Sauteed Bean Thread Noodles

Sauteed Bean Thread Noodles, also known as Cellophane/Vermicelli/Glass Noodles
 (Filipino Guinisang Pancit Sotanghon) cooked in a Filipino Wok 

Most non-Filipinos I know who have had Filipino food think of pancit, adobo and lumpia as THE Filipino food. Actually, there's more to the repertoire.

Squid Ink Pasta with Sauteed Vegetables and Garlic Chives Pesto

I need a little lifting up today. I guess it's the rain, or the fact that I miss my kiddies and my family. I found out today that I will not be able to visit the family in the Philippines this year-- exorbitantly priced round trip tickets and a new job being the foremost reasons.. sigh...

Market Finds: Zucchini Blossoms & Fresh Saffron Pappardelle

Zucchini Flowers & Saffron Pasta in Brown Butter

I love summertime for so many reason, but for a food enthusiast who eats in season, it is mostly because of the open-air farmers' markets with their endless offering of the freshest local fruits, vegetables, green leafy vegetables, fresh milk, fresh pastas, cheeses, grass-fed and locally raised beef, organic free-range chicken and eggs, pastured berkshire pork, mushrooms, fresh butter, herbs, fresh cut flowers and tons of other exquisite treats! On Friday nights, I get giddy and excited like a teenager on her first date just contemplating what I can find at the market come morning, ha-ha!

Farmers' market is something I never really appreciated until I moved to the United States. In Philippines where I grew up, we have farmers' market (7) days a week, rain or shine or typhoon. The availability of fresh meat, seafood, fruits and vegetables is part of everyday life.

Food that are fresh and in season taste how nature intended them to be-- a tomato should taste like a tomato, not a wet sponge. It can be prepared with utmost simplicity and come out tasting spectacular and bursting with flavor. No need for over-seasoning or ultra-dressing to make it palatable. The taste and essence of the food should be the only thing allowed to shine and seasonings should only help bring it out.

Stuffed Beef Rolls with Pineapple-Philly Sauce

Like Elizabeth Mccracken, that basically sums me up. When I remember my childhood or the major events in my life, I also remember the food that came with it..

.. the morning of the day I went into labor with my daughter Meghann, I was at an open market eating the sweetest boiled corn in a cob I can remember...

.. the day I gave birth to my son Khalel, I remembered having labor pains at 5AM thus I went to see my OB by 7AM and I was told to go straight to the hospital because I was 5 cm dilated; I did not go straight to the hospital, as a matter of fact, my OB got there before I did; I did a detour at home since my grandma was cooking "Chocolate Meat" and I didn't want to miss out specially since I will be on hospital food for days!...

Macaroni with Lemon-Parsley Chicken and Heirloom Tomatoes

I woke up this morning and I had this grand idea for dinner - ricotta gnocchi tossed with brown butter, grilled lemon-parsley chicken and an arugula and heirloom tomato salad. Yum! Thus, I transferred the ricotta to a mesh to drain all the fluid; I then flattened/pounded a couple of chicken breasts and marinated it in lemon juice, minced garlic and chopped parsley from my garden; and lastly, checked to make sure I still have the arugula and heirloom tomatoes I got from the market the other day -- check! But then again, dinner doesn't always come out as planned. I ended up running errands, and by the time I finished running errands, I was too pooped to make the gnocchi or light the grill. Worst, my tomatoes are too ripe for salad, but I need to use them anyhow or I will end up wasting them. Thus, I had to improvise dinner and still integrate the ingredients, which wasn't as grand as originally planned, but quite as tasty in the end.

Seafood Spaghetti baked in Parchment Pouches

Cooking "en papillote" is my go to when I want to serve something simple, flavorful and elegant fast. The ceremony of opening that package never cease to amaze me!, a fool proof way to "wow" anyone or everyone, may it be a dinner for eight people or a television dinner for one with wine.

When food cooks in sealed paper, it cooks in it's own juices. As the package is heated, the air inside expands, all the flavor marries, with no escape (no pun intended). Aside from the simplicity of the method, the beauty in all this is how, you, the cook, perceive the flavor in your mind as to how the flavors you are about to combine will taste when they all come together. It's "test kitchen" in your mind, LOL!

I like preparing fish this way, may it be my version of "Hong Kong style Tilapia" or a simple "Dill and Lemon Confit Monkfish", it always comes out perfect! The fish gets tainted with the taste of the seasoning and aromatic herbs yet retains it unique fish taste.

