My sister's after-Christmas party

Still catching up from last week: My sister threw an informal dinner party the day after Christmas and besides the pineapple teriyaki meatballs and the lumpia I've already blogged about, she had quite a spread.  Because I love taking pictures of food, here you go:

Freshly fried tortilla chips - totally addicting

Guacamole/salsa dip

Vegetarian version of pancit

Two types of shrimp in hollowed-out pineapple shells

Lechon (roast pork)

The lechon, cut up

Gotta have rice :)

My other niece got clever with the Kahlua Cake and made it to be like a wreath

And dessert, also a must have

We also had the veggie version of lumpia but I don't eat it so I must not have taken a picture of it, lol.

Old-Fashioned Chocolate Sheet Cake

Old-Fashioned Chocolate Sheet Cake - made December 22, 2011 from Chocolate Chocolate by Lisa Yockelson

I'm a bit behind on a couple of blog posts so this is a catch up from before Christmas.  Despite my earlier claims about keeping it conservative when it comes to recipe experimentation during the holidays, I have to admit I get a little twitchy if I go too long without trying a new recipe.  There's only so much of baking the same tried-and-true recipes I can do without feeling like my baking soul is being stifled.  There are so many recipes out there!  I can't imagine sticking to the same ones all the time.  But I do compromise around the holidays and take very few risks.

So when I do try a new recipe, I go with one that's almost certainly guaranteed to turn out.  As I've mentioned over and over, Lisa Yockelson's recipes typically fit that bill.  I needed a few more baked gifts for the last of my holiday lunches before Christmas and something to put in the freezer for my post-Christmas baked-goods gift giving so this was almost a no-brainer to try out.  A chocolate sheet cake that can be frosted, sliced, wrapped and stored is ideal for what I needed. 

The cake itself turned out great.  The flavor was nice and chocolaty, the texture was soft and moist.  Overall, this is a good chocolate cake recipe.  The only failure though is the frosting recipe I used.  It set too much too quickly, likely because I either used too much powdered sugar or too little milk (because I ran out) so it hardened to be more like a thin fudge layer rather than a creamy chocolate frosting.  Not that that is necessarily bad but I would've preferred a more traditional soft frosting.

2 cups bleached cake flour

1 ¼ teaspoons baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

10 tablespoons (1 stick plus 2 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened

1 2/3 cups plus 2 tablespoons superfine sugar

3 large eggs

4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled to tepid

2 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

1 ¼ cups milk

1.   Preheat the oven to 350⁰F.  Lightly grease the inside of a 9 x 13 x 2” baking pan with shortening and dust with flour. 

2.   Sift the flour, baking soda, and salt onto a sheet of waxed paper.

3.   Cream the butter in the large bowl of a freestanding electric mixer on moderate speed for 3 minutes.  Add the sugar in 3 additions, beating on moderate speed for 1 minute after each portion is added.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating for 30 seconds after each addition.  Blend in the melted chocolate and vanilla extract.  On low speed, add the sifted mixture in 3 additions alternately with the milk in 2 additions, beginning and ending with the sifted mixture.  Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl frequently to keep the batter even-textured.  The batter will be velvety.

4.   Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly.  Smooth the top with a rubber spatula.

5.   Bake the cake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes, or until risen, set, and a toothpick inserted in the center withdraws clean (or with a few crumbs attached).  Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack.  Spread the frosting on the cake, swirling it as you go.  Let the cake stand for 1 hour before, cutting into squares for serving.

Pineapple Teriyaki Meatballs

Pineapple Teriyaki Meatballs - made by my niece on December 26, 2011, recipe adapted from Food Network

Here's another good appetizer to serve at a party if you've got one coming up.  My niece made these for my sister's after-Christmas party earlier this week and they turned out beautifully.  Everyone loved them and they were gone before the end of the night. She made a few changes from the original recipe - noted below.

