Red Rice

crispy pork hock with steamed red rice and roasted vegetables 

There are various Philippine heirloom rice available to buy online but I find the prices of the rice too steep. I had to settle for the cheaper, at $10.00 for a 5-pound bag, Thai red rice which are sold in nearby Asian grocery stores. Thai red rice is a long grain non-glutinous rice similar to brown rice but the color of the bran is red. According to Wiki, only the husks of the rice grains are removed during the milling process, retaining all the nutrients, vitamins and minerals intact in the bran layer and in the germ. Red rice is a good source of thiamine, riboflavin, fiber, iron, and calcium.

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Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies

Bacon! Yes, these cookies have crispy bacon chips and they go really well with extreme bittersweet chocolate chips. When I read about these unusual cookies I just had to make some. They are not too rich nor greasy; they're sooo good.

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Matcha Daifuku

We've been addicted to mochi ice cream since we first tried them 24 years ago. Nowadays we buy a variety of sweet filled mochi called Daifuku from the Asian store but mochi ice cream is still our favorite.

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Cider and Black

For Christmas last year we had a drink called Cider and Black, a mix of dry hard cider and blackcurrant cordial. Hard cider, which has the same alcohol content as beer at about 5% in volume, is becoming popular at least here in Virginia. I like the combination of hard cider and blackcurrant because it's very light and slightly sweet. It's a ladies' drink, I guess.

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Crema Catalana

I've had this Spanish dessert just once in a restaurant many years ago. I don't know why I never prepared it at home but then again I've never made its French version, Crème Brûlée, either. The Spanish sweet cream is lighter than its cousin as it has fewer egg yolks and uses milk instead of heavy cream.

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Homemade Rice Wine

I was trying to make Manapla-style puto which I was told years ago has wild yeast or rice yeast as leavening agent. I looked online for white rice yeast, found this website about Philippine rice wine called tapuy and several other blogs on how to make rice wine at home, then quickly abandoned the puto. White rice yeast from the Philippines is impossible to get here in the US but I was able to buy from our local Asian store a packet of Chinese red rice wine yeast. I used this yeast and a cup of black glutinous rice and followed the recipe from the Filipino website. 

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Champagne Mini Cakes

Here's a nice idea for New Year's Eve celebration: cute mini cakes baked with champagne or non-alcoholic sparkling wine. I got the idea from here but used a different recipe for the cakes, frosting, fruit, and chocolate garnish.

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Bimuelos for Hanukkah

Happy Hanukkah to all my readers!

Searching for fried food to make for the Jewish festival of lights holiday, Hanukkah, which began December 8 and will end on the 16th, I was surprised to find that the sweet snack called bimuelos which are very similar to the Filipino buñuelos are actually related. Although the recipes are different, they are both deep fried and served with syrup or honey or simply dusted with sugar. The tiny snacks are really really delicious drizzled with honey. It's also good with caramelized condensed milk but I prefer them with honey. I had for lunch all the bimuelos in the picture after photographing them. I couldn't resist the crispy crust and light as feather puffy honeycombed crumb.

these bimuelos have a light puffy 

honey-combed crumb and crispy crust

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Red Velvet Doughnuts

I'm seeing red food items everywhere, it's the season after all. One of the baked items I wanted to make since I saw them in one of the blogs I visit are those cute red velvet cake donuts. I never liked cake donuts so baked them with yeast and topped with slightly sweet maple flavored whipped cream. You can also dip them in cream cheese glaze, if preferred. Yummy with either topping.  

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Butter Babycakes

The recipe for these cakes had been in draft for many months already but I couldn't find the time to bake them. These are supposed to be Filipino style butter cake made with Danish butter. The photo of the individual mamon-like cake that inspired me to look for a recipe was on one of my facebook friends' weekend breakfast table.

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Chicken Confit

For Thanksgiving I made chicken drumstick confit in place of the usual turkey. Duck is my favorite fowl to confit but I wanted to try if chicken is worth the trouble, and they are. These are the most delicious chicken dish I had in a while. It takes 2 days to marinate and slow cook in the oven but the result is very tasty and moist chicken. 

