Dry Aged Porterhouse Steak

Lately I've been so into steak...particularly the Dry Aged Rib-Eye of Mamou.  Really yummy!  So as you all know me well, I try to experiment my own version when I love eating something.

Thanks to my sis-in-law's bf, JV, he gave me this special spice called Carmensita's Sea Salt.  With a dash of freshly grounded spice of this and viola!  Yummy home version of Dry Aged Rib-eye.

How to make your own Dry Aged Steak:

Choose any beef....T-Bone, Porterhouse, Rib-eye.

In my case, I bought Tenderbites Porterhouse Steak (available at Market Market Supermarket)

rosemary leaves (fresh ones are much better)

oregano

thyme (same...fresh are better)

salt & pepper to taste

Worcestershire sauce (W-sauce)

butter

Melt butter in pan. Sprinkle handful of herbs with a little salt & pepper, a bit of W-sauce, pan fry it.  I use the pan with the grilled lines to give a nice mark to your steak.  Reserve some fats from the meat and let it cook under low heat in a separate pan, set aside.  Flip to other side, then once cooked.  Serve with creamy spinach, rice or mashed potatoes.  Pour some steak oil on it and serve hot.

Add freshly grounded Carmensita upon serving.  =)

Enjoy your steak!  Hope it turns out well and do let me know how it goes.  

Sunrise Buckets at Rockwell Urban Bazaar - Aug 27-29, 2010

I just had to post this.  Of course, not only is it my new business with my sister but we also invented all the recipes for Sunrise Buckets together.  =)  We did everything for the love of cooking.  

Hope you can come visit us and give our Mouthwatering Buffalo Wings a try!

SUNRISE BUCKETS

Sunrise Original Wings
Smokin' BBQ Wings
Buffalo Wings (mild, hot, extra hot)
Crispy Chicken Wings
Garlic Parmesan Wings

4pcs. Php100.00
6pcs. Php145.00
12pcs. Php275.00
20pcs. Php395.00


Sunrise Chicken Burger P125
Poppers P 55
Flavored Poppers P 65


Extras
Sunrise Wild Rice Php40
Jalapeno Php15.00/pc
Extra dip Php20.00


Party Trays now available!
50pcs P1,055
(includes 4 flavors (Smokin' BBQ, Sunrise Original, Garlic Parmesan, Buffalo Wings) with 4 dips)

100pcs P2,055
(includes 4 flavors (Smokin' BBQ, Sunrise Original, Garlic Parmesan, Buffalo Wings) with 8 dips)

Abi's Cinnamon French Toast

We had a light breakfast this morning.  It's easy to prepare french toast.  Well, I'll just share my version of it so in case you want to give it a try.

Here's what you'll need:

2 medium sized eggs

cinnamon powder

sugar

confectioner's sugar

pancake syrup

Dijon Mustard (optional)

bread

butter

Just whip the eggs, add in cinnamon powder and Dijon mustard, dip the bread in the mix, then set aside. Heat butter in pan (I use the one with grill marks to make my toast more presentable), then add the dunked bread, flip after a few mins for the other side.  Sprinkle cinnamon-sugar (you can mix cinnamon and sugar in a separate container), then place on nice plate (preferably dark one so the confectioner's sugar would look nicer).  =)  Top with syrup.

Make sure to serve with freshly brewed coffee.  You can also add some fresh fruits on the side.  

Roastbeef with red wine sauce with Creamy Spinach

It's easy to prepare roast beef.  I usually sprinkle some rosemary, thyme, pepper on it then seal it in aluminum foil and pop in the oven.  Let it stay there until the beef is medium (internal temp is 135°F) so that you can still saute it a bit in the pan and gauge the doneness depending on how your husband or family member likes it.  Medium has hot pink center and will have less springy firmness than medium rare.

There are different sauces that you can do with the roast beef.  In this case, my sister, Bridget prepared the sauce for us....so umm...you'll have to send her an email at ininsports@yahoo.com if you want her recipe.  But I can recommend Roast beef with Mushroom sauce.  All you have to do is open a can of Campbells Cream of Mushroom and follow the steps I've used for the sauce of Japanese Hamburger Steak.

• 1 1/2 cups whole milk
• 4 (10 ounce) chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry; reserve 1/2 cup liquid
• 3 large garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• Salt and ground black pepper

Directions

1. Combine milk, spinach liquid and garlic in a 1-quart microwave-safe measuring cup or small bowl covered with a saucer, and microwave (or heat slowly in a medium saucepan) until very hot and steamy. Let stand for 5 to 10 minutes to soften garlic.
2. Melt butter in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Whisk in flour. Add hot milk mixture all at once, then whisk until smooth. Stir in spinach; cook until sauce is thick and bubbly and spinach is tender but still green, about 5 minutes. Stir in cheese, nutmeg, and a generous sprinkling of salt and pepper. Serve hot.

