Grab Bag

Oh Dear – Is This The End Of The Chefs Profession ? !

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🙂 🙂 🙂 Click Picture to see the End of the End 🙂 🙂 🙂

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Strawberry And Chocolate Pizza

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Strawberry And Chocolate Pizza

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Some years back I run a few hotels as Executive Chef in Mexico. One of our hotels had three beach restaurants, one of them a sandwich shop which I converted into a pizza restaurant. Pizzas right on the beach were of course a great hit, especially at night. Two of the menu-options consisted of “Fruit Pizza”, which turned out to be bestsellers, despite their novelty. (See the pic’s below). When you think about it, many simple pies originally used a yeast dough similar to pizza dough, so why not. The texture is of course totally different from the crumbly shells we are now used to, but I always have been a fan of the less sweet, more sturdy yeast dough shells or bottoms. Besides, if you have a frozen pizza shell as a standby in your freezer, the whole affair takes only a few minutes to prepare which makes it a great solution for the munchies that sometimes attack late at night 🙂
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Many years ago in Mexico……..
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: Banana And Strawberry Jam Pizza

: Strawberry And Pastry Cream Pizza

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A few days ago at my house……….
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: Strawberry And Chocolate Pizza

: Strawberry And Chocolate Pizza

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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
To enlarge pictures and read instructions, click on pictures

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: wash strawberries, cut tops

: pat the strawberries dry

: spread strawberry preserve on pre-baked pizza dough

: mix sour cream with honey and a dash of vanilla extract, spread on dough

: top with girardelli milk chocolate chips

: top with strawberries

: add more chocolate chips

: bake at 400F until chocolate starts to melt

: let cool to room temperature, brush with melted strawberry preserve

: to serve, dust with castor sugar, cut into slices and add a dollop of the sour cream mixture to each slice

: Strawberry And Chocolate Pizza

: Strawberry And Chocolate Pizza

: Strawberry and Chocolate Pizza

: Strawberry and Chocolate Pizza

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Shrimp And Vegetable Salad With Cheese/Garlic Bread

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Last night proved to be one of these dreary nights when I am not able to sleep, so at 5.00 am I decided to give it up, get up and start the day. I had my usual breakfast of two bananas and a glass of ice-cold, reduced fat milk, which usually carries me for a few hours until the early afternoon or even early evening. Not so today. At 10.30 am I decided I needed something a bit more substantial, which lead me to prepare this great concoction. Because of the delicious but very filling large amount of garlic/cheese bread I devoured, I’ll be fine for the rest of the day and will probably just have a few fruits for dinner 🙂 😦
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Shrimp And Vegetable Salad With Cheese/Garlic Bread

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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
To enlarge pictures and read instructions, click on pictures
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: spread a generous amount of garlic-confit paste on sour dough bread (or your favorite bread)

: sprinkle with finely grated parmesan and fresh ground black pepper, bake at 375F until golden

: Cheese&Garlic Bread

: sprinkle radish, cucumber, tomato and peppers with kosher salt, let rest for 10 minutes, discard excess liquid

: mix vegetables with ranch dressing

: marinade shrimp with lime juice, finely chopped chilies, kosher salt, olive oil and chopped cilantro

: drizzle some of the shrimp marinade over iceberg leaves

: top with veggie salad

: top veggie salad with shrimp

: Shrimp And Vegetable Salad With Cheese/Garlic Bread

: Shrimp And Vegetable Salad With Cheese/Garlic Bread

: Shrimp And Vegetable Salad With Cheese/Garlic Bread

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Petti Di Pollo Alla Fiorentina

