onion

Casarecce Gorgonzola

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I was going to make a quick salami and gorgonzola sandwich, when I realized that I felt I had to treat myself to a better lunch than a simple sandwich, so I checked the larder for a few available goodies and the following is what I came up with. By the time the pasta was cooked al dente, I had all the other ingredients prepped and it took only about another five minutes to complete the dish. While I love a good sandwich, this dish was a far more rewarding lunch and it took only slightly more time to prepare.
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Casarecce Gorgonzola

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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
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: saute onions, salame, chillies and garlic paste in olive oil

: add gorgonzola cheese

: add heavy cream, simmer until gorgonzola is melted

: add quartered artichoke hearts

: add freshly ground black pepper and scallions

: add casarecce pasta

: mix until pasta is well coated with gorgonzola sauce, if sauce is too thick, add a bit of the cooking liquid from the pasta, check / adjust seasoning

: Casarecce Gorgonzola

: Casarecce Gorgonzola

: Casarecce Gorgonzola

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Chicken Tostada

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I used to eat tostadas two or even three times a week when I was living in Cancun.
There was this small bar/restaurant on the beach of the lagoon across from where I lived, about a five minute walk away. (I believe it was on Blvd. Kukulcán KM 21 – I wonder if the place still exists?) On one side of the road is the ocean, on the other side, less than five hundred yards across the street, was this tiny place on the beach of the lagoon with a wooden pier protruding about thirty yards into the lake. Many a night I gave the waiter a small tip to set up a table for me at the end of the pier, to enjoy the night and a few drinks and snacks all by myself, usually while on the phone for a while with Maria who was back in Miami, taking care of things there. On most nights I had shrimp or chicken tostadas and a few “Negra Modelo” .
Happy times ! Aaahhhh, the memories 🙂
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Bon Appetit ! Live is Good !
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Link to Salsa Mexicana
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Link to Guacamole
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Link to Tostadas De Camarones
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Chicken Tostadas

flour tostadas, chicken in chipotle, salsa mexicana, tomato/onion salad, sour cream, guacamole, pickled chili

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: marinade chicken drumsticks with pureed chipotle and kosher salt

: saute in olive oil until golden

: add chicken stock, cover, simmer until done

: chicken should be soft enough to be easily removed from bones

: boneless chicken, cilantro added

: make sure you eat enough veggies 🙂

: tomato, red onion, cilantro, olive oil, garlic paste, white vinegar, kosher salt, cayenne pepper

: flour tostadas, chicken in chipotle, salsa mexicana, tomato/onion salad, sour cream, guacamole, pickled chili

: Chicken Tostadas

: Chicken Tostadas

: Chicken Tostadas

: Chicken Tostadas

: Chicken Tostadas

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Mushrooms And Udon Noodles In Oyster Sauce

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It seems to me that the biggest return (culinary bliss and satisfaction) for the smallest investment (time, money and work) was, is and always will be, the preparation of food.
While there are of course very expensive, time-consuming, complicated and labor intensive dishes to be had, the majority of great food can be prepared in a snap. The following is just one of these dishes. All ingredients can be had for a few bucks and the actual prep and cooking time is only about 15 minutes.
So folks, please don’t say you don’t have time to cook. Just face your demon’s and admit that you don’t like to cook 🙂 😦 .
On the other hand, if you don’t know how to cook, that’s a whole different story. For you I have a simple solution to that malady : Follow my blog and get inspiration for simple dishes and instructions how to prepare them- this will be the first step to help you overcome the biggest hurdle, because most of the instructions on ChefsOpinion are dead-simple and require only the most basic culinary knowledge to produce great results.
First step – start trying………. 🙂
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Bon Appetit ! You Can Do It !!!
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More Udon dishes on ChefsOpinion
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Mushrooms And Udon Noodles In Oyster Sauce

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Mushrooms And Udon Noodles In Oyster Sauce

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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
To enlarge pictures and read instructions, click on pictures
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: cook udon noodles in salted water, drain, coat lightly with sesame oil

: prepare a slurry of cornstarch and water

: stir fry sliced onions and fresh, quartered shiitake mushrooms until onions lightly caramelized

: add oyster mushrooms, saute another minute, add oyster sauce, soy sauce, garlic paste, grated ginger, chili sauce and a bit of chicken stock or water

