Sans Rival (and Sylvanas in Cebu)

I started baking in my elementary years, when I read the recipe book as a kid, it went, "Sans Rival (without rival)" I thought how could Sans Rival be like without "Rival" in it? ;)

I've long wanted to try baking Sans Rival, but had been too lazy to make the meringue.  It has been too convenient to just order.  The best tasting sans rival in Cebu is available at Cebu Country Club for a cheap price of less than P500 for a large pan.  However, it's exclusively available for members and their guests.  Alternatively, you can orderly directly through one of their chefs, Pilpa. (I lost her number, I'll update this as soon as I can get hold of it).

Can you try baking this for me and let me know if it tastes good?

Ingredients for Meringue:
6 egg whites
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup unsalted cashew nuts, coarsely chopped

Ingredients for Buttercream:
6 egg yolks
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1 cup butter
2 tbsp rum or other flavoring
green food coloring, optional

1. Make meringue by eating whites with cream of tartar until stiff, gradually adding sugar.
2. Add flavoring and one half of the nuts.
3. Prepare cookie sheets; use 2 regular-sized sheets lined with white bond paper.  Overlap if bond paper is too small.
4. Spread meringue evenly over bond paper and bake at 350F, for 1 hour.
5. When quite brown, remove from oven and cool completely before removing bond paper.  (If meringue has not dried out, it will get sticky later).
6. For buttercream, combine sugar and water and heat over fire until syrup almost reaches thread stage.
7. Meanwhile, beat egg yolk, then add hot syrup in a stream.
8. Beat yolks continuously as you add syrup.
9. Cool very well.
10. In another bowl, beat chilled butter until creamy and whitish; add cooled syrup-egg-yolk mixture to butter and beat continuously.
11. Remove bond paper from meringue and spread one layer of it with the buttercream; sprinkle with some nuts.
12. Top with second layer and spread with rest of cream and sprinkle with nuts.
13. Freeze immediately and, when ready to serve, use a heavy sharp knife and cut with a quick downward motion.
14. A tiny amount of green food coloring may be added to the buttercream to give a nice pleasant green color and the yellow color of butter is comouflaged.

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Cebu Country Club 
Banilad, Cebu City 
(032) 231-0345/ (032) 231-1802

Alternatively, sylvanas are likewise popular in Cebu, it's price rising as its popularity.  Home baked Montenegro's sylvanas is the most popular; it's round, thin and crisp (purchased one recently, the meringue is thicker) while that of Mrs. Unchuan is growing popularity; it's oblong and thicker.  My personal choice still goes for Montenegro's.


Mrs. Maria Luisa "Nena" Montenegro
(032) 2322902
# 20 Dr. Tojong St. Lahug, Cebu City
(near Ayala Center Cebu, located one street before Golden Prince Hotel, next to Islands Stay Hotel & the new Metrobank/Asia United Bank Lahug)

Mrs. Marissa Unchuan "Mrs. U"
(032) 2334348

Yemas

A Cook's Treasure by Gloria Parinas Duterte, from Cebu City, Philippines has always been a reliable source of recipes for home cooked meals and goodies.  It was published in 1984, and with a sigh of relief, I still have the book.  It was lost, borrowed, misplaced so many times, and I always go frantic whenever it went missing.  I've already posted some of her recipes here, as a back up.

Since myfriendsunjun asked for this, I'm posting two versions of the Yemas, I as a kid loved.  I can't remember anymore which I preferred, it's your choice between more milk or more yolk.  I suppose, more yolk will turn out creamier in the inside, crisp on the outside.

Yemas

I.
1 can condensed milk
8 large egg yolk or 12 native egg yolk
1 tsp orange rind, minced or any flavoring
2 cups sugar for caramel
Cellophane cut in squares 4"x4", plain or colored

II.
10 egg yolks
2 cans condensed milk
1 tsp lemon rind or other flavoring
2 cups sugar for caramel
Cellophane cut in squares 4"x4", plain or colored

Beat yolks slightly and mix with milk.  Cook over low fire until mixture is thick.  Add flavor.  When mixture is difficult to stir, remove from fire and form into balls (or as you please).

Heat sugar in low heat to make caramelized sugar.  Once caramel is ready, coat balls quickly, using toothpick to dip yemas into it.  Let balls stand for a few minutes to dry coating on greased pan before wrapping.  Use caramel quickly, if it hardens, place over fire again on low heat.  Cool yemas thoroughly before wrapping in cellophane.

