since filipinos have this thing about not serving chicken on new year's eve, i thought i would just make some spaghetti. i really wasn't going to make baked macaroni, as i have never done that before. but for this year we received a lot of pasta and sauces so i decided to cook them.
many thanks to ms. connie veneracion, where i got the recipe at http://www.pinoycook.net/baked-macaroni/2/ . basically followed the procedure there, but had to substitute some of the ingredients especially for the cheese sauce/topping. i also did not follow the measurements listed there since i dont usually do that when i cook, unless i'm baking. if it smells right, then you must have done it right. :-)
anyway, for the pasta i used penne, which looks very good presentation wise. although i doubt if the people noticed as they were busy eating and eating and eating and...you get the idea. i did not use basil, but used lots of oregano, which i always do whenever i make tomato based sauces or dishes. i think it makes the sauce more flavorful and aromatic. also used a lot of tomatoes, onions and garlic. not only are they great extenders, they provide a nice bit of texture and taste to the dish.
for the cheese sauce/topping, i had to use eden cheese, no quickmelt cheese, no cream cheese either... ladies, here's a tip: if you ever need something done right, don't ask your husbands to do the last minute shopping. of course it would help a lot if you planned the menu beforehand so you can come up with a list of all the ingredients you need when you go to the grocery store. since i hadn't really planned on this, i had to make do with what i had on hand at that particular moment. (besides, i doubt the nearest sari sari store sold olive oil -- for the banana cake, which i will discuss later on)
eden cheese takes a bit of time to melt so i chopped it already. if you prefer bits of cheese or a rather chunkier sauce, you could just opt to leave it not so very well melted. i did add nestle all purpose cream to the cheese sauce/topping and on the whole though, it turned out pretty well, rather tasty and divine. didnt even have to season the cheese sauce anymore. i am not sure about how long this would store in the fridge as the batch i made was consumed immediately so it might be a good idea to just cook enough for your guests.
again many thanks to ms. connie veneracion, where i got the recipe for banana cake at http://www.pinoycook.net/banana-walnut-cake
it is actually banana walnut cake with streusel topping. since i don't like nuts in my cake (or chocolates) i just skipped the part about adding the walnuts and doing the streusel topping. i have actually made banana cake since i was in high school i think which is like two decades ago more or less. but this one really takes the cake, so to speak. i have finally found the magic ingredient that makes this banana cake wayyyyyyy awesome (check out her ingredients).
anyway, i just followed the procedure there except that i mixed them the old fashioned way (by hand -- because it just feels like being a kid again, playing with the stuff :-) and i skipped the nutmeg part, and used sour milk. i also used three eggs instead of four; i used 3/4 c of butter instead of the whole 225g and did not melt the butter but just left it at room temperature before i creamed it with the sugar. it still turned out pretty well. and the smell of it while it was baking in the oven was just pure heaven! now i remember why i prefer baking to cooking :-)
also, i find that cavendish bananas make better tasting (and better smelling) banana cakes. if you are able to get those really huge red or green bananas from davao they taste great too. i think those huge yellow bananas in japan would also be great for this, but i never got around to doing that yet while i was there. anyway, i will post about it when and if i get that chance again.
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