Turon with Cream Cheese

In celebration of the National Fritters Day on December 2, I made our Filipino banana fritter called “turon.”

Turon is a favorite dessert or snack here in the Philippines and to make it a little more special, I added cream cheese to the recipe. It brings me back to my childhood where I would usually buy banana fritters from my friend’s mom and snack up on it as we play under the trees in our garden.

I don’t exactly know why this is called turon in the Philippines. A turron (Spanish) or torrone (Italian) is a nougat confection made of honey, sugar, and egg white, with toasted nuts. I’m guessing it’s because of the nougat-y finish brought by the caramelized brown sugar. I somehow understand why it’s called a banana fritter. A fritter is any kind of food coated in batter and deep fried. A Filipino turon, however, uses Chinese pastry wrapper as its coating.

 

Stuffed Prunes With Bacon

This is the first recipe installment for my entry to Foodbuzz’s 24×24 this November.

If you’ve been following my blog, you’d know that I just hosted a Thanksgiving dinner called “Beyond Turkey, A Modern Thanksgiving Dinner” where I served stuffed prunes with bacon as appetizer. Truth is, the dish wasn’t what I had in mind when I submitted my proposal. I really wanted to make Moules A La Mariniere. However, as soon as my proposal got accepted, we were placed on a Red Tide alert and eating shellfish such as clams and mussels became a big no-no. Goodbye Moules A La Mariniere then

I didn’t realize that it may be a blessing in disguise to change the appetizer to stuffed prunes with bacon. It was an easy no-sweat dish, seriously. Best of all, it was hugely loved by my guests. Personally, I love the stuffed prunes because the flavors blended well together and no flavor overpowered the other. Sure, anything that’s sweet and salty at the same time is like a match made in heaven but this dish is something that hits the right spot.

Here’s the recipe for my version of Stuffed Prunes with Bacon. You’ll be surprised at how easy it is to make ‘em!

 

Cream Cheese Bruschetta with Blueberry Compote

This is the appetizer I served for the mid-afternoon party of my office friends. I was really pressured but I’m so glad they liked what I served them! *whew*

Due to time constraints, I was not able to take pictures and instead, requested friends to let me grab theirs.  I was in a rush the whole day, trying to get things done without skipping work. TAKE NOTE: I didn’t skip work and yet I served my dishes right on time baby!

Anyhow, here goes…

photo of my bruschettas by Happy Trails

Decadent Chocolate Cupcakes w/ Tangy Cream Cheese Calamansi Sauce

I baked again tonight for no apparent reason. I just happened to crave for Cookbook Kitchen‘s decadent chocolate cake with warm caramel sauce. With nothing to do but wait for hubby from work, I grabbed my apron and raided our pantry. Nice, I still have the ingredients for a chocolate cupcake recipe! My only problem was that I didn’t have anything for a caramel sauce. I thought I’d go a little adventurous then and pair chocolate with something citrus…

Hmm, not a lemon…

Not a lime either..

But Calamansi (also called Calamondin)