#58_LECHE FLAN or CUSTARD

This recipe was given to me by my friend, Josie, from Manteca who has been raving about it for months. So I finally gave it a try. I made a couple of additions to the caramel ingredients though and one of which is the maple syrup which gives the carmel a different flavor.

I experimented the recipe 2 ways to see which way is best.

1. BAIN MARIE

A bain marie or water bath consists of 2 pans, a larger pan to be filled with water and a smaller pan in which the custard is in. I used a 9"x7"x3" pyrex dish. The height of the pyrex dish is good enough so the water will not splash into the custard when baking.

I learned this trick from my mother to test if a leche flan has a GOOD STRUCTURE: when you pick up a piece of leche flan with a tooth pick and holds up its shape the custard has a good, strong structure. Needless to say if it falls apart even before you pick it up, something went wrong in the process.

Recipe for the CARAMEL:

1/3 cup sugar

1 tblsp. pure maple syrup

1 tsp. karo syrup

Recipe for the CUSTARD:

12 egg yolks

1 can evaporated milk

1 can condensed milk

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup white sugar

PROCEDURE:

1) In a sauce pan, combine the sugar, maple syrup and karo syrup and cook over medium heat until the sugar is melted and mixture becomes thick enough to coat the dish.

2) Pour the syrup into the pan or dish and tilt it around to coat bottom and about 2-3 inches up the sides.

3) Set aside and make the custard mixture.

CUSTARD:

4) Mix together the evap milk and condensed milk

5) With a wire whisk, beat the egg yolks and stir them into the milk. Mix in the rest of the ingredients. Mix thoroughly.

6) Pour the mixture through a sieve into the prepared dish

7) Let the mixture sit in the fridge until bubbles are gone, about an hour.

8) Heat oven to 350 degrees.

9) Bake the custard in baine marie for 50 minutes to 1 hour or till tooth pick inserted comes out clean

10) Let cool. Best eaten after it has been refrigerated for few hours.

Note: This is a very good recipe indeed!!

2. STEAMING

Ahh, I will never use the steaming method again. It is a lot of work to steam leche flan as I had to bring out my 14 inch steamer then put some cloth under the lid so the steam won't drip on to the steaming flan, etc,etc.

I was disappointed with the result from steamimg, it is not as good as the one baked in Bain-Marie. Try both method and be the judge!!

#57_FRUIT TARTS

Bite-size Fruit Tarts topped with fresh kiwi and raspsberry fruits and canned pineapple tidbits.

This is one of the desserts I made over the holidays (see NOCHE BUENA entry) unfortunately, I did not have time to post the recipe then, afterall, this dessert is good for any occasion. In fact, the lady I got the recipe from had made these tarts for summer weddings.

The tart shells are made from butter cookie recipe. After mixing all the ingredients, form dough into a log or ball and wrap in plastic wrap and chill for several hours in the fridge. The reason I form the dough this way is because it is easier to cut them into pieces by just using a knife.

TART PRESS
is a very indispensable tool when making these tart shells.

Baked tart shells ready to be filled with cream cheese fillings and fruit toppings.

a) recipe for TART SHELLS : (BUTTER COOKIES)

1 lb. butter, softened

2 cups white sugar

1 egg

4 cups all purpose flour

PROCEDURE:

1) cream together sugar and butter

2) stir in the egg

3) add flour and mix well

4) knead mixture by hand until smooth

5) form dough into 2 logs or balls,

6) wrap doughs with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours.

7) when ready to make cookies, grease tart moulds with shortening

8) cut doughs into about 200 pieces and form each piece into 1 inch balls

9) press each dough balls into the tart shells with a tart press

10) arrange tart shells onto a cookie sheet and bake in a pre-heated 325 degrees oven for 10 minutes or until the edges of cookies turn light brown.

11) fill with cream cheese fillings and top with your favorite fruits

b) CREAM CHEESE FILLINGS:

1 (8 oz) cream cheese, softened

1 (12oz) cool whip

1 cup powdered sugar

PROCEDURE:

1) cream the cream cheese until light

2) add sugar, beat until well blended

3) fold in the cool whip

NOTES:

1) Flour the TART PRESS before pressing it onto the dough
2) You can substitute sliced fresh strawberries when available..they look elegant.
3) Tart shells can be made few days ahead. Store them in airtight container.

Updated: 9-22-10

Fruit tarts topped with raspberries, strawberries, pineapple tidbits(not pictured)

Filled with baked cheesecakes (New York style)

These shells are made of Chocolate Cookie dough sans the chocolate chips and are molded and baked in mini muffin pans for about 8-10 on 325 degrees oven. After taking them out of the oven while still very hot, press each tart shell down with the tart press before unmolding. Let them cool on wire rack.

#56_FRESH CHINESE NOODLES

This noodle dish is similar to the Chinese Noodles (recipe #52) that I posted weeks ago, but this time I used fresh vegetables for the stirfry like carrots, bean sprouts, fresh green cabbage and savoy, except for the French style green beans which was frozen.

