OF BRASSERIES AND BRASSIERES

The words "brasserie" and "brassiere" are often jumbled in my Pinay mind. I always have to remind myself that the former is a French upscale restaurant probably with lots of lacy decor and the latter is a restricting undergarment preferably with some bits of lace sewn in. The two words do have one thing in common. Both are relevant to feeding, with the former producing sumptuous French sustenance from its kitchen, while the latter holds the twin kitchens that produce the genetic soup that serves as the first form of nourishment we all get a taste of.

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One night, after a particularly grueling week at work, our lady boss (yes, she is the type to whup yo' ass and justly deserves the title) invited us to a dinner at a newly opened brasserie in Greenhills run by the French Chef Cyrille Soenen formerly of (the now defunct) Restaurant Cicou in Makati. 

The Brasserie Cicou is located at the ground floor of the OB Montessori building along Eisenhower Street in Greenhills. The interiors, with its distressed wood and palo china furnishing, remind you of relaxing private beach houses found in Palawan or the Maldives.

Some  design elements, however, like the wine glass and wine bottle chandeliers,  give you an idea that the brassiere is run by someone with a certain sense of madness which I don't mind because dash of madness always helps when creating good food.  

The restaurant also has an open kitchen and it doesn't hurt that the chefs sweating it out to make your meal are charming young men and women.

Since the group wanted to taste a little bit of everything, we loaded up on the appetizers.

Fresh oysters

Chorizo canapes

Canapes in filo pastry served in wooden platters

The best of the bunch were the fresh sardines marinated in olive oil and served with mesclun salad and a line of black tapenade on the side. 

Since the sardines are fresh (I think they use tawilis), slathering a little of the anchovy and olive tapenade gives the fish the salty flavor Pinoys automatically look for when eating fish.

The Chef Cicou salad was a very Pinoy mix of greens, farmer's ham, gruyere cheese, roasted chicken, boiled eggs and tomatoes.

Chef Cicou salad

As entree, we had Boeuf Bourguignon or braised beef in red wine, carrots, mushrooms and cream.

Boeuf Bourguignon

I have no idea if it tastes anything like the ones made by Meryl Streep or Amy Adams in Julia and Julia. I just know that the beef was braised to buttery tenderness. As it should be, the Boeuf Bourguignon is not as salty as the braised beef most Pinoy restaurants serve. I pray for the customer who asks for "seasoning" after ordering the dish.

With the appetizers and entree done with, we proceeded to have dessert, by the plateful. 

Cannele

The canelé is a 2-inch high pastry that is said to have originated from Bordeaux, France. In the 18th century, a bakers in the region formed a guild of Canauliers and made only certain types of bread, including the canelé. Suplada!

A dozen delightful little devils

Fondant

There will eternally be a mental snapshot of my first bite of the Chocolat Moelleux or molten lava cake. The rich and decadent flavor of the cake should be followed by a chip of the sweet macaron and some of vanilla ice cream. This rivals the chocolate souffle cake of Cafe Lawis in Bohol.

Kouing Aman

I have never tasted Kouing Aman before and therefore have no comparison. If you are looking for a buttery, caramel treat, this is the dessert for you.

Kindness of Strangers 2

Textures of Bolinao

Maybe the universe is teaching me to be humble. Maybe I am meant to realize that hunger is my worst enemy. This recent trip to Bolinao, Pangasinan gave me another lesson in the kindness of strangers.

We were set to produce one segment about the ecotourism in Bolinao, a quaint third class town in Pangasinan. this entailed having to travel by banca to Balingasay River, the Giant clam farm and seaweed sanctuary.

And so, the crew, in two boats, set out to sea by 6:30 AM. Four hours later, we were still at sea, under the sweltering sun, our lunch an hour away by boat. We had one small mineral bottle each and a small box of chocolates. The Giant Clams and the seaweed were nowhere near edible (nor were they available for harvest). We were hot, sticky and turning irrational.

Since were near Santiago Island,  we decided to dock on its port to find some food. There was one store that sold softdrinks and less than 10 meters away was the only sari-sari store of the barangay. As we scouted the shelves for anything that was readily available, the store owner, Aileen, came out and asked us what we wanted from her store. 

 We asked her if she could possibly cook some instant noodles for us. She readily agreed to do so. We pushed our luck and asked if she could possibly cook some rice and sardines for us. She was surprised by the request but did not hesitate to agree.  As we helped her cook lunch, her daughter Alexandra joined us as well as other members of her family.

We kept everyone in their household busy, showing us where the washroom was and in typical Pinoy fashion, apologizing for the spareness of the facility. They used their electric stove and and the dirty kitchen kalan using firewood. It was a classic show of Filipino hospitality and bayanihan.

photo courtesy of Irene Pacana-Liwanag

Aside from what we brought from her store, they offered us arorosep, the small grape like seaweed that goes well with fish. They had harvested some and had just cleaned some for selling.