: stir-in slurry

: simmer a few seconds

: add seafood mushrooms, remove from heat, mix well, check / adjust seasoning

: 🙂

: plate udon noodles

: top with mushrooms

: for a bit of crunch, top with scallions and mung bean sprouts

: Mushrooms And Udon Noodles In Oyster Sauce

: Mushrooms And Udon Noodles In Oyster Sauce

: Mushrooms And Udon Noodles In Oyster Sauce

: Mushrooms And Udon Noodles In Oyster Sauce

: Mushrooms And Udon Noodles In Oyster Sauce

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Tandoory Style Cod Filet With Potato-Onion Mash

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When you first lay your eyes on the pictures of this dish you might think that the cod filet is the star of the show. While this might be so for some folks, for me the star was the potato-onion mash. Seldom have I experienced a richer, tastier and more scrumptious potato dish than this one. Even by itself it would have completely satisfied my requirements for an excellent lunch. Of course, adding the salad and fish made it just more perfect and rounded out the meal. Great lunch experience and one which I will definitely repeat soon.
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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P.S.
Looks like lettuce with honey/mustard dressing has become my go-to green side dish.
(Could be worse) 🙂
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Tandoory Style Cod Filet With Potato-Onion Mash

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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
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: bake potatoes and onions until soft

: let potatoes and onions cool a bit to be able to handle them, then remove peel

: add plenty of butter, sriracha, garlic paste, greek yogurt and kosher salt to potatoes

: add onions, mash lightly

: combine everything, check / adjust seasoning, cover, keep hot

: meanwhile, marinade cod filet in a paste of ghee, garam masala, cumin, allspice, lemon juice, yogurt, paprika, cinnamon, grated ginger, garlic paste, black pepper and kosher salt

: cook without fat in a very hot cast iron pan

: plate a bed of lettuce dressed with your favorite vinaigrette

: top lettuce with potatoes, top potatoes with cod filet

: Tandoory Style Cod Filet With Potato-Onion Mash

: Tandoory Style Cod Filet With Potato-Onion Mash

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Filet Au Poivre Avec Pommes De Terre Lyonnaise

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The plan was to prepare a traditional pepper steak when I realized that I had no demi glace in the freezer for a proper pepper sauce. I usually have demi glace, tomato sauce and curry base/sauce in the freezer, but today I was out of luck with the demi glace. So there were four options to choose from :

– sit down and cry,
– prep a new batch of demi glace which will take a couple of hours
– use the curry sauce,
– use the tomato sauce.

I decided to go with the tomato sauce and the result was excellent. Very little different from the demi glace version, just as creamy and tasty as a “proper”, traditional pepper sauce. Great lunch in no time 🙂

(Have to prepare a batch of demi glace now )
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Traditional Pepper Steak (Steak Au Poivre)
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More Steak @ ChefsOpinion
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Filet Au Poivre Avec Pommes De Terre Lyonnaise

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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
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: Season a 8 oz beef tenderloin steak with kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper, saute in garlic oil until rare, remove from pan and let rest (carry-over heat will continue to cook the meat until medium rare)

: saute sliced blanched potatoes in duck fat until golden, add sliced onion, garlic paste, kosher salt and cayenne pepper, continue sauteeing until onions caramelize

: meanwhile, deglace pan with heavy cream, reduce until slightly thickened

: add a dollop of tomato sauce, simmer another minute, check / adjust seasoning

: plate potatoes, sprinkle with sliced chives

: drizzle with pepper sauce

: Filet Au Poivre Avec Pommes De Terre Lyonnaise

: Filet Au Poivre Avec Pommes De Terre Lyonnaise

: Filet Au Poivre Avec Pommes De Terre Lyonnaise

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Steak And Pasta Salad With Pickled Onions

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Some of us “Tough Guy’s” might feel a bit dainty when out with our buddies and would like to actually have “just a salad, please” 😦
Well, boys and girls, not with this baby, I’ll guarantee ! Here we have “just a salad” for every real man and every real woman, anytime and anyplace. Buhaaa ! Enjoy ! 🙂
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Bon Appetit ! Life (and salad) is Good !
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Steak And Pasta Salad With Pickled Onions

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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
To enlarge pictures and read instructions, click on pictures
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: onions, chilies, chili flakes, rice vinegar, kosher salt, peanut oil, cilantro

