Grab Bag

Chili/Duck Rice Sticks

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The other day I roasted a whole duck to have for dinner but when it was almost done a friend called me to invite me for dinner, so I put the whole shamuckus in the fridge for the next day to be used. The following dish was the result and I must say – what an extraordinary satisfying result it was, both visual and taste-wise, which just goes to show (again) that sometimes leftovers are better than the original. (Mind you – not alway’s – but often enough)
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Chili/Duck Rice Sticks

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Preparation :
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: soak rice sticks in water for five minutes, drain

: remove all bones from duck,, discard bones

: saute slivered garlic in peanut oil until crisp and golden, set aside

: saute sliced onions in peanut oil until caramelized but not crisp, set aside

: pure goodness………

: saute duck in very hot peanut oil until skin is crisp but meat still juicy

: add chilies and grated ginger, saute a few seconds until chilies blister

: add rice sticks, equal parts of hoi sin sauce, chicken stock, oyster sauce, soy sauce, sweet thai chili sayce and ketchup )don’t scoff on the ketchup, it adds acidity and sweetness as well as richness to the dish

: mix all ingredients well, add a dash of sesame oil, check / adjust seasoning

: add bean sprouts and scallions

: almost there………..

: plate noodles on a deep plate or bowl

: sprinkle with more scallions

: add onions

: sprinkle with crispy garlic

: Chili/Duck Rice Sticks

: Chili/Duck Rice Sticks

: Chili/Duck Rice Sticks

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Buttermilk Pancakes With Caramelized Black Plums

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I am supposed to eat as much fresh fruit as possible, so here we go with a wonderful way of preparing fresh plums.
The pancakes? Not using refined sugar in the batter helps me feel less guilty than otherwise…….. 🙂
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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P.S.
Usually I use whipped egg white and a/p flour for my pancakes, but because I had some self rising flour in the cup board, I skipped the extra step of whisking the egg whites separately and used whole eggs. Almost same results 🙂
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Buttermilk Pancakes With Caramelized Black Plums

Dutch Pancakes With Caramelized Black Plums

Buttermilk Pancakes With Caramelized Black Plums

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

: remove pits by cutting along for sides

: melt a generous amount of butter

: add plums and honey

: saute until caramelized and released juices have formed a syrup

: ahhhh……

: whisk self rising flour, whole eggs, honey, buttermilk and a drop of vanilla extract into a smooth batter

: cook pancake in clarified butter

: flip and cook on other side

: to serve, sprinkle pancakes with castor sugar, serve with caramelized plums and unsweetened whipped cream

: Buttermilk Pancakes With Caramelized Black Plums

: Buttermilk Pancakes With Caramelized Black Plums

: Buttermilk Pancakes With Caramelized Black Plums

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Chicken In A Nest

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Chicken Salad is probably one of the most abused dishes out there. Ever more complicated and pompous, it has lost its original appeal for me a long time ago in it’s present form which is more likely than not a bunch of mostly outer salad leaves (I call that rabbit food 😦 , some obscure bottled dressing and a few slices of tomato and cucumber – $ 17.50 please! – plus tip and a diet coke or water and you will leave the restaurant with a bill of at least $ 25.00 for a mediocre meal you could prepare at home for a fraction of the price, much faster and most of all – much more delicious, healthy and appetizing !
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Chicken In A Nest

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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
To enlarge pictures and read instructions, click on pictures
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: dress grape tomatoes, baby arugula, romaine hearts and mung bean sprouts in honey mustard vinaigrette

: arrange salad on serving platter

: slice half an avocado, reserve shell

: place avocado shell on salad nest

: saute chicken in very hot peanut oil, add scallions

: add chicken to avocado shell, sprinkle with black sesame seeds

: add avocado slices, drizzle with lemon juice and olive oil

: Chicken In A Nest

: Chicken In A Nest

: Chicken In A Nest

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Shrimp And Lap Cheong Fried Rice

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Leftover rice –
soup, congee or fried rice ? – that was the question ! 🙂
Well, this time the decision came easy because I also had a few slices of cooked ham and a few small shrimp in my fridge, along with some peppers and fresh eggs. And besides, I’ll have a good fried rice anytime 🙂
This version is very simple and only takes a couple of minutes to prep and execute. Just make sure you use day-old rice – fresh cooked rice is too moist and will not result in good fried rice !
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Bon Appetit ! Live is Good !
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Shrimp And Lap Cheong Fried Rice

