What you see above is Chicken-Pork Adobo, stewing away in its fragrant marinade of soy sauce, vinegar, fresh-milled black pepper, garlic cloves and bay leaves. As I write this, I can smell its familiar peppery-garlic-tanginess wafting from the kitchen. It fights for my nose’s affection alongside the comforting fragrance of jasmine white rice steaming in a pot. All I can say is that it smells like heaven in here right now. Or, even better, it smells like home.

This is tonight’s dinner. I’ve been sick for the past week and a half, and whenever I’m tired and not feeling well, my body craves for classic Filipino comfort food like this. And not just any adobo—but my Lola’s adobo. I know that there are a million and one ways to prepare this dish, but the way my grandma made it is the one that fits my food memories like a glove. She was a purist about her adobo. Nothing was fancy about it, but its simple preparation and flavors always made the dish sing. I can’t wait to eat!

The thing I realized about Lola’s adobo was that it doesn’t ask for much. It’s the kind of dish that takes care of itself. You literally dump everything in a pot and trust that the chemistry between the ingredients works. And it does, every time. I think, in this way, my Lola’s adobo is “comfort food” in every sense: nonsense kitchen prep that frees you to sit back, relax and even write a blog post, and flavors that wrap you in a warm cloud of your childhood. Every mouthful is a kiss and a hug from Lola.

I hope this post finds you warm and comfy and loved.

I woke up last Saturday morning thinking that I wanted, no needed, to make this:

I had made an Egg In The Basket before, but thought that with Valentine’s Day coming up I could give my idea of making this variation a go. Sometimes these are also called Toad In The Hole (beats me why), but I’ve nicknamed in this version the Heart In A Hole (at least it isn’t the other way around, huh?). I literally got up and zombiewalked to the kitchen in my pj’s to make this, because I had been thinking about it all the night before, wondering if it would work.

So, I took a slice of bread, which turned out to be multi-grain because there was nothing else in the house. This one is Milton’s multi-grain, which I have an unabashed affection for. I buttered both sides (the world would be a sad place indeed without butter!).

Used one of my heart cookie cutters from this mega collection that I’ve had for many years, and cut out a heart from the middle.

Put a little more butter in a pan (what? Julia Child LOVED butter!) and waited for it to melt.

Set the bread slice in the middle, and carefully broke an egg into the heart shape.

I covered the pan so the steam would allow the top of the eggs to set a little.

Flipped it over when I thought the yolk was sufficiently set and waited for that part to toast a little. I also toasted the cut-out heart itself in the same way.

The final outcome wasn’t as pretty as I wanted it to be, but I’m picky like that. I would have wanted the yolk a bit runny, so I’m probably going to take it out of the pan a little earlier than I did the next time I make it.

It was a hearty (oh puns, I love you so) dish that was as much fun to eat as it was fun to make! I hope you get to eggsperiment on your own, too!

Today is a good day to blog about these sunshine-y cupcakes. Because it’s been raining in Los Angeles. A LOT.

We need a little reminder of the (almost) perennial Southern California sunshine around here. The weather is getting people all depressed! I personally love all this rain, but the fact that most Angelenos are mopey and boo-hooing this strange weather is the perfect opportunity to write about these yummy, summery cupcakes.

I made them for my friend Sara’s birthday. We were all going to have dinner at Loteria Grill, a Mexican restaurant on Hollywood Boulevard (awesome food!) I wanted to bring dessert that would pair well with all the enchiladas and tacos we’d eat with wild abandon, and at first I thought I’d make a Mojito Birthday Cake. The lime and mint in it, typical Mexican flavors, would do just the trick. And oh, yes, the rhum!

But as a lot of restaurants in the city, Loteria was going to charge me a (stupid) cake-cutting fee. Simply said, if you bring a cake into a restaurant that observes this policy, they’ll charge you for cutting and plating your dessert. Why would I or my friends have to pay to eat something I baked? Ridiculous! I called up the restaurant and countered, “Well, if I brought in some cupcakes, they won’t need cutting…would you charge me for those?” The person over the phone admitted no, they wouldn’t charge me if I chose to bring in cupcakes. Ha! HA!

These cupcakes were so much fun to make. I first set about making cupcakes with my favorite vanilla cupcake recipe (out of the Magnolia Bakery cookbook).

I used these really pretty cupcake liners from Bake It Pretty.

I then modified the rhum syrup from this recipe. This was the sweet, alcoholic kick that really elevated these from sweet, innocent vanilla cupcakes that they were to the sinful indulges that they became. I mean sugar + alchohol? Come on now, that’s debauchery in a cupcake right there!