Tip:  Mothers who have toddlers, I suggest you keep the rest of the spinach water and mix with squash then puree it.  Once done, place them in ice cube trays and once frozen, you can transfer them to ziplock bags.  I use this for my son, Kasey, when my husband and I eat unhealthy food for lunch or dinner.  I just mix it with a little rice and dinner is ready for him.  =)

Mamou's Linguini Vongole

I must confess, how I can resist eating in Mamou when my husband invited me.  =)  I wanted to try something new.  I ordered their Linguini Vongole (P325) and paired it with a nice of glass of 2007 Q-Vineyards white wine (P520/glass).  It was quite good compared to the one in Balducci but still thumbs up for the one in La Nuova.  If you don't know where La Nuova is, it's the small Italian resto across Santuario De San Antonio Church at Forbes.  Really yummy but ambience...umm...very simple....and sometimes aircon isn't that cold.

Well, this version was pretty okay already for me considering that it's just a few steps away from my place.  

Mamou's Pasta Selection

If you want to try a different type of pasta, try their Lorenzo's Truffle Cream (P335), my hubby doesn't like cream based pasta but this sure was an exception.  He loves this one! 

Beef Tenderloin Salpicao

I have to be honest to you guys, I didn't cook this today but I'm posting this because my friend requested for the recipe so I figured I might as well share to everyone too.  I will post what I ate for dinner today in my next blog.  =)

Here's how I prepare my Beef Tenderloin Salpicao:

If you're cooking for 2 people, you'll need.....

1/2 kilo beef tenderloin or rib-eye (cubed in 2"x 2")

lots and lots of minced garlic (I use an Ikea chopper....makes my life much easier)

EVOO

1 tbsp. brown sugar

your fave soy sauce....I use Coconut Brand....cheap and pretty good

Mix in the soy sauce, brown sugar and freshly cracked pepper (depends on how peppery you like it) then marinade the beef in it.  

Pour 2 tbsp. of EVOO in your stainless steel pan (I use this type of pan because it cooks the beef in a perfect way).  When oil is hot, put 1 tsp. of minced garlic, then throw in 6-8pcs of beef cubes.  Saute them maybe a for a good 2-3 mins.  Make sure to constantly stir them.  Then set aside to your serving plate.  Do this again for the 2nd batch and again until you finish all the beef.

It's best to cook this in batches so that the meat will be nicely cooked outside and still soft and tender inside.  Not over cooked.  Just perfect!  Believe me....the result will differ if you cooked all of them at once versus if you were patient in cooking them in batches.

Let me know what you think of this.  My hubby loves this and I'm confident that yours will too.

Caramel Macciato paired with cheesy scrambled eggs

We had light breakfast today.  We had Caramel Macciato to go with our cheesy scrambled eggs.

How to make a simple Caramel Macciato.

Just brew your normal coffee (I use espresso beans or Lavazza), pretty good and strong ones too.  Then mix in a 2 tsp. Torini caramel syrup and creamer, set aside. Now for the foamed milk, I bought this electric beater which instantly makes your ordinary milk to a nice, thick foam.  Scoop some foam and add it to your coffee then drizzle some Hershey's caramel syrup. 

Kerwin reading the daily paper while eating breakfast

Panini Sandwich by Bridget

Just before making them to panini sandwich

Just freshly cooked

Finish product

Our yaya still hasn't come back yet from her day off....and the feeding every 2 hours didn't really give me much sleep.  Good thing my sister was into cooking so much.  She made us these yummy BCT (bacon, cheese, tomato) panini sandwiches paired with Italian roast coffee, which was just perfect!  Thank again! =)

Ever since I tried the ham & cheese panini sandwich of Seattle's Best, I've always made my sandwiches this way.  It looks more presentable and much easier to eat, less messy.  I've always wanted to get a panini sandwich maker, but it takes so much space at home so not practical for me to get one until we have a bigger place.  So, here's a tip of how to make a panini sandwich when you don't have a panini sandwich maker.  

Just stack in all the cooked ingredients that you want to be placed inside your sandwich, then use a pan with those lines in them (it's worth getting one, you can also use this to properly mark your steaks).  You know, resto style with all those criss-cross designs to make your food look more elegant and professionally done.   =)  Anyway, going back after stacking the sandwich, use a turner to flatten your sandwich and I use a plate to help it keep it flat.  You should form a "T" with the turner and the plate.  Umm...hope you understand what I mean, feel free to send me a meesage if you don't.  After a minutes, flip the sandwich to properly mark the other side too....and viola! You got yourself a homemade panini!  

This makes your sandwich much presentable!  I usually serve some Original Salted Lays Chips on the side.

