recipes

Butter Lettuce & Marinated Octopus

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Butter lettuce has to be my all time favorite lettuce – perfect texture, a color that can only be described as translucent and pearly, and a delicate flavor that is heavenly. While I love all leaf salads, especially frisee and baby arugula, butter lettuce is always at the forefront of my mind when I lust for salad 🙂
I eat it as often as possible, but unfortunately, most of the time the quality available around here is very low, and in case there is good quality available (as when I found the one for this meal), the price is usually at least quadruple the price of iceberg, romaine or frisee. 😦
As with so many other foods, when I grew up, I could not stand butter lettuce, because it was the cheapest salad available and therefore it showed up during many meals, at least three or four times a week. My Mom used to dress it with a simple vinaigrette with onions, which made the whole affair even more disgusting for me. Since my Dad did not allow us to remove items from our plated food, my Mom used to give me (secretly from my Dad) 10 Pfennig, which was but a few cents in today’s money, to ease my pain eating the onions in my salad. 🙂 How times have changed…………..
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Bon Appétit ! Life is Good !
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Butter Lettuce & Marinated Octopus

Butter Lettuce

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Preparation :
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: wash and drain lettuce, pat dry with papertowels, dress with a simple lemon vinaigrette

: make a dressing with lemon vinaigrette, green peas, chopped cilantro, red onions and chopped yellow bell peppers, add the cooked octopus, mix well

: plate the dressed lettuce, top with the marinated octopus

: Butter Lettuce & Marinated Octopus

: Butter Lettuce & Marinated Octopus

: Butter Lettuce & Marinated Octopus

: Butter Lettuce & Marinated Octopus

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P.S.
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This dish is part of my upcoming meal plan # 2 –
“HANS’ LIGHTER, HEALTHIER COMFORT FOOD” – MONTH TWO
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Click here for
“HANS’ LIGHTER, HEALTHIER COMFORT FOOD” – MONTH ONE
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Vacio (Beef Loin Flap), Sauteed Banana Peppers, Cherrie Peppers Relish and Mashed Avocado With Peruvian Salsa Ají Amarillo

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Vasio. This is yet another cut of beef which is not usually utilized for steaks outside of South America. Yet, if you visited South America and had a chance to sample it, you might agree with me that this is one of the best steaks in regards to texture and flavor.
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Vasio, (Flap steak, or flap meat) (French-Bavette), comes from a bottom sirloin butt cut of beef, and is generally a very thin steak. Flap steak is sometimes called sirloin tips in New England.
The flap steak is sometimes confused with hanger steak as both are usually cut thin. Skirt steak is a cut of beef steak from the plate. It is long, flat, and prized for its flavor rather than tenderness. It is not to be confused with flank steak, a generally similar adjacent cut nearer the animal’s rear quarter.

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Bon Appétit ! Life is Good !
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P.S.
Cherrie Peppers Relish is my new go-to condiment/sandwich spread.
You can prepare it yourself, but it is widely available in stores and online in good quality and various spice-levels, from mild to burning hot 🙂
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Click here to see another South American favorite of mine, the Picanha
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Click here for an extensive list of Beef Cuts from around the World
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Click here for Salsa Aji Amarillo Recipe on Chefsopinion
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Mashed Avocado with Salsa Aji Amarillo Recipe :
Mash the flesh of one ripe avocado with 1 tblsp chopped cilantro, 1/4 tsp garlic paste and kosher salt and salsa aji amarillo to taste
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Vacio (Beef Loin Flap), Sauteed Banana Peppers, Cherrie Peppers Relish and Mashed Avocado With Peruvian Salsa Ají Amarillo

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Preparation :
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: Flap Steak

: cut 2 ea 8 oz steaks, season with kosher salt, cayenne pepper and granulated garlic, season 2 ea large banana peppers the same way

: saute steaks and peppers in 2 tblsp peanut oil until peppers are blistered and steaks are cooked according to your liking, serve with amashed avocados on the side, top the steaks with the cherrie peppers relish

