Who says you can't go home again?

 I grew up in Astoria, Queens. Well at least until we moved to Long Island. Astoria is a predominately Greek neighborhood, although when I was growing up, our block had many ethnic backgrounds. My grandparents were from Canada, our next door neighbors were from Italy, and the people across the street were from Greece. My parents bought a house in Hauppauge Long Island and we moved out of Astoria when I was 9 years old. We always went back to Astoria to visit family! Then, after a year at a local community college, I transferred to a City University in Manhattan. I went to live in my grandparent's house that was now my Aunt's home. Back in Astoria! I think I ate souvlaki once a week.....LOVED the tzatziki sauce, the homemade grilled pita breads, and most greek food. I am not a huge fan of Feta cheese although in small amounts I deal well with it.  I havent been back to Astoria for some Greek food in a long time, and not sure I want to ruin my memories. Sometimes we remember things far better than they really were OR they dont seem to live up to our memory. I make a great tzatziki sauce and we often have grilled chicken souvlaki and greek salads here at home. While food shopping this week, I came back to some memories of youth.  I have alot of amazing memories of my childhood and alot of them food related. Tonite we go home to Astoria or Little Athens and remember my childhood growing up there.

 Being a trained Chef, one of my downfalls as some people see it, is that I do most of my food prep in the mornings. I like being prepared early! So at 9am this morning, I made my Tzatziki Sauce with fresh dill from my garden, prepared the chicken for the grill, prepared the salad all but the feta cheese, made some homemade redwine vinaigrette with fresh oregano from my garden, and sliced the raw onion for the souvlaki.

Chef Michele's Easy Tzatziki

1 small container of greek nonfat plain yogurt

1/3 english cuke – seeded and chopped in food processor

Juice of ¼ lemon

Drizzle of olive oil

1 tbs chopped fresh dill

Salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients and refrigerate for at least an hour before serving. I usually make this in the morning so the ingredients can really marry well. Serve over grilled chicken, pork, or lamb……or use for dipping veggies or toasted pita triangles. YUM!!

Mom ate dinner tonite, and couldnt stop Mmmm'ing! She said the tzatziki was as good as any Greek restaurant. She even asked if I remembered going to the little greek stand at the flea market when we were kids. I sat at the table and said " I should thank you and Daddy. ( my father past away when I was 13 ) She looked at me quizzically and asked why. My response was because I was sooo grateful to be introduced to so many different and ethnic foods as a child. That alot of parents dont do that. Some of my best friends and even some younger generation family members are not exposed to the kinds of foods I was as a kid. I think a part of that may have been from being born and living in the city for alot of my life AND the diversity of my parents and what they introduced us to. Tonite's supper brought me back to my childhood and my college days. I know we werent the norm, people cower when I tell them my birthday meal was Calves liver with bacon and onions, a baked potato and asparagus or wax beans. Thanks Mom for cooking some ODD foods and thanks Dad for asking for them! I love going home again!!

Do it " Once a week"

I have over 100 cookbooks and at least that many issues of different Culinary magazines on the bookcases in my bedroom. The picture to the right is only one bookcase with only some of the cookbooks and none of the magazines. That is not including the binder I have with recipes I have printed out from online searches or from friends. There has to be at least 500 pages in there. Let me not forget the approximately 150 emails saved in a folder of recipes from different food blogs or sites I have yet to print out. Then of course we have the shelf of cookbooks my mother has in the den on her bookcase. That's alot of recipes. I made a vow to my mother that at least once a week I would cook a recipe from one of the many cookbooks. I think we do a pretty good job of doing that. I try to revise most of the recipes to make them either Diabetic friendly which in turn becomes healthier and better for anyone who may be following Weight Watchers in the house. I pretty much plan the menu out for the week, as I am food shopping, although sometimes we just buy things that look good. Especially when it comes to fresh produce. Mom saw some nice looking smaller and thinner Eggplants when we were produce shopping the other day. She bought them and said she would cook them. Ha!! Although she did pull out a Vegetarian cookbook of hers and found the recipe, I revised the recipe and did the cooking.

