BEST DISHES I'VE MADE FOR 2012

With those crazy rumors that the world will end this year plus idiots like that weirdo Giorgio Tsoukolos of the show "Alien Gods" on History Channel brainwashing us that we were visited by aliens in the past and that Dinosaurs were wiped out not by a meteor but by Alien Spacecrafts ( Ok...no connection with this post at all...I just had to mention Alien Gods because I find it unbelievably stupid) that did not stop me from experimenting and innovating on some dishes.  Here, I present a list of dishes I experimented on that in my opinion made some impact on those 365 days that just passed by.

BROWN RICE PAELLA VALENCIANA
- I've been making Paella for about ten years and it has definitely been one of my stronger dishes. This year, I thought of going the healthy route by using brown rice instead of Japanese rice. I was never fond of this cardboard tasting brown rice, but seriously, my brown rice Paella might have made me a convert.

"MASKI POPS" BBQ LIEMPO
- who would have thought that fast food sachets could be put into good use aside from it being used as condiments to high calorie fast food dishes.  Normally, these sachets would be thrown into the garbage can.  One Sunday afternoon, I found a bunch of different fast food sachets lying around and decided to use them as a marination to these pork spare ribs.  What came out was probably the best grilled pork spare ribs I've ever made !

GRILLED PUMPKIN SOUP
- I've made pumpkin soup numerous times.  This year, I decided to air dry the pumpkin skin and use it as a garnish.  I knew I did good on this experiment after my grade school classmate Kathrina Pompa sent me a message saying she tried my recipe including using the pumpkin skin as a garnish and that everyone in her family enjoyed it !

SISIG BURRITO
after watching The Great Food Truck Race numerous times, I knew I had to create a dish similar to those being prepared at the show. After throwing in a flew slices of tomatoes, onions, leftover sisig then wrapping it in a flour tortilla then drizzling it with sour cream, I knew I was in seventh heaven !

SALMON QUESADILLAS 
another dish inspired by Food Truckers, substituting smoked salmon instead of the usual chicken did this quesadilla some justice !

CORNED BEEF ADOBO
- never have I received so many comments and facebook "likes" on that day I posted this recipe on my facebook wall.  It's a simple dish really of canned Purefoods corned beef, soy sauce, sugar and vinegar, then simmered until the corned beef gets toasted in it's own fat.  This is the dish that definitely proves that "less is more"!

GOAN BEEF VINDALOO
I had the honor of obtaining this recipe from Sam, our Convergys Indian client trainer. Normally, this Indian stew calls for lamb, but using beef still worked well since the gamey taste of the beef still packed a punch with the myriad of spices used in preparing this dish.

KALBI (GRILLED KOREAN PORK RIBS)
- what is a year without trying a Korean dish.  With the influx of everything Korean, you can do yourself a favor by preparing a Korean dish once a month.  This happens to be my favorite since it's healthy (grilled pork ribs marinated in soy sauce, sugar and ginger) then sliced thinly.  This is normally eaten by wrapping the ribs in lettuce leaves then dipping it into an endless selection of highly pungent and aromatic sauces and condiments.  Plus, it gets better with the sugar glazed potatoes and scallion pancakes that goes with this.  I will never be a fan of Korean Telenovelas or that extremely annoying "Gangnam" song, but Korean food?-that's another story.

HONEY GLAZED SPAM W/ NASI GORENG
-another one of those "gourmet delata dinners" ! You see, one of the perks of not having a maid for almost a year ( yes!!! ...it's almost a year since we last had a maid)...is the chance for me to innovate and experiment on the limited resources found in my pantry.  Plus, if you are lazy to defrost frozen meat, you will see that opening canned meat ain't such a bad idea.  Much like my Corned Beef Adobo, my Honey Glazed Spam also received a lot of comments and feedback.  I guess people relate well with canned goods since it's affordable, easily accesible and easy to prepare.  Everyone loves spam as it is.  What more if you dredge spam slices in honey and sugar then frying it in butter then pairing this up with Indonesian fried rice and fried egg?

ADOBO SULIPENA WITH SINANGAG TOPPED W/ CHICHARON
- I distinctly remember preparing this dish on the first day of 2012.  It took a whole year for me to write about what could probably the best breakfast anyone could have. Inspired by the Adobo Sulipena served at Pancake House, what it is is adobo simmered in vinegar minus the soy sauce then shredded then toasted.  But I go a notch higher since I know for a fact that Pancake House does not serve theirs with crumbled chicharon.

MARINATED BANGUS
-nohing is final yet, but expect 2013 as the year that I might debut my Marinated Bangus business.  For the past four months, I've been experimenting on marinated bangus.  So far, I've come up with Terriyaki, Pandan, Kung Pao and Tex-Mex variations.  I'm in the process of making some final adjustments so stay tuned !

SALTED CARAMEL CHOCOLATE CAKE
- I just made this dessert twice, the family Christmas dinner being the most recent.  Because of the positive feedback and comments I've received, my Salted Caramel Chocolate Cake definitely deserves to be on this list.

