Get some limes, too, and make yourself a margarita.

The party was great, people had fun, and the margarita was smooth. I wasn’t able to fulfill the marathon part of the blogathon but was able to raise some money for the Greater Vancouver Food Bank Society — a huge THANK YOU to my sponsors. I was posting during the party on my iPhone but kept getting errors, and afterwards with a whole day of cooking in the kitchen and an afternoon and evening of entertaining, my body just couldn’t take it anymore. I will make it up to you, dear sponsors. Please bear with me.

Thanks once again!

I have had several requests from friends to make cream puffs but kept putting it off (for almost a year!). I procrastinated until I found one more reason to: being featured on the Julie & Julia movie website, quite a compliment to foodies like us. I thought that made perfect sense. Waiting is a good thing, I tell myself…

It physically hurt me to take photos and wait patiently before devouring these.

…until I realized that I have been without cream puffs in my life for such a long time, and it all went downhill from there. Sensible eating begone as I questioned why I kept popping one puff after another into my mouth, and at the same time not really thinking about it. Don’t you have those moments? I can’t even tell you how many I’ve eaten, because I don’t know. A few friends were lucky enough to sample these, and God bless them for saving me from making a complete a Puff-woMan of myself (get it, Pac-Man?).

The cream filling I made is almost like Bavarian Cream. I can make an excuse that this is "healthier" than deep-fried donuts. A tiny bit? Right?

My history with cream puffs go all the way to when I was a very young child of six or seven. My mother (‘Mama’), once an avid baker, had three specialties: brownies with sticky and nutty tops, fruit tarts and cream puffs. [For all these, she used recipes by Nora Daza, quite possibly the Julia Child of the Philippines.] My mom even got orders for her baked goodies at school. I have vivid memories of our dining room looking like an assembly line of baked goods. Like pets waiting for their treats, us siblings hounded the table for the bowl and spatula leftovers of brownie batter, custard for the tart and the cream for the puffs. I was Mama’s Little Helper: from pressing the tart dough onto the metal molds to evenly placing the fruit pieces on the tarts’ custard, but when it comes to the cream puffs it’s an All-Mom Turf. Nobody messes with my mom’s cream puffs. On weeknights when she baked them for the school, I would finish off my homework early so I watch her as she carefully shaped each little mound of paste with her orange mechanical pastry bag (like this one). The craft fascinated me. The next morning she would be dressed up for work early and already filling the baked puffs (that’s already been glazed with caramel) with cream by the time we woke up to shower and get into our uniforms. Then she would drive us to school and I would be at the backseat with the big responsibility of keeping the army of brownies, tarts, or puffs nested in paper cups on pans from sliding off during the drive. Sometimes I would be allowed to eat one. I can still remember everything like it was yesterday. Come to think of it, a lot of my childhood memories include food.

You’d think that I had been baking since I was young all the way to Gourmeted.com. I didn’t. I’m a late-blooming cook/baker, like Julia, and had no interest whatsoever in anything that has do with the kitchen until my late twenties (I’m turning 31 next week). I have always enjoyed eating, though. :-)

As an homage to my two worlds of the East and West, I made cream puffs ala Julia & Nora. Also, as an homage to my mother, Mother of Cream Puffs (hehe) – it’s my mom’s birthday today!

Happy birthday Mama!

Now onto the recipes…

Julia, in Mastering the Art of French Cooking, described choux pastry/paste or pâte à choux [pronounced paht ah SHOO, literally translates to "cabbage paste" as when made to the original method it resembles the vegetable] as a very, very thick white sauce into which eggs are beaten, which make the paste swell when cooked. It can be used for hors d’oeuvres when mixed with cheese, or for desserts as cream puffs when sweetened with sugar.

L-R: Cream Puff, Cream Puff with Blueberries (aka Blueberry Monster), Chocolate Dipped Cream Puff

Julia Child’s Pâte à Choux
Adapted from the book, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Vol 1 by Julia Child, Louisette Berthole, and Simone Beck

Ingredients (makes 36-40 small puffs)

• 100 grams unbleached all purpose flour, sifted
• 1 cup water
• 5 large eggs, divided (1 beaten in a small bowl, for egg wash)
• 3  oz or 6 tbsps butter, cut into pieces; plus extra for greasing the baking sheets
• 1 tsp salt
• pinch of nutmeg
• Extra butter to grease the baking sheets and 1 egg, beaten,

[Note: Julia suggested adding 1 tsp of sugar and reducing the salt to a pinch for dessert puffs. I opted to use salt as above to contrast with the sweetness of the cream filling.]

Preparation:

1. Boil water, butter and seasonings in a 1.5-quart heavy bottomed saucepan.

2. Remove from the heat and quickly mix the flour in one go. Stir vigorously and blend thoroughly. Continue to stir over med-high heat for 1 to 2 minutes, until the mixture separates from the sides of the pan forming one mass, and it begins to film the bottom of the pan. Remove from heat.

