December 17, 2012
7:40 AM
by: Dolly Dy-Zulueta

Chili Shrimps and Asparagus

Originally posted on August 13, 2012

WAS away from home for four days last week. No, of course I wasn’t on a media trip. Not at the height of the heavy Southwest Monsoon rains. My husband Raff and I were stranded away from home because the flooded streets that led home from our office in Makati kept us from reaching our house in Cainta last Monday night. Since the heavy rains carried on for the next couple of days, any attempt on our part to get home on Tuesday and Wednesday proved to be futile. Just when I thought the rains were finally letting up and we would finally be able to get home on Thursday, the Monsoon unleashed its fury one more time and kept us hanging on our toes one more day (and night). Sigh!

Finally, the rains stopped, and we were able to drive home on relatively dry roads on Friday night. There was so much to do at home after being away – against my will – for four days. Thank God the floods didn’t get inside the house, as they did during Typhoon Ondoy back in 2009, but there was still so much to do, and one of the things that I had to attend to was rummaging through the ref and freezer. During the whole time that we were away, I kept in touch with our neighbor to find out what was happening at homebase. I tell you, it was such a relief to know the floods along our street were only gutter-deep, in contrast to the deep floods that rendered the main road unpassable for days. I’ve been told our electrical supply was cut from Tuesday night to Thursday night, and so I knew the ref, especially the freezer, needed my immediate and undivided attention. So, I rummaged through the freezer, threw away what needed to be thrown away after two days of being ‘un-frozen,’ and salvaged what could be salvaged. I was so thankful that the relatively big shrimps that I had bought just the Saturday prior to the Great Monsoon Flood were still OK, but I didn’t want to keep them too long in the freezer afterwards, so I bought some asparagus and cooked them into Chili Shrimps and Asparagus.

Chili Shrimps and Asparagus is a dish that I learned from Chef Dianne dela Cruz of Knorr. She featured it in a cooking demonstration sponsored by Knorr when the magazine that I work for, FLAVORS Magazine, staged the ninth edition of its annual culinary competition among schools, FLAVORS Culinary Challenge 2012, at the Annex Atrium of SM City Fairview last March. It seemed easy to prepare, and since I love both shrimps and asparagus, the combination was unbeatable. And it was. I didn’t have trouble whipping up the dish. I even paired it with my own experimental recipe, Carrot and Basil Fried Rice, and Raff and I had a great lunch. Oh, I tell you, it felt so good to be having a great lunch at home after days of being ‘homeless refugees’ (*redundancy intended to stress my point).

2 tbsps. butter
8 pcs. asparagus (or more!)
½ kg. shrimps, shelled and deveined
1 pack Knorr All-in-One + Meaty Seasoning
¾ cup water
2 pcs. red chili, sliced
2 tbsps. sesame oil
2 tsps. cornstarch
1 tbsp. water
white sugar to taste
chili sauce to taste

1. In a pan, sauté garlic in butter then add asparagus. Continue sautéeing until asparagus is half-cooked.
2. Add shrimps and Knorr All-in-One + Meaty Seasoning. Stir well.
3. Lower heat, then pour in water. Add white sugar, chili sauce, red chili and sesame oil.
4. Dissolve cornstarch in 1 tbsp. water, then add to pan and stir well.
5. Simmer until sauce has reduced and thickened and shrimps are cooked.
6. Serve hot.

Serves 2.

Recipe: Chef Dianne dela Cruz of Knorr
Food prep, styling & photography: Dolly Dy-Zulueta

Posted in Fish/Seafood, Recipes Tagged , , ,

December 17, 2012
7:33 AM
by: Dolly Dy-Zulueta

Freshly Cooked Meals in an Instant

Originally posted on August 29, 2012

The four variants of the newly launched Maggi Magic Meals: Lechon Paksiw, Chicken Afritada, Chicken Pastel and Bicol Express

MODERN homemakers, especially those who are working, are always in a hurry. They have to juggle their time between their family and their career. They want to be efficient in their job, but they at the same time do not want to sacrifice their family life to advance in their career. The problem is that when the family is growing, as in the husband goes to work and the kids have started school, there’s hardly even time to prepare freshly cooked meals for the family – even for dinner.

