Tomato Bisque

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This is one of those soups where I have to make enough for two day’s,
because one meal of it’s goodness is just not enough to satisfy the quarterly
craving that is nagging me 🙂

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Ingredients :

Tomatoes, 15 lbs
Onions, 1 lb
Celery, 1 lb
Garlic, 8 oz coarsely chopped
Rice, 4 oz uncooked
Olive oil, 1/2 cup
Heavy cream, 2 cup
Chicken stock 1 gall
Oregano, 1 bdl
Basil, 1 bdl
Cayenne, to taste
Salt, to tase

Method :

Add all Ingredients except cream to a large stock pot and simmer for about 2,5 hours.
Blend until VERY smooth. Add cream and simmer for another 15 minutes.
Adjust seasoning and serve.

Note :
Bisques were originally thickened with rice.
This made the bisque smoother and silkier than using flour or other thickeners.

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !

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” Freeze Dried Herb’s To The Rescue “

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I was so fed-up !
I only go to the supermarket once or twice a week, so I buy a bunch of food and then decide later during the week what I will cook with it.
This works out fine with almost everything, except with herbs. I used to buy at least five or six different kind of fresh herbs once a week, but no matter what,
there was alway’s stuff to throw away after a few day’s in the fridge. I hate to throw food in the garbage, so now I am happy to have found a solution :
Freeze dried Herbs 🙂
Since I alway’s tried to use fresh herb’s in my food, I don’t really have much experience with the dried stuff. However, I came across some awesome items which I use now all the time.
In salads, soups, stews, sautees, you name it, I now usually use a good amount off freeze dried herbs, usually the LITEHOUSE brand, which I find superior to all others I have tried so far.
They taste, look and smell just like the real deal.
As for salad dressings,they sure have come a long way from their awful beginnings. (Sure you can still get any number of crappy dressings at a supermarket near you),
but here is what I have used and liked lately :
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Image Source: UGA

LITEHOUSE Freeze Dried Herbs

Chives
Basil
Oregano
Dill

LITEHOUSE Dressings

Thai
Sangria
Bleu Cheese
Fuji Apple Vin
Sesame Ginger
Jalapeno Ranch
Pear Gorgonzola
Raspberry Walnut
Pomegranate Blueberry

So please don’t think I like dried herbs and ready made dressings better than freshly made. If I have a practical choice, I still prefer the fresh herb’s and homemade dressings over dried and bottled products; But sometimes it is just more clever and sensible to use what you can better control and therefore avoid waste.

Please note that I have no affiliation whatsoever with the LITHOUSE brand, I am just a big fan of their products 🙂

Life is Good !
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” Beer Braised Turkey Leg’s “

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Last night’s dinner brought out the very best one can get from turkey legs’s:
Tender, juicy, loaded with flavor, accompanied by a wonderful herbed rice.
In my opinion, turkey doesn’t get much better than that 🙂
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Turkey :

Ingredients :

Turkey legs, bone in
Morcilla, diced
Beer, a bottle or two of your favorite
Bell peppers, diced
Onions, diced
Garlic, paste
Scallions, sliced
Oregano “Litehouse” freeze dried
Basil “Litehouse” freeze dried
Chives “Litehouse” freeze dried
Maggi
Grape tomatoes
Tomato sauce canned
Oil, to sautee

Method :

Saute legs in oil until golden, remove and reserve.
Sautee peppers, remove, reserve.
Sautee onions and garlic until translucent, add Morcilla, tomato sauce
and beer, return leg’s and half the peppers to the sauce.
Add salt and pepper and simmer until legs are tender. Shortly before the
end of the cooking process, carefully remove legs into another pot.
Strain sauce onto legs, add remaining peppers, tomatoes and chives.
Bring back to simmer for one more minute and serve.

