LaPiS: Over The Top

diced chicken with peppers and salted black beans

breakfast or brunch: corned beef rice topped with rolled omelet

Lasang Pinoy Sundays, a weekly gallery of food photography Pinoy style, is hosted by SpiCes.

Over The Top is this week's LaPiS theme.

Black And White Macarons

vanilla bean macarons with chocolate ganache filling

I received Michel Richard's HAPPY IN THE KITCHEN cookbook, an early Mother's day gift from my son. All the recipes look fantastic specially the desserts and pastries and the cooking methods seem uncomplicated for the home cook.

Naturally, I went straight to the desserts section of the book and decided the first recipe I'll try is the Black And White Macaroons. Michel Richard calls these cookies macaroons which shouldn't be confused with coconut macaroons. I have made macarons just once last year and although they were delicious, the cookies were not as chewy as they should be and they didn't have "feet" and therefore not photogenic.

The recipe in this cookbook is very simple and pretty much straightforward. It took just a little over an hour to put together and I'm happy that my macarons have feet, not to mention deliciously crunchy and chewy. I can honestly say after preparing one recipe from this book I am on my way to being 'appy in the kitchen.

Black And White Macaroons
Macaroons
½ cup slivered almonds
1 cup confectioner's sugar
½ vanilla bean
2 large egg whites
1 tablespoon sugar

Ganache
¼ cup heavy cream
2 ounces semi-sweet chocolate
2 tablespoons butter, cut into ¼-inch pieces, very soft

• Place the almonds in the food processor and pulse, then process until smooth, stopping to scrape the sides and redistribute the nuts to grind them evenly. Add the confectioner's sugar and process until well combined. Scrape the vanilla bean seeds from the pod into the processor (reserve the bean for another use), and pulse to combine. Transfer into a medium bowl.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whisk the egg whites on medium speed until soft peaks form. With the mixer running, add half of the sugar. Increase speed to high and sprinkle in the remaining sugar. Continue to whisk until stiff peaks form. Place the whites on top of the almond mixture and fold to combine.
• Line two baking sheets with parchment. Transfer the batter to a pastry bag fitted with a ½-inch tip; or cut an opening directly in the end of a disposable pastry bag. Pipe 28 cookies into each sheet (4 cookies across and 7 down): Holding the tip of the pastry bag perpendicular and ¼ inch above the baking sheet with one hand, apply even pressure to the end of the pastry bag with the other hand while slowly pulling the bag up from the baking sheet, to pipe a 1-inch round macaroon. Once the macaroon is formed, move the bag in a circular motion as you pull it away to release the bag from the macaroon. Continue piping the macaroons, leaving 1 inch between them.
• Let the macaroons sit at room temperature for 15 minutes to air-dry and form a light crust. Position the oven racks in the lower and upper thirds of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees F.
• Bake the cookies for 13 to 15 minutes, rotating the pans once halfway through baking. They should be firm on the outside but the centers should remain soft.
• Meanwhile, prepare the ganache. Fill a medium bowl with ice water. Place the cream and chocolate in a small glass bowl and microwave for 30 seconds, then stir the chocolate. Continue to melt and stir at 30-second intervals until the chocolate is completely melted when stirred, 2 to 3 minutes total. Stir the butter until thoroughly combined.
• Place the bowl over the ice water and stir until the ganache is thickened to a spreading consistency. Remove from the ice water and let stand at room temperature until ready to use.
• Remove the macaroons from the oven and place the pans on a cooling rack to firm up enough to move them, then using an offset spatula, transfer the macaroons to a rack to cool completely.
• Place the ganache in a pastry bag fitted with a ¼-inch tip, or cut an opening directly in the end of a disposable pastry bag. Turn over half of the cookies, and pipe about ¾ teaspoon of ganache onto the bottom of each one. Top each with another cookie and press very lightly to sandwich.
• They can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 2 days.

Trent And Mariqueen

Mariqueen and Trent

Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails is engaged to be married to Mariqueen Maandig or Q, one of the vocalists of an indie alt rock band West Indian Girl. I am not a big fan of NIN although I have two of his CDs in my iPod. The girl is of Filipino descent and I have never heard of her and her band, I'll probably download a song or two from their website.

Black Rice And Spicy Prawns

black rice and prawns with spicy hot-bean sauce

The Chinese black short-grain non-glutinous rice also called forbidden rice is becoming more popular and now available in most supermarkets in my area, along with the red variety from Bhutan. A 15-oz package of the LOTUS brand black rice is $2.75 at my grocery, online it's $4.50. The uncooked rice is very fragrant, and when cooked is nutty and chewy. I boiled the rice according to the package directions with 1 teaspoon of salt and half a tablespoon of butter. It took a little over 30 minutes to cook and I don't recommend making it into paella because it cooks longer than ordinary rice and because everything, meats and vegetables, will turn purple. It's better to cook this rice separately and mix with the other cooked ingredients just before serving.

I paired the simply boiled black rice with Chinese-style spicy prawns. It's yummy, but then again I love Chinese cuisine for its simplicity, ease of preparation, and great flavor and the prepared dish always looks beautiful.

Spicy Stir-fried Prawns
1½ pounds large prawns, peeled with tails on
3 tablespoons light olive oil
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 tablespoon chopped fresh ginger
1 tablespoon chopped scallions
1 teaspoon hot bean paste
1 tablespoon fermented rice wine or plain rice wine
4 tablespoons ketchup
½ teaspoon salt
½ tablespoon sugar
3 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon cornstarch

• Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a small wok and stir-fry prawns for 2 minutes. Transfer prawns into a plate and set aside.
• Add 1 tablespoon oil in the same wok and stir fry the garlic, ginger, and scallions until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add the bean paste, rice wine, and ketchup and stir fry for half a minute.
• Mix the salt, sugar, water, and cornstarch and add to the wok along with the prawns. When the mixture begins to boil, add the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil and toss lightly to mix all the ingredients and to coat the prawns with the sauce. Transfer into a serving platter and serve while hot.

I will prepare the rest of the uncooked black rice into Spanish Rice and Beans (Moros y Cristianos) with left-over cooked flageolets but in reverse, black rice instead of white and white beans instead of red or black beans.