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Quote from Ciao Italia :
“Anything alla fiorentina, meaning Florentine style, usually signifies that spinach is in the dish”.
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If you wonder why I put this quote at the beginning of this post, the answer is simple:
“Petti Di Pollo Alla Fiorentina” is traditionally (originally?) prepared by stuffing a chicken breast with a mixture of chopped blanched spinach and grated cheese, then sauteed in fat or baked in the oven.
While this can be a very enjoyable variation, I have seen many other ones, some even just grilled, served with or without any spinach. This was actually in Florence some years back, when Maria and I visited a fancy restaurant off the beaten track and I ordered a “Bistecca Alla Fiorentina” for myself (beef-heaven on earth) and Maria ordered the “Pollo Alla Fiorentina”, which was presented as a simple grilled chicken breast served on a bed of spinach.
As for the reason I prepare my version the way I do is simply because I feel it is a far more tasty and juicy version of the widely touted as original version of “Petti Di Pollo Alla Fiorentina”.
Coating the chicken allows the breast to stay very most while you can cook the meat to just being done, while if you stuff the breast and then cook it, by the time the stuffing is heated to a safe temperature, the breast will be much too dry.
So, as usual, while I don’t claim that my version is the “Original”, I strongly believe that it is the improved version of a venerable, classic dish 🙂
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
(Controversial, sometimes) 😦 🙂
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Petti Di Pollo Alla Fiorentina

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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
To enlarge pictures and read instructions, click on pictures
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: butterfly skinless chicken breast in half

: score the surface to allow more coating to adhere to the meat

: mix equal parts of raw chopped spinach, grated parmesan cheese and whole eggs, season with kosher salt, garlic paste and cayenne pepper

: dust the breasts with flour, then dip into spinach/egg mixture, saute in olive oil

: almost done…………

: meanwhile, saute freshly cooked penne in garlic-oil, add chopped tomatoes, grated parmesan, sriracha, kosher salt and maggi seasoning (optional), mix well

: plate the pasta, sprinkle with grated cheese

: top with chicken, sprinkle with more cheese and basil leaves

: Petti Di Pollo Alla Fiorentina

: Petti Di Pollo Alla Fiorentina

: Petti Di Pollo Alla Fiorentina (notice how juicy the chicken breast is)

: Bella eats Petti Di Pollo Alla Fiorentina 🙂

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Huevos Rancheros

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I’ve been “feeling Mexican” this morning 🙂
Solution: Huevos Rancheros, my kind of breakfast, any time of the day 🙂
I have put my own little twist on the original by replacing the chili/tomato sauce with Salsa Mexicana and the Queso Fresco with freshly grated Asiago Cheese.
While this is definitely not “Original”, it is the way I like it and the way I always had it while I was living in Mexico (usually replacing the queso fresco with grated parmesan, which was always available, – asiago not so much). But this is of course just a personal preference, so, by all means, go “original” if you prefer.
Serve with fresh guacamole and refried beans.
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Link to Guacamole
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Link to Salsa Mexicana
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All about Refried Beans
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Bon Appetit and have a great day !
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Huevos Rancheros

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Huevos Rancheros

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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
To enlarge pictures and read instructions, click on pictures
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: Heat tortilla briefly in a hot pan or on a comal

: if not using queso fresco, grate asiago or parmesan

: saute eggs according to your preference (I like mine crispy for this dish), season with kosher salt and chili flakes

: plate tortillas, top with eggs, sprinkle with chili flakes

: top with salsa mexicana, sprinkle with chopped cilantro and cheese of your choice

: Huevos Rancheros

: Huevos Rancheros

: Huevos Rancheros

: Huevos Rancheros

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Spinach Wrap With Curried Garbanzos And Shrimp

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Once in a while I prepare for myself curried garbanzo beans (chick peas) as a snack.
Today I took it a step further and gave the garbanzos the honor to be the center of this delicious culinary concoction.
Quick and easy to prepare, it is a great dish to showcase to full advantage the sum of its simple individual parts.
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Bon Appetit ! That’s a Wrap ! (That’s the movie director in me trying to surface) 🙂
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Spinach Wrap With Curried Garbanzos And Shrimp

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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
To enlarge pictures and read instructions, click on pictures
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: rinse canned garbanzos, drain, pat dry, season with garlic paste, curry powder and kosher salt

: saute in butter or olive oil until they “pop”

