texture

Portuguese Eggs

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While Maria and I were living in Funchal, Madeira, we became friends with a wonderful local couple, Balduino and Felicidade. They invited us to their home often, where we usually had an early brunch and then set out to explore the island, usually by car and sometimes by scooter. After a while this became a wonderful routine and it was Balduino’s pride (and our enjoyment) to prepare a different variation of “Portuguese Eggs” each time we met at his house. Over time, we were able to enjoy this dish with squid, octopus, lobster, shrimp, espada (the most popular local fish), chorizo, ham and different greens and herbs. He sometimes sprinkled grated local cheese on top of the eggs before baking, but he never included the more common ricotta cheese. Always accompanied by hearty, home-baked bread and local wine, it was the perfect delicious and fortifying meal to keep us going for hours on our expeditions around the island 🙂
(To be truthful, sometimes we replaced the tours with more wine and a bottle of port and just talked about past and future island-explorations).
Let me say here that Madeira is one of the most beautiful places Maria and I had the luck and privilege to live together 🙂
Here now is today’s version of “Portuguese Eggs” in memory of great friendship, great places to live, happier times and the great love of my life, Maria, who passed away exactly 3 years ago.
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Love ……….
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Portuguese Eggs

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Preparation :
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: tomatoes, potato, shrimp, onion, peas, basil

: peel, dice and simmer 1 large potato in salted water until soft but not falling apart, drain

: slice one medium onion, saute in 1 tblsp olive oil until translucent

: add 2 lbs halved tomatoes, season with salt and cayenne papper, broil until starting to caramelize

: add 2 cup water and 1 tsp garlic paste, simmer until tomatoes have broken down and a sauce has developed, about 20 minutes (add more water if sauce becomes too thick)

: add potatoes, simmer 5 minutes

: season 10 oz shrimp with fresh-ground black pepper, kosher salt, garlic paste and olive oil (if you prefer, remove the tails before adding them to the stew)

: add the shrimp and 3 oz green peas to the tomatoes, mix, check/adjust seasoning

: add whole eggs to the stew, sprinkle eggs with kosher salt, simmer slowly until eggs are cooked the way you like them; if you like your eggs more cooked than I do, put them under the broiler for a couple of minutes, ; to serve, sprinkle with herbs of your choice; serves 4 or 5

: meanwhile, cut 2 pretzel-rolls into halves

: brush with garlic paste

: grill rolls until golden

: Portuguese Eggs

: Portuguese Eggs

: to serve, place bread on bottom of serving dish, top with portuguese eggs

: Portuguese Eggs

: Portuguese Eggs

: Portuguese Eggs

: Portuguese Eggs

: Portuguese Eggs

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Soufflé Chocolate Cheese Cake

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Way back when I was a chef and young cooks asked me for suggestions and advise what to cook during competitions or job-interviews, the most difficult suggestion was usually the dessert course.
Most young cooks (and many old chefs) are not very skilled in pastry, so a quick, easy, foolproof, yet impressing and delicious dessert is usually a problem.
(When I was judging applicants both for sous chef positions and for chef instructor positions, 99 out of 100 desserts presented was crème brûlée) 😦
As for myself, although during my 3.5 year apprentice ship I was schooled for 6 months in classic french pastry, preparing the stuff was never something I enjoyed a lot.
(On the other hand, eating it is a whole different story) 🙂
The following little gem – Soufflé Chocolate Cheese Cake is a wonderful solution to the dilemma and it helped many of the cooks I mentored to be able to serve a dessert that could stand up to the rest of their presentation. It is so simple and quick to prepare that to this day I prepare it often for myself at home. Besides being easy to prepare, it also lends itself to variations, such as adding fruit, dark chocolate instead of white, or eliminating the chocolate altogether and replacing it with condensed milk. You can also use a spring mold instead of muffin cups to make it into a super-light, regular-sized cake. Because I had a bit of leftover chocolate pudding in the fridge from yesterday, I added it to 3 of the 6 mini-cakes.
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Bon Appétit ! Life is Good !
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Souffle Chocolate Cheese Cake

