garlic

“Breakfast Of Champions # 15 ” – Scrambled Eggs…..

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Don’t you just hate it when you go to bed real late because you don’t have to work the next day and you look forward to sleeping-in in the morning, just to have your sweet dreams shattered by your inner alarm clock at your regular get-up time (3.30am). Why does my inner alarm clock not work when I forget to set my electronic alarm or when there is a power-out during the night ??? Anyway, since I was up and was going to watch a movie ( Amour, by Michael Haneke ), a good breakfast was in order :

” Scrambled egg’s with naan, greek yogurt, Argentinian chorizo and sauted grape tomatoes, corn and peppers in herbed garlic butter ”

Good start for the last day of 2012 🙂

Have a great day ! Live is Good !
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P.S.
Make sure you cook your eggs in the rendered chorizo fat after sauteing the sausages.
They’ll loose a bit of their bright color but they gain so much flavor 🙂
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Chinese Pickled Cucumber

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Chinese cucumber salad. 涼拌黃瓜 (liáng bàn huáng guā)
This is a dish I make often at home. It is easy to prepare, economical , (say cheap if you want :-). It holds up well in the fridge for a few day’s and I use it as appetizer, side dish or snack during any time of the day, but mostly late at night when I want something tasty, fresh and spicy.

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Ingredients :

Cucumbers, cut into batons
White rice vinegar,
Garlic, paste
Ginger, grated
Chili , diced (substitute peper flakes if you must)
Soy sauce, just a small amount, so as not to discolor cucumbers
Sesame oil,
Kosher salt,
Sugar,

Method :

Salt the cucumbers, cover and let stand for 30 minutes. Discard the salty juices which have collected. Ad all other ingredients, adjust seasoning if necessary.

Note: For a variation add a teaspoon of finely diced ginger. You can substitute the cucumber with another vegetable such as radish, jicama, cabbage or Chinese cabbage.
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Curried Lentil Soup With Pork & Pork

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” Curried lentil soup with pork, vegetables, potatoes, sun dried tomatoes, chilis and chicharones (the other pork) ”

Last night it was a bone chilling 68 F outside, (this is Florida, folks),
so this one-pot meal provided much needed heat and comfort 🙂
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Ingredients :

Pork butt, diced
Chicken stock,
Lentils, any color will do
Bell peppers, diced
Onions, diced
Potatoes, diced
Celery, diced
Carrots, diced
Sun dried tomatoes, chopped
Garlic, paste
Chicharones,
Butter, substitute with olive oil if you prefer
Kosher salt,
Cayenne,
Maggi seasoning,

Method :

Saute onions, carrots, celery, sun dried tomatoes and garlic in butter until onions are translucent. Add curry powder, saute slowly for 30 seconds. Add pork, chicken stock and seasoning. Simmer until pork is tender. Remove pork, set aside, cover so it does not discolor. Add lentils to stock and simmer for 15 minutes. Add potatoes and peppers. Simmer until tender but not falling apart. Blend one quarter of the soup until smooth and thick. Return to pot, add pork and heat through. Adjust seasoning if required. To serve, sprinkle with chicharones.

Bon Appetit ! Stay Warm !
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More Udon

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” Udon Noodles, Broccoli Rabe, Shrimp and Shiitake Mushrooms In Spicy Beef Broth ”
I still had some fresh udon noodles and the beef broth from a few days ago, so what better midnight snack (1.30 am actually), then a nice noodle soup. Obviously, this would be fine for any time of the day, breakfast, lunch, dinner or any time in between 🙂
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Ingredient’s :

Beef stock, ( from beef ribs, see HERE )
Udon noodles,
Broccoli rabe, blanched
Shiitake mushrooms, soaked
Onion, sliced
Shrimp, peeled and deveined
Chilis, sliced
Garlic, paste
Ginger, grated
Cilantro, chopped
Chili flakes,
Lime, juiced
Kosher salt,
Soy sauce,
Sesame oil,
Sriracha sauce,

Method :

Saute onion, garlic, ginger, mushroom and shrimp.
Add all other ingredients except cilantro and sesame oil,
simmer for one minute. Remove from heat, adjust seasoning
if necessary. To serve, drizzle with sesame oil and sprinkle
with cilantro and chili flakes .

Bon Appetit ! Life is good !
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If Hot Dog – Good Hot Dog !

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If you do it – do it right !
Even a simple hot dog can
give tremendous culinary pleasure.

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Spicy italian sausage,
Garlic bun
Gorgonzola,
Kosher pickles,
Butter sauteed onions
Chili flakes

Pickled slaw of red and white cabbage, cucumber & onion,
Scotch bonnet sauce,
Ketchup,
Dijon mustard

= Good Hot Dog 🙂
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Congee With Smoked Pig’s Tails & Vegetables

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Rice Porridge.
First thing that comes to mind is probably baby food or hospital gruff. Most folk’s would never think of ordering it from a menu in a restaurant, much less wake up and crave it for breakfast, if they hadn’t tasted or at least seen it before.

Now, let’s try again :
Congee. Lúgaw. Chok. Xifan. Juk. Okayu.
OK, that’s better 🙂

Sounds more interesting and exotic? These are just a few names given to rice porridge around the world. If there is a country or region which traditionally eats rice, then there is some form of rice porridge eaten.

Congee can be enjoyed as breakfast, snack, lunch or dinner. Congee most often contains rice, but other grains can be used. Ideally it is made with strong, tasty stock that infuses great taste and debt into the dish. But from there on, let your fantasy run wild. Congee can be made with seafood, meat, vegetables or a combination thereof. Then there are the toppings. Pickled vegetables, fried shallots, sliced scallions, pulled mushroom stems, crisp fried garlic, dried shrimps, 100 year eggs, cilantro, etc, etc. If you like it, put it on.
Below is a version I made on sunday for breakfast. The texture is more like a filipino Lugaw, with the rice VERY soft but still keeping it’s shape. At first I was not so sure about the smoked pigstails. I was worried they might be too overpowering. But not to worry. The taste was very rich with only a hint of smokiness. Another slightly unusual ingredient (served as condiment) was the freshly grated horseradish, although when you think of the japanese version Okayu, wasaby seems to be a fitting condiment. I prepare congee at home often, this version is definitely special and a great addition to my congee repertoire.
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All about CONGEE
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Previous CONGEE posts : 1 2 3
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Ingredient’s :

Jasmin rice,
Smoked pig’s feet,
Corn on the cob, cut into thick slices
Chinese unsmoked sausages, thinly sliced
Bell peppers, diced
Ginger, grated
Garlic, paste
Cilantro, chopped
Scallions, sliced
Salt,
Soy sauce,
Horseradish, freshly grated
Sesame oil,
Chili oil,
Peanut oil, to saute

Method :

Saute garlic and ginger in peanut oil until fragrant. Add water and pigstails. Simmer pigstails in unseasoned water for about an hour or until starting to become tender. Taste stock and if necessary season with salt and pepper. (Some smoked meats can be overly salted, so don’t season at first) Add rice and very slowly simmer for another hour or until the rice is close to the texture you desire. Now add the corn, diced peppers and sausages. Simmer for another fifteen minute. At this point, adjust texture and seasoning if necessary. If the congee is too thick for your liking, add some hot stock. If it is too thin, simmer longer or strain some of the liquid.
To serve, sprinkle with scallions and cilantro. Drizzle with chili oil.
Serve with horseradish and soy sauce. Acompanied by Oolong tea.

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Stir Fried Chicken, Mandarins, Walnuts & Bok Choy

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Usually I am not a big fan of fruit in my savory dishes,
but here it just seemed to be the right thing to add, and
it made the taste so much more rounded.
The mandarins were a bit on the acidic side, not very sweet,
I think that’s what made it at the end. Very enjoyable dish 🙂
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Ingredient’s :

Chicken Breast, wing separated, cut into large strips
Bok choy, cut on the bias
Mandarines, peeled, segmented
Walnuts, shelled, halved
Chilies, finely sliced
Cilantro, coarsely chopped
Sesame seeds, toasted,
Chicken stock,
Kosher salt,
Corn starch,
Garlic paste,
Ginger, grated
Soy sauce,
Sriracha,
Oyster sauce,
White wine,
Sesame oil,
Peanut oil, to saute

Method :

Silken chicken by mixing corn starch,
egg white and water with seasoning and chicken.
Saute chicken wings until almost done, add breast
strips and cook until golden and 3/4 cooked.
Remove chicken, set aside. Sautee bok choy,
add garlic, ginger, chilies, walnuts and mandarines.
Deglaze with a bit of chicken stock and white wine,
simmer for one minute only. Remove from heat,
add the chicken, sprinkle with sesame seeds and
serve with soy sauce and chili sauce.

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Flank Steak & Sauted Potatoes In Green Peppercorn Butter

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I came across a can of green peppercorn in my cup board and the first thing that came to mind was, of course, a classic green peppercorn sauce, flamed with cognac. But then I did not really feel it to go with my flank steak today, so instead, I made these very tasty potatoes to go with my steak. Great taste and texture, I am sure I will do some future dishes in that direction 🙂
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Ingredient’s & Method:
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It’s right here in the pictures, folks 🙂
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Enjoy ! Live is Good !
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Pork Medallion “Almondine”

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Yesterday’s late lunch, pork medallion in almonds, creamed spinach, sauteed grapes.
I knew it was turkey for dinner at my friend’s house, so no turkey at home. I did make and take the sidings though, creamed spinach, mashed sweet potatoes, gravy and walnut-cranberry stuffing.
Anyway, here is lunch. Enjoy 🙂

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Ingredients :

Pork medallion,
Almond‘s, slivered
Bread crumbs, fine
Egg, whole, whisked
AP flour,
Kosher salt,
Cayenne pepper,
Peanut oil, to saute

Spinach, washed, stems removed, chopped
Onions, diced
Garlic, paste
Heavy cream,
Kosher salt,
Cayenne pepper,
Nutmeg, grated
Butter, to saute

Grapes,
Butter, to saute

Season pork with salt and pepper. Dipp in flour,
egg and mixture of half breadcrumbs, half almonds.
Saute slowly to make sure almonds don’t get to dark
and bitter. However, oil must be hot enough to prevent
Breading to get soggy.

Saute onion and garlic until translucent, add cream
and reduce until thickened. Add spinach and seasoning,
cover with more cream and simmer until cream has reduced
again and texture is creamy.

When pork is done, remove onto absorbent paper.
Add a bit of butter and grapes to the pan, saute a few seconds
until grapes are warm. Spoon butter and grapes over pork.
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !

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Scotch Bonnet & Garlic Compound Butter

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Here is one of my “go to” items that will improve just about any dish for me and gives it the extra kick I like in most food. I usually have some in the freezer available at all times. Add to cream soups and eggs, mount into sauces, mix into pasta and vegetables or use as spread for a tasty sandwich. If the scotch bonnet’s are too deadly for you, replace part of them or all with jalapeno’s.
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Blend chilies of your choice with roasted garlic, sea salt and butter. Shape into little dollops. Freeze on plate or tray until solid. Remove into sealable plastic bag or container.

Spice up your life 🙂
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Life is Good when it’s Spicy ! 🙂
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