30 Dec, 2005
Someone once described me as having “champagne taste on a beer budget.” It was a dig at the time, frankly, a poorly veiled insult. Jealousy, perhaps…now I’m the one getting witchy…heehee. The lighter side of me thought “it’s better than the opposite, beer taste on a champagne budget” – and let’s…
30 Dec, 2005
Dealing with leftovers is a huge post-holiday concern. Several readers have asked for ideas to use up remnants of recent Christmas meals. One ideal use of extra queso de bola is to make a cheese pimiento spread. It’s incredibly easy and so much better tasting when you make it yourself. …
29 Dec, 2005
If you want a good laugh, read this post all the way through. It has a really funny portion which had me in stitches for the better part of an hour (when it actually happened). On Christmas Eve, I shot over to the Salcedo market to get my herb selection up…
28 Dec, 2005
Whenever I have a festive dinner (not necessarily just for Christmas) that features a major hunk of four legged animal (beef, lamb or pork) or substantial fowl (turkey, duck, goose, capon), I like to start with a seafood appetizer to balance the meal out. Usual suspects are large prawns, crab claws, rock lobsters,…
27 Dec, 2005
I honestly do not know what the difference is between a “proper” puchero and a “proper” cocido, and I’m not sure it matters much at all. At first I thought puchero was the local equivalent of the continental Madrileno cocido, or Spanish hotpot, but some basic googling suggests that puchero is evolved from…
24 Dec, 2005
This is going to be a great Christmas in our home. We had a truly roller coaster year that has ended on a very positive note. While this blog may come across as a charmed life of one who zips through markets and food stores for the finest produce, ingredients and dishes followed…
24 Dec, 2005
I wanted to sample as many ensaimadas that were commercially available (for sale) as possible and try to come up with a personal opinion on each. These are my opinions and I am sure many of you may disagree with them, while the owners of businesses making them may even want to throw…
22 Dec, 2005
Christmas cookies are a must in our home. As much as I love all of the Filipino food traditions around the holidays (pineapple on ham being a notable exception), I have also embraced several Western traditions such as gingerbread, roast beef and rolled butter/sugar cookies cut into all kinds of holiday shapes. …