Bicho-Bicho & Goldilocks Bakeshop®-style & Spanish Ensaimada Recipes

I received several email asking for the recipe for the Filipino donuts, bicho-bicho, which I wrote about when I reviewed Michael Chabon's new novel.
This recipe is quite large and may be halved. I prefer eating these donuts simply rolled in white sugar. They have to be consumed right after frying, which I think won't be a problem because they are very good.

Bicho-bicho

1. Put in a mixing bowl:

1 cup lukewarm water

1 tablespoon active dry yeast

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups bread flour

2. Beat thoroughly. Cover and let rise for ½ hour. Add:
¼ cup melted butter or grape seed oil
1 cup light brown sugar
2 well beaten eggs
1½ cups bread flour

3. Beat well. Cover and let rise again until dough is light, about 1 hour. Punch down.

4. Add more flour if dough is too soft to handle. Turn out into a well-floured surface. Divide the dough into 2 parts. Cover each and let rest for 10 minutes.

5. Roll dough to ½-inch thickness and cut into 6 x 1-inch strips. Set on baking sheets, cover and let rise for 1 hour.

6. Fry in hot oil until golden brown, roll in granulated sugar. Enjoy!

There were also a lot of readers who emailed me for the Goldilocks Bakeshop ensaimada which unfortunately I don't have. I don't think anybody, except for the people who work in that bakeshop, has the exact recipe. I have one from my cookbook FAVORITE FILIPINO RECIPES by Pat Limjuco Dayrit which comes closest to the Goldilocks Bakeshop ensaimada in taste and texture. It takes the whole day to make, though.

Ensaimada
½ cup lukewarm water
1 teaspoon sugar
1 level teaspoon dry yeast
1 cup flour
6 egg yolks
9 tablespoons sugar
6 tablespoons butter, softened
2 cups bread flour
extra butter, softened
1 cup grated cheese, preferably queso de bola
sugar

1. Put lukewarm water in a stand mixer bowl. Add sugar and yeast. Let stand for 10 minutes.
2. Add flour and mix with a wooden spoon.
3. Cover with a damp towel and let rise in a warm place for 40 minutes to 1 hour or until double in bulk.
4. Add egg yolks, sugar and butter to flour mixture. Add to this the 2 cups of flour and knead with dough hook attachment.
5. Cover and let rise again in warm place for 3 hours.
6. Divide dough in 12 portions. Roll each portion to ¼-inch thick. Spread butter and sprinkle with grated cheese.
7. Roll up, starting from one end and twist like a knot.
8. Place into an ensaimada mould or large muffin pan lined with parchment then greased.
9. Keep in a warm place to rise for 4 hours.
10. Bake in a preheated 350°F oven for 10 - 12 minutes.
11. Brush with butter and sprinkle with sugar and grated cheese.

Ensaimada (Spanish)
And for Spanish nationals who live outside Spain and would like to make ensaimada, here is the recipe adapted from THE CUISINES OF SPAIN by Teresa Barrenechea. This one doesn't have a single pat of butter, it uses lard and she explains that in Majorcan saim means lard. I have made this ensaimada and I think this is the best recipe.

Makes three 8-inch diameter coils
4½ teaspoons yeast
2/3 cups whole milk, heated to lukewarm
3½ cups flour, sifted
½ teaspoon salt
¾ cups sugar
2 eggs
6 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for oiling rolling pin, work surface, and baking sheets
½ cup melted and cooled lard
½ cup confectioner's sugar

• In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast in 1/3 cup of the warm milk and let stand for 5 minutes. 
• In a large bowl, stir together the flour, salt and sugar. Make a well in the center and add the remaining milk, eggs, olive oil, and the yeast mixture into the well. Using a spoon, gradually pull the mixture into the well, stirring as you do. When a uniform dough has formed, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 10 minutes until the dough is smooth and no longer sticky; if dough is too sticky work in a little more flour. Gather the dough into a ball, cover with a kitchen towel and let rise at room temperature for 1 hour.
• Divide the dough into 3 equal portions. Oil a work surface, a rolling pin and 1 or 2 baking sheets. Roll out 1 portion into a 10 x 6-inch rectangle. Brush with lard and fold in half lengthwise. Brush with melted lard and fold again in half lengthwise. Roll again into a 10 x 6-inch rectangle and starting from the long side, roll up into a tight 10-inch cylinder. Shape it into a snail-like coil. Repeat with the 2 remaining dough portions.Place the coils on the oiled sheets, cover with kitchen towel and let rest in a warm spot overnight.
• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Bake the coils for 30 minutes, or until they are airy and golden and springs back when pressed with a fingertip.
• Remove from oven and let cool on wire racks. Dust with confectioner's sugar and cut into segments just before serving.

