Day 9- Bistek

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TODAY'S RECIPE: Bistek (Beef Steak)
Blog Commentary: I was in the mood for some onions. So I decided to cook a dish that had A LOT of onions, Bistek! Even though we had red meat the day before, I was REALLY craving the onions. :-). I noticed that the recipe below was like the recipe for the marinade for the pork (w/o the vinegar).Without the vinegar, it gave a little bit of a sweeter taste. This recipe was a SUCCESS! The only thing I changed (from the original recipe) was the last couple of steps where I put the onions in with the sauce. It just looked too good to not give them a quick dip. Good stuff. Good stuff! Enjoy! I did.
Reference: http://www.recipezaar.com/Filipino-Beef-Steak-or-Bistek-243835
ORIGINAL RECIPE:	JO'S RECIPE:
BISTEK Ingredients	BISTEK Ingredients
1 lb beef round steak or beef sirloin or beef tenderloin, sliced 1/4-inch thick 8 tablespoons kalamansi juice (native lemon) 1/2 cup dark soy sauce (regular kikkoman's) freshly-ground pepper 2 teaspoons garlic, minced 2 large onions, cut into rings 2 tablespoons cooking oil water	1 lb beef round steak or beef sirloin or beef tenderloin, sliced 1/4-inch thick 8 tablespoons lemon juice 1/2 cup dark soy sauce freshly-ground pepper 2 teaspoons garlic, minced 2 large onions, cut into rings 2 tablespoons cooking oil water
BISTEK Procedures:	BISTEK Procedures:
1. In a nonreactive bowl (non-metal), mix kalamansi juice, soy sauce, and garlic. Taste it, if it's too sour, add soy sauce; if it's too salty, add more juice. Balance out the flavors. Remember you can also adjust near the end of cooking the beef. 2. Cut up the beef into about 1/4" strips. Pound it with a meat tenderizer (optional). 3. Season the meat with gound pepper. Add meat to soy sauce mixture and stir to let it soak up the marinade evenly. Let sit in the marinade for at least 30 minutes. 4. Heat a (non-reactive) skillet. Add one tablespoon of oil. Stir fry the onion rings until translucent and a tiny bit brown on the edges but still with a bit of a crunch. Remove from skillet and set aside. 5. In the same pan, heat one tablespoon of oil. Pan-fry the beef working in batches, remove after browning on both sides. When all the beef has been browned, pour the marinade into the skillet and bring to a slow boil and simmer for a few minutes or until cooked through. Adjust the sauce with more soy sauce or juice, or some water, to suit your taste. After adding soy sauce always let it cook a little. 6. Slide the beef slices onto a serving plate, arrange the onion rings on top. Make sure to pour all the rest of the cooking liquid on top (this is great on rice). 7. The leftovers freeze well.	1. In a glass bowl, mix lemon juice, soy sauce, and garlic. Taste it, if it's too sour, add soy sauce; if it's too salty, add more juice. Balance out the flavors. Remember you can also adjust near the end of cooking the beef. 2. Cut up the beef into about 1/4" strips. 3. Season the meat with gound pepper. Add meat to soy sauce mixture and stir to let it soak up the marinade evenly. Let sit in the marinade for at least 30 minutes. 4. Heat a (non-reactive) skillet. Add one tablespoon of oil. Stir fry the onion rings until translucent and a tiny bit brown on the edges but still with a bit of a crunch. Remove from skillet and set aside. 5. In the same pan, heat one tablespoon of oil. Pan-fry the beef working in batches, remove after browning on both sides. When all the beef has been browned, pour the marinade into the skillet and bring to a slow boil and simmer for a few minutes or until cooked through. Adjust the sauce with more soy sauce or juice, or some water, to suit your taste. After adding soy sauce always let it cook a little. 6. Slide the beef slices onto a serving plate. 7. Quickly throw the onion rings in the frying pan. Then arrange on top of the beef slices. Awesome with rice! 7. Leftovers? What leftovers?
VIDEO:
Video Commentary: I finally got to take a pic of the food! It's yummy. Hope you all like. Next: Yema Balls

