Cheesy Chicken Balls

The super tandem of meat and cheese is back.  Recollective of the traditional cheeseburger, this dish combines ground chicken meat and cheese that’s been tucked in the ball of meat. So, when you cut it in half, the cheese greets you with the “Hello, eat me!” surprise!

I get emails from readers requesting for recipes they can execute with their kids.  This dish has to be the answered prayer. It’s easy, fanciful and tasty.

Cheesy Chicken Balls

To do this you will need:

1/2 kilo ground chicken

1 small egg, beaten

1/4  cup flour

1 onion, minced

3 cloves of garlic, minced

salt and pepper to taste

1 sprig of rosemary leaves, chopped (optional)

cheddar cheese cubes

1 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)

oil for frying

__________________________________________________

1. Season chicken with salt and pepper.

2. Mix chicken, egg, flour, onion,garlic, rosemary and cayenne pepper.

3. Scoop some meat mixture forming a patty on your palm. Put  cheese cube on top. Now, lift the patty sides up to enclose the cheese inside. Mold into a ball.

4. Fry in medium heat until golden brown. Set aside and let stand for 5 minutes.

RED At Makati Shang

I knew I was going to be in for a gastronomic experience when my FOODIE editor rang me up for a wine tasting event that I had to cover. It was to be held at RED at Makati Shang, yes, the same place where my husband, Jake, asked me to marry him about four years ago.

The dinner was exclusive to just about ten people. The diners were people who communed at RED for a common purpose (aside from work) — to eat, drink and be merry! Great company in one table. Did I say all of them were hardcore foodies?

The event was Casa Lapostolle Winemaker’s Dinner hosted by Moët Hennesy Asia pacific (Full article on the wines will be for FOODIE’s July issue). Diego Urra walked us through our wine tasting experience, detailing extensively everything we needed to know about the wines we sampled.

Anyway, the dishes that went with it really propelled us to extra high gastronomic levels.

After the cocktails, we had this:

crab and mango canneloni

I have to confess. I’m allergic to crabs.  Funny, I grabbed these fancy bites the moment it was laid before me without knowing that I was to have some crab-infused dish. I whispered to FOOD’s editor-in-chief Mickey Fenix, who was seated beside me, to be on stand by for a possible respiratory attack as an allergic reaction.

The guys dining with us called on the hotel’s pharmacy nurse the moment they got wind of my concern. I took antihistamine and yes, tuloy ang ligaya!

The second dish was this:

pan seared scallops wrapped in parma ham

The choice was between this or pan seared sea bass. I thought I wanted something salty and meaty-juicy last night. The parma ham and the scallops just perfectly satisfied that craving. It went with some corn puree dripped all over the plate and basil pesto that gave extra spunk to the whole ensemble.

Then came along this:

mango sorbet with chardonnay foam

 At this point, I thought they were winding down already with their food presentations. Finally, the sweet ending (or so I thought!). The sorbet had the perfect consistency. Compact but icy-soft. The mango flavor tasted very natural, almost in its naked taste. It sat on a foam of chardonnay that further kicked out the great taste of the sorbet.

I was ready to sip my tea to cap the whole dining experience when I discovered that we were just about to start with the real deal!

And this was what next popped on my plate:

grilled beef tenderloin with foie gras and chicken mousse

Suddenly, I felt the food in my stomach giving space for the night’s rockstars. This dish, hands down, made my night! The beef gave away the juiciest, most scrumptious beefy goodness anybody can imagine. Cooked medium well, it just got me closing my eyes for some savor-the-moment experience!

Shortly after we finished,  we were served with this:

roasted rack of lamb

The photo says it all. It was served with cous cous, gremulata. Tender, oomph-loaded and very satisfying, the lamb was superior.

Finally, the fantastic ending was served:

bitter chocolate macaroon (berry compote)

Dream job it is. I want to work everyday.

Buffalo Wings

I always get bitin when I munch on those mouth-watering buffalo wings at places like Chili’s or Fridays. Each serving usually has six to eight wing pieces. Why, it posesses the ‘mahirap tigilan kainin‘ effect similar to when you eat butong pakwan or chicharon balat. And, going for seconds would  mean whipping out another P400 (or thereabouts) from your wallet. Tsk, so that’s P800 plus for the 16 precious wings. Over at  the grocery, 16 pieces would only cost you P300 or less. So, there.

Now, the point: MAKE YOUR OWN!

