A Three-Course Dinner: Apple and Pear with Mint Cream Cheese (Dessert)

Light, refreshing and not too sweet. That's how I describe the last course of this meal. Here I made a very simple dessert using simple uncomplicated ingredients.

First step is to peel the apples and pears and remove the core. Then they are poached in 1 cup white wine and 1 cup water over low fire. Make sure not to boil them. Add 2-3 wedges of lemon and 2 tablespoons of brown sugar. Cook them until soft but not breakable.

You can poach the fruits together or separately.  If you want to cook them together watch out for the apples as they will certainly cook faster than the pears. Once the fruits are cooked, remove them from the mixture and heat up the fire. Reduce the liquid until thick like a syrup, then pour it over the fruits.

Now let's do the mint cream cheese. Simply mix together 5 tablespoons of cream cheese, 1 tablespoon chopped mint leaves, 1 teaspoon american cheese (or cheddar), 2 tablespoon of plain yogurt and dash of salt.

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A Three-Course Dinner: Grilled Salmon with Avocado Remoulade (Entreé)

This is probably the most tedious dish I've done so far. Aside from grilling the fish, I also made a remoulade and salad as side. I avoided adding more starch like potato or rice since I already served risotto on the first course.

To prepare the avocado remoulade, you'll need 1 large avocado (about 200g), 1 tablespoon each of lime juice (rind included), olive oil and crushed parsley, and salt to taste. Combine the avocado meat together with the other ingredients in a blender and blend well. Make sure that there are no lumps left.

For the salad, simply mix 1 cup of alfalfa with some chopped celery, sliced black olives, 1 teaspoon lemon juice, 1 tablespoon olive oil, and some cherry tomatoes. Toss well.

 Season the fish with sea salt, white pepper and crushed tarragon. Coat a non-stick pan with olive oil (about 3 tablespoons) then heat up over medium far. Place the salmon skin-side first and cook for about four minutes. Turn the fish and cook the other side for about 2-3 minutes. Once done, rest the salmon before plating.

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A Three-Course Dinner: Mushroom Risotto (Appetizer)

It was my sister's birthday and I wanted to make it special. Usually our family eats out on special occasions like this. But it's been a while since I cooked a salmon dish and my sister has asked me several times to cook one again.

To make things more challenging (and complicated), I thought why not prepare a three-course meal for that day? So I've gone through a lot of recipes to see what best appetizer and dessert will complement my salmon dish.

To start off the dinner on that evening, I decided to cook another risotto dish. That's easy and not really complicated (but requires proper timing). You can check my parmesan risotto recipe for the ingredients and procedures. The only difference is that instead of cheese, you add sliced shiitake mushrooms (about 3/4 cup) before the rice is fully cooked (together the last ladle of stock you added) and some crushed parsley .

I separated the entry of each course to spare you from reading a very long boring blog. Check on the next blogs for the entree and dessert.

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Parmesan Risotto

I have tried several risottos and every time I do, it always fascinates me how a simple rice dish can be so tasty.  For us Filipinos, rice has always been paired with viands whether be it saucy or soup-based. But a risotto can be eaten on its own without any additional dish.

So  I finally decided to give it a try. But this time, I did a few research on how exactly it is done rather than cooking right away based solely from what I have tasted. I came up with two important facts. First, risottos are supposed to be creamy and oozy, not clumped up and sticky (about half of what I tried from various restos served me the latter). And second, you cannot use an ordinary rice. Nope. Sinandomeng, Dinurado nor malagkit won't work. It's gotta be an Italian rice like arborio, ribe or carnaroli, which I used here.

Then I decided what kind of risotto I want to cook.  That was easy.  Since I'm a sucker for cheese I thought a parmesan risotto would be the best to do. Here's the rest of the ingredients you'll need:

1 liter of stock, slowly simmered, 1/2 cup minced white onion, 2 tablespoon olive oil, 1/2 cup finely grated parmesan cheese (or more, adjust to your liking),  2/3 cup risotto rice, 1 cup white wine, butter (optional)

Pour the oil on a non-stick pan and heat over medium fire. Add onions and cook until translucent. Add rice and roast for a minute mixing continuously.

