Tasty, Creamy Recipes to Try this MerryCremas 2015

It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

Alaska Merry Cremas Festival 2015

And like all Christmases, it is the time when “walang patid na chika” and overflowing food becomes inseparable. Truly, it can’t be merry without the otherJ

Last November 29, Alaska Crema All-Purpose Cream treated food loving Pinoys to the Alaska Merry Cremas Festival in Trinoma. As always, they put together a good mix of food merchants selling their signature dishes using Alaska Crema All-Purpose Cream.   They also had fun games for everyone.

Alaska Merry Cremas Festival

What I loved most with Alaska Merry Cremas Festival 2015 was the recipes I got to take home! Each booth displayed their Alaska Crema All-Purpose Cream specialty. As an avid collector of recipes, I was extremely happy because I have a bunch of new recipes to try at home.

I have already tried cooking one dish the ALASKA CREMA CHICKEN PAPRIKA.

ALASKA CREMA CHICKEN PAPRIKA

And the kids [Read more...]

Potluck Food Suggestion (with Recipe)

potluck food

Potluck.  Now more than any time of the year, I and I'm pretty sure you guys too, will be attending party after party.  And because CHRISTmas is a family affair and we have to bring the whole fam bam it's usually done at a friend's house, Lola's house, uncle's house and even at our very own house.  I love it that CHRISTmas has that way of opening homes to friends and family, iba ang mood if it's at home, more relaxed.  Plus the kids get to see their friends and can roam around the whole house without bugging us to head for home (hehe always happens in a resto) para tuloy ang chika ever!

And since it's at a house,  eh di ano pa ang kasunod, kung hindi potluck:-)  Nowadays,  people just don't expect the host to prepare the whole meal.  Everybody brings their own specialty.  Ilabas si Rachel Ray!  Actually, I think this is the time of the year that the most recipes are exchanged too;-)  If it's potluck I always try to bring something prepared from home.  Feeling ko mas special.  I'll cook my favorite shrimp pasta or lasagna for the kids and since my daughter is into baking, sometimes I'll ask her to whip up some dessert.  Sometimes,  I would like to bring my newest recipe find!

I got new food ideas at the MerryCrema 2014 Food Festival event at the Eastwood Open Mall.  Alaska Crema put together Metro's hottest and up-and-coming food merchants to sample and sell their food using Alaska Crema.  Super like! because second to spices like salt and pepper,  I think milk is one of the heavily used ingredients in our household. Macaroni de Sopas, lasagna, chicken pastel, pumpkin soup, chicken curry, mashed potato, cupcakes, all of it needs milk!

I'll take you through the food event and share with you my recipe steal of the day.alaska crema 2014Bloggers were asked to go through the booths, sample the food and grade the recipes according to their taste, creative use of Alaska Crema and food presentation.  Ang hirap pala maging judge! Lahat masarap!  But my favorites are the Panna Cotta from Blue Toque, the cake pop with Cheese Cake inside,  the balot with cream sauce and the meat loaf from The Serving Spoon.

christmas carol alaska crema

After all the food has been consumed, graded and we can barely move from fullness, we were serenaded by the "Hail Mary The Queen" Choir.  Reminds me of my UP days when I was active in ICTUS and we would carol from house to house.

chico and delamar at alaska cremas 2014

My favorite hosts in the world, Chico and Delamar, were there to host the event.  Recipes were shared by Alaska House Chef and the best food that featured Alaska Crema were awarded.

And for my recipe steal of the day, Meat Loaf ala Mary, from "The Serving Spoon," one of the food merchants at the Food Festival.

I didn't see the full meat loaf because it was in sampling sizes but I figured it would have looked this way.  Photo from TheCookingMom

I didn't see the full meat loaf because it was in sampling sizes but I figured it would have looked this way. Photo from TheCookingMom

Meat loafs would serve well as a potluck dish because it looks festive, can be eaten slowly aka papak espesyal for those long lunch potlucks, easy to prepare, can be prepared in advance plus it doesn't spoil easily.

meatloaf recpeFor more recipe ideas using Alaska Crema, download their Alaska Cremamoments Everyday App .  It is available to all Android users. Please also like the Alaska Crema Moments Facebook page and follow them on Instagram @Alaska Crema for more food ideas and inspiration.

alaska crema 2014

Smiles were big and tummies were full at the Merry Crema 2014 Food Festival of Alaska Crema.  Everyone got to try a little bit of food from all the food merchants.  Moms got to bring home an Alaska gift pack.  The photo booth was heavily used.  Children got to do some arts and crafts and shoot some hoops.  The usual no fail wise cracks of Chico and Delamar.  Recipes were shared and we were serenaded by the carolers.  It was a nice afternoon well spent.

Wishing you all a Merry Crema 2014!

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P.S.  Thank you very much to Alaska Crema for inviting TheGoMom to the event and for sponsoring this post.

Beef Salpicao Recipe: Bring out the Rice!

Beef SalpicaoMy way to cooking a good salpicao has been long and chewy.  I always end up with a tough salpicao, that I can chew from dinner till midnight snack.   But with the magic words of my friend Hazel, "You can't go wrong with Santi's," steak and salpicao has become a favorite in our household since.  Like steak,  the quality of tenderloin you use will make or break the salpicao.   The Santi's delicatessen tag is hefty, at P1,100 - 1,200 per kilo for local tenderloin, but you are sure to have good tasting, tender beef at every purchase.  Another place I recently discovered is Primebeef Company in Kamias.  They have very good quality meats and they have a wider selection of meats.  And now that we have good meat,  here is the recipe to finish it off with ...

