ethnic recipes

Vodka & Wine Flatbread

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” Wodka & Wine Flatbread ”

If you wonder about the name of this dish ? –
Last night at around 1.30am, after  “a bit”  of vodka and wine, my friend Darryl “demanded” food. Here is what I could muster :
Freshly baked flatbread with salame, mascarpone, egg, mushroom, banana peppers, sriracha and grated asiago cheese.
It might not have been pretty but ist sure hit the spot 🙂

Bon Appetit !  Cheers !   Life is Good !
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Wodka & Wine Flatbread

Wodka & Wine Flatbread

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Wodka & Wine Flatbread

Vodka & Wine Flatbread

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Wodka & Wine Flatbread
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Wodka & Wine Flatbread

Vodka & Wine Flatbread

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Arroz Fritto ” Carlos Ayala “

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This dish is dedicated to my dear friend Carlos, who is Argentinian and loves his chorizo and chimichurri 🙂

Tonight my cupboard and fridge were not exactly over stocked, so here is what I had and used to make this hearty, tasty dish:
Rice,
Argentinian chorizo,
Eggs
Scallions,
Bell peppers,
Garlic,
Onion,
Olive oil,
Chimichurri,
Kosher salt,
Cayenne pepper,

Saute the onion and garlic in olive oil until fragrant. Add the chorizo and saute until the onions and garlic start to turn golden. Add the peppers and scallions and saute for another minute. Remove, set aside. Wipe the pan ( or Wok) clean with a paper towel. Add more olive oil and saute rice until it starts to “pop”. Make a whole in the center of rice. Add a bit more oil. Scramble your whisked eggs until fairly dry. Mix with rice and sausage / vegetables, saute (stir fry) together for a few more minutes until rice is light, fluffy and fairly dry. To serve, top with more scallions and chimichurri .
And there you have it, ” the other fried rice ” :
” Argentinian Style  Fried Rice A La Carlos Ayala ”
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Arroz Fritto " Carlos Ayala "

Arroz Fritto ” Carlos Ayala “

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Curried Gizzards, Herbed Potatoes & Frisse In Honey Mustard Dressing

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“Sauteed Gizzards in curry cream with buttered, herbed yukon gold potatoes and frisse salad in honey mustard dressing”
The verdict is out : I’ve got a new favorite chicken gizzard recipe, taking the #1 spot and pushing “Gizzard Adobo” to spot #2 🙂
What a great dish. Even if you are not a fan of gizzards, you can of course replace them with anything that tickles your fancy: Shrimps, scallops, mussels, sliced beef, diced chicken, shredded duck, whatever you like and whatever is available. The curry cream, potatoes, butter, herbs and frisse just go together so well, you don’t want to miss this combination.

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Curried Gizzards, Herbed Potatoes & Frisse In Honey Mustard Dressing

Curried Gizzards, Herbed Potatoes & Frisse In Honey Mustard Dressing

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1.  Simmer  gizzards in salted water until tender, but still with a bit of a bite. Strain. Saute garlic paste and diced onion in butter until fragrant, add curry powder and saute on low heat for another minute. Add heavy cream and a bit of ketchup and reduce until creamy. Add the gizzards, simmer for another minute. Season with kosher salt and cayenne pepper, set aside.
2.  Simmer peeled and cut potatoes until tender but still keeping their shape. Saute in LOT’S of butter without letting potatoes brown. Remove from heat, add lots of chopped italian parsley.
3.  Mix honey, dijon mustard, canola oil, lemon juice, kosher salt and freshly ground black papper. Dress frisse  with the dressing.
4.  To plate, put gizzards on the plate, add potatoes and top with frisse. Sprinkle with chili flakes. Eat. Be happy 🙂

Bon Appetit !   Life is Good !

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Chicken Paprikash & Spaetzle

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Paprikash is the national dish of Hungary. Which means that it has been prepared and eaten for many decades, by millions of people, in many restaurants and homes, in many different regions, with an infinite number of variations. So folks, relax, don’t call my house and say that this is not a real paprikash, because………….
Anyway, here is a version I prepared last week and, I might add, a pretty good and pretty pretty 🙂 version. >

Chicken Paprikash & Spaetzle

Chicken Paprikash & Spaetzle

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Ingredients :

Chicken,  your favorite parts, I prefer legs
Sweet hungarian paprika,
Chilis,   finely chopped, some left whole for garnish (optional)
Tomatoes,   finely chopped
Garlic,   paste
Onions,    finely diced
Kosher salt,
AP flour,
Chicken stock,
Sour cream,

Method :

Saute chicken in fat until golden brown. Remove. Saute onions and garlic until fragrant. Add paprika, chopped chilis and flour and saute for a short time. (Careful, paprika burns easily !)  Add tomatoes, stock, whole chili’s and salt. Return chicken to pot, cover and braise slowly until chicken is cooked to an internal temperature of 162F. (Carry over heat will take it to a safe 165F). Remove chicken. At this point you have the option of straining the sauce or not. You also have the option of whisking in the sour cream or not. If you don’t whisk in the sour cream at this point, add a generous dollop when serving (See picture). Adjust seasoning if necessary. To serve, add chicken to serving dish, cover with sauce and whole chili’s. Serve with  Spaetzle.

