Party Rockin'

making the fondant icing

the final sketch

  After my son's birthday, my friend who is also my son's bestfriend's mother asked me if I wanted to make the cake for his son's 6th birthday. Of course I said yes as long as she tells me the theme ahead of time - which means a couple of weeks before October 20.

before heading to the party venue

  Then a few weeks before the supposed date, she told me that they decided to do an LMFAO party - her son loves the band. Which means an 80's style and disco theme - this got me excited. I made a couple of sketches of the cake - the one  posted is what I chose to make. The cake was made of three tiers, the robot head, the zebra and the party symbols.

  I ended up switching the middle and bottom tier than originally planned. This was because of the frosting that I used, I will explain in a little bit right after I tell you what this three tier cake consisted of. The first tier (Mr. Robot head) is of marble cake with chocolate cream cheese frosting. The middle tier is made of a double chocolate cake with vanilla cream cheese frosting and the last tier is of yellow cake with the same frosting as the first tier.

the celebrant rocking it with the band

  It is never good to use white fondant on top of any dark or colored frosting since it will affect the color of the fondant and stain it. Believe me, that was what I did first and it was so frustrating and seriously annoying - I should have listened to the advise of almost everyone. Thus the switcheroo or else it will be the end of the cake - a big NO NO (I am not about to have a six year old celebrate his birthday without the right cake).

  In the end it all worked out and everyone loved it, but most importantly the celebrant said that it's "awesome!". The cake was both pleasing to the eyes and as well as to everyone's palate, even for those who doesn't like cake much.

   Happy 6th birthday little guy everyone were happy that you had fun!

ready for the candle blowing

what happened after the candle blowing

got the cake to the table safe and sound

i love how the table was set up for the party (great job for the celebrant's aunts who made the robot head, little robots and the zebras

Let's get transformed

     The number one  person in my life is celebrating his 6th birthday. For that I went all out, firstly because he deserve it. Secondly, it's his first big birthday bash with his friends coming over to celebrate.

the fight between optimus prime and megatron

     Since my son is a big fan of transformers, most especially bumblebee, we had an all out transformers birthday party. But before it all got finalized, I was worried that he'll change his mind which was for nothing since he's very single-minded and will ask for a good rational explanation when you want to change his mind. With his mind made up, we started planning the food, the decorations and the cake. Yes he got a say on everything that will happen to his party, it is his party after all.

the celebrant enjoying his cupcakes

    Two months before the date of the celebration, I made a sketch of a three-tiered cake that he refused to have for his birthday. He flat out refuse telling me that he just wants a small cake and a lot of cupcakes. That comment made me stare at him for a couple of seconds in disbelief. I mean, really? A six year old refusing a big cake for his birthday with all the transformers character included in it. He told me his specifications, cupcakes with transformers on top and a small cake with bumbleebee, optimus prime and megatron. We debated, argued, disagreed and he won -  it is his birthday after all. After which I went searching the internet for cupcake toppers and toppers for the cake (my mom and I went to a lot of trouble to get those three in the same sizes, especially bumblebee). I got inspired with the idea of having a cupcake stand and decided to make a small cake to put on top. I showed it to him and this is what he said "I knew you will understand what I want mommy, thank you!"

   As much as I wanted to do more for the cake, I wasn't been able to. For one thing, he just wants it plain blue, for the other, this is summer, a 90 degree weather that is very humid as well. I actually ended up making the cupcakes and the cake at my friend's house Vee, since hers is more roomy and cooler. She helped me mix, frost and decorate the cake - she actually was one of the greatest helper of all, running around for errands to help make my son's birthday a success (I love her so much for it). It ended up to be such a funny moment for us both as we frost the cupcakes in her dining room while our kids and her hubby played in the living room. It was very challenging for both of us to make the frosting stay on top of the cupcake because of the temperature. It keeps on sliding down, and for her, it was frustrating and she was hysterical. Apologetic to the extreme that it's not looking as good as those I make. I was laughing the whole time telling her to stop worrying too much. She got so worried that she went all out and bought an ice cream cake (the car) as well. It was such a good feeling how much she wanted the cupcakes to look great for my son's birthday. In the end, we had a good laugh about all of this because it might not look perfect but it still ended up looking good and inviting.

