hans sussers comments

Chilled Spicy Cucumber And Avocado Bisque

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Some say the king of cold soups is gazpacho and I, (for once) don’t argue 🙂
Sadly, these days the traditional custom of having a soup before a main course as part of a menu has mostly disappeared, especially here in North America. Even for special, celebratory dinners, soup is usually an afterthought, and chilled soup is nearly non-existent.
However, there is a myriad of wonderful cold/chilled soups out there, mostly ignored and even forgotten in these times of ever-increasing food-sensationalism 😦
Back in the day when I was a soup cook on Royal Viking Sky (1974), we served 8 different soups daily.
Consommé or beef tea between 10.00 am and 11.00 am.
For lunch it was a chilled soup, a consommé, and a vegetable cream soup.
For dinner, a chilled soup, a consommé, a vegetable cream soup and a silky seafood soup or a hearty meat-based soup.
Besides the beef tea, none of the soups were allowed to repeat itself for the duration of a voyage that lasted less than a month, so we had quite a repertoire of soups.
While cruising in the hot parts of the world, chilled soups for lunch were extremely popular, especially the berry and stone fruit varieties.
In colder parts of the world and during dinner, classics like red or white gazpacho, vichyssoise and creamed vegetable soups led the parade of favorite chilled soups.
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Today’s soup is especially refreshing and therefore perfectly suitable for the scorching heat that has “blessed” us in Florida lately. As you can see from the size of the serving in the photos below, I actually had the soup as a small lunch. (Two helpings, to be truthful 🙂
A word of advise:
Check/adjust the seasoning of the soup AFTER chilling it and just before serving, since a chilled soup looses much of its flavor when chilled. Nothing worse than a bland chilled soup 😦
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Bon Appétit ! Life is Good !
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Chilled Spicy Cucumber And Avocado Bisque

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Preparation :
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: grate 2 large cucumbers

: add the flesh of two very ripe avocados, 2 cup greek yogurt, a few sprigs of curly parsley, juice of 2 lemon, 1 tsp sriracha, 2 tblsp kosher salt, 1 tsp garlic paste and few drops of Maggi seasoning

: blend all ingredients until smooth; if the texture is too thick for your preference, add milk until texture is to your liking, chill in refrigerator at least 3 hours, check/adjust seasoning; to serve, sprinkle with chili flakes; serves 4

: Chilled Spicy Cucumber And Avocado Bisque

: Chilled Spicy Cucumber And Avocado Bisque

: Chilled Spicy Cucumber And Avocado Bisque

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Goan Chicken Curry

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This is the very best chicken curry – at least for me and my own, personal taste.
While it is neither typical Indian, nor Indonesian or Malay, it is a bit in the style of Goa. Goan food is much influenced by the Portuguese, so the ingredients and seasoning often differ a bit from the usual Indian suspects. In the 70’s I spend a few months in Goa, living in cheap housing right on the beach. If one was able to forgo typical western luxuries such as A/C, running water and fork and knife, living on $ 3.00 a day was possible most of the time.
Those were the days of free love, cheap booze and even cheaper “tobacco”, so life was a constant,carefree blast. And to top it all off, the food, even as it was dirt-cheap, was always great, tasty, in abundance and available around the clock. (Important because of the “tobacco”) 🙂
Although I don’t have any recipes from that time and place of food I actually ate then and there, I am always reminded of my time in Goa when I prep and eat the curry featured here.
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Bon Appétit ! Life is Good !
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Goan Chicken Curry

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Preparation :
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: Saute julienne of 1 large onion in 2 tblsp ghee

: add 3 bay ea leaves, 1 tblsp tomato paste, 3 tblsp curry pwd, 1 tsp paprika, 1/4 tsp ground coriander, 1 tsp turmeric, 1/4 tsp cumin, 1/4 tsp and 1/2 tsp crushed mustard seeds, saute until fragrant

: add 1 tsp garlic paste, saute another minute

: add 8 pc boneless chicken thighs, 1 tblsp flour (optional)

: mix all ingredients well, saute another minute

: add 1 qt chicken stock, season with kosher salt to taste

: slowly simmer, covered, until chicken is cooked through, about 45 minutes

: almost……

: add 8 ea small cooked potatoes and 8 oz cooked garbanzos

: add 8 oz coconut milk

: simmer for another 10 minutes, add 4 oz grape tomatoes, check/adjust seasoning; serve with steamed rice or naan; serves 4

