Recipe time

There’s a new trend in TV cooking demos: chefs hardly ever list down measurements of ingredients, which means everything is seasoned "to taste". Of course, that is good for those who have been cooking for a long time, making them use their ‘gut’ feeling or a trained taste to determine the quantity of various elements to put into a dish. Beginners, though, will still need exact weights and measures. But one needs to suit the flavor to one’s taste, hence there is a "correcting" process once the food is nearly done.

This Sunday, we give you a small collection of recipes we gathered from various sources, some we have enhanced to suit our taste. Refreshing yet simple Onion Soup. You need to melt one tablespoon butter, sauté two diced onions (white). When onions turn transparent, pour 2 cups of water with a chicken cube. Let boil. Add two tablespoons of evaporated milk (or you can mix a tablespoon of powdered milk in two tablespoons of water). Stir well then add one slightly beaten egg. For more flavor, chop a small bunch of spring onions and add to the soup. Prior to serving, toast pan de sal (half for each serving), sprinkle with grated cheese and put on top of the soup. Let soak for a while.

Our New Fried Chicken. Each cook has his own way of frying chicken. A nephew does it in gallons (yes, that generous) of boiling oil, producing the crispiest skin this side of Parañaque. We normally season with calamansi juice, salt and ground pepper. Recently, we found this new McCormick collection of 1 Step seasonings (P169 a bottle of 5.12 oz) and voila! we have our New Fried Chicken! We chose Garlic Herb. As we have always done we drizzled each peace with lemon juice, coated with the seasoning and let it stand for a few minutes. When ready to cook, dust the chicken pieces with flour and then deep fry. Great new flavor!

Bread and Butter Pudding. The best version of this delightful and delicious dessert is the original concoction of two former chefs of Mandarin hotel. Considering how pricey it is now to dine in any hotel (or restaurant for that matter) plus the heavy traffic one encounters between the South and Makati, we were happy to chance upon this young lady-chef from Sydney, Australia doing a demo on television. Here it is: cut each slice of bread (quantity according to your need) into two triangles, spread with butter and arrange pieces vertically into a Pyrex baking pan. Add some fruits (raisins or strawberries). In another bowl, beat 4 eggs yolks and one whole egg. Add sugar, cream and milk. Mix well. Pour over bread and bake until bread gets brown and the sauce thickens.You might want to serve this with vanilla sauce.

We chanced upon a Tefal cooking demo at Rustan’s in Makati. The chef is the gentleman who delights customers at East Creative Asian restaurant in the chain’s store in Makati. We did not have time to watch him, but what came to mind was that like a lot of things we use, Tefal pans, while supposed to be non-stick and long-lasting, also give way to wear and tear, no matter how careful one is.

We found ourselves with two very good friends one mid-Saturday morning at The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf at the Alabang Town Center. It was supposed to be breakfast but turned out to be brunch. They have just recently started offering plated breakfast, ranging from P130-plus to P169-plus. We chose the Salmon Scramble consisting of scrambled eggs (perfectly moist) with bits of the fish served with rosemary foccacia bread, plus a tiny serving of stewed prunes and apricot. Coffee was good and service, excellent. Don’t look at the cakes in the display chiller, because like us, you probably can’t resist them. There’s Guiltless Chocolate Cake, Spinach Pie and a couple of cheesecakes, plus more tempting ones

New at Conti’s in BF homes: Chicken Roulade at P396, family size (for 6 to 8) and party size (P750 for 12 to 15). The rolls are filled with spinach and cream. You either fry or brown in the oven or toaster. It comes with brown sauce. From the Peninsula Cake Shop, one can order the delicious bread (pan de sal size) with sundried tomatoes and/or pesto with spinach and mushroom rolls. The latter must be browned in a toaster.

Price Watch: We paid P375 for a tank of LPG two months ago. Our next supply cost us P410! White onions range from P40 to P45 a kilo, while the reds are a bit higher. Mangoes have gone up again to P70 a kilo. Watch that budget now!

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