My Granpa Beato's Adobo

Wow, where do I begin to describe this dish? If you are a Filipino and you grow up in the Philippines, it's possible that you have your own version of Adobo.
For me, my version is inspired by my Grandpa Beato, who's an amazing cook in our part of the province and has been cooking from one Fiesta to the next for his entire life.
He is our family cook and has always been a great cook.
While growing up, he showed me his cooking techniques on different kinds of Filipino Dishes. Most of his dishes have Spanish Influence since he is half Spanish.
We would sometimes fuss about what ingredients should be put on a certain dish; but for me it was kind of exciting and intoxicating because I absorbed all his techniques and yet put my own spin into it.
I vividly remember when I was growing up, every time we made chicken adobo, we just grabbed one of our chicken in our backyard, slit the throat, clean the chicken, sliced and make adobo, including the insides.
Well, maybe not the intestines and so forth but my uncle happened to like those clean and fried toasted.
Lol, but anyhow we usually put the liver, gizzard, neck, feet without the claws (of course) and after all that we start the cooking.
So here is our version of Chicken Adobo

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken cut into big chunks; or if you have a picky hubby like mine get the following
1 lb. chicken thighs (important to have dark meat with bones for flavor)
1 lb. chicken tenders or breast
1/2 lb. chicken gizzards (optional, I happen to like them)
1 tbsp. sugar
2 to 3 pcs. cayenne chili or labuyo (optional, I like mine to have a bit of kick into it)
2 tbsp. soy sauce (I mix silver swan and kikkoman); Grandpa thinks bottled silver swan is the best 1 clove garlic crushed, or my technique is just grate it with your grater or zester and 1 clove pressed, and finely chopped
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. magic sarap (Grandpa thinks this is not necessary but for me, it gives the dish a bit of more umph; if you don't have this, half of a chicken bouillon is fine)
2 tbsp. canola oil or any flavor less oil
1 small size Spanish onion (important)
2 bay leaves
5 to 10 peppercorns
1/2 cup water
1/8 cup vinegar ( I use Datu Puti, I think the more acidic the vinegar the better for this because it dissolves the collagen of the chicken therefore releasing more flavor)
pepper

* In a big bowl combine the chicken, grated garlic, chili,soy sauce, sugar, salt, a dash of pepper, magic sarap and mix until all of the ingredients are incorporated.
Cover with saran wrap and let it marinate for at least 2 hours, overnight is best.
My grandpa just throw everything in a skillet and doesn't marinate it; but what I noticed is that the meat is often flavorless and colorless. This method may not grasp your instant gratification of having the dish in an hour, but I guarantee you it is worth the effort and time.
* In medium high heat with a big pan or wok, add the oil and chopped garlic, stir until golden brown.
* Add the onions and saute until translucent.
* Add the chicken pieces gizzard, thighs and breast without the juice that it had been marinating with. Let it brown for about 5 to 10 minutes.
(Brown the dark meat first, they cook longer and they release flavor to flavor the white meat)
* Lower the heat to medium heat then add the juices, peppercorn, another dash of pepper and water.
Let it simmer for 20 minutes until tender and the sauce is half to it's original volume.
* Add the vinegar (the reason that I add the vinegar last is because it sometimes makes the meat dry and rubbery). Taste and season; if not enough seasoning lower the heat to the low and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes.
You would notice that the sauce thickens, that is because the vinegar breaks those chicken collagen.
* Serve over hot steamed rice and a side of bottled coke with a glass of ice.

This is how I plate for my husband he likes just the white meat with lots of adobo sauce.

This is how I eat mine.

Marco Pierre White Mashed Potato

I absolutely adore Marco Pierre White, I think he is amazing, and the King of Culinary Arts.
Both Gordon Ramsay and Mario Batali were of his line cook/staff in the 80's or early 90's.
If, I had the money, I would gladly pay MPW to cook a 7 course meal in a heartbeat!
Anyhow, I saw this technique in one of his videos; but like he said: "in cooking there is no recipe, if there is then it's baking".
This is what I have made for my in-laws dinner.

