Foodie Friday: Smoked Salmon on Toast (Hors d'oeuvre)

First Friday of the month: Mom-Cook / Recipe

I can't believe I'm writing my last Foodie Friday post for 2013!!!  I still have a few more food posts lined up for you, so I'll try to share them here before we end the year.  Since I still can't beat my number one blog post - the No-bake Blueberry Cheesecake, which I shared after Christmas of 2010, I've decided to keep it more simple this time.  Using cream cheese and smoked salmon, I think this simple hors d'oeuvre is festive enough and still a wonderful dish to serve at your holiday parties and other special occasions.

Backstory:

About 2 months ago, I bought a pack of this smoked salmon from the neighborhood grocery because the girl was curious how salmon tastes like.  We don't normally eat dishes with salmon so I never buy fresh salmon or frozen fillets, except on a occasions when I feel like cooking something "fancy", like this creamy salmon caviar pasta.  I did not complete the ingredients for her tasting dish, so this pack of smoked salmon stayed in the freezer until 4 weeks ago, when I bought a baguette.

I told the girl she can finally try this "colored fish" she was curious about with her favorite toasted baguette with cream cheese.  It was one of those nights when I was too lazy to cook an additional ulam, and decided I'd just eat this appetizer as my dinner.  J did too (since he's on a "diet")!

The verdict: she did not like it, hihihihi! But still, I was proud of my no-cook meal.  I immediately shared this on Instagram! =)

No need for the recipe list since there's no measurement here.  All you need are the following:

SMOKED SALMON ON TOAST

Pack of good quality smoked salmon
Slices of toasted baguette (any bread variety you fancy, as long as it's crusty and crunchy when toasted)
Cream cheese (any brand you like)
Capers (for garnish and added tang and flavor; optional 'coz others don't like this)
Lemon wedge

Toast your bread, spread cream cheese, lay down a slice of salmon, and top with capers.
Arrange and serve on a platter with lemon wedges.

Squeeze some lemon juice over the salmon and devour!  I paired my hors d'oeuvre (this was my dinner so I ate 6) with my favorite Beringer White Zinfandel.  Perfection!

Hope you try this easy-peasy fancy appetizer... not just during the holidays.  Instead of capers, why not garnish with caviar instead?
Feeling soshal lang! =)

Cheers!

Other recipes you might like to try:
My first salmon dish - Creamy Salmon and Caviar Pasta.
The girl's indulgence - Caviar and Cream Cheese on Toast

I'd love to know your thoughts on this post.  If you enjoyed this, feel free to share it!
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Breakfast of Caviar and Cream Cheese on Toast

Good morning!

Wake up to some warm toasted baguette slices, slathered with cream cheese and delicate caviar...

Mini baguette from French Baker + Magnolia Cream Cheese spread + Emborg Lumpfish Caviar = Unique, indulgent, scrumptious meal to start your day!

This is just an appetizer to my Foodie Friday entry (also with caviar!) tomorrow.

Plus, the winners of the Fro-Yo Treat from Tutti Frutti Centris Walk will also be revealed.


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Mom-Friday's Peanut Butter & Banana French Toast

First Friday of the month:  Food, Mom-Cook

I am counting the days 'til school opens and just planning what food to pack for the kids, among other things, is raising my stress levels lately.

Honestly, I only have a few (count five fingers!) old-reliables that passed the test from my picky eaters. Now, with a first-grader and a pre-schooler to think about, I would really like to put more effort into the preparation of their food from scratch.

We all know homemade is always better than commercially manufactured foods. Of course, it would also entail a greater amount of time and effort to prepare, but you are assured of the quality of its contents which would benefit your child.

One of the most requested snack is this Peanut Butter and Banana French Toast.  They instantly loved it the first time I made one for them so they can expect this yummy healthy treat in their lunch boxes when they're back to school.

I made a simple Raisin Bread French Toast in the past but this version packs a meaner punch with the creamy, protein-enriched goodness of peanut butter and nutritious bananas.

Eagerly helping out with prep work with their own mini wire whisk

PEANUT BUTTER & BANANA FRENCH TOAST

What you need:

2 slices of bread, any soft bread you prefer (ideally a few days old)
Half a banana, sliced
Peanut butter
1 egg
Milk
butter
vanilla extract and/or cinnamon (optional)

Spread your favorite peanut butter on the 2 slices of bread.
Arrange sliced bananas on your sandwich.
In a wide bowl, whisk together 1 egg and around 2 tablespoons of liquid milk.
Add a few drops of vanilla and dash of cinnamon if you wish.
Soak the sandwich, both sides, in the wet mixture.

Heat a tablespoon of butter in a non-stick pan then toast sandwich on both sides until golden brown.

Serve with a drizzle of honey or maple syrup. Sprinkle with ground cinnamon if desired.
Makes 1 delicious fully-loaded french toast sandwich.

An ideal breakfast and snack, this is one of the best french toast I've made! You have to try it yourself.

You may replace peanut butter with a favorite jam or chocolate spread like Nutella (hazelnut cocoa spread). Skip the peanut spread in case you or your kids have allergies or aversions to peanut butter/nuts.  I also use almond milk or rice milk for this, as an alternative to dairy milk.

Finally enjoying the fruits of their labor

If you have great food ideas for the kids' baon (packed lunch/snack), please share them here as most moms like me would need all the suggestions we could get!  :-)

P.S.

Alternative preparation tip:  

After assembling the sandwich, slice it in 6 or 9 squares before dipping pieces in the liquid mixture.  Then fry as instructed. This will allow you to serve it in bite-sized pieces :)  Enjoy!

As seen in

Mom-Friday's Peanut Butter & Banana French Toast

Learn more about nutrition and food tips from this series of posts:

Talks on Wellness and Nutrition, part 1

Talks on Wellness and Nutrition, part 2

Talks on Wellness and Nutrition, part 3

Talks on Wellness and Nutrition, part 4

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Mom-Friday's Raisin Bread French Toast Breakfast for 1

As the saying goes, 'Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a queen, and dinner like a pauper'.  I've mentioned this in my nutrition series some weeks back and I think I need to follow my own advice.  I am not a big breakfast eater and I usually find myself rushing through the morning with all sorts of mom-duties that I miss enjoying a good, hearty breakfast.  Well, I only have myself to blame since it's a challenge for me to wake up earlier than 8, hehehe!

French Toast is one of my favorite food for breakfast, and it's also a wonderful afternoon snack. Growing up, my mom often serves this simple pudding-like treat of stale bread soaked in a mixture of milk and egg, sugar optional, and fried in butter for breakfast.  I savored it each and every time. I've been making french toast in many different ways ever since I can cook them -- with sliced bread or pandesal halves, drizzled with maple syrup or sprinkled with white sugar, and sometimes with sliced bananas and a tad more butter! Yum!

But it's been quite a while since the last time I had some, and several mornings ago, there was a light-bulb moment when I glanced upon an opened pack of whole wheat raisin bread.  Within minutes, I found myself enjoying this energy-packed, nutritious and delicious breakfast for one. What a great way to start my day.

Mom-Friday's Whole Wheat Raisin Bread French Toast

2 slices, whole wheat raisin bread (a few days old)
1 egg, beaten
3 oz. filled milk (approximate), or use any milk you prefer
2 Tbs. butter
Honey
Cinnamon powder (optional)

In a shallow bowl, beat egg and milk together. Option to add sugar in the mix.  Heat butter in a non-stick pan.  Soak the bread slices in the milk and egg mixture.  Then fry bread on both sides until golden brown. Serve with a drizzle of honey and a dash of powdered cinnamon. Good for 1.

This is a healthy, and yummy, combination of carbohydrates, protein and fiber from the whole wheat bread, raisins, egg, milk, butter and honey.  You can't go wrong with this.  So I promised myself to make some for the whole family next time, and for sure, the kids will enjoy this as much as they enjoyed their pancakes the other day.

I have always used maple syrup or sugar since I don't buy honey before.  And a sprinkle of cinnamon always give it that extra kick of flavor.  Topping this with fruits like bananas will make this even more filling and nutritious.  Maybe next time, I'll try Rachel Ray's version with peanut butter and jelly! Mmm, I can almost taste it ...

