January 2014 • The Traveling Epicurean

Baked Yukon Potato Fries

April 20, 2015January 30, 2014 by Michel

Baked Yukon Potato Fries

My kids are so picky about eating. They actually love all meat and fish. For example they have been eating lamb lollipops since they were 2 years old and they are 11 and 9 now! Lamb lollipops are a rack of lamb seared and slightly baked, then sliced and served with the bone wrapped in a folded over piece of paper towel for the handle….hence “lollipop”. I have the difficult time of getting them to the vegetables! So when I make these baked fries it makes me really happy to say they love them. I know they’re not greens but they do eat them with ketchup and that’s a vegetable, right? Ok, don’t go there ……I know how much sugar is in ketchup….baby steps ok? These fries are delicious…..you’ll love them too and they are nice and easy. See my Greek Yogurt Remoulade Sauce to dip these yummy fries into!

Ingredients:

4 Med. size Yukon potatoes sliced and pat dry with paper towels
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garlic granules
1/2 tsp onion granules

Directions:

Pre-heat the oven to 450º.
Slice potatoes in 1/4″ sticks or wedges
Dab with paper towels to dry excess potato moisture (starch) IMMEDIATELY or they will turn brown and layer cut up potato fries in between layers of paper towels while you are cutting
NOTE: if any of the fries do turn brown just quickly rinse and blot dry
Toss all the cut up fries onto a cookie sheet
Drizzle with 1/4 cup olive oil and sprinkle with 1/2 tsp garlic, onion and salt
Mixed with hands and then spread out into even layer on cookie sheet
Bake for 35 minutes BUT check at 30 minutes…No need to flip because the bottom gets cripsy….just leave them alone til the end.

Greek Yogurt Remoulade

March 3, 2016January 29, 2014 by Michel

Greek Yogurt Remoulade

Having a homemade gourmet dipping sauce as tasty as this and made with greek yogurt is pretty much a no brainer for me. This sauce has the tang from the yogurt, a little sweet from the ketchup and a nice spice from the fresh garlic and Siracha…..yum. You need to try this sauce with the Baked Yukon Potato F ries recipe. It’s such a nice combination and a change up from plain ketchup! The gourmet remoulade sauce is outrageous on sandwiches too.

You may want to try this on jumbo crab cakes too:

INGREDIENTS:

- 3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1/3 cup Hellman’s mayo
- 1/3 cup plus 1 tbsp. ketchup (6 tbsp)
- 3 dashes of Siracha – OPTIONAL (Siracha is a hot chili sauce sold next to the Tabasco at the store or what ever your favorite hot sauce is!)
- Juice from 1/2 lime
- 1 lg. garlic clove (put thru press )
- 2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp. rice wine vinegar (I use “seasoned” rice wine vinegar)
- Freshly chopped chives to sprinkle on top of finished remoulade

DIRECTIONS:

Whisk all of the ingredients except the chives in a mixing bowl, then top with chopped chives.

Sautéed Chicken Breasts and Spinach

February 27, 2014January 27, 2014 by Michel

Ingredients:

4 med. size chicken breast ( washed and pat dry with paper towel)
Olive oil and S & P
8 oz. pre-washed fresh spinach leaves
1/2 cup white wine (optional- delicious for another layer of flavor)

Directions:

Chicken:

Pre-heat to 375º.
Heat pan to med/high heat and add 3 tbsp olive oil.
After a few minutes when pan is hot add chicken and saute for 5 minutes til golden and flip.
Continue to cook for another 8 minutes til golden in color.
Depending how thick your chicken breast are you can either flip again for an additional 2-3 minutes or place into the oven for approx. 8 minutes.
OR if u have the white wine on hand flip chicken back over for the last 2-3 min. and pour in 1/2 cup of white wine and cover immediately.
Let steam for 3 minutes then remove cover to let wine evaporate for the next 3-4 min.
This addition of wine gives you another layer of amazing flavor and you won’t need to put it into the oven again just cover with foil for a few minutes til you are ready to slice and plate.

Spinach: Place fresh spinach into med. size pan with 2 tbsp water put on med heat and cover for a few minutes. You’ ll start to hear the steam, lift off the top and begin to toss around with tongs or a fork for approx 1 min. til slightly wilted and remove from heat. Put into ice bath to shock spinach (or briefly run cold water on it) It helps to keep vibrant green color til you are ready to plate dishes. Gently squeeze out water and place on paper towel on a dish til u need to plate the dinner. The easiest way to re-heat spinach is put it in a small pan with 1 tbsp of butter on top and warm thru just for 2-3 minute, add salt & pepper (or put into microwave very briefly ….don’t need to cook it ….heating thru only). Then place small mound in the middle of the plate and place sliced up chicken right on top. Drizzle my Green Goddess Sauce recipe around chicken on plate and mangia!

The Best Burger of Your Life

March 18, 2014January 26, 2014 by Michel

The Best Burger of Your Life

Yes, I have eaten many great burgers in my life time, from The Grand Cafe in San Francisco to Louis Burgers in New Haven, which are both outstanding by the way, but I have to say this grassfed burger just melted in my mouth ….it was the best I have ever had! Right here in our own backyard of Clinton, CT we have Chamard Vineyards featuring their “New York Times Famous Four Mile River Farm Burger”.

It’s uncanny the feeling you have when you turn into the entrance of the vineyard. Coming down the long drive, seeing the vines, the gorgeous rustic building, and the picturesque waterfall really give you that feeling of being in Sonoma. Chamard also features musicians and other great events as you will see when you visit their site and Thursday is their $15 Grass-fed Four Mile River Burger night including Pommes Frites and a glass of wine….how awesome is that! When I had lunch there they served my juicy burger with Pommes Frites and a remoulade sauce that complimented it nicely. Over the years I have developed my own recipes for Pommes Frites or Baked Yukon Potato Fries and Greek Yogurt Remoulade Sauce…. just scrumptious and you would never know the fries weren’t deep fried or the remoulade not mayo based! Even delicious re-heated the following morning with eggs. Then you can follow up and make my easy chocolate-avocado mousse for desert.