The Sassy Lawyer & Pinoy Cook on food, family and home.
Still experimenting with alternative methods of cooking, after using the pressure cooker for a couple of recipes, I now turn to my slow cooker. It’s probably not the most energy efficient cooking method but the convenience of being able to leave the dish to cook by itself for hours and hours — no stirring nor ... (more)
If I had access to kale, I’d have used a bunch in lieu of white cabbage. If I had, this would be a real Zuppa Toscana, that famed Italian soup that chef Emeril Lagasse swears his mother cooks the best version of. But I don’t know where to buy kale — in my lonely corner ... (more)
When you need to reduce the amount of salt in a dish, what do you do to make sure that the flavors don’t fall flat? You add things that are rich and flavor and aroma so that you don’t miss the salt at all. In an earlier version of this pearl potato salad / side ... (more)
It was one of those weekends when everything just felt right. The girls caught up with much needed sleep and, as a result, they were in an amiable mood. No one whined. No one demanded impossible things. In short, life was so relaxed and smooth-sailing that cooking lunch was not a chore but a dreamy ... (more)
Last year, when Typhoon Pedring battered the eastern coast of the Philippines, power went out and water supply was cut off. That was September 26. I don’t remember what we ate for lunch and for dinner, I searched the September 2011 archive and found nothing about cooking anything on that day. Presumably, we had something ... (more)
For our family Christmas dinner, we had chicken relleno. Not just any chicken relleno but one stuffed with rice seasoned Spanish paella style. And I announced that to the whole internet before the chicken went into the oven. I also promised a recipe. But there’s going to be no recipe because the stuffing didn’t come ... (more)
Comfort food re-defined. Bits of smoked fish are mixed with mashed potatoes, formed into patties and lightly fried in butter. The browned crisp exterior is a wonderful contrast to the soft center. The smoky aroma and flavor are delightful and the presentation is beautiful in all its simplicity. There is a similar dish in the ... (more)
According to one website, “People of northern Germany prefer the mayo version, while in the south vinaigrette is used.” This potato salad was made with both vinaigrette and mayonnaise. I’ve never used so much acid in my potato salad but, surprisingly, vinegar does seem to add depth of flavor to potatoes that salt alone can’t seem to accomplish. To make the salad more hearty (it was all we had for lunch), I added slices of schublig and bratwurst that had been pan-fried in bacon fat.
If you watch the Food Network, there are short segments shown between regular shows that feature the favorite foods of chefs and Food Network TV hosts. One of those featured was meatloaf cupcakes with mashed potato “frosting.” The bakery that sells them has another interesting item in its menu — meatloaf cupcakes with spaghetti “frosting.” ... (more)
In the clam chowder post, reader Hershey commented that she he made clam chowder too and posted a link. I visited her his blog, saw her his clam chowder recipe, and was amazed by her his industriousness — she he shucked the clams before adding them to the soup. How much more convenient and how ... (more)
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 … »»
This is a very simple recipe but you won’t believe just how much better fries are with the addition of just a few ingredients. Gooey stringy cheese and a bit of heat from the cayenne. Oh, it’s wickedly delicious. 
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