Chicken With Mushroom Sauce

Ingredients:
4 - 6 chicken breasts
1/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 pound sliced mushrooms
1 cup chicken stock
juice of 1 lemon
1 cup white wine
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

Directions:
Combine the flour, salt and pepper. Coat the chicken breasts with flour mixture.Heat the oil and butter in a large frying pan and brown the chicken on both sides - about 10 minutes. Lower the heat and continue to cook the chicken until it is cooked and tender - about 20 to 30 minutes. Remove to a serving platter and keep warm.Add the mushrooms to the pan, adding a little more butter if necessary. Cook the mushrooms for about 5 minutes.Add the stock, lemon juice, and wine to the pan and bring to a boil, scraping any bits from the bottom of the pan. Continue to cook for 3 to 5 minutes. Lower heat and stir in the cream and nutmeg. Continue to cook until the Pour sauce over top of the chicken on the serving platter and sprinkle with parsley. Makes 4 to 6 servings. sauce is slightly thickened.

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Moussaka – Greek Cuisine

Ingredients:
8 pcs. Eggplant
Salt
Pepper
1.5 kl Ground Beef
2 chopped onion
2 chopped tomato
Parsley
1.5 cup red wine
1.5 cup water
.5 tsp Cinnamon
¾ cup grated cheese
½ cup breadcrumbs
8 tsp Flour
4 cups milk
¼ tsp nutmeg
3 pcs egg
Vegetable oil (brushing eggplant)
Hot sauce

Procedure:

Peel eggplant lengthwise.
Cut eggplant into ½ inch rounds
Sprinkle with salt and pepper
Let stand in a colander for ½ hour
Rinse and dry the eggplant rounds
Melt 4T butter in saucepan
Saute ground meat and onion until brown
Add tomato paste, parsley, salt, pepper
Deglaze with wine
Add water
Simmer until liquid has been absorbed by the meat
Allow tocool
Stir cinnamon, ½ cup cheese and half the breadcrumbs
Prepare the sauce by melting 6T butter in a saucepan over low heat
Add flour and stir until well blended
Remove from heat
Gradually stir in milk
Return to heat and cook, stirring constantly until sauce thick and smooth
Season to taste
Add nutmeg
Combine eggs with dash of hot sauce
Stir egg misture into sauce
Cook over low heat for 2 minutes, stirring constantly
Prepare eggplant by preheating the broiler
Lightly brush eggplant slices with oil on both sides
Place on an un-greased cookie sheet
Broil until lightly browned
Set aside to cool
Assemble by pre heating oven to 350 degree F
Sprinkle the bottom of pan with remaining breadcrumbs
Place layerof eggplant slices on the breadcrumbs to completely cover the bottom of the pan
Add layer of cheese on top of the eggplant
Spread meat mixture over eggplant slices
Cover meat with remaining eggplant slices
Spoon over eggplant
Sprinkle with remaining ¼ cup grated cheese
Bake until golden brown
Cool 10 minutes before cutting
Serve warm.

Looking back 2010

January – I spend 2 weeks vacation in CDO to celebrate my sister’s 18^th birthday.

February – Receive a Php XX,000 Performace Bonus from my repective company.

March – I bought my first Nikon d5000 DSLR.

April – Spent our holy week with my sister in Ocean Park, Star City and Batangas.

May – Car hunting month

June – Found a dealer for the second hand car and car financing. Got so busy with processing all car documents, securing driver’s license and ownership transfer.

July – Finally got my first car and experienced my first ride. A 2001 Toyota Echo Verso. I named it “Toniok”. Stands for Toyota ni Niok.

August – Driving lessons. Primera speed! Lol

September – Cruiseship job hunting

October – Passed the principal interview to one of the cruiseline company I applied. Last week of the month was my kuya’s wedding and celebrated a mini family reunion with 2 of my Aunts and cousins.

November – Started to work on documenting all requirements for my cruise ship employment and attended Basic Safety Training which took me 8 days to be off from work. And of course! Received my early 13^th month pay.

December – Celebrated Etrade’s Gangsta Christmas Party. Batangas road trip on the 24^th and spend noche Buena @ my kuya’s new home sweet home with his wife.

Another 365 days passed. 2010 was bit of a highlight of my financial achievements. In my 26 years. Thank you God for all these blessings!

Spaghetti With Fresh Tomato Sauce and Basil

Ingredients

About 20 ripe plum tomatoes

About 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more to finish the dish
Pinch of crushed red pepper

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 tbs. unsalted butter 1 oz. freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (about half a cup)

6 to 8 fresh basil leaves well washed and dried, stacked and rolled into a cylinder and cut thinly crosswise into a chiffonade

1 lb. spaghetti, either high-quality dry or homemade

To peel the tomatoes: Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Have a large bowl of ice water nearby. Cut a small X on the bottom of each tomato. Ease about 5 tomatoes in the pot and cook. Let boil for about 15 seconds and then promptly move them to the waiting ice water (do this with the remaining tomatoes). Pull off the skin with the tip of a paring knife. If the skin sticks, try a vegetable peeler using a gentle sawing motion. Cut the tomatoes in half and use your finger to flick out the seeds.

To cook the tomatoes: In a wide pan, heat the 1/3 cup of olive oil over medium-high heat until hot. Add the tomatoes, red pepper flakes, and season lightly with the salt and pepper (I always start with a light hand with the salt and pepper because as the tomatoes reduce, the salt will become concentrated).

Let the tomatoes cook for a few minutes to soften. Then, using a potato masher, chop the tomatoes finely. Cook the tomatoes for 20 to 25 minutes, until the tomatoes are tender and the sauce has thickened. Refrigerate for up to 2 days or freeze it for longer storage.

To serve: Bring a large pot of amply salted water to a boil. Cook the spaghetti until just shy of al dente. Reserve a little of the pasta cooking water. Add the pasta to the sauce and cook over medium-high heat, gently tossing the pasta and the sauce together with a couple of wooden spoons and a lot of exaggerated movement (you can even shake the pan) until the pasta is just tender and the sauce, if any oil had separated from it, now looks cohesive (If the sauce seems too thick, add a little pasta liquid to adjust it). Take the pan off the heat and toss the butter, basil and cheese with the pasta in the same manner (the pasta should take on an orange hue) and serve immediately.

(c/o from one of my favorite chefs: Anthony Bourdain)