Oh Crepe!

Crepe, pronounced kreip in French, is a thin pancake made of usually wheat flour, milk, sugar, eggs and salt. They are served with a variety of different fillings, from simple powdered sugar to elaborate savory fillings. They originate from the north-west part of France, but are widely consumed throughout and is considered France’s national dish. If you haven’t tried this sweet, delicate and delicious treat here's your chance! Below is a recipe for a simple crepe – enjoy! 

Ingredients

4 eggs lightly beaten

1 1/3 cups milk

2 tablespoons butter, melted

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 tbsp white sugar

1/2 tsp salt

Directions

1. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, melted butter, flour, sugar and salt until smooth.


2. Heat a medium sized skillet over medium heat. Grease pan with a small amount of butter or oil with a brush or paper towel. Using a serving spoor or small ladle, spoon about 3 tbsps of crepe batter into the hot pan, tilting the pan so that the bottom surface is evenly coated. Cook 1-2 minutes on a side or until golden brown. Serve immediately. 

Turon Saba (Filipino Recipe for Banana Egg Rolls)

Turon Saba (Filipino Recipe for Banana Plantain Rolls)
Turon named in Tagalog, is a typical Filipino snack. Turon has many varieties that consists of plantain and jackfruit wrapped in a lumpia (spring roll) wrapper, dipped in brown sugar and then fried. This somewhat resembles banana spring rolls.
Ingredients
1/2 dozen ripe saba (banana plantain)
1 cup chopped langka (jackfruit: available in Asian markets.)
1/2 cup brown sugar
lumpia (spring roll) wrappers
oil
Directions

1. Cut banana in half, and cut each half into 3 pieces. Roll slightly each banana piece in sugar.


2. Place coated bananas on top of eachlumpia wrapper (this will depend to your liking on how many pieces of banana slices for each wrapper), spread with choppedlangka (jackfruit), carefully wrap and roll into shape of egg roll. Seal the ends with water or egg white.


3. Fry in deep medium-high oil. Sprinkle 1/8 teaspoon of sugar over your turon. This will caramelize and stick to your turon. Flip yourturon to coat evenly with caramelized sugar. Fry until golden brown and crisp.


4. Remove from pan and set over wax paper for a couple of minutes and then enjoy!

Melon Granitas Recipe

There’s nothing like a melon granita on those hot summer days. If you get the chance try out this cool and refreshing treat! :D yum

Ingredients

1/2cup sugar

3 lb honey dew, cataloupe or water melon, rind removed, seeded and cut into 1 inch pieces (4cups total)

Directions

1. In a small saucepan, combine the sugar and 1/2 cup water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer (do not stir) until the sugar dissolves. 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and let coll completely.
2. In a food processor, puree the cooled syrup and the melon until smooth. Strain into a metal loaf pan, cover and freeze until firm. 3 hrs or up to 3 days.
3. When ready to serve, remove the pan from the freezer and let sit at room temp for 5 minutes. Using a fork, scrape the surface of the melon ice to create flakes; divide among glasses.

Spicy Papaya Salad (Tam mak hoong)

On the menu for Wednesday night's dinner, I decided to dish up some Asian cuisine. So with my trusty marinate, who's recipe I will take to my grave, I decided to create an Asian barbecue style chicken over brown rice and tam mak hoong, which is a traditional Laotian salad made with shredded unripened papaya mixed in a large deep mortar and pestle called a "khok", in which you put in chili peppers, fresh cut tomatoes, fish sauce and other Asian ingredients. Though my secret Asian marinate recipe is top-secret, I've decided to share the interesting way of making tam mak hoong. I love and crave for it occasionally with its' distinct taste of Laotian cuisine consisting of sweet, sour, salty, spicy and the unripened papaya's crunchy texture. People differentiate the way they make it depending on one's taste. Some prefer theirs more spicy or more sweet etc. There's also a Thai version of it called Som Tam, which to me is a sweeter version. Provided is the following tools and ingredients used to make a traditional Laotian tam mak hoong. To watch a video on how to make this delicious and interesting dish, click on the link.

