Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Create -Your- Own Sandwich

After the baptismal we headed home for a simple merienda.
I prepared some store-bought cold cuts, cheese, greens and mushrooms and got the panini grill out for a Create-your-own sandwich party.

I think everyone was happy with their sandwiches =)





Selection of breads
We had sesame bread, Farmer Rustic Bread, Baguette Bread, French Bread, Rye Bread and Wheat Bread


Cupcakes by Sonja for the sweet tooth




Guests making their choices
Cheese section includes Gruyere- my favorite, Manchego, Emmenhthal, Herbey Dutch and Cheddar Cheese


Cold cuts- Canadian ham, canadian bacon, coppa ham, salami Milano, Smoked roasted chicken ham, Beef pastrami
For the greens, we had romaine, lolorossa and Alfalfa


Stech using the panini grill =)

Beautiful photos were taken by JOVI =)
Thanks

Monday, September 27, 2010

Ham and Pastrami Sandwich

My BIG Lunch.

This sandwich is layered with
Mayonnaise
Romaine Lettuce
Red Lolorossa
Canadian Ham
Beef Pastrami
Gruyere Cheese
Portobello Mushrooms
Tomatoes
and Lotsa lots of Alfalfa
then drizzled with olive oil and freshly grounded black pepper


Ham and Pastrami Sandwich

Saturday, September 25, 2010

ROMULO CAFE

One of Ryan's dreams is to have a surprise party.... and last Thursday, Jen made his dream come true. He was really surprised and happy.

We were in the Kaligayahan room, a beautiful room covered with flowery wallpaper (as you can se in the picture), this room is good for 12 people with a minimum comsumable price of 4500.00. Beautiful interior. One problem about this is that it didn't have any bell or buzzer to call the food server whenever we needed anything. But it's still beautiful =)


Ryan surprised


1st floor of Romulo


invited few to surprise Ryan for his bday


Ryan and Jen


Ryan blowing his birthday cake

Here's the best part.... the food!


Smoked Bangus Pate with Pandesal Chips PHP 160
Delicious pate..... perfect with the hollandaise sauce


TUNA SISIG PHP 215
It was not on a sizzling plate like the usual sisigs..... but this is one of the best that I've tried


BABY PUSIT IN GARLIC PHP 220.00


PANCIT PUTI PHP 180.00
Bihon cooked in olive oil and garlic oil topped with garlic, shrimp, chicken and hard boiled egg
This was yummy! I had another order of this


FLYING TILAPIA WITH 3 SAUCES PHP 295.00
Sweet Chili, Honey Bagoong and Soy Vinegar


BONELESS CRISPY PATA BINAGOONGAN PHP 625.00
LOVED IT!


GINATAANG SIGARILYAS AT TINAPA PHP 160
It was my first time to eat sigarilyas... and it tasted great. Loved the smokey flavor and the crunchy texture


TITO GREG'S KARE-KARE PHP 385.00
everybody's favorite


LOLA VIRGINIA'S CHICKEN RELLENO PHP 595.00
1/2 roasted chicken stuffed with ground pork, raisins, chorizo and peas....
This was also delicious

Everything we had was delicious....... Loved the food and the ambiance...gorgeous!
I would definitely come back and would recommend this place to my family and friends.

*Food pics taken by DARWIN YAP

FOR RESERVATIONS AND INQUIRIES
SCT. LAZCANO COR SCT. TUAZON QC.

332-7275

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Garlic Prawns and Olive & Sardines Spaghetti

I wasn't sure what I was going to cook for dinner. I know that it was going to be pasta but didn't know what kind ( I cook pasta 'coz it's my little boy's favorite). Didn't have time to go to the groceries anymore... so I invaded the cabinets and found canned Spanish sardines and olives...and thought, why not?! So I have something for dinner.

Then my mom-in-law came home with fresh prawns from the market with a lunch take out for me (KFC meal, this comes with 7up). She asked me if I wanna cook the prawns.. and yes! I said YES! I love cooking prawns especially if its fresh from the market. I decided to make it simple, Garlic Prawns. I made use of whatever's available including the 7up.

Marinated the prawns with the taken-home 7up... it made the prawns very tasty sweet.


Garlic Prawns


Olives and Sardines Spaghetti

Monday, September 20, 2010

Baby Back Ribs and Tuna Pasta

Tonight's dinner is one of my all-time favorite, Baby Back Ribs. Mmmmmm...m =)
The ribs were marinated for 2 days and was in the oven for around 3 hours. It was so tender and falling-off-the bone. I paired it with grilled corn and baked potato.