Dinner by Bridget

Eggplant with Ground Beef

Homemade Corn Soup

I'm so lucky that I have my sister with me.  Bridget prepared this for me and my husband.  It sure was yummy.  Very easy to prepare too.  You can email her at co.bridget@gmail.com in case you want to know how she did it.  

My yaya went day off and I was too tired to cook already.  I had to prepare food for my toddler where I prepared vegetable puree & beef broth (I use kenchi or shank part) to be mixed with rice so he can easily eat them.  I usually prepare several types of broth and mix them up with veggies so that our son, Kasey, would eat something healthier (less salt and other preservatives).   I'll try to post how I prepare and store them in the freezer so maybe some of you guys may find it useful.  Till then.  =)

Duck Adobo Flakes

We had brunch with some neighbors at Mamou located at Serendra.  It was my first time to have brunch there.  I didn't know that they open at 10am on Sundays.  I ordered their Duck Adobo Flakes.  It was pretty good.  The scrambled eggs was just a perfect pair with the duck flakes.  They also served it with garlic rice, but for me, I would prefer it with plain rice instead because it's a little bit too greasy with the garlic rice.  It's a heavy meal and sure was worth it.  It was less than P300.

My husband ordered their Eggs Benedict.  Very nice presentation and it's actually good for 2 (if you're not a heavy eater).  It reminded me of the Eggs Benedict of Breakfast at Antonio's, Tagaytay.  Kinda the same but I think this was more affordable considering the big portion.

Burrito

 BURRITO WITHOUT THE BEANS

I've always loved burrito but I hate it when they put beans in it.  Who likes bean?  Eeww.. not me.  So I decided to make my own burrito. I love this and I'm sure your husband will love it too.  Something new to try than your usual rice and viande.  This is also perfect for outdoor picnics.  We love eating outdoors in the garden, we can relax while our son runs around with our dog, Kenzo.

It's very simple, here are the things you'll need:

tortilla or burrito wrap (easier to use ready made ones)

head of lettuce

1/2 kilo ground beef or pork (your choice)

minced garlic

extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)

butter

1 cup tomato sauce

white onions

chili powder

1 tsp. brown sugar

1 tbsp. soy sauce ( I use Coconut Brand)

cayenne pepper

black pepper

garlic powder

1 tsp. achuete seeds

cooked rice (1 day old preferrably)

Don't you just love the rice in your burrito?  Well I do because this makes it a whole complete meal and there's no need to prepare other food anymore.  =)

For the rice:

Pour EVOO to your pan, maybe 4 tbsp. will do.  Then mix in the achuete until they turn from red to black, then remove the seeds.  Mix in the rice, add a little salt & pepper to taste.  You can also add a few butter to make it yummier.

For the filling:
Pour EVOO (extra virgin olive oil) into the pan, when oil is hot, put in the garlic, saute, then add onions, saute then stir in the ground beef until cooked.  Then add in butter (up to you how much you want to add).  The butter will make the burrito less dry and extra tasty.  Then add in the tomato sauce, soy sauce, brown sugar, cayenne pepper, black pepper, garlic powder, chili powder.  Bring to a boil and then put in a strainer to let the sauce drip and set aside.  It's best to let the extra sauce drip so that this won't leave you with a soggy burrito.

Of course, burrito wouldn't be complete without guacamole.  It's very easy.

For the guacamole:

2 ripe avocados

1 small onion

1 clove garlic

1 small tomato

1 1/2 tbsp lime juice (or juice of 1 fresh lime)

salt and pepper to taste

Peel avocados and remove the pit 
Peel and mince the onion and the garlic
Chop the tomato.
Mash the avocado in a bowl and mix them all together.


How to combine them all:


Heat the tortilla wrap in the pan (just a few seconds per side), then put in on the plate, place the rice, then the filling, add 1 tbsp. of guacamole, grated cheese and wrap them all together. I usually wrap them individually with a foil to make it easier and neat to eat.  Then serve with guacamole and sour cream dips on the side.


It's best to eat it by adding a little guacamole and sour cream dip for every bite.  =)

Japanese Hamburger Steak

Here's a very easy meal that you can easily make in less than 10 mins. My hubby loves this. I used Japanese Beef Burger from Konbini (this is located in Connecticut, Greenhills). If you need any Japanese ingredients, just go there.

Things you'll need:
1 can of Campbells Cream of Mushroom
1 tbsp. soy sauce
Ready made beef burger patties
1 can whole corn kernel

Just cook the beef patties in the pan, then set aside. For the sauce, just pour 1/3 cup of water to the Cream of Mushroom and constantly stir while it's in the pan (low fire). Add 1 tbsp. of your favorite soy sauce, I used 1/4 tsp. Lea & Perrins and 1 tbsp. Coconut Brand soy sauce, 1 tsp. Krorr seasoning....mix them then after boiling, pour it on top of the burger steak and voila!