texture

Herring Salad – (Heringsalat) – (Sillsallad) – (Shuba – Селедка под шубой)

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At a time when “Regional” and “Ethnic” cuisine has spread all over the World and most of them have reached the far corners of our Planet, a large part of restaurant-goers consider themselves experts of some, or even many, different ethnic/regional cuisines.
Sadly (naturally), most experiences of these wannabe-experts come from a few visits of neighborhood “ethnic” restaurants and a subscription to the food channel, or, at best, a few encounters of local cuisine one has mustered on a once in a lifetime vacation to an exotic, foreign country.
Therefore, nowadays, when everyone pretends to be “food-hip“, “in” and “worldly“, everybody and Joe want to open a restaurant that serves food from around the World, with the proprietor and workers usually never having encountered a dish that is even close to its supposed origin.
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However, because of this worldwide spreading of cuisines, most folks have had the pleasure to taste Scandinavian herring salad in one form or another, either in a restaurant or at home, sourced in a small plastic container at the neighborhood supermarket. These come in many different flavors and colors – with fresh dill, fresh chives, potatoes, red beets, cucumbers, pasta, capers, pickles of any type, apples, oranges, eggs, with matjes herring or salt herring, even with added sausage, etc, etc.
Many of them are surprisingly delicious, though, after all, these ingredients are hard to mess up. However, in my humble opinion, of the commercial type herring salads, most have one fundamental fault – they are diced way too small and evenly (which, admittingly, is the proper restaurant-way).
When one forkful contains five or more ingredients of very finely diced ingredients, the mix becomes one coherent mess in your mouth, which I find rather boring. I much rather have the ingredients diced larger, so that with each bite I have two or maybe three different textures and tastes, which results in the pleasure of each bite surprising me with a new combination of yumminess. 🙂
This salad can be served as an appetizer, first course, snack or main course, accompanied by steamed potatoes, sauteed potatoes, rustic bread, or Gouda crackers (as in these pictures).
Pls note that I did not include measurements – let the ratio be guided by your preferences – more or fewer veggies, herring, yogurt, mayo, and so forth – and eliminate any of the ingredients which you don´t like. 🙂
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Herring Salad – (Heringsalat) – (Sillsallad) – (Shuba – Селедка под шубой)

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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
To enlarge pictures and read instructions, click on pictures

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: salted herring, apples, cooked red beets, cooked potatoes, onins, chivess

: dice all solid ingredients

: season with cayenne pepper

: add mayo and plain greek yogurt

: mix well, check/adjust seasoning ; flavor will be best if marinating overnight

: Herring Salad – (Heringsalat) – (Sillsallad) – (Shuba – Селедка под шубой)

: Herring Salad – (Heringsalat) – (Sillsallad) – (Shuba – Селедка под шубой)

: Herring Salad – (Heringsalat) – (Sillsallad) – (Shuba – Селедка под шубой)

: Herring Salad – (Heringsalat) – (Sillsallad) – (Shuba – Селедка под шубой)

: Herring Salad – (Heringsalat) – (Sillsallad) – (Shuba – Селедка под шубой)

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Easy Does It # 38 – Slow Roast Crispy Duck, Creamed Spinach, Pommes Croquettes & Red Wine Jus

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When you read the title of this post and then see the final dish, you might wonder – whats easy about this ? 🙂
Let me assure you, everything is ! 🙂
The total preparation time is only about 20 minutes, although the total cooking time is more like 4.5 hours, give or take a few minutes.
How can this be, you ask ?
Well, I prepared this meal on Christmas day just for Bella and myself, so I took some shortcuts which I usually might not have taken, namely using frozen creamed spinach, which I enhanced with some additional heavy cream and a pinch of nutmeg. The result was VERY yummy.
I also used frozen pommes croquettes, which turned out surprisingly delicious, especially when paired with the wonderful duck sauce. (I always have demi glace of pork, poultry and veal in my freezer, so it is easy to produce excellent sauce in a relatively short time. 🙂
Actual prep time was approximately :
10 Minutes – unpacking, washing, drying, salting the duck, and, at the end, portioning the duck.
5 Minutes – unpacking the spinach, adding to a small sauteuse, adding cream and nutmeg.
3 Minutes – unpacking the croquettes, placing on the grill in the oven.
The most difficult thing was to wait for all these hours until we could finally dig-in, while the aroma coming from the kitchen made us hungrier by the minute. Of course, I started the duck for dinner right after lunch, so it was bearable for me, while Bella experienced four hours of nearly going nuts in front of the oven 🙂
I, on the other hand, had things to do, so, for me, the time went by fast.
At the end, this was a superb meal with very little effort. Bella and I loved all of it. I am sure that if we would have had visitors, they would have been impressed by all the skills and effort and hard work I have spend for them with this dish. 🙂 🙂 🙂
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Easy Does It # 38 – Slow Roast Crispy Duck, Creamed Spinach, Pommes Croquettes & Red Wine Jus

