Tag Archives: savory

The Best Form of Flattery…Ode to Dan’s Carrots

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I love having a partner in crime and it is so fun when Dan jumps in a with a post on this blog. I thought Dan’s preparation of roasted carrots looked so interesting (not to mention his Elton John song title reference), I had to try it out for myself. Making the interesting out of the seemingly ordinary.

WSF Multi-hued Carrots ready for the oven

What I did: I washed and trimmed the WSF white and orange carrots, leaving the skin on for some rustic appeal (as Dan did). I tossed them in the pan with a hearty glug of olive oil, a sprinkle of kosher salt and a twist of fresh ground pepper. I am such a copycat, I even used the same cast iron pan as Dan. Baked for 30 minutes at 400 degrees, and then lowered the temp to 250 (per Dan’s instructions), and baked for another 20 minutes or so until they were nicely browned. I tested them with a fork and noticed that the larger carrots were still tough in the center, so removed the smaller carrots and returned the rest to the oven for another 15 minutes or so. Next time round, I’ll select all similar sized carrots for the pan.

The result:  savory and sweet, easy on the eyes, rich-tasting carrots. NOT your mama’s cooked carrots. A MUST TRY, taking preparation of an everyday vegetable to the next level.

Sure Beats Steaming…

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What a great surprise! Check out this gorgeous glass jar of pickled haricot verts that I received as a gift from my neighbor Dan Doern. Dan mixed the haricot verts from our 7/14/12 CSA pick up with vinegar, sliced lemons, peppercorns, garlic cloves, epazote (from his own garden) and jalapeno peppers to make a super tasty quick pickle.

The last time I used epazote was during a cooking class in Oaxaca, Mexico. Color me impressed…

Dan nuked everything for a minute and then stored it in this airtight glass container. Stored in the fridge, this tasty treat should last a few weeks.

And what flavor! The haricot verts are spicy, savory, tangy and citrus-y sweet all at the same time. Dan recommends adding to bloody marys for additional savoriness. We snacked on them with cocktails before dinner. Puts my steamed green beans to shame!

Dan, chime in on what I’m missing re: the recipe or instructions. And thank you again!

Happy 4th of July!

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We celebrated the 4th with a great meal from the grill and classic rock tunes on the radio.

The meal was kicked off with cocktails and a much beloved grilled barbecue shrimp recipe.We have made this recipe many times (and have tried many other recipes for grilled shrimp) and I think it’s the best. Right amount of savory and spices, and easy to boot. It’s originally from Emeril and here is the link:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/spicy-barbecued-shrimp-skewers-recipe/index.html

The shrimp and the our entrees were expertly grilled by hubs on our classic Weber charcoal grill. Perhaps hubs will guest blog one day on his grilling philosophy.

For entrees, we had burgers. Sirloin for the carnivore and portobello mushroom for me. Local, mixed greens from our friend Steve’s farm on the side. There might have been some ice cream for dessert, too.