butter

“Easy Does It” # 4 – Garlic Confit Paste

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Dear Friend’s
Although most of my followers are culinary professionals, there is also a large segment of followers who are just starting to enjoy cooking on a slightly higher than basic level. I have therefore decided to publish, under the moniker “Easy Does It“, from time to time some very basic recipe variations of dishes which otherwise might seem complicated to some folks. I will break them down to the easiest, most simple instructions, so that those of you who are intimidated by elaborate recipes will be able to prepare these dishes properly, adjusted to your taste and liking, right from the get-go.
Enjoy :-)
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We all know that roasted garlic paste is a wonderful thing, it will enhance the taste of just about everything, except maybe vanilla pudding. But few of us are willing to switch on the oven for one hour just to roast a few cloves of garlic and the chopped garlic in water you can buy at your grocery store just does not do it. So, for the perfect solution to have great, easy to do garlic paste available at all times, try this simple recipe. Once done, it will last in your fridge or freezer for a very long time. You can use it for sauteing, marinades, dressings etc.
If you don’t like olive oil, you can substitute the olive oil with a more neutral-tasting peanut or canola oil, clarified, butter, duck fat, pork or chicken fat. Experiment whats suit’s you best.
Enjoy :-)
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peeled garlic, olive oil, sea salt

season with cayenne pepper, confit very slowly without browning garlic for about one hour

blend until smooth

Confit Garlic Paste

saute in its own fat

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Chicken Cordon Bleu Ala Kiev

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How to improve on a chicken cordon bleu you ask? By preparing it ala kiev I say 🙂
Chicken ala Kiev – breaded chicken breast stuffed with garlic/herb butter.

P.S.
Don’t tell my cardiologist !

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Chicken Cordon Bleu Ala Kiev

: pounded chicken breast, seasoned with salt and pepper

: top with cooked ham

: top with edam or gruyere

: top with herb/garlic butter

: roll the ham and cheese around the butter

: fold the ends

: top with another breast, tuck ends under, bread with flour, egg and bread crumbs

: saute in peanut oil, replace oil with butter for the last minute of cooking

: serve with small salad and lemon

: Chicken Cordon Bleu Ala Kiev

: Chicken Cordon Bleu Ala Kiev

: Chicken Cordon Bleu Ala Kiev

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“Milanesa” – Breaded Pork Cutlet, Bucatini & Hans’ Special Pasta Sauce

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When I was an apprentice in the black forest in the sixties, “Veal Chop Milanese” (Kalbskotelett Mailänder Art), a slightly different version of the milanesa on this post, was a very popular dish. It was one that I was hoping to be able to afford to eat when I finally became a cook and earned a bit of money. It was a bread and parmesan breaded, ham and cheese stuffed chop of milk-fed veal, typically served on top of spaghetti with tomato sauce. However, while still an apprentice, a veal chop was out of my financial reach and so I had to wait a few years before I could actually afford to dig into one. In the meantime, the far more affordable version was made of a breaded pork chop instead of milk-fed veal. Great food too, but not exactly the real thing 😦
Here now is my own version of a “Schweinesteak Mailänder Art” :
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Breaded Pork Chop “Milanese”

Breaded Pork Cutlet, Bucatini & Hans’ Special Pasta Sauce

Milanesa

Ham& Cheese Stuffed Pork Cutlet

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: mise en place

: cut a large pocket into cutlet

: roll one slice of swiss with one slice of ham

: ham& cheese

: stuff into cutlet, bread with flour, egg wash and half breadcrumbs, half grated parmesan

: meanwhile, saute grape tomatoes and garlic in butter

: deglaze with red wine, reduce to almost dry

: add heavy cream, oregano, sea salt and cayenne pepper, simmer until reduced by half

: add freshly cooked bucatini and a small amount of grated parmesan, mix well, check/adjust seasoning

: saute cutlets in peanut oil until almost done, discard oil, finish with fresh butter

: Milanesa

: Schweinesteak Mailänder Art

: Breaded Pork Cutlet, Bucatini & Hans’ Special Pasta Sauce

: Breaded Pork Chop “Milanese”

: Ham& Cheese Stuffed Pork Cutlet

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Steak Sandwich & Salad

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This is the perfect, lightning quick meal that is at once fast to prepare, needs minimum prep work and packs a real punch in the satisfy-department 🙂

Bon Appetit Life is Good !

Steak Sandwich

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spread a french roll with butter and garlic paste, saute until golden

saute onion slices in butter until caramelized, top each slice with two eggs, fry to sunny side up, season with sea salt and cayenne pepper

season 16 oz striploin steaks with sea salt and cayenne pepper, grill to desired doneness, top each bread with one steak, top with egg/onion, add banana peppers. Feeds two hungry guy’s (Darryl and I on this occasion 🙂

Steak Sandwich

frissee, arugula, onions, chilies and anchovies in dijon vinaigrette

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Creamed Spinach

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Like so much other comfort food, creamed spinach is hardly found on menus (or homes, for that matter) anymore, with the exception of steakhouses where it usually is one of the standard side dishes. I just love spinach, no matter how it is prepared, but the price goes without a doubt to creamed spinach. Following is the simple instruction how to prepare this great dish.

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Creamed Spinach

blanch spinach in generously salted water.

shock in ice water ( screaming BOOOOO does not work )

saute onions and garlic in butter

add flour (ratio butter flour = one to one)

add half milk and half heavy cream, season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Simmer for five minutes. sauce must be VERY thick, chopped spinach contains lot’s of water

chop blanched spinach to the texture you prefer

add to sauce. simmer for 5 minutes. check/adjust seasoning

add to sauce. Simmer for five minutes. check/adjust seasoning

Creamed Spinach

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Grilled Pork Medallions, Chili/Herb Butter & Salad

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Fifteen minutes is all it takes to prepare this delightful meal. Just make sure you leave a wrapped stick of butter on the prep table in the kitchen when you leave the house in the morning so that you have pliable, soft butter when you start prepping in the afternoon.