After poking holes into the cupcakes and spooning the syrup on top, I waited a bit to make sure the syrup was throughly absorbed, infusing each little cupcake with the bright flavors that inspired the popular cocktail.

With a little help from Nonna, my little grater girl, I made a cream-cheese frosting with lime zest mixed right in.

After garnishing the tops with lime slices and sprigs of mint, I decided the cupcakes still kind of looked naked. Ayayay.

I realized I had some green sanding sugar in my decorating “toolboox,” and sprinkling those on completed my sweet, little sinful things!

¡Salud!

I hope it’s bright and sunshine-y where you are, and that you’re enjoying a mojito in the sun and thinking about me.

At 8-ish o’clock in the evening, I was in my jammies heckling at the TV as I watched the historic Iron Chef battle between Team Flay/Comerford and Team Batali/Lagasse. It was an event of gastronomic proportions that I couldn’t miss.

I had been waiting for that episode for months. Even if I was sure I’d catch it in real time on the West Coast, I made backup plans and asked E. to record it on TiVO. And thinking about it now, I would watch the episode again!

I took special interest in the episode because of Cristeta Comerford, the Filipino head chef at the White House who has cooked meals for two administrations now (the Obamas kept her on after she served the Bush family for many years).  She was such an inspiration, this tiny thing moving around among the towering figures of her male counterparts, confident, quick and intelligent. I was very proud of her. She didn’t just hold her own, but she took the win with Bobby Flay.

Michelle Obama announced the secret ingredient: the White House garden. The chefs had their pick of the freshest herbs and vegetables from the garden (and its own honey farm) and, with local ingredients, inspired a mouthwatering menu that made me swoon. And they made the judges swoon, too. The event’s critical palates were those of celebrity chef Nigella Lawson, actress Jane Seymour and Olympic gold medalist Natalie Coughlin. (I love how Emeril seems to be having a philisophical discussion with those radishes!)

The menus focused on local and sustainable ingredients and included Blue Point oysters, bay scallops, clams, lobster, heritage turkey and quail, pork, artisanal cheeses and fresh dairy. Here are the prize dishes that took the win for Comerford and Flay:

Fennel and Apple Salad with Blue Point Oysters
Eggplant and Carrot Salad with Crispy Lobster and Squid, with White House Honey
A fresh twist to the Manhattan Clam Chowder with broccoli and broccoli raab, local clams and crab mixed with fingerling potatoes, chorizo, lemongrass, garlic and ginger
BBQ pork accompanied by vegetables
Sweet Potato Tart Topped With Meringue, and a side of ginger ice cream

THIS blog has a great summary of the episode, including the recipe for the prize-winning Cauliflower Gratin that Nigella Lawson spooned with a big smile into her mouth, because she says cauliflower and cheese is very British comfort food. I can’t wait to make it myself, it should be perfect for winter.

After the show, I was warm and happy with thoughts of food, so I ended the night curled up in bed with a new cookbook I got for Christmas. An awesome start to a New Year; I can’t wait to make this year into a delicious one. And I hope yours is just as yummy!

*All photos courtesy of Food Network

 Long overdue, I know! But in the shuffle of turkey, mashed potato and stuffing, I misplaced my camera and couldn’t post these until today.

 For my family, I made this toot-my-own-horn-good Pumpkin Cheesecake. The crust was made from crushed gingersnaps—a season-appropriate spiced twist from the traditional graham-cracker one. I piped whipped cream (yes, made from scratch, thank you) blobs on top (Bake It Pretty’s Round Giant Pastry Tip was perfect for this!) , and sprinkled some toffee brickle on them. The chocolate pieces you see were made from a chocolate “mat.” I melted some chocolate chips, dipped a fork in the mixture and whipped it back and forth over some wax paper so it made some sort of cross-hatched pattern. Those pieces you see on the cheesecake were simply broken-off “shards” from the mat. More crushed gingersnaps in the middle completed the dessert. (I’m very proud of it!) I think I’ll be making this cheesecake for Thanksgiving from now on.

For E.’s family (who are self-confessed chocoholics!), I made this autumn-themed Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Frosting. I baked it in a disposable sheet pan, just like these. They’re handy because they come with their own cover and there are no worries about a forgotten cake pan wherever the baked treat is sent. The leaves are made from marzipan that I tinted, rolled out and cut out with autumn mini cookie cutters. I used the back of a knife (a Martha Stewart trick so that you don’t cut all the way through the marzipan) to score veins on the leaves and marks on the acorns. 

