Snacks / Appetizers

Salmon Rillette

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One of my favorite spreads are rillettes, especially pork rillette and salmon rillette. While I have not prepared pork rillette for some time, you can often find salmon rillette in my fridge.
It’s effortless to prepare, yet if properly stored, it will give you many days of enjoyment. (Pork will last for weeks or even months if properly stored). I usually spread it on a slice of rustic bread at breakfast, lunch, dinner or as a snack. Although perfectly delicious by itself on bread, rillette can be even more enjoyable when spruced-up with a wide range of additions, such as capers, raw or pickled onions, cornichons and even topped with eggs for breakfast. Rillette also pairs nicely with steamed or sautéed potatoes and for the adventurous, try incorporating it into a pasta dish. (I have done this with pork rillette and the result was delicious. 🙂
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Bon Appetit ! Live is Good !
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All about Rilettes
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Salmon Rilette

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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
To enlarge pictures and read instructions, click on pictures
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: skin salmon filets, remove all bones

: cover salmon filets with melted butter, add kosher salt, cayenne pepper and garlic paste, simmer on very low heat until salmon is just done

: break salmon into chunks

: add fresh dill leaves

: fill rillette into serving dish, place in refrigerator overnight

: let rilette reach room-temperature before serving

: spread a generous amount of rillette on bread of your choice

: Salmon Rilettes

: Salmon Rilettes

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Red Lentil Soup With Smoked Turkey Leg

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It’s getting cooler at night lately, so hot soup is again welcome, especially when eaten al fresco. This soup took about two and a half hours to cook from beginning to end, but the actual prep-time was only a few minutes, which makes it a perfect dish when you don’t feel like getting too involved with heavy prep-work, but still want to have a satisfying meal 🙂
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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P.S.
If you want your lentils with more texture, cook the turkey leg first in lightly salted water, then cook the lentils with the resulting stock until just done.
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Red Lentil Soup With Smoked Turkey Leg

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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
To enlarge pictures and read instructions, click on pictures
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: saute garlic paste in butter until fragrant

: add julienned onions, saute until lightly caramelized

: add red lentils, maggi seasoning, bay leave, kosher salt, cayenne pepper, ground cumin and dried oregano

: add chicken or vegetable stock

: add the smoked turkey leg

: simmer until turkey leg is tender, about two hours

: almost……

: remove turkey, dice, check / adjust seasoning of lentils

: Red Lentil Soup With Smoked Turkey Leg

: Red Lentil Soup With Smoked Turkey Leg

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Hearts On Fire

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If you have followed ChefsOpinion for some time, you know that I am very fond of Offal.
I understand of course that not everybody shares this fondness, but for the most part, in most of the offal dishes that I blog about, the offal can be replaced with more run of the mill proteins, such as shrimp, chicken breast, sliced beef and even vegetables.
For the rest of us – offal rock! 🙂
In the past, when my wife and I used to go with friends to Brazilian Churrasqueiras, everybody thought I was mad when I stuffed myself with grilled chicken hearts, while Maria and our friends enjoyed their Picanha, Entrana, and other more popular cuts. But for me, the meat-course always started with a bunch of chicken hearts. I was only ever able to find them in Brazilian Churrasqueiras, so I always took advantage of the opportunity to indulge. Nowadays, I go out very seldom, so when the craving for chicken hearts hits me, I have to prepare them myself.
I prepare them in different ways, grilled, braised, fried or simmered in soup.
Last night I felt the need for something spicy, so I prepared the hearts as follows – I seasoned them with soy sauce and lots of garlic, coated them in corn starch and then fried them in pure chili oil. The result was truly “Hearts on Fire ” – they were hellishly spicy from the chili oil but the more subtle-seasoned bok choy toned it down a bit and when eaten together, the result was pure culinary bliss – very tasty,very spicy, very addictive 🙂
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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How to make Home Made Chile Oil
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Hearts on Fire

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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
To enlarge pictures and read instructions, click on pictures
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: blanch baby bok choy in salted water, shock in ice water, drain

