Hey, Sis, It’s Your Day!

Today is the 11th of May. Tomorrow is Mother’s Day. Today is Eat What You Want Day. At least for some of us, that’s true. Today is also the Celebration of Life for my sister, Ann. So today is all about her, as it should be.

I thought for sure Ann would want me to serve up a Mexican Feast of some kind for her memorial. I mean, every time we got together it was Mexican Food and Margaritas until we were completely stupid. Imagine my surprise when she instructed Donnie (her wonderful husband) to ask me to make Filipino food, like when we were children and Mom had a party. So my guys and I spent an entire day wrapping countless Lumpia to fry up at the family farm this afternoon.

I’ve also cooked up an insane amount of Adobo Chicken, a giant pot of sticky rice, and my Mom’s famous Lecha Flan. In addition, just to round things out I’ve made 4 pounds of Kahlúa Pig. While Mom didn’t serve roast pig at her parties, I remember our Lola welcomed us to Manila with a whole roasted pig. (We freaked out, having never seen an entire pig on the dining room table before). I just thought Kahlúa Pig was a nice, sentential touch to that summer so long ago. I’m also doing Pineapple Upside Down Cupcakes in keeping with a tropical island feel. We’re putting on quite the feast for about 45 people. Thank goodness we have the farm to host so many people.

So glad I’m able to write these little shares well in advance. Lord knows the days leading up to today and today itself were more than hectic. My guys have been a big help, and that makes things nice. It’s going to be a day of crying, hugging and sharing her memory with so many childhood friends. Growing up, ours was a tight community, and has remained so through the years.

Originally when I sat down to write today’s post, I thought I’d share foods I really wanted to eat – Chicken Mole, Shrimp Diablo, or Fry Bread Tacos. It really didn’t matter, so long as we shared plenty of margaritas. Instead, I’ve decided to reach back into my portfolio of recipes and share what I’ll really be cooking up for friends and family on this day. Enjoy – have a blessed day and remember to say I love you every chance you get. You never know when it will be the last time.

Eat Your Fill Filipino Banquet Feast
Lumpia
Chicken Adobo
Kahlúa Pig
Sticky Rice

Leche Flan
Pineapple Upside Down Cupcakes

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Lumpia
4 lbs Lean Ground Beef
2-1/2 teaspoons Kosher Salt, divided
4 lbs Ground Pork
2 (12 oz) cans Water Chestnuts
2 cups Carrots
2 cups Bean Sprouts
2 cups Garbanzo Beans
2 cups Yellow Onion
2-1/4 cups Celery
2 Bell Peppers, any color
2 cups White or Brown Mushrooms
6 Garlic Cloves
150 Lumpia Wrappers, defrosted

Cook and drain ground beef. Add 2 teaspoons of salt to ground beef while cooking. Be sure to crumble meat throughout cooking to keep pieces very small. 

Cook and drain ground pork. Be sure to crumble meat throughout cooking to keep pieces very small.

Chop all vegetables very finely, set aside. Press garlic into a large skillet. Add all the vegetables, season with remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt. Sauté vegetables over medium heat until celery has become pale in color. Remove from heat. Drain vegetables of excess liquid.

In a large bowl or tub, combine cooked vegetables with meats, mixing thoroughly. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. Set aside.

Separate Lumpia wrappers. Keep in a damp towel, removing 1 wrapper at a time as needed. Fill each wrapper with filling mixture, about 2 tablespoons per wrapper. Roll into a large egg roll, tucking in sides after the first fold.

Pack completed Lumpias with waxed paper between each to prevent them from sticking together and place Lumpias in a box or freezer-safe container. They will keep in the freezer up to a year, remove as needed.

To fry Lumpia, remove however many you want to cook from the freezer.  Heat oil (enough to come half way up the Lumpia) over medium heat. Fry the Lumpia, frozen, in the hot oil, turning as needed until crisp and warmed through.

Note: Lumpias can be served as a side, or as a meal with a noodle dish on the side. Fried Lumpias can be sprinkled with soy, vinegar or dipped in any number of Asian dipping sauces.

Chicken Adobo
2 Chickens, cut up into 8 pieces
1 to 2 cups Soy sauce
1/2 to 1 cup Worcestershire Sauce
1/4 to 1/2 cup Vinegar (Rice, White or Cider)
1 1/2 to 3 cups Water
2-4 Garlic Cloves, crushed
Cracked Pepper Corns to taste
1 large Onion
1 Yellow Bell Pepper
2 Bay Leaves

Place chicken in a large pot on top of the stove. Pour 1 cup soy, 1/2 cup Worcestershire, 1/4 cup Vinegar and 1 1/2 cups water over the chicken. Repeat until chicken is completely covered with liquid. Add crushed garlic and cracked pepper corns. Stir to blend.

Peel and chop onion into large chunks. Cut top off bell pepper, remove and discard seeds. Slice bell pepper into strips. Place onion and bell pepper into pot with chicken. Add bay leaves.

Bring to a full boil, lower to simmer, cover and continue to cook 1-2 hours or until chicken is falling off bone. Remove and discard bay leaves. Pour chicken with liquids into a large serving bowl. Serve with rice.

NOTE: This dish can be made with boneless chicken thighs straight from the freezer. Plan to simmer the frozen chicken about an hour longer.

Slow Roasted Kahlúa Pig in Clay Roaster
2 lbs Pork Tenderloin
32 oz Chicken Stock
Liquid Smoke to taste (about 1-2 tablespoons)
1 tablespoon Alaea Salt or to taste
4 Banana Leaves(optional)
Sticky Rice for serving

Heat oven to 325-degrees.

Score pork on both sides. Rub about a handful of Alaea Salt over entire pork loin. Take care not to over-salt, seasoning can always be adjusted during final cooking process. Sprinkle pork with liquid smoke – simply place your finger over the bottle opening and gently shake over entire pork loin.

Place seasoned pork in a clay pot with a lid. Drape banana leaves over top of pork. Add chicken stock to pot, cover and place in the oven to “roast”.

Cook undisturbed for 1-1/2 to 2 hours. Discard banana leaves and break pork apart using a fork. Reduce oven to 300-degrees. Continue to cook covered, checking periodically and flaking meat with a fork until completely shredded.

Add additional chicken broth if necessary to keep pork moist. Cook until meat falls apart easily, about 1-1/2 to 2 hours longer. When the pork is nearly finished, taste and adjust seasonings (adding small amounts of salt and/or liquid smoke as needed). Be gentle when adding more salt or smoke – you can always add more, but you can’t take back too much.

Remove from oven, pull apart using large fork. Cover and let rest in pot to soak up remaining liquid, about 10 minutes. Serve with rice.

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Sticky Rice
2 cups White Rice
4 cups Water
Pinch Salt

In a large pot, add rice and water. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, continue to cook for 15 to 20 minutes or until the liquid has either evaporated and been absorbed into the rice.

Remove from heat, let sit for 5 minutes. Fluff just before serving.

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Leche Flan
Caramel Sauce
1 cup Sugar
3 tablespoons Water

Melt 1 cup of sugar over medium-high heat while stirring constantly to prevent sugar from burning. Continue to cook until all the sugar has melted and is a nice golden-amber color. Pour caramel sauce into the bottom of a large baking tin. Allow sugar to cool slightly before proceeding.

Note: You will need a flan pan OR large Tin from a canned ham. The thin walls of the ham tin are ideal for making flans. I have had mine for over 30 years. My family knows not to mess with or toss out that old ham tin!

Custard Flan
20 Egg Yolks
1 cup Sugar
2 teaspoons Vanilla
2 large cans Evaporated Milk
1 cup Half and Half

Note: When separating yolks from white, reserve 4 whites for the meringue. The remaining whites are great for an Egg White Omelette.

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Fill a large casserole pan about a quarter of the way with water to create a bath. Set aside.

Beat Egg yolks slightly with a fork in a medium size bowl. Add vanilla and sugar, set aside. Scald evaporated milk and half and half in a large, heavy bottomed pan. Pour in egg mixture. Mix slowly while stirring constantly. Once mixed; remove from heat. Mixture should only remain on heat for about 1 ½ minutes – DO NOT allow eggs to cook.

For the ultimate smoothness of the flan, CAREFULLY ladle the mix through a sieve into caramel-glazed baking pan. Cover with foil and bake in a bath for 30 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking for an additional 30 minutes or until firmly set and done in the middle.

Let custard cool in the pan for 1 hour. Invert onto oven-proof serving dish. Pour any remaining caramel from pan onto custard.

Meringue Topping
4 Egg Whites
1/2 Cup Sugar
1/2 Teaspoon Cream of Tartar

Beat together egg whites, sugar and Cream of Tartar with an electric mixer until firm peaks form.

Top custard with meringue and lightly brown under broiler before serving. Leche Flan may be served at room temperature or cold.

Pineapple Upside Down Cupcakes
3 Whole Eggs, room temperature
3 Egg Whites, lightly whisked
1 (20 oz) can Pineapple Chunks
1 cup Pineapple Juice, reserved from chunks
12 Maraschino Cherries
1/2 cup Butter
1 cup Brown Sugar
1/3 cup Vegetable Oil
1 box Yellow Cake Mix

Heat oven to 350-degrees. While the oven warms, let all the eggs come to room temperature. If straight from the refrigerator, place in a bowl with warm water for about 10 minutes. Room temperature eggs give greater volume when whipped. Separate 3 eggs, discarding yolks. Whisk whites until just beginning to froth up.

Drain pineapple chunks, reserve 1 cup of the juices. (If necessary add water to render 1 cup of liquid). Select 24 of the best chunks, slice in half lengthwise to create 48 thinner pieces. Cut the tips from each slice so than when the chunk of pineapple is placed in the tin, rounded side closest to the outer edge, there is a gap in the center large enough for a cherry. Test slices, and adjust as needed. Reserve the excess pieces from the chunks. Each cupcake will have 2 larger chunks, 2 trimming pieces and a half a cherry. Cut the cherries in half, set aside.

Melt butter in a microwave safe bowl. Add brown sugar, stir until dissolved. Set aside.

Spray 24 muffin tins with cooking spray. Spoon about 1-1/2 teaspoons of the butter mixture into the bottom of each tin. Arrange 2 larger pieces of pineapple opposite one another, half a cherry in the center, and 2 smaller pineapple pieces in the remaining space. Set tins aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk, whip whole eggs, egg whites and vegetable oil until frothy. Add cake mix and reserved pineapple juice. Change out Whisk attachment for Batter Paddle, beat batter for 30 seconds on low, increase to medium-high and beat for 2 minutes.

Using a cupcake batter scoop, ladle about 1/4 cup of batter into each tin. Bake in the oven for about 15 to 20 minutes or until tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cupcakes cook in the tins for 5 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of the cupcakes to loosen; invert a cookie sheet over the cupcakes, flip over so the cookie sheet is now on the bottom, the upside down muffin tin on top. Carefully lift tin from the cupcakes.

Arrange on a platter. Can be enjoyed warm or at room temperature.

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All you peoples, clap your hands;
shout to God with cries of gladness.
For the Lord, the Most High, the Awesome,
is the great King over all the earth.