White Birthday

  On an early day before our work even begin, my close friend at work suddenly demanded (seriously demanded) that I make her cheesecake pops for her upcoming birthday - this was my coworker who only eats cheesecake made by me. I stared at her and laugh after which I said no jokingly. Continuing to our group's conversation - whatever it was (I forgot), we talked about work, the things that we need to attend to and went back to the cheesecake pop demand. Yes, she isn't about to let this go. To appease her, I asked when her birthday is (I know, I know, but she never really said anything), she told me that it's on the 26th of February. My response? "Alright, alright, just stop'' - like a mom telling her child to stop whining (but I was laughing).

 

   Now you're probably wondering why do you see photos of a white cake instead of cheesecake pops or any cheesecake for that matter. Well, one day when we were walking while searching for a place to eat, I asked her if she really want cheesecake pops. I asked her for two reasons: I'm out of budget and two, I was feeling off and lazy to do something like that. It might be selfish reasons but she understood (yes, I told her the same thing because she asked me why I'm asking her). I told her that I'll make her something else, something she really likes. 

   I got a quick answer, "I want cake for my birthday". Yes, a quick and very vague answer, so I asked her what kind. I smiled while shaking my head after she answered my second question because she sounded frustrated. After some exchange of smart retorts she said "I want a small vanilla cake for my birthday". It was such a serious tone that I looked at her and of course responded with a why? I mean I have nothing against vanilla flavored cake, but why the plain one? She said that it's what she wanted and she just want a small one. 

  Days before her birthday, I told her that it will be my first time to make a vanilla cake. That was my reason for hesitating to make one. I have never tried one and I don't want her birthday cake to be the guinea pig so to speak. I told her this as a warning, she said it's okay she got faith on me - pressure much? 

  After all that I have to learn about vanilla cake, I started making one, I didn't rush it, careful not to make a mistake, make sure to get the measurements right and to make sure that the frosting won't be too sweet and over power the cake. I asked her to come over my place, inviting my other coworker friends as well to have a little birthday celebration. 

  We had dinner of tomato basil pasta and baked chicken before the dessert. Needless to say that I have nothing to worry about, they love how the cake look like and more importantly, how it taste like.

Happy Birthday!

Pesto Pizza

    Pizza was defined as "a dish made typically of flattened bread dough spread with a savory mixture usually including tomatoes and cheese and often other toppings and baked —called also pizza pie" on the website http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pizza.

     Pizza, the famous open-like sandwich (as I secretly call it to make it sound healthier - being considered by some as junkfood). My son loves pizza topped with cheese so much (when bought around neighboring pizza shops) but he especially loves the Margherita Pizza from California Pizza Kitchen, it is topped with tomatoes, basil and cheese.

   So when he asked me for pizza one day, I have to do some improvising as I haven't learned to make a dough (the perfect one at that) nor do I have the time to go buy yeast. To the kitchen I went, checked the fridge, took the flatbread, basil pesto that I made a day before (a different story altogether), some tomatoes and there I start. I used the pesto as an alternative to the tomato sauce (ran out of it) which as luck would have it, he likes. Sliced and placed the tomatoes randomly on the bread with spread pesto and cheese (this we do together as he loves to put the tomatoes and cheese himself). This is one of my little prince's favorite semi-homemade pizza (semi - due to the fact that the bread was store brought). It's his very own personal pizza at home.
 

I told you, it is a personal pizza.

Broiled Cajun Shrimp with Lime Juice

                 Last thanksgiving day, we celebrated the holiday over our house with my relatives. Knowing that having turkey is a given, I wanted to pair it with something like an appetizer but can be a side dish as well. As I was also craving for seafood, I thought of shrimp but I wanted to spice up the usually steamed shrimp with melted butter (one of my favorites). 

         With this in mind, I went to the kitchen with a mission in mind, searched the pantry and saw all the spices that I can use and mix together. As I continue to rummage around the kitchen I saw the stack of lemons and limes on the counter and took some limes. I went to the fridge, took the shrimps, wash, clean and remove the shells while leaving the head and tail, got the prep bowl, placed the shrimp and started to mix my marinade. I got all the pepper spice that I needed to make a Cajun flavored shrimp, zest and juice the lime and add it to the shrimp. In addition, I added a handful of chopped parsley then mixed everything together. I wrapped it the bowl with a plastic wrap and shoved it in the fridge to wait for it to marinate to let the flavors to combine. 

       After a few hours, I transferred it to an oven proof bowl and popped it to my preheated oven for 3 minutes. After 3 minutes, I changed the thermostat to broil. 

 

Voila!

Bones and Snails (roasted bonemarrow and escargot)

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The first time I’ve ever tasted this was from M.Wells, a diner in Long Island City famous for its unusual but delicious food. It looked so good and tasty, more so with the way they had it served. It was new for me, new and a curiosity, because we usually use Bone Marrow to make soup with tons of vegetables which my countrymen will call “Bulalo.” Bulalo originated from Batangas, a cattle-raising region in the country of the Philippines. I would loved to discuss the history of Bulalo but it’s another story altogether.

As I was saying, I am more familiar with bone marrow being used for making soups and snails being boiled and eaten while having it dipped in vinegar. Thus, seeing bone marrow and snails cooked that way interested me so much that I tried my best to scrutinize the flavors and ingredients used to make such a delectable meal.  The infusion of flavors from the bone marrow, snails, breadcrumbs, olive oil and spices was so good that I promised myself that I am going to make one at home. Finally, I did after a long time of procrastinating. 

So what do you think?

The Danish Moment

the Danish before being baked

The sweet savory pastry with different kind of fillings, some put jams, fresh fruits, cheese and nuts. I started liking the said pastry because of the croissant. I love croissant no matter how much butter there is in it. I love the smell of fresh croissants, the fluffy and flaky texture, but mostly the taste. Then I tasted the Danish, it was a fruit Danish from a pastry shop back in the Philippines (don’t ask the price).

After that experience, I wanted to make my own Danish and use my own homemade filling (somehow, I can taste the preservatives from commercial brand jams). While I was making cheesecake I thought to myself to start up this Danish baking adventure by making cream cheese Danish. So I went straight to research different recipes and variations of this recipe. I compared the ingredients, the different baking techniques and the reviews so as to choose the best among the rest as they put it.

cooling off the rack

Remember my first blog? How I was discussing about the start of this food adventure and musings? I mentioned about the AIDS fundraiser and how I bought my own pastry for a bake sale. That was when I started making my first cream cheese Danish using crescent rolls instead of puff pastry. Surprisingly, it was a success, my coworkers started buying piece by piece before the bake sale even began. It was surprising since I never really thought the crescent rolls (I chose crescent rolls because it’s cheaper) will be a good alternative knowing how it can be a tad salty than the puff pastry.

So there starts my love for cream cheese Danish and today, I just finished making a batch using puff pastry.

 paired perfectly with hot chocolate

POPping cheesecakes

             Cheesecake pops! Bite-sized cheesecakes that melts in your mouth? Sounds too good to be true. I never really thought about this until I stumbled upon a cookbook during one of our trips to Barnes and Nobles. When I saw it, I immediately browse and check for ideas. I couldn’t wait to get the ingredients and try doing it at home. But when I did arrive home, I ended up waiting since it was late and I got tired (more like lazy), the wait was a couple of months to be exact.

                I finally made my first cheesecake pops last December, a couple of days before Christmas. Instead of following the techniques on how to turn your cooked cheesecake into little cheesecake pops, I tried my own. I used my minicupcake silicon molds without putting any crust, baked it like how I bake my regular cheesecake and let it cool off. I worked my way from one cup to another, forming each into balls as perfectly round as possible. After which I rolled into the crushed grahams I’ve prepared and set aside. 

               When all got molded and covered with crushed grahams, I set it aside and thought of what to do next. All the suggestions online recommended to dip it into melted chocolates and put into the fridge to harden. I thought more than twice whether I should do the same or not, then thinking how sweet a cheesecake already is, I opted for something else. I used the leftover glaze that I made for the doughnuts we made a day earlier. The timing was so perfect since it the next day was the birthday of my coworker friend – someone I can have it try. So I bought it at work in a box, looking like little snowballs as a gift for her. Her reaction was more than enough for me because she looks like she’s in heaven.

The Cheesecake

The first time that I ever tasted cheesecake was the one my mom made in the Philippines when I was a kid, it was a no bake cheesecake from Jell-O. I was skeptic at first but thought to myself, why not? I’m not gonna get sick or anything. Frankly, I can’t remember whether I did liked it or not, but since it did made an impression to me, I probably did like it. Like it well enough that when I saw a box during a grocery trip I was tempted to buy one and try it. Thought about it once or twice and ended up not buying it. Instead, when I got home, I search the web for a recipe for a cheesecake. It took me more than an hour (I also read the reviews to see how it really does taste like and the certain adjustments they made) till I found one that intrigued me.

