Grab Bag

Famous Food Quotes

Image Source: ForoCoche.com

“Everything you see I owe to spaghetti.” — Sophia Loren, actress

Excerpt from Delish
By Sara Schwartz
.

“Health food makes me sick.” —
Calvin Trillin, writer
.

“Never eat more than you can lift.” —
Miss Piggy, Muppet extraordinaire
.

“I was 32 when I started cooking; up until then, I just ate.” —
Julia Child, celebrity chef and cookbook author
.

“If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.” —
J.R.R. Tolkien, author of the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
.

“To me, life without veal stock, pork fat, sausage, organ meat, demi-glace, or even stinky cheese is a life not worth living.”
— Anthony Bourdain, celebrity chef and host ofNo Reservations
.

“Slicing a warm slab of bacon is a lot like giving a ferret a shave. No matter how careful you are, somebody’s going to get hurt.” —
Alton Brown, celebrity chef and host of Good Eats
.

“My doctor told me to stop having intimate dinners for four unless there are three other people.” —
Orson Welles, author
.

“The most remarkable thing about my mother is that for thirty years she served the family nothing but leftovers. The original meal has never been found.”
— Calvin Trillin, writer
.

“Health food may be good for the conscience but Oreos taste a hell of a lot better.” —
Robert Redford, actor/director
.

“By the time they had diminished from 50 to 8, the other dwarves began to suspect ‘Hungry’…” —
Gary Larson, The Far Side, humorist
.

“Give me liberty or… OOOooo… A jelly donut !” -—
Homer Simpson, cartoon dad
.

“One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating.” —
Luciano Pavarotti and William Wright
.

“The way you cut your meat reflects the way you live.”
— Confucius
.

“I will not eat oysters. I want my food dead. Not sick, not wounded: dead.”
— Woody Allen, actor/director
.

“My mom made two dishes: Take it or Leave it.” —
Stephen Wright, comedian
.

“In France, cooking is a serious art form and a national sport “—
Julia Child, celebrity chef and cookbook author
.

“The devil has put a penalty on all things we enjoy in life. Either we suffer in health or we suffer in soul or we get fat. —
Albert Einstein, physicist
.
.
.
.

Vegetables In Fermented Black Bean Sauce

.
.
By now my readers will have discovered that I am not exactly a vegetarian.
I love my meat and seafood and can’t imagine how one can miss this exciting
part of our culinary world.
However, once in a while, I have a sudden urge for rice and vegetables.
The first thing that usually comes to my mind during such a rare moment is
soup or fried rice of some sort. What usually makes me especially look forward
to a vegetable dish is the inclusion of fermented bean paste.
It gives the food such a special flavor that it is, in my opinion at least, the one
seasoning which can bring a vegetable dish to a whole other level of goodness 🙂

Here is what I have concocted for dinner today :
.
.

.

.

.

.

.
.
Ingredients :

Asparagus, blanched
Snow peas, blanched
Mushroom, sliced thick
Grape tomatoes, whole
Onion, sliced
Scotch bonnet, thinly sliced –
( Careful !!! Extremely spicy ! Omit if you can’t stand the heat )
Mini Peppers, thinly sliced
Scallion, thinly sliced
Ginger, grated
Garlic, paste
Bean paste,
Oyster sauce,
Soy sauce,
Kosher Salt,
Vegetable stock,
Corn starch, slurry
Peanut oil,

Method :

Saute onion, garlic and ginger until fragrant,
deglaze with stock, add seasoning, add slurry.
Simmer for one minute, add all vegetables and heat through.
To serve, sprinkle with sesame seeds and scallion.

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
.
>
.
.
.

” Zuppa Pavese “

.
.
There was a time when this was on nearly every Italian restaurant’s menu.
Unfortunately, over time, it was watered down at most places to a thin,
packaged chicken broth with a thin slice of white bread, an egg yolk and
a bit of crappy cheese sprinkled on top. Of course people stayed away from that crap.
However, when properly done, with love ( and a good appetite ), this soup is
pure soup-heaven.
.