Note:  I like yemas minus the caramel coating. :)

Other than the yemas, my childhood favorite includes Duterte's recipes on Lenguas de Gato and Polvoron and I've been wanting to try her sans rival, and I've been saying that for the past twenty years. haha

Mushroom Bruschetta

Some friends are crazy over mushroom bruschetta. Indulgent as they are, aside from the pizza, they finished two orders of it at Tinder box. That's 6 servings for about P300 per order. So they decided to ask a common friend to cook for us. The latter unselfishly is willing to show his culinary skills but is never generous to share those techniques. So he asked us to prepare the following ingredients:

• dried Porcini mushroom
• white button mushroom
• shallots
• garlic
• fresh basil
• salt and pepper
• parmegiano

This evening, I tried to figure out how to cook it with the ingredients I have on hand at home, it tastes good enough; I finished about 6 pandesal bread from french baker with it.

Ingredients:

• 2 garlic cloves chopped
• shallots (substitute with garlic and onion)
• 15 grams of dried porcini
• chopped fresh basil
• 1  tbsp  virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• 5 slices french bread/baguette
• 2 tbsp dry white wine
• 1 tsp butter
• 1 tbsp grated pamesan cheese
• 1 chopped tomato (optional)
• truffle oil (optional)
• parsley (optional)

Mushroom mixture:

1. Soak dried mushroom in hot water for about 15 minutes, then slice.
2. In a sauce pan, saute garlic and shallots in olive oil and butter.
3. Add white wine and reduce.
4. Add the sliced mushroom, saute for about 5-8 minutes until cooked.
5. Season with salt and pepper.
6. Toss in chopped fresh basil*, tomato and cheese while hot.
7. Remove from fire.

* in the absence of fresh basil, i substituted it with pesto sauce.

Variation: instead of wine, add a dash of steak seasoning and worcestershire sauce when the mushrooms are almost cooked.

Prepare the bread:

1. Slice and toast french bread.
2. Remove from toaster, while hot: rub fresh garlic and brush with extra virgin olive oil.
3. Spoon the mushroom mixture on the bread, drizzle a few drops of truffle oil and garnish with basil/parsley and cheese when ready to serve.

Porcini mushroom are available in:

Santy's for P146 per 20 grams
Werdenberg Intl for P2888 per 500 grams.

Roka Salata ala Cyma

I'm definitely not the only one crazy over the Roka Salata in Cyma. I'm not a salad lover but with this one, I'm fine having it as my main dish. The explosion of various flavors all in one salad is amazing - the sweetness of the candied walnuts, the sourness of the Greek vinaigrette, the salty taste of the cheese, and the peppery-mustard flavor of arugula.

After feasting over the holidays, I ought to go on a diet and eat more green. Not only the weighing scale is mocking me, the measuring tape too! So I decided to hit the grocery on New Year's Day and yes, I found fresh roka or otherwise known as aragula. I got a bottle of balsamic vinaigrette off the shelf too, it's good enough but I proceeded to do my own version:

Greek Vinaigrette:

serves 1 -2

2 tsp red wine vinegar (or balsamic vinegar)
garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoon fresh chopped basil (or 1/2 teaspoon dried)
1 teaspoon fresh chopped oregano (or 1/4 teaspoon dried)
1 tsp lemon juice (about 1 lemon)
1/8 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tsp dijon mustard
2 tsp honey

Combine the first 6 ingredients in a medium bowl. Slowly whisk in oil until blended or better yet, mix in a food processor. Season with salt and pepper. Cyma's version is quite creamy (consistency). Adding dijon mustard and honey should do the trick.

Alternatively, you might want to try Natural Directions' Balsamic Vinaigrette.  I've tried too many kinds, this comes closest to cyma's version although lighter.  Found them at Rustan's Supermarket, but they don't have it on the shelf for some time now.


Preparing the salad:

fresh roka (arugula)
lettuce (baguio/romaine/ice berg, etc)
sun-dried tomatoes or dates (or slice apples or pears)
candied walnuts**
parmesan cheese (and blue cheese)

Roka Salata with honeyed almonds, parmesan and blue cheese

Wash the veggies with cold running water, cut into bite size, soak it in cold water and keep refrigerated until ready to serve. When ready to serve, remove excess water using a salad spinner.

**To make candied walnuts, buy shelled walnuts. On low fire, heat honey for about 10-15 minutes, then dip in the shelled walnuts. Viola, you have your own version of candied walnuts. Walnuts can be substituted with honeyed pili nuts.  But I normally make a short cut, by simply coating the walnuts with honey (you will only need a little honey to coat it).

Simply toss the veggies, sun-dried tomatoes, candied walnuts with the vinaigrette, top with paper thin parmesan cheese. You may add sliced apples or pears for variety.

Buying tips on aragula:

Look for dark greens leaves of a uniform color. Avoid yellowing leaves, damages leaves, wilted leaves, or excessively moist-looking leaves. A bit of dirt is fine - it is likely the result of recent rain or watering.

Smaller arugula leaves tend to be milder, while larger leaves tend to have a more aggressive, peppery kick. Similarly, wild arugula - sometimes available from foragers in the late spring and again in the fall in temperate regions - is much more peppery than most cultivated leaves.

