Blame it on the a-alcohol: Fruit Cake

Fruit cakes are fast disappearing from most Filipinos' Christmas menu. When I was younger, there was always a fruit cake given as a gift every Christmas. I guess that was because I still lived with my parents in the province and most of their friends hold the tradition of fruit cake gift giving during Christmas. So with this fond memory, I thought of baking fruit cake not without some trepidation though for the reason that my daughter, the Artist, does not like food with alcohol.

Key ingredients were rum, dried tropical fruits, raisins and nuts. It turned out okay but I couldn't taste the rum! Turned out, I was supposed to wrap the fruit cake in cheese cloth soaked in the strained rum. Hay naku. Have to look for a better recipe next time.

Pearly Shell: Kuhol and Halaan (Escargot and Clam)

Ginataang Kuhol (Escargot in Coconut Cream)


Halaan at Malunggay na Sabaw (Clam with Horseradish Leaves)

Seafood Pasta

Woke up early today to buy some shellfish for this post. There were plenty to choose from. But I chose clam (the hubby has been craving for halaan soup) and escargot. My husband cooked these three dishes. For Ginataang Kuhol: here are tips from the blog Bocaio "(1) before cooking, the snails should be left first in a pan full of water for a few days so they could spit out whatever they had previously eaten and (2) when they are ready to cook, the snails' bottoms are patted down with a heavy flat sandok (wooden spatula for serving rice) until they break; this is so the flesh comes out easily when cooked." After cleaning them, my husband cooked this in coconut milk and they were so delicious!

For the Halaan Sabaw: Clean the clams and boil in a pan of water with a piece of ginger. Discard all unopened ones. Bring the soup to a boil, then add malunggay leaves. Season with salt and ground pepper to taste. A very tasty soup indeed!

Finally, the Seafood Pasta: my husband cooked the seafood pasta with white wine, olive oil and of course, the clams. This is what the kids opted for, finding the escargot too tedious and exotic to eat.

Fluffy: Sponge Cake with Chocolate Frosting

Sponge cake is a cake based on flour, sugar, and eggs, sometimes leavened with baking powder. Derivatives of the basic sponge cake include the American chiffon cake and the Latin American tres leches cake. (Wikipedia)

This light, airy cake gets its texture from beaten egg whites, which are folded into a fluffy mixture of beaten egg yolks and sugar. They get their leavening power entirely from eggs. Sponge cakes are further characterized by the fact that they do not contain shortening of any kind. The cakes can be variously flavored with anything from lemon zest to ground almonds. (All Receipes)

My daughter and I set off to make a simple sponge cake.  Considering that we are amateur in baking,  this turned out to be one very good fluffy sponge cake! On her part,  my daughter thoroughly enjoyed making the chocolate frosting, chocolate balls and circles and sprinkling chocolate tidbits on top of the cake. 

Slice it Up!: Embutido Country Terrine

What is a terrine? To answer that, we must be able to define pate first. Pâté is generally used to refer to various elegant, well-seasoned ground-meat preparations. A pâté can be satiny-smooth and spreadable or, like country pâté, coarsely textured. It can be made from a finely ground or chunky mixture of meats (such as pork, veal, liver or ham), fish, poultry, game, vegetables, etc. Pâtés may be cooked in a crust, in which case they're referred to as pâté en croûte. They may also be cooked in a pork fat-lined container called a terrine (or any other similarly sized mold), in which case they're called pâté en terrine. Today the terms pate and terrine are often used interchangeably. From Epicurious. Com.

I got my inspiration for this week's theme from 80 Breakfasts' Country Terrine which was taken from Vogue Travel + Living. However, I used the ingredients of Embutido.

• ham
  
• ground lean pork
• grated cheese
  
• raisins
  
• pickles
  
• spanish paprika
  
• worcestershire sauce
  
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• onion peeled and chopped finely
• tomato catsup
  
• eggs
• breadcrumbs
  

- In a bowl combine the chopped ham, ground pork, eggs, breadcrumbs, cheese, pickles, raisins, catsup, onion, paprika and worcestershire sauce. Season well.
- Line a 30cm x 11 cm x 10 cm terrine with baking paper.
- Spoon the mixture into the prepared terrine. Cover with baking paper. Wrap the whole terrine in aluminum foil.
- Place the covered terrine in a roasting pan and pour warm water until halfway up the side of the terrine. Place in the oven and cook for 1 1/2 hours.
- Remove from oven and set aside to cool. Slice, garnish and serve.

