Carrilleras de ternera adapted from a recipe by Chef Arguiñano (and translated by the Kastila)

Beef cheeks or carrilleras de vaca are not readily available.  While it's a relatively inexpensive cut 

of meat, one has to order it in advance from a butcher who has access to freshly slaughtered cows.  

Last week, at AANI our neighbourhood week-end farmers' market, I finally found someone who could do just that for me.  Mang Dante took my order for 2 kilos of beef cheeks and delivered them the very next week.  

Here is a photo of carrilleras de ternera, as I first fell in love with it at Ojeda's,  a restaurant in Burgos, Spain.   It's that dark brown stew in the middle which may not look like much but was 

just so deeply delicious.   Since that first taste, I vowed I would try and make it one day. 

Now that Mang Dante had procured 2 hefty kilos of beef cheeks for me, I  could finally try and 

make this dish in my kitchen.

Step 1

The first step to making this dish is to clean up the beef cheeks.  

I made a mistake and did not ask Mang Dante to remove the gristle, fat and bones which came attached to the meat. It took me quite some time to get them to the clean state you see above -- 

I did not have the really sharp knives which would have made removing the fat so much easier. 

Because the cow's cheeks are constantly moving as the animal chews cud constantly -- there are a 

lot of connective tissues and sinews that make the meat tough BUT these sinews and muscles will melt into the meat  if properly cooked for a slow loooong time. 

When you google "carrilleras de ternera" you get pages and pages of recipes from chefs and
home cooks including how-to videos -- just one small hiccup, they are all in Spanish.
I have only retained "donde es la biblioteca" from those 4 semesters of college Spanish so I had
to frantically translate the ingredients.
For the instructions on how to cook the dish, I asked my dear friend, the Kastila (yes, he really is one)  to just explain the process to me.
The ingredients for Carrilleras al Vino Tinto from a recipe by renowned Basque chef and restaurateur Karlos Arguiñano are : beef cheeks or carrilleras, chopped yellow onions, garlic, chopped leeks, carrots, red wine, olive oil and fresh rosemary.
Tip: fresh rosemary costs from P62 to P115 for a small amount (maybe 50 grams).  At the AANI week-end market, 3 pots of the herb cost just P100 and they're pretty easy to grow and keep.
I now keep a small pot in the kitchen -- it has a pleasant sharp, pine-like scent too.

Step 2

Season beef cheeks with salt and pepper (if desired) then lightly dredge them in flour, shaking off any excess.  Fry in olive oil at medium heat for a few minutes until lightly browned.  Remove from pan and set aside. 

Step 3

In the same pan, sauté the garlic, onions, leeks, carrots, scraping the beef bits from the pan.  

After vegetables have been cooked but not softened, transfer the mixture to a deeper pot and 

then add the previously fried beef cheeks and cover with red wine and water at a proportion 

of 1 : 1.   I used a malbec from Argentina, a fruity full bodied dark red wine (yes, drinking while cooking is permitted).   Simmer till beef cheeks are tender.

Tip: Señor Arguiñano cooked his carrilleras in a pressure cooker so it took him just 45 minutes to tenderise the meat.  I used a gas stove so it took me more than three hours to get the carrilleras to 

fork-tender state.

And that's it!  Carrilleras al vino tinto in 3 easy steps!

If I had the foresight to ask Mang Dante to clean up the cheeks, it would have taken just 2 easy steps.

Señor Arguiñano recommends that when the beef cheeks are tender, the sauce with all the vegetables be pureed in a blender and then poured over the meat as a gravy.  

I skipped that part and just served the stew as is.  

He also recommends serving this with mashed potatoes but I just fried up some potato wedges 

and served it with rice.   The texture was as meltingly smooth as lengua or ox tongue but the taste was more complex and definitely richer.   So delicioso if I may say so myself!

Tip: this dish actually tastes better after two or three days so keep some in the the freezer for later.

Buen provecho!

