the chops from sticking, then I dish out the chops and place them on the griddle. While waiting for the surface to dry up a bit, I reduce the sauce on the saucepan by boiling further on high until it is almost like runny sauce (If it is too thick and sticky already, it will be harder to brush on the chops and it might not be enough). I watch this carefully because it can easily burn. The resulting sauce has enough fat drippings so I still create the same effect as when I fry them in some oil, especially when the excess water finally evaporates while I broil.

Then I brush this sauce on top of the chops,

broil for about 1-2 minutes or until Isee the tops bubbly and the sugar is caramelizing, which makes the chops appear glazed, and the fatty parts kinda turn like charred.

Then I flip over and do the same on the other side.

This way, you get a nice browning, nice glaze, without scorching and without making it taste burnt! I guarantee you can proudly serve this to any fussy American meat-eater like my husband. (If you serve some burnt tocino, be prepared to have most of it thrown away. I have done so in the past, and it does not feel good to see my husband eat a few tiny pieces, with the scorched parts left on his plate, even if the meat underneath is still good. It even feels worse when I myself have to admit that it is unpalatable. I used to cook tocino on stovetop with conduction burner instead of flame, and it is hard to control the heat, especially if I want indirect low heat like when cooking tocino or rice. It is impossible not to burn because I cannot place my pan away from the heat; it is always in direct contact. If you have flame burners, it is more possible not to burn tocino even when cooked on saucepan alone, but browning every piece equally is better achieved through broiling.)

Now if you use chicken breast, butterfly the breast so it is thinner, cook for only about 15 minutes before broiling since chicken cooks faster than pork.

Sarap talaga ng tocino!

Now for the PORK TOCINO RECIPE from DOST Teknotulong website:
TOSINO (SALTED PORK)

Materials (see Procedure below for amounts):
Pork
Salt
Sugar
Salitre

Utensils:
Kitchen knife
Bowl with cover
Measuring spoon

Procedure:

1. Slice pork into 1 cm. thickness.

2. For every kg. of meat, mix the following ingredients and rub on both sides of the pork;11/2 tbsp. salt, 4-5 tbsp. sugar, 1/3 tsp. Salitre.

3. Place salted pork in a clean covered container and keep in a cool place or in a refrigerator for 3-5 days.

4. Wash a little and cook. Tocino will last for 1/2 month when kept in a refrigerator.

Mango Jam

2009-09-02T06:51:00.000-05:00

It is my first time to make these mango jams. Although I typically use fresh produce when making jams and jellies (and when canning, generally), I don't have a choice with mangoes. The advantage is that mangoes here are available all year round, coming from Mexico. So I can make these jams whenever. My kids love it so much, they seem to prefer the jam over the plain fruit. I think this would also go well in crepes.

Ingredients:
4 cups finely chopped ripe mangoes (I used the red mangoes variety; tastes like ripe Indian Mangoes; I had no other choice here)
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
5-1/2 cups sugar
1 packet of sure-jell (there are two in each box)

Instructions:

1. Wash lids and jars in hot water; keep the jars filled with hot water until you are ready to put them in boiling water so they do not get shocked with temperature change (which might cause cracks). Start boiling water in a large pot for sterilizing. Place each jar in boiling water for at least 5 minutes before using (maybe 3-4 jars at a time).
2. Prepare fruit as above. Measure exact amount into a 6- or 8-qt saucepot (mixture might boil over if you use a smaller pot). Stir in lemon juice.
3. Measure exact amount of sugar into separate bowl.
4. Stir in 1 packet (the original direction says 1 box, but I think I got the right consistency with just 1 packet. 1 box contains 2 packets.)
5. Bring mixture to full rolling boil (a boil that does not stop bubbling when stirred) on high heat, stirring constantly.
6. Stir in sugar quickly. Return to full rolling boil and boil exactly 1 minute, stirring constantly.
7. Ladle quickly into prepared jars, filling to within 1/8 inch of tops. Wipe jar rims and threads. Cover with two-piece lids dipped quickly in boiling water (don't boil the lids - will damage the rubbery seal). Screw bands tightly. Place jars upside down on countertop for about 5 minutes before setting them upright. Do this step repeatedly with each jar, and replace each jar whenever you take one out from the sterilizing pot, remembering to take the first one out for ladling jam.) If you have a jar that is not full, you may use unsterile cover, but place this in the fridge and consume this first.

