Salmon Benedict by Denise M.

Salmon Benedict is a variation of the Eggs Benedict dish which originated in the US.  According to www.foodreference.com, there are two stories of the origin of this dish.  One is when honeymooners, Mr. and Mrs. Benedict, requested a new dish for breakfast at Delmonico's Restaurant in New York of which they are loyal patrons.  After discussing what they want to the maitre d' hotel, they came up with this dish.  The other story is about a certain Samuel Benedict requesting a dish that would cure his hangover.  Maitre d' hotel Oscar came up  with this dish.  From then on, it became famous and variations were made by people to enjoy this dish.

A former student of mine shared a photo in her wall at FB and I asked her if she could share with me the recipe of Salmon Benedict.  Here is her email:

from top to bottom:
1. chopped chives, for garnish
2. hollandaise sauce... i use a mix and i just add milk and butter to it then heat it up... knorr or mccormick, that's my secret! I know it sounds like cheating, but the easier to make it & the lesser ingredients needed, the more I would enjoy making it! If that's not available in Australia there's a good hollandaise sauce recipe from cooks.com http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1655,128183-251198,00.html
3. poached eggs... i learned how to poach eggs through youtube! you'll need water (obviously, haha) and rice wine vinegar to do it! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtZ14xEbgzg&feature=youtube_gdata_player
4. pre packaged smoked salmon... or you can also use deli ham or spinach as a vegetarian option... ive seen restaurants use steak too!
5. toasted bread... i usually use an english muffin for this recipe but we ran out that day that's why i used a loaf bread.

to assemble it...
1. make the hollandaise sauce, set aside
2. toast the bread then place the salmon on the bread
3. poach the egg then place it on top of the salmon
4. put the hollandaise sauce and garnish!

i hope i made it sound simple for you... i like making it coz its so easy! let me know how it turns out for u! goodluck! :)

Cooks.com - Recipe - Hollandaise Sauce

www.cooks.com

Remove from heat and beat with a whisk until light. Stir in cayenne pepper, paprika and freshly chopped parsley, if desired.

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Meatball Tagine with Eggs

Tagine or tajine dish is of North African origin.  Morrocans and Tunisians have also their own version of this dish.  It was name as such after the name of the earthenware pot that they use to cook it.  In the Philippines we call this pot -- claypot (banga, balanga).  The difference between the tagine pot and the philippine claypot is the height of the pot.  Tagines have wider mouth and shallower than the Philippine claypot.  I think the Filipinos would agree that the aroma that's coming from the claypot adds a lot to the taste of the dish.  When we were still kids, our family would always prefer to use claypots and open fire (using kahoy or wood) because of the additional flavour the dish or even rice would get from the pot.  I think there are still small shops at the towncenter that sell this type of pots.

Tagine photo courtesy of  morroco.com

Filipino claypot courtesy of reflectionofasia.com

I've found this tagine recipe in one of the recipe books that my husband had subscribed for me.  I got interested because it seemed like it would really taste yummy...and not too much ingredients are needed.  The original recipe calls for a teaspoon of cumin but it is a strong spice, I decided to just add 1/2 cumin.  I do not have a claypot or tagine pot so I used the sizzling pan instead.  We all love the dish and it was so difficult not to finish the whole thing in one sitting.

Ingredients
Meatballs
1/2 k beef, minced
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp coriander
salt and pepper to taste

Tagine
1 large  onion, chopped into rings
1 tsp sugar
150 ml vegetable stock
1/2 cumin
4 tomatoes, peeled, deseeded and chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
4 eggs

Procedure
Mix all the ingredients for meatballs.
Roll into small balls.  Refrigerate for an hour.
Heat a sizzling pan.  Pour in the olive oil.
Caramelise onions with sugar until they are soft and transparent.
Add in the rest of the ingredients for tagine except for the eggs.
Cook for 15 minutes.
Add in the meatballs and cook for 10 minutes more. 
Switch off the stove.  Put the eggs in the dish.
Serve in the sizzling pan.

