kosher salt

Korean Dinner – Bulgogi, Gamjajorim, Kimchee & Sukju Namul

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Tonight (Tuesday) my fridge and cupboard were nearly empty and the best thing I had at hand was a great looking rib eye steak. I did not feel like having just a plain old steak from the grill, so when I saw the mung bean sprouts and the cooked potatoes, first some Asian, then some Korean recipes started to dance around my head and I decided on this menu, which turned out to be just the flavors and textures I craved and they sure hit a home run with my tastebuds 🙂
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Click here for Kimchi (Kimchee) recipe

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Bulgogi, Kimchi, Sukyu Namul & Gamjajorim

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Bulgogi

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Preparation :
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rib eye steak

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rib eye steak most fat removed (leave some on for better taste and texture)

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sliced rib eye steak

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sliced beef, scallions, onions

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pineapple, (for tenderizing purpose, (traditionally use asian pear), onion, ginger, garlic, blend until smooth

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season with kosher salt, black pepper, brown sugar, soy sauce, sesame oil, blended pinepple mix, mix well, marinade for 30 minutes (for a tough cut of beef such as top round, marinade up to 8 hours)

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Meanwhile, blanch mong bean sprouts in salted, boiling water for 20 seconds, drain, shock in ice water, drain again

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add sliced scallions, season with kosher salt, cayenne pepper, soy sauce, sesame seeds, sesame oil

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Sukja namul

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heat sliced potatoes with honey, soy sauce, kosher salt, cayenne pepper, when heated through check/adjust seasoning, add white sesame seeds

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sukju namul

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grilling bulgogi

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Bulgogi, Kimchi, Sukyu Namul,

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Bulgogi

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EASY DOES IT # 16 – Two Quick, Simple Salad’s

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A lot of folk’s shy back from constructed salads because they find them difficult to make and the recipes too complicated.
I can asure you that nothing is further from the truth. First, choose two main components, such as pasta and cold cuts, rice and seafood, potato and vegetables, vegetables and cheese, any grain such as amaranth, barley, quinoa, or rye, add herbs or whatever else tickles your fancy. Add whatever else you want to add that you think will enhance your salad, dress with whatever dressing you fancy. Combine any ingredients you feel will go well together and experiment.
However, if the salad is to be served at a later point in time or outside at a party, I don’t recommend homemade mayo for obvious reasons, use the store-bought version which is safer. Also, for pasta, rice and potato salads, I recommend to cook the starch a bit longer than if you use them in a hot dish. The texture will be more pleasant.
Following find two simple salads which I made yesterday. The whole prep and assembly took about thirty minutes total. If you don’t have much practice, both salads might take you an hour, not bad for two different dishes that serve about 20 each. Just remember, It’s your salad – do with it whatever you like as long as YOU think it’s the way it should be: omit, add, deduct any ingredient You feel makes your dish a better one 🙂

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“Shrimp, Pasta And Egg Salad”

Penne rigata, shrimp, fennel leaves, eggs, peas, cherry tomatoes, mayo (easy on the mayo), olive oil, garlic paste, white balsamic vinegar, kosher salt, cayenne pepper, greek yogurt, maggi. Use whatever ratio of ingredients you prefer. If it tastes good and looks good, you’ve done it right 🙂
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“Farfalle Salad With Salame, Pepperjack And Cornichons”

Farfalle pasta, salame, pepper jack cheese, cornichons, scallions, mayo (easy on the mayo), olive oil, dijon mustard, garlic paste, white balsamic vinegar, cornichon liquid, kosher salt, cayenne pepper, maggi. Same here again, use whatever ratio of ingredients you prefer. If it tastes good and looks good, you’ve done it right 🙂
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Happy Cooking and Bon Appetit !
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Click here for more “Easy Does It”

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Shrimp, Pasta And Egg Salad

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Shrimp, Pasta And Egg Salad

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Shrimp, Pasta And Egg Salad

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Shrimp, Pasta And Egg Salad

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Farfalle Salad With Salame, Pepperjack And Cornichons

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Farfalle Salad With Salame, Pepperjack And Cornichons

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Farfalle Salad With Salame, Pepperjack And Cornichons

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Farfalle Salad With Salame, Pepperjack And Cornichons

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Grilled Chicken, Grilled Shiitake & Creamed Spinach

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Comfort food at it’s easiest, it’s quickest and it’s best. Once the spinach has been blanched (I always keep some in the freezer for occasions like this), the whole shamukus does not take more than fifteen minutes to prepare, ideal for a lazy day-off lunch while watching a good movie ( Captain Phillips )

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !

Click here for Creamed Spinach recipe

Grilled Chicken, Grilled Shiitake & Creamed Spinach

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Grilled Chicken, Grilled Shiitake & Creamed Spinach

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Preparation :
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season chicken and shiitake with kosher salt, cayenne pepper and granulated garlic, grill until internal temperature has reached 162F, remove from grill and let rest for fife minutes, carryover heat will cook chickento a perfect 165F

season boneless chicken tights and shiitake mushroom with kosher salt, cayenne pepper and granulated garlic, grill until internal temperature has reached 162F, remove from grill and let rest for fife minutes, carry-over heat will cook chicken to a perfect 165F

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place creamed spinach on a serving dish

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top spinach with chicken and shiitake, drizzle with lime juice, sprinkle with sliced scallion

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Grilled Chicken, Grilled Shiitake & Creamed Spinach

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Grilled Chicken, Grilled Shiitake & Creamed Spinach

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Gravlax Dinner

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Tonight I finally got to eat the gravlax I prepared last week. What a great tasting piece of fish. Of course, what makes it perfect is the accompanying dill/mustard sauce, without which a gravlax is not complete. Many restaurants nowadays serve gravlax with all kind of fancy sauces and condiments, which might seem right if you never been to Scandinavia and had the real deal. But please believe me, making the dill / mustard sauce will take you less then five minutes and only “it” will make the dish perfect.
The ingredients for dill / mustard sauce are few and in everybody’s cup board:
Good quality mustard, white wine vinegar, kosher salt, neutral tasting oil (I used grape seed oil), sugar, fresh dill leaves only, pepper(optional), I used cayenne pepper and replaced the sugar with weisswurst senf (sweet, brown, Bavarian mustard)

Smaklig måltid! Livet är bra !
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Click here for Gravlax recipe
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Gravlax, Sour Dough Bread, Dill / Mustard Sauce

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Gravlax, Sour Dough Bread, Dill / Mustard Sauce

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Preparation :
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dijon mustard, sweet mustard, dill leaves

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mix mustards, dill, kosher salt and cayenne pepper

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slowly drizzle grapeseed oil into mustard and dill mixture until a emulsion has formed, check / adjust taste

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dill / mustard sauce

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toast bread until golden

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toasted sour dough bread

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smear bread with garlic / herb butter

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top with thinly sliced gravlax, serve with dill/ mustard sauce, lemon slices and chilled white wine

top with thinly sliced gravlax, serve with dill/ mustard sauce, lemon wedges and chilled white wine

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Gravlax, Sour Dough Bread, Dill / Mustard Sauce

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Gravlax, Sour Dough Bread, Dill / Mustard Sauce

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Gravlax, Sour Dough Bread, Dill / Mustard Sauce

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Smoked Pork Shank

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I cooked this beauty yesterday for two hours, then let it cool in the stock overnight.
Served today for lunch with german potato salad, horseradish, dijon, pickled tomatoes and rustic Italian garlic bread.
Simple, but oh so good 🙂

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Click here for German Potato Salad recipe
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Smoked Pork Shank, German Potato Salad, Pickled Tomatoes, Grilled Italian Garlic Bread, Dijon Mustard, Fresh Horseradish

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Preparation :
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simmer pork shank in salted water with lots of chopped raw garlic, onion and plenty of hot sauce, after two hours, remove from heat and let cool in stock

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grill italian garlic bread

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pickle tomatoes by pricking with toothpick all over, marinade overnight in balsamic vinegar, cayenne pepper and kosher salt

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Smoked Pork Shank, German Potato Salad, Pickled Tomatoes, Grilled Italian Garlic Bread, Dijon Mustard, Fresh Horseradish

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Smoked Pork Shank, German Potato Salad, Pickled Tomatoes, Grilled Italian Garlic Bread, Dijon Mustard, Fresh Horseradish

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Smoked Pork Shank

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EASY DOES IT # 15 – Gravlax

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There are a few compelling reasons to make your own gravelax instead of buying it at a store or online:

– Price – Fresh salmon $ 15.00 per pound versus store bought gravlax at $ 40.00
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– Ease of preparation – actual preptime about 10 minutes, curing between 3 and 5 day’s
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– Total control of texture and taste of finished product
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– The joy of adding another stunner to your cooking repertoire
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My standard dry-marinade recipe is as follows :
3/5th of kosher salt, 2/5th of sugar, fresh chopped dill including stems, white pepper, lemon peel, crushed mustard seeds and dark rum.

In the variation below, I have changed the dry-marinade recipe a bit as follows:
3/5th of kosher salt, 2/5th of sugar, freeze dried dill leaves, raw garlic paste, cayenne pepper, dijon mustard, vodka.
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Mix the marinade ingredients, place half of it in a chemical reaction-free container. Top with salmon filet. Add remaining dry marinade to top of salmon. Cover airtight, place in refrigerator. Flip salmon every twelve hours. After twenty four hours, dry-marinade will have transformed into a thick brine. The salmon will be cured after two to three day’s, depending on the thickness and salt to sugar ratio in your marinade. I usually keep my salmon in the brine another one to two days, again depending on the marinade and thickness of the filet. The extra time will give me a slightly dryer and more opaque product which I prefer. This one took four day’s to be exactly the way I like it.
To serve, remove salmon and wash under running water to clean off excess brine. Slice into thin slices, accompany with dill/mustard sauce and rustic bread of your choice.
(To think, first time I prepared Gravlax was in the summer of 1973 at the Hotel Kattegat, Torekov, Sweden. Good times 🙂

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Note:
Start out the first time by following my standard recipe, the next few times experiment with the marinade and curing time until you find your own sweet spot.
Variations can be, but are not limited to, different salt/sugar ratios, different herbs, different seasonings, different liquors, different curing length’s.
Enjoy your gravlax journey !
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mise en place

Gravlax

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Preparation :
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mise en place

sprinkle top of salmon with plenty of dill leaves, mix dry-marinade ingredients

sprinkle top of salmon with plenty of dill leaves, drizzle with vodka,, mix dry-marinade ingredients

add half of the marinade to chemical-reaction-free vessel

add salmon filet, top with remaining dry-marinade, cover airtight, store in fridge for 3 – 5 days

flip salmon every twelve hours, cover again, back into fridge

4 day’s later – done, rinse under cold running water, carefull not to rinse of the dill

Gravlax

the beauty and the beast

Gravlax

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Iced Tomato Soup With Vodka And Tropical Fruit

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The day before yesterday I started to make a tomato bisque for dinner but had to abandon the plan when unanounced visitors arrived. So I put the tomato stock overnight in the fridge to finish the bisque yesterday after work. However, it was a rough day at work and whenI came home I wanted to spend some time outside on the terrace. Yesterday was a fairly hot day, so a hot tomato soup did not sound like the best of dinner ideas. Instead, I prepared for myself this delicious, refreshing cold soup which hit the culinary nail right on the head 🙂

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !

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Preparation :
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simmer water, red wine, garlic paste, kosher salt, sugar, cayenne pepper for two hours, cool overnight

simmer very ripe tomatoes, water, red wine, garlic paste, kosher salt, sugar, cayenne pepper for two hours, cool overnight

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mix in blender until texture is very smooth

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add vodka, check / adjust seasoning

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add fresh pineapple, honey dew melon and passion fruit seeds to serving bowl

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ladle iced tomato soup on top of fruit, sprinkle more fruit, garnish with opal basil

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Iced Tomato Soup With Vodka And Tropical Fruit

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Iced Tomato Soup With Vodka And Tropical Fruit

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Iced Tomato Soup With Vodka And Tropical Fruit

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Breakfast Of Champions # 36 – Naanwich

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A great way to start a relaxing saturday at home with a couple of good movies, some good reading and lots of great food is to have a hearty breakfast of bubbly and a wonderful sandwich.
Here is what I fancied for a late breakfast by the lake this morning (besides a glass of veuve–clicquot):

Naan with eggs, spicy chorizo, shrimp, chilies and arugula. Life is Good !

Bon Appetit & Cheers ! Have A Great Weekend !

Naanwich

cook until eggs have set to the texture of your liking

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Preparation :
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bake naan until golden, brush with butter and sprinkle with sea salt

saute diced chorizo in plenty of butter

whisk whole eggs with chili sauce, sea salt and garlic paste

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add to chorizo, add finely sliced chilies and butterflied cooked shrimp

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cook until eggs have set to the texture of your liking

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Naan

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top naan with eggs, top eggs with arugula in lime vinaigrette

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Naanwich

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Naanwich

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Pork Blade Steak

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If you are on a budget but still like to have more than a tiny steak for dinner, you might want to try this cut. While not overly popular, probably because folks don’ know how to prepare it, it is a great piece of meat, tender, juicy and very economic (meaning bloody cheap 🙂 ) The three steaks in the picture were just $ 4.20, so the whole meal was under six buck’s. Even if you are not on a budget, these steaks make for a great, tasty meal. I guess that most people would have had enough with just one steak (which would then be about $ 2.50 per portion, including the salad), but since I did not prepare any starch, the three of them with a small salad were just the right sized portion for me. And of course, Bella had a few bites too.

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Pork Blade Steak & Arugula In White Balsamic Vinaigrette

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Pork Blade Steak

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arugula with radish and onions in balsamic vinaigrette

arugula with radish and onions in white balsamic vinaigrette

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Preparation :
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season sliced onions and sliced radishes with kosher salt, set aside

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season blade steaks with kosher salt, granulated garlic and cayenne pepper, dredge in flour, saute in peanut oil

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first one done, two to go…..

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two done, last one on the way

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saute grape tomatoes in garlic/olive oil, season with salt and pepper, just before serving add fresh chives

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meanwhile, squeeze and discard excess juice from radish and onions, add arugula, white balsamic vinegar, freshly ground white pepper, garlic/olive oil and a splash of maggi seasoning

arrange steaks on serving platter, top with sauteed tomatoes and chives

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Pork Blade Steak & Arugula

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Pork Blade Steak

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Pork Blade Steak

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arugula with radish and onions in balsamic vinaigrette

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Fusilli Col Buco With Mushrooms In Merlot Cream

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Living in Florida does not necessarily lend itself to be inspired to cooking with mushrooms, but thankfully the markets around here carry small offerings of fresh mushrooms which I like to enrich by adding some good quality dried mushrooms. Today I got some fresh baby bellas, oyster mushrooms and botton mushrooms, to which I added dry shiitakes and porcini’s. To intensify the mushroom flavor even more, I added some porcini powder to the sauce as well.
And voilà – Mushrooms Galore 🙂
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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