Chilli con Carne and Cheese Dip

I like my chilli con carne with more meat than beans.  However, when it is meant as a dip, I like it with lots and lots of beans!  And cheese!!!

My recipe is a variation of my mom's; to be more accurate, it is a short cut of my mom's recipe.  My mom used to make it, beginning a couple of days before, with raw beans!  Uh... not me!  Canned beans are perfectly fine!  For this particular chilli con carne dip, the baked beans in tomato sauce (I like Ayam brand!  they even have a light version) is perfect!  Just drain the extra sauce (don't rinse, since the sweet-ish sauce completes the spiciness of the dish.

250 grams ground meat (pork, beef, chicken or a mix)
1 cup baked beans, drained
1 small onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup diced tomatoes, with liquids
2 tablespoons tomato paste, optional
1 to 2 pieces siling labuyo or hot sauce
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 teaspoon Hungarian paprika
salt and pepper, to taste
pizza cheese mix (mozzarella, parmesan and cheddar mix), coarsely grated

Saute the onions and garlic.  Add the ground meat and stir-fry until the meat is almost done.  Add the drained beans, diced tomatoes, tomato paste (this is to help thicken the mix faster but optional) and the spices (feel free to adjust the spices according to personal taste).  Stir gently so that the beans don't get crushed.  If the mixture is too thick, add water gradually.  The dish should be thick but not soupy.  Simmer a few minutes for the flavors to meld.

Spoon into a bowl and sprinkle a generous/hefty amount of mixed cheese.  Zap with a torch (or broil a couple of minutes) to melt the cheese.  Serve immediately!  with nachos, of course!

We served this to hubby's Thursday group and they were a big hit!

Tartar Dip

Okay, the recipe is my usual tartar dip (or sauce) recipe.  Except that this time, I used the mini food processor instead of the hand mixer.  So instead of a semi-chunky dip, I ended up with a rather smooth dip.  But truth be told, I kinda like this one better than the chunky one... for one thing, the flavors melded pretty fast compared to the chunky, simply mixed version.  Also, for some reason, instead of onions, I used garlic.  And yes, I found that I liked the garlic version better, too!

The recipe:

1 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon finely minced white onion (or garlic!)
2 teaspoons calamansi (or lemon) juice
2 teaspoons sweet pickle relish
pinch of salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Just mix everything together!  (Adjust the saltiness as preferred)

The dip is great with fried, battered seafood!

Homemade Dulce de Leche

Homemade Dulce de Leche!

There are many ways to make dulce de leche...

1. using basically milk and sugar: (a) in a heavy pot on the stove and (b) in a double boiler.

2. using condensed milk in its can by: (a) unopened can cooking in a pressure cooker, (b) unopened can submerged in simmering water in a pot, and (c) partially opened can partially submerged in simmering water in a pot or crockpot, and

3. using condensed milk out of the can: (a) in the oven where the milk is transferred to a baking dish in a bain marie, and (b) in the microwave.

I made mine in a different way, though.  Why?  Because (1) I have no desire to sit by the stove and stir for several hours, (2) I have this fear of exploding cookers or cans, (3) I have heard that cooking the milk still inside the can could result in a metallic taste [and hubby hates that], and (4) I wanted to infuse a vanilla bean pod in my concoction.

So, my way is by using my magic cooker - which is actually a thermal cooker that was a wedding gift a long, long time ago.  It's a Japanese model, which claims to retain cooking heat for at least 8 hours!  I really love that cooker as it cooks like magic (hence its "nickname") - with it we make soups, stews, meats, even rice.  It's pretty much like a slow cooker but without using electricity or gas.

Anyway, here is what I did...

I emptied a can of condensed filled milk into a canning jar with approximately 350 ml capacity, leaving an "open" space on top.

(just a quick note here:  I couldn't find sweetened condensed milk in the supermarket.  What I found were condensed creamers, reconstituted condensed milk and sweetened condensed filled milk.  I don't know if this is the same as sweetened condensed milk that is found in the U.S.A, so I just had to work with what was available.)