   
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Tortang Talong (Eggplant Omelette)

An omelette or omelet is a dish made by beating eggs and folding them with fillings which could be onions, veggies, fish, minced meat or cheese.  Some would even add more egg whites or milk to make the dish fluffier.  There are a lot of variations that you can choose from.  Each country has its own version of omelette but the one that my husband and I really enjoy eating is Tortang Talong or eggplant omelette which is quite so famous in the Philippines.  My husband, an Australian with a Filipino heart and probably a Filipino in his past life loves this particular type of omelette than those that he grew up with.  So each time we have eggplants in the house, he would always request for tortang talong.

I used to do the tortang talong by just by slicing the eggplant a bit  and spreading them without removing the stalks.  I will then beat eggs with salt and pepper and soak the eggplant on them and then fry them but I have learned form my sister that it is better to just remove the stalks and shred the egglant in medium pieces and soak them in the egg mixture and fry.  I find it more tasty and juicy. 

Ingredients
5 eggplants (lebanese)
4 large eggs
salt and pepper to taste

Procedure
Oven - grill the eggplants.  Let cool. 
Remove the stalks and the skin off the eggplants carefully.
Shred the eggplant meat into medium pieces.  Set Aside.
Beat the eggs and add salt and pepper.  I prefer mine a bit spicier so I add more pepper.
Pour the egg mixture onto the bowl of eggplant.  Mix with a fork.
Set aside for a couple of minutes before frying.
Use a 1/3 c in scooping the eggplant-egg mixture into the non stick pan.
Fry until golden brown.
Serve with ketchup or fish sauce-vinegar dip.

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Balut and Penoy

photo courtesy of Egg on a Stick

Balut
Lyrics

I
Halos araw-araw sa tapat ng aming bahay
Mayrong isang babaeng lagi nang nagdaraan
Sulong ay bilao kung lumakad ay paimbay
At ang wika ay ganito sa gitna ng daan

Chorus A:
Balut, penoy, balot
Bili na kayo ng itlog na balot
Sapagkat itong balot
ay mainam na gamot
sa mga taong laging nanlalambot.

Chorus B:
Balut, penoy, balot
Bili na kayo ng itlog na balot
Sapagkat itong balot
ay pampalipas ng pagod
at mabisang pampalakas ng tuhod.

Bili na kayo ng aming balot

II
Ale, aleng tindera magkakano po isa
Tatlong piso po lamang
Kung gayon ay pakibigyan kahit ilan.

Balut, penoy, balot
Bili na kayo ng itlog na balot
Sapagkat itong balot
ay pampalipas ng pagod
at mabisang pampalakas ng tuhod.

Interlude

Repeat I
Corus A
Chorus B

Penoy, balot
Penoy, balot
Penoy, balot (Fading)

A song that was popularized by Ms. Katy dela Cruz many years ago and loved by  a lot of Filipinos.  The song is about balut and penoy, a Filipino delicacy known everywhere you go.  Some foreigners would probably choose to eat penoy than balut though.  Both are hardboiled eggs but they're not the ordinary hardboiled egg that you usually do at home.  Penoy is a bit similar to the ordinary hardboiled eggs but the texture of the egg yolks and the taste is a bit different.  Penoy has more flavor and might have soupy yolks or softer.  Duck eggs that are already fertilized and then hardboiled are the baluts.  Usually it's a one day old duckling that the balut makers use.  They have chicks which might have different sizes.  The ideal balut though is 17 days old from hatching which is called balut sa puti.  The best ones are those coming from Pateros. It is still well known for its production even to the present.  Known for being good aphrodisiac, males would usually be the one consuming these delicacy more than females.  However, baluts are not for those faint of heart and blood pressure problem as it is found to increase the blood presure especially when combined with beer or chicharon (peddled by balut vendors during the night).

In our family, it was just my father and my brother who would usually eat balut.  I love eating the yolks though.  Whenever we bought baluts before, I would usually let my father or brother to eat the chick first before I eat the balut.  I just love the taste of the egg yolks!  My brother tried to get my hubby eat a balut years back...teaching him the proper way of eating etc etc....and guess what?  It didn't work with my husband!  He did not like balut at all that even up to now if someone would ask him if he is able to eat  a balut in the Philippines, he would always say, he would never ever eat baluts...heheheh.

