Bottled Baby Bangus in Oil

I was actually looking for ice cream cones at the local Walgreens when I ended up with this bottle, with the ice cream cones, at the checkstand. One would not normally find such "ethnic" foods at Walgreens. Walgreens is, in-fact, a pharmacy! But only in Little Manila, they would have this in their aisles!

There are three little bangus (milkfish) packed in this tiny bottle. This brand is pretty tasty in that the oil is not too spicy. I ate it room temperature over steaming hot rice. I also had an egg over easy on the side. Yum!!! It's like a throwback to breakfast in Manila from my childhood. The cashier at Walgreens, who happens to be a Pinay (no doubt), also suggested it eaten with warmed up pan de sal. I'm salivating already. Lingayen happens to be my dad's hometown in Pangasinan, Philippines!

Bangus generally has plenty of bones, but with these baby versions, you will eat everything--the bones, the spine, the fins, everything! Good calcium resource! Plus, you will find plenty of omega 3 fatty acids in here, it's different, but it's a good break from a typical bacon and eggs breakfast.

Baked Spaghetti - Tribute to Ate Carol

Thinking as far back as I can remember, I can't really say that I have had the pleasure of actually tasting my cousin, Ate Carol's much talked about baked spaghetti. One thing I do know is that spaghetti is an easy family-style dinner that because it is so easy to make, it is also easy to put one's own twist to it. In my family, there are a few versions floating around--all of which are delicious in their own right!

Ate Carol's baked spaghetti recipe was handed to my family by Ate Carol herself, then passed on to my mom who has been making it that way. I don't have the actual measurements, but I'm listing the ingredients below. Everything is pretty much done "to taste" and what better way to learn how to cook, than to continue tasting your creation.

1. Boil half a box of thin spaghetti and cook al dente.

2. Prepare meat sauce by sauteeing in oil and chopped onions approximately 1 lb of ground beef. Let the beef cook through. Season with salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning. Once the beef has excreted some of its oils and juices, add in one can of tomato paste (for a less dry outcome, use one small can of tomato sauce instead). Cook until beef is well done.

3. Mix the cooked spaghetti with the meat sauce. Set aside.

4. Prepare the bechamel (white) sauce by melting half a cup (one stick) of butter (not margarine). Add about 3/4 cup of all-purpose flour to make a small ball of butter and flour. The mixture will "ball up" as the flour is mixed in with the butter. Add one cup of milk slowly, mixing to ensure that the white sauce is thickening. Add more milk if the consistency is too thick. Remove from heat while sauce is thick, but not too runny. If sauce gets thick, you may use chicken stock instead to thin out, to avoid having to use too much milk.

5. Assemble the spaghetti in a pyrex dish. Ladle out the spaghetti and red sauce mixture onto dish. Pour the white sauce on top. Sprinkle cheese (mozarella or similar) on top of the white sauce and bake in the oven at 375 degrees until cheese melts.

6. Enjoy with garlic bread.

This baked spaghetti version pictured here is my other cousin, Paul's version of baked spaghetti. White sauce was not used, but instead, after the spaghetti and red sauce was placed in the pyrex dish, cheesy-cheese (Velveeta or Kraft American or cheddar cheese) was generously placed on top. Bake until all cheese has melted.

Perfect for potlucks, parties, gatherings. Leftovers are easy lunchable items and warmed up in the microwave, it still tastes like new! Very economical!