Pistachio Nougat & Lemon-Buttermilk Sorbet

I made nougat/turron last year and recently found a recipe using pistachio. The light green color caught my eye and since I love both turron and pistachio I just have to make it. It is very chewy and bad for the teeth but so delicious, so who cares?:D

Pistachio Nougat/Turron
2 cups sugar
1½ cups light corn syrup
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ cup water
2 egg whites
½ teaspoon pistachio flavor oil
green food coloring
4 tablespoons butter
1½ cups toasted pistachio

• Prepare an 8 x 8 inch pan by covering it with non-stick aluminum foil or potato starch wafer both at the bottom and on top.
• Combine the sugar, corn syrup, salt, and water in a large saucepan over medium high heat. Stir until sugar is dissolved and continue to cook until mixture reaches hard-ball stage, 250°F.
• While mixture is cooking, place egg whites in large bowl of stand mixer and whisk until they hold stiff peaks. When sugar syrup has reached 250 degrees, remove from heat and slowly pour one quarter of the mixture into the stiff egg whites, with the mixer running constantly. Continue beating until the egg whites hold its shape.
• Return the saucepan with the remaining syrup to the stove and continue to cook over medium high heat until the mixture reaches 300 degrees, or hard-crack stage.With the mixer running, pour the remaining sugar syrup slowly into the egg mixture and continue beating until mixture is thick and stiff.
• Add the flavoring and a few drops of food coloring gel or paste to tint the nougat a delicate green. Add the softened butter and beat until the candy is very thick and satiny. Add the nuts last and stir until combined.
• Spoon the nougat into the prepared pan and press it smooth and evenly. Allow to set to room temperature and cut into small squares to serve.

I also made Lemon-Buttermilk Sorbet (from David Lebovitz's THE PERFECT SCOOP) before the buttermilk from the butter I made spoils. It is so light, yummy, and very refreshing, the tangy lemon and tangy buttermilk are perfect for each other. This flavor is excellent with ginger thins.

Lemon-Buttermilk Sorbet
1/3 cup water
2/3 cup sugar
1 lemon
2 cups buttermilk
¼ cup lemon juice

• In a medium stainless steel sauce pan, mix the sugar and water. Grate the zest of the lemon directly into the saucepan. Heat, stirring frequently, until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from the heat and let stand until the syrup reaches room temperature, then chill thoroughly in the refrigerator. Whisk the buttermilk into the syrup, then whisk in the lemon juice. Freeze in your ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions.

According to David Lebovitz, you can make ice cream without an ice cream maker. He suggests you freeze the mixture and stir with a mixer every 30 minutes until the ice cream is smooth. You can read his tips in making the perfect scoop of ice cream with or without ice cream maker here.

lemon buttermilk sorbet and ginger thins sandwich

Maryland/Virginia Blue & Alaska King Crabs

crab cakes and relleno


blue crabs in coconut milk and hot red pepper sauce

Two of my favorite Filipino bloggers recently featured crabs in their posts. It was sheer torture reading their posts, my only consolation is at that at least I know what they taste like ;D. I have eaten A LOT of the sweet curacha with coconut sauce and of course steamed alimango (mud crab). What we have here is the Maryland/Virginia blue crab which is a cousin, I think, of our alimasag, also called blue crab in the Philippines. My mother rarely bought blue crabs, she said they are not as meaty and tasty as the mud crabs. I myself don't buy crabs in their shells because only my daughter and I have the patience to eat them. I buy the canned lump crab meat from Indonesia, Thailand, or the Philippines and make crab cakes to eat with rice and as crab sandwich, or plain with vinegar and chile dipping sauce.

I bought a few blue crabs and prepared some with coconut and chile sauce, crab cakes and crab relleno. I also bought a few Alaska king crab legs which I have not tried before because they look freakingly ugly with their ipis (cockroach)-like spiky legs, they scare me. I steamed them and ate them with garlic infused butter and lemon juice. I did not like them at all, maybe because they were previoulsy frozen and did not taste fresh. Eh, nothing can equal alimango and curacha, period!:D

