If You STILL Haven't Decided on Your Christmas Menu...

It's the 21st, 4 more days and it's Christmas Day. As we say in Filipino, apat na tulog na lang!

If you're anything like me (who still hasn't decided on what to cook for Noche Buena), I hope the following recipes would somehow help you make up your mind, rather than confuse you further...

Purefoods Corned Beef Pate in Crispy Piaya Cones (by Chef Reggie Aspiras)

• 1/2 cup Magnolia Gold Butter
• 1 cup chopped onions
• 500 gm Purefoods Corned Beef
• 1 1/2 tsp pepper

In a skillet, melt butter and saute onions. Add corned beef and season with pepper. Cook until liquid has evaporated. Transfer corned beef mixture in a food processor or blender and process to a smooth paste. Use a small ice cream scoop to form into balls.

Arrange green and purple lettuce in piaya cones. Place pate ball in a cone and garnish with cherry tomatoes, pickle relish or finely chopped red onions.

Great as party starters.

Chef's tip: Originally, the recipe uses pan de sal crostinis. But if you want the piaya cones, you can get them from Millie Kilayco (email me for her cell number). You can get a whole set, including the metal holder, for only P 240 (I think).

Chinese Style Roast Monterey Porkloin (by Chef Morella and Ernest Gala)

• 1 1/2 kilo whole Monterey porkloin

For the marinade:

• 1/4 cup Chinese rice wine
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup hoisin sauce
• 1/2 cup honey
• 2 tsp fine salt
• prague powder or pink salt (for that authentic Chinese flavor--Chef Ernest)
• 1/8 tsp red food color (use Red #40, available in spice shops. Don't forget to use gloves in handling the meat in marinade! If you don't use gloves, you will have red hands for the rest of the Christmas season.--Chef Ernest)

For the garnish:

• Romaine lettuce leaves
• 1 can lychees, drained (reserve syrup)
• 1 can peaches, drained and sliced (reserve syrup)
• 1 small bottle cherries with stems

For the sauce:

• 1/3 cup cornstarch
• reserved syrup from lychees and peaches
• 1/4 cup hoisin sauce
• 1 tbsp sesame oil

In a large container, combine marinade ingredients. Marinate porkloin for at least 2 days (covered with cling wrap) in the fridge.

Preheat oven to 375F or 175C. Place porkloin in a roasting pan and cook for 1 hour and 45 minutes.

To serve, remove string from the porkloin. Slice thinly using a sharp knife and place on a platter lined with lettuce leaves. Garnish with lychees, peaches and stemmed cherries.

To make the sauce, simply place all sauce ingredients in a thick saucepan. Cook over medium heat. Bring to a boil until thickened.

There you go! But that's not all. I have one more recipe to type, but it's too long (and I can get lazy at typing!). So maybe I'll post it tomorrow. After I'm done making Crema de Fruita.

(Do I hear someone asking for my Crema recipe?)