How to Make Oreo Truffles

This is very easy to make truffles,  you will need 1 large pack of oreo cookies, 1 pack cream cheese and a pack of white chocolate.

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Croquembouche

Paté a choux / cream puffs / profiteroles

Ingredients:

1 /2 Cup water

1/2 cup milk

1 stick butter (6 tablespoons)

1/8 teaspoon salt (for sweet)

 (for savory)

1. Cup all purpose flour

4 large eggs 

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Boil water, butter, and salt or sugar. Add flour and remove from heat. Work mixture together and return to heat. Continue working the mixture until all flour is incorporated and dough forms a ball. Transfer mixture into bowl of a standing mixer and let cool for 3 or 4 minutes. With mixer on stir or lowest speed add eggs, 1 at a time, making sure the first egg is completely incorporated before continuing. Once all eggs have been added and the mixture is smooth put dough into piping bag fitted with a round tip. Pipe immediately into golfball-size shapes, 2 inches apart onto parchment lined sheet pans. Cook for 20minutes, or until golden brown. Once they are removed from the oven pierce with a barbeque stick immediately to release steam.  Put them back in the oven to dry in a turned off oven and leave the oven door ajar by placing a wooden spoon in between the door.

A croquembouche or croque-en-bouche is a French dessert consisting of choux pastry balls piled into a cone and bound with threads of caramel. In Italy and France, it is often served at weddings, baptisms and first communions. Wikipedia

Place of origin:

France

Main ingredients:

Profiterole, Chocolate, Caramel

History

A croquembouche or in French- croquenbouche is a type of pièce montée and is generally served at baptisms and weddings as well as at first communions. This high cone made of profiteroles (choux that is filled with delicious pastry cream), is sometimes also dipped in chocolate & bound with caramel.

Typically, this entire creation is elaborately decorated with fine-spun threads of caramel, flowers, sugared almonds, chocolate and even ribbons. At times the cone may also be covered with macaroons. Its name is derived from the 2 French words "croquet" en "bouche", which means ‘crunch in the mouth’. The Croquembouche is designed to be the centrepiece at a table. Outside of France, it is used to add a dash of flair to any event.

The croquembouche has a very ancient lineage and illustrates the extensive history of these fine pastries in the country. A variation of the croquembouche, which is a very fanciful and edible architectural creation, was also seen displayed on the tables of the royals and noblemen in France, way back in the 1500’s.

Ingredients such as the cream puffs that are used in this creations date back to this period. Antoine Careme (1783-1833), the French chef seems to have invented the actual version that we see today, only in the late 1700’s. It was at this time that it became very popularly used as a wedding cake. He was one of the most-famous French chefs of his time and this dessert was popularized by him.

watch how its done:

#Croquembouche

#PateAChoux

#Profiteroles

#ChouxPastry

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Blueberry cheese cake

It's Summer time! Berries are in season and i can't help but grab some of these blueberries in the grocery as they are on sale.  DH loves cheesecake and here is the latest one, using fresh blueberries.  I often use bueberry toppings in tin can, but this time, there is no excuse not to use the fresh fruit in season.

Ooozing Fresh blueberries, some crushed and some I've kept whole to have some bits and pieces every bite. The good thing of making your own topping is, you have the control of its sweetness.

My cheesecake has evolved, from that of a densed custard texture to this which is a little bit airy and light but still have the same tang to it.  For this, I just trusted my gut feeling as to how much to use and it was perfect, just the way i wanted.   I am so happy with the result of my experiment, hence, blogging comes in handy to document it.  I am sure i wouldn't remember it after some time.

Ingredients:

blueberry topping:

2 packs of blueberries (about 2 cups)

3 T sugar

3 C. water

Cheesecake:

2 packs philadelphia cream cheese (must be at room temperature)

1/2 C. All purpose flour

2T cornstarch

3 eggs (separated)

4T. Sugar ( half for cheese mixture and half for eggwhite) 

Juice of 1/2 lemon

base

1 pack digestive biscuit (wheat biscuit)

1 stick butter (softened at room temperature)

Procedure:

1. Make the topping by putting the blueberries in a saucepan, add water and sugar, bring to a boil, turn the heat to low and let it simmer for about 20 minutes until the bueberries are wilted and liquid has reduced. Crush some of it with a fork and leave some as whole. It should be a thick syrup consistency with bits and pieces. Remove from heat and set aside to cool down.

