Ginataang mais (pronounced GEE-nah-ta-ang MA-es) is a Filipino sweet corn dessert soup.  I know this may not sound too appealing for people who haven’t tried it, but it’s one of my favorite desserts and it really brings back a lot of memories.  It’s sweet enough for kids to enjoy, yet not too sweet that you couldn’t have multiple bowls in one day.

There is one ingredient that is required for ginataang that I have never used before: sweet rice.  I found a small bag for just about $5 at the international grocery store.  I haven’t seen it at regular grocery stores.  This is the kind I bought:

(Sorry, no, the frog clip does not come with it! Haha!)

One of the interesting things to note about this dish is that it can be served warm or cold, which makes it something you can make year round.

The Basics

• 5 cups of water
• 2 cups of sweet corn (I used frozen, but you can use fresh or canned as well)
• 1 can of coconut milk
• 3/4 cup of granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup of sweet rice

The Run-down

Mix all ingredients except for corn in a pot.  Heat until boiling.  Boil for about 20 minutes, uncovered.

Reduce heat to low and add corn.  Let cook for an additional 10 minutes.  Serve hot or refrigerate to serve cold.  Enjoy!

I know it’s been a VERY long time since I’ve posted, but my life has gotten very, very busy!  So far this year, I’ve been juggling my job, a new puppy (her name is Honey), planning and preparing for my brother’s wedding and I’m working on a new website called JotandGot.  Always on my grind! Making moves, son! But I digress.

My best friend Lindsey makes a mini-Thanksgiving dinner which actually includes cooking a turkey breast and all the fixins’.  I found a recipe on AllRecipes and tweaked it to suite my own tastes.

I’m not sure if you like cranberry sauce, but I do so I used it to add an extra element to it.  If you decide to go this route, I would start it before you make the meatloaf because it takes a while for it to reduce and cool.  Hope you like it!

Thanksgiving Meatloaf

The Basics

• 1 pound ground turkey (I used 93/7)
• 1 cups chicken-flavor stuffing mix
• 2 eggs; beaten
• 1/4 cup milk or chicken stock
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 rib of celery, finely chopped
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• Salt and pepper
• Onion soup mix (optional)
• ½ tsp sage (optional)
• Cranberry Glaze (optional; see below for recipe)

The Rundown
1.        Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2.        Mix all together in a bowl. If the mixture is too wet, just add more stuffing until it can hold a shape.
3.        Season as you would a turkey. I used onion soup, sage and salt and pepper, but use whatever you like!
4.        I like making free-form loafs, but use a loaf pan if you prefer. Bake for 30-45 mins until temperature reads 165 degrees F in center of loaf.
5.        Serve with gravy or coat with cranberry glaze.

Cranberry Glaze

• 2 cups cranberry juice
• 1 ½ tbsp of sugar

1.        Put juice and sugar in a small sauce pan.
2.        Heat until rapidly boiling, medium-high heat.
3.        Let reduce until it’s about ¼ the original size. It’ll take about 15-20 mins.
4.        Put in a small bowl and let it cool (you can try putting it in the refrigerator to help the process along).  It will thicken as it cools.
5.        Drizzle or baste meatloaf with glaze.

I never understood why there is such a stigma against brussel sprouts.  Personally I think they taste like mild, little cabbages.  By sauteing the brussel sprouts in a salty meat like bacon, prosciutto, or smoked sausage, the sprouts take on a wonderful flavor.

 The Basics

• brussel sprouts – fresh or frozen, quarter or cut in halves
• small onion – diced
• salty meat (I used smoked polish sausage) – dice
• cooking oil – I recommend vegetable oil over olive oil, because olive oil has a distinctive taste.
• salt and pepper

The Rundown

1. Saute oil on medium heat in a non-stick frying pan.
2. Add onions and cook until caramelized.  This will take about 5 minutes.
3. Add meat and mix with onions.  Cook for about 5 more minutes.
4. Add brussel sprouts and mix with meat and onions.  Cook for about 5-10 minutes until the sprouts are fork tender.  Enjoy!

 Turkey ala king is one of my favorite comfort foods.  My mom usually makes it after Thanksgiving with the leftover turkey, so it always reminds me of the holidays.  But you don’t have to wait until the holidays to make this hearty dish!  I had leftover turkey legs.