While we were watching Luke Nguyen's Vietnam, a foodtravel cooking show hosted by a Vietnamese - Aussie, Luke Nguyen, we saw him eating balut in Vietnam.  That's where we found out that is also a local delicacy in that country and it is usually eaten with beer.  Vietnamese calls balut, trung vit lon.  Cambodians know it as pong tia koon.

sources:  pateros.gov.ph; Luke Nguyen's Vietnam TV show
photo: courtesy of Egg on a Stick
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Sweet Potato Okoy (fritters)

Okoy is a favorite snack, entree or main meal on our dinner table back when we were still in the Philippines.  Whenever we went to the Hagonoy town center, we would always buy this yummy dish from one of the vendors near the tricycle parking area.

They usually made okoy from pumpkin, sweet potatoes, potatoes, or green papaya and bean sprouts with flour, eggs, salt and pepper and prawns.  Deep frying is the best way to cook this dish.  Okoy or ukoy is a traditional dish in the Philippines which is believed to have originated from Laguna.

Here in our place, it is so easy to get pumpkins, sweet potatoes, and potatoes but it's difficult to get fresh seafood like prawns.  Usually you would only be able to get the frozen ones, the boxed ones, or worst the tin ones!  This makes me a bit frustrated when I want to cook something Filipino which has seafood in the ingredients.  Oh anyway, so I have to make do of any available stuff around.  When I first cooked okoy for my husband, he literally fell in love with it!  He eats them with gusto!  Funny that 4 pieces of okoy are not enough to satisfy his cravings haha!  I made his first okoy with just pumpkin, the second one with both pumpkin and sweet potatoes and this time just with sweet potatoes.  The difference among the three okoys is that the last one was crispier than the others.  Why don't you try this wonderful okoy recipe that I did myself. 

Ingredients
1 big sweet potato (almost half a kilo) (shredded)
300 g prawns (chopped)
2 tbsp flour
1 egg
salt and pepper to taste

Procedure
Place the sweet potatoes in a big bowl.
Add in half of the chopped prawns and the other ingredients.
Mix well using your hands.
Make a ball of okoy ( a little over the size of a golf ball) and flatten it with your palm.  Top with chopped prawns.
Deep fry until golden and crispy.
Serve with your favorite dip.

Note:  I chose to chop prawns and remove the shells to make the okoy tastier and easier to eat.  You can also choose to squeeze out the juice of the sweet potatoes before mixing it with the other ingredients or just use the sweet potatoes as is.


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Cheesy Vegetable Omelet

My hubby loves egg and onions omelet.  I was supposed to cook one at lunchtime yesterday but then I decided to experiment again with some of the stuff I have in the fridge. 

I ended up making a cheesy vegetable omelet which I hope my hubby would also love.  So I got all the herbs I needed and started concocting another experiment of which my hubby is the guinea pig hahahah.  Surprisingly, the cheesy vegetable omelet turned out really good!

Ingredients
3 eggs
1 medium onion, minced
2 tomatoes, chopped
1/4 cheddar cheese
1/4 parmesan cheese
1 1/2 c mixed chopped veggies (carrots,brocolli, peas, cauliflower etc)
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp basil
1/2 tsp chives
salt and pepper to taste
30 g butter

Procedure
Whisk eggs in a bowl.  Add in salt and pepper.  Whisk in the 2 types of cheese.
Heat a pan and melt butter.
Sautee onions and the veggies.
Put in the herbs.  Stir.
Cook until half cooked.
Remove from pan.
Fry the egg - cheese mixture in the same pan.  Make sure that the mixture is evenly spread on the pan.
When it's a bit cooked, place the sauteed veggies in the center of the crepe. 
Fold the four sides of the crepe over the top of the veggies.
Get a plate big enough to cover the whole omelet.  Place the plate over the pan covering the omelet and flip the pan.
Put some parmesan on your omelet, then serve with your favorite dip.

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TOCILOG (Tocino-Longganisa-Sinangag)

I actually had no idea that tocino in the Carrebean is not cured at all but just fried until it's crispy and added to another dish.  They would also use the backfat though just like the tocino we make in the Philippines.

