garlic

” Rotelle, Artichokes, Snails & Grape Tomatoes “

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A few months ago I had one of these “whatever is in the cupboard” moment’s.
Low and behold, some of my favorites : Pasta, snails, artichokes.
The wonderful result of this :
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Personally I think it looks great, and best of all, it tastes even better.
That and the different textures made it an outstanding dish 🙂
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Boil the rotelle, strain, reserve some of the cooking water.
Make a mixture of cornstarch, flour, salt, garlic powder and lemon-salt.
Dredge the snails in the mix and fry at 375 degrees until crisp on the outside,
but moist and plum on the inside. Reserve on absorbent paper.
Fry the artichokes and reserve the same way.
Saute finely chopped garlic and onion in olive oil until opaque.
Add rotelle, a good amount of soft (not melted) butter, finely grated
parmesan cheese, tomatoes and some of the cooking water to the pot
and stir until a sauce forms that coats the pasta lightly.
Season with salt and pepper.
To serve, place pasta on bottom of plate or bowl, top with snails and
artichokes and sprinkle with parmesan and chopped parsley.

Bon Appetit ! Live is Good !
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” For Offal Lover’s Only ! “

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Friend’s, by now you have probably realized that some of my recipes and / or pictures
are of food which is a bit outside the mainstream. ( Some of my articles as well ? )
Yesterday I came across this article in the huffpost which reminded me again how
far most of our young “colleagues” and their guest’s / client’s in the culinary world
have moved away from the well rounded professionals we oldtimers were trained to be.
It praised the new generation of inventive and adventurous and oh so clever chef’s for
using the whole animal. WOW!
When I apprenticed in the sixties back in Germany, we were used to getting delivered
the whole animal, or if this was impractical because of it’s size and weight, a half (veal,
pig, stag, boar) or a quarter (beef). Fresh game was always dropped off whole by
the village hunter, and two four times a year we slaughtered our own pig’s which we
raised mostly on food scrap’s from the restaurant. So, on most restaurant’s menu’s
you wood find cut’s from ALL part of the animals. From snout to huff and tail and just
about anything in between was used for a well rounded menu, at small country inn’s
all the way up to five star restaurants.
So, in this spirit, here is my take on Gizzards :

” Fried Spicy Gizzard’s, Guacamole & Totopos ”
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Simmer the cleaned gizzards in red wine, garlic, salt and cayenne pepper until tender. Strain, dry.
Season with salt, cayenne pepper and garlic powder and fry until the edges become crisp.
Don’t fry too long or they become dry and tough. Season and fry the onions the same way.
To serve, sprinkle with cilantro and chili flakes.

Because I served these with guacamole, I did not need a dipping sauce .
If you want to use a dipping sauce, try this:
Soy sauce with scallions, lime juice, sriracha and a bit of rice wine and sugar. 🙂
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” Asian Garlic Noodles “

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Although when we hear Asia we don’t automatically think of
Parmesan Cheese and Maggi Seasoning, you would be surprised
how many of our western ingredient’s have found their way to Asia
for the asian version of fusion cooking.

Especially Malaysia and the Philippines have become culinary melting
pot’s, not only in restaurants in business and tourist areas, but also
in ordinary homes. You can omit the cheese and maggi in this dish to
be more authentic asian, but you will miss out on a lot of flavor and texture.
There are a million variations of this dish, this is one of my favorites 🙂

It’s your call, maggi & parmesan, or not 🙂

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Ingredient’s :

Salt
Chili pepper, flakes or ground
Garlic (2 heaping tablespoons)
Fish sauce (1 tablespoon)
Maggie sauce (1 tablespoon)
Oyster sauce (1 tablespoon)
Sugar (1 tablespoon)
Pasta, your favorite type (20 oz)
Water, reserved from cooking pasta
Butter, unsalted (1 stick)
Parmesan cheese, grated (1 heaping tablespoon)
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Method :Boil pasta i salted water, strain, reserving some of the pasta water.
Melt butter, sautee chili flakes, add pasta, add all other seasoning and cheese.
If texture is too dry, add pasta water ’til you reach the proper consistency
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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” Seafood Salad “

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“CANNED” seafood you ask ?

If it is not fresh it doesn’t hit my plate you say ?

Of course, I agree that fresh seafood is heaven on earth
when properly prepared, But sometimes in the real world
you come home late and want something tasty and don’t
feel like cooking. Here is what I did last night :
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The result ?
A great salad done in 10 minutes ( Hard boiled egg‘s take their time )

Ingredients:

Fresh / canned seafood of your liking (What’s in your cupboard)
Cucumber, salted for 5 minutes, rinsed
Hard boiled egg’s, diced
Radish, julienned
Bell peppers, julienned
Chilies, julienned
Garlic, paste
Parsley, chopped

Dressing:

Olive oil
Lemon juice
Raspberry vingar
Kosher Salt
Cayenne Pepper
Maggi Seasoning

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good ! 🙂

Related articles

Seafood Allergies: Fact vs. Fiction (everydayhealth.com)

” Breakfast of Champions ” # 1

Chili Peppers (Photo credit: camknows)

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Today’s Breakfast.

Tortillas, scrambled egg’s, sausage, chilies, garlic, lot’s of hot sauce.
Washed down with a glass of ice cold milk.
What’s not to like ? 🙂

Life is Good ! Bon Appetit !
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” Potatoe’s Balsamico “

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Of all potato dishes in the world,
this is my absolute favorite !

Potatoes,
Balsamic Vinegar,
Garlic,
Onion,
Spicy Sausage,
Olive oil,
Chilies,
Scallion,
Kosher Salt,
Fresh Ground Pepper.
Cover potatoes, vinegar, salt and pepper with foil, steam in oven at 420 until soft.
Remove foil, add all other ingredients and roast until golden brown.

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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” Pork Belly Tacos “

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Híjole ! Que sabroso ! 🙂

This is one of my versions of pork belly tacos. I like the texture and taste better
than the usual carnita preparation. Simmer the belly slowly in salted water until
tender, then saute in olive oil with garlic and onion.
When golden brown, remove from heat and add sour orange juice. I also used
sour orange juice together with olive oil and salt and pepper for the salad dressing.

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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