Chefie’s World

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My nephew, JL had great tasting strawberry shortcake in Baguio, he said, the real one, shortcake from the Southern part of the United States so guess what I did after three days, I served him the same thing. With sweet strawberries and aerosol Elle et Vire whipped cream, it was heavenly and truly the way he wanted it….I had my share but wasn’t very happy with the biscuit so I have been testing some recipes for the past few days…hope you enjoy….happy v! Visit Yummy magazine website and see my happy V menu…
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who are these kids read my first blog and find out….

The great things of having the Gavino kids being not too young or old, their uncle can hang along with them and I think they enjoy the company of an aging, comical and trendy tito, Chefie…hehehe but the best part is that now they are grown and working they treat you out and give you amazing gifts. Before Christmas, I mentioned that I really like this cooler that I see the Top Chef contestant use during their out of kitchen functions and then forgot about it. Christmas Eve 2009 came and arrived, just after midnite, JL comes pulling something with him and there it was, the Coleman’s Ultimate Extreme 6 day Cooler, will keep ice at 90 degrees for 6 days, can fit 72 cans of drinks as well as 50 quarts of whatever you want…it has wheels to move as you carry one of the sides…I love it..and I was overjoyed and cried when I got it. I cooked for this kids and made their baptisms and birthdays extra special…now it’s pay back time. I enjoy being with them and the people they love…watch Pinoy, gigil, gigil movies…eewww, just last night we got to see, “ ginawa mo kasing SYOTA ang bestfriend mo, ginawa mong SYOTA ako….
But the real joy is knowing how important I am to them, and whatever happens they love me just the way I am…

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Kinain ko sa eroplano, masarap!

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sa Rhode Island, napakalamig!

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thanksgiving dinner namin sa princeton

Masarap talaga magbakasyon, sobrang sarap….pero para sa akin mas buo ang bakasyon kapag may pag-aaral din, yun ang pahinga sa akin, ang matuto ng ibang kaalaman na makakatulong sa ginagawa ko. Bawat taon lagi kung ginagawa ang pagpunta sa America para makita ko ang aking kapatid na si Edgardo.. di naman siya nakakauwi at ito rin ang oras na makapagdala ako ng mga pagkaing galing sa atin, tuyong danggit, pusit, ensaymada , ang polvoron ni Ate Cynthia at marami pang iba. Nalaman ko di kailangan ng napakadaming damit pagpupunta sa America kasi makakabili ka dun ng sandamukal.

Akala ko mas matatandaan ako ng aking mga guro kasi hinggit lang naman sa isang taon ako wala pero di sila sigurado kung sino ako….pero habang tumatagal ang panahon naiisip nila ako sa dami ba naming tinuturuan nila, pano nila ako makikilala….pag nasa Amerika ako, nalilimutan ko lahat ng mga problema dito sa Pilipinas, sobrang alaga ako duon sa Amerika. Pinagluluto ako ni Ate Myrla ang pinapasaya ni Joel, ang aking pamangkin na napaka talas at talino katulad ko…hahahah. Nakapagbakasyon din kami sa Boston nung Thanksgiving weekend, napaka ganda doon, iba din ang Newport, Rhode Island kung saan ang mga bahay ay sin laki ng mall ditto..makikita ninyo sa mga litrato.
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After two international trips, I bought quite a number of chocolates. Yabang ko….but when you know longer want to have lunch with Paul, Ben, Giorgio, Salvadore or my other would be friends, I turn to food. I got some great artisanal chocolates from the States as well as Italian made from Hongkong, and let me discuss them with you since, I have only tried quite a few, I am taking my time…..
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Celebrating New Year in Langham Hotel, Kowloon, Hongkong

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Of no work, why? The schedule for this year was done this way and I am very happy. Last month was very, very hectic and I had hard time catching up on what my life was all about. So, one resolution I wanted to do before I started teaching again was to clean one of my rooms at home. This room has all my magazines, second hand cookbooks I get from BookSale, old gifts that never got to be used and a whole lot of humongous tupperwares housing my old friends, Paul Smith, Ben Sherman, Giorgio Armani Exchange, Calvin Klein. Strange that I still have a lot of old clothes that I cherish because I love them or maybe due to my inheriting one trait Mommy Luring left me…keeping clothes and a lot of junk, mom was a child of World War 2, I know that most of you have mothers, aunts and relatives who are like this. Another reason is I have clothes for increase and decrease of weight, hehe. So I cleaned up the room, realized that I had quite a number of school bags and shoes. So decided to fix and give some away, guess what Apol is wearing now….even my gardener, LukeLuke looks so smart wearing his Camper slippers, love it…..the other reason for this clean up is I really want to make every look clean and organized and also get to turn on the aircon in this room which I don’t get to use as often. Second reason, is an arrival of three big balikbayan boxes this month, filled with books, old clothes and pastry equipments. There has to be space for these things. Mom used to have a stock room built when one of her containers arrive so I want the room to accept all these new items.
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The pictures here were taken the day after I arrived in Princeton, New Jersey. The last colors of autumn taken middle of November. Beautiful…..since after a week it was so so so so cold…winter just came with out warning. Four clothes layered on top of each other, walking 7 blocks every weekday from the Path Station to FCI on Broadway. Maybe it was the main reason I lost weight in the US.

The weird thing about the pictures in my last post is that there is no form of explanation to what it was. The first picture are the lighted trees fronting Time Warner Building on Columbus Circle. I bought Truffle Salt in the William Sonoma branch inside which I got for free but that’s another story. Next picture is the gigantic red Christmas balls fronting a building on 5th Avenue and last, are the trees in my brother’s house a day before I left, snowing! Everytime I visit America during winter, the day before I leave it always snows…..first snow so it is very pretty…..