Now comes the good news in the local food front: Nestlé has just launched a revolutionary product that promises to help modern homemakers whip up freshly cooked meals in an instant. No, it’s not an instant mix. It’s not a canned or pouched ready-to-eat meal either. To help modern homemakers, or the whole country for that matter, rediscover the magic of freshly cooked meals that have been prepared and enjoyed at home, Nestlé introduced Maggi Magic Meals at Blue Leaf Events Pavilion in McKinley Hill, Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City, today. It’s one of Nestlé’s game-changing innovations to date, and the first-in-the-world recipe solution designed for use in a rice cooker.

The idea is for the viand to be cooked at the same time and in the same pot where rice is being cooked. The dish and the rice are being cooked together using a fuss-free process that turns out meals that have undoubtedly been cooked at home.

Not just a recipe mix, Maggi Magic Meals offer a simple and effective method of cooking using the simple rice cooker. The method is similar to sous-vide cooking, which is all the rage these days because it’s a healthy and fuss-free cooking method. Maggi Magic Meals come in a dual-chamber pack which contains the recipe mix at the bottom and the Maggi Magic Cooking Bag on top. You first cut off the pack on top to bring out the Maggi Magic Cooking Bag, which is made of food-grade 100% polyester designed to withstand high heat. You open it up, place your cut-up chicken of pork inside the bag, followed by thinly sliced vegetables that the recipe requires, and then you drizzle in the recipe mix and pour in six (6) tablespoons of water, gently massage the bag to evenly distribute the dissolved mix in the ingredients, empty the bag of air and tie a knot to seal the bag. Then place the bag on top of the washed rice with water in the rice cooker, cover it, switch the rice cooker on, and allow the viand to cook alongside your rice for 45 minutes. So, when your rice is done, so is your viand cooked and ready to serve.

Chef Erik Magtanong demonstrates how to prepare freshly cooked meals using Maggi Magic Meals

Maggi Magic Meals come in four variants – Lechon Paksiw, Chicken Afritada, Bicol Express and Chicken Pastel – at P35 per pack that can cook 1/2 kilogram of chicken or pork and serve 4 to 5 persons.

To give the media a good idea of how Maggi Magic Meals work, how easy they are to prepare and how good they taste, media guests during the launch this morning were grouped together. Each group occupied a demo table, where they had a chance to cook all four variants with rice in rice cookers all at the same time. Chef Erik Magtanong demonstrated the preparation steps for each variant for everyone to duplicate. To make the 45-minute cooking time fun and exciting, top Maggi executives Star Estacio, senior vice president and business executive manager for food at Nestlé, and Jovee See, consumer marketing executive, talked about the innovative Maggi Magic Meals. Afterwards, they conducted a five-round trivia game, a mental exercise that also involved physical speed. By some stroke of good luck, no, call it blessing from God, I won.

Answering questions from the media during the launch were Star Estacio, vice president and business executive manager for food, Nestlé Philippines (left); and Jovee See, consumer marketing executive (right)

After the trivia game and a short Q&A session with the Maggi executives, the Maggi Magic Meals were ready to be enjoyed – with rice, of course. Besides being a simple and fuss-free method of cooking that turned out freshly cooked meals without the use of oil or extra fuel to cook the viand separately from the rice, Maggi Maggi Meals turned out to be delicious, as well. But since our tastebuds are different from each other, they can be tweaked to suit our own flavor preferences. You can, for instance, add chili to the Bicol Express if you want it more spicy, or you can add slices of ginger and minced garlic into the Chicken Afritada if desired.

Time-saving and cost-efficient since you also save on sauté ingredients and fuel for cooking at the same time, Maggi Magic Meals are an innovative, well thought-of product that directly addresses the needs – and demands – of the modern homemaker.

Posted in FoodBiz Tagged , , , , , , , ,

December 14, 2012
1:42 PM
by: Dolly Dy-Zulueta

Buenisimo Opens in a New Location

IF you’ve dined in Buenisimo by Café Ysabel at Eastwood Mall before and you’re missing it badly, you’d be delighted to know that it’s now open in its new location in the restaurant row of Tomas Morato Ave. in Quezon City. It’s a cozy and intimate dining place located along Scout Tuazon St. corner Scout Lozano, Barangay Laging Handa, Quezon City. With its grand launching at lunchtime today (December 14, 2012), Buenisimo is now again ready to serve diners who know and love modern Spanish and Italian food and Café Ysabel favorites.

