Fully baked

I haven't posted in a while because I haven't been cooking anything worth writing about. I have been trying to get things together in the house before I go to Texas for 2 weeks. Tonite though, I made Turkey burgers with Homemade Oven Baked Steak Fries and a really big garden salad. Although I would have preferred an Angus burger, the turkey burger was pretty satisfying and definitely tasty. Turkey is a pretty bland and flavorless ground meat...so seasoning is key. I season everything that goes on the grill with a Tri-Mix. Kosher or Sea salt, Ground Black Pepper and Granulated Garlic. Lots of flavor there. I used my stove top grill pan to sear the burgers and get some nice grill marks on them. Then I put them on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper and finish cooking them in the oven. Since all poultry needs to be cooked to an internal temperature, it makes cooking the turkey burger pretty easy. I made a nice salad with everything from carrots to radishes for a side dish. The big decision was what starch to serve with the healthy turkey burger and salad. I wanted something with lots of flavor so I decided on my oven potatoes. Better than any french fry you can find. Easy, full of flavor and healthier than fried food.
My mom loves them and everytime I make them asks how I make them...LOL I used Yukon Gold potatoes but have used new red, baby blue, and baking potatoes. Any kind will do.

Michele's Homemade Baked Steak fries

6 medium sized Yukon Gold potatoes Sliced in wedges...6 wedges per potato
Olive oil
Salt
Black Pepper
Granulated Garlic
Chili powder

Put sliced potatoes in large bowl, drizzle with Olive oil..abou 1 tablespoon ( just to coat potato ). Add salt, pepper, and garlic ( I used maybe a 1/4 of a tsp of each....If you like spicy use the same amount of chili powder. I do! LOL Toss in bowl until all seasonings are coating the potatoes. Lay potatoes on parchment lined sheet pan. Bake for 30 min. at 350 degrees and then turn potato. Bake another 30 min or longer until potato is crisp on the outside and completely cooked inside. Serve...and Enjoy! This makes about 4 nice size servings..but they are really good so we never have left overs.
Hope you like them if you try them...sorry I forgot to take a picture!
and remember...May all your bites be tasty!

A hunting I will go....

My brother Scott and his family live just outside of Dallas, Texas. I will be visiting them the beginning of November for a couple of weeks. My brother is an avid hunter and fisherman. Although we consider him still a New Yorker, he has most definitely acclimated to living in Texas. The last time I was there, we feasted upon most of his game. Venison, Wild Hog, and Halibut. He was out of stock of his dove and his last duck hunt he didnt bring any home. I have been advised to learn how to cook game meat. He has already aquired some dove, arrives home from his Utah duck hunt the same morning I arrive in Dallas, and I am babysitting for a few days while he goes on his birthday hunt for some deer and hog. I am praying that he succeeds, as the venison and wild hog were outrageous. I bought him a game cookbook last year for Christmas, but I have decided I am going to start researching some game recipes. It will be nice for him to have alternative ways to cook his game, and I love cooking for them when I am there. So, if anyone out there knows of some good ( and tested ) game recipes, let me know. My research begins today....I will let you know what I come up with.
Remember...May all your bites be tasty!

Papa Johns Soup?

The other day, my mother mentioned she felt like having my Beef or Mushroom Barley Soup. Whenever mom brings up soup, I always think about my Papa John ( my grandfather on my mothers side) as he always made the BEST soups. He was a great cook for an Irishman. I would like to think mine is as good as his. Not knowing what I felt like cooking this morning, I contemplated going to the market and purchasing the ingredients I did not have on hand. Wanting to please people is why we become chefs....so I made the soup. I decided to make both...Mushroom Beef Barley soup. It was quick and easy and really is delicious.Being a chef I rarely measure things when I am cooking at home. So I will try my best to create some sort of recipe for you. I started with carrots, celery and onion otherwise known as Mire Poix. Beef stock is best, but I hadnt made any so I used some beef base to make my broth. I used portabello, baby bello, and dried wild mushrooms that I reconstituted. I saved the water after the mushrooms were rehydrated and added that to the beef broth. I bought some bottom round cut beef (for pepper steak it said on the package...but pretty much any inexpensive beef is good). Salt, Pepper and dried thyme were the only other ingredients. I know my knife skills are better than most people not in the culinary field, so my prep time is short. It only took me about 30 min start to finish and a couple hours to cook. I bought some nice ciabatta sticks at the supermarket bakery and threw them in the oven with some shredded asiago cheese until it was melted. mmmmmmm yummy. Asiago is one of my favorite cheeses, its sharp but smooth and I love it on bread.
I served mom her soup, she mm mmm mmm'ed, told me it was delicious....and teasingly I said Yes I know! I did say thank you too. It was really good and I made so much I have 3 containers to freeze, but thats what I do. Prepare alot for future use!! Easy to pull out a container with 2 or 3 servings for a late nite quick supper!! I would hope that I would have made my Papa John proud.....there were a few things that he made that I couldnt live without and fortunately I believe I may have replicated them well. Thanks Papa John!!

