Category: Recipe

This is my version of Patatim ( Pork hocks in brown sauce). Growing up in PI, this is a family fave whenever we go out and eat at our fave chinese restaurant we always order this.  If I’m right Patatim is originally a Chinese dish, but a lot of filipino restaurants come up with their own versions though.  The recipe always calls for Pata (pork hocks) but I was craving for this dish and we’re not close to an Asian market so I just decided to use pork shoulder, lesser fat and cheaper cut of meat!

Ingredients:

2 ½ pounds pork hocks
2 T chopped scallions
1 T chopped ginger
¼ C hoi sin sauce
¼ C soy sauce
¼ C dark brown sugar
1 tsp salt
1 C rice wine or sherry
1 C water plus more if needed
baby bokchoy, well cleaned and dried

Procedures:

1. Place all ingredients except bokchoy in a pot and bring to a boil, skim off top.
2. Turn heat to very low, cover and simmer for 3 – 4 hours or until meat is very tender. Once in a while check and add water or sherry if needed. There should be about a cup and half of sauce.
3. Steam bokchoy for 3 minutes, set aside, keep warm.
4. Turn heat off and transfer cooked meat into a serving platter.
5. Remove bones and discard. Arrange cooked bokchoy around the meat. Pour the sauce all over the meat.
6. Serve with steamed rice.

What a long name for a very easy dish!  I’ve prepared this dish a couple of times now and I can honestly say that everyone liked it.  This is one of my fav Giada recipes, it’s such an easy, creamy, elegant dish if you want to impress someone (looks and sound complicated but it’s so easy!)  I added some bacon because we have left over bacon and I dont want to waste BACON (no wonder I don’t lose weight! LOL)!  Then my mom in-law baked German chocolate cake that day, and we are always a “recipient” of her baking goods!  It’s one of the many reason why I like being neighbors with my in-laws, we always get yummy goodies from them, like meatballs, cookies, cakes!

This dessert is one of my Hubby’s fave desserts!  I got the mangoes from Costco, they look like the same kind of mango I can find back home in the PI, just the perfect kind for making a mango float!  This is so simple, it’s just graham cracker, cream and condensed milk combined,  sliced mango..you just layer it(graham,mango,cream mixture then back again to graham, mango, cream..), then you freeze it and just remove it from the freezer 1o minutes or so before you want to eat it.

This is another recipe from my fave food network chef/cook Ina Garten!  I think this is called “grown up” mac and cheese because there is blue cheese in the recipe, and blue cheese is very pungent and not a lot of people will like blue cheese in the mac n cheese especially kids!  She used 3 cheeses here, there’s cheddar, gruyere, and blue cheese! Hubby and I really liked the combination although I didn’t follow her 2 ounces of blue cheese because I’m not sure if I will like that much blue cheese in the dish!  I kinda cut it in half, it was perfect for us, little hint of blue cheese! I made more than we can eat tonight because I want to freeze more of the dish for our future dinner! If you want to try this recipe, just go to food network website and search for “grown up mac and cheese” under Ina Garten!

This recipe is a little of Ina’s lemon and garlic chicken recipe and little of Racheal Ray’s roasted potato recipe, like “half-half”!  I marinated the chicken drumstick with lots of lemon, chopped garlic, herbs like rosemary and thyme (just a little) salt and pepper to taste, EVOO too.. with the potatoes I drizzled with EVOO(extra virgin olive oil), herbs, salt and pepper, and I added chopped sweet potatoes too! Baked in the oven for  45 minutes(425 F).

I love this recipe!!  It’s so simple but so full of flavor:)  I’ve always loved short ribs, there is something so comforting and makes me feel so giddy!  LOL..This is Claire Robinson’s recipe from her show “5 fix ingredients”..I cannot believe how flavorful it is and there’s only 5 ingredients in this dish.  I wanted to make something yummy for my husband whose been so hardworking these couple of weeks (his hardwork got paid off, he got a promotion, praise Jesus!).  It makes me so happy that when he got home he said the house smells so good and he cant wait for dinner!  I feel a little guilty because he thought that I spend the whole afternoon preparing for this dish when the truth of the matter is I didn’t do a lot!  I just patiently browned the meat and the oven did the rest 🙂  Let’s just say I didn’t correct his “impression”..Anyway, this recipe is a keeper!  I will definitely prepare this again. Here’s the link to the recipe if you want to try it yourself: Braised Short Ribs

This is a recipe of one of my fave celebrity chefs Giada de Laurentii.  I was inspired to prepare this after watching her show and how easy the whole cooking process was.  My husband liked it a lot and said he would love to have this again, but for me it’s OK.  I find it similar to a Lasagna, however, instead of being layered its stuffed pasta..here’s the recipe if you want to make this at home and if you’re into pasta dishes.  Giada’s Recipe

I love anything “cute” and on a skewer, just like this Tyler Florence chicken satay with peanut sauce… This is another simple dish that I’ve made a couple of times already because it’s quick, simple and delicous!  If you want the recipe, you can check Food Network and search “chicken satay” under Tyler florence.

This is the simplest recipe of any fish I’ve prepared so far!  I like watching Secrets of a Restaurant Chef with Anne Burrel.  She is so much fun and energetic,  she really shares her restaurant knowledge with the viewers.  Now, back to the fish, Anne prepared Sole Meuniere this week and it’s really simple and inspired me to prepare this rockfish in a similar way.  We paired our rockfish with home made tartar sauce.  My husband prepared the sauce and he used Ina Garten’s recipe.

Tartar sauce recipe: Ina’s Recipe

 

This is just another version of the first creme brulee I made 2 weeks ago.  Instead of Vanilla Bean, it’s coffee this time! I really prefer the coffee flavor over the vanilla, since it’s more intense and there’s a “kick” on every bite of it’s creamy goodness!

Ingredients:

8 egg yolks
1/2 cup superfine sugar
2 1/2 cups heavy cream
6 teaspoon instant coffee granules or powder
tablespoon raw sugar to finish

Direction:

1. Use a fork to mix together the egg yolks and sugar in a bowl. Pour the cream into a saucepan and bring almost to a boil.Gradually stir into the egg yolk mixture.

2. Strain the custard back into the saucepan and stir in the coffee and keep stirring until the coffee has dissolved completely.

3. Arrange 6 ovenproof ramekins in a roasting pan. Pour the custard into the dishes,then pour water into the roasting pan to come halfway up the sides of the dishes. Bake in a preheated oven at 350F for 20-30 minutes until the custard is set with a slight softness at the center.

4. Leave the dishes to cool in the water, then chill in the refrigerator for 3-4 hours. About 25 minutes before serving, sprinkle the tops of the desserts with the sugar and caramelized with a blowtorch. Leave at room temperature until ready to serve.