Shoot First Eat Later

It’s my blog’s 3rd year anniversary!

I can’t believe it! It’s my blog’s 3rd birthday. I thought I would be bored after a few months but to this day I still love blogging.

2011 was the year of the DIET! It made food blogging really hard but I did it. I probably could have, would have lost more weight if I didn’t love food so much. But I’m happy with the weight I’ve lost and I’m still working HARD at losing more.

My travels in 2011 took me to Baguio, Bangkok, some shopping and less eating in Hong Kong and to the USA in November.

Thank you to all you who have followed my blog on Google, Facebook and Twitter. I want more, more, more 😀

187 countries!! I’ve never even heard of some of the countries on the list.

Some eagle-eyed friends who took Philippine airlines last January 2012 saw me in the Mabuhay magazine. Rochelle even brought home the magazine for me.

This was taken at the photography class I took at PhotoKitchen. He he my claim to fame 😀

What are my plans for 2012? Definitely more traveling. I’m looking forward to going to Cebu, Hong Kong, Taipei and Europe!!! As usual more restaurant reviews but with healthier options for me.

I also promise to post more recipes and hopefully more gadget reviews. Thanks again for keeping me company. Any comments and suggestions are always welcome.

Wild-Mushroom Bread Pudding

I must admit my favorite part of the Thanksgiving meal next to the turkey is the stuffing. A few years ago I made a whole Thanksgiving dinner in Manila complete with brined turkey and cornbread sausage stuffing. Needless to say it was a big success.

When I read MarketManila’s post on the mushroom stuffing he made I immediately copied the recipe and volunteered to make the stuffing for Thanksgiving in my cousin’s house.

Unlike MarketMan I pretty much followed the original recipe from Bon Appétit magazine.

We shopped in a Korean supermarket and these were the only mushrooms available. It’s just like the mushrooms we have in Manila.

1. Slice all the mushrooms thickly.

2. Cut the day old French bread into 1″ cubes. I didn’t bother to remove the crust.

3. Sauté the mushrooms with all the spices.

4. I sautéed the mushrooms the night before and kept it in the refrigerator.

5. Add the bread cubes to the cream and egg mixture. Let sit for 15 minutes then add the mushrooms.

6, Transfer to a baking dish and sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Bake until pudding is brown and puffed, and set in center, about 1 hour.

This is a very easy dish to prepare. It doesn’t have to Thanksgiving to enjoy this yummy bread pudding. This would go great with roast chicken, roast pork, steak or any meat dish. Just don’t eat too much even though you’ll want too. It’s not exactly healthy but I can assure you it’s super duper delicious.

Wild-Mushroom Bread Pudding
adapted from Bon Appétit | December 1997

3 tablespoons olive oil
6 ounces shiitake mushrooms, thickly sliced
6 ounces oyster mushrooms, thickly sliced
6 ounces button mushrooms, thickly sliced
2 portobello mushrooms, stems and gills removed, caps thickly sliced
4 teaspoons chopped garlic
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon dried rubbed sage
1 teaspoon dried thyme

5 large eggs
2 cups whipping cream or heavy cream
1 cup milk (do not use low-fat or nonfat)
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
6 cups 1-inch cubes day-old French bread (about 6 ounces)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly butter 8 x 8 x 2-inch glass baking dish. Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add all mushrooms, garlic, basil, parsley, sage and thyme and sauté until mushrooms are tender and brown, about 15 minutes. Remove pot from heat. Season mixture to taste with salt and pepper.

Whisk eggs, cream, milk, 1/4 cup Parmesan, salt and pepper in large bowl to blend. Add bread cubes; toss to coat. Let stand 15 minutes. Stir in mushroom mixture. Transfer to prepared dish. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons cheese over. Bake until pudding is brown and puffed, and set in center, about 1 hour. Serve warm.

Thanksgiving 2011

I was very excited to spend my first Thanksgiving in the United States last November amidst family and friends.

