cooking

” Nutella & Banana Ice Cream “

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Here is the world’s easiest and arguably best ice cream :
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Ingredients :

Nutella, 2 cups
Yoghurt, 1 cup
Milk, 2 cups
Sugar, 1/4 cup
Vanilla extract, 1/4 tspn
Lime juice, 1 tspn
Banana, 1 ea, finely diced

Method :

Whisk all ingredients except banana until smooth.
Transfer to ice cream maker, add banana.
Churn until starting to get firm.
Transfer to airtight container, cover, freeze overnight.

I know this might seem simplistic and unsophisticated to some foodies
and professional chef”s, but believe me, this stuff is so rich and tasty,
it put’s many a sophisticated ice cream to shame 🙂

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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” Grilled Pork Chops & Grilled Veggies “

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I just love my little stove top grill. No-fuss grilling for one person.
It does not give me the deep grillmarks a larger, hotter grill would give me,
but the texture and taste are all their own 🙂
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Marinade all items with the pictured spices according to your own preferences 🙂

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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” Beer Braised Turkey Leg’s “

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Last night’s dinner brought out the very best one can get from turkey legs’s:
Tender, juicy, loaded with flavor, accompanied by a wonderful herbed rice.
In my opinion, turkey doesn’t get much better than that 🙂
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Turkey :

Ingredients :

Turkey legs, bone in
Morcilla, diced
Beer, a bottle or two of your favorite
Bell peppers, diced
Onions, diced
Garlic, paste
Scallions, sliced
Oregano “Litehouse” freeze dried
Basil “Litehouse” freeze dried
Chives “Litehouse” freeze dried
Maggi
Grape tomatoes
Tomato sauce canned
Oil, to sautee

Method :

Saute legs in oil until golden, remove and reserve.
Sautee peppers, remove, reserve.
Sautee onions and garlic until translucent, add Morcilla, tomato sauce
and beer, return leg’s and half the peppers to the sauce.
Add salt and pepper and simmer until legs are tender. Shortly before the
end of the cooking process, carefully remove legs into another pot.
Strain sauce onto legs, add remaining peppers, tomatoes and chives.
Bring back to simmer for one more minute and serve.

Rice :

Ingredients :

Jasmin Rice, soaked for two hours, washed repeatedly
Butter melted
Herbs fresh or freeze dried
Salt & cayenne pepper to taste

Method :

Cook rice in boiling plain water for approximately 4 minute, or until tender but not mushy (Polo Method)
Strain rice and with a fork mix in the butter, seasoning and herb’s.
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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” Spaghetti With Beef, Veggies & Brie “

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Today’s lunch combined, amongst other goodies, two of my favorite food items :
Pasta and brie cheese 🙂
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Ingredients :

Spaghetti, cooked al dente, some cooking water reserved
Beef, finely julienned
Bell peppers, finely julienned
Onion, finely julienned
Tomatoes, thin wedges
Garlic, paste
Brie cheese, sliced
Butter, substitute with olive oil if prefered
Salt & cayenne pepper to taste

Method :

Saute beef in very hot fat for a few seconds, remove and reserve.
Saute veggies and garlic until garlic is opaque but still light in color.
Add pasta, half of the brie and a bit of the cooking water, salt and pepper.
Mix well until the cheese is melted.

Plate and garnish with more brie and some herbs.

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !

” Why would anyone EVER EVER EVER use those crappy pre packaged corn taco shells ???? Yeesh !!! “

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Dear Friend’s
In response to my post : ” Tacos Al Camaron ” ,
the following esteemed comment was posted by a young lady who obviously knows and loves her food and with whom I basically wholeheartedly agree :

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” Why would anyone EVER EVER EVER use those crappy pre packaged corn taco shells???? Yeesh! “

Dear Friend’s
In response to my post : ” Tacos Al Camaron ” ,
the following esteemed comment was posted by a young lady who obviously knows and loves her food and with whom I basically wholeheartedly agree :
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” Why would anyone EVER EVER EVER use those crappy pre-packaged corn taco shells???? Yeesh! “

Whilst I agree with the reader that freshly made tacos are (usually) a tremendous improvement over ready-made products, my reply below should help to clarify a bit about how and why I enjoy food the way I do and most of all, how and why I choose the content I put on my Blog :

Dear disgusted reader of ChefsOpinion. First, let me assure you that I agree with you inasmuch that ” freshly made anything” is usually better than crappy ” store bought anything “.

