Joy's Misadventures

Merry Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (Lorraine Joy Alegria-Vizcarra) — Tue, 25 Dec 2012 20:46:00 +0000

Have a wonderful Christmas

And a Happy New Years

Love,
Joy of Joy's Misadventures and Gang

My night with Colin Smith

noreply@blogger.com (Lorraine Joy Alegria-Vizcarra) — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 22:38:00 +0000

Last night I had the chance sit through lecture hosted by a local user group that focuses on Adobe products. I wish I could say I am a expert on Photoshop but far from it. I first learned to use Photoshop 7 in college...about 10 years ago (shiver). And I still use Photoshop 7. Sad huh? I do have multiple versions of Elements and I did learn to use illustrator on the first CS but really I'm behind but I finally got Lightroom a week ago. I hope I will finally have time to edit and post for once. Anyway, here are the vidoes of the presentation. I sorted by topic. I apologize for the shaking. I was using my ipad and my arms was about to drop a couple of times.

Date: December 17, 2012
Location: Adobe office
Presenter: Colin Smith from Photoshopcafe.com

Enjoy!

Smart objects

HDR tutorial

(after this, I totally want CS6)

Time lapse video

Adding a blur to a time lapse

Panoramic Photograph

My Guest post on Bob's Red Mill - Nut free Macarons

noreply@blogger.com (Lorraine Joy Alegria-Vizcarra) — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 23:04:00 +0000

It is Christmas time! Time is just flying by and I also most forgot to tell you about my guest post on the Bob's Red Mills website. Check out my Nut Free Macarons. Nut free so the little ones could actually eat it for once.

I used food die and water to paint the little cookies

noreply@blogger.com (Lorraine Joy Alegria-Vizcarra) — Sat, 08 Dec 2012 08:00:00 +0000

I am starting to bake bread again. Not as regularly as I used to but slowly getting into it again. I always tend to battle with texture. For once, I actually achieved the texture I wanted. The yams add a nice subtle sweetness to the bread. This recipe was one of the recipes my Baking group Baking Partners tackled for our last challenge.

Sweet Yam Butter Rolls
(Adapted from King Athur Flour)

3 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

2 teaspoons instant yeast

3 tablespoons nonfat dry milk ( see notes)

2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoons salt

4 tablespoons soft butter

2/3 cup lukewarm water

1/2 cup lukewarm milk

* 3/4 cup of mashed sweet yams (My add)

Topping

2 tablespoons melted butter

Directions

Combine all of the dough ingredients in a large bowl, and mix and knead — using your hands, a stand mixer, or a bread machine set on the dough cycle — to make a soft, smooth dough.
Place the dough in a lightly greased container — an 8-cup measure works well here. Cover the container, and allow the dough to rise for 60 to 90 minutes, until it's just about doubled in bulk.
Gently deflate the dough, and transfer it to a lightly greased work surface.
Divide the dough into 16 equal pieces, by dividing in half, then in halves again, etc. Round each piece into a smooth ball.
Lightly grease two 8" round cake pans. Space 8 buns in each pan. Can you use 9" round cake pans, or a 9" x 13" pan? Sure; the buns just won't nestle together as closely, so their sides will be a bit more baked.
Cover the pans, and allow the buns to rise till they're crowded against one another and quite puffy, about 60 to 90 minutes. Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 350°F
Uncover the buns, and bake them for 22 to 24 minutes, until they're golden brown on top and the edges of the center bun spring back lightly when you touch it. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the middle of the center bun should register at least 190°F.
Remove the buns from the oven, and brush with the melted butter. After a couple of minutes, turn them out of the pan onto a cooling rack.
Serve warm. Store leftovers well-wrapped, at room temperature.

Yield: 16 buns.

Apple Spice Bundt Cake and Thanksgiving

noreply@blogger.com (Lorraine Joy Alegria-Vizcarra) — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 05:24:00 +0000

I hope everybody had a wonderful holiday! I know I'm a bit slow on my thanksgiving post :D. Unlike most people, instead of shopping or just vegging out the days after Thanksgiving I got stuck working. But I guess that is a good thing since I was very tempted to get in line at 8 pm on Thanksgiving to buy some electronics :D. This year, my Thanksgiving was quiet and relaxing. I only had to feed 6 1/2 (the son) people this year. It was pretty nice. I went basic this year: macaroni cheese, mashed potato, candied yams, green bean cassarol, and a regular roasted turkey. Since I went simple with dinner, I had to change it up for dessert. I'm not a huge fan of pumpkin pie but I did want to have a dessert that screamed fall. I did made a pecan pie but unfortunately the kids can't eat nuts so I made an apple cake! An Apple Spice Cake to be exact.

Apple Spice Cake

(adapted from Baked Explorations by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito with minor alterations )

4 Cups of All Purpose Flour

2 Tsp of Baking Soda

1 Tsp of Baking Powder

1 Tsp of Salt

2 Tsp of Cinnamon

1 Tsp of Ground Ginger

1 Tsp of Allspice

1 Tsp of Ground Clove

1 Tsp of Nutmeg

3 Sticks of Butter at Room Temp

2 1/2 Cup of Sugar

2 Large Eggs

4 Cups of Apple Sauce

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325F.
Combine then shift all of the dry ingredients and set aside.
Cream the butter with sugar until the butter is fluffy.
Add the eggs, one at a time to the butter mixture. Make sure the eggs are well incorprated.
Add the flour mixture in four parts alternating with the applesauce one cup at a time. Blend well. The cake batter should be light but fluffy.
Pour the mixture into a large bundt pan. *I actually ruined mine a couple of months ago so I used an angel food pan.
Bake for 35 minutes *The cook times will vary depending on the thickness of the cake.
Let it cool and server. I added a little melted carmel as a topping.

Here are some pictures from my Thanksgiving dinner. I even got to change to use The Mother's fancy dishes (which only has been used once before) :D

Baking partners # 4 - Shaped bread

noreply@blogger.com (Lorraine Joy Alegria-Vizcarra) — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 17:05:00 +0000

This month's baking partners theme is Shaped Rolls. With Thanksgiving coming up, homemade bread is a treat I try to make every year if time permitted.

Lion House Rolls

Ingredients:

● 2 cups warm water (110-115 degrees)

● 2/3 cup nonfat dry milk (instant)

● 2 Tb. dry yeast

● 1/4 cup sugar

● 2 tsp. salt

● 1/3 cup shortening (butter or margarine)

● 1 egg

● 5-5 1/2 cups flour, all purpose (bread flour can be used if you have it on hand)

Method:

In the large bowl of an electric mixer, combine the water and the milk powder and stir so the milk dissolves.
Add the yeast to this mixture then the sugar, salt, shortening, egg and 2 cups of the flour.
Mix on low speed of mixer until ingredients are wet, then turn to medium speed and mix for 2 minutes.
Stop the mixer and add 2 more cups of flour then mix on low speed until the ingredients are wet, then turn mixer on medium speed and mix for 2 minutes. The dough will be getting stiff and you may need to remove the bowl from the mixer and mix in the remaining flour by hand.
Add approximately 1/2 cup of flour and mix again. (This can be done by hand or mixer). The dough should be soft, not overly sticky, and not stiff. (It is not necessary to use the entire amount of flour).
Scrape the dough off the sides of the bowl and pour approximately on tablespoon of vegetable oil all around the sides of the bowl.
Turn the dough over in the bowl so it is covered with the oil. (This helps prevent the dough from drying out.)
Cover with plastic and allow to rise in a warm place until double in size.
Sprinkle a cutting board or counter with flour and put the dough on the flour. It is now ready to roll out and cut into desired shape and size of rolls.
Place on greased (or parchment lined) baking pans.
Let rise in a warm place until the rolls are double in size (approx. 1-1 1/2 hours).
Bake in a 375-degree oven for 15-20 minutes or until they are browned to your satisfaction. Brush with melted butter while hour. Yields 2 to 2 1/2 dozen rolls.

Good Website Tips

http ://realmomkitchen .com /525/shaping -homemade -rolls/

http ://www .youtube .com /watch ?v =6 xWY 6kltlBc

http://www.kingarthurflour.com/blog/2011/12/05/flaky-buttery-crescent-rolls-the-best-of-both-worlds/

http ://www .youtube .com /watch ?v =WuBQzl 49 dEs &feature =related

http ://www .youtube .com /watch ?v =f 8wPowCbtbo

http ://www .youtube .com /watch ?feature =endscreen &NR =1&v =tU 9 I 1 nYS 60Eh

Knot Shaped

Crossant

Clover

Lion House Rolls

Braid

I also made some other shapes like:

Bunnies

and hedgehogs

No food Friday - A Birthday and winner

noreply@blogger.com (Lorraine Joy Alegria-Vizcarra) — Fri, 02 Nov 2012 22:03:00 +0000

Happy birthday to my first born. Yesterday was my little girls 4th birthday. 4 Year Old, I still think she is only 2. In the last year she.....

Instead of wearing a lot of pink, it has moved to purple.
She learned all of her letters and started to learn to read. Maybe she will start reading to me from now on.
She has learned to pout with arms crossed and head down. Fun!
She is as sassy as they can get. I am started to learn to ignore her at times.
She hasn't grown too much except for her feet (two sizes within 6 months). Though her brother can take her down pretty easily.

Now on to my little give away. The winner is Angie of Angie's recipes!

Angie's RecipesOctober 21, 2012 3:08 AM

Just RT your giveaway and followed you on pin.

Congrats!

300th Post, 3rd Blogaversary, and a Giveaway

noreply@blogger.com (Lorraine Joy Alegria-Vizcarra) — Sat, 20 Oct 2012 17:04:00 +0000

Whooo hoooo! 300 posts and my 3rd Blogaversary. I realized I was approaching my 300 post a couple of weeks ago but work prevented me to get to achieve this number until today. 300 posts amazes me. What really amazes me that I had enough material to even write that much. I am grateful to all of my readers. I originally wanted a spot to record the recipes and my attempts at cooking but it became more than that. This blog has provided a way for me to be creative in ways that I wasn't able to before. I get so inspired from other bloggers and their ideas.

In the last year I have not been so active but as we settle in our new home, I hope to have more time to be more active.

I just have been given a wonderful gift, The Parents decided to retire and move in with us. That is a lot of people but I have missed them so much in the last 6 years. The kids get to spend more time with them. So far it has just been The Mother able to retire, The Father will be arriving soon. The Mother actually made the dish above.

One of my favorites: sweet sticky rice. The joys of having my parents here: they cook and we eat :D.

Now down the business. To celebrate my 300th post and 3rd Blogaversary, I am giving away Artisan Pizza and Flat Bread in 5 minutes a Day and Pizza Pan from Sur La Table. Since we moved to San Jose, we have been missing Chicago Style pizza. I even have document an attempt at our pizza making skills, just you wait :D.

How to Enter

1. Follow my Blog

2. Follow my Pinterest

3. Comment what is your favorite pizza

I will be choosing the winner November 1st. You have until Halloween to Enter.

Baking Partners - Cupcakes and Muffings

noreply@blogger.com (Lorraine Joy Alegria-Vizcarra) — Tue, 16 Oct 2012 08:38:00 +0000

For this month's Baking Partners, we bring you cupcakes and muffins with an autumn inspired ingredient: PUMPKIN! The recipes was picked by Priya of Cook like Priya and Reshmi of Easy Cook.

The first recipe is a chocolate pumpkin cupcake. There is a orange cream cheese frosting that went with it but I did not have a chance to make the frosting itself :(.

Chocolate Pumpkin Cupcake

(Adapted from Country Living)

Serves: 18 Edit

Yields: One 8-inch 3-layer cake or 36 cupcakes
Total Time: 1 hr 10 min
Oven Temp: 350

Ingredients
2 1/2 cup(s) all-purpose flour
2 tablespoon(s) all-purpose flour
1 cup(s) good-quality cocoa
2 tablespoon(s) good-quality cocoa
1 tablespoon(s) baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoon(s) baking soda
2 1/4 teaspoon(s) ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon(s) fresh-grated nutmeg
3/4 cup(s) buttermilk
1 1/2 cup(s) pumpkin purée
1 1/2 teaspoon(s) vanilla extract
2 1/4 stick(s) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cup(s) (firmly packed) dark brown sugar
1 1/2 cup(s) granulated sugar
5 large eggs
Orange Cream-Cheese Frosting, (see link below)

Directions

Prepare cake pans: Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly butter three 8-inch cake pans and fit each bottom with an 8-inch circle of parchment paper. Lightly butter the parchment paper. Set aside.
Make the batter: Sift the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a large bowl and set aside.
Combine the buttermilk, pumpkin, and vanilla in a medium bowl and set aside.
Beat the butter and sugar together in a large bowl, with an electric mixer set on medium speed, until fluffy.
Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition, until the mixture is smooth and light.
Alternately add the flour mixture and buttermilk mixture, blending well after each addition.
Bake the cake: Divide the batter among the pans and bake until a wooden skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean -- about 35 minutes.
Cool the cakes in the pan for 20 minutes. Remove cakes and cool. (For cupcakes: Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Place cupcake liners in standard cupcake tins and fill each with 1/4 cup of batter. Bake for 22 minutes.)
Assemble the cake: Trim each of the layers. Place one layer on a cake plate and top with one third of the frosting. Repeat with the second and third layers. (To ensure that the cake layers do not shift, cut three skewers to 1/4 inch shorter than the full height of the cake and insert them before icing the top layer.) Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Orange Cream-Cheese Frosting

Ingredients

1 package(s) (8-ounce) cream cheese softened

1/4 cup(s) (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened

1 tablespoon(s) fresh orange juice

1 teaspoon(s) grated orange zest

1/2 teaspoon(s) pure vanilla extract

4 cup(s) confectioners' sugar

1/4 teaspoon(s) orange food coloring

Directions

Blend the cream cheese ,butter, orange juice, orange zest, and vanilla in a large bowl, using an electric mixer set at medium speed, until smooth.
Add the sugar and continue to beat until light and creamy -- about 3 more minutes.

