How to Cook Delicious Food

Yesterday, my husband surprised me with a bar of chocolate! It was a gesture of appreciation he said, for cooking delicious food these past few days.

Wow! That was a compliment! The chocolate was no extra ordinary but the compliment was!

I have been cooking all my 19 years of married life but yesterday was something different for me. I actually have been complimented for my cooking quite a number of times already. But yesterday, i felt there was something different...that made me reflect, what indeed have I done to have cooked those delicious food and thus received such compliment.

In the past, whenever I cook something new from recipes that I have found in books or magazines or have seen over a TV show, and when friends or relatives praised me for them and requested for the recipes, I always give them the same recipes I used myself that earned their praise.

I remember on some occasions when these friends would try cooking the same recipe I've given them, they would tell me that the dish tasted differently from mine. They would insist that I must have a secret to cooking the delicious food and beg me for it. Oftentimes, I would wonder myself what is it. The recipe that I pass on to them is the same recipe that I myself use and follow.

Meanwhile, even in our franchised bakery business, friends and customers will often tell me or my husband that our bread taste more delicious compared with the other franchised branches. This comment usually makes me wonder what makes the difference in the taste since all branches (of our franchised bakery business) are using the same recipe and source and brands of ingredients.



In similar manner, in my own kitchen back in my own home, the recipes that I cook there and the ones i share with relatives and friends (and now here in this webblog) are the same. If there is anything that varies, it probably would be just the salt and pepper.

Now looking back at my own cooking- this week and the last, I realized there is one thing that made all the difference. and that I think is the secret to cooking delicious food. That secret is in...no other than what I call the "cook" factor.

Yes! The "cook" factor- the one cooking. The chef or the baker (for those baked products like the ones in our bakery!).

When the one cooking is happy, and he enjoys what he is doing, it reflects in his food- the one he is cooking. This to me is all that made the difference in my cooking this week and the last.

I realized I was in a very bad mood last week, and it manifested in all the dishes I prepared myself. They were either bland or simply not delicious at all.

This week, however, I'm in a happy mood. Thus, it showed in the food that I have prepared. See? That simple. Just my mood; my disposition. And it showed in my creation- the food I prepared!

Boneless Pata Tim

While browsing over my numerous copies of my favorite Food Magazine, I came across this recipe - Boneless Pata Tim.

While I have already been cooking the regular Pata Tim recipe also from Food Magazine, this boneless version is one that I still have to try in my kitchen. But with the reputation of Food Magazine as one who'll try cooking first any recipe before they feature it, I'm certain that this one would be another excellent one.

Here's the recipe for the BONELESS PATA TIM. This will serve 6.

Ingredients:
1 Pork front leg (pata)
8 cups water
¼ cup Minced garlic, divided
1 medium Onion, sliced, divided
1 tbsp. Peppercorns, divided
1 tsp Salt, divided
¼ cup Soy sauce
¼ cup Cooking oil
3 tbsps sugar
3 tbsps Oyster sauce
1 tbsp. Sesame oil
1 tbsp. Cornstarch dissolved in
¼ cup water

For the Vegetable:
1 tbsp. Vegetable oil
1 medium White onion, sliced
1 medium Carrot, sliced
1 small Bokchoy, sliced

Directions:
1. In a pot, put the pork leg (pata) in water with half of garlic, onions and peppercorns, and salt. Bring to boil. Simmer under low heat for one hour or until pork is tender.
2. Drain pata from the liquid. Set aside liquid.
3. Run a knife inside the pata to loosen the meat from the bone. Discard the bone.
4. Brush pata with soy sauce.
5. In a skillet, heat cooking oil to medium high and fry the pata until golden brown. About 3 minutes on each side.
6. Pour in reserved liquid and add remaining garlic, onions, peppercorns and salt.
7. Stir in sugar, oyster sauce and sesame oil. Simmer over low heat until stock reduces in half. Add dissolved cornstarch in water and bring to boil until sauce thickens slightly. Set aside.
8. Cook the vegetables. In a skillet, heat oil and stir fry onions, carrots and bokchoy about 3 minutes or until vegetables are crisp tender.
9. Serve pata tim with vegetables on the side.


