Chorizo

Tacos De Pescado (Grilled Fish Tacos)

I just realized that lately, I prepare tacos at least ones a week, sometimes even more often.
Of course, this makes perfect sense, since they are very tasty, easy to prepare and the possible variations are endless. I have them for any meal of the day, breakfast, lunch, dinner or snack.
My favorite taco is……..always the one I presently prepare and eat, no matter if they are soft or crisp, contain lots of “stuff” or just a few basic ingredients. They can contain beef, pork, fish, crab, shrimp, chicken, duck, chorizo, egg, guacamole, refried beans, shredded lettuce, shredded cabbage, onions, chiles, cheese, salsa Mexicana, salsa verde, black beans and a myriad of other stuff. As long as it is tasty, anything (well, almost anything), goes. 🙂
For today’s tacos, I used fresh cod fillets I got this morning at the “International Market”, a lonely Haas Avocado which was sitting all but forgotten by herself on a shelf in the pantry, and leftover red cabbage slaw, to which I added a bit of kernel corn . The result was, dare I say, as with all my tacos, smashing 🙂

Bon Appétit ! Life is Good !

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Tacos De Pescado (Grilled Fish Tacos)

Preparation :
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: cabbage slaw with corn

: cut skinless cod fillets into 4 oz pieces, season with kosher salt and cayenne pepper to taste, grill until cooked through but not dry

: grilled cod fillets

: warm flour tortillas until puffed

: tortillas, grilled cod, sour cream, sliced avocado, lime

: place tortilla on serving plate

: top tortilla with avocado and slaw

: top with cod, add 1 dollop of sour cream, sprinkle with chopped cilantro and squeeze fresh lime over all

: Tacos De Pescado (Grilled Fish Tacos)

: Tacos De Pescado (Grilled Fish Tacos)

: Tacos De Pescado (Grilled Fish Tacos)

: Tacos De Pescado (Grilled Fish Tacos)

Portuguese Eggs

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While Maria and I were living in Funchal, Madeira, we became friends with a wonderful local couple, Balduino and Felicidade. They invited us to their home often, where we usually had an early brunch and then set out to explore the island, usually by car and sometimes by scooter. After a while this became a wonderful routine and it was Balduino’s pride (and our enjoyment) to prepare a different variation of “Portuguese Eggs” each time we met at his house. Over time, we were able to enjoy this dish with squid, octopus, lobster, shrimp, espada (the most popular local fish), chorizo, ham and different greens and herbs. He sometimes sprinkled grated local cheese on top of the eggs before baking, but he never included the more common ricotta cheese. Always accompanied by hearty, home-baked bread and local wine, it was the perfect delicious and fortifying meal to keep us going for hours on our expeditions around the island 🙂
(To be truthful, sometimes we replaced the tours with more wine and a bottle of port and just talked about past and future island-explorations).
Let me say here that Madeira is one of the most beautiful places Maria and I had the luck and privilege to live together 🙂
Here now is today’s version of “Portuguese Eggs” in memory of great friendship, great places to live, happier times and the great love of my life, Maria, who passed away exactly 3 years ago.
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Love ……….
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Portuguese Eggs

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Preparation :
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: tomatoes, potato, shrimp, onion, peas, basil

: peel, dice and simmer 1 large potato in salted water until soft but not falling apart, drain

: slice one medium onion, saute in 1 tblsp olive oil until translucent

: add 2 lbs halved tomatoes, season with salt and cayenne papper, broil until starting to caramelize

: add 2 cup water and 1 tsp garlic paste, simmer until tomatoes have broken down and a sauce has developed, about 20 minutes (add more water if sauce becomes too thick)

: add potatoes, simmer 5 minutes

: season 10 oz shrimp with fresh-ground black pepper, kosher salt, garlic paste and olive oil (if you prefer, remove the tails before adding them to the stew)

: add the shrimp and 3 oz green peas to the tomatoes, mix, check/adjust seasoning

: add whole eggs to the stew, sprinkle eggs with kosher salt, simmer slowly until eggs are cooked the way you like them; if you like your eggs more cooked than I do, put them under the broiler for a couple of minutes, ; to serve, sprinkle with herbs of your choice; serves 4 or 5

: meanwhile, cut 2 pretzel-rolls into halves

: brush with garlic paste

: grill rolls until golden

: Portuguese Eggs

: Portuguese Eggs

: to serve, place bread on bottom of serving dish, top with portuguese eggs

: Portuguese Eggs

: Portuguese Eggs

: Portuguese Eggs

: Portuguese Eggs

: Portuguese Eggs

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Tostadas De Chorizo

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These sexy babies served me perfectly today for my late breakfast by the pool. I love the way I can assemble each one just the way I like it, choosing as many or as few condiments as fit the mood of the moment. My choice of drink was iced tea as usual, but I remember well when nothing but a couple of Negra Modelo would do the trick. (Those were the days) 😦 🙂
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Bon Appetit ! Live is Good !
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Salsa Mexicana
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Guacamole
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Tostadas De Chorizo

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Preparation :
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: remove casing from chorizo, break into small pieces, saute with garlic paste and garlic oil until browned