Day 8- Pork BBQ

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TODAY'S RECIPE: Pork Barbeque
Blog Commentary: So I woke up hoping to find a macapuno candy that looked better than it did last night (I dunno, maybe it got better overnight as some dessert tend to do when they've settled and cooled off). No luck. It was still a gooey mess. So, I decided to make some bbq since we were going to a pool bbq later on that day anyway. I took the "?" in the ingredients as an indication of freedom. Actually, at first I thought it was supposed to be a 1 but then I started adding more to soak all the meat. I didn't have calamansi juice and used lemon juice as a sub. Instead of pork chop slices, I got some pork butt, which I struggled to cut but no problem. It was still cut. I got the hang of it towards the end whe I decided to use the butterfly technique on it. Also, I bought vinegar that already had peppers and some spice to the flavor so I left out the chillies out of my recipe. We took the pork to an outside grill but you can use a George Forman grill if you don't have access to an outside grill. Don't forget the salt and peppa!!! (<--- which I did...)
Reference: http://www.topvotedrecipes.com/Pork_Barbeque/456.html
ORIGINAL RECIPE:	JO'S RECIPE:
PORK BBQ Ingredients	PORK BBQ Ingredients
1 kilo pork chop slices 1 head of garlic (minced) 2 pieces hot chili pepper (minced) 1 tablespoon brown sugar ? cup vinegar ? cup soy sauce Pinch of salt & pepper 2 teaspoons calamansi juice	2 lbs of pork butt 1 head of garlic (minced) 2 pieces hot chili pepper (minced) 1 tablespoon brown sugar 1 and a half cups vinegar 1 and a half cups soy sauce Pinch of salt & pepper 2 teaspoons lemon juice
PORK BBQ Procedures:	PORK BBQ Procedures:
1. In a bowl, mix all the ingredients together except for the pork chops. 2. Marinate the chops for two hours or over night. 3. Grill until well cooked. 4. In a saucepan, heat marinade mixture and strain. 5. Serve chops with the sauce.	1. In a bowl, mix all the ingredients together except for the pork chops. 2. Marinate the chops for two hours or over night. 3. Grill until well cooked. 4. In a saucepan, heat marinade mixture and strain. 5. Serve chops with the sauce.
VIDEO:
Video Commentary: I knew I shouldn't have gotten a manicure. So messy! And I also just wanted to go in the pool (it was freaking hot out), I was kinda rushing this bbq-ing process that I still have my rings on (in the vid) .... oopsies. The hubby wasn't too pleased about that. Oh yea, I would have salted and peppered the meat (while it was in grilling too). Would've been better. I think I'm gonna try to add some 7-up or sprite to this marinade in the future. Tip: Good to serve with hot sauce! :-) Next: Bistek