Tips & Techniques

Start with chilled frosting and ice the layers to 1/2 inch from the edge to prevent too much dripping.

I have no idea what is up with the face but of course my little helpers are right at my side.

I have a feeling he stuck his finger into the cocoa and flour mixture.

I am in love in this cupcake process. The batter was really fluffy and light.

Even with the lack of frosting, I was told by The Husband it was better than some of the store bought ones.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

(Adapted from the Joy of Cooking)

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups (195 grams) all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup (200 grams) granulated white sugar

2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup (180 ml) solid packed, canned pumpkin puree
1 cup (175 grams) semisweet chocolate chips

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C). Place rack in the middle of the oven. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners or spray each cup with a non stick vegetable spray.

Directions

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, ground spices, and salt.
In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla extract. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and pumpkin puree, in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour mixture.
Fold in the chocolate chips.
Fill the muffin cups evenly with the batter using two spoons or an ice cream scoop.
Place in the oven and bake for about 18 - 20 minutes, or until firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted in the center of one of the muffins comes out clean. Place on a wire rack to cool.
Makes 12 regular-sized muffins.

Note: The batter can be baked in a 9-inch (23 cm) loaf pan. Butter or spray the loaf pan with a non stick vegetable spray. Bake the loaf in a 350 degree F (177 degree C) oven for about 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean.

I decided to use my mini loaf pan instead of the traditional muffin tins

Misadventure #13 - Happy Birthday Honey

noreply@blogger.com (Lorraine Joy Alegria-Vizcarra) — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 20:01:00 +0000

Sleepy and brain starting to hurt but still alive and kicking. I have been MIA because of work. As I'm learning and getting used to my new job, it seems like it takes twice as long for me to get stuff done. But it is getting better. In the mist of my crazy schedule, it was the Husband's birthday. I figured I should nice and do something for him :D I didn't want to have a normal birthday cake and since halloween was coming up, I figured why not make a chocolate bar.

I found some images of a person making a giant Kit kat bar on Pinterest. I love Pinterest!

Giant Kit Kat Bar

(Influenced from The Meta Picture)

Ingredients

3 Bags - 8 ozs of Milk Chocolate (I just used the hersey brand)

1 1/2 Pack of Vanilla Wafers

*Please keep in mind, it depends on big the pan you are using. I was using a Pullman Pan 9x4x4

Equipment

Pullman Pan 9x4x4

Wax paper (but I used foil bad choice)

Piece of cardboard with the same with and length of the pan

Directions

Take the cardboard and cut out the word Kit Kat. I made sure it took almost the whole width of the pan. Place the cut out cardboard on the bottom of the pan. Make sure you spell it backwards
Line the pan with wax paper over the cardboard letters.
Melt one bag of chocolate in the microwave for one minutes. Take it out of the microwave and stir it to make sure all of the chocolate is melted. You may have to reheat multiple times to get everything melted. I first did one minute and then fifteen seconds if the chocolate wasn't fully melted.
Pour the chocolate on the bottom of the pan.
Layer the wafers. I laid the wafers parallel to the pan.
Keep stacking the wafers until it fills the pan. It took about 36 wafers.
Melt the second bag of chocolate.
Pour the chocolate over the wafers. Make the chocolate covers the side.
Due to the size of the pan, I had to user the 3rd bag of chocolate. You may not need to depending on the size.
Place in the refrigerator (I know you are not suppose to do that with chocolate but I have the worse luck with the stuff).
Chill for 2 hours or until it is firm.
Remove from the pan and serve.

This was a misadventure mainly because it wasn't smooth like it should be and you can't see the letters. I would use thicker cardboard next time.

Baking Partner - Cookies

noreply@blogger.com (Lorraine Joy Alegria-Vizcarra) — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 21:59:00 +0000

The challenge for this month's baking partners was cookies. Three recipes were provided by Tina of Pinay Cooking Corner , Priya of Priya's Versatile Recipes, and Reeni of Cinnamon Spice and Everything Nice. I was not able to do all three but two of the recipes. As soon as I took out the sugar and flour, two sets of stomping came my way trying to figure out what I was doing. I took this chance to teach The Daughter a thing or two about cooking (to do all of my dirty work).

Homemade Oreo Cookies: Fauxreos Adapted from Serious Eats

Yield: Makes 32 sandwich cookies

Active time: 45 minutes

Total time: 2 hours

Special equipment: 2" round or other cookie cutter, pastry bag or Ziploc bag

Cookies:

3 ounces/85g/ 6 tablespoon unsalted butter, room temperature

3 3/4 ounces/106.3g / ½ cup sugar

1 1/2 ounces/42.52g/ 3 tablespoon brown sugar

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 plus 1/8 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon instant coffee powder

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 egg yolks

4 ounces/113.4g / ¾ cup all purpose flour (or rice flour), sifted

3 ounces/85g / 1 cup cocoa powder, sifted

For the filling:

