I've been added to Petitchef
My blog's been added to Petitchef!
Check out their site. There are a lot of recipes to try out, and some shared by bloggers like me. :)
My blog's been added to Petitchef!
Check out their site. There are a lot of recipes to try out, and some shared by bloggers like me. :)
Look what I borrowed from the library the other day...
I have a problem and I need your help. On Christmas, there will be a small gathering in our house with some friends. They will spend Christmas lunch at home. It's pot luck, everyone will bring something and since I'm still in the hype of my baking, I volunteered to make the desserts.
I'm planning to make a few cupcakes since there will be less than 10 people coming over. Now my problem is... what to bake?
The Cupcakes
I have three choices for the cupcakes:
Since I got my oven a few days ago, I've been baking more than once a week!
The first thing I baked is, of course, the classic chocolate chip cookies. Actually, hubby requested it. hihi!
Finally got a new oven!
Since my search for a new oven, I've been too excited and way ahead of myself that started searching for nice & yummy recipes. I've searched for cookies and cupcakes, easy to make and to transport. :)
While looking for a way to beautifully frost a cupcake, I saw a few videos during my search. Two of those videos were posted by Epicurious.com. The videos showed Bobby Lloyd of Magnolia Bakery in New York making the red velvet cupcakes with creamy vanilla icing (as I mentioned in my previous post, not cream cheese frosting).
Here's the video of Bobby Lloyd making the red velvet cupcakes:
Here's the second video of Bobby Lloyd making the creamy vanilla icing for the red velvet cupcakes:
Red Velvet Cupcakes with Creamy Vanilla Frosting
from Epicurious.com
by Allysa Torey
Red Velvet Cupcakes
Recipe found here
Ingredients
During my looong vacation in the Philippines, I did some baking. I've missed baking so much, that I baked three times in two weeks. :)
I'm back from my vacation... again! :) This time vacation's really over. My next vacation is not so soon... maybe middle of next year. I did some baking during my vacation. I made some chocolate chip cookies, red velvet cupcakes and carrot cupcakes. I even searched for some more recipes online at Food Network, but was not able to do them anymore. I got some pictures of the red velvet cupcakes I made... I'll upload them once my sister sends me the pictures.
Hubby and I arrived in Singapore yesterday after lunch. I'm really surprised that he was able to keep the house clean. Good thing he's also a bit OC like me hihihi! Although the house needs a little more cleaning 'round the corners and a little sweep here and there. Other than that, everything's fine. The dinnerware are still neatly stacked in the cabinet and the silver flatware are all in the drawer.
Now that I'm back, I started cleaning the house this morning and did the laundry. Still thinking if I'll iron some clothes today. Later I will be cooking chicken adobo... that is if hubby and I won't go out to watch a movie tonight.
P.S.
There will be changes in my blogs soon. One of these changes is I've removed Entrecard from my blogs. Visit my other blog Journal of Thoughts for more info on this.
No posts for a while... I'm still on vacation. I miss my computer!!
Anyway, I want to show you guys something...
When we were in the US, our friends brought us to Door County, Wisconsin. It's full of B&Bs and some outdoor activities. There were some shops where you can try/taste some of the stuffs they're selling. These includes cheese, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, cherry preserves and wine. We tried all except the wine tasting. I bought some of the cherry salsa... they were yummy! Hubby's now so addicted to it, he's eating chips everyday since we got back.
Speaking of wine, Grand Mercure Roxy Hotel here in Singapore is having a wine and dine gala event called the The Grand Mercure Roxy Wine and Dine, Gala Event. There will be food and wine served during the event. To tease your tastebuds, some of the food that will be served during the event includes
Jia Wei Deluxe Combination
A perfect way to begin your exquisite culinary experience, this Jia Wei Chinese Restaurant signature is an appetising and colourful dish of bite-sized lobster paste roll, smoked duck, seafood dumpling, wasabi prawn and marinated octopus.
Steamed Cod Fish with Special Sauce
Steamed to perfection while retaining its texture and original flavour, the cod fish – specially flown-in from Norway – is bathed in an appetising special sauce made from a variety of vegetables.
On the other hand, some of the wine collections includes
FAMILLE CASTEL, Sauvignon Blanc from Gascogne, France
Fresh and liveky with green highlights and aromas of tomato leaf, aspargus, exotic fruit and lychee. Ideal for drinking on its own or with grilled fish and shellfish.
BASCAND, Pinot Noir from Waipara, New Zealand
Bright berry fruits overlay a complexity derived from old aged vines and intelligent use of oak. Deep, boldly- colored with a big plum and vanilla aromas.
