07.11.08
Chronicles of Gastronomica #1
I’ve decided that since I’ll be stuck here in Minnesota for quite some time, living in my own apartment, doing my own laundry, buying my own groceries, getting appliances and electronics, blah blah, I guess I’d chronicle my cooking adventures here. Whether the results suck or if it’s classified as gourmet status, considering my lack of talent in the kitchen, writing about it should be fun. So here goes…
Two nights ago, finding nothing else in the refrigerator except for a gallon of old-fashioned spaghetti sauce, and no meat as a filler. So we decided on cooking spaghetti sauce with Pinoy-style corned beef. Instead of onions, we settled for garlic. Chop garlic, and saute in olive oil. Mix in the tangy spaghetti sauce, add a little Jufran sweet-spicy ketchup (to get the Pinoy-style spaghetti taste, sweet, tangy and spicy). Pour sauce over cooked pasta and add lots of Parmesan cheese (as you will notice Parmesan cheese will be the main component of all my dishes - I am a cheese-lover).
Next dinner was just leftover ribs that we had for lunch at a nearby resto. Good thing we have a microwave.
The other dinner was just opening a large can of US-style corned beef (it’s less reddish and less salty than Pinoy-style, and it’s got small pieces of potatoes). And cheesy omelette.
Tonight, I was sitting here, trying to think of a dinner recipe from my very limited stock in the pantry. All I have is lots of corned beef from last night’s dinner and cheesy omelette combo, leftover pasta from two nights ago, a large onion, and a chunk of cheddar cheese. I was watching the Food Network, and I had a burst of inspiration. Suddenly, I am emboldened…
If we can make corned beef spaghetti, I can make corned beef carbonara!
Chop onions, saute in olive oil and butter, pour a few tablespoons of corned beef, add a can of mushroom soup, pour in a little bit of water, and melt in some chunks of cheddar. Pour sauce over cooked pasta. Voila! Beefonara (carbonara + corned beef)! Top with lots of Parmesan cheese. I did this dish the first time around, and thankfully, it tastes kinda good. I’m glad it wasn’t a disaster.
Maybe I’m starting to become a gourmet chef. Hahaha. I can’t cook the normal dishes - it’s the weird ones that I excel at.