Chefie’s World

Today was again a no work day but decided to go to school since my good good friend, Betina Kahn Legarda was going to teach Spanish cuisine in one of our classes. I would make it a point not to miss her class since her food is delicious and authetic, really Spanish from the olive oil to the tons of butter that is added to the dish. I have grown to love Betina since we became so close some 7 years ago. I first saw her in a baking class I use to attend in another school, all to herself in one corner of the room, never realizing that she was who she was. She was part of the group I had when I started taking classes again after I got back from the States, which maybe was one of the reasons that I returned to the culinary field. I remember that she would reserve seats for us since we were jumping from one school to another and it would bother her for the other students were looking at her badly for doing such. I was very fond of her and when I got back into teaching, she even invited me to teach in her school in Alabang. Sometimes, I call her mom since she has the same birthday as mom and she made me feel very special whenever I am with her. Today, she took care of her students the way a Spanish mother would treat her kids and I chatted with her about what has been happening everywhere with everyone, it has been quite some time since we last saw each other. I also brought her the Legarda’s favorite Tinapang Boneless Bangus ( Smoked Milkfish ) which I surprised her with.

Also today, students started consulting me on their buffet desserts so tried my very best to make them think and be creative about their choices, it was fun that they get to think and conceptualize a menu from the best desserts they ever tasted.

Inquirer Newspaper also came out with their 20 best home baked dessert specialties, and I am glad to let you know that my mentor and good friend, Jill had two desserts there – Pistachios Sansrival and Concorde. Other friends that are part of the list are Buddy Trinidad’s Mango Madness and Chocolate something, Pixie Sevilla’s Dulce de Leche Cheesecake ( she was one of my first dessert suppliers in Caffe Ago-go ), Dimpy Camara’s Frozen Brazo and I attest that they are all quite good, however, I beg to disagree with some. The classics – Yulo’s Strawberry Cake, Estrel’s Caramel Cake, Juda Yu’s Pandan and Mocha Cake, and Doren Tayag’s cake are a must. They should have added Tita Polly’s Chocolate Cake, Bambi Gobio’s Brazo de Mercedes but it has to be home based so I guess not….anyway, will have to try the others….

I am off to Davao again to teach but will still be writing the blog from there….

June 28, 2008 – Got a call yesterday from a friend and student, Trish asking me if I wanted to go to the Salcedo Weekend Market and I readily said yes….I have been tinkering with these idea for weeks but didn’t have the time due to my weekend classes. Dreaming of having my suman, Budbud Kabog (Visayan Suman, made from millet seeds) which is the best one I ever tasted. I was there before 10 and was surprised that it was also the weekend that Yummy was sponsoring some type of event.

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After two weeks of teaching, today was a no work day, but a day still full of activities. I got to sleep till late but had a meeting with the PR firm for my demo this Saturday, had it in Sentro….the food was good, as Dessa would say it is still my comfort dishes, sinigang na corned beef, fried bangus sisig, rated gg and the Sentro chicken. Had such a good time with Mrs Virtusio and Zsa-Zsa, chatting and conversing about the food world even got to relish our past projects together. Right after lunch, had my much needed trip to the barber shop, everyone knows how important my hair is to me since it’s not that much anymore so stayed and slept there for two hours. Every time I start hearing myself snore, I wake up, embarrassing and you just can imagine how loud it could be. Forgot to tell you that during the Japan trip, no one wanted to sleep in the same room with me due to this….hahaahaa. Then to the bookstore to get my Yummy, Food, Foodie and F&B magazines to be up to date with what is happening in the culinary world. Of course, had a peek of the cute writer chef of the Healthy Way, that’s me….I am getting too selfish of myself….I also took a trip to the grocery to get all my necessities and to partly shop for the demo on Saturday…on the way there, I saw a used book store …wo!…they had Feast by Nigella, two Saveur cookbooks and Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Herme, all cheaper than a thousand pesos…that’s a steal…but instead got another cookbook I will not discuss now since it’s a classic and I’m greedy…found new stuffs in the grocery….I always do a bi-weekly visit to different groceries just to find out what’s new in ingredients. I love going to Landmark since its so complete, it even has a Korean and Japanese counter but its not complete when it comes spices…….no fennel, coriander essentials in Mediterranean cooking….will let them know….there’s this new fruit in the market, Golden Kiwi Fruit, ah, taste like the regular green kiwi but a bit sweeter, it has a funny shape, since it has two nipples to one side right beside each other. It’s loaded with healthful benefits just eat it and be merry. Went to gym for a much needed exercise, I realized I was getting fat since my third chin suddenly appeared the other day and all my pants are tight, so did a 45 minute walk and some abdominal crunches. Need to get back to exercising, my trainer has beautiful and encouraging words to say…ang taba mo, Chef….even I was guilty about it. But before that had my energy booster, Venti, non fat, two Splenda iced latte. I ended the day by visiting my sister who was not home but my princess was there, ready to joke and make fun of me but that’s the way she makes “lambing”. She so tired from school, commuting from Manila to Pasig. Thought that this day was so exciting and special, felt that it was something to share with you, my friends…readers and whoever…..

