The Daring Bakers: Panna Cotta and Florentine Cookies

vanilla panna cotta and Florentine cookies

The February 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Mallory from A Sofa in the Kitchen. She chose to challenge everyone to make Panna Cotta from a Giada De Laurentiis recipe and Nestle Florentine Cookies.

All the recipes are here.

Thanks MissMallory for coming up with this delightful challenge. I love having the panna cotta and Florentine cookies together, the contrasting textures of smooth, creamy, and crunchy are just perfect. I made the vanilla panna cotta and topped it with slightly bitter orange gelée, orange slices, and a drizzle of caramel sauce. For the Florentine cookies, I made some into milk chocolate filled sandwiches, drizzled some with chocolate, and rolled a few into cigar shape which is not an easy thing to do because they set pretty quickly. I bake 2 at a time in the toaster oven and use a small offset spatula to lift and guide the still warm and very fragile cookies onto the handle of a wooden spoon resting across the cookie sheet over the 2 cookies.

vanilla panna cotta with a layer of blood orange gelée

milk chocolate filled Florentine cookie sandwixhes

drizzled with milk chocolate

I use a one-tablespoon cookie/ice cream scoop for even-sized cookies

And I couldn't resist making a panna cotta with my favorite Nutella. I crushed the cookies that broke and scattered them on the plate. The crumbs add a crunch to the creamy panna cotta.

Nutella Panna Cotta, rolled Florentine cookie and crumbs, a sliver of hazelnut brittle

Nutella Panna Cotta
1½ teaspoons unflavored gelatin powder
water
1 ounce finely chopped bittersweet chocolate
1 cup Nutella
½ teaspoon kosher salt
1½ cups heavy cream
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup whole milk

• In a medium bowl, whisk gelatin with 4 tablespoons cold water.
  
• Place chopped chocolate in another medium bowl.
  
• In a large bowl, combine Nutella and salt.
• In a small saucepan over medium heat, bring cream to a boil. Pour half the cream over gelatin mixture and whisk gently to combine; stir in vanilla. Pour remaining cream over chopped chocolate; whisk until smooth. Combine the two mixtures and whisk well.
• Pour a third of the gelatin-chocolate mixture over Nutella; beat using an electric mixer on low speed until a smooth paste forms. Pour in remaining mixture and milk; beat until fully combined.
• Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into six lightly oiled ramekins. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator until set, about six hours or overnight.
  

Food Friday: S'more Pizza

After watching s'mores pizza being prepared here I just have to make it. It's a salty, sweet, doubly crunchy, gooey, chocolaty, chewilicious dessert pizza. Try it, you'll love it!

S'more Pizza
pizza dough, homemade or store bought
extra virgin olive oil
coarse golden raw sugar
milk or dark chocolate bar, broken into pieces
marshmallows
crushed graham crackers

• Place a pizza stone or quarry tiles on oven rack. Preheat oven to the highest setting.
• Shape pizza dough. Brush edges with olive oil and sprinkle with raw sugar. Place chocolate pieces evenly on the dough. Slide onto the baking stone and bake until edges are puffy, about 4 minutes. Pull out rack halfway and put marshmallows evenly on the pizza. Bake until marshmallows are puffy and golden brown all over.
• Remove from oven and transfer to a cutting board. Sprinkle top with crushed graham crackers. Cut with a sharp knife into wedges.

Steamed Buns: Siopao and Cuapao

cuapao sandwich filled with a layer each of fermented mustard greens and flaked Chinese roast pork, and topped with ground roasted peanuts

This is my third post on siopao and cuapao and the longest one yet. I hope I won't bore you to death. I didn't include the recipe on the first post and the link to the recipe for the cuapao sandwich post no longer works. The reasons it took this long for me to share my recipes for the fillings are: first, I don't follow any recipe for the pork bola-bola (ground pork) and second, the pork or chicken asado I make is not the typical recipe for these Filipino-Chinese steamed buns. I thought my readers might not like or be interested in them but I got a few inquiries and decided to share my recipes for cuapao and siopao fillings after all.

