Pio Pio's chicken

Roasted chicken, Peruvian style

We did not venture enough in our neighborhood to find this very popular place near our area, until my daughter's friend, who happens to be Peruvian mentioned this restaurant called Pio Pio.

"Every now and then you stumble upon a restaurant that is a great value, very casual, very unpretentuious and very ethnic. Pio Pio serves authentic Peruvian cuisine in a uniquely decorated setting." This was how this restaurant was described on the website of NYC restaurants.

Next time, I have unexpected guest, they will surely have a taste of this delicious chicken. So good, to the bones.

Most important about this dish is the green sauce called "ahi" which really makes the difference between an ordinary roasted chicken and Pio Pio's chicken. It's creamy and a little bit spicy. My daugher's Peruvian friend gave me the recipe and I will share this when I try it in the future.

Grilled salmon and veggies

Salmon with mustard and honey and roasted veggies

I want to serve something healthy and since we do not have the luxury of a backyard grill, our George Forman grill will do the trick.

Any kind of vegetable can be grilled and grilling brings out the best flavor in vegetables like succhini, asparagus and red sweet peppers.

BEEF STROGANOFF

Beef stroganoff with egg noodles

This is one of my son's favorite pasta dish mainly because the dish has his favorite ingredients, meat and the egg noodles. Growing up, my sister used to cook something similar for special ocassions only. I used to wonder why we don't have this often knowing how everyone enjoys this dish. I thought of the reason. Could it be due to the cost of the ingredients or maybe because my parents are not into American food. These days , my son is lucky because I can cook this dish anytime of the year. As long as I have cream of mushroom soup, canned button mushrooms and egg noodles in my pantry, then were are good to go. The last thing I need to get from the grocery would be the beef and the sour cream. Using meatballs or cut up sausage, instead of the strips of beef, is also a good alternative.

Tip for the day: the sour cream is optional, but it makes the difference, so buy a small container if you want to avoid waste. You only need a tablespoon for each serving.

FRIED RICE

Fried rice is an entree on its own, but we prefer to have something else in addition to the fried rice. I prefer to have daing na bangus or tinapa or tuyo with my fried rice for breakfast.

Fried rice taste better if you use day old rice. I will be a bit dry and absorb the soy sauce or patis. Cook the scrambled eggs first and use any excess oil in cooking the onions and any leftover meats you have. I add anything from leftover pork chops, or fried chicken or even canned sausage will taste good too.

KARE-KARE

My other favorite dish. Once in while, when I have cravings for Filipino food, I always think of kare-kare. The Filipino restaurant close to us always have this dish available, but my children prefers my cookings. My version is not too oily and I don't use too much coloring.

My kare-kare however is not authentic, because I did not use Filipino veggies only. I used green beans instead of the sitaw, the long, thin green beans. I think what is more important is the bok choy and the bagoong. My family adds a little bit of sugar when we cook the bagoong for the kare-kare. It taste better and goes well with the peanut butter sauce of the kare-kare.