Food

TODAY AT “CHEZ BELLA” – Sauteed Seabass & Potato Salat

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Ma´ Girl……….

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Today, I satisfied my craving for fresh fish by sharing 2 lbs of fillet with Bella.
Normally, this amount of fish fillet would easily serve four, but since we only had a small amount of potato salad with it, and we both only have one meal per day, the portion was not really that excessive…….. and of course, Bella agreed 🙂
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Bon Appétit !   Life is Good !
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Why “Chez Bella”  ???  Because……….     click here.
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Remove skin and bones from 2,5 lbs sea bass.
That should leave you with 2 lbs of clean fillet, wich serves four generous portions.
Season the fillets with kosher salt, sriracha, lemon juice and garlic paste to taste.
Dredge in a a/p flour and bread crumb mixture of 50/50 %, shake off excess flour.
Saute in 2 tblsp olive oil until golden on both sides, discard oil, add 2 oz of butter, saute another minute.
To serve, plate the fish, sprinkle with chopped cilantro, drizzle with the hot butter.
Serve with potato salad or side dish of your choice.
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TODAY AT “CHEZ BELLA” – Boiled Beef With Dill-Potatoes & Horseradish-Sauce – (Gekochtes Rindfleisch Mit Meerrettich Sauce & Dillkartoffeln)

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The reason why I love  Traditional German Food  are dishes like the one featured today, which is nearly impossible to find on a menu of any restaurant, anywhere 😦
So, as usual, when the craving scratches, switch-on the stove 🙂
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Bon Appétit !   Life is Good !
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Click here for  Beef With Horseradish Sauce Recipe  on  ChefsOpinion
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Boiled Beef With Dill-Potatoes & Horseradish-Sauce

Boiled Beef With Dill-Potatoes & Horseradish-Sauce

Boiled Beef With Dill-Potatoes & Horseradish-Sauce

Boiled Beef With Dill-Potatoes & Horseradish-Sauce

Boiled Beef With Dill-Potatoes & Horseradish-Sauce

Boiled Beef With Dill-Potatoes & Horseradish-Sauce

Boiled Beef With Dill-Potatoes & Horseradish-Sauce

Boiled Beef With Dill-Potatoes & Horseradish-Sauce

Boiled Beef With Dill-Potatoes & Horseradish-Sauce

Boiled Beef With Dill-Potatoes & Horseradish-Sauce

Boiled Beef With Dill-Potatoes & Horseradish-Sauce

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TODAY AT “CHEZ BELLA” – Bucatini With No-Cook Tomato Sauce

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This is probably one of my most-loved simple dishes of all time.
Not only does it taste wonderful if you use the best ingredients (good quality EVO (or Butter), pasta, chopped fresh tomatoes or bottled passata,  and cheese, (if possible Grana Padano),
It is also done in a flash and, best of all, it tastes incredibly FRESH, as if your old Italian grandma had produced it with lots of love and livelong experience on her wood-fired oven, just for you. 🙂
But please!, resist the temptation to use crappy, pre-packed, grated “mystery cheese” ! Grate your own favorite cheese and be rewarded with the best pasta dish you´ve had in a long time. 🙂
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Bon Appétit !   Life is Good !
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Click here for more  Pasta  on  ChefsOpinion
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Click here for more  dishes with  Tomato Sauce  on  ChefsOpinion
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Why “Chez Bella”  ???  Because……….click here.
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Add 3 tblsp EVO to 2 cup passata, 1 tsp garlic paste, kosher salt, sriracha to taste and a dash of Maggie Seasoning (optional), mix well.
Remove the pasta straight from the cooking water to the seasoned oil, grate 3 tblsp fresh grated cheese of your choice on top (if possible, use Grana Padano) , mix well, check/ adjust the seasoning.
Serve with some more grated cheese and chopped herbs of your choice (optional)
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Bucatini With No-Cook Tomato Sauce

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Bucatini With No-Cook Tomato Sauce

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Bucatini With No-Cook Tomato Sauce

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Bucatini With No-Cook Tomato Sauce

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Bucatini With No-Cook Tomato Sauce

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Bucatini With No-Cook Tomato Sauce

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Bucatini With No-Cook Tomato Sauce

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Bucatini With No-Cook Tomato Sauce

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Bucatini With No-Cook Tomato Sauce

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TODAY AT “CHEZ BELLA” – Scrambled Eggs & Bread

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Bellas Scrambled Eggs & Bread

