Superbowl Strawberries

My sister-in-law made these cute Super Bowl strawberries. They really look scrumptious... i can almost taste the delicious chocolate that contrasts with the tart fruit... mmmmm! In case you are wondering why I said "almost taste", it is because my sister-in-law and her family lives hundreds of miles from us. So all I can do is to stare at the picture of these gorgeous strawberries... 
 
Oh, and she provided instructions on how to make them! So enjoy!


 What you need:

strawberries
semi-sweet chocolate morsels
white chocolate


What to do:

Wash strawberries and let dry.

Melt  semi-sweet chocolate on a double boiler. Using the tops of the strawberries as handles, dip them one by one in the melted chocolate. Place on parchment or wax paper and refrigerate for a few minutes to harden.

Meanwhile, melt some white chocolate and place them on a piping bag with a thin round tip. Remove strawberries from the fridge and pipe the football lines on the top. Return to the fridge to harden for a few minutes.


Tips, Tricks and Tweaks:

1. No double boiler? Your good ole' microwave will do!
2. Use a resealable bag and cut one corner as a piping bag if you don't have one. 
3. Having a hard time working with the chocolate? Add a little bit of canola oil (about a teaspoon or so). It would make the chocolate a bit thinner and easier to work with.
 

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Tostones

We love it a bit burned!

This is one side dish that has become a staple in my house. Tostones is traditionally unripe plantains that are sliced thin and fried. I have seen so many ways to prepare this - the most popular is frying it twice and using a tostonera, but being the weird unique family that we are, we enjoy it a different way - instead of unripe, we actually enjoy it VERY ripe. Sort of like "black plantain" ripe.

So yes, I buy the blackest plantains I can find, and actually let them sit on the counter for a few more days before I use them. The reason is that ripe plantains (or bananas, for that matter) have more sugar content, making for a yummier treat. 

This dish was an "accidental" one, as it was originally a failed attempt to make plantain chips, the salty ones that you eat with pico de gallo. After realizing that we like ripe ones better, we switched and never looked back. ;-)

What you need:

very ripe plantains
Canola oil for frying


What to do:

Slice plantains into coins, about a quarter of an inch thick. Place on top of parchment or wax paper, then cover with another piece of parchment/wax. Gently pound with a flat item (in my case, the sides of my meat tenderizer!) until slightly flat. Continue doing so until you have used up all your plantains.

Meanwhile, heat a pan with canola oil over medium heat. Fry flattened plantains for about a minute, then turn over to fry the other side. Drain on a rack and enjoy!


Tips, Tricks and Tweaks:

1. Do not pound too hard - or else you're gonna have mush! Just enough for the plantain to be flattened a bit.
2. You can also place the sliced plantains inside a resealable bag when pounding. Easier cleanup!
3. Oil must be enough to cover at least half the surface of the plantains. If you have a deep fryer, that is better!
4. Let fried plantains sit for about 2 minutes to cool and harden a bit.

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Scary Apple Mouths

How funny is it that after posting some cute smiling apples, I am now doing Scary Apples! Of course it helps that apples are in season and are cheaper than normal! 

Anyway, I thought the idea was cute when I saw it on the October 2012 edition of Food Network Magazine. And since I have all the ingredients, I gave it a try!


What you need:

1 apple
about a tablespoon of sliced almonds
strawberry jelly (optional)
lemon juice (optional)


What to do:

Cut a red apple in quarters and brush with lemon juice. Cut out a wedge from the skin side of each piece. Fill with strawberry jelly and insert sliced almonds to resemble teeth.


Tips, Tricks and Tweaks:

1. Original recipe called for peanut butter, but I opted to use strawberry jelly.
2. Don't have sliced almonds? Try pepitas (squash seeds).
3. Lemon juice is used so the fruit won't brown easily. You can skip it, but you have to eat the fruit almost immediately.

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Smiling Apples

Thanks to my friend Peachkins for this cute inspiration! I told son that we were gonna make smiling apples with marshmallows and peanut butter but he had a different idea - he wanted caramel instead!

So I put a little twist in my smiling apples and used caramel butterscotch topping and it turned out extremely good. Well, maybe just a bit sticky and hard to eat since the darn marshmallows kept sliding! I am thinking that had I used real caramel instead of  syrup, it would have better in keeping the marshmallows from sliding. But I didn't want to buy caramel just for an afternoon snack. I would save that for when we make caramel apples again.  

Oh, and here is a link for Peachkin's cute creations!

What you need:

1 apple
about a cup of marshmallows (regular-sized)
squirts of caramel or butterscotch topping


What to do:

Wash the apple and dry with paper towels. Slice in thin wedges.

Place a wedge of apple on your plate, then squirt a small amount of butterscotch syrup on the side facing you. Immediately line marshmallows on top of the syrup.

Get another wedge of apple and put butterscotch syrup on the bottom side. Place it on top of the marshmallows to resemble a smile.

Continue doing procedure until you run out of ingredients (or patience!).


Tips, Tricks and Tweaks:

1. I used Red Delicious apples because the color resembles human lips. Feel free to use any kind!
2. To avoid apple discoloration, squeeze some fresh lime or lemon juice on them.
3. Use real caramel or peanut butter to make the marshmallows stick.

