Butter Pecan Ice Cream

My latest obsession. Haagen-Dazs never fails.

 

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Pork Afritada

I have always wondered how my mom makes her special afritada and now, I know! If you're in the mood for some home-cooked goodness, read on:

I made this batch good for 10 servings, so here's what you'll need:

7 lbs pork rib meat, cubed (or any meat; I'm just partial to pork spare ribs)

1 medium onion, diced

2 large tomatoes, diced

1 cup annatto water (if using atsuete, make enough for 1 cup)

3 cups water or chicken broth (approximate)

1/2 cup white vinegar

2 cups frozen green peas (optional)

1 medium green pepper, sliced

1 medium red pepper, sliced

1 cup quatered potatoes

Salt and pepper to taste.

Patis, if desired

Here's how to make:

1. Using a large pot, saute onions & tomatoes until tomatoes are fully wilted (almost like the consistency of tomato sauce).

2. Add pork until browned. Season with salt and pepper. Add annatto water. Mix so that all pork is red. Cover pork with just enough water or chicken broth. The broth makes it more flavorful. You may or may not use all 3 cups. Allow to boil on high heat.

3. When boiling, add vinegar. Cook until pork tenderizes, stirring occasionally to ensure even cooking. It took me approximately 45 minutes for the pork to cook.

4. Add potatoes then add peppers & green peas.

5. Taste to your liking. Add patis, if preferred. Enjoy over hot rice.

 

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Fried Chicken with Angel Hair Pasta

Mommy made this succulent fried chicken and paired it with herbed angel hair pasta (Wolfgang Puck's recipe) Delicious! I hope to someday be able to make both!

 

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Pork Caldereta

Inspired by someone's FB post, I dived into making Pork Caldereta today. I researched recipes online and most just seemed too weird--from pineapple juice to red wine! I know my mom makes a great version, but instead of asking for her secret, I sought Nora Daza's version. So along with my mom's guidance, came my Pork Caldereta that's actually pretty tasty!

Needed:

1 1/2 lbs pork stew meat or spareribs (any cut will do but I prefer ribs for the flavorful bones)

1/2 cup vinegar

10 cloves peppercorns, crushed (you can also used freshly-ground pepper)

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1/4 T salt

1 medium-sized onion, sliced

1 large can tomato sauce

1 1/2 cup boiling water

2 pcs bay leaf

Dash hot sauce (like Tabasco)

1 medium green pepper, sliced thinly

1 small can liver spread

Salt and pepper to taste

How to make:

1. Marinate cubed pork in vinegar, peppercorns, salt, and garlic for at least 1 1/2 to 2 hours in the fridge.

2. In a medium-sized pain, saute pork pieces in oil until browned. Add sliced onion. When onion appears transparent, add tomato sauce. Add 1 can (the can from the tomato sauce) of boiling water. This is approximately 2 cups. Add the bay leaves. Season with salt and pepper. Add hot sauce to your liking. Let boil. Then, lower heat to allow pork to tenderize. It took me over an hour for the pork to get soft. Watch that your sauce does not dry up. If it starts to dry up, add more water until pork becomes tender.

3. When the pork is tender, add green pepper and liver spread. The liver spread will thicken the sauce.

4. Season with salt and pepper as necessary.

Serve hot over rice. Enjoy!

 

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Caramel Syrup for Leche Flan

I went through four, yes, four tries of trying to make caramel syrup today for leche flan. Every time I made it, the sugar would crystalize & I would end up throwing it away. I searched the net for ways to make it "right" and on my fourth try, with Mommy by my side, we finally made good caramel!

Here's how it was done:

You will need 1 cup granulated whilte sugar & 1/4 cup water

A lot of patience

Mix the sugar & water together in a heavy bottomed saucepan. Over medium heat, allow to boil. DO NOT STIR. Stirring it will cause to crystalize beyond repair. Once boiling, over low heat, allow the liquid to evaporate.

You will see that the sugar will re-crystalize into clumps of white madness. Do not panic (like I did), in the bottom of the saucepan, the sugar continues to melt and brown. It continues to thicken into caramel syrup! With a wooden spoon, help the sugar along to melt. Once all the sugar has melted and blended into the amber syrup, remove from heat to prevent burning and tasting sour.

Pour immediately in ramekins for leche flan use.

Allow to harden before pouring leche flan batter.

In hindsight, when I chucked previous trials, the syrup was going through what it was supposed to go through...and I was just impatient. Just ask my mom!

 

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Uncle Carlos's Leche Flan

Needed:
10 egg yolks
2 full eggs
2 cans evaporated milk
1 cup sugar
Vanilla extract (optional)

 

Caramelized Sugar:
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup hot water

Nora Daza says that to make the caramel that will line the pan, you must melt the sugar first in a pot & when melted, pour in the hot water. This was not how I made my caramel because I did not read the directions. Haha... Instead, I combined both the sugar & hot water and let the water evaporate from the mixture while simmering over medium heat. Once golden brown and syrupy, remove from heat and pour into the leche flan pans. I didn't have the leche flan "llaneras" so I just used small tin pans. Let cool completely until yhe syrup hardens. If you pour the flan mixture before the syrup gets hard, you run the risk of the two mixing together--you don't want this.

Flan Mixture:

Now would be a good time to preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
Beat the 10 yolks & 2 full eggs together. Add the sugar, then the milk. Beat well, incorporating air bubbles into the mixture. The air bubbles will give your flan good fluffly consistency. I used a hand beater. If preferred, put a dash of vanilla extract.

Pour the flan mixture over the hardened syrup/caramelized sugar. Bake in a steam bath for approximately 35 to 45 minutes or until the flan is firm. Test by poking with a knife. If the knife comes out try, the flan is ready to be taken out of the oven.

Let cool completely before transferring to a plate upside down. The syrup should run off the top of the flan.
Enjoy within one day. Why? Because I noticed, as with all other flans, the longer it stays in the fridge, the thicker in consistency it becomes that the dessert sicks to the roof of the mouth. You don't want this to happen. Besides, this is so easy and good--it will probably be consumed right away! ;-)

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