Source: Food Magazine, March 2007

Enjoy cooking and eating!

TURBO CHICKEN with FRESH GARLIC & ROSEMARY

Here's another chicken recipe. I have tried cooking, er I mean baking the dish myself after watching Emeril (Emeril Live) demonstrate it in one of his shows.

I got 2 thumbs up from my children especially from my youngest son, Mat.

At the time I cooked it, I actually did not have an exact measurement of ingredients. I prepared it just based on estimates. Luckily, I saw the recipe from one of my favorite magazines while browsing over it lately.

Here's the recipe:

TURBO CHICKEN with FRESH GARLIC & ROSEMARY
Source: The Best of Food Magazine

Ingredients:

2 whole chicken, split into half- lengthwise
1 head garlic, pounded
1 tbsp. coarse salt (or to taste)
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
4 sprigs fresh rosemary
½ tsp. dried rosemary leaves
2 tbsps. olive oil
2 tbsps. fried minced garlic (optional)

Procedures:

1.In a small bowl, mix the garlic, salt and pepper. Rub the chicken pieces with the mixture thoroughly inside out. Put fresh rosemary sprigs inside the cavities.

2.Rub olive oil all over the skin and sprinkle some dried rosemary leaves on top. Allow to stand for 15 minutes.

3.Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degreesF.

4.Arrange chicken pieces in a pan lined with foil. Bake in oven or turbo broiler for 45 minutes or until done. Turn the chicken pieces every 15 minutes and baste them with the fat and cooking juices that drip on the pan. Alternately, if your time allows for longer cooking, bake the chicken at 325 degrees F for 1 hour on one side, and another hour on the other side, skin side up, basting occasionally with the pan juices for more tender chicken.

5.Arrange chicken pieces on a serving platter and sprinkle fried garlic on top. Pour the pan juices over the chicken just before serving.

Filipino Breakfast Recipes and Some Business Ideas

Here are two popular Filipino breakfast recipes which we normally buy ready made from the grocery store but these are actually so easy to make.

These Filipino breakfast recipes can also be a source of business income if you wish to earn extra. I'm giving you here volume recipes which you can pack in small batches for resale or for your own consumption.

Here they are:

BEEF TAPA

Ingredients:
4-1/2 kls. beef sirloin, sliced tapa style

Marinade:
1 can 46 oz. Pineapple Juice, unsweetened
1-1/2 tbsp. Sugar
5 heads(125g) garlic, crushed
5 tbsp iodized fine salt
or 1 cup rock salt
2-1/2 tsp pepper

2-1/2 c. oil (for frying)

Procedures:
1. Combine all ingredients for marinade.
2. Marinate beef for 1 hour or overnight.
3. Drain. Fry in oil until cooked.

The recipe above will yield 3.5 Kls cooked tapa. Good for 50 servings.


PORK TOCINO

Ingredients:
4-1/4 kls. pork pigue, sliced according to your desired thickness

Marinade:
2-3/4 cups brown sugar
1/2 tbsp iodized fine salt
or 1-1/2 tbsp rock salt
1 tsp pepper
6-1/2 cups Pineapple juice, unsweetened
1 cup Banana catsup

1/3 cup oil (for frying)

Procedures:
1. Pound the meat to flatten.
2. In a bowl, mix all ingredients for marinade.
3. Marinate pork overnight. Keep in the refrigerator.
4. Drain meat before cooking. Fry in oil.
5. Slice into thin strips. Serve.

This will yield to about 3 kls. cooked tocino or good for 50 servings.

Note: Based on your desired yield, you may reduce or increase the volume of the meat as required in the recipes and the ingredients accordingly.

Prepare the recipe the day before and viola! You have a fresh home-cooked breakfast meal. Your children will love you more for preparing them healthy home-cooked breakfast!