Black Pepper

Insalata Di Gorgonzola

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I hope that you all will recreate this wonderful salad I have prepped today for my dinner and shared with Bella (She loves gorgonzola) 🙂
The key to the success of this dish are, as usual, the best quality ingredients you can find and afford.
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Bon Appétit ! Life is Good !
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P.S.
Please don’t shy back from the whole garlic cloves confit – they are slowly cooked in duck fat until VERY mild and VERY soft.
While eating, mash them with your fork or knife into the cheese and tomatoes (a bit of interaction there) 🙂
But, if you must, puree them into the dressing 😦
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Insalata Di Gorgonzola

Jalapeno & Cheese Sour Dough Bread

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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
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: heirloom tomatoes, gorgonzola, avocados, onion, garlic confit

: saute whole garlic clove confit in it’s own oil until caramelized

: Jalapeno & Cheese Sour Dough Bread

: cut bread into slices

: brush bread with garlic paste

: grill bread until golden

: assemble salad as pictured in this and the following picture, drizzle with white balsamic vinaigrette, sprinkle with fresh-cracked black pepper

: Insalata Di Gorgonzola

: Insalata Di Gorgonzola

: Insalata Di Gorgonzola

: Insalata Di Gorgonzola

: Insalata Di Gorgonzola

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This Is Not A Post !!! (Pissaladière)

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pic-source: bon-appetit-box

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I was going to post about this wonderful dish I prepared for today’s dinner. But, unfortunately, I can’t !!!
Why not, you ask ?
Because just as I took the Pissaladière out of the oven, my friend and neighbor Rod rung the door bell. Upon entering, he mentioned the fabulous smell coming from the kitchen. One thing lead to another, and before I realized what happened, we had devoured the whole thing right there in the kitchen, eating it standing-up by the stove.
Only then did I realize that I forgot to take pictures of the finished Pissaladière 😦
So instead, I included this stock photo of a baked Pissaladière at the top of this page. It is not the prettiest of Pissaladière and certainly not as gorgeous as the one I prepared, but I included it anyway for folks who don’t know how a Pissaladière looks.
However, I believe the picks I took of the prep, up to the point (but not included) when I added black olives, will tell the tale of this dish sufficiently and will give you an idea of it’s soul 🙂
Again, for those who are not familiar with Pissaladière, I recommend it as a snack or meal accompanied by beer or wine, best served at a party or other happy occasion when hearty food is appropriate……
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Bon Appétit ! Life is Good !
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Click here for more pics of (not so pretty) Pissaladière
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Yeast dough for Pissaladière :

Ingredients :
A/P flour, 2 cups (plus more for kneading)
Water, 3/4 cup, warm
Active dry yeast, 1 envelope
Sugar, 1 teaspoon
Olive oil, 3 table spoon
Kosher salt,

Method :
Pour water into small bowl, mix in yeast. Let stand until yeast dissolves, about 5 minutes. Brush large bowl lightly with olive oil. Mix 2 cups flour, sugar, and salt. Add yeast mixture and 3 tablespoons oil, knead until dough forms a sticky ball. Transfer to lightly floured surface. Knead the dough until smooth. Dust with flour as you work the dough. Transfer to prepared bowl; turn dough in bowl to coat with oil. Cover bowl with moist towel. Let dough rise until doubled in volume.Punch down dough. Pull dough until desired thickness and shape is achieved. If this is too difficult, roll the dough with a rolling-pin. However, in my opinion, the Pissaladière will turn out superior if the dough is pulled.
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Pissaladière – Gone…….

Pissaladière, pre-baking

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Preparation :
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: saute 2 lbs julienned onions in 3 tblsp olive oil until lightly caramelized, season with 1 tblsp garlic paste, kosher salt and cayenne pepper to taste

: pull 1 lb dough (or more if you like your Pissaladière thicker) on a baking sheet sprinkled with corn meal,then sprinkle the top of the daugh with more corn meal

: spread the onions across the dough, leaving a small border

: add anchovies fillets to taste

: sprinkle with fresh cracked black pepper, top with black olives to taste, bake at 420 F until dough is cooked through, about 15 to 20 minutes; serves 4 main course or 12 appetizer/snacks

: Pissaladière – Gone…….

