Green Goddess Sauce ll

March 15, 2019May 29, 2016 by Michel

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:

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
Stop blender and scrap down sides to get the larger leaf pieces and blend for 5 more seconds and violà!
Taste here and add salt and pepper
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
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!
Make this ahead of time and keep sauce in a plastic container and refrigerate. It stays nicely for days in frig.
This green sauce is absolutely delicious on so many things…be creative.

Sweet Potato Fries & Green Goddess Dip lll

March 16, 2019October 31, 2015 by Michel

Sweet Potato Fries & Green Goddess Dip lll

The colors orange and green were stuck in my head for this Halloween episode and that’s why I decided to share my sweet potato fries & green goddess dip recipes with you! These baked sweet potato fries are so delicious all on their own but wait until you dip them into the green goddess sauce you’ll want to put green goddess dip on EVERYTHING! I make this dipping sauce when I cook up swordfish, shrimp, tuna, chicken and steaks also. Being able to make a homemade gourmet sauce like this in 5 minutes, in a blender is basically a no-brainer for me. I can’t wait until you taste this sauce. And here I go again, making my dipping sauce with Greek yogurt to balance out the mayo giving it yet another layer of flavor and tangy richness. I do this also with my pink remoulade sauce too.

Baking the sweet potato fries is definitely healthier then frying and a lot less work! Now if you don’t have cornstarch in the cabinets don’t let it keep you from making these fries because they will still be delicious. Dusting the raw sweet potatoes fries with a couple of tablespoons of cornstarch helps with the moisture content and gives them a little extra crunch.

I hope you enjoy making the sweet potato fries and green goddess dipping sauce and that they will become part of your go to appetizer list. You may want to venture off and some other appetizer’s like my Feta-Basil Pesto Dip, Crab Cakes, Spanakopita Triangle’s, or some yummy Homemade Hummus! You can end with my Chewy ChocolateChip Cookies!

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Ingredients and Directions for Sweet Potato Fries:

3 extra lg sweet potatoes ONLY need 2 but I like to have an extra just in case
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp corn starch
1 tsp garlic granules
1 tsp onion granules

Pre-heat the oven to 425º.
Peel and Slice sweet potatoes in 1/4″ sticks -CUT ENDS FLAT so they don’t burn
Dab with paper towels to dry excess sweet potato moisture
Drizzle with 1/4 cup olive oil and sprinkle with 1 tsp garlic granules, 1 tsp onion granules and 1/2 tsp salt
Mixed with hands and then spread out into even layer on cookie sheet
Bake for 15 minutes then flip and back into the oven for 8-10 more minutes
BE SURE TO keep an eye on them at this point so they don’t BURN 🙂

Ingredients and Directions for Green Goddess Dip lll:

3/4 cup Greek yogurt
1/3 cup mayo (I use Hellmans)
1 cup fresh cilantro
1 garlic clove put thru press
1/2 jalapeño diced
4 green onion stalks
1 tsp. grated vadalia onion ( or yellow onion)
1 tbsp ( 1/2) fresh lime juice
1 tbsp “seasoned” rice wine vinegar ( “oops” – I accidentally said red wine vinegar in the show but it’s rice wine vinegar)
s & p
Optional: dash of Siracha (Siracha is a hot chili sauce sold next to Tabasco at the store)

Place all of the ingredients into a blender an purée and you will probably need to stop and stir everything a couple of times to get it going but do not add any more liquid (you will see that once it gets going it will be just right).
You can make this ahead of time and keep sauce in a plastic container and refrigerate. It gets thicker as it sits in the fridge chilling and stays nice for a few days… Yum!