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Aaahhhhh, never judge a book by its cover, nor a dish by it´s name ! 🙂
If you do, you might have just past by this wonderful little dish, never to know what culinary gem is lurking behind its unassuming name.
Which cook in the World would sink so low and be proud and happy about “scrambled eggs & bread”, to actually publish a post about this ? –
Well, I actually am, and I must say, when I plated this dish for Bella and myself, I was  smiling and feeling happy about the food we were about to eat (or, in Bellas case, about to devour.) 🙂
The Turkish flatbread came out of our neighborhoods Turkish bakers oven just about 30 minutes earlier (he delivers) ; the eggs are fresh from my neighbor’s hens, and the tomatoes, green chilies, cucumbers and scallions come from the farms in the immediate area.
So everything was as fresh as can be, and with a simple dish like this, the difference to supermarket food is apparent in every bite.
Nothing against supermarket food, I have eaten it and enjoyed most it most of my life, just that when possible, I like to eat the fresh and less processed stuff 🙂
So there you have it – a great, fresh, affordable, quick and easy to prepare dish I love ( so does Bella) and of which  I can be proud of, five stars or not. 🙂
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Bon Appétit !   Life is Good !

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Click here for more Eggs  on  ChefsOpinion
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Why “Chez Bella”  ???  Because……….click here.
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Toast 1/4 of a large Turkish flatbread or any other bread of your choice.
Whisk 6 fresh eggs, season with kosher salt, sriracha and garlic paste to taste.
In 3 oz of whole butter or 2 tblsp EVO saute 1 cut scallion, 1 green chili and 2 ea diced tomatoes until heated through, add the eggs, cook until done to your liking.
To serve, top the bread with the eggs, serve with salad of your choice.
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Scrambled Eggs & Bread

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Scrambled Eggs & Bread

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Scrambled Eggs & Bread

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Scrambled Eggs & Bread

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Scrambled Eggs & Bread

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Scrambled Eggs & Bread

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Scrambled Eggs & Bread

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Scrambled Eggs & Bread

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Scrambled Eggs & Bread

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Scrambled Eggs & Bread

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Scrambled Eggs & Bread

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Scrambled Eggs & Bread

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Scrambled Eggs & Bread

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TODAY AT “CHEZ BELLA” – Breaded Chicken Breast Cutlet (Paniertes Hühner Schnitzel)

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Breaded Chicken Breast Cutlet (Paniertes Hühner Schnitzel)

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Any “Schnitzel”,  – Breaded Schnitzel, Paprika Schnitzel, Jäger Schnitzel, Rahm Schnitzel, Holsteiner Schnitzel, or which-ever Schnitzel comes to mind, served with Dumplings, Rustic Bread, Pasta, Potato Salad or Roast Potatoes, is pure comfort food for most Germans and Austrians. While it is super easy to prepare, it is also (like most simple food) super easy to screw-up.
But, with just a tiny amount of practice and a huge amount of love, this versatile dish is easy, quick and suitable for any time of day, for a late breakfast or late snack (breaded, served cold with a bit of lemon and mustard), or for lunch or dinner with any of the aforementioned sides. 🙂
As for me, being a  Swabian  AND an  German  (as well as  American ), 🙂 I can eat schnitzel as often and with as much gusto as any full blooded American can eat a burger with fries, which is basically once a day. 🙂
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Bon Appétit !   Life is Good !
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Why “Chez Bella”  ???  Because……….click here.
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Click here for more  Chicken  on  ChefsOpinion
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PERFECT Cacio e Pepe

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PERFECT Cacio e Pepe

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“Cacio e Pepe” is undoubtedly the most minimalist among Roman pasta.
It´s secret lies in its wonderful creaminess, which is achieved by the perfect balance between its four main ingredients: pasta, water, Pecorino Romano and black pepper. (Because of the saltiness of the Pecorino, no additional salt is needed)
(A similarly simplistic, yet very different flavor and texture are present in “Spaghetti Aglio e Olio”, which, in its most basic form, contains only spaghetti, water, olive oil, garlic, and grated hard cheese. This is usually enriched with pepperoncini and/or arugula).
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When preparing Cacio e Peppe, there are a few RULES one MUST follow to achieve the creamy texture for which Cacio e Peppe is priced, otherwise there will be just “Pasta with Cheese and Pepper”, which is not too bad either, but comes in no way close to the magic of Cacio e Peppe.
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First, – grate the cheese as fine as possible.
Second, – take the pasta straight from the water to the pan with the cheese and pepper.
Third, – quickly and thoroughly lift the pasta with two forks or a tongue from the bottom of the plate to blend and achieve a creamy sauce when the moisture and starch of the pasta and the cheese combine to form a heavenly, creamy, delicious “sauce”.
Fourth, – use warm plates to mix and serve the pasta at once.
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And there you have it !   One of Rome’s and  Italy´s most iconic, simple, delicious and wonderful dishes ! 🙂
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Bon Appétit !   Life is Good !
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Click here for Recipe of  Spaghetti Aglio e Olio  on  ChefsOpinion
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PERFECT Cacio e Pepe

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PERFECT Cacio e Pepe

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PERFECT Cacio e Pepe

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PERFECT Cacio e Pepe

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PERFECT Cacio e Pepe

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PERFECT Cacio e Pepe

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Preparation: 
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Herring Salad – (Heringsalat) – (Sillsallad) – (Shuba – Селедка под шубой)

 

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At a time when “Regional” and “Ethnic” cuisine has spread all over the World and most of them have reached the far corners of our Planet, a large part of restaurant-goers consider themselves experts of some, or even many, different ethnic/regional cuisines.
Sadly (naturally), most experiences of these wannabe-experts come from a few visits of neighborhood “ethnic” restaurants and a subscription to the food channel, or, at best, a few encounters of local cuisine one has mustered on a once in a lifetime vacation to an exotic, foreign country.
Therefore, nowadays, when everyone pretends to be “food-hip“, “in” and “worldly“, everybody and Joe want to open a restaurant that serves food from around the World, with the proprietor and workers usually never having encountered a dish that is even close to its supposed origin.
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However, because of this worldwide spreading of cuisines,  most folks have had the pleasure to taste Scandinavian herring salad in one form or another, either in a restaurant or at home, sourced in a small plastic container at the neighborhood supermarket. These come in many different flavors and colors – with fresh dill, fresh chives, potatoes, red beets, cucumbers, pasta, capers, pickles of any type, apples, oranges, eggs, with matjes herring or salt herring, even with added sausage, etc, etc.
Many of them are surprisingly delicious, though, after all, these ingredients are hard to mess up. However, in my humble opinion, of the commercial type herring salads, most have one fundamental fault – they are diced way too small and evenly (which, admittingly, is the proper restaurant-way).
When one forkful contains five or more ingredients of very finely diced ingredients, the mix becomes one coherent mess in your mouth, which I find rather boring. I much rather have the ingredients diced larger, so that with each bite I have two or maybe three different textures and tastes, which results in the pleasure of each bite surprising me with a new combination of yumminess. 🙂
This salad can be served as an appetizer, first course, snack or main course, accompanied by steamed potatoes, sauteed potatoes, rustic bread, or Gouda crackers (as in these pictures).
Pls note that I did not include measurements – let the ratio be guided by your preferences – more or fewer veggies, herring, yogurt, mayo, and so forth – and eliminate any of the ingredients which you don´t like.  🙂
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Bon Appétit !   Life is Good !
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Herring Salad – (Heringsalat) – (Sillsallad) – (Shuba – Селедка под шубой)

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Herring Salad – (Heringsalat) – (Sillsallad) – (Shuba – Селедка под шубой)

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Herring Salad – (Heringsalat) – (Sillsallad) – (Shuba – Селедка под шубой)

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Herring Salad – (Heringsalat) – (Sillsallad) – (Shuba – Селедка под шубой)

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

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Pimentón En Crema (Peppers In Cream)

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Easy Does It ……….. 👍😎😃

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A week ago I bought a large bag of fresh, beautiful peppers at my neighborhood Turkish grocery store. Since then, I have eaten most of them, usually grilled and served as a side dish to meat or seafood, with tzatziki as a dip. Today I needed something to accompany my dumplings, and yet another grilled peppers dish did not sound very enticing.  Also, I did not feel like eating fish or meat and so I choose the bread dumplings to be the main component of the meal. Since dumplings need a good sauce to be properly enjoyed, this tasty cream sauce with pimentóns seemed to be the perfect combination. Low and behold, it turned out to be VERY delicious, and it hit the spot precisely 🙂
So what started out as a way to get rid of some veggies before they turn South, became a much-loved dish which I will prepare again in the near future. 🙂
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Bon Appétit !   Life is Good !
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Click here for more  Peppers  on  ChefsOpinion
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Click here for  Bread Dumpling Recipe  on  ChefsOpinion
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Pimentón En Crema (Peppers In Cream)

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Pimentón En Crema (Peppers In Cream)

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Pimentón En Crema (Peppers In Cream)

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

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Bombay Carrot, Coconut & Ginger Soup With Salted Cucumbers

