The CookMobile » Sweets

Turon na Saging (Banana Eggroll with Honey, Cream Cheese and Mint)

Lalaine — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 11:40:10 +0000

Don’t get me wrong, I love turon na saging as we’ve always known it. You know, with the typical fillings of sliced bananas and sweetened jackfruit strips, all caramelized with sugar. In fact, this classic Filipino sweet treat will be another recipe you will be seeing here at The CookMobile in a few days. But good food doesn’t mean it can’t be improved upon or varied a bit. I was enjoying a serving of caramelized bananas with mascarpone cheese, honey and mint late this afternoon when inspiration hit me. Why not wrap all these deliciousness in an eggroll? Oh. My. I took a bite and found heaven.

Makes 8 Servings

Ingredients

2 Cardava Bananas (Saging saba in the Philippines, burro bananas in Hispanic stores)
8 pcs spring roll wrapper
4 oz cream cheese
1/2 cup honey
3 to 4 fresh mint leaves, finely chopped
vegetable oil
powdered sugar

Procedure

Peel and slice bananas lengthwise into four.

On a clean, flat surface, position spring roll wrapper like diamond, wherein points are up and down, and left and right. On the bottom point closest to you, arrange one slice of banana, drizzle lightly with honey, top with a dollop of cream cheese and sprinkle with chopped fresh mint.

Take bottom of point wrapper and fold over top filling. Roll tightly until middle of wrapper. Fold in sides of wrapper towards the middle and continue to roll tightly to up to 1/2-inch of top point. Dab corner with water and press lightly to completely seal eggroll. Arrange prepared eggrolls in a single layer with seam side down and keep covered until ready to fry.

In a wide skillet, heat about 1-inch of oil. Gently slide in turon packets and fry, turning occasionally, until until golden brown and crisp on all sides. Remove from heat and drain on paper towels. Arrange fried turon on serving plate, lightly dust with powdered sugar and drizzle with honey to serve.

More Sweet Treats here at The CookMobile

Fried Plaintains with Refried Black Beans and Crema Mexicana

Cheese-Pineapple Sandwich

Biscotti with Butter (Biscocho)

Lalaine — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 00:52:52 +0000

There are two things, (alright, three, if you count Virginia Slims Lights Menthol) I have an addiction to, two things I have to have in the morning and indulge in many times during the course of the day or I’ll be Miss Attitude: ice-cold diet Coke and sweet, buttery biscotti from Goldilocks bakeshop. If you are a coffee drinker with a ritual of java in the morning, you would relate to my angst yesterday when, upon crawling out of bed at 7AM and anticipating to start a glorious day with a brain freeze and sugar high, I found the bag of toasts I presumed half-full to hold but half a piece and crumbs! Over late night Facebooking, a hungry mouse I call daughter sneaked and snacked on my precious loot. To add to the angst, the bakeshop that sells them opens only till mid-morning! Good thing mercy comes in many forms: there, lying unappreciated on my kitchen counter, was the bag of pandesal a friend of mine brought over as pasalubong on his last visit. A cup of butter, spoonfuls of sugar and jugs of patience later, I was sitted on my veranda, sipping my diet Coke, crunching on my biscotti, and finally starting a glorious day indeed.

Biskotso are defined as “baked bread topped with butter and sugar originating from Iloilo province. The etymology of the word itself is related to the English biscuit and Italian biscotti in that it is derived from the Latin phrase word ‘bis coctus’ which means twice-baked.” As we are using day-old bread, we are not going to delve here on the initial breadmaking stage but on the second baking which is the “drying” process. I used pandesal to make my biscotti but any sliced bread or dinner roll will do. If you prefer savory over sweet, replace the sugar with garlic powder and dried herbs of choice. The second step does involve plenty of time in the oven but it dries the bread enough for longer storage. So, go ahead, double the recipe and have them handy for weeks on end.

Ingredients

5 to 6 large pandesal rolls
1 cup butter (one stick), softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar

Procedure

Slice pandesal into 1/2 inch thickness. In a small bowl, combine sugar and butter until creamy and smooth. Spoon tablespoon’s worth of the butter-sugar mixture over bread and with the back of a knife, spread on bread slices, covering surface all the way to the edges. Repeat on other side of bread.

Arrange buttered bread slices, single layer, on a cookie sheet. Bake in a 200 F oven until very crisp and dry, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours depending on thickness of bread.