Serving Suggestion #1 – Slow Roast Crispy Duck, Creamed Spinach, Pommes Croquettes & Red Wine Jus

Serving Suggestion #2 – Slow Roast Crispy Duck, Creamed Spinach, Pommes Croquettes & Red Wine Jus

Easy Does It # 38 – Slow Roast Crispy Duck, Creamed Spinach, Pommes Croquettes & Red Wine Jus

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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
To enlarge pictures and read instructions, click on pictures

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: Large Raw Duck

: Demi Glace

: Frozen Creamed Spinach ( 20 oz)

: Frozen Croquettes

: season duck inside and outside with kosher salt

: place on a rack over a rimmed tray (to catch the fat and juices, place into a 400F (205 C) degree oven, turn down temperature to 300F (150C), roast for 3 Hours/45 Minutes, turning every 30 Minutes

: after 3 H/45 M, turn the temperature to 420F (215 C) remove the duck with the rack to another tray (I used a cast Iron pan) roast breast-side up for another 20 to 30 minutes or until the skin is very crisp and golden brown, remove from oven and let rest for 10 Minutes before carving

: resting pretty………

: add 1/2 cup heavy cream and a pinch of nutmeg to the spinach, simmer until thick and creamy

: add the croquettes to the oven, bake according to the package instructions

: pls note that, because of the low temperature, even without adding any liquid during roasting, the fond is dark brown and not burned

: add 2 cups good quality red wine, simmer until all the fond has loosened from the bottom of the tray

: add 1 cup demi glace, simmer another minute

: strain the sauce, check/adjust the seasoning

: well rested, ready to carve

: because of its large size and plenty of side dishes, I only used 1 breast and one leg, the rest was for next day´s “Duck Soup With Noodles & Spinach” (post coming up)

: Bellas wing at bottom left……

: Serving Suggestion # 1 – Slow Roast Crispy Duck, Creamed Spinach, Pommes Croquettes & Red Wine Jus

: Serving Suggestion # 2 – Slow Roast Crispy Duck, Creamed Spinach, Pommes Croquettes & Red Wine Jus

: Easy Does It # 38 – Slow Roast Crispy Duck, Creamed Spinach, Pommes Croquettes & Red Wine Jus

: Easy Does It # 38 – Slow Roast Crispy Duck, Creamed Spinach, Pommes Croquettes & Red Wine Jus

: Easy Does It # 38 – Slow Roast Crispy Duck, Creamed Spinach, Pommes Croquettes & Red Wine Jus

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Hans’ Delicious Tandoori Chicken

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Traditional Tandoor (This is NOT Hans) 🙂

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Modern Tandoor

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Hans’ Delicious Tandoori Chicken

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When I was a chef it was essential for me to teach my cooks, then later my students at Le Cordon Bleu, recipes of dishes which were as authentic to their classic origin as possible.
Especially during my many years as a teacher and program chair at Le Cordon Bleu Miami, I taught meticulously what I had learned many decades ago back in the Black Forest of Germany – Classic French Cuisine.

