Monday, July 8, 2013
Cheese Stuffed Turkey Guacamole Meatballs on Toasted Pandesal
Thursday, July 4, 2013
Blue Agave + Chipotle "Losilog" with Garlic Cauliflower "Rice"
Friday, June 22, 2012
Smoked Salmon Breakfast Balls for Mini-Picky Eaters
Smoked Salmon Breakfast Balls for Mini-Picky Eaters
1. Just put the smoked salmon bits on the bread and smoosh it flat (you can use a fork, i just used my clean fingers, funner that way),
2. then tear the bread &
3. roll little pieces into bite sized balls.
I asked her to taste one and she gobbled it up and all the rest of these too.
Gobble & Go!
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Baked Cheesy Cauliflower with Proscuitto
My parents would put the cauliflower florets in the pan raw & pour a creamy mixture over it, then top with shredded mozzarella/sharp cheddar from the bag. Less steps, but, it takes longer to bake. Being hungry while cooking, I par boiled my cauliflower florets and then used the the Fast Bake option on a Convection Microwave Oven...Just to crisp up the top cheesy layer...takes about 10-15 minutes vs. the hour + it'd take to bake raw. I wonder if one of those kitchen blow torches would work...hmmmmm?
(Update Dec 17, 2011 - tonight I followed by brother Gary's lead and used a whole package of bacon. I topped the dish with crumbled up pieces...mmm! So good!)
Ingredients
1 stick of butter (optional: if using bacon, reserve the bacon grease, so bad, but can't resist!)
1 onion, chopped fine
2 T finely chopped garlic
1/3 cup of chopped celery (optional)
1/2 cup to 2/3 cup flour
2 cups of whole milk 1
t fresh minced rosmary (optional)
1 t fresh minced basil (optional)
salt & pepper to taste
1-2 heads of cauliflower, bite sized florets
One 4oz package chopped-up proscuitto (my bro requested more meat...so, if you can afford it, put 2-3 packages of proscuitto or add BACON or chunks of chicken or sliced up deli meats, whatever you have)
2 cups shredded parmesian cheese
1/4 cup shredded gouda cheese
1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
(or Use whatever you have in the fridge or your favorite cheese. I often grab a bag of shredded cheese Mexican cheese blend. And without measuring, I grab huge handfuls, mix it in with the white sauce and layer it ontop of the cauliflower once in the dish, for that crusty cheesy top!)
Stuffing (I tried this today, Dec 17, with some leftover stuffing...because of the amount of bacon I put on top, I barely noticed there was any stuffing...will try to do it again with more stuffing on top...)
side notes:*if you're using a regular oven, preheat your oven now before step 1 to 400 degrees. Hold off 'til after step 3, if you're using a microwave convection oven.
*if you're using block cheese, go ahead and shred it up before you start cooking.
*I love my Kitchenaid food processor attachment that came with the Immersion blender. Great for chopping up the onions, garlic and celery.
Steps
1.(This is an added step to my parents original recipe. They would simply make the sauce and pour it over uncooked cauliflower florets and bake it for a longer time. I remember waiting hours for this dish to come out of the oven.) My update on it is to first Parboil cauliflower florets, drain, put into a buttered up baking pan. I used about 1-2 T of butter to grease up the pan edges. I used a 38x25x4 cm pyrex baking dish, so that I could have one layer of cauliflower. This helps it bake faster and also you get a bigger surface area of the yummy cheese crust! Now, I have a little munchkin, so I snuck her a bunch of plain cauliflower to tide her over until I finished cooking the dish.
2. Melt remaining butter in large pot on medium heat. Add onion, garlic and celery. Stir & Saute until translucent.
3. I like to lower temp to medium low heat, to keep butter from burning. Add a little flour at a time, stirring as you go to make a roux Add Salt & Pepper to taste. I chose not to add too much salt, because the cheese & proscuitto have some saltiness to them already.
4. Go ahead and preheat your microwave convection oven to 400 degrees.
5. Ok, back to the flour...Once flour is incorporated evenly in with the butter, raise the temp up to medium heat, while pouring a little milk at a time, while stirring, making sure to not let the milk burn on the bottom of the pan. Keep stirring milk until you have a chowder like consistency. You don't want it to be soupy thin. When you put it in the oven, you want it too be somewhat thick because the liquid in the cauliflower, will mix in with it while baking and thin it out.
6. Ok, now we layer the remaining ingredients on top. First, pour the sauce all over the cauliflower. Use a spatula to wriggle around the cauliflower to get the sauce to get into all those crevices. Then, sprinkle like crazy your cheeses and proscuitto.
7. By now your oven should be preheated. If not, humb & twiddle your thumbs awhile waiting for that *ding* Ok, now place the uncovered dish in the oven and set to 12 minutes.
so, here's the dish ready for the oven.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Heavenly Bakeshop
First impression, clean, lots of product on shelves to choose from, friendly customer service.