3. Create a well in the middle of the paste and break an egg into it. Stir for a few seconds until the egg is incorporated and continue to add the rest of the eggs in the same manner. The third and fourth eggs will be absorbed more slowly. Mix until smooth.

4. Preheat oven to 425°F with one rack placed on the upper third of the oven and another in the lower third. Prepare two baking sheets by rubbing butter on the baking surface.

5. To create small puffs: You can drop the paste on the baking sheet with a spoon or pipe with pastry bag (with 1/2-inch round tube opening) into mound about an inch in diameter and half an inch high, 2 inches apart. Dip a pastry brush into the egg wash and lightly tap each mound with the side of the brush. Avoid dripping down the puff and the sheet, because that prevents the puff from rising.

6. Place the sheets in the preheated oven, one on each rack, and bake for about 20 minutes, or until they puffs have doubled in size, become gold brown, and are firm and crusty to the touch. Take them out of the oven. Using a sharp knife, pierce the side of each puff to prevent the crusty outside from getting soggy. Return the baking sheets to the now turned off oven, with the door ajar, and leave for 10 minutes. Continue to cool the puffs on a cooling rack.

Freezing unfilled puffs: Wait for the puffs to completely cool before freezing. Just place in ziploc bags. Warm it up in a 425°F oven for 3 to 4 minutes to thaw and crisp before serving. When using a toaster oven for a few pieces, 400°F for a minute or two does the job as well.

Cream Filling
Adapted from Let’s Cook with Nora by Nora Daza

• 1/3 cup sugar (you can increase to 1/2 cup if you like it really sweet)
• 1/3 cups all purpose flour, sifted
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 cups milk
• 2 eggs yolks from large eggs, placed in a bowl
• 1 tsp vanilla

1. Combine flour, salt and sugar in a sauce pan. Blend in milk and stir until most of the lumps have dissolved. Using a whisk helps.

2. Cook in medium heat, stirring until it boils. Boil for 10 minutes then remove from heat.

3. In a separate bowl, stir half the heated mixture into the egg yolks. Mix well before adding back to the saucepan. Stir until well blended.

4. Cook on low heat for 10 minutes or until the mixture coats teh back of a spoon.

5. Cook the mixture and add vanilla.

To fill the puff shells: You can slice the puffs horizontally in half and spoon the cream into each, or you can use a pastry bag to puncture and fill each shell.

Dust with confectioner’s sugar, dip in chocolate, add fruits if you like. It’s all up to you!

For those of you who have been put off by the thought of making cream puffs because they are hard to make, don’t be! They’re not. They’re very easy to make, just take it one instruction at a time. Hands-on time for the puffs was probably 15 minutes or 20 minutes tops. You’ll be a pro in no time. :) Enjoy the recipes. Please let me know if you try them.

A few weeks ago, I received an email invitation from Kristen Tarnol (on behalf of the marketing team for Columbia Pictures) to participate in the Julie & Julia movie’s “Blog of the Day” program. To be honest with you, at first I did not think it was real. “As in T-H-E Julie & Julia movie with Meryl Streep and Amy Adams about Julia Child (and Julie Powell)?…!…?” was all I could say to myself. Surely this was some kind of joke or a mistake. I was in disbelief until I received another email from her. [Sorry, Kristen!]

Unlike some of the few other bloggers featured, I grew up in the Philippines without having Julia Child on TV, not seeing Julia’s cookbooks as her mother’s or grandmothers’ go-to cookbook, or even knowing who she was until later on. And I mean, later on after my mid-twenties. Here I am, a fairly new cook who avoided the kitchen for most of her life, then decided to have a food blog that is now being featured on quite arguably the most awaited foodie movie of the year. How could this be? Tickled pink doesn’t even begin to describe it.

For those who are not familiar with Julia Child, she was an American chef who introduced French cooking to the American household. She wrote what would become a classic cookbook, with all the basic cooking techniques and recipes for the home cook:

The first volume was published in 1961; no not the one above, it’s a 1973 ed. To ‘celebrate’ being Blog of the Day, I decided to bake choux pastry puffs using Julia’s recipe.

They came out perfect from a recipe older than I am. As she said in her book, “A perfect puff is firm to the touch, tender and dry to the taste.”

She continues:

“Hot puffs will seem perfectly cooked when taken from the oven, but, if left as they are, they will become soggy as they cool because there is always an uncooked center portion that gradually spreads its dampness to the outside crust. To prevent this sad effect, small puffs are punctured to release steam; large puffs are slit, and often their uncooked centeres are removed. This is actually the only secret to puff making.”

