cooking

Steer Neck Soup

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This was the perfect dinner for yesterday’s cold evening. First a big bowl of this soup, then outside on the terrace by the lake for a night-cup, wrapped in two blankets and a few glasses of hot “Glühwein mit Schuss” (mulled wine with rum). Great evening 🙂

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !

Note : If you can not procure steer neck, substitute beef or veal neck. The taste will be slightly less “beefy”

Steer Neck Soup With Egg And Horseradish

: slowly simmer sliced steer neck in salted water for one hour

: after one hour, add scallions, a small amount of tomato paste, star anis, lime juice, garlic paste and grated ginger

: simmer until meat is tender, about two hours more, remove scallions, add small potatoes

: cook until potatoes are tender, add tomatoes, red peppers, bok choy and white cabbage

: bring to a simmer again, remove from heat, add sriracha, salt and maggi seasoning to taste

: to serve, sprinkle with chopped cilantro

: Steer Neck Soup

: for individual portions, add a fresh egg yolk

: top meat with horseradish

: Steer Neck Soup With Egg And Horseradish

: Steer Neck Soup With Egg And Horseradish

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Boiled Pork And Shrimp Dumplings

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Boiled dumplings are one of the more common daily food items in Chinese cuisine. Yet, while most dumplings served in restaurants are steamed, the more common cooking method in private homes is boiling them in salted water.
These dumplings are very easy to make and take no time at all, especially if you use ready-made won ton skin’s.
However, tonight I used regular pasta dough (all-purpose flour, whole eggs, water and salt), which I rolled very thin and cut with a round cutter into even shapes) Add a stuffing of half minced pork and half minced shrimp with finely sliced scallions, grated ginger, garlic paste, sesame oil , soy sauce and cayenne pepper. Wet the edges of the dumplings with a wet finger, fold them over and press lightly. Boil in salted water until stuffing is cooked through, about 2 minutes. Remove to a bowl and toss with sesame oil and chili oil. To serve, sprinkle with chopped fresh coriander and a dipping sauce made of soy sauce, lime juice , sugar and chili flakes.

Bon Appetit ! Live is Good !

Pork And Shrimp Dumplings

boiling pork and shrimp dumplings

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Picanha (Rump Cap) With Sauteed Potatoes, Morels And Cognac Cream

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Is the act of cooking a steak well done treason to the cooking profession? 🙂
While many folks will answer me with a hearty YES to this question, I believe the beauty of enjoying the perfect meal is to get exactly what YOU like, not what others dictate you. I am a big fan of cooking my beef steaks rare to medium rare, yet I will completely support the well done camp if that’s what you prefer. So when my friends Peter and Marina requested well done steak for dinner last night, I tried to make the best of it. I went to my Argentinian butcher in Hialeah and bought a whole Picanha. Picanha (rump cap) is not a well known cut in many countries and therefore seldom cooked a la minute. You will more likely find it as a braise on the menu. While there is nothing wrong with that, you will miss out completely on one of the very best cuts of beef steak. Just know that you have to cook it VERY slowly. I cooked this one in the following manner:
Seared on all sides in a very hot grill pan, then removed to a rack and roasted in the oven at 145 F for 3 hours. Then one more time to a very hot grill pan for another 30 seconds on each side. Removed to a rack, lightly covered with foil and rested for twenty minutes before cutting into it.
The result was the most amazing, butter-tender, juicy, medium well done piece of meat you can imagine.
If you want to try Picanha at its best, try a “Brasilian Rodizio” or “Argentinian Parilla” where you will find it as the star of the menu 🙂
We all enjoyed this great meal with a couple of bottles of 96 Bodega Catena Zapata 2005 Argentino which they brought with them.