   All in all, the kids had so much fun (which is the most important thing of all), the adults got full and satisfied, and the celebrant gave me the biggest kiss possible before bedtime as a thank you.

blow your candles big boy!

Philippine Adobo

   

   Adobo is a Spanish word that literally means "marinade". When you say adobo here in New York, they will think it is the paste or marinade made from chillies, vinegar, herbs, and spices, used in Mexican cookery to flavor meat or fish or the Adobo seasoning made by Goya, one of the growing food company here in America. But for Filipinos like me it is one of our staple dishes. The famous version consist of pork or chicken stewed in a mix of vinegar, soy sauce, pepper, bay leaves and garlic. Aside from using chicken and pork, varieties includes squid, kangkong (water spinach) and various shellfish.

   I remember cooking chicken adobo under my father's instruction for our dinner that night. I, obediently following his instruction though in reality, I already know how to do so except that I want to find out his very own technique. He was impressed to say the least with the exception of the chicken almost burning because I wasn't really keeping an eye on the dish, it's a good thing that it just made the chicken's skin crispy. Through the years, I managed to adjust the flavors according to my taste, and that means putting a lot of garlic and a bit of minced onion to compliment the vinegar. Still, with or without onion, it's one of my son's favorite dish which is good enough for me.

Adobo

     *I prefer dark meat when I use chicken as it retains the juices more than the white. add 1/2 a cup of water since it takes more longer to stew than the pork.
     **For pork adobo, I use the pork belly, and cut it into cubes. The combination of lean meat and fat makes for a juicier adobo. The bone attached adds flavor as well.
     ***If you are not very fond of garlic, you can lessen to the amount you prefer but you can never take it out from this dish.

Ingredients:


equal parts vinegar and soy sauce
1 tbsp pepper (crushed); if you'll be using whole peppercorns double the amount
1 piece of small bay leaf
half of a garlic's bulb (roughly chopped)
1 tbsp minced onion (optional)
1 lb of meat


  In a bowl, mix the first four ingredient then add the preferred meat. Make sure that the meat gets completely coated by the mixture. Transfer to a pan, covering and placing over medium-high heat. Lower heat to medium-low when liquid starts to boil. This is better cook slow to make sure that the flavors seep in and the meat gets thoroughly cooked.

  I used two different techniques with the adobo I made for this dinner; one I learned from my dad, the other I learned from experimenting. My experiment was rubbing 2-3 cloves of oven-roasted garlic on the meat before adding it to the marinade then cook as instructed.

 

   My dad's will be to cook adobo twice, yep, you read it right. This means chopping the other half of the garlic's bulb and reserving it. When the meat gets tender (pierced it with a fork to test doneness), remove it from the pan by transferring it in a bowl. Return pan to the stove, add a tablespoon of oil then sauté the reserved chopped garlic till it tends to stick on the pan. Then take the meat out of the bowl (retain the reduced liquid) and sauté with the garlic for 3-5 minutes. Add half of the remaining liquid from the bowl and cooked by sautéing for another two minutes. Serve over hot white rice or fried rice and enjoy!

Eggs Benedict in a Puff Pastry plus a dessert of Meringue

   During one of my days off last May I decided to make a special breakfast for my myself, my mom and my grandmother. I made my own version of eggs benedict; I used puff pastry as the bread rather than a bagel as is usually done. The puff pastry shells I bought from the store but I made my own hollandaise sauce and used duck prosciutto instead of regular pork bacon. The duck prosciutto somehow made it more flavor and meaty.

