Juicy Sushi Dinner

I was invited by my friend Melissa Sue to a Themed Dinner Party at the house of the Manguerra's along Gorordo Ave, Cebu City weeks ago... I admit that, that was the first time I met some of her friends but they are truly perfectly friendly... They have such bright personalities that being around with them makes you so Happy!....

We started the night by cooking and preparing all the menu's for the JUICY SUSHI DINNER. Maya and Charisse prepared their mouthwatering Chicken Terriyaki and Roasted Zucchini's- Great recipe!, Chessy (our Dinner host in pink) made some Eggplant based appetizer and tempting Sushi's- Super Delish! and Melissa Sue (in black) and I made some magic on our Prawn Tempura- simply Scrumptious!. Lee was the Iron Chef that night orchestrating us in the kitchen! LOL!

At first, I thought that preparing Sushi was very difficult, until Chessy have me experienced doing it and she explained the mixture of the Japanese rice and the techniques in rolling Sushi....of course! we're no Japanese so, we don't follow strict rules making the recipe...Belle also tried doing and experimenting on what kind of fresh ingredients blends well together... truly a "Gay-sha" work! LOL!

Everyone was excited and hungry - and the next thing we've noticed was we've almost devoured
everything! only a few Sushi's and Tempura left for our food Photography! Maya's Chicken Terriyaki was a BIG hit!. We failed to take a photo of it.

Traditionally, the process of making Sushi can be traced here in Southeast Asia, it has grown to a wide number of variations and was recognized internationally and it still remains popular up to this day and what we've created suits our very discriminating palate.

A Japanese dinner is best with rice wine (Sake) and Green tea, but we've ended it up with Ice cream (brought by a genuinely straight hunk named Vince LOL)......this adds to the flavors of fusion cuisine!.....

Cheers!

Photos Courtesy of Melissa Sue Pausanos & Chessy Manguerra

Mom's original recipe

I grew up eating on this rice cake that consist of "pilit" (glutinous) rice, coconut milk, (muscovado) sugar, calamansi zest and topped with caramelized topping called "latik"......added with cheese and peanuts on top then baking it again to make the crust crunchy.

I used to be the assistant of my Mom making the "BIKO" (bee-koh) Before, it was really a toilsome effort doing it compared today that all the ingredients are readily available!... I'm the one assigned extracting the coconut milk!....plus the stirring of the "latik" until it thickens!.... it was a pure workout then! Hence i got a well toned shoulder muscles LOL!....but it has given me the patience and the discipline on what I'm doing... looking back at those times really brings back memories...

Recently, I came across another BIKO recipe with Jackfruit tidbits!...........the taste and aroma is Divine!.. will be posting out the recipe soon on this blog........... but nothing compares with my Mom's original recipe....it was a big hit to us and to all her friends.....all thanks to Her!

Cheers!

Photo courtesy of aJ Gazmen

Easy on sweets!

To continue with my sweet tooth issues.... I'd like to talk about my all time favorite dessert.... its the simple mix of evaporated milk, condensed milk, eggs and caramelized sugar on top... and it's known all over the Philippines as mouthwatering and sinful Leche flan!.

This dessert was introduced by the Spaniards during the conquest more than 300 years ago....and due to the abundance of this recipe's ingredients in the country you can see this on every dining table during fiesta's, birthdays or any other occasions...indeed, this is an heirloom recipe truly loved by Pinoy's. They say that, in the past they used Carabao's milk and eggs of native chicken to get a rich and creamy Leche flan...

In Mexico, they also have a similar recipe but with a tinge of Lime or Lemon (I guess it's pretty similar to ours since we also add some citrus flavorings), also in France, England they also have recipe's like the Leche Flan. Spanish cuisine has really made an impact in the world of gastronomy...

One of my Grannie's .... "Lola Doning" used to make Leche Flan even on ordinary days.. for as long as she crave for it she will make it without any hesitation... as this is also her favorite...and during special occasions she prepares a wide array of desserts! (too bad, I wasn't born at that time, I missed the chance to munch on those desserts)...she once said "I'm not afraid to die...for as long as I'm satisfied on what i eat!".....indeed!... she died at an early age because of Diabetes...It's one sweet sad story!....but her sweet unique recipe's lives on!....

Photos courtesy of Misadventures of Little J's http://www.flickr.com/photos/razon/3554959952/

a dessert TDF!

Last summer, a friend of mine came in from South Africa and invited me to join in with her whole family for a day at Costabella resort in Mactan island. We all started with a lovely lunch at the restaurant (food was not quite good) but the old world Filipino-Spanish ambiance balances everything; we hit the beach, island hop, snorkeling and had some sweet cold dessert treats after a long day basking in the sun.

Evidently, when we friends reconvene we were like the eyes and the ears of the food world..each of us shares notes of what's hot in the Culinary world....and that sunny afternoon we end up having the same order....Halo - halo! (coz there isn't much on the dessert section)

Halo - halo (means mix) it's a popular dessert in the entire Philippines... there is no specific recipe for this dessert but there is a wide variety of ingredients used depending on the region, area or restaurant serving it...However, the most common are the various sweet beans and fruits topped with ice cream, Leche flan (our local version of cream brulee) and milk....this is a dessert TDF (to die for!)

I've been pretty good about desserts, I should say that I have a sweet tooth and I get easily excited to anything sweet (good thing that I didn't get those diabetic genes). Costabella's Halo halo is just perfect, since its not too sweet but you can actually feel all the ingredients melts in your mouth, its a bit expensive compared to other refreshment centers (of course it's a resort!) but who cares if you have a Halo- halo and an amazing panoramic view of the white sand beach..... and best of all .. thanks to my dear friend and her whole family for the warm treat!....

Photo courtesy of Lilac Alesna - Arcos