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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
To enlarge pictures and read instructions, click on pictures
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: shrimp, lap cheong, peppers

: stir fry finely diced onions, grated ginger and garlic paste in peanut oil

: add shrimp, lap cheong and peppers, season with kosher salt and cayenne pepper, remove from oil, set aside

: add day-old cooked rice to oil, stir fry until rice makes popping sound

: move rice to one side of wok / pan, add more peanut oil, stir fry whisked eggs until scrambled

: mix rice and eggs, season with salt, pepper

: mix all previously stir fried ingredients with rice / egs, add sesame oil and a few drops of chili oil

: add sliced scallions, stir fry for another few minutes, check / adjust seasoning

: Shrimp And Lap Cheong Fried Rice

: Shrimp And Lap Cheong Fried Rice

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$ 90 Salad Splurge …………….

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How do you justify an $90 salad for one?
I do by arguing that if I go to a restaurant and spend the same amount or even more, especially here in South Florida, my food will most likely not be as good and most certainly not as ample and luxurious. Three lbs of stone crab claws ($75) is a generous portion but not excessive. Add the shrimp, avocado and the other ingredients and you reach an eye-watering $90 bucks- definitely not something you want to do often, but once in a while for a special occasion …………. so today I was celebrating my upcoming birthday (December 2nd !) 🙂
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Bon Appetit ! Live a Little ! 🙂
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Stone Crab And Shrimp 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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: Stone Crab Legs & Shrimp

: mix endive, tomato, cucumber and ranch dressing

: plate salad and avocado wedges

: sprinkle salad with pomegranate seeds, top with crab meat and shrimp, drizzle with fresh lemon juice

: Stone Crab And Shrimp Salad

: Stone Crab And Shrimp Salad

: Stone Crab And Shrimp Salad

: Stone Crab And Shrimp Salad

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Mama Tilly’s “Quer Durch Den Garten” Eintopf

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Link to “Hans’ Lighter, Healthier Comfort Food”
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I wish I could sit one more time at my parents dinner table and be served my moms “Quer Durch Den Garten” eintopf. Of course, as a child, veggies and stews were not exactly big time favorites, but, as with so many memories, decades later all we usually remember are the good parts of our experiences and so it is with this dish – so, one more time please 🙂
This dish shows up in many homes nowadays but its new name is usually “clear out the fridge”.
But, what was then, way back, poetically called “quer durch den garten” (across the garden) was literally just that – everything that was ripe in the vegetable garden and had to be used up before it spoiled. Therefore, during harvest time in our back of the house small veggie garden, “quer durch den garten” was a dish that showed up a bit too often. Always a bit different, sometimes added pasta or rice instead of potatoes, usually different vegetables (whatever was ready for consumption) and most always a different protein – bacon, sausage, chicken, beef, or a combination of whatever was available. Obviously, this is one of my favorite dishes now, but back then…….. 😦
So here it is, in honor of my mom’s “Quer Durch Den Garten” eintopf:
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Bon Appetit ! Hans, you are not allowed to go outside before you finish your plate !!!
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Link to ” Eintopf ”
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Link to ” Gnocchi ” Recipe

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Mama Tillys “Quer Durch Den Garten” Eintopf

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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
To enlarge pictures and read instructions, click on pictures
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: chicken, kilbasa, tomatoes, broccoli stems

: simmer all vegetables in chicken stock until almost done, add meat

: bring back to a simmer, add gnocchi, simmer until gnocchi float

: check / adjust seasoning

: Mama Tillys “Quer Durch Den Garten” Eintopf

: Mama Tillys “Quer Durch Den Garten” Eintopf

: Mama Tillys “Quer Durch Den Garten” Eintopf

: to serve, add freshly grated swiss cheese ( mama tilly’s original) or parmesan cheese

: Mama Tillys “Quer Durch Den Garten” Eintopf

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Seafood Snack

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Your choice:
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$ 3.95 – 1 pack of crappy “Nachos”
$ 4.50 – 1 small tub of crappy “Salsa”
$ 3.50 – 1 small can of crappy “Cheese Dip”

Total: $ 11.95 for a crappy snack 😦
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OR !!!
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$ 11.00 – 1,5 lbs snow crab legs
$ 6.00 – 0.5 lb eat & peel shrimp
$ 1.00 for some Thai sweet & spicy chili sauce
$ 0.50 half a lemon
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Total: 18.50 for a delicious, healthy, beautiful snack 🙂
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You be the judge !

