The Cheesecake Factory

Father's Day 2016 was extra special because my husband celebrated it with us and our dear ones in America. We arrived in Atlanta a day before Father's Day. Even with jet lag and with much excitement, we welcomed this special day with lunch at The Cheesecake Factory.

I've never tried anything from The Cheesecake Factory even though I see some of their pastries in S&R. I've always thought that it was all about cheesecakes and pastries, but I was surprised when I saw the menu. It was the perfect place to celebrate my husband's first Father's Day in America.

The Cheesecake Factory offers a fine dining appeal for customers ordering scrumptious dishes from their menu and they also have a bar for those who just want to have a drink or two. The ambiance of the whole restaurant is family- friendly and caters large groups especially those on tour. We're glad the queue wasn't that long considering that it was a weekend, there's an occasion and it's lunchtime. We were welcomed with a warm greeting and seated in a cozy corner of the restaurant.

Our food went around with orders of Filet Mignon, Grilled Rib- Eye Steak, Fettuccini Alfredo, Spaghetti and Meat Balls and tall glasses of sweet tea (not pictured).

My Shrimp and Chicken Gumbo

Orange Chicken

All served in satisfying big portions.

Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake for dessert.

My main dish (Shrimp and Chicken Gumbo) is a house specialty. It's always best to try house specialties when in a new restaurant. It was also my first time to try Godiva's  Chocolate Cheesecake and so far, the richest I've tasted.

No Bake Lasagna Rolls

This is my favorite of all the things I came up with in my kitchen. I didn't have an oven then, so I thought that one way to come up with lasagna is to spread some sauce over the pasta as filling, roll it , top it with my special white sauce, cheese and pop it in the microwave. It was a success! It's delicious and easy to make. Perfect for parties and gatherings.

Servings: 4-5

Materials:

• Sauce pan for boiling pasta
• Sauce pan for spaghetti sauce
• baking sheet or anything with flat surface for rolling the pasta
• microwavable containers

Ingredients: Pasta and Sauce

• 1 454g box Lasagna
• 1 kilo ground sirloin (boiled)
• 1 medium red bell pepper (chopped)
• 4 cloves of garlic (minced)
• 1 medium onion (chopped)
• 1 kg spaghetti sauce 
• 2 tsp cooking oil
• a dash of salt
• a pinch of black pepper granules
• *(optional) Bechamel sauce (can be found anywhere online)

Procedures:

• In a sauce pan boil Lasagna al dente then set aside.
• In a separate sauce pan,  heat cooking oil.
• Saute garlic until light brown.
• Add onions and red bell pepper.
• Stir for a few seconds.
• Add boiled ground sirloin.
• Simmer for 30 seconds.
• Add spaghetti sauce and simmer in low fire for a few seconds. 
• Salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

• Using a tray, line cooked pasta.
• Spread some spaghetti meat sauce over each.
• Roll it up slowly so it won't break.
• Arrange each lasagna roll in a microwavable container.
• Pour some white sauce and quick melt cheese.
• Pop it inside the microwave for 30 seconds.

* if you do not have white sauce, just add extra cheese.

Enjoy!

The Perfect Sunny Side Up Egg

I learned to make the "perfect" sunny side up egg from an episode of Kris TV last week. Actually, I kinda missed half of the episode already when I turned on my kitchen t.v. But to my luck, I was just in time when Kris Aquino was about to share her secret in cooking the perfect sunny side up egg. While watching, I was preparing breakfast at the same time. 

Perfect sunny side up eggs, coming up!

Ingredients:

• 4 large eggs
• 4 tsp butter (measuring spoon) (divide for 2 sets of eggs)
• 2 tsp cooking oil (measuring spoon) (divide for 2 sets of eggs)
• salt and pepper

Kitchen tools:

• Non-stick pan with cover
• Spatula
• Soup bowl

Procedures:

• Crack and carefully set 2 large eggs in a bowl.
• Heat non-stick pan in low heat, then add 1 tsp cooking oil.
• Add 2 tsp butter, melt butter.
• Slowly, let the prepared eggs in a bowl slip in the pan.
• Cover and cook in low heat for about a minute.
• Remove cover add salt and pepper to taste.
• Cover again for about 20- 30 seconds. It will depend on how you like your eggs (dry or a bit runny).
• Same procedure follows with the next set of eggs.

Tips:

My husband and I like our sunny side up eggs dry, so I cooked ours a little longer than the original time setting. Aside from that, I also added a little of the mixed herbs I have and just a tiny pinch of salt to taste.

