Grab Bag

” Tandoori Inspired Baked Chicken “

.
.
Many years ago when Maria and I lived in Karachi, Pakistan, we developed a deep passion for Indian and Pakistani Food. The chicken I made for dinner tonight was not cooked in a tandoori, nor was it seasoned with the “proper” spice blend a cook wood actually use to make a traditional tandoori chicken.
Nevertheless, this dish came out of the oven smelling, tasting and looking like the best of them 🙂
.

.

.
.
All about Tandoori Chicken

All about Tandoor

Ingredients :

Chicken, Breast and legs, cut in half
yoghurt,
Garlic, paste
Ginger, grated
Turmeric,
Hot sauce, preferably scotch bonnet
Kosher salt,
Butter, melted, in a spray bottle
Scallions, sliced fine, for garnish
Chili, roasted, for garnish

Method :

Cut deep slits into the chicken, about 1/2 inch apart.
Mix all seasonings with the yoghurt, rub onto chicken
and into the cut’s until well covered. Marinate overnight.
Bake in a 410 F oven until done. During baking, spray often
with the melted buter.
To serve, top with roasted chili and sprinkle with scallions

.
.

” Naan, Veal Ribs & Other Stuff “

<
Last night’s dinner made me realize that I eat a lot of comfort food which does
not necessarily fall into a specific group or cuisine. Sometimes, just raiding the
fridge without a grand plan and simply putting some stuff together on the fly
does produce some great dishes. This was one of them :
” Naan with ribs, chilies, onions and yoghurt ”
.

.
.

Ingredients :

Veal ribs, simmered, bones removed
Naan, Generously buttered and sprinkled with sea salt
Greek yoghurt,
Chilies, finely diced
Lime, juiced
Garlic, paste
Scallion, sliced
Onions, rings
Sesame seeds,
Oyster sauce,
Sriracha,
Soy sauce,
Teriyaki sauce,
Kosher salt,

Water,

Method :

Blend all ingredients except ribs and half of the chilies.
Put a bit of water into a small, rimmed pan, into which
the ribs just fit, one layer only. Add the ribs.
Cover ribs with the sauce, (the sauce should be very watery
at this point) cover airtight and bake in
a low heat oven until very tender, about 3.5 hours.
When the ribs are tender, the sauce should have thickened
and cling nicely to the ribs.
Arrange rib meat on hot naan, drizzle with yoghurt, add onion rings,
sprinkle with chilies, sesame seeds and scallions and serve with a
garnish of spinach salad and sliced lime.

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !

” Flank Steak & Veggies “

.
.
I have done a few variations of this dish lately and I have become a real fan of it.
Cutting the flank in finger sized pieces, dusting it with corn starch and sauteing
at high heat gives a very pleasant texture and taste. And of course, mixing it with
great vegetables, lots of garlic and then deglazing the pan with red wine or
white wine, depending on the type of veggies – what could be better, once all
these flavors and textures come together in a simple, hearty, flavorful dish 🙂

>

.

.
>

Ingredient’s :

Flank steak, cut into large strips
Corn starch, to dust beef
Onions, diced
Grape tomatoes, whole
Artichoke hearts, whole, canned
Butter beans, canned
Garlic, paste
Scallions, sliced large
Oyster sauce, to taste
Sriracha, to taste
Teriyaki sauce, to taste
Kosher salt, to taste
Cayenne, to taste
Peanut oil, to saute

Method :

Season beef with salt and pepper, dust with corn starch and saute
in very hot oil until nicely browned at the outside, rare on the inside.
Transfer to a rack with a plate underneath to catch the juices.
Saute all vegetables and garlic. except scallions, until fragrant.
Add a bit of white wine and the collected beef juices to deglaze,
add sriracha, oyster sauce and teriyaki sauce, blend well.
Add the beef, adjust seasoning if necessary .
To serve, sprinkle with the sliced scallions.

.
.

” Breakfast Of Champions ” # 10 – Tortilla Española

.
.
This is without doubt one of my favorite potato dishes
and the good thing about it is that it tastes even better when you re-heat the leftovers.
Serve it as a substantial breakfast, as a snack, lunch, dinner or part of a buffet.
As for the ingredients, use potatoes and eggs for sure. Everything else is up to your fancy.
I have used seafood, chicken, ham, braised pork, any kind of sausage, mushroom, cheese,
any kind of vegetables, you name it. Just make sure that if you plan to serve it
at room temperature, season it stronger as when you plan to serve it hot,
since the seasoning is not as prominent at lower temperatures.
.

.

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
.
.

The ( culinary) world is a big, beautiful, interesting, evolving place, and it’s center is not necessarily in our own backyard :-)

.
.

Hans Susser wrote on LinkedIn
about the vanishing need of butchery knowledge by chef‘s :

Dear fellow professionals,
It always amazes me how many americans think we are in the center of the world and only our practices make sense and are up to date. The fact is that in most countries around the world there is a paralel world of meat utilisation. While there are comercial slaughterhouses everywhere, the majority of meat and seafood is processed on a much smaller scale. Those chef’s who travel the world practicing their trade will be faced with the fact of seeing whole animals being delivered to their hotels and restaurants and then broken down on the property. Dishes are being cooked from every part of the animal,including the blood, feet, snout, heads, etc, etc. A chef would look pretty silly and useless not to be able to teach his staff to work more time effective, cost effective and cleaner while doing these tasks. Then you have the areas where game is a big attraction during the seasons and again, many hunters just take out the digestive tract and deliver the animal whole, pelt, head, innards, EVERYTHING 🙂
Imagine the waste which would occur (and it does) when the animals are not handled by knowledgeable folks.
Unnecessary craft and skills ? Not in my opinion, unless you plan to work in a environment without creativity. I am aware that sometimes we don’t have the opportunity to be creative to a certain point, after all, we need enough customers who are willing to pay for dishes they have never heard of or are not currently on the “in”list. However, if given the chance, we should embrace the opportunity to be well rounded chef’s who can carry on the traditional skills which will always be needed in one place or another, during one time or another.
While I have embraced the convenience and cost effectiveness of buying pre-cut meat and fish on many occasions and places, being able to break down the whole animal was a far more common requirement during my career. I have also worked with a professionally trained american butcher who was amazed by how much he could learn from me in all aspects of butchery, from the traditional cuts as they are done around the world, down to sausage making and breaking down seafood. So in conclusion, it is my opinion that if you work in an environment where certain skills are not required, please don’t dismiss them as being unnecessary and antiquated.
The ( culinary) world is a big, beautiful, interesting, evolving place, and it’s center is not necessarily in our own backyard 🙂

” Conchiglioni, Portabellas, Peppers & Jalapenos “

.
.
Talk about a satisfying dish that leaves nothing to be desired.
While spicy and alive on the taste buds, the jalapenos,
garlic and chilis were just the right amount , not overbearing, but noticeable.
All in all a successful, easy, quick dish, vulgar because of the heat,
elegant and earthy because of the portabella’s.

(Sound’s like the description of someone on a dating service 🙂
.

.
Ingredient‘s :

Giant pasta shells, cooked al dente, some of the cooking liquid reseved
Portabella mushrooms, sliced
Red peppers, sliced
Yellow peppers, sliced
Jalapenos, sliced (lot’s of them)
Red peppers, sliced
Garlic, paste
Italian parsley, chopped
Pecorino romano, grated
Salt, to taste
Cayenne pepper, to taste
Butter, to saute

Method :

Saute all vegetables, add pasta, half of the grated cheese, some whole butter and a bit of the cooking liquid. Mix well until a sauce forms from the starch of the pasta, butter, cheese and cooking liquid. Once the sauce lightly coats the pasta, plate and sprinkle with the other half of the cheese and the parsley.
.

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
.
.

” Imperial Chow Mein “

.
.
A Dish I created a few years ago for a chinese restaurant in Bogota, Columbia
.

Image by : Hans Susser

Ingredients :

Shrimp, shelled and deveined, tail on, dusted in cornsatarch
Scallops, dusted in cornsatarch
Squid, sliced, dusted in cornsatarch
Egg noodles, cooked and drained
Cooked ham diced
Lap Cheong (chorizo) sliced
Bell pepper, red diced
Bell pepper, green diced
Bell pepper, yellow diced
Green peas, frozen
Onion diced
Scallions, finely sliced
Ginger, shaved
Garlic, paste
Salt, to taste
Lime juice, to taste
Cayenne, to taste
Soy sauce, to taste
Sesame oil, to taste
Sherry wine,
Peanut oil, to fry

Method :

Saute shrimp, scallops and squid in very hot pan until halfway cooked.
Remove and set aside.
Saute all vegetables except scallions, deglaze with sherry.
Add noodles, seafood, ham and seasoning,
saute until well combined, adjust seasoning if necessary .
To serve, sprinkle with scallions.

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
.
.
.

50.000 Hits In Just Four Months Of ChefsOpinion. Thank You All !

.
.
Dear Friends,

Thank you all for your continuous interest and support of ChefsOpinion.
It makes me happy and proud that I can share my dishes and my culinary views with so many fine folk’s. Even if we are not always of the same opinion about a specific dish, style, recipe, or method, you and I share a never ending love and passion for all things culinary and appreciate an open dialog about it.
I would highly appreciate any suggestions and / or requests to shape ChefsOpinion even more to your liking. If not, I will just continue to do what I love to do and hope that we, as a community of culinary enthusiasts, will grow even larger and that we can enjoy many more dishes, opinions and ideas to come 🙂
Friend’s, if you can find it in your hard and if you think my blog deserves it, please be so kind and help me spread the word amongst your friends, colleagues and family. Thank you.

With best regards,
Hans.
.
Life is Good !

.
.
.