Pre- and Post-Birthday Dinner Reviews

I'm not rubbing this on other people's faces or boasting just for the sake of it, but Jowel is a really wonderful, thoughtful husband, and because he is that, he made sure I had a very nice birthday (which was on April 23rd, by the way, sorry for the late post). I had two birthday dinners, one with the whole family and the other, with just the two of us and Lucas, our little boy.

My pre-birthday celebration was at Romano's Macaroni Grill, our favorite Italian restaurant in Dhahran. I say it's our favorite because Jowel and I always go there for an occassional dinner date (with Lucas in tow, haha). The dinner was ten days in advance of my actual birthday because my mother- and one of my sisters-in-law were going back to Manila a few days later, so we made sure we have a little something before they go home.

(from L-R) My parents-in-law, sisters-in-law, soon-to-be brother-in-law with me and Jowel holding Lucas.

One of the things I like about this resto is that if you have toddlers in tow, they (heck, even adults, too) can fight boredom by drawing on the tables. Yes, that's allowed, hehe, because the tables are lined with thick white paper and there are also crayons available. Also, while waiting for your orders to arrive at your table, you can enjoy freshly-baked focaccia that smells so good with the herbs in it, it tickles your nose. The server would pour extra-virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar (with a dash of freshly-ground black pepper, if you please) for you to dip bread in, and you can ask for more, but of course you shouldn't eat too much bread, else, you won't have room anymore for the real stuff later.

At first I was bummed as what I originally wanted that night was one of my absolute favorites from Romano's, Shrimp Portofino, but they were out of its sauce. I was literally sad because at that moment, I was craving its capellini pasta and large juicy shrimps with wilted-at-just-the-right-degree spinach, portobello mushrooms and toasted pine nuts in a divine (!!!) lemon butter sauce. I wanted their Lobster Raviolli next, but I didn't know it was made of the same sauce. And so, I ordered Seafood Linguini, which I've already had once before. (See the trend here? What can I say? I love seafood. I love pasta. Why not put them together, huh? LOL.) Kudos to Chef Hassan! The pasta was cooked al dente (no surprise there!); the sauce was spiced perfectly with just a little kick of pepper; the shrimps were plentiful, big and juicy; and the scallops were cooked just right. From my experience, some seafood, like scallops and squid, tend to be rubbery when overcooked. Everything was perfect in my dish, but I wasn't able to finish it all. They serve it big in Romano's, always good enough for two, so I got the rest to go and still had something to enjoy for meryenda the next morning, haha. :)

(1) The Leaning Bellini; (2) Seafood Linguini; (3-top) Jowel's dish; (3-bottom) Chicken Portobello

I forgot what Jowel's dish was called but I can still clearly recall how his chicken and pasta dish tasted. The whole thing was so simple yet was so sumptuous. The chicken was just grilled but the honey-barbecue-ish sauce it was basted with gave it depth; the sauce was a perfect blend of seasonings and sweetness. This complemented well the capellini with sun-dried tomatoes and olive oil. There was a side of steamed broccoli tossed in light butter with, I'm sure, no salt, and this completed the dish's beautiful simplicity.

Mama Josie, my mother-in-law, had the Chicken Potobello. The meat part of the dish was yummy chicken topped with cheese and portobello mushrooms baked to perfection and then slathered with a little light gravy. The side was orzo (we thought it was risotto but the waiter corrected us because it was not made of rice but pasta), cooked in what I think was chicken broth, blended well with cheese, spinach and bell pepper. Jowel and I have had this before and I think this was what started Jowel on his risotto/orzo fetish, hahaha. After the first time we've had this, he has since requested twice that I cook risotto/orzo at home. I made it once with garlic and cheese, then with spinach and bell pepper. I'll share the recipes here, but that would be for another post. ;)

We downed it all with Romano's signature drink, the Leaning Bellini. It's a to-die-for peach slush that's so refreshing, it tastes like springtime! It has just the right amount of sweetness, but if you want someting sweeter, you have to order the ULTIMATE Leaning Bellini, where peach syrup is added further, giving the slush a marbled look. If you're not a fan of fruit shakes, the restaurant has different kinds of iced teas. I strongly recommend their blueberry mint iced tea, slurp!

I and Lucas with Manager/Chef Fred (left) and Supervisor/Chef Hassan.

I already befriended the chefs and manager/s of Romano's hehe, and told them it's my favorite resto. My new friend, Manager Fred, said that from this point forward, whenever Jowel and I visit Romano's, we'll always have a 10% discount off our bill, I just have to mention his name to whoever was our server for the night, yahoo! Anyway, if I were to give Romano's a rating, it will be 4.5 stars out of 5. If anyone from the Khobar, Dhahran, Dammam areas are reading this, actually, anyone who might pass by Mall of Dhahran and looking for something to eat, I strongly recommend them. It's a little pricey compared to fastfood joints, but it's certainly worth the money. Good taste, big portions.