I also taught classic German Cuisine and many other cuisines from around the world which I had enjoyed, studied and learned during my many years as Executive Chef living and working in dozens of countries. (Cuisines of China, Russia, Japan, Mexico, Fillipines, Italy, Spain, India, Brazil, Sweden, and many more.
While I am only an expert of French, German and Italian cuisine, I do have good knowledge and personal experience of the cuisines of the aforementioned countries and I was therefore able to teach international cuisine with authority. Unlike many (most ?) “teachers” and “chefs” nowadays, who will read a recipe, practice (maybe) a bit, then “teach” what they just read on sometimes questionable (at best) sources. Mostly, even the folks who write the syllabus for a class have only the “experience” of reading about things, never having cooked it, eaten it or visited the country of origin of a dish.
While this might work for certain professions, it is certainly a disaster for our beloved trade.
No wonder real food becomes more and more the stuff only wealthy people can enjoy in the few excellent restaurants left in most places, while the rest of us is being served mediocre fare for unreal prices.
However, even at that time, while trying to teach original, and classic recipes and methods from specific cuisines, I tried to teach tips and tricks which might not be original, but are more practical, economical and sometimes even result in better food (Not often, but sometimes) 🙂
But one MUST ALWAYS POINT OUT THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE ORIGINAL AND THE VARIATION !
In a restaurant, the Guests should also be informed about the difference, which, in my humble opinion, MUST be made clear in the name of the dish on the menu, for example:

” Pesto” – basil, olive oil, garlic, PINE NUTS, pecorino, parmigiano reggiano.
” Walnut Pesto” – same ingredients, same method, but replace the PINE NUTS with WALNUTS.
or
” Wiener Schnitzel” – thin, breaded, VEAL cutlet
” Pork Schnitzel Wiener Art” – same ingredients, same method, but replace the VEAL with PORK.
” Turkey Schnitzel Wiener Art” – same ingredients, same method, but replace the VEAL with TURKEY.

Wow, this became a long entry to what I want to clarify here – ChefsOpinion is a blog that celebrates real food that tastes good, looks good and is simple enough that the average beginner of home-cooking, as well as a top professional and everybody in between can find inspiration, tips and other useful information to be able to prepare wonderful food at home, be it a simple soup or salad, an elaborate roast or stew, or whatever I feel like cooking at the moment and share with you, be it classic/original or not.
At this stage of my life, I don´t find it necessary to prove that I can cook, that I was a decent professional or that I have mastered “original and /or classical dishes from around the World in my more than 50 years of being a cook.
My goal at this time is to remind old chefs from around the Globe about the food we once studied, cooked, taught and enjoyed, and to help the “youngens” to be able to enjoy the same food even now, when some of it is not “IN” anymore and one has a hard time to find well-loved, classic dishes in restaurants, where one now finds mostly second-class food, tasteless and pointless, but dressed to the hilt to impress the folks who don´t know better.
To this end, I try to simplify many dishes while keeping the original flavor and texture as close to the real thing as possible, simply to give everybody the chance to prepare certain dishes at home, which they otherwise would find too difficult, expensive, complicated and daunting to try.
A typical example of this philosophy is the dish on this page. Just google the word TANDOORI, or CURRY, or GOULASH and you will know what I mean. Or choose the word of a dish and add the word ORIGINAL or CLASSIC before it.
The result are usually thousands of recipes, seldom the actual CLASSIC recipe (The definition of ORIGINAL or CLASSIC is a whole different chapter) 🙂 , while most others range from slightly off to downright nasty and ridiculous. 😦
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How to make Tandoori chicken without a Tandoor

Tandoori Chicken is one of the most popular dishes from northern India. It is grilled chicken rubbed with a blended spice marinade, identifiable by its red coloring. Tandoori is Indian style of BBQ. The marinade has garlic, salt, coriander, tamarind, cumin, ginger, lentils, and oil.
Tandoor is an Indian style oven, which one cannot buy in an appliance store like you can with a traditional grill or oven. Basically, the tandoor is made entirely of clay and is 3-4 feet tall. Charcoal is placed at the bottom of the tandoor and allowed to burn for several hours. Then the meat is placed on long skewers and cooked inside till roasted. Tandoor is also used to make, among other dishes, naan, kebabs, and tandoori rotis.
It is not practical to build your own tandoor. In fact, most homes in India do not have one. Indian restaurants generally special order tandoors (from restaurant equipment sellers) which can cost upwards of thousands of dollars
So, if you want to enjoy tandoori chicken at home, what do you do?
Here is a very simple tandoori chicken recipe that does not require any special equipment. The chicken retains its juices and is fully cooked while keeping a nice crispy bite on the outside. It has only 2 ingredients, but the cooking technique is very important. Once you follow this recipe, you will realize how simple and delicious this recipe is!

