from scratch

Breaded Chicken Sandwich With Guacamole, Sweet Chili Relish & Fried Egg, accompanied by Hummus and Small Salad

BREADED CHICKEN SANDWICH WITH GUACAMOLE, SWEET CHILI RELISH & FRIED EGG, ACCOMPANIED BY HUMMUS AND SMALL SALAD

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Usually, I have a variation of breaded or grilled chicken sandwich at least once a week, always accompanied by some easily prepared salad. As for the chili relish and hummus, I usually make them fresh at home, but I also sometimes use store-bought items. Nowadays, many grocery stores have such great quality conserves that it does not always make sense to prepare them oneself, not so much because of the work involved but because of the limited space in the fridge. Since I have prepared all this stuff a thousand times from scratch, I sure know how to do it and don’t have to be embarrassed to admit to store-bought items, at least once in a while 🙂
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Bon Appétit ! Life is Good !

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Click here for Hummus Recipe
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Click here for more Chicken on ChefsOpinion
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Click here for more Sandwiches on ChefsOpinion
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BREADED CHICKEN SANDWICH WITH GUACAMOLE, SWEET CHILI RELISH & FRIED EGG, ACCOMPANIED BY HUMMUS AND SMALL SALAD

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

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: toast your buns or bread of your choice

: flatten 2 large chicken breasts until evenly thick, then score a criss-cross pattern

: season eggs with dijon mustard, kosher salt and sriracha to taste, whisk all together

: dredge in flour

: dredge in the egg mixture

: dredge in panko

: saute in 1/2 peanut oil – if the breasts are if very thick, cook on the first side covered

: crisp and golden on one side, turn and cook on second side uncovered, when almost cooked, discard the oil and add some whole butter to finish cooking

: plate salad, hummus and bottom-half of bun

: add one chicken breast

: top chicken with guacamole. top quac with chili, top chili with fried egg, add top half of bun

: BREADED CHICKEN SANDWICH WITH GUACAMOLE, SWEET CHILI RELISH & FRIED EGG, ACCOMPANIED BY HUMMUS AND SMALL SALAD

: BREADED CHICKEN SANDWICH WITH GUACAMOLE, SWEET CHILI RELISH & FRIED EGG, ACCOMPANIED BY HUMMUS AND SMALL SALAD

: BREADED CHICKEN SANDWICH WITH GUACAMOLE, SWEET CHILI RELISH & FRIED EGG, ACCOMPANIED BY HUMMUS AND SMALL SALAD

: BREADED CHICKEN SANDWICH WITH GUACAMOLE, SWEET CHILI RELISH & FRIED EGG, ACCOMPANIED BY HUMMUS AND SMALL SALAD

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Sautierte Rinderfiletspitzen In Paprikarahm Mit Knoblauch/Kartoffel- Püree…..(Trust Me, It’s Good Stuff)

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In case you wonder, it translates to:
“Sautéed Beef Tenderloin Tips In Paprika Cream With Garlicky Potato Puree”
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The other day I saw a food show on TV with Michelle Bernstein (I actually like this show, it reviews South Floridian Restaurants)
During the show, one of the “Foodies” commented that the restaurant in question actually serves “REAL” Mashed Potatoes”, meaning mashed potatoes made from scratch, using “REAL” potatoes instead of the powdered stuff.
This is how far the quality of the majority of average restaurants has sunk to. Mind you, they were not talking about fast food, but a restaurant with an average dinner expense of $60.00 per person before drinks and tip. Very sad indeed !
So today I decided to prepare one of the best, easiest, cheapest and one of the most satisfying side dishes there is : “REAL Potato Puree”, accompanied by an equally great protein dish. While the beef tender-tips I used today are relatively expensive, they can readily substituted with a more economic protein, such as a cheaper beef cut or an altogether different protein such as chicken or pork.
I do make mashed potatoes quite often, exactly for the reasons I mentioned earlier (economic, yummy, easy), usually in a great variety. They can be mashed, pureed or whipped, they can contain additional ingredients such as cheese, sour cream, butter-milk, heavy cream or whole-milk, protein such as bacon, crab meat, or corned beef, vegetables such as caramelized onions, green peas, sautéed leeks or caramelized carrots, herbs such as chives, parsley, oregano, marjoram or cilantro, seasoning such as sriracha, garlic, black pepper, horseradish, nutmeg, butter, olive oil, etc, etc, etc ……….
Why would anybody use the powdered stuff, which tastes disgusting at best and, besides a few extra minutes to cook the potatoes, is neither easier nor much faster than the “REAL” stuff ???
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Bon Appétit ! Life is Good !
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Click here for more Mashed Potatoes on ChefsOpinion
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Sautierte Rinderfiletspitzen In Paprikarahm Mit Knoblauch/Kartoffel- Püree…..(Trust Me, It’s Good Stuff)

