beautiful food

” Matzo Ball Soup, Chicken & Root Vegetables “

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” During My Time “ ,

– 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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” 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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” 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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” 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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” Seafood Salad “

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“CANNED”  seafood  you ask ? 

If it is not fresh it doesn’t hit my plate you say ?

Of course, I agree that fresh seafood is heaven on earth
when properly prepared, But sometimes in the real world
you come home late and want something tasty and don’t
feel like cooking. Here is what I did last night :
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The result ?
A great salad done in 10 minutes ( Hard boiled egg‘s take their time )


Ingredients:

Fresh / canned seafood of your liking  (What’s in your cupboard)
Cucumber, salted for 5 minutes, rinsed
Hard boiled egg’s, diced
Radish, julienned
Bell peppers, julienned
Chilies, julienned
Garlic, paste
Parsley, chopped

Dressing:

Olive oil
Lemon juice
Raspberry vingar
Kosher Salt
Cayenne Pepper
Maggi Seasoning

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !         🙂 

Related articles

” Salad Of Lettuce, Vegetables & Pomagranate “

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It is sooo damn hot outside !

Lunch in the garden in this heat must be refreshing and light.
If you omit the potatoes, this salad would also be a great,
colorful starter or snack in between meals              🙂
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Salad:
New or baby potatoes, cooked
String beans, cooked
Romain lettuce
Bean sprouts
Baby porto’s sauteed with garlic in olive oil
Red bell pepper, finely julienned

Dressing:
Pomegranate seeds
Pomegranate juice
Lime juice
Salt
Pepper
Olive oil

Bon Appetit !   Life is Good ! 


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Culinary innovators

” Perciatelli, Pork Cracklings, Pork Jus & Parmesan Cheese “

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Here is what you get when you combine some of the most basic,
tasty, best, food stuff’s into one dish of love and happyness.

I like to munch on chicharrones  (pork cracklings), so I usually
have a pack of good quality ones at home. I also had some leftover
jus from a roast pork leg  in the freezer. In my fridge you can always
find a wedge of parmesan and in my cupboard usually there is a pack
of perciatelly or similar pasta.

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !

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” Poor Man’s Cordon Bleu “

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Poor man’s cordon bleu
Mock cordon bleu
Hans’ cheese burger

Whatever you want to name it, this is a great dish.
Of course, you can replace the cheese with any other cheese,
such as roquefort, brie, tilsit, cheddar.

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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“ Red Lentils & Bell Pepper Burgers “

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Red Lentils & Bell Pepper Burgers,
Served With Raita

For one of those meatless, healthy day’s  🙂

Ingredients

2 lbs red lentils, cooked until tender

2 lg egg

½ cup panko breadcrumbs

1 med green bell pepper, diced, sautéed

1 med red bell pepper, diced, sautéed

1 med onion, finely diced, sautéed

Garlic, minced, to taste, sautéed

2 tblsp Cilantro,  coarsely chopped

Cumin, to taste

Curry powder, to taste

Kosher salt, to taste

Cayenne pepper, to taste

Oil to sauté


Method

Mix all ingredients except the tofu and oil. Shape into ball’s, make an indent and fill with tofu.
Sprinkle lightly with additional bread crumb’s and sauté until golden and heated through

Raita

Grated cucumbers greek yoghurt, garlic powder, cilantro, salt, pepper.
Use quantities according to your preferences.

Bon Appetit !   Life is Good !
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