Where to get no fuss home-cooked meals

Yesterday, Newsday published a great article about how to prepare dinner simply for your family now that school has started. I'm honored to have been mentioned in this article since I've been doing just that for the last 5 years. It also mentions other businesses on Long Island that help create meals, but it's nice to know that Personal Chefs still have a place here on Long Island.

Here's a link to the article. "Where to Get No Fuss Home-Cooked Meals"

Rice Cooker Review - Zojirushi

For many years I've owned a typical on/off rice cooker that had an aluminum bowl, glass lid and a switch which was on or off. It is fairly big, you can make 20 servings of rice. Almost too big for the average 4 person family. So, I used it anyway, and the results were always less than perfect. The steam would escape from the glass lid, so I had to pack the lid down with wet paper towels around the edge. It would make such a mess spitting the sticky liquid out of the lid, that I had to be sure to put it on the counter where I wouldn't care what mess it made. It also would leave a huge amount of rice burned at the bottom. Just didn't care for the inferior quality of this cheap rice cooker. But for keeping things warm, it works great.

I love rice! But I hate cooking it on the stove top where it inevitably boils over and makes a huge mess on my glass cooktop if I'm busy with other parts of the meal. So I then experimented with making rice in a corning ware bowl in the microwave. Okay, a bit better results, but still a mess at the bottom of the microwave turntable and the dish itself was gluey on the outside. Not so pretty to serve up your rice this way.

So, recently, I got all excited about a new wave of rice cookers that just hit the markets. I just had to have one! I purchased a Zojirushi Induction Heating System Rice Cooker and Warmer. It's the smaller one that makes up to 5.5 cups. Just perfect for my family of 3. It has built in computer logic that knows just what to do depending on the type of rice you are cooking. I bought the Zojirushi over the other asian brands as they have the most U.S. support and all the controls are in English.

My first batch of brown sweet rice was awesome. Tender to the tooth (al dente as we say in Italian) and so amazingly perfect. The next batch of sushi rice, was even more amazing. Perfectly separate, but still slightly sticky grains. Again perfectly cooked. Not too hard or soft. Then I experimented with steel cut oats. Love these for breakfast, but again, hate having to watch over the pot on the stove. Amazing! The oats were again, perfectly cooked with a nice pleasing texture. Today I will make a batch of brown rice with the GABA BROWN feature. It actually activates brown rice for increased nutritional values. Takes a bit longer to cook, over 2 hours, but if you set it and forget it until dinner, it will be ready just in time. There are also timer features that you can set so your rice or grains are ready when you are.

I have to say that I didn't think spending over $200 for a rice cooker would be worth it...but if you love rice and grains as much as I do, you'll love this rice cooker. No muss, no fuss, and perfectly cooked rice every time!

Here's the link for the exact model I purchased.

Chef Lia Soscia's Brasciole Recipe

Thanks for the opportunity to share a recipe with you!

Growing up with my grandparent's was an amazing culinary adventure. My grandfather was from Sicily and emigrated here back in the 1920's. He became one of the leading sales reps in the NY City area for Progresso Foods when these products were first being imported from Italy. Because he and my father were food brokers, I had access an amazing pantry in the basement of high quality Italian ingredients. Many weekends were spent, not playing outside with friends, but in the kitchen developing creative meals for the family. This long-term love for cooking encouraged me to start my own personal chef service 4 years ago here on Long Island. Since I cook for clients and need to make many meals at one service, I've developed ways in which to incorporate my pressure cooker to handle long cooking tasks. This recipe for brasciole are done in a much shorter amount of time, but are really tender as if they were braised for hours. The sauce is also delightful with your favorite pasta.


Lia's Brasciole

Serves 4

4 Each Thin Sliced Beef, top round sliced thin for brasciole
1/2 Cup Bread Crumbs
2 Cloves Garlic, minced
1/2 Medium Onion, minced
1/4 Cup Flat Leaf Parsley, minced
1/4 Cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
2 Tablespoons Pine Nut (pignolia)
3 Tablespoons Raisins
1 Each Egg White
Salt and Pepper, to taste
4 Slices Prosciutto
1/4 Cup Flour
2 Tablespoons Butter
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 Can (28 Oz) Crushed Tomatoes
1/4 Cup Red Wine
1 Tablespoon Italian Seasoning
Pressure Cooker
Kitchen twine

1. Process garlic, onion, and parsley until finely minced in a chopper or food processor. Blend this mixture with the bread crumbs, cheese, salt, pepper, pine nuts,raisins and egg white.

2. Lay a slice of prosciutto over a piece of brasciole meat. Place the stuffing on top of the prosciutto. Roll and tie with twine to secure. Dredge the rolls lightly in flour and set aside.

3. Heat the pressure cooker and add the butter and olive oil. Brown the brasciole rolls on all sides. You may have to do this in batches to fit in the cooker. When finished browning, remove meat and add the wine to deglaze pan. Add the crushed tomatoes and the italian seasoning. Add the rolls back to pressure cooker (it is okay to stack them on top of eachother) and bring the sauce to a boil. Close the lid and cook the rolls for 20 minutes, (you may need to vary the time depending upon your pressure cooker, and the number and thickness of the rolls). Release the pressure naturally. If the rolls are not tender enough (test with a fork), you can continue to simmer them in the sauce until desired doneness or recover the pressure cooker and cook for an additional 10 minutes, and check again. Taste the sauce and season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Long Island Chef, Lia Soscia, CPC Wins Recipe Of The Year Award At National Convention

Chef Lia Soscia, Certified Personal Chef with the United States Personal Chef Association (USPCA) has taken top honors for Recipe Of The Year during the 2009 USPCA national convention in New Orleans, LA.

Chef Soscia's winning recipe was a Brasciole (pronounced bra'zhul) dish that she created for her Personal Chef Service clients. "I am always searching for recipes that work for me for my clients. Often times I find that the best recipes are a blend of two or more proven dishes that compliment each other" Chef Soscia stated.

Chef Lia Soscia is owner/operator of Home Cooking Consultant, a Personal Chef Service operating in Long Island, NY since 2004. Chef Soscia is a graduate of the Culinary Business Academy which provides specialized business development training for culinary talented individuals.

Judges for this annual competition consisted of professional members within the USPCA. Chef Donna Mintz of Basil And Barbells PCS in New York stated "My vote is for Lia's Brasciole. I saw this recipe, tried it and OMG! It was amazing and although the ingredient list is extensive, the recipe is not very difficult". "This recipe is one I would and could use for clients. It freezes well, is written for pressure cooker - not my thing, but easily adapts to stovetop or oven" stated USPCA Certified Personal Chef Barbara Converse, owner of Dining By Design PCS in Boca Raton, FL.

Several hundred personal chefs from throughout the United States and Canada converged on New Orleans this July to participate in educational workshops, business seminars and to hear from industry experts on a wide variety of subjects of importance to independent culinary business operators. "The annual convention is primarily a business building and educational event designed to help independent personal chefs strengthen their business and expand their service" stated USPCA President Chef Gail Kenagy. She continued, "Each year we are faced with a huge stack of recipe entries. Judges spend countless hours reviewing and qualifying recipes. This decision is not easy. USPCA members are a creative bunch and always amaze me with their unique talents".

Slow Summer Cooking During a Heat Wave

I envy those of you with central air conditioning, especially on a day like today where it's really hot and humid outside and the kitchen gets all hot and sticky inside without that constant cool breeze. I'm working on a recipe test today for a slow cooker brisket. Perfect, I might add, for a hot day since the slow cooker doesn't generate a lot of heat for the kitchen.

The recipe is a sweet and sour version with lots of carrots, onions, celery and a red wine, brown sugar, and spice sauce. Can't wait to eat tonight! It may seem out of place for a summer meal, however, my grandmother used to always tell me that if you ate something hot when it is hot outside, you feel a bit cooler. I remember that feeling as well after dipping into her vegetable soup. So we'll see how cool I feel tonight...and I'm not crazy, I have the air conditioner running!

We're now listed on FoodBlogroll.com

I'm proud to announce that this blog has just been added to foodieblogroll.com. This website compiles an amazing collection of blogs about food. It's an honor to be among them!

When "Pasta" is just not pasta

For many years now, I've tried to find suitable substitutes for real Italian pasta. Not because I personally wanted to eat it, but because the ever increasing population of diabetics and those who are looking to reduce the "white" products (i.e. flour, sugar, white rice, bread, etc) from their diets. I truly don't mind being a guinea pig to try new products since I like to have personal knowledge of the product before I go and feed it to clients or friends and family.

I thought I would share my findings thus far:

Whole Wheat Pasta - any brand. I can't eat it with marinara sauce. I can barely eat it right after it's cooked. It's too "gummy" for my taste. I really love my pasta "al dente" which is practically impossible to do with whole wheat pasta products. However, I do find that if you use whole grain pasta in a baked pasta dish or even a liquidy cold salad, it stands up nicely.

Dreamfield's - this pasta product has more protein and less carbs than traditional pasta products. And, it cooks up almost like the real thing. This pasta can be served with red sauce or any other favorite pasta sauce and there is no noticeable conflict in taste as there is with whole wheat pastas. I am a big fan of this product that is sometimes hard to find in all the different shapes. They only make a few kinds.

Barilla Plus - this pasta is up there with Dreamfield's as far as having more protein (from bean flour) and that it cooks almost like the real thing. So when you can't find one, you can substitute the other.

Food for Life Ezekial 4:9 Whole Grain Pasta Penne - this IS NOT PASTA. It's really dense, gummy, and chewy. The taste is so strong you can't drown it out with any type of sauce. I ate it because it's "good for me"...but it was not pleasant. I don't recommend this product at all. However, I absolutely LOVE Ezekial bread, toasted with nut butter and homemade strawberry jam. I suppose if you could toast the pasta, it might taste better?!

Rice noodles - no particular brand. Only a good, in my opinion, for asian dishes. Rice "pasta" is very hard to keep "al dente" and have it taste good.

So this is where I am so far. If you know of another product brand I should try, please comment on this post. I will keep posting the results as they come in.

Father's Day Grilling

Nothing pleases me more than when Father's Day roles around. Okay, partly because that week is my birthday, but the other reason is the excuse of finally getting outside to have a grill-fest. The sun is finally shining more, the evenings are longer, and the air is laced with delicious grilled aromas.

Several years ago I developed a peach grilling sauce which I'd like to share with you. I hope you come to like it as much as my family does. Happy Father's Day! I wish you the best bbq ever!

Chef Lia's Peach Grilling Sauce

The luscious blend of peaches, red peppers and ginger seasoned with brown sugar and spices creates a deliciously sweet and spicy barbeque sauce that can be used over a variety of meats and seafood. We developed this recipe in the field, under real camping conditions, and something about grilling out in the woods made us fall in love with this sauce.

1/2 cup green onions, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon butter
2 pounds fresh peaches, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
3/4 cup peach preserves
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, optional
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1. Heat a large skillet over medium high heat and add the butter until just melted. Cook the onions and garlic in the butter until just tender. Remove from the heat and set aside.

2. Wash the fresh peaches. Peel and pit the peaches and chop into small pieces. Place peaches in a food processor or blender and process until the peaches are very finely chopped. Transfer the chopped peaches to a large saucepan.

3. [Chef's Note: To easily peel peaches, cut a small "X" in the bottom blossom end of the peach. Place in boiling water for about 30 to 60 seconds until the skin starts to wrinkle. Immediately remove peaches from boiling water and place in a bowl filled with ice water to cool. The peels will come off easily.]

4. Place the onion mixture in the food processor and process until finely chopped. Add to the peach mixture. Mix in the remaining 10 ingredients (brown sugar through onion powder) and mix thoroughly. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer uncovered on low heat for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until the sauce thickens a bit.

5. Remove from the heat and cool. Place in a covered container and refrigerate for up to one week or store in the freezer for up to 2 months.

6. Brush peach sauce over your favorite meats during the last 15 minutes of grilling Be careful not to use too much, or to put it on too early, as the sugars may burn. Pour additional sauce on top after grilling for even more flavor.