For years now, I've been trying to cook that perfect sunny side up egg from my kitchen. We all do! I mean, we all want "that perfect" sunny side up egg in the morning right? Not only it's good for breakfast, but it can match other dishes like Arroz a la Cubana or a filling for our favorite sandwich. I've tried egg molders, non-stick pans of sorts but I never got results that are as perfect as to what I've achieved recently. 

It was fast and easy. Not much oil was used, it took about a minute and 30 and the eggs are done! No flipping of  hot oil over the eggs, it didn't stick, no burnt part, the egg yolks were intact, it was deliciously perfect.

Cream Puffs

After a month of being not able to bake, finally I was able to find time again. With my next project, I made some Cream Puffs. As for each pastry I try to bake, I don't expect it to come out perfect on the first try. But for some reason, I'm blessed to have good results for every first attempt I make.

I learn so much even without proper training through some readings  and continuous practice.  Let me share a few of the baking rules I've learned.

• Follow and understand recipe instructions all the time.
• Take note of the right baking essentials used for every pastry or cake recipe.
• Never rush into things.
• Right temperature is key.

Following these may have been the key that helped me yield how pastries should be. The first batch of Cream Puffs I made turned out pretty well, as if I bought them from a local pastry shop. I was very happy and satisfied.

The recipe I used for my Cream Puffs was from a pastry book. Since I started baking, I always use ingredients of the highest quality being sold in the market. With that, it's easy to achieve the right consistency, texture and over-all mixture in making the pastry.  I saw the difference between now from the time when I baked my first- ever set of cupcakes, I used cheap products then.

The custard filling was easy. My mom taught me how to make it. It's just a mixture of condensed milk, egg yolks, cornstarch and water. (As advised, not to put the egg whites to waste, with sugar and cream of tartar, you can use it to make meringue.)

With regards to the Cream Puff recipe, in case some of you might ask, please give me a little more time, I plan to post it. I just need to fix it accordingly and the right way so you guys can get the very same result. It's hard to post something and get complaints of not getting the right outcome. Since I made some adjustments, it may lead me to concoct my own recipe basing it on those changes made.

The cream puff shells can also be used for chocolate eclairs. For a palm-size cream puff shell, a table spoon or a scoop using an ice cream scooper of the dough will do. Of course, the smaller it is you get bite- sized cream puffs. Cream Puff/ Chocolate Eclairs are my favorites. Being able to bake my own was truly a personal achievement. I never thought that I will come to a point in my life when I'll be baking the things I love.

Some Updates

This is going to be one of the most exciting Christmas for me. Even if I haven't started with my Christmas shopping or at least plan our Christmas menu, one thing kept me very busy... Preparing my kitchen for a baking showcase. 

Here's my situation for the past months since I started baking: I go all the way to my parents house just to bake. In the condo we're renting, a kitchen stove that runs thru gas is not allowed. As of the moment, I use an induction cooker which has become a blessing because of it's healthy and budget- friendly benefits (in another post).

Aside from the stand mixer my parents gave me as an advance gift for my birthday, I just found out that I am also going to be gifted with a brand new countertop oven and new baking materials. Like I said in my previous post, all I wanted to do is to bake for my family. 6- 12 cupcakes will do... I don't really need anything big or heavy duty in order to achieve something that is easy to make. This countertop oven is the answer to what I need at this point in time. I am really excited because now, I don't have to travel far and disturb anybody just so I can create and bake something. I can experiment without having too much wastage.

Practice, take time, practice, take your time, practice... that's what my parents would often tell me. We believe that nothing's going to be achieved in the right way if we will suddenly jump into things. Time is of the essence in a way that I don't need to rush things. But at the same time, I need to put in mind that each day counts. Just like 2 weeks ago, I was invited to join a Christmas bazaar. It is a wonderful opportunity.

Again, this bazaar is not going to be possible if it weren't for the people who thought about me... I am truly grateful to be blessed. I am just happy to be surrounded by people who are very supportive of what I do. 

 0o0o

I apologize for the long absence of recipes and food features on this blog. The recent calamity that hit our country was devastating that me and my husband couldn't bear if we don't do anything. For the past 2 weeks, I helped my other half prepare for a relief and medical mission in Leyte together with a team of doctors, firefighters and medics. It was a life- changing event for all...

FTF: Cravings From S&R

So everytime we shop in S&R we never fail to have a snack before going shopping. It's common for most to  eat after going shopping. But since, S&R's goods are so inviting, we stuff ourselves first before doing our grocery. Well, it gives us more energy and by the time we're done, we don't need to wait in line all famished. Now that I'm at my first trimester, my taste buds wants to try everything. I love their garlic & shrimp pizza, combo pizza (which is their "everything on it" pizza) and some french fries with mayo and ketchup.