If you're in Singapore and you're planning to stay in a hotel soon, complete The Grand Mercure Roxy Survey and you can book a weekend special accommodation package at Grand Mercure Roxy Hotel. Readers will also be automatically entering a lucky draw to win a weekend staycation at Grand Mercure Roxy Hotel with 3 dining vouchers at the award-winning Chinese restaurant, Jia Wei.
There's something wrong with my Firefox browser. I can't post a new entry using Firefox.
Visit my other blog Journal of Thoughts to know more.
Argh! Just when I was about to post an entry!
Update (Oct. 16): Finally everything's fine now! Still have no idea what happened but it doesn't matter now. :)
Before leaving for our trip to the US (read previous post Back from Vacation), I included Phoebe's Cupcakes in our Chicago itinerary. Just found out about it from Cupcakes Take the Cake from the blog's list of cupcakes.
After three long weeks I'm finally back! Hubby and I went on a three-week vacation in the US and just got back last Saturday.
Before hubby and I left Singapore for our vacation, I did my research: check for restaurants, fast food, bakeries, etc. from other blogs/websites.
I'll be posting some of our food escapades during our trip... not in a chronological order. Whichever picture I'll see/edit first will be posted. :)
FYI I am not a food critic, and I won't be posting reviews or whatever. Just some photos and the food/drinks I've tried.
So keep visiting to check on updates. :)
Since I'm not so happy with the puto I made the first time (link: My First Try with Puto), I decided to make some again.
Sorry... I cheated. hihihihi!
In fairness they were yummy! Perfect texture too.
Seriously, I really tried making puto again from scratch. Here's my second attempt in making puto:
This time it contains coconut milk.
After steaming them, I can already smell the coconut milk flavor.
The texture: soft yet firm. The taste: creamy rich flavor (because of the coconut milk).
I brought some to our friends' house and they liked it.
I got the recipe from Oggi's blog I Can Do That! (thanks Oggi for sharing the recipe).
Some changes I made:
Next time I'll try the pandan & ube flavor. :)
The Foodie's Food Trip just received it's first award! Not just one, but two blog awards from Anya of Kutsara at Tinidor. Thank you very much!
The rules for these awards are:
After being terribly disappointed with the tiramisu I made before, I decided to give it another try and bring it to our friend’s birthday party. I made a lot of mistakes on my first attempt that I decided to make only half this time. Good thing I still have enough chocolates, mascarpone cheese and Savoiardi. I just need to buy eggs and cream again.
Was the second attempt a success? Oh yes!
Pardon the plastic container I used... I know it's not presentable. :)
I won't call the chocolate layer as crème chocolat. Instead, I'll call it Chocolate Zabaglione. I made the chocolate zabaglione Friday morning. I watched and stirred it well this time. Placed it in the fridge to let it chill, so I can make the tiramisu that evening. The image on the left is the chilled chocolate zabaglione.
That evening, the first thing I did is to make the coffee that will be used for dipping the ladyfingers.
While waiting for the coffee to get cold, I started making the mascarpone cream. This time instead of using raw eggs, I used whipping cream. The first try didn't get creamed... turned lumpy/grainy because I overbeat the cream, and I used normal white sugar. So I made another batch again using icing sugar (good thing I have some). After just two minutes, the whipping cream with mascarpone cheese looked like whipping cream!
I then started layering the tiramisu. Instead of making just one set of 3 layers (coffee-soaked ladyfingers, chocolate zabaglione & mascarpone cream), I made two sets.
I let it chill in the fridge. I was so tempted to try it out already!
The next day, I added some powdered cocoa on top as garnish, and brought it to Cheche's party. As soon as they served it, I tried it immediately. It turned out great!
You might be expecting the recipe I used... unfortunately I can't! Well, the only recipe I can't share is the chocolate zabaglione recipe I used, which is the crème chocolat recipe from the Ultimate Chocolate Treats I class from Shermay's Cooking School. The coffee is just coffee, I found the mascarpone cream recipe online. BUT... I saw recipes online that are almost the same as the chocolate zabaglione I did.
I won't include the measurements... just the list of ingredients, and the links to the recipes I found.
Chocolate Tiramisu
Ingredients
I chanced upon a recipe that requires rice vinegar. I’ve never used rice vinegar in a dish before. The only vinegar I’ve used is the vinegar usually sold in the Philippines, which is cane vinegar. Rice vinegar is completely different with cane vinegar, even in use, so this is totally new to me.
