Dhanggit's Kitchen: August 2008

Blackberries Dark Chocolate Eclair

What's it in our color that makes us different?
What's it in our belief that oblige us to carry grudge on the others?
Why sacrifice the life of many innocent for political ambition?
Why give so darn importance on economic power?
How many more blood will be shed in quest for freedom?
When will all these differences about our differences end?
Why create this world such a violent place?

Alas, so many questions I don't have the answer.

Well we are all different and so what!
I like my color, my hair, my religion and my heritage. These are part of who I am. And so are you. Why fight over this when we can be enjoying our differences.

Again, innocent lives were sacrificed in the recent war between Georgia and Russia. Young French soldiers were massacred fighting against terrorism in Afghanistan. Civilian catholics in Mindanao were slaughtered by fleeing Muslim insurgents in Philippines.

(Sigh) When will these senseless killings end? I know it is as lame as any beauty pageant candidate's answer but I am desperately hoping for peace on earth. This month's Daring Baker challenge in my kitchen is dedicated for this cause. A big thanks to Meeta of What's for Lunch Honey and to Tony Tahhan of Olive Juice for hosting this month's Chocolate Eclair challenge.

Pierre Hermé’s Chocolate Éclairs
Recipe from Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermé (makes 20-24 Éclairs)
• Cream Puff Dough (see below for recipe),
fresh and still warm 1)

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Divide the oven into thirds by positioning the racks in the upper and lower half of the oven. Line two baking sheets with waxed or parchment paper. 2) Fill a large pastry bag fitted with a 2/3 (2cm) plain tip nozzle with the warm cream puff dough. Pipe the dough onto the baking sheets in long, 4 to 41/2 inches (about 11 cm) chubby fingers. Leave about 2 inches (5 cm) space in between each dough strip to allow them room to puff. The dough should give you enough to pipe 20-24 éclairs. 3) Slide both the baking sheets into the oven and bake for 7 minutes. After the 7 minutes, slip the handle of a wooden spoon into the door to keep in ajar. When the éclairs have been in the oven for a total of 12 minutes, rotate the sheets top to bottom and front to back. Continue baking for a further 8 minutes or until the éclairs are puffed, golden and firm. The total baking time should be approximately 20 minutes.

Notes:
1) The éclairs can be kept in a cool, dry place for several hours before filling.

Assembling the éclairs:
• Chocolate glaze (see below for recipe)
• Chocolate pastry cream (see below for recipe)
1) Slice the éclairs horizontally, using a serrated knife and a gently sawing motion. Set aside the bottoms and place the tops on a rack over a piece of parchment paper.

2) The glaze should be barely warm to the touch (between 95 – 104 degrees F or 35 – 40 degrees C, as measured on an instant read thermometer). Spread the glaze over the tops of the éclairs using a metal icing spatula. Allow the tops to set and in the meantime fill the bottoms with the pastry cream.
3) Pipe or spoon the pastry cream into the bottoms of the éclairs. Make sure you fill the bottoms with enough cream to mound above the pastry. Place the glazed tops onto the pastry cream and wriggle gently to settle them.

Notes:
1) If you have chilled your chocolate glaze, reheat by placing it in a bowl over simmering water, stirring it gently with a wooden spoon. Do not stir too vigorously as you do not want to create bubbles.
2) The éclairs should be served as soon as they have been filled.

Pierre Hermé’s Cream Puff Dough
Recipe from Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermé
(makes 20-24 Éclairs)
• ½ cup (125g) whole milk
• ½ cup (125g) water
• 1 stick (4 ounces; 115g) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
• ¼ teaspoon sugar
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (140g) all-purpose flour
• 5 large eggs, at room temperature

1) In a heavy bottomed medium saucepan, bring the milk, water, butter, sugar and salt to the boil.
2) Once the mixture is at a rolling boil, add all of the flour at once, reduce the heat to medium and start to stir the mixture vigorously with a wooden spoon. The dough comes together very quickly. Do not worry if a slight crust forms at the bottom of the pan, it’s supposed to. You need to carry on stirring for a further 2-3 minutes to dry the dough. After this time the dough will be very soft and smooth.
3) Transfer the dough into a bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or using your handmixer or if you still have the energy, continue by hand. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each egg has been added to incorporate it into the dough. You will notice that after you have added the first egg, the dough will separate, once again do not worry. As you keep working the dough, it will come back all together again by the time you have added the third egg. In the end the dough should be thick and shiny and when lifted it should fall back into the bowl in a ribbon.
4) The dough should be still warm. It is now ready to be used for the éclairs as directed above.

