beautiful food

Ziti In Wodka Sauce

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If  you love pasta, this dish is for you.
The only, important, vital thing to take into consideration :
Butter, butter, butter.!  Olive oil  just does not cut it here.
I know butter has gone out of fashion with many folk’s,
but here is the time and occasion when you have to leave
your healthy pad for a moment and indulge in the goodness of
butter. Not butter substitute, not clarified butter, just plain,
rich, good tasting butter   🙂

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Ingredient’s

Ziti,  cooked, drained, some cooking water reserved
Tomato sauce,  canned
Wodka,
Garlic,  paste
Peperoncino romano,  finely grated
Butter,
Sriracha,
Maggi seasoning,
Kosher salt,
Chili flakes,
Italian parsley,

Method :

Saute garlic in butter until fragrant, deglaze with wodka.
( Careful with the flame, you don’t want to set your eyebrows
or your kitchen on fire ). Add tomato sauce,  cooking water,
sriracha and pasta, heat to a simmer. Remove from heat,
add more butter, cheese, maggi and salt and mix well. Adjust
texture with cooking water if necessary. Adjust seasoning to
your liking. To serve, sprinkle with more cheese, chili flakes
and  italian parsley.

Bon Appetit !   Live is Good !
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Seafood & Pasta Salad

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I came  home from work early today and the
weather outside was just gorgeous . What better than
a book, ice tea and a cool  seafood  salad that can
be prepared in a few minutes. Great afternoon, recharged
my batteries and feel wonderfully relaxed.
Now it is time for a new post, then dinner and a movie,
“Ziti in Wodka Sauce” and “Kill shot”  with  Christopher Walken.

Life is Good !
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Ingredient’s :

Conchigliette,  cooked, drained
Shrimps,  poached, peeled, tails remove except three for garnish
Octopus,  canned, drained
Straw mushroom,  canned, drained
Tuna,  canned, drained
Peppers,  diced (3 colors)
Garlic,  paste
Cilantro,  chopped
Scallion,  sliced
Cucumber,  sliced
Egg,  hard boiled,  sliced
Mayonnaise,  freshly made
– (it only takes a minute to make and it’s so much better than store bought)
Horseradish cream,
Lime juice,
Kosher salt,
Black pepper,  freshly ground
Olive oil,
Vinegar,

Method :

Take 1/4 of the seafood and marinade with lime, salt,
pepper and olive oil.
Mix remaining seafood , pasta, part of the horseradish
cream, mayo, peppers, lime juice, salt and pepper. Adjust
seasoning to your liking. Place salad on bottom of bowl,
top with the marinated seafood.
To serve, drizzle eggs and cucumber with olive oil and vinegar,
sprinkle with salt and pepper. Serve with some horseradish
cream to dip the shrimp.   Enjoy  🙂

Bon Appetit !   Life is Good !
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” Collard Greens & Smoked Neck Bones “

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We  southerner’s sure love our greens .
(Southern Germany in my case, that’s why the
roast potatoes instead of the corn bread)    🙂

I cooked a great amount of pork so at the end there
was a good amount of  potlikker  left which I froze.
Next time I’ll go to the store I will buy kale to make
a great Caldo Verde with the leftover potlikker.

All about  Collard Greens
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Ingredient’s :

Collard greens, each leaf washed individually,
– stem removed, cut into 2″ strips
Smoked pork neck bones,
Onions,  sliced
Garlic,  paste
Rendered pork fat,  (schmalz)
– substitute with chicken or duck fat if you prefer
Kosher salt,
Black pepper,  freshly ground
Maggi seasoning,
Scotch bonnet,  for a little kick

Method :

Simmer smoked pork in lightly salted water until almost tender.
Meanwhile, saute onions and garlic in your fat of choice until
onions are translucent and garlic fragrant. Add to the simmering
pork. When pork is almost tender, add the greens and seasoning
and cook until greens are tender. Depending on the season, this
can take anywhere from 45 minutes to two hours.
(I cooked those greens for two more hours and the pork and greens
were just perfect. Adjust the seasoning before you serve.
As I mentioned, traditionally in the american south you
would  serve this with corn bread. However, around the world
different customs call for different sidings, from potatoes to rice
to just a hearty slice of bread to soak up the potlikker. You might
also want to try to sprinkle some parmigiano  reggiano over the top,
which I did with my re-heated left overs. Another knock-out   🙂

Bon Appetit !   Life is Good ! 
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Guacamole, Salame & Pita

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Yesterday  after work I did not feel like cooking,
so I made do with a little snack and a bit of merlot in the back by the lake.
Life could be a lot worse  🙂
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Ingredients :

Mini pita breads,
Salame,  finely diced
Olive oil,  to saute

Avocado,  diced
Chilis,  finely diced
Red radish,  finely diced
Lime,  juiced
Garlic,  paste
Cilantro,  chopped
Kosher salt,
Olive oil,
Sour cream,

Method :

Saute the salame in a bit of olive oil .
Fill a teaspoon full into the pita pockets.
Mix the guacamole ingredients, season with salt.
To serve, place the guacamole in center of plate,
surround with the stuffed pita pockets, top with
sour cream and sprinkle with cilantro.

Bon Appetit !   Life is Good !
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P.S.
While I was eating I watched these two guy’s.
They did not move for about an hour, until the sun was down.
Not very exciting, but pretty and nice to see  🙂
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Spicy Coconut Soup With Chicken, Rice & Vegetables

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Yesterday  evening I was going to make an authentic Thai or Indian dish,
but then I realized that I did not have some of the ingredients I needed in
my cupboard, so I came up with this beauty.  While it is not authentic Thai
nor Indian, Malay, Indonesian, etc, etc, I can proudly inform you that is
100% authentic  ” Hans “.
I could not have eaten better last night, so it goes to show once more that
love for food and cooking, a bit of imagination and a little bit of skill’s can
many times replace the biggest, best, most expensive recipe book    🙂
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Ingredients :

Chicken,  your choice of cut or boneless
Broccoli rabe,  blanched
Grape tomato,  whole
Green peas,  blanched
Corn,  blanched
Mini peppers,  finely sliced
Scotch bonnet,  seeds removed, finely sliced
Ginger,  grated
Garlic,  paste
Sweet chili sauce,
Coconut milk,
Limes,  juiced
Cumin,  ground
Fish sauce,
Curry powder,
Kosher salt,
Cilantro,  coarsely chopped
Peanut oil,  to saute

Method :

Saute garlic and ginger until fragrant, add curry and cumin, deglaze with sherry.
Add chicken, salt and  and stock and simmer until chicken is tender but not
overcooked – (please,  no “falling of the bone”  here). When chicken is almost done,
stir in coconut milk. Slowly simmer for another five minutes., Add all vegetables,
seasoning and lime juice  and let it all heat through.
To serve, sprinkle with cilantro and accompany with basmati rice.
To eat, mix rice into soup, small amounts at a time.

Bon Appetit!   Life is Good !
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Vegetables In Fermented Black Bean Sauce

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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 :
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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 !
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” Zuppa Pavese “

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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.
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All about  Zuppa Pavese
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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 !
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Breakfast Of Champions # 11 ” Millefanti In Brodo Di Carne “

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

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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.
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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 !
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Cheeseburger , My Way

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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  🙂
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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 !
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