: Vacio (Beef Loin Flap), Sauteed Banana Peppers, Cherrie Peppers Relish and Mashed Avocado With Peruvian Salsa Ají Amarillo

: Vacio (Beef Loin Flap), Sauteed Banana Peppers, Cherrie Peppers Relish and Mashed Avocado With Peruvian Salsa Ají Amarillo

: Vacio (Beef Loin Flap), Sauteed Banana Peppers, Cherrie Peppers Relish and Mashed Avocado With Peruvian Salsa Ají Amarillo

: Vacio (Beef Loin Flap), Sauteed Banana Peppers, Cherrie Peppers Relish and Mashed Avocado With Peruvian Salsa Ají Amarillo

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Beef Neck And Vegetables Soup

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Beef Neck – probably the most underrated cut of beef overall. Simmered for soup or braised in red wine sauce, the texture and taste of this cut is only surpassed by beef shank. On top of that, since few people use it, it is the cheapest of all beef cuts, pound for pound. I hope it stays under-appreciated by most folks for much longer, so I can buy it often and in large quantities without breaking the bank 🙂
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Beef Neck And Vegetables Soup

Bella’s Portion

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Preparation :
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: simmer 3 lbs of beef neck in 4 qt of lightly salted water

: simmer until the meet is tender

: remove the beef from the soup, remove and discard the bones (at this point, there should be about 1 qt of stock left, if not, adjust by reducing the liquid or adding water

: cut the meat into bite size pieces

: add 4 small sliced carrots, simmer until the carrots are soft, add 1 ea diced avocado and 1 ea diced tomato to the soup, simmer for 1 minute, remove from heat, season with cayenne pepper and grated nutmeg to taste; check/adjust seasoning

: add blanched broccoli to a soup plate

: top with blanched cauliflower

: top with 1/4 of the meat, sprinkle with sliced scallions and grated parmesan (optional), place the plate with in a 200F degree oven to warm everything through (or use Microwave); to serve, add the piping hot soup; serves 4

: Beef Neck And Vegetables Soup

: Beef Neck And Vegetables Soup

: Beef Neck And Vegetables Soup

: Beef Neck And Vegetables Soup

: Bella’s Portion

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Baked Atlantic Cod Fillet, Cauliflower, Sweet Cherry Peppers And Capers In Lemon & EVO

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When I was growing up in the Black Forest in Germany, there were only two species of fish I experienced – the native Trout ( Bach Forelle ), which was available fresh in nearly every single restaurant, and Cod , which was the most affordable ocean fish, available fresh at most fish shops in the bigger towns and cities. Since trout was local and inexpensive, it was not really a treat for the kids, also, because it was usually served whole, head, skin and bones, it was something the parents ate, while the kids sticked to fish fingers made of cod fillet, served with plenty of sauce remoulade. 🙂
Once I became an apprentice and then during my many years of cooking (and eating) around the world, fish and seafood in it’s endless varieties became some of my favorite food.
For years, Turbot and Chilean Sea Bass (“Pacific Sea Bass” / “South American Sea Bass” / Merluza Negra / Patagonian Toothfish) , topped the list of my most beloved fish species. Then, surprise surprise, slowly but surely my preference wandered back to the simple Cod, where is stayed until today. Sadly, because it has lost it’s “inferior” reputation, the once very reasonably priced cod now costs the same prohibitive $-amount as any other good quality fish on the market.
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Bon Appétit ! Life is Good !
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Baked Atlantic Cod Fillet, Cauliflower, Sweet Cherry Peppers And Capers In Lemon & EVO

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Preparation :
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: blanche and drain one cleaned, quartered head of cauliflower

: season 1 ea 20 oz fillet of cod with sriracha, lemon juice and kosher salt to taste, dip both sides in panko crumbs

: place the fish and the cauliflower on a rack, brush cauliflower with melted butter, sprinkle with kosher salt and grated parmesan to taste, bake in a pre-heated oven (400 F) until fish is cooked through (turn fish once), ca 15 – 20 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fillet

