Festive Dishes: by Nora V. Daza with Family and Friends

Festive Dishes

Most recipes here are for parties and thus are in large quantities.

Read the recipe through before cooking, know all ingredients on hand, so cooking will be fun and results gratifying.

Beef Wellington

Fillet de Boeuf en Croute

This is a dish served on special occasions at the Au Bon Vivant restaurant. It’s made up of four major ingredients—a whole beef tenderloin, Duxelle sauce, pâté of foie gras and the crust. The chef prepared the Duxelle sauce and we added our own foie gras. What is special about this recipe is the foie gras made out of chicken liver. I paid for this recipe of my professor Cloude Llanad in a Paris Culinary School. However, at Au Bon Vivant, we used foie gras from France.

1 beef tenderloin (2 kg of whole beef tenderloin)

Salt and pepper

1 cup softened butter

Kitchen string

4 pcs onions, quartered

2 pcs carrots, peeled and cubed

4 stalks celery, cut into 2-inch pieces

6 pcs leeks, each cut in two

1 pc bay leaf

Pie crust (see following recipe)

Duxelle sauce (see following recipe)

150 g foie gras (see following recipe)

1 egg yolk + 2 tbsp milk (egg wash)

Prepare the tenderloin by cutting out the membrane and fat tissues. Season the whole tenderloin with salt and pepper.

Arrange the tenderloin by placing the thinner end folded under the meat. (About 1/3 of the tenderloin tip is folded under the whole tenderloin so that the shape stays uniform.) Tie the tenderloin so it keeps its shape.

In a saucepan large enough to hold the entire tenderloin, melt the butter and brown the tenderloin all over.

Transfer the browned tenderloin onto a roasting pan. Garnish with the onions, carrots, celery, leeks and bay leaf.

Roast in an oven at 350°F for 20 minutes. Remove the tenderloin and set aside to cool.

Add water to the roasting pan and scrape out the bits and pieces then pour into a saucepan. Add the onions, carrots, celery and leeks. Boil until the vegetables are tender. Strain and reserve. Use to make the foie gras sauce (recipe below) for the Beef Wellington.

To Assemble:

Have the pie crust rolled out on a work table. It should be large enough to enfold the whole tenderloin. Place the cooked tenderloin on the crust. Remove the string that holds the tenderloin together. Mash the foie gras and spread all over the tenderloin. Spoon the Duxelle sauce all over the foie gras. Cover the tenderloin with the crust. See that the whole tenderloin is covered. Cut a hole on top of the crust so the steam during the cooking can escape. Brush crust with the egg wash. Bake in an oven set at 350°F until the crust is browned. Allow to stand for 10 minutes.

If desired, serve the Beef Wellington with the foie gras sauce.

PIE CRUST:

4 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp salt

3/4 cup shortening (crisco)

1/4 to 1/3 cup cold water

Cut shortening into the flour with two knives. Add the salt. Continue cutting until the mixture resembles pea-shaped pieces of fat. Slowly gather flour and add cold water 1 tablespoon at a time. Knead three or four times until a ball is formed. Allow the dough to rest in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes. Then roll out with a rolling pin to the shape of a rectangular crust.

DUXELLE SAUCE:

3/4 cup butter

8 pcs shallots (native onions), chopped

500 g fresh mushrooms, washed, stems removed and caps sliced

Salt and pepper, to taste

1 sprig parsley, finely chopped

Melt butter and sauté onions until transparent, about 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms and season with salt and pepper. Cook for 2 minutes. Add chopped parsley and cook for 2 minutes more. Set aside.

OUR OWN FOIE GRAS:

500 g fresh chicken livers

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup finely chopped onions

1/2 tsp salt

2 tbsp cognac

1 tsp quatre epices (spice mix of nutmeg, ginger, pepper, cloves)

1 1/2 to 2 cups softened butter

Remove membranes from the chicken livers. Cut livers into strips.

