Home-made Apple Cake

My husband fell in love with this moist delicious cake.  It’s not just healthy, but it’s so yummy and very easy to make.  Tryit!

Ingredients –

Butter, softened 3 tablespoons

Sugar 3/4 cup

1 extra large egg)

Water 2 tablespoons

Whole Milk  3 tablespoons

Vanilla Extract 1 teaspoon

All Purpose Flour  1 cup

Baking Soda 1 teaspoon

Salt 1/4 teaspoon

Ground Cinnamon  1/2 teaspoon

Ground Nutmeg 1/2 teaspoon

Apples, peeled and diced (I grated it) 3 cups

Optional – Nuts, chopped (I used 1/2 cup walnuts) 1/4 cup

Procedure –

1  Preheat oven at 350F for 15 minutes. Grease an 8-inch square baking dish.2 In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Since the quantity of butter is very less, the creamed mixture was dry and resembled coarse crumbs.

3 In a blender/food processor blend together egg, water, milk and vanilla extract until nice and foamy.

4 Add the egg mixture to the creamed butter/sugar and beat everything together with the hand mixer until thoroughly combined. This mixture looks creamy like a white sauce.

5 In another bowl combine the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg (if using). Add this to the wet ingredients. The batter will be thick.

6 Stir in apples and nuts. Mix it thoroughly.

7 Spread the batter in the prepared pan and bake for 35-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out with just a few crumbs. Mine was done around 38 minutes. You can also see that the cake starts pulling from the edges.

8 This cake can be sliced directly from the pan while its still warm, so no need to wait for the pan to cool to invert it and then slice it.

Bobby Flay’s Creamy Cole Slaw

Got this recipe from watching Bobby Flay  too much on TV.   It’s yummy!

Ingredients –

• 1 head green cabbage, finely shredded
• 2 large carrots, finely shredded
• 3/4 cup best-quality mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons sour cream
• 2 tablespoons grated Spanish onion
• 2 tablespoons sugar, or to taste
• 2 tablespoons white vinegar
• 1 tablespoon dry mustard
• 2 teaspoons celery salt
• Salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions –

Combine the shredded cabbage and carrots in a large bowl. Whisk together the mayonnaise, sour cream, onion, sugar, vinegar, mustard, celery salt, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl, and then add to the cabbage mixture. Mix well to combine and taste for seasoning; add more salt, pepper, or sugar if desired.

Top Chef Recipe – Dale Talde’s Tomato Soup & Grilled Cheese Sandwhich

I am a big fan of Top Chef and as a proud Pinoy (Filipino), I am a big fan of Dale Talde (from Season 4 & Season 8 All Stars), just because he makes alot of Asian dishes that I am familiar with.  THis recipe is not an asian dish but it looks so good.  I tried it yesterday and my husband and I loved it!   Here is the recipe I got from Bravo TV.

My soup  (I forgot to take a picture of my sandwich!) -

Dale’s Soup –

To make the Grilled Cheese…

• Butter
• Cheese (your choice)
• Pepper
• Ribeye
• Salt
• Bread (your choice)

1. Season the ribeye with salt and pepper and grill.
2. Assemble the sandwich by first buttering the bread, then top with cheese and sliced ribeye. Add to grill and top with steam iron. (Note: A CLEAN steam iron! You don’t want your sandwich to taste like spray starch and burnt cotton.)

To make the Tomato Soup…

• Bacon
• 6 cans tomatoes
• 1 quart cream
• 2 ounces chipotle tobasco
• 3 ounces garlic, minced
• 3 ounces olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped

1. Add onions, cream, tobasco, garlic, and olive oil to a pot and cook until onions are translucent.
2. Add canned tomatoes and bring to a boil.
3. Puree in blender.

Banana Oatmeal Cookie Recipe

My husband and I both loved the banana cake.  actually we just love bananas!  So he requested one day for a banana cookie.  I got a much better idea coz I got this recipe from the net a long time ago and never tried it.  Well I guess I finally found the perfect time to try it!  It taste so good!

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3/4 cup shortening
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 cup mashed bananas
• 1 3/4 cups quick cooking oats
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts
• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chip cookies (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2. Sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon.
3. Cream together the shortening and sugar; beat until light and fluffy. Add egg, banana, oatmeal and nuts. Mix well.
4. Add dry ingredients, mix well and drop by the teaspoon on ungreased cookie sheet.
5. Bake at 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) for 15 minutes or until edges turn lightly brown. Cool on wire rack. Store in a closed container.

