Frannywanny

8 years ago, I made my first ever croquette . In fact, the last time I ever did croquette was 2 years ago. Remember my Sardines Croquette ? This is because as easy as it may seem, it actually entails a lot of step and I never really got around to doing it again. Furthermore, I don't really like deep-frying because the thought of cleaning a very greasy pan is enough to discourage me from even entertaining that thought. However, I never thought my culinary creativity will be put to the test the moment I became a Mom...well a Mom of a picky eater. You all know that my little princess L can be quite picky with her food and one thing that she doesn't like is to eat the same dish repeatedly... so, we always have to make sure that we have a new dish every meal so as to entice her to eat. *sigh*  I tell you, my twins are like night and day. As picky as L can be, my little J is so easy to please. Just give him rice, add some sauce or soup and small cubes of meat and he's good. He ...

Pasta is one of the dishes that I am most comfortable in preparing. It's one that I can easily whip up when pressed for time or when I'm just craving for some comfort food. Normally though, it would take me at least 30 minutes to an hour to prepare a pasta dish as I have to cook the pasta noodles till al dente, prepare the sauce, incorporate both together, plate it, sprinkle with garnish and set it on the table. This doesn't also take into account the time spent in preparing each ingredient such as chopping the garlic, pulling out all sauces and sometimes, cleaning the seafood too. A month ago, I received one of the best things that has ever graced my kitchen counter -- the Instant Pot. I have yet to tell you more about it but basically it's one powerful kitchen appliance that can cook rice, make porridge/congee, saute, cook even the hardest and toughest meat under high pressure, delay cooking and make yogurt. I have yet to explore all the functions but so far I'v...

Christmas is fast approaching and as more and more people head out to the malls, Paul and I took one Saturday off and drove up to Tagaytay for a short R&R. Tagaytay has been our favorite place and it was actually our first out-of-town destination when we started dating six years ago. Yep! Needless to say, Tagaytay holds a special place in our hearts and not a single year has passed without us visiting this lovely destination down south. We love Tagaytay for so many things... ... the cold weather ... its proximity to home (it's near yet far enough to allow us to take a break from our crazy city life) and best of all, ... the FOOD (from Sonya's to Bawaii's to Buon Giorno's, every trip to Tagaytay brings us to a new food discovery that we happily add to our list of favorites) We drove up to Tagaytay with no definite plan in mind, however we went prepared. Armed with a pack of crackers, a bottle of water, a pack of chips and two cans of Century Gourmet Bangus Fillet...

It was a warm rather lazy Saturday afternoon when Paul and I arrived at The Stock Market in Bonifacio High Street . Even though we arrived on time, the restaurant was already filled with bloggers and friends who were invited to the Century Tuna event that afternoon. An earlier email informed me that I will be part of the Iron Chef -like competition that will be held that day. I sent my confirmation not knowing that they have also included Paul in the list. Hooray! Between the two of us, Paul is really the more talented cook as he can whip up a new original dish within minutes! I was so excited because I know we'll both enjoy this event. The 12 chosen bloggers were divided into two groups and Paul and I were lucky to be placed in the same group. We were part of Team A together with our team leader Melo , and fellow chefs Sire , Alex and Karla . As soon as the mechanics were given, Melo called us in a huddle to discuss the two dishes that we're going to prepare. After survey...