'Christmas & New Year' archive

Smoked salmon and cream cheese canapés

Thinking of easy to prepare but delicious and memorable canapes for a cocktail party on New Year’s Eve? Try spreading this filling made with smoked salmon and cream cheese on wheat crackers. Or use it as a sandwich filling, cut up the sandwiches and serve as mini sandwiches. I love smoked salmon. So when I saw three different versions of this filling — in a cookbook, in a TV food show and in a website — I figured it must be a sign that I should try and make my own version. The result was so good that even my daughters who are not particularly fond of smoked salmon have been snubbing the ham and cold meat in the fridge when they make sandwiches. Instead, they reach for the container with the smoked salmon and cream cheese filling.

Food for the gods, a better recipe

The first time I baked food for the gods, I used a recipe printed on a Maya Hotcake Mix box. The second time resulted in baking accident and the food for the gods became the accidental fruit cake. The third attempt illustrates the saying that “Two’s company; three’s a crowd.” My third attempt just bumped off the two previous attempts. I baked a large batch of food for the gods last Saturday and served the cookies to dinner guests as dessert. The best food for the gods I have baked so far — moist and chewy at the center but dry on top. That means they can be individually wrapped and placed in a box or a pouch and given away as a very personal and special Christmas gift.

Pork and pineapple stew

There is a recipe called chicken, tomatoes and pineapple stew in the archive, my version of a dish cooked by my friend Melissa. This is the pork version of that dish. But there is more than just a simple substitution of pork for chicken. Having cooked this dish so many times (the chicken version is a favorite of my mother-in-law), I have refined and improved it so that the saltiness, tanginess and sweetness intersect so subtly that one can’t decide which is the more dominant flavor. In a nutshell, this is a dish of pork cubes marinated overnight in steak sauce then stewed the next day. Fresh pineapple tidbits and kalamansi or lemon juice are thrown in and the result is amazingly delicious.

Chicken, pesto and yogurt salad

For some reason, chicken and macaroni salad is a fixture in the Filipino Christmas and New Year menu. It’s one of the side dishes that I’m planning on serving for the New Year family reunion because I feel it should go well with roast stuffed turkey and the grilled meat that’s already in the list. But I’m serving my chicken and macaroni salad with a twist this time. We’re cutting down on the fat by using less mayonnaise and adding fruit-flavored yogurt instead. And this salad is more aromatic with the inclusion of lemon juice and rind. For a variety in texture, it has seedless grapes and toasted almonds. Finally, for an unexpected kick, a small amount of pesto. I did a dry run of the recipe about a month ago and the result was surprisingly good.

Mango cream pie

The day we learned that Red Ribbon Bake Shop had phased out its Mango Cream Pie was a sad day. The Mango Cream Pie was one of the two reasons we patronize Red Ribbon, the other reason being its chicken empanada. It was especially disappointing for my younger daughter, Alex, who loves Red Ribbon’s Mango Cream Pie to bits. I told her I’d learn how to make something like it. Not one exactly like it because I never really liked the topping with the thin layer of gelatin but something with a nice crust, a gooey filling, a cream topping and lots of fresh mangoes.

Tiramisu, party style

Serving a cake during a party means placing the cake tray on the table, cutting it and placing individual servings on dessert plates. What if the cake can be apportioned several hours before without sacrificing on looks and presentation? What if all that the hostess has to do is take the individual servings out of the fridge and hand them out to the guests? Wouldn’t that be more convenient? Wouldn’t that be so much less stressful?

I love tiramisu. And I wish that I can serve it on New Year’s Eve when my husband’s family, and mine, come over for an all-day, all-night party. But with the number of people coming, I think my straight hair will turn frizzy if I have to attend to the cake cutting and individual serving right there and then. What about my right to party, eh? So what I’m going to do is serve the tiramisu in wine glasses.

Food: the perfect Christmas gift

If, like me, you’re tired of procrastinating between buying good-quality but expensive Christmas gifts and low-quality but inexpensive Christmas gifts, you might want to consider giving away boxed goodies sold through backyard businesses. Because these entrepreneurs do not have to pay high overhead costs like renting stalls or shops in malls, they can afford to keep their prices down and the quality of their goods high. Some of them offer door-to-door delivery; others only offer pick-up arrangements. One of those that offer door-to-door delivery for an extra charge is Toni’s Homemade Goodies. Just how did I discover Toni’s?

Chili garlic prawns

Prawns are pricey but most people don’t mind spending extra during the holidays. Here’s an easy prawn recipe that will earn praises for the cook.

For this chili garlic prawns recipe, I used black tiger prawns each weighing about 125 grams. The proportions of ingredients given below are for 500 grams of prawns.

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House On A Hill

Noche Buena

• Update on the noche buena blog
• Peach pata hamonado
• Pepperoni and cheese stuffed bread rolls
• Rellenong manok (stuffed deboned whole chicken)
• Pre-Christmas callos
• Christmas ham from Majestic
• Christmas jello
• Corn dogs
• Blueberries and cream
• Corn muffins a la Kenny Rogers

Oh, so sweet!

• Midnight snack: crepes, bananas and guava jelly
• Peaches and cream
• Comfort food and home cooked meals
• Mango-rum sorbet
• Mango and jelly (jango) dessert
• Mandarin Orange Royale
• Christmas jello
• Mango custard
• Crepes a la mode
• Mocha pudding