Godfather Chops

Happy New Year! Finally cooked something new today after my younger brother's insistent demand to replicate the godfather chops served in a local restaurant. He has been complaining how bland our cook's version of simply frying pork chop. He wanted something grilled served with herbs in olive oil.

Today we head to the grocery to buy some herbs.

Ingredients:

slices of pork chop
worcestershire sauce
fresh oregano leaves (dried will do)
pesto sauce
minced garlic
salt and pepper

Marinate slices of pork chops with worcestershire sauce, hand mashed garlic and fresh oregano leaves. Add salt and pepper when almost ready to cook.

It's my first time to handle fresh oregano leaves, oh boy, it does smells good! :D

Heat cast iron griller. Brush griller with olive oil. When the griller is hot enough, put in the pork chop, cook about 3 minutes on each side. Remove from fire.

Prepare the sauce. While the griller is still hot, put in the remaining marinade, add pesto sauce, olive oil, chopped garlic, chopped oregano and add salt and pepper to taste. Then quickly remove them and garnish it on the cooked pork chop and place the rest on a saucer.

Spaghetti Al Quattro Formaggi

Quattro Formaggi translates to four cheeses.

I was off to Tinder Box to get some cheeses after gym class. I should have sweat it out more than usual, but I didn't. Anyway, out of the guilt trip, I tried out this recipe for dinner and it's heavenly sinful!

200g uncooked pasta (penne/macaroni)
40g butter
1 cup all-purpose cream
30 g grated parmesan cheese (parmigianno)
30 g gorgonzola or bleu cheese
30 g each of any 2 of the ff: provolone, fontina, pecorino, gruyere, emmenthal
pinch of salt (optional)
white pepper
nutmeg

1. Cook the pasta as directed.
2. Grate the hard cheese.
3. A few minutes before the pasta is ready, melt all the other ingredients:
- Heat cream and butter in a nonstick sauce pan over a medium low heat.
- Add (grated) cheese, add the hard cheeses first.
- If it gets dry add a little bit of pasta water or cream.
3. Stir constantly because the cheeses will settle, melt over the bottom of the pan, and burn if you don't. Let it slightly reduce to desired consistency. (warning, don't over reduce, since this mixture tend to dry up when cold.)
4. Add salt (optional since cheeses are salty) & white pepper to taste, and a pinch of freshly ground nutmeg.
5. When the pasta is just shy of being done, drain it. Transfer it to a skillet, stir in the sauce, and cook over a brisk flame, fold and toss in the cheese cream until most liquid is absorbed.
6. Remove from fire and serve immediately.

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Price of cheese per 100 grams, I used the following:
P71 (Arla) Blue cheese (50% off from SaveMore's yellow tag sale)
P120 Gruyere
P187 Fontina (I've read in most recipe that this is a must.)
P150 Parmesan (grated, which is much cheaper)

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I had the Gruyere, Fontina and Parmesan grated since these are hard cheeses. I ommited the nutmeg and replaced the white with black pepper since I didn't have these on my cupboard, yet it tasted good! :)

Pizza Dough

I've been wanting to try making pizza, but I didn't have an interesting recipe until I got this, I ought to try this one.

Warning! Yield: 5.6kg dough.

4kg all purpose flour
2cans (330ml) pilsen beer
150ml olive oil
50g iodized salt
60g yeast

1. In a small bowl, sprinkle the yeast on the warm water, and stir to dissolve it. Set aside until the yeast starts forming bubbles in about 5 minutes.

2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, whisk to combine beer, 2 tablespoons olive oil, sugar, salt, and yeast. Fit bowl on electric mixer fitted with a dough hook, mix until incorporated, 1 to 2 minutes. Slowly add flour, and mix until dough is fairly stiff, about 10 minutes.

3. Sprinkle some flour on the work surface. Place the dough on the floured surface. Knead the dough briefly with your hands pushing and folding. Knead just long enough for the dough to take in a little more flour, and until it no longer sticking to your hands.

6. With your hand, spread a little olive oil inside a bowl. Transfer the dough into the bowl.

7. On the top of the dough, make two incisions that cross, and spread with a very small amount of olive oil. This last step will prevent the surface of the dough from breaking too much while rising.

8. Cover the bowl with a kitchen cloth, and set the bowl aside for approximately 1½ – 2 hours until the dough doubles in volume. The time required for rising will depend on the strength of the yeast and the temperature of the room.

9. When the dough is double its original size, punch it down to eliminate the air bubbles.

10. On a lightly floured work surface, cut the dough into desired proportion. (220g for a 12" thin crust)

11. On the work surface, using a rolling pin and your hands, shape one piece of dough into a thin round layer to desired diameter.

12. Transfer to a pan or pizza stone, add preferred topping. Cook at 500F for 20 to 25 mins.