A Simple Roast Pork

2009-09-01T09:32:00.000-05:00

It seems like chicken...haha! But this is a roast cut of pork, with spine and some ribs at one side (I don't exactly know what you call that kind of cut). I was looking at my freezer and was wondering what to prep for supper. I saw this roast cut...though there were several ligaments and fascia, the cut was very lean.

Very simple to prepare, all I added was kosher salt and freshly milled gourmet pepper. Straight from the freezer, I baked it at 350 deg F in that same roasting pan showed in the pic, which is the same material as my boiling water canner. The first 2 hours I exposed it, then I added the veggies (broccoli spears and zucchini) and baked covered for another hour.

Hubby at first frowned upon seeing it was mostly "red" pork meat (I am not sure what part of pork would be "white," although I have been seeing ads about pork being the "other white meat"), but he tried it anyway, and was surprisingly delighted at the very good flavor of the tender meat that he ate a full meal after all. My kids loved it (no surprise there! They are my #1 fans.)

Snow Cone Syrups

2009-08-31T20:00:00.000-05:00

I got this set of hawaiian shaved ice's snow cone syrups upon the kids' request...and guess what, the big boy (hubby) also likes it, cherry being his favorite flavor! Stepd's fave is the blue raspberry...I just ordered two sets of 3-flavor packs to replenish cherry and blue raspberry flavors.

Why hawaiian shaved ice brand? It got the best reviews on amazon.com...the other brands apparently are not packed with real flavors. We were not disappointed.

This set includes:
Banana
Watermelon
Root Beer
Lemon-Lime
Pina Colada
Grape
Cherry
Tiger's Blood (whatever that is!)
Blue Raspberry
Strawberry

UPDATE 9-5-09: During one pool party celebrating my older son's birthday, my kids had fun showing it off to friends and they all had a blast making their snow cones. Today, when celebrating his birthday with relatives, my SIL and her kids had fun making snow cones and asked me where I got the machine and the syrups. This is one of the best fun food stuff to make during summer!

Reader's Photo Gallery #9

2009-08-28T09:39:00.000-05:00

This post is long overdue...

Below is Mitzi's email and a slideshow of some photos she sent to me.

Thanks for contributing to the Reader's Photo Gallery, Mitzi!

Hello Manang,

Nagpadala ako ng pictures nung gumawa ako ng cassava suman at pan de sal. Rave reviews ang binigay ng mga boys ko (ha-ha!). Actually, marami-rami na rin akon naluto using your recipes. Most of them, first time kong na-try and almost always I am pleased with the result.

I just want to thank you for putting up your site. Sana noon ko pa na-discover yun. I can tell that you are so sincere in your mission to encourage us kitchen-challenged pinoys and pinays to at least preserve Filipino culture through its cuisine in a very foreign setting.

Best regards.

Mitzi :)

An Open Letter to the maker of Lucia Purple Yam

2009-08-22T15:42:00.000-05:00

To Lucia Brand of Purple Yam (grated)
Florence Foods Corporation
Navotas, Metro Manila
Philippines

I chose to buy your brand the last trip I made to the Asian store because they were so purplish, it gave me hope that I would not need to use food coloring to come up with that familiar purple color of ube.

However, the very first pack I opened had a dead insect in it. I had to throw it away, and kept praying that the next ones would not have any in it.

I proceeded, quite uncomfortably, to cook the grated ube, knowing that you do not practice sanitation and hygiene in your facility, after seeing that dead insect in the first package (I bought a total of 15 packages). I was rationalizing, "maluluto din naman."

But everytime I would stir, there would appear black specks or tiny tiny twigs? or insect legs? (no hairs, though).