Our dinner was mostly made by my cousin La, aka Chinese Martha, and Sharon and lots of dishes brought by the guests. I had one contribution too.

La made the first three appetizers. Granted that the smoked salmon and brie were store bought she did a commendable job in the presentation. Everyone raved about the 2 kinds of bries. She also made cream of squash and apple soup which I don’t have a picture of.

La topped the brie with fig jam and pecans and wrapped the whole thing in store bought frozen puff pastry. Simple yet impressive and delicious.

baked brie in puff pastry with fig jam & pecans

brie with mushroom & caramelized onions

Chris brought these stuffed mushrooms which everyone popped into their mouths really quickly.

pancetta stuffed mushrooms

me and my cousin Mark

me, La, Kueifang, Sha, Audrey and little Ady

La’ wine offerings

Can you believe this plate and flatware are plastic? Amazing!!!

Audrey made this really pretty and colorful mixed salad greens topped with duck confit, mandarin oranges, raspberries and pecans. I loved this salad!!! I just wish there were more duck.

duck confit salad

La made Ina Garten’s smashed sweet potatoes recipe.

smashed sweet potatoes with apples, mashed potatoes

I think my most favorite were these ham and cheese scones that La made. She made it the day before and froze it. She just baked it an hour before dinner. The scones ended up tasting more like biscuits but either scones or biscuits I love them both. Luckily we kept some scones in the freezer and had them for breakfast for the next few days. (what Cohen diet? ;p)

ham and cheese scones

May brought these huge stuffed peppers.

stuffed peppers

Kuefang brought mashed potatoes and the Thanksgiving favorite, green bean casserole topped with fried onion strips. This was my first time for me to try this dish and now I understand why it was the only dish that was demolished that night. Even the kids attacked this dish even more than the mashed root veggies. It was really rich and creamy and the oven crisped French’s onion rings was perfect with it.

green bean casserole

My one and only contribution was the stuffing for the turkey which was inspired by MarketManila’s post. I will post the recipe tomorrow. It was a big hit! I personally really loved it.

wild mushroom bread pudding

La bought the cornbread and cranberry compote from Whole Foods. This started my love affair with cornbread. Luckily regular cornbread either by pan or by slice was always available in Whole Foods and I was able to buy several during my stay in Virginia. (another Cohen no no!)

cranberry cornbread

I was surprised that La bought a really small container of cranberry compote. She guaranteed me that it will be more than enough. I couldn’t believe that it since I love cranberry jelly which is what we can get in Manila. When I tried this compote it was really, really sour. No wonder nobody ate it. I’m sure if we served canned cranberry jelly it would have been wiped out.

cranberry compote

Sha made this huge 18 pound turkey. Too bad she miscalculated on the time and it the turkey breast was dry. Everyone enjoyed the dark meat instead.

roast turkey

Chinese Martha outdid herself with the rosemary roast beef. It was perfectly cooked and so tender. We only had 2 proteins and tons of carbs. That’s the perfect Thanksgiving mix, right?

roast beef

Adrian and May

Keifang’s nieces & mom, Chee

La, Kueifang, Ramon, Sha and John

Thank goodness the pies were store bought and didn’t provide temptation to me. I did try a couple of pastries Sha bought in Cairo. Surprisingly they weren’t too sweet.

apple and pecan pies, Egyptian pastries

Sha made this luscious dulce de leche cheesecake from scratch. Both my cousins are really great cooks!!!

dulce de leche cheesecake

Kueifang’s nieces made these chocolate creme brûlée which I wasn’t planning to eat until I took a little bite and loved it. I immediately got one for myself.

chocolate creme brûlée

The part of the evening I enjoyed most was when the guests beelined to the cabinet where La stored her take out containers and helped themselves with the leftovers. Some were so methodical in their packing that I just stood there and gaped in awe. Thankfully there was enough left for us to enjoy for a few days.

I loved my first Thanksgiving experience. The food and company was great and hopefully I get to go back again in November. Maybe Christmas and snow next time?