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Cassava Cake with Custard Topping

Lalaine — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 03:23:29 +0000

As a Filipino in the U.S. without complete access to ingredients indigenous to the Philippines, I, often times, have to substitute this for that and that for this in recreating the dishes I grew up with. Good examples would be in preparing my chicken tinola and ginisang munggo. With malunggay or ampalaya leaves being hard to find even in asian grocers, spinach has been my favorite alternative for these greens in my Filipino recipes. Still, considerable variety of Filipino food products are now being imported and made available for us Filipino-American consumers. Naturally, on most occasions we have to forgo of “freshness” as these items come pre-packaged or frozen, but the convenience and time-saving elements are trade offs I don’t quite mind. If I had to peel and grate cassava roots, crack and milk coconut heads, I’d just as soon forget about making this cassava cake with custard topping. In this case, it was a simple matter of me heading to the freezer section for already-grated cassava and walking down the aisle for canned coconut milk. Within minutes, I had a scrumptious treat baking nicely in the oven!

Makes 12 to 16 Servings

Ingredients

6 cups grated cassava
2 cans coconut milk (14 oz each)
3 cans condensed milk (14 oz each)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 cups sweetened macapuno strings
margarine or butter, melted

For Topping

1/2 can condensed milk
1/2 can evaporated milk
2 egg yolks

Procedure

In a deep bowl, combine grated cassava, macapuno strings, coconut milk and condensed milk. With melted butter or margarine, grease bottom and all sides of a 12×6x2 baking pan. Pour in cassava mixture. Bake in a 375 F oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Meanwhile, prepare topping by mixing egg yolks, condensed milk and evaporated milk. When cassava is done, pour over topping mixture and spread across surface of cassava cake. Return to oven and continue to bake until top sets and lightly browns.

Set pan on a rack until cassava cake cools. Slice into desired serving portions.

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Leche Flan

Cranberry-Blue Cheese Salad with Curried Pecans and Raspberry Vinaigrette

Avocados and Sweet Cream

Lalaine — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 00:41:14 +0000

After many years in California, avocados, to me, have become synonymous to guacamole. I see these green-skinned, egg-shaped fruits and I think nachos. But growing up in the Philippines, avocados were familiar to me as married with sweet cream and chilled into this creamy concoction below.

Ingredients

1 cup table cream
3/4 cup condensed milk
5 to 6 large ripe avocados
juice from one lemon (about 1 tbsp)

Procedure

Prepare avocados. Insert a knife into stem end of the fruit, slice lengthwise into halves to the pit and then twist to pull apart. Using a spoon, remove pit and scoop meat. Chop meat into small pieces, mashing some of the softer part into pulp.

In a bowl, sprinkle avocados with lemon juice. Pour table cream and condensed milk. Combine ingredients, transfer into a tight-lidded freezer-safe container and chill until very cold or freeze to ice cream-like texture. Spoon onto bowls to serve.

Sweets and Treats in The CookMobile Archive:

Candied Sweet Potatoes with Sherry Syrup (Minatamis na Kamote)

Mixed Berries with Mascarpone Cream

Lalaine — Mon, 10 May 2010 20:22:00 +0000

Here is something sweet
A very special treat
That need not the kitchen heat
Made with berries and cream
So simple, whip it in a whim
And watch everyone beam
Yes, good photo it lacks
And the poetry sucks
But oh my! this dessert rocks!

Makes 4 Servings

Ingredients

2 cups mixed fresh berries (blueberries, red and golden raspberries, blackberries)
1 cup mascarpone cheese
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 cup superfine sugar
1/4 tsp lemon or orange extract
juice from one orange
4 tbps honey

Procedure

Chill whipping cream and mascarpone for around 30 minutes. In chilled bowls and using chilled beaters, beat whipping cream, mascarpone, sugar and extract until soft peaks form.

Wash berries well. Squeeze juice of orange and drizzle honey over fruits. Toss lightly to coat. Arrange fruits in serving bowls and spoon mascarpone cream on top. Garnish with frosted berries. Note: Mascarpone cream can be prepared and kept covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 hours. However, assemble dessert minutes before serving.

Frosted Berries

assorted berries, washed and pat dry
1 egg white, lightly beaten
sugar

Brush berries lightly with egg white. Roll gently on sugar. Arrange in single layer on a parchment-lined sheet and allow to dry for around 30 minutes to 1 hour.