Add wine and simmer until the rice absorbs all the wine. Stir. Add a ladle of the stock. Continue stirring, adding another ladle of the stock whenever it dries up. Do this until your rice is cooked, which is about 12-15 minutes. When the rice is about to cook, season with salt and add the cheese. Remember to keep the rice from being all clumped up. Remove from heat, add a tablespoon of butter and mix well.

Tip: When transferring to a plate, place the risotto at the middle then tilt the plate at the sides. The rice should   be oozing. Serve immediately.

Here I added a few pan-seared scallops only as garnish.

Happy eating!

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Pepper-crusted Chicken with Roasted Mushrooms and Pesto

I've tried this before. Not as a dish though, but as a sandwich. The one I tasted from a coffee shop in Manila (make a guess which one) was bland. Boom! So I thought of re-creating it into a dish that can be eaten with any starch.

So here's how you do this easy and satisfying meal.

1. Pound your chicken breasts to make it a wee bit thin. That way, it's quicker to cook.

2. Season it with the following: salt, thyme and paprika. Add chili powder if you prefer.

3. Heat about two and a half tablespoons of olive oil over medium fire. Coat the chicken with ground black pepper before frying. It should only take about 2-3 minutes to cook each side (that depends on how thin you pounded the poor breasts).

Tip: Make a small slice at the center of the chix. If the color is still pink, it's still raw. Remember, it's a major sin to serve raw poultry!

4. Once cooked, immediately toss some sliced shiitake mushrooms (use as many as you want) on the pan where you fried the chicken. Add some olive oil when needed.

5. Arrange on a plate with a tablespoon (or more) of pesto on the side.

Voila! Happy eating!

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Spicy Tuna Tocino

The idea of this dish came from Erwan's creation. His blog is one of the few sites I often visit. Aside from learning techniques and recipes in cook books, I also acquire a few tricks from his blog. And quite frankly, it actually inspired me to revive Craves and Tales.

Of course, I had to tweak his recipe a bit; I used a different protein and added different spices. I hope you'd love this one.

Firstly, we have to marinate the fish. In a large bowl, put two tuna loins (about 500 grams). Rub them with a one large crushed garlic and a teaspoon of salt.

Next, add paprika, chili powder, cayenne powder and saffron - one teaspoonful each (or more). Sprinkle with some ground pepper. Add 3/4 cup brown sugar. Mix well then marinate in the fridge for 48 hours.

Once ready, place the tuna together with the melted sugar (mixture) in a casserole. Pour 3/4 cup stock. Simmer the fish over low fire until cooked.

Remove the fish from the casserole. At this point, add two tablespoons of sugar then reduce the liquid until thick. Pour the sauce over the fish and top with some onion springs.

Happy eating!

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Pan-seared Scallops with Blueberry Chutney and Arugula Salad

It is without a doubt that scallop is my favorite shellfish. And my dream of cooking a scallop dish has come true (at a very expensive cost - literally)!

This recipe will take a lot of preparations compared to the usual dishes I posted here. But hey, it's all worth it.

Blueberry Chutney

Place about 100 grams of blueberries in a casserole. Add 1 small glove of crushed garlic, 1 teaspoon ginger powder, a dash of cayenne powder and 1/4 cup cider vinegar. Simmer for five minutes over medium fire. Add 1/4 cup brown sugar and 1/4 cup water. Continue simmering until thick over low fire. Do not dry up all the liquid. Set aside.

Arugula Salad

Sprinkle some salt on your arugula salad, then toss before washing on running water. Drain and let it dry. For the dressing, combine 2 tablespoons of cream cheese, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, 1 tablespoon of lime juice (rind optional), salt, white pepper and 1 egg yolk. Mix thoroughly.

Bed of veggies

Roast the bell peppers over low fire (yes, of your stove. that's legal. and acceptable) as shown in the picture. Make sure that all sides are roasted. If a grill is not available, use tongs to hold the bell over the fire. Once done, let it cool a little. Using a pairing knife, scrape the burnt skin. Remove the seeds and slice thinly.

Grab some sun-dried tomatoes and slice as thinly as the bell peppers. Sauté both ingredients in olive oil until the tomatoes are soft. Season with salt and pepper.

