Hubby and my little girl love squid.  During one of our trips to a Japanese store last month,  my eyes zeroed in on packs of pre-sliced squids (not rings!).  I thought I that was my cue to make them something they’ll really like…Ika (Squid) Tempura.

Guess what, they loved it!  I’ve got some pretty predictable eaters here, I tell you!  And they are such a joy to feed.  Hee hee. ;)  Trading in cad drawings for a life as a domestic goddess is truly worth it.

As always, I turned to my favorite Japanese recipe book for the recipe…

INGREDIENTS:

squid (pre-cut ones or squid rings)
Note: You may, of course, use prawns or vegetables!

TEMPURA BATTER:

2 eggs
1 1/2 cups iced water
2 cups sifted all purpose flour

DIRECTIONS:

1.  Break eggs into a well-chilled bowl then add iced water.
2.  Add sifted flour.
3.  Make lumpy batter.  DO NOT MIX WELL. Loosely fold with chopsticks.  Batter should be a  mixture of dry flour.
4.  Pat the squid dry.  Coat with lumpy batter then slide into hot oil and deep-fry until golden brown, turning once or twice for even cooking.
5.  Drain excess oil on paper-lined plate or tray after deep frying.
6.  Sprinkle salt and pepper if desired.

I wondered at first why there’s no salt and pepper in the batter or why the squid wasn’t sprinkled with salt.  I learned just recently from one of my other recipe books that adding salt to squid makes them tough.  During a calamari recipe search, one thing all the recipes I found had in common is that the salt and pepper are added only after the batter-dipped squid has been fried.  It’s true what they say, we learn something new everyday. ;)

Instead of traditional tempura dipping sauce, I made two mayo dips: Spicy Mayo and Garlic Mayo.

Y’all have a great weekend!

*This is an entry for Lasang Pinoy, Sundays.  This week’s theme is “Seafood”.”

How can a chocoholic resist?  Well, a chocoholic can’t.  There’s just no point trying.  How can you when they look and smell so sinfully and irresistably delicious!  These are priced at $2 each and are approximately 2in x 2in x 1in in size.  But if you buy 4, you you get 2 free!  So we went all in and got 6 fudgy fudge! ;)

There’s an assortment of flavors and we made sure we got 6 different flavors: S’mores, Raspberry, Cookies and Cream, Mint, Caramel and Dark Chocolate.  $8 for fudge turned out to be a worthy spend.  They were so rich and yummy and just plain fudgy!  I dare you to finish one square in one sitting!  Hubby and I had to share one piece and take bites alternately.  We finish 3 of the 6 that night.  The rest, we saved for the next day. *wink*

S’mores and raspberry turned out to be our little girl’s favorites (and mine, too!).  After one bite, of these two flavors, she politely asked us to “save” them for her.    That’s her way of marking the two flavors with an invisible label that bears her name.  How’s that for fudge identity theft protection? Hee hee.

This is an entry for Lasang Pinoy, Sundays (La.Pi.S.) for the theme “Chocolate”.

I am sooo excited to tell you about my weekend, specifically, Saturday.  Last July 25th, my friend, Camille, and I had a joint birthday celebration.  We decided beforehand that we’ll have a small celebration with our friends and respective families after our real birthdays so we can relax and be stress free on our birthdays.  One other thing we agreed on is a “pink party” as pink is the color associated with breast cancer and both our families have been touched, to put it mildly, by breast cancer.

First, let me tell you about our birthday cakes, which I myself baked and decorated, and which became a source of frustration and eventually… redemption and satisfaction.  I chose Mocha Chiffon and Chocolate Chiffon for our cakes, both  iced with Creme Chantilly and which I originally planned to decorate with royal icing flowers.  I found out the hard way that royal icing and creme chantilly do not, read: DO NOT, mix.

I spent a good part of Thursday making royal icing flowers, the product of whipping powdered sugar, meringue powder and warm water for 10 minutes and more or less 3 hours of piping.  I couldn’t be disturbed, specially not by telemarketers offering auto insurance quotes and whathaveyous.

I baked the cakes on Friday afternoon and spent late Friday night upto the wee hours of Saturday morning decorating the cakes.  Decorating wasn’t all that hard as I simply attached the pink flowers to the cake.  Although, I did make two batches of creme chantilly for the cake fillings and frosting. I intended to focus on cooking my share of main dishes the rest of Saturday.  But the cake gods, unfortunately, decided to stir things up a little. *sigh*

When I checked on the cakes come Saturday morning, I noticed pink watery streaks on both cakes and a pool of pinkish water on the cake boards.  The flowers were melting!  I first tried to salvage the situation by wiping the pools of water and hoped  the cakes and flowers would hold up and make it in time for the party, which wasn’t ’til 7pm!  After lunch time, the cakes looked horrible as the flowers continued to melt and with a fresh pool of sugary water on the cake boards.

