beginner's luck

A few months ago, I was on an Amtrak train from Modesto, CA to LA to visit my cousins in West Covina. As some of you may know that trip takes about 6 hours, four hours on the train to Bakersfield and then two more hours to Pasadena on a bus. Having lived in New York for many years, I knew how to get the best seat on the train, make that the best table on the train, I elbowed my way to get a nice table where no one would share with me so I can use my laptop in peace, facing the direction of where the train is heading, of course, because I get dizzy when I am facing the wrong direction? oh well, that is a story for another post...but I digress...
While on the train I was searching recipes, restaurants, etc, and I came across a food company based in the Philippines, MAGNOLIA COMPANY. I remember that growing up, Magnolia is the brand of my favorite Ice Cream. I read on and realized that they have ventured into many more products including sausages. It then said that there is a recipe contest called MAGNOLIA MY WAY wherein you have to use one of the Magnolia products and incorporate it in a recipe. I make pasta dishes all the time and one of my favorite pasta dishes to make is Putanesca. Later that day when I arrived at my cousins' house, where we do a lot of cooking, I decided to try making pasta putanesca using Magnolia Longganisa (filipino sausage) and it turned out to be great! I emailed my recipe to them.
A few weeks later I received an email informing me that I was chosen as one of the finalists, with a note saying that with that, I also won $100.00 It also mentioned that to be qualified for the grand prize, I would need to send in a video of me making the recipe so that they can upload it on You Tube for people to vote for...Long story short, I could not get anyone to help me with the video so I did it myself, holding the camera with one hand and cooking with the other, trying to remain calm and personable on film and trying to remember what I needed to say. Mind you, I could only do this with one take since I only had enough ingredients to cook this recipe once plus the deadline was the following day. I did my best and I think it turned out alright. Mailed it out and hoped for the best. A few more weeks later, my recipe received the most hits and the highest rating compared to the other finalists, I was informed that I won the grand prize with an additional $500.00. Great outcome from an afternoon on an Amtrak train, right?
I have always been fond of cooking and sharing recipes with friends and families. Traveling, eating in restaurants and trying to recreate dishes I enjoy and putting my own unique twist.
To view the recipe go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYp8PsE3elQ

I am excited to start this blog and to post my recipes, experiences and gastronomic travels with all of you.

Until next time...