Ingredients:

6 yukon gold potatoes (important)
1 cup milk
4 tbsp. unsalted butter
salt
white ground pepper
1/2 cup sour cream (optional)

* Preheat your oven to 350F.
* Using a dinner fork, poke each potato 4 times.
* Place it in the oven and bake for 1 to 1 1/2 hrs.
* Cut each potato in half and push trough a potato smasher or vegetable mill. (shown above)
* In medium sauce pan, warm the milk: do not boil. Add the butter and a teaspoon of salt.
* Mix the milk mixture with the mashed potatoes using a whisk until it's creamy.
Sprinkle with pepper.
* Serve with Coq Au Vin. For plating, place the mashed potatoes in the plate first and make a hole in the center, scoop the Coq Au Vin into the hole and garnish with chopped chives.
Enjoy!

In Laws Pleasing Dinner

My husband decided to invite my in laws for post Thanksgiving Dinner, I was skeptic about what to cook-since Thanksgiving Day was just over and we are basically stuffed of food for the past 3 days.
I was searching and searching for the right recipes and I have finally concluded to Coq Au Vin (a french chicken stew) it's basically almost like Boeuf Bourguignon but instead of beef we use chicken.
I also, made Sour Cream Mashed Potato and for dessert I still have left over Pumpkin Cheesecake.

For the Coq Au Vin ingredients:

1 lb. chicken thighs
1 lb. chicken breast or 1 whole chicken cut up to 10 pcs. ( important to have dark meat and skin for the flavor)
5 pcs. bacon ( i used uncured and unsmoked but anything you have is just fine)diced
30 pearl onions
1 large onions quarted
4 pcs. carrots cut up thick about 1 inch
2 cloves garlic crushed and chopped ( i used my grater/zester for a fine result and no mess)
3 stalks celery cut in to 1 inch chunks
1/2 cup cognac or brandy
10 stems of fresh thyme (important)
1 bay leaf
1 bottle of burgundy wine ( i used Pinot Noir from Oregon it's my favorite wine to drink)
1 tbsp. tomato paste
2 cups chicken stock
2 tbsp. butter
1 tbsp. flour
1/2 lb. button mushroom sliced

* Using a 5quart enamel pot in medium heat; brown the bacon until crisp. Remove and set aside.
* Salt and Pepper the chicken in each side. Brown the chicken pieces do not overcrowd the pot or you would end up steaming the chicken pieces instead of browning them, do in two or more batches instead. Set aside in a plate.
* Saute your pearl onion for 2minutes it's crucial to time this so your pearl onion won't be soggy. Set aside.
* Saute your large onion, carrots, celery, and garlic season with salt and pepper. * De glaze the bottom of your pan with the cognac.
* Add the chicken (arrange them in between your vegetables), bacon, wine, tomato paste and chicken stock.
* Using butchers string tie together the fresh thyme and bay leaf. Place them on top of the chicken.
* Cover the mixture and marinate over night.
* Preheat your oven at 325F and place it in the oven for 2 to 2 1/2 hrs.
* Place your Coq Au Vin in the stove in medium heat.
Melt the butter and add the flour until it makes a paste ( to burn off the flour taste) add the mixture to your Coq Au Vin to thicken the sauce.
* Saute the mushroom with butter until brown.
* Add the pearl onions and the sauteed mushroom into the Coq Au Vin and season to taste.
Simmer for 10 more minutes and serve hot!

5 Thanksgiving Spices

For me, I feel Thanksgiving is really in the air when I see pumpkins all over the grocery store, pies in one table corner to the next and unbeatable sale prices of various food products.
It makes me happy and glad to see people are scrambling from one aisle to the next, looking for their particular ingredients to prepare their perfect Thanksgiving feast for all their loved ones.
But, the one thing that really, makes me smile and gleam of excitement is the Aroma in the air.
For the last week, that I have been going into my local market, I intentionally parked and go into the bakery entrance, so I can inhale all that sweet Aroma of baking and the lingering smell of spices that had been use.
And therefore, I have come to the conclusion that these spices are most use for this time of the year.

Cinnamon... Ah that sweet, nutty smell of cinnamon, you just know that your getting something sweet or savory.

Cloves.... I can't really describe clove, it is in between Nutmeg and Cinnamon I suppose, but, when a particular dish have clove you would get that wonderful hint of something that you can't name of but you know that it's there.

Nutmeg.... This is one of my favorite spice when I make sauces, especially bechamel or carbonara. This spice for me, just liven the dish up.

All Spice.... Particularly use in pies, I think an apple pie without allspice is like an apple pie without apple. Well, for me anyway.

Vanilla... Because, it would just remind you of all the sweet goodies you would have the day and after Turkey Day.

