cook

Spaghetti With Chili, Tomato, Basil, Parmigiano Reggiano, Cream & Red Wine

>
>
Saturday  night dinner with friends. Good times 🙂
Spaghetti With Chili, Tomato, Basil, Parmigiano Reggiano, Cream & Red Wine
>
Saute  chicken until done. Remove from pan, reserve. Saute onion, garlic paste and chilies, add red wine and cream. Simmer until lightly thickened. Add freshly cooked al dente spaghetti, tomato, butter, parmesan cheese, kosher salt and pepper. Mix well until all spaghetti are coated with a light , creamy sauce. If too thick, add a bit of the spaghetti cooking water. If too thin, add a bit more cheese.

Bon Appetit !   Life is Good !
>

Spaghetti With Chili, Tomato, Basil, Parmigiano Reggiano, Cream & Red Wine

Spaghetti With Chili, Tomato, Basil, Parmigiano Reggiano, Cream & Red Wine

>

Spaghetti With Chili, Tomato, Basil, Parmigiano Reggiano, Cream & Red Wine

Spaghetti With Chili, Tomato, Basil, Parmigiano Reggiano, Cream & Red Wine

>

Spoiled Brat ! (Bella)

Spoiled Brat ! (Bella)

>
>
>
>
>

Chicken, Bok Choy & Rice In Spicy Coconut Broth

>
>
Usually  I prefer rice sticks or mung bean noodles in this kind of soup,
but last night rice seemed to tickle my fancy even more.
Quick and easy to prepare and oh so delicious 🙂

Bon Appetit !   Life is Good !
>
Ingredient’s :

Chicken Drumsticks,   (use any part of chicken you prefer)
Chicken stock,
Bok choy,   blanched
Coconut milk,
Chili flakes,
Rice,   cooked
Lemon grass,   pounded
Scallions,   finely sliced
Ginger,   grated
Garlic,   paste
Kosher salt,

Method :

Simmer chicken, garlic, ginger, lemongrass, chili and salt in chicken stock until tender but not falling appart. Remove chicken, set aside. Strain broth, add coconut milk and simmer for an additional 5 minutes. add bock choy and rice to heat through. Adjust seasoning if necessary.
To serve, add chicken to serving bowl, ladle sou on top. Sprinkle with and sliced scallions and more chili.
<

Chicken, Bok Choy & Rice In Spicy Coconut Broth

Chicken, Bok Choy & Rice In Spicy Coconut Broth

>

Chicken, Bok Choy & Rice In Spicy Coconut Broth

Chicken, Bok Choy & Rice In Spicy Coconut Broth

>

Chicken, Bok Choy & Rice In Spicy Coconut Broth

Chicken, Bok Choy & Rice In Spicy Coconut Broth

>

Chicken, Bok Choy & Rice In Spicy Coconut Broth

Chicken, Bok Choy & Rice In Spicy Coconut Broth

<
<
>
>

Garlicky Shrimp Brochettes & Potato Salad In Dijon Mayonnaise

.
.
Early  evening dinner before going to sleep and back to another happy work week.  (Do I have to mention I was NOT  the lucky winner of the $ 6 million Jackpot ?)
I wonder, if I would have won, would I go to work tomorrow…………
Anyway, back to reality and a great meal. I used a shameful amount of roasted garlic puree to season the shrimps and I hope nobody wants a kiss before tomorrow 🙂
>

Garlicky Shrimp Brochettes & Potato Salad In Dijon Mayonnaise

Garlicky Shrimp Brochettes & Potato Salad In Dijon Mayonnaise

>

>
Simmer  un-peeled potatoes until done. Remove from water, let cool. Peel, slice into thin rounds. Mix with kosher salt, cayenne pepper, a bit of vinegar, mayonnaise, chopped cilantro, sliced scallions  and dijon mustard.

Season the shrimp with sea salt, chili flakes and roasted garlic puree. Saute in butter until almost done. Squeeze one lime over brochettes, turn once and remove from pan.
To serve, spoon some of the lime butter over the shrimps and accompany with potato salad.

