Anyone Can Cook!

I am not a naturally gifted cook. I can't whip up an edible dish from seemingly incompatible ingredients like the talented contestants on the show Chopped (case in point: an appetizer made out of chicken wings, soba noodles, celery, and string cheese). I am learning though, and even if I know I will never be able to cook like a Michelin-starred chef, with persistence, practice, and the help of numerous recipes on the world wide web, I can finally bring real food to gatherings and also stop relying on microwaveable meals (have you seen the ingredient list on those things? Most of the meat products are full of fillers and flavor enhancers, yet they still taste blah). Cooking at home will not only save you money, it will also help you if you're trying to eat healthier (try to search for dishes that aren't fried, and have plenty of vegetables incorporated into them). Whenever I don't feel like cooking, I try to remember Chef Gausteau's line in one of my favorite movies, Ratatouille: "Anyone can cook!"

And of course, who could forget the scene where Remy fixes the soup that Linguini botches? It makes you want to get up from your computer chair and start cooking up a storm. Mmm :)

This entry is a compilation of dishes whose pictures I've uploaded on Instagram in the past few weeks, and if you're in a cooking rut I hope you'll find one in this list that'll help you get out of it. Click the name to go to the recipe. Enjoy and happy cooking!

Jamaican Style Chicken Curry - c/o Marchessa from Snapguide.com

Note: I added carrots and peas to this dish <3

Pineapple Chicken by Panlasang Pinoy

Chicken Meatball Soup with Rice Noodles by kawalingpinoy.com

Honey-Nut Chicken

Asian-Marinated Baked Chicken by Amy via Chow.com

Wishing you a fruitful and safe week ahead,

Blueberry Cheesecake Bites!

The first time I had a mini blueberry cheesecake was when my mom's friend started gifting us with a box full of this addicting dessert whenever Christmas rolled by. Ever since that fateful day, I would wait in eager anticipation to sink my teeth into this delectable masterpiece, savoring each and every bite until the box was empty (of course, I had to fight tooth and nail with my older brother for the last piece hehehe!). Little did I know that it was incredibly easy to make, which is a good thing or else I would have spent my lunch money on buying ingredients to bake it myself whenever I craved for its blueberry/cheesy goodness. Make it for a bridal shower (which I did for my friend's surprise tea party-themed shower) and for any other gathering that requires you to bring something sweet :)

Head over to talentadongchef.wordpress.com to get the recipe!

Ingredients:

Crust:

2 cups crushed graham crackers
1 stick butter, melted
3 T white sugar

Cheesecake:
2 bars of 8oz cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup white sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup heavy cream
2 t vanilla
1/2 t fine salt
1 21-oz can of blueberry pie filling/topping

Taken during the bridal shower <3

#nofilter #yum #instafood

Happy baking!

<3,

Strawberry Cheesecake Pie

I made this for New Year's Eve upon Mama's request, and let me tell you, it was gone in two days (mostly due to Ma and my lil bro hehehe!). I froze a slice for a friend of mine so it will stay fresh, and he said it was still delish :) The cheesecake part is not too sweet and not too heavy, which will probably make you want to sneak in another slice ;). This recipe's definitely a keeper!

Notes:

-The key to this one is, since you use fresh strawberries, that they be as ripe as possible. If you are going to make this at the last minute like I did, check their ripeness by looking at the color (very vibrant red, minimal yellow area near the stem) and checking their fragrance (they should be REALLY fragrant. I guarantee you, if the scent is very faint, they will be sour and you would need to wait for them to ripen). Goodness knows I've had desserts with sliced fruits that were still tangy/sour, and the lack of sweetness killed what would have been a perfect dessert.

-That's it! The recipe is really easy to follow, and if you want it to have that extra level of YUM, use a chocolate graham cracker crust (mine was from Keebler). Heavenly!

Did you know that strawberries are a member of the rose family?

Glaze. So much sweet, shiny homemade glaze. Yum.

