Once a Virago, Always a Goddess

Thanksgiving Day was last Thursday. Years ago my husband was fed up by my shrewish, OCD-ing. I wanted the house neat, the food prepared, the rooms festive, the children bathed and well behaved, the husband smiling…But Mitch was hardly amused much less in a smiling mood. He calmy but firmly stopped me in my tracks and effectively ceased my frenzy.

He sat me down and said, ‘Today is Thanksgiving, a day of appreciating all our blessings. Stop terrorizing the kids and me!’

My immediate reaction was a fierce denial. How dare he?! Yet he did dare and I was forced to face how ugly and thug-gish I had become. It took some doing but I am light years removed from such a virago. At least I think so. There are no more complaints coming from my family. My pooch Balou still gives me a wide berth. He needs more discipline. But that’s another story.

Enclosed are recipes that my family has enjoyed through the years.

I like Nigella Lawson, the Domestic Goddess. I like to think I’m the Lopez’ House version. I’m an equal opportunity Thanksgiving cook, er, goddess. We always have THE BIRD, the fish, the beef, and the pork/ham.

The Mungo is prepared after Gobble Gobble Day. I served this recipe for Philippine Vice President Binay at the Ambassador’s residence last spring.  Then Ambassador Willy Gaa and his wife Linda have become our good friends. Even the White House Executive Chef, Ms Cristeta Comerford liked it. Ok, enough name dropping…..

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Asian Salmon

Ingredients:

• 1 large salmon, preferrably without skin
• 1 large bag of baby spinach
• 2 T chopped scallions (may use 1T of chopped onions)
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2-3 T oyster sauce
• 1 t soy sauce
• 2 T peanut oil (or canola oil will do just as well)
• 1 32 oz box of chicken broth

 Directions:

• bake salmon in a pre-heated oven (350 deg) for no more than 15 minutes
•  the rule of thumb is 12 minutes per inch of thickness
• after 12 minutes, check for doneness. if it flakes easily and is not raw anymore, take it out of the oven already
• while the fish is baking do the ff:
•  boil the chicken broth in a large pot
• parboil the spinach leaves then with a slotted spoon place on a large elongated platter
• in a separate bowl mix the next 4 ingredients -scallions, garlic, oyster, and soy sauce; set aside
• place the cooked salmon on the bed of parboiled spinach leaves, set aside
• heat the peanut oil in a small pot
• place the bowl of oyster sauce mixture in the sink (for safety) then pour hot peanut oil into the mixture, mix well
• pour the oil/oyster sauce mixture over the salmon and spinach leaves
• serve with white/brown rice and your favorite salad

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Myrna’s Mungo

Ingredients:

• 1/4 lb uncooked ham hocks
• 1 can stewed tomatoes (I use one with celery and pepper)
• 1 cup of mungo beans
• 1 bag of spinach
• shrimps (optional)
• 2 cloves of garlic, diced
• onions, cut lengthwise (like we were taught for use in sauteing)
• oil
• chicken broth and water

Directions:

• Soak the mungo in water for about 2 hours. Set aside.
• Simmer the hocks and stewed tomatoes in enough chicken broth/water to cover until the ham is cooked. Maybe about 30 minutes
• Pour the soaking mungo beans into the ham hocks and cook until the beans ‘pop’ and become soft. Be careful to monitor closely because the beans will soak up a lot of liquid
• In a separate pan, saute the garlic and onions in oil. Pour that into the pot of hocks and mungo. Simmer for about 10 minutes.
• Add the spinach and shrimps before serving.
• Serve with cooked white rice.

Embraced the Turkey for Good!

These two smallish turkeys (9 lbs each) are better tasting than the 15-poundersHow to Prepare the bird:

Thanksgiving is around the corner, just a mere two days. I am a Filipino transplant. It took a decade and a half before I fully appreciated this holiday. Now it has become our most awaited tradition. I like that it does not have religion, race, or sex attached to it. Just an exuberant appreciation of what is. The how, where, and when become negligible. Family. Friends. Fun. Food. Frolic. Those F’s count. I have definitely embraced the turkeys for good!

I have become comfortable preparing THE BIRD! Below is my version. Enjoy!

 

Myrna’s Turkeys

I prefer smaller birds (8-9 lbs). I roasted two 9-pounders at last year’s Thanksgiving. Some friends brine their turkey for 24 hours. I have not done that in all the years I’ve prepared the T-feast. Brining requires soaking the bird in a salt solution. Too much work for me (I’m quite the lazy bum).

Defrost the turkey in the fridge. My two small ones took three days even though the instructions said 2 days. So larger turkeys should be thawed longer. Place it on a large platter. Some fluids WILL escape.

Once thawed, be sure to pull out the giblets inside the chest cavity. I forgot to do this once. The bird was undone and looked like it contracted some contagious disease. Then rinse the cavity and the outside under cold tap water. Pat dry.

Here in the US we have a false-butter spray called ‘I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter’. I use that to spray inside the cavity. I also use a good amount under the skin (careful in prying the skin away from the flesh. You don’t want it to tear. Mostly for cosmetic reasons though, so don’t sweat if it does tear.) Spray all over as well. Preheat the oven to 425F.

I put together a ‘fowl’ sprig consisting of sage, thyme, rosemary. Chop one large onion. Insert all that in the neck cavity. Prepare a shallow pan* (like the one we use for baking cookies) by lining it with whole stalks of celery, carrots, largely chopped onions. Pour a can of chicken broth into the pan. Carefully place the turkey on that, breast side up. You may place a foil on the breast until about 30 minutes before done roasting (this way the breast will have the same golden color as the rest)

*ovens cook by convection so the heat from a low pan should concentrate on the actual body of the bird instead of burning just the top of the breast.

Roasting the Turkey:

Insert a meat thermometer to one of the thighs. Place it towards the inside near the breast. The turkey is done when the temp registers 170F.
Turn the oven temperature to 350F before placing the turkey in the oven.
Roasting Time for unstuffed turkey:
6-8 lbs: 2 1/2 to 3 hours (my 9 pounders were done after 3 1/2 hours)
8-12 lbs: 3 to 4 hours
12-16 lbs: 4 to 5 hours

Masaganang Pagkain. Bon appetit. Happy eating.