SEXY CHEFS!!!

I had obviously nothing to do today so I came up with this short video clip to spread laughter to all (to prove my point from my last blog entry which I did this morning... again, nothing to do..). Also, this is to showcase the other side of the FCA 55 boys... hehehe. So everyone, turn your speakers on full blast... watch and enjoy!

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NO SCHOOL... SO WE LAUGH!

With the global recession grabbing all of us by the neck and with the perennial socio-political and economic chaos that has plagued our third-world country for eons, it is a phenomenon how Filipinos could saunter blissfully through life with smiles on their faces and with little worries (except may be how to get all the chores done before their favorite telenovela starts). According to a study, Filipinos are the second happiest and most optimistic people in Asia. Indeed, in the midst of any situation, we try to look for the lighter, funny side of it. We have the innate ability to stare adversity at the face and make fun of its outfit.
There is no denying that laughter has become an indispensible coping mechanism for most of us (but of course, second only to PRAYERS). Below are some quotes from famous personalities (and some random photos of happy times with friends and family) that emphasize the significance of constant levity in our lives.

Laughter and tears are both responses to frustration and exhaustion. I myself prefer to laugh, since there is less cleaning up to do afterward. ~Kurt Vonnegut

At the wedding of my nephew JR with wife, Pia

Mirth is God's medicine. Everybody ought to bathe in it. ~Henry Ward Beecher

The Madagascar Four

The most wasted of all days is one without laughter. ~e.e. cummings

At our office Christmas party

What soap is to the body, laughter is to the soul. ~Yiddish Proverb

With my soul-sister Jig

Laughter gives us distance. It allows us to step back from an event, deal with it and then move on. ~Bob Newhart

Subic with co-teachers

Laughter is an instant vacation. ~Milton Berle


Bread Baking Buddies

Laughter is the shortest distance between two people. ~Victor Borge

My Pastry Arts Crew


A laugh is a smile that bursts. ~Mary H. Waldrip


FCA 55 Family!

I am thankful for laughter, except when milk comes out of my nose. ~Woody Allen

I made this video a year ago. It generated a lot of positive responses from its viewers on YouTube. So go ahead, watch and LAUGH!

(Perhaps many of you are wondering why aren't there any culinary entries/photos this week... Well, school is off today to make way for the graduation of the diploma students. So there.)

HOT ! HOT! HOT!

It was like an episode right out of "The Top Chef". Our Week-Eight instructor, Chef Manoj made our Asian Cooking 2 session more interesting by giving it another twist ( I don't want to disclose the 'twist'... I might spoil the excitement for his future students). I could mention though that we were virtually on our own. No explanation about the ingredients nor about the methods were given. We had to figure out and work on the dishes by ourselves with minimal assistance from Chef and his assistants (in fact, Chef Manoj was out of the kitchen half of the time).

Of course, the complicated and "showtime" stuff was still done by

Chef Manoj.

Each group discussed the dishes assigned to them and started working.

Well, I also had my share of work like the rest. Liezel and I worked on the Sweet and Sour Pork (By the way, welcome back Liezel! She will be leaving the country again this week for Macau... I'm beginning to hate her. hehehe).

After that, Jay and I worked on the lamb for the Lamb Shawarma with Yoghurt Sauce.

I was also in charge of grilling the pita bread. Each pita bread should be grilled for 5 seconds on each side. I thought, "Hey, this would be easy." The griller in Kitchen 1 was already crowded so Lani, Jack (who worked on the kebabs) and I transferred to Kitchen 3.

I had no idea that the griller in Kitchen 3 was the portal to hell. It was extremely hot! Ironically, instead of having toasted fingers, my hands felt raw long after I finished grilling.

There was very little socializing and chit-chat that went on among the groups during the session because the class was given a time limit. All the dishes should be finished, plated and must be piping hot by 11:30. But of course, that didn't stop us from intermittently striking a pose for the cameras.

This is Dang... the official class mascot.

The Group Three Girls

Kita mo itong si Dang... dinadamay pa si Chef sa kalokohan nya.

At exactly 11;30, all the dishes were set and were up for Chef Manoj's critique. Needless to say, we still have a lot to learn about plating (Chef Manoj commented on one dish as having a "Jurassic Park" theme... ouch!). He also mentioned that the food we presented were warm but not hot (by top food critics' standards, that's unacceptable).

But then again, I think we did a pretty decent job but we have to learn from our mistakes... trite but true.

