Chocolate Rolled Brioche and I am campaigning for me

Let's Rock n Roll, Chocolate ROLLed Brioche

Have you ever have that feeling you are jinxed.

Well you know I was born with a birthmark “balat” on my right leg (it’s actually hidden) and growing up I always hear people say it is unlucky to have one. When I was in grade school if it rains on a special occasion or if we would lose in school competition they would try to ask who has a birthmark and blame the circumstance on her or him. I have never been persecuted because I never told them I have one. I succeeded in hiding it among my friends until university days in our swimming class. But I am already a grown up and it’s easier to defend myself. Of course I never believed in that. Although sometimes I doubt if it’s really true.

Well you see, it’s been a year I needed to have my French documents translated in English to regain back my Filipino nationality. I asked a friend (another blogger who has gone through already to this) if we could meet up at her place so she could accompany me in advancing on this matter We are suppose to do it two weeks ago but every time something comes up. Last week the weather was so bad that I couldn’t bring my daughter with me since there was nobody to take care of her. So I ended up in canceling my rendezvous with her. When I called her last Monday, I told her nothing can stop me from coming today for this purpose. My daughter will stay in his grandparents’ house so even if the weather isn’t good it won’t matter. She left me a message last Tuesday telling me there will be a big transportation strike in our area and it might be impossible for me to go out. Roads will be blocked and there might be some detours. I told her no problem I’ll just ask my husband to bring me to her house thinking that no detours and roadblocks can stop me from doing this today. Guess what happened? When hubby went home last night he told me I won’t believe what happened. Our gas tank was empty and there’s no gasoline station open due to transportation strike and road blocks. I just abandoned for today and console myself by eating this brioche.

Beets, basil & ricotta Candy Ravioli in Orange Sauce

By the way, remember my Candy ravioli entry to Italy Magazine for their story and pasta competition (Italy Food Lovers Event: Spring Pasta Competition), well it is already up and you can start voting now. If you love that story and recipe, please vote for me. Or if you just love me, please vote for me here. You can check out other recipes and vote on this link.

Chocolate Rolled Brioche

550 g of flour, 100 g of sugar, 3 eggs, 150 g of fresh cream, 125 g of butter, a pinch of salt, 125 g of chocolate or you can use Nutella (depends on how much you want to put), 20 g of dry yeast, some sugar and one egg yolk for the crust

Dissolve the yeast in a small cup with about 2 tablespoons of warm water. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg with sugar, fresh cream, flour and salt. Mix well. Add the dissolved yeast on the mixture and continue mixing. Let the dough rise covered with a wet towel for a night. The next day work on the dough as if you are working on a “pate feuillete”. Form a rectangle and put the butter inside then fold twice. Using a rolling pin flatten the dough and fold this time in three parts. Put the chocolate in the middle and roll the dough. Let the dough rise again for about three hours. Cook for thirty minutes at 150° Celsius. Brush the surface of the dough with egg yolk and sprinkle some sugar on the top.

My Nutella is trapped inside...

Orange soufflé

« Daig ng maagap ang masipag ».

This is my mom’s favorite Tagalog proverb. This literally means «Quickness is better than hardworking”. I never believed her until yesterday when I tried doing an orange soufflé recipe. I have seen a lot of French highly acclaimed chefs giving tips on making this light and fluffy dessert; the way you butter your ramekin, the way you powder it with flour, the way you beat your white eggs, well all the right jest to make it rise (as soufflé means to blow up in French). And for the first time I followed the recipe to the letter. When I saw my soufflé bloating slowly like balloons in the oven, I got really excited. I saw them rise really high thanks to the help of the baking paper sheet I put around the ramekin to support it. And when they were done they look absolutely gorgeous.

I took them and put them on the table. I went to my room to get my camera but I couldn’t find it. As I was busy searching for it the phone rang. I took and answer it. Of course it’s one of those “exhausting” commercial calls (someone must have sold my phone number to these people for I get minimum of three calls per day). I tried to cut the conversation as fast as I could but you know how they are. I don’t want to be impolite after all. I hurried back to the kitchen with my camera and enthusiasm but to my surprise I was shocked that my soufflé have already deflated. I am really disappointed. I guess it pays well to be organized and quick.

I hope Helen of Tartellette will still love my Orange soufflé even they are deflated for I am sending her this for Sugar High Friday that she is hosting with the theme, citrus. This is an event created by Jennifer of Domestic Goddess.