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Bratwurstsalat (Brat-Salad)

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Today I found some great German (almost) bratwurst at my grocer’s. Good looking, fresh and at $6.00 bucks for a pack of five, who could say no…..
At first I wanted to prepare them in the typical German style, sautéed or grilled whole, served with a leaf salad, potato salad and mustard on the side. But then I realized that I am more in the mood for a big bowl of composed salad, so this rustic beauty is what resulted.
Verdict : Prepared this way is much better than served the traditional way 🙂
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Bon Appétit ! Life is Good !
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Bratwurstsalat (Brat-Salad)

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Preparation :
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: saute 20 oz thick-sliced bratwurst in garlic oil until nicely browned and cooked through, remove to absorbent paper

: core and slice 1 ea red apple into fine slices, add two packed cups of fresh-cooked green beans, 2 cups cooked, sliced potatoes, 1 medium size sliced onion and 1 finely sliced yellow medium-hot chili

: to dress the salad, add 1/2 cup olive oil, 1/4 cup cider vinegar, 2 tblsp “Maille Whole Grain Mustard”, 1 tsp garlic paste, kosher salt and fresh-cracked black pepper to taste, mix all ingredients, check/adjust taste; to serve, place on a bed of dressed bib lettuce and top with chicharones ; serves 4

: Bratwurstsalat (Brat-Salad)

: Bratwurstsalat (Brat-Salad)

: Bratwurstsalat (Brat-Salad)

: Bratwurstsalat (Brat-Salad)

: Bratwurstsalat (Brat-Salad)

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BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS # 57 – Chicken, Spinach And Potato Frittata

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A bowl of granola for breakfast is a wonderful thing for a lot of folks – but for me, it is NOT.
If I want my day to start on a happy note, I need food that say’s HAPPY to me.
A bowl of granola or such just says BAHH to me and is, in my humble opinion, but a sorry excuse for a satisfying breakfast 😦 .
On the other hand, a delicious frittata – now we are talking ! 🙂
Throw in a couple of gherkins, a few green leaves and grape tomatoes in yogurt/honey dressing and Voilà ! – bring it on, tough day !
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Bon Appétit ! Life is Good !
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Yogurt/Honey Dressing :
Whisk together 2 tblsp greek yogurt, 1 tsp organic honey, 1 tsp rice vinegar, kosher salt and cayenne pepper to taste
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Chicken, Spinach And Potato Frittata

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Preparation :
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: Cook 2 lbs peeled potatoes in lightly salted water until tender but NOT falling apart, drain, let cool enough to handle, cut into fine slices

: slice 2 med-size chicken breasts into slices, season with 1 tsp garlic paste, fresh-cracked black pepper and kosher salt to taste

: saute the chicken in 1/2 tblsp olive oil until cooked through

: remove chicken from pan, reserve

: saute the potato slices in 1 tblsp olive oil until browned

: return the chicken to the pan

: add 2 oz cleaned fresh spinach, saute for one minute

: add 6 whole whisked eggs

: cook on low heat until eggs have set, flip eggs to other side, cook until lightly browned; serve with gherkins and small salad of greens and tomatoes in honey/yogurt dressing; serves 4

: Chicken, Spinach And Potato Frittata

: Chicken, Spinach And Potato Frittata

: Chicken, Spinach And Potato Frittata

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Salad of Tomato, Cucumber, Alfalfa Sprouts And Parmigiano Reggiano

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While ” Just A Salad ” usually does not do it for me, this one certainly did 🙂
Consisting of just a few simple ingredients, the quality and richness they possessed made this a complete, delicious and utterly satisfying meal.
The tomatoes were super ripe and super sweet, the cucumbers crispy and fresh, the sprouts added a new texture and the parmigiano reggiano was as perfect as can be.
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Bon Appétit ! Life is Good !
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slice 2 large, very ripe tomatoes into fine slices, arrange on serving platter, sprinkle with sea salt to taste

slice 2 large, very ripe tomatoes and 1 medium size white onion into fine slices, arrange on serving platter, sprinkle with sea salt and fresh-cracked black pepper to taste, add 1/2 tray alfalfa sprouts, drizzle with 3 tblsp white balsamic vinegar and 3 tblsp olive oil

slice 2 medium size cucumbers and 1 medium size white onion into fine slices, arrange on serving platter, sprinkle with sea salt and fresh-cracked black pepper to taste, add 1/2 tray alfalfa sprouts, drizzle with 3 tblsp white balsamic vinegar and 3 tblsp olive oil

shave 6 oz of parmigiano reggiano on top of salad, drizzle with 2 tbslp olive oil and sprinkle with fresh-cracked black pepper to taste; serves 2

