Gorgonzola

Pasta & Love / Love & Pasta

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So this is what happened last night –
I was working on this post for ChefsOpinion.
While processing the pics from the day’s dinner, I came across this sign of love (I did NOT arrange this before I took the pics).
Not only does it look like a heart, it also resembles two stylized swans heads and necks, an image we use often in food decoration.
What are the odds ?????
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Bon Appétit ! Love is Good !
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P.S.
It would have been even more awesome if it would have happened on the 14th (Valentines Day),
but then certainly nobody would have believed that it happened by happy chance 🙂
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Spaghetti With Cabbage, Peppers, And Gorgonzola

Pasta & Love / Love & Pasta

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Preparation :
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: gorgonzola, spaghetti, bell pepper, onion, white cabbage

: saute julienne of 2 med.size onions, 1 tblsp garlic paste and 5 ea spicy Italian sausages in 2 tblsp olive oil

: saute until the onions are lightly caramelized and the sausages are cooked through

: add julienne of 1/2 head white cabbage and julienne of 1 large red bell pepper, season with kosher salt and cayenne pepper

: saute 1 minute or until cabbage has heated through but is still crisp

: add 1 lb al dente spaghetti to a bowl

: top the spaghetti with the sauteed sausage and veggies, add 3 tblsp fresh-grated asiago cheese and 3 tblsp chopped Italian parsley

: mix all ingredients, check / adjust seasoning

: to serve, sprinkle with more parsley and coarse-crumbled gorgonzola; Serves 4

: Spaghetti With Cabbage, Peppers And Gorgonzola

: Spaghetti With Cabbage, Peppers And Gorgonzola

: Pasta & Love / Love & Pasta

: Pasta & Love / Love & Pasta

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Steak Salad Recipe # 91

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Today’s dinner salad was pretty special for me, because it contained six of my favorite food items – endive, pears, Gorgonzola, garlic, shiitake mushrooms and Entraña (faux hanger steak).
While the shiitake might not seem a good fit for a salad at first glance, they turned out to be a perfect fit with the rest of the ingredients.
This salad was at the same time very rustic and very refined.
The different textures and flavors combined to be an absolute beautiful and tasty salad that can be served as main course, appetizer or snack.
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Bon Appétit ! Life is Good !
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Click here for more Steak and Steak Salad on ChefsOpinion
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Steak Salad Recipe # 91

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Preparation :
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: 2 ea Entraña (top of “faux hanger steak”)

: 1 ea pear-cut into batonnets, 10 oz gorgonzola-cut into slices, 6 ea scallion stalks- sliced, 8 ea whole garlic confit, 1 ea large endive (yellow only) -cut into pieces, 5 ea basil leaves-finely sliced (chiffonade)

: season steaks with kosher salt and fresh-cracked black pepper, saute in a VERY hot pan in 1 tblsp peanut oil until rare, set aside to rest and cool to room temperature before slicing

: 8 oz fresh shiitake, stems removed

: saute shiitake in 1/4 cup peanut oil until plumb, remove mushrooms with a slotted spoon, set aside

: in the same oil, saute the garlic and scallions until lightly browned, remove with a slotted spoon, set aside; to make the dressing, add 2 tblsp raspberry vinegar, a dash of maggi seasoning, kosher salt and cayenne pepper to the oil, whisk, check/adjust seasoning

: mix 1/3 of the dressing with the shiitake, scallion and garlic

: mix 2/3 of the dressing with the pear, basil and endive,

: place the endive and pear into a serving bowl

: top with the sliced steak, then with the shiitake, garlic and scallions; serves 2 entrees, 4 snacks or 6 appetizers

: Steak Salad Recipe # 91

: Steak Salad Recipe # 91

: Steak Salad Recipe # 91

: Sweet Bella

: Scary Bella

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Easy does it # 31 – Mushroom & Gorgonzola Loaded Twice Baked Potatoes

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And the award for best twice-baked potatoes goes to…………
No need to explain the virtues of this dish, just look at it and imagine
it would be in front of you right now
(anyone for a steaming, hot beauty ?)……….. 🙂
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Mushroom & Gorgonzola Loaded Twice Baked Potatoes

potato, mushrooms, onion, garlic, gorgonzola, asiago

bake potatoes until soft in center, cut in half, remove flesh, lightly mash with grated asiago and diced gorgonzola

saute mushrooms in a sinful amount of butter, add to the potatoes, season with cayenne pepper and kosher salt, fill into potato shells

saute mushrooms and diced onions in a sinful amount of butter, add to the potatoes, season with cayenne pepper and kosher salt, fill into potato shells

sprinkle with grated asiago, bake until golden, sprinkle with sliced scallion and chili flakes

