We received a bottle of ‘organic red wine’ from a friend of ours and hubby wanted to sample it for lunch so…

Me: Sure! You know what would go great with that?
Hubby: What?
Me: Tapas!
Hubby: I’ll get the olives then!

Making Spanish tapas was also a great way to use our home meat slicer, which has been in sitting in our bij keuken (side kitchen) for a few months now.

Hubby slicing the serrano salami.

Now, isn’t this a yummy, gorgeous plate?!? We had wholewheat brown French bread, manchego cheese, iberico ham, serrano salami and black and green olives. Together with the organic red wine, lunch was heavenly indeed!

I almost hoarded on salmon fillets the other day :) Hubby and I went grocery shopping and came across the most gorgeous salmon fillets – fresh, vibrant orange color, yum! And they were on sale for just that day too so you can imagine how I so wanted to grab at least 10 packs to bring home. LOL.

But alas! hubby, ever the voice of reason, gently reminded me that they will not fit our already bursting freezer so I settled to just getting a few packs (wink*wink*).

What is to cook something ‘en papillote’?

The term en papillote is French for placing food in a folded pouch and then cooking it by means of baking. Parchment paper or aluminum foil may be used for this purpose and it’s important to ensure that there’s enough space inside the parcel as the purpose is to cook the food via its own steam (or via the aid of some liquid such as stock or wine).

This recipe is soooo easy and soooo delish, you really must try it when you come across some great salmon fillets too!

Ingredients:

500 grams salmon fillet
1 yellow bell pepper
1 stalk spring onion
1 tsp freshly grated ginger
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp liquid seasoning (optional)
25-50 grams butter
sea salt
freshly-ground pepper

Procedure:

Here’s my dilemma as a food blogger… I always forget to whip out my camera and/or mobile phone when dining out. On this occasion though, as hubby and I were treating some business partners out, I was a bit shy to whip out my mobile phone and take food pics at Myron’s Place. he.he.

But first, why go to Myron’s Place? For one, I read a good review of this place a few years back from one of my favorite food bloggers, MarketManila. Further, hubby and said business friends love to drink wine so I wanted a place that was cozy yet offered a decent wine selection.

So, the promise of great food… check!
Cozy ambiance so we can continue to talk business… check!
Good wine selection… check!
Oh, did I mention that it’s about 10 minutes away from where we were staying? ;-)

Image courtesy of ClicktheCity.com

As it was a Friday night when we came, I was a bit surprised that the place was not very busy. But then again, we were late leaving the office and was there at just about 9 PM.

For starters, we had the ??Beef Sisig Samosas, the Salad with Crab Cakes, and two orders of French Onion Soup. I must say, I got concerned after the starters arrived and we started eating. Why? As someone who has lived in India for a couple of years, the samosas were completely not what I expected them to be. The stuffing was encased in phyllo pastry! and they were very oily. The taste though was OK. The French Onion Soup was not as piping hot as it should be but it tasted OK. The Salad with Crab Cakes was good though.

Also, perhaps it was because it was late already, but we constantly had to call the attention of the waitress for drinks that I was starting to get annoyed.

Luckily, by the time the main course arrived and we started eating, all faith was restored on Myron’s Place :)

I had the Duck with Orange Risotto (can’t remember exact name on the menu though!), and the three gentlemen with me decided to share the Myron’s Cut. Yep, 1000 grams of red meat for the men!

The Duck with Orange Risotto was glorious! (And this from someone who does not particularly like anything orange-y in her food.) And hubby and our guests absolutely loved the meat – medium rare, just the way they wanted it – and the delish side dishes. (One in particular kept eating all the roasted garlic that was indeed plentiful on the humongous plate the beef was served on.)

We were so full that none of us had any room for dessert at all. But that was ok because it was already close to 12 midnight and we were seeing the staff just waiting for us to leave! After a quick round of brewed coffee – you know, to cap the bottles of wine consumed – we gladly left Myron’s Place, making a mental note to come back again… SOON.

Do you know that feeling when you eat something and you’re not satisfied so NOW you want to make it (or something like it) just to satisfy your craving?!? Did I have one of those moments when I had a chicken wrap for lunch the other day!

I hooked up with a girlfriend of mine a week ago and for lunch we bought some wrap sandwiches. She had a cold salmon wrap and I had a warm chicken wrap… and we were both not happy :(

For starters, the wraps were NOT freshly made so they were a bit soggy. Further, there was so much sauce that it overpowered the main ingredients. I just knew I could make it better! So the following night guess what hubby and I had for dinner?

Ingredients:

3 chicken breast fillets
garlic salt / cayenne pepper
1 tsp chives
2 eggs
5 tbsp panko bread crumbs
2 carrots
1 red bell pepper
1 big white onion
5 wholewheat tortilla wraps

Procedure:

1. Cut the chicken breast fillets into long, thin strips.
2. Season the chicken with some garlic salt and cayenne pepper.
3. Put in the chives and set aside.



