Opening up ourhomes through food

With a martini in one hand and an apron in the other, we open our worlds to you.”

With such a welcome, I was instantly captivated.

“In this book you will find our recipes and entertaining ideas as well as that of our friends — individuals who, like you, wish to delight with each intimate get-together or elegant affair. For us Filipinos, hospitality is a way of life. And so we thought it would be a great idea to collect recipes, as well as tips and secrets of entertaining, to share with you.”

It’s been a year since the release of the lifestyle cookbook Martinis and Aprons by friends and foodies, authors Ina Ayala, Lizette Cojuangco, Sharmila Hiranand, Marianne Po, Anne Marie Saguil, Mandy Taboada, Marit Yuchengco, Kit Zobel, and Lizzie Zobel.

It has also been roughly the same amount of time that I’ve been married, navigating through the kitchen with the help of a wonderful husband who’s gracious enough to take over at times as my cooking skills leave much to be desired. The cookbook Martinis and Aprons has been heaven-sent, rescuing us from many a lunch or dinner at home with friends.

Needless to say, the book has struck a chord in my life in more ways than one. Allow me to be a bit sentimental.

I’ve never written much about food, as my lack of knowledge in the kitchen scares away any idea I might have about criticizing recipes, ingredients, and whatnot.

But the book Martinis and Aprons is a wonderful collection of recipes and entertaining ideas that’s changing that.

These days, so much effort is put into making one’s home beautiful. Perfecting the architecture of the house and its interior design take up so much time that the art of entertaining is often sidelined. Sometimes, it takes a book such as this to make us remember that the kitchen is the true heart of one’s home.  

“What’s in a meal? Half a cup of love and a tablespoon of history; a splash of affection and a sprinkling of laughter. In each candle there is the warmth of your host’s hello, and in each floral arrangement all her enthusiastic plans and good intentions. We cherish a meal as much for its flavor and ambiance as we do for the memories they create or call forth. When we entertain, we open our homes and our worlds, inviting our guests to savor what we love and enjoy.

Manila’s leading ladies opening up their worlds to readers with their lifestyle cookbook Martinis & Aprons: Ina Ayala, Marit Yuchengco, Marianne Po, Sharmila Hiranand, Lizette Cojuangco, Anne Marie Saguil, Kit Zobel and Lizzie Zobel.

“Sofia Elizalde’s Calatagan Crab Relleno is so much more than a seafood dish — in each spoonful there is the warm sun and ocean spray of a childhood summer. In Pia Lim-Castillo’s Cambodian Yellow Curry there is a journey both by land and by taste, experienced and made her own. In each bunch of red and white roses or calla lilies there is the echo of past parties that swayed and boogied into the wee hours of the night.”

Thanks to good friend and the ever-gracious Marianne Po, I was able to interview some of the lady authors. I was thrilled as they opened up about their inspiration for writing Martinis and Aprons.

THE PHILIPPINE STAR: What inspired the book?

MARIANNE PO: Martinis & Aprons was the brainchild of Sharmila Hiranand. She is an avid cook herself and loves to entertain close friends in her beautiful and comfortable home.

How did the group come together?

PO: Most of us in the group already knew each other before we worked on this project. We got closer through the many hours of meetings we had together. Some meetings, of course, ended up in longer hours of chatting and just relaxing in good company. I don’t know if this book could have been completed without all nine women on our team. Everyone had their specialty and we worked great as a group. Still, it took two years to complete.

Are all the proceeds of the book going to the Holy Family Home Foundation?

INA AYALA: Lizzie Zobel has been involved with the Holy Family Home Foundation in Makati, a refuge for abandoned and neglected girls, for a long time now. Both endeavors focus on creating a comfortable home and sharing it with others. What a wonderful parallel!

The girls at the Holy Family Home inspired us. Sister Luz has created a sanctuary full of love and support for the girls who now have a family and a place to call home. They were foremost in our minds as we endeavored to deliver a book that also had the “home” as its central theme.

What’s behind the title, Martinis and Aprons?

AYALA: Lizette Cojuangco decided that the word “Martinis” would bring a certain modern vibe to a very domesticated theme and we all loved her idea!

PO: It was during our brainstorming session that Lizette just came up with the name. At first, we were unsure whether it was the right name so we used it as a working title. Eventually, it stuck and we all chose to keep the name. We wanted a title that would incorporate cooking and entertaining, and it fit the criteria perfectly.

What are the new insights you gained from creating the book?

LIZETTE COJUANGCO: I learned a lot as we researched the different sections of the book: how to store fruits, fish, and other tips. I also enjoyed putting on paper the checklists in preparing for a party, how to prepare the ingredients before cooking and many other practical things that we knew but never had a chance to put down in an organized manner. The book becomes a one-stop reference for cooking and entertaining.

AYALA: That is it possible to do a project with nine women without it turning into a soap opera! Everything went so smoothly and even when things got stressful, we laughed them off and soldiered on.

How is Filipino cuisine perceived around the world?

LIZZIE ZOBEL: The book Kulinarya is doing a fantastic job of helping institutionalize Filipino food. It has redesigned presentation and collecting recipes to deliver a clearer picture of Filipino flavors, colors and spirit in food so that foreigners can identify and understand the food. The most difficult parts of entering a restaurant when you don’t know the food is understanding how it works together to create a unique food experience. Kulinarya is attempting to do just that — introduce the uniqueness of Filipino cuisine to others.

AYALA: When we lived abroad, any foreign friend curious enough to ask about Filipino food was automatically invited to our home. I noticed that most Filipino standard dishes are appealing to the foreign palate. Our usual fare for real first-timers would be binakol, adobo, pancit, and lumpia. We might also do tortang talong, crispy pata, liempo, apritada, or rellenong bangus. These are the dishes that got the best reviews. And they always love it when we serve banana turon. With Filipino food, since so many dishes are saucy and soupy, presentation is key. Get creative — there are so many alternatives to the “palayok and sandok”!

How is Filipino culture reflected in the way we eat and entertain?

ZOBEL: Filipino food is a combination of the different influences that the country has had throughout its history, as most cuisines are. The generosity of Filipinos is expressed continuously in the Filipino sense of hospitality.

COJUANGCO: Filipino culture revolves a lot around the family. Eating together as a family and with extended families is part of our way of life. Celebrating even the most trivial occasions with relatives, friends, and the community is common practice. It is not surprising that food and entertainment is an integral part of our culture. The development of our food and entertainment practices has been given much attention in the last decade, and this is evident in the expansion of various kinds of Filipino restaurants in the country. You see many experimenting with nouvelle Filipino food, which also is a reflection of the culture of modern-day Filipino living.

AYALA: Ask any foreign guest who was entertained by Filipinos in the Philippines and they will say they were aghast at how many times they had to eat. In Filipino culture, sharing a meal is a way of showing love and affection. Saying “Kain na!” when someone passes by as you are eating shows that sharing and caring is really the main point, not the food itself.

PO: Filipinos are intrinsically hospitable people, and therefore love to cook and make sure people are comfortable and well fed in their homes. We always want everything to be perfect for our guests — from the music to the food, ambience and company. The book has a party checklist, which was so generously given to us by Margarita Delgado, and a wine wheel to make entertaining less stressful.

How did you learn how to cook?

MARIT YUCHENGCO: I’m not sure how I started, but I have always been doing things in the kitchen since I was a very young girl — that’s part of the Norwegian growing up (Marit, who is half-Spanish and half-Norwegian, moved to the Philippines with her parents and ended up marrying a Filipino). We all helped with the cooking. For Christmas, for example, it’s a tradition that the whole family of all generations helps prepare the party décor and food.

ZOBEL: My mom and grandmother both enjoyed cooking and I learned from them. My family and I cook together when we have the chance, mostly when there are special occasions like Christmas or Thanksgiving.

AYALA: When we were kids, a number of summers were spent doing cooking classes, which my sisters and I enjoyed. Also as a child I remember watching my lola in the kitchen cooking for our reunions every Sunday lunch. She definitely held court in her kitchen making sure that every dish was cooked perfectly. My dad is a natural and I am inspired by him. We all would like to be able to approach food and eating with his kind of passion.

How did you come up with the recipes?

PO: We basically asked our friends for recipes they liked to serve at home. Everyone was very generous with their recipes. We wanted the book to be a kitchen staple with a plethora of important kitchen information and dishes that could easily be prepared by even a beginner cook. Our recipe givers didn’t necessarily have to be regular hostesses of parties.

I noticed that the book is dedicated to your children.

AYALA: I have two boys! But they both show interest in cooking and being in the kitchen. On my dad’s side of the family, all the men cook and are always in pursuit of a good meal. I hope this passion will keep trickling down the generations as it keeps family recipes and traditions going strong.

With kids, it always starts with the baking of cookies and brownies, right? Then after they’ve gained enough confidence baking these simple things, they get bolder and try real dishes that they’ve enjoyed while eating out or in other people’s homes. A lot of the memorable bonding moments as a family can happen in the kitchen.

PO: I have a daughter, Yana, who is eight years old. She’s already taken kiddy cooking lessons and sometimes we bake cookies or a cake together as our bonding time. She enjoys going through Martinis & Aprons and other cookbooks even at her young age. I also have a 12-year-old son, Carlos, who is particularly interested in reading though cookbooks and looking for foods he’d like to learn to cook. As he says, “I don’t want to have to eat fast food when I am in college so I want to start learning to cook now.”

How have Filipino women have evolved in terms of their roles in the family?

PO: Women have more choices outside the home these days, whether it be socially, civically … with many choices of hobbies and work. I believe the important thing is that her family and her duties to her family should always come first. The house must be well kept, organized, neat, orderly and comfortable for the family … a place that they would like to come home to and bring their friends over to hang out and relax.

What are your favorite dishes among the recipes?

PO: Among the favorites we have made at home are the Toblerone ice cream of Raul Manzano, gyudon beef bowl of Lizzie Razon, creamed corn of Kerri Uytengsu, Bettina’s pot roast of Maita Lichauco, just to name a few. Many of the recipes in the cookbook have become staples at our dinner table.

AYALA: My sister’s Vanna Pasta del Golfo is delicious. And the Hainanese chicken rice of J. Gamboa.

What was the most challenging part of making the book?

PO: Well, with a group of nine women, it was a challenge just getting everyone focused on the matter at hand during the meetings. There was always lively chatter but Lizzie Zobel, who was our designated facilitator, was always ready to put everyone back on course. She did a great job with such a lively group of ladies.

Another challenge was trying out the recipes in the book. Once we assigned each person three dishes to try out at home and bring to lunch at Lizette’s house … we had 27 dishes for lunch! Needless to say, we had to figure out another way to do this. In the end, we all tried different recipes at our own homes and our kids and husbands became the taste testers.

How is Martinis & Aprons different from the existing recipe books on the market?

ZOBEL: Martinis & Aprons looks at food as an extension of the natural Filipino instinct to share our lives with others. It is a reflection of a modern, more global outlook that Filipinos share today.

PO: I think Martinis & Aprons brings the reader into the homes of the recipe givers. Cooking and entertaining are personal endeavors, so it was nice that many of our friends were more than willing to share their cooking through our book. The entertainment and lifestyle section was definitely a hit with many of our readers. We went beyond the kitchen into the dining room and living room. It’s an all-around reference guide for entertaining at home.

Can anyone cook?

AYALA: Anyone can cook, of course. All you need is desire, enthusiasm … and a Martinis & Aprons book! (Laughs)

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Martinis & Aprons is available at Fully Booked stores and B+B STUDIO, G/F Bonifacio Technology Center, 31st St. Corner 2nd Ave., Bonifacio Global City. Call 0917-899-2639 or 815-1009.

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For more comments, suggestions or entertaining tips, e-mail me at stephaniecoyiuto@yahoo.com.