blue crabs

scary looking Alaska king crab legs

Speaking of crabs, I had a strange but funny encounter with them. Many many years ago I used to work as a domestic flight attendant and being one of the newbies I was stationed at Cebu. We fly to the Mindanao region, stay overnight in Zamboanga City once every 2 weeks, where I had those curachas. We also go to Cotabato City where I ate the biggest and tastiest mud crabs. I had a regular passenger whose family had crab and catfish farms in Cotabato City. One night after I got off the plane and was ready to board the company van to take us home, the driver informed me I had a tall can filled with live catfish in water and a dozen crabs tied together with palm fronds that the aforementioned passenger left for me as a gift. How he knew it was my off day the next day I never found out. It was very late, the housemaid was already in bed, and I did not know what to do with the fish and crabs. My friends and I left them on the kitchen table and went to bed. Early next morning the maid was laughing and making all sorts of racket, woke us up to tell us some of the crabs had "escaped". Two lazy or perhaps clueless crabs were still on the kitchen table, some were halfway through the living room floor and some were crawling through the weird perfectly round holes on the living room concrete walls. The holes were decorative or part of the design, which is the oddest thing. When we rented the house we were just concerned with the bedrooms and baths, we didn't care about the living room and kitchen because we were never there. We ate at hotels and restaurants, we never had a meal in that house, we never cooked. So we didn't mind those holes, they were not big enough even for a child to get through and we also never thought of criminal elements at the time. So we caught maybe 4 of the crabs trying to crawl out of the holes and 4 on the floor, unlucky bastards. I never got to eat either the crabs or the catfish (I didn't eat catfish then) because my friends and I already had planned to go out that day, then went to work the next day. The maid and the 3 pilots who shared the house with us told me they were fantastic!

Crab Cakes
1 pound lump crab meat
1 cup finely diced potato, optional
4 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 medium onion, finely minced
2 tomatoes, seeded and chopped
¼ cup parsley, finely minced
1 teaspoon salt or to taste
2 eggs, beaten
olive or grapeseed oil

• In a small skillet, fry the potatoes until light brown, set aside. In another skillet, heat 1 T oil and saute the garlic and onion for 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook for 2 minutes. Add the cooked potatoes, salt and parsley and stir for 1 minute. In a bowl, mix the crab and potato mixture, add the eggs, mixing gently. Form into patties or fill crab shells. Heat oil in a large skillet and fry crab cakes or crab rellenos 2 minutes on each side or until golden brown.

Ensaimada

I have always wanted to make the Hizon style ensaimada which resembles the original Spanish ensaimada, i.e. flat and whitish inside, not the fluffy yellow almost cake-like Goldilocks ensaimada. The Hizon ensaimada I remember was golden brown and flattened further with a hot iron or maybe spatula to caramelize the sugar topping. It was delicious, bready, sweet and perfect with hot chocolate.

In one of my Spanish cookbooks the recipe for ensaimada is leavened with baking powder and has lard, not butter. It is shaped into one gigantic coil and left to rise for 7 hours before baking. I will try that recipe next time I make ensaimadas.

Today I used a Spanish recipe I found online. I was able to make two 7-inch ensaimadas using half of the dough and the other half I made into a coffee cake loaf filled with Nutella and hazelnuts.

Update: Goldilocks-style and Spanish Majorcan recipes here

topped with butter, sugar, and grated young gouda

Nutella and hazelnuts coffee cake loaf

Here is the ensaimada recipe that uses baking powder and lard:
5 cups flour
¾ cup sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup warm water
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup lard

• Combine flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, eggs and water. Knead to form a smooth dough. Roll dough and spread the lard. Roll and fold several times until the lard is absorbed. Halve the dough (or use one dough recipe but it will be HUGE) and roll each dough as thin as possible. Roll the dough from one side like a poster. Coil the rolled dough loosely on 2 large baking sheets, cover with damp towel or plastic wrap and leave to rise for 5 - 7 hours. Bake in a preheated 300°F oven until golden brown. Dust with powdered sugar before slicing.

Who's Cool

I watched yet another Tadanobu Asano movie (Café Lumière) and I just realized how cool this guy is. He can stand there not saying or doing anything yet I am drawn to him, no matter how small the role or screen time. I have seen maybe a dozen of his movies and I liked him in all of them. Having seen hundreds of movies, I made a list of movie celebrities that I think are so cool, along with one or two of their best movies, IMHO.

The coolest guys in cinema


Humphrey Bogart - The Maltese Falcon, Casablanca, Sabrina











Tadanobu Asano - Gojoe, Last Life In The Universe











Steve McQueen - Bullitt, The Thomas Crown Affair











Jonathan Rhys Meyers - Gormenghast, Velvet Goldmine











Alain Delon - Le Samourai, L'eclisse











My All-time Favorite Movie Performers

• Jimmy Stewart
• Humphrey Bogart
• Cary Grant
• Steve McQueen
  
• Katharine Hepburn
• Audrey Hepburn
• Jake Gyllenhaal
• Adrien Brody
• Johnny Depp
  
• Brad Pitt
  
• Ben Stiller
• Maggie Gyllenhaal
• Toshiro Mifune
• Tadanobu Asano
  
• Takeshi Kitano (Beat Takeshi)
  