Buffalo wings originated from Buffalo in New York. It is famous for its taste, degree of ‘hotness’ and the blue cheese dip that traditionally goes with it. It’s very definitive of American dining especially among ‘clubbers’ who wolf these wings down while drinking some beer. In our native language, we refer to this buffalo wing dish as the perfect pulutan. Its spicy nature makes these drinkers drink more to numb the throat and mouth-tingling sensation caused by the spices.

This dish can be made in two ways: baked or deep-fried. I prefer the latter. While the former advocates health benefits (since it does away with cooking in oil), the later yields a better texture, appearance and taste.

Okay, to do this, you will need:

10 chicken wings, wingtips removed

1/2 cup hot sauce

1/4 cup melted butter

1 tbsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp paprika

salt and pepper to taste

1 tbsp worcestershire sauce

________________________________________

1. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Add hot sauce, butter, cayenne pepper, paprika and worcestershire sauce. Marinate for an hour.

2. Deep-fry chicken until cook. Pat dry. Set aside

3. Meantime, in a separate skillet, heat 1/4 cup oil.  Pour chicken marinade. Stir in chicken. Serve hot with dip.

_________________________________________

Traditionally, buffalo wings are served with blue cheese dressing. I did not have blue cheese when I cooked this today and so I settled for the next best thing, garlic-cream cheese dip.

To do it, you will need:

8 oz cream cheese

3/4 cup sour cream

(If youdon’t have sour cream, you may make your own. Just Mix in half a lemon juice or 1 calamansi or 2 tbsps vinegar onto 3/4 cup all purpose cream)

3 cloves of garlic, minced

salt and pepper to taste

__________________________________________

1. In a processor, blend in all ingredients until smooth in consistency.

__________________________________________

SERVE WINGS WITH CELERY STICKS.

Basil Chicken In Coconut Milk

Coconut milk or what we call gata in the Philippines, is one of the major staple ingredients in Asian cooking. In Brunei, Malaysia  and Indonesia, it is referred to as santan. In Thailand (where a lot of great tasting coconut milk-based dishes come from), it is called ga-ti . In Brazil, it is called leite de coco. To me, I simply call it ‘yumminess overload’!

This milk is a product of some vigorous squeezing from the meat of a mature coconut. Ahh, how I love all dishes with coconut milk. It can be used in a lot of savory dishes and likewise in a great number of desserts!

Today, I made some basil chicken in coconut milk. My tastebuds demanded for a reunion of ginger, basil, chicken and coconut milk. The aromatic contribution of the basil,  the succulence and tastiness of this chicken’s red meat plus the malinamnam quality of the gata just did a mega ensemble that definitely gave us an extra scrumptious lunch.

To do this you will need:

3  thigh and leg parts, cut into bite size

1 can coconut milk

1 green bell pepper, jullienned

3 medium-sized potatoes, halved

1/2 cup green peas

8 leaves basil, chopped

2 thumb-sized ginger, sliced

3 tbsps fish sauce (patis)

4 cloves of garlic, minced

1 medium-sized red onion, chopped

water

salt and pepper to taste

oil

______________________________________________

1.Season chicken with salt and pepper.

2. In a skillet, saute ginger, onion and garlic. Add chicken and potatoes. Cover with water. Season with 3 tbsps fish sauce. Cook until tender and water has evaporated by half the original amount.

3. Add bell peppers, green peas and basil leaves.

4. Stir in coconut milk.  Simmer for five more minutes. Serve hot.

Paella Valenciana In A Hurry

valenciana ala dominique

My series on rice continues. My last post featured some fried rice I called ‘fried rice ala dominique’ (named after my daughter Isabel Dominique). I got a coupla emails requesting for more rice twists and recipes.

fried rice ala dominique

The Fried rice garnered good reviews and I thought of giving it just a bit of some tweaking. This valenciana is similar to the ‘fried rice ala dominique’ (in terms of ingredients and appearance), only more labor-intensive. But hey, don’t worry, this is the ‘quick to make’ version that’s great for harried moms like me.

I used jasmine rice instead of the usual malagkit na bigas. Chorizos and mushrooms were used to replace the usual chicken and prawns.

Oh how I loved biting on the rice that’s been coated with the chicken and ginger flavor. The harmony of flavors and spices just made the dish so satiating.

Yeah, this version is the scaled down and simplified version. Culinary purists might crucify me for simplifying this, but hey, I got things to do while I still want great food— in a snap. Simple but flavor-loaded.

