Kusina Maria

a Filipina’s food and cooking blog

Category : Entrees

November 22 Sunday Dessert: Blueberry New York Cheesecake

Blueberry New York Cheese Cake

Bluebery New York Cheesecake

To finish off our Sunday Lunch we decided to make some Blueberry New York Cheesecake. We decided on this since one of our cousins is allergic to chocolates and I was also trying to avoid chocolates. According to the Joy of Baking New York Cheesecakes as distinct from Italian Cheesecakes because they use cream cheese as opposed to the traditional Italians that use ricotta.

While some people contend themselves with no-bake cheesecakes with the use of gelatin, my gastronomic adventures at Lachi’s has led me to believe that baked cheesecake is the richest, creamiest, best kind of cheesecake. I was initially intimidated when we learned this in school.

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November 22 Sunday Lunch

Abellas

There used to be a time when Sundays meant Sunday Lunch at Lola’s house. Each family would bring a dish made by aunts who all had a gift for cooking and baking. There would be Sundays when we stuffed ourselves silly with home-cooked Filipino dishes such as Imbao Soup, Kare-kare or various versions of Adobo. There would be times when the cheese lovers would devour rich and cheesy Baked Lasagna or Stuffed Shell Pasta would delight us all. Or Sundays when an aunt would make Paella or cook crabs and prawns. Then we’d end everything with a make your own halo-halo station, or any dessert that one of my aunts would make.

But things changed as the nieces and nephews grew up, Lola died, and a few of us were left in Davao City. I suspect my aunts grew tired of waking up early on Sundays. I would if I were them.

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Mommy’s Dinner Party Notes and Review

Here are some notes from the dinner party I made for Mommy’s Birthday.

Anchovy Pasta

Anchovy Pasta for Daddy

I prepared the Anchovy Pasta specifically for Daddy who loooves anchovies. Turns out everybody loved it. And they like capers as much as I do. I prepared too much (1 kilo for 8 adults) but they all ended up taking home some anchovy yummy-ness.

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Live Blogging: Dinner Party for 10

Last week, my cousins suggested I cook for our Mommy’s birthday. We had quite a blast with her surprise party last year, which included belly dancers and an Arabian Nights theme. This time, we settled for a quiet dinner with just us relatives, although nothing is ever quiet when we’re together.

The menu planning was quite hard since my elder cousin, Marianne, is based abroad and she was the one bugging us all the time. In the end, we decided on a pasta, a beef dish, salmon, and a non-cake dessert since Brian and his fiancee, Aimee, would be surprising Mommy with a cake.

Menu
Anchovy Pasta with Olives and Capers
Salpicado
Baked Salmon with Lemon Butter Sauce
Tiramisu

Here’s a live blog of my cooking…

Double boiling

Double boiling

2 pm Tiramisu (T) Separating yolks is a b*tch. Now double boiling crema.

Extra Strong Coffee

Extra Strong Coffee

2:35 pm T Making extra strong coffee. Mixing crema with cream cheese.

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