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Rump Cap With Sauteed Potatoes, Morels And Cognac Cream

Rump Cap (Picanha) With Sauteed Potatoes, Morels And Cognac Cream

: Picanha (rump cap)

: cleaned picanha (rump cap)

: cognac cream sauce

: sauteed potatoes

: sauteed potatoes with morels, chili and scallion

: sauce mirror

: sauteed potatoes, morels, chilies and scallion on cognac cream sauce

: Picanha (Rump Cap) With Sauteed Potatoes, Morels And Cognac Cream

: Rump Cap (Picanha) With Sauteed Potatoes, Morels And Cognac Cream

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Tomato Bisque , Morcilla Dumplings & Pasta

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Morcilla lovers – this dish is a knock-out !
As far as morcilla dishes go, it does not get much better, I can assure you 🙂
I know that not everybody shares my love for morcilla, but for those who do, this soup is magic.

Morcilla –
(blood pudding, blutwurst, boudin noir, sanguinaccio, blodkorv, boldpølse, kaszanka).

If you do re-create this dish, make sure the dumplings are as light as possible but holding their shape. The should easily fall apart when lightly pressed with a spoon.
If you are not a fan of morcilla, you can use any other protein such as fish, seafood, veal, game, pork or even finely diced vegetables.

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !

Tomato Bisque, Morcilla Dumplings & Pasta

: tomato bisque – quartered tomatoes, celery, onions, sauteed garlic, red wine, small amount of diced potato, sea salt, cayenne pepper, sugar, water or tomato juice

: bring to boil, turn down to simmer, simmer for 2,5 hours

: put into blender and blend until smooth. The small amount of potato will make the texture silken and keep the liquid from separating from the solids. Check/adjust seasoning

: add heavy cream

: tomato bisque

: remove morcilla from casing, add egg yolk, dijon, cayenne, scallions, chilies, panko, mix well, shape into small rounds

: simmer dumplings in salted water until floating

: add pasta to plate

: add tomato bisque

: add dumplings

: sprinkle scallions

: Tomato Bisque, Morcilla Dumplings & Pasta

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“Milanesa” – Breaded Pork Cutlet, Bucatini & Hans’ Special Pasta Sauce

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When I was an apprentice in the black forest in the sixties, “Veal Chop Milanese” (Kalbskotelett Mailänder Art), a slightly different version of the milanesa on this post, was a very popular dish. It was one that I was hoping to be able to afford to eat when I finally became a cook and earned a bit of money. It was a bread and parmesan breaded, ham and cheese stuffed chop of milk-fed veal, typically served on top of spaghetti with tomato sauce. However, while still an apprentice, a veal chop was out of my financial reach and so I had to wait a few years before I could actually afford to dig into one. In the meantime, the far more affordable version was made of a breaded pork chop instead of milk-fed veal. Great food too, but not exactly the real thing 😦
Here now is my own version of a “Schweinesteak Mailänder Art” :
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Breaded Pork Chop “Milanese”

Breaded Pork Cutlet, Bucatini & Hans’ Special Pasta Sauce

Milanesa

Ham& Cheese Stuffed Pork Cutlet

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: mise en place

: cut a large pocket into cutlet

: roll one slice of swiss with one slice of ham

: ham& cheese

: stuff into cutlet, bread with flour, egg wash and half breadcrumbs, half grated parmesan

: meanwhile, saute grape tomatoes and garlic in butter

: deglaze with red wine, reduce to almost dry

: add heavy cream, oregano, sea salt and cayenne pepper, simmer until reduced by half

: add freshly cooked bucatini and a small amount of grated parmesan, mix well, check/adjust seasoning

: saute cutlets in peanut oil until almost done, discard oil, finish with fresh butter

: Milanesa

: Schweinesteak Mailänder Art

: Breaded Pork Cutlet, Bucatini & Hans’ Special Pasta Sauce

: Breaded Pork Chop “Milanese”

: Ham& Cheese Stuffed Pork Cutlet

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Steak Sandwich & Salad

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This is the perfect, lightning quick meal that is at once fast to prepare, needs minimum prep work and packs a real punch in the satisfy-department 🙂

Bon Appetit Life is Good !