Bon Appetit !   Life is Good !
>
>
>
>

Pigs Tail And Potato Curry, Naan & Cucumber Raita

>

>
Some folks are probably scratching their head, going “WTF” (what he food 🙂 ) when reading this. But hey, I love pigs tail and curries of any style.

Pigs tails – not everybody’s cup of tea                                read about Pigs Tail
Real curries – everybody loves those                                  read about Real Curries
European style curries – if you grew up with them…….. read about “European Style” Curries

The good thing is that if you don’t love pig’s tails, you can replace them with any other protein or vegetables.
However, here is what went on in my kitchen for today’s lunch:
>

Pigs Tail And Potato Curry, Naan & Cucumber Raita

Pigs Tail And Potato Curry, Naan & Cucumber Raita

>


>
Curry :

Pigs tails,   cut into pieces
Potatoes,   peeled, cut into wedges
Bananas,   sliced,
Baby carrots,
Peppers,   diced,
Celery,   sliced
Tomato,   diced
Ginger,   grated
Garlic,   paste
Cilantro,   chopped
Vegetable stock,
Coconut milk,
Turmeric,
Curry powder,
Kosher salt,
Cayenne pepper,
Butter,

Saute pigs tails in butter until lightly browned, add vegetables, banana, garlic and ginger and saute until fragrant. Add curry and turmeric, saute for another minute. Add stock, salt and pepper and very slowly simmer until pigs tails are tender. Add coconut milk and potatoes and simmer until potatoes are done but still firm. Adjust seasoning if necessary. To serve, sprinkle curry with plenty of coarsely chopped cilantro.

Naan :

1/2 cup   water,
1 pck yeast
2.5 cup  a/p  flour,
1/4 cup vegetable oil,
1/3 cup greek yogurt,
1 lg egg
Salt

Combine yeast, sugar and water. Stir to dissolve, let sit for a few minutes or until it is frothy on top. At that point, stir in the oil, yogurt and egg until evenly combined.

In another bowl, combine the flour with the salt. Add the bowl of wet ingredients to the flour/salt mixture and stir until well mixed. Continue adding flour a half cup at a time until you can no longer stir it with a spoon (about 1 to 1.5 cups later).

Turn the ball of dough out onto a well floured counter top. Knead the ball of dough for about 3 minutes, adding flour as necessary to keep the dough from sticking. The dough should be smooth and very soft but not sticky.

Loosely cover the dough and let it rise until double in size (about 45 minutes). After it rises, gently flatten the dough and cut it into 8 equal pieces. Shape each piece into a small ball by stretching the dough back under itself until the top is smooth and round.

Heat a large, heavy bottomed skillet over medium heat and spray lightly with non-stick spray. Working with one ball at a time, roll it out until it is about 1/4 inch thick or approximately 6 inches in diameter. Place the rolled out dough onto the hot skillet and cook until the under side is golden brown and large bubbles have formed on the surface (see photos below). Flip the dough and cook the other side until golden brown as well. Serve plain or brushed with melted butter and sprinkled with herbs!
>
>

For Raita Recipe, click here
.
>
Bon Appetit !   Life is Good !

>
>
>
>

Sauted Strip Steak , Cauliflower Tortilla & Sriracha/Garlic Butter

>
>
Sunday’s  late lunch / early dinner (4.00pm)
After sleeping-in late (7.30am and enjoying a big breakfast of strawberry smoothies and goose liver pate stuffed croissants, I did not feel hungry at lunch time and held out until late afternoon.
But then I knew I would have to combine lunch and dinner, so it needed to be a substantial meal, otherwise the snack monster would haunt me early in the evening. This is the first time I made a Spanish Tortilla with cauliflower and tomatoes and it made me realize what a great dish I’ve been missing all my live. What a wonderful dish. It can stand on it’s own, as breakfast, snack, even a complete meal if accompanied by a small salad, served hot or at room temperature. You can of course use different vegetables, different cheeses, add protein such as sausage, bacon, shrimp, crab meat, add different herbs, etc. The possibilities are endless and only limited by your fantasy 🙂
If you ever want to reproduce this dish, just make sure the cauliflower / vegetables are blanched  al dente, so that the tortilla has a bit of a bite to it. While I was cooking the tortilla, I also added grated parmesan cheese to the whisked eggs, (not featured in the mise en place picture). You can omit the cheese, but it definitely adds another level of depth to the dish.
>