Strawberries are one of God's best creations.

Save a slice for someone. They will definitely smile all day after eating it :)

Recipe from southernfood.about.com

Strawberry Cheesecake Pie

Ingredients:

2 eggs

1/2 cup sugar

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, room temperature

2/3 cup evaporated milk

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon grated lemon peel

9-inch graham cracker crust, baked

Preparation:

In a mixing bowl, beat eggs until thick and light yellow. Add 1/2 cup of sugar and the flour, beating until blended. Pour the egg mixture into a measuring cup.

In the same bowl, beat cream cheese with a small amount of the evaporated milk until smooth. Add remaining milk, the lemon juice, and the grated lemon peel; beat until smooth and well blended. Pour egg mixture into the cream cheese mixture; beat just until blended.

Pour mixture into the graham cracker crust. Bake at 325° for 25 to 30 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

Strawberry Glaze

1 pint fresh strawberries, washed and hulled

1/3 cup water

2 tablespoons sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch

few drops red food coloring, optional

Cut 10 to 12 strawberries in half; arrange in a single layer, cut side down, over the cooled cheesecake. Crush enough remaining strawberries to make 1/3 cup; put in saucepan. Stir in 1/3 cup water and heat to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer for 2 minutes. Press through a strainer to make 1/2 cup of puree. Return the 1/2 cup puree to the saucepan. Mix together the sugar and cornstarch and stir into the puree in saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Continue cooking and stirring until thickened and clear. Add food coloring, if desired. Cool slightly; spoon evenly over strawberries on cheesecake. Cool and store, covered, in refrigerator.

Arrivederci and have a wonderful week ahead! (P.S. it's Restaurant Week next week, there might still be reservations left. Hurry! Go here to check the list of restaurants in your area: ramw.org/restaurantweek)

<3,

Christmas 2013: Family, Food and Fashion

Hi! How was your Christmas break? Mine's been quite fruitful so far, and I'm trying to squeeze in as much bonding time as I can with my family since some of them will be flying back to California on the 4th of January. That's why this is going to be a super quick post since I am also in the middle of doing some errands and spending quality time with them :) I sincerely hope you had a great one and wish that you'll enjoy celebrating the upcoming New Year! I've got a feeling that 2014 will be magical for you and me :)

Food:

I made Lemon and Herb Roasted Chicken for our Christmas Eve dinner. The bird was super tender and moist that when Mama was trying to remove one of the legs the meat literally fell right off the bone! I did my own thing with the gravy with chicken drippings, though, because I don't like using packaged chicken broth. It was very flavorful too, and I was smiling all throughout the time I was chopping herbs (thank you God for making them, they smell soooo good!). Follow the instructions for the oven temperature to a T because it's the secret to getting crispy skin and tender meat.

Tweaks:

1. I also roasted carrots and pearl onions with the potatoes. I had no baby potatoes on hand so I used red potatoes instead.

2. I used baby carrots to cut the peeling time by a huge chunk. Just slice them in half and place them in a bowl containing the potatoes and onions, then toss them with a fair amount of salt, pepper, olive oil, and chopped herbs.

3. I also made a paste from olive oil, a bit of melted butter, chopped herbs, salt and pepper. I rubbed a big portion of it between the skin and the breast meat (don't be scared that the skin will be ripped off, it's fairly easy to do and will help you get super moist and flavorful breast meat), then rubbed the rest all around the chicken. Make sure you get it between every nook and cranny to ensure that ALL parts of the chicken will taste delish :)

Here's the result:

The skin was very crispy and tasty. It reminded me of chicken from Max's, a popular restaurant in the Philippines.

Yummy! Oh, and here's the recipe:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/lemon-and-herb-roasted-chicken-with-baby-potatoes-recipe/index.html

For Christmas lunch with the extended family, I baked Chocolate Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese-Butter Pecan Frosting. The cake base lacked a bit of chocolate-y flavor and the frosting was a little on the sweet side, hopefully I'll remember to add more chocolate morsels and reduce the amount of powdered sugar the next time I make it. I might have to add a splash of milk too because the cream cheese flavor might be too much for some people.