Cuapao and siopao use the same dough recipe but they differ in shape, cuapao oblong and siopao round, and fillings. Cuapao has fermented mustard greens [burong mustasa in Tagalog], Chinese roast pork, chopped peanuts, and hot sauce which is optional. I started making cuapao at home because they are unknown in my neck of the woods and after reading the article in the Yummy magazine I always steam the buns without the filling. I find it easier to shape and as a sandwich I can put as much filling as I possibly can, which is always a good thing.

Fermenting mustard green takes about 2 weeks, but if you prefer the greens fresh or can't wait, blanch them in boiling water, dry them in a salad spinner, add sea salt to taste, then roughly chop. It will still be tasty and spicy but will lack the familiar sourness of the fermented greens. The greens are delicious as a side to fried fish and also in sour soups (sinigang).

Siopao and Cuapao Dough

steamed cuapao buns without filling

1½ cups warm water
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon instant yeast
4½ cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ cup sugar
3 tablespoons lard or white Crisco
parchment paper

• In a small bowl, mix 2 tablespoons sugar and ½ cup of the warm water, stir and add yeast, mix well, let stand for 10 minutes.
• In a stand mixer bowl with paddle attached, mix flour, sugar, baking powder and lard/Crisco. Add the yeast mixture and the rest of the warm water. Mix for 1 minute. Replace the paddle attachment with dough hook and knead for 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a lightly greased bowl, turn the dough so that greased side is up, cover tightly with plastic wrap and let rise for 1½ hours.
• Remove bubbles by lightly kneading; into 16 to 18 pieces. Cut rectangular shaped parchment papers, set aside. Shape dough pieces into oblong (or round if making into siopao) placing each on the parchment paper. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 30 minutes. Steam in rapidly boiling water for12 minutes (15 minutes if filled).

Burong Mustasa (Fermented Mustard Greens)

1 bunch mustard greens
1 cup uncooked rice
6 cups water
2½ tablespoons sea salt
sterilized pint jar

• Wash the leaves very well and spin dry. Cut into 2 inch pieces and place on sheet pans. Leave them out under the sun for about 2 hours to wilt and dry them a little bit. Or put them in a 180°F oven for 1 hour. Pack the leaves in the jar, pressing slightly to accommodate all the leaves.
• While the leaves are drying, wash the rice and drain. Place in a large pan, add the water and let come to a boil. Lower heat, cover, and simmer until grains have swelled, about 30 minutes. Strain the rice broth into a measuring cup. You should have 4 cups. Add the salt and stir until dissolved. Let cool to room temperature.
• When the salted rice broth has cooled, pour into the jar. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and put its lid on. Leave on the kitchen counter for 7 days or until the mixture tastes acidic and the leaves have turned a teensy bit yellowish but still crispy. If your kitchen is cold like mine, it may take more than 2 weeks to ferment. Store in refrigerator for 2 more weeks for best flavor and until ready to use.

Char Siu/Cha Shao/Chinese Roast Pork

2 pounds pork shoulder
1 tablespoon brandy
2 tablespoons dry sherry
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons hoi sin sauce
3 tablespoons clear honey

• Cut the pork into thin strips lengthwise. Mix together the brandy, sherry, soy sauce, and hoi sin sauce. Marinate the pork slices for 2 hours or overnight in the refrigerator.
• Preheat oven to 400°F. Lay the strips on a rack and set on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. Roast for 45 minutes.
• Remove from oven and let rest for 3 minutes. Brush tops with honey, return to oven, and roast for 4 minutes. Remove from oven, flip over the slices, brush with honey, and return to oven. Roast for 2 more minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature, or flake the meat to fill cuapao.

Pork Bola-Bola Siopao

1 pound lean ground pork
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste
2 tablespoons roasted sesame seed oil
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 pieces Chinese sausage, sliced into quarter-inch thick pieces
2 hard-boiled eggs or salted duck eggs, cut each lengthwise into 4 pieces

• Mix first 5 ingredients. Divide into 8 portions and form into balls. Place one ball in the middle of a round flattened 3-ounce siopao dough piece, add 2 slices of sausage and a slice of egg. Gather edges of dough and pinch to seal. Place on cut parchment paper seam side down. Let rest for 45 minutes, covered with plastic wrap. Steam in bamboo steamer over rapidly boiling water for 20 minutes. Enjoy hot with your favorite hot sauce.

