Cuppy Creme

Caroline's baby shower

2011-08-26T10:00:00.001-07:00

My friend Carol had a baby shower last August 21. I made chocolate cupcakes with buttercream frosting that I tinted blue, yellow and green.

The day before the baby shower, we were busy chopping and cooking for the party. It was a good thing that I was still able to bake. I made 60 cupcakes. 50 for the party and 10 for personal consumption.

We'll see you in a couple of weeks JACOB :)

Pretty in Pink

2011-08-19T09:45:00.000-07:00

My niece turned 6 months old today and to celebrate her monthly birthday I made moist chocolate cupcakes with baby pink buttercream frosting. I love the cupcake liners. Pink with white polkadots. Cuteness.

My little niece is not so little anymore. She looks like a little school girl all dolled up in pink. How time flies. Happy 6 mos birthday baby girl! May God shower you with blessings and keep you safe always. Tita loves you so much and can't wait to see you!

Pastel de Lengua

2011-08-10T20:00:00.000-07:00

Sirens, not of the Greek mythology kind, but rather the kind that produced loud wailing sounds, greeted me as soon as I got out of the crowded airport and onto the busy city streets. During the drive back to my friend's house, I contemplated going back to the airport and hopping on the first plane back to the city up north.

I would be the first to admit that I was never enamored by the City of Angels. I am, however, smitten by the City by the Bay. You know, the place where one leaves his or her heart (or so I heard)? But I digress.

LA has been my home for quite some time now. Living here taught me how to be independent and has been a humbling experience for me. Although I've adjusted to life here in LA, being away from the comforts of home and family makes me homesick.

SJP's said, " The most important thing in life is family. There are days you love them, and others you don't. But in the end, they're the people you always come home to. Sometimes it's the family you're born into and sometimes it's the one you make for yourself." I am just grateful to my friend, as well as to my dad's friends, for taking me in and treating me like family. I've met and made new friends because of them. I've gone on road trips and shopping sprees and food adventures with them. I look forward to their family gatherings. Good company and a sampling of Tito Alex' kare kare or Manong Jake's tinola or Carol's beef caldereta or Tita Lurlina's pancit makes me a happy camper.

Oh I made pastel de lengua the other day. Meltingly tender ox tongue was cooked with mixed vegetables and cheese, topped with a golden pastry crust. It was a bit time consuming because I had to pressure cook the ox tongue until tender. Then I had to peel the outer white covering of the ox tongue once it got cool enough to handle. Then I had to do some sauteing and then baking. To do away with extra prepping of veggies, I went ahead and used frozen mixed vegetables. I also used a prepared pastry crust because I didn't have time to make one from scratch. This is a dish that's meant to be shared and eaten family style, although presentation-wise, I like serving it in white ramekins.

The sirens? They don't bother me anymore. In fact, they lull me to sleep. I've come to like L.A. but SF still has my heart.

Pastel de Lengua

1 ox tongue

water

2 onions , sliced

1 bay leaf

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

In a pressure cooker , combine all ingredients and pressure cook until ox tongue is tender. Reserve broth and set aside. Let tongue cool. Peel the outer white covering of the ox tongue and slice diagonally , about 1/2 " thick. Set aside.

2 onions, sliced

1/2 cup butter

1 can button mushrooms

1/2 cup flour

2 cups ox tongue broth

1 1/2 cups milk

3/4 cup grated cheese

1 bag frozen mixed vegetables

salt and pepper to taste

ready made pie crust or frozen puff pastry

1 egg

2 tbsp milk

In a pan, heat butter and saute onions over low fire until onions are transparent. Add ox tongue and continue cooking for 5 mins. Add mushroom and flour. Stir quickly. Pour in broth, stirring to prevent sauce from getting lumpy. Add the vegetables, milk and cheese. Season with salt and pepper.

Transfer to a baking dish and top with prepared pastry crust.

Combine egg and milk in a bowl and use to brush top of the pastry crust.

Bake in a 350F oven for 25 minutes or until crust is golden brown.

Serve immediately.

Chicken Curry with Basil and Mango Ginger Chutney

2011-07-31T19:30:00.003-07:00

After three months, I'm back to blogging!

Hello cuppycreme. I've missed you so.

Life got in the way.

Yes, I have a real life and for the past three months it took me for a crazy ride. I've realized that although it's not as colorful as I want it to be, it's not wanting in blessings.

Oh I made dinner tonight. The second time in three months that I cooked dinner.

I opened the pantry and saw an unopened pack of green curry paste and mango ginger chutney from Trader Joe's and decided to make a thai style chicken curry with basil.

It's simple and fast and tasty and spicy and ready in an El Ay minute (hehe!) I kid. It took me around 20 minutes to make it, prep time included.

It's real life dinner for real people.

I wish I could make YOU dinner.

For real.

THAI CHICKEN CURRY

1 19 oz can coconut milk, divided

2 teaspoons green curry paste (use less if you don't want it spicy)

1 bell pepper cut into wide strips

1 onion, thinly sliced

1 lb boneless chicken thighs cut into huge chunks

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 tablespoon fish sauce

1/3 cup fresh basil, chiffonade

juice of 1 lime

salt to taste

In a large skillet, bring 1/4 cup coconut milk and curry paste to a boil over medium high heat. Make sure to whisk constantly. Add bell pepper and onion. Saute for five minutes. Stir in chicken, remaining coconut milk, sugar and fish sauce. Cook until chicken is cooked through. Stir. Add basil and lime juice. Season with salt.

Serve hot with rice and mango ginger chutney.

Pink & Blue Cupcakes for Bela

2011-04-17T21:50:00.006-07:00

Last Feb 19, 2011, I officially became a tita (aunt). My sister gave birth to a beautiful baby girl who she named Ysabela Ruth Florida ((Ruth and Florida are the names of Ysa's grandmothers) and who I love to bits.

This April 19 she's turning two months old and to celebrate I made some cupcakes.

I made some moist chocolate cupcakes with pink buttercream frosting and some carrot cupcakes with cream cheese frosting which I tinted blue using some gel food coloring.

It's been a while since I made some cupcakes so I wasn't able to properly frost them and I was also in a hurry.

Happy 2nd month BELA! I love you!!!

Ginisang Gulay - KCC March Challenge

2011-03-30T14:14:00.004-07:00

It has been my practice for the past 3 - 4 years to give up meat for the entire Lenten Season. It meant giving up juicy delicious cuts of beef, pork, lamb and chicken from Ash Wednesday up to Easter Sunday.

This year I decided to start early (February 1 to be exact) in order to ween myself to an almost vegetarian fare ( I still consume seafood, eggs. milk and cheeses).

Being a carnivore (hah!) I don't have an arsenal of vegetarian recipes at my disposal, which is why i decided on making ginisang gulay. This dish, although simple in terms of preparation is bursting with the flavor of tomatoes, garlic and onions, and for someone who arrives late and still has to make dinner, (sometimes) this is a reliable go to dish.

I know the challenge said to prepare a vegetarian dish, but I just had to add shrimps. (Don't worry I only added like 8 pieces).

PS.

I decided to give up rice too (I replaced it with quinoa and couscous).

I was the only one at home to go on the rice free, pesco-ovo-vegetarian route and yes I feel envious whenever they chow down on yummy beef-pork-lamb-chicken but I'm sticking to my Lenten sacrifice. After all it's just gonna be a few more weeks :).

PPS

I didn't bother measuring and neither do I bother with what vegetable goes first.

Ginisang Gulay

garlic, minced

onions, sliced

tomatoes, chopped

fish sauce

veggies (to be honest, I grabbed a package of Trader Joe's mixed asian vegetable and did away with the sauce that came with it, although it also tasted good)

shrimps (just a handful)

oyster sauce (about 1 tsp)

pepper

water

In a pan, heat oil. Saute garlic, onions and tomatoes until fragrant and tomatoes are tender.

Add, pepper and fish sauce (start with a small amount. you can always adjust it.). Saute shrimps. Add the vegetable. Add a little water and the oyster sauce.

Adjust seasonings accordingly. Cover pan and simmer until vegetables are tender.

Serve with rice. (or in my case, quinoa)

Sugpo sa Aligue at Gata - KCC February Challenge

2011-02-28T06:30:00.000-08:00

Technically speaking, it's still February 28 here so I still made the February deadline albeit I am late yet again.

This month's theme stumped me completely as I had to come up with a Filipino dish using food with aphrodisiac properties. An aphrodisiac is a substance that increases sexual desire and in the Philippines, balut and the notorious Soup No. 5 are just examples of foods that have aphrodisiac properties. Why? I don't know.

I initially wanted to do either a strawberry dessert or a fried banana dessert drizzled with chocolate and honey but I had a craving for anything cooked in gata (coconut milk) so I decided to go with prawns (an aphrodisiac) with crab fat and chilies (also an aphrodisiac) and coconut milk.

This is not an everyday fare. This dish is meant to be eaten once in a blue moon. Why? Because crab fat is not exactly the healthiest of food. But since it's Happy Hearts Month, let's make our hearts and appetites happy. lol!

Sugpo sa Aligue at Gata (Prawns In Crab Fat and Coconut Milk)

600 grams prawns or shrimps, whiskers trimmed, unpeeled

vegetable oil

2 tablespoons finely chopped garlic (or go loco and use an entire head of garlic)

2 tablespoons finely chopped ginger

1 onion, chopped

3-4 siling mahaba (green finger chilis), sliced

1 cup aligue or crab fat

1 cup coconut milk

1-2 tablespoons fish sauce ( if using thai fish sauce, you might need to add more)

juice of 1 lemon or 2-4 calamansi

sriracha (optional)

cilantro for garnish

Heat oil in a skillet or pan that is big enough to accommodate the prawns. When the oil is hot, saute ginger, onion and garlic. Saute until the onion is soft and translucent. Add the chilis and the aligue. Cook until the aligue softens and oil separates. Add coconut milk and continue to cook. Add fish sauce and lemon or calamansi to taste. Add sriracha if you want it spicier.

Add the prawns and remove from heat as soon as the prawns are cooked. Garnish with cilantro.

Serve hot with rice.

I added scallops to the dish too :)

Kare Kare - KCC January Theme

2011-01-28T14:35:00.006-08:00

I joined Kulinarya Cooking Club October or November of last year and I've been meaning to joinfellow KCC members in their monthly kitchen adventures but life and work and the daily commute got in the way. Not to mention that I am, yet again, late in posting. But hey, better late than never!

This month's theme is "What Filipino Dish (savoury or sweet) would you like to have on your birthday?"

I celebrated my birthday in the earlier part of January and we had all you can eat Korean Barbecue but if I had my way, I'd ask my dad to cook my ultimate comfort food, Beef Pinapaitan or have my mom make her Pinoy Spaghetti . However, I've already posted those two dishes on my blog, so I decided on another favorite of mine, Kare Kare.

Kare Kare or oxtail and peanut stew is something that I learned to cook when I moved to this city. I learned by watching my uncle cook it for dinner and then added a couple of things I learned from my mom.