Creamy, Rich, and Velvety Pumpkin Cheesecake

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
I give Thanks for all the blessings that I have received, for my wonderful husband and a healthy family.
I may not be an American by birth, but I have adopted this tradition by heart (maybe because of the huge sales everywhere the next day hmmm?).
One thing, that I have noticed here in my new homeland, is that Thanksgiving is all about Family and Food!
Here is one of my dessert recipe adopted for this occasion.
Ehmmmm my house smells amazing, my cheesecake was in the oven and the aroma is so wonderful.
In the spirit of Thanksgiving I have made this Pumpkin Cheesecake.

Ingredients for the Crust:

~1 1/2 cups of ground Graham cookies or if you don't have any just blitz 10 Graham crackers in a food processor, this is better anyway than buying the package crumbs
~1 stick of unsalted butter melted
~1 tbsp. packed brown sugar
~ a 9inch spring form pan.

Preheat oven to 350 F

* Combine all the ingredients in a bowl. Mix them thoroughly with fork; I prepare my hands.
* Place them in the spring form pan and pressed the cookie mixture using the back of your 1 cup measuring cup ( as pictured).
* Bake them for 8 minutes and set aside.

Ingredients for the Filling:

~1 3/4 lbs. Philadelphia Cream Cheese at room temperature very important (best way, is to leave it overnight)
~1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
~1 15oz. can Pumpkin Puree (preferably Libby's)
~1/2 tsp. cinnamon
~1/8 tsp. clove
~1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
~1 tsp. vanilla
~2 tbsp. all purpose flour
~3 eggs
~1 yolk
~1/3 cup sour cream (no half half or 2% crap)

* Using a mixer, beat cream cheese until smooth in low speed.
* Gradually add the sugar and beat for 3 minutes.
* Add the pumpkin puree and spices, beat for 2 minutes.
* Then add the flour and eggs beat in low speed for a minute.
* Lastly add the vanilla and beat until mix well.
Using a rubber spatula scrape the bottom and side of the bowl and mix until combined.
* Fold into the crust and bake for an hour at 350 F. When you take it out the oven, the top would still wiggle; this is ok it will firm up once it had been in the fridge for sometime.
Let it rest for 1 hour, using a butter knife, use it to loosen the side of the spring pan and release.
* Wrap it in clear seran wrap and let it set in the refrigerator for atleast 4 hrs. Serve it room temperature with whipped cream on top.

And now as you can see pictured on the left, I am packing mine to take to our family in Galveston, Texas.
Don't worry about the cracks, the whipped cream would cover that up.
Enjoy and have a Wonderful Thanksgiving weekend with your family and friends!

Quick and Easy Cranberry Sauce

Cranberry Sauce is one of the staple must have in every Thanksgiving Day.
Why buy a can of cranberry sauce when you can make them in an instant? Nothing beats Homemade Cranberry Sauce. So here is a quick and tested recipe that I just made for our Thanksgiving on Thursday.

Ingredients:

~1 lb. fresh cranberry or frozen make sure you thaw and drain it out first before you cook it, to get rid of extra water.
~1/3 cup of water
~1 1/4 cups of granulated sugar
~1 cinnamon stick
~1/2 tsp. ground all spice
~1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
~1 large orange navel, zest and juice
~a dash of salt

Directions:

* Combine cranberry, sugar, and water in a medium sauce pan.
Bring it to a boil in medium heat.
When the cranberry starts to pop don't be alarmed, its natural, it is releasing it's wonderful juices and textures.
* Add the cinnamon stick, all spice and nutmeg and stir.
Simmer for a few minutes.
* Add the orange zest, juice and a dash of salt. Stir and let it simmer in low for 5 to 7 minutes, once it get to that gel like texture turn off your heat and transfer to a serving bowl.

If you want your Cranberry Sauce to be smooth and shiny, remove the cinnamon stick and toss the mixture in the blender until you get the consistency that you like. I like it a bit chunky and textured because it reminds me that it is homemade.

Prosciutto Wrapped Tiger Prawns Pasta

I was in a Seafood mood tonight so here is what I came up with. I saw this method at Rachel Ray's show but I tinkered with it a bit more and added pasta into it for some carbs.

Ingredients for the Shrimp:
~ 6 Tiger Prawns or any prawns that are big enough for skewer (deveined)
~ 6 pcs. Sage
~ 6 pcs. prosciutto or bacon
~ Black Pepper for taste

Turn your oven on to 450F
* Cut the back of the shrimp, where you usually butterfly a shrimp; insert a sage leaf and season it with pepper, no salt since the prosciutto is salty enough to flavor it.
* Wrap the shrimp with sage in prosciutto make sure they are tuck in nicely; they would stick together anyway.

