easy recipes

“ Vietnamese Pork & Mushroom Dumpling Soup “ ( NẤM RƠM & THIT HEO )

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Yesterday’s light and healthy dinner :
” Vietnamese pork & mushroom dumpling soup “.
I made twenty two dumplings, could not stop eating,
ate all of them at once ( Bella helped a bit. )
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Dumplings:
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Won ton wrappers, roundPork, very finely chopped or ground
Shiitake mushrooms, chopped
Scallions, very finely sliced
Egg white
Ginger, grated
Garlic, grated
Sesame oil
Fish sauce (Nuoc Mam)
Salt, cayenne pepper
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Soup:
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Chicken broth
Baby bok choy, blanched
Straw mushrooms
Ginger, grated
garlic, grated
Scallions, sliced
cilantro, coarsely chopped
Fish sauce (Nuoc Mam)
Sesame oil
Chili oil

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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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” Porcini Crusted Pork Chop “

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Yesterday’s dinner – simple, yet soooo satisfying.
Pork & Porcini, a match made in food lover’s haven
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Season pork chop with salt and cayenne pepper,
Dip into finely chopped dry porcini, sautee in olive oil on
low heat until center reaches 162 F.
Let chop rest for five minutes before serving.
Meanwhile, saute onion and garlic in olive oil, add broccoli, tomatoes and chili.
Season with salt, pepper and a dash of Maggi.

“ Quer durch den Garten “ ( Across the Garden)

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When I was a kid, during the summer and the harvest season my mother, usually at least twice a month on a saturday, made a stew she called “quer durch den garten”, which literally translates into “across the garden”. It was never the exact same stew because she used whatever fresh vegetables were available that day and usually a stew-cut of beef, sometimes sausages or chicken.The starch was either potatoes, pasta or rice, depending on what was leftover in the fridge or readily available from the cupboard. When we sat down to the table we never knew which vegetables, starch or protein to expect. Traditionally, most folk’s don’t put egg into the stew, but I like the added richness when you mix it with the broth. However, there was always an abundance of fresh vegetables and herbs. I believe this is the dish which has installed my livelong love for stew’s of any kind in me .

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P.S.
The combination of beef, vegetables, spaetzle, herbs and fried onion is called “ Geisburger Marsch”

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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” Breakfast Of Champions ” # 3

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” Congee With Spicy Sausage “
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I just love any type of congee,
be it with seafood, meat, vegetables or any combination thereof.
Although is is traditionally eaten for breakfast, I usually make
a big pot so I can snack on it a few times during the day.
Today I used spicy, non-smoked chinese sausage,
which is not only very spicy but also sweet.
If you dont like raw egg, use cooked egg or omit the egg altogether.
Good eat’n 🙂
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Basic Congee recipe
In a large pot, bring water or stock and rice to a boil.
When the rice is boiling, turn the heat down to a slow simmer.
Place cover the pot, allowing steam to escape
Simmer until the rice has the thick, creamy texture of porridge.
Add the salt, taste and other seasonings as desired.
Serve with garnishes such as crushed peanuts, scallions, fried onions, etc.
You can also make this a sweet dish by adding
rock candy, brown sugar, fresh and/ or dried fruits.

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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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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” Bibimbap “

Tonight’s wonderful. simple dinner,
shared with my friend Leo and my baby Bella 🙂
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Korean mixed rice bowl / mixed meal.

Koreans love bibimbap, and this simple rice dish is often used as a tasty way of
using up leftovers.
A generous helping of steamed rice is placed in serving bowls, topped with a
variety of meat and vegetables and topped with a strong fermented soybean paste
called gochujang.
Just prior to eating, you mix everything together —
bibimbap means roughly “mixed up rice” or ” mixes meal”, and the whole,
wonderful mess is eaten with gusto. Gochujang paste can be found online
and in Korean and other Asian markets.
Season with soy sauce if you can’t find gochujang.

Ingredients:

Steamed sticky rice
Prepared meat, beef,seafood or poultry
Seasoned vegetables
Eggs, cooked sunny-side up
Gochujang paste (optional)

Condiments:

Kimchi
Sesame oil
Tangy chili sauce

Bon Appettit ! Life is Good !
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” No Frikadelle Tonight – It’s Beef Burger Time ! “

Tonight I will hopefully convince everybody that you can love
both, a good frikadelle and a good beef burger.
As usual, I will put my own twist on it.
Here we go :
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“ Cheeseburger My Way “
As you know, in order to get all the benefits of good quality ground beef, you must choose the best quality meat and handle it as little as possible. In this case I took two 14 oz striploin and grinded them at home with my cuisine art. In order to keep the meat from drying out, I made a pepper jack cheese and butter sandwich, which I then encased with the meat and shaped it loosely, avoiding to press it too much as to keep the texture of the meat loose and tender. The flavor added by the melting butter and cheese to the beef while it cooks takes the whole thing up three notches.

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Cut hoagie rolls or bun of your choice in half, spread generously with Butter and broil cut side until golden. Set aside.
Carefully spread the beef out on a cutting board in a ¾ # layer without squeezing it.
Sprinkle with kosher salt, black pepper and a dash of garlic powder.
Lightly mix without squeezing it.
Divide into four parts.
Put one part of the beef on a cutting board, top with the cheese / butter sandwich,
cover with another part of beef and form a loose patty.
Repeat with rest of ingredient’s.
Sautee in olive oil until it almost reaches the required doneness.
Discard oil, add two tablespoon of butter and sautee until butter starts to brown.
Let rest on absorbent paper for five minutes before serving.
Use garnish of your choice. For dipping I use ketchup, dijon and sriracha.

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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” Sauteed Whiting Filets, Shrimps, Grits & Mango / Caper Butter “

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Grits and lot’s of butter.
NOT a slimming day.
But a GOOD day 🙂
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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” Conchiglie A La Mode Du Hans “

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Last night’s midnight snack.
I guess that was one pound straight to the rib’s 😦
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Boil pasta shell’s until al dente, drain, reserve some of the cooking water.
Sautee steak cubes in very hot oil until still rare in center. Remove from pot, reserve.
Sautee vegetables in olive oil very briefly. Remove from pot, reserve.
Deglaze pot with red wine and let it slightly reduce.
Add pasta, beef, veggies, all the accumulated juices from the beef and veggies, a good amount of soft (not melted) butter, plenty of grated parmesan cheese and some of the cooking water from the pasta. Mix all until the sauce coats the pasta lightly.
If consistency seems too thin, add more cheese. If consistency seems too thick, add more pasta water.
To serve, sprinkle with crumbled gorgonzola and scallions.
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