For all you holiday bakers out there that have not been introduced to Demarle At Home baking tools as yet, ask me how to make this season your easiest yet!

Demarle At Home Flexipan molds and pans make holiday baking a breeze.  Impress friends and family without all the fuss!  Makes a great holiday gift.  Many kits to choose from.

Click here to see the  Demarle At Home Bakeware November 2011 Sale  – Order Online at:

cheflia.demarleathome.com

Here are a few highlights!

10 FAVORITE ITEMS ON SALE FOR ONLY $10!

HOLIDAY FLEXIPAN® SALE ONLY $29.95

FLEXIPAN® MOLDS – STAR AND TREE

So many more holiday molds to choose from!
Order Online at:  ChefLia.DemarleAtHome.com

 Want to earn free product?  Book a virtual Demarle At Home party – Contact Chef Lia

The end of this year marks the beginning of Home Cooking Consultant’s 8th anniversary.  For the last 7 years I’ve been teaching cooking classes and cooking for a variety of Long Islanders; beginning cooks, people who love to cook and like to experiment with new ingredients, and those who simply enjoyed watching me cook for them.  I’ve seen the most amazing kitchens large and small.  This is one of my most favorite side benefits of this job.  Using a variety of cooking equipment, and seeing how very different every kitchen design is.  No two are alike!

Going forward, though, the sole focus of  Home Cooking Consultant  will be on private, in-home cooking classes.  I will no longer be providing personal chef services.  This was a tough decision and one that may change in the future, but for now, I’m taking a Personal Chef sabbatical.

Also, new, is a very limited schedule in which to teach.  So if you are interested in taking cooking classes or have a gift certificate that you received in the past, please do not hesitate to contact me to discuss your interests.

I thank all of my past clients for such a wonderful 7 years!

I’m in the process of updating my website.  I appreciate your patience as it gets developed.  Please contact me if you have any questions.

All the best,

Chef Lia

Menu

Mini-Meatballs in Saffron Sauce
Chicken with White Wine, Grape Juice and Cilantro
Coffee-Rubbed Filet Mignon with Sage-Blue Cheese Butter
Baby Peas with Bacon and Almonds

Client Feedback:  We had such a great time. We learned so many great tips from you. Thank you so much. And the food was amazing. The steaks came out soooo good. I sent your website to one of my moms friends who was interested. I would love to set up another lesson in the future. Thank you again!!!

So I’m home alone tonight and that means I get to cook for me!  In honor of the new USDA guidelines for healthy eating (choosemyplate.gov) I decided to make a greens side dish to MY tastes!  My family would never eat this….oh it was so good.

Here’s the recipe, plain and simple – slice 1 green onion and 3 cloves garlic (I like a lot of garlic!).  Saute in 1 teaspoon olive oil over medium-high heat for a minute or so.  Add in 1/2 cup shredded carrots (I love that they are already sold shredded at the store!) and continue to saute until carrots get soft.  Meanwhile, place 2 cups frozen chopped collards (these frozen collards are fabulous tasting and cook really quickly) into a microwave-safe dish.  Cover lightly and cook on high for 4 1/2 minutes or until soft and tender.  (Every microwave varies so check every so often with yours).  Add steamed collards to the skillet and flavor with 1 tablespoon sweet curry powder, a dash of garlic salt, and 1 tablespoon or so of prepared hot mango chutney (if you haven’t tried mango chutney you really should!  It will make anything green taste great!).  Stir well and you’re done.

This dish reminds me a bit of how Sicilians (which I am) make their greens.  Usually savory/sweet by adding raisins or vinegar to a greens dish.  But I happen to love Indian curry spice…so this was a natural transformation.

And a shout out to Mrs. Obama – this dish was 1/2 my plate and the other half was 2 homemade empanadas with beef that I previously made and were staring at me from the freezer.  A meal that I consider quite healthy and filling.  Now what’s for dessert?

Here’s a link to the new dietary guidelines

Choosmyplate.gov 2011 Dietary guidelines

Chicken and Shrimp Paella

Fish Tacos with Mango Salsa Verde

Roasted Vegetables

Client Review:  ”My entire family absolutely loved cooking with you last night! Thanks so much for being so accommodating. We all had a great time and could not stop talking about the fun experience we had.” – Jackie J.