Flash fry to brown the meatballs for color

After frying, line on a baking sheet to prep for baking in the oven

She used Lawry's teriyaki sauce for the glaze 

After baking, spear with a toothpick and pineapple on top, squeeze fresh lime over all

1 slice white sandwich bread

1 1/2 tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon soy sauce (teriyaki)

5 scallions

1 1/4 pounds ground pork

3 large cloves garlic, finely grated

1 tablespoon finely grated peeled ginger (about a 2-inch piece)

1/3 cup water chestnuts, drained, rinsed and chopped

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1 1/2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

1/2 cup hoisin sauce
1/4 cup mayonnaise

2 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

3 to 4 teaspoons Asian chili-garlic sauce

Peanut or vegetable oil, for frying

Pineapple chunks (halved)

Lime

Toothpicks

1. Tear the sandwich bread into small pieces, then toss with the milk and soy sauce in a large bowl. Let stand 10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, mince the scallions.
3. Add the scallions, pork, garlic, ginger, water chestnuts, egg, cilantro, 1 teaspoon sesame oil, 1 1/4 teaspoons salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper to the bowl with the bread; mix until combined. Gently form into golf ball-size meatballs. Put the meatballs on a baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 1 to 4 hours.
4. Teriyaki sauce: Stir the hoisin sauce, mayonnaise, 11/2 tablespoons lime juice, the chili-garlic sauce and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil in a medium bowl. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. (Instead of making the teriyaki sauce, my niece used Lawry's pineapple teriyaki sauce and pineapple juice.)
5. Heat about 1 1/2 inches peanut oil in a large, wide saucepan over medium heat until a deep-fry thermometer registers 350 degrees F. Add the meatballs in batches and cook, turning occasionally, until browned and cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain. (She flash-fried the meatballs in hot oil , brushed with glaze then finished cooking them by baking in a 400 degree oven.)

Pictorial guide to making lumpia

Lumpia are Filipino egg rolls and I've posted a recipe for them previously but my mom and my nieces made them again for my sister's Christmas party so I took the opportunity to take step by step pictures in case anyone wants to see how to make them.  I think the recipe my mom uses varies slightly from the one I posted, mostly because she doesn't actually use a recipe but it'll get you close.  These are great appetizers to serve at New Year's Eve parties or any other kind of party as a crowd pleaser.

Make the filling mixture

Cut the original won ton wrappers into 4 squares

Place a small amount of filling in a log shape at one corner of the square

Bring up the bottom tip over the filling

Fold the bottom tip over the filling

Fold the left and right corners in like you're making an envelope

Roll the lumpia into a small log and seal the edges with a mixture of cornstarch and water

Line them up and cover with plastic wrap, refrigerate until you're ready to fry them

Deep fry in hot oil until golden brown all over

Drain in a paper-towel-lined colander to absorb excess grease

Enjoy (and workout before and after to offset fried foods :))

Florida Brownies

Florida Brownies with Nutella Crunch Topping - made December 17, 2011, brownie from Nick Malgieri's Bake! book

This is an easy post since I had already posted the recipe as the brownie base for the Almond Joy Brownie Bombshells.  I had a lot of batter leftover after making the mini brownie rounds for the base so I poured the rest into a 9 x 9 baking pan and baked it as a normal brownie.  I couldn't imagine giving it away plain though so I did add the nutella crunch topping to give it some depth and texture.  Once these set, just cut into squares, wrap the squares in plastic (I wrap two squares together to make one wrapped package) and put in freezer storage bags for freezing if you're not eating or giving away immediately.

Merry Christmas Eve!

Banana Bread - another easy holiday gift

Petra's Banana Bread - made December 17, 2011, the latest out of countless times

Got more holiday parties to attend between now and Christmas?  Need to bring something to the family gathering?  Need an easy hostess gift?  I don't know about you but most of the people I know, including myself, already have enough "stuff".  And even if they don't, you don't always know what "stuff" people want or don't want and you don't want to give somebody something they won't like or will end up gathering dust or end in the Goodwill pile.  Which is why I like to give consumables.  And if it's something they can freeze for later, even better, since, if you're fortunate, we're in the season of plenty, food-wise.  But you can't eat everything at once.  Or at least, you shouldn't :).  Which makes this recipe for banana bread a perfect and easy holiday gift.  Besides lemon bars, this is what I'm asked for most often.  This also freezes really well.