Mushroom & Gorgonzola Loaded Twice Baked Potatoes

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Hans’ Poutine

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When I was a small kid, french fries were a VERY special treat for me. At the time, restaurant visits were a seldom enjoyed occasion and therefore happened only once in a while. But whenever we did visit a restaurant, French Fries, or”Fritten” as they are called in many parts of Germany, were one of the highlights to look forward to. The most common dish served to kids was “Schnitzel with Fritten”, a small veal or pork scallop with french fries and sauce. Thus, french fries doused in sauce or gravy is one of my earliest and fondest restaurant memories. Imagine my delight many years later when I visited Quebec/Canada the first time and ordered Poutine. As the waiter explained it to me, this seemed to be the most ideal food in the world – french fries doused in sauce and topped with soft cheese.
But, my oh my, what a disappointment I got served: Crappy fries with crappy sauce and crappy cheese :-(.
(Sorry my dear Canadian friends, but this is how it appeared to me at the time.
I am of course talking about my very own, personal taste and opinion when I talk about this much beloved Canadian dish, but it is what it is – to this day I don’t like it in its original form. To make a point, have a look at a cross-section of Poutine on this Link, then tell me the majority of it does not look, to put it mildly, less than appetizing. On the other hand, If you love cheese curds…….
So, I was pondering this the other day and I decided to improve my Poutine experience, thinking of the possibilities which proper fries with proper sauce and proper cheese (meaning cheese I personally prefer to cheese curds, which I can’t stand), could provide and I came up with this version, which I absolutely love.
I understand that nowadays, there are many different versions of Poutine available and popular, so my version is probably not as alienating to my dear Canadian friends as it would have been 40 years ago when I first encountered this culinary Canadian icon.
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Hans’ Poudine

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Preparation :
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Link to how to prepare great Tomato Sauce
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How to prepare great French Fries:
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Peel large baking potatoes and cut them into even size fries. Add to COLD duck fat and set on medium-high heat. Carefully stir fries once in a while so they cook evenly. Once they are golden brown, they will be crispy on the outside and creamy on the inside. Remove to absorbent paper, then toss in a bowl with sea salt and cayenne pepper. Enjoy 🙂
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: Potatoes, tomato sauce, gorgonzola

: crumble gorgonzola into medium chhunks

: start fries in cold duck fat

: almost….

: remove fries to absorbent paper, sprinkle with kosher salt

: plate the fries

: top with gorgonzola

: ladle tomato sauce over cheese and fries, top with more cheese

: Hans’ Poudine

: Hans’ Poudine

: Hans’ Poudine

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Summer Feast Salad

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Today the temperature was hovering around 100F and the humidity was almost unbearable.
So what, you say; You have A/C, you say….
Well, we do, but Bella and I spend half a day at the Topeekeegee Yugnee Park, which is just a few miles up the road from our house. It was very relaxing and beautiful, but oh so hot.
So when we got home, a light meal was in order and what better than a salad and a pool of iced tea to cool a scorched body down 🙂
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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P.S.
I usually don’t use much fruit in my salads, but the firm, slightly tart nectarines perfectly complimented the cheese, salad and nuts.
P.P.S.
Instead of croutons I used tarallini (Small Taralli , (sometimes marketed as “Italian Love Knots”)

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Summer Feast Salad

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Preparation :
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: dress arugula and thinly sliced vine-ripened tomatoes with apple cider vinaigrette

: top with gorgonzola, avocado and nectarines

: sprinkle with toasted cashew nuts

: top with tarallini and fresh basil

: Summer Feast Salad

: Summer Feast Salad

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Casarecce Gorgonzola

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I was going to make a quick salami and gorgonzola sandwich, when I realized that I felt I had to treat myself to a better lunch than a simple sandwich, so I checked the larder for a few available goodies and the following is what I came up with. By the time the pasta was cooked al dente, I had all the other ingredients prepped and it took only about another five minutes to complete the dish. While I love a good sandwich, this dish was a far more rewarding lunch and it took only slightly more time to prepare.
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Casarecce Gorgonzola

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Preparation :
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: saute onions, salame, chillies and garlic paste in olive oil

: add gorgonzola cheese

: add heavy cream, simmer until gorgonzola is melted

: add quartered artichoke hearts

: add freshly ground black pepper and scallions

: add casarecce pasta

: mix until pasta is well coated with gorgonzola sauce, if sauce is too thick, add a bit of the cooking liquid from the pasta, check / adjust seasoning

: Casarecce Gorgonzola

: Casarecce Gorgonzola

: Casarecce Gorgonzola

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The Italianator

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Sometimes, a simple sandwich can satisfy all my culinary needs, as long as it is interesting, tasty and – yes – as long as it looks great and appetizing!
When a slice of dry turkey and sandwich spread between two slices of wonder bread won’t do, (which, for me, is NEVER!), a sexy beauty like “The Italianator” will surely ring the bells of culinary bliss and lets me forget steaks and lobsters, at least for the moment.
– And on top of it, getting to name these creations is much fun in itself. 🙂
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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The Italianator