While doing my research on rice vinegars, I realized that sushi rice is mixed with rice vinegar. Another thing I discovered is that rice vinegar is usually used in Asian cuisines.
I chanced upon a website of a certain brand of rice vinegar called Mizkan. It is the distributor of Nakano Rice Vinegar. Mizkan has several flavors of rice vinegar, with each flavor for different purposes. With the flavors they have available like Original Seasoned, Roasted Garlic, Basil & Oregano, Red Pepper, Balsamic Blend, and Italian Herb, you’re definitely not limited to Asian food.
Rice vinegar is the perfect for the health-conscious because it is a healthy alternative to salad dressing, sour cream or butter.
How do you use rice vinegar in dishes? Splash a bit on green vegetables and sliced tomatoes for a simple salad, use it as marinate for grilled chicken, sprinkle some as an added flavor to your favorite pasta recipe, baked potatoes, or hot vegetables.
Check out Mizkan’s website and join the NAKANO Splash Recipe Club for more Splash Tips and free recipes. You'll discover how a splash of rice vinegar goes a long way.
Got a new widget installed in my blog! It's by Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations. The widget looks like this:
I installed the widget on top of my blog posts.
If you watch Anthony Bourdain's show, then this is the way to get up to date by viewing sneak peeks of shows to come.
We had a little get-together at home last Saturday to celebrate our birthday (my birthday and hubby's birthday is just 4 days apart :D).
I decided to make another dessert, other than the usual leche flan that our friends normally request. Since I still have no oven, I settled for something that needs no baking yet challenging. So I decided to make chocolate tiramisu.
I shopped for the ingredients a week before because my in-laws will be arriving that weekend, and I wouldn't have the time to shop for myself after they arrive. I got my ladyfingers, my chocolate, my cream, my mascarpone cheese. The only ingredient missing were the eggs, which I bought the day before I started making the tiramisu.
I started making the crème chocolat Thursday night, because it has to be chilled before I can layer it to the tiramisu. The crème chocolat was perfect, despite the fact that I only used Hershey's chocolate chips. :D Not too sweet and not too bitter. Left it in the fridge overnight to chill. Friday night I made the mascarpone cream (made of mascarpone cheese and the eggs). First look at the mascarpone cream and I knew it's not right. Didn't get stiff enough... too runny... huhuhu.
Since it's already there, I decided to continue with it and layer my tiramisu. I layered my ladyfingers dipped in strong coffee (didn't bother mixing any alcohol to it), then the crème chocolat, lastly my liquid mascarpone cream. Chilled it overnight, hoping for some miracle to happen and make the mascarpone cream perfect.
The next day, Saturday, I tried a spoonful of the tiramisu after eating lunch. As soon as I took out the spoon, the liquid mascarpone cream filled the hole I made. So sad with what happenned... I served it anyway. It tastes good... it just didn't look good.
Hubby told me to just try again. I still have a few ladyfingers, half of the mascarpone cheese and some chocolate chips. :D I'll try something different with the mascarpone cream next time. Wish me luck with my second attempt!
Another long overdue post. :D
Last month, mother's day, my sister told me that she bought our mom a yummy cake, which was in the list of top 20 cakes in Manila.
Out of curiosity (and jealousy as well, since I was not able to try out the cake), I searched for it from the net and found the list my sis was referring to. It was an article from Philippine Daily Inquirer newspaper.
Just looking at the list was making me crave for sweets! And I didn't bother looking at their article about the yummiest privately baked cakes... one article is enough! :D
Check out the article from Inquirer.net.
20 yummiest (commercially baked) cakes - INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos
Shared via AddThis
I have a new cookbook!
I finally made some pork menudo last Friday! I had this recipe bookmarked from my cookbook for months.
Menudo is a Filipino dish, with thick tomato sauce. Normally menudo has raisins to balance the sourness of the tomato paste and liver to add some bitterness, but I opted not to put it because neither I nor hubby will eat them. Some would also add green peas, carrots and bell pepper. But for the dish I made, I only added potatoes. I actually added too much potatoes. You can actually count the number of pork cubes in there. :D
Pork Menudo
Ingredients
Directions
This is a long overdue post. :)
Puto is a Filipino food. It is a steamed rice cake, usually mixed with coconut milk. There are other puto variations like ube and pandan flavor.
I've been craving for puto and been wanting to make puto for a long time. Since I do not have an oven yet, I'm stuck with no-bake or steamed food. And since puto is steamed, and not baked, I wanted to give it a try.
