SUPER EASY CHERRY STRUDEL

This strudel is made with Pepperidge Farm Puff Pasty (from the freezer section) and it couldn't be easier. It slices beautifully and it is delicious served warm with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream, but it is also excellent at room temperature. It is a huge hit at our house!!

1 sheet of frozen puff pastry (thawed)
(1) 14½ oz. can red tart pie cherries packed in water
¾ cup granulated sugar (divided)
2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon corn starch
pinch of salt
¼ teaspoon almond extract
2 drops red food coloring (optional)

Drain the cherries (but save the juice).  Mix ½ cup of the juice from the cherries, with half of the sugar and all of the cornstarch and a pinch of salt.

Cook (constantly stirring) the juice mixture on medium heat for 3 or 4 minutes or until it gets ULTRA thick.  Remove from heat and stir in the rest of the sugar, the drained cherries and almond extract. Mix well and lay some plastic wrap on the surface of the hot mixture and chill for an hour (or until really cold).

CRUST
You can either let one sheet of puff pastry (a box comes with 2 sheets) thaw in the refrigerator overnight (thats the best) or you can speed thaw on the kitchen counter (I wrap it in plastic wrap) for about an hour. The box says 40 minutes, but it really is a lot easier to work with if you let it sit for an hour.

Dust your counter with a little flour and roll out the dough to a 12" x 16" rectangle.  Spread the cherry filling on one half (keep it about an inch away from the sides) like this:

Starting with the fruit end, just roll it up and crimp the ends.  Lay it on a parchment paper lined baking sheet (or spray with vegetable spray). and brush it all over with egg wash (1 egg beaten with a teaspoon of water). Sprinkle generously with granulated sugar and then cut a few slash marks across the top of the strudel (for venting) but don't cut too deep.

Bake in preheated 375 oven for 35 minutes, or until golden brown.  Makes one 12" strudel. Enjoy!!

NOTE: For those who aren't familiar with it, Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry is found in the freezer section of your grocery store, near the Cool Whip etc., it comes in a 17.3 ounce package that contains 2 sheets.

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CROCKPOT LASAGNA

SERIOUS COMFORT FOOD

I guess this isn't technically lasagna, since it is cooked in the crock pot and uses rigatoni noodles, but it qualifies as serious comfort food and has all of the rich, familiar lasagna flavors.


1½ pounds lean ground beef (browned & drained well)
4 cups of beef broth (not bullion)
(1) 15 ounce can of tomato sauce
(1) 12 ounce can of tomato paste
1 tablespoon dehydrated onion flakes
1 teaspoon dry oregano
2 teaspoons dry basil
½ teaspoon fennel seed (don't leave out)
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoons sugar (don't leave out)
½ teaspoon black pepper
small pinch of red chili flakes (optional)
¾ pound of rigatoni noodles
½ pound of mushrooms (thick sliced)
2 to 3 cups Colby jack cheese shredded
1 cup of ricotta cheese


Brown the ground beef and drain it very well. In a large crock pot (see note below), Mix the beef broth, tomato sauce, tomato paste, onion and spices. Use a whisk to mix the sauce together well, then stir in the meat and mushrooms. Cook on high for 4 hours (see note). Stir once in a while during the 4 hours if possible (but not absolutely necessary.


After 4 hours, Stir in the DRY unboiled rigatoni, make sure you push them under the sauce (add a little extra hot water if necessary). Add the ricotta to the crock pot by spooning tablespoons of it in random spots and gently push down on the ricotta to submerge it as well (don't stir).


Continue to cook on low for 30 more minutes. Sprinkle the surface with shredded Colby jack cheese and put the lid back on for about 5 minutes or until cheese is nicely melted. Serve.


NOTE: My crock pot is a large oval and wide slow cooker, which works well for this recipe, as opposed to a small/tall one.  The main cooking time is 4 hours on high, but if you are going to be away from the house all day, just turn it down to LOW and cook for 8 hours before you add the noodles. If you are using one of those smaller/taller slow cookers, you may have to adjust the cooking time a little.


NOTE: My crock pot has a "low" setting, a "high" setting and a "warm" setting. Once this recipe is completely done (and ready to eat) you can leave it on "warm" for quite a while. Warning, "low" is not the same as "warm".


NOTE: Noodles tends to fall apart if you leave them in the crock pot for much more than 30 minutes, so don't be tempted to add them early. Thirty minutes is perfect.