Here it is with cake toppers inspired by this blog entry: http://ohhappyday.com/2013/12/christmas-forest-cake-topper/. I seriously wish I made more of these cute trees but I was already running late so I had to make do with just two pieces :( (the sour cream I bought just the other day had mold in it so I had to rush to the nearest grocery, and then in the middle of whipping the cream cheese, one of the whisk attachments on my electronic handheld beater broke. But whatever, I did not let those mishaps ruin my Christmas :) )

Here's the recipe: http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/chocolate-velvet-cake-with-cream-cheese-butter-pecan-frosting-10000000554777/. The toasted pecans in the icing were DIVINE, they were like little crunchy, tasty surprises in every bite. I bought a huge bag of them for a much cheaper price at Costco :)

Fah-shion:

And here I am with a blue Candie's dress I bought from Kohl's during their recent Black Friday sale. The cut and color are very flattering, and the bow at the back adds cuteness without being overbearing. I balanced the girly look by wearing black semi-opaque tights and pairing the dress with black leather wedge booties from Nine West :) The tips of the boots are a little pointy and will help elongate anyone's legs, which is the reason why I love this silhouette so much! <3 Many thanks to Mama who took my pictures hehehe. My purse is from DKNY (c/o TJ Maxx, I love this place) and is reminiscent of Chanel's iconic quilted bag.

Whew! Now off I go to finish some other stuff and maybe put in some time watching Regular Show episodes with my not-so-lil bro :)

Toodle-oo!

<3,

Thanksgiving Meal For a Small Group

Grandiose Thanksgiving dinners are great, but take so much time to prepare. What if it's only you or two, maybe three people celebrating it together? Sure, it's nice to have a lot of leftovers, but I think that after five days of having nothing but different Turkey meat-based meals (or most probably, different versions of a turkey sandwich) you can't really blame a person for swearing off of eating turkey for a month or more. Which brings us to the topic of this post: a scaled-down Thanksgiving meal that won't eat up your precious, hard-earned holiday, but delicious enough to satisfy your binge-eating tendencies. Let me ask you this: how often have you regretted eating five plates of bland food from a buffet as compared to eating pricier, smaller-portioned yet perfectly-seasoned meal from a nice restaurant? Exactly. I've scoured the good ol' internet to bring you satisfying and easy-to-prepare recipes for a nice Thanksgiving meal. Prep these while watching a movie on your phone via Crackle or Netflix and sipping a nice glass of wine, or whichever way you choose that will make your short holiday memorable and enjoyable. Click on the title/link or the picture/video to get the recipe :)

Cornish Hens by Ina Garten

Cornish Game Hens with Garlic and Rosemary

Image taken from allrecipes.com

Roquefort Pear Salad

Image taken from allrecipes.com

Kale Salad with Butternut Squash And Almonds

Image taken from bonappetit.com

Braised Lamb with Roasted Squash and Onion Sauce

Image taken from bonappetit.com

Pie a la Apple

Image taken from http://domesticdilettante.com

Homemade Maple Pumpkin Pie

Image taken from tasteofhome.com

Dessert tips:

-Get the frozen tiramisu/cheesecake from Costco. Remember not to eat all of it in one sitting, ok? :)

-Go to your nearest farmer's market/local food stall. Near my area, we have Butler's Orchard, and they sell pies that you can finish baking at home. And boy, the smell wafting from the oven when you're baking it is just heaven. I think Costco sells them too.

Thanksgiving tip:

-After eating your meal and secretly burping, talk about what things/events you're thankful for :) If you're by yourself, then by all means write it down. It might help on days when you feel particularly low and need to be reminded of all the good that has happened to you.

P.S.
A funny read: 9 Thanksgiving Horror Stories

<3,