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Bon Appetit ! (Either way) 🙂
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: Seafood Snack

: Seafood Snack

: Seafood Snack

: Seafood Snack

: Bella loves Seafood 🙂

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Corned Beef And Cabbage – Happy St Patrick’s Day

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After a week of corned beef almost daily, (I bought too much meat, as usual), I am happy that today St Paddy’s day is finally here, the mountain of corned beef is devoured and we can move on to other goodies. 🙂
However, today’s dish, Corned Beef and Cabbage, has been served in so many different versions that most of it has become just a shadow of its former glory. I hope that I can help resurrect people’s interest in this lovely dish. My version is a simple one, yet pretty to look at and most important, VERY tasty and sumptuous.
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Click Here For Corned Beef Recipe
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Corned Beef And Cabbage

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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
To enlarge pictures and read instructions, click on pictures
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: rainbow potatoes, onions, herb/garlic butter

: saute vegetables in herb/garlic butter

: add beef stock, simmer until potatoes are almost done

: add cabbage

: add corned beef, ladle butter/stock from the bottom of the pan over the meat and cabbage, cover, simmer until cabbage is done, about 15 to 25 minutes, depending on your preference of texture

: plate cabbage and potatoes

: top with beef, ladle stock / butter over the top, sprinkle with scallions

: Corned Beef And Cabbage

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Matzoball & Corned Beef Soup

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Today’s lunch pay’s homage to the fact that tomorrow is St Paddy’s day and to the fact that corned beef is not really Irish in origin but has its roots in the Jewish community 🙂
(Before you scream at me, you might want to read the article below)

Is Corned Beef Really Irish?
The rise and fall and rise of the traditional St. Patrick’s Day meal
By Shaylyn Esposito, smithsonian.com , March 15, 2013

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Besides that, look at the pictures of this culinary knockout! If you are a soup lover, you won’t be able to resist this sexy, curvy beauty 🙂
I prepare this dish and many variations of it many times during the year, although usually I use regular beef, chicken or vegetable broth.
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Bon Appetit ! B’taya Von ! Gow dty vee dty fondagh ! Go raibh an bia blasta !
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Click Here For Corned Beef & Corned Beef Soup Recipes
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Click Here for Matzo Ball Recipe
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Click Here For More St Paddy’s Day Recipes
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Matzoball & Corned Beef Soup

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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
To enlarge pictures and read instructions, click on pictures
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: follow link for Matzo Ball Recipe

: cut corned beef into cubes

: place corned beef and finely sliced chives in serving dish

: matzoballs, starting to simmer

: same matzoballs, 30 minutes later

: add matzoball to beef

: add stock to matzo ball and meat

: Matzoball & Corned Beef Soup

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Greek Salad (Limburger Salad)

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” ~~Greek~~ Limburger Salad “
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When I decided to have a Greek salad for dinner I had to go to the store first to get the necessary ingredients. To my tremendous surprise and delight, I discovered a type of cheese in the dairy section which I had not encountered for at least 20 years and which I would never have expected to find here in Miami – Limburger Cheese. This was the favorite cheese of my dad when I was a kid, and as I got older, the taste (and smell) eventually grew on me and Limburger became one of my favorite cheeses as well 🙂
So of course, never mind the feta cheese, Limburger it had to be ! It pairs great with the fresh vegetables and vinaigrette of the original Greek salad and, for my palette at least, it is the perfect substitute for the feta cheese in the original Greek salad.
As usual, use any cheese which suits your taste and budget best.
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Limburger Salad and Jalapapeno / Cheddar Bread

Limburger Salad and Jalapeno / Cheddar Bread

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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
To enlarge pictures and read instructions, click on pictures
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: what cheese-dreams are made of……

: Limburger

: dice onions, cucumbers and peppers, add tomatoes, kosher salt, cayenne pepper, garlic paste, red wine vinegar, olive oil, fresh chives, fresh oregano and fresh basil