Tinapa - Filipino Smoked Fish

I've mentioned many times in past posts that my parents used to cook and sell Filipino food to the local Filipino community when I was a young girl.  Back then I didn't appreciate the importance of my Filipino heritage and how important it was for my parents to keep it alive in our family.  

Now that I am older and have my own family, I realise how important it is to teach my children not only their Filipino roots but also their English background, which they inherited from their dad.  

I plan to do this one day at a time, one dish at a time.

Tinapa has been something I've been wanting to learn and make for years.  We finally decided to make some during our "mum (and dad) and daughter cooking day".  As soon as the sardines touched the smoker, the instant hit of the the aroma brought me back to my childhood.

You can smoke any kind of fish though the oily ones are the best for this.  We used sardines.  Makes sure they are the freshest you can get your hands on.

Before smoking the sardines, they must be quickly blanched in water with plenty of salt and sugar.  Quickly simmer for 5-7 minutes just to slightly cook them through.

If you have the time, it is ideal to left to dry overnight.  We didn't have the time so we smoked it straight away.  

We used pine wood chips but you can use any kind of wood chips.  You can also add herbs to it.

Smoke the sardines for approximately 15mins till the skin is nice and brown. Turn once.  Do this carefully as the sardines are delicate and fall apart easily.  You should also be able to smell the smoky aroma of the wood.  

In Philippines, this is for breakfast, quickly pan fried, eaten with garlic rice and frankly, it's the best way to eat them.  Yum!

Bon Appetite,

Cherrie

The Cook Book Challenge - Week 20 : Tangy

Week 20 : Tangy

Recipe :  Thousand Island Dressing

Cook Book : The Australian Women's Weekly Cook.

I got this cookbook as a Christmas Present last year from my Mother-in-law.  I  have used a few times already, there are so many simple recipes in here it's hard not to.

For this week's theme, I had no idea at first on what to make. Tangy...  I thought about it for about a week and looked through a few of my cookbooks.  Then, I thought about making home-made mayonnaise.  Even better, home-made Thousand Island Dressing.

I've seen and read about how easy it is to make mayonnaise, I actually didn't think that it would that easy.

• 2 egg yolks
• 1 tsp dijon mustard
• 250ml olive oil
• 1 tbl lemon juice
• 60ml tomato sauce
• 1/2 small red onion, finely chopped
• 4 tbl capers, finely chopped
• 4 tbl red capsicum, finely chopped
• salt

1. In a bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and dijon mustard till combined and smooth
2. While whisking, slowly drizzle in the olive oil
3. Keep whisking till the mixture thickens
4. Stir in the lemon juice
5. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir
6. Serve with seafood or chicken

 http://www.grouprecipes.com/113294/thousand-island-dressing.html

My thousand Island dressing was perfect with the Australian Salmon my brother @MrEd2U caught while holidaying in Lakes Entrance in Victoria.  I'm such a lucky girl :)

Bon Appetite,

Cherrie

Happy Easter 2010!

This year, Easter was quite a hectic long weekend.  I had so many plans of baking and cooking up a storm but unfortunately, time got the better of me and didn't end up doing anything I had planned.

Good Friday was spent at my Mother-in-laws for lunch.  Gourmet fish and chips was on the menu.  It was light and delicious.

The children had their annual Easter Egg Hunt in my Mother-in-law's backyard

Thomas found one though he is still too young for chocolate

Deanna managed to find a basket full.

It has lately been tradition to spend the evening of Good Friday at the Botanical Gardens with my family.  However, my brother, @MrEd2U and family spent the long weekend at Rosebud.  So we took my parents out to Williamstown for a walk and dinner.

Deanna on her scooter

Thomas loved being on the swing

We had dinner at Williamstown Mussels.  My brother raves about this place  so we wanted to try it out for ourselves.  When we got there, there was only one person in front of us and we were told the wait will be 15 minutes.  I thought the wait wasn't too bad.  After ordering, the queue became a lot longer.  In fact, it was out the door.  I bet the wait would have been at least 30 minutes at that point.  My verdict?  We enjoyed the fisherman's basket and Hubby enjoyed his "Porky Burger"  The fish was fresh and the batter was light and crispy.

Easter Sunday was spent at Fawkner Park in South Yarra, celebrating our Nando's store's 3rd Birthday.  We also celebrated a great year in 2009 where our store is ranked 3rd in Victoria.  The staff that attended were treated to tasty make-your-own sandwiches and a Black Forest Birthday Cake.  Entertainment came in the form of one of the staff playing his guitar and another staff singing, making words up as he went along.  It was quite entertaining.

After lunch, we played a game of soccer.  We were so tired after that so we decided to just take it easy  the rest of the afternoon.  

On Easter Monday, we took the children to the Royal Botanical Gardens Melbourne where Guilfoyle's Volcano was opened  to the public.  It was originally built in 1876 and stored water for use in the Botanical Gardens but has been closed for  60 years.

As you can see, the long weekend was full of activity.  I vow to bake and cook up the storm that I wanted to, next year... hopefully.

Chickie Eggs inspried by JustJennRecipes.com

Bon Appetite,

Cherrie

The Cook Book Challenge - Week 19 : Rice

Week 19 : Rice

Recipe :  Kedgeree

Cook Book : Nigella Bites by Nigella Lawson

I have quite a few of Nigella's Cook books and I have to say, I do use quite a bit.  I love her recipes as most are simple and easy to make.

Kedgeree is a rice dish said to have originated from India then brought to England by soldiers that were stationed there and developed a taste for the spices.  It is a breakfast dish and was popular back in the day when there were no refrigeration and leftovers were used.  It is a hearty but light dish to have so it can be easily eaten for dinner as well.  Just like we did.

I have seen this cooked many times on TV and have been wanting to make it.  This week seemed like the perfect opportunity.  I found three different versions in three of my cookbooks.  I opted for Nigella's version though I did add extra ingredients to it.  It was the easiest and had ingredients that I liked.

• 45g unsalted butter
• 1 tsp oil
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1 tbl curry powder
• 225g basmati rice
• 1/4 cup sultanas
• 1 can tuna
• 4 hard boiled eggs, quartered
• lemon

1. Melt butter in a heavy saucepan with a tight fitting lid. Add oil to stop it from burning
2. Soften the onion and add the spices, then keep cooking till the onion is slightly translucent
3. Add the rice and stir with a wooden spoon so that it's all well coated.
4. Pour in 500ml water. Stir then cover
5. Cook gently for about 15 minutes until the rice is tender
6. Turn off the heat, remove the lid, cover the pan with a tea towel and then replace the lid
7. Add the tuna and gently flake it with a fork.
8. Add the eggs, sultanas and lemon juice and zest of half of the lemon
9. Gently mix
10. To serve, serve on a large plate with wedges of the other half of the lemon.

http://www.grouprecipes.com/113070/kedgeree.html

Bon Appetite,

Cherrie

2008 Holiday Part 3 - Brighton

Brighton is a seaside city in East Sussex in South East England. Brighton is famous for it's pier and The Grand Hotel, where there was an assassination attempt on Margaret Thatcher when she was Prime Minister.

Had to have fish and chips on the Pier.






Little One had Fairy floss



I had to try the local delicacies. I wasn't brave enough to give the jellied eels a go but I did have the cockles. I found them at one of the seaside booths which were scattered along the promenade.



I had mine with Malt vinegar and shallots. Very tasty.

Bon Appetite,
Cherrie

2008 Holiday Part 5 - Padstow

Padstow (or as some call it PadStein) is a small seaside town in Cornwall. This once sleepy town was made famous by Rick Stein, a restaurateur and TV Chef. In Padstow he has 4 restaurants. The Seafood Restaurant, St. Petroc's Bistro, Rick Stein's Cafe and Stein's Fish and Chips. He also owns a deli, patisseri, gift shop, a cookery school and serveral B&Bs.


The Seafood Restaurant.


Stein's Patisseri

Stein's Cafe and gift shop


Stein's Deli


Stein's Cookery School



Just to show you that there were other stores and businesses in Padstow, we went here, Pasty Presto to try out a traditional Cornish Pasty.


We decided not to have lunch at a Stein establishment. We saw this quaint little fish and chip shop a couple of streets inland and had our lunch here.





Bon Appetite,
Cherrie