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Grilled Pork Medallions, Chili/Herb Butter & Salad

season tenderloin medallions with kosher salt, cayenne pepper and granulated garlic. Saute until medium well. Rest for 5 minutes before serving.

mix soft butter, roasted garlic paste, salt, cayenne pepper, lime juice and chopped cilantro. Scoop out, top with chili flakes

season radishes and cucumbers with plenty of sea salt, marinate for 10 minutes

after 10 minutes, drain water, add eggs, ketchup, sriracha, chopped parsley, roasted garlic paste and olive oil, mix carefully so you don’t mush up the eggs

spicy salad of egg, cucumber and radish

Grilled Pork Medallions, Chili/Herb Butter & Salad

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“Canned” Dinner

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I am a big fan of the notion that all food should be as fresh as possible and whenever it is practical, I try to go into that direction. But, alas, sometimes it is just NOT practical. I got home late today, Bella needed her walk right away and by the time I walked her and fed her, it was already 7.00pm. I get up at around 4.00am on weekday’s, so I was pretty beat by 7.00pm. Dinner had to be fast and furious.
Here is what I found in the cup board :
Canned tuna, canned artichokes, canned sun dried tomatoes, mascarpone, dried lasagna pasta, butter, heavy cream, roasted garlick paste and chives. Add some salt and cayenne pepper and pronto, perfect dinner in ten minutes. 🙂

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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canned dinner

mise en place

saute garlic and tomatoes in butter, add cooked pasta, cream, artichokes, tuna and seasoning.

simmer one minute, add mascarpone and chives, check/adjust seasoning

to serve, sprinkle with more chives and grated pecorino romano

canned dinner

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Italy Meets Sweden : “Coppa Ham & Janssons Frestelse”

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If there is one potato dish that I don’t want to live without, it is surely janssons frestelse. I can eat them for breakfast, lunch , dinner and anytime between. My version is slightly different from the traditional, since I like to use garlic paste in the mixture, as well as finely grated asiago cheese both in the mixture and sprinkled on top of the breadcrumbs. As for the fish, I use both pickled herring and / or anchovies, whatever is available from the cupboard. Frestelse can be perfectly paired with many food items, as well as eaten by them self as a solid foundation for a bit of alcohol on a party night, as I have encountered them the first time so many years ago (1973) in Torekov, Sweden.
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Coppa Ham & Janssons Frestelse

: Coppa Ham & Janssons Frestelse

: Janssons Frestelse

: Coppa Ham

Ingredient’s :

Potatoes, julienned
Onions, julienned
Pickled herring, finely diced (substitute with anchovies if preferred)
Heavy cream,
Garlic, paste
Bread crumbs,
Butter,
Kosher salt,
Cayenne pepper,
Asiago cheese, finely grated (optional)
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Method :

Saute onion in butter until translucent. Mix all ingredients except bread crumbs and half the cheese (if you use). Butter a baking dish, add potato mixture. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs and cheese. Add some butter cubes. Bake in 375 oven until potatoes are done and top is golden brown. Enjoy 🙂
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Toast “Soupi”

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Simple dinner today after too much food during the past few day’s.
The inspiration to this came from the classic “Toast Hawaii”.
I just thought I’ll kick it up a notch 🙂

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Toast “Soupi”

: Peaches, Gorgonzola, Asiago, Swiss, Bagels, Butter, Scallions, Chili Flakes.

: Ham

: Peach

: Gorgonzola

: Swiss

: Asiago, Scallion, Chili

: Gratinate

: Toast “Soupi”

: Toast “Soupi”

: Toast “Soupi”

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T Bone Steak With Garlic & Scallion Butter, Potatoes, Brussel Spouts and Roma Tomatoes

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Where on earth can I find the perfect “one portion, high heat, electric indoor grill” ?!
I had bought one a while ago but the darn thing just doesn’t get hot enough to grill a steak the proper way 😦
Although I love my meat sauted, I’d like to switch once in a while to a grilled piece of meat.
A good grill pan would be a great alternative, but even that seems to be hard to find around here.
So, here I was again, sauteing a great piece of meat with my favorite cooking method.
However, just for a change, tonight I would have liked to have changed it to a grilled steak if I had a proper indoor grill.
Hopefully I’ll find something soon. (I have been looking for some time now) >
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” T Bone Steak With Garlic & Scallion Butter, Potatoes, Brussel Spouts and Roma Potatoes ” >
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T Bone Steak With Garlic & Scallion Butter, Potatoes, Brussel Spouts and Roma Potatoes

: T Bone Steak With Garlic & Scallion Butter, Potatoes, Brussel Spouts and Roma Potatoes

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Steak :
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T-bone steak, seasoned with kosher salt & black pepper Peanut oil >
Saute steak until one almost done to your preferred doneness (carry-over heat will do the rest). Remove from heat, let rest. > >
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Vegetables / starch : >

Discard oil from pan, add butter, saute cooked potatoes until lightly browned. Add blanched brussel sprouts, saute until heated through. Add tomatoes, season with kosher salt and cayenne pepper. Saute one more minute. Remove from heat. >
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Scallion butter : >

Mix soft butter with finely chopped scallions, finely chopped scotch bonnets, and kosher salt.
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good ! > > > >
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