My Enderun Experience

Part of my job is to promote employee wellness and one of the perks of that is that I get first-hand information on the available activities that are best-suited to my needs. This is one of them: a free culinary class c/o Chef Thomas Wenger last May at the famous Enderun Colleges. 

Let me share with you the menu during the class. For the recipes, just drop me a note if you are interested to get a copy. :-)

Menu:

·         Pan-fried red mullet , Tomato Confit, Black Olives

·         Turmeric Spiced Chicken Thighs, Ginger-glazed Pekchai and Buckwheat Noodles

·         Red Berry Soup with Mango Granita

Enderun is located at 1100 Campus Avenue McKinley Hill, Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City.

Fish Fillet with Corn Sauce

I was a bit inspired by Pinoycook.net's fish fillet with corn sauce that I decided to try out the dish.

We used cream dory fish, dipped it in egg wash and seasoned flour.

Then I deep-fried it on our electric fryer (a wedding gift that we only got to use now, hahaha).


This is how it turned out.


On the serving dish...


As for the sauce, I sauteed garlic and onion in butter then added salt, pepper, cream of corn and a bit of water. That's it.

Ready for a yummy dinner!

New Year's Eve Dinner Ideas

Does anybody here want to share their foodie ideas for the New Year's Eve and New Year's Day celebration? You see, I still haven't come up with any menu yet.

On the top of my head, I'm thinking of baked ham and good ol' noodles, sotanghon, in particular. But I realize that my husband is not so fond of sotanghon since he finds it hard to swallow. Anyhow, other noodle-inspired dishes would be good. Hope you can share your recipes here.

Thanks!

Recipe for Garlic Mushrooms

Whenever he get the chance, my hubby always goes back to this recipe. It's our favorite regardless if it's bad for my uric acid level or not. Hehehe.

Wash and dry the mushrooms. Melt butter in a small pan then add mushrooms and cook at a medium heat for a couple of minutes stirring constantly. Add the garlic, continue cooking & stirring for another minute or so. Stir in oyster sauce and season with just a touch of salt and pepper.

Reduce heat to absolute minimum then cover with a tight fitting lid. Leave the garlic mushrooms to sweat for at least ten minutes, stirring occasionally.

Serve the garlic mushrooms with some of the gloriously wicked garlicky butter.

Yumm-o!

Shrimp Linguine in Pesto Sauce

We have some relatives from abroad coming over this week so I thought I'll cook up something different and special for them. I'm thinking of trying out this recipe I snatched from the net and see how it turns out. And I think it's relatively easy to cook. Hmmm...

Ingredients

• 8 ounces Linguine or other thin pasta
• 2 tablespoon Butter
• 1 pound Shrimp - 26 to 30 count pealed and devained

-- Sauce --
• 3/4 ounce Basil - fresh (about a loose cup)
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese - grated
• 1 each Garlic - clove
• 1/3 cup Pine nuts
• 2 tablespoon Olive oil
• 1/2 cup Half-and-half cream
• Salt and pepper to taste


Instructions

Cook pasta according to package instructions, drain and place in serving bowl. Cover and keep warm.

While pasta is cooking place basil, cheese, garlic and pine nuts in a food processor. Blend until smooth. Add olive oil and process for an additional 10 - 15 seconds. Transfer contents to a small sauce pan, stir in half and half or cream. Warm over medium heat until it has thickened. Combine with and pasta and keep warm.

Meanwhile melt butter in frying pan. Add shrimp and saute turning until shrimp is pink in color. Combine shrimp with or serve over pasta.

Eat Me...

...this is what this picture is telling me! Suddenly, I'm craving for Caesar Salad. But not just any Caesar Salad. I want the Caesar Salad from Mandarin Hotel's Paseo Uno!!! Yikes!!!

Anyway, let me just share to you a Caesar Salad recipe (and it's history) which I got from the net.

This recipe is very close to the original version created in 1924 by Caesar Cardini, an Italian restaurateur in Tijuana, Mexico. That's right, the salad is named after its creator, a Chef, not Julius Caesar of the famed Roman empire.