BANNOWIXEE PIE
- the fact that my version of the humble Bannoffee pie got a glowing review by one of the most influential food bloggers in the Metro is enough reason why the Bannowixee Pie is definitely the best dish I've made for 2012 !

-anyone interested in getting the recipes of the dishes posted, kindly text me at 0178867695 and I'll e-mail it to you ( except for marinated bangus, bannowixee pie and salted caramel cake).

REINVENTING THE QUICHE - MY TOTALLY RAD IDEA FOR A FOOD CHRISTMAS GIFT THIS YEAR !!

"....It's beginning to smell a lot like Christmas..." and indeed it does.  Every year, during the first three weeks of December, my kitchen starts to fill up with the sweet enticing aroma of a commercial pastry kitchen.  Aside from the influx of food orders coming in,  this is also the time, I would prepare home baked items as gifts to family and friends.  It gives me the chance to stretch my creativity muscles and think of innovative new dishes to try to outshine what I gave last year.  I would like to say that I do a pretty good job every year.   Last year, I gave home-baked sugar free jack fruit muffins and jars of biscotti. In the past years, I've made baskets with my home made potato bread, jars of home made muesli mixed with honey, canisters of my chocolate covered toffee, bottles of my special atchara and bagoong. One year, I think it was in 2003, I sent everyone one on a sugar rush with boxes consisting of my home made confectionery items such as white chocolate covered nougat and mint butter crunch. The most memorable and at the same time the saddest was Christmas 2000 for two reasons-1.) it was my first venture into cooking ( I was not in culinary school nor a chef yet) 2.) it was my mom's last Christmas.  I recall me and my sisters rushing in preparing trays of meat loaves with gravy until 10 pm since it was our goal to deliver the meat loaves to my titos and titas in time for their noche buena ( that was Christmas eve).

This year, I faced the same dilemma which is coming up with something new to offer.  The list of possibilities was endless - a box of my salted caramel cake ( nah...most members of my clan are diabetics); home-baked bread ( AGAIN?); jars of cookies ( BORING!); new spreads and dips (BEEN THERE DONE THAT). I wanted to offer something savory and at the same time healthy.  One afternoon, I visited Bizu Pattisserie to get my sugar fix when it hit me like a ton of bricks. There...staring right in front of me was the answer to my dilemma... A QUICHE- that quintessential French pastry consisting of a sable crust, vegetables and a milky creamy custard topped with cheese (Later on, I find out that quiches did not originate from France but from Germany-ha ha ! How's that for some Quiche 101).  Perfect I thought.  It's something savory plus I don't get to leave my baking comfort zone.  Immediately, I relayed my idea to my younger sister.  We decided to offer different quiche variations. At the beginning we thought of eight flavors but decided that some of the variants were similar in taste and ingredients.  So we mixed and matched and decided with four variants:

1. TRADITIONAL QUICHE LORRAINE - with spinach, bacon and mushroom topped with parmesan
2. VEGETARIAN - with bell peppers, tomatoes, onion and mushroom topped with parmesan  ( inspired by my dad whose favorite omelet-which I cook every Sunday morning for his breakfast-consists of the same ingredients).
3. CHRISTMAS - with fiesta ham slices and grated Queso de Bola
4. FILIPINO -with chopped Longaniza Hammonado, tomatoes, salted duck egg and parmesan.

Yesterday, me and my younger sister spent the whole day baking our mini quiches. My younger sister, who is a graphic designer by profession, was in charge of how it's going to be packaged.  I also asked her reactions of what it was like to leave her graphic design duties and to go culinary for one day.  Without hesitation, she answers " kuya, you can have it...I don't think I'm cut out to be a chef"!.  

For more information on Ojay's Kitchen Quiches - text 09178867695

SALTED CARAMEL CUPCAKES - A CHOICE OF EITHER BUTTER OR CHOCOLATE CAKE BASE, VANILLA BUTTERCREAM TOPPED WITH SALTED CARAMEL SWIRLS - P 300 / HALF A DOZEN; P 600 / ONE DOZEN

GASTRONOMIC FOOD FINDS AT THE ANNUAL SAINT JAMES THE GREAT CHRISTMAS BAZAAR

All roads led to the three day weekend Saint James the Great Christmas Bazaar on Cuenca in Ayala Alabang that has been a fixture for the past twenty one years and has been a traditional Christmas shopping destination for us Southerners. Most often,  the Saint James Bazaar is often referred to as the one that replaced Big Bang sa Alabang Christmas Carnival of the 80's and early 90's as a meeting place of residents of nearby villages to meet up with friends, to round up the barkada and to just have fun. 

As years progress, the number of concessionaires grow with this year's number totaling at least 400.  I remember during the Bazaar's first years, it only occupied the gym.  Now, it occupies the empty lot beside the church, the driveway of the gym (where the food concessionaires are), the gym, the back of the gym plus the perimeter of the football field.

With it's twisted maze of of stalls selling anything and everything from antiques, home decor, plants, jewelry, knick-knacks, office needs such as portfolios, sports equipment, bed and bath needs and clothes and leather goods where the branded ones sell for a fraction less compared to the ones being sold in their flagship boutiques in Greenbelt and Rockwell, ( I heard the ladies went crazy over one stall selling Zara bags for 100 bucks) I can say it's similar to other world famous markets such as the Camden and Portobello Market in London and the San Jose Flea Market.

