The Talented Mr. Bacon

Bacon is probably the only food in the planet that I could combine with my kids' hatest dish and have them declare that it was good eatin'. This cured pork, though unhealthy, makes a lot of dishes tasty, flavorful and downright delish!

Here's one of the many bacon wrapped dishes that you could easily make at home, the BACON ENOKI SCALLOP!

Ingredients:

• 250 grams maple bacon, sliced in the middle, vertically
• 200 grams scallops, shucked and washed. We get ours from the supermarket, ready to cook.
• 1 bundle or 1 small can enoki mushrooms
• a pinch of garlic salt

Preparation:

1. Take a bacon strip and arrange a scallop and some enoki mushrooms on one side. 
2. From that side slowly roll the bacon strip, making sure the scallops are wrapped. The enoki may stick out.
3. Put the roll on a non stick pan. 
4. When all the rolling has been done, and the bacon rolls have been placed on the baking pan, sprinkle a pinch of garlic salt over them.
5. I used the grill function of our over to cook this. You may use a broiler or grill these but you'll have to secure 'em with a toothpick.
6. Cook till the bacon is done (see pic above)

For a cocktail party, you may make a variety of these and serve as appetizers:

• wrap deveined and butterflied prawns along with some asparagus spears, preferably the fresh ones. Brush a little teriyaki sauce before grilling.
• wrap some chicken liver. Secure with a toothpick. Beat an egg and dip the liver/bacon in that. Coat with flour. Deep fry.
• wrap some chicken strips and bell pepper slices. Bake, broil or steam
• The possibilities are endless!!

From Kitchen Wanderings, here's to a life full of flavor!

The Name of the Sin is Adobong Pusit

Adobo is a Filipino dish of any meat or veggie that's been cooked with vinegar. The dish I'm about to present is a dish served to us in my cousin's home, one that she shares with her mom in law Mrs. Recto (the very same mom of her senator bro-in law). who hails from a Spanish mestiza ancestry.

Prepared by their cook, the dish had that nutty goodness of olive oil, the spice of peppercorns, the clean taste of the sea from the fresh squid and that slight sour flavour of vinegar. I was in squid adobo heaven. Taking what we had that day, I kinda modified the dish into what we normally prepare now at home. Here is our modified Adobong Pusit ala Recto:

Ingredients:

• 1 kg fresh medium sized squid, washed well in and out and drained
• 1/4 c native vinegar (white vinegar is also fine)
• 2 tbsp macerated garlic (x2, one for boiling, the rest for sauteing)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1/2 c water
• 2 large tomatoes, seeded and sliced
• 1 medium sized onion, chopped
• 1/2 c olive oil, extra virgin (reduce if you want)
• 1 tbsp coarsely grounded pepper (I usually put twice the amount)
• 1 bay leaf

Procedure:

1. Boil squid in water, vinegar, salt and pepper til squid is tender. Set aside squid and 1/4 c of broth. You can take out the eyes and the membrane, which I don't do.
2. Heat half of the olive oil and saute onions, followed by garlic. When onion has caramelized and garlic turns into a lighter shade of brown, add the tomatoes, till the juices come out, then add the squid. 
3. Stir to incorporate the flavors. At this point, the squid may start to come out. Add the bay leaf and the pepper. A tsp of MSG may be add as an optional ingredient. Stir
4. Add the rest of the olive oil and stir til everything is well incorporated. Cook til it simmers. Turn off heat when olive oil and squid ink has blended and thickened.
5. Plate, serve and enjoy! Goes well with hot steamed rice.

From Kitchen Wanderings, here's to a life full of flavor!

The Case of the Vanishing Crab Pasta

Pardon me for all those folks who are trying to keep things Kosher, but once again, I am featuring a dish that is well loved and savoured in our home: the crab pasta.

