The Traveling Epicurean

Favorite food recipes

Shallot Dressing with Baked Comice Pears & St. Augur!

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To make your life a little easier you can shop for some of the ingredients to the recipes right here on my website-see below the recipes for the links!

This shallot dressing is delicate and luscious all at the same time. Add in the baked, creamy Comice pears, St. Augur Blue, Boston lettuce & arugula and you’ll find yourself craving the incredible flavor and texture combinations days after! But WAIT! The fun doesn’t stop there ….don’t forget to have your own wine pairing challenge with this salad taking this experience to a gastronomical delight! Look below to see what we recommend for this wine challenge. If you can’t find the exact wine, no worries, just ask your local wine merchant for something similar.

The recipe is for this yummy salad combination came from Kyle Haines at Libations & Food. You can find a similar dressing of mine, Tangerine-Shallot Dressing, that would also be great with this baked Comice pear, St. Augur blue, Boston lettuce and arugula salad!

WINE CHALLENGE:

SANCERRE 2019

vs.

POUILLY FUISSÉ 2018

Meet the wine judging panel…

Rachel Konstantin – Actress

Gayle Shuzman –  Events By Gayle   & Kyle Haines – Co-Host – Libationsandfood.com

 

Matthew Winthrop – Matthelmexperience

The Traveling Epicurean – Co-Host

Shallot Dressing Ingredients:

3 tbsp White Grape Juice

2 tbsp Good Apple Cider Vinegar

1/3 cup Grapeseed Oil

1 Large Shallot, Finely Chopped

2 tsp Fresh Thyme Leaves 

Directions:

  1. Add all ingredients to a medium bowl
  2. Whisk until combined, season with salt and pepper

Honey & Thyme Bake Comice Pear & Salad Ingredients:

4 Comice Pears (1/2 pear per person)

1/4 cup Wildflower Honey

Fresh Sprigs of Thyme

1 Head Boston Lettuce

Dash of salt and pepper

8 oz. arugula

6-8 oz. St. Augur Blue Cheese

Directions:

  1. Pre-heat oven to 400º
  2. Sprinkle fresh thyme onto parchment paper covering a rimmed cookie tray
  3. Slice Comice pears in half lengthwise
  4. Using a measuring spoon or melon baller scoop out the seeds
  5. Flip over so flat side of the pear is facing down
  6. Starting down 1/2″ from stem, cut each pear into 1/2″ slices lengthwise (top of the pear intact)
  7. Press down on slice pears gently to fan out and place onto thyme sprigs
  8. Drizzle with honey, dash of salt and pepper and bake 15 minutes
  9. Cool on baking sheet 30 minutes to 3 hours after
  10. Divide Boston lettuce and arugula on plates, drizzle on shallot dressing and serve with baked pear and a St. Augur slice on the side…mmm!

Imperial Comice Pears Holiday Fruit Gift  St. Augur Blue Cheese, 8 oz.Nature’s Nate USDA Certified Organic, Raw & Unfiltered Honey, 16 oz. Straight from the hive!

La Tourangelle, Grapeseed Oil, 25.4 oz.

Santa Cruz, White Grape Juice, 1 Quart
Bragg Organic Apple Cider Vinegar- Raw, Unfiltered All Natural Ingredients, 16 0z.

 

Olive Cheddar Balls

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Maybe it’s the delicate crumble texture of the outer shell or the subtle butter and cheddar flavors, surely it could be the lovely tang you get when you bite into the olive. Whatever you decide I know you will be excited that I shared this fun 50’s appetizer from Chef Marco! You may remember another one of his recipes from a show we taped featuring his Panzanella, the amazing Italian Bread Salad!

Over the years another culinary friend of mine, Jim Lee, Saucier-Chef & Oenophile (Connoisseur of fine wines) has been emphasizing to me the need to offer people appropriate pairings to go with all these yummy recipes. So I’m thrilled to say I’ve begun collaborating with Kyle Haines from Fairfield County IT  in a show called Libations and Food where we show you how to pair libations and food, a 5 course dinner with the perfectly paired libations! The food and drink recipes in these shows will be available here on my website, my YouTube Channel, and at Libationsandfood.com

Wait until you see what the perfect pairing for these olive cheddar balls are. NYC Mixologist Marcel Jinoch was our libations master mind behind this olive cheddar balls recipe, a Mediterranean Gin & Tonic and Vermouth Spritzer! Check out the ingredients below. I admit I always thought I was more of a wine and beer paring kind of person but these sophisticated and delicious cocktails opened up a whole new world. We will soon be releasing another LIBATIONS AND FOOD show featuring Marcel, as well as Italian wine makers from Italy and our 5 course Italian dinner. You can try these cocktails right now, let me know what you think! Here they are…

~Mediterranean Gin & Tonic~

~Vermouth Spritzer~

Mediterranean Gin & Tonic Ingredients:

1.5 oz. Fords Gin

Fever Tree Tonic

Pinch of Sea Salt

Mediterranean Olives, large

Fresh Rosemary Sprigs

Directions:  

1.  Fill highball glass with ice

2.  Pour in gin and top off with tonic

3.  Add a pinch of salt and garnish with olives, and rosemary

 

Vermouth Spritzer Ingredients:

1.25 oz. Mancino Secco

1.25 oz. Dolin Blanc

San Pellegrino, and San Pellegrino Blood Orange

Peach Bitters

Fresh Berries, Cucumber slices & Mint

Directions:  

1.  Fill cocktail glass with ice

2.  Pour in both vermouths and add peach bitters

3.  Top off with splash of both Pellegrino & Pellegrino Blood Orange

3.  Garnish with fresh berries, cucumber and mint

 

~OLIVE CHEDDAR BALLS~

Ingredients:

1 jar manzanillo olives with pimento (40), drained

1 1/4 all-purpose flour

8 oz. finely shredded cheddar cheese, yellow

1 stick melted butter, cool to room temp

1/8  tsp cayenne powder

parchment paper

Directions:

    1. Pre-heat oven to 400°
    2. Melt butter in microwave
    3. Drain jar of olives, and pat dry with paper towels
    4. Add flour, shredded cheddar cheese & melted butter in a food processor and pulse until a dough ball forms
    5. Scoop 1 tsp of dough making a thumb indent, place whole olive in the center
    6. With your fingers move the dough around the sides of the olive to completely enclose it
    7. Roll the dough ball in a circular motion, like rolling a meatball
    8. Place olive cheddar balls on a parchment covered cookie tray
    9. Bake for 14 minutes until lightly golden






New Pilot & This Weeks Curbside Dinner Menu!

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New Pilot & This Weeks Curbside Dinner Menu!

I’m excited to be a part of this new food & wine pairing launch called LIBATIONS & FOOD!! Check out our intro to the first LIbations & Food gathering where we paired 5 courses with 2 libations for each course and the judges determined which libation paired best for that course! LEARN to pair and get great recommendations on what to drink with your meals! Stay tuned for the APPETIZERS pairing to this show released this week!

This weeks exciting FRIDAY NIGHT CURBSIDE DINNER is as follows….

Find the recipes from these shows https://www.libationsandfood.com

To BUY “YUM”, my appetizers paperback COOKBOOK click here https://thetravelingepicurean.com/yumpaperbackbymichel

Build Your Own Lettuce or Gyro Wraps!

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Build Your Own Lettuce or Gyro Wraps!

These lettuce or gyro wraps are made with sautéed ground chicken, yogurt and spices! Wow, they are packed with flavor from the yogurt marinade, and even more luscious when you garnish with the tzatziki and tahini sauces! You can wrap the yogurt chicken in butter lettuce or in a gyro, either way, they are delectable! My very own chewy chocolate chip cookies are the perfect way to end this meal!

It’s Italian Week…Chicken Parm & Rigatoni in Vodka Sauce is BACK!

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Keep your eyes open for a NEW release coming soon… A VIRTUAL SUNDAY SUPPER & LIBATION PAIRING EVENT!   This feast & wine pairing show is taping this weekend in Fairfield! So exciting!!

Well, there’s nothing like the aromas of tomato-basil sauce coming from your chicken parmesan heating up in the oven with mozzarella oozing and bubbly! So after several inquiries came in for these tasty dishes I decided to oblige! That’s why it’s Italian week for this Friday night’s curbside dinner!

Thank you all for your patronage. Look forward to seeing you Friday! Be sure to get your order in by WEDNESDAY to guarantee availability.

Braised Beef Short Ribs Are Perfect For This Fall Weather!

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Braised Beef Short Ribs Are Perfect For This Fall Weather!

Nothing like a little comfort food for the cooler weather! Braised beef short ribs and veggies with mashed potatoes are on this Friday’s curbside dinner menu. To compliment this Fall theme will be moist and delicious pumpkin bread. Dessert will consist of wild-honey dripping Baklava made with finely chopped walnuts and cinnamon. Enjoy!

Early Thanksgiving Dinner!

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Early Thanksgiving Dinner!

Back by popular demand! Yes, there have been numerous inquiries for the curbside dinners to return so here is. I’m getting a little nostalgic with the cooler weather so I have Thanksgiving on the brain!

 

Easy Rustic Bread

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Easy Rustic Bread

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ingredients for Dough:

  • 3 cups all purpose flour, plus another 1/2 cup flour after first rise
  • 1 tsp instant yeast
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 1/2 warm water, 105°-110°
  • A large Le Creuset Dutch Oven or similar
  • 1 large sheet of parchment paper (large enough so you can place the dough in the center of the paper and lift it up holding the edges of the parchment to transfer into the dutch oven)

Directions:

  1. Add flour, yeast, sugar and salt to a large glass mixing bowl
  2. Whisk briefly to combine
  3. Pour in water and stir with a wooden spatula
  4. The mixture will be gooey but that’s ok, it’s what creates the great texture
  5. Cover with saran wrap and let rise for 3 hours
  6. Pre-heat oven to 450° with Le Creuset Dutch Oven (with top on too) inside heating up (creating the perfect bread baking environment)
  7. Sprinkle work surface with 3 tbsp-1/4 cup flour and turn out risen dough with a spatula on the floured surface
  8. Sprinkle another 3 tbsp-1/4 cup flour on top of dough and using a dough scraper scoop under the dough folding over, turn and repeat 2 more times
  9. Flatten out dough and fold in left and right side, like folding a letter hence the name “letter-fold”
  10. Then turn and repeat the fold
  11. Lay a piece of parchment over a clean mixing bowl
  12. Place folded dough onto the parchment laying over the bowl and let dough sink down on top of the paper, cover with clean dish towel to rise slightly
  13. When oven and Le Creuset have pre-heated for 30 minutes pick up dough by the edges of the parchment paper and place inside the Le Creuset
  14. Place cover back on Le Creuset and bake for 35-40 minutes
  15. Remove the cover and bake for 15 minutes more for a dark golden crust to form
  16. Remove from oven and transfer baked bread to a cutting board to cool to room temperature
  17. NOTE: In my household the bread never has a chance to cool to room temperature before it is devoured!
  18. Slice, smear with butter and enjoy! 🙂