I was very hesitant about making the cheesecake, since I want it to end like how it looks like in the photos. Not just that, somehow, as I grew up and my taste buds changed, the cheesecakes that I have tried here was either too heavy for me or dense. I wanted something fluffy, airy and smooth. Something that will say, “hey, this is made of cheese!” not the starchy cake-like density. 

After weeks of procrastinating and a great sale of cream cheese – which I bought in bulk, I went ahead making one for two of my co-workers' birthday (no worries, people pitch in for funds). Add to the fact that I found out what I needed to omit so as to make a smooth and heavenly cheesecake.

In the end, I shouldn’t have been worried; my coworkers love it that they deemed it cheesecake bliss. It was very heartwarming, especially since one of them admitted to me that she had never liked cheesecake in her entire life except for mine.

As a result, I am now taking orders from coworkers, friends and friends of friends. Prices depends on the size of the cake. 

This one to be delivered

Sweet Moments

Even as a kid I have loved sweets of all kinds, whether it will be candies, chocolates (hmm, especially chocolates), cakes, pastries and even just eating plain sugar. Yes, unhealthy as it is, I really had a habit of eating (sneaking a spoonful of it) sugar from the canister, up until now.
I remember my grandmother buying Filipino delicacies from a vendor who makes her rounds every morning around our neighborhood in the Philippines. She’ll buy puto (muffin like bread which uses rice flour), sapin-sapin (a very sticky, gooey and sweet Filipino dessert) among other things. These she buys every morning which will then be our breakfast – a sweet way to start your day. But sometimes, when she can ask one of the kids playing in the street early in the morning, she’ll have them go to a local bakeshop and buy bread with them taking home a piece and a peso. She’ll have them buy a variety of breads that I love gnawing on like a hungry dog. But what I really liked the most was her buying pandesal (dinner rolls- but somehow more tasty) – the smell of freshly baked pandesal. Anyway, she’ll have soft butter mixed in with sugar; have the bread cut in half take a spoonful of the spread to be put on the bread – yummy! Hmmm, just remembering that makes me want to go buy dinner rolls and warm it in the oven and do the same thing.
That I think is how I started loving sweets, the proof of my love for it is how much I lose a lot of my tooth when I was a kid. Up until now I’ll be sneaking in the kitchen with a piece of chocolate or something sweet and eat it, I guess old habits die hard.
So I guess making a collection of sweet goods that I managed to make is just appropriate.

Love Lobster Alfredo

During one of our usual Sunday dinners at my aunt’s house we had steamed lobster per my request. Every time I eat lobster I always remember the first time I had one, how I reacted when I saw it, how confuse I was on how to eat one and the flavor of it when I did. It was when my father came home for a month’s long vacation from work in Saudi Arabia. When the whole family got the chance to be together, we all went to “Ongpin”, the Chinese restaurant in – where else? – Chinatown back in my home country. Everyone ordered the usual while I stared at the menu checking everything and wondering what they are. My eyes went to the seafood part of the menu then I saw lobster and it got me curious. Thus, when the waiter asked me for what I wanted of course I asked for the lobster. That was the first and last time I’ll ever have one when I was a kid, it will take another few years before I can have my second sweet and savory lobster.

Back to last Sunday’s lobster, there were a lot of leftovers and what’s a girl gotta do? Bring them all home! Therefore, all I did on our way back home was think about what to do with those lobster meats. It sat on the fridge for a night and I never got to do anything until the next day after work. I wanted it with pasta, considered a lobster pasta salad, lobster spaghettini, lobster with garlic infused olive oil sauce or in a white sauce that Adriel love. After much thought, I ended up with lobster alfredo sauce in ditallini pasta.

Grab your forks and dig in!

ARTichoke and SPINach dip

Definitely not for a non-veggie eater given that there is a lot of spinach in it. We had this with nachos with my family, then with my coworker friends till my mom keep on mentioning for us to try and make one. It took a long time before I actually did make one. The dip became more like a side than anything else.

With some leftovers of the dip/side, I did what I usually do with leftovers as I mentioned before how I’ll bring them to work and my “bobbsey twin” will taste it, which she did with much gusto that she was close to licking the container. That made me smile to say the least, it is really very fulfilling when the people who tasted your food will love it, not just by saying it, but how they react.