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Preparation :
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: melt 8oz chocolate in double boiler

: melted chocolate

: to 8 oz cream cheese add the chocolate

: divide 6 eggs into yolks and whites (make sure the bowls are absolutely clean and free of fat)

: completely incorporate the chocolate into the cream cheese

: add the egg yolks, incorporate

: stir until smooth

: whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks

: add 1/4 of the egg-whites to the cream cheese /chocolate/egg yolk mixture, stir until smooth

: fold-in the rest of the egg-whites

: ready to fill into molds

: lightly spray molds with cooking spray (or brush with butter if preferred)

: fill molds to the rim, add filling if desired

: bake at 350F for 45 minutes (or until a inserted toothpick comes out clean); – pls note that cakes will rise like souffles, then, while cooling, deflate back to their original size

: cooling down………..

: plain cakes on the left, chocolate filled on the right; whipped cream (pls don’t mess this up by using ready-whip) 😦

: Souffle Chocolate Cheese Cake

: Souffle Chocolate Cheese Cake

: Souffle Chocolate Cheese Cake

: Souffle Chocolate Cheese Cake

: Souffle Chocolate Cheese Cake

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Grilled Beef Tenderloin With Parmesan-Roasted Mushrooms

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Usually, I don’t eat beef tenderloin anymore. It has become prohibitively expensive and most of the time I prefer the texture of bone-in rib eye anyway. However, yesterday was my time of the month (to go to my Argentine butcher). One of the specials he offered was the most beautifully aged, grass-fed beef tenderloin for a great price, so I snapped up a couple of pounds.
Here now is the first steak I prepared (out of four I bought), accompanied by mushrooms only. Nothing else to distract from the marvel of this wonderful, tender, tasty chunk of meat ! (The mushrooms were not too shabby either) 🙂
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Bon Appétit ! Life is Good !
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Grilled Beef Tenderloin With Parmesan-Roasted Mushrooms

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Preparation :
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: season 16 oz tenderloin with kosher salt

: grill steak until done to your preference (med-rare for me )

: let steak rest for 10 minutes before cutting

: meanwhile, clean 6 oz of large botton mushrooms

: season mushrooms with 1 tblsp soy sauce, granulated garlic, kosher salt and cayenne pepper to taste, add 1 tblsp olive oil

: roast in 375F oven for 15 minutes

: prepare a mixture of 2 tblsp panko bread crumbs and 2 tblsp grated parmesan cheese, season with kosher salt and cayenne pepper to taste

: top the mushrooms with the crumb/cheese mixture

: continue to roast the mushrooms in the oven until golden, sprinkle with chopped parsley

: Grilled Beef Tenderloin With Parmesan-Roasted Mushrooms

: Grilled Beef Tenderloin With Parmesan-Roasted Mushrooms

: Grilled Beef Tenderloin With Parmesan-Roasted Mushrooms

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Shrimp And Potato Salad In Honey/Yogurt Dressing

Raw Organic Honey With Comb

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Once in a while my friends honor me with gift’s of food 🙂
The gift of choice used to be booze, but nowadays I don’t drink alcohol, so the generosity now manifests itself with gifts of special, sometimes hard to come-by food 🙂
Last week Dieter brought me two bags with original German-made weisswurst and bratwurst.
Yesterday, Rubelio and his wife Maria gave me fresh organic raw honey from their own bee hives, honey comb and all.
So, thinking like any normal person, the first dish to prepare with fresh honey that came to my mind was shrimp/potato salad 🙂
Maybe a bit unusual, I admit – but I like to make this great dressing with mayo, yogurt and honey, so there it was – my honey-segway.
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Bon Appétit ! Life is Good !
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Shrimp And Potato Salad In Honey/Yogurt Dressing

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Preparation :
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: The Good Stuff…..

