Halo-halo con Zabaglione

Halo-halo con Zabaglione
Halo-halo with Zabaglione Sauce

This is my take on one of the Philippines' famous desserts snack. Instead of just plain evaporated milk, I infused the flavor of Italy here. And the result is still refreshing without sacrificing the flavor we have been familiar with.

Ingredients:

3 C Sparkling white wine like Champagne or any carbonated soda (Sprite, 7Up)
2 pcs. egg yolks
1/2 t cinnamon
2 T sugar
1/4 C raisins, soaked in rhum
1/2 C each red and green gelatin, boiled, set and cut into cubes
rice crispies (pinipig)
red mung beans, cooked with sugar
garbanzos or white kidney beans, cooked with sugar
other add-ins: bananas cooked with sugar, preserved jackfruit, sugar palm (kaong), leche flan (custard), ice cream, condensed or evaporated milk

Preparation:

In a bowl, beat the egg yolks with sugar and cinnamon. Pour the sparkling wine or soda gradually until frothy. In a tall glass, arrange the ingredients i a presentable manner. Pour in the frothed zabaglione in the glass and top with rice crispies. Serves 2.

These recipes won me my first gold for the dessert-plating category. I should say I was surprised to get that. These are very easy to make recipes but all of these put together made a powerful combination-an Elite Four. Hehe...

Other than that, i managed to come up with really chic, presentable, artistic presentations that captured the eyes of the judges.

Give these recipes a try.

Spiced Toscano Schiaccia il Timballo

Spiced Toscano Schiaccia il Timballo

Spiced Tuscan Squash Flan

This is my version of leche flan or custard. It is still made with eggs and milkbut to make it richer, i put in squash puree and nutmeg. It has a little kick of spice with the nutmeg, also putting in more aroma.

Ingredients:

2 C squash or pumpkin, (the older, the better), peeled, cubed and boiled

6 pcs. egg yolks

1 C condensed milk

1 t nutmeg

1/2 C sugar

1 t vanilla extract

Preparation:

After boiling the squash, pass it through a sieve. In a bowl, combine the beaten egg yolks, condensed milk, mashed squash, vanilla extract and nutmeg powder together. Mix well. set aside. In a custard mould, dissolve the sugar to make sugar syrup as a base for the flan. Pour the mixture on the moulder. Put the moulders on a baking tray with water or just put them in a steamer. Cook until flan is firm. Preferrably, I would use small round, tin flan moulders for this recipe, so when it is plated, you would see the height of the dessert. When the flan is done, set it aside to cool, refrigerate to set properly. Unmold on a dessert plate. Serve the flan with fresh fruits or with other pastries.

Tartufi Neri e Bianchi con Frutta Tropicali

Tartufi Neri e Bianchi con Frutta Tropicali

Black and White Truffles with Tropical Fruits

This recipe was formulated during my Food Sales subject wherein we have to come up with our own unique product, make a feasibility study, marketing strategy, sales report and concept of the prospective product with their potential proponents. This recipe is a no-bake and very rich in fiber.

Ingredients:

300g chocolate sandwich cookies, crushed

1/2 C condensed milk

3/4 C raisins, chopped

1 pack (300g) dried tropical fruits, (papaya, banana, pineapple, coconut meat, mango), minced

cocoa powder

confectioner's sugar

Belgian waffles

Preparation:

In a mixing bowl, combine crushed cookies, condensed milk and raisins. Mix it altogether intil you have a sticky mixture. Roll out a half-tablespoon of the mixture into a ball. Press at the center to provide space for the filling of mixed dried tropical fruits. Roll it to a ball again. Set aside. Refrigearte if preferred. Dredge each ball with cocoa powder or confectioner's sugar. To plate, put a Belgian waffle on a plate arrange four truffles into four's with alternate colors. Put another waffle on top of the truffles and dredge lightly with cocoa pwder. Garnish with edible blooms. Makes 24 pieces depending on size of truffles.

Composta di Pomodoro ala Pietro

Four desserts-exquisite!

These desserts were the most unforgettable and easiest desserts I made. Having said "easy" you will find it amazing how I managed to bag the Gold Award at a culinary competition.

It was the 4th Gastronomia Culinary Skills Competition. The theme was European-Filipino. I came up with Italian-Filipino as a concept for my desserts. The category was for "Plated Dessert Display-Freestyle." Wherein we have to display four different desserts be it cold or hot, baked or frozen, fresh or cooked. Some of the elements we have to consider are the colors, flavor, aroma, height, taste-basically everything must go together and must relate to your concept and theme.

Here are my four award-winning desserts. The first dessert was adopted from my Mom's original recipe of "Tomato Jam." I've alteres her recipe to make it my own and came up with two versions. Since I followed an Italian theme, I also decided to name the recipes in Italian.

Composta di Pomodoro ala Pietro

Candied Tomato and Tomato Compote

Ingredients:

2 pcs ripe, red firm. plump tomato, peeled and seeded, sliced into strips; the othe is peeled and seeded then, hollowed

4 T sugar

4 t water

1 t rhum or brandy

1 T fresh grapefruit juice

fresh fruits (strawberry slices, grapefruit slice, mint leaves or pandan leaves)

Preparation:

In a saucepan, pour the water and let it simmer. Add in the sugar and tomatoes. Allow the sugar to dissolve and crystalize with the tomatoes. Pour the brandy or rhum and juice. Stir the fruits to avoid burning. Once the sugar is melted and the tomatoes are begining to be somewhat clear, transfer them on a bowl. Let cool. To plate the dessert, put the grapefruit slice on a white 13" plate. On top of it, put the whole "tomato compote" and the "tomato confit" atop the compote. drizzle with syrup. Garnish with fresh fruits and a sprig of mint and/or a pandan leaf. Serves 2.