I was only able to quickly eye their goodies, before my little one started trying to rearrange their product display, dropping a package of "Palitaw" on the floor. It didn't pop open, but I bought it anyway, since the fall made it's contents all jumbled up. Good thing I have fond memories of this treat from New Years in my Mamalo's house back home. I also ordered one of their Cheese pastries. Curious if it tasted like or better than the previous owners flaky cheese pastry.
I paid with my debit (couldn't do that with the previous bakery) so that's a plus. While paying, I noticed off the back left of the store behind the register, was a refrigerator stacked with ready made take home dishes, like menudo, If i recall correctly. So, next time I'll definitely take one home, but, I didn't this time, because I still had to do my grocery shopping at LeeLee's.
Once home, I tried the Palitaw. It was soft and pleasantly chewy with a non-sweet powdery coating. I think I recall coconut flakes on the ones my dad made for me back home. I'm not sure what the powdery coating is, it's got a subtle flavor of perhaps toasted crushed rice. But, It might not be something everyone would like. If I were to compare it to something, it reminds me of mochi. which i love. I put these in the fridge and they didn't get hard.
I didn't treat the cheese pastry with care as I shopped around that day. When I got home to open the bag, it's top layer was almost all flaked off. So, I'll be ordering this again & eating straight from the case next time. Overall it was light and flaky and not greasy. The cheese filling was also nice, not too sweet. My toddler loved this treat and that it wasn't overly sweet was good for her too. I'd love it if they make another variation with some kind of fruit to contrast the cheese.
I'd like to go back without my little one, so that I can fully experience all that this 1 month new bakery has to offer & take better photos. I'm giving them a middle of the board solid rating of 3 stars, A-OK. I am expecting that on my next visit, Heavenly will be getting more stars.
Monday, May 30, 2011
Orange Ginger Mint Water
Here's a simple and refreshing drink great for a day of bbq'ing! This recipe came together quickly because I just threw in ingredients that I had on hand. I would have loved a hit of lemon taste...I didn't have any calamansi nor lemons. I even peeked into over at my neighbors trees...none to be seen. Darn. Next time! I substituted with two fingers of ginger. (anything with an "o" in front means it's organic)
Orange Ginger Mint Water
Half a pitcher of water
1/4 a pitcher of O apple juice
1/4 a pitcher of orange juice
1 orange, sliced thinly with peal left on.
1 O apple, sliced thinly, skin on.
1 bunch of mint sprigs (I was fortunate to be gifted some fresh mint from my bro & sis in laws garden...awesome)
2 fingers of ginger, sliced big.
3-4 Tablespoons of Orange Blossom Local Honey (disolve in a little water first, then stir into pitcher) add as much as you like.
Stir all of these ingredients together in a pitcher and let chill in the fridge a couple hours before your guests arrive.
Monday, May 16, 2011
Paletas Betty - A Cool Spot in Chandler
The second visit, I attempted to treat my friend to her first Paletas Betty. But, I didn't recall that they only take cash or check. I wasn't able to get cash from the nearby Irish pubs ATM. (That's another story, that ended in tears, to say the least.) But, Betty being so thoughtful and wanting me to have a happy experience that day, bought a Paleta of my choice to cheer me up. That's not something she does on the regular, I'm sure. But, it certainly locked me into loyal fan status, as if the freshly hand crafted frozen pops aren't enough. The Mexican hot chocolate was delicious, by the way. My friend Ninette was pleasantly surprised by her Arroz con leche...nice & creamy & just the right amount of sweetness.
On our third visit this Sunday, we multiplied into a group of 7 adults and 2 energetic toddlers. Our group tried had Mexican Chocolate, Arroz con Leche, Sandia (Watermelon/mint), Puro Mango, Nuez (creamy roasted pecans), Fresa con Crema (Strawberries/Cream) and Platano (bananas foster/caramel/rum). There was not a popsicle stick left unlicked in our bunch.
Our two rambunctious toddlers amused themselves for a long time with the stickers that come with each pop, as the adults chilled on the mod indoor seating, sipping on complimentary water infused with orange slices and mint. For fun, you can also bring your Paletas Betty sticker with you on your travels and photograph it in interesting places. Email it to them, and if chosen, you can win a free paleta! Lastly, let me just say, these are not ordinary popsicles. You can tell that these are hand crafted with lots of attention and love, with only the best ingredients. They have some heft to them and will be a perfect after meal treat on a warm-scorching hot AZ day.
I'll be keeping my eye out for their "carrito" rolling around the Downtown Chandler Farmer's market every Thursday. You can also hire Paletas Betty for your event and they can even create custom flavors for your event. I only wish they were around back in '05 for our wedding!
*Please note: Paletas Betty currently accepts cash and check only.
p.s. Betty shared her recipe for her mango chile paleta < here >