Searing the Scallops

Now here comes the star! Heat about 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a pan. Season the scallops with sea salt and a few dashes of white pepper. Make sure the oil is really hot before placing the scallops on the pan. Each side will take about 2-3 minutes to cook. (Cook it longer and you'll eat rubber).

Follow this: bell peppers and sun-dried tomatoes at the bottom, scallop on top, blueberry chutney above. Place some arugula leaves at the side and drizzle with the cream cheese dressing.

Happy eating!

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Quick Spinach Salad

I came home one night uber exhausted. Worse, my stomach was crumbling like crazy! I had several options on what to eat. I could cook a meal from what's available at home. But it's gonna take some time to thaw frozen food and prep the other ingredients. I was tired so I scrapped the idea right away.

Well, there's always been canned goods. But...they're meat. And it wouldn't be satisfying to eat them without rice. Rice! Extra calories at night? No good.

I opened the fridge again and there, miraculously, appeared a bundle of spinach! I immediately grabbed Popeye's power food and hand cut the leaves from the stems. I made about 1.5 cups. Then I sprinkled some salt before washing them .

While draining the leaves, I mixed 2 tablespoons of olive oil with 1 teaspoon cider vinegar. I squeezed a quarter of lime and added 1/2 teaspoon of tarragon.

I tossed the leaves in a bowl, poured the dressing and added some sun-dried tomatoes, olives, capers and feta cheese, which I found in the fridge (that refrigerator is truly magical).

After eating, oh my! I felt as strong as the Sailor Man! :) Toot! Toot! Haha!

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Blue Cheese Farfalle

How can something so stinky be so good all along?

This dish will prove that.

Cook 250 grams of farfalle (or your choice of pasta. but this recipe already says what you should use) a minute less than the given cooking time.

While waiting for your pasta, combine 1.5 cups of cream and some 50 grams of blue cheese (add more to your liking) in a bowl and mix well. Make sure there are no lumps.

Sauté 1/4 cup minced white onions in olive oil. Add 1/4 cup sliced mushrooms. Pour 1/2 cup stock then add the blue cheese and cream mixture. Let it simmer.

Toss in the pasta and cook for another minute. Season with salt and pepper.

No more talk. Just eat.

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Preparing Chicken Stock

Most of the recent dishes I made utilized stock. And I intend to use more of it with the dishes I'm about to create. So I thought I'd share with you the step-by-step procedures in preparing a stock. Unless you want your dish to be dull, you cannot just boil meat and use the liquid to flavor your dish. There is a way of creating an aromatic stock that will definitely bring out the flavors of a dish.

Okay. I know you're wondering what's the difference between stocks and broths. Stocks are referred to as the foundations of cooking. They are prepared using bones from poultry or meat or seafood and / or vegetables, and are used to prepare soups and sauces. Broths, on the other hand, are prepared from meats or seafood and /or vegetables simmered in stock. While broths can be served as is, stocks are used in the production of other dishes.If that still sounds complicated, just remember that broths are products of stocks.

Here are the ingredients I used:

• 500 grams of chicken neck (or bones, but chicken neck makes the stock richer) or more
• 4 liters of cold water
• 1.5 cup chopped white onions
• 1.5 cup chopped carrots
• 1 cup celery stalk
• onion spring
• salt
• olive oil
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1 tsp whole pepper and bay leaf

Simmer the chicken in cold water over very low fire. Do this for two hours. Skim the foams once in a while. It's not supposed to boil, just let tiny bubbles appear.

When you're about to hit two hours, start working on your veggies. Heat a minimal amount of olive oil in a pan, just enough to coat the veggies. Sauté the onions for about two minutes then add the carrots. Cook these until the onion turns translucent.

Add the celery stalks and onion spring. Cook some more until the veggies are a little soft. Then put all the veggies into the simmering chicken. Let it simmer for 30 minutes.

Cooking all the veggies

Add thyme, pepper, bay leaf and salt. Simmer for another 30 minutes.

Thyme

Pepper and bay leaves

After a total of 3 hours, turn off the heat and let cool before straining the ingredients from the stock. Transfer in clean containers.

After three hours

Tip: You can remove the oil from the stock by placing it inside the fridge. After some time, the oil will solidify. It's easier to remove now than during its liquid form.

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