Deviled Eggs

Lately, I have been waking up early trying to catch the beauty of the sunrise. Sunrise and sunsets were just a few of the things I adore unceasingly every day. It’s just that I believe these things can never be faked and turned into a man-made thing.

While watching the sunrise I often pray and write in my journal. It’s just that so many things are going on in my brain and I feel the need to write it down. Most of it concerns lessons learned from past experiences, current situations and future plans and projects. On top of my list is my blog of course.

I am happy I had been blogging for almost two months now, which I thought was just a temporary fancy thing I did to surpass boredom when I first started it. Blogging was just an idea to spill and express my thoughts and feelings one year ago and now it has come into reality. I’m grateful I have started something I always wanted to do and I consider this one as one of the biggest projects I have accomplished this year and will certainly be made better by the year 2015.

As the sun sets for 2014, a new sun is arising for 2015 and I hope all of us could get the most out of the New Year and be better in whatever we do. If you are reading this, I would like to thank you for spending an ample of your precious time reading my blog and I would like you to know that you inspire me to continue what I’m doing. However, I would like you to know that you can empower my work even more and I would really appreciate it if you will follow my blog www.thenovicechefdiaries.blogspot.com (and please click the follow button). Thank you so much.

Anyway, I have another recipe that you might want to try to make as you celebrate a blissful, bountiful and blessed New Year…

Recipe for Deviled Eggs   

Ingredients

4 pcs eggs, hard boiled

20ml mayonnaise

1tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp pickle relish, sweet

A pinch of red chili flakes

Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

Drain and peel hard boiled eggs. Slice the eggs lengthwise and remove the egg yolks; arrange the egg whites on a plate. In a small bowl, mash the egg yolks and add the mayonnaise, chili flakes and season with salt and pepper.  Blend well and place in a piping bag with a large tip. Fill the egg whites with the egg yolk mixture and top with pickle relish.

Makes 4 servings

Enjoy!

Chicken Liver Pâté

It was a sweet cold morning after Christmas.

I was in my patio having coffee, overlooking the work of Gustave, the Eiffel Tower.

Yes.

 I’m in Paris.

Few hours from now, I’ll be visiting my restaurant.

Tick.Tock.Tick.Tock.

It is still eight in the morning and I was standing at the doors of my empire, my very own restaurant. I opened the doors, and walked slowly heading towards the busy kitchen. I entered the kitchen doors, and I was greeted by the fragrant aroma of the bay leaf submerged in the béchamel sauce heating on the burners ready to be paired with the perfect pasta. The sweet-smelling croissants and pastries were also all over the place, inviting to be tasted. A chef came to me and greeted me good morning and I simply smiled in reply. I was checking everything before the restaurant opens. Everybody was busy in the kitchen and I was just looking at my staff cherishing that pleasurable momentum right before my eyes. I tasted the warm french onion soup and it just gave me the quintessential bliss. I thought this was just a dream ten years ago, and now, I can’t believe I can literally taste it.

I opened my eyes.

It was a sweet cold morning after Christmas.

And I was daydreaming.

Recipe for Chicken Liver Pâté

Ingredients

2 pcs chicken livers, (cleaned, fat removed & diced)

8g onion, thinly sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

4 pcs bay leaf

¼ cup white wine

15g butter, unsalted

salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

Clarify butter in a skillet. Remove fat, leaving only the milk solids at the bottom of the pan. Sauté onion and garlic in the skillet until it turns translucent and golden brown. Add the diced chicken liver and 2 pcs bay leaf to the mixture and sauté for another 5 minutes or until liver turns slightly brown. Add white wine and flambé until all the alcohol has evaporated. Remove the pan from heat and let sit for 5 minutes. After which, place mixture in a blender or food processor and puree until smooth. Taste the mixture and season with salt and pepper according to your preference.When it’s ready, pour mixture in a small ceramic bowl. Cover and chill until firm. When it’s already firm remove from chiller and put 2pcs bay leaf on top of the mixture and finish off by pouring the leftover butter enough to cover the bay leaf. Chill for another 15 minutes or until the butter hardens.

Makes 1 serving

Enjoy!

Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce

I experienced eating my first satay (sate) when I was staying in Singapore way back in 2009. It is actually the Indonesian version of barbecue which is served with a deep yellow-brown creamy sauce. In contrary to how we prepare our chicken barbecue here in the Philippines, satay uses curry powder, coconut milk and sometimes turmeric as one of its main ingredients in its marinade. In addition, it makes use of a peanut sauce for dipping which makes it unique and delectably fantastic. It is sort of a new way to use this sauce because I normally use peanut sauce to make “Kare-kare” or Oxtail Peanut Stew and its one of my favorites.

Well, for barbecued and grilled foods, a good catsup can do the magic for Juan (Filipinos). Others would like to have gravy or chili sauce. When I first ate barbecue in Cebu, I was surprised to discover that they only pair it with fish sauce or “patis” in our local term. Wow! The world is full of surprises do you agree? But, if I would choose one sauce to pair with my barbecue, I would always choose the classic soy sauce and lemon juice mixture. It just makes every meal worth digging into.

What’s yours?

Recipe for Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce

Ingredients

Marinade:

20g (1tbsp + 1tsp) brown sugar

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp curry powder

50g peanut butter

½ medium lemon

1tsp soy sauce

5tbsp coconut milk or cream

1tsp worcestershire sauce

1tsp fish sauce or patis

2 pcs chicken breast (cut into thin strips)

2 pcs wooden skewer, 6 inches

Preparation:

Combine all the marinade ingredients except for the peanut butter in a mixing bowl. Toss the chicken in the mixture and marinate for at least 2 hours. After which, remove chicken from the marinade and arrange in wooden skewers. Grill chicken until cooked through. To make the sauce, just add the peanut butter to the leftover marinade and simmer for about 5 minutes or until consistency is thick.

Enjoy!

Frittata

Do you know somebody who performs many roles in life but still gives the best results in everything they do? Well, in the kitchen we have an ingredient which does that. And it’s no other than (drum rolls please)…..

Eggs

Yes, you heard me right. Cooking good food could not be possible if not for eggs. It just has many roles in the kitchen as it is used for binding, enriching, emulsifying, glazing, and coating, aerating and clarifying food products. Like wow, who does that all at the same time?

Reflecting…reflecting….reflecting…

Now I think I’m like an egg sometimes. I mean not really doing so many things all at the same time but I have so many interests and I do them one at a time. I love photography, so, I have my camera with me all the time so that I can take interesting photos anytime. I also love to cook, like I could cook three meals a day plus the dishes I cook in our culinary class. I draw. I paint. I style myself for pictorials. I do crafts, like a lot of them. I write stories. I write for my food blog. I read. I read a lot.

I don’t say that I give perfect results for all of this stuff like an egg perfecting a product but I always give my best in whatever I do and I think that’s enough. Eggs just tell us that there are no limits to our roles and interests in life. You have to find what you love and do it not just wishing for it to be done. It’s just crazy how things work but that’s the way it is. 

Recipe for Frittata

Ingredients:

 3 pcs eggs, lightly beaten

1 tbsp butter, unsalted

½ medium potato, thinly sliced

½ medium onion, thinly sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

½ pc tomato, diced (seeds removed)

6 pcs basil, chiffonade

¼ cup zucchini, thinly sliced

20g parmesan cheese, grated

20g mozzarella cheese, grated

Preparation:

Prepare potato crisps by frying the potatoes in hot oil over medium heat. Set aside. Melt butter in a saucepan and sauté garlic and onion and tomatoes. Remove from skillet. In a mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients until well blended. Arrange in a skillet and pour over beaten egg. Place skillet in an oven and bake over medium heat for 20 to 25 minutes until done. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Puree

I just don’t know the reason behind this but in the Philippines, pumpkin is an ingredient mainly used in classic Filipino vegetable dishes such as “ginataang gulay”, “bas-oy”, “pinakbet” and “kamaniang” but Filipinos are not really fond of making a puree out of it.