My version of kare kare is nothing like the authentic version where you have to use roasted peanuts and annatto seeds. I simply don't have the time. I use a kare kare mix (boo!) but I use it mostly to impart color not flavor. I also don't put banana blossom or puso ng saging because, well, I don't know how to prep it. Sometimes I use the cut of beef meant for stewing because oxtails are pretty expensive. One thing I do know is that Ludy's peanut butter can tramp Skippy's anytime!

So here is my version of Kare Kare (as always, I don't measure when I cook so adjust the seasonings to suit your taste).

1 package oxtail ( pre-packed when i buy it in the groceries)

tripe (i'd say about 1 - 1 1/2 lbs i used the what they call "honeycomb")

1/2 of an onion, sliced

2 T garlic, minced

1 - 1 1/2 cup peanut butter, or one bottle of Ludy's peanut butter

salt & pepper to taste

sugar to taste ( i don't add sugar when I use Ludy's PB)

1 pack Kare Kare mix ( i use mama sita)

2 chinese eggplants, sliced diagonally

green beans or string beans

pechay or bok choy

Wash the tripe and oxtail thoroughly. In a pot, combine the tripe and oxtail and cover with water. Bring water to a boil. Boil for a few minutes then drain and rinse oxtail and tripe in cold water.

Place oxtail and tripe in a pressure cooker and cover with water. Pressure cook for about 20 to 25 minutes or until oxtail and tripe are tender. (if the tripe is still tough, you can transfer the oxtail to another bowl and set those aside.) Once the tripe is tender, drain and cut into serving portions. Reserve the broth. You can dissolve the kare kare mix in it.

In a pan, saute onions and garlic. Add oxtail and tripe. Season SPARINGLY with salt and pepper.

Add the dissolved kare kare mix and the peanut butter. Adjust seasonings accordingly. Add sugar if you wish or more water if needed. Let it simmer.

In another pot, boil water. Add green beans and eggplants. When the eggplants are almost tender, add pechay or bok choy. Transfer vegetables to a bowl under cold running water to stop the cooking process. Then drain the vegetables and add to the stew.

Serve warm, with bagoong.

Steamed Fish Fillet with Garlic Ginger Sesame Soy Dressing

2011-01-17T07:51:00.006-08:00

Do you love fish? Do you want the freshest catch and pay a fraction of the cost you are paying at the grocery stores? Is it okay for you to wake up early on a Saturday morning, say 3 AM and drive all the way to the Port of Los Angeles? If you answered yes to all the questions then grab your jacket and car keys because I'm pretty sure you'd want to be there on an early Saturday morning when the San Pedro fish markets are open to the public.

Inside the pink building located at the end of 22nd Street, you will see a crowd of shoppers picking through boxes of live crabs, shrimps, lobsters, squid and fish. At the market you can find a variety of fish from mackerel to red snapper to sole to salmon to tuna. Some have been filleted, while some you can buy whole. Prices are astonishing low too. Imagine 89 cents a pound for squid? We were able to purchase a huge fillet of salmon and sole fillets for $5.00 each. You can't get that good a deal in your neighborhood grocery store. There are also bins of crushed ice for shoppers to pack their loot in for the drive home.

Okay back to cooking. Originally, I wanted to pan fry the fillets of sole and serve it with a creamy butter sauce but eventually decided on steaming the fillets for a change.

Steaming gave the fillets, a tender, delicate, melt in your mouth texture and balanced the asian flavors brought about by the other ingredients in the dish. If you have a huge steamer, then you don't have to cut the fillets, but if you don't, you can always slice it in half. I served the steamed fillets over a bed of Chinese cabbage that I sauteed in garlic, onions, ginger and a dash or two of oyster sauce.

Check out the recipe below. As with my other recipes, please feel free to adjust seasonings to your liking. I don't measure when I cook.

Oh and before I forget, the San Pedro Fish Market is open to the public every Saturday from 3:30AM to 7:00AM.

Steamed Fish Fillet with Garlic Ginger Sesame Soy Dressing

For the Vegetable

1 1/2 tablespoons canola oil

1 tablespoon finely chopped ginger

1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic

1/2 of an onion, finely sliced

half a head of chinese cabbage or napa cabbage, washed and sliced into 1 1/2 inch pieces

dash or two of oyster sauce

pepper to taste

1/4 cup water

1/2 teaspoon sugar

For the fillets

4 fish fillets, I used sole but you can use dory or any white fish fillets you have on hand. (Slice them in half if they wont fit in your steamer)

1/8 cup water

2 tablespoons rice wine or Chinese cooking wine (I used mirin because thats what I had on hand)

3 tablespoons ginger, julienned

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 to 3 tablespoons light soy sauce

1/4 teaspoon sesame oil

1 stalk green onion, julienned

1 1/2 tablespoon canola oil

cilantro for garnish

For the vegetable:

Heat oil in pan and add the ginger, onion and garlic. Saute until fragrant. Add the chopped cabbage then season with oyster sauce and pepper. Pour in water and cover pan for two to three minutes. Drain cabbage and transfer to a plate; Set aside.

For the fish:

Clean and wash the fish then pat dry. Arrange fillets on a plate that fits inside a steamer basket.

Add water, cooking wine and a tablespoon of soy sauce over fish and then top with half of the ginger. Place plate inside the steamer. Cook for about 8 mins or until fillets are tender and cooked properly.

Using a spatula, carefully remove the fillets from the steamer and place on top of the vegetable.

In a pan, heat oil and and saute ginger and garlic until fragrant. Add the remaining soy sauce, and any remaining liquid left on the plate where you steamed your fish in and sesame oil. Add the green onions. Check seasoning. Add sugar if needed. When the ginger, garlic oil is hot, pour over the fish. Serve hot.

Orange Chicken

2011-01-13T19:16:00.004-08:00

For the longest time I've been meaning to drop by "THAT" restaurant that serves this particular dish but I keep fighting the urge to do so.

What? Am I dieting? Heavens no! (but I'm trying to eat smarter, though.) I'm trying my hardest to save up for a kitchen aid and upon checking the pantry and the fridge, I had all the ingredients to recreate the dish. (Yes stingy me is trying to save a buck or two.)

So off to the kitchen I went!

This is not exactly what you call "health food." I mean come on! It's fried chicken for crying out loud. Then it's drenched in a sweet, tangy, spicy sauce and served on a bed of white rice. No brown rice here. It's full carbs or nothing. So if you're looking for a healthy meal, I suggest you keep looking. I, on the other hand, will enjoy my dinner. If you want to give it a try, check out the recipe. (Please note that I do not measure the ingredients when I cook, so I kinda eyeballed the measurements in this dish.)

Orange Chicken

4 pcs boneless, skinless chicken thighs or chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces

1/2 tsp grated ginger

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 tsp orange zest

1/2 tsp ground pepper

6 to 7 tbsp white vinegar

1/2 cup sugar (i used brown sugar)

1/4 cup soy sauce ( i used low sodium)

1 cup orange juice

1 cup reduced sodium chicken broth

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tbsp + 2 tsp cornstarch dispersed in

2 tbsp water

For the coating:

2 eggs, slightly beaten

1 tbsp water

1 cup cornstarch

cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp baking soda

Canola oil for deep frying.

In a saucepan, combine ginger, garlic, orange zest, pepper and cayenne. Add chicken broth, orange juice, soy sauce, vinegar and sugar. Stir.

Measure out 3/4 cup of the marinade and put in a resealable bag and marinate chicken pieces 30 mins to 60 mins. (keep in fridge).

Heat remaining marinade until slightly thickened.

Add cornstarch mixture and continue to cook until sauce is translucent. Set aside.

Drain chicken pieces and pat dry.

In a bowl, combine cornstarch, cayenne, baking soda. In another bowl, beat the eggs and add water. Dip the chicken pieces in the egg mixture then dredge in cornstarch mixture.

Deep fry the chicken pieces and transfer onto plates lined with paper towel.

Reheat the sauce if necessary and toss with the cooked chicken pieces. Serve with rice.

2011

2011-01-08T17:30:00.004-08:00

(photo via: thenotebookdoodles )

Yes, 2011. Please be good to me.

I've been so busy during the past six months that I totally stopped blogging.

I moved:

1. to a different time zone

2. to a different city.

3. far from my family.

*sigh*

The thing I like about the move apart from making new friends, is learning to be really independent and summing up the courage to learn new things and take on the adventure that is life.

However, I really, really miss my family. I miss their hugs and kisses and laughter. I miss being with them which was why I spent an ample amount of time in the kitchen, cooking. It's something we love to do as a family. We love gathering around the table, having a good time while partaking of the food we prepared. So yeah when I feel sad, or when a wave of homesickness hits me, I hie off to the kitchen and prepare food that we used to enjoy :)

And I will be posting some pictures of the food I've prepared pretty soon.

So yes, 2011, please be a good year not only for my family and I, but for everyone else as well!

Spaghetti with sundried tomatoes and sweet italian sausage

2010-07-12T17:16:00.005-07:00

It's Monday once again and I'm home alone so I volunteered to cook pasta for dinner.

Sundried tomatoes, stewed tomatoes, mushrooms, cream. basil. garlic and spaghetti make up the cast of ingredients in this pasta dish.

Oh! I almost forgot the sweet italian sausages. Not in photo are the butter and EVOO.

Anyhow, begin by chopping the garlic. Then slice the mushrooms as well. Drain the stewed tomatoes and give them a rough chop too. Set these aside.

Remove the sausage casings and crumble the sausages. Set these aside too.

Salt and boil water for the pasta. Cook pasta until al dente as per package directions.

In a saucepan, heat the EVOO and butter. Add the garlic followed by the stewed tomatoes. When the tomatoes are tender, add the sausages. Cook sausages until they turn brown. Add the mushrooms. Saute and add freshly ground pepper. Add cream. Add some pasta water to the sauce and check for seasoning.

Let simmer for a few minutes until it thickens a bit. Drain the pasta and add to the sauce.
Adjust seasonings accordingly. Sprinkle with parmigiano reggiano and basil that has been julienned.

this is my super late brunch/early dinner.

birthday cupcakes for gelli

2010-04-13T05:58:00.005-07:00

It was my sister's birthday last March 5. I wanted to surprise her with a birthday cake but seeing that I had no talent whatsoever when it comes to cake decorating, I decided on making some cupcakes instead.

I was suppose to bake the cupcakes before we left for Manila but my oven did not cooperate so I had to bake the cupcakes in Manila one day after her birthday.

I used my trusted chocolate cake recipe but tweaked the frosting a bit. I added cocoa and coffee to half of the frosting. The other half I left plain. I preferred the vanilla frosting but my sisters liked the mocha flavored frosting. Either way, I still have to thank my sister Tanya for taking these photos.