Kitchen utensils

• Khok or mortar and pestle
• Vegetable peeler
• Grater

Ingredients

• Chili peppers
• Garlic
• Sugar
• Padaek
• Fish sauce
• Shrimp paste
• Brined crabs
• Lime
• Hog plums
• Tomatoes
• Yard-long beans

Follow this link to view a video on How to make tam mak hoong

The Best Thing I Ever Ate

Inspired by Food Networks show, “The Best Thing I Ever Ate”, I give you 3 of the best things I ever ate! Warning this post might cause the occasional “yummy that sounds so good” chant and a little drooling over your computer monitor. I’m going to take you to 3 of my favorite restaurants, Nha Hang Pho Viet Huong in Manhattan New York’s Chinatown, Ihawan Filipino BBQ Restaurant in Woodside Queens New York and Wasabi Japanese Restaurant, which is a jump and skip away located in Orange Connecticut. Sit back relax and enjoy this delicious read!

Nestled between Baynard and Canal Street, in the nooks and crannies of Chinatown’s Mulberry Street, there’s a small place with exotic artificial plants, cliché Chinese lanterns and fireworks hanging fr

om bamboo roof decors. However cliché it may sound it’s also a place that emanates an aroma of interesting spices and seasonings literally right out of its doors. It’s a true Chinatown treasure, boasted as one of the best Viet restaurants on the East Coast, for one of the most delicious creations of all time, Pho. Ah, Pho, pronounced as “fuh” is a savory beef broth based Vietnamese soap. There’s a variety of recipes, but the traditional broth is m

ade with charred onions, ginger, cloves, cardamom, cinnamon and that wonderfully inte

resting spice star anise. With it goes thin slices of beef and rice noodles accompanying various garnishes, from scallions, to coriander, lime, bean sprouts, minced fried garlic, fish sauce, Sriracha and anything else one desires to combine in an already abundant palette of divine components. It’s like having your cake and eating it too! It’s truly heaven in a bowl. Every slurp of that aromatic broth and bite of tasty beef and noodle is like an adventure of unique tastes in your mouth.

Woodside Queens New York is called “Little Manila”. There’s an abundance of Filipino specialty shops, grocery stores and of course Ihawan Filipino BBQ Restaurant set on a 2 story building. Smells of authentic Filipino food permeates your nose as soon as you walk into the doors as the kitchen is located ground level and the restaurant upstairs. It’s a hole in the wall, but if you can get past that, the food is amazing. I love the Filipino pork barbecue on a stick served with a simple small bowl of rice, but I adore the Crispy Pata. Crispy Pata is pork hock that’s bo

iled in water spiced with whole garlic, peppercorns, bay leaves, salt and soy sauce, after it’s cooled the hock gets deep fried until it’s crispy, hence the name. The Crispy Pata is also served with a tangy sweet dipping sauce, “sawsawan”, usually made with soy sauce, minced chili, vinegar and calamansi, a citris fruit that has an

equal taste to limes. Every time I have gone here, the delicious crispiness of that deep fried pork hock is always on my menu. It’s like opening a present on Christmas morning, covered by its wrapping of crispy crunchy rind outside and moist meat inside – simply delicious!

Lastly on the best thing I ever ate, exists in one of my favorite places to dine, Wasabi Japanese Restaurant right on the Post Road in Orange CT. Their sushi is fresh, their service is amazing and of course what I try to come there for when my belly has room for more…the Green Tea Mascarpone Cheesecake!

The distinct flavor of green tea combined with the sweet and creamy mascarpone cheese on top of a sweet chocolate crust is definitely to die for! The mascarpone cheese just melts in your mouth like sweet butter and the exotic taste of green tea dances in your mouth with every creamy delicious bite of that green tea infused mascarpone cheese. This cheesecake is unlike anything else and beats regular cake for dessert. So, after you have filled up with all the dragon rolls and sashimi – try a plate of this pleasantly comforting cherry on top of it all!

Food Portfolio by Aisaology

Check out my delicious creations. Food Portfolio by Aisaology