Know Your Potatoes

To know which variety of potato is the best  type to use for your recipe please refer to the chart.  Click on the photo to make the size bigger.

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My Hubby's Quick and Easy Mashed Potato Recipe

Mashed potatoes -- oh so yummy!  One of the dishes that my hubby does really well is mashed potatoes.  If it's mashed potato, you can bet that it would not be me making it. I do not have the patience to mash potatoes!  This recipe is just the basic mashed potatoes that he makes.  Next time, I would ask him to make a fancy one.

I was reading a forum conversation on internet awhile ago and they were talking about mashed potatoes had its origin in the Andes Mountains 7000 years ago and it was only introduced in Europe in 1536.  The basic recipe is practically the same.  Although some people would add cream, cheese or garlic.

The secret in makin a real nice fluffy mashed potato lies on the potato type that you are using.  I would like to suggest that before you start making one, get yourself familiarised with the types of potatoes. Click Know Your Potatoes link to choose which potato to use.

Ingredients
6 medium size, carlingford variety
1 c butter (the good brand you could get),cubed really small
milk (the amount will depend on the consistency of the mashed that you want)
salt and pepper to taste

Procedure
Peel the potatoes and cut in quarters.
Boil water with the potatoes.
Put in salt and pepper to taste.
Remove from fire when the potatoes are cooked.  To check if the potatoes are ready, just poke them with a fork.
Remove the water.
Put in the cubed butter to the potatoes and start mashing them together with the potato masher (use the metal one to make your job easier).
As you mash the potatoes, pour in milk a little at a time taking into consideration the mashed potato consistency that you like.
Serve with your favorite steak, chips (fries) or any meat dish or veggies.

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Slow-Cooked Beef and Mushroom Ragout

 Ragout is of French origin.  It is also called ragu in Itali.  The dish is a thick, hearty stew cook over low fire very slowly for a long period of time allowing all the ingredients to blend well with one another.

The term “ragoût” comes from the French ragoûter, which means “to revive the appetite.” Recipes for this stew dating back to the 1600s have been found in France, which suggests that people have been making it for a very long time, and by the 1700s, a very diverse assortment of recipes were being published. Some ragoûts are entirely vegetarian, for example, while others are heavy on meat, and some cooks introduce ingredients like cream to vary the flavor.

This was the first time that I cooked this dish and I was surprised of the mixture of flavor after slow-cooking it for 4 hours.  Yes, it is indeed a bit of a wait for the dish to cook but hey it's all worth it.  The taste is somewhat similar between the Filipino caldereta and afritada dishes.  The soup is quite thick and mouthwatering.  The best thing about cooking this dish in a slow cooker, is that you can leave it cooking by itself without worrying about it getting burnt while you are doing other things.  I love my slow cooker now hehehe.

You can serve this delicious ragout with mashed potatoes or rice or both.  Try my husband's yummy mashed potato recipe too.

Ingredients
500 g beef, cubed (chuck or blade)
6 baby onions or 2 medium onions (quartered)
200 g bacon, chopped
10 button mushrooms
100 ml beef broth
100 ml red wine
2 tbsp plain flour
1 tin diced tomatoes (400 g)
1/2 c frozen peas
2 tsp thyme
olive oil

Procedure
Coat the meat with flour (Use ziploc plastic bag to do this).
Heat the oil in the pan.  Put in onions, mushrooms and bacon.  Remove from pan when the onions are soft.  Put into the slow cooker.
Sear the beef on each side. Remove from pan and put into the slow cooker
Pour in the red wine and broth on the pan.  Simmer a bit and pour into the slow cooker.
Put in the thyme and tomatoes.  Add salt  and pepper (to taste).
Put the slow cooker on high heat and cook the ragout for 4 hours (8 hours if low heat). 
Put in the peas 10 minutes before turning off the heat.

Note: If you don't have a slow cooker, you can use a crockpot and cook the ragout for 9 hours.  If you opt for a less complicated way, you can use the ready mix ragout soup base of McCormick.  You can also replace beef with lamb, chicken or pork.

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Garlic Fried Rice (Sinangag sa bawang)

Who would not love the smell of fresh garlic from your garlic rice being cooked in your pan?  Just the smell of it makes one's tummies hungry.  This is the easiest and simplest sinangag that anyone could cook without any fuss.

  My father would always cook garlic fried rice for us using the day old rice we have in the fridge.  He would toast the rice first a bit before adding the oil and toasting the garlic.  The best treat for us would be the real toasted part of the fried rice, the ones which would get stuck at the pan.  My father would scrape them and shape them like small sausages. My siblings and I would eat them in a flash.  That's how yummy it is. 

