tasty

Chicken Cordon Bleu Ala Kiev

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How to improve on a chicken cordon bleu you ask? By preparing it ala kiev I say 🙂
Chicken ala Kiev – breaded chicken breast stuffed with garlic/herb butter.

P.S.
Don’t tell my cardiologist !

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Chicken Cordon Bleu Ala Kiev

: pounded chicken breast, seasoned with salt and pepper

: top with cooked ham

: top with edam or gruyere

: top with herb/garlic butter

: roll the ham and cheese around the butter

: fold the ends

: top with another breast, tuck ends under, bread with flour, egg and bread crumbs

: saute in peanut oil, replace oil with butter for the last minute of cooking

: serve with small salad and lemon

: Chicken Cordon Bleu Ala Kiev

: Chicken Cordon Bleu Ala Kiev

: Chicken Cordon Bleu Ala Kiev

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Picanha (Rump Cap) With Sauteed Potatoes, Morels And Cognac Cream

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Is the act of cooking a steak well done treason to the cooking profession? 🙂
While many folks will answer me with a hearty YES to this question, I believe the beauty of enjoying the perfect meal is to get exactly what YOU like, not what others dictate you. I am a big fan of cooking my beef steaks rare to medium rare, yet I will completely support the well done camp if that’s what you prefer. So when my friends Peter and Marina requested well done steak for dinner last night, I tried to make the best of it. I went to my Argentinian butcher in Hialeah and bought a whole Picanha. Picanha (rump cap) is not a well known cut in many countries and therefore seldom cooked a la minute. You will more likely find it as a braise on the menu. While there is nothing wrong with that, you will miss out completely on one of the very best cuts of beef steak. Just know that you have to cook it VERY slowly. I cooked this one in the following manner:
Seared on all sides in a very hot grill pan, then removed to a rack and roasted in the oven at 145 F for 3 hours. Then one more time to a very hot grill pan for another 30 seconds on each side. Removed to a rack, lightly covered with foil and rested for twenty minutes before cutting into it.
The result was the most amazing, butter-tender, juicy, medium well done piece of meat you can imagine.
If you want to try Picanha at its best, try a “Brasilian Rodizio” or “Argentinian Parilla” where you will find it as the star of the menu 🙂
We all enjoyed this great meal with a couple of bottles of 96 Bodega Catena Zapata 2005 Argentino which they brought with them.

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Rump Cap With Sauteed Potatoes, Morels And Cognac Cream

Rump Cap (Picanha) With Sauteed Potatoes, Morels And Cognac Cream

: Picanha (rump cap)

: cleaned picanha (rump cap)

: cognac cream sauce

: sauteed potatoes

: sauteed potatoes with morels, chili and scallion

: sauce mirror

: sauteed potatoes, morels, chilies and scallion on cognac cream sauce

: Picanha (Rump Cap) With Sauteed Potatoes, Morels And Cognac Cream

: Rump Cap (Picanha) With Sauteed Potatoes, Morels And Cognac Cream

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Steamed Cod With Caraway Potatoes, Lima Beans And Tomato Sauce

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Cod used to be one of the cheapest and most widely used fish. How times have changed. Today I paid $ 11.00 for these two small pieces of fish at my local fishmonger. How sad 😦
However, I am glad I spend the dough, the dish was excellent and well worth the cost ( about $ 15.00 for everything, one portion. Imagine I wanted to sell this in a restaurant at 20% food cost – $ 75.00 sales price ! No wonder the portions of real food in restaurants are getting smaller by the day. And never mind feeding a family of four on a average salary with food like this 😦

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good ! (For most of us, anyway 🙂 )

Recipe Easy Tomato Sauce Link
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Steamed Cod With Caraway Potatoes, Lima Beans And Tomato Sauce

: Cod Filet

: Season with sea salt and white pepper, add to melted butter

: add lemon juice and white wine, cover, steam VERY slowly for about 12 minutes

: meanwhile, saute blanched potatoes in clarified butter

: when potatoes start to brown, add lima beans and scallions, season with salt, pepper, roasted garlic paste and caraway seed, saute until beans are heated

: cover bottom of deep plate with tomato sauce

: add potato/lima bean mixture

: top with steamed fish, sprinkle with finely diced chilies and finely sliced scallions

: Steamed Cod With Caraway Potatoes, Lima Beans And Tomato Sauce

: Steamed Cod With Caraway Potatoes, Lima Beans And Tomato Sauce

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Tomato Bisque , Morcilla Dumplings & Pasta

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Morcilla lovers – this dish is a knock-out !
As far as morcilla dishes go, it does not get much better, I can assure you 🙂
I know that not everybody shares my love for morcilla, but for those who do, this soup is magic.

Morcilla –
(blood pudding, blutwurst, boudin noir, sanguinaccio, blodkorv, boldpølse, kaszanka).

If you do re-create this dish, make sure the dumplings are as light as possible but holding their shape. The should easily fall apart when lightly pressed with a spoon.
If you are not a fan of morcilla, you can use any other protein such as fish, seafood, veal, game, pork or even finely diced vegetables.

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !

Tomato Bisque, Morcilla Dumplings & Pasta

: tomato bisque – quartered tomatoes, celery, onions, sauteed garlic, red wine, small amount of diced potato, sea salt, cayenne pepper, sugar, water or tomato juice

: bring to boil, turn down to simmer, simmer for 2,5 hours

: put into blender and blend until smooth. The small amount of potato will make the texture silken and keep the liquid from separating from the solids. Check/adjust seasoning

: add heavy cream

: tomato bisque

: remove morcilla from casing, add egg yolk, dijon, cayenne, scallions, chilies, panko, mix well, shape into small rounds

: simmer dumplings in salted water until floating

: add pasta to plate

: add tomato bisque

: add dumplings

: sprinkle scallions

: Tomato Bisque, Morcilla Dumplings & Pasta

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“Easy Does It” – Tomato Bisque & Tomato Sauce

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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 which otherwise might seem 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.
Enjoy 🙂
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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start tomato sauce on the left, tomato bisque on the right

saute garlic in butter or olive oil before adding to tomatoes

tomato sauce - quartered tomatoes, sauteed garlic, sea salt, cayenne pepper, sugar, small amount of diced potato, water or tomato juice

tomato sauce – quartered tomatoes, sautéed garlic, sea salt, cayenne pepper, sugar, maggi seasoning,oregano, basil, small amount of diced potato, water or tomato juice

tomato bisque - quartered tomatoes, celery, onions, sauteed garlic, red wine, small amount of diced potato, sea salt, cayenne pepper, sugar, water or tomato juice

tomato bisque – quartered tomatoes, celery, onions, sauteed garlic, red wine, small amount of white rice or diced potato, sea salt, cayenne pepper, sugar, oregano, basil, maggi seasoning, water or tomato juice

bring to boil, turn down to simmer, simmer for 2,5 hours

put into blender and blend until smooth. The small amount of potato will make the texture silken and keep the liquid from separating from the solids. Check/adjust seasoning

put into a blender and blend until smooth; the small amount of rice or potato will make the texture silken and keep the liquid from separating from the solids. Check/adjust seasoning

add heavy cream to bisque

tomato bisque

tomato sauce

tomato sauce, ready to be frozen

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“Milanesa” – Breaded Pork Cutlet, Bucatini & Hans’ Special Pasta Sauce

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When I was an apprentice in the black forest in the sixties, “Veal Chop Milanese” (Kalbskotelett Mailänder Art), a slightly different version of the milanesa on this post, was a very popular dish. It was one that I was hoping to be able to afford to eat when I finally became a cook and earned a bit of money. It was a bread and parmesan breaded, ham and cheese stuffed chop of milk-fed veal, typically served on top of spaghetti with tomato sauce. However, while still an apprentice, a veal chop was out of my financial reach and so I had to wait a few years before I could actually afford to dig into one. In the meantime, the far more affordable version was made of a breaded pork chop instead of milk-fed veal. Great food too, but not exactly the real thing 😦
Here now is my own version of a “Schweinesteak Mailänder Art” :
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Breaded Pork Chop “Milanese”

Breaded Pork Cutlet, Bucatini & Hans’ Special Pasta Sauce

Milanesa

Ham& Cheese Stuffed Pork Cutlet

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: mise en place

: cut a large pocket into cutlet

: roll one slice of swiss with one slice of ham

: ham& cheese

: stuff into cutlet, bread with flour, egg wash and half breadcrumbs, half grated parmesan

: meanwhile, saute grape tomatoes and garlic in butter

: deglaze with red wine, reduce to almost dry

: add heavy cream, oregano, sea salt and cayenne pepper, simmer until reduced by half

: add freshly cooked bucatini and a small amount of grated parmesan, mix well, check/adjust seasoning

: saute cutlets in peanut oil until almost done, discard oil, finish with fresh butter

: Milanesa

: Schweinesteak Mailänder Art

: Breaded Pork Cutlet, Bucatini & Hans’ Special Pasta Sauce

: Breaded Pork Chop “Milanese”

: Ham& Cheese Stuffed Pork Cutlet

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Steak Sandwich & Salad

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This is the perfect, lightning quick meal that is at once fast to prepare, needs minimum prep work and packs a real punch in the satisfy-department 🙂

Bon Appetit Life is Good !

Steak Sandwich

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spread a french roll with butter and garlic paste, saute until golden

saute onion slices in butter until caramelized, top each slice with two eggs, fry to sunny side up, season with sea salt and cayenne pepper

season 16 oz striploin steaks with sea salt and cayenne pepper, grill to desired doneness, top each bread with one steak, top with egg/onion, add banana peppers. Feeds two hungry guy’s (Darryl and I on this occasion 🙂

Steak Sandwich

frissee, arugula, onions, chilies and anchovies in dijon vinaigrette

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Every Day Should Start Like This- Bauern Frühstück

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I am hoping that once I will be retired, this is how all my breakfast’s will look like 🙂

Bon Appetit And Have A great Day ! Life is Good !
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onion/garlic -focaccia, ham, emmenthaler, salame, brie, boiled egg, boursin, salted radishes, salted tomatoes, chilies & merlot

bauern frühstück

vesper

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Hoisin Grilled Chicken Leg’s

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Many a cook tries desperately and forever to find a great seasoning for a simple grilled chicken when the answer to the search is so simple:
Lime juice, sea salt, soy sauce, sriracha, granulated garlic and hoisin sauce. It really does not get much better and easier than that. If you’ve never tried it, go ahead and do and you will have arrived 🙂

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !

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hoisin grilled chicken leg’s with simple salad in white balsamic vinaigrette

grilling chicken

hoisin grilled chicken leg’s

simple salad in white balsamic vinaigrette

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Duck & Glass Vermicelli Soup – Leftover’s Made Into A Feast

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Whenever I steam meats, seafood or vegetables, I never discard the broth but transform it into a delicious soup or sauce.
When I steamed a duck for “Crispy Fried Duck With Dirty Rice Sticks” a few weeks back, I strained the stock and saved the trimmings from the duck to use for this great soup on the following day.
Below is the result:
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Duck & Glass Vermicelli Soup

simmer seasoned duck stock with whole chilies for 15 minutes. Add sesame oil. Check/adjust seasoning. Cover glass vermicelli in boiling ware, let steep for 10 minutes, strain

simmer seasoned duck stock with whole chilies for 15 minutes. Add sesame oil. Check/adjust seasoning. Cover glass vermicelli in boiling water, let steep for 10 minutes, strain

add chopped cabbage, simmer for two minutes

add vermicelli, diced leftover duck, cilantro and diced red peppers to soup. Bring back to a simmer, remove from heat at once. To serve, sprinkle with more cilantro

Duck & Glass Vermicelli Soup

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