The arorosep is washed in fresh water

The hairy bits and other sea debris are removed by hand and washed again

The seaweeds are again soaked in fresh water before it is brought to the market to be sold

Rice, noodles, boiled eggs, scrambled eggs corned beef and freshly washed seaweeds- the meal you see here is one of the best I've had because it was given out of kindness.

Off Days and Pinoy Pizza

There are some days when things just don't seem to work for you. That day used to always be Monday for me. But now that I've gone freelance, it surprises me that Tuesdays, Wednesday, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and heck, even Sundays can be off-days.

It is  on such days that our tiny kitchen is filled with dirty dishes and leftovers are called lunch. One recent easy to cook snack on my off days is my recently discovered Pinoy Pizza. You can vary the ingredients, depending on what's available. I have put in my recommended alternatives below the recipe.

Pardon me if this intro is short. it is an off day, after all.

Pinoy Pizza

Ingredients:
2 small Frozen Pizza crust
250 gms or 4 packs of Kesong Puti (Cheese from Carabao's Milk), sliced
2 Itlog na Pula (Red Eggs), sliced
1 medium-sized boneless Tinapang Bangus (Smoked Milkfish), crumbled
4-6 pieces of medium-sized native tomatoes, sliced
150 gms Queso de Bola (Edam Cheese), grated

Procedure:

Thaw the frozen pizza crust.
Slice the Kesong Puti into 1/4 inch thick slices. Wipe away any liquid.
Place on top of the crust covering as much crust as possible.
Place the sliced tomatoes on top pf the kesong Puti.
Crumble the Tinapang Bangus and layer on top of the tomatoes.
Add another layer of sliced tomatoes
Sprinkle the grated Queso de Bola generously.

Pre-heat your oven toaster for 10 minutes at 250degrees. Bake the Pizza for 10-15 minutes or until the crust edges get that toasted look or turn dark brown.
Slice and serve.

Alternatives:
For Kesong Puti- Cream Cheese (but if you use this, use the Queso de Bola sparingly)

For Tinapang Bangus- Bottled Spanish Sardines or Tawilis (take out the bones and feel free to sprinkle a little of the oil on top of the Pizza

For Queso de Bola- Cheddar

For Itlog na Pula: Sorry I haven't found a suitable rd egg altenative. What you can do though, is to take out the pizza  5 minutes before it's fully cooked, crack a raw egg on top (you can use quail eggs, too)  and put back the pizza in the oven.

For the frozen Pizza crust- you can use white bread or pan de sal cut in half.

You can also add:
- onion rings (best if marinated in pineapple juice or honeyed calamansi juice for at least 30 minutes
- Pineapple tidbits
- Chili flakes (sprinkle after taking the Pizza out of the oven)

Green Apple Sardines and Queso de Bola & Parma Ham Omelette

Apples are evil.

Eve. Snow White's stepmom. Aphrodite.

It is part of the villainess 101 tool kit. Luring men to cause wars, putting innocents to eternal sleep and cursing all of humankind to hell on earth. But if you think about it, without the apple, Eve wouldn't have procreated with Adam, Snow White would've found  love in a less dramatic moment and we would never have drooled over a skirt-loving Brad Pitt in the movie Troy. It is the necessary tool of evil that move stories forward.

I had at one time in my work life encountered an apple in the form of a fax message to my staff rallying them to bring my bitchy ass down. Get me fired. Ruin my life. Make me sorry for working them hard. I bit the apple and went through one of the lowest points of my career, turning me to depression. Those dark days, the kind where only the people who truly love you can stand to be with you, forced me to simplify my life. Depression can unravel you until you are naked to the core.

And then you move on. At least I did.

Of the many simple things that gave me joy back then was eating guisadong sardinas with a plate of steaming rice and an omelette on the side.  Here's one of my versions of this comfort food classic featuring that evil little fruit, the apple.

Green Apple Sardines

Ingredients:

2 cloves garlic, sliced

1 small onion, sliced

1 can Ayam Sardines

1 small green apple, cored, peeled and sliced

1 tablespoon cooking oil

1 teaspoon light soy sauce

2 tablespoons water, optional

Sautee garlic in cooking oil until it turns golden brown, then add the onions. When the onions turn translucsent, add the green apples. Stir for a minute or two then add the sardines and soy sauce. You can add a little water as you mix in all the ingredients.  Let it simmer for a couple of minutes.  Serve warm.

Queso de Bola and Parma Ham Omelette

Ingredients:

½ cup grated Queso de Bola (Edam Cheese)

½ cup Parma Ham, chopped

3 eggs

Pepper to taste

1 tablespoon cooking oil

Beat eggs lightly. Put the pan on low fire and heat the oil. Then, add the eggs. When the eggs turn firm,  place the ham and the cheese on top. When the eggs become more solid and the bottom turns brownish, slide it off the pan on to a plate. Serve hot.