Baked Ziti with Italian Meatballs in Tomato Cream Sauce

During the long weekend, I wanted to cook something different. I got inspired from what I ate in different restaurants and from my favorite cooking shows. It may seems daunting because of the many steps involved, but people could easily follow it. Here is my creation:

Ingredients:
For the Italian Meatballs
1/2 Kilo Ground Round
1/4 Kilo Ground Pork
1 Medium White Onion, finely chopped
3 cloves Garlic, finely chopped
1/4 cup Bread Crumbs
2 Tablespoons Fresh Milk
1 Teaspoon Liquid Seasoning
1 Teaspoon Pepper
1/2 Teaspoon Italian Seasoning
3/4 Teaspoon Salt
2 Eggs
4 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil

Pasta
1  400 grams Penne Pasta
5 liters Water
1 Teaspoon Salt

Tomato Cream Sauce
1 400 grams Crushed Tomatoes
1 250 grams Three Cheese Spaghetti Sauce ( I used Clara Ole)
1/2 cup All-Purpose Cream
1 Medium White Onion, finely chopped
4 Cloves Garlic, finely chopped
1/2 Teaspoon Pepper
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1/2 Teaspoon Italian Seasoning
1 Teaspoon Parmesan Cheese
 2 Teaspoons Olive Oil

Cheese Topping
1 cup grated Quickmelt Cheese
1/3 cup grated Parmesan Cheese


Procedure:

1. Cook pasta according to package directions (al dente). Set aside.
2. For the Italian meatballs, mix all ingredients together. Form meatballs according to your desired size. I used a medium ice cream scooper to make my meatballs all of the same size.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. (Or you can use an oven toaster, no need to preheat it)
4. For the Tomato Cream Sauce - Heat a large frying pan on medium-high fire. Once hot, add the vegetable oil. When the oil is hot, pan-fry the meatballs until brown on all sides. Set aside.
5. Heat a medium-sized pot (medium fire). Add olive oil. Saute onion and garlic for 2-3 minutes. Add the crushed tomatoes and spaghetti sauce to the pot. Mix in the pepper, salt and Italian Seasoning. Simmer (covered) for 10 minutes with low heat.
6. Add the cooked Italian Meatballs. Stir in the parmesan cheese and all-purpose cream. Cook for 3-5 minutes while continuously stirring.
7. In a large baking dish, spread a thin layer of the tomato cream sauce. Mix the pasta and tomato cream sauce with meatballs. Top with the quickmelt cheese and parmesan cheese. Bake for 12 minutes (350 degrees Fahrenheit) or until cheese is melted.

Happy eating!

Trivia: Ziti is long, narrow hose-like tubes sized smaller than rigatoni but larger than mezzani.

Dark Chocolate Champorado

These past few days, I have been looking forward to cooking and eating comfort food. Comfort food is like recovery food for me. So I'd like to share this recipe - Dark Chocolate Champorado. It's an upgrade of our childhood favorite breakfast. 

Preparation Time: 5 Minutes 
Cooking Time: 20 Minutes

Ingredients: 

1 cup Glutinous Rice/Malagkit
3 cups Water
1 Piece Round Pure Tablea de Cacao
3/4 cup Dark Chocolate, chopped (I used Lindt)
1/2 cup granulated white sugar
1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Milk (optional)
Chocolate curls for topping (optional)

Procedure:

1. Fill saucepan with water. Cook glutinous rice, stirring constantly until the rice is transparent in color and gooey in texture. You may add water if needed. 
2. Add Tablea, dark chocolate, white sugar and vanilla extract. Mix until the chocolate has melted and the sugar has dissolved. Serve in bowls, topped with chocolate curls and milk, if desired. 

Serves 2-3 persons. 

Review: Vanilla Cupcake Bakery

I have visited two branches of Vanilla Cupcake Bakery already - Trinoma and Glorietta 3. In general, the bakery is nice and comfy place. The interiors are a little bit whimsical. It has a certain feel of "Alice in Wonderland." It's a perfect place for people to have tea time or for kids to "play tea." It brings you back to your childhood. 

The Trinoma branch is located in the middle of the second floor near the Mindanao Wing. It is a bit noisy here, since you can hear the throng of people walking/rushing in. There is no real privacy to talk here. It has a limited seating capacity. Maybe that's why they built a new and bigger branch in Trinoma near the gardens. Though I have not visited this new branch in Trinoma, I like the Glorietta 3 branch better. You have more privacy here. There is more space, more chairs and even has its own comfort room. 

From the serving platter, water goblets, pitchers, glass jugs, and down to paper straws, these made their products more dainty and pretty to look at. I must admit I have reservations on food that are too pretty. I have this notion that most of the beautiful and perfect pastries are usually just pretty to look at and not really yummy. 