Although I am in no way an expert on Mexican food, I’d like to tell you that I lived for a year in Mexico while I was married for the first time, back in the seventies.
Then In the early 2000’s, I went back to Mexico, where I was in charge of the food operation’s (at the same time) of three high-class boutique hotels, as well as one five-star Westin hotel and one four-star Sheraton hotel, all in the Yukatan, Mexico.
I am a huge fan of Mexican food and have certainly had my share of the good, the bad and the ugly.
I have had the finest tacos in the best restaurants and in the grimmest joints and at any place in between.
I have taught hundreds of cooks and thousands of culinary students about tacos, tortillas, flautas, burritos, you name it, I’ve done it.
However, when it comes to ChefsOpinion, I try to have a good time with like-minded folks who “GET IT”.
Good food is what we enjoy to eat; What is practical at the moment, what makes economic sense and what’s the best you can do whilst your time is extremely limited.
What I try to do on my blog is to share and discuss food and food-related issues with a broad range of folk’s, from culinary students to hobby cooks to perfectionists.
Also with old warrior’s like myself, who have seen it all and done it all, who are maybe just a bit more tolerant to situations where we must substitute with a lesser ingredient for some reason, or when we are just too damn exhausted to move another finger.
If I had a choice I would eat and drink only the best, freshest, most refined, most exquisite food and drinks available.
While I was privileged to live in that ideal world for most of my professional life, there were and there are situations when a sudden lust for a specific food or drink can sometimes require a quick fix just to take care of that overwhelming craving.
I have been immersed in this wonderful world of food service for 45 years. I have been in charge of meals for kings and queens, heads of states, the famous and not so famous. I am certainly aware of quality and perfection for which we should strife whenever possible. However, at this point in my life, I have just started a new job which keeps me away from my home for 11 hours. I live alone with my dear dog Bella, so before I take off for work at 5.00 am, there are already two solid hours of me getting ready for work, taking care of Bella for an hour, walking her, playing with her, trying to keep her from chasing the neighbors cat’s, etc.
When I come home at 5.00pm, my first priority is to take Bella for a long walk.
Then on to take care of the blog, usually for about three hours. Then cooking dinner, taking pic’s of the food for the next post, enjoying dinner, cleaning the kitchen, walking Bella for another hour. By the time I finally get to rest it is usually 12.30 am.

So then, please, forgive me for using pre-made tacos (They were actually very good, all things considered). The folks who will use the pre-made stuff will enjoy a quick and easy to follow food inspiration. The folks who are a bit more dedicated to only the best will no doubt spent the extra time and effort to produce awesome fresh tacos.
Hopefully, in the end, “Life is Good” for everybody. 🙂

So then :
Why would anyone EVER EVER EVER use those crappy pre-packaged corn taco shells???? Yeesh!

Because sometimes………

P.S.
Have you noted the store bought! mayo in the picture ? Yeesh! 🙂
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” Mafaldine Primavera “

Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, the true “parmesan” (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

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Whenever I come across fresh mini veggies I tend to buy them and use them in a simple pasta dish such as this one.
No need for heavy sauce or other distraction from the freshness of the vegetables and the goodness of the pasta.
Pasta, vegetables, butter and / or olive oil, garlic, cheese and herbs all come together to be enjoyed in this simple yet most delicious dish.
Replace vegetables with any fresh vegetables you find at the market or whichever ones you might prefer.

