Cayenne pepper

Salmon Rillette

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One of my favorite spreads are rillettes, especially pork rillette and salmon rillette. While I have not prepared pork rillette for some time, you can often find salmon rillette in my fridge.
It’s effortless to prepare, yet if properly stored, it will give you many days of enjoyment. (Pork will last for weeks or even months if properly stored). I usually spread it on a slice of rustic bread at breakfast, lunch, dinner or as a snack. Although perfectly delicious by itself on bread, rillette can be even more enjoyable when spruced-up with a wide range of additions, such as capers, raw or pickled onions, cornichons and even topped with eggs for breakfast. Rillette also pairs nicely with steamed or sautéed potatoes and for the adventurous, try incorporating it into a pasta dish. (I have done this with pork rillette and the result was delicious. 🙂
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Bon Appetit ! Live is Good !
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All about Rilettes
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Salmon Rilette

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Preparation :
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: skin salmon filets, remove all bones

: cover salmon filets with melted butter, add kosher salt, cayenne pepper and garlic paste, simmer on very low heat until salmon is just done

: break salmon into chunks

: add fresh dill leaves

: fill rillette into serving dish, place in refrigerator overnight

: let rilette reach room-temperature before serving

: spread a generous amount of rillette on bread of your choice

: Salmon Rilettes

: Salmon Rilettes

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Poulet Beaucoup D’Ail

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Chicken breast has gotten a bad rap for a long time.
However, you can safely say that’s not the chicken breast’s fault, but the fault of the cooks who do not know how to properly prepare it.
(It is the same dilemma with fish, veal, pork and most other protein besides red meat – the taste and texture of properly cooked protein is so wonderful yet so elusive in most restaurants these days).
I remember when I was a teacher and I showed my students how incredibly juicy and tasty a breast of chicken can be when cooked in a professional manner. Before the demo, I always asked “why do we prefer chicken leg over chicken breast” and the answer was always: “because breast are dry and tasteless”. How very surprised they all were when I proved them wrong. 🙂
So, the way to do it is to cook it to 160F to 162 F depending on the type and thickness of the protein, then let the carry-over heat do its magic; after a short rest, the protein should reach between 164F and 165F the moment it reaches the guest, but it must never exceed that temperature or it will be dry !!! During my time and before that, cooks would never think of using a thermometer to check the doneness of food – everything was dictated by the experience we garnered over many years of real cooking. Now imagine, some of our successors are not even able to find the center of the protein to get the temperature right (no kidding). And of course, if cooked too fast, protein will also end up less than stellar.
Having said all that, you might understand that I would never order a chicken breast in a restaurant these days, because the absolute majority of cooks nowadays does not know how to do a chicken breast justice. (Again, the same holds true with pork, fish and other protein which are so wonderful tasty, tender and juicy when handled with expertise).
Unfortunately, because of lack of cooking skills, the new “experts” will make you believe that only protein which is under-cooked or raw will be juicy 😦
Ok, ok, so I vented a bit, I beg your pardon…..
As of today’s dish, I resorted sheepishly to the habit of naming the dish in french, since “Poulet Beaucoup D’Ail” sounds so much better than “Chicken With Lot’s Of Garlic“. ( Or maybe “Pollo Con Un Monton De Ajo” anyone ?) 🙂
And for those of you who do not believe in lots of garlic, just replace the garlic with botton-mushrooms. As for the gnocchi with black beans, lately I have prepared that combination often and in many different variations – gnocchi with butter beans, gnocchi with chick peas, gnocchi with edamame etc, all sautéed in herb butter, pesto, tomato sauce, chili oil, cheese sauce and so forth. The added texture of the beans make the gnocchi even more enjoyable than just plain with butter or sauce.
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Poulet Beaucoup D’Ail

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Poulet Beaucoup D’Ail

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Preparation :
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: season chicken breast with kosher salt and cayenne pepper

: dredge chicken in flour, shake of excess

: saute slowly together with garlic cloves in olive oil (replace garlic with botton mushrooms if you prefer)

