The Traveling Epicurean



Greek Baklava at Maria’s

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Greek Baklava at Maria’s

You’ll know why this Greek Baklava is considered “The Dessert of the Gods” when you bite into the rich flavor of the walnuts, the sticky, syrupy bottom and the buttery-flaky top layers. Not to mention, hearing that sizzling as you pour the cooled honey syrup over the hot baked phyllo dough with layers of ground walnuts, cinnamon and cloves will make you mouth water!

It’s truly amazing how the top layers of the Greek baklava soak up that honey-syrup yet remain flaky and stay drier then those sticky and syrupy bottom layers of the Greek baklava -the perfect combination. The trick here to not having a gooey, soggy baklava is to make sure the baked baklava is hot and the honey-syrup is cooled. It’s important that they’re not both hot.

Looking at the gorgeous golden layers of phyllo and walnuts in the Greek Baklava you’ll automatically think that this may be too difficult to make. On the contrary, the Gods are very forgiving here because this really is a fail safe dish! Phyllo dough can be temperamental whether it’s your first time working with it or your hundredth . That fact is, it won’t matter whether you are layering with a piece that has a rip in it or not because the buttery layers completely flake up and turn golden when the are baked and you just can’t tell.

It was such a fun afternoon at my dear friend Maria’s house learning how to make her amazing Greek Baklava. I’m grateful she shared a family recipe that holds much tradition for the holidays. I hope you can add this incredible dish to your parties and or holiday’s too. Who knows, maybe some day I will get Maria to share with us her Moussaka recipe!

If you are craving the exotic Mediterranean flavors you should definitely try the yogurt chicken kabobs with roasted grape tomatoes, tzatziki and garlic toum that may be the most flavor chicken you will ever have to go with this lovely Greek Baklava. What a perfect dinner that would be! Or you could mix it up a little going down the road to Italy with my lazy-mans lasagna, homemade pasta, or spaghetti and a secret meatballs recipe from New Haven Apizza and Bakery! Enjoy 🙂

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Baklava Ingredients:

  • 1 lb walnuts – pulsed finely in the food processor
  • 1 package phyllo dough thawed over night in the frig
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 dash of ground clove
  • 1 1/2 sticks of unsalted butter (melted but not HOT)

 Syrup

  • 1 cup water
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup honey
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice, 1/2 of a lemon
  • A lemon peel, a 1″ x 2″ piece

Directions for Syrup:

  1. NOTE: Make the syrup first and let it cool down while you are working on the baklava
  2. Add all the syrup ingredients to a saucepan over medium-high and heat bring to a simmer
  3. Simmer for about 10 minutes until a froth is formed
  4. Pour into a glass Pyrex (heat proof) measuring cup or similar to let COOL and set aside

Directions for Baklava:

  1. Preheat oven to 350º
  2. Pulse the walnuts in your food processor until they are finely chopped and put them into a bowl
  3. Add the cinnamon and clove to the walnuts and mix with a spoon to combine
  4. Use a brush to apply butter to the bottom and sides of a 13 x 9 pan
  5. Place a layer of the phyllo dough then brush the top of the phyllo dough with butter
  6. Repeat 8 times (total bottom layer 8-9)
  7. Spread about 3/4 of a cup of the walnut mixture at a time
  8. Add 2 more layers of phyllo dough and brush butter in between each layer
  9. Add another layer of walnuts and repeat process 3 more times or until nuts are gone
  10. Add 8-9 layers of buttered phyllo dough for the topping
  11. Make sure to butter the final top layer
  12. Cut the baklava into 3″ x 3″ squares with a very sharp knife, then slice those squares on a diagonal
  13. Bake for approx. 50 minutes until golden
  14. When the baklava comes out of the oven pour the COOLED syrup over the HOT baklava immediately and hear that wonderful sizzle
  15. Allow the baklava time to absorb the honey-syrup, about 2-3 hours or overnight
  16. Do not refrigerate, or cover, just tent loosely with foil and you can leave out on the counter for up to 1 week, although it won’t last that long lol …enjoy 🙂
  17. Try crumbling the baklava over a bowl of vanilla ice cream…mmm!

Salsa 101

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Salsa 101

When you learn to make my basic salsa 101 there will be no stopping you! It’s packed with flavor from the juicy summer tomatoes, sweet Georgia Vidalia onions, add in some fresh squeezed limes, chopped cilantro and jalapeño and you have yourself a fiesta!

When you know how to make a basic salsa the world your oyster! No food pun intended here, but seriously! From this salsa 101 recipe you can totally make it yours by adding in 1/2 cup of avocado, mango, pineapple or even cucumbers. Don’t be afraid to try adding your favorite’s to the basic recipe because that is how you learn to create, to taste different flavors. You can even try adding 1 cup of black beans to the salsa! YUM! Have fun and enjoy:)

Adding in the extra virgin olive oil and “seasoned” rice wine vinegar with the fresh squeezed limes keeps my salsa delicately balanced where one flavor isn’t over powering another. I love using the Georgia Vidalia onions because they are so sweet! If you are not a big onion fan these will surprise you for sure. You could also cut back on the amount of chopped onions even though I believe it’s a perfect amount in my salsa 101 when “finely” chopped. The beautiful thing about the salsa 101 recipe is you can use what ever tomatoes you want from heirlooms, to grape, to cherry, tiger tomatoes …what ever your little heart fancies!

You should try  Pulled Beef Taco’s to go with my salsa 101, or Zucchini Spaghetti, Roasted Garlic Bean Dip, or even Homemade BBQ Sauce on chicken wings and then end it with Drunk Blondies & a Bourbon Caramel Sauce and you will be The Belle of the Ball at your party!

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Ingredients:

  • 2 heaping cups – (12 Compari tomatoes-these are a med/small size, can use Heirloom tomatoes, cherry, grape …your favorite tomato!  finely chopped
  • 1 packed cup – 1/2 of extra large Vidalia onion finely chopped
  • 2 tbsp – 1/2 lg jalapeño extra finely chopped
  • 1 cup cilantro coarsely chopped
  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 tbsp “seasoned” rice wine vinegar
  • 2 tbsp fresh squeezed lime juice – 1 lime
  • 1/2 tsp sea salt
  • 1/4 tsp pepper
  • OPTIONAL: dash of Siracha Hot Sauce or Franks or Tabasco

Directions:

  1. Finely chop tomatoes, Vidalia onion, jalapeño and cilantro
  2. Add to a large bowl
  3. Roll lime to get the juices flowing and squeeze over chopped veggie’s
  4. Add s & p, olive oil and seasoned rice wine vinegar
  5. Toss and serve with chips, chicken, fish, beef or pork!
  6. NOTE: Now that you have an incredible tasting basic salsa be creative and add 1/2 cup of chopped avocado, mango, pineapple, black beans, or cucumbers…Mangia Mangia!

Secret Meatball Recipe at Glenn’s New Haven Apizza

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Secret Meatball Recipe at Glenn’s New Haven Apizza

One of the most delicious meatballs you’ll ever have and the mammoth size will knock you for a loop! Glenn Proto, at New Haven Apizza & Bakery, right here in our very own Madison, CT, shared his mother, Annette’s, secret meatball recipe with me this week. The ingredients he use’s in his meatballs couldn’t get any fresher because he even grind’s his own meats for these meatballs. Freshly ground brisket, short ribs, 80/20 beef and Longhini sweet sausage are the main ingredients in his meatballs. Oh, but let’s not forget what he calls his “secret” to the meatballs, his addition of finely chopped pepperoni! Glenn says this is what give’s these authentic Italian meatball’s that extra special something!

Once we get past all the freshly ground meat that goes into Glenn’s meatballs the love doesn’t stop there, he then caramelizes red onions, adds in Ricotta fina (a special and costly ricotta from the very best Liuzzi Cheese in North Haven,CT, eggs, grated Romano cheese, Italian cubed up bread soaked in heavy cream, and fresh garlic and herbs! Wow, he doesn’t hold back on quality that’s for sure. What an incredible ingredient list for these most flavorful and succulent morsels. Maybe I shouldn’t use the word “morsels” either because the size of these meatball’s are cray cray! It was a blast rolling the meat mixture into bigger then baseball size meatballs with Glenn and his son Dylan. Isn’t it wonderful how the tradition carries on as Dylan and his siblings grew up making these incredible meatballs just as Glenn did. And now, we can add some of this lovely tradition into our kitchen’s since Glenn was so kind as to share his family’s recipe with all of us. He believe’s traditions and recipe’s are meant to be shared so everyone can enjoy them!

Hope you enjoy this secret meatball recipe show and remember he serve’s up 3 of these colossal meatballs in one “spaghetti and meatball” order from his restaurant! You might want to start with a few appetizer’s like my crab cakes, buffalo chicken dip, Mediterranean layered dip, spanakopita or my hummus!

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Glenn’s Mammoth Size Meatballs – makes approx 10-12 Colossal Size…Can make them smaller to yield more meatballs!

  • 2 1/2 lbs. of ground beef (.75 lbs ea. of ground brisket, short ribs and 80/20 ground beef)
  • 1 1/4 lbs. Longhini sweet sausage
  • 1/2 cup finely chopped pepperoni
  • 2 cups Italian bread after soaked in heavy cream and squeezed slightly  (1 lb. about 1  loaf of Italian bread, cubed and soaked in heavy cream)
  • 2-3 cups heavy cream – to soak cubed up Italian bread
  • 3 lg eggs
  • 1 cup grated Romano cheese
  • 3/4 cup ricotta (ricotta fina if you can get it)
  • 3/4 cup fresh chopped parsley
  • 1/2 cup fresh chopped basil
  • 1/3 heaping cup finely chopped fresh garlic
  • 1/2 cup caramelized red onions (finely chop 2 med. size red onions and sauté on medium/high with 1 tbsp olive oil and 1 tbsp butter for 5 minutes and then twenty minutes on low with adding 1 tbsp sugar and 1/4 tsp salt)
  • 1 tbsp plus 1 tsp sea salt
  • 1 tbsp plus 1 tsp finely ground pepper
  • 1 tbsp plus 1 tsp dried oregano

Directions:

  1. Pre-heat oven to 400º
  2. Cube up the Italian loaf of bread to 3/4″ pieces
  3. Add cubed up bread to 2 – 3 cups heavy cream – should be enough to have all the pieces get saturated and soak for approx 15 minutes
  4. Add beef and sausage to a large bowl and combine with your hands
  5. Add in the pepperoni and the rest of the ingredients in the list and combine with your hands – Don’t over mixed meat …just until combined
  6. Begin to roll meat mixture into desired size meatballs dipping your hands in the left over the heavy cream to help smooth the edges of the meat while shaping them
  7. Place the meatballs onto a cookie tray..they can be right next to each other
  8. Note: the larger they are the longer you will bake them
  9. Bake for 45-60 until the tops are crispy and brown …mangia, mangia!

 

CT Style Summer Kick Off!

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CT Style Summer Kick Off!

"The Bender Kitchen"
“The Bender Kitchen”

I was kicking off my seasonal summer dishes on the set of CT Style Morning Show in the Bender Kitchen this week! Doing the cooking segment on CT Style was so much fun, I thoroughly enjoyed every minute and everyone there was very welcoming. Besides presenting the “featured” recipe in the segment showing off some of my other high viewing YouTube shows was important to me so I began to organize and get the prep work done. These other recipe’s that I wanted to display in the segment were my homemade Caesar Salad, Buffalo Chicken Dip, Baked Asparagus Wrapped in Prosciutto, CrazyGood Candied Pecans and the Pavlova.  The other aspect of getting ready for CT Style was getting all my art work and photos in order with high resolution graphics and Steve at Gulla Design did a wonderful job helping me with this!

"Nat'l Selfie Day" too...w/Ben the Cameraman!
“Nat’l Selfie Day” too…w/Ben the Cameraman!

The actual featured recipe for the show was the cold cucumber & fennel soup topped with seared scallops. If you have never tried this yet you need to put this at the top of your list because the flavors here are out of this world! If you are not a big soup person you have to at least have the seared scallops with my green goddess sauce for another amazing duo!

The cold cucumber and fennel soup is the same soup I presented in the MasterChef Open Casting Call in NYC this past March. All the tasting judges had loved the soup! Although, for the MasterChef presentation I had topped the soup with Alaskan King Crab. For the CT Style segment I placed seared scallops in the center of the soup. Scallops are very tender when cooked properly, and have a mild flavor but can totally stand up to the bursting flavors of the soup without getting lost. Topping the soup with the scallops is definitely my favorite way to have this dish. The cold cucumber & fennel soup and seared scallop make for a perfect match!

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I hope you will enjoy my “CT Style Summer Kick Off” as much as I did! This cold cucumber & fennel soup with seared scallops may change your summer. Since we are talking about boosting your culinary summer, I’m going to keep on you about making your own BBQ Sauce until you get it done! Another great side dish for summer is my Zucchini Torta and a refreshing dessert of Fresh Berry Granita! And don’t forget the amazing Metaxa Mojito’s to kick off your get together! Enjoy 🙂

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Seared Scallops

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Seared Scallops

Seared scallops are so gosh darn delicious you really don’t need anything else to accompany them. They have a succulent and creamy texture that’s so tender they melt in your mouth when cooked correctly. All that is needed to sear sea scallop’s is a hot non-stick pan, a couple tablespoons of olive oil, butter for basting at the end, a squeeze of fresh lemon and violà, you have an amazing seafood dish in 4 minutes.

Butter is just one of additions to seafood that always seems to give one last flavor boost. That’s why I have you baste the scallops in the last few seconds in the show. Butter makes everything better, right? You can’t get any easier then making scallops in mere minutes. It is best to use a non-stick pan to sear these though because it will make for a smooth ride home and super easy to flip them over to get that golden sear on the other side of the scallop.

You really need to try my cold cucumber and fennel soup to go with your seared scallops. The flavors you will get from all the vegetables and herbs in the soup to the creamy scallops will put you over the top. The green goddess sauce II goes without saying when paired up with the seared scallops. If I’m serving the scallops for an appetizer I set a small bowl of green goddess sauce right in the middle of a platter for dunking and scallops placed all around…YUM!

You may want to add something hardy to compliment the fish so if you haven’t tried my family recipe for the best pasta fagioli you will ever have you should get on the ball. You could go the zucchini spaghetti route or even my amazing melt-a-away homemade gnocchi with a bolognese sauce, and who doesn’t love sticky buns with their coffee for dessert!

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Ingredients:

Directions:

  1. Heat non-stick pan to high heat
  2. Sprinkle salt and pepper to taste on both side of the scallops
  3. Add 2 tbsp of olive oil and begin to add scallops
  4. If you have a medium size pan you will have to do this in 2 batches
  5. Sear scallops about 2 minutes on each side until golden
  6. Optional: add 1 tbsp butter and baste scallops in the last 20 seconds
  7. Take off the heat and squeeze 1/2 lemon over scallops
  8. Remove scallops immediately from hot pan to a serving dish
  9. Plate each dish with a sautéed spinach in the center, top with scallops and drizzle with green goddess sauce around outer edge of the plate…enjoy!
  10. OR top cold cucumber & fennel soup with seared scallops!

 

BBQ Sauce – BEST Homemade Sweet & Tangy!

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BBQ Sauce – BEST Homemade Sweet & Tangy!

It’s like BBQ sauce candy! My Homemade BBQ Sauce is the perfect balance of sweet, tangy and a little spicy! This recipe is one of my versions of a classic “Kansas City” style sauce, meaning it is a tomato based sauce with a sweetener and a vinegar. Ketchup, dark Molasses, brown sugar, cider vinegar and spices are the core ingredient’s that make up this delicious blend of barbecue sauciness. It’s not too sweet or too tangy and it has just a pinch of heat to remind you that it’s a BBQ sauce. It really can’t get any easier to make BBQ sauce then this here recipe. It will definitely make it hard for you to go back to the bottle stuff with the high fructose corn syrup. In fact, I guarantee that you will find yourself dipping that spoon back into the pot to get one more lick of this homemade sassy sauce!

One of my favorite things to do with this sauce is adding a couple tablespoons of bourbon in the last 5 minutes of simmering.  Everyone will be asking you for the recipe for sure! If you have a mix of adults and children spilt the sauce into 2 portions, keeping one with bourbon and one with out.

Using the liquid smoke, which is simple to find at your local grocer now a days, is ideal for emulating that smokiness you would get with outdoor barbecuing. I have you adding in chipolte chile powder and a Spanish smoked paprika too which gives off a delicate flavor to the sauce without being too overbearing.

The 3 basic BBQ sauce type’s out there are a tomato based, a vinegar based and a mustard based. Believe it or not, there actually is a mayo based as well. The “Kansas City” style is the tomato based and probably the most popular through out the U.S. There’s a “Memphis” style similar to Kansas City with the tomato base but a thinner, more vinegar type sauce. The actual vinegar and mustard type sauce’s are quintessential to the Carolina’s. South Carolina being partial to the mustard type sauce and North Carolina to the vinegar type sauce. Then there’s that white BBQ sauce that’s mayo based, a signature sauce of Big Bob Gibson out of Alabama.

Once you see how easy it is to make your own delicious, sassy BBQ sauce I have a feeling there will be no stopping you! Enjoy your summer with this introductory BBQ sauce recipe! You might want to tag team all this barbecuing with some crab cakes, zucchini spaghetti, or spanakopita, and end with my amazing blueberry pie made with my perfect pie crust in 5 minutes!!

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Ingredients:

  • 2 cups Ketchup
  • 2/3 cup light brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup dark molasses
  • 1/2 cup cider vinegar
  • 2 tbsp canola oil
  • 2 tsp liquid smoke
  • 1/2 tsp garlic granules
  • 1/2 tsp onion granules
  • 1/2 tsp chipolte chile powder (If you can’t find “chipolte” chile powder just use chile powder it will still be wonderful)
  • 1/2 tsp Spanish smoked paprika
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp finely ground black pepper
  • 2 dashes of Wocestershire sauce
  • 2 tbsp of Bourbon – If you are a party of adults …it’s AMAZING!

Directions:

  1. Put all above ingredients into medium sauce pan and whisk to combine
  2. Bring to a low simmer 20 minutes
  3. The sauce will be delicious in only 5 minutes – delvelops more depth of flavor by simmering longer!
  4. Basting your grilling meats in the last 3-5 minutes with BBQ is deal so as not to burn and oven cooking meats in the last 10 minutes (the sugars in the BBQ Sauce will burn if you put it on too early)

 

Green Goddess Sauce ll

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Green Goddess Sauce ll

Having my green goddess sauce ll at your next party will be sure to turn heads. It’s kind of like wearing a new party dress! This green goddess sauce is made in mere minutes in a blender. It’s a blend of Greek yogurt, mayo, fresh mint leaves and cilantro, garlic, green onion, lemon juice, olive oil and rice wine vinegar.  You don’t even have to waste time chopping finely because it all get puréed anyways!

Decorating your party plates with my green goddess sauce will make for a lovely presentation, a more formal one, but having a bowl or pouring cup of the sauce on the table will do the trick quite nicely! In fact, the latter might be better since there’s a good possibility your guest’s will be going back for seconds.

This green goddess sauce is so versatile because it literally goes with all foods! It’s heavenly on seared scallops…all fish for that matter, swordfish, rack of lamb, pulled beef tacos, Sweet Potato Fries , Baked Crispy Fries, or Baked Coconut Shrimp and even cut veggies!

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Ingredients:

  • 1 cup plus 2 tbsp Greek yogurt
  • 1/4 cup mayo (I use Hellman’s)
  • 1/2 cup packed mint leaves (1 cup loose)
  • 1 cup packed fresh cilantro
  • 1 garlic clove put thru garlic press
  • 1/2 jalapeño diced
  • 4 lg stalks, 6 small of green onion chopped coarsely
  • 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
  • 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 Tbsp “seasoned” rice wine vinegar
  • 1 tsp sugar  – (NOTE: I forgot to add this in the show, but it really needs this for balance 🙂
  • s & p
  • If it’s not hot enough with the jalapeno add a dash of Siracha

Directions:

  1. Place all of the ingredients into a blender an purée for 10 seconds…be patient – you may need to stop and stir everything to get it going but do NOT add any more liquid
  2. Stop blender and scrap down sides to get the larger leaf pieces and blend for 5 more seconds and violà!
  3. Taste here and add salt and pepper
  4. Add a dash of Siracha – you need to taste the sauce first, sometimes a jalapeño can be super hot and other times it can be a mellow hot
  5. This sauce gets even better if you can pop it into the fridge for an hour and let the flavors mingle, the sauce will thicken up a little too!
  6. Make this ahead of time and keep sauce in a plastic container and refrigerate.  It stays nicely for days in frig.
  7. This green sauce is absolutely delicious on so many things…be creative.

Shrimp & Scallop Ceviche

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Shrimp & Scallop Ceviche

mixedcevicheMaking shrimp & scallop ceviche really can’t get an easier then this! Ceviche is a South American dish that’s usually served as an appetizer. The fish cures/cooks in citrus juice for an hour or two while you get all your salsa ingredients in order. The citrus curing juices are drained from the fish, leaving a tender shrimp & scallops to be tossed with salsa and voilà. The base of the shrimp and scallop ceviche here is my mango salsa recipe.

When I thought of making ceviche this week, sombrero popped into my head! I went to several store’s, costume store’s included which don’t exist anymore, and was out of luck. I then called my dear friend Maria who to my surprise had an authentic sombrero for me to borrow that her parents had picked up on a cruise to Cozumel, Mexico. I have to say it is a very cool hat, not to mention really beautiful. Although it has some weight to it so your neck gets a bit of a work out and you have to be careful not to knock into the walls because depth perception can be deceiving.

When I make this shrimp & scallop ceviche. or any ceviche for that matter, I like to cure my fish in lime juice and then drain that juice before adding the fish to my salsa ingredients. In my opinion, the flavors stay fresher that way. By draining the fish juice that’s released from the shrimp and scallops in the curing process it keep’s a better balance between fish and salsa. There are some recipe’s that have you toss everything into one bowl but I feel it taste’s better when you drain the curing fish juices prior to adding the fish into the salsa.

Since the texture’s of shrimp & scallops are a little different I have you cut the shrimp in 1/2 horizontally, and then dice, so the needed curing/cooking time between the two is closer. You could always change up the fish in this recipe to and go with all scallops or another favorite flaky fish. It’s all about being creative and using what’s freshest at the market!

Remember, always when preparing a fish dish, you will want to serve it the same day you make it and odds are there won’t be any leftovers! You may want to make it a party theme of appetizer’s to go along with this shrimp & scallop ceviche, and serve something like buffalo chicken dip, salmon BLT slider’s, fresh pesto, mozzarella and roasted tomato on a crostini, or shrimp & mango in wonton’s and end it with a dessert that will have everyone talking...fresh berries in a dreamy cream topping made from melted cream cheese and fluff that’s an incredible taste SENSATION!

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Ingredients:

  • 1/2 lb. lg shrimp, peeled and deveined, 1/3″ diced
  • 1/4 lb of sea scallops, 1/3″ diced
  • 1/2 cup diced sweet mango
  • 1/2 cup sweet onion – Vidalia onion -finely chopped
  • 1/2 cup mini cucumber diced 1/3 cup cherry tomatoes finely chopped
  • 1/2 cup cilantro chopped (1/2 cup after it’s chopped)
  • 1/3 cup finely diced cherry tomato
  • 1/3 cup finely diced avocado
  • 1 jalapeno finely chopped without the seeds
  • juice from 1 lime – for the final ceviche
  • 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice – for the final ceviche
  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar – (“seasoned”)
  • juice from 4 limes for the shrimp/scallop for the curing marinade
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • dash of Tabasco
  • Bag of blue corn chips (optional)

Directions:

  1. Wash and devein the shrimp
  2. Wash the sea scallops and remove little fibrous side muscle that’s attached to the scallop
  3. Pat the shrimp and scallops dry on paper towels
  4. Cut up the shrimp in 1/2 horizontally and then into 1/4″ pieces
  5. Slice up the scallops in 1/2 horzintally and then into 1/2″ pieces
  6. Put them into the same bowl… a non-reactive bowl like a glass bowl
  7. Roll the limes to soften them up
  8. Squeeze the lime juice over the shrimp and scallops
  9. Make sure there is enough juice so all the shrimp and scallop pieces are submersed in the lime juice and place into the frig until they are opaque…and place into the frig for 1- 2  hours
  10. NOTE: you should check the fish at 30 minutes intervals to see how it’s curing/cooking …depending on the coldness of the fish, kind and size it wil be ready at different time’s but it’s EASY – if it’s opaque then it’s done!
  11. Finely chop the tomatoes, jalapeno, sweet onion, cucumbers, mango and cilantro and set aside in a large bowl
  12. Drain all the liquid out from the shrimp and scallops and discard
  13. Add the shrimp and scallops to the large bowl with the salsa, add in juice of 1 tbsp lemon juice, juice from 1 lime, 2 Tbsp olive oil, 2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar, dash of Siracha, salt and pepper to taste
  14. Put back into the fridge for 15 minutes for flavors to marry
  15. Serve in martini glasses with blue chips…YUM!

Best Shrimp Scampi!

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Best Shrimp Scampi!

shrimpyShrimp scampi is one of those delicious dishes that’s sure to bring a smile to everyone’s face just on aroma’s alone! Shrimp sautéed in olive oil and butter with lots of garlic, shallots, clam broth, and white wine topped with fresh lemon juice, parsley and Parmesan make’s for a grand party atop a pile of linguine!

This quickie gourmet sauce I have created for you in this shrimp scampi dish is a light sauce, yet packed with flavor. The way we do this is by concentrating the juice’s released from those sautéed shrimp along with a couple of bottles of clam stock simmering for a brief seven minutes. The traditional and time consuming way to create this lovely stock would be to simmer the shrimp shells in white wine for a while like you would for a lobster bisque stock. The objective here was to take a short cut to accommodate our busy every day lives without foregoing taste by using bottled clam stock. Voilà, you have an amazing flavor base for our shrimp scampi with linguine in seven minutes.

One of my favorite way’s to serve the shrimp scampi with linguine is by offering up a Parmesan with red pepper flake’s mixed right into it. It’s nice to offer two small dishes of Parmesan, one with the pepper flakes and one without. By adding the red pepper flakes to the grated cheese guests are less likely to accidentally sprinkle on too much because it’s dispersed throughout the cheese.

You might want to try some homemade pasta to go with this wonderful shrimp scampi or even a Caesar Salad.  Some chocolate crackle cookies would be great for dessert or homemade chocolate eclairs with an incredibly easy and luscious vanilla filling. Then again there those drunk blondie bars with the bourbon caramel sauce that are to die for! Enjoy! 🙂

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Ingredients for Shrimp Scampi with Linguine – 6-10 People:

  • 1 – 1 1/2 lbs of peeled & deveined large shrimp (ask for a certain number of shrimp …2-5 per person depending on what other side dishes you are serving)
  • 2 bottle of Snows clam broth
  • 1/2 cup white wine – pinot grigio
  • 4 lg garlic clove finely chopped
  • 1 tbsp finely chopped shallot
  • 2 lg garlic clove smashed
  • 1/4  cup finely chopped FRESH FLAT LEAF Italian parsley
  • 5 Tbsp salted butter
  • 3 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 lb pasta – linguine or linguine fini
  • 2 lemons
  • Reggiano Parmesano
  • Red pepper flakes -OPTIONAL
  • salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

  1. Peel and devein shrimp
  2. Bring large pan of salted water to a boil
  3. Add 2 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp butter and 2 lg crushed garlic cloves to large sauté pan over med/high heat
  4. When the pan is hot add in the shrimp
  5. Saute for 2 1/2 minutes per side
  6. Remove shrimp and garlic – set aside
  7. Add in 1 tbsp olive oil, finely chopped garlic and shallots into the same pan and saute til soft (lightly golden) for about 2-3 minutes
  8. Then pour in both cans of clam juice with the garlic and shallots
  9. Bring to a boil over high heat, turn down to a low simmer for 7 minutes
  10. Add pasta to boiling salted water and cook until aldente (don’t over cook!)
  11. Let pan with the clam broth/garlic simmer and reduce by 1/3
  12. Add shrimp back into reduced clam broth/garlic
  13. Add in juice from 1 whole lemon and 3 tbsp of chopped parsley to shrimp scampi
  14. Add in salt and pepper here to taste
  15. Simmer on LOW for 2 more minutes
  16. Drain pasta and pour out pasta into a large serving platter or bowl
  17. Add in 4 tbsp of butter to pasta and toss, add in salt and pepper to taste …taste the pasta and make sure the pasta is PROPERLY seasoned at this point
  18. Pour the shrimp scampi mixture over the pasta
  19. Sprinkle with more fresh chopped parsley and grated cheese and serve…YUM!
  20. NOTE: Make sure that each person gets some of that tasty broth in their dish

The 65th Show Anniversary Trailer!

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The 65th Show Anniversary Trailer!

Wow! Well what can I say, except I am really excited to have hit my 65th show this past week! I have had the pleasure of cooking with so many talented friends and chefs during the last couple of years producing these Traveling Epicurean cooking shows not to mention all the crazy fun that was had. This trailer may just be my favorite show because it is a collage of everyone who has appeared on The Traveling Epicurean. The trailer is made up of 3-5 second clips from all of these collaborated shows including behind the scene bloopers. The selection of these short clips make’s it possible to get everyone in without being too long.

Over the past few years, it has been a huge learning process from designing my own website to the in’s and out’s of blogging and “SEO” (search engine optimization). Then there’s the technical aspects of camera and lighting when shooting the YouTube cooking shows. Let’s not forget the editing, which I must say, is one of my very favorite parts of the whole process and that is a good thing considering I spend anywhere from five to fifteen hours editing each of my cooking shows.

Even though learning how to use imovie seemed more like a chore that dragged on for months it was so worth it because the freedom and creativity that you have especially from the old days of using YouTube editor is truly joyful.

It was important for my YouTube channel to have a “trailer” so that “new visitors” would know what it’s all about and “subscribe”. Subscriber numbers are a big part of YouTube success. My plan originally, was to put together a show of highlights celebrating the 50th show marker but the wheels kept rolling and sometimes you just have to go with it until you get a chance to set aside some time for tasks like this anniversary trailer.

Putting together The Traveling Epicurean 65th Show Anniversary Trailer, looking thru all the clips from past shows, was a clear reminder of why I do this…I love it!  I hope you will have as much fun watching this short six minute trailer with all the many exciting show highlights as I did making it. Thank you for all your support, wonderful comments and reply’s to my website and YouTube shows…you make it all worth while 🙂