Conti's and a Baked Salmon Recipe

Salmon is my favorite food. I've always liked it because it tastes exquisite and is easy to cook as well. An easy recipe is to marinate it in Kikkoman soy sauce and pan-fry in butter. Presto, Ihave an instant meal.

Of course,  if you want dine out, the baked salmon of Conti's coffeeshop is quite popular. A bit of a luxury at P295.... it's a slice of the fish with vegetable sidings and a cup of their tasty paella rice. See photo above.

Recently, I decided to splurge and bought a big chunk of frozen salmon at the supermarket. I wanted  to try out a recipe I found online , using mayonnaise and parmesan cheese. Here's the result:

Here's how to make this Parmesan-baked Salmon:

1. Perheat oven to 400F.

2. Mix 1/4 cup mayonnaise, 2 tbsps. parmesan cheese and 1/8 tsp. ground pepper. Set aside.

3. Take out your salmon fillet and pour the right amount of lemon juice on it. Spread the cheese-mayonnaise mixture on top. Then sprinkle with crushed Ritz crackers, just enough to cover the surface of the fish.

4.Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until fish is done.

Tomato and Cheese Fans, from Jacques Pepin

Jacques Pepin is a chef I am just beginning to discover, thanks to The Hubby who likes him so much. During the last vacation, my cool mother-in-law brought home a hard-bound copy of Pepin's "fast Food My Way" and that's how I began to discover more of Pepin's dishes. They're delicious and easy to make. The kind you won't have second thoughts preparing after a hard day at work.

This recipe originally came out as Tomato and Mozzarella Fans in the Pepin book. But since I did not have mozzarella, I used kesong puti (native white cheese) instead. Equally yummy. Perfect as a side dish for fish, chicken or other kinds of meat, and other days when you just want to have a salad ;)

How to make and assemble:

Take a couple of extra large tomatoes and slice in several parts, stopping short of cutting them all the way through. When you've made several cuts, insert the cheese slices in between, until you have what resembles a red and white fan.

For the dressing: Mix in a small bowl 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, 1 1/2 tbsps. red wine or sherry vinegar, 1/4 tsp. salt and 3/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper.

Arrange the tomato on a serving plate. Spoon dressing on top. Put more olive oil on the side, then add diced red onion and chopped basil leaves, if desired.

Asian soup: misua (mee sua) with meatballs

Misua (variation mee sua) is an Asian type of noodle made with rice flour. It is usually thinner than other varieties like vermicelli. A friend of mine advises cooking misua on your birthday to bring luck for the rest of the year... I still have to try it :)

The misua dish featured above is known in the Philippines as "almondigas." Because I have children, I like cooking it because it is tasty yet very easy to make. It's healthy too, as it doesn't really use oil, and you can add green leafy vegetables , like spinach, if you prefer.

How I cooked this:

1. Boil 2 to 3 cups water.

2. When the pot is already simmering, add prepared meatballs and let it cook. For this one, I used packed meatballs in the supermarket.

3. Season with salt and pepper or other condiments (Like bouillon cubes).

4. Add one pack misua noodles last, while stirring to avoid it from clumping.

5. Top with greens if you like.

6. Serve hot.

This is my entry to SWC: Soups hosted by Tasty Recipes. SWC was started by Cooking Station.

MoMo at Robinson's Midtown: comfort food

MoMo at Robinson's Midtown always brings positive vibes when I eat there. It is bright and airy. The wi-fi and magazines are free. So are the Choc-nuts. The menu is sparse, but carefully planned and selected. The food is something you'd like to try, again and again. In short, it's a place you'd want to hang out with your friends.

From the viewpoint of this frustrated cook, the dishes at MoMo is also what I would have prepared if I had more time in the kitchen. Take a look at these pictures:




Kung Pao Spaghetti. An Oriental-inspired pasta livened up with oyster sauce and nuts.



Good ol' pasta carbonara. MoMo's version is interesting because it has the yolk of an egg in the middle. Not heart-healthy, but yes, the authentic Italian version of the carbonara does call for egg yolk :)



Four-cheese pizza! A must if , like me, you love cheese!

Overall-rating: no-fuss food that's simply superb. Don't forget the desserts!

Cooking Korean: Baked Fish with Sweet Chili Sauce

I have a confession to make : Korean cuisine is a favorite on my list. Whenever I crave for anything that's up-to-the-wall spicy, you'd find me in a Korean restaurant. Of course for those who prefer something milder, there's always stuff like bulgogi and kalbi jim (beef rib stew). Prepare from P200 to P300 for a single-person visit to a Korean resto. However, it's always worth it since they serve you an array of banchan (Korean appetizers) to add to your meal. Sometimes, you'd get full from these already.

For best results, it is better to go to food joints priding themselves of traditional home cooking. Fastfood "Korean" establishments never interested me. For one, their banchan doesn't come free.

This baked fish with chili sauce is one Korean dish that's easy to make. The gochujang you can buy at the Korean grocery, but go easy on it because it can make the dish really hot.

Recipe from Korean Favorites (Periplus Mini-Cookbooks):

4 tbsps. Korean hot bean paste (gochujang)
1 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tbsp. corn starch, mixed with 2 tbsp. water
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. sesame oil
2 spring onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic
2 finger-length cilies, desseded and chopped
1 tsp. minced fresh ginger root
2 tsp. sesame seeds
500 g. white fish fillet

Combine all ingredients and mix well.

Spread mixture over fish fillet. Put in a baking tray and set aside for at least 15 minutes to marinate.

Preheat oven to 360F and bake the fish for five minutes until cooked. Serve hot with steamed rice.

Home-made Banana Cue

This is a quite unglamorous picture of a banana cue I made recently at home. I took this shot in the final process of frying the bananas, on the way to our family picnic. This was a successful experiment and it wasn't as hard as I thought.

First, you have to choose a good batch of saba (plaintain) bananas. I would suggest those that are already ripe. Remove the skin and heat cooking oil in a pan (I chose non-stick). When hot enough, begin frying the bananas. When these are almost brown, add the right amount of brown sugar and wait till they caramelize. Take care not to brown the sugar. Turn off heat when caramelized sugar has blended well with the bananas.

My kids loved this. Using the same recipe, some people wrap the banana and make turon (spring roll). They even add extra ingredients like sweetened jackfruit or langka. I guess this is something we'll have to try next time ;)

Just passed this entry to Mama Bear's Make It from Scratch Carnival. Take a look!

Oven-Baked Barbecue Baby Back Ribs

Over the holidays, I had a kick trying out a delicious recipe of oven-baked barbecue baby back ribs. This was one successful experiment since my daughters and I had a whale of a time munching on the bones like crazy. The secret is in the sauce, I must say, and one has to be patient with the long baking time (about 100 minutes). But the results are worth it, finger-lickin' ribs in due time. For an Oriental twist, I paired the dish with mantao or steamed white buns. Kain na! (let's eat!)

A special shoutout to Recipezaar for this recipe:

1. Prepare the following: 2 cups ketchup, 1 small onion (minced), 1 tbsp. minced garlic, four cups water, one cup vinegar, 2 tbsp. paprika, 1 tbsp. honey, 1/4 cup dark brown sugar, 1/4 cup chili powder, 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice, 3 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce, a pinch of black pepper.

2. Bring all these ingredients to a boil stirring occasionally (about 30 minutes.)

3. Let cool.

4. In the meantime, season ribs with salt and pepper and let it sit for 20 minutes before baking.

5. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

6. Place ribs in a greased baking sheet and begin baking for 30 minutes.

7. Brush ribs generously with the sauce and return to the oven, baking for 20 minutes more.

8. Remove from oven, brush again with the sauce and bake for another 20 minutes.

9. After 20 minutes, repeat the procedure and bake for another 25 to 30 minutes, until 100-minute baking time is achieved.

10. Arrange ribs in a serving platter, and pour with more sauce, if desired.