The Basics

• Cooked turkey – I like dark meat, but the choice is yours!  About 2-3 cups
• Cream of mushroom soup – 2 cans
• Small onion – diced
• Celery – 2 stalks chopped
• Mushrooms – I used sliced baby portobello.  About 2-3 cups
• Spices – I used Italian seasoning, sage and salt and pepper.  You can also use ground thyme and rosemary.
• Water – Or you can can use chicken/turkey broth or even milk. 1 cup
• Extra virgin olive oil – about 2-3 tbsp.
• Toasted bread

The Rundown

1. Heat olive oil in a sauce pan over medium heat.  Saute onions for about 3-4 minutes
2. Add celery and mushrooms. Sautee for about 3-4 minutes.
3. Add turkey and cream of mushroom soup.
4. Add water/broth/milk.
5. Add seasonings to taste. 
6. Heat until boiling, then reduce to low heat.
7. Continue cooking for about 15 minutes.  Serve on top of toast. Enjoy!

I was talking with a co-worker about a recipe I read in the local newspaper.  The recipe was essentially green bean bundles wrapped with bacon.  She mentioned that her kids loved the way she prepares green beans, which I learned later called “green beans almondine”.

She sold me on the dish so I stopped by the grocery store on my way home that night to try it out.  And let me tell you, I was so blown away on how such a simple recipe could be so amazing!  I’m already planning to make this for my next event when I have to make food! 

The roasted garlic and almond flavor infuses this amazing flavor in the green beans.  I especially love the crunch factor of the garlic and almonds.  This is definitely one of my favorite sides and become something I keep in heavy rotation!

The Basics

• green beans – I used fresh but I’ve seen some recipes use frozen.  If you use fresh, be sure to wash the beans and snip the tips off
• garlic – I used 4 cloves because I love garlic; peel and mince the garlic
• almond slivers – I used about 3 tbsp
• extra virgin olive oil - about 2-3 tbsp
• salt and pepper

The Rundown

1. Steam the green beans.  (To reduce the amount of dishes I had to wash later, I used Ziploc microwave steam bags.  They are awesome!)
2. Heat the EVOO in a frying pan over medium heat.
3. Add garlic and almond slivers.  Keep stirring the mixture and be careful not to burn the garlic.  Golden brown = good, chocolate brown = evil.
4. Add green beans in the pan and toss. 
5. Add salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy!

Even though I grew up in the south, I wasn’t exposed to a lot of southern food.  It wasn’t until I was in my teens and early adulthood until I had peach cobbler and collard greens! 

I love the seasoned greens that come from a can, but I always worry about the amount of sodium.  I don’t like the lower sodium versions because its bland.  Making your own collard greens lets you control the amount of sodium and you get a lot out of a little dinero.

I like serving greens with baked chicken, friend chicken, ribs, or smoked fish.  Really, almost anything!  My friend Arianna likes to mix her greens in rice.  Which ever way you want to eat it, greens are definiately good eats!

The Basics

• A bag of fresh collard greens – I think it’s eaiser than buying the fresh greens because you have to wash them VERY well.
• Chicken both – 2 cans or 1 large box
• Smoked pork necks – Alternatively you can use smoked turkey wings
• Water – about 4 cups
• 1 small diced onion
• Garlic powder – A few shakes
• Salt and pepper
• Sugar – 1 tbsp
• Vinegar – About 1/2 cup
• Red pepper flakes or hot pepper (optional)
• Ground mustard – A few shakes

The  Rundown

1. In a large pot, add all ingredients except water.  The greens may not be all submerged but it will cook down.
2. Cook until boiling.
3. Adjust heat to low and cover.
4. Cook for about 1.5 hours.  Enjoy!*

*I like sopping up the “dish water” (the collard green juice) with a piece of cornbread. YUM!

I was completely amazed on how delicious and easy Emeril’s chicken marsala recipe was.  The chicken was cooked perfectly and the mushroom sauce melted flavor and was a creamy dream.

I made a few alterations and it turned out just as well.

• I used beef broth because that’s what I had on hand.
• I substituted the chicken breast with boneless, skinless chicken thighs. 

I definitely recommend that you really brown the chickens well.  This means having your oil well heated before you add the chicken.  If the chicken isn’t browned well, the flour coating may melt off when you are cooking it in the marsala sauce.

I used a pretty cheap bottle of wine (which cost me around $5), and I’m really interested to see how the flavor changes with a better bottle.