Moving forward, on my actual birthday, the three of us (me, Jowel and Lucas) ate at Chili's. Well, Chili's is Chili's. Nothing much has changed since we were last there. Although I really liked the babyback ribs we had that night (the meat was soooooooo tender, it looked like it was falling off the bones, haha), I'm not a big fan of them. But I do have to rave about one thing: their new dessert offering of Fried Cheesecake.

Photo taken from the internet.

Rich cheesecake, fried golden brown, served with caramel sauce, chocolate sauce and vanilla ice cream. Sounds like a calorie-whopper or something that would clog your arteries, hahaha. But really, it was so yummy. The outside of the balls was crunchy and when you get inside of it, come the creamy not-so-sweet cheesecake. You have got to try it. :)

And so, I had two birthday dinners, courtesy of my sweet hubby, and on top of it, he gifted me with something I had been eyeing at the mall for quite a while, plus something from La Senza (*wink*lol*). But the loveliest of all? He surprised me by writing me a poem and reciting it in front of our brothers and sisters, kind of like an intermission, during one of our services. Awwwww... It really was a happy birthday. Ciao! :)

Going Away Dinner that Became Dinner for Two

I was planning to cook up something nice for dinner last Tuesday night, as Mama and KZ were going home to Manila the following day. However, I didn't know my father-in-law planned a romantic date for Mama, and Crissy, my other sister-in-law, planned on treating KZ to a Japanese restaurant. So what was supposed to be a going-away dinner became dinner-for-two, for me and Jowel, my hubby.

It worked just as well for me because I'm not used to cooking just for two. I find it more difficult to estimate what's good for just two persons because ever since I learned how to cook, I've always been cooking for four or more. It was good practice for me, that night.

I think my love for Italian food rubbed off on Jowel because he's always encouraging me now to try to cook from memory whatever we sampled at Romano's, our favorite Italian restaurant in Dhahran. That night he wanted risotto (rice cooked in broth to a creamy consistency), so I whipped up something like it, not exactly using rice but orzo, a rice-shaped pasta also known as risoni. I had frozen spinach that's been in the freezer for more than three months and so I decided to make Spinach Orzo (don't worry, the spinach still had several months before its expiration, hahaha).


Ingredients:
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 small carrot, coarsely shredded (around 1/2 cup)
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup uncooked orzo pasta
1 cup frozen spinach (just make sure to squeeze out excess water) or thinly sliced fresh spinach, if available
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 tablespoon chopped fresh basil leaves or 1/2 teaspoon dried basil leaves
Salt and pepper to taste

Procedure:
1- Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Saute garlic and carrot in butter for about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally, until carrot is tender.

2- Stir in broth, pasta and spinach. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until broth is absorbed. Stir in remaining ingredients before serving.

Spinach orzo with fried chicken. Yum! :)

I partnered the orzo recipe with simple fried chicken and it was a wonderful change from just plain rice. Aside from that, it was also a healthy dish, being spinach is a good source of niacin and zinc, folate, calcium, iron, etcetera. Jowel liked it and I was pretty pleased with myself as it was the first time I used spinach in my orzo. And then came dessert. :)

I already baked Peanut Butter and Jelly Mini-Muffins earlier that afternoon and it was a hit! At least, with KZ, who had at least five, as soon as the muffins cooled down from the oven, hehe. I got the original recipe from Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld, but of course, I tweaked it again to suit me. The recipe called for carrot puree but I didn't have that ready in the freezer. What I had was at least two freezer pots of Lucas' baby food: a mash-up of sweet potato (camote) and apple. I thought, what the heck, I'll use that instead. It would taste just as sweet, maybe even tastier. :)

Ingredients (the ones with * are those I altered from the original recipe):
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup sweet potato and apple puree*
1/2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar*
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened*
1/2 cup nonfat plain yogurt
1 egg*
1 cup whole-wheat flour* (all-purpose flour will work just as well)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup fruit preserve (strawberry, grape, or whatever you have in the fridge)

The following are very easy steps to follow and do not need fancy kitchen equipment. Not even a hand-mixer ;)

Procedure:
1- Preheat the oven to 350'F. Lightly grease a muffin tin or line with paper baking cups. (Again, I prefer using the paper linings. Makes clean-ups easier, hahaha.)

2- In a large bowl, mix the peanut butter, puree, sugar, and butter until well combined. Stir in the yogurt and egg.

3- Add into the above mixture the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir until well combined.