Notes:
1) Once the dough is made you need to shape it immediately.
2) You can pipe the dough and the freeze it. Simply pipe the dough onto parchment-lined baking sheets and slide the sheets into the freezer. Once the dough is completely frozen, transfer the piped shapes into freezer bags. They can be kept in the freezer for up to a month.

Chocolate Pastry Cream
Recipe from Chocolate Desserts by PierreHermé
• 2 cups (500g) whole milk
• 4 large egg yolks
• 6 tbsp (75g) sugar
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch, sifted
• 7 oz (200g) bittersweet chocolate, preferably Velrhona Guanaja, melted
• 2½ tbsp (1¼ oz: 40g) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1) In a small saucepan, bring the milk to a boil. In the meantime, combine the yolks, sugar and cornstarch together and whisk in a heavy‐bottomed saucepan.
2) Once the milk has reached a boil, temper the yolks by whisking a couple spoonfuls of the hot milk into the yolk mixture.Continue whisking and slowly pour the rest of the milk into the tempered yolk mixture.
3) Strain the mixture back into the saucepan to remove any egg that may have scrambled. Place the pan over medium heat and whisk vigorously (without stop) until the mixture returns to a boil. Keep whisking vigorously for 1 to 2 more minutes (still over medium heat).Stir in the melted chocolate and then remove the pan from the heat.
4) Scrape the pastry cream into a small bowl and set it in an ice‐water bath to stop the cooking process. Make sure to continue stirring the mixture at this point so that it remains smooth.
5) Once the cream has reached a temperature of 140 F remove from the ice‐water bath and stir in the butter in three or four installments. Return the cream to the ice‐water bath to continue cooling, stirring occasionally, until it has completely cooled. The cream is now ready to use or store in the fridge.

[bNotes:[/b] 1) The pastry cream can be made 2‐3 days in advance and stored in the refrigerator. 2) In order to avoid a skin forming on the pastry cream, cover with plastic wrap pressed onto the cream. 3) Tempering the eggs raises the temperature of the eggs slowly so that they do not scramble.

Chocolate Glaze Recipe from Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermé
(makes 1 cup or 300g)
• 1/3 cup (80g) heavy cream
• 3½ oz (100g) bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 4 tsp (20 g) unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces, at room temperature
• 7 tbsp (110 g)
Chocolate Sauce (recipe below), warm or at room temperature

1)In a small saucepan, bring the heavy cream to a boil. Remove from the heat and slowly begin to add the chocolate, stirring with a wooden spoon or spatula.
2) Stirring gently, stir in the butter, piece by piece followed by the chocolate sauce.

Notes:
1) If the chocolate glaze is too cool (i.e. not liquid enough) you may heat it briefly  in the microwave or over a double boiler. A double boiler is basically a bowl sitting over (not touching) simmering water.
2) It is best to glaze the eclairs after the glaze is made, but if you are pressed for time, you can make the glaze a couple days ahead of time, store it in the fridge and bring it up to the proper temperature (95 to 104 F) when ready to glaze.

Chocolate Sauce Recipe from Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermé
(makes 1½ cups or 525 g)
• 4½ oz (130 g) bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 1 cup (250 g) water
• ½ cup (125 g) crème fraîche, or heavy cream
• 1/3 cup (70 g) sugar

1) Place all the ingredients into a heavy‐bottomed saucepan and bring to a boil, making sure to stir constantly. Then reduce the heat to low and continue stirring with a wooden spoon until the sauce thickens.
2) It may take 10‐15 minutes for the sauce to thicken, but you will know when it is done when it coats the back of your spoon.

