Ensaymada!!!

Yes you read it right...gotta use that stand mixer some time right? This is my second attempt at this filipino bread snack, the first ones came out more like biscuits than anything. For this batch I tried to follow the recipe found here. It's adapted for a bread machine but I pretty much just followed the muffin method for mixing. After the dough is done rising we got our fillings/toppings ready..ube, macapuno, mozzarella cheese....anyway mine did not come out as pretty as J's, I was impatient. The bread did not turn out as fluffy, eggy and buttery as the commercial version but overall tasted good...even brought some over to my parents and they liked them.

Thai restaurants

So lately we've been trying to move, but of course I want to know that I have some great thai food around...we ended up finding this american/thai nursery in New Braunfels that sells kaffir lime plants as well as lemongrass. The owner gave us this awesome tip on a thai restaurant in Schertz (right outside of San Antonio). Something about the name Thai Spice for restaurants not in Houston....this place is fabulous, we ate there two days in a row. Ordered deep fried red snapper covered in a ginger chili sauce, tod mun pla, tom yum goong, som tum, and beef panang...yum! I have never tried to make my own panang curry paste....but none of the pre-made pastes compare(of course)...and we live in a townhome which leaves us nowhere to deep fry whole fish without smelling it for a week, so the fish dish is a treat for us. This place as well as the restaurant by the same name in Corpus Christi blow the thai joints in Houston out of the water.

For anyone who likes malaysian beef rendang making it from scratch is definitely worth the time. It's very simple to make the paste, I used serrano peppers, onion, ginger, garlic, kaffir lime....then separately I ground some fennel, coriander, nutmeg, and toasted coconut. Do a search for a recipe and you will come up with many good ones, mine is sort of a combination of many. As always....pics to come.

What I bought with Poker winnings...

I think this pictures should speak for itself.

It's been a while...let's go back to Christmas

I mostly have a ton of pictures dating back from Christmas of cooking escapades. The first one shown was actually around Thanksgiving. My whole grain muffins with blueberries or blackberries. Healthy was the word for them, tasty but not in a satisfying sugary way. I used buttermilk, honey and egg whites in these. They did serve as a wonderful accompaniment for that morning cup of coffee.

Next is my awesome dessert for J's family and my family's Christmas....pumpkin cake with an orange glaze. First time around was less pretty, due to lack of nuts and powdered sugar for the glaze. It ended up being clear, but still very good. This picture is actually my second attempt.