Via Mare Recipes On DVD

I just viewed a Filipino cooking for entertaining dvd, the food prepared by a pretty Filipino actress (Carmina Villaroel). All the recipes come from the restaurant Via Mare owned by Glenda Barretto who appeared at the end of the show for a brief period.The DVD is called Celebrate Special Occasions with the Best Recipes of Via Mare which I borrowed from Netflix.

The recipes that made me drool:

• Stuffed Queso de Bola
• Pork Pineapple Hamonado - I will make this first and will post it soon.
  
• Pastel de Lengua
• Stuffed Roast Turkey - The meaty stuffing looks so goood, I kid you not.;D
• Cassava Bibingka - I am not sure if I will find the same Filipino style cassava flour here in the US but will try to substitute frozen.
  

Other recipes:
Cuchinillo with Paella Stuffing
Lapu-lapu With Mayonnaise
Pears Poached in Red Wine
Strawberry Fizz
Kiwi Fizz
Tsokolate Eh
Salabat Tea

Although the whole cooking show is in Taglish, the recipes and procedures are shown in separate boxes in English. I highly recommend this dvd to meat loving Filipinos.

Peruvian Canary Beans Stew

There is a large variety of dried beans in the Latino section of most groceries in my area. One that I'm not familiar with is canary beans. They're as big as pinto with yellowish, slightly greenish tint. Any bean dish like baked with onions and bacon or fabada is always welcome in my house. The Goya package has a recipe for Peruvian stew that sounds interesting, with familiar ingredients like bacon and beef/pork/chicken, except for the cilantro and annatto seeds seasoning. The only Peruvian dish I know and have eaten is the pollo Inca, spit-roasted chicken much like our lechong manok, which is not really that unique. The other Peruvian dish, actually a drink, I have read about in the excellent, very funny and with lots of strange characters travelogue book TRAIL OF FEATHERS -IN SEARCH OF THE BIRDMEN OF PERU by Tahir Shah, is the saliva fermented manioc (cassava) drink served at dinner. Tahir Shah did not dare refuse the drink so as not to insult his host and he was also perhaps scared of being beheaded and having his skull shrunk.;p

Anyway, this stew does not require any saliva fermentation. Sauteing and boiling are the only steps to do and the result is a delicious hearty bean stew that's so good with steamed white rice.

Peruvian Canary Beans Stew
8 ounces canary beans
2 rashers bacon, cut into 2-inch pieces
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ pound beef, chicken or pork, cubed
1 small onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tomato, chopped
1 packet Sazón Goya with Culantro y Achiote
1 teaspoon salt

• Soak the beans overnight in water. The next day, drain and add 4 cups water and the bacon. Cover and bring to a boil, lower heat to a simmer. In a skillet, heat the oil and saute the rest of the ingredients until beef is browned. Stir the meat mixture into the beans. Cover and simmer until beans are tender, about 1 hour. Adjust seasoning. Serve with rice.

Jimi Hendrix Videos

Jimi Hendix - yeah!

VOODOO CHILD

ALL ALONG THE WATCH-TOWER (BOB DYLAN)

Isn't Jimi awesome? The hair, the clothes, the jewelry!;D

Chicken Pie

This morning I was reading an article in the Travel Section of the Sunday Washington Post about the annual pie suppers in Vermont held in September and October. The picture of the chicken pie topped with biscuits instead of pie crust made me get up and prepared one for lunch. That's some power of suggestion, heheh. Mine is actually more of a chicken hash pie because I used leftover Dutch oven baked chicken (AKA pinaupong manok) which has other stuff like bacon, tomatoes and onions and then I added carrots and peas. I topped the pie with biscuits just like the Vermont chicken pie and made some gravy to pour on top of the pie. It's so autumn-y and yummy!!

Chicken Pie
3 - 4 cups cubed cooked chicken
2 cups chicken gravy (recipe below)
salt & pepper to taste
store bought or home made biscuits
1 tablespoon melted butter

• In a square baking pan, mix the chicken and gravy. Add salt and pepper to taste. Arrange biscuits on top. Brush with melted butter. Bake in a preheated 425°F oven until biscuits are golden brown, 15 - 20 minutes. Serve with gravy on the side.

Chicken gravy (makes 4½ cups)
4 cups chicken broth
1 teaspoon onion powder
3 tseaspoons chicken bouillon powder
¾ cup bisquick
salt & pepper to taste

• Mix all ingredients in a blender. Transfer into a saucepan and cook until thick. Adjust seasoning. Reserve 2 cups for the pie. Serve hot with the chicken pie or fried chicken.

Flaky Biscuits
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
6 tablespoons very cold diced salted butter
¾ cup very cold milk

• In a large bowl, mix flour, salt and baking powder. With fingertips, mix in the cold butter. Slowly mix the cold milk using a fork. Transfer onto a flat work surface and roll into a 6 x 10 inch rectangle. Fold both short ends to meet at the middle. Fold in half again to form 4 layers. Roll into an 8 inch square. With a sharp knife cut into 9 squares or rounds with a biscuit cutter.