The one we have in the Philippines is made thru curing for a number of days using brown sugar, saltpeter (salitre), anise wine, and annatto water.  Saltpeter or salitre is actually potassium nitrate similar to the ones used in fertilizers and medicines.  It has been used as a food preservative since the middle ages when freezers or refrigeration were not present yet.  I was really scared to use it since I have read somewhere any wrong dose would have detremental effect to anyone.  I decided to just stay away from it then.

Traditionally, to-ci-log dish is served during breakfast but I would love to eat them any time of the day which I am sure that other Filipinos do too.  Tocino's best partners on your plate would be garlic rice and sunny side up eggs plus fresh tomatoes.  My husband loved this meal that he had second helpings.

Ingredients
1/2 K pork (I used pork loin chops with the fat on)
1/2 C brown sugar
1 tbsp salt
2 tbsp anise wine
2 tbsp soy sauce (light one)
2 tbsp annatto water (from soaking atchuete seeds)

Procedure
Mix all the ingredients except the pork in a bowl. 
Add in the pork and make sure that the mixture is infused in the meat all throughout.  Use ziplock or a bigger container with lid and shake until the meat is fully coated with the curing mix.
Cure the tocino for 1-2 days in the fridge before frying.

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Sauteed Tomatoes and Eggs

You might be wondering why I am making two egg dishes in a meal.  One eggs with onions and this sauteed tomatoes and eggs.  You see, the first one is my husband's favorite and the latter is my favorite so I had to do two egg dishes. 

In our house in Bulacan, we would always partner this with tuyo (dried salted fish) and the tomato-egg dish balances its saltiness which makes it more wonderful to eat.

Here is my version.

Ingredients
3 eggs
3 pcs big red ripe tomatoes, minced
1 medium onions, minced
1 tbsp garlic, minced
2 stalks spring onions, chopped
1 chicken broth cube
Magic Sarap (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

Procedure
Sautee onions, garlic, and spring onions.  Add the tomatoes and caramelise in medium heat. 
Put in the chicken broth cube, magic sarap and salt and pepper to taste.
When the juice of the tomatoes come out, turn off the heat.  Put in the eggs and mix well.

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Egg & Onion Omelet

One quick and easy egg dish is eggs and onions omelet.  If you're on the go and will be late for work or school, this one is the dish that you can do without any fuss.

When we were still kids, my father would always make this dish for us but of course without the ginisa mix and chicken cubes.  The best thing about it aside from the nice taste, it stretches the eggs' size because of the onions.  One of the cheapest no fuss dish to the max.  I think all Filipinos would know how to cook this one.

I introduced this dish to my husband on our first few weeks together in Australia.  He didn't know that you can cook eggs this way.  He even asked me what do you call this omelet dish.  Well, I just told him, eggs with onions, short, simple and sweet haha!  He digged in and loved it!  From then on, he would always ask " Can we have eggs and onions please?"

Ingredients
3 eggs
2 medium onions, minced
ginisa mix
1/4 chicken cube
salt to taste
Procedure
Beat eggs.  Add the rest of ingredients. Mix well.
Fry on medium heat. 
Serve with ketchup or vinegar and fish sauce dip.

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Scotch Eggs

Despite its name, Scotch Eggs did not originate from Scotland but in Britain in 1738.  It became popular as a picnic food and then later on became a favorite in pubs and fairs.   If you are tired of the ordinary egg dish, this could be a good variation. 

When my husband and I tried this wonderful dish, we found out that they're quite heavy on the tummy.  What more if you eat them with fried rice?  Why don't you try cooking this one and enjoy its  lovely taste.

Ingredients:

500 g minced beef

6 pcs hardboiled eggs

2 tsp garlic granules
2 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp pepper
2 tsp worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp plain flour
1 egg beaten
bread crumbs

Procedure:
Mix all the ingredients in a bowl except of the eggs (hardboiled and beaten) and the breadcrumbs.  Use your hands to make sure everything is well distributed.
Remove the shells of the hardboiled eggs. 
Coat each hardboiled egg with the meat mixture.  Dip each scotch egg in the beaten egg and then roll into the breadcrumbs.
Deep fry the scotch eggs.
Serve with rice and your choice of dips. 

Note: You can remove nutmeg if you want.
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