Sautéing

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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Schwäbische Spätzle Mit Schmelze (Swabian Noodles)

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” Swabian spaeztle with browned bread crumbs “.

One of the most common,simple, quick, delicious, economical and (in my biased eyes), one of the most beautiful dishes coming out of South Germany (Swabia).
When I grew up, this was one of the more boring dishes for me and my brother Wilhelm to grace our dinner table, because it showed up with regularity a few times a week. Even today, spaetzle are one of the stables of south german cooking. But, alas, I have moved away from my homeland many decades ago, so now spaetzle have become a treat, truly enjoyed whenever possible.
Spaetzle are hard to come by even in German restaurants around here. This is probably due to the fact that more cooks in american German restaurants go by the name of Pepe instead of Fritz and have never seen real spaeztle, so what you mostly get are “Knoepfle”, not “Spaetzle”.
Knoepfle means little bottons, so they are a small spherical pasta, while spaetzle derives from “little spitz”, which means little penis. (Many folks believe spaetzle derives from the word spatz, which means sparrow and would makes no sense at all. Also, many Americans let their spaetzle or knoepfle brown while sauteeing, which is an absolute no no in Swabia!
So there you have it. One of the easiest and fastest pastas to make is actually difficult to come by (at least any good ones). Go figure 😦
But, there is hope ! Following is the recipe for original swabian spaetzle. Please note that there is no milk or water added, just AP flour, eggs and salt. In times past, when eggs where not as easily available and as affordable as now, folks have had to stretch the eggs by adding milk or even water. Today that is not necessary anymore, so just stick to flour, eggs, and salt. With a little practice, it will take you less then 10 minutes to make about six portions.
Mix flour, salt, and eggs and beat the dough until it is elastic and forms large air bubbles. To shape the spaetzle, either use a “Spaetzle Brett” (spaeztle board) and a straight spatula, or, much easier, invest $ 20 and buy a “Spaetzle Press” online. If you are not so sure how to proceed with the dough and the shaping of the spaetzle, go online and check out one of the numerous good instructional videos ( But be aware, there is also a lot of crap online, so choose wisely ).

Fill the spaetzle press 3/4 with dough and press into boiling, salted water. After a minute or so the spaetzle will float at the surface. Remove to a bowl with cold water. Drain. To serve, saute in butter until hot, without allowing the spaetzle to brown. Top with “Schmelze”.

For the schmelze, melt butter and saute bread crumbs until golden.
(I like to use brown butter and add chives to my schmelze).

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Schwäbische Spätzle Mit Schmelze

: Schwäbische Spätzle Mit Schmelze

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Simple Cooking – Perfect Meal

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Sauteed cowboy steak medium rare. Spinach sauteed in duck fat with freshly grated horseradish, bacon, garlic and onion. Very thick cut slice of sourdough bread to soak up all the juices. Scotch bonnet & garlic compound butter to give it a bit of a kick.
Do I need to write more about this dish?
Hell no, just look at the pictures and start drooling 🙂

Recipe for Scotch Bonnet & Garlic Compound Butter

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !

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Cowboy Steak, Spinach & Chili Butter

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: Cowboy Steak, Spinach & Chili Butter

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Drunken Turkey Drum Stick

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Usually when I walk into a store to buy food, turkey does not stand in the forefront of my mind. Today I was looking for something like gizzards, trotters, necks, etc. But when I saw this beautiful piece of poultry, my mind was made up, decision made :
Braised Turkey 🙂

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Turkey drums stick, onion diced, garlic paste, tomato chopped, chilis chopped, basil, peppers chopped, celery chopped, red wine, beer, kosher salt, cayenne pepper, butter

Saute drum stick in butter until golden, remove. Saute vegetables, add wine and beer (no stock needed), return drum stick , season with salt and pepper, simmer until tender but not falling apart. Remove 1/3 rd of the vegetables and blend until smooth. Return to stock to lightly thicken. Serve with any starch, such as pasta, potatoes, rice. I used a nice italian white bread which I sautéed in butter with roasted garlic paste. The best way to soak up the sauce and scoop up the vegetables. Simple food at it’s best 🙂

Drunken Turkey Drum Stick

Drunken Turkey Drum Stick
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Link To Beer Braised Turkey Leg’s
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Bon Appetit ! Live 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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Parmesan Encrusted Pork Cutlet, Sauteed Potatoes & Chili Butter

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Merry X-mas Everybody 🙂

After I jumped out of bed at 3.30am, thinking I’ll be late for work and realizing only after a quick shower and an even quicker breakfast (one banana and one cup of tea) that it is sunday and x-mas to boost, I took a long walk with Bella while pondering what to have for lunch. I was so hungry by mid morning that I had an early lunch (late second breakfast ?, or as we call it in southern Germany, “Vesper”)
Wonderful tasty breaded pork cutlet with spicy sauted potatoes and Scotch Bonnet & Garlic Compound Butter.
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Ingredient’s :

Pork cutlet, seasoned with salt, cayenne pepper, roasted garlic paste and lime juice
AP flour,
Whole egg, whisked
Bread crumbs, mixed 50/50 with grated parmesan cheese
Peanut oil, to saute
Butter whole, to saute

Potatoes, sliced, blanched
Red peppers, diced
Scallions, sliced
Kosher salt,
Cayenne pepper,
Peanut oil, to saute
Butter whole, to saute

Method :

Season pork cutlet, dust with flour, dip into egg wash and bread with bread crumb / parmesan mixture. Saute in oil until almost done and golden brown. Replace oil with butter and saute until pork chop reaches 162 0n the bone. Remove absorbent paper.
Saute potatoes in oil until light golden and crisp. Add diced peppers, salt and cayenne. Drain oil and replace with whole butter. Saute until butter starts to foam and slightly changes color. To serve, sprinkle potatoes with scallion and top chop with chili butter.

Bon Appetit ! Live is Good !
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Udon, Seafood & Bok Choy

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As far as I am concerned, all noodles could be udon noodles.
I just love them in any prep variation, be it with seafood, beef,
mushrooms, in a soup, sautéed, stir fried, any which way will do it for me 🙂
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Click here to read all about UDON
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Ingredient’s :

Udon noodles,   fresh, from your Asian market
Mixed seafood, any type you prefer
Baby bok choy,
Onion,   sliced
Cilantro,   coarsely chopped
Garlic,   paste
Ginger,   grated
Soy sauce,
Sherry,
Sriracha,
Oyster sauce,
Sesame oil,
Chili oil,
Lime juice,
Peanut oil, to saute

Method :

Saute seafood in very hot peanut oil, remove onto absorbent paper. Add onion, garlic and ginger and saute until translucent and fragrant. Add noodles, bok choy, soy sauce, oyster sayce, sriracha and a bit of sherry wine and saute until noodles are heated trough. Remove from heat, add seafood and sesame oil, mix well. To serve, drizzle with lime juice and chili oil, sprinkle with cilantro.

Note:
As you can see from the mis en place picture, I used inexpensive (but nevertheless good) mixed seafood since this was only a go-between snack. For a more elegant and important meal, use large prawns, scallops, lobster, mussels, etc. However, the taste of the dish and the texture of the noodles should be satisfying either way.

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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Breakfast Of Champions # 14 ”Ham & Cheese Sandwich”

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Sautéed Wrap With Ham, Sharp Cheddar, Pecorino Romano, Egg, Spinach & Sriracha.
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Saute spinach with onions and garlic paste in butter.
Cook eggs and ham in butter.
Sprinkle grated pecorino on wrap, top with ham,
sprinkle with sharp cheddar, top with spinach,
sprinkle with more pecorino. Top with egg.
Drizzle with sriracha. Roll into tight cylinder,
Enclose tightly with aluminium foil to prevent roll
from opening while sautéing. Cut into thick slices.
Saute slowly in butter until the cheese inside the roll
has melted and a golden, crispy crust has formed on
top and bottom. Enjoy with a glass of ice cold milk.
What a great way to start the day 🙂

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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“Saure Nierchen ” ( Sauteed Sour Kidney’s )

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Another beloved dish from my childhood.
This was a very popular “Gericht” in southern Germany,
available in most “Gasthaus“, and “Restaurant‘s”
Whenever my butcher has them fresh, I buy one and
either cut it lengthwise in half and grill them, simply
seasoned with kosher salt and freshly ground black
pepper, or I make myself “Saure Nierchen”. Usually
I’d serve them with any type of pasta and any type of salad.
In this case , I made spaghetti and red beet salad to go with
the kidney‘s. Here it goes :
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Ingredient’s :

Kidney, beef, veal, lamb or pig
Onion, diced fine
Demi glace,
White wine
White wine vinegar, to marinade
White wine vinegar, to taste
Roasted garlic puree, to taste
Kosher salt, to taste
Cayenne pepper, to taste
Oil, to saute
Butter, to saute

Method :

Clean kidneys and cut into slices.
Rinse under running water for 20 minutes.
Strain, cover with vinegar and store in refrigerator for
twelve hours, Strain, discard vinegar. Rinse with cold water,
pat dry. Saute kidney’s in very hot oil until golden brown, still
medium inside. Remove onto rack (you don’t want the juices)
Saute onions in butter, deglaze with the white wine. Add the
demi glace, garlic, vinegar, salt and pepper. Simmer until well
combined. Remove from heat, add kidney’s and serve.

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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” Tilapia Meuniere & Sauteed Asparagus

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If prepared with love and passion,
what a wonderful fish Tilapia can be 🙂
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Heat a sauté pan over medium heat for a minute, then add a couple of tablespoons of clarified butter.
Season the fish fillet to taste with kosher salt and cayenne pepper.
Dredge the fish in flour and shake off any excess.
Sauté fish for 2 to 3 minutes or until there’s a nice golden-brown color, then carefully flip it over.
Cook for another couple of minutes or until this side is golden-brown, too.
Remove fish from pan and place it on a warm plate.
Add a chunk of whole butter to the pan and cook until it turns slightly brown.
Now top the fish with few tablespoons of lemon juice and some chopped parsley , pour the hot butter onto the fish and serve right away.
Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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