Filipino Barbecue Skewers

Ingredients

For the marinade:
1 cup Coke
1 cup brown sugar
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup ketchup
1/8 cup lemon juice
6 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

4 lbs of pork shoulder or chicken thighs, cut into 1 inch cubes
Wooden skewers, soaked in water for at least 30 minutes before use.

Procedure

1. Place all marinade ingredients in a medium saucepan and whisk to combine. Simmer over low heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature.

2. Place chicken or pork cubes in a large Ziploc bag and pour marinade all over. Seal the bag, removing as much air as possible, and set in the refrigerator to marinate overnight, turning the bag over at least once during the process.

3. Light one chimney full of charcoal. When all the charcoal is lit and covered with gray ash, pour out and spread coals out evenly.

4. While the fire is lighting, thread meat onto the skewer. Each piece of meat should touch the next, but not pushed tightly together.

5. Grill directly over a hot fire, turning every 3 to 5 minutes until each side is nicely browned and the meat is cooked through.

Arroz Caldo

Ingredients

• 4 chicken thighs (or drumsticks)
• 2 cups of sticky rice or short-grain rice (uncooked)
• 1 qt of chicken stock (fat free, sodium free)
• 2 knobs of ginger (peeled, chopped 1/4 inches)
• 4 cloves of garlic (chopped roughly)
• 1 onion or 2 shallots
• green onions
• 2 tablespoons patis (fish sauce)
• salt and pepper

Total comfort food and perfect for a loved one with a cold.

Arroz Caldo literally translates to "hot rice" and this was one of my favorite dishes growing up in the Philippines.

1. Get a big pot hot and add some olive oil, and brown the chicken. This means don't move it until it has sufficiently browned on one side. Salt and pepper.

2. When you flip over the chicken, add the chopped onion or shallots and let it sautee until the other side of the chicken browns.

3. Add garlic, give a quick toss and add uncooked rice.

4. Mix around the rice and add the patis (vietnamese fish sauce works well too). Add ginger. Mix around and add chicken stock.

5. Cover and bring to simmer.

6. When simmer, bring heat to medium and continue to stir. Making sure rice doesn't stick to the bottom of the pot.

7. Continue to check the tenderness of the rice (much like risotto). If mixture is getting too thick, loosen with tepid water.

8. When rice is cooked just right, serve with chicken in a bowl and garnish with green onions and/or deep fried shallots and garlic and a grind of black pepper (white pepper works well too).

Halway through eating a bowl, squeeze a bit of lemon juice (or calamansi) on top of the hot rice to jazz things up again.

Also, this tastes much better with those big chinese soup spoons.

Adobong Na Manok

Ingredients

1 tablespoon canola oil
1 head of garlic, cloves crushed and skin removed
2 ounces fresh ginger, thinly sliced
1 chicken
1/2 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup soy suace
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
2 fresh bay leaves

Procedure

1. Cut up the chicken, separating the chicken into legs, thighs, and breasts. Cut each of these pieces in half, using a heavy knife.

2. Pour the oil into a large dutch oven or heavy pot. Turn the heat to medium-high. Toss in the garlic and ginger and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the chicken, vinegar, soy sauce, peppercorns, bay leaves, and 1/4 cup water. Bring to a simmer, then cover and reduce the heat to medium-low. Cook for 20 minutes.

3. Remove the chicken pieces. Turn the heat to medium high and reduce the sauce for a few minutes. Toss the chicken back in, and stir until coated.

4. Serve with rice and season with salt to taste.

Arroz Caldo

Summary:

Although White House executive chef Cristeta Comerford provided this recipe at a recent cooking demonstration held at TenPenh in downtown Washington, she said "there is no real recipe for how Filipinos eat arroz caldo." It's comfort food that is ubiquitous: made for breakfast, as an afternoon snack or late-night meal.

6 servings

Ingredients:

• • 2 1/8 cups canola oil
• • 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite-size pieces
• • 12 medium cloves garlic, 6 of them finely minced
• • 1 tablespoon finely minced ginger root
• • 1 small onion, thinly sliced
• • 1 cup uncooked jasmine rice or medium-grain rice
• • 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• • 1 tablespoon fish sauce, or to taste
• • Salt
• • Freshly ground black pepper
• • 1 cup whole or low-fat milk
• • Cayenne pepper
• • Sea salt
• • 3 tablespoons finely sliced scallions, white and light green parts
• • 6 small calamansi or key limes, juiced
• • Scallion oil, for garnish (optional)

Directions:

In a large saucepan over medium-high to high heat, heat 1 to 2 tablespoons of the oil until it shimmers. Add the chicken and cook, stirring, for about 7 minutes or until the chicken is lightly browned. Reduce the heat to medium and add the 6 cloves of minced garlic, the ginger and the onion. Cook, stirring, for about 5 to 8 minutes, until the mixture is fragrant and the onion becomes translucent. Add the rice and stir until well coated, then add the chicken broth and mix well. Cook, covered, for about 15 minutes or until the rice is tender. Add the fish sauce; season with salt and pepper to taste. Reduce heat to low.