: meanwhile, saute 8 ea peppers, 2 tblsp capers, 1/2 tsp garlic paste, 4 oz whole butter and kosher salt until heated through

: plate the fish and the cauliflower

: top with a few sprigs of fresh cilantro, top with the hot peppers, capers and butter (serves 2)

: Baked Atlantic Cod Filet, Cauliflower, Sweet Cherry Peppers And Capers In Lemon & EVO

: Baked Atlantic Cod Filet, Cauliflower, Sweet Cherry Peppers And Capers In Lemon & EVO

: Baked Atlantic Cod Filet, Cauliflower, Sweet Cherry Peppers And Capers In Lemon & EVO

: Baked Atlantic Cod Filet, Cauliflower, Sweet Cherry Peppers And Capers In Lemon & EVO

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Baked Wild Sockeye Salmon With Baby Arugula

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Once in a while, when you don’t have the time, urge or patience to cook a complicated dish, but still want to dine like a king/queen – this is for you 🙂
Total prep time – 5 minutes
Total time from start to end – 15 to 20 minutes, depending on the thickness of the filet and your preference of doneness of the fish (internal temperature).
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Bon Appétit ! Life is Good !
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Baked Wild Sockeye Salmon With Baby Arugula

Bella’s Baked Wild Sockeye Salmon

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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
To enlarge pictures and read instructions, click on pictures

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: trim 1.5 lbs salmon filet, remove all pin bones with tweezers, remove skin

: season salmon filet on both sides with EVO, kosher salt, garlic paste, sriracha and lemon juice to taste, place on a wire rack

: I cut up the un-seasoned skin for Bella; put the rack into a 420F pre-heated oven

: cook until salmon is done to your liking ( I prefer to cook mine to med-well- the carry-over heat will cook it to a perfect, juicy doneness); meanwhile, dress 8 oz baby arugula with 2 tblsp dressing of your choice; serves 2

: Baked Wild Sockeye Salmon With Baby Arugula

: Baked Wild Sockeye Salmon With Baby Arugula

: Baked Wild Sockeye Salmon With Baby Arugula

: Baked Wild Sockeye Salmon With Baby Arugula

: Baked Wild Sockeye Salmon With Baby Arugula

: Bella’s Baked Wild Sockeye Salmon

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P.S.
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This dish is part of my upcoming meal plan # 2 –
“HANS’ LIGHTER, HEALTHIER COMFORT FOOD” – MONTH TWO
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Click here for
“HANS’ LIGHTER, HEALTHIER COMFORT FOOD” – MONTH ONE
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SPAGHETTI AL CAVIALE (Spaghetti With Caviar)

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There are three pasta dishes I absolutely love for their simplicity and, if prepared with love and care, for their impeccable pure taste of just a few simple ingredients:
“PASTA CACIO E PEPE”, ”SPAGHETTI AGLIO E OLIO“, and today’s feature, “PASTA AL CAVIALE”.
As always, use the best ingredients you can afford to achieve the best result. Also, although many Italian recipes call for olive oil to toss the pasta with, as a caviar lover, I believe butter is the more appropriate ingredient to use for this dish.
And there you have it, all you need for this culinary wonder is good quality spaghetti, good quality butter, kosher salt, cayenne pepper and caviar of your choice.

Bon Appétit ! Life is Good

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SPAGHETTI AL CAVIALE (Spaghetti With Caviar)

Black Pepper & Soy Chicken Wings

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If you think one more post about chicken wings is redundant, I do understand you 🙂
Just move on, don’t get upset, bored or annoyed. I will see you at my next post…….
However, realize this: You’ll miss a chance to look at one of the prettiest, tastiest, no-fuss to prepare chicken wings you will ever come across 🙂
So, if you decided to read on and look on – enjoy, take the time to replicate these babes and be the master of your own future-favorite chicken wings 🙂 Cheers !
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P.S.
If you can not obtain anatto powder (Annatto/Achiote/Roucou ), you can substitute red food coloring (In my humble opinion, this is more of a “pride-issue”, rather than a quality-issue) 🙂
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P.P.S.
I did no include measurements in this recipe because I believe they are not necessary.
If you want to add any more or any less of any seasoning, just do so according to your own taste.
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Black Pepper & Soy Chicken Wings

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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
To enlarge pictures and read instructions, click on pictures
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: season chicken wings with peanut oil, freshly-cracked black pepper, soy sauce, kosher salt, lemon juice, chili oil, granulated garilc, hoisin sauce and annatto powder to taste, cook on a rack in a pre-heated oven at 400F until cooked through, about 45 minutes, depending on the size of the wings

: Black Pepper & Soy Chicken Wings

: Black Pepper & Soy Chicken Wings

: Black Pepper & Soy Chicken Wings

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P.S.
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This dish is part of my upcoming meal plan # 2 –
“HANS’ LIGHTER, HEALTHIER COMFORT FOOD” – MONTH TWO
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Click here for
“HANS’ LIGHTER, HEALTHIER COMFORT FOOD” – MONTH ONE
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Grilled Shrimp And Peppers-Brochette With Red Wine-Bucatini And Pangrattato

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While grilled shrimp is a dish that is well known to most of us, pasta cooked in red wine is probably less known/experienced by most folks, even those who are fans of pasta in all shapes and tastes 🙂
I for one have cooked pasta in red wine a few times, many years ago, but had forgotten about it since, until I came across it while browsing through some of my (very) old menus, notes, and pictures.
I have cooked this now twice in the past couple of weeks, and it has become one of my absolute favorite side – and even main-dish. The secret to preparing this pasta successfully lies in the red wine. Please, don’t even consider to use an inferior bottle of wine. Of course, you also don’t want to break the house, but, as with all very simple dishes, your success lies squarely on the quality of the ingredients. Also, it is my opinion that this pasta works best with butter instead of olive oil, since a really good EVO would, in my humble opinion, overpower the flavor of the wine. Again, this pertains to my very own taste preference and might work differently for yours 🙂
Also, panko in the pangrattato is a better choice for me than regular breadcrumbs 🙂

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Bon Appétit ! Life is Good !
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P.S.
Before somebody gets’ their knickers in a twist about the pangrattato – there is no ONE way of preparing it. Pangrattato simply means “grated bread”.
It can be toasted, cooked in a dry pan until golden, sautéed in butter or olive oil. It can be highly seasoned or just a little, it can contain herbs and/or whatever dry ingredient suit your palette and the dish you prepare. 🙂
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Red Wine-Bucatini

Grilled Shrimp And Peppers-Brochette With Red Wine-Bucatini And Pangrattato

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Preparation :
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: saute 1/2 cup panko with 1 stick butter until golden, season with kosher salt and cayenne pepper to taste (see the P.S. on this page for further options)

: pangrattato

: bring 1 qt of the best redwine you can affort and 4 oz butter to a simmer; meanwhile, cook 1 lb of bucatini in lightly salted water for 2 minutes, drain

: immediatly add the freshly-cooked bucatini to the simmering red wine, season lightly with kosher salt, cayenne pepper and garlic paste, simmer until al dente (at this point, there should be about 1/2 cup wine remaining; adjust if neccessary), check/adjust seasoning

: peel and devein 3 or 4 ea head-on 24/27 size shrimp per person, season with kosher salt, granulated garlic and cayenne pepper to taste, thread on bamboo skewers, alternating with colored bell peppers

: brush the brochettes lightly with peanut butter

: grill on both sides until almost cooked through (the carry-over heat will do the rest)

: place the bucatini on a serving dish, sprinkle with most of the pangrattato, top with the brochettes, sprinkle the remaining pangrattato on top

: Grilled Shrimp And Peppers-Brochette With Red Wine-Bucatini And Pangrattato

: Grilled Shrimp And Peppers-Brochette With Red Wine-Bucatini And Pangrattato

: Grilled Shrimp And Peppers-Brochette With Red Wine-Bucatini And Pangrattato

: Grilled Shrimp And Peppers-Brochette With Red Wine-Bucatini And Pangrattato

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EASY DOES IT # 35 – Italian Sausages And Bell Peppers