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Mafaldine Primavera:

Ingredients:

Mafaldine, cooked al dente, strained, some of the cooking water reserved
Rainbow carrots, simmered until done but still crispy
Pearl onions, simmered until done but still crispy
Cherry tomatoes,
Butter, can be substituted with 50 or 100% olive oil
Parmigiano reggiano, grated
Fresh herbs, parsley / cilantro / basil / oregano, all or your preference only
Garlic, paste
Salt, pepper, to taste

Method:

Cook Mafaldine in boiling water until al dente, strain, reserve some of the water.
Saute garlic, carrots and pearl onions and garlic in butter or olive oil until garlic becomes fragrant but without changing color.
Add pasta, tomatoes, more butter or olive oil, most of your cheese, half of the herbs, some of the pasta water and salt and pepper.
Toss carefully so not to break up the vegetables or Mafaldine.
If consistency is to watery, add more cheese and toss again. If consistency is to heavy, add more of the pasta water.
Plate and sprinkle with more herbs and cheese.

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !

” What Is A Real BBQ ? ” Part 3

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Food Network’s Blah-Blah-Q Summer
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Originally posted by Russ Ito on Salon Piquant
Re-blogged with permission of Ross Ito
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The best thing about The Food Network in the summer is that you only have to watch 10 minutes of any show, and you’ll know what 95% of the programming that night will be: BBQ. The mind-numbing monotony of these shows is astonishing: Hour after hour devoted to this pit versus that smoker. After a few minutes, it’s all a blur of: rubs, rings, and burnt ends; of mops, barks, and slaws. And geographically, it’s as if The Food Network doesn’t know that the Louisiana Purchase happened: The coverage is stuck in the South-east and Deep South, as if no one west of the Mississippi ever cooks meat over fire.

As someone who grew up in a Japanese household, I’ve never been a big fan of “traditional,” American BBQ, finding it far too dense and cloying. I much prefer the lighter styles of BBQ from Asian cuisines, including: Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai, and Indian. All of these cultures are part of American society – and make great BBQ, but they never appear in TFN’s summer programming. Perhaps TFN thinks they’re too exotic to appeal to their audience, or maybe it’s more ideological.
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The imu — the original “pit BBQ.” How about it TFN?

The Taliban wing of the BBQ cult would, no doubt, sniff that the Asian approach is: “not true BBQ.” To them, BBQ means: “low and slow,” long cooking over low heat. By their reckoning, most Asian “BBQs” are just “grilling,” i.e., fast cooking over high heat. OK, fair enough, but even if you accept that, the Polynesians were slow-roasting whole pigs in hand-dug pits for centuries (maybe millennia) before anyone started warming up a pit in Kansas City or Charlotte. So why don’t you ever see that on TFN?

And does it really matter? Isn’t it just rhetorical? Every culture has its own way to cook meats over fire, whether that’s in an imu, on a grill in a hibachi, or on a skewer in a tandoor – and all of these are part of American cooking! Jacques Pépin often talks about the diversity of American food choices as something that still excites him about food here versus in his native France: “One day you can have Turkish, the next Vietnamese, the next Italian, the next… Ethiopian! It’s great!” BBQ/grilling isn’t the mono-culture TFN would have you believe; it’s as diverse as American culture itself. It’s time TFN woke up!

So come on, TFN, break out of your comfort zone, and mix it up! There’s a lot of great BBQ happening west of the Mississippi, and guess what? Those states are all part of the union, too! Asian flavors are part of the American palate, so include them!

Of course, TFN isn’t going to listen to my ravings. They’ll pack this summer’s schedule with hour after hour of rubs and mops, and familiar arguments over briskets versus pork shoulders. I’ll watch ten minutes, and know I’m not missing anything. And besides, I’ll be spending most of July watching the Tour de France, anyway!