Filipino Inspired Dishes for you to cook and enjoy……………..

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With one of my pastry idols, Chef Eric Perez

The other day while I was in my lazy posting phase, I was thinking of the ultimate filling for a pie. You know, I realized that not many bakeshops make good pies and if there are some that do make, they are always the common ones, egg, apple, mango cream and the forever, till death ( translated: walang kamatayan ) banoffee pie which every bake shop in town is trying to duplicate ( one has to make, eat and finish this in one day, it will become a sour banana pie after a day ). Take for example, the Philippines favorite, the eternal barkada potluck offering Sugarhouse’s apple pie with grated cheddar cheese on top. Time in memorial did we have this, I remember when they opened in Greenbelt and buy this expensive apple pie that had cheese on top. We all thought it was the right apple pie and the crust so crumbly not flaky and very sweet. We grew up with this type of pie and up till now, it’s a comfort food to some. If you look at any French classical baking book, cheese was never placed inside an apple pie or apple tart, usually it is eaten in combination. It should have been their interpretation of the classic recipe…I hope…
Back again to daydreaming, thinking of what filling I can put inside the pie with a difference, I also wanted something that was familiar to your taste buds and ingredients are readily available. Out of nowhere, I got it, ready to share with you, gourmet enough to be called but simple and easy to make then suddenly. the creativity started to fade and disappear, all because of a person I associated with one of the ingredients…that person really had so much force and spirit that it broke me apart…but I am not going to let “it” affect me…The most insincere people are those who you use other people to gain other people’s confidence and support, how shameful, dreadful, ewwwwww! In my line of work, I get to face a lot of them everyday, some don’t even know they are doing it since they were never taught what was right and wrong…Breeding just like the horses…..hahaha.

I share with you the recipe, the filling not the feeling……….

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Several dozen of full moons ago, I did a photo shoot for a company with lucy torres

I have a reason for not posting during the last few weeks. It has been a non exciting week for me, the usual stuff and the schedules that have been happening, is nothing big or extraordinary to talk about. It also has been very hard for me to accept that I am 43 years old and suddenly I just felt so many body parts aching. Aside from my denial not to wear eye glasses, there are other physiological “abnormalities” one has to face as one gets old. There are still some news, any change in my redundant life is really worth writing about.
My cousins from Mclean, Virginia are home. Sad to say it’s not due for a holiday but after two or three long years of being bedridden, Lola Muring decided to move on to the next life, which I believe is so much better. I remember her for praising all the food that I cook and for her to let me know that she can only cook “dinuguan” which I truly enjoyed devouring…with rice and puto….Her kids, my Ate Ampy, Ate Lilia, Tina and Christine have excelled in their chosen fields and are now retired except for Tina, enjoying life, traveling around the world. Christine who stays in Provence gave me a whole big sack of lavender which she picked from her garden. Oh my room smells like a field of lavender, one of my favorite scents! I even suggested to her that she can flavor her panna cotta with it, just a few teaspoons infused in with the cream. Not too much because it might taste like an air freshener or a candle. Hehehehe. Remember my Ate Ampy, you should remember since I wrote about her big influence on my culinary knowledge, she always supports and encourages me in my work even if it becomes a bit tiring at times. These ladies love to shop and pearls are one of the stuffs they buy here for themselves and to give us gifts to bring back to the States and Europe.
The other night, they treated us to dinner at Heat, Edsa Shangrila. It wasn’t as full as it was before. The food was alright and not as boring the last time I ate there. There was soft shell crab tempura which some people did not know about so I ate that to my heart’s content. There was even apple martini to start with. Wanted to eat more but I was a bit careful with the food I was eating, remember I am 43 and getting fat again. I have not exercised since I turned a year older since there is no time. All my co-teachers are in Cebu doing a festival and I teach everyday including Sunday. But no complains, my students have been learning quite a bit and see some sense in pastry and why it blends with cuisine.
I heard that Yummy Magazine June is out but didn’t get the copy yet, wished I had the time to. My free time is spent with the cousins I truly miss. I do miss posting really……..promise to that more often this time.

