scallion

Meat And Potatoes

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Many a person declares them self to be a “Meat and Potato Person“, meaning no fancy concoction, just the basics without a fuss.
After looking at these pictures, most of us will probably concur, at least some of the time 🙂
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Bon Appetit ! Umph !

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Meat And Potatoes

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Preparation :
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: simmer potatoes in saltwater until tender but still firm, drain

: peel potatoes

: put potatoes through a ricer

: bring cream, butter and garlic paste to a simmer

: remove from heat, add potatoes, season with kosher salt and cayenne pepper, mix well

: put potato puree on serving plate

: meantime, season steak of your choice with kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper, cook to the doneness you prefer, remove steak, set aside to rest in a warm place

: in same pan, add mushrooms, saute until lightly browned

: add tomatoes ans scallions, season with kosher salt and cayenne pepper, saute until heated

: top potato puree with the sauteed veggies

: arrange sliced steak on top of veggies and puree

: Meat And Potatoes

: Meat And Potatoes

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Obatzda (Bavarian Cheese Sandwich – Boss Level)

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Sadly, most of us will not be able to attend the real Oktoberfest in Munich this month 😦
So, to help you dream about actually being there in person, here is one of the quintessential dishes one might consume together with a Maß Bier (or even a few Maß ) at the Oktoberfest or any other beer-garden, or, as I did today, in my chair in front of the TV, watching the Oktoberfest on Deutsche Welle TV and having a Maß of iced tea 🙂
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Guten Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Obatzda (Bavarian Cheese Sandwich – Boss Level)

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Preparation :
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: mix 2/3 camembert, 1/3 butter, diced onions, cayenne pepper and paprika powder

: grill a thick slice of sour dough bread, brush with garlic-confit paste (not original, but oh so yummy)

: spread cheese mixture generously on the bread, sprinkle with caraway seed, chives and sliced onions, accompany with sliced tomato or radish

: Obatzda (Bavarian Cheese Sandwich – Boss Level)

: Obatzda (Bavarian Cheese Sandwich – Boss Level)

: Obatzda (Bavarian Cheese Sandwich – Boss Level)

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Gochujang Blade Steaks With Musaengchae (Spicy Korean Radish Salad)

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While I prepare blade steaks often, musaengchae is not so common on my dinner table, simply because I usually don’t find Korean radish on my regular shopping-runs, so when I do find them, musaengchae it is.
You could substitute the Korean radish with daikon, but for this particular dish, daikon will be inferior and should only be a last resort.
If you love spicy – this salad is it !
If you love radish – this salad is it !
If you are tired of run of the mill salads – this salad will come to the rescue !
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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More Blade Steaks On ChefsOpinion
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P.S.
These blade steaks were very thin, so the amount pictured (6 steaks) were just enough for one meal for Bella and I 🙂
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Musaengchae

: korean radish (pic source: maangchi)

: peel radish, then cut into fine julienne, season with kosher salt, let stand for 10 minutes, squeeze out excess water

: toast sesame seeds until golden

: add black sesame seeds, white toasted sesame seeds, gochujang, garlic paste, ginger paste, white vinegar and scallions, mix carefully in order to not break-up the radish julienne

: Musaengchae

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Gochujang Blade Steaks

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: marinade pork-blade steaks overnight with gochujang, ginger paste, garlic paste, kosher salt, scallions, peanut oil, mirin and sake

: grill or broil until pork skin is very crispy

: Gochujang Blade Steaks

: Gochujang Blade Steaks

: Gochujang Blade Steaks

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Tandoori-Style Chicken Drumsticks With Pickled Onions And Naan

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Some of my favorite food-memories from my time living in Karachi, Pakistan, were the many wonderful dinners Maria and I had at the rooftop restaurant of our hotel, the ” Avari Towers,Karachi“.
Sadly, I understand that this restaurant has been converted into a steak restaurant by now ( after all, its been nearly 20 years since Maria and I lived there).
However, at the time, the roof top was a very exclusive local-fare only restaurant with a tandoori oven right there on the rooftop.
Benazir Bhutto, who a few years later became prime minister of Pakistan, resided in a house just next to our hotel and came to eat at the roof top a few times while we were there, which got Maria excited each time and she actually asked Mrs.Bhutto for an autograph (which she got, despite the incredible security), which made Maria happy and embarrassed me 🙂 .
Anyway, as far as the food was concerned, the restaurants at the Avari were in my opinion by far the best and safest places to enjoy a meal in all of Karachi and the tandoori dishes at the rooftop topped it all !
I had many a good tandoori dish while traveling in Pakistan and of course in India, but never did I find a good one in Florida in all the years I have resided here. While they might exist, so far they have eluded me. So, whenever I lust for tasty, well prepared tandoori-style food that rekindles my memories of times past, I usually have to take matters in my own hands. Such was the case again yesterday, when I prepared these delicious chicken drumsticks.
For the lack of an tandoori oven, I cooked the drumsticks under high heat under the broiler, which resulted in acceptable taste and texture.
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مزےکری ! maze karein ! زندگی اچھی ہے !
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Tandoori–Style Chicken Thighs With Pickled Onions And Naan

Tandoori-Style Chicken Tighs With Pickled Onions

Tandori-Style Chicken Tighs With Pickled Onions

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Preparation :
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: cross-score each drumstick through the flesh, all the way to the bone, marinate overnight in a paste of ghee, garam masala, cumin, allspice, lemon juice, yogurt, paprika, cinnamon, grated ginger, garlic paste, black pepper and kosher salt

: mix onions, peppers, garlic paste, scallions, white vinegar, kosher salt and garlic oil, let marinade at least 2 hours

: remove chicken from marinade, simmer remaining marinade for 3 minutes, use to baste chicken during broiling

: place chicken on wire rack

: broil chicken on one side for 15 minutes

: turn chicken, brush generously with more of the marinade, cook until cooked through, about another 15 – 20 minutes, depending on the size of the drumsticks

: done…..

: plate chicken with freshly baked naan and crisp iceberg

: top chicken with the marinated onions

: Tandoori-Style Chicken Drumsticks With Pickled Onions And Naan

: Tandoori-Style Chicken Drumsticks With Pickled Onions And Naan

: Tandoori-Style Chicken Drumsticks With Pickled Onions And Naan

: Pickled Onions

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Fritto Misto

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It is time for me to confess: I am a food-shopping maniac. My kitchen usually contains enough fresh, dried, frozen and pickled food to feed a family of four for a few weeks. So, every couple of months I give myself the daunting task to empty my cup board, fridge and freezer completely in order to be able to start replenishing all over again. So today, after two weeks of feeding myself and Bella with all the goodies already in the house, I finally achieved my goal: (my iron-will was victorious) – all food is gone and tomorrow morning I will start a new crusade to the butcher, grocery store and farmers-markets to make sure I have again enough food in the house, just in case………. ???? – well, something, you never know.

(My friends who live in the neighborhood will remember that after the last major hurricane left our area for nearly three weeks without electricity, Maria and I hosted daily free lunches in our garden for 20 to 30 people, sometimes a lot more. Tasty food from the grill and fire pit and plenty of beer and even more wine, all nicely cooled in the lake. What a blessing our full freezer and pantry proved to be then ) 🙂

But, let’s get back to the topic at hand.
The remaining few things I had left in the freezer were some squid, a few small shrimp, a piece of cod filet and in the fridge a bit of greens, lemon, scallions, an onion and some grape tomatoes . Perfect !
Some oil, vinegar, salt and pepper for the salad, the seafood marinated with cayenne pepper, kosher salt, granulated garlic and dusted in rice flour, two chilies and the scallions thrown into the mix, then quickly deep-fried and Voilà – Fritto Misto ! Life is Good !
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Buen Apetito ! Viva Italia !
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Fritto Misto

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Preparation :
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: fry in VERY hot oil to ensure crisp and juicy seafood

: remove to absorbent paper, serve at once

: Fritto Misto

: Fritto Misto

: Fritto Misto

: Fritto Misto

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Jerk Chicken-Stuffed Matzo Ball Soup

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My love for matzo ball (Knaidlach) soup should surprise no one at this point, since I have posted quite a few different post’s with this marvel of traditional comfort food at Chefsopinion.
As for Jerk Chicken – WHO doesn’t love that ??!
Now, I have to confess that the chicken I used here was not a real jerk chicken, but rather diced chicken leg seasoned with jerk-seasoning and then sautéed. However, this “jerk chicken”served its purpose as a filling for the matzo balls perfectly, so I will not nit-pick about it 🙂
Both Bella and I were enamored with this soup and will no doubt have it again and again 🙂
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Matzo Ball Recipe
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More Jerk Chicken on ChefsOpinion
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More Matzo Balls on ChefsOpinion
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More Chicken Soup on ChefsOpinion
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Jerk Chicken-Stuffed Matzo Ball Soup

Jerk Chicken-Stuffed Matzo Ball Soup

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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
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: chicken tights

: remove bones, dice meat and skin into small pieces

: add large diced onions, season liberally with jerk seasoning

: fry in vegetable oil until cooked just through but still juicy

: done…

: see link above for matzo ball recipe

: form matzo into balls

: flatten into disc

: add chicken filling

: cover filling completely with matzo, shape into ball again

: simmer in lightly salted water until cooked through and trippled in size, about 40 minutes

: almost……

: serve matzo ball in chicken soup, sprinkle with finely sliced scallion or chopped parsley

: Jerk Chicken-Stuffed Matzo Ball Soup

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Beef Satay’s

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Although peanut sauce is one of my favorite condiments for grilled or broiled meat, today I opted for Thai Chili Sauce instead. The combination of the beef, rice, pickled cucumbers and chili sauce was absolutely delicious and I am sure that in the future I will be having this dish often, whenever a quick, light and tasty meal is in order 🙂
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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More Satay’s on ChefsOpinion
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Beef Satay’s

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Preparation :
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To enlarge pictures and read instructions, click on pictures
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: season finely sliced strip steak with garlic paste, soy sauce, sugar, grd coriander, grd cumin, cayenne pepper and lime juice , let marinade at least two hours

: skewer meat onto pre-soaked skewers

: grill or broil satay’s until med/well

: previously, generously salt cucumber batons, let stand for 30 minutes, squeeze out excess liquid, discard liquid

: add chili flakes, sesame oil and a spritz of lime juice

: serve satay’s with thai chili sauce, pickled cucumbers and lime/scallion rice

: Beef Satay’s

: Beef Satay’s

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Easy does it # 26 – Char Siu Bao

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Dear Friend’s,
Although most of my followers are culinary professionals, there is also a large segment of followers who are just starting to enjoy cooking on a slightly higher than basic level. I have therefore decided to publish, under the moniker “Easy Does It“, from time to time some very basic recipe variations of dishes (and even pre-cooked dishes) which otherwise might seem too complicated to some folks. I will break them down to the easiest, most simple instructions, so that those of you who are intimidated by elaborate recipes will be able to prepare these dishes properly, adjusted to your taste and liking, right from the get-go. After all, just because you are not (yet ?) a professional chef should not prevent you from enjoying great food at home. 🙂
Enjoy !
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If only Char Siu Bao (Cantonese barbecue-pork-filled buns) would be as easily available as our western buns in any restaurant, supermarket, bar and dive ! I would devour them at least once a day, everyday :-).
In the not so distant past, I have made Char Siu Bao many times from scratch. After all, over the years (decades), I was in charge of a few Chinese restaurants and even cooked in one on a daily basis (in Pakistan), so I am lucky enough to know the basics of some delicious Chinese food preparation.
However, with a great international/Asian food market close by, there is no need to do all the work by myself anymore. In fact, some of the prepared, frozen food items such as Baozi , Shumai or many other baked, steamed and boiled dumplings which are available frozen at “Foodtown Supermarket” in Davie are better than what I can get in most of the Chinese restaurants around here. And, as a quick dinner after work or a lazy lunch or just a snack in-between, these frozen marvels are unbeatable for convenience, quality and price. So I suggest that if you want to have another great standby for a rainy day, surprise guests or just a quick “different” meal, put some of these into your freezer and be prepared for anything. 🙂
“Foodtown Supermarket” has many varieties of steamed buns, filled with all kind of fillings, but I always come back to the Char Siu Bao which are my favorites.
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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For more about Foodtown Market click here
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Char Siu Bao

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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
To enlarge pictures and read instructions, click on pictures
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: fill a large pot wirh enough salted water to ALMOST reach the bottom of the first steamer basket add four FROZEN buns

: top first basket with another basket

: add another four buns

: top with the basket top

: cover the pot with a lid, bring the water to a boil, steam until the center of the dumplings reach 162F

: meanwhile, prepare the dipping sauce by mixing soy sauce with grated ginger, garlic paste, lime juice, sugar, sesame oil, chili oil and sliced scallions

: Char Siu Bao

: Char Siu Bao

: Char Siu Bao

: Char Siu Bao

: Char Siu Bao

: first bite, of course….. 🙂

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Tortilla Española (Tortilla De Patatas) (Spanish Omelette)

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While a Spanish tortilla is steeped in tradition and has it’s long-standing recipes (usually just thinly sliced potatoes and eggs,) I like to make my own, more elaborate versions by adding “stuff”, such as ham, bacon, vegetables, mushrooms, shrimp, or any other ingredient I find suitable to a dish I love but would find boring after a while had it only the two original ingredients. I justify calling these versions “Tortilla Española” because of the fact that while I was traveling in Spain, I encountered many such versions with different ingredients, all the same called “Tortilla Española”. As for browning the potatoes in the version containing diced potatoes instead of thinly sliced potatoes, this just seems to result in a different texture (better, in my opinion) than if using potatoes without a crispy crust.
I hope the Tortilla Española Purist’s out there will forgive me and everybody else will experiment until they find their own favorite version of this great dish 🙂
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Tortilla Española (Tortilla De Patatas) (Spanish Omelette)

Tortilla Espagnola

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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
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: whisk whole eggs with kosher salt, granulated garlic and hot sauce

: saute diced potatoes in olive oil, season with kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper

: when potatoes are lightly browned, add diced onions, saute until onions are translucent

: add diced chorizo and sliced scallions ( I also added a bit of leftover mortadela I had in the fridge), saute until sausages start to brown

: add egg mixture, put into 350F oven until set

: slide on a plate, flip onto other side and continue to cook in oven until set and golden brown but still moist on the inside

: to serve, sprinkle with freshly grated manchego cheese and chopped cilantro, serve hot or at room temperature

: Tortilla Española (Tortilla De Patatas) (Spanish Omelette)

: Tortilla Española (Tortilla De Patatas) (Spanish Omelette)

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Udon Noodles With Tenderloin Tips And Bell Peppers

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Udon, the Japanese noodle-love of my life !

Apparently, Alison Spiegel (and many others) caught the same love bug) :

( Excerpt from : The Huffington Post | By Alison Spiegel )
“Ramen may be everyone’s favorite Japanese noodle soup these days, but just because it’s the trendiest doesn’t mean it’s the best. We’re huge fans of ramen — don’t get us a wrong. We could eat ramen for breakfast, lunch, dinner and late night snacks any day of the week, instant or otherwise. But it’s time to get to know other Japanese noodles, like soba and udon. Because they’re made with buckwheat, which is gluten free, soba noodles have gotten their due lately. Udon noodles, however, have been falling by the wayside, and we’re here to tell you why you should give them plenty of attention this winter.

Thick, chewy and ridiculously satisfying, udon noodles are in a league of their own. These long, Japanese wheat noodles are great hot or cold, and with a neutral flavor, they’re an unmatchable foundation for everything from miso soups to curry. In Japan,kake udon is one of the simplest and most common ways to eat these soft yet sturdy noodles. Udon noodles are served in hot dashi, a Japanese broth made with kombu and bonito flakes, and are topped with scallions. They might also come with tempura or fish cakes. Other popular ways to eat udon noodles include yakiudon, in which the noodles are stir-fried, and zaru udon, in which the noodles are served cold with a soy-sauce based dipping sauce. However you eat udon noodles, they will leave you feeling full but not stuffed, comforted but not sluggish, and completely nourished.”

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All about Udon
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