Notes: 1) You can make this sauce ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator for two weeks. Reheat the sauce in a microwave oven or a double boiler before using. 2) This sauce is also great for cakes, ice-cream and tarts.

My other Daring Baker's Challenges:
Filbert Cake with Praline buttercream
Mango Blueberry Opera Cake

Lemon, Rosemary & Honey Pork Roast

Lemon Rosemary & Honey Pork Roast

Yay, my internet connection is finally back! And another great reason to celebrate is that I'll finally have back my former nationality after long months of waiting; it simply means that I am officially of dual citizenship now. To celebrate moments like this (seriously I mean it’s a glorious day because you don’t imagine how bureaucracy is in embassies like ours that before you get what you want you’ll probably have three or more grey hairs added without counting all the wrinkles J whew I survived that) I could only think of having nothing special like a pork roast.

Despite the fact that there are some people who cannot eat it for religious or health reasons, pork still rest as one of my favorite meat for it blends perfectly with almost anything. And every time I feast on something with pork it always reminds me of those happy childhood days that my parents decided to raise pigs inside our house to make both ends meet. So that’s make eating pork twice the fun for me. Well honestly you have a lot of reasons for loving them once you take off their nasty smell and noise. Think about this; they are intelligent, they are cute and they eat anything (we fed them only with neighbors’ left-over food, which comes very economical). Anyways, on festive times like this I am actually craving more for a Lechon (that’s one whole roasted pig) but the closest I could have now is just a pork roast.

I’ll be sending off this Lemon Rosemary & Honey Pork Roast over at Jugalbandi for August Click, this month theme is citrus. If you love great food photography check out the round-up at the end of this month. And this recipe goes off at Sunita’s place too for her lovely event Think Spice that just turned one year old. Congratulations!!

Lemon Rosemary & Honey Pork Roast
about a kilo of Pork for roasting
fresh frigs of rosemary leaves
zest of 1 lemon
juice of 1 lemon
3 tablespoons of honey
2 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar
some salt and pepper
some olive oil

second part:
half a stick of butter
a quarter of glass of water
1 teaspoon of flour
some olive oil

In a bowl mix all the ingredients: lemon zest, lemon juice, salt,pepper,rosemary leaves, honey,vinegar and olive oil. Mix them well. Rub this marinade on your pork and let it stand on this for about thirty minutes. Preheat the oven at 180 ° celsius. The best way to cook pork is to roast it slowly on temperature that is not too strong. Heat a pan and put half of the butter on it and brown a little all sides of your pork (about 2 to 3 minutes at a high temperature). In your preheated oven roast your pork slowly for about thirty minutes. Putting some marinade and water from time to time to avoid drying up the meat. After the cooking time let the pork put it out of the oven and let it stand for about ten minutes before slicing them. During those time prepare the sauce; get all the juice and marinade in the pan, add some water witht the flour dissolved on it. Warm it up on the stove and stir it. As soon as it starts to thicken add the remaining butter. Pour this over your sliced pork.

Try my other meat recipes:
Beef Spicy Caldereta
Rolled Turkey Scalopes in walnut pesto
Beef Tagine in dry figs

And the winner is.......

Hey everyone! I know that I am supposed to announce the winner this Monday but I have a problem with my internet connection since Saturday. Anyways, I have high hopes that everything will be back to normal before Friday.

So on to the awarding: my panel of judges were all smitten by the entries and although they have their own personal favorite choosing the winner for them was indeed a big task. They decided instead to do a draw lots among the following finalists:

Omelette Sushi: Stuffed with Teriyaki Fried of Mochacholata-Rita

Pandatini of Glamah from Coco Cooks

Philippine Style Chicken Barbeque of EatingClub Vancouver

Whitefish on Celery Salad with Red Currants by Feeding Maybelle

Lavender Ice-Cream by Lubna

Blackberry Chamomile by Zita

and the lucky winner is,

Eating Club Vancouver

Congratulations! Please contact me for your home address where I can send my giveaway of Kid's Birthday Cakes Cookbook. I'll be sending some lavander and herbes de provence too from my garden.

