Cayenne pepper

Walnut & Cranberry Stuffing

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I took this to my friend’s house last night for our turkey dinner. He thought it was great. Thinking about it today, if you replace the salt with sugar and add a bit of vanilla, this would make a great bread pudding, served with a fruit coulis or vanilla sauce.
Enjoy, either way ! 🙂
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Ingredient’s :

Day old bread, diced
Chicken stock, (for sweet version, substitute milk)
Eggs, whole
Dried cranberries,
Walnuts, coarsely crumbled
Kosher salt, (for sweet version, substitute sugar)
Cayenne pepper, (even for sweet version)
Chives, sliced (for sweet version, substitute vanilla)

Method :

Pour hot stock (milk) over bread and seasoning, let cool.
Add eggs, nuts , cranberries and chives (vanilla) and mix
without breaking up bread to much. Put into buttered
baking dish and cook at 400 F until set.

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Pork Medallion “Almondine”

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Yesterday’s late lunch, pork medallion in almonds, creamed spinach, sauteed grapes.
I knew it was turkey for dinner at my friend’s house, so no turkey at home. I did make and take the sidings though, creamed spinach, mashed sweet potatoes, gravy and walnut-cranberry stuffing.
Anyway, here is lunch. Enjoy 🙂

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Ingredients :

Pork medallion,
Almond‘s, slivered
Bread crumbs, fine
Egg, whole, whisked
AP flour,
Kosher salt,
Cayenne pepper,
Peanut oil, to saute

Spinach, washed, stems removed, chopped
Onions, diced
Garlic, paste
Heavy cream,
Kosher salt,
Cayenne pepper,
Nutmeg, grated
Butter, to saute

Grapes,
Butter, to saute

Season pork with salt and pepper. Dipp in flour,
egg and mixture of half breadcrumbs, half almonds.
Saute slowly to make sure almonds don’t get to dark
and bitter. However, oil must be hot enough to prevent
Breading to get soggy.

Saute onion and garlic until translucent, add cream
and reduce until thickened. Add spinach and seasoning,
cover with more cream and simmer until cream has reduced
again and texture is creamy.

When pork is done, remove onto absorbent paper.
Add a bit of butter and grapes to the pan, saute a few seconds
until grapes are warm. Spoon butter and grapes over pork.
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !

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Fruit Yogurt

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Most times I buy those little cups of fruit yogurt at the
supermarket like most other folks. They are convenient and
an easy, mostly guild free fix for a little sweets – craving.
But lately I use a lot of plain greek yogurt in my cooking,
so earlier when my sweet toot acted up, I took some Fruits
I had in the fridge, (apples, grapes and strawberries), mixed
some yogurt with vanilla essence, castor sugar, freshly
squeezed lime juice and a bit of cayenne pepper. Some
of the Yogurt on the bottom of the plate, then the fruit,
then topped with more of the yogurt. Very quick, cheap,
delicious and pretty to look at.
Question is, WHY do we buy these little expensive
tasteless cups of fruit yogurt if this is so much better ???

Life is Good ! Enjoy a better Fruit Yogurt ! 🙂
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” Conchiglioni, Portabellas, Peppers & Jalapenos “

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Talk about a satisfying dish that leaves nothing to be desired.
While spicy and alive on the taste buds, the jalapenos,
garlic and chilis were just the right amount , not overbearing, but noticeable.
All in all a successful, easy, quick dish, vulgar because of the heat,
elegant and earthy because of the portabella’s.

(Sound’s like the description of someone on a dating service 🙂
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Ingredient‘s :

Giant pasta shells, cooked al dente, some of the cooking liquid reseved
Portabella mushrooms, sliced
Red peppers, sliced
Yellow peppers, sliced
Jalapenos, sliced (lot’s of them)
Red peppers, sliced
Garlic, paste
Italian parsley, chopped
Pecorino romano, grated
Salt, to taste
Cayenne pepper, to taste
Butter, to saute

Method :