Another difference is that on this recipe I used the fresh noodles, found at the refrigerated section at the store. These kind of noodles, being fresh, are perishable.


There are instructions on the back of package on how to prepare the noodles.
I like this kind a lot because the noodles pick up whatever flavor you mix in with them.

HOW TO PREPARE THE NOODLES:

1) In a pot, bring about 8 cups of water to rolling boil and drop the noodles in. Let it boil for a minute or two.

2) Put the noodles into a colander, rinse them well under running cold water and let them drain.
3) While the noodles are draining, make the vegetable stir fry, see entry #52 for the recipe.

NOTE:

THESE NOODLES DO NOT ABSORB LIQUID, SO DON'T PUT ANY WATER IN YOUR STIRFRY. THE SAUCES WILL BE JUST THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF LIQUID NEEDED.

#55_TURKEY AROZZ CALDO

TURKEY AROZZ CALDO

In recipe #54 I posted how I made the broth from the leftover roast turkey from Christmas.

I made 2 kinds of soups using the broth and meat from the leftover turkey:

The one at left is Elbow Macaroni Soup (entry #54) and on the right is Arozz Caldo.

Here's the recipe for the AROZZ CALDO:

2 Tbls. olive oil or canola oil

2 cloves garlic, chopped fine

1 medium onion, chopped

1 cup glutinous rice

ginger, sliced

12 cups turkey broth (or chicken broth)

salt and pepper to taste

green onions for garnish

PROCEDURE:

1) In a large SOUP POT, heat the oil and saute the chopped garlic until fragrant but not browned.

2) Add chopped onions and saute until they are transluscent.

3) Add the glutinous rice (rinse rice first) and continue to saute;

4) Season with salt and pepper.

5) Add in the meat and ginger, if the mixture starts to get dry up add a little broth and continue to saute about 5 minutes.

6) Pour in the broth and simmer until rice is tender and soup has thickened.

SERVE HOT.

NOTE:

1) I used ginger about twice as big as my thumb.

2) Let me remind you that in my recipe, the turkey has been fully cooked that's why I did not have to saute the meat real well until tender.

3) When using fresh meat, like chicken, you need to saute until the meat renders its own fat or clear juice comes out of the meat before adding in the broth.

#54_ ELBOW MACARONI TURKEY SOUP

From the leftover roast turkey and its broth, I made 2 kinds of soups: Elbow Macaroni with peas and carrots and on the right is the famous Filipino Arozz Caldo (Rice Soup)

For Christmas dinner we had roast turkey (again) but it was a little smaller than what we had for Thanksgiving. No matter what size your turkey is there is always those bones with some meat still clinging to their lives. You can pick them over, but one of the best way to use those scraps is to make some soup.



To do this, take out the unwanted parts of the bird such as the rear end, skin, and the ribs (unless you want to scrape off all the gunks inside the ribs), etc. and put it in a big pot. Add some water and season with salt. You can also add 2 stalks of celery, if you like then simmer on medium heat for about an hour.



Adjust seasoning to your liking. Take out all the bones and put the broth though a sieve to achieve clear broth. Put back the broth in to the pot and bring to a boil then add some elbow macaroni or any type of pasta that you like and some vegetables like peas and carrots, brocolli ,etc. Boil uncovered until pasta and veggies are cooked, about 15 minutes.

Serve hot with some good bread such as garlic bread, Frech bread or sourdough bread.

*A VISIT TO CHEESECAKE FACTORY

The Cheesecake Factory has been here in the city since March this year, but we haven't been there until today. The kids gave us some gift cards to different restaurants for Christmas and one of them was to the Cheesecake Factory, so off we went.



We were served 2 kinds of breads: sourdough bread and I think the brown one was honey whole wheat. I usually don't care much for sourdough bread, not even the famous San Francisco sourdough bread, but this one was really excellent. It has a very nice crust on the outside, which I enjoyed, and soft on the inside, and not sour. I enjoyed it so much that I asked for another piece, which was half a loaf.



My husband also enjoyed his hamburger sandwich which came with fries. He is a hamburger connoisseur, so when he says the hamburger was good, it is really good. In fact he said it's the best hamburger he ever had.

I ordered Hawaiian pizza and was really good. I liked the thin crust and the cheeses are good quality.

My husband seldom order desserts in restaurants but out of curiosity he ordered their chocolate cake cheesecake. It had 2 layers of cheesecakes and 2 layers of fudge cakes plus some kind of shaved chocolates and chocolate cream on top. It was good except it was so rich he can hardly eat the slice. Too much chocolate, but because it costs $7.50 a slice he forced himself to eat some of it. I wasn't surprised that he didn't enjoy that piece of cheesecake because I know he usually doesn't like baked cheesecake anyway.

#53_Mochico Bibingka

This kind of bibingka reminds me of the Chinese tikoy in texture but my friends from Lingayen, Pangasinan call it pininat, "pinat" being the root word and verb which means to stretch. Pininat is past tense of pinat and is literally translated as stretched probably because of its gooey and gummy characteristics that resemble something that can be stretched.