I use the same recipe I've always used since college and the only thing that varies is how much I make and how long it lasts.  Or doesn't last. When I went to Winnipeg for my cousin's wedding, I brought 4 batches of banana bread (each batch makes 4 small loaves or 2 regular loaves).  They might've lasted a day, maybe 2, not counting the loaves my aunt hid in the freezer to try and space out their consumption.  The last time I brought some to my sister's house, one of my nieces got mad at her twin, my sister and my sister's boyfriend because "they ate it all" while she was sleeping.  Guess that'll teach her to be the last one in the house to wake up when there's banana bread on the table.

There are many ways banana bread can go right and many ways it can go wrong.  Even though I've shared this recipe with everyone who likes the bread and asks how to make it, I still get a lot of "mine doesn't taste as good as yours".  Hmm, not sure what to say other than "but that's the same recipe I use".  Or maybe they would just rather I made it instead of them, lol.  I've made this recipe so many times I can probably bake it in my sleep and I rarely eat it myself anymore since I don't need to taste test it.  I made it again last weekend and had a taste - hey, it is pretty good :).  I'll reiterate the basic tips for good banana bread, regardless of which recipes you use.


Normally they should be even more ripe than these for banana bread

The bananas have to be really, really ripe.  As in to the point of blackened skins and banana mush texture that you wouldn't normally eat anymore, no matter how much you like bananas.  The ones I used this past weekend were still a little too firm for my liking and not quite ripe enough but I was out of time to let them ripen further as I needed banana bread for baked gifts I was giving away to church friends the next day.  So I made do. 

If you like chunks of banana in your banana bread, puree 2/3 of the bananas called for in the recipe, then mash in the remaining 1/3 with a wooden spoon.  That way you'll have part of the banana that is the liquid mush texture needed for the batter while still retaining some  banana chunks in there.  Some people have suggested roasting the bananas for better flavor.  I tried that once and it didn't work as well as I expected.  I think my bananas were either too firm (it's harder to roast softened banana mush) or I didn't roast them long enough for the caramelized flavor to come out.  I'll have to try it again someday.

I also don't like "stuff" or other flavors in my banana bread.  You should taste banana in banana bread.  Not nuts, not raisins, not cinnamon or nutmeg, nothing.  Heck, Petra's recipe doesn't even use vanilla extract.  It's just pure banana.  Which is one of the reasons I like it.

And of course, don't overbake banana bread.  You don't want to underbake it either since the bananas already add moisture to your batter and underbaking just makes it more gooey than is good.  Baking just right means the toothpick inserted at the ends come out clean but in the middle just barely comes out with moist crumbs.  If it comes out coated with batter, it still needs to bake some more.  This recipe has more of a cakey texture than a chewy bread texture so it's a little lighter than most quick breads.  The sweetness will partially depend on the ripened state of your bananas (the more overripe, the sweeter) so you may want to adjust the sugar content if you like it less sweet or more sweet.  I like to have the banana speak for itself so I might cut back on the sugar but I've never added more sugar than this recipe calls for.

The great things about banana bread during the holidays is 1) it's a year-round fruit so you can get good bananas almost anywhere and don't have to wait for it to be in season and 2) it's easy to bake in pretty paper loaf pans for gift giving.  I love these loaf pans because they're sturdy enough to bake in and are a good way to present mini loaves for gifts.  Not to mention no pans to wash after using. To use them, fill them halfway with your batter, place them on a baking sheet (don't crowd too closely against one another) and bake in the oven.  Once they're baked, let them cool, then wrap them in clear plastic or aluminum foil and put in a holiday cellophane bag with a twist tie.  Easy gift.

Marathon Baking Session - tips and tricks

Ready, Set....Turn on the Oven!

We're hurtling towards Christmas in a few days and I'm wrapping up the last of my baking gifts for pre-Christmas giving.  There'll be post-Christmas, pre-New Year's Eve baked-goods giving but I'll worry about that next week.  Last Saturday, I had a mini-marathon baking session.  I love those days and it's one of the reasons I do a lot of holiday stuff like decorating, sending out cards, shopping, and gift wrapping early - so I have time to bake during the holiday season itself and can get together with friends without worrying about how to "get it all done".

If you've still got massive baking to do for the holidays, here are some tips to manage the baking load.  The name of the game when you do a marathon baking session is to plan what you're making and once you turn that oven on, you want your products in and out in the least amount of time.  I don't believe in wasting energy and turning the oven off and on, depending on what you have to bake and how soon something is ready to go in.  Instead, I plan it so once the oven is turned on, it's always got something in it and there's never any downtime for it.  As soon as one thing is done, get the next thing in the oven until the last dessert is baked and the oven can be shut off for the day.

But before you even get started on baking, have a clean kitchen.  It'll clutter up soon enough once you start baking but start out with a clean work area.  While you should always clean as you go, you don't want to waste time cleaning it up in the first place.  Wash all the pans, cookie sheets, measuring cups, spoons, utensils and mixing bowls you need and have them ready.

Once your kitchen is clean, get out all the ingredients you need and group them by recipe.  This gives them time to come to room temperature if needed and also ensures you have all the ingredients you need for everything you're going to bake before you even crack the first egg.  This is your mise en place. If you need to make a quick trip to the grocery store because you're missing something, you'll know exactly what you need for all that you're baking that day and you won't have to interrupt your baking session later on when it'll be more inconvenient.

After you have your mise en place, prep the baking pans first.  It's the easiest thing to do and gives you some structure on the order things go into the oven.  If you have a lot of cookies to bake, get all your cookie sheets ready.  I like to line mine with parchment paper so they're easy to clean afterwards and the cookies don't stick to the pan.  I line square cake pans and brownie pans with foil, lightly sprayed with nonstick cooking spray, no matter what the recipe says.  It not only guarantees easier cleanup but you can lift your brownies or bar cookies right out of the pan, using the ends of the foil as handles.  This way you can cut them on the cutting board rather than in the baking pan.  Muffin tins get lined with cupcake liners ahead of time if I'm making cupcakes or mini panettone paper molds are lined up on a baking sheet if I'm using those.

At this point, the oven's still not turned on yet.  Before you turn it on, do the most time consuming tasks first.  My baking plan for the day included lemon bars, brownies that became both the base for the Almond Joy Brownie Bombshells and Nutella Crunch Brownies, banana bread, Nutella Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies and Diamond-Edged Melt-in-Your-Mouth Butter Cookies.  Out of all of those things, I already had the cookie doughs made and ready in the freezer.  The banana bread batter is quick and easy to put together so instead, I did the shortbread base for the lemon bars first.  While the crust baked, I mixed the lemon curd layer.

If you're making anything with nuts, those should go in first so you can toast them and they have time to cool by the time you need to incorporate then into your baked goods.  If you're making sandwich cookies, those should go in next, again so they have time to cool before you sandwich them with filling.  Likewise anything that needs to be frosted so they have cooling time before you frost them.  This isn't so much about oven management but time management in general.  If you're trying to keep a certain amount of baking hours throughout, plan your baking schedule to maximize the time you have in the kitchen while also keeping the amount of that time to a manageable level.  It's a bummer if you're so busy in the kitchen that you don't get to spend time with your friends and family outside of the kitchen because you're still baking. 

I baked the lemon bars off first so they would get the longest cooling time since lemon bars are messier to cut if they're warm.  While the lemon bars had their second baking with the lemon curd layer, I worked on the brownie batter  I wasn't done filling the mini muffin pans with the brownie batter by the time the lemon bars were done so I put a cookie sheet of nutella peanut butter oatmeal cookies in next.  Cookies are great to bake in between other things since the cookie dough is ready and they can go in at a moment's notice - just plop the dough balls onto the parchment-lined cookie sheet and into the oven they go.  If you have a limited amount of cookie sheets, it's also good to bake the cookies between other items so your cookie sheets have time to cool before you use them again.  Never place cookie dough on hot cookie sheets - they'll melt part of your dough before the baking even begins and cause more spread than necessary.

So that's how my afternoon went.  While something was baking, I was already mixing up another thing.  If I wasn't ready, I baked a sheet of cookies so the oven was always in use and none of the energy went to waste.  As everything baked, more and more of my kitchen was overtaken by baked goods in various stages of completion: loaves of banana bread cooling on a wire rack (they must be taken out of the pans to cool or else they'll steam and stick inside of the loaf pans), lemon bars cooling and waiting for the sprinkling of powdered sugar on top, brownie bases waiting for the coconut topping and enrobing in chocolate, cookies cooling, etc.  By the end of the afternoon, I had what I needed to give away the next day.  Then it was just a matter of packaging everything as gifts.