baby rambutan

yey, we made it to another year . i’ve recovered from all that holiday-ing, and once more my resolution about that is to start out earlier. we’ll just have to wait and see. i always am so full of hope .
i’ve been cooking a lot, A LOT! i’ve really renewed vows with my baking and cooking love*, but have just been so pressed for time. the world’s just spinning so much faster. why is that?

our New Year’s eve, we splashed out and made sure the refrigerator, pantry, and table were full and/or laden with our favorites.
we decided on a table full of appetizers and savory snacks, a combination of take-out and home-cooked, among them:

appetizer table with assorted savories and cheese fondue…

not-quite-7 layer dip (black bean, guacamole, sour cream, tomatoes, black olives, pickled jalapeños, topped with cilantro), great with corn tortilla chips.

smile, you’re a honey-baked ham!

orange-soy glazed ribs

Bon Chon chicken…try the sweet soy-garlic and the fiery fearsome hot wings, dare!
and for the desserts,

coconut lemon tea cake–not too rich, not too moist, perfect with hot tea,

halayang ube, purple yam pudding, something sweet and sticky to catch good luck for 2012, also year of the fierce Dragon. wait, that means another celebration in a couple of weeks! yey!

*a whole other story, worth its own chapter.
bold means recipes provided on demand upon request!

it’s not too late, there’s one more day to enjoy this truly amazing entertaining event….

music all around you…(this is a wonderful reggae band)

“voice singing”

belly dancing…

free stuff (iced DD dark roast coffee), among others

and food everywhere!

the craving just got too intense, too hot to handle.
i even ordered some from the one and only Pinoy restaurant in…my city? the state? the whole of New England?
it would have been good, except that they put a LOT of minced ginger in their otherwise delicious (and reasonably priced) sisig.
it took too long to pull out the finely minced pieces–don’t get me wrong! i like ginger, i love ginger!–just not in my sisig.
so of course, the only recourse, is to make some myself.
i first had mine, sizzling, at Trellis Restaurant–at the site which used to be my Uncle’s house.

there’s so much fun in the search for ingredients. (???) first you have to find a pork head. barring that, you find pork face/snout. the best sisig i had was in California, Ma-made, with fresh roasted lechon and the creamy pork brain mashed in.
impossible? then find some pork belly and ears to provide that unique crunchy chewy “makunat” texture.
i got lucky and found pork snouts. i just supplemented with a meaty pork belly, and the instant sisig packet,


and my fresh calamansi from California, and bottled labuyo juice,

and fresh chopped red onions. roast parboiled chicken livers stand in for the brains….

and the cravings have been satiated.
for now.
now where’s that sizzling platter?

so who isn’t on a health kick these days? you just can’t escape it even if you don’t have any health issues (lucky you *inggit*envy*)–tv and print ads and emails all beseech you to watch your weight, read food labels, work out, eat less, and on and on.
one of my sincere efforts is to avoid cooking deep fried foods.

but alas, the allure and the lure of lumpiang Shanghai (meat and shrimp rolls) got the better of me. i justified it by using ground chicken to replace some of the ground pork, and tried to have the rolls not spend too much time in the deep fat fryer (crucial to use, so that you know how hot the oil has gotten).
the star of this blogpost though is The Dip. i was in a hurry to cook and couldn’t find my recipe for the sweet and soy-y dip so i dug out my dog-eared 22-year-old edition of Galing Galing by Nora Daza for a sweet and sour ketchup-y sauce to which i added some fried garlic.

1/4 cup vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup water (or chicken stock)
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. cooking oil
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tbsps. ketchup/catsup
2 tsps. cornstarch dissolved in 1 tbsp. water

in a glass cup, combine vinegar, sugar, salt and water and mix well.
heat a saucepan and add cooking oil (you can use as little as you need to coat the pan). brown the minced garlic until fragrant. add the vinegar solution and bring up to a gentle boil and then add the cornstarch solution, stirring constantly until thickened.

i added a sprinkle of freshly ground black pepper too.

any guilty feelings after imbibing these forbidden deep fried goodies were assuaged by the opposite lumpia variation.

after having some fresh lumpia in California–traditionally made with heart of coconut, (the inner core of the coconut trunk, which is not available here)–here made with jicama (singkamas) and other vegetables: green beans, carrots, snow pea pods, celery, all precisely julienned…i had a hankering for some more.

if only i could findeureka!i think i’ve found that prefect white crepe i’m longing for, with a bit of a spongey texture in its thinness, just like my Ma used to get fresh from the lumpia-makers of Nepomuceno Market near Kamuning and Cubao….

i’ve been having problems with this webhost, and in the time it took just to write this post i’ve managed to trawl the www and try a few recipes for the crepe. this is it, at least for now:
a white and fine textured crepe that doesn’t overwhelm the vegetables with too much egginess.
(based on a recipe from recipezaar.com)

200 grams all purpose flour
50 grams tapioca starch
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 egg
2 tbsps. canola oil
525 ml lukewarm water

blend dry ingredients, then add the egg. whisking constantly, add the water in a steady and slow stream. whisk until well blended; use a stick blender if batter is lumpy. cover tightly with plastic wrap and let stand in the refrigerator, for at least an hour, up to overnight.
heat up crepe pan to medium hot, lightly oil it, then pour just enough to cover the pan with a thin layer (i used about 1/3 cup for my crepe pan).
when top is set, flip carefully–don’t let it brown, or else it will crack and not drape over the lumpia like a velvet shawl….

i must confess, i made these fish cakes specifically so i could enjoy them with this dip.

it’s very easy and quick to make, especially if you use a food processor to chop up the seafood. otherwise if you’re handy with a knife or mezzaluna, you’ll just end up with a chunkier mix.
my kids don’t like wild lime leaves (from “kaffir” limes) so i just used, sparingly now, but maybe more and more as time goes by to get their tastebuds acculturated, Maesri red curry paste (a mix of garlic, shallots, lemongrass, lime leaves, dried red chili peppers, cumin, coriander, cardamom bay leaves, and sugar and salt).

just mix up ground fish (haddock, scrod, cod or other firm, white-fleshed fish), ground shrimp, 1 beaten egg, chopped scallions, a few drops of fish sauce, freshly ground black pepper, and a teaspoon or so of red curry paste. you can add bread crumbs (i used panko) or not (or a dusting of all-purpose flour instead), and you can add finely sliced dark long beans or green beans for a bit of color and texture (not to mention vegetable goodness!).

heat vegetable oil to a depth of about an inch then gently drop in spoonfuls of fish and shrimp mixture coated with bread crumbs or flour and fry for about 2 minutes per side (depending on the thickness and size).

enjoy with a cucumber and red onion mix steeped in a vinegar, sugar, salt and black pepper dip–with a bit of red chili if you like!
i dissolved 1/2 cup of sugar in 1 cup of white vinegar (or rice vinegar) in a small saucepan, brought up the mixture to a gentle simmer while stirring, then added salt and pepper to taste, before pouring into finely diced cucumber and red onions.
delicious! and gone in a flash…

it might have something to do with my latest obsession, watching old episodes of The Vicar of Dibley. i just always snubbed this show, being that it dealt with a Vicar. how funny can it be, i thought, dealing with the Church and the bible.
but i saw the Christmas special finale, the one where Geraldine finally found her someone, and it was so irreverently hilariously outrageously funny that i thought i’d track down all the old episodes (it was put down after 10 years on air, circa 1994.)

it might also have something to do with my Anglophilia, according to husband.
whatevah!
he brought home a rib roast for our dinner tonight. i had almost two hours to roast it so i had a moment of Domestic Goddessness and dug out her “Feast” cookbook to make these lovely little gems.
Yorkshire puddings, the traditional accompaniment to the Christmas roast beast, always look so enticing with their puffed up gloriousness that i’ve always been wanting to try.

now, i’ve had quite a bit of a struggle with her recipes, and this one is no exception: i thought it lacking in instruction but since i’d seen an episode with another self-proclaimed Diva (Tita Martha) with A Real Diva, Anne Willan, i was able to make some passable enough for my family to enjoy.
i think it’s got a lot to do with the pan used (i used a jumbo-muffin pan, but it’s said that a twelve-cup one will work, just as well as an 8-inch round cake pan), and will be on the lookout for a popover pan, the kind where the cups are deeper and divided by thin wires. or maybe the oven temperature wasn’t quite hot enough… my kids said it tasted like rich thick crepes. which they like.

substitute melted butter if you haven’t had the time to get drippings from the rib roast.

4 eggs
1 & 1/3 cups 2% milk (i used half 1 % milk and half heavy cream, because that’s all i had)
1/2 tsp. salt
1 & 2/3 cups flour

preheat oven to 425ºF.
whisk together eggs, milk and salt until combined then let stand at least 15 minutes. whisk in flour then let stand until ready to bake.

pour about a tablespoon or so of roast beef drippings or melted butter into each muffin/popover pan cup. heat in the oven before pouring in the batter.

bake for 15 – 20 minutes until puffed up and browned.


it was certainly a welcome and delicious change from just mashed potatoes and gravy. the puddings when smothered in peas and gravy went very well with the juicy rib roast.

and no, there was no special occasion, unless you count making it to Friday, a special occasion.

something sweet and something spicy to welcome to the new year.
every new year’s eve it seems now i’ve served fondue to the kids whether they like it or not. i don’t know why i love it so, maybe it’s the crackling little flame under the fondue pot? the interactivity and suspense of keeping your dipper in your fondue fork? but i got another electric one so we can have both cheese and chocolate fondue…i think the three had had enough rich food over Christmas dinners that they sort of groaned when i announced the fondue plans. i said, don’t worry, children, it will be a little bit different.

i chose a cheddar cheese mix with red bell peppers and jalapeno, for dipping with bread & ham cubes, tortilla chips,
fresh and cooked vegetables.

i also made spiced beef so that the #1son could opt for tacos–he who seemed reluctant to partake of melted cheese.
as midnight approached i melted the chocolate and chopped up bananas, rinsed the strawberries and cubed the brown butter pound cake.