NOTE: This recipe uses rigatoni noodles, which are large diameter tubular noodles that have ridges on them. However, any kind of thick walled (sturdy) noodle will work for this recipe. Just make sure you do NOT BOIL THEM before you add them to the sauce. They cook in the sauce and soak up all of that extra liquid. Regular elbow noodles work well if you are serving this to a crowd of kids.


NOTE: I like dehydrated onion in this recipe, but if you don't have that, just saute a small chopped onion along with the ground beef.


NOTE: You can use your favorite cheese. We happen to like Colby jack cheese, but mozzarella works well too.


NOTE: This reheats very well.

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BUTTERSCOTCH CHEESECAKE FOR TWO

This recipe makes the perfect amount for two perfect size desserts. It is smooth, creamy, rich and it has a serious butterscotch flavor. I will definitely be making this one often.

PREPARE PAN:  Preheat your oven to 325F. Line a mini-loaf pan (6" x 3" x2") with foil and spray with cooking spray. Leave the ends of the foil long enough that you can grab onto them. You will be using these "foil handles" to lift the chilled cheesecake out of the pan for easier serving.

CRUST
½ cup graham cracker crumbs
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoons butter (melted)

Mix all and pat into the bottom of a prepared  mini-loaf pan.

CHEESECAKE
½ cup butterscotch chips
4 ounces of cream cheese (room temperature)
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon rum extract
1 egg (room temperature)

Melt the butterscotch chips and (using an electric mixer) beat them into the room temperature cream cheese until well mixed and smooth. Beat in the brown sugar and extracts until well mixed.
Beat in the room temperature egg.

Pour over crumb crust.  Set the mini-loaf pan inside of a larger baking dish (I use a 9" cake pan). Put boiling hot water in the BIGGER pan (water should come about half way up the side of the mini-loaf pan).

Place in preheated 325F oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes (my oven took 35 minutes). You will know the cheesecake is done when you tap the loaf pan and the cheesecake just jiggles a little bit.

Remove from oven and let cook for about 20 minutes, then put it in the fridge for a few hours.

To serve, grab the ends of the foil  and lift it out of the loaf pan. Peel the foil back and cut in half.

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ZIPPY CHEESE CRACKERS

These crackers are super easy to make and are a very nice addition to any snack tray or buffet table. I used sharp cheddar cheese in this photo, but pepper jack cheese makes an excellent cracker as well.


8 ounces shredded SHARP cheddar cheese (or pepper jack)

½ cup butter at room temperature
1 ½ cups flour
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
pinch of cayenne pepper (leave out if you use pepper jack)
2 tablespoons water

Preheat oven to 350°. Mix above ingredients with electric mixer for 1 minute. This will look dry and crumbly, but thats ok. Pour out onto counter and squeeze ingredients together; form into a nice smooth 12” log.

Wrap in plastic wrap and chill at least a couple hours. Cut thin slices and place on parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Poke a few holes in each cracker with fork tines and sprinkle with a little kosher style salt. Bake for 20 minutes. Cool completely before eating.

NOTE: I usually chill my dough overnight.

NOTE: You can bake part of these and keep the rest of the dough in the fridge for up to a week (covered well).

NOTE: Original recipe said to slice these ¼” thick, but we didn’t like them at all. I sliced them a lot thinner and it was a huge improvement!!!

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STRAWBERRY SPONGE CAKE

We love strawberry shortcake made with angel food cake or a sponge cake, rather than the biscuit type shortcake.  This sponge cake recipe is excellent and if covered well, stays soft and moist for several days.  I've served it with berries, mandarin oranges, pudding...you name it. It is light as air and is the PERFECT base for a million different desserts.

7 egg whites
7 egg yolks
1¼ cups granulated sugar
1/3 cup whole milk, heated
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 cup cake flour (not all purpose)

Preheat your oven to 350F. Spray TWO large (9" x 5" x 3") loaf pans with cooking spray. Line the bottom of each loaf pan with parchment paper (wax paper will work in a pinch) and then spray lightly again. Set aside.

In a medium sized mixing bowl, beat the egg yolks, with an electric mixer, for about 2 minutes. Add sugar to the yolks and beat well for another minute or two. Set aside.

Heat milk, vanilla, and lemon juice until very warm, but not hot (I used my microwave). Add to beaten eggs (whisk while you add the warm milk to the eggs. Fold in the cake flour. Set aside.

In a glass or stainless steel bowl (don't use plastic) beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold the beaten egg whites into the batter (by hand) until you can't see any white streaks. Be gentle so that you do not deflate the batter (do NOT use a mixer or whisk for this step).

Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes (my oven takes 35 minutes). You will know the cake is done when a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. The top of the cake will be nice and golden brown.  Let the cake rest in the pans for about 10 minutes then turn out onto rack.