It was a whirlwind and tumultuous when I got back, after a day of rest, I started teaching again a bunch of eager, excited group of students…..with diverse personalities. Even I was in school for 12 hours, I enjoyed it since I was in the new kitchens of our annex building….sarap magturo doon. To the point that I even asked Apol to go and get my stainless high chair from home so that it becomes the instructor’s chair there.

Next day, I had the privilege to tour, one of my idol chefs from the States. Chef Robert Danhi, a CIA chef instructor who I met during one of my USDA tours. Brought him and his wife to Antonio’s Grill in Tagaytay, CACS / Cafe Ysabel and King Crab for dinner. Tried my very best to entertain them even with the hardships of Christmas season. But I was very happy I got to drop them to the airport for their flight to Hongkong….I love bringing people to the airport…..

The next days were a bit more confusing since right after Christmas, the whole Gavino family and moi left for Macau….that’s a longer post to write about.

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A tremendous amount of activities has been happening to your chefie the past few months since I again took a momentary break of blogging. I was in New York for three weeks last November studying breads and pastries, then was away again right after Christmas to spend some good quality time with my family in Macau and Hongkong. Will write about all these for the next weeks to come, but here are some pictures to give you, my readers, a preview….

May the new year make us more sensitive and courteous on how we treat other people. May we give ourselves 30 seconds to think and feel a response before reacting so as not to regret what was done. May we understand the importance of our name and reputation since in the end this is the most important…..take care and read again soon.

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I didn’t work for 4 days since I had no classes to teach, when I visited school yesterday, Friday, I received so many gifts from students who were on vacation…some dried beef and Royce original chocolates from my super taipan student who is so sexy everyone will go, “Chaka Doll” to themselves, some nuts and cologne from my Derek Ramsey look-a-like student who just came back from Australia, a bilao of biko from the cute, steamy and thin Anorexic acting student who loves and hates me at the same time. And today, Saturday, a chef doll from my student who works in a doll company, doesn’t he look like me. A feast of Bicolano delicacies and food Sinantol, Tuna Express, Bicol Express and a very special mazapan de pili that was loaded with nuts from my chef teacher student from Daet. A batch of students were also graduating so I get another set of gifts..napoleones from Bacolod…sarap. Thanks guys, will report on how good they are, coming soon.

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I was captivated by a set of notepads that Agnes, our marketing head in CACS Davao had last year, so I decided to order my own set. Getting to multiply is a chore for me since I am not computer literate. Easy ordering and payment since Banco de Oro is a bank Apol can go to. After a week, I got my own set of notepads, all very reasonable and looks classy, chic and expensive. Also got a calendar for next year….so to order ……… go to http://iprints.multiply.com or send a message to 09228616615. Here’s what I have….inggit kayo? So go and order your own.

Great for Christmas giveaways if you are the rich and famous which I am not, I am overly rich and famous, joking you know?

What happened to me the weekend of Ondoy? Pepeng ? Santi? It was miraculous I should say, I had class that day and left home at 9 am while the typhoon started rampaging the city. I was in my car and noticed that the rain was too strong and the drops were too close to each other. I didn’t think of it as disastrous only until 11 am when it was not stopping. I remember some years ago that it didn’t stop raining for a whole week. Anyway, I got to my senses when Apol asked permission to leave since his family lives near a waterway, he feels that water has gone up his house and is scared that they might be floating somewhere so I let him go. The class that was suppose to start at 10am, started at 1pm with only half of the students coming in but lo and behold they were almost complete for the seminar at 6pm. My gardener LukeLuke…cute noh, was constantly texting me on what was happening around our village and he wrote that I should not go home due to the flood on the entrance and no electricity. I called my Ate Cynthia and she said not for me to go to Valle at the moment, water was waist deep. I was in school and was very fortunate that it is located in one of the highest areas in San Juan. Everywhere around us the water was a person deep but after three hours it was gone even if the rain continued pouring. By 8 pm, I was in Valle 6 with the Gavinos. Luckily, I had a bundle of clothes from the laundry shop that would be my clothes for the next week. Water in Taguig didn’t move or lessen, then the next storm, Pepeng was heading Luzon again. That Thursday, I decided to go and get some clothes, my laptop outlet and some other stuffs I might need if the water starts rising again. Apol was with me as with drove through the waters which was brownish and greenish and smelled terrible. He brought up the SUV into my garden so that I no longer need to thread the murky waters. Pepeng never came, with enough prayers. While all this was happening, I helped the first person who needed it, Apol, money, clothes and food I gave him everyday he came to work. He decided to move his family to Laguna so that the events of Ondoy his wife and kids can forget. After two weeks, Santi was another typhoon named after I don’t know the gourmet store, heheh. Just got back from class when my Ate Cynthia called me that Friday, she said a storm is coming, please come and stay here in Valle Verde. I had second thoughts because I was already resting in the comforts of my room ready to sleep but I decided to go and stay with her, whatever may happen I was still in her loving arms. So after half an hour of fixing and packing clothes and books to bring, I left again for Valle 6. Took me more than an hour in traffic, hungry and calm, I was home….during all these terrible events, praying to Mama Mary was the priority for the whole day, but the prayer was for saving others who would be in the path of the storm, that our fruits of labour would be spared from the strong winds and rain and it did. I have very bad memories of storms and I hide or put a pillow on top of my ears not to hear the winds and the strong rain drops, I could never forget my cousin’s losing their roof and seeing the results. Everytime it rains is not a good day for me.

No pictures for this post, everyone has seen what I typhoon can do to everything we own.