The combination of the sweet-salty crab meat blended in with the rich, fatty goodness of crab fat, the sweet-tart flavors of sun ripened tomatoes, the heat of crushed red pepper, the complexity of the herbs and spices and the saltiness of the parmesan cheese makes this dish truly flavorful and in all honesty, quite easy to make. It's so good,

found this new product in the supermarket. Great idea for folks who want to
 incorporate more veggies in their diet

Ingredients:

• 500 grams of flaked crab meat, (supermarket bought) you could opt to buy fresh crabs and flake it yourself by boiling it in a pinch of salt. This ıs definitely NOT the easy way. Canned crab may be used, but it will definitely taste a bit tinny.
• 1 bottle of taba ng talangka (tiny crab fat) 240 grams - Navarro's is highly recommended and adequately prized, but not easy to find in our city, so I use Marisco's ınstead, which also quite good. The rest of the stuff out there often has cornstarch in it which makes it such a no-no as you lose a bit of the crab fat's flavor.
• 500 gram pasta pack of your choice, cooked according to package instructions
• 1/2 c of olive oil, extra virgin - of course!
• 1 tbsp chopped parsley
• 1 tbsp crushed red pepper
• 1/2 tsp thyme
• 1 head of garlic, macerated and chopped
• 2 medium sized tomatoes, seeded and sliced
• 1/4 cup red wine
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp salt 
• 1 medium sized onion, chopped

pasta cooked al dente, must be thrown in the sauce right after it's been cooked and drained

Preparation:

1. Heat 2 tbsps of olive oil. Saute onions, followed by the garlic in it. Add crab meat, salt and pepper. Stir.
2. Add red wine and lemon juice. Stir and cooked uncovered untıl liquid has evaporated.
3. Add tomatoes, parsley and thyme. Cook until tomato slices are cooked (they look stewed and have shrunk).
4. Add the rest of the olive oil. Incorporate mixture well. Then  add the crab fat. Stir well til the sauce starts simmering.
5. Toss in freshly cooked pasta.
6. Plate. Top with chopped parley, crushed red pepper and parmesan. Enjoy!

From Kitchen Wanderings, here's to a life full of flavor!

The Pochero Purveyor

Pochero is another dish best prepared when there are a lot of people to share it with. Doing all the prep work may seem a bit daunting, so I'll be sharing with you some tips and tricks of my own.

By the way, for those who don't know what puchero/pochero is, it's a casserole dish of Spanish influence, that consists of boiled chicken, beef, sausages and veggies. For a family of 6, (of which 5 are male), I make a medium sized pot and rarely have leftovers Ü From start to finish, this would take about an hour and a half to make, but it's all worth it Ü 

Some purists might disagree, but I've got to feed several hungry mouths pronto, that's why the whole "slow cooking of the meats" wasn't used in this recipe.

beef kenchi cubes, assorted sausages,
chicken slices and Spanish paprika

soffritto ingredients: chopped onions, garlic,
peppercorns, bay leaf and tomatoes

plantains (saging na saba), carrots and
potatoes

leafy veggies are good for you Ü

Ingredients:

• 500 grams beef kenchie (foreshank)
• 200 grams chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 3 pieces chorizo de bilbao,  cut into bite-sized pieces
• 2 pieces of any sausage/s of your choice, (I used Hungarian and some Ground Pepperoni) ,  cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1/3 c olive oil
• 1 medium sized onion, chopped
• 5 big, plump, juicy tomatoes, chopped
• 1 tbsp garlic, macerated and minced
• 1 bay leaf
• 5 peppercorns
• 2 tbsp Spanish Paprika
• 200 grams potatoes, cubed
• 2 pieces medium sized carrots, cubed
• 1 bundle, pechay tagalog, washed and separated
• 1 small cabbage, halved
• 5 pieces saba (plantains), skin removed, and cut in half
• 10 pieces green beans, cleaned 
• 2 c broth
• really goodfish sauce (patis)  to taste **our family's big on endorsing authentic special patis Malabon. The balance of sweet and salty and that wonderful aroma is so good that me and the kids would put a little in our rice, sans any viand and just enjoy the fish sauce.

parboil

good fish sauce is the secret to good pochero

Preparation:

