Roast Turkey with Stuffing

Roasting turkey has been a yearly ritual for me back in Chicago during Thanksgiving Day and now every Christmas at home in Manila. It's a meal for the whole family and friends celebrating any special occasion, not just Thanksgiving or Christmas. This is another dish that takes a lot of preparation but simple enough to make!


Stuffing mix:
     1 pound of bread crumbs
     2 large sweet red apples
     1/4 pound of raisins
     1/4 pound of dates
     1/4 pound of wallnuts
     A sprig of chopped rosemary
     1 tablespoon of black pepper
     2 tablespoons of salt
     1 tablespoon of cinnamon
     1/4 pound of chopped mushroom (of your choice)
     1 cup of water


You will need a 20 pound turkey for the stuffing! When you buy the frozen turkey, let it sit for a day and a half in a tub of water to defrost. When it's ready, open the cavity and pull out a package containing the gizzard and liver. At the other cavity by the neck opening, pull out the neck bone. The turkey comes with a string to tie on both ends of the bird...under the wings on one end and at the other end near the fanny so you can lift the bird up when its cooked.


Massage the cavity and the skin with a teaspoon each of salt, black pepper, chopped rosemary, thyme. Mix the stuffing mixture by adding a little water at a time to make sure the mix does not go soggy or pasty...just enough for the mixture to bind. Fill both cavities of the bird with the stuffing mixture and set it down on a deep roasting pan. Fill the pan with a cup of water or 2 cans of chicken stock. Place the neckbone, gizzard and liver at the bottom of the pan. Set strips of bacon over the turkey so that the fat will act as the basting. Place the lid on the pan or if you don't have a lid, seal the pan with aluminum foil. Set your oven to 450 degrees for 15 minutes after which you set it back to 300 degrees and bake. Cook the turkey for 5 hours (the rule is 15 minutes for every pound of meat) or until the thermometer springs up the turkey breast. For the last 15 minutes of the last hour of cooking, open the lid to brown the skin!


Lift the bird up using the string and let it rest on the serving platter. For the gravy you will need a pound of unsalted butter heated up to melt in a sauce pan. When melted, add about 4 to 5 spoonful of flour mixing it with the butter to form a paste. Take the liver out of the roasting pan and the crunchy bacon from the turkey and chop them very fine. And put them back in the roasting pan. Take the neck bone and gizzard out of the pan and using a wooden spoon, scrape the bottom of the pan for a couple of minutes. Put the flour mixture and add a cup of water a little at a time while still mixing it with the spatula until you achieve a gravy like consistency. When you are satisfied with the thickness, taste it and if it needs more salt, put a little at a time.


And finally for the cranberry sauce you will need some fresh cranberries, pitted. If you can't find fresh ones, you can buy it in a sealed packet at the supermarket along with a can of cranberry sauce. Heat up in another sauce pan a quarter of a cup of water, add the cranberries and the cranberry sauce along with 2 tablespoons of sugar and a couple of ounces of water. Bring to a reduction by simmering while stirring until the liquid thickens.


Now for the mashed potatoes, you will need at least a pound of potatoes, peeled and boiled in a pot until soft. Take the liquid out, add a half a teaspoon of salt, half a pound of butter and half a cup of milk, mixing all together until you get the right consistency. Add chopped parsley and serve on a plate with the gravy poured on the mashed potatoes and a couple of slices of turkey. Pour a tablespoon of the cranberry sauce on the turkey and you are all set. Bona Petit!!

Skewered Pork Barbecue

Barbecue Marinade mixture:

     1/2 cup soy sauce

     1/4 cup cider vinegar

     2 tablespoons brown sugar

     1 can of Sprite

     1 tablespoon peanut butter

     2 pinches of black pepper

     2 small chopped  red chili peppers

     3 to 4 drops of sesame oil

     5 cloves of garlic,chopped

This famous street food commonly known as pork satay, sate babi, barbecue inihaw, pinchitos... is found all over Asia in small stalls lined up near the market areas. This is my own version.

Slice a kilo of pork butt into strips and marinade the meat for a couple of hours. Soak the skewers in water so they don't burn when grilling. After a couple of hours, skewer the meat so that the wooden skewers are fully covered, then set aside. Boil the remaining marinade to a reduction until it becomes a bit thick.

Cook the barbecue on a charcoal pit until the meat is done then brush the sauce before serving.

Macao Crispy Pork on Watercress (Litson Kangkong)

This recipe is a bit time consuming but the results are worth the wait. You will need at least 2 to 2-1/2 lbs. of pork belly...choose the part without the bones so it would be easy to slice. Put the belly in a pot and add water up to the meat level. Add about 5 star anise, a teaspoon of five spice powder and salt and 5 drops of sesame oil. Boil for at least 30 to 40 minutes and set aside on a strainer to cool off. Place the belly in the refrigerator overnight.