: simmer one cup of chicken stock, season with 1 tblsp soy sauce, 1 tsp garlic paste, 1 tsp grated ginger and a dash of salt, thicken with a bit of corn starch slurry

: add bok choy to sauce, simmer one minute until heated through

: arrange bok choy on serving platter, nape with sauce, cover, keep warm

: season hearts (or other protein) with kosher salt, soy sauce and granulated garlic

: dust with corn starch, mix well

: fry hearts at high heat until crisp on the outside but still juicy on the inside

: add scallions and whole pickled chilies

: serve hearts over bok choy

: Hearts on Fire

: Hearts on Fire

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Wing Recipe # 1001

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Seems like everybody and their mother has THE BEST recipe for chicken wings, and, I have to admit, I myself have a few of them.
Now this one is definitely among the very best and I hope you will give it a shot.
Maybe you will even agree with me that these wings are among the very best, if not THE BEST OF THE BEST ? 🙂
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Bon Appetit ! Wings Fly !
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More Wings on ChefsOpinion
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Wing Recipe # 1001

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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
To enlarge pictures and read instructions, click on pictures
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: mix julienned red onions with soy sauce, garlic paste, lime juice and sriracha

: mix olive oil, lime juice, chopped capers, chopped cilantro, kosher salt and cayenne pepper

: season wings with kosher salt, granulated garlic and sriracha, fry until crisp on the outside but not completely cooked through, remove from fat, blot dry, season with soy sauce, sriracha and garlic paste

: place on wire rack, bake at 375 until browned

: when top of wings are browned and crisp, remove from oven

: turn wings upside down

: spread onions on top of wings, bake at 375F until onions are caramelized

: remove wings from oven, dredge in the herb-lime seasoning

: plate wings on serving dish, douse with more of the herb-lime seasoning

: Wing Recipe # 1001

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Stuffed Baked Potato With Smoked Salmon, Dragon Fruit And Salad

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My original intention for breakfast this morning was to just pile some smoked salmon on a slice of bread and wait for lunchtime to come around for a more substantial meal. But then I saw the pomegranate and bean sprouts in the fridge, as well as an open container with Greek yogurt. Needless to say, I couldn’t stop there and all of a sudden, breakfast started to morph into what became this great brunch.
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Stuffed Baked Potato With Smoked Salmon, Dragon Fruit And Salad

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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
To enlarge pictures and read instructions, click on pictures
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: bake potatoes at 375F until done, let cool slightly

: season sliced radishes with kosher salt, let stand for 15 minutes

: cut top off of the potatoes

: remove “flesh” from “skin”

: coarsely chop smoked salmon

: mix the potatoes, salmon, greek yogurt, scallion, garlic paste, kosher salt and cayenne pepper, fill back into potato skins

: dress romaine lettuce, fresh spinach, sliced salted radishes, bean sprouts and tomatoes with honey/mustard dressing and fresh ground black pepper

: select a pretty serving platter 🙂

: arrange salad, dragon fruit slices and baked potatoes nicely on platter, sprinkle with pomegranate-seeds

: Stuffed Baked Potato With Smoked Salmon, Dragon Fruit And Salad

: Stuffed Baked Potato With Smoked Salmon, Dragon Fruit And Salad

: Stuffed Baked Potato With Smoked Salmon, Dragon Fruit And Salad

: Stuffed Baked Potato With Smoked Salmon, Dragon Fruit And Salad

: Stuffed Baked Potato With Smoked Salmon, Dragon Fruit And Salad

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Curried Langostino And Egg Salad Wrapped In Roti Prata ( 印度煎饼 )

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While I was preparing tonight’s pratas (parathas, roti canai), my cravings for the final dish became so strong that I did not even bother to decorate the food a bit.
I just could not wait to dig in, as I remembered with great affection the tasty roti’s I had in India, Pakistan, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Caribbean (mostly Jamaica, sorry Trinidad) 🙂
The accompanying salad of langustinos and eggs in curry mayonnaise might not sound very exotic, but it is definitely something you could find in any of the less traditional restaurant’s in Singapore or Kuala Lumpur, where fusion cuisine has become part of the daily culinary life.