I felt uncomfortable because I was planning to use it to make halaya and to flavor ube ice cream, and I planned to introduce my American neighbors to the Filipino cuisine. Now I am having second thoughts. My fellow Pinays would probably do not care as long as it was cooked (or would they? Should I even serve this to them?)

If you find it difficult to maintain sanitation in your workplace, please just freeze whole or cut purple yams instead, peeled and ready to grate, and sell them as is. I believe that would even be cost-effective for you. I would be willing to buy it at the same price you are selling the grated ube. That would give me peace of mind, just like I have been buying the whole Yucca (in place of cassava) and peeling and grating them myself. I like the uncooked frozen ube better than the powder variety, but if this is the price I have to pay for the frozen grated ube, then I might reluctantly resort to using the powder, or go back to getting the not-so-purplish brand but which was clean.

I do not know if there are others who have the same experience as I do, but I am almost certain I am not alone. So if in the next times I still get such products made by you and have the same problem, I will continue to spread the word on the internet.

Now if only other Filipinos with ube plants can sell their products frozen whole/cut or as plants through ebay, I would be a happy consumer.

Reader's Photo Gallery #8

2009-08-21T10:02:00.000-05:00

Thanks to Jane C for these photos (suki!) of pan de pastel and ube ensaymada.

KNB: Icy Treats Snowcone and Slushie Maker

2009-08-13T12:15:00.000-05:00

As I said in my halo-halo post, my older son suggested we order a snowcone maker. So I searched amazon.com for snowcone maker, slushie maker, and ice shaver, and found some that reminded me of those I saw in some stalls in the Philippines.

The Paragon brand was very expensive, and yet I knew that it produces crushed ice too
chunky for me to consider for halo-halo, just a bit finer than the crushed ice my fridge makes. So on to the next...

I seriously considered the New Hawaiian Ice Shaver, because not only was it familiar (I saw it in action in one of the vendors in the Philippines), I also knew that the ice shavings produced by it was perfect for halo-halo. But when I placed it in my cart, the shipping cost was prohibitive! It was so heavy that the
S&H would have been a whooping $45! So I scratched it off...

Next I considered something made in Japan (because they make excellent blades), but the plastic body (of the pink one) seemed so flimsy that it reminded me of my sister's ice shaver when she was still in the Philippines, which when cranked threatened to fall apart. The gray one looked like metal, but the make was not specified and I did not dare try.

So I just checked out those that had high reviews, and settled for Hamilton Icy Treats after reading the negative reviews versus the positive reviews.

My very own experience with it? It definitely faster than my mandolin slicer-made shaved ice, and the only negative thing I can say about it is I have to pause and rearrange the ice so they don't stick together and get stuck that way. Otherwise, the gadget is sturdy for the purpose, the shaved ice has two settings - slushie (coarser) and snowcone (finer). Sometimes I just switch from one to the other just to dislodge the stuck ice and keep it going. The on and off switch is the cover itself (which I think is an excellent precaution to avoid cuts in children). And it is compact enough that it does not occupy too much countertop space (unlike if I bought the New Hawaiian brand).

But if I lived in Hawaii, I would have settled for that...