: to serve, sprinkle with toasted almonds (optional), chopped cilantro and top with a dollop of yogurt

: Goan Chicken Curry

: Goan Chicken Curry

: Goan Chicken Curry

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BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS # 57 – Chicken, Spinach And Potato Frittata

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A bowl of granola for breakfast is a wonderful thing for a lot of folks – but for me, it is NOT.
If I want my day to start on a happy note, I need food that say’s HAPPY to me.
A bowl of granola or such just says BAHH to me and is, in my humble opinion, but a sorry excuse for a satisfying breakfast 😦 .
On the other hand, a delicious frittata – now we are talking ! 🙂
Throw in a couple of gherkins, a few green leaves and grape tomatoes in yogurt/honey dressing and Voilà ! – bring it on, tough day !
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Bon Appétit ! Life is Good !
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Yogurt/Honey Dressing :
Whisk together 2 tblsp greek yogurt, 1 tsp organic honey, 1 tsp rice vinegar, kosher salt and cayenne pepper to taste
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Chicken, Spinach And Potato Frittata

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Preparation :
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: Cook 2 lbs peeled potatoes in lightly salted water until tender but NOT falling apart, drain, let cool enough to handle, cut into fine slices

: slice 2 med-size chicken breasts into slices, season with 1 tsp garlic paste, fresh-cracked black pepper and kosher salt to taste

: saute the chicken in 1/2 tblsp olive oil until cooked through

: remove chicken from pan, reserve

: saute the potato slices in 1 tblsp olive oil until browned

: return the chicken to the pan

: add 2 oz cleaned fresh spinach, saute for one minute

: add 6 whole whisked eggs

: cook on low heat until eggs have set, flip eggs to other side, cook until lightly browned; serve with gherkins and small salad of greens and tomatoes in honey/yogurt dressing; serves 4

: Chicken, Spinach And Potato Frittata

: Chicken, Spinach And Potato Frittata

: Chicken, Spinach And Potato Frittata

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No Name Soup

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This delicious soup follows the popular “whatever I find in the larder” principle. 🙂
Today, I found beef bones, mushrooms, canton noodles, eggs, cabbage, chinese sausage and fried shallots, which, together with a bit of time for the broth, is all you need to prepare this tasty delight.
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Bon Appétit ! Life is Good !
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No Name Soup

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Preparation :
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: simmer 5 lbs beef bones SLOWLY in 3 qt water, season with 1 tblsp garlic paste, 1 tblsp chili paste, 1 cinnamon stick, 1 tsp grated ginger and kosher salt to taste for two hours or until reduced to 1 quart

: strain broth through cheese cloth or coffee filter (optional); check/adjust seasoning

: meanwhile, cook 8 0z egg noodles, drain, rinse

: toss egg noodles with 1 tblsp toasted sesame oil

: stir fry 6 oz sliced chinese sausages and 4 oz fresh shiitake mushroom in 1 tblsp peanut oil until sausage starts to brown at the edges

: add 8 oz cubed white cabbage and 1/2 bunch chopped cilantro

: add 1 qt beef broth, simmer 1 minute

: divide the noodles between 4 soup plates or bowls

: top the noodles with 1/4 of the soup, garnish with fried shallots, chopped cilantro and 2/2 boiled eggs ; recipe serves 4

: No Name Soup

: No Name Soup

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Dragon Waffles

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Pitaya, drachenfrucht, fruit du dragon, buah naga, kaeo mangkon, thanh long, huǒ lóng guǒ, lóng zhū guǒ, nanettika fruit – these are just a few of the many  names for one of the most versatile, beautiful and delicious fruits I know.
Dragon fruit comes in three main varieties – red, green and yellow peel with either fiery red flesh with black dots (seeds) or white meat with black dots (seeds). Then there is the less common bright-yellow dragon fruit, with yellow peel and white meat with black dots (seeds). The taste of the dragon fruit spans a great range, from rather sour to very sweet.
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Today’s at breakfast time I had a great craving for waffles. I had a couple of mangos as well as one dragon fruit in the larder, so the menu was set :
“Dragon Waffles With Mangoes In Honey/Vanilla Cream”.
I usually serve the dragon waffles with caramelized apples, but the mangoes I had in the fridge were rather ripe and needed to be used – good thing I did use them for this dish, because the soft, very sweet mangoes fit perfectly with the slightly tart dragon fruit and the crisp waffles. What a wonderful way to start the day 🙂
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Bon Appétit !   Life is Good !
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Waffle Batter :
Ingredients :
1. 1/3   cup flour, 4 tsp baking powder, 2 tsp sugar, 1/2 cup melted butter, 1. 3/4 cup buttermilk, two egg yolks (whisk the two egg whites to stiff peaks)
Method :
Mix dry ingredients well, add buttermilk, egg yolks and melted butter, fold-in whisked egg whites
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Dragon Waffles With Mangoes In Honey/Vanilla Cream

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Preparation :
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: nango and dragon fruit

: dice 1/2, peeled dragon fruit into small dice, mix with the waffle batter (see recipe on this page)

: cook waffles as usual

: bring 1/2 cup heavy cream, 1 dash organic vanilla extract and 2 tblsp organic honey to a simmer, reduce by halfhoney and

: peel and slice 3 medium sized mangoes, add to the cream, remove from heat

: place the creamed mangoes on a serving plate, garnish with dragon fruit wedges

: top mngoes with a handful of dried cranberries for texture

: top with the dragon waffle wedges; serves 4

: Dragon Waffles With Mangoes In Honey/Vanilla Cream

: Dragon Waffles With Mangoes In Honey/Vanilla Cream

: Dragon Waffles With Mangoes In Honey/Vanilla Cream

: Dragon Waffles With Mangoes In Honey/Vanilla Cream

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Braised Teriyaki Chicken With Spicy Rice Sticks

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Braised teriyaki chicken tastes more intense of teriyaki sauce than grilled or sautéed teriyaki chicken, because the braising process allows the sauce to penetrate the meat much better than marinating and then grilling or sauteing would.
However, if you only like your chicken skin crisp, this preparation might not be for you. But if on the other hand you do like the texture of a braised chicken skin (think coq au vin as a reference) and if you love the braising liquid/sauce from a well-seasoned braised dish (again, think of the great sauce a coq au vin will provide), this “Braised Teriyaki Chicken With Spicy Rice Sticks” will make you happy. The additional sauce from the chicken provides a wonderful coating to the already flavorful rice sticks.
Superb food, achieved with small effort and in little time. Life is Good !
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Bon Appétit ! Life is Good !
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Click here for more Teriyaki Dishes on ChefsOpinion
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Click here for Coq Au Vin on ChefsOpinion
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Braised Teriyaki Chicken With Spicy Rice Sticks

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Preparation :
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: pour enough boiling water over a 8 oz pack of rice sticks, let steep until al dente, about 8 minutes

: drain rice sticks, toss with 1 tblsp chili oil and 1 tblsp sesame oil

: season 3 ea boneless chicken legs with kosher salt, garlic paste and sriracha sauce to taste

: saute the chicken legs on both sides in 1 tblsp peanut oil

: add 1/3 cup teriyaki sauce and 1/3 cup chicken stock, simmer covered until chicken is cooked through, about 10 minutes; check/adjust seasoning

: meanwhile, stir fry 1 cup finely sliced bell peppers with 1/3 cup finely sliced yellow onion in 2 tblsp peanut oil, season with1 tsp garlic paste and kosher salt to taste, stir fry another minute

: add the rice sticks, stir fry another minute, check/adjust seasoning

: plate the rice sticks on a serving platter

: top with the chicken legs and the teriyaki braising sauce, garnish with herbs or sprouts of your choice ; serves 3

: Braised Teriyaki Chicken With Spicy Rice Sticks

: Braised Teriyaki Chicken With Spicy Rice Sticks

: Braised Teriyaki Chicken With Spicy Rice Sticks

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Salad of Tomato, Cucumber, Alfalfa Sprouts And Parmigiano Reggiano

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While ” Just A Salad ” usually does not do it for me, this one certainly did 🙂
Consisting of just a few simple ingredients, the quality and richness they possessed made this a complete, delicious and utterly satisfying meal.
The tomatoes were super ripe and super sweet, the cucumbers crispy and fresh, the sprouts added a new texture and the parmigiano reggiano was as perfect as can be.
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Bon Appétit ! Life is Good !
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slice 2 large, very ripe tomatoes into fine slices, arrange on serving platter, sprinkle with sea salt to taste

slice 2 large, very ripe tomatoes and 1 medium size white onion into fine slices, arrange on serving platter, sprinkle with sea salt and fresh-cracked black pepper to taste, add 1/2 tray alfalfa sprouts, drizzle with 3 tblsp white balsamic vinegar and 3 tblsp olive oil

slice 2 medium size cucumbers and 1 medium size white onion into fine slices, arrange on serving platter, sprinkle with sea salt and fresh-cracked black pepper to taste, add 1/2 tray alfalfa sprouts, drizzle with 3 tblsp white balsamic vinegar and 3 tblsp olive oil

shave 6 oz of parmigiano reggiano on top of salad, drizzle with 2 tbslp olive oil and sprinkle with fresh-cracked black pepper to taste; serves 2

Salad of Tomato, Cucumber, Alfalfa Sprouts And Parmigiano Reggiano

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Pearl Burgers

Pearl Balls

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Pearl ~~Balls~~ Burgers :
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DON’T PLAY WITH YOUR FOOD !
When we were kids, most of us had to be told not to play with our food in order to install respect and gratitude towards our daily nourishment, which in my case, immediately after WWII in Germany, was not nearly as guaranteed and abundant as is now for most of us.
But, decades later, like any professional chef, I love to “play” with food, either to improve a dish’s taste, appearance, profitability, or just for the heck of it. 🙂
“Just for the heck of it” happened today.
I was well on my way to prepare traditional “Chinese Pearl Balls”, which I love dearly and I prepare quite often for myself at home. They are easy and quick to prepare, look wonderful and they serve perfect as snack, appetizer or main course in a multi-course meal.
However, today I had the urge to “play with my food” a bit and the following was the result. Both versions of the burgers were outstanding in taste and especially in texture, and I will definitely prepare them again 🙂
Because of their size and the additional liquid added to the ground meat, the pearl burgers were much more juicy than regular pearl balls, which tend to dry-out quickly when removed from the steam. The burgers without the rice coating were very juicy as well, with the additional bonus of the taste/texture-enhancement resulting from the maillard reaction.
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Bon Appétit ! Life is Good !
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P.S.
As mentioned above and as you can see in the prep-pictures below, I added much more water to the ground meat as one would to regular pearl balls, since holding their shape was not an issue for the patties as it would have been shaping the pork into spherical shapes. The added moisture made a huge difference in the final product.
P.P.S.
Serve with Kecap Manis or other dipping sauce of your choice.
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Click here to read about Maillard Reaction
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Click here for Kecap Manis Recipe on ChefsOpinion
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Pearl Burger

Asian Flavored Pork Burger

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Preparation :
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: mix 2 lbs ground pork, 4 ea stalks sliced scallions, 1 tblsp sesame oil, 1 tblsp soy sauce, 1 tsp garlic paste, 1/2 tsp grated ginger, 1 tsp chili paste, kosher salt to taste and 1 cup water or unsalted chicken broth

: soak 1 cup long grain rice overnight in water; next day, drain rice and pat dry

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: divide pork into 4 patties, dip 2 ea on both sides in the soaked rice

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: saute the 2 plain patties on both sides in peanut oil until golden and cooked medium-well – (the carry-over heat will finish the cooking process) ; serves 2

: place one ea of the pearl patties on a lightly oiled plate or parchment paper, steam in 2 steamer baskets (one above each other) until medium well – (the carry-over heat will finish the cooking process) ; serves 2

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: Asian Flavored Pork Burger

: Steamed Pearl Burger

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: Asian Flavored Pork Burger

: Pearl Balls Burger

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Rice Pudding With Fresh Berries And Yogurt (Arroz Con Leche)