Cut the remaining cloves of garlic into paper-thin slices and place in a small bowl. Add the milk and soak for 10 minutes, then transfer to a small saucepan and cook over medium heat for 3 minutes. Drain, discarding the milk, and pat the garlic dry with paper towels.

Line a plate with paper towels. Heat the remaining 2 cups of oil in a medium pot to 350 degrees. Carefully add the garlic slices and cook for 1 minute, until crisp. Transfer to the paper towel-lined plate and dust with cayenne pepper and sea salt to taste.

To serve, ladle portions of the soup into individual bowls and garnish with the crisped garlic, scallions and calamansi or lime juice. Drizzle with scallion oil, if desired.

Winter Squash, Onion and Red Wine Panade

Serves 8 to 10

5 onions
2 pounds acorn or butternut squash
6 cloves garlic
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
2 bay leaves
12 sprigs thyme
1 cup red wine
2-3 quarts chicken stock
Kosher salt and pepper, to taste
10 slices stale country-style bread
1 ounce Parmigiano
2 ounces Gruyere

1. Begin by stewing the onions, peeled and sliced thin, over medium heat, in about 1/4 cup of olive oil. When they have begun to soften, add the garlic cloves, also peeled and sliced thin; the bay leaves; and the thyme. Continue to cook the onions until they just begin to brown, 20 to 30 minutes. Add the red wine and reduce by half. Add the stock and simmer for 30 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, peel and seed the squash and cut it into 1/8-inch-thick slices. In a sauté pan over medium heat, lightly brown the slices of bread in more olive oil.

3. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and assemble the panade: Cover the bottom of a large casserole with half the bread slices and gently ladle in enough broth (including the onions) to cover. Make a single layer of the sliced squash on top and ladle in more of the broth and onions, to cover. Make a layer with the rest of the bread, add more broth and onions so that the top layer of bread is well soaked through, and finish by grating the cheeses over the top to cover lightly.

4. Bake, covered, for 45 minutes; then uncover and bake for about 45 minutes more, until well browned. To serve, scoop the panade into bowls and ladle more of the hot broth around it.

Bucatini All'Amatriciana with Spicy Smoked Mozzarella Meatballs

Prep Time: 20 min

Cook Time:55 min

Serves: 4 to 6 servings

All'Amatriciana Sauce:

2 tablespoons olive oil
6 ounces pancetta, diced
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
Pinch crushed red pepper flakes
1 (14-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for seasoning
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more for seasoning
1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano

Meatballs:

1 small (6-ounce) onion, grated
1/2 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, plus 1/4 cup
2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus 1/4 cup
1/3 cup Italian-style bread crumbs
1 large egg
2 tablespoons ketchup
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for seasoning
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more for seasoning
8 ounces ground beef
8 ounces ground veal
2 ounces smoked mozzarella cheese, cut into 16 (1/2-inch) cubes

1 pound bucatini or other long pasta

For the sauce: In a large heavy skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the pancetta and cook, stirring constantly, until golden brown, about 5 to 7 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove the pancetta and reserve. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, and the cooked pancetta. Simmer, uncovered, over medium-low heat until the sauce thickens, about 15 minutes. Stir in the cheese and season with salt and pepper, to taste.

For the meatballs: Position an oven rack in the lower 1/3 of the oven. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, combine the onion, 1/2 cup parsley, 2/3 cup Parmesan, bread crumbs, egg, ketchup, garlic, red pepper flakes, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Add the beef and veal. Using your hands, combine all ingredients gently but thoroughly. Shape the meat mixture into 16 (1 1/2-inch-diameter) meatballs and place on the prepared baking sheet. Make a hole in the center of each meatball and place a cube of mozzarella inside. Reform the meatball so that the mozzarella is completely covered with the meat mixture. Bake the meatballs for 15 minutes until cooked through.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain and place in a large serving bowl. Add the meatballs and sauce. Toss gently and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Sprinkle with the remaining parsley and Parmesan.

Lemony Chickpea Stir-fry

Ingredients

2 tablespoons ghee or extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion or a couple shallots, sliced
1 cup cooked chickpeas (canned is fine)
1 cup chopped kale, spinach, or other hearty green
1 red pepper, roasted, skinned, and chopped
2 small zucchini, cut into half moons
Zest and juice of 1/2 lemon

Procedure

1. In a large skillet, heat one tablespoon of the olive oil or ghee over medium-high heat and stir in a good pinch of salt. Add the chickpeas and sauté until beginning to color, then add the onion or shallot. Continue cooking until the chickpeas are deeply golden. Add greens and cook until wilted, then remove everything in the skillet onto a large plate.

2. Heat the remaining oil or ghee in the same skillet over medium heat, and sauté the zucchini until lightly browned, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the pepper and cook for an additional minute, then add the chickpea mixture back in.

3. Mix well, taste for seasoning, and remove from the heat. Add the lemon zest and juice, and toss well. Serve with freshly cracked black pepper.