Candied Jalapeños

I found a new victim to candy: jalapeños. These small moderately hot but flavorful chiles are perfect candied to fill dessert flour tortillas or to garnish cupcakes. The sweet and spicy candied morsels are rather addicting, specially paired with chocolate paste made with dried chiles and dark chocolate.

I brushed 6-inch flour tortillas with melted butter, sprinkled a little sugar, then cooked in a dry hot skillet until the edges are crisp. A tablespoon or two of the chocolate paste is spread on the tortilla then topped with a few slices of the candied jalapeños. I stacked about 4 or 5 more tortillas before cutting into 4 pieces. Each wedge is served with whipped heavy cream and garnished with a piece of candied jalapeño. Sweet...spicy...sweet...Yummy.

Candied Jalapeños

6 jalapeños
1 cup sugar
½ cup water
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
sugar for dredging, optional

• Cut off both ends of chiles and cut into thick slices. In a small skillet or saucepan, heat 1/3 cup of the sugar and ¼ cup water. Let come to a boil, turn down heat, add the jalapeños and simmer for 5 minutes. Drain and transfer jalapeños on a plate, set aside to cool. Discard the syrup. Heat the rest of the sugar, the remaining water, and corn syrup. Let come to a boil, turn off heat, add the jalapenos and simmer for 2 minutes. Remove jalapeños and let cool. Repeat 2 more times or until the syrup has become really thick. Transfer the slices on a rack and let dry slightly. Roll on sugar if desired or leave overnight to dry completely.

Sweet Mole Sauce/Paste

2 chile ancho, washed and seeded
water
4 ounces panocha, piloncillo, or demerara
4 ounces dark chocolate, chopped
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Place the chiles in a small saucepan and add enough water to cover. Boil for 10 minutes or until chiles are very soft. Remove half of the water and reserve. Puree in a blender, return to the saucepan together with the sugar, cloves, and cinnamon. Simmer for 3 minutes or until of desired consistency, adding the reserved water if you want it saucier.

Dining with Sherlock Holmes

Sherry Syllabub

Sherlock Holmes's character in the movie with Robert Downey Jr. is IMHO so outrageously inaccurate I could only tolerate the first 15 or 20 minutes. I wouldn't mind the comic book idea of Sherlock but portraying him as an unwashed, unshaven, and prone to street brawl is too much for me. He's an expert boxer and swordsman but does not engage in fisticuffs; does not mumble incoherently with an unrecognizable accent; and he is meticulous as a cat in his grooming habits, clearly indicated in The Hound of the Baskervilles when he secretly stayed in a hut where he made sure his chin is always smooth and his clothing and linen are as clean as if he were in his own home in Baker Street. I guess the movie is not for someone like me and is catered to 12-year old boys and Transformers fans. The only amazing thing I found out about this movie is the director, Guy Richie made a great success in turning normally good actors into talentless amateurs.

Anyway, I watched one of the old Sherlock Holmes movies [which are not perfect either} and again borrowed from the library THE COMPLETE SHERLOCK HOLMES. While browsing through the library's long list I came across the cookbook Dining with Sherlock Holmes by Julia Rosenblatt. Most of the recipes are simple and easy to prepare and I imagine Holmes and Watson having the dishes at home or in some inn.

Marrow Toast
4 two-inch center sections of marrowbone
4 slices bread, toasted
a pinch of salt
ground black pepper
lemon juice, to taste
chopped chives for garnish

• Push the marrow out of the bone and soak it in cold water for 20 minutes. Slice the marrow and place it on the slices of toast. Season with salt, ground pepper, and lemon juice. Put it under the broiler until the marrow has melted. Sprinkle with chives and serve hot. (I roasted the marrow and spread it on bread just like butter.)

marrow on toast

Sherry Syllabub
1 cup cold heavy cream
½ cup sherry
juice and zest of half a lemon
2 tablespoons sugar

• Whip the cream until stiff. Fold in the rest of the ingredients. Chill before serving.

