What do we do with leftovers from Christmas dinner? Most especially scrap ham. The solution….Pochero or cocido. I prefer to call it Pochero as it is a very common dish in my hometown Cebu.

Pochero (Spanish spelling , Puchero) with its bounty of meats, sausages and vegetables is known as the “real national dish of Spain. Brought to the shores through the Spanish conquistadores, it is a favorite dish at Filipino festive occasions. With extra ham from the noche buena, the pochero is one way of recycling left-over meats. This recipe is richly flavored by the ham bones and scrap ham simmered with the beef.

Ingredients

1 kilo cubed beef (with some portions of fat)
1/2 kilo leftover ham bones
1/4 kilo scrap ham
8 to 10 cups water or enough to cover meat
4 medium potatoes, peeled and cut in half
4 Saba bananas, peeled, sliced in half
3 pieces chorizo de bilbao sliced diagonally into 2 inch pieces
1 cup chick peas
1 head of cabbage quartered
1 Baguio pechay leaves separated

Read more »

Posted: November 20th, 2009 under Noche Buena, chicken.
Comments: 3

My husband’s favorite pasta dish has got to be lasagna. Whenever we have guests, he makes this special request and I tell him that it gets to be boring. Well, I think lasagna is an all-time favorite for most pinoys.Lasagna involves three steps: The tomato meat sauce, boiling the pasta and the preparation of the bechamel sauce.

Let’s make the Bechamel sauce first:

Ingredients

3/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
2 cans evaporated milk (i can is equivalent to 225 ml or 1 cup)
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Read more »

Posted: November 10th, 2009 under Beef, Pasta, Recipes.
Comments: 18

Are you planning your noche buena menu this early? Well I usually plan mine as early as November. 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.

Here is my Embutido recipe.

Ingredients

2 pieces red pepper, minced finely
3 kilos ground lean pork
2 pieces carrot, grated finely
1 cup Chorizo de Bilbao, chopped finely (this is the one that gives the flavor)
6 eggs, beaten
200 grams raisins
300 grams pickle relish
3 onions, minced
1 1/2 tablespoon minced garlic
1 1/2 teaspoons ground black pepper
3 1/2 Tablespoons fine salt
7 1/2 Tablespoon sugar
2 1/2 Tablespoon worcestershire saice
3/4 cup cornstarch

Garnishing

3 eggs hardboiled
5 pieces hotdog
4 pieces Vienna sausage

Procedure

1. Combine all the ingredients except the garnishings.

2. Blend thoroughly together. Before rolling , take a small meat portion and fry to make sure the flavors suit your taste.

3. Measure a 1 cup pork mixture. Spread pork mixture into 8″ x 10″ aluminum foil.

4. Make a rectangular well in the center.

4. Arrange slices of hard cooked eggs, Vienna sausage and hotdog. Roll until the ends of the pork mixture covers the eggs and sausages. Continue rolling the pork mixture back and forth until it covers the slices of eggs and sausages in the center.

6. The rolled mixture in the aluminum foil should reach around 1″ to 2″ in diameter.

7. Seal both ends. Repeat with the remaining pork mixture.

8. Steam bake in moderate oven over 350 F for 1 hour or steam for 30 minutes.

Makes 18 rolls

Isn’t this one of the perfect dish for Noche Buena?

Posted: November 5th, 2009 under Filipino Food, Noche Buena, Pork, Recipes.
Comments: 6

The original leche flan recipe was from my Mom but my sister Lorna reconfigured it to fit her tastes.

The perfect flan is such that when you slice through it, it barely quivers like jello. There is very little syneresis, that is, no weeping (or lots of holes in it!). I am sharing this precious recipe so you may prepare it for your family.

5 eggyolks
2 eggs
1 can condensed milk
1 can water (use the condensed milk’s can for measuring)
1 tbsp. vanilla to add to the mixture
1/4 cup to 1/3 cup sugar for caramelization

These are the cooking times:

For the first 45 minutes: 325 degrees Fahrenheit
For the next 20 to 25 minutes, until the toothpick test shows that the flan is done: 350 degrees Fahrenheit

Read more »

Posted: November 1st, 2009 under Baking Recipes, Cakes, Pastries & Desserts, Filipino Delicacies, Recipes, desserts.
Comments: 21

My first taste of Russian salad was from my aunt. I never knew one could make red beets into a salad. Russian salad prepared the Pinoy way is probably named as such because of the natural red coloring of the ingredients, red beet. The salad taste sweet with a slight tangy flavor due to the tart apples and the vinegar marinade. It is basically a potato salad except that the natural red color of the beets seep through the potatoes and the other ingredients. In wikipedia, Russian Salad is not even colored red. A homemade variant of the Russian Salad contains carrots, ham, onions, pickled gherkins, eggs, sweetcorn, cucumber, peas, potato and mayonnaise.

I believe the Pinoy version of “Russian Salad” is very delicious. Try preparing it.