• Jet Li
• Jackie Chan
• Takeshi Kaneshiro
  
• Tony Leung
  
• Maggie Cheung
• Vincent Cassel
• Jean Reno
• Alain Delon
  
• Audrey Tautou
• Colin Firth
• Jonathan Rhys Meyers
• Christian Bale
  
• Gary Oldman
• David Bowie
• Rachel Weisz
  

Empanadas

Empanada jumpstarted my blog a little over a year ago because, strangely, not one of the Filipino cookbooks I own at the time has the recipe for the Filipino empanada, although my Spanish cookbooks have. I searched online for the recipe and found a few sites that mention empanada but not the recipe, one of them is the very funny filipeanut which I have been visiting regularly since. I finally found one site called English Patis and made my first empanada following her recipe. I also found in her blog a list of Filipino bloggers, some I still read at least once or twice a week. I got inspired to start my own blog by one of those Filipino bloggers, which btw I don't visit anymore as often as I used to.

Empanada
pie crust
2½ cups pastry flour
1 stick very cold salted butter, cut into small cubes
1 stick salted butter, sliced very thin or flattened to 7 x 6 inch rectangle (should be very cold)
½ teaspoon sea salt
½ cup ice water

• In a medium bowl, mix salt with flour. With fingers, mix in the cubed butter until crumbly, add water 1 tablespoon at a time. Lightly mix with a fork and form into a ball. Flatten slightly, wrap in plastic film, put in a gallon zipper bag and refrigerate overnight.
• The next day, roll the pastry into a 10 x 8 rectangle, put the flattened butter on the top 2/3, fold the bottom without butter over, then fold again like a letter. Roll and fold, wrap in plastic film and let rest for 1 hour in the refrigerator. Repeat 2 more times before using. You can eliminate the folding and incorporate all the butter at once but the empanada won't be as flaky. Roll into desired thickness and cut into rounds, fill, pinch edges and crimp, brush with egg wash, then bake in a pre-heated 425°F oven until golden brown.

filling
2 tablespoons grapeseed or olive oil
5 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 cup each potato and carrots, finely diced
2 pounds lean ground beef
1 finely chopped chorizo, optional
1 cup raisins
1 cup canned sweet peas
2 teaspoons sea salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon soy sauce
water

• In a skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil and fry potatoes and carrots for 4 minutes, set aside. In a medium saucepan, heat the remaining oil and saute garlic and onion for 3 minutes, add the beef and chorizo, cook until beef is no longer pink. Add the potatoes and carrots, raisins, salt, black pepper and soy sauce. Stir fry for 3 minutes, add 1 tablespoon water, cover and let simmer for 30 minutes until all the liquid has been absorbed. Add the well drained sweet peas and mix well. Transfer to a shallow container and let cool completely before using, or refrigerate overnight.

juicy beef filling inside flaky and tender pie crust

photo Neal Oshima

What I am interested to know is the recipe for the empanada with wavy multi-layered crust (like a mille-feuille) that comes from Silay, Negros. (BTW, the Neal Oshima photo below is from my cookbook Memories of Philippine Kitchens by Amy Besa and Romy Dorotan). If anyone has the recipe or knows how to make that distinctive layered crust, please, pretty please let me know.

DVD Review - 300

300 D-

This movie failed to make me love it, or at least like it. Before I watched the dvd I asked my daughter what she thought of it and she said I might not like it because it is a 'dick flick', as opposed to chick flick which I am not a fan of either. But I have read so many rave reviews from both men and women so I went ahead and borrowed, watched and cringed. This is one inane, pointless movie. The only thing that saved it from an F grade is the photography. It's okay, I guess, since it is based on a comic book, graphic novel to others, whatever.
First, I didn't like the soundtrack, having unnecessary and misplaced 'dramatic' music. I was annoyed when whipping sounds came out of all 5 speakers of a....TORCH! What the heck was that, it's just a moving torch which should not get the viewer's attention as if it's a beast or something. Laughable. And then, lots of unnecessary female nudity, a gratuitous sex scene, yeah, yeah, yeah, the king makes love to his beautiful wife, why does he look like he's having sex with a ho? The foolhardy king led his men wearing nothing but a shield, a red cape, and a black speedo/diaper, to fight a horde of ugly Persians. The diaper reminds me of the costume Sean Connery wore in ZARDOZ but Sean's was a nicer saffron-colored diaper with a matching X bandolier and go-go like boots (see photo at the bottom). Also the whole movie is full of cliched dialog, and during the battle a lot of blood spilled that just evaporated in mid-air because you won't see them anywhere on their newly waxed and perfectly chiseled Greek manly chests, on their shields or on the ground. As I said this movie is based on a graphic novel so it's forgiven. Bad story and bad bad king, going to war without adequate planning and let his men and himself die needlessly because they're all macho warriors, (hmm, why does this sound familiar?)

doesn't it look like a diaper?

