ILYS: High-calorie Saturday

11 DECEMBER 2010. I think I did nothing today except cook. My goodness. And eat. OH MY GOODNESS.


We had a few relatives coming over and choir practice later in the evening. On top of that, mom and dad had cake orders to do.


Early this morning, I got up and started. I made my so-easy carbonara with an extra shortcut... Del Monte Carbonara sauce. Hahaha! It wasn't really a shortcut though. More of an "extender". I still used all-purpose cream and cream of mushroom. I tried putting in parsley this time. It was good.

The luncheon meat carbonara was for:

1. Our breakfast this morning

 2. Our guests' snack in the afternoon

3. The choir's after-practice merienda (late night)

And we still have half a pot full of carbonara sauce for breakfast tomorrow. LOL


Mom made nilagang baka and fried chicken wings, as we were expecting our relatives for lunch. The latter dish I spiked with chili garlic sauce.

Mom's favorite fried chicken recipe is very yummy

but very simple: calamansi + patis.

Telltale signs that Renn Xu was here: chili bits

The chicken didn't turn out to be spicy (or maybe it was just me...little bro always comments that I've burned my tongue with excessive intake of chili a long time ago). But the taste did change. I served it with a dip made of mayo and sandwich spread, Worcestershire sauce and minced garlic on the side.

Looks like my relatives liked it. Only five pieces
were left.

I ended up with the task of frying the chicken, after which I vowed I shall steer clear of frying until after the wedding. I have so many spatter marks on my hands. And they hurt! =(


Mom and dad were starting to bake when our relatives arrived. I think I got a bit stressed helping the bakers and serving the guests at the same time. But I did get a treat. After mom poured the cake batter into the baking pans, I asked her for the mixing bowls. I got three of the four bowls (I wasn't able to catch the mixing bowl for the carrot cake in time): mango (my favorite!), ube (we have one mini-loaf! Yay!) and chocolate (sugar high...). No picture of me "cleaning up" the mixing bowls. It's kinda gross. LOL

I admit I'm not in a very artistic mood today. Little

bro's cake order/gift turned out to be a confusion of
multicolored edible flowers and gold pearls. But it
was still cute anyway. And delicious.

Me tired. Bride-to-be must get some beauty rest (which is impossible as it's midnight already. Pfft.) and dream up a game plan how I shall lose all those calories...


Thirteen days to go till the wedding! Oh, make that twelve days to go, because it's midnight already.


P.S. Happy 1st Birthday to my nephew, Zeus! ^_^ *BB*

SQF: Charlie Tsong

27 JUNE 2010. I woke up with the usual pasta itch. Now that our choir's no longer serving at church in the morning and I attend mass in the late afternoon, I have more time to cozy up in the kitchen.


I'm a fan of Yellow Cab's Charlie Chan Chicken Pasta. Whenever I have extra budget, I'll always try to get one (or nag my fiancé to get one, hahaha). True, it doesn't really go well with pizza; it's more of a "stand alone" dish. But well, it's something different from your usual pasta fare, and my subconscious (even at the time I wasn't even learning to cook yet) made a mental note to discover the recipe sometime soon.


And that sometime soon was now. I remembered there was leftover chicken in the fridge. But it was like...2 Sundays old? LOL. I cooked the pasta first (I find adding a bit more salt to the water than usual gives the pasta extra flavor, which is a good thing when you're making dull/bland sauces). I shredded the chicken and tossed it in a little water just enough to boil the shreds with a bit of salt and pepper. I set the chicken, stock and all, aside.


It starts with the usual sauteing of garlic and onions. The chicken came next. As usual, I did a trial-and-error on the addition of the soy sauce and chili garlic, so the thing tasted too soy saucy, making me put in a few tablespoons of the chicken stock. I added the pasta and on a whim, put in some oyster sauce, a couple of tablespoons, I think. A bit of salt (which I should've eliminated because I already seasoned the spaghetti while cooking), pepper a bit more water...and whoops, I forgot the mushrooms, in you go. And I turned off the heat.