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“Sausage & Peppers” seem to be an American/Italian thing that most of us fail to enjoy and/or appreciate.
And of course, there is a good reason…….
Sausage and peppers are usually just an afterthought on Italian/American restaurant menus, often using inferior/leftover/stale ingredients, and therefore being treated as food for the fools 😦 .
While traveling and living in Italy, I never came across anything similar in any restaurant, although in private homes, using leftovers and whatever the fridge and/or cupboard provided, could occasionally provide a similar dish………
When I first encountered this dish here in the US a few decades ago, I ordered it a few times and also saw it on plates my fellow diners ordered.
Frankly, more often than not, it was less than appealing, to say it in a nice way.
So, for many years it never occurred to me to prep this dish at home, until it just so happened that Italian sausage meat and peppers were the only things I found in my fridge before going to stock-up my supplies.
Long story, short solution – just look at the pics in this post to see what you can do with these most basic ingredients if you put a bit of love and feeling in the preparation of this so often abused and massacred dish 🙂
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Bon Appétit ! Life is Good !
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P.S.
If you ever had this dish in a typical Italian/American restaurant, it was probably prepared with sliced Italian sausages, instead of the plain Italian sausage stuffing, shaped into balls, as I did here.
The texture will be very different, but the taste will be the same (Assuming you use “first-class ingredients”) 🙂
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EASY DOES IT # 35 – Italian Sausages And Bell Peppers

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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
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: shape 1 lb Italian Sausage meat into 9 balls

: cut 1 ea yellow/green and red peppers into 1″ pieces, add to 1 tblsp olive oil in a medium hot pan, add 1 tblsp tomato paste, 1 tsp garlic paste, 1 tsp dry oregano,and kosher salt and cayenne pepper to taste

: saute for 3 minutes

: top with the sausage balls, add 1 cup water or unsalted chicken stock, bake in a 373F oven until sausage balls are cooked through but not dry, ca 20 minutes

: EASY DOES IT # 35 – Italian Sausages And Bell Peppers

: EASY DOES IT # 35 – Italian Sausages And Bell Peppers

: EASY DOES IT # 35 – Italian Sausages And Bell Peppers

: EASY DOES IT # 35 – Italian Sausages And Bell Peppers

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P.S.
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This dish is part of my upcoming meal plan –
“HANS’ LIGHTER, HEALTHIER COMFORT FOOD” – MONTH TWO
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Click here for
“HANS’ LIGHTER, HEALTHIER COMFORT FOOD” – MONTH ONE
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Sautéed Salmon With Arugula, Strawberries & Walnuts In Raspberry Vinaigrette

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Once in a while, my neighborhood fishmonger receives an overnight delivery of fresh-caught, never frozen salmon. He usually leaves me an e-mail message the same morning, so by noon I’ll have salmon in my kitchen which happily swam in the ocean or stream just one or maybe a couple of days before that. Ahhh, the wonders of our modern times 🙂
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Bon Appétit ! Life is Good !
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Sautéed Salmon With Arugula, Strawberries & Walnuts In Raspberry Vinaigrette

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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
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: from a side of salmon, cut a 8 oz portion

: remove the skin (if you plan to eat the skin, scrape it clean of all fat and meat particles; this one was for Bella, so I omitted this step)

: season with salt and cayenne pepper, saute in peanut oil until golden on one side, about 4 minutes

: turn the fish and skin, cook until 162F in the center (or less if you prefer, but please remember food-safe temperatures are strongly suggested for a reason, and required by law in commercial establishments ! )

: to 1 cup baby arugula add 8 ea quartered strawberries, 1/2 cup very finely sliced red cabbage, 1/4 cup walnuts and 1/4 cup raspberry vinaigrette, mix, place salad on a serving plate, top the salad with the salmon filet, drizzle the salmon with the juice from a caramelized lemon