Day 7- Turrón

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TODAY'S RECIPE: Turrón (sweet fried bananas)
Blog Commentary: I was in a sweet banana, frying type of mood. The hubs and I decided to go grocery shopping to stock up on the filipino ingredients and actually asked someone who knew how to make a bananaque. You might remember my disastrous attempt to make a bananaque. I asked my mom what she used and she told me she used plantains. I guess you can use those too, but the recipe didn't require the plantains so I tried to find something that resembled a banana in the saba variety (not plantains). It was a little hard to cut. (I gotta get my Cutco chef's knife from back home). It was a little slippery. However, this turned out pretty well. It was a lumpia, part II type of experience.I'm think I'm good w/ the frying now. As you can see from below, the original author's recipe doesn't have measurements. I just tried to guess how much I needed when I made this. Oh, and I pan friend, instead of deep. A little longer, but I liked saving the oil.
Reference:http://www.nibbledish.com/people/lealea/recipes/classic-filipino-turon
ORIGINAL RECIPE:	JO'S RECIPE:
TURRON Ingredients	TURRON Ingredients
ripe bananas water mixture of brown and white sugar spring roll wrapping	bunch of ripe bananas (saba variety) 2 cups of water 1/4 cup mixture of brown and white sugar pack of spring roll wrapping
TURRON Procedures:	TURRON Procedures:
1.Quarter long bananas, by cutting them in half, then cut them lengthwise. 2. Dip them in water. 3. Mix a little golden brown sugar and white sugar together and sprinkle over top wet bananas. 4. Wrap in spring roll wrapping. 5. (Optional) Tap some water on spring roll and sprinkle sugar mixture over top. This will create less "clean" but sugary tops. 6. Deep fry until golden and transfer to paper towel on a plate to absorb oil.	1.Quarter long bananas, by cutting them in half, then cut them lengthwise. 2. Dip them in water. 3. Mix a little golden brown sugar and white sugar together and sprinkle over top wet bananas. 4. Wrap in spring roll wrapping. 5. (Optional) Tap some water on spring roll and sprinkle sugar mixture over top. This will create less "clean" but sugary tops. 6. Heat the pan under meadium heat and fry sides (4-5 mins on each flattened side, about 2 mins for the 2 smaller sides) , on theuntil golden and transfer to paper towel on a plate to absorb oil.
VIDEO:
Video Commentary: This was such a fast cooking experience that I tried to doing ANOTHER dish afterwards as a bonus. a macapuno ball candy. The only recipe that I found was this one: http://www.filipinovegetarianrecipe.com/fruit_preserves/macapuno_balls.php which wasn't too helpful because I basically got a mush of sweetness in a big pot. So mad. So anyone out there that has a good step by step recipe, please comment!. Next: Pork BBQ

Day 6- Pancit Bihon

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TODAY'S RECIPE: Pancit Bihon
Blog Commentary: I tried making this dish because it seemed easy enough. This was my easy (and lazy) week so I decided to do a fairly simple recipe with A LOT of ingredients. As you will see in the video, I have no idea how to cut a cabbage. Looks easy, right? Wow. I said "easy" about 10 times already. Who am I trying to convince? No really, it's easy. Maybe I had the wrong knife or I'm just horrible at cutting. There are some premade mix (of cabbage and carrots) at your local grocery store, but I found this (even though it was poorly cut) cabbage and carrots mix very fresh and way better than any pre-made mix of these two veggies. So, I guess you can either take the hit (in the cuts) and you'll have a more flavorful dish. I liked it, but that's just me.
Reference: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Pancit/Detail.aspx
ORIGINAL RECIPE:	JO'S RECIPE:
PANCIT BIHON Ingredients	PANCIT BIHON Ingredients
1 (8 ounce) package thin rice noodles 1/2 pound skinless, boneless chicken legs, cut into bite-size pieces 1/2 pound pork tenderloin, cut into bite-size pieces 1/2 cup soy sauce ground black pepper to taste 1/2 medium head cabbage, shredded 2 carrots, shredded 2 green onions, chopped into 1 inch pieces 1/2 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined	1 (8 ounce) package thin rice noodles 1/2 pound skinless, boneless chicken legs, cut into bite-size pieces 1/2 pound pork tenderloin, cut into bite-size pieces 1/2 cup soy sauce ground black pepper to taste 1/2 medium head cabbage, shredded 2 carrots, shredded 2 green onions, chopped into 1 inch pieces 1/2 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
PANCIT BIHON Procedures:	PANCIT BIHON Procedures:
1.Place the rice noodles in a large bowl, and cover with warm water. When soft, cut into 4 inch lengths, drain, and set aside. 2. In a skillet over medium heat, brown the chicken and pork until no pink shows. Season with soy sauce and pepper. Remove from skillet and set aside. Saute the cabbage and carrots until tender. Stir in the noodles, green onions and shrimp. Cook for 4 to 5 minutes, stir in the chicken and pork, and cook for 5 more minutes.	1.Place the rice noodles in a large bowl, and cover with warm water. When soft, cut into 4 inch lengths, drain, and set aside. 2. In a skillet over medium heat, brown the chicken and pork until no pink shows. Season with a half of the soy sauce and pepper. Remove from skillet and set aside. Saute the cabbage and carrots until tender. Stir in the noodles, green onions and shrimp. Cook for 4 to 5 minutes, stir in the chicken and pork, and cook for 5 more minutes. 3. Drizzle the rest of the soy sauce over the noodles.
VIDEO:
Video Commentary: You probably notice the slight change of the use for the soy sauce. Truth be told, I forgot (whoa how about that, ME, FORGOT AGAIN) to drizzle the whole 1/2 cup of soy sauce unto the mix. This filming and cooking thing is harder than I thought. You tend to forget things when multitasking. ;-p. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. Anyways, I've seen my mom drizzle the sauce soy over the noodles as she was cooking it so I figured it be okay. Although, I did notice how dry the chicken and pork got without that extra sauce. Not too dry, just a little dry. However, the noodles did get more flavor though...You can add more sauce soy sauce within the recipe if you want. Your call. Next: Banana Turon

