Homemade Blue Cheese Dressing

February 8, 2021March 4, 2015 by Michel

Homemade Blue Cheese Dressing

I can’t think of anything more annoying then being out at a restaurant where they serve up a beautiful mescaline salad or heirloom tomatoes with blue cheese dressing from a bottle! My homemade gourmet blue cheese dressing recipe is gosh darn easy to make and all done in the food processor!

I have been making this homemade blue cheese dressing for over 20 years and it’s one of my favorite recipes. I love all blues whether they are pungent, and or creamy from Stilton, to Maytag, Danish, and Gorgonzola, and to die for sweet and creamy Cambozola. Last but not least is my Italian Gorgonzola Dolce which I make an incredible pasta sauce with (that’s not really “last” …the list of great blues goes on and on). Not to stray from the homemade blue cheese dressing recipe but you really ought to check out my gourmet Gorganzola Dolce Cream Sauce & Fresh Thyme that I serve on pasta or gnocchi featured on May 15, 2014 which you can make in 5 minutes blind folded!

The Chart House Restaurant makes one of my favorite blue cheese dressings and that’s where my recipe was hatched from. Of course, I changed up amounts, procedures and ingredients adding in several others until I got the taste I wanted and this is how I have been making it for over 20 years. My homemade blue cheese dressing is slightly chunky, on the creamier side where you sprinkle extra crumbled blue to the top of your salad at the end. The consistency is really a matter of personal preference. You can actually make it as smooth or chunky as you want by “pulsing” only when blending the ingredients in the food processor. You can also pulse til smooth in the food processor, then throw in a handful of crumbled blue and finish with a gentle mix using a spatula… it’s your prerogative to change it up how you see fit. I offer up the great list of ingredients and now you can be creative on texture!

buffdip I always make this dressing when I make my chicken wings or when I buy blue for my Buffalo Chicken Dip that’s always the first appetizer gone at my parties! Serving the blue cheese dressing up with the chicken wings and all of my favorite veggies on the side you can’t go wrong. Another great dinner idea would be layering grilled beef or chicken fillets, a couple of thickly sliced heirloom tomatoes, a drizzle of my homemade blue cheese dressing and a sprinkle of crumbled blue with crispy chunks of bacon on top of that … hot diggety! When you see how easy and crazy good this blue cheese dressing is you will never be happy with bottle again!

icemohito You may want to add in some other yummy appetizers like Homemade Salsa, or Spanakopita with Metaxa Mojito’s, and for an entré try Homemade Potato-Ricotta Gnocchi, easier than you think to make! You certainly shouldn’t forget dessert of Honey-Dripping Baklava or Death by Chocolate Meringue Pie! 🙂

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INGREDIENTS:

1 cup of Gorganzola, Danish or Maytag crumbling blue cheese
NOTE: lately I love using PRE-CRUMBLED Gorganzola or Blue Cheese, comes in a convenient plastic container
PLUS 1/3 cup blue cheese extra for mixing in after pureed and sprinkling on top for garnish when you plate the salads
1 cup Hellman’s mayonnaise
1 cup sour cream
1 tbsp each olive oil & “seasoned” rice wine vinegar
1 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
1/2 tsp Siracha
1 tsp Colemans Dry Mustard
1/4 tsp each salt & pepper
1 Recipe Buffalo Chicken Wings

DIRECTIONS:

Put all above ingredients into food processor except 1/3 cup blue cheese and pulse slowly for 15 seconds until you get the desired smoothness
Pour a medium size bowl, 2 tbsp of crumbled blue and sprinkle the rest on top

After all this cheesiness you may want to try my Perfectly Chocolate” Hershey Cakes, my chocolate crackle cookies, or chocolate pecan pie! YUM!

wholepiepecan

Bolognese Sauce Easy Gourmet

March 16, 2019January 2, 2015 by Michel

Bolognese Sauce Easy Gourmet RECIPE

This homemade gourmet bolognese Sauce is like no other that I have ever had. Over the years I have worked hard to perfect this recipe to match a dish I used to have in Urbino, Italy. So all the hard work is done for you and now all you have to do is follow my recipe and savour over the most amazing and unique Bolognese sauce you’ll ever have.