Orange soufflé

for the orange reduction: half lemon, 10 g of sugar, zest of 1 orange (organic), 4 oranges

for the soufflé:5 egg whites, 200 g of sugar, and 1 tsp of Grand Marnier, 1 tsp of butter and flour for the ramekin, confectioners ’ sugar for dusting

In a casserole boil the juice of 4 oranges and half a lemon together with the orange zest. Wait until the liquid becomes thick. In a separate bowl whisk the white eggs and add little by little the sugar. Add slowly the reduced orange juice in the mixture and the Grand Marnier. Butter the ramekin and powder all parts of it lightly with flour. Shake off excess flour. Preheat the oven at 180° and bake the soufflé for about ten minutes.

"Orange is the happiest color"
- Frank Sinatra

Old-fashioned Clafoutis

A delicious old-fashioned way, Cherry Clafoutis

I don’t feel very well today. Monday blues? So I just decided to pen a letter to my grandmother.

Dearest Grandmom,

The weather in our region of southern France has not been so generous with a sunny weather for the past weeks fortunately that we have been solaced by the presence of all the big stars from Hollywood to grace the 61^st celebration of Cannes Film Festival. Anyhow, the constant rain showers have rendered our dry region with much greener and colorful sceneries. I guess no real reason for me to complain after all. And besides one thing that I couldn’t help but notice is the early arrival of cherries and melons in the market. Two of the fruits I enjoy a lot. Much to our surprise our cherry tree in the garden will be ready in two weeks time. But my impatience (you know me) drove me to gather some that have already ripen in advance of the rest and decided to make some Clafoutis.

Well this is a cherry cake that I fell in love with the first time I met him. It was love at first taste I would say. Although so many have tried making this cake using different kinds of fruit, but cherry still remains the best. Better to cook the cherries depitted for the pit gives that distinct flavor in clafoutis. Speaking of pitt, I think I’ll have to finish this letter soon because I heard that Brad Pitt has already in Cannes. I will try to get a snapshot of him and who knows I’ll be lucky enough to get an autograph of your favorite actor.

Until here and big kisses,

Hilda

ps, I'l be sending you the photo of your grand-daughter she has seven teeth now :-)
I'm sending this over to Cate of Sweetnicks host of this week's Weekend Herb Blogging an event for herb lovers founded by Kalyn of Kalyn's Kitchen.



Old-fashioned Clafoutis (grandmom's recipe)

250 g of cherries
4 eggs
60 g of butter
9 tbsps of sugar
5 tbsps of flour
a pinch of salt
half a cup of fresh cream or heavy cream (or milk)
3 drops of vanilla
1 pack of vanilla sugar

In a bowl cream the egg, with melted butter and sugar. Add the vanilla drops and salt. Fold in the flour and mix well. Put the heavy cream or the milk and mix until the mixture becomes homogenous. Let the mixture stand for about an hour. Pour this in the buttered baking dish. Then add the cherries. You can replace the cherries with other fruits such as figs, peaches, apricot or apples. Pre-heat the oven at 180° celsius and cook for 20-30 minutes. Ten minutes before the end of cooking top the cake with the vanilla sugar. This cake is better eaten warm with the crunchy and caramelized sugar on the top.

Get mesmerized...

He loves me, he loves me not, he loves me :-)

Beets, Basil & Ricotta Ravioli in Orange Sauce

Old memories new recipe.
Beet, Basil & Ricotta Candy Ravioli in Orange Sauce

Have you ever met a person that loves to collection things we might find unimportant but definitely a jewel for them? Well, my dad is that person.

Growing up us a kid, we've witnessed how he collectioned stones, pages of magazines, piece of woods, cartons or tin cans and his great favorite are the calendars. The one that he wants were not the ordinary ones for he has special preference for the ones normally given away as year ender's gift.

When I heard that Italy Magazine is hosting an event on Italian Pasta story, I knew that I need to share this one. This happened long time ago when we were still kids but the good and happy memories are still fresh in my mind. I still remember the day he went back home so proud of his newly acquired calendar. It was a calendar given by a bank that featured different beautiful sceneries of Italy and a bonus recipe at the end. He cut all the pictures and pasted it on his album and told us he may never have enough money to travel abroad but every time he looks at these pictures it will bring him directly to Italy. Poverty has never inhibited my dad to become optimistic in life. That night he tried cooking the recipe on the calendar. My sisters and I saw how he slaughtered the recipe; his ingenuity in the kitchen replaced too many Italian ingredients. Well to cut it short, his pasta recipe was totally disgusting. But we ate it and we were laughing so much teasing him. Oh, those happy childhood memories. Wonderful childhood memories are like oxygen of life. It rejuvenates us, it makes us alive

It’s been long time we wanted to bring our dad to travel to Italy for a vacation but his fragile condition has been holding us back.

Soft ravioli filled with sweetness and flavor inside

Until finally last year we decided for Father’s day to bring him to an Italian restaurant to enjoy that recipe he failed to copy long time ago in our kitchen. According to my sisters he was moved into tears. Was it because of the music serenading him? Was it because of the beautiful Italian ambience? He answered that it’s because he feels lucky to have wonderful children like us. And of course, the ravioli pasta was really really good.

Today is the 40th day since my father died. In our family the 40th day of the death is normally celebrated with a mass in the church and a small gathering at home to feast the day that the soul has finished its journey. It is normally the day symbolizing that the soul have already entered in heaven.

This ravioli pasta recipe is for you dad! Now you know why ravioli pasta is my favorite!

Beet,Basil & Ricotta Candy Ravioli in Orange Sauce

for the dough: 300 g of flour, 4 tbsp of Olive oil, one egg yolk, about half a cup of hot water, some salt

This is my own ravioli dough recipe. I normally use hot water as this help in making my dough more elastic. I mix all the ingredients in a bowl and add the water little by little. You can more or less of the water suggested. Use a ravioli maker if you have one. Or use a rolling pin to flatten the dough and make the shape you prefer. As in my case candy shaped ravioli , prepare about 5 cm by 6 cm rectangular shapes of flattened dough.

for the filling: about 150 g of cooked beetroots chopped, 1 shallot, half a bunch of basil leaves chopped, about a cup of ricotta cheese, 30 g of almond powder, 2 tbsp of olive oil, salt and pepper

I started by sauteing the shallots in about 2 tbsps of olive oil. In a bowl mixed all the ingredients; ricotta, cooked beets, cooked shallots, almond powder, chopped basil leaves, salt and pepper to taste. In the ravioli dough put about a spoon of the filling and seal each ravioli with an egg wash.

for the orange sauce: 110 g of butter and juice of 1 organic orange and its zeste

In a casserole bring to a boil your orange juice together with the zest over medium fire. Then add your butter. Stir the sauce until it thickens. Cut the fire.

I think she's so pretty she deserved a solo shot!

Who said that candies are always sweet they can be savory too....

One last bite for the road!

Lentils & Feta Salad

BONEfully yours, Lentils & Feta Salad

The wonderful Susan is hosting a meaningful food event campaigning against Osteoporosis thru Beautiful Bones. She wants us to recall that women have high risk of developing osteoporosis and we should take precautions at all ages.

I believe that this is a worthy cause and so I concocted a high protein and calcium recipe. I am not really a dietitian but I know that lentils have high nutritional value and health benefits for their protein and fiber content. Cheese is very important too in providing the calcium that we need to have stronger bones that is if we have aversion for milk. Before I met my husband I used to hate drinking milk and eating cheeses (that probably explain my height J). As the saying goes, “when in France do as the French do”, I eat slowly, I savor each meal and most importantly I eat lots of cheese. I think there is no secret to a healthy long life but good diet, exercise, healthy living and lots of happy thoughts.


I am sending over this photo too to Click, my favorite monthly photo event spearheaded by Jai and Bee of Jugalbandi. This month's theme are beans & lentils.

Lentil & Feta Cheese Salad
2 to 3 endives washed and cut
Half a bunch of arugula
Half a pound of cooked beet thinly sliced
Half a cup of cooked lentils
Half a cup of feta cheese sliced thinly

Dressing:

2 tbsp of wine vinegar
1 tsp of Dijon mustard
4 tbsp of olive oil
Salt and pepper

Combine the mustard, vinegar, salt and pepper in a salad bowl. Add the oil and blend well with a wire whisk. Add the beets, endive,lentils, arugula and feta. Toss well and serve. Makes 4 servings.

2 Awards, ooops I mean 3 and a Tag

With Cannes Film Festival opening today, I feel that there is no other day better to give away these two awards I got. But let me start with a tag.

