20 Aug 11 | by Lorraine in: Eating Out, Food, Food and Drink
What, you wonder, could possibly bring Super Sarap- a food blog so neglected I’ve stopped telling people about it- back to life?
How about Italian food? Not just any Italian food- the best I’ve had in Manila.
Time for full disclosure first: this restaurant is run by my stepdad. He’s Italian American and has been a restaurateur all his life. He knows food, good food. Food like this:
That, gentle reader, is Beef Carpaccio. The dish is made up of thin slivers of raw beef tenderloin, generous shavings of Parmigiano, fresh arugula, capers and a lemony vinaigrette whose memory has my mouth watering as I type this. It is swoon-worthy perfection on a plate, a dish they’ve simply gotten right. And in the five or six times I’ve been there, they’ve gotten it right every time (yes, I order it every time).
The restaurant is Casa Nostra, opened last June in Makati. They serve lunch, but the truth is that it’s absolutely lovely as a dinner destination: slightly out of the way on a quiet corner of Pasong Tamo Extension. The perfect place to have a love affair with food.
Speaking of which:
Behold the Linguine alla Vongole, a dish I’m too often disappointed by. Casa Nostra’s version is excellent. The clams are juicy, the noodles packed with flavor. With every bite, I think this is what Italian food is about – fresh ingredients, bold flavors, and portions that would make an Italian Mamma proud.
Casa Nostra is located on the ground floor of the Ecoplaza Building on Pasong Tamo Extension.
Website: CasaNostra-restaurant.com
Facebook: facebook.com/CasaNostraRestaurant
Link to this post | 1 Comment »
05 Mar 10 | by Lorraine in: Food, Ordering In
You know how people who’ve neglected their blogs for a long time invariably apologize that “things got really busy” for them?
Yes, I’m back. And things did get really busy for me. To catch you up:
- My little online bakeshop has been doing very well. It’s gotten to the point where I sometimes have to decline orders. This makes me a little sad, but I’d rather not overwhelm myself with so many orders that quality suffers (I bake everything myself).
- We quietly launched the Food Bloggers Network, a project I’m obviously extremely passionate about.
- I’ve been spending a lot of time on Twitter. I have two accounts: a personal one and one for my bakeshop.
- I now blog regularly about several things: web development over at Devlounge, recipes at bFeedMe, and all things Apple at Apple Gazette. I also create and post video tutorials at Tubetorial.
What a busy bee I’ve been. Of course, with all of this going on, sometimes my husband and I don’t have time to prep and cook meals for ourselves. Which is how I discovered what’s become one of my favorite take-out dishes ever:
The truth is, the thought of Cheeseburger Pizza never appealed to me. Shredded lettuce? Burger sauce? But the other day, already in a bad mood from the heat and hunger pangs, I grudgingly ordered a Cheeseburger Pizza from Shakey’s, requesting a “New York Hand-Tossed” crust.
I loved it. The lettuce, the sweetish sauce, the cheese… all of them worked surprisingly well atop a chewy crispy pizza with lots of mozzarella.
Link to this post | 1 Comment »
01 Apr 09 | by Lorraine in: Baking
I’d like you to meet one of the loves of my life. This is Kitty, and she’s a pink Kitchenaid Artisan Mixer
. I’ve had her for around six months now, and she’s still as beautiful today as the day we brought her home. Actually, she’s more beautiful now, having churned out hundreds of cupcake and cookie batters, whipped up a whole lot of cream and meringue, and valiantly kneaded bread dough. Kitty rocks.
If you’ve been on the fence about buying a Kitchenaid stand mixer, here’s my advice: do.
There are some awesome deals on the stand mixers now at Amazon- I like to check it once in a while if only to ooh and ahh over all the pretty colors: KitchenAid Artisan 5-Quart Stand Mixers
at Amazon.
Link to this post | 2 Comments »
01 Aug 08 | by Lorraine in: Baking, Desserts, Food, Super Sarap, Sweet Stuff
I’m pleased to finally announce the launch of my new baking business: Sweet Lorraine Bakeshop!
My products currently include some of the best cupcakes you’ll ever have, as well as some cookies and bars that I’ve developed throughout the years. Please do check it out »
Link to this post | 2 Comments »
28 Apr 08 | by Lorraine in: Baking
My grandfather, who I grew up with and loved fiercely, passed away this week. And although he had been sick for quite some time, the “finality” of his death is hard for me to deal with. I miss you, Papa.
However, the good news is that in true Lorraine fashion, I’ve been subliminating my grief by baking up a storm- and will be blogging my successes (and okay, yes, my failures) here in the next few weeks. So don’t cancel your RSS subscription just yet… there will be yumminess coming! I promise.
Link to this post | No Comments »