Happy Hour at PassionFish

You know you’re old when you go to a bar for the cheap food during happy hour. Since I loved the food at PassionFish I was sure the bar food would be equally good too.

The bar area was full when we arrived at 6 pm so we just stood and ate our chow.

Yes we brought a child to a bar for happy hour. And yes kids were allowed as long as they don’t order drinks. Duh.

I can just imagine in a few years Erin will be going to bars with her friends and we will ask her, “Erin can we go to the bar with you?” And with horror in her voice she replies, “No! I’m going with my friends.” “But Erin don’t you remember we brought you to happy hour before? Now it’s your turn to bring us!” bwa ha ha ha…

All the food and drinks on the happy hour menu were $5 only from 4-6 pm. It was a good thing that we could still order past 6:30 so it became our early dinner. With the amount of food we ordered it really felt like dinner.

PassionFish Happy Hour menu

I ordered a mojito with a piece of sugar cane in it. I’m not supposed to have alcohol but I really enjoyed my drink and it seemed bottomless because I had the bartender add soda water to my glass over and over again.

mojito

The fried clams were my least favorite because they were a bit chewy and tough.

“bucket of clams” crispy fried ispswich clams

The fried oysters were yummy eaten together with the chipotle coleslaw and New Orleans remoulade.

fried Chesapeake oysters

My favorite were the fried spring rolls filled with crabmeat and shrimp instead of the usual pork. The nuoc cham dipping sauce heightened the flavors of the spring roll.

Vietnamese crab & shrimp spring rolls

I’ve never seen ceviche topped with popcorn before.

classic Peruvian style ceviche

I tried all the sliders sans the top bread and the lobster roll was my favorite. They don’t skimp on the seafood here.

lobster roll sliders

crab cake sliders

The burger needed some salt but it was Erin’s favorite.

cheese burger sliders

I love happy hour. My next goal is to try Morton’s happy hour in Hong Kong where they serve eat-you-can steak sandwiches.

PassionFish
11960 Democracy Dr, Reston, VA 20190, United States
telephone: (703) 230-FISH

What I See TV show

For all photography buffs in the Philippines you have to watch this tv show called What I See featuring noted photographer Francisco “Paco” Guererro.

This is actually season 2 of the show Two Stops Over which used to air in a different channel. Even if you are not into photography you will appreciate this show as they go around the Philippines and capture the beauty of our country from Paco’s camera.

What I See premieres on January 29, 2012, Sunday at 9:00 AM on GMA News TV and airs every sunday after.

On Sky Cable it’s channel 24
On Global Destiny it’s channel 15

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Cohen Lifestyle Dinner in the USA

Last November I went to the USA and visited my cousins from West to East coast. On my first night in Virginia my cousin was curious about what and how much food I ate on my Cohen Lifestyle diet.

I decided to cook a entire Cohen meal for my cousin’s family. We went to Costco to buy the ingredients. My first purchase was 90/10 ground beef to make burgers. I formed the patties to weigh 120 grams each.

The only seasoning to the patties were salt and pepper liberally applied to the exterior of the patty. We then cooked the hamburger on a grill pan without oil.

I also bought chanterelle mushrooms which we’ve never tried before. They were much more expensive than portobella mushrooms.

chanterelle mushrooms

I sautéed the mushrooms in olive oil, minced garlic, salt, pepper and a dash of white wine (not Cohen approved but what the heck).

It was delicious. The mushrooms were creamy and the taste was quite exotic.

And to accompany the burgers and mushrooms was a salad of spring mix lettuce and reduced balsamic vinegar and olive oil dressing.

I poured a whole bottle of regular (cheap) balsamic vinegar into a heavy bottomed pan and let it simmer until the volume was reduced to 1/3 of the original. It should also be slightly thick and sweet. This took more than 30 minutes to accomplish.