Recipe for Papa Johns Beef/Mushroom Barley Soup

1 med onion small dice
2 stalks of celery small dice
3-4 carrots small diced
4 qts beef stock or broth
1 cup pearl barley
1 lb fresh mushrooms ( any kind you like) chopped
1 cup dried mushrooms
1/2 lb of small diced beef
Soak dried mushrooms in 2 cups of water for 15-30 while preparing the rest of the soup.
In large pot - saute onion carrots and celery in 1 TBS olive oil. Just to sweat them. Add your beef stock to the veggies.
In saute pan, brown diced beef that has been seasoned with salt and pepper. Do not drain and add to soup. Using the same saute pan- add 1 TBS butter and 1 tsp of olive oil to cook down the mushrooms. Cook until soft and browned. Add to soup. Drain rehydrated mushrooms, reserve liquid for soup. Do not use all of it...there will be some sand and dirt in the bottom of the bowl. Chop the rehydrated mushrooms and add to the soup. Salt and Pepper to taste. Add 1/4 tsp of dried Thyme. Bring soup to a boil and add the barley. Lower heat and simmer. Barley takes a long time to cook. A soft simmer is best.

The longer you cook the soup, the more flavor there will be. I hope you try it and like it. May all your bites be tasty!

Back to the Beach....

Last nights dinner was reminiscent of my summer, cooking on Fire Island. The fun part of working on Fire Island this season was that I got to change up the menu. We are not a fine dining restaurant and needed to change some of the menu to better reflect our vision. I added lighter and healthier fare such as wraps and paninis, and a few vegetarian items for those more health conscious. One of my favorites was my Grilled Vegetable Wrap. Easy to make, delicious, and healthy it was a nice addition to the menu. One of our bartenders/waitress, Chelsea ordered it almost everyday....sometimes with a different variation. She loved it! She would stop by the kitchen door, look at me, and say....Micheley....and smile. I knew what she wanted, she rarely strayed from her favs. I decided last nite to make it for my mom and her husband for dinner. Its my moms late night at work and something light is always good. I grilled ( if you cant grill - roast them ) up some farm fresh eggplant, zucchini, yellow squash, peppers, portabello mushrooms and red onions. Seasoned with salt, pepper and some olive oil. I added some pesto ( store bought is fine ) to a saute pan with the veggies until they were heated thru. I added some fresh spinach greens to a whole wheat wrap, placed the veggies in pesto on top, garnished with some shaved parmesan cheese and rolled up the wrap. Mom and her hubby, Sil, loved it. It was filling, healthy and full of flavor. As I used to do for Chelsea....you can add your own variations such as grilled chicken, fresh mozzarella, your favorite veggies, or anything you like. I didnt really know what I was putting in the wrap until I got to the farm stand....and saw what local produce was available. Local and fresh just made it better. Tonite I am not cooking, but I did buy some other produce for tommorow. Lets see what I can come up with.
PS- If anyone can come up with a really cute.....like me.....sign off.....suggestions are welcome!

Amuse-Bouche

The culinary definition of an Amuse Bouche...is a single, bite-sized hors d’œuvre. Amuse-bouche are different from appetizers in that they are not ordered from a menu by patrons, but, when served, are according to the chef's selection alone. These are served as an excitement of taste buds to both prepare the guest for the meal and to offer a glimpse into the chef's approach to cooking. That is the definition of this blog. The idea to start this blog was suggest by an old HS friend and supported by a favorite cousin of mine. I decided there was no time like the present. I hope to stimulate your taste buds, educate your culinary knowledge as well as my own, give you some insight as to why and what I love to cook and eat, and have some fun doing it. I look forward to writing and reading your comments and suggestions. As the great Julia Child said...." Bon Appetit". Of course I will hopefully come up with something witty and personal of my own to sign off with! LOL