Serving Size: 4
Preparation Time: 0:20

Ingredients
1 large head romaine lettuce
1 cup olive oil
3 cups French bread
2 large cloves garlic
8 anchovy filets
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon dry mustard
2 tablespoon lemon juice (fresh is best)
1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1 teaspoon coarse ground salt
2 egg yolks for large eggs -- at room temperature*
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup parmesan cheese -- shredded or shaved

Preparation:

Trim the romaine lettuce of bruised or browned leaves, then cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces. Wash and drain the lettuce, pat it dry and refrigerate for 30 minutes to crisp the leaves.

To make the croutons, cut the bread into cubes, heat the 1/2 cup olive oil in a sauté pan over medium-high heat. Fry the bread cubes in the oil, tossing frequently, until they're crisp and golden. Drain the croutons on a paper towel until ready to use.

Peel the garlic cloves then put in a large wooden salad bowl. Mash the cloves against the sides of the bowl with the back of a wooden spoon. Rub the pieces against the bowl until they begin to disintegrate. Remove most of the mashed garlic from the bowl and discard (oil from the garlic will remain in the bowl and flavor the salad). Add the anchovies and repeat the procedure you used with the garlic, but leave the anchovy pieces in the bowl. Now add the dry mustard, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, black pepper, and egg yolks and blend well. Slowly drizzle in the remaining olive oil mixing with a wire whisk until a creamy mayonnaise type dressing forms. Add the lettuce, croutons, Parmesan cheese and salt. Toss everything together and serve directly from the salad bowl!

Craving for...

I'm craving for Bennigan's Monte Cristo sandwich right now...

And it's so hard for me because first, Bennigan's has already closed down in the Philippines years back. Two, I can't eat anything with meat today because it's Good Friday. And last, I'm pregnant and can't seem to stop thinking of the taste and the smell of crisp warm bread with ham, turkey and lotsa cheese in it coupled with raspberry dip and some hot french fries.

Oh dear...

This definitely looks so yummy!

My Potato Salad Recipe

I tried making potato salad last weekend for my Nanay's birthday party. I asked two of my friends to give me some simple instructions on how they make their potato salad. I then decided to incorporate both ideas to come up with my very own recipe.

Ingredients:

4 large boiled potatoes, cubed
2 hard boiled eggs, chopped
2 fuji apples, cubed
1 small can of pineapple tidbits, drained
1/2 block Eden cheese, grated
1/4 cup condensed milk
1 bottle mayonnaise
salt and pepper

All you need to do is to combine the ingredients together and put in the fridge before serving. I love the sweet-salty combo of the salad. My other friends like to have carrots and celery with this but I preferred not to add them. Another friend also wanted it with sugar beets but I didn't want it to taste that sweet.

Too bad, I was not able to take some pictures of the food preps and the presentation but I swear it looks and tastes good. In fact, it was all gone by the middle of lunch. I promise that next time I make one again, I'll take some pics first before digging in.

One Saturday Morning...

Last January 3, I woke up very early so that I could go to Mass. After taking a bath and dressing up, I took a home pregnancy test to verify my suspicion. Actually, I knew deep inside that I was pregnant. I only needed a confirmation from a test. A few days before, I saw that I had some blood spots so I thought that my period was on the way. I actually almost cried at the thought that I'm not pregnant. You see, we've been hoping and praying for a blessing to come for the past how many months already. Anyway, when my period didn't arrive on December 31, I knew.

I was so happy to see the two pink lines appear almost immediately. Pure bliss! Since it was still too early to wake up my husband and baby who were both sleeping soundly, I left the HPT at the bathroom so that it would be easily seen by my husband when he gets up from bed. Then I headed off to go to Mass (it was the first Saturday of the month).

At mass, I couldn't help but be emotional. I looked intensely at the Holy Eucharist being consecrated and I felt so happy, so grateful and so blessed. I texted my sister immediately after the mass because I couldn't contain the joy that I was feeling. Anyway, I headed home after my thanksgiving after the mass and was welcomed by a BIG smile from my husband. I was sure he saw the HPT because he was already busy cooking up something special for breakfast. His first words were -- "two lines!" It is a cause for a celebration!