Rice :

Ingredients :

Jasmin Rice, soaked for two hours, washed repeatedly
Butter melted
Herbs fresh or freeze dried
Salt & cayenne pepper to taste

Method :

Cook rice in boiling plain water for approximately 4 minute, or until tender but not mushy (Polo Method)
Strain rice and with a fork mix in the butter, seasoning and herb’s.
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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” Smörgåsbord “

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Where else than in my house can you find a Smörgåsbord for one ?
Smörgåsbord is a scandinavian buffet, usually consisting of seafood,
meats, starches, preserves, bread’s; sometimes using both hot and cold dishes,
sometimes, for a more simple version, cold dishes only.
Here is the version I enjoyed for dinner last night :
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: Smörgåsbord

: Matjes Herring, Potatoes, Mayo, Yoghurt, & Chives

: Mussels & Chili Oil Vinaigrette

: Pickled Herring, Red Beets, Mayo, Yoghurt & Dill

: Smoked Salmon, Onions & Capers

: Mushrooms & Bell Pepper Vinaigrette

: Pickled Sardines & Onions

: Pickled Herring, Mustard, Mayo, Yoghurt & Dill

: Jarlsberg Cheese

: Pickled Herring & Onions

: Spicy Crab Dip & Eggs

: Pickled Red Beets, Onion & Chives

: Potato Salad, Peppers, Onion & Chives

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Smaklig Måltid ! Bon Appetit !

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” Spaghetti With Beef, Veggies & Brie “

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Today’s lunch combined, amongst other goodies, two of my favorite food items :
Pasta and brie cheese 🙂
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Ingredients :

Spaghetti, cooked al dente, some cooking water reserved
Beef, finely julienned
Bell peppers, finely julienned
Onion, finely julienned
Tomatoes, thin wedges
Garlic, paste
Brie cheese, sliced
Butter, substitute with olive oil if prefered
Salt & cayenne pepper to taste

Method :

Saute beef in very hot fat for a few seconds, remove and reserve.
Saute veggies and garlic until garlic is opaque but still light in color.
Add pasta, half of the brie and a bit of the cooking water, salt and pepper.
Mix well until the cheese is melted.

Plate and garnish with more brie and some herbs.

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !

” Fish Dumpling & Shrimp Ball Soup With Poached Egg “

What the heck !?
Soup with fish dumplings, shrimp ball’s, shrimp, vegetables, chili and poached egg ?
Well, it might sound’s a bit much but it is absolutely delicious, the flavors and textures
go very well together to form a wonderful, multi-facetted dish.
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Ingredients:

Shrimp, pre cooked, peeled, deveined, half of them tail removed
White fish, such as haddock, tilapia, cod
Peas, frozen
Corn, frozen
Won ton wrappers,
Red chili, sliced
Scallion, sliced
Cilantro, coarsely chopped
Whole egg for poaching
Egg white for fish dumplings and shrimp balls
Fish stock substitute with chicken stock if preferred
Ketchup
Maggi
Salt, cayenne pepper, lemon juice to taste

Method :

Dumplings :
Chop the fish coarsely, add a bit of egg white, salt, cayenne pepper, mix.
Add half a teaspoon to a wrapper, moisten the edges with water.
Top with another wrapper, flatten and cut with a crinkle wheel cutter or a raviolini stamp.

Shrimp balls :
Chop the tailless shrimp to a fine paste. Add sriracha, salt and a bit of ketchup,
Mix and form into small ball’s.

Cook fish dumplings and schrimp balls in salted water until floating,
transfer to salted ice water.

Egg :
Poach in lightly salted water for 3 1/2 minutes, transfer to salted ice water.

Soup :

Bring stock to simmer, add corn and simmer for two minutes.
season with salt, sriracha soy sauce and maggi seasoning.
Add fish dumplings and shrimp balls’, shrimp balls, chilis, green peas and poached egg.
When heated through, plate and sprinkle with scallion and cilantro

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !

” Hey !!! Do Yourself A Favor ! Mind Your Own Business “

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Bella say’s :
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” Why would anyone EVER EVER EVER use those crappy pre packaged corn taco shells ???? Yeesh !!! “

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Dear Friend’s
In response to my post : ” Tacos Al Camaron ” ,
the following esteemed comment was posted by a young lady who obviously knows and loves her food and with whom I basically wholeheartedly agree :

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” Why would anyone EVER EVER EVER use those crappy pre packaged corn taco shells???? Yeesh! “

Dear Friend’s
In response to my post : ” Tacos Al Camaron ” ,
the following esteemed comment was posted by a young lady who obviously knows and loves her food and with whom I basically wholeheartedly agree :
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” Why would anyone EVER EVER EVER use those crappy pre-packaged corn taco shells???? Yeesh! “

Whilst I agree with the reader that freshly made tacos are (usually) a tremendous improvement over ready-made products, my reply below should help to clarify a bit about how and why I enjoy food the way I do and most of all, how and why I choose the content I put on my Blog :

Dear disgusted reader of ChefsOpinion. First, let me assure you that I agree with you inasmuch that ” freshly made anything” is usually better than crappy ” store bought anything “.

Although I am in no way an expert on Mexican food, I’d like to tell you that I lived for a year in Mexico while I was married for the first time, back in the seventies.
Then In the early 2000’s, I went back to Mexico, where I was in charge of the food operation’s (at the same time) of three high-class boutique hotels, as well as one five-star Westin hotel and one four-star Sheraton hotel, all in the Yukatan, Mexico.
I am a huge fan of Mexican food and have certainly had my share of the good, the bad and the ugly.
I have had the finest tacos in the best restaurants and in the grimmest joints and at any place in between.
I have taught hundreds of cooks and thousands of culinary students about tacos, tortillas, flautas, burritos, you name it, I’ve done it.
However, when it comes to ChefsOpinion, I try to have a good time with like-minded folks who “GET IT”.
Good food is what we enjoy to eat; What is practical at the moment, what makes economic sense and what’s the best you can do whilst your time is extremely limited.
What I try to do on my blog is to share and discuss food and food-related issues with a broad range of folk’s, from culinary students to hobby cooks to perfectionists.
Also with old warrior’s like myself, who have seen it all and done it all, who are maybe just a bit more tolerant to situations where we must substitute with a lesser ingredient for some reason, or when we are just too damn exhausted to move another finger.
If I had a choice I would eat and drink only the best, freshest, most refined, most exquisite food and drinks available.
While I was privileged to live in that ideal world for most of my professional life, there were and there are situations when a sudden lust for a specific food or drink can sometimes require a quick fix just to take care of that overwhelming craving.
I have been immersed in this wonderful world of food service for 45 years. I have been in charge of meals for kings and queens, heads of states, the famous and not so famous. I am certainly aware of quality and perfection for which we should strife whenever possible. However, at this point in my life, I have just started a new job which keeps me away from my home for 11 hours. I live alone with my dear dog Bella, so before I take off for work at 5.00 am, there are already two solid hours of me getting ready for work, taking care of Bella for an hour, walking her, playing with her, trying to keep her from chasing the neighbors cat’s, etc.
When I come home at 5.00pm, my first priority is to take Bella for a long walk.
Then on to take care of the blog, usually for about three hours. Then cooking dinner, taking pic’s of the food for the next post, enjoying dinner, cleaning the kitchen, walking Bella for another hour. By the time I finally get to rest it is usually 12.30 am.

So then, please, forgive me for using pre-made tacos (They were actually very good, all things considered). The folks who will use the pre-made stuff will enjoy a quick and easy to follow food inspiration. The folks who are a bit more dedicated to only the best will no doubt spent the extra time and effort to produce awesome fresh tacos.
Hopefully, in the end, “Life is Good” for everybody. 🙂

So then :
Why would anyone EVER EVER EVER use those crappy pre-packaged corn taco shells???? Yeesh!

Because sometimes………

P.S.
Have you noted the store bought! mayo in the picture ? Yeesh! 🙂
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” Paillard of Beef & Peperonata “

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Paillard of Beef & Peperonata, MY WAY !!!

Please note that in my house instead of seasoning the beef with Mustard,
I like to add more by drizzling a good amount over the top while plating.
Also, traditionally, we try to have a perfectly round Paillard for a better presentation 🙂
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Paillard :

Beef, very thinly pounded
Cornstarch, to dust beef
Salt Pepper to taste
Oil, to sauté
Sautee beef in VERY hot oil on both sides for one minute, remove to absorbent paper.

Peperonata :

Saute onions and garlic until translucent, add peppers, sauté until heated through.
Remove from heat,, carefully mix in cherry tomatoes, seasoning and half of your herbs.
(Oregano, basil, cilantro, scallion or whatever tickles
your fancy and will provide the taste you crave that day).
When serving, sprinkle with rest of herbs and, if you desire, parmesan cheese .

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Below a Paillard I prepared for one of my books about 8 years ago.

Paillard of Veal, served with marsala sauce, sauteed enoki mushrooms
and fried spinach with curry cream. Image: H.D.Susser.

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” Butterflied Breaded Pork Chop “

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Sometimes a very simple dish does very satisfying things to you.

Last night that’s exactly what happened to me when I had this dish of simple comfort food :
Instant happyness and warmt in the belly that said : Life is Good !
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Butterflied Breaded Pork Chop with Lettuce and crispy bacon in Dijon vinaigrette.
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