Sweets and Treats in The CookMobile Archive:

Leche Flan

Caribbean Bananas

Oatmeal Raisin Nut Cookies

Lalaine — Wed, 05 May 2010 03:43:40 +0000

Most (alright, all) of those who know know me will readily agree that I am a little bit (alright, quite a bit) of a knucklehead. I would set my cell phone’s alarm for 6 AM the night before expecting to be awakened bright and early the next day and the darn device would be on mute all along. I’ve gone through at least 3 bluetooths since the goddamn things have been enforced on the street as I’ve either lost, misplaced and broken one after the other. My car registration dues this year jumped up a few hundred dollars because of unpaid parking tickets I’ve stashed away somewhere and have long forgotten. It shouldn’t come a suprise then that yesterday, upon visiting the baking website I started a year and half ago, I found, not my cookie recipes and food pictures, but links to porn and photographs of barely-clothed women instead. OMG! I forgot to renew my domain and webhosting and they have thus expired on me! Disaster! The only silver lining there is that I, in a rare case of sensibility, had the forethought of backing up my files and hence I am now able to transfer them here at The CookMobile. So, pour yourself a glass of milk as these forthcoming days, you will be deluged by scrumptious baked goodies such as these soft and chewy oatmeal raisin nut cookies.

Makes about 4 Dozens

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
3 cups old-fashioned oats
3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 cup solid vegetable shortening, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup honey
2 large eggs
2 cups raisins
1 cup walnuts or pecans, chopped
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

Procedure

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease baking sheets with butter.

Toast nuts by cooking for 3 to 5 minutes over a skillet set on medium-high heat and stirring frequently or by arranging on a cookie sheet in a single layer and baking for 8 to 10 minutes in a 350 F preheated oven. Allow to cool and chop. For plumper and juicer raisins, soak them in hot water for 1 to 2 minutes then drain well or heat for 3 minutes in the oven before stirring into the cookie dough mixture.

In a bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, ground cinnamon and salt. In a large bowl and with an electric mixer, cream butter, shortening, white sugar and dark brown sugar thoroughly. Add in honey, eggs, and vanilla, then beat until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in flour mixture, then stir in oats, raisins and chopped nuts.

Using a tablespoon or a small scoop, drop dough onto prepared cookie sheets and bake in oven until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Cool completely.

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Bionico (Mexican Fruit Salad)

Lalaine — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 04:57:17 +0000

A Chamango recipe ago, I was whining and griping about the nearing blistering summer heat. But this afternoon, I enjoyed a Bionico of sweet, juicy fruits and I have to admit, I now find myself anticipating the coming season and the bounty of produce it brings!

I pulled this fruit bowl together with bananas, apples, cantaloupe, watermelon, papaya, pineapple and strawberries but you can certainly use whatever assortment you fancy. Traditional Bionico is topped with raisins, coconut, granola and toasted almonds but I am sure dried cranberries, crushed cereals such as cornflakes and other chopped nuts will be a welcomed twist. If you ask me, I think it’s the sweet cream that pulls all the fruits and toppings together into one yummi-packed treat!

Ingredients

fresh fruits of choice, cut up
granola
coconut flakes
raisins
toasted almond slivers
sweet cream

In a bowl, spoon sweet cream. Arrange cut up fruits. Drizzle with additional cream. Top with raisins, coconut and granola.

Sweet Cream

1 cup of sweetened condensed milk
1 cup of sour cream
dash or two of cinnamon
1 tbsp of honey

Whisk sweetened condensed milk, sour cream, honey and cinnamon until smooth and pourable.

Sweets and Treats in The CookMobile Archive:

Caribbean Bananas

Candied Sweet Potatoes with Sherry Syrup (Minatamis na Kamote)

Chamango

Lalaine — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 03:25:01 +0000

Spring is here and summer is to come soon enough. I want you to know, I do not do summers well. Others beg for colorful garden beds but give me snow-covered mountain peaks anytime. I’d rather much shake and shiver in the winter cold than melt and wither under the oppressive sun. No, I do not do summers well. Not only because sights of the blessed in tank tops and tight shorts almost always make me want to undergo a lap band, but mainly because, if I was not otherwise horizontal, I detest being hot and sticky and sweaty. So, if you don’t see me out and about these upcoming months, you know I will be cooped up in an air-conditioned room, most probably enjoying a Chamango!

Chamango is a sweet, sour and salty concoction of golden-yellow mango puree and fiery-red chamoy on a bed of shaved ice. If you are near the Sun Valley area, visit Raspado Xpress on San Fernando Road to experience this refreshing drink and their many varieties of raspados but if you are not, no need to knot your brows as armed with a blender, making and relishing a Chamango at home is as easy as 1-2-3! Chamoy sauces and fruit purees are available for purchase online and in most Mexican grocers but if you prefer them from scratch, how-to’s are provided here. By the way, I am sending this awesomeness over to Anupama of Food N More as my submission to her food blog event showcasing sweet, juicy mangos. Stay cool!