One of my fave blogger Deeba, Passionate about Baking tagged me (and awarded me too) on my Top 10 Photo Picks from my blog. I thought I won't be tagging anyone but if I guess I would love to see the top ten picks of Oggi I can do that and Joey of 80 Breakfasts. Two Pinoy Bloggers whose work I admire so much.

I actually started blogging last year at the height of my boredom of being stock at home due to my delicate pregnancy. Three things preoccupied me: my growing belly, my laptop and my camera. Despite poor lighting and microscopic space here are my picks:

Stir Fry Noodles
Toblerone Molten Cake
Lemon Meringué Pie
Chocolate Mousse
Rock Salt, Pepper & Sesame Seeds Bread
Artichokes and Bacon Muffins
Nutella Tiramisu
Strawberry Sushi Crepes

I am deeply honored to be awarded the Yummy Award by two bloggers that I have high respect for. First by Ronell of My French Kitchen (a fabulous food blog of amazing photos and delicious recipes) and Deeba of Passionate Baker (see for yourself how gracefully she bakes her goodies).

So here goes my Yummy Awards:


First goes to guy power baking tandem Sunny & Sid of Big Boys Oven. I'm sure if you regularly visit their blog you know what I am talking about. I specially love love their Macarons...

Second goes to Marvin of Burnt Lumpia. I admire him for his tenacity in fusioning filipino inspirations in his cooking. His recipes always leave me breathless.

Third goes to Manggy of No Special Effects. I always tell myself he definitely needs to forget about being a doctor and just open up a restaurant. He is really talented. His writing is always so witty and funny. His photos always make me drool.

Fourth goes to Gabi of Feast Within. Her stunning photos and inventive recipes always make me hungry for more.

Fifth goes to Ann and Jack of Redacted Recipes. I always enjoy dropping by at their blog for delicious homely cooking garnished with lots of love.

and last but not the least Todd and Diane of White Rice Couple. I admire this couple for their beautiful photos, delectable food and entertaining videos.

I know I'm suppose to give five but I'm being generous and besides I really had a hard time choosing. There's too many of them.

And for the Second Award I got from a dear friend Gloria, Canela's kitchen and Deeba , Passionate about Baking, thanks to both of you and I'm hugging you back!



Susan of Well Seasoned Cook. You are one of the sweetest person I've ever known. Her blog is one of the best food blog I've ever seen.

Haze of Quio de Neuf. Thanks for always being there for me. I love all your anecdotes and stories of life!

My sincerest apologies to my favorite blogger Susan of FoodBlogga, who also awarded me the Blog Distinction award. She awarded me last April but I only learned about it today. She is one the blogger I regularly visit for her beautiful writing, photos and delicious recipes. I am so honored.

Thank you again for all the awards. I need to celebrate this!

Banana Nutella and Maple Syrup Bread

Hungry no more, Banana Nutella Maple Syrup Bread

A banana a day keeps the doctor away.

I know that it should have been apple a day, but growing up from a tropical country where there are tons of variety of bananas that exist (small, medium, large, yellow, red, green you can use your imagination, it does exist! ) and at an affordable price a kilo, It is hard to imagine a day without savouring the delectability of this fruit. At least in our family.

I remember when we were kids, at home bananas are so abundant everyday that we often get tired of it's taste. My dad would use all his power in the kitchen by concocting different banana recipes: banana tempura, banana spring rolls, banana ice-candy, banana choco muffins. But our biggest all time favorite was dad's version of Banana brown sugar bread. Really scrumptious!

When I heard that Nigella is hosting an event on Banana Bread, I know this is my time to share this recipe. Today is the deadline, so you can check out the round up now.

Banana Nutella Maple Syrup Bread

2 cups of flour
1 pack of baking powder (about 1 tsp)
a pinch of salt
50 g of butter
3 eggs
3/4 cups brown sugar
3 tbsps of maple syrup
4 tbsps of nutella spread (more or less depending on your chocoaddiction)
about 4 large over ripe bananas

In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, mix together butter, maple syrup and brown sugar until it becomes creamy. Fold in eggs and mashed bananas until well blended. Stir banana mixture into flour mixture; then add delicately the nutella spread. Put batter into a greased loaf pan. Bake for about an hour at 180°C until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. Let the bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack.

Feed your imagination...