Ingredients

1 cup cubed cooked red beets, beta vulgaris or sugar beets (Known as remolatsa in the vernacular)
1 cup pineapple tidbits
4 tart apples (sweet red apples tend to be mushy)
mayonnaise (I buy reduced fat)
1/3 cup diced sweet ham
1/2 cup diced cooked chicken
3 cups cubed cooked potatoes
1 cup cubed cooked carrots
2/4 cup finely diced celery
vinegar, salt and pepper to taste
Read more »

Posted: October 27th, 2009 under Recipes, Salad.
Comments: 6

120 grams sliced mushrooms

30 grams butter

30 ml corn oil

60 grams chorizo Bilbao or Italian chorizo, thinly sliced

450 grams Italian Arborio Rice or Japanese Rice

1500 ml chicken stock

15 grams butter

100 grams parmesan cheese, grated

To taste iodized salt

Read more »

Posted: October 24th, 2009 under Recipes, Rice.
Comments: 2

I had some left-over saba bananas from the Pochero so I turned it into turon saba a caramelized sweet Pinoy Merienda fare. The crisp dessert is such a delight.

Here is a recipe for Turon na Saba

Read more »

Posted: October 18th, 2009 under Recipes, desserts.
Comments: 5

A Filipino party is not complete if there is no Macaroni Salad, whatever guise it shows up in. This recipe was a favorite party dish during our “growing up” years. Although I cannot remember the source of this salad, I hope you can try it out for your family and guests during the holiday season.

1 package salad macaroni

1/2 cup celery, diced or sliced

1/4 cup pimientos, chopped

1-1/2 cups hard-cooked eggs, chopped

2 cups ripe mangoes, peeled and diced

1/4 cup pickle relish

3/4 cup mayonnaise (or substitute with salad dressing for a lower-calorie salad)

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

2 tsps vinegar (sukang puti)

1. Cook salad macaroni as directed. Drain well and chill.
2. Combine celery, pimientos, eggs, mangoes, and pickle relish.
3. In a small bowl, season mayonnaise with salt, sugar, vinegar. Add this to the celery mixture. Gently fold in the cooked, chilled macaroni. Blend thoroughly.
4. Serve on crisp lettuce leaves garnished with sliced, stuffed olives or tomato wedges.

Posted: October 15th, 2009 under Celebrations, Recipes, Salad.
Comments: 1

One of my favorite fastfood item is Kentucky Friend Chicken but it is quite pricey if one feeds a whole family. Imagine if one can cook Kentucky Style Fried Chicken? My sister gave me this recipe to try out.

1 chicken (about 1 kilo), cut into serving pieces total 9 pieces.

1. Marinate the chicken pieces using the following marinade for at least 1 hour or preferably overnight

1 tablespoon calamansi juice
2 teaspoons Knorr seasoning
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper

Read more »

Posted: October 12th, 2009 under Recipes, chicken.
Comments: 8

My sister who is based in San Francisco shares this adobo recipe with a twist of Jalapeno chiles. I love it.

1 cup organic apple cider vinegar (preferably aged in wood)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
3 small bay leaves
1 or 2 large jalapeno chiles, left whole
1 side of baby back ribs (about 2 pounds), cut up into individual or 2-rib portions
2 teaspoons rock salt
6 garlic cloves, peeled
2 teaspoons Tellicherry peppercorns
Steamed rice, for serving

Read more »

Posted: October 6th, 2009 under Pork, Recipes.
Comments: 1

This recipe is so Filipino! It reminds me of the parties we hosted — and memories of my mother testing recipes we loved. This one is a particular favorite but I cannot remember which cookbook this came from. This recipe is very similar to my Buko Fruit salad sans the spaghetti noodles.

SPAGHETTI-BUKO SALAD

1 package pre-cut spaghetti (8 ozs.)

1-1/2 cups young coconut (buko), shredded

1 cup pineapple tidbits

1 (#2-1/2) can fruit cocktail

1/4 cup pickle relish

1/2 cup condensed milk

1 (6 oz.) heavy cream, chilled

1/3 cup cashew nuts, chopped

1. Cook spaghetti noodles as directed. Drain and arrange in a salad bowl. Chill.

2. Meanwhile, drain shredded coconut, pineapple tidbits, fruit cocktail, and pickle relish. Combine with cooked spaghetti and nuts.

3. Mix the condensed milk and chilled heavy cream thoroughly and pour over spaghetti mixture. Toss lightly until well blended.

4. Serve cold on a bed of lettuce.

Makes 6 to 8 servings

Posted: September 29th, 2009 under Noodles, Recipes, desserts.
Comments: 4

There are many versions on how to bake Leche Flan. I have shared my mom’s recipe on Leche Flan. Like I said before, the perfect flan is such that when you slice through it, it barely quivers like jello. There is very little syneresis, that is, no weeping (or lots of holes in it!). Surprisingly, I know a lot of people who likes holes in their Leche Flan. Of course, I prefer mine to be smooth I’d like to share with you another Leche Flan Recipe which is richer than my mom’s recipe because the egg whites are removed.

Ingredients
2 cans of Evaporated Milk
1 teaspoon lemond Rind
1 cup white sugar
8 egg yolks

For Caramel syrup
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup hot water

Read more »

Posted: September 15th, 2009 under Recipes, desserts.
Comments: 10