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Maria Susser
1955 – 2013

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Just look at the ingredients and you’ll understand why I prefer this to another famous steak sandwich, named after a city I will not mention here.
Maybe it’s just me, but shredded  ”Real” steak, pita bread, greek yoghurt, fresh vegetables, kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper and lot’s of roasted garlic puree !
Tell me if I am wrong, but in my opinion, this sandwich just rocks !

P.S.
Apollodoros means ”gift of Apollo” from the name of the god APOLLO combined with Greek δωρον (doron) ”gift”. Hey, I created it, I’ve got to name it
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“Apollodoros” Steak Sandwich

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Hard  to believe, but many folks have never come across a poached pear on a restaurant menu, much less eaten one. What a shame, since this is such a versatile culinary gem. In classic restaurants you would come across them as part of different dishes often, be it by them self with a bit of  Creme Chantilly  or vanilla sauce, or part of a cheese course, maybe part of a dessert , or served as garniture to a savory dish such as pork, poultry, game or pork. But now I suspect it has become old-fashioned? For me however, if it looks good and tastes good it will never be out of fashion, so yesterday I treated myself to this beautiful, decadent and luxurious dish. Later in the evening I added a good shot of “Schladerer Zwetschgen Schnaps” to the remaining spiced wine and enjoyed it hot as a night cup.

Life is Good !
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Port Wine & Beoujolais Poached Pears

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Ingredient’s :

Bartlett pears,   peeled
Port wine,
Beaujolais
Cinnamon stick,
Sugar,
Star anise,

Method :

Mix port wine and red wine 50/50. Add a bit of orange juice, cinnamon, sugar and star anise , bring to a simmer and reduce by half. Let cool to room temperature. Add the pears,(they must be covered by the liquid),  bring to a slow simmer for one minute. Remove from heat and let cool down to room temperature. Serve with chocolate dusted whipped cream.

Bon Appetit !

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Garlicky Shrimp Brochettes & Potato Salad In Dijon Mayonnaise

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Simmer  un-peeled potatoes until done. Remove from water, let cool. Peel, slice into thin rounds. Mix with kosher salt, cayenne pepper, a bit of vinegar, mayonnaise, chopped cilantro, sliced scallions  and dijon mustard.

Season the shrimp with sea salt, chili flakes and roasted garlic puree. Saute in butter until almost done. Squeeze one lime over brochettes, turn once and remove from pan.
To serve, spoon some of the lime butter over the shrimps and accompany with potato salad.

Bon Appetit !   Life is Good !
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Sitting outside in the fresh air the whole evening and most of the night, having good conversations, listening to good music, drinking good wine and just having a great time for many hours has usually different results. Some folks get tipsy, some get tired, some get overly excited about the topics of the night. However, my friends and I usually can agree to one thing around the time midnight strikes: Time to eat ! And no matter how many times my buddies find their way to the fridge and the bar to get more drinks, somehow they always forget where I keep the raw food and the pots and pans.
So, as usual, friday night we all decided we had to have a substantial midnight snack.
Also, as usual, everybody decided that the only one “qualified and sober enough” to do the job of feeding us all would be me
Here is the crowd pleaser we wolfed down last night:
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Chickenbreast & Zitoni Tagliati In Spicy Red Wine & Mascarpone Cream

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Ingredients :

Chicken breast,   cut into large “chunks”
Zitoni tagliati,  cooked  al dente, some cooking liquid reserved
Broccoli florettes,   blanched
Onions,   sliced  (lots of them)
Tomatoes,   sliced
Scallions,   finely sliced
Pecorino romano,   finely grated
Mascarpone,
Red wine,   (use the one you are drinking)
Butter,
Kosher salt,
Sriracha,   (lots of it)
Roasted garlic paste,  (lots of it)

Method :

Saute chicken in butter until 160 F, remove , set aside (The carry-over heat and re-heating will take it to a safe 165F). Saute onions and garlic until onions are golden and garlic is fragrant. At this point your butter will have turned into  ”buurre noisette”, light brown with a nutty flavor. Add red wine and let reduce by half. Add chicken with its juices, vegetables, pasta and seasoning, saute until heated through. Add mascarpone and pecorino romano. Mix until a creamy sauce develops. If the sauce is too thin, add more cheese, If too thick, add some of the reserved cooking liquid and / or red wine. To serve, sprinkle with more pecorino and the sliced scallions.

Bon Appetit !  Life is Good !

Always value good friends, good conversations, good food,  and good wine

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This is all I needed to finish up this day. It’s a gorgeous evening, light breeze, no humidity and the temperature just right.”Kashmir” playing on the radio while I am having this drink. Life is Good !
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Green Goddess Cocktail:
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1/2         large cantaloupe melon,
3 cups   creme de menthe,
2 cup     vanilla yoghurt,
2 cup     champagne,
2 cup     ice,
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Blend in mixer until smooth. Cheers !
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“When I was 5 years old my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life.
When I went to school they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up.
I wrote down, ‘happy’.
They told me I didn’t understand the assignment.
I told them they didn’t understand life”.
- John Lennon

More Led
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Green Goddess Cocktail

Green Goddess Cocktail

Green Goddess Cocktail

Green Goddess Cocktail

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Here  is Tuesday’s no-fuss, quick, easy, tasty dinner.
Many a moron (unfortunately, there is a never-ending supply of those) will say chicken breast is dry, tasteless and boring. (Yes, if you don’t know what you are doing).
But, put some love and knowledge into your food and everything can be made enjoyable, even a simple chicken breast
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Bon Appetit !  Life is Good !
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Paillard Of Chicken With Broccoli Rabe, Peppers & Sun Dried Tomatoes

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Ingredient’s :

Chicken breast,   pounded thin between two oiled sheets of plastic film
Broccoli rabe,   blanched
Sun dried tomatoes,   finely julienned
Red bell pepper,   finely julienned
Onion,   finely julienned
Dijon mustard,
Cayenne pepper,
Corn meal,
Corn starch,
Garlic paste,
Butter,

Method :

Mix cornmeal cornstarch, salt and pepper. Season chicken with mustard, dredge paillard in mixture, shake of excess and saute in butter until golden brown and medium well  (the carry-over heat will take it to a safe 165F). Remove chicken to a warm serving plate. Saute onions, peppers, tomatoes and garlic until fragrant, add broccoli rabe, season with salt and pepper and saute until heated. Add to the chicken, dig in and enjoy
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Chicken In Saffran Broth, Vegetables & Cream Biscuits

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Ingredient’s :

Chicken drumsticks,
Corn on the cob,   shucked, cut into pieces
Cauliflower,   rosettes, blanched
Potatoes,   peeled, diced
Shiitake mushrooms,   stem removed, quartered
Leeks,   sliced
Onions,   diced
Chilis,   select for your favorite heat level
Garlic,   paste
Ginger,   grated
Cilantro,   chopped
Saffran threads,
Kosher salt,
Cayenne pepper,
Chicken stock,

Method :

Simmer chicken, garlic, and ginger in lightly seasoned stock for 10 minutes. Add corn and simmer for another 15 minutes, Add all other vegetables and potatoes and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from heat, add saffran and let steep for another 20 minutes. Return to heat until hot. Adjust seasoning if necessary. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve with cream biscuits on the side.
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Cream Biscuit Recipe Click Here
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Bon Appetit !   La vie est bien !

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This  is probably the easiest and fastest (best?) biscuit recipe there is.
Although I am not a big baking enthusiast, I make these often because of the ease and quality.
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Easy Cream Biscuits Ingredients

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Easy Cream Biscuits

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Easy Cream Biscuit

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Ingredient’s :

2 cups self-rising flour, plus more for dusting
1 tablespoon sugar
1 dash of salt
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

Method :

Stir together the flour, sugar, salt and cream and knead until the dough forms a ball. Turn the dough out onto a surface dusted with additional flour. Fold the dough in 1/2 and knead 5 to 7 times, adding just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to your hands. Gently roll out dough to 1/2-inch thickness. Using a 3-inch biscuit cutter coated with flour, cut dough into biscuits. Place on baking sheet coated with cooking spray, leaving at least 1-inch between each biscuit. Bake  at 375F for 10 minutes, or until golden brown.
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Enjoy Y’all !  Life is Good !
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Some folks are probably scratching their head, going “WTF” (what he food ) when reading this. But hey, I love pigs tail and curries of any style.

Pigs tails – not everybody’s cup of tea                                read about Pigs Tail
Real curries – everybody loves those                                  read about Real Curries
European style curries – if you grew up with them…….. read about “European Style” Curries

The good thing is that if you don’t love pig’s tails, you can replace them with any other protein or vegetables.
However, here is what went on in my kitchen for today’s lunch:
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Pigs Tail And Potato Curry, Naan & Cucumber Raita

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Curry :

Pigs tails,   cut into pieces
Potatoes,   peeled, cut into wedges
Bananas,   sliced,
Baby carrots,
Peppers,   diced,
Celery,   sliced
Tomato,   diced
Ginger,   grated
Garlic,   paste
Cilantro,   chopped
Vegetable stock,
Coconut milk,
Turmeric,
Curry powder,
Kosher salt,
Cayenne pepper,
Butter,

Saute pigs tails in butter until lightly browned, add vegetables, banana, garlic and ginger and saute until fragrant. Add curry and turmeric, saute for another minute. Add stock, salt and pepper and very slowly simmer until pigs tails are tender. Add coconut milk and potatoes and simmer until potatoes are done but still firm. Adjust seasoning if necessary. To serve, sprinkle curry with plenty of coarsely chopped cilantro.

Naan :

1/2 cup   water,
1 pck yeast
2.5 cup  a/p  flour,
1/4 cup vegetable oil,
1/3 cup greek yogurt,
1 lg egg
Salt

Combine yeast, sugar and water. Stir to dissolve, let sit for a few minutes or until it is frothy on top. At that point, stir in the oil, yogurt and egg until evenly combined.

In another bowl, combine the flour with the salt. Add the bowl of wet ingredients to the flour/salt mixture and stir until well mixed. Continue adding flour a half cup at a time until you can no longer stir it with a spoon (about 1 to 1.5 cups later).

Turn the ball of dough out onto a well floured counter top. Knead the ball of dough for about 3 minutes, adding flour as necessary to keep the dough from sticking. The dough should be smooth and very soft but not sticky.

Loosely cover the dough and let it rise until double in size (about 45 minutes). After it rises, gently flatten the dough and cut it into 8 equal pieces. Shape each piece into a small ball by stretching the dough back under itself until the top is smooth and round.

Heat a large, heavy bottomed skillet over medium heat and spray lightly with non-stick spray. Working with one ball at a time, roll it out until it is about 1/4 inch thick or approximately 6 inches in diameter. Place the rolled out dough onto the hot skillet and cook until the under side is golden brown and large bubbles have formed on the surface (see photos below). Flip the dough and cook the other side until golden brown as well. Serve plain or brushed with melted butter and sprinkled with herbs!
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For Raita Recipe, click here
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Bon Appetit !   Life is Good !

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