Bagoong Alamang Sawsawan

One of the common dipping sauces ( sawsawan) of Filipinos is the shrimp paste ( bagoong alamang) with calamansi. Shrimp paste is made from shrimplets that has been fermented, it has a strong odor but a nice appetizer. It goes well with fried fish, meat, steamed vegetables, etc.
Have you tried this before?

Mely's kitchen Pork Binagoongan

 Try the Mely's kitchen version of pork binagoongan, mmmmm really yummy. Frying the pork first makes the taste more delicious because it is crispy outside and juicy inside. Try it and let me know.

Ingredients for 4 servings:
1/2 kilo pork belly
2 tablespoons shrimp paste ( be careful with the saltiness of the bagoong that you are going to use)
3 cloves garlic
1/4 cup lemon or calamansi juice
1 onion
1/4 cup water
some chilli pepper


Procedure:
1.Combine the lemon juice and pork then fry it until golden brown.Set aside.

Fried pork belly

2.Saute the garlic, onion and chilli pepper, then add the shrimp paste and continue to saute for a minute.
3. Add the fried pork then simmer for 2 minutes then add the water and let simmer for few minutes.
4. Serve hot with rice.

Daing na Bangus

Daing na Bangus ( marinated milkfish) is the most popular dish for milkfish in the Philippines, it tastes so good specially if your marinade is strong and tasty.

Ingredients:
3 regular size milkfish ( cleaned)
1/2 cup vinegar or calamansi juice
1 head garlic ( crushes)
1/4 teaspoon crushed  black pepper
1/4 teaspoon peppercorn
salt to taste

Procedure:
1. Combine all the ingredients and mix well then let it stand for an hour.

 

 2. After marinating it,  fry until golden brown.

 3. Serve hot with rice and enjoy :-).

Oven Baked Omelette's

There is just something magical about breakfast in bed. I think it is because everyone wants it, but not too many people want to get up and make it. Even though I am a go go go kind of person, I still love a lazy morning. I love it so much, that I want to bless my husband with it.  I have a little repertoire of quick meals that look and taste divine, in no time at all. This is one of them. I get in and out of the kitchen so fast, he doesn't even realize breakfast is coming. I hop back in bed for morning snuggles, and 40 minutes later, the timer goes off and we have an amazing breakfast. 

Romantic tip: Treat your love to breakfast in bed. They just might return the favor sometime!

What I love so much about these omelette's is that you can cater them to individual taste's. For instance, my husband likes all things hotter than hades. I love spice and heat, but he likes it over the top. So I added jalapeno peppers to his. You can cook the bacon and saute the onions the night before, so all you have to do is pop the omelette's in the oven. 

Oven Baked Omelette's 

adapted from Taste of Home

4 bacon strips, diced

1/2 onion, diced

2 green onions, sliced

4 eggs

1/2 cup milk

1/4 teaspoon salt

1-1/4 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese, divided

Cook bacon until crisp. Drain the pan, but don't clean the pan. Set bacon aside. 

In the same pan you cooked the bacon saute onion until tender; set aside.

In a large bowl, beat eggs. Add the milk, salt, 1 cup

cheese, bacon and sauteed onions. Transfer to a greased shallow

2-qt. baking dish. Or to two individual baking dish. Top with sliced green onions.

Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 30 minutes. 

Take out and sprinkle with

remaining cheese. Bake another 10 minutes. Serve warm. 

I like to serve these, breakfast in bed style.

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Gourmet Cooking for Two

Salted Caramel Cinnamon Rolls

Each year for Christmas I let everyone pick one treat they would like me to make for them as a Christmas present. This year my daughter told me she wanted me to make salted caramel cinnamon rolls. She never ever picks an easy thing. Not having a single recipe to refer to, I got busy creating one. 

Salted caramel is easily my daughter's favorite treat. Any time I make anything she says: "oh, imagine this with salted caramel on it!". It is an epidemic. My husband hopped on her bandwagon and next week I will be sharing with you his request which happens to be salted caramel chocolate cups. 

My recipe was a huge success. It is something to dream about. This recipe is perfect for holidays, birthdays, brunch, or any special occasion that you want to splurge. I would say that you will have some left to share with others, but I had trouble prying the pan out of my families hand. If you love salted caramel, get ready for your taste buds to take a trip to mecca. 

