Noche Buena

• Melon and coconut milkshake
• Rice pudding with custard topping
• “Bibingka” and “puto bumbong”
• Rellenong manok (stuffed deboned whole chicken)
• Tilapia fritters with honey-lemon sauce
• Food for the Gods and the accidental Christmas cake
• Corn dogs
• Pepperoni and cheese stuffed bread rolls
• The noche buena blog is live!
• Kalabasa (squash) and potato soup

How to cook

• Tips for cooking Chinese-style fried rice
• Oven-roasted crispy pata
• Stewed mung beans
• Pinoy pesto
• Don’t be a kitchen slave
• Fried tokwa (firm tofu)
• A more flavorful pancit canton (chow mein)
• Stir frying basics
• Reheating fried spring rolls
• Making the most out of pritong isda (fried fish)

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My daughter’s 14th birthday

My daughter, Alex, had a few classmates over yesterday. They were supposed to do an ecology project but since yesterday was also her 14th birthday, a few other friends, non-members of the ecology group, joined us and we had pasta, chicken, toast and cake for merienda. The menu might look like fastfood fare, the stuff kids love, but the chicken was NOT fried, the toast was buttered whole wheat bread, the pasta sauce was all-natural and the cake was made with frozen — not canned — blueberries. No, no one complained that there were no hotdog slices in the pasta. No one looked for white bread either. Best of all, no one looked for an icing laden birthday cake.

I purposely refrained from cooking “experimental” dishes because a party is not exactly the kind of company that a cook makes guinea pigs of. A party means cooking in bulk and if a dish fails, you have leftovers that your family is obliged to consume for days and days. It might have been different if adults were among the invited guests but it was an all-teenage gathering.

I bought two loaves of whole wheat bread, unsliced, and we sliced them just before spreading the butter and popping them into the oven. “Butter” would actually be inaccurate — it should be half salted and half unsalted butter with finely chopped fresh garlic, parsley and basil.

The chicken was seasoned a day ahead to allow for maximum absorption. I tossed the chicken thighs and drumsticks with salt, lots of freshly ground pepper, thyme, oregano and garlic.

I used spaghetti for the pasta dish. It’s the same recipe for the ever-popular baked macaroni in the archive except that I no longer use tomato paste at home.

The biggest surprise was the bluberry streusel cake. Just a few days ago, I baked a similar cake with fresh strawberries and I had to make some salvage operations because I made some mistakes with the measurements of the flour and sugar. With the blueberry streusel cake, I followed the recipe to the letter. Guess what? My husband and kids said that the “salvaged” strawberry streusel cake was moister and softer than the bluberry streusel cake that I baked yesterday. Amazing.

We’re having company again today — a mixture of adults and kids this time. I’ll post photos of the menu tomorrow.

In the mood for more food?

1. Kecap Manis
2. Chicken menudo
3. Grilled meat balls
4. Save the meat from the soup bones
5. Ensaladang Pipino (Cucumber Salad)
6. Another fresh buko (coconut) and fruit salad
7. The Tagaytay trip part 1: La Trobada
8. Nilagang Baka (boiled beef), sukiyaki style
9. Ube-macapuno dessert
10. Steamed chicken breast fillets, black chinese mushrooms and Pinoy Cook’s salsa verde