Ingredients and Directions for Roasted Pumpkin Seeds:

Pumpkin Seeds for 2 pumkins
1 tsp garlic granules
1 tsp onion granules
1/2 sea salt (plus a sprinkle at the end for a pinch more seasoning)
2 tbsp olive oil

Pre-heat oven at 425º.
Wash pumpkins seeds to remove pulp.
Dry between paper towels and leave on cookie tray to dry further over night (can roast right away if you don’t have time – just by sure to completely dry seeds)
Drizzle olive oil over seeds and sprinkle all of seasonings and toss to evenly mix
NOTE: you can add in cumin, cayenne, chili powder … add your favorite seasonings
Roast for 10 minutes, take out and stir seeds, put back in oven for approx. 4 more minutes – Keep an eye on them at this point so they don’t burn

Arancini Reuben Balls

March 29, 2020March 14, 2015 by Michel

Arancini Reuben Balls

My homemade Arancini Reuben Balls are absolutely gourmet. Arancini balls, also called risotto balls, are an Italian appetizer made with left over risotto, stuffed with mozzarella and prosciutto, then breaded and deep fried! Oh boy, they are out of this world. They are crispy on the outside, and creamy and cheesy on the the inside. You can eat them plain or serve them with a tomato sauce.

My homemade Arancini Reuben Balls are made with risotto, diced corned beef, Swiss cheese, cream cheese and sautéed jalapeño’s to incorporate that “popper” flavor! I serve them with my gourmet thousand island dressing which I make with Greek yogurt and a creamy horseradish to compliment the corned beef. The flavors of the risotto balls paired up with the thousand island dressing are outstanding!

Do you remember having poppers? You know, those deep fried jalapeno’s stuffed with cream cheese? Wow, I used to love those little morsels and I haven’t had them in ages so that’s why I thought it would be fun to put a twist on my Risotto Reuben Balls. It was a great idea too because the cream cheese lightens up the risotto balls and the jalapeno’s give it that something extra special!

You’ll be so happy when you make these homemade gourmet Arancini Reuben Balls with your left over St. Patrick’s Day corned beef. They freeze up really well too which will make for a nice little treat at a later date although I highly doubt you’ll have any left behind.

My thousand island dressing is fantastic as a dip for my baked sweet potato fries too. You might want some other appetizer’s to go along with the Risotto Reuben Balls like my crab cakes, or bloody Mary shrimp. You could even serve them as an appetizer to a homemade pasta dinner served with a Caesar Salad and some chocolate pecan pie for dessert! Hope you enjoy the show 🙂

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Risotto Ingredients and Directions – Total time to make approx. 30 minutes:

I halved my recipe specifically for the Arancini Reuben Balls but I usually make full a full recipe, double the amount below

1 cup Arborio Rice
3/4 cup finely chopped sweet onion
2 tbsp butter and a drizzle of olive oil
1/3 cup white wine
4 cups hot chicken broth – homemade or store bought
1/2 cup grated Reggiano Parmesano

Directions:

In small pot heat 4 cups chicken stock til simmering
Add onion to medium size pot to 1 tbsp. butter & sauté on low til soft
Stir in 1 cup Arborio rice and sauté til the rice looks chalky
Add in 1/3 cup white wineat a time, keep stirring, when wine is absorbed begin to add in 4 cups of simmering chicken stock ONLY 1/2 cup at a time-it will be approx 4 minutes for each addition
ONLY add in chicken stock when previously addition is completely absorbed while STIRRING all the time
Stir in 1 tbsp butter and 1/2 cup Reggiano Parmesano after the last of the chicken stock is absorbed, then let cool to make Arancini Reuben Balls.

Ingredients- Makes 20 – 1 1/2″ Arancini Balls:

1 1/4 cup diced into 1/4″ pieces of corned beef
2 cups cooked risotto (see below for recipe my recipe for risotto)
4 oz. softened cream cheese
1/4 cup grated and packed Jarlsberg swiss cheese
1/4 cup grated and packed mozzarella cheese
2 jalapeno’s finely diced and sauteed just til barely softened 2 minutes
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 lg eggs
1 cup seasoned bread crumbs

Directions for Arancini Reuben Balls:

Put all of the above ingredients into a large bowl and stir with spatula til mixed
Use cookie scoop and from balls, roll in hands after scooping to get nice and round
Whisk eggs in a med. bowl
Add bread crumbs to another and begin the dip formed risotto balls into egg and them into bread crumbs and place on dish
Put breaded risotto Reuben balls in frig for 20-30 minutes
When the Reuben balls are chilled heat 1/2″ vegetable oil in medium size pan and begin to heat on low for 5 minutes and then turn up to med/high to 350º
Add in Arancini Reuben Balls in 2 batches into hot oil
Fry for about 2 minutes and then turn over for another 2 minutes til golden
Remove to cookie rack covered with paper towels to absorb excess oil
Plate up Arancini Reuben Balls with my homemade gourmet thousand island recipe below 🙂

This Thousand Island Dressing is great on Reuben Wraps also

INGREDIENTS FOR THOUSAND ISLAND DRESSING:

1/2 cup Greek yogurt
2/3 cup Hellman’s mayonnaise
1/2 cup ketchup
1 Heaping tbsp finely chopped cornichons
1/3 cup sweet relish
1 Heaping tbsp grated sweet onion
1 Heaping tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley
3 tbsp creamy horseradish
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp “seasoned” rice wine vinegar
1-3 dashes of Siracha

DIRECTIONS:

Put all ingredients into a large bowl and whisk til combined

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!

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Curry-Yogurt Dip

March 16, 2019May 12, 2014 by Michel

Curry-Yogurt Dip

This curry-yogurt dip is an elegant and refreshing way to have serve your vegetables. I really like this combination of the earthy asparagus and the lemony curry-yogurt dip. This dip was originally made with mayo only but mixing the two, half mayo and half yogurt gives you the best of both worlds. The creaminess from the mayo an the tang from the yogurt makes for a refreshing dip. The stalks on the asparagus are peeled with a potato peelers before you blanch them. This gives a vibrant green color and a nice feel when you bite into the asparagus not to mention putting in that little extra effort makes for a lovely presentation.

Ingredients:

1 asparagus recipe from sun-dried tomato aioli and asparagus
1/2 cup Greek yogurt
1/2 cup mayo
2 Tsp curry powder
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbps Rice wine vinegar
1 Tbsp champagne vinegar
Juice from 1/4 lemon
A few dashes of Tabasco (optional)

Directions:

Place all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl and whisk
Place into a small serving bowl and refrigerate for 1 hour to let the spices develop together
Serve with large room temperature asparagus

If you like this curry-yogurt dip & asparagus you may want to other apps like:

Bacon Wrapped Scallops

March 17, 2019April 15, 2014 by Michel

Bacon Wrapped Scallops

Wow, these bacon wrapped scallops are a scrumptious hors ‘d oeuvre! They are wonderful by themselves but the sun-dried tomato aioli sauce just bring them to another flavor level. And you can make that sauce a day ahead of the scallops. It’s important to get the largest sea scallops you can find because they make for a perfectly filling appetizer without being over powered by the bacon. Boars Head Bacon is the best bacon to use for this dish because it doesn’t have a smokey or maple flavor that would compete with the taste of scallops. I have you cook the bacon half way thru too so you don’t end up with a piece of rubbery, under cooked bacon at the end. You don’t want to over cook the sea scallops worrying about the bacon being cooked thru. Since scallops are so rich you may want to serve some non-fish hors ‘d oeuvres like the best guacamole ever, zucchini torta, baked asparagus wrapped in Prosciutto, baked yukon potato fries with Greek yogurt remoulade, or mango-avocado salsa.