I ran out of vienna sausage and chorizo bilbao but you can include these too.  I like cooking the embutido using the terrine. The possibilities are many.  Bron Marshall's website narrates how she layered her Pork Terrine with small sliced red plums.  And once cooked, she garnished it with sage and brushed it with plum jam for that extra cooking in the oven until the top became golden.  Mine? I dressed it up with cheese sauce but three hungry kids can no longer wait for the camera.  

Over the Top: Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Open faced sandwich is my entry to this week's theme "over the top"of Lasang Pinoy Sundays. My topping consists of bacon, cheese and tomato.  Spread softened butter over the top of bread. Put bacon and cheese and then bake until sandwich is golden brown. Yum yum! 

Shades of Spring and Summer: Thai Pomelo Salad and Pomelo Granita

Thai Pomelo Salad


Pomelo Granita

Thai Pomelo Salad. Had a meeting in Davao City last Tuesday. And I knew that when in Davao, I just have to have fruits and seafood. So I ate a lot of grilled squid and fish and drank fresh mango juice. And since it was just an overnight stay, we only had time to do quick buying. From Samal Island, the nearest market was Agdao Market. I decided to bring back to Manila one box (8 kilos) of pomelos.

What to prepare? I decided to do a Thai Pomelo Salad (from the Marketman). Basic seasonings were: fish sauce, dried shrimp, lime juice, chili powder and palm or brown sugar. It was simply good! Especially when paired with something fried, in our case, fried chicken.

Pomelo Granita. In our house we were already preparing granita a long time ago, but didn't have a name for it. We would make ice candy from fresh fruit juice and it would not freeze like ice. Afterwards, we smashed it and ate it like ice cream. Now granita has become popular; it is quick and easy and definitely a summer treat! Just puree pomelo, add sugar syrup and pour into shallow pan. Freeze. Scrape and stir about three times at more or less one hour intervals to loosen it up. Sarap!

Swirl and Twirl: Tamagoyaki

I love Japanese food. Tamagoyaki or rolled omelet is the Japanese's omelet; it is sweetish and good. Most importantly, it has swirls and twirls! I never thought I would end up with egg as my post for this week's theme. My first inclination was pasta, then candy and then chocolate icing that would swirl and twirl. But when I came across this recipe at the Rasa Malaysia website, I thought this would be an opportunity to make something new.

Without a tamagoyaki pan (square pan), this is difficult to do because the rolling of the omelet takes place inside the pan! I didn't have a tamagoyaki pan so I just made do. Carefully struggled to roll it and cut off the edges afterwards. Fortunately, I have a sushi mat where you leave the rolled omelet to stand for a few minutes. So there! Tamagoyaki for breakfast!

"Ingredients:

3 tablespoon dashi stock or the same amount of water and a pinch of dashi-no-moto
2 tablespoons mirin
1 tablespoon caster (superfine) sugar
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon salt
6 large (US extra large) eggs, beaten
Vegetable oil

Method:

Mix the dashi stock or water with dashi-no-moto with mirin, sugar, soy sauce, and salt. Add to the beaten eggs and stir well. Heat the omelet pan over medium heat. Soak a paper towel in a little oil and wipe the pan to grease it.

Pour in some egg mixture and tilt the pan to coat evently. When the omelet starts to set, roll it up towards you using a pair of chopsticks or a spatula. Keeping the rolled omelet in the pan and push it back to the farthest side from you. Oil the empty part of the pan with the paper towel again. Again, pour in some egg mixture into the empty side, lift up the first roll with chopsticks and let the egg mixture runs underneath. When it looks half set, roll the omelet around the first roll to make a single roll with many layers. Repeat the process until all egg mixture is used up.

Move the roll gently onto a sushi rolling mat covered with a clear sheet of plastic wrap. Roll the omelet firmly into the mat and leave to stand rolled for 5 minutes. Cut the rolled omelet into 1 inch slices crossways." (Rasa Malaysia)

Melted Bliss: Dense Chocolate Loaf Cake

(Recipe was taken from 80 Breakfasts and attributed to Nigella Lawson.) I woke up early today and thought of baking this cake which I read at 80 Breakfasts. I melted the chocolate, added it to the creamed butter and proceeded to make a liquefied batter (with flour and water). Baked it and I got myself (and the family) a chocolate cake for breakfast! It was delicious but....very rich chocolate taste! Turned out, I melted more chocolate chips than called for in the recipe (at 6 a.m., I couldn't convert properly my grams into ounces and cups).

Hip to be Square - Lemon Squares

Very delicious and very quick to do! Instant dessert which my family devoured immediately. This is the simple recipe.  But one version would include limoncello to accent the lemon flavor and another would top it with cream cheese.

Ingredients:

6 tbsp butter or margarine

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 eggs

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 tbsp all-purpose flour

1/4 tsp. finely shredded lemon peel

3 tbsp lemon juice

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2- 3/4 powdered sugar

Grease an 8x8x2-inch bakig pan.  Beat butter for 30 seconds; add the 1/4 cup sugar and teaspoon salt, beating till fluffy. Stir in the 1 cup flour.  Pat dough onto bottom of pan.  Bake in a 350 F oven for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile,  beat eggs; add remaining 3/4 cup sugar, 2 tablespoons flour, lemon peel, lemon juice and baking powder.  Beat 3 minutes or till slightly thickened.  Pour over baked layer.  Bake in a 350 F oven 25 to 30 minutes longer till light golden brown around edges and center is set.  Cool.  Sift powdered sugar on top.  Cut into squares.  Makes 16. (Nora Daza: A Culinary Life)

My Kitchen: What's Cooking?

CHOPPING

SLICING

SEASONING

COOKING

PLATING

Today, the hubby decided to make Szechuan Beef, the family's favorite dish, ever! The recipe calls for a lot of slicing and chopping of ginger, garlic, onions and spring onions. Using a round aluminum tray is very helpful. Of course, slicing and chopping are a breeze if you have a sharp knife. And the seasonings -- Chinese wine, black bean sauce and plum sauce -- are a must to make the Szechuan Beef always delicious. In cooking the dish, a kawali or wok is indispensable. A reliable gas range is the cornerstone of every kitchen. Finally, it all comes together in a deep white platter.

Bread-y Or Not: Honey Quick Bread

According to the Fannie Farmer Cookbook "quick breads are made without yeast from batters which require no kneading and do not have to rise before going into the oven." This appealed to me; I wanted to do a quick baking. For honey bread, I mixed the dry ingredients and the wet ingredients (which had honey as the star ingredient) and beat it thoroughly for 20 minutes. And then I baked it for 50 minutes. The result? Tasty and good with coffee.

Tri-colore: Berry Trifle

Berry Trifle is made of pastry cream (soft custard), sponge cake (or ladyfingers as used in mine), whipped cream and fruits. The only real work is making the pastry cream where you mix sugar, cornstarch and eggs on the one hand with milk, vanilla and salt on the other. Stir over low fire to thicken. Add butter and stir until smooth. Allow to cool completely. Afterwards, the fun begins - layering. The outcome is heavenly! (Thanks to Yummy Magazine's Aileen Anastacio.)

Suman, Matamis na Bao at Mangga

Wrapped and unwrapped


Unwrapped with matamis na bao


Wrapped, unwrapped, with matamis na bao
and with manggang hinog

Brought my daughter very early to school for a field trip. Outside the subdivision, the kakanin vendors were setting up their wares. Suddenly, i knew what we would be having for breakfast -- suman at hinog na mangga! Earlier this week, the Original Cook made matamis na bao. Simply perfect.

Pancakes with Banana, Chocolate and Blueberry Jam

This is my first time to cook pancakes from scratch. With pancakes, it has always been a rush rush affair to get the pancake mix, cook it and have it ready for breakfast before the school bus arrives! But now, there is opportunity to forego of the ready made mix and prepare it myself. And no regrets, it is so much flavorful this way.

Leche Flan with Browned Sugar Topping

My husband, the Original Cook, made these Leche Flan with whole eggs (he did not separate the egg whites from the egg yolks). These were steamed and when cooked, sugar was sprinkled on top. Instead of being "blowtorched" (ala creme brulee) he placed it in the broiler to brown it. Voila! Leche Flan with Browned Sugar Topping.

I Love Roasted Pork Ribs!

I once bought baby back ribs and did not know how to cut it. Boy, did I have a difficult time! I had to ask my husband to chop and separate the ribs. Now, I know better; I asked the supermarket to cut the ribs for me.

After pre-heating the oven, I seasoned the ribs with salt and pepper and minced garlic. And then I prepared a simple dry rub:

1 Tablespoon Paprika
1 Tablespoon Chili Powder
1 teaspoon ground oregano

After rubbing them all over the ribs, front and back, I let it sit for awhile. Put in a baking dish on top of a rack or a pile of carrots so that juices do not dry up fast. Bake uncovered in a 300 degrees F oven for two hours or until they are tender. Baste it with wine every thirty minutes. You can also turn it over every so often.

