Eating Our Way Through the Holiday Season

Christmas season in the Philippines showcases the culinary talents of people, what with the ubiquitous family gatherings, "kita-kits" of barkadas, and gift-giving sessions. People on strict diets should not even think about setting foot inside a Filipino home during this time, as they are sure to be plied with copious amounts of food and drink -- woe to those who say Nay!

We of course keep with this tradition of happy eating. Some would even say, temporary (one hopes) gluttony. Although we took our vacation leave about a week or so before Christmas, we didn't really manage to escape the frenetic activity, we merely swapped work-places. Nonetheless, the stress level was a happier, more benign type.

So I took to the kitchen. And with the help of our angels and family members at home who wielded pans and syanses, managed to concoct these dishes for Christmas Eve:

pancit with pork leg and mushrooms

crispy fried chicken

tuna baked mac

halabos na hipon

tender pork ribs

buco salad

carrot cake with cream cheese frosting and Reese's-filled choco cupcakes

cupcakes with Reese's miniatures

For New Year's Eve, we had:

pork bola-bola

pancit topping

pancit

kare-kare

bagoong

sweet and sour fish fillet

fried chicken marinated in toyo and calamansi

pork rib

chocolate kiss surprise

chocolate kiss inside the tea cookie

red velvet cake -- my own version!

red velvet cake slice

peaches and cream

We're still burping!