The Sassy Lawyer & Pinoy Cook on food, family and home.
Cooked a month ago, I postponed posting the recipe thinking I should wait for a special occasion to do so. It’s Valentine’s Day on Sunday, if you’re thinking of cooking something really memorable for someone special, here’s something to rock his or her world. Lamb chops seared on a grill then baked with rice drizzled ... (more)
I make my own pesto. I don’t always add nuts and, sometimes, I even skip the cheese part. And when I need only a small amount of pesto, I don’t bother with the blender. I simply hand-chop the basil and garlic. But you don’t need to make your own pesto to enjoy these toasties for ... (more)
It’s getting to be a routine and I must say it’s a good one — whatever I prepare for Alex’s packed school lunch, I make more than enough so that whatever’s left becomes breakfast for Speedy and myself. Today, it’s bow tie pasta with pesto and ham. Instead of juice which is loaded with sugar, ... (more)
The best thing about having a well-stocked pantry and a small herb garden is how I can whip up a great meal in so little time without limiting my options to canned goods and instant noodles with MSG laden seasoning. I made a simple pasta dish, farfalle (bow-tie pasta) with pesto, served it with smoked ... (more)
Because Sam is only home on weekends, I pamper her with home cooked meals. Last week, it was lengua with mushrooms sauce and homemade pizza. Last night, I went the extra mile — pasta with white sauce and mushrooms, pork steaks and home made pesto bread (that’s why the bread is greenish — it’s ALL THAT PESTO!). Yes, I baked the bread. My arms ached from the kneading but I was darn happy with the result…
When my younger daughter announced earlier today that she wanted to go on a pasta and pesto diet for the rest of the summer, I decided to humor her. Why not? That’s less work for me and there are so many variations of pasta with pesto that I’ve been dying to try anyway. I’ve made ... (more)
Last week, I attended the culminating activity of a student leadership program. Cocktails were served three times — before the program started, during the intermission and after the program ended. There was only one dish that I kept going back for more. Spring rolls with mashed potatoes and pesto served in shot glasses with a white dipping sauce. I was so impressed that I had to ask who the caterer was. Culinaria, I was told. I was mentally deconstructing the spring rolls while I ate and I promised myself I would replicate it at home. I did that tonight. And, my oh my, it’s something I will be doing often in the days to come. Inexpensive, impressive, delicious.
Pasta with pesto is a dish I enjoy plain, with turkey meat, chicken, mussels, scallops and, yes, bacon. Nothing you can add to pasta and pesto seems to be wrong. We had spaghetti with pesto and bacon for lunch today. The girls are having their mid-term exams and are on a half-day schedule. I prepared so much food thinking they could use a good lunch after the often mind-wrenching exams at their school. We had the pasta, there was shrimp and egg-drop soup (for them only because I am allergic to shrimps) and, for dessert, buko pandan. I wasn’t quite done with the preparations when the school bus arrived and they helped me with the final touches. It was Sam who did the presentation for the pasta — spaghetti with pesto at the bottom, bacon bits sprinkled on top and garnished with shredded medium cheddar…
For some reason, chicken and macaroni salad is a fixture in the Filipino Christmas and New Year menu. It’s one of the side dishes that I’m planning on serving for the New Year family reunion because I feel it should go well with roast stuffed turkey and the grilled meat that’s already in the list. But I’m serving my chicken and macaroni salad with a twist this time. We’re cutting down on the fat by using less mayonnaise and adding fruit-flavored yogurt instead. And this salad is more aromatic with the inclusion of lemon juice and rind. For a variety in texture, it has seedless grapes and toasted almonds. Finally, for an unexpected kick, a small amount of pesto. I did a dry run of the recipe about a month ago and the result was surprisingly good.
My younger daughter, Alex, woke me up on Saturday morning with an announcement that she wanted pasta for lunch. With pesto, she said, and chicken. I said, sure, and figured I might as well go all the way and add mushrooms and a medley of vegetables too. She helped with the cooking, grated the cheese, cut the mushrooms and tomatoes, and did some stirring, then it was on to a great lunch. Too bad the man of the house was out at work and had to miss the spaghetti with chicken, brown button mushrooms, vegetables and pesto.
Cut off the crusts of the bread, then toast lightly. Brush with pesto and sprinkle with your favorite cheese. If you’re watching your sodium intake, since pesto is already quite salty, you might want to choose a mildly salted cheese.
Pop the cheese-topped bread slices the oven/griller for about 30 seconds or until the cheese melts and the edges of the bread are browned and crisp.
Love the herb-y taste of pesto? Why not grow your own herbs?
These chicken and pesto quesadillas were the last decent things I cooked before I fell ill. Just so you understand the unusually long interval between this entry and the one before it.
Chicken and pesto quesadillas? You’d probably raise your eyebrow a little higher when I tell you that those quesadillas in the photo had lots of kesong puti (native white cheese) inside them. Yes, seriously. Like I always say, never be afraid to experiment and use unorthodox combination of ingredients.
Casa is Spanish for house. CASA is also an acronym for Connie, Antonio, Sam and Alex. We are all surnamed Veneracion. We all love to take photos -- of anything that catches our fancy. It's a family obsession.
This is a journal of how we live, eat, learn, play and have fun. Work? Work is part of playing and having fun. Seriously.
In 2003, a time when I hadn't heard of the term "blog", I started a recipe website at cooking.houseonahill.net using a now defunct content management system that ran on ASP. Ok, never mind the geek talk, I'm sure you're not interested in that. The contents easily multiplied and, in 2004, I moved the food site to pinoycook.net. Always unhappy with the fact that the dot com … »»
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