Roast Chicken

(This was inspired by a recipe from Serious Eats which adapted it from Roast Chicken and Other Stories, by Simon Hopkinson with Lindsey Bareham.)

Ingredients

Star Margarine
1 whole chicken
Salt and pepper
Parsley, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced

Procedure

1. Preheat oven. Use your hands to smear the Star Margarine all over the chicken. Season liberally with parsley, salt and pepper. Place chicken in a roasting pan with enough room to spare. Place the extra herbs and garlic inside the chicken's cavity.

2. Roast in oven 10 to 15 minutes. Baste, then reduce oven temperature to 375°F. Roast for one hour and 45 minutes (my oven is gas fuelled). Occasionally baste it with a mixture of olive oil and honey. Chicken should be golden brown all over with a crisp skin and have juices of a brown color in the bottom of pan.

3. When cooked, allow chicken to rest at least 15 minutes before carving. Cover with aluminum foil. This allows the flesh to relax and retain the juices, resulting in easier carving and moist meat.

4. The resulting juices serves as a gravy. Heat the drippings. Add cornstarch. Then add broth or water slowly, while consistently stirring until thick. Season with salt and pepper.

P.S. I poured white wine into the pan at the beginning of roasting. This will give you more of a sauce. You can also add chopped tomatoes, cream, diced bacon, a variety of herbs, mushrooms, vegetables, or whatever else you'd like. In my case, I added celery to ensure moistness and flavor.

My Daughter's Spaghetti

My daughter asked for spaghetti "just like the one cooked by yaya". She wanted something sweet, no fresh tomatoes and no meatballs. So that's what I cooked, omitting my usual tomato sauce (made from fresh tomatoes), wine and meatballs.

INGREDIENTS:
1/4 kilo Ground Beef
2 cloves Garlic
1 tetra pack Tomato Sauce
1/2 tetra pack Tomato Paste
pinch of Oregano
2-3 Tablespoons Sugar
Salt & Pepper

Saute garlic and onion. Cook until the onions are pale. Add the ground beef, to brown it and to render its fat. About 10 minutes. Add the oregano, the tomato sauce and tomato paste. Let it simmer for about 15 minutes stirring occasionally. Add the sugar. Adjust the salt and pepper to taste. When sauce dries up, add some water. Then serve with parmessan cheese.

Something Gold and Red

Chocolates and candies are so irresistible! Especially when wrapped in glittering gold and red. Toblerone is my kids' favorite.

Pommes Duchesse

How many ways do you make mashed potato? Yummy Magazine (May 2008) outlined three different ways. I tried one - Pommes Duchesse.

Ingredients:

1 kilo potatoes
2 tablesppoons butter
2 egg yolks
salt and pepper to taste

Boil (it would be easier to peel if you boil first) and then mash the potatoes. Mix in the butter and then the egg yolks. Season with salt and pepper. Because I do not have a pastry bag, I just formed dollops of mashed potato onto a lightly greased baking pan. Bake at 400F until lightly browned. (Because dinner was already ready, I had to remove it from the oven. I suggest you brown it a little longer than shown in the photo.) The kids loved it! Photo was taken by my eldest son, the Musician.

Heavenly Sausage

This photo was taken by my second son, the Scholar. He took a good picture, don't you think so? Makes you want to dig in immediately and finish off the hungarian sausage. He and his siblings have been taking photos ever since digital camera have been introduced. Me? I am a johnny-come-lately.

Tanglad (Lemongrass) Tea

Tastes very natural, no taste of dryness or bitterness at all. It is an alternative to coffee, good to start the day right. This is produced by the Don Bosco Foundation and was bought by my husband in Davao.

Dalandan Soda and Dalandan Juice

It is such a relief to have an option in this Coca Cola country! We have been turning to Dalandan Fruit Soda everytime soda comes up in the grocery list (it is not available in sari-sari stores). The taste is so refreshing!

The second photo is the real McCoy. To the squeezed dalandan, I added muscovado sugar, instead of the usual refined sugar. It tasted good! But strange to the kids (sigh...it will take awhile before they will take to it).

By the Light of the Silvery Moon...

"By the light of the silvery moon, I want to spoon, to my honey I'll croon love's tune..." So goes the song. Nightfall and the full moon and a cool weather is a perfect setting for this photo op. This was taken against the backdrop of our guava tree two nights ago by my high school daughter, the Artist. Malamig ngayon ang mga araw, lalo na ang mga gabi, sa 'Pinas. Masarap kumanta ng "by the light of the silvery moon..." kapag gabi.