Sauted Strip Steak , CauliflowerTortila & Sriracha/Garlic Butter

Sauted Strip Steak , Cauliflower Tortilla & Sriracha/Garlic Butter

>

>
Ingredients :

Tortilla :

Cauliflower rosettes,   blanched al dente
Eggs,  whole, whisked, seasoned with kosher salt, cayenne and grated parmesan
Grape tomatoes,
Butter,

Method :

Saute cauliflower and tomatoes briefly in butter, add egg mixture and cook covered on low heat until eggs have set but are not dry. Slide onto a dinner plate, top with the saute pan, invert and cook other side of tortilla until golden.
>
Steak :

Season teak with salt, granulated garlic and freshly ground black pepper and saute both sides until desired doneness. Remember the carry over heat will cook it  one more level after you remove the steak from the pan! Let the steak rest for ten minutes before slicing !

Butter :

Mix softened butter with sriracha, roasted  garlic paste, a bit of lime juice and kosher salt.

>

Bon Appetit !   Life is Good !
>
>
>
>

Jamaican Black Bean Soup & Flour Dumpling’s ( A “Light” Saturday Lunch )


When  I encountered  Jamaican  dumplings   for the first time in the early seventies,  I would never have imagined that I will ever like them, having been raised with southern german-style dumplings, which are very light and airy (if done correctly).
So when I saw these tough little dumplings, (resembling in shape Schwaebische Bubespitzle), I was skeptical, to say the least. But, while living in Jamaica in the eighties, I have come to love these  Jamaican dumplings, but again – in order to be appreciated, they must be properly prepared, simmering for a long time in a flavorful stock, stew or soup .
“>
Irie, Mon 🙂
>

Jamaican Black Bean Soup & Dumplings

Jamaican Black Bean Soup & Dumplings



Ingredients :

Stock of your preference, veal, chicken, beef, pork, vegetable
Black beans,   soaked overnight
Onions,   diced
Celery,    diced
Bacon,   diced  (substitute with salt pork if preferred)
Garlic,   paste
Spicy sausage,   pork, veal or beef
Assorted chilis,   select according to your preferred heat level
Tomatoes,  diced
Cumin,
Kosher salt,
Black pepper,   freshly ground
Cilantro,   coarsely chopped
Goose fat,    rendered  (use your favorite fat, canola oil, olive oil, butter, duck fat, goose fat, etc)

Method :

Saute bacon in fat until rendered, add onions, garlic, celery, chilis and sausage and saute until fragrant, add tomatoes, stock and beans. Season lightly with cumin, salt and pepper and simmer until the beans are “waxy”. Adjust seasoning if necessary. To serve, place soup into serving bowl, top with dumplings and sprinkle generously with cilantro .

Dumplings :

Mix flour, water and salt into a smooth dough, roll small pieces into finger shaped noodles and simmer in stock until cooked through. ( Usually like o cook them straight in the soup, but for a nicer presentation I cooked them separate this time for better pictures 🙂

Bon Appetit !   Irie !




It’s a Chef’s Life ….

>
>
I saw this post by Mark Dale on FB and wanted to share it with you all 🙂
>

Chef Hans Susser

Chef Hans Susser

 

It’s a Chef’s Life ….
.
What you can expect from making a living in a professional kitchen:
.
1 You’ll almost always have open wounds on your hands and arms.

2 You’ll never meet new people because your social life deteriorates into non-existence.3 You’ll find it hard to start relationships because alone time will become a precious thing.

4 You’ll lose your social skills.

5 Your sense of humor will degrade into the politically incorrect and socially unacceptable

6 You’ll eventually start swearing like a sailor and you won’t even notice yourself doing it.

7 You’ll turn into an anorak/monomaniac and always turn all conversations back to food.

8 You’ll earn a pittance for years/decades.

9 You’ll either lose a vast amount of weight or gain a vast amount of weight.

10 You’ll never ever have a tan ever again.

11 You won’t become famous.

12 You’ll develop a habit, whether it be coffee, cigarettes, alcohol, gambling, cannabis, cocaine, or even red bull.

13 Your feet will get destroyed.

14 Your back will get destroyed.

15 Your hands will get destroyed.

16 You’ll live in a constant state of sleep deprivation, indefinitely.

17 You’ll have to ask your friends to plan everything around your schedule, which is incomplete opposition with their availability, because you never know your days off in advance and you probably won’t be able to change it.