Day 5- Leche Flan

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TODAY'S RECIPE: Leche Flan
Blog Commentary: You may be wondering why I've been cooking deserts. Well, we're still working on the spaghetti that was cooked 3 days ago and I'm saving up for the other BIG meal tomorrow, pancit bihon! Weee. Flan wasn't too bad to make. It was pretty easy and there were a lot of videos that were already made. Didn't use aluminum mold but a baking dish and didn't place the pan on a larger baking dish filled with hot water. Also, the recipe called for water and sugar to make caramel but you don't really need water to make the syrup. I forgot to use foil until 10 mins into the baking. oops! However, I think it came out well! Still tasty.
Reference:http://www.filipinofoodrecipes.net/leche-flan.htm
ORIGINAL RECIPE:	JO'S RECIPE:
LECHE FLAN Ingredients	LECHE FLAN Ingredients
1 can (390g) evaporated milk 1 can (390g) condensed milk 10 egg yolks 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract or lemon essence For caramel: 1 cup sugar 3/4 cup water	1 can (390g) evaporated milk 1 can (390g) condensed milk 10 egg yolks 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract or lemon essence For caramel: 1 cup sugar 3/4 cup water
LECHE FLAN Procedures:	LECHE FLAN Procedures:
1.In a saucepan, mix the sugar & water. Bring to a boil for a few minutes until the sugar caramelize. 2. Pour the caramelized sugar into aluminum moulds - you can use any shape: oval, round or square. Spread the caramel on the bottom of the moulds. 3. Mix well the evaporated milk, condensed milk, egg yolks and vanilla by hand or blender. 4.Gently pour the mixture on top of the caramel on the aluminum moulds. Fill the moulds to about 1 to 1 1/4 inch thick. 5.Cover moulds individually with aluminum foil. 6. Steam for about 20 minutes OR Bake for about 45 minutes. Before baking the Leche Flan, place the moulds on a larger baking pan half filled with very hot water. Pre-heat oven to about 370 degrees before baking. 7. Let cool then refrigerate. 8. To serve: run a thin knife around the edges of the mould to loosen the Leche Flan. Place a platter on top of the mould and quickly turn upside down to position the golden brown caramel on top.	1.In a saucepan, mix the sugar & water. Bring to a boil for a about 10-15 minutes until the sugar caramelize. 2. Pour the caramelized sugar into aluminum moulds - you can use any shape: oval, round or square. Spread the caramel on the bottom of the moulds. 3. Mix well the evaporated milk, condensed milk, egg yolks and vanilla by hand or blender. 4.Gently pour the mixture on top of the caramel on the aluminum moulds. Fill the moulds to about 1 to 1 1/4 inch thick. 5.Cover moulds individually with aluminum foil. 6. Bake for about 45 minutes. Before baking the Leche Flan, place the moulds on a larger baking pan half filled with very hot water. Pre-heat oven to about 370 degrees before baking. 7. Let cool then refrigerate for about 10 mins. 8. To serve: run a thin knife around the edges of the mould to loosen the Leche Flan. Place a platter on top of the mould and quickly turn upside down to position the golden brown caramel on top.
VIDEO:
Video Commentary: Nothing really to commentate with the video. It's a pretty straight forward recipe.As you can see, I didn't flip over the flan. However, the caramel did rise to the top. It's probably prettier when flipped. Next: Pancit Bihon