: the garlic should be golden, crispy on the outside and creamy on the inside

: remove chicken and most garlic, reserve

: in the remaining olive oil, saute cooked beans until heated

: add fresh cooked gnocchi, season with kosher salt and cayenne pepper

: chiffonade fresh basil

: add chiffonade to bean/gnocchi mix, check/adjust seasoning

: to serve, sprinkle with finely grated parmigiano reggiano

: top with sliced chicken breast

: top with the remaining olive oil and the garlic cloves, sprinkle with more basil

: Poulet Beaucoup D’Ail

: Poulet Beaucoup D’Ail

: Poulet Beaucoup D’Ail

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Beef And Vegetable Soup With Pistou

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Beef And Vegetable Soup With Pistou

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Pistou, or pistou sauce, is a Provençal cold sauce made from cloves of garlic, fresh basil, and olive oil. (It sometimes includes grated cheese and/or tomato.
In the Provençal dialect, pistou means “pounded”. The sauce is derived from the Genoese pesto, which is traditionally made of garlic, basil, pine nuts, grated Sardinian Pecorino, and olive oil, crushed and mixed together with a mortar and pestle. The key difference between pistou and pesto is the absence of pine nuts in pistou. (Source: wikipedia.org)
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Well, there you have it – pistou, a classic tool to transport an ordinary dish to the next level of culinary happiness 🙂

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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Pistou:
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: basil plant, about to loose a bunch of leaves……

: place basil leaves in a mortar

: add garlic cloves, olive oil, kosher salt and cayenne pepper, muddle everything with the pestle

: Et Voilà – “Pistou”

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Beef And Vegetable Soup :
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: add sliced beef neck bones to water seasoned with kosher salt, cayenne pepper, garlic paste and grated ginger, simmer until meat is tender, about 2 hours

: when meat is tender, remove, set aside

: meanwhile, remove meat from bones, discard bones

: cut meat into bitesize pieces

: add raw baby carrots to the soup, simmer until carrots are tender

: when carrots are soft, add large diced cabbage, cooked potato wedges and return beef to the soup, cover, simmer until cabbage has wilted but is not mushy, about 3 minutes, check/adjust seasoning

: serve soup with pistou and fresh grated parmigiano-reggiano

: Beef And Vegetable Soup With Pistou

: Beef And Vegetable Soup With Pistou

: Beef And Vegetable Soup With Pistou

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Broiled Beef Ribs With Chimichurri And Hasselback Potato

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Since I don’t have an outside grill anymore, I “grill” (broil) all my grill dishes in my oven under the broiler on high heat.
Cooking for myself only, this works great for me, it gives me the sought-after “Maillard Reaction”, requires no lengthy grill preparation and on top of all, saves a lot of cleaning effort 🙂
Today I had some delicious beef ribs and a hearty hasselback potato, accompanied by some leftover chimichurri from my last steak dinner. Life is Good !
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Bon Appetit ! ¡buen provecho!
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More about Chimichurri
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More about Maillard Reaction
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More Hasselback Potatoes
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More Grilled Beef Ribs on ChefsOpinion
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Broiled Beef Ribs With Chimichurri And Hasselback Potato

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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
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: cut slices across the potato the short way about 1/8 to 1/4 inch apart, making sure to cut down but not all the way through the potato, so the slices stay connected at the bottom and don’t fall apart

: brush the potato generously with butter or olive oil, then season with kosher salt and cayenne pepper, bake at 400F until done, about 45 minutes; while baking, brush often with more butter or olive oil

: beef ribs, cut thin across the bones

: season with soy sauce, kosher salt, cayenne pepper, granulated garlic, dried oregano and dried thyme

: spread ribs on oven rack, brush with olive oil

: broil (or grill) on high heat on both sides until lightly charred but still medium rare and juicy