2. Make the crust by crushing the biscuits in a food processor. If not using food processor, place the biscuits in a bag and crush it until fine with bottle or rolling pin. Mix the melted butter by hand by rolling the butter in the finely crushed biscuits and pressing it as you go. Mix thoroughly until well combined.  Texture should be a little damp.  

Using a springform pan, press the butter and cookie mixture into the base.  Finish it up by using the bottom of a glass to tamper.  Make sure it is evenly distributed. Place in the fridge to let it set. About 30 minutes.

4. Preheat of 280 degrees C. Prepare 2 mixing bowls. One for the eggwhite mixture and the other for the yolk mixture. Separate the eggs, make sure the bowl you used for eggwhite is clean and grease free, otherwise the egg won't rise accordingly. Place the eggyolk in a cup. Set aside the  eggwhite and prepare the other ingredients. 

Using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese until soft and creamy, add eggyolks one at a time whilst continue mixing, 2 T sugar, flour, cornstarch and lastly the lemon juice. Set aside. Wash the beaters of the electric mixer and wipe clean and dry.

5. Beat eggwhites until soft peak. Add 2 Tablespoons sugar slowly while mixing until stiff. Do not overbeat.

6. Fold in the flour mixture to the eggwhite until well mixed. Keepin it just until you dont see lumps and bumps. Do not overmix as the air in the eggwhites gives it the light and airy texture of the cake..

7. Add the mixture to the prepared base in a springform pan. Make it flat and smooth and tap a few times to get rid of air bubbles.  Cover with a foil sealing the edges.  Bake for 1 hour.  To check doneness, tap the top of the cake, if it doesnt stick to your fingers, and is completely set, it should be done.

8. Let it cool down at room temperature.  Add the prepared blueberry topping, spreading evenly on top.  Chill for atleast an hour.  

Kasilyo or Kesong Puti (White Cheese)

Kasilyo is a specialty in Cavite, a white cheese made by curdling fresh milk by heating it gently whilst stirring all the time taking care not to bring the milk to boil.

Here is a quick video How to Make Kasilyo or Kesong puti (white cheese).

Special thanks to great friends Maria Maddox and Mary Ann Olaes who took time to drove all the way to the farm and back and of course lots of fun along the way.  How can i forget that gigantic Mexican Food in one of the stops!  

Homemade Smoked Pork Loin

Smoked Pork Loin served with roasted mushrooms, baby urugula and lettuce salad 

This is one of those unexpected flavors that worked well together. The pan-roasted mushrooms gaved that tacky earthy flavor and well contrasted with the balsamic vinaigrette, that tangy strong bite of urugula which is neutralized with the bland lettuce and that smokey taste of every bite of the homemade smoked tender loin (courtesy by Chef B.)   The flavors are dancing in the tongue of every bite which was really enjoyable that i cant afford to miss a post about it.  Oh well, i wouldn't remember it for sure after sometime, which makes this blog handy.  

I am not going write much about the salad because it is easy to make.  Let me write about how this smoked tender loin was made because it entailed a lot of processes and expertise to do it. Practice makes perfect indeed, and this one is nailed perfectly.

Oh well, Chef B isn't really blogging but I can do it for him! (winks!) I think i can do his recipe it if i had more patience! ssshh.  I had a lengthy interview while enjoying dinner last night. Don't tell him I blogged about it. Anyway, its not for him.  I will keep the recipe for our budding little Chef L.

Here's how he made the Smoked Pork Loin:

1.  Prepare a brine which is a mixture of 200g of salt per liter of water and freshly ground pepper.

Make sure the whole meat is soaked in the brine for a day and half at room temperature

2. Remove from the brine and soak meat in plain water for at least 2 hours. Pat Dry with a kitchen towel.

3. Whilst the meat is still moist, roll it on a bed of freshly ground pepper until all the surface of the meat is fully covered with pepper.

4. In goes the meat to the smoker for 5 hours at a very low temperature in continuous smoking.  He used mixed of Hickory and apple cider wood chips.

5. Chill the meat when done.  Wrap it cling wrap tightly until ready to serve. Slice as thinly as you can to serve.

This smoked loin has a perfect texture with just the right tangy flavor and succulent to the bite.

This goes well with this salad which was made by pan roasting the mushrooms, then toss with the leaves (baby urugula and lettuce).  Vinaigrette was made with fresh ground garlic (1 clove), salt and pepper, balsamic vinegar and olive oil.  Mix the vinaigrette until emulsified and drizzle over the salad.

For winter soups, we usually chop the loin finely and sprinkle it over our soup.  It eventually will sink and invisible therefore our little chef calls it "treasure" as she has to find the sinkers.  If she doesn't like asparagus soup, we negotiate with the "treasures" and she eventually loved asparagus soup.  Mushroom soup is not a problem, she just loved it since first serving, but she doesn't eat mushrooms! thats when she can see them on her plate. It is the sight of it she doesn't like but when blended, she cant see the mushrooms! By far, the "treasure" trick is still working.  She'll bust me out one day like how she busted me with the toothfairy!

#thekitchenjournal #homemade

Home Made Sausages

Making home made sausage is fun and can be frustrating at the same time.  Luckily we have this sausage maker attachment to our kitchen aide mixer, which does made life a little bit easier.  At first it was tricky but then we figure out some cheats to do it a little bit faster.  It should be fun to make it with the family as doing it alone isn't really that fun with all the mess you have to deal with, but at the end of the day you realize its is really worth it.  You can control the seasonings, amount of fat that goes in that sausage, and best of all,  no preservatives and the relief that you know what is in that sausage you are having on the table.

Here is a quick video of what we've done.

We are often frustrated with store-bought sausage, most of the times, there is so much fat in it. You can see as it you cook further, the amount of fat you that goes to the sides of your pan, which i usually spoon out to the drain. Aside from that amount of fat, sometimes it just have a nasty smell of "not so good" meat then you start to wonder, what is in this sausage?

Collagen Casing

For our homemade sausage, we used pork loin and shoulders (less fat).  For the casing we used the collagen casing  which is ready made and it is available in barbecue aisle of most shops, we bought ours from Academy Sports + Outdoors.

sausage making kit attachment

Kitchenaide mixer with attachment

finished product: homemade sausages

So, there won't be any recipe for this post as everything weren't measured, but bare in mind that when you make sausages, you better make a lot as it is a lot of work.  Freezing them makes it convenient. I hope to update this post with specific measurements, but for the time being we didn't bother to measure. All ingredients were estimated as per proportion of the meat.  We certainly used lean meat, cut it in cubes, seasoned it with salt and pepper, a little bit of paprika, cayenne pepper,  garlic powder, and onion powder.  Then comes mine and daughter's favorite part being the critic plays the crucial part. Tasting!  Hubby did a mini burger and cooked it over a heated pan subject to our criticisms.  Hubby then adjusts what is needed and if agreed with satisfaction, the fun begins with stuffing the casing.  I haven't took the video during stuffing as we were all got busy hands.

We usually serve sausage with salads and vegetables, or with egg for breakfast.  L loves it with a hotdog bun for school.  Sometimes pasta, or it is also good just as it is.

Thanks to hubby, who did most all of the job.  We were just helpers on the side waiting for his command. We really enjoyed making it for the 2nd time now, and i guess it won't be the last.  Rest assured, we won't be buying sausage from stores anymore.

Frozen themed birthday

Our girl just turned 7 ..  Here are birthday cake ang party favors in "frozen" theme

Christmas cookie balls

Here's a double treat.  Edible decorations.  Decorate and eat !

Vanilla beans

A good find for today! Its just like finding a treasure.  Vanilla beans.  If only i could avoid the synthetic flavors I would, but its quite expensive so it is sparingly used for special recipes only :).

Mission (note to self) find the plant,  so my recipes will be vanilla blissed! 

Below is the bean cut in half and the intense flavor of vanilla is in the black tiny seeds that you can scrape from inside the bean.

Below is the whole vanilla bean.

 

Fresh blackerry yogurt

A bowl of plain yogurt, a teaspoon of sugar and fresh blackberries.  Thats all it needs.  Freshen up your day with this breakfast!

A real cup cake

Oreo truffle

How to make spaghetti sack lunch

How to make spaghetti sack lunch....

Sack lunch is the term for packed lunch without lunch box/containers that kidz have to bring on field trips. 

My daughter really likes to have spaghetti today, hence, mommy have to improvise spaghetti sack lunch without necessary container or tools to carry along with during field trips. Something they can just toss away after eating so they dont have to carry lunch boxes everywhere. 

Spaghetti wrapped in spring roll skin (vietnamese cuisine uses this a lot).  No mess! In the bag goes spaghetti for lunch and banana for snacks.   Easy! Just toss it away! 

She's so proud of it and took a pen for me to write something on the bag.. Oh sweet!