homemade pork tocino (marinated pork)

Sometime ago, I mentioned an interest to do a tocino tasting to compare store-bought cured tocino to the homemade marinated tocino I tried at home. The recipe was adapted from a basic recipe I found online. My homemade version was obviously different from the lack of food coloring that the commercial tocino makers use. I also didn't add any kind of curing agents or ingredients. Even without those ingredients, the homemade tocino came out pretty good and with the right balance of flavors from salty to a little sweet. Although the store-bought tocino had a distinctive flavor and texture that they're quite known and loved for, my homemade version, minus all the artificial additives, passed the test in my book : ) A popular breakfast food in Manila, tocino may be served with scrambled or sunny side up eggs, steamed or fried rice, sliced tomatoes and cucumbers on the side with a garlic and vinegar dip, just like the way we like it in Manila.

PORK TOCINO (marinated pork)

1 1/2 lbs pork loin or pork butt, sliced thinly

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 tablespoons minced garlic

1/3 cup white or cider vinegar

2 tablespoons calamansi or lemon juice

3 tablespoons to 1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup 7-up or sprite (optional)

1/4 cup apple juice (suggested substitute to the soda)

salt and pepper to taste

The basic tocino flavors are supposed to be a good balance of salty, slightly sweet and sour. The measurements given in the recipe above as well as the ingredients may be adjusted according to taste and preference. Marinate the pork overnight up to 2 days in soy sauce, lemon juice, vinegar, any lemon-lime flavor soda (7-up or sprite), minced garlic, brown sugar, salt and pepper. Pan-fry in oil until well-browned. Slice into smaller pieces. Serve with steamed or fried rice, sliced tomatoes and cucumbers. A dip or dressing may be made by whisking together garlic, vinegar, salt, pepper and a little sugar.

spritz cookies for Christmas

Packed in attractive and colorful cookie tins or cookie jars, as shown in the first photo, these spritz cookies ship well and make great giveaways for the holiday season. I made another batch with chocolate and the combination of chocolate, vanilla ang eggnog flavors worked out well.

CHOCOLATE SPRITZ COOKIES (from Kuhn Rikon cookie press recipe booklet)

1 cup (2 sticks) butter at room temperature (I used 1 1/4 sticks of butter + 1/4 cup Crisco)

1 cup sugar (I used 1/2 cup white sugar + 1/2 cup brown sugar)

1 egg

2 tablespoons milk (or water)

2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour, sifted (I used 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour + 1 cup white whole wheat flour)

Preheat oven to 375F. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg, milk, vanilla and salt. Stir in the flour and cocoa until well mixed. Pack the dough into the Kuhn Rikon cookie press. Fit with the desired disk design. Press the dough on an ungreased cookie sheet spacing the cookies 1" apart. Decorate or sprinkle with colored sugars. Bake until lightly golden, about 10-12 minutes. Gently transfer the cookies to wire racks to cool. Makes about 4 dozens.

It's almost Christmas and we're heading fast to another promising year. It will be an exciting Christmas for us as we celebrate and reunite with my family on board a cruise ship to the Caribbean. This cruise is a generous Christmas gift from my aunt and uncle. We'll be visiting a few places for the first time. I'm always excited to explore new cities and places. Before the cruise, a 2-day stay will give us a chance to unwind after the long drive and to check out the attractions around the city and port. I will be back soon to share our experiences, travel photos and food highlights from our trip.

WE WISH YOU A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS & A HAPPY NEW YEAR!

honey whole wheat bread

This bread was a healthier and more rustic version of the rosemary bread I've been baking. My aunt and cousin actually thought about substituting whole wheat flour for the bread flour and honey for the sugar in the original recipe. They now bake it regularly and make sandwiches with it for my cousin's everyday lunch meals. Additional seeds and nuts may also be added.