   

    Firstly, I made the hollandaise sauce while I let the puff pastry bake and turn golden brown on top. After which, I set the sauce aside and let the ingredients in the incorporate while I let the bacon fry and crisp in the pan. While the prosciutto cook, I poached some eggs using the microwavable poacher (a heaven sent) and chopped some scallions. If you don't have the microwavable poacher, you can poach the eggs over simmering water; it is better to slide down the eggs one at a time from its shell to keep the shape.When everything was cooked, it was time to assemble them. 

   To make sure that I won't waste any of the ingredients when making the hollandaise sauce, I used the egg whites to make a meringue as a dessert which ended up to be a must to have everyday for everyone.

   I used the Hollandaise recipe from simply recipes but made an adjustment with the amount of butter.

Hollandaise Sauce (makes about 1 cup) 

3 egg yolks
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
1 stick of butter (8 tbsp)

   Melt the butter slowly in a small pot. Try not to let it boil – you want the moisture in the butter to remain there and not steam away. Add the egg yolks, lemon juice, salt and cayenne (if using) into your blender. Blend the egg yolk mixture at a medium to medium high speed until it lightens in color, about 20-30 seconds. The friction generated by the blender blades will heat the yolks a bit. The blending action will also introduce a little air into them, making your hollandaise a bit lighter.
   Once the yolks have lightened in color, turn the blender down to its lowest setting (if you only have one speed on your blender it will still work), and drizzle in the melted butter slowly, while the blender is going. Continue to buzz for another couple seconds after the butter is all incorporated.
  Turn off the blender and taste the sauce. It should be buttery, lemony and just lightly salty. If it is not salty or lemony enough, you can add a little lemon juice or salt to taste. If you want a thinner consistency, add a little warm water. Pulse briefly to incorporate the ingredients one more time. Store until needed in a warm spot, like on or next to the stovetop. Use within an hour or so.

For the Meringue (a recipe I found at joy of baking):

3 egg whites (from the egg that i took the yolks from)

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

3/4 cup super fine sugar

1/4 tsp vanilla paste or extract (I prefer the paste since it gives that fine vanilla taste)

   Preheat oven to 200 degrees F (95 degrees C) and place the rack in the center of the oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. You can form the cookies with a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2 inch or you can use a ziplock top bag and cut one end. In the bowl of your electric mixer, with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites on low-medium speed until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and continue to beat the whites until they hold soft peaks. Add the sugar, a little at a time, and continue to beat, on medium-high speed, until the meringue holds very stiff peaks. Beat in the vanilla paste.  

  

   Note: The meringue is done when it holds stiff peaks and when you rub a little between your thumb and index finger it does not feel gritty. If it feels gritty the sugar has not fully dissolved so keep beating until it feels smooth between your fingers.

Before placing the cookies on the cookie sheet, place a little of the meringue on the underside of each corner of the parchment paper. This will prevent the paper from sliding.  Transfer the meringue to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2 inch (1.25 cm) tip. Pipe 2 1/2 inch (6 cm) rounds of meringue in rows on the prepared baking sheet. Alternatively, spoon mounds of meringue, using two spoons, onto the prepared sheets. Sprinkle the tops of the cookies with a few shaved almonds, if desired.

  

   Bake the meringues for approximately 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 hours, rotating the baking sheet from front to back (about half way through) to ensure even baking. The meringues are done when they are pale in color and fairly crisp. (The meringues will release easily from the parchment paper.) Turn off the oven, open the door a crack, and leave the meringues in the oven to finish drying several hours or overnight. The meringues can be covered and stored at room temperature for several days. 

  

   I made small bite-sized pieces that the kids love so much.

Papa's Morcon

  As I have said in one of my blogs, I am going to cook and feature more Filipino food as I can in my blog. To start off, I made the pancit canton and lumpiang shanghai a couple of days earlier. Two days ago I made Papa Delfin's Morcon (my deceased paternal grandfather) and slow cooked it in our barely used slow cooker for 5-6 hours. That will then make the meat tender, perfect for my grandmother so she won't have a hard time eating it.

