CHRISTMAS DISHES READY TO SERVE

The Yuletide season is fast approaching and when we all know it, it will be Christmas already. That is why I decided to prepare the recipes that I will be cooking for the season. I will be preparing 7 dishes for Christmas. I have solicited recipes from my chef friends so that I know that the dishes that I will be preparing comes from the heart. Dishes that made by chefs are made special because it is originally done, from the heart.

For this Christmas, I will be preparing 7 dishes these are the following: roasted turkey, shanghai rolls, afritada, meatballs, arroz valenciana, paella, ans fried shrimps. I am still thinking of adding more to that. It has been a tradition in our family that the gathering will be held in my house. My relatives really trusted the way I cook, they don't call me a chef for nothing. Because of the high expectation, I don't want to let them down.

Aside from my relatives, there will also be others coming to dine and celebrate the season with me. My friends, mostly chefs, are coming to my house. Annually, it is like a reunion of old friends. We make it sure that we spend time for each other, regardless of the busy schedule that we had. I am just excited for the coming Christmas. The recipes and the dishes that I will be preparing will surely be hit for all.

COLD MEALS FOR THE NIGHT

I woke up very hungry. I thought it was already 8 am but I was just dreaming. It was still 3 am and I already started moving things in the kitchen. My housemaid was unaware that I was already awake. I checked the refrigerator and took some cold cuts, sandwich spread and wheat bread. I was preparing breakfast at 3 am.

I was very hungry that I can eat just anything that is place in front of me. I remembered before sleeping I only ate a small cup of rice and some meat. I never expected that I will be hungry at 3 am. They say that eating heavy meals at night should be avoided so that we don't gain weight and that is what I did. But the impact on my stomach caused me to wake up at 3 am.

I have to utilize the foods that are in my refrigerator or else I would starve. My chef profession really is a life saver. I prepared cold cut sandwiches for myself and a hot milk for 3 am. I did not heat the pan and cook. I just made sandwiches for myself and watch television until my sleepy eyes started to call. By 5 am, I was already ready to sleep again. I hope the sandwiches that I prepared was enough to full my hungry stomach. The sandwiches that I prepared were based on my recipe book that I often use in the house. Having a recipe book near you can be very handy in times of being hungry.

I LOVE TO EAT IN A BIG EVENT

My friend chef told me that he was having a food taste in his restaurant and I am invited to be there. He prepared several dishes for about 200 guest. This is in connection with their restaurant that will be opening soon. I told my friend that I am coming to taste the food that he had prepared. My friend is also a chef and a gradute of the culinary school where I also graduated from. He owns a restaurant and the one who do the cooking in the shop personally.

Every time my friend has an event, I am always called to visit him and see hows it goes. I remembered before when the booth of us were chefs in a restaurant in Dubai, we always share to each other our recipes and share opinions regarding the foods that we were preparing. Our Dubai work as chef was the link that build our friendship, more than brothers but chefs as well.

Since I am invited for the event, this means that there will be lots of eating that is going to happen. last year, he also invited me and the dishes that he prepared were the best ever. We always compliment each other. There are time also that I will call him and asked his special recipes that I can use for an event. My friend always help me in all the things I need, especially in the cooking side.

DINING IN A FIESTA

I was invited just this morning to a barangay fiesta. According to my friend, their barangay is celebrating their foundation day and he added that their house will be the host of all the eating that is going to happen. He invited me as guest and not as a chef. I think sometimes I deserve to be the person lifting the spoon and fork rather than doing the cooking. Their barangay is close to ours and I don't need to ride. I only need is a good shoes and that's it.

My friend told me that they are preparing several dishes for the fiesta. There is lechon baboy, kinilaw, adobo, pancit, lumpia and others more. The fiesta focuses on local dishes of their barangay. There are no chefs of people with culinary background, except me. But I will be going as guest and not as a chef. The event happens annually and as I recall, I never missed their fiesta. I am always present to eat their dishes that they prepared for their guests.

Before their actual fiesta, my friend borrowed my recipe books and he told me that he wanted to study the dishes so that he can cook it in their fiesta. My friend is very thankful that I lend him my recipe books because he was able to prepare dishes that are made by chefs. The recipes in the book are very easy to follow. Just reading it, you don't need a chef's schooling in order to understand the terms in the cook book.

DAY ONE IN THE RESTAURANT

I never expected that the customers will be these plenty. Yesterday, I closed my restaurant operation so that I can make the annual inventory in my kitchen. I did not accept any customers in my restaurant. All the dishes and recipes that I follow were put into halt. I remembered my security guard told me that many of my customers in the restaurant were looking for me and wondering way I did not open.

