Here is a playlist of Filipino Christmas Carols I collated for you to add more joy to your Christmas celebration. The first song in the track is Pasko na Sinta ko sung by my two girls and three other members of the Manila Children’s Choir in 1999. The second track is “Kasadya ni Takna-a” composed by Vicente Rubi, the original Cebuano version which is not as popular as the Tagalog version “Ang Pasko ay Sumapit”.
And English Christmas songs sang by Filipino artists. The first two songs are sang by the 1999 Manila Childrens’ Choir where my two daughters were members back then.
Every Christmas, I prepare Embutido (otherwise known as Filipino style meatloaf) in large quantities. It’s the perfect Holiday dish to prepare for unexpected guests. One can easily freeze the embutido, slice it , heat it in the oven and serve. The embutido that I know is wrapped in sinsal (an internal pork entrail) which is ideal for steaming. Mom only prepared embutido on Christmas season. There are so many ingredients which need lots of preparation time but like I told you, once prepared, and cooked it’s perfect to store.
One of the dishes I prepared for Christmas day lunch in the year 2005 was Chicken Cannelloni. The young ones particularly raved the rich creamy Chicken Cannelloni. The recipe came from my sister, Lorna who modified it many times. I forgot to take a close-up photo of the Cannelloni dish but it’s the rectangular pyrex on the table. The great thing about Cannelloni is that I can prepare it a day before , freeze it and heat it on Christmas Day itself. It takes the stress away from cooking so many dishes in one day.
Cannelloni usually refers to rectangular pasta sheets that are rolled with a filling. However, sometimes the pasta dough is replaced with a cooked crepe, generally 3 to 4 inches in length and once rolled, one inch in diameter. After cooking the crepe (or boiling the pasta), it is typically filled with a savory stuffing which may include ricotta cheese, spinach, and various meats. It is then covered with a sauce, typically classic tomato or bechamel sauce, although many variations exist.
A childhood memory that never fails to remind me of the Christmas season is Fruitcake. I used to bake a lot of fruitcake in the past but the girls never really got around to acquiring a taste for it. They preferred the Gingerbread Man Cookies because of the story behind it after I bake the first batch. That’s my then 16 year old daughter, Lauren when she helped me with my fruitcakes a few years ago. I don’t plan to bake it this year but maybe next year. For those of you who want to bake Fruitcakes for the Holidays, here is a recipe which I call Golden Fruitcake. I’ve modified this based from my mom’s original fruitcake recipe. My Golden Fruitcake does not have a strong taste of brandy nor is it too sweet. Anyway, there’s a lot of preparation so make sure you run down the list carefully.
Every Christmas season, I bake “Gingerbread Men Cookies” for my children. Even if they are much older now, the memories and the aroma of molasses, cinnamon and other spices give them a warm cozy feeling. It’s one reason that I’ve continued this tradition year after year. I will share this recipe with you if you want to bake it too.
This recipe is modified for a tropical climate. The original recipe requires immediate rolling after the dough has been made but our tropical heat just makes it gooey to handle.
Baking sugar cookies are not my cup of tea. It’s labor intensive. I’d rather bake bar cookies because they are so much easier. You dump all the dry, wet, mix and voila, one gets a yummy cooky. Not with sugar cookies. Whenever I bake sugar cookies, my kids know it’s a labor of love. It’s the love that makes me continue on with this tradition even if they are now adult children. Let me share with you the Christmas Sugar cookies that have been a continuing Christmas tradition for the past twenty years in my family.
NOTE: The Christmas Sugar Cookie recipe can be used only for your personal use and cannot be posted in your website, blog or any other site, form or means without my WRITTEN permission
That’s me and my family in last year’s Christmas Eve Noche Buena. I am sure a lot of you are planning your noche buena dishes for Christmas and New Year. That’s why you are here. I have my black book of recipes that serve as my recipe resources. I like to do a lot of preparation just before the actual cooking so I don’t get stressed out. Here are a few recipes that I have cooked in the past. Some don’t have photos yet because years ago, I didn’t think I’d put them in a food blog. This page will be updated often so bookmark this page for the rest of December.
There are Holiday Cooking Ideas and recipes and also places to buy if you don’t want to bother cooking or baking:
A childhood memory that never fails to remind me of the Christmas season is Fruitcake. I used to bake a lot of fruitcake in the past but the girls never really got around to acquiring a taste for it. They preferred the 
Baking sugar cookies are not my cup of tea. It’s labor intensive. I’d rather bake bar cookies because they are so much easier. You dump all the dry, wet, mix and voila, one gets a yummy cooky. Not with sugar cookies. Whenever I bake sugar cookies, my kids know it’s a labor of love. It’s the love that makes me continue on with this tradition even if they are now adult children. Let me share with you the Christmas Sugar cookies that have been a continuing Christmas tradition for the past twenty years in my family.
