I have a new culinary discovery about which I am so excited, I could not wait to blog about it. On March 6, I posted a blog about EVOO marketplace (see my link) and their fantastic olive oils and vinegars. Well, I really did not understand the value of my new discovery until now. Today I met with the owner, Mick Major, to discuss the possibility of my designing recipes for him using his products. The end result was he sent me home with 12 assorted oils and vinegars, and I began to play.
I made a panini sandwich for my son with Chipotle oil, turkey, mayonnaise and mustard. He loved the subtle smokiness of the chipotle and the little spice it added to his otherwise normal sandwich. For my husband, I created a vegetarian panini. First, I grilled some zucchini slices brushed with EVOO Garlic Oil and sprinkled with smoked sea salt and pepper. I spread some mayonnaise and garlic oil on the bread. Then put in some cheddar cheese, tomato slices and the grilled zucchini. I toasted the sandwich in my panini pan. Finally, I tossed some mixed baby greens with a mixture of EVOO’s Persian Lime oil and Peach Balsamic Vinegar. I put this in the sandwich right before serving. The flavors were amazing! I really think I am on to something! Read the rest of this entry »
Whenever I look in my refrigerator and find a plethora of vegetables, I know it is time to make a vegetable pot pie. Use your favorite savory pie crust recipe. I use my recipe I learned in Paris. It is one I teach in my cooking classes because it is hard to describe the process to make it on paper. Making pastry is truly getting the feel for it. This recipe for Pot Pie is a little unusual because I add saffron to the sauce. It adds a little gourmet touch over the basic white sauce found in most pot pies. The other night, I experimented with throwing in some of the cooked vegetables from a Moroccan stew and they add a whole new dimension of flavor. Also, I did not have any fresh mushrooms so I soaked some dried shiitake and sliced them. I added some of the soaking mushroom broth to the sauce instead in addition to vegetable stock and omitted the cream. So the moral of the story is to experiment when making a pot pie. Any filling goes so look in your pantry and refrigerator and see what you can come up with. Please report back if you have a great success story.
Katherine
vegoutgourmet.com 