He made us a creamy and cheesy egg omelet. It was delicious! He added cream cheese, milk, cheddar cheese and some salt and pepper to the egg so it tasted so great! That recipe in itself could be a subject for many of my House Everything's and even my father's textbooks' Essay Examples. Actually, I find my husband's cooking as a very interesting Essay Topic that I could go on and on talking and writing about it. I probably would even want to get a reputable group to send me a Custom Essay which features our favorite recipes and it would probably turn out to be the start of a nice novel like that of the style of one of Nora Ephron's books (I think it's entitled Heartburn) which I've read before.

Anyway, going back to the pregnancy, my initial worry about this time around is my OB-Gynecologist. I found out that I needed to find a new one in order to give birth using the benefits of our company health card. It really sucked that my ever reliable OB isn't accredited. So there. God, help me find a good OB that will take care of me and the baby. But I'm sure we're going to be fine.

See you in nine months baby!!!! Daddy and Mommy and Ate Zoe love you!

Fish and Chips

For New Year's lunch, we decided to try out a new recipe which we saw on TV (Supermarket Chef). We used this recipe plus incorporated the other version of the recipe that I found online. What about these recipes that fancied my husband? BEER. Yup, the batter had beer in it. Tastes yummy. I'm pasting here the Jamie Oliver's version.

FISH AND CHIPS

Recipe courtesy Jamie Oliver

Ingredients

For the chips:
• 3 3/4 pints (2 liters) vegetable oil
• 2 pounds (950 grams) floury potatoes, like russets, peeled and cut into large chips

For the batter:
• 1 cup plain flour
• 1 cup beer
• 2 egg whites, whipped to soft peaks
• Salt
• 4 (9 ounce/250 gram) fillets haddock or cod, skin on, and pin boned

Directions
Pour all the vegetable oil into a deep pan or deep fat fryer, and heat to 300 degrees F (160 degrees C.) Blanch the cut potatoes in the oil until soft, but not colored, about 4 minutes. Remove and drain.

Mix together the flour and the beer, then fold in the egg whites. Turn up the heat of the oil to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Dip the fish in the batter and fry for a few minutes with the chips until golden brown.

Drain on kitchen paper and serve with bread and butter, wally's (battered, deep fried pickles served with ranch dressing), and pickled eggs.

Getting Ready for a Feast

Have you prepared your Christmas Eve and Christmas Day menu?

Well, I swear I have so many things in my head right now that I haven't finalized my menu and grocery list yet. Talk about holiday cramming.

On the top of my head, spaghetti and ham will definitely be in the menu and some yummy desserts (because of the kids). Gastronomically speaking, I want to make this Christmas a very special one but I also want sana to veer away from the traditional menu like what my Lola and Nanay would usually prepare. It's because I am torn between trying out something different (read: healthy) and sticking to the (high-cholesterol/fatty) menu basics. Hahaha!

Good thing I recently discovered this link for some Christmas menu ideas. Now all I have to decide is what is doable for me - without breaking the bank or making a mad rush to the grocery store.

Can't imagine that Christmas is just around the corner. Frenzy! Frenzy!

Chicken Spaghetti with Fresh Tomatoes and Basil

I wanted so bad to go healthy this week that I thought of lifting a cold spaghetti recipe from Sonlight Garden and making it according to my own taste.

As a result and as if very apt with the colors of the season, I was able to make this Chicken Spaghetti. It's made up of 6 pieces of big red tomatoes (chopped), 1 whole garlic (minced), about 1/4 cup of chopped basil, lots of olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. I mixed all of these ingredients in a bowl and let it sit in the ref for 2 days. By doing this, the taste really gets savory and herb-y (if there is such a thing).

Last night, I added to this mixture a cup of boiled chicken (shredded), a small pouch of tomato sauce and 1/4 of a block of cheddar cheese and cooked it under low fire. This recipe is good for about 1/2 kilo of spaghetti. After cooking, I mixed the pasta with the sauce and topped it with yummy (but expensive) parmesan cheese.