Halo-halo

2009-08-10T22:30:00.000-05:00

Longing for a taste of the Philippines on a hot summer day, after I finally encountered some yellow plantains which was suitable as substitute for saba bananas, I finally made halo-halo. I made sweetened bananas (the old-fashioned way), sweetened white camote (the same variety we have in the Philippines, instead of the orange ones. I think the white ones are sweeter.), and sweetened adzuki beans. (For making these, my technique for the banana and camote are the same: cube then boil with enough water until soft enough when you bite into a piece, about 5 minutes or so, then drain the water, put back 1/4 cup into the pot and add 2 cups of sugar and boil another 5 minutes. I choose bananas that are not too ripe, but soft enough to dent when poked. If syrup is made before adding uncooked bananas/camote, you will not get them soft enough. For the beans, I soaked the beans for about 2 hours or so, then boiled for an hour on until soft, then did the same thing with the syrup. The bad thing was, some beans were soft, some were super chewy tough! Dunno why...)[Addendum as of 8/23/09: I also made sweetened white beans and garbanzos later. I bought 1 can of each, rinsed with cold water 3 times to get rid of some saltiness, then boiled until I was satisfied they would remain soft even with the addition of syrup. Then I made the syrup by mixing 1/4 cup sugar with 2 cups water and added the softened beans and garbanzos. I placed them in jars and had to wait about 2 days before they became sweet.] I had a jar each of kaong (palm seeds) and nata de coco. I made leche flan as topping. I still have ube haleya from a previously made batch. The only things I lacked were the colored sago and gulaman (I forgot to grab some bags of sago from the Asian store, and was too lazy to look up a recipe for gulaman made with agar-agar), macapuno (could not find one!), minatamis na garbanzos (chick pea), and minatamis na langka (because I was too eager to have halo-halo! I do have some canned jackfruit which I will cook to soften).

No, I don't like ice cream on my halo-halo. Never liked it. I also never liked the big ice chips that "Iceberg" (did I remember it right?) used on their "special" halo-halo that were full of colored kaong and gulaman and hardly anything else, topped with ice cream. I liked the halo-halo I used to buy from a neighbor, with ice that is as fine as snow, over a mix (halo-halo is literally mix-mix) of a teaspoon of each ingredient, with about 1 tbsp of white sugar, some evap milk poured over the ice, topped with leche flan, which I love eating by itself, not mixed in.

My son enjoyed his with some lengua de gato. (I am still in search of a recipe that is really crispy buttery. This batch I made for the first time were too tough for my taste when they totally cooled off.)

One dilemma I had was how to come up with the scraped ice because I did not have that gadget that we use in the Philippines. I did make a block of ice the night before, and had this idea of -- don't laugh! -- using the mandolin slicer to scrape the ice. It turned out ok, though slow, and I had to keep turning the block of ice every now and then so that the markings made by the towel would provide some traction which the blade would catch. Without those, the ice would just slide and slip.

My older son, after seeing what I was doing, and finally having a taste of the halo-halo (and realizing that that taste was familiar), suggested we get a snowcone maker (what a wonderful idea! I was quite reluctant, though, because my sis used to have a manually cranked plastic ice scraper that shook so hard it threatened to fall apart, that I would have wanted the old-fashioned pangkudkod ng yelo). But doing it the mandolin way was too slow most of the ice melted right away! So eventually, I sorted through the ones available in amazon and walmart, and made my choice. I will feature that summer gadget next.

Reader's Photo Gallery #7

2009-08-09T23:39:00.000-05:00

Elena (who shared her yummy recipe for minatamis na saging) made pichi-pichi based on my recipe.

Thanks for sharing your photos, Elena!

Bacon-Wrapped Scallops

2009-08-09T06:55:00.000-05:00

I do not need to post a recipe here. I just bought some sea scallops (medium-sized)for grilling, instead of the bay scallops (smaller ones) that are my hubby's fave variety, because he says they are tastier. The medium size is just right for the skewers, and I think they are tasty as well (the bigger ones are definitely not!). I wrapped each individual scallops in bacon, held in place by the skewer, 4 pieces in one skewer. I grilled on high heat until bacon was done. Scallops easily cook anyway, and at first I was afraid of high heat, thinking it might dry up the scallops while taking quite sometime cooking the bacon. But I was wrong. It seems that the fat of the bacon kept the scallops moist. The scallops also did not brown as much (in contrast to when I pan-fry them in butter).

Though my husband tends to stick to his basic traditional foods (pan-fried scallops for him), he could not resist but try (especially that he liked the bacon-wrapped dogs), and actually liked these bacon-wrapped scallops.

As a side dish, I boiled sweet corn (nobody here likes grilled corn), and I prepared summer squash and zucchini coated with olive oil and sprinkled with Italian dressing, then roasted on the grill atop a roasting pan with holes, cooking at the same time scallops were. The kids found them delightful (they were surprised!).