Saute all vegetables, add pasta, half of the grated cheese, some whole butter and a bit of the cooking liquid. Mix well until a sauce forms from the starch of the pasta, butter, cheese and cooking liquid. Once the sauce lightly coats the pasta, plate and sprinkle with the other half of the cheese and the parsley.
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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” Roasted Pork Knuckle ” ( Gebratene Schweins Haxe )

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A few years back when Maria and I finally had a chance and the time to visit Germany
after being away for 14 years, our friend’s, the Henning’s and the Otto’s took us to lunch
into Stuttgart, to a restaurant named “Ochsen Willi”. This place has been a famous
fixture of this city for many decades, mainly because of it’s Schweine Haxen.
Here is a Picture of Maria attacking her small portion of haxe during that wonderful lunch :
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Traditionally and ideally, this would be done on a spit roast, which I don’t have.
So I used the alternative method, slowly roasting the knuckle (or ham hog) in the oven.
I brined the meat in a brine of kosher salt, cayenne pepper, cider and red wine
for two day’s. Then I removed it from the brine, padded the meat dry and seasoned
it with more cayenne and a good amount’s of garlic powder and onion powder.
I roasted the knuckle at 420 degrees for 30 minute, then turned the heat to 260 degrees
for 3 hours, after which I turned the heat up to 420 again for 30 minute.
Usually you want a roast to rest for about 20 minutes before you cut into it,
but not this baby. I’d like to see anybody who can resist the temptation to just whack
into this hunk of porkness as soon as it comes out of the oven.
In Germany, we either have this as an elaborate mal with jus, red cabbage or
white cabbage (in the form of sauerkraut, kraut salat or bayrisch kraut) and
semmelknoedel (Braed Dumpling), or a potato side dish such as puree, dumplings,
roasted. Most times however, a simple rustic bread and a good mustard on the side
is all that’s needed to achieve culinary bliss 🙂

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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” Rotelli, Cepes, Peppers & Chorizo “

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Tonights quick and tasty dinner :
Rotelli, cepes, peppers and chorizo, giving non- offal lovers a break today .

( Offal will be back tomorrow, three dishes to go 🙂
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Ingredient’s

Rotelli, cooked al dente, strained, reserve some cooking water
Chorizo, sliced
Cepe mushroom, re-hydrated
Onions, julienned
Chili peppers, julienned
Garlic paste, to taste
Kosher salt, to taste
Cayenne pepper, to taste
Olive oil, to saute
Cilantro, coarsley chopped
Manchego, finely grated
Butter, whole, not melted
Olive oil, to saute

Method :

Saute onions, garlic and cepes in olive oil, until fragrant,
add chilies, pasta and seasoning, toss well. remove from heat.
Add manchego cheese, butter and a bit of the cooking water from the pasta.
Toss again until the pasta is covered with a thin film of cheese sauce.
(Starch from the pasta, the butter, water and cheese will combine into
this delicious sauce). To serve, sprinkle with cilantro and more manchego cheese.

Bon Provecho ! Life is Good !
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” Dandanmian ” Chinese Noodles, Ground Pork & Vegetables

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” Dandanmian ” or ” Dan Dan Mian ” or “Dandan Noodles “.

There are many variations of this most simple dish, which originated as
street peddlers dish. Basic ingredients are ground pork, noodles,
spicy sauce with or without peanut- or sesame – paste.
Here is the Dandan I prepared for dinner yesterday
( I too do many variations of this dish) :
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Ingredients :

Chinese egg noodles, cooked, drained, coated with sesame oil
Ground pork,
Carrots, julienned
Bell peppers, julienned
Silver onions, peeled, blanched
White cabbage, coarsely sliced
Garlic, paste
Ginger, grated
Cilantro, coarsely chopped
Oyster sauce,
Soy Sauce,
Chili oil,
Sesame oil,
Salt, to taste
Cayenne pepper, to taste
Chicken stock
Peanut oil

Method :

Saute pork in peanut oil until starting to brown.
Add garlic and ginger, saute until translucent.
Add chicken stock and all seasoning, simmer until
meat is soft. Add cabbage and peppers, simmer for
one minute. Add Noodles, mix well.
To serve, sprinkle with cilantro and drizzle with Chili oil.