I’ve already made used this entree twice and I’ve served it with mashed potatoes and the other time with a chicken & garlic rice pilaf.  I tip my hat to you, Mr. Lagasse.  Bam, indeed!

Years ago, I had one of the most delicious appetizer I’ve ever tasted.  But to be fair, almost anything in a cresent roll tastes amazing! LOL!  There are different variations of this including broccoli and/or bacon.

The only thing I would change is adding shredded lettuce in the middle…or perhaps a flower (ala “My Big Fat Greek Wedding”). 

The Basics
2-3 cups cooked chicken, diced
3/4 cup shredded cheese – I used mexican blend because I had it on hand
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon mustard
2 tablespoons fresh parsley
1 sliced tomato
2 cans of Crescent rolls (8 count)
1 egg white, lightly beaten
salt and pepper
garlic powder

The Rundown

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix chicken, cheese, mayonnaise, mustard, parsley, and a few sprinkles of garlic powder and salt and pepper
2. Arrange the crescent rolls on a large round pan (like a pizza pan) so that the triangles overlap each other and one corner is facing outwards. You might want to flatten the dough now so it’s easier to fold over later.
3. Spoon mixtureon the the inner part of the crescent roll.  Don’t spread it up to the outward tip because you’re going to fold that over.
4. Top with tomato slices. I tried to spread it out evenly so that sometimes the tomato slice peeked through.
5. Fold over the corners and try to tuck it into the inner ring. 
4. Bake at 375 degrees for 11- 13 minutes or until the crescent rolls are cooked through.

I’m not sure if this happens to everyone, but whenever I hear the word “quiche”, I immediately think of Rosie Perez.  What?  Is that weird?  Hahaha! 

If you’re an aficionado of 90s comedies, you might remember a great movie by the name of “White Men Can’t Jump” in which Rosie Perez is the girlfriend of Woody Harrelson.  Her character (Gloria, I think is her name) is constantly studying to be a contestant on Jeopardy and one of the topics is word that begin with “Q” (quince, quiche, etc).

Anyways, I digress.  Typical Filipino meals (including breakfast) feature rice, and this one particular morning I decided to go a different route.  I’ve only had spinach and cheese quiche made by my good friend Luisa. 

This was good, but I do wish I added some sort of salty protein like sausage crumbles or bacon to make it more lively. I made my own pie crust and followed the Easy Pie Crust Recipe from Allrecipes.com.

The Rundown

• Fresh spinach – Washed, dried and chopped roughly
• Zuchinni – Washed and diced
• Handful of shredded cheese – I used cheddar
• 4 eggs
• Salt and pepper
• 1 cup of milk or heavy cream

The Basics

1. While pie crust is cooling, the oven should be preheated to 375 degrees. 
2. Beat eggs in a large bowl.
3. Add milk, cheese and veggies with a few shakes of salt and pepper.
4. Carefully pour mixture to pie crust.
5. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until egg mixture has cooked completely.  Enjoy!

I like most coconut-based curry dishes, but I’m still learning to appreciate the more earthier, spicier kinds.  My favorite is Japanese curries because they are so silky smooth. 

Lately I’ve been venturing to other food regions of the world.   A co-worker introduced me to lamb korma, which is yummy Indian curry made from ginger, coconut milk, cumin and a bunch of other spices. 

I found a package of premade vegetable korma at World Market (closest one to me being in Newport News) and decided to add meat and some more vegetables.  I like using premade sauces and mixes when trying to cook new foods, because it lays the foundation of the flavor profile — and you have to do something REALLY wrong to mess it up!

The Basics

• Pre-made vegetable korma
• Coconut milk
• ginger powder
• garlic powder
• salt and pepper
• carrots – washed, peeled and sliced
• green bell pepper – washed and diced
• 1 lb ground chicken – defrosted
• 2 tbs cooking oil
• Cooked white rice

The Rundown

1. In a medium-sided pan, heat oil over medium heat.  Add ground chicken and cook until chicken is completely cooked.  Stir occassionally.
2. Add vegetable korma to chicken.
3. Add coconut milk. Spice with ginger powder, garlic powder, and salt and pepper to taste.
4. Add carrots and bell pepper and lower heat.  Cover and cook until vegetables are soft (about 15-20 minutes).  Serve over white rice and enjoy!