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TODAY AT “CHEZ BELLA” – Boiled Beef With Dill-Potatoes & Horseradish-Sauce – (Gekochtes Rindfleisch Mit Meerrettich Sauce & Dillkartoffeln)

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The reason why I love Traditional German Food are dishes like the one featured today, which is nearly impossible to find on a menu of any restaurant, anywhere 😦
So, as usual, when the craving scratches, switch-on the stove 🙂
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Bon Appétit ! Life is Good !
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Click here for Beef With Horseradish Sauce Recipe on ChefsOpinion
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Boiled Beef With Dill-Potatoes & Horseradish-Sauce

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TODAY AT “CHEZ BELLA” – Bucatini With No-Cook Tomato Sauce

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This is probably one of my most-loved simple dishes of all time.
Not only does it taste wonderful if you use the best ingredients (good quality EVO (or Butter), pasta, chopped fresh tomatoes or bottled passata, and cheese, (if possible Grana Padano),
It is also done in a flash and, best of all, it tastes incredibly FRESH, as if your old Italian grandma had produced it with lots of love and livelong experience on her wood-fired oven, just for you. 🙂
But please!, resist the temptation to use crappy, pre-packed, grated “mystery cheese” ! Grate your own favorite cheese and be rewarded with the best pasta dish you´ve had in a long time. 🙂
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Bon Appétit ! Life is Good !
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Click here for more Pasta on ChefsOpinion
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Why “Chez Bella” ??? Because……….click here.
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Add 3 tblsp EVO to 2 cup passata, 1 tsp garlic paste, kosher salt, sriracha to taste and a dash of Maggie Seasoning (optional), mix well.
Remove the pasta straight from the cooking water to the seasoned oil, grate 3 tblsp fresh grated cheese of your choice on top (if possible, use Grana Padano) , mix well, check/ adjust the seasoning.
Serve with some more grated cheese and chopped herbs of your choice (optional)
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Bucatini With No-Cook Tomato Sauce

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TODAY AT “CHEZ BELLA” – Scrambled Eggs & Bread

Bellas Scrambled Eggs & Bread

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Aaahhhhh, never judge a book by its cover, nor a dish by it´s name ! 🙂
If you do, you might have just past by this wonderful little dish, never to know what culinary gem is lurking behind its unassuming name.
Which cook in the World would sink so low and be proud and happy about “scrambled eggs & bread”, to actually publish a post about this ? –
Well, I actually am, and I must say, when I plated this dish for Bella and myself, I was smiling and feeling happy about the food we were about to eat (or, in Bellas case, about to devour.) 🙂
The Turkish flatbread came out of our neighborhoods Turkish bakers oven just about 30 minutes earlier (he delivers) ; the eggs are fresh from my neighbor’s hens, and the tomatoes, green chilies, cucumbers and scallions come from the farms in the immediate area.
So everything was as fresh as can be, and with a simple dish like this, the difference to supermarket food is apparent in every bite.
Nothing against supermarket food, I have eaten it and enjoyed most it most of my life, just that when possible, I like to eat the fresh and less processed stuff 🙂
So there you have it – a great, fresh, affordable, quick and easy to prepare dish I love ( so does Bella) and of which I can be proud of, five stars or not. 🙂
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Bon Appétit ! Life is Good !

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Click here for more Eggs on ChefsOpinion
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Why “Chez Bella” ??? Because……….click here.
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Toast 1/4 of a large Turkish flatbread or any other bread of your choice.
Whisk 6 fresh eggs, season with kosher salt, sriracha and garlic paste to taste.
In 3 oz of whole butter or 2 tblsp EVO saute 1 cut scallion, 1 green chili and 2 ea diced tomatoes until heated through, add the eggs, cook until done to your liking.
To serve, top the bread with the eggs, serve with salad of your choice.
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Scrambled Eggs & Bread

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Today´s Lunch at “Chez Bella” – “Seafood Soup With Mee Noodles”

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(Five Minutes Preparation, Five Hundred Minutes Satisfaction) 🙂
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Some leftover chicken stock with a bottle of clam juice (50/50 ratio), seasoned to taste with oyster sauce, toasted sesame oil, chili oil, ginger/garlic paste, sliced scallions and chilies, then added a pack of frozen seafood and a couple packs of Mee noodles, some Shaoxing wine, and pronto! – a great lunch in a few short minutes, enjoyed greatly by both Bella and myself.
Just good food, without the drama 🙂 Life is Good !
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Bon Appetit ! Stay healthy ! 🙂
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Why “Chez Bella” ??? Because……….click here.
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TODAY AT “CHEZ BELLA” – Breaded Chicken Breast Cutlet (Paniertes Hühner Schnitzel)

Breaded Chicken Breast Cutlet (Paniertes Hühner Schnitzel)