So, here goes:

Paella Valenciana

2  cups jasmine rice

5 cups chicken stock

*Okay fine, if you don’t have chicken stock, use 5 cups of water then add a cube of chicken broth

4 medium-sized shiitake mushrooms, sliced

1  stick chorizo de bilbao, chopped1 thumb-sized ginger, sliced

4 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 medium-sized red onion, minced

1 large bell pepper, julienned

2 tbsps turmeric powder

1/2 tsp spanish paprika (optional)

oil

chives for garnishing

What to do:

1. Saute garlic, ginger, onion, bell peppers, chorizos and mushrooms. Season with salt and pepper.

2. Add rice, turmeric powder and broth. Give it a quick stir.  Cover until done. Sprinkle with chopped chives before serving.

Some Great-Tasting Finale

fried rice ala dominique

What a grand finale! Being the last course of the day (unless you have midnight snack..) , dinner of fried rice definitely makes a scrumptious day-ender dish. It’s pleasantly filling, aromatic and very fun to make!

Tonight, I dished out some great fried rice I named after my daughter, Sam (whose formal name is Isabel Dominique). Fried rice ala Dominique was gone on the serving plate in a flash. What a great dinner. Arg, bitin!

Why am I not surprised?  We had a  second dish that looked like this:

beef with broccoli

The conventional beef with broccoli dish served in most Chinese restaurants usually has thick sauce with thicker beef slices. The one  I made had a sauce that was a thinned out version due to the absence of starch or flour. I purposely dropped the latter since I like biting on the more natural tasting beef minus the thick sauce.

Also, if you are expecting to get the conventional Chinese resto ‘beef with broccoli’ dish, this is not the one. Oyster sauce is replaced with hoisin that is sweeter, tastier and posesses the ‘eat me! eat me!’ effect.

Now, the recipes:

Fried Rice Ala Dominique:

5 cups of cooked white rice

1 small red bell pepper, minced

3/4 cup sweet ham, cubed

5 cloves garlic, minced

2 leek stalks, sliced

1 tbsp worcestershire sauce

1 tbsp turmeric powder

salt and pepper to taste

canola oil

___________________________________

1. Saute garlic and leek stalks. Add rice, ham and bell pepper. Put worcestershire sauce and turmeric powder. Season with salt and pepper. Serve hot.

___________________________________

Beef With Broccoli

1/2 kilo rib-eye sukiyaki cut

3 tbsps hoisin sauce

5 cloves of garlic, minced

6 pcs broccoli flowers

salt and pepper to taste

oil

___________________________________

1. Season beef with salt and pepper

2. Saute beef in garlic and hoisin sauce. Add broccoli. Serve hot.

‘East Meets West’– Shiitake Walnut Pasta

Chef Ming Tsai recently  turned up in Manila to be a head judge in a culinary competition among the country’s top 6 culinary schools. As a writer for FOODIE magazine, I had the chance to do a one-on-one interview with him (full interview on June issue of FOODIE mag). I was so in awe! My smile was like:

I was such an avid fan of his shows, ‘East Meets West’ and ‘Ming’s Conquest’. I covered his 3-day public appearance and boy, was that awesome!

Born out of my ‘Ming exposure’, my food today was inspired by the very concept of most of his dishes– FUSION. Yes, Eastern cuisine blended in with Western ingredients. Something out of the ordinary, eh?

Ming told me (naaks!),  that we have to be adventurous with our palate, he says we can never be ‘high’ in terms of culinary taste and standard if we don’t jump over the bridge. He was referring to Filipinos who are too conservative in their palate depriving themselves of concepts like food fusion and other tastes very unfamiliar to them.

Anyway, today I made my version of ‘East Meets West’. I called it Shiitake Walnut Pasta. Shiitake is a kind of mushroom that is edible. Off white to dark brown in color, these mushrooms are quite common in East Asia and eaten in a lot of Asian countries. Can be used in cooking  as either fresh or dried. It’s a common ingredient in most Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Thai dishes.

Today, Shiitake of the East met Pasta of the West. It’s the my box-office hit for the day.

And now my lunch:

 Shiitake Walnut Pasta

1/2 kilo whole wheat spaghetti noodles

10 pcs fresh shiitake mushrooms, sliced

3/4 cup hoisin sauce

5 cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 cup sesame oil

2 tsps dried rosemary

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

What to do:

1. Cook pasta according to package directions.

2. In a separate pan, saute garlic. Add shiitake mushrooms and hoisin sauce. Season with salt and pepper. Add dried rosemary and walnuts.

3. Mix pasta and sauce. Top with cheese. Serve while hot.

Calandracas!

CALANDRACAS was certainly one of the greatest flagship dishes of my childhood. Growing up, my lola served calandracas to us quite often when our family gathered in her house for the usual Sunday lunch. Ahh, her food was fabulously gratifying! Simple home food that rocked til the very end!