Apologizing for the bad photo. Haven't yet charged my newly-repaired
but very-much-loved digicam at this time so I just used my phone.

Initially, I called it "Charlie Chan-Chanan". LOL. My mom forgot what Charlie Chan was, so I had to explain to her that it was the pasta we liked at Yellow Cab. She recalled it was the one with the peanuts.


She, dad and little bro were the first to try it. Mom commented I was a fast pasta maker already (and I used to be so afraid of doing pasta!). Dad admired how I can whip up new things out of the blue, and with the "recyclables" and the few ingredients we actually have on hand. And little bro complained it was too spicy (which I expected him to say--everything's too spicy for him, LOL).


Several factors did affect the taste. One, the leftover chicken I used was turbo-broiled with a soy sauce and lemon grass marinade so it already had its own flavor (and I shredded it with utter abandon that some pieces looked like sahog for pancit, LOL). And I used a bit too much soy sauce (which permeated the dish distinctly) and a bit too little oyster sauce (which didn't make through the soy sauce taste that much). Then I forgot to add the mushrooms; I tossed them in when I was done cooking. LOL. When I was trying to resolve the saltiness, I used the chicken stock, which I forgot I seasoned with salt. Hahaha. I also used sliced pieces and stems, not shiitake, which our fridge never had. Maybe I will get some for the next attempt... Oh yeah, peanuts! I didn't put peanuts...because the ants got first to the bag of peanuts we have here. LOL


My big brother and sister-in-law came over during lunch (another unplanned SQF!) and I had them sample the pasta. What's left of it, that is. They both liked it; big brother suggested adding something, which I took note of. He also christened the dish "Charlie Tsong". LOL

Charlie Tsong, formerly known as Charlie Chan-Chanan

I would've loved to have my baby nephew try it, but then, apart from Cerelac, he's only allowed to chew on his fingers. LOL


This dish will need just a few more tweaks. At the end of the morening, I was pleased with how it turned out. I never expected to get this close to it when I was cooking recipe-less. It was indeed "Charlie Tsamba"! =)


Charlie Tsong
serves 4 (and a bit more)
half of a 400g Spaghetti pack
half a head of garlic, minced
half a small onion, sliced (I think this can be done away with)
half a can of mushrooms (try shiitake if you have!), drained and sliced as you like
Leftover chicken, shredded
Soy sauce
Oyster sauce
Chili garlic
Ground pepper to taste (easy with the salt now!)
Peanuts (sana, hahaha)


P.S. So sorry, no measurements! Very Xu, hahaha! I'll put them in next time I cook it again. Oh, I Googled for a Charlie Chan photo and found other blogs trying to do the recipe. Funny, I am actually really close to the real recipe after all. =) *BB*

Sunday Quick Fix (SQF): Pasta ala *recycled* breaded chicken with lemon glaze

25 APRIL 2010. Cooking is a wonderful skill. I've always admired (even envied) people who can cook. I love watching cooking shows, but I would oftentimes feel depressed afterwards because I don't cook.


Cooking is a special ability that can make people happy. But to be able to whip up something new out of an old dish--recycle, if you will...now that's talent.

So I made Breaded Chicken with Lemon Glaze for lunch yesterday. We had it again for dinner, but because my younger brother came home late, he didn't eat anymore when he got to the house. Three pieces remained, plus almost a mug-full of lemon glaze.

What to do? What to do? Hmmm...

Must cook...must turn this into a new dish!

Guess what happened?


Whipping up my favorite basic recipe (olive oil + garlic + tomatoes, but + parsley this time, not basil), yesterday's lunch ulam turned into this morning's pasta. Wahahaha!

Breaded chicken with lemon glaze spaghetti. LOL

Verdict: Well, it was OK for me (God, is that my standard answer?). The rest of the family liked it. Even Don, who's not a fan of sauce-less pasta, devoured the rest of the pot. I guess it was a good change from the usual saucy pasta we have here at home. Same reason why the accidental pasta was also a hit.


But this new discovery is subject to improvement (mainly because I had leftover chicken only, the topping was scarce). Will keep you posted on further developments. *BB*