March 2014 • Page 2 of 2 • The Traveling Epicurean

Baked Spinach Wrapped Reuben’s

March 18, 2019March 17, 2014 by Michel

Baked Spinach Wrapped Reuben’s

These baked spinach wrapped Reuben’s from St. Patrick’s Day leftovers just melt in your mouth. They are zesty, creamy and tangy made with thousand island dressing & horseradish, melted Swiss cheese, thinly slice tomatoes and drained sauerkraut. They almost make you want to skip the bland corned beef and cabbage and call it a wrap! In this version of my thousand island dressing I add in prepared horseradish which compliments the corned beef so well, and I substitute 1/2 the mayo for Greek yogurt. It’s quite good, in fact it would be a great addition to a turkey, roast beef or fish sandwich and it will keep nicely in the frig for several days. These baked spinach wrapped Reuben’s would be delicious with my baked Yukon potato fries and zucchini torta!

Ingredients for Thousand Island Dressing with Horseradish:
(makes 1 3/4 cup of sauce…keeps for several days in frig)

1/2 cup Greek yogurt
1/2 cup mayonnaise (Hellman’s)
1/2 cup ketchup
3 Tbsp prepared hosreradish (Inglehoffer cream style)
1/3 cup drained pickle relish
1/4 cup finely chopped green onions
1 Tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley
1 Tbsp fresh zested or grated spanish onion
1/2 Tsp Tabasco

Directions to Thousand Island with Horseradish:

Put all ingredients in a large bowl and whisk, set aside

Ingredients for Baked Spinach Wrapped Reuben’s – makes 4 Wraps:

2 cups thinly sliced and chopped leftover corned beef
large spinach wraps
1 cup drained Boar’s Head Sauerkraut
Swiss cheese slices
4 small tomatoes thinly sliced (with out juice and seeds)
1 recipe Thousand Island Dressing with Horseradish (above)

Directions for Baked Spinach Wrapped Reuben’s:

Pre-heat oven to 375º
Lay out 4 spinach wraps
Lay down 2-4 pieces of Swiss cheese as the base layer
Spread 3 Tbsp Thousand Island Dressing with Horseradish sauce all over each wrap, keeping sauce in 1″ from the edges
Put 3 or 4 slices of tomato down right across the middle
Sprinkle 1/2 cup corned beef next running across middle to bottom…closer to to the bottom edge of the circle
Add in 3 Tbsp drained sauerkraut to the middle of the wrap on top of the tomatoes
Fold in the sides and begin to roll up from the bottom
Place seem side down on cookie sheet and bake for 15 minutes
A tiny bit of the stuffing will be sizzling out at the ends but that’s ok
Use a spatula to remove spinach wrap and place on serving dish, cut in 1/2 and serve with the homemade thousand island dressing with horseradish and my baked Yukon potato fries and zucchini torta!

Challah Bread Garlic Croutons

March 18, 2019March 14, 2014 by Michel

Challah Bread Garlic Croutons

Challah bread garlic croutons are an essential part of my kitchen cuisine. You make a large batch of croutons from a loaf of Challah bread and keep the them in a Ziploc baggie in the freezer. They keep in the freezer for a good 4-6 months…if they even last that long. Store them in the freezer and take them out as you need them. There are truly so many thing that these golden, crispy Challah croutons are great on. Sprinkle them on soups whole or crush them with you fingers, crush and sprinkle on sauteed fish or chicken with spinach like seasoned bread crumbs but oh so much better! They are great crushed on Chilean sea bass with green goddess sauce II, or on a shrimp scampi, on all salads especially on Cesar salads or vegetables like asparagus salad with yummy Dijon-garlic dressing. Just a dusting of these crumbled garlic croutons give any dish that extra kick with a toasty and slightly garlicky richness.