* Place your shrimp in a grilling pan with olive oil. Add a sprinkle of olive oil on top of your shrimp to help the prosciutto crisp (they are not as fatty as bacon).
Set aside and prepare the pasta.

Ingredients for the Pasta:
~1/3 cup of fresh Italian flat Parsley
~1 tbsp. fresh Mint
~ground black pepper
~salt
~Parmesan Cheese
~2 fresh cayenne chili or 1/2 teaspoon red crushed pepper (ground cayenne would change the flavor so please don't use it)
~3 garlic gloves sliced lengthwise
~good olive oil
~a splash of white wine, any white wine that you would normally drink; if you don't have this pasta water would be just fine
~half a lime
~Linguine, cooked al dente

Put your Prosciutto Wrapped Shrimp in the oven to cook 5-8 minutes.

*Cook the pasta according to the packet but 3 minutes less.
*In a pan on medium heat splash a good amount of Olive oil and let it heat for 30 seconds.
* Add the chili and let the chili infuse the oil about 1-2minutes.
* Add the garlic and let it turn golden brown not dark brown. If it is, start over again. It would make the whole pasta taste bitter and too much garlic flavor.
* Add the pasta directly, do not drain them.
* Add the herbs, dash of pepper, and a dash of salt not too much; remember the prosciutto is salty enough.
* Splash of white wine, not a dollop just a splash probably about 2 tbsp. Let your mixture emulsify; meaning do not stir them just wiggle the pan back in forth.
* After 4mins do stir them and let it cook for another 2 minutes.

By this time your shrimp is probably cooked. Remove them from the oven and start plating. Put the pasta first on your plate and sprinkle enough Parmesan Cheese, then add the shrimp on top and spritz lime. Serve hot and pair it with Pinot Noir 2008 from Oregon; or any wine that you like.

Free Range Brown Eggs or White Eggs?

It is definitely a question of " Can I afford it?". For most of us we don't care which is which, but how much is the price difference? The Brown Eggs are definitely more expensive about 1.5x more. But let's say we are comparing it via taste, here is what I found: I found that Brown Eggs are better when you eat the egg by itself, like boiled, scramble or anything that just the egg. You can definitely taste the flavor that everyone is talking about and the quality is there. I also, found that when I boiled my brown eggs it taste more savory and creamier; I like my boiled egg a bit runny. Also when you open the brown eggs it has more white in it and less yolk; which is good when you are making a meringue. And also, less fat if you look at how much whites are in it. Brown eggs are not necessary when you are baking since you only use eggs to bind whatever it is that you are baking and you can not really taste it.

I found that when I cooked my White Eggs; boiled the way I liked it, it was fishy. I almost threw up, I discarded it and just had a piece of toast instead. In baking I was not able to taste the difference between the two. I would say use Brown Eggs when you are cooking breakfast, but use White Eggs when you are baking. You could balance your budget this way and also, get the taste and flavor that everyone seems to be talking about!

No Mess, No Splatter, Perfect Crisp Bacon

If you are like me, who likes bacon every weekend but don't want splatter and possibly be hurt and don't like grease especially cleaning them; then this is for you. This is how I make my bacon every Sunday. They are perfectly cooked, crisp, less greasy and you don't have to constantly stand in front of the stove while cooking them. I also find that cooking it this way the bacon doesn't shrivel or shrink. Here's how:

Cooling rack or anything that you have that can make the grease drip through. Baking sheet to put the cooling rack on. Bacon of course, I used Hormel Bacon. Turn your oven to 350f or 175c.

Lay your bacon on top of the cooling rack, you can probably put around 8 pieces in there; which for me and my husband is more than enough. Put it in the oven for about 20 to 30 minutes. Check on them about 20mins through to see if they are cooking to your liking. If you want your bacon extra crispy raise the temperature about 375 F for 5 minutes and it will do the job. The only con on cooking like this, is that it takes longer to cook it unlike cooking in the pan, which will take about 10 mins. But I like the flavor and the crispiness of it this way.

Whoa La my Perfect Crisp Bacon!

