The Coffee Jelly I made using Chef Eugene Raymundo’s recipe
I HAVE always loved coffee jelly. When cafés were all the rage and fraps lorded it over the ice blended coffee concoctions, I liked mine with coffee jelly. Even in desserts, I loved coffee jelly. This is why I was glad to see my good friend, former FLAVORS Magazine columnist and extremely talented chef Eugene Raymundo, post on FB the coffee jelly that he made. I asked for the recipe (as I did with a lot of other dishes and desserts that he made and posted during the lockdown), and he obliged. So I recently made Eugene’s coffee jelly, chilled it in the ref, and had it for dessert. Yummy! And easy, too!
4 boxes unflavored instant gulaman (Ferna or Sarap Pinoy)
2 Tbsps. instant coffee
1 cup water
1 tetra pack all-purpose cream
1/3 can condensed milk
1. Cook gelatin according to package directions, substituting half of the water with strong coffee (*which is 2 Tbsps. instant coffee dissolved in 1 cup water). Pour into a food keeper or pan, and let cool. Chill until firm.
2. Cut coffee jelly into cubes. Pour dressing over coffee jelly cubes, and chill until ready to serve.
3. To make the dressing, mix all-purpose cream and condensed milk until well-blended.
DID you know that 500 grams of real ube go into every Huve Brioche bread of Pampanga-based chef Sau del Rosario? That balances the 500 grams of buttered dough that makes up the hefty brioche bread, and the ube halaya that goes into it is homemade, too. It’s an awesome proportion of ube and bread that’s guaranteed to satisfy the craving of any ube-loving individual.
The Huve Brioche comes at the heels of Chef Sau’s best-selling Vuco Fye and Heg Fye. He kitchen-tested the recipe several times before finding the perfect balance that pleased him. It is Chef Sau’s take on the popular Ube Cheese Pandesal, and the innovative chef chose the brioche dough to work with since his extensive French cooking background made him very familiar with the said dough. So he kneads the dough, rolls it out into a rectangular shape, tops it with his own ube halaya, rolls it into a log, makes a lot of playful cuts on the dough to make the ube ooze out, curls it into a round pan, and bakes it to golden perfection. Chef Sau calls it “ugly beautiful,” but the truth is that it is beautiful and full of character from all angles.
Just like his other pie, bread and pastry products under his new Pan de Sau Bekeri line, the Huve Brioche got its name from the Kapampangans’ habit of adding “h” to any word that starts with a vowel and of interchangeably pronouncing “p” as “f” and “f” as “p.” Same goes with “v” and “b.”
It is available in Pampanga and in Metro Manila, with scheduled deliveries weekly to meet the growing demand for not just the Huve Brioche but also for the original Vuco Fye and Heg Fye as well as the new Tsokolateh Heg Fye, Henseymada, and Vananah Walnut Tsokolate Vread. To order and inquire about delivery dates and prices, call or text 0917-1928343, email 25seeds.ph@gmail.com, or check out the FB and IG pages of Sau del Rosario.
Chef Sau del Rosario’s Vuco Fye is inarguably the best Buko Pie in town
ARGUMENTS on which is the best Buko Pie in town have stopped. A true winner has been selected—and the winner is Chef Sau del Rosario’s Vuco Fye.
A wonderful piece of golden perfection, Vuco Fye was born during the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) or lockdown in Luzon. Bored by the “spare time” that he suddenly found himself with, Chef Sau indulged in baking and came up with two winners—Vuco Fye and Heg Fye. They are actually his interpretations of two classic Pinoy pies, the Buko Pie and the Egg Pie. He tweaked them and made gourmet versions that are to die for.
His Vuco Fye, in particular, is an amazing piece of pastry art, as he layered the fresh meat of seven coconuts in each pie, thus resulting in a tall, full-bodied and luscious pie that measures 7.5 inches in diameter and stands 4.5 inches tall, with custard to keep the coconut meat in place inside the handcrafted crust.
The way it looks, tastes and totally satisfies cravings is like no other Buko Pie in the market. So when he launched it simultaneously with his Heg Fye, with deliveries in his home province Pampanga and scheduled trips to Metro Manila to fulfill overwhelming orders.
Hot off the oven!
Easily the best Buko Pie in town, Chef Sau’s Vuco Fye is the pie that started it all for his new Pan de Sau by Café Fleur line.
All have been given playful names, to which Chef Sau explains, “In Pampanga, we have this habit of adding “h” to any word that starts with a vowel, and Kapampangans interchangeably pronounce “p” as “f” and “f” as “p.” Thus, the name Vuco Fye.”
Next to Vuco Fye (Php795) and Heg Fye (Php695) came Huve Brioche (Php695), Henseymada (Php695), Apple Walnut Cinnamon (Php795), Tsokolateh Heg Fye (Php725), and Vananah Walnut Tsokolateh Vread (Php695). Knowing Chef Sau, there are certainly lots more to come!