Carbonara & Pizza Margherita, Binky Style

Our first long weekend for the year and my "Ate" (big sister) Binky makes her trademark carbonara. After a mad rush into the pouring rain, she makes it home with ingredients for home-made pizza margherita as well! Her carbonara was made simply by toasting small strips of bacon, then tossing the al dente thin spaghetti in the bacon oil (not all of it), then mixing in the cream, egg, and cheese mixture. It's mixed in just right, and left on the stove just enough to cook the eggs through, but not to end up with scrambled eggs! Click on the following for a formal recipe of: Spaghetti Carbonara

Ate's pizza margherita was made with store bought thin crust pizza dough, which apparently, is quite a challenge to find. Today, the grocery had it, so it was a sign that pizza was to be made! The pizza dough was placed on a cookie sheet, baked halfway through, brushed with olive oil and then rubbed with cloves of garlic for flavor. Next, mozarella cheese was generously layered on the crust, then topped with tomato slices and basil leaves. Baked in the oven until the cheese melts and then, some parmesan cheese sprinkling on top!

Here's what my plate looked like before consumption. I had just enough time to take a picture. It was wiped clean in a matter of minutes. :)

Great lunch, Ate! Thanks!

My Successful Snickerdoodles

Semi-Homemade - Nestle Tollhouse Cookies!

Drew has made batches of these the past few days and boy, I'm hooked! For those craving newly-baked cookies and don't want to bother with actually putting them together from scratch, your answer is Nestle's Tollhouse ready-to-bake cookie dough! Just place them on the cookie sheet by the spoonfulls and within minutes, you're savoring the gooey, chocolatey goodness of these cookies.

Eating them the next day? No problem! Zap them in the microwave for no more than 15 seconds and you can enjoy them as if they were fresh out of the oven.

Bistro Luneta - brunch review

Bistro Luneta in San Mateo, CA has been known to be the Filipino-French fusion cuisine mecca of the Bay Area. I had the chance of trying out Bistro Luneta a few years back and while the food is tasty, unique, and served as single servings (not family-style), the items are a bit pricier. The restaurant is simple with high-ceilings and blown-up replicas of photographs of Manila from times past that line the walls. The open kitchen is very modern and there's even seating at a small bar where you can literally watch the chefs at work. Most patrons of Bistro Luneta are Caucasians. I have witnessed this a few times already, so it can only mean that whatever they're doing is catering to more than just Filipinos.

I met up with an old friend for brunch here and the weekend brunch menu was typical, and again, with a twist. I had the tapsilog or tapa (thinly sliced seasoned beef quickly fried) plate pictured here. The tapa was made with ribeye steak and it was oh-so-tender. To the right is a jelly version of the "suka sawsawan" or vinegar dipping sauce. The garlic rice just nice and running in the middle was some chopped up red egg with tomatoes and cucumbers. I had two (smaller-sized) eggs done over easy to complete my plate. It was delicious! My only complaint? Not enough beef!

To finish off my brunch, I ordered Bistro Luneta's barako creme brulee. I had to order this because it's at Bistro Luneta that I first saw this on the menu and other restaurants who try to have this on their menu never seem to ever have it when I order it (Intramuros). This dessert is different than I have ever had. It's creme brulee based, but flavored with "barako" which is comparable to espresso! The strong coffee was just right and kept me on my toes for the rest of the day. I let my friend have a couple of spoons, but if you were to ask me, I probably could have finished off another order.

The weekend brunch menu also had Filipino versions of brunch staples such as eggs benedict and mimosas, but I stayed away. On the menu, it stated that the eggs benedict were made with pan de sal (so probably, two inches across is generous?) and the mimosas were made with calamansi juice and bubbly. Maybe next time when I'm not so hungry. :)

All in all, Bistro Luneta is "just fine" for a brief brunch meal. My friend would probably not agree so quickly. She found nothing she liked off the weekend brunch menu (because we were accidentally given the weekly brunch menu where she already had picked out her order but the chef said we could not have) and for coffee, well, they didn't have any cream choices but half and half. My friend ended up ordering bachoy (soup with pork and noodles) and she actually shared some with me. Within minutes though, I found the soup and noodles cold. Maybe the high ceilings had something to do with it or maybe the cool winter weather. Whatever the reason was for that, I don't know, but I tend to like my soup on the hotter side.

There's just one thing to do: try Bistro Luneta for yourself and you can make your own judgment...