The holidays are always an excuse for me to cook and craft even more, so may the Kitchen and Craft Gods be with me in the next few weeks as Christmas draws near. Hope to keep you posted of all my adventures in thread and flour!

Someday, I’d like to be able to say I’ve cooked the world.

I imagine a curiosity about world cuisine is common for a lot of people who love to cook. For me, though, it’s a deep-seated fascination simply because it’s an ingredient in my very own immigrant experience. Living in Los Angeles has exposed me to a rich tapestry of different cultures—something I didn’t grow up with in the 25 years I lived in the Philippines.

When I first came out here, one of the ways I knew to explore my new life was to acquaint myself with the food my new friends grew up with. I would talk about my Lola’s adobo, and they would have me taste the Lubia Polo (a Persian rice dish with ground beef and green beans) their nanny had made for them for years. Nothing was more delicious than exchanging memories about food. All this started my now ever-growing love affair with world cuisine. I guess I felt that I could somehow distill part of my often-crazy immigrant experience…in a pot.

This was what prompted me to take a two-hour Moroccan Cooking class at Surfa’s in Culver City. Surfas is a restaurant/culinary supply warehouse and is, in itself, a sort of mecca for me. It’s where I bought my first honest-to-goodness bottle of (pricey) vanilla extract with my first paycheck. I go back to it time to time each year to explore, wide-eyed, its wondrous shelves and shelves of food things: from European butter, to cake decorating thingamajigs…

…and pots and pans and pastas.

And don’t get me started about their tubs of chocolate. TUBS. Valhrona, help me.

Now, back to Morocco. I’d always thought that if I were to take a cooking class, it would be for something I’d never done before. I’ve had many chances to try my hand at Italian and American food, and was on the lookout for something more exotic (exotic for me, at least). I found Chef Amanda Cushman’s cooking class by patient online sleuthing, and when I discovered it was in Surfa’s (very near my house), I signed up without so much as a blink.

I didn’t know what to expect, because I’d never taken a cooking class before. And frankly, I’m a very solitary cook, just like my grandma. I was worried other people in the class would annoy me, but I actually loved every minute of it. There were two girlfriends, one of who was a new transplant from Australia, a married couple (the husband cooked the meals in their home, and the wife made dessert!), two mothers and myself. Chef Amanda had us all chip in doing parts of all the dishes we prepared over the course of two hours.

Our mindblowingly delicious menu:
- Chicken Tagine With Prunes
- Stuffed Flatbread with Mint and Feta
- Couscous Pilaf with Roasted Vegetables
- Phyllo Bundles with Fig, Apricot and Almonds, served with hand-whipped cream

We each had our own chopping board and apron, and ironically, one of the tasks I was assigned to do was chop the cilantro, which I have a categorical hatred for!

I tried to snap as many pictures as I could, when my hands were free.

After two hours of happily chopping, and stirring and roasting, we sat down to our feast. If you’re familiar with couscous, we used Israeli couscous in the pilaf below, hence the larger grains—a first for me!

Nom…

…nom…

…nom!

How do you say, “I’m hungry” in Moroccan?

All yummy noises aside, I had an inspiring, awesome time at my class (so much that I forgot all about the cilantro!) I was heady with giddy cookinghappiness when I came out of it. I’m excited to recreate this meal at home, hoping to someday do it in a traditional tagine (we made ours with a regular pot—it came out extremely juicy and mouthwatering nonetheless).

And yes, I hope to see many more days of learning to cook the world, one strange, exotic, delicious dish at a time.

Remember my niece Thérèse? Aside from the tutu I made her for her birthday, I also made these chocolate and vanilla teddy bears to add to her goodie bags. They may look cute, but these were…er…a bear to make! But that’s only because I insisted on taking my time with their features, and I always bake myself into a corner when I decide to make some things! They took me two nights to make (after work, for about two hours each). I made 24 bears in total. Crazy, I know, but kids turn one only once!

I took the idea from the Land O’ Lakes website to make a basic butter cookie dough, and tint half of the batch with melted chocolate.

Here’s one fresh out of the oven! Nomnomnom.

After cooling, I packaged one of each kind of bear (some had vanilla bodies and chocolate arms/legs, or the other way around) in clear cellophane. To tie close, I used some contrasting pink yarn that I already had in my stash. Also stuck a label in the back about the celebration that I had preprinted earlier. In pink letters, of course!

All ready for the eating!

When was the last time you bit into a bear?

Hope your week is sweet so far!