Author: Hans Susser

Germany/USA

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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End Of The Week Treat # 1

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Friday afternoon, enjoying ” Tiramisu and a good helping of Baileys Irish Cream “.
Ahhhh…..just putting up my feet after a long week of hard work, enjoying the moment, knowing that tomorrows work……
Wait a minute – no work tomorrow nor sunday, just sleep, walk the dog, cook, eat good food, , watching exciting movies, reading good books, hanging with friend’s.
Life is Good ! . . . . . . . 🙂

Have a great weekend y’all !
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Tiramisu & Baileys Irish Cream

: Tiramisu & Baileys Irish Cream

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Tiramisu Recipe By Giada De Laurentis At Food Network

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Stir Fried Vegetables, Egg and Walnuts

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Today I read this article about healthy living. One of the main paths to a healthy life is supposedly to refrain from eating animal protein. But, as you all know, healthy or not, I just love animal protein once in a while. Chicken, pork, lamb,beef, seafood, duck, goose, I love it all.
But, tonight I had a strong craving for rice and vegetables. Since Bella is usually my only dinner guest, I mostly get to decide on the menu all by myself. So today’s dinner came along that ” healthy path ” .
“Despite” being healthy, it was delicious and a joy to eat. But tomorrow – Steak 🙂

Fan ( Chinese steamed rice ) recipe HERE
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Stir Fried Vegetables, Egg & Walnut

: Stir Fried Vegetables, Egg & Fan

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Ingredient’s :

Broccoli, floretes, blanched
Bean sprouts,
Red radishes, quartered,
Shiitake mushrooms, sliced
Chili’s, seeded, quartered
Onion, julienned
Eggs, hardboiled, Quartered
Walnuts, candied
Ginger, grated
Garlic, paste
Scallions, sliced
Cilantro, chopped
Hoi sin sauce,
Soy sauce,
Sesame oil,
Peanut oil, to saute
Chicken stock,
Corn starch slurry,
Kosher salt,
Cayenne pepper,
Chili oil,
Sesame seeds, toasted
Fan,

Method :

Saute walnuts in sugar until sugar starts to brown, set aside. Saute onions until translucent, add ginger and garlic, saute until fragrant, Add broccoli, shiitake, radish, scallion and chili’s and saute until heated through. Add chicken stock, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, salt and pepper, bring to a simmer. Add slurry, simmer for a few seconds. Remove from heat, add bean sprouts. Adjust seasoning if necessary. Add eggs. To serve, top with walnuts, sprinkle with cilantro, drizzle with chili oil. Sprinkle fan with toasted sesame seeds.

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !

Bone-In Rib Eye & “Stuff”

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What a great early dinner today (I started work at 4.00 am, so dinner at 5.0 pm does not sound so ridiculously early, does it? )
This dish was very satisfying, from the potatoes to the beans to the steak. I Sauteed everything in duck fat with lot’s of roasted garlic and used some leftover duck jus to lightly mash the potatoes and beans with, for a great flavor and texture 🙂

“Sauteed bone-in rib eye , with habichuelas blancas (smal white beans), potatoes, tomatoes, scallions and Duck jus”.

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Bone-In Rib Eye

: Bone-In Rib Eye

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Saint Patrick’s Day “Breakfast Of Champions” # 19

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” Irish soda bread with raisins & caraway seeds,
topped with corned beef, asparagus, tomato and brie”
Great breakfast in honor of St Patrick.
(The brie might not be Irish, but it lift’s this dish to another dimension 🙂

Erin Go Bragh !

Recipe for Irish soda bread HERE
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Saint Patrick’s Day Breakfast Of Champions

: Saint Patrick’s Day Breakfast Of Champions

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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Chicken & Tomato Stew With Orzo, Cabbage & Cauliflower

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Saturday lunch should be quick, light and delicious !
Well, here you go :
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Chicken & Tomato Stew With Orzo, Cabbage & Cauliflower

: Chicken & Tomato Stew With Orzo, Cabbage & Cauliflower

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Simmer chicken drumsticks in chicken broth seasoned with kosher salt, maggi, freshly ground black pepper, grated ginger and garlic paste until tender but not falling apart. Add blanched cauliflower florettes, diced white cabbage and diced green bell peppers. Bring back to simmer for two minutes. Remove from heat, add grape tomatoes. Adjust seasoning if required. Ladle over orzo (risoni) and sprinkle liberally with cilantro and finely grated parmigiano reggiano
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P.S.
If you ever wonder why I add grape tomatoes to so many of my dishes, here is why: First, I love the color accent it lend’s to many dishes. Second and even more important, I love the way they “pop” in the mouth and give you that instant tomato goodness. There you have it 🙂
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Bon Appetit ! Have A Great Weekend !
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Death by Chocolate

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” Chocolate & Mascarpone Terrine “

This is my gift to anybody who is not a well versed pastry chef, but a diehard chocolate lover (or a lover of a diehard chocolate lover), who sometimes has to prepare his or her own chocolate fix on short notice without much fuss. I doubt that there are many chocolate desserts out there which are as easy to prepare, yet as rich in texture and pure chocolate goodness as this little gem. Even if you have two left hands, had a few too many drinks, are legally blind and have a case of the jitters, you should still be able to prepare this dish at a moments notice without any difficulty 🙂
You have a choice of the texture being ultra smooth, or, as I did here, studded with shards of chocolate for a more crunchy version. (I’ll explain below)
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Chocolate & Mascarpone Terrine

