New Blog Location

Hi All,

Just an FYI...I've moved my blog to ChefLia.com/blog

Great Lesson Week!

Recently I've been having an amazing time with my cooking students. They are so enthusiastic and love to be in the kitchen as much as I do. Not only do I love being in the kitchen, but I really love playing with food and recipes that I don't get to make very often for myself. This week was a great week of fun and adventure in the kitchen.

Just to whet your appetite, some of the dishes were Homemade Gnocchi with Wild Mushroom Ragu, Blueberry Tart, Butternut Squash and Apple Soup, Clams with an Herb Butter Sauce and many more, but these were a few of the highlights.

I thank all my students for welcoming me into their wondeful kitchens and for allowing me to have fun doing my job!

Gluten Free Recipe Resources and Info

Many times I'm asked to cook for people with Celiac disease or teach cooking classes for those wishing to cook gluten free. There are abundant resources and products on the market today that can make gluten=free living much easier than it was 10 years ago.

One of my go to cookbooks is "1,000 Gluten-Free Recipes" by Carol Fenster, published by Wiley. It's like getting 5 cookbooks in 1! It has 172 Breakfast Dishes, Muffins, and Breads 75 Sandwiches, Salads, and Soups 106 Pasta, Grain, Bean, and Vegetable Dishes 205 Main Courses 377 Cookies, Cakes, Pies, and Other Desserts And Much More! For the best all-purpose gluten-free cookbook, look no further. Inside, you'll find delicious gluten-free versions of foods you crave-including muffins, breads, pizzas, pastas, casseroles, cookies, bars, cakes, and pies. You'll also discover hundreds of recipes for all-American favorites, flavorful international dishes, and sophisticated special-occasion fare. It's everything you need to serve satisfying gluten-free meals 365 days a year!

You can purchase this book online at Wiley's site.

Other resources that are available are magazines such as "Living Without" and a great website called Glutenfreeda.com. I also am very happy with the gluten-free products from Bob's Redmill.

These resources have truly aided me in cooking for clients and friends with Celiac disease. I hope that they will help you too. I've learned that gluten-free doesn't necessarily mean you can't enjoy some of the foods you've loved to eat. With the suggested modifications and great recipes you'll be enjoying many delicious dishes and desserts. Your family and friends will enjoy the food as well so you don't have to make separate meals.

Quick Fish Bites Easy My Meal Prep Time

Recently I decided it was time to incorporate more fish into my diet. This is somewhat of a challenge since my family doesn't like real fish dishes. Oh, yes, they love their sushi...but I'm talking about baked, broiled or grilled fish dishes with fresh salsas, spice rubs or other delicious toppings.

Funny thing is I cook these dishes all the time for my clients. But for me to make my own dinner then cook something else for the family. Well, it's just inconvenient. So I came up with a better solution, at least until I can make them converts! I am going to eat my fish when they aren't around, ha!

So today, I opened a can of Wild Smoke Sardines that I was harboring in my cupboard for a few weeks. Sardines are not at all fishy. They are extremely savory and add a depth of flavor you would have to taste to know. We used to have them out a family meals when I was a kid. I don't remember liking them then, though...kinda weird looking right?

Well, back to my quick bite...In the fridge, I also had a few slices of smoked salmon left. I grabbed a box of Triscuits, some lite cream cheese, capers, a sliced tomato and "wala!"... I had myself a delicious lite lunch! I even drank some pomegranate green tea and had a few spoonfuls of hummus on some of the crackers. These little cracker meals are perfect for me. Left plenty of room for me to snack on some fruit later.

It's amazing how these little cans of already cooked fish can easily meld into my diet changes. I'm really looking into trying other already cooked fish dishes. They will most easily help me to start my quest into quick fish bites.

Here's a recipe for a pasta dish I found at: planetgreen.com Sounds yummy. Can't wait to give it a try. But I'll sub whole grain pasta..just to go with the diet rules!

Pasta with Italian Parsley and Smoked Sardines

Serves 4

4 tbsp olive oil

1/2 cup yellow or red onion, minced finely

3 cloves garlic, crushed

Salt and Pepper

Zest of 1 lemon

1 lb dried penne pasta

2 4 ¼ oz cans of imported smoked sardines packed in olive oil (try Portuguese or Spanish sardines which are frequently a product of Morocco)

2 cups of flat leaf Italian parsley

1/2 cup dry white wine

1/2 cup chicken or veggie stock

1/3 cup pasta water (see below)

1 tbsp capers

Juice of 1 lemon

Pecorino-Romano or Parmesan cheese for garnish

Method

1. Fill a large pot with water and turn to a rolling boil. Add a good handful of salt. In Italy they say you want your pasta water to taste "like the sea."

2. While that's heating up, start prepping all your veggies and get them ready to cook if you haven't already.

3. Heat up a pan and add 2 tbsp olive oil. When the pan is hot add your garlic and onion. Add a good pinch of salt and a couple cracks off a pepper grinder and stir. Sweat and caramelize the onions a bit so that there is only a hint of browning. Add the lemon zest to the onions.

4. While the onions are going, add your pasta to the boiling water. The pasta will probably need about 7 minutes before it's al dente and ready to be drained (reserve 1/3 cup of the pasta water).

5. Carefully open the tins of fish, drain the oil out and discard it. Add the pieces of fish, if they're large feel free to break them up with a spoon (by the time this dish is done they'll be broken up into flakey, bite-sized pieces).

6. Add the parsley and stir in to incorporate. The pan will spit and crackle a bit.

7. Add the white wine and let it reduce a lot. There should only be a small amount of liquid remaining.

8. Add your stock and reduce a bit further. Then add the pasta water and turn the heat down to a simmer for another minute.

9. Add all of your drained pasta to the sauce (you may need to transfer all of this into a big bowl or the pot you cooked the pasta in). Add capers and the juice of a lemon. Season liberally with pepper and 2 tbsp of good extra virgin olive oil.

10. Plate it up and sprinkle with a nice finishing sea salt, a few shavings of Pecorino-Romano or Parmesan cheese, and maybe even an extra squeeze of lemon.

Italian Regina Cookies

For many years I've been trying to replicate those delicious little crunchy sesame-coated biscuit cookies only found in Italian bakeries. I happen to love biscotti cookies the best. So these Regina cookies are a great add-on to my collection of crunchy cookies that go great with a cup of tea or coffee.

Well, finally I happened upon a recipe posted on the Minneapolis Food Examiner. With a bit of tweaking here and there, I now have a delicious copy of the bakery originals. I hope you enjoy them too!

Sesame Regina Cookies

8 tablespoons unsalted butter softened

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 egg yolks

1/2 teaspoons vanilla

1/2 cup milk

zest of 1 small orange or 1 lemon

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 cup sesame seeds

1/4 cup milk for brushing

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Place parchment paper on two baking sheets.

In a medium bowl combine the flour and baking powder. In a large mixing bowl (can use hand-held or stand mixer) beat the butter and sugar together. In separate additions, beat in the egg yolks, vanilla, zest and milk. Slowly add the flour mixture. Beat until the flour is added and the mixture combines into a ball. (It should cling to the beaters.) Cover and refrigerate for one hour or up to a day. (You may also make this ahead and freeze up to a week.)

Remove dough from the refrigerator and divide into four equal parts. Shape each piece into a ball. Keep other balls of dough in fridge while you work with the first ball. Divide each ball into four smaller balls (about 2 inches each). Roll ball in palm to make about an eight inch rope. With a knife, cut each rope into 2 inch pieces. Brush with milk and roll in sesame seeds. Place 1-2 inches apart on baking sheet.

Bake for twenty minutes until the cookies just start to brown. Bake each sheet separately - it allows for more uniform cooking. You may bake up to 25 minutes if you prefer your cookies browned. Cool on a rack.

Store in an airtight container. They last a good two weeks. But I bet you won't have them that long!

Feta Cheese - Why are so many brands different?

Yesterday I was perusing my fridge deciding what to make for dinner. I recently acquired a greek cookbook that is overwhelming huge, but has great recipes - "Vefa's Kitchen". Leafing through I realized I still had some leftover phyllo from a cookdate with another chef friend. That day we made a pie out of butternut, squash, bacon and kale. It was delicious. So I was thinking why not make Spanakopita. I try to get a piece every time we eat Greek. But it's probably just as easy to make at home. After a visit to Trader Joe's, my daughter and I were ready to begin our quest for the perfect spinach pie.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Take a 16 ounce bag of frozen spinach. Cook for about 5 minutes and drain well. Add to it, 1 cup chopped scallions, 1/2 cup chopped fresh dill, 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley, 3 tablespoons melted clarified butter, 1 container (16 ounces) of feta cheese, crumbled, 2 eggs, salt and pepper, to taste. Mix well.

Take an 8 x 8" baking pan (we used a glass pyrex one) and spray with cooking spray. Lay 6 - 8 pieces of phyllo at the bottom. Make sure to brush each layer lightly with olive oil. Add the spinach mixture and then place 6 - 8 layers of phyllo on top. Again, brush each layer lightly with olive oil. Fold in the edges all around, and then spritz with a bit of water (not too much). This will help the crust crisp up nicely.

Bake for 35 - 40 minutes. Watch carefully as the dough can brown too much. Cool for 10 -15 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

Our pie was truly delicious and there is not one piece left today. Even the leftovers were great.

So, I pondered the varying tastes of feta depending upon the manufacturer. The Trader Joe's feta was delicious. Creamy, with a mild tart taste. It was so delicious I don't think I'll ever be able to buy a supermarket brand again. It did say it was imported from Greece...and it was in a brine. I'm drooling just thinking about how awful it is that we used all of it for the pie. Well, I guess I'll have to make another trip to TJ's. I am thinking of a nice Greek Salad with Kalamata Olives at the end of the week!

Lentils and Rice with Indian Spices

Today was a dreary, snowy day. I took it upon myself to clean out the pantry that has been calling to me for months. Being an avid cook and personal chef, I tend to accumulate a vast array of ingredients. So today's find was a variety of rice mixtures, grains and lots of lentils; red, green, yellow. I was salivating just thinking about what I could do for a nice warm lunch.

So I rewarded myself after cleaning out the pantry with a nice mix of wild rice pilaf, cooked green and red lentils with dal curry spices, sauteed onions in butter and a bit of garlic paste and tomato paste. Nothing to it really. Just simmer the lentils for about 30 minutes in boiling water until soft. I threw a bay leaf in as well. Next I set my rice cooker to the task of steaming the wild rice mixture in chicken stock.

Next, I chopped a large onion, sauteed it in ghee (that's clarified butter found in Indian food stores) and added the garlic and a few tablespoons of tomato paste.

I mixed 2 cups lentils with 2 cups rice and the onion mixture. I like a lot of spice, so I added extra curry powder and garam masala to taste with a bit of salt. Since it looked really bland, I also added a 1/2 cup of frozen peas and topped it off with chopped scallion greens and a dollop of Major Grey's Mango Chutney for extra pizzaz.

Well, all I can say is that I LOVE cleaning out the pantry some days!