Day 4- Puto

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TODAY'S RECIPE: Puto
Blog Commentary: Puto has always been my favorite morning treat. I remember visiting the Philippines about 10 years ago (that's the furthest my memory can go back) and waking up early in the morning to have the Puto person deliver the freshly steamed putos on banana leafs. Ahhh... that's a sigh not a frightened sound... I can still smell the freshness when I think about it. So I called my mom this morning to see if she could help me out in trying to get that flavor back. Basically, she just laughed at me (apparently, me trying to cook is pretty funny) and told me that she throws stuff in the pot, that she didn't use any recipe... psshhh, what a ridiculous concept. Oh mom... Back to the puto. No steamer so I decided to use the oven method they suggested on the website. Also, I didn't use the Edam cheese because I thought cheddar was better. I've always topped off my puto with cheddar so I figured it would work out. Also, I forgot to change the servings (yea, you can do that in the allrecipes.com website... I guess I was in a hurry).
Reference:http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Puto/Detail.aspx
ORIGINAL RECIPE:	JO'S RECIPE:
PUTO Ingredients	PUTO Ingredients
4 cups all-purpose flour 2 cups white sugar 1/2 cup chopped onions 1 tablespoon baking powder 6 eggs 1 (12 fluid ounce) can evaporated milk 1 1/2 cups water 2 1/4 cups Edam cheese, shredded	4 cups all-purpose flour 2 cups white sugar 1/2 cup chopped onions 1 tablespoon baking powder 6 eggs 1 (12 fluid ounce) can evaporated milk 1 1/2 cups water 2 1/4 cups Cheddar cheese, shredded
PUTO Procedures:	PUTO Procedures:
1.Grease small cake, puto molds, or ramekins for use in a steamer. Mix the flour, sugar, and baking powder together in a bowl. In a separate, large bowl, scramble the eggs with the evaporated milk and water. Fold the dry mixture into the eggs until evenly blended. Fill the prepared molds 2/3 of the way up with the batter and top with shredded cheese. 2. Fill a wok or a sauce pan that will hold a steamer basket with a few inches of water. Bring the water to a boil over medium-high heat. Place the molds into a steamer basket and place over the boiling water and cover. 3. Steam until a toothpick inserted in the center of one of the putos comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Cool on a wire rack and serve warm or at room temperature.	1.Grease small cake, puto molds, or ramekins for use in a steamer. Mix the flour, sugar, and baking powder together in a bowl. In a separate, large bowl, scramble the eggs with the evaporated milk and water. Fold the dry mixture into the eggs until evenly blended. 2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) oven. Pour your batter into greased muffin tins and place the tins into a large high sided pan; place onto the rack of the preheated oven. Carefully pour boiling water into the large pan, so that it reaches half way up the sides of the muffin tin. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 35 minutes.
VIDEO:Okay, so I think I was supposed to just get the egg whites because the puto turned pretty yellowish and muffinish. It was not the puto that I remember. I mean the flavor wasn't bad at all, but it's just I didn't ask for a muffin. Maybe next time, I'll try another recipe and actually use a steamer...
Video Commentary: Next: Pancit

