Another Book Find...

I've been meaning to buy Cookies Unlimited by Nick Malgieri for quite sometime now, with most of the 3 major bookstores here in Manila going on sale the only thing that is stopping me is that I max out my credit card buying other cookbooks (so sad :o).
Yesterday my mom and I was in Trinoma (one of the newly erected malls here in Manila owned by Ayala) doing some light shopping while waiting for dad to fetch us. Intending not to buy anything because of my financial crisis, I went in search for Linda Howard's new book Death Angel for my sister. I was busy talking to the customer service lady cause I wanted to have the book transferred to other branch in Makati which is more convenient for me since I still have to ask my sister if she still wants it, she is currently out of the country.
While the customer service lady is busy calling the other branch if they have it, I wandered into the Have to Get Rid Off pile eer... actually they are not called that, just have no idea what to call it, they are books put on a table some are a bit damaged has some wear and tare, anyway I spotted this book on top of the said pile and I got so excited that I quickly snatched it off! Actually a lady beside me is about to reach for it, I think or I'm just paranoid that everyone is looking for that said book.

I know what you're thinking...

she is NOT suppose to buy anything because of her mini financial crisis! right? What is she doing getting all excited about a book, she definitely CANNOT afford to buy???

I have an excellent answer to that my foodie friends, I got unused points from the store and luckily last month when the said store is having a sale, I didn't buy anything with it. Now I can use it!!! It's like I'm getting a FREE book :D Gosh! I love it! I'm dying to get the spine cracking. Bye!

My Dulce de Leche . . .

After my debacle with my first dulce de leche, I sucked it up and made it the way I've read and seen people do it. I really had three choices: (1) submerge an unopened can of condense milk in water and boil for 3 hours, keep replenishing the pot as the water boils away. (2) using a pressure cooker, submerge an unopened can of condense milk in water and boil for 30 mins. keep replenishing the pot as the water boils away. (3) the oven method --- David Lebovitz has posted an amazing indtruction how to do it. Guess which I chose??? Of course, I chose the easiest and most practical. Choice (1) isn't really that cool will me because for one thing I'm NOT gonna used up our gas tank for 3 hours just to make dulce de leche, my mom would kave killed me! Since gas tanks nowadays are so much more expensive than let's say a month ago. Choice (3) well let's say I'm thinking of the electric bill so this method is a no go for me. Choice (2) which I find very much doable because thankfully I have a pressure cooker...err... correction my mom has one :) It takes the least amount of time and seems like such an easy process so ... Choice (2) it is.

Got so excited with my newly made dulce de leche, I decised to make it into a brownie. I used a regular brownie recipe and swirl in the dulce de leche. Didn't turn out as good as I would have liked it its tough and dry, I didn't like it at all. I think it's because my dulce de leche is a bit too watery, I need to thicken it a bit more. there's always next time I guess ....

Gooey Chocolate Chips

I'm currently still in my whole wheat, healthy dessert mode, trying out recipes from King Arthur's Whole Wheat Baking book. After my first un-photographed whole wheat chocolate chip cookies, I tried making some last Sunday using KA's recipe.

It differs from my first recipe for one thing its darker, due to the use of exclusively brown sugar compare to the earlier version of brown sugar with while. The most amazing thing about this recipe for me is that it can easily made by hand! Don't get me wrong here, I adore my KA mixer, however there are times when just lugging around the heavy KA mixer is such an effort (I know I'm lazy;) ) At first it seems too watery for me that I'm abit scared that I might have missed something but as I add the cider vinegar, as it reacts with the baking soda the batter turns poofy and looks like a cookie dough, a bit softer than I'm used too.

Although this version yeilded a bit less cookies than the first version, I prefer this one for it's taste though they look the same puffy and chewy. It's just that the first version, you can feel that there's something different in these cookies. For this version, they taste like normal cookies, this is good for those healthy phobic people who hates anything whole wheat.

