I find the Chicken Corden Bleu an attractive party fare. It’s easy to prepare. Usually I prepare the rolling of the chicken breast the night before and then do the dredging procedure on the day of the party. In that way, I am less hassled during party preparation. Enjoy!

Ingredients

1/2 kilo chicken breast
salt and pepper to taste
4 slices cheddar cheese
4 slices sweet ham
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup butter

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Posted: April 29th, 2009 under Recipes, chicken.
Comments: 2

I first learned to cook after college. Remember I baked first before I actually cooked. One of the first recipes that I cooked was Beef Stroganoff. Despite being a newbie in cooking, the dish came out really well. Beef stroganoff is actually a Russian dish with sautéed pieces of beef served in a sauce with sour cream. It tastes best with pasta noodles or even just plain bread. It became popular in other countries and of course the Philippines. For those first-time cooks, try this out.

Ingredients

1/2 kilo beef Tenderloin, cut into 3 x 1.2 inch slices
1/2 cup flour
2 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons chopped garlic
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup mushroom juice from the mushrooms
1 cup sour cream ( substitute with 1 cup evaporated milk and 1 tablespoon calamansi juice or vinegar. Let stand until curdled)
1 teaspoon tomato paste
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce
1/4 teaspoon refined salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup grated cheddar cheese or gruyere cheese (optional)

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Posted: April 27th, 2009 under Beef, Recipes.
Comments: none

My memories of Suman Luya dates back to Christmas Eve and my mother. She would cook the sticky rice in a big kawali in the dirty kitchen. Suman Luya is extremely smooth tasting with the right amount of sweetness. It’s perfect for hot chocolate drink during the noche buena. The taste in itself reminds me of Christmas in Cebu.

Here is the recipe of Suman Luya (Suman Flavored with Ginger) or you can buy Suman Luya from this entry Where to Buy Suman in Manila

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Posted: April 26th, 2009 under Recipes, kakanin.
Comments: 3

Chili Con Carne is one of the comfort foods that I remember in my childhood days. I remember placing chili con carne over rice enjoying the right amount of spicy flavors. It’s an all-time favorite food with my children. My kids are different. They also eat it with rice but add grated cheddar cheese on the top of the chili con carne. I know there are variations of Chili con Carne.

Chili con carne (often known simply as chili) is a spicy stew-like dish. The essential ingredients are chili peppers and meat. Variations, either geographic or by personal preference, often include tomatoes, onions, garlic, cumin, beans, and other ingredients. The name “chili con carne” is a slight corruption of the Spanish chile con carne, which means peppers with meat.

There are indeed many variations and I prefer to have more of the beef than beans. I also like to add tomato paste which some believe shouldn’t be in the recipe. Here is my recipe.

Ingredients

1/2 kilo lean ground beef
400 grams red kidney bean
2 Tablespoons olive oil
6 cloves garlic
1 onions, chopped

1/2 cup Tomato paste
1-2 cups water
2 teaspoons Chili Powder
1/2 teaspoon Paprika
4 pieces siling labuyo
Salt to taste
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
7 leaves of Cilantro (optional)

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Posted: April 20th, 2009 under Beef, Recipes.
Comments: 4

I am not too fond of deep fried foods so whenever I cook this, I use Olive oil which is the healthier oil. I love dipping it though with vinegar and garlic sauce. I will show you two ways to prepare Lumpia Ubod, the fried and fresh lumpia version.

Ubod Mixture
2 kilos ubod (coconut heart) cut in shoestring manner, boiled and drained
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 onion, chopped
1/2 kilo shrimps, shelled and sliced in small portions
2 Tablespoons patis (thin sauce)
1/2 kilo boiled pork cut into think strips
salt and pepper to taste
3 pieces Green beans, sliced (optional for accent)
1 piece carrots, sliced(optional for accent)
Lettuce for the fresh lumpia version

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Posted: April 16th, 2009 under Recipes, Vegetables.
Comments: 3

I love coconut milk recipes and they taste really great with seafoods especially shrimps. Whenever a relative gives us kilos and kilos of shrimps, we prepare Guinataang Hipon as the shrimp flavors seep in to the coconut milk preparation.