KCC Turns Up the Heat

bittersweet and hot "curly tops"

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Kulinarya was started by a group of Filipino foodies living in Sydney (Kath, Trisha, and Trissa), who are passionate about the Filipino culture and its colorful cuisine.

Each month we will showcase a new dish along with their family recipes. By sharing these recipes, we hope you find the same passion and love for Filipino Food as we do.

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Our host Pia chose food considered as aphrodisiac to showcase for this month of February. One of several lists on the web has our own balut as the number one aphrodisiac. Of course chocolate and hot peppers are also among the lists.

Extreme Bittersweet and Siling Labuyo Curly Tops
6 tablespoons heavy cream
2 to 3 pieces chopped siling labuyo
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate pieces
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
cocoa powder

• Bring heavy cream and labuyo to a simmer in a small saucepan. Cover and let steep for 20 minutes.
• Place the chocolate chips and vanilla extract in a small bowl. Reheat the cream and strain over the chocolate mixture. Gently stir until chocolate is completely melted. Cool to room temperature.
  
• Refrigerate until firm enough to shape into balls, about 2 hours. Using a melon baller, scoop out and form into balls. Roll balls in cocoa powder.
• Or fill lightly greased chocolate molds to make your very own Curly Tops.

Check out more posts from KCC members here.

Steamed Mushrooms

steamed King oyster, enoki, and button mushrooms

This simple but delicious side dish called Pinais is from the Laguna/Batangas/Quezon area of the Philippines. Pinais [I'm guessing] means a bundle of fish or vegetables wrapped in banana leaves and cooked by steaming. The recipe here is adapted from my guidebook KULINARYA.

Steamed Mushrooms
assorted fresh mushrooms
sea salt
ground black pepper
pieces of banana leaves
water
calamansi or lemon juice
kitchen twine

• Clean mushrooms well. Place 3 tablespoons of assorted mushrooms in the middle of a piece of banana leaf. Sprinkle with salt and a pinch of pepper. Fold the leaf from all sides towards the middle to form a packet. Secure with twine. Repeat with all the mushrooms.
• Pour a cup of water in a pot and bring to a boil over medium heat. Place the packets in the pot, cover, and steam for 5 minutes. Serve immediately with calamansi or lemon juice and sea salt.

Candied Kabocha

candied kabocha and crème fraîche

I've been in love with kabocha squash for a few years now specially as a dessert or simply steamed and sprinkled with sea salt. And because it has a flavor that's similar to chestnuts, I thought, why not candy them. Oh yeah, the candied squash pieces are simply delightful!

Candied Kabocha

half of a kabocha
1 cup sugar
¼ cup water
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
crème fraîche or unsweetened Greek yogurt

• Peel kabocha, or leave unpeeled. Cut into 1-inch cubes or 2 inch slices.
• In a medium saucepan, bring sugar and water to a boil and stir until sugar has dissolved. Boil rapidly for 3 minutes. Add vanilla extract and kabocha and let simmer for 10 minutes.
• Transfer the squash into a container and set aside. Continue boiling the syrup on low heat until slightly thick. Pour the syrup on top of the cooked squash. Let cool; cover with plastic wrap and leave overnight on kitchen counter.
• Drain the syrup into a saucepan and let boil until thick and syrupy.
• Serving suggestion: Place a few pieces of candied squash on a dessert cup or plate. Top with yogurt or crème fraîche. Drizzle all over with syrup.

I cooked the other half in sautéed garlic, onion, and vegetable bouillon, then added a cup of thick coconut milk and simmered until tender but not mushy. It's a delicious vegan side or main dish.

ginataang kabocha

Mackerel in Coconut Vinaigrette

Kinilaw na Tanguingue (Mackerel in Coconut Vinaigrette)
1 pound cubed Spanish mackerel fillet
1 cup white coconut vinegar
½ cup thick coconut milk
6 shallots, sliced
2 tablespoons chopped ginger
2 teaspoons sea salt
2 hot red or green pepper, sliced
dash of ground white peppercorns
shallot rings or sliced hot red pepper for garnish

• Marinate the fish cubes in half cup of the vinegar for 15 minutes. Drain well and discard vinegar.
  
• In a glass bowl, combine the remaining half cup of vinegar, coconut milk, fish, shallots, ginger, sliced hot peppers, salt, and ground white peppercorns. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours.
  
• Transfer into a serving plate and garnish with shallot and hot pepper.

XO Sauce

We lived in Hong Kong for a little over 3 years from 1988 to 1992 but never heard of XO sauce. I don't know when this sauce started becoming popular and it certainly is very popular now not just in Hong Kong but also here in the USA. I wasn't able to find it at our Asian stores but they are available online. I was a bit surprised at the price, a jar of less than half a pound of this sauce costs about $17.00. It must be really good.

Well, it's very very good. I love it! At least the one I made at home. It's spicy and delicious in fried rice or simply with steamed vegetables.

XO Sauce
makes about 2½ cups

warm water
6 pieces large dried hot red pepper
1 cup dried scallops
5 ounces tiny dried shrimp with shells on
2 ounces Virginia ham, chopped
2 ounces salted fish
¼ cup shelled large dried shrimp, chopped
¼ tablespoon coarsely ground sichuan pepper
1½ cups light olive oil
1 cup minced garlic
1 cup minced onions

• In separate containers, soak the peppers, salted fish, and tiny shrimps.
  
• Place the dried scallops in a small saucepan, add water to cover by half an inch and simmer until scallops are soft; do not let mixture get dry. Let cool then shred by hand; set aside.
  
• Drain the soaked ingredients. Remove the seeds from the hot peppers and coarsely chop; set aside. Coarsely chop the tiny shrimp and fish; set aside.
  
• Heat 1 cup of oil in a large saucepan and add the garlic, onion, and chopped tiny shrimps and let fry on medium heat for 10 minutes. Add the peppers, fish, and ham and continue to cook until peppers become translucent. Add more oil if needed. Turn the heat to low, add scallops, large shrimps, and sichuan pepper and simmer until all the liquid has evaporated. Remove from heat and transfer sauce in jars, let cool. Keep in refrigerator until ready to use.

Brats or Primanti®?

sauerkraut, fresh sausages, spicy brown mustard, cheese on a chewy crusty sandwich bun



Primanti-style sandwich: layers of chipped (shaved) ham, provolone, fries, coleslaw, and sliced tomato on Italian bread

Take your Super Bowl XLV pick. Brats (Green Bay Packers) or Primanti®-style (Pittsburgh Steelers) sandwich. Both are really delicious. I'm not too sure about the teams though and I won't be watching the game anyway.

Vote for your favorite. May the best sandwich win!

The recipe for fresh Jalapeño and Cheese Sausage is here.

Food Friday: Sinigang Mix Crusted Salmon

Who knew that a packet of sinigang mix powder would be perfect as seasoning for baked salmon fillet? Well, Yummy magazine did.

Now you must be wondering why I'm not slurping hot sinigang soup, what with the terrible cold weather we have been having lately but I was really intrigued by the idea of using sinigang soup powder as a rub. I wasn't disappointed; the baked salmon fillet is tart, salty, and delicious. I steamed some camote (sweet potato) tops to complete the "sinigang" theme.