I miss you all!! I'll be hopping around to see you all as soon as my internet is back to normal power :-)

Perfect Party Dishes Blog Event: the Round Up

Are you ready to party? Come on in!

Not so long ago, when I started this blog Mayumi was just a small cute little baby. Time fly so fast and I couldn’t believe my eyes that she’s walking now, uttering some few French and Filipino words (we are raising her bilingual). And now she just turned one! Whew! I could only think nothing but the best for her. So for her first birthday celebration I wanted something we would all look back and remember “Wow that was a great one!”. And this wouldn’t be possible without your help. She’s really been spoiled for this party because all the best, talented and generous cooks from all over the world helped out in offering us the best buffet table we could ever hope for. I hope you are wearing an expandable waist enough to accommodate all these yummy goodies. And don’t tell me I didn’t warn you. So,enough of the blah, blah let’s attack the buffet table!

Yay, finally here comes the round-up for my Perfect Party Dishes blog event.

First on the menu are these delectable Chipotle Bean and Barbeque Salad prepared by lovely Susan of Foodblogga. This is so creative because this can be a salad and dip at the same time. She’s truly one of the brilliant writer and photographer in the blogsphere. If you don’t know her yet, you are missing a lot of things. Thanks Susan for being the first one to send this fabulous dish.

Next on the menu, is Georgia’s inventive and delicious dish of Roasted Corn and Avocado Salsa. I bet you haven’t tasted anything like this before. It’s a perfect side-dish for practically anything! Meat, chicken or even with baguette it goes fabulous! Oh Kitchen, What wont you do?, is a girl power food blog co-authored by Georgia and Randi from Pensylvania. Go check them out!

The always ingenious Lore of Culinarty brought us some of these mouth-watering Cheese Tuna Stuffed Tomatoes. This entrée is both pleasant in the eyes and in the mouth, the fresh tomatoes perfectly blended with cheese and tuna. If you love her artistic and chef like touch on this dish you will definitely love her even more once you see her place and her original recipes.

Next on our delicious array of menu are these scrumptious Shrimp Toasts or Prawn Cakes made by none other than Tigerfish of Teczcape, one of my fave blogger. Every bite of these golden squares is a guaranteed goodness! His place is goldmine for lots of Asian recipes. Go check it out!

Next on the menu is a classic but an all time favorite party appetizer Homemade Sausage Rolls freshly baked from

Australia

by Silvermoon. She didn’t only bake us this delicious rolls, she also shared with us his cute little boy’s photo. Go check out how fun it is to cook with your kids and her very homely and creative recipes at Dragon Musings.

Next on our menu is this healthful bowl of Velvety Apricot Soup with Blueberries concocted by the skilful Alexa of Artsy-foodie. This dish is amazing for this could be either a soup sweet entrée or soup dessert. Be fascinated on how artfully she could turn simple dishes into master-pieces. I highly recommend to check out her site!

Next on our menu are these appetizing Hoisin Chicken Wings a sure crowd pleaser on buffet parties like this. This finger licking good appetizer is brought to us by Lalaine of The Cook Mobile, a professional in the field of dietary . To admire more of her cooking and baking prowess go drop her visit!

Next on our menu are these delectable Shrimp Macaroni Salad concocted by our generous baker Bunny from Bunny’s Warm Oven. If you are a passionate of baking you will definitely feel at home at her place for there are lots of yummy baked goodies waiting to be tasted there. Go check her out!

On to our next menu! The gorgeous Rita of Mochachocolata-Rita shared with us for this occasion this adorable and brilliant idea of Omelette Sushi: stuffed with Beef Teriyaki Fried Rice! Absolutely beautiful and delicious! If you want to enjoy more of Rita her yummy recipes and entertaining writing go check out her place! You will definitely love it!

Next on this array of delicious appetizer are the Potato Samosas packed with flavorful spices brought to us by Apu of Annarasa Essence of Food. And what's the great treat about this Samosas? Well they aren't artery explosing heavy on oil deep fried. They are simply baked guarding all its flavor in tact. For more inventive and delicious recipes don't forget to check her place.

Grab some of this, for I'm sure you have never tried something like this before! Take some of these savory Lentil Stuffed Baskets brilliantly concocted by Mansi of Fun and Food. For more inspiring recipes and healthy eating I recommend you check out her site. She brought us some dessert too but you will have to wait for that later.

Another delectable “amuse-bouche” you should taste are these wonderful Oven Baked Curry Puffs, baked by no less than Daphne of More than words from Australia. It has an unforgettable goodness that will linger in your mouth that you can’t resist to get another one. To enjoy more of her delicious culinary adventures don’t forget to drop by at her blog.

If you love open sandwiches I bet you will fall in love with the exquisite beauty of this Whitefish on a Celery Salad with Red Currants sent to us by Maybelle’s Mom of Feeding Maybelle from Ohio. That’s what I call originality beyond compare. To capture more of her creative recipes and snippets of her life go check her out!

I bet you’re all still hungry J Why don’t you grab some of these savory Pizza Pinwheels delicately made by the lovely Marija of Palachinka from Serbia. If you want to fall in love again and again with all her creative masterpieces, beautiful photography and yummy recipes do drop her visit!

How about trying some of this Savory Pepper Cake brought to us by lovely Ivy of Kopiaste. You will definitely enjoy the flavors of pepper, ham, turkey and spices with every bite of this cake. For more sumptuous and easy to make recipes go check her place out!

Of course for this event, I made some Melon Mint Gaspacho and Baby Zucchini Rosemary Crumble, two easy summer verrine appetizers perfect for party events like this!

Let’s take a short pause and enjoy these drinks…

Concocted all the way from Bangalore India, try some of this Strawberry Mint Soda by Lubna of Yummy Food. You will appreciate this drink for its sweetness and coolness. Well she is really generous and talented for this is not the only thing she brought for us. You'll discover them later.

We are indeed lucky because despite her hectic schedule the glamorous Glamah of Coco Cooks still managed to mix us up an original frozen cocktail of Pandantini. Imagine this; pandan sorbet, with coco cream and vodka! That’s a lot of yumminess oozing with booze. But consume this moderately guys! For more brilliant cooking and snippets of her life go check out her place!

Opening our Main course table, is this sumptuous Savory Vegetable Cheesecake concocted by the talented Jen of The Leftover Queen, one of the bloggers we all love and admire. A slice of this beautiful dish will bring you to seventh heaven! In case you don’t know yet she is the brilliant head behind Foodie Blog Roll and Royal Foodie Joust. For more mouth-watering photographies and recipes go check out her blog!

Next on the menu is a succulent dish of Asian spiced Pork Tenderloin with Apricot Sauce prepared by Joelen of Joelen’s Culinary Adventures. This is a lip smacking good dish that blends the flavor of something sweet and sour. If you are in for events, you’ll definitely enjoy her place for she’s hosting numerous events monthly.

Next on our menu is a comfort food and stomach filling goodness dish of Potato Gratin baked by Budding Cook. This is a dish truly French that we never fail to prepare during special occasions. Her place is home to simple and fabulous recipes with drool worthy photos. If you are craving for more, then you know where to find her.

Our next menu is absolutely fantastic! And don’t tell me I didn’t warn you. Our lovely Dee from Malaysia of Choos & Chew concocted this flavorful Soba with Julienne Vegetables and Tea Smoked Szechwan Chicken to feast on. Isn’t it amazing? I’ll bet that you’ll never get tired of watching and reading the unlimited prowess of this girl on the kitchen! Go check her site!

Next on our menu is the satisfying Oven Roasted Baby Potatoes, concocted by Iska of Iskandals. Roasted potatoes are always present on all types of occasion for they go well with almost all kinds of savory dishes. And of course we can eat it as it is. You’ll definitely fall in love with Iska’s talent both in cooking, photography and other things. Don’t miss it!

