LECHE FLAN (KULINARYA THEME FOR JANUARY 2011)

Hiatus is over!! I'm back and promise to be active w/ my cooking group again!Kulinarya's theme for this month is..What Filipino dish (savoury or sweet) would you like to have on your birthday? . Good call,  Maribel, Tress and Jen.

Well, i probably will be a record holder for submitting/blogging way too early! Call it a coincidence, i just made one of my favorite dessert which is also a staple dessert for a birthday celebration.  I don't see any reason why i can't submit my theme early right? =;). Sooo...i will not have to worry should i become busy when deadline comes.

Actually, i can easily pick Pancit since that's our family tradition, for longevity. But I've had at least 3 blogs on pancit. My favorite is Pancit Bam-I .

I've not posted my leche flan recipe here so what a timing=;). I use this recipe for my Flan Cake/Custard Cake as well.


FLAN : WITH OR WITH OUT RAISINS

1 can condensed milk (14 oz)

1 can evaporated milk (12 oz)

1 T vanilla extract

8 large egg yolks (save the egg whites for other recipes, you can freeze them) or
10 medium egg yolks
 
CARAMEL SYRUP:
 

1 cup sugar

3/4 cup water

1 T corn syrup


1. In a pot, mix the sugar, corn syrup & water. Bring to a boil for a few minutes until the sugar caramelize or when the syrup starts to change into amber color.

2. Pour the caramelized sugar into an aluminum mold (llanera) or ramekins. Spread the caramel on the bottom of the molds then add raisins if you want to.

3. Mix well the evaporated milk, condensed milk, egg yolks and vanilla by hand or blender. ( i prefer by hand)

4. Gently pour the mixture on top of the caramel on the molds. Fill the mold to about 1 to 1 1/4 inch thick.

5. Cover molds individually with aluminum foil.

6. Steam for about 20 minutes  OR bake for about 45 minutes, place the mold on a larger baking pan half filled with very hot water. Pre-heat oven to about 370 degrees before baking.

7. Let cool then refrigerate.

8. Unmold by runnning a thin knife around the edges of the mold to loosen the Leche Flan. Place a platter on top of the mold and quickly turn upside down.
 
 
 

 

VANILLA BEAN MACARONS WITH GANACHE FILLING

Now that i got the hang of it, yes, i'm talking about French macarons, the flavors are endless. I'm not intimidated to make these macarons anymore!!. Ofcourse, mine aren't perfect, but practice, practice...i'll eventually make the most beautiful macarons i'd ever make! lol!

I made vanilla bean macarons this time. I guess i spoke to soon coz the batter for this macaron was a bit thick but inspite of that they still came out good. The shape is not that perfect but i like it!!!! annnddd it still got their feet! ha!ha!ha! isn't that what matters most?

I used the madagascar vanilla bean pods. They are expensive but reallyyyy worth it. After i take out the vanilla beans "seeds" i save the pods and put them in my jar of sugar. Those pods will impart vanilla smell and taste to your sugar.

For more macaron flavors, "secrets on how to make successful macarons" and the recipe for both the macaron shell and the ganache filling...pls check my other blogs...MY FRENCH MACARONS GOT FEET and MACARONS .

MY FRENCH MACARONS GOT FEET!!!

Well, well, it's been a long time since i last made macarons. As i mentioned in my other macaron blog MACARONS these little jewels are an obsession of mine. I am proud to say that my macarons has improved immensely. I can tell you that I'm comfortable making them this time. Rate of success? hhhmmm about 85% ..yes, I'm so proud to say that. They all had feet and yes, there were cracked shells but not much...can i hear a woot! woot! sshhh!!! i did a happy dance. I'm entitled to my opinion right?

Thanks to my friend Tina  and macaron bloggers, i took notes which i call "secrets" to make a perfect macaron. See, when i made them the first time, the cookbook i read and macaron blogs just straight up shared the recipe but never mentioned about the extra steps you have to do in order for you to make a beautiful macaron. Which leads to frustration and disappointment because you believe you followed the recipe word for word, step by step but your end product is no way similar or the same as theirs.

So, I'm sharing the notes that i have learned. This is to save you from the frustration and disappointments.

1. It is imperative to use a scale. That's my opinion.
2. Age your egg whites. Use a day old egg whites.
3. Some say sift your dry products..i didn't it still came out good.
4. Use a template for a uniform size. (I must admit, i need more practice on this step)
5. Use parchment paper or silpat pls.
6. Don't over mix your batter. It should be runny but not to runny=;)
7. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees then lower to 300 degrees few minutes before you put them in.
8. They say bake one sheet pan at a time w/c i did but didn't even think about the reason for it. But Tina thought that it does make sense especially for small oven, to avoid over crowding.

