garlic

” Spaghetti Aglio e Olio “

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Tonight,
a simple, great, straightforward pasta dish is all I need.
I give you : Spaghetti aglio e olio 🙂
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Ingredients :

1 pound dried Spaghetti
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons roasted garlic
1 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes
Salt, to taste

Method :

Cook pasta in boiling, salted water until al dente.
Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat.
Add garlic and red pepper flakes and cook until garlic is fragrant.
Drain pasta, reserving some of the cooking liquid. Add to pan.
Season with salt.Mix well, adding some of the cooking liquid
if the pasta seems too dry.
To serve, sprinkle with chopped italian parsley.

Please note :
I have changed the basic, very traditional recipe by replacing
slivered garlic with roasted garlic and adding scallions
(for crunch) and Parmigiano Reggiano (for taste).

Buon Appetito ! Life is Good !
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” Roasted Garlic – The Top Of The Food Pyramide ? “

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By now you have probably realized that I add garlic to just about
everything, maybe with the exception of vanilla pudding and fruit salad 🙂
Here a quick instruction how to quickly and easily do this
wonderful concoction which will enhance so many dishes.
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Cut the top of a heads of garlic, drizzle with duck fat or olive oil,
sprinkle with kosher salt and wrap airtight in alu foil.
Roast in a 400 degree oven for one and a half hours. Let garlic cool in foil.
When cool, unwrap and squeeze garlic into bowl.
If you made a large amount to be frozen, mix with some oil so that it does not
freeze rock solid and you are able to remove small amounts at a time.
Pack into sealable bag and freeze.
This can be used in any dish which calls for garlic, but it is also great to just spread on
a grilled bread of any kind and sprinkle with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper🙂

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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” About My Recipes “

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Dear Friend‘s,

Here is my answer to a question some of my new readers have once in a while :

I love the dish! But where is the recipe ?

To answer those questions :
The ingredient’s (except most standard seasonings) are usually pictured in the first (the Prep) picture..
The idea is to have you add as much / little of one ingredient as you like :
Don’t like much garlic? Add less! Love garlic? Add more.
In savory cooking, recipes are usually just guidelines, which you should interprete
according to your taste , preferences and availability. (Don’t like butter? Use olive oil !
Don’t like butter nor olive oil? Use Canola oil or peanut oil or whatever fat you like !
Prefer your soup / sauce thicker or thinner ? Add more or less thickener !
Don’t want fat in your food? Leave it out!
Most reader like this format, especially the once who have fallen on their butt
by following “EXACT” recipes to the dot, just to find out they don’t give you the pictured result : -(

And yes, many of my recipes have the approximate amounts printed 🙂

So please remember :
To truly learn a dish, one must understand what the temperature, moisture and time does to the ingredients. (Amongst many other things).

To quote Alton Brown:
“A home cook who relies too much on a recipe is sort of like a pilot who reads the plane’s instruction manual while flying.”
– Alton Brown

Cooking is a labor of love.
Do what makes you happy, as long as you understand the guidelines. :-)

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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” Potato, Cheddar & Bacon Soup ”

This soup hit all the right buttons when I was craving
a simple, quick, delicious meal on labor day evening.
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Ingredient’s:

Potatoes, diced, blanched
Sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
Bacon, julienned
Onion, diced
Garlic, paste
Green peas, blanched
Heavy cream,
Chicken stock,
AP Flour,
Butter,
Salt,
Cayenne pepper

Method :

Sautee bacon, rendering fat, until crisp. Remove onto absorbent paper, reserve.
Add butter to bacon fat, add onion, garlic and flour. Saute until onion and garlic
are translucent without darkening flour. Add stock, whisk to avoid lumps and
bring to a simmer. Simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat, whisk in cheese
and craem until texture is smooth. Add potatoes, green peas, salt and pepper
and, while carefully stirring, reheat until hot.
( You don’t want to mash up the potatoes and peas)

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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” Breakfast Of Champions ” # 8 Tomato Flatbread & Chorizo

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Unfortunately, Bella does not understand the concept of sleeping in on a holiday.
So, even though I took her on our last walk at around 2.30am this morning, she had the urge
to wake me up at 5.30am again, indicating she had urgent business to take care of.
Turns out that business was chasing cat’s, nothing else, not even the smallest of “business”.
Well, sometimes love makes us suffer a bit and I figure in Bellas case it is an easy
trade off, all the love she gives me in return for getting up a bit early 🙂
Anyway, after the walk I felt it was time for a REAL breakfast.
So here it is, 6.30am, my “breakfast of champions” :
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Obviously this dish need’s no recipe. All of the items in the picture of the prep can be substituted and added upon, such as adding different cheeses, different sausages, flatbreads, veggies, change the spread from mustard to greek yoghurt, guacamole or salsa, etc, etc. The possibilities are endless, your imagination will be highly rewarded.

Bon Appetit ! Have A Great Day !
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” Penne Rigate alla Contadino ”

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Last nights dinner, rigate alla contadino,
a rich concoction you might find at a poor farmers table.
Even at a simple farmers dinner table you can find pasta,
sausage, cheese, cream and vegetables.
With a little imagination and love for food, you can turn these
simple ingredients into a dish fit for a king 🙂
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Ingredients :

Penne Rigate, cooked al dente, strained, reserve some of the cooking liquid
Morcilla, thinly sliced
Chorizo, thinly sliced
Peppers, julienned
Onion, julienned
Garlic, paste
Tomato, wedges
Scallions, sliced
Parmesan, grated
Hot sauce, to taste
Salt, to taste
Cream,
Olive oil,

Method :

Saute onions and garlic until translucent, add chorizo and peppers and saute one more minute.
Add pasta,cream, cheese, morcilla and seasoning, simmer and mix well for another minute.
If texture becomes too thick, add some cooking liquid until you have the desired texture.
To serve, sprinkle with scallions and more parmesan.

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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” Saure Kutteln ” (For Offal Lover’s Only)

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” Saure Kutteln “ (Sour Tripe) with potato gratin.

I grew up eating this dish often, it used to be a popular dish in southern Germany.
Eating habit’s have changed over the past few decades since I was growing up there,
so who knows, maybe , like so many other wonderful classic dishes, it too has
disappeared from today’s “modern” menus 😦
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Ingredient‘s :

Tripe
Tomato sauce
Demi Glace
Cider vinegar
Dark rum
Garlic paste
Caraway seed
Onions
Butter
Salt
Cayenne

Method :

Blanch the tripe, starting with cold, vinegared, salted water, twice. The third time, simmer until tender. Don’t overcook ! In my opinion, the tripe should still have a bit of a bite to it.
Strain, rinse. Saute the onion, garlic and caraway seed’s until fragrant. Deglace with rum, add demi glace, tomato sauce, vinegar, let simmer for 5 minutes. Add tripe and simmer for another 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Serve with pasta, potatoes or a rustic bread.

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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” Healthy Mac & Cheese and Guacamole “

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“Healthy” mac & cheese ? Why not, it’s got veggies 🙂
Well, there you have it. It all depends on how you look at things.
But honestly, what’s wrong with a good meal of pasta, cheese, cream
and vegetables ? Nothing ! Just don’t do what I did :
Eating too much of it at one time. ( The pic’s of the individual portion
should indicate a proper portion for the health- and weight- conscious).
Everybody else : Just dig in and enjoy.

Life is too short to feel miserable about thing’s that make you feel good!
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Ingredient‘s :
Pasta:

Ziti, cooked al dente
Carrots, blanched
Broccoli, blanched
Celery, finely diced
Garlic, paste
Whip cream,
Whole egg, whisked
Salame, diced
Sharp cheddar, shredded
Parmesan, shredded
Brie, finely diced
Salt, to taste
cayenne, to taste
Chili flakes, to taste
Maggi, to taste
Butter

Guacamole :

Avocado, diced
Lime, juiced
Fresh chilis, finely sliced
Cilantro, coarsely chopped
Garlic, paste
Salt, to taste
Cayenne, to taste

Method :
Pasta :

Butter a ovenproof casserole generously with butter.
Mix all ingredients except the chili flakes and half the parmesan.
Fill casserole to the rim, sprinkle with parmesan and chili flakes.
Bake until set and crust is golden. Serve with Guacamole.

Guacamole :

Mix all ingredients until guacamole has the texture you desire.
The more you stir, the more the avocado breaks down and the
guacamole becomes smoother, less chunky.

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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” Smoked Pig’s Tail, Bow Ties & Vegetable Stew “

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In my opinion, pig‘s tails are the second best part of the whole pig,
right after the cheek’s. I prefere them brined and simmered, served
with a good mustard and sour dough bread. However, I found those
smoked ones at my neighbor hood store and what better way to enjoy
them then in a good stew 🙂
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Ingredient‘s :

Smoked pig’s tail’s,
Bow tie pasta, cooked, al dente
Cauliflower, blanched
Broccoli, blanched
Carrots, blanched
Scallions, sliced
Tomatoes, wedges
Ginger, grated
Garlic, paste
Cilantro, chopped
Cayenne pepper, to taste
Kosher salt, to taste
Maggi seasoning, to taste

Method :

Simmer pig’s tail’s in lightly seasoned water until tender.
Add all other ingredients, simmer until heated through.
Serve with rustic sour dough bread.

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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” Salmon Parisienne, Bean & Mushroom Ragout “

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When I cooked this dish last knight I realized that I have not seen anything ” a la Parisienne ” on a menu for many years. What a shame that so many classic dishes and methods simply disappear from the repertoire of our younger chef’s. Granted, old fashioned and steeped in tradition might not be practical or popular on a daily basis. But I feel we should not completely stop to learn and enjoy the classics. How long before we all get sick and tired of the one hundred’st version of grilled fish with salsa ? Let’s mix it up a bit ! Mix the classics with the modern, the traditional with the new, the tried and proven with the daring 🙂 I vote for a greater repertoire for our younger food enthusiasts in order to keep the spirit of our culinary profession vibrant and alive !
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Ingredients :

Salmon filet, cleaned, skinless, marinated w.salt. pepper, lime juice
Whole egg, to dip fish
Flour, to dust fish
Butter, to saute fish

Baby portabellas, quartered
White beans, cooked
Red peppers, finely diced
Garlic, paste
Onion, diced
Scallion, sliced
Scallion , whole
Salt, to taste
Cayenne pepper, to taste
Butter, to saute vegetables

Method :

dredge seasoned fish in flour, coat with whisked egg, saute until
egg is tender and fish is cooked but still juicy. Remove to absorbent paper.

Saute onion and mushroom in butter until onions are translucent and
mushrooms start to brown.
Add Garlic paste, saute another minute. Add peppers, whole and sliced
scallions and seasoning.
To plate, put ragout on plate, top with salmon and garnish with whole scallion.

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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