A Birthday Lunch…

lunch1

We arrived in Manila very late on Monday night, and it was practically Tuesday by the time we got home. But I have to say a HUGE thank you to Delta and Northwest Airlines that upgraded us to Business Class seats all the way from New York to Manila. We have rarely paid for Business Class seats in the last few years as airfares have skyrocketed, so it was a really nice surprise to pay the lowest possible roundtrip fare to NY and to have an upgrade all the way home. Those lie-flat beds DO make a huge difference in terms of arriving feeling less tired than usual. Inevitably, jet lag has set in and we are keeping really odd hours…

lunch2

Today was Mrs. Marketman’s birthday, so we did make an effort to do something nice at home for lunch (we would likely be passed out by dinner). The menu was simple and took less than 30 minutes to assemble, while the Teen made dessert. First up, a platter of “Buffalo Shrimp” — a recipe featured in this month’s Gourmet magazine that I was reading on the plane. Just grill some prawns and toss with a mixture of melted butter and Frank’s hot sauce. Then serve with celery sticks (chilled in ice water for extra crispness), some extra butter/hot sauce, and a blue cheese and sour cream dip. It sounds bizarre, this attempt at a seafood Buffalo Chicken Wings… but it worked out quite nicely. Just make sure you douse the peeled shrimp with more of the sauces…

lunch3

For the main course, I did two “Cowboy” steaks or thick slices of bone-in prime rib. Done on the same grill as the shrimp, these were cooked to a medium-rare doneness and they were soft, flavorful and delicious. the three of us only manged to eat 1.25 steaks, the rest was put away for a midnight snack should be get up at 2 a.m. with hunger pangs.

lunch4

But the best part of the birthday meal was this birthday cake, which the Teen made all by herself. The cake baked last night and the icing done early this morning. I thought it was fantastic (and for a 13-year old)! I don’t make cakes too often and I certainly don’t do decorated birthday cakes. When asked where she found the recipe, she said on-line… because the “Martha Stewart one was just so complicated…it had lemon zest and the icing was done over boiling water… egads”!!! She did all the piping herself as well. It was a standard “yellow cake” with a butter and powdered sugar icing.

lunch5

And of course, the dog was one of the well-wishers… Happy Birthday Mrs. MM! For folks in the U.S., these “Buffalo Shrimp or Prawns” are a perfect easy to do recipe for your Fourth of July Weekend celebrations!

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Marketman

Marketman is a well-traveled management consultant who loves buying, cooking and eating good food. Read more »

91 Responses

  1. HAPPY BIRTHDAY Mrs M! Wish you many more celebrations to come. That cake made by the Teen looks so yummy! She’s good at decorating too! Way to go Teen! :-)

  14. Happy birthday Mrs. MM! God bless. I think it would be good to squeeze in the shrimp buffalo in our mostly grilled menu for 4th of July celebration. Thanks for the suggestion.

  15. Congratulations to the Teen for a nice looking cake. If she wants really good cake recipes I would like to suggest the “Cake Bible” by Rose Levy Beranbaum. All the cake recipes I have tried so far taste so good and her icings are so delicious – not cloyingly sweet. I simply hate those overly sweet icings (like eating pure sugar) of those cheap bakery cakes and those found in groceries. Her frostings actually taste just like the ones used in high end bakeshops in Beverly Hills – just the right amount of sweetness and lots of the delicious flavor of buttercream.

  17. Happy Birthday, Mrs. MM! Hoping you’ll enjoy your day. What a great lunch and a great cake for your special day, what else can you asked for? God bless and take care.

  20. –>WELCOME BACK HOME MM and family.
    –>Many more birthdays to celebrate, Mrs. MM.
    –>Feature more cakes Teen. Perhaps you could have your own blog site featuring your baking and your photo prowess?
    –> Lilibeth, thanks for the suggested CAKE BIBLE. I already signed in for Rose’s news letter.

  25. WELCOME HOME!And may Mrs.MM have more birthdays to come!The Teen is so sweet!For a novice, she sure do have a nice steady hand to do that piping.Congratulations Teen! I think you have a future not only in photography but also serious baking!MM,I hope you’re feeling better now.