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” What Is A Real BBQ ?! ” Part 1

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In my humble opinion,

these days’ the word BBQ means different things to different people.
I have lately come to the conclusion that to the majority of folk’s BBQ describes a social gathering of one or more people, the main purpose is to cook out in the open, enjoy the weather, food and company. (Even BBQ restaurant’s used to cook their food outside).
Since each region, restaurant, family and grill cook swears that their version (smoking, grilling, open fire, covered grill, etc) is the gospel, describing BBQ as a cooking method seems rather futile to me .
However, I had many a chef getting his / her knickers in a twist discussing what BBQ actually and REALLY means, so I just accept whatever is the explanation of the day.
( Even the origin of the word Barbecue seems to have different proponents ).
If I take my classical french training into consideration, you have the cooking methods :
Grilling (never covered), Smoking (always covered) Jerking ( a combination cooking metod, since we grill, smoke and steam at the same time) and “the way of Life BBQ”, where we use any cooking method traditionally employed in our area and / or backyard, invite a bunch of friend’s and family over and have smoked, grilled, jerked food, maybe a barrel of beer and lot’s of fun.
BBQ – happy cooking outside, whichever way, as long as you are having fun ! 🙂
Please give us your opinion in the poll below.

Live is Good !

Brussels Grill: Mixed vegetables (Photo credit: batigolix)

Beef and Corn on a Charcoal BBQ grill (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Some chicken, pork and corn in the barbeque (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

English: a typical offset bbq smoker (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

English: Image of a propane smoker in use. Diagrams the elements. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

English: Preparing grill for grilling, grill with flames and cones. Česky: Příprava grilu pro grilování, gril s plameny a šiškami. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

English: Chicken wings being cooked slowly over charcoal ashes. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

English: “Little Chief” food smoker, popular in the Pacific Northwest for home smoking of fish and meat (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Pork steaks cooking over a charcoal fire (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

English: A barbecue on a trailer at a block party in Kansas City. Pans on the top shelf hold hamburgers and hot dogs that were grilled earlier when the coals were hot. The lower grill is now being used to slowly cook pork ribs and “drunken chicken”. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Can’t claim credit for this cooking, my friend Paul was responsible. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This is a traditional asado. The picture shows ribs grilled in the traditional Argentinean way. The meat is on top of the grill and the charcoal or wood at low fire under the grill. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Deutsch: Bratwürste auf einem Grill (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Español: Cocinando carne para hamburguesa al grill. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Barbecue (Photo credit: Johann Richard)

The smoking setup – left (Photo credit: ntang)

Pork ribs being smoked (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Cooks remove racks of herring from a traditional smokehouse (Heringsräucherei) (Photo credit: drakegoodman)

English: Barbecue grill trailer and church, Index, Washington. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

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” Vegetarian Spaghetti Bolognese “

Today I did not feel for meat or seafood for lunch,
so a vegetarian bolognese over pasta seemed just fine.
Pasta and sauce ! What could be wrong ? Nothing 🙂
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Cook the spaghetti until al dente, strain.
Sautee carrots, celery, onion, garlic and oregano in butter,
add crushed tomato, salt, cayenne pepper, maggi seasoning
and simmer until veggies ar done.
Add pasta, generous amounts of butter and grated parmesan cheese.
mix until a light sauce coats your pasta. The texture should be such
that when you plate your pasta there should be no water separating
from the sauce.
(Alternatively, top pasta with sauce as in picture)
If consistency is too liquid, add parmesan cheese.
If too consistency is too thick, add pasta cooking water.

Below find a link to a cooking video of mine where I cooked “Fusilli Bolognese”

Fusilli Cooking Video
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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” Healthy Food: 50 Of The Best In The World “

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Originally posted by:
The Huffington Post
By The Healthy Living Editors
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Each month at HuffPost Healthy Living, we compile lists of the most in-season, fresh superfoods — this June, for instance, we celebrated figs, zucchini and apricots, among others. But these monthly articles got us thinking — what are some of the healthiest foods generally, despite the season?

And so we turned to some of our favorite medical and nutritional experts to come up with this list of 50 of the healthiest foods, presented alphabetically. Pad your grocery list with these and you’ll be on your way to a healthier, more vibrant diet. Of course, even as we editors finished the list, we started thinking of more (“How could carrots not be on the list?” “What about black pepper?”). So we plan to follow up with a second list of healthy foods. Let us know in the comments which of your favorites we skipped and they could appear soon.

Read more and see a slideshow of all 50 food’s HERE
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