Foodie Manila

I recently celebrated my 25th birthday and I thought why not celebrate it with something different this year. I was watching Dinner:Impossible at that time and enter this crazy thought of camping out in one of the hidden coves of Zambales for the weekend.

I rallied the troops, and we were off for an adventure to “rough it out” for a few days. Tents, grills, firewood, and other camping gear, by 11pm we were off and ready to the great unknown. Although we were roughing it out, being a foodie and all, in no way was I roughing out the food. A few days before, I went to the market and bought us our supplies. I prepared the menu, while the others prepared for the adventure.

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Dear Readers,

First and foremost I would like to apologize for the theme and turn my blog has taken over the past few months. This blog was started primarily because I was in the hunt for the perfect dish. I would struggle always to find food that would suit my taste that is why I got into cooking.

As I dabble into the interesting world of cooking, learning along the way, I have discovered a few secrets here and there. I have met some interesting people, tasted some interesting dishes as well as exciting flavors as I learn to whip up something special in the kitchen. You see the art of dining does not solely rest on eating. I believe the preparation of dishes is as much as part of the enjoyment of the dish as eating itself.

But I digress.

I am now on the hunt for a new stove. Our old one, (bless its soul) has finally conked out to a point where we cannot change the temperature or the size of the fire. A good stove is always integral to good cooking. A constant fire to create constant heat and temperature for stews and soups is vital to success. I’ve always envied those professional looking stoves with 6-8 burners. They seem so efficient. Maybe its time to get one? What do you think dear readers?

I’ve also been always fascinated by pizza. Not for the taste and aroma, but for the pure possibilities. You can never ever run out of good toppings. With pizza dough making neatly tucked under my belt, I am now on my way to making a clay oven. It’s supposedly easy. With some extra clay and sand at home, I think I’ll make this my Lenten project. Wish me luck guys!

Cheers,
The Chubby Chef aka. Carlos

A lot of friends ask me where I learned to cook. It is quite unusual for a guy my age to be actually cooking some of these great meals for my friends especially since I never took up culinary skills. You see, you can only learn so much on your own. There are just some things that someone has to teach you. Luckily, I have Heny Sison’s culinary school. They offer short courses as well as half day classes on particular subjects such as rice toppings, cup cakes. So I thought I’d help everyone out by posting their schedule for December. Do something special for your family/loved one/ friends this holiday season. Take a break and learn to cook something. I tell you these classes are worth it!

(This post was made after attending one of her classes.)

Click Here to Download The Entire Schedule

Chocolate Chip Cookie Delight

I’ve already mentioned that baking cookies has always been a family thing. So during this time of crisis where all forms of communication was lost, the best we could to do to comfort each other was to go baking. And so we baked cookies.

People have been asking me what is the secret to our awesome cookies. Do we add some magic ingredient? Is the butter? The quality of flour? The chips? And I always end up answering them that we use regular ingredients as well as average butter. (But I do admit that using Magnolia Butter Gold will make your cookies richer and creamier!) It all lies in the preparation and the technique. The butter must be creamed instead of melted. The number of folds the batter gets also is very crucial.

In baking everything is very exact. The measurements, the technique, the precision, every little thing is important. Unlike in cooking, you can freestyle. Adjust salt and pepper and other flavors according to one’s palette. That is why I love cooking more than baking.

The cookies we made ended up being chewy and so far the best batch we’ve made. Just a little something to warm the heart.

Tin Can full of Choco-Chip Delight!