Month: August 2012

” Salmon Parisienne, Bean & Mushroom Ragout “

>

>
When I cooked this dish last knight I realized that I have not seen anything ” a la Parisienne ” on a menu for many years. What a shame that so many classic dishes and methods simply disappear from the repertoire of our younger chef’s. Granted, old fashioned and steeped in tradition might not be practical or popular on a daily basis. But I feel we should not completely stop to learn and enjoy the classics. How long before we all get sick and tired of the one hundred’st version of grilled fish with salsa ? Let’s mix it up a bit ! Mix the classics with the modern,  the traditional with the new, the tried and proven with the daring  🙂 I vote for a greater repertoire for our younger food enthusiasts in order to keep the spirit of our  culinary profession vibrant and alive !
.

.


.
Ingredients :

Salmon filet,                     cleaned, skinless, marinated w.salt. pepper, lime juice
Whole egg,                        to dip fish
Flour,                                  to dust fish
Butter,                                 to saute fish

Baby portabellas,            quartered
White beans,                    cooked
Red peppers,                     finely diced
Garlic,                                paste
Onion,                               diced
Scallion,                            sliced
Scallion ,                           whole
Salt,                                    to taste
Cayenne pepper,             to taste
Butter,                                to saute vegetables

Method :

dredge seasoned fish in flour, coat with whisked egg, saute until
egg is tender and fish is cooked but still juicy. Remove to absorbent paper.

Saute onion and mushroom in butter until onions are translucent and
mushrooms start to brown.
Add Garlic paste, saute another minute. Add peppers, whole and sliced
scallions and seasoning.
To plate, put ragout on plate, top with salmon and garnish with whole scallion.

Bon Appetit !   Life is Good !
.
.

” China Is Building an Army of Noodle-Making Robots “

.
.
I came across this at “EATER” and thought my readers would enjoy this.
If these robot‘s cost only $2000, they could be a great, cheap gimmick on a coffeeshop’s pasta buffet .
Your comments please, or choose an answer from the poll below    🙂
.

Image from “EATER”

.

Excerpts from “EATER” :

In the face of rising labor costs, Chinese restaurateur Cui Runguan is selling thousands of robots that can hand slice noodles into a pot of boiling water called the Chef Cui.
Runguan says in the report below that just like robots replacing workers in factories, “it is certainly going to happen in sliced noodle restaurants.”
The robots costs $2,000 each, as compared to a chef, who would cost $4,700 a year. According to one chef, “The robot chef can slice noodles better than human chefs.”
News of Runguan’s invention hit the internet in March of 2011, but they’ve since gone into production and are starting to catch on: 3,000 of them have already been sold.
But why do their eyes glow, and why do they look so angry?
Read more and see the video HERE
.


.
.

” Dandanmian ” Chinese Noodles, Ground Pork & Vegetables

.
.
” Dandanmian ”  or  ” Dan Dan Mian ”  or  “Dandan Noodles “. 

There are many variations of this most simple dish, which originated as
street peddlers dish. Basic ingredients are ground pork, noodles,
spicy sauce with or without peanut- or sesame – paste.
Here is the Dandan I prepared for dinner yesterday
( I too do many variations of this dish) :
.

.


.
Ingredients :

Chinese egg noodles,            cooked, drained, coated with sesame oil
Ground pork,
Carrots,                                      julienned
Bell peppers,                             julienned
Silver onions,                           peeled, blanched
White cabbage,                        coarsely sliced
Garlic,                                        paste
Ginger,                                       grated
Cilantro,                                    coarsely chopped
Oyster sauce,
Soy Sauce,
Chili oil,
Sesame oil,
Salt,                                             to taste
Cayenne pepper,                       to taste
Chicken stock
Peanut oil

Method :

Saute pork in peanut oil until starting to brown.
Add garlic and ginger, saute until translucent.
Add chicken stock and all seasoning, simmer until
meat is soft. Add cabbage and peppers, simmer for
one minute. Add Noodles, mix well.
To serve, sprinkle with cilantro and drizzle with Chili oil.