There has been an influx of macaron recipes but i'm sticking to my original recipe with slight adjustments based on the notes i have made.

I MADE MATCHA MACARONS. I ADDED A TSP OF MATCHA (JAPANESE GREEN TEA) POWDER TO THE DRY INGREDIENTS. A TSP. OF THE MATCHA WOULD SUFFICE OTHERWISE THE TASTE OF THE GREEN TEA WILL BE OVERPOWERING.

3 egg whites (about 90 gr)
30 gr granulated sugar
200 gr powdered sugar
110 gr almond flour or finely ground almonds
pinch of salt

Preparation:

1- Preheat the oven to 320 f. (SEE MY NOTES REGARDING THE TEMPERATURE)  Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

2- In a food processor, combine the ground almonds, powdered sugar. Mix until you get a thin powder. (ADD THE MATCHA)  Remove from the bowl, Sift the mixture. Set aside.

3- Beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until soft peak. Gradually, add the granulated sugar and continue to beat until the mixture becomes shiny. At this point, you add the desired food coloring (if using).

4- Sift the dry ingredients over the egg whites in 3 steps. fold the mixture until shiny. Do not over mix.

5- Fill a pastry bag fitted with a round 1/2 inch tip with the batter and pipe evenly the cookies leaving 2 inches between them. Let the cookies rest for about 20 minutes.

6- Cook the macarons for 12 to 15 minutes. Let them cool before filling.


Ganache filling:

1 pint heavy cream
8 oz semi- sweet or bittersweet chocolate chips

1. In a heavy saucepan, boil heavy cream. Turn off the heat. Add chocolate chips and let it rest until melted. Use a rubber spatula to stir the mixture until all the pieces are melted.


2. Pour it into a room-temperature bowl and cover with plastic wrap.

SNICKERDOODLE CUPCAKES

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART, I THANK YOU, ALL MY FOLLOWERS AND READERS, YOU ARE MY INSPIRATION!

Yes, i'm ending the year 2010 with a cupcake blog! As for my new year's "promise"...i will learn more cupcake recipes  and hone my cupcake decorating=;)!

And ofcourse share more Filipino dishes.  I know i've been slacking w/ The Daring Kitchen and Kulinarya Cooking Club..i will be back and be active again!!!

Enough said now on to my last blog for 2010. Snickerdoodle Cupcakes, yup it does taste like the snickerdoodle cookies, even better if i may say so!!

Got the recipe from  DUNCAN HINES


Ingredients
1 package Duncan Hines white cake mix
1 cup whole milk
1 stick of butter, melted
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Frosting:

1 stick butter
3 3/4 cup confectioners sugar
3-4 Tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon

Baking Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line your cupcake tin. Place cake mix, milk, melted butter, eggs, vanilla, and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl. Blend for three minutes (stop to scrape once). Pour into pans and bake for 22-25 minutes Allow the cakes to cool completely.

Frosting:

2. Beat butter until fluffy for frosting. Add all other ingredients.

SPAGHETTI ALLA CARBONARA AND NUTELLA ICE CREAM GOODNESS

***FYI: THE FOLLOWING BLOGS ARE MY BLOGS FROM MYSPACE...I AM MOVING MY MS BLOGS HERE BEFORE I WILL TOTALLY LOSE THEM. YUP, MYSPACE HAS CHANGED, THEY ARE MORE ON THE ENTERTAINMENT NOW. SO DON'T BE ALARMED THAT THE RECIPES ARE "OFF SEASON" DISHES.




BLOGGED DATE:  SEPT. 1, 2008

This dish is my go to meal, a quick, easy and yet elegant dish. Ofcourse it's always delish...it's bacooonnnnn and panceetttaaa!!!! what could go wrong?


For the dessert this brought the patience and impatience in me. I scooped the ice cream and placed on a tray w/c should stay in the freezer for few minutes but i opted not to. I spread a generous amount of nutella on two lady fingers. Made an ice cream sandwich sort of, then put some mint leaves in between. By the time i got done w/ the lady finger and nutella spreading..the ice cream started to melt oh boy!!! well, you'll see what i mean... but over all it was a messy goodness, coz i love nutella and ice cream. Got this dessert recipe from Giada de Laurentiis.