18 You’ll become of a very highly strung nature

19 You’ll become more prone to temper flare ups

20 Your awareness of other people’s lack of efficiency and common sense will increase and your tolerance of it will decrease.

21 You’ll spend the largest part of your life cooped up in a small, undecorated room with poor ventilation, high temperatures, a lot of noise, humidity, no natural light and no windows, with a small group of people who will become your only social interactions.

22 You will work longer hours than you ever imagined possible or thought legal.

23 You will spend all your waking hours on your feet, never getting a chance to sit down even for 5 minutes.

24 Your shortest work days will be longer than most people’s longest, and your longer workdays, which make up about half of your working week, will be longer than the average person is awake in a day.

25 You will not cook gourmet dinners at home. You’ll be too tired, and too fed up of cooking.

26 You will probably start eating mostly fast food and cheap instant noodles.

27 You will be the subject of abuse, whether physical or emotional. Officially, it will be as a test of character. In reality, it will be as a form of entertainment.

28 You will end up spending so much time at work that your colleagues will know you better than your partner/family/friends do.

29 You will meet and form strong bonds with types of people whom you’d previously never even have imagined sharing conversations with.

30 You will be in a constant state of stress.

31 You will never be irreplaceable and will be expected to constantly give 110%.

32 You will always be exhausted.

33 You will not be allowed to call in sick for a hangover.

34 You will be expected to place your work before any other part of your life in your list of priorities.

35 You will never be congratulated on your work.

36 You will be expected to treat your superiors as absolute masters and never answer back, try to explain yourself, start a conversation, or show any other type of insubordination, even if you know that they are in the wrong or feel as if their behavior towards you is unacceptable.

37 It will become very difficult to watch friends cook.

38 Your mum will stop cooking for you because she feels embarrassed.

39 You will be expected to cook for family gatherings such as Christmas EVERY SINGLE YEAR. Luckily, at least one year out of two, you will be working on Christmas.

40 At least one year out of two, and maybe every year, you will work Christmas, New Year‘s Eve, Easter, Valentine’s day, Mother’s day, Father’s day, bank holidays, Halloween, your birthday, and pretty much every other day of celebration on the calendar.

41 You will have to work many years in menial positions before attaining any level of authority in the workplace.

42 The better the restaurant is, the longer the work hours become, the more pressure you end up under, the more unhealthy your lifestyle will become, the more likely you will be to develop a habit, the more competitive the people around you will become, the less sleep you’ll get, the less you’ll eat etc.

43 You will constantly make mistakes, and every time you do make a mistake, someone will notice it and make you understand that you are clearly a subhuman because only a subhuman could make such a mistake.

44 If you are a woman, you will constantly be the subject of misogynist remarks and jokes, sexual harassment, belittlement and remarks about your menstrual cycle.

45 None of your friends or family will understand what is involved in your work and you will never be able to make them understand.

46 You will spend vast amounts of money on equipment, books, eating in good restaurants etc, which will leave you with not much money for other things.

47 You will develop a creepy obsession with knives.

48 If you are a pastry chef, you will develop a creepy obsession with spoons.

49 You will get a rash in your arse crack from the mixture of heat, sweat and friction that will not heal well, sometimes get infected, will mostly always be slimy and itchy and will be there most of the time.

50 If you are the right type of person, you will thank your lucky star every single day for the rest of your life for making you take the best decision you ever did and become a chef. And you will fall in love with your job and never look back.

>
So, would I choose this profession again ?  YEP !
>
Would You ???