Cooling down at The Dessert Kitchen

When you hear the word "dessert" what is the first thing that comes to your mind? Cakes? Cookies? Some elaborate creamy confection?  I am partial to kakanin or native rice cakes so I that's what I hope is on the table.   I normally don't think "ice cream" since that's not high on my list of favourites. 

My friend and I were craving for something sweet after a very savoury and umami rich dinner.  

The Dessert Kitchen at the third floor of the Rockwell Mall seemed like the perfect answer.  

The ice cream counter at the entrance should have warned me.  The Dessert Kitchen's menu is full 

of cold confections.  You can choose from soft or "hard" ice cream,  full cream or low fat or even yoghurt.  The thick, glossy menu is full of stunning and gorgeous photos of all the possible combinations you could think of.  Sundaes? Parfaits? Smoothies? Puddings?  

The Dessert Kitchen has them all.  For those who crave for the egg shaped waffles that you can buy from street side vendors in Hong Kong -- well, they're here too.

The egg shaped waffles and the other items on the menu reminded me of similar places in Hong Kong.  True enough -- The Dessert Kitchen is a franchise brought in from there.  I was happy to
see  the shaved ice concoctions as this is a particular favourite of mine -- all the flavour without the creaminess. Durian shaved ice!  Coconut!  Mango!  All perfect for my lactose intolerant self.  

The decor is as contemporary and fanciful as the desserts.

My friend and I ordered two desserts -- so we could sample more items from the menu.

We shared a parfait called Coffee Time which is a combination of coffee and vanilla ice cream, 

coffee jelly and cream lightly dusted with coffee powder.  It's placed before me, looking for all 

the world like a chic, tall and slim, outrageously stylish and intimidating supermodel.  

"Eat me" ... it whispered ...  "Eat me and you'll be the exact opposite of a tall, slim, stylish, intimidating  supermodel"  

Eeek!  I nearly dropped  my spoon! 

We also ordered  Japanese style chocolate brownies -- it's called Japanese style because the bite sized pieces are wrapped up in glutinous, chewy mochi.  Since I am not an ice cream person but a chewy-cookie type of person -- I much preferred this over the parfait.  Be warned though, one small piece is heavy and lands with a big clunk in the middle of your stomach.  It's definitely the combination of dark chocolate, dense brownie and even denser mochi.  We had one piece each and took the other two home.

Hands down, I was certainly the oldest person in The Dessert Kitchen that night!  My friend and I were surrounded by teen-agers and twenty somethings.  But then again, who else could have the capacity (and the desire) for the decadently extravagant offerings that the Dessert Kitchen has? 

P.S.

On my next visits to The Dessert Kitchen I had their shaved ice desserts.  

Here is the Mango Shaved Ice with a side of fresh mango slices,  mochi balls and my 

absolute  favourite -- chunks of silky smooth nata de coco.  It's a sunny pile of 

very finely shaved curlicues of mango flavoured ice that just melt in your mouth in a golden 

puddle of  mango sweetness. 

Don't worry about the mini-mountain sized serving because it's so light and refreshing  

that you'll find yourself finishing the entire plate (with a little help from some friends).

I have also tried their Chocolate Shaved Ice -- with sliced bananas.  This had the bittersweet flavour of dark chocolate which I love but the mango version is still better as it  brings a cleaner, brighter taste to the palate. 

Tip : The Dessert Kitchen's items are definitely meant for sharing so bring a friend or two.  And try 

to avoid week-ends when the queues are so long, any desire for ice cream would have melted away. 

5 Easy Steps to Callos a la Madrileña ... adapted from Penelope Casas

My father was a great cook -- who taught me how to make all his specialties, and then some.  Unfortunately, callos was not one of them.   If he wanted to eat this classic spanish stew,  he ate at
the old Madrid Restaurant,   a big favourite of his in the 60s.
So when I had the craving to cook callos -- I had no family recipe to turn to.  Thankfully,  I had revered Spanish culinary expert Penelope Casas' thick volume of "1,000 Spanish Recipes" on hand.
I tweaked the recipe a bit and here it is in 5 easy to follow steps.