Next on our menu and will always have a space in my stomach are these jaw dropping, lip smacking goodness Philippine Style Chicken Barbeque made by tandem sisters from Eating Club Vancouver. I must admit that this is definitely the most good looking Philippine style barbeque I’ve ever seen. I’m blushing because just for my occassion they revealed their most guarded secret recipe for barbeque. Thank you ladies! Well, If you love chatting and good food go check them out!

And what could be a perfect partner for this barbeque is this In Hurry Coleslaw brought to us by Gay of Scientist in the Kitchen. You will be intrigue by the taste of this coleslaw for this is far from your usual slaw of cabbage. Gay concted this with jicama topped with her special sauce. For more delicious and creative ideas don't fail to check out her site!

Next on our menu is this satisfying Young Chao Fried Rice, deliciously concocted by Leslie of Beachlover’s Kitchen. Who can resist to the aroma of this freshly cooked fried rice with lots of shrimp on it? Truly irresistible. If you want to know more about the magical cooking and baking world of Leslie, go and drop her a visit. She has lots of great Japanese recipes!

Another delicious dish waiting for you is this heavenly Lychee Sake Pork Stir-fry cooked by the talented Manju of Three Tastes. Her rich multi-racial culture contributes to her brilliant and creative kitchen recipes. If you want to have a taste of Hawaii and what she's cooking, drop her visit at her site!

Next on our buffet table is this very original spaghetti of Danggit Longaniza Pasta delectably concocted by Kai of Sweet Bucaio from Pangasinan. Well Pangasinan is one of the best places in Philippines known for its rich culinary culture and beautiful beaches. Without a doubt this influenced Kai to blend dried fish (Danggit) and local sausages (Longaniza) on this pasta recipe. Drop her visit to know more of her gastronomic escapades.

For all the sweet tooth out there this portion is for you........

Next on the array of these delectable desserts to taste is this sensational Fruit-shi, Dessert Sushi prepared specially for this occasion by no less than Wandering Chopsticks ,the creator of Weekend Wokking. You will be intrigued by the appealing flavors of sticky rice, coconut cream and fresh fruits rolled up maki or sushi way. A beautiful taste your mouth will surely clamor for more. If you are hungry for more creative and mouth-watering recipes like this you know where to catch her.

The ever lovely and bubbly Deeba of Passionate About Baking, baked a sweet treat for all of us. She made these adorable Fruit Gallete Tarts a definite knock-out treat for parties. She deeply moved me with her beautiful post and memory filled photos of her kids. A visit on her site will surely make your day!

Next on our dessert table is this satisfying Whoopie Pie Cake, oozing with chocolate and lots of creaminess made by one of my fave blogger Adam of Baking with Dynamite. Girls, if you are looking for a perfect man; he is the one! Good looking, a retired bodybuilder (imagine that!) with lots of humor, and he knows a lot of stuffs too about calories and dieting. And the best part, he knows how to bake! Ok If you don’t believe me, just go and find for yourself. :-), he is just one click away.

Lubna of Yummy Food is truly generous for she concocted three delightful desserts both young and old will surely enjoy. Give some room for this appealing summer desserts Lavender Ice-cream, Chocolate chip Ice-cream Sandwiches and Lemon & Mint Sorbet. Aren’t we being too pampered? For more succulent recipes and photos go check her place out!

If you’ve already met your calories quota for the day; you will surely enjoy this next dessert on our menu for this is something light, fresh and very easy to eat. Grab some of this Toothpick Fruit Mix, beautifully prepared by Ching of Little Corner of Mine. Mom of two adorable kids, but despite her busy schedule she always manages to come up with appetizing and mouth-watering recipes on her blog.

If you are hesitant on having some calorific packed dessert you will surely say yes on this chocolate dessert that is still healthsome, Chocolate Covered Strawberries prepared by our nature lover Yasmeen of Healthnut. Some good things in life are just so simple! If you are in for healthy living and eating you will surely love her. Go check it out!

On to our next menu, which I guess I’ll probably only share half of these Baked Donuts for I’ll be hiding the rest for myself to enjoy alone :-) Sorry guys.. I wonder if Babe of Babe in the City KL (that means Kuala Lumpur) can read mind for donuts are my all time favorite. For more Malaysian gastronomical treats you know where to find her.

