Rosemary-crusted Pork Tenderlon with Red Wine Reduction Sauce

My seasoning included one teaspoon each of salt and ground black pepper, half teaspoon each of paprika and chili powder. Mix together all these spices and rub thoroughly onto the meat. The pork is about 350 grams and about two inches thick. Then roll the pork on rosemary leaves. Make sure that most of it is covered by the herb. Leave in the fridge overnight.

You can prepare the sauce ahead of time. Simply sautee 8-10 pieces of shallots in two tablespoons of butter and one tablespoon of olive oil over low fire. Cook until the shallots are soft. Pour in 1.5 cup of red wine (I used Penfolds cabernet sauvignon, but definitely you can use any red wine your prefer) and 1.5 cup chicken stock. Simmer over very low fire until it is reduced into half. Season with a little salt and pepper.

Here's how we cook the meat. Remove the pork from the fridge and keep at room temperature. Once ready, coat a nonstick pan with olive oil, about two tablespoons. Once hot, fry one side of the pork over low-medium fire. Cover the pan. Cook each side for about three to four minutes. You can pinch the meat with your thumb to know if the center is still raw. If it feels very soft, it's still uncooked.

Once cooked, cover the meat with foil and let it rest for about 7-10 minutes before slicing. Slice the meat diagonally to make appear the pieces larger. Pour the warm wine sauce over it before serving.

Happy eating!

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What's waiting for you at Fresh?

I recently tried at Fresh, one of the few casual dining restaurants at Solaire Resort & Casino in Entertainment City.  The overall experience was great! It is perhaps one of the very few restos that cook and serve the only freshest ingredients. As a matter of fact, the ingredients are imported daily from different parts of the world.

It's quite pricey though compared to buffet of other hotels in the metro. But it's worth it.  I wasn't able to try all the food actually.  Many of the dishes were so good that I had to try them twice. *burp* Excuse me.

I have here a few photos, which I hope would entice your appetite.  I was so giddy that night I forgot to take close-up shots of each dish.  Apologies.

Here are the operating hours and price list at  Fresh.  It's open 24 / 7!

Cold cuts and cheese. 

The cold appetizer station. These are ALL fresh! The shrimps and crabs were tender and sweet.  The oysters were imported straight from France. Surprisingly, the razor clams were delicious. 

Salad station

This is the only dishes the Japanese station serves.  Few but, yes, fresh. The salmon sashimi was as good as the one I tried in Le Meridien in Hong Kong.

It's a huge piece of roast beef! This can be found in the Western Cuisine station.

 

Pizza station. They are thin and flavorful. I don't remember seeing pastas though.

 

Western station with some baked potatoes, baked salmon and baked foie gras.

Colorful short cakes at the dessert station.  There were also gelato and fresh fruits served.

Yummy cakes!

Those are fondant cakes at the back.

One of the highlights of my night:  medium rare baked foie gras with rock salt!

Frankly, I did not like the buko pandan.  I thought it was bland.  But the french macaroons, especially the chocolate, were perfect to cap the 5-hour dinner. The chocolate truffles were as equally good, only sinful.

I failed to include them here.  But there's also Filipino, Korean, Chinese and grilling stations.  At the grilling station you'll find beef, salmon steak and chicken. Beside it are newly cooked veal, lamb, mushroom and chicken dishes. I did not try the other three stations, except for the dimsums.

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Broccoli and Longganisa Pasta

Although longganisa originated in Spain (longaniza), it is perhaps the most famous sausage in the Philippines.  It is usually served during breakfast together with fried egg (sunny side-up) and garlic rice. There are different kinds of longganisa.  Among the most notable ones are Lucban longganisa from the province of Quezon and Vigan longganisa from Ilocos, both made from pork.  There is also longganisa made of ground chicken.

This recipe is very easy and can be done in minutes.

First, choose your pasta.  I preferred not using the ribbon family so the meal can be eaten easily.  Besides, this dish isn't saucy at all.  Cook your pasta according to the package instructions.

While waiting for your pasta, in a separate pan, saute one medium minced white onion in two tablespoons olive oil.  Once the onion becomes translucent, add two pieces of thinly sliced longganisa (that's about 1/2 cup).  The sausage I used here were brought from a local market. Saute for about a minute, then add one and a half cup of broccoli flower.  Pour 1/2 cup chicken stock. Season with salt and pepper. Add a few dashes of paprika, dried basil and chili powder. Let it simmer over low fire until the broccoli is tender.

Toss the pasta to your veggie and sausage and mix thoroughly.  Continue mixing for 30 seconds to one minute.  Add some parmesan cheese on top. Serve hot!

Happy eating!

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Meatballs in Chunky Tomato Sauce

I know most of you probably have cooked meatballs at least once in your lifetime. But lemme share with you the recipe I grew up with. Back when I was little, sweet and sour meatballs is all I knew. It's one of my faves from my father. When started to learn cooking, I imitated how he does it. But now, I thought maybe I could tweak it a bit to give the meat more oomph and flavor.

The process would start with my father having all the vegetables (one large skinned carrot, one large celery stalk, one large peeled red onion and 5-6 cloves of garlic) grinded with a kilo of lean beef. Well, that's him. My way? I grate the carrots, mince the onion, crush the garlic and finely chop the celery.

One they are mixed thoroughly, add three medium eggs and season with salt and pepper. As for me, I opted to include one tablespoon of paprika, half tablespoon of chili powder and a few dashes of nutmeg. Mix them well.

Before you mold the meat into balls (about the size of a golf ball), I suggest that you "test" the taste first. Simply, coat a pan with olive oil. Once hot, fry about a teaspoon of the meat. This way, you'd be able to adjust the taste.

Deep fry the meatballs over low-medium fire.

Let's do the sauce while waiting for the balls, shall we? In a sauce pan, sautee one medium diced white onion in olive oil over medium. Add 500-600 grams largely chopped tomatoes (deseeded), mix and cover for about two minutes. Add 2/3 cup stock and 500 grams tomato paste. Lower the fire and cover the pan. Let it simmer for about 5-7 minutes. Add salt and pepper. I would prefer to include a teaspoon of crushed basil. Cover again and let it simmer until the sauce thickens.

Once ready, just pour the sauce onto the meatballs. Serve hot.

Happy eating!

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Cod Fish with Mashed Strawberry

I had this pack of fillet cod fish and I didn't know what to do with it.  When I don't have the time to do some grocery, I have no choice but to content myself with what's available in our cupboard and fridge.

So I found some sweet strawberries, tomatoes and orange, and started working on this dish.

First, season 500 grams of cod and sprinkle some crushed tarragon. Pan-grill the fish until golden brown and set aside.

Next, coat a non-stick pan with olive oil. Sautee 1/4 cup minced white onion. Add one small diced tomato (deseeded). Pour in one cup of mashed sweet strawberries. Add one tablespoon of orange juice, a dash of cinnamon powder and nutmeg. Add 1/4 cup stock and simmer till the mixture thickens.

Now, that is sweet! And savory.

Happy eating!

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