Quick Fix

Lookey what I found in the freezer! 

I made a batch of this spinach cream cheese dip a few months ago and kept it in the freezer portioned in ramekins. When I couldn't have anything else to eat for dinner today, I rummaged through the freezer and found this! Perfect!

I just popped it in the microwave for 2 mins. and toasted some sliced wheat baguette to pair. Voila! My quick fix. :D

This dip is really easy to make and is usually taken as appetizer or snacks. Unfortunately, I don't really write down my recipes because I usually just get right to what my head is thinking; but I'll try to get the right measurements for you. :)

Spinach Cream Cheese Dip

2 tbsp olive oil
4 cloves garlic, chopped

1/2 pc white onion, chopped

250 g spinach

50 g mozarella/quickmelt

1 cup cream cheese

50 ml fresh milk

parmesan cheese, grated (your preferred amount. don't scrimp!)
salt

black pepper, freshly cracked


Directions:


1. Blanch spinach in salted boiling water for 15 seconds to retain bright green color then shock in water with ice. Squeeze out excess water and roughly chop. Set aside.
2. Heat oil in pan and saute chopped garlic and onion. Add spinach and remaining ingredients. Keep on medium heat while stirring constantly until you reach a thicker consistency or when the mixture coats the back of a spoon. 
3. Season with salt and pepper.


Tips:


* You can also add fresh mushrooms to this dip for an added texture and flavor. Just saute with garlic and onion.
* To use as a sauce, just add more milk to make a thinner consistency. Great for grilled seafood and meat. 
* You can rub a clove of fresh garlic on your sliced baguette right after toasting for a kick. :) 

Hope you guys like this! And do tell me if you tried it and what you think. Just email me at justinnego@gmail.com or comment on this post.


Have a great weekend! :D

Babe For Food

your new BFF in Cebu dining! :)

My Burger TRYathlon

So sorry if this update came out really late. I've been sick and had problems uploading the videos because they're pretty long.  

Anyway, I finally came face to face with THE Dong Juan red hot double d chili burger on Oct. 31 (Monday). It actually haunted me the night before, not letting me sleep well from dreaming all night that I was already doing the challenge. It felt so real, like I was really biting into those hot juicy patties with the time running after me. I guess burgers are into halloween, too.

Waking up groggy and nervous as ever, I only ate some fruits (a banana, an apple and a mango... if you wanna know.) and a little rice and pork for breakfast around 10:00 a.m. after which I left my belly to starve the rest of the day 'til the challenge. I worked out in the gym for 2 hours which included running 4.5k in 30 mins and did stationary cycling for 20 mins. The rest of the time was spent for weights and core exercises. That's a little idea for you what else this piglet does aside from eat. :)

Arriving at Persimmon with Chadd, Paul and Nekie, my hands were ice cold and shaky. It was 4:10 p.m. We signed our waivers and filled up the registration forms as if it were our last will while waiting for Dan, Edjay and Joel. Dong Juan's proprietors, Barney and Aubrey Borja also arrived shortly. 

me and Chadd giggling with nerves

Chadd warming up?

With no further ado, here's the video of my shameless feat:

I lost all sense of taste as I was stuffing myself with this HUGE Frankenstein creation of Dong Juan. I was able to handle the heat of the Malaysian chilies but the 1 pound of burger was so overwhelming and the pungent smell of the chilies mixed with prawns were also bothering me. I really struggled with swallowing it and I was regurgitating in my last few bites. The patties were  juicy though so I didn't need water to lubricate my throat for swallowing. Great job, Dong Juan!

Chadd and I each ordered a can of coke and creme brulee to cool us down. I definitely needed this. Sweets therapy! 

This wasn't bad at all. I enjoy creme brulee because of the crisp caramelized sugar lid covering the creamy custard; not just the taste but also the sound when you break into it. Aaahh...

I finished in 7 mins 12 secs with a burnt tongue from the hot patties and looking like Joker from Batman, red around the mouth area. I was miles away from the record to beat which was 1 min 44 secs so you can imagine what a monster the record setter was. But I still felt like a winner with all the support and company of my City Sports Club gym friends and Mr. and Mrs. Barney and Aubrey Borja. They waived my bill for the challenge as credit for being the first female challenger. Thank you so much! It was definitely worth experiencing although I don't think I'll be doing any speed eating contests ever again. I can eat a lot but not in a blizzard. That goes to say, I have a big appetite but I can't eat fast. I'm pretty proud I got to finish the whole burger though. :D

Sincerely, I believe Dong Juan will go a long way with their solid concept, great food, and cozy ambience. They currently have 3 branches ready to serve us at Guadalupe, Mango and Persimmon and will be opening 3 more very soon at the Crossroads, A.S. Fortuna and I.T Park! They're on a roll!

I would also like to make a special mention about the paintings in all the branches of Dong Juan. These are from Paul Arenas, one of my friends from gym. I just found out recently that I had a friend painter! How cool is that?! Lol. So do check them out because they're really pretty. He uses oil paint on canvas and is inclined to pastel colors. I love that his paintings have a touch of patriotism, like this Filipiniana interpretation:

pastel domination :)

Sorry for the poor pictures, my camera really sucks.

with Paul Arenas, my manager :D

the only girl/one of the boys
challengers for the day: me with [forgot his name... sorry], Chadd and Edjay

After the challenge, some of us stayed for dinner. Of course, I didn't take dinner cuz I was stuffed to the brim. We discussed the difficulties of the challenge and how to possibly overcome these. 