The basic ingredients for callos include a good sofrito -- garlic, onions and lots of fresh ripe tomatoes.   Ms Casas' recipe calls only for tripe but I added pig's feet -- for that collagen and glutinous texture that will come from boiling the meat for a long time.
You will also need paprika, olive oil, white wine, fresh parsley (the curly kind),  ham, chorizo,
flour,  dried thyme and bay leaves. 

Tip: tie the parsley together with cooking twine so they're easy to remove later.

Step 1

For this recipe, I used a kilo of tripe and 4 pieces of pig's feet.  The butcher asked me "paa lang talaga ang kailangan mo, hindi pata?".
Clean meats very well and boil with some salt for about 30 minutes, making sure to remove the impurities  that rise to the top in the process.  After the initial boil, remove meats, drain and set aside.

Step 2

Then, in a large heavy pot,  put the tripe and the pig's feet with the garlic, onions, tomatoes, parsley, dried thyme, bay leaves and white wine.  Pour enough water to cover the meat.  Bring to a boil then simmer at low heat until tripe is tender.

Tip:  Frankly,  this step would be better done in a pressure cooker.  But since I do not own one (because my father told me NEVER to use this newfangled (in his time) cooking convenience because there was NEVER any substitute to slow cooking)  --  it took four long hours to get the tripe to the desired tender state.  

Step 3

When the tripe has tenderised (yes, after four hours!) take out all the meats and place in a colander to drain.   You'll find that most of the meat from the pig's feet would have been separated from the bones.  Then, remove and discard the parsley but keep the pot on the stove at a low simmer.
  

Debone pig's feet and slice pork and tripe into strips. 

Step 4

In a separate pan, sauté onions in olive oil until translucent then add chopped ham bits 
(I use scrap ham,  flavourful and not as expensive) and diced chorizo.  Mix well together.
Take 2 to 3 cups of the liquid from the pot and  mix it with paprika and flour to make a roux.  
Then, mix the roux with the ham and chorizo in the pan, stirring well so it does 
not stick to  the bottom . 

 Step 5

Add the sliced pig's feet and tripe back to your pot then add the chorizo and ham roux.  Simmer and taste to season with salt and pepper if needed.

The roux will thicken the stew making this the final step to delicious Callos a la Madrileña.  

Tip: once the callos has thickened, continue to stir  the stew to make sure it does not stick to the bottom of the pot. Simmer until reduced to your desired consistency.  

P.S. Step 6 -- Serve and enjoy!

 I added pitted black olives (not in the recipe but because my husband Jay likes them so much). 

You will note that there are no garbanzos -- according to Ms Casas, chickpeas belong to Callos a la Gallega not Callos a la Madrileña.

I am happy to report that my first attempt at callos was a success and that if my father were alive, 

he would have enjoyed it too.  The tripe was tender and the pork meltingly gelatinous.
Callos is good served with (lots of) hot rice or with good chewy sourdough bread. 

What I would do differently next time -- to save on LPG,  I shall tenderise the meats over my wood burning kalan and perhaps add a bit more paprika -- as my friend, the Kastila suggested.
Buen provecho!

P.S.  Since I cook by taste and feel, I don't take note of measurements (like father, like daughter).
In her recipe, Ms Casas called for 1/2 cup of white wine for 1 pound of tripe so use that as a benchmark.  I know I used the wine generously -- for cooking the stew and sipping on the side. 

Pancit for Breakfast at Awi's in Chinatown

One morning a couple of weeks ago, I found myself in Binondo on an errand (food related of course, what else would I travel through heat and traffic for?) at the unholy hour of eight o clock in the morning.  First thought upon arriving ... where would I have breakfast?