Guyabano Lassi

I never knew guyabano and yogurt are meant to be together. Their flavors complement each other that they almost taste the same. I got a few cans of guyabano drink and combined 2 cans with 3 cups of thick Greek-style yogurt and half a cup of sugar. I put the mixture in ice pop molds and reserved a cup of the mixture to which I added half a cup of ice and put the mixture in the blender. Guyabano lassi, so good. The fruit pulp, if I can find it, I'm sure will taste even better.

Monay, Pinagong, and Putok

Filipinos love to give unusual names to things, food, and even people. There is a fried fish dish wrapped in banana leaves then deep fried called Pinaputok na Plapla (tilapia) and sweet buns called simply Putok. Putok is the Tagalog word for explosion/firecracker and crack/fissure. I looked online for the recipe and found it in Manang's blog. The putok refers to the star cut on top of the bun and I started to wonder where it originated because I never heard of this bread before. It turns out it is a variation of a bun called Pinagong, which means shaped like a pagong (turtle). Pinagong is a bun that comes exclusively from Sariaya, Quezon province and I remember eating those buns as a kid when we visited my maternal grandparents. I still remember it being sweet and dense and milky and had a hard crunchy shell just like another bun called Monay. Sariaya and other nearby cities and towns sell an abundance of various breads. At the time they even sold buns named after popular movie celebrities obviously catering to their fan base. The buns were shaped exactly the same and made from the same dough but they were given different names and sure enough fans bought their favorite's namesakes. I'm not kidding.

The funny thing is I can remember the flavor, texture, and aroma of the pinagong buns but I couldn't recall the shape. I just snipped the top of the buns with scissors before baking. They were already baking when it suddenly occured to me that they should have about 4 or 5 parallel cuts on top and the lower portion is formed to make a tail of sorts to resemble a turtle. Why a turtle, I have no idea.

I adapted Manang's recipe using powdered milk instead of evaporated, omitted the baking powder and soda, and I also didn't let the dough rise the second time to have the hard dense texture that I remember. The buns were baked as soon as they were shaped. When I took my first bite I was transported back to Sariaya. The crunch of the crust...the sweet yellow milky crumb that doesn't need any butter or jam...the aroma...this is the pinagong of my childhood. Sooo yummy.

I don't know the origin of monay, it's great for cheese ice cream sandwiches

putok with coarse raw sugar

wrong shape of pinagong but has the same flavor and texture

I baked a second batch using concentrated evaporated milk and made a proper pinagong shape although the scores should have been a little more shallow. Well, next time. I didn't like the flavor of evaporated milk. I still prefer fresh whole milk or powdered nonfat milk. Maybe I should get the full-cream milk powder KLIM for a deeper milky taste.

the crumb is dense and tight but surprisingly soft

Monay, Pinagong, and Putok
1¼ cups lukewarm water
2 teaspoons instant yeast
½ cup sugar
1½ teaspoons kosher salt
2 tablespoons soft butter
2 egg yolks
4 cups bread flour
½ cup milk powder

• Preheat oven to 400°F. In a standing mixer with the kneading hook attachment, add the ingredients in the order as written. Mix on low until combined. Knead on medium for 5 minutes or until smooth. Transfer the dough into a greased bowl, cover tightly with plastic film, and let rest on the kitchen counter for 1 hour.
• Lightly knead the dough and divide: monay and pinagong into 4-ounce portions, putok into 2-ounce pieces. Shape into rounds, flatten slightly, and place on a baking sheet 2 inches apart. If you want dense hard-shelled buns, make star cuts on top of putok, a deep slash right down the middle of monay, and 4 quarter-inch deep slashes on pinagong rounds. Immediately bake in the preheated oven until golden, about 15 to 20 minutes.
• If a softer bread is desired, let the buns rest for half an hour, covered with plastic film, before baking. I don't recommend letting the buns rise for an hour because they will be too fluffy and won't have the right texture.