Anyway, this recipe was given to me by a good friend of mine, Josie, but I tweaked it a little bit by adding an egg to the ingredients and topping it with sesame seeds. The sesame seeds add some crunchiness to the bibingka.

This is known to most people as "Mochico Bibingka" because in the original recipe it called for mochico flour, which I did use when I made it the very first time.

The second time I made this bibingka, I replaced the mochico flour with the Glutinous Rice Flour (pictured above) and the result was better, so I've been using it ever since.

This is really an easy recipe to make with only 5 ingredients or maybe 6, and is always a "hit" when I bring it to Filipino gatherings.

You will need:

1 bag glutinuous rice flour (1 lb.)

1 egg

1 jar macapuno

1 can coconut cream

1/2 can (1cup) water

sesame seeds (optional)

Mix everything together, except sesame seeds, and spread in to a greased 9x 13 baking dish.

Sprinkle the sesame seeds on top; bake for 1 hour in a preheated 350 degrees oven.


After 1 hour take out the bibingka and turn the oven on to broil. In the meantime, take some melted butter, about 1 tablespoon, and brush the top of bibingka with a pastry brush. Return to oven and broil for 2 minutes or until top is browned.

This is very important...keep an eye closely at the bibingka under the broiler.....do not leave the kitchen or you'll have a burnt bibingka when you come back!

Let cool and slice into squares.

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Here's another version of the Mochico Bibingka:

Ube Mochico Bibingka
Click here for the recipe

NOTE:

If preferred, you can line baking pan or baking dish with banana leaf making sure to grease the top of leaf before pouring in the mixture.

*LEFTOVER TURKEY

Do you wonder what to do with your leftover roast turkey after the holidays?

There are several dishes you can use those turkey meats in like in fajitas, quesadillas, pot pies or turkey sandwiches. But what about the bones? Oh, please don't throw them away because you can make nutritious soups out of them like pasta soup using elbow macaroni or shell pastas and the famous Filipino rice soup commonly called arroz caldo which is flavored with fresh ginger.

ARROZ CALDO or RICE SOUP WITH TURKEY

From the bones and scraps of just one roast turkey, I was able to make two kinds of soups.

TURKEY PASTA SOUP

I will post the recipe another time.

*NOCHE BUENA

My husband and I went to a Filipino Christmas Eve dinner (noche buena) at a friend's house yesterday and although I knew they would be serving plenty of food, I asked my friend what she would like me to bring, she suggested that I make some pasta and whatever else I wanted to bring, so I made some PORK JAMBALAYA, FRUIT TARTS, AND BIBINGKA.

I don't have time to post the recipes right now, but I will as soon as I can.

PORK JAMBALAYA WITH MOSTACCIOLI PASTA

FRUIT TARTS

MOCHICO BIBINGKA

My friends, Lisa and Fidel, always serve plenty of food whenever they have parties. For the noche buena dinner, there was fried bangus and tilapia, chicken adobo, crispy pata, pancit, huge shrimps with veggies, and plenty more!

#52_CHINESE NOODLES

FLAT CHINESE NOODLES

After baking too many holiday cookies, I am ready for a change...change of flavor that is. From sugar-y to maybe something salt-y or sour-y.... something pinoy-ish.

I thought about frying some boneless bangus with juice of lemon and patis for saw-sawan,(dipping sauce) but I have to thaw out the bangus then fry it, then that would take about an hour... forget that.

Then I remembered that I have a package of Chinese noodles that had been sitting on the shelf for a few months. I'm not so sure how to cook it because the "how-to" instructions are very vague, at least for me. You'll see what I mean! scroll down....

These noodles are dried and they come in a package of 8 in coiled forms.

The problem I had was that the cooking instructions are in Chinese and in diagrams. Can anybody translate this for me?

After few minutes of contemplations, I decided to cook the noodles like pasta by dropping the noodles in a rapid boiling water. I really wasn't sure how long I was supposed to let them boil in the water, so I just guessed and let them cook for about 5 minutes. Tantya lang! Then drained them in a colander.

I used some frozen veggies and frozen cooked chicken.

Actually, all of the ingredients I used were frozen including the garlic and onions, well, except for the canola oil and the sauces, of course. Fresh veggies would have been better but hey, I made this noodle dish in about 30 minutes or maybe even under 30 minutes, (talo si Rachael Ray) and the taste is not that bad. This is great as an emergency dish, especially when you don't have to chop up anything.

PROCEDURE:

A) Cook the noodles and transfer into a collander to drain.

B) Make vegetable stirfry:

1) Heat some canola oil in a wok, add garlic and onions, and saute until onions are transluscent.

2) Add cooked meat (chicken or pork) and continue to saute for about 3 minutes. Add about 2 tablespoons of oyster sauce and 2 tablespoons of yoshida sauce.

3) Turn the heat on high and stir in the veggies. Continue to saute for another 3 minutes or until the veggies are heated through.

4) Stir in the drained noodles mixing them until everything is well blended together.

TAPOS!

NOTE from MaMely...

Sorry, I don't really measure ingredients except for cakes and pastries.

Updated picture: 2-20-12