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Any “Schnitzel”, – Breaded Schnitzel, Paprika Schnitzel, Jäger Schnitzel, Rahm Schnitzel, Holsteiner Schnitzel, or which-ever Schnitzel comes to mind, served with Dumplings, Rustic Bread, Pasta, Potato Salad or Roast Potatoes, is pure comfort food for most Germans and Austrians. While it is super easy to prepare, it is also (like most simple food) super easy to screw-up.
But, with just a tiny amount of practice and a huge amount of love, this versatile dish is easy, quick and suitable for any time of day, for a late breakfast or late snack (breaded, served cold with a bit of lemon and mustard), or for lunch or dinner with any of the aforementioned sides. 🙂
As for me, being a Swabian AND an German (as well as American ), 🙂 I can eat schnitzel as often and with as much gusto as any full blooded American can eat a burger with fries, which is basically once a day. 🙂
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Bon Appétit ! Life is Good !
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Why “Chez Bella” ??? Because……….click here.
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Click here for more Chicken on ChefsOpinion
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: Breaded Chicken Breast Cutlet (Paniertes Hühner Schnitzel)

: Breaded Chicken Breast Cutlet (Paniertes Hühner Schnitzel)

: Breaded Chicken Breast Cutlet (Paniertes Hühner Schnitzel)

: Breaded Chicken Breast Cutlet (Paniertes Hühner Schnitzel)

: plate the cutlets, drizzle with the browned butter and a few spritz of lemon juice

: continue to cook until done and cutlets are golden…..

: turn cutlets, discard the oil, add 4 oz whole butter

: saute in 3 tblsp vegetable oil until golden

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: use standard breading

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: butterfly/ flatten 2 ea chicken breasts

: whisk well

: whisk 3 ea whole eggs with sriracha, granulated garlic and kosher salt to taste

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Today at “Chez Bella” – Bucatini cooked in Red Wine & Buttered Broccoli

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Click here for ” Pasta Cooked In Red Wine” Recipe on ChefsOpinion
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Why “Chez Bella” ??? Because……….click here.
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Bon Appétit ! Life is Good !

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It is Time to Change “ChefsOpinion”……………..

Dear Friends,
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The time has finally come to change the format/content of ChefsOpinion.
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For many years, Chefsopinion was a reflection of my priorities in life (outside of family and friends, of course)
It reflected the love of my profession as a cook, and the lifestyle which resulted from the career I was lucky to have, which provided me with a tremendous amount of experience in cooking, teaching, mentoring, and life in general.
After starting out as an apprentice and a few short years as cook at the bottom of the food chain (pun intended), there was worldwide travel, living and working in the most beautiful spots on Earth, great financial rewards, incredible hands-on education in all aspects of life, languages, meeting wonderful people and peers, and, rather early in my life, slowly but surely moving up in the worldwide hospitality industry.
Among other venues, I was involved in :
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Cruise Lines (Worldwide), -executive chef, senior executive chef, food & beverage manager,
Higher Education (US College) – manager and instructor,
Hotels and Restaurants (Worldwide) ALL brigade positions, including executive chef, as well as area-executive chef, food & beverage manager, owner.
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It was during my time as chef instructor and program chair at Le Cordon Bleu that, together with my beloved wife Maria, we decided to start a food-related web site (www.chefcook.us), which, after the passing of Maria in May of 2013, I simplified into this blog in its present format/content.
Throughout the years, I tremendously enjoyed publishing Chefsopinion, even when taking into account all the work, time and money I invested. In contrast to our previous commercial website, this blog was never intended to generate income. Therefore, I was happy that the cost of running it was covered by the (single) advertising and a few donations.
During the first few years, there were not as many food blogs out there, and during the first four years, there were about 100.000 clicks a year just from the subscribers to the blog alone, without any outside links. This showed me how much people enjoyed my photography, stories and recipes.
Then, I started to post links to LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest, FB, and a few more of these types of sites. At present, the vast majority of clicks come from links to LinkedIn (up to sometimes nearly 1000 clicks a day for an interesting dish), while clicks from direct-subscribers have dwindled to about 3.000 to 6.000 a month.
Unfortunately, the changing culture of the web has lead us to the point where most people do not give a rat´s ass about the folks who´s labor they enjoy on an almost daily basis.
Case in point:
Nowadays, I get an average of 200 to 300 clicks from direct-subscribers to the blog a day, mostly from the same folks who have subscribed for years. Yet, sadly, nearly all of these fine people can not even bother to click on the ads (EVERYBODY knows that this gives the only revenue to my blog, just about enough to cover the cost), or, same easy task, click on the “like” button to give a little thanks. Yet, hundreds of folks re-visit every single day, for years, – but a tiny sign of appreciation is too much to ask? 😦
I have never been angry or bitter about this lack of support by subscribers who have taken pleasure in visiting ChefsOpinion over and over again over the years, and it still makes me happy to think that my cooking is able to bring a smile to the majority of people who subscribed. 🙂
However, lately, my health and energy is not what it once was, I have to prioritize my time, effort and financial outlays, and I have to adjust my food and ChefsOpinion accordingly.
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The Bad News : I have decided that, just for the sake of ChefsOpinion alone, I will not prepare elaborate food for Bella and myself at home anymore.
The Good News : I still have hundreds of unpublished dishes with their recipes and photos in my files, which I will continue to publish on ChefsOpinion in the usual, original format.
More Good News : Of course, Bella and I will still eat great food every day (God willing). Up until now, I posted these simple and less decorated, but nevertheless yummy dishes on FB, where folks seem to be a lot more generous with their appreciation. The big difference between my posts on FB and on ChefsOpinion is that there are fewer pictures and no recipes, but of course, as always, I will provide the recipes if requested.
On FB, I post these dishes under the heading “Chez Bella” , and in the future, I will use the same sub-header on ChefsOpinion.
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So, to clarify (I hope) 🙂 :
In the future, food posts will alternate under the sub-header “From Chez Bella”, with the sub-header ” From my Archives”, which are the dishes I previously prepared and which are in my archives, about 450 of them, enough material to last for years to come.
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Basically, the changes you can expect (assuming you have continued interest in ChefsOpinion) is a more personalized blog that reflects more personal aspects of my life with Bella, not only the food we eat but also (occasionally), other, non-food related stuff we´d like to share with our friends. 🙂
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Dear Friends,
please let me give a heartfelt thank you to all the subscribers who supported ChefsOpinion, Bella and myself throughout the years. You know who you are, and I know who you are. 🙂
To all the newbies here, (there are actually quite a few who signed up during the past few months), welcome to this special blog, where food is the star of the show, and the show must go on……………
I hope that we can continue together for many years to come on this wonderful path of good food and good vibes.
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Bon Appétit ! Life is Good !
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Below are but a few pictures of the 1500+ recipes/dishes you can find on Chefsopinion. Enjoy !
(To find the recipe and all pictures of a particular dish, go to ARCHIVE on the top of this page and select by name or picture. If you select by picture, copy the name of the dish, paste into the search box on the top-right, go ahead and click and have fun. If you select by name, clicking on it will take you straight to the page of the dish.) 🙂
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P.S.
Sometimes ! there are traces of ChefCook.US to be found at the Web Archive (Timemachine)
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PERFECT Cacio e Pepe

