Black Pepper

“Escargot Bourguignon” (Snails in Garlic–Herb Butter)

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I cannot recall when I have last seen this classic dish on a restaurant menu. What a shame, since this is such a delightful, easy to prepare dish. As for my dinner today, I do have the shells, forks and escargot tongs at home, but since this is just for myself and not a dinner party, I prefer to serve them as I’ve done here, in a ovenproof dish, accompanied by simple bread to soak up ALL the garlic butter.
Here are my two pet peeves about this dish when I eat it in a restaurant :

1) If the snails are too large !
2) If the butter is not seasoned properly nor has enough parsley !

1) At home, I cut the very large snails in half. Much more pleasant to eat.
Voilà ! Problem solved 🙂
2) I make sure I add plenty of garlic, freshly ground black pepper and lot’s of chopped parsley.
Voilà ! No problem to start with 🙂

Escargot Bourguignon

: Escargot Bourguignon

: The Beast Devours Escargot

Ingredient’s :

Snails, canned, rinsed
Butter, unsalted
Red wine, (I prefer merlot)
Shallots, finely diced (I used onion)
Garlic, paste
Flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
Black pepper, freshly ground
Sea salt,

Method :

Saute onions and garlic until fragrant. Add red wine, simmer until almost evaporated. Add butter, season with salt and pepper. Heat butter until starting to brown in small spots. Add escargots, simmer until all liquid has evaporated again. Remove from heat, stir in most of the parsley. To serve, sprinkle with more parsley.

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Guajillo Chile & Rum Spiced Pork Ribs

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Pork rib craving – gotto give in to it 🙂
However, you’ve got to plan this well, because when the craving start’s, it will take another 9 hours of slow cooking time before you can eat your rib’s.
And so it goes:
Make a paste of “Brugal” rum, kosher salt, guajillo chile, granulated garlic and freshly ground black pepper. Cover both sides of the ribs with a thick cover of the paste. Place rib’s on a rack which sit’s over a pan of water. Cover loosely with aluminum foil and bake at 180 F for 8 hours. (Replenish water if necessary). Remove foil and bake another hour until ribs are nicely colored.
The Verdict : Very tasty, very juicy, very tender, very easy to prepare. Rib’s rule !
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Guajillo Chile & Rum Spiced Pork Ribs

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Perciatelli, Tomato & Poached Egg

“Waiter ! One order of Perciatelli, Tomato & Poached Egg please !
I wish I could order food like that in a restaurant around here !
Everybody seems to serve the same old stuff, (grilled fish with mango salsa anyone?), desperately trying to be “innovative”, “modern”, “on the edge”. But sadly, what I mostly find is mediocre food that has been invented and created a long time ago, then suffered a long and steady decline in quality and substance at the hand of badly trained cooks and so called chefs . We now find the most outrageously crappy food for even more outrageous prices in a vast majority of restaurants. I fully acknowledge that there are lots’s of great chefs out there but unfortunately, they are the minority in a sea of mediocracy or worse. How about some more top quality, simple, tasty, beautiful “REAL FOOD” . I would not mind paying top $ for a plate like this if it were fresh, good tasting, clean and nicely presented. Unfortunately, most “hip” folk’s think food like that has no place in a restaurant and it would be beneath their advanced eating habits to consume . (In public, anyway). While I appreciate as much as the next person food that is prepared and presented in an artful, unexpected, unconventional way, on a day to day basis I prefer great food which is practical and economically sound. After all, most of us have to cook the stuff before we can eat it. While there are plenty folk’s out there who apparently can run up a dinner bill of a few hundred or even a few thousand bucks a few night’s a week, most of us are not that privileged but nevertheless deserve to eat good (and, many times, much better) on a reasonable budget.

Perciatelli, Tomato & Poached Egg

Any thoughts on that friends ?
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Ingredients :

Perciatelli, cooked al dente, some cooking liquid reserved
Eggs, poached
Tomato, chopped
Garlic, paste
Olive oil,
Basil, stems removed
Kosher salt,
Black pepper, freshly ground
Parmigiano reggiano, grated

Method :

Saute garlic paste in olive oil until fragrant, add tomatoes and basil leaves and saute for three minutes. Remove basil, add salt and pepper and mix in blender until smooth. Poach eggs in lightly salted and vinegared water to your desired doneness. Toss perciatelli with olive oil, cheese and a bit of the cooking water until a thin film of sauce forms. To serve, drizzle tomato sauce over pasta, top with poached eggs. Sprinkle with cheese and garnish with fresh basil.

