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)

Add caption

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