I was left without a choice.  I stripped both cakes of frosting and made two fresh batches of creme chantilly!  The first batch I had to throw away because I ended up over beating the whipped cream causing it to fall apart.  Murphy’s Law is a darned thing, I tell you.  And with the warm indoor temperature, in spite of air-conditioning, piping decent whipped icing flowers will be next to impossible.  I was whispering to myself to think, think, think!  I rummaged through the fridge and the pantry and found some fresh strawberries and candy sprinkles.  I also sent hubby to Wal-Mart at the very last  minute to get me  two bags of pink marshmallows!  With no actual cake designs in mind, I set to work using my new batch of cake decorations and ended up with this…

and this…

For the Mocha Chiffon, I used the large marshmallows to decorate the top of cake.  The small pink marshmallow, I used on the base.  I also added some red sprinkles on the cake, which were already starting to leave some streaks on the cake.  Remember: SUGAR AND WHIPPED FROSTING DON’T WORK VERY WELL.

I used the fresh strawberries and pink sprinkles for the Chocolate Chiffon cake…

I have to say, I was more pleased with the new cakes than the first ones. Hee hee.  Had I not been cooking main dishes at the same time I was having cake woes, I would have (and should have!) taken photos of the original cakes.  It turned out to be a very happy ending in the end.  The chocolate chiffon, I fear, needs a bit of improvement though. :D

Moving on.  In line with our pink theme, I made Pink Alfredo Sauce to go with my thin spaghetti…

It’s the exact same recipe you’ll find here, with the addition of a few drops of food coloring. ;)  I also made Pink Tapioca Pearls with Coconut Cream…

Other dishes I brought to the party were Beef Salpicao, Parmesan Crusted Wings, Halayang Ube (more on this in an upcoming post), Leche Flan and Lumpiang Hubad, a dish prepared by a “guest chef”. :D

My co-celebrant, Camille, prepared very yummy dishes: Lechon Kawali, Lumpiang Shanghai, Chopsuey paired with Fried Noodles and Baked Veggies, which I’d like to call Ratatouille ala Camille. :D  To counteract the sugar overload I provided, Camille prepared a platter of pineapples and strawberries.

Another friend of ours, Veronica, brought the most gorgeous cupcakes, which also had a touch of pink…

I told you it was gorgeous!  She also brought some of her uber popular Cream Puffs.

I hope you’re not hungry because here’s a complete slideshow (well, save for the cream puffs!) of all the food  from our pink birthday feast…enjoy!

After two months, I finally get to post where we had lunch of the most succulent barbecued meats on Mother’s Day. :D  I’ve been meaning to do this but I’m up to my neck with food posts that are still begging to see the light of day.  That’s summer induced laziness for you.  Hee hee.

No, this isn’t the Outer Banks.  This is the parking lot of The Salt Lick BBQ in Driftwood Texas, a good 38.7 miles away from where we live…a 52 minute drive according to Google Maps.  Yes, we drove that far for my Mother’s Day lunch.

The Salt Lick’s main dining room

For the longest time, Countyline BBQ has been hubby’s and my favorite as far as beef ribs is concerned and Rudy’s for moist beef brisket.  But friends have been raving about The Salt Lick being the best of ‘em all that we just had to give it a try.  Actually, there’s one that’s closer to our home (The Salt Lick at Round Rock), but I hear they don’t have a “barbecue pit”, which is a much raved about feature at the Driftwood branch and which you shall see in a while. ;)

This is The Salt Lick menu.  Take note, “CASH ONLY”.  No credit cards.  No separate checks. Minimum charge of 4.95 per person.  So you better be ready when you visit!  They do have an ATM so you won’t have to panic when you’re told they only accept cash. ;)

If you’re finicky about restaurant interiors and furniture, then you may have to think twice before you head over to The Salt Lick.  You’ll be sitting on wooden benches and eating on wooden tables, which have a very DIY (do-it-yourself) appeal about them.  I actually think the ambiance is quite charming.  Although honestly, I was afraid my daughter might not agree to sit on the bench.  Ha! :D

For starters, we had the customary bread slices.

The bread was all right, but I’ve definitely tasted better.  This isn’t their specialty after all.  Haha!

We wanted to sample as many of the meat choices as possible so we ordered a plate of Beef Ribs (the reason why we’re here!) only, and a combination plate of  (moist) Beef Brisket and  Pork Ribs.  When our first plate got to our table, there were sausage slices together with the beef brisket and no pork ribs in sight.  Oops!  When we called our server’s attention, he quickly brought us a plate of pork ribs.  So we had bonus meat for our carnivorous bunch!