.

.
All about Zuppa Pavese
.
.
Ingredients :

Chicken stock, seasoned with salt, pepper, nutmeg (or beef stock if you prefer)
Sour dough bread, thick sliced
Roasted garlic paste,
Whole egg, very fresh
Pecorino romano, (or parmigiano reggiano if you prefer)
Italian parsley, chopped

Method :

Spread some roasted garlic paste on bread, saute or grill on one side until golden.
Remove, sprinkle finely grated cheese on the other side, gratinate until golden.
Meanwhile, heat your serving dish until very hot. Heat your broth until simmering.
Place bread in serving dish, individual portion or family style, one large slice per person.
Carefully crack one egg on each slice.Ladle soup over eggs, careful not to break them.
The eggs should be covered by the broth. Sprinkle cheese and parsley on top.
The soup is now ready to serve, but if you like your eggs more done, bake in oven a few
minutes until the eggs are done to your liking.

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
.
.

” Asian Inspired Baked Chicken “

,
,
This was a great tasting chicken and best of all, no
more than 3 minutes of prep. Great taste, good looks,
easy to prepare.
.

.

.
.
Ingredients :

Chicken, legs, breast, wings
Sweet chili sauce,
Oyster sauce,
Soy sauce,
Lime juice,
Garlic, paste,
Ginger, grated,
Kosher salt,

Method :

Mix all marinade ingredients, dip chicken until well coated,
bake at 375 f until done. Serve with lettuce in sesame/honey dressing.
.

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
.
.

Breakfast Of Champions # 11 ” Millefanti In Brodo Di Carne “

.
.
Usually I have peppermint tea and bananas for breakfast,
but today that did not tickle my fancy at all. So I took refuge
in another one of my favorite breakfast (and late night snack )
standby’s : An Italian variation of egg drop soup.
I fortified some great beef stock I had in the fridge by simmering
it for fifteen minutes with a good amount of garlic and ginger and seasoning
it with freshly grated nutmeg, kosher salt, cayenne and maggi seasoning.
The eggs I whisked with parmesan cheese, flat leave parsley, chives and nutmeg.
I fished out the sliced ginger and slivered garlic after simmering them for
15 minutes, then whisked in the eggs, immediately removing it from the heat
and drinking it as hot as possible.
Voilà ! Instant satisfaction 🙂
Remember, sometimes the simple things………

Have a great day ! Life is Good !
.

>
<

” Canton Noodles, Beef & Vegetables In Ginger/Garlic Broth “

I know these are great pictures, but boy o boy, the fragrances from this dish 🙂
Yesterday I made a great beef stock in order to have a rich soup today.
This soup was just so flavorful and the different textures made it one of my
favorite asian dishes in a long time.
.

Ingredient’s :

Beef stock,
Flank steak, sliced into baton
Broccoli rabe, blanched
Canton noodles, cooked, drained
Bamboo shoots, sliced
Radish, sliced
Black mushroom, soaked in hot water, quartered
Garlic, paste
Ginger, grated
Cilantro, coarsely chopped
Salt, to taste
Cayenne pepper, to taste
Sesame oil, to taste
Sherry, to taste
Oil, to saute

Method :

Saute steak until nicely browned but still medium on the inside.
Remove, set aside. Saute garlic and ginger until fragrant,
add mushroom and radish, deglaze with sherry, add stock and
simmer for one minute. Add bamboo shoots and rabe and bring
back to simmer. Remove from heat, add beef, sesame oil and salt
and pepper. To serve, sprinkle generously with cilantro and
soy sauce and chili sauce on the side.

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
.
.

Cheeseburger , My Way

.
.
On the way home from work something extremely unusual happened : Burger craving !
Who would have thought. But, no ordinary burger would suffice.
Here is my concoction. Very simple, easy and fast to make, yet darn good and satisfying 🙂
.

.

