Best Warm and Naked

I was reading about chocolates last night before I retired to bed. Chocolates particularly cocoa beans like wine grapes and coffee beans differ in flavor depending on it terroire or the location where it is cultivated and grown. Unlike wines however, the smooth mouthfeel, richness, flavor and aroma of chocolates comes primarily as a result of a complicated processing of the beans rather than the magic of art and science that transforms grapes to wine.

Early this morning when I woke up, I got sudden urge to make something chocolate. I feel the craving to have something bitter and sweet, warm and smooth with perhaps a little texture. I thought of what I could do for the day. A warm chocolate tart perhaps with a really dark chocolate filling? Hmmm… not quite. I want something pure, and I actually felt like doing something quick and really simple, I’m pretty sure I have my chocolates in there. I never run out of it! I opened my pantry for whatever ingredients I have left that I can use today. I did not want to drive and purchase ingredients anymore. Besides, its really early in the morning and I’m sure no supermarket will be open to serve me just because I have a whim to bake at this very moment! I realized I still have some almonds left! Perfect! I got my butter and eggs from the fridge and decided to do a fallen soufflé cake! Off to my station, I did my mise en place melted my chocolates and whipped my whites. Poured it on my pan and popped it in the oven. Hmmmm the color was not as rich as I wanted it too…. (eeek will I be disappointed with this recipe??? – I didn’t use the usual recipe I have.) While waiting, I got my daily brew and a couple of slices of brioche that I made for my mom. (Well she loved it, had it for breakfast, afternoon snack and midnight snack. She swore that this is what she was looking for in a soft bread but soon changed her mind and decided not to have it all and left it for me to have for breakfast when I told her the percentage of butter to flour in that recipe.)

Rrrrrrrring. There goes my timer. Back to my chocolate. Got it out from the oven and it did have a wonderfully crusty top. (A little smile). Light in color though... I was craving for something bitter, rich and dark! (ooooh, no!) I allowed it to cool a bit before getting it out of the pan. After lunch, I lifted the ring and Voila! I had a really dark chocolate exterior on the sides. Sliced it and Oooooooooh. I say I got it! The center is perfectly moist, still a little warm almost oozing out as I pull a slice of cake. The rest of the cake particularly the ones near the ring was very light almost like decadent angel cake, moist and just melts in the mouth. The top of course gives it a little texture. The recipe suggested to serve it with a little whipped cream or glaze it with ganache. I say its best served warm and naked!

Spices in the Sweet Kitchen (Plus A Little Bread Talk)

My friend Jen cam from Bali, and her gifts to me are gems, I guess chefs, home-bakers, foodies or for anyone who just loves to eat would know what I mean.

VANILLA BEAN




This is actually the 2nd most expensive spice in the world. Well next to saffron that is. Vanilla is actually the fruit of a type of orchid and is one of the most labor-intensive agricultural crops, that’s why it is so pricey. It is valued for the flavor and the aroma that it imparts. I think it is best used in its pureness with simple desserts where its flavor can shine the most. Its hard to improve on perfection they say, well, you don’t want to mask the scent of vanilla with other harsh ingredients. Hmmmm… ice creams, custards like crème brulee or panna cotta or maybe a sauce like anglaise poured over a warm dessert are among the things that a vanilla bean can be used in. Its flavor and aroma is a far cry from extracts that are sold in the market. The flavor is in the seeds inside the pods. You would know if you are served the real thing if for instance a crème brulee would have little specs of tiny black seeds in every smooth spoonful of custard. Vanilla pods are vertically slit open with a sharp knife, these valuable tiny seeds are then scraped off then infused in the liquid, drop in the pods as well, after cooking strain off the pods but don’t throw it away, it still has the flavor of vanilla in it! Rinse it with water and dry it out completely, put it in a jar of sugar and in time, its flavor will infuse in it. You would need a couple of pieces though, so that the aroma will be strong enough to come out in your coffee or baked items.

CINNAMON QUILLS



One of the first few spices that I grew to love even as a child. My first taste of cinnamon was from Mr. Ronald Mc Donald’s Apple pie! Hahaha. I remembered how I look forward to every meal in Mc Donald’s just so that I can have my dessert. It is actually a very versatile spice. One that is commonly used in both savory and sweet items. It is also used greatly in beverages. I was so amused when I was served a masala tea at Little India in Singapore with a quill of cinnamon as a stirrer.



It gave me a big smile…really nice! This spice is close to my heart because its one of the first spices that I worked with. Of course there's my first apple pie and the first ever bread that I made were cinnamon rolls back when the Cinnabon craze was still on. That time, I knew this was my magic powder along with the frosting made with cream cheese and confectioner’s sugar. Cinnamon actually comes from the bark of a tree. To use, simply break a quill of cinnamon in about three pieces then infuse it in your liquid. A quill of cinnamon will keep its flavor almost indefinitely unlike the powdered form, which will only last for a while. For convenience though, the powder comes in handy for instant cinnamon flavor for pies and breads. Freshly opened bags are pretty potent, besides It is quite difficult to grind a bark into a fine powder don’t you think? Just be careful of another variety of spice, which is very close to cinnamon called the cassia. The cassia has thicker bark and a darker color when ground. Cinnamon has a sweeter more delicate aroma than cassia that’s why it’s preferred for baked items.


Thanks Girl-Friend! Jen definitely knows I’d love it. She’s one of the few non-chef friends of mine whom I can rave about chocolate covertures, different kinds of sugars as well as spices and herbs to crusty sourdough breads and baguette grigns. Talk about crusty sourdough breads! Needless to say I love breads Jen and I have found this great place where they serve Real artisan breads! I was telling her that I am already giving up my quest for the search of the real sourdough or rustic artisan bread here in Manila. Then one Saturday night, we tried Mickey’s Deli in Jupiter. Inside is a small boulangerie called Lartizan. It was impressive! Got me really excited! The breads were beautiful! It became an instant favorite, and swore that we will come back.

The Deli serves sandwiches and cheeseboards as well. Simple food but great quality. Visited the deli with Mike last week. We had ciabatta pizza with German Beer (Franziskaner) and shared a Murphy stout.










They have a good selection of beer actually. They carry Hoegarden White, we did’t order it but a good tasting beer I may say (See Sept 20 entry “The Duet”). To end the meal, we ordered a cheeseboard of Asiago, Tete de moine, and grana padano along with our bread basket of sourdough and ciabbatta.



That was a wow meal indeed! Thanks Mike!






For those in the Quezon City Area, Uno, a small restaurant near Morato at Scout Fuentebella serves good crusty bread as well. They have foccaccia and ciabbatta which makes me happy to wake up every morning and have a simple breakfast of warmed bread with my daily brew (only butter or nothing on it…. too good to mask). Also a place worth trying.

Rotti!

I did another consultancy project today. Got a call last Friday night just when I was crazy busy for my Saturday wedding. Rotti with Curry they requested. Wednesday 2pm, recipes, tasting samples and demo! I thought, hey, I got Monday and Tuesday, so yes it is! For some reason, they changed it to Tuesday…. Eeeek! Rush again!! Good thing rotti has been an obsession of mine a few years back. My first taste of this flakey Indian bread was in Singapore! I loved this bread the moment I had it! Practice, practice, practice. Finally, I got my recipe from one of my chef instructors in culinary school. He worked in Malaysia for a while and got to travel around the region. I remembered I had to learn it “FAST” since that was for a television segment, and of course, since those were orders from the Chef ! -- “Elaine, this is how you do it (while showing the motion) flip it really thin. Get it? Now give me 10 of those!” Obligingly, I said “Yes Chef!” Not really knowing if I could indeed throw that dough in the air with out embarrassing myself. The first few tries were full of holes! Hahahahhaha I quickly folded it to hide the imperfections (eeeek). I was getting quite better from 4 to 10 though. It was fun! I was happy I learned it.




Teaching it this time gave me a different high. The owner of the Asian Café I was doing consultancy for was really happy. She said she had been trying to do it and ended up with a biscuit-like pastry. I served it with different kinds of curry dishes. Beef, Chicken, Seafood and Fish. The Business Unit Managers of the company I’m working for were pleased, the resto owner was really happy.

Over tasting, the mood dwindled a bit with the conversation of the tragedy that happened in Glorrieta. They had a branch there, quite near the area where it happened. Good thing no one from her staff got hurt. One of her staff shared that it was really bad, they heard 3 explosions, the first one was quite weak, some did not mind it, the 2nd explosion was the big one, it caused the destruction. The 3rd one made it even worse. There are rumors going around that it was mismanagement of the electrical circuits. No one really knows what the cause is. Its quite scary sometimes to think that to be at the wrong place at the wrong time can totally change someone’s life just like that. Sometimes I just wonder why things like these happen.

Food Shoot

Recently finished our photo shoot for the calendar of a flour milling company this week. It was a long project consisting of over 36 different recipes. After weeks of meetings and recipe testing, finally we have reached the finish line. Its a great experience to be able to work with food in a different angle. This time, its how it will look more than how it will taste. I particularly did a few adjustments as to the consistency of my mousse so as it be able to withstand the heat of the spotlight. Every detail was planned and each person has thier own contribution to the set. I made the desserts and garnished it. The food stylist added a few more touches to make it even look lively on camera. The set director was very particular about the over all look of shoot and of course the photographer took a shot adjusting the lighting as necessary. We worked long hours that day. It was fun though and well worth the time and effort!

