tasty

Chicken In Saffran Broth, Vegetables & Cream Biscuits

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Sunday  dinner was simple today. I did not feel like spending too much time in the kitchen cooking and cleaning up, so it was a simple stew with biscuits. Nevertheless, it tasted and looked wonderful and the chicken was especially well received by Bella 🙂
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Chicken In Saffran Broth, Vegetables & Cream Biscuits

Chicken In Saffran Broth, Vegetables & Cream Biscuits

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Ingredient’s :

Chicken drumsticks,
Corn on the cob,   shucked, cut into pieces
Cauliflower,   rosettes, blanched
Potatoes,   peeled, diced
Shiitake mushrooms,   stem removed, quartered
Leeks,   sliced
Onions,   diced
Chilis,   select for your favorite heat level
Garlic,   paste
Ginger,   grated
Cilantro,   chopped
Saffran threads,
Kosher salt,
Cayenne pepper,
Chicken stock,

Method :

Simmer chicken, garlic, and ginger in lightly seasoned stock for 10 minutes. Add corn and simmer for another 15 minutes, Add all other vegetables and potatoes and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from heat, add saffran and let steep for another 20 minutes. Return to heat until hot. Adjust seasoning if necessary. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve with cream biscuits on the side.
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Cream Biscuit Recipe Click Here
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Bon Appetit !   La vie est bien !

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Easy Cream Biscuits

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This  is probably the easiest and fastest (best?) biscuit recipe there is.
Although I am not a big baking enthusiast, I make these often because of the ease and quality.
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Easy Cream Biscuits Ingredients

Easy Cream Biscuits Ingredients

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Easy Cream Biscuits

Easy Cream Biscuits

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Easy Cream Biscuit

Easy Cream Biscuit

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Ingredient’s :

2 cups self-rising flour, plus more for dusting
1 tablespoon sugar
1 dash of salt
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

Method :

Stir together the flour, sugar, salt and cream and knead until the dough forms a ball. Turn the dough out onto a surface dusted with additional flour. Fold the dough in 1/2 and knead 5 to 7 times, adding just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to your hands. Gently roll out dough to 1/2-inch thickness. Using a 3-inch biscuit cutter coated with flour, cut dough into biscuits. Place on baking sheet coated with cooking spray, leaving at least 1-inch between each biscuit. Bake  at 375F for 10 minutes, or until golden brown.
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Enjoy Y’all !  Life is Good !
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Pigs Tail And Potato Curry, Naan & Cucumber Raita

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Some folks are probably scratching their head, going “WTF” (what he food 🙂 ) when reading this. But hey, I love pigs tail and curries of any style.

Pigs tails – not everybody’s cup of tea                                read about Pigs Tail
Real curries – everybody loves those                                  read about Real Curries
European style curries – if you grew up with them…….. read about “European Style” Curries

The good thing is that if you don’t love pig’s tails, you can replace them with any other protein or vegetables.
However, here is what went on in my kitchen for today’s lunch:
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Pigs Tail And Potato Curry, Naan & Cucumber Raita

Pigs Tail And Potato Curry, Naan & Cucumber Raita

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Curry :

Pigs tails,   cut into pieces
Potatoes,   peeled, cut into wedges
Bananas,   sliced,
Baby carrots,
Peppers,   diced,
Celery,   sliced
Tomato,   diced
Ginger,   grated
Garlic,   paste
Cilantro,   chopped
Vegetable stock,
Coconut milk,
Turmeric,
Curry powder,
Kosher salt,
Cayenne pepper,
Butter,

Saute pigs tails in butter until lightly browned, add vegetables, banana, garlic and ginger and saute until fragrant. Add curry and turmeric, saute for another minute. Add stock, salt and pepper and very slowly simmer until pigs tails are tender. Add coconut milk and potatoes and simmer until potatoes are done but still firm. Adjust seasoning if necessary. To serve, sprinkle curry with plenty of coarsely chopped cilantro.

Naan :

1/2 cup   water,
1 pck yeast
2.5 cup  a/p  flour,
1/4 cup vegetable oil,
1/3 cup greek yogurt,
1 lg egg
Salt

Combine yeast, sugar and water. Stir to dissolve, let sit for a few minutes or until it is frothy on top. At that point, stir in the oil, yogurt and egg until evenly combined.

In another bowl, combine the flour with the salt. Add the bowl of wet ingredients to the flour/salt mixture and stir until well mixed. Continue adding flour a half cup at a time until you can no longer stir it with a spoon (about 1 to 1.5 cups later).

Turn the ball of dough out onto a well floured counter top. Knead the ball of dough for about 3 minutes, adding flour as necessary to keep the dough from sticking. The dough should be smooth and very soft but not sticky.

Loosely cover the dough and let it rise until double in size (about 45 minutes). After it rises, gently flatten the dough and cut it into 8 equal pieces. Shape each piece into a small ball by stretching the dough back under itself until the top is smooth and round.

Heat a large, heavy bottomed skillet over medium heat and spray lightly with non-stick spray. Working with one ball at a time, roll it out until it is about 1/4 inch thick or approximately 6 inches in diameter. Place the rolled out dough onto the hot skillet and cook until the under side is golden brown and large bubbles have formed on the surface (see photos below). Flip the dough and cook the other side until golden brown as well. Serve plain or brushed with melted butter and sprinkled with herbs!
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For Raita Recipe, click here
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Bon Appetit !   Life is Good !

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Sauted Strip Steak , Cauliflower Tortilla & Sriracha/Garlic Butter

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Sunday’s  late lunch / early dinner (4.00pm)
After sleeping-in late (7.30am and enjoying a big breakfast of strawberry smoothies and goose liver pate stuffed croissants, I did not feel hungry at lunch time and held out until late afternoon.
But then I knew I would have to combine lunch and dinner, so it needed to be a substantial meal, otherwise the snack monster would haunt me early in the evening. This is the first time I made a Spanish Tortilla with cauliflower and tomatoes and it made me realize what a great dish I’ve been missing all my live. What a wonderful dish. It can stand on it’s own, as breakfast, snack, even a complete meal if accompanied by a small salad, served hot or at room temperature. You can of course use different vegetables, different cheeses, add protein such as sausage, bacon, shrimp, crab meat, add different herbs, etc. The possibilities are endless and only limited by your fantasy 🙂
If you ever want to reproduce this dish, just make sure the cauliflower / vegetables are blanched  al dente, so that the tortilla has a bit of a bite to it. While I was cooking the tortilla, I also added grated parmesan cheese to the whisked eggs, (not featured in the mise en place picture). You can omit the cheese, but it definitely adds another level of depth to the dish.
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Sauted Strip Steak , CauliflowerTortila & Sriracha/Garlic Butter

Sauted Strip Steak , Cauliflower Tortilla & Sriracha/Garlic Butter

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Ingredients :

Tortilla :

Cauliflower rosettes,   blanched al dente
Eggs,  whole, whisked, seasoned with kosher salt, cayenne and grated parmesan
Grape tomatoes,
Butter,

Method :

Saute cauliflower and tomatoes briefly in butter, add egg mixture and cook covered on low heat until eggs have set but are not dry. Slide onto a dinner plate, top with the saute pan, invert and cook other side of tortilla until golden.
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Steak :

Season teak with salt, granulated garlic and freshly ground black pepper and saute both sides until desired doneness. Remember the carry over heat will cook it  one more level after you remove the steak from the pan! Let the steak rest for ten minutes before slicing !

Butter :

Mix softened butter with sriracha, roasted  garlic paste, a bit of lime juice and kosher salt.

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Bon Appetit !   Life is Good !
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Jamaican Black Bean Soup & Flour Dumpling’s ( A “Light” Saturday Lunch )


When  I encountered  Jamaican  dumplings   for the first time in the early seventies,  I would never have imagined that I will ever like them, having been raised with southern german-style dumplings, which are very light and airy (if done correctly).
So when I saw these tough little dumplings, (resembling in shape Schwaebische Bubespitzle), I was skeptical, to say the least. But, while living in Jamaica in the eighties, I have come to love these  Jamaican dumplings, but again – in order to be appreciated, they must be properly prepared, simmering for a long time in a flavorful stock, stew or soup .
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Irie, Mon 🙂
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Jamaican Black Bean Soup & Dumplings

Jamaican Black Bean Soup & Dumplings



Ingredients :

Stock of your preference, veal, chicken, beef, pork, vegetable
Black beans,   soaked overnight
Onions,   diced
Celery,    diced
Bacon,   diced  (substitute with salt pork if preferred)
Garlic,   paste
Spicy sausage,   pork, veal or beef
Assorted chilis,   select according to your preferred heat level
Tomatoes,  diced
Cumin,
Kosher salt,
Black pepper,   freshly ground
Cilantro,   coarsely chopped
Goose fat,    rendered  (use your favorite fat, canola oil, olive oil, butter, duck fat, goose fat, etc)

Method :

Saute bacon in fat until rendered, add onions, garlic, celery, chilis and sausage and saute until fragrant, add tomatoes, stock and beans. Season lightly with cumin, salt and pepper and simmer until the beans are “waxy”. Adjust seasoning if necessary. To serve, place soup into serving bowl, top with dumplings and sprinkle generously with cilantro .

Dumplings :

Mix flour, water and salt into a smooth dough, roll small pieces into finger shaped noodles and simmer in stock until cooked through. ( Usually like o cook them straight in the soup, but for a nicer presentation I cooked them separate this time for better pictures 🙂

Bon Appetit !   Irie !




Braised Oxtail & Potato Dumplings “Geschmorter Ochsenschwanz & Kartoffelknödel”

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Geschmorter  Ochsenschwanz & Kartoffelknödel  /  Braised Ox Tail & Potato Dumplings
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I remember with nostalgia when you could get oxtail from your butcher for a buck and a half a pound. Those were the day’s. Obviously long gone, but not forgotten. Nowadays it’s gonna cost an average of $ 5.00 a pound. Considering a nice portion to be about 2.5 pounds, you might only want to prepare this for a dinner party with the best of friends 🙂
Anyway, since I only cook for Bella and myself nowadays, cost was not a concern. Time however is of the essence. You want to cook your oxtails REAL slow, so they get very tender without falling apart. This batch took about 3.5 hours to cook. Was it worth the trouble ? You bet your foot it was. Especially when you also prepare these great potato dumplings to soak up every last bit of the knock-out sauce you get by simmering the meat and vegetables for all that time.
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Guten Appetit !   Das Leben ist Schön !
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Geschmorter Ochsenschwanz & Kartoffelknoedel

Geschmorter Ochsenschwanz & Kartoffelknoedel

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Ingredients :

Oxtail,   cut into single links
Bell peppers,   medium diced
Onions,   medium diced
Tomatoes,   canned, diced
Garlic,    paste
Peanut oil,
Kosher salt,
Cayenne pepper,
Hungarian paprika,
Veal stock,   or substitute
Red wine,
Dark beer,

Method :

Saute oxtails in hot oil until nicely browned on all sides. Remove from pot, set aside. Saute onions and peppers until caramelized. Now it is time to saute the paprika for a minute. Then add salt and pepper.Make sure you dont over season at this point. Remember, the stock will reduce a great deal when simmering for  long period of time. Add wine and beer to deglaze the pan. Return ox tail to pot, cover with veal juice  (substitute with chicken stock, vegetable stock or even water if nothing else is available. Simmer until oxtail is tender. Remove oxtail with a slotted spoon into a clean pot. Adjust seasoning of sauce if necessary. Strain sauce through a fine mesh sieve over oxtail. Make sure you press all the vegetables through the sieve. This will thicken your sauce and give it more body and flavor.
Serve with your favorite pasta or dumplings.

Potato Dumpling Recipe

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Asian Style Chicken Wings in Oyster Sauce

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Asian Style Chicken Wings

Asian Style Chicken Wings

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This  is one of the dishes I could eat three times a week without getting tired of it anytime soon.
Breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack. Feed me anytime with this stuff and I’ll be happy 🙂
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Ingredient’s :

Chicken wings,
Bok choy,   cut into large pieces
Red peppers,   cut into triangles, keep stems and leaf’s seperate
Dry shiitake mushrooms,   soaked in warm water
Onions, large diced
Garlic,   paste
Ginger, grated
Peanut oil,
Chicken stock,
Sherry wine,
Oyster sauce,
Hoisin sauce,
Soy sauce,
Sesame oil,
Kosher salt,
Cayenne pepper,

Method :

Saute seasoned wings in peanut oil until almost cooked trough. Remove from heat to absorbent paper. Saute onions, peppers, bok choy stems, garlic and ginger until fragrant. Add sauces and sesame oil, wings, shiitake, scallions and bok choy leaves. Mix well, serve with fan.  (chinese steamed rice)

Recipe for  “Fan

Bon Appetit !   Life is Good !

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Best Fish Taco

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Well, at least for me they were the best in a very long line of disappointing restaurant and food truck fish tacos.
Most of the time, if you want to have the really good stuff, you’ve got to prepare it yourself 🙂
The secret here is the fish batter. You don’t want to have to prep something complicated or difficult for such a simple meal. So here I give you my  “secret”  easy and quick batter recipe:
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A/P flour, crushed ice, cayenne pepper, kosher salt, granulated garlic, chilled sparkling water (I use syfo lemon-lime, the only bottled water for me).
Mix all ingredients lightly, don’t worry about a few lumps, they fry out in the hot oil and become crispy. See the prep pic to get an idea about the texture. Then dip the fish into the batter and fry at 375F until crispy and fish just done. Remove to absorbent paper. Build your tacos with your favorit ingredients / condiments.
Voila !  Best fish taco 🙂
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Viva Mexico !   Viva Los Tacos !   Viva La Vida !
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Best Fish Taco

Best Fish Taco

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Tomato Bisque With Buttered Cauliflower

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A couple  of day’s ago I made a big batch of my beloved tomato bisque. It served me well as late night snack for a few day’s, the last one last night, when I added some buttered cauliflower and ate it with a good chunk of sourdough bread, indispensable for wiping the bottom of the bowl to make sure one get’s the last drop and nothing is wasted 🙂
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Blanch the cauliflower rosettes, then saute lightly in butter. season with kosher salt and white pepper. To serve, pour bisque in bowl, add the cauliflower and sprinkle with finely sliced scallions.
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Recipe for  ” Tomato Bisque
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Bon Appetit !   Live is Good !
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Tomato Bisque With Buttered Cauliflower

Tomato Bisque With Buttered Cauliflower

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Tomato Bisque With Buttered Cauliflower

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Tomato Bisque With Buttered Cauliflower

Tomato Bisque With Buttered Cauliflower

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Pork Ribs & Rice Noodles Soup

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I was  tempted to call this dish  “Kluay Teaw Moo Toon”, but then I remembered that Mirandi of the “High Heel Gourmet is coming by at ChefsOpinion sometimes and how fierce she is about authentic Thai  recipes. (I REALLY don’t want to get her mad 🙂
All jokes aside, this dish is  definitely Thai inspired. Fragrant, light, bright, tasty. I hope that recipes like this will inspire my readers to understand the philosophy of cooking as I see it :
Take a look at good stuff, feel inspired by it, learn from it, do your own spin on it. Just make sure you call it “inspired by” or “in the style of”. But then again, if the shoe fit’s……
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 Kluay Teaw Moo Toon (Variation Of A Thai Pork Spareribs Noodle Soup)

“Kluay Teaw Moo Toon”
( “Variation Of A Thai Pork Spareribs Noodle Soup” )

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Ingredients :

Pork ribs,   blanched  (for a clear stock)
Rice noodles,  soaked
Bok choy,   substitute with other green vegetable if you prefer, I used brocoli
Bean sprouts,   (I prefer the crunch and tasteof raw onion julienne)
Cinnamon stick,
Star anise,
Coriander,   crushed
Garlic paste,
Cilantro stems,   Thais normally use cilantro root but I can’t get it around here
Cilantro leaf’s,   coarsely chopped
Soy sauce,
Sugar,
Kosher salt,
Cayenne pepper,
Onion,   peeled, quartered
Ginger,   grated
Pork stock,  substitute with vegetable stock if you prefer
Peanut oil,

Method :

Saute ribs in peanut oil until lightly browned. Add garlic, ginger , star anis , coriander and onion and saute until fragrant. Add stock and cilantro stems (roots if you can get hold of them) and simmer until ribs are tender but not falling apart, about 2 to 3 hours. Remove ribs and set aside. Adjust seasoning. Strain stock. To serve, place noodles, ribs and vegetables in a serving bowl. Top with boiling hot stock. Sprinkle with cilantro and onion julienne. Serve with soy sauce, chili sauce and fried shallots.
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Bon Appetit !   Life is Good !

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