: to serve, drizzle generously with chimichurri

: Broiled Beef Ribs With Chimichurri And Hasselback Potato

: Broiled Beef Ribs With Chimichurri And Hasselback Potato

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Salad Of Mussels, Octopus, Sardines, Artichokes, Potatoes, Eggs & Greens

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Today was “Fix and clean the computer day” at my house (re-installing all programs, etc), therefore there was no time for elaborate cooking (or anything else, for that matter).
So what better way to not cook but still eat a great meal than a large salad with veggies and canned seafood.
As I mentioned before, canned seafood can be great if you know what you are buying and forgo the cheaper, inferior brands.
Just experiment with different brands until you find the one that will ring your bells 🙂
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Link to Cuban Crackers
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Link to Escabeche
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Salad Of Mussels, Octopus, Sardines, Artichokes, Potatoes, Eggs & Greens Salad

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Preparation :
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: romaine lettuce and fresh spinach

: add sliced peppers, shredded carrots and small potato wedges

: add marinated artichoke hearts and boiled eggs

: add octopus en escabeche, mussels en escabeche, olive oil, cider vinegar, garlic paste, kosher salt and cayenne pepper

: plate salad with Cuban crackers

: garnish with tomatoes, sardines en escabeche, eggs and sliced scallions

: Salad Of Mussels, Octopus, Sardines, Artichokes, Potatoes, Eggs & Greens Salad

: Salad Of Mussels, Octopus, Sardines, Artichokes, Potatoes, Eggs & Greens Salad

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Red Lentil Soup With Smoked Turkey Leg

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It’s getting cooler at night lately, so hot soup is again welcome, especially when eaten al fresco. This soup took about two and a half hours to cook from beginning to end, but the actual prep-time was only a few minutes, which makes it a perfect dish when you don’t feel like getting too involved with heavy prep-work, but still want to have a satisfying meal 🙂
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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P.S.
If you want your lentils with more texture, cook the turkey leg first in lightly salted water, then cook the lentils with the resulting stock until just done.
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Red Lentil Soup With Smoked Turkey Leg

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Preparation :
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: saute garlic paste in butter until fragrant

: add julienned onions, saute until lightly caramelized

: add red lentils, maggi seasoning, bay leave, kosher salt, cayenne pepper, ground cumin and dried oregano

: add chicken or vegetable stock

: add the smoked turkey leg

: simmer until turkey leg is tender, about two hours

: almost……

: remove turkey, dice, check / adjust seasoning of lentils

: Red Lentil Soup With Smoked Turkey Leg

: Red Lentil Soup With Smoked Turkey Leg

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Wing Recipe # 1001

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Seems like everybody and their mother has THE BEST recipe for chicken wings, and, I have to admit, I myself have a few of them.
Now this one is definitely among the very best and I hope you will give it a shot.
Maybe you will even agree with me that these wings are among the very best, if not THE BEST OF THE BEST ? 🙂
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Bon Appetit ! Wings Fly !
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More Wings on ChefsOpinion
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Wing Recipe # 1001

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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
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: mix julienned red onions with soy sauce, garlic paste, lime juice and sriracha

: mix olive oil, lime juice, chopped capers, chopped cilantro, kosher salt and cayenne pepper

: season wings with kosher salt, granulated garlic and sriracha, fry until crisp on the outside but not completely cooked through, remove from fat, blot dry, season with soy sauce, sriracha and garlic paste

: place on wire rack, bake at 375 until browned

: when top of wings are browned and crisp, remove from oven

: turn wings upside down

: spread onions on top of wings, bake at 375F until onions are caramelized

: remove wings from oven, dredge in the herb-lime seasoning

: plate wings on serving dish, douse with more of the herb-lime seasoning

: Wing Recipe # 1001

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Easy Does It # 29 – Home Made Chile Oil

