Falling in love with Cilantro

I was never a fan of Cilantro, they say it has an acquired taste. It's either you like it or you don't. Mostly it is found in Mexican cuisine ,Vietnamese and Thai. Although I like to experiment with recipes whenever it calls for Cilantro, I get turned off sometimes. But in spite of this I still like to eat in Thai restaurants and sometimes I still eat Mexican & Vietnamese dishes as long as I know I am not eating a whole sprig of cilantro.

Just recently DH took us to Chipotle it just opened in our area and he said it was good. Being a Filipino most of our choices when eating out would mostly be Oriental Restaurants, that's no.1 on the list then anything seafood which is scarce in our area. But this time DH wanted to try something different so it was Mexican this time - meaning eating something that has a great chance of having with Cilantro in it.

Chipotle is similar to Taco Bell since its a chain only different because it's like Subway that you get to choose what you want for your fix-ins. Before we left I checked their site and decided in the Burrito Bowl.

This was my Burrito Bowl: (bottom - top)

Lime Rice

Grilled/Roasted Peppers & Onions

Grilled Chicken

Pinto Beans

Pica de Gallo

Cheese

Guacamole

see here for the specifics of their ingredients

It was bursting with flavor.I fell in love with the bowl so I decided to replicate it at home.

My Version:

Lime Rice

cooked jasmine rice ( steamed )

cilantro ( I used the ones in tubes )

lime juice

mix while the rice is hot

Grilled/Roasted Peppers & Onions

green peppers cut in strips or thick julienne

red onions in strips or thick julienne

olive oil to coat

S&P

spread in baking sheet

BROIL in 2-3mins ( time may vary in different ovens )

Grilled Chicken

marinate chicken breast (bone-in) or you may try this marinate too

or this for a spicier version

*best if marinated overnight

bake in oven or simply follow instructions in marinade packet

once cooked let it rest and chopped when ready to serve

reserve the drippings, its really good when you dizzle it over the chicken before serving

as the white meat tends to be a little dry

Pinto Beans

raw uncooked pinto beans is the best compared to canned versions

chopped bacon

cook beans until desired tenderness

Pico de Gallo

I used Emeril's version

Cheese

I like the Mexican 4 cheese blend of Kraft

Guacamole

I have not made it but chunks of avocados are great.

Arrange them in a platter or a bowl. And there you have my Burrito Bowl. DH was pretty pleased when I served this during Valentines day, he had seconds. I am happy that I had tried this at Chipotle because with this dish I can fall in love with cilantro.

Check out my Burrito Bowl Gallery:

Quest for the best RICE PUTO

One of the dishes when we had our Halloween party over the weekend was Dinuguan ( blood stew ). It reminded me how much I enjoyed back home having Puto & Dinuguan for snack or even as a meal. Before I thought it seemed weird since Dinuguan to me was a main dish for a meal but that all changed.

But even before the snack combo became my favorite I was always a fan of puto. It was easier to enjoy it back home since you can buy it almost anywhere, I can say its a popular dessert or snack to Filipinos.I like the rice puto better than the flour version. And since its a favorite I will always miss eating it now that I am here in the US.

Being here made me a DIY person, and in order for me to have a taste of home in my new kitchen I had to whip up old favorites now on my own. I did attempt to make rice puto before probably twice ( 2 different recipes ) but they all ended up in the trash bin. And I stopped at attempt number 2. Then my taste buds were nostalgic when I tasted Dinuguan again. So I decided the give it another go, this time using Manang's recipe - http://kusinanimanang.blogspot.com/2010/04/rice-puto.html

It was love at first bite. It was a best puto I ever, it definitely tasted like the ones I enjoy back home. The marriage of rice & coconut flavor was perfect, just the way I wanted. I made them in small silicone molds but I will be looking for bigger molds for bigger rice puto!

How to Plant Lemon Grass

Lemon grass is not really a staple in Filipino cooking but at home my mom would use it to stuff her chicken roast, stewed mung bean soup ( Monggo Soup ) & Filipino style Chicken Soup ( Chicken Tinola ). And when I cook these dishes now in my kitchen it would always seem that something is missing when I don't add lemon grass to it. I always buy some stalks but they would be expensive when I get it from my local grocery and getting it from my Asian grocer is not practical as well.

I would buy lemon grass in small amounts until a friend who is also a Filipina gave me some from her garden. I was curious how she got it. I was not able to ask her but my other friend said she buys hers from a nursery in the summer. It got me thinking that I should grow my own as well. I researched online and found out that you can grow the lemon grass from the stalks. Then last summer I decided to try it.