Comfort me with Carrot Cake

2010-04-03T19:55:00.000-07:00

My love affair with carrot cake started when I was in college. My good friend Geedes makes scrumptious carrot cakes. I remember helping her bake dozens of carrot cakes in her La Vista kitchen when she was still living here in the Philippines. Her carrot cakes were moist and yummy and generously covered with cream cheese frosting
She's now based in Canada and I miss her and her cooking. On days when I feel sad and start missing friends who are now based halfway around the world, I comfort myself with a hefty chunk of carrot cake and think of the good times I had with them.

Carrot Cake

2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground ginger
2 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups canola oil
4 large eggs
3 cups grated peeled carrots
1 cups coarsely chopped walnuts (optional)
1/2 cup raisins (optional)

Preheat oven to 350F

Butter two 9-inch-diameter cake pans instead of cupcake molds. Line bottom of pans with waxed paper. Butter and flour paper; tap out excess flour.

Whisk flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger in medium bowl to blend. Whisk sugar and oil in large bowl until well blended. Whisk in eggs 1 at a time. Add flour mixture and stir until blended. Stir in carrots, walnuts and raisins, if using them.

Divide the batter between the prepared pans, and bake the layers for about 40 minutes each, or until a tester inserted into center comes out clean. Cool cakes in pans 15 minutes. Turn out onto racks. Peel off waxed paper; cool cakes completely. Top cake with cream cheese frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

1 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups confectioners’ sugar

1-2 tbps milk

In a stand mixer beat all the ingredients on medium until fluffy. Chill the frosting for 10 to 20 minutes, until it has set up enough to spread smoothly.

Finally! a quick stint in the kitchen

2009-12-17T14:50:00.009-08:00

Last Sunday, I joined my family in Manila where our sister is currently based. Since I was already there, I went to Sweet Craft and The Cocoa Pantry to buy some stuffs for me to use this Christmas. After a couple of hours, I found myself in the kitchen with ingredients to make rhum cake.

(my loot)

Let me be the first to tell you that my baking skills are rusty!!! This is what happens when I'm away from the kitchen for a long time. I forgot to preheat the oven. I forgot how to substitute cake flour with all purpose flour (no internet access at that time, so I had to guess!). I couldn't decide between using a regular bundt pan and mini bundt pans. Eventually though, I used the latter but I filled them with way too much cake batter.

(note to self : do not fill pan with way too much cake batter)

(brushing cake with rhum syrup)

(more rhum syrup)

The kitchen gods must love me inspite of my faux pas because after forty minutes, the kitchen smelled so good. Sweet goodies and vanilla heaven! Speaking of vanilla, I used the madagascar bourbon vanilla that my friend Geedes sent me. Made a lot of difference!

( i have two of these from Geedes)

Our house in Bauang is still being renovated. My dad had some people replace the wooden floor with tiles. My room needs repainting but we'll be able to move back home in a couple of days. A few weeks earlier, I had manong Rannie of La Germania check if the oven still works since it was submerged in murky water. He was kind enough to clean the oven. Yay! Baking and cooking galore here I come!

HAPPY CHRISTMAS!!!!!

This post is for dog lovers only...

2009-11-30T03:59:00.004-08:00

My blog was named after her. Well sort of. I wanted to use Cuppy Cakes for my blog title but unfortunately that title was already taken so I settled on Cuppy Creme instead.

Anyways, enough about my blog. We've been so busy that we forgot our cuppycupcakey's birthday last November 19. She turned 6. Converted to human years, she's now older than me!

Belated happy birthday Cupcake! We luv luv luv luv you!!!!

what do you do

2009-10-28T14:35:00.004-07:00

when things go wrong...

when life throws you a curve ball, one after the other...

when all seem lost...

when you're down...

when the storm rages on ...

when there's nowhere to go but down ...

what do you do?

Pardon the post. I just feel so down right now. Pepeng (the typhoon that devastated Northern Luzon) happened. For the first time, water from the river reached our house, leaving mud and garbage and filthy water and other icky "i-don't-want-to-know-what-that-is" stuff all over. We've been living with our Grandma since October 9 and I am grateful that we have a place to sleep, bathe, wash, eat and be comfortable in, but I miss our house. I miss home.
I miss baking too. I don't know if my oven still works. It was partially submerged, along with our other furniture and appliances.

My friend Chet sent me the following message:

"I’m strong in the Lord. I’m blessed. I’m forgiven. I’m protected. I’m redeemed. I’m
equipped. I’m anointed. Healing flows in my body. New doors will open before me. I’ll
meet the right people, the right opportunities, at the right time, at the right place.
I’ll regain ten times what I lost. In Jesus name!"

I pray.
I thank God for keeping my family safe through the storm.
I pray for strength to get through the day.
I hope for better days ahead.

a doctor a day keeps the sweets away

2009-10-17T05:56:00.004-07:00

I paid a visit to my new doctor today. The visit was long overdue actually.
I'm M and I'm what you call a borderline diabetic. Erase that. I'm definitely a diabetic. I come from a long line of diabetics.
So anyways, unlike my past doctors, Dr. R. explained everything to me properly and he told me what foods I should stay the hell away from and what I can consume. So it's bye bye sugar. Bye bye cakes. Bye bye sweets. He said that I have to take care of my pancreas otherwise it's bye bye oral medication and hello insulin shots. He also said that I have 1450 calories a day at my disposal and that I should use it wisely. I also need to monitor my blood sugar regularly.

So today marks the first day of my new routine. Will this routine stop me from baking and cooking? Definitely NOT!!! But I would have to cut back on the sugar bit. Wish me luck!

we need your help

2009-10-12T04:43:00.002-07:00

Only days after Typhoon Ondoy (Ketsana) wreaked havoc in Metro Manila and neighboring towns and provinces, Typhoon Pepeng (Parma) turned back and did more damage than what it inflicted during its first visit last week. As of 6AM this morning in Region 1 alone 25,825 houses were damaged thereby affecting more than 772,285 persons.
Our town of Bauang, La Union was pummeled by Typhoon Pepeng.
According to partial reports as of october 12, 2009 4:30PM the total number of families affected in Bauang reached 2451 The total number of persons affected reached 12,138. Totally damaged houses reached 613 while partially damaged houses reached 1731
Damage to crops reached 200 Million already.

We need many dry clothes, blankets, relief goods, medicines and DRINKING WATER. Please help us in any way you can. You can send your donations (whatever you can spare) to the Office of the Mayor Municipality of Bauang, La Union, Philippines
Thank you very much.

Busy C in the Kitchen

2009-08-06T17:20:00.005-07:00

Last Tuesday night, I decided to try out a recipe for Devil's Food Cake but instead of making one big cake, I decided to make cupcakes instead.
It took me about an hour to prepare, mix and bake 4 dozen (2 oz) cupcakes and 2 dozen (1 oz) cupcakes. I added coffee and rum. I can't taste the rum though so I might as well replace it equal amount of coffee. (or maybe increase the rum and reduce the coffee called for).

Then I decided to make some cinnamon rolls.
It took me quite a long time to make these rolls. I was afraid of over mixing them in my mixer. I was also afraid that my kitchen aid would overheat, so I decided to finish kneading the dough by hand. Very tiring!!!
After waiting for the dough to double in size (about 2 hrs), I had to roll out the dough with a rolling pin, add the cinnamon sugar mixture, roll the dough tightly (which I wasn't able to do) and cut it into 1 1/2 inch pieces (I wasn't able to do this too. ) Then I had to wait 90 minutes for the cut dough to proof before baking at 350F for 30 minutes.

Here are the final results. I used the same frosting for both goodies - cream cheese frosting with lemon zest.

plain cinnamon roll

cinnamon rolls with lemon cream cheese frosting

devil's food cupcakes with lemon cream cheese frosting

I am a happy kitchen camper :)

I've Got Mail

2009-08-06T16:49:00.007-07:00

From MOO

How very exciting indeed!

Apparently, I'm their new best friend. Who am I to say no?

These are just some of the designs of my mini cards.
Aren't they pretty?

This is what's written at the back of every card.

Thank you Foodbuzz and MOO for my complimentary mini cards.

Luv 'em!!!!

Pink & White Cupcakes

2009-07-30T10:03:00.004-07:00

I love baking cupcakes.

Last Friday, I made some chocolate cupcakes and orange vanilla cupcakes.

Frosted them with vanilla buttercream. I tinted half of the frosting baby pink. To be honest with you I have no clue as to how to frost them properly.

I need to take that Wilton Class. Seriously. But I'm happy at how they turned out. Moist and yummy and chocolate-y and orange-y. The frosting was in my opinion, just right.

Cupcakes make me happy.

"me time"

2009-07-30T08:00:00.001-07:00

Hi guys! I'm back. Well sort of. I'll be in and out of the blogging scene for the time being because WORK beckons. Yes, work! I'm working even in my sleep. Seriously. Work has a way of weaving itself into my dreams. I even wake up in the middle of the night thinking of how I can get through the following day unscathed.

Take today for example. I was at a loss on how to fund one final check. Sales were down because of the weather and people are spending less. Time was running out and so was my luck. I was about to go home defeated but I guess the Lord had other plans. I was able to cover that final check at the last minute. The bank closes at 4pm but they allowed me one final transaction at 4:45pm (thanks UCPB).

God must really, really, really love me. I am beyond grateful. I asked and He provided. (I wonder though if the extra stress is really necessary? Kidding Kuya Jess. Aylabschu!) Now I can enjoy my "ME TIME" on Saturday. "ME TIME" is the one day of the week wherein I can refrain from thinking about work. Although "ME TIME" entails waking up at 6:30AM on a Saturday, I don't mind because I get to don my ISCAHM jacket and toque and spend half a day in the kitchen learning different cooking methods and techniques from real chefs.

I first learned about ISCAHM (International School for Culinary Arts and Hotel Management) from Angkowl Neil, a friend from IRC days. He said "ok dun" but I wasn't sold on the idea. It was only when my aunt, Tina C. Diaz, answered my queries that I decided to enrol. She is the managing editor of Foodie magazine, by the way.

Here are some pictures from my "ME TIME ". I forgot to take photos of the different cuts of veggies and potatoes. My gosh my hand hurt from all that chopping. I didn't know that there are more than 10 ways to chop a potato. My knife skills were pretty rusty!

My classmates and I with Chef Sean and Chef Uli, Canadian and Swiss chefs.

different dressings and sauces.

Ceasar salad, pepper cilantro crusted tuna salad with shoe string potatoes, mesclun greens with apples and prawns, curried chicken salad, shrimp cocktail, thai beef salad, warm bacon potato salad. All plated by Chef Sean. YUMMERCH!!!

I will take, err, grab some pictures from my classmates and post them soon. Till then be safe!!!

AFK

2009-07-02T23:59:00.003-07:00

Yup you read it right! Your eyes are not playing tricks on you.

A F K

I'll be AFK (that's Away From Keyboard ) starting tonight. I'll be in Manila for another medical procedure before my check-up. Nothing serious. Just need to make sure that I'm healthy healthy in time for my 3 month culinary bootcamp at ISCAHM which will in turn take up most of my time.

Having said that, I would like to apologize to my fellow SMS bakers and to our leader, Lorelei as I would be late in posting my completed challenges yet again.