Sean Connery in ZARDOZ

Filled Chocolate Candies

The other day I was looking for a plastic container in the upper shelves of the kitchen cabinet and found my candy molds. I haven't used these molds in maybe 2 or 3 years, they have yellowed a bit. I bought them 8 years ago when I was into candy making. One Christmas I made the Santa Claus, Christmas tree and ribboned gift molds, each one painted the appropriate color. They are tedious to make and it only takes a second to eat them. ;-)

So, I put the non-holiday molds to use and the one that is very yellow and brittle cracked after unmolding, I had to throw it away, time to buy new molds. Anyway, I filled them with soft very tart lemon fondant, candied figs, pb & j, and plain crunchy peanut butter. I used extra dark chocolate and they are super delicious! My favorite is the pb & j. You can learn how to temper chocolates here. It's not really that complicated, give it a few tries until you perfect it. You can experiment with milk chocolate first (which I prefer with the candied figs), then with really dark chocolate. Next time I will fill them with other unusual flavors like cayenne pepper, burnt sugar, cacao nibs, ground espresso coffee, and hard sponge candy (Crunchies in Australia).

crunchy peanut butter filling

peanut butter & grape jelly filling

soft super lemon fondant filling
candied fig filling

I think after eating non-stop all the yummy ice cream and now chocolate candies, it's time to hit the treadmill because my skirts are getting just a little bit too tight.:D

Green Tea With Kinako Ice Cream, Gianduja-Stracciatella Gelato & Malted Milk Ice Cream

green tea with kinako

I couldn't decide which one is my latest favorite ice cream flavor from THE PERFECT SCOOP by David Lebovitz, they all are yummylicious! I have made both the Malted Milk ice cream and the oh so creamy Gianduja-Stracciatella gelato twice already but the Green Tea Topped With Kinako (roasted soy bean powder) is also becoming a real favorite. I'm thinking of making mochi and filling them with the green tea ice cream, then coat the mochi with kinako.

Green Tea Ice Cream Topped With Kinako1 cup whole milk
¾ cup sugar
pinch of salt
2 cups heavy cream
4 teaspoons matcha (green tea powder)
6 large egg yolks

• Warm the milk, sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan. Pour the cream into a large bowl and whisk in the green tea powder. Set a mesh strainer on top.In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the the warm mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.
• Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula. Pour the custard through the strainer and stir it into the cream, then whisk it vigorously until the custard is frothy to dissolve the green tea powder. Stir and cool over an ice bath.
• Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions. Pre-freeze scoops of ice cream and sprinkle them with kinako, available in Asian stores. This flavor is also excellent with sweet azuki beans, really delicious.

Gianduja-Stracciatella Gelato

1½ cups hazelnuts, toasted
1 cup milk
2 cups heavy cream
¾ cup sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
4 ounces milk chocolate, finely chopped
5 large egg yolks

1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract

• Rub the hazelnuts in a kitchen towel to remove as much of the papery skins as possible, then finely chop them in a food processor or blender.
• Warm the milk with 1 cup of the cream, sugar, and salt in a saucepan. Once warm, remove from the heat and add the chopped hazelnuts. Cover and let steep at room temperature for 1 hour.
• Put the chocolate milk pieces in a large bowl. Heat the remaining cup of cream in a medium saucepan until it begins to boil. Pour it over the milk chocolate pieces and stir until the chocolate is completely melted and smooth. Set a mesh strainer over the top.
• Pour the hazelnut-infused milk through a strainer into a medium saucepan, squeezing the nuts firmly with your hands to extract as much of the flavorful liquid as possible. Discard the hazelnuts.
• Re-warm the hazelnut-infused mixture. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm hazelnut mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.
• Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula. Pour the custard through the strainer and stir it into the milk chocolate mixture. Add the vanilla and stir over an ice bath.
• Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Stracciatella:
5 ounces bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped (do not use chocolate chips)

• In a clean dry bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water, melt the chocolate, stirring until it's completely smooth. Drizzle a very thin stream of the warm chocolate into the ice cream during the last possible moments of churning, or by hand while you layer it into the storage container. (I used one of those plastic sauce bottles for really thin drizzles.)

Malted Milk Ice Cream

1 cup half-and-half
¾ cup sugar
pinch of salt
2 cups heavy cream
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup malt powder
6 large egg yolks
2 cups malted milk balls, coarsely chopped

• Warm the half-and-half, sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan. In a large bowl, whisk together the heavy cream, vanilla, and malt powder and set a mesh strainer on top.
• In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm milk mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.
• Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula. Pour the custard through the strainer and whisk it into the malted milk mixture. Stir until cool over an ice bath.
• Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. As you remove the ice cream from the machine, fold in the chopped malted milk balls.