4. In the meantime, cut the onion, red bell pepper and carrots into long, thin strips.
5. Heat up your deep fryer to 180 C.
6. In a bowl, season and beat the eggs.
7. In another bowl, place the panko bread crumbs.



8. Take a chicken strip, dip it in the egg mixture, coat with the bread crumbs, and then place in the fryer. (Make sure that you don’t crowd the fryer with too much chicken pieces.)
9. Cook the chicken till golden brown.



10. Heat up the tortillas and get ready for assembly time!

Wherever we are staying/living, Saturday is still hubby’s day to cook, unless of course we go out :) One time in Manila, hubby was inspired by seeing these ready-made pizza crusts at the Landmark supermarket in Makati.

Actually, hubby and I normally make the pizza dough from scratch at home in Holland. But you know how it is, if you’re not ‘home’ it takes too much effort to buy all the kitchen staples you need since you’re never really sure if you can use them all before you leave. So for this instance, store-bought pizza crust it is!

Pizza toppings are VERY personal. As a case in point, hubby likes onions on his pizza while I don’t, which is why we always tend to make two pizzas. (This plus the fact that one pizza is not enough for us. LOL.) The choice of cheese is quite personal too. We usually use mozzarella or Parmesan at home. But as we were shopping at Landmark, I decided to show hubby the pleasures of using and eating the locally available Kraft Eden cheese. he.he.

So with that said, try and use whatever pizza toppings suit you!

Ingredients:

2 large store-bought pizza crusts (the packaging above already holds 2)
1 tsp olive oil
1 cup homemade tomato sauce
100 grams pepperoni
2 tbsp mushrooms
2 tbsp red bell pepper
2 tbsp black olives
1 small onion
1 cup grated Eden cheese

Procedure:

1. Cut up all your pizza toppings, ensuring that they are ready for ‘placement’ on your pizza crust.



2. Heat the oven to 200 C.
3. Take out the pizza crust and brush the top with olive oil. This prevents the pizza from getting soggy from the sauce and toppings.
4. Spoon over your homemade tomato sauce or homemade or store-bought pizza sauce.
5. Put on your toppings.
6. Sprinkle cheese on top.
7. Bake the pizza in the oven for about 15 minutes.

Enjoy!

OMG!?! I have not posted in 3 months! Why? Why? Why?

Well, this is because I’ve been traveling non-stop for the past 3 months. And although I did spend a lot of time in Manila for the holidays, it was hectic with seeing family, getting re-acquainted friends, and…holding various  business meetings.

To be honest, I didn’t also cook so much even though hubby and I were staying in an extremely nice condo complete with a fully furnished kitchen in Makati. Apart from cooking Christmas and New Year’s dinner for the family, we mostly ate out :)

And although I’m a tad annoyed at myself for not ALWAYS remembering to whip out my camera or mobile phone to take pics when we’re eating out, the ‘great (eating) experiences’ hubby and I have had trump that :)

Still, I’ll be posting what I did remember to take pictures of in the coming days. Plus, since I’m back home now… here’s to more home cooking!

LAST Christmas dinner, I de-boned and stuffed two free-range chickens. For one chicken, I prepared a traditional Filipino stuffing to replicate the classic chicken relleno (i.e., ground pork, raisins, carrots, pickles, etc. etc.). However, since hubby’s family was dining with us, I thought they might find this stuffing strange so I made a Spanish-inspired version too.

Both stuffed chickens got oohs and ahhs when they were served, especially when I mentioned that I de-boned the chickens all by myself! However, it was obvious that hubby and my in-laws were partial to the Spanish-inspired one.

THIS year, we’ll be celebrating with MY family and so I thought the classic chicken relleno it will be then on our Christmas dining table. But after telling my mom and brothers about this yellow-rice an chorizo stuffed chicken… they want that too! Oh well, 2 chickens to debone again then!

The pictures for the recipe below were taken 6 months ago, when I made this version for a dinner with some friends.

Ingredients:

1.5 kilo free-range chicken (deboned)
1 cup soy sauce
2 tbsp liquid seasoning
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 lemon
black pepper
1 pack Lassie yellow rice (makes about 3 cups of rice when cooked)
250 grams chorizo
dried herbs
3 hard-boiled eggs

Procedure:

1. De-bone the chicken without breaking its skin. I used a free-range chicken because I find the meat to be juicier and tastier but it’s really up to you. As I mentioned above, I de-bone the chicken myself but I leave the drumstick bones because I personally like the chicken to… well, still look like a chicken after it’s been baked!



I see that there are de-boned chickens in the supermarkets here in Makati now. Will have to check if that’s not the ‘cheatly de-boned’ kind; i.e., the length of the back of the chicken has been sliced to simply ‘pull out’ the chicken bones.

2. Prepare the marinade by combining the soy sauce, liquid seasoning, the juice of 1 lemon, sesame oil, black pepper, and some dried herbs. (I used dried onion leeks.)



