Recipes for Your New Year Celebration
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Snowball Fizz Cocktail (Photo by Elizabeth Ann Quirino)
This recipe first posted on the Filipino food blog Asian in America www.AsianInAmericaMag.com.
Snowball Fizz Cocktail
(Makes 1 cocktail)
Ingredients
2 ounces gin
2/3 cup orange juice
1/3 cup grapefruit juice
2 Tablespoons sugar
Bottled cherries for garnish, pitted & drained
Procedure
Combine the gin, orange and grapefruit juices, sugar and place in a shaker. Shake vigorously. Pour into a cocktail or wine glass. Garnish with a cherry on the rim. Serve chilled.
Recipe Notes: Gin Fizzes are light, refreshing sour-based cocktails with the usual addition of club soda, lemon juice or other citrus ingredients. A gin fizz is a good thirst-quencher for warmer months, but this is a good, easy drink to put together all year round. This recipe is a sweeter adaptation from usual Gin Fizzes. This was adapted from: Field Guide to Cocktails by Rob Chirico (Quirk Books).
Stuffed Button Mushrooms with Chorizos and Cheese
Stuffed Button Mushrooms with Chorizos and Cheese
When you need a fast, easy recipe for a holiday entree, an appetizer or side, this is perfect: Stuffed Button Mushrooms with Chorizos and Cheese. The finely chopped smoky-flavored Spanish chorizos, mushroom stems, cheese and seasonings fill the center of the jumbo button mushrooms. Once baked, these are even harder to resist. Serve these for a party or a family dinner. They are sure to be a hit. This Asian in America recipe first published on the Quirk DIY blog (Quirk Books). Serves 2 as an entree, up to 4 as an appetizer or side dish.
Ingredients
jumbo button mushrooms - 1 package (10 oz.) about 12 large pieces
Spanish chorizo sausage - 1 (4 oz.) piece, casing removed, filling chopped
egg - 1 large
red or green bell peppers - 1/2 of a large piece, seeded, white membrane removed, chopped fine
bread crumbs - 2 Tablespoons
melted butter - 1 Tablespoon
grated sharp cheddar cheese - 1/2 cup
Procedure
Wipe button mushrooms clean with a paper towel. Hold stems firmly and pull out. This will leave the hollow portion in the middle for stuffing.
Chop the stems finely into small bits. In a medium-sized bowl, combine the stems with the chopped chorizos, egg, chopped bell pepper, bread crumbs and melted butter. Mix well and place stuffing inside the hollow part of the mushrooms.
Sprinkle grated cheese on each mushroom with filling. Place in a pre-greased shallow baking sheet. Bake in a preheated oven of 350 F degrees for 9-10 minutes till cheese melts. Serve piping hot.
Cook's Comments: The Spanish chorizo sausages are typically filled with spicy seasonings and have a robust, smoky, paprika-like and savory flavor. Thus, there is no need to add any more salt, pepper or other spices to the mixture. And if grilling is preferred for this recipe, just cover the aluminum pan with foil and place on top of the grill. Cook on high heat for the same amount of time.
Kapampangan-style Embutido
Kapampangan-style Embutido (Photo by Elizabeth Ann Quirino)
Some Kapampangan homes call this dish murcon. To me, this is Embutido cooked in the Kapampangan way—simply low and slow. It’s a sweet pork meatloaf packed with an array of ingredients, which makes it a popular party of holiday dish. The best part of eating embutido is catching the savory drippings, which are made even more special by mixing with finely grated cheese, preferably queso de bola during the holidays. My husband’s dear Auntie Tacing Pineda taught me this much-loved Kapampangan entrée adapted for an American kitchen. I have omitted wrapping the pork loaf in unto sinsal (leaf lard) the way it is done back in the Philippines and instead used parchment paper. I make this ahead for the busy Christmas and New Year festivities, sometimes doubling the recipe and freezing the extra for when unexpected guests come to visit.
Reprinted with permission from My Mother’s Philippine Recipes: Filipino Cookbook Recipes From Asian in America by Elizabeth Ann Besa-Quirino. Available on Amazon.com.
Serves 6 to 8
Makes two large meat rolls
Ingredients
4 pounds ground pork
8 large eggs
1½ cups chopped white onions
1 cup raisins
2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese, divided, use 1 cup for pork loaf, rest for gravy
1 cup finely chopped carrots
½ cup minced garlic, fried
4 pieces Chorizo Bilbao or Spanish chorizos, finely chopped
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 hard-boiled eggs, flat slices
1 Tablespoon achuete seeds, soaked in 1 cup warm water
1½ cups organic chicken broth
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
¼ cup water, room temperature
Procedure
To make the embutido: In a large mixing bowl, mix the ground pork, 8 eggs, onions, raisins, 1 cup grated cheese, carrots, garlic, chorizos, salt and pepper. Divide the mixture into two batches.
Cut a large piece of parchment or wax paper measuring about 9 x 11 inches. In the center of the paper, place one batch of the meat mixture. Spread the mixture in a thick, rectangular shape log, leaving an inch clear along the edges of the paper. Arrange the slices of 1 hard-boiled egg in the center.
Take one long edge of the paper and roll the meat into a cylinder. Wrap the roll in aluminum foil, sealing the edges tightly all around. Repeat this process for the second roll. Set aside.
Prepare a steamer by filling the bottom pan with water. Place the achuete seeds in a small sieve and while pressing the seeds with a fork, pour warm water over it . Add the achuete-tinted liquid to the water in the steamer. Turn up the heat, cover the pan and bring the water to a boil.
Arrange the embutido rolls on a rimmed plate that fits in the upper steamer pan and place this pan atop the briskly boiling water. Once the water is boiling, lower the heat and steam the embutidos over a slow simmer for 2 hours. Check the water level while cooking and add more if necessary.
To make the gravy: Catch the drippings from the plate where the embutido is in, on the second layer of the steamer. You should have about ½ cup or 2/3 cup of liquid drippings. Transfer drippings to a small saucepan set over medium-high heat, combine the drippings with 1 cup grated cheese, broth and soy sauce. Separately in a small bowl, whisk the cornstarch with the room temperature water until the mixture is smooth and free of lumps. Once the broth mixture in the saucepan boils, lower the heat to medium and add the cornstarch mixture. Continue stirring and cooking for 1 to 2 minutes until the gravy thickens.
Slice the embutido into ½-inch thick pieces. Serve warm with the gravy on the side.
Cook’s comments: During the holidays, I use queso de bola (Edam cheese) instead of cheddar for a more special entree.
My Mother’s Philippine Recipes: Filipino Cookbook Recipes From Asian in America
Elizabeth Ann Quirino
Elizabeth Ann Quirino, based in New Jersey is a journalist and author of the “Instant Filipino Recipes: My Mother’s Philippine Food In a Multicooker Pot” Cookbook. She is a member of the International Association of Culinary Professionals and blogs about Filipino home cooking on her site AsianInAmericaMag.com.
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