Pigs Tail And Potato Curry, Naan & Cucumber Raita

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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

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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Sauted Strip Steak , CauliflowerTortilla & Sriracha/Garlic Butter

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Sunday’s  late lunch / early dinner (4.00pm)
After sleeping-in late (7.30am and enjoying a big breakfast of strawberry smoothies and goose liver pate stuffed croissants, I did not feel hungry at lunch time and held out until late afternoon.
But then I knew I would have to combine lunch and dinner, so it needed to be a substantial meal, otherwise the snack monster would haunt me early in the evening. This is the first time I made a Spanish Tortilla with cauliflower and tomatoes and it made me realize what a great dish I’ve been missing all my live. What a wonderful dish. It can stand on it’s own, as breakfast, snack, even a complete meal if accompanied by a small salad, served hot or at room temperature. You can of course use different vegetables, different cheeses, add protein such as sausage, bacon, shrimp, crab meat, add different herbs, etc. The possibilities are endless and only limited by your fantasy :-)
If you ever want to reproduce this dish, just make sure the cauliflower / vegetables are blanched  al dente, so that the tortilla has a bit of a bite to it. While I was cooking the tortilla, I also added grated parmesan cheese to the whisked eggs, (not featured in the mise en place picture). You can omit the cheese, but it definitely adds another level of depth to the dish.
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Sauted Strip Steak , CauliflowerTortila & Sriracha/Garlic Butter

Sauted Strip Steak , Cauliflower Tortilla & Sriracha/Garlic Butter

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Ingredients :

Tortilla :

Cauliflower rosettes,   blanched al dente
Eggs,  whole, whisked, seasoned with kosher salt, cayenne and grated parmesan
Grape tomatoes,
Butter,

Method :

Saute cauliflower and tomatoes briefly in butter, add egg mixture and cook covered on low heat until eggs have set but are not dry. Slide onto a dinner plate, top with the saute pan, invert and cook other side of tortilla until golden.
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Steak :

Season teak with salt, granulated garlic and freshly ground black pepper and saute both sides until desired doneness. Remember the carry over heat will cook it  one more level after you remove the steak from the pan! Let the steak rest for ten minutes before slicing !

Butter :

Mix softened butter with sriracha, roasted  garlic paste, a bit of lime juice and kosher salt.

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Bon Appetit !   Life is Good !
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Breakfast Of Champions # 22 “Pytt I Panna”

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I have
  
been introduced to this dish early in my career as a cook, when I was working at the “Hotel Kattegat” in Torekov, Sweden. At the time, I did not think of it as something special, maybe because we cooked it by he ton, since it is a staple of swedish cuisine. But, over the years, I have grown to love it in all it’s various incarnations. It is basically a dish made of leftover meat and potatoes. What particular meat you use is up to whatever leftovers you’ve got. However, when I make pytt i panna nowadays, I usually prepare everything from scratch, so I use my favorite pytt i panna meat, which is either salame or chorizo, whichever of the two happens to be in the house.
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Pytt Y Panna

Pytt Y Panna

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Ingredients :

Potatoes,   cooked,
diced Salame,   diced, (substitute any meat/sausage you have available
Onion,   diced
Egg,  sunny side up
Kosher salt,
Black pepper,   freshly ground Butter,
Scallion,   finely sliced  (usually in Sweden we use dill leaves)
Ingredients for your favorite side salad:-)
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Method : Saute potatoes in butte until golden, add meat and onions and saute until onions are translucent and meat starts to become slightly brown, Season with salt and pepper. To serve, place hash on serving dish, sprinkle with scallions, top with fried egg. Pair with a small salad.
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Smaklig måltid !   Life is Good !
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Tomato Bisque With Buttered Cauliflower

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A couple  of day’s ago I made a big batch of my beloved tomato bisque. It served me well as late night snack for a few day’s, the last one last night, when I added some buttered cauliflower and ate it with a good chunk of sourdough bread, indispensable for wiping the bottom of the bowl to make sure one get’s the last drop and nothing is wasted :-)
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Blanch the cauliflower rosettes, then saute lightly in butter. season with kosher salt and white pepper. To serve, pour bisque in bowl, add the cauliflower and sprinkle with finely sliced scallions.
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Recipe for  ” Tomato Bisque
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Bon Appetit !   Live is Good !
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Tomato Bisque With Buttered Cauliflower

Tomato Bisque With Buttered Cauliflower

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Tomato Bisque With Buttered Cauliflower

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Tomato Bisque With Buttered Cauliflower

Tomato Bisque With Buttered Cauliflower

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Pork Ribs & Rice Noodles Soup

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I was  tempted to call this dish  ”Kluay Teaw Moo Toon”, but then I remembered that Mirandi of the “High Heel Gourmet is coming by at ChefsOpinion sometimes and how fierce she is about authentic Thai  recipes. (I REALLY don’t want to get her mad :-)
All jokes aside, this dish is  definitely Thai inspired. Fragrant, light, bright, tasty. I hope that recipes like this will inspire my readers to understand the philosophy of cooking as I see it :
Take a look at good stuff, feel inspired by it, learn from it, do your own spin on it. Just make sure you call it “inspired by” or “in the style of”. But then again, if the shoe fit’s……
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 Kluay Teaw Moo Toon (Variation Of A Thai Pork Spareribs Noodle Soup)

“Kluay Teaw Moo Toon”
( “Variation Of A Thai Pork Spareribs Noodle Soup” )

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Ingredients :

Pork ribs,   blanched  (for a clear stock)
Rice noodles,  soaked
Bok choy,   substitute with other green vegetable if you prefer, I used brocoli
Bean sprouts,   (I prefer the crunch and tasteof raw onion julienne)
Cinnamon stick,
Star anise,
Coriander,   crushed
Garlic paste,
Cilantro stems,   Thais normally use cilantro root but I can’t get it around here
Cilantro leaf’s,   coarsely chopped
Soy sauce,
Sugar,
Kosher salt,
Cayenne pepper,
Onion,   peeled, quartered
Ginger,   grated
Pork stock,  substitute with vegetable stock if you prefer
Peanut oil,

Method :

Saute ribs in peanut oil until lightly browned. Add garlic, ginger , star anis , coriander and onion and saute until fragrant. Add stock and cilantro stems (roots if you can get hold of them) and simmer until ribs are tender but not falling apart, about 2 to 3 hours. Remove ribs and set aside. Adjust seasoning. Strain stock. To serve, place noodles, ribs and vegetables in a serving bowl. Top with boiling hot stock. Sprinkle with cilantro and onion julienne. Serve with soy sauce, chili sauce and fried shallots.
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Bon Appetit !   Life is Good !

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Chicken Paprikash & Spaetzle

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Paprikash is the national dish of Hungary. Which means that it has been prepared and eaten for many decades, by millions of people, in many restaurants and homes, in many different regions, with an infinite number of variations. So folks, relax, don’t call my house and say that this is not a real paprikash, because………….
Anyway, here is a version I prepared last week and, I might add, a pretty good and pretty pretty :-) version. >

Chicken Paprikash & Spaetzle

Chicken Paprikash & Spaetzle

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Ingredients :

Chicken,  your favorite parts, I prefer legs
Sweet hungarian paprika,
Chilis,   finely chopped, some left whole for garnish (optional)
Tomatoes,   finely chopped
Garlic,   paste
Onions,    finely diced
Kosher salt,
AP flour,
Chicken stock,
Sour cream,

Method :

Saute chicken in fat until golden brown. Remove. Saute onions and garlic until fragrant. Add paprika, chopped chilis and flour and saute for a short time. (Careful, paprika burns easily !)  Add tomatoes, stock, whole chili’s and salt. Return chicken to pot, cover and braise slowly until chicken is cooked to an internal temperature of 162F. (Carry over heat will take it to a safe 165F). Remove chicken. At this point you have the option of straining the sauce or not. You also have the option of whisking in the sour cream or not. If you don’t whisk in the sour cream at this point, add a generous dollop when serving (See picture). Adjust seasoning if necessary. To serve, add chicken to serving dish, cover with sauce and whole chili’s. Serve with  Spaetzle.

Bon Appetit !   Life is Good ! >>
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Gorgonzola Gratinated Skirt Steak, Tomato & Aparagus On Naan

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Friday  night’s dinner is one of these typical dishes that are only concocted when the hunger for a BIG dinner is already gnawing in our gut’s and nothing small and simple will satisfy the hunger disturbed imagination of what the next meal must be like. So here we go, a dinner that will satisfy even the biggest craving for hearty food :-)
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Gorgonzola Gratinated Skirt Steak, Tomato & Aparagus On Naan

Gorgonzola Gratinated Skirt Steak, Tomato & Aparagus On Naan

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Ingredient’s :

