Molten Cheese Risotto Patties

I like cutting out recipes from magazines or newspapers. Especially if the photo looks really enticing and mouthwatering! I have a lenten special recipe cut out from The Inquirer last year and I said to myself that I am really gonna make it very soon.

How soon was soon? Let's say, after 365 days or so! And just in time for the Holy Week, on a Maundy Thursday here in my cooking kingdom.

This is a "project" that I proposed to Rica a couple of days before the Holy Week. Shyempre, game si sister! So let's go!

I learned from the OB boys, especially from Chef Richmond (hubby's friend) that cooking Risotto is no joke at all.

So there we were stirring like crazy for about 3 hours... It took us about 5 hours for the preparation and cooking time. Whew!!! But hey, it was really worth it! Thank you to AG and my house angels for helping us! As sung by The Wonderpets on Nick Jr., "What's gonna work? Teamwork!"

The original recipe is called Molten Cheese Risotto Balls. So why oh why did we make it into patties?

Let me tell you a story: We really did make balls at first. Please see photos below:

Yup! My hands!

See!?? BALLS!!!

But the ending was:

Not so-BALL looking balls aren't they? :(

Why did we not achieve perfect deep fried balls?

Maybe the balls would have to sit for a couple of hours or overnight in the freezer to make the balls firm enough so they won't melt during deep frying! Wekwekwekwek!

But we enjoyed it that night, anyway! ;-)

So the following day, after some moments in the thinking chair, with a little enhancement on this "full of effort" meal - I decided to transform the balls to patties and coat them with more bread crumbs - a mix of the ordinary ones and the Japanese. After doing so, I kept them all in the freezer overnight and fried a few patties the next day and have seen great results!

Since the risotto patties were already full of cheese, I intended to make a non-cheesy dip as opposed to the original recipe. So what could be best with this cheesy meal? Ting!! Another light bulb moment: why not a marinara sauce a la TGI Friday's fried mozarella!

For the home made marinara sauce, here's what I used:

a can of peeled tomatoes (I used Molinera)
** if this is not available, you can definitely use fresh tomatoes (about 4)! Just peel them and take out the seeds and chop

olive oil
1 small white onion, finely chopped
about 3 cloves of garlic finely chopped, you can add some more if you want it more garlicky!
dried herbs: basil, oregano, marjoram and parsley
salt and pepper

The way:
in a pan, saute the onions and the garlic in olive oil, then add the peeled tomatoes with some of sauce from the can. Crush the tomatoes and then add the rest of the ingredients and simmer for a few minutes!

Presto! Ready to serve!

I feel blessed that my pantry has a few cans of peeled tomatoes waiting for their own spotlight! How convenient was that? :) Thank you Lord! :)





When you try this, just remember to start early! Better yet, as learned from Rica (on her 2nd attempt!), the risotto rice can be well done faster when you use a shallow sauce pan! The long wait is over! Thanks, sis! :)

Hot, crispy, cheesy and golden brown! This is great with wine! Cheers!

P.S. All the photos were taken during night time! Waaah! Ok lang busog naman ako! Hehe!

Focaccia Fantasia!

Isa na yata akong panadera.. A feeling gourmet panadera HAHA!

I have been fantasizing on making homemade bread for quite sometime and have been dreaming to dare to bring it to reality! So my friends, this-is-really-is-it!!!

I was doing the Ini mini miny moe between baking focaccia bread or baking pan de sal. Well..the pan de sal recipe requires a lot of flour...AND EFFORT.

But it was such a blessing in disguise that I have an excuse not to make the latter as I only have a couple of cups of flour left in the pantry.

So the pan de sal will be done next next time. (ah.. eh.. next time = sa susunod na sweldo! and if the effort is already there!HA!)

As mentioned before, I am really not a "measure" person, learned from my family to go by my instincts when cooking - by the taste, by the smell, by the look. But for baking - sabi nga ni Lolo Wolfgang Puck sa Lifestyle Network: "Baking is like architecture, you have to measure every singel thing...(lah-lah-lah)..or the building will crumble and it will all fall down!" - something to that effect. I really cannot remember all. Hmph.

So be it.

Since I really really wanna make home made bread, I have no choice but to measure. :)

I got the Focaccia Bread Recipe here. And the kneading how-to here. Thanks thanks!

Tic-tac-tic-tac...looking at the kitchen clock. Dug-dug, dug-dug, tigidig, tigidig - My heart was beating faster. I was just so nervous. Wondering what will happen to my first ever homemade bread!

So with a deep breath, I opened the oven and made a not so loud sigh and placed the pan on the cutting board.

Ready with my bread knife, I said to myself, it's the moment of truth!


Hmmm... smells goooood! Eh, may chance naman pala! :-) I guess, I can say, this an OK result for a first time bread maker, huh? Wat u tink guysh?

Just serve it warm and dip it in a mix of Olive Oil, Balsamic Vinegar, a little of salt and pepper, Parmesan cheese and assorted herbs. Maybe next time I will have sundried tomatoes to go with it or any other dip I fancy.

