Currant Cream Scones

 My husband Ian has mastered this recipe adapted from the Crabtree & Evelyn Cookbook, and makes these delicious scones in no time (they're done before I wake up!). He often substitutes dried cranberries for the currants.They are very easy to make, after you’ve tried it once. We love slathering each bite with butter and fruit jam. He also makes delicious gluten-free scones – look for the recipe (to follow) in this blog site.

Roasted Sea Bass with an Orange, Olive, & Almond Gremolata

Here is another simple fish recipe which you can master very quickly. I love to eat this dish with lots of steamed white rice and a healthy salad on the side.

Salmon with Leeks & Carrots in Phyllo Wrap

This healthy but delicious salmon dish only looks challenging, but it is actually easy to make as long as you keep in mind that phyllo sheets need to be handled delicately (they tear very easily) and that you have to keep them covered to prevent drying. I can assure you that once you've done this for the first time, the next time is going to a cinch. This is a very satisfying dish, and can easily make you look like such an accomplished cook to your guests. (Look for phyllo sheets in the frozen section of your supermarket.)

Zero-Fat, Gluten & Dairy-Free Banana-Strawberry Ice Cream

A totally guilt-free ice cream!! There's no fat, no gluten, no dairy, in this delicious, pink indulgence. There are only two ingredients, bananas and strawberries, and there's no added sugar because ripe bananas are naturally sweet. I made this ice cream for my granddaughter Rocky, because her favorite color in ice cream is pink! And now she can eat as much ice cream as she wants.

Useful Tips for Gluten-Free Baking

(I will update this page as I find more useful information on gluten-free baking.)

Store gluten-free flour blends in the refrigerator or freezer because they contain perishable whole grain or nut flours. Use airtight container or re-sealable freezer bags; always label the containers.

Bring flours to room temperature before using; re-whisk or shake the flour to make sure they are completely combined.

In measuring the flour, never pack the cup; don’t dip the cup into the flour, but spoon the flour into the cup and level off the top with the level back of a knife or spatula.

No-Fat Banana Chocolate Ice Cream (Gluten-Free too!)

I tested this recipe with my dear Rocky in mind (my almost-two-year-old granddaughter), who loves ice cream like any toddler. We try not to give  her store-bought ice cream because of its high sugar and fat content. Making the ice cream at home is an option, of course, but not everyone owns an ice-cream maker—you don’t need one for this dish. I was excited about testing this dish, after my good friend Tatiana served it as an after-dinner dessert. You need only 2 ingredients, it has zero-fat, and since the bananas are naturally sweet, you don't need to add any sweetener. It's one of the simplest, but most rewarding recipes I have ever tested -- try it!

Sesame-Crusted Tuna Sashimi with Wasabi Cream Sauce

For those who love sushi, this is a delicious appetizer, especially with the creamy wasabi sauce that adds a bit of zing to every bite. You can choose to cook the tuna more or less well-done, depending on your taste. Try to buy sushi-grade tuna steaks from reputable stores to make sure you get the freshest tuna that you can find.

Low-Fat Waldorf Salad

 

 
This is a refreshingly healthy but hearty side-dish salad, with fruits, nuts and vegetables. It's best served cold, so it's great to serve on a hot day. I'm heeding a friend's advice to include low-fat and low-calorie recipes, for fellow foodies who love to eat but are mindful of gain weight. So, here's to you, Chit! More such recipes to follow. (My hubby Ian has started photographing my test dishes with his new Nikon; this is one of his first photos (belatedly posted), and they come out so much nicer and sharper than the ones I took using my small but reliable Lumix.)

Shrimp with Avocado Salsa

This wonderful appetizer or cocktail food was adapted from Thomas Keller's recipe (The French Laundry cookbook). You don't have to go through this difficult way of plating it individually -- serve it like you would a shrimp cocktail, with the shrimp in a big bowl and the salsa in a small bowl.

Country Pate (Pate de Campagne)

  [Text for headnote to follow -- I haven't found a way to insert accented characters, like the accented "e" in pate -- if anyone knows how to do it, pls. let me know - thanks!]

Salmon & Asparagus Terrine

A terrine is one type of pate, which is usually a forcemeat loaf, invented by the French. The word terrine may also refer to the vessel used in cooking this loaf (but you could also use a loaf pan). I have served this delicious dish as an appetizer, accompanied by freshly toasted crostinis (buttered baguette slices) or crackers. This terrine appetizer is not only delicious -- it's also gorgeous to look at!

Chocolate Macarons (Gluten-Free)

This afternoon I took my first bold attempt at making those heavenly-tasting macarons, you know, those bite-sized silky buttons, two tiny half-moons sandwiching a delicious filling. Macarons are famously notorious for being very very difficult to make - the recipe I used even had the exact number of strokes for folding in the dry ingredients into

Endive-Apple Salad with Apple-Parsley Dressing

This easy-to-assemble salad makes a great appetizer or a side dish. There are several different flavors mingling in this dish, and they all complement the nutty, fresh taste and crunch of the endives and mache greens (mache is also known as lamb's ears, and they're my favorite salad greens)--you can substitute arugula. The apple-parsley dressing is heavenly, and only takes a couple

Raspberry Clafouti (Gluten-Free)

My first attempt at gluten-free baking, and it was a success! Clafouti is a French dessert where fresh fruits are baked in a custard-like batter. Almond flour is the basic ingredient (and, of course, the fresh fruits), making this safe to eat for people who are allergic to gluten. 