Heat butter and sauté onions. Add fresh liver strips. Cook until the center of the liver is just pinkish in color. Season with salt, cognac and the quatre epices. Add the softened butter. Process mixture in a blender. Cool in the refrigerator overnight.

SAUCE OF FOIE GRAS:

1/2 cup butter

1/3 cup finely chopped shallots (native onions)

1/2 cup foie gras, mashed

Strained stock from roasting pan

3/4 cup good beef stock

2 tbsp liquid seasoning

1 tbsp flour

1 tbsp butter

salt and pepper to taste

Melt butter in a saucepan and sauté shallots. Add the mashed foie gras and stir until the consistency is smooth. Add the strained stock and the beef stock. Add the seasoning, taste and correct.

In a small bowl, mix butter with flour. Slowly incorporate into the saucepan. Stir with a whisk to smoothen the sauce.

Callos

This new version of the callos came by accident. I needed a dish that had a sauté of garlic, chopped onions, chopped ham and parsley, but I had made too much so I had leftover sauté mix. When I was going to cook callos, I decided to use the leftover mix and it came out so good. I decided to try it again and so here it is.

In France, tripe is sold softened already. A pressure cooker should be used to shorten the process of tenderizing the tripe. Although tripe bought from the grocery has already been cleaned, this recipe shows how to clean the tripe and how to tenderize it by slow cooking.

2 kg tripe (goto)

Salt and vinegar

2 kg beef bones, cut into big pieces

3 onions, quartered

2 carrots, peeled and cut into large pieces

1 cup celery leaves

3 stalks leeks, cut into 3-inch pieces

Enough water to cover the meat

1/2 cup fish sauce (patis)

3 pcs red bell pepper

1/4 cup olive oil

6 cloves garlic, chopped

2 cups chopped onions

1 cup chopped Chinese ham

1/2 cup chopped parsley

2 cans pimientos morrones, sliced

1 cup canned chickpeas (garbanzos)

1 cup tomato sauce

1/4 cup tomato paste

Salt and fish sauce (patis), to taste

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Clean tripe with salt and vinegar. Rinse well. Put into a large stockpot with the beef bones. Add the onions, carrots, celery leaves, leeks and water. Add the fish sauce. Let boil then simmer until the tripe is tender. Remove the tripe and cut into serving pieces and set aside. Strain the stock and reserve.

Broil the red bell peppers until the skin is blackened. Cover with a sheet of paper or plastic pouch until the bell peppers sweat. Remove the pouch and peel the skin off the bell peppers. Slice, deseed then chop.

In a heated pot with oil, sauté the garlic until slightly golden and the onions until translucent. Add the Chinese ham and the parsley. Add the tripe and 2 cups of the stock. Cook for 5 minutes. Add the pimientos morrones, chickpeas, tomato sauce and tomato paste. Add salt and fish sauce to taste. Mix well. Add the extra virgin olive oil. Mix and remove the pot from the fire.

Let the callos stand for 4 hours then heat before serving. Or, keep the callos in the refrigerator and when cold, just discard the fat that has solidified. Heat before serving.

Cocido Royale

with Eggplant Sauce and Tomatada

Maur Aquino and Ernesto Lichauco have a special lunch at home on Sundays. The lunch is sumptuous because Maur feels that her children may not get enough nourishment during the week.

When I was invited to one Sunday lunch, Maur had combined Cocido with Pochero and had cooked each ingredient separately. She served the dishes buffet-style but had on her round table all kinds of sauces, spices and olive oil.

This recipe takes a lot of time to prepare. I once did this for friends in Vancouver, Canada and my right arm hurt from cutting all the vegetables.

Why not make cooking this cocido an event by gathering friends and family members to join in the preparation and the actual cooking?

2 kg beef ribs or beef shank, cut in serving pieces

2 kg pork( kasim), cut into large cubes

2 pcs chicken (1 1/2 kg each), cut into serving pieces

6 Spanish sausages (chorizo de Bilbao), sliced diagonally

6 blood sausages (morcillas), cut into round pieces

8 onions, chopped

4 stalks leeks, each cut into 2-inch pieces

3 pcs celery leaves

2 carrots, chopped

6 tomatoes, peeled and cut into quarters

1 head garlic, peeled and bruised

2 pcs beef cubes

4 pcs pork cubes

2 pcs chicken cubes

Enough water to cover meats

6 pcs potatoes, peeled and quartered

6 pcs carrots, peeled and sliced diagonally in large pieces

6 pcs cooking bananas (saba), peeled and cut diagonally

10 pcs sweet potatoes (camote), peeled and cut diagonally

2 cups chickpeas (garbanzos) fresh or from the can, peeled

Enough water to cover each of the following: potatoes, carrots, bananas, and chickpeas

Stock from boiled meats

1 kg Baguio pechay, cut into half, crosswise

1 head cabbage, cut into wedges with the midrib cut off

1/2 kg string beans, cut diagonally

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp fish sauce (patis)

Place beef, pork, chicken and sausages in different saucepans. Divide chopped onions, leeks, celery leaves, carrots, tomatoes and garlic among the saucepans. Place corresponding beef, pork and chicken cubes in the saucepans (pork cubes with the sausages). Add water enough to cover the contents of each. Boil each of the meat and remove scum that rises to the top. Simmer until tender. Remove meats from the stock but keep warm. Reserve stock.

Prepare Eggplant Sauce and Tomatada while the meats are cooking (recipe below).

Cook separately the potatoes, carrots, cooking bananas, sweet potatoes and chickpeas (peel when cooked). Keep hot.

Use some of the meat stock to cook the pechay, cabbage and string beans but add salt and fish sauce.

To serve in a festive way, place each of the meat and the vegetables in separate containers. Serve with Eggplant Sauce and Tomatada. The guests can help themselves to any of the meats and vegetables and in the quantity they prefer. Best served with rice cooked with pandan leaves.

EGGPLANT SAUCE:

6 eggplants

4 cloves garlic

1/2 cup vinegar

Salt and pepper to taste

Broil eggplants until cooked thoroughly and the skins turn black. Peel and mash the eggplants. Set aside.

Chop garlic cloves finely and add to mashed eggplant. Add vinegar, salt and pepper to taste. Serve as a sauce for the Cocido Royale.

TOMATADA:

This sauce will keep for a week in the refrigerator. It’s good to have handy.

1/4 cup olive oil

5 cloves garlic, macerated

4 large onions, chopped

1 cup tomatoes, chopped

1 cup tomato sauce

1 cup broth

Salt and pepper

Sauté garlic, onions and tomatoes in olive oil. Cook till tender. Add tomato sauce and simmer for 10 minutes. Add broth and seasonings. Cook slowly for 1 hour in a covered container.

Serve with the Cocido Royale.

Estofadong Dila

This dish was always served whenever my grandfather had a special guest. For the recipe, I had to ask my cousin, Ofelia Javier Hernandez whose mother, Cresenciana Villanueva, married a good-looking Batangueño, Juan Javier, and made Batangas their home.

At a dinner when I served lengua, beef tongue or dila, my grandchildren refused to eat the dish. It seems that the younger generation is no longer acquainted with this very popular food item.

1 ox tongue (dila or lengua)

2/3 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce

1/4 cup calamansi juice

1 tsp black pepper

2 bay leaves

3 tbsp sugar

Beef stock

Clean the tongue by boiling it and scraping off the top layer.

Combine the soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, calamansi juice, black pepper, bay leaves and sugar in a bowl. Marinate the tongue in the mixture then refrigerate overnight.

Place the tongue with the marinade in a stockpot. Add the beef stock and cook until the tongue is very tender. Correct seasoning.

Chill softened tongue before serving. Use a sharp knife to cut the tongue diagonally. Arrange slices on a platter. Heat the remaining stock and use as sauce.

Potatoes peeled and cut into quarters and fried may be added to this dish but at my grandfather’s home in Batangas, only the tongue was the centerpiece for the special meal.

Cassoulet

Cassoulet is one of the classic dishes of France. When I