I have four children in CCD. Next week, they are having an “Around-the-World” Christmas party. That’s sounds nice, right?
Of course, that means bringing in food or other Christmas-y things related to different countries.
Fortunately, the girls’ classes have the same country. Unfortunately, their country is the Phillipines.
Billy has France.
Fritz has Italy.
If anybody has any suggestions…
…do not simply Google “French Christmas food.” I can do that. I could probably pull out some cookbooks I have and get some ideas for Italy and France. The Phillipines is tough, though.
Key word: simple.
Key concept: I do not wish to purchase new kitchenware, and I do not want to hunt in 8 different stores for a specialty ingredient.
I know, I’m so difficult.
Also, they prefer finger foods. Desserts. Appetizers.
Help!
Reit This Way 
Banana Fritters (Maruyang Saging)Yields: 20 Ingredients: 4 ripe short and thick bananas (saba) or 2 ripe plantains2 eggs 1 cup flour1/2 cup milk1 teaspoon salt1 teaspoon baking powder2 teaspoons sugar4 cups oil for deep frying Cooking Method: Beat eggs. Add milk, flour and baking powder, mixing well. Beat slightly. Add salt and sugar. Let batter rest for 4 hours. Peel bananas and cut into 2 inch lengths and 1/2 inch thick pieces. Heat oil in a frying pan. Coat banana pieces with batter and deep fry until golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Serve hot. found herehttp://www.spindlepub.com/recipe/arecipes.htmSorry, but I did google Philippine Christmas foods. I couldn’t help myself, and I am deeply ashamed. But I hope this recipe helps!
We have done this before for school as well. 3 Kids 3 countries Yeah for me! Anyway, here are my suggestions.France: Yule Log(Bake a cake-Frost to look like a log-Done!)Italy: Any Orange flavored Cookie(Sugar Cookie-Frost with icing flavored with orange extract-Done!)Phillipines: Much Harder but O.K. Any thing Banana- Banana Pudding(Vanilla Wafers layered with bananas, vanilla pudding and Cool Whip)or Rice Balls( leftover Rice, molded into balls, roll in egg wash, then bread crumbs and parmesean cheese not authentic but yummy-fry in oil until brown-Done!)Hope these are somewhat helpful.Good Luck!!!
http://gracebeforemeals.com/soul/?p=218Filipino omeletDo Pizzelles for Italy. Easy and yummy!
My Filipino family always make lumpias for gatherings. I’ve never made them, but you can find recipes on the internet.
Italian Panatone. I have seen some at Costco or any grocery store. I second the Yule Log for France. They call it a Buche de Noel. Basically it is a chocolate cake rolled with frosting inside (jelly roll style). Frost it with chocolate and scrape a fork across it to look like bark. Leaves and holly berries are nice touches but not necessary. I got nothin’ for the Philippines.
Buy a tube of sugar cookie dough. Bake sugar cookies. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Tell everyone it is a cookie recipe from the Phillipines.
I second the lumpia. The commissary has some good ones in the freezer section and all you have to do is fry them up or bake them. Yummy and a good finger food. A little sweet and sour sauce and you are set. Like Barb said, pizzelles would be perfect==addded bonus they can be bought ready made too. Hmmm…france…how about sending in some cheese and crackers??
We love lumpia! My sister-in-law who is Filipino taught us how to make them. You make a picture of cooked ground pork, shredded carrots and shredded cabbage and maybe some onion and garlic (we haven’t made it in awhile). You roll a little bit of the mixture up into a won ton wrapper and deep fry it. Serve with sweet and sour sauce.
Um, I know a couple of Filipino-Americans, but not well enough that I could walk up to them after church and say “Hey, so-and-so, got any recommendations for easy Filipino Christmas food?” Especially since the ones I know were born in the U.S.Just on a long shot, I will check the parish cookbook and see if any Filipino parishioners submitted unfamiliar-sounding recipes… 😉Good luck!!!P.S. “Easy” is one thing. “Easy AND economical” is another. I almost suggested you call ethnic-specialty bakeries from wherever and have them FedEx you an order… :-p
Hey, I have this cookbook from my childhood church. It was compiled by missionaries. Most of what it offers from the Philippines is main-course type stuff; so if you want some of those, let me know. Here is the one dessert I found from the Philippines:Leche Flan(Caramel Custard)5 Eggs1 3/4 c. Scalded Evaporated Milk1 tsp. Vanilla1/4 c. SugarMix whole eggs with scalded milk and vanilla. Do not beat. Line bottom of mold with melted sugar. (To melt sugar, place in heavy pan over medium heat, stirring constantly until all sugar melts. Be careful, it burns easily.) Pour in egg-milk mixture.Cover with foil. Set in large pan with hot water in bottom. Cover and steam 40-60 minutes. Invert on platter and cool.*I’ve never prepared this, so I can’t vouch for anything here.
My parents lived in the Philippines for awhile… I’ve asked my mom to pop over here and help you out.🙂
If you want an easy dessert, buy sweet potatoes, cut them into long sticks, place each slice onto a lumpia wrapper, add a little butter and brown suger, roll the wrappers up, and fry them. It’s wonderful, and easy. On the other hand, they taste best fresh (as do lumpia), so I’m not sure how they would work. But, this is the recipe given me by Phillipino friends when I had to do a 3 course meal (appetizer, entree, dessert) for home-ec in high school. Good luck!
Hi…I am Nutmeg’s mom. All the Phillipino recipes that were suggested are wonderful…some a little more involved than others. One that is VEY easy is just some mangoes!! We used to have them for dessert all the time when we were there. You take the mango and slice it basically in thirds on either side of the seed. Then you take your knife and slice just the meat, not through the skin going north south, then east west…this will make like a checker-board effect…then you make the mango convex by pushing up on the skin in the center…this will make the checkers pop up…sprinkle a little cinnamon on top and maybe add a marichino cherry and a mint leaf to make it festive and there you go!! Easy and very delicious AND mangoes are in season now so they are pretty reasonable!
Love the mango idea! And in Hawaii we used to be able to buy hot banana lumpia like the sweet potato ones Kristina suggested out in front of Kmart. YUM!Crepes with butter and sugar are good for France, too.Italy, panettone is almost $10 at the Commissary, but then you don’t have to cook it. 🙂