2 ounces/56.7g/ 4 tablespoon shortening or unsalted butter at room temperature

5 ounces/141.7 / 1 ¼ powdered sugar, sifted

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

a pinch of salt

Directions

To make the cookies: Using a hand or stand mixer set to medium speed, cream together butter, both sugars, salt, baking powder, baking soda, espresso powder, and vanilla extract until combined. With mixer still running, add in egg yolks one at a time. Once incorporated, shut off mixer and scrape bowl down with a rubber spatula.
Turn mixer to its lowest setting. Dump in flour and cocoa all at once. The mixture will be stiff. Continue mixing until uniform. Shut off mixer. Use a spatula to scrape the dough from the bowl and knead lightly to form a smooth ball. Use your hands to flatten into a disc. * You may begin rolling the dough right away, or you may wrap it with plastic and refrigerate for up to a week. If you've kept the dough refrigerated, let it sit at room temperature to soften before starting to roll.
Preheat oven to 350°. Sift some cocoa powder onto the counter (using cocoa instead of flour gives the Fauxreos their uniquely dark color). Use a rolling pin to roll the dough to 1/8" thickness. *When finished, slide a metal spatula between the dough and counter to loosen. This will prevent the cookies from sticking. **A 2" round cutter makes perfect "Oreos" but use any cutter you like. Cut out the cookies and use a metal spatula to lift and transfer to cookie sheet. ***Arrange cookies on ungreased cookie sheet. (If the cookie sheet is dinged up or uneven, line with parchment paper first.) The cookies will not spread during baking, so they may be arranged quite close together. Set the sheets aside.
Gather up, knead, and re-roll the remaining dough scraps, likewise cutting and arranging on a cookie sheet. *To add texture to the cookies, place any remaining dough in a mixing bowl. Mix with a hand or stand mixer and add about 1 tsp of hot water or coffee. Continue adding hot water/coffee, a teaspoon at a time, until the dough has thinned into a paste. You can always add more liquid, but you can't take it away. Add slowly and let each addition mix in fully before adding more. When the mixture reaches a frosting-like consistency, use a spatula to scrape it out. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a very small tip, or a heavy duty Ziploc bag with a tiny hole poked in the corner. **Pipe some sort of design atop each cookie. A tight cornelli design gives the impression of an Oreo. But anything will do, have fun with your designs!
Once the cookies have been decorated, bake for 10 - 12 minutes, or until firm to the touch. If your oven has an uneven heating element, rotate the cookie sheets after six minutes. Once the cookies have baked, cool thoroughly, directly on the cooling rack.
To make the filling: With a hand or stand mixer, cream together shortening/butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt. Cream on medium speed for five minutes; use a rubber spatula to scrape the bowl down periodically. The long mixing time aerates the filling, making it especially white and less gritty. *Using a spatula, transfer the filling to a pastry bag fitted with a plain tip. Alternately, portion with a melon-baller sized ice cream scoop, or by using Ziploc bag with the corner snipped off as a makeshift pastry bag.
To assemble the cookies: Flip half the wafers upside down. Onto each, pipe or scoop 1 teaspoon of filling (specifically: 1/4 oz for Double Stuf, 1/8 ounce for regular) directly into the center. To finish, top with remaining wafers and press down with your fingers, applying very even pressure so the filling will spread uniformly across the cookie.
Transfer cookies to an airtight container and refrigerate for several hours. This is crucial. After whipping the filling, it will be quite soft. Refrigerating it (especially if you're using butter) will solidify the filling, restoring its proper texture, and bonding it with the wafers. Serve.

I forgot to take out the butter to soften first so if you grate it, the butter will soften quicker :D

The Daughter always has to help me. Even the Son had to watch.

And stick his finger into the sugar

And of course there will be some spillage.

I was trying to teach her the right way to measure (not like I do it myself)

Of course Mommy can't mix, she has to.

I took over when I rolled the dough out.

The adventage of making my own oreos is making my own shapes.

Ultimate Chocolate Cream Cheese Cookies from Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito

adapted from the Food and Wine Best of the Best Cookbook Recipes

Ingredients:

2 ¼ cups (255g) all purpose flour

¼ cup (32g) unsweetened cocoa powder

2 tsp. (8g) baking soda

½ tsp. (3g) salt

2 sticks (226g) unsalted butter, softened slightly

4 oz (113g) Cream Cheese at room temperature

1 cup (201g) granulated sugar

½ cup (110g) dark brown sugar

2 large eggs

2 Tbsp. (30ml) heavy cream

1 tsp. (5ml) pure vanilla extract

3 oz. (85g) bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled

8 oz. (225g) of semi-sweet chocolate chips

Procedure:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, sift the flour with the cocoa powder, baking soda and salt.
In a bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle, combine the butter, cream cheese, granulated sugar and brown sugar and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes.
Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Beat in the eggs, heavy cream and vanilla until blended. At low speed, beat in the dry ingredients.
Add the melted chocolate and chocolate chips and beat just until incorporated. Cover the bowl and refrigerate the dough for at least 15 minutes or up to 2 hours.
Scoop heaping tablespoons of cookie dough onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing them two inches apart.
Bake for 12 minutes until the cookies are just set; shift the baking sheets for top to bottom and front to back half way through.
Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer them to a rack to cool completely.

She attacks again and tries to help

There goes the sugar again

And the mixer this time.

Triple Chocolate!

I put the dough in the saran wrap so I don't have to make the whole batch right away. I'm scared to think how the kids would be if they were able to eat the whole batch.

It was not too sweet and you could really taste the chocolate.

Here is both cookies I made

No food Friday - First day of School

noreply@blogger.com (Lorraine Joy Alegria-Vizcarra) — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 21:53:00 +0000

I am one of the slowest mom in the world. The Daughter started preschool 2 weeks ago and I am just writing this post. With her birthday in November I wasn't sure if she was going to be able to attend preschool. Since the school is a private, they allowed her to move to the preschool class much to my relief. We worked over the summer to make sure she knew her letters and numbers. Now she is starting to recognize what we are talking about when we spell something out (S-O-D-A but in her translation it is DSON)

To get her excited for the new school year I got her a little lady bug bag to put all of her art work. I also made sure I dropped and picked her up from school. We walked into the classroom and put all of her stuff away. Right away, she realized there was assigned seating. As soon as she spotted her name, she became excited that she was able to read it. I walked out of the room and kept looking back half expecting her to cry or not wanting me to leave. No, not my munchkin. It was a bit depressing for me. I'm scared to think how I will be once she is in kindergarden.

A little bit of about the Daughter

My first day at Preschool

Her Favorites:
Color: Pink and Purple
Food: NoNo's (noodles) and pickles
Activities: Dancing and Singing (and irritating her brother)

What she wants to do when she grows up:
To be a Teacher

Since the start of school she has been quoting the teachers and singing the same song over and over again. I can't wait to see what this school year will teach her.

Goodbye Charlie Trotter

noreply@blogger.com (Lorraine Joy Alegria-Vizcarra) — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 18:26:00 +0000

On Friday, Charlie Trotter closed his namesake restaurant’s doors for the last time. The restaurant has been opened for 25 years. It has became an Chicago institution while producing innovating dishes.

Other than the famous Charlie Trotter, a “few” well-known chefs worked in those kitchen including Graham Elliot, Bill Kim of Urban Belly and Homaro Cantu of Moto.

When I found out the restaurant was closing, I promptly harassed Anna to go with me. It did not take too much pursing and to my surprised, she volunteered to take me for my birthday. Best Birthday Present EVER!!!

I met her at the restaurant (which I almost missed). Both of us were so giddy, you would think we were 13 again and a cute boy walked past. We took all of the surroundings in. It was utterly beautiful with the original structure of the townhouse was still intact. I started to visualize what the house would look like if it was used for its original purpose.

The décor was simple but very elegant.

