The Christmas Menu 2010!

Roasted Chicken w/ Onion Sage Stuffing

Roasted Veggies in Balsamic Thyme Vinaigrette

Mediterranean Tuna Pasta Salad

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Molo Soup/ Wanton Soup

Oreo Cheese Cupcake w/ Blueberry

Christmas 2010 Menu!

• Molo Soup
• Mediterranean Tuna Pasta Salad
• Roasted Chicken with Onion and Sage Stuffing
• Roasted Vegetables in Balsamic Thyme Vinaigrette
• Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes w/ Romano Cheese
• Oreo Cheese Cupcake w/ Blueberry Topping

Slaving away in the kitchen for half the day was productive and seriously fun. I am not the biggest fan of Christmas and the tradition because we virtually have none (maybe except for the Ube / Purple Yam making my father and I do annually is as close as we can get to tradition), yet I like Christmas because of the budget the family gives me to cook! I like cooking as long as no one bugs me in the kitchen while I am at it. I also clean up after my own mess.

I am proud to say I cooked all the dishes, except for the Wanton Soup I begged my brother to do. On a gastronomical perspective, I give you critique of the new recipes I tried:

1) Onion Sage Stuffing: I always roast chicken on weekends when I am at the house so it was something new when I tried stuffing the chicken w/ something. I was super impressed with how the stuffing tasted, as in it tastes delicious. I could actually eat it on its own. I used wheat bread instead of the plain white one. It amazingly came out great and it tasted like meatloaf

2) Mediterranean Tuna Pasta Salad: very very easy to make. One can make this in advance. Try this instead of the usual macaroni salad filled with mayo and all-purpose cream. The dressing here is yogurt based meaning it's less the calories, the more you can eat, the more your stomach will be happy. If you are a fan of tangy dressing and olives, try this.

3) Garlic Mashed Potatoes: or Roasted Garlic (because I roasted my garlic and mashed them) Mashed Potatoes. One of the easiest Mashed Potatoes I've come acrossed with. Not really a big fan of mashed anythings, but this recipe IS OMG DELICIOUS! What I did was I roasted my garlic (how to roast garlic click here) mashed them up, then mashed them together with the mashed potatoes. You don't need milk, just great tasting butter. And parmesan or romano cheese to give that salty tangy flavor. Goodness gravy, to die for.

4) Roasted Vegetables: When I roast chicken, expect that I will also be roasting vegetables. I think roasting is a cooking method vegetables are meant for. It caramelizes the vegetables therefore bringing out the veggies natural sugar.. and it's just heavenly and healthy. This time was different because I tried it w/ a vinaigrette. It was awesome.

5) Oreo Cheese Cupcake: I've done this recipe before, so I did it again. I was lazy to think of other desserts. The recipe is fool proof. You can't mess it up because it is so freakin easy. Just remember though that your ingredients must be at room temperature.

6) Crunchy Garlic in Soyabean Oil: not captured in photo though. I made a jar of them because it tastes great w/ rice and the molo soup, siomai and just about everything you want to add a dash of crunchy garlic to.

I am leaving for Baguio tomorrow to attend a wedding. Still debating in my head whether I should bring boots or not. Too bulky to carry :|