SSA Summer Dinner

I am having fine time here in Scotland. Yes, there are some low moments but they are quite normal. Please excuse me for being inactive in the Blogging World, i am so preoccupied with other things and you know what they are --- kids and family, travel, shopping, fashion, friendships and food.



Talking about Friendship and Food, our SSA Coordinator here in Aberdeen, Scotland, Emilie Wain sent us, the SSA ladies a lovely invitation which stated: "Dear Ladies, We are having a lovely Summer Dinner to celebrate all sorts of things; the beginning of summer, the approaching end of the school term and the appointment of our own Irina Herbert as European Area Coordinator for the SSA! We hope you can join us."

And we did join! The lovely dinner was last Saturday, the 12th of June at Cafe Montmartre, Justice Mill Lane, Aberdeen, Scotland and here are the food choices:



Entrées
Cream of baby pea’s soup with fresh mint
Snails with shallots, herbs & garlic butter
Crayfish Salad topped with aioli sauce
Pastry tart filled with spinach, goat’s cheese & crème fraîche




Mains
Duck confit in orange sauce
Stuffed lemon sole with prawns & spinach in lobster sauce
Sirloin steak with french fries, and vegetables, topped with green pepper corn or Garlic butter sauce
Risotto with asparagus, mushrooms & broad beans and cooked in white wine with a provençal aubergine sauce



Desserts
White chocolate tart, served with crème anglaise
Finger sponge cake filled with vanilla mousse, topped with various fruit berries
Lemon & Mango Passion fruit sorbet
Cheese platter

Atleast fifty (50) ladies coming all from all parts of the world attended. We also welcomed two(2) new ladies--- Yolanda Pardede from Indonesia and Blanca Mittler from Mexico. As the new Hospitality Coordinator, it was my task to hand them their Welcome Baskets, which i think was a very nice thing to do!

We do thank our husbands' company for the utmost support to our spouses' association. Meeting these lovely ladies, having nice chitchats with them, developing good friendships are both heartwarming and culturally enriching.

I think everyone enjoyed the food as much as i did as everyone went home happy and full of smiles on their faces. Let's enjoy the summer, everyone!!!

For more photos of the dinner, please click:
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=3325047&l=edc378c205&id=734535184

Scott and Prily's Octoberfest!

There are two major occasions last October that we had celebrated --- my birthday and our wedding anniversary. So, i invited my close neighbors and good friends here in Scotland to join us with our simple feast and "get together". My good friends, Mario and Sally helped me with the cooking. They are good nurses but equally good cooks. So, we feast on Filipino dishes such as Pancit Canton(Noodles), Afritada, Caldereta, Chicken Curry, Vegetable Lumpia(Springrolls), Beef steak, Fried Rice, Biko, Seafoods --- succulent big prawns and escabeche (sweet and sour fish), arroz valenciana, paella, chopsuey, maja blanca and pininyahang manok(chicken with pineapple). The party started at 6 pm until almost 2 in the morning. We had lots of fun. We had videoke and lots of dancing, and of course, lots and lots of eating. We are lucky to have a big lounge area to accommodate lots of guests.

Here are some of my beautiful friends who stayed until the wee hours of the morning: Cheryl, Joy, Sally, Mario, Tenny, Shiela, Mark, Jane and her daughter Isabel. Thanks for those who joined us until almost 12 midnight: the loving couples Ruchelle and James and Auntie and Uncle Derek. To my neighbors who got kids and stayed until 11 pm, thanks so much for coming. I am so pleased they loved the Asian/Filipino cuisine.


Here is our Anniversary cake. Prisco blew it for us while Cameron is busy playing with the other kids... What a party!!!! Not only that the grown-ups had lots of fun but also the kids as well.


Before i end this entry, i want to give special thanks to my husband who made this party possible and i want to thank him for doing dishes after the party is over!!!! My everdearest, you rock!!!!

A Day with the Kilted Chef

On a rainy Saturday of June during the Kintore Summer Festival 2008, we got the chance to watch the cooking demonstration of the so called Kilted Chef from Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The food looks so yummy, appetizing, and succulent. After the demo, Scott took a photo of us with the Kilted Chef. But first the food...

Here are some collops of pork with caramelized apple and black pudding on Thyme mashed potato with natural jus together with the poached chicken and cous cous.



What we like with this chef is that he is so abrupt, no fuzziness and he is just natural. He said that a certain recipe should not be followed all thoroughly. If it tastes good, then, that's it! Some people are allergic or do not like the taste of onions or garlic, or ginger, etc.... So you put your own condiments whatever you fancy and which you think taste good on your palate.

Here is one video demo i got about poached chicken and a photo of us and Prisco by my husband...

What I Ate Last Friday?

I did go out last Friday with some girl friends. We had dinner at Aberdeen Thistle Caledonian Hotel at Union Terrace Street, Aberdeen. My new acquaintances Lori and Rachel fetched me at home and we met again some more ladies at the hotel's restaurant.

We enjoyed our dinner, plus the chance to talk to other ladies was fantastic. I met many ladies from all over the world. I will talk more about them on my next post. For this time, i want to share to you what i ate for my Friday dinner...

My starter consisted of freshly prepared courgette and pepper soup although i am also eyeing for the wild mushrooms sauteed in garlic butter served in a pastry case glazed with brie...




My main meal consisted of poached salmon steak on roasted vegetables glazed with parmesan and basil oil. I really love this...