Salad of Tomato, Cucumber, Alfalfa Sprouts And Parmigiano Reggiano

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Corkscrews, Shrimp, Bok Choy and Eggs

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I recently came across an article which proclaimed “Pasta actually makes you lose Weight”.
Unfortunately, I don’t believe that ANY food I love (I love most 🙂 ) will make me loose weight, especially pasta. Why? Because if I love something, I consume it in excess quantities.
But then, a lot of food which falls into the category of “food I love”, will never make me fat, for the simple reason that it is too expensive to become fattening – caviar, lobster, fresh stone crab claws, foie gras, chanterelle, matsutake, wagyu (the real McCoy), and a bunch of other stuff I had the privilege to eat plenty of in the 70’s, when most of these delicacies were still affordable in their countries of origin.
I used to have a few cans of caviar in my fridge when we did black sea cruises in the mid-seventies, when one was able to exchange a pair of used jeans in St Petersburg’s black market for 1 kg of caviar. Matsutake and wagyu was expensive in Yokohama and Kobe, but not excessively so. Chanterelles in Germany in the 70’s and 80’s when I went home on vacation – same thing, not cheap but affordable. And so it was with most of these specialties at the time – not cheap but within reach, at least for me and my friends who traveled the world, loved good food and after visiting a place a couple of times, knew where to get a bargain.
But now let me get back to pasta.
Fortunately, pasta is one of the most affordable food stuffs which have a special place in my heart (and stomach).
Consequently, I eat it too often, and usually way too much, packing 2 or 3 portions into one meal – which is good for my happiness 🙂 , bad for my weight 😦 .
So there you have it – while pasta “does not actually make me lose weight”, it does actually makes me happy .
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Bon Appétit ! Life is Good !
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Click here for more Pasta on ChefsOpinion
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P.S.
All the food you see on ChefsOpinion is cooked and served in my home, usually just for myself and Bella. I like to pick and hold the shrimp by their tail (Bella just eats the whole shrimp, tail and all, including the tails from my shrimps). If you are not comfortable with the tails on the plate, just remove them before adding the shrimp to the dish 🙂
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Corkscrews, Shrimp, Bok Choy and Eggs

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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
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: saute 1 tblsp garlic paste in 1/3 stick butter until fragrant

: add 12 oz head-less, butterflied shrimp, season with fresh-ground black pepper, saute 1 minute

: add 12 oz blanched baby bok choy, saute another minute

: add one 8 oz pack cooked corkscrew pasta, season all with kosher salt to taste

: add 4 whole whisked eggs, seasoned with kosher salt and cayenne pepper to taste, cook until eggs have set but are still moist; serves 2

: Corkscrews, Shrimp, Bok Choy and Eggs

: Corkscrews, Shrimp, Bok Choy and Eggs

: Corkscrews, Shrimp, Bok Choy and Eggs

: Corkscrews, Shrimp, Bok Choy and Eggs

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Bulalo (Kansi) Beef Marrow Bone Soup

Beef Marrow Bone

The first time I had the pleasure to eat this soup I fell in love with it. It was at “Pistang Filipino”, an open air arts and craft center in Manila. (Little did I know then (1974), that a few years later I would be living next door for nearly five years). However, during my first visit, a couple of friends and I went there to have a proper, traditional “Pinoy” dinner. It turned out to be one of the best meals in my entire life. Pancit sotanghon and pancit bihon, huge grilled prawns for $1 a piece, kare kare, adobo, lechon, sisig, sinigang, bulalo and a whole lot of other wonderful dishes, all spread out on a huge buffet. There were woven bamboo plates with palm leaves to put your food on and coconut shell spoons for the soups. Most of the food was eaten using one’s fingers as utensils. Lined up along one wall were water containers with spouts to facilitate hand washing before and after the meal. The food and entertainment (tinikling , traditional Philippine folk dancing) was superb and to this day I remember almost every minute of that evening. Years later when I lived next door, I went there once or twice a month, mainly for the bulalo . However, I quickly became less enthusiastic about the tinikling. While beautiful to watch, its accompanying music, which was always played at maximum levels, kept me awake many a night until the wee hours 😦
Such is my love for bulalo that until this day I prepare it at least once a month. I mostly use thick sliced shank (osso buco), but when available, I buy a whole leg bone and have the butcher cut it into 4 pieces, 2 of which I use at once and 2 which I freeze for the next going of bulalo or any other beef soup.
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Bon Appétit ! Life is Good !
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Click here to watch a video of Tinikling
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Bulalo