HONEY WHOLE WHEAT BREAD

1 cup water
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup honey
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour (or combination bread & whole wheat flour)
1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast

1 tablespoon vital wheat gluten (optional)
1/4 to 1/2 cup additional seeds and chopped nuts (optional)

Place ingredients in the pan of the bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select DOUGH setting. This setting will knead the dough, rest the dough, then let the dough rise for about 1 1/2 hours. Turn out the dough onto a well floured cutting board. Shape the dough into a loaf and let rise for about 30 minutes to an hour. Lightly spray the top with water, evenly sprinkle with flour, then slash the top of the dough. Transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake in a preheated oven at 350F for about 35-40 minutes. Cool for at least an hour before slicing.

ratatouille

I finally recreated this ratatouille, the way the little chef mouse Remy in the hit animated movie of the same title made it : ) It was a special recipe that the famous chef, Thomas Keller, created for the movie. I did a simpler version of it sometime ago. I just cooked the cubed vegetables all together in a pot until tender, nothing fancy. This layered version was more time consuming to prepare but the result was worth it. For the sauce, fresh chopped tomatoes and onions were cooked together in olive oil and lightly seasoned with salt, pepper and herbes de provence. Half of it was spread evenly on a baking dish. Thinly sliced eggplant, zucchini, and tomatoes were arranged alternately right on top of the tomato sauce. I forgot to buy the squash so, unfortunately, it was incomplete. Then the remaining sauce was poured on top of the vegetables. Cover with parchment paper or foil. Bake for an hour or until the vegetables are tender and the sauce is bubbly. Remove the cover during the last few minutes of cooking to slightly brown the top. As they say, simple dishes can be the most difficult to perfect and such was the case here. Next time, I have to make more tomato sauce to pour on top. Although it turned out quite good with a nice herbes de provence flavor, more tomato sauce is important for the vegetables to properly cook. I will also try to make this again in the springtime or summertime, the peak season for these vegetables.

stuffed green bell peppers

Coming back home from our many exciting trips to Baguio City when I was still in the Philippines, our luggages would be filled with fresh produce and treats we bought from the Baguio Public Market. A trip to Baguio would be incomplete without stopping and browsing at this very popular market before heading back to Manila. With its cooler temperature ideal for farming, Baguio is a big supplier of flowers, fruits and vegetables sold in Manila markets. I would often bring back crisp iceberg lettuce, strawberries and green bell peppers along with other treats like Mountain Maid brand peanut or cashew brittle and ube (purple yam) jam. As soon as I got home, I would always make a green salad with the lettuce and these stuffed green bell peppers. The stuffing is very basic, made of ground beef cooked with minced garlic, onions, tomatoes and seasoned with salt and pepper. Then after cooling the mixture a bit, slightly beaten eggs with a little flour were added as a binder. The ground beef mixture was stuffed into the peppers which were sliced in half with the seeds removed. The stuffed peppers were then sauteed or pan-fried in a little olive oil until cooked through and well browned. This has been one of my favorite recipes for green bell peppers. Red or a combination of bell peppers will make a more colorful presentation. For a spicier version, poblano peppers may be substituted.

holiday highlights

The ceramic pheasant (above) provided a colorful backdrop and welcomed the family into my in-laws' dining room for our traditional Thanksgiving holiday meal.

A beautiful glass bowl on a wrought iron pedestal filled with fresh citrus fruits and leaves was a great holiday centerpiece idea for the dining table.

Turkey will always be the star of Thanksgiving celebrations in most homes all around the country. At my in-laws' home where we gather every year for this special holiday, smoked turkey (shown above) has been a family favorite for many years now. The legs were used the next day for a delicious chunky Tex-Mex soup, a new recipe my mom-in-law cooked for us.

From the flaky crust to the sweet nutty filling, mom-in-law made this homemade pecan pie (above) from scratch. It was a special request from her grandson who loves this pie. It may have taken more time and effort to make, but there's nothing like fresh homemade pie : )

This pineapple upside down (above) was another lovely cake my mom-in-law made from scratch. She baked it in a cast iron skillet instead of a regular cake pan. Loaded with sliced pineapples and brown sugar syrup, this lovely cake added a tropical and festive touch to one of our holiday meals at their home.