Rarely do I fall in love with a cookbook’s text, but Julia’s is right up there. It’s very accessible, clear, easy to understand without being dumbed down, and with a little bit of mischief I would say. If you have seen some of her shows (a quick YouTube search will do the trick), you can see what a fun character she is!

I can’t blame Julie Powell for attempting to cook all of her recipes. How fun is that and why the hell didn’t I think of it? Haha. That’s what her book and the movie is about — the true story of Julie cooking her way through Julia’s 1961 book. A “deranged assignment” indeed, but what an adventure!

Meryl Streep plays Julia Child and I think she makes a great Julia: a six-foot-two-inch Mrs. Child, who’s still admired, loved and honored by home cooks and chefs alike. And because of the movie, perhaps even the masses.

I cannot wait till it’s out! I’d love to see how they portrayed Julia Child, the cooking legend and cultural icon. Watch it with me on August 7.

I’ll post the recipe for the choux pastry tomorrow. You’ll have to wait. :-)

P.S. As I’m about to publish this, Martha Stewart’s Cookie of the Day email came in and guess what it is? Cream Puffs.

Hello Friends! I’m doing this year’s Blogathon on July 25 and blog every 30 minutes for 24 hours to raise money for the Greater Vancouver Food Bank Society. If you are able, please sponsor me and make a donation pledge.

Butter. I love it and there’s no denying it. When I was really, really young, vegetables (snow peas, carrots, green beans and corn) cooked in butter and served with a sprinkle of salt blew my mind. These days I enjoy adding butter to meat and fish. It makes everything much better, just like bacon. I think they’re siblings.

Here, instead of frying basa fish, I baked it in butter:

Oh, and it was so good with the coconut rice!

Baked Basa Fillets in Garlic and Butter

Ingredients:

• 2 fillet slabs of basa fish (mine was 1.4 lb in total), or any white fish of your preference
• 3 tbsp butter, melted
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp fresh ground pepper
• 2 tbsp chopped garlic
• 1/2 a lemon, cut in 1/2
• a handful of cilantro, roughly chopped, for garnish

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.

2. In a baking dish, mix the butter, garlic, salt and pepper. Place the fish fillets into the mixture, and then turn them so both sides are coated. Cover the dish with aluminum foil.

3. Bake for 10 minutes, then take out of the oven and turn off the heat. Squeeze the lemon, a quarter lemon for each fillet. Sprinkle with cilantro and cover again with aluminum foil. Place back in the oven for another 5-10 minutes, until the meat becomes flaky and the thinner edges begin to have some color. You will notice that you might end up with a lot of juice in the pan. That’s fine. You can either toss it, or spoon a little over the fillets to be served.

4. Slice and serve with rice.

To make coconut rice, use this proportion: For every cup of uncooked white rice, use 1/4 cup coconut milk (canned is perfectly fine) and 3/4 cups water.

Could we have one too many Banana Bread recipes? Clearly, Laura, who has an entire website/blog dedicated to banana bread would agree with me when I say: NO.

What is it with banana bread that we have hordes of recipes for it? Are all our kitchens swelling with overripe bananas? (Mine is.) Are we predominantly banana eaters? (Or just meaning to eat banana and forgetting about them till they start to get mushy?) Whichever the case for all of you out there, I can pretty much speak for my family and friends that banana bread will always be accepted with wide open hands and mouths.

I know, I know…banana bread is so versatile that it can be adjusted for and with just about anything. Here at Gourmeted, we’ve already given you one that has almond butter and save-till-last cinnamon crumble top and another that is moist, dense and an undeniable indulgence thanks to the butter and cream. This time, I offer you a nice compromise between the two, and then some (nuts).

What’s different with this banana bread? It has vanilla yogurt, most number of bananas among the 3 recipes, and chopped walnuts. It is moist without being too dense, which is an issue for some. There is a good balance of nuts to bread (i.e. not too much) to give it an all around pleasurable bite after bite after bite.  So far, this has all the elements I want in a banana bread. I think I just found my new go-to banana bread recipe!

I made it into 3 little loaves that’s the perfect size to give out. I kept one for myself, gave one to my parents and another to my friend and her fiance. If you want some, you’ll have to make it. I’ve none left to share. Haha. Time to get more bananas because I already used up my frozen ones.

Freezing bananas: If you have any overripe bananas and not quite ready to make something out of it, don’t throw it away. Heavens, no. Peel the bananas and place them in ziploc bags before popping in the freezer. Just defrost in the fridge before using, or simply defrost in the microwave for a few seconds.

