Entrées

How To Turn Radiators Into A Delicious Dish…….

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“Radiatore with Salame and Sun-Dried Tomatoes in Garlic-Confit Cream”
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Pasta, garlic, cream and other “stuff” 🙂 – always quick and easy to prepare, yet very rewarding with big flavors and a lovely texture.
This is the kind of food I prepare when I “don’t feel like cooking”. After all, the whole preparation takes only a few minutes and is easy enough to be handled by a novice in the kitchen, all one needs is a few good ingredients and a passion for food, the rest will fall into place all by itself 🙂
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Radiatore with Salame and Sun-Dried Tomatoes in Garlic-Confit Cream

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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
To enlarge pictures and read instructions, click on pictures
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: saute garlic in olive oil until just starting to change color

: add salame julienne and onion julienne, saute until onions are translucent

: add julienned sun-dried tomatoes and heavy cream, season with kosher salt and fresh-grated black pepper

: simmer until cream starts to thicken, remove from heat, add grated parmesan, check / adjust seasoning

: add fresh cooked radiatori with a bit of the cooking water, mix well

: plate on serving dish, sprinkle with freshly shredded parmesan

: Radiatore with Salame and Sun-Dried Tomatoes in Garlic-Confit Cream

: Radiatore with Salame and Sun-Dried Tomatoes in Garlic-Confit Cream

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Lamb Stew “Wiedenfelsen”

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Image: Property of Panoramio

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Click here for a short Video of Hotel Wiedenfelsen
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It seems about time that I dedicate a dish and name it for the place which started it all for me, the wonderful, elegant and classy “Hotel Wiedenfelsen” in the Black Forrest in Germany.
Before and during the time I was lucky to be am apprentice in this gem of a hotel, the tourist industry in Germany was dominated by hotels like this.
Medium in size, family-owned hotels and restaurants which were the pride of families which, in many cases, had operated these hotels and restaurants for generations. Sadly, because of changing demands, the industry took a sharp turn during the 70’s and many of these wonderful places became obsolete in a fast changing landscape of mostly chain-operated hotels. Only the strongest and the luckiest survived, while the rest gave way to cookie-cutter operations without charm and soul, or they just ceased to exist (including Hotel Wiedenfelsen). It has since seen various attempts to re-invent itself under different ownership, but has never managed to come even near it’s former glory).
Things were of course very different during the hotels heydays, the time during which I had the fortune to be accepted for a three-year apprenticeship under the tight and competent leadership of the Executive Chef (and son in law of the then-owners) Karl Mueller. Karl was a generous and warm person, taking care of us apprentices as if we were family. He was also extremely professional, strict and a severe applier of high culinary standards.
Although ours was a relatively small hotel (about 70 rooms, two restaurants and one banquet space), the standards with which our hotel operated were very high and impeccable indeed.
It was mostly because of these high standards of the whole family who owned and operated “Hotel Wiedenfelsen” that I have become the person I am and the chef I was for nearly five decades. Admittedly, it took an iron hand, a (seemingly at the time) short leash and not a few “fresh ones” to shape me (and a bunch of other apprentices) into the professional I became, but, looking back today, I am grateful to the Mehr family and the Mueller family to have never given up on me and guided me into the right professional and personal direction.
All of this (and more) went through my head yesterday while I was cooking this dish which was the first lamb dish Chef Mueller taught me so many years ago………..
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Thanks Karl, Uschi, Herr und Frau Mehr. God Bless ! 🙂
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Lamb Stew “Wiedenfelsen”

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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
To enlarge pictures and read instructions, click on pictures
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: remove excess fat from a de-boned lamb leg

: cut into cubes, season with kosher salt and cayenne pepper

: saute lamb in olive oil until browned

: add sliced onions and garlic paste

: add tomato sauce, diced tomatoes and same amount (volume) of water (or red wine if you prefer)

: season with finely chopped fresh rosemary, kosher salt, cayenne pepper, a dash of ground cumin and a dash of dried or fresh oregano

: simmer slowly until lamb is tender but NOT falling apart

: add cooked chickpeas and small raw carrots

: simmer until carrots are tender

: add diced bell peppers, simmer two more minutes

: add grape tomatoes, remove from heat, check / adjust seasoning

: Lamb Stew “Wiedenfelsen”

: Lamb Stew “Wiedenfelsen”

: Lamb Stew “Wiedenfelsen”

: serve stew over pasta, rice, mashed potato or cous cous

: Lamb Stew “Wiedenfelsen”

: Lamb Stew “Wiedenfelsen”

: Lamb Stew “Wiedenfelsen”

: Bella – first bite as usual 🙂

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Sauteed Cod Filet & Honey-Glazed Carrots