Day 3- Lumpia

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TODAY'S RECIPE: Lumpia
Blog Commentary: After seeing how much the blogger's emphasized on patience, I was a little hesitant to try this out. Patience has never been my strong suit. How can you go wrong with an eggroll? I've seen my mom do this a couple of times but I didn't get the recipe from her. Although, I do remember cabbage being one of the ingredients, I didn't use... saving that for the bihon. As you can see (below), this is the first time I didn't change the recipe!
Reference: http://hubpages.com/hub/Lumpia-Filipino-Egg-Rolls
ORIGINAL RECIPE:	JO'S RECIPE:
LUMPIA Ingredients	LUMPIA Ingredients
1 pound ground beef 3/4 cup shredded carrots 1/2 cup chopped onions 1 teaspoon or 2 cloves minced garlic 3/4 teaspoon pepper 2 teaspoons season salt 1 package of 50 Lumpia Wrappers or 2 packages of 25 individually separated Lumpia Wrappers 1-1 1/2 cup(s) vegetable or olive oil Small bowl of water	1 pound ground beef 3/4 cup shredded carrots 1/2 cup chopped onions 1 teaspoon or 2 cloves minced garlic 3/4 teaspoon pepper 2 teaspoons season salt 1 package of 50 Lumpia Wrappers or 2 packages of 25 individually separated Lumpia Wrappers 1-1 1/2 cup(s) vegetable or olive oil Small bowl of water
LUMPIA Procedures:	LUMPIA Procedures:
1.First, you'll want to brown your ground beef with your chopped onions, shredded carrots, garlic, pepper, and season salt, over medium high heat in a skillet or frying pan. 2. Separate the Lumpia wrappers. 3.Take 1 of the Lumpia wrappers and spoon 1-2 tablespoons of your ground beef mixture into a line near the edge on the Lumpia wrapper. 4. Fold Lumpia wrapper over the line of meat you just spooned. 5. Now, you will begin to roll the meat into a tube. Stop rolling when you are to the middle of the wrapper. 6. Fold the right and left sides of the lumpia wrapper to the center. 7. Continue to roll to the end of the wrapper. 8. Dip your fingers in the small bowl of water and lightly moisten the exposed edge of the lumpia wrapper. 9. Fold wrapper edge onto itself pressing it down gently. So it seems to glue itself down. 10. Place to the side for now and repeat, repeat, repeat! Until there isn't anymore wrappers or meat left.	1.First, you'll want to brown your ground beef with your chopped onions, shredded carrots, garlic, pepper, and season salt, over medium high heat in a skillet or frying pan. 2. Separate the Lumpia wrappers. 3.Take 1 of the Lumpia wrappers and spoon 1-2 tablespoons of your ground beef mixture into a line near the edge on the Lumpia wrapper. 4. Fold Lumpia wrapper over the line of meat you just spooned. 5. Now, you will begin to roll the meat into a tube. Stop rolling when you are to the middle of the wrapper. 6. Fold the right and left sides of the lumpia wrapper to the center. 7. Continue to roll to the end of the wrapper. 8. Dip your fingers in the small bowl of water and lightly moisten the exposed edge of the lumpia wrapper. 9. Fold wrapper edge onto itself pressing it down gently. So it seems to glue itself down. 10. Place to the side for now and repeat, repeat, repeat! Until there isn't anymore wrappers or meat left.
VIDEO:
Video Commentary: SUCCESS! Approved by a 4 men taste testing. I'm getting momentum... keep it up! Yep, I like motivating myself out loud.Next: Puto