Skirt steak,   marinated overnight in soy sauce, sriracha, & garlic paste
Naan,   (substitute with bread of your choice)
Asparagus spears,  (white or green, depending on availability and your preference), buttered and seasoned with kosher salt and cayenne pepper
Tomatoes,   sliced thick, seasoned with kosher salt and cayenne pepper
Scallions,   buttered and seasoned with kosher salt and cayenne pepper
Asiago cheese,   finely grated
Gorgonzola cheese,   crumbled
Kosher salt,
Peanut oil,

Method :

Season steak with kosher salt, dust with a mixture of ap flour, cornstarch, cayene and garlic powder , saute in oil until bloody rare (or your preference. (See note below). Place naan on a baking rack. Top with steak. Sprinkle with asiago. Top with tomato. Sprinkle with asiago . Top with asparagus. Top with gorgonzola. Top with scallions. Broil until gorgonzola is melted and get’s a few golden spots. Remove from broiler, sprinkle with chili flakes. Enjoy a great meal ! :-)

Note :
Remember the carry-over heat and the step of gratinating. Both will further cook your steak. Since I like most of my beef and lamb steaks to be medium rare, I removed it at bloody rare. By the time it was gratinated and ready to eat, it was a perfect medium rare.

Bon Appetit   Life is Good !
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Spatchcocked Chicken “Nilda’s Way”

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Spatchcocked Chicken

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When my  mother in law , Nilda, was still healthy and living with us, she made roast  chicken over  potatoes and onions at least once a month. She did not  spatchcock  (what a funny word to say and write) the chicken, but rather left it whole to cook on top of the potatoes.  I  on the other hand, feel that to spatchcock the bird will give a superior result, both for the chicken and the potatoes. It will allow the potatoes to soak up all the juices and flavor from the chicken during the  cooking  process and at the same time it allows the chicken to cook very evenly, cooking all the way through but leaving both the legs and breast’s very juicy. Since the  coarse salt  will not all run down the side of the chicken as when you roast it whole, it will give the skin a unique texture, rather like a chinese style pepper & salt preparation. I used the same  spice mix  for the chicken and the potatoes / vegetables  - kosher salt, sriracha, melted butter, granulated garlic. Mix the seasoning and butter with the potatoes and vegetables. Rub the chicken on both sides with a generous amount of butter and seasoning. Place the potato / vegetable mix on a rack  which sit’s on a baking sheet, filled with half water and half red wine. Cook in the center of the oven at 390 F  for approximately two hours. My chicken was VERY big, so it took two hours to reach a internal temperature of 16o F. After removing the chicken from the oven and letting it rest for another 15 minutes, the carry-over heat will take the temperature to a safe 165. This will leave the chicken safe to eat and the meat, including the breast, very moist  and tender.
Finally, strain the jus from the sheet pan and adjust the seasoning if necessary. Serving suggestion : See pictures  :-)
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Marc Osten on culinary-compass :  Spatchcooking
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Bon Appetit !   Life is Good !
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Sexy Legs

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Who  needs a side dish with this stuff ?
Not me, that’s for sure.
Prep time : 3 minutes
Cooking time : 50 – 70 minutes, depending on size of legs.

Season with kosher salt, sriracha sauce, granulated garlic and soy sauce.
Roast on rack at 390 ” until temperature on bone has reached 160 “.
Let rest for 10 minutes. Enjoy with a couple of cold beers while watching tv   :-)

Bon Appetit !   Life is Good !

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Roasted Chicken Legs

Roasted Chicken Legs

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Sexy Legs

Sexy Legs

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Gratinated Onion Soup

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Today  the weather channel announced that it will get cold in florida,
so why not prepare for it with this goodie :
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Gratinated Onion Soup

Gratinated Onion Soup

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Saute onion julienne until translucent. Add beer,  beef stock,  Kosher salt , freshly ground  black pepper  and maggi seasoning. Simmer until  onions  are soft but not mushy, about one hour. In the meantime, brush  sliced bread  on both sides with  garlic butter. Toast on both sides until golden. Top with your favorite  cheese  (here I used asiago, sometimes I use cheddar, swiss, pepper jack or gorgonzola) and bake until cheese is melted. Remove from oven and set aside. When the onions are soft, adjust seasoning if necessary. Transfer the soup to a heat proof dish. Top with cheese bread and  sprinkle the top generously with more cheese. Bake until a golden brown crust has formed. To serve, sprinkle with chopped cilantro.

Bon Appetit !   Life is good!
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