Tandoori Chicken Recipe
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Prep Time: 5 mins (24 hours); Cook Time: 45 mins

(Serves 4 )

4 ea skin less chicken legs,

8 tablespoons tandoori paste (see picture below for brand example)

Thoroughly rub the tandoori paste into the chicken.
Place in a bowl, cover and refrigerate 24 hours

When ready to cook, preheat broiler on low. Once the temperature is attained, place the chicken pieces on a rack with a drip pan under it.

Broil on low for 30 minutes, turning the chicken once. Then turn the broiler to high and cook for another 15 minutes, turning once so that the chicken is crisp on both sides. You will see that the marinade will start to dry up and the chicken will start getting a crust.

Remove from oven and transfer to a plate. Serve immediately with naan, sliced onions, quartered lemons, chopped cilantro and mint chutney or condiments of your choice (or follow the suggestion on this page)

Click here for Indian Tomato Chutney Recipe

Hans’ Delicious Tandoori Chicken

steamed rice, tomato chutney, curried chickpeas, spicy cucumber salad – this alone would be a great meal

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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
To enlarge pictures and read instructions, click on pictures

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: from 4 ea large chicken legs remove the skin

: deeply score the chicken on both sides

: sample of commercial tondoori mixture

: marinade the chicken overnight

: 1 medium de-seeded cucumber, cut into cubes, 2 tblsp chopped cilantro, 1 tblsp garlic paste, 3 oz greek yogurt, 1 tsp chili sauce, i pinch garam masala, jice of 1 ea lime, kosher salt to taste

: cucumber salat

: saute 1 ea medum size julienne onions in 4 oz butter

: add 1/2 tsp garlig paste, 1/4 tsp grated ginger, 1 tsp madras curry powder, 1 tsp kurkuma, 1/2 tsp garam masala, 174 cup cilantro, saute 1 minute, add 16 oz cooked chick peas and 2 tblsp water and kosher salt to taste, simmer one minute

: fresh steamed rice

: steamed rice,tomato chutney, curried chick peas, spicy cucumber salad – this alone would be a great meal

: Hans’ Delicious Tandoori Chicken

: Hans’ Delicious Tandoori Chicken

: Hans’ Delicious Tandoori Chicken

: Hans’ Delicious Tandoori Chicken

: Hans’ Delicious Tandoori Chicken

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Salmon Fried Rice – 鮭チャーハン

stylish………. 🙂

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If you ever had a Japanese breakfast, you probably have enjoyed a slice of salted salmon.
With it´s great texture and wonderful, mild flavor, it provides the perfect protein for a healthy breakfast. And, as you can see from the pictures on this page, it is the perfect protein for a light, tasty and healthy Japanese fried rice.
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P.S.
Lately, I have fallen in love with all kinds of different Asian bowls for rice, soup and noodles. But, at 40.00 to 100.00 bucks a pop, I have to slow down a bit with my Amazon late-night ordering. 🙂 Nevertheless, the collection keeps growing……… 🙂
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Salmon Fried Rice – 鮭チャーハン

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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
To enlarge pictures and read instructions, click on pictures:
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: stylish………. 🙂

: stir fry 10 oz salted salmon cubes in 1 tblsp peanut oil until halfway cooked (the carry-over heat and the re-frying will cook it a bit more

: prep scrambled eggs (keep very moist) from 3 fresh, whisked eggs, seasoned with salt and pepper to taste)

: saute 1 cup of mixed red/green/ yellow peppers, scallion and onions in 1 tblsp peanut oil, season with 1 tsp mirin, 1/2 tsp garlic paste, soy sauce, white pepper and kosher salt to taste, add one cup day-old rice, 1 tblsp green peas, stir fry until the rice “pops”, add the flaked salmon and the scrambled eggs, carefully fold together, check/adjust the seasoning ; – yields one main course portion or 2 to 3 appetizers

: Salmon Fried Rice – 鮭チャーハン

: Salmon Fried Rice – 鮭チャーハン

: Salmon Fried Rice – 鮭チャーハン

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Red Wine-Braised Veal Shank Slice, With Tagliatelle & Yucatan Cebolla En Escabeche On A Crispy Noodle Pillow

Yucatan Cebolla En Escabeche

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While traditional Osso Bucco is one of my favorite meat dishes, this version of braised sliced veal shanks is, in my humble opinion, far superior.
First, the crispy noodle pillow adds great texture to the soft texture of the meat.
Second, the marinated onions add great umami to the normally quite one-dimensional flavor of an original osso buco.
Third, and most importantly, the hoisin sauce, soy sauce, ginger, star anise and red wine (instead of white wine) make a great improvement to the regular, traditional seasoning of osso buco.
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Pls note, this is in no way a negative judgment of a great osso buco, but rather a testament to the fact that I love my food on the spicy, flavorful side. Let me live, please ………. 🙂
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Red Wine-Braised Veal Shank Slices With Tagliatelle & Yucatan Cebolla En Escabeche On A Crispy Noodle Pillow

Crispy Noodle Pillow

Red Wine-Braised Veal Shank Slices With Tagliatelle & Yucatan Cebolla En Escabeche On A Crispy Noodle Pillow

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Yucatan-style marinated onions are one of my go-to condiments to (almost) everything. (Sandwiches, roasts, braises, bbq´s, veggies, potatoes, salads, etc, you name it – I slap on a few Yucatan Cebolla En Escabeche. 🙂
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: Cut red onions into fine slices, add apple cider vinegar, bay leaves, grd gloves, Mexican oregano, cumin, galic paste, kosher salt and chili flakes

: mix well, marinade overnightt

: Yucatan Cebolla En Escabeche

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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
To enlarge pictures and read instructions, click on pictures

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: 2 thick slices of veal shank

: carrots, celery root, carrots, onions, red wine,

: hoi sin sauce, dark soy sauce, sriracha

: gloves, star anis, bay leaves, oregano, parsley, chives

: dredge the veal in a/p flour seasoned with black pepper and kosher salt to taste, saute the veal and the veggies with garlic paste and grated ginger in peanut oil until the veggies have caramelized and the veal has browned

: add 1 qt of red wine, kosher salt, the seasoning sauces and the dried herbs to taste

: add 1/2 qt of tomato passata

: bring to a simmer, cook until meat is tender but NOT falling apart

: Red Wine-Braised Veal Shank Slices With Tagliatelle & Yucatan Cebolla En Escabeche On A Crispy Noodle Pillow

: saute 1 1/2 cup cooked, dry noodles in 2 tblsp clarified butter, season with white pepper and kosher salt to taste, when crispy, repeat on other side

: Crispy Noodle Pillow

: top with osso buco

: nape with sauce, top with pickled onions and pickled chilies (optional)

: Red Wine-Braised Veal Shank Slice, With Tagliatelle & Yucatan Cebolla En Escabeche On A Crispy Noodle Pillow

: Red Wine-Braised Veal Shank Slice, With Tagliatelle & Yucatan Cebolla En Escabeche On A Crispy Noodle Pillow

: Yucatan Cebolla En Escabeche

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Breakfast of Champions # 74 – Belgian Waffles With Caramelized Fruit

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Today I tried out my new waffle iron.
I am happy to report that the Iron functions as it should, that I still can prepare delicious waffles and that both Bella and I are still big fans of freshly baked waffles with caramelized fresh fruit.
Simple and quick, yet soooo satisfying 🙂
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Bon Appétit ! Life is Good !
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Belgian Waffles Recipe :
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Ingredients :
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2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
3-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 large eggs, separated
1-1/2 cups whole milk
1 cup butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

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Method :
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In a bowl, combine flour, sugar and baking powder. In another bowl, lightly beat egg yolks. Add milk, butter and vanilla; mix well. Stir into dry ingredients just until combined. Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form; fold into batter.
Bake in a preheated waffle iron according to manufacturer’s directions until golden brown. Serve with fruits or syrup of your choice

Breakfast of Champions # 74 – Belgian Waffles With Caramelized Fruit

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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
To enlarge pictures and read instructions, click on pictures

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: prepare the batter according to the recipe above

: pre-heat your waffle iron (the hotter the iron, the crispier/dark the waffles),lightly brush the iron with butter, add the batter (not to much, to avoid overflow), bake until cooked through

: filet 1 ea orange per person Reserve the orange-carcasse

: add fruits of your choice

: melt and slightly brown 2 oz unsalted butter

: add the fruits and sugar to taste

: saute until the fruits are lightly caramelized

: add the juice from the orange-carcasse, cook until slightly thickened

: spread-out the waffls on a heated serving platter, top with the fruit and sauce, sprinkle generously with castor-sugar

: Breakfast of Champions # 74 – Belgian Waffles With Caramelized Fruit

: Breakfast of Champions # 74 – Belgian Waffles With Caramelized Fruit

: Breakfast of Champions # 74 – Belgian Waffles With Caramelized Fruit

: Breakfast of Champions # 74 – Belgian Waffles With Caramelized Fruit

: Breakfast of Champions # 74 – Belgian Waffles With Caramelized Fruit

: Breakfast of Champions # 74 – Belgian Waffles With Caramelized Fruit

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Pickled Tomatoes (トマトの酢漬け )

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How can you improve a perfect tomato? By pickling it !
Any salad, sandwich or any other dish that contains tomatoes will get an additional level of debt of flavor and texture, so, in my humble opinion, the extra few minutes of preparation will be well worth the time and effort. The recipe for the pickling liquid on this page is only a guideline, you can experiment with the length of marination, as well as the flavor of the marination, for example, omit the dashi, add garlic, increase or decrease the vinegar and sugar, etc, etc.
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Bon Appétit ! Life is Good !
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Pickled Tomatoes (トマトの酢漬け )

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Pickled Tomatoes (トマトの酢漬け )

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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
To enlarge pictures and read instructions, click on pictures

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: wash and crosscut ripe, sweet tomatoes

: blanch in salted water for 30 seconds

: remove the tomatoes to an ice bath

: peel the tomatoes

: place the tomatoes in a non-reactive container

: prepare the pickling liquid for 8 ea tomatoes by mixing • 1 cup dashi, 2 cup rice vinegar, 6 tblsp sugar, 3 tblsp soy sauce, kosher salt to taste

: cover the tomatoes with the pickling liquid, seal, pickle overnight

: Pickled Tomatoes (トマトの酢漬け )

: Pickled Tomatoes (トマトの酢漬け )

: Pickled Tomatoes (トマトの酢漬け )

: Pickled Tomatoes (トマトの酢漬け )

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Annelis Boat ( Curtesy of WORDSFROMANNELI )

Annelis boat ( Curtesy of WORDSFROMANNELI )

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German Veal-Burger with Garlic/Herb Butter, Gnocchi, Peppers & Onions

German Veal-Burger with Garlic/Herb Butter, Gnocchi, Peppers & Onion

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I have made dozens, maybe even hundreds, of honest attempts to love the American Burger – unfortunately, most of the time, my honest attempts have failed miserably. 😦
This includes restaurants of all price points, even when, because of its simple nature, most burgers are consumed in simple joints. (I don´t want to go into the pitiful, sorry nonsense of the $100.00 or $1000.00 burger here)
While, in a long lifetime, I had a few spectacular good ones, lots of mediocre ones and, unfortunately, hundreds of lousy ones, generally the American burger is mostly a sorry excuse of a meal or snack. Most of the time, even when it starts out as a perfectly fine little disk of decent ground beef or other protein, most of the time it will then be mistreated every step of the way until it finally reaches the inside of your mouth where you´ll mostly experience a nasty mix of grey, tasteless dry meat, inferior buns, stale raw onions and tomatoes, limp lettuce and a few squirts of the cheapest mayo and mustard available this side of Bangladesh.
While this may sound harsh, I fully stand behind these words as being the honest truth.
Now, on the other hand, why not take this precious ground meat (beef/ pork/ game/ turkey, seafood, etc, etc, and season it well, add some more ingredients to make it light, juicy, tasty and pretty, then pair it with proper condiments and sidings.
Not MORE, but BETTER ingredients, condiments, and sides, to give puck-shaped ground protein the respect it deserves ! 🙂
Or, maybe try the ground meat patties the rest of the World enjoys in thousands of different variation, typically starting out with ground protein, adding interesting, good ingredients to make it BETTER and more APPEALING, then serve it with STUFF that tastes good, looks good and makes one feel good, such as the little gem on this page. 🙂
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Bon Appétit ! Life is Good !
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divide the gnocchi/veggies onto 4 serving plates

sprinkle with finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

German Veal-Burger with Garlic/Herb Butter, Gnocchi, Peppers & Onion

top with a veal patty each, top the patty with 1 oz garlic/herb butter

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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
To enlarge pictures and read instructions, click on pictures

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: 1 lb Raw Gnocchi, 2 ea red peppers, 1 ea medium size onion, 3 ea scallion

: cut according to picture

: 2 lbs ground veal, 2 whole eggs, breadcrumbs as needed, 1 medium size diced onion – sauteed in 1 oz butter, 1/3 cup chopped parsley, 1 tblsp sweet paprika powder, 1 tblsp ketchup, 1 tblsp dijon mustard, kosher salt and cayenne pepper to taste

: cook the gnocchi in lightly salted water until floating, saute the veggies in EVO until onons are translucent, about 3 minutes, saute veal patties until done to your liking

: transfer the gnocchi with a slotted spoon to the veggies

: add 2 more tblsp EVO , 2 tblsp finely sliced scallions and 2 tblsp finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, season with kosher salt and cayenne pepper, saute another minute, check/adjust seasoning

: almost………………

: divide the gnocchi/veggies onto 4 serving plates

: sprinkle with finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

: top with a veal patty each, top the patty with 1 oz garlic/herb butter

: German Veal-Burger with Garlic/Herb Butter, Gnocchi, Peppers & Onion

: German Veal-Burger with Garlic/Herb Butter, Gnocchi, Peppers & Onion

: German Veal-Burger with Garlic/Herb Butter, Gnocchi, Peppers & Onion

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Pasta E Fagioli (Pasta Fazool) (Pasta And Beans)

Pasta e fagioli , meaning “pasta and beans”, is a traditional Italian soup, (although beansoup with pasta is served the World over, with different beans, different pasta, meats or seafood and vegetables, and of course different local names).
Like many other Italian favorites, including pizza and polenta, it started as a peasant dish, being composed of inexpensive ingredients. It is often called pasta fasul (fazool) in the United States, derived from its Neapolitan name, pasta e fasule.

Recipes for pasta e fagioli alter greatly, the only true requirement being that beans and pasta are included. Ingredients vary from region to region, town to town, restaurant to restaurant, household to household, cook to cook, and of course, also depend on available ingredients.
Pasta e fagioli is most commonly made using cannellini beans, Great Northern beans or borlotti beans, and a small variety of pasta such as elbow macaroni or ditalini. The base typically includes olive oil, garlic, minced onion, celery, carrots and often stewed tomatoes or tomato paste. Some variations omit tomatoes and instead use a broth base. Preparation may be vegetarian, or contain meat (often bacon or pancetta) or other proteins and a meat-based stock. The consistency of the dish can also differ to a wide range, with some being soupy, while others are much thicker. For instance, in Bari the dish is thicker in consistency and uses mixed pasta shapes. It also uses pancetta in the base of the sauce. Other varieties call for the beans to be passed through a food mill, giving it a stew-like consistency.
As for the version on this page, it could not be more perfect for my personal taste/texture. I prepare Pasta and beans in uncounted versions all the time, but pigs feet, pork/tomato broth, pasta and bean can hardly be topped (unless you add tripe) 🙂