You will need the following to grow your lemongrass:

3 or more stalks of Lemon Grass

- this is mostly available in oriental groceries, choose a healthy fresh stalk

Glass with water

Place the stalks in in your glass of water and keep this in a sunny spot, I kept mine in my kitchen window. In about 2-3 weeks the roots will sprout and this will make it easier for you to replant it. Back home they would directly plant a fresh stalk and water the soil frequently to encourage sprouting but using the water-in-glass method is fool-proof for me so I use it each time. You can choose to separately plant each stalks when they're ready or plant them in in one spot.

This summer I have grown my lemon grass with less watering and still it was fine. I guess I only did once a week and even when there were times that temperature have gone up to the 90s. It's a great herb to grow considering it requires less maintenance.

Special Ensaymada

It's probably been more than a year since I made my first ensaymada. The recipe was handwritten in on my recipe notebook, sadly I cannot remember which website my recipe came from.

But there are a few modifications that I have added to the recipe. Instead of the regular melted butter & sugar topping I decided to use plain cream cheese and sugar sprinkles. I know it's not traditional but it's definitely worth trying.

*this gallery also showed the first ensaymada I made

~Recipe~

1 packet of yeast

1/3 cup lukewarm water

1 1/2 teaspoon of white sugar

1/2 cup diluted evap milk or undiluted fresh milk

(the more fat the better)

1/2 cup white sugar

1/4 cup melted butter

3 egg yolks

2 1/2 - 3 cups unsifted AP flour

Philadelphia regular cream cheese (thawed & must be spreadable)

Wilton sugar sprinkles

Dissolve yeast in the lukewarm water & 1/2 tsp of white sugar. Mix, then set aside until bubbly/ foamy. This process will also let you know that your yeast is still good to go, if no changes have occurred repeat process with a new pack ( its also a good to have extra just in case ). Mix everything together until well incorporated & smooth. Transfer dough into a well greased bowl, let rise for 1 hour , then form into a log. Flatten & fill with cheese & butter ( or ube jam , sweet bean paste or custard etc. ) Form into snail shell shaped coils in a greased round pan. If making smaller ones divide dough into equal balls then form into smaller snail shells coils & place it in greased muffin or cupcake pans. Let the dough rest for another hour. Preheat oven at 300'F. Cook for 25mins. or until lightly brown. Cool completely then slather with cream cheese or butter. Add the sugar sprinkles on top as well.

Quick and Easy

A few days ago I stumbled upon a recipe of Pinoy-style Custard Cake by a Pinoy Foodie Blogger - Kusina ni Manang. After reviewing her recipe, I was tempted to make one myself since her recipe only called for leche flan ingredients and cake mix in a box.

Custard cake would probably one of my top 20 favorite desserts. The cake is simple yet I love how you get 2 textures of creamy and light in one dessert. Just thinking about it makes my mouth water.

Although this recipe was inspired from Kusina ni Manang, I made some adjustments. And here's what I did:

ingredients:

~ Custard Topping~

1 egg

2 egg yolks

1 cup evaporated milk

1/2 can large condensed milk

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp lemon juice OPTIONAL ( I wish I did this, this usually tempers the sweetness of the custard )

Caramel

sugar and water, adjust according to your preference

Boil mixture in a sauce pan, then add to your cake pans when once the syrup turns amber colored.

BE CAREFUL THIS IS VERY HOT!

~Cake~

I used French Vanilla Cake Mix from Duncan Hines, I just followed what the box asked for. I think the French Vanilla Mix is the best cake for this, it was a good bargain for $0.76 cents!

Procedure:

Preheat your oven 350F

I used 2 pans 6" and 8" round baking pans.

Mix all your custard ingredients until well combined. Add a thin custard mixture to your caramelized pans. Prepare your water bath for your pans. Fill a larger pan (such as a roasting pan) with warm water, make sure it is large enough that will fit the pans you're going to use for the cake. This is called Bain - Marie method. The water should be in the mid level of the larger pan when you add your cake pans.

Bake Custard Topping for 30mins. uncovered.

After 30mins when the custard is set ( jiggly in the middle ), start mixing your cake. Then add your cake mixture to the pans and bake for another 30mins or so. The cooking time for this last part is dependent on the size of cake pans used. You still need to use the Bain- Marie method for this second part. You may need to add more water to your bath.

When you cake is set and a tester comes of clean, your cake is ready. Cool for 10mins or so. Loosen the sides then invert in the pan. I found it best to chill the cake in the fridge overnight.

I really love the outcome of this experiment. I may use chocolate cake mix next time. Thanks Manang for this wonderful recipe!