Grab Bag

Canapés

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Tv  snacks at 4.00 pm.
Seafood & artichoke – canapés, iced tea and “The Great Gatsby” on the screen.
Toasted bread, garlic & herb butter, “Iberia” octopus, “Iberia” marinated mussels,
“Vigo” artichokes, “Vigo anchovies with capers and “Beach Cliff” spicy sardines.
– Sometimes, a simple sandwich just won’t do 🙂
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Bon Appetit !   Life is Good !
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Canapés

Canapés

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Angel Burger

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If  mc donald would serve this thing, I would be there twice a week.What a difference to the usual boring, crappy patty in a bun. This one was spicy, crunchy, tasty, exciting. It combines some of my favorite ingredients, all in one bite :
Noodle pillow, brie cheese, hoisin sauce, spicy italian sausage, vine ripened tomatoes, sriracha sauce and sauteed cabbage and onions seasoned with soy, garlic and ginger.
Now, if this sounds like a hodgepodge to you, you are absolutely right, but it is a hodgpodge where everything comes together just fine and forms a harmonious entity which is just wonderful in its complexity of texture and taste 🙂
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Bon Appetit !   Life is Good !
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Angel Burger

Angel Burger

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Sauted Rib Eye with Mushrooms and Taleggio Ca De Ambros stuffed Twice Baked Potato

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The  steak : EXCELLENT !
The mushrooms : EXCELLENT !
The twice baked potato : OUT OF THIS WORLD !!!
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I have only recently discovered “Taleggio Cheese”, and I feel sorry for myself to have gone 62 years without enjoying this marvel of Italian cheese making. I only know of one shop around here that carries it. It is one of my least favorite stores because it tries to be everything to everybody, which just does not work.  But since a friend steered me to their cheese section, I have gone there at least once a week, just to get my fill of  “Taleggio Ca De Ambros”
For this dinner, I have sauteed the steak in peanut oil, sauteed the mushrooms with diced onions and garlic paste in butter. I baked the potato until cooked through, then I removed the potato flesh from the shell, added kosher salt, sriracha, butter, sliced scallions, garlic paste  and a generous amount of Taleggio. Then I put the mixture for half a minute into the microwave to soften the butter and cheese, mixed it all well and stuffed it back into the potato shell. Baked it in the oven for twenty minutes and – voilà – best twice baked potato ever 🙂

Bon Appetit !   Life is Good !
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Sauted Rib Eye with Mushrooms and Taleggio Ca De Ambros stuffed Twice Baked Potato

Sauted Rib Eye with Mushrooms and Taleggio Ca De Ambros stuffed Twice Baked Potato

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Cream Of Potato & Onion With Chorizo, Chilis & Aged Asiago

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Thank  the Lord for A/C, otherwise we could not eat soup in this smoldering hot weather.
I just love soup, and this is such a good example of what a good soup should be :
Tasty, good texture, exciting 🙂

Bon Appetit !   Life Is Good !
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Cream Of Potato & Onion With Chorizo, Chilis & Aged Asiago

Cream Of Potato & Onion With Chorizo, Chili’s & Aged Asiago

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Shrimp, Anchovies & Brie Cheese Pizza

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I have come up with a great system to support my craving for unusual pizzas at unusual times.  About once a week, when I have a little extra time ( and energy), I make a small batch of pizza dough, wrap it tightly in plastic film and put it in the fridge.  When I feel the  craving crawling towards me, I take the dough out of the fridge and let it sit on the kitchen counter for a couple of hours, still wrapped in the plastic film. When the time of prep comes, I unwrap it and proceed as usual with a fresh pizza dough. Works like a charm and put’s the actual prep time at the time of pizza dinner down to a few minutes, plus the baking time. May I say  “GENIUS” 🙂
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Shrimp. Anchovies & Brie Pizza

Shrimp. Anchovies & Brie Pizza

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Pizza Dough :

Ingredients :

A/P flour,   2 cups (plus more for kneading)
Water,   3/4 cup, warm
Active dry yeast,   1 envelope
Sugar,   1 teaspoon
Olive oil,   3 table spoon
Kosher salt,

Method :
1.

Pour  water into small bowl, mix in yeast. Let stand until yeast dissolves, about 5 minutes. Brush large bowl lightly with olive oil. Mix 2 cups flour, sugar, and salt. Add yeast mixture and 3 tablespoons oil, knead until dough forms a sticky ball. Transfer to lightly floured surface. Knead dough until smooth. Dust with flour as you work the dough. Transfer to prepared bowl; turn dough in bowl to coat with oil. Cover bowl with moist towel. Let dough rise until doubled in volume.Punch down dough. Pull dough until desired thickness and shape is achieved. If this is too difficult, roll the dough with a rolling pin. However, in my opinion, the pizza will turn out superior if the dough is pulled.
If you like your dough very thin and crispy, proceed with step 2.
If you like your crust a bit more thick and chewy, you might want to pre-bake your pizza dough for a few minutes.

2.
Sprinkle pizza pan or baking sheet with cornmeal, place pizza on it. Brush pizza with olive oil, sprinkle lightly with corn meal. Add tomato puree and roasted garlic puree, sprinkle with mozzarella and oregano. Add all other ingredient’s according to picture. Sprinkle with asiago and freshly ground black pepper. Bake at 500 F until dough is done and edge of pizza is crispy and golden.

Note : This recipe is works well in a home oven without a pizza stone.