Bon Appetit !   Life is Good !
.
.

” Japan’s Epic Fast Food War Inspired These Crazy Menu Items “

,
,
Excerpt from “Yahoo Finance”  :
There’s a marketing war going on in Japan‘s fast food industry. Everyone’s trying to one-up each other amid intense competition.
In 2010, McDonald’s and KFC had an all-out advertising war to win chicken-lovers across the nation. Wendy‘s couldn’t handle the heat in 2009 and was forced to pull out. It didn’t re-enter the market until the very end of 2011. International fast food titans have to deal with each other, plus, they have to compete with the many local chains, some of which are quite powerful.
Japan has had a recent interest in more sophisticated items, and as the chains keep pushing the envelope, you end up getting some pretty bizarre things on the menus.
.
Read all about it  HERE
,

Screenshot TheLeong.com
Denny’s Japan is dishing out New Zealand beef topped with foie gras and sliced truffles, served with a red wine reduction for about $15.

<
.

” Mock Pappardelle, Chorizo, Asparagus, Carrots & Gorgonzola “

>

>

My dilemma is:
I love pappardelle, but I seldom make fresh pasta
at home and I have never seen pappardelle on a store shelf,
at least not here in South Florida. The solution?
Use lasagna sheets. Break them into irregular shapes before
you cook them. The result was very satisfying for me and I will
resort to this many times to come, if, for whatever reason, fresh
pappardelle are not available or impractical to make from scratch
at the time.  ( For whatever reason ) .
Don’t knock it before you try it !      🙂
.

.


.
Ingredients :

Pappardelle,                  cooked al dente, strained  (or substitute pasta)
Chorizo,                          thinly sliced
Asparagus,                     blanched
Carrots,                           blanched
Gorgonzola,                   coarsely crumbled
Garlic,                              paste
Black Pepper                  freshly ground, to taste
Salt,                                  to taste
Olive oil

Method :

Saute garlic and chorizo in olive oil until garlic becomes translucent,
Add all other ingredients except gorgonzola,  saute until all ingredient’s
are well combined. To serve, top with crumbled gorgonzola.

Bon Appetit !   Life is Good !
>

>

” Word’s to ponder “

..
.
.

.
.
“A home cook who relies too much on a recipe is sort of like a pilot who reads the plane’s instruction manual while flying.”
– Alton Brown

” What my mother believed about cooking is that if you worked hard and prospered, someone else would do it for you.”
– Nora Ephron

“Give a man a fish and he has food for a day; teach him how to fish and you can get rid of him of the entire weekend.”
– Zenna Schaffer

” My wife dresses to kill. She cooks the same way. “
– Henry Youngman

“Man is the only animal that can remain on friendly terms with the victims he intends to eat until he eats them.” 
– Samuel Butler

“Get the F…  out of my kitchen”
– Hans Susser,  on many occasion’s.
.
.

” Sexist Vintage Ads: 45 Vintage Ads Targeting Husbands And Wives “

.
.
I found this mind boggling.
How far has our society (most of it anyway) come in a few short decades.
We can laugh about it now, but back then …….
Enjoy this, but take it with a grain of salt  🙂
.

Image source: AMUSING PLANET


.
More Vintage Sexist Ad’s found on AMUSING PLANET:

45 Vintage Sexist Ads That Wouldn’t Go Down Well Today
.
Life is Good !   Especially now   🙂
.
.

” Breakfast Of Champions # 6 ” Farmers Omelette

.
.
Today I finally found time again to do a proper breakfast,
after a week of peppermint tea and bananas.
During the week I get up at 3.30am and after a usual sleep time
of 3 to 4 hours, my desire to cook a full meal is usually subdued a bit   😦
Not today ! So here we go:
.
” Farmers Omelette ”
.

