Month: April 2013

Pizza With Anchovies, Mascarpone, Tomato & Egg

I did not feel like having an elaborate meal tonight, so this quick and easy to prepare pizza was all I wanted for dinner. I actually had some pickled artichoke hearts in the fridge but I forgot to use them. Even without the artichokes, it was a very enjoyable, filling and satisfying dinner.
Looking forward though, to tomorrows braised oxtail with potato dumplings.
(Geschmorter ochsen schwanz mit kartoffel knoedeln) 🙂

Pizza With Anchovies, Mascarpone, Tomato & Egg

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Pizza Dough Recipe

Ingredients :

Pizza dough,
Anchovy filets, canned
Eggs, whole
Tomato, sliced
Chili flakes,
Mascarpone cheese,
Parmesan cheese, finely grated
Scallions, sliced
Olive oil,

Method :

Pull pizza dough into a thin oval. Top with anchovies, tomatoes and mascarpone, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with parmesan. Bake at 500F until bubbling, add eggs and sprinkle with chili flakes, Return to oven and bake until dough is cooked, golden and crispy.
To serve, top with arugula in honey / mustard dressing.

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Rum Laced Iced Berry Soup

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What a gorgeous sunday afternoon by the lake. Perfect temperature outside, a good book to read (WHISKEY BEACH, by Nora Roberts), great rock in the background (Big 105.9) and this wonderful concoction of berries, yoghurt and rum, topped with a bit of whipped cream.
Ahhhhhhh 🙂

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Life is Good ! Cheers !

Rum Laced Iced Berry Soup

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Frantzén/Lindeberg – Real Food, Presented With Class, Style & A Sense Of Beauty

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Frantzén/Lindeberg, Stockholm, Sweden
Image Source: Wikipedia

Usually I am not a fan of highly styled food because, unfortunately, a large percentage of cooks nowadays loose sight of the food aspect in favor of extreme presentation, the “WOW” effect.
On the other hand, when I watch this short video of “Real Food” presented as beautiful as can be at Frantzen/Lindeberg in Stockholm’s “Gamla Stan“, I am vividly reminded that, despite all the wannabe’s, there are still geniuses out there who honor our profession with this kind of artistry and respect for what good food is all about.
My respect and admiration for chef’s of this caliber who make me proud to be a member of our profession 🙂 >
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The featured dishes are :

“Chicken Salad”
“Tartar of Langoustines”
“Small Bark Pancakes”

Watch the video HERE
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Fried Cornish Hen, Pommes Frites & Baked Parmesan Tomato

After I cooked this meal and started eating it, I became acutely aware of a monstrous mistake I had made: I had two hens in the fridge and I only cooked one, thinking it would be enough. I should have known better.
This could be the poster child for comfort food. The crispy, juicy , oh so tender cornish hen, freshly fried , crispy, tasty pommes frites and a great heirloom tomato baked with scallions, freshly grated parmesan and seasoned with sea salt and cayenne pepper. The whole schamukkus served with mayonnaise to dip the frites and a mixture of soy sauce, lime juice and chili oil for the meat.
Absolutely delicious – I just wish I had cooked both of the cornish hen’s 🙂
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Fried Cornish Hen, Pommes Frites & Baked Parmesan Tomato

: Fried Cornish Hen, Pommes Frites & Baked Parmesan Tomato

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Ingredient’s :

Cornish hen, padded dry inside and out
Makeshift fryer, filled with heavily salted peanut oil
Chili oil,

Potatoes, peeled, cut into fries
Duck fat,
Sea salt,
Cayenne pepper,

Heirloom tomato, cut in half
Parmigiano-Reggiano,
Scallions, cut into 3 inch lengths
Sea salt,
Cayenne pepper,
Butter, melted,

Method :

Fry the cornish hen at 375 F until very crispy and cooked through. Remove to absorbent paper. Drizzle with chili oil.

Add the potatoes to the cold duck fat and heat it until the fat reaches a temperature of 375 F. Cook until crisp and golden brown. Remove to absorbent paper. Sprinkle generously with sea salt.

Season tomato with salt and pepper, top with grated parmesan. Dip scallions in butter and season with salt and pepper. Place on parmesan topped tomato. Bake until parmesan crust is golden brown.
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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” Ojinguh Bokkeum ” Korean Style Stir Fried Squid

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Traditionally in Korea , one uses much larger squid and scores the surface in a criss cross pattern. I personally prefer the smaller squid I used here today, the texture is so much different and, dare I say, better. It is a simple stir fry preparation. Please make sure your pan is very hot and please don’t boil your squid. A few short seconds simmering in the sauce will suffice. I also suggest that you mix all the Ingredients for the sauce and check the taste before you add it to the pan so your squid get in and out of the pan as quickly as possible. >
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” Ojinguh Bokkeum ” Korean Style Stir Fried Squid>

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: ” Ojinguh Bokkeum ” Korean Style Stir Fried Squid

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Ingredient’s :

Squid, cleaned, cut to size, including tentacles
Chilis, medium hot, sliced
Scallions, cut into one inch length
Onion, cut into paysanne
Garlic, paste
Ginger, grated
Oyster sauce,
Soy sauce,
Sesame oil,
Chili flakes,
Peanut oil,
Sesame seeds,
Sriracha,
Ketchup, (for color and a touch of sweetness)
Kosher salt,
Cayenne pepper,

Method :

Season all vegetables and squid with salt and pepper. Saute onion , garlic and ginger until fragrant, add vegetables, saute for a few second, add squid, saute for a few seconds. Add sauce, bring to a simmer, remove from heat at once. Adjust seasoning if necessary. Serve with rice, sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds.

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good ! . . . .
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Indoor Sunshine

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Yesterday it was raining and raining and raining ……
So I brought the sunshine inside the house with this delicious concoction 🙂
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” Indoor Sunshine ” Vodka & Mango Smoothie
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Life is Good ! Cheers !
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Indoor Sunshine:
Vodka & Mango Smoothie

Indoor Sunshine:
Vodka & Mango Smoothie 3

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” Bauern Vesper ” # 2

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Today was a very lazy sunday for me, I did not even feel like cooking. So, instead of a hot meal, I had a simple “Vesper” of bread, horseradish, salame , brie and gorgonzola. Good stuff 🙂

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Bauern Vesper

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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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Too Much “Freshness” ???

Watch the VIDEO HERE
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When is too much too much ?
Do you think this is eaten in this way because of the ultimate freshness ?
Or for the novelty effect ? ( Probably)

You’ll be the judge 😦 🙂
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Asian Style Chicken Wings in Oyster Sauce

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Asian Style Chicken Wings

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This is one of the dishes I could eat three times a week without getting tired of it anytime soon.
Breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack. Feed me anytime with this stuff and I’ll be happy 🙂
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: Asian Style Chicken Wings

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Ingredient’s :

Chicken wings,
Bok choy, cut into large pieces
Red peppers, cut into triangles, keep stems and leaf’s seperate
Dry shiitake mushrooms, soaked in warm water
Onions, large diced
Garlic, paste
Ginger, grated
Peanut oil,
Chicken stock,
Sherry wine,
Oyster sauce,
Hoisin sauce,
Soy sauce,
Sesame oil,
Kosher salt,
Cayenne pepper,

Method :

Saute seasoned wings in peanut oil until almost cooked trough. Remove from heat to absorbent paper. Saute onions, peppers, bok choy stems, garlic and ginger until fragrant. Add sauces and sesame oil, wings, shiitake, scallions and bok choy leaves. Mix well, serve with fan. (chinese steamed rice)

Recipe for “Fan”

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !

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