Steak Sandwich

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spread a french roll with butter and garlic paste, saute until golden

saute onion slices in butter until caramelized, top each slice with two eggs, fry to sunny side up, season with sea salt and cayenne pepper

season 16 oz striploin steaks with sea salt and cayenne pepper, grill to desired doneness, top each bread with one steak, top with egg/onion, add banana peppers. Feeds two hungry guy’s (Darryl and I on this occasion 🙂

Steak Sandwich

frissee, arugula, onions, chilies and anchovies in dijon vinaigrette

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Hoisin Grilled Chicken Leg’s

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Many a cook tries desperately and forever to find a great seasoning for a simple grilled chicken when the answer to the search is so simple:
Lime juice, sea salt, soy sauce, sriracha, granulated garlic and hoisin sauce. It really does not get much better and easier than that. If you’ve never tried it, go ahead and do and you will have arrived 🙂

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !

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hoisin grilled chicken leg’s with simple salad in white balsamic vinaigrette

grilling chicken

hoisin grilled chicken leg’s

simple salad in white balsamic vinaigrette

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Duck & Glass Vermicelli Soup – Leftover’s Made Into A Feast

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Whenever I steam meats, seafood or vegetables, I never discard the broth but transform it into a delicious soup or sauce.
When I steamed a duck for “Crispy Fried Duck With Dirty Rice Sticks” a few weeks back, I strained the stock and saved the trimmings from the duck to use for this great soup on the following day.
Below is the result:
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Duck & Glass Vermicelli Soup

simmer seasoned duck stock with whole chilies for 15 minutes. Add sesame oil. Check/adjust seasoning. Cover glass vermicelli in boiling ware, let steep for 10 minutes, strain

simmer seasoned duck stock with whole chilies for 15 minutes. Add sesame oil. Check/adjust seasoning. Cover glass vermicelli in boiling water, let steep for 10 minutes, strain

add chopped cabbage, simmer for two minutes

add vermicelli, diced leftover duck, cilantro and diced red peppers to soup. Bring back to a simmer, remove from heat at once. To serve, sprinkle with more cilantro

Duck & Glass Vermicelli Soup

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Donkatsu

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Yesterday’s dinner was one of these dishes which are so universal that most countries have their own version of it, distinguishable only by it’s different presentation and condiments.
Tontkatsu is one of these dishes. It is basically a breaded pork cutlet, which in its home, Japan, is served in many variations. The version I prepared last night is served over a bowl of rice with egg, so “Tonkatsu ” becomes “Donkatsu”. Tonkatsu dipping sauce is served separately.

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Tonkatsu Dipping Sauce Recipe
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Gyū katsu Recipe
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Donkatsu

season cutlets with kosher salt and cayenne pepper, bread in flour, egg and panko bread crumbs. Fry. Remove to absorbent paper. Slice

add steamed rice to bowl

add sliced cutlet, eggs and orange wedge

Donkatsu

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Hans’ Wonder Bread – Best Bread Ever? Nope, But……

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Yesterday afternoon I prepared some pizza for myself and had some leftover dough. Today I came home late and did not feel like cooking up a storm, so I made this stuffed bread for dinner. I guess I could call it a calzone?, but I am more comfortable with “Stuffed Yeast Bread”.
I ate the whole thing piping hot and I must say: Simply delicious 🙂

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !

Pizza Dough Recipe

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Stuffed Yeast Bread

pizza dough, diced salame, spicy tomato salsa, gorgonzola, corn meal, red onion, olive oil, sage, rosemary, thyme, scallion

roll dough, top with salame

top with gorgonzola

top with spicy tomato salsa, thyme and sliced sage

top with another sheet of dough. Coat finely sliced onions and chopped rosemary with generous amount of olive oil. Sprinkle over bread. Sprinkle with corn meal. Place on corn meal dusted baking pan. Cook at 375 F. When done, sprinkle with scallions and chili flakes

Stuffed Yeast Bread

Calzone

Hans’ Wonder Bread

Stuffed Yeast Bread

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