This is actually my father's recipe as I remember it.

Igredients
4 cups day old rice
6 pcs of mashed and minced fresh garlic
salt to taste

Procedure
Mix the salt thoroughly with the rice.  You can use your hands if you like or use a spoon.
Heat a pan.
Toast the rice and make sure to stir it every now and then until is half way cooked (just when it's starting to change its color).
Put the rice on the one side of the pan.  Pour oil on the clean side of the pan and toast garlic. 
When the garlic is starting to go brown in color.  Mix the rice with it and cook for at least 3-5 minutes more.  Have a spoon of rice and taste if it suits to your liking.
Serve hot with garlic granules on top.
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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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Beef Soup Bones Mami

When I went to NSO, Quezon City years ago, I noticed this karinderia on wheels just across BIR.  It was lunch break and there were lots of people rushing to make their move in crossing the street. In a flash the rolling karinderia was full of customers.  I went near the place just to see what's there and I've found they're selling lunch meals and one of these was the Beef Mami.

I suddenly got transported in time in Sagrada.  Way back when we were still young, I remember there was a small table across the street from our house selling meals and the best seller was beef mami.  It was really delicious!

I don't  know why we weren't able to cook this dish in the house but instead we settled for those instant mami noodles.   I still prefer the homemade one with fresh veggies and lots of garlic. 

Craving for mami occupied my mind and tummy so I had to tell my hubby to get me some noodles.  I already have all the ingredients so it's not going to be a problem.

Cooking mami is just cooking nilaga except that you sautee onions and garlic for the first and just boil the onions with the meat for the latter.  Star anise is just optional so if you don't want the aromatic strong flavor of anise just don't add them.  My husband immediately knew that anise was in the soup.  He loved the soup and that made me real happy.

Ingredients
1 k beef soup bones
1 beef broth cube
3 star anise (optional)
1 medium onions, minced
1 tbsp garlic, minced
1 tbsp fish sauce (or to taste)
1 bundle spring onions, minced
1 chinese cabbage, shredded
4 hardboiled eggs
pepper to taste
egg noodles
garlic granules (toppings)

Procedure
Tenderise the beef bones thru boiling.  Add the beef cubes.  The water you add would depend on how much you would like your soup be.  Add salt (just enough to your liking) and star anise  .  Set aside the meat and broth.
Sautee onions and garlic in a wok.  Put in the beef bones.  Pour in the broth and boil.
In a bowl, put some cooked noodles, shredded chinese cabbage and sliced eggs.  Pour the beef soup and put some beef on your bowl.  Top with garlic granules.
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Pinoy Bistek (Filipino Style Beef Steak)

One beef steak that I would always love to eat is the Pinoy Bistek that most Filipinos I'm sure would know how to cook.  It was my father who taught me how to cook this dish when I was just probably still in High School or Elementary.  I am not really sure but I know that I was quite young then.

This is also my nanay's favorite...so whenever she's here in Queensland, she would always request for bistek.  We normally use the calamansi or calamunding for the sauce mixed with soy sauce.  It's difficult to find this certain type of citrus fruit so we would use the fresh lemon juice extract instead.  To make the taste similar to the bistek we were used to have, I have to add a bit of vinegar.

Ingredients
2 pcs thin slice beef steak cut
juice of one lemon
1/2 c soy sauce
1 tbsp vinegar
1 medium size, onions, cut into rings
3 cloves garlic, crushed and minced

Procedure
Marinate the beef with soy sauce, lemon juice and vinegar for 10 minutes.
Heat a pan and sear the beef on both side. Remove the beef and set aside.
On the same pan, sautee onions and garlic.
Put in the beef. Make sure that both sides are infused with garlic and onion juice. 
Pour in the marinade to the pan. Simmer for a few minutes.
Serve hot with rice.

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Easy to Cook Italian Beef Steak

This is an easy to cook beef steak recipe that I have made.  I would usually do an Italian steak using pork chops but there's no more pork in my freezer so I ended up cooking the beef one.

Amazingly, the taste is quite good.  It's an honest to goodness dish that I'm sure you and your family will enjoy eating.

Ingredients
2 beef round steak cut
2 tbsp italian seasoning
salt and pepper to taste
olive oil

Procedure
Marinate each side of the steak with olive oil, salt and pepper and the italian seasoning for an hour. Make sure that you pat each side with your palm to make sure that the marinade is infused inside the meat.
Use a non stick pan in frying.  Do not put oil anymore in the pan since the steak has olive oil.
Cook the beef to your liking. 
Click this ---> steaks for your guide to cooking steak

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