  30. Diwata: Great, I’m glad to hear you are one of Rose’s fans too! I’m also looking forward to her latest book “Rose’s Heavenly Cakes” which will be available on September.

  33. HAPPY BIRTHDAY MRS. MM!!! wishing you good health, prosperity and happiness…

  36. Birthday greetings to Mrs. MM! A surf and turf birthday lunch is a nice way to get over jetlag :)

  37. Belated Happy Birthday to you, Mrs. MM!!! hope the whole family is getting the much needed rest.

  39. Happy Birthday Mrs. MM!!!

    Those prawns looks so mouth watering!!! The Teen has better piping skills than me – shame… haha

  44. Happy Birthday Mrs.MM!!
    Home sweet home for MM & the Teen.
    I’m so looking forward to your posts :)

  45. Wow, great job on the cake, Teen! Looks like a very steady hand, too. I’m envious since my hand’s already pasmado so I wouldn’t be able to do such nice piping. Happy Birthday, Mrs. MM and welcome home (sweet home), MM & family!

  46. I love surf and turf meals … Best wishes in the next year, Mrs. MM and family! … The cake is really cute and yummy-looking … and yes, looking forward to your future posts, MM!

  49. Belated happy birthday MRS MM!! Galing Teen!! Great job..I like those pawprints you made with dog’s greetings too…ha ha ha..good idea!

  50. Thank you, everyone, for all the birthday wishes! It was a nice relaxing birthday capped by a delicious lunch and the best surprise birthday cake ever. :)

    Mrs. MM

  52. Happy birthday, Mrs. M! What a delicious birthday meal from your two dearest!

  53. Happy birthday Mrs. MM from me and C!!! :) I know it was wonderful with a meal like this :)

    MM, how long did you cook your cowboy steaks for? How thick were they? All cooking on the grill? I’ve been dying to get some in Bacchus but I’m nervous to mess them up so any instruction would be much appreciated! :)

  55. joey, the cowboy steaks are from Santis. If they claim they don’t have them, ask them if they have a prime rib. Then have them cut a couple of thick pieces (one rib each)… at least 1 and 1/4 inch thick, but if you get it from the right end of the roast, you might get a 1 and 1/2+ thickness which is wonderful. Thaw overnight in the fridge, then take out and thaw on the kitchen counter until soft. Light a charcoal grill until hot. Oil the grill if you like, but I don’t bother because I know my grill and trust it (does that make sense?)…Salt and pepper the steak liberally. This is a good time for Maldon or maarte sea salt if you have it. Then grill for just a few minutes on each side for a medium rare steak. I can’t say exactly how many minutes as it depends on the heat, the flareups (stop by covering grill 30 seconds or so. I think these ones were 6-7 minutes on the grill, total and they were quite thick. AFter taking the steaks off the grill, let them rest on a plate for at LEAST 7-8 minutes before you eat them. They were perfectly done, closer to rare than medium rare. Better than any steak we have ordered locally. And 1/3 the effective price. It’s hard to mess this up, so go out and get those steaks! :) ingrid, Santis carries these steaks. They are either Prime grade or U.S. Angus choice. But try and get prime.

  56. Mrs. MM, happy birthday. We met you at the lechon EB last year in Cebu. You’re a very unassuming, warm and charming person. May God bless you and your family always.

  57. Joey: Just to add my two cents worth. Use a meat thermometer. What I do is take the steak out of the grill and stick in a meat thermometer to make sure it is cooked to my liking – medium rare and put it back quickly if it’s still int he rare stage. My husband likes his rare though. Be careful to make sure it does not get to the well done stage or you would have ruined the steak, IMO.

  58. Joey: Charcoal…if you can get mesquite wood chunks,go for it! Heats up really fast and longer. Since it should be really HOT, you will get the wonderful grill marks….criss-cross. I usually have one side of the grill really going hot to get the grill marks and then put the steaks over to the not so hot side to get the steaks done to the boys’preference.

    Like what MM said, grill should be really smoking hot…then oil it and put the steaks. The hot grill will make that sizzling wonderful sound that you want to hear ensuring you that it is getting seared and have those resturant looking grill marks!

    Happy Barbecuing!

  59. Happy, Happy Birthday Mrs. MM! The Teen’s skills are showing up. BettyQ and Lilibeth thanks much for grilling tips.

  62. Thanks for the tips MM! The only thing is I don’t have a grill :( Can I do the same on a stove top grill pan? The cowboy steaks in Bacchus are really thick…

  63. joey, you can do it on a stove top, but a charcoal grill is best. It sometimes tends to steam on a stovetop grill pan unless REALLY hot. But it should turn out okay nonetheless.

  64. Hi, MM.
    YOu said, “let the steak rest for 7-8 minutes before eating it…”my goodness, that steak would be very cold by then, and no way am I going to eat cold steak. I mean, steaks should be eaten hot…In Europe, because steaks or beef is cheaper since they are not imported, we eat them at least three times a week since my husband grew up on the farm in England. However, it’s always nice to grill steaks just before people sit down for lunch/dinner, then serve beef sizzling hot. I wouldn’t even dream of telling people to eat steaks 7-8 minutes after cooking…this time, MM, your advice is rather wrong. Besides, the steaks shown above look dry. In fact, one of them is a T-bone really. I am a big steak eater like my husband, so I do know my beef, the cut, and the best prime beef is the fillet of beef. Angus is Scottish origin, not American, and rather overrated. British beef is still the best. Sadly, they don’t import it over there in the Philippines.

  66. Hill Roberts….we learned in culinary school to “rest” the meat for about 5-10 minutes to allow the juice to re-distribute within the meat to make it juicy. This practice is done by all chefs and the following sites will bear us out.

    https://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/grilled-porterhouse-steak-with-summer-vegetables

    https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/anne-burrell/dry-rubbed-rib-eye-recipe2/index.html

    https://bbq.about.com/od/steaks/a/aa071898.htm

    Now, with regards to the steak on the picture, they are bone-in prime ribs.

    May I also remind you that we are all “guest” here in Marketman’s blogsite. I’m sure you would not want a guest in your house to tell you your wrong in your grilling technique. This blogsite is marketman’s home, we are his guest. comprende?

  67. hill roberts….I believe you are out of order in your comment above. This is first and foremost Marketman’s blogsite and as such we are all guest here.

  69. Hi MM,
    Been reading your blog for a week or two, going through the archives. I’m hooked and suddenly, I want to try out some of your recipes; just the simple ones-I’m a beginner :) for that tiny bit of nationalism in me, I’d say thanks for putting the Philippines in the world map in a good way.

    Oh & happy birthday Ms MM. :)

  72. As a rule, always let any type of meat rest for 8 to 10 minutes after taking it out of the heat. This will help redistribute the juices inside the meat before serving. If you cut into it right away, the juice will immediately spill out, resulting in a drier texture.

  73. Happy Birthday, belatedly. I– beautiful cake! Didn’t know you were such a pro…I could have used more of your help on P’s cake…hope the jetlag goes soon. ML

  75. Artesan chocolatair,
    Out of order? You mean to tell me all, and I mean, all commenters must keep agreeing with the blogger? i respect MM, but it doesn’t mean I will have to keep on swooning to every word he says to readers. Where is respect for other readers’ opinion? Besides, what is wrong with disagreeing just because we are all guests? As for serving steaks, he did say to rest the meat—I am all for that, but not wait for 7-8 minutes, AFTER the steak has been cooked! yes, we let the meat rest, even hang it, but before it is cooked. How do you like your steak served? COLD???Then you can’t be a regular steak eater, dear guest. A regular steak eater loves h is/her steak hot! For you to judge me as disrespecting MM is beyond me. YOu must remember athat sites are there to agree to disagree. Not to keep rubbing the bloggers elbow, so to speak. This is democracy, right? I’ve been living in Europe for three decades and I believe that it is everyone’s right to express his/her opinion. Tell me how offensive was my comment when I tended to disagree with MM. You are way out of line yourself.I do not believe in sucking up for the sake of it, just because you like the site. How boring it would be to have to agree ALL the time. Is MM’s advice gospel? He must be bored reading all the commenters’ opinion if truth be told.