Baked Cheesecake with Cherry, Blueberry and Mango by Chef Jessie’s
THIS year’s Father’s Day celebration on Sunday, June 21, 2020, would be different. While families used to dine out and honor the man of the house with a satisfying lunch or dinner in a hotel or restaurant, most families would be celebrating at home this year because of the Covid-19 pandemic that has put many key places in the country, including Metro Manila, in some form of Community Quarantine. In the case of Metro Manila, it is General Community Quarantine (GCQ), which how allows dining in restaurants but with quite a number of restrictions. Because of these restrictions, a big percentage of hotels and restaurants have decided to stick to pick-ups and deliveries for the meantime.
Some available options for that memorable lockdown Father’s Day celebration at home…
CHEF JESSIE’S
Chef Jessie’s makes your Father’s Day celebration more special with its uniquely delicious pick-up and delivery offerings. Available on the menu are full course lineups that will make Dad feel like Chef Jessie Sincioco herself is cooking for him right in the kitchen.
For starters, there’s Smoked Salmon Caviar Pie with Croutons which you can follow up with Caesar Salad in the Classic Way. Soup afterwards is a choice among Creamy Shrimp Bisque, Cream of Fresh Mushroom, Cream of Carrot and Pumpkin, and Seafood and Corn Chowder.
Grilled Prime Black Angus Filet Mignon
Grilled Black Angus Sirloin Steak
Roast U.S. Black Angus Rib Eye in Bordelaise Sauce
For the main entrée, Dad would love a Grilled Prime Black Angus Beef Tenderloin or Grilled Prime Black Angus Rib Eye with a choices of sauces—Béarnaise, Bordelaise, Bourguignon, Wild Mushroom, Goose Liver and Creamy Pepper. Other meat choices that he would also enjoy are U.S. Black Angus Beef Tenderloin Tips Salpicao, U.S. Beef Cheeks and Mushroom Ragout, and Iberian Chestnut Pork Barbecue.
Chilean Seabass Fillet with Pan-fried Goose Liver
There are also sumptuous choices for seafood lovers, including Grilled Chilean Sea Bass in Mariner Sauce, Baked Chilean Sea Bass in Miso Sauce, Grilled Salmon in Berlinoise Sauce, and Grilled Tiger Prawns in Lemon Butter Sauce.
You can also choose to order Grilled Duck à L’orange or Chicken Cordon Bleu with Homemade Potato Chips.
A good bottle of wine to go with the main course is Menhir Salento Numero Zero Megromaro (N˚O), which is Pope Francis’ favorite wine. The rosato is of a ruby hue with purple highlights and has a bouquet of strawberry, blackberry and raspberry. The taste thus is fresh, vinous and slightly astringent.
Spaghetti A La Jessie
If pasta is what Dad and the whole family fancies, Chef Jessie’s offers a choice of spaghetti, linguine or penne in creations such as A La Jessie, A La Créme with Truffle, Pomodoro with Seafood, Bolognese, Carbonara, and Puttanesca. Or you can choose to treat Dad to Wild Rice Vegetable Risotto instead.
For light sandwiches to go with pasta, selections include Club Classic, Grilled Ham and Cheese, Smoked Salmon, and Trio Pandesal with Chicken Adobo, Corned Beef and Sardines.
Princess Carmen
Chocolate Decadence Cake
For sweet endings to a perfectly delicious meal, opt for whole cakes such as the mango sponge cake classic My Tita’s Special Treat; the buttercream, meringue and pistachio layered Princess Carmen; Chef Jessie’s Baked Cheesecake with Cherry, Blueberry and Mango; Chocolate Gateau ala Teddy; and Sugar Free Decadence Cake. A nice cup of Chef Jessie’s Premium Roast Coffee should perfectly cap the meal.
To order, text or call 0917-8967880, 0917-8330797 or 0977-0976649, or email chefjessiesplace@chefjessie.com. Chef Jessie’s Place is located at 1997 Pililla St. corner Obrero and Tanay Sts., Makati City, and is open for pick-up and delivery daily from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
IF you’re craving for Ube Cheese Pandesal but have so far disappointed by all the overpriced wanna-bes you have so far tasted, you have to try the new Ube Cheese Pandesal of The French Baker.
This new product of The French Baker is the real deal. It is six huge and hefty violet-colored, ube-flavored pandesals in a pack, loaded with cheese and ube halaya made from dahl pea. The filling is generous, with each pandesal weighing some 66 grams, since six pandesals total 400 grams. The bread itself is soft but firm, and one bite reveals the delicious double filling within.
At Php210 per pack of six, The French Baker’s Ube Cheese Pandesal packs in all the flavor. One or at most two satisfies your craving and keeps you happily nourished. Available at all The French Baker stores.