: serve fried tortillas with sauted chorizo, shredded iceberg, salsa mexicana, guacamole, sour cream and finely sliced red onions

: top fried tortilla with shredded lettuce

: top with guacamole

: top with chorizo

: top with onion

: top with salsa mexicana

: top with sour cream and cilantro

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Chicken Fried Steak

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The great thing about CFS is that one can utilize an economical (cheap, in plain English) cut of beef, such as top round or cube steak and still get excellent results. However, I happened to have some leftover raw strip loin left from yesterday’s dinner, which I sliced thin, then pounded it even thinner for this CFS.
Usually the traditional side dish would be mashed potatoes, but I am trying to cut down on my starch intake, so I felt the flour from the breading and the “Gravy” was enough of that for the day.
(The rendered fat from the chorizo and the chicken fat made this southern style gravy even tastier than it’s usual version made with bacon fat)
American comfort food at it’s finest ! (Just don’t tell your cardiologist) 🙂
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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All about Chicken Fried Steak
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All about Gravy
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Chicken Fried Steak

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Preparation :
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: pound your choice of beef steak to 1/4″ thick, season with salt and cayenne pepper

: mix whole eggs with buttermilk (or substitute with yogurt)

: season flour with kosher salt and cayenne pepper, dip steak into it and shake off excess flour

: dip steak into egg/dairy mixture

: dip steak into flour again

: cook in clarified butter

: cook until golden on both sides and steaks have done-ness you desire

: remove steaks to absorbent paper

: add a spoonful of flour to the pan with the clarified butter, saute one minute until flour is “blond” in color

: add milk, chopped thyme leaves, kosher salt and cayenne pepper to the roux, whisk well to avoid lumps, simmer for five minutes, gravy should cover the back of a spoon, check / adjust seasoning

: while gravy simmers, saute diced chorizo, sliced onions and garlic paste in chicken or duck fat

: saute until onions are translucent

: add sliced white cabbage, season with kosher salt and cayenne pepper, add a cup of chicken stock, cover, simmer until cabbage is heated through but still crisp

: check / adjust seasoning

: plate the cabbage

: top with steaks and gravy

: Chicken Fried Steak

: Chicken Fried Steak

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Fresh Corn And Arugula Salad With Chorizo

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sauteed fresh corn with garlic paste and cracked black pepper

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When I sautéed the corn in preparation for this salad, I could hardly resist to eat the corn just of the cob, it smelled and looked so appetizing. But alas, I was able to resist and finish the salad first, then enjoyed the whole concoction together.
Great salad, great lunch 🙂
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Fresh Corn And Arugula Salad With Chorizo

Naan

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Preparation :
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: Saute fresh corn slowly in garlic oil with garlic paste

: season with fresh cracked black pepper and sea salt

: prepare sliced red onions, baby arugula, red peppers, yellow grape tomatoes and finely sliced iceberg

: cut kernels off the cob

: add to salad, add honey mustard vinaigrette

: plate the salat

: top with avocado and finely sliced chorizo, garnish with fresh basil and pickled chili

: Fresh Corn And Arugula Salad With Chorizo

: serve with hot naan

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Tortilla Española (Tortilla De Patatas) (Spanish Omelette)

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While a Spanish tortilla is steeped in tradition and has it’s long-standing recipes (usually just thinly sliced potatoes and eggs,) I like to make my own, more elaborate versions by adding “stuff”, such as ham, bacon, vegetables, mushrooms, shrimp, or any other ingredient I find suitable to a dish I love but would find boring after a while had it only the two original ingredients. I justify calling these versions “Tortilla Española” because of the fact that while I was traveling in Spain, I encountered many such versions with different ingredients, all the same called “Tortilla Española”. As for browning the potatoes in the version containing diced potatoes instead of thinly sliced potatoes, this just seems to result in a different texture (better, in my opinion) than if using potatoes without a crispy crust.
I hope the Tortilla Española Purist’s out there will forgive me and everybody else will experiment until they find their own favorite version of this great dish 🙂
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Tortilla Española (Tortilla De Patatas) (Spanish Omelette)

Tortilla Espagnola

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Preparation :
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: whisk whole eggs with kosher salt, granulated garlic and hot sauce

: saute diced potatoes in olive oil, season with kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper

: when potatoes are lightly browned, add diced onions, saute until onions are translucent

: add diced chorizo and sliced scallions ( I also added a bit of leftover mortadela I had in the fridge), saute until sausages start to brown

: add egg mixture, put into 350F oven until set

: slide on a plate, flip onto other side and continue to cook in oven until set and golden brown but still moist on the inside

: to serve, sprinkle with freshly grated manchego cheese and chopped cilantro, serve hot or at room temperature

: Tortilla Española (Tortilla De Patatas) (Spanish Omelette)

: Tortilla Española (Tortilla De Patatas) (Spanish Omelette)

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BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS # 46 – Huevos revueltos y guacamole con queso blanco ( Scrambled eggs, Guacamole, fresh cheese)

