cooking

Pork Shank’s & Lai Fen In Garlic/Ginger Broth

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Usually we use this cut of the animal to make Osso Buco (originally done with veal shanks), but I love me a hearty soup more than anything else, so I decided to prepare this dish with some pork shanks my friend Curtis dropped off last time he came to visit. Great, simple dinner, bursting with flavor and texture 🙂
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Pork Shank’s & Lai Fen In Garlic Ginger Broth

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Preparation :
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simmer pork shank’s in stock seasoned with star anis, cinnamon, garlic paste, black pepper, salt and grated ginger until tender but NOT falling apart

meanwhile, blanch green beans and cook lai fen pasta (rice flour bucatini)

add beans to soup

add diced peppers, onions and lap cheong (chinese sausage), check/adjust seasoning

add diced peppers, onions and lap cheong (chinese sausage), simmer two more minutes, check/adjust seasoning

add lai fen to serving bowl

to serve, top noodles with meat, vegetables and broth, sprinkle with chopped cilantro

Pork Shank’s & Lai Fen In Garlic Ginger Broth

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Eat Well On $ 4.00 A Day

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I am not in the business of promoting cookbooks, but when I saw this today I thought sharing it would make a few folks happy, either by using some of the recipe’s themself or by re-sharing the book with other, less fortunate people 🙂
When I saw the first promo for this book I expected a crappy, “green”, self-help booklet of the forgettable type. Boy was I wrong ! The recipes, pictures and comments in this book are all first class. My chef’s hat off to Leanne Brown , for creating this jewel of a cook book with great, economically priced, attractive and yummy food. It is a tour de force of a smart and loving approach to unpretentious good food, which shows nothing but passion and great professionalism of the author. Needless to say, the recipes are all yummy enough even if you are not on a budget 🙂

For a FREE PDF download click here

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Lamb Meat Balls In Harissa/Tomato Sauce, With Garlicky Pearl Pasta And Feta Cheese

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Last month my friend Curtis introduced me to a store which I have been missing all my cooking life. It’s the “Foodtown Supermarket” in Davie, corner sterling/dairy rd extension. Here I can find EVERYTHING my culinary cravings will ever desire as far as Asian and Latino food ingredients are concerned. EVERYTHING !!! 🙂 – Live frogs, live crabs, live shrimps, fresh fish heads, intestines, you get the idea.
(You can check it out online by clicking this link, especially read the comments) 🙂
Although Merguez sausage is neither Asian nor Latino, Foodtown has a great quality one on offer, as well as a small selection of other African/Mediterranean items.
So yesterday after work I stopped by there for a few goodies and amongst other stuff I got merguez sausage, harissa and pearl pasta (Piombi)
So here is what I had for lunch today :

Click here for more on MERGUEZ SAUSAGE

Click here for more on LAMB MEAT BALLS

Click here for more on HARISSA
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !

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Lamb Meat Balls In Harissa / Tomato Sauce With Garlicky Pearl Pasta And Feta Cheese

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Preparation :
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cook pearl pasta in salted water, strain, reserve some of the cooking liquid in case you need to thinnen the sauce

cut mild chilies, onion and blanched carrots into triangels

cut mild chilies, onion and blanched carrots into triangles

saute carrots and onions in a generous amount of herb / garlic butter and olive oil until starting to caramelize

add chilies and sliced scallions

add pearl pasta, mix well, check / adjust seasoning

add pearl pasta, kosher salt and cayenne pepper, mix well, check / adjust seasoning

remove merguez sausage from casing, form into small balls, saute in olive oil until medium, add 1/3 of harissa and 2/3 of tomato sauce. If too thick, add some of the pasta liquid, simmer for one minute, check / adjust seasoning

plate pasta, leaving a well in the center

add lamb meatballs and harissa / tomato sauce

sprinkle with finely crumbled feta cheese and sliced scallions

Lamb Meat Balls In Harissa / Tomato Sauce With Garlicky Pearl Pasta And Feta Cheese

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Pasta With Smoked Salmon In Horseradish/Mustard Cream

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Rigatoni rigate, smoked salmon and a creamy velouté – nearly impossible not to like this combination ! 🙂
After we have learned how to make a velouté in my last post, (click here for recipe), and hopefully have a few small containers in the freezer to use at short notice (just defrost in the microwave), wonderful dishes like this one take only a few minutes from start to finish.
The reward for this relatively small effort is a dish which oozes flavor, presentation, elegance and class 🙂 All in a mere few minutes of preparation and cooking time.
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !

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Pasta With Smoked Salmon In Horseradish/Mustard Cream

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Preparation :
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Heat velouté (preferably fish velouté, but seafood velouté, chicken velouté or veal velouté will be just fine), add cooking liquid from pasta if too thick

add diced smoked salmon and grated horseraddish

add diced smoked salmon and grated horseradish

add dijon mustard

simmer for one minute

add freshly cooked, al dente pasta and sliced scallions

mix well, careful not to mash-up the salmon, check seasoning

to serve, sprinkle with more diced salmon and sliced scallions

Pasta With Smoked Salmon In Horseradish/Mustard Cream

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EASY DOES IT # 16 –Velouté (White Cream Sauce)

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How to pronounce Velouté – click here
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Here is a “Daughter” (added cream) version of one of the two white mother sauces (the other being Sauce Béchamel)
If you love to cook or just starting to learn, being able to prepare the mother sauces is a must.
The five french mother sauces are:
Sauce Béchamel, Sauce Espagnole, Sauce Hollandaise, Tomato Sauce, and Sauce Velouté.
Adding cream and lemon juice (and originally egg yolk) to a sauce made of stock, flour and butter will produce a “Sauce Allemande”
We have learned how to make tomato sauce in a previous “easy does it” blog, so let’s go straight to “Sauce Allemande”

Please note : This is beef (or veal) velouté (before adding the cream)
To make fish velouté, chicken velouté, seafood velouté, or fish velouté, replace beef (veal) with the appropriate protein.

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Sauce Velouté

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Preparation :
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beef and/or beef bones, root vegetables, water, bring to a simmer, cook until meat is tender (if you use bones, simmer for one hour), remove meat (bones), set meat aside (discard bones)

strain stock through a fine sieve, discard solids

skim fat from surface

make a white roux of half butter and half a/p flour, add stock, whisk to avoid lumps, simmer for 15 minutes, strain through a fine mesh strainer

add heavy cream, kosher salt and white pepper, check / adjust seasoning

add heavy cream, lemon juice, kosher salt and white pepper, check / adjust seasoning

voilà – sauce velouté (with added cream)

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Peanut Glazed Pork Medaillons With Bok Choy In Oyster Sauce

Here is a recipe sure to tempt you if you like to have a tasty and exotic meal but do not have the time nor desire to prepare an elaborate, complicated meal, which is what happened to me today. I just finished my first week of work after two months of vacation, so my spirit and energy has been slightly drained this weekend. After cleaning the apartment, taking care of Bella, doing the shopping and a bunch of other chores, cooking an elaborate meal was not exactly at the forefront of my mind. Eating a good meal on the other hand ……..
So here is what I came up with. This was very delicious, yet simple and easy to prepare. You will be able to easily knock this out in about 15 minutes 🙂
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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For Peanut Sauce Recipe Click Here
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Peanut Glazed Pork Medaillons And Bok Choy In Oyster Sauce

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Preparation :
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saute onions and garlic paste in peanut oil

saute onions, grated ginger and garlic paste in peanut oil

add blanched baby bok choy and mild chilis

add blanched baby bok choy and mild chilies

add oyster sauce, soy sauce, sriracha and sesame oil, simmer until bok choy is heated through, check / adjust seasoning

meanwhile, saute pork medaillons on both sides, when almost done, add peanut sauce and a few drops of water, remove from heat, mix well untill medaillons are completely covered with sauce

meanwhile, saute salt and pepper seasoned pork medaillons on both sides, when almost done, add peanut sauce and a few drops of water, remove from heat, mix well until medaillons are completely covered with sauce

ready to plate…

plate bok choy and a small side dish with peanut sauce for dipping

arrange glazed pork medaillons on bok choy

Peanut Glazed Pork Medaillons And Bok Choy In Oyster Sauce

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ChefsOpinion’s Sabbatical

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Dear Friend’s,

Due to personal circumstances I have to take a break from ChefsOpinion for the next four to six weeks.
This is mostly because next week I will move from the home I shared for fifteen years with my beloved wife Maria into a small (but very nice) apartment. During the move I will for some time be without internet access and it will also take me a while to set up my new kitchen. As you can imagine, there are many things involved with a life changing move like that, especially when one has to do it all by oneself.
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Anyway, I will try to get everything sorted out as soon as possible and hope to be back again during the middle or end of July 🙂
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In the meantime, you can go back to earlier post’s to get inspiration for your daily meals or to simply drool over some mouthwatering food pictures –
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simply click on this link :

ChefsOpinion Archive

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or simply click on this link :
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ChefsOpinion Pictures

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I am hoping to see you all back soon on ChefsOpinion so we can continue our journey through real food and real opinions 🙂
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Ciao ! Life is Good !