Yield:  5-6 servings

Ingredients:

650 grams of Tenderloin, cubed

1 bulb garlic, minced

1 1/2 tbsp Kikkoman Soy Sauce

1/2 tbsp Liquid Seasoning (Knorr)

1 tbsp Worcestershire

3 tbsp Olive Oil

1 tsp ground pepper

2 tbsp of butter

1 tbsp Oyster Sauce

Cooking Procedure:

1.   Mix Kikkoman Soy Sauce, Knorr, Worcestershire & 1 tbsp Olive Oil.

2.   Marinate the cubed beef tenderloin in #1, add the 1 bulb of minced garlic and ground pepper for maximum of 1 hour.

3.   Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in high heat.

4.   Drain the beef and put the marinade aside.

5.   Add half of the marinated/drained cubed beef  and sear till a bit browned for 30 seconds before turning over  to cook other side for another 30 seconds.  Remove from pan.  And cook next batch.  Remove beef.

5.   Add oyster sauce and remaining marinade sauce to the sauce left in the pan and wait for it to dry up a bit before adding the butter.

6.   Return back all beef and swiftly mix with the sauce.

7.   Turn off fire and immediately remove from pan since the heat will still cook beef.  Over cooked beef will make it tough.

8.    Serve and top with fried garlic.

No to carbo diet, for this wonderful garlicky beef salpicao!

Exclusively on Weekends Cook,

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Vongole (Clam Pasta on Angel Hair): Cyma Inspired

vongole pasta

One of our comfort restaurants is Cyma. We love their food and the ambiance is light and familiar.  Apart from the much raved about Roka Salata salad,  we almost always order their Vongole. It is delicious yet light to the tummy. I tried my hand at it by tweaking Gourmet Magazine's recipe.  And I would say, Cyma would be proud of its wanna-be.

INGREDIENTS:

2-3 dozens littleneck clams, scrubbed well
3/4 cup dry white wine
Salt, to taste
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons of butter
5 to 6 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 bulb medium white onion
1 teaspoon hot pepper flakes
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
Freshly ground black pepper
1/4 - 1/2 Fresh Lemon Squeeze
Grated Parmesan

Pasta: 500 grams angel hair pasta (cooked separately according to packaging instructions)

Cooking Procedure:

1.   Saute the garlic and onion in 4 tbsp of extra-virgin olive oil and 3 tbsp butter. Careful not to brown it.
2.   Add in scrubbed clams and saute with shell on.
3.   Add in 3/4 cup dry white wine. Cover and steam the clams over moderately high heat for about 5-10 minutes or once the clams have opened up. Throw away clams that don't open in 10 minutes.
4.   Add salt, black pepper and chili pepper flakes to taste.
5.   Squeeze some fresh lemon into the sauce then add the chopped parsley and basil. Immediately remove from heat.                                                                                      6.   Prepare the angel hair pasta on a serving platter and pour in the liquid sauce. Toss the pasta with the liquid sauce properly to ensure taste is well distributed. Top it with the clams in their shells.
7.   Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese for additional taste.

Exclusively on Weekends Cook,

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Blow Torched Ham: Frabelle Foods Premium Honey Glazed Ham

a hamI love tastes that compete in my mouth.  The type "na nag-aagaw ang alat at tamis" is pure yumminess for me.  I'm not much of a fan of ham but when Frabelle hams gifted me with this succulent ham,  I had to say it was delectable.

I like it that the ham doesn't separate or break upon slicing.  It is firm to cut yet tender to taste because it is made of prime whole-muscle hog meat so "buo sya." [Read more...]

Trying Hard Cook

Filipino Beef Steak or Bistek Pinoy

 

I don't really cook.  I don't even know how to do a sunny side up egg.  But once in awhile, that would be maximum of 4 times a month,  I would dabble into the kitchen (and that is only after 9 years of being married).   When I cook,  I follow recipes to the dot.  How many scoops of sugar,  I don't really know what a pinch or a dash is.  What if I have giant hands then a dash would be a scoop.  Or when the recipes say cook until tender or crisp - what is that?   How many minutes or hours would bring me to tender or crisp???  I hope they would make it more precise.  Anyway,  the help does all the preparation.  I teach them how I want the meat or veggies cut and once its all prepared I start.

I mix in all the ingredients as specified in the recipe card.  If the heat is too much or if the oil begins to pop the help stirs as I watch.  The help, really abhors me in the kitchen.  And I take so much time cooking.  Once in awhile I hit the jackpot - my kids love my Bistek (the bistek on the pic is mine!), Lasagna and my husband loves my Szechuan Eggplant and Shrimp Pasta.  Maybe I stirred it properly or I whispered the right prayer.  If all else fails,  there is always delivery.

Estrel’s Caramel Cake – Pretty and so Yummy!

It was love at first bite for me and Estrel's cake. I crave for the light and spongy chiffon cake that is baked on the day of pick-up  (all cakes should be pre-ordered, no cake for walk-ins). The custard/caramel icing that covers the cake and its middle plus the soft creamy butter icing that has just the right sweetness to it - is oh so yummy!

Last Sunday, my daughter celebrated her 7th birthday party and of course Estrel's was the cake of choice. I was so delighted to find out that they have more cake designs to choose from aside from the usual ones. Now, its not only yummy but pretty too.  I ordered their round cake covered with roses. I requested the colors pink, purple which they call Rich.  The roses are in pastel but I was hoping for the one with brighter shade pictured on their facebook page.  Purple is my daughter's favorite color so she was delighted to have lilac roses but it would have been better if it was the deep purple one.  Since the cake is covered with roses,  Estrel's made a styrofoam covered with icing with the words Happy Birthday (name) written on it.

All the guests loved it!

To order,  visit www.estrels.com or call 372-2965 or 371-7938.   They have a complete line-up of all their cake designs in the website.