Buenisimo’s Truffle Pizza

Yes, Café Ysabel favorites! So you don’t have to go all the way to San Juan for your favorite dishes if you’re working or living in Quezon City. Buenisimo happens to be the brainchild and business endeavor of Chef Gino Gonzalez, the equally talented and hardworking son of celebrity chef Gene Gonzalez. Chef Gino, who serves as executive chef of Café Ysabel and culinary arts director of the Center for Asian Culinary Studies (CACS), has the blessings of his proud dad, who personally graced the grand opening of Buenisimo today.

Buenisimo had a quiet and simple launch, marked by the ceremonial ribbon-cutting rites and capped by a sumptuous buffet lunch.

Appetizers, clockwise from top left: Calamares, Chorizo and Cheese Croquettes, and Duck Rilettes

Appetizers included Calamares with South Asian Dips (Gochujang mayo and Passionfruit mayo), Chorizo and Cheese Croquettes, Duck Rilettes (duck confit wrapped in puff pastry, both made by CACS students), and Truffle Fries Served with Truffle Mayo.

Oh, certainly, yes, truffle fries! Gourmet fries with exquisite truffle, and completing the double truffle is the truffle mayo dip. The good news is that it’s really good, and Buenisimo is probably the only place where you can order Truffle Fries.

Truffle Fries!

Speaking of truffle mushrooms, well, Chef Gino also made sure guests had their fill of Buenisimo’s Truffle Pizza. It’s a generous mix of mozzarella, gruyere and organic mozzarella cheese with shredded truffle, of course, over thin-crust pizza. Simple but awesome. The truffle flavor bursts in your mouth as you take a bite, and it’s so addicting that you’d reach for another slice after you’re done with your first.

Hanger Steak with Cognac Demiglace

Another must-try, which was also served during the grand launch, is Buenisimo’s Hanger Steak with Cognac Demiglace. Café Ysabel-trained chefs have become such experts with steaks that you’d only get the best – and the right doneness – at the newly opened Buenisimo.

And don’t forget the Paella. Teeming with blue crab, clams, mussels, chicken, chorizo and wedges of boiled egg and lemon, the Paella at Buenisimo is all you need with your Truffle Pizza and Hanger Steak, and you’ll have the most satisfying meal ever.

Paella

Three delicious desserts: Vanilla-Strawberry Panna Cotta, Banana Tatin and Chocolate Cannoli

If there’s still room for dessert, try the Banana Tatin and/or Vanilla-Strawberry Panna Cotta with Chocolate Cannoli. The Banana Tatin is a local version of the classic Apple Tatin. A signature dessert of Buenisimo, it’s Cavendish banana slices with ricotta cheese on a delightfully flaky crust. As for the Vanilla-Strawberry Panna Cotta, it makes use of real vanilla – as in vanilla bean, and not just vanilla flavoring or extract. The Chocolate Cannoli, too, should make a good meal-ender. It’s perfectly crisp, and the cream filling doesn’t give you an uyam effect. It’s not too sweet either.

Average check for a meal is Php400 per person.

Cutting the ceremonial ribbon for Buenisimo’s grand launch were Hiren Mirchandani of Ramesh Trading and ABS-CBN executive Lala Ventura Lazaro, as Chefs Gino and Gene Gonzalez look on

(Buenisimo by Café Ysabel is located at 24 Scout Tuazon St. corner Scout Lozano, Barangay Laging Handa, Quezon City; right along the same road as Max’s Fried Chicken. For inquiries and reservations, call 410-5050.)

Posted in Restos Tagged , , , , , , , , , , ,

December 14, 2012
1:14 PM
by: Dolly Dy-Zulueta

New Season of “SM Master Chefs 2012” Is On

Originally posted on August 24, 2012

San Miguel Pure Foods Culinary Center’s Chef RJ Garcia whips up Roti Dog 3 Ways and Croque Madame in a cooking demo during the grand launch of SM Master Chefs 2012

HOMEMAKERS are in constant search of new recipes and meal ideas for their respective families. Kids get bored when they’re served the same dishes all the time, and when they lose their appetite, they put their health and nutrition in peril. So, moms are always looking for new things to serve for breakfast and to pack for baon.

