Grab Bag

Curried Beef & Pasta

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Sunday  lunch is supposed to be the highlight of the week, when traditionally the whole family gathers around the dining table for the culinary highlight of the week. So sad to see traditions like that slowly but surely disappear 😦
However, Bella and I keep the tradition alive as best as we can, gathering on my chaise-lounge and enjoying a great lunch while watching a good movie (the movie substituting the lively conversation which is supposed to take place among the family during Sundays lunch).
We do converse though – she begs, upon which I sternly say “don’t beg, which she follows with a moan or bark, followed by me giving her a morsel. Then I have a few bites until she begs again, which is usually as soon as she swallows her bit. And so on, until the meal is finished 🙂
So, here we go, without further ado – today’s lunch :
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Curried Beef & Pasta

Curried Beef & Pasta

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Curried Beef & Pasta

Curried Beef & Pasta

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Curried Beef & Pasta

Curried Beef & Pasta

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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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Click here for  Garam Masala  Instructions
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Soupe A L’Oignon Au Crème (Creamy French Onion Soup)

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If  you think that french onion soup is one of the best soups in the world you are undoubtedly right. But did you ever eat its lesser known cousin, creamy french onion soup? Once you do, you’ll probably be hard pressed to decide which version is the better one, the more famous gratinated clear version or this creamy one, which I have enhanced here with toasted bread, toasted almonds and fried garlic chips. I am of course a huge fan of both versions, but for me, the creamy version is the clear winner.
Way back, during my youth in the old countries, these two variations  alternated on the menus of many restaurants of all types and they also were a cold weather staple in many homes, where often lager beer was added for even more richness. 🙂
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Bon Appetit !   Life is Good !
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Click here for another variation of “Onion Soup”
Click here for “Classic French Onion Soup”
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Soupe A L'Oignon Au Crème (Creamy French Onion Soup)

Soupe A L’Oignon Au Crème (Creamy French Onion Soup)

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Soupe A L'Oignon Au Crème (Creamy French Onion Soup)

Soupe A L’Oignon Au Crème (Creamy French Onion Soup)

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Soupe A L'Oignon Au Crème (Creamy French Onion Soup)

Soupe A L’Oignon Au Crème (Creamy French Onion Soup)

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Preparation :

To read instructions, hover over picture
To enlarge pictures and read instructions, click on pictures
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Shrimp-Loaded Twice Baked Potato & Cucumber/Tomato Salad In Chili/Lime Vinaigrette

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Versatile  is an understatement when describing this dish.
Tasty, great, satisfying,  lecker  , delicious and wonderful on the other hand are highly accurate.
Because of the large amount of shrimps added to the potatoes, there is fair amount of stuffing left over. You can shape this into patties (2 ounces for hors d’oeuvres, 4 oz for appetizers, 6 oz for main course) and freeze them between oiled plastic film (airtight) for at least one month, then just saute them in butter until heated through and golden.  Or, you could forgo the whole stuffed potato thing and transform all of it into patties :-).
Either way, I am sure whether you are a novice in the kitchen or a seasoned veteran, you will love and appreciate this simple yet sophisticated dish.
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Bon Appetit !   Life is Good !
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Shrimp-Loaded Twice Baked Potato & CucumberTomato Salad In Lime Vinaigrette

Shrimp-Loaded Twice Baked Potato & Cucumber/Tomato Salad In Chili/Lime Vinaigrette

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Baked Potato Patty & Cucumber/Tomato Salad In Lime Vinaigrette With Aji Amarillo Sauce

Baked Potato/Shrimp Patty & Cucumber/Tomato Salad In Chili/Lime Vinaigrette With Aji Amarillo Sauce

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Shrimp-Loaded Twice Baked Potato & CucumberTomato Salad In Lime Vinaigrette

Shrimp-Loaded Twice Baked Potato & Cucumber/Tomato Salad In Chili/Lime Vinaigrette

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Preparation :
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To enlarge pictures, click on pictures
To read instructions, hover over pictures
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No Cook Octopus Salad

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Please  forgive me for the slight misnomer of this dish, “No-Cook Octopus Salad”.
Of course, the potatoes have been pre-cooked and so has the octopus.
But since I had leftover potatoes  from yesterday and the  octopus came out of a can (Vigo Brand, which is one of my favorite canned seafood brands), all I had to do today for this quick and tasty dinner is to mix the cubed potatoes and drained octopus with sliced romaine, diced onions and a garlic/lime vinaigrette (lime juice, olive oil, garlic paste,cayenne pepper and kosher salt).
Voilà, minimum time and effort for maximum taste and satisfaction 🙂
With the salad I had a freshly baked warm french bread and a glass of iced peach tea.
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Bon Appetit !   Life is Good !
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Octopus Salad

No Cook Octopus Salad

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Octopus Salad

No Cook Octopus Salad

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Preparation :
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To enlarge pictures, click on pictures
To read instructions, hover over pictures
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Epic Shrimp Fry

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This is probably the best/funniest food video of all time 🙂
Enjoy !  Life is Good !
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Watch an Off-the-Rails, Totally Bonkers Shrimp Frying Video from Japan

The women in this video have a Rube Goldberg-style device that fries prawns by catapulting them through walls of flour, oil, and fire.