During my college years I had the opportunity to go school in Urbino, Italy for a summer and fall semester. Urbino is a little Renaissance town located in the Marche region of Italy. It was two hours East of Florence (near the town of Pesaro on the east coast). It’s where black and white truffles are prevalent. The picture above is of Urbino, The Palazzo Ducale which now houses part of The Marche National Gallery. This renaissance town of Urbino is also where the great artist Raffaello was born in 1483. I had the opportunity to study renaissance art, restoration and language in Italy at the University of Urbino …being an art major and all I was in heaven living here!

Urbino was a magnificent place to be for all those months (which never seemed long enough) allowing me to fall in love with their art, their culture and the people there in Italy and what it’s really all about …big kinds hearts with a passion for enjoying life, and an amazing culinary appreciation!

The tender Prosciutto di Parma to mouth watering homemade pasta dishes found most places in Italy is to die for but there’s one bolognese dish in particular that I had in a restaurant in Urbino made with “strozzapreti” pasta which really stood out for me. The sauce was made with sautéed ground veal, ground pork, veal stock, heavy cream, red wine and fresh rosemary where the aromas alone will knock your socks off! This is the dish, the bolognese sauce, in which I have derived my recipe from and the one in which I wish to share with you. You should note that homemade gourmet bolognese recipe is NOT to be made with BEEF because it completely changes the flavors and does not taste at all like the oringinal bolognese recipe from Urbino.

I recently found this uniquely shaped pasta that they served the bolognese sauce with in Urbino called “StrozzaPreti” at one of my favorite local specialty shops, a gourmet cheese shop called Fromage right here in Old Saybrook, CT. See, you can make my bolognese sauce and have it with the original pasta it was meant to be with. And while you are there you should pick up some white truffle oil to drizzle over the pasta sauce.

If you want this recipe to be gluten free you could always substitute out the pasta or gnocchi with a rice noodle and if you can’t have heavy cream you can substitute that with coconut cream and it would be just as delicious.

A marriage made in heaven is this bolognese sauce on my light and fluffy homemade potato gnocchi! Or try it on your own homemade pasta, and don’t forget a Caesar Salad! Last but not least you will need to tame that sweet tooth with a dessert like Pavlova, or Death by Chocolate Meringue Pie! Enjoy! 🙂

INGREDIENTS: Serves 10-12 people or more if for appetizers.

NOTE: THIS SAUCE FREEZES AMAZINGLY WELL so if you have sauce left over freeze in a container right away and all the hard work is DONE!

NOTE: DO NOT USE BEEF …this recipe will NOT have the right flavors if you use beef
1 lb. ground veal
1 lb. ground pork
1/3 cup grated carrots
1/4 cup grated celery
1 cup grated Vadalia Onion
2 extra lg garlic cloves
2 cups whole peeled tomatoes and juice
2 slices applewood smoked or plain bacon cooked and finely chopped (approx 3 Tbsp finely chopped)
1 1/2 cups good red wine
2 cups heavy cream (or 2 cups coconut cream)
approx. 1/2 cup olive oil
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 cup grated Reggiano Parmesano cheese and more to finish
1 tsp and 1 Tbsp fresh chopped rosemary
White Truffle Oil (Optional)
1 lb. dried Egg fettuccine or Strozzapreti pasta found at Fromage

Directions:

Add 3 tbsp olive oil to lg pan on medium/low
Add grated carrots, celery, onion and smashed garlic cloves to olive oil and sauté for 12 minutes til light golden and soft
Deglaze by adding 1/4 cup red wine, stir, add 1/2 tsp salt and continue to sauté until wine evaporates
Add these cooked veggies to food processor with 2 cups whole peeled tomatoes and juice
Pureé and set aside
Add 3 tbsp olive oil to same pan and bring to med/high temp and then add 1 lb. only of veal/pork (1/2 veal, 1/2 pork)
Keep on med/high temp and brown meat
Deglaze first batch of meat with 1/4 cup red wine, stir, reduce and set aside in a med bowl
Add 3 tbsp more olive oil back to same pan to brown next 1 lb. of ground veal/pork
Repeating steps 6-9
Put all browned meat back into pan and add in 1 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, pureed tomato/veggie mixture, and 1/4 cup red wine, 3 tbsp finely chopped crispy bacon, and 1 tbsp finely chopped rosemary
Cover (leave small opening for steam to evaporate) and simmer for 1 1/2 hrs. stirring every 20 minutes making sure to let steam from inside cover drain out of pan when you lift it off to stir
Add in 2 cups heavy cream, 1 tbsp finely chopped fresh rosemary, 1/2 cup red wine and s&p to taste and simmer for 5-8 minutes …just need to warm thru
Boil 1 lb. pasta and add to bolognese sauce …mangia mangia!

