A most useful and much appreciated gift I received from my children is a cookbook compiled by my chef son-in-law. It is one that will not be found in any bookstore and is very special. The Solpine Recipe Cookbook, Volume 3, covering the year 2008 is unique because the recipes are the best from the menus offered at the restaurant of the Woosong Culinary Academy in Daejeon, South Korea. Solpine is a fine dining restaurant where students get hands-on experience in preparing and serving meals under the supervision and guidance of a professional chef. The staff is courteous and attentive.
Sample menus are on the starting pages of the book. As this is a culinary institute meant to teach, each dish is presented with costings and yields (which should be different in our country, as they are quoted in Korean won). The contents of the book range from starters to desserts, culled from various cuisines, from Korean to Western. Color photos showing the ready-to-serve food will guide any person in plating the dishes.
Here are some of the recipes which anybody can duplicate. Coleslaw dressing – 1 tsp celery seeds; 2 tsps sugar; 2 tbps Dijon mustard; 2 tbsps mayonnaise; 2 tsps sour cream; 1 tbsp cider vinegar; 1 tsp horseradish; a pinch of salt and another of pepper. Optional – Tabasco. Mix all ingredients very well and you have a tasty dressing. Onion cappuccino soup – 1 onion, sliced; 1 tbsp butter; 1 tbsp white wine; 1 head garlic, crushed; 1 cup chicken stock; roux (or 1 tsp flour done in butter); pinch of salt as well as ground pepper; fresh cream; 1 tbsp sour cream (made from milk mixed with calamansi juice until it curdles); dried shitake mushroom (soaked in water, cut and drained); dried thyme. Saute the first seven ingredients, add fresh cream, and season. When done, add the sour cream, mushrooms and thyme. Serve at once.
Here is a variation of osso bucco using grilled lamb. 1 lamb leg steak; mixed herbs (1 tsp each rosemary and thyme); half a head of garlic, crushed; 2 tsps olive oil; 1 tbsp light basil pesto; basil leaves; parsley; 1 whole garlic; 1 tbsp white wine. To garnish, prepare clarified butter (melted, using only the top clear layer); mashed potatoes; grilled vegetables and lamb jus. Marinate the meat in olive oil, herbs, and crushed garlic overnight. Combine basil, parsley, whole garlic, and white wine in a blender. Season steak and grill. Bring lamb jus to a boil and stir in the basil pesto. When steak is done, pour the jus mixture, garnish with the mashed potato and vegetables. To make the mashed potatoes, combine 4 pcs cooked potatoes (mashed), 70 gms butter, 120 ml milk, salt and pepper and nutmeg.
For assorted grilled vegetables, slice eggplant, squash, mushrooms, red pepper, red onion (marinate the onion in red wine), ground pepper, fresh thyme, rosemary, crushed garlic, salt and olive oil. Grill when ready to serve.
For a few days, homemakers were frantic about LPG supply. Speculations were rife that while the oil companies paid less for the prime product, they were trying to manipulate the market by holding off, waiting for the projected price increase. Apparently this did not happen, so we paid only P490 a tank when the lot finally arrived. We must thank our supplier, Liberty in Las Piñas who gave us a service tank, which lasted two days.
A few days ago, we visited our hometown of Biñan, Laguna and had brunch at Tony’s Pospas and Puto. The stall is now located a few feet away from its former site, the front portion of the old Ligaya theater, along the old Alberto house within the public square. The transfer was due to the construction of a new supermarket, Uni-Mec. Typical food stalls are by the entrance – a Hongkong mixed noodles place, from P15 an order, Siomai House selling four pieces at P25. Inside, there is a beauty corner and an outfit selling food supplements and vitamins. The store is well-stocked, though there is no fresh section as the supermarket is only a few steps away from the wet market where meat and fresh produce are available.
New products – San Miguel’s Pineapple flavored Cali is a very refreshing drink. We detected the malt, but it does not overwhelm the fruit flavor. Delicioso! is a take-out store in Pasig (13 B General Segundo, San Antonio Village, 920-0301). They have an innovative banana blossoms and artichoke dip at P300 a bottle of 175 gms. For quick meals, they’ve got toppings, chicken parmigiana at P175 and oyatodon (breaded chicken) for P145. There is a chocolate store, Dezato, (100 Hemady, New Manila, 727-1229) that produces the chocolate truffles filled with mochi (pronounced motsi). These are sweets coated in glutinous rice, which apparently makes it susceptible to spoilage, hence the note that came with the box said “once you touch the mochi, consume right away”. The rice gives it a different texture and taste. They come in boxes of 12, either bite-size or regular at P195 and P300.
Happy Chinese New Year! Enjoy the food but don’t over indulge.
E-mail comments and questions to: lydia_d_castillo@yahoo.com