Garlicky Potato Puree With Green Peas

Sautierte Rinderfiletspitzen In Paprikarahm Mit Knoblauch/Kartoffel- Püree…..(Trust Me, It’s Good Stuff)

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

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: peel, dice and cook 2 lbs potatoes until soft, drain; add 8 oz fresh butter, 6 oz green peas, 1 cup heated heavy cream, 1 tblsp garlic paste, kosher salt and cayenne pepper to taste

: mix well, check/adjust seasoning, cover and set aside

: cut 1 small red pepper, 1 small green pepper and i medium size white onion into julienne, set aside

: cut 2 lbs of beef tenderloin tips into thick batons, season with kosher salt and cayenne pepper to taste, saute in VERY hot peanut oil until browned on the outside but still rare on the inside, remove from pan, reserve

: saute the vegetables in 1 tblsp olive oil until just heated through

: add 2 cup heavy cream and 1/2 tblsp paprika powder

: simmer until reduced to 3/4 cup, add the tender-tips, mix well

: DO NOT SIMMER OR BOIL ANYMORE ! (this would toughen the protein); check/adjust seasoning

: place 1/4 of the puree on a plate

: make an indention

: place 1/4 of the sauteed tenderloin into the indention, sprinkle with chopped parsley or herb of your choice; serves 4

: Sautierte Rinderfiletspitzen In Paprikarahm Mit Knoblauch/Kartoffel- Püree…..(Trust Me, It’s Good Stuff)

: Sautierte Rinderfiletspitzen In Paprikarahm Mit Knoblauch/Kartoffel- Püree…..(Trust Me, It’s Good Stuff)

: Sautierte Rinderfiletspitzen In Paprikarahm Mit Knoblauch/Kartoffel- Püree…..(Trust Me, It’s Good Stuff)

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Easy does it # 26 – Char Siu Bao

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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 (and even pre-cooked dishes) which otherwise might seem too 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. After all, just because you are not (yet ?) a professional chef should not prevent you from enjoying great food at home. 🙂
Enjoy !
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If only Char Siu Bao (Cantonese barbecue-pork-filled buns) would be as easily available as our western buns in any restaurant, supermarket, bar and dive ! I would devour them at least once a day, everyday :-).
In the not so distant past, I have made Char Siu Bao many times from scratch. After all, over the years (decades), I was in charge of a few Chinese restaurants and even cooked in one on a daily basis (in Pakistan), so I am lucky enough to know the basics of some delicious Chinese food preparation.
However, with a great international/Asian food market close by, there is no need to do all the work by myself anymore. In fact, some of the prepared, frozen food items such as Baozi , Shumai or many other baked, steamed and boiled dumplings which are available frozen at “Foodtown Supermarket” in Davie are better than what I can get in most of the Chinese restaurants around here. And, as a quick dinner after work or a lazy lunch or just a snack in-between, these frozen marvels are unbeatable for convenience, quality and price. So I suggest that if you want to have another great standby for a rainy day, surprise guests or just a quick “different” meal, put some of these into your freezer and be prepared for anything. 🙂
“Foodtown Supermarket” has many varieties of steamed buns, filled with all kind of fillings, but I always come back to the Char Siu Bao which are my favorites.
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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For more about Foodtown Market click here
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Char Siu Bao

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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
To enlarge pictures and read instructions, click on pictures
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: fill a large pot wirh enough salted water to ALMOST reach the bottom of the first steamer basket add four FROZEN buns

: top first basket with another basket

: add another four buns

: top with the basket top

: cover the pot with a lid, bring the water to a boil, steam until the center of the dumplings reach 162F

: meanwhile, prepare the dipping sauce by mixing soy sauce with grated ginger, garlic paste, lime juice, sugar, sesame oil, chili oil and sliced scallions