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“Cacio e Pepe” is undoubtedly the most minimalist among Roman pasta.
It´s secret lies in its wonderful creaminess, which is achieved by the perfect balance between its four main ingredients: pasta, water, Pecorino Romano and black pepper. (Because of the saltiness of the Pecorino, no additional salt is needed)
(A similarly simplistic, yet very different flavor and texture are present in “Spaghetti Aglio e Olio”, which, in its most basic form, contains only spaghetti, water, olive oil, garlic, and grated hard cheese. This is usually enriched with pepperoncini and/or arugula).
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When preparing Cacio e Peppe, there are a few RULES one MUST follow to achieve the creamy texture for which Cacio e Peppe is priced, otherwise there will be just “Pasta with Cheese and Pepper”, which is not too bad either, but comes in no way close to the magic of Cacio e Peppe.
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First, – grate the cheese as fine as possible.
Second, – take the pasta straight from the water to the pan with the cheese and pepper.
Third, – quickly and thoroughly lift the pasta with two forks or a tongue from the bottom of the plate to blend and achieve a creamy sauce when the moisture and starch of the pasta and the cheese combine to form a heavenly, creamy, delicious “sauce”.
Fourth, – use warm plates to mix and serve the pasta at once.
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And there you have it ! One of Rome’s and Italy´s most iconic, simple, delicious and wonderful dishes ! 🙂
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Bon Appétit ! Life is Good !
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Click here for Recipe of Spaghetti Aglio e Olio on ChefsOpinion
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Click here for more Pasta on ChefsOpinion
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PERFECT Cacio e Pepe

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Preparation:
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: Use the very best quality available to you 🙂

: Pecorino, black pepper

: microplaned …..(VERY finely grated)

: add freshly crashed/ground black pepper to taste to the cheese

: add freshly crashed/ground black pepper to taste to the boiling water

: cook pasta until al dente

: move the pasta from the pot directly to the cheese/pepper

: mix quickly, if needed, add a bit of pasta water to get a very CREAMY texture

: plate on warm plates, top with more cheese and pepper, serve at once (Pls only prep 2 portions at a time)