>
>
>
>
>
>

Fried Cornish Hen, Pommes Frites & Baked Parmesan Tomato

>

>

After  I cooked this meal and started eating it, I became acutely aware of a monstrous mistake I had made: I had two hens in the fridge and I only cooked one, thinking it would be enough. I should have known better.
This could be the poster child for comfort food. The crispy, juicy , oh so tender cornish hen, freshly fried , crispy, tasty pommes frites and a great heirloom tomato baked with scallions, freshly grated parmesan and seasoned with sea salt and cayenne pepper. The whole schamukkus served with mayonnaise to dip the frites and a mixture of soy sauce, lime juice and chili oil for the meat.
Absolutely delicious – I just wish I had cooked both of the cornish hen’s  🙂
>

Fried Cornish Hen, Pommes Frites & Baked Parmesan Tomato

Fried Cornish Hen, Pommes Frites & Baked Parmesan Tomato

>


>
Ingredient’s :

Cornish hen,   padded dry inside and out
Makeshift fryer,   filled with heavily salted peanut oil
Chili oil,

Potatoes,   peeled, cut into fries
Duck fat,
Sea salt,
Cayenne pepper,

Heirloom tomato,   cut in half
Parmigiano-Reggiano,
Scallions,   cut into 3 inch lengths
Sea salt,
Cayenne pepper,
Butter,   melted,

Method :

Fry the cornish hen at 375 F until very crispy and cooked through. Remove to absorbent paper. Drizzle with chili oil.

Add the potatoes to the cold duck fat and heat it until the fat reaches a temperature of 375 F. Cook until crisp and golden brown. Remove to absorbent paper. Sprinkle generously with sea salt.

Season tomato with salt and pepper, top with grated parmesan. Dip scallions in butter and season with salt and pepper. Place on parmesan topped tomato. Bake until parmesan crust is golden brown.
>
Bon Appetit !   Life is Good !
>
>
>
>

Breakfast Of Champions # 21 “Shrimp, Vegetable and Potato Bowl”

>
>
What a perfect way to start a day.
Spicy, beautiful, well rounded, rich and satisfying.
(Just like a spouse should be 🙂
Have a great weekend y’all.

Bon Appetit !   Life is Good !
>

Breakfast Of Champions # 21 Shrimp, Vegetables and Potato Bowl

Breakfast Of Champions # 21 Shrimp, Vegetables and Potato Bowl


>


>
Saute  mushrooms, add potatoes,  scallions and peppers, season with (lots) of freshly ground black pepper and (not a lot) kosher salt, add garlic paste, saute until fragrant. Add blanched  broccoli  and shrimp, saute until broccoli is heated through and  shrimps are just cooked. Remove from heat, add  maggi seasoning  (or soy sauce  if you prefer), mix and serve. Goes best with a cold beer 🙂
( Relax, it’s your day off ! )
>
>
>
>

Pasta. Basta !

.
.
Pasta !
Sometimes, in our quest to create ever more complicated, fancy, elaborate, inventive, trendsetting dishes, we tend to forget why we fell in love with a food item in the first place. In most cases because in it’s true form and simplicity, it is perfect and can’t be much improved. It can be altered, changed, made more fancy, more colorful, spicier, fattier, more unrecognizable, deconstructed, more expensive (yep) or whatever,  but in its original form, texture, and flavor it will alway’s be the star it has originally been. Without a doubt pasta is one of these food items. If properly prepared, it needs little or no embellishment to satisfy most senses. “Pasta Aglio E Olio”  or, my personal favorite, Pasta Aglio E Burro” are the most basic dishes which, when prepared with love and knowledge, will produce the most satisfying meal or separate course in a meal. Here we have another basic, “Bucatini  Pomodoro”

Cook pasta about 3/4 to doneness, drain, reserve some of the cooking water. Saute roasted garlic paste in butter or  olive oil, add chopped peeled tomatoes, add a few sprigs of basil, simmer until tomatoes break down. Remove basil sprigs, blend tomatoes with a stick blender. Season with kosher salt and  cayenne pepper. Add pasta, some of the cooking water, butter and finely grated pecorino and simmer until pasta is al dente. Add more water during the simmering if needed. To serve, sprinkle with more cheese.

Buon Appetito !   Life is Good !
.

Pasta Pommodoro

Pasta Pommodoro

.
2.
1

.
.
.