baby rambutan

this is a recipe i’ve been longing to try, but i had trouble finding kirsch or cherry brandy. when i finally found it, the liquor store owner explained that cherry-flavored brandy i had in my hands was not the same as kirsch, which is actually distilled from real cherries.
i bought a tiny bottle and had enough extra which i used to souse the excess thawed cherries in for the next tart. yes, it is THAT GOOD! but my little ones thought the flavor was too strong even as they finished their slices…for their tender taste buds i’ll try sweet cherry preserves next time.
one more item scratched out of the “must try” list…and added on to the “cook it again and again” list!

recipe from Ransome’s Dock Restaurant, published in Bon Appetit May 1998, collector’s edition “London: The Ultimate Food Tour.”

toast 1 cup of almonds and let cool, before anything else.
crust:
1 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup blanched slivered almonds, toasted, cooled
1/4 tsp. salt
7 tbsps. chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch pcs.

filling:
3/4 cup blanched slivered almonds (about 3& 1/2 ozs.), toasted, cooled
q/e cup plus 2 tbsps. sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temp.
2 tbsps. all purpose flour
pinch of salt
1 large egg
2 tbsps. kirschwasser (cherry brandy) or plain brandy
3 cups frozen pitted dark sweet cherries, thawed, drained.

for crust: finely grind first 4 ingredients in processor. add butter, process until moist clumps form. press dough over bottom and up sides of 9-inch diameter tart pan with removable bottom. pierce all over with fork. freeze 30 minutes.

preheat oven to 350F. bake crust 10 minutes. pierce with fork if crust bubbles. continue to bake until golden, about 12 minutes more. cool.

for filling: blend almonds sugar, butter, flour, and salt in processor until almonds are finely ground. blend in egg and brandy. spread 1/2 cup filling over bottom of crust. top with cherries. spoon remaining filling over cherries (filling will not cover cherries completely). bake until set and golden, about 55 minutes. cool. (can be made 1 day ahead).

via Brussels…sprouts (instead of cabbage).

nostalgia strikes again!
the weather was cold and grey and rainy but somewhat mild…and it was somehow not gloomy. it reminded me of the summers we spent with my mom’s “cousins” in Baguio, the summer capital of the Philippines, in Benguet province where the crunchy vegetables i so shunned during childhood, were very hard to resist.

chop suey was something regularly served by our Auntie Thelma, and it was one of those unforgettable foodie moments where you can literally just summon that first sensation of taste on your tongue. for me it was the intensely sweet-hot green pepper.

whenever we went back home to Diliman our mom would quickly cook up the “bayong” or basket full of veggies she brought back. chop suey it was, always.

just a simple stir fry of garlic, onions, ginger, carrots, celery, broccoli, cauliflower, green peppers, and Brussels sprouts (my brilliant substitute for cabbage) in a sauce of rice wine, soy sauce, oyster sauce, chicken broth and sesame oil, thickened with cornstarch solution, with chicken gizzards and livers as the exotic meat additions.

Well we certainly are ready for an exotic destination!
It’s been a long cold snowy winter thus far, and all i can do is daydream and yearn for a warm and sunny getaway, or at least a destination as near the equator as possible.

For flights to Egypt from the UK, consult this expert travel planner site for the best information on flights, accommodations, car rentals, and itinerary planning, whether you need a beach getaway, a spa break, or anything else you can think of.
They have the best travel experts just standing by to help you. Just the thought of seeing this ancient city and witnessing the timeless beauty of the pyramids and the Sphinxes…well, it’s enough to bear the deep freeze.

the cat turned two!

used our favorite carrot-almond cake recipe [make sure you scroll down the page, it's there! promise!], baked in two ten-inch layer pans instead of a bundt cake and adjusted cooking time from 1 hour to 35-40 minutes (check with cake tester/skewer/toothpick).

and Jaime Oliver’s icing recipe, as posted by thesserie. yummmmm.

mascarpone lime icing:
225 grams (8 ozs.) cream cheese, at room temperature
115 grams (about 1/2 cup minus 1 tbsp.) mascarpone cheese, also at room temperature
85 grams (approximately 3/4 cup minus 1 tbsp. powdered) (icing)sugar
juice and zest of two limes, more or less, as needed

mix all ingredients until creamy and well incorporated. frost cooled cake layers. garnish with sliced almonds and grated zest if desired.

disclosure: even if he was subjected to humiliation in the wearing of a party hat and forcible posing with the non-cat-friendly-human-only-birthday cake, no cat was neglected or injured in this blog post, in fact cat received a bewitched catnipped cat toy which he shared with his older 16 y.o. counterpart .

even now, with all the instant gratification of e-mail, something about stationery always interests me. the old-fashioned snail mail and stamps still beguile me, and therefore any shopping trip invariably must include a stop at the card store. it is still quite exciting to check the mailbox and see what’s there, and hope that it’s not all junk mail and bills. maybe instead, some party invitations?
and what if you have to send them out yourself?
so there is just no comparison to customized designs that you’ve uploaded yourself, from your own artwork or photographs.
this online site has such a myriad of choices, it is such a wonderful dilemma to have to choose for yourself.
whether business cards, advertising campaign postcards, rubber stamps, birthday or big event invitations, or “save the date” announcements, you will always be in control of the design and colors, whether you like matte, glossy, or linen finish…no matter what occasion you wish to celebrate, no matter what joyous cause for a party you may have–baptism? bar or bat mitzvah? engagement? quinceneria? 18th birthday debutante party? graduation? a milestone birthday, like a 40th or a 50th? a grand silver or golden wedding anniversary?
then order some precious custom invitations
where you have personalized and designed them yourself, and that will give it an extra special shine and polish to dazzle your guests.
VistaPrint offers so many services for your customized printing needs, whether you need checks, rubber stamps, campaign postcards, invitations, or announcements.

go on, have a look and pick out a template or upload your own. there’s even a special offer for 10 free invitations!
Custom invitations: ‘BlogInvite10′
10 free invitations at checkout

or eureka!!! moments.
first up, the best pizza recipe we’ve tried, so far.
it’s just that i have three “pizza monsters” at home, who must. be. fed. pizza. they love it so much, that our college boy, #1son, proclaimed that when he got to college, he would eat pizza everyday. well he doesn’t, but let’s just say he eats it whenever he feels like it, and that’s pretty often.

i can’t though. not those greasy soggy ones from the take-out chains anyway.
lately we had been ordering from a local “mom and pop” kind of pizza joint, the kind that uses home made tomato marinara sauce and REAL parmesan and romano and mozzarella cheeses.
but we didn’t like their crust, which was so thin that the sauces soaked through and got soggy.
so husband suggested to the kids that we should make our own pizza. what he had in mind though, was buying pizza crusts and all the toppings.
the control freak in me dug in, and took charge. i searched for deep-dish recipes, Chicago Style, for its thick hearty bready crust, capable of standing up to the toppings and cheeses. and the one i had a hunch would work out came from a “local” boy, Emeril BAM!!! Lagasse, who hails from Fall River, Massachusetts.



i guarantee you will love this thick and hearty pizza crust, which intrigued me for its inclusion of semolina flour.
so easy, so good, and best of all, you can pick what toppings you want to put on.
for the first try i followed the recipe faithfully, except for husband stirring in a bit more sugar (about 1 & 1/2 tsps. more) for the tomato sauce, and little pizza chef #2son adding a bit of packaged shredded “Italian mix” cheeses from the dairy case.

it’s definitely a keeper! thanks Chef Emeril!
from Emeril “BAM!!!” Lagasse, foodtv.com.

i’m almost reluctant to share this next secret. after all, it’s a tiny little joint from a bunch of “mutineers”, defiant ex-employees from the most famous Chinese Restaurant in Boston, who set up a David-versus-Goliath establishment right in front of Goliath!!!! we went in for our dimsum fix and we were smitten.

finely crafted dumplings and noodles but in a teeny weeny location. so tiny they can’t have carts, you have to order from a menu. i know it’s risky, it might be inciting an even longer queue by talking about their impeccable dim sum delights but i want them to become famous, and to stick around, but at the same time i hope any fame won’t compromise the quality of the goods and services thus far.
that’s why y’all good citizens of metropolitan Boston go down there and order the siu mai and the foon and the har gao and the crab dumplings in soup.

i only hope they can find a bigger and better place, far away from Goliath!
Winsor Dim Sum Cafe, 10 Tyler St., Boston, 617 338 1688 “order to take out, dim sum, congee, noodles, rice”