: mix ingredients and let marinade for at least 2 hours

: marinade sliced striploin with soy sauce, garlic oil and sriracha

: sear in a VERY hot pan on both sides (no additional oil required) until browned but still rare

: plate vinaigrette-dressed iceberg salad

: top with vinaigrette-dressed pasta and cucumber salad

: top with steak

: top with onions

: Steak And Pasta Salad With Pickled Onions

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BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS # 47 – Smoked Salmon On Naan

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What better way to start a day ? –
A wonderful breakfast, followed by a two hour walk around the lake.
Bella had a great start too – same breakfast, then she spotted three squirrels on our walk, which absolutely made her day (both the salmon, which she ate and the squirrels, which she chased) 🙂
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Link to more “Breakfast of Champions”
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Breakfast of Champions # 48 – Smoked Salmon On Naan

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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
To enlarge pictures and read instructions, click on pictures
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: Brush hot naan with butter, sprinkle with kosher salt

: top generously with smoked salmon

: add freshly ground black pepper, onion rings and capers

: add boiled eggs, lemon slices, basil and dollops of greek yogurt,

: Breakfast of Champions # 48 – Smoked Salmon On Naan

: Breakfast of Champions # 48 – Smoked Salmon On Naan

: Breakfast of Champions # 48 – Smoked Salmon On Naan

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EASY DOES IT # 24 – Potato Salad

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This potato salad is a far cry from the one I usually make at home, which is “Schwäbischer Kartoffelsalat” (Swabian Potato Salad), which does not contain Mayo or any other “stuff” besides potatoes, onion, stock, salt, pepper, oil, vinegar and sometimes herbs and/or bacon.
This one is a VERY different baby, but just as delicious 🙂
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Link to more Schwäbischer Kartoffelsalat
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Creamy Potato Salad

Potato Salad

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Preparation :
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: Slice and salt cucumbers, let rest for 20 minutes, squeeze out water

: add tomatoes, parsley and scallion

: add warm, freshly cooked potatoes, horseradish, kosher salt, cayenne pepper, a small dash of ketchup, mayonnaise and a dollop of yogurt

: Creamy Potato Salad

: Potato Salad

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Creamy Potato And Carrot Soup With Salami And Shrimp

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A bowl full of this delicious beauty should make you feel good and happy any time of the year, any time of the day.
If for any reason you don’t want to use heavy cream for the ultimate silkiness, you can substitute the cream with tofu and still get great results 🙂
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Creamy Potato And Carrot Soup With Salami And Shrimp

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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
To enlarge pictures and read instructions, click on pictures
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: saute onion and garlic in butter

: add diced potatoes and diced carrots

: add chicken- or vegetable stock, kosher salt and cayenne pepper, simmer until vegetables are soft

: meanwhile, saute salami julienne, small shrimp and scallions in butter, season with kosher salt and cayenne pepper, set aside

: blend vegetables with stock until smooth

: add heavy cream or tufu, blend again until smooth and silky, check / adjust seasoning

: ladle soup into serving bowl, top with shrimp/salami mixture

: Creamy Potato And Carrot Soup With Salami And Shrimp

: Creamy Potato And Carrot Soup With Salami And Shrimp

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Easy Does It # 23 – Pickled Cauliflower And Pickled Broccolini

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Pickled vegetables are so easy to prepare, they stay fresh in the fridge for day’s and they come in handy any time of the day as a snack, or just as an refreshing side dish.
While you can pickle just about anything with great results, cauliflower and broccolini are my favorites, closely followed by mushrooms and cabbage.
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Link to more “Easy Does It”
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Link to “Pickled Cabbage Rolls”
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Link to “Chinese Pickled Cucumbers”
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Link to “Pickled Chicken” (Pollo En Escabeche)

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Pickled Cauliflower

Pickled Broccolini

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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
To enlarge pictures and read instructions, click on pictures
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: blanched broccolini, garlic paste, pickled chilies, sliced onions, shredded carrots

: add kosher salt, cayenne pepper, apple cider vinegar, olive oil, mix well, marinade at least 24 hours in fridge, serve at room temperature

: Pickled Broccolini

: Pickled Broccolini

: Pickled Broccolini

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: raw beauty…………

: cut into florettes

: blanche in salted water, shock in ice water, drain

: add sliced scallions, diced onions, fresh cracked black pepper, kosher salt, olive oil, garlic pasteapple cider vinegar, mix, marinade at least 24 hours