With American Thanksgiving Day just a week away, here is my directory of dishes worthy of your table for your celebration.
Flavors of autumn
Aileen Anastacio describes her turkey set as the flavors of autumn on a plate.
Her roast, cooked with aromatic herbs, comes with liver gravy and a cranberry-orange sauce with Cointreau. The stuffing is made with herbed focaccia croutons, apples, fresh sausage, nuts and chestnuts. It is served with candied yams baked with brown sugar and cinnamon, plus a side of creamy creme fraiche whipped mashed potatoes.
To add on to your turkey, Anastacio offers caviar pie or crab and artichoke spread; a pear and blue cheese salad with candied walnuts with strawberry vinaigrette; and a pecan or apple pie to cap the meal. Tel. no. (0917) 837-0959.
Turkey roulade
Numerous client requests for half turkeys inspired Pria Chiongbian Solon to make turkey roulades. “I couldn’t bring myself to just cut the bird in half,” she said. The Roast Turkey Roulade comes with house-made Italian sausage and apple stuffing, garlic mashed potatoes, roasted veggies, mushroom gravy, and cranberry jelly.
Tel. no. (0917) 819-0545; @priaskitchen on social media
Chicken set with pumpkin pie
Two whole organic roast chickens with biscuit stuffing are paired with sausage gravy, and enjoyed with a garden salad, mashed potatoes and baked spaghetti. For a more elaborate feast, opt to include bacon jalapeño corn bread, mini pumpkin and mini apple pies.
@wildflourtogo on Instagram
Stuffed chicken
A 2.5-kg chicken stuffed with fruit, chestnuts, and sausages is roasted and served with peppercorn gravy, cranberry-pear chutney and haricot with orange zest, plus a side of garlic mashed potatoes.
@bizuph on Instagram
Sushi pie
Leave it to Polaris Fine Foods to not only bring the absolute freshest seafood for sashimi and sushi flown in from Japan to your doorstep, but also to conceptualize new and exciting ways to present it. The Polaris Sushi Pie is made from sushi rice mixed with tobiko, masago and furikake with a crunchy layer in between, topped with 10 kinds of ultra fresh premium sashimi: The pie comes in three sizes, and may be customized according to your buds and your budget.
I received the beautiful Megumi, “grace” in Japanese. It’s a bento box with beautifully arranged bluefin tuna belly, yellowtail, salmon roe, Hokkaido scallops, and Norwegian salmon sashimi with fresh wasabi root—a treat that I was so thrilled to see and savor!
Polaris has fresh wasabi available in limited quantities to partner with their Megumi. The bento box, the fresh wasabi with a grater make perfect gifts. Remember to work your wasabi root in a circular motion to make a fine paste. Gather the wasabi paste to form a ball and let sit 3-5 minutes before serving. Fresh wasabi paste quickly loses its flavor if left exposed for long, so grate only what you need.
Tel.no. 09088123462; @polarisfinefoods on Instagram
Pumpkin cheesecake and cupcake wreath
Deck your Thanksgiving spread with Marlene Monfort’s creations. Marlene never backs down from a challenge. The work of her hands amazes me. What she bakes are sweet, tasty works of art.
The pumpkin cupcakes are her take on the the pumpkin pie. The pull-apart little cakes are made with mashed pumpkins spiced with cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. The pumpkins, grapes and flowers piped out of whipped cream were so cute.
For those who love chocolate, she has a whipped cream pumpkin patch piped over a chocolate pumpkin cheesecake. The dessert is a coming together of sweet pumpkins with fudgy, silky chocolate cake cheesecake.
@marlenemonfort on Instagram
Jägermeister ribs
For meat lovers, there’s smoked pork spare ribs with Jägermeister BBQ sauce served with German coleslaw and roasted potatoes. Jägermeister is a German digestif made with over 50 ingredients, and it is this flavor combination that make these ribs worth sampling. It’s called Schweinerippe on Brotzeit’s Restaurant’s menu.
@brotzeitph on Instagram
Luxe seafood pot pie
From Carlito’s Thanksgiving menu comes delicious seafood pot pie, a thick, chowder-like seafood stew of chunky salmon, squid, shrimp and scallops, swimming in a tasty, creamy white sauce. It is made even more delicate by golden, flaky, puff pastry. Similarly delectable is the truffled shiitake mushroom dip with crostini, meaty, buttery fresh shiitake mushrooms, cooked in French cream, finished with mozzarella and Grana Padano cheeses, plus a good drizzle of truffle oil.
@carlitoscateringph on Instagram
Prosecco and white wine
Wine suggestions to pair with your bird: Montelvini Collezione Serenitatis Asolo Prosecco Superior Extra Dry: Fresh and fruity. Dry character, soft lemon, green pear, light green apple, chalky flavors, floral to the nose.
Altado Verdejo Blanco from Spain: clean and brilliant. Banana and peach aromas. Round and long on the palate. Hints of white fruit and a fennel after taste.
Vino.Ph; @shopvinoph on Instagram
www.reggieaspiras.com; @iamreggieaspiras on Instagram and Facebook.