easy recipes

Soup & Sandwich – Small Budget / Big Taste

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Sometimes, easy does it 🙂
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Tomato bisque & jamón serrano sandwich with boursin cheese on pita bread
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Bon Appetit ! Live is Good !
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“Soup & Sandwich”

: Saute onion and LOTS of garlic in olive oil

: Add chopped tomatoes, rice, oregano, basil

: Add tomato juice, sea salt, cayenne pepper, soy sauce, maggi

: Simmer for 20 minutes, add merlot

: Blend until smooth

: Add heavy cream, check/adjust seasoning

: Pita bread

: Add garlic & herb boursin

: Add jamón serrano, top with radish and scallions

: Tomato bisque

: Add a dollop of sour cream to tomato bisque

: “Soup & Sandwich”

: Tomato bisque & jamón serrano sandwich with boursin cheese on pita bread

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Chicken Soup With Root Vegetables And Matzo Balls

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Last night’s dinner was perfect for the crappy weather and I hope it helped me to defend myself from what feels like an oncoming nasty influenza.
And besides, matzo ball soup – anytime for me 🙂
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Click here for Matzo Ball recipe
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Chicken Soup With Root Vegetables And Matzo Balls

: Chicken Soup With Root Vegetables And Matzo Balls

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Chinese Salt & Pepper Scallops With Egg Fried Rice

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This was one of Maria’s favorite dishes. Whenever we went to have chinese food at a restaurant or when she wanted to have something special at home, she would ask for salt & pepper scallops or salt & pepper shrimp.
So, enjoying this meal tonight was a bittersweet affair. I really loved the food, but it is so damn tough to be reminded of a lost loved one all day long, by everything one see’s, hear’s and does, even by the food one eat’s. At least I had Bella next to me , sharing the food and giving me good company 🙂
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For the scallops, season with kosher salt, five spice powder, white pepper, ground szechuan peppercorn and granulated garlic. Mix egg white and rice flour into a thin batter, dredge scallops in it and saute in peanut oil until cooked almost through. Remove and rest on absorbent paper until serving.
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For the rice, saute garlic paste, finely diced onion and grated ginger in peanut oil until fragrant. Add day-old rice and fry until rice starts to puff. Make a well, add more peanut oil and scramble some whisked eggs in it until set. Add sliced scallion, kosher salt, white pepper and sesame oil. Stir fry until all ingredients are well mixed. Check seasoning. Adjust if necessary.
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To serve, top the rice with scallops and sprinkle with finely sliced scallions

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good ! (even when it’s sad sometimes)
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Chinese Salt & Pepper Scallops With Egg Fried Rice

: Egg fried rice

: Chinese Salt & Pepper Scallops With Egg Fried Rice

: Chinese Salt & Pepper Scallops With Egg Fried Rice

: Chinese Salt & Pepper Scallops With Egg Fried Rice

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“Choripán Mariposa”

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South America’s culinary addition to the world of sandwiches, the Choripán, is without a doubt one of the oldest (ever since there was bread and sausage) and definitely one of the best.
No fuzz, just hearty, tasty, rustic goodyness.
Here is my version of this simple, great dish. Instead of a roll I used baguette with garlic butter. I also added tomatoes, horseradish and pickled banana peppers to the chorizo and chimichurri.
(All’s fair in my kitchen) 🙂

Buen Provecho ! Life is Good !
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Choripan

Toast or saute french bread in garlic butter

Grill or saute baguette with garlic butter

Add grilled/butterflied chorizo, tomato, banana peppers, horseradish and chimichurri

Choripan

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Panko Breaded St. Peter’s Fish In Lemon/Caper Butter

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Tonight, a simple dinner of St. Peter’s fish and salad was all I wanted and all I needed.
Crispy fish filet with a bit of lemon/caper butter and romaine lettuce with peppers, radish and onion in raspberry vinaigrette.
Aaahhhh, the simple life 🙂
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: St. Peter’s Fish

: Panko, cayenne, sea salt, garlic

: Eggwash, cayenne, sea salt, garlic

: Breaded St. Peter’s fish

: Saute in olive oil

: Discard, oil, add butter, lemon juice, capers

: Rest on absorbent paper

: Panko breaded St. Peter’s fish

: Panko breaded St. Peter’s fish

: Panko breaded St. Peter’s fish

: Romaine, radish, onion, peppers, raspberry vinaigrette

: Romaine, radish, onion, peppers, raspberry vinaigrette

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Baby Octopus In Spicy Salice Salentino/Bell Pepper Sauce With Ziti Lunga

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Sunday’s lunch featured two of my favorite ingredients, baby octopus and lunga ziti. While the baby octopus have become a beloved food during my younger year’s as a marine merchant in the Mediterranean, lunga ziti, or, as they were simply known in our home when I grew up, macaroni, have been a familiar food item since I can remember as a small child. My mom used to serve them simply with some butter-sauteed bread crumbs (schmelze) and freshly grated swiss cheese. What a feast that was, fondly remembered to this very day 🙂

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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To serve, top pasta with octopus. Sprinkle with chopped italian parsley.