: wash, peel and dice 2 lbs potatoes

: simmer potatoes in salted water until done, drain, let cool to room temperature

: grill or toast bread of your choice

: 1 lb cooked, peeled and deveined shrimp

: remove tails

: dice 1/2 bunch scallions, 2 med-size tomatoes, 1 med- size cucumber

: for the dressing, mix1/3 cup mayo, 1/3 cup yogurt, 1 tblsp honey, kosher salt and cayenne pepper; stir until smootth, check/adjust seasoning, add all other ingredients, mix

: Shrimp And Potato Salad In Honey/Yogurt Dressing

: Shrimp And Potato Salad In Honey/Yogurt Dressing

: Shrimp And Potato Salad In Honey/Yogurt Dressing

: Shrimp And Potato Salad In Honey/Yogurt Dressing

: Raw Organic Honey

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Stir Fried Squid, Udon Noodles And Bok Choy In Oyster Sauce ( Yakiudon)

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There are few dishes more comforting and satisfying than a bowl of noodles with a rich sauce or in a tasty soup – either by itself or with other “stuff” thrown in, such as any kind of vegetables, mushrooms, eggs and any protein such as pork, chicken, duck or seafood. While for me, any noodle is a good noodle, udon noodles rank on top of my favorite list – the plumper the better.
Lately, I’ve been buying the vacuum packaged “fresh” udon noodles from my neighborhood Asian market, but I also have had good experiences with the frozen type more readily available around here. As for the sauce, I like to prep it as simple as possible – soy sauce, oyster sauce or hoi sin sauce, chili paste, honey or sugar, ginger and garlic, sesame oil, chicken-, vegetable- or pork-stock. For a bit of variation in the sauce, I sometimes add a bit of peanut butter or fermented bean sauce, but that’s it – simple comfort food quickly and easily prepared and always just hitting the right spot 🙂
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Bon Appétit ! Life is Good !
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Stir Fried Squid, Udon And Bok Choy In Oyster Sauce (Yaki Udon)

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Preparation :
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: for the sauce, mix 1/2 cup oyster sauce, 1/2 cup soy sauce, 1 cup chicken stock or water, 1 tsp sugar, 1/4 tsp grated ginger, 1/2 tsp garlic paste, i/2 tsp chili paste, i tsp sesame oil

: simmer udon in salted water until cooked but still chewy, drain

: Clean squid tubes, remove “sine” and if you prefer, black skin

: cut in half

: incise half-way through in a criss-cross manner

: cut into bite-size pieces

: season with kosher salt, cayenne pepper and granulated garlic

: stir fry squid with peanut oil in VERY hot pan for no more than 30 seconds, remove from pan, reserve

: add blanched bok choy, green peppers and red chilis to pan, stir fry 1 minute

: add sauce mix

: add udon and squid, check / adjust seasoning

: Stir Fried Squid, Udon And Bok Choy In Oyster Sauce (Yaki Udon)

: Stir Fried Squid, Udon And Bok Choy In Oyster Sauce (Yaki Udon)

: Stir Fried Squid, Udon And Bok Choy In Oyster Sauce (Yaki Udon)

: Stir Fried Squid, Udon And Bok Choy In Oyster Sauce (Yaki Udon)

: Stir Fried Squid, Udon And Bok Choy In Oyster Sauce (Yaki Udon)

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Panzanella & Grilled Pork Chops

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If you never tried Panzanella, chances are that a dish using stale bread is on the bottom of your “must try this” list.
After all, nowadays stale bread is usually used either for bread pudding, bread dumplings, or, most likely of all – thrown into the garbage bin.
Now, I have to admit that most bread you can buy is best thrown away after a few days, since it was nothing special to begin with. But if you are a fan of really good bread, it would pain you to throw away some of it just because it has survived a few more days than usual and has become a bit stale. If this happens in my kitchen, I usually slice the bread thick and grill it, which will revive it beautifully and will give a loaf at least another 4 days of good use.
Or, surprise surprise – I’ll make Panzanella.
The first written recipe for Panzanella dates to the 15th century. Originally, stale bread was soaked in water, onions added, then dressed with olive oil, salt and vinegar. This eventually morphed into the modern Panzanella through the addition of cucumbers and, later-on, tomatoes.
Later still, lettuce, olives, mozzarella, white wine, capers, anchovies, celery, carrots, red wine, red onion, cucumber, tuna, parsley, boiled eggs, mint, bell peppers, lemon juice, and garlic were sometimes added, although traditionalists still prefer the simple version of soaked bread, onions, olive oil, salt, tomatoes and sometimes fresh basil.
If I prepare Panzanella as a main dish, I usually add boiled eggs, anchovy fillets, capers, garlic paste, roasted marinated peppers and lots of chives and fresh basil and oregano. I don’t soak my Panzanella in water but rather in a generous amount of dressing of good olive oil, white balsamic vinegar, kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. I let the salad sit for at least 30 minutes before I dig into it, by which time the dressing has been soaked up by the bread. Usually, I over-eat on this stuff because once I start, I can’t stop until it’s all gone 😦 🙂
However, since I had grilled pork chops with this one, I kept it simple and used only bread, onions, cucumbers, tomatoes, basil and dressing. What a wonderful meal this was…….
So, I hope that next time you have some good, rustic bread which has seen better days, you will give this delicious dish a try 🙂
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Bon Appétit ! Life is Good !
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Panzanella & Grilled Pork Chop

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Preparation :
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: red onions, tomatoes, cucumbers, fresh basil, cubed sour dough bread; add dressing of olive oil, white balsamic vinegar, kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, mix well, let sit 30 minutes before serving

: Panzanella & Grilled Pork Chop

: Panzanella & Grilled Pork Chop

: Panzanella & Grilled Pork Chop

: Panzanella & Grilled Pork Chop

: Panzanella & Grilled Pork Chop

: Panzanella & Grilled Pork Chop

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Chili-Shrimp Waffles

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Chili-Shrimp Waffles might just have become both my favorite waffle- and my favorite shrimp-recipe.
It is the best thing I have eaten for some time and as you know, I usually eat good 🙂
The key to the success of this dish is the balance between sweet and spicy.
The chili must not overpower the slight sweetness of the waffles, but it should deliver a kick of heat and flavor (the kick of a lady – not the kick of a mule), to support the shrimp in providing a balance of flavor and texture to the waffles.
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Bon Appétit ! Life is Good !
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Waffle Batter :
Ingredients :
1. 1/3 cup flour, 4 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp sugar, salt to taste, 1/2 cup melted butter, 1. 3/4 cup buttermilk, two egg yolks (whisk the two egg whites to stiff peaks)
Method :
Mix dry ingredients well, add buttermilk, egg yolks and melted butter, fold-in whisked egg whites
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Chili-Shrimp Waffles

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Preparation :
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: blend 3 tblsp honey with 1 tblsp chili oil and a dash of kosher salt

: mix well, add chopped cilantro

: chili-honey

: melt 1/2 stick of butter with 1 tsp chili oil

: add peeled, deveined shrimp, season with kosher salt, saute until heated through, remove 2/3 of the shrimp and chili-butter, set aside, remove tails from remaining shrimp, chop coarsely

: add chopped shrimp and chopped cilantro to waffle batter

: cook waffles until golden

: to serve, arrange waffles-wedges on plate, drizzle with chili-honey and top with reserved whole shrimp and chili-butter

: Chili-Shrimp Waffles

: Chili-Shrimp Waffles

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Parmesan-Crusted Chicken Thighs With Potato Patty And Cilantro/Lime Dressing

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This dish has wonderful layers of flavors and textures, is easy on the wallet, looks great and is a snap to prepare. Go for it 🙂
(If you prepare the potato patties in advance, the rest of the dish takes but a few minutes to prepare and finish)
For convenience, I always have a few small containers of tomato sauce in my freezer, ready to re-heat when needed. (See link below)
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Bon Appétit ! Life is Good !
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Click here for Tomato Sauce
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Cilantro/Lime Dressing :
Blend 3 tblsp olive oil, 2 tblsp fresh-squeezed lime juice, 1 tsp finely chopped cilantro and 1/2 tsp garlic paste, add kosher salt and cayenne pepper to taste.
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Parmesan-Crusted Chicken Tights With Potato Patty And Cilantro/Lime Dressing

Parmesan-Crusted Chicken Thighs With Potato Patty And Cilantro/Lime Dressing

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Preparation :
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: season skinnless, boneless chicken thighs with kosher salt and cayenne pepper, dust in a mixture of 50% cornstarch and 50 % grated parmesan cheese

: saute chicken until golden and cooked through

: meanwhile, rise cooked potatoes, blend with egg yolk, garlic paste, parmesan cheese and cayenne pepper

: form potatoes into patties, press all sides ito panko bread crumbs

: saute patties in olive oil until golden and heated through

: potato/parmesan patty

: plate patty, nape with tomato sauce, sprinkle with parmesan

: top wit two chicken thighs

: drizzle with cilantro/lime oil

: Parmesan-Crusted Chicken Thighs With Potato Patty And Cilantro/Lime Dressing

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Belgian Buttermilk Waffles With Fresh Raspberries, Yogurt And Honey

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Today I rolled breakfast and lunch into one yummy, satisfying brunch by preparing these special treats. Waffles were served on special occasions at our home when I was a kid. It was one of the dishes my dear Mom excelled on preparing.
Eating and enjoying them today made me wonder why I did not prepare waffles more often in the past (I will in the future)
While I am a sucker for pancakes, today reminded me why I always preferred waffles. The crisp texture on the outside and the light softness of the interior put’s them just a step above pancakes…..
While way back then the waffles were usually accompanied by fresh apple sauce (freshly made and canned by my Mom in Fall to last for the whole year), I now prefer raspberries in yogurt and honey which makes the dish much more lively, both visually and taste-wise.
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Waffle Batter :
Ingredients :
1. 1/3 cup flour, 4 tsp baking powder, 2 tsp sugar, 1/2 cup melted butter, 1. 3/4 cup buttermilk, two egg yolks (whisk the two egg whites to stiff peaks)
Method :
Mix dry ingredients well, add buttermilk, egg yolks and melted butter, fold-in whisked egg whites
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P.S.
I love the slight bitterness of the cocoa to contrast with the sweetness of the rest of the dish; if you don’t, substitute the cocoa with castor sugar 🙂
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Belgian Buttermilk Waffles With Fresh Raspberries, Yogurt And Honey

sprinkle with more cocoa powder, fresh raspberries and top with whipped cream

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Preparation :
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: mix fresh raspberries, Greek yogurt, honey, vanilla extract and a dash of lime juice

: mix all ingredients and lightly break-up the berries

: prepare waffle batter

: brush a hot waffle iron with melted butter, add waffle batter

: place first waffle on a warm plate, sprinkle with cocoa powder

: top with the strawberry yogurt and a generous dollop of whipped cream

: top with another waffle

: sprinkle with more cocoa powder, fresh raspberries and top with whipped cream

: Belgian Buttermilk Waffles With Fresh Raspberries, Yogurt And Honey

: Belgian Buttermilk Waffles With Fresh Raspberries, Yogurt And Honey

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Fajitas De Res (Beef Fajitas)

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Sour cream. Salsa Mexicana. Guacamole. Chopped cilantro.
These are some of the usual condiments I use when I make Fajitas at home (Sometimes I add shredded lettuce and grated cheese). Together, they form the perfect addition to griddled meat and tortillas, and all together make this the superbly delicious culinary experience which Tex-Mex cuisine has popularized in America and around the world. Nothing new here, just a proven recipe for success 🙂
But here it comes – what if you want to enjoy this without all the fuss and a whole bunch of little bowls crowding the table?
– How about turning all the individual condiments into one marvelous topping, which simplifies assembling and eating in front of the TV so much ? (Since I live alone with Bella, in front of the TV is where we take most of our meals). Well, I’ve tried to simplify by combining sour cream, salsa Mexicana, guacamole, chopped cilantro and seasoning with great success. Since the first time I prepared this, I used it for a variety of other grilled meats, vegetables and seafood’s. On more than one occasion I have even used the leftovers as toast-topping for breakfast the following morning.
For lack of a better name, I call this concoction “Fajita-Topping“. 🙂
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Bon Appetit ! Live is Good !
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