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Preparation :
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: Rustic Italian Sourdough Bread

: slice bread into thick (dare I say monstrous) slices

: grill bread until golden, then brush with garlic oil

: season broccoli florettes with kosher salt, fresh ground black pepper and garlic oil

: top bread with broccoli

: top broccoli with prosciutto cotto

: top ham with thick slices of gorgonzola, sprinkle with fresh cracked black pepper

: bake sandwich until cheese is melted

: season cucumber and radish julienne with italian vinaigrette, sprinkle generously on top of sandwich

: The Italianator

: The Italianator

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Breakfast Of Champions # 37 – Raspberry Pancake

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What a difference it makes to make pancake batter from scratch, compared to the packaged crap. You can control exactly how sweet you want it, make a sweet or savory version (bacon pancake anybody?), add vanilla or not and best of all, the texture and taste is so much better when made from scratch. The only thing you want to be careful with is to make sure that the bowl and wire whisk (to whisk the egg whites) is absolutely fat-free so you can achieve stiff-peaked egg whites which are the key to a feather light pancake.

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Click here to watch a video of how to make an epic Bacon Pancake With Gorgonzola And Cicharones
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Raspberry Pancake

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Preparation :
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mix 1 cup of selfrising flour, 4 eggyolks, 2 tbl spoon sugar, 1 pinch salt and 1 dash of vanilla extract

mix 1 cup of self-raising flour, 4 egg yolks, 2 tbl spoon sugar, 1 pinch salt and 1 dash of vanilla extract

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mix all ingredients until smooth

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whisk 4 eggwhites until stiff peaks form

whisk 4 egg whites to stiff peaks

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lightly fold egg whites into batter

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pour into medium hot pan

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sprinkle with raspberries

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bake at 380 until pancake has set, flip pancake to brown on other side and to caramelize the raspberries. (to avoid flipping the pancake, you can also turn of the oven when the pancake has set and switch on the broiler), but I personally like the first method better because of the way the raspberries spread out and turn into a caramelized puree 🙂

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to serve, sprinkle with powdered chocolate and sugar, top with raspberry yogurt and more fresh raspberries

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Raspberry Pancake

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Raspberry Pancake

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Raspberry Pancake

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EASY DOES IT # 14 – Fondue Au Fromage Sec #2

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Click here for all previous EASY DOES IT recipes

Click here for previous Fondue Au Fromage Sec recipe
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This is a dish you want to share with your best buddy or closest family on that special, informal occasion. That time when you just want to have a few drinks and eat good, without spending too much time in the kitchen (- or non at all – you can prepare this the day before without baking it, keep it in the fridge and then just jugg it in the oven 15 minutes before you are ready to eat).
Goes great with cold beer, cold white wine or slightly chilled red wine.
P.S.
Although there is a knife and cutting board in the picture below, the whole thing is even more agreeable if you just grab a piece and rip it from the loaf 🙂
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Fondue Au Fromage Sec #2

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Preparation :
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mise en place: Sour dough loaf, sun dried tomato, sliced chives, sliced asiago cheese, crumled gorgonzola, mustard, sriracha, olive oil

mise en place: Sour dough loaf, sun dried tomato, sliced chives, sliced asiago cheese, mascarpone, crumbled gorgonzola, grey poupon mustard, sriracha, olive oil

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score bread in a criss-cross pattern about half way down, in a bowl, mix all remaining ingredients, then stuff them into the breads cavities.

score bread in a criss-cross pattern about half way down, drizzle a good amount of mascarpone over bread and into the cuts, in a bowl, mix all remaining ingredients, then stuff them into the bread’s cavities.

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bake at 375 F until cheese has melthed and center of bread is at 165 F

bake at 375 F until cheese has melted and center of bread is at 165 F

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EASY DOES IT # 14 – Fondue Au Fromage Sec, #2

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Fondue Au Fromage Sec #2

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Midnight Snack (No Crappy Chips With Crappy Salsa)

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What’s a man got to do when brutal hunger strikes at 2.00am ?
– How about this little snack I whipped up last night.
Accompanied by a nice bottle of merlot.
Happily shared with Bella (the snack, not the wine 🙂

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !

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antique Delft ware. One of a pair

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sour dough bread, gorgonzola with dijon, pate with horseradish, boursin with tamato

sour dough bread, gorgonzola with dijon, pâté with horseradish, boursin with tamato

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sour dough bread, gorgonzola with dijon, pate with horseradish, boursin with tomato, frisée with egg in lime vinaigrette

sour dough bread, gorgonzola with dijon, pâté with horseradish, boursin with tomato, frisée with egg in lime vinaigrette

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sour dough bread, gorgonzola with dijon, pâté with horseradish, boursin with tomato, frisée with egg in lime vinaigrette

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Dear Friend’s, to help support this blog,
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