But being the foodie that I am, I skip all those and avoid being squeezed by the sea of Christmas shoppers and hagglers and go straight to my main purpose of visiting this bazaar- getting a bite of all those food ! (Later on, I find out that being in the food area also means being squished by a sea of humanity!). Nevertheless,  just tasting all these gastronomic delights makes the trip worth it.

I head first to the back of the gym where bottled goods and baked products are sold.  With their little bowls containing dips,spreads and bits of cookies, cupcakes and bon bons, I begin my free taste stall hopping.
First stop- The Denim Kitchen which I know very well since they were right beside me when I had a stall at the Saturday Food Market at the Ayala Alabang Country Club. With crackers in hand, I began sampling their gourmet tuyo, bangus sardines, smoked mackarel and taba ng talangka.  Not far from them is another stall selling gourmet bottled products, Gustazo, where I chanced upon there Pomodoro Tinapa and Bacalao.

Wagyu anything and everything is clearly visible in this year's bazaar. I was not able to sample the Wagyu beef since most were not offering free taste tests but some that caught my attention was a stall selling Wagyu Burgers and a product called Kinulob na Itik where the owners were explaining that it was steamed baby duck. I was not able to get the name of the stall, since they were also selling an item that caught my attention but seemed out of place- Hopia stuffed with Pili nuts. Right beside them was The Food Factory which was selling Bacolod, Baliwag, Lucban, Tuguegerao, Vigan and Chicken Longaniza.  Not far from them was The Steak Lady which was selling Spanish Chorizo, Wagyu Tenderloin and something I saw for the first time locally but was already familiar with- Kurobuta Pork Slabs- a highly prized Japanese meat from the rare breed of pigs known as Berkshire from England.

I then realized it was already 11:30 a.m-time for lunch and time to head to the driveway of the gym where rice meals and sandwiches were sold. I bought an authentic Doner Kebab Shawarma care of Bizhan Persian Express, and a 7 inch Philly Cheesesteak Sandwich from the Cheesesteak Shop.  Speaking of Middle Eastern Cuisine, I was able to discover a stall selling an authentic Moroccan Chicken Tagine cooking vessel for 199 bucks ! Dimsum and Congee? how about Siopao and Congee that had duck meat in it?  I could not resist Denise and Polly's The Classic Roast which was offering Duck Adobo Flakes Siopao and Duck Congee.  Still not satisfied, I then went straight to Gabby Roa's stall who has been a fixture at the SJTG Bazaar for her Chinese food and melted Toblerone filled Buchi. She was not offering those items this year but her Hainanese Chicken rice did not disappont. Still having room in my tummy, I then bought a Roast Turkey rice meal from Neil's Kitchen and Roast Calf rice meal from Ellie's. By the way, lessons learned from the past- I remembered to buy a soda from outside since canned soda at the bazaar will cost you 40 bucks.


Lastly, time for some last minute munchies care of Dees Popcorn which was offering free samples of their savory flavors such as bacon and cheese as well as their sweet ones like mocha, coffee and almond, and salted caramel.

While I did sample numerous cookies, bars, pies, cupcakes, cakes, confectionery, ice cream,  pastries and other desserts,  I decided not to include them since...well...that's what I specialize in.  It is best for me not to compare my products to the products of my competitors.  I leave that to the people who actually had the chance to buy my products. Whatever it is, visiting the bazaar always serves as a source of inspiration to come up with new food ideas ( I am already thinking of coming up with new quiche flavors and doing my own marinated frozen bangus) or to improve what I already have.

NEXT POST- FOOD FINDS AT THE ALABANG HILLS TOYS AND GIFTS CHRISTMAS BAZAAR HAPPENING THIS WEEKEND

KITKAT CUPCAKES - P 300/ HALF A DOZEN; P 600/ ONE DOZEN

RED VELVET CUPCAKES WITH CREAM CHEESE FROSTING - P 300 / HALF A DOZEN; P 600 / ONE DOEN

P

CHOCOLATE MOUSSE CUPCAKES P 300 / HALF A DOZEN; P 600/ ONE DOZEN

OJAY'S KITCHEN BANNOWIXEE PIE AND SUGAR FREE GREEN MANGO CHEESECAKE' AS FEATURED IN FOOD MAGAZINE NOV 2012 ISSUE

SUGAR FREE APPLE PIE - P 850 FOR 8 INCH PIE

SUGAR FREE CHOCOLATE CHUNK WALNUT COOKIES-P350 FOR TUB OF 20

MARQUISE-SUGAR FREE CARROT CAKE WITH CREAM CHEESE FROSTING - P 1000 FOR 9 INCH

SUGAR FREE CHEESECAKES ( COMES IN STRAWBERRY AND GREEN MANGO VARIATIONS) - P 1000 FOR 9 INCH

ZILCH ! - (SUGAR FREE CHOCOLATE FUDGE CAKE) - P 1000 FOR 9 INCH ROUND CAKE