Caramel Apples

pumpkin pie granny smith, simple caramel crab apple, mint chips and milk chocolate chips fuji This is one treat during Halloween and/or Thanksgiving weekend that has never appealed to me *psst, because you're old*. I prefer to eat apples as a snack, not candy, with sliced Manchego cheese as dessert, or in grilled cheese sandwich. I am not so sure why these jaw and teeth breaking caramel apples are so popular here in the US and of all places in the Philippines. And why in the world would you coat the apples with so much chocolate, why???

Anyway, I have some leftover caramel and coated 3 apples to see what the attraction is and also to add the pictures to my flickr photos, heheh. I actually like the pumpkin pie coating which is a mixture of ground graham crackers, raw sugar, and pumpkin pie spice but is still not as appealing as, say, caramel enrobed in bittersweet chocolate. Anybody in my house is welcome to eat them, but I doubt if they will. I bet the apples will stay on the counter forever and ever.:D

coated with a mixture of graham crackers, coarse raw sugar, and pumpkin pie spice

You can use caramel candies available from the groceries, I think it won't make any difference in taste and go wild with your coatings: rice crispies and peanuts, mini marshmallows and chopped almonds then drizzled with melted chocolate, chopped butterfingers, white chocolate and butterscotch chips but don't make them look so gaudy. But then, maybe the gaudy ones on display shelves or on the dinner table are more attractive specially to children.:D

Pinakbet

I usually make this vegetable dish when I have leftover crispy fried pork belly. The pinakbet I made today is similar to the Ilocos style of layering the vegetables and cooking it just until the vegetables are al dente. I used half of a medium size bitter melon (ampalaya). I don't recommend the very small Indian variety because they are super bitter unless you love bitter things. To prepare bitter melon, cut in half lengthwise, scrape the seeds and the white soft innards until you can see the light green meat, slice into 1 inch pieces, blanch in salted water, rinse with cold water 2 or 3 times. This process is supposed to remove some of the bitterness but I'm not sure if this really works, though.

Pinakbet

1 cup diced bagnet/lechon kawali (pork belly confit)
a 2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
1 cup yard long beans (sitaw), cut into 1 inch pieces
1 Asian eggplant, halved and cut into 1 inch pieces
1 large tomato, sliced
2 tablespoons sliced shallots
10 pieces okra
1 cup kabocha squash, cut into ½ inch pieces
½ bitter melon, prepared as above
¼ cup bagoong alamang (salted shrimp paste) mixed with ¼ cup water or ½ cup fish bagoong (may substitute 2 tins anchovy filet mashed in ¼ cup water and strained)

• In a medium pot, arrange the pork evenly at the bottom, add the ginger on top of the pork spreading it evenly. Layer the vegetables, with the bitter melon either on the very top or if you want some bitter taste, in the middle. Pour the alamang mixture all over the vegetables. Cover the pot.
• Over high heat, boil rapidly for 10 minutes. Do not mix while boiling. Serve with steamed rice or as a side dish.

Bagnet
2 ½ pounds boneless pork belly
1 head garlic, cut in half crosswise
2 bay leaves
1 ½ tablespoons sea salt
water
vegetable oil

• Put pork in a large pot. Add bay leaves, garlic, and salt. Add water to cover pork. Boil for 1 hour. Remove pork, drain well, dry with paper towels.
• Transfer to another pot. Add enough oil to cover pork, fry over very low heat for 1 hour to remove excess moisture. Remove pork and transfer to a large plate to cool completely.
• When cooled, reheat the same oil over high heat and fry the pork belly until skin is golden in color and very crisp.

For flexi-vegetarian pinakbet omit pork.
For vegan pinakbet, omit pork and substitute 4 tablespoons soy sauce for the shrimp paste. Adjust seasoning with sea salt to taste.

Kabocha (Japanese Squash)

At the Korean grocery, a bin of dark green, tough skinned squash labeled kabocha caught my eye and I remember seeing this squash in one of my Japanese cookbooks. They are smallish, ranging from 1 to 3 pounds. I am not particularly fond of squash or pumpkins, except for the annual pie for Thanksgiving and pumpkin butter. When I make pinakbet I put maybe just half a cup of diced squash. I can't say why it's not one of my favorite vegetables, maybe it reminds me of the mashed squash that my children ate when they were babies.

Because I am curious about this vegetable, I bought the tiniest one. My cookbook describes the vegetable as similar in smell and flavor, although not as sweet, as chestnuts. I got so excited with the mention of chestnuts, heheh (it really smells and tastes like chestnuts when cooked). The cookbook has 3 entries: steamed sweet cake served with sliced pears or persimmons, simply steamed with sea salt, and savory with chicken sauce. I prepared the simplest which is salt-steamed and sprinkled with more sea salt before serving. I am loving this vegetable! I made the steamed cake and I have fuyu persimmons that have been ripening on the counter for the past 3 days. They aren't fully ripe yet but already so sweet and pair perfectly with the steamed cake. My cake does not look pretty but it tastes absolutely divine! I must get more kabochas for our Thanksgiving pie and to make sweet filling for siopao buns.

steamed kabocha chips: healthier than fries and yummier too!

Kabocha Cake
1 12-oz kabocha squash
2 tablespoon flour
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1½ tablespoons water
2 egg yolks, beaten
sliced persimmon or pear, optional

• In a medium pot, heat ½ inch of water, put whole unpeeled kabocha, and steam for 3 minutes.
• Remove the kabocha and cut in half. Scoop out the seeds with a spoon. Cut into chunks.
• Steam in a covered steamer for about 15 minutes.
• Remove the skin and mash the flesh in a food processor. Transfer to a mixing bowl, add the rest of the ingredients except fruits. Mix well.
• Roll out a sushi mat, line with a piece of slightly wet muslin. Spread the kabocha mixture evenly. Hold the nearest end and lightly roll up the mat to the other end. Fold both ends of muslin to close.
• Steam for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let set for 5 minutes. Open the sushi mat and cut cake into 1 inch thick slices. Serve with the sliced fruit.

steamed kabocha cake with sliced fuyu persimmon

Pâte de Fruits And Fruit Leather

apple/apricot and apple/cranberry pâte de fruit and fruit leather

I have been looking for the perfect recipe for pâtes de fruits and quickly realized there's no such thing because while some fruits like cranberries, quinces, and most citrus have natural pectin, others need pectin powder and/or a little citric acid for the pâtes to set properly. I made the pectin-less recipe from my cookbook DESSERT CIRCUS AT HOME by Jacques Torres but almost got burnt by the blorp blorp blorping lava-like mixture. I did not want to spend an hour over the stove stirring while dressed in protective gear so I added 2 packets of liquid pectin. The paste set perfectly and after shaping and rolling in sugar, the fruit candies turned into these delightful little edible gems. I love the slightly chewy and crunchy (from the sugar) exterior and the soft incredibly fruity sweet center. The fruit leather recipe from the same cookbook is very good. I spread the cooked mixture a little bit thicker than fruit roll-ups. I love it too, specially the sweet and tart apple and cranberry which tastes like soft haw flakes. Hmm, what fruit shall I make into paste next, Philippine mango or raspberries?

If you have the time and the patience and have an obsessive personality like myself here are the recipes:

Apple Pâte de Fruits
3 apples, peeled
water
1¼ cup sugar plus extra for dusting
½ tablespoon butter
6 ounces liquid fruit pectin (2 pouches)

• Line an 8 x 8 inch square pan with aluminum foil lightly sprayed with oil. Place apples in a medium sauce pan half filled with water. Poach apples for 25 minutes until soft, let cool slightly. Core apples and coarsely chop. Put in a blender and blend until uniform in texture. Pour the puréed apples in a medium saucepan, stir in the sugar and cook over medium heat stirring constantly for 4 minutes. Add the butter and continue to cook for 2 more minutes. Stir in the pectin. Immediately pour into the prepared pan. Let cool completely at room temperature or in the refrigerator.Cut into squares and roll in sugar. Variations: Use the same amount of sugar and pectin and procedure for 2 large quinces, increase poaching time to 45 minutes up to 1 hour until quince is very soft. Tint with red orange color paste, if desired. Replace 1 cup apple purée with 1 cup canned or fresh apricot purée or cranberry purée.

quince pâte de fruit

Fruit Leather (recipe adapted from DESSERT CIRCUS AT HOME by Jacques Torres)
1 cup strawberry purée
juice of ½ lemon
1 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar
¼ cup powdered pectin

• Lightly spray a 16 x 24 inch piece of parchment paper with oil, set aside. Combine the strawberry and lemon juice in a stainless steel saucepan over medium-high heat. Combine the sugar and pectin and add to the purée. Whisk well to combine. Allow the mixture to come to a boil while stirring constantly and continue to boil for 3 minutes. Remove the mixture from the heat and pour into the prepared pan. Using a large offset spatula, spread the mixture evenly over the parchment paper. Set aside to cool. It cools very quickly and develops a skin. For fruit roll-ups, cut into preferred size and simply roll one end into the other.

strawberry fruit roll-up and mascarpone filled ravioli