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Today’s breakfast would most certainly not qualify for my new ” Hans’ Lighter Comfort Food “ type of food, at least not the portion size. But we are still in 2014, so I am hell-bound to enjoy the last few days of eating large portions of everything tasty 🙂
Nothing wrong with this dish itself, I’ll just have to cut the portion by 75%, replace the rye bread with something lighter and use less fat. Doesn’t sound so bad 🙂
But, we are still in the year of plenty, so here we go :
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS # 46 – Huevos revueltos y guacamole con queso blanco ( Scrambled eggs, Guacamole, fresh cheese

BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS # 46 – Huevos revueltos y guacamole con queso blanco ( Scrambled eggs, Guacamole, fresh cheese)

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Preparation :
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To read instructions, hover over picture
To enlarge pictures and read instructions, click on pictures
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: guacamole ingredients

: remove avocado flesh, dice tomatoes, chop chilies, chop cilantro, add garlic paste, kosher salt, freshly squeezed lime juice and olive oil, mix well

: Guacamole

: toast seeded rye bread or bread of your choice

: arrange bread on serving dish

: add some vinagrette dressed romaine, top half the bread and romaine with guacamole

: saute chorizo, add whisked eggs and scramble

: top other half of bread with scrambled eggs, sprinkle with finely crumbled queso blanco and sliced chives

: BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS # 46 – Huevos revueltos y guacamole con queso blanco ( Scrambled eggs, Guacamole, fresh cheese

: BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS # 46 – Huevos revueltos y guacamole con queso blanco ( Scrambled eggs, Guacamole, fresh cheese

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Breakfast Of Champions # 38 – Croissant, Ham, Spicy Chorizo & Soft Boiled Egg

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Got up late today, so a substantial breakfast and no lunch will be the order of the day 🙂
Later an early dinner and to bed early, 3.30am the new work week starts 😦
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Breakfast Of Champions # 38 – Croissant, Ham, Spicy Chorizo & Soft Boiled Egg

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Breakfast Of Champions # 38 – Croissant, Ham, Spicy Chorizo & Soft Boiled Egg

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Preparation :
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fresh croissant

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cut croissants in half

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saute ham in garlic oil, top two croissant halves with ham

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top with sliced spicy chorizo

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top remaining two croissant halves with sweet chili sauce

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grate asiago cheese on top of chorizo

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top with two soft-boiled eggs each

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top with arugula in french dressing

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Breakfast Of Champions # 38 – Croissant, Ham, Spicy Chorizo & Soft Boiled Egg

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Breakfast Of Champions # 38 – Croissant, Ham, Spicy Chorizo & Soft Boiled Egg

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Breakfast Of Champions # 38 – Croissant, Ham, Spicy Chorizo & Soft Boiled Egg

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Breakfast Of Champions # 36 – Naanwich

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A great way to start a relaxing saturday at home with a couple of good movies, some good reading and lots of great food is to have a hearty breakfast of bubbly and a wonderful sandwich.
Here is what I fancied for a late breakfast by the lake this morning (besides a glass of veuve–clicquot):

Naan with eggs, spicy chorizo, shrimp, chilies and arugula. Life is Good !

Bon Appetit & Cheers ! Have A Great Weekend !

Naanwich

cook until eggs have set to the texture of your liking

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Preparation :
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bake naan until golden, brush with butter and sprinkle with sea salt

saute diced chorizo in plenty of butter

whisk whole eggs with chili sauce, sea salt and garlic paste

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add to chorizo, add finely sliced chilies and butterflied cooked shrimp

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cook until eggs have set to the texture of your liking

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Naan

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top naan with eggs, top eggs with arugula in lime vinaigrette

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Naanwich

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Naanwich

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FO FO (Faux Pho)

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I figure, as long as my soup is made of rich beef or chicken stock, has rice noodles,
fish sauce, herbs and other vegetables in it, I can call it a Faux Pho (fake pho) 🙂
Yesterday evening I felt a craving for noodle soup but had no beef or chicken at hand, so I decided to use finely sliced chorizo instead. The chorizo has a great flavor and it fit in great with the other ingredient’s. I also had some leftover clear oxtail soup in the freezer that came in handy. The soup was very light, flavorful and satisfying. Another great, light, flavorful and satisfying meal that does not break the bank, prepared in less then 15 minutes !

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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FO FO (Faux Pho)

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Preparation:
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add to beef stock star anis, cinnamon bark, chilies , grated ginger and lots of garlic paste, simmer for 10 minutes, check/adjust taste with salt and pepper

add to beef stock star anis, cinnamon bark, chilies , sesame oil, fish sauce, grated ginger and lots of garlic paste, simmer for 10 minutes, check/adjust taste with salt and pepper

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meanwhile, cook rice noodles, drain, rinse with hot water

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add beef broth to noodles, remove and discard solids

add beef broth to noodles, remove and discard cinnamon, chilies and star anis

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add thinly sliced chorizo or other protein of your choice

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add bean sprouts

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add snow peas sprouts

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add finely sliced onion

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add finely sliced chilies

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add scallions and finely sliced chives

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FO FO (Faux Pho)

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FO FO (Faux Pho)

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