Hickory Baby Back Ribs with Grilled Corn and Baked Potato


Another dish I made was the Tuna Pasta. This was gone in 60 seconds.... ok ok I was exaggerating but the plate was swept clean =)


Tuna Pasta



@ KC... as requested, here's the recipe for the Baby back ribs, I got it from Emeril Lagasse
I was not able to find Bourbon at Rustan's so I substituted it with Hickory.
Do follow every instruction to get the falling-of-the-bone result. Enjoy

Spicy Root Beer and Bourbon Glazed Baby Back Ribs

Ingredients

Glaze:

  • 2 (12-ounce) cans root beer
  • 2 tablespoons hot pepper jelly
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 2 tablespoons steak sauce (recommended: Emeril's Steak Sauce)
  • 1 teaspoon Caribbean Pick-A-Peppa sauce
  • 6 whole cloves
  • 1 stick cinnamon
  • 1 orange, zested and juiced
  • 1 lemon, zested and juiced
  • 1/2 vanilla bean, split and scraped
  • 2 teaspoons bitters (recommended: Angostura)
  • 1 cup bourbon
  • 1 cup sugar

Ribs:

  • 4 to 5 pounds baby back ribs (2 full slabs, each cut in 1/2)
  • 2 tablespoons kosher salt
  • 1 tablespoon paprika
  • 3/4 teaspoon granulated garlic powder
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons granulated onion powder
  • 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1/2 cup chicken stock

Directions

To make the glaze, place all of the ingredients for the glaze in a 6-quart pot or larger, and cook over medium-high heat. Bring the contents of the pot to a boil, stirring often to dissolve the sugar. Once the mixture has come to a boil, reduce the heat to medium and allow the mixture to reduce to a glaze consistency, about 25 to 30 minutes longer. Remove the glaze from the stove and strain though a fine mesh strainer. Reserve and keep warm, until ready to use.

Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F.

Place the ribs on a sheet pan or baking sheet. In a small mixing bowl, combine the kosher salt, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper and cayenne pepper. Stir well to incorporate, and use 1 tablespoon of the spice rub to cover each of the ribs. Rub the mixture into the meat and allow it to sit undisturbed for at least 20 minutes.

Pour the chicken stock into the sheet pan, and cover the pan with aluminum foil, making a tight seal. Place the sheet pan in the oven and bake for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until the ribs are very tender.

Remove the ribs from the oven, discard the foil and the fat and oil from the sheet pan, and allow the ribs to cool for 15 to 20 minutes. Adjust the oven to the broil setting and position the oven rack to the lowest rung. Brush the ribs with a generous coating of the glaze, about 3 tablespoons of the glaze per set of ribs. Place the sheet pan back in the oven, and broil until the ribs are browned and caramelized, about 5 minutes. Remove the ribs from the oven and lay on a cutting board meaty side down. Use a sharp knife to cut the ribs apart. Serve the ribs with some of the leftover glaze on the side, if desired.


The Tuna Pasta is my own recipe hehhehe kaya good luck ... tancha tancha lang KC... kasi when I cook walang measure measure hehehe. You can add more this or that if you want. For example, you can use 2 cans of tuna if you want ok lang... you can never go wrong with cooking. =) Enjoy!

TUNA PASTA

Ingredients

Spaghetti, cook as directed in the package
1 whole white onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
half red bell pepper and half green bell pepper, brunoise (size is 1mm x 1mm)
button mushrooms, sliced
white wine (1/2 cup)
butter
olive oil/ vegetable oil
1 can tuna, I used PERMEX TUNA in vegetable oil
salt and pepper
parsley for garnish

Procedure:
1. Heat pan, add oil and butter. Saute onions until translucent, add bell peppers and garlic.
2. Add Mushrooms, cook mushrooms until brown on the sides ( this gives a better flavor ).
3. Deglaze with white wine. Simmer until white wine is evaporated.
4. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Toss in cooked spaghetti noodles.
6. Taste you pasta... you can add more salt or pepper IF needed.
7. Plate your pasta then drizzle with olive oil.
8. Garnish with freshly chopped herbs, parsley or if you have available dill or basil pwede din

NAPA

Napa is the former Aresi at Il Terrazo. They have the same menu, just with a different name.

Ambiance was ok, place was clean, music suits the environment, temperature of the place was a little warm, waiters were attentive but some were "papatay patay"....
For the food, overall it was good .

Here's what we had.