Food Trip Friday

FTF: Stir-Fried Pork and Mixed Veggies in Hoisin Sauce

Hoisin Sauce is a famous Chinese dipping sauce. You can actually whip a dish without adding salt and just by using this sauce. It is often used as barbecue sauce and as glaze for certain chicken and pork dishes.

My Hoisin dish is compose of some pork tenderloin bits and mixed veggies like carrots, string beans, spring onions and shiitake mushrooms. You can make your own by using chicken, beef strips or plain vegetables. Aside from the meat and vegetable ingredients, all you'll need for cooking is a wok, chopped onions, garlic (optional), olive oil for stir- frying and the Hoisin Sauce. Mix everything together until cooked then top it on a bowl of hot jasmine rice.

Food Trip Friday

FTF: Burger Steak and Carbonara

It's been a long time since I last joined Food Trip Friday. I'm happy that I have something to share this week. I have been low around my kitchen for the past weeks. 

I'm just HAPPY to be back!

I prepared two dishes from separate Fridays. 

The first one is a Veggie Carbonara. It'spasta with bell pepper, lots of mushrooms and green olives in white sauce. I added some sweet ham to add flavor. 

The next dish is our usual burger steak. It's burger patty topped with mushroom sauce. For an Easy Mushroom Gravy recipe please click the link included.

Food Trip Friday

My Home and Beyond

I got a little off the track lately. I've been feeling sick for the past weeks. I can't even think of dishes to cook. It's just unusual for me to go blank when it comes to food. Aside from that, health- wise, I'm trying to cut down on fast food and instant food. Basically I'm trying to stay away from anything that are not home-cooked. It's pretty hard for a person maintaining a food blog. One of the goals for this blog is to come up with thoughts on certain restaurants and other food adventures.

I'll explain more for the next coming days.

Other than that, as a mother, I am also preparing for school year 2011-2012. My son will enter primary school soon, so it will take a lot of my time guiding him with whatever he needs. At home, maintenance is also my job. Well, my husband handles the work per se, but I take note of things that's needed to be fixed. Just recently we had Laminate flooring install because of the dog. He bites and eats everything. 

I'm trying my best to get back on track. So far so good, I've made 3 posts for this week. Now, I'm conditioning my mind to be able to come up with more recipes. Even if I come short on restaurant thoughts, I'll be able to fill them with stuff from my kitchen. Please bear and thank you for the continuous visits.

Honey- Glazed Dory

I have been in low on cooking dishes recently. It's not easy to get sick and still work around the house. That's why I keep my freezer and my pantry full, so anytime I can still cook something fresh and worth sharing. A few days back, I prepared this wonderful dish.

Dory Fish is one of my favorite fishes because of its creamy flavor. It's easy to cook and it can go with any kind of fish dish.

 Ingredients:

• 2 whole dory fish fillet
• 1/4 lemon
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 3 tbps honey
• 2 tbps chopped onion leeks or scallions for garnishing
• salt and ground pepper to taste

How To: 

• Sprinkle lemon juice on both sides of the fish
• Season dory fish fillet with olive oil
• Season both side of the fish with honey
• Season with a little salt and pepper
• Bake for 15-20 minutes at 200°C
• Garnish 

It's perfect with potato wedges or potato chips.  Enjoy!

Make Your Home Brighter

Lighting greatly affects the over-all feel of a house whether its old or brand new. With proper lighting an old house can become the most appealing and inspiring such as: contemporary lighting, bathroom lighting fixtures, chandeliers. Brightness and design can also make an impact on the home owner's life. As a blogger, I am very particular with the right lighting to protect my eyes while in front of the computer. A sleek looking desk lamp will aid me with this.

Desk lamps are an important lighting accessory to have in study or work areas because it provides extra illumination for tasks like reading and writing. They can also be a very versatile piece of equipment because of their smaller sizes. 

Another part of my house that I like to fix is my bathroom. When it comes to bathroom lighting fixtures, I like to add accenting lights like bathroom wall lamps, sconces, or bathroom vanity lights. These are perfect to give illumination. 

FTF: Turkey Burger

We thought that turkey would be something for a change, instead of chicken.

Layers of grilled turkey burger,  tomatoes, lettuce, mozzarella cheese, onion, basil and a slice of Jalapeño, sandwiched together with mayo and mustard.