Tod Mun Pla

These Thai fish cakes have been one of my favorite dishes since I first tasted them over 20 years ago at Flavours & Spices in Makati (which I learned from a friend had already ceased operation for several years now). When we try new Thai restaurants here and when we were living in Hong Kong, I check them out the moment the menu card is handed to us. If they're not on the menu, or if the server has never heard of them, then I consider the restaurant NOT authentic Thai. When we first came here in the US 15 years ago there were very few Thai restaurants, most of them didn't serve tod mun pla. We later learned almost all the Thai restaurants here in the Washington D. C. area at the time were owned by Chinese and their cooks were Chinese. There are several new Thai restaurants now that are owned by Thai people and some have these in their menu. I guess they are not popular with Americans because of their chewy texture which is precisely why I love them. The cakes are served as appetizer but I have them as main course, eaten with steamed rice and cucumbers with sweet and sour chili sauce.

Tod Mun Pla
1 pound fish paste
1 tablespoon Thai red chili paste
1 tablespoon fish extract
½ teaspoon sea salt
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 cup sliced green beans
3 fresh kaffir lime leaves, sliced thin (optional)
½ cup oil for frying

• Combine the first 4 ingredients in a food processor for 1 minute, add egg and process for another minute. Add green beans and lime leaves, pulse 5 times or until just combined.
• Heat oil in a skillet, fry about 2 tablespoons of fish mixture, flatten with spatula while frying. Flip and fry on other side until golden brown.

Cucumber Salad
2 mini cucumbers, sliced
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
¼ cup sugar
1 red chili, finely minced
½ cup roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped

• Combine vinegar, sugar and chili. Mix in the sliced cucumbers. Transfer to a serving dish and sprinkle peanuts on top.

Potato, Chorizo, and Vegetable Omelet (Spanish Tortilla)

I didn't know what to do with the 6 egg whites leftover from the zabaglione gelato I made. I was not in the mood to bake angel cake, besides I'm not into angel cakes, they're tasteless. After consulting my personal adviser, the internet, I found a site devoted entirely to leftover egg whites and egg yolks, isn't that wonderful? I chose to make fritatta/tortilla/omelet.
This omelet or tortilla is from my cookbook TAPAS: THE LITTLE DISHES OF SPAIN by Penelope Casas. The dish is very flexible because you can add any vegetables you like and children who don't like vegetables such as lima beans won't notice they're eating them. Her vegetable suggestions (all pre-cooked): mushrooms, asparagus, green beans, and green pepper. I added 2 whole eggs to the 6 egg whites with one chopped tomato and pimiento for a somewhat healthy dinner fare.

Potato, Chorizo, and Vegetables Omelet
adapted from TAPAS by Penelope Casas
½ cup olive oil
2 medium potatoes, in small cubes
6 eggs
salt
1 small onion, chopped
¼ pound chorizo, skinned and diced
¼ cup sliced cured ham
½ cup cooked peas
½ cup baby lima beans

• Heat the oil in a skillet and fry the potatoes slowly until they are tender- they should not color. Meanwhile beat the eggs lightly with salt. When the potatoes are done, drain, reserving about 4 T of the oil, add the potatoes to the eggs.
• Heat 1 tablespoon of the reserved oil in the skillet and sauté the onion until it is wilted. Add the chorizo and ham and cook for another couple of minutes, until the chorizo begins to give off its oil. Stir in the peas and limas and cook for 2 minutes more. Add this mixture to the eggs and let sit for 5 minutes.
• Heat another 2 tablespoons of reserved oil in a clean 10-inch non-stick skillet until very hot. Add the egg mixture, spreading it out with a pancake turner. Lower the heat to medium-high. When the eggs begin to brown underneath, invert a plate of the slightly larger size over the skillet and flip the omelet onto the plate. Add 1 more tablespoon of reserved oil to the skillet, then slide the omelet back into the skillet to brown on the other side.
• Lower the heat to medium and flip the omelet two or or three more times (this gives the omelet a good shape while it continues to cook), cooking briefly on each side. It should be juicy within. Transfer to a platter and cool, then cut in thin wedges or into 1 - 1½ inch squares than can be picked up with toothpicks.

I Can't Believe It's Real Butter!

A lot of boggers have been writing about being able to churn butter in their own kitchen using a mixer. I read some of their recommended sites and thought the steps are simple and easy enough for anyone who knows how to operate a Kitchen Aid mixer. It was a success on my first try and the butter is sweet and I think tastes better than the store's, or I might just be biased, heheh. The procedure is here for anybody who would like to try. I used 4 cups of heavy cream which yielded 14.5 ounces of delicious butter. I filled a ramekin then halved the remainder which I put in individual bags and kept in the freezer. I also kept the 1 ½ cups buttermilk in a jar in the refrigerator for later use in baking. Next time I will culture the cream before churning for that Australian or French stronger butter flavor.

the butter and the buttermilk

the butter after the 4th washing


the lump weighing almost a pound at 14.5 ounces

Update July 24

I was very happy with the result of homemade butter and cultured another 4 cups of heavy cream by mixing in 1/3 cup of plain organic whole milk yogurt. I let the mixture, covered with plastic wrap, sit on the kitchen counter for 18 hours. I incorporated just a tiny bit of air and added salt to the finished butter. The yellow color is deeper and the taste is superb and comparable to French butter. Making butter at home is a very easy and fun project to do and children can join in the fun by helping knead the butter when washing out the buttermilk.
Total yield this time: 15 ounces butter and 16 fluid ounces buttermilk which by the way is equally delicious!

Zabaglione Gelato

David Lebovitz' Zabaglione Gelato is super creamy and super delicious, I already had 2 servings today, mmmm. He suggests you spoon lots of sugared strawberries at the bottom of a wine goblet, then top with a scoop of the gelato. I didn't have any strawberries but I do have cherries in syrup and fresh blueberries which are also good with the gelato.

Zabaglione Gelato
from THE PERFECT SCOOP by David Lebovitz

1 cup whole milk
2/3 cup sugar
big pinch of salt
1 lemon
1½ cups heavy cream
6 large egg yolks
½ cup dry Marsala wine

• Warm the milk, sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan. Zest half of the lemon directly into the warm milk.
• Pour the cream into a large bowl and set a mesh strainer on top.
• In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm lemon-infused milk into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolk back into the saucepan. Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula.
• Pour the custard through the strainer and stir it into the cream. Add the Marsala and stir until cool over an ice bath.
• Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions.

Mini Cucumbers & Feta Salad

These seedless mini cucumbers that have been appearing recently in groceries and Costco are so cute and they're easier to eat because they are tiny. I got the recipe for the dressing from the back of its package. The vinegar in the recipe is balsamic but I used white vinegar because I prefer the clean green and white color of the salad. This very simple yet refreshing minty crunchy salad is perfect during these hot hot summer days.

Mini Cucumbers & Feta Salad
3 tiny cucumbers, well scrubbed and sliced
1 tablespoon white coconut vinegar (or balsamic vinegar)
2 tablespoons very good extra virgin olive oil
¼ teaspoon sea salt, or to taste
2 teaspoons crispy fried or fresh shallots
1 tablespoon torn fresh mint leaves
crumbled feta cheese

• Combine cucumbers, vinegar, olive oil, and salt. Add shallots and mint leaves. Chill for 1 - 2 hours. Sprinkle feta cheese just before serving.

Tiramisu

I saw on the Food Network a chef, can't remember his name, making an unrecognizable tiramisu, this Italian dessert that has been around for over 20 years. Recently I sampled a similar awful tiramisu, they both had a very rich chocolate cake instead of lady fingers, chocolate ganache, and no mascarpone cheese. The one I tasted did not have a hint of coffee flavor.

Last Wednesday the Washington Post Food section had a 3 pages long but entertaining article about the dessert and the Italian man who claims he invented it. You can read the article and his recipe here. I have always made tiramisu with brandy and after reading the article I added marsala and I like it very much. I have loved this dessert, either store bought or homemade, both the rich and the lighter recipes.

The recipe below is a lighter version of TIRAMISU, adapted from my cookbook THE ESSENTIAL DESSERT COOKBOOOK

3 tablespoons custard powder
1 cup skim milk
2 tablespoons sugar
8 oz mascarpone cheese (or crème fraîche and mascarpone)
2 egg whites (powdered)
2 tablespoons sugar
1½ cups strong espresso coffee, chilled
4 tablespoons Marsala wine
ladyfinger cookies
1 tablespoon unsweetened dark cocoa powder

• Stir the custard powder in a saucepan with 2 tablespoons of the skim milk until dissolved. Add the remaining milk with 2 tablespoons sugar and stir over medium heat until the mixture boils and thickens. Remove from heat, transfer to a bowl, cover the surface with plastic wrap and cool at room temperature.
• Beat together the cooled custard and mascarpone for 2 minutes. Cover and cool in the refrigerator while preparing the egg whites. Beat the egg whites until soft peaks form, add 2 tablespoons sugar and beat for 1 minute. Fold egg whites into the custard. Set aside.
• Pour coffee into a dish, stir in the wine. Using half of the lady fingers, quickly dip each cookie in the coffee mixture and arrange in a single layer on a serving dish.
• Using half of the custard mixture, smooth it evenly over the cookies. Repeat layers of dipped ladyfingers and custard. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight, or at least 4 hours to allow the flavors to develop.
• Lightly dust top of cake with cocoa powder before serving.

