Holiday Eats


Christmas celebration...a gathering of family and friends both young & old, enjoying each other's company, spreading goodwill, laughter and feasting on good food.  In quintessential true holiday fashion, everybody brought and shared their favorite dish for our Christmas potluck...what a mouth-watering blitz it was!


                                  Here's what I made...

Seafood Bouillabaisse






Candied Ham

 



Garbanzo Bean & Bacon Risotto



A toast to holiday gastronomy, for the food-lover in all of us...what a spread!  Thanks to everyone for whipping out their signature dishes!



Pasta Dishes

Pasta Puttanesca

Spaghetti with Meat Sauce

Fusilli with Shrimp pasta

Pre & post-Thanksgiving Eats

With my lobster thermidor still in the works and my turkey just barely out of the brine,  I had to prepare a speedy and easy lunch to satiate our hungry mouths, after all Thanksgiving dinner was still a few hours away...so I took a couple of fresh lobster tails from my party spread, seared it in butter, seasoned it with lemon juice, zest, fresh basil, herbes de Provence, salt & pepper, sprinkled it with freshly grated parmesan cheese and panko bread crumbs; flash baked it in the oven to melt & brown the cheese-crumb topping.  Sides included a small sampling of my mashed potatoes and garlic champignons.

Garlic champignons with parsley

One of my post-Thanksgiving meals--yesterday's lunch:  Linguine Pesto pasta with toasted pine nuts

I made this hearty, chunky soup today out of the leftover turkey....added some carrots, summer squash, celery, farfalline, garlic, onions, fresh rosemary, fresh thyme, broth, salt & freshly ground pepper...simple, warm, soothing comfort food for this cold, blustery day.

Thanksgiving 2010

Fresh lobster tails--the highlight of this year's Thanksgiving dinner & the main ingredient for my LOBSTER THERMIDOR

2nd stage:  Prior to refilling the lobster meat back in their shells, I've prepared my herb-infused bechamel sauce, mixed in the wine, cream & yolks to the lobster meat.  It's topped with a generous amount of freshly grated parmigiano reggiano, before I put it back in the oven for it's 2nd & final run.

LOBSTER THERMIDOR all done & ready to serve...

Herb roasted turkey

Super creamy mashed potatoes with chives

Bacon, Sourdough & Apple Stuffing

light & flaky Pear Tart for dessert

Here's a slice with a dallop of whipped cream, yummmm!

My Food Chronicles


My good friend and neighbor Temie from across the street came by bearing gifts of aubergines from her organic vegetable garden...wow, I thought to myself...I was trying to crank my brain into some sort of creative overdrive, as I sat in my kitchen staring at the amaranthine heap piled atop the tiled counter...what to do with these Japanese eggplants??!  I was getting pretty hungry so I wanted something quick & easy... and since I felt that Asian flavors would be befitting these plump mauve beauties--I simply threw them on the stove top grill.  For my glaze--some miso, hoisin sauce, honey, ginger (for zest) & fig jam...easy, breezy, yummy!



GRILLED JAPANESE EGGPLANTS WITH MISO FIG GLAZE

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Made this seafood paella with arborio rice, prawns, mussels, squid, scallops, chilean sea bass, spanish chorizo bilbao, crabs, tomatoes, onions, garlic,roasted bell peppers, broad beans, saffron & spanish olives...made this for a weekend get-together with a few close friends...'twas a success, needless to say. 

SEAFOOD PAELLA

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This is my mom's recipe, she made it for our lunch on one of my visits. It was incredibly good, I decided to make it a couple of weeks later at home, this time with my own twist---fresh shredded corn...delish!


BLUE CRABS WITH BAMBOO SHOOTS AND CORN IN COCONUT CREAM SAUCE

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 One of my faves...a simple, succulent seafood dish!  Depending on one's preference, the shrimps can be peeled and deveined or cooked with the shell on.  This I made for my best friend's birthday bash..."surf 'n turf" theme.


GARLIC HERB SHRIMPS

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                                Another dish I made for her "surf & turf" theme party...


GRILLED PORK BABY BACK RIBS

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      Sweet, gooey, melt-in-your mouth goodness...decadent!

CASSAVA PIE WITH CARAMEL TOPPING
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A delectable mouthful snack...nicely sweet, crispy crunchy on the outside, soft & super-moist on the inside    with each cinnamon-y bite:)  Thanks to my friends June, Gina, Sunil & Ting for being my "guinea pigs"...


BANANA FRITTERS WITH CINNAMON SUGAR

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Got bored one night and I was totally craving for something sweet...had a couple of apples left in the fridge, took a quick peek in my pantry, found some flour, dried cranberries, raisins, and...here's what I made.

APPLE CRANBERRY RAISIN MUFFINS
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I like to use the pork belly boneless cut for my meat...just 'cause I feel I get more bang for my buck.  I usually marinate my meat for 24 hours prior to cooking, I give it enough time to soak & absorb all the flavors of my soy-citrus garlic marinade.

GRILLED PORK

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The same can be said for my skewered chicken...only sweeter

SKEWERED BARBECUE CHICKEN
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 Best accompaniment for paella or tapas, and one can make this for any occasion or non-occasion.  Love this drink, so simple yet so refreshing!

Here's my recipe:
1 bottle dry red wine (750 ml-Spanish red wine, if available)
1 orange
1 lemon
1 large apple, cored
1 large nectarine
1 cup rum
1/2 cup triple sec
1/2 cup frozen lemonade concentrate
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup orange juice
1 can Apricot nectar (Hansen's)

Cut orange, lemon, apple and nectarine into thin wedges or rounds.  In a large bowl or pitcher, mix together rum, triple sec, lemonade concentrate, orange juice, apricot nectar and sugar.  Float the lemon, orange, apple and nectarine slices in the mixture.  Best chilled overnight for flavors to infuse.

RED SANGRIA
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 Filipino-style chow mein noodle...can be made fancy enough for any feast or simple enough for an everyday fare.  One of the most versatile, complete (one-dish meal) dishes, I think...

PANCIT
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 Another one of my faves, this is such a comfort food for me...aside from pasta, I think this is my go-to food, and my kids totally agree.

CHICKEN AFRITADA
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 It's always been said that in cooking, one has to always use the best ingredients--in this case, I suppose fresh lump crab meat would be considered the best, but I tried the canned crab meat I picked up from my local Costco, it was just as mighty tasty...

CRAB OMELETTES
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