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If you think that the salted cucumber addition for this soup are just a fru-fru gimmick to add some green color to the picture, think again 🙂
These pickled cucumbers truly add an surprising element of sophistication to an otherwise simple, everyday soup.
BTW, I also like to eat pickled cucumbers as a snack, either plain-salted, as shown here, or prepared a bit more elaborate,
such as in my “Chinese pickled cucumbers recipe”   (涼拌黃瓜   liáng bàn huáng guā recipe)

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Bon Appétit !   Life is Good !
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Bombay Carrot, Coconut & Ginger Soup With Salted Cucumbers

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Bombay Carrot, Coconut & Ginger Soup With Salted Cucumbers

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Bombay Carrot, Coconut & Ginger Soup With Salted Cucumbers

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

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Capon Tacos

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Capon Tacos

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I believe, nowadays most everybody is familiar with chicken tacos.
These here beauties are essentially the same, except that the chicken has been replaced with the much more succulent and tasty capon.
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What Is a Capon ?
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Excerpt of an article by Danilo Alfaro on “thespruceEats”
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“A capon is a special type of chicken created to make the meat more tender and less gamy. It is a rooster that has been castrated before reaching sexual maturity, which improves the quality of the meat; after that, it is fed a rich diet of milk or porridge. The lack of testosterone makes for a more tender, flavorful meat that is a delight compared to regular chicken. Unfortunately, in the United States today, it may be rare to see capon on a dinner menu or in the grocery store.

This poultry was once considered a luxury and during the early part of the twentieth century, the capon was the chosen bird for Christmas feasts, especially for the wealthy. Working-class families saw capon as a rare treat because it was quite expensive. Compared to rooster meat, which can be quite gamy, capon meat is tender and flavorful. It is also relatively fatty and has a high proportion of white meat. The absence of sex hormones causes the difference in taste and texture between capon meat and rooster meat. The lack of the hormone also allows more fat to form on the bird’s muscles making them tender and buttery. Due to the nature of sex hormones, the rooster must be castrated before it reaches the age of maturity, otherwise, the changes in muscle density will have already occurred.
Castration makes the male chickens less aggressive too, which means less fighting among the birds. While roosters typically need to be separated, capons can usually be penned together without fear of feathers flying. They are also less energetic than other poultry, which helps their meat stay tender. While the lack of testosterone does mean that capons are smaller than the average rooster, a capon is still larger than an average chicken.

You can prepare capon like any other poultry dish. Typically, capons are roasted and the procedure for doing so is similar to roasting a chicken; due to its larger size, however, the cooking time will be longer.
Traditionally, roosters are braised. For instance, the classic French dish coq au vin involves braising a rooster in red wine. That is because their meat is tougher than chicken meat and they are usually slaughtered at an older age, which toughens the meat as well. As such, braising is also a good cooking technique for preparing capon.
A capon is more flavorful than a chicken as well as a turkey, with tender and juicy meat that is is void of any gamey taste. It is full-breasted and has a high-fat content, keeping what could become dry white meat nice and moist as it cools.
If you do manage to find capon meat in your local grocery store, you can follow a braised chicken recipe to prepare it. A whole, cut-up capon combines with bacon, leeks, onion, garlic, rosemary, tomato paste, chicken stock, and white wine and cooks slowly until bubbling and cooked through.

A roasted capon is a perfect centerpiece for a dinner party or holiday table. Keep it somewhat simple or try something a little more exotic.
Depending on where you live and how specialized your local supermarket is, you may be able to find a capon in the poultry section. Since capon is not an item that is bought often and therefore restocked regularly, it is important to look at the “sell-by” date, as well as the quality of the meat and make sure it’s fresh.
If you don’t see a capon in the poultry case, it is worth asking the butcher if he can get one for you. Otherwise, specialty groceries and online meat purveyors are your best bet.
If you don’t plan to cook the capon immediately, you can store it in the refrigerator for two to three days. To be sure that no liquids escape into your fridge, place the packaged capon in a plastic bag first. For longer storage, you can freeze the capon for three to four months, although it will begin to lose its flavor after two months. If the capon came with giblets, remove them before freezing and store separately.
In a 4-ounce serving of roasted capon (including the skin), there are 259 calories and 13.2 grams of fat, as well as 97 milligrams of cholesterol (which is 32 percent of the daily recommended value). Capon also has 32.7 grams of protein, making it a good source of this nutrient.”
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End of excerpt
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Bon Appétit !   Life is Good !
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Read here all about   Capon
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Capon Tacos

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Capon Tacos

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Capon Tacos

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Capon Tacos

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Capon Tacos

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

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