Eggplant Boats recipe from the Vegetarian and Vegetable Cooking cookbook by Christine Ingram  revised by Chef Michele

Ingredients:
1 cup brown rice
3 small size eggplants halved lengthwise
1 red onion chopped
2 garlic cloves crushed
1 small green pepper chopped * I substituted 1 each mini red/yellow/orange pepper
½ cup sliced mushrooms
3 tbs olive oil
½ cup cheddar cheese grated * I omitted the cheddar cheese
1 egg beaten * I omitted the egg
½ tsp marjoram * I substituted 1 tsp fresh oregano and 1 tsp fresh mint leaves from my garden
Salt and pepper to taste
Cook the rice as directed and let cool. Scoop the flesh out of the from the eggplant and chop. Blanch the shells in boiling water for 2 minutes then drain upside down. Saute the chopped eggplant, onion, garlic, pepper and mushrooms in the oil for 10 minutes. Mix the rice and the eggplant mixture with the cheese, egg and spices. Arrange the eggplant in the shells in an ovenproof dish. Spoon the mixture into the shells. Heat oven to 375 degrees and bake for 25 minutes until the filling is golden brown.

Michele's Morsels goes to market

This is the season, now through October, to get out and find your local farmer's markets. They are in abundance if you know where to look. I am posting a link to a great site called Local Harvest where you can put in your zip code and get the results of a search for farmers markets, farms, restaurants serving local products and even farmer's co-ops.   http://www.localharvest.org/   When you go to the supermarket and pick up a quart of strawberries, do you know how fresh they really are? Unless your store SAYS....LOCALLY Grown, the average food travels 1200 to 2500 miles from pasture/farm to plate. So that lettuce you bought yesterday, was most likely picked several days earlier, sat on a truck that took it from the farm, sat in the crate at the store you are buying it from until the inventory on the produce on the shelf is low, and then put out for you to pick and put in your greenbag to take home. Only then to sit in your refrigerator for a day or two or three. Even when I was cheffing at a catering hall, I always went to the local farm stand to get my produce and some specialty items. Everything was so fresh, sometimes the produce manager had to go get a crate off the truck that was just delivering it from the local farm. To me there is nothing better than fresh produce or homemade products. In addition to eating healthy fresh food, you are also giving back to the community. Shopping local keeps the mom and pop shops up and running. The quality alone is worth the money, but usually the customer service cannot be surpassed. We bought all our fresh herbs and flowers to plant at a local nursery instead of going to Lowe's or Walmart. I dont think the difference in prices was all that noticeable AND honestly, the quality of the plants were fabulous! I have already started harvesting some of my herbs and lettuce. Next year, I may even have my own garden for even more local produce! I will be visiting many local Farmer's Markets in Suffolk County this summer and looking forward to continuing to eat lighter, healthier and most definitely fresher foods. So on a saturday or sunday morning, put the kids ( or the parental units ) in the car, and take a ride to your local farmer's market. I will blog about the markets I find and post recipes and pics using the fresh and local ingredients we purchase! Happy Hunting!

Memorial Day Morsels

I know its been a long time since my last blog. So many things have been going on in my life. I pretty much post all my food pics and recipes on my Michele's Morsels Facebook page. Thats going to change. I think I need to get back to blogging and sharing it on my FB page instead of posting there. Memorial Day weekend is a weekend for Rememberance.  I am remembering my love of all things food. No matter what goes on in my life, the one constant that makes me happy is cooking. Feeding people I love and making people happy with my food. New recipes, old recipes, revised recipes.....it doesnt matter. I love the planning, the prepping, the cooking, the eating and even the cleaning up. I have been recovering from a double hip replacement as most of you know. The first few weeks were difficult as I couldnt cook as I had liked. Although preparing for a few weeks of being disabled, I prepared several meals and froze them pre-op. This way, we were able to pull out some food and basically have my home cooking. Worked out well! I have been getting stronger and stronger although I am still having some major difficulties and some issues, but I am in the kitchen basically every day. I need to take lots of breaks and rests but I am there. It really is what makes me happy. This weekend could have only been better if we could have had some company. I LOVE cooking for other people, whether its a gourmet recipe or something as simple as even tonite's supper of grilled hotdogs, knishes, and baked beans  are, its done with love and passion. I of course made my fabulous NY Dirty Water Dog Onions to top off the Sabrett Hotdogs. I got creative for lunch and made my signature Chicken wings on the grill....threw together some yummy vegetable Summer rolls and a homemade dipping sauce and a leftover garden salad.

Recipe for Chef Michele's NY Dirty Water Dog Onions

3 large onions sliced thin, 1 small can tomato sauce, 1/4 cup ketchup, 1 tsp mustard (spicy brown), 2 tsp worcestshire sauce, 1-3 dash hot sauce to taste ( I added 3 today ), 1 t...sp crushed red pepper, 1 tsp crushed dried oregano. Occasionally I add a tbs of brown sugar splenda blend for a little sweetness....
Cook onions in drizzle of olive oil until translucent and soft. Add remaining ingredients and stir well. Cook until sauce thickens and onions are done. Top this on a hot dog (or whatever you prefer) and  "Forgettaboutit you are in NY! Enjoy!!"

