Hazelnut Spread

chocolate hazelnut spread and honey hazelnut spread

I am one of the [probably] thousands of people who can't live without a jar or two of Nutella sitting in the pantry. In April of this year when I made Nutella Zebra Cheesecake, I found out to my dismay that someone in my house played a joke by leaving the walls of the Nutella jar intact while the jar is almost empty save for maybe a quarter cup making it look like the jar was still full. Not. Funny. I drove to the nearest grocery store but curses, they also ran out of Nutella! I had to make my own chocolate hazelnut spread with the hazelnut paste I had which I mixed with finely chopped milk chocolate. I bought 2 large jars of Nutella as soon as I had the chance to go to the bigger store.

should include strawberries, sliced apples, pears, spoon

Chocolate Hazelnut Spread
1 cup blanched and toasted hazelnuts
½ cup milk chocolate, finely chopped
2 tablespoons superfine sugar, optional
2 tablespoons grapeseed oil, optional

• In a food processor, grind the hazelnuts until liquidy. Add the chocolate and process until smooth. Taste and add sugar if desired. Add oil if preferred.

And for more intense hazelnut flavor try
Honey Hazelnut Spread
1 cup blanched and toasted hazelnuts
½ cup mild honey

• In a food processor, grind the hazelnuts until liquidy. Add the honey and blend until smooth and spreadable.

To prepare hazelnuts: Boil hazelnuts in a quart of water with four tablespoons of baking soda for four minutes. Drain into a colander and rinse under cold water. Some skins will pop right off. Some nuts will need you to slip them off, and a few will take a little rubbing with paper towels. Pat the nuts dry, then roast them in the oven at 350°F until they are lightly browned, about 15 to 20 minutes.

both are perfect with strawberries

Buco Ube Pie

creamy buco strips and ube jam in buttery flaky crust

The meat of one of the fresh buco I bought for buco pie is light purple in color and its water is brownish light purple. Isn't it weird? Taking a cue from this unusual buco coloring I added a thin layer of ube (purple yam) jam in between creamy buco filling. The combination is oh so delicious. Mmmm.

light purple buco meat

The past week, I have been busy honing my skills in making lattice-top pie. I have never made one before because I always thought I'd make a mess of it. And I did with the first pie I practiced on, Cherry Pie. I cut the strips too thin and spaced them unevenly and they are sort of crooked which is okay I guess for a first try and I don't mind how it looks because the pie is deliciously sweet and tart.

The first of the small buco pies was easier to handle. I was able to make the remaining top crusts more uniform and acceptable in appearance and I finished each one much quicker too.

The recipe for Buco Pie is here; you might have to reduce the amount of cornstarch because a reader who has made this pie said the filling was gummy. Check and eyeball the consistency while cooking and add cornstarch mixture as needed.

they look much better after 2 tries


4-inch buco pies

This is my entry to this week's Lasang Pinoy, Sundays: Crusty

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

Quark Spätzle

delicious egg-rich fresh noodles seasoned with nutmeg

I read a recipe of the German cheese called Quark while browsing through one of my Spanish cookbooks THE CUISINES OF SPAIN by Teresa Barrenechea. The cheese is simple to make: Pour 4 cups of whole milk in a glass jar, cover with a towel and leave on the kitchen counter for 48 hours. The milk would have set and ready to be drained on a muslin or cheesecloth. Gather the edges f the cheesecloth, twist, and tie with a string. Place the bundle on top of a sieve and place the sieve on top of a bowl. Weight down the cheesecloth with a pan filled with water. Or hang the cheesecloth on the kitchen faucet and let the whey drain. The soft solid in the cheesecloth is the quark cheese. Salt may be added to flavor the cheese. Transfer into a container and refrigerate immediately. The cheese will last for a few days. I used the cheese right away to make Quark Spätzle, the German fresh egg noodles. The noodle dish is very yummy specially with grilled pork ribs. The amount of nutmeg is perfect and I love that the spätzle is very tender.

Quark Spätzle
serves 2

½ cup quark cheese, homemade or store-bought
3 eggs
1 cup flour
½ teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
a pinch of ground white pepper1½ tablespoons butter
½ cup chopped onion
1 garlic clove, finely minced
sea salt and ground white pepper
freshly grated nutmeg, about a quarter of the whole nut
1 cup grated Swiss cheese
¼ cup water

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add 1 teaspoon salt for every quart. In a small bowl, mix flour, ½ teaspoon salt, nutmeg, and white pepper. With a wire whisk, blend the quark and eggs together in a large bowl. Stir in the flour mixture with a rubber spatula until smooth.
• Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the butter and onions. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another 2 minutes. Keep the heat at medium while boiling the spätzle.
• Push the dough through the holes of a colander, spätzle maker, or a potato ricer into the boiling water. Stir the spätzle and cook for 1 minute. Then, using a skimmer or a large slotted spoon, transfer the spätzle to the hot skillet. Raise the heat up to high and fry the noodles until they begin to turn golden. Season with nutmeg, salt, and pepper.
• Add the cheese and stir-fry until it begins to brown slightly. Add the water and stir-fry until it is absorbed. Add more water if you want the noodles to have a thick soupy consistency. Serve immediately.

Baby Octopus

baby octopus in garlic and hot pimentón sauce

grilled Korean-style: salty, sweet, and spicy

The first time I had grilled octopus was more than 25 years ago at a Korean restaurant in the Philippines. I have never eaten it since until I saw a package of frozen baby octopus at the Korean grocery earlier this week. They are really tiny, about 4 inches in diameter and when cooked shrink by only about a quarter of an inch. I didn't know how to prepare these babies and some website discussions differ on how to make them tender. The large ones, between 1 and 2 pounds each, which I have never seen in fish markets, are supposed to be boiled for 1 hour until tender before adding sauce or grilling. I halved the package which has 24 pieces, simmered the first batch for 20 minutes in spicy Spanish sauce with garlic, salt, hot pimentón (paprika), and one chopped birds-eye chili pepper. They came out slightly tender but still a bit chewy. The other 12 octopi I marinated overnight in Korean-style marinade (hot chili paste, garlic, soy sauce, sugar, salt, Korean roasted sesame seed oil) then grilled over hot charcoal for 3 minutes on each side. They came out more tender with a slight chewy bite, very very very yummy. I just love Korean seasoning on any meat or fish specially when grilled. As much as I love these babies, I don't think I'll buy them again because they are just too small and they leave me wanting for more. I'll just get large squids, cuttlefish, or the larger ones if I can find them.

tiny suckers