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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” Breakfast Of Champions # 6 ” Farmers Omelette

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Today I finally found time again to do a proper breakfast,
after a week of peppermint tea and bananas.
During the week I get up at 3.30am and after a usual sleep time
of 3 to 4 hours, my desire to cook a full meal is usually subdued a bit 😦
Not today ! So here we go:
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” Farmers Omelette ”
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Ingredients:

Eggs, whole, whisked, seasoned with salt and cayenne
Grape tomatoes, whole
Asparagus, blanched
Carrots, blanched
Onion, julienned
Garlic, paste
Potatoes, blanched
Chorizo, thinly sliced
Chives, sliced (fresh or freeze dried)
Butter (substitute olive oil if desired)
Parmesan, grated
Salt, to taste
Cayenne Pepper , to taste

Method :

Sautee potatoes in butter (oil) until starting to change color,
add onion and saute until starting to brown.
Add garlic, saute until translucent, add all other vegetables
and seasoning and saute until heated through.
add eggs, cover tightly, lower heat and cook slowly until eggs are set.
to plate, invert onto serving dish, sprinkle generously with chives.

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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” Pork Ribs Soup With Long Life Noodles “

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I hope the name I gave this soup say’s it all :

“Spicy soup of pork ribs, long life noodles, corn,
bamboo shoots, quail eggs and lap cheong“.

Highly satisfying culinary goodness in a (BIG) bowl. 🙂
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Ingredient’s :

Pasta, cooked, strained, mixed with 1 tsp sesame oil

Pork ribs, simmered, stock reserved
Noodles, cooked
Broccoli rabe, blanched
Lop chaeong, sliced
Corn on the cob, quartered
Quail eggs, soft boiled, peeled
Bell peppers, julienned
Chilis, julienned
Scallions, sliced
Cilantro, coarsely chopped
Ginger, grated
garlic, paste
Sesame oil, to taste
Salt/ Cayenne, to taste

Method :

Simmer ribs until tender, add corn, simmer until tender.
Add garlic paste, grated ginger, salt and cayenne pepper.
Add sausage, peppers, chili, scallions, rabe and quail eggs.
Bring to simmer, remove from heat. Adjust seasoning.

To plate, place noodles in bottom of bowl, ladle soup on top,
Sprinkle with cilantro, serve with chili oil and soy sauce.

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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” Fish Dumpling & Shrimp Ball Soup With Poached Egg “

What the heck !?
Soup with fish dumplings, shrimp ball’s, shrimp, vegetables, chili and poached egg ?
Well, it might sound’s a bit much but it is absolutely delicious, the flavors and textures
go very well together to form a wonderful, multi-facetted dish.
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Ingredients:

Shrimp, pre cooked, peeled, deveined, half of them tail removed
White fish, such as haddock, tilapia, cod
Peas, frozen
Corn, frozen
Won ton wrappers,
Red chili, sliced
Scallion, sliced
Cilantro, coarsely chopped
Whole egg for poaching
Egg white for fish dumplings and shrimp balls
Fish stock substitute with chicken stock if preferred
Ketchup
Maggi
Salt, cayenne pepper, lemon juice to taste

Method :

Dumplings :
Chop the fish coarsely, add a bit of egg white, salt, cayenne pepper, mix.
Add half a teaspoon to a wrapper, moisten the edges with water.
Top with another wrapper, flatten and cut with a crinkle wheel cutter or a raviolini stamp.

Shrimp balls :
Chop the tailless shrimp to a fine paste. Add sriracha, salt and a bit of ketchup,
Mix and form into small ball’s.

Cook fish dumplings and schrimp balls in salted water until floating,
transfer to salted ice water.

Egg :
Poach in lightly salted water for 3 1/2 minutes, transfer to salted ice water.

Soup :

Bring stock to simmer, add corn and simmer for two minutes.
season with salt, sriracha soy sauce and maggi seasoning.
Add fish dumplings and shrimp balls’, shrimp balls, chilis, green peas and poached egg.
When heated through, plate and sprinkle with scallion and cilantro

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !