Buco (Young Coconut) Custard Pie

There are three baked treats in the Filipino magazine called FOOD that have been in my to-bake list: Buco Custard Pie, Ube Roll Cake, and 7-Layer Toffee Crunch Cake. Up first is Buco Custard Pie, a rather rich version of the buco pie with the addition of a layer of custard. The pie is yummy, the crust is flaky, the filling is very creamy and not overly sweet. I don't know why I added the custard layer because I am not a fan of egg pie, I guess I was just curious. It came out very yummy, we finished the pie in 2 days! For the buco filling I used the meat and water of 2 fresh young coconuts. I was lucky both have thick but still soft meat. Hacking the bucos open was a real chore. This is the first time in my life I ever opened a coconut. I had to use a hammer after draining the water into a bowl, I was so scared of shards flying...I tell you, it is hard work. In the Philippines when we bought them in the markets or by the roadsides going to the provinces the sellers opened them after draining the water into a separate plastic bag. In restaurants they are served very cold with a straw in it and a spoon to scrape the meat. At home, the housemaids did all the hacking, I never bothered watching how it's done. I'm thinking of buying a machete which is the right tool to open a coconut but where will I cut it?*sigh*. Or I'll use frozen young coconut next time.

Buco Custard Pie

crust
2½ cups pastry flour
2 tablespoons sugar
½ teaspoonp salt
¾ cup very cold diced butter
½ cup ice water
2 egg whites

• In a mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, and salt. Cut in butter, I prefer using my fingertips, until mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle water slowly, toss with a fork until the dough comes together. Divide dough into 2 equal parts, shape into balls, flatten and wrap individually in plastic film, and let rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 400°F. Roll out one dough into an 11-inch circle. Ease into a 9-inch pie pan. Smooth the dough into the bottom and sides of pan. Trim off excess to about 1 inch wider than pan. Prick bottom and sides all over with a fork. Blind bake for 15 minutes. Let cool. Brush with egg whites, set aside.

buco layer
4 cups young coconut meat cut into 1-inch strips
2 cups young coconut water, divided
1 cup evaporated milk
½ cup sugar
1/3 cup sweetened condensed milk
¼ cup cornstarch

• In a medium saucepan, combine the coconut meat, 1 cup coconut water, evaporated milk, sugar, and condensed milk. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring often for 8 minutes. Stir cornstarch into the remaining coconut water. When the coconut meat mixture begins to boil, add cornstarch mixture, stirring quickly until mixture thickens, about 5 minutes. Set aside.

custard layer
1/3 cup sugar
¼ cup flour
1 cup milk
2 eggs, slightly beaten in a small bowl
1 teaspoon vanilla

• In a small saucepan, combine sugar, flour, salt, and milk. Cook over low heat, stirring often until the mixture begins to thicken, about 5 minutes. Remove saucepan from heat. Slowly stir in half of the mixture into the egg yolks. Beat until smooth and return to the saucepan with the remaining mixture. Cook until thick, stirring often. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Cool slightly.

to assemble the pie:
1 egg yolk mixed with 2 tablespoons water

• Pour the buco meat filling into the crust, smooth top. Add custard on top of buco, smooth top. Roll out the second dough round into an 11-inch circle. Ease on top of the custard. Pinch edges of crust together and crimp or press with a fork. Brush top of pie with egg wash. Bake in the preheated 400°F oven for 20 to 30 minutes or until crust is golden brown.

Dale's Ribs

The winner of last week's Top Chef elimination challenge was Dale Talde, a Filipino sous chef in a New York City restaurant. The challenge was to prepare barbecue for the Chicago Bears tailgaters. Dale's winning recipe is a tandoori style pork ribs. He originally wanted chicken wings but another cheftestant bought all the chicken wings so he chose pork ribs but kept his original idea of tandoori. Many party goers including former players and all the judges loved the ribs. I was almost drooling while watching them eat.

I adapted his recipe for 12 racks of pork ribs which is for a huge crowd. I did some calculations for the amount of ribs I have and I was so happy the seasonings came out perfect. I also marinated the ribs overnight and broiled them in the oven because I was too lazy to light the charcoal, which didn't matter because the ribs are yummy to the max. Dale deserves the win. His ribs are superb, we all love it. I like that he poached the ribs in seasoned water before marinating, resulting in very tender and flavorful ribs.

Peanut Panocha (Penuche)

Over the past two weeks I have been acting like a mad scientist trying to make peanut panocha, those peanut studded raw sugar flat discs you can buy anywhere in the Philippines. They are sort of grainy, not chewy, and soft enough not to break your teeth. I searched and searched and searched online for a store that sells them, no such luck. And the more I searched for the candies or the recipe the more I got the munchies like a crazed pregnant woman. I guess the candies won't pass the FDA's approval probably due to germs, packaging, etc . Or maybe there isn't any demand for these treats and nobody but me and my family love them.

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Ostrich Meatloaf

I have read a few years ago in newpaper articles that raising ostrich is becoming popular in several farms in my area. Ostrich meat is believed to be much healthier than beef or chicken because it contains more protein and has less fat and cholesterol. I went to our local farmer's market yesterday morning and got a pound of ground ostrich. The vendor also sells ostrich byproducts such as feather dusters, soaps, lip balms, and skin lotion. The farmer's market is open year round but only a few vendors are doing business selling locally roasted Honduran arabica coffee, dairy products, cheeses, artisan breads, assorted meats, and sausages. The produce vendors will sell their stuff starting in May. I'll write about our farmer's market another day.

The look and taste of ostrich meatloaf closely resemble beef meatloaf. I altered my usual recipe using TVP (soy textured vegetable protein) as added protein, filler, and binder in place of bread crumbs, milk, and egg. I honestly can't tell any difference flavorwise and the meatloaf is moist. I love ostrich meatloaf and don't mind that it is slightly pricier than beef. We had the meatloaf with Parsleyed Potatoes With Saffron and Sauteed Green Beans With Shallots And Garlic.

Ostrich Meatloaf
1 pound ground ostrich
1 C hydrated TVP
¼ C red wine
1 medium onion, finely chopped
½ C chili sauce or ketchup
1 C finely chopped green bell pepper
1 T soy sauce
1 tsp sea salt
2 tsp mustard powder
¼ tsp ground black pepper
2 T ketchup for topping

• Mix all the ingredients except the ketchup for topping. Transfer into a 9 x 4-inch loaf pan or form into loaf on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil and bake in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes, spread ketchup on top of meatloaf and bake for another 15 minutes.

Parsleyed Potatoes With Saffron

1½ pounds small red potatoes, peeled
2 T extra virgin olive oil
small pinch of saffron, crumbled
1 T finely chopped parsley
¼ tsp salt

• Steam potatoes for 20 minutes. In a skillet heat olive oil over medium heat. Add cooked potatoes, saffron, salt, and parsley. Stir for 1 minute to coat potaoes well.

Sauteed Green Beans

½ pound green beans
2 T water
½ tsp salt
2 T extra virgin olive oil
2 T fried shallots
1 T crumbled fried sliced garlic

• In a skillet heat water over medium heat and add beans and salt. Cover and cook until half of the water has evaporated, about 2 minutes. Uncover, add the shallots, garlic, and the remaining olive oil and stir fry for 2 minutes or until beans are tender but still crisp.