Choco cookie baby!

2009-07-02T16:49:00.004-07:00

Remember when I blogged about these cookies that I gave my grandma and Kate and how I hoped that they would enjoy munching on the cookies as much as I enjoyed baking them?

Well, I got an email from Kate yesterday with the following photo of Zandro after snacking on the double chocolate cranberry cookies. He's covered in chocolate goo!! Priceless!!!

Simple Pleasures

2009-07-01T15:45:00.007-07:00

I had two easy days this week thus allowing me to do two activities that I love doing. I was able to cook and bake. Thank you Lord.

Tuesday was lasagna day.

I was checking out the cabinet, looking for something to cook when I saw the box of instant lasagna. Perfect. I don't have to boil water to cook the lasagna sheets. All I had to do was make the meat sauce and the bechamel sauce. Except for the bell pepper and milk, all the usual suspects for the sauces were in the cabinet. I asked Kuya Allan to chop the onions and garlic for me. Ate Cory bought quickmelt cheese and bell pepper while I scurried off to CSI for some other grocery items and the milk. Before that I dropped by my dad's office and had lunch with the parents.

At around 4 pm I began preparing the meat sauce. In the pan went some butter, olive oil, chili flakes. I added the chopped onions and garlic. I added about half a kilo of ground pork and then some chopped red and green bell pepper. Salt and pepper and paprika followed suit before I added the tomato sauce, some sugar, herbs, a dollop of heavy cream and a handful of quick melting cheese. At the last minute I decided to add some stewed tomatoes that I rough chopped.
I then checked if the sauce was seasoned properly then I let it simmer a bit while I began the bechamel sauce.

For the white sauce, I melted some butter (like Ina, I'm not afraid to use butter!) and added some flour. This is called a roux. After a couple of minutes of whisking, the roux had a consistency similar to cake frosting. I then added the milk slowly and slowly whisked the mixture until thick. I seasoned it with salt and pepper and nutmeg. I also deviated a bit and added some grated quickmelt cheese.

Everyone knows how to assemble this dish right? Ladle some of the red sauce onto the bottom of the pan then arrange the pasta on top of the red sauce. Ladle some of the bechamel sauce this time then add another layer of pasta. Alternately layer the sauces onto the pasta. Onto the last layer of pasta, I ladled some of the red sauce and some of the bechamel sauce. Then I sprinkled the top with some grated cheese. Since I used instant lasagna noodles I had to bake it in the oven 30 to 40 minutes. Reduce baking time if using fresh pasta or pasta that you cooked in boiling water.

Wednesday was cookie day.

Two weeks ago, Kate (she's the one in the white shirt) and I were chatting on YM and we we got to talking about food and chocolate chip cravings. About two days later she gave me a ziplock bag full of almonds, dates and a bottle of pho base which I will use on Vietnamese Night (heaven knows what that will be).

Last Wednesday, I decided to make use of the almonds and made some chocolate chip cookies using Melissa Murphy's recipe.

Here are some slices of cookie dough. I had to roll and chill the dough. See the specks of chocolate chips and almond?

After 15 minutes in the oven, the slices of raw cookie dough looked like this. Aren't they pretty? I also made some plain ones using half of the batter for my sister Tanya. Then I made some chocolate cranberry cookies as well. Please see previous posts for the recipes or better yet buy the Sweet Melissa Baking Book.

After cooling on the wire rack, I packed some cookies in 3 separate containers. One for Kate. One for my grandma and one for the family.

I hope they enjoyed munching on the cookies as much as I enjoyed baking them.

Till the next baking session :)

Be safe.

SMS Double Chocolate Cherry Cookies

2009-07-01T06:05:00.007-07:00

I have a question.

Are these cookies suppose to like spread out a little? The reason I'm asking is because my cookies stayed exactly the same size.

They didn't spread out or have that sort of dome like top like the chocolate chip cookies I make. Maybe there's something wrong with the baking soda? Maybe it's because I used regular cocoa instead of the dutch processed kind. I dunno. I rolled them into small logs thus giving me bite sized cookies (think quarters) and placed them 1 inch apart on a lined cookie sheet to bake. Alas, they didn't "grow" in size. Not even a centimeter.

Don't get me wrong. These are yummy cookies. Moist. Like brownie buttons and I loved how the chocolate complemented the cranberries (sorry no cherries). I bet they would go well with a tall glass of cold milk.

I followed the other SMS bakers advice and I baked them no longer than 13 minutes.

Thanks so much Megan of My Baking Adventures for choosing this for the SMS challenge.

Do check out The Sweet Melissa Baking Book for the recipe, as well as my fellow bakers on SMS.

:)

There are no skeletons in my closet :)

2009-06-28T19:24:00.021-07:00

Go ahead and take a peek.

Only clothes and shoes and bags

And linens and magazines and books.

Lots of magazines and books.

We had our house renovated two, maybe three years ago and what used to be our garage is now my bedroom. It's the biggest bedroom in the house and I opted to have open closets with lots of shelves to hold not my clothes but my books, cookbooks and magazine collection.

You see, I used to collect Gourmet and Bon Appetit and Martha Stewart Living but not anymore. The price is outrageous! At 400 to 500 pesos an issue(almost $10), no thanks. I can always go to epicurious.com and download the recipes hehehe (Yes, I'm cheap that way!).

I now buy local magazines like Foodie and Yummy. Sometimes though, back issues of Bon Appetit and Gourmet (50% off) find their way into the shelves.

My books and magazine collection used to occupy one column (5 shelves) of my closet but not anymore. They now occupy 8 shelves!

Have you met my friends?

Say hi to Julia, Ina, Giada, Tessa, Diana, Nigella, Caprial, Ursula, Maida, Gale, Dorie, and Martha. Boyfriends Jamie, Tyler and Ming and grandaddies Wolfgang and Nobu are somewhere in the mix.

The Kite Runner, The Alchemist, The Bonesetter's Daughter and The Book Thief are just some of the many who are in there either reading the Memoirs of a Geisha or cracking the Da Vinci Code while waiting for A Thousand Splendid Suns to rise East of Eden. You don't believe me? I swear on my pink devotional BIBLE ( Do you see it?).

I was in Manila last week and I bought 2 more cookbooks. Sad to say that I am now 3 books over my " 5 COOKBOOKS A YEAR QUOTA" which means that next year I can only buy 2 cookbooks. COOKBOOKS GIVEN AS GIFTS DON'T COUNT THOUGH!!! I'm also waiting for Dan Brown's new novel. I just want to make that clear.

I told you there are no skeletons in my closet.

SMS Posting Late

2009-06-26T06:32:00.002-07:00

Life is way too crazy at the moment.

I will try to post my completed SMS challenges next week *keeping my fingers crossed*
I'm hoping things will get better by then:)

Please click here to check out how my fellow SMS bakers fared with this week's challenge.

Till then, be safe :)

the cupcake project!

2009-06-18T06:51:00.000-07:00

It was my dad's birthday last June 10. My sister turned a year older last June 2 and her T, last June 13. Since we were not able to celebrate with my sister last June 2 for reasons that I could not divulge, we decided to host a joint birthday celebration for the June celebrants last June 12.

One of my many tasks was to bake cupcakes for the party. My sister initially wanted orange vanilla cupcakes but she settled for chocolate cupcakes instead. Whew! Imagine how many oranges I'd have to squeeze to make 10 dozen cupcakes!!!

The night before the party, my sister Gelli and I worked on the cupcakes.

After mixing the ingredients for the cake (thank heavens for my kitchen aid mixer), I emptied the batter into a pitcher for easy pouring. This is faster than scooping batter into every cup.

Just one of the many batches headed into the oven. Less mess, no stress!

We made 10 dozen moist chocolate cupcakes before sleeping.

I love the dark color of the cupcakes. Dark brown to black, the cupcakes were rich, moist and yummy.

When I woke up at around 9 AM, I started working on the pasta sauce with my sister Tanya. When we were satisfied with how the sauce tasted, I started working on the buttercream frosting. It was too hot that day that I couldn't get the frosting to set properly. C'est la vie!

I was in charge of piping swirls of frosting on the cupcakes.

I pipped some light green swirls...

and some pink and blue ones too!

Pink, green and blue cupcakes. Aren't they cute?

I think I should take up a Wilton course in cake decorating so that I can learn how to make those cute designs using a piping bag and the tips that come with it.

Birthday girl Tanya tinted the frosting pink, green and blue. She also did the lettering.

She then decorated one cupcake this way!

Gelli sprinkled cupcake toppers onto some of the cupcakes.

Cupcakes ready to be transported to Lola Zita's house !
(The tray came back empty.)

*thanks tans and gelli for the pictures and for helping me with the cupcake project*

Sweet Melissa Sundays: Chocolate Chip Cookies with Toasted Almonds

2009-06-16T19:35:00.004-07:00

THE MELISSA MURPHY chose Chocolate Chip Cookies with Toasted Almonds for last Sunday's challenge. Boy! am I glad that she did!

For the longest time, I've been using the Toll House Cookie recipe and I love it but I've been trying to find ways to cut down on the sugar content. I don't like sugar free stuffs because, well, most of the time they taste like blah!!! So when I read Melissa's recipe, not only did it call for lesser amount of sugar, it also called for less salt. Wee!

I think the only down side to the recipe is that the dough must be refrigerated for an hour. I can be very impatient. I hate waiting which is why I consider baking bread and making pie crusts my Waterloo.

The recipe also calls for the dough to be rolled into logs. I find this step to be really helpful. I didn't have to scoop the dough and drop them by rounded teaspoonful. All i had to do is slice the logs and lay the cut slices onto the cookie sheet. No more messy fingers and it saves you time.

I divided the batter into two portions. One portion I left plain for my sister.

I added more than a handful of chocolate chips to the other portion.I omitted the nuts because my dad prefers his food without nuts (but he likes pesto. go figure!). I baked the cookies for 13 minutes and then arranged them on a wire rack to cool.

I'm glad that I tried out Melissa's recipe. The Toll House Cookie has finally met it's match. If you want the recipe you can check out the Sweet Melissa Sundays website. Melissa Murphy was nice enough to post it there or better yet buy her book, The Sweet Melissa Baking Book. :)

Sweet Melissa Sundays: Bear's Peach Cobbler

2009-06-15T19:08:00.005-07:00

I know! I know! I was suppose to post this last Sunday but I've been so busy with work (I've been uhhh "detained") and preparing for the joint celebration of my dad and sis that I just could not squeeze two challenges in. I'm grateful that our leader over at Sweet Melissa Sundays is so understanding and nice. Thanks Lorelei.

Now on to my first Sweet Melissa Sundays Challenge, Bear's Peach Cobbler. I've never had cobbler before. I've never made cobbler before but it was surprisingly easy to make.
The recipe calls for fresh peaches which I of course didn't have so I used canned peaches instead.
I had to drain the syrup though and reduced the amount of sugar called for in the recipe.
After baking in the oven for an hour and thirty minutes, I let it cool a bit and then dug in with a spoon. The filling was moist and you can taste the cinnamon but my favorite were the biscuits.
The biscuits were delicious and tender. Very tasty thanks to the addition of the lemon zest. Maybe I can use the cobbler topping as the base for my lemon bars.