Ingredients

1/2 kg fresh shrimps, medium to large sized Shrimps
1 tablespoon Olive Oil
1 teaspoon garlic
1/2 cup coconut milk (check Coconut Milk Preparation)
2 pieces green siling haba or finger chilies
1 thumb sized fresh ginger, mashed (optional)
1/2 cup coconut cream (Check the Coconut Cream Preparation)
salt to taste

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Posted: April 13th, 2009 under Coconut Milk, Seafood.
Comments: none

My late brother, Ruben shared this kropeck recipe with my sister Lorna when he was still studying at the Fisheries department at UP Diliman. This is the real thing. Lorna unearthed this gem of a recipe for anyone to try out. Here it is

120 grams ground, cooked fish meat (use any inexpensive fish)
500 grams all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. MSG (optional)
1 tsp. sugar
2 drops of food coloring (FDA-certified, especially the red color)
1 egg, well-beaten
4 cups water
1-1/2 tsp. salt
3 tbsps. lime water (dayap)

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Posted: April 12th, 2009 under Recipes, Seafood.
Comments: none

Just looking at the photos makes me want to eat more kilawin or kinilaw na isda. Once can use either tuna or lapu-lapu fillets to make this dish. I always associate the Kinilaw with a beach outing. Preparing dishes with vinegar ensures there is little chance of food spoilage. The fish is “cooked” using vinegar as the meat turnes opaque in color. Though kinilaw may not be as popular as adobo, it certainly has a one-of-a-kind taste that many Pinoys abroad crave for.

In Philippine Food and Life (released by Anvil Publishing in 1992), Gilda Cordero-Fernando narrates of an Ilokano group who, during the Spanish period, were part of the crew English navigator Thomas Cavendish’s ship. Right after the sailors threw all the intestines of a goat into the sea, the Ilokano assistants dived into the sea for their kilawin — dipped or cooked in bile sauce or broth. The chronicler, who was ignorant of what the Pinoys were preparing, described the dish as “a disgusting mess.”

Not only goats, which is believed to be a good source of protein and calcium, however, may be made into kilawin. Beef, carabeef, fish, shelfish, including octopus are also popular options.

(Sources: Alegre, Edilberto N. and Fernandez, Doreen G. “Kinilaw: A Philippine Cuisine of Freshness.” Bookmark Inc.,1991;Cordero, Gilda Fernando. “Philippine Food and Life.” Pasig City: Anvil Publishing, 1992)

Kilawin na isda is so easy to prepare too.

Here are the ingredients:

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Posted: April 11th, 2009 under Asian Cuisine, Filipino Food, Recipes, Seafood, kakanin.
Comments: 1

The lapu-lapu is always a special dish. Childhood memories of our family dinner involves a feast of lapu-lapu topped with sweet and sour sauce known escabeche. Escabeche has a slight ginger taste to it unlike the Chinese version of sweet and sour sauce. I am not sure if this is a Cebuano version of the sweet and sour sauce because I have not tasted it here in Manila.

Here is how I prepare it:

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Posted: April 10th, 2009 under Recipes, Seafood.
Comments: none

I first learned how to cook suman from Prof. Matilde Guzman Food Preparation class. I love the combination of mongo and coconut-flavored sweet sticky rice wrapped in banana leaves.

Here is the recipe.

Ingredients

1 cup malagkit (glutinous rice)
1 cup mongo
1-1/4 cups sugar
3/4 cups coco milk
coco cream from 1 grated coconut

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Posted: April 8th, 2009 under Recipes, kakanin.
Comments: 2

I tried out this simple eggplant omelet recipe from Kristine Keefer, public relations coordinator for the French Laundry in Yountville, California.

Kristine Keefer, public relations coordinator for the French Laundry in Yountville, left her native Philippines after college to attend the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y. This omelet can be enjoyed with the accompanying recipes for mango salad and garlic fried rice for a complete meal for breakfast, lunch or dinner. I am pretty sure overseas Filipinos will love these recipes.

Ingredients
2 Japanese eggplant (the narrower the better, as they will cook faster)
Vegetable oil or extra virgin olive oil, as needed
1 medium onion, cut in small dice
10 ounces ground pork
1 large plum tomato, cut in small dice
1 tablespoon fish sauce (Keefer prefers the Thai brand Tiparos)
4 medium eggs
Salt and pepper, to taste

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Posted: April 8th, 2009 under Pork, Recipes, Vegetables.
Comments: 1

Mommy used the book, “Recipes of the Philippines,” compiled and edited by Enriqueta David-Perez as her guide for making her Bibingka recipes. Bibingka reminds me of those early bakeshop days in the early 1970’s when my sister and I had to help grind the rice into “galapong” and dump them into clean plastic pails, knowing (by smell) the difference between fresh and rancid galapong. Mommy also taught us how to pre-mix the “secret” part of the recipe (the combination of dry ingredients) which was stored in plastic bags at the locked stockroom in the “dirty kitchen.”

Mommy was also one of the first advocates of ALMEDAH Food Machineries Corporation since the famous inventor himself, Benjamin Almeda Sr., taught Mommy how to use his bibingka machines. I used to accompany Mommy whenever she visited Mr. Almeda in Manila.

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Posted: April 6th, 2009 under Baking Recipes, Bibingka.
Comments: 8