My new found hobby..

Taking pictures! I've enjoyed doing this for quite some time now but never really had the chance to buy a good camera. Anyhow, now that I have a digital camera along with me, i'll try to show you how I see things my way.=)

Take a peek at my new pHoto bLog!

Happy Birthday Daddy!



I was able to sneak in and bake this Caramel Cake topped with nuts and melted chocolate last Sunday night. Just in time to surprise the sweetest man in the universe=) Happy birthday Daddy!

Aside from the cake, I also made cheese cake brownies, my MIL and FIL bought Pancit Malabon as pasalubong, and we ordered for one extra large white pizza (this is free!: we bought a promo ticket last month which entitled us to get this freebie), one extra large premium pizza (i forgot the name but its main ingredients were pesto sauce and prawns), and one regular sized premium pizza(again, forgot the name but I found this one better than the xl premium pizza. Good thing this one also came free from the promo ticket.=)

I was not able to take any shot of these meals though because I and hubby were busy looking for my almost lost cellphone. So bad I that I misplaced this item on a very special occasion. We we're able to get the phone back from BUB (where we were a few hours before his birthday celebration) . Don't want to discuss more about this because I get frustrated remembering this moment. But I was really happy and thankful to God and the cute chinita lady at BUB who was able to find my cellphone which accidentally got hidden at the couch's corner where I was seated when we were there a few hours ago.

What's cookin for Christmas Eve=)

Lavishing Christmas decors are now seen on the main roads and malls of Metro Manila. With Christmas songs playing here and there, you could really feel that the most awaited time of the year is just around the corner!=)

This year's Christmas is extra special for our family. With my two naughty girls, who are now fully aware of what is happening around them, and my new 6-month old niece, whom I haven't seen in person since she was born, I am pretty sure that this will be one of the merriest day of our year.

So with that being said, allow me to share to you our initial menu for our Christmas Eve's family dinner party.
Those listed below have been edited to include hubby's suggestions.


Image credits : imagesaver1206 of photobucket



Appetizer
1. Bruschetta
- This is toasted baguette with cream cheese, diced shallots, chopped tomatoes, pepper, basil, and grated quick melt cheese.

2. Swiss fondue, Nachos, Sauteed Spiced Beef, and yummy Chipotle Salsa. I sooo love the how the jalapeno chillies spice up and give a rich taste to this salsa!

My two girls embracing and asking Santa for their gifts! lol

Entree
1. Roasted Chicken

- I'm using chicken because it's 80% cheaper than turkey. . I'm borrowing Ina Gartner's Recipe for this one. Recipe can be found here.

1. Cream of Dori Fillet with Butter and Lemon Sauce
- I'm borrowing Market Manila man's shared recipe for this.

2.Chicken Potato Salad
- I'm using elbow macaroni, mayo, potatoes, chicken, onions, celery, cheese, salt, and pepper to taste. I'm sure my girls and niece will enjoy eating this one!

3. Christmas Ham with fresh sliced tomatoes, lettuce, and cheese


Dessert
1. Mango Cherry Choco Cream Parfait
- I'm using sliced fresh ripe mangoes, canned cherries, rice crispies, pecan, roasted slivered almonds, crushed graham, heavy whipped cream, and choco whipped cream, . How I really wish the mangos were strawberries..but sad to know that until this month strawberries are still out of season and it is primarily due to the destructive Pepeng typhoon that drowned and wiped all the ripe strawberries in La Trinidad, Benguet (where fresh and affordable strawberries are harvested)

2. Gingerbread cookies
- I'll be baking these yummy yuletide season cookies, cutting them into different shapes, and decorating each using red, green, white, and yellow royal icing & nonpareils, and adding some edible silver and gold beads. I can't wait to decorate these cookies together with my two daughters!

CJ looking exhausted from their hour pictorial at BUB. Will share our Christmas themed family picture next week!


3. Almond Choco Chip Biscotti
- I can never forget the taste of the Almond Choco Chip Biscotti from Deli France. It had a mild crunch and was amazingly flavorful! So happy I came across the smittenkitchen yesterday because she has posted an almond biscotti recipe on her blog. I'm trying out the recipe but i'll be adding bittersweet chocolate chips for more flavorful look and taste. Wish me luck! Planning to bake lots of these so I could share it with our relatives as Christmas present =)


I can't wait to start my cooking!=) Advance happy holidays!




18th birthday cupcakes for Aly's debut celebration at Metrowalk

Here's another set of cupcakes I made last week (early Friday morning) for a debut party at Metrowalk Ortigas Center, Pasig City.

The client ordered for a hundred pieces and requested to have all cupcakes with the letter A monogram on top.

I was not lucky to have a shot of the setup thought since the party started at 7pm. I'd sure be caught on traffic and won't be able to arrive at the venue a few minutes before the party since my working shift ends at 6pm and would have to from Makati to Ortigas.

Moist Chocolate Cupcakes with Vanilla Cream Frosting

Vanilla Cupcakes with Strawberry Cream Frosting

Banana Cupcakes with Choc 'o Strawberry Cream Frosting

Mocha Cupcakes with Choco Marble Cream Frosting


And the cupcakes with the "A" monogram..




Pink Velvet Cuppies!


I made 50pcs Pink Velvet cupcake last Sunday early morning for a christening celebration at Sanctuario de San Agustin.

They we amazingly sooo soft and moist! Got the inspiration from the Red Velvet recipe I baked last time, but I purposely used pink to match my client's motif. =)

Each cupcake was iced with cream cheese frosting, topped with edible silver beads, packed each in dome shaped cupcake containers with personalized tag sticker (which I designed and printed a few weeks earlier), and tied with tangerine ribbon again to match their motif.
For the cupcake tower, I decided to use hot pink, light pink, with some light green on the stand. So happy that my client was as satisfied as I was:)


Here are some more pics taken from that event:

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