Salted Caramel Cinnamon Rolls

Recipe by Christi Silbaugh

makes 12

for the dough-

3/8 cup warm water

1 1/8 teaspoons active dry yeast 

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/8 cup buttermilk, at room temperature

1 egg

1/8 cup canola or vegetable oil

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

for the filling-

1/4 cup softened butter

1/2 cups packed light brown sugar

1 1/4 tablespoons ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon cornstarch

Salted Caramel:

1 cup unsalted butter

1 cup light brown sugar

3/4 cup light corn syrup

2 tsp sea salt

4 tbsp sugar

4 tbsp heavy cream

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Sea salt flakes

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, pour in water, yeast and 1 tablespoon of the granulated sugar. Once mixture looks bubbly and frothy, pour in remaining sugar and salt.

In a small bowl, measure buttermilk, oil and egg. Whisk ingredients together until egg is incorporated to other two ingredients. Pour contents into the water and yeast mixture. Stir 20 seconds in the mixer.

Pour 2 cups of flour into mixer and stir on low until incorporated. Sprinkle flour in by 1/4 cup increments until dough cleans the sides and bottom of the bowl.

Once it has reached this stage, turn mixer on and knead for 5 minutes. Remove dough from bowl, grease and replace back into same mixing bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and a dish towel. Place in a warm place. Rise 1-2 hours or until dough has doubled in size.

In a medium size bowl, stir brown sugar, cinnamon and cornstarch together until combined. Set aside. Punch down dough. Flour a large clean table liberally with flour.

Roll dough out to be a 20x30 rectangle, while moving dough around to ensure it's not sticking to your work surface. Spread softened butter over dough, being sure to go right to the edges leaving a 1-inch strip untouched on one of the longer sides of dough.

Dump brown sugar mixture onto the middle of the dough and spread with your hands, creating an even layer over top of the butter, still leaving that 1-inch strip of dough untouched. Roll the dough up into a tight log, finishing with the plain dough on the bottom to seal the entire thing together.

Cut off the uneven ends to even out the log. Score log every 2 inches and then slice your rolls using those marks. Place into parchment paper lined, butter greased pan. 

Cover pans with plastic wrap and dish towels. Let rolls rise another 1-2 hours or until they are touching and have risen almost double.

Bake in a preheated 350 degree for 17 minutes, or until tops start to brown.

Make the salted caramel. Combine the butter, brown sugar, corn syrup, salt, sugar, and heavy cream. Bring to a boil and stir for about 5-10 minutes until caramel reaches the “soft ball stage” at around 230 degrees.

Remove from heat, stir in the vanilla.

Once rolls have been removed from the oven, Pour the caramel over the rolls. It will take a minute for the caramel to sink into the rolls so they will look like drowned rolls.

 Don't worry, the caramel settles and you end up with this: 

Sprinkle with sea salt flakes and serve warm.

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Gourmet Cooking for Two

Chocolate Crinkles

A young and enthusiastic lady who loves baking and graphic designing shared her delicious crinkles for all of us, by the way she is my niece :-).

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour (sifted)
1/2 cup unsalted butter (softened)
1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
4 pieces raw eggs
1 tbsp vanilla essence
4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips (melted)
2/3 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup confectioners sugar

 Procedure:
1.Cream the butter in a mixing bowl, then whisk the sugar and continue mixing for 2 minute, then add the cocoa powder and melted chocolate and continue mixing for a minute.

2.Add the eggs and vanilla essence then continue to mix until the texture becomes fluffy then add the flour, salt, and baking powder and continue to mix until all the ingredients are evenly distributed. After this process cover the mixing bowl with cling wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.

 3. After 3 hours remove the cover and spoon a portion of the mixture then roll it with your hands until spherical in shape and roll over confectioners sugar until fully covered.
4. Arrange on a baking tray make sure it's 2-3 inches apart.

5.Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and bake for 10 to 12 minutes
6.Remove from the oven and allow to cool down then serve.

Contributed by Miss Arianne Maravilla

Miss Arianne

Cajun Pancetta Wrapped Scallops with Pear Balsamic Reduction

As we continue our theme of using flavored balsamic vinegars as a secret ingredient, here is a decadent recipe for one of our favorite food items, sea scallops.  Don’t let the components intimidate you, this is an easy recipe to prepare, and the prep time should be no more than 15 minutes.