BANANA WALNUT BREAD

Ingredients (makes 3 small loaves)

•    2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
•    4 very ripe bananas, mashed well (about 2 cups mashed)
•    3/4 cup sugar
•    3/4 cups coarsely chopped walnuts
•    1/3 cup vanilla yogurt
•    2 large eggs, lightly beaten
•    6 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
•    1 tsp vanilla extract
•    1/2 tsp salt
•    3/4 tsp baking soda

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Line each small loaf pan with parchment paper, one strip lengthwise and another crosswise. If you use one big loaf pan, adjust the baking time accordingly.

2. In a large bowl, mix all dry ingredients together and set aside.

3. In a medium bowl, mix the mashed bananas, yogurt, eggs, butter, and vanilla extract.

4. Fold the banana mixture into the bowl of dry ingredients until just combined. The resulting batter would be thick. Pour into the parchment lined loaf pans.

5. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes if using small loaf pans, and begin to monitor doneness at 40 minutes. For larger pans, time may vary from 50 to 60 minutes. It’s done when the top is golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the middle.

6. Place the pans on a wire rack and let it cool for 10 minutes before sliding the bread out of the pan. Serve immediately or wait to cool before enjoying.

I rarely make lists as posts, so consider this a treat.I didn’t even make one for Canada Day! Shame shame. Anyway, if you’re still looking for ideas for the weekend, here are some easy peasy suggestions, ye American neighbors.

• Summer Strawberry Fro-Yo or Honey Peach Fro-Yo will beat the heat, the ice cream craving and that stupid weight-loss diet. Eat with little guilt. Savor it.
• Baked Garlic Rhubarb Wings features the season’s rhubarb. Plus it’s baked! I have no doubt this will be a surprise hit at your party.
• If you do not care about having greasy, fatty wings (didn’t I just make it the most appetizing thing in the world?!), say hello to our Homestyle Buffalo Wild Wings. Yes, that B-W-W. I guarantee it’s that good.
• For something that looks a little fancier — and still healthy — try the Tuna-Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms.
• What about some Baked Potato Beet Salad?
• For a good dip for your chips or crispy breads, make this Spinach and Artichoke Dip. I can still remember how good it was. Mmm.

Here are recipes for dessert (or snack) that require a little more work, but you will get a lot of love from the people who will enjoy it:

• Bailey’s Cafe Mocha Cheesecake
• Caramel Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Glaze

Or if you want to bake something that’s easy and still be good, try these Eggless Chocolate Cupcakes or Honey-Cheese Corn Muffins.

Yes, it’s true, when you come to my party you won’t see the usual fares. :p

Happy Independence Day weekend, friends!

Happy Canada Day to my fellow Canadians here and abroad!

This Canada Day marks a decade of our family’s celebration of Canada’s “birthday”. What used to be a country that felt so foreign to me, is now a place I couldn’t be without: home. And there’s no place like it! :-)

[Recipe to follow for the almond sugar cookie above.]

- – - – - – -

After making and finishing (which was way too easy) the Bakewell Tart/Pudding, I was left not only with ground almonds, but also a taste for more almonds. I love almonds. When I get pearl milk tea (or bubble tea or ‘boba’), I almost always order the almond-flavored one. I made these cookies with the thought of the tart in mind. I want something that is like it, but in cookie form. To make me feel like I stayed true to the bakewell tart, I even beat the butter and sugar to light- and airiness. The result was a semi-light, semi-crunchy, chewy and slightly sweet cookie that you can enjoy any time of the day. It is even better 2 days after baking. If you’re craving for almond flavor and sugar cookies without the sugar overload, look no further.

Almond Sugar Cookies

Ingredients
•    6 oz cake flour (or ¾ cups*)
•    4 oz unsalted butter, softened (1 stick)
•    4 oz sugar (1/2 cup*)
•    2 oz ground almonds (1/3 cup*)
•    1 large egg
•    ½ tsp almond extract
•    ¼ tsp salt
•    ¼ tsp baking powder
•    Optional: colored or coarse sugar for garnish
* Please note that I only measured and baked with the weight measurements. I researched the equivalent of the weights and provided them for you in case you do not have a kitchen scale.)

Preparation
1.    Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking sheet and set aside.
2.    Beat butter, sugar, egg and almond extract until light and airy, about 5 minutes.
3.    Add the remaining ingredients and mix for another 2 minutes. You will end up with loose/soft dough, almost like choux dough.
4.    Wrap and seal dough in plastic wrap, keeping in mind to shape it into a 6-inch cylinder. Cool in the fridge for an hour.
5.    Preheat oven to 350°F. Slice into ¼-inch-thick rounds and place on lined cookie sheet 1.5” apart. You can also roll the dough and use cookie cutters. Sprinkle with coarse sugar if desired. Bake for 14 minutes.
6.    Cool completely before serving. If you can wait at least 24 hours to eat it, you will be rewarded with a cookie that’s is soft, chewy and slightly crunchy. Enjoy!