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/

01/11/2021

Mushrooms just feel like fall to me, and this is a great ragu to feature them in.

Just look at those gorgeous mushrooms. While you may not be able to tell in the photo, the large cap was easily 8-10 inches across. I created this recipe specifically to use these oyster mushrooms from my farm CSA, but you can really use any mushroom here. And while this recipe creates the sausage p...

25/10/2021

Nothing says fall in Colorado like roasted green chiles - and this is a great way to use them!

I love creating a simpler version of recipes – you know, using all of the same ingredients, but putting it together in a quicker and easier way. Chile Rellenos usually take a bit of work to get the batter to stick and get them fried up properly, but this casserole has all of the same...Read the Re...

27/09/2021

Simple weeknight pasta dish featuring salmon.

This might not look very special in the pot (I was rushed for dinner and had no time to plate it for a better picture) but this is a spectacularly easy dish that is packed with flavor and comes together in 15 minutes. If that sounds too good to be true, this is one you...Read the Rest »

27/09/2021

Delicious and light and refreshing and healthy!

I’ve been a part of the Sitka Salmon Shares CSF (community supported fishery, which works just like a veggie CSA farm) and I’ve been loving the selection of fish: many types of salmon, different types of cod, sablefish, halibut and more. It’s so, so fresh, which makes me comfortable eating it ...

13/09/2021

Basil oil is a rift on pesto and a great way to harvest your crop.

I adore basil. I love it in pasta dishes, I love to make ice cream with it, and I love to make pesto. But making basil oil might be one of my favorite things to do with all of that harvest. It has a bright basil flavor that’s lighter than pesto, and there are no...Read the Rest »

13/09/2021

And here's another really pretty dish using zucchini:

If you’re swimming in zucchini at this time of year, this makes a very easy vegetarian dinner or appetizer for a party. It’s quick, it’s easy, and it’s full of flavor thanks to the goat cheese and basil oil.It’s key to drain some of the water out of the zucchini before you assemble this an...

13/09/2021

If you're swimming in zucchini right now, this is a a quick and easy dinner recipe.

There is something so simple yet so wonderful about stir fry dishes. The come together in minutes and you can use just about anything you want in terms of protein and vegetables. For those on low carb diets, you can eat it as is. For the rest of us, you can serve it over rice...Read the Rest »

13/09/2021

One of my favorites (and Stanley Tucci's also)!

This is one of my all time favorite quick lunch pastas to make, and with zucchini season winding down, this is the perfect time to make this one last time. I like to use the spiralizer to turn the zucchini into threads, but you can also just thinly slice it if you want. The key...Read the Rest »

02/08/2021

I don't usually deep fry foods, but if you want some fabulous fries, this technique is fail proof!

I’m always excited when I see a completely new technique for making something. I usually oven “fry” my potatoes for French fries, but they don’t always get as crispy as I’d like. And then I read about this technique for cold frying – and I’ll never go back! The only catch is they take ...

26/07/2021

Every once in awhile I get a serious craving for something I've eaten somewhere in the world - like this saag paneer. Yummy!

It happens every summer – my CSA farm here in Colorado begins harvesting more and more vegetables each week, and each week I’m challenged by what to do with everything I’m getting. Early in the summer there are lots of greens like this photo: mustard greens, escarole, kale, pak choi, Swiss cha...

12/07/2021

Who wants to come to Italy with me in October for a food and wine adventure of a lifetime?! I still have room for a couple of guests in our group so message me right away if you're interested!

Now Accepting Guests for the 2021 Trip! Click HERE to join the 2021 trip outlined below. Click HERE for frequently asked questions about my cooking trip to Italy. I am currently taking deposits to hold spots in the 2021 trip. Italy is now allowing US tourists with a COVID vaccine card to enter the c...