Much delayed... truffles!

My life has been quite hectic lately, and I did not even notice how quickly this past week went by. For those of you who wondered if I missed my cooking weekend, nope I did not miss it. I did my now usual kitchen experiments as always, but I simply had a little time to sit down and write a blog. So here I am on a Saturday night, writing a blog entry not for this weekend but for the previous one. You will be glad to note that last weekend's recipes included truffles. That's right, yours truly gathered up all of his courage and ventured into the unknown waters of confectionery arts. The outcome? I'd say fairly decent milk chocolate truffles, complete with nuts and cocoa and even cereal.

Here are the recipes (and I promise, I will try to post this weekend's entry at the start of next week)...

Dish # 1 - GLAZED FRUIT BOWL

Serves 4 Time to Prepare 10 min

2 (20 ounce) cans unsweetened pineapple chunks
2 (3 ounce) packages cook and serve vanilla pudding
2 1/2 cups orange juice
1 small cantaloupe, cubed
3 1/2 cups cubed honeydew
2 cups fresh strawberries, halved
2 cups fresh blueberries
2 cups seedless grapes
2 medium firm bananas, sliced

Drain pineapple, reserving 1 cup juice; set pineapple aside. (Discard remaining juice or save for another use.) In a large saucepan, combine the pudding mix, pineapple juice and orange juice. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture boils and thickens. Remove from the heat; cool. In a large bowl, combine the pineapple, melon, berries, grapes and bananas. Drizzle with pudding mixture. Refrigerate until serving.

My experience: OK, so those are the ingredients for the original recipe. I made quite a few changes though. I did not have any honeydew, blueberries or strawberries, and I'm pretty sure I've never heard of cantaloupe, and would not recognize it even if I were staring at it. So, in short, I had fewer ingredients. It worked nevertheless. Very yummy.
Our verdict: Delicious!

Dish # 2 - CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP

Serves 4 Time to Prepare 10 min Cooking Time 50 min

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1/3 cup carrots, chopped into small cubes
1/3 cup celery
1/3 cup onions
chicken bones of whole chicken
6 cups of water
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper
cooked pasta noodles of your choice

In a large, heavy pan, heat olive oil and garlic together until soft but not brown in color. Add carrots, celery, and onions and saute for about 5 minutes. Place bones, water, bay leaf, salt and pepper and simmer covered for about 50 minutes. Check the seasoning and add the pasta right before serving to heat through.

My experience: I basically followed the recipe, except that instead of bones, I added chicken breasts.
Our verdict: Really nice and filling soup. Loved it!

Dish # 3 - SUNBURST CASSEROLE

Serves 4 Time to Prepare 10 min Cooking Time 10 min

1/2 cup bread crumbs from day old bread
2 medium sized potatoes
2 medium sized onions
4 medium sized fresh tomatoes
salt and pepper
1/3 block butter, cubed (healthy option: replace with 6 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil)
500 grams Bangus Belly
2 tablespoon parsley, chopped

Toast some leftover bread and pound with a mortar to create lovely golden crumbs. Cut potatoes into paper-thin rounds, then place in a bowl of water. Cut the onions and tomatoes into very thin rounds as well. In an 8 or 10-inch baking dish, arrange the first batch of sliced circles, as follows: potato, onion, tomato, until you have filled the surface of the dish. Season with salt and pepper. Scatter half of the cubed butter. For the next layer, place the Bangus belly on top of the first layer of vegetables. For the final layer, do the same as the first layer, but finish with breadcrumbs and parsley. Bake in a 175C or 350F oven for 20 minutes.

My experience: Rather than bake, I fried bangus. Obviously, I could not do the layers as the recipe advised, but still, the resulting dish was really amazing.
Our verdict: You have to try this one. Very well done!

Dish # 4 - TRUFFLES

Serves 4 Time to Prepare 10 min

1 cup milk chocolate (rough chopped baking bar)
2 teaspoon unsalted butter
1/3 cup heavy cream

In a double boiler melt the milk chocolate, butter and cream stirring frequently until the consistency is soft and satin-like. Transfer rmixture to a bowl and refrigerate for 5 hours. To make truffles, scoop a tablesppon of chocolate mixture and form into a ball. Roll truffle in cocoa powder. Or dip truffle in melted chocolate and roll in coconut flakes, nuts, even cornflakes.

My experience: When it comes to desserts, I really value my kids' opinion. If they love it, then it's a success. So I was eager to see them try these truffles. Turns out, having chocolate formed into a ball shape, and then have it covered in nuts, seemed a bit odd for my toddlers. Still, it was an amazing feat on my part, I think.
Our verdict: Chocolate overdose! Yeaaaaah!