China Buffet, South Meadows Austin

Let me just say: I am suppose to cook today, but my husband and I decided we wanted to go to Sam's Club, which is 45mins drive from our house. We needed dog food and booze lol, naw we needed some other stuff too. The China Buffet in South Meadows, Austin is a modern, contemporary restaurant that I think their facade looked so inviting and very calming in the eyes. Unlike, most Chinese Buffet I see around the country, it's not in a so so neighborhood and it is at the shopping area rather than near a dorm room or apartments like most of them. This is our second time here. What attracted me to this place was not because of the look of their facade or building, it was because of the Delicious SMELL! I literally followed where the smell came from and found out it came from this restaurant. We were greeted by this Chinese man, the owner of the restaurant(I assumed), he was not in a good mood today, but other than that he was okay. The 3 buffet spreads are in the left side categorized by: dessert, entries and condiments. One of the waitresses showed us our table and our waitress came for our drinks. We had 2 sweet teas since they don't serve Coke only Pepsi's.

Entries that we ate are the following: Fried Crab one of my favorite they were fresh and a bit sweet which is an indication that they were fairly fresh, Stir Fried Clams was not good, Fried Shrimp which is also my favorite, Fried rice which it was delish, I added some chili oil in my fried rice because I liked spicy a lot and their chili oil was also good well it's not like you can really ruin chili oil. Steamed Tilapia which my husband liked a lot(mind you, his not a very big fan of fish with soy sauce but he loves this one), Spring roll which he said was so so and he did not come back for another one, Beef and broccoli was good and came back for more, chicken and broccoli was also delish and came back for more, spicy chicken was not spicy and texture was not good did not come back for more, Banana bread pudding for my husband's dessert and he really loved it that he came back for more with more than a dollop each time, I had the chocolate ice cream which I think was so so.

They do have a Sushi Bar that looked appetizing but I am just not into Sushi's neither is my husband. I saw a lot of people eating them so must be good. They have fresh oysters and a lot more dishes that I can name of for the price of $9.99 per head. We paid total of $27.00 including tax; which I think with all the food that I get to try and eat is a bargain. The con on this restaurant is the techno music that they play it's not as loud as in the dining area as in the buffet spreads; but for me it's quiet annoying. Their restrooms are fairly clean and the service was better than most Chinese Buffet and everyone speaks English. All in all this is one of my favorite Chinese Buffet that I had in a while. I would definitely go back again!

Jalisco Restaurant, Bastrop Texas and Giddings

I started to get interested with these restaurant due to my class teacher. He mentioned it a couple of times and I was intrigued immediately, when he said that it's Authentic and the price is reasonable. So, my husband and I tried it last weekend. The building of Jalisco did not look much, it kinda looked like those Mexican houses that we usually see in movies. I was a bit disappointed at this point, but my curiosity struck me.We were greeted with a smile and we were seated with our likings (we usually like booth and request it as much as we can in any restaurant that we go to). The waiter came by and greeted us nicely asked for our drinks and gave us our menus, tortilla and chips ( they were good). Here are the following items we ordered:

Bastrop Jalisco Margarita on the rocks with salt : I do not recommend this, their Margarita did not taste like a Margarita rather than a lime juice or whatever you call .
Giddings Jalisco Frozen Margarita with salt: I DO recommend this it was so good I finish the whole glass cleaned.
Bastrop Entry we shared the Guadalajara Dinner Combo and it was only $9.50. It came with Chicken Enchilada, Tamales, Refried Beans and Mexican Rice. Everything was so so so good. My husband and I finish the whole thing and asked for tortillas to dunk the sauce in. 
Giddings Entry: My husband had the Chicken Fajitas and I had the Mexican Guadalajara Dinner ( I am telling you it was that good that I reorder it again in a different branch). The chicken fajitas was Fantastic! The onions was cooked just right that it still has the crunch but it also had the natural sweetness which was just perfect. Pico de Gayo was hot and spicy which I liked a lot. Guacamole in the other hand was in the bland side, no flavorings and it was a bit salty to me. My husband like his meal a lot he finished everything in his plate except the guacamole which is not his cup of tea anyhow.
Now, my order was the same as in Bastrop Jalisco which was the Guadalajara  Dinner Combo but it came with different stuff. It did not came with chicken enchilada but it came with cheese instead. They also, gave me this stuffed green pepper with ground beef on top of chili sauce. Not a very big fan of it! All in all I like my tamale, rice and re-fried beans.

All in all my experience in this restaurant chain was fantastic! I love their food and the Mexican Authenticity of their sauces. I would definitely come back again especially with the affordable price.