tasty

Vodka & Wine Flatbread

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” Wodka & Wine Flatbread ”

If you wonder about the name of this dish ? –
Last night at around 1.30am, after “a bit” of vodka and wine, my friend Darryl “demanded” food. Here is what I could muster :
Freshly baked flatbread with salame, mascarpone, egg, mushroom, banana peppers, sriracha and grated asiago cheese.
It might not have been pretty but ist sure hit the spot 🙂

Bon Appetit ! Cheers ! Life is Good !
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Wodka & Wine Flatbread

Vodka & Wine Flatbread

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Vodka & Wine Flatbread

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Arroz Fritto ” Carlos Ayala “

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This dish is dedicated to my dear friend Carlos, who is Argentinian and loves his chorizo and chimichurri 🙂

Tonight my cupboard and fridge were not exactly over stocked, so here is what I had and used to make this hearty, tasty dish:
Rice,
Argentinian chorizo,
Eggs
Scallions,
Bell peppers,
Garlic,
Onion,
Olive oil,
Chimichurri,
Kosher salt,
Cayenne pepper,

Saute the onion and garlic in olive oil until fragrant. Add the chorizo and saute until the onions and garlic start to turn golden. Add the peppers and scallions and saute for another minute. Remove, set aside. Wipe the pan ( or Wok) clean with a paper towel. Add more olive oil and saute rice until it starts to “pop”. Make a whole in the center of rice. Add a bit more oil. Scramble your whisked eggs until fairly dry. Mix with rice and sausage / vegetables, saute (stir fry) together for a few more minutes until rice is light, fluffy and fairly dry. To serve, top with more scallions and chimichurri .
And there you have it, ” the other fried rice ” :
” Argentinian Style Fried Rice A La Carlos Ayala ”
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Arroz Fritto ” Carlos Ayala “

: Arroz Fritto ” Carlos Ayala “

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Curried Gizzards, Herbed Potatoes & Frisse In Honey Mustard Dressing

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“Sauteed Gizzards in curry cream with buttered, herbed yukon gold potatoes and frisse salad in honey mustard dressing”
The verdict is out : I’ve got a new favorite chicken gizzard recipe, taking the #1 spot and pushing “Gizzard Adobo” to spot #2 🙂
What a great dish. Even if you are not a fan of gizzards, you can of course replace them with anything that tickles your fancy: Shrimps, scallops, mussels, sliced beef, diced chicken, shredded duck, whatever you like and whatever is available. The curry cream, potatoes, butter, herbs and frisse just go together so well, you don’t want to miss this combination.

Curried Gizzards, Herbed Potatoes & Frisse In Honey Mustard Dressing

: Curried Gizzards, Herbed Potatoes & Frisse In Honey Mustard Dressing

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1. Simmer gizzards in salted water until tender, but still with a bit of a bite. Strain. Saute garlic paste and diced onion in butter until fragrant, add curry powder and saute on low heat for another minute. Add heavy cream and a bit of ketchup and reduce until creamy. Add the gizzards, simmer for another minute. Season with kosher salt and cayenne pepper, set aside.
2. Simmer peeled and cut potatoes until tender but still keeping their shape. Saute in LOT’S of butter without letting potatoes brown. Remove from heat, add lots of chopped italian parsley.
3. Mix honey, dijon mustard, canola oil, lemon juice, kosher salt and freshly ground black papper. Dress frisse with the dressing.
4. To plate, put gizzards on the plate, add potatoes and top with frisse. Sprinkle with chili flakes. Eat. Be happy 🙂

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !

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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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Bucatini, Bologna, Tomato, Asiago & Egg ” Midnight Snack In Simpleland “

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Yesterday I had a very long workday without lunch or dinner. I finally came home at 9.00pm (I left the house at 5.00am, after two hours of walking Bella, breakfast, checking e-mail, etc) .
First thing’s first, so I poured myself a glass of merlot and sat down to relax a few minutes before I wanted to move on to do what needs to be done. However, I woke up three hours later at around midnight, because Bella brutally stubbed me with her nose, demanding to finally be taken on her walk. When we got back it was past 1.00am and I was famished. I wanted to have something quick, uncomplicated, substantial and tasty, but not too heavy or fatty. A quick inspection of the fridge and cup board revealed, amongst other goodies:
Bucatini, salted butter, bologna, aged asiago, greek yoghurt, eggs, tomatoes and scallions.
Usually and traditionally, one would saute the bologna and tomatoes in fat before adding the other ingredients.
But I wanted to have a different, “fresher” taste. So, here is how it went:
I cooked the pasta, drained it (reserved some of the cooking water). I chopped the tomatoes, sliced the scallions, grated the asiago, whisked the eggs with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Then I mixed all the ingredients over low heat including a bit of the cooking water and cooked it until the eggs set. The result was a revelation of how the addition or absence of one single cooking step (sauteing) can completely alter the taste and texture of a dish. This version is actually my new favorite when it comes to pasta with bologna. The freshness of the bologna (must be of very good quality) and the slight acidity of the yogurt and raw tomatoes make it a new, much appreciated dish in my arsenal of pasta dishes.
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Bon Appetit ! Long Live The Midnight Snack ! 🙂
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More Bucatini On ChefsOpinion 1

More Bucatini On ChefsOpinion 2

More Bologna On ChefsOpinion

” Bucatini, Bologna, Tomato, Asiago & Egg “

: ” Bucatini, Bologna, Tomato, Asiago & Egg ”

: ” Bucatini, Bologna, Tomato, Asiago & Egg ”

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“Fondue” Au Fromage Sec

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Good Read’s. Good Eat’s. Good Drink’s. Good Company = Good Times.
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The title of this dish, “Fondue Au Fromage Sec”, is tongue in cheek, but the dish itself is a knock-out: A great snack, a simple dinner, or fun party food.
I have prepared this often over the years, but I never really gave it a proper name.
So when I made it this sunday afternoon, I wanted to finally give the dish a proper, clever ? name. Hopefully, I succeeded ?
I love a good cheese fondue , and this dish has most ingredients of a “fondue au fromage” , (but not the texture, because instead of being liquid, it is “dry”.
Let me know if you disagree and think you ‘ve got a better name for it 🙂
But then, nevertheless, follow the recipe and you will agree that the dish itself is an outstanding snack or party staple or even , if served with a side of greens, a meatless dinner good enough to shine on it’s own.

Fondue Au Fromage “Sec”

: Fondue Au Fromage “Sec”

: Fondue Au Fromage “Sec”

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Ingredient’s :

Sour dough bread, scored criss cross 3/4 down to the bottom crust
Brie cheese, cut into cubes
Asiago cheese, diced
Cheddar cheese, shredded
Roasted garlic paste,
White wine,
Scallions, thinly sliced
Walnuts, shelled
Dijon mustard,
Chili flakes,
Butter, melted

Method :

Open the slit’s of the scored bread with your fingers. Drizzle with melted buter, then white wine. Add a bit of the mustard to the bits of cheese. Stick one piece of brie and one piece of asiago cheese into each of the cavities. Add cheddar cheese into the cavities as well as on top of the bread. Bake at 375F until cheese melts. Remove from oven, sprinkle walnuts and chili flakes on top, return to oven until the bread starts to crisp up and is heated through all the way. Remove again from oven, sprinkle with finely sliced scallions and serve hot.

Enjoy ! Live is Good !

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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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Sunday. At Home. Dim Sum. Good Stuff !

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Light lunch with lot’s of flavor and some liquid goodness (Tsingtao).

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Har Gow, Siew Mai & Dipping Sauce

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Dipping sauce:
Soy sauce,rice wine vinegar, chili paste, sugar, garlic paste, scallion, sesame seeds.

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !

“Har Gow” Recipe
“Siew Mai” Recipe
More Har Gow at ChefsOpinion

: Har Gow, Siew Mai & Dipping Sauce

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Breakfast Of Champions # 20 – Mascarpone And Banana Filled French Toast, Caramelized Pomello

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Usually, sweet stuff for breakfast is not my thing, but today felt so different in many way’s that I thought what the heck! Why not try something different this morning. So I made this great breakfast of french toast with vanilla, cinnamon, sugar, banana and mascarpone, a bowl of strawberry yogurt, chilled chocolate milk, and a giant pomelo with caramelized sugar glaze. What a decadent, wonderful way to start the day 🙂
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Life is Good ! Happy Sunday Everyone ! .

Breakfast of Champions # 20

Mascarpone And Banana Filled French Toast, Caramelized Pomello, Strawberry Yogurt

: Breakfast of Champions # 20

: Mascarpone And Banana Filled French Toast, Caramelized Pomello, Strawberry Yogurt

Note :
You might have noticed in the pictures that contrary to standard procedure, I have not whisked the milk and eggs together but dipped the bread in the sugared and vanilla spiced milk first, then in the egg. This makes for a very different texture of the bread which is in my opinion superior to the traditional method. Just be careful not to soak the bread for too long in the milk or it will disintegrate 😦 > .
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