Trissalicious

The Over The Top Award was given by Ellie from Almost Bourdain.  This blog is so special to me not only because this was my first award, but also because it was given by Ellie.  Ellie has been a great supporter of my blog from the time she rang my doorbell and walked into my living room and my life.  Not only does she selflessly share tips on how to be better at this funny little thing called blogging, but she has also become a very dear friend to me.  So of course I have to THANK her for the award but THANK her too for just being the wonderful person that she is.  Thank’s Ellie – thank you for teaching me to stay true to myself.

According to the rules of the award, I must provide my readers the answers to the below 35 questions in ONE WORD I also must THANK my award giver Ellie @ Almost Bourdain for this fun award AND grant 6 of my FAVORITE BLOGGERS this award. Then, give them the heads-up that they have been nominated by yours truly.

1. Where is your cell phone? Room
2. Your hair? Dark Brown
3. Your mother? Funny
4. Your father? Smart
5. Your favorite food? Laksa
6. Your dream last night? Fudge
7. Your favorite drink? Water
8. Your dream/goal? Heaven
9. What room are you in? Study
10. Your hobby? Cooking
11. Your fear? Failure
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Paris
13. Where were you last night? Home
14. Something that you aren’t? Neat
15. Muffins? No
16. Wish list item? Lens
17. Where did you grow up? Philippines
18. Last thing you did? Dinner
19. What are you wearing? Sweats
20. Your TV? Flat
21. Your pets? Labradors
22. Friends? Few
23. Your life? Complete
24. Your mood? Sleepy
25. Missing someone? Husband
26. Vehicle? Accord Euro
27. Something you’re not wearing? Jewelry
28. Your favorite store? EssentialIngredient
29. Your favorite color? Orange
30. When was the last time you laughed? Dinnertime
31. Last time you cried? Dinnertime
32. Your best friend? Dan
33. One place that I go to over and over? Veterinarian
34. One person who emails me regularly? Kath
35. Favorite place to eat? Home

Now I have to pass on this award to 6 other people.   I would have to say that I have so many favourites and luckily other people that Ellie has given this award to have also awarded some of my favourite bloggers so I would like to give this award to the following people – some I have just started following recently and some I have followed awhile… but all my favourites!

Mary Moh from Keep Learning Keep Smiling

Simone from Jungle Frog

Steph from Raspberri Cupcakes

Rylan from Art and Appetite

Julia from Melanger

Christine from Christinesrecipes.com

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Lemon and Lime Madeleines

In the world of blogging, it amazes me to find so many people willing to share their time and knowledge with you.  Instead of one gigantic “self-help” group – it’s one big “food-help” group.

For instance, there is the Daring Bakers where a group of bakers get together each month to tackle a certain recipe.  Being a part of this group has allowed me to tackle some recipes I would have never tried on my own.

When I first started my blog, Kath from A Cupcake or Two organized a blogger dinner  and was kind enough to invite me.  She, along with Lorraine from Not Quite Nigella, Betty from Betty’s Bites, Trish from Sugarlace and Ellie from Almost Bourdain all gave me tips on how to improve my blogging “skills” when I first started.

Most recently, I was struggling with the fact that almost every blog I read and person I spoke to mentioned that the best way to take pictures was to use “natural light”.  Yeah right – try getting natural light when you work during the day – it’s almost impossible!  I noticed I tended to then stick to recipes that I could store for future photos – like cakes, cookies or other sweets.

And, how many of you have struggled with cooking  early in the morning just to take a photo of it and then having to go to work before 8 am!

I needed to find a way to take the pictures at night!

Simone from Junglefrog Cooking to the rescue!  Have you seen her blog?  If there is any doubt as to why I trust her completely on food picture advice – just go check out her blog.  Her pictures are gorgeous (and so are her recipes!).  She suggested I try the Lowel Ego lights which she had heard great things about.  I did a few searches on google as well and found a post from Steamy Kitchen which was very helpful.

Was this taken at night using the lowel ego lights?

Or was this taken at night using the lowel ego lights?

So this post is a small thank you to everyone!  Merci, grazie, gracias, salamat!

Recipe

• 2 large eggs
• 100 grams sugar
• 80 grams butter, melted  and cooled
• 100 grams flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• grated zest of 1 lemon and 1 lime
• 1 teaspoon each of lemon juice and lime juice
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. In a bowl, whisk the sugar and the eggs until frothy.  Slowly add the butter and incorporate very well.
2. Add the flour, baking powder, lemon and lime zest, lemon and lime juice and vanilla extract
3. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour before baking.
4. Butter your madeleine pans (I used a combination of tiny and regular sized pans)
5. Spoon the batter into the pans until three quarters full and place the pans in the freezer for 10 minutes
6. Pre-heat the oven to 190c (fan forced)
7. When the 10 minutes is up, bake the madeleines (small for 10 minutes and large for 13) for the required time.
8. Remove from oven and cool.
9. Best served immediately but can also be stored in an airtight container for a few days.