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Preparation :
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: 2/4 of a whole beef leg bone

: blanch the bones once in plain water, drain, cover again with cold water, bring to a slow simmer, season lightly with kosher salt and black pepper

: simmer bones until meat and collagen are very tender but NOT falling apart, you should have about 2 qt stock (if not enough, add water; if too much, simmer until 2 qts remain

: remove bones from stock, strain stock

: remove all meat, collagen , and bone marrow, set aside

: add 1 small head of quartered white cabbage, simmer for 4 minutes

: add 3 bunch baby bok choy, 5 ea halved cherry tomatoes, 2 ea quartered corn on the cob, 4 ea stalks of sliced scallions, simmer 2 more minutes, remove from heat

: add 1 tblsp patis (Fish Sauce), check/adjust seasoning

: to serve, sprinkle with fried shallots (optional) serves 2

: serve bulalo with plain steamed rice

: top rice with veggies, beef, collagen and marrow

: top with beef stock

: Bulalo

: bulalo – madam’s favorite too………

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Steak Salad – Just A Bit Different

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We have come to expect a steak salad to be mostly beef and greens, usually with an afterthought of a few cucumbers, tomatoes and onions thrown in. (Myself – guilty) 🙂 😦
So today I went into a different direction, with a salad of pickled artichokes, sliced red onions, diced tomatoes, black beans and garbanzos in a delicious sweet chili, garlic confit and cilantro vinaigrette .
The result was a spectacular dish, outstanding in looks, taste and texture.
Definitely a permanent addition to my personal repertoir.
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Bon Appétit ! Life is Good !
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Click here for more Steak Salad on ChefsOpinion
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Sweet Chili, Garlic Confit And Cilantro Vinaigrette Recipe :
Mix 1/2 cup olive oil with 10 cloves of garlic confit, 1 tblsp sweet thai chili sauce, 1 tblsp chopped cilantro, 2 tblsp rice vinegar and kosher salt to taste.
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Steak Salad – Just A Bit Different

Artichoke & Legumes Salad

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Preparation :
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: trimm four 10 oz strip steaks of all skin and fat, season with kosher salt and grd black pepper, saute or grill until done to your preference, let steaks rest at least 10 minutes before slicing

: prepare the dressing (see recipe)

: mix one 8 oz can of marinated artichokes, one 8 oz can of black beans, one 8 oz can of garbanzos, one 4 oz can of diced tomatoes, and 1 medium sliced onion with the dressing, check/adjust seasoning

: mix one 8 oz can of marinated artichokes, one 8 oz can of black beans, one 8 oz can of garbanzos, one 4 oz can of diced tomatoes, and 1 medium sliced onion with the dressing, check/adjust seasoning

: divide the salad between 4 serving plates

: top each salad with one sliced steak; recipe serves 4

: Steak Salad – Just A Bit Different

: Steak Salad – Just A Bit Different

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Beef Paillard And Chili Cheese Fries (Boss Level)

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Beef Paillard – when was the last time (if ever) you have seen that on a restaurant menu? (Or chicken paillard or veal paillard ???)
Chili cheese fries, on the other hand, can be found everywhere, at least here in America, although mostly and sadly in less than stellar variations of that beloved junk-food. Starting out with crappy fries, covered with an even crappier mountain of questionable “cheese” just does not do it for me.
On the other hand, if you follow this recipe, you will be spoiled forever and any less marvelous version of chili cheese fries will fail to accomplish the nearly impossible task to measure-up to these delicious beauties.
Here now a dish which combines both a great beef paillard and the best chili cheese fries ever 🙂
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Bon Appétit ! Life is Good !
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Hans’Special Fries Recipe :
What makes these fries “special” is the fact that I fry them only once instead of the usual required two times. I start them in cold duck fat or goose fat (if you must, substitute with peanut oil) and let the temperature slowly rise to 385 F. By the time the oil is hot and the fries are golden brown, they will be creamy on the inside and very crisp on the outside. Season them with both fine salt and sea salt. The fine salt adheres better to the fries while the sea salt add’s the superb taste and crunchiness associated with sea salt.
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P.S.
Please make the effort to serve this dish with tonkatsu sauce instead of ketchup – I promise the effort will be worth the extra few minutes prep-time 🙂
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Tonkatsu sauce (my way) :
Mix 1/2 cup ketchup, 2 tblsp soy sauce, 1 tsp garlic paste, 1 tsp mustard, 1 tblsp white wine (or sherry), 1 tsp sriracha and a few drops of maggi seasoning.
Note: I love this dipping sauce and use it for lot’s of other fried, grilled and sautéed dishes.
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Beef Paillard And Chili-Cheese Fries (Boss Level)