The beef brisket is indeed moist, tender and juicy…a few notches better than Rudy’s.  I’m not a huge fan of sausages because they’re too peppery for my taste but I found the Salt Lick’s sausage to be good as well.  Each plate comes with cole slaw, potato salad and beans.  The potato salad was a winner!  My little girl liked it a lot.

And here’s the star of our lunch table, the Beef Ribs…

At first glance, hubby and I were just too giddy with excitement.  The beef ribs were huge.  But upon closer inspection, we saw that there was too much fat on the ribs.

Here, see for yourself…

Shiny shiny fat!  It’s heart attack on a platter!  When we told our friends about this later, they said we could have requested our server to replace the ribs with leaner ones…you know, ones that won’t kill us on the spot.  Oh well.

The beef ribs were succulent, yes, but they were hard to enjoy because with every bite, fat juices ooze out much quicker than the barbecue flavor.  Huhu. :(

I easily forgot about my beef ribs disappointment when I was invited to take close up photos of the barbecue pit when we were in line to pay for our lunch.  Woot woot! ;)

Go ahead, identify the different meats!  Here’s my favorite bbq pit pic….

This, I say, was the highlight of our Salt Lick rendezvous.  Overall, it was a pleasant dining experience for us.  But I doubt if we’ll make that far a drive again for barbecue any time soon.  Now that I’ve seen the famous bbq pit, I’d be very happy to just drive a third of the distance for some moist brisket.  I’ll give the beef ribs another chance, promise.

Have a great week, y’all!  Cheers!

Out of curiosity, we gave Freddy’s Frozen Custard a try a few months ago.  We never went back. :D  Nevertheless, I’d like to share our experience with you. Here’s what we had…

Shoestring fries – strips of thin and crunchy potatoes – accompany the meals  at Freddy’s Frozen Custard.  My little girl had the Kid’s Hotdog Meal…

Hotdog Kid’s Meal

As if the fries that came with our meals weren’t enough, we placed an additional order for Chili Cheese Fries – shoestring fries smothered with a generous amount of chili and topped with cheese.

Chili Cheese Fries

We must have been really starving when we went to Freddy’s!  Hahaha!  The Chili Cheese Fies was all right, but I did not turn into a fan.  I guess my tastebuds are more accustomed to the nachos and chili cheese combo. That or I’m simply a regular fries and ketchup kind of gal. :D

Hubby had the Original Freddy’s Steakburger – Single (available in single, double or triple)…

It doesn’t really take much to please hubby and me when it comes to burgers.  Just give us  moist and not so bland burgers and we’ll be happy.  A nice thick patty would be nice, too!  Unfortunately, the patty in hubby’s burger was on the thin side, which is probably why there’s an option for a double or a triple.  It was kind of dry, too.  Tsk, tsk.

I had the Chicago Style Hotdog Meal….

It was the first time I ever had a Chicago style hotdog.  I realized then that this particular style of hotdog isn’t for me. :D  For one, I’m not particularly fond of onions.  Two, I found the hotdog to be a tad small.  (Did I just complain about serving size?  Uh-oh, I’m so used to hefty portions already! :D)

For dessert, we ordered Chocolate Custard…

This was our meal’s saving grace, as it should, because after all, the fastfood chain’s name capitalizes on frozen custard and it was what lured us to this place.  I had a very different idea of frozen custard before this visit to Freddy’s.  I now know that it is gourmet ice cream which has more eggs added to the ingredients making it smoother and richer than ice cream.

I like places with the diner-of-old look, you know, the reds and whites, the stripes and the cozy booths.

There was one thing on the wall that caught my eye….

The caption under the photo reads:

“Freddy is pictured here standing in front of the General Doughlas MacArthur Memorial on the Island of Leyte in the Philippines.  Freddy was revisiting the scene on October 20th, 2004, marking the 60th anniversary of the historic battle which led to the liberation of the Filipino people. Freddy, with Troop A of the First Cavalry, landed in the first wave of soldiers approximately 6 hours prior to General MacArthur.”

If and when we do go back to Freddy’s, it may very well be to escape the Texas summer heat via frozen custards. Well, a side of regular shoestring fries might be good, too. :D

Last Friday, I decorated a cake (baked the previous night) which was a first in a number of ways.  It was the first whole fondant cake that I gave as a gift.  I normally present my friends with a quarter of a cake that I made for practice and taste-testing purposes. ;)  That’s what I did with my first two failed-attempts at fondant which you can read about here and here.

