The Many Incarnations of My Name

I had been Admissions Director of DLS-CSB for three year now and one amusing thing that occurs is when people misspell my name. Let me give you some examples of the many incarnations of my name...

Ms. Catherine Dee
Ms. Catherine Dy
Ms. Katherine Deen
Ms. Kathleen Deen
Ms. Katy Deen

My favorite of all was...
Ms. Christine Deen (This came from a pinoyexchange post of an applicant I interviewed)

Bechamel Sauce - What a difference proper technique makes

Two days ago, I decided to prepare my usual creamy tuna pasta dish for my husband. I've seen and heard many cooks prepare this dish with all purpose cream which is incredibly high in fat. I prepare it with a bechamel sauce made from butter, non-fat milk, flour, salt and some pepper. I normally prepare the sauce directly on my non-stick pan. However, this time around, I followed the instructions of Linda Carucci in her book "Cooking School Secrets for Real World Cooks" and what a difference proper technique makes! My sauce was much creamier and tastier than my usual.

The secret? Prepare the bechamel sauce by melting 6 tablespoons of butter on a saucepan (not a non-stick pan) and whisk in 5 tablespoons of flour to make the roux. Using the wire whisk is very important to achieve a smooth finish. After about 2 minutes, whisk in the milk (1/4 cup at a time). Continue whisking until the milk is absorbed. When the mixture is smooth, you can pour in the remaining milk all at once. After this, switch to a wooden spoon and continue stirring in a figure 8 pattern over medium heat. Stir like this for about 8 to 10 minutes. To test if the sauce is done, just drag your finger over the back of the wooden spoon. If the track remains, the sauce is done. At this stage, salt and pepper (or Tabasco sauce) may be added. Taste and see if the sauce is to your liking. For me, I put a lot of salt because I am using it as the only sauce for the pasta. However, if you are using the bechamel for lasagna, less salt is needed since you also have your bolognese sauce. To complete the dish, I added the cooked tuna and tossed in the pasta. Add grated cheese if you wish. Enjoy.

Mario's roast turkey makes the holidays special

MARIO’s Quezon City, one of the most respected restaurants in Quezon City, is now serving holiday offerings for your special occasions, including Christmas, birthdays, Thanksgiving, and other important events. As this Manila restaurant celebrates its 27th anniversary this November, you, too, can enjoy landmark festivities with these holiday specials.

The star of Mario's Quezon City’s holiday specials is a delicious Roast Turkey. With its crispy skin, juicy meat, cranberries, and gravy, Mario’s roast turkey is ideal for Thanksgiving, Noche Buena, or any other special occasion.

Another Mario’s specialty is Cochinillo, a roast suckling piglet flavored with herbs and spices. Served alongside the cochinillo is Mario’s signature Spanish Paella. One may also enjoy Mario's Quezon City's tender Blade Steaks, which are US-certified Black Angus steaks served with a special merlot-mushroom sauce.

To really usher in the spirit of the holiday season, enjoy sweet Christmas from this Quezon City restaurant, including Choco Choco Chip or Oatmeal Raisin cookies in colorful keepsake tin cans; and Amaretto or Curacao butter cakes in classic Christmas gift boxes. Two absolute must-try’s are Mario's exclusives Toffee Sans Rival, which puts a spin on traditional sans rival with its top coating of toffee and butter cream, and the Deadly Walnut Bars, which one simply has to try to believe.

To order any of these holiday specials, simply visit Mario's Quezon City, located at Tomas Morato corner Scout Gandia in Quezon City, call 415-3887 or 372-0360, or e-mail mariosquezoncity@yahoo.com. Mario's Baguio, located along Session Road, also accepts inquiries and reservations through (074) 442-4241 or e-mail marios_baguio@yahoo.com. Mario's Baguio boasts facilities ideal for special events in the highlands, with perfect but affordable packages for weddings, debuts, reunions, baptisms or birthday celebrations.

My Elliott Yamin Experience

Yesterday, September 21, 2007, is a day I will never forget. I got to watch American Idol finalist Elliott Yamin in his Trinoma mall concert and take snapshots for fudge magazine during his press conference.

The day started when Ganns and I went to Trinoma mall at around 930AM to wait for the doors to open. When the doors opened at 10AM, we both ran to the concierge to get our seating pass. We were one of the first few so we also got stubs for a signed photo. We brought our CDs with us hoping to get it signed but as it turned out, only those who got the CD signing stubs on that same day got to have their cds signed (but no picture). Even those who got the Meet and Greet passes were not allowed to get their cds signed. They only got to have a photo taken with Elliott. Those who were early, like yours truly, had to wait until the meet and greet group and cd signing group finished before getting our autographed photo. We didn't get to meet Elliott Yamin. It's just really frustrating that I had to wait till the end to get my photo when they could have just given it out early since we were not given the chance to meet Elliott. But enough griping, I had a great day. Elliott was worth it all! Besides, I got to take photos of him during his press conference. I was literally inches away from him (and yet couldn't get him to sign my cd because the organizers were just too strict).

Elliott's voice is just the best voice I've heard in years. He is such a joy to watch and I am not ashamed to wear my sentiments about him (through a great shirt my husband designed for me). His talent is simply something one cannot pass up. In his Trinoma show, he sang an acoustic set including the songs Movin' On, One Word, Trainwreck, Wait for You, You Are The One, In Love With You Forever, A Song For You and Moody's Mood for Love. We are so blessed to have him visit us in Manila.

The Philippines loves Elliott and we are willing to pay to watch him in concert. Elliott, please come back in the near future for a full concert. All frustrations in relation to the organizers aside, thanks to Ayala Malls for bringing Elliott Yamin to the Philippines. This is a huge plus for me and I will definitely visit your malls more often. :) Ganns and I even ate at La Maison, this upscale ribs restaurant, because they were one of Elliott's corporate sponsors! Go Bench! Mabuhay, Panasonic! Thanks, Globe! Mwah, Myx! Amazing ABC-5 (Idol!)! Mwah mwah Monster Radio RX 93.1! We're considering checking into the Hotel Intercontinental this New Year! More power, Philam Life! (We drew the line at Dimensione for a picture frame, because PHP1200 minimum is just waaaaaay too much for us, but thanks anyway, Dimensione, my husband loves your chairs!)

To see some of the photos I took during the press conference, click here, and please visit my husband's recap at http://www.gannsdeen.com.

Repertory Philippines' Cinderella: why reward those who break the rules?

Repertory Philippines' Cinderella, a Disney Kids' adaptation, was the venue of a lot of stress for me last Sunday. When Nathan and I entered Greenbelt Onstage to watch Cinderella by Repertory Philippines, the Greenbelt security guard checked my bag and asked if I had a camera.
"Yes," I replied.

The guard at Greenbelt Onstage then told me to leave behind my camera, as that was one of the rules.

I then gave Ganns my camera and proceeded to watch the show, with Cris Villonco in the Repertory Philippines Cinderella starring role. Although Nathan and I enjoyed the Cinderella musical at Greenbelt, something happened that completely destroyed the experience for me.

Guess what happened after the curtain closed: the main Cinderella actors went out - in full costume - and gave photo opportunities to audience members with cameras!

Can you imagine my frustration and anger when I, a parent who followed the rules, realized that I would not be able to take a nice picture of my son with the Repertory Philippines actors because I followed the rules and did not bring in my camera? Why reward those who obviously snuck in their cameras? Now, parents who did not follow the rules got reinforcement that this kind of behavior is acceptable because they have souvenir pictures of Cinderella and we don't. What message are we sending our children with this kind of inconsistency?

(Photo credit: Repertory Philippines website)