Cooking Experience...
Welcome to my online cookbook of recipes that I have tried, tasted and have enjoyed. I had started this blog as a way to document my food journey in my kitchen. The experienced cook that I am at this very moment was not the same when I was younger. Growing up I was very absent in the kitchen, I was always helpful around the house with cleaning and other chores. I didn’t care for cooking…just the eating! My three younger sisters enjoyed it more, but I had my head in the books. My mother is a great cook. She was always preparing traditional Filipino dishes or her Filipino-ized versions of classic American dishes for us to enjoy.
Reality...
When I left for college, and moved out…I had a rude awakening. DORM FOOD! Geesh, that was a mish-mosh of plain, boring cafeteria food and countless bowls of cereal and waffle-making dinners for me to endure. After 1 year of dorm life, I finally got my own apartment and roommates. I realized the control I had in cooking my own dishes. I discovered my likes and dislikes in food. Cooking to me meant following the box of instructions on a Tuna Helper box.
Early years...
My mom taught me one dish to master, Filipino chicken adobo. I remember days when former roommates of mine, Geoff and Gabby, cooked fantastic meals for me to enjoy as well. Gabby would make the most amazing chile relleno, it was soooo cheesy and gooey. Geoff would always make endless bowls of pasta or barbecue anything he could. They cooked with ease and I was still a newbie to it.
Then I met my future husband, Eric, in my junior year of college, and he was a freshman, very sweet, adorable, and had eaten the majority of his meals at home! How could I compete with his mother’s cooking and my boxed cooking. It wasn’t easy try to woo him. I was told “the way to a man’s heart is to feed his stomach!” This definitely holds true for Eric. My first meal that I ever made for him was crab ceviche, and little did I know that he didn’t eat fish! OMG…it was a learning experience but he forgave me because I had made my godmother’s famous pecan tarts. He loved those, so he knew that I wasn’t a terrible cook.
The turkey...
My cooking skills shifted as our relationship grew. I decided to take on the task of cooking a turkey for our social club, PALS, annual Thanksgiving event. Luckily, I bought one of the half-way cooked turkeys, and just had to reheat and serve. That was easy enough to handle, and so the slow progression of learning dishes became a new hobby of mine. Eric got his own apartment, and started showing up his cooking skills to me. He would prepare his mom’s dishes that he loved so dearly. Luckily, I was starting to master dishes of my own as well.
Finally, I graduated college and at the time I was living with my uncle and three younger cousins. We would prepare taco nights and spaghetti all the time! After 6 years of dating, Eric and I decided to live together. He had been living in his own apartment for one year and working at engineering office since after graduation and finally wanted me to officially live there with him. It was the next big step in our relationship before “marriage.” We would watch food network shows like Good Eats, Rachael Ray and Bobby Flay. I started planning meals and cooking in our little kitchen, and reading cookbooks galore.
Cooking Style....
The annual PALS Thanksgiving was around the corner again, and I choose the turkey with confidence. However, on this occasion I chose to make it from scratch. I still remember watching and re-watching the Good Eats episode of the “Roasted Turkey.” I also remember being scared and freaked out to touch a raw turkey and screaming that it had hair on it. (Turkeys don’t have hair, they have feathers! DOH!) After my minor panic attack, I took my recipe and followed it to a tee. It was one of the best turkeys that I have prepared…it’s the same recipe that I still use, 5 years later. That’s been my cooking repertoire, take the recipe and follow it to a tee. I’ve done this with several cookbooks, cooked my favorite meal from Bobby Flay, and prepared some good and bad dishes at the same time.
Eric and I eventually got married (April 12, 2008). He popped the question after I was living with him for only one year. He told me that my cooking only solidified his decision to keep me around…haha, he was just kidding around. He knew that my growth in cooking was like my love for him, devoted and true. I truly enjoy cooking for my husband, my family and friends…it’s been like a road of discovery that I’m traveling on. Cooking for me is one of the best ways to relax and learn so many undiscovered foods and techniques. I’m such a food-nerd that I go gaga for chefs, culinary schools and everything Ina Garten!
Food on the Brain...
I really feel that cooking has opened a part of me that I never would have discovered without my husband. I'm completely self-taught on the majority of dishes that you will see on my blog. I will try and search out the best recipe or watch countless episodes of Good Eats. I'm "hungry" for knowledge, the skills, and mastering my cooking technique. I constantly think about dishes, what meals to plan for the week, what dinner parties I could have, or what wines to pair with, and always requesting a “special” visit to Bed, Bath & Beyond or Sur La Table for some more kitchen tools or knickknacks. I constantly think and dream of food, food ideas, cookbooks, chefs that I'd like to stalk and meet, and I'm always working on a list of cooking goals that I want to achieve.
My great love for my husband has fueled my love for cooking, and I can’t thank him enough. I will be blogging about the fun foodie events that I get the opportunity to be involved in because it's a treat every now and then to meet other foodies like me. Also, I look forward to blogging about recipes, making dishes that I try to recreate from our favorite restaurants, and old family favorites. It’s a piece of family traditions that I would love to pass on to the next generation. My palate for food has changed over the years and I love the new and old recipes that I’m discovering. Check out my blog for any recipes or any of the fun-foodie filled events that might interest you…you might find a family favorite of mine to enjoy or meet me up at a foodie event.