This is the first fondant cake that I decorated for an actual celebration, the 8th birthday of Kyle.  And for the first time, I will not rant about the flaws of this cake, which it has a number of.  ;)  Some of them you will see if you look closely but most of them, I was able to hide under the presents.  Hee hee. :P

In spite of the flaws, this is a cake I am quite satisfied with.  This is my first smooth-looking cake, compared to the two elephant-skinned ones I’ve made previously.  The design is a combination of two cake designs from the Wilton Celebrate with Fondant book -  “Gifts Up for Grabs” and “Rockin’ Wrapping”.  I was also inspired by a 2-tier cake that my Virginia based cake decorating guru friend, Sarah, made that had gifts all around the bottom tier.

In case you’re wondering, this is chocolate cake with chocolate frosting.  It took me more or less 6 hours to decorate, I’m most embarrassed to admit.  Hee hee.

There may still be hope for me after all, as far as fondant is concerned. *cross fingers*

Have a great week ahead, y’all!  Cheers!

As a post Mother’s Day celebration, my mommy girlfriends and I had a Girls Night Out (GNO).  It was just a movie night capped by a round of drinks at a restaurant/bar.  This is the drink I had…

…a Frozen Pomegranate Rita.  It is one of Z Tejas’ stronger margaritas.  And I have to say, it brought out the tisay in me. I’m blaming the alcohol, of course!   Hee hee.

For this week’s La.Pi.S. theme, which is”Pearly Shells”, I’m choosing shellfish.   Everyone in my family is a worshiper of seafood.  Tops on our list are shrimps, prawns, crabs, mussels and oysters.  Our cooking of choice is steamed, to better enjoy their natural flavors.  Grilled and boiled in a simple soup, as a method of cooking, come as a close second and third.

Some love baked mussels and oysters topped with cheese.  I’m fine with that, too. :D

All this talk of seafood is making me homesick.  Back home, fresh seafood is available practically all the time.  No need to settle for frozen.

Have a great week ahead, y’all!  Cheers!

I am a good 1-week late for Lasang Pinoy, Sundays’ “Fluffy” theme.  Well, better late than never. ;)  It’s a good thing I have photos of what a lot of people would consider a favorite breakfast fare, pancakes.

I rarely make pancakes without add-ins.  I usually sprinkle some chocolate chips or add banana slices to the pancakes.  But because we still have a lot of chocolates/candies left over from the various holidays (Valentine’s, Easter, and who knows what else?!), I thought I’d use them instead.  For these pancakes, I found several little packs of Mini M&Ms.

M&Ms make for more interesting pancakes, don’t you think?  Stack ‘em up, drizzle with your favorite syrup and top with butter.

Now, all that’s missing is a cup of freshly brewed coffee or hot chocolate.  Then again, some of you might want some bacon strips or fluffy omelet to go with the pancakes for that All-American breakfast.  Hee hee.

This week’s theme for Lasang Pinoy, Sundays is “Over the Top” and I have to say, this was one of the rare instances when I almost misinterpreted the theme.  My first instinct was to come up with rice toppings.  Then again, I thought, what if I’m supposed to come up with an over the top, meaning extraordinary, dish?  As it turns out, it’s rice toppings after all.  Whew!  Saved me a lot of time. :D

That said, all I had to do was just serve today’s lunch in a bowl.  So I give you, Arroz a la Cubana in a Bowl. ;)

Arroz a la Cubana was one of my first entries on this blog (November 2007).  I just had to smile when I dug into my archives and found it.  Click HERE and you will see why.  Aren’t the photos horrible?  Not that the new ones are not, but they are a tad better.  Hee hee.

Here’s the recipe…

INGREDIENTS

1 lb ground turkey (or ground lean beef or pork or a combination of both)
2 pcs. tomatoes, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons soy sauce (approx.)
1 – 1 1/2  tablespoons worcestershire sauce (approx.)
salt and pepper to taste
green peas (optional)
raisins (optional)

DIRECTIONS

1.  Saute the garlic and chopped onions in oil for a minute or two.
2.  Throw in the chopped tomatoes (or just add tomato paste).  Then add the ground lean beef and ground pork and cook until the liquid evaporates.
3.   Add several tablespoons of Kikkoman soy sauce and 1/2 or 1/3 the amount of Worcestershire sauce.
4. Season with salt and pepper if you like. I usually just add pepper and hold off on the salt.
5. Serve with fried bananas and fried egg on the side (or top!)

We don’t have saba bananas here but we had left over banana fritters from breakfast so that’s what I put on the side instead.  You may add green peas, but we didn’t want any.   Hubby isn’t a big fan of raisins so no raisins for us, too.

Not too long ago, I posted an entry on Sweet and Sour Chicken Balls which I served to Hubby and my littler girl as rice toppings.  But I didn’t want to do a recycled entry, so.  Anyway, I just thought I’d include the photos here just the same.

Munchkin Daddy Bowl

Little Munchkin Bowl

Happy Mother’s Day to all my fellow mommies out there!  Have a blast, ok?

Cheers and mabuhay!