What is fun about this recipe is that you can vary it in different ways simply by using a different variation of our flavored balsamic vinegars.  Here some quick thoughts: 

• Pastamoré White Balsamic with Pear:  obviously this is the one we choose to publish.  White balsamics tend to be lighter and more delicate than traditional balsamic vinegar.  The flavor of the pear is subtle, but marries well with the richness of the sweet scallops.  
• Pastamoré Traditional Barrel-Aged Balsamic Vinegar:  this is a classic pairing.  The balsamic flavor here is more robust and pronounced.  You will not need as much time to reduce this as it is quite thick already.  
• Pastamoré Raspberry Balsamic Vinegar:  we found this version to be fun and a bit eclectic.  The raspberry balsamic matches the best with the spinach, and it too is more robust.  We think this would be nicely paired as a summer outdoor dish warm or cold.
• Pastamoré Passion Fruit White Balsamic:  another 'white and lighter' option, but the passion fruit comes through in spades.  This changes the entire dish to be more exotic, tropical and Caribbean.

for the scallops

• 10 large sea scallops
• 10 thin slices Pancetta
• Cajun Magic Cajun Spice Mix
• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

for the spinach salad

• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 2 bunches spinach
• 1 shallot finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove finely chopped
• ¼ cup dry white wine 

• ¾ cups Pastamoré White Balsamic Vinegar with Pear 

Prepare balsamic reduction:  Pour White Balsamic with Pear Vinegar in sauce pan and simmer over low heat reduced by about ½.   Set aside and let cool.

Wrap each scallop individually with one slice of pancetta and secure with a toothpick.  Dredge scallops wrapped in pancetta in Cajun seasoning.  Heat a skillet over medium heat with ¼ cup olive oil. Cook sea scallops on each side for about two minutes or until done (seared golden).  In a second sauté pan over high heat, add 1 tablespoon olive oil and quickly sauté spinach, shallots and garlic for about one minute.  Add white wine and cook for another minute, until spinach is tender. Place small amount of spinach on a plate and place 2 scallops on top. Drizzle balsamic reduction on top.

Serves 5 as appetizer.

No-Bake Chocolate Tart

We do not need an oven for this recipe, sounds good right? Yes, this is a no-bake tart so even if you do not have an oven, you can make this simple and easy to do recipe with your kids. Enjoy a good time with them. :-).

Ingredients for 5 servings:
2 cups powdered graham or any crackers of your choice
1/2 cup melted margarine or butter
100 grams cooking chocolate ( chopped)
1/4 cup double cream/heavy cream

Push-up tart molder

Procedure:
1. Mix the butter and crushed crackers.

2. Put the mixture into the molder, leaving a space in the middle for our chocolate filling. After this process, refrigerate it for an hour  to harden.

 

3. While waiting, heat the cream until it is almost boiling, then pour in a mixing bowl, and put  the chocolate, just leave it for a minute then mix well until fully dissolved.

4. Put each crust with the chocolate mixture then refrigerate for an hour or 2 to set. Remove from the molder then serve plain or with decoration. Enjoy!

Simple Espasol

 This is a very basic espasol just to make the recipe simple and easy to follow for the beginners, but I assure you that this is really yummy. You can improve this with additional scraped coconut or sesame seeds it's up to you.

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups glutinous rice powder
2 1/4 cups coconut milk
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence

Procedure:
1. Toast the powdered glutinous rice until brownish or the aroma comes out over low heat. When it is done set aside and sift it to remove the lumps. Remove 1/2 cup because we will use it for dusting later.

2. In  pan combine coconut milk and sugar then bring to a boil. Continue stirring in medium heat for 5 minutes then add the vanilla.continue to stir for 3 minutes.
3.Add the toasted glutinous rice powder and stir continuously over low heat. Cook until the mixture becomes thick and dry, then refrigerate for an hour so that it will be easy to roll.
4. Spoon a portion from the mixture and dust it with toasted rice flour and roll it until form into cylinder then roll over the toasted rice powder.

5. Serve it, or you can wrap it with paper before serving. Enjoy chewing. :-)

Beef Salpicao

A succulent beef dish with a perfect blending of all the spices being used, making the flavor so tangy so make sure that the rice is enough. :-).


Ingredients for 2 servings:
1/4 kilo beef tenderloin (Sliced into cubes)
2 tablespoons soy sauce
4 cloves garlic ( Sliced and toasted)
1 tablespoons lemon juice or calamansi
1/8 teaspoon ground pepper
1/4 teaspoon sugar
oil

Toasted garlic

Procedure:
1. Marinate the beef with soy sauce, lemon juice, ground pepper and sugar for at least 30 minutes, remove from the marinade but set aside the marinade, then fry the beef until golden brown.
2.In a pan heat an oil then put the fried beef and the toasted garlic ( leave some garlic for toppings) then add the ,marinade and allow to simmer for few 3 minutes stirring occasionally.  If marinade is not enough to give a sauce just add some soy sauce and lemon jauce according to your taste.
3. Top with toasted garlic before serving.