Mellow Bakers: Grissini

The Italian bread sticks Grissini is one of the MellowBakers breads for May 2010. The bread sticks are very easy to make and the whole process takes less than 2 hours which goes: mix water, flour, olive oil, butter, salt, and yeast; let ferment for 1 hour; roll into a rectangle; cut into thin strips; bake without proofing for 20 minutes or until golden. The garlic studded dough didn't give me any problems other than the bread sticks got eaten very quickly. Easy come easy go.

I had these yummy sticks for lunch dipped in sour cream and gorgonzola and also for dinner with a pasta dish that has been a favorite of ours for more than 10 years, Farfalle with Asiago Cream Sauce.

8 ounces bow tie pasta
2 ounces pancetta or unsmoked bacon, diced
1 small red onion, thinly sliced

1 cup heavy cream
1 cup grated Asiago cheese
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
salt and black pepper to taste

• Boil the pasta in salted water for 11 minutes. In a large skillet, fry the pancetta until golden brown. Transfer into a plate and remove all but 1 tablespoon of rendered fat. Add the onion and stir fry until soft. Using a skimmer, transfer the pasta into the skillet and stir cook for a few minutes. Add the heavy cream and pancetta. Mix well, add salt and pepper to taste, then remove from heat. Stir in both cheeses. Serve immediately.

Join us, we're mellow!

KULINARYA Puto

The puto recipe in the KULINARYA guidebook is slightly different from the more popular recipes. It doesn't have coconut milk but has instead cooked rice added to the soaked rice. Using uncooked rice makes the recipe a bit involved with an added step of straining the blended mixture in a cheesecloth or fine sieve. The procedure uses greased plastic wrap to line muffin cups which is also time consuming.

The flavor of simple plain rice and sugar is very good and I really like it but I am not going to use raw rice and plastic wrap again. I prefer the easier to use rice flour and my puto molds lined with banana leaves.

Puto
adapted from from KULINARYA: A Guidebook to Philippine Cuisine
1 cup rice
1 cup water
1 tablespoon cooked rice
½ cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
plastic wrap
oil for brushing plastic wrap

• Wash rice and soak in water for at least 5 hours. Add the cooked rice. Put the rice in a blender. Add enough soaking water to reach the level of rice. Blend for 1½ minutes.
• Pour the blended rice into a bowl and add the rest of the water, sugar, and baking powder. Mix until smooth. Using cheesecloth or a very fine sieve, strain the mixture into another bowl.
• Brush the plastic wrap with oil, line each well of muffin pan or 1¾ inch puto molds. Trim the wrap so that each one fits snugly into each well or mold. Pour 2 tablespoon of the mixture into each well or mold. Steam on high heat for 15 minutes, undisturbed.
  
• Remove muffin pan or molds from steamer and let cool. When cooled, pull up each puto using the plastic wrap, discard plastic. Serve with butter or grated coconut.
• For puto pandan: Wash 6 pandan leaves, cut into 1 inch pieces, mix with the water, and blend. Strain and use the water to soak the rice. Add a drop of green food dye if desired.

Pork and Me: A Love Story

My love affair with pork came late in my life. Growing up we didn't have much pork dishes because my parents specially my dad didn't like it. He didn't mind small portions of pork as a flavoring in vegetables, noodles, and in chicken pork adobo, and maybe once a year he was fine having grilled pork chops. I myself didn't cook pork very often and only have been cooking it more frequently since I started this blog 4 years ago. Better late than never in discovering its goodness, I guess.

I read in our local news here in Ashburn about a competition among chefs to prepare locally produced ingredients and this year pork is at center stage. The winner will be named King or Queen of Porc. Read more about the competition at their website: Cochon 555. I'd like to crown myself the princess of pork but I know there are many others who can out-pork me.^_^

Well, pork, how do I love thee, let me count the ways:

bagnet, lechon kawali, or pork belly confit

I made these bacon appetizers today. They are so porklicious specially the bacon candy.

Chestnuts Wrapped in Bacon

a few rashers thin smoked bacon, cut into 3 pieces
whole roasted chestnuts (or water chestnuts)

• Wrap the chestnuts in bacon pieces and place on a wire rack cut side down. Place the wire rack on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. Bake in a preheated 350°F oven until bacon is golden and cooked through.

Bacon Candy

crrrunch!

thin smoked bacon rashers, cut into 1 inch pieces
brown sugar

• Dredge the bacon pieces in brown sugar. Place on a wire rack and put the wire rack on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. Bake in a preheated 350°F oven until caramelized and darkish brown (do not burn). They will become crisp as they cool.

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.