Cooking with Michele

23/05/2022

https://cookingwithmichele.com/2022/05/vietnamese-egg-rolls/

24/04/2022

A great way to reduce your meat consumption and amp uo your veggie consumption.

I love meat, and I can’t imagine giving it up entirely. But I’m always thinking of ways to eat more vegetables and less meat, and this ragu is a perfect example of that. Mushrooms have a meaty texture to them already, and they impart a wonderful flavor into a ragu sauce. The recipe makes a...Rea...

28/03/2022

Polenta is an often overlooked starch that is wonderfully versatile.

I’m not really sure why I don’t make polenta (grits in the US south) more often. It’s as easy and fast as making rice, plus there’s the opportunity to use leftovers in a different format when the polenta thickens up in the refrigerator.There’s really no recipe required for this, but I’ve...

22/03/2022

I love recreating the authentic flavors of my travels, like this wonderful goulash reminiscent of Hungary and Romania.

I went to Budapest in 2019 and was alone for the first day there before meeting up with my friend. Whenever I find myself in a new country, one of the first things I do is seek out a meal of something that’s authentic to their cuisine. And nothing seems more authentic in Hungary than...Read the Re...

17/03/2022

FIFTEEN YEARS OF BLOGGING!!!!

This month marks the fifteenth anniversary of this blog. I always joke that blog years are sort of like dog years, and many people never make it past 5 years of blogging, let alone 15. So I’m kind of proud of that! This blog has sort of become my personal recipe collection after all these...Read t...

07/03/2022

Really nice heat, great flavors, and easy to make!

Someone shared some ground elk with us back in December, and I turned it into chili (you can easily sub beef or bison in this recipe, or even ground chicken). He suggested that it needed some pork or something added to the ground elk because the elk is so very very lean, and fortunately I...Read the...

28/02/2022

A wonderfully soothing and belly filling soup - a meal in itself!

It’s been two full years since the pandemic swung our lives for a loop. For that entire two years, I’ve been uber-cautious and vigilant about staying safe. I’ve masked up, avoided indoor dining, and eschewed large group gatherings. I have both of my vaccines plus a booster. Yet somehow, despit...

15/02/2022

A classic recipe for you today - pair with lamb chops or a rack of lamb.

When I first started studying culinary arts, I was obsessed with people like Escoffier, the true pioneer chefs who shaped the techniques and flavor profiles of many of the famous dishes we all know and love today. This is one of Escoffier’s dishes, and it was in The Escoffier Cookbook as a “garn...

01/02/2022

Rack of lamb is easier to make than you might think - and fun for a special dinner - can you say Valentine's Day?

I have friends, including my significant other, who think they hate lamb. I’m convinced they’ve had “gamey” lamb that is closer to mutton or had lamb that was prepared poorly and overcooked. First thing you’ll want to do is sear it in a hot oven to get a nice char on the outside like that....

11/01/2022

Gnocchi is easier to make than you might think!

I don’t make gnocchi often, mostly because I rarely have leftover mashed potatoes or ricotta cheese. But after super sizing our mashed sweet potatoes recently, I decided to make gnocchi with the leftovers. Gnocchi technique usually involves rolling them down a board or using a fork to get tine mar...

20/12/2021

This one is perfect for fall!

I chose this bourbon cocktail to be next up because of its fall flavors of apples and allspice. I tweaked the recipe significantly from the one Food & Wine offered – more bourbon, less lemon juice, less maple syrup (although I think it could have used a bit more so that’s reflected in the recipe...

20/12/2021

One of my favorite restaurants in southern Italy - and you get to go there for a big lunch if you join me sometime on my cooking trip to Italy! Osteria Piazzetta Cattedrale

Every year I take a group on a fun filled food and wine adventure in Italy, and we end our trip with a wonderful final huge Italian lunch together in the pretty hilltop town of Ostuni. The 2022 trip is full, but click here for details and let me know if you want to be on...Read the Rest »

20/12/2021

Next up in my bourbon drink series!

I love bubbly. I love bourbon. So when I found this recipe featuring both, I was pretty sure I was going to like it! I like the balance of bourbon and bubbly to include a bit more bourbon than the JP Wine Bar’s version of this drink, but other than that I didn’t veer from...Read the Rest »

29/11/2021

One of the few ways that I LOVE eggplant - great pasta dish from southern Italy!

I have a strange relationship with some vegetables. By strange I mean I largely hate some of them, except for in a specific dish. Eggplant is one of those vegetables. I do love it the way it’s prepared in southern Italy – that’s because this technique removes the “mush” factor. But I also ...

22/11/2021

Pine boughs infuse simple syrup in a beautiful way to use in this holiday cocktail.

This is the second in a 26 week project to experiment with bourbon cocktails. The recipe for this cocktail in Food & Wine calls this a Manhattan, but I’m not sure that’s really correct since there is no vermouth in it at all. It’s really just a pine-infused bourbon drink, but it’s delicious!...

15/11/2021

Yummy slow cooked stew tastes great on a cold day!

Traditional feijoada, widely considered the national dish of Brazil, uses such “lesser” cuts of meat as pig’s feet, tail, and tongue. I had none of these on hand, but I did have a large, meaty pork shank that wasn’t going to be much good on its own, and that was my inspiration.Don’t be foo...

08/11/2021

If you like bourbon, join me for my 2022 bourbon cocktail project, featuring a new cocktail every other week. Here's the first one!

In the spring of 2018, I went on a bourbon tasting tour with friends. I wanted so badly to fall in love with bourbon, but I ended the 4 days of tastings with the same corkscrew face with every sip. Fast forward to 2019 when I fell for a man who loves bourbon. After sipping...Read the Rest »

01/11/2021

Who wants to join me for a food and wine (and biking if you want to do that part) adventure in Italy next fall? Now taking reservations! Please share this link on any social networks or with family and friends!

https://cookingwithmichele.com/travel-journal/cooking-trip-to-italy/