scallion

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

: Pickled Cauliflower

: Pickled Cauliflower

: Pickled Cauliflower

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Chicken Noodle Soup With Broccoli Rabe & Tomatoes

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My very own preference for chicken to use in a soup are the wings, which makes for a bit of messy eating at the dinner table. (Bella does not mind 🙂 )
So, if this is an issue for you, you might want to replace the wings with boneless diced chicken leg.
On the other hand, chicken noodle soup was never meant to be an elegant dish, so what the heck, use whatever makes you happy!
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Simmer wings with water, sliced ginger, sliced garlic, kosher salt and cayenne pepper until wings are cooked through, about 30 minutes. Remove wings, set aside. Meanwhile, cook pasta, strain, toss with a bit of sesame oil. Strain soup, return to simmer, add chilies, broccoli rabe, tomatoes, scallions, hot sauce, soy sauce and wings, simmer another minute. Check / adjust seasoning. To serve, add pasta to serving dish, top with soup, wings and veggies, sprinkle with more scallion.
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Chicken Noodle Soup With Whole Grain Pasta And Vegetables

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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
To enlarge pictures and read instructions, click on pictures
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: wings, garlic, ginger, blanched broccoli rabe, mild chilies, scsllions, whole grain spaghetti, hot sauce, say sauce, sesame oil

: Chicken Noodle Soup With Whole Grain Pasta And Vegetables

: Chicken Noodle Soup With Whole Grain Pasta And Vegetables

: Chicken Noodle Soup With Whole Grain Pasta And Vegetables

: Chicken Noodle Soup With Whole Grain Pasta And Vegetables

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“Eggs And Potato” (Baked Potato And Caviar)

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Ok friends, here is my opinion about “Caviar with all the trimmings” : It sucks !
In my humble opinion, only folks who don’t love caviar water down the pleasure of eating it by adding a mountain of other “stuff” to stretch it (lots of chopped onions, chopped eggs, sour cream, chopped chives, capers, lots of toast or other bread, mountains of blinis, etc.
I understand that it is not everybody’s kick to pay a few hundred $ for an ounce of caviar. But to stretch it with condiments means to just water down the pure pleasure, so you actually get less bang for your money. (Think of the best cognac you can lay your hands on – then stretching it with ice and water – Brrrrr 😦
All you should add to your caviar (in my own, humble opinion) to enjoy it to the fullest, is a bit of good, buttered bread, a tiny bliny or a bit of potato and top it with a generous amount of caviar. One ounce – two bites maximum WITH the bread or potato. Or, if you want to enjoy the caviar to the max – eat it neat, sit back, enjoy ! Life is good ! (I used one small potato and 4 oz of caviar for this dish – what the heck, I’ll only be 62 once)
As usual, use the best caviar you can afford – quality over quantity !
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I am probably a bit spoiled with my taste for caviar because back in the mid- and late seventies I spend a lot of time in Russia.
During that time we were able to exchange one pair of used jeans on the black market for one kilo of the best caviar. We ate the stuff on buttered bread like other folk eat marmalade on bread – good sourdough bread with unsalted butter, piled high with caviar, probably 6 to 8 ounces per sandwich 🙂
Imagine to be able to do this nowadays, my oh my…………
Some of my friends who were with me during those trips and who read this post –
Yalta, Odessa, Leningrad, Sochi…….Aaahhhhhh, the good old day’s !
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Eggs And Potato (Caviar And Baked Potato)

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Preparation :
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: bake potato at 425 F until very soft

: mix with butter, finely sliced scallions, a bit of greek yogurt and a tiny dash of sriracha

: mix ingredients, (the potato should be very light and almost neutral in taste), fill back into potato shell to serve

: Eggs And Potato (Caviar And Baked Potato)

: eat most of the potato before you start with the caviar

: hit me………

: Eggs And Potato (Caviar And Baked Potato)

: Eggs And Potato (Caviar And Baked Potato)

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Chili/Duck Rice Sticks

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The other day I roasted a whole duck to have for dinner but when it was almost done a friend called me to invite me for dinner, so I put the whole shamuckus in the fridge for the next day to be used. The following dish was the result and I must say – what an extraordinary satisfying result it was, both visual and taste-wise, which just goes to show (again) that sometimes leftovers are better than the original. (Mind you – not alway’s – but often enough)
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Chili/Duck Rice Sticks

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Preparation :
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: soak rice sticks in water for five minutes, drain

: remove all bones from duck,, discard bones

: saute slivered garlic in peanut oil until crisp and golden, set aside

: saute sliced onions in peanut oil until caramelized but not crisp, set aside

: pure goodness………

: saute duck in very hot peanut oil until skin is crisp but meat still juicy

: add chilies and grated ginger, saute a few seconds until chilies blister

: add rice sticks, equal parts of hoi sin sauce, chicken stock, oyster sauce, soy sauce, sweet thai chili sayce and ketchup )don’t scoff on the ketchup, it adds acidity and sweetness as well as richness to the dish

: mix all ingredients well, add a dash of sesame oil, check / adjust seasoning

: add bean sprouts and scallions

: almost there………..

: plate noodles on a deep plate or bowl

: sprinkle with more scallions

: add onions

: sprinkle with crispy garlic

: Chili/Duck Rice Sticks

: Chili/Duck Rice Sticks

: Chili/Duck Rice Sticks

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Chicken In A Nest

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Chicken Salad is probably one of the most abused dishes out there. Ever more complicated and pompous, it has lost its original appeal for me a long time ago in it’s present form which is more likely than not a bunch of mostly outer salad leaves (I call that rabbit food 😦 , some obscure bottled dressing and a few slices of tomato and cucumber – $ 17.50 please! – plus tip and a diet coke or water and you will leave the restaurant with a bill of at least $ 25.00 for a mediocre meal you could prepare at home for a fraction of the price, much faster and most of all – much more delicious, healthy and appetizing !
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Chicken In A Nest

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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
To enlarge pictures and read instructions, click on pictures
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: dress grape tomatoes, baby arugula, romaine hearts and mung bean sprouts in honey mustard vinaigrette

: arrange salad on serving platter

: slice half an avocado, reserve shell

: place avocado shell on salad nest

: saute chicken in very hot peanut oil, add scallions

: add chicken to avocado shell, sprinkle with black sesame seeds

: add avocado slices, drizzle with lemon juice and olive oil

: Chicken In A Nest

: Chicken In A Nest

: Chicken In A Nest

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Mama Tilly’s “Quer Durch Den Garten” Eintopf

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Link to “Hans’ Lighter, Healthier Comfort Food”
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I wish I could sit one more time at my parents dinner table and be served my moms “Quer Durch Den Garten” eintopf. Of course, as a child, veggies and stews were not exactly big time favorites, but, as with so many memories, decades later all we usually remember are the good parts of our experiences and so it is with this dish – so, one more time please 🙂
This dish shows up in many homes nowadays but its new name is usually “clear out the fridge”.
But, what was then, way back, poetically called “quer durch den garten” (across the garden) was literally just that – everything that was ripe in the vegetable garden and had to be used up before it spoiled. Therefore, during harvest time in our back of the house small veggie garden, “quer durch den garten” was a dish that showed up a bit too often. Always a bit different, sometimes added pasta or rice instead of potatoes, usually different vegetables (whatever was ready for consumption) and most always a different protein – bacon, sausage, chicken, beef, or a combination of whatever was available. Obviously, this is one of my favorite dishes now, but back then…….. 😦
So here it is, in honor of my mom’s “Quer Durch Den Garten” eintopf:
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Bon Appetit ! Hans, you are not allowed to go outside before you finish your plate !!!
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Link to ” Eintopf ”
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Link to ” Gnocchi ” Recipe

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Mama Tillys “Quer Durch Den Garten” Eintopf

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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
To enlarge pictures and read instructions, click on pictures
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: chicken, kilbasa, tomatoes, broccoli stems

: simmer all vegetables in chicken stock until almost done, add meat

: bring back to a simmer, add gnocchi, simmer until gnocchi float

: check / adjust seasoning

: Mama Tillys “Quer Durch Den Garten” Eintopf

: Mama Tillys “Quer Durch Den Garten” Eintopf

: Mama Tillys “Quer Durch Den Garten” Eintopf

: to serve, add freshly grated swiss cheese ( mama tilly’s original) or parmesan cheese

: Mama Tillys “Quer Durch Den Garten” Eintopf

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Corned Beef And Cabbage – Happy St Patrick’s Day

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After a week of corned beef almost daily, (I bought too much meat, as usual), I am happy that today St Paddy’s day is finally here, the mountain of corned beef is devoured and we can move on to other goodies. 🙂
However, today’s dish, Corned Beef and Cabbage, has been served in so many different versions that most of it has become just a shadow of its former glory. I hope that I can help resurrect people’s interest in this lovely dish. My version is a simple one, yet pretty to look at and most important, VERY tasty and sumptuous.
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Click Here For Corned Beef Recipe
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Corned Beef And Cabbage

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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
To enlarge pictures and read instructions, click on pictures
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: rainbow potatoes, onions, herb/garlic butter

: saute vegetables in herb/garlic butter

: add beef stock, simmer until potatoes are almost done

: add cabbage

: add corned beef, ladle butter/stock from the bottom of the pan over the meat and cabbage, cover, simmer until cabbage is done, about 15 to 25 minutes, depending on your preference of texture

: plate cabbage and potatoes

: top with beef, ladle stock / butter over the top, sprinkle with scallions

: Corned Beef And Cabbage

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Mafaldine Alla Riccione

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I dedicate this dish to the city of Riccione, where I had my first moment of culinary ecstasy.
When I was 16 years old and an cook-apprentice in the Black Forest of Germany, I thought life, and particular working life, was too hard for me to handle, so I decided to run away from it.
I hitchhiked through southern Germany to Austria and from there over the Brenner Pass in the Dolomiti Alps down to Riccione in Northern Italy in the hopes of finding happiness and love in a life of leisure on the beach (well, I was 16 years of age in an area before the internet – ignorance and naïveté prevailed in 16 year old’s at that time :-).
When I left Baden Baden for my adventure I had 26.00 German Marks to my name, most of which I spend the first night on steins of beer in the “Englisher Garten” in Munich. I remember I crossed the border from Austria into Italy with 6.00 DM in my pocket. After breakfast that day, it was four weeks of sleeping under the stars and asking (begging actually) shop owners and restaurant owners for donations to support, in the form of food and drink, my escape from a working life to the bohemian life of my dreams. These were different times altogether. I was a skinny kid without a home, and most people I met had pity and gave me a good meal, most often a sandwich and/or some fruit and soft drinks. Also, everyone offered a free smoke of the good stuff, which made a penny less life on the road so much brighter 🙂
However, I remember when I got to Riccione, on the first day I spend there, the chef in a seaside restaurant handed me a simple plate of pasta with shrimp. This was the first time I saw shrimp of that size and had a dish that was so exotic and wonderful, both in its taste and its looks. To this day I remember the awesomeness I felt by smelling this food, feasting on its looks with my eyes and then devouring it all in a happy flash.
After one month of some happy, some frightening but never boring moments, even skinnier than before I left, but maybe just a bit wiser, I crawled back to my apprenticeship at the Hotel Wiedenfelsen, finished it and became a professional cook, never again to regret my earlier decision to follow this lifelong, tough, underpaid, but in so many other way’s rewarding career path of a cook and chef.
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Bon Appetit ! See you in Riccione 🙂
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>riccione,

Mafaldine Alla Riccione

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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 bread crumbs in olive oil or butter (according to your preference), season with kosher salt and cayenne pepper

: cook mafaldine in salted water, drain, toss in (according to your preference) garlic oil or melted butter with garlic paste, add a spritz of maggi

: almost………

: season shrimp with kosher salt and cayenne pepper, add to pangrattato, saute until shrimp are done and breadcrumbs are golden in color, add sliced scallions and chili flakes

: plate mafaldine

: top with shrimp / pangrattato-mix

: Mafaldine Alla Riccione

: Mafaldine Alla Riccione

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Peperonata & Chicken Parisienne

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Click here to link to “Hans’ Lighter, Healthier Comfort Food”
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Wednesday Dinner – Week Two
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While peperonata (peperonate) is a classic, well established Italian dish, this version is adapted to my personal preference of taste and texture.
I used the traditional olive oil, garlic, onions, tomato paste and basil, but instead of the usual mixture of different-colored bell peppers, I used a variety of chilis with different colors and various levels of spiciness, from sweet to very hot. Also, instead of cooking everything down to a soft mash, I left the vegetables with a bit of a bite to make the texture more pleasant. All in all, a successful, different and modern take of a classical dish 🙂
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
To enlarge pictures and read instructions, click on pictures
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: blend a/p flour with cayenne pepper, granulated garlic and kosher salt, pat chicken brest dry, dredge in flour mixture

: dip chicken breast in whisked egg

: saute in vegetable oil until golden and crisp

: saute diced white onions, sliced scallions and garlic paste in olive oil, add capsicum of your choice (bell peppers, chilis or combination thereof), add tomato paste, a bit of chicken stock, kosher salt and cayenne pepper, simmer for three minutes,, add fresh basil, check / adjust seasoning

: plate peperonata

: top with chicken parisienne

: Peperonata & Chicken Parisienne

: Peperonata & Chicken Parisienne

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Curried Beef & Pasta

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Sunday lunch is supposed to be the highlight of the week, when traditionally the whole family gathers around the dining table for the culinary highlight of the week. So sad to see traditions like that slowly but surely disappear 😦
However, Bella and I keep the tradition alive as best as we can, gathering on my chaise-lounge and enjoying a great lunch while watching a good movie (the movie substituting the lively conversation which is supposed to take place among the family during Sundays lunch).
We do converse though – she begs, upon which I sternly say “don’t beg, which she follows with a moan or bark, followed by me giving her a morsel. Then I have a few bites until she begs again, which is usually as soon as she swallows her bit. And so on, until the meal is finished 🙂
So, here we go, without further ado – today’s lunch :
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Curried Beef & Pasta

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Preparation :
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To read instructions, hover over picture
To enlarge pictures and read instructions, click on pictures
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Click here for Garam Masala Instructions
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: skirt steak

: cut skirt into strips, season with kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper, saute in VERY hot garlic oil until rare, remove to absorbent paper, set aside

: saute onions in garlic oil

: add sliced peppers and scallion sticks, season with one table spoon garam masala and one table spoon curry powder, add half cup of heavy cream, simmer one minute