Macy’s Culinary Council Cooking Demonstration with Chef Michelle Bernstein

Posted by FoodieMel in Food Events and tagged with chef michy, cooking demo, crumb on parchment, macys, macys cooking demo, macys culinary council, michelle bernstein, michys May 15, 2013

On Thursday, May 23, 2013 I’ll be at the Macy’s at Aventura Mall to watch local chef and Miami native, Michelle Bernstein, prepare some of her favorite American dishes on behalf of the Macy’s Culinary Council and I would love for you to join me! The Macy’s Culinary Council is made up of expert chefs such as Mrs. Bernstein, Cat Cora, Todd English, Wolfgang Puck, and the like. These chefs provide culinary advice and do in-store cooking demos to teach customers how to bring a little gourmet flair to their dining tables.

Michelle Bernstein, who, by the way, is a James Beard Award winning chef, is a well-respected and successful restaurateur here in South Florida. She has two fabulous restaurants in Miami–her cozy cafe Crumb on Parchment and her restaurant Michy’s. She has appeared on Iron Chef (where she slayed Bobby Flay) and also spearheads the Miami chapter of the program Common Threads which aims to educate young children on the importance of balanced, nutritious meals. Ummm, pretty much this woman rocks!

In addition to the cooking demo, if you spend $40 or more in the home department you will receive a $10 Macy’s gift card and a signed copy of Michelle’s cookbook, Cuisine a Latina. Such a deal!

This is all taking place at 7pm on Thursday, May 23. The cooking demo will take place at the Macy’s Aventura Home Store in their culinary kitchen at 19535 Biscayne Blvd, Miami, FL 33180

Reserve your spot for this free event: http://www.MichelleBernsteinMacysAventura.eventbrite.com

Everywhere provided me with compensation for this post about Macy’s Culinary Council. However, all thoughts and opinions expressed herein are my own.

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Nutella Swirl Pound Cake

Posted by FoodieMel in Food Events, Recipes and tagged with baking, food blogger bake sale miami, miami bake sale, no kid hungry bake sale, nutella, nutella pound cake, nutella pound cake recipe, nutella swirl pound cake, pound cake, pound cake recipe May 8, 2013

I very rarely, actually never, post dessert recipes. I’m not a huge dessert person and would much rather nosh on some french fries than devour a pie. However, I made this recipe for the Miami Food Blogger Bake Sale and it was huuuuuge hit so I thought I would share it with you. This recipe requires a hand mixer which I had to go out and buy (shows you how much I bake) but it was really quite simple and only required about 20 minutes of active cook time. I got this recipe from Food & Wine and they did not let me down!

I must admit that I need to work on the “swirl” part of the title because I was worried about it being too “swirly” so I don’t think I swirled the batter enough before putting in the oven so most of the Nutella ended up towards the bottom of the cake. In any case, it still tasted great and was a big seller at the bake sale. Speaking of the bake sale, there is still time to donate online. All the money goes to help the charity No Kid Hungry. We still haven’t reached our team goal and any amount helps tremendously! Seriously! Also, it’s my 30th (!!) birthday on Friday, May 10 so think of your donation as a birthday gift!

Here’s what you need:

a hand mixer (you can do it without, but you might die…for real)

4 large eggs, at room temp

1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour

2 tsp of vanilla extract

1/4 tsp of salt

3/4 tsp of baking powder

2 sticks of butter, unsalted, softened

1 jar of Nutella (13 0z)

1 1/4 cups of sugar

9 by 5 inch loaf pan (I used an 8 by 4 and it was fine)

Here’s what you do:

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. In a measuring cup add the eggs and vanilla extract and beat lightly. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt and mix with a whisk until all combined well.

In a large bowl, beat the two sticks of butter on low speed with the sugar until light, fluffy, and smooth. Once mixed thoroughly gradually add the egg mixture and beat until smooth.

In three batches add the flour mixture and beat until fully incorporated. Once all the flour has been added, beat for an additional 30 seconds. The batter should be creamy, smooth, and velvety.

Grease and lightly dust your loaf pan. Then pour one third of the batter into the pan. Then spread half of the Nutella on top. This is the trickiest part. I used a spoon and knife to work the Nutella evenly over the batter. Do your best. Then do another layer of batter. Then another layer of Nutella. And now finish with another layer of batter.

With a butter knife, lightly swirl the Nutella into the batter. Good luck with this!

Bake for about an hour and 15 minutes. Insert a toothpick into the center and if it comes out clean, it should be done. Let cool for 15 minutes in the pan. Then remove from the pan upside down and place right side up on a cooling rack.

Don’t slice for at least 2 hours!!! You’ll have a gooey Nutella mess if you try to slice it while it’s hot!

You can serve this with ice cream if you desire. Coffee or vanilla would be great!

Basic roasted chicken and potatoes

Posted by FoodieMel in Recipes and tagged with baked chicken, chicken, crispy roast chicken, honey gold potatoes, roast chicken, roast chicken and potatoes, roast potatoes, roasted chicken, roasted whole chicken, rosemary, thyme, whole chicken April 25, 2013

This dish is one that every cook should have in their repertoire. It’s easy, feeds 3-4 people, and best of all it’s really cheap to make! The other great thing about roast chicken is that you can stuff it with whatever you have on hand!Yes! Depending on what you decide to stuff the chicken with it can change the flavor of the meat drastically and it’s like having a whole new recipe every time. Also, you can use leftovers to make chicken salad!

The crispy salty skin of the chicken goes great with the juicy meat. The potatoes, which are cooked along with the chicken, soak up the drippings and man, oh man, it’s just a little piece of heaven on your plate!

This dish is sure to impress any guest!

Here’s what you need:

1 whole chicken, rinsed and patted dry, innards removed

1/2 lemon

1 small onion, cut in half

fresh herbs–I used thyme and rosemary

2 cloves of peeled garlic, whole

3 pounds of honey gold potatoes, cut into quarters

evoo/coarse kosher salt/pepper

Here’s what you do:

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Take your rinsed and patted dry chicken and place in a roasting pan. I don’t have a roasting rack so I just laid it in the pan. This works just fine. If you have a roasting rack then use it if you desire.

Liberally salt the inside of the bird and stuff with the onion, lemon, garlic, and herbs. Rub olive oil all over the outside of the bird and salt and pepper liberally.

Now pop it in the oven! I had a 4.5 lb. bird which took about an hour and 15 minutes to roast. About 45 minutes in, place your potatoes around the bird, throw in a few sprigs of rosemary and place back in the oven.

Roast until potatoes are soft and the meat on the thickest part of the chicken thigh (don’t touch the bone) has an internal temperature of 180 degrees.

That’s it!! So easy!

Happy cooking!

–Melissa

2013 Miami Bake Sale for No Kid Hungry

Posted by FoodieMel in Food Events and tagged with bake sale, charity, charity bake sale, child hunger, food blogger bake sale, miami bake sale, miami food blogger bake sale, miami food bloggers, no kid hungry, no kid hungry bake sale, share our strength bake sale, tropical park April 20, 2013

Well, I’ve gone and signed myself up for another baking event! Oy vey! If you read my post on the Food Blogger’s Cookie Swap you know that baking is not my forte and my organizational skills need to be worked on a bit buuuuuut I love helping out a good cause so I decided to join the team!

The bake sale is an organized, national event where teams are formed to raise money for the non-profit organization No Kid Hungry. This organization campaigns to end child hunger in the United States and provides food and meals to children. This is important, folks!! We are talking about food here–something that we all take for granted and most of us probably don’t think twice about not having!

This is the fourth year that the bake sale is happening in Miami but this will be the first for me. I have joined other Miami food bloggers and we are baking up a storm for charity!! You know that our treats will be good! As a teacher and food blogger I feel compelled to do all that I can to help this organization and I would really appreciate your help!