ahhh! i suddenly remembered my ma’s “bruun cake(?)” that she used to prepare whenever she got a hold of this special canned butter, from Denmark maybe? the method of melting the butter until the milk solids turn dark brown, then freezing to congeal, then mixing with eggs and sugar, and flour, made the butter flavor so deep and profound and caramelly, just perfect with the dripping semisweet/bittersweet chocolates, and for eating for breakfast, this New Year’s Day.

i hope you had a loud and raucous Eve! did you remember to jump at the stroke of midnight?!

is a cheat’s recipe. sorry.

i think Mama Sita’s barbecue marinade is a great base for chicken wing barbecue marinade. i always have some on hand, and with my ever growing impatience for spring to really arrive, i mean REALLY, not just keep teasing us with warm weather one day, and then five days of bone chilling cold and rainy-day-gray weather, and then another warm day…you get the picture?
we threw away our cheap little grill after last summer, and are now anticipating the imminent purchase of our new name-brand (albeit still cheap) charcoal grill. until then i got the itch to grill something in my oven.
Mama Sita plus, husband calls it:
barbecue marinade, plus crushed garlic, a splash of pineapple juice, lashings of freshly ground black pepper and a shake of sea salt.
marinate the chicken wings for at least an hour, and then bake on high heat (450F) tightly covered with foil for 30 minutes, occasionally basting with the marinade. then uncover and broil, vigilantly watching over them like a hawk, until well browned.
finger bowls optional.

it sure feels like it’s been a long long week. with temperatures stuck in the negative numbers (way way way below freezing) it hurts to go outside–man it even hurts to do laundry in the basement!
thank GOODNESS it’s Friday then. i’ve started assembling the ingredients for a winter dish that i’ve been craving since… last summer! a hint: i’m attempting to make my own duck confit as a first step. i hope all goes well and i can serve it this weekend.

meanwhile here’s a different take on deep fried chicken wings which my children, all three, devoured really quickly. like within minutes.

“Crispy Italian Fliers” from the “Wings” collection of Debra Moose.

1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup finely ground white cornmeal (i used the mini food processor)
1 & 1/2 tbsps. grated Parmesan (i used more, because we like Parmesan)
2 tsps. dried oregano
1 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
12 wings, cut in half at joints, wing tips removed
vegetable oil
warm marinara sauce

in a large bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, Parmesan, oregano, basil,thyme, garlic powder, salt and pepper. coat the wings in the mixture and shake off any excess.
pour about 1 inch of vegetable oil into a frying pan and heat to 350F. fry the wings for 5 to 6 minutes per side, or until golden brown. you may need to turn frequently near the end for even browning.
drain the wings on a rack set over a platter.
serve the wings with warm marinara sauce for dipping, if desired.
(i drizzled some Frank’s Red Hot sauce into my dip.)

got a party tonight? it’s not too late to make something to go with your bubbly, if you’re not under the gun from a snowstorm that is, and can still go out and score the ingredients. my minivan is starting to disappear in the snowdrifts…

chicken wings are America’s favorite party nibble and here’s a new take on it, fresh and fiery and fruity, my first try from “Wings” by Debbie Moose, from Wiley Publishing. (this is from the “fire it up” chapter). i really loved the combination of hot peppers and pineapple juice and peach preserves, it’s quite surprisingly, seriously, searingly delicious!

yup, it got a bit too charred under the broiler! i think i’ll do this over a charcoal grill…yeah right after the snowstorm

this is a nice little collection of party dips also from Wiley’s, ranging from hot dips to cold dips and everything in between; great for cocktails and appetizers.

wings with fiery fruit glaze
2 cups pineapple juice
2 tbsps. plus 2 tsps. white wine vinegar
2 tbsps. sugar
1 tbsp. plus 1 tsp. vegetable oil
1 tbsp. plus 1 tsp. garlic
1 tbsp. hot pepper sauce (e.g. Tabasco, Frank’s Red Hot)
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
12 wings, cut in half at joints, wing tips removed and discarded
1 12-oz. jar peach jam (used Bonne Maman peach preserves–i just mashed up the big pieces of fruit)
1 habanero, finely chopped, or more, to taste (i chickened out and used a milder serrano chile)

in a bowl combine the pineapple juice, vinegar, sugar, vegetable oil, garlic, hot pepper sauce, salt, and pepper. stir to dissolve the sugar.
place the wings in a resealable plastic bag. pour in the pineapple mixture and shake to cover the wings. refrigerate for 2 hours or as long as overnight.
place the jam and the habanero in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. heat, stirring, until the jam is melted. keep warm over low heat while cooking the wings.
prepare a gas or charcoal grill for direct cooking. remove the wings from the marinade and discard the marinade.
grill the wings for 15 to 20 minutes, turning frequently or until done.
while still warm, place the wings in a large bowl and pour the warm glaze over them. toss to coat all the wings with the glaze.

p.s. my comments section has disappeared, i am so sorry my dear friends, i’m trying to fix it :scratch head: see you next year! that’s tomorrow! i’m very hopeful that 2009 has GOT to be better than 2008…happy new year to everyone!