   I am ashamed to admit that I cannot remember myself liking this dish when I was a child or whenever he makes one. It took a lot of courage and faith for me to recreate his version. One reason why I hesitate cooking this dish is that I cannot recall its taste. For me, it's hard to cook something that my tongue cannot remember. Gathering my courage and praying that I wouldn't just waste the ingredients, to the kitchen I went.

  I searched for the recipe my father gave me (what he remembers my grandpa used and did to cook morcon) and searched for recipes online that will make me recall my memory of him making this dish. Morcon is made up of beef flank filled with ground pork and other ingredients then rolled in a log, tied up with a butcher's twine. This is a very time consuming recipe to make which is why Filipinos prepares the dish during special occasions only.

  Incidentally, this is one of my mom's favorite dish from my grandfather. According to her, every time she will come over and visit, she will ask my grandfather to cook one for her. 

  I made a small-sized morcon since it will just be myself, my mom, my grandma and my lil' prince; but the recipe I'm including can serve 8 people.

Papa D's Morcon

1 16x12 inch flank steak about 1/3 inches thick
1/2 cup soy sauce
2 tbsp brown sugar
3 tbsp kalamansi (also known as calamondin) or lemon juice
salt and pepper
4 tbsp vegetable oil
1 big onion, chopped
1 bulb of garlic, chopped
8 plum tomatoes, chopped
patis or fish sauce to according to taste
1 big bay leaf
1 whole Chinese chorizo (in my case, I used Spanish chorizo since we used up the Chinese chorizo and the Asian store is too far away)
1/4 cup grated cheese
3 tbsp pickle relish
3 tbsp raisins
1 cup ground pork with fat
6 whole hard boiled egg in salt water, shell removed
pepper to taste

*butcher's twine is used in this dish to tie around the beef once rolled.

   Mix soy sauce, brown sugar and citrus juice in a bowl, then rub salt and pepper on steak. Put steak on soy sauce mixture making sure the meat is submerged all the way through. Let stand or refrigerate overnight.

   Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat - pot needs to be large enough to fit the rolled steak. Sauté garlic and onion till soft; add tomatoes, fish sauce, bay leaf and pepper, adjusting to your taste. Let simmer in low fire till reduce. Set tomato sauce aside allowing to cool in room temperature.


   In a large bowl, mix together ground pork, cheese, raisins, pickles, and 2/3 cups of the sauce. Let flavors blend together. Take out the flank steak from the marinade, lay flat on a chopping board. Slice chorizo lengthwise in half, set aside. Position pork mixture in the a line 3 inches from the longer side and 4 inches from the shorter side till it reach the other end. Distribute eggs on top of the mixture and place chorizo a slice each on both sides. 


   Return sauce to a simmer while rolling beef like a jellyroll cake till you reach the end making sure that meat over laps on every open side. Use butcher's twine to wrap the rolled beef and secure. Add beef roll into the sauce once it starts to simmer. Let simmer in low heat for at least 3-5 hours if you want it very tender. The duration depends on how tender you prefer your beef to be. 


     In my case, I used our crockpot slow cooker and have it cooking overnight and reheating it 20 minutes before dinner time.

What do you think?

   According to my mom, it tasted good except that the next time I make another one of this dish I have to use the chorizo de bilbao as we call the chinese chorizo back in the Philippines. She got a point there, the chorizo will make a difference because it will complement the tanginess of the sauce with its sweetness. But as long as she likes it, I won't be intimidated to cook morcon more often - maybe the price of a beef flank would!




 

Who Ville Cake

the cakes cooling in the mold

  A few days before mother's day we went grocery shopping at target for cleaning supplies that ended with a few more things than necessary. One of those was the cake pop pan, i got excited and tried it for the first time to make cakes that will look like flowers in a pot. A terrible idea to do when the occasion is a day ahead since it's my first time to do such a thing and I made all of it in a rush.

see how the stick is leaning to the other cake?

