Check out the Facebook pages of most Filipinos over the holidays and you will see that they have been partying almost everyday on those Twelve Days of Christmas. It was a time for much family bonding as most members of the household got the days off or went to their hometowns. It was a time for reunions and gatherings of entire clans and those who were once affiliated with a certain organization, company or what-have-you. There were office parties and weddings to go to and parties, parties, parties. And everywhere and anywhere you go, there was a common denominator: FOOD.
Last Christmas, I hosted several parties at home for family and friends - I lost count - including showers, high school reunions, ex-officemate reunions, and several family parties, plus the office party for our staff. And all the time, I had to put out the best food on the table, owing to my claim of being a big quote-unquote "home chef." Thinking up menus for these parties was usually a difficult task and there were times I could not even go beyond menu planning and we would end up just buying food. But this time around, the menu planning went smoothly and I managed to learn and actually, cook the food for each occasion.
My party fare included Pastel de Lengua, Paella Negra, Ginataang Sugpo, Chicken Relleno, Baked Fish Fillet with Kesong Puti, Adobo Carbonara, Chicken ala King and so much more! What made the task easier was the presence of so many reliable cookbooks around like the quintessential "The JOY of Cooking" and recently, for Filipino fare, "KULINARYA" which was a collaboration of the best chefs in the country. Having had the habit of working on a dish with three recipes of the same dish on hand, I had to convince myself that the authors of "Kulinarya" knew what they were doing.
For the chicken relleno or stuffed chicken, I actually began with three recipes culled from the internet and cookbooks. But at the last moment, I decided I was going to road-test the recipe from "Kulinarya." This was not the first time I did chicken relleno. I managed to do one, albeit a steamed version, two years ago. Stuffing a chicken has the semblance of doing a science experiment and that thrilled me a bit in a strange sort of way.
For the chicken, I bought a deboned one from the market - freshly dressed chicken and deboned right in front of you by the experts. I dare not do this myself -- YET. For the stuffing, there's ground chicken breast (instead of ground pork), minced chorizo bilbao and vienna sausages, grated edam cheese, sweet pimientos, some olives, salt and pepper and three hard-boiled eggs. Instead of steaming the chicken, I baked it after brushing with olive oil and melted butter. For a small chicken, I only baked it for 1 hour 10 minutes as I didn't want to end up with a chicken that was tough and chewy. Mine turned out brown and crispy and at the same time, juicy. Just right and the inside came out perfect! I also covered the chicken in foil to bake for the first 30 minutes and then took out the foil for the chicken to brown evenly in the oven for the next 40 minutes.
I did "Kulinarya's" recipe twice just to check if everything would still be perfect the next time around. The only change on my second chicken was the use of a different brand of sausages that turned out to be saltier. Also it was edam cheese during the first time and then quickmelt cheese on the second try. Generally, the first chicken was so much better and tastier!
Our holiday feast during Christmas day was served with nary a hitch! The chicken relleno wowed my brother who came in from the U.S. and served alongside fiesta favorites like beef/chicken pochero, pastel de lengua, beer-battered fish fillet and yes, the ever-present spaghetti, it was a Christmas that we will remember for a long, long time.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment