#143_FOOD FINDS in TEXAS......

My hubby and I went to see our sweet G'daughter, Kimberlee Ann, graduate from Reagan High School in Texas. (click here to view her picture). While we were there, her family were so hospitable that they made sure G'pa and G'ma had plenty of food to eat. They were constantly feeding us, either at home or dining out. I feel like I gained a good 10 pounds from that trip.
Thanx a million, ya all!!

Although this was not a food trip for us, I had the opportunity to take a few pictures that I can post in this blog.

So, my entry today consists of a series of seven posts. Hope you'll enjoy browsing through them.

#142_Food Finds: Leche Quemada

I bought this treat at the airport
just to try what it taste like.
Hmmmm, too sweet!!
It is much like dulce de leche
with a piece of pecan.

#141_Food Finds: Tamales

Authentic homemade Mexican tamales.

I put an emphasis on the word Mexican to differentiate
it from the Philippines' tamales.

Made with whole beans, and by that,
I mean not the canned refried beans but real whole red beans.

#140_Food Finds: Chicken and Beef Fajitas

Make your own Fajitas
Full order fajitas served with rice and a cup of beans
and the stuff to make your own:
the meat, guacamole, tomato relish
and a few flour tortillas in a warmer.

#139_Food finds: Quesadillas

Quesadillas made with chicken breast and
served with guacamole and pickled jalapenos.

#138_Food Finds: Pastel de Tres Leches

For Kimberlee's graduation dinner, we went to her favorite restaurant called

Paloma Blanca, an authentic Mexican restaurant
in downtown San Antonio.

As soon as I opened the menu,

I saw the Tres Leches cake listed on the dessert list,
I knew I want a slice of it!
I have a recipe of this cake that I've always wanted
to try but it doesn't have a picture.
From the ingredients I can tell that it is a very rich cake,
but I am kind of reluctant to make it as I didn't have any idea
what it should look like or should taste like.
Now that I tried an authentic one,
I have something to base mine on.

Authentic Pastel de Tres Leches

I told the server that I want a slice with my meal
because I didn't want my curiosity to kill me
and to make sure I have room for the whole slice.

I was kind of disappointed though that the cake was soaked
with the milk sauce which made the cake soggy,
but the server said that is how this cake is supposed to be.
She even poured some more of the sauce on the cake
before she brought it to me.

I think the strawberry was just for garnish, but
it actually balanced out the sweetness of the milk sauce.
Without that piece of strawberry,
this dessert was cloyingly sweet.

If I were to make this dessert,
I will top it with lots of sliced strawberries
and make it as part of the cake.
It was really good with strawberries.

All gone!!

Despite the sogginess of the cake and overly sweet-tasting milk sauce,
it was good and I actually like it.
I didn't realized until later though that the leches are milk... too late!!
because I had to suffer the rest of the day from
lactose intolerance!!!!

#137_Food Finds: Big Red Soda

This taste like bubble gum and is carbonated.
Product of Texas.

#136_Food Finds: Mango Ice Cream

Move over Magnolia Ice Cream!
Move in Blue Bell mango ice cream!

So creamy with chunks of real mango fruits.
It's made in Texas.

#135_Food Finds: Hamburger Sandwich

Only in Texas:

Big Z is a B-B-Q joint
and has a picnic style atmosphere.

Their hamburgers are huge....
they look like they are made of one pound patties.

Their fries are placed in cone-shaped paper cups like they do with Belgian fries.

#134_ Grilled Corn on the Cob

Grilled corn is one of the oldest street food in the Philippines.
Most Filipinos including myself enjoy
the charred and smoky flavor of charcoal-grilled corn.
This is achieved by direct grilling using charcoal.

When I arrived here in the States,
I tried to do it with gas grill.
The result was not the same, gas grill won't do the trick.
Besides, it takes longer to grill the corn than to grill steak.

Here's an easy way to grill corn without sacrificing their sweet taste and flavor:

First of all you need to remove the husks and the silk to reveal the kernels.
Turn the oven on broil.
Place the oven rack at the very top.
Place the corn on the cobs on a piece of aluminum foil or just place them directly on the wire rack.
Broil all sides of corn, turning them as they get charred, but not burnt.

Just a little side note:
If you want to leave some husks on the corn, it is a good idea to move the rack down to the middle. The husks burn too fast under the broiler even soaking the corn in water before broiling.

This is my friend Bobbi's first grilled corn on the cob.
She likes them with a little butter brushed on the hot grilled corn.