In my case, I am also not fond of eating pumpkin puree since it reminds me of the baby food I used to eat before (haha). But as I contemplate, I realized that I really am not fond of it since it has with it a very strong tart, buttery, nutty flavor.

Anyway, as we were required to make a vegetable puree in class, I gave a shot in making a pumpkin puree which was added with carrots, onion and celery topped with cream and nutmeg. I just can’t believe I loved it so much, I even brought some of it at home. You should try this too!!!

Recipe for Pumpkin Puree

Ingredients:

2 cups pumpkin, sliced

½ cup carrot, diced

¼ cup celery stalks, diced

1 medium onion, diced
1 medium potato, diced

2 pieces bay leaves

1 piece chicken broth cubes

1 tsp white pepper

1 liter water

Garnish/topping:

whipping cream

dash of nutmeg

Preparation:

Put all ingredients in a heavy pot. Pour in water and boil mixture until it has reduced into half. Remove from heat then pick out bay leaves. Blend mixture in the liquidizer until consistency is slightly thick. If mixture is too thick, add a little bit of water. When it is ready, pour the puree in a soup tureen and set aside. Whip the cream using a balloon whisk until it doubles and becomes fluffy. Top puree with cream and add a dash of nutmeg. Serve with croutons on the side.

Serves 2

Life's Firsts: Eggs Benedict

I carefully watched Chef Mario make his own hollandaise sauce. According to him, there are only five mother sauces ever invented in history. These are: béchamel, veloute, tomato, espagnole and the fifth and the hardest to make, the hollandaise sauce.

 The day was tranquil but my heart wasn’t. Maybe it’s just a feeling of anxiousness going all over my system since I know that I need to make my own hollandaise sauce after chef’s demonstration. Apparently, I badly need to make eggs benedict to be able to call it a day.

My hands hurt as I was constantly turning the mixing bowl over the bain-marie and beating the egg yolks at the same time to incorporate air trying so hard not to cook the yolks. As I slowly poured the clarified butter into the yolk mixture to make the emulsion, Chef suddenly approached me and asked;

Chef: What is an emulsion?

Me: I guess chef it is an oil based mixture combined with another liquid.

Chef: It is a mixture of two liquids that are immiscible; something that is not supposed to be together or not meant to combine, but with the proper execution of methods and technique it can still be done and it makes great results.

Me: (Aww)

I just don’t know, but I thought I can relate to my hollandaise (haha).

- Sedd

Recipe for Eggs Benedict:

Ingredients:

1 poached egg

1 sliced bread, toasted

cooked ham

butter

Hollandaise Sauce:

1 packet butter, clarified

8 peppercorns, crushed

1/2 onion, brunoise

2 pcs. bay leaves

2-3 pcs. parsely stalks

2 tbsp. white vinegar

1 tsp. tarragon

1 cup water

3 egg yolks

1 tsp.white pepper

1 tsp. worcestershire sauce

1 tbsp. lemon juice

Preparation:

Clarify butter over low heat. Keep it warm but not hot. Meanwhile, combine peppercorns, onion, bay leaves, parsley stalks, white vinegar and tarragon in a saucepan and pour in 1 cup of water. Reduce mixture to 30ml and pass the diluted reduction through a fine sieve into a stainless steel bowl. Add egg yolks to the bowl and whisk. Hold the bowl over a hot-water bath and continue to whisk until it doubles and becomes fluffy. When it is ready, remove bowl from heat and pour in clarified butter slowly while continuously beating the mixture. When the sauce is ready, season with white pepper, worcestershire sauce and lemon juice. 

Place bread in a baking sheet. Spread butter, then top with ham, poached egg and then the sauce. Put in a salamander or oven for one minute or until the sauce colors into golden brown. Serve hot.

Serves 2