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Sicilian Pork Skin Roll-ups

pork skin roll-up with tomato sauce, crusty Italian bread

 and Parmesan cheese "lacy cookie"

Ah yes, pork skin is still a favorite of mine. It is cheap and protein rich, can be prepared barbecue Korean or Filipino-style, and a great addition to Cassoulet and Italian Sunday Gravy. I adapted a simple recipe for Sicilian pork skin roll-up and simmered the roll-ups in Sunday Gravy tomato sauce. You may use your favorite Italian tomato sauce. For decoration and to add crunch and more cheese flavor, I made Parmesan cheese "lacy cookies". The dish is good...really really good.

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Fresh Pineapple Pie

I was on the phone the other day with a friend and she mentioned Philippine-style pineapple pie is becoming almost as popular as buco (young coconut) pie. Some have layers of both pineapple and buco. Because I haven't been introduced to this pie, I just have to bake.

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Pumpkin Waffles

I've expanded my use of pumpkin and squash this season. I already made [and demolished] pumpkin pastillas de leche (milk candies) and also added mashed cooked pumpkin to yeast waffles. These waffles are really delicious specially with heavy cream sweetened with maple syrup and sprinkled with pumpkin seed brittle. I love pumpkins!

Pumpkin Yeast Waffles

2 cups all-purpose flour

1½ cups mashed pumpkin
½ tablespoon instant yeast
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk
1 cup water
6 tablespoons light olive or grapeseed oil
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• In a large bowl, whisk together the first 5 ingredients. Mix in the rest of ingredients and stir with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon until smooth. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or up to 2 days. Preheat waffle maker and bake according to manufacturer's directions.

Maple Cream

1 cup heavy whipping cream

¼ cup pure maple syrup

• Beat together syrup and cream until thick but still pourable. Transfer into a squirt bottle if desired.

Pumpkin Seed Brittle

¼ cup sugar

½ cup toasted pumpkin seeds

• Cook sugar over medium heat in a skillet until caramelized and golden in color. Quickly stir in toasted seeds and transfer in one layer into a buttered piece of aluminum foil. Let cool completely; break into small pieces.

Grapecicle

For Food Friday this weekend, there is no cooking involved which is just perfect to enjoy the last few weeks of summer.

Have you tried frozen seedless grapes? These tiny champagne grapecicles are a great frozen treat without much work to be done except washing them, then freezing for 2 hours.

champagne or Corinth grapes are cute and tiny

   

White Peaches and Ginger Beer

white peach puree and ginger beer drink

This is my non-alcoholic version of Bellini, a refreshing drink made with white peach juice and Prosecco. I pureed the fruit with a little sugar and added crushed ice, seltzer water, and ginger beer. I also mixed some of the puree with just seltzer water for a stronger peach flavor but I like the one with ginger beer more. You may substitute frozen puree or bottled juice for the fresh fruit puree.

white and yellow peaches

White Peach and Ginger Beer

Ingredients

• 2 ripe white peaches, well chilled
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 cup crushed ice
• 1 cup seltzer or sparkling water, well chilled
• 1 cup ginger beer, well chilled

Cooking Directions

1. Peel peaches, remove stones and discard; dice peaches and puree with the sugar.
2. Divide puree between 2 tall glasses. Stir in ½ cup ice into puree. Pour ½ cup each seltzer water and ginger beer. Stir gently with a metal stirrer.
3. Serve immediately.

also good with just seltzer water

Toblerone Buns

Chocolate-filled croissants and toast with chocolate spread are my favorites for breakfast and thought for a change why not fill sweet dough with chocolate candy. I thought dark Toblerone would be great to fill the sweet buns. They came out so soft, not too sweet, and are perfect with the slightly bittersweet chocolate. I made the buns a little thicker because I want more bread than chocolate. I can have these every day for breakfast with my milky espresso.

