Olive oil

Panko Breaded St. Peter’s Fish In Lemon/Caper Butter

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Tonight, a simple dinner of St. Peter’s fish and salad was all I wanted and all I needed.
Crispy fish filet with a bit of lemon/caper butter and romaine lettuce with peppers, radish and onion in raspberry vinaigrette.
Aaahhhh, the simple life 🙂
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: St. Peter’s Fish

: Panko, cayenne, sea salt, garlic

: Eggwash, cayenne, sea salt, garlic

: Breaded St. Peter’s fish

: Saute in olive oil

: Discard, oil, add butter, lemon juice, capers

: Rest on absorbent paper

: Panko breaded St. Peter’s fish

: Panko breaded St. Peter’s fish

: Panko breaded St. Peter’s fish

: Romaine, radish, onion, peppers, raspberry vinaigrette

: Romaine, radish, onion, peppers, raspberry vinaigrette

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Baby Octopus In Spicy Salice Salentino/Bell Pepper Sauce With Ziti Lunga

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Sunday’s lunch featured two of my favorite ingredients, baby octopus and lunga ziti. While the baby octopus have become a beloved food during my younger year’s as a marine merchant in the Mediterranean, lunga ziti, or, as they were simply known in our home when I grew up, macaroni, have been a familiar food item since I can remember as a small child. My mom used to serve them simply with some butter-sauteed bread crumbs (schmelze) and freshly grated swiss cheese. What a feast that was, fondly remembered to this very day 🙂

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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To serve, top pasta with octopus. Sprinkle with chopped italian parsley.

Cook octopus in salted water until tender, but still with a bit of bite. Drain.

Saute in olive oil until starting to change color.

Add finely diced onions and garlic paste. Saute until fragrant.

Add diced bell peppers, saute one minute.

Add diced tomatoes and sliced scallions. Saute for one minute.

Add diced tomatoes, oregano and sliced scallions. Saute for one minute.

Deglaze with Salice Salentino or other robust red wine, add kpsher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Simmer for two minutes. Check seasoning

Deglaze with Salice Salentino or other robust red wine, add kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Simmer for two minutes. Check seasoning.

Meanwhile, cook the lunga ziti al dente.

To serve, top pasta with octopus. Sprinkle with chopped italian parsley

Baby Octopus In Spicy Salice Salentino/Bell Pepper Sauce Over Lunga Ziti

Baby Octopus In Spicy Salice Salentino/Bell Pepper Sauce With Lunga Ziti

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Breakfast Of Champions # 29 – ”Sauteed Italian Sausage, Chorizo, Bok Choy & Cauliflower”

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I Didn’t get much sleep last night, so I needed a light but satisfying breakfast at 6.00am.
At first I wanted to add some potatoes, but then decided against it in order leave room for later when a nice lunch was called for 🙂

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Sauteed Italian Sausage, Chorizo, Bok Choy & Cauliflower

Saute italian sausage in olive oil

Add garlic paste and onion julienne

Add bok choy and blanched cauliflower, season with kosher salt and sriracha. To plate, sprinkle with chili flakes

Sauteed Italian Sausage, Chorizo, Bok Choy & Cauliflower

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Sauteed Vegetables In Ginger / Garlic Cream With Fan

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Last night’s dinner could have been sooooo healthy, if I’d have stuck to olive oil instead of butter and no heavy cream.
But then again, what is life without love, food and drink as good and rich as possible.
(Well, for me, anyway)
So, there you have it, an almost healthy dinner, great tasting and not too shabby looking either 🙂

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !

For FAN (chinese steamed rice) recipe, click here

Sauteed Vegetables In Ginger / Garlic Cream

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: saute onions, grated ginger, garlic paste and baby bella’s in butter

: deglaze with white wine

: add heavy cream

: simmer until cream thickens

: add cabbage, simmer one minute

: add spinach and chilis, simmer one minute

: season with salt, cayenne pepper and maggi seasoning

: remove from heat, add bean sprouts

: sprinkle with chopped cilantro (or other herbs of your choice)

: Sauteed Vegetables In Ginger / Garlic Cream

: Sauteed Vegetables In Ginger / Garlic Cream

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Grilled Portuguese Sardines

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During the time Maria and I were living in Madeira, Portugal, we usually had grilled sardines at least twice a week. There was this beautiful restaurant, built into a cave in the rock’s below our apartment building, just a three minute walk, which served these wonderful, fresh, juicy, tasty sardines off a wood fired grill. Adorned with just lemon wedges, a small green salad with onions and rustic sour dough bread, this was the perfect meal every time and I remember them very fondly, both for the great food, as well as the romance the surroundings provided to Maria and I.
I usually had all my dinner’s in Madeira with a bottle (or two) of Gatão Vinho Verde, while Maria usually stuck to her diet coke.
While shopping for food on saturday, I came across these great looking (frozen) Portuguese sardines and I just had to get them. I prepared them the way they are usually prepared in simple restaurant’s and homes by the sea – some sea salt inside and out, brushed with olive oil and quickly grilled or sauteed. Then a squirt of lemon or lime and voilà – sardine heaven.

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !

– and yes, Bella and I had all twelve of them at once…….. 🙂
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Grilled Portuguese Sardines

: Portuguese Sardines

: Season With Sea Salt

: Grill

: Served With Sauteed Potatoes And Greens

: Grilled Portuguese Sardines

: Grilled Portuguese Sardines

: Remnants Of A Great Dinner

: Gatão Vinho Verde

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Gratinated Beef, Beans & Potato Stew With Fried Onions

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This must be my 25th different use for beef ribs other than just plain BBQ.
Incidentally, this is also without a doubt one of my best loved way’s to cook beef rib’s.
It is a bit robust for this time of the year here in Florida, but as I said often –
thank’s God for A/C 🙂
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !

Gratinated Beef Ribs, Beans & Potato Stew With Fried Onions

Beef Ribs, Potato, Cannellini, Garlic, Onion, Shiitake, Cilantro

Simmer Ribs, Garlic, Kosher Salt And Freshly Ground Black Pepper Until Ribs Are Almost Tender

Add Potatoes, Simmer Until Potatoes Are Almost Tender, Set Aside

Saute Onions And Shiitake In Olive Oil Until Onions Are Translucent

Add Beans

Add Ribs, Potatoes And Stock, Bring To A Simmer. Sprinkle With LOT’S Of Finely Grated Parmigiano Reggiano

Bake Until A Golden Crust Is Achieved

Sprinkle With LOT’S Of Fried Onions

Gratinated Beef Ribs, Beans & Potato Stew With Fried Onions

Gratinated Beef, Beans & Potato Stew With Fried Onions

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Sauted Rib Eye with Mushrooms and Taleggio Ca De Ambros stuffed Twice Baked Potato

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The steak : EXCELLENT !
The mushrooms : EXCELLENT !
The twice baked potato : OUT OF THIS WORLD !!!
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I have only recently discovered “Taleggio Cheese”, and I feel sorry for myself to have gone 62 years without enjoying this marvel of Italian cheese making. I only know of one shop around here that carries it. It is one of my least favorite stores because it tries to be everything to everybody, which just does not work. But since a friend steered me to their cheese section, I have gone there at least once a week, just to get my fill of “Taleggio Ca De Ambros”
For this dinner, I have sauteed the steak in peanut oil, sauteed the mushrooms with diced onions and garlic paste in butter. I baked the potato until cooked through, then I removed the potato flesh from the shell, added kosher salt, sriracha, butter, sliced scallions, garlic paste and a generous amount of Taleggio. Then I put the mixture for half a minute into the microwave to soften the butter and cheese, mixed it all well and stuffed it back into the potato shell. Baked it in the oven for twenty minutes and – voilà – best twice baked potato ever 🙂

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Sauted Rib Eye with Mushrooms and Taleggio Ca De Ambros stuffed Twice Baked Potato

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: Sauted Rib Eye with Mushrooms and Taleggio Ca De Ambros stuffed Twice Baked Potato

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Shrimp, Anchovies & Brie Cheese Pizza

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I have come up with a great system to support my craving for unusual pizzas at unusual times. About once a week, when I have a little extra time ( and energy), I make a small batch of pizza dough, wrap it tightly in plastic film and put it in the fridge. When I feel the craving crawling towards me, I take the dough out of the fridge and let it sit on the kitchen counter for a couple of hours, still wrapped in the plastic film. When the time of prep comes, I unwrap it and proceed as usual with a fresh pizza dough. Works like a charm and put’s the actual prep time at the time of pizza dinner down to a few minutes, plus the baking time. May I say “GENIUS” 🙂
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Shrimp. Anchovies & Brie Pizza

: Mise En Place : Pizza Dough, Anchovies, Tomato, Brie Cheese, Cilantro, Oregano, Corn Meal, Chili Flakes.

: Shrimp. Anchovies & Brie Pizza

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Pizza Dough :

Ingredients :

A/P flour, 2 cups (plus more for kneading)
Water, 3/4 cup, warm
Active dry yeast, 1 envelope
Sugar, 1 teaspoon
Olive oil, 3 table spoon
Kosher salt,

Method :
1.

Pour water into small bowl, mix in yeast. Let stand until yeast dissolves, about 5 minutes. Brush large bowl lightly with olive oil. Mix 2 cups flour, sugar, and salt. Add yeast mixture and 3 tablespoons oil, knead until dough forms a sticky ball. Transfer to lightly floured surface. Knead dough until smooth. Dust with flour as you work the dough. Transfer to prepared bowl; turn dough in bowl to coat with oil. Cover bowl with moist towel. Let dough rise until doubled in volume.Punch down dough. Pull dough until desired thickness and shape is achieved. If this is too difficult, roll the dough with a rolling pin. However, in my opinion, the pizza will turn out superior if the dough is pulled.
If you like your dough very thin and crispy, proceed with step 2.
If you like your crust a bit more thick and chewy, you might want to pre-bake your pizza dough for a few minutes.

2.
Sprinkle pizza pan or baking sheet with cornmeal, place pizza on it. Brush pizza with olive oil, sprinkle lightly with corn meal. Add tomato puree and roasted garlic puree, sprinkle with mozzarella and oregano. Add all other ingredient’s according to picture. Sprinkle with asiago and freshly ground black pepper. Bake at 500 F until dough is done and edge of pizza is crispy and golden.

Note : This recipe is works well in a home oven without a pizza stone.

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Pulpo A La Plancha (Griddled Octopus)

If I would be confined to a small island for the rest of my life and given a choice of just 10 food items I could have available for the rest of my life, octopus would definitely be one of them.
Today I was in the mood to have something simple, with no fuzz, little preparation and minimal cleanup. Here is what fit the bill :

” Griddled octopus with iceberg and tomato in raspberry vinaigrette “.

Season water with sea salt, lots of smashed garlic and crashed black pepper corn. Add octopus and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cook for 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours (depending on size) until tender but not mushy. Texture is very important for a successful octopus dish, so pay attention! Remove octopus to ice bath. Let cool, remove from water, pat dry. Season with sea salt, granulated garlic and freshly ground black pepper. Brush with olive oil. Cook on hot griddle or cast iron pan until a nice char has developed. In the meantime, mix olive oil, lime juice, garlic paste, fresh ground black pepper and lot’s of chopped cilantro and oregano. Plate the octopus, drizzle with the seasoned olive oil. Serve with a green salad and your choice of potatoes, rice or sour dough bread.

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Pulpo A La Plancha (Griddled Octopus)

: Pulpo A La Plancha

: Griddled Octopus

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Caesar Salad “Royal”

No such thing as a Caesar Salad “Royal” you say?
Maybe up until around noon today you were right. But, after I made myself a traditional caesar salad for lunch and looked at it with hungry eyes (Bella too) , we felt the strong need to embellish the salad somewhat and this was the result :

Trim and wash romaine lettuce, cut into your preferred size or leave individual leafs whole. Prepare thinly sliced toast of your favorite bread. For the dressing, mash anchovy filets in a bowl, add egg yolks, roasted garlic pure, lemon juice, salt and cayenne pepper and in a slow, steady stream add good quality olive oil until you have a dressing the texture of mayonnaise. Add some finely grated parmigiano reggiano, mix well. Adjust taste and texture if necessary. Mix romaine with the dressing, arrange on serving dish. If you love anchovies (I do), top salad with additional filets. Sprinkle with finely grated or finely shaved parmigiano reggiano. Serve toast on the side. Voilà – Caesar Salad.

For Caesar Salad “Royal”, add the following items :
Prosciutto ham, salame, brie cheese, asiago cheese, manchego cheese, grape tomatoes, chives. Voilà – Caesar Salad “Royal”

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !

P.S.
Caesar Salad “Imperial” coming up soon. ( Think crab legs, lobster, shrimp, caviar, etc) 🙂
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