Here are some scary statistics:

More than 16 million in America live in households that struggle to put food on the table. That’s 1 in 5 kids!!
Only 1 in 7 kids who receive free or reduced lunch during the school year receive summer meals.
Nearly half of all the people who use the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP or food stamps) are kids.

So what can you do to help??

The easiest way is to make a donation. You can do that by clicking here. If you’re in the South Florida area then mosey on over to our bake sale which will take place on May 4, 2013 at Tropical Park as part of the Southwest Community Farmer’s Market.

There is also an amazing raffle happening and you can enter by donating online or by purchasing tickets at the bake sale ($5 each or 3 for $10) . If you’re donating online and want to participate in the raffle, simply enter “raffle” at the end of your name in the Recognition Box. Some of the prizes include:

• Cooking class for two at Williams-Sonoma South Beach

• $100 gift certificate to Chef Adrianne’s Vineyard Restaurant & Wine Bar.

• Lunch for two (valued at up to $100) at EDGE Steak & Bar.

• Wokstar Eleanor Hoh is donating a Gift certificate for two people to attend one of Wokstar Eleanor Hoh’s cooking classes.

• $50 gift certificate to 660 Restaurant at the Angler’s Resort.

• $50 gift certificate to Blue Collar Restaurant.

• $25 gift certificates to CRAVE Restaurant.

• $50 gift certificate to Lee & Marie’s Cakery.

• $25 gift certificates to Sweetness Bakeshop & Café.

• $50 gift certificate to OTC.

• $25 gift certificate to Spice Galore.

• $50 gift certificate to Haven Gastro-Lounge.

Any donation amount helps!! Seriously!

$1 can help provide a hungry child with 10 healthy meals.
$46 can help connect a child to meals all year-long.

Please consider making a donation–no amount is too small!! Thanks!

–Melissa

Spaghetti alle vongole (spaghetti with clams)

Posted by FoodieMel in Recipes and tagged with clams, easy recipe, how to clean clams, Italian recipe, pasta with clams, spaghetti alle vongole, spaghetti with clams, summer recipe, vongole April 18, 2013

This is one of my favorite pasta dishes. It’s only got a few ingredients but it packs a lot of flavor (if done correctly) and is great for summer entertaining. I think some people might be intimidated about buying clams and cooking them, especially if it’s your first time, but it’s really quite easy and if you follow a few steps you can ensure that you have a grit free, tasty pasta!

I used middleneck clams because that’s the only ones they sold at Fresh Market, but littleneck clams work too. The main thing to look for when you buy clams is that they are closed. If they are slightly open but close quickly when you tap them then they are still alive and they’re good to go! If they are open and don’t shut, discard them. When you buy the clams, your fish monger should check this for you. Also, check to make sure you don’t have any cracked or chipped clams.

About 20-30 minutes before you decide to make dinner, soak your clams in some cool, fresh water. The clams will naturally filter out any sand or grit inside. After soaking, scrub the outside as well. If you notice a particularly large amount of sand at the bottom of your bowl you can repeat this process more than once.

I like to also use a can of chopped clams in addition to the fresh clams because I like to taste clam in every bite! That’s the point, isn’t it?

Here’s what you need:

about 7 clams per person, soaked and scrubbed

spaghetti or linguine (about 1/2 box for 2 people)

4 cloves of garlic, chopped

crushed red pepper

a handful of flat leaf parsley, chopped

about 3/4 cup of dry white wine, a pinot grigio is good

1 can of chopped clams, drain about half of the clam juice

salt/pepper/evoo

Here’s what you do:

Soak the clams before you start. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook your pasta al dente

While your pasta is cooking, in a large saucepan heat up the olive oil and crushed red pepper over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for a few minutes. Add the clams (canned and fresh) and the white wine and cover.

The clams should take about 5-7 minutes to open. Stir them around in the sauce so that the clams take on the flavor of the sauce.

Taste the sauce and add a bit of salt if needed. Once the clams have opened fully remove them and set aside. If you have too much liquid at this point, keep cooking the liquid down a bit. It’s ok to have a decent amount of liquid. Your pasta will soak it up!

With a pair of tongs, place the pasta in the pan with the sauce and mix over low heat. Add the chopped parsley and some pepper and fresh olive oil.

In a serving bowl combine clams and pasta and mix thoroughly. Garnish with some parsley.

Happy cooking!

–Melissa

Baked Rigatoni with an asparagus cream sauce

Posted by FoodieMel in Recipes and tagged with Asparagus, asparagus cream sauce, baked pasta, Italian recipe, pasta, pasta al forno, rigatoni, vegetarian April 3, 2013

My spring break is over and school (well, work for me) started up again yesterday. I’m think I’m okay with that because that just means that we are getting closer to summer vacation and let’s not kid ourselves here–that’s the main perk of being a teacher! I’m back to going to sleep early, getting into a routine, and longing for the weekends. It’s okay though because I also have some lovely recipes to get me through the week as well! And now so will you!

You have to love asparagus for this one. For the most part, this recipe is relatively low-fat, I used a very small amount of cream. Actually after I pureed it there really was no need for the cream, but, eh, why not?? Also, I think that if you don’t use a bit of cream it will dry up when you bake it. But if you’re a vegan or are trying to keep this extremely low-fat then just skip it.

If you’re short on time, then skip the baking part. I was so hungry that I contemplated doing this, but I stayed the course and the reward was worth it–a crispy and chewy browned parmesan layer on the top with a warm, creamy asparagus sauce underneath. Perfection.

Here’s what you need:

1 box of rigatoni

1 bunch of thin asparagus, cut the tips off and set aside and cut off the bottom 2 inches of the stalks, then cut into small 1 inch pieces

3 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 small onion, chopped (I wanted to use shallots but my grocery store was out of them, try them if you have them)

lemon zest, to taste

1/2 cup of chicken broth

evoo/salt/pepper/grated nutmeg (optional)

Here’s what you do:

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

Cook your pasta in salted water until al dente.

While you’re waiting for the water to boil for your pasta, boil your asparagus stalks, not the tips. Cook for about 5 minutes. Don’t toss the water when they’re done. Just fish them out with a slotted spoon.

While that’s going, in a medium sauce pan saute your onions in a bit of evoo. After a few minutes, add the garlic. Then add your chicken broth and the asparagus stalks that you just boiled. Season with salt and pepper.

Cook down the broth a bit and make sure the asparagus are tender.

In the small pot, toss in the asparagus tips and cook for a few minutes. Don’t over cook them! When they are finished, drain, and set aside.

Transfer your broth/asparagus stalk mixture into a container and use an immersion blender to puree. You can also do this in a blender if you don’t have one.

Return the puree back to the pan, add a bit of cream and lemon zest, and mix together. Toss in the asparagus tips and nutmeg (if you’re using it).

Now you’re ready to mix your sauce and pasta. Combine in the pot. Add salt/pepper if necessary. Then transfer to a baking dish, top with grated parmesan cheese, and bake for about 15 minutes. Finish in the broiler for a crispy, browned top!

Happy cooking!

–Melissa

A Valentine’s Day Picture Recap….

Posted by FoodieMel in Food Events and tagged with dinner at home, love, menu for valentines day, valentines day March 12, 2013

I know it’s been almost a month since Valentine’s day but I am still thinking about the amazing feast that my super duper boyfriend prepared for me! He went out all out with laminated menus, a chef’s coat, and some of the most amazing food ever!! He even had a signature cocktail for the night and made homemade chocolates and wrapped them individually!! What??? How cute is that? It was a perfect Valentine’s Day and it was sooooo much nicer than going out to dinner. Unlike most girls, I loathe going out to dinner on Valentine’s Day–you always feel rushed by the servers because they overlap reservations, usually there is a fixed menu so you’re not at liberty to order what you want, and the food is usually sub par because it’s a factory line back in the kitchen just trying to get everything out as quick as possible. No, thanks. I’ll take a quiet, romantic, gourmet meal cooked by my honey any day over that. Wouldn’t you? Thank again, B!