Unilever Philippines’ So Pinoy dancers doing a cultural number

SM Master Chefs 2012, which was launched last week at SM Hypermarket-Cubao, therefore comes in very handy, as it offers exciting new recipes as well as fun ways to serve familiar food items. A series of cooking demonstrations conducted by master chefs of sponsoring food brands, the SM Master Chefs series began last year and was such a big success that SM Hypermarket management decided to bring it back this year so shoppers can pick up a whole new set of recipes and exciting meal ideas. This year’s sponsoring brands are Bounty Fresh Chicken, CDO Ulam Burger, Nestlé All Purpose Cream, San Miguel Fresh Milk and Unilever Food Solutions’ Knorr Sinigang sa Sampalok. Each sponsoring brand features its own master chefs — Chef Arnold Bernardo for Bounty Fresh Chicken, Chef Menoy Gimenez for CDO, Chef Tess Sutilo for Nestlé, Chef RJ Garcia for San Miguel, and Chef Paulo Sia for Unilever and Knorr — who will be making the rounds of all 34 branches of SM Hypermarket every week for the next three months to conduct cooking demonstrations and make a delectable shopping experience open to SM Hypermarket shoppers.

Unilever and Knorr’s Chef Paulo Sia preparing his fuss-free Toss and Wrap sandwich

To provide a preview of what is to come, the five featured chefs did simultaneous 15-minute cooking demos during the grand launch held at SM Hypermarket-Cubao. Chef Arnold whipped up Chicken in Red Curry and Pineapple and Rice Noodle Stir-fry (Thai Style); Chef Menoy prepared huge Red Velvet Ciabatta Sandwiches for everyone to enjoy; Chef Tess opted to go healthy with her Creamy Munggo Guisado and Sigarillas at Papaya Gising-Gising; Chef RJ made Roti Dog 3 Ways and Croque Madame; while Chef Paulo went fast and flambéed with his Toss and Wrap.

Bounty Fresh Chicken’s Chef Arnold Bernardo and his two delicious dishes: Chicken in Red Curry and Pineapple, and Rice Noodle Stir-fry (Thai Style)

 

CDO’s Red Velvet Ciabatta Sandwich, as prepared by Chef Menoy Gimenez

The schedule of the rest of the SM Master Chefs 2012 cooking demos is as follows:
• Aug. 28 – Marilao / Lopez / Bicutan / Cubao
• Aug. 30 – Baliwag / ESR / Muntinlupa / Eton / Jmall
• Sept. 4 – Clark / Pasig / Molino / Novaliches / Iloilo
• Sept. 6 – Pampanga / Taytay / Marketmall / Valenzuela
• Sept. 11 – Rosales / North EDSA / Imus / Harbour
• Sept. 13 – Fairview / Monumento / Las Piñas 1 / Makati
• Sept. 18 – Marilao / Mall of Asia / AZR / Adriatico
• Sept. 20 – Baliwag / Sucat 1 / Bicutan / Mandaluyong / Batangas
• Sept. 25 – Clark / Lopez / Muntinlupa / Cubao / Cebu
• Sept. 27 – Pampanga / ESR / Molino / Eton
• Oct. 2 – Pasig / Marketmall / Novaliches / Jmall
• Oct. 4 – Monumento / Taytay / Imus / Valenzuela
• Oct. 9 – Pasig / North EDSA / Makati / Harbour / Iloilo

For the SM Master Chefs 2012 launch, Nestlé’s Chef Tess Sutilo made Sigarillas at papaya Gising-Gising and Creamy Mungo Guisado

RECIPE CONTEST
Along with the launch of SM Master Chefs 2012 comes the SM Master Chefs Recipe Contest, which is open to all shoppers and will be staged in 33 SM Hypermarket branches nationwide. Contestants need only to submit a dish they have whipped up using products of sponsors on a specified date, complete with P1,000 worth of single or accumulated receipts (proofs of purchase of groceries) inclusive of any of the featured products using an SM Advantage Card.