Mashed Potatoes Plus

Tommorow is Easter.....food wise its my favorite holiday. I like alot of different dishes from assorted holidays but for some reason, Easter as a whole is the bomb! The baked Ham, the Sweet Potato and Banana casserole, the Asparagus, my Easter Bread......and the Easter Mashed Potatoes! How can anyone NOT like mashed potatoes with Bacon, onions, and cheese? I spend Easter mornng having breakfast with my mom and her husband. Colored hard boiled eggs, my Easter bread, bacon and some fresh fruit is the usual. Then its off to Ama's ( Aunt Marie Anne's ) to spend the afternoon and enjoy dinner with my 2 aunts, my son, and any family that does not have other plans. This year will be spent with my dad's cousin Carmen and her daughter, my cousin Sharon. Just the six of us.....a nice quiet relaxing dinner.  I am making the mashed potatoes.....regular plain ones for my son. Just milk and butter some salt and pepper.....and then the Easter Mashed Potatoes. Ama has been making these for years and they truly are my favorite. The bowl on the left ( blue ) are the Easter Mashed potatoes and on the right are the plain regular ones for my son Paul.
Easter Mashed Potatoes
Ingredients:

2 1/2 lbs yukon gold potatoes...cooked and mashed

1/2 lb bacon....cooked and small diced

1 cup of grated parmesan cheese

1  large egg beaten
1 large onions ( small diced )
1/2 stick softened unsalted butter
1/4 cup milk
Mix all ingredients. Put into oven proof casserole and bake at 350 degrees until hot and top is light golden brown. Enjoy!
Holidays are all about family and food for me. The memories some of the traditional dishes evoke, the tastes of my childhood, and the twists of my adulthood and culinary career are what makes each gathering a special onel. I love it all. Most of all I love sharing it with the people I love. Happy Easter!

Orange ya glad I said Cake?

Spring is here, and Easter is less than a week away. Wanted to make something new for a little dessert for Easter. Something Light and Springy! I dont watch alot of the Food Network, most people are suprised to hear that about a Chef. I dislike most of the Chefs on the network and only like a few of the shows. I do respect most all of the FN Chefs and how they have branded themselves, but personality wise....not so much. I do like Ina Garten....also known as the Barefoot Contessa. I have gotten several great recipes from her and enjoy her Back to Basics show. I revise most of the recipes to fit my dietary needs but love the basics! So when I found this recipe, I knew I had to make it for Easter. Cant wait to taste it! It doesnt take a Chef to know that when the cake batter is delicious the cake HAS to be awesome. I ate about a cupcakes worth of batter just licking the spatula, bowl and paddle. HA! I threw in 2 cupcakes too, just as tasters. I dont like bringing a dessert somewhere that hasnt been tasted lol I will stick with that reason! sounds good! After the cakes come out of the oven- you make a simple syrup using fresh squeezed OJ and sugar....so the cakes are drizzled with it as it soaks in, the cake just gets denser and sweeter. I will wrap them for the freezer and take them out on saturday nite. Sunday morning I will make the OJ and confectioners sugar glaze, although I am not sure its really needed. The cupcake was delicious as is just with the simple syrup. A great and fairly easy spring and summer dessert...may have to revise the recipe and make it with LEMON for summetime. I am also making my Easter Bread on saturday.....posted that recipe last yr about this time. I taught my neice Cassie in Texas to make them too....she told me she is going to try them this year! Happy Easter! Dont fill up on Chocolate and Jelly Beans....Desserts are comin too!

Orange Pound Cake courtesy of The Barefoot Contessa
Ingredients:
1/2 lb unsalted butter room temp
2 1/2 cups granulated sugar - divided
4 extra large eggs room temp
1/3 cup grated orange zest ( about 6 oranges )
3 cups all purpose flour sifted
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp kosher salt
3/4 cup fresh squeezed orange juice divided
3/4 cup buttermilk room temp
1 tsp vanilla
Glaze:
1 cup confectioners sugar sifted
1 1/2 tbs fresh squeezed orange juice
Directions:
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 2 - 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 x 2 1/2 inch loaf pans. Line bottoms with parchment paper. Cream the butter and 2 cups of the sugar in bowl with electric mixer with paddle attachment for about 5 minutes or until light and fluffy. With mixer on med speed, beat in the eggs, one at a time and then the orange zest. In large bowl sift together flour,baking soda, baking powder and salt. In another bowl combine 1/4 cup of the orange juice, the buttermilk and the vanilla. Add the flour and buttermilk mixtures to the batter alternately, beginning and ending with the flour. Divide the batter evenly between the 2 pans, smooth the tops and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour until the cake tester comes out clean. While the cakes are baking, cook the remaining 1/2 cup of ganulated sugar with 1/2 cup of orange juice in a small saucepan over low heat until sugar dissolves. When the cakes are done, let them cool for 10 minutes in the pan. Take them out of the pans and place on baking rack set over a tray. Spoon the orange syrup over the cakes and allow to cool completely. To glaze, combine the confectioners sugar an orange juice in a bowl, mixing it with a wire whisk until smooth. Add a few more drops of juice, if necessary, to make it pour easily. Pour over the top of cake and allow the glaze to to dry. Wrap well and store in refrigerator.