3. Marinate the de-boned chicken at least overnight!



4. Boil the eggs; peel them and then set them aside.
5. Cook the yellow rice according to package directions and set it aside.



6. ‘Grind’ the chorizo using a food processor.
7. Heat a bottom-heavy pan and brown the chorizo.
8. Add the chorizo to the yellow rice.



9. Now take the chicken and start stuffing it with the yellow rice-chorizo mix and the hard-boiled eggs.
10. Stitch up the chicken and use toothpicks to keep the wings and drumsticks ‘attached’ to the chicken.


How's that 'Captain Hook' needle for perfectly closing up a chicken!

11. Bake the stuffed chicken in a 180C pre-heated oven for about 1.5 hours.



12. If you find the top skin or the wing or drumstick skins getting too dark you can cover them in aluminum foil… or do what I did, cover them with bacon strips!

Get ready for the oohs and ahhs too when you serve!

Oh my. I have been a bad food blogger. Hubby and I have been traveling and have been eating out a lot. (Oh the calories!) I have to say I REALLY have to remember to whip out my camera – even just my darn mobile phone! – when we eat out. By the time I think about it, I’ve taken at least three spoonfuls from the dish. Arghhh!

Anyway… here’s something I cooked a few weeks ago at home. The main dish is actually a beenham I bought from Albert Heijn. I tried to find the translation for beenham using online tools but ended with the translation ‘ham on the bone’. Hmmm…

Ingredients:

1 lb beenham (honey glazed)
1 sprig rosemary
1 tbsp oyster sauce

1 zucchini
250 grams button mushrooms
1 white onion
3 tbsp oyster sauce

Procedure:

1. Set the oven to 200 C.
2. Place the beenham on a baking pan. Even though I buy the honey glazed one, I still smear about a tablespoon of oyster (or teriyaki) sauce all over the ham.
3. Sprinkle the rosemary leaves on top of the ham.



4. Bake the ham for about 30-40minutes or until a meat thermometer registers an internal temperature of 160 C.


I was a bit too quick taking the pic but trust me, that ham reached 160C.

5. While waiting for the ham to finish baking… finely chop the white onion.
6. Chop the zucchini and mushrooms into similar sizes.
7. Heat up some olive oil or butter and saute the white onion until translucent.
8. Put in the zucchini and pan fry for about 2 minutes.
9. Add the mushrooms and cook for another 2 minutes.



10. Add the oyster sauce and cook for about 10 minutes. Add more oyster sauce or some water if the dish becomes too dry.

I served this dish with Jamie Oliver mash and a glass of red wine. Yum!

Coq au vin (literally, ‘cock of the wine’) is usually made with red wine and  calls for a more sinewy type of poultry (e.g., rooster), where the wine is used to tenderize the meat. What I have below is a 21st century version: fast and easy ;-)

Actually, I think I violated 3 things from the traditional way coq au vin is cooked: I used WHITE wine, I didn’t boil the chicken WITH the wine at the start, and lastly, I didn’t put in any mushrooms. Still, the dish produced excellent results. (I only wish I had more time to photograph it better. Grrrr.)

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken cut into serving pieces
1 large white onion
1 rosemary sprig
250 grams bacon bits
2 tbsp liquid seasoning
olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Procedure:

1. Heat the oven to 220 C.
2. Cut the chicken into serving pieces; clean and pat them dry.
3. Slice the onion into rings and place them on the bottom of a big, oven-proof dish.
4. Arrange the chicken pieces on top of the onions, skin-side up.
5. Pour the liquid seasoning over the chicken, followed by salt and freshly ground pepper.



6. Sprinkle the rosemary leaves on top, followed by the bacon bits.



7. Drizzle some olive oil on top and then roast the chicken in the oven for 20 minutes.
8. Take the chicken dish out, and pour the white wine all over it.



9. Return the dish to the oven and cook for another 25 minutes.

I served this dish on top of white rice but it will go great with mashed potatoes too.

There are probably 101 ways to cook adobo. Everybody I talk to seems to have that secret tweak that makes his/her adobe THE best. As for me, I honestly have not cooked my best adobo yet.

My mom’s adobo is still the best tasting one on the planet. I cannot seem to replicate it! I don’t know if it’s the vinegar or soy sauce that I use or what but it just ain’t the same. What follows below though is VERY CLOSE.

Ingredients:

thighs, legs and wings of one whole chicken (6 chicken pieces)
1 bay leaf
5 garlic cloves
peppercorns
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp water
5-7 tbsp organic vinegar
posh ingredient: truffle oil

Procedure:

1. Place the chicken pieces in a Dutch oven.
2. Pour in the vinegar, soy sauce and water.
3. Crush the garlic and add them to the pot. No need to take the peel off.
4. Add the bay leaf and peppercorns.



5. Heat to boiling and then lower the heat and let the adobo simmer for about 20 minutes.
6. About 5 minutes before the dish is done add the truffle oil.

Well, this may not be mom’s adobo but it will definitely do for now :)