Ingredients

1 ripe mango
2 cups of cubed ice
2 tbsps mango puree
2 tbsps Chamoy sauce

Procedure

Slice mangos and using a spoon, scoop flesh off skin. Cut into small cubes and place in a serving glass. Spoon Chamoy sauce on top of mango cubes.

Process ice cubes in a blender until as fine as snow. Pack shaved ice into the serving glass. Drizzle top with mango puree. Serve with a straw and combine well to enjoy!

Mango Puree

3 ripe mangos
1/4 cup sugar

Slice mangos. Scoop flesh off skin and scrape remaining flesh from pit.

Puree mango flesh in blender for about 2 to 3 minutes and then strain through a fine sieve.

In a pot, combine pureed mango and sugar. Stirring constantly, bring mixture to a boil until slightly thickened and sugar is dissolved, around 2 to 3 minutes. Consistency can be adjusted as desired by adding mango juice to the puree one tablespoon at a time.

Chamoy Sauce (from This Mama Cooks)

2-3 dried morita chiles
1 10-ounce jar of 100% apricot fruit spread
3/4 cup fresh lime juice
1/2 cup sugar or agave nectar
1 tablespoon salt

On a dry, medium-hot skillet, press chillis flat on surface and toast until aromatic, about 10 seconds per side.
Remove from skillet and place in a bowl. Add enough hot tap water to cover. Soak and rehydrate for 30 minutes. Drain and discard water.

Place chilis in a blender along with fruit spread, lime juice, sugar and salt. Combine and process in blender until pureed.

Sweets and Treats in The CookMobile Archive:

Bunuelos

Sugared Curried Pecans

Bunuelos

Lalaine — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 12:11:38 +0000

Milk and cookies for Santa tonight? Go nontraditional and try crisp, sweet and cinnamon-y Bunuelos with a steaming cup of champurrado instead!

We prepared 200 pieces of these sweet discs for our Las Posadas celebration at work last week and impressive the volume may be, we did save steps by using ready-made lard flour tortillas instead of making the dough from scratch. If you want to see a real master at work, watch the video below.

Ingredients

12 pieces lard flour tortillas
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup ground cinnamon
oil for deep-frying

Procedure

In a bowl, combine cinnamon and sugar.

Heat one-inch deep oil in a skillet wide enough for the tortillas to fry flat. Deep-fry tortillas until golden brown, turning once. Remove from pan and drain excess oil on paper towels.

While warm, sprinkle fried tortillas on both sides with sugar-cinnamon mixture to taste.

Flour Tortilla Recipe: adapted from Mexrecipes.com

1/2 cup lard or shortening
3 cups all-purpose flour
dash salt
3/4 cup warm water
1/2 cup vegetable oil

With a pastry blender or your hands, work shortening into flour and salt . Add warm water and stir until dough comes together. Roll out to thin rounds 7-8 inches in diameter.

Recipes from Across the Border

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Candied Sweet Potatoes with Sherry Syrup (Minatamis na Kamote)

Lalaine — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 09:52:26 +0000

Presenting candied sweet potatoes a week after the holidays~a tad too late, you say. Well, not exactly. First, according to Wikepidia, sweet potatoes are only distantly akin to the fibrous yams customarily served for Christmas dinner. Second, in the Philippines, these tuberous roots are not eaten alongside meat like the traditional ham and candied yams pairing here in the US. I am more accustomed to candied sweet potatoes as a sweet dessert or as an in-between-meal snack than as a side dish.

This is a very easy-to-make version of the minatamis na kamote I’ve enjoyed growing up in the Philippines. The recipe, however, is given a grown-up twist by the addition of sherry. You can substitute yams or even pumpkin but japanese sweet potatoes, which you can identify by their red-hued skin and pale flesh, are what I recommend.

Makes 4 Servings

Ingredients

3 to 4 large japanese sweet potatoes
2/3 cup turbinado raw cane sugar
1/4 cup sherry wine
1/8 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 to 2 tbsps butter

Procedure

Peel sweet potatoes and cut into 2 x 2 -inch cubes. Rinse with cold water and drain well.

In a wide baking dish, arrange sweet potato cubes in a single layer. Dust and toss with pumpkin pie spice.

Sprinkle sugar over sweet potatoes. Distribute dollops of the butter over sugar. Drizzle in sherry wine. Cover dish with foil.

Bake in a 375 F oven until sweet potatoes are tender. Remove foil and continue to bake until syrup is thickened and reduced, and sweet potatoes are caramelized. Serve warm.

Sweets and Treats in The CookMobile Archive:

Leche Flan

Mixed Berries with Mascarpone Cream