Grab Bag

” Breakfast Of Champions ” # 2

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” Rigatone Carbonara “, with tomatoes and Basil
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Bella and I sharing breakfast.
(Don’t worry, I have my own bowl, on the table.    🙂
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My version of  “Carbonara” :
Wisk 2 egg yolks and 1 whole egg with 1/2 cup milk,
2 tbsp parmesan, kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.
Saute 3 cup’s rigatone in butter (use olive oil if you prefer), until
pasta becomes lightly crispy on a few spots.
Add egg mixture, tomatoes and chiffonade of basil and cook
until egg’s start to set. Share with a loved one .

Bon Appetit ! Live is Good !
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Cancun Cowboys

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Chorizo Sliders and spicy Slaw
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Tonights dinner  were these terrific sliders with caramelized onions and gorgonzola,
with a slaw of cabbage, corn, radish, cilantro and ranch dressing.
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Sliders :
Take chorizo mix and shape into small, thick burgers.
Cook until cooked through but still juicy.
In another pan, saute onions until caramelized.
At the same time, brush buns lightly with olive oil and
toast under broiler until golden.
Arrange pickle, scallion, cheese and chili on top bun.
Put a dollop uf greek yoghurt on bottom bun, top with
chorizo patty and caramelized onion.
To eat, put to top and bottom buns together and enjoy
the heck out of it   🙂    
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Slaw :
Season Cabbage and radishes wit salt and lime juice and let stand
for 30 minutes. Squeeze to remove all moisture, add diced avocados,
cooked corn, cilantro and ranch. Mix.
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Bon Appetit !   Life is Good !

 

” Matzo Ball Soup, Chicken & Root Vegetables “

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” During My Time “
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Chicken soup cured all “weh weh’s”
If I had a runny nose, slightly elevated temperature,
a lowdown of any sort, or just pretended I was not fit for school that day,
the first order of help from my mother was usually  “Chicken soup”
Whatever vegetables and starch was available in that moment went into
a pot with whatever part of chicken was available right then and there and
in no time was transformed into a bowl of comfort and goodness.
And YES ! There where fat-eyes swimming on top of the broth –
And NO- we did not die from them   🙂

Chicken Soup ! Memories !
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” Rotelle, Artichokes, Snails & Grape Tomatoes “

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A  few months ago I had one of these “whatever is in the cupboard” moment’s.
Low and behold, some of my favorites : Pasta, snails, artichokes.
The wonderful result of this :
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Personally I think it looks great, and best of all, it tastes even better. 
That and the different textures made it an outstanding dish           🙂
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Boil the rotelle, strain, reserve some of the cooking water.
Make a mixture of cornstarch, flour, salt, garlic powder and lemon-salt.
Dredge the snails in the mix and fry at 375 degrees until crisp on the outside,
but moist and plum on the inside.  Reserve on absorbent paper.
Fry the artichokes and reserve the same way.
Saute finely chopped garlic and onion in olive oil until opaque.
Add rotelle, a good amount of soft (not melted) butter, finely grated
parmesan cheese, tomatoes and some of the cooking water to the pot
and stir until a sauce forms that coats the pasta lightly.
Season with salt and pepper.
To serve, place pasta on bottom of plate or bowl, top with snails and
artichokes and sprinkle with parmesan and chopped parsley.

Bon Appetit !   Live is Good !
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” 10 Of The Worlds Most Expensive Dishes “

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Is it possible some folks are just plain rediculous ?    😦
You judge for yourself :
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To enlarge picture, click on it !






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” For Offal Lover’s Only ! “

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Friend’s, by now you have probably realized that some of my recipes and / or pictures
are of food which is a bit outside the mainstream. ( Some of my articles as well ? )
Yesterday I came across this article in the huffpost which reminded me again how
far most of our young “colleagues” and their guest’s / client’s in the culinary world
have moved away from the well rounded professionals we oldtimers were trained to be.
It praised the new generation of inventive and adventurous and oh so clever chef’s for
using the whole animal. WOW!
When I apprenticed in the sixties back in Germany, we were used to getting delivered
the whole animal, or if this was impractical because of it’s size and weight, a half  (veal,
pig, stag, boar) or a quarter (beef). Fresh game was always  dropped off whole by
the village hunter, and two four times a year we slaughtered our own pig’s which we
raised mostly on food scrap’s from the restaurant. So, on most restaurant’s menu’s
you wood find cut’s from ALL part of the animals. From snout to huff and tail and just
about  anything in between was used for a well rounded menu, at small country inn’s
all the way up to five star restaurants.
So,  in this spirit, here is my take on Gizzards :

” Fried Spicy Gizzard’s, Guacamole & Totopos ”
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Simmer the cleaned gizzards in red wine, garlic, salt and cayenne pepper until tender. Strain, dry.
Season with salt, cayenne pepper and garlic powder and fry until the edges become crisp.
Don’t fry too long or they become dry and tough. Season and fry the onions the same way.
To serve, sprinkle with cilantro and chili flakes.