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !

Click for Roti recipe here
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Curried Langostino And Egg Salad Wrapped In Roti Prata ( 印度煎饼 )

: 印度煎饼

: Roti Prata

: Roti Paratha

: Roti Canai

: Curried Langostino And Egg Salad Wrapped In Roti Prata ( 印度煎饼 )

: Curried Langostino And Egg Salad Wrapped In Roti Prata ( 印度煎饼 )

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Garlicky Shrimp Brochettes & Potato Salad In Dijon Mayonnaise

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Early evening dinner before going to sleep and back to another happy work week. (Do I have to mention I was NOT the lucky winner of the $ 6 million Jackpot ?)
I wonder, if I would have won, would I go to work tomorrow…………
Anyway, back to reality and a great meal. I used a shameful amount of roasted garlic puree to season the shrimps and I hope nobody wants a kiss before tomorrow 🙂
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Garlicky Shrimp Brochettes & Potato Salad In Dijon Mayonnaise

: Garlicky Shrimp Brochettes & Potato Salad In Dijon Mayonnaise

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Simmer un-peeled potatoes until done. Remove from water, let cool. Peel, slice into thin rounds. Mix with kosher salt, cayenne pepper, a bit of vinegar, mayonnaise, chopped cilantro, sliced scallions and dijon mustard.

Season the shrimp with sea salt, chili flakes and roasted garlic puree. Saute in butter until almost done. Squeeze one lime over brochettes, turn once and remove from pan.
To serve, spoon some of the lime butter over the shrimps and accompany with potato salad.

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Best Fish Taco

Well, at least for me they were the best in a very long line of disappointing restaurant and food truck fish tacos.
Most of the time, if you want to have the really good stuff, you’ve got to prepare it yourself 🙂
The secret here is the fish batter. You don’t want to have to prep something complicated or difficult for such a simple meal. So here I give you my “secret” easy and quick batter recipe:
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A/P flour, crushed ice, cayenne pepper, kosher salt, granulated garlic, chilled sparkling water (I use syfo lemon-lime, the only bottled water for me).
Mix all ingredients lightly, don’t worry about a few lumps, they fry out in the hot oil and become crispy. See the prep pic to get an idea about the texture. Then dip the fish into the batter and fry at 375F until crispy and fish just done. Remove to absorbent paper. Build your tacos with your favorit ingredients / condiments.
Voila ! Best fish taco 🙂
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Viva Mexico ! Viva Los Tacos ! Viva La Vida !
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Best Fish Taco

: Best Fish Taco

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Strawberry, Vodka & Chocolate Smoothie

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Welcome back, summer !

It is 5.00pm and the temperature is still at 83F. Feels almost like summer. Of course, this is the perfect temperature. As soon as it get’s a bit hotter, just like all good Floridians, I will of course complain that it is too hot ! But, today, it’s just perfect 🙂
To celebrate, I made for myself a great smoothie which was just the right thing to have outside, waiting for the sun to go down, listening to classic rock on Big 105.9 and watching madam chasing geckos.

Cheers ! Live is Good !

Strawberry, Vodka & Chocolate Smoothie

: Strawberry, Vodka & Chocolate Smoothie

: Bella notices……

: Bella approaches…..

: Bella sniff’s…..

: Bella approves !

Ingredients :

Vodka, fresh Strawberries, Yoghurt, Milk, Instant Cocoa Powder, Ice,

Method :

Blend all ingredient’s, fill into iced glass, sprinkle with cocoa powder and decorate with strawberry. Cheers !

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” Aloo Ki Tiki ” Indian Potato Patties

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” Aloo Ki Tiki ” Indian Potato Patties

Very tasty dinner tonight.
Toke the liberty to replace the peas with some other
vegetables to get even more flavor and color.

Tomorrow – NOT a vegetarian food day 🙂
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