    Once everything cooled from the pan, I removed it and used lollipop sticks as the stem. I dipped the lollipop sticks in my melted chocolate and inserted one in every cake pop. The greatest mistake I made was rushing everything. I didn't wait for the chocolate to really set and harden so as the lollipop sticks will be "glued" to the cake. I just gave it 2-3 minutes to set and dipped them in another chocolate to cover it up; the end result? cake pops sliding downwards (ugh!). Imagine the frustration and annoyance I felt towards myself. Deciding on how to fix the mess I made, I had the cake pop with a lollipop stick lean close to the one without. Both of them I put on top of my edible pot.




 

       I used those disposable dessert cups (designs and shape varies) as the pot, filled that "pot" with crumbled chocolate cake and covered it with green icing; have the cakes covered in royal icing with white chocolate that I made ahead and topped it with red sprinkles. I gave it to my mom as a mother's day gift (aside from the trip to the salon). I opted to give her this than regular flowers since she is not much of a fan - can't blame a woman who worked for 10+ years in a nursery. So, instead I gave her an edible flower which she now calls, the whoville cake plant from Dr. Seuss.

What do you think?

Hello Neglect

  During one of my aunt's visit here in the city, she asked me how my blog is doing (guilty of neglecting it these past few days) and the cooking/baking. Different topics were discussed about ingredients, methods of cooking and the like. She then told me how is it that she never saw me post any Asian dish that is from our heritage or adapted from other Asian countries. I couldn't answer since I am guilty of overlooking the food from my country and focused way too much on different recipes.

 To start compensating for that, I made a vow to make a special page only for Filipino foods and delicacies. But to start things, here is the Filipino version of three foods that originated from China. The pancit canton, lumpiang shanghai and siomai; pancit canton consist of flour noodles stir fried with vegetables and meat in a pan or wok; lumpiang shanghai is famously known here as spring rolls - it is mostly filled with ground pork and carrots; lastly, the siomai or dumplings.

  I do hope my aunt approves if she ever sees this.

Random Baked Goods and Such

an order of half a dozen cheesecake cups

  

second batch of a mini key lime cheesecake

the 9.5-inch cheesecake that was ordered for mother's day

lemon-lime chicken with couscous

my mother's day cake for my very own mom :)

my mom calls this the "whoville cake"

    I have been in hiatus (I got too engrossed planning my son's 6th birthday party) for a few weeks and wasn't been able to update my blog post but that doesn't mean I also took a break from cooking or baking - never! During my long break from blog posting, I managed to bake orders of cheesecake cups and a cheesecake, chocolate balls for mother's day and cook some grilled lemon-lime chicken with couscous.

    There will be a follow up blog for recipes and random thoughts coming up soon! But for now, enjoy and have fun looking at my photos. Thanks!

Keylime Cheesecake

  I've purchased way too much cream cheese in the past few days that our refrigerator is getting too packed because of it and even my mom was complaining. To avoid having those cream cheese turn green (you know what I'm talking about), one by one I use them for something. I made some cream cheese frosting, white chocolate with cream cheese frosting, and some for cooking. But apparently I got addicted in buying cream cheese everytime there's a bargain - $5 for 2 anyone?

 But of course, I can't seriously just store them inside the fridge without finding molds sooner than later, especially taking the weather into consideration. Figuring what else to do with them without making another plain cheesecake I thought of making one with flavor. So one day, before my mom went food shopping, I asked her to buy me some key limes. But I also found some on sale on my way home - $1 for 5, there I go buying some (yeah bargains are a killer for me).

  After a few days of delaying, into the kitchen I went, prepared everything I need and tried to finish early. To make sure that the keylime cheesecake will not stay in the fridge longer than it should (I was a bit apprehensive since it is my first attempt), I used my smallest springform pan - 6''.

 Luckily, it didn't stayed that long since I gave a slice to my friend which she loved! My mom said that it was good because the lime compliments the flavor and creaminess of the cheese. Personally, I think the next time I make another batch I'll be making some adjustments like lessening the lime juice content. I'm glad they like it, but for me I think it was somehow a tad sour than needed.

Keylime cheesecake: (Can also fill up a 9-inch springform pan)
 this recipe I adapted from Smitten Kitchen which she adapted from Gourmet, May 2002
For Crust:

 1 1/4 cups graham crumbs or 9 graham crackers, crushed
 3 tbsp sugar
 5 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

For the filling:

 3 (8 ounces) package cream cheese at room temperature
 1 cup sugar
 3/4 cups lime juice - set aside 1 tbsp
 1/2 cup sour cream
 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
 1/8 tsp salt
 4 large eggs

Preheat oven to 350°F then butter bottom of pan to ensure easy release.

Stir together crumbs, sugar and butter in a bowl with a fork until combined well. Put in the pan then press evenly distributing it. Bake crust in middle of oven for 10 mins and cool pan in a rack.

After taking out the pan, reduced heat of oven to 325°F.

Beat cream cheese with an electric mixer at medium speed till fluffy, beat in sugar (careful not to overbeat). Add lime juice, sour cream, and vanilla while continuously beating till smooth.  Lower speed then add salt then scrape sides of bowl as needed. Add eggs one at a time till incorporated.

Pour the filling into the crust and set in a shallow baking pan. Bake in the middle of the oven till set, around  1 hour. After an hour, prop oven door open and leave the cheesecake in the oven for another 30 mins.

Afterwards, remove pan from oven and cool in on top of rack.

For this cheesecake, I  whipped 1/4 cup heavy cream, 4 tbsp sugar and the 1tbsp of lime juice we set aside earlier.

This recipe is already adjusted according to my preferences. If you find anything you needed to change, I'll be happy to hear from you!

Eating Days

   During my aunt's stay at our place we went around the Manhattan and the Bronx for some strolling, food and discovery. But mostly just to get out of the house and enjoy the pleasant weather we are experiencing during that week.

The first place for our itinerary was at Arthur Avenue to explore the Little Italy of the Bronx - something we, who live in the Bronx haven't heard of till she told us about it. When we arrived, we decided to eat first before we start strolling around the area for goodies. We decided trying out Umberto's Clam House. Inside the restaurant, it is stage to either make you feel like you're inside the ship with one side of its walls covered in wooden planks, the opposite side decorated with a helm, miniature ship, lamps, portholes and pulleys - not to mention some fake olive, tomato and round mozzarella kebabs hanging on the wall as well. The service was good except there are tendencies when the server forgets some of our request. As for the food, it was surprisingly tasty. My son loved the pizza and we all loved what we order, a place we'll go back to again.

    After our lunch, we strolled, check stores and went to have dessert in a stall inside their market place (it looks a lot like that of Philadelphia's). We bought a small slice of red velvet cake, tiramisu and eclairs plus a small size of ice cream for my aunt. Of course my mom and I ordered a caramel macchiato for her and a plain macchiato for me.
 
   In the end, we went home with fresh tuna and fresh swordfish (both cooked and served the that night as posted on my previous entry), two chunks of different cheese, steak, beef with prosciutto pinwheel, a pound of ground espresso and a couple of other vegetables and non-edible merchandise - we definitely enjoyed it.

  A few days after, off we went to Union Square, NYC to roam the Union Square park for the farmer's market. But first, a stop at Max Brenner's for brunch. Ordered a lazy breakfast for my aunt, two guilt free omelet for me and my mom, and oven roasted tomato pizza for the little prince. The food was satisfying - having brunch at close to 11 am with no breakfast or whatsoever earlier. It wasn't bad but I can't say it's superb either. The highlight of our orders was my son's frozen hot chocolate.  Mostly, I was just loving their presentation, we especially love the cup for the frozen hot chocolate and the teapot diffuser. We were too stuffed to even realize that we were gallivanting around the southern part of the city most of the day not looking for another place to eat at. Believe it or not we didn't feel like eating dinner when we got home - of course, my son is the exception.