SPAGHETTI ALLA CARBONARA

2 T olive oil
1 T butter
1 Cup smoked bacon, sliced into thin sliced (I added pancetta to mine)
3 eggs, lightly beaten
¼ Cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
¼ Cup freshly grated Romano cheese
1 T chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
4 T light cream
Pepper
1 lb/450 g spaghetti noodles

****Recipe didn't call for garlic but i had some garlic on the side while rendering the bacon and pancetta just to get some garlic undertone.Take out the garlic when it starts to brown, use the browned garlic for other dish.

****Pancetta is not in the recipe either but i like it w/ my carbonara, but bacon will suffice, ofcourse.

1. Heat the oil and butter in a skillet over a medium high heat.
2. Add the bacon and cook for 4-5 minutes, until browned and crispy.
3. Remove from the heat.
4. Combine the eggs, cheeses, parsley, and cream in a bowl, mixing well. Season with pepper.
5. Cook the pasta in plenty of boiling salted water until al dente. Drain and return to the skillet.
6. Quickly add the egg mixture to the pasta, tossing rapidly so that the egg cooks in the heat.
7. Transfer to a warm serving dish.
8. Briefly reheat the bacon over a high heat. Add to the pasta, toss again and serve at once.


Source: Essentials Pasta Sauces

PANCETTA AND BACON RENDERING AWAY!!!

SPAGHETTI ALLA CARBONARA/ PASTA CARBONARA

I served parmesan crisp on the side. Put a teaspoon of shredded parmesan cheese on a silpat or parchment paper. Bake at 350 degrees for few minutes or until the cheese starts to bubble and get a bit brown.

Excuse my silpat, it has been used and abused. I love my silpats

 
 

PARMESAN CRISPS

DESSERT INGREDIENTS: NUTELLA, LADY FINGERS, ICE CREAM, MINT LEAVES.

NUTELLA, LADY FINGER ICE CREAM SANDWICH!!!!



ASIAN BURGER SLIDERS

***FYI: THE FOLLOWING BLOGS ARE MY BLOGS FROM MYSPACE...I AM MOVING MY MS BLOGS HERE BEFORE I WILL TOTALLY LOSE THEM. YUP, MYSPACE HAS CHANGED, THEY ARE MORE ON THE ENTERTAINMENT NOW.  SO DON'T BE ALARMED THAT THE RECIPES ARE "OFF SEASON" DISHES.

BLOGGED DATE: AUG.12,2009


This recipe is my interpretation of Wolfgang Puck's ASIAN BURGER. I have a fascination w/ slider burgers so i made my patties small enough for Hawaiian bread mini rolls. I made spicy mayo and tomato, cukes and mango salad on the side.


***Warning*** THESE SLIDERS ARE MESSY BUT GOOD!


Serves: 4

Ingredients:

2 lbs. ground beef

2 t curry powder

1 t sugar

2 1/2 T chopped cilantro

4 t scallions, chopped

1 C chopped garlic

2 Thai bird chilies, minced (substitute it w/ jalapeno)

1 1/2 t cumin powder

S&P

8 shitake mushrooms chopped

1/4 C teriyaki sauce

8 Hawaiian mini rolls.

Lettuce

Sliced small sweet or vidalla onions sliced into rings.



1. Mix all ingredients except for lettuce, sliced onion rings and the bread.

2. Take a teaspoon of the mix and fry to check if burger mixture needs more seasoning.

3. Form patties enough to fit in the mini rolls.

4. Cook patties in a hot pan until cooked through or about 5 minutes each side.


Assembly time:

1. Slather some spicy mayo mix on each side of the bread.

2. Arrange onions, tomatoes and lettuce and the burger.


Serve w/ Tomato, Cukes and Mango Salad.


Miracle whip or mayo + Korean red pepper paste = Spicy Mayo

TIP: Don't throw the heels of your sliced bread. I use them to absorb excess oil of the food i'm frying. Just like this burger patty. I like this better than using paper towels.

I used the brown tomato, it tasted just like a regular roma tomato.

We all liked this burger but I can probably add more curry powder and cumin next time.



Patotoes Au Grutin Muffin Style

I can't take the credit for this, it was my daughter's idea. These are old photos, we actually had this for our last year's Christmas dinner. I totally forgot to blog it, but better late than never right?.

I love this idea,  another way to prepare your potatoes other than the same old same old mash potato, i do love  MP but if i could zhuzz (is this how you spell it?=;) or "umph" my potatoes the better for me. A neat and beautiful way to present your au gratin. It is definitely  a good conversation piece to your party.