My cousin in law kept complaining since the whole house stank and smelled of vinegar. It was really bad but the effort was so worth it. They couldn’t believe how sweet the balsamic reduction was. I just added some olive oil, salt and pepper and that was our dressing. We kept the remaining reduced balsamic vinegar for future use.

spring mix salad greens

They were quite happy and satisfied with the meal since it didn’t really taste like diet food. Naturally the burger made with US beef was much better than using local Manila beef. I also liked all the different lettuce in the spring mix, most of which we don’t find in Manila. The best was the chanterelle mushrooms which was a real treat for me since all I buy in Manila are portobella, shiitake and oyster mushrooms.

That’s what I like about the Cohen Lifestyle diet. You still eat normal food just nothing processed and in a measured quantity.

Queso De Bola Cheesecake from Indulgence by Irene

Last week I received a text from Frannywanny if I wanted to try Irene’s queso de bola cheesecake. I don’t know Irene personally but I love cheesecake so I said YES.

The next day Irene sent me a mini queso de bola (edam cheese) cheesecake. I was wondering if it would beat my all time favorite cheesecake which also happened to be a qdb (queso de bola) cheesecake from Dessert Du Jour.

I must admit it wasn’t love at first bite. I found myself comparing it to Dessert Du Jour’s version which had a light texture and sublime flavor.

Irene’s cheesecake was rich and dense like your typical by New York cheesecake. The qdb was more intense and after a few bites it reminded me of Via Mare’s qdb bibingka. It gave me the same joy that I get when eating comfort food that’s very, very satisfying.

This cheesecake had an interesting sweet and slightly savory taste. There was much more grated qdb and you could even taste bits of melted cheese giving the cheesecake an unique texture. I ate it over 3 days and each time I ate it I loved it more and more. It’s not for those looking for a mild and light cheesecake. This is for the true qdb lover. It’s an aggressive and ‘in your face’ cheesecake that begs to be eaten slowly and savored with a smile on your face. A small slice is enough to satisfy my dessert cravings. Need I mention this was perfect with coffee?

I immediately texted Irene and ordered a whole cheesecake for our Chinese New Year party. Everyone including non-dessert lovers raved about the cheesecake. Until today I still have a tiny sliver left that’s hidden in the refrigerator. Yes I have a new love.

ps: Notice the pictures? No styling, no plating since I was in a mad rush to eat it. Trust me people, it’s goooood!

Indulgence by Irene
Quezo de Bola Cheesecake
9 inch – P900
4 1/2 inch – P200
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For Orders: 0922-8303900/0917-6225800
Pick up in Ortigas
Meet up in Magallanes – Weekday mornings and afternoons

Braised Beef Shanks with Caramelized Onions and Shallots

Last Chinese New Year’s celebration I cooked this dish. I learned it from my cousin La who cooked it when I was in Virginia.

The original recipe from Epicurious was called Braised Lamb Shanks with Caramelized Onions and Shallots but since I didn’t know where to buy lamb shanks I used beef shanks instead.

I’ve never cooked with beef shanks before and usually beef shanks are used to make soup only. But this dish made me a believer of using beef shank.

I didn’t really weigh the beef shanks I bought and I suspect it was more than what the recipe called for and I had to add more liquids. I made this one day before our party.

1. Prepare the sliced onions and shallots, wine, beef broth, rosemary and tomato paste. Coat the beef shanks with salt and pepper.

2. Coat the beef shanks with flour and sear in a hot pan til golden brown.

3. Brown the onions and shallots in a large Dutch oven. I finally got to use my huge Le Creuset.

4. Deglaze the pan where you fried the beef shanks with one cup of red wine. Make sure to stir well to loosen the brown bits on the bottom of the pan. Transfer the red wine into the pot with the onions and rosemary. Add the rest of the wine, broth and tomato paste.

5. Since the liquid didn’t cover the beef I added another 1 1/2 cups of broth.

6. Instead of simmering on the cooktop I baked it in the oven. It took 3 1/2 hours for the beef to soften to the way I like it. The pot was so heavy that my stainless rack actually dipped in the middle.

7. I checked the beef from time to time to check on its tenderness. The sauce really thickened up.

8. After one day in the refrigerator I was able to remove the hardened fat easily.

It was really good. It might be a cliché but it was melt-in-your mouth tender. I served it with mashed potatoes. I bet rice with go well with it too. The sauce and flavor was intense and complex from the caramelized onions and shallots and the melted bone marrow added a rich taste. Next time I make this I’ll try to cook it in a pressure cooker. I think our beef is much tougher than the beef in the US.

Braised Beef Shanks with Caramelized Onions and Shallots
(based on a recipe from Epicurious)

4 tablespoons oil
1 pound onions, sliced
5 large shallots, sliced (about 1 cup)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary

6 pcs. 3/4- to 1-pound beef shanks
all purpose flour
2 1/2 cups dry red wine
4 cups canned beef broth
3 tablespoons tomato paste
2 bay leaves

1. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in heavy large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add sliced onions and shallots and sauté until brown, about 20 minutes. Mix in 2 tablespoons chopped rosemary. Remove from heat. (Be careful not to burn the onions.)

2. Sprinkle beef shanks with salt and pepper and coat with flour.

3. Heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil in heavy large skillet over high heat. Working in batches, add beef shanks to skillet and cook until brown on both sides, about 10 minutes per batch. Using tongs, transfer beef shanks to a plate.

4. Add 1 cup dry red wine to same skillet and bring to boil, scraping up any browned bits. Pour into Dutch oven with onion mixture.

5. Add remaining 1 1/2 cups red wine, canned beef broth, tomato paste and 2 bay leaves to dutch oven. Bring to boil, stirring until tomato paste dissolves. Add more beef broth if necessary.

6. Add beef shanks, turning to coat with liquid. Bring mixture to boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until beef is almost tender, turning beef shanks occasionally, about 1 1/2 to 3 hours. Or cook the pot in an oven heated to 350F.

7. If needed boil until liquid is reduced to sauce consistency, stirring and turning beef shanks occasionally, about 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. (I didn’t need to do this step. The sauce was thick and the taste was perfect.)

Chinese New Year 2012

Kiong Heet Huat Tsai or Happy New Year everyone! My father’s side of the family usually celebrate Chinese New Year in a Chinese restaurant but this year we took a break from tradition and had the dinner in our house.

We prepared some dishes and ordered most of it from Classic Chef Catering. We made the salad with sesame soy dressing in the first picture.

This misua we ordered. This was the only Chinese dish we had. That was also unusual right? We just ordered dishes we liked and had no theme for dinner. Surprisingly everyone loved all the food. My cousins also commented that it was more relaxing to have dinner at home instead of in a jam packed Chinese restaurant waiting ages for the food to come out.

misua (Chinese noodle dish)

The only dish I made aside from the mashed potatoes was this beef shank with tomato sauce that I learned from my cousin La. I will post the recipe tomorrow.

It doesn’t look like much but everyone loved it. It was so tender even the tendon (litid) melted in your mouth. Most of the bone marrow was dislodged into the sauce making the whole dish more sinful.

beef shank with tomato paste

My cook made this lasagna which is the same one I sell in my store.

lasagna

The rest of the dishes were ordered from Classic Chef catering, the same one I used two years ago. Their paella is a must order. Even after an hour or two the rice never became soggy.

paella

seafood with dill sauce

The delicious sukiyaki cut Angus Korean bbq was my favorite.

Angus beef Korean bbq

chicken pastel

My least favorite was the super thin and shallow chicken pastel. It didn’t taste bad or anything like that. It was just ordinary and nothing special.

As usual I forgot to take pictures of the people.

For our family the look of the buffet table wasn’t important. No flowers or decorations. It’s all about the food baby!

My cute doggie Coffee was wondering if all the food was ready and if she can come out and start begging already.

my dachshund, Coffee

Thank you Cecille (Classic Chef) for giving us our favorite baked ham.

baked ham

My dad loves this ham so much he couldn’t even wait for the whole ham to be sliced.