Day 2- Filipino Style Spaghetti

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TODAY'S RECIPE: Filipino Style Spaghetti
Blog Commentary: I decided to go with spaghetti since, spaghetti is probably the second easiest thing you can make and it would be really hard to screw up. It was a full proof way to get myself out of the the rut from the first recipe. I was half right. The recipe wasn't really too hard to follow as I've made spaghetti before. The only mistake I made, I think is that I got the whole wheat spaghetti (we had some leftover from a previous shopping trip). Hey! I'm trying to be healthy here. The sauce flavor was pretty good. The only downside to this was that the recipe was for a whole filipino family (including extended fam), plus our neighbors. I changed the recipe a little as the pot and wok were too small to hold that much sauce and water. Still, we had A LOT of sauce leftover. That's alright, I'll just use it for a sloppy joe (filipino style). Below are the ingredients from the site as well as mine. You can follow mine if you'd like to have leftovers (and forgot the cheese) or stick to the original recipe. Whatevs. I'll have another shot tomorrow: It's LUMPIA TIME!
Reference: http://www.grouprecipes.com/29993/filipino-style-spaghetti.html
ORIGINAL RECIPE:	JO'S RECIPE:
SPAGHETTI Ingredients	SPAGHETTI Ingredients
1 kilo (2.2 lbs) spaghetti noodles 1 cup minced onion 1 head of garlic finely minced 3/4 kilo (1.65 lbs) ground beef 3/4 kilo (1.65 lbs) hot dogs 1/4 cup sugar Spaghetti sauce (used 750g (26.5 ounce) pouch in this recipe) 1 bottle banana ketchup 1 box quick melt cheese 1/2 cup water salt and pepper to taste	1 packet spaghetti noodles 1 cup minced onion 1 head of garlic finely minced 1 lb. ground beef 1 packet hot dogs 1/4 cup sugar 680 g of spaghetti sauce 1 bottle banana ketchup 1 box quick melt cheese 1/2 cup water salt and pepper to taste
SPAGHETTI Procedures:	SPAGHETTI Procedures:
1. Cook the noodles as per package direction. 2. Slice the hot dogs in wedges. Better do this when their still in a slightly frozen state. Split them in half then just do slanting cuts like in the picture. 3. Heat some oil. Saute garlic and onions. Then add in the meat. Cook till brown. Season with some salt and pepper. 4. Pour in the spaghetti sauce, ketchup, sugar and water. 5. Mix and let it simmer for about 10 minutes until it gets thick and red. 6. Add in the hot dogs last. 7. Mix and just let the hot dogs heat through. Sauce is done! 8. This is just a personal preference. Since I'm not mixing my sauce with the pasta I make sure to give the noodles a quick rinse after their cooked and strained them. Just to remove the excess starch. 9.Top the noodles with the warm sauce. Sprinkle with quick melt cheese!	1. Cook the noodles as per package direction. 2. Slice the hot dogs in wedges. Better do this when their still in a slightly frozen state. Split them in half then just do slanting cuts like in the picture. 3. Heat some oil. Saute garlic and onions. Then add in the meat. Cook till brown. Season with some salt and pepper. 4. Pour in the spaghetti sauce, ketchup, sugar and water. 5. Mix and let it simmer for about 10 minutes until it gets thick and red. 6. Add in the hot dogs last. 7. Mix and just let the hot dogs heat through. Sauce is done! 8.This is just a personal preference. Since I'm not mixing my sauce with the pasta I make sure to give the noodles a quick rinse after their cooked and strained them. Just to remove the excess starch. 9. Top the noodles with the warm sauce.
VIDEO:
Video Commentary: I don't know what to say. The hot dogs could've been in there for a little longer, maybe I could've turned up the heat and check on the hot dogs. I think we need more sugar too. It wasn't as sweet as i would've wanted it to be. Tip: taste the sauce and check on the hot dogs before serving.