Baked lemon tart with lime syrup and creme fraiche for my dessert...



I had tea after that meal while doing chitchat with the girls. Now, it is Monday. How quick the time flies! And i am still thinking about how great Friday was!!!!

Thank Goodness for Lucky Me!

Here is my weakness: i am not a very good cook! I love good food, but myself cooking it? I am very sorry. I thank God for Lucky Me pancit canton. It is very easy to make. You just boil water, put the instant noodles, drain it, put in the plate,mix the sauces and condiments, hola, done!!!! It is super-duper easy!

And my husband? He loves it. He can eat almost everyday! So, i did not miss to pack lots of Lucky Me. I am just lucky my husband is not a very fussy eater(just no seaffods!). If we want elaborate style of food, we dine outside. End of story.

Dirty Rice, Anyone?

The best thing about buffet meal is you can find many assortment of dishes. For an adventurous eater, this is a real advantage. The disadvantage will be when you could not find anything that you like. In buffet, whatever is there, that's it. For a picky eater, it might be difficult!

Like for this dish called Dirty Rice Salad. I asked the chef, "are you sure i can eat this? This is dirty!" Of course, i am just joking! For a picky eater like my husband, this "dirty rice" is a big no no. He is not an adventurous eater. For me, i tried the other dishes first and might try this one if there is still some room on my belly.



I really needed to know why it is called dirty rice. Good thing Wikipedia is very helpful. It is said that Dirty rice is a traditional Cajun dish made from white rice cooked with small pieces of chicken liver or giblets, which give it a dark ("dirty") color. The cooked livers tend to be dry, but carry a very mild flavor. Similar to a pilaf, it also includes green bell pepper, celery and onion (the "holy trinity"). Parsley and/or chopped green onions are common garnishes. Dirty rice is most common in the Cajun regions of southern Louisiana and Mississippi; however, it can also be found in other areas of the American south. Of course, it is here is Scotland also.

According to WiseGeek"from its inception, dirty rice was a good way to make the most out of killing a chicken — or buying livers and gizzards cheap — feeding a family and doing it for pennies, all in the bargain. Rice was inexpensive and the chicken liver and gizzard, along with the “Holy Trinity” of Cajun cooking — onion, bell pepper and celery — extended the meal. Dirty rice, then, was often eaten as a main dish. Dirty rice gets its name from the color the liver and broth imparted to the white rice.In these more health-conscious days, liver and gizzards are not used as often. Instead, small amounts of ground pork or beef are used, but the trinity and spices remain the same. Some cooks also throw in a little bacon grease for extra flavoring. The meat is first browned, and then the vegetables, including fresh garlic and green onions are browned together until the onions are clear. All is drained and then the rice and spices such as salt, pepper, cayenne, pepper sauce and paprika go into the pot. The cook adds water, brings it to a boil, adds the vegetables and meat back into the saucepan, covers it, turns the heat to low and waits for the rice to cook. Beef broth or any other available broth may be substituted in place of part, or all, of the water. When the rice has cooked, it stands, covered, away from the heat for five to 10 minutes before serving. Dirty rice can be served with a salad as a main dish, depending on the amount of meat, or to accompany jambalaya or gumbo. Dirty rice is easy to make and a cook can alter the recipe to suit his or her tastes, and the family’s tastes. That, after all, is a Cajun tradition."

Another interesting rice recipe i found is called Jambalaya rice. Just like dirty rice, Jambalaya is a traditional delicious Louisiana Cajun or Creole dish. The main ingredients of Jambalaya includes meats, vegetables, seafoods and rice. These ingredients are prepared together in one pot adding one after another. Here's what it looks like...




What reminds me of Jambalaya Rice is the 1952 country song called Jambalaya(On the Bayou) by Hank Williams. On 1973, Carpenters made another cover version of the song. It is a very popular song and i can even memorize it! Of course, the song is named after this Creole and Cajun dish.

Good-bye, Joe, me gotta go, me oh my oh
Me gotta go pole the pirogue down the bayou.
My Yvonne, the sweetest one, me oh my oh
Son of a gun, we'll have big fun on the bayou.

(Chorus)
Jambalaya and a crawfish pie and fillet gumbo
'Cause tonight I'm gonna see my ma cher amio
Pick guitar, fill fruit jar and be gay-o
Son of a gun, we'll have big fun on the bayou.

Thibodaux, Fontaineaux, the place is buzzin'
Kinfolk come to see Yvonne by the dozen
Dress in style and go hog wild, me oh my oh
Son of a gun, we'll have big fun on the bayou.

(Chorus)
Jambalaya and a crawfish pie and fillet gumbo
'Cause tonight I'm gonna see my ma cher amio
Pick guitar, fill fruit jar and be gay-o
Son of a gun, we'll have big fun on the bayou.

Settle down far from town, get me a pirogue
And I'll catch all the fish in the bayou
Swap my mon to buy Yvonne what she need-o
Son of a gun, we'll have big fun on the bayou.

(Chorus)Jambalaya and a crawfish pie and fillet gumbo
'Cause tonight I'm gonna see my ma cher amio
Pick guitar, fill fruit jar and be gay-o
Son of a gun, we'll have big fun on the bayou.

I think i had tried the little of this Jambalaya Rice(probably because i love that country song!). As for the Dirty Rice salad, i got no more room for it! As for my picky husband, nope, he didn't even look at them!