Next on our menu are these delightful Banana Muffins freshly baked all the way from Manila by Ning of Hearth to Hearth. Bananas are part of my great and delicious childhood memories so this sweet treat is truly match for this occasion. If you are curious to know about Filipino delectable recipes you better check her place you'll definitely find one you'll love.

Next on our array of mouth-watering dessert is Blackberry Chamomile Tartellette, baked by the talented Zita of Simplicious. This exquisite tartelette is definite crowd pleaser on parties like this. More amazing and beautiful recipes are waiting for you at her blog. Don’t forget to check it!

Next on our menu are these heavenly Carrot Halwa sent to us by Culinary Bazaar specially made by her mom. This is an Indian sweet treat of carrots, pistachios, cashew nuts and lots of spices. I bet you are craving for this now. For more uncomplicated and yet palate friendly recipes go check out her place.

Make way for these addicting and delectable Honey Ginger Crunchies flown all the way from Australia prepared by lovely Cakelaw of Laws of the Kitchen. If she’s not busy in the court it’s in the kitchen you will find her for cooking is her passion. So if you are out-of law or simply out of kitchen recipes to try, I suggest you contact her :-) , but she'll charge you free only for the latter!

Another delectable dessert to try are these Apple Tarts baked by the lovely Aparna of My Diverse Kitchen. And did I tell you that she made her puff pastry from scratch? And If you think that vegetarian food can't be delicious and good looking she'll prove you the contrary. So for more delicious vegetarian recipes you know where to go.

Next on our menu are these exquisite S’mores Cupcakes beautifully created by Amy from Tart Reform. If you look at it closely you’ll notice that it’s heavily laden with chocolate. Well we can forget about our diet just for this day! If you want to know more of Amy’s delicious adventures go check her place out!

Next on our menu are these exquisite Baklava Pistachio beautifully made by the talented Linda of Making Life Sweeter coming from Netherlands. If you have a sweet tooth like me you will definitely love her place for it’s all about those delectable and sinful sweet treats you could ever imagine. Go drop her visit and let your eyes feast !

I warn you to take only one of these for they are truly addicting and sinful. Espresso Kahlua Brownies, freshly baked by gorgeous Mansi of Fun and Food. She never runs out of creative ideas I'm sure you will enjoy her company and her recipes.

Next on to our menu, are these heavenly Cheesecake Brownies, beautifully baked by the talented Gertrude of My Kitchen Snippets. A bite of this will give you a piece of heaven with its moist and chewy like texture. To marvel more of Getrude gorgeous creations check out her blog, you won't regret it!

Next on the list are these delectable Jordan Marsh Blueberry Muffins brought to us by Wiffy of Noobcook. Who can resist to its heavenly goodness that lingers until the last bite. If you love good food and great photography you’ll definitely feel at home at Noobcook.

How about taking a slice of this enchanting Raspberry Lime Cheesecake prepared to us by Michelle of Greedy Gourmet. These are two flavors that blend perfectly well together. I bet you will crave for more. If you want to discover the delicious world of Greedy Gourmet you know where to find her.

And last but not the least, just perfect with our hot coffee....

And before sipping your coffee, grab some of this sinful Macarons Dulche de Leche prepared specially for this occasion by none other than lovely Gloria of Canela's Kitchen my best fried and my "sister"(that's how we call each other) all the way from Chile. She knows that my little girl loves milk so she prepared something even babies will approve of. If you want to discover more delicious and creative recipes from the "Queen of Dulche de Leche" you know that shes just one click away.

Isn't that buffet table spectacular? I hope you loved it cause I did!

I would like to send my million hugs and kisses to all the bloggers who participated in making this event a memorable one. You all guys rock!! I would like to thank too Liliana, Jodimom who send me recipes and lots of delicious ideas for my daughter's party. I hope I didn't miss out any entry. If I did please inform me right away.

I promised I will giveaway a prize to the lucky entry. My judges had a very difficult time deciding the winning entry because all the entries were really delicious! Well here's the judges choice for the finalists: