Comfort me with.... Beef Pinapaitan

Whenever I come across the words "comfort food" I think of two things : First, I think of home-cooked meals usually shared with family and second, I think of food that I grew up eating outside the home (i.e. street food). Either way, comfort food is food that I am most familiar with. It is the type of food that evokes memories of watching my dad, or my mom, or my lola, prepare piping hot food from scratch. It is the type of food that makes me recall how simple life was back then when we waited for manong taho vendor to arrive and my Lolo would buy me a tall glass of velvety soft taho, with lots of super sweet arnibal and sago.

My dad's Beef Pinapaitan tops my list of favorite comfort food. I've had this dish ever since I can remember. Pinapaitan (from the root word "pait" which means bitter) is an Ilocano dish made with either beef or goat meat (sometimes innards are included), and is flavored with chili and bile. We Ilocanos are known to be a thrifty lot and it is no surprise that this trait is inherent in our cooking. Waste not. Want not.
Some people say that pinapaitan is an acquired taste. Some get turned off by its color. Some get turned off by its bitter taste. Anthony Bourdain, during his visit to the Philippines, tasted pinapaitan and he liked it. Maybe in his past life, he was an Ilocano. But then again AB eats almost anything hahaha.

I, however, love pinapaitan. When piping hot, the soup is amazingly delicious. The bitterness, which comes from the addition of the bile, warms and comforts you, as do the chilis added to the dish. My dad used to say " ang pait, ang tamis" giving another meaning to the term "bittersweet."

A couple of months ago, I asked my dad to teach me how to make beef pinapaitan. He said the important thing is to use the freshest ingredients, particularly the bile and the beef. "Make sure to use bile that is "primera klase", he says. The second thing he told me was to make sure that I don't overcook the beef or else I'll end up with tough, leathery meat.

I watched as he sliced the beef in a certain way (against the grain, he said). I looked intently as he strained the bile and added it to the pot, followed by some water to lessen the bitterness. For some strange reason, I can always tell whether or not a bowl of beef pinapaitan was cooked and prepared by my dad. Maybe it's because i've had pinapaitan since I was a kid. Maybe it's because when my dad prepares this dish, the beef is meltingly tender. Or maybe everytime he prepares this special dish, he prepares it with a lot of love. :) This is the best beef pinapaitan ever.

My Dad's Beef Pinapaitan


(please note that my dad doesn't measure his ingredients so I had to eyeball the measurement)

1 kilo beef lomo (tenderloin), sliced thinly into 1 1/2" strips
1/2 kilo liver, sliced thinly into 1 1/2"
cow bile, strained ( my dad used 2 sacs)
1 onion, sliced
1 ginger, sliced thinly
garlic, chopped
sili mahaba (long green chillies)
spring onions, sliced
salt and pepper to taste.

Wash beef and liver thoroughly, then pat dry. Thinly slice beef and liver and season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
In a pot, saute garlic, onions and ginger until fragrant. Add bile and dilute with water. (You can always adjust bile and water ratio to suit your taste.)
Let it simmer for a few minutes. Add the chillies. Season with salt and pepper if necessary. When the soup comes to a slow boil, add the thinly sliced beef and liver. Turn off heat. The residual heat from the soup will cook the beef. Sprinkle chopped spring onions.
Serve hot with rice.

Of Food & Family (Part I)

They say that "the family that prays together, stays together." I believe this. I also believe that "the family that eats together, stays together."
Apart from our love for one another and our faith in the Almighty, I believe that our love for food, good food, unites us.
Every now and then, we (my family, uncles and aunts, cousins, a few cherished friends whom we consider as family) gather around the table, savor and enjoy good food, and share stories about anything and everything under the sun.

So here's a peak into my family and the food that we enjoy :)

*Pictures were taken last Feb 28, 2009. It was also our Lolo Clarence's birthday. We miss him dearly.

(Lola and her babies)

(Lola & her children-in-law)

(Lola with some of her grandchildren. We missed you Gelli, Mariz, Joy, Nina, Clare, JB, Valen)

(my sister, Tanya, with our cuz Jcboy, his wife, Shalika & baby Johnber)

(lola & my dad, wearing lolo's stetson)

NOW FOR THE FOOD

(tita ica's salad greens with apples, red grapes, blue cheese & balsamic dressing)

(tita marivic's spicy seafood penne pasta with marinara sauce)

(tita marivic's tabouleh)

(fish fillet with tartar sauce & butterflied prawns with lemon butter sauce)

(my dad's roasted herb and pepper crusted sirloin au jus)

(my dad's pork asado)

(fruit bowl, my tita ica's fusion turon & my banana streusel muffins)


good food

great company


ONE BIG HAPPY FAMILY

Barefoot Blogging : [Faux] Chicken Piccata

It's the second Thursday of the month again meaning it is time to post my completed task for the Barefoot Bloggers. I wasn't able to join the Barefoot Bloggers last month so I was hell-bent not to miss this month's challenges.
Up for testing is Chicken Piccata. The first thing that crossed my mind was " oh wow a chicken recipe at last!!! Yummy juicy chicken!!!" Then it hit me that for the entire season of Lent, as my sacrifice, I chose to abstain from eating pork, beef, lamb and *sigh* chicken.
I still wanted to proceed with the original recipe for the piccata but with everyone at home abstaining from meat and poultry and it would be a shame to see all those wonderful ingredients (as well as the money spent to buy those ingredients) go to waste, I decided to make a faux chicken piccata instead.
I checked our freezer and found my dad's stash of creamy dory fillets which are hard to come by. I nicked two pieces and let them thaw a bit.
I then prepared and measured all the other ingredients needed and proceeded to coat the fish in seasoned flour, egg, breadcrumbs. I didn't season the fillets with salt and pepper prior to coating them because the flour was already seasoned and i used italian breadcrumbs which were quite salty already. I figured I can always add more salt and pepper later.
I fried the fillets until they were brown on both sides before transferring them to the turbo broiler were they finished cooking.
For the sauce, instead of white wine , I used half of a shrimp cube dissolved in hot water. When the butter-lemon juice- stock mixture reduced, I spooned it over the fish and topped the fish with lemon zest and parsley.
Overall, the piccata was tasty. The fillets were soft, tender and tasty thanks to the coating of flour, egg and breadcrumbs and the lemon added a clean, citrusy burst that complimented the fish. The best thing is that it was a snap to make! A flavorful dish in minutes.
Here's the original recipe for Ina's chicken piccata.

CHICKEN PICCATA
recipe courtesy of Ina Garten and Food Network

Ingredients

nocoupons

• 2 split (1 whole) boneless, skinless chicken breasts [ i used creamy dory fillets. you can use any white fish fillets that you have]
  
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 extra-large egg
• 1/2 tablespoon water
• 3/4 cup seasoned dry bread crumbs
• Good olive oil
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature, divided
• 1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons), lemon halves reserved
• 1/2 cup dry white wine [i used stock]
  
• Sliced lemon, for serving
• Chopped fresh parsley leaves, for serving

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.

Place each chicken breast between 2 sheets of parchment paper or plastic wrap and pound out to 1/4-inch thick. Sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper.

Mix the flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper in a shallow plate. In a second plate, beat the egg and 1/2 tablespoon of water together. Place the bread crumbs on a third plate. Dip each chicken breast first in the flour, shake off the excess, and then dip in the egg and bread crumb mixtures.

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large saute pan over medium to medium-low heat. Add the chicken breasts and cook for 2 minutes on each side, until browned. Place them on the sheet pan and allow them to bake for 5 to 10 minutes while you make the sauce.

For the sauce, wipe out the saute pan with a dry paper towel. Over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter and then add the lemon juice, wine, the reserved lemon halves, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Boil over high heat until reduced in half, about 2 minutes. Off the heat, add the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and swirl to combine. Discard the lemon halves and serve 1 chicken breast on each plate. Spoon on the sauce and serve with a slice of lemon and a sprinkling of fresh parsley.