Seeing how almost none was left at home and how my “twin” loved it, I told her I’ll bring in sample sizes for Christmas as gifts. I did and they asked for more and I even got a marriage proposal out of it.

So take a dip in the photos.

go get your nachos or any other chips you got..

Foods, Dips and Such

We spend our life loving and hating food in equal measure with different reasons. I am very lucky to grow up with people who got adventurous taste buds otherwise I will be limited to eating the food that I am used to and not wanting to try new variations, food from different countries and culture. I will be stuck eating same thing over and over again.

The story about my grandparents continue, who I missed so much especially remembering them in our old small kitchen back in the Philippines. My grandfather who I got used to call “Papa” will prepare all the ingredients early in the morning with his beer in hand. He is a perfectionist that everything needs to be all flawless.  He will scrub meats (how lucky we are that most of the meats we bought are all prep up) clean the fish inside out (I recall how I will be disgusted with the stench and the way the fish looks like) and wash the vegetables till every dirt is gone. Then he’ll be slicing and dicing in equal portions telling me that this will help cook evenly. The way he prepares and the method of his cooking was like watching him draw during late night hours while he tells me his invented fairy tale stories while I sit on his lap. Those are the good old days, with me sitting on his lap, listening to him while being fascinated by the stories and all the while inhaling his scent of “Philip Morris” brand cigarette and “San Miguel” beer.

Now, I somehow adapted his style, that cooking is really a form of art and that you should always cook with the intention of showing your love to those who will end up tasting and eating it. While this is what he keeps on telling me, my dad will always say that, you know how to cook if you’re not afraid to experiment and try new tricks on it.

At this point in my life that I cook more often than before, I follow both my grandfather’s and father’s advice and taste the ingredients raw before I use it in my cooking (especially the spices). So far it works like a charm and whatever leftovers we got I bring to work as lunch which I share with my “Bobbsey Twin”. The reaction I get? Mary! Adopt me!

The Dawn of Cuisine

Blame my coworkers for this. They were the ones who insisted I do something about my cooking. I never really thought I would be fascinated by the idea of cooking, let alone baking. But I should have seen it coming, with me loving to make a mess and experimenting on different things (mind you, I got scolded a lot for doing these things, but somehow they got tired and just tolerated it).

But what influenced me the most was hanging out with my paternal grandfather, being carried while he was cooking, explaining to me what goes with what. I was so enthralled with how thorough he was with cleaning the meat and how one should cut a certain vegetable depending on what dish you are to cook. It was art for him, and he was a very artistic and talented man. I can’t even imagine how I’m remembering these things. He will always make me stand near the steps close to the stove (when I became too heavy and tall to be carried) and continue instructing me about his own certain techniques. But I was too young then, with the patience of a kid and more amused with going outside playing street games than anything else (I should have made him wrote everything down). 

When my grandfather passed away, it was such a terrible blow for everyone, especially to my paternal grandmother. I lost my interest in cooking and playing the piano and even drawing random things (come to think of it, I lost interest in everything that I used to see my grandfather do). Anyway, a day came when my paternal grandmother asked me to cook lunch (it was not because of any other reason but her arthritis not allowing her to do any chores). I was apprehensive at first, but being raise as a Filipino, I really can’t protest. As soon as I started slicing, chopping and doing all the necessary steps (with her tone raised since she was in the bedroom while instructing me), it made me remember my grandfather.

But I was lazy, having people around me who cook delicious foods that it wasn’t until I didn’t really have a choice but to go into the kitchen and make my own meal that I held a knife and started cooking, otherwise I won’t have anything to eat that I started practicing the way my grandfather thought me. Besides, grocery is not cheap so trying it out and failing wasn’t really an option. However, little did my family know, I was observing how they moved around the kitchen and how they really cook certain foods. Long story short, I started falling in love being in the kitchen again. Therefore, when we had this AIDS fundraiser that my beloved former manager pushed us to do, I brought some pastries and sweets that they had loved. As a result, I started bringing samples at work that they can taste. I told my "mom" group (the moms who drop off and pick their kids at school whom I became close with) about certain foods and sweets that I am capable of making. Word spread and I am now selling a bit of certain cakes, sweets, dips. But what had given me the funds I needed from time to time was when a coworker of mine asked me to be “a personal take home chef” which got followed by another one.

Thus, here goes this page, my food adventures and eventually, food that I cooked and I’m promoting for profit.