I can see myself making this dessert again. If only I could get hold of fresh peaches here in the province. :)

Oatmeal + Dried Cranberries+ White Chocolate=Bliss

2009-05-26T07:22:00.005-07:00

Yesterday was a very stressful day for me. On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being the lowest and 10, the highest, my stress level was a 10. I was so stressed out that I prayed, worked on the problem, cried and slept right after I addressed the problem. My energy was zapped and I woke up hungry.
This morning's stress level reached 5 on my stress-o-meter. Not bad. I was able to watch a movie on dvd, do the laundry, and bake some cookies.

For the longest time, I've been working on a cranberry white chocolate recipe. I love dried cranberries. I thought it would go well with white chocolate. The sweetness of the white chocolate marrying with the tangy dried cranberries. I added oatmeal to make it more chunky.

This recipe is still a work in progress. I can't believe I'm saying this but don't go loco with the white chocolate or else the chocolate will overpower the cranberries and you'll end up with very sweet cookies. Please resist the urge to double the amount of chocolate called for.

( cookie dough on a sheet pan)

(cooling the cookies on a rack)

(BLISS IN A BOTTLE)

Oatmeal Cookies with Dried Cranberries and chunks of White Chocolate

2/3 cup butter
2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cup flour
1 cup oatmeal
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
6 0z bag dried cranberries
2/3 cup white chocolate chunks

Preheat oven to 350F.
In a bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
In a separate bowl, sift together salt, baking soda and flour. Add oatmeal.
Add the dried ingredients to the butter mixture and beat until combined.
Add the cranberries and white chocolate chunks. Stir just until well blended. Stir with a wooden spoon. Drop by rounded spoonfuls on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool on wire rack.

I need help with my kitchen aid ice cream maker attachment.

2009-05-25T06:48:00.010-07:00

I can't swim. I can neither sing nor dance. I don't own a digital camera or any camera for that matter because I can't take decent photos even if my life depended on it. I'm no good at public speaking.

Knowing that I can't do any of the above mentioned stuffs don't bother me that much. What bothers me is that I can't attach the kitchen aid ice cream maker (model KICAOWH) that my uncle gave me (whoops! i meant us) to my 5 qt artisan mixer (model 5KSM150).

I can't attach the drive assembly to my mixer because of a small circular metal piece located just below the motor head and right above the area where we attach the dough hook and balloon whisk and the paddle/beater (whatever it's called).

According to Kitchenaid, the ice cream maker attachment can fit any stand mixer model. Any stand mixer except mine?????
I tried sending an email to Kitchenaid's customer service center but I can't access their website!!! Arghhhh!!!!

I don't want my dreams of making delicious, homemade ice cream melt away....
Okay now that line was cheesy!
Seriously though, I need your help beautiful people with kitchen aid mixers and ice cream maker attachments.

Our Rockwell Food Trip

2009-05-20T20:21:00.008-07:00

Went to Manila with my sister and her T for a routine check up with our doctor but I had to spend the entire Saturday at home because of one medical procedure.

Thank heavens for Sunday. After hearing Mass with my mom, we went to Rockwell to window shop while waiting for my sisters and T. I ended up buying a shirt and a cookbook, my last for the year! accckk!!!!

Hello benefactors! I'll post my cookbook wish list later.

(Cibo, Rockwell branch)

When my sisters and T arrived at Rockwell we had lunch at Cibo, one of our favorite restaurants. Cibo serves modern italian food. Owned by Margarita Fores, Cibo is one restaurant that does not scrimp on quality and quantity. The servings are generous. The flavors clean and fresh, never muddled. I had the grilled italian sausage with yellow peppers, tomatoes and onion. It came with rice pilaf. Washed every morsel down with their red grape shake. Yummy!!!!! My mom and Gelli split a pasta al nero (pasta with squid ink), Tanya ordered linguini pescatore and her T had linguini netuno. We also had insalata di mare and pizza.

(Tans, Gelli, Mama, Moi. T took our picture. )

We were not able to take pictures of the food because it was already 1 pm and we were so hungry to even bother with the camera. But trust me when I say that the food at Cibo is excellent.

After lunch, we window shopped some more then headed to the theater to watch Angels and Demons. The movie was much better than The Da Vinci Code. Afterwards we joined the long queue at Pepper Lunch.

On the phone with dad. While waiting for the hot plates to arrive.

I love Pepper Lunch. Never mind if I'd reek of food when I leave the restaurant. I always leave busog! Check out their branch at Shangrila. They have better ventilation over there.

Beef Teriyaki

Hitokuchi cut steak

I love their beef teriyaki and the steak is yum yum especially when cooked right.
I asked their server to make sure that we were seated before they serve our food because the first time I went with my family, the food was already on the table and the meat was already well done. She didn't disappoint us this time.

Shake Shake Salad (Seaweed and Chicken)

Happy with my meal! I can't decide on spoon and fork or orange chopsticks.

(Guess whose plate this is. Hint: not mine.)

All in all, it was a wonderful Sunday. Too bad my dad wasn't there.

hungry no more!!!

2009-05-20T19:51:00.001-07:00

YAY!!!!! THE MUNCHER IS BACK!!!!

Food for the Gods

2009-05-20T18:22:00.004-07:00

What do you do when you have bags of walnuts and dates inside your freezer?
You go ahead and bake some "food for the gods."
For the life of me, I don't know how this moist bar got its name but this is not to be confused with ambrosia.
Anyway, last night my mom and I made some food for the gods. We chopped up dates and walnuts (i still have to buy a transformer to use my dad's cuisinart) using trusty old knives and creamed fresh butter in a bowl of an electric mixer. Then we added sugar, eggs, flour and the rest of the ingredients. Popped the pans in the oven. Et voila! Food for the gods.
I posted a recipe for food for the gods. It's not my mom's recipe but it's good nonetheless. Don't forget to sprinkle the top of the batter with brown sugar before putting it into the oven for an added crunch.

This is how it looks like straight from the oven and onto the board.
Speckled with juicy dates and crunchy walnuts.

Food for the Gods

2 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 cup butter
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup chopped dates
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 cup flour

Preheat oven to 300F. Grease and flour a 13 x 9 x 2-inch rectangular pan. Set aside.
In a bowl, cream butter. Add sugar, eggs, nuts and dates. Fold in the dry ingredients. Spread on prepared pan andsprinkle top with brown sugar. Bake for 30 to 4o minutes or until done. Cut into bars.

Ming Tsai in Manila

2009-04-19T19:00:00.002-07:00

Chef Ming Tsai will be at Rockwell on the 28th and 29th of April.

Various culinary schools will be having an inter-school culinary competition and they invited Chef Ming Tsai to be their special guest.

Get a chance to meet him and buy his new cookbook (have him sign it as well!!!)

Pinoy Style Pork Barbecue:My idea of heaven on a stick

2009-04-03T08:08:00.017-07:00

Pinoys love their barbecue. If you walk the streets of the Philippines you are guaranteed to see vendors fanning coals (some use electric fans now), grilling skewered pieces of pork, basting them with that all too familiar pinoy style barbeque sauce, although now the choice of barbecue is no longer limited to pork.
I love pinoy pork barbeque. In my ** years on earth, I must have consumed more than a thousand sticks of pork barbecue by now and still counting (haha). Seriously.
Pinoy pork barbecue is similar to the philippine adobo in the sense that there is no exact recipe. It is always evolving. Some prefer their barbecue spicy. Some a bit sour. Some a bit salty. I, on the other hand, like my pork barbecue slightly sweet so one afternoon, I ventured into the kitchen and decided to create my own recipe.
I started with a kilo of pork with a good fat to meat ratio so that it won't dry out when grilled, then marinated it in a mixture of sugar, banana ketchup (i use Papa Banana Ketchup but you can use whatever banana ketchup you have on hand), garlic, soy sauce, pepper, sprite (tenderizes the meat, or so they say), calamansi (our native lime) and garlic. Normally, I marinate the pork for a day or two but on days when I just have to eat pork barbecue, I marinate the pork for three hours or so and then boil the remaining marinade and brush it on the sticks of barbecue while grilling.
I'm sharing my version of Pinoy Style Pork Barbecue. Please note that I don't really measure my ingredients when I am cooking (bad, I know) but you can always adjust the recipe to suit your taste. I sold these during our town fiesta last year and sold every single stick :)
If you're really, really hungry, this barbecue is best served with hot rice. But you can enjoy this with a bottle of cold beer.
Happy eating!!!!

MY PINOY STYLE PORK BARBECUE

1 kilo pork, cut in 1" pieces
1 to 2 cups sugar
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 head garlic chopped
1/2 bottle of banana ketchup, about 1/2 cup
2 tbsp calamansi juice
3/4 cup Sprite or 7-up
pepper

In a large bowl, combine sugar, soy sauce, garlic, banana ketchup, calamansi juice, pepper and sprite. Adjust seasoning to taste before adding the raw meat.
Marinate the pork at least 3 hours or overnight (or until you are ready to cook it). Thread the pork onto wooden skewers (make sure that you soak the wooden skewers in water before using to avoid burning them) and cook over grill. Use the remaining marinade to baste the barbecue for added flavor and to keep the meat from drying out Make sure though that you boil the remaining marinade before using it to baste the meat.

Muncher, where are you???

2009-04-01T06:47:00.002-07:00

the la germania service center still has my oven.
they said it will only take two weeks to repair it.
they have it for more than a month now!!!
i miss cooking.
i miss baking.
i am going nuts!
because of this, I missed out on some important events

like challenges from the Daring Bakers
and the Barefoot Bloggers too.
and now the MUNCHER has gone MISSING!!!!!
*SOBS*

Comfort me with.... Beef Pinapaitan

2009-03-19T04:02:00.013-07:00

Whenever I come across the words "comfort food" I think of two things : First, I think of home-cooked meals usually shared with family and second, I think of food that I grew up eating outside the home (i.e. street food). Either way, comfort food is food that I am most familiar with. It is the type of food that evokes memories of watching my dad, or my mom, or my lola, prepare piping hot food from scratch. It is the type of food that makes me recall how simple life was back then when we waited for manong taho vendor to arrive and my Lolo would buy me a tall glass of velvety soft taho, with lots of super sweet arnibal and sago.

My dad's Beef Pinapaitan tops my list of favorite comfort food. I've had this dish ever since I can remember. Pinapaitan (from the root word "pait" which means bitter) is an Ilocano dish made with either beef or goat meat (sometimes innards are included), and is flavored with chili and bile. We Ilocanos are known to be a thrifty lot and it is no surprise that this trait is inherent in our cooking. Waste not. Want not.
Some people say that pinapaitan is an acquired taste. Some get turned off by its color. Some get turned off by its bitter taste. Anthony Bourdain, during his visit to the Philippines, tasted pinapaitan and he liked it. Maybe in his past life, he was an Ilocano. But then again AB eats almost anything hahaha.