Lunch at Amici

One lazy Sunday, my sister Gelli asked my mom if we could eat out before we (my mom & I) head back to La Union. My mom right away obliged and we headed off to Amici, her restaurant of choice.

(mama & gelli)

According to my sister, Amici, which means "friends" in Italian, serves pizza, pasta,gelato and more. The restaurant had a "cafeteria" feel to it. A high end pizza place it is not. There was an air of casualness upon entering the restaurant. People were eating, laughing and talking animatedly. While others lined up to place their orders, some people watched the cooks prepare pizzas. I, on the otherhand, joined the long queue at the gelato scooping station to check out the yummy gelato flavors.

(different flavors of creamy gelato)

We were ushered to our table and were given menus right away. Since it was my first time at Amici, my sister ordered for me. She ordered the Spinach Fusilli, mozzarella sticks and a pizza margherita. My mom ordered the italian sausage. Gelato for dessert.

The mozzarella sticks were okay. A little bland but okay. The marinara sauce needed a dash of salt and pepper. Or maybe they should have used italian breadcrumbs to coat the mozzarella sticks.

(mozarella sticks)

The spinach fusilli was al dente with a generous serving of tomato cream sauce. I wanted to add more cheese to it but you have to pay for extra parmesan cheese. This is the only italian restaurant I know that asks patrons to pay for an extra serving of parmesan. BUMMER!!!

(spinach fusilli montera)

The pizza margherita was crisp and for a lack of a better word, unadulterated. Tomatoes. Mozarella. Basil. Simple. Good.

(pizza margherita minus 3 slices)

I, however, didn't care for the homemade italian sausage. I didn't like the way it was plated. It was way too oily and didn't taste like italian sausage at all. It was a mediocre version of the ilocos longganisa.

(their version of italian sausage)

My favorite part of the meal was dessert. We ordered one scoop each of the hazelnut gelato, mint chocolate chip gelato and espresso gelato. Our favorite was the hazelnut gelato. It's like nutella ice cream! The gelato was very creamy and rich and satisfying. My mom bought some ensaimadas as well. Delicious for breakfast.

(espresso gelato)

(mint chocolate chip gelato & hazelnut gelato)

Having said all those, I think that if you don't mind the cafeteria-ish ambience and the long queues, then by all means give Amici a try. The food is inexpensive but good. The ensaimada is soft and tasty and the gelato is YUM YUM YUMMY!

Amici

Bellagio Square, Tomas Morato cor. Sct. Fuentebella
Quezon City, Metro Manila
(02)8184444

PS.
I heard that they also have a branch in Makati. Don't ask me where because I don't have a clue hehehe

Pasta with tomatoes, feta & tuyo flakes

This Lenten season, for my sacrifice, I am swearing off beef, pork, chicken and lamb. For a certified "carnivore" like me, not having something like pork tocino or bacon or beef pinapaitan for breakfast, fried chicken for lunch and pork adobo for dinner is heartbreaking (drama!!!). Lucky for me I love dried, salted seafood like daing and tuyo.

(Photo courtesy of Zer Cabatuan )

Tuyo (meaning dry) is fish that underwent salting and drying. These processes actually preserves the fish so that one can store it for some time.
I think that tuyo is best served with rice, eggs and pork and beans but this morning I had just had two pieces of that delicious salted fish with a heaping serving of rice. Although I don't care much for the smell of tuyo frying, it really doesn't bother me unlike other people who find the smell unbearable.
We still had a few pieces of tuyo left so I decided to add it to a pasta dish. The tuyo added a salty component to the dish and blended beautifully into the tomato based sauce. The pasta dish was satisfying and filling even if it didn't have meat in it. The addition of crumbly feta and some pasta water made the dish creamy.

Tuyo Pasta

250 grams spaghetti, cooked al dente
1 small onion, chopped
6 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tablespoon capers
1 tsp chili flakes
5 pcs button mushrooms, sliced
1 can diced tomatoes, drained
5 pieces tuyo, flaked, bones removed
zest of 1 lemon
juice of 1 lemon
olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
fresh parsley, chopped
feta cheese

Cook pasta according to package directions and set aside.
In a pan, heat olive oil and add chili flakes. Add onions and saute until soft. Add garlic, tomatoes, tuyo flakes, mushrooms and capers. Season with salt and pepper Saute until mushrooms are cooked. Toss in pasta, lemon zest and lemon juice and some pasta water. Add parsley and more pepper and salt,if needed). Crumble some feta cheese on top. Serve hot.

Daring Bakers: Chocolate Valentino

The February 2009 challenge is hosted by Wendy of WMPE's blog and Dharm of Dad ~ Baker & Chef.
We have chosen a Chocolate Valentino cake by Chef Wan; a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Dharm and a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Wendy as the challenge.


Yay! I'm officially part of the Daring Bakers, a group of extraordinary bakers who "Knead to Bake!".

The challenge they chose for the month of February was an easy task but delicious nonetheless and this is a good thing for a novice baker like me. However, I've been known to do things at the last minute and it didn't help that I've been busy the whole month of February so I decided to bake the cake on the day that I'm suppose to blog about it.

I set my alarm for 5AM the night before but I woke up at 7AM instead. Panic mode kicking in!

I decided to bake half of the cake in a 10 inch tart pan because I thought it looked prettier. (The rest of the cake batter I baked in another pan.)
I filled the tart pan 3/4 full and after a few minutes I went "Uh-oh!" when i saw the batter rise to the rim of the tart pan. I thought it was gonna overflow but luckily it didn't.

The star in this dessert is actually the chocolate so it is important to use really good chocolate when making this cake. Since I used bittersweet chocolate, the ice cream (with generous bits of flourless chocolate cake) and the dulce de leche gave the cake the sweetness it needed. It's not too sweet, not cloying.
Best served with a cup of coffee, I think.


Here is the recipe:

Chocolate Valentino
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
16 ounces (1 pound) (454 grams) of semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped
½ cup (1 stick) plus 2 tablespoons (146 grams total) of unsalted butter
5 large eggs separated

1. Put chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl and set over a pan of simmering water (the bottom of the bowl should not touch the water) and melt, stirring often.
2. While your chocolate butter mixture is cooling. Butter your pan and line with a parchment circle then butter the parchment.
3. Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites and put into two medium/large bowls.
4. Whip the egg whites in a medium/large grease free bowl until stiff peaks are formed (do not over-whip or the cake will be dry).
5. With the same beater beat the egg yolks together.
6. Add the egg yolks to the cooled chocolate.
7. Fold in 1/3 of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture and follow with remaining 2/3rds. Fold until no white remains without deflating the batter. {link of folding demonstration}
8. Pour batter into prepared pan, the batter should fill the pan 3/4 of the way full, and bake at 375F/190C
9. Bake for 25 minutes until an instant read thermometer reads 140F/60C.
Note – If you do not have an instant read thermometer, the top of the cake will look similar to a brownie and a cake tester will appear wet.
10. Cool cake on a rack for 10 minutes then unmold.

Dharm's Ice Cream Recipe
Classic Vanilla Ice Cream
Preparation Time: 30 minutes

Recipe comes from the Ice Cream Book by Joanna Farrow and Sara Lewis (tested modifications and notes in parentheses by Dharm)

Ingredients
1 Vanilla Pod (or substitute with vanilla extract)
300ml / ½ pint / 1 ¼ cups Semi Skimmed Milk – in the U.S. this is 2% fat (or use fresh full fat milk that is pasteurised and homogenised {as opposed to canned or powdered}). Dharm used whole milk.
4 large egg yolks
75g / 3oz / 6 tbsp caster sugar {superfine sugar can be achieved in a food processor or use regular granulated sugar}
5ml / 1 tsp corn flour {cornstarch}
300ml / ½ pint / 1 ¼ cups Double Cream (48% butter fat) {in the U.S. heavy cream is 37% fat)
{you can easily increase your cream's fat content by heating 1/4 cup of heavy cream with 3 Tbs of butter until melted - cool to room temperature and add to the heavy cream as soon as whisk marks appear in the cream, in a slow steady stream, with the mixer on low speed. Raise speed and continue whipping the cream) or use heavy cream the difference will be in the creaminess of the ice cream.

1. Using a small knife slit the vanilla pod lengthways. Pour the milk into a heavy based saucepan, add the vanilla pod and bring to the boil. Remove from heat and leave for 15 minutes to allow the flavours to infuse
Lift the vanilla pod up. Holding it over the pan, scrape the black seeds out of the pod with a small knife so that they fall back into the milk. SET the vanilla pod aside and bring the milk back to the boil.
2. Whisk the egg yolks, sugar and corn-flour in a bowl until the mixture is thick and foamy. 3. Gradually pour in the hot milk, whisking constantly. Return the mixture to the pan and cook over a gentle hear, stirring all the time
4. When the custard thickens and is smooth, pour it back into the bowl. Cool it then chill.
5. By Hand: Whip the cream until it has thickened but still falls from a spoon. Fold it into the custard and pour into a plastic tub or similar freeze-proof container. Freeze for 6 hours or until firm enough to scoop, beating it twice (during the freezing process – to get smoother ice cream or else the ice cream will be icy and coarse)
By Using and Ice Cream Maker: Stir the cream into the custard and churn the mixture until thick (follow instructions on your ice cream maker)

Wendy's Ice Cream Recipe
Vanilla Philadelphia Style Recipe
Preparation Time: 5 minutes
2 cups (473 ml) of half and half (1 cup of heavy cream and 1 cup of whole, full fat milk)
1 cup (237 ml) heavy cream
2/3 (128 grams) cup sugar
Dash of salt
1 (12 grams) tablespoon of vanilla

Mix all ingredients together (we do this in a plastic pitcher and mix with an emulsifier hand blender-whisking works too).
Refrigerate for 30 minutes or longer
Mix in your ice cream maker as directed.

My sister's spaghetti

Last Friday, i took the 8PM bus to Manila because someone from kitchen aid was coming over to fix my mixer. It was also my bonding time with my sister Gelli. I get to see her, I'd say, only about three times a month. She's taking up BS Biology at the Ateneo. On the otherhand, I'm almost always swamped with work and the five hour trip from Manila to La Union -and vice versa- can be tiring at times. Anyway, she aced her Chem exam so I decided to take her to FullyBooked at Bonifacio HighStreet where we splurged-just a little bit- on books. After paying for our book purchases, we hied off to the new Rustan's Fresh Supermarket to buy some eggs and other breakfast items. While doing our grocery shopping, my sister asked me if I wanted spaghetti for dinner. I said okay. So we added a pack of spaghetti, two kinds of spaghetti sauce, red bellpepper and ground pork to the breakfast items then headed home.

Pinoy style spaghetti unlike its Italian or American counterpart, is on the sweet side. Some people make it using banana ketchup and hotdogs. Some use regular tomato sauce and add sugar later on. Here, pinoy style spaghetti is a staple in filipino homes and is much loved by kids.

My sister's spaghetti is based on my mom's pinoy style spaghetti recipe. It was my grandma's recipe. It's the same pasta recipe that I grew up eating. It is comfort food for me.

Pinoy style spaghetti
spaghetti, cooked according to package instructions
1 kilo ground beef
4 red bell peppers, diced
1 pack italian style spaghetti sauce (we use del monte)
1 pack sweet style spaghetti sauce (we use del monte)
garlic, minced
onion, chopped
italian seasoning.
bay leaf
paprika
salt and pepper to taste
1 TBSP butter
sugar to taste.


Cook pasta according to package instructions. (Unlike italian style spaghetti, i think that there is no need to add salt to the water.)
Heat oil and saute onions and garlic. Add ground beef. Saute until beef is browned. Add the bell peppers. Season with salt and pepper. Pour spaghetti sauce. Let it simmer. If the sauce is too thick, add some water. Add paprika, bayleaf and italian seasoning. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add sugar if you want a sweeter sauce. Turn off flame and add a tablespoon of butter. Stir into sauce until melted. You can also add grated cheese to the spaghetti sauce if desired.