Paella Valenciana II

Cooking paella is a burden for others, but not for me. I feel it's because my paella seems to get better and better the more i cook it. I feel proud because mine is better than most of the ones I've tasted. I can claim the authenticity of this Spanish dish I prepare. Long hours of preparation and cooking plus the finest ingredients are the reasons why my Paella is so good. The prawn, squid, clams mexican chorizo, bellpepper, jalapeno, huge garlic, onion, plump tomatoes, black and green olives, wine, sherry, saffron, paprika, black pepper, cumin, organic rice or jasmine rice and the hard-boiled egg on top are the complete cast of my very appetizing paella. And don't forget to squeeze some lime before eating it.

Mangut Jantung Pisang

Bahan-bahan :

• Jantung pisang
• 1 ons teri medan
• santan dari 1/2 butir kelapa
• 1 batang serai
• 2 lbr daun salam
• 2 lbr daun jeruk
• 1/2 liter air

Bumbu halus :

• 5 siung bawang putih
• 1 ruas jari kencur
• 1 biji cabe merah besar
• garam
• gula

Cooking directions :

1. Sebelum dimasak, rebus dulu jantung pisang hingga empuk
2. Teri medan digoreng hingga kering setelah itu masukkan bumbu halus, salam, sereh, daun jeruk tumis hingga harum baunya
3. Masukkan santan dan beri air, tunggu hingga santan mendidih
4. Masukkan jantung pisang yg sudah direbus tadi dan dipotong2 sesuai selera kedlm wajan
5. Masak hingga matang dan bumbu menyerap
6. Sajikan

Because I want you to win $500, I really do

September 4

(This entry is dedicated to Regina Schrambling and others who prefer blind blog postings)

I just got off the phone with someone who used to work with Paul Liebrandt and recently opened a restaurant of his own in Soho. I really wanted to talk to him about his own restaurant, and I did, but I also had to ask if he knew anything about a future restaurant of Mr. Liebrandt that has been the topic of much speculation and apparently is causing quite a bit of consternation for my friends over at Eater, so much so that they’re willing to open their checkbooks over it.
The chef said that Paul enjoyed the pork-belly with miso-butterscotch sauce that’s on his new restaurant’s menu, but that he had no idea what arrangements Paul and “Drew” were working on and that they were being very hush-hush about it.
Aha!
O.K., not Aha!, but I’m trying to share what I have, because I don’t think I could accept the $500 even if I won it.

Tumis Oncom Sumedang

kenapa namanya Oncom Sumedang? krn memang oncom dari daerah Sumedang ini berbeda dengan oncom dari daerah lainnya. Oncom dari Sumedang ini dibuat dari asli kacang tanah giling yg udah dikupas kulitnya, bukan ampasnya. Jadi rasanya jelas enak dan gurih. Walaupun hanya digoreng biasa tanpa dipakai bumbu apa2. Jadi, kalo ada yg mencoba tumis oncom dengan memakai bahan oncom dari daerah lain, saya gak menjamin rasanya bisa seenak oncom dari Sumedang ini ya....

Bahan-bahan :

• 1 kotak Oncom buatan Sumedang
• 5 buah bawang merah
• 1 siung bawang putih
• 2 buah cabai merah (biar terlihat warnanya merah segar)
• 2 ikat daun kemangi
• 1 lembar daun bawang
• garam dan gula secukupnya

Cooking directions :

1. Haluskan bawang putih, bawang merah, cabe merah dan oncom campur jadi satu
2. Iris tipis daun bawang
3. Siapkan wajan, beri minyak goreng sedikit dan masukkan campuran bahan no. 1, daun bawang dan kemangi
4. Masak hingga oncom matang dan bahan serta bumbu menyatu
5. Sajikan

Gino de Guzman

The next longest and most fun conversation I had with my customers since Kelly Lim was with Gino de Guzman. The most romantic guy that landed The Artist Chef nest. A well-organized date for his very dear friend/girlfriend, Aimee. The couple are both very young and bubbly---they were giggling when they shared me their own love story. They met during college in DLSU and ended up together. After four years in a relationship, they ended it up as good friends instead. But you will see in this blog the efforts of Gino in trying to win the girl's heart.

As the they savor the food I prepared for them

The Bruschetta Platter easily disappeared

The Clam Linguini Pasta with Basil and Tomatoes plus the Grilled Fish Tarragon also didn't survive

Caught in the act while emptying their plates

Their sweet smile while eating the main dish...

...that became even sweeter when they ate the Apple Chocolate Fondue

Sweet and romantic night for the couple

I was impressed and surprised at the same time when Gino asked me if he could bring quartet during the dinner. I sadly said no because I'm afraid that a quartet might not fit the place. But I quickly suggested that a violinist would do. Gino no longer replied. On the day of reservation, a man came ahead of them---the violinist for the night.

We must all have our souvenir photo with the violinist because it's a first and since Gino paid P3,500 bucks for 30 minutes of music from the violinist. We must make most out of it.

Their photo gallery for that night

Gino and Aimee are really so cute and sweet together :-)

Now they are both busy working with their respective careers in HP-Hewlette Packard. Gino's efforts are really amazing; he's really so romantic. I hope things will turn out well soon...