Their cupcakes and drinks were decorated and presented beautifully. I was in for a surprise. Their goodies tasted really good. They proved me wrong this time around. The cupcakes are moist. The icings have just the right amount of sweetness. It has a wide variety of cupcakes, from nutty, chocolate, cheesecakes, fruit-based cupcakes, pretty pastel frosted vanilla cupcakes, and coffee-based cupcakes. There is a cupcake for everyone. 

My son, Joaqui, loved it here. He wanted to try the different whimsical chairs in the bakery. He finished his chocolate cupcake so fast. If he really liked his food, he would finished it in five minutes or less. He was even offering me to try his cupcake because he said that it was really yummy. 

Vanilla Cupcake Bakery is a family-friendly cafe too. There are a lot of choices for kids and adults. They serve non-caffeine drinks. Our favorites are Smore's and the Very Vanilla drinks. It is a nice place to meet your girlfriends here for an afternoon tea or this could be the dessert/coffee place after lunch/dinner. It is a perfect lounge area for they have free WIFI too. Kids and adults will be entertained here, since they have an open kitchen where you can see and learn how they frost the cupcakes. 

This is a welcome addition to my family's list of favorite places.  =)

Note: The first four photos were taken from the Glorietta 3 branch and the succeeding photos were from Trinoma branch. 

Sticky Rice aka Biko

I have always wanted to learn how to prepare a native delicacy. I want to help in preserving Filipino heritage and family tradition by sharing valuable recipes. When we were kids, my mom used to cook the following native desserts for us: biko, maja blanca, leche flan and ube halaya. I remember that we took turns in stirring these various mixtures. it took a lot of time, effort and love to prepare them. 

I'm glad that my Auntie Becky, my dad's sister (a Kapampangan), taught me how to prepare this sticky rice. Even if she has migrated to the land down under for more than two decades, she still remembers how her mother (my grandma) cooked the sticky rice. 

Thank you, Auntie Becky for helping me on this one. Indeed, food creates wonderful memories for us. 

Let me share this recipe:

Ingredients:

2 cans coconut milk (400ml/can) or extract milk from 3 coconuts to get 3 1/4 cups of coconut milk or 800 ml of coconut milk
! can condensed milk (330 ml)
1 1/4 cup muscovado sugar
1 kilo of sticky rice (malagkit)
6 cups of water

Procedure:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Celsius. 
2. Wash the sticky rice. Pour it in a big pot, and add 6 cups of water. Let it boil, and stir a little to prevent it from sticking to the pot. Cook until the water is just absorbed (half-cooked). Turn off the heat, and set aside. 
3. In a bowl, mix the coconut milk and condensed milk. Pour half of the mixture into a saucepan and add the sugar. With medium fire, cook until the sugar is melted and the mixture is slightly thick (caramel). 
4. Mix the caramel mixture into the sticky rice. For the caramel to be evenly distributed, divide the caramel mixture into two, add half of the sticky rice to pan of caramel. Then, add the remaining mixture and sticky rice. Stir well. 
5. Transfer the sticky rice into 2 (8 x 12) pan. Flatten the rice and top it with the half of the coconut milk and condensed milk mixture. 
6. Bake the sticky rice for 45 minutes or until the topping is golden brown. 

Enjoy!

REVIEW: The Royal Touch Gourmet Cupcakes @ SM Aura Premier

My son, Joaqui, was bugging us to visit the newest mall in town - the SM Aura Premier. He had seen and read the advertisement of this mall in a newspaper. He wanted to check for himself if it was really big and what it has to offer. Finally, we relented after two weeks of begging from him. 

It was a moderately sized mall.  It looks the same as SM Annex, but only taller, much more sophisticated, and has more stores. It was around in the afternoon when we got inside. It took us more than 45 minutes to park. Right away, we started to look for a cafe or restaurant where we can sit and order. Since it was a Sunday, almost all of the restaurants/stalls were full, and few  were opened yet. We decided to try a new cafe that is located only in SM Aura Premier.

The Royal Touch Gourmet Cupcakes, situated in the Lower Ground Level, has a nice ambiance. It is very elegant. The interiors definitely caught our attention. The chairs are comfortable, inviting us to really lounge and stay there. We wanted to check their menu so we could decide what to order. But the manager explained that they're on a soft opening so they don't have yet a menu. So we just asked her recommendations, their best sellers. We ordered the Cappuccino and Blueberry Cupcake (one of their best sellers) for me and Chocolate Cupcake with Choco Ganache for Joaqui. 

The cupcakes were served in elegant porcelain plates. It felt like we were really having an English tea party. It looked perfect. But the taste was a different matter. My son loves chocolate cupcakes, but was not able to finish this one. I tried it. The choco ganache icing was good, but the cupcake was not that moist. The former was not rich nor dense at all. It was more of a light choco cupcake. When I tried my order, I was really disappointed. It tasted more like a muffin for me. It did not have the sweetness of a cupcake. It had the texture more of a quick bread or muffin. It did not have the tender crumb that I was looking for. The presentation of the cupcakes was really cute, but they need to improve the taste of their cupcakes. 

