Vegetables Archives • Page 7 of 7 • The Traveling Epicurean

Roasted Garlic

March 5, 2014February 24, 2014 by Michel

Roasted Garlic

Roasting garlic couldn’t get any easier and what a soft, creamy and sweet texture you get from roasting…really takes the garlic to another level. I make garlic bread with the roasted garlic cloves and my kids eat it up! The roasted garlic cloves really bring out the sweet flavor in my roasted garlic and cannellini bean purée, and that purée makes a great addition to the stuffed roulades of chicken.

Ingredients:

2 large heads of garlic
2 Tsp olive oil

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 400º.
Cut the tops off of the garlic bulbs, about 1/2″ off and drizzle 1 tsp. of olive oil on each of the cut off tops.
Cover with foil for the first 20 minutes and then remove the foil for the next 20 minutes.
Bake for a total of 40 minutes or until golden on top…not too dark because it gets bitter.
Cover the garlic back up with foil when you take them out of the oven to cool a little before handling the hot cloves and this keeps them nice and moist.

Baked Asparagus wrapped in Proscuitto

October 25, 2020February 18, 2014 by Michel

Baked Asparagus wrapped in Proscuitto

I first had these delicious little bundles at my sister-in-law Anita’s seventeen years ago. She is an amazing chef is always cooking up a storm. These Proscuitto wrapped Asparagus are one of my favorite appetizers and can be a topping to a salad or a pretty side vegetable to lunch or dinner. What’s great about this appetizer is it can totally be made ahead of time (the day before preferably) placed on a cookie tray and into the frig until you need to put them in the oven. The asparagus is blanched before they are wrapped with Proscuitto and shocked into an ice bath to stop the cooking and to keep that vibrant green color. When buying the prosciutto you want to make sure it’s Proscuitto di Parma because it’s the best and has the most delicate flavor. There are other tasty Proscuitto’s but they are not as tender as the Parma and may get too salty or waxy after baking. The slices of the Proscuitto will vary in size and usually large enough where you can cut a piece right down the middle vertically and get 2 out if it . You can add in other hors d’ oeurves if you are having a party like baked coconut shrimp, zucchini torta, roasted chick peas, or smoked salmon on crostinis with cream cheese-caper spread.

Ingredients:

20 large asparagus (the bigger the better)
1/4 lb Proscuitto di Parma sliced thinly
4 oz cream cheese room temp (Philadelphia)
1 Tbsp grated vidalia onion (yellow or white is fine too)
1/4-1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

Directions:

Pre-heat the oven to 400º.
Hold the asparagus with your fingers in the middle and on the end and bend.
The asparagus will break where it’s supposed to.
Line them up and cut evenly across the bottom so they are all at a consistent length.
Put them into a pan of water with 1 Tsp salt and bring to a simmer approx 5 min only (DO NOT OVER COOK). Drain and put into a ice bath.
Dry the asparagus with paper towels.
At this point you can pop them into a zip lock and into the frig until you are ready for them.
Mix together in a small bowl the room temperature cream cheese, grated onion, Parmesan and lemon juice just til combined
Take a piece of Prosciutto and smear 1 Tbsp of the cream cheese mixture down the length of it.
Place the asparagus on a bit of a diagonal (see photo) and roll up.
Place onto an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 7 minutes.
Use a spatula to remove from pan and be sure to flip them over when you plate them to see the lovely caramelization on the under side.
Drizzle a little olive oil, a fresh squeeze of lemon and some shaves of Parmesan on top for a little extra!

TIPS: Using a micoplane grater or rasp to grate the onion is a wonderful culinary tool which actually started out back in the day as a wood planer for woodworkers!

Tips: Shocking the asparagus or any vegetable for the matter into a ice bath will stop the cooking and keep the vibrant green color.

Fresh Mozzarella, Pesto, and Roasted Tomato on Crostinis

September 29, 2016February 14, 2014 by Michel

Fresh Mozzarella, Pesto, and Roasted Tomato on Crostinis

This crostini with fresh mozzarella, pesto and roasted tomato appetizer is absolutely delicious and is totally a make ahead dish! The Crostinis you can make a week before, they’ll taste no different if you made them that day and the pesto you can make a day or two before. As for the fresh mozzarella you can either buy the fresh balls if you have a nice cheese shop near by or you can even get the mozzarella logs that are packaged in water to keep fresh and soft and are even pre-sliced! I like to buy my roasted tomato’s from Foxglove & Madison Cheese Shop. It’s not difficult to roast your own tomatoes but it is time consuming and the roasted tomato’s available at the cheese shop are packed with intense flavor, a gorgeous deep red color and all the work is done for you. They also have fresh and creamy mozzarella balls there as well. If it’s not possible to find or roast your own tomatoes improvise and put a 1/8″ slice of a sweet cherry or grape tomato on top of the pesto. The pesto has so much flavor the freshness of the sliced cherry or grape tomato will balance out nicely with it. It’s all good ….just enjoy!

Ingredients:

20 crostinis (see Crostini recipe)
1 pesto recipe (see Pesto recipe)
2 logs of mozzarella sliced 1/4″ sliced
1 container roasted tomatoes (can use a 1/8″ slice of a fresh cherry or grape tomato to improvise if with out the roasted)

Directions:

Cut the roasted tomato pieces in half.
It’s packed with a lot of rich flavor and 1/2 of a piece is perfect on top of the pesto.
Place a slice of mozzarella onto the crostini then add a dallop of fresh pesto on top of that and place a piece of the roasted tomato on the pesto, plate and serve……Mangia!

TIP: You can make the pesto texture thicker so it stands up nice and plump on the crositni by adding a little more parmesean

Bacon Wrapped Water Chestnuts

November 18, 2016February 7, 2014 by Michel

Bacon Wrapped Water Chestnuts

These bacon wrapped water chestnuts are sweet and savory. You have that slightly smokey and salty flavor from the bacon, a sweet candy-like carmelization from the brown sugar, a little kick from the dry mustard and a lovely crunch from the water chestnut. All those amazing flavors packaged up in one little morsel!

Nut or vegetable? Well I will tell you – a water chestnut is actually an equatic vegetable grown in marshes. Didn’t you always want to know that? This water chestnut recipe came about from a Trader Vic’s recipe called Rumaki . Except this original recipe was done with chicken livers and water chestnuts wrapped in bacon with a wet marinade. Now don’t get scared away . Even though I do love chicken livers sautéed with lots of chopped garlic and a crusty baguette this recipe is made without the liver or wet marinade for that matter.

It is some what comical too because your guests will think they are bacon wrapped scallops at first glance. These homemade gourmet little morsels are a must try for the holidays. Your guest’s will love them. In fact, you better grab one before the tray goes out because it’s coming back empty!

If you are on an appetizer roll you ought to try my Crab Cakes with Homemade Thousand Island Dressing, or Baked Spinach & Feta Spankopita Triangles with Metaxa Mojito’s are to die for, Homemade Salmon Gravlax are one of my all time favorites and so easy to make with fresh dill sprigs and vodka or eau de vie! My “Steakhouse” Cream Spinach is a huge crowd pleaser. For dessert, a Best Blueberry Pie with My 5 Minute Pie Crust always calls out to me! ENJOY! 🙂

Ingredients:

2 cans whole water chestnuts ( Geisha – approx 18 per can)
1 lb. Boar’s Head bacon (sliced into 3″ strips)
1 cup light brown sugar
2 tbsp Colemans dry mustard – (if you like it less spicy only use 1 tbsp)

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 375º
Whisk brown sugar and dry mustard together in a medium size bowl
Slice up the bacon into 3″ pieces
Wrap each water chestnut on the bacon strip and roll-up,
Then roll it around in the brown sugar mixture, you will need to press down a little to help the mixture adhere
Place the appetizer’s seem side down on a cookie sheet
You can use a silicone baking mat or Silpat to bake the bacon wrapped water chestnuts on, DO NOT USE FOIL because it will be stuck to the waterchestnut!
Bake for approx. 15 minutes
Do not flip them over
The bottoms will be more caramelized then the tops so flip them over when you plate them to see the carmelization
Be sure to let them cool a pinch before eating because the chestnuts get pretty hot along with the sugar
These are a great party item because you can prep a day ahead, BUT DO NOT DREDGE them into the brown sugar mixture until right before you put them into the oven or they will get watery
Just wrap chestnuts in bacon, place onto a cookie tray and pop them into the frig until you are ready for them

Best Mango-Avocado Salsa Ever

February 27, 2014February 6, 2014 by Michel

Best Mango-Avocado Salsa Ever

This truly is the most amazing salsa ever! In fact I found salsa difficult to photograph so I took many pictures of the finished salsa worried that you won’t be able to tell how delicious it is just by looking at the pictures. Gotta love those sweet and hot flavors together and just knowing that it is all so good for you makes it even better, if that’s possible. I make this for friends when they come over it’s the first thing gone. There really is nothing like refreshing mango-avocado salsa in the hot summer months but why should we have to wait until then when we can enjoy ripe mangoes in the winter too! When I go to the market to buy mangoes this time of year they are usually not quite ripe enough to eat right away. It’s one of those things where you need to plan a few days ahead so you have time to leave them on your counter to fully ripen. It’s definitely worth the 2-3 day wait for the mango to soften slightly and the juicy flesh to turn a deep golden color and taste as sweet as honey. Be sure not to let them get too soft….better to be slightly soft then mushy because that lovely golden flesh starts to turn brown.

Ingredients:

2 lg mangoes chopped 1/4″ cubed
1 avocado chopped 1/4″ cubed
2 med/lg size tomato’s or 5 small tomato’s chopped 1/4″ cubed
1/2 vidalia onion (or yellow) FINELY chopped
1 FINELY chopped jalapeno
juice from 1 lime
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
1/2 cup coarsely chopped cilantro
a dash of Siracha (optional)
S & P

Directions:

Add all of the ingredients to a large bowl and mix thoroughly.
We really love to eats this salsa with blue chips.
I have also served this salsa up on the tips of endive leaves, and or with a cooked shrimp on top of that ….yum!
I must warn you this salsa is highly addictive……consume at your own risk! LOL

TIP: There is an easy way to get the pit out of a avocado which I have displayed in the pictures above. After running the knife around the flesh of the avocado against the edges of the inside pit… put the knife down and twist the avocado halves and pull apart. Then stick the knife into the pit and do the same thing holding on to the knife with one hand and carefully twist the avocado pit and it will pop right out. Then knock the pit off onto the board away from your hands. This can be a little tricky the first time so I would advise that this would be for an adult to try. Finally, Insert a large spoon and scoop the avocado along the edge of the avocado skin to remove avocado flesh.

Broccoli Slaw

July 21, 2018February 3, 2014 by Michel

Broccoli Slaw

In this recipe I am using pre-pakaged broccoli slaw from the store. Sure you can shred it yourself but sometimes with all our hectic schedules running here and there it’s nice to be able to take a short cut and still have great taste. Cole dressing is super simple as you will see below. I upped the mayo to 1/3 cup from 1/4 and the sugar from 2 tbsp to 3 tbsp because I like it a little saucier but I will leave that up to you!

You really ought to try my EASY Pulled pork sliders with this slaw and don’t forget the homemade BBQ sauce with Bourbon….outrageous!

Ingredients – NOTE For a LITTLE LIGHTER SAUCE USE 1/4 CUP MAYO AND 2 TBSP SUGAR:

4 cups broccoli Slaw (you can buy pkg slaw at the store)
1/3 cup mayo ( I use Hellmans only)
2 tbsp cider vinegar
2 Tbsp seasoned rice wine vinegar
1 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp sugar
1 Tsp Siracha or Tabasco (Siracha is a hot chili sauce sold next to Tabasco at the store)
S & P

Directions:

Place all of the ingredients in a bowl, mix and serve.
This slaw goes great with my Easy Pulled Pork Sliders done nice and easy in a crock pot.
And if you have a little extra time you can add a Green Goddess Sauce to the sandwich that can actually be done a couple days ahead and while you are at it don’t forget the Homemade BBQ Sauce!

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.

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.