What's your power breakfast made of?

Update:
Here's my version of Rachel Ray's PB&J french toast:
Peanut Butter-Banana French Toast

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Roasted Bone Marrow Snack Anyone?

Believe me, it tastes so much better than it sounds...and looks!  I am really a sucker for bulalo, literally! I guess it's an acquired taste. Whether it's beef bulalo (beef shank) soup or bulalo steak, I always get first dig on the marrow. Eaten with steamed rice, I savor it in all it's fatty glory, mwahaha...

I have been meaning to try this rich, delectable, artery-clogging spread of roasted beef bone marrow on toast bread ever since Market Manila featured it in his site.  This unique appetizer got my full attention when I first read about it. So at the grocery last weekend, I got me some really good cuts of beef shank and had the three bones in a separate pack.

1st step: 

I scraped off the extra meat and tendons from the bones and rinsed them.

2nd step:

As detailed in Marketman's blog, "one has to or should soak the cleaned bones/marrow in cold salted water in the fridge overnight or up to 24 hours, changing the brine solution 3-4 times over a 24-hour period. This step is to remove much of the blood and draw out other impurities..." 

Now "clean" after overnight in the brine

I soaked this batch overnight, but totally forgot to change the brine in the morning!  Oh well, at least the bones still look nice and the marrow firm to the touch, see the 'before and after' brining above.  

So, on with the "project".  I ended up making this my 'heart-stopping' afternoon snack for one!

Sizzling in its own fat, hot off the oven

3rd step:

Pre-heat the oven at 200'C (400-450'F). I placed the bones on a non-stick baking sheet and roast.

I roasted for 20 minutes BUT I should have timed it at 15 minutes instead based on the sizes of the marrow I had --  look, the two (darker ones below) shrunk to half its original size.

4th step:
Garlic-rubbed toast bread.
Didn't have baguette slices, nor fresh parsley to add flavor and garnish.  My version had toasted wheat bread, rubbed lightly with garlic, and pinch of sea salt to taste.

Scoop, spread, sprinkle with flakes of salt, savor!

Chowed it all down in 5 minutes, my cholesterol level is now off the charts for sure. Then I guzzled a glass of ice-cold rootbeer to cap this unique snacking experience. Ahh...burrpp...!  :-)

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Sauce Express: Aligue & Pesto

I must admit, I am not a kitchen maven. I try to do with whatever is in stock and whatever I can remember from the long list of recipes I've browsed through. And so, with my limited repertoire of dishes, I try to incorporate a few versatile sauces to add a twist to the usual fare I serve at home. I guess it's a creative short-cut to stretch the menu and whip up something different at least once a week, given my very limited prep and cooking time.

Making something from scratch is ideal, but I can't deny that some store-bought preparations are God-sent and provides instant zing to our meals (whether my 'housemates' like it or not). My pantry is home to the staple 'bagoong gusiado' (sauteed shrimp pate/paste), the classic Reno liver spread, Hunt's chunky tomato sauce, to name a few. Here, I'm sharing one that's made fresh, and the other, bottled.
 

PESTO

My first bottle of homemade pesto sauce

A few weeks ago, I was able to spot a small bottle of pine nuts at Santi's Delicatessen. It was a bit pricey but quite hard to find this side of town, so I grabbed one up and left with the thought of fresh pesto sauce!

I don't have an exact measurement for this but I got me a bunch of fresh sweet basil leaves (90 gms.), garlic (around 5 large cloves, chopped), parmesan cheese (approx. 1/4 cup grated), coarse salt (approx. 1/2 tsp., optional), EVOO (at least 1/2 cup), pine nuts (approx. 1 1/2 tbs., toast in a pan until light brown).


Mix everything in a blender or food processor, while pouring more EVOO to suit your taste and preferred consistency. Store in an air-tight bottle and refrigerate. Well, you can always buy a bottled one if you wish.

I always believed that pesto is an acquired taste as many have aversions to the taste of herbs. That's why I am the only one enjoying my not-so-fancy pesto dishes at home!