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What do vegetables and rice pudding have in common ?
– Most of us have been turned off by crappy versions when we were kids. Overcooked vegetables and over-sweetened, wallpaper-paste resembling, under-cooked rice pudding made most of us hate the stuff as kids. While a few moms and even fewer restaurants served decent vegetables and rice pudding, the majority of it turned us off to it for life 😦
Only with the introduction of nouvelle cuisine did vegetables get the respect they deserved. Nowadays, vegetables have finally achieved the place they deserve. Bright, perfectly cooked, deliciously seasoned and in an incredible variety, they are here to stay, from the simplest home preparation to incredible concoctions at fine dining establishments.
So what the heck happened to rice pudding ???!
For some reason, outside of some Latin countries, it has never caught-on in the mainstream, neither in most homes and definitely not in commercial food establishments.
To this day, it has the stigma as being too simple, too boring, too old-fashioned and just simply “bah”.
Yet I beg to differ, as I am trying to proof with this recipe of one of my newly re-discovered childhood favorites.
My mom was a less than stellar cook (love made me say that – in reality, outside of very few dishes she had mastered, she was as bad at cooking as one can imagine) 🙂 😦 .
But, as I recall from sweet memory, her rice pudding was second to none. However, through the years I had completely forgotten about the deliciousness of a well-prepared rice pudding, until a few months back when I had a perfect one at a friend’s house. This made me remember how wonderful it can be when done right and ever since, I have prepared it often for Bella and myself .
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Bon Appétit ! Life is Good !
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P.S.
Usually, I would top this pudding with whipped cream and fresh berries. However, I prepared this large badge because I was invited to a beach party and whipped cream would not hold-up in the heat. Low and behold, the yogurt made a huge difference, the added tartness and the texture took the the final dish to an even higher level of comfort food heaven 🙂
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Rice Pudding With Fresh Berries And Yogurt

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Preparation :
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: soak 3 cups rice of your choice overnight

: next day, drain the rice, wash until the water is clear, add 1 qt whole milk, 4 tblsp honey, 1 tsp vanilla extract and 1 pinch of cinnamon powder, bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer until rice is very soft; you might have to add more milk if the heat is too high or the rice absorbs too much milk during simmering; when the rice is soft, transfer to a bowl and let cool to room temperature

: when the rice has cooled down, add whipping cream until the pudding has a creamy texture, about 1/2 cup

: check/adjust seasoning; as you can see, I added another3 tblsp honey

: wash and quarter 2 pints of fresh strawberries and wash 2 pint blueberries

: add half of the berries to the pudding; to the other half of the berries, add 1 cup Greek yogurt

: mix the berries with the pudding / yogurt

: place the pudding in a serving bowl

: top the pudding with the berries in yogurt and 4 oz chocolate covered almonds (optional) ; serves 8

: Rice Pudding With Fresh Berries And Yogurt

: Rice Pudding With Fresh Berries And Yogurt

: Rice Pudding With Fresh Berries And Yogurt

: Rice Pudding With Fresh Berries And Yogurt

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Corkscrews, Shrimp, Bok Choy and Eggs

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I recently came across an article which proclaimed “Pasta actually makes you lose Weight”.
Unfortunately, I don’t believe that ANY food I love (I love most 🙂 ) will make me loose weight, especially pasta. Why? Because if I love something, I consume it in excess quantities.
But then, a lot of food which falls into the category of “food I love”, will never make me fat, for the simple reason that it is too expensive to become fattening – caviar, lobster, fresh stone crab claws, foie gras, chanterelle, matsutake, wagyu (the real McCoy), and a bunch of other stuff I had the privilege to eat plenty of in the 70’s, when most of these delicacies were still affordable in their countries of origin.
I used to have a few cans of caviar in my fridge when we did black sea cruises in the mid-seventies, when one was able to exchange a pair of used jeans in St Petersburg’s black market for 1 kg of caviar. Matsutake and wagyu was expensive in Yokohama and Kobe, but not excessively so. Chanterelles in Germany in the 70’s and 80’s when I went home on vacation – same thing, not cheap but affordable. And so it was with most of these specialties at the time – not cheap but within reach, at least for me and my friends who traveled the world, loved good food and after visiting a place a couple of times, knew where to get a bargain.
But now let me get back to pasta.
Fortunately, pasta is one of the most affordable food stuffs which have a special place in my heart (and stomach).
Consequently, I eat it too often, and usually way too much, packing 2 or 3 portions into one meal – which is good for my happiness 🙂 , bad for my weight 😦 .
So there you have it – while pasta “does not actually make me lose weight”, it does actually makes me happy .
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Bon Appétit ! Life is Good !
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P.S.
All the food you see on ChefsOpinion is cooked and served in my home, usually just for myself and Bella. I like to pick and hold the shrimp by their tail (Bella just eats the whole shrimp, tail and all, including the tails from my shrimps). If you are not comfortable with the tails on the plate, just remove them before adding the shrimp to the dish 🙂
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