Pistou

March 16, 2019May 19, 2014 by Michel

Pistou

The first time I had pistou I was at my friend Joanne’s house for dinner and she made this incredible soup and had this pistou to the side so you could add it in if you so desired to enhance the flavor of her soup. Pistou is considered the french cousin of pesto. The ingredients are very similar to pesto except there is an addition of tomato paste to the recipe. This simple Provencal cold sauce transforms any soup or stew and is made pretty much with these same ingredients across the board varying in amounts of each ingredient to the chefs liking. This particular recipe originates from Barefoot Contessa.

And wow is all I have to say! No wonder it’s an amazing flavor booster to soups and stews it’s made up of basil, garlic, Parmesan, tomato paste and olive oil…what’s not to love?! So I was thinking what would go great with this sensational creation and that was simple …the nutty crunchiness of a crostini and the creaminess of fresh mozzarella topped with a dollop of this pistou and voilà you have yourself a yummy little appetizer. Don’t forget to add this to your next batch of beef stew or chicken soup!

Ingredients:

24 large basil leaves
1/4 cup tomato paste
4 large garlic cloves put thru a garlic press
1/2 cup Reggiano Parmesan
1/2 cup good olive oil
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 -1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper
a few dashes of your favorite hot sauce (I use Tabasco)
1 recipe for crostini
1 fresh mozzarella log

Directions:

Place the basil, tomato paste, garlic thru press, and Parmesan into food processor
Begin to purée and while it’s running drizzle in the olive oil
Purée just til smooth about 1 minute
Place a slice of fresh mozzarella onto the crostini and add a dollop of fresh pistou and mangia!
If you don’t use it right away, just like the pesto, drizzle a small amount of olive oil over the top so as to stop the oxidation, cover with saran wrap and pop it into the frig or freezer

Gorganzola Dolce Cream Sauce with Fresh Thyme

March 16, 2019May 15, 2014 by Michel

Gorganzola Dolce Cream Sauce with Fresh Thyme

This Gorganzola Dolce cream sauce with fresh thyme couldn’t get any easier and your dinner guests will think you secretly went to culinary school and became a saucier! Gorganzola Dolce cheese originated in Northern Italy, and is made from cows milk. It’s a mild, creamy, and sweet cheese great for spreading on baguette slices or even crackers. It’s moister than Stilton and definitely more buttery than Roquefort. It’s decadent really, one of my very favorite cheeses of all times along side of Taleggio…another amazing Italian cheese!

I came up with this recipe because I serve it on my homemade gnocchi (potato pasta) with truffle oil and fresh thyme. You won’t believe how easy this is to make. You can make it to go over any kind of pasta you like and pair it up with grilled steaks or sautéed chicken along side.

Ingredients: Makes enough for 1 lb. pasta

1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp of Gorganzola Dolce Cheese
2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup extra dry vermouth or white wine
1 bunch fresh thyme
Salt and pepper to taste
Reggiano Parmeggiano to sprinkle on top at the end
Truffle oil

Directions:

Pour heavy cream into a medium sauce pan on the stove over medium heat and bring to a simmer.
Add in the gorganzola dolce cheese and whisk just to combine.
Add in the vermouth and simmer for 5 minutes on low
Turn off and stir in 1 Tbsp of fresh thyme leaves..set aside til pasta is ready
Cook 1 lb. of your favorite tubular, shaped pasta, or gnocchi and pour sauce over
Serve with a sprinkle of Reggiano cheese, a drizzle of truffle oil and more fresh thyme leaves sprinkled on top

You may want to serve some appetizers with this dinner like:

Homemade Ricotta

March 17, 2019April 25, 2014 by Michel

Homemade Ricotta

What an easy process it is to make homemade ricotta and it’s so worth it..just wait til you taste the fresh creaminess of those warm curds. It’s amazing how effortless this really is. All you do is bring whole milk and heavy cream to a boil, take it off the heat, add white vinegar and salt and watch the curds and whey separate into a luscious homemade ricotta. All the work is in waiting for the curds to form and the whey to completely drain through the cheese cloth. You’re likely to become a ricotta snob and never buy store bought ricotta ever again! Put a dollop of your homemade ricotta in the middle of a bowl of penne dressed with tomato sauce and voilà you are a culinary genius. If you are going to stuff pasta shells with this ricotta you should make my slow cooked pasta sauce 101, authentic Italian meatballs, pasta crepes from Mama Maria’s manicotti or lazy-man’s lasagna! Then you can end with a “BEST” blue berry pie ever recipe 🙂

Ingredients:

4 cups whole milk
2 cup heavy cream
1/2 Tsp salt
3 Tbsp white vinegar
Cheese cloth

Directions:

Wet the cheese cloth and ring it out
Set up a large bowl with a fine mesh strainer inside
Drape the damp cheese cloth over touching the strainer as shown in the photo…making sure all of the ends of the cheese cloth hang over the edge of the strainer
Add the 4 cups of milk and 2 cups of heavy cream to a large heavy bottom stainless steel pot like all-Clad
Bring to a boil on medium/high heat stirring every few minutes
This will take about 20 minutes
As soon as it starts to boil take off the heat and add the vinegar
Stir for 30 seconds
Add the salt
Stir for 30 seconds
Let it sit in pan for 20 minutes
Then pour cheese curds and whey into the cheese cloth and let sit for 1 1/2 hrs
You will need to drain the liquid after the first 10 minutes and then again at the end
Gather the ends of the cheese cloth, twist and squeeze the fresh ricotta gently to get the last of the excess liquid out as shown in the photo
Use right away in pasta shells, lasagna, on toasts or put into a container and into the frig
This will last in the frig for 4 days

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Homemade Italian Meatballs

March 17, 2019April 17, 2014 by Michel

Homemade Italian Meatballs

Got to love homemade authentic Italian meatballs! No matter how you look at it spaghetti and homemade meatballs is an all time American favorite. Not that I wouldn’t have eventually gotten to one of my meatball recipes but I am dedicating this recipe today to my good friend Laura who has requested a recipe for homemade meatballs…hope you like these Laura!

I have many different ways to mix up the meat percentages using varying cuts like beef, veal, pork or beef and pork, or just turkey when I am trying to cut back on beef. This recipe is your basic 100 percent beef meatball, inspired by the way my mother use to make them with a 2 day old loaf of good Italian bread instead of using processed bread crumbs.

I used to stand by the stove frying the meatballs in olive oil but these days who really has the time? So I have come to the conclusion that they taste exactly same baked in the oven at a high temperature…saving lots of labor and time. I suggest you try my pasta sauce 101 while making these homemade meatballs because granted the meatballs are wonderful right out of the oven fresh baked without any sauce but it goes to a new level when you simmer them in the sauce for a good hour or 2. And don’t forget to have that crusty loaf of sourdough bread for dunking or my pesto garlic bread, and if you are really serious you might attempt my mothers Maria’s manicotti’s the next day. Some sides or appetizers to go with the spaghetti and meatballs might be a zucchini torta, bacon wrapped scallops, or baked coconut shrimp…enjoy!

Ingredients – Makes 21 Small Meatballs:

1 lb. Angus beef
1 large egg (rule of thumb …1 egg per lb. of meat)
1/2-3/4 cup after soaked in milk – (1/2 loaf of 2 day old Italian bread soaked in 1 cup milk)
1/2 cup grated Reggiano Parmesan cheese
1 lg. garlic clove put thru garlic press
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley
1 Tsp salt
1/4 Tsp ground black pepper
1 cup milk

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 425º
Break up a 1/2 loaf of 2 day old Italian bread and place into a large bowl as shown in photo
Pour 1 cup milk over bread and let it absorb for 10 minutes
Wash, spin, dry and finely chop parsley, set aside
Discard outer crusts from soaking Italian bread
Begin to break soaking bread pieces apart with your fingers…if you feel any gooey pieces throw those away (if it sat out for a couple of days it won’t get gooey)…the bread should just fall apart easily
Take 1/2-3/4 cup of this soaking bread and add to a large mixing bowl
To this bowl add in Parmesan, chopped parsley, garlic clove thru garlic press, salt and pepper and 1 egg
Whisk til just combined
Add in 1 lb. of Angus beef and begin to mix gently with your hands…DON’T over work the meatballs you don’t want it to look fully combined like a meatloaf
Using a cookie scooper begin to shape and roll mixture with your hands – they will be small about 1 1/2″…have a small bowl of water to the side to keep hands damp not wet (this makes it easier to rolls meatballs)
Spray cookie tray with Pam canola oil
Place 21 shaped meatballs onto the cookie tray and spray the tops of the meatballs
Place them into the oven for 17 minutes…mangia mangia : )

Seafood Stuffed Artichokes

March 17, 2019April 16, 2014 by Michel

Seafood Stuffed Artichokes

Artichokes, any way you cook them are simply a treat because they are a seasonal veggie here on the east coast. 100 percent of all artichokes that are commercially grown in the U.S. come from California where you can pretty much buy them year round. My artichoke recipe is a tasty concoction of shrimp, sea scallops, fresh spinach, mushrooms, onion, garlic, Reggiano Parmesan, bread crumbs, red wine, extra dry vermouth and chicken broth. They are a lot of work granted but it’s not like you make these all the time and once you taste them you’ll want to set aside time in the future to plan for these babies!

The Artichoke is actually a relative of the thistle so if you ever see one fully mature they open into this incredibly gorgeous giant purple flower. That’s where the choke comes in because it’s a cluster of immature florets at the center of the artichoke which is not edible. This hairy-like choke in the center MUST be removed when you stuff them. I show you how to prep the artichokes and scrape out that choke in the photos below. This seafood stuffed artichoke recipe is delicious with my sun-dried tomato aioli sauce for dunking the leaf ends and heart and you can make this aioli dip a couple of days ahead. After these stuffed artichokes you may need a sweets recipe that you can make the day before like pavlova with fresh pineapple and berries, or chocolate-avocado mousse.

Ingredients – Serves 4 People at 1 Stuffed Artichoke Each:

1 recipe of sun-dried tomato aioli sauce
4 large artichokes
3 large sea scallops cut into 1/2″ pieces
10 lg shrimp cut into 1/2″ pieces (about 1/2 lb)
3 strips of Boars Head Bacon
6 button mushroom caps sliced thinly and then chopped
6 oz. fresh spinach leaves coarsely chopped (a handful less than a bag)
1/2 large spanish onion or Vidalia onion finely chopped
3 garlic cloves put thru the garlic press
2 Tbsp olive oil
3/4 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
3/4 cup grated Reggiano Parmesan
1/2 cup shredded Gruyere cheese
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp butter
1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp red wine (1/4 cup to deglaze onion/mushroom mixture and 2 Tbsp in the stuffing and 1/4 in baking dish with vermouth and chicken broth)
3/4 cup dry vermouth
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 Tsp salt (1 Tsp for boiling the artichokes)
1/4 tsp pepper

Directions:

Fill a large bowl with cold water and sliced up lemon
Cut the ends off of the artichokes
Cut 1 1/2 ” off the top
Using your thumbs in the center of the artichoke pull apart as much as you can to loosen the inner layers a little
Insert pointy spoon and begin to dig in to the center removing the purple pointy leaves and keep digging til you reach the hairy choke and then remove all of that too
Rinse the center holes of the artichokes to fully remove any left over choke
Always keep the all the artichokes in the lemon water bowl while working on them (it helps them from not turning too brown)
Pour the whole bowl of lemon water and artichokes into a large pan and add 1 tsp salt
Bring to a boil ( this will take about 15 minutes) and then simmer for 30 minutes
Drain Artichokes and turn them upside down in a baking dish to further drain
Cook up 3 pieces of Boars Head Bacon til crispy, chop and set aside
Sauté the chopped onion, mushrooms caps and garlic cloves put thru press in 2 Tbsp of olive oil, 1 Tbsp butter, and 1/2 Tsp salt til golden about 12-15 minutes
Add in 1/4 cup red wine to de-glaze pan, let reduce for 1 minute
Add in fresh chopped spinach and cover for 2 minutes
Mix spinach with tongs and take sauteed onion/mushroom/spinach mixture off of the stove and put into a fresh bowl to let cool
Wash, dry and chop sea scallops and shrimp to 1/2″ pieces
When onion/mushroom mixture is cooled add in scallops, shrimp, Gruyere, Parmesan, chopped bacon, 1/2 tsp salt, pepper and 2 Tbsp red wine
Mix items gently together
Turn artichoke over in baking dish, drain any water left over at the bottom
Stuff the artichokes with the seafood stuffing making sure to add in to all the layers of leaves going around the artichoke as shown in the photo
When the artichoke is stuffed add in 3/4 cup extra-dry vermouth, 1/2 cup chicken broth and 1/4 cup red wine to the bottom of the baking dish
Cover the Artichokes with foil and bake for 35 minutes
Take Foil off and bake 5 minutes more
Serve with sun-dried aioli sauce on the side for dipping the leaves and dunking the heart …mangia!

Homemade Manicotti

March 18, 2019April 8, 2014 by Michel

Homemade Manicotti

Yes, I am giving up the good’s on this one and I know you will appreciate it because this is one of my very favorite secret family recipes…mama Maria’s homemade manicotti! These are the BEST homemade manicotti I have ever had and I know you will love them too. They are a poured pasta and are light and fluffy even with Liuzzi’s homemade whole milk ricotta and mozzarella inside. I use my tomato-basil pasta sauce or my slow cooked pasta sauce 101 for the homemade manicotti. These are really festive and a special dish to make for the holidays. It’s nice to serve a refreshing salad with pasta like my fennel and citrus with tangerine dressing and sides like zucchini torta, roasted beet salad with mint and feta. A light pavlova dessert with fresh pineapple and berries would make the perfect end for this manicotti dinner.

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup water
1/4 Tsp salt
4 extra large eggs
2-3 Tbsp olive oil
3 lbs. Liuzzi whole milk ricotta or your favorite
5 0z. shredded whole milk, 5 oz. park skim and 5 oz. Scamorza mozzarella mixed together ( can also do 8 oz. whole milk and 8 oz. part skim shedded and mixed)
5″ cast iron pan or 5″ non-stick pan
Baking pan approx. 11″ x 16″
Recipe for Tomato-Basil Pasta Sauce Recipe or (Tomato-Basil Pasta Sauce VIDEO) (This recipe is a 20-30 minute simmer but for manicotti simmer sauce for 1-2 hours if possible)

DIRECTIONS:

In a large bowl whisk 1 cup flour, 1/4 Tsp salt with 1 cup water (approx. 20 whisks)
Add in 1 egg at a time and whisk about 5 whisks per egg
Put cast iron pan on stove on medium/high heat (a 7 out of an 11)
Put a couple of Tbsp of olive oil in a bowl with a paper towel
Rub pan with olive oil-saturated paper towel in between cooking poured pasta batter
Pour in a ladle of batter into hot pan, approx. 1/4 cup ladle
Pick up pan and swirl around 3 times and place back down onto stove
Wait about 25 seconds and flip pasta crepe over, you can use a flexible pastry knife to help you get under it…it will be easy to flip and will not ever be stuck
You never want the pasta crepe to be golden on the edges-that would be over cooking them…they should look like the photo above light in color
Immediately flip over onto floured board and flip a couple of times to cool a little
Repeat dredging saturated paper towel into pan to coat and then pour another 1/4 cup ladle of batter into pan.
Repeat this over and over until you run out of batter…this amount will make 16 manicotti
When you are done lay out a work board to roll manicotti’s on
Put ricotta in a bowl so it’s easy to work with
Pour about 2 cup of tomato sauce into the baking pan
Lay out manicotti crepe and scoop 1/4 cup ricotta going across the center of the circle as shown in the photo
Lay a piece of mozzarella in the center and roll up manicotti
Place rolled manicotti on top of sauce in pan and continue on until all the pasta crepes are done
Pour another 2-2 1/2 cups of sauce on top of roll manicotti’s, sprinkle with parmesan and cover with foil
Place in frig until you are ready to bake
Or cover with saran and then foil and put into the freezer until your event is near and then pull out two nights before and put into the frig to thaw
When you are ready to bake your manicotti put into a 350º oven and bake for 45 minutes
The manicotti will be bubbly when you take it out of the oven and need to rest for 5 minutes before serving