Grandma's Molasses Cookies in March

This weekend was a NYC ( Queens ) Half Marathon. My brother Scott who lives in Texas came up to run it for the first of 3 half-marathons he will be running this year. He is hoping to raise enough money for World Vision to build a much needed water well. Fortunately for us, he brought my neice Cassie with him to join some of the family at the finish line cheering him on. Those of us who could not make the race, were happy to join the after-race festivities at Ama's. ( our Aunt in Bayside ) Since I only get to see my neice a couple times a year, I thought I would make something special for her. I decided to call her and ask her what she would like most, but to keep it a secret from her father. I named a couple of things I know she and my brother LOVE, but when Molasses cookie came up, she could hardly contain herself. I was told at Christmas time, that it was her most favorite cookie. ( I sent a small container of my Christmas cookies in the package with gifts for the holidays ) Of course with her excitement overwhelming me, I said I would make them. The best batch I have EVER made. For some reason they came out PERFECT. They rose up and fell perfectly making the most beautiful cracks. Tasted as good as they looked. I packed them all up and delivered them to my neice. She was in heaven! I hope some make it back to Texas with her tommorow! So here is my recipe.....Hope you enjoy them as much as Cassie does. ( Ciao Bella Icecream published the recipe on their blog when they heard how well they go with their Tahitian Vanilla Ice Cream )

Grandma's Molasses Cookies by Chef Michele

Ingredients:

8 tbs molasses ( 1/2 cup )

2 eggs

2 cups sugar

1 1/2 cups butter unsalted

2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ginger

1/2 tsp ground cloves

4 cups flour
4 tsp baking soda

Beat butter and sugar til mixed well. Add eggs and molasses. combine. Add all dry ingredients and mix until well combined...do not overmix.

Refrigerate batter until very cold. Roll into small balls....I use a 1 oz icecream scoop.....make a ball and roll into sugar to coat. Put on parchment lined sheet pan and bake 350 degrees  for approximately 10-13 minutes. Take out of oven and let cool on sheet pan for 1 min. Take off and let cool on rack. Store in tin or plastic container or Freeze. I also make the dough ahead and freeze it in half batches for easy access.

The Swedish Chef?

I am slowly getting back into the kitchen.....although I have not prepared anything from scratch....I am still using food that was made and frozen before my surgery. Last night was Swedish Meatballs. My swedish meatballs puts Ikea's to shame and I used to love Ikea's. I found Alton Brown's recipe the best although I have revised the preparation of them. Since I make a double recipe and cook the meatballs to freeze in bags of 50, I prefer it my way. I revised the recipe a tad more since mom is watching what she eats...so I didnt make the sauce with heavy cream as I normally do. It was rich and thick and just as yummy without the fat heavy cream will add. Served over a cup of whole wheat noodles- 8 meatballs ( 4oz ) came to a WW new Point total of 9.

Swedish Meatballs by Alton Brown as revised by Chef Michele Lessard
Ingredients:
2 slices fresh white bread
1/4 cup milk
1 tbs butter
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
A pinch plus 1 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 pound ground chuck
3/4 pound ground pork
2 large egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
For sauce

3 tbs butter

3 tbs flour
2 cups beef broth

Tear up bread and put into bowl. Add milk. Let sit. In saute pan - use 1 tbs butter and add onions to sweat. Add a pinch of salt. Set aside and let cool. In a mixing bowl, add meat, eggs, spices and onions. Mix well. You can use a mixer for this or mix by hand. Add soaked bread. Combine. Using a scale or a 1oz icecream scoop...roll out 1oz meatballs...after cooking they will weigh less. Place on sheet pan lined with parchment and bake in a 350 degree oven for about 20 min. Until nicely browned. Let cool and freeze until ready to use.

To make the sauce- take the 3 tbs of butter and melt in saute pan. Add 3 tbs flour and mix well. This is your roux. Let it cook while consistently stirring or whisking for about 3min. You want to cook the raw flour out. Slowly add the beef stock while whisking and sauce will thicken. Let sauce come to a simmer and add meatballs when you have reached desired consistency. ( you can always take another tbs of flour and butter and make a little dough out of it and add to the sauce to thicken. ) Heat meatballs through and serve over Noodles.

Back to basics

Hello Foodies.....its been a little longer than I had hoped. Recovery is going well although I would like to be further down that road. They tell me my progress is fabulous and I am way ahead of most people. I keep forgetting that having both hips replaced slows down the rehabilitation quite a bit. I am still on limited activity, but have slowly been working my way back to the kitchen. The days Mom isnt working she cooks, and the days she is working its either food that has been made and frozen or something her husband can throw together for the two of them. I have given Mom some basic help in the kitchen even though Mom is a great cook, ....things like what seasonings to use on the tuna steaks,  how to make my coleslaw dressing, and what to make with the protein she has chosen. I am so looking forward to going back to my regular menu planning, shopping and preparation of our meals.......AND baking! It really is funny, how we take for granted the little things in life, like being able to prepare a meal. I am restricted from bending and reaching very low or very high, thus making working in the kitchen difficult. Standing and not being as stable on my own legs is frustrating at times, but I am working hard to get to the point I no longer need a walker, and can do more things on my own. Depending on people is not easy for me to do. So maybe this new found appreciation and gratitude will make my cooking just that much more special.....having to go back to basics and starting over in a sense will only add to the LOVE I put into my cooking!

My last supper.....

Tommorow will be my last supper at home for a week or so. I am calling it my last supper for two reasons. First because I wont be cooking for a few weeks. Being as prepared and organized as I am, I have filled the freezer with some home cooking. I have cooked, packed, labeled and frozen as much as space would allow. We have 4 kinds of soup- Split Pea and Ham, Mushroom Barley, Minestrone base ( chicken, pasta and beans can be added to it ) and Vegetable......We have Turkey Sausage and Peppers, Chicken Divan, Turkey Chili, Grilled chicken, Roasted veggies, and Swedish meatballs. I even froze some homemade brownies and some Davids Cookies Crumbcakes. The second reason for calling tommorows dinner my last supper is because I asked if we could have chinese food before I went into the hospital....thinking one nite last week we could get some. Mom wants me to relax tommorow and not have to cook or worry about dinner so we are getting Take out. So since I am getting what I asked for it seems to be like my last supper before walking that green mile...( in my case getting wheeled on a stretcher )...so to speak. Maybe I will lose a few pounds while enjoying my stay at Stonybrook University Hospital Medical Center.....because even though there is a Starbucks in the main lobby...I doubt I will be hobbling down to get me some. I have packed some Fiber One chocolate caramel pretzel bars just in case I need that little snack. LOL So I am going to enjoy my Superbowl Sunday Last Supper as much as I can......and look forward to coming home and getting back to the kitchen! Remember, Life is full of tasty morsels......

Directions and Dreams

It's been quite a while since I last posted here on my blog. It seems like Facebook has taken priority of my writings. I have a group on FB for Michele's Morsels and usually just post pictures and recipes there. I need to change that. I need to post here on my blog and share it on FB. The start of 2012 has brought some big changes into my life.....I am still slowly losing weight- 30lbs total at this point - slowly but surely......It has been about 21 months of NO Smoking for me  ( YAY ) and I have decided I needed to have my hip replacement surgery. I won't bore you with details of the daily pain and struggles but the pain has exceeded the fear and surgery has been scheduled. I am always the " boy scout " when it comes to preparation of all things in my life. My hospital bag is packed, over 1 dozen dinners have been cooked, frozen and labeled for my return home post op, the house has been cleaned, bills paid, cards written out and stamped for mailing and all furniture moved and prepared for my imminent return.  So of course trying to be the optimist in addition, I have bee thinking about my future. My future as a Chef. I miss cooking for people and getting paid for it. Oh I cook plenty at home, but I want to be OUT of the house doing what I love. I have been thinking about where I can take my Culinary skills and talents and be happy.  I have several ideas and am hoping that during my recovery I can set a plan in action to aquire my dreams and goals. I went to Culinary school at 40, why not change directions at 50? One of my favorite quotes of all time is " Go confidently in the direction of your drams. Live the life you have imagined. " by Henry David Thoreau.......who says we cant change our direction or our dreams at any given time!