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Cod used to be the cheapest fish you can buy – but look at it now : 4 pieces for $ 38.00 at the fishmonger ! 😦
But once in a while I have to splurge a bit and this cod just fit the bill 🙂
Tomorrow we’ll have dry bread again……
Not really, but I really wish basic food items would be priced a bit more affordable. Shops get fancier all the time, advertising cost’s millions and all these costs have to be covered by the food we consume.
But then again, we are blessed to have this abundance available to us, unlike many (most?) folks in the world who consider them self lucky just to fill their belly every (some) day with whatever scraps they can find.
So with that in mind, on to last nights feast –

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Bon Appetit ! Live is Good (For some of us at least, blessed as we are)

P.S.
if you wonder what happened to the other 3 pieces of fish – Bella had one and I had three 🙂
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Sauteed Cod Filet & Honey-Glazed Carrots

Sautéed Cod Filet & Honey-Glazed Carrots

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Preparation :
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To read instructions, hover over picture
To enlarge pictures and read instructions, click on pictures
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: Carrots & Scallions

: season cod filets with granulated garlic, kosher salt and cayenne pepper, dust with rice flour

: saute in butter until just done but not dry

: meanwhile, simmer carrots in perrier water and butter with a bit of sugar, kosher salt and cayenne pepper until perrier has evaporated

: saute carrots in the remaining butter until starting to caramelize, set aside

: add scallions, saute one more minute

: almost……..

: serve cod and carrots with fresh lemon wedge and thai chili sauce

: Sauteed Cod Filet & Honey-Glazed Carrots

: Sauteed Cod Filet & Honey-Glazed Carrots

: Sauteed Cod Filet & Honey-Glazed Carrots

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Sauteed Veal Liver “Hawaii”

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Here is how old I am:
When I got to name a new dish and it has pineapple in it, the first thing that comes to mind is “ala Hawaii”, just like in the good old day’s when everything was more simple and less complicated. What can I say, old habits die hard 🙂
However, this garnish of pineapple, tomato and scallion in red wine cream suited the veal liver perfectly and I thoroughly enjoyed it for tonight’s dinner.

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Sauteed Veal Liver “Hawaii”

: dust slices of veal liver with flour, saute in peanut oil until done to your liking. One minute before done, discard oil and replace with fresh butter, season with salt and pepper, remove liver to absorbent paper

: almost ……

: sauteed veal liver medium rare

: deglaze pan with red wine, add heavy cream and demi glace

: simmer until nape texture, check / adjust seasoning. Meanwhile, saute pineapples, tomatoes and scallion in butter

: veal liver in read wine cream

: Sauteed Veal Liver “Hawaii”

: Sauteed Veal Liver “Hawaii”

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(You don’t have to watch it, just click once) Thank you 🙂
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Chinese Salt & Pepper Scallops With Egg Fried Rice

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This was one of Maria’s favorite dishes. Whenever we went to have chinese food at a restaurant or when she wanted to have something special at home, she would ask for salt & pepper scallops or salt & pepper shrimp.
So, enjoying this meal tonight was a bittersweet affair. I really loved the food, but it is so damn tough to be reminded of a lost loved one all day long, by everything one see’s, hear’s and does, even by the food one eat’s. At least I had Bella next to me , sharing the food and giving me good company 🙂
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For the scallops, season with kosher salt, five spice powder, white pepper, ground szechuan peppercorn and granulated garlic. Mix egg white and rice flour into a thin batter, dredge scallops in it and saute in peanut oil until cooked almost through. Remove and rest on absorbent paper until serving.
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For the rice, saute garlic paste, finely diced onion and grated ginger in peanut oil until fragrant. Add day-old rice and fry until rice starts to puff. Make a well, add more peanut oil and scramble some whisked eggs in it until set. Add sliced scallion, kosher salt, white pepper and sesame oil. Stir fry until all ingredients are well mixed. Check seasoning. Adjust if necessary.
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To serve, top the rice with scallops and sprinkle with finely sliced scallions

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good ! (even when it’s sad sometimes)
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Chinese Salt & Pepper Scallops With Egg Fried Rice

: Egg fried rice

: Chinese Salt & Pepper Scallops With Egg Fried Rice

: Chinese Salt & Pepper Scallops With Egg Fried Rice

: Chinese Salt & Pepper Scallops With Egg Fried Rice

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Curried Langostino And Egg Salad Wrapped In Roti Prata ( 印度煎饼 )

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While I was preparing tonight’s pratas (parathas, roti canai), my cravings for the final dish became so strong that I did not even bother to decorate the food a bit.
I just could not wait to dig in, as I remembered with great affection the tasty roti’s I had in India, Pakistan, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Caribbean (mostly Jamaica, sorry Trinidad) 🙂
The accompanying salad of langustinos and eggs in curry mayonnaise might not sound very exotic, but it is definitely something you could find in any of the less traditional restaurant’s in Singapore or Kuala Lumpur, where fusion cuisine has become part of the daily culinary life.

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !

Click for Roti recipe here
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Curried Langostino And Egg Salad Wrapped In Roti Prata ( 印度煎饼 )

: 印度煎饼

: Roti Prata

: Roti Paratha

: Roti Canai

: Curried Langostino And Egg Salad Wrapped In Roti Prata ( 印度煎饼 )

: Curried Langostino And Egg Salad Wrapped In Roti Prata ( 印度煎饼 )

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Dear Friend’s, to help support this blog, please be so kind and click on the video below. ( You don’t have to watch it, just click once ) Thank you 🙂
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Sauted Scallops & Shrimp In Whole Grain Mustard Cream

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Tonight I wanted to have something comfortable, belly warming, traditional, for dinner. I realize that seafood in mustard sauce might not sound traditional to some younger folks out there, but when I was a youngster, fish and other seafood in various types of mustard sauce was a commonly found item on many restaurants friday menu. Even at home, “Fish mit Senfsauce” was a typical friday dinner item, usually served with “Salzkartoffeln” (boiled potatoes).

” Jacobsmuscheln und garnelen in senfsauce mit basmati reis ”
( Scallops and shrimp in mustard sauce with basmati rice )
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Persian Rice (Polo) Recipe Here
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Sauted Scallops & Shrimp In Whole Grain Mustard Cream

: Sauted Scallops & Shrimp In Whole Grain Mustard Cream

: Jacobsmuscheln und garnelen in senfsauce mit basmati reis

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Ingredients :

Scallops,
Shrimp, shelled & deveined, tail on
White wine,
Heavy cream,
Whole grain mustard, (I prefer Maille)
Butter, clarified
Butter, whole
Sriracha ,
Sea salt,
Lemon juice,

Method :

Season scallops with sea salt and saute in clarified butter until halfway cooked. remove from pan, set aside. Season shrimp with sea salt and sriracha sauce and saute in whole butter until halfway cooked, remove from pan, set aside. deglaze pan with white wine, add heavy cream and juices from the cooked shrimp and scallops and reduce until a light sauce has formed. Remove from heat, add mustard and lemon juice, check seasoning. Adjust seasoning if necessary. Return seafood to the pan, return to heat until heated through. Make sure you don’t let the sauce simmer anymore or your seafood will get tough and dry. Serve with basmati rice.

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !

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Garlicky Shrimp Brochettes & Potato Salad In Dijon Mayonnaise

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Early evening dinner before going to sleep and back to another happy work week. (Do I have to mention I was NOT the lucky winner of the $ 6 million Jackpot ?)
I wonder, if I would have won, would I go to work tomorrow…………
Anyway, back to reality and a great meal. I used a shameful amount of roasted garlic puree to season the shrimps and I hope nobody wants a kiss before tomorrow 🙂
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Garlicky Shrimp Brochettes & Potato Salad In Dijon Mayonnaise

: Garlicky Shrimp Brochettes & Potato Salad In Dijon Mayonnaise

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Simmer un-peeled potatoes until done. Remove from water, let cool. Peel, slice into thin rounds. Mix with kosher salt, cayenne pepper, a bit of vinegar, mayonnaise, chopped cilantro, sliced scallions and dijon mustard.

Season the shrimp with sea salt, chili flakes and roasted garlic puree. Saute in butter until almost done. Squeeze one lime over brochettes, turn once and remove from pan.
To serve, spoon some of the lime butter over the shrimps and accompany with potato salad.

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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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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Best Fish Taco

Well, at least for me they were the best in a very long line of disappointing restaurant and food truck fish tacos.
Most of the time, if you want to have the really good stuff, you’ve got to prepare it yourself 🙂
The secret here is the fish batter. You don’t want to have to prep something complicated or difficult for such a simple meal. So here I give you my “secret” easy and quick batter recipe:
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A/P flour, crushed ice, cayenne pepper, kosher salt, granulated garlic, chilled sparkling water (I use syfo lemon-lime, the only bottled water for me).
Mix all ingredients lightly, don’t worry about a few lumps, they fry out in the hot oil and become crispy. See the prep pic to get an idea about the texture. Then dip the fish into the batter and fry at 375F until crispy and fish just done. Remove to absorbent paper. Build your tacos with your favorit ingredients / condiments.
Voila ! Best fish taco 🙂
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Viva Mexico ! Viva Los Tacos ! Viva La Vida !
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