ASIAN COOKING 2

Chicken Teriyaki

Lamb Shawarma with Yoghurt Sauce

Pineapple Fried Rice

Seafood Kebab with Hummus

Yellow Rice

Sweet and Sour Pork

Chapchae

Pajeon

Pandan Chicken

Chicken Kabsa

Salt and Pepper Chicken

Chili Crab

With all that food, we were bound to have a bountiful plate for lunch.
This was mine.

Hindi ako nabusog... para ngang gusto ko pang mag-dessert ng isang platitong biko at ginataang bilo-bilo pagkatapos e.... Hihihi

HESUS NG AKING BUHAY

I made this video and posted it on YouTube two years ago. I just felt that it is appropriate to share it with you guys during the season of Lent.

Have a blessed Holy Week.

THE CALM BEFORE THE SOUP...

It was the day that FCA55 dreaded. Our first encounter with Chef Mike Oberle. Horror stories abound with regards to his temper and his class management. We collectively held our breaths and wonder if all of these things were true.
Well, let's just say that he did not disappoint.

CHEF MIKE OBERLE

At first, he started off quite okay. He mentioned that looks can be deceiving and that we shouldn't be afraid of him. He narrated personal stories about his wife and his mother-in-law which were very amusing. He also explained how we should respect food (citing an onion as an example) because of the time it takes to grow and the work done by the people behind it. He even cracked jokes. I thought... "Hey, this guy is not as scary as I thought... He is actually kinda cool."

He then asked the class to start working...

Group 4 with their signature group blocking...

While Chef Mike was out smoking, we even had time for the peremptory picture-taking...

Hindi po sila members ng Legion of Mary... classmates ko sila... hehehe

O di ba, ang saya namin?

But some strange thing happened during Chef Mike's cigarette break. There was an immediate and unexplainable transformation. He came in almost entirely a different person. It was like a scene from Jekyll and Hide. He started banging pots on the stove, shouting at the helpless and hapless student-assistants and generally scaring the hell out of us.

All that time, I kept a safe distance from him (no less that five meters away) so I wouldn't be the object of his ire... because, heaven forbid, had he scolded me or made a sarcastic comment about me in front of the class I know that I would fall into a coma. Well, either that or the class would find me at the corner of the kitchen sobbing profusely on the floor and curled up in a fetal position.

THANK GOD, Chef Mike gave us a 45-minute break...
I contemplated on having a quick psychiatric therapy session.

Instead, the class dealt with the ordeal the best way we knew how...

PICTURE-TAKING!!!

hehehe... Wala talaga kaming kupas...

Then, the cooking and the terror continued...



The boiling soups on top of the stove I believe was a metaphor of sorts...

... but then again, in the end, the products were satisfying.

THE SOUPS

BEEF CONSOMME WITH CELESTINE

HERBED FISH QUENELLES

CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP

SEAFOOD WITH VEGETABLES

MINESTRONE SOUP

CREAM OF PUMPKIN SOUP WITH CINNAMON FOAM

LENTIL SOUP WITH VEGETABLE BRUNOISE

FRENCH ONION SOUP

HUNGARIAN GOULASH SOUP

After he was done with the plating and presentation, Chef Mike went back to his jolly, friendly persona.
What's up with this guy?!

Hay naku, kumain na nga lang tayo...

Ate Ditas, hindi ka naman gutom ano?

Si Ate Agnes kasi gutom... siya lang nakatingin sa ibang side...

I usually want my picture taken with the Chef instructor but because of the delicateness of this particular situation (i.e., I don't want to have recurring nightmares of Chef Mike), I just decided to stand beside Clark (a.k.a "The Assistant with the Twang") and have my picture taken with him instead.

[A short side story: While Chef Mike was unleashing his wrath, Clark sauntered up to me and jokingly asked, "Are you guys having fun yet?". I mumbled an answer which I can't remember at the moment. My reply was probably nothing interesting and I'm pretty sure it was something idiotic. Ito kasing si Clark walang kaabog-abog na nagi-English e! Nakakadalawa ka na ha. Hmp!]

Because it was not enough to have soup for lunch --- even if you have all ten different kinds of them, the class went to Eastwood to have lunch...
at magpa-picture.

This photo was conceptualized, directed and shot by Atty. Debbie...
ang galing di ba?... hehehe

As you can see, wala kaming pinipiling lugar...
pinilit pa namin yung janitress na kunan kami.

We had, more or less, a two-hour lunch at Something Fishy. So for those who were not around, rest assured... pinag-usapan namin kayo! Bwahahaha!