.


.
Ingredients:

Eggs,                                whole, whisked, seasoned with salt and cayenne
Grape tomatoes,            whole
Asparagus,                      blanched
Carrots,                            blanched
Onion,                              julienned
Garlic,                              paste
Potatoes,                         blanched
Chorizo,                          thinly sliced
Chives,                             sliced  (fresh or freeze dried)
Butter                                (substitute olive oil if desired)
Parmesan,                       grated
Salt,                                   to taste
Cayenne Pepper ,           to taste

Method :

Sautee potatoes in butter (oil) until starting to change color,
add onion and saute until starting to brown.
Add garlic, saute until translucent, add all other vegetables
and seasoning and saute until heated through.
add eggs, cover tightly, lower heat and cook slowly until eggs are set.
to plate, invert onto serving dish, sprinkle generously with chives.

Bon Appetit !   Life is Good !
.
.

Three Minute “Gourmet” Meal

.
.
I got home today totally exhausted,
deprived of sleep last night and just too bummed out
to be enthusiastic about being in the kitchen and on
my feet any more time then absolutely necessary.
The solution: My favorite three minute gourmet meal  🙂

” Octopus, mussels and romaine salad “
.

.


.

The key to the success of this dish is to use the best
ingredients available. Please note that while there are a lot of
crappy canned and frozen food‘s out there, there are also some
pretty amazing items available which make it a snap to produce
a wonderful, high quality meal on the fly when, for whatever reason,
time restraints and / or other restrictions prevent you from using the
ideal fresh product.

Ingredient‘s :

Romaine lettuce,          sliced
Octopus,                         canned, drained
Mussels,                         canned, drained
Grape tomatoes,           halved
Radishes,                       sliced
Onions,                          sliced
Basil,                               freeze dried  (Litehouse)
Oregano                         freeze dried  (Litehouse)
Fuji apple dressing      bottled  (Litehouse)
Sangria dressing          bottled  (Litehouse)
Salt                                   to taste
Cayenne pepper            to taste
Granulated garlic         to taste

Method :

Mix all ingredients carefully so as not to break up the delicate mussels.
Serve with jalapeno / cheese sour dough bread.

Bon Appetit !   Life is Good !
.
.

” Pepper Jack Stuffed Pierogies, Chicharrones, Corn, Radish & Peas “

.
.
Last nights dinner took me to the polish corner of my kitchen,
where I found a modern version of a dish steeped highly in tradition   🙂

“ Pierogi “
.

>


.

Ingredients :

Vegetables and Garnish :

  • kernel corn, blanched
  • green peas, frozen
  • sliced radish
  • sliced chives
  • diced onions
  • chicharrones (fried pork rind)
  • garlic paste to taste
  • salt & pepper to taste
  • butter to saute

Method :

Saute onion in butter until translucent.
Stir into the mashed potatoes, add grated cheese and yoghurt,
season with salt and cayenne pepper, mix well.To make the dough, beat together the eggs and sour cream until smooth.
Sift together the flour, salt, and baking powder; stir into the sour cream mixture,
mix well and knead the dough on a lightly floured surface until firm and smooth.
Divide the dough in half, then roll out one half to 1/8 inch thickness.
Cut into 3 inch rounds using a cutter or drinking glass.Place a small spoonful of the mashed potato filling into the center of each round.
Moisten the edges with water, fold over, and press together with a fork to seal.
Repeat procedure with the remaining dough and filling.Cook in boiling saltwater until dough is done, about 4 to 5 minutes,
depending on the thickest part of the dough. Remove with a slotted spoon, drain.Saute pierogi in butter until starting to brown, add onions, and garlic, saute until
translucent, add corn, peas, radish and salt and pepper to taste.
To serve, plate pierogies, spoon vegetables on top and sprinkle with chicharrones and chives.
“
Bon Appetit !   Life is Good !
.
.