We sat down and we were provided two different menus, the current menu and a vegetarian version. There were so many different items we wanted to try on both menus. Each of us picked a different menu and shared each dish. I was completely shameless and brought out my camera in time for the first dish

We were first served the bread. Let me say, OH MY GOODNESS! The texture and taste is what I have been trying to achieve since I first started baking bread. As soon as I took a bite, I knew this supreme example of bread is my goal in my journey of bread making. I started to study the bread immediately hoping I will absorb the recipe and technique if I started at it long enough.

We had dish after dish and each one better than the last. Though I have to say the best one was a baked potato dish. A simple baked potato. Both Anna and myself stared at the potato with amazement. The server poured potato broth over the potato prior serving. Have you ever made a potato broth? I couldn’t even ponder how to make it. If I even tried, I’m sure I won’t even get close

A whole Menu of Dessert...I'm in Heaven

We even had the chance to take a tour of the kitchen.

Biggest bottle of wine we have seen.

In a kitchen for private parties

I’m grateful to experience the restaurant before I left Chicago.

Baking Partners – Happy Birthday Julia!

noreply@blogger.com (Lorraine Joy Alegria-Vizcarra) — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 20:15:00 +0000

Welcome to my first attempt to a Baking Partners challenge. On this episode we will be making Julia Child’s Reine de Saba avec Glacage au Chocolat: Chocolate Almond Cake.

Happy 100th Birthday

Reine de Saba avec Glacage au Chocolat
(Excerpted from Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child. Copyright © 1961 by Alfred A. Knopf. Reprinted with permission from the publisher Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House, Inc)

8 Inch Cake

4 Onces/113.4 Grams of Semi-sweet Chocolate Melted

2 Tbs of Rum or Coffee (I used coffee)

1 Stick/1/4 LB of Soften Butter

2/3 Cup/134 Grams of Granulated Sugar + 1 Tbs for Egg Whites

3 Eggs Separated

A pinch of Salt

1/3 Cup/65 Grams of Ground Almonds

½ Tsp of Almond Extract

½ Cup / 57 Gram of Sifted Cake Flour

Directions

Preheat oven to 350F/180 C.
Prepare the cake pan with flour and butter.
Melt the chocolate in a double boiler (or large bowl over a pot of simmering water) with the coffee.
Once the chocolate is melted, remove from the heat.
In a separate bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until the mixture becomes fluffy and pale yellow.
Add the egg yolks and mix until it is well incorporated.
In yet another bowl, whip at a medium speed the egg whites and salt until soft peaks are formed - accelerating the speed slowly. Gradually add the sugar and whip until the egg whites become stiff peaks. Set the bowl aside.
Take the egg yolk mixture and fold in the melted chocolate mixture.
Mix in the grounded almonds and almond extract.
Take ¼ of the egg whites and fold it in batter to lighten it up.
Fold in another 1/3 of the egg whites then 1/3 of the flour. Alternate the egg whites and flour until it is completely incorporated.
Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake for 25 minutes or until the cake is cooked through. The center may be a little soft but a toothpick may just come out oily.
Let the cake cool for 10 minutes in pan and then remove from the pan. Allow the the cake to cook for an hour to 2 to be completely cool.
Prepare the Icing

Chocolate Icing

2 Ounces/56.7 Grams of Semisweet Baking Chocolate
2 Tbs of Rum or Coffee
5 to 6 Tbs of Unsalted Butter

Direction

Fill out a bowl with water and ice. Set aside.
Place the chocolate and rum/coffee into the double boiler and melt the chocolate over simmering water..
Remove from the heat and mix until the chocolate mixture is smoothe.
Beat in the butter at a table spoon at a time.
Place the bowl into the water/ice bath and mix until it has cooled enough to have a consistency that is spreadable.
Spread over the cake.
Serve

Baking Partners are

1. Reeni (Cinnamonspiceandeverythingnice )

2. Julie Erivum Puliyumm

3. Tina ( Pinay in Texas Cooking Corner)

4. Priya (Priya 's Versatile Recipes )

5. Suja ( Kitchen Corner Try It )

6. Archana ( Tangy Minds)

7. Reshmi ( EasY Cook)

8. Prathibha ( Cook Ezee)

9. Priya R ( Cook Like Priya )

10. Sweatha ( Tasty Curry leaf)

11. Vidhya ( A Portion to Share)

12. Usha Rao ( My Spicy Kitchen)

13. Divya Prakash( Divya ’s Culinary Journey)

14. Swasthi Blank ( Swasthi The Health Freak)

15. Sanoli Ghosh ( Sanoli ’s Kitchen)

16. Pam Capone ( Live Ranch Delux)

17. Mirellie( Gourmet Global Creations)

18. Joythi( This and That of food and life)

19. Reshwani( Daily Cuppa)

20. Peachy ( The Peach Kitchen)

21. Aparana ((Mis ) Aventures of 3 Cookers)

21. Archana Podtar ( The Mad Scientist ’s Kitchen)

22. Gayathrirani( Gayathri ’s cooks spot)

23 Joy ( Joy ’s Misadventures)

And

24. Swathi ( Zesty South Indian Kitchen) Creator and Owner

Daring Cooks - Cornmeal and more Cornmeal

noreply@blogger.com (Lorraine Joy Alegria-Vizcarra) — Tue, 14 Aug 2012 23:03:00 +0000

It has been a while since I participated with the Daring Cooks challenge. When I found out the theme was cornmeal, I made sure I participated this month. This theme is brought to you by Rachael from Pizzarossa.

Cornmeal, cornmeal I thought when I was trying to figure out what to make. The only thing I came up with was catfish, fritters, and corn dogs. More deep frying, I am amazed my cholesterol isn’t as high as I would think it would be.

I caved into my inner child and made corn dogs. I didn’t make have hotdogs but I did have chicken. I made Chicken Corn nuggets or Corn Chicken.

Like Corn dogs.

Get it, Get it?

I know.

Totally corny (totally laughing to myself)

Corn Chicken
3 Lbs of Chicken Thighs
1 Tablespoon of Salt and Pepper

Cornmeal Pancake Batter
(Adapted from Pioneer Woman)
2 Eggs – Large and Lightly Beaten
2 ¼ Cup of Whole Milk
3 Tsp of Vanilla
4 Tbs of Melted Butter
1 ½ Cup of All-purpose Flour
1 ½ Cup of Yellow Cornmeal
½ Tsp of Salt
3 Tbs of Baking Powder
4 Tbs of Sugar

Directions

Cut the chicken into 1 inch by ½ inch pieces. The thickness should range from ¼ - ½ inch in thickness. The chicken skin should be removed.
Season the chicken pieces with the salt and pepper.
In a large bowl, mix together the beaten egg, milk, and vanilla.
Slowly add the flour, cornmeal, salt, baking powder, and sugar. Mix until everything is well incorporated.
Heat a large pot (we used a sauce pan and my stove looked like a piece of fried chicken has exploded) with 3 inches of oil. We used canola oil. Keep tabs the temperature of the oil to prevent burning. It happened to the first set of chicken.
Dip the chicken pieces into the batter.
Remove any access batter and place in the oil to fry.
Cook for 5-7 minutes depending on the sizes of each piece. The color of the batter should be golden brown. Test one of the larger pieces to check for doneness.
Drain on a paper napkin to remove access oil.