Next day: Puncture the belly skin with a needle with as many holes as you can. This will release the fat through the holes and create bubbles on the skin to make it crispy. Using a wok or a deep fryer, pour in generous amounts of peanut oil to at least cover the belly and set the temperature to high heat. When the oil starts to bubble, gently place the belly and cook  and continually baste using a ladle it until the skin starts crackling evenly all over. Remove the belly on a strainer to drain the oil.


On another pot, boil a cup or two with water adding a few pinches of salt and sesame oil. Wash a couple of bunches of watercress and cut off the bottom part. Chop the watercress into 3 portions and boil until soft. Drain and arrange the cooked vegetable on a platter. Chop up around 6 cloves of garlic and brown them using the peanut oil you used for the belly and sprinkle on top of the watercress. Using a chef knife or a sharp cleaver, slice the pork belly and lay it on top of the watercress. Before serving, pour about 2 tablespoons of oyster sauce on the sliced belly. Bona Petit!

Shrimp Tamarind Soup (Sinigang)

Sinigang is a staple soup dish with different versions from different places in Asia. For example in Thailand, they call it Lemongrass Soup because they use lemongrass as the base for flavoring. The Philippine version uses a different variety of base flavorings to make it sour. You can use guava, santol, camachile, lemongrass but for this particular dish, I use tamarind. You may also substitute different varieties of meat like pork, beef or fish.


In a pot, pour about a couple of tablespoons of vegetable oil and add 2 onions sliced in quarters, a slice of ginger and 5 mild green chili peppers (4 inches in length) and saute for 2 minutes. Then add a pound of large shrimps (14 to 16 per pound size) and once they turn red, put the shrimp aside. Add 2 cups of fish stock and 4 tamarinds (unripe and pound it so the flavor is released) with the shell on. Bring to a boil and reduce temperature to medium high for 10 minutes.


With the heat in medium high, add a bunch of watercress (kangkong) with the stalks chopped off, radish sliced 1/4 inch thick and add the rest of the half cooked shrimp and simmer for 5 minutes. Add some fish sauce to taste and serve!

Bacon Wrapped Chicken

I got this recipe from a catering service where I had to bribe one of the cooks to get me the recipe and here it is: For each breast of chicken you can make 2 rolls. You can utilize the dark meat portion of the hen but it takes longer to debone them. Use a strip of bacon for each roll and spike them with toothpick on both ends so they don't spread apart. No need to salt the chicken as the bacon itself is flavorful enough. Arrange the chicken rolls in a baking pan and bake at 350 for about 20 minutes for 6 to 8 rolls.


For the sauce, dice a green pepper, red pepper, a celery stalk, a medium sized potato, 5 large black mushrooms, a large onion, 3 cloves of garlic and a large carrot. Saute them in 1/3 cup regular olive oil for 5 minutes and add 1/3 cup of tomato sauce and 1/3 cup of white wine. Add the chicken rolls and simmer for another ten minutes. Arrange on a plate and serve.

Gindara (Cod) Teriyaki

Recipe for Teriyaki Sauce:
     1/2 cup soy sauce
     1/4 cup brown sugar
     1/2 tspn powdered ginger
     3 to 4 drops of sesame oil


Bring the mixture to a boil and make a reduction until the sauce thickens.


Marinade the cod with a tablespoon of light soy, rice wine and half a teaspoon of ginger powder and sprinkle a few pinches of black pepper. Heat a skillet or griddle and cook the cod for 2 minutes on each side. Place the fish on a plate and brush a generous amount of teriyaki sauce and serve!

Fillet of Beef with Mashed Potatoes

Steak au Pouvre is a French version using black pepper and cream for its sauce. I made my own version using a light sherry for a sauce. My mashed potatoes are to die for! Here it is:


Slice an inch of fillet of beef and apply generous amounts of course ground pepper on both sides and set aside. In a pan, pour 1/3 cup of regular olive oil and cook around 6 cloves of unpeeled garlic for 5 minutes. Place the garlic aside and saute some chopped carrots and peas with a tablespoon of butter for 2 to 3 minutes.


In a pot, boil a couple of peeled potatoes until soft. Rinse off the water and mash the potatoes along with the peeled cooked garlic. Add a tablespoon of butter and 1/3 cup of milk until you get the right consistency while adding some salt to taste.


Using the same pan, set the vegetables aside and bring the pan to high heat. Cook the fillets 2 to3 minutes on each side and sprinkle a pinch of salt and set aside to rest. Deglaze the pan with 1/3 cup sherry and continue stirring until a thick reduction is obtained.


Place a couple of spoonfuls of the mashed potatoes on a plate and layer the fillet on top. Arrange the vegetables around and pour the sauce reduction on the fillet and serve.