It’s a New Year at The Maya Kitchen

It is 2012! Celebrate the New Year with a mixture of something exciting and new mixed together with the tried and tested kitchen standbys we have come to love.

Dollops of baby pink, hot pink and fuchsia pink on smooth, white fondant make the Confetti Cake stand out. Herbed Parmesan Crackers are perfect alone or with a steaming bowl of soup. Leftover meats top Hearty Pizza, with a rustic odd-shaped crust baked crisp to perfection.

For more recipes, other culinary ideas and course schedule, log on to www.themayakitchen.com.        

Confetti Cake

1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 cup + 1 tablespoon water
3 pieces eggs
1 520g package Maya Decadence Yellow Cake Mix

Rum Glaze:
¼ cup    sugar
1/3 cup water
2 tablespoons butter
¼ cup    rum

Fondant Icing:
Shortening (for greasing)   
5 cups white miniature marshmallows
5 tablespoons water
10 cups confectioners’ sugar
food color
shortening (for greasing)

Preheat oven to 350°F/177°C. Grease and flour an 8-inch stainless bowl mold. Set aside.

In a mixing bowl, combine oil, water and eggs. Mix in cake mix and beat until smooth. Pour into prepared bowl mold and bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Cool.

Prepare Rum Glaze: In a small saucepan, combine sugar, water and butter. Bring to a boil until mixture turns into thin syrup. Remove from fire and cool. Stir in rum and set aside to cool completely. Brush rum glaze into cooled cake. Set aside.

Prepare Fondant: In a stainless bowl, melt marshmallows with water, over simmering water. Once melted, pour the melted marshmallows on a confectioners’ sugar dusted work table and knead gradually. The fondant is ready when it is firm enough and formed into a ball. Divide the fondant into two.

Cover the cake with half portion of fondant. Divide the other half into three. Tint each portions of fondant with different shades of pink. Roll out each colored fondant into 1/8-inch thick then cut into different sizes of rounds and strips using cookie cutter. Using little water to attach or paste the cut colored fondant into the cake. For the strips of fondant, create a spring like design using a straw. Let it dry out for awhile to harden before removing into the straw.  Decorate as desired.

Note: Tools to be used for preparing fondant icing must be well greased.

Herbed Parmesan Crackers

1 ¾ cups Maya All-Purpose Flour
½ cup butter
1 cup freshly grated parmesan
¼ cup parsley
1 teaspoon garlic powder
¼ cup all-purpose cream
powdered parmesan (optional)

Preheat oven to 400°F/200°C. Line baking sheet with wax paper or parchment paper and lightly dust with flour. Set aside.

In a food processor, combine flour, butter and cheese. Pulse until well blended. Add parsley and garlic powder. Continue mixing and add cream 1 tablespoon at a time until mixture holds together but not sticky.

Roll out dough on a floured surface until 1/8 inch thick. Cut into desired shapes using cookie or pizza cutter. Prick shaped dough with fork and place into prepared baking sheets. Bake for 10 minutes or until lightly brown.

Cool and dust with powdered parmesan, if desired. Serve right away or store in a tightly sealed container. Best serve as snack or eaten with soup.

Hearty Pizza

2 teaspoons yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup water
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons oil or shortening
2 ½ - 3 cups Maya All-Purpose Flour   

olive oil, for drizzling
left-over pasta sauce (spaghetti or white sauce base)
left-over cheeses (cheddar, quick-melt or mozzarella) grated
left-over meats
left-over vegetables (tomatoes, onions, green or red peppers)     
alfalfa and baby arugula leaves

Dissolve yeast and sugar in half cup of warm water. Set aside. In a bowl, put the remaining water and add sugar, salt, oil and half of the flour to form soft dough. Add in yeast mixture and the rest of the flour adding shortening a little at a time. Knead until dough leaves the sides of the bowl. Transfer dough on a floured surface and continue kneading until dough is smooth and satiny. Allow dough to rest for 30 minutes or until dough doubles in volume.

Punch dough and roll out to form into a desired shape of pizza.  Prick with fork and pre-bake for at least 5-10 minutes. Cool and set aside.

To Assemble: Spray or drizzle some olive oil onto prepared pizza crust. Spread some sauce on top of crust leaving at least 1-inch on the edge. Put half of grated cheese then arrange left-over meats and vegetables on top. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Drizzle some olive oil again before baking.

Bake until cheese on top turns lightly brown. Then arrange alfalfa and baby arugula leaves on top before serving.

Go Country-Style Cooking With Glad This New Year

Still having trouble deciding on a theme for Media Noche? With some help from Glad kitchen wraps and bags and Chef Eugene Raymundo, chef/food stylist and part-owner of Five Cows Restaurant and Kitch Café, you won’t regret going country style on New Year’s Eve. It is simple, warm, tender, family-oriented and heavenly. Country-style home cooking also provides comfort and serves a nice counterpoint to chilly January. It’s a kind of cooking that’s relaxed – with the gradual process producing moist, tender results.

Try creating the Orange Barbecue Baby Back Ribs, a recipe from Glad that will surely bring delight on New Year’s Eve. Despite the many competing distractions of the holidays, its sumptuous aroma will surely attract everyone to the kitchen and the dining table. What’s more, doing it country-style will not feel like a chore when you have Glad products to help you.

When preparing this recipe, Chef Eugene strongly recommends using Glad Aluminum Foil and Glad Zipper Bags. According to him, Glad Zipper bags help cut marinating into half, meat absorbs marinate faster when air is removed before sealing. While Glad Aluminum Foil traps the heat inside, thus making the cooking process shorter. It also locks in the moisture of the meats during baking, at the same time sealing in the flavors.

When Media Noche rolls in, let the family gather by the warm glow of the oven as you and your loved ones await the miracle of the new year, and your sumptuous country-style meal. Below is the recipe shared by Chef Eugene and Glad:


Orange Barbecue Baby Back Ribs

2 slabs baby back ribs, cut into halves
1 tsp. salt
¼ tsp. pepper
½ tsp. chili powder
½ tsp. garlic powder
1 pc. orange, juice extracted
zest of 1 orange
¼ cup honey
¼ cup brown sugar
½ cup tomato catsup
1 tbsp. Worcestershire Sauce
1 tbsp. minced garlic
½ tsp. chili powder
pinch cinnamon
1 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper

Pre-heat oven to 175F.

Place ribs in Glad Freezer Zipper Bag and add in salt, pepper, chili powder and garlic powder. Massage for a few seconds and marinate for at least 1 hour.

Wrap each slab in Glad Aluminum Foil and bake for 3 hours.

To make the barbecue sauce, blend all remaining ingredients (orange juice, zest of orange, honey, brown sugar, tomato catsup, Worcestershire sauce, minced garlic, chili powder, cinnamon, salt and pepper) until smooth.

Open Glad Aluminum Foil and pour barbecue sauce over ribs and bake at 350F for 30 minutes, or until golden in color.