 

Authentic Spanish Churros

Love this spanish snack because it’s so easy to make and it’s very cheap to make!  It’s so expensive when you order it in Spanish restaurants when in fact it only cost less than $5 to make these.    I grew up with my mom making me these.  I made it for the first time for my husband and he loved it.   Hope you do too!

Ingredients:

Vegetable  or olive oil
1 cup water
1/2 cup margarine or butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
3 eggs
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)

 

Directions:

1. Prepare to fry the churros by heating oil in a pan (1 to 1&1/2 inches) to 360 degrees F.
2. To make churro dough, heat water, margarine and salt to rolling boil in 3-quart saucepan; stir in flour. Stir vigorously over low heat until mixture forms a ball, about 1 minute; remove from heat. Beat eggs all at once; continue beating until smooth and then add to saucepan while stirring mixture.
3. Spoon mixture into cake decorators’ tube with large star tip (like the kind use to decorate cakes). Squeeze 4-inch strips of dough into hot oil. Fry 3 or 4 strips at a time until golden brown, turning once, about 2 minutes on each side. Drain on paper towels (Mix Sugar and the optional cinnamon); roll churros in sugar or dump the sugar on the pile of churros, like the pros. That churro taste will take you right back to your favorite summer days walking the paseos of Spain.

Note: REAL churros in Spain are made without cinnamon mixed with the sugar, but the cinnamon adds an extra nice flavor.

Chocolate for Churro Dunking

4oz dark chocolate, chopped
2 cups milk
1 tbsp cornstarch (also known as cornflour and is the powder that causes the thickening)
4 tbsp sugar

1. Place the chocolate and half the milk in a pan and heat, stirring, until the chocolate has melted. Dissolve the cornstarch in the remaining milk and whisk into the chocolate with the sugar. Cook on low heat, whisking constantly, until the chocolate is thickened, about five minutes. Add extra cornstarch if it doesn’t start to thicken after 5 minutes. Remove and whisk smooth. Pour and server in cups or bowls for dunking churros. Do not pour over churros, but use the mix for dunking churros after every bite. Served warm.

Cast Iron Skillet Corn Bread

You see I am married to a man from the South.  Ryan and his family hailed from Tennessee.  Even though Ryan loves Filipino food, his comfort food will always be the soulful cooking from the south.  So over the last year, I have been trying out all the good cooking from the south (because I am also a big fan!) and have been successful so far!  Ryan loves corn bread (if rice is a staple food in the asian dish, corn bread and potatoes is to the South), so I figured I would attempt to make one, the true Souther way – using a cast iron skillet!   I tell you what – I am a proud southern wife because it taste good!

I got the recipe from Alex Guarnaschelli of food network.  I tweaked it a little because I love sweet corn bread and made it a little sweeter.  Now all we need are some greens and ham hocks to go with it.

Ingredients –

• 1 1/4 cups coarsely ground cornmeal
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/3 cup whole milk
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Preparation –

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F and place a 9-inch cast iron skillet inside to heat while you make the batter.

In a large bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Whisk in the milk, buttermilk, and eggs. Whisk in almost all of the melted butter, reserving about 1 tablespoon for the skillet later on.

Carefully remove the hot skillet from the oven. Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees F. Coat the bottom and sides of the hot skillet with the remaining butter. Pour the batter into the skillet and place it in the center of the oven. Bake until the center is firm and a cake tester or toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Allow to cool for 10 to 15 minutes and serve.

 

 

Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry

This is a regular dish in our home in Paranaque.  My dad and mom loves cooking this and I grew up loving this dish.  So I figured I’d share the recipe with you.  First time I made this for Ryan, he immediately loved it.  You can pretty much use any kind of beef part but I like using the flanks.

Ingredients –

• 3 tablespoons cornstarch, divided
• 1/2 cup water, plus
• 2 tablespoons water, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 lb boneless round steak or 1 lb charcoal chuck steak, cut into thin 3-inch strips
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
• 4 cups broccoli florets
• 1 small onion, cut into wedges
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• hot cooked rice

How to prepare the beef & broccoli –

1. In a bowl, combine 2 tablespoons cornstarch, 2 tablespoons water and garlic powder until smooth.
2. Add beef and toss.
3. In a large skillet or wok over medium high heat, stir-fry beef in 1 tablespoon oil until beef reaches desired doneness; remove and keep warm.
4. Stir-fry broccoli and onion in remaining oil for 4-5 minutes.
5. Return beef to pan.
6. Combine soy sauce, brown sugar, ginger and remaining cornstarch and water until smooth; add to the pan.
7. Cook and stir for 2 minutes.
8. Serve over rice.