Cayenne pepper

Sauted Rib Eye with Mushrooms and Taleggio Ca De Ambros stuffed Twice Baked Potato

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The  steak : EXCELLENT !
The mushrooms : EXCELLENT !
The twice baked potato : OUT OF THIS WORLD !!!
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I have only recently discovered “Taleggio Cheese”, and I feel sorry for myself to have gone 62 years without enjoying this marvel of Italian cheese making. I only know of one shop around here that carries it. It is one of my least favorite stores because it tries to be everything to everybody, which just does not work.  But since a friend steered me to their cheese section, I have gone there at least once a week, just to get my fill of  “Taleggio Ca De Ambros”
For this dinner, I have sauteed the steak in peanut oil, sauteed the mushrooms with diced onions and garlic paste in butter. I baked the potato until cooked through, then I removed the potato flesh from the shell, added kosher salt, sriracha, butter, sliced scallions, garlic paste  and a generous amount of Taleggio. Then I put the mixture for half a minute into the microwave to soften the butter and cheese, mixed it all well and stuffed it back into the potato shell. Baked it in the oven for twenty minutes and – voilà – best twice baked potato ever 🙂

Bon Appetit !   Life is Good !
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Sauted Rib Eye with Mushrooms and Taleggio Ca De Ambros stuffed Twice Baked Potato

Sauted Rib Eye with Mushrooms and Taleggio Ca De Ambros stuffed Twice Baked Potato

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Cream Of Potato & Onion With Chorizo, Chilis & Aged Asiago

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Thank  the Lord for A/C, otherwise we could not eat soup in this smoldering hot weather.
I just love soup, and this is such a good example of what a good soup should be :
Tasty, good texture, exciting 🙂

Bon Appetit !   Life Is Good !
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Cream Of Potato & Onion With Chorizo, Chilis & Aged Asiago

Cream Of Potato & Onion With Chorizo, Chili’s & Aged Asiago

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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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Copa Ham & Janssons Frestelse

Coppa Ham & Janssons Frestelse


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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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Pork Blade Steak Gratinated With White Asparagus, Spicy Asiago Yoghurt & Fresh Horse Radish

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Most  folks I know would shun a blade steak as inferior cut, too lowly to use as a steak. But let me assure you, as far as pork steaks go, you will be hard pressed to find a better cut. The blade has a wonderful texture and taste, very juice, tender and yes, very economical (we don’t say cheap 🙂 )

Season steaks with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Season yoghurt with sea salt and cayenne pepper, mix with some grated asiago cheese. Season asparagus with sea salt and cayenne pepper. Grill steak until medium well. (It will continue cooking to well done while it gratinates). Place steak on baking dish, sprinkle with freshly grated horse radish. Top with asparagus. Brush asparagus tips with melted butter. Nape asparagus with yoghurt, sprinkle with asiago cheese and scallions. Gratinate until golden.

Bon Appetit !   Life is Good !
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Pork Blade Steak Gratinated With White Asparagus, Spicy Asiago Yoghurt & Fresh Horse Radish

Pork Blade Steak Gratinated With White Asparagus, Spicy Asiago Yoghurt & Fresh Horse Radish

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Breakfast Of Champions # 26 – ” Shrimp & Bok Choy Congee “

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Here is how it’s supposed to be :

You have a big, substantial breakfast, go to your job and work hart, have a quick, light, healthy lunch, keep on working until it is time to go home, have a light, healthy dinner with a small glass of red wine, go to bed early, sleep at least 8 hours, get up and do it all over again 🙂

Here is what’s really happening :

You have a quick, sugary, unhealthy breakfast, go to your job and work hart, have a quick, unhealthy lunch, keep on working until it is time to go home, have a heavy, calorie and fat-laden dinner, with a bottle or two of red wine, go to bed late, don’t sleep enough, get up and do it all over again 😦
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So, today, after a long and deep sleep, I tried to start the right way, with a healthy, tasty, substantial breakfast.
I will keep you posted how it will develop from here for the rest of the day…………
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Ingredients :

Cooked Fan,    (steamed chines rice)
Seafood stock,   substitute with chicken stock or canned clam juice
Shrimp,   peeled and deveined
Bok choy,   blanched
Garlic,   paste
Garlic,   slivered, fried
Onions,   finely julienned, fried
Ginger,   grated,
Bean sprouts,
Scallions,   coarsely sliced
Peanut oil,
Chili oil,
Sesame oil,
Kosher salt,
Cayenne pepper,

Method :

Simmer rice with in stock, salt and pepper until a porridge like texture is achieved. In the meantime, fry onions and garlic separately until golden. Remove to absorbent paper. Reserve. Saute Shrimp, garlic paste and grated ginger until   fragrant and shrimp about halfway cooked. When congee has reached the desired texture, add the shrimp, bock choy and scallions, simmer until heated through, about one minute. Adjust seasoning if necessary. To plate, drizzle with sesame oil and chili oil, sprinkle with fried onions, fried garlic, bean sprouts and scallions.

More Congee Recipes Here

Bon Appetit !   Life is Good !
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Penne Rigate In Merlot/Vodka/Yoghurt Sauce With Pepperoni & Fresh Basil

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Fresh Basil

Fresh Basil

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My neighborhood supermarket  charges $ 3.50 for a small twig of maybe 7 basil leaves.
They sell this beautiful basil plant for $ 4.50. Kind of a no-brainer, isn’t it 🙂

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Penne Rigate In Merlot/Vodka/Yoghurt Sauce With Pepperoni & Fresh Basil

Penne Rigate In Merlot/Vodka/Yoghurt Sauce With Pepperoni & Fresh Basil

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Ingredients :

Penne rigate,   al dente, reserve some of the cooking liquid
Pepperoni sausage,   julienned
Grape tomatoes,   quartered
Greek yoghurt,
Olive oil,
Vodka,
Merlot,
Parmigiano reggiano,   grated
Garlic,   paste
Basil,   fresh
Kosher salt,
Cayenne pepper

Method :

Saute pepperoni until starting to change color, add garlic, saute until fragrant. Add merlot and vodka, simmer until most liquid has evaporated. Add  yoghurt, tomatoes, a bit of the grated cheese, salt, pepper and the pasta,  mix well. Adjust seasoning if necessary. If too thick, add some of the pasta cooking liquid. If too thin, ad some grated cheese.
To serve, sprinkle with more cheese and basil leaves.

Note :
I am aware that most cooks will chiffonade the basil. However, personally I don’t like the texture this will give me. It reminds me of hair in the food which is not very appealing to me 😦
Therefore I like to add whole leaves which become soft and tender immediately  as they touch the hot food and give you a much more pleasant texture / mouthfeel 🙂

Bon Appetit !   Life is Good !

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Gnocchi, Prosciutto, Asparagus & Parmigiano Reggiano

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“Pretty”  is not usually the first thing that comes to my mind as far as food is concerned.
But looking at this dish, the thoughts were first : Pretty ! Then : Let’s eat right NOW !
Usually we saute the prosciutto lightly but in this case, it was so thinly sliced and delicate,
just adding it to the top of the dish seemed the right thing to do.
And yes, I just preferred the texture and taste this way. Good Stuff 🙂

Bon Appetit !   Life is Good !

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Gnocchi Recipe Here
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Gnocchi, Prosciutto, Asparagus & Parmigiano Reggiano

Gnocchi, Prosciutto, Asparagus & Parmigiano Reggiano

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Ingredient’s :

Gnocchi,   cooked, reserve some of the cooking liquid
Asparagus,   blanched
Prosciutto,   VERY finely sliced
Parmigiano Reggiano,   finely grated
Parmigiano Reggiano,   finely sliced
Grape tomatoes,
Garlic paste,
Olive oil,
Kosher salt,
Cayenne pepper,

Method :

Saute gnocchi, asparagus and tomatoes in olive oil, season with salt and pepper. Add grated cheese and a bit of the gnocchi cooking liquid and toss until everything is lightly coated. To serve, top with prosciutto and very finely sliced cheese (use potato peeler to slice cheese).

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“Spicy Chicken Fajitas”

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Spicy  chicken fajas,
with tortillas, guacamole, vinaigrette dressed lettuce, sour cream and salsa mexicana. A couple of negra modelo beers. What other meal on a rainy Friday night at home ?
This was most enjoyable to eat and quick to prepare.

Viva Mexico ! 🙂
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Guacamole Recipe Here

"Spicy Chicken Fajas"

“Spicy Chicken Fajas”

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Ingredients :

Chicken,   legs and tights, deboned, sliced,
Onions,   sliced
Scallions,   sliced
Garlic,   paste
Guajillo pepper,   ground
Cayenne pepper,   (lot’s of it)
Cumin,   ground
Chili powder,
Kosher salt,
Lard,   to saute ( Substitute with other fat if preferred )


Method :

Saute chicken until golden brown, add onions, scallions, garlic paste and seasoning, saute until fragrant. Serving suggestion: See pictures.

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Bon Appetit !   Life is Good !
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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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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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Chicken In Saffran Broth, Vegetables & Cream Biscuits

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Sunday  dinner was simple today. I did not feel like spending too much time in the kitchen cooking and cleaning up, so it was a simple stew with biscuits. Nevertheless, it tasted and looked wonderful and the chicken was especially well received by Bella 🙂
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Chicken In Saffran Broth, Vegetables & Cream Biscuits

Chicken In Saffran Broth, Vegetables & Cream Biscuits

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Ingredient’s :

Chicken drumsticks,
Corn on the cob,   shucked, cut into pieces
Cauliflower,   rosettes, blanched
Potatoes,   peeled, diced
Shiitake mushrooms,   stem removed, quartered
Leeks,   sliced
Onions,   diced
Chilis,   select for your favorite heat level
Garlic,   paste
Ginger,   grated
Cilantro,   chopped
Saffran threads,
Kosher salt,
Cayenne pepper,
Chicken stock,

Method :

Simmer chicken, garlic, and ginger in lightly seasoned stock for 10 minutes. Add corn and simmer for another 15 minutes, Add all other vegetables and potatoes and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from heat, add saffran and let steep for another 20 minutes. Return to heat until hot. Adjust seasoning if necessary. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve with cream biscuits on the side.
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Cream Biscuit Recipe Click Here
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Bon Appetit !   La vie est bien !

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