Carbonara: Classic Bacon and Egg Pasta

They say that BACON makes everything good.. and I say AMEN to that! Most of my favorite food has bacon/pancetta in them -- Reinhart's Cornbread, Julia Child's Bouef Bourguignon, Thomas Keller's Mon Poulet Roti and Deviled Egg's with Pancetta.. hmm.. I can go on and on. But nothing can compare to my love for Bacon and Egg Pasta.. I love me some Carbonara! It's so satisfying and simple to make -- the perfect comfort food! I made some last night, since I need some comforting, LOL! Heyy.. that's my excuse.

This recipe is so simple Bill can actually stand to help me in the kitchen when I make it. And oh, this doesn't have anything to do with me wanting to prove to him that my purchase of the Le Creuset Cookware set is so well worth it, since it makes my cooking even better. *wink*

Classic Bacon and Egg Pasta

1 lb fettuccine noodle
1/4 cup olive oil
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1/4 lb pancetta, cut into cubes**1/4 cup white wine

1/4 cup pasta cooking liquid
salt and freshly ground pepper
2 eggs, room temperature
4 oz parmegiano-reggiano cheese, grated
flat leaf parsley, chopped, for garnishing

**I like my pancetta thinly sliced for this recipe since I like them real crispy. You can ask you deli person to cut your pancetta as thin or as thick as you like them.

In a pot, boil enough water for pasta. Add salt then cook pasta al dente, about 8 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat olive oil in pan. Add the garlic. Cook until caramelized but not browned. Add pancetta and cook for a couple of minutes until crispy. Add wine and pasta cooking liquid, then season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Bring to a boil, then simmer until liquid is reduced in half. In a bowl, beat the eggs, then add the cheese. Drain the pasta then add in the pan. Add the egg and cheese mixture to the pan and toss to coat the noodles. Remove from heat. Garnish with parsley. Devour immediately.

Ragu of Venison and Pappardelle

Bill's brother, Tom, shot a deer before Christmas and was very nice to share with us different cuts. What to make of them? That's the challenge. I made chili with the grounds one night, and that was delicious. We have a couple of rounds in the reefer, which I will make into stew one of these days. The more challenging cut - the shoulder - I decided to cook this weekend.
I woke up craving Ecco's Chili-braised Pork with Garlic and Pappardelle, so I decided to make my version of it using the venison shoulder.

Ragu of Venison and Pappardelle

2 lbs venison shoulder**
3 T Olive Oil
4 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 small Spanish Onions, diced
3 pcs carrots, diced
3 stalks of celery, diced
5 T Tomato Paste28 oz can San Marzano crushed tomatoes

1 cup Cabernet Sauvignon
bouquet garni- rosemary, thyme & bay leaves
2 pcs dried chipotle, seeded
4 pcs star anise, enclose in a cheesecloth
1 t mixed peppercorns, ground
sea salt
1 cup ripe black olives
1 cup cremini mushrooms, quartered
1 package pappardelle, cooked al dente
parmigiano-reggiano for tossing and serving
chopped flat leaf parsley for garnish

**If you do not have venison conveniently sitting in your freezer, use pork shoulders or lamb in place of it.

Heat oven to 300 F.

Heat oil in a dutch oven, brown all sides of the venison, then set aside. In the same pan, saute garlic until fragrant, then add the onion, saute until soft. Saute the carrots and celery next, then add the tomato paste, crushed tomatoes and wine. Return venison in the pan, bring to boil, add the herbs and spices, then salt to taste. Put in the oven and braise for about an hour and a half.

Remove from oven. Transfer half of the sauce in the blender, making sure you fish out all the chipotle pieces. Puree until smooth, then return in the pan. (I like my sauce just a bit chunky, thus I puree only half. Besides, as much as I love the heat that the chipotle render in this dish, I do not want whole chipotle pieces in my sauce).

Remove the bouquet garni and star anise, then add the olives and mushrooms. Return in the oven and cook for another half an hour to an hour until the meat is 'falling off the bone' tender. Remove from the oven and shred the meat using two forks (throw away the bone).

Toss some of the sauce, cooked pappardelle and shaved parmigiano-reggiano in a pan in very low heat for a minute to coat the pappardelle with the sauce. Serve with more shaved parmigiano-reggiano and garnish with flat leaf parsley.

Citron Confit, Herbs and Garlic Crusted Mahi mahi

About a couple of month ago, I made some preserves with my cooking group to celebrate the bounty harvest of summer. We made strawberry rhubarb preserve, ginger bourbon peaches and citron confit. The last of the strawberry-rhubarb went into the Cottage Cheese Pufflets last Tuesday; the ginger bourbon peaches long gone-- some I blended and added to my bellinis and some I had with vanilla ice cream. The citron confit, however, I have about 5 lbs still sitting in the refrigerator.

