Ataya oy! (a cebuano expression)

Ataya oy! is many a cebuano expression when translated literally would mean "livered up". But what does it really mean? Atay is Liver in the Visayan dialect, and so a person using the phrase might just have had a moment of exhilirating experience...or something.

As a young child, we never had any liver food, except liver spread on toast. Since we were not tagalogs, we had menudo sans the liver. But after I got married, my mother in law made the best liver and onions. After that I grew more adventurous.

I am anemic, so when I was pregnant, I had to eat liver as source of iron. Then I finally had liver in menudo...then when I had drinking friends, they had paklay...then of course, there was dinuguan which I ate only when everyone was eating it too..(but now I prefer to make my own, or my daughter in law's or issa's)..Then there is the grilled chicken livers or wrapped in bacon then baked or slow cooked.

Today, I passed by the deli, and bought a pound of chicken liver which I made into three appetizers/tapas. But before I show you my creations and their recipes let me tell you a short story about three brothers to go with my three tapas.

Here's the story:

There were three Cebuano brothers who were so close with each other. Even as they grew up, had jobs and got married, they needed to bond. So every Friday afternoon after work, they would meet at a bar and would have a few drinks before spending the weekend with their respective families.

The bartender and the locals would always expect them. However, things changed and two brothers were relocated to other cities. One brother was assigned in Manila while the other was signed in Mindanao. The three brothers, because of their commitment, promised to continue the habit of drinking every weekend as a reminder of their closeness and brotherhood.

Every weekend, the lone Cebuano brother would go to the bar, order three drinks and after consuming it, would then leave. Many months later, as he came into the bar, he ordered two drinks. The locals were surprised and thought something happened. Everyone at the bar approached the Cebuano and offered their condolences.

Local: Bai, sorry about your loss.

Bisaya: Ngano man bai? (WHY?)

Local: You ordered ony 2 drinks so we pressumed one of your brothers died.

Bisaya: Oh! No! Both my brothers are still alive and I'm still continuing our promise. I am drinking for both of them...Di naman ko mo-inom,Bai...Kay BORN AGAIN naman ko! (I'don't drink anymore because I'm born again) ...

Local 1: GI ATAY NIMO OY!!

Local 2: ATAY MAN KA OY!

Local 3: ATOTS PUD!

Okay, so here's my three chicken liver tapas


#1 Chicken Liver terrine
(cut up chicken livers sauted in butter with onions and garlic with seasonings plus madiera wine. Pureed and placed in a dish, then cooled to form) serve with crackers or in this picture..wheat thins.






#2 Chicken Liver in Skewers
(marinaded the chicken livers on ginger, garlic, soy sauce, seasonings and drops of red sherry wine. Wrapped in home made roasted pepper, skewered, then broiled)














#3 Sauted chicken livers
(sauted in olive oil, with garlic, onions until brown but still pinkish inside. Transferred to bowl then remaining onions deglazed with wine and poured over livers)




After the shoot, Mike and I ate my creations with the pairing of a drink...vodka, tomato juice, lots of ice and a celery garnish...which by the way, is excuse number 7 which my friend, issa and I placed in our book entitled: "1,000 ways to refrain from sex without saying NO!".....BLOODY MARY!





ATAYA OY!