Chicken in Creamy Garlic and White Wine Dressing

Marinate chicken breasts in salt, pepper, a pinch of dried oregano, garlic cloves and a little balsamic vinegar. Remember, just a little -- it depends on how much chicken you would use. Otherwise you could end up cooking adobo instead. Place the marinated chicken in a heat-resistant container and let it stand for 30 mins to an hour or overnight. Preheat oven and cook chicken for 25 mins at 375 degrees (180 degrees if using a turbo broiler). Set aside.

For the white sauce: Melt some butter in a non-stick pan over low heat. Put a little flour. Mix. Quickly add in the buttermilk (or evaporated milk) and heavy cream (or all-purpose cream). Add some white wine. Stir. Add a little water or milk to adjust thickness -- the thinner the sauce, the better. Add salt, pepper and a dash of thyme to taste. Put some minced parsley if you have it. Put away the pan from the heat and set aside.

For the potatoes: Boil the baby potatoes in a deep pot. Drain and set aside. In the same pot, melt butter over medium heat and add the finely chopped garlic. Saute for a minute then add the baby potatoes. Keep mixing until potatoes are coated with flavor. Add salt and pepper.

To serve, place the chicken in a huge plate, smother with white sauce, then garnish with baby potatoes on the side!

Chopsuey

Saute garlic, onions and pork pieces in a big pan. Add a cup of shrimp stock and salt. Mix in the shelled shrimp and chopped vegetables - young corn, snow peas, cabbage, carrots, bell peppers, cauliflower and celery. Add another cup of shrimp stock, fish sauce and dissolved cornstarch. Simmer until the vegetables are done. Careful not to overcook the vegetables. You may add drops of sesame oil, salt and pepper to taste.

Crab Adobo

Chop the crabs into quarters with a large knife. Remove the crab fat or aligue and combine it with vinegar. Pour any liquid out of the back shells and do not use the brown meat for this dish, it will make the sauce look and taste muddy. Set aside.

In a large wok or pan, heat oil and stir-fry garlic, onions and fish sauce for a couple of minutes. Add crab pieces, lower heat and simmer for 3-4 minutes or until the crabs turn orange. Pour the crab fat-and-vinegar sauce and let it simmer until the sauce turns a little thick.

For Singaporean Chili Crab recipe, simply take off the vinegar, replace the onions with minced ginger and add tomato paste or kethcup, melted butter, sugar and red chilies to the crab fat sauce.

Chicken Roll (Cordon Bleu)

Slice the boneless chicken breast into a thin, wide sheet. Add a slice of cooked ham on top, followed by sliced cheese or cream cheese spread. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper. You may add vegetables such as carrot sticks and chopped broccoli.

Carefully roll up the sheet into a log, making sure that the fillings do not spill on each end. Fasten the log with toothpicks. Then, using a turbo broiler, bake for 30mins at 180 degrees, or until brown.

If you want a crispy outer layer, roll the log in breadcrumbs and deep fry in oil until golden brown.

Cheese Sticks

Using lumpia wrap (spring roll wrap), carefully roll sliced cheese sticks sprinkled with chili powder and pickles. Fry in a pan until golden brown.

For the dressing, combine mayonnaise, ketchup, salt and pepper.

You may also try adding macapuno (coconut sport strings) instead of chili powder and pickles.