1. Put your beef (whole) into the pressure cooker. Pressure cooking starts when you hear you cooker make that steam induced rocking sound. Do this for about an hour. You can cut it into cubes after it's been tenderized. While that's goıng on,
2. Parboil your potatoes, carrots and plantains in the same pot
3. Parboil your pechay, cabbage and green beans altogether
4. In a separate saucepan, (after the meat has softened), make a soffritto. Do this by heating up the olive oil and sauteing the onions, garlic, tomatoes, bay leaf and peppercorns. As the tomatoes soften, add the paprika and stir it in to prevent burning.
5. Throw in the chicken in the soffritto, followed by the sausages, stirring til the chicken is cooked. I personally prefer the breast due to its quick cooking time. When that's done, throw in the beef, making sure that all the meats get a good coating of the soffritto.
6. Pour in the broth til it boils. Season with salt and pepper, then put in the potatoes, carrots and plantains (I separate these coz the kids want to make sure if they're getting a potato or a plantain :P). Wait for it to boil again and don't freak out if you have this reddish oily thing on top of the broth. That's what you get when your paprika' s good and it blendsin well with the olive oil in the soffritto.
7. Season with good fish sauce (patis).Personally special patis Malabon rocks our world. If we can't get the real thing, Thai or Vietnamese patis works too.
8. Arrange the other veggies in a platter before ladling the the broth and its meaty goods in a bowl.  
9. Serve hot and enjoy!

that oily red stuff is basically your own homemade paprika oil

From Kitchen Wanderings, here's to a life full of flavor!

Pastel, Por Favor!

Chicken Pastel is a Filipino version of the humble chicken pot pie. As recipes vary , a common denominator of the Filipino variety is the inclusion of chorizo de bilbao in the mix as well as the use of chicken red meat. I prefer to blend both varieties.

Ingredients:

for the PASTEL:

• 500 grams chicken breasts fillets,cut into cubes 
• 2 pcs chorizo de bilbao ( perhaps the best brand to buy is El Rey. If you can't find any or don't want to commit to a big can, a regular sized can of Purefoods chorizo works just as well)
• 1 c vienna sausage (the light blue Libby's vienna sausage has the right texture and flavor)
• 1 pc carrot, cut into cubes
• 1 pc potato , cut into cubes
• 1 c button mushrooms
• 1/2 c black pitted olives, sliced
• 2 tbsp soy
• 3 tbsp lemon or lime juice
• 1/2 tsp each salt and pepper 
• 1/4 c butter
• 1 c broth
• 2 tbsp flour for thickening
• 2 hard cooked eggs, sliced

for the PASTRY CRUST:

• 2 c all purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 c butter
• 1/3 c cooking oil 
• 3 tbsp water
• non stick cooking paper

Procedure:

Chicken Pastel:

marinated chicken breast cubes

1. marinate chicken in soy and lemon juice for about 20 minutes
2. saute chicken cubes in butter, while seasoning the chicken with salt and pepper
3. add chorizo and Vienna sausage slices followed by the carrots, potatoes, mushrooms and olives
4. stir everything up to incorporate the butter, the pour broth
5. cook til potatoes and carrots are done
6. thicken with flour dissolved in a little water
7. transfer to an oven proof dish and top with the egg slices

I cut the carrots smaller just so kids
get to eat more of it Ü

saute everything in butter, add a little olive oil
to prevent the butter from burning

arrange everything in an ovenproof dish

Crust:

sift the dry ingredients

1. sift flour and salt
2. combine butter and oil
3. cut in with a pastry blender, sprinkling water as you form dough into a ball
4. put between two sheets of non stick cooking paper and roll to a 1/4 inch thickness or sightly thinner
5. take out dough from paper and arrange on top of dish according to how you want it
6. baked chicken pastel at 400 F for about 40 minutes or until your crust is golden brown

it's a bit tricky :p

prick in some whole with a fork to release
some steam

one side was left neat and the other wasn't
so we could have more of the crust to eat Ü

There really is nothing wrong with taking out the carrots or potatoes or substituting or adding other sausages in the mix. You can even do away with the crust, and the filling will stıll be wonderful!! Whatever makes you happy :)

From Kitchen Wanderings, here's to a life full of flavor!