WARNING: Explicit Pics!

Part of the enjoyment of tonight’s Pinoy Peyesta was the gathering of some brave souls who tried balut for the first time.

Balut is a fertilized duck egg with a nearly-developed embryo inside that is boiled and eaten in the shell. They are considered delicacies of Asia and especially the Philippines, Cambodia and Vietnam. Popularly believed to be an aprodisiac and considered a high-protein, hearty snack, baluts are mostly sold by street vendors at night in the regions where they are available. They are often served with beer.

Here is a pictoral of eating balut. My husband was kind enough to walk through the steps in shelling and eating balut. Warning – this is not for the faint and these men really ate these eggs! There are 4 parts to eating balut…

1. initial “broth” upon cracking the top, which is sucked out or taken like a shot
2. hardened calcium, which has a plastic like texture
3. yolk, which is full of veins and tastes like a giant egg yolk

4. underdeveloped duck, as seen in the last photos (not for those with weak stomachs)

WARNING: Explicit Pics!

Part of the enjoyment of tonight’s Pinoy Peyesta was the gathering of some brave souls who tried balut for the first time.

Balut is a fertilized duck egg with a nearly-developed embryo inside that is boiled and eaten in the shell. They are considered delicacies of Asia and especially the Philippines, Cambodia and Vietnam. Popularly believed to be an aprodisiac and considered a high-protein, hearty snack, baluts are mostly sold by street vendors at night in the regions where they are available. They are often served with beer.

Here is a pictoral of eating balut. My husband was kind enough to walk through the steps in shelling and eating balut. Warning – this is not for the faint and these men really ate these eggs! There are 4 parts to eating balut…

1. initial “broth” upon cracking the top, which is sucked out or taken like a shot
2. hardened calcium, which has a plastic like texture
3. yolk, which is full of veins and tastes like a giant egg yolk

4. underdeveloped duck, as seen in the last photos (not for those with weak stomachs)

Pinoy Peyesta!

Through another Chicago foodie community I’m active with, LTHForum.com, had a Filipino Dinner event provided by a fellow member. Being Filipino myself, I wanted to attended… nothing beats home cooked Filipino food!

Sharon & Dan, the hosts of the event, prepared a bountiful feast that included the following Filipino dishes:

Pinakbet
salty vegetable dish of bittermelon, calabasa squash,
tomatoes, garlic, onions, eggplant, green beans,
okra, pork and shrimp paste (alamang)

Dinuguan

pork blood stew of pork, frozen pork blood and jalepeno peppers
Mango & Tomato “Salsa”
with shrimp paste (alamang) & onions
Chicharron
fried pork rinds with a
sawsawan of vinegar, chopped garlic and black pepper Lumpia
Filipino eggroll filled with shrimp, ground pork,
water chestnuts, green beans, bean sprouts, and carrots
Lechon Kawali
deep fried pork belly with a liver sauce
Shrimp Chips
shrimp flavors wheat flour chips
Kare Kare
peanut butter based stew with oxtails, long beans, eggplants, tripe
Chicken Adobo
~ which I made and brought to the party ~
(this was not pictured because it was eaten up before I had a chance to take a pic!)

Pinoy Peyesta!

Through another Chicago foodie community I’m active with, LTHForum.com, had a Filipino Dinner event provided by a fellow member. Being Filipino myself, I wanted to attended… nothing beats home cooked Filipino food!

Sharon & Dan, the hosts of the event, prepared a bountiful feast that included the following Filipino dishes:

Pinakbet
salty vegetable dish of bittermelon, calabasa squash,
tomatoes, garlic, onions, eggplant, green beans,
okra, pork and shrimp paste (alamang)

Dinuguan

pork blood stew of pork, frozen pork blood and jalepeno peppers
Mango & Tomato “Salsa”
with shrimp paste (alamang) & onions
Chicharron
fried pork rinds with a
sawsawan of vinegar, chopped garlic and black pepper Lumpia
Filipino eggroll filled with shrimp, ground pork,
water chestnuts, green beans, bean sprouts, and carrots
Lechon Kawali
deep fried pork belly with a liver sauce
Shrimp Chips
shrimp flavors wheat flour chips
Kare Kare
peanut butter based stew with oxtails, long beans, eggplants, tripe
Chicken Adobo
~ which I made and brought to the party ~
(this was not pictured because it was eaten up before I had a chance to take a pic!)

Let Me Wine & Dine You…

Tonight was a wonderful event… where we hosted our first Wine & Dine Session. As a result of our trip to Napa/Sonoma earlier this past June, we realized that we wanted to learn about wine, without a lot of fuss. After looking for local events, we found wine tastings to be expensive, overwhelming and unsatisfying. So I decided to create our own events within my Chicago Cooks & Bakers group.

What ended up was an amazing event where we focused on Chardonnay wines. I prepared a BBQ feast with the crispness of Chardonnay wines. After dinner, I shared with everyone the information I learned and found about Chardonnay wines, from their origins, the tasting process and food pairing.