SupeRoss, what's the dip called? Sorry Marce, I can't remember it anymore! Please refresh my memory! Thanks!

For our dip at home, I used the dried herbs from McCormick Basil leaves, Rosemary, Marjoram and Oregano for the herbs. If you have the "Italian Seasoning" from McCormick, then it's good to use it too!

Yeah, who ain't dreaming of an herb garden someday! I know! If you have fresh herbs right under your nose, go go go ahead and use 'em! ;-)


Baking bread is a fun and fulfilling experience. I am looking forward to making some more soon! Kahit anong tinapay!

I can say it is an achievement when you see the smile on your husband's face and hear him say "Wow, fresh bread! Ang galing mo mommy!" hehe, *kinilig naman ako!*

My little Javier just can't get enough of it and he keeps on saying "Bhed! Bhed!" (Bulol pa siya --- but yes he meant, bread! bread!)

And my house angels loved it too! Excited narin sila mag bake bake-an! Why not dabah!??

So there you go! No more need for Italiannis or any Italian resto when you crave for this kind of bread!

Yeah baby, home is where it's at!


Note: Hi Rain! Suuuuper thanks for teaching me the "linking process"! Oh my goodness I'm such a neophyte blogger! ;-) Baka ma-addict ako sa pag link link! Hehe! Thank you, thank you!

The SquaCarrot Soup (Squash and Carrot Soup)

Heto akooooooooo basang basa sa ulaaaaaaaaaan! Walang masisilungaaaaaaan, walang makakapitaaaaaan!

Ay.. sorry!!! Naku.. ehem. ehem.. I just got carried away. It's raining cats and dogs here and the wind is blowing so damn hard... and the soundtrack in my head is this famous jukebox song of one of my favorite jukebox groups. Haha!

I know it should have been "Raindrops keep falling on my head..." or "APO Hiking Society's "Pumapatak nanaman ang (j)ulan sa bubong ng bahay..." Hehe.. Maybe next time!

We all know that nothing beats a warm soup on a rainy day. May it be chicken soup, Nilaga, Sinigang, your Lucky Me Instant Noodles or your D-I-Y a.k.a. "Maski Paps" soup. :)

I am a BIG fan of the famous CIBO squash soup ~ Crema Di Zucca (summer squash, cream and bacon slab... Hello Tita Gaita! Etchos feeling close!) but when hubby took me to Felix (naks, nag date kami!), I fell in love with their Fuyubare - a mix of Pumpkin, Carrots and Chestnuts. So the recipe copycat in me wanted to try it at home, and just made a few changes to make it slightly original ;)

I like the Fuyubare because there's that sweet kick in the soup from the carrots that I wouldn't normally taste from a squash soup. Also, here in my world, I can only grab the native kalabasa from my suking palengke. Therefore, I have no access to any pumpkin , nor the summer, winter and autumn squash. Unless someone will be so kind to give me some. hihi. OR if hubby will take me to the Salcedo or Legaspi weekend market sometime soon. (OO, nagpaparinig ako!)

I am not a chestnut girl so this is X'd out but the major ones of course stays on stage - mr. squash and ms. carrots.

I call this The SquaCarrot Soup (say it using your call center accent, c'mon! Squakheret!)

On the photo I used:

Squash/Kalabasa about 1/4 K, cut in cubes
3 medium sized carrots, cut in cuubes
1 tbsp of butter
1 medium sized white onion, minced
Roasted Green and Red Bell Peppers, chopped
Squash and Carrot broth
1 Knorr Beef Cube
Nestlé All Purpose Cream (1 small carton)
Fresh Milk, about half a cup
a few dashes of Nutmeg to taste
Salt and Pepper to taste
Parley Flakes for garnishing

The Way:
Boil the squash and carrots until tender then set aside the veggies and the broth.

On medium heat, in your pot, melt the butter and saute the onions and the roasted bell peppers.
Add the boiled squash and carrots and a bit of the broth, then simmer for about 5 minutes.

After simmering, put the mixture into your electric blender and purée it. Otherwise, you can also use your fork or potato masher (less kitchen tools to wash! saves electricity too!)

Then put the mixture again in the pot, then add some more broth until it looks "soupy" enough, then add the rest of the ingredients: Knorr Beef Cube, All Purpose Cream, Fresh Milk, about half, a few dashes of Nutmeg, Salt and Pepper to taste then bring to a boil. CAREFUL and don't come too close to the pot, the soup pops when it's really boiling hot! I know, natalsikan na kasi ako!

Note: If you don't want the soup to be very creamy, just lessen the amount of the all purpose cream and add more of the veggie broth.

Put the parsley flakes on top and some more pepper if you want when you are about to serve.

Best with croutons, or toasted garlic bread, or pair it with rice and fried fish or rice and roasted chicken! Yum! (bakit laging may kanin? hehe!)

Hope you can try this at home!

Now back to singing... :)