Three for the Season

We would like to take this opportunity to greet all our readers a very Merry Christmas with the hope for a better New Year. We also want to thank all those who have followed us through the years, particularly those who send e-mail and messages of encouragement.

We have just been introduced to a trio of Christmas pleasures–"Creative Cooking with Kikkoman Cookbook", "The Cake Mix Doctor" and the culinary talents of an actor turned chef. From all the tips that we got from the two books and the chef we will surely have a very busy kitchen, trying out a lot of new recipes and, perhaps, start baking seriously.

More than a year ago, we were a member of the Panel of Judges for the Kikkoman and Sysu cooking contest. Here we saw the talents of the young Filipino in the field of cooking. Can you imagine kangkong stalks patiently and meticulously stuffed with minced fried pork, and then sautéed with aligi ng alimango sauce? And brownies, chewy and moist, laced with Kikkoman? Those were only some of the wonders that the aspiring chefs executed that day and their efforts so inspired the sponsors that they decided to publish a cookbook containing entries and winning recipes. The resulting publication is an attractive collector’s item with 142 recipes from vegetables to desserts, all using the flavors of Kikkoman sauces, basically soy and teriyaki. Should you still be thinking about what to give a lady (or even a gentleman) who loves to cook (and eat), this is the perfect gift.

Today’s cooking is mostly done with a lot of innovation. You do this with your paella, cocido and even pasta. But innovating on cakes? That is something else. We always thought that baking was a very precise science (if you can call it that), but recently we got an early gift from a friend in the form of a unique cookbook titled The Cake Mix Doctor. And what do you know, the author Anne Byrn, an American and an award-winning newspaper and magazine food writer, who has experience of 20 years to back her up, says you can enhance cake recipes and make your life much easier by using cake mixes. This strengthened the theory of culinary expert Jacques Pepin who said, "No recipe is written in stone."

Cake mixes? How on earth can one make this more attractive? Anne’s publication issued an invitation for readers to come with up recipes that would jazz up otherwise ho-hum cake mixes. The response was tremendous, so the cookbook was born. Cake mixes are "speed" concoctions but with a bit of creativity they can have that home-baked character and your personal signature. In future columns we will endeavor to share with you some of the recipes. In the meantime, try enhancing your pound cake with ice cream, freeze it and tuck in a berry when ready to serve.

Now comes the movie star turned chef. It was Ralph Eigenmann who shook our hand at the entrance to Henry’s on Boni Avenue in Mandaluyong one drizzly noon. We thought we recognized him, and indeed he has a very recognizable face. Wearing a chef’s gown and espousing Spanish-inspired cuisine, he looked credible. After all, he has been cooking since he was 14. We were there for the Mediterranean Getaway Dining Club III, courtesy of Fly Ace featuring Pietro Corricelli Olive Oil, Doña Maria’s Olives and Federici Pasta.

It was a sort of degustation because they did not overwhelm us with chunks of meat and noodles, rather a reasonably portioned selection which gave us the individual taste of each dish served. There were three other chefs, Chef Patron Henry F. Caboy, Executive Sous Chef Adela Delima and Chef de Cuisine Noel Silverio.

The production. It included Eigenmann’s carpaccio (on bread) done with rare ostrich meat, the very tasty Bisque a la Mediteranee with Shrimp Dimsum, thin slices of pork tenderloin on pasta and the rich Chef’s Crème Brulee. For those who cook and who love to innovate, note that Pietro Coricelli Olive oil also comes flavored. We tried their lemon blend on baked mussels and our brood gave it an ‘A’.