Baba Au Rhum

I love baba au rhum, these open-textured breads/cakes moistened with rum syrup. They are easy to make, there's no need to bring out the food processor or stand mixer as there is no kneading involved, and rising time is fairly short. I like them with fresh figs but they are not in season, preserved fruits are okay. These should be baked in baba molds called dariole molds which are thin, long and tapered at the bottom but they are $32 for 6 pieces, very expensive in my opinion. For one recipe I would need 10 - 12 molds which will cost me $64 and if I want non-stick that's $35 for 4 pieces or $105 for 12, that's just crazy! I used my mini cheesecake pan which are fatter and squat and unfortunately not non-stick and the cakes got stuck and some got broken, no problem really, I just put them back together after dipping them in the syrup. I will line the sides of the molds with parchment paper next time or will use mini muffin molds instead.

Baba au Rhum
1½ cups flour
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
2 teaspoons sugar
1/3 cup lukewarm milk
¼ teaspoon salt
3 beaten eggs
5 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, chopped
1½ cups sugar
2 cups water
½ cup dark rum

• Brush molds lightly with oil. Place 1 T of the flour, yeast, sugar, salt and milk in a small bowl. Leave, covered until foamy, for 10 minutes. Using your fingertips rub the butter into the remaining flour in a large bowl, until the mixture has a fine crumbly texture.Add the yeast mixture and eggs to the flour mixture. Beat with wooden spoon for 2 minutes until smooth and glossy. Scrape the mixture down, cover and let rise for 1 hour.Preheat oven to 400°F. With a wooden spoon, beat the mixture again for 2 minutes. Divide among the prepared pan. Cover with plastic wrap and leave for 20 minutes until well risen. Bake for 20 minutes until golden brown.

• Prepare the rum syrup: In a medium saucepan, combine the water and sugar and let boil for 10 minutes. Let cool slightly then add rum. Dip the still warm babas until completely saturated. Keep leftovers in a covered container in the fridge. Strain leftover syrup and refrigerate. Drizzle some of the syrup on the plate and on top of the babas. I love the babas swimming in rum syrup.

Salmon Sausage & Baby Vidalia Onions

I don't like salmon, it is so stinky and the fishy smell persists in the house for days. I have grilled it, poached it and made it into sausages before, nothing seems to reduce the fishy taste and the smell, oh the smell! But I have to serve it once in a while for the good stuff it contains. Today I made it into a humongous sausage then sliced and fried the slices like fish patties. With a variety of spices the fish has improved in taste but the smell is here to stay, sigh. I guess I just have to burn a lot of scented candles every time I cook salmon. Serve with store bought or home made tartar sauce either with steamed rice or in a burger bun.

Salmon Sausage
2 pounds salmon fillet, cut into 1-inch pieces
½ tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon ground ginger
2 tablespoons lemon juice
½ tablespoon annatto powder
1 tablespoon sugar
1 cup half and half

• In a food processor, process salmon until mushy, add all the ingredients except half and half, process for 1 minute until thoroughly mixed. While food processor is running, gradually add half and half. Transfer to a glass container, cover tightly with plastic wrap, put in the freezer until icy. Shape into a large sausage, wrap tightly, return to freezer. Freeze until firm, cut into ½-inch slices. Fry in a non-stick skillet until golden brown and firm to the touch. This salmon sausage has a hot dog consistency when cooked.

Baby Vidalia Onions
I got these beauties yesterday, they are only available for a very short period during late winter. They are so sweet, from the bulb to the green shoots.

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 tablespoon butter

1½ teaspoons sugar

3 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

• Pre-heat oven to 500°F. Wash the onions well under running water. Cut green leaves 5 inches from bulb, slice in half crosswise. Mix with olive oil and sprinkle with salt, roast for 15 minutes. In a saute pan, melt the butter, add vinegar and sugar, cook for 2 minutes until it has thickened a little. Drizzle over roasted onions.

Mini Cheesecake

I've had these mini (2 inch x 1 ½ inch tall) cheesecake pans with removable bottoms for a little more than a year now but have never used them. I stored them and promptly forgot about them, this happens often (sigh, I'm getting old. ;D). I finally took them down from the upper shelves to use for baba au rhum that I intended to make today. But it was already late in the day when I thought of making them and there wasn't enough time for the dough to rise twice, I'll make them another day. So, today it's cheesecakes...

Mini Cheesecake

2½ cups crushed honey graham crackers

½ cup melted butter

2 tablespoon sugar

2 8-ounce cream cheese, at room temperature

1/3 cup sugar

3 eggs

4 teaspoons flour

½ cup heavy cream

½ cup Kahlua or Bailey's Irish Cream

• Mix graham crackers, butter and sugar. Press firmly on a 10-inch pan with removable bottom. If you have mini pans, use 1 ½ T of the cracker mixture, refrigerate while preparing the filling.
• Pre-heat oven to 325°F.
• Beat cream cheese and sugar with electric beater until smooth. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Blend together the cream and flour, beat into the cheese mixture, add the liqueur, mix well. Pour into the pan. Bake for 40 -50 minutes, or until almost set. Set aside until completely set. Refrigerate before serving.

Serving suggestions: top with sweetened cream and pieces of hard caramel or pralines, or serve with caramel sauce.

Sauteed Celery Root

Last week I got a celery root to make into soup but made the misua and patola instead. The root has to be cooked before it gets bad and I did not want it to go to waste but it is getting warmer everyday and soup is no longer desirable. I julienned the celeriac and 3 carrots, then sauted them in 1 tablespoon butter until half cooked, about 2 minutes. Then I added 1 teaspoon each salt and sugar and 2 tablespoon water and steam cooked, covered, for 2 minutes. The dish does not need any other condiments and is surprisingly very flavorful. I sliced some previously roasted pork belly to go with the sauteed root vegetable.

Pork Belly Roast With Maple Syrup
2 pounds whole pork belly
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
maple syrup

• Marinate pork belly in sugar and salt up to 2 nights in the fridge. Roast in 375°F oven for 1 hour, skin side down. Brush all over with maple syrup, turn meat so that skin side is up, bake for another hour. Brush again with maple syrup and bake for another 30 minutes. It is recommended to let the roast pork cool overnight in the fridge because it is easier to remove the fat that will solidify. It will also be easier to slice when it has completely cooled. You can also use this pork belly to flavor assorted vegetables such as pinakbet or to flavor pancit.