An order of ham came with 2 boxes of homemade dinner rolls and pineapple sauce.

Chinese honey ponkan oranges

I bought these ‘bouchons’ or brownie bites from S&R. The brand is Sugar Bowl Bakery and they were surprisingly good. The brownies were a cross between cakey and fudge and were not too sweet.

brownie bites

The big hit of the night was the queso de bola cheesecake I ordered from Indulgence by Irene. I will do a separate post on this. Even non dessert lovers raved about it. I had to hide the last slice lest a cousin brought it home or decide to have another serving.

Indulgence by Irene’s queso de bola cheesecake

Last New Year’s Eve our household help were in a tizzy cooking prawns and steak on the teppanyaki grill. This time they were so relaxed and quite relieved that the food was ordered.

I think we just started a new tradition of celebrating CNY at home instead of an impersonal Chinese restaurant. It was definitely more relaxing and we got to talk to each other at leisure.

Classic Chef Catering
161 D. Tuazon Street,
Quezon City, Philippines
telephone: +632-731-2286, +63917-526-5217
Facebook

Indulgence by Irene
Quezo de Bola Cheesecake
9 inch – P900
4 1/2 inch – P200

For Orders: 0922-8303900/0917-6225800
Pick up in Ortigas
Meet up in Magallanes – Weekday mornings and afternoons
Facebook

Around Middleburg, Va

After lunch at The Fox Hound we walked around Middleburg and did some window shopping.

The first stop was Home Farm, a traditional butcher shop.

Home Farm

No frozen meat here. Everything was fresh and chilled.

Bacon donuts anyone?

The Christmas Sleigh specialized in German and Austrian products.

The Christmas Sleigh

I just had to go in the sosy pet store called Wylie Wagg.

Wylie Wagg

Was I right? Sosy talaga!

Créme de la Créme carried French linens, cutlery, pottery, stationery and some of the most fragrant lotions I’ve ever tried.

Creme de la Creme

If I’m a coffee addict then my cousin La is a wine addict or should I say connoisseur. She has to have wine with every meal and can’t pass by a wine bar without trying a new kind of wine. Just like I am with coffee.

The Tasting Room Wine Bar

She tried a glass of wine from Boxwood Estate, a local winery based in Middleburg.

As much as I wanted to try coffee from Cuppa Giddy Up I was too full from lunch.

Cuppa Giddy Up

Besides I got distracted by this cute dog with a jockey strapped on his back.

dog jockey

Isn’t it absolutely cute?

Our last stop was the Chrysalis Vineyards. We didn’t have any wine tasting but just looked around the property.

Chrysalis Vineyards

They had a picnic area open to the public. Since the weather was really nice there were a couple of families enjoying themselves with a picnic.

Their store sold these Spanish tortas which we really love to eat with cheese. They remind me our own otap. They have a similar crisp and flaky texture and is also sweet but with a savory flavor too.

Ines Rosales Sweet Olive Oil Tortas

Middleburg is a really nice place to visit. The town has really quaint shops and and it’s close enough for a day trip.

Home Farm Store
1 E. Washington Street, Middleburg, VA 20117
telephone: (540) 687 – 8882

The Christmas Sleigh, Inc.
5A East Washington Street, Middleburg, VA 20117
telephone: (540) 687-3665

Wylie Wagg
5B East Washington Street, Middleburg, VA 20117
telephone: (540) 687-8727

Crème de la Crème
23 East Washington Street, Middleburg, VA 20117
telephone: (540) 687-8360

The Tasting Room and Wine Bar
16 East Washington Street, Middleburg, VA 20117
telephone: (540) 687-8080

Cuppa Giddy Up
8 East Washington Street, Middleburg, VA 20117
telephone: (540) 687-8122

Chrysalis Vineyards
23876 Champe Ford Road, Middleburg, VA 20117
telephone: (540) 687-8222