4- Fill the muffin cups at least 3/4 full and drop/dot fruit preserves on top of each. Bake for around 20 to 25 minutes, until the tops are lightly browned and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center.

Moist, yummy peanut butter and jelly mini-muffins :)

After cooling off, you can store these babies in the fridge for 2 to 3 days, or you can freeze them up to 1 month and just warm up as many as you want, whenever you want them.

As for me, these muffins make a healthier dessert or snack anytime, with its fiber, less-processed sugar and hidden veggies. They're so yummy, kids won't know they're eating vegetables! Not unless you tell them, of course. Enjoy! ;)

Healthy Snacks 1: Squash Muffins

Lucas finished the last of my squash mini muffins yesterday (Mama Josie, my mother-in-law, gave it for his afternoon treat), and I thought, why not share its recipe here. These muffins/cupcakes are healthy snack alternatives, and they can even be served for breakfast. I know my baby boy Lucas likes them with milk. :)

I got the original recipe from The Food Network's website but of course, I tweaked it to make it "healthier" for Lucas and Jowel, my hubby. For example, I used brown sugar instead of white, and substituted half of the flour requirement with the whole-wheat variety.

The recipe below is very easy to follow and does not need any fancy kitchen equipment. You can very well use just a spoon or fork. :)

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup whole-wheat flour*
1 cup brown sugar*
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 (heaping) teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 (heaping) teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup low-fat milk*
1 cup cooked, pureed squash/pumpkin (I used butternut squash in my recipe)
1/2 cup softened (not melted) butter
3 beaten eggs

Procedure:
1- Combine all "dry" (e.g. flour, sugar) ingredients in a bowl; mix well. In a separate bowl, combine the "wet" (e.g. milk, puree) ingredients and mix well.

2- Stir "wet" mixture into the dry ingredients to make the batter. It should look like very thick pancake batter.

3- Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups about two-thirds full. I use paper linings for easier clean-ups, hehehe. Bake at 350'F for 20-25 minutes.

Bigger cupcakes on top for daddy and mini-muffins below for Lucas :)

The muffins tasted very much like carrot cake and were yummy (if I may say so myself, hahaha), especially when chopped walnuts were added, but if you're serving it to little kids, especially older babies like my Lucas, make sure to remove the nuts as these may cause choking.

I wasn't able to make frosting that time because I bought mascarpone cheese for the chocolate cheesecake I was planning to make for Jowel, but I forgot the cream cheese! Anyway, the cream cheese frosting to put on top of the cupcakes is optional. The muffins tasted good even alone.

The recipe would yield around 18 big cupcakes. You can freeze the leftovers and warm them one by one whenever needed for breakfast or snack. I read that you can freeze cooked baby food for a month, but as for me, I make sure everything's finished in two weeks or less.

Enjoy baking! :)

It Took a Long While...

Yey! Finally! I was able to set-up a blog. It took me quite a while, hehe, partly because:

1- I didn't know how to (for someone who really wanted to do this, I don't know much about techy stuff, and possibly, everything else related to the internet, except for emails, facebook and google search! lol..)

2- I was afraid I'd suck at doing this. I got a little discouraged in actually putting this blog up. I saw some pretty good blogs, and I thought, "Oh, why would people want to read me when they have those other wonderful (and I mean, wonderful) blogs, with their smart layouts, fancy pictures, etc?" But then again, why not?

3- I honestly didn't have a lot of extra time. I never knew being a mother would occupy me 24/7. I have a bigger respect for all homemakers out there. By the way, here's a peek at the little energizer bunny who keeps me occupied :)

Our darling Lucas, now nine months :)

So, why do I want my own blog?

1- I want to be of help, even in a little way, to others here in the Eastern Region (in Saudi Arabia). How? Well, when I was pregnant and had food cravings, even Google cannot give me ideas/information where Jowel (my loving husband) and I could buy eggs benedict, clam chowder, pancit malabon, and many other things I was salivating for. Hence, from hereon, whenever Jowel and I eat at a restaurant, I'll be offering my humble opinion and writing a review of the food we tried. I'd also try my best to sample Arabic and Indian fares (haha, good luck!) and write about them too.

Maybe, just maybe, another preggy lady would one day come across my blog, trying to find out where she could get the best plate of seafood pasta, and she'd learn it from me! Yey! :)

2- I've long wanted to try new recipes for Jowel and make healthy baby food for Lucas. If I cooked them well, I'll be sharing all those recipes here for others to try as well.

3- I secretly wanted to be writer when I was younger, hehe. Had my father allowed it, I would've taken up AB English in university (but then, I realy loved Biology, so no biggie.).

So here goes... Cheers to more future posts! :)