It’s one minute of maximum weirdness, and you might want to watch it more than once to catch all the nuances of this stunt.

by Dec 2 2014, @GregMorabito 

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Turkey Season Is Over – Let The Steak Season Begin

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Turkey  anybody ? Thank you, me neither 🙂
So now that things are finally back to normal (for a short while anyway, Xmas is looming around the corner, ready to attack), I had this wonderful dinner yesterday. The only sour note was that I had no duck fat in my larder to fry the potatoes, so I had to use olive oil. Same crispness and really good taste, but not as divine as when cooked in duck fat. (Got a tub on my way home from work today) 🙂
So, without further ado, I give you :

“Broiled Flank Steak ,  Porcini In Cream And Pommes Frites”
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Bon Appetit !   Life is Good !
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Preparation :
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To enlarge pictures, click on pictures
To read instructions, hover over pictures
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Last Of The Turkey – See You Again Next Year

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Turkey Salad Crostini
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Here  we go, the last of the leftovers. Hallelujah ! 🙂
But the best part of this dish is that you can make it during the whole year, just replace the turkey with chicken or shrimp and you will have a quick and easy party snack standby, or maybe just for you in front of the TV while watching your favorite movie 🙂
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Bon Appetit !   Life is Good !  (- and thanksgiving is finally over!)
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Turkey Salad Crostini

Turkey Salad Crostini

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Turkey Salad Crostini

Turkey Salad Crostini

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To enlarge picture, click on picture
To read instructions, hover over pictures
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Downloadable “ChefsOpinion Desktop Calendar”

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Dear Friends,
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I assume that besides pictures of your family and pets, food pictures rank right up there with your favorite things to look at.
Therefore, ChefsOpinion will now feature each month a downloadable calendar with a wonderful food picture and your choice of an US or International monthly calendar.
Just go to “DESKTOP CALENDAR” on the top of this page, select the US or International edition, securely download the calendar and set as desktop background on your computer screen.

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Enjoy 🙂   Life is Good !
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Bragging Alert !!! Best Turkey-Leftovers Sandwich – Ever !

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It is my firm believe that leftovers should be as good as the original dish it derived from. Yesterday I prepared this sandwich and I am convinced that not only is it the best left-over turkey sandwich, but also one of the best turkey dishes overall, period 🙂
I usually prepare other dishes from leftover turkey since most turkey sandwiches I ever came across are boring and tasteless at best and at my house during times past the only leftover turkey would be white meat, which I can live without.
So, yesterday I had a nearly insatiable graving for a good sandwich, because on the previous evening I made the mistake of buying two “Vietnamese” sandwiches at a newly opened place, “546 bánh mì café” at 6461 Stirling Road, Davie. I was looking forward to a good sandwich but was bitterly disappointed. I had 3 different sandwiches with different meat fillings, all three were completely tasteless. The clerk asked me if I wanted chillies and of course I said yes. When I got home, I found one !!!  thin slice of chili in one of the three sandwiches. The meat was mostly tasteless and their contribution to Vietnamese food was the addition of a few spritz of maggi seasoning. (Which I am fond of). But the most disappointing thing was the portion size. Although the bread was of a nice size and of great texture, the amount of filling was laughable small. Granted, the sandwiches are very reasonably priced, but I’d rather pay a bit more and have a decent sized sandwich.
Fazit: Once is enough 😦

But back to the sandwich at hand : After I ate my three sandwiches (shared with Bella), I was still hungry and started to fantasize about eating a “real” sandwich the next day. The featured sandwich is what I came up with. I loved it so much that I will add them to my favorite dishes 🙂
Of course, you can substitute the turkey with chicken, beef, shrimp or any other protein you fancy and happen to have at hand, but the turkey leg meat was just perfect. Also, I had a bottle of “salsa de aji amarillo” in my larder which added that special touch of flavor and spiciness.
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Bon Appetit !   Life is Good !
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P.S.
If you don’t have “salsa de aji amarilo”, make a substitute by blending mayo, yellow peppers, salt, garlic, scotch bonnet peppers and turmeric (for the bright yellow color). For hot dishes, replace the mayo with heavy cream. Few folks will be able to tell the difference from the original, especially the bottled stuff.

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Best Leftover Turkey Sandwich - Ever !

Best Turkey Sandwich – Ever !

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Best Turkey Sandwich - Ever !

Best Turkey Sandwich – Ever !

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Preparation :
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To see instructions, hover over picture
To enlarge pictures, click on them


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German Chocolate Pancake & Caramel Sauce With Peaches And Bananas

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Sometimes  you come to a crossroad and have to make a fundamental decision from which there is no return –
” Should I eat this pancake or not ”  ?!!!
Because I am a diabetic, this dish probably cost me one week of my life. But then again – I used to smoke, drink and do a whole lot of other ungodly stuff and I am still around.
Who would have thought that eating a pancake could be so wickedly dangerous……….. 🙂
Anyway, I am happy to report that the risk was well worth it. I actually had two of these babies and feel no regret’s. I won’t have another one for a long time to come (probably), but I’ll decide when I am at that crossroad again 🙂
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Bon Appetit !   Life is Good ! 

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German Chocolate Pancake & Fruit Caramel Sauce

German Chocolate Pancake & Fruit Caramel Sauce

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German Chocolate Pancake & Fruit Caramel Sauce

German Chocolate Pancake & Fruit Caramel Sauce

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Preparation :
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Caramel Sauce With Peaches And Bananas:
Click on images to enlarge
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Chocolate Pancake:
Click on images to enlarge
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