I, however, love pinapaitan. When piping hot, the soup is amazingly delicious. The bitterness, which comes from the addition of the bile, warms and comforts you, as do the chilis added to the dish. My dad used to say " ang pait, ang tamis" giving another meaning to the term "bittersweet."

A couple of months ago, I asked my dad to teach me how to make beef pinapaitan. He said the important thing is to use the freshest ingredients, particularly the bile and the beef. "Make sure to use bile that is "primera klase", he says. The second thing he told me was to make sure that I don't overcook the beef or else I'll end up with tough, leathery meat.

I watched as he sliced the beef in a certain way (against the grain, he said). I looked intently as he strained the bile and added it to the pot, followed by some water to lessen the bitterness. For some strange reason, I can always tell whether or not a bowl of beef pinapaitan was cooked and prepared by my dad. Maybe it's because i've had pinapaitan since I was a kid. Maybe it's because when my dad prepares this dish, the beef is meltingly tender. Or maybe everytime he prepares this special dish, he prepares it with a lot of love. :) This is the best beef pinapaitan ever.

My Dad's Beef Pinapaitan

(please note that my dad doesn't measure his ingredients so I had to eyeball the measurement)

1 kilo beef lomo (tenderloin), sliced thinly into 1 1/2" strips
1/2 kilo liver, sliced thinly into 1 1/2"
cow bile, strained ( my dad used 2 sacs)
1 onion, sliced
1 ginger, sliced thinly
garlic, chopped
sili mahaba (long green chillies)
spring onions, sliced
salt and pepper to taste.

Wash beef and liver thoroughly, then pat dry. Thinly slice beef and liver and season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
In a pot, saute garlic, onions and ginger until fragrant. Add bile and dilute with water. (You can always adjust bile and water ratio to suit your taste.)
Let it simmer for a few minutes. Add the chillies. Season with salt and pepper if necessary. When the soup comes to a slow boil, add the thinly sliced beef and liver. Turn off heat. The residual heat from the soup will cook the beef. Sprinkle chopped spring onions.
Serve hot with rice.

Of Food & Family (Part I)

2009-03-12T05:28:00.016-07:00

They say that "the family that prays together, stays together." I believe this. I also believe that "the family that eats together, stays together."
Apart from our love for one another and our faith in the Almighty, I believe that our love for food, good food, unites us.
Every now and then, we (my family, uncles and aunts, cousins, a few cherished friends whom we consider as family) gather around the table, savor and enjoy good food, and share stories about anything and everything under the sun.

So here's a peak into my family and the food that we enjoy :)

*Pictures were taken last Feb 28, 2009. It was also our Lolo Clarence's birthday. We miss him dearly.

(Lola and her babies)

(Lola & her children-in-law)

(Lola with some of her grandchildren. We missed you Gelli, Mariz, Joy, Nina, Clare, JB, Valen)

(my sister, Tanya, with our cuz Jcboy, his wife, Shalika & baby Johnber)

(lola & my dad, wearing lolo's stetson)

NOW FOR THE FOOD

(tita ica's salad greens with apples, red grapes, blue cheese & balsamic dressing)

(tita marivic's spicy seafood penne pasta with marinara sauce)

(tita marivic's tabouleh)

(fish fillet with tartar sauce & butterflied prawns with lemon butter sauce)

(my dad's roasted herb and pepper crusted sirloin au jus)

(my dad's pork asado)

(fruit bowl, my tita ica's fusion turon & my banana streusel muffins)

good food

great company

ONE BIG HAPPY FAMILY

Barefoot Blogging : [Faux] Chicken Piccata

2009-03-11T10:00:00.003-07:00

It's the second Thursday of the month again meaning it is time to post my completed task for the Barefoot Bloggers. I wasn't able to join the Barefoot Bloggers last month so I was hell-bent not to miss this month's challenges.
Up for testing is Chicken Piccata. The first thing that crossed my mind was " oh wow a chicken recipe at last!!! Yummy juicy chicken!!!" Then it hit me that for the entire season of Lent, as my sacrifice, I chose to abstain from eating pork, beef, lamb and *sigh* chicken.
I still wanted to proceed with the original recipe for the piccata but with everyone at home abstaining from meat and poultry and it would be a shame to see all those wonderful ingredients (as well as the money spent to buy those ingredients) go to waste, I decided to make a faux chicken piccata instead.
I checked our freezer and found my dad's stash of creamy dory fillets which are hard to come by. I nicked two pieces and let them thaw a bit.
I then prepared and measured all the other ingredients needed and proceeded to coat the fish in seasoned flour, egg, breadcrumbs. I didn't season the fillets with salt and pepper prior to coating them because the flour was already seasoned and i used italian breadcrumbs which were quite salty already. I figured I can always add more salt and pepper later.
I fried the fillets until they were brown on both sides before transferring them to the turbo broiler were they finished cooking.
For the sauce, instead of white wine , I used half of a shrimp cube dissolved in hot water. When the butter-lemon juice- stock mixture reduced, I spooned it over the fish and topped the fish with lemon zest and parsley.
Overall, the piccata was tasty. The fillets were soft, tender and tasty thanks to the coating of flour, egg and breadcrumbs and the lemon added a clean, citrusy burst that complimented the fish. The best thing is that it was a snap to make! A flavorful dish in minutes.
Here's the original recipe for Ina's chicken piccata.

CHICKEN PICCATA
recipe courtesy of Ina Garten and Food Network

Ingredients

2 split (1 whole) boneless, skinless chicken breasts [ i used creamy dory fillets. you can use any white fish fillets that you have]
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 extra-large egg
1/2 tablespoon water
3/4 cup seasoned dry bread crumbs
Good olive oil
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature, divided
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons), lemon halves reserved
1/2 cup dry white wine [i used stock]
Sliced lemon, for serving
Chopped fresh parsley leaves, for serving

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.

Place each chicken breast between 2 sheets of parchment paper or plastic wrap and pound out to 1/4-inch thick. Sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper.

Mix the flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper in a shallow plate. In a second plate, beat the egg and 1/2 tablespoon of water together. Place the bread crumbs on a third plate. Dip each chicken breast first in the flour, shake off the excess, and then dip in the egg and bread crumb mixtures.

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large saute pan over medium to medium-low heat. Add the chicken breasts and cook for 2 minutes on each side, until browned. Place them on the sheet pan and allow them to bake for 5 to 10 minutes while you make the sauce.

For the sauce, wipe out the saute pan with a dry paper towel. Over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter and then add the lemon juice, wine, the reserved lemon halves, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Boil over high heat until reduced in half, about 2 minutes. Off the heat, add the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and swirl to combine. Discard the lemon halves and serve 1 chicken breast on each plate. Spoon on the sauce and serve with a slice of lemon and a sprinkling of fresh parsley.

Lunch at Amici

2009-03-09T17:12:00.009-07:00

One lazy Sunday, my sister Gelli asked my mom if we could eat out before we (my mom & I) head back to La Union. My mom right away obliged and we headed off to Amici, her restaurant of choice.

(mama & gelli)

According to my sister, Amici, which means "friends" in Italian, serves pizza, pasta,gelato and more. The restaurant had a "cafeteria" feel to it. A high end pizza place it is not. There was an air of casualness upon entering the restaurant. People were eating, laughing and talking animatedly. While others lined up to place their orders, some people watched the cooks prepare pizzas. I, on the otherhand, joined the long queue at the gelato scooping station to check out the yummy gelato flavors.

(different flavors of creamy gelato)

We were ushered to our table and were given menus right away. Since it was my first time at Amici, my sister ordered for me. She ordered the Spinach Fusilli, mozzarella sticks and a pizza margherita. My mom ordered the italian sausage. Gelato for dessert.

The mozzarella sticks were okay. A little bland but okay. The marinara sauce needed a dash of salt and pepper. Or maybe they should have used italian breadcrumbs to coat the mozzarella sticks.

(mozarella sticks)

The spinach fusilli was al dente with a generous serving of tomato cream sauce. I wanted to add more cheese to it but you have to pay for extra parmesan cheese. This is the only italian restaurant I know that asks patrons to pay for an extra serving of parmesan. BUMMER!!!

(spinach fusilli montera)

The pizza margherita was crisp and for a lack of a better word, unadulterated. Tomatoes. Mozarella. Basil. Simple. Good.

(pizza margherita minus 3 slices)

I, however, didn't care for the homemade italian sausage. I didn't like the way it was plated. It was way too oily and didn't taste like italian sausage at all. It was a mediocre version of the ilocos longganisa.

(their version of italian sausage)

My favorite part of the meal was dessert. We ordered one scoop each of the hazelnut gelato, mint chocolate chip gelato and espresso gelato. Our favorite was the hazelnut gelato. It's like nutella ice cream! The gelato was very creamy and rich and satisfying. My mom bought some ensaimadas as well. Delicious for breakfast.

(espresso gelato)

(mint chocolate chip gelato & hazelnut gelato)

Having said all those, I think that if you don't mind the cafeteria-ish ambience and the long queues, then by all means give Amici a try. The food is inexpensive but good. The ensaimada is soft and tasty and the gelato is YUM YUM YUMMY!

Amici

Bellagio Square, Tomas Morato cor. Sct. Fuentebella
Quezon City, Metro Manila
(02)8184444

PS.
I heard that they also have a branch in Makati. Don't ask me where because I don't have a clue hehehe

Pasta with tomatoes, feta & tuyo flakes

2009-03-07T02:21:00.007-08:00

This Lenten season, for my sacrifice, I am swearing off beef, pork, chicken and lamb. For a certified "carnivore" like me, not having something like pork tocino or bacon or beef pinapaitan for breakfast, fried chicken for lunch and pork adobo for dinner is heartbreaking (drama!!!). Lucky for me I love dried, salted seafood like daing and tuyo.

(Photo courtesy of Zer Cabatuan )

Tuyo (meaning dry) is fish that underwent salting and drying. These processes actually preserves the fish so that one can store it for some time.
I think that tuyo is best served with rice, eggs and pork and beans but this morning I had just had two pieces of that delicious salted fish with a heaping serving of rice. Although I don't care much for the smell of tuyo frying, it really doesn't bother me unlike other people who find the smell unbearable.
We still had a few pieces of tuyo left so I decided to add it to a pasta dish. The tuyo added a salty component to the dish and blended beautifully into the tomato based sauce. The pasta dish was satisfying and filling even if it didn't have meat in it. The addition of crumbly feta and some pasta water made the dish creamy.

Tuyo Pasta

250 grams spaghetti, cooked al dente
1 small onion, chopped
6 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tablespoon capers
1 tsp chili flakes
5 pcs button mushrooms, sliced
1 can diced tomatoes, drained
5 pieces tuyo, flaked, bones removed
zest of 1 lemon
juice of 1 lemon
olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
fresh parsley, chopped
feta cheese

Cook pasta according to package directions and set aside.
In a pan, heat olive oil and add chili flakes. Add onions and saute until soft. Add garlic, tomatoes, tuyo flakes, mushrooms and capers. Season with salt and pepper Saute until mushrooms are cooked. Toss in pasta, lemon zest and lemon juice and some pasta water. Add parsley and more pepper and salt,if needed). Crumble some feta cheese on top. Serve hot.