Outragous Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ever since this article from the New York Times came out, everybody who's anybody in the food world of food blogging is crazy about it. Of course, I don't want to be left out so I made my version of it adopted from non other than my pastry idol the chocolate master, Jacques Torres. I got his recipe awhile back when it was featured in from Martha Stewart Show, I just personalized it to suit my taste.

If I'm to be asked which one would be my favorite cookie for all time this would be it. It's soft, chewy and more importantly chuck full of chocolate chips!!! So every bite there's chocolates in them. I specially like it when it's just put of the oven where the chocolate chips are still a bit melty like in the pictures.

I used a special kind of chocolate, I was so happy when its finally available locally here in our market. They are Callebaut chocolate disk not chips they are big sort of flattish but packs a wallop. The curious chocolate lady who sells them ask me what I do with them because I tend to buy a lot at a time. So I told her, and she told me that they are for melting not to be included in chocolate chip cookies bacause they tend to melt quickly. I just smiled and thought to myself that's the whole idea :)

Banoffi, Banoffy or Banoffee Pie

Banoffi, Banoffy or Banoffee Pie whatever the pronunciation and spelling it taste absolutely sinful! Regular readers of my blog might have noticed that I'm not a huge fan of bananas however I can be persuaded when bananas are mixed with the right ingredients in this case crushed graham crackers, dulce de leche, whipped cream and chocolate! What can be easier than that? Uhhhh...nothing!

I've been meaning to make Banoffee Pie for such a long time, that now that I've made it, it seems foolish that I've been worrying it might not taste good. Yeah I know something got to be wrong with me think that when chocolates and caramels are part of the ingredients. Thankfully, I got up the courage to try it. they might not be perfect now but hopefully in the future it will be.

As I've mentioned earlier Banoffee Pie has that crunchy graham cracker crumbs that goes well with the gooey dulce de leche layer. This being my first time to ever make a dulce de leche, suffice to say it didn't turn out great. I've been surfing the net trying to find out how to make my own dulce de leche that I think I was traumatized! I read many comments from people who tried making it that sometimes they EXPLODE!!! My gosh! who wants to do that? After that warning I kept telling myself, I can live with out ever trying dulce de leche. (Scared, right? Suck it up! :p)

So after a month or so of talking myself into making one, I took the easiest was of making dulce de leche. I opened a can of condense milk and slowly cook it on top of the stove over low fire. I started out great actually, got thick but just enough that its pourable. As I set my fragrant dulce de leche aside and start assembling the other ingredients, it went downhill from there. After I gingerly and decisively tamp down my graham cracker crust, I quickly grab the pot filled with the newly cooked dulce de leche and behold! as it cools it turned into a huge blob of candy!!! I has so much hard time spreading it that if I had another can of condense milk I would have made a new batch, but alas it was my one and only can. Everything stuck together that a whole can barely covered the whole tart pan, its all in bits and pieces. I even got the bananas wrong, I cut them too thin, that after a day in the fridge the are non existent!

Lesson learned though after this horrible experience it warms my heart when I see how much my family quickly gobbled it all up, so all that frustration and hard work seems worth it.

TWD: Blueberry Goodness

Blueberries are really hard to find here, you'd have to go to specialty food store like Santi's just to look for them, which I don't really frequent because they are so far from where I live. So when my sister happened to drop by Santi's, she called me! Thanks Sis! I'm so happy!

Funny thing about it is it's the same week that in the Tuesdays with Dorie event, they chose the Blueberry Sour Cream Ice Cream. How cool is that???

This is the first time, I'll be cooking blueberries, at first they smells weird unlike the canned ones the one I'm used too. However as few minutes passed, the familiar scent of blueberries comes out. Yum!

I even got to use my new food processor, pulverized them!!! Hahahahaha!!!

Nooooo....I didn't get crazy! I'm just so excited!

It taste absolutely divine not as smooth as ice cream though can't scoop them round, but as soon as it hits you tongue it melts and hmmmmmm...... so good. :)