P.S. It is almost Halloween! Head out to my shop to get your Halloween cards!

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Fruit Bowl 2

pineapples, strawberries, blueberries and grapes

Sometimes, all it takes is a bowl of fruit to make me happy. ;-)

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Strawberry-Mint Popsicle

This post was inspired by my friend April. She made some healthy yogurt popsicles which inspired me to make my own version. I didn't use yogurt, though, because I prefer smoothie-type popsicles. Yeah. I'm weird that way. ;-)

I also snipped some fresh mint from my garden to give this popsicle a kick. Minty and cool just seems like a great combo to me. Don't worry, though - I don't eat toothpaste! Haha.

Kidding aside, I love having these popsicles on hot summer days. Very refreshing and delish! Easy as pie, too! 

What you need: 

1 1/2 cups fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced
4 tablespoons simple syrup
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint


What to do: 

Put everything in a mixer. Blend until smooth. Pour in popsicle molds and freeze for at least 6 hours. Enjoy!


Tips, Tricks and Tweaks: 

1. Experiment with different fruits - blueberries, raspberries, mango... the possibilities are endless!
2. To make simple syrup, just boil an equal ratio of sugar and water (I usually do a cup of water + a cup of sugar, then store it for future use).
3. Too strong mint flavor for you? Reduce the amount of mint to 1/2 tablespoon.

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Meyer Lemon Compote

The lemons I used in this recipe are courtesy of my very generous neighbors. The branches of their tree were drooping because of the abundance of this yellow fruit. I asked if I could have some and they told me to help myself. Yay!!! Hurrah for great neighbors and growing your own food!

The Meyer lemon is a hybrid of a true lemon and a common orange. They are significantly bigger and juicier than a true lemon - in fact, I thought at first that my neighbor's tree was an orange tree. I did a bit of reading and found out that it was primarily a decorative houseplant in China. (Just like the calamansi here - Americans don't eat it. They just let them hang on trees.) Since Martha Stewart started using Meyer in her recipes, there was a spike in sales and more people are propagating this type of lemon. 

size comparison - real lemon (above) and Meyer lemons

So thanks to my neighbors for providing the lemons for this recipe. It was very good and went so well with my pork chops. The consistency is that of mango chutney or soft jelly, and the tartness paired well with the savory meat. There was also an underlying sweetness provided by the date. Just delicious. Credits to NPR for this recipe! Tweaked by moi to suit our taste, of course. :-)


 What you need: 

3 Meyer lemons
1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/2 cup sliced shallots
2/3 cup white wine (I used Riesling)
2 tablespoons sugar
2/3 cup chopped dried dates
salt and freshly ground black pepper


What to do: 

Trim the ends of the lemon and discard. Cut into 1/8-inch rounds, picking out seeds as you go. Cut the rounds into quarters so they're about 1/2 inch pieces. Set aside.

So maybe a wooden chopping board is not ideal when cutting lemons...

Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-low heat. Add shallots and cook until very soft, about 6 to 8 minutes. Add wine, lower heat and simmer until reduced by about a third.

shallot vs Vidalia onion

Add sliced lemons, sugar, and dates. Simmer until wine is completely reduced. Remove from  heat, season with salt and pepper and stir in the mint leaves. Serve with your favorite meat.

Tips, Tricks and Tweaks: 

1. Use any kind of sweet wine, if available. If not available, use cooking wine.
2. Garnish with more mint before serving, if desired.
3. Serve with meat, or with bread as a spread.
4. Don't like lemon rind?  Peel lemons before cutting.

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Calamansi Marmalade

A friend gave me a bunch of calamansi fruits from her backyard and I quickly racked my brain on ways to utilize these lip-puckering fruits. Of course, calamansi juice first came to mind, but I wanted to be more creative. So I searched online, and decided to go with this - calamansi marmalade. I got the recipe here.

It was really good, and I love having it for breakfast with toast. In fact, I loved it so much that I bought two calamansi trees to plant in my backyard! :-) 


What you need: 

60 pieces calamansi
3 cups sugar
1 cup water


What to do: 

Rinse the fruits very well (since we are going to use the skin). Remove the tops and slice them across the middle horizontally (along the "equator"). 

Yay! Freshly bathed!

Using a boning knife, remove the seeds from the fruit halves. Coarsely chop the seeded fruit and place in a food processor. Pulse about 10 times, or until the fruit pieces are smaller but not pureed. 

This is a two-knife job!

In a large saucepan over medium heat, combine all the ingredients. Bring to a soft simmer while stirring to dissolve the sugar. Lower the heat and cook for about 15 to 20 minutes, or until the mixture thickens.

Remove from heat and let cool. Spoon in jars or airtight containers and store in the fridge.


Tips, Tricks and Tweaks: 

1. The peels add a hint of bitterness to it. If you don't like to include the peel in your recipe, add pectin to your mixture.
2. Make sure you remove all the seeds!
3. I used a boning knife to fish out the seeds in those hard to reach places. A small knife would do, too.

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