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Hot Focaccia Sandwich With Prosciutto, Gorgonzola & Avocado

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I was getting hungry at 1.00 am last night and did not feel like having just a boring packaged snack, so I put together this fabulous sandwich. The spiciness of the gorgonzola, the slight acidity and fruitiness of the guacamole and the distinctive taste of the prosciutto made for a great flavor experience, while the different textures of the crispy bread, the gooeyness of the half melted cheese, the crispness of the outside layer of the prosciutto and the soft, delicate inner layers of the ham made all of this into an absolute delicious winner 🙂
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Hot Focaccia Sandwich With Prosciutto, Gorgonzola & Avocado

Hot Focaccia Sandwich With Prosciutto, Gorgonzola & Avocado

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Crispy Noodle Cake & Ginger/Garlic Shrimp

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I usually  shy away from crispy noodle cakes in asian restaurants because it can be a bit messy to eat when you are with company, but I love to prepare it at home, where I can use fork, knife, hands, chopsticks, or whatever else I need to pull it apart.
I actually prefer angel hair pasta for my noodle “pillows”, they fry up wonderfully crisp on the outside while staying soft and juicy at the inside. Today for lunch I topped them with an asian style shrimp preparation, but any “saucy” dish will fit, such as gizzard adobo, hungarian goulash, chicken paprikash, veal emince, etc.
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Bon Appetit !   Life is Good !
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Crispy Noodle Cake & Ginger/Garlic Shrimp

Crispy Noodle Cake & Ginger/Garlic Shrimp

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Stew Of Black Beans, Chicken & Baby Rainbow Carrots

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After  a hearty, early breakfast today, I skipped lunch, so at 4.00 pm hunger was knocking strongly and I felt like having something rustic to eat.
It was too late to soak dried beans of any kind, so I opened a can of black beans, peeled some potatoes, cleaned a few baby rainbow carrots and chopped up and seasoned a chicken I bought the day before. After only about 15 minutes prep and another 45 minutes of cooking time, this beautiful, tasty dish was on the table :
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Spicy Stew Of Black Beans, Chicken, Potato & Baby Rainbow Carrots

Spicy Stew Of Black Beans, Chicken, Potato & Baby Rainbow Carrots

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Ingredient’s :

Chicken stock
Potatoes,   cut into wedges, cooked, tossed in butter and parsley
Black beans,   canned, rinsed
Chicken,   cut into 16 pieces
Baby rainbow carrots,
Onion,   finely diced
Scallion,   sliced
Garlic,   paste,
Tomato paste,
Scotch bonnet hot sauce,
Apple cider vinegar,
Red wine,
Kosher salt,
Black pepper corn,   freshly ground
Thyme,
Bay leaf,
Olive oil,
Butter,
Parsley,   chopped

Method :

Season chicken with salt and black pepper, saute in olive oil until golden brown, add onions and garlic, continue to saute until fragrant, add tomato paste, deglaze with wine. Add stock, thyme, bay leaf and carrots and simmer until chicken and carrots are done, about twenty minutes. Adjust salt and pepper if necessary, add a bit of vinegar and scotch bonnet sauce to taste. Finaly, add potatoes and sprinkle with scallions.

Bon Appetit !   Life is Good !
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Panko Breaded Skirt Steak & Tonkatsu Sauce ( Gyū katsu (牛カツ

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Last  night I went to sleep at 4.30 am, knowing I can sleep-in this morning for as long as I want. At 6.00am sharp the door bell rang, Bella went berserk and I run downstairs to open the front door, expecting the worst of emergencies. An elderly lady stood there with the sweetest of smiles, asking if we need a nurse in this house. I mustered all my manners to tell her in the friendliest way that no, not at this time, thank you. After that, I debated with myself if I should go back to bed or just get on with the day. In order to stay up, I had to get a decent breakfast and this is what I came up with :

“Panko Breaded Skirt Steak & Tonkatsu Sauce with romaine and tomato salad in strawberry vinegar vinaigrette”
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Link To Tonkatsu Sauce Recipe Here
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Bon Appetit !   Life is Good !
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Panko Breaded Skirt Steak & Tonkatsu Sauce

Panko Breaded Skirt Steak & Tonkatsu Sauce

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Italy Meets Sweden : “Coppa Ham & Janssons Frestelse”

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If  there is one potato dish that I don’t want to live without, it is surely janssons frestelse. I can eat them for breakfast, lunch , dinner and anytime between. My version is slightly different from the traditional, since I like to use garlic paste in the mixture, as well as finely grated asiago cheese both in the mixture and sprinkled on top of the breadcrumbs. As for the fish, I use both pickled herring and / or anchovies, whatever is available from the cupboard. Frestelse can be perfectly paired with many food items, as well as eaten by them self as a solid foundation for a bit of alcohol on a party night, as I have encountered them the first time so many years ago (1973) in Torekov, Sweden.
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Copa Ham & Janssons Frestelse

Coppa Ham & Janssons Frestelse


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Ingredient’s :

Potatoes,   julienned
Onions,   julienned
Pickled herring,   finely diced (substitute with anchovies if preferred)
Heavy cream,
Garlic,    paste
Bread crumbs,
Butter,
Kosher salt,
Cayenne pepper,
Asiago cheese,   finely grated   (optional)
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Method :

Saute onion in butter until translucent. Mix all ingredients except bread crumbs and half the cheese (if you use). Butter a baking dish, add potato mixture. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs and cheese. Add some butter cubes. Bake in 375 oven until potatoes are done and top is golden brown. Enjoy 🙂
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Bon Appetit !   Life is Good !
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