Because I served these with guacamole, I did not need a dipping sauce .
If you want to use a dipping sauce, try this:
Soy sauce with scallions, lime juice, sriracha and a bit of rice wine and sugar.     🙂
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” When A Cook Makes A Mistake…..Culinary Quotes “

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Culinary Wisdom at it’s finest  🙂
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” If an architect makes a mistake,  he grows ivy to cover it. If a doctor makes a mistake, he covers it with soil. If a cook makes a mistake, he covers it with some sauce and say’s it is a new recipe.”
Paul Bocuse

“All the best cooking is simple. There is really nothing new in it. I have 4,000 cookbooks dating back to 1503, and everything that is in nouvelle cuisine was there 200 years ago.”
Anton Mosimann

“All of Bavaria can be divided into a small group of butchers and a larger group of people who look like butchers.”
Heimito von Doderer

“After all the trouble you go to, you get about as much actual ‘food’ out of eating an artichoke as you would from licking 30 or 40 postage stamps.”
Miss Piggy

“A nickel will get you on the subway, but garlic will get you a seat.”
Old New York Proverb

“…the key dietary messages are stunningly simple: Eat less, move more, eat more fruits and vegetables, and don’t eat too much junk food. It’s no more complicated than that.”
Marion Nestle

“A house where neither wine nor welcome is served to friends, soon will have none.”
Rob Hutchison

“A converted cannibal is one who, on Friday, eats only fishermen.”
Emily Lotney

“A diet is when you watch what you eat and wish you could eat what you watch.”
Hermione Gingold
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” Flatbread & Shrimps “

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Minutes to prepare         (I used store bought flatbread)
Hours of satisfaction     🙂
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Simmer shrimp in water with salt and lemon juice until just done.
Schock in ice water. Remove tails except for 3 shrimps, for decoration.
Dice peppers and chili. Chop cilantro.
Marinate shrimp, peppers and chili with lemon juice, salt and pepper.
Heat the flat bread on both sides under your broiler, adding some more char if you like.
Brush lightly with olive oil and sprinkle with Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Add shrimp salad to flat bread, drizzle greek yoghurt and sriracha on top.
Sprinkle with cilantro and top with tail-on shrimp.  EAT !

Bon Appetit !   Life is Good !
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” A Bunch Of Funny Cooking & Food Videos “

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Wanted to share a bit of fun with my readers  🙂

 

ooodd.com


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soul food crab cooking

ethiopian cooking lesson

how to cook an egg

first day on the job

extra energy

charlie sheen cooking

mr.bean eats steak tartar

fawlty towers / the prawns are off

lettuce eats wendy

beautiful meatloaf

fire in the kitchen

james brown & kenny rogers cooking

master chef final

steamer explodes

dog complaints about food

screaming eggs

bang bang chicken
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Enjoy ! Life is Good !
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” Asian Garlic Noodles “

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Although
when we hear  Asia  we don’t automatically think of
Parmesan Cheese  and  Maggi Seasoning, you would be surprised
how 
many of our western ingredient’s have found their way to Asia
for the asian version of fusion cooking.
Especially  Malaysia  and the  Philippines  have become culinary melting
pot’s, not only in restaurants in business and tourist areas, but also
in ordinary homes. You can omit the cheese and maggi in this dish to
be more authentic asian, but you will miss out on a lot of flavor and texture.
There are a million variations of this dish, this is one of my favorites  🙂

It’s your call, maggi & parmesan, or not   🙂
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Ingredient’s :

  • Salt
  • Chili pepper,  flakes or ground
  • Garlic  (2 heaping tablespoons)
  • Fish sauce  (1 tablespoon)
  • Maggie sauce  (1 tablespoon)
  • Oyster sauce  (1 tablespoon)
  • Sugar  (1 tablespoon)
  • Pasta,  your favorite type (20 oz)
  • Water,  reserved from cooking pasta
  • Butter,  unsalted (1 stick)
  • Parmesan cheese, grated  (1 heaping tablespoon)
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    Method :Boil pasta i salted water, strain, reserving some of the pasta water.
    Melt butter, sautee chili flakes, add pasta, add all other seasoning and cheese.
    If texture is too dry, add pasta water ’til you reach the proper consistency
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    Bon Appetit !   Life is Good !
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