Christmas Recipes

It’s only 10 days before Christmas and we’ll all be busy in the kitchen to prepare for Noche Buena!  Don't know what to cook?  Let me share to you some of my Christmas recipes.  Yes, I do have!  For those who don’t believe that I cook, here are the proofs that I do!

I’ve been cooking since I was only 11 years old.  Prior to that, I loved helping in the kitchen that I even got my arm burned when I was only 6 when I forced my yaya to let me fry.  But I was not traumatized.  In fact, I was challenged that I had cooked paella at the age of 14!  I am so proud of that because I don’t have proper trainings in cooking.  I just learned by myself.  And maybe, being a good cook is part of the genes that I inherited from my Kapampangan lola, Pacencia Naluz De La Torre.

Without further ado, here are my Christmas specialties that I perfected for ages!

Barbequed Spareribs

 

You will need:

1 kg          pork spareribs, cut up

1 pc          medium onion, chopped

1 pouch    200 g tomato sauce

3 cloves    garlic, minced

½ cup       brown sugar

2 tbsp       Worcestershire sauce

1 tbsp       calamansi juice

¼ cup       prepared mustard

3 tbsp       sweet chili sauce

2 tbsp       soy sauce

1 stalk      leek, sliced

Here’s how:

1.     Preheat oven at 375⁰F.  Season pork spareribs with ¼ tsp iodized fine salt and ¼ tsp pepper.

2.    Mix all ingredients except pork.  Shake in a covered jar to blend well.  Pour into meat and marinate for 1 hour.  Transfer into a baking dish.  Bake for 45 minutes.  Turn once.  Bake for another 20 minutes.  Garnish with sautéed vegetables if desired.

Fiesta Humba

You will need:

          1 kg          adobo-cut pork

          5 cloves    garlic, crushed

          ½ cup       brown sugar

          ½ cup       soy sauce

          ¼ cup       vinegar

          ¼ cup       pineapple juice

          Peppercorns

          Laurel leaves

          Salt to taste

Here’s how:

1. Mix all ingredients except brown sugar in a casserole.  Heat to a boil.  After boiling, add the brown sugar and simmer in low heat for 20 minutes or until pork releases its own oil.

Hamonado

 

You will need:

          ½ kg      pork pigue

          5 cloves garlic, crushed

          ½ cup    sugar

          2 tsp      rock salt

          1 tsp      praque powder

          1 cup     pineapple juice

          Peppercorns

          Salt to taste

Here’s how:

1.    Combine sugar, salt, and praque powder.  Rub mixture on pork.

2.    Marinate pork in pineapple juice overnight.  Simmer meat in marinade for 1 hour.  For a tastier result, use a crock pot.

Chicken Pot Roast

You will need:

          1 whole       chicken

          8 cloves      garlic, crushed

          ¼ cup         flour

          1 large        onion, sliced

          4 stalks       green onions, sliced

          2 pouches   200 g tomato sauce

          Laurel leaves

          Salt and pepper to taste

Here’s how:

1.    Rub chicken with garlic, salt, and pepper.  Sprinkle with flour and brown all sides in a little oil.  Place in a cooking pot.

     2.  Add ¼ cup water and remaining ingredients.  Simmer over low heat for 55  minutes, turning chicken occasionally. 

Grilled Tuna

You will need:

     1 kg    tuna belly

     Calamansi juice

     Butter

     Salt and pepper to taste

Here’s how:

1. Wash tuna with a little calamansi juice.  Season with salt and pepper.

     2.  Grill in butter and serve with a variation of sauces like mustard sauce, sweet chili sauce or ketchup.

Baked Macaroni

You will need:

 

    300 g   Elbow Macaroni, cooked per package directions

          6 cloves    garlic, crushed

          1 pc         medium onion, sliced

          200 g       ground beef

          1 pouch   250g spaghetti sauce

          ½ cup      cheesed, grated

          Salt and pepper to taste

White sauce:

          2 tbsp      flour

          ¼ cup      evaporated milk

          ¼ cup      water

          1 pc         beef bouillon cube

          1 tbsp      margarine

Here’s how:

1.     Sauté garlic until brown.  Add onion and beef.  Cook for 1 minute.  Add spaghetti sauce, ¼ cup water, salt, and pepper.  Simmer for 5 minutes.  Set aside.

2.   White Sauce:  Mix all ingredients until flour is dissolved.  Cook over low heat, constantly stirring for 5-10 minutes or until thick.

3.   Blend spaghetti sauce with cooked elbow macaroni.  Arrange in a square pan.  Pour white sauce all over and sprinkle with grated cheese.  Bake in preheated oven at 350⁰F until cheese melts.

Carbonara

You will need:

 

      400 g        pasta, cooked per package directions

      6 cloves    garlic, crushed

      1 pc          medium onion, sliced

      200 g        ham, diced

      100 g        bacon, fried and crushed

      100 g        mushroom, sliced

      ½ cup       evaporated milk

      ½ cup       all-purpose cream

      ¼ cup       water

      2 tbsp       flour, dissolved in water

      ¼ cup       parmesan cheese

      Grated cheddar cheese

      Salt and pepper to taste

Here’s how:

             

           1.      Sauté garlic and onion.  Add ham and mushroom.  Pour evaporated milk, all-purpose cream, water, and dissolved flour.

           2.      Add parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper to taste.

           3.      Mix with pasta and top with bacon and cheddar cheese.

     Fruit Crêpe

 

You will need:

Crêpe:

          2 tbsp      melted margarine

          2/3 cup    flour

          ¾ cup      evaporated milk

          ¾ cup      water

          3 pcs       egg, beaten

          ½ tsp       rock salt

Filling:

          1 can      850g fruit cocktail, drained (reserve syrup)

          1 tbsp     sugar

Here’s how:

1.     Beat all ingredients for crêpe until smooth.  Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.

2.     Brush Teflon pan with oil, then heat over medium flame.  Pour ¼ cup crêpe batter into pan.  Tilt to cover bottom.  Cook for 2 minutes until top is set.  Lift edge of crêpe then invert.  Cook other side for 1 minute.  Repeat procedure with the remaining batter.  Stack each piece between layers of wax paper to prevent it from sticking to each other.  Set aside.

     3.  Simmer fruit cocktail syrup and sugar for 15 minutes.  Set aside.  Spoon ¼ cup of fruit cocktail across the center of each crêpe and roll.  Pour syrup on top of crêpes.

Of course, Christmas won’t be Christmas without ham in the table.  I just purchase cooked ham in the grocery.  I garnish it with cloves and bake it in the oven with pineapple juice and cinnamon.  The hint of cloves and cinnamon brings out the real taste of the ham.

Food cocktails are also my masterpiece because these add more color to the table and don’t forget the Keso de Bola, fruits, wine, cakes, and candies!  Then you’ll surely have that sumptuous Noche Buena everyone is excited for!  Never mind the budget and the calories.  Splurge and indulge for the celebration of Jesus’ birth only comes once in a year!  Have a festive Christmas, everyone!

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