Easy Does It

Easy Does It # 25 – Griddle Ham & Cheese Sandwich

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Let’s face it and admit to the truth – no matter how passionate we are about good food, not all meals we consume must be and can be culinary masterpieces or be completely homemade in order to make us happy.
In cooking, as with love, sometimes a loving hug will do it instead of a few hours of passionate love-making (Well, sometimes…….. 🙂
I have posted some pretty simple stuff in the past and judging by the positive responses, posts about simple food are as welcome as the more complex meals.
So, I feel confident that mixing a few very simple, basic dishes into my usual mix of international food posts will be a welcome addition to the folks who are still learning their way around the kitchen, as well as for the more seasoned cooks who will be reminded that sometimes, depending on our mood, the time and/or budget, simple means best 🙂
I believe today’s dish is a perfect example of how to lift a usually mediocre dish up to new hights by choosing top-ingredients and preparing the food with love and care.
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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P.S.
If you replace the mayo with the more customary butter and grill the sandwich instead, you will miss out on the best part of this sandwich – the wonderful crust which the mayo helps to provide.
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Griddle Ham & Cheese Sandwich

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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
To enlarge pictures and read instructions, click on pictures
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: smear both sides of seeded rye bread with mayonnaise

: griddle one side of each slice of bread until golden

: top the griddle side of the bread with sharp cheddar

: top the cheddar with ham, drizzle with sriracha

: top with more cheddar

: top with a slice of bread which has been smeared on both sides with dijon mustard

: top with more ham

: top with more cheddar

: top with another mayonnaise-covered, one side griddled bread, griddle side down

: griddle sandwich on a VERY low heat griddle (or cast iron pan) until golden, turn, griddle the other side

: cover and cook VERY slowly until the cheese has melted, to serve, cut in half, serve with spicy ketchup and kosher pickles

: Griddle Ham & Cheese Sandwich

: Griddle Ham & Cheese Sandwich

: Griddle Ham & Cheese Sandwich

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EASY DOES IT # 24 – Potato Salad

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This potato salad is a far cry from the one I usually make at home, which is “Schwäbischer Kartoffelsalat” (Swabian Potato Salad), which does not contain Mayo or any other “stuff” besides potatoes, onion, stock, salt, pepper, oil, vinegar and sometimes herbs and/or bacon.
This one is a VERY different baby, but just as delicious 🙂
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Link to more Schwäbischer Kartoffelsalat
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Creamy Potato Salad

Potato Salad

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Preparation :
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: Slice and salt cucumbers, let rest for 20 minutes, squeeze out water

: add tomatoes, parsley and scallion

: add warm, freshly cooked potatoes, horseradish, kosher salt, cayenne pepper, a small dash of ketchup, mayonnaise and a dollop of yogurt

: Creamy Potato Salad

: Potato Salad

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Easy Does It # 23 – Pickled Cauliflower And Pickled Broccolini

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Pickled vegetables are so easy to prepare, they stay fresh in the fridge for day’s and they come in handy any time of the day as a snack, or just as an refreshing side dish.
While you can pickle just about anything with great results, cauliflower and broccolini are my favorites, closely followed by mushrooms and cabbage.
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Link to more “Easy Does It”
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Link to “Pickled Cabbage Rolls”
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Link to “Chinese Pickled Cucumbers”
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Link to “Pickled Chicken” (Pollo En Escabeche)

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Pickled Cauliflower

Pickled Broccolini

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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
To enlarge pictures and read instructions, click on pictures
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: blanched broccolini, garlic paste, pickled chilies, sliced onions, shredded carrots

: add kosher salt, cayenne pepper, apple cider vinegar, olive oil, mix well, marinade at least 24 hours in fridge, serve at room temperature

: Pickled Broccolini

: Pickled Broccolini

: Pickled Broccolini

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: raw beauty…………

: cut into florettes

: blanche in salted water, shock in ice water, drain

: add sliced scallions, diced onions, fresh cracked black pepper, kosher salt, olive oil, garlic pasteapple cider vinegar, mix, marinade at least 24 hours

: Pickled Cauliflower

: Pickled Cauliflower

: Pickled Cauliflower

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EASY DOES IT # 22 – Quiche Lorraine

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This dish will make you the hero at the next pot luck party, office party or any other gathering where the usual (tired) contribution is chicken salad, spinach dip or potato salad (nothing wrong with those – but………..)
A properly prepared Quiche is elegant, beautiful and delicious, done with a minimum of effort, cooking skills, time and $.
It will be a guaranteed success for any occasion, because it’s easy to make, has no boundaries for your creativity and can be served cold (room temperature), warm or hot. So at a fancy or basic cocktail party, in the office, at the beach or when you bring a snack to my house – go ahead, make my day 🙂
As for creativity, step up a basic Quiche lorraine (bacon, Swiss cheese and onions) by adding / replacing the standard ingredients with the following goodies:
Roasted, small diced vegetables or potatoes, seafood (no cheese in this one please), pickled onions and feta cheese, spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, sautéed ham, small diced corned beef, lots of fresh herbs, etc, etc.
The constant in any Quiche should be a great pie crust and a mixture of 3/4 whisked whole eggs / 1/4 half & half, seasoned with salt, pepper and a small amount of nutmeg, everything else is up to your fancy and willingness to experiment 🙂
As for myself, I love a warm Quiche with lots of bacon, onions and cheese when sitting in front of the TV and watching a great movie, always pairing the Quiche with a salad of simple greens and usually washing it all down with a torrent of iced peach tea.

Blind-bake the pie crust until golden.
Add dry ingredients, add egg mixture, bake until a toothpick inserted in the filling comes out clean. DONE !
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Click here for more “Easy Does It”
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Quiche Lorraine

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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
To enlarge pictures and read instructions, click on pictures
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: soak finely sliced red onions and romaine hearts in ice water for 20 minutes, drain, pat dry, dress with lime vinaigrette

: Quiche Lorraine

: Quiche Lorraine

: Quiche Lorraine

: Quiche Lorraine

: Quiche Lorraine

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EASY DOES IT # 21 – Blueberry Delight

Dear Friend’s,
Although most of my followers are culinary professionals, there is also a large segment of followers who are just starting to enjoy cooking on a slightly higher than basic level. I have therefore decided to publish, under the moniker “Easy Does It“, from time to time some very basic recipe variations of dishes which otherwise might seem complicated to some folks. I will break them down to the easiest, most simple instructions, so that those of you who are intimidated by elaborate recipes will be able to prepare these dishes properly, adjusted to your taste and liking, right from the get-go.
Enjoy :-)
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Yesterday when I was shopping for groceries on my way home from work, a wicked craving for sweets took possession of my body and mind 😦
When I got home, I found these things in my shopping bags –
Fresh blueberries, blueberry yogurt, pound cake, dried apricots, whipping cream and chocolate sauce.
I quickly put these little sweet buggers together and enjoyed this lazy no-cook dessert with a glass of hot chocolate and a great dose of guilt 😦
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Bon Appetit ! Repent !!! 🙂
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Link to more “ Easy Does It ”
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Hans’ Blueberry Delight & Hot Coco

Hans’ Blueberry Delight

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Preparation :
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To read instructions, hover over pictures
To enlarge pictures and read instructions, click on pictures
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: Pound Cake

: Pound Cake

: Hershey’s

: Blueberries

: Blueberries & Blueberry Yogurt

: Hans’ Blueberry Delight & Hot Coco

: Hans’ Blueberry Delight

: Hans’ Blueberry Delight

: Hans’ Blueberry Delight

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EASY DOES IT # 18 – Fried Eggs Sunny Side Up & Fries (NOT)

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Just a little nonsense to entertain your kid’s on a rainy day :
Fried eggs sunny side up & fries – yogurt, peaches and cantaloupe melon. Have fun 🙂
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good ! (Sunny side up – even when it rains……..
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Fried eggs sunny side up & fries – yogurt, peaches and cantaloupe melon. Have fun 🙂