Crispy Fries

I love watching America's Test Kitchen. They do all the work for you and always come up with recipes and cooking tricks that are interesting and helpful. One such recipe is the easier to cook 'crispy on the outside, creamy in the inside' French fries. And it really is not complicated at all. The secret to the crispiness is adding uniformly cut [into batons] Yukon Gold potatoes to room-temperature oil instead of preheating the oil. Once the oil and potatoes start boiling [over high heat], the potatoes are cooked without stirring for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, the chips are separated with tongs and cooked for another 5 to 10 minutes until golden brown and crispy. I love it sprinkled with flaked sea salt and dipped in malted vinegar.

for added yumminess, I added a cup of rendered duck fat to the oil

The Daring Bakers: Biscuit Joconde Imprime/Entremet

white chocolate mousse cake with raspberry

The January 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Astheroshe from the blog, accro. She chose to challenge everyone to make a Biscuit Joconde Imprime to wrap around an Entremet dessert.

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Wow! I've never made a cake as elaborate and labor intensive as this one. It took me almost half a day to prepare, bake, and assemble this easy-on-the-eyes and delicious dessert. Thank you Astheroshe for a choosing an exceptional challenge. I enjoyed every minute I spent making and every bite of this wonderful cake.

I followed the recipes for biscuit joconde and decor paste without any changes, except I only made half a recipe of decor paste. I added 1 whole tube, about 1½ tablespoons, of gel food dye to the decor paste to achieve the intense red color. I used a metal pastry comb to create the pattern on the decor paste which had to be frozen to prevent it from leaking into the biscuit joconde batter. Since my freezer is not big enough for the size of a half-sheet pan, I left it outside (25°F) until the decor paste firmed up.

I placed the silpat inside the pan before spreading the joconde batter evenly on top of the frozen decor paste all the way to cover the sheet pan. It took just 7 minutes to bake the cake which was immediately flipped onto a parchment paper. 1½-inch thick strips were cut to fit an 8-inch round springform pan (bottom removed and flipped) lined with parchment paper. Parchment paper is not the best thing to use for this kind of dessert because it bends and creates creases on the mousse. I would use an acetate sheet next time I make the cake. I made a mistake and did not fill the bottom with enough mousse before putting the raspberry insert and added too much on top by about half an inch; and the raspberry gelée should be thinner. Well, next time I'll try to do better, I hope. It takes a lot of patience to build the entrement cake dessert but I will definitely be making it again. Yes, definitely.

The inspiration for the design and white chocolate mousse and raspberry combo filling comes from my cookbook ADVANCED BREAD AND PASTRY by Michel Suas. The mousse is light as feather, not too sweet, super delicious, and perfect with raspberry.

White Chocolate Mousse
adapted from ADVANCED BREAD AND PASTRY by Michel Suas
1 envelop unflavored gelatin
3 tablespoons cold water
25 ounces heavy cream
16 ounces white chocolate
8 ounces milk
4 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 egg yolks

• Sprinkle gelatin on water to soften; set aside. Melt chocolate, set aside. Whip heavy cream to soft peaks, set aside.
  
• Make a crème Anglaise with milk, vanilla, sugar, and egg yolks. Strain through a fine sieve into a bowl, add the gelatin and stir until well combined. Add the melted chocolate and stir until emulsified. When the mixture has cooled to 80°F, fold in the whipped cream.

Kulinarya Cooking Club: Favorite Birthday Treats

coffee ice cream topped with mangosteen preserve

What savory or sweet food would you like to have on your birthday? This was KCC's challenge for this month.

It's kinda tough because there are too many dishes to choose from (noodles: palabok, canton, guisado, lasagna, spaghetti with tomato and meat sauce) and I'd rather have lots of sweets and desserts (cakes: mocha chiffon, chocolate, ube, sans rival; ice cream: cheddar cheese, ube, langka, coffee with mangosteen preserve; and leche flan, of course).

I chose to feature Coffee Ice Cream with Mangosteen Preserve, my all-time favorite dessert since it was first introduced in the 80s by Magnolia. I can't remember when and why the flavor was discontinued by the company. About 6 years ago, I started making mangosteen preserve from tinned mangosteen. The fruit preserve is simple and easy to prepare at home. I spoon a large dollop on top of store-bought or homemade coffee ice cream and I enjoy this flavor whenever I want but most specially on my birthday.

To make: boil the syrup from 2 cans of mangosteen with 6 tablespoons sugar until almost caramelized, add the fruits, separated into sections, and cook until thick and dark brown in color.