: add shrimp, saute another minute, set aside

: curried garbanzos and shrimp

: cut bell peppers and cucumbers into batons, season with lime juice, kosher salt and cayenne pepper, let marinade for 15 minutes

: spinach wrap

: spread with hummus

: fill with garbanzo-shrimp mix, cucumbers and peppers, roll tight

: Spinach Wrap With Curried Garbanzos And Shrimp

: Spinach Wrap With Curried Garbanzos And Shrimp

: Spinach Wrap With Curried Garbanzos And Shrimp

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Pulled Pork “Havana Loco”

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For most of my life I detested the very idea of pulled pork. My professional training as a cook had taught me that if something falls apart, it is overcooked and therefore non grata. In addition, the pulled pork I was introduced to during my early years in the USA was almost always smoked for many hours, then completely inundated in (most of the time crappy) “bbq sauce”.
The whole thing seemed to me to have the texture and taste of some lousy half-smoked cigars mashed-up and mixed with ketchup and vinegar, more often than not served on a limp, tasteless burger bun. As a result, for many years I stayed away from pulled pork.
This changed when I got to travel in Latin America and in Latin American-circles, where pulled pork took on a very different dimension, one which I was finally able to wholeheartedly embrace. Usually braised in the oven for hours, with lots of cilantro, lime, garlic, various citrus juices and sometimes the addition of onions and/or chilies, the pork tastes lively and fresh, not at all heavy or greasy or overly sweet. Usually, it is served with white rice and yucca or a simple salad and most of the time with some kind of spicy, vinegar based condiment.
Below find my own take on pulled pork, as I imagine I would serve it at my imaginary, popular nightspot in a Havana of long-gone times, with hot girls dancing to the Rumba, Mojitos flowing freely and eating, drinking, dancing, making love and enjoying life being the only thing on everybody’s mind……………..
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Pulled Pork “Havana Loco”

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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
To enlarge pictures and read instructions, click on pictures
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: whole porkbutt, shank removed

: cut pork butt in half, reserve one half for another recipe, score skin of porkbutt in a criss-cross pattern

: orange, lime, kosher salt, chili flakes, garlic paste

: mix the juices from the fruit, 2 tblsp salt, 1 tsp chili flakes, 2 tblsp garlic paste with 2 pints of water, pour into pan with porkbutt, lightly cover with alu-foil, cook at 350F for 4 hours or until pork falls apart when lightly squeezed

: meanwhile, make sauce by blending with a beurre-mixer or in food processor : lime juice, garlic paste, cayenne pepper, cilantro, kosher salt and olive oil

: almost……..

: cilantro, garlic and lime sauce

: season fresh spinach leaves and thinly sliced radish with kosher salt and cayenne pepper

: sour dough bread (use your own choice of bread)

: cut in half, remove some of the soft part (don’t throw away, this is great to dunk into the pork juices)

: after 4 hours at 350F….

: put pork into a bowl, remove chicharones (crispy skin), reserve chicharones

: chicharones

: remove bone from meat, give bone to Bella 🙂

: shredd the pork with 2 forks or tongs

: add the pork juices from the pan to the meat (make it VERY moist without drowning it)

: put some spinach on the bottom half of the bread

: top with meat, thinly sliced red onions, radish and more spinach leaves

: pile it on………

: douse with cilantro, garlic and lime sauce

: cover with top-half of bread, slice in half or quarters

: Pulled Pork “Havana Loco”

: Pulled Pork “Havana Loco”

: Pulled Pork “Havana Loco”

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Fiery Midnight Snack – Chilli-Noodles With Seafood And Egg