So where did it end up?

Here.

This is by far the yummiest lunch I've tasted in years (the picture didn't do justice but I swear it's good!). It tastes like a salad and smells like a salad. And it's healthy too. :-)

Beef with Brocolli and Baby Corn Lunch

My dear husband cooked something special for the family last Sunday. I really feel so lucky to have a husband that cooks. (I, too, love to cook but feel so lazy harhar).

For his last cooking session, he made Beef with Brocolli and Baby Corn. It was so yummy, I swear! Burp!

Hun...maybe we can earn money out of this talent of yours. :0)

Mango Panna Cotta

I love to eat panna cotta. Just sharing the recipe that I use to make one.

photo credit here

PANNA COTTA:

BASE:
1 can evaporated milk
2 packs all-purpose cream
1-2 Tablespoons caster sugar (white sugar)
2 packs Alsa (unflavored gelatin)
½ teaspoon vanilla

TOPPING:
2 pcs. ripe mangoes, sliced thinly
3 Tablespoons caster sugar (white sugar)
5 Tablespoons water

Base:

Put milk, all-purpose cream, sugar and vanilla in a pan and heat slowly until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is just about to boil. Remove from the heat and leave to infuse for 10 minutes. Strain the infusion back into a clean pan.

Soak the gelatin in 6 tablespoons warm water until spongy. Whisk into the cream mixture and heat gently until the gelatin has dissolved.

Pour into four lightly greased 150 ml moulds and refrigerate until set.

Topping:

Peel and slice the mangoes thinly and arrange on top of the hardened gelatin. Put sugar and water in a pan and heat slowly until the sugar dissolves. Let it cool and pour mixture over the mangoes. Serve cold.

Peach Mango Ref Cake

Ingredients:

2 packs of graham crackers
1 can of peach halves (cut into small pieces)
2 pieces of fresh mangoes
4 packs of all-purpose cream (chilled)
1 can of condensed milk
1 tablespoon of melted butter

Instructions:

Mix the melted butter, 1 can of condensed milk and 4 packs of Nestle cream in a bowl. Then in a slightly greased pan, apply 1 layer of the cream mixture then apply 1 layer of Graham crackers. Add some peach and mango bits (make sure you drain the canned peaches well). Repeat layering until the container is filled, covering the top layer with the cream mixture. Decorate with some thinly-sliced peaches. Freeze as needed and thaw 2 hours before consumption.

Notes of experience:

Mango puree (readily available in the supermarket) can be an alternative to fresh mangoes during off-season months. I also sometimes add chocolate shavings or other fruits such as lychees or banana in-between the layers for variety. :-) Happy eating!

Chicken with Mushroom Spaghetti

I really miss cooking and I really miss eating my favorites! Here's one of them (I hope to post some pics when I get the time).

This is my own recipe of spaghetti, better known among my close friends as 'Courtship Spaghetti'. Why? Because when most of us were single, I would often recommend that they try to learn this recipe so that the guys who will eat it will instantly get wooed and never forget them! It worked for me and I hope it works for you too!

Ingredients:
1/2 kilo cooked spaghetti
3 pieces boneless chicken breast, cooked and cut into strips
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium onion, chopped
2-3 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
2 cans tomato sauce
2-3 Tablespoons sugar
1 can mushrooms, sliced (I sometimes like it cut into big chunks)
1 big can Nestle all purpose cream
1 block cheddar cheese, grated (you can add more if you like)
2 teaspoons oregano
Parmesan cheese

Boil spaghetti until al dente. Saute garlic and onion. Stir in the cooked chicken strips. Add salt and pepper. Pour in tomato sauce then add the sugar. Cook for about 5-10 minutes. Mix well into the cooked spaghetti and pour in a serving dish.

Under low fire, mix together mushrooms, all-purpose cream and grated cheese. Add oregano and some salt to taste. Stir constantly and bring to boil for about 3-5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Pour in the cream mixture on top of the spaghetti. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Serve hot.

Certified yummy!