Goodbye 2013 Welcome 2014

In the next few hours, we will finally say goodbye to 2013, a year that has been particularly very challenging and we hope and pray that year 2014 would be a much less stressful year. I have just started to rebuild our house in Agujo, Daanbantayan and expenses have already dug a large hole in my checkbook.

It is business as usual for your favorite food columnist and food tasting continues, and this time, it is about Christmas dinners that refused to be cancelled. Many renamed it as "Thanksgiving dinner", "Dinner for the Survivors" and my lifestyle colleague Cookie Newman calls it "Christmas Dinner for a Cause".

The latter was held at the Feria of Radisson Blu Hotel Cebu, and the guest chef was Babes Austria, former Executive Chef, Malacañang Palace, former finance director of the Department of Social Welfare & Development and Certified Public Accountant. Select members of the media were seated at the Chef Table and attention was focused on the menu because that night, we were served Cebuano foods.

Appetizer was Ceviche Trio (Kinilaw), followed by Beef Knuckle Soup (Balbacua) and Grilled Fish with Coconut Pumpkin Stew (Dinuldog). Cebuano-style Spiced Pineapple was Sorbet and Goat Meat Stew (Kaldereta) was the Main Dish followed by Dessert, a Tray of Cebuano Delicacies. Lechon was also served.

Ceviche uses lemon or lime juice instead of coconut vinegar in kinilaw and the acids denaturized the fish protein, changing it from transparent pink to opaque white. The secret to making the perfect kinilaw (besides the freshness of the fish) is the use of sea water or vinegar to clean the fish instead of tap water. And it must be served within the next 5 minutes because the vinegar can "overcook" the fish.

Sorbet is often served in formal dinners, in the middle of a meal, as palate cleansers "to remove lingering flavors from the mouth so that the next course may be enjoyed with a fresh perspective".  And this is my first time to encounter the Cebuano-style Pineapple Spiced Sorbet because very rare are the occasions when Cebuano foods are served in formal dinners.

In the past, Chef Babes Austria came to Cebu and went to other areas in the Philippines to study the art of cooking lechon, and this quest led her to create a lechon buffet in Tagaytay's Taal Vista Hotel. It was prepared according to the traditions in the Tagalog regions, Cebu, Butuan and Cotabato. I have not tasted the last two versions but the Bacolod lechon should have been included in the list.

 I agree with Jude Bacalso that the best dish that night was Goat Meat Stew or the Calderetang Kanding. Presentation was perfect with the use of plump sweet peppers to contain the stew, and the taste, excuse me, was truly exceptional. Goat meat often has a gamey smell, but if suppressed by the right combination of herbs and spices, the taste can be truly delicious.

After the desserts were served, I had to rush to attend to another dinner because I had committed to join a farewell party and when invitations are accepted, it is always better late than never. And to all my beloved readers, may the New Year be happy, peaceful and prosperous! d[email protected]