Ingredients – Makes 12 cups of Croutons – 1 Ex-Lg Ziploc Freezer Baggie of Croutons:

1 -1 1/2 Challah bread loaf from your favorite bakery or market (14-15 cups croutons – use 1/2 stick butter and 3 tbsp olive oil if you have 10 cup of bread cubes)
4 large garlic cloves put thru garlic press
1/4 cup olive oil
3/4 stick butter (salted) melted
4 tsp garlic granules (not powder) – Sprinkle 2 tsp per cookie tray
1 tsp salt
A couple dashes of your favorite hot sauce Siracha -you can find this with the other hot sauces at the super market
2 cookie trays

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 400º
Slice off all sides of the Challah bread
Slice bread into 1/2″ slices length wise
Then slice into 1/2″ squares, you don’t want them to be perfect – that’s what’s lovely about hand made croutons they don’t look like they came from a box
Melt 1 stick of butter
In a large mixing bowl add 1/4 cup olive oil, 3/4 stick melted butter, 4 garlic cloves thru garlic press, 1 Tsp salt, 1/2 Tsp pepper, 1 Tsp Tabasco and whisk just to mix …this may look spicy but when it coats the thick and absorbent Challah bread in mellows out quite a bit
Divide this mixture into two and pour onto the 2 cookie trays spreading them evenly all over the tray
Divide up Challah bread cubes into 2 and put onto the 2 cookie trays right on the olive oil mixture
Stir the cut up Challah cubes all around the cookie tray to evenly coat and soak up all of the olive oil mixture. I use a pastry scraper (see photo) to do this…a tool which I use a lot!
NOW sprinkle 2 Tsp of garlic granules on each of the cookie trays filled with Challah garlic croutons
Put into the oven for 12 minutes til golden
IMPORTANT – they go quickly at the end so you really need to watch them so they don’t burn
Let the Challah garlic croutons cool before putting them into a Freezer Ziploc baggie
I usually keep them on the counter for a few days then throw them into the freezer to store and keep fresh

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Sausage Stuffed Baby Bella Mushrooms

March 18, 2019March 13, 2014 by Michel

Sausage Stuffed Baby Bella Mushrooms

These sausage stuffed mushrooms are literally the easiest appetizer ever. Wipe the mushrooms off with a damp paper towel or mushroom brush, add your favorite sausage and bake for 14 minutes…that’s it! You can stuff the mushroom caps with chicken sausage, or pork sausage, really any kind you like as long as it can be taken out of the casing it comes in as shown in the pictures below. In this recipe I used Italian sausage and a D’Artagnan sausage that consists of a mix of pork, duck, duck liver and egg white which is out of this world… meaty and very flavorful yet mild… just delicious! I really like D’Artagnan products and you can buy them at Bishops Orchards Market in Guilford, CT. This brand carries a lot of duck products which Bishops carries and anything with duck or goose whether it be breast or liver is a no brainer in my book…YUM! You can have these stuffed mushrooms for hors’ d oeurves before serving stuffed roulades of chicken on a garlic-bean purée, Asian shrimp & rice noodle salad, turkey stuffed peppers or Chilean sea bass with green goddess sauce II for dinner.

Ingredients – Makes 15-17 Stuffed Mushrooms:

2 pkgs of baby bella mushrooms (there will be about 7 or 8 per pkg)
1 or 2 varieties of your favorite sausage
Sprinkle of salt – (for after the mushrooms come out of the oven)
Fresh grated Reggiano Parmesan

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 400º
Clean your baby Bella mushrooms off with either a damp paper towel or a mushroom brush … you should NEVER wash your mushrooms or submerse them in water because mushrooms are porous.
Pop out the mushroom stems
Drizzle 3 Tbsp olive oil across a cookie sheet and rub it with your hands or use a brush to smear all of the olive oil across the baking sheet
Place all of the baby bella mushroom caps on the olive oil and roll them around lightly coating mushrooms then make sure they are all open side up on cookie tray
Slice open the sausage casings to get the sausage meat out and place on a small dish
Begin to gently fill mushroom caps with approximately 1 1/2 Tbsp of sausage per mushroom (some may be smaller and only need 1 Tbsp)
Do not pack in sausage just lightly stuff mushroom caps
Bake for 12-14 minutes til slightly crispy on the edges
DO NOT SALT the mushrooms before you bake them because all the water will release from the mushrooms and they will steam instead of baking
When you take the mushrooms out of the oven THEN you can sprinkle a little salt
The mushrooms will be juicy when you take them out of the oven so before you place them on a serving dish tilt them a little over the cookie tray that way some of the juice can drain out onto the tray and not on the serving platter
Sprinkle a little Parmesan on the mushrooms and serve