At exactly 10 am, I opened the door in my restaurant and was shocked of what I saw. Customers were waiting outside of my restaurant and all of them were hungry and was in a hurry to place their order. I immediately told my dining in charge to prepare the kitchen for it will be a war inside the kitchen. Most of my customers today were ordering pork steak and beef steak. Aside from that recipe, one customer ordered a whole lechon for his birthday. I called up the other chef in the kiosk to come help me in the food preparation as customer flock in to eat inside the restaurant.

I finished cooking around 7 pm. I would say it was a marathon cooking for this day. Total customers served were 500 satisfied customers. Usually, I only served 50 customers. But today's event, I was able to accommodate more than the usual number of customers. I am very tired right now and I needed to rest. For tomorrow is another day in the restaurant.

MY LITTLE NIECE FAVORITE FOOD

I often visit my niece in the next city. She is my first niece and only 2 years old. Every time I visit her I always make sure that I prepare for her favorite, chicharon. Chicharon is a simple merienda dish that is made from pork skin. The pork skin is dried and then fried in oil, seasoned with salt and garlic and that's it.

Every time I bring chicharon for her, she always make a smile and then take the pack of chicharon that I cooked for her. Cooking chicharon would take around 5 minutes. My niece likes her chicharon to be crispy and crunchy. I lessen the oil so that she won't feel or taste the oil that I used. Sometime when cooking chicharon, you need to lessen the oil so that it would be too oil to eat. Do not also overcook the pork skin for it might change the taste of the outcome chicharon.

Chicharon is a delicacy of some cities and they have their own type of chicharon, distinctively in their city. Chicharon is available on packs but I prefer to cook it myself. By next week, I will be going to the next city again and a chicharon is readily available for my niece for she loves chicharon. It makes her happy to eat chicharon.

CLOSE FOR INVENTORY

My restaurant was close the entire day due to inventory. I annually do this inventory to check the status of my kitchen utensils and things that I used in the kitchen. From the recipe books down to the fork and spoons were accounted. My kitchen crew were very helpful in assisting me in the inventory.

The guard of my restaurant was asked by several customers about the inventory and when will the restaurant operate again. He just told them that tomorrow, operation will resume and dishes will be cooked again in my kitchen. At the front of my door, I placed the sign "Close due to inventory". Many were curious about the inventory. Usually, inventory would take half day and then I will open in the afternoon. But this time, I decided not to open the whole day. The kitchen inventory was completed around 6 pm.

This inventory was very helpful to me.From the recipe books and all other cooking stuffs very account properly. Aside from the kitchen inventory, I wanted to have a day off from cooking that is why I totally ceased to operate today. Some of my loyal customers went to my kiosk and bought their food their. The recipes cooked in my kiosk are all the same in my restaurant. Tomorrow will be another battle in the kitchen to cook the dishes that my customers ordered.

RECIPE GALORE

I was told by my friend to come to their house to have some cooking fun. He told me just to come in a casual attire and not wearing the normal chef clothes that we often use in the restaurant. I was wondering what the heck my friend was cooking this time. Well, I guess I have to visit him in his house ans see whats cooking for me.

When I got there, my friend welcomed me and several others into his house. We stayed in the receiving area of his house and there were some finger foods prepared for us. After seveal minutes 2 American chefs went into the house and greeted us warmly. My friends introduced us to them and told us that these chefs are looking for local chefs to endorsers of their cook book. After the brief introduction, we started the ball rolling by preparing things in the kitchen.

It was a cooking demo for all of us and the dish that we were gonna cook were the recipes that they wrote in their cook book. I was very happy to accept such invitation because after the cooking, several cook books were distributed to us and it was our own copy, signed by the author chefs that wrote the recipes. The cook books will be very useful to my restaurant since I wanted to introduced new American dishes into my menu.

DINING WITH OLD FRIENDS

After watching the fight of Pacquiao and Cotto, I was called by my friend and invited me to a dinner for tonight. I accepted the offer since I am not doing anything on a Sunday. I was also thinking of spending time with old chef friend of mine. This guy is already 56 years old and still active in the culinary profession. Aside from cooking at a hotel, he also works with the culinary school and teaches students how to cook and do things in the kitchen.

As I got in his place, he immediately welcomed me and showed his house to me. He also showed me his kitchen and some cooking recipes that his family kept along time. This recipes were handed to him by his parents and he is planning to hand it down to his son, who is now in the culinary school.He told me to keep an eye on his son and guide him through the culinary school. By January, his son will be finished in the culinary school and that is the right time to give the recipes to his son.

The recipes is all placed in the cook book. It is already old and have some dust on it. The recipes inside were very delicious and simple recipes. The dishes are very ideal for a restaurant and even in a hotel function. No wonder my friend is the top chef of the restaurant that he is working in.