Holiday Food! Three Recipes You May Want To Try For Your Media Noche

Three days more to go and we will be welcoming another year! And along with the festive celebration comes the "Get Together" with families and friends on New Year's eve, more commonly known as"Media Noche".

Media Noche is a Spanish term that means "midnight". However, in modern Filipino culture, it means "extravagant meal" on New Year's eve to attract prosperity or as a way of expressing gratefulness for a blessed life and another year to live.

Strawberry cheesecake, Glazed Ham, Red Velvet cupcakes

So do you have in mind what recipes to prepare and serve to your loved ones this coming Media Noche? Well, apart from heating your Spaghetti leftover haha!

You may want to try these three recipes I personally prepared last "Noche Buena".

1. Cinnamon Honey Glazed Ham - This is a very common staple in the Philippines during the holiday season but you can create a twist on the usual Ham recipes.

Cinnamon Honey Glazed Ham I prepared last Noche Buena

Since I experienced acid reflux the past months, I gave up eating pineapple fruits or even drinking the juice (pineapple is a huge trigger for acid reflux), so I thought of a different way of cooking the Ham last Christmas eve.

I love cinnamon because it gives comfort to an upset stomach. And I love its sweet aromatic smell, so I decided to use it for my ham recipe.

To make this recipe, you will need:

800g (whole) cooked ham
5 teaspoons cinnamon powder
2 cups of sugar
3 cups of water
Vegetable oil
Ginger slices
3 teaspoons honey
1 whole lemon
3 teaspoons flour
Powdered black pepper to taste

My own version of Cinnamon Honey Glazed Ham

Procedures:

In a frying pan, heat vegetable oil, and sautee ginger
Add 3 cups of water
Add 2 cups of sugar
Add 3 teaspoons of flour. Stir to avoid lumps
Add the Ham
Squeeze lemon into the Ham
Stir constantly, basting the ham with the sugar mixture
Allow time to caramelize the sugar
Add cinnamon powder and sprinkle the black pepper
Add honey. Make sure the Ham is well-coated.
Constant basting is a must to coat the Ham with the mixture evenly
When it is already deep brown, remove it from the pan and let it cool before serving.

Cinnamon Honey Glazed Ham

2. Strawberry Yogurt Cheesecake - I've been preparing cheesecake for years, but this year's Noche Buena was my first time to create this cheesecake integrating yogurt. It's yummy for those who love the spiky taste of yogurt.

But for those who detested the sour taste of yogurt, this recipe might not be pleasing. You may prepare the Strawberry Cheesecake classic version instead.

My Strawberry Yogurt Cheesecake

For this dessert, you will need:

225g Cream Cheese
1 pack fresh strawberry fruits
2 cups condensed milk
1 small cup strawberry yogurt (from Nestle)
1 bottle unflavored yogurt drink or evaporated milk
4 envelopes unflavored gelatin (Ferna or Knox)
Powdered Graham biscuits
Melted unflavored butter (1/2 cup)

Procedures:

Prepare the cheesecake base ahead of time. Mix the melted butter with powdered biscuits. Flatten on the cheesecake molder. Then freeze for an hour to harden.
To make a strawberry mixture, cut 5 strawberries into halves
Put in the blender
Add the unflavored yogurt drink or evaporated milk
Add the strawberry yogurt
Strain to remove the lumps. Set aside
Soften the cream cheese. Add the condensed milk. Use an electric mixer or blender to smoothen the cream cheese mixture
Combine the strawberry mixture and the cream cheese mixture. You may use an electric mixer or blender to smoothen the mixture. Set aside
Melt the unflavored gelatin in a hot water. Mix it in the strawberry cream cheese mixture. Stir to incorporate properly
Get the cheesecake molder from your freezer then pour the strawberry cream cheese mixture.
Chill until hardened
Remove and decorate with fresh strawberry fruits

3. Red Velvet Cupcakes - You may use other brands but for this recipe, I used a pack of Red Velvet cake mix from Maya! It comes with a powder of whipped cream but I did not use it 😄 My sister bought a ready-to-use whipped cream from Alaska.