P.S.
The word for “beans” varies in different Italian languages, e.g. fagioli [faˈdʒɔːli] in standard Italian, fasule [faˈsuːlə] in Neapolitan, and fasola [faˈsɔːla] in Sicilian. “Pastafazoola“, a 1927 novelty song by Van and Schenck, capitalizes on the Neapolitan pronunciation in the rhyme, “Don’t be a fool, eat pasta fazool”; and the song “That’s Amore“, by Warren and Brooks (popularized by Dean Martin), includes the rhyme “When the stars make you drool, just like pasta fazool, that’s amore”.

Pls note:
Part of the above article is an excerpt from wikipedia.
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Bon Appétit ! Life is Good !
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Pasta E Fagioli (Pasta Fazool) (Pasta And Beans)

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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
To enlarge pictures and read instructions, click on pictures

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: in 3 qt salted water, simmer 4 med sized hamhocks until tender, about 2,5 hours

: done………

: remove the hocks from the broth, skim off most of the fat

: at this point, you should have 1 qt of broth, add 1/2 qt of pureed tomatoes, season with garlic paste and cayenne pepper, add 1/4 cup fresh chopped basill and 1 tsp fresh chopped oregano, simmer for another 10 minutes, check/adjust seasoning

: remove all the meat from the bones, cut into bite sized cubes

: plate 1/4 of the meat in a deep soup plate

: add 1 cup pasta of your choice

: add 1 cup beans of your choice, cover with 1/4 of the broth, sprinkle generously with chopped parsley or cilantro, top with freshly-grated Parmigiano Reggiano, serves 4 main course or 10 appetizer / snacks

: Pasta E Fagioli (Pasta Fazool) (Pasta And Beans)

: Pasta E Fagioli (Pasta Fazool) (Pasta And Beans)

: Pasta E Fagioli (Pasta Fazool) (Pasta And Beans)

: Pasta E Fagioli (Pasta Fazool) (Pasta And Beans)

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Pork Nirvana – “Schweinebraten Mit Kartoffelsalat & Bratensaft” – (Roast Pork With Potato Salad & Jus)

Schweinebraten Mit Kartoffelsalat & Bratensaft – “Roast Pork With Potato Salad & Jus”

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First of all, a word of warning:
This is NOT your typical American-or Latin –style, super-long cooked roast pork.
This is German / Bavarian-style roast pork, very juicy (no need to drown it in sauce to be able to swallow it), very delicious pork with a wonderful texture, more like a perfectly cooked steak than a stringy mess that falls apart when you barely touch it.
While I enjoy both versions (as you know from previous posts), today´s version is by far my favorite one. Assuming you have pork of perfect quality, roasting it this way outshines the “cooked-to-death” variation by a mile. 🙂
While the pictures seem to show pork which is still a bit undercooked, I can assure you it was fully cooked, extremely juicy, had the texture of a very tender steak and, surprise surprise, had a pure, unadulterated pork taste which was further enhanced with the slightly thickened pork jus which collected during the cooking in the drip pan beneath the roast and was enhanced with a generous jug of good quality Merlot.
In other words – Pork Nirvana. 🙂

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Bon Appétit ! Life is Good !
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Schweinebraten Mit Kartoffelsalat & Bratensaft – “Roast Pork With Potato Salad & Jus”

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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
To enlarge pictures and read instructions, click on pictures

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: cut the knuckle off the butt, use for another dish (see link on this pge)

: remove the meat from the bone towards the middle of the butt

: turn to the other side of the butt, repeat.; pull out the bone, roast together with the butt for the jus

: boneless butt without the knuckle

: score the skin halfway through the fat, either lenghtwise or cross wise

: season liberally with kosher salt, and white pepper to taste

: place on a rack over a drip pan filled with 2 cup water

: cook the pork at 375 F until an instant thermometer reads 155 F at the center / thickest part of the roast , remove the roast to a clean rack to rest for 15 to 30 minutes before carving: (the carry-over heat should take the temperature to 162 F in about 15 minutes; (162 F is my personal preference for pork to be served)