My lola dished out the most unforgettable tinumis, the best torta and her gastronomic rendition of the classic pochero. I sorely miss her. The scent of her hand-me-down food just plesantly haunts me. Yeah, I miss her…

Today, I swung by my mom’s place and had lunch there. She had lola’s Calandracas. Beef cubes slow cooked and blended in with chorizos, pasta and cabbage. 

Warm, hearty and filling, this  dish was  packed with all the beefy goodness that spells  YUM-O (font 94! Haha!). Truly, one ‘hot’ heirloom from my lola!

To do, it you will need:

1/2 kilo beef brisket or kenchie

about two cups macaroni or penne pasta

4 medium-sized potatoes. quartered

1 can chorizo de bilbao (or 2 sticks), sliced horizontally

1 small head of cabbage, cut into four parts

2 large onions, quartered

3/4 cup chickpeas or garbanzos, drained

salt and pepper to taste

water

____________________________________________

1. Season Beef with salt and pepper. Add onions. Cover with water. Cook until tender.

2. Mix in potatoes, chorizos, chickpeas and pasta. Cook until potatoes and pasta are tender. Add in the cabbage. Serve hot.

Elle’s Gastronomic Cooking (Part I)

My good friend from high school Elle Acuña-Lorenzo and I have been in the thick of some culinary-related banters lately. I see her food styling and photography (by her husband) on facebook all the time and man, they sure rock!

Anyway, I got an email from her today in response to my request for her to let us sample (at least, via our ‘cyber palate’, haha) her dishes. Here goes her note:

Dear Caren,

I hope you will be able to use my recipes in your blog. I really love reading your blog & trying out your recipes. Parang natetempt na naman ako mag-aral ng culinary. About 3 years ago I took a short 3 month course at ISCAHM at Katipunan and I enjoyed it tremendously. I just love cooking so much & thanks so much for sharing your passion. Sobrang kaka-inspire.

 Mwah!

Elle Acuña Lorenzo (a.k.a Mari)

Yummy Baby Back Ribs – Pork

 1. 1 Rack of pork ribs – about 1 -1.5 kilos

 2. Marinade ribs – soy sauce, mustard, tomato ketchup, lea & perrins, garlic, calamansi, pineapple juice, sprite & brown sugar.

 3. Put ribs in pressure cooker with marinade.

 4. Bake slowly till cooked while basting in its own sauce.

 Procedure:

 Mix all ingredients except pork and adjust amount of ingredients to your own taste. Afterwards marinade pork for about an hour then pressure cook for 10 minutes.

Transfer to a pan and bake for 10-15 minutes at about 250 degrees Fahrenheit. Serve hot.

 Serving Suggestion: may serve with salad & potato gratin

*Will publish two more of her recipes in the succeeding posts.

Garlic Shrimp Kebabs On Red pasta

 

A kebab refers to any grilled or broiled meat that is skewered or put on a stick. Extremely popular in places like the  Middle East, the Mediterranean nations, Africa, Central Asia and South Asia, these kebabs are instant crowd pleasers in any occasion.

The known kebabs include lamb and beef. Ahh, kebab meats always get me giddy. I just love its smoky, spicy and juicy feel! Wonderful.

Today, I whipped out my pack of shrimps from the fridge. Got about 8 pcs. Deveined all of them then seasoned them with salt and fresh pepper. Marinated them for 30 minutes in 3/4 cup melted butter (expect the butter to solidify a bit once you put it in the ref, you might want to melt it about ten minutes before grilling) , 1/4 cup of lemon juice and  8 cloves of minced garlic. Afterwhich I grilled them on low fire.

Meantime, I cooked my whole wheat spaghetti pasta according to package instructions. Set aside and had it wait for the sauce.

For the pasta sauce, I heated the shrimp marinade and mixed with my bottled oven-dried tomatoes onto the pasta. Sprinkled with my  favorite parmesan cheese on top. The richness of the butter, the flavors of herbs and the acid taste of the tomato chunks just revved up the whole pasta dish.

(For the oven-dried tomato recipe, please click: https://theeatingroom.wordpress.com/2009/04/25/the-oven-dried…ato-experience/ )

The last touch would be plating the shrimp kebabs over the pasta ensemble. Serve with your favorite toast.

Deep-Fried Cheesy-Herbed Chops

Am reminded of my grade school days when pork chops made up my usual baon. They were either fried or stewed in tomatoes and mixed with peas and carrots. Porkchop meat is a great cut because it has the delish triumvirate of meat, fat and bone! Ahh, don’t you just love biting on that moist, juicy and tender porkchop?