Honey Mustard

1/3 Cup of Mustard

1/2 Cup of Honey

Mix well. You may want to add more honey if you like it sweeter.

Corn Bread Muffin

*I used the recipe from the box. The brand I used was Arnett and added a cup of thawed corn kernals

Sauces: Honey Mustard, Ketchup, and Table Sryup (pancake batter = pancake sryup)

Baking Partners: A new Baking Group

noreply@blogger.com (Lorraine Joy Alegria-Vizcarra) — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 21:39:00 +0000

A group of home bakers helping each other to achieve perfection.

Baking a home made Baking a homemade bread, cake or cookies will give the best outcome. However in order to achieve the best results, a perfect recipe and right techniques are required.

We are a small group of home baker friends, who love and want to learn more about the nook and corners of baking. We are planning to try out recipes from books/magazines and cooking shows. Every member gets a chance to present their choice of recipe and share important points with the rest of the group.

Main purpose of this group is to learn the techniques, critic the procedure if there are ways to improve, and to eat a delicious food.

Rules are simple, we will choose one recipe and send it out to the group by 16th of every month and the reveal date will be 15th of the next month. On that day we will blog about it. A linky tool will be open during that time and each member can link their post.

First month we are going to do a recipe, 2nd and 3rd month will be a theme and the 4th month we will be back at a recipe. By doing in between recipes, we will able to learn more.

All enthusiastic bloggers interested in baking are welcome,
please email Swathi at favoriterecipes12@gmail.com.

We will appreciate the use of logo or worded link that will help to spread the word. A bunch of thanks to Tina for designing this beautiful logo

If you want to make it a gluten or vegan free diet, you can do those modifications also.

Baking a homemade bread, cake or cookies will give the best outcome. However in order to achieve the best results, a perfect recipe and right techniques are required.

We are a small group of home baker friends, who love and want to learn more about the nook and corners of baking. We are planning to try out recipes from books/magazines and cooking shows. Every
member gets a chance to present their choice of recipe and share important points with the rest of the group.

Main purpose of this group is to learn the techniques, critic the procedure if there are ways to improve, and to eat a delicious food.

First month we are going to do a recipe, 2nd and 3rd month will be a theme and the 4th month we will be back at a recipe. By doing in between recipes, we will able to learn more.

All enthusiastic bloggers interested in baking are welcome, please email me at favoriterecipes12@gmail.com.

We will appreciate the use of logo or worded link that will help to spread the word. A bunch of thanks to
Tina for designing this beautiful logo

If you want to make it a gluten or vegan free diet, you can do those modifications also.

Baking Partners are

1. Reeni (Cinnamonspiceandeverythingnice )

2. Julie Erivum Puliyumm

3. Tina ( Pinay in Texas Cooking Corner)

4. Priya (Priya 's Versatile Recipes )

5. Suja ( Kitchen Corner Try It )

6. Archana ( Tangy Minds)

7. Reshmi ( EasY Cook)

8. Prathibha ( Cook Ezee)

9. Priya R ( Cook Like Priya )

10. Sweatha ( Tasty Curry leaf)

11. Vidhya ( A Portion to Share)

12. Usha Rao ( My Spicy Kitchen)

13. Divya Prakash( Divya ’s Culinary Journey)

14. Swasthi Blank ( Swasthi The Health Freak)

15. Sanoli Ghosh ( Sanoli ’s Kitchen)

16. Pam Capone ( Live Ranch Delux)

17. Mirellie( Gourmet Global Creations)

18. Joythi( This and That of food and life)

19. Reshwani( Daily Cuppa)

20. Peachy ( The Peach Kitchen)

21. Aparana ((Mis ) Aventures of 3 Cookers)

21. Archana Podtar ( The Mad Scientist ’s Kitchen)

22. Gayathrirani( Gayathri ’s cooks spot)

23 Joy ( Joy ’s Misadventures)

And

24. Swathi ( Zesty South Indian Kitchen) Creator and Owner

July Kulinarya - Pang-Habang-Buhay

noreply@blogger.com (Lorraine Joy Alegria-Vizcarra) — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 18:47:00 +0000

This month's theme is called Pang-Habang-Buhay. Pang-Habang-Buhay is part of pampahaba ng buhay which promotes longevity and healthy living. The club's dishes had to include vegetables or fruit. Our lovely hosts this month is Isabel from My Expat Mommy and Kai of Bucaio.

For this challenge I choose to remake halo halo. I was inspired from a post that Adora posted on halo halo. She made a halo halo all with fruit instead of the traditional beans, leche flan, and pinipig. This is not a traditional recipe but this is how I made it.
Fruit Halo Halo
Mango Froze Yogurt (recipe will follow) - Traditional Ube Ice
Avocado for creaminess - Instead of Leche Flan
Whole milk (I would use skim instead but that is what I had in the house) - Instead of Evaporated Milk
Jack Fruit
Lychee
Cantaloupe
Kiwi
Ice

Directions

Put the ice on the bottom of the bowl.
Place the ice cream in the center.
Place the fruit around the ice cream.
Pour the milk.
Mix and serve.

Here is the break down of the health benefits. I just realized I didn't include Jack Fruit.

For one cup it has 155 calories while 4 of them are from fat. It contains 3g of dietary fiber, 10% of vitamin A, 18% of vitamin C, 6% of calcium, and 6% of iron.

For the mango frozen yogurt, I used plain yogurt instead of adding unnecessary amounts of sugar.

Data collected from the FDA and Nutrition data

Check out the other members posts.

Work, sick, and Junk food

noreply@blogger.com (Lorraine Joy Alegria-Vizcarra) — Thu, 02 Aug 2012 22:36:00 +0000

I was so excited that I have been getting better at posting and then work happened. Instead of having occasional breaks throughout the day to write and clear my head, I was working late into the night. Fun huh? To top it off, I'm currently sick with a head cold. These are the days when junk food is desired and in some cases needed. This is one of those days. One option is a recipe I made last summer, Deep Fried Baked potatoes. If you have not noticed, I love deep frying stuff. This is probably why my weight loss efforts are not as successful as I hoped.

Deep Fried Baked Potato
(About 40 balls)
4 Medium Sized Baking Potatoes
1/2 Cup of Milk
1/4 Cup of Butter
4 Strips of Bacon
1/4-1/2 Cup of Shredded or Block of Cheddar Cheese (it depends on how much cheese you would like)
3 Tsp of Salt
2 Tsp of Pepper
2 Cups of Panko
4 Eggs Beaten
2 Cups of Flour
Sour Cream to Dip

Directions

Pre-Heat the oven to 350F
Poke the potatoes with a fork to assist the cooking process.
Cook for an hour depending how large the potatoes are. Once it is cooked, remove from the oven and let it cool until it is easy to handle.
While you wait for the potatoes, chop the bacon into 1/2 inch slices. Then cook the bacon to the desired texture (crispy vs chewy). I cooked the bacon. Remove all of the meat of the potatoes into a large bowl. Add the butter, milk, 2 tsp of salt and 1 tsp of pepper.
Mix until it becomes well incorporated. You should be able to form a ball from the dough.
Take one piece of bacon and the amount of cheese you want (I went with 1/2 inch piece of cheese with a piece of bacon) and surround it with the potato mixture. It should make about 2 inch balls.
Put it in the fridge for at least an hour or do this the night before and let it rest for over night.
Heat a pot of oil of choice (I used vegetable oil) over med-high heat to 350F. You may want to check what temperature works best for the type of oil you are using.
Season the panko with 1 tsp of salt and pepper.
Setup your coating station starting with the flour, beaten eggs, and finally the season panko.
Dip the potato balls into each of the stations starting with the flour. The panko should be the last station.
Deep fry the balls until it becomes a golden brown.
Drain on a paper towel to be remove the excess oil.
Serve with sour cream

Note: I used chunks of cheese, I would use shredded if you prefer melted cheese. You will see the cheese melt better if you let the balls warm slightly verses deep frying them right out of the fridge.

Rambling day - No Food Friday

noreply@blogger.com (Lorraine Joy Alegria-Vizcarra) — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 18:28:00 +0000

It is Friday! Yeah for Friday...well kinda.

Instead of my to-do list getting shortter, it got long and longer. I even started to do some personal projects of my own.

This is what have been going on:

If you have not noticed, the look has been changing slowly. I am hoping to do a redesign. I feel i'the blog is long over due for one.
Trying to set a schedule so I actually get stuff done like cleaning, actually exercising (kinda), meal planning (yeah right), and spending more time with the kids.
Organize the post I want to do each week. I have quite a few pending post that I just need to edit and write about them. I found this freebie to stay organized.

What I actually "started"

This is a little pre-mature since I just started this task but I am trying to force The Daughter to do "homework" everyday. Homework is really myself and her going through her numbers and letters. I should have started a while ago but I did not have enough patience for it. Now since she kinda knows both sets, it makes it much easier to enforce the learning and expand on it like visual recognition. I strongly suggest to mix up the order of the letters/numbers so they know each one independently instead of just the order it goes in.
I also started a challenge called 52 weeks to an organized home. I'm already a week behind from when I signed up and you could start anytime. I was able to complete the first challenge - clearing counter and sink space in the kitchen. This week is my kitchen cabinets and I'm trying to combine it with the pantry challenge since most of my cabinets is my pantry.
I even set a schedule for myself for posting. I stick to it about 1/3 of the time but slowly trying to keep up.

Hopefully, next week I will have more updates :D.

Finally Baking Again Regularly

noreply@blogger.com (Lorraine Joy Alegria-Vizcarra) — Wed, 11 Jul 2012 04:09:00 +0000

It has been while but I am finally starting to bake regularly again. It helps that I need to make lunches and sometimes breakfasts for the little garbage disposals at home. They get bored fairly easily so I have to provide some variety in what I give them. I also finally learned not to cook for 20 people at a time. I started scaling down how much I actually make each time I bake and even cook. Lately, my focus has been breakfast food. I hate having to give them Cherrios every day. This last week’s breakfast was biscuits.
Most people have a certain style when they bake, I do not. Sometimes I try to be as accurate as possible by using weights, other times I use measure cups for ease, and portions or ratios when I’m trying to create a new recipe. I actually like using ratios since I can easily double or reduce the quantity.

This past week’s breakfast was biscuits. I used a recipe out of Michael Ruhlman’s Ratios, it was the same book I used for my pasta Misadventure. This ratio is fairly easy 3-2-1 (like the area code in Chicago).

Buttermilk Biscuits
(adapted from Michael Ruhlman’s Ratios)
9 Ounces of flour (about 2 cups)
3 Ounces of Cold Butter
6 Ounces of Milk
2 Tsp of Baking Powder
1 Tsp of Salt

Directions

Take all of the dry ingredients into a medium bowl and incorporate well (you may need to shift the baking powder).
Add the butter to the dry ingredients and mix until it becomes a loose crumble. It is a similar process when you are making pie.
Add the milk and mix until it forms a ball of dough.
Take the ball of dough and form a flat 4 by 6 inch rectangle. Then wrap it in saran wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour.
Once the dough rests remove from the refrigerator then roll it out until it triples the size on a floured counter while keeping the shape.
Take the short ends and fold it in to make it a 1/3 of the size. Roll it out again until it becomes a rectangle. Repeat. This process is similar to making croissants.
Wrap the rectangle with saran wrap and place it in the fridge for another hour.
Preheat the oven to 400F.
Repeat step 6. Then roll out the dough until it is about ½ inch thick and cut out the biscuits.
Place on baking sheet and bake for 20-30 minutes.

Happy 4th

noreply@blogger.com (Lorraine Joy Alegria-Vizcarra) — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 01:30:00 +0000

I hope everybody is having a good 4th of July. This year we are keeping it pretty low key but we always do is a BBQ. Currently, I am marinating a rack of beef ribs and hanging out with the kids. I am still debating what else to make for dinner. I was considering making something traditional like apply pie but my apple pies are always iffy (if you remember my past attempt).

Here is one recipe that can be a good alternative. I actually made this for The Brother's birthday.

Apple Cream Puff Cake Topped with Salted Caramel
(A really long name)

Pate a Chous Recipe
(adapted from Steamy Kitchen)
* like this one because it is an easy ratio: 1
1 Cup of Water
1 Stick of Butter
1 Cup of Flour
1 Cup of Eggs
1 Tsp of Salt
Directions

Pre-heat the oven to 425F
Place the water and butter in a medium sauce pan on a medium heat.
Bring to a boil and cook until the butter is melted.
Add the salt and flour then stir quickyly to make sure the flour doesn't clumps up.
Remove from the heat and transfer it to a bowl.
Mix in the eggs - I did this by hand due to lack of a mixer but I would use a mixer. It got a little difficult to mix.
Once all of the eggs is completely incorporated, put it in a piping bag.
Pipe a large circle. * See below (I may try just making a large circle instead of piping it)
Bake for 10 minutes and reduce the heat to 350F and bake for 18-20 minutes.
Set aside

This will make two large circles (I just realized, I didn't measure it. My guess it was at least 12 inches but not as much as 14).