This cake has a light fluffy crumb and cuts beautifully:

Anything you can imagine would be delicious between layers of this cake. Here I just added a little sugar to a can of mandarine oranges, brought it to a boil and thickened it with a little cornstarch slurry then chilled it.

I haven't tried this in cupcake papers, but I don't see why it wouldn't work. I hope you give it a try.

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BEST PANCAKES EVER !!!

First I want to apologize for the poor quality of this photograph. By the time I realized it was out of focus, the pancakes were long gone. That being said, these are the absolutely best home made pancakes I've ever made. They are super tall, light and fluffy and yet they don't get all mushy when syrup is added, they are excellent.

3/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons white vinegar (see note)
1 cup all purpose flour
2 tablespoons white sugar (I used 3)
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 egg
2 tablespoons melted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla

Combine the milk and vinegar in a small bowl for 10 minutes to "sour". This is an important step and it is called "soured milk" which is much different that sour milk. I guarantee you will NOT taste the vinegar in the final product. Set aside.

Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl. In a smaller bowl, whisk the soured milk, egg and melted butter together. Pour into the dry ingredients and whisk until most of the lumps are gone, but don't over beat.

NOTE: The batter will be thick, don't add any more liquid. Let the batter sit, undisturbed for about 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, you will see bubbles in the batter, DON'T STIR.  Gently dip out a ¼ cup of batter and place it on a buttered grill or frying pan. Cook until bubbles appear on the surface of the pancake and then flip with a spatula and brown the other side.

NOTE: This recipe only feeds about 3 or 4 people, but doubles or even triples nicely.

NOTE:  Don't skip the soured milk part of this recipe, you will not taste the vinegar in the pancakes. The vinegar super-activates the baking soda.

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STRAWBERRY CHEESECAKE FOR TWO

I put three recipes together, to come up with this dessert for two. It has a shortbread cookie crust, a creamy cheesecake layer and it is topped with a  jelled strawberry topping. The contrast between the smooth vanilla cheesecake and the juicy strawberries was excellent!!!

COOKIE CRUST
¼ cup all purpose flour
1 tablespoon powdered sugar
2 tablespoons butter
a pinch of baking powder

Mix the dry ingredients and cut in the butter. Press, evenly, onto the bottom of a greased foil lined mini-loaf  (6" x 3" x 2"). See important note below.

Bake the cookie crust in preheated 375 oven for 10-12 minutes or just until it starts to turn golden. Set aside to cool.

CHEESECAKE FILLING
4 ounces of cream cheese (room temperature)
3 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons all purpose flour
½ teaspoon vanilla
1 egg white (room temperature)

Beat the cream cheese, sugar, flour and vanilla until smooth. Beat in the egg white until well mixed. Pour over the baked (and cooled) cookie crust.

Set the mini-loaf pan inside of a larger pan (I use a 9" cake pan) and put enough HOT water in the larger pan, so that it comes about half way up on the mini-loaf pan.

Bake in preheated 325 oven for 28 to 33 minutes (my oven takes exactly 33 minutes). You'll know it is done when it barely jiggles when you tap the pan. This little cheesecake has NEVER cracked on me.

Cool about 20 minutes before putting it into the fridge to chill for several hours.

STRAWBERRY TOPPING

2 cups sliced fresh strawberries
¼ cup granulated sugar

Cook strawberries and sugar in a heavy saucepan. When the strawberries start cooking, they will release lots of liquid. Let this cook for about 3-4 minutes, or until strawberries are soft. Thicken
the mixture with a slurry of cornstarch and water (1 tablespoons cornstarch + 1 tablespoon water). Cook until this mixture thickens. Remove from heat and stir in ½ teaspoon vanilla. Cool to room temperature and pour over the cooled cheesecake. Put the whole thing in the refrigerator to chill
for several hours. To serve, gently lift the dessert out of the pan by holding onto the foil ends.  Peel back the foil and cut in half.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Make sure you line the mini-loaf pan with foil and then spray it with vegetable spray. Leave the ends of the foil long enough so that you can grab onto them and lift the chilled cheesecake out of the pan.

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Proudly Pinoy: Tapang Kalabaw (Carabao Meat)

 



When I was still a kid, I wouldn't dare touch the meat if they say it's tapang kalabaw (carabao tapa).  Because I got used to the notion that they are as tough as natural leather, I never dared eat it again until recently, when my dad brought this home from Bulacan. He said that unlike before, the tapa right now is a lot more tender, but still quite chewy. 








Dad told us that this is

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