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Gratinated Onion Soup

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Today the weather channel announced that it will get cold in florida,
so why not prepare for it with this goodie :
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Gratinated Onion Soup

: Gratinated Onion Soup

Saute onion julienne until translucent. Add beer, beef stock, Kosher salt , freshly ground black pepper and maggi seasoning. Simmer until onions are soft but not mushy, about one hour. In the meantime, brush sliced bread on both sides with garlic butter. Toast on both sides until golden. Top with your favorite cheese (here I used asiago, sometimes I use cheddar, swiss, pepper jack or gorgonzola) and bake until cheese is melted. Remove from oven and set aside. When the onions are soft, adjust seasoning if necessary. Transfer the soup to a heat proof dish. Top with cheese bread and sprinkle the top generously with more cheese. Bake until a golden brown crust has formed. To serve, sprinkle with chopped cilantro.

Bon Appetit ! Life is good!
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Insalata di Ciliegie

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I love these little mozzarella balls dressed with a nicely aged balsamic vinegar, a good amount of garlic, salt, black pepper and good quality olive oil. In this version of a classic antipasti dish, I have replaced the traditional olives with cucumbers and the basil with scallions and added grape tomatoes and finely diced onions. To me, this gives a more vibrant and fresh, crispy texture and taste. However, add whatever tickles your fancy, such as marinated peppers, pearl onions, different mushrooms, etc, or even as I sometimes do, good quality canned anchovies.
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Geroestete Semmelknoedel Mit Ei

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A few weeks ago I posted :

Rinds Rouladen & Semmel Knoedel ( Beef Roulade & Bread Dumplings )

in response to a request. I mentioned in the post that one can not re-heat bread dumplings in water, as they would become very dense. I promised to post another post soon to explain what to do with leftover bread dumplings. Here are two very delicious recipes.

A ) ” Semmelknoedel Salat ”
Dice the cooled dumplings, add diced red onions, diced radish, diced tomatoes, diced cucumbers, diced peppers, sliced chives and dijon mustard vinaigrette and mix all into a Panzanella – like salad. Beautiful and delicious 🙂

B ) ” Geroestete Semmelknoedel mit Ei ”
Quarter the cooled dumplings, then slice into quarter inch slices. Whisk whole eggs with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Saute dumpling slices in butter until lightly browned. Add eggs and sliced chives, saute until eggs start to set. To serve, sprinkle with chopped parsley.
Serve with tomato / cucumber salad.
Note : During the sauteing the dumplings will become crispy on the outside while they aquire a wonderful creamy texture on the inside.

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Caldo Verde

Food memories ……..

Caldo Verde.
For me this recalls the time we were living in Madeira, Portugal. We were living and working in Porto Moniz, in a wonderful apartment overlooking the ocean, close to the center of Funchal, near the rock pool and a great restaurant which was in a rock cave just below our house and specialized in grilled sardines. During many evenings during the cooler months of the year, Maria and I went across the street to a simple restaurant/kiosk which was located right on the stony beach, just opposite the cave restaurant. While I forgot the name of the places, I remember clearly what we consumed most times: A bottle of ” Gatao Vinho Verde ” for me, a diet coke for Maria and two bowls of ” Caldo Verde ” for the both of us if we had dinner on the beach. Same beverages, accompanied by four orders of grilled sardines (one for Maria, three for me ) when we dined in the Cave. These simple dinners alway’s made a perfect ending to a busy day. Memories……. 🙂
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Ingredient’s :

Kale, thoroughly washed, stems removed
Potatoes, medium diced
Chorizo, finely sliced
Stock, chicken, beef, pork, or vegetables
( I used leftover smoked pork stock I had in my freezer
from last weeks “Collard Greens” preparation )
Garlic, paste
Onions, diced
Black pepper, fresh ground
Kosher salt,
Maggi seasoning
Olive oil, to saute

Method :

Saute chorizo in oil until starting to brown.
Remove chorizo, reserve. Saute onions and garlic
until translucent, add potatoes and stock, simmer
until potatoes are soft. Mash potatoes or blend with a
stick blender. Add kale and most of the chorizo. Simmer
until kale is soft. Season soup with salt, pepper and maggi to taste.
To serve, sprinkle the rest of the chorizo on top for color.

Bom apetite ! A vida é boa !
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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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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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