I got an email today from a friend who was touched by my post on tiramisu. It brought memories. Every time I write in this blog, it brings me memories. I even had to remind my friend that before she became my friend she was a student in a baking class and before that we met some twenty years ago, in a retreat in Sacred Heart, Novaliches. I was a wanderer then trying to find myself and I am still on a hide and seek, locating I don’t really know what I am looking for.
Today, I had a big treat. My students, Tita Lourdes and Abby bought me my comfort food - Makati Supermarket Spahetti bought in Unimart. Hehehe! Its my childhood all over again- overcooked pasta with tons of spiced ham and sweet sour tomato liquid sauce with tiny bits of green bell pepper sprinkled with cheese food accompanied by two slices of Bakerite soft bread and margarine. Sarap! A lot of you would think “Yuck” but let me know your comfort food and I might say the same thing. What’s your comfort food? Here are some of my favorites….

1. Aristocrat Special — it’s a sandwich where all the bread is French toast, with ham, chicken filling and egg omelette, loads of mayo. They still have it in their Roxas Boulevard Branch but with a different name.

2. Hot Pandesal with Condensed Milk — no description needed

3. Aristocrat Pork Barbecue with Java Rice, Peanut Sauce and Atchara…..definitely one of the best….its one of the treats mom and dad would bring home after a long day and night in the Navotas Fish Port.

4. Beef Tapa – there was time everyone left for Europe I was left home alone and that’s all I ate, breakfast, lunch and dinner…..you did the same with bacon, didn’t you?

5. Champorado with Evaporada and Tuyo —- are you salivating now?

6. Almond Gelatine from Salazar Bakery - it has the right texture - ang kunat and I could eat a lot since it was fat free….we make a version in the Gavino Haus that’s sugar free…

7. Brownies and Chocolate Crinkles from Becky’s Kitchen — now I am hungry?

8. last but not the least, we always had this during mom and dad’s birthday and was I amazed when I found out that Chef Gene’s family makes it, my ultimate happy happy European hopia….Tarta de Madrid….La Cibeles used to be the bakeshop that carried it.

Taste and enjoy the food as the memories linger….

May 24, 2008 - I am 43 years old today and sick. Yup! I woke up with my joints and some muscles aching. I thought I had fever but no sign of heat in my body. I had the whole day planned - was going to sleep till late since I always wait for midnight to greet myself. How much pity do I give myself —hehehe! Also waited among my friends who would be the first to greet. It was Cochaca. I call my friends different names some they know, some don’t. Some you will die laughing when you find out their aliases and you see their faces. Others are named due to attitude. I was going to do errands today, buy pancit for my annual birthday party in school and desserts for our dinner tonight that was suppose to be in a resto. But since I was sick, it was moved back at home. My Ate Cynthia is cooking her kare-kare, which I think is the best one after mine, and Yaya Cita’s adobo. But again, schedule changes. No more buying of desserts. Dimpy Camara, my new friend send me her delectable, best tasting frozen brazos, then got the pancit palabok from cholesterol heaven, Razon’s of Guagua for the people in school. I got tons of text messages in my cell today but I have no idea who sent it. Okay, last Tuesday, my phone’s contacts file just disappeared so there, I lost all of it and I am slowly getting them back today by asking all those greeting me who they were. Another pitiful episode! Ok yan, birthday ko naman…but the worst happens….I got messages from students abroad, friends in Beijing, Singapore, and students in Thailand and Davao. They all remembered me. Those who forgot, its fine the calendar log on my phone got erased too. Now, I am more sick, I have bombed stomach with liquid as in liquid you know…so I stay at home drinking all the liquids I could. The stomach ache and pain is also present and I noticed only recently that this has been happening since yesterday….how stupid can I get….don’t laugh…..I still got some greetings from well meaningful students and friends….then suddenly I got tons of requests for demos, work, work and more work….I love my life!

Never thought that after trying my very best to get his classes in Institute of Culinary Education, it is here in Manila that I will finally meet and see the great Nick Malgieri demonstrate cakes and pastry doughs. Last Tuesday and Wednesday, through the kindness of Food and Foodie Magazine yours truly, was invited to witness in the flesh the great master at work. He has been an idol ever since I worked with Jill Sandique who was also trained by Chef Malgieri. She also has not enough words to describe the experience. My first actual exposure to him is through his book, How to Bake, which I believe was already his third or fourth cookbook. I have also used extensively quite a number of his recipes in the Perfect Cake which has the best looking pictures any cookbook has ever had.
The event was this year’s Master Class Series from Food Magazine who started bringing in chefs from the US. The past few years it has been Delores Custer demonstrating Food Styling which is an area in the food business rarely taught here in the country. The first day he demonstrated interesting cakes and on the second day, a lot of different pastry doughs, both sweet and savory plus some chocolate truffles. It was quite interesting since most of the cakes were not that simple but more specialized especially on technique or method. It also reaffirms to a baker or pastry chef if whatever he has been accustomed to do is correct or not, since the science which is integral to baking is also discussed.

