The Traveling Epicurean

garlic

Asparagus Salad with Yummy Dijon-Garlic Dressing

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Aspagus Salad with Yummy Dijon-Garlic Dressing

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

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Ingredients:

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

Directions:

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

 

Roasted Garlic & Cannellini Bean Purée

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Roasted Garlic & Cannellini Bean Purée

This roasted garlic and cannellini bean purée has a luscious creamy texture and makes a great side dish or even a dip served with some pita’s chips on the side not to mention the nutritional value.  The garlic turning soft and creamy becomes sweet when roasted.  It makes a great presentation as a base layer on a plate when topping with sliced chicken, pork beef, fish or vegetables.  I really like drizzling truffle oil on and around it bringing out the smokey flavors if serving with a rack of lamb or a beef tenderloin.  Try the stuffed roulades of chicken, or sautéed chicken breasts recipes to go with this delicious purée.  For such complex flavors it’s amazing how easy it is to make.  I came up with this recipe because I like sauces and I wanted something with that creamy texture feel yet healthy for you and here it is.

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Ingredients:

  • 1 can cannellini beans (butter beans are great too)
  • 4 lg roasted garlic cloves
  • 1/2 cup chicken broth
  • 1/2 cup white wine (pinot grigio, sauvignon blanc …what ever you favorite wine is just not a sweet one)
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • a dash of Tabasco for a kick

Directions:

  1. Rinse cannellini beans and place in a medium sauce pan with 4 roasted garlic cloves, broth and wine on medium/high heat.
  2. Bring to a simmer and turn heat to low and simmer for 7 minutes more.
  3. Add the beans to a blender and purée.
  4. You may need to stop and stir and purée again because it is a thick mixture in a blender, and if you really need to loosen it up add 1-2 Tbsp of water or milk.
  5. It’s as simple as that.

Pesto

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Pesto

Now there’s making pesto by means of mortar and pestle…..I admit I have spent many a day making it this way, but there’s another way which I will show you here that saves you time and energy which we all seem to run low on by the end of the day.  If it’s the weekend and you have some time on your hands then be my guest and knock yourself out with the mortar and pestle.  It is truly is a lovely way to make this paste, and useful in so many other ways like grinding spices for instance not to mention being therapeutic.  Back to reality, being able to use my food processor to make pesto really is a wonderful thing!  The pesto tastes the same and you still put all the love into it using good ingredients.  You can play with this recipe also when it comes to amounts like adding a little more Parmesan if it’s too thin or drizzling in a tad more olive oil if it’s too thick.  Making pesto is a very forgiving process…. just trust yourself and be sure to taste as you go along to see if you need to add a sprinkle more of salt and or pepper.

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Ingredients:

  • 1 pkg. 3.0-3.5 ounces of fresh basil leaves
  • 1/2-3/4 cup grated Reggiano Parmesan
  • 1 lg. garlic clove put thru garlic press
  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • salt & pepper
  • dash of Tabasco

Directions: 

  1. Remove basil leaves from stems and place them into the food processor with the grated garlic, s & p
  2. Begin to pulse while drizzling in all of the olive oil thru the top opening of the food processor
  3. Once you finish adding the oil you may need to stop and scrape the sides with a spatula
  4. Add in the parmesan and pulse once more (this is where you can add a little siracha)
  5. The pesto is ready to use
  6. If you want to save the pesto put it into a plastic container, drizzle about 1 tbsp. of olive oil right on top. Then lay a piece of Saran wrap right on top of the new layer of olive oil so there isn’t any air touching (This will keep the basil from oxidizing and turning brown)
  7. At this point you can either keep in the refrigerator for up to 2 days or put it into the freezer
  8. When you are ready to use the frozen pesto take it out the night before and let it thaw in the refrigerator
  9. Now that you have this delicous pesto you can easily make the Crostinis with Fresh Mozzarella, Pesto and Roasted Tomato appetizer.

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Greek Yogurt Remoulade

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Greek Yogurt Remoulade

Having a homemade gourmet dipping sauce as tasty as this and made with greek yogurt is pretty much a no brainer for me.  This sauce has the tang from the yogurt, a little sweet from the ketchup and a nice spice from the fresh garlic and Siracha…..yum.  You need to try this sauce with the  Baked Yukon Potato Fries recipe.  It’s such a nice combination and a change up from plain ketchup!  The gourmet remoulade sauce is outrageous on sandwiches too.

You may want to try this on jumbo crab cakes too:

Jumbo Crab Cakes
Jumbo Crab Cakes

 

 

 

 

INGREDIENTS:

    • 3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
    • 1/3 cup Hellman’s mayo
    • 1/3 cup plus 1 tbsp. ketchup (6 tbsp)
    • 3 dashes of Siracha – OPTIONAL (Siracha is a hot chili sauce sold next to the Tabasco at the store or what ever your favorite hot sauce is!)
    • Juice from 1/2 lime
    • 1 lg. garlic clove (put thru press )
    • 2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
    • 1 tbsp. rice wine vinegar (I use “seasoned” rice wine vinegar)
    • Freshly chopped chives to sprinkle on top of finished remoulade

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DIRECTIONS:

  1. Whisk all of the ingredients except the chives in a mixing bowl, then top with chopped chives.