Food Trip Friday

Fish Fillet With Honey- Glazed Mushrooms

Ingredients:

• Fish Fillet of your choice (sliced)
• 2 cups chopped mushrooms of your choice 
• 5 cloves garlic (minced)
• 1 tbsp chopped parsley
• 2 to 3 tbsp honey
• Cooking oil for frying
• salt and pepper

Coating:

• 2 eggs
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 2 cups bread crumbs

How To:

• Season fish with salt and pepper
• Coat each fish fillet as follows: Dip in beaten eggs, flour, beaten eggs, breadcrumbs. Set Aside.
• Heat cooking oil then pan fry fish until golden brown. Set Aside.
• In a separate pan, saute minced garlic until golden brown.
• Add chopped mushrooms and stir for a few seconds.
• Add honey and and chopped parsley, then mix everything well, simmer for a few seconds.
• Top honey-glazed mushrooms on prepared fried fish.

Ready to serve.

FTF: Mozzarella and Turkey Bacon Wrap

We just recently bought packs of Turkey Bacon and blocks of Mozzarella Cheese. Here's another easy recipe which I also consider as a good snack.

Ingredients:

• Turkey Bacon (cut into half)
• Mozzarella Cheese (cut into sticks)
• Grated Parmesan Cheese
• Fresh Basil (optional)
• All Purpose Flour
• 3 Eggs (beaten)
• Bread Crumbs
• Toothpicks
• Cooking Oil for frying

note: it's half bacon for every mozzarella stick

How To:

• Wrap each mozzarella stick with fresh basil then wrap it with sliced bacon. 
• Pin it together with a toothpick.
• Dip each chicken breast as follows: beaten eggs, flour, beaten eggs, breadcrumbs, then grated Parmesan cheese.
• Pan fry until golden brown.

Food Trip Friday

Breaded Chicken Salsa

Lent is here. Lent is a tradition where as Catholics, we commemorate the Passion of Christ (Life, Death and the Resurrection) through praying,  fasting and self-denial. An old practice for Filipinos is through fasting for 40 days or at least, we sacrifice things that gives us  so much comfort and satisfaction. One, is eliminating red meat (beef, pork, lamb) as part of our weekly menu. Especially on Wednesdays and Fridays. Until the season is over,  we only serve white meat or nothing but vegetables for the family.  Having a kid around would make it impossible for me to stick with veggies alone. So I turn to chicken and fish dishes.

Here's one recipe that I will gladly share for the purpose in case you run out of ideas on what to prepare for the whole Lenten Season.

Ingredients:

• 5 pcs. chicken breast fillet (sliced open and thinly)
• 3 pcs. red tomatoes (minced)
• 1 medium white onion (minced)
• 1 beaten egg
• 1 cup flour
• bread crumbs
• 2 tbsp of chopped Wansoy leaves
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 3 tbsp tomato sauce
• cooking oil for deep frying
• salt and ground pepper
• toothpicks

*If you were able to get big chicken breast fillets, I suggest you add small pieces of ripe mango in the salsa... yum!yum! 

How To:

• Salsa: In a bowl, mix minced fresh tomatoes, onions, Wansoy leaves and a tbsp of olive oil. Set aside.
• In a plate season chicken breast with salt and pepper.
• Spread a 1/2 tsp of tomato sauce on each seasoned chicken breast,  fill it with salsa then pin it together with a toothpick.
• Dip each chicken breast as follows: beaten eggs, flour, beaten eggs, then breadcrumbs. Deep fry until golden brown.
• Before serving, remove toothpicks from the fried chicken breasts. 
• Happily serve it with any salad.

Food Trip Friday

  I prefer some pickled jalapeños.

Happy Friday and Enjoy your Weekend!

Home Cooked Beef Sukiyaki

Beef Sukiyaki, Beef Gyudon they're almost the same. It's the sauce that makes these two dishes different from each other.

The key ingredient to a delicious Beef Sukiyaki meal is the Sukiyaki Sauce. Sukiyaki Sauce is a mixture of soy sauce, sugar, sake, mirin and broth.

Beef Sukiyaki is a one-pot , hot pot dish, which is compose of slices of beef, cuts of tofu, Shiitake mushrooms, any leafy vegetables, scallions, traditionally served with wheat noodles and Sukiyaki sauce. In restaurants, they have an iron pot waiting at the center of your table. Then, slowly cook the beef together with the rest of the ingredients. The ingredients are dipped in beaten eggs before being eaten. Others, mix the Sukiyaki sauce with beaten eggs. Some, like the ingredients simmered in Sukiyaki Sauce before they dip it in egg.