: PERFECT Cacio e Pepe

: PERFECT Cacio e Pepe

: PERFECT Cacio e Pepe

: PERFECT Cacio e Pepe

: PERFECT Cacio e Pepe

: PERFECT Cacio e Pepe

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Herring Salad – (Heringsalat) – (Sillsallad) – (Shuba – Селедка под шубой)

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At a time when “Regional” and “Ethnic” cuisine has spread all over the World and most of them have reached the far corners of our Planet, a large part of restaurant-goers consider themselves experts of some, or even many, different ethnic/regional cuisines.
Sadly (naturally), most experiences of these wannabe-experts come from a few visits of neighborhood “ethnic” restaurants and a subscription to the food channel, or, at best, a few encounters of local cuisine one has mustered on a once in a lifetime vacation to an exotic, foreign country.
Therefore, nowadays, when everyone pretends to be “food-hip“, “in” and “worldly“, everybody and Joe want to open a restaurant that serves food from around the World, with the proprietor and workers usually never having encountered a dish that is even close to its supposed origin.
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However, because of this worldwide spreading of cuisines, most folks have had the pleasure to taste Scandinavian herring salad in one form or another, either in a restaurant or at home, sourced in a small plastic container at the neighborhood supermarket. These come in many different flavors and colors – with fresh dill, fresh chives, potatoes, red beets, cucumbers, pasta, capers, pickles of any type, apples, oranges, eggs, with matjes herring or salt herring, even with added sausage, etc, etc.
Many of them are surprisingly delicious, though, after all, these ingredients are hard to mess up. However, in my humble opinion, of the commercial type herring salads, most have one fundamental fault – they are diced way too small and evenly (which, admittingly, is the proper restaurant-way).
When one forkful contains five or more ingredients of very finely diced ingredients, the mix becomes one coherent mess in your mouth, which I find rather boring. I much rather have the ingredients diced larger, so that with each bite I have two or maybe three different textures and tastes, which results in the pleasure of each bite surprising me with a new combination of yumminess. 🙂
This salad can be served as an appetizer, first course, snack or main course, accompanied by steamed potatoes, sauteed potatoes, rustic bread, or Gouda crackers (as in these pictures).
Pls note that I did not include measurements – let the ratio be guided by your preferences – more or fewer veggies, herring, yogurt, mayo, and so forth – and eliminate any of the ingredients which you don´t like. 🙂
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Bon Appétit ! Life is Good !
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Click here for more Salad on ChefsOpinion
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Herring Salad – (Heringsalat) – (Sillsallad) – (Shuba – Селедка под шубой)

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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
To enlarge pictures and read instructions, click on pictures

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: salted herring, apples, cooked red beets, cooked potatoes, onins, chivess

: dice all solid ingredients

: season with cayenne pepper

: add mayo and plain greek yogurt

: mix well, check/adjust seasoning ; flavor will be best if marinating overnight

: Herring Salad – (Heringsalat) – (Sillsallad) – (Shuba – Селедка под шубой)

: Herring Salad – (Heringsalat) – (Sillsallad) – (Shuba – Селедка под шубой)

: Herring Salad – (Heringsalat) – (Sillsallad) – (Shuba – Селедка под шубой)

: Herring Salad – (Heringsalat) – (Sillsallad) – (Shuba – Селедка под шубой)

: Herring Salad – (Heringsalat) – (Sillsallad) – (Shuba – Селедка под шубой)

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Pimentón En Crema (Peppers In Cream)

Easy Does It ……….. 👍😎😃

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A week ago I bought a large bag of fresh, beautiful peppers at my neighborhood Turkish grocery store. Since then, I have eaten most of them, usually grilled and served as a side dish to meat or seafood, with tzatziki as a dip. Today I needed something to accompany my dumplings, and yet another grilled peppers dish did not sound very enticing. Also, I did not feel like eating fish or meat and so I choose the bread dumplings to be the main component of the meal. Since dumplings need a good sauce to be properly enjoyed, this tasty cream sauce with pimentóns seemed to be the perfect combination. Low and behold, it turned out to be VERY delicious, and it hit the spot precisely 🙂
So what started out as a way to get rid of some veggies before they turn South, became a much-loved dish which I will prepare again in the near future. 🙂
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Bon Appétit ! Life is Good !
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Click here for more Peppers on ChefsOpinion
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Click here for Bread Dumpling Recipe on ChefsOpinion
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Pimentón En Crema (Peppers In Cream)

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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 2 oz garlic paste in 4 oz whole butter until fragrant

: add 8 ea pimenton, season with kosher salt and cayenne pepper to taste, saute until starting to blister

: add 2 cup heavy cream

: simmer until reduced by half and the peppers are soft but still with a bite, remove from heat, check / adjust seasoning, serve with starch of your choice (pasta, rice, bread, dumplings, potatoes, etc)