I shunned the usual fast food joints,  already busy with lines of office workers and headed towards Ongpin.  I wanted to find somewhere new -- where I had not eaten before and that is perhaps why 

my feet, guided by the food gods,  led me to Awi's along Nueva Street.  

I was not surprised to see that the place was nearly full (I got the last empty table).  Since it's open 

so early, I guess Awi's must have a pretty regular breakfast crowd.  Everyone seemed to know everyone else.

The breakfast menu was so ordinary and uninspired that I had a brief urge to bolt out.  Thankfully, 

the friendly waitress said that I could order anything from the menu ("huwag lang siopao ma'm, wala pa kasi").

I was not in the mood for a lauriat for breakfast but the noodles section of Awi's had quite a long list of very appetising looking pancit dishes.  And this is just the page for the stir fried pancit,  there is another whole page devoted to noodle soups.  

I could not make up my mind -- would I have bihon or canton?  Chami, sotanghon or chatanghon?  How about Singaporean noodles? Birthday chamisua?  But it wasn't my birthday yet!

I could have sat there the whole morning procrastinating with my coffee but my waitress gently and firmly told  me  "Mariano's chami, special namin yan!  Kasi first timer ka, kaya tikman mo ang aming special".  What would I have done without her?

My Mariano Chami finally arrived (who is Mariano and why is the chami named after him?  I forgot to ask)  Fragrant with the essences of the wok it was just cooked in, this chami embodied everything that is so delicious about Binondo and Chinatown.   Every spoonful and (slightly) greasy but tasty bite brought me back to all the platters of pancit I had enjoyed before -- growing up and wandering around Chinatown with my father.  This was like my history of pancit in a plate.

Dear reader, let me disabuse you of my special powers -- I could not finish the entire order.

It was good for two or even three people.  But I did justice to exactly half and took the rest home 

(to be enjoyed for merienda later).  

The nice ladies sitting at the table next to me said that next time, I should go on a Monday as 

Awi's serves a very special lumpia only on that day.  I will definitely remember that!

P.S.

After doing my errands, I walked around Chinatown for a while and saw this sign.  Does it really say "Gluttonous Peking Duck"?  That's what I call targeted marketing!  I shall definitely be headed back to Binondo soon.

Celebrating #Friendshipgoals at Alab Restaurant, UP Town Center

So much has been written about #squadgoals or #friendshipgoals, I thought I'd write about the long standing friendship shared between college buddies over the past 40 years.

2016 marks the 40th year of our graduation from the Ateneo de Manila.  It was a good excuse as 

any to try and get as many of the "old" (literally and figuratively) gang together for merienda cena.   Our former department chair and beloved mentor  Fr. Alberto Ampil SJ,  had also just celebrated his 82nd birthday so it was both a reunion and a belated celebration at the same time.

While some of us have kept in touch through the years, most of us had not seen each other since
we left the Ateneo.  I am happy to report that our friendship has survived the onslaught of years -- 

and while I did notice a few small changes, I think time has treated my friends quite well.

Friends from the Quezon City area suggested that we meet and eat at Alab, a Pinoy restaurant by
Chef Myke Sarthou popularly known as Chef Tatung. Well known in the local food scene,
Chef Tatung hosts cooking segments on t.v., is a frequent resource person on Filipino cuisine and
has a number of popular  restaurants.

I first met Chef Tatung at a food forum a few years ago and again when he was celebrity judge at
a culinary competition we held for a client.  He is extremely passionate about Filipino food and
Alab is the perfect name for a restaurant that showcases this passion.

I was happy to see that his list of must try dishes was like a mini food tour around the various regions of the Philippines.

The early birds had ordered from the menu by the time I got to the restaurant.  First up was a
clear and clean tasting molo soup -- a bit salty for my rather bland palate.