Roasted Beet Salad with Mint & Feta

March 18, 2019March 20, 2014 by Michel

Roasted Beet Salad with Mint & Feta

For anyone who loves beets as much as I do and wants an easier way to prepare them this is your answer! In my roasted beet recipe you wash them, peel them with a potato peeler, slice and roast them for 15 minutes…that’s it. You use a potato peeler with the giant size beets because they get such a tough, dirty exterior, but if you have medium to small beets, the younger ones, there is NO NEED to peel them at all!…use a mushroom brush or brand new sponge and rub them under water and you will see how nice the outside of the beet gets cleaned up, slice and roast. Then you let them cool, add some vinegar, mint and feta and you have yourself a sweet beet salad. Now I show you how to stack them in a cylinder for a nice presentation if you are having friends over but if you want to be casual just toss them in a bowl, sprinkle with a mint-feta mixture and serve. You’ll look at beets in a whole new way and you won’t be so apt to procrastinate. If you go into a whole foods for produce they are going to have to prettiest beets you have ever seen. You can get golden beets, sweet naturally stripe beets (called chioggia beets) in pink and golden hues with darker pink or white swirls going around. It will take your beet experience to a whole new level.

I like pretty much all good feta but am partial to sheep’s milk feta because I find it creamy and soft in flavor. You really don’t need that much either on the salad just a sprinkle is good so you don’t loose the taste of the sweet beets. The mint you can pick up anywhere but let me tell you I have peppermint growing wild in my back yard and I love it! You need not pay any attention to it unless you want to try and contain it because mint is a very happy plant that comes back every year and just keeps growing. The aroma is nice and refreshing also to have in your yard.

Before you start with this cold roasted beet salad you can offer up warm baked coconut shrimp with a hot pepper jelly, bake asparagus wrapped in Prosciutto, clam puffs, and or some roasted chick peas. And don’t forget about dinner with maybe an Asian shrimp and rice noodle dish or sautéed chicken on a roasted garlic & cannellini bean purée. Finally, there is dessert you know with some chocolate-avocado mousse or Pavlova with fresh fruits which you can totally make ahead so you don’t get too tired to have fun with your dinner guests not to mention you can make any and all of those appetizers in the list above ahead of time also…just need a little planning! …OR you could just put this all on hold and make reservations at one of my restaurant reviews like Chamard Vineyards in Clinton,CT or The Oyster Club in Mystic, CT.

Ingredients – Serves 4 or 5/6 small:

1 large bunch of beets (3 large bulbs or 4 small)
1/2 cup feta (I used Castella Bulgarian Feta Cheese – a sheeps milk feta)
1/2 Tsp sea salt
3 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar (i like to use “seasoned” rice wine vinegar)
1 Tbsp champagne vinegar to cut the sweet in the “seasoned”
2 Tbsp julienned mint leaves and 4 center picks for the middle if you are using a ring mold
1 recipe challah bread garlic croutons (optional)

Directions:

Pre-heat the oven to 400º
Cut the stems off the beets
Cut the ends of the beets
Then peel the beets with a potato peeler if you have giant size beets but if you have the lovely medium-small beet size NO NEED to peel… just use a mushroom brush or brand new sponge and rub them under water and the skins are ready to go!
Slice the beets in 1/2, put the flat side down and begin to slice 1/4″ slice and cut those in 1/2 so you are atually quartering them…see photo
Put them on a cookie tray and add 3 Tbsp olive oil
Sprinkle 1/2 Tsp salt and put them into the oven for 15 minutes
Crumble feta to measure 1/2 cup
Julienne mint leaves and add to feta and set aside
Take the tray out and let cool for 5 minutes
If you see a little moisture appear on top of the beets while cooling just pat gently with a paper towel
Using a spatula put them into a medium size bowl and let them cool fully
When they are cool add 2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar, 1 Tbsp champagne vinegar and toss..that’s it
Now either spoon roasted sliced beets into a cylinder ring to mold…fill only 1/2 way up and sprinkle 1 Tbsp of mint-feta mix on top
Gently remove ring mold pulling straight up
You can serve now or drizzle some good extra-virgin olive oil back and forth across the plate (just for presentation)
You can also crumble challah bread garlic crouton on top of that
OR put the roasted sweet beets into a bowl and add vinegars and sprinkle with mint-feta mixture and serve…DO NOT toss here because the feta will turn pink from the beets