Gourmet beef tenderloin tacos and "tres leches" cheesecake for the birthday boy

Yesterday, 8th of November, I had a sweet and sour soup for lunch, a classic Szechuan dish. It was sour, in fact too sour to digest. Another natural disaster in the Philippines after the earthquake last month. In the evening of the 8th of November, the typhoon Yolanda, one of the most intense typhoons on record, hits the central Philippines with winds of 315kph. And today's news is that the death toll is 100. The endurance of the filipinos is remarkable. My goodness, I am so embarrassed about my selfishness, complaining about a hard day or personal frustrations while there are thousands of people who have lost everything. I owe them an apology at this time. Another lesson in my life.

However, the soup was also sweet. It was Nick's birthday. Nick and I have this tradition of getting a few surprises for the birthday person to make the day more special and enjoyable, for both, actually. The person who organises the birthday is even more excited than the one who receives the attention and presents. I must say when I met Nick he didn't celebrate his birthdays this way, he didn't make a big deal. But for me, it was important. It is all about traditions and surprises! if you don't start them and carry them, life is tasteless.

The day started with this conversation:

"-Darling, you have to come downstairs to open your presents!-I said like a child on Christmas day-ok, I am coming!-Nick said half asleep and with Aure and Gab on his back."

When Nick went into the guest room and saw me pointing at the exercise matt, the heavy weights and two bars, his face was like he just saw a dead body. I don't know how to say it, but he wasn't happy at all, especially when 10 minutes later a charming and full of muscles filipino knocked on the door to grab Nick to the park for one hour of exercise because ma'am, Nick's wife, paid him to be the personal trainer for her husband!!!! surprise, surprise!. Nick wanted to kill me, he thought it was a bad joke. 

So he left with the trainer, plus Aurelia to give him some kind of moral support, and I was left at home enjoying 30 minutes of peace but disappointed with Nick's reaction after I spent 2 weeks organising the "surprise". It was our tradition to do so.

After his session of hard exercise, he came home with a big smile and grateful, although not so much when his body was very sore the rest of the day. Apparently, he couldn't move his arms to type on his work computer, he said when I rang him to his office.

Nick had another surprise at work. The locals and staff from the embassy organised a beautiful afternoon tea in his honour, with lots of pastries, fruits and cakes (including my banana cake!).

While he was enjoying his merienda, I was at home preparing our private night feast with Aure, after gab went to bed: beef tenderloin tacos (I made the cheesecake the night before).

Gab is still with a little mix of jealousy and the terrible twos, so some days are better than others. Yesterday, Gab decided to lock himself in the downstairs guest bedroom (we spent 20 minutes trying to open the bloody door); to be totally uncooperative and difficult when I was doing the groceries for the dinner; and finally, he put soap on his eyes when our yaya was changing his nappy. 

I don't know how I managed to set up our cozy dinner table with 7 bowls of taco filling, a balloon, candles and Chambao music playing in the background. But I did it because this is what we do for each other's birthday. It is our tradition.

The menu had the following little bowls to make yourself a taco (kids love this kind of dinner!): 

Taco night

• Bowl 1: mix 2 chopped tomatoes, seedless; with a chopped red onion; coriander leaves, a green chilli, seedless and finely sliced. Season with salt and pepper. It should be served at room temperature.
• Bowl 2: grated tasty cheese.
• Bowl 3: lettuce, finely cut
• Bowl 4: refried black beans (I buy the organic one because it has low sodium)
• Bowl 5: slices of red chilli for extra spiciness!
• Bowl 6: warm corn tortillas (are made with masa harina and water)
• Bowl 7: beef tenderloin finely sliced. How do you cook it? Because it is a cut from a very tender and slender muscle of the beef, it is better no to cook it well done.
•  I marinated in olive oil with crushed garlic, salt and pepper a few hours before I start cooking it. 
• Take it out of the fridge (meat should be cooked at room temperature), preheat oven 200C.
• Place a heavy-based ovenproof frying pan over a medium heat and add the meat. Brown the meat in the pan so it doesn't loose its juices.
• Transfer the pan to the oven and roast until medium rare.
• Once it is cooked to your liking and transfer to a warm plate covered by aluminium. Don't skip this step as it is important to rest the meat.

Taco: Mexican word for "snack"

"Tres leches" Cheesecake

I made up this recipe based on the famous "Tres leches" cake I make for birthday parties (I will post the recipe in the future!). Better to make it the day before.

• In a food processor, mix two cups of butter biscuits with 1/2 cup of melted butter and 2 tablespoons of caster sugar, until it resembles breadcrumbs. Put the mixture in a buttered spring form cake, pressing well on the base and walls with a spatula. Keep it in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven 180C.
• In a food processor, mix 2 blocks of 250g of philadelphia cheese+250g condense milk+3/4 cream+1/4 milk+ 6 egg yolks+1 tablespoon corn flour+a pinch of nutmeg+ the zest of one lemon. Set it outside.
• In another bowl, whisk the 6 egg whites until stiff peaks.
• Fold the egg whites into the cheese mixture.
• Take the biscuit tin out of the fridge and pour slowly the cheese filling (I usually rest the tin over a small tray as it is easier to place it in the oven without spilling anything!)
• Bake for 1 hour and leave inside the oven for 2 hours (this avoid any possible cracking of the cake)
• Keep it in the fridge.
• I like to serve it with strawberries on top:
• Wash and cut the green tops. Chop them in half.
• Add a bit of black pepper and a few drops of balsamic vinegar. Mix it well. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of icing sugar.
• Serve them always at room temperature.

Buen provecho!!

PS: Nick enjoyed his birthday celebrations and when we finished the taco dinner, father and daughter danced in the dinning room with Chambao music, while I was exhausted in bed with baby Juanan…but it was worth it.