My greeting was a little late, but I am sure you understand it's the thought that counts. :) Anyway, before I share to you what I cooked for Media Noche, allow me turn back time a few days.
During the holidays, we would prepare a little for Noche Buena and just cook a feast for Christmas Day Lunch. However, 2012 was slightly a sad Christmas - as far as cooking and feasting is concerned - because we had a lot of leftover from Noche Buena, which we decided to eat for Christmas Day Lunch, and I wasn't feeling good come dinner time to cook what I was supposed to cook. I was only able to cook it dinnertime of 26 December, and I was thankful that the whole family was home that time.
For this dinner, we (that's brother and I) cooked three dishes. I intended to cook a pasta dish, but since there were a lot already, I thought it would be better to just cook it for Media Noche. Brother helped me in cooking, because it was already nearly 5pm when we got home from the market and I was already scrambling to prepare the dishes in time for dinner.
Pumpkin Soup
We are already okay with the powder type soup mix, but my willingness to go on a "soup for dinner" diet prompted me to browse through our magazines to copy some soup recipes. The addition of apples into this soup gave it a hint of sweetness, which the family loved. Recipe for this will be shared tomorrow.
Steamed Cream Dory in "Light" Soy Sauce
The idea of serving this dish came when I tasted the dish at Max's Restaurant. I found it easy to make and since it was steamed, it's a better alternative to the breaded Cream Dory we used to cook at home. We didn't have any light soy sauce, so to season the fillets, I marinated them in regular soy sauce diluted with a little water mixed with calamansi juice and a few drops of sesame oil. To make it healthier, I steamed it with broccoli. It turned out okay, though I admit, wrapping the broccoli in the aluminum foil with the fish wasn't a good idea as it made the fish look dirty and the broccoli lost its rich green color.
Garlicky Crabs
Usually, we would cook Chili Garlic Crabs, but I wasn't in the mood for something spicy, so brother just cooked this the way he always do, without the chili. These crabs were given by Aunt Mary (mom's sister) last Christmas eve, and we since we wanted to eat the crabs while it was still a little fresh, it was the best time to cook it. Mom's cholesterol level is slightly higher than normal, so brother opened the crabs after steaming it and scraped all the fat before pouring the garlic sauce.
I may not able to serve this for Christmas Lunch, but it was still a sumptuous dinner.
I come from a family who loves cooking and eating. I never had any formal training in cooking and that I taught myself how to cook based on the handed down recipes, but I could say that I can cook good food. In 2008, I started documenting my food trips for my