All Natural Purple

Before I sleep tonight, I though I should do my purple yam filling for tomorrows bread. I am testing a recipe for a food company's 2008 calendar shoot this coming week. Well preparing the filling in advance will save me some cooling time tomorrow, so while I sleep it will just be chilling in my fridge.

I started on it. I got the yams from the market 2 days ago. I was searching for the perfectly all natural purple color! I did not want to add any artificial coloring if possible. I guess I'll just trusted my instincts. I got myself a large piece of yam. about 1.6K. Well I could not get anything smaller, because they won't allow me to cut it up. I don't want the smaller ones. I remembered one of my helpers in the province told me that for you to get a purple yam with a deep violet color, you have to choose the longer larger ones. Be carefull not to get the older ones though that might have a tough flesh. I don't know if thats a fact but, well followed her advice and brought what I though was the right size and weight and shape.

I was actually pretty excited to cut it up to see if I got the jackpot!




Well I did! Look at the lovely color. Deep purple. Isn't that beautiful? Went on with cooking it and turned it to my bread filling. Tomorrow or hmmmm.... later in the morning the yeast will be working its wonders again.

Durian City!

How do you know you have landed in Davao? As soon as the plane door opens, take a deep breath… inhaaaaaaale Ahhhhhhh…… yes! You’ll be able to confirm it! It was a business trip this time. I did a cooking demo and conducted a seminar for a milling company last week. It was the Mindanao Culinary Festival. There were competitions among professionals and students as well as shows and exhibits. It was a three day well attended event. I’ve met a lot of Chefs from Culinary School instructors to Restaurant and Business owners both from Manila and locally.

Day 1: To have Durian was at the top of my list before I even started packing for the trip! Indeed I got my wish! Gigi, The QA manager for the Davao sector of the milling company I was representing, bought me one whole fruit! They have a lot of varieties and the one that I first tasted was the Arancillo. This Durian variety is actually the small kind. It has large seeds, not the usual fleshy, cloudy ones (the Puyat Variety) that I imagined it to be, but the flavor is really strong. Its not for the faint of heart.

Day 2: I judged a culinary competition. Plated durian desserts! Whew! Over 22 different durian plates. That was indeed a lot. Lesson learned??? “Eat in Moderation” (Well in this case, I couldn’t, Its my job to taste everything!) , after the event that day, I went back to the hotel. Felt a little dizzy there. ☺

Day 3

Rice, my old college friend and her husband Mark has a durian farm. They toured me around Davao and even bought me to Paradise Island for brunch! Well, I can say they serve really good calamares!


They tried to bring durian for me, but the resort did not allow for us to have it inside, so we went to their place and had the durian there! It was the fleshier cloudier version!



The one that I was looking for. It was great, though with a really full stomach from lunch, (paella, fresh coconut juice, fish and all), it would not fit in my tiny intestines! Thanks Rice!


I got my wish! Hahahaha! a bit more than what I was expecting but truly a memorable food experience.

Never Say Never

There was a time during my younger years, when my baking objective was to make the perfect baked cheesecake. I have gone through a lot of books and websites, testing different varieties and flavors. In every restaurant I go to, I order a cheesecake whenever it is served. It’s something that I truly enjoyed. Its smooth creamy and light consistency with a hint of tang is heaven to the palate.

I am also a chocolate lover! The darker the better! I love Lindt 70% cocoa! That is my chocolate! Truly decadent, a temptation I could not resist.

I have searched for heaven in combining two of the best, creamy cheesecake and intense chocolate. For a few years, I have tried it in the city’s dining scene as well as baked the recipes in the cook books around. None of which quite made it. So I made a conclusion. Cheesecake is a star on its own! It is great with flavors like maple or coffee. Berries work well too. Chocolate seems to be too strong for it. Like harshly grabbing all the attention. It is either too rich that one bite satiates the palate or not enough that will make you feel like it is added merely for color. Chocolate in its pureness is best left on its own. It can be accentuated with spices like cinnamon or made more interesting with nuts, pralines and liquors. That was my conviction. Never make cheesecake with chocolate.

This was it until one Sunday afternoon during my visit to my Uncle Chris’ place in San Diego. He knew my love for desserts. So for Lunch, he along with his wife Melissa brought my sister and me to the Cheesecake Factory. They have a very lively interior with a friendly crew of wait staff. After a Philly cheese steak sandwich, we ordered a Ghirardelli Dark chocolate cheesecake. The best on the menu he says. I did give it a try. With a bite, the marriage of the two flavors worked wonderfully in this dessert. The chocolate truffle layer has a really dark and rich intense flavor, one that I crave for in dark chocolate desserts. The cheesecake with the chocolate has its signature creaminess and lightness that is heaven to the palate yet giving way to the intensity of the darker flavor, all of this crusted in a rich fudge brownie-like chocolate base. Truly delicious! This broke that conviction! Never Say Never!