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Beef Paillard And Chili-Cheese Fries (Boss Level)

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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
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: mix 1/3 cup grated parmesan, 1/3 cup grated cheddar, 1/3 cup grated mozzarella with 2 stalk finely sliced scallions and 1 tsp chili flakes

: chili/cheese mixture

: 3 large baking potatoes

: peel potatoes

: cut potatoes into lardons, pat dry

: fry potatoes in fat of your choice

: meanwhile, trim a 10 oz tenderloin of all silver-skin

: place fillet between twoo sheets of plastic, pound to a thin scallop

: season beef scallop with kosher salt and cayenne pepper, dredge in corn starch and saute in garlic oil to desired doneness

: cut paillard in half, place on serving dish

: remove crisp-fried potatoes to absorbent paper

: season with salt of your choice (see recipe)

: add 1/2 of cheese mixture, mix well

: top paillard with the fries

: sprinkle second-half of cheese-mixture and 1 tblsp of sliced scallions on top, put under broiler until cheese has melted, about 2 minutes, serve with lime and tonkatsu sauce

: Beef Paillard And Chili-Cheese Fries (Boss Level)

: Beef Paillard And Chili-Cheese Fries (Boss Level)

: Beef Paillard And Chili-Cheese Fries (Boss Level)

: Beef Paillard And Chili-Cheese Fries (Boss Level)

: Beef Paillard And Chili-Cheese Fries (Boss Level)

: Beef Paillard And Chili-Cheese Fries (Boss Level)

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Portuguese Eggs

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While Maria and I were living in Funchal, Madeira, we became friends with a wonderful local couple, Balduino and Felicidade. They invited us to their home often, where we usually had an early brunch and then set out to explore the island, usually by car and sometimes by scooter. After a while this became a wonderful routine and it was Balduino’s pride (and our enjoyment) to prepare a different variation of “Portuguese Eggs” each time we met at his house. Over time, we were able to enjoy this dish with squid, octopus, lobster, shrimp, espada (the most popular local fish), chorizo, ham and different greens and herbs. He sometimes sprinkled grated local cheese on top of the eggs before baking, but he never included the more common ricotta cheese. Always accompanied by hearty, home-baked bread and local wine, it was the perfect delicious and fortifying meal to keep us going for hours on our expeditions around the island 🙂
(To be truthful, sometimes we replaced the tours with more wine and a bottle of port and just talked about past and future island-explorations).
Let me say here that Madeira is one of the most beautiful places Maria and I had the luck and privilege to live together 🙂
Here now is today’s version of “Portuguese Eggs” in memory of great friendship, great places to live, happier times and the great love of my life, Maria, who passed away exactly 3 years ago.
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Love ……….
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Portuguese Eggs

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Preparation :
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: tomatoes, potato, shrimp, onion, peas, basil

: peel, dice and simmer 1 large potato in salted water until soft but not falling apart, drain

: slice one medium onion, saute in 1 tblsp olive oil until translucent

: add 2 lbs halved tomatoes, season with salt and cayenne papper, broil until starting to caramelize

: add 2 cup water and 1 tsp garlic paste, simmer until tomatoes have broken down and a sauce has developed, about 20 minutes (add more water if sauce becomes too thick)

: add potatoes, simmer 5 minutes

: season 10 oz shrimp with fresh-ground black pepper, kosher salt, garlic paste and olive oil (if you prefer, remove the tails before adding them to the stew)

: add the shrimp and 3 oz green peas to the tomatoes, mix, check/adjust seasoning

: add whole eggs to the stew, sprinkle eggs with kosher salt, simmer slowly until eggs are cooked the way you like them; if you like your eggs more cooked than I do, put them under the broiler for a couple of minutes, ; to serve, sprinkle with herbs of your choice; serves 4 or 5