[Maude's Quarantine Kitchen] Baking Bread

So it's July! Just like that, half of the year's gone and our lives are still pretty much at a standstill. My mood swings are bad these days, especially now being away from Maddie. But wait, don't worry, this is not another emotional post. I just wanted to say that what instantly turns my mood around is baking! I did a baking marathon yesterday and I'm feeling so tired yet so accomplished so I'm gonna write it down just to record my mini achievement.

I have always wanted to bake bread. I started with Cinnamon Rolls last month. The first time wasn't so good. I burnt the top and the bread was overall tough. Good thing hubby eats everything I make, so it's okay. We live, we learn. I learnt that the yeast that I used was supposed to be for crusty breads. Eureka moment. LOL! So the next try was a big hit. Okay, I used a different recipe, too. But I really feel it's the yeast that made the difference.

Here is my 2nd attempt at Cinnamon Rolls.

Does it look enticing? :)

And then yesterday, I thought that if I'm gonna bring out my huge kneading board again, I better make the most of it. Hence, I made Pan de Sal, Cheese Rolls a la Mary Grace and Ensaymada all at once! Nakakapagod, mga teh! But when I took that first bite of the cheese roll, gosh, the effort was all worth it!

Here, let me show you.

Perfect with butter, coco jam or dipped in condensed milk!
How do you like yours? :)

The pandesal was so-so. It's okay to satisfy the Sunday morning Pinas breakfast feel that we always miss here, but honestly, the texture was more dinner rolls than pandesal. I will try Erwan Heusaff's recipe next time so I can compare.

But this. This is the star of the night! 😍

Tastes as good as it looks 💖

To be honest, I didn't expect much while baking the cheese rolls. First and foremost, I knead manually. I have always lusted over a pink Kitchenaid but last February I passed on a $488 Raspberry Ice Kitchenaid on sale and it haunts me to this day. I don't wanna buy a regular-priced one so I have to wait for now. I have to work these flabby arms out anyway, so manual kneading it is :)

Secondly, my first-time baked goodies usually fail so I said if this one fails too, I'm very much okay and I will try better next time. But lo and behold, na-achieve ang Mary Grace peg! It was so soft and had just the right sweetness! It looks perfect too! Sometimes I bake and even if it tastes good, I fail on the aesthetics. But this one is a real feat. Please indulge me for a bit here because I was so happy with it ;)

But like any other kitchen adventure, there's an improvement point too. I used Eden cheese because natural cheeses daw melts into the bread but half of what I put still melted. 

I need to put bigger cheese slices next time.

Oh by the way, all the credit goes to Chef Jackie Ang Po's recipe. She posted it in her Facebook page. You might wanna check it out and give it a try too.

And then lastly, I also made Ensaymada, because it's just made of the same sweet dough as the rolls. The only difference is that it has no filling, you need to roll it longer and twirl it into the mold, and then top with cheese. This time I used Gouda and it just worked. This, friends, is obviously beginner's luck :D

The saltiness of Gouda balanced the sweetness so it's 👌

Now excuse me while I reheat my breads and make a cup of my favorite Old Town Hazelnut coffee (that alone is 26g of carbs but what the heck, haha!)

Happy Sunday, dears!

Hope you are having a lovely weekend too :)

[Maude's Quarantine Kitchen] My Baked Salmon a la Conti's

Everytime we are in the Philippines for vacation, I make it a point to visit Conti's Bakeshop and Restaurant. I mean, who doesn't love Mango Bravo, right? Luckily there's already a branch in Ayala Malls Feliz (East fellas, represent!) and it's now so convenient to satisfy our dessert cravings.

This one though was in their Trinoma branch during our Manila trip last February. 

However, Mango Bravo isn't the only reason I am a Conti's fan. I also love their Baked Salmon which is so cheesy and succulent I am now salivating as I type.

Imagine my delight when I found the recipe at Bitesized.ph. For easy reference, I have copied the recipe here but I give full credits to them. Thanks guys, you're heaven-sent!