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Spanner Crab with Roasted Coconut Gravy

Having a severe case of homesickness over the weekend, I decided to attempt re-create one of my favourite Philippine Dishes.  Crabs with “Alavar Sauce” .  I am sure that outside the Philippines there aren’t many people familiar with the Alavar sauce.  Some bloggers have referred to it previously, here and here.   It’s a thick coconut gravy made with (I believe) roasted coconut milk and “secret” spices.

The recipe for this sauce is even more guarded than any national security secret so it was difficult to know where to begin recreating it.  I decided to keep it simple and stick with the basic ingredients found in most Philippine cuisine – of course there was the “holy trinity” – onion, garlic and ginger and then coconut milk.  Not just any coconut milk, but it had to be made from roasted coconut.  And from there I added a few bits and pieces and came up with something pretty close -not yet there but just as delicious!

My version of "Alavar"

Note: For this recipe I made my own roasted coconut milk.  Halfway through the process, I found myself muttering that I would never do it again.  If you find the process below too tedious, don’t do it.  Simply substitute with 250 ml coconut milk.  But trust me, it is well worth it.

Procedure for Roasted Coconut Milk: It was a bit of a struggle because you first have to crack open a mature coconut (we call it niyog  in the Philippines, it is the one with the brown outer shell).  Once open you then have to crack the coconut down even further by placing it in a plastic bag, covering it with a tea towel and bashing as hard as you can with a hammer.  Then, you have to try and pry the coconut pieces away from the shell (I used a sharp knife but I really would not recommend it because you can easily get hurt and I have battle scars on my hands to prove it).  Once you have your meat, grind it through a food processor until coarsely ground and then toast over a pan, stirring constantly until it  begins to release a fragrant coconut smell and starts to turn golden brown.

Return the toasted coconut to the food processor and add around 1 cup of hot water and grind until very fine.   Place a sieve covered with a muslin over a bowl and pour the coconut on the sieve.  Squeeze the muslin to extract as much milk as possible.  This is called the roasted coconut milk.

Recipe (serves 2)

• 2 spanner crabs, cleaned
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons crushed ginger
• 2 tablespoons crushed garlic
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground turmeric
• 2 large red chilies, chopped
• 250 ml roasted coconut milk
• 250 ml canned coconut milk
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Heat the oil and saute the onions over medium heat until translucent and soft, around 10 minutes.  Add the ginger and garlic and saute until fragrant, a minute or two.
2. Then add the turmeric and fresh chilies.  Add the roasted coconut milk (if using, otherwise, add a total of 500 ml regular coconut milk) and season to taste.
3. For a smoother sauce, blend using a hand held stick blender.  This is optional.
4. Lastly, add the spanner crabs and cook for around 7 to 10 minutes until the crab meat is cooked through.

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Blueberry and Apple Compote with Creme Patisserie

Nothing gets me more riled up than a challenge – family and friends who know me well also know that I won’t hesitate to act on a dare, and the more they say I can’t do something, the stubborn person in me will all the more try to show them otherwise.

Friends will attest to the number of times I’ve embarrassed myself by singing or dancing in public (I’m not good at either!) after being egged on to do so.  Well, anyway, it’s all in the spirit of fun!

The first time reading the September Daring Bakers’ challenge brought back the same feeling of someone goading and urging me to try making vol au vents.  So, of course I was keen to prove that I could do it!

This month I settled on making two fillings a sweet and a savoury. Blueberry and Apple Compote with a Creme Patisserie and Prawns in a Cream Sauce.

Prawns in a Cream Sauce

Funnily enough, my brother-in-law seemed to think I had made two savoury fillings.  I know this because we had lunch at my place one Sunday afternoon and we were all feasting on grilled seafood from the fish markets.  That morning, I had made a batch of my first sweet filling – blueberry  and apple compote and left it on the stove top to cool.  When my brother in law got to the table, his plate was full of prawns, fish and his rice was topped with my blueberry and apple compote!  I asked him why he had in on his rice as it was made of blueberries and apples – and he said “oh really?  I thought there were little potatoes and olives!” – Haha!  I wasn’t sure whether I should be insulted, but I was sure that it was the funniest thing I heard that day.  No wonder I adore my brother in law so much!  🙂

The Septmber 2009 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Steph of A Whisk and a Spoon.  She chose the French treat, Vols-au-Vent based on the Puff Pastry recipe by Michel Richard from the cookbook Baking With Julia by Dorie Greenspan.

I’ll only post my filling recipes here but the rest of the recipe and tips can also be found on this document.