Main ingredients to be used in creating master recipes are as follows:
– Unilever’s Knorr Sinigang sa Sampalok in a SOUP dish
– San Miguel’s Magnolia Fresh Milk in a PASTA dish
– Nestlé’s All Purpose Cream in a NO-BAKE DESSERT
– Bounty Fresh Chicken
– CDO’s Ulam Burger in a LUNCH MEAL

SM Hypermarket’s senior manager for marketing Frances Crisol explaining the exciting concept behind SM Master Chefs 2012

Cooking challenges will be scheduled in each SM Hypermarket branch, where contestants must bring their cooked dish depending on the designated master brand and master ingredient on the specified date.

The schedule of the cooking challenges is as follows:
• Oct. 16 – Rosales / MOA / Sucat / Adriatico / Batangas
• Oct. 18 – Fairview / Sucat 1 / AZR / Mandaluyong / Cebu
• Oct. 23 – Marilao / Lopez / Bicutan / Cubao
• Oct. 25 – Baliwag / ESR / Muntinlupa / Eton / Jmall
• Oct. 30 – Clark / Pasig / Molino / Novaliches / Iloilo
• Nov. 6 – Pampanga / Taytay / Marketmall / Valenzuela
• Nov. 8 – Monumento / North EDSA / Las Piñas / Imus / N. Harbour

Each store will have one winner, who will take home P10,000 worth of SM gift certificates and whose recipes will be featured in magazines and the sponsoring brands’ recipe books and collaterals.

CARINDERIA MAKEOVER
A third component to the grand launch of SM Master Chefs 2012 is the Free Carinderia Makeover as SM Hypermarket’s way of saying thank-you to the main patrons of its food service business. Owners of food businesses, such as carinderias and catering services, who buy their ingredients and other essentials in big packs or bulk at SM Hypermarket now get a chance to own a brand-new kitchen and dining area furnished by SM Hypermarket. A minimum P500 worth of groceries inclusive of two sponsoring brands’ products or a fully stampled loyalty card can pave the way to a carinderia makeover if submitted with a registration form, three photos of the carinderia, and a 50-word answer to the question Why does my carinderia deserve a free makeover?.

There will be five lucky winners, who will be notified via registered mail and phone, and whose carinderia makeovers will be designed by an interior designer.

Posted in FoodBiz Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

December 14, 2012
12:46 PM
by: Dolly Dy-Zulueta

Two Pizza Brands Take Center Stage

Originally posted on July 31, 2012

TWO pizza brands took center stage last July to introduce new products and new promotions: California Pizza Kitchen (CPK) and Greenwich.

California Pizza Kitchen’s new Prosciutto Pizza (left) and Greenwich’s new Greenwich Special Overload Pizza

NATIONAL PIZZA DAY
California Pizza Kitchen, a leading brand of premium pizzas in the country, hosted a media lunch in its posh Greenbelt 5 branch to announce that it is staging the country’s first National Pizza Day celebration on August 15. The date coincides with Global Restaurant Concepts Inc.’s opening of the first CPK restaurant in the Philippines. So, to mark this very special occasion, CPK is launching a one-day free pizza promo for its diners.

Vegetarian Pizza by California Pizza Kitchen

For every regular or thin-crust pizza ordered for dine-in on August 15, the restaurant will be providing another pizza for free. Choices are BBQ Chicken Pizza, Pepperoni, Five Cheese and Fresh Tomato, Hawaiian Bacon Pizza and Traditional Cheese, all CPK best-sellers. CPK is also throwing in refillable Coca-Cola for the day for only P50.

Global Restaurant Concepts Inc., the Filipino company led by Archie Rodriguez as president and CEO, brought in the CPK brand to the Philippines. It was the first company to operate a CPK restaurant outside the United States and how runs seven branches in Metro Manila.

“Fifteen years in the industry is a triumph in itself. When people think about premium pizzas, CPK is top of mind. Our pizzas and other dishes have always been associated with quality. What differentiates us from other pizza brands is the kind of California-style cuisine and American family dining concept that we introduced,” explains Rodriguez.

