Filipino Beef Stew (Nilagang Baka) ...and Chocolate Chip Cookies

Having grown up in the Philippines, I have learned that food means love. My mom was the 3rd to youngest of 13 brothers and sisters, all of whom could cook amazing traditional Filipino food. Whenever we got together at my grandmother's house, my aunts and uncles were always in the kitchen, cooking more food than anyone could eat. They would cook all morning long, we'd eat lunch, and then they'd go back to cooking all afternoon for dinner. This happened every day. I remember one of my favorite dishes -Nilagang Baka, which when directly translated means "Stewed Beef". When I'd visit my cousin in Houston, she would make me this and it would remind me of home.

I decided to cook this up this weekend. It's super easy (and tasty) and comforting with the cold weather approaching. There are no measurements. You kind of just throw everything in and make it according to your taste. Enjoy!

First you saute onions, ginger, and beef in a little bit of oil (I added stew meat and beef ribs, just because the bones add a lot of flavor to the broth). You don't want to add too much oil because the fat from the meat will add to it when it sautes. After the beef browns a bit, add crushed peppercorns and Filipino fish sauce (they have it at any Asian market). Make sure it's "Made in the Philippines" because there are so many different kinds of fish sauces. Then add water to fill half of the pot. Let it boil for at least an hour till the meat gets tender. I boiled mine for about 2 hours. My aunts would boil it all day long. My mom would sometimes use her pressure cooker. The water is going to evaporate so keep adding hot water and taste it to see if you need more salt. If there's a film of fat and froth at the surface of the pot, scoop it out and toss it. A trick I found is to rinse the meat off with cold water before sauteing it so that no froth builds up. You might still need to skim off the fat though.

Then, after the meat has tenderized, add the vegetables! You can add pretty much whatever you want. Usually, it's cabbage, string beans, corn, and potatoes. Sometimes my aunts would add plantains to it to sweeten the broth. If the thought of bananas in your soup grosses you out, just stick to the corn. :) It pretty much sweetens it, too. Keep tasting the broth. If it's too salty, add more hot water. If it's too bland, boil it down.

And that's it! Fresh ingredients, nothing canned. Make sure to serve it with white rice. :)

Now for dessert! You can't have a delicious meal without a treat at the end! As I was waiting for the meat to tenderize for 2 hours, I decided to bake some chocolate chip cookies from scratch. If you know me well, you'll know I don't like to bake. Once, I put baking soda instead of baking powder in my blueberry cobbler, it tasted like salty cake. :( But I found this recipe online and it's super easy: 

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/best-chocolate-chip-cookies/detail.aspx 

I replaced another cup of chocolate chips for the nuts. I wanted to go the traditional chocolate-chip-cookie route.

Not too bad, I should say! :) Happy cooking (and eating)! Thanks Mika for letting me post on your blog! <3

Chow Truck

Ever heard of Utah's moving fast-food restaurant?  Chow Truck is getting more and more popular, and you never know where it will be unless you check on their website:  http://www.chowtruck.com/.

I had the opportunity to try it first hand.  It coincidentally was at the Utah Museum of Fine Arts Saturday morning during a moon festival indoors.

At first glance, you wouldn't know it was established... 

But they have an assorted menu of food and drinks...
and people just kept lining up!

I ordered the ever popular pineapple ginger pork taco ($3 ea.).
The flavors were very complimentary, taco was fresh... but it
was a bit expensive for a small taco.

A side order of Asian spiced root chips topped it off!
Very unique flavor... really enjoyed this.  ($2.50)

Other items on the menu can be found on their website.  It's sort of fun to just follow around a truck if you're craving some root chips!  :D

Brio Tuscan Grille

A new addition, like so many at Fashion Place Mall, has opened this week.  Brio, a Tuscan Grille restaurant, is sandwiched between Nordstrom and the soon-to-be Crate & Barrel facing west.


It was the group consensus (4 of us) that this place tops Olive Garden on a bad day.  Price ranges are $9-15 with a good variety of Bruchettas, Paninis/Sandwiches, and different pastas.  The menu isn't large, but the food is so flavorful and unique.

Our experience began with outdoor dining on a fabulous September day in Utah.  :)

Brio- the bread came with crispy pita covered
in assorted seeds/seasonings and butter

Lobster bisque ($3.95) with fresh ingredients in a presentable and appealing bowl

Mushroom ravioli: delicious, cheesy, and a HUGE plate :)

Grilled sandwich with their very own made chips

The Pasta Brio with a lemonade

I ordered the eggplant pomodor panini with wild rice. (~$9)
The bread was perfectly toasted, and arugula made this amazing!

The rice was nothing I'd ever had before- possibly one of my
favorite side dishes ever.  EVER.

Tiramisu in a cup (usually comes in a carousel of other cups
such as carrot cake, strawberry cheesecake, chocolate mousse,
etc.) and the creme brulee with a fresh strawberry.  :)  

The Tiramisu had a heavy coffee liqueur flavor and the creme brulee was creamy and sweet with a hint of strawberry.  :)

Overall, I would definitely go back for more to try other items on the menu.  Would not recommend if you're looking for quantity- however, none of us finished our plate.  The portions are a fair size.

