With malls already putting up decorations, radio stations playing carols, and colorful parols already lining up the streets, I can’t help but feel excited about going back to my hometown in Bukidnon for the holidays. I always make it certain that I go home to my family for Christmas – it’s one of the rare times when we’re complete and a chance for us to catch-up and reminisce.
Holidays at home are always accompanied by sweet memories of the whole family enjoying Noche Buena with the delightful desserts and specialty dishes prepared by my siblings. I always look forward to my ate’s mango float, my kuya’s grilled liempo, and my mom’s spaghetti and carbonara. Most of the time I don’t really contribute that much in the kitchen because admittedly, I enjoy eating much more than cooking.
But then again, I’m no longer one of the kids who just wait for the food to be served – that title now belongs to my nieces and nephews who seem to grow bigger each year. This Christmas I have to come up with my own dish, but how do I start?
I did learn a few culinary basics when I started joining some cooking and baking classes earlier this year. I also attended several events and food bazaars, one of which is the Alaska Merry Cremas Festival held at Trinoma.
What started out as the Merry Cremas Food Bazaar in 2013 has now become the Alaska Merry Cremas Festival, and is now one of the most anticipated food events of home bakers, foodies and Alaska home(preneurs). I eagerly went to this year’s festival at Trinoma to have a taste of the different specialty dishes showcased in the event using Alaska Crema All-Purpose Cream. There were too many, I didn’t know where to start!
I took note of some of the dishes which I think my family would like for Noche Buena. Here are some of the most memorable ones in my list:
Creamy Sisig Bagnet by Manong’s Bagnet
I love bagnet so much yet I didn’t know that it would actually go well when with all-purpose cream! Spices, mayonnaise, and 20g of Alaska Crema All-Purpose Cream are simply mixed together with chopped bagnet in a heated saucepan. Easy peasy
Cakes by Bite Sized Dessert Project
I made sure to have a bite of each cake variety offered by Bite Sized Dessert Project.
My favorite though, was the Oh! Baby! (Choco Caramel Cake). I think its charm comes from the chocolate fudge, made from Alaska Crema All-Purpose Cream and dark chocolate cubes.
Vanilla Crepe Cake with Salted Caramel Sauce by KISS
Now this one’s a bit more complicated but still worth the try. Sadly, they weren’t giving out samples so I wasn’t able to have a taste, but the fact that Alaska Crema All-Purpose Cream was used in the batter, filling, and salted caramel sauce makes me want to give this one a shot.
Here are the other notable dishes presented during the bazaar. It’s unfortunate that I wasn’t able to get a taste of everything because not everybody provided samples, but I made sure to take mental notes of the recipes for reference:
Salted Caramel Panna Cotta by Cupkies by K!
Pastillas Delights
Vigan Longganiza Carbonara by Noel’s Savory and Confection
Iloilo La Paz Batchoy and Penang Laksa
With all the cooking lessons I took earlier this year and the recipes I learned from #MerryCremas2015, looks like I’m now fully-equipped for Noche Buena! I guess we’ll find out if my love for eating would also translate well into cooking. Wish me luck!
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