Kulinarya was started by a group of Filipino foodies living in Sydney (Kath, Trisha, and Trissa), who are passionate about the Filipino culture and its colorful cuisine.

Each month we will showcase a new dish along with their family recipes. By sharing these recipes, we hope you find the same passion and love for Filipino Food as we do.

Thank you Tressa and Jen for hosting this month's challenge.

The Daring Cooks: Cassoulet

Our January 2011 Challenge comes from Jenni of The Gingered Whisk and Lisa from Parsley, Sage, Desserts and Line Drives. They have challenged the Daring Cooks to learn how to make a confit and use it within the traditional French dish of Cassoulet. They have chosen a traditional recipe from Anthony Bourdain and Michael Ruhlman.

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I have seen cassoulet in my cookbooks and several blogs but never cooked nor tried it before. Thanks to Jenni and Lisa for choosing cassoulet and Anthony Bourdain and Michael Ruhlman's recipe for this month's Daring Cooks challenge, now I have and can say this is an amazingly delicious bean stew.

It was easy for me to decide to make this seemingly intimidating dish as I already have most of the ingredients such as duck legs confit, which I made last month following Michael Ruhlman's recipe, pork belly, pork rind, sausages (with thyme and sage), and herbs. The only ingredient I had to get from the store was the dried cannellini beans. Making the dish is a bit involved but it's all worth it. The beans absorbed all the flavors and fats from the meats and they tasted even better the next day.

Cassoulet
5 cups dried Tarbais beans or white beans such as Great Northern or cannellini
2 pounds fresh pork belly
1 onion, cut into 4 pieces
1 pound pork rind
1 bouquet garni (tie together two sprigs each parsley and thyme and one bay leaf)
salt and pepper
¼ cup duck fat
6 pork sausages
3 onions, thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, thinly sliced
4 confit duck legs

• Drain and rinse the beans and place in the large pot. Add the pork belly, the quartered onion, ¼ pound pork rind, and the bouquet garni. Cover with water, and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for about 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste and continue to simmer until the beans are tender, about 30 minutes more. Let cool for 20 minutes, then discard the onion and the bouquet garni. Remove the pork belly, cut it into 2-inch squares, and set aside. (If you plan to wait another day before finishing the dish, wait to cut the pork belly until then.)
  
• Strain the beans and the rind and set aside, reserving the cooking liquid separately. In the sauté pan, heat all but 1 tablespoon of the duck fat over medium-high heat until it shimmers and becomes transparent. Carefully add the sausages and brown on all sides. Remove sausages and set aside, draining on paper towels.
  
• In the same pan, over medium-high heat, brown the sliced onions, the garlic and the reserved squares of pork rind from the beans (not the unused pork rind; you'll need that later). Once browned, remove from the heat and transfer to the blender. Add 1 tablespoon of the remaining duck fat and purée until smooth. Set aside.
  
• Preheat the oven to moderate 350ºF. Place the uncooked pork rind in the bottom of a deep ovenproof non-reactive dish. You're looking to line the inside, almost like a pie crust. Arrange all your ingredients in alternating layers, beginning with a layer of beans, then sausages, then more beans, then pork belly, beans, duck confit and finally more beans, adding a dab of the onion and pork rind purée between each layer.
  
• Add enough of the bean cooking liquid to just cover the beans, reserving 1 cup in the refrigerator for later use.
  
• Cook the cassoulet in the oven for 1 hour, then reduce the heat to very slow 250ºF and cook for another hour. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Refrigerate overnight.
• Preheat the oven to moderate 350ºF again. Cook the cassoulet for an hour. Break the crust on the top with the spoon and add ¼ cup of the reserved cooking liquid. Reduce the heat to very slow 250ºF and continue cooking another 15 minutes, or until screamingly hot through and through.
  

The complete recipe including how to confit duck legs is here.