Enjoy it with the usual pasta, rice, or try some of what I did below.

Enjoy your fresh pesto on toasted baguette, foccacia or bruschetta bread

On roast, baked, or even fried chicken

10-minute dish of pan-fried cream dory fish fillet

Also try my:  Chicken Pesto Rice

ALIGUE / TABA NG TALANGKA
(Small Crab Fat Paste)

This native side dish is one that I crave for on occasion and I always look for the richer, premium quality (read: more dangerously unhealthy) as it is supposed to be more 'pure' than other regular variants that may contain extenders, starch, etc. With quality comes the price, and at a little over P200 for an 8-oz. bottle, Navarro's Crab Paste really brings home the artery-clogging flavor I'm looking for.

To prepare the aligue sauce, it is usually sauteed in a little oil, with lots of minced garlic and freshly squeezed calamansi (calamondin; Philippine citrus fruit). Suggested preparation is also printed on the label. I use olive oil with my sauce, and a tad of butter (cholesterol alert). Alternatively, you can use lime or lemon, and you may opt to skip the butter if you're watching your triglycerides as the crab fat alone is already 'damaging' on its own :)

The dish below got me intrigued. It's Marketman's orkra with aligue creation, and I simply cannot resist trying this, as any dish with taba ng talangka is a winner for me.

My version here is sauteed with minced garlic, chopped onion and tomato, add a tablespoon of crab paste, calamansi juice (Marketman used dayap - a local lime), salt and pepper, in oil -- no butter.

Adjust calamansi and crab paste to your taste. Cook until tender.

I always sautee okra same way as above, but with bagoong (sauteed shrimp paste), so this aligue sauce is a welcome twist to the usual.

Preparing the crab fat sauce for my pasta

A plate-full of Garlic-Aligue Spaghetti, topped with grated parmesan cheese, serve with toast bread -- yum, yum!

Thanks so much for reading and for leaving any feedback. Please visit again!

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A Starter with Sardines and Kesong Puti

As I attempt to prepare our 'first' menu for the week, I saw myself browsing through an old Food Magazine, hoping to get some new, quick-and-easy dishes I can try to whip up. With the many traditional Filipino dishes, I chanced upon a special feature on French chef Cyrille Soenen (pardon my ignorance on his professional background) presenting a few of his simple dishes he's serving for lunch. Out of the three dishes, I was particularly excited to try this appetizer -- Baguette with Pan-fried Kesong Puti & Sardines.

Mini Baguette from French Baker

It called for toasted sliced baguette, pan-fried sliced kesong puti (native white cheese made from fermented carabao's milk), fresh sardines marinated in herbs and olive oil, a couple of garlic cloves, and fleur de sel -- 'flower of salt', the famous and expensive sea salt that's hand-harvested in France.


I can just imagine the flavors of the garlic rub on toasted baguette, with the rich and salty flavors of kesong puti and sardines. Mmm...

Well, what I got for my version is a mini baguette (since we can't finish a full roll), this wonderful bottle of a mildly hot Zaragoza Spanish-style sardines in corn oil, and a bundle of kesong puti -- a very disappointing purchase from Unimart (grocery) since the 'bundle' of leaf-wrapped cheese were just that, leaves! After removing the thick wrapping, it left me with only two slices. I felt robbed!

To divide the cheese on more toast, I sliced it across and made it thinner. Now I have four slices instead of just two. Wrong move!

After pan-frying those small squares of cheese, I ended up with a thin, gooey blob that looked liked a fried egg white...sigh...
But I was still optimistic.



To rectify the 'situation' with the white cheese, I cut up a few slices of tomatoes and finely chopped fresh parsley drizzled with olive oil and pinch of rock salt, just to add to the topping. It worked wonderfully well -- at least for me :)
The flavors just complemented each other and I gobbled up four toasts before dinner.



Friday is almost over and I finally made my cut-off after quite a hectic week. I hope this scrumptious starter will be able to satisfy your taste buds for your weekend meal.


P.S.
The gooey-looking, burnt kesong puti turned out to really kick the taste up a notch! Even with just two slices, it certainly redeemed itself in the end ;)

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