February 23 - Adobong Pusit Just for Me

I don't think my family would fancy eating adobong pusit (braised squid). I cooked it anyway since it is one of my favorite. Also, I would like to have a record of the recipe for future use.

I prepared it to include it as a topping for Pancit Malabon. The sauce itself gave my pancit a kick!

Adobong Pusit

Ingredients
4 large pieces of squid (cleaned but keep the ink sac, cut in pieces)
4 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
1 tsp whole peppercorns
4 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp brown sugar








Cooking Time (10 minutes)
In a pan (or wok), put the garlic, olive oil, peppercorns, soy sauce and vinegar.
Cook for 5 minutes in medium heat.
Be careful not to burn the soy sauce.
Add the squid.
Cover the pan and cook the squid for 5 minutes.

February 15 - The Sweetness of Belgian Waffles

There is nothing sweet with Belgian waffles. It's all those wonderful, syrupy toppings that we put on it.

But what I like about this dish is the sweet smell of the waffles that makes you add a dollop of vanilla ice cream over it.

Belgian Waffle

Ingredients
2 cups flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 1/4 cup milk
4 eggs
1/4 cup vegetable oil

Suggested toppings:
sliced strawberries sweetened with Confectioner's sugar
Cool Whip cream or vanilla ice cream
chocolate syrup



Preparation Time
Mix all the ingredients until there are no more flour lumps.
Let it stand for 30 minutes

Cooking time
Pour enough waffle batter in a Belgian waffle maker.
Serve warm.

February 11 - Pizza for Lunch

We have 2 snow days. The school was closed for two days.

As for me and my husband, we have to work from home, since the kids were home.

This is a good time to serve them pizza.

My sourdough starter came in very handy.

I made my first homemade pizza dough. After a lot of practice baking my own bread using my
sourdough starter, the pizza dough came out good.

It came out crusty and chewy.


Pizza


Ingredients
1 cup sourdough starter
1 cup flour
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar

Suggested toppings:
6 tbsp of marinara sauce
6 tbsp grated mozzarella
cooked sausage, thinly sliced or
Spanish chorizo, thinly sliced







Preparation:
In a bowl, pour the starter. Add the vegetable oil, salt and sugar.
Mix together.
Add 1 cup of flour.
Knead the dough for 20 minutes, dusting the dough with enough flour.
This dough is enough to make a 12" pizza.
Flatten the dough on a 12" round stone, until the dough does not spring back.
Let it stand for 30 minutes


Cooking time:
Bake the dough for 5 minutes at 500 degrees Fahrenheit.
Bring the pizza out of the oven and add toppings.
Bake the pizza for another 10 minutes at 500 degrees Fahrenheit.
Let it stand for 10 minutes before slicing.

February 6 - Time for Pasta Carbonara

Another pasta recipe that my kids enjoy - Pasta Carbonara.

It's one of my favorite too. I remember a colleague of mine who used to serve this to us and I can't seem to have enough of it.

This recipe gets the zest from the thick-cut black forest bacon and onion.


Pasta Carbonara

Ingredients
1 lb thick-cut black forest bacon, diced in small pieces
1 large sweet onion, minced
3 eggs
1 pint heavy cream
5 tbsp grated Parmesan
1 package of linguine pasta noodles
freshly ground pepper













Cooking Time: (25 minutes)
Whisk the eggs with the cream.
Cook the linguine as directed in the package.
In a large pan, cook the bacon and onion for 20 minutes.
Put back the drained pasta back in a large pot.
Pour over the egg-cream mixture on the pasta. Add the grated Parmesan.
Mix together for 2 minutes or until the sauce is not watery.
Turn off the heat.
Add the bacon and onion to the pasta mixture.
Add freshly ground pepper to taste.

January 31 - Roasted Cornish Hen in Red Wine Sauce

I like serving Cornish hens even if they tend to be more bony for kids.

Cornish hen is tastier and the serving portion is smaller.

It is less fatty, too, so you do not have the extra grease when baking or roasting it.


Cornish Hen in Red Wine Sauce
Ingredients
2 Cornish Hens, cut in half
2 tbsp salt
1 tsp ground pepper
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup red wine
3 carrots, peeled
3 beets, peeled
1 large sweet onion, thinly sliced






Preparation Time (1 Day)
Combine the salt, pepper, sugar and red wine.
Pour over the hens and marinate for at least a day or overnight.

Cooking Time (90 minutes)
In a large roasting pan, place the hens with the skin side facing down.
Pour the marinade on the hens.
Arrange the onion, carrots and beets in the pan as well.
Bake for 30 minutes at 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
Turn the chicken and bake for an hour at 400 degrees Fahrenheit, occasionally basting the hens with the red wine sauce.

January 30 - Serving Pork Tocino

Pork Tocino is a famous Filipino breakfast dish. Normally served with garlic fried rice and egg, or in short, Tosilog.



The pork is marinated with wine, salt and brown sugar. The optional ingredient of annatto (atsuete) or beet juice gives its usual red color.



For better result, marinade the pork for at least one day.




Pork Tocino
Ingredients

3 lbs pork tenderloin
2 tbsp salt
1 cup brown sugar
dash of ground pepper
50 ml Bacardi rum
annatto or beet juice (optional)








Preparation Time ( 1 day)
Mix all ingredients and marinade for at least a day.

Cooking Time (20 minutes)
Heat 1 cup of water and 3 tbsp oil in a large pan.
Place enough meat to cook (about 1/3 of total marinade).

January 23 - Pan de Sal for Breakfast

Pan de Sal became a favorite of my family. I get pan de sal from Red Ribbon. Their pan de sal tastes really good, sweet and creamy.

My first shot at making pan de sal is impressive enough. It came out soft. I was very generous with the bread crumbs. Bread crumbs made the bread crusty on the outside.

It was not as sweet like Red Ribbon's. So if you need it sweeter, just add more sugar to the recipe.


Pan de Sal
Ingredients
2 cups of sourdough starter (If you do not have a sourdough starter, use 2 cups of flour, 1 cup of water and 1 package of yeast instead)
3 cups of unbleached all-purpose flour
1 package of yeast
5 tbsp butter
1 tbsp salt
1 cup white sugar
1 cup milk
bread crumbs





Preparation Time
Warm the milk and the butter (about 1 minute in the microwave).
Add the salt and sugar.
Add the yeast.
Add the sourdough starter and 3 cups of flour (Add more flour if the dough is still watery).
Mix and knead the dough (it will be very sticky).
Place in a greased bowl, cover and let it stand until the dough has double its size.
Using a server spoon, make 24 pieces and roll each piece in a bowl of bread crumbs.
Place the rolls (side by side) in a large pan.
Bake for 20 minutes at 375 degrees Fahrenheit
or until the top is light brown.