Ingredients – serves 4 people with 2 scallops each or 8 people with 1 scallop each:

1 lb. sea scallops (this will be approx. 8 ex-lg sea scallops)
8 slices of Boars Head Bacon (don’t use other brands because some are too smokey and some are heavy on maple flavor)
2 lg garlic clove put thru garlic press
3 Tbsp of olive oil
sprinkle of salt

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 375º
Cook 8 slices of bacon for approximately 10 minutes on medium heat until they are cooked half way thru and golden on the edges
Drain half cooked bacon on paper towels
Put 3 Tbsp olive oil in a medium size dish with 2 garlic cloves put thru garlic press
Add Sea scallops to garlic and mix, fully coating the scallops with the garlicky oil
Add in the bacon strips and also coat with the garlicky oil
Begin to wrap the scallops with the bacon, the bacon should overlap about 1″ and you will have to cut off the last 1 1/2″ because the bacon will be too long
Fasten a toothpick on an angle as shown in the photo above to hold the bacon in place while it’s cooking
Heat a cast iron pan on high for about 2 minutes
When hot add in bacon wrapped sea scallops and sear for 2 minutes
Then flip them over and immediately put the pan into a pre-heated oven for 12 minutes
Take out and serve with sun-dried aioli sauce

Sun-dried Tomato Aioli Sauce & Asparagus

March 17, 2019April 14, 2014 by Michel

Sun-dried Tomato Aioli Sauce & Asparagus

Sun-dried tomato aioli sauce and asparagus is a tasty and simple appetizer that you make ahead of time. Aioli is a mayonnaise based sauce or dip flavored with garlic and sometimes herbs, and or vegetables. With this sun-dried tomato aioli sauce I cut the mayo in half with one of my favorites, Greek yogurt, like I do with so many of my sauces. It’s just such a “good for you” thing that I love to do, plus I really like yogurt and I added in sun dried tomatoes to the aioli which are packed with an intense flavor.

I have you peel off the skins at the ends of the asparagus because it makes for an elegant presentation when serving as an appetizer like this. You don’t want the asparagus too cold when you serve this. It’s best at room temperature so since you will be probably making this ahead of time and storing it in the frig to keep well you should take the asparagus out first to bring it closer to room temperature before serving. And I want you to use the largest asparagus that you can find because not only does it present well but it tastes great. The larger asparagus are just as tender and earthy in flavor as the tiny ones.

In my baked asparagus wrapped in prosciutto appetizer there isn’t any need to peel the ends of the asparagus because they are covered with a cream cheese-grated onion & Parmesan mixture and then wrapped in the prosciutto so you don’t see the ends. Other appetizers that you may want to serve with this sun-dried tomato aioli sauce and asparagus are baked coconut shrimp, sea scallop ceviche, mussels in a lemon grass-fennel sauce, or best ever guacamole.

Ingredients for SUN-DRIED TOMATO AIOLI SAUCE:

SUN-DRIED TOMATO AIOLI SAUCE

1/2 cup Greek yogurt
1/2 cup mayo
1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes
1 lg garlic clove put through garlic press
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbps Rice wine vinegar
1 Tbsp champagne vinegar
Juice from 1/4 lemon
1/4 Tsp chile paste (OPTIONAL) – you can use a few dashes of Tabasco or Siracha (chile hot sauce sold with Tobasco at the market) if you don’t have the paste

Directions:

Place all of the ingredients for the sun-dried tomato aioli sauce into a blender an purée
You will probably need to stop and stir everything a couple of times to get it going but once it gets going it will be just right…you can always add in another Tbsp of olive oil if you need to loosen it up a little
You can make this ahead of time and keep sauce in a plastic container and refrigerate. It stays nicely for days in frig. Yum!

Ingredients:

ASPARAGUS

24 asparagus – the larger the better
1 Tbsp salt for cooking the asparagus in water

Directions:

Bend asparagus to find the proper “break” point then cut the ends off to even them up
Using a potato peeler, peel off the skins of the asparagus at the bottom – 2″ up from the ends as shown in the photo
Put asparagus in cold salted water and bring to a simmer
Cook til tender but NOT mushy …this will only take a few minutes once it comes to a simmer
Drain and give them ice bath to shock …don’t need to make them ice cold just want to shock to retain vibrant color
Dry off asparagus on a paper towel and place on a serving platter

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!