Baked Mussles with Pamesan Cheese

I was asked several times by some of my friends to share the recipes of the food I cooked on my Mom's birthday. The most requested recipe is for the Baked Mussles so I decided to put it in my priority list. It is so simple and easy to make. To those avid readers from the Philippines, this will surely be a treat because I know that mussels are so cheap there. But for those living abroad, this is best served during parties. I can guarantee you that this will be one of the most sought after food you could ever serve. The best thing about this recipe is, it is not like the regular baked mussles which is usually dry and chewy. The flavour of the mussle is locked in while it is baked because of the mayonnaise. Yes, there is mayonnaise. And I can guarantee you that if you do this right, you will never go back to the old style.

I will be updating the photos by next week since I will be preparing my aunt's baby shower. She requested me to make A LOT of this dish so for now, here's the recipe. Enjoy!

Baked Mussles with Parmesan cheese

2lbs Mussles( remove one side of the shell)
1/2 cup minced garlic
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
4 tablespoons sugar
3/4 cup grated cheese
1 tablespoon of lemon juice
pinch of salt
1/2 cup chopped green onions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Clean mussles and place in a baking pan. Cook garlic in butter until golden brown. In a separate bowl mix the mayonnaise,lemon juice,cayenne pepper,sugar, salt and cheese. Adjust the taste according to how sweet you want it. Drizzle the Garlic butter into the mussles then cover each mussle with the mayonnaise mixture. Then garnish with green onions. Bake for 15 minutes or once the surface becomes golden brown.

Sweet and Sour Fish Fillet ala Fabulouanne

When there is limited resources in a demanding environment aka our house, when it comes to food, creativity is very essential to satisfy my family. We love our food and we are not easily fooled by presentation because being Filipino, the taste of the food is always the priority.

During Holy week, our family from Ohio decided to pay us a visit here. My Ilocano cousin is married to an American which made it difficult to serve food because Ilocanos love their bagoong. Let's admit that bagoong has a very offensive smell especially to those who are not used to it. And if the ratio of the people who loves bagoong against those who dislike it is 9:1, I guess we all know what it must be like for my cousin's husband. I was quite concerned because I was afraid that he might end up not eating for days. And so I decided to make a separate dish for him that special evening.

I actually didn't prepare for this special dish. I just saw a couple of Frozen Basa Fillet in the freezer, some Japanese bread crumbs and Pineapple chunks. Initially, I planned to just cook a plain Fried Fish Fillet that my girlfriend taught me but I thought it would be better if I make a sauce. Though it is probably cheaper to buy a bottle of sweet and sour sauce, I still decided to make it from scratch. I love the homemade sweet and sour sauce that I made. It has a perfect balance sweetness with a hint of sour taste. The good thing about doing it from scratch is that it will give you a chance to enhance its flavour to suit your taste.

Here is my recipe. Enjoy!

Sweet and Sour Fish Fillet ala Fabulouanne

2 lbs Fish Fillet( I suggest Basa Fillet or Cream Dory)
2 tablespoons garlic(minced)
1 egg(beaten)
2 cups of Japanese Bread Crumbs
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup cooking oil


Slice the fish according to the size you want, add the garlic, salt and pepper and marinade it for 30 minutes. Then add the beaten egg into the marinated fish then coat the fish fillet with bread crumbs. Fry until golden brown.

Sweet and Sour Sauce

1 cup Pineapple juice
1/3 cup vinegar
2 tablespoon soysauce
1 tablespoon ketchup
1/4 cup brown sugar
 3 tablespoon cornstarch dissolved in water
1 teaspoon garlic
1/2 cup sliced onions
1/2 cup red bell pepper
1/2 cup celery
1/2 cup carrots
1/2 cup pineapple chunks

Saute the garlic and onions. The add all the liquid ingredients and brown sugar, adjust the taste before adding the bell pepper, celery,carrots and pineapple chunks. After a minute, pour the cornstarch dissolved in water until thick. Then add the fish fillet. Serve while hot.

Red Velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting

Red is the color of  love and passion. This is probably the reason why this kind of cake is one of the best thing ever created in the history of baking. One look and you'll helplessly fall inlove with its taste and color. Top it off with a rich, smooth and creamy whipped cream cheese frosting. One bite and you're in heaven.

Hmm...Ok.... I think I got carried away.

A few months ago, I was craving for La Rocca Red Velvet cake but of course, it is always out of stock. It is one of those cakes where you have to try once in your life. I tried to fight the craving but when I raided our cupboard and fridge, I had every single ingredient to make this delectable treat. I was afraid that I will fail since it is the first time I will try making it but my urge is so much stronger than my fear, and so I gave in and I never looked back. I'm glad I did, because if not, I would never ever feel that glorious feeling on my first bite of this luscious creation. Here is the recipe. I hope you will love it as much as I did.

Enjoy!

Red Velvet Cupcakes Red Velvet Cupcakes: 1 1/4 cups (125 grams) sifted cake flour 1/4 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoons (10 grams) regular or Dutch-processed cocoa powder 1/4 cup (57 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature 3/4 cups (150 grams) granulated white sugar 1 large egg 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 1/2 cup (120 ml) buttermilk 1 tablespoon liquid red food coloring 1/2 teaspoon white distilled vinegar 1/2 teaspoon baking soda Cream Cheese Frosting: 8 ounces (227 grams) cream cheese, room temperature 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 1/2 cup (60 grams) confectioners' (icing or powdered) sugar, sifted 2/3 cup (160 ml) cold heavy whipping cream (double cream) (35-40% butterfat)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) and line 12 muffin tins with paper cupcake liners.
In a large bowl sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, and cocoa powder.

In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the butter until soft (about 1-2 minutes). Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy (about 2-3 minutes). Add the egg and beat until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the vanilla extract and beat until combined.

In a measuring cup whisk the buttermilk with the red food coloring. With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and buttermilk to the butter mixture, in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour.

In a small cup combine the vinegar and baking soda. Allow the mixture to fizz and then quickly fold into the cake batter. 

Working quickly, divide the batter evenly among the 12  muffin cups and smooth the tops with an offset spatula or the back of a spoon. Bake in the preheated oven for approximately 18 - 23 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cupcakes comes out clean.

Cool the cakes in their pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes and them remove from pan. Let cool completely before frosting. Either spread the frosting with a knife or offset spatula, or use a large 1M Wilton open star decorating tip to pipe the frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting: In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the vanilla and confectioners sugar and beat until smooth. Using the whisk attachment, gradually add the heavy cream* (See Note) and whip until the frosting is thick enough to pipe. Add more sugar or cream as needed to get the right consistency.

Makes 12 cupcakes.

Note: You must use a brand of heavy cream that whips very easily to stiff peaks. If you are using a brand of heavy cream that does not whip easily to stiff peaks then whip the heavy cream separately to stiff peaks and then fold it into the cream cheese mixture.

 

I got this recipe from: http://www.joyofbaking.com/RedVelvetCupcakes.html#ixzz2TKLuqThC

Easy and Moist Chocolate Cupcakes without Milk and Eggs

It's been a while since the last time I posted a blog even if I've already made a long list of topics and recipes I wanted to share. But since I made a promise that I will blog about this amazing recipe first, I thought, maybe I should force myself to do this now before I lose my enthusiasm. For now, I would like to share with you why and how I discovered this recipe.

A few months ago, a very dear friend of mine was diagnosed with breast cancer. I will go into details about it in another post because I don't want to get too emotional about it right now. Anyway, as part of her "diet" she is not allowed to take any kind of dairy in her system. That broke my heart because the last time I gave her a cake, she said her favorite is Mocha cake and she is requesting a Goldilocks style chocolate cake. Of course I thought, it is impossible for me to make her one because I thought all cakes require milk and eggs. For months, I gave up on the idea that one of these days, I can fulfill my promise to make her request until one random afternoon, I suddenly had a very strong desire to bake some chocolate cupcakes. I got so excited I prepared everything I needed until I opened our fridge and found out that there's no eggs and milk. I thought, there's no way I could satisfy my urge to bake without the most important ingredients unless I go outside and buy. But I was too lazy to go out considering the weather until I did the next best thing....Google a non dairy and eggless chocolate cupcake recipe. And of course Google didn't fail me.

At first, I thought that this will not taste like the chocolate cake I am used to eat considering that there's no egg or milk or butter is involved in the recipe. I admit that there's a part of me that is almost sure that it will suck. I guess the beauty in trying things for the first time is that feeling of satisfaction when things turns out to be amazing. This is definitely a must try recipe. It is easy, soft and moist you wont feel guilty eating it because it seems that it is a healthier option. I used buttercream but next time I will try a chocolate ganache without dairy again.

Enjoy!

Ingredients

Cupcakes:

• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup brewed coffee (or 1 cup of warm water mixed with 1 1/2 teaspoons of espresso powder or instant coffee granules)
• 1 Tbsp white vinegar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 6 Tbsp (1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp) canola oil

Method

Cupcakes:
1 Preheat oven to 350°F with a rack in the middle position. Prepare a muffin tin with cupcake liners.
2 In a large bowl, vigorously whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda, and salt until there are no visible clumps (cocoa tends to clump up).
3 In a separate bowl, mix together the coffee (or water plus coffee granules), vinegar, vanilla extract, and olive oil.
4 Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir only until they just come together. The mixture should be thin and rather lumpy.
5 Ladle the batter into the cupcake liners, filling them about two-thirds of the way full. Place in oven and bake for 18 to 20 minutes, until a bamboo skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.
6 Remove from oven and let cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then remove from pan and let cool on a rack. Once cool, you can eat plain, sprinkle with powdered sugar, or drizzle or coat with frosting.

I got this recipe from simplyrecipes.com

Proverbs 13:7-17

7 A pretentious, showy life is an empty life; a plain and simple life is a full life. 8 The rich can be sued for everything they have, but the poor are free of such threats. 9 The lives of good people are brightly lit streets; the lives of the wicked are dark alleys. 10 Arrogant know-it-alls stir up discord, but wise men and women listen to each other's counsel. 11 Easy come, easy go, but steady diligence pays off. 12 Unrelenting disappointment leaves you heartsick, but a sudden good break can turn life around. 13 Ignore the Word and suffer; honor God's commands and grow rich. 14 The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life, so, no more drinking from death-tainted wells! 15 Sound thinking makes for gracious living, but liars walk a rough road. 16 A commonsense person lives good sense; fools litter the country with silliness. 17 Irresponsible talk makes a real mess of things, but a reliable reporter is a healing presence.