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You might ask yourself what’s the point in making your own chile oil, since you can buy it everywhere? The simple answer is quality and heat-level, since you have control of the quality of the chiles you use as well as the quantity of seeds you incorporate, by buying your own Chinese Red Peppers. (Or Tianjin Pepper, sometimes you’ll also find them referenced as Tientsin Peppers, named after the province in China where they are native). They closely resemble Cayenne and Japones Chiles and come in at between 50,000 – 70,000 SHU (Scoville Heat Units). There are approximately 50 to 60 chiles per ounce. As with all chiles, the seeds pack most of the heat and the seeds can quickly overpower the fruit’s flavor. You might want to remove some of the seeds from the fruit in order to tone down the heat a bit. If you use the chile oil as dipping oil, you might also want to add some cinnamon and star anise for extra flavor to steep in the oil before straining. I have added neither, since I mostly use my chile oil as cooking oil and add additional flavors to the individual dishes during preparation as required.
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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remove stems from chiles

cook in peanut oil until starting to change color, remove from heat

put oil with chiles in blender, blend until chiles are finely ground

let steep overnight

strain through fine mesh sieve

Home Made Chile Oil

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Schwäbisches Rotkraut Mit Kasseler Rippenspeer Und Knoblauchkartoffeln

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Easy now with the German tongue breaker – it’s just red cabbage with smoked pork loin and garlic potatoes, jawohl 🙂
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The secret to a good red cabbage (as well as sauerkraut) is to cook it long enough and to bind the juices, two simple steps that most cooks ignore. Unlike some other recipes steeped in a long tradition, in my opinion, this one does NOT improve with modernisation or simplification. It is a very straightforward preparation which will be rewarded with a great dish, wonderful in taste, texture and presentation.
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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P.S.
Although this dish does not really need a sauce, I am a typical “Schwoab“, who loves sauce with everything.
So I made a sauce with the drippings from the kasseler, some finely chopped tomatoes and a shot of red wine 🙂
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Sauerkraut on ChefsOpinion
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Schwäbisches Rotkraut Mit Kasseler Rippenspeer Und Knoblauchkartoffeln

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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
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: saute sliced onions in a generous amount of duck or pork fat until translucent, add finely sliced cabbage

: to one pound of cabbage, add 1/2 cup red-wine-vinegar and 1 cup red wine

: add sugar, kosher salt, cayenne pepper,2 bay leaves, 1 cinnamon stick

: grate 1 unpeeled apple into the cabbage, add two cups of water or stock and simmer until the cabbage is tender

: add a small amount of corn starch slurry, mix well

: simmer another minute, check/adjust taste

: turn heat to lowest setting, add sliced kasseler (smoked pork loin), let meat heat through, about 4 minutes, depending on thickness

: meanwhile, saute small cooked potatoes in garlic oil, season with kosher salt and cayenne pepper

: Schwäbisches Rotkraut (Red Cabbage Swabian Style)

: Schwäbisches Rotkraut Mit Kasseler Rippenspeer Und Knoblauchkartoffeln

: Schwäbisches Rotkraut Mit Kasseler Rippenspeer Und Knoblauchkartoffeln

: Schwäbisches Rotkraut Mit Kasseler Rippenspeer Und Knoblauchkartoffeln

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Stuffed Baked Potato With Smoked Salmon, Dragon Fruit And Salad

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My original intention for breakfast this morning was to just pile some smoked salmon on a slice of bread and wait for lunchtime to come around for a more substantial meal. But then I saw the pomegranate and bean sprouts in the fridge, as well as an open container with Greek yogurt. Needless to say, I couldn’t stop there and all of a sudden, breakfast started to morph into what became this great brunch.
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Stuffed Baked Potato With Smoked Salmon, Dragon Fruit And Salad

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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
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: bake potatoes at 375F until done, let cool slightly

: season sliced radishes with kosher salt, let stand for 15 minutes

: cut top off of the potatoes

: remove “flesh” from “skin”

: coarsely chop smoked salmon

: mix the potatoes, salmon, greek yogurt, scallion, garlic paste, kosher salt and cayenne pepper, fill back into potato skins

: dress romaine lettuce, fresh spinach, sliced salted radishes, bean sprouts and tomatoes with honey/mustard dressing and fresh ground black pepper