Got Sauce?

a few must-have sauces and condiments: Thai sriracha, Mang Tomas lechon, Thai sweet chilli, Jufran banana ketchup, Tabasco, tomato ketchup, KFC barbecue

this is my enabler, the Korean store's fully stocked shelves on both sides of the aisle: Asian sauces from China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam and (not pictured) on another aisle, Korean and Japanese sauces

How many bottles of opened sauces and condiments occupy your refrigerator and baskets? Me, I have lost count. Some that are labeled "refrigeration not necessary" are in a basket near the breakfast table and the rest, too numerous to list down, are scattered all over the fridge. I wonder if there is a support group for my sauce hoarding ailment.:D

Miso Salmon with Sake Butter Sauce

my version of Cheesecake Factory® Miso Salmon with Sake Butter Sauce

I went for the first time to Cheesecake Factory for lunch yesterday and had Miso Salmon with Sake Butter Sauce, a large enough salmon fillet broiled and served on a bed of rice, surrounded by a shallow moat of sake butter sauce, and garnished on top with finely shredded scallions. The plate is also garnished around with snow peas. I didn't know it is one of their most popular entrees and it's easy to understand why. It is delicious and I love it! So I went to the store before going home and bought salmon steaks. I cooked them today following the widely available recipe online. The salmon dish tastes almost exactly like the restaurant's. Delicious!

my yummy lunch yesterday: Cheesecake Factory® Miso Salmon with Sake Butter Sauce

Miso Salmon with Sake Butter Sauce

salmon
¼ cup dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons hot water
2 tablespoons miso (soybean paste)
4 six-ounce salmon fillets
1 teaspoon light olive oil

sake butter sauce
1-inch piece ginger, peeled and julienned
1 tablespoon minced shallots
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
½ cup + 1 teaspoon sake
1 tablespoon heavy cream
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into large dice
½ teaspoon fresh lime juice
sea salt to taste

to serve
scallions (green parts), finely shredded and blanched
cooked rice

• Prepare Salmon: Preheat broiler. Whisk together sugar, soy sauce, miso, and hot water. Brush a shallow baking dish with oil and place the fillets on the dish. Spoon miso mixture evenly over fish. Broil 10 to 12 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork, basting twice with miso mixture. Prepare the butter sauce while salmon is cooking.
• Prepare the Sake Butter Sauce: In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, saute the ginger and shallots in one tablespoon butter for two to three minutes. Add ½ cup of the sake, bring to a boil, and reduce by two-thirds, approximately three minutes. Remove ginger and discard. Puree with a hand-held blender if desired. Add the heavy cream, bring to a boil, and reduce by half. Add the cold butter to the sauce, one piece at a time, whisking constantly over medium-high heat until emulsified and sauce is thick and creamy. Once all the butter has been incorporated, remove the pan from the heat. Whisk in the remaining one teaspoon sake and the lime juice. Season to taste with salt.
• Plate the Salmon: Using a 5-inch mold, press a half-inch thick rice on a plate. Spoon sake butter around the rice. Place a fillet on top of the rice. Garnish top of the salmon with blanched scallions. Serve immediately.

Now, about the wheat bread. Last year I made a copycat from online recipes without having tasted it. I can now say the bread I baked is pretty close to taste and texture although mine is not as sweet. I think the CF whole wheat baguette doesn't have rye flour though, but I'm not too sure. Anyway, I liked it so much I just had to buy a whole loaf to bring home. The whole baguette is about 2½ feet long and costs $3.45. I love its soft sweet crumb and the slightly chewy crust and the crunchy oatmeal coating is definitely a plus.

Peanut Kisses

Does anybody have a recipe for these peanut kisses from Bohol? My husband got these from the Philippines about 3 years ago and I have been searching for the recipe for a few years now but haven't been able to find one that makes cookies with similar texture. After baking many experimental batches using dozens and dozens of egg whites, I can say I'm not successful at all. They came out too flat or too puffy like the peanut meringue below.

Can you tell I'm obsessed? I eventually gave up when I saw them here and bought 5 boxes. They are so yummy, crunchy, peanuty, and the best thing is, they aren't very sweet. Totally addicting!