We were almost done with the cupcakes when my cappuccino arrived. It took two follow-ups before my coffee came. The manager took note of that and apologized for the late delivery and explained again that they're just on soft opening. I saw that the other and late coffee orders were made before mine. Finally, I had my coffee. It look like cappuccino, but upon scooping the foam. I realized that it was just a thin milk foam. It was more of a latte. I tasted it. It was a latte. A big let down. Having been a real coffee addict and with a barista training on hand, I told them that I was not happy with my cuppa, a cappuccino should have three layers: a shot of espresso, 1/3 steamed milk and 1/3 foamed milk. In my cup, there was only a thin layer of foamed milk, about a tablespoon only. The manager apologized profusely and explained again that it was just on a soft opening. 

It was just a nice place to sit. But will we go there again? Maybe when they have improved their cupcakes and coffee. 

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PASTA VONGOLE

I've been meaning to cook a version of this, ever since I've tasted this pasta in an Italian restaurant in Tagaytay. Since I was able to buy fresh clams today at Centris Sunday Market, I had the perfect opportunity to prepare this one. 

A bit of background on this, "Vongole" is the Italian word for clams. This pasta dish is simply spaghetti and clams. You can prepare this dish in two ways: with tomatoes (in rosso) and without (in bianco). For my version, I like it without tomatoes. Others like to cook this too with cream or with white wine. Considering the low fat and high fiber 1400 calorie diet imposed on me by my Endocrinologist (due to hypothyroidism), I decided to forego the cream and white wine. 

It's yummy and light too! It's perfect for people who are in a diet. Following a diet does not necessarily mean that you'll eat bland food. It all boils down to choices, moderation and variety. This is one example of good food for health-conscious people. 

Also, if you're tied of eating tomato-based pasta, cream-based pasta or the olive oil-based pasta, try this recipe for a change. 

Buon Appetito!

Ingredients:

500 grams Spaghetti or Spaghettini
1 teaspoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil 
1 kilo fresh clams
150 milliliters or or about 2/3 cup chicken stock or water
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup arugula, finely chopped
3 tablespoon parsley, finely chopped
Salt & Pepper


Procedure: 

1. Cook pasta according to package directions (making sure that it's cooked al dente). 
2. In a pan (using medium fire), saute the garlic in extra virgin olive oil for 2 minutes 
3. Add in the clams and cook until the shells open. 
4. Pour the chicken stock or water in the pan and let it simmer until the liquid is reduced to half. Season with a dash of salt & pepper. 
5. Add the Parmesan cheese.
6. Take the pan off the heat and add the parsley. 
7. Mix the clams with the pasta and top off with arugula. 
8. Top the pasta with extra Parmesan cheese if desired. 

Scrapped Ham Frittata

Food certainly brings back happy memories for many people, including me. My mom usually cooked this dish a day after Christmas when we had lots of leftovers. Since my sister gave me scrapped ham, I decided to cook the Scrapped Ham Frittata  so that my son would  get to taste and appreciate my mom's legacy. 

Scrapped ham is definitely tastier than the usual ham slices. It's great on its own, but more sumptuous with potatoes and eggs. 

And I was right! Joaqui loves this meal. I hope you'll enjoy this recipe too. 

Ingredients:

3/4 cup Scrapped Ham, diced
2 small or 1 medium size potatoes, diced

2 small tomatoes, diced
1 small onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, crushed & finely chopped
4 large size eggs
1 tablespoon Fresh Milk
1 tablespoon Mayonnaise
Salt & Pepper
3 tablespoons Vegetable Oil 

Procedure: 

1. Heat a non-stick pan under a medium fire. Once the pan is hot, pour 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil. Once heated, fry the diced potatoes. Cook until the potatoes are golden brown. Remove from fire and transfer the potatoes on a plate lined with paper towel to drain the excess oil. Set aside. 
2. Separate the egg whites from the yolk. In a medium size bowl, whip the egg whites until foamy (the bubbles are small). Whisk in the yolk, mayonnaise, milk, salt & pepper. Set aside.
3. Heat a non-stick pan under a medium fire. Once heated, add the remaining oil and swirl the pan a little to make sure that it is well coated. Saute garlic and onion. Season it with a little salt and pepper. Once the onions are translucent, add in the tomatoes to the pan. Cook for 2-3 minutes. 
4. Add the scrapped ham and saute for 2-3 minutes. Stir in the potatoes. Spread out the ham & veggies to cover the surface of the pan. Using a very low heat, pour the whisked eggs over the ham & veggies. 
5. Cover the pan with a big plate or an aluminum foil to cook the top portion of the frittata. Cook for 5 minutes or until the tiny bubbles disappear. 
6. Slide the frittata into a serving platter, slice and serve. 

Enjoy!!1