David Bowie - Life On Mars? video

Watch the one and only David Bowie just standing there by himself, singing one of his best songs, looking very very pretty. Only he can pull it off:

Apple Wine Jellies

I haven't been out of my house the last 6 days, it's too hot and I'm feeling lazy to drive anywhere, just walking from the car to the store makes me sweat. I prefer to stay cool inside the house where there's plenty of iced water and juice. But I didn't want to just sit and watch TV so I cleaned my pantry of unwanted food stuff, mainly ALL PRODUCTS FROM CHINA, yes, they're filled with poison!!!:D No, I'm not kidding, I don't trust those commies, specially if it's food stuff. And with increasing reports from all over the entire planet of people and pets dying or getting sick from tainted medicine, toothpaste, seafood, toys, etc. I am not taking any chances. My daughter thinks I'm paranoid and crazy. Well, yes I am!

Anyway, I discovered (again) that I have so much stuff. I know I need to stop going to the store until I put a dent in my food supply.

yummy gummy apple wine jelly

First project: these apple wine jellies I call candies for adults, made from a half bottle of leftover apple wine. The alcohol taste is faint after boiling and the candies are very good, gummy and chewy and not too sweet. The recipe for fruit jellies says to roll in sugar after cutting into shapes but the sugar just melted almost immediately, I do not recommend it. I used the non-melting powdered sugar which I bought from The Baker's Catalog. If I use a little bit more gelatin powder I could make them into gummy worms.

Fruit Jellies
8 tablespoons unflavored gelatin powder
8 tablespoons water or fruit juice
1 1/3 cups apple wine or fruit juice
12 tablespoons sugar
8 tablespoons light corn syrup

• Wet a metal 8 x 8 inch square pan with a little water, set aside.
• Sprinkle gelatin powder in the water or juice to soften, set aside.
• In a medium pan, apple wine, sugar, and corn syrup until sugar is melted, bring to a boil. Add the gelatin mixture and stir constantly with a wire whisk until gelatin has melted and the mixture is smooth. Pour into prepared pan and let set.
• Cut into shapes or squares and roll in non-melting powdered sugar, or serve plain. You can use other fruit juices like raspberry, strawberry or cranberry or any fruit flavored wine. Enjoy!

Mashed Potatoes

I have been watching this season's Hell's Kitchen, and am truly amazed that very few cheftestants can actually cook. In the first episode, one of the girls didn't know how to fry eggs. Her team was rescued by the waffle house short order cook who knew how. For the past 4 episodes nobody among the boys can make Beef Wellington or risotto. And last Monday night was exceptionally bad. One guy was not able to prepare mashed potatoes properly. Mashed potatoes! Even a caveman can make mashed potatoes! His mashed potatoes was so runny it looked like soup. That made chef Ramsay, dubbed by one of the boy meanies Shar Pei, bark/cuss at them louder and more frequently that I'm thinking this show may be scripted. Anybody who has been in the cooking business should know how to make mashed potatoes and nobody should make the same mistake of ruining risotto and the dated Beef Wellington each and every time. (Beef Wellington, btw, in my opinion should be taken out of the menu, there are other more creative and delicious ways to prepare filet mignon)

Now, how to make this seemingly easy to prepare side dish. There isn't a perfect mashed potatoes recipe, as tastes differ, but one must not ruin it by adding too much liquid into it. Using the right kind of potato is also important. The all-purpose yukon gold is what I use for mashed potatoes because they are semi-waxy and have medium water content unlike the russet. Yukon golds don't fall apart when boiled, they have that rich buttery taste, and the yellow color makes the mashed potatoes look more appealing.

Mashed Potatoes
1½ pounds yukon gold potatoes, peeled and quartered
water
½ teaspoon salt
¼ cup heavy cream or half & half
2 tablespoons butter
sea salt to taste

• Place potatoes in a pot, add enough water to cover, add salt, cook for 15 minutes or until tender when pierced with a fork. Drain potatoes and mash using a ricer. Warm the cream and butter then add to the mashed potatoes. Season with salt, then beat with a wooden spoon or hand beater for 1 minute until fluffy. Do not overbeat or it might turn gummy. There, an easy to make mashed potatoes!:)

BTW, my blog turned one year old today! Yay.

Figs!

I love figs and this is the third time I'm writing about them. My favorite is the Italian honey, which I was told earlier today by a produce employee at Wegmans, are the calimyrna variety. I don't think they are one and the same, but they do look alike. However, they are are not yet available this week, they will be in stores in late July or early August. The ones pictured here are the California mission figs. They are also good by themselves when fully ripe or well-chilled and drizzled with honey. I candied a few pieces, it takes 3 days including drying time, and they are fantastic! I do believe this is the fruit Eve defied God for, they're worth it.;D

perfect with the best honey

candied figs