 

 My good friend Maricoy tried this recipe for a dinner with friends last night, and it was a success -- she didn't have half-and-half, but she substituted almond milk and it worked! Her clafouti looks even better than mine - congrats, Coy!

Gluten-Free Cooking

I have just started testing gluten-free recipes, and the Raspberry Clafouti that I baked last night turned out really well. I have a couple of friends and relatives who are severely allergic to gluten, and I know that this condition is afflicting more and more people these days. I've been doing a lot of research on this, and have now compiled a bunch of recipes which I'm going to test and post here on my food blog site (the Clafouti was the first). I'll also add additional information on gluten, plus some helpful tips for cooking gluten-free dishes.

Nora's Callos

This is one of my Mom's signature dishes, and I still remember how she used to spend many hours cleaning the tripe, and cooking it and the beef leg (pata ng baka) until they were fork-tender. Of course, now you can buy well-cleaned tripe in supermarkets. Beef leg is a bit harder to find. Callos is usually served at large gatherings, because it takes such a long time to cook, making it worthwhile to make a big batch for a large crowd. I recently cooked this dish and sent it to my son in New York (his Ate (big sister), hubby and daughter were visiting from Boston), and they devoured it (I think mostly him).

Salmon en Croute (Salmon Wrapped in Puff Pastry)

This is another one of my most-requested dishes, and I enjoy making it. Make sure you squeeze as much liquid from the spinach as possible, to avoid a soggy pastry. Serve with a dill cream sauce (I'll add a recipe for this later).

Osso Buco (Braised Veal Shanks)

                                        [Headnote description to follow.]

Ingredients:

For the bouquet garni:

Wrap the following herbs and spices in cheesecloth and bind with twine:

1 sprig fresh rosemary

2 sprigs fresh thyme

2 dry bay leaves

2 whole cloves

Breakfast French Toast

I always make this breakfast dish for visiting house guests, and it never fails to impress (they don't realize it's so easy to make). The recipe is from my cousin Celeste, who's married to a wonderful French guy whose mother is a great pastry baker back in France. A French friend told me that this dish is also called Pain Perdu ("lost" bread) in France, because it uses left-over, day-old French bread/baguette.

Brazo de Mercedes

This is a very popular meringue-based Filipino dessert, despite its high calorie and cholesterol content (or may be because of it!). A couple of bites surely won't hurt, I suppose, to satisfy one's sweet tooth. This is adapted from my Tito Danny's recipe, and I baked the one in the photograph for him when he and my Tita Chit visited us in Washington, D.C. The recipe is a bit labor-intensive, but well worth all the effort!

Bistek Tagalog

My Mom, who's a fantastic cook, used to make this a lot when I was growing up, and it's one of my favorite comfort foods. It's very easy to make, especially if you use a tender cut of beef (I like to use rib-eye) which won't require long cooking. I try not to over-caramelize the onion rings, to leave a bit of crunch in every bite. Serve with plenty of hot steamed rice! (Since fresh kalamansi juice is not available in most parts of the U.S., try substituting equal parts of lemon and lime juice -- a great suggestion from my daughter, Patricia.)

Pinakbet Tagalog with Lechon Kawale

This is my Tagalog version of the traditionally Ilocano Pinakbet. To pump up the flavors, I use left-over lechon kawale pieces (deep-fried pork belly), lots of large shrimp (plus the juice from the shrimp heads), and some white wine (the wine is optional). I also "blanch and shock" the vegetables individually beforehand, and add them to the pot toward the end to avoid over-cooking them. Make sure you use good-quality bagoong (fermented shrimp paste). 

Tarte Tatin (French Apple Tart)

I learned how to make this delicious tart in culinary school. I found it challenging at first attempt, but have mastered the technique after making it a couple of times. Now I make this winning dish every time we entertain friends and family, and it is always a big hit.

Memories of Philippine Kitchens (A Review)

Memories of Philippine Kitchens, Stories and Recipes from Far and Near

By Amy Besa and Romy Dorotan

(Stewart, Tabori & Chang; 2006)

Reviewed by Regina Newport

[This review was published in the October 2010 issue of CHoWLine, by the Culinary Historians of Washington, D.C. (CHowDC).]

Memories of Philippine Kitchens is much more than a cookbook--it is a superbly researched encyclopedia of the history and evolution of Philippine cuisine, with its many indigenous as well as “borrowed” ingredients. Filipino food is an undiscovered gem among Asian cuisines, and here it is successfully presented in the context of the country’s culture and history. The book is also a travelogue, with well-written essays on the regions of the Philippines visited by the authors, to seek out home cooks who are famous for their specialty dishes.

CHOP - Culinary Historians of the Philippines in Manila

I'm a proud member of the Culinary Historians of Washington, DC (CHoWDC), and with the organization's blessing, I founded a similar group in Manila, called the Culinary Historians of the Philippines in Manila (CHOPinManila). I gathered 7 friends and family members and, after a few meetings, we officially established CHOPinManila in February 2011, with the 7 founding members making up the first Board of Directors.

Welcome to my food blog!!!

I'm finally here! This blog is a few years late -- I should have done this soon after I finished the Cordon Bleu Program at the Orlando Culinary Academy in 2006, but life kept getting in the way.

I have since undergone exciting, life-changing culinary experiences, and I will attempt to write about them in this blog, to share with kith and kin, and fellow foodies. I have so much to write about, so my posts may not