Try it out!

Introducing... The Best Tamales That I Have Ever Tasted

Sometimes I go to Farmer’s Market with produce in mind. Ever since my discovery of the Tamales stand, I always go to Farmer’s Market with tamales as a priority. So, even if I do not have anything on my mental-grocery list to buy, I would happily go just to visit the TAMALES stand!

I became an avid farmer’s market shopper since last year. I started my farmer’s market adventures at the Murray City Park location, and I have always been going to that particular location since then. I remember never having to wait in line to get tamales last year. This year, there is always a line.

Yes, tamales are only $1.50 each and they are worth every penny of it! There are three types that you can choose from: pork, chicken, and jalapeno and cheese. I usually order 5 tamales to go for me and Tyler (my boyfriend). We like the chicken better than the pork (something we would never say at Café Rio). We like the jalapeno and cheese, but because it’s meatless, we cannot consume solely that. Despite our preferences, we found that the best tamales experience is when there is a variety of flavors, so we always have a taste of every flavor.

A petite-sauce container of salsa accompanies every one-tamale that is purchased, but I can think of a couple instances when I was given one container short of the amount of tamales that I purchased. I would double check and ask if there is a discrepancy, for their salsa adds the perfect finishing touches to the great tasting tamales. Without the salsa, the tamales taste incomplete.

Coffee Cream Macaroons

By popular demand, I present to you.... macaroons.  <3  Here is the recipe I used for this particular sweet:

Coffee Cream Macaroons~

3/4 cup of ground almonds
1 tsp instant coffee powder
1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 extra large egg whites
1/4 cup superfine sugar
1 tbsp crushed sugar crystals (optional)
Tools:  food processor, electric mixer, 1 med bowl, 1 lg bowl, spatula, pastry bag/pipe (frosting tube), 2 baking pans, parchment paper

**Note:  Take out the ingredients for the filling (below) before starting to make the cookies- the butter needs to be softened at room temperature for the filling to taste at its best.

Process ground almonds, coffee powder, and confectioners' sugar in a food processor for 15 seconds (you may have to shake it around to get everything blended evenly).  If you don't have ground almonds like me, I just processed sliced almonds first, then added the rest of the ingredients.  The result should be light and powdery.  With a large strainer, sift the mixture into a bowl and set aside.

In a larger bowl, whip egg whites until you see soft peaks.  Sorry, I forgot to take pictures of the process, but trust me, they're soft and glossy.  Fold the almond mixture into the egg meringue 1/3 at a time because it's really dry and will stick to the bowl.  Make sure the dry mixture is thoroughly folded and cut into the meringue until the batter is shiny and can hold a ribbon-like consistency for ~25 seconds before disappearing.  Make sure you mix it enough because you don't want the end result to crack or be frill-less.  :)

I think the hardest part is making sure you whip the meringue just right.  Making macaroons is easy when it comes to ingredients and preparation, but the technique is what makes it... I guess, an art.

Prepare two baking pans lined with parchment paper, preferably the kind with air in between to prevent burning (if you don't have one, I used two regular baking sheets, one inside the other, to prevent burning).  Pipe the batter into 32 small circles, approximately 2 1/2 inches in diameter, by pouring it into a pastry bag with a 1/2 inch tip.  This batch should make 16 "sandwiches."  Not gonna lie, this was the hardest part for me.  I could not, for the life of me, get these to be perfect circles.  But, they turned out to be pretty nice, so I guess I won't complain.  :P

It's a good idea to tap the pan to release air bubbles.  If you want to style the macaroons, sprinkle the crushed sugar crystals after piping.

After piping and topping, let sit for 30 min and preheat the oven to 325 degrees.  To make sure the macaroon dries enough, test by touching the surface without batter sticking.  This will help create the glossy outer shell.  At this time, it would be time efficient to make the filling.  :)

~Filling~
1/4 cup cream cheese (4 oz)
2 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
2 tsp strong cold black coffee
1 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted

Place all the ingredients in a bowl and beat until smooth (I recommend an electric mixer to save time/effort).  Set aside.
~

Place in the oven for 10-15 minutes, one baking sheet at a time.  I would suggest checking the batch after 6 minutes to see if they're browning too much (in which case, reduce the temperature a bit).  The macaroons are ready when they have a crisp shell and the frilly edges are stiff.  The meringue should easily come off the parchment paper (if it sticks, bake for a few more minutes with the oven door ajar).

We're in the homestretch!  Remove the macaroons from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes.  Transfer to cool on a wire rack.  These macaroons are best when at room temp, so patience is a virtue.  ;)  Take two macaroon cookies of approximately the same size, place a dollop of (no, not daisy) cream filling in the middle, and press the cookies together to form a sandwich.  The cream will look the best when you press it to spread, not manually spreading it.  I prefer adding more filling, but the best part of homemade baking is that you can do whatever you want!

Hope you enjoyed the recipe for these bite-sized sweet treats~ let me know how it goes if you try it!