Every year around Mother’s Day I get excited about the weather getting warmer and the upcoming days I spend getting my vegetable garden going.  So often I wish I had more room to plant more vegetables.  My wish has come true, well sort of.

I discovered Grow Bags which I purchased from Gardener’s Supply.  They are made of a felt-like material that you fill with growing medium.  They come in various sizes depending upon what you are going to grow in them.  This year I decided to experiment with just a few to see how they work.  I like the idea that each plant has it’s own space and that I don’t have to bend down as far to tend to them.  I also like that I can basically put these bags wherever I want.  Best of all, I don’t have to worry about all the law chemicals leaching into my vegetables.

So far I’ve planted tomatoes and peppers.  I have a few Salad Grow Bags that I plan on planting soon!  I still planted a few veggies in the ground as well. Mostly because I wanted to see if the tomatoes in the Grow Bag do better than in the ground. And, I also don’t think growing zucchini would work in a Grow Bag…but I could be wrong.

Here’s what they look like.  More to come when I start harvesting!

Arugula, Prosciutto, and Tomato Panini

Poached Chicken Breast Stuffed
with Goat Cheese and Roasted Peppers with Roasted Red Pepper Coulis

Spring Risotto with Peas, Asparagus and Parmigiano Reggiano

Mini Rustic Apple Crostatas

Client Feedback: Let me say how much I enjoyed” EVERYTHING” meeting you, watching and sometimes helping, eating YUMMY!!! Soooooo Gooood!!!! Everything was so delicious. You, were right about the dessert more crust soooo goood!! – Felicia R.

Last night I had a wonderful evening with some girlfriends.  We decided to share a Cinco de Mayo dinner.  Well it was a great evening and I had the pleasure of preparing the tacos and assorted chicken and beef fillings.

I’ve always wanted to master the art of shredded chicken.  I find that chicken breast is so dry when shredded.  Luckily I happened upon this recipe from the NYTimes.com site by Mark Bittman.  It really was easy and delicious.  I have added my own notes at the bottom to enhance the flavor and moistness if preparing this shredded chicken ahead.

Shredded Chicken for Tacos

Servings: 7

2 pounds boneless chicken thighs
1 large white onion, peeled and quartered
5 cloves garlic, peeled and lightly crushed
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 ancho or other mild dried chili, optional
Salt and pepper (to taste)

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and add water to cover. Turn heat to high, bring to a boil, and skim anyfoam that comes to the surface. Partially cover and adjust heat so mixture simmers steadily. Cook until meat isvery tender, about 30 minutes. Remove from liquid and cool.

2. Shred meat with fingers. Taste and adjust seasonings; use within a couple of days.

Chef Lia’s Notes:  I strained the broth that was made.  I put it back in the saucepan and boiled it down to reduce it to a flavorful thicker consistency.  I spooned much of this over the shredded chicken and then cooled completely and stored in the fridge.  The extra moisture from the reduced broth made it easier to reheat the chicken without drying out!

I also seasoned the meet with a bit of Adobo seasoning, Smoked Paprika, and Freshly Ground Black Pepper, and a dash of Cayenne.   Delicious!

As a personal chef, I’m continually updating my cookware.  Especially when it comes to frying pans.  I used these pans the most so they need to be well made and not too heavy to carry around.  I am pleased to report that I used the Demarle Difference Fry Pan the other day to make a variety of dishes.

I first seared some chicken thighs and then proceeded to deglaze the pan with white wine.  The fond – or browned, delicious bits on the bottom of the pan – came up easily without effort.  Then I added some mustard, mango, and apricot jam to make a glaze.  Delicious! And the pan cleaned up so easily for the next recipe.

Here’s a picture of the Bolognese Florentine that I also made that day.

The pan held the heat amazingly well.  On an electric stove it’s hard to get a to a simmer.  This pan was very responsive on low and medium-high heat.  I’m am pleased with the design of this pan as well. There are no rivets inside where that the food can stick to so cleanup is a breeze.

I would rate this pan as good as any pan that I have used from pans like Allclad, Calphalon, Circulon.

This is the largest fry pan which retails for $119.95.  And there are smaller sizes as well. If you host a Demarle at Home Cooking Workshop you can earn this pan and other great products for free or at a substantial discount!