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Ingredient’s :

Mascarpone cheese,
Chocolate fudge brownies, (or substitute with your favorite brownies or cookies)
Dark rum, (or substitute with your favorite booze)
Dark bitter chocolate, (or substitute with your favorite chocolate
Mango, (or substitute with your favorite fruit)

Method :

1) Soak brownies in plenty of rum.
2) Crumble and whisk until smooth.
3) Whisk mascarpone until smooth.
4) Temper chopped chocolate until melted and smooth.
5) Mix cookies and mascarpone until well blended and smooth.
6) Slowly add chocolate to mascarpone while whisking vigorously.
7) Or, alternatively, in order to have a more crunchy texture, add a thin film of chocolate to top of mascarpone without stirring. Let set for a few seconds, then break up the set chocolate and mix into mascarpone. Continue to add remaining chocolate to mascarpone while whisking vigorously.
8) If desired, add sugar, vanilla and lemon juice to your liking. ( I usually don’t add anything, for me, the taste of the cheese, rum, chocolate and brownies is just perfect, nothing else needed.
9) Fill into mold of your choice, let set overnight.
10) To serve, slice terrine or scoop into spheres or quenelles. Decorate with fruit of your choice.
11) Eat, be very happy 🙂

Chocolate & Mascarpone Terrine

Life is Good !
Say hi to your sweet tooth from me 🙂
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Whole Roasted Duck

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Don’t get me wrong!
I do love a rare duck breast with crisp skin . But, that is definitely not the end of all great duck dishes. Of course it is so much easier to cut off the breast’s and saute them separate, leaving the center rare and declaring that a master piece and the fine art of cooking. Then cut off the legs and braise them until tender. Wow, how difficult is that ! I have enjoyed both these dishes often ( If ! properly done. More often than not, some “chef’s” are able to even screw that up) . But, in my humble opinion, nothing can beat a whole roast duck, legs and breast perfectly tender and juicy, full of flavor. Maybe it takes a bit more knowledge, experience and feeling to accomplish, but a successful result is certainly worth the extra effort.
This duck was beautifully tasty, juicy and tender, with a great skin, served with its own, red wine fortified jus. Any other preparation will surely come in second place, way behind this beauty 🙂
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Ingredient’s :

Duck, whole, marinated for two days with merlot, soy sauce, sriracha, granulated garlic
Merlot, substitue with wine of your preference
Kosher salt,
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Method :

Turn duck in it’s marinade often, so as to evenly marinade on all sides, inside and out. After two day’s remove from marinade and pat dry. Season with kosher salt, inside and out. Set on a rack in a roasting pan above the remaning marinade and red wine. Cook for 30 min at 420F.Turn heat to 275 F and cook, loosely covered with aluminium foil, for 4,5 hours. Remove foil, turn heat back up to 400F and roast for another 30 min or until skin is crisp and golden. Strain the jus, serve apart. Accompany with starch and vegetables, or do as I did – eat the whole thing at once and just have some bread with it to dunk in the jus.

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Whole Roast Duck

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Whole Roast Duck

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“Escargot Bourguignon” (Snails in Garlic–Herb Butter)

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I cannot recall when I have last seen this classic dish on a restaurant menu. What a shame, since this is such a delightful, easy to prepare dish. As for my dinner today, I do have the shells, forks and escargot tongs at home, but since this is just for myself and not a dinner party, I prefer to serve them as I’ve done here, in a ovenproof dish, accompanied by simple bread to soak up ALL the garlic butter.
Here are my two pet peeves about this dish when I eat it in a restaurant :

1) If the snails are too large !
2) If the butter is not seasoned properly nor has enough parsley !

1) At home, I cut the very large snails in half. Much more pleasant to eat.
Voilà ! Problem solved 🙂
2) I make sure I add plenty of garlic, freshly ground black pepper and lot’s of chopped parsley.
Voilà ! No problem to start with 🙂

Escargot Bourguignon

: Escargot Bourguignon

: The Beast Devours Escargot

Ingredient’s :

Snails, canned, rinsed
Butter, unsalted
Red wine, (I prefer merlot)
Shallots, finely diced (I used onion)
Garlic, paste
Flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
Black pepper, freshly ground
Sea salt,

Method :

Saute onions and garlic until fragrant. Add red wine, simmer until almost evaporated. Add butter, season with salt and pepper. Heat butter until starting to brown in small spots. Add escargots, simmer until all liquid has evaporated again. Remove from heat, stir in most of the parsley. To serve, sprinkle with more parsley.

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100.000 Hits ! Thank You All !

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Dear Friend’s,

I am proud and happy to report that today ChefsOpinion has passed the 100.00 hits mark. This despite the fact that I am doing this in my spare time after work and that 99.9 % of all the food featured was cooked and photographed by myself at home. When I started this blog back in april of 2012 I never thought I would be able to find so many like minded folks out there who, like me, enjoy and appreciate ALL good food, but are down to earth and truthful enough to admit that on a daily basis, REAL food ( and real opinions) is what we crave the most.
So once again, thank you all for your loyalty and I hope I will see you hanging around ChefsOpinion for many years to come.

Best Regard’s,
Hans.

P.S.
Next goal : 1.000.000 Hits.
You can help me by subscribing and spreading the word 🙂
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