  76. My apologies for misspelling your “screen name”, Artisan Chocolatier. Your name is too fancy and phoney, hence, my difficulty in reading pretentious French.

  77. Hill, no problems at all with differing opinions. It’s the tone and certainty displayed, and probably based more on personal opinion or experience rather than anything else that seems a bit surprising. But no worries, a post up on your comment is a few minutes. Stay tuned. :)

  78. I agree with Marketman. It is the tone of your criticism, hill roberts, that is surprising. I also agree with Artisan Chocolatier that we are guests here in this blog and as such, it is okay to post your comments even if you disagree but will you please say it NICELY? The way you said it in your comment was definitely not a way to critique a person constructively. Marketman has also posted some criticisms in this blog but always with a degree of respect. That comes from good breeding. And yes, hill roberts, you let the steak rest AFTER grilling. I let mine rest for 5 mins. or so. Check out the links that Artisan posted (Thank you Artisan). It all says to let the steak rest after grilling and that is to let the juices distribute evenly in the meat. You have to eat the steak to know whether it is dry or not because the juices are inside the meat and that is precisely why you sear the meat – to seal in the juices and by the looks of it, Marketman’s steak is pretty well-seared so I can imagine how juicy it is. Lastly, hill roberts, Marketman’s advice is not gospel and he has been always open for suggestion, in fact, he even asks for it at times and has been very open when he fails in a recipe. The man is proper. How about you? hill roberts, sorry to say but the tone of your comment was indeed offensive.

  80. Wow, this really is becoming quite interesting. Thanks for all the comments. i really appreciate you guys ganging up on me. Sarcasm aside, how many do write saying the truth, and nothing but the truth? This site is good, but I just wish comments are more balanced, rather than one-sided. Do you guys always and I emphasize, always, agree with everything you read on the sites you join? I am trying to spice up the discussion, there’s nothing personal about giving one’s opinion, whether it is for the blogger’s benefit, the commenters’ or mine—-just good old plain discussion. Is that so bad in the Philippines that when one gives his/her personal view, it has to be on the side of the blogger, all the time? MM is a well travelled gentleman. He has seen the world and he knows better than to feel “hurt”. The main comment was a case of “cold” steak—he said, leave it to rest for 7-8 minutes—that’s a hell of a long time for anyone’s book—i.e, ordering this thing in grill restaurant…I want mine really hot!!!when served, not cold. If MM simply relies or would prefer to rely on other people’s ideas, then I don’t see common sense applied in this particular case. Guys, let this topic rest and let’s move on.

  81. This is not about steak but I just have to ask, is the phrase “rubbing elbows” have a totally different meaning in the UK?

  82. Exactly,Chrisb, you guys just love to rub elbows with bloggers. Fine if you agree with what he’/she says. But there are times when you have to oppose and give your own personal opinion, unless you consider yourself toungue-tied, perhaps? Don’t you want to put teeth in a discussion of this kind? Or, is it too much to ask since you like rubbing elbows? Or, is that too mild a word? yes, rubbing elbows is good PR, but I am not into it. Sincerity is my motto, not superficial praise/comments. That’s the reason why the Philippines has got lousy politicians—one of the most insincere species in the world…but that’s just my opinion, right? Rub elbows? Your turn…

  85. Hi, MM,
    Glad everybody has had his/her say on the “7-8 minute resting period”…If it’s any consolation to the site, it has indeed been spiced up and I enjoyed reading all the comments, although many fastidious comments,in their desire to support, your reputation. Dear MM, your reputation is not dented. No one, least of all your new “visitor”, is trying to question your legitimacy as the knowledge-giver/information/sharer. DEspair not since you are doing a good job running your site. Many readers have certainly misconstrued what I was trying to say…but I respect their opinion, as I respect yours. Thank you and hopefully, everybody can now enjoy reading the future topics which I know you’ve prepared with great accuracy and care. But humanity has shown us that we are what we are:silly, opinionated, self-righteous, ferocious, correct, wrong, and in-between. Cheer up guys, it’s not the end of the world as you know it. Allow me now ot thaw my 14-ounce steak. Cheers!

  87. hill roberts, you’re xxxxxxxxxxxxx should never be listened to. it’s not worth it….

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