Bon Appetit !   Life is Good ! >>
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Schwäbische Spätzle Mit Schmelze (Swabian Noodles)

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” Swabian spaeztle with browned bread crumbs “.

One of the most common,simple, quick, delicious, economical and (in my biased eyes), one of the most beautiful dishes coming out of South Germany  (Swabia).
When I grew up, this was one of the more boring dishes for me and my brother Wilhelm to grace our dinner table, because it showed up with regularity a few times a week. Even today, spaetzle are one of the stables of south german cooking. But, alas, I have moved away from my homeland many decades ago, so now spaetzle have become a treat, truly enjoyed whenever possible.
Spaetzle are hard to come by even in German restaurants around here. This is probably due to the fact that more cooks in american German restaurants go by the name of Pepe instead of Fritz and have never seen real spaeztle, so what you mostly get are “Knoepfle”, not “Spaetzle”.
Knoepfle means little bottons, so they are a small spherical pasta, while spaetzle derives from “little spitz”, which means little penis. (Many folks believe spaetzle derives from the word spatz, which means sparrow and would makes no sense at all. Also, many Americans let their spaetzle or knoepfle brown while sauteeing, which is an absolute no no in Swabia!
So there you have it. One of the easiest and fastest pastas to make is actually difficult to come by (at least any good ones). Go figure 😦
But, there is hope ! Following is the recipe for original swabian spaetzle. Please note that there is no milk or water added, just AP flour, eggs and salt. In times past, when eggs where not as easily available and as affordable as now, folks have had to stretch the eggs by adding milk or even water. Today that is not necessary anymore, so just stick to flour,  eggs, and salt. With a little practice, it will take you less then 10 minutes to make about six portions.
Mix flour, salt, and eggs and beat the dough until it is elastic and forms large air bubbles. To shape the spaetzle, either use a “Spaetzle Brett” (spaeztle board) and a straight spatula, or, much easier, invest $ 20 and buy a “Spaetzle Press” online. If you are not so sure how to proceed with the dough and the shaping of the spaetzle, go online and check out one of the numerous good instructional videos ( But be aware, there is also a lot of crap online, so choose wisely ).

Fill the spaetzle press 3/4 with dough and press into boiling, salted water. After a minute or so the spaetzle will float at the surface. Remove to a bowl with cold water. Drain. To serve, saute in butter until hot, without allowing the spaetzle to brown. Top with “Schmelze”.

For the schmelze, melt butter and saute bread crumbs until golden.
(I like to use brown butter and add chives to my schmelze).

Bon Appetit !   Life is Good !
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Schwäbische Spätzle Mit Scmelze

Schwäbische Spätzle Mit Schmelze

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Bucatini, Bologna, Tomato, Asiago & Egg ” Midnight Snack In Simpleland “

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Yesterday  I had a very long workday without lunch or dinner. I finally came home at 9.00pm (I left the house at 5.00am, after two hours of walking Bella, breakfast, checking e-mail, etc) .
First thing’s first, so I poured myself a glass of merlot and sat down to relax a few minutes before I wanted to move on to do what needs to be done. However, I woke up three hours later at around midnight, because Bella brutally stubbed me with her nose, demanding to finally be taken on her walk. When we got back it was past 1.00am and I was famished. I wanted to have something quick, uncomplicated, substantial and tasty, but not too heavy or fatty. A quick inspection of the fridge and cup board revealed, amongst other goodies:
Bucatini, salted butter, bologna, aged asiago, greek yoghurt, eggs, tomatoes and scallions.
Usually and traditionally, one would saute the bologna and tomatoes in fat before adding the other ingredients.
But I wanted to have a different, “fresher” taste. So, here is how it went:
I cooked the pasta, drained it (reserved some of the cooking water). I chopped the tomatoes, sliced the scallions, grated the asiago, whisked the eggs with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Then I mixed all the ingredients over low heat including a bit of the cooking water and cooked it until the eggs set. The result was a revelation of how the addition or absence of one single cooking step (sauteing) can completely alter the taste and texture of a dish. This version is actually my new favorite when it comes to pasta with bologna. The freshness of the bologna (must be of very good quality) and the slight acidity of the yogurt and raw tomatoes make it a new, much appreciated dish in my arsenal of pasta dishes.
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Bon Appetit !   Long Live The Midnight Snack ! 🙂
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More Bucatini On ChefsOpinion 1

More Bucatini On ChefsOpinion 2

More Bologna On ChefsOpinion

” Bucatini, Bologna, Tomato, Asiago & Egg “

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Sunday. At Home. Dim Sum. Good Stuff !

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Light  lunch with lot’s of flavor and some liquid goodness (Tsingtao).

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Har Gow, Siew Mai & Dipping Sauce

Har Gow, Siew Mai & Dipping Sauce

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Dipping sauce:
Soy sauce,rice wine vinegar, chili paste, sugar, garlic paste, scallion, sesame seeds.

Bon Appetit !   Life is Good !

“Har Gow” Recipe
“Siew Mai” Recipe
More Har Gow at ChefsOpinion


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Stir Fried Vegetables, Egg and Walnuts

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Today  I read this article about healthy living. One of the main paths to a healthy life is supposedly to refrain from eating animal protein. But, as you all know, healthy or not, I just love animal protein once in a while. Chicken, pork, lamb,beef, seafood, duck, goose, I love it all.
But, tonight I had a strong craving for rice and vegetables. Since Bella is usually my only dinner guest, I mostly  get to decide on the menu all by myself. So today’s dinner came along that ” healthy path ” .
“Despite” being healthy, it was delicious and a joy to eat. But tomorrow – Steak 🙂

Fan ( Chinese steamed rice ) recipe  HERE
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Stir Fried Vegetables, Egg & Fan

Stir Fried Vegetables, Egg & Walnut

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Ingredient’s :

Broccoli,   floretes, blanched
Bean sprouts,
Red radishes,  quartered,
Shiitake mushrooms,   sliced
Chili’s,  seeded, quartered
Onion,   julienned
Eggs,   hardboiled, Quartered
Walnuts,   candied
Ginger,   grated
Garlic,   paste
Scallions,   sliced
Cilantro,   chopped
Hoi sin sauce,
Soy sauce,
Sesame oil,
Peanut oil,   to saute
Chicken stock,
Corn starch slurry,
Kosher salt,
Cayenne pepper,
Chili oil,
Sesame seeds,   toasted
Fan,

Method :

Saute walnuts in sugar until sugar starts to brown, set aside. Saute onions until translucent, add ginger and garlic, saute until fragrant, Add broccoli, shiitake, radish, scallion and chili’s and saute until heated through. Add chicken stock, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, salt and pepper, bring to a simmer. Add slurry, simmer for a few seconds. Remove from heat, add bean sprouts. Adjust seasoning if necessary. Add eggs. To serve, top with walnuts, sprinkle with cilantro, drizzle with chili oil. Sprinkle fan with toasted sesame seeds.

Bon Appetit !   Life is Good !

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Saint Patrick’s Day “Breakfast Of Champions” # 19

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” Irish  soda bread with raisins & caraway seeds,
topped with corned beef, asparagus, tomato and brie”
Great breakfast in honor of St Patrick.
(The brie might not be Irish, but it lift’s this dish to another dimension 🙂

Erin Go Bragh !

Recipe for Irish soda bread HERE
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Saint Patrick's Day Breakfast Of Champions

Saint Patrick’s Day Breakfast Of Champions

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Bon Appetit !   Life is Good !
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“Escargot Bourguignon” (Snails in Garlic–Herb Butter)

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I cannot recall when I have last seen this classic dish on a restaurant menu. What a shame, since this is such a delightful, easy to prepare dish. As for my dinner today, I do have the shells, forks and escargot tongs at home, but since this is just for myself  and not a dinner party, I prefer to serve them as I’ve done here, in a ovenproof dish, accompanied by simple bread to soak up ALL the garlic butter.
Here are my two pet peeves about this dish when I eat it in a restaurant :

1)  If the snails are too large !
2) If the butter is not seasoned properly nor has enough parsley !

1) At home, I cut the very large snails in half. Much more pleasant to eat.
Voilà ! Problem solved 🙂
2) I make sure I add plenty of garlic, freshly ground black pepper and lot’s of chopped parsley.
Voilà ! No problem to start with 🙂

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Escargot Bourguignon

Escargot Bourguignon

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Ingredient’s :

Snails,   canned, rinsed
Butter,   unsalted
Red wine,   (I prefer merlot)
Shallots,   finely diced (I used onion)
Garlic,   paste
Flat leaf parsley,   finely chopped
Black pepper,   freshly ground
Sea salt,

Method :

Saute onions and garlic until fragrant. Add red wine, simmer until almost evaporated. Add butter, season with salt and pepper. Heat butter until starting to brown in small spots. Add escargots, simmer until all liquid has evaporated again. Remove from heat, stir in most of the parsley. To serve, sprinkle with more parsley.

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