Month: August 2012

” Whole Sauteed Fish & Guacamole “

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Last nights great dinner :

Whole sauteed fish & guacamole

Freshly caught fish, seasoned with salt, pepper and lime juice,
lightly dusted with a mix of AP flour and corn starch,
slowly sauteed in olive oil, some onions and garlic added towards the end.
I had some grape tomatoes laying around, so in the guacamole they went.
Three medium sized fish were just the right portion for Bella and I 🙂

Life is Good !
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” Old Fashioned Ice Cube Recipe “

Image: Igloo Ice Bournemouth

Two day’s ago the unthinkable happened :

My ice maker went to ice makers heaven 😦
After the initial shock and the ensuing mourning,
deep panic set in. Do I have to drink warm Ice tea (“Warm Tea”)
until the technician has fixed or replaced my old Ice Magician ?
I am very opposed to buying the bagged ice from super markets or
gas stations, somehow the price and apparent lack of sanitation
prevents me from finding any appeal in putting this stuff in my drinks.
(Boiling it to sanitize does not seem to be a solution ?)
So, I set out to re-conquer the lost art of artisanal ice making.
In the very back of the garage where we store our ancient cooking utensils
and cooking equipment I found a couple of clear plastic ice trays, obviously
never used and still in their original plastic wrapping.
So for a while, I pondered about the recipe which was locked out of sight
for so many years in the bowels of our build in electric ice maker.
After much research and experimenting, I settled for the following recipe
which I selflessly like to share with you, hoping it will give you as much
pleasure and satisfaction as it has given me during the past few day’s.
Here it goes, I present with with unrestricted, understandable pride :

” Royal Ice Cubes “

Equipment :

Freezer or freezer part of your refrigerator
Ice tray

Ingredient’s :

Dihydrogen Monoxide, (H2O), sometimes also called “Water”

Method :

Fill ice tray’s to 4/5 with water, carefully transfer to freezer. X
Freeze dihydrogen monoxide for several hours until frozen solid.
Remove ice cubes from tray as needed.

Cheers ! Life is Good !

X Be care full not to spill water on floor, as this can result in a slip,
which can result in a fall, which can result in you hitting your head
on a hard surface, which can result in considerable damage to your brain,
which would be a shame but has probably happened to many of the folk’s
who display increasingly strange behavior around us.
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p.s.
My handyman replaced the ice maker and thing’s are back to a less dangerous daily routine.
I do not remember if there was a slip / fall / brain damage incident 🙂
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Image: MP SOLVING

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” Pork Ribs Soup With Long Life Noodles “

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I hope the name I gave this soup say’s it all :

“Spicy soup of pork ribs, long life noodles, corn,
bamboo shoots, quail eggs and lap cheong“.

Highly satisfying culinary goodness in a (BIG) bowl. 🙂
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Ingredient’s :

Pasta, cooked, strained, mixed with 1 tsp sesame oil

Pork ribs, simmered, stock reserved
Noodles, cooked
Broccoli rabe, blanched
Lop chaeong, sliced
Corn on the cob, quartered
Quail eggs, soft boiled, peeled
Bell peppers, julienned
Chilis, julienned
Scallions, sliced
Cilantro, coarsely chopped
Ginger, grated
garlic, paste
Sesame oil, to taste
Salt/ Cayenne, to taste

Method :

Simmer ribs until tender, add corn, simmer until tender.
Add garlic paste, grated ginger, salt and cayenne pepper.
Add sausage, peppers, chili, scallions, rabe and quail eggs.
Bring to simmer, remove from heat. Adjust seasoning.

To plate, place noodles in bottom of bowl, ladle soup on top,
Sprinkle with cilantro, serve with chili oil and soy sauce.

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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” Nutella & Banana Ice Cream “

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Here is the world’s easiest and arguably best ice cream :
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Ingredients :

Nutella, 2 cups
Yoghurt, 1 cup
Milk, 2 cups
Sugar, 1/4 cup
Vanilla extract, 1/4 tspn
Lime juice, 1 tspn
Banana, 1 ea, finely diced

Method :

Whisk all ingredients except banana until smooth.
Transfer to ice cream maker, add banana.
Churn until starting to get firm.
Transfer to airtight container, cover, freeze overnight.

I know this might seem simplistic and unsophisticated to some foodies
and professional chef”s, but believe me, this stuff is so rich and tasty,
it put’s many a sophisticated ice cream to shame 🙂

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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” Grilled Pork Chops & Grilled Veggies “

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I just love my little stove top grill. No-fuss grilling for one person.
It does not give me the deep grillmarks a larger, hotter grill would give me,
but the texture and taste are all their own 🙂
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Marinade all items with the pictured spices according to your own preferences 🙂

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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” Bok Choy, Gnocchi & Spicy Italian Sausage “

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Today’s fusion confusion dinner 🙂
Whatever you want to call it, this is a wonderful concoction, worthy of an original name.
How about ” Boknocchi ” or ” Gnocchibok “? Gnocchoy ? 🙂
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Ingredient’s :

Bok Choy
Gnochi
Spicy italian sausage
Scallion
Oregano
Red bell pepper
Onion
Garlic paste
Olive oil
White wine
Cayenne pepper
Salt

Method :

Sautee sausage in oil until starting to brown, add onion and garlic,
sautee until translucent, add peppers and bok choy, saute one minute,
add gnocchi, wine and seasoning and – Voila !

This recipe lends itself for you to be creative !

Asian style : Substitute gnocchi with rice or egg noodles and
add asian seasoning such as soy, sesame oil, ginger, etc.

Indian style : Substitute gnocchi with diced potatoes and
add indian seasoning such as garam masala, lots of fresh coriander etc.
Use your imagination !

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !

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Tomato Bisque

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This is one of those soups where I have to make enough for two day’s,
because one meal of it’s goodness is just not enough to satisfy the quarterly
craving that is nagging me 🙂

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Ingredients :

Tomatoes, 15 lbs
Onions, 1 lb
Celery, 1 lb
Garlic, 8 oz coarsely chopped
Rice, 4 oz uncooked
Olive oil, 1/2 cup
Heavy cream, 2 cup
Chicken stock 1 gall
Oregano, 1 bdl
Basil, 1 bdl
Cayenne, to taste
Salt, to tase

Method :

Add all Ingredients except cream to a large stock pot and simmer for about 2,5 hours.
Blend until VERY smooth. Add cream and simmer for another 15 minutes.
Adjust seasoning and serve.

Note :
Bisques were originally thickened with rice.
This made the bisque smoother and silkier than using flour or other thickeners.

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !

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” Freeze Dried Herb’s To The Rescue “

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I was so fed-up !
I only go to the supermarket once or twice a week, so I buy a bunch of food and then decide later during the week what I will cook with it.
This works out fine with almost everything, except with herbs. I used to buy at least five or six different kind of fresh herbs once a week, but no matter what,
there was alway’s stuff to throw away after a few day’s in the fridge. I hate to throw food in the garbage, so now I am happy to have found a solution :
Freeze dried Herbs 🙂
Since I alway’s tried to use fresh herb’s in my food, I don’t really have much experience with the dried stuff. However, I came across some awesome items which I use now all the time.
In salads, soups, stews, sautees, you name it, I now usually use a good amount off freeze dried herbs, usually the LITEHOUSE brand, which I find superior to all others I have tried so far.
They taste, look and smell just like the real deal.
As for salad dressings,they sure have come a long way from their awful beginnings. (Sure you can still get any number of crappy dressings at a supermarket near you),
but here is what I have used and liked lately :
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Image Source: UGA

LITEHOUSE Freeze Dried Herbs

Chives
Basil
Oregano
Dill

LITEHOUSE Dressings

Thai
Sangria
Bleu Cheese
Fuji Apple Vin
Sesame Ginger
Jalapeno Ranch
Pear Gorgonzola
Raspberry Walnut
Pomegranate Blueberry

So please don’t think I like dried herbs and ready made dressings better than freshly made. If I have a practical choice, I still prefer the fresh herb’s and homemade dressings over dried and bottled products; But sometimes it is just more clever and sensible to use what you can better control and therefore avoid waste.

Please note that I have no affiliation whatsoever with the LITHOUSE brand, I am just a big fan of their products 🙂

Life is Good !
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” Beer Braised Turkey Leg’s “

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Last night’s dinner brought out the very best one can get from turkey legs’s:
Tender, juicy, loaded with flavor, accompanied by a wonderful herbed rice.
In my opinion, turkey doesn’t get much better than that 🙂
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Turkey :

Ingredients :

Turkey legs, bone in
Morcilla, diced
Beer, a bottle or two of your favorite
Bell peppers, diced
Onions, diced
Garlic, paste
Scallions, sliced
Oregano “Litehouse” freeze dried
Basil “Litehouse” freeze dried
Chives “Litehouse” freeze dried
Maggi
Grape tomatoes
Tomato sauce canned
Oil, to sautee

Method :

Saute legs in oil until golden, remove and reserve.
Sautee peppers, remove, reserve.
Sautee onions and garlic until translucent, add Morcilla, tomato sauce
and beer, return leg’s and half the peppers to the sauce.
Add salt and pepper and simmer until legs are tender. Shortly before the
end of the cooking process, carefully remove legs into another pot.
Strain sauce onto legs, add remaining peppers, tomatoes and chives.
Bring back to simmer for one more minute and serve.

Rice :

Ingredients :

Jasmin Rice, soaked for two hours, washed repeatedly
Butter melted
Herbs fresh or freeze dried
Salt & cayenne pepper to taste

Method :

Cook rice in boiling plain water for approximately 4 minute, or until tender but not mushy (Polo Method)
Strain rice and with a fork mix in the butter, seasoning and herb’s.
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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” Smörgåsbord “

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Where else than in my house can you find a Smörgåsbord for one ?
Smörgåsbord is a scandinavian buffet, usually consisting of seafood,
meats, starches, preserves, bread’s; sometimes using both hot and cold dishes,
sometimes, for a more simple version, cold dishes only.
Here is the version I enjoyed for dinner last night :
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