Budget-friendly recipes perfect for the Yuletide season
Everyone expects the price of pork, ham, and other meat products to spiral upward and become prohibitive by Christmas time, giving homemakers headaches worrying about what to serve for special meals during the season.
FILLING APPETIZERS
A chef friend advises dishes that will surprise and please the clan while keeping the budget within reasonable limits. His solution? Make everything relleno. Stuffed. He explained how.
He suggests starting the meal with a platter of colorful Deviled Eggs, two pieces per person. To make deviled eggs, peel and slice hard-boiled eggs in half, and scoop out the yolks. Mash the yolks with mustard, salt, pepper, and a little mayonnaise. Then, you mound that back on the egg whites. Top with bits of pimento, sliced olives, and a pinch of paprika. Voila! Stuffed eggs!
A new favorite pulutan to go with beer is TNT or Dynamite, which is a long hot pepper stuffed with cheese, wrapped in phyllo or lumpia skin, and deep-fried until golden brown and crisp. The warm melted cheese contrasts well with the crunch and spiciness of the peppers.
Another popular veggie course is Melanzane Parmigiana, baked stuffed eggplant. The eggplants are grilled, peeled, and layered with a tomatobased sauce (with or without meat), cream, and cheese, then baked until bubbly. It’s just like making lasagna, but using eggplants instead of pasta.
For picture-pretty Stuffed Green and Red Peppers, grill the veggies until blistered, and then slip off the skin. Cut tops off to remove seeds. Stuff the peppers lightly with a mixture of cooked rice, ground beef, minced onions, salt, pepper, chopped ham or bacon, and grated cheese. Simmer, tightly covered, in an inch of chicken broth for 20 minutes. Serve with French bread or any crusty loaf.
HUBAD NA BANGUS
No barrio fiesta is complete without Rellenong Bangus, which takes a lot of time and patience to prepare, only to discover that the guests ate only the stuffing and left the fish skin untouched. For bangus lovers, there is good news. Boneless ground bangus meat is now available in the frozen fish section of most supermarkets.
To make the dish, simply sauté garlic, chopped onions, bangus, frozen or canned green peas, minced carrots, and raisins (optional). Cool and mix well with beaten egg and a little flour to hold together. Drop by the spoonful on a lightly oiled non-stick pan. Fry both sides until light brown.
BAKED SHELLFISH
Baked
tahong
(mussels),
talaba (oysters), and halaan (clams) are long-time Pinoy party fare. They are inexpensive and very easy to prepare, yet often mishandled by overcooking and under seasoning.
First, the shells have to be scrubbed clean. Then they are cooked in very little water only until the shells are barely open. Cool and force open all the shells, then trim their beards with scissors. Detach the meat from the shell for easy eating.
Make the topping. It could be as simple as minced garlic in butter, or as elaborate as Oysters Rockefeller with more than a dozen ingredients. Some add breadcrumbs and cheese to give more substance to the dish.
Return the shellfish meat to the half-shells, and arrange them in a single layer in a baking pan. Spoon some topping on each shell, and then sprinkle paprika over the topping. Bake or broil until melted. Serve immediately.