Day 1 - Bananaque...sorta

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TODAY'S RECIPE: Bananaque
Blog Commentary: I figured I'd start with something easy, something small, with the fewest ingredients. This was the perfect dish. You may be wondering why there are 2 recipes on here. Well, I couldn't actually follow all the steps (even though there weren't that many), see explanation below. Forgot the skewers and got the wrong type of banana and filming got in the way so I ended up burning my first batch. Take 2, my take on the recipe.
Reference: http://lutongpinoy.info/bananaque/
ORIGINAL RECIPE:	JO'S RECIPE:
BANANAQUE Ingredients	BANANAQUE Ingredients
16 pcs. ripe banana (saba variety) 1/4 c. brown sugar 1/2 lit. cooking oil bamboo skewers	16 pcs. ripe banana (saba variety) 1/2 c. brown sugar 1/2 lit. cooking oil
BANANAQUE Procedures:	BANANAQUE Procedures:
1.Trim both ends of each banana and peel off skin. 2. In a large wok at high flame heat cooking oil put all the bananas in the wok and deep fry for 3-5 minutes or until color change to golden brown. 3. Sprinkle brown sugar over the bananas and continue to fry and stirring occasionally for 2-3 minutes or until sugar has melted and have infused to the bananas. 4. Do not overcook, remove bananas from wok and drain excess oil. 5. Using large bamboo skewer string 2 bananas together.	1.Trim both ends of each banana and peel off skin. 2.Quarter the bananas (length wise). 3.In a large wok at medium flame heat cooking oil put all the bananas in the wok and deep fry for 3- minutes or until color change to golden brown. 4. Sprinkle brown sugar over the bananas and continue to fry and stirring occasionally for 2-3 minutes or until sugar has melted and have infused to the bananas. 5. DO NOT overcook, remove bananas from wok and drain excess oil.
VIDEO:
Video Commentary: Wow. This was NOT a good start to this blog. I think there's a big emphasis on the type of banana to get. Should be ripe and of the saba variety. Hey! I picked the only semi-ripe (which some recipes said you can use.... although judging by my result, is NOT recommended) banana I saw in the asian supermarket. I'll make sure to ask next time. Also forgot the skewers. I brought them to a bbq 2 weeks ago and forgot to bring 'em home. Since I didn't have the skewers, I dunno if I could call this a bananaque, but as you can tell by my directions, I did a little of improvising based on the many times I've seen my mom do this deep fried banana recipe (I never knew what she called it). I found the term, bananaque, on the internet. I think she just called them sweet/sugar saging (banana). haha. I dunno, something was lost in translation. Also, everything ended up cooking the outside and the banana was very undercooked inside. That's why I changed the instructions to Medium flame. Live and learn. Next: Filipino Spaghetti

Introduction

I'm starting this blog for a couple of reasons. Recently, I got married, quit my job, and moved across the country to finally be with my hubby after a year of flying back and forth (at least 1,000 mins a month on the phone and 3,o00 miles a month, to see each other for a short amount of time). It's been a month since my move here and I figured, while looking for a job (or trying to create some of my own), I would try to do something that I've wanted to for a LONNNNG time. After our move here, we took most of our wedding gifts, which were mostly kitchenware, and I freaking finally learned how to cook! First attempt, a chicken curry (famous Indian cuisine) from a video from videojug (http://www.videojug.com/film/how-to-cook-a-chicken-curry-in-ten-minutes), wasn't too bad and encouraged me to keep trying and trying. Of course, not all of my dishes were as successful. The meringue didn't harden and the waffles got a little too much batter on them and didn't form the perfect circle (more like a cross between a circle and a square, a cirquare or a squircle). Anyways, that's when I realized I needed a hand mixer. Waffles are much better now... (still using Bisquick though, only recipe I know), but I think I'm gonna try a new recipe soon probably from allrecipes.com. Haven't tried to re-do the meringue again yet, but I'm ready for something new, something that's been daunting me for a long long time, filipino cuisine. I think it's ironic that making cuisine from my own country and culture, which I've eaten all my life, brings out more FEAR in me than anything else. I guess it's the pressure of screwing it up and embarrasing myself. Well, I think it's a good thing that I'm 3,000 miles away from family judgements and criticisms. With that positive thought in my mind, I decided to go for it and committed myself to cooking 30 recipes in 30 days to go back to my roots and become (or at least try to) cook like a filipino. Two things will either happen a) I'll FINALLY learn to cook like a filipino and will have videos and recipes to pass down to my children as well as the WWW community b) I'll be reassured that even though I'm filipino, I'm better off cooking other cuisines in the world. So here goes...