I made these puto after making some leche flan for a friend's birthday party. I have too much egg whites and I didn't want them to go to waste, so I searched for puto recipes and decided to make some.
I found a puto recipe that uses egg whites and a bit of all-purpose flour. Very simple and easy.
Unfortunately, I only have sliced cheese in my fridge. So despite the fact that the puto will definitely taste different because of the cheese, plus it will surely melt differently, I still used the sliced cheese.
When the puto were done, it looked perfect! The look and the texture... puto! But the taste was a bit disappointing. Actually from the smell I already guessed that they won't taste like puto. They tasted like egg whites hihihi!
Despite that, I'm still happy I was able to give it a try. :) The search is on for the next puto recipe. Next time I'll try using rice flour. :)
Got an email from Border's today. Selected cook books are on sale, up to 50% off. Some of the items on sale include cook books by Betty Crocker and Jamie Oliver.
I think this is an opportunity that should not be missed...
Ooohhh... this looks so yummy and so easy to do.
Been wanting to make parfait... and this is the perfect recipe. :)
It's been years since I've eaten authentic tonkatsu with authentic tonkatsu sauce. Last time I had it was in Japan in 2003 (or was it 2002?) with my officemates/friends. Each of us will order a tonkatsu set. That's not all.... the rice was eat-all-you-can! hahaha!
Since I left Japan, I've been searching far and wide for that real tonkatsu sauce. The tonkatsu itself is easy to do... but the sauce... I'd just end up disappointed. Most of the time they give me soy sauce!
A few days ago, after going to the gym, Lloyd and I decided to check out if Takashimaya/Ngee Ann City has a Japanese restaurant with tonkatsu in their menu. Lo and behold... there is!
The restaurant's name is Tonkichi. Their specialty... TONKATSU!!! heaven.... :)
So we went in and ordered. Lloyd had the Prawn & Chicken Katsu Set. I had the Nagoya Rosu Miso Katsu Set. Lloyd is fond of Japanese curry so we ordered extra Curry Sauce.
When the food arrived.... speechless. I was too excited (& too hungry as well) that I never got the chance to take pictures of our food!!! Their tonkatsu is actually big... enough for 2 people. And... it was P-E-R-F-E-C-T! The sauce: It was P-E-R-F-E-C-T! Even the curry sauce and the shredded cabbage with the salad sauce... They were P-E-R-F-E-C-T! I was so happy with what I was eating I ordered extra rice... half for me & half for Lloyd. Although Lloyd was teasing me that I was just shy and can actually finish the whole thing! wahahahaha!
To give you an idea of what they offer, here are the links to their menu:
Popular & Standard Items
What is "Tonkatsu"
Page 1
Page 2
Page 3
Page 4
Page 5
Ahh... Japanese food...
Tonkichi - Ngee Ann City
391 Orchard Road, #04-24
Tower A, Ngee Ann City
http://www.pokkafood.com.sg/tonkichi/index.php
One of my favorite chocolate candies is Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. I started liking it when I was in high school. Reese's was not available in groceries and supermarkets, so I'd ask a favor to anyone who goes to the US to buy me some. :)
So I made some, and... here's the final product! :)
After attending the Ultimate Chocolate Treats I class from Shermay's Cooking School and learned how to make Chocolate Peanut Butter Squares, I was excited! I wanted to make some chocolate peanut butter squares! But there were a lot of factors that stopped me...
So I searched for a different recipe, and I found one by Nigella Lawson. The recipe is in her book How to Be a Domestic Goddess: Baking and the Art of Comfort Cooking. I also found another recipe shared by Nigella Lawson in Good Morning America. It's the same as the one in the book, the difference is the measurements used are in US system of measurement. :)
Since this is just my first try, I don't want my ingredients to go to waste so I only made half (plus I don't have that much chocolate chips hihihi). I used a 5.5in x 5in plastic container with the inside wrapped with foil.
I left the whole thing in the fridge overnight (just to make sure). But seriously... that night, I can't sleep because I was so excited to open it and see if it turned out OK. When I opened the container... perfect!
As you can see, I placed some peanuts on one half, and none on the other, just to try out the difference of plain vs. crunchy and also to have a variation of having that extra peanut taste.
Lloyd's not a fan of the combination of chocolate & peanut butter, but he tried some (the ones without nuts. He hates crunchy!), and he said it was good. :)
If you love the combination of peanut butter and chocolate, then you should definitely try this out. Next time, I'll buy some Valrhona and make these using Chef Joycelyn's recipe. :D
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