Apple Filling
(adapted from allrecipes)
*I reduced the recipe by a 1/3 since I didn't need that much
6 Cups of Chunks of Granny Smith Apples

1 Tbs of Lemon Juice

1 1/2 Cup of Sugar

1//3 Cup of Corn Starch

1 Tsp of Ground Cinnamon

1 Tsp of Salt

1 Tsp of Ground Nutmeg

3 Cups of Water

Directions

First coat the apples with the lemon juice in a large bowl.
Mix in the corn starch, sugar, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg. Place in a large stock pot.
Add the water.
Bring to a boil at a medium high heat and let it boil for 2 minutes - stir. Reduce to a light simmer and continue to cook for about 10 minutes.
Let it cool for 30 minutes.

I used my favorite chocolate caramel recipe.

Assembly

Take the first layer of cream puffs on the platter.
Spread the apple filling. There may be access depending on how much you want.
Place the second layer on top.
Spread the caramel sauce on top and sprinkle a little kosher salt on top.
Serve

After we did damage to this...btw there was 5 adults and 1 child eating this

Kulinarya June - Only in the Philippines

noreply@blogger.com (Lorraine Joy Alegria-Vizcarra) — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 05:19:00 +0000

Late yet again……

A little background about me - I was born in the US and never been to the Philippines. Unfortunately, I had limited exposure to tradition Filipino cuisines. My parents did not really cook too much traditional dishes. The Father loved to try a variety of foods and try (I stress the word try) replicate it. That is probably where I get it from. It wasn’t until our favorite bakery closed that The Mother started to experimenting and learning the different treats we used to get at the bakery. Her first attempt was Pan de Sal. If you remember my experiment in perfecting my version of pan de sal, The Mother went through the same thing with her recipe. For some reason I could not get her recipe right, I have no idea why.

This little story leads us into this month’s theme for the Kulinarya Cooking club…….

Only in the Philippines

Brought you by our hosts - Cherrie of Sweet Cherrie Pie & Tina of Pinay In Texas Cooking Corner.

For my take of a dish only found only in the Philippines, I went with Ube Halaya (at least my version). I defrosted the froze ube from the store and went to search for The Mother’s recipe (my favorite version) and I came to realize I don’t have it. I swore I did but after the move, I can’t find a thing at home. I tried to replicate the recipe by memory. I may or may not get a call when I post this since to my amazement The Parents read my blog.

Ube Halaya

1 Package of defrosted Ube (500 g)

½ Package of defrosted Grated Cassava (250g)

1 Can of Coconut Milk (16.5 Oz)

1 Can of Condense Milk (10 Oz)

1 Tsp of Salt

1 Tbs of Butter

Directions

Take all of the ingredients and place in a blender.
Puree it until it is smooth
Pour into a large skillet, you could use a wok.
Put it on a low heat to cook.
It needs to be stirred frequently to make sure all of the mixture gets cooked and to prevent burning.
The mixture will become thicker as it cooks.
It is cooked once the ube holds its’ shape (This is how I measure it).
Put it on a serving platter and immediate cover in butter. It will melt immediately.
Prepare the latik

Latik

1 Can of Coconut Milk

Directions

Pour the coconut milk in a small sauce pan on a medium heat.
In about 10 minutes the coconut milk starts on brown. Make sure you are stirring it to prevent burning.
Slowly, the coconut milk will become brown and crunchy.
Once all of the coconut milk is cooked, remove from the heat and place the latik on a paper towel to drain the oil.
Top it on the ube and serve.

Gah - I need an assistant

noreply@blogger.com (Lorraine Joy Alegria-Vizcarra) — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 16:10:00 +0000

I swear, I can't seem to catch up or even keep track of dates. I do keep purchasing notebooks and I have multiple calenders and I'm still a day behind. I am so behind that I missed the post date of my guest post.

Check out my "misadventure" letting The Daughter pick out what we make for dinner over at Stay at Home Foodie. It was posted yesterday but I swear it was today. I'm that behind. I am in dire need of an assistant or a better way to be organized.

On Another Note.....

I am updated on pinterest and for the most part blogs I have love to get inspiration from. Here are some links I would love to share with you.
http://totallyloveit.com/braided-cinnamon-rolls/
http://www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com/2012/02/moms-english-muffin-bread.html
http://www.cometogetherkids.com/2011/07/cake-ice-cream-sandwiches.html
http://fragrantvanillacake.blogspot.com/2012/06/little-raw-vegan-peach-raspberry-dream.html

Not all There at Times

noreply@blogger.com (Lorraine Joy Alegria-Vizcarra) — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 21:59:00 +0000

Do you ever want to zone out and not think for just an hour or even a couple of days? That is how I feel lately. It is not that I’m not super stressed; I just can’t seem to have a coherent thought (Shhh Anna). It is probably due to all of the changes lately.

I’m trying to stay motivated to put myself on a schedule and be a little more organized. I keep saying that but I figured with this move, I actually could do so. I failed with my first task today – excising this morning. I woke up a little too late to ride my bike. I did take a break at lunch to walk and I’m trying to motivate myself to go out for another short walk to wake up.

I did have some motivation and edited a bunch of pictures this past weekend. I don’t know why but I never remember when I’m at home. I forced myself Sunday night to edit a couple of folders, so I could actually write a post, instead of making my kids’ lunches (I had to make their lunches Monday morning instead of excising).

When I’m in one of these phases, I find it is the perfect time for a cheater recipe. I tend to make these types more often than I like to admit.

20 Minutes Chili (I know it is wrong)

4 Cloves of Crush Garlic (about 1 Tb)
1 Small Onion (1/2 a Cup)
1 Tsp of Salt and Pepper
1 Lb of Ground Beef
2 Can (12 oz) of crushed Tomatoes
1 Tsp of Cumin
1 Tsp of Paprika
1 Tsp of Cayenne Pepper

*You could add more spices if you like but I’m a wuss and I can’t handle too much heat.

Directions

Sautee the garlic and onion in a medium stock pot coated with olive oil on medium heat
Once the onion becomes translucent and the garlic starts to brown, add the ground beef. Seasoned with salt and pepper.
Cook the meat thoroughly. Once the ground beef is cooked, drain the excess oil from the pan.
Add the crush tomatoes and the rest of the spices (cumin, cayenne pepper, and paprika).
You may want to add a little water if you feel that the tomatoes is not watery enough to create a soup. I like mine on the thicker side.
Reduce the heat to medium-low fire and let it simmer for 10 minutes or until it thickens.
Serve

Guest Post

noreply@blogger.com (Lorraine Joy Alegria-Vizcarra) — Sat, 16 Jun 2012 18:28:00 +0000

I did my first guest post on I Wash, You Dry.

Check our my corn bread chicken nuggets!!!!