My Beef Sukiyaki was served like any rice bowl. A bowl of white rice was prepared, then I topped it with the ingredients (as seen in the picture above), then I poured a cup of beef broth and Sukiyaki Sauce mixture.

Planning to add Beef Sukiyaki in your home-cooked list? Here are the ingredients:

Servings: 2-3
Ingredients:

• Cooked white rice or noodles
• 2 tbsp Sesame oil
• 1/2 kg beef cubes or beef strips
• 100g tofu sliced
• 100g mung bean sprouts
• 100g asparagus (chopped)
• 40g Shiitake Mushrooms (sliced)
• 1 white onion (chopped)
• 2 stems of Scallions (chopped)
• 1/2 cup of chopped celery
• salt and ground pepper to taste

Sukiyaki Sauce: 

• 6 tbsp Japanese soy sauce
• 5 tbsp mirin
• 5 tbsp sake
• 4tbsp sugar

 How To:

•  Prepare a cup of rice in a bowl.

*Since I don't have an iron pot for my table. Beef is already boiled to perfection, then, I stir-fried each ingredient in Sesame oil using a shallow non-stick pan.

• Top the rice bowl with each ingredient.
• In a saucer mix 1 cup of "hot" beef broth and 1/2cup Sukiyaki Sauce. Pour over the prepared rice bowl.

ENJOY!

Baked Penne Carbonara

 Ingredients:

• 1/2 K lean ground pork
• 250g sweet ham (minced)
• 250g bacon (minced)
• 1 can button mushrooms (chopped)
• 2 whole garlic (minced)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 500g  Penne
• 1 cup all purpose cream
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 3 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
•  salt and ground pepper
  

Instead of the traditional egg sauce, I combined some cream and Bechamel sauce.
Bechamel Sauce:

• 2 cups fresh milk
• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp flour

 How To:

• Boil Penne al dente, set aside.
• In a sauce pan, saute half of minced garlic, ground pork, half of minced ham, half of minced bacon and half of chopped mushrooms until light brown.
• Add all- purpose cream, Parmesan cheese and dried basil.
• Add salt and pepper to taste.
• Add cooked Penne and mix everything until pasta is covered with sauce.
• Set in a baking dish.

Bechamel Sauce:

In a sauce pan, mix 2 cups fresh milk, 2 tbsp butter and 2 tbsp flour. Mix until flour is dissolved then bring to boil.

• Pour on prepared pasta.
• Top with remaining minced garlic, ham, bacon and mushrooms.
• Bake for 15- 20 minutes at 375 degrees.

Quite a Friday. I was enjoying this pasta early this afternoon when I found out that a great earthquake struck Japan. Of course, it was a devastating scene, especially knowing that here in the Philippines, it's been said that we're also expecting something similar. Had to stop with what I'm doing and it took me the whole afternoon to absorb the things that's been happening. Videos online, on television and even via Facebook. I pray for a quick recovery and even more prayers to those who are still badly affected and traumatized with the turn of events.

Food Trip Friday

Bite Club

Who can resist a burger this big? Finally, I was able to try the famous Bite Club burger. Bite Club is a burger joint that  has been making noise not only because of its  grilled, mozzarella stuffed all beef burger delicious and juicy burgers but also for the size. The restaurant name Bite Club got us fishing for their house specialty. 

Bombarella

Now I tell you, size does matter for a mouth watering burger. It was pretty heavy for a snack. It's the perfect burger to munch on while in the middle of an interesting conversation especially about ppc services. Bite Club has a chain in Boracay, located at the middle of D’mall. Might as well try it and complete your Boracay  food adventure.

Bite Club Katipunan Avenue Quezon City

KITTY Inside My Froot Loops Box

A cute surprise for every box of Froot Loops.

Free Hello Kitty Figurines in 5 different colors. Collect all 5 and form the name KITTY.

Froot Loops, Froot Loops... it has always been a favorite. I love Froot Loops better than the usual breakfast cereal. I love the taste of  mixed fruity flavors with my fresh milk. Sometimes, I munch on it while watching television and while playing World of Warcraft.

FTF: Dried Squid for Breakfast

Aside from Danggit, Dried Squid from Cebu is one of my favorites. And I really look forward to it as pasalubong, if a friend or relative comes home from Cebu. But last week was different, because nobody came from Cebu. I bought my dried squid from the supermarket.

Served it with some hot sopas and rice...

Perfect with cane vinegar, especially with garlic.  

Goes well with a cup of hot coffee, some red eggs and tomatoes or a chocolatey bowl of champorado(chocolate rice porridge).

Food Trip Friday