Dong Juan's proprietors Mr. Barney and Mrs. Aubrey Borja are some of the warmest people I've met. They really know how to make their customers leave with a smile. They even sat and chatted with after dinner. 

from left: Barney Borja, Aubrey Borja, author, Nekie, Paul, Dan

This was definitely a day to remember. I've set a record for myself. And, no more eating contests for me. Haha.


Hope you guys enjoyed this post. :)


I encourage the ladies to join the challenge! Challenge is still going on until Nov. 30 and top ten best time records will be chosen for finals on Dec. 2! So c'mon! I'm sure my time is easy to beat. ;)


Thanks again for the opportunity and complements, Mr. and Mrs. Borja! More power to you! 


video by: Nekie Macalolooy and Dan Garret Mojares

Babe For Food

your new BFF in Cebu dining! 

Chocolate Therapy

Hey guys!

Christmas is in the air! I've whipped up some sweet treats you can give to your loved ones this season. I'm branding it as Chocolate Therapy of which chocolate clusters are the first batch. 

Chocolate clusters are basically chocolate-coated cereal. I like to use cornflakes. These will come in different shapes, flavors and sizes. For now, available choices for orders are regular clusters in white and dark chocolate.

pack of 6 @ 50 php only!
you can customize your pack whether you want mixed or exclusively white or dark :)

white chocolate clusters

I also used to make them into message blocks like these and gave them away to friends as birthday gifts:

15 php per block

If you want them like this, you can request with your order, too. 

This is a fund raising so I could buy gifts for my family and friends. Hope you guys would like to order some!

For orders, pls. contact 0922 8822 655. Orders should be made 2 days ahead. Thanks! :)

P.S. I'm planning to come up with more designs and flavors such as choco berry and chocmint, and I also plan to experiment on making a mini chocolate Christmas tree. ;)

Babe For Food

your new bff in Cebu dining! :)

In The Heat of Anzani

Since I desperately missed working in the professional kitchen so much, I applied for a part-time job as a cook in several (5) restaurants early last month hoping I'd be employed by sembreak or the second semester.

Cafe Laguna has always been on top of my list because I sincerely want to learn authentic Filipino cuisine and I also admire their catering service. This was the first rejection though because they don't accept part-timers.

To make the long story short, my friend Munesh Gopaldas, the head chef of Bistro Ecila at The Terraces, recommended me to apply at Anzani since they were open for hiring. I was given a consideration by Chef Marco Anzani, the owner, and I had to undergo unpaid training for a week to prove myself.


The problem here was, I didn't tell my dad about my interviews and applications until my first day in Anzani because he had already told me ahead that he doesn't want me to work there when I mentioned my plan of applying.  Since I knew dad was against everything despite all my begging and convincing, I just used my own savings to commute to and from Anzani.

photo from: http://www.anzani.com.ph/index.html 

photo from: http://www.anzani.com.ph/index.html

If you didn't know, Anzani is a fine dining Mediterranean restaurant owned and run by Chef Marco Anzani, a former chef of Acqua, Shangrila Mactan Resort and Spa's Italian outlet. It is located at Nivel Hills, Lahug, Cebu City. The dining experience involves a romantic view of the city as it is situated on the hills of Cebu and authentic Mediterranean cuisine with some fresh vegetables they grow themselves. This restaurant is currently one of the top destinations in Cebu and has received several awards. It is also a popular date spot and is one of the few restaurants in the city that offers wood-fired pizza.


Bellini is their bar lounge where some of the best wines can be enjoyed and where friends can chill to the accompaniment of live soothing music from 7 pm onwards on weekdays.

I was assigned at the cold kitchen and my shift was at 4-9 pm. And just so you know, I had to take a total of 7 rides roundtrip everyday. That's 3 rides to get there and 4 to go home. I guess that tells you enough how badly I wanted this but I just stuck out the whole week of training for professionalism's sake. If I continued, I would have been the first part-timer to be accepted and it is a fact that it's very difficult to get a part-time job in restaurants. I especially did not expect it to be from this one.


I was like in a dream bubble that whole week. Chef Marco was pretty approachable, all the staff were easy to work with, the food was just grand and the plating was like fine art masterpieces. The food was definitely hotel standard. There was a truffle promotion going on so they had a special set menu for this.


I wasn't able to take pictures during my whole week except for my last day because I didn't wanna look like some spy sneaking around. ;)

Chef Randell is the head chef here and he's a really nice guy; friendly, accommodating, and jolly. He made me feel welcome even when I was still applying and answered any question I had when I got in. He even let me play around in the hot kitchen anytime I wanted to. Here, I watched Chef Randell bark out orders and plate them, and I got to do some plating myself, I cooked some pasta orders and did some grilling. 

In the hot kitchen:

me with Chef Randell :)

Chef Randell making some kind of mashed potato in tortilla

Chef Anyong, an awesome line cook and fresh pasta maker

My hand at the hot zone cuz these guys were nice enough to have me play around: 

(I was sneaking shots while cooking orders. Lol.)

they let me grill an aussie beef tenderloin!

my plating :)

raw marinated halibut and salmon steaks for the grill. nom nom nom. :D

from left: Randell, Arkin, Anyong and the author

them with an ojt from USC

the amusingly mischievous Chef Janice with Chef Randell

 The Cold Kitchen:

Chef Janice and Chef Arkin 

girl power

gorgeous plating for Arugula salad with parmesan  crisps and balsamic reduction

This was definitely an experience worth treasuring, having met chefs who are easy to get along with and Chef Marco himself being a considerate and approachable boss. Thank you for this experience of a lifetime! Hopefully, I can work here again someday. Definitely missing the heat!

 Babe For Food

your new BFF in Cebu dining!