My 9- dish challenge had ended last July, 15 2012 which happened to be my 30th birthday. I did the menu preparation months earlier and kept on revising until the last minute, so with the help of my mom, I was able to make a full course dinner party at home.
For appetizer we had Tapas, (ham and cheese platter), mom added grapes and wheat bread to make it look well-garnished in a wooden platter, and the outcome was really lovely. My first dish was a Greek style chicken kebab. For this, I used lemon, salt and pepper, thyme & rosemary for marinading the chicken fillet, and dipped it to butter with same herbs and spices prior to roasting it on a grill.
The next dish is a recipe from my other grandma (Lola Leonor). It's a Hong Kong dish that looks like Adobo (Philippines) but with thicker sauce, ginger, and star anise that makes it taste like Chinese.
So I did my own version of this, I put the pork loin in a pressure cooker with water and pineapple juice, brown sugar, salt and soy, with 4 pieces star anise, cooked it until tender at around 5-10 minutes. It was my first time to use pressure cooker and honestly, that thing is scary. Then, I roasted it in a Turbo broiler, with crushed pineapple and brown sugar, broiled it until the outer surface of the pork loin was toasted brown and the sugar on top had caramelized.
And of course as promised a continuation of my Dish 5: Spanish, I made Paella de Mariscos (Seafood Paella) for the first time, and luckily it turned out just right, my guests loved it! I was really excited making this dish, because it's quite challenging, especially on the part where you have to put just the right amount of liquids (stock).
In addition to these dishes I also made a simple baked vegetable side dish. The meals were savored with a glass of red wine courtesy of my good friend PA, together with "catching -up" conversations, and hearty laughs. I'm so happy to see my family, good old friends, as well a new found friends having a great time, and of course to thank them all for celebrating my 30th birthday (even when getting to my house was a bit of a challenge to some of them ,and as always it rained heavily), I surprised them with a special dessert, my birthday cake.
I made this cake the night before my birthday with my best friend Karen, who helped pressed the buttons of my Electric mixer. This is the first time I made a Red Velvet cake with Cream cheese frosting, and I have a 50-50 feeling that it will not be successful just like the butter cakes I did before, and true enough when I baked it the top of my cake burned so I have to remove that and the other toasted parts and sculpt it to a perfect shape.
I thought it will be a disaster but I'm certain that whatever happens I know my friends will still eat it, because they love me(hehe). So the following day, It turned out (visually)not bad,especially when I put the final frosting. However, the final judgement would be the taste, and the moment I sliced the cake, and saw how perfectly red and velvety it was, I started to calm down. I was not saying anything but waiting for their reactions until I got smile from their faces, the cake was delicious and they were raving about it. Yehey!
My 30th birthday even though it's just a simple gathering was a success. For me, it's unforgettable because I put love with every dishes I made, and it's so fun preparing meals for people you love. This challenge and my birthdays proved to me that I love food and making them is really one of my greatest passions.
It's a sweet stress, that I would love to do every day, and of course this will not end here, I still have lots of foods to taste, and foods to prepare for my love ones. It is just like how I welcome my 30's, ready and prepared for the wonderful things that will come to my life. :)
Thank YOU!
For appetizer we had Tapas, (ham and cheese platter), mom added grapes and wheat bread to make it look well-garnished in a wooden platter, and the outcome was really lovely. My first dish was a Greek style chicken kebab. For this, I used lemon, salt and pepper, thyme & rosemary for marinading the chicken fillet, and dipped it to butter with same herbs and spices prior to roasting it on a grill.
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| Chicken skewers with tomato, bell peppers, & white onions |
So I did my own version of this, I put the pork loin in a pressure cooker with water and pineapple juice, brown sugar, salt and soy, with 4 pieces star anise, cooked it until tender at around 5-10 minutes. It was my first time to use pressure cooker and honestly, that thing is scary. Then, I roasted it in a Turbo broiler, with crushed pineapple and brown sugar, broiled it until the outer surface of the pork loin was toasted brown and the sugar on top had caramelized.
 |
In addition to these dishes I also made a simple baked vegetable side dish. The meals were savored with a glass of red wine courtesy of my good friend PA, together with "catching -up" conversations, and hearty laughs. I'm so happy to see my family, good old friends, as well a new found friends having a great time, and of course to thank them all for celebrating my 30th birthday (even when getting to my house was a bit of a challenge to some of them ,and as always it rained heavily), I surprised them with a special dessert, my birthday cake.
I made this cake the night before my birthday with my best friend Karen, who helped pressed the buttons of my Electric mixer. This is the first time I made a Red Velvet cake with Cream cheese frosting, and I have a 50-50 feeling that it will not be successful just like the butter cakes I did before, and true enough when I baked it the top of my cake burned so I have to remove that and the other toasted parts and sculpt it to a perfect shape.
I thought it will be a disaster but I'm certain that whatever happens I know my friends will still eat it, because they love me(hehe). So the following day, It turned out (visually)not bad,especially when I put the final frosting. However, the final judgement would be the taste, and the moment I sliced the cake, and saw how perfectly red and velvety it was, I started to calm down. I was not saying anything but waiting for their reactions until I got smile from their faces, the cake was delicious and they were raving about it. Yehey!
My 30th birthday even though it's just a simple gathering was a success. For me, it's unforgettable because I put love with every dishes I made, and it's so fun preparing meals for people you love. This challenge and my birthdays proved to me that I love food and making them is really one of my greatest passions.
It's a sweet stress, that I would love to do every day, and of course this will not end here, I still have lots of foods to taste, and foods to prepare for my love ones. It is just like how I welcome my 30's, ready and prepared for the wonderful things that will come to my life. :)
Thank YOU!
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