Chicken Skewers with Mango Salsa
The chicken was very tender and tasty, it goes well with the Mango salsa


Fish and Chips PHP 290
I was happy because the fish is not Dory, but it was bland. We had to season with some more salt and pepper. Get Hooked Fish 'n Chips tastes better.


Garlic Seafood Pasta PHP 175


Cajun Jambalaya PHP 260
It was a little dry compared to the other Jambalaya that I have tasted. And it didn't have the Creole taste.


Italian sausage with Sundried Tomatoes pasta PHP 195
This was really Scrumptious. I love this.

If you were to ask me if I'd come back again... yes I will. And will order the Sundried tomato pasta and chicken skewers again =)

FOR RESERVATIONS

CONTACT NO: 332-1941
IL TERRAZO
TOMAS MORATO COR. SCT. MADRINAN ST. Q.C.

Sunday, September 19, 2010

PEKING GARDEN

PEKING GARDEN
Northern Chinese Cuisine at its Finest

If you're searching for a great tasting Peking Duck.... then Peking Garden is the place to be.
We had a sumptuous lunch here yesterday. Food was so good.... I really didn't care about all the other food that was served.... I had my eyes fixed on the 2 way Peking duck that we ordered.





Soup was portioned right in front of us


Wintermelon with Dried Scallop and Bamboo -pith in Clear Soup
Small PHP 390
Medium PHP 585
Large PHP 780


Barbecued Peking Duck
Whole Bird PHP 2,200
2- way additional PHP 300


It was also prepared in front of us


And here it is.... Wrap the peking duck, leeks and cucumber in the wrapper as we do in a burrito... don't forget the plum sauce... and have a glorious Peking Duck experience


2 -way - Minced Peking Duck with waterchestnuts.... this is the stuffing for the lettuce wrap.... delicious! just as always


Scrambled Egg White with Minced Fish & Dried Scallop
Small PHP420
Medium PHP 630
Large PHP 840


Braised Sea Cucumber with Black Mushrooms
Small PHP 450
Medium PHP 675
Large PHP 900


Braised E-Fu noodles with Straw Mushrooms
Small PHP 390
Medium PHP 585
Large PHP 780


Deep-Fried Shredded Beef with Chili
Small PHP 340
Medium PHP 510
Large PHP 680

I can't wait to go back and have another Peking Duck experience... I can have it over and over again.

FOR RESERVATIONS/ INQUIRY

PEKING GARDEN
4th level Greenbelt 5 Phase 2, Makati City
Contact no. 729-0567, 729-0719
Telefax 7290820

Saturday, September 18, 2010

SEVEN CORNERS

I was invited by my cousin to his 24th birthday celebration for a dinner buffet at Seven Corners. I was happy and excited... well not because of the food but for the company. Good food will taste even better with great company.

Seven Corners is the buffet restaurant of Crowne Plaza in Ortigas. The ambience was nice, food was ok.... food selections was not that broad compared to Spirals or Circles but it was ok. One great thing about the resto was that it has a Create your Own Pizza section... it's something different. I also loved the grill and pasta station.

There was something weird with the labelling of the the food though.... instead of putting the name of the dish.. for example: Chicken Biryani or Roasted Chicken... only Chicken was in the food label.... How would guests know what kind of chicken it is? So there were like 5 dishes labeled as CHICKEN then around 2 BEEF and a FISH. I just find it weird.... I hope they can change the food labels and put a specific name for the dish.




Japanese Section




My favorite section ... the create your own pizza section



FOR RESERVATIONS / INQUIRY

CROWNE PLAZA GALLERIA MANILA
ORTIGAS AVE. COR. ADB AVENUE. Q.C.

CONTACT NO. 633-7222


Thursday, September 16, 2010

Buffalo Wings

One of my favorite pica-pica....Buffalo Wings....and I want it HOT!
I made my buffalo wings the traditional and healthier way, steamed it then baked it in the oven. It was surprisingly crispy. I like it better than the breaded and fried version.
Crudites are often served with these Hot Wings to cool down your taste buds just in case you can't handle the heat.

It was yummmmm-o! But it wasn't hot enough for me... next time I have to add more hot sauce and cayenne.
.
Buffalo Wings with with Blue Cheese Dressing and Crudites

Recipe from Alton Brown

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Nachos Overload and Beef Tacos

I made Mexican food tonight. This was a 30-minute healthy meal. The only thing that I cooked was the sirloin beef, everything else was eaten fresh. Very very easy to make and delicious too.


Nachos - loved the store-bought refried beans, made the nachos more Mexican


Beef Tacos - I used the bubbling tacos by Michelle's instead of the traditional corn tacos