Chef Nick was very friendly and moved through the crowd before the start of the seminar, so I had the chance to introduce myself and acknowledge how big an idol I am of him. The seminar flow was very smooth, I had my share of people going to my table to say their greetings but specials friend who I have not seen for the past five months suddenly resurfaced, Bambi, owner of Kooky and Luscious and Pia Y Damaso was invited by Magnolia Butter, to watch the chef in action. We talked about how life has been since she opened another outlet and our common friends who I haven’t seen for quite some time. At the end of each day, there was inquiry part where once could ask anything about baking which I could relate to and learn from. Also, the best part of the event is still the cake and pastry tasting. Although the first day sampling was quite minute, it was enough to conclude that the baked goods were meticulously made. We had a ton of samplings on the second day since I had with me on my table some very important people….for me to know and for you not to ask…….hahaha……Food and Foodie Magazines as well as other food related publications should bring more foreign chefs for us to learn from and converge on a topic that everyone loves to discuss.

I have been going through a busy week, again – teaching my pro class every day morning until night but enjoying it. Another set of students are also going through their final repertoire where they conceptualize, cook and bake the whole menu for a dinner for a number of guests. But today, May 18 is a special day for me, it’s my Nanay Curing’s birthday – my mother who is the biggest influence to what I am today. My mother who I had very little time to be with but who I enjoyed every dish she ever prepared. As a child, I remember that we didn’t have enough money that I was drinking hot water with sugar but after that all she cooked me where always good. She would send us food all the time….from Navotas to Dasma….her tochong bangus, batuta, Adobong Navotas, Mechandong Navotas I know that you are all enjoying. Her gulay dishes were always special since she would render beef and pork fat and use this to saute her onions, garlic and tomatoes. Today is also my nephew’s birthday, Joey. His calmness and simpleness is so affecting. I cooked for him tonight, his favorite pastas - penne al telefono, pesto e gamberoni, gambas and grilled ribeye steak and lamb chops….tons of food. I will always enjoy cooking for them just like my nanay did with all of us.

I am sharing with you tons of recipes here, simple and delicious…..please write me feedback. Enjoy!

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Only a few of you came to this once in a lifetime chance to watch me live in action at the USDA Culinary Theater to cook and bake healthy dishes with California raisins. But there will be other demos and I will invite you again. That is also the main reason why I have not posted during the last week because events like this requires full attention and concentration and I was also teaching professional and skills class at the same time. It took me awhile to finally decide on the array of dishes that I will be demonstrating and had to test and retest all of them to fit the taste and flavor I wanted. Finally, last week or 6 days before the event I finalized the recipes. I purchased all the ingredients Wednesday and started cooking and prepping everything Thursday with my assistants, Julie, Star and Mr. K. We finished early since the dishes didn’t have too much ingredients and there wasn’t too many pre cooking to be done. I had to do five recipes of the chicken dish ahead to age for better flavor and an additional recipe of dressing with the same reason since if you rest and keep it chilled in the refrigerator for sometime the taste changes so much since the raisins get to infuse their flavors too. Friday came, everything was ready by 11 am and my demo was scheduled at 2 pm so we took a nap right after lunch. As I was cleaning the platters for the final product presentation, I noticed something smelling and I saw the culprit, it was the chicken and it had bubbles and had a funny smell. In other words, it got spoiled since I didn’t have the time to boil it after removing it from the chiller. My fault! spoiled, wasted and thrown immediately - a lesson to learn in preparations for a demonstration. My other concern was I got several text messages from participants that they cannot make it so I might be doing the demo for only a dozen people…heheheh…..My sponsor, Raisin Administrative Committee’s representative would be coming in from Singapore and I really had to make a good impression. Don’t worry, everything went well, all participants who are part of my group of clients and friends in the food industry came and almost filled the theater. I was overjoyed, they all loved the recipes since it was healthy and not too difficult for an ordinary caterer to cook or make which I believe should be taken into consideration now by most chefs when they do demonstrations. Here are the recipes, I hope as usual you enjoy them.

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