EASY DOES IT # 18 – Fried Eggs Sunny Side Up & Fries (NOT)

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EASY DOES IT # 17 – Hans’ Homemade Buffalo Sauce

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While buffalo sauce is most famously used for chicken wings, I use my recipe for many other dishes, such as steak sauce, light coating for sautéed shrimp, sautéed vegetables, sautéed potatoes, etc, as well as fried foods such as chicken hearts, duck gizzards, chicken wings ( pictured below). I also use it as a spicy dipping sauce for french fries and whatever else needs a bit of a pick-up 🙂
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Recipe :
Melted butter 1/2 cup
Sriracha 1/2 cup
Green tabasco 1 tablespoon
Confit garlic paste 1 tablespoon
White vinegar 1 tablespoon
Honey 1 tablespoon
Maggi seasoning to taste
Kosher salt to taste
Mix all ingredients well, check / adjust taste

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Easy Does It # 17 – Hans’ Buffalo Sauce

Easy Does It # 17 Hans’ Buffalo Sauce

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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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EASY DOES IT # 16 – Two Quick, Simple Salad’s

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A lot of folk’s shy back from constructed salads because they find them difficult to make and the recipes too complicated.
I can asure you that nothing is further from the truth. First, choose two main components, such as pasta and cold cuts, rice and seafood, potato and vegetables, vegetables and cheese, any grain such as amaranth, barley, quinoa, or rye, add herbs or whatever else tickles your fancy. Add whatever else you want to add that you think will enhance your salad, dress with whatever dressing you fancy. Combine any ingredients you feel will go well together and experiment.
However, if the salad is to be served at a later point in time or outside at a party, I don’t recommend homemade mayo for obvious reasons, use the store-bought version which is safer. Also, for pasta, rice and potato salads, I recommend to cook the starch a bit longer than if you use them in a hot dish. The texture will be more pleasant.
Following find two simple salads which I made yesterday. The whole prep and assembly took about thirty minutes total. If you don’t have much practice, both salads might take you an hour, not bad for two different dishes that serve about 20 each. Just remember, It’s your salad – do with it whatever you like as long as YOU think it’s the way it should be: omit, add, deduct any ingredient You feel makes your dish a better one 🙂

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“Shrimp, Pasta And Egg Salad”

Penne rigata, shrimp, fennel leaves, eggs, peas, cherry tomatoes, mayo (easy on the mayo), olive oil, garlic paste, white balsamic vinegar, kosher salt, cayenne pepper, greek yogurt, maggi. Use whatever ratio of ingredients you prefer. If it tastes good and looks good, you’ve done it right 🙂
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“Farfalle Salad With Salame, Pepperjack And Cornichons”

Farfalle pasta, salame, pepper jack cheese, cornichons, scallions, mayo (easy on the mayo), olive oil, dijon mustard, garlic paste, white balsamic vinegar, cornichon liquid, kosher salt, cayenne pepper, maggi. Same here again, use whatever ratio of ingredients you prefer. If it tastes good and looks good, you’ve done it right 🙂
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Happy Cooking and Bon Appetit !
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Click here for more “Easy Does It”

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Shrimp, Pasta And Egg Salad

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Shrimp, Pasta And Egg Salad

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Shrimp, Pasta And Egg Salad

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Shrimp, Pasta And Egg Salad

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Farfalle Salad With Salame, Pepperjack And Cornichons

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Farfalle Salad With Salame, Pepperjack And Cornichons

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Farfalle Salad With Salame, Pepperjack And Cornichons

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Farfalle Salad With Salame, Pepperjack And Cornichons

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Dear Friend’s, to help support this blog,
please be so kind and click on the video on the bottom of this page. Thank you 🙂
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Easy Does It # 13 – Asian Style Pickled Cucumber Ribbons

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This is one of the most ingenious, simple, delicious, economical and pretty dishes out there.
Serve it as side dish, part of a fancy or simple salad, or as a snack.
Season it mild, medium or fiery hot.
Either way, I am sure you will love it and it may even become one of your go-to standby’s. 🙂
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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