Citron or Lemon confit is used in French and Moroccan cuisine. I have a couple of books on African cooking that I haven't gone through yet (meaning cook from) but when I browsed through it, lemon confit keeps on appearing as an ingredient. When Citron Confit was featured in the July 2009 Food and Wine issue, I knew I finally have to make them. And now, like I said, I have about 5 lbs waiting to be featured in my cooking. In the next few months -- I will have a citron confit fest in my own little world, haha! I will have to dust off the Tagine soon!

I have been longing for home (the Philippines) lately, and I correlate the Philippines with fresh seafood. I get as much of my dose of seafood as I can when I go home, since fresh seafood (and variety) is scarce in Atlanta. I will be home in December (yay!), but for now, I have to satisfy my cravings somehow. I went to Harry's after work and bought some mahi-mahi. I will use the lemon confit, together with some of the herbs in my garden for the fish, with a side of Israeli couscous. I like cooking with Israeli couscous more than the regular couscous since they are more versatile.

Citron Confit, Herbs & Garlic Crusted Mahi-mahi

4 pcs (4 oz each) Mahi-mahi

4 Tbsps each basil, chives and savory

2 cloves Garlic

4 Tbsps Olive Oil

2 cloves garlic

pinch of sea salt

freshly ground pepper

Citron Confit, 4 segments, only use rind (remove pulp and pith)

Israeli Couscous with Oven-dried Heirloom Tomatoes, Caramelized Onions & Anchovies

4 Tbsps olive oil

1 1/3 cups Israeli Couscous

1 3/4 cups water**

2 Shrimp Bouillon**

1 medium yellow onion

2 oz oven-dried heirloom tomatoes

4 pcs anchovies fillet, chopped

pinch of sea salt

freshly ground pepper

pinch of pepper flakes

Parsley, chopped

**You can use straight chicken stock, omit bouillon if so. You can substitute chicken bouillon for the shrimp bouillon.

Prepare the mahi-mahi. Blend everything in a food processor except for the Mahi-mahi. Top the mahi-mahi with the herbs, confit & garlic mixture and let it marinate for about an hour in the refrigerator.

Heat an enameled cast iron pan. Add about 2 Tbsp of olive. Add onion and cook until caramelized. Remove from pan. Add remaining olive oil, then add the couscous. Brown the couscous, stirring constantly, about 5 minutes. Add the anchovies and shrimp bouillon, give it a couple of stir, add the tomatoes and the caramelized onions. Add salt and pepper. Saute for about a minute then add the water. Bring to a boil, then cover the pan and simmer for about 15 minutes or until all the water is absorbed. Add the parsley as you turn off the heat. The couscous should be al dente.

Heat the grill or the griddle. Cook each side of the fish for about 3 minutes.

Serves about (4) not so hungry patrons or (2) very hungry ones. LOL!

Bolognese Sauce with Fresh Taglierini

Making pasta this weekend brought back tender memories of my childhood in the Philippines. My late Lola Tisay (Lola means grandmother in Filipino) always made "Miki" on special occasions. The soup base for "Miki" is made of shrimp heads and crabs that she pounds into a pulp in a stone mortar and pestle. She then strains the fluid from the pulp into the meat stock where she simmered chicken and pork until they are tender, which she eventually shred and add to the soup with the homemade egg pasta that she lovingly prepared.

Like baking bread, making pasta is in one of the things on my "to learn list". Himself gave me my pasta machine about 3 years ago as one of my birthday gifts. I finally decided to put it to use this weekend.

I made the pasta using the basic egg pasta recipe that is standard to most Italian cookbooks. I am attaching this video of a simplified way of preparing the pasta--

3 1/4 cups all purpose flour

4 large egg

1 tsp sea salt

4 tsp extra virgin olive oil

I made the bolognese sauce like any bolognese sauce, omitting the pancetta since I don't have it readily available this time. I used cream instead of milk and stirred it in 10 minutes towards the end--

1 onion, diced

1 carrot, diced

2 celery, diced

1 lb Italian Sausage

1 large tomato, peeled, seeded and diced

grape tomatoes, cut in half

1tsp tomato paste

bay leave, thyme, rosemary

generous pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

1/4 cup dry white wine

2 cups light beef stock

1/4 cup cream

parmesan cheese

Incorporating the flour with the egg and oil

Pasta Sheets

Cutting the egg noodles

Fresh Taglierini

Bolognese Sauce with fresh Taglierini