For appetizers, we ordered the waiter's recommendation -- okoy or vegetable  fritters.
They were so huge we had them sent back to the kitchen to be snipped into smaller pieces ...
not just once but twice!
Alab's okoy had large pieces of shrimp and instead of using the traditional green papaya and
kalabasa -- it had kamote sticks and togue shoots instead. Crisp crunchy and quite a delicious mouthful.

As you can see, we probably carried over some of our uncouth undergrad manners by starting to
eat even before our guest of honour had arrived.  Fr. Bert, as we all fondly call him, had been held
up by a meeting and came in as most of the food was already on the table (and some of it, in our mouths).

Because it was a belated birthday merienda cena, we had to have noodles for Fr. Bert's continued long, happy and healthy life.  Bam-i is a Visayan pancit that uses both bihon (rice noodles) and sotanghon (vermicelli) and cooks them together with meat and seafood and vegetables.  

Alab's Palabok Negra is Chef Tatung's spin on the usual orange coloured noodle dish.  Definitely squid ink is involved plus a garnish of plump shrimp, garlic chips, calamari rings and quail eggs.
It even came with  the requisite calamansi.  Did it taste like palabok -- I closed my eyes and chewed thoughtfully .... hmmm not quite but it was good nonetheless.

There's always one or two in a group -- but in our case, it seemed that all of us  had the tendency to over order!  It must also be proof of the appetising pull of Chef Tatung's dishes ... there was just so much we wanted to try.

One of the dishes was so intriguing, we just had to order it. This is Pianggang,  a Tausug dish.
Chicken is cooked in coconut cream and native spices until tender.  It may not look very appetising but it was a creamy and tasty dish.  A few strips of green mangoes and boiled vegetables helped
cut the richness of the gata or coconut cream.

I'm glad that not everyone was watching their cholesterol that afternoon.  Or if they were, they
made an exception for this Lechon na Crispy Pata.  As they would say, "lechon na, crispy pata pa!".  The pork leg is first roasted then fried to a sinful crackling state.  I assure you, a bite is worth a statin or two.

A typical ensalada of boiled vegetables -- kangkong, talbos, talong, okra, ampalaya with a dipping sauce of fish bagoong --  was our concession to healthy eating.

I am a fan of blood sausage so I just had to try Chef Tatung's Penuneng -- an Ilocano dish made of pork meat, innards and pork blood.   It was excellent and probably one dish I will travel all the way
back to Alab for.

Perhaps you are all familiar with adobong puti and even adobong dilaw.   Alab has a dish called Adobong Pula which uses vinegar but no toyo or soy sauce.  It came with generous chunks of chicken, chicken liver and pork and a reddish sauce ... due perhaps to achuete?  Or maybe some paprika?

Somebody suddenly remembered that perhaps all the pork dishes were not quite the right stuff to
feed our  82 year old guest -- so we ordered Pinaputok na Bangus Belly, purportedly for Fr. Bert's dietary concerns, not that he had any.  Wrapped in foil and steamed, the belly was cooked with tomatoes, onions and something different -- strips of dried kamias fruit.

Our friend Ditas had thoughtfully brought a birthday cake for the celebrant so after demolishing much of what was on the table, it was time for Fr. Bert to blow out the candles and make a wish.

We didn't have 82 candles on the cake or we might have set off the sprinkler system.

While some friends could not make it to the gathering and some of the barkada are also based abroad,  Fr. Bert was very happy seeing his former students -- most of whom he had not seen 

since graduation in 1976!

I think it was apt to have this reunion at a restaurant fortuitously called "Alab".  The word after 

all means passion, it also means embers, and it means blaze.  Getting together, we found ourselves rekindling the flames of friendship,  which first ignited more than 40 years ago.

P.S.

Alab had these witty reminders on the wall -- in today's digital age, it's so easy to be connected virtually but personal communication is still the best way to make one's presence felt. And to paraphrase the second sign ... 

"Ang friendship ay parang teleserye, kailangan 

sinusubaybayan"

40 years of friendship ... #squadgoalsachieved!