Daring Bakers: Chocolate Valentino

2009-02-27T22:02:00.007-08:00

The February 2009 challenge is hosted by Wendy of WMPE's blog and Dharm of Dad ~ Baker & Chef.
We have chosen a Chocolate Valentino cake by Chef Wan; a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Dharm and a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Wendy as the challenge.

Yay! I'm officially part of the Daring Bakers, a group of extraordinary bakers who "Knead to Bake!".

The challenge they chose for the month of February was an easy task but delicious nonetheless and this is a good thing for a novice baker like me. However, I've been known to do things at the last minute and it didn't help that I've been busy the whole month of February so I decided to bake the cake on the day that I'm suppose to blog about it.

I set my alarm for 5AM the night before but I woke up at 7AM instead. Panic mode kicking in!

I decided to bake half of the cake in a 10 inch tart pan because I thought it looked prettier. (The rest of the cake batter I baked in another pan.)
I filled the tart pan 3/4 full and after a few minutes I went "Uh-oh!" when i saw the batter rise to the rim of the tart pan. I thought it was gonna overflow but luckily it didn't.

The star in this dessert is actually the chocolate so it is important to use really good chocolate when making this cake. Since I used bittersweet chocolate, the ice cream (with generous bits of flourless chocolate cake) and the dulce de leche gave the cake the sweetness it needed. It's not too sweet, not cloying.
Best served with a cup of coffee, I think.

Here is the recipe:

Chocolate Valentino
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
16 ounces (1 pound) (454 grams) of semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped
½ cup (1 stick) plus 2 tablespoons (146 grams total) of unsalted butter
5 large eggs separated

1. Put chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl and set over a pan of simmering water (the bottom of the bowl should not touch the water) and melt, stirring often.
2. While your chocolate butter mixture is cooling. Butter your pan and line with a parchment circle then butter the parchment.
3. Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites and put into two medium/large bowls.
4. Whip the egg whites in a medium/large grease free bowl until stiff peaks are formed (do not over-whip or the cake will be dry).
5. With the same beater beat the egg yolks together.
6. Add the egg yolks to the cooled chocolate.
7. Fold in 1/3 of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture and follow with remaining 2/3rds. Fold until no white remains without deflating the batter. {link of folding demonstration}
8. Pour batter into prepared pan, the batter should fill the pan 3/4 of the way full, and bake at 375F/190C
9. Bake for 25 minutes until an instant read thermometer reads 140F/60C.
Note – If you do not have an instant read thermometer, the top of the cake will look similar to a brownie and a cake tester will appear wet.
10. Cool cake on a rack for 10 minutes then unmold.

Dharm's Ice Cream Recipe
Classic Vanilla Ice Cream
Preparation Time: 30 minutes

Recipe comes from the Ice Cream Book by Joanna Farrow and Sara Lewis (tested modifications and notes in parentheses by Dharm)

Ingredients
1 Vanilla Pod (or substitute with vanilla extract)
300ml / ½ pint / 1 ¼ cups Semi Skimmed Milk – in the U.S. this is 2% fat (or use fresh full fat milk that is pasteurised and homogenised {as opposed to canned or powdered}). Dharm used whole milk.
4 large egg yolks
75g / 3oz / 6 tbsp caster sugar {superfine sugar can be achieved in a food processor or use regular granulated sugar}
5ml / 1 tsp corn flour {cornstarch}
300ml / ½ pint / 1 ¼ cups Double Cream (48% butter fat) {in the U.S. heavy cream is 37% fat)
{you can easily increase your cream's fat content by heating 1/4 cup of heavy cream with 3 Tbs of butter until melted - cool to room temperature and add to the heavy cream as soon as whisk marks appear in the cream, in a slow steady stream, with the mixer on low speed. Raise speed and continue whipping the cream) or use heavy cream the difference will be in the creaminess of the ice cream.

1. Using a small knife slit the vanilla pod lengthways. Pour the milk into a heavy based saucepan, add the vanilla pod and bring to the boil. Remove from heat and leave for 15 minutes to allow the flavours to infuse
Lift the vanilla pod up. Holding it over the pan, scrape the black seeds out of the pod with a small knife so that they fall back into the milk. SET the vanilla pod aside and bring the milk back to the boil.
2. Whisk the egg yolks, sugar and corn-flour in a bowl until the mixture is thick and foamy. 3. Gradually pour in the hot milk, whisking constantly. Return the mixture to the pan and cook over a gentle hear, stirring all the time
4. When the custard thickens and is smooth, pour it back into the bowl. Cool it then chill.
5. By Hand: Whip the cream until it has thickened but still falls from a spoon. Fold it into the custard and pour into a plastic tub or similar freeze-proof container. Freeze for 6 hours or until firm enough to scoop, beating it twice (during the freezing process – to get smoother ice cream or else the ice cream will be icy and coarse)
By Using and Ice Cream Maker: Stir the cream into the custard and churn the mixture until thick (follow instructions on your ice cream maker)

Wendy's Ice Cream Recipe
Vanilla Philadelphia Style Recipe
Preparation Time: 5 minutes
2 cups (473 ml) of half and half (1 cup of heavy cream and 1 cup of whole, full fat milk)
1 cup (237 ml) heavy cream
2/3 (128 grams) cup sugar
Dash of salt
1 (12 grams) tablespoon of vanilla

Mix all ingredients together (we do this in a plastic pitcher and mix with an emulsifier hand blender-whisking works too).
Refrigerate for 30 minutes or longer
Mix in your ice cream maker as directed.

My sister's spaghetti

2009-02-02T04:50:00.002-08:00

Last Friday, i took the 8PM bus to Manila because someone from kitchen aid was coming over to fix my mixer. It was also my bonding time with my sister Gelli. I get to see her, I'd say, only about three times a month. She's taking up BS Biology at the Ateneo. On the otherhand, I'm almost always swamped with work and the five hour trip from Manila to La Union -and vice versa- can be tiring at times. Anyway, she aced her Chem exam so I decided to take her to FullyBooked at Bonifacio HighStreet where we splurged-just a little bit- on books. After paying for our book purchases, we hied off to the new Rustan's Fresh Supermarket to buy some eggs and other breakfast items. While doing our grocery shopping, my sister asked me if I wanted spaghetti for dinner. I said okay. So we added a pack of spaghetti, two kinds of spaghetti sauce, red bellpepper and ground pork to the breakfast items then headed home.

Pinoy style spaghetti unlike its Italian or American counterpart, is on the sweet side. Some people make it using banana ketchup and hotdogs. Some use regular tomato sauce and add sugar later on. Here, pinoy style spaghetti is a staple in filipino homes and is much loved by kids.

My sister's spaghetti is based on my mom's pinoy style spaghetti recipe. It was my grandma's recipe. It's the same pasta recipe that I grew up eating. It is comfort food for me.

Pinoy style spaghetti
spaghetti, cooked according to package instructions
1 kilo ground beef
4 red bell peppers, diced
1 pack italian style spaghetti sauce (we use del monte)
1 pack sweet style spaghetti sauce (we use del monte)
garlic, minced
onion, chopped
italian seasoning.
bay leaf
paprika
salt and pepper to taste
1 TBSP butter
sugar to taste.

Cook pasta according to package instructions. (Unlike italian style spaghetti, i think that there is no need to add salt to the water.)
Heat oil and saute onions and garlic. Add ground beef. Saute until beef is browned. Add the bell peppers. Season with salt and pepper. Pour spaghetti sauce. Let it simmer. If the sauce is too thick, add some water. Add paprika, bayleaf and italian seasoning. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add sugar if you want a sweeter sauce. Turn off flame and add a tablespoon of butter. Stir into sauce until melted. You can also add grated cheese to the spaghetti sauce if desired.

Easy Sticky Buns Take Two

2009-02-02T04:15:00.005-08:00

I made another batch of Ina Garten's sticky buns.

My dad loves them.

I think I did a better job of rolling the pastry this time.

Although I love this recipe, I think it is still too buttery.

The next time I make these, I'll lessen the amount of butter.

Easy Sticky Buns

2009-01-21T08:22:00.002-08:00

I was a bit apprehensive to make these sticky buns. A "bit" is an understatement. I've never used puff pastry before since it is hard to come by in my neck of the woods. I thought I'd make my own puff pastry but that would be taking the "EASY" out of "Easy Sticky Buns" as I would have to make the pastry dough by hand (no food processor). It was a good thing that my mom found a pack of puff pastry at Santis when she went to Manila.
Armed with Ina's recipe, I headed into the kitchen, cleared my 24" x 24" baking space, took out the butter from the fridge and measured brown sugar and cinnamon. When the butter was already at room temperature, I placed it in the mixing bowl along with 1/3 cup brown sugar and let the mixer do its thing while I grabbed the puff pastry from the freezer.
I carefully pried two pastry sheets from the stack then let them rest on the counter while I scooped the butter-sugar mixture onto the muffin pan. I omitted the pecans because of two reasons. First reason: my dad doesn't like nuts. Second reason: I didn't have any pecans on hand anyway. Also, I still had about 1/3 cup of the butter-sugar mixture left so I decided to do away with the extra two tablespoons of butter. Waste not, want not.
Ina's recipe says to "Unfold one sheet of puff pastry with the folds going left to right. Brush the whole sheet with half of the melted butter." I stared at my two sheets of pastry. There was nothing to unfold! As in nothing. They were two thin 12"x12" squares. After a minute or two of being perplexed, I decided to go ahead with the recipe even if it meant having to do some downsizing by cutting the pastry half an inch smaller than what was called for in the recipe.
After brushing the pastry with butter and giving it a generous sprinkling of cinnamon and brown sugar, I rolled it into a log and placed it seam side down. I proceeded to do the same with the other sheet of pastry but I made a boo boo and forgot to remove the thin sheet of paper under the pastry . I had to unroll the pastry and repeat the procedure. I ended up with a very messy baking space!
I baked the buns for exactly thirty minutes and I watched as the pastry puffed up and the butter and sugar bubbled and spilled over the sides of the muffin pan. Now I know why the muffin pan must be place on a sheet tray lined with parchment paper.
After thirty minutes of baking, I took them out of the oven and let them cool for five minutes Then I transferred them onto a lined tray and topped them with the sticky goo.

Ending up with a smaller puff pastry is a blessing in disguise after all! These sticky buns are so rich. It's a good idea to make them smaller than what was called for in the recipe. But that's my opinion. You are entitled to yours. If you love them in bigger portions, I guess that's fine too. On that note we can agree to disagree but I'm sure you're with me when I say that these are sticky, gooey, sweet and delicious.

