kosher salt

Tomato Bisque With Buttered Cauliflower

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A couple of day’s ago I made a big batch of my beloved tomato bisque. It served me well as late night snack for a few day’s, the last one last night, when I added some buttered cauliflower and ate it with a good chunk of sourdough bread, indispensable for wiping the bottom of the bowl to make sure one get’s the last drop and nothing is wasted 🙂
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Blanch the cauliflower rosettes, then saute lightly in butter. season with kosher salt and white pepper. To serve, pour bisque in bowl, add the cauliflower and sprinkle with finely sliced scallions.
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Recipe for ” Tomato Bisque ”
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Bon Appetit ! Live is Good !
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Tomato Bisque With Buttered Cauliflower

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Pork Ribs & Rice Noodles Soup

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I was tempted to call this dish “Kluay Teaw Moo Toon”, but then I remembered that Mirandi of the “High Heel Gourmet is coming by at ChefsOpinion sometimes and how fierce she is about authentic Thai recipes. (I REALLY don’t want to get her mad 🙂
All jokes aside, this dish is definitely Thai inspired. Fragrant, light, bright, tasty. I hope that recipes like this will inspire my readers to understand the philosophy of cooking as I see it :
Take a look at good stuff, feel inspired by it, learn from it, do your own spin on it. Just make sure you call it “inspired by” or “in the style of”. But then again, if the shoe fit’s……
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“Kluay Teaw Moo Toon”
( “Variation Of A Thai Pork Spareribs Noodle Soup” )

: Kluay Teaw Moo Toon ( “Variation Of A Thai Pork Spareribs Noodle Soup” )

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Ingredients :

Pork ribs, blanched (for a clear stock)
Rice noodles, soaked
Bok choy, substitute with other green vegetable if you prefer, I used brocoli
Bean sprouts, (I prefer the crunch and tasteof raw onion julienne)
Cinnamon stick,
Star anise,
Coriander, crushed
Garlic paste,
Cilantro stems, Thais normally use cilantro root but I can’t get it around here
Cilantro leaf’s, coarsely chopped
Soy sauce,
Sugar,
Kosher salt,
Cayenne pepper,
Onion, peeled, quartered
Ginger, grated
Pork stock, substitute with vegetable stock if you prefer
Peanut oil,

Method :

Saute ribs in peanut oil until lightly browned. Add garlic, ginger , star anis , coriander and onion and saute until fragrant. Add stock and cilantro stems (roots if you can get hold of them) and simmer until ribs are tender but not falling apart, about 2 to 3 hours. Remove ribs and set aside. Adjust seasoning. Strain stock. To serve, place noodles, ribs and vegetables in a serving bowl. Top with boiling hot stock. Sprinkle with cilantro and onion julienne. Serve with soy sauce, chili sauce and fried shallots.
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !

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Chicken Paprikash & Spaetzle

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Paprikash is the national dish of Hungary. Which means that it has been prepared and eaten for many decades, by millions of people, in many restaurants and homes, in many different regions, with an infinite number of variations. So folks, relax, don’t call my house and say that this is not a real paprikash, because………….
Anyway, here is a version I prepared last week and, I might add, a pretty good and pretty pretty 🙂 version. >

Chicken Paprikash & Spaetzle

: Chicken Paprikash & Spaetzle

Ingredients :

Chicken, your favorite parts, I prefer legs
Sweet hungarian paprika,
Chilis, finely chopped, some left whole for garnish (optional)
Tomatoes, finely chopped
Garlic, paste
Onions, finely diced
Kosher salt,
AP flour,
Chicken stock,
Sour cream,

Method :

Saute chicken in fat until golden brown. Remove. Saute onions and garlic until fragrant. Add paprika, chopped chilis and flour and saute for a short time. (Careful, paprika burns easily !) Add tomatoes, stock, whole chili’s and salt. Return chicken to pot, cover and braise slowly until chicken is cooked to an internal temperature of 162F. (Carry over heat will take it to a safe 165F). Remove chicken. At this point you have the option of straining the sauce or not. You also have the option of whisking in the sour cream or not. If you don’t whisk in the sour cream at this point, add a generous dollop when serving (See picture). Adjust seasoning if necessary. To serve, add chicken to serving dish, cover with sauce and whole chili’s. Serve with Spaetzle.

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good ! >>
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Gorgonzola Gratinated Skirt Steak, Tomato & Aparagus On Naan

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Friday night’s dinner is one of these typical dishes that are only concocted when the hunger for a BIG dinner is already gnawing in our gut’s and nothing small and simple will satisfy the hunger disturbed imagination of what the next meal must be like. So here we go, a dinner that will satisfy even the biggest craving for hearty food 🙂
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Gorgonzola Gratinated Skirt Steak, Tomato & Aparagus On Naan

: Gorgonzola Gratinated Skirt Steak, Tomato & Aparagus On Naan

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Ingredient’s :

Skirt steak, marinated overnight in soy sauce, sriracha, & garlic paste
Naan, (substitute with bread of your choice)
Asparagus spears, (white or green, depending on availability and your preference), buttered and seasoned with kosher salt and cayenne pepper
Tomatoes, sliced thick, seasoned with kosher salt and cayenne pepper
Scallions, buttered and seasoned with kosher salt and cayenne pepper
Asiago cheese, finely grated
Gorgonzola cheese, crumbled
Kosher salt,
Peanut oil,

Method :

Season steak with kosher salt, dust with a mixture of ap flour, cornstarch, cayene and garlic powder , saute in oil until bloody rare (or your preference. (See note below). Place naan on a baking rack. Top with steak. Sprinkle with asiago. Top with tomato. Sprinkle with asiago . Top with asparagus. Top with gorgonzola. Top with scallions. Broil until gorgonzola is melted and get’s a few golden spots. Remove from broiler, sprinkle with chili flakes. Enjoy a great meal ! 🙂

Note :
Remember the carry-over heat and the step of gratinating. Both will further cook your steak. Since I like most of my beef and lamb steaks to be medium rare, I removed it at bloody rare. By the time it was gratinated and ready to eat, it was a perfect medium rare.

Bon Appetit Life is Good !
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Spatchcocked Chicken “Nilda’s Way”

Spatchcocked Chicken

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When my mother in law , Nilda, was still healthy and living with us, she made roast chicken over potatoes and onions at least once a month. She did not spatchcock (what a funny word to say and write) the chicken, but rather left it whole to cook on top of the potatoes. I on the other hand, feel that to spatchcock the bird will give a superior result, both for the chicken and the potatoes. It will allow the potatoes to soak up all the juices and flavor from the chicken during the cooking process and at the same time it allows the chicken to cook very evenly, cooking all the way through but leaving both the legs and breast’s very juicy. Since the coarse salt will not all run down the side of the chicken as when you roast it whole, it will give the skin a unique texture, rather like a chinese style pepper & salt preparation. I used the same spice mix for the chicken and the potatoes / vegetables – kosher salt, sriracha, melted butter, granulated garlic. Mix the seasoning and butter with the potatoes and vegetables. Rub the chicken on both sides with a generous amount of butter and seasoning. Place the potato / vegetable mix on a rack which sit’s on a baking sheet, filled with half water and half red wine. Cook in the center of the oven at 390 F for approximately two hours. My chicken was VERY big, so it took two hours to reach a internal temperature of 16o F. After removing the chicken from the oven and letting it rest for another 15 minutes, the carry-over heat will take the temperature to a safe 165. This will leave the chicken safe to eat and the meat, including the breast, very moist and tender.
Finally, strain the jus from the sheet pan and adjust the seasoning if necessary. Serving suggestion : See pictures 🙂
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Marc Osten on culinary-compass : Spatchcooking
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Sexy Legs

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Who needs a side dish with this stuff ?
Not me, that’s for sure.
Prep time : 3 minutes
Cooking time : 50 – 70 minutes, depending on size of legs.

Season with kosher salt, sriracha sauce, granulated garlic and soy sauce.
Roast on rack at 390 ” until temperature on bone has reached 160 “.
Let rest for 10 minutes. Enjoy with a couple of cold beers while watching tv 🙂

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !

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Roasted Chicken Legs

Sexy Legs

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Gratinated Onion Soup

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Today the weather channel announced that it will get cold in florida,
so why not prepare for it with this goodie :
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Gratinated Onion Soup

: Gratinated Onion Soup

Saute onion julienne until translucent. Add beer, beef stock, Kosher salt , freshly ground black pepper and maggi seasoning. Simmer until onions are soft but not mushy, about one hour. In the meantime, brush sliced bread on both sides with garlic butter. Toast on both sides until golden. Top with your favorite cheese (here I used asiago, sometimes I use cheddar, swiss, pepper jack or gorgonzola) and bake until cheese is melted. Remove from oven and set aside. When the onions are soft, adjust seasoning if necessary. Transfer the soup to a heat proof dish. Top with cheese bread and sprinkle the top generously with more cheese. Bake until a golden brown crust has formed. To serve, sprinkle with chopped cilantro.

Bon Appetit ! Life is good!
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Pasta & Chicken

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One of my own personal junk food’s, pasta and chicken.
Any time of day, any which way, as long as it’s juicy and tasty 🙂
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Ingredients :

Lasagna pasta, broken into large pieces, cooked al dente
Chicken drumsticks,
Crimini mushrooms, cleaned
White cabbage, sliced
Red bell pepper, sliced
Onion, sliced
Garlic, paste
Scallion, sliced
Parmigiano reggiano, thinly sliced
Parmigiano reggiano, finely grated
Italian parsley, coarsely chopped
Kosher salt,
Cayenne pepper,
Maggi seasoning,
Butter , to saute, substitute olive oil if you prefer

Method :

Saute seasoned chicken slowly in butter until golden, put on a rack and cook in oven until cooked through. Meanwhile, saute onion and mushroom in same butter until onions are translucent. Add cabbage, garlic and peppers and saute until garlic becomes fragrant. At this point your butter will be light brown. Add pasta and a bit of the pasta water, seasoning and the grated parmesan, mix until a fine film of cheese sauce coats pasta. Remove from heat, add chicken, scallions and parsley and mix. To serve, sprinkle with sliced parmesan and chopped parsley.

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Ziti, Shrimp, Asparagus And Salame In Garlic-Cream Sauce

A quick and easy dinner the night before x-mas 🙂

Saute Salame, garlic and chilis in butter until fragrant.
Deglaze with white wine, add cream and reduce
until thickened. Add ziti, poached shrimp and
blanched asparagus. Simmer until all ingredients
are well heated. Season with kosher salt, maggi
seasoning and cayenne pepper.

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Geroestete Semmelknoedel Mit Ei

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A few weeks ago I posted :

Rinds Rouladen & Semmel Knoedel ( Beef Roulade & Bread Dumplings )

in response to a request. I mentioned in the post that one can not re-heat bread dumplings in water, as they would become very dense. I promised to post another post soon to explain what to do with leftover bread dumplings. Here are two very delicious recipes.

A ) ” Semmelknoedel Salat ”
Dice the cooled dumplings, add diced red onions, diced radish, diced tomatoes, diced cucumbers, diced peppers, sliced chives and dijon mustard vinaigrette and mix all into a Panzanella – like salad. Beautiful and delicious 🙂

B ) ” Geroestete Semmelknoedel mit Ei ”
Quarter the cooled dumplings, then slice into quarter inch slices. Whisk whole eggs with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Saute dumpling slices in butter until lightly browned. Add eggs and sliced chives, saute until eggs start to set. To serve, sprinkle with chopped parsley.
Serve with tomato / cucumber salad.
Note : During the sauteing the dumplings will become crispy on the outside while they aquire a wonderful creamy texture on the inside.

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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