Cayenne pepper

Breakfast Of Champions # 48 – Egg-Quesadilla With Boursin

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While the some of the most traditional condiments to quesadillas are being served again and again for a reason (best fit), I would like to introduce a new, a bit unusual condiment which will be knocking your breakfast quesadilla out of the ball park – Herb & Garlic Boursin. It gives the dish such additional debt and flavor that it has become my standard addition to breakfast quesadillas (I still stick with the traditional condiments for non-breakfast quesadillas ) 🙂
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Link to more Quesadillas on ChefsOpinion
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Breakfast Of Champions # 48 – Egg-Quesadilla With Boursin

Breakfast Of Champions # 48 – Egg-Quesadilla

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Preparation :
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: herb & garlic boursin

: whisk whole eggs with cayenne pepper, kosher salt and granulated garlic

: add to melted butter in a med-hot pan, cook until set

: flip egg and cook on other side until egg is well-done

: add a tortilla to a lightly oiled, warm pan (or comal)

: sprinkle generously with grated cheese of your choice (I used four-cheese mix), top with crumbled avocado

: top with egg patty

: top with more cheese

: top with another tortilla, cook until bottom-tortilla is lightly browned and crisp

: top with a plate, invert

: slide back into pan and cook again until bottom tortilla is lightly browned and crisp and cheese has melted

: slide onto cutting board, cut into wedges

: Breakfast Of Champions # 48 – Egg-Quesadilla

: Breakfast Of Champions # 48 – Egg-Quesadilla With Boursin

: Breakfast Of Champions # 48 – Egg-Quesadilla With Boursin

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Executioners Stew

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Of course you will wonder what possessed me to name this stew Executioners Stew – well, my thinking goes that if I would have one last meal before the executioner would step in, this would be the last supper I would request. While there are many things I would like to have for that macabre occasion, this one combines five of my favorite foods in one single dish :
Soup, chili-peppers, chicken-gizzards, pigs-feet and ox-tripe.
Certainly not worth dying for, but as a last supper – yes sir, please !
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Anyway, here is to many more years of living the Good Life 🙂
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Link to Green Sofrito Recipe
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All about Sofrito
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Link to Pa Amb TomÃ Quet (Tomato Bread)
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Executioners Stew With “Pa Amb TomÃ Quet”

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Preparation :
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: add the pigs feet to cold water, bring to a boil

: strain the pigs feet, rinse

: add the o-tripe to cold, vinegared water, bring to a boil, strain, rinse, repeat two more times, third time cook until tender

: a thing of beauty

: add pigs-feet to cold, salted water, bring to a simmer, cook until tender but not falling apart

: during simmering, remove all impurities that rise to the surface with a small mesh-strainer

: when pigs-feet are almost tender, add chicken gizzards, simmer until gizzards are tender but still possess a bit of a bite

: add green sofrito, cayenne pepper, garlic paste

: add chillies, carrot julienne, white cabbage and chorizo, simmer for three more minutes

: add diced tomatoes, sliced cooke potatoes, cooked white beans and plenty of chopped cilantro

: check / adjust seasoning

: Executioners Stew With “Pa Amb TomÃ Quet”

: Executioners Stew With “Pa Amb TomÃ Quet”

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Tandoori-Style Chicken Drumsticks With Pickled Onions And Naan

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Some of my favorite food-memories from my time living in Karachi, Pakistan, were the many wonderful dinners Maria and I had at the rooftop restaurant of our hotel, the ” Avari Towers,Karachi“.
Sadly, I understand that this restaurant has been converted into a steak restaurant by now ( after all, its been nearly 20 years since Maria and I lived there).
However, at the time, the roof top was a very exclusive local-fare only restaurant with a tandoori oven right there on the rooftop.
Benazir Bhutto, who a few years later became prime minister of Pakistan, resided in a house just next to our hotel and came to eat at the roof top a few times while we were there, which got Maria excited each time and she actually asked Mrs.Bhutto for an autograph (which she got, despite the incredible security), which made Maria happy and embarrassed me 🙂 .
Anyway, as far as the food was concerned, the restaurants at the Avari were in my opinion by far the best and safest places to enjoy a meal in all of Karachi and the tandoori dishes at the rooftop topped it all !
I had many a good tandoori dish while traveling in Pakistan and of course in India, but never did I find a good one in Florida in all the years I have resided here. While they might exist, so far they have eluded me. So, whenever I lust for tasty, well prepared tandoori-style food that rekindles my memories of times past, I usually have to take matters in my own hands. Such was the case again yesterday, when I prepared these delicious chicken drumsticks.
For the lack of an tandoori oven, I cooked the drumsticks under high heat under the broiler, which resulted in acceptable taste and texture.
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مزےکری ! maze karein ! زندگی اچھی ہے !
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Tandoori–Style Chicken Thighs With Pickled Onions And Naan

Tandoori-Style Chicken Tighs With Pickled Onions

Tandori-Style Chicken Tighs With Pickled Onions

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Preparation :
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: cross-score each drumstick through the flesh, all the way to the bone, marinate overnight in a paste of ghee, garam masala, cumin, allspice, lemon juice, yogurt, paprika, cinnamon, grated ginger, garlic paste, black pepper and kosher salt

: mix onions, peppers, garlic paste, scallions, white vinegar, kosher salt and garlic oil, let marinade at least 2 hours

: remove chicken from marinade, simmer remaining marinade for 3 minutes, use to baste chicken during broiling

: place chicken on wire rack

: broil chicken on one side for 15 minutes

: turn chicken, brush generously with more of the marinade, cook until cooked through, about another 15 – 20 minutes, depending on the size of the drumsticks

: done…..

: plate chicken with freshly baked naan and crisp iceberg

: top chicken with the marinated onions

: Tandoori-Style Chicken Drumsticks With Pickled Onions And Naan

: Tandoori-Style Chicken Drumsticks With Pickled Onions And Naan

: Tandoori-Style Chicken Drumsticks With Pickled Onions And Naan

: Pickled Onions

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Stir Fried Chicken And Vegetables In Black-Bean Chile Sauce

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Today I had a craving for really spicy food and I answered the call with this dish. I made it very spicy, but at the same time it was also very flavorful, thank’s to the addition of hoi sin sauce, soy sauce and lots of ginger and garlic. ( If you prefer less spicy, just tone down on the chili paste)
Fabulously tasty and satisfying, this was the perfect Sunday early-dinner dish, tasty, pretty and quick to wrestle-up 🙂
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Bon Appetit ! Life is good !
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Stir Fried Chicken And Vegetables In Black-Bean Chile Sauce

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P.S.
In order to be able to throw together these quick meals, I always have an assortment of blanched, frozen veggies in the fridge, ready to go at a moments notice.
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: blanch vegetables in salted water

: shock vegetables in ice water

: shock vegetables in ice water, drain

: shock vegetables in ice water, drain

: shock vegetables in ice water, drain

: squeeze out excess water, wrap airtight, freeze for up to 10 days

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Also always in my fridge are grated fresh ginger (commercial, good quality) and garlic confit paste (home made, usually once a week)
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On to today’s dinner:
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Preparation :
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: slice skinlesss chicken breast into bitesize slivers

: marinade chicken with garlic paste, lime juice, soy sauce, kosher salt and cayenne pepper, add a few drops of peanut oil, mix well

: stir fry chicken on VERY high heat until lightly browned but still juicy

: remove chicken to a plate, set aside

: add a bit more oil, saute beans until lightly browned in spots

: add 2 tblsp chili/ bean paste, 2 tblsp soy sauce, 1 tblsp hoi sin sauce, 1 tblsp water, 1 tsp garlic paste, add corn, stir fry until corn is heated through, remove from heat

: add seafood-mushrooms

: return chicken to wok (or pan), mix well, check / adjust seasoning

: Stir Fried Chicken And Vegetables In Black-Bean Chile Sauce

: Stir Fried Chicken And Vegetables In Black-Bean Chile Sauce

: Stir Fried Chicken And Vegetables In Black-Bean Chile Sauce

: Stir Fried Chicken And Vegetables In Black-Bean Chile Sauce

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P.P.S.
I used Chor’s Food USA “Black Bean Chile Sauce” in this dish.
If not available in your neck of the woods :-(, substitute with equal parts of fermented black beans and chili paste 🙂
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Chipotle-Chicken Quesadilla

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We owe Mexico a lot for its invention of the quesadilla. It would be difficult to find another dish as addictive yet comes together so quickly with so little effort. Quesadillas are highly adaptable:
Make them a meal with large flour tortillas, or gluten-free with corn tortillas. A little low-fat cheese and a lot of vegetables, and they could almost pass for a health food; on the flip side, a generous pile of shredded pepper-jack could be the remedy for a bad hangover. A good quesadilla is a thing of beauty. It’s crispy and golden brown at the edges, but a bite quickly reveals a soft interior with gooey melted cheese. For this quesadilla I used chicken , which you can replace with other proteins of your choice, such as shrimp, beef, chorizo, etc. For a vegetarian alternative, just omit the animal-protein and add more vegetables.
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P.S.
As you can see, I dug in with my hands. However, if your boss shows up for dinner, you might want to get out forks and knifes 🙂
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Provechito ! Viva Mexico !
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Chipotle-Chicken Quesadilla

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Preparation :
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: Guacamole, Sour Cream, Pickled Onions With Peppers & Mini-Corn

: marinade vegetables with lime juice, finely chopped jalapenos, kosher salt and chopped cilantro

: marinade diced chicken for at least 2 hours with kosher salt, lime juice, garlic paste and finely chopped canned chipotles in adobo

: saute chicken until done but still juicy

: remove chicken from pan, set aside

: toast flour tortilla on one side, flip

: top with mexican style shredded cheese mix

: top with chicken

: top with chopped tomatoes and chopped cilantro

: top with more cheese and mashed avocado

: top with another one-side-toasted tortilla, toasted side down

: top tortilla with a plate, invert,

: slide back into pan (or comal), cook very slowly to give the cheese time to melt without burning the tortilla

: Chipotle-Chicken Quesadilla

: Chipotle-Chicken Quesadilla

: Chipotle-Chicken Quesadilla

: Chipotle-Chicken Quesadilla

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Bucatini alle Acciughe

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You could go to the extra length of using fresh anchovies and home made pasta for this dish, but I can assure you that even if you don’t and you decide to use canned anchovies and dried pasta, you will still have a wonderful meal, provided you source the best quality of anchovies and pasta and prepare the dish with the love it deserves 🙂
Your reward will be a dish that is quick and easy to prepare, very light on the wallet and at the same time a culinary giant far beyond the sum of it’s ingredients !
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Bucatini alle Acciughe

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Preparation :
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: cook 1/2 lb bucatini al dente, strain

: meanwhile, saute 1/4 cup of panko bread crumbs in 4 oz butter until golden, season with kosher salt, cayenne pepper and garlic paste

: schmelze…..

: chop 6 med size anchovies, reserve 4 whole ones for garnish

: saute anchovies in olive oil with equal amount of garlic paste until fragrant and anchovies disintegrated

: season with cayenne pepper

: add bucatini, mix well. check / adjust seasoning

: add schmelze and chopped italian parsley

: to serve, top with whole anchovies, fresh ground black pepper corn, more chopped parsley and a sprig of fresh basil

: Bucatini alle Acciughe

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Fritto Misto

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It is time for me to confess: I am a food-shopping maniac. My kitchen usually contains enough fresh, dried, frozen and pickled food to feed a family of four for a few weeks. So, every couple of months I give myself the daunting task to empty my cup board, fridge and freezer completely in order to be able to start replenishing all over again. So today, after two weeks of feeding myself and Bella with all the goodies already in the house, I finally achieved my goal: (my iron-will was victorious) – all food is gone and tomorrow morning I will start a new crusade to the butcher, grocery store and farmers-markets to make sure I have again enough food in the house, just in case………. ???? – well, something, you never know.

(My friends who live in the neighborhood will remember that after the last major hurricane left our area for nearly three weeks without electricity, Maria and I hosted daily free lunches in our garden for 20 to 30 people, sometimes a lot more. Tasty food from the grill and fire pit and plenty of beer and even more wine, all nicely cooled in the lake. What a blessing our full freezer and pantry proved to be then ) 🙂

But, let’s get back to the topic at hand.
The remaining few things I had left in the freezer were some squid, a few small shrimp, a piece of cod filet and in the fridge a bit of greens, lemon, scallions, an onion and some grape tomatoes . Perfect !
Some oil, vinegar, salt and pepper for the salad, the seafood marinated with cayenne pepper, kosher salt, granulated garlic and dusted in rice flour, two chilies and the scallions thrown into the mix, then quickly deep-fried and Voilà – Fritto Misto ! Life is Good !
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Buen Apetito ! Viva Italia !
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Fritto Misto

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Preparation :
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: fry in VERY hot oil to ensure crisp and juicy seafood

: remove to absorbent paper, serve at once

: Fritto Misto

: Fritto Misto

: Fritto Misto

: Fritto Misto

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Jerk Chicken-Stuffed Matzo Ball Soup

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My love for matzo ball (Knaidlach) soup should surprise no one at this point, since I have posted quite a few different post’s with this marvel of traditional comfort food at Chefsopinion.
As for Jerk Chicken – WHO doesn’t love that ??!
Now, I have to confess that the chicken I used here was not a real jerk chicken, but rather diced chicken leg seasoned with jerk-seasoning and then sautéed. However, this “jerk chicken”served its purpose as a filling for the matzo balls perfectly, so I will not nit-pick about it 🙂
Both Bella and I were enamored with this soup and will no doubt have it again and again 🙂
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Matzo Ball Recipe
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More Jerk Chicken on ChefsOpinion
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More Matzo Balls on ChefsOpinion
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More Chicken Soup on ChefsOpinion
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Jerk Chicken-Stuffed Matzo Ball Soup

Jerk Chicken-Stuffed Matzo Ball Soup

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Preparation :
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: chicken tights

: remove bones, dice meat and skin into small pieces

: add large diced onions, season liberally with jerk seasoning

: fry in vegetable oil until cooked just through but still juicy

: done…

: see link above for matzo ball recipe

: form matzo into balls

: flatten into disc

: add chicken filling

: cover filling completely with matzo, shape into ball again

: simmer in lightly salted water until cooked through and trippled in size, about 40 minutes

: almost……

: serve matzo ball in chicken soup, sprinkle with finely sliced scallion or chopped parsley

: Jerk Chicken-Stuffed Matzo Ball Soup

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Short Ribs, Bok Choy, Shiitake And Noodles In Spicy Ginger/Garlic Broth

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Soup! – God’s gift to comfort food 🙂
I wonder how many different soups I have eaten in my life and how many different noodle soups in particular. And still, I never get tired of preparing and eating yet another version of this wonderful food category. Soup, to me, never get’s old. To the contrary, I can never get enough of it, be it cream soup, purred soup, clear soup, soup made of meat, seafood, vegetables, fruit or any combination thereof, hot or cold. So without further ado, here is my latest concoction:
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Bon Appetit ! Life is good !
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Short Ribs, Bok Choy, Shiitake And Noodles In Ginger/Garlic Broth

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Preparation :
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: cover short ribs with cold water, bring to a boil

: let boil for a few seconds

: drain ribs, rinse, discard liquid. This will ensure a clearer broth

: start ribs again with cold water, bring to a slow simmer, during simmering skim of foam and scum frequently

: after one hour, add kosher salt, chili flakes, cinnamon stick, garlic paste and grated ginger, simmer until ribs are tender but NOT falling apart

: done…

: remove ribs, strain broth through fine mesh or cheese cloth, add a few drops of sesame oil, check / adjust seasoning

: remove and discard bones, cut meat into bite-size cubes

: to serve, place cooked noodles, blanched bok choy, finely sliced cooked shiitake and beef in serving bowl, sprinkle with more chili flakes and fill with beef broth

: Short Ribs, Bok Choy, Shiitake And Noodles In Spicy Ginger/Garlic Broth

: Short Ribs, Bok Choy, Shiitake And Noodles In Spicy Ginger/Garlic Broth

: Short Ribs, Bok Choy, Shiitake And Noodles In Spicy Ginger/Garlic Broth

: Short Ribs, Bok Choy, Shiitake And Noodles In Spicy Ginger/Garlic Broth

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Fried Tomato-Noodles Pillow

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I did not intend to post this dish when I started preparing it. After all, what can be so special about some re-heated leftover tomato pasta. But then I thought maybe I am on to something. So, instead of just re-heating the pasta with a bit of butter and a few drops of stock or cream (or both), I proceeded to make a non-traditional noodle pillow. Noodle pillows are of course widely eaten in Asian cuisine, but the pasta is never mixed with tomato sauce before frying/sautéing. I am happy to report that this version was super delicious and the tomato taste added to the overall flavor and gave a hint of Unami. Absolutely a new addition to my repertoire of simple comfort food, either eaten as a snack by itself with the addition of a bit of sauce drizzled over it as shown here, or as tasty side dish which will add extra flavor and texture to a variety of dishes.
Next noodle pillow up: Noodle pillow made from curried noodles. I’ll let you know of the result 🙂
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Fried Tomato-Noodles Pillow

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More “Noodle Pillow’s” on ChefsOpinion
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: leftover pasta with tomato sauce

: spread pasta in hot peanut oil to even thickness, saute on both sides until crisp and golden

: dipping sauce: mix 2 tblsp soy sauce, 2 tblsp hoi sin sauce, 2 tblsp water, 1 tblsp ketchup, 1 tsp lime juice, season with grated ginger, garlic paste, sesame oil and chili oil, to serve, sprinkle with chopped cilantro and sesame seeds