I cut a vanilla bean in half, sliced each half along its length and leaving the ends intact.  I scraped the vanilla caviar and placed the caviar and the pods in the jar with the condensed milk.  After giving it a quick stir, I covered the jar with its lid - securely BUT NOT TIGHTLY.

Then I placed the jar inside the inner pot of the magic cooker and filled the pot with water, up to just below the rim of the canning jar (I didn't want water to accidentally get into the jar).  I placed the cover of the inner pot and "cooked" it until the water was boiling.  I lowered the heat to a low-medium simmer and let it be like that for about 8 to 10 minutes.  No stirring, just let the jar sit in the water.

 

Then I placed the inner pot into the outer chamber of the magic cooker set.  It sat in there for about 3 hours.  I reheated the inner pot to boiling again and simmered another 8 to 10 minutes, after which I returned the inner pot to the outer chamber and let it sit for another 4 hours.

Because the jar was REALLY HOT, I left it on the counter to cool overnight.

The next morning, I strained the dulce de leche to get out the pods and any lumps.

And then I placed the strained dulce de leche back into the jar... and sat there for several minutes just staring at my beautiful dulce de leche and smelling the wondrous fragrance!!!

(I just love the specks of vanilla caviar in the dulce de leche!)

Then I got a little bit (on my finger) and tasted it, after which I got a spoon and dug in.  Then I decided to share a bit of it to a couple of friends... just to brag, really...  (smiling)...

Then I remembered that I made a batch of "healthy" whole wheat banana muffins (with oats, oat bran and reduced sugar) but stuffed with "unhealthy" chocolate fudge.  What the heck, but I poured on some dulce de leche and WOWOWIE!!!

Hubby just loved it!!!

As for me?  I liked the dulce de leche topped banana muffin, too.  But I have been eating the dulce de leche off a (table)spoon... like, every half hour or so...

(still smiling!)

Jumping Shrimp (Suahe) with Chili Soy Dip

I love shrimp!

And when I find them still swimming around in a tank, I find the urge to buy them almost impossible to resist.

My usual preparation and cooking style for these live shrimp is to blanch (or boil) them in a pot of water with sliced ginger, onion, sea salt and coriander (wansoy).  When the water (with the various seasonings) boils, I just dump the shrimps in (still struggling and jumping) until they turn red.  Then I strain the shrimp, put them in a serving dish and that's it.  It's perfect with chili soy dip on the side.

Recently, however, my mom told me that she prepared (or cooked) the jumping the same way, with one difference.  She added about a cup of Sprite or 7-Up (not diet or light since it did not exist during her cooking days), saying that it makes the shrimp sweeter.  So this time I decided to try it out.

Truth be told, there was a tinge of "extra" sweetness to the shrimp.  Personally, however, I feel that the "extra" sweetness was not necessary as the fresh (read as: live) shrimp is already sweet enough.  Although, if fresh (but not live) shrimp is used, perhaps this trick with the Sprite or 7-Up would help with the sweetness factor.

Hubby's comment?  He said it was delicious, as always.

But what hubby especially liked was the chili soy dip. 

The one I usually made was good enough (he says) but this one was spectacular (his words).  The secret?  A dash of rice wine!

Now my recipe is this:

2 tablespoons soya oil
dash of sesame oil
1 large thumb of ginger, sliced into thin strips
a dash of rice wine (i used glutinous rice wine)
3 to 4 tablespoons light soy sauce (good quality makes a difference)
1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
1 tablespoon sugar
fresh ground pepper
sili labuyo, sliced thinly (based on personal preference)
wansoy or coriander leaves (about a handful)

Heat the soya oil. Add the sesame oil and ginger. Saute until fragrant.  Add the dash of wine until it sizzles. Add in the soy sauce, sugar, pepper, and chili.  Remove from heat before adding the coriander leaves.  Serve.