Asian Shrimp & Rice Noodle Salad

April 23, 2015March 12, 2014 by Michel

Asian Shrimp & Rice Noodle Salad

This Asian Shrimp & Noodle Salad is best when you make it the night before so all these wonderful herbs and oils can marinate the rice noodles and shrimp. Granted, sometimes it just can’t be helped because the flavors are so bright and delicious no one can wait for the next day. This recipe originated from my good friend Karen who is a true foodie! I of course have tweaked the ingredients as I do with most recipes. I used rice noodles making it gluten friendly instead of pasta which you can use as well…I love it with pasta also but I feel that using the rice noodles makes this a lighter dish. I have also added in carrots using a lemon zester which makes spaghetti like strands and I love what the color does for the dish not to mention orange is my favorite color…can you tell? When you buy the carrots be sure to buy the loose carrots with the greens still intact because they are so much sweeter then the packaged ones especially for something like this where they play one of the main characters to the story.

You can pretty much buy rice noodles anywhere but I have to tell you one of my favorite Asian markets is Hong Kong Grocery at 71 Whitney Ave., New Haven, CT. It’s on the corner of Trumble St. & Whitney Ave. and they have a Dim Sum Restaurant next door. You can get all your rice noodles, rice paper, rice wine vinegar, soy’s, a good size bag of sesame seeds and much more at the street level. Down stairs you will find the freshest, juiciest ginger you will ever have and the same for their daikon radish and garlic bulbs. I also buy some very durable and adorable Asian bowls there. It’s a great find and you should really try to stop in when you get the chance. This Asian shrimp and noodle salad would go great with some chocolate-avocado mousse, or Pavlova with fresh pineapple & berries for dessert!

Ingredients – Serves 6-8 lunch or dinners:

3/4 lb. rice noodles (linguine fini or fettuccine…I used a fettuccine size width in the pictures)
1-1 1/2 lb. medium size peeled and deveined shrimp or cooked shrimp
3/4 cup reduced sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup toasted sesame oil
1/4 cup “seasoned” rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup oilve oil
juice from 1/2 lime
2 Tbsp fresh grated ginger
1 bunch sliced scallions (save 1/4 cup for garnish)
5 medium-small size loose carrots (don’t use the packaged ones)
1 cup cilantro (2/3 for dressing, 1/3 for garnish)
2 Tbsp sugar
1/4 Tsp pepper
3 Tbsp toasted sesame seeds
1/2 Tsp Tabacsco or Siracha (a hot chili sauce sold right next to the Tabasco at the store) this of course if optional

Directions:

If you have uncooked shrimp put into a medium pan with cold water, bring to a boil, turn down heat and simmer for 1 minute
Drain the shrimp and run cold water over them or put into an ice bath, dry with paper towels and set aside
Toast sesame seeds on medium heat in a small pan shaking the pan periodically back and forth
This happens quickly once they heat up…it will only take about 3-4 minutes so it’s best not to leave the pan or the stove
Once the sesame seeds are golden remove from the pan, place in a ramekin and set aside
Peel and grate the carrots with a lemon zester and set aside
Bring a large pan of water and 2 Tbsp salt to a boil and add 3/4 lb of rice noodles (or Pasta)
Boil for 7 minutes and the drain and rinse with cold water
In a large bowl add soy, toasted sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, lime juice, olive oil, ginger, scallions, cilantro, salt & pepper, Tabasco, 2 Tbsp toasted sesame seeds, shrimp, rice noodles and carrots and toss…so basically add everything together and toss till blended
Put into the frig for at least 2 hours, preferably over night
Serve in bowls and top with cilantro, scallion slices and a sprinkle of sesame seeds..YUM!

Asparagus Salad with Yummy Dijon-Garlic Dressing

March 18, 2019March 11, 2014 by Michel

Aspagus Salad with Yummy Dijon-Garlic Dressing

OK, you may be saying “why is she using the word yummy in the title”? Well, you may just find yourself wanting to lick the bowl after the asparagus (or salad) is gone with this dressing! Yes, this is my go to dressing because it’s done in a matter of minutes…no fuss and very delicious. I love both big name Dijon’s out there but if I were to have a favorite I would choose Maile because of it’s very delicate flavor. Both Grey Poupon and Maile have a full time residence in my frig. This dressing creation is mine but the inspiration and idea behind grating the egg comes from our good friend Jim who was a saucier chef. You will see too how grating an egg just brings it all together giving this dish a little extra creaminess along with the flavor of the earthy asparagus. It all works so well together! This could be a side dish or you could serve this with hors d’ oeuvres like baked coconut shrimp, zucchini torta, crostinis with fresh mozzarella, pesto and roasted tomato and roasted chick peas.

Ingredients:

1 1/2lb. of asparagus
1 hard boiled egg
1 1/2 Tbsp Dijon mustard (Grey Poupon or Maile)
1 garlic clove thru garlic press
2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar – “seasoned” (rice wine vinegar come in both plain and seasoned…I always use seasoned)
1/3 cup grated Reggiano Parmesan
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 Tsp salt
1/4 Tsp pepper
dash of Tabasco if you want to spice it up

Directions:

Place an egg in a small pan with salted cold and slowly bring to a boil (adding salt helps the eggs to peel easier)
When it starts to boil remove from the heat and cover
Let the egg sit covered for 12 minutes
Run cool water over the egg, peel and set aside
Bend asparagus to find the proper “break” point then cut the ends off to even them up
Put asparagus in cold salted water and bring to a simmer
Cook til tender but NOT mushy
Drain and give them ice bath to shock …don’t need to make them cold just want to shock to retain vibrant color
Dry off asparagus on a paper towel and place on a serving platter
Grate the hard boiled egg onto the ends of the asparagus
In a medium stainless steel or glass bowl add in Dijon, garlic thru garlic press, rice wine vinegar and Parmesan and whisk til combined
Slowly stream in the olive oil constantly whisking
Drizzle the Dijon-garlic dressing on the front 2/3 of the asparagus and mangia!

Chilean Sea Bass with Green Goddess Sauce II

March 14, 2014March 8, 2014 by Michel

Chilean Sea Bass with Green Goddess Sauce II

Chilean sea bass is full of flavor and has large meaty flakes. This is an oily fish so you need to have some kind of citrus to balance it out and that’s why my green goddess II is a perfect match! The lemon and mint in the green goddess II are key flavors in complimenting the sea bass. I am all for cooking fish rare, even sashimi style but you cannot eat this fish under done. Chilean sea bass turns gelatinous and rubber-like when under done while on the other hand when cooked properly, even slightly over, turns it into a buttery, soft fish.

I think presentation is important when friends are over for dinner and you are plating the meal but keeping it fun without a lot of work is even better so you can enjoy being with your friends. That’s why I came up with my baked sweet potato haystacks. Not only are they delicious and good for you but are super easy to add to the garlic-spinach and sea bass layers making for some good eye candy. Use a kitchen zester to make the potato strings. It’s really quite easy and they only bake for 10 minutes and no more or the strands of potato begin to burn.

Ingredients for the Chilean Sea Bass:

4 4 oz pieces of Chilean sea bass
1 Tbsp olive oil
green goddess sauce II recipe
baked sweet potato haystack recipe (below)
1 fresh sautéed spinach & garlic recipe
1 sliced lemon (a Meyer lemon if it’s available)
salt and pepper to taste

Directions for the Sea Bass:

Pre-heat oven to 350º
Rub olive oil on seabass
Add dash of salt and pepper
Heat up the sauté pan on medium/high heat
Add sea bass to the hot pan and sauté 4 minutes on each side
Put pan into the oven for 8-10 minutes
Layer on a plate a small mound of fresh sautéed spinach with garlic
On top of spinach put a pile of sweet potato haystack
Place a piece of sea bass on the very top and drizzle green goddess sauce II around plate and serve with a lemon wedge

Ingredients for the Baked Sweet Potato Haystack:

1 large sweet potato
2 Tbsp oilve oil
1 Tsp onion granules (do not use garlic …they make the potato strings bitter)
1/2 Tsp salt