[ i did a lousy job rolling the pastry :( ]

P.S.
My dad loved them. He ate four sticky buns which is a no-no because he's a diabetic. Ditto my mom and I. Still, I'll be making small batches of these gooey yummy pastry for our cheat days.
As always, thanks to Tanya for the photos. I can't take a decent photo even if my life depended on it.

Easy Sticky Buns
(recipe courtesy of Ina Garten, BB)
Makes 12

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/3 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
1/2 cup pecans, chopped in very large pieces
1 package (17.3 ounces/2 sheets) frozen puff pastry, defrosted for the filling
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2/3 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 cup raisins

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place a 12-cup standard muffin tin on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the 12 tablespoons butter and 1/3 cup brown sugar. Place 1 rounded tablespoon of the mixture in each of the 12 muffin cups. Distribute the pecans evenly among the 12 muffin cups on top of the butter and sugar mixture.

Lightly flour a wooden board or stone surface. Unfold one sheet of puff pastry with the folds going left to right. Brush the whole sheet with half of the melted butter. Leaving a 1-inch border on the puff pastry, sprinkle each sheet with 1/3 cup of the brown sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoons of the cinnamon, and 1/2 cup of the raisins. Starting with the end nearest you, roll the pastry up snugly like a jelly roll around the filling, finishing the roll with the seam side down.

Trim the ends of the roll about 1/2 inch and discard. Slice the roll in 6 equal pieces, each about 1 1/2 inches wide. Place each piece, spiral side up, in 6 of the muffin cups. Repeat with the second sheet of puff pastry to make 12 sticky buns.

Bake for 30 minutes, until the sticky buns are golden to dark brown on top and firm to the touch. Allow to cool for 5 minutes only, invert the buns onto the parchment paper (ease the filling and pecans out onto the buns with a spoon), and cool completely.

Banoffee Pie

2009-01-18T04:25:00.006-08:00

So far my cupcakes and muffins have been well received by my family and friends. Vanilla, orange chocolate and banana. Pies, on the other hand, are my Waterloo. I suck at making pie crusts. So when Gelli, our youngest sister asked me to make her a Banoffee Pie, I did everything to delay making it. But I didn't want to disappoint her, so off to the kitchen I went.

Banoffee Pie was created in an East Sussex restaurant called "The Hungry Monk" and was named after two of its ingredients, "banana" and "toffee". The recipe for this pie has evolved through the years.

I used a Pâte Brisée crust which I blind baked for about thirty minutes or so until the crust turned golden brown. I let it cool for a bit before brushing it with melted white chocolate. Then I spooned some dulce de leche (where have you been all my life?) that I made onto the crust before topping it with sliced bananas. I then drizzled some homemade caramel then blanketed everything with whipped cream. Finally, I topped it with chocolate shavings and then let it set in the fridge.

Although there is much to be desired when it comes to my pie making skills, I thought I did good.
The dulce de leche was sublime! (It took me four hours to make it. by the way.) It married well with the caramel and the bananas. The whipped cream cut through the sweetness of the dulce de leche and the caramel. As for the chocolate shavings, well since when do we have to explain the use of chocolate in dessert making?

Curry Me Away

2009-01-18T02:53:00.004-08:00

Two week ago my parents went to this Indian Grocery along UN Avenue in Manila and bought a lot dried herbs, spices, lentils, curry mixes, tandoori mixes, fiery dried peppers and all things Indian. When they arrived from their trip, I placed everything in a huge utility box where they stayed waiting to be opened.
Three days ago my dad opened his loot and made a delicious, super spicy fish curry for dinner which I immensely enjoyed with a generous serving of hot jasmine rice and a dollop of mango chutney on the side.
Inspired by my dad's delicious curry dish, I decided to make my very first curry dish using shrimps fresh from the market. And since we ran out of mango chutney, I decided to add ripe mangoes to the dish instead. I guess you can say that I was "curried" away.

Shrimp and Mango Curry

1/2 kilo shrimps, shells removed
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup coconut milk
1 1/2 tbsp curry mix
1 tsp turmeric
1 small onion, chopped
1 small ginger, sliced thinly
1 cup potatoes, cubed
1 cup squash, cubed
1 cup ripe mango, cubed
1 bell pepper, sliced
salt and pepper to taste

Remove shrimp heads, tails and shell and devein. Place shrimps in a bowl of water and add salt. Set aside. Remember to wash the shrimps in running water before using to remove excess salt.
Dissolve curry mix and turmeric in about 1/4 cup of hot water. Set aside.
In a pan, saute onions and ginger. Add chicken stock, coconut milk and the curry-turmeric mixture. Let it simmer a bit before adding the potatoes and squash. Simmer until tender, about 10 to 15 minutes.
When the potatoes and squash are fork tender, add the bellpepper shrimps and mango. Simmer until the shrimps are cooked. Season with salt and pepper.
Serve with rice and mango chutney, if desired.

Birthday Cupcakes

2009-01-07T05:14:00.003-08:00

For my 32nd birthday,

I made 32 chocolate cupcakes at the last minute.

Tanya, Gelli and Beth helped frost and decorate them.

I think they are lovely and festive.

What do you think?

My First Ever Barefoot Bloggers Challenge - Ina Garten's Banana Sour Cream Pancakes

2009-01-07T02:17:00.006-08:00

I finally mustered the courage to join a group of food bloggers and I've decided to join the Barefoot Bloggers. They are " an [extra]ordinary group of cookers and bakers with a love of all things Ina."
I will join them in testing and (hopefully) retesting recipes of the Barefoot Contessa, Ina Garten.
Karen of Something Sweet By Karen chose Banana Sour Cream Pancakes as our first challenge.

Ina Garten's Banana Sour Cream Pancakes
(recipe courtesy of Ina Garten, FN)

1 ½ c all-purpose flour
3 tbsp sugar (i used 4 tbsp of sugar)
2 tsp baking powder
1 ½ tsp kosher salt (i used 1 tsp salt)
½ c sour cream
¾ c plus 1 tbsp milk
2 extra-large eggs (i used 2 large eggs)
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 tsp grated lemon zest
Unsalted butter
2 ripe bananas, diced, plus extra for serving

Pure maple syrup

For the directions:

Sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the sour cream, milk, eggs, vanilla, and lemon zest. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ones, mixing only until combined.

Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a large skillet over medium-low heat until it bubbles. Ladle the pancake batter into the pan to make 3 or 4 pancakes. Distribute a rounded tablespoon of bananas on each pancake. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until bubbles appear on top and the underside is nicely browned. Flip the pancakes and then cook for another minute until browned. Wipe out the pan with a paper towel, add more butter to the pan, and continue cooking pancakes until all the batter is used. Serve with sliced bananas, butter and maple syrup.

Now I've never made pancakes from scratch. I always use pancake mixes that tend to be flat, flavorless (which was why I had to drown them in pancake syrup) and oftentimes dry. Ina Garten's recipe produced pancakes that were tender and moist. I could not believe how easy it was to make them. I did however make some minor adjustments. I added an extra tablespoon of sugar because I like my pancakes sweet (but not too sweet), reduced the salt to 1 teaspoon, used 2 large eggs instead of extra large eggs and sliced the bananas instead of dicing them. I also had some bananas leftover so I sliced some and tossed them in the pan along with some cinnamon and brown sugar and used it as toppings for my pancakes.
Having said that, I think that this recipe is a keeper and hey if you don't care for bananas, you can use other fruits in season.

Christmas Cupcakes

2008-12-22T15:10:00.005-08:00

I've been kitchen-bound for two days baking vanilla cupcakes, chocolate cupcakes, orange cupcakes, banana cupcakes and corn muffins to give as gifts this Christmas.

Baking can be time consuming and super tiring (thank heavens for kitchen aid!) but I'm not one to complain. I am happy :)

Thanks to Tans and Beth for helping me out and for being my "tasters".

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

(sans the frosting)

(banana cupcakes, chocolate cupcakes, vanilla cupcakes, orange cupcakes, corn muffins)

(first batch of frosted cupcakes)

(christmas cupcakes)

( tanya's snowy pine forest)

(love cupcakes with white frosting)

(tanya's ideal "wedding" cupcake: orange cupcakes with white buttercream and gold dragees)

Kitchen Adventures02 - Truffle Brownies

2008-12-19T01:43:00.003-08:00

I love brownies. I love them gooey, moist, fudgy and dark as opposed to dry or cakey. There's nothing like a bar or two (or three or more) to snack on during blah days.

I have yet to meet a person who hates brownies.
Normally, I would grab a box of brownie mix, add butter or oil, eggs and water and mix,mix, mix until my arms ache. Then I fill a pan with brownie batter, stick it in the oven and lick my spatula clean while waiting for the brownie to bake. Nothing wrong with doing that right?
Then I realized I did not have a decent brownie recipe. How on earth did that happen? What if the store runs out of brownie mixes? This can't be!
So now I'm on the search for the best brownie recipe and I started with truffle brownies.
These brownies are dense, dark, and rich. I made mine with ricoa unsweetened chocolate and they turned out okay. Still, I regret not buying that bar of Valrhona. Imagine if I used good quality chocolate! Chocolate bliss!!!

If you want the recipe click here.

PS

I tweaked the recipe a bit by adding coffee to the ganache.
Thanks to Beth for lending me her camera.

... and Capt Jack says " more rum.... (cake)!"

2008-07-12T19:34:00.007-07:00

I look forward to Manila sojourns because:

i get to go to the mall and do some window shopping;
i get to spend endless amount of time at FULLY BOOKED;
i get to go to groceries and peruse aisle and aisle of goodies totally alien to CSI, National, etc.;
I GET TO DO SOMETHING I LOVE- BAKE

There was a time when rhum cakes were all the rage. Almost all cafes carried it and I don't blame them. Sometimes I love having my cake and my liquor too.

With HBO showing reruns of Pirates of the Caribbean, I woke up early two weeks ago and baked a batch of rum cake.

I tried to document everything by taking snaps of the process using my cellphone Yes, I don't own a digital camera. (I'm that cheap eeep haha! but that's another story).

I began by preheating my oven to 300F and i kept my fingers crossed the whole time because the last time i used my oven I couldn't get the temperature right and the heat up.

After what seemed like eternity (30 minutes),the thermometer read 300F. Yey!

I began the process of measuring the ingredients and dumping the ingredients into the bowl of my kitchenaid (making sure that I follow the procedure while taking pictures). I slid my mini cake pans in the oven and waited 50 minutes.

While the cake was doing its magic inside the oven, I worked on the rum syrup. Took out my saucepan and added sugar, water and butter. When the butter was melted, I added the rum that I poured into a measuring cup but the image of Capt Jack Sparrow kept flashing in my mind so I added an extra splash of rum, then another before letting the rum syrup cool.

Fifty five minutes later (an extra five minutes in the pan to cool), I coaxed the soft, tender, yellow cakes out of the pans and doused them with the rum syrup. It was only after i excitedly wrapped them in cling wrap and foil and placed them in the fridge did it hit me that I failed to take some more pictures.

These [pics] will suffice for now. Who knows, I might be able to buy a decent digital camera by then.