Ingredient’s :

Ground beef, 75 / 25 %
Sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
Jalapeno, finely diced
Garlic, paste
Chives, finely sliced
Kosher salt,
Scotch bonnet hot sauce,
Dijon mustard,
Black pepper, freshly ground
Whole egg, fried
Oil, to saute
Butter, to finish

Method :

Mix first nine ingredients lightly, do not overwork !
Make a thin patty, cover center with generous amount of cheese,
cover with another thin patty of beef and shape burger.
Saute in oil until done to your liking. Discard oil, add butter and
fry egg. Serve on two slices of rye bread,
top with fried egg and garnish with tomato and pickle.

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
.
.

” Smoked Goodies ” – Artisanal Smoked Fish

.
.
I recently run into an old buddy of mine from the cruise ship day’s.
Much to my surprise, Greg is now following his dream of many years,
running a comercial ” Smoke Shack “.
On the weekend he surprised me with a few (too few 🙂 samples of his
selection and I was amazed by it’s taste and quality.
Unfortunately, his website is not up to the quality of his food, so as soon as
I have the time I will be helping him with it.
In the meantime, here are some of his delicacies which I enjoyed saturday
and sunday :
(Sides are : Sauteed potatoes, onion bread, wasabi, horseradish cream,
onions, grape tomatoes, boiled eggs, scallion, capers, chilies, radish, lettuce)

Captain Greg’s Smoke Shack

Smoked Fish Selection

Smoked Marlin

Smoked Salmon Filet

Smoked Salmon, Served Warm

Smoked Salmon, Sliced

Wahoo Filet

Wahoo Filet, Served Warm

Whitefish Dip

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
.
.

” Rigatoni Rustica “

.
.
Last night’s dinner was a perfect example of tasty comfort food,
simple, tasty, pretty, easy, and satisfying.
(Sounds like a wish list for a spouse 🙂
.

.
Ingredient’s :

Chicken, cut into one inch pieces
Rigatoni, cooked al dente, strained, reserve some of the cooking water
Bok choy, cut into one inch pieces
Onions, julienned
Kernel corn,
Grape tomatoes, whole
Chilies, sliced
Garlic, paste
Ginger, grated
Kosher salt, to taste
Cayenne, to taste
Butter, to saute
Red wine, to deglaze

Method :

Season chicken and saute until golden brown and cooked through.
Remove and reserve. Saute onions, corn, garlic, ginger, bok choy and chili,
deglaze with red wine and a small amount of the cooking water from the pasta,
add pasta and tomatoes, season with salt and cayenne.

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !

.
.

“Saure Nierchen ” ( Sauteed Sour Kidney’s )

.
.
Another beloved dish from my childhood.
This was a very popular “Gericht” in southern Germany,
available in most “Gasthaus“, and “Restaurant‘s”
Whenever my butcher has them fresh, I buy one and
either cut it lengthwise in half and grill them, simply
seasoned with kosher salt and freshly ground black
pepper, or I make myself “Saure Nierchen”. Usually
I’d serve them with any type of pasta and any type of salad.
In this case , I made spaghetti and red beet salad to go with
the kidney‘s. Here it goes :
.

.

Ingredient’s :

Kidney, beef, veal, lamb or pig
Onion, diced fine
Demi glace,
White wine
White wine vinegar, to marinade
White wine vinegar, to taste
Roasted garlic puree, to taste
Kosher salt, to taste
Cayenne pepper, to taste
Oil, to saute
Butter, to saute

Method :

Clean kidneys and cut into slices.
Rinse under running water for 20 minutes.
Strain, cover with vinegar and store in refrigerator for
twelve hours, Strain, discard vinegar. Rinse with cold water,
pat dry. Saute kidney’s in very hot oil until golden brown, still
medium inside. Remove onto rack (you don’t want the juices)
Saute onions in butter, deglaze with the white wine. Add the
demi glace, garlic, vinegar, salt and pepper. Simmer until well
combined. Remove from heat, add kidney’s and serve.

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
.
.