Ingredients:

• 500 grams salmon fillets
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 10 pieces calamansi, juiced
• Salt & pepper to taste
• ½ block (125 grams) cream cheese, softened
• 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese

Sooooo, without further ado, let me show you my version of Baked Salmon a la Conti's.

In an oven safe dish, marinate salmon with 5 cloves minced garlic calamansi juice, salt, and pepper for at least 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the topping. Mix softened cream cheese, mayonnaise, minced garlic and parmesan cheese. Here, I substituted the parmesan with 3-cheese mix (mozzarella, cheddar and parmesan) because I like mine gooey. You will still need some pure parmesan cheese though for later.

After marinating the salmon, pat it dry with paper towels.

Spread the topping over salmon and sprinkle the parmesan cheese that you set aside earlier.

Bake it at 350F for 25-30 minutes or until topping turns golden brown.

Okay, don't be like me. You don't want the top to be this burnt. Haha. This is how I learnt that 30 mins is perfect (the recipe says 30-40 mins and I let it bake for 40). Even the doneness of the salmon is perfect at half an hour mark.

It still tastes good! Just put your favorite veggies on the side et voila!

Baked Salmon a la Conti's from Maudey's Quarantine Kitchen! LOL!

Try it this long weekend, y'all! Happy baking!

[Maude's Quarantine Kitchen] Filipino-style Spaghetti

I said in my 2020 comeback post that I will try to write about what keeps me busy during the #circuitbreaker in Singapore. And since most of my free time is spent in the kitchen these days, the first dish that I wanted to share with you is my Filipino-style Spaghetti. It's one of hubby's favorites so I know it's quite shareable :) Thinking about it now, I realized that this is my original recipe pala. Maybe my one and only original recipe, meaning I didn't tweak right after googling. Haha! So I am very happy to put it here.

Imma write it down along with the pictures ha, I'm not yet in the vlogging level eh! LOL

First, prep the ingredients:

• 1 large onion, diced
• about 6 cloves garlic (or more, there are no hard rules here! :)), minced.
• 6-8pcs Purefoods TJ hotdog (because it's not Pinoy style spaghetti if your hotdogs aren't red! haha), sliced diagonally
• 600g ground beef (looking at the pics now, bakit parang pork to?! hahaha maybe it's not available that time. So yeah, use beef as much as possible because it tastes so much better. ok, enough blabber >_<)
• 500g pasta of choice. I often use vermicelli but since the COVID19 hoarding episodes here, I've never chanced upon it in the grocery
• Del Monte Filipino Style spaghetti sauce (the largest pack, i wasn't able to check the size, sorry!)
• 2 slices of processed cheese
• 2 tbsp of condensed milk
• Olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• more grated cheese for toppings

Sooo, first step, cook the pasta according to package instructions. Aim for al dente, or better not cook pasta at all. Wow ah. haha! Make sure to add salt in the water. And as I learned over the years, there's no use putting oil while boiling it, just drizzle it with olive oil after draining so it won't stick. But you all know that already, right?

Then, saute the garlic until light brown and add in the onion till it's translucent.

Ground meat, in (channeling Gordon Ramsay!). Cook till it's brown.

Add a little bit of water (maybe 1/4 cup), this will help to soften the meat.

Add in the hotdogs, stir and cover.

Once the water is gone and you can see the meat cooked through, add the spaghetti sauce. Stir it well.

Season with salt and ground black pepper then wait for it to boil. Stir constantly so it won't stick.

Add the cheese and the condensed milk. Oh, I remembered I got this little secret of putting condensed milk from my Tita A some 20 years back! Thanks, Ta! Mix and simmer for 5 more minutes.

Get a serving of pasta and top with the sauce and voila, it's done! Hey, don't forget some grated cheese too!

Serve with a smile to the husband who always requests for it :D

I also made Baby Back Ribs that day, but that's for another post ;-)

Note: This sauce recipe is actually good for more than 500g of pasta. It's just that we are only 2 people here and we like our spaghetti saucy, so 500g it is.

Let me know if you are able to give this a try, ok? :)

Ciao!