Blueberry and Apple Compote with Pastry Cream

For the Compote

• 125 grams fresh or frozen blueberries
• 2 granny smith apples, peeled, cored and diced
• 50 grams butter
• 25 grams sugar

1. Melt the butter in a heavy sauce pan and once melted, add the apples and sugar.
2. Cook over a medium heat until the apples are softened.  This took me around 12 minutes.
3. Once the apples, are softened, add the blueberries and cook for another 3 minutes

Pastry Cream

Note: This is a very small quantity because I only made half a recipe for the vol au vents

• 200 ml milk
• 1/2 vanilla bean, scraped of seeds
• 3 egg yolks
• 45 grams caster sugar
• 20 grams cornflour
• 60 ml thickened cream

1. Put the milk into a saucepan along with the vanilla bean.
2. Bring the milk to a boil, but watch very carefully as this happens very quickly.  Once boiling, remove from the heat and set aside around 20 minutes to allow the vanilla bean to infuse its flavours.
3. In the meantime, whisk the egg yolks and sugar in a separate bowl until pale.  Once done, add the cornflour.
4. Re-heat the milk until it comes back to the boil and then add the egg yolk mixture.
5. Over a medium heat, whisk the mixture thoroughly, ensuring that you scrape the bottom and sides of the pan so that it does not catch on the bottom.
6. Once the mixture has thickened (around 5 minutes for me), remove from the heat and place the mixture in a new bowl over another bowl filled with ice and water.  Stir the mixture until it cools and then beat it until smooth.
7. Whip the cream until soft peaks and then fold this into the pastry cream.

To assemble:  Fill eat vol-au-vent with a generous portion of pastry cream and some of the compote

Prawns in a Cream Sauce

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 carrot, diced
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 1/2 celery rib, diced
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1 cup full cream milk
• 1/4 cup white wine (optional)
• 12 pieces fresh prawns, peeled, deveined and chopped
• 1 tablespoon chopped parsley

1. Heat the olive oil and butter together in a heavy sauce pan.
2. Add the carrots, onion and celery and cook over a medium heat until the onions are translucent and the carrots and celery are soft.
3. Add the flour and cook for around 3 minutes.
4. If using, add the white wine and then the milk around a quarter cup at a time, make sure to keep on stirring so that the milk does not catch at the bottom of the pan.
5. Finally, add the chopped prawns and cook for around 5 minutes until the prawns turn pink and are cooked.
6. Finish with some chopped parsley.

It was a great challenge and thanks to Steph for hosting and selecting such a handy recipe and providing so many tips to ensure success!

One thing I will share, the toughest part of the challenge was rolling out the dough.  My tip here is the get some flour and use this to measure on your bench top the dimensions of your dough.   This helped me to ensure that I was always rolling out the desired measurements.

Measuring the dimensions using flour

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Petit Gateaux

I’ve been fortunate enough to have a very supportive and indulgent husband who encourages me to pursue my passions – even if it means flying to Melbourne for a two day patisserie course at The Savour Chocolate and Patisserie School.  This school was a natural choice because (1) I wasn’t aware of any such intensive course for non-professionals (i.e. people like me who didn’t want to give up their day jobs) in Sydney and (2) I had such great success with my macaron class a few months back that  I vowed to one day come back and when a spot opened for a two day course in Petit Gateaux Level 1, I knew I had to sweet talk my husband into allowing me to go.

Kirsten Tibballs owns and manages the Savour school and upon entering the premises I know I am in good hands.  Browsing through the store infront of the the kitchen I spot a couple of international pastry magazines and books featuring some of Kirsten’s creations.  Upon meeting her, I am in awe.  Not only is she super nice and approachable, she is also a walking encyclopaedia of chocolate and patisserie!  Plus, the best part, is that she is totally willing to share everything she knows.  Everyone in the class feels immediately at ease.

As a testament to how popular the Savour classes are, many of those in the class have been to other classes before and are already familiar with some of the techniques she briefly discusses in the introduction.  Apart from your baking enthusiasts, a number of those in the class are graduates from Le Cordon Bleu, others are pastry chefs at top restaurants in Sydney and Melbourne (one flew from Sydney and was working at Guillaume) and another was a free lance writer for a food magazine and had previously collaborated on a cookbook with Emmanuel Stroobant.

The class I attended ran for two days.  Over this period we were to prepare five petit gateaux (individual portion cakes).  These little cakes will usually involve more than one element (for example, a sponge base, a mousse and a meringue topping).  The idea is to combine different textures and flavours to produce something that is not only visually appealing but a delight to eat!

The idea is to get different textures and tastes going into one gateau!

The first hour or so was spent finding our way around the kitchen to gather all ingredients so that when we started baking, we would already have all ingredients close at hand.  Once that was over with, we moved on to the FUN part of the course – the HANDS ON experience.

The best part for me was learning about the “basic” recipes that are indispensible to gateau making, for instance, bavaroise, crème anglais, mousses, various meringues etc.   We also learned why you would use one technique or another depending on the intended final  product.

While the course was very fast paced, Kirsten was always there to answer questions and clarify things to make sure no one was left behind.

So what did I learn at the end of these two days, the pictures below will surely speak for themselves!  Of course the unfair advantage of doing this at Savour was that we had Kirsten’s help, unlimited use of the wonderful callebaut chocolate and equipment, how easy would it be to actually recreate this at home?

Praline Lemon Dome

Coconut and Pistachio Gateaux

Rum Raisin

Chocolate and Orange Gateaux

Stay tuned for my next post when I show you my own attempts at re-creating these at home!

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