Aggressively aiming to open more branches this year, CPK has also just launched a host of new menu items that stay true to its “global-inspired with a California twist yet 100% Filipino-made and conceptualized” food. Debuting in time for the National Pizza Day celebration on August 15 are Prosciutto Pizza (made with Italian prosciutto with fresh arugula and mozzarella, shaved Parmesan and sliced tomatoes on caramelized thin pizza crust); and Vegetarian Pizza (marinara sauce and mozzarella on thin crust pizza, topped with grilled eggplant, fresh button mushrooms, red onion, sun-dried tomatoes, roasted corn, broccoli, goat cheese and pinenuts).

Lovers of Prosciutto ham will surely enjoy the Prosciutto Pizza, which comes generously loaded with Prosciutto ham; while the Vegetarian Pizza is refreshingly different from regular vegetarian pizzas that usually have red and green bell pepper, button mushrooms and onion rings as toppings. The presence of broccoli alone, plus roasted corn and pinenuts, makes it deliciously gourmet.

CPK also took the occasion to introduce other new menu items, such as Lasagna Milanese, Black Seafood Pomodoro, Mu Shu Chicken Calzone, Cheese Steak Sandwich, Fried Mozzarella Sticks, Quesadilla, Spinach with Gorgonzola and Asian Chicken Wrap. There’s also a new thirst quencher, Fruit Sangria, which is made of Chardonnay, mango and orange juices, with slices of grapes, green apples and oranges.

California Pizza Kitchen, from top left: Asian Chicken Wrap, Fried Mozzarella Sticks, Lasagna Milanese and Black Seafood Pomodoro; with CPK’s top honchos Griffith Go (CFO), Manuel Zubiri (director) and Archie Rodriguez (president and CEO)

CPK celebrates National Pizza Day on August 15 at CPK branches in Glorietta 3, Alabang Town Center, Shangri-La Plaza, The Promenade at Greenhills Shopping Center, TriNoma, Power Plant Mall at Rockwell Center, and Greenbelt 5.

PIZZA AND CHICKEN
Also braced to whet the appetite of Filipino barkadas once more with a delicious new offering that overwhelms the senses and one’s craving for sumptuous pizza is Greenwich, which has just launched its new Greenwich Special Overload Pizza at the Megatrade Hall function room of SM Megamall. It’s never more aptly named, as its hot and freshly made crust is ‘overloaded’ with 13 mouth-watering toppings: ground beef, bacon, pepperoni, salami, mushrooms, olives, red and green bell pepper, onion, minced garlic, mozzarella and Cheddar cheeses, and chunks of glazed pineapple.

“Greenwich Special Overload Pizza is every pizza lover’s dream. It tops our pizza list simply because it has everything anyone can ask for in a pizza. It is overloaded with toppings that can satisfy any pizza craving, thus making it better than any other,” says Greenwich marketing manager Lulu de Castro.

The all-new Greenwich Crispy Glazed Chicken

The Greenwich Special Overload Pizza, though, is not the only new item on the Greenwich menu. Also freshly launched is the new Greenwich Crispy Glazed Chicken, which is expected to make waves among chicken lovers. More than just the crispy skin and tender meat that other fast-food chains and quick service restaurants offer for their Fried Chicken meals, the new Greenwich Crispy Glazed Chicken capitalizes on the latest trend towards Korean-style crispy fried chicken with glaze.

Served with rice and affordably priced at P79, the Greenwich Crispy Glazed Chicken uses an extra special marinade that seeps through each extra large piece of chicken, which is then cooked to an inviting crispiness, coated with a lip-smacking sweet and mildly spicy glaze, and served with a steaming cup of rice.

Greenwich also took advantage of the occasion to launch yet another product – the Greenwich Ultimate Green Card. Sold at P199, it’s a privilege card that offers customers many perks: 1) Buy 1 Take 1 pizza for delivery orders; 2) a 10% discount when the card-holder dines in at any Greenwich branch; and 3) nine coupons of food packages or promos that allow the card-holder to save as much as P1,000 in the long run.

PIZZA COUNTRY!
In a pizza eating country like the Philippines, the more the pizza choices there are in the market, the merrier we all are. At times when we crave gourmet or premium pizzas, we think of high-end brands that give us the ultimate satisfaction, such as California Pizza Kitchen. On other days, when we simply want pizza but do not have much budget to dig into, brands like Greenwich come to mind. We eat it for breakfast, lunch, merienda, dinner.

Posted in Restos Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , ,