Kainin Mo!

Kraft Eden Cheese is on a great mission: to craft 5,000 (yes, FIVE THOUSAND) dishes of cheese! On December 14, 2009, Kraft will gather cooking enthusiasts, culinary students, kusineros, chefs and foodies for one battle royale featuring CHEESE. Kraft Eden products and their versatility will be demonstrated via the various dishes to be prepared, from the savory to the sweet.

This quest is aimed at breaking the previous Guinness World Record of 4,668 dishes set by India.

The first time you hear 5,000 dishes, what initially comes to mind is that it is highly impossible and will never be achieved. Then again, we should never underestimate the power of the Filipinos to be creative, inventive and innovative when it comes to food.

I actually got a sample of a full-course meal – all dishes made with cheese! Here are some of the dishes that were served to us the Maynila Ballroom of The Manila Hotel:

Roasted Vegetables-Cheese Terine Tepenade, Curry Lettuce, Balsamic Drizzle

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Days after the Century Corned Tuna Bloggers’Cook Off, I was still thinking about our winning pasta. I was replaying in my mind and air-tasting the delectable Asian-inspired dish. So when I went to SM Makati, I bought the ingredients that I didn’t have and headed home excitedly.

I went online to check the recipe, then started measuring – approximating and assuming the correct measurements for each ingredient. Or so I thought.

All the ingredients were ready, the pasta almost cooked, and I – excited to start cooking the pasta sauce. The first few steps were fine. Until I got to the liquids. Apparently, I over-estimated the measurements and put in too much white wine and soy sauce, which made the whole thing taste sour and salty. Too sour and too salty. I immediately

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Century Corned Tuna Pasta with Asparagus, Spinach and Miso topped with Almonds (Photo courtesy of Doc Gelo)

I was recently invited to join the Century Corned Tuna Bloggers Cook Off and boy did I have so much fun. Since I was already feeling better than I did two weeks ago, I decided to say yes to the invite.

When I arrived at The Stock Market (Bonifacio High Street), I was told that I was going to be one of the participants for the cook off. I was a bit hesitant at first since I knew that I didn’t really know how to cook (if you count hotdogs or sauteing tuna, then yes I do!) and that may hurt my team. I just then sucked it up and do whatever was necessary.

The Century Corned Tuna Bloggers’ Cook Off was patterned after Iron Chef. There were two long tables filled with ingredients and two stoves and cooking areas. Teams had to come up with two different dishes using the available ingredients PLUS the secret ingredient (which was really not so secret after all) - Century Corned Tuna. Teams were given an hour to complete their dishes. Teams may use any of the two variants of Century Corned Tuna - Regular or Chili. The criteria for judging: Plating (20%), Originality (20%), Taste (25%) and the Innovative Use of Century Corned Tuna (35%).

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