Sliced avocados went very well with this ham and vegetable omelet we had for this comforting breakfast treat. The extra sauteed mushrooms spooned on top of the omelet were also a nice touch. We had a relaxing day at a nearby town browsing at local shops that were well decorated for the holiday season. It was a nice drive to the town, with all the well kept farms and lovely homes along the way, but most of all, we enjoyed our laid back days at home with the family. The time we spent with them made our Thanksgiving holiday special and memorable.

pumpkin flan

Growing up in the Philippines, the idea of Thanksgiving holiday and tradition was something I just read and learned from the many back issues of US food and lifestyle magazines that I used to buy in bookstores or surplus shops in Manila. I've always been curious about the celebration and the food.

This reminds me of our many weekend shopping and leisure trips to Dao in the province of Pampanga. Depending on the traffic, it's about a 2-hour drive heading north from Manila. Old issues of Good Housekeeping, Woman's Day and other magazines of the same type were sold very cheap out there. I read so many of those magazines and picked up a collection of recipes from them. I learned so many cooking and baking techniques from them as well. Back then, Clark Air Force base, a big US military base, still existed. There were a number of surplus shops around the area, very similar to the flea market concept here, selling slightly used items from furniture to appliances and many more. There were also stalls selling imported groceries, candies and clothing. We used to enjoy walking around these shops on weekends. My mother particularly enjoyed browsing the kitchen and small appliances sections while my father checked out the machineries and gadgets for his shop. I remember my mother would also pack our lunch and we would have simple picnics along quiet and shady roads or at a nearby park. We spent many memorable weekends there.

Back to my thoughts about Thanksgiving, big orange pumpkins were not available in the Philippines when I was growing up. These days, I think they sell it in bigger supermarkets but as a novelty item. We had a more common variety of squash, which can actually grow as big as the medium size pumpkins here. We never used them for desserts or pies. We often cook them in a popular mixed vegetable dish called pinakbet or with long beans and coconut milk. I had my first taste of pumpkin pie when I came to the US and have grown to like it since. I've also learned that nothing can beat the convenience of Libby's solid pack pumpkin : ) It took me a few days to decide what to make with the canned pumpkin in the pantry. I wanted to try to make something new. While organizing old issues of the now defunct Gourmet : ( I ran into this good looking pumpkin flan version. The flan was a success and a good dessert idea which can be made ahead for Thanksgiving. The caramelized sugar enhanced the pumpkin color and went so well with the flavor of the pumpkin and spices. I altered the recipe a bit but the original recipe can be found in the Gourmet website. Here's my adaptation:

PUMPKIN FLAN

1/2 cup sugar [divided and caramelized for the two 6" cake pans I used]
1 cup heavy cream
1 can evaporated milk [approximately 1 1/2 cups]
5 large eggs
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon allspice
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 15 oz. can solid pack pumpkin puree

I used two 6" cake pans and sprinkled each one with 1/4 cup sugar. Spray with water and caramelize the sugar over medium heat. Tilt the pans to spread the melting sugar as they start to caramelize to a deep burnt sugar color. Set the pans aside. Gently whisk together the eggs, sugar, vanilla and spices. Stir in the pumpkin. Combine the heavy cream and evaporated milk in a heavy saucepan or pot. Set on low heat until it starts to simmer. Remove from heat. Slowly add the milk to the pumpkin mixture. Mix well. Strain the mixture onto the prepared pans, dividing equally. Set the pans in a rectangular baking pan and place in the preheated 350F oven. Boil some water and slowly pour it into the rectangular pan, creating a water bath for the flan to gently bake. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until the tops are evenly browned. Allow to cool at room temperature, cover tightly with foil then refrigerate to set. The flans may be made a day ahead and kept refrigerated. To unmold, loosen the sides with a thin knife, place a serving platter right on top of the pan and invert. Decorate with toasted pecans.

May you enjoy the bounty of the season's celebrations.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!