Today, I had a fatless porkchop butterflied (aww, did you just ask for the fat and bone?). Sorry! The porkchop today wanted to be a butterfly!

I pounded meat until it got half its original thickness, seasoned the butterflied chops with salt and pepper.

Then I filled it with slices of cheddar cheese, basil and chopped rosemary (optional) leaves.

Then dredged it in flour, dipped it in 1 beaten egg, then dredged again in Japanese breadcrumbs.

Deep-fried until golden brown. Served hot.

Avocado!

My tastebuds have recently been clamoring for avocado. For three days in a row, I have been swinging by the fruit stand outside Tropical Hut in QC to get my avocado fix.

Using a medium-sized avocado, I break it open, remove the seed, scoop up the flesh (in bite sizes), stir in some 1/2 cup of low-fat milk, 1/4 cup all-purpose cream, add sugar and then chill for an hour. There, I’m ready for the chow!

You may top this ensemble with either roasted pinipig or a cobbler of vanilla ice cream. I like mine plain, though. I like savoring the avocado almost in its naked glory.

This fruit is a rich source of Vitamin A and contains little amount of vitamin B complex and E.

 

‘FISHstek Tagalog’?

I am so tempted to call this dish, ‘FISHSTEK TAGALOG’. And hey, I just did! Haha. It’s actually the bangus belly version of your regular bistek tagalog. That sour-y, oomph-loaded dish loved and savored by the food-loving public.

This dish was definitely a childhood favorite. It was a staple on our table during my younger years. My mom usually served this with her creamy chicken sopas or some hot  halaan soup with dahon ng sili. Ahhh, ‘atta feast!

The smell of red onion, garlic and calamasi just spell YUMMINESS. The mega combi of onion, garlic and calamansi  seals in the dynamite flavor of the entire ensemble. Of course, it goes without saying, that the bangus belly is the rockstar here. Fat, juicy and tasty, how can you not salivate on this bangus?

To do this you will need:

2 pcs bangus belly

3 pcs calamansi

canola oil for frying

1/2 cup canola oil for the marinade

salt and pepper to taste

5 cloves of garlic, minced

3 medium-sized red onions, cut into rings

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 tsp spanish paprika (optional)

1 tsp fresh oregano leaves, chopped

What to do:

1. Season bangus with salt and pepper. Marinate in calamansi, soy sauce, oil and garlic for about 30 minutes or overnight. Rub with paprika before frying.

2. Pan-fry bangus in oil, about 5 minutes for each side. Set aside.

3. Meantime, caramelize the onions with the marinade from the bangus. Add oregano leaves and continue sweating the onions. Be sure to achieve the ‘agaw mantika-toyo’ effect. Remove from pan.

Now you’re ready to plate:

Assemble the caramelized onions…

your caramelized onion bed

Then top with the bangus…

Wine-Infused Herbed-Tomato Pasta With Pan-Fried Chicken BBQ

It was already close to 8pm when I realized I still had to cook Jake’s baon. Waaa! I still had to do ten million things but did not want to drop the baon-cooking duty. Okay, what to do?

Another eureka moment again. I suddenly found myself  grabbing some pack of linguine from the pantry and taking out some breast fillets from the fridge for some quick pan-fry.

I decided to make some wine-infused tomato-based pasta sauce. The tomato would be courtesy of a small pack of tomato paste that would be  infused with my favorite white wine ( remember to use only the wines that you like when you use them in your dishes).

The tomato is one of the major sources of lycopene. Lycopenes give tomatoes its red color and has been found to reduce the risk of having lung and prostate cancer.

However, lycopene isn’t well absorbed unless you heat it. In the case of tomato paste, even slightly burning the tomato paste is recommended to aggressively  release lycopenes and intensify the tomato flavor.

Okay, for this dish you will need:

1/2 kilo linguine noodles

2 small packs of tomato paste

4 cloves of garlic

1/2 basil leaves, finely chopped

1/2 cup olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

1 whole breast of chicken, season with salt and peper and marinate in your favorite marinade, in this case, I marinated it in BBQ sauce to counter the ‘sourness’ of the tomato-based pasta.

What to do:

1. Cook linguine according to package directions.

2. Meantime, saute garlic. Add basil then tomato paste. Pour in wine.

3. Dry out the sauce from the wine alcohol. Continue stirring til tomato sauce is well cooked, and yeah, slightly overdone. Season with salt and fresh pepper. Mix in the the linguine.

4. In a separate pan, pan-fry chicken, about 5 minutes on each side or until meat is moist and cooked.

5. Chop the breast. Top on the pasta.