Top Chef Finale Spin

I guess Christmas is always the busiest time of the year! My to-do list is longer than usual, and in fact writing it takes longer than usual too. It's been almost a week since my last blog entry and oh the number of my shows recorded on the DVR is increasing... oh no! hmmm it's definitely a sign of busy-ness! I have to watch two shows today, my kids forewarned me, as it will be erased soon to make room for more shows. So today I decided to watch the finale of Amazing Race and Top Chef: Las Vegas back to back. Thank goodness for DVR! I could still watch the shows that I love when I have the time. But the only downside of watching the finale a few days after is that a lot of times you will know who the winners are…spoiler alert indeed, what a bummer... I knew who won the Amazing Race before I watched it but even then, I was surprised at myself that I was still crying when I watched it. I guess what moved me is seeing how these couples worked hard to get to the finish line and I was so engaged during the whole season, that I cried with their victory.

Sniff. Sniff. Sniff.

I then proceeded to watch Top Chef. Of course I was crying again. But watching Top Chef? Oh no something must be wrong with me? How can I possibly be crying so hard watching chefs wanting to make it big via a reality show. But ok, before you think I’m loony, the portion that touched me most in the finale of Top Chef is when they brought in the moms of the final 3 contestants. The chefs were asked to prepare a dish inspired by their mom's dishes in their childhood. I was moved seeing clips of their childhood, and how Bryan and Michael, realized that they were competing with each other but at the end of the day, they are still brothers! Each of them had two different "inspirations" from the same mom.

I tried to put myself into that situation. Nope I'm not a chef, or will I ever be in a Top Chef episode anytime soon but I thought if given that challenge, what dish will I make my mom to remind me of my childhood?... and I thought right away, a fish dish… This is what reminds me of how she meticulously selected the freshest fish/meat in the market for us. So in this particular entry I would like to post Salmon ala Isi. My mom's nickname is Isi. Although she doesn't cook as much as other moms do (or I do) because she was lucky to have a good cook to do all our meals when we were growing up. But as I’ve said, she gets fresh produce and meats from the market daily and she plans our meals according to the fresh ingredients she gets. Yes, daily! Even if we remind her of what the fridge is for, she insists and up to this day she still goes daily. It’s part of her routine, wake up by having coffee with my papa, then go to church and then the market... a routine that is hard for her to break.

The farmer's markets in the Philippines are quite interesting and it will be another entry on its own. I remember I used to tag along with my mama going to the market, clutching my own native basket. We live in a small town, so everybody knows everybody, and as we pass the vendors they would greet my mama by her name and invite her to take a look at their "fresh produce". Through my child’s eye back then, the local market looked like a maze with so many stalls around it but my mama knows her way and goes straight to her "suki" or preferred vendor. She would carefully select a piece. She would touch it, feel it, she looks at the gills, if it's red and it’s firm, presto... it's fresh. Then the haggling begins.... She has her own negotiation skills but mostly she uses her charm as a local and a daily shopper, the vendor usually gives in. I guess that’s where I got my negotiation skills too…Hahaha!

In Salmon ala Isi, I’m going to put my spin on one of her recipes commonly served during fiestas in my hometown. The fish is usually steamed then it's covered with mayo and decorated with carrots, green onions. The dish looks so colorful with the variety of condiments on top of the fish. But let's start with my concoction:

Salmon Ala Isi (this is another recipe under you can't believe it's so easy recipe list)

We need:

1.5 lbs of salmon
3/4 c mayo
3 tbsp hoisin
4 cloves garlic minced
Salt and pepper to taste
Green Onions (sliced)




Preheat broiler. Line a small baking pan with foil and coat with cooking spray.
On a bowl, mix together all the other ingredients. Then spread it over onto the salmon. Sprinkle the green onions on top.
Place the salmon on to the pan, with the skin-side down. Bake for 10-13 minutes. Make sure not to over cook it. You wouldn't like the salmon to be as hard as cardboard..





For the side dish:

Roasted Asparagus

Ingredients:
Asparagus
2 tbsp olive oil
salt and peper to taste

Before tossing the asparagus on to the pan, make sure to wash off all the dirt from it. There's usually sand on it because it grows on a sandy soil. Get one piece and bend it, it will show you where to cut the stems. Make that as your template and slice the whole bunch of asparagus altogether. You could set that aside and make cream of asparagus with it in the future but with this dish, you don't want to have all the fibrous feel to it.

ON a pan, place the asparagus and drizzle Olive oil on it. Add salt and pepper and bake it together with the salmon. Asparagus should not be overcooked either. IT shouldn't take more than 10 to 15 minutes, so just about the same time as you cooked the salmon.

Together it will make for a great dinner! And it takes you less than 30 minutes to prep and cook it... It will give you time to put up your feet up and enjoy the holiday season, and of course your back log of TV shows. Enjoy!