It was such a successful and involved evening, I wasn’t able to get pictures during the event. However here is a small sampling of what was served:

Chardonnays from:

California, France, Italy, Chile, Argentina, Australia

BBQ Inspired Dinner

Maple Rubbed Pork RibsCreamy Coleslaw
Herb Garlic Mac & Cheese
Grilled Corn w/Citrus Butter
Loaded Baked Potato Salad
Buttery Buttermilk Biscuits
Homemade Lemonade
Fresh Watermelon Slices

Let Me Wine & Dine You…

Tonight was a wonderful event… where we hosted our first Wine & Dine Session. As a result of our trip to Napa/Sonoma earlier this past June, we realized that we wanted to learn about wine, without a lot of fuss. After looking for local events, we found wine tastings to be expensive, overwhelming and unsatisfying. So I decided to create our own events within my Chicago Cooks & Bakers group.

What ended up was an amazing event where we focused on Chardonnay wines. I prepared a BBQ feast with the crispness of Chardonnay wines. After dinner, I shared with everyone the information I learned and found about Chardonnay wines, from their origins, the tasting process and food pairing.

It was such a successful and involved evening, I wasn’t able to get pictures during the event. However here is a small sampling of what was served:

Chardonnays from:

California, France, Italy, Chile, Argentina, Australia

BBQ Inspired Dinner

Maple Rubbed Pork RibsCreamy Coleslaw
Herb Garlic Mac & Cheese
Grilled Corn w/Citrus Butter
Loaded Baked Potato Salad
Buttery Buttermilk Biscuits
Homemade Lemonade
Fresh Watermelon Slices

Passion Power!

Tonight was an awesome Girls Nite In! My friend Judy & I co-hosted a Passion Party at my place with a wonderful Passion Party consultant, Brandi. A Passion Party introduces carefully selected sensual products in a positive, supportive manner. The products include creams, lotions, bath and body products, potions, novelties, books, lingerie, adult bedroom toys & games and much, much more. Before the evening started, we feasted on an asian inspired dinner which Judy helped me with. Here’s some pics from the event:

Korean Japchae Noodles w/Spinach & Carrots

Vietnamese Shrimp Summer Rolls

Thai Lettuce Wraps

Cran Rangoon Pouches

Indonesian Chicken & Pork Satay

Steamed Edamame

Coconut Sweet Rice w/Fresh Mango

For fun libations, we had mango & appple martinis!

Awww… don’t be shy!

It’s gonna get hot in here….

Passion Power!

Tonight was an awesome Girls Nite In! My friend Judy & I co-hosted a Passion Party at my place with a wonderful Passion Party consultant, Brandi. A Passion Party introduces carefully selected sensual products in a positive, supportive manner. The products include creams, lotions, bath and body products, potions, novelties, books, lingerie, adult bedroom toys & games and much, much more. Before the evening started, we feasted on an asian inspired dinner which Judy helped me with. Here’s some pics from the event:

Korean Japchae Noodles w/Spinach & Carrots

Vietnamese Shrimp Summer Rolls

Thai Lettuce Wraps

Cran Rangoon Pouches

Indonesian Chicken & Pork Satay

Steamed Edamame

Coconut Sweet Rice w/Fresh Mango

For fun libations, we had mango & appple martinis!

Awww… don’t be shy!

It’s gonna get hot in here….

Familiarity Brings Us Home

My husband grew up in the Philippines and moved to the United States when he was about 7 years old. Despite having lived a majority of his life in the US, he keeps his culture and heritage very close. Tonight’s dinner was one that brought him back to his childhood days in the Philippines, as “tocilog” filled our bellies.

Tocino is a cured meat product native to the Philippines. It is usually made out of pork and is similar to ham and bacon. It’s often reddish in color and has a sweet taste. Tocino is often eaten with rice and a fried egg. This meal is often called “Tosilog” or “tocino, sinangag at itlog“, which literally means tocino, fried rice and egg.

I cheated and used a tocino seasoning packet for my pork, and despite the easy way out, it as pretty good. Next time I’ll attempt to do it from scratch.

Familiarity Brings Us Home

My husband grew up in the Philippines and moved to the United States when he was about 7 years old. Despite having lived a majority of his life in the US, he keeps his culture and heritage very close. Tonight’s dinner was one that brought him back to his childhood days in the Philippines, as “tocilog” filled our bellies.

Tocino is a cured meat product native to the Philippines. It is usually made out of pork and is similar to ham and bacon. It’s often reddish in color and has a sweet taste. Tocino is often eaten with rice and a fried egg. This meal is often called “Tosilog” or “tocino, sinangag at itlog“, which literally means tocino, fried rice and egg.

I cheated and used a tocino seasoning packet for my pork, and despite the easy way out, it as pretty good. Next time I’ll attempt to do it from scratch.