Another way to prepare your potatoes check my hasselback potato .

Now for the au gratin recipe, if you have a favorite recipe, by all means make your own, and put them in the muffin cups instead of a caserole dish container.

Here's the recipe for this au gratin:

Quantity would depend on the size of your muffins.
Ingredients

• 1 ½ pounds Idaho potatoes, peeled and diced

• ¼ cup diced sweet onions

• ½ cup grated Gruyere or cheddar cheese (i used both)

• ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan

• 1 cup heavy cream

• 1 teaspoon salt

• ½ teaspoon ground black pepper

• 1/8 teaspoon paprika

• 1/3 cup unsalted butter, softened



Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Butter muffin pans with softened butter.

Mix heavy cream, diced potatoes, onions, gruyere or cheddar, parmesan, paprika, salt and pepper.

Arrange potato mixture into each muffin cup.

Add more heavy cream if needed.

Cover with foil and bake for 35 to 45 minutes. Or until potatoes are tender and top turns golden brown.

Remove foil halfway through the cooking time.

Carefully remove the gratins and serve.

APPLE CUSTARD TEA CAKES

Apples, apples, apples!!!! I've made Apple Chips and Apple Almond Salad , Apple Crumb Muffins and Apple Butter . They were all delicious if i may say so!

This time i made cupcakes which i think look interesting and beautiful. Got the recipe from Cupcake cookbook by Pamela Clark.  I like a lot of her recipes so expect for more cupcakes soon=;)

I made a slight adjustment w/ the milk. I find the batter a bit thick so i added  2 more tablespoons of milk. Other than that..the cupcakes were a success!

APPLE CUSTARD TEA CAKES
Recipe from Cupcakes by Pamela Clark

Ingredients:
Cake batter:6 T butter - i used unsalted
1/2 t vanilla extract
1/2 C sugar
2 eggs
3/4 C self-rising flour
1/4 C instant vanilla pudding mix
3 T milk - i added 2 tablespoon
1 large unpeeled apple, cored, sliced finely- i used mandoline to have a uniform slice
2 T butter, extra melted
1 1/2 T sugar, extra
1/2 t ground cinnamon

Custard:
1 1/2 T instant vanilla pudding mix
1 1/2 T sugar
1/2 C milk
1/4 t vanilla extract

1. Make custard. Recipe below.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 6 hole oversize (Texas) or 12 hole standard muffin pan with paper baking cups.
3. Beat butter, vanilla, sugar, eggs flour, pudding mix and milk in small bowl with electric mixer on low speed until ingredients are just combined. Increase speed to medium, beat until mixture is changed to a paler color.
4. Divide half the mixture among baking cups. Top with custard, then remaining cake mixture; spread mixture to cover custard. Top with apple slices, pressing slightly into cake.
5. Bake large cakes about 40 minutes, small cakes about 30 minutes.
6. Brush hot cakes with extra butter, then sprinkle with combined extra sugar and cinnamon. Turn cakes onto wire rack. Serve warm or cold.

CUSTARD:
Blend pudding mix and sugar with milk and vanilla in small pot; stir over medium heat until mixture boils and thickens. Remove from heat, cover surface with plastic wrap, cool.

CHOCOLATE DULCE DE LECHE CUPCAKES

My oh my...me and my cupcakes! lol! Okay this time i used chocolate cake mix. This is the season to take advantage with cake mix, they are on sale.

What you will need:

1 can dulce de leche

1 box chocolate cake mix - For the ingredients and how to make the cupcake batter, follow the box instructions.

Buttercream Frosting
Ingredients

3 cups confectioners' sugar

1 cup butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 to 2 tablespoons whipping cream
2 t dulce de leche

Directions

In a standing mixer fitted with a whisk, mix together sugar and butter. Mix on low speed until well blended and then increase speed to medium and beat for another 3 minutes.

Add vanilla and cream and continue to beat on medium speed for 1 minute more, adding more cream if needed for spreading consistency.

Fold in 2 T of dulce de leche into the frosting.

Bake the chocolate cupcake according to cake mix instructions.

Using a melon baller, scoop out a little portion  in the middle of the cupcake. Save the small piece.

A can of Dulce de Leche

Put a teaspoon or less depending on how much dulce de leche you like on the scooped out portion.

Place back the small piece of the cake to cover .

With the buttercream frosting cover and decorate your cupcakes.