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Here is the thing – if yo are able to use anything fresh in preparing food – not frozen, not canned, not otherwise preserved – that’s usually the best way to go (although not always).
But, as I have mentioned before, we are not always so lucky as to have access to fresh, unprocessed food. Then, it is my honest opinion that as long as you use good quality preserved food, you will be able to prepare great dishes – just don’t skimp on the quality of the ingredients.
Having said that, if you have a well stocked larder and freezer, you are ready to prepare a wide variety of wonderful dishes without being a slave to store opening hours and store offerings.
Last night for dinner I shared a prosciutto sandwich with Bella at around 9.00 pm. Usually I can withstand any temptation of more food after that time of day, but while setting up to watch a great movie (A simple Plan) , hunger struck me with all its nasty temptations, (Bella of course is always in that state) :-), so I decided to whip up something fierce and satisfying for the both of us.
My larder revealed (among a lot of other goodies) rice noodles (Bánh phở), canned octopus, canned anchovies and canned mussels. In the freezer I had some leftover homemade lobster balls and a bag of titi shrimp. Together with fresh chilies, scallion and onions as well as garlic paste, grated ginger, chili paste, chili oil and sesame oil, this made for a very fiery, very satisfying midnight snack which, after the end of the movie, motivated Bella and I to go on a 1,5 hour early morning walk from 2.30 am to 4,00 am. Life is good !
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Bon Appetit ! Spice-up your Life !
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Chili-Noodles With Seafood And Egg

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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
To enlarge pictures and read instructions, click on pictures
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How to cook rice noodles:
Place rice noodles in a deep bowl. Bring a good amount of water to boil. Pour the boiling water over the rice noodles until they are completely submerged. Stir the noodles to prevent from sticking. Check often to see if they’re cooked through. This will take 1 – 10 minutes, depending on the thickness of the noodles. Once the noodles are tender, drain and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking. Toss them with a bit of sesame oil to keep the noodles from sticking to each other if you’re not going to use them right away. If you use the noodles in a stir-fry, under-cook them or they will become mushy. If used for soup, you can cook the noodles straight in the soup.

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: steep noodles in boiling water, drain, rinse with cold water

: whisk whole eggs with kosher salt

: saute sliced onions until light brown, add chopped anchovy fillets, saute until anchovies are dissolved

: add garlic paste, grated ginger, fresh chillies, scallions, saute until fragrant

: push vegetables to the side of the pan, add eggs

: cook eggs until set

: add noodles, kosher salt, chili paste and chili oil, stir to mix

: add seafood, stir to mix

: check / adjust seasoning

: Chili-Noodles With Seafood And Egg

: Chili-Noodles With Seafood And Egg

: Chili-Noodles With Seafood And Egg

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Tostadas De Chorizo

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These sexy babies served me perfectly today for my late breakfast by the pool. I love the way I can assemble each one just the way I like it, choosing as many or as few condiments as fit the mood of the moment. My choice of drink was iced tea as usual, but I remember well when nothing but a couple of Negra Modelo would do the trick. (Those were the days) 😦 🙂
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Bon Appetit ! Live is Good !
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Salsa Mexicana
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Guacamole
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More Tostadas on ChefsOpinion
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Tostadas De Chorizo

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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 casing from chorizo, break into small pieces, saute with garlic paste and garlic oil until browned

: serve fried tortillas with sauted chorizo, shredded iceberg, salsa mexicana, guacamole, sour cream and finely sliced red onions

: top fried tortilla with shredded lettuce

: top with guacamole

: top with chorizo

: top with onion

: top with salsa mexicana

: top with sour cream and cilantro

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DOWNLOADABLE OCTOBER CALENDAR – US EDITION AND INTERNATIONAL EDITION

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Downloadable Monthly Desktop Calendar, US Edition and International Edition
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To display the calendar on your computer screen :
> download the calendar of your choice to your desktop,
> right-click on the image,
> choose the option that says, “Set as Desktop Background / Wallpaper”, (exact wording will depend on the browser you use).

If the image does not fit your desktop background neatly, you may have to go to your preference panel :
> Control Panel
> Display
> Desktop) and choose “Fit to screen” as the display mode of your background image, or choose another size if you prefer that the calendar does not fill the whole screen-
(Mac users will have to use different commands to the same effect).

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Click here for “ DUTCH BUTTERMILK-PANCAKE WITH FRESH RASPBERRIES ”
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October 2015 International Edition (Starts Monday) :
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October 2015 US Edition (Starts Sunday, Incl. Holidays):
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