Mely's Kitchen Shrimp Tempura

An economical way of making shrimp tempura from my kitchen, eggless! :-)

Ingredients for 4 sevings:
1/2 kilo regular size shrimps ( de-shelled and cleaned)
2 calamansi
3/4 cup flour
salt and pepper
oil for frying

regular size sshrimps

Procedure:
1. Butterfly the shrimps by cutting at the back side, then sprinkle with calamansi or lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste them mix well.

2. Put the flour and distribute evenly then deep fry until done.
3. Serve with plain or fried rice. Enjoy!

Peach Melba

Peach Melba was invented in 1892 by French chef Auguste Escoffier at the Savoy Hotel, London, to honour the Australian soprano, Nellie Melba. The sauce neutralizes the sweetness of the ice cream, making it tastes just right .

Ingredients:
vanilla Ice cream
peach slices
peach sauce ( blend some syrup and peach from the can)

Procedure:
1. Scoop an ice cream put some peach slices and peach sauce.

2. Serve and enjoy!

Baked Mussels

Make this baked mussels the center of attraction  at your dining table, easy to prepare but looked special and delicious, that will surely capture the eyes of the diners. Try it.

Ingredients for 3 servings:
12 pieces green  mussels ( tahong) Cleaned and boiled ready in half shell
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
1 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon mayonaise
1 teaspoon minced carrots
1 teaspoon minced red bell pepper
dash of ground pepper

Procedure:
1. Combine everything except for the mussels then put the mixture on top of every mussel meat in a shell.

2. Preheat the oven at 180C and bake for 15 minutes or until done.

3. Serve it hot.

Beef Burger

I am alone today that's why I made only 1 serving of burger for myself :-). Simple version yet yummy.

Ingredients for the patty
1/4 cup ground beef
1/2 piece onion ( finely chopped)
2 cloves garlic ( finely chopped)
Salt and pepper to taste

Procedure:
1. Combine all the ingredients then flatten and refrigerate for 20 minutes to make it firm before grilling or pan frying.
2. Cook the burger on a hot barbecue grill or pan fry it until done.

To assemble we need :
1 hamburger bun
slices of tomatoes
lettuce
Slice of cheese

Arrange well between the sliced hamburger bun then serve and enjoy! :-).
I did not put cheese for lesser calories.

Singkamas na may Bagoong

A succulent turnip or jicama partnered with shrimp paste is a nice treat for me, this is also sold as street food in some cities in the Philippines together with green mangoes. The vendors put the slices of turnips (singkamas) on the skewer and spread a shrimp paste on it.

 This is easy to prepare, just wash the turnips properly then remove the skin and slice to your desired size put some shrimp paste then serve and enjoy. :-)

Tapioca Corn Salad

I was invited for a restaurant opening, so I prepared this for a dessert, feedbacks from the people were overwhelming, thanks be to God. This salad is creamy and just right to satisfy your sweets craving after a good meal. Try this recipe and you will not regret :-).

Ingredients for 12 servings:
1/2 kilo tapioca pearl
2 cups corn kernel
2 cups Nestle cream or all purpose cream
1 1/2 cup condensed milk



Procedure:
1. Cook the tapioca pearl then drain and wash it with running water then set aside for few minutes allowing the water to be drained fully.

2. Combine all the ingredients then refrigerate.

3. Serve with a smile :-).

Rellenong Talong

Relleno means stuffed, and in the Philippines there are different kinds of relleno and here is one kind of relleno that I liked. The rellenong talong ( stuffed eggplant).

Ingredients:
2 big eggplants
2 hot dog ( I used vegetarian hotdog for this) optional
2 eggs beaten
1/4 cup ground beef or pork
1/2 cup flour
salt and pepper to taste

Procedure:
1. Boil the eggplants until soft, then let cool and remove the skin then flatten and set aside.
2. Combine the eggs, flour, salt and pepper then mix well until the batter is fine, soak the eggplant in the batter, press to absorb the flavor.Make a space in the middle of the eggplant then put the hot dog, ground meat and onion, then flip both sides to cover the stuffs.

3. Fry until done then serve it hot.

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