A Family of Pigs!

That's what we are!  And I say this in the most loving way.  If the New Year's Day spread of food found at my home on the 1st day in 2011 lends any support to this statement, you will see that my large and loving family does indeed love food...cooking it, baking it, eating it, sharing it, talking about it, etc. etc. and so forth. And on this particular Holiday that celebrates the start of a new year, the start of moving forward and progressing, the start of having a prosperous year ahead, a fruitful year ahead, and a bountiful year ahead, there most definitely must be roasted pig represented in its gourmet form, known fondly in Filipino circles and other cultures as Lechon,  in addition to other lucky foods.  This year certainly did not disappoint in terms of the lucky pig and lucky foods represented in our family's buffet.  See for yourself...(though the following picture may not be for the faint of heart, especially if you are not fond of roasted pig in all its glory, though you're missing out on quite a delicacy...) :

Tasty Lechon courtesy of Rey's Lechon, Streamwood, IL

The Lechon that was brought to the table and into our mouths was quite delicious, flavorful, savory, tender meated, and crispy skinned, the latter being one of the most telling signs that the lechon was prepared correctly and roasted very well without losing its overall quality.  If you're still not quite sold on lechon, but are a fan of bacon, then think of it as a heavenly generous piece of crispy bacon with just the right amount of crunch and meatiness all in one bite that's dipped into a lovely sweet and savory sauce known as Mang Tomas All Purpose Sauce or a sauce of garlic infused vinegar, salt, pepper, and maybe a touch of soy sauce for color.  Yummy for serious!

If porky lechon wasn't enough, dear cousin Irene also prepared her own gourmet version of a roasted pork loin, aka Porchetta, prepared with herbs, fennel, lemongrass, ginger, and garlic, which was also quite mouth watering to the family's palate:

Porchetta a la Irene

And if the table wasn't lucky enough with the pigs galore, we also had black-eyed peas represented in Texas Caviar with the addition of a couple of cans of corn niblets & a small can of chopped green chiles made by yours truly courtesy of a recipe shared by my cousin, as well as in a black-eyed peas salad beautifully placed in a butternut squash edible "bowl" that Tita Lelet made; fish o' plenty grilled to perfection in the bitter cold by my cousin, Joe; pancit noodles from Tita Marlene to ensure long life ahead for us; round fruits from pomelo, oranges, apples, tangerines, grapes, and even rings of pineapple, and round cookies-some fancy and glitterized; Tita Baby's coconut milked dessert soup known as ginataan, and cakes such as a pecan streusel coffee bundt cake from the Delish site that I baked for everyone's sweet tooth cravings to ensure luck in 2011.  And for good measure, we even had an overabundance of petite filet mignon grilled not only by my dear Alex who braved the winter winds and cold air, but also from my cousin, Jojie, who grilled his version of the gourmet steaks outside on his patio and then rushed them over for us to savor.

Food...

 food...



and more food!

We ate like pigs, and our bellies were full, and we are all very blessed, lucky, and thankful for what we received that day and to have one another in 2011!  It's bound to be a beautifully lucky and delicious year ahead for us all!  Happy New Year, indeed!