Cook octopus in salted water until tender, but still with a bit of bite. Drain.

Saute in olive oil until starting to change color.

Add finely diced onions and garlic paste. Saute until fragrant.

Add diced bell peppers, saute one minute.

Add diced tomatoes and sliced scallions. Saute for one minute.

Add diced tomatoes, oregano and sliced scallions. Saute for one minute.

Deglaze with Salice Salentino or other robust red wine, add kpsher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Simmer for two minutes. Check seasoning

Deglaze with Salice Salentino or other robust red wine, add kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Simmer for two minutes. Check seasoning.

Meanwhile, cook the lunga ziti al dente.

To serve, top pasta with octopus. Sprinkle with chopped italian parsley

Baby Octopus In Spicy Salice Salentino/Bell Pepper Sauce Over Lunga Ziti

Baby Octopus In Spicy Salice Salentino/Bell Pepper Sauce With Lunga Ziti

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Meat Ball Sandwich – Merguez Meatballs In Harissa/Tomato Sauce On Garlic Bread

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My neighbor and friend Sami is from Egypt. He sometimes gives me some Egyptian, Middle Eastern and/or Mediterranean food to taste, usually about once a month.
Normally it is fully cooked and nicely presented, but yesterday morning he gave me some Merguez stuffing he had just prepared and asked me to “make something different with it”.
Here is what I came up with. I enjoyed it a lot and so did he 🙂

For the sauce, I mixed 2/3 tomato sauce with 1/3 of harissa.
(This sauce was so good, I think I will use it for other dishes or as dipping sauce in the future)

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Meat Ball Sandwich – Merguez Meatballs In Harissa/Tomato Sauce On Garlic Bread

Garlic bread, hard boiled eggs, romaine, radish, pickled chilies, drizzled with lemon vinaigrette

Garlic bread, hard boiled eggs, romaine, radish, pickled chilies, sprinkled with sea salt and drizzled with lemon vinaigrette

Lamb meatball sandwich with buttered corn and “stuff”

Meat Ball Sandwich – Merguez Meatballs In Harissa/Tomato Sauce On Garlic Bread

Bella’s version, without the spicy sauce 🙂

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Duo Of Spinach Cream

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When I was a Kid, the only vegetable I hated more than onions was spinach.
Now, a few short years later, Onion soup (cream or french) and spinach soup
are some of my great favorites, be it as a soup course, main course or snack.
Tonight, cream of spinach was calling and I answered 🙂

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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To serve, top with chicharones (crispy pork rind) and / or butter-sauteed shrimp

: blanch spinach in salted water

: shock in ice water

: drain

: saute onions and garlic in butter

: add potatoes

: deglaze with white wine

: add chicken or vegetable stock, simmer until potatoes are soft

: add spinach, kosher salt, cayenne pepper, fresh;y grated nutmeg, maggi seasoning, bring back to simmer

: add heavy cream

: blend with stick blender until smooth

: To serve, top with chicharones (crispy pork rind) and / or butter-sauteed shrimp

: Cream of spinach with shrimp

: cream of spinach with chicharones (crispy pork rind)

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Curried Langostino And Egg Salad Wrapped In Roti Prata ( 印度煎饼 )

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While I was preparing tonight’s pratas (parathas, roti canai), my cravings for the final dish became so strong that I did not even bother to decorate the food a bit.
I just could not wait to dig in, as I remembered with great affection the tasty roti’s I had in India, Pakistan, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Caribbean (mostly Jamaica, sorry Trinidad) 🙂
The accompanying salad of langustinos and eggs in curry mayonnaise might not sound very exotic, but it is definitely something you could find in any of the less traditional restaurant’s in Singapore or Kuala Lumpur, where fusion cuisine has become part of the daily culinary life.

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !

Click for Roti recipe here
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Curried Langostino And Egg Salad Wrapped In Roti Prata ( 印度煎饼 )

: 印度煎饼

: Roti Prata

: Roti Paratha

: Roti Canai

: Curried Langostino And Egg Salad Wrapped In Roti Prata ( 印度煎饼 )

: Curried Langostino And Egg Salad Wrapped In Roti Prata ( 印度煎饼 )

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Shrimp Cocktail, Fried Tortilla & Classic French Cocktail Sauce

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I am sick as a dog today, hope that tomorrow I’ll be better. Had a doc appointment at 2.00pm. As I was parking in front of the doc’s office, they called me to tell me that the doc had an emergency and that I’ll be re-scheduled. What a bummer.
Obviously I was not in shape to cook today, so this little shrimp cocktail had to do for dinner. I added some extra cognac into the cocktail sauce as a pick me up. It kinda worked, at least I found the energy to post this 🙂

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good ! (Mostly, Anyway)
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Shrimp Cocktail, Fried Tortilla & Classic French Cocktail Sauce

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