Toblerone-filled Buns

Ingredients

• 5 cups King Arthur unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon instant yeast
• ¼ cup nonfat dry milk
• 4 tablespoons sugar
• 1 cup hot water (120° F)
• 5 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3 bars milk or dark Toblerone
• 1 beaten egg for egg wash

Cooking Directions

1. In the mixing bowl of a standing mixer, whisk together 2 cups of the flour, yeast, dry milk, and sugar. Add hot water and with dough hook attachment, mix on low speed for 1 minute. Increase speed to low-medium, add eggs one at a time, then the remaining flour, ½ cup at a time, beating well after each addition. Add salt and beat for 1 minute more.
2. Increase speed to medium high and continue mixing, adding butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, until each butter addition is absorbed. Dough will be soft and sticky. Knead until dough is elastic, shiny, and comes off the sides of the bowl, about 10 minutes. Transfer dough into a container, cover with plastic wrap and leave on the kitchen counter until doubled in size, about 2 hours. Refrigerate dough for at least 2 hours until well-chilled.
3. Divide bars into sections; set aside. Remove dough from refrigerator and divide into 3 portions. Refrigerate 2 portions while shaping the first one. Flatten dougn into a 24 inch x 5 inch rectangle. Place 12 Toblerone triangles 1¼ inches apart along the lower half of the dough rectangle. Fold the other half over the chocolate and pinch the dough edges on 3 sides. Gently press in between chocolate triangles and cut at an angle with a sharp knife. Place pieces 2 inches apart on a cookie sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough portions. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 1 hour.
4. Preheat oven to 375° F.
5. Brush tops of buns with egg wash and bake for 25 minutes until buns are golden.

made for each other: sweet soft bread and bittersweet chocolate

Meatless Paella

One of my favorite paella recipes is Jose Andres's Vegetable Paella which I make regularly. Here's my latest version with random vegetables from my garden: long beans (sitaw), edamame, rainbow Swiss chard, baby zucchini and blossoms, and tomatoes. It's delicious!

Vegetable Paella

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup chopped onion
1 garlic, minced
1 cup half-inch long sitaw (long beans)
1 cup fresh edamame
½ cup chopped tomatoes
2 cups coarsely chopped Swiss chard
1 cup diced baby zucchini
1 teaspoon sea salt, more or less to taste
1 cup Japanese or Spanish medium grain rice
¼ cup sofrito
2 cups vegetable broth
a small pinch of saffron

• Make the sofrito.
• Heat oil in a medium paellera or cast iron skillet. Add onion and garlic and cook until onion is soft. Add the vegetables and stir fry for 2 minutes. Add salt and rice; saute for 2 minutes then add sofrito. Stir cook for 1 more minute. Add broth and saffron. Let come to a boil, lower heat and let cook uncovered for 25 minutes. Serve hot with boiled eggs and sliced lemons, if desired.

sofrito

10 ripe plum tomatoes
1½ cups Spanish extra virgin olive oil
4 small Spanish onions, finely chopped
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sweet pimentón (Spanish smoked paprika)
3 bay leaves

• Slice the tomatoes in half. Place a grater over a mixing bowl. Rub the cut surface of the tomatoes over the grater until all the flesh is grated. Discard the skins. Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over low heat. Add the onions, sugar, and salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are soft and golden brown, about 45 minutes. You want the onions to caramelize, if they get too dark, add ½ teaspoon of water to keep them from burning. Stir in the tomato puree, the pimenton, and the bay leaves and cook for another 20 minutes over medium heat. You'll know the sofrito is ready when the tomato has broken down and deepened in color and the oil has separated from the sauce. Discard the bay leaves. Makes 3 cups of sauce.

Olive Garden-style Breadsticks

I can't remember the last time I was in Olive Garden; it was many many many years ago. Their breadsticks, I recently found out, are very popular and home bakers have been making their own Olive Garden-style breadsticks. All the recipes I found are of the typical soft white bread variety and I chose to adapt this one. The breadsticks flavored lightly with garlic are really soft and great with soup. I had them with baked pork and [black] beans. I love them.

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Green Mango Ice Cream

Several Filipino food blogs have been raving about the Filipino green mango ice cream topped with sweet bagoong sauce. I love green mango shake and sorbet and ice cold green mango slices topped with bagoong (salty fermented micro shrimps) has been my favorite since forever. But shrimp/fish flavor and ice cream? Thanks, but I think I'll pass.

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