Katague Recipe for Chicken Macaroni Salad

At our last year and this year Thanksgiving dinner in Walnut Creek at my son's residence (and every party in the David B Katague household), my wife and with my assistance prepared Chicken Macaroni salad. The recipe is a favorite of my four adult children and six grand children who all grew up here in the US. There are several Chicken Macaroni salad recipes that I know, but this version is the simplest one and my favorite.

2 cups elbow macaroni small, cooked
1 lb boneless chicken breast, boiled and cubed
1 ½ cup pineapple chunks or slices and chopped
1/2 cup Spanish, sweet onion ( Vidalia or equivalent), minced
1/2 cup raisins( optional)(sweetened and dried cranberries may be used)
3 hard boiled eggs, chopped( optional)
2 cups mayonnaise (can be 1 cup mayo and 1 cup miracle whip)
1 cup Cheddar cheese, cubed (optional)
2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
2 red delicious apples chopped into small cubes
1/4 cup sweet relish

Cooking Preparation:

Cook the macaroni as directed in the package. Place the macaroni in a large container. Add the mayonnaise (and /or miracle whip) and mix well. Put in the minced onions and mix well. Place the cheddar cheese(optional) in and mix again

Now, add the cooked chicken breast and distribute evenly. Put-in the pineapple chunks or slices, boiled eggs(optional), and and apples (raisins optional) and mix well. Add the sweet relish and salt and pepper to taste. Chill inside the refrigerator for about an hour. Serve chilled.

Note: The popular Pinoy recipe has raisins but no apples. I love raisins, but my wife hates it. So in this recipe, I listed raisins as optional. Apples in the Philippines is very expensive. Another option that I enjoy is to use sweetened dried cranberries instead of raisins. Here in the US, the dried and sweetened cranberries are more expensive than the raisins.

My Recipe for Honey-Baked Ham and Potato Souffle

Instead of or besides turkey, our thanksgiving dinner menu always include honey-baked ham. My wife and I have a simple recipe for any left-over ham. Incidentally, one can now purchased one pound of slice honey baked ham ( without the bone) in our local honey-baked ham store. So you do not have to wait for left-over ham to cook the above recipe.

The following is our favorite ham and potato souffle recipe:

Ingredients

8 big potatoes-peeled and slice to 1 cm thin

1 lb sliced honey- baked ham

1 lb pasteurized sour cream

2 big onions slice to 1 cm thick

½ bunch of fresh parsley

½ cup of milk

¼ cup of flour

Garlic Salt and Pepper to taste

Procedure

Grease a deep pyrex dish with oil and add a dash of flour. Place a bed of slice potatoes, followed by slice of ham, then parsley, onions and garlic salt and pepper. Repeat the layering process two times Then pour the milk. Topped the pyrex dish with potatoes slices. Cover the Pyrex Dish.

Place the pyrex dish in a preheated 375 F oven. Bake for I hour. Serve the dish warm. Enjoy!

Feasting on Dungeness Crabs this Year, 2014

I purchased my first fresh Dungeness crabs yesterday for this year crab season. Raleys had a sale for only $5.99 per lb. I bought three medium-sized whole crabs costing me only $21.24. The price of Dungeness crab in the other stores in our area were at $6.99 per lb. or higher. Dungeness Crab personal fishing season started last November 1 in the Northern California Bay Areas, but the commercial crabbing started only a couple of days ago(November 15).

Needless to say Macrine, David III and I had a feast eating with our hands and fingers. The crab meat was delicious along with garlic bread and green salad with fresh avocado slices and honey mustard dressing. There was a left over crab (claws and 1/4 body) that I cleaned today and made into an omelet.

Here's my simple recipe for a crab omelet.



2 potatoes- peeled and slice into 1/4 inch cubes
1 onion-cut into small cubes
1/4 small cabbage shredded
3/4 cup crab meat
olive oil and garlic salt
6 eggs

Sauteed the onions in oil until cooked. Add the shredded cabbage and heat at low heat until cooked. Add the potato cubes and continue heating until the potatoes are cooked. Add the crab meat and mixed and then pour the beaten eggs into the pan. Cooked until the eggs are cooked. Invert the omelet in the pan and continue heating at low heat. Serve 6.

Baked Cauliflower with Garlic and Cheese

The other day while I was shopping at our local grocery store (Food Maxx), I saw that the cauliflower heads were on sale. The regular price for a large head of cauliflower is $3.49, but it was on sale for only $2.99. I have never cooked this vegetable before, so I did some research. I used the following very simple recipe to cook my first cauliflower dish. It turned out to be very delicious as well as nutritious. The recipe is from allrecipes.com.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons minced garlic
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large head cauliflower, separated into florets
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
salt and black pepper to taste
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley


Directions

1.Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F (220 degrees C). Grease a large casserole dish.

2.Place the olive oil and garlic in a large resealable bag. Add cauliflower, and shake to mix. Pour into the prepared casserole dish, and season with salt and pepper to taste.

3.Bake for 25 minutes, stirring halfway through. Top with Parmesan cheese and parsley, and broil for 3 to 5 minutes, until golden brown.

Serve it along with chicken or pork adobo and steam rice and with green papaya pickles ( acharra) as a side dish. Good for 6.

Dungeness Crab Season Opens November 1

The Dungeness crab season opens this coming Saturday, November 1, here in Northern California. However, the commercial crab season will not open until after November 15. I am looking forward to indulge on Dungeness crabs this year and until next year.


Dungeness crab sport fishing season opens Saturday Wildlife officials expect decent year By Samantha Clark

SANTA CRUZ >> Dungeness crab fans can start fishing this weekend but must wait to set their nets after 12:01 a.m. Saturday.

Previous years have yielded high numbers, but Dungeness crab catches tend to be cyclical. State Fish and Wildlife expects to see more average seasons in the future.

"We're coming off really good crab years, so people might expect some leaner years to come," said local sportsfisher Mike Baxter. "But we're hoping it'll be as good as last year."

He said expectations are high.

The crabs are often found at sandy or sand-mud bottoms at depths less than 300 feet. They tend to live in cooler northern and central California waters.

Fisherman can keep a maximum of 10 Dungeness crabs with shells larger than 5.75 inches across. Cabbers on party boats can keep up to six crabs that are a minimum of 6 inches.

Regulation requires that fishers monitor their gear and raise nets every two hours to make sure undersized and unwanted species can be quickly released.

Fish and Wildlife also suggests trap fishermen watch their traps because if lost, they can kill crabs.

Crabbing is banned in the San Francisco and San Pablo bays, which are crab nursery areas.

Commercial fishers, whose season begins Nov. 15, use the sport opener to gauge roughly how their season will fare.
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"If the sports guys get a few, the commercial guys get a little excited," said Hans Haveman, owner of H&H Fresh Fish, a local purchaser. "They are definitely watching what the sport guys are doing, but it's kind of hard to tell.
Dungeness Crab Sport Fishing

General sport regulations for Santa Cruz County:

Season: Nov. 1 to June 30

Crab size: Minimum of 5.75 inches across

Daily limit: 10 per day

Source: State Sport Fishing Regulations, Ocean Ed., http://goo.gl/eTUKb8

Roasted Duckling-A Gift from Our Neighbor

The other day, our next door neighbor surprise us by giving a roasted duck in exchange for the 2 lb whole Dungeness crab that I gave her recently. I have never cook duck by rotisserie, so I have no idea how it taste. My neighbor has an expensive rotisserie set-up. She said it was not that hard, but required an overnight of brining. THE COOKED duck THAT SHE GAVE US WAS delicious.

I searched in the Internet how to cook duck by rotisserie and here is what I learned. The duck is better if you brine it overnight before cooking it. All sorts of flavor can be added by brining. Orange juice, tea, cider, beer, wine, soy sauce and many other liquids can be used to replace the water. Then add complimentary herbs and spices to create your own special flavor blend. For directions on how to brine a duck, check out: whatscookingamerica.net/Poultry/BriningPoultry.htm

Typically a 5-pound duck will cook in 1-1/2 to 2 hours. The internal temperature at the leg joint should reach 175 degrees F. Also, check to see if the leg joint is loose and tender and juices run clear.

If using a table top rotisserie, set heat to medium-low. If using a grill, heat grill to medium and place a drip pan under the duck to catch the rendered fat.

Have You Tasted Tripe Soup?

My American-Italian neighbor and I started talking about food again yesterday. We talked about tripe and garbanzo dishes. This subject reminded me of my article on tripe dishes that I am reposting as follows: Bon Apetit!

Cow Tripe Soup-Italian-Pinoy Style

Last month, my next door neighbor who was originally from Italy surprise my wife and I with cow tripe soup that she cooked. She said she just makes this soup once and a while, but she was very grateful with us taking her out to the Casino every other week so she makes the soup as a special treat. I once mentioned to her that in the Philippines, one of my favorite dish is cow tripe cooked in tomato sauce with garbanzo beans and plantains.

I also know that the best tripe soup is the Caribbean version that a former college mate once prepared during one of our pot luck parties while I was still in graduate school. I also am aware that tripe has to be pressured cook so it will be tender or boil for at least two hours. During the boiling process, the fat that floats at the top of the pot is removed so that it still be a healthy meal for people who are overweight, diabetics or have high blood pressure like myself and my wife. Here's the recipe that my Caribbean friend gave me. He said this recipe was from his mother a native of Jamaica. The following recipe will served 6 and takes about 3 to 4 hours to prepare.

Ingredients:

2 Tsp oil
1 cup diced onions( preferably sweet onions)
4 sprigs fresh thyme, divided
2 lbs cow tripe, cut up and thoroughly washed
Salt and pepper to taste
Water
1 lb pumpkin (calabaza squash), cut into small sized chunks
2 lbs half-ripe plantains, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch
8 -10 okra
Dumplings (optional)

Preparation:

Heat oil in pressure cooker. Add onions and saute until translucent, 3-4 minutes

Add 2 sprigs of thyme and saute for 1 minute. Add tripe along with salt and pepper to taste and saute for 4 minutes. Add 6 cups water, stir and cover pressure cook and let cook for 50-55 minutes. Time begins from the first whistle.

Add enough water to make soup, cover pot and pressure cook for 6 minutes. Time begins from the first whistle. Release pressure cooker valve to let out steam and open pressure cooker. Add pumpkin, plantains and remaining thyme. Cook until plantains are almost melting. (Do not close pressure cooker at this stage, just rest the cover on top of the pot).

Add okra and dumplings to pot, cover and let cook for 7-9 minutes or until dumplings are cooked thoroughly. Taste for seasoning and adjust if necessary. Stir and serve.

The Philippines-Italian version is much simpler. Instead of plantain, my neighbor used potato cubes and no squash and okra are in the recipe. The pure Filipino version is very similar to the Caribbean recipe, but instead of okra, garbanzo beans are used. This soup is one of my favorite dishes. It is considered a main dish in the Philippines, not just a soup. There is a restaurant in Marinduque that prepares a delicious version of this tripe dish. Have You tasted a tripe dish?