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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !

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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !

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Coconut Soup With Silkened Chicken & Snow Peas

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While a genuine Thai, Indonesian, Indian or any other “genuine” coconut soup can be wonderful if properly prepared, sometimes it is impractical to go to the full length of dozens of ingredients just to have a quick, flavorful and economic soup. If you find yourself in such a situation, you might want to try this simple preparation, which can be enjoyed after no more than fifteen minutes from start to finish. Of course, I am all for authentic recipes and I believe we must make an effort to make sure that under normal circumstances and whenever practical, we don’t make unnecessary short cuts because we are lazy. But sometimes, if you want something tasty and can’t do the big production for whatever reason ………., well, I am sure you’ve got the point 🙂

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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Coconut Soup With Silkened Chicken & Snow Peas

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Coconut Soup With Silkened Chicken & Snow Peas

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Preparation :
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marinade diced chicken breast in soy sauce, lime juice, kosher salt, five spice powder, grated ginger and garlic paste, add corn starch, mix well

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cook pasta of your choice, drain, blanch snow peas, shock in ice water, drain, heat chicken stock seasoned with kosher salt, cayenne, garlic paste, grated ginger

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add coconut milk, simmer for three minutes

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after simmering snpw peas one minute, schock in ice water

after simmering snow peas one minute, shock in ice water

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add fresh shiitake mushrooms and chicken to simmering stock, simmer for three more minutes

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add drained pasta and snow peas to serving bowl

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ladle soup with chicken and shiitake on top of pasta and snow peas

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sprinkle with chili flakes and chopped cilantro

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Coconut Soup With Silkened Chicken & Snow Peas

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Coconut Soup With Silkened Chicken & Snow Peas

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Coconut Soup With Silkened Chicken & Snow Peas

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Dear Friend’s, to help support this blog,
please be so kind and click on the video below. Thank you 🙂
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THE ULTIMATE! Fried Chicken & Angry Potatoes (Papas Bravas)

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Let me warn you – if you don’t like spicy food………. ahhh, don’t worry, if you don’t like spicy, just replace all the cayenne pepper with mild smoked paprika and you’ll be fine.
But if you do like spicy, this recipe is addictive, especially if you combine the Papas Bravas (my own version of this Spanish classic) with the chicken as I have done here. It might take a bite or two to get used to the heat, but then……Heaven 🙂
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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The Ultimate Fried Chicken & Angry Potatoes (Papas Bravas)

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The Ultimate Fried Chicken & Angry Potatoes (Papas Bravas)

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juicy lucy…….

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Preparation :
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chicken tighs and breast

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add peeled, raw potatoes, season with kosher salt, cayenne pepper, smoked paprika and granulated garlic

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eggwash : whole eggs, greek yougurt, sriracha, cayenne pepper, granulated garlic

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whisk eggwash until smooth

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seasoned flour : a/p flour, granulated garlic, cayenne pepper, smoked paprika, kosher salt

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dredge chicken in seasoned flour

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coat floured chicken with eggwash

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dredge flour dredged, eggwash coated chicken once more in seasoned flour, shake off excess flour, fry at 325F for about 20 minutes, depending on size of chicken

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after 10 minutes frying the chicken, add the seasoned totatoes, fry until soft on the inside, crispy and golden on the outside Bout 15 more minutes, during the last 5 minutes, ingrease the temperature of the oil to 375F

after 10 minutes frying the chicken, add the seasoned totatoes, fry until soft on the inside, crispy and golden on the outside, about 15 more minutes; during the last 5 minutes, ingrease the temperature of the oil to 375F

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when potatoes and chicken are done, remove to absorbent paper

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seasoning dip : cayenne pepper, scotch bonnet hot sauce, garlic paste, lime juice, kosher salt, garlic oil

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ready to add the fried chicken and potatoes to seasoning dip

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toss chicken and potatoes in seasoning dip

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The Ultimate Fried Chicken & Angry Potatoes (Papas Bravas)

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The Ultimate Fried Chicken & Angry Potatoes (Papas Bravas)

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The Ultimate Fried Chicken & Angry Potatoes (Papas Bravas)

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Juicy Lucy …….

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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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Click here for more Breakfast Of Champions
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