Directions for the Baked Sweet Potato Haystack:

Pre-heat oven to 375º
Use a potato peeler to peel the skin off of the sweet potato
Then begin to zest strands from the sweet potato
You will get little mounds of pulp like texture from the potato while you are zesting so just keep putting that aside…you don’t want the pulp in with the haystack strands.
Once one side is hallowed out just flip the potato around and zest the arc of the other side
Take the pile of sweet potato strands, place them on a cookie tray and squeeze them with a paper towel to get some of the moisture out.
Add 2 Tbsp olive oil
Add 1 Tsp onion granules and 1/2 Tsp salt and mix stands with your hands
Using your fingers spread strands in an even layer on the cookie tray as best as possible
Bake for exactly 10 minutes
Take out of the oven and scoop mounds of potatoes onto the beds of spinach to make your sweet potato haystacks
Then place your fish on top of the haystack and drizzle green goddess sauce II around the plate

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Fresh Sauteed Spinach & Garlic

June 19, 2016March 7, 2014 by Michel

Fresh Sautéed Spinach & Garlic

Fresh sautéed spinach & garlic is so tender and delicious and couldn’t be any easier to make. It’s literally done in a matter of minutes. Sauté garlic in a medium pan, add spinach, cover, stir and it’s done. There are endless things you can do with sauteed spinach. One of my favorites is using the spinach as a base layer with meats, and fish like Chilean sea bass with green goddess sauce II, seared scallops, sauteed chicken breast, or stuffed roulades of chicken.

Ingredients – Serves 4 dinners:

8 oz. pkg or more of fresh spinach leaves
3 large garlic cloves put thru garlic press
1 Tbsp olive oil

Directions:

Add olive oil to a medium pan and turn heat to medium/low heat.
Add garlic from garlic press and sauté for 2 minutes being careful not to burn.
Stir with spatula.
Add fresh spinach on top of garlic and put a cover on the pan.
Turn the heat to medium/high and let it steam for 2 minutes.
Lift cover and begin to turn leaves around with tongs.
The spinach will only take another 3 minutes.
Take off heat and add a sprinkle of salt and pepper
If you want to make the spinach ahead of time rinse the spinach with ice cold water after it’s sautéed to stop the cooking and keep the vibrant green color, then squeeze the water out and set aside or put into the frig until you are ready
The easiest way to re-heat spinach is put it in a small pan with 1 tsp of butter on top and warm thru tossing around with tongs just for 2-3 minutes (or put into microwave very briefly ….don’t need to cook it ….heating thru only).

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Hen and Heifers

March 5, 2014March 4, 2014 by Michel

Hen and Heifers

You will seriously think that you are in one of the finest Parisian patisseries when you first set eyes on these elegant creations at Hen and Heifers not to mention the very warm welcome you get upon entering. You pretty much feel like you’ve died and gone to patisserie heaven. I bought the individual lemon meringue tart, a cannele, and two hen sugar cookies. Wow, they were all amazing…you’ll want to take little bites and savour every flavor and texture. The lemon meringue tart had a subtle sweetness, a lemony tang and a velvety texture with a delicate crumble crust and a perfectly whipped and browned meringue topping in the shape of a tear drop. The cannele was slightly chewy on the outside with a firm vanilla custard almost sponge like in the middle and my kids, after trying the lemon meringue tart gobbled up the hen cookies with big smiles on there faces.

élan magazine just did a lovely feature on Hen and Heifers in their winter 2014 issue that you ought to read. If you haven’t seen the issue yet it talks about how they came up with the name. “Hens produce eggs, and heifers produce milk….the two most important ingredients that a bakery uses”. I think it’s ingenious! How lucky are we to have this kind of dedication right at our finger tips. Hen and Heifer’s will become your new weekend stop if it hasn’t already. Their hours are Thursday – Sunday and you can get more information on them at www.henandheifer.com.

Once you witness the artistic beauty and taste those heavenly sweet textures you know to leave such perfection to Hen and Heifers. On the other hand, if you want to have a little fun and feel like a french pastry chef for the day you’ve got to try my German pancake recipe…you will be impressed with yourself!