Cooking With Michele®

Lemon-Almond Drop Cookies

Michele — Mon, 13 May 2013 12:00:02 +0000

I always say I’m not much of a baker – a few weeks ago I actually made 3 dozen banana muffins that I had to throw out in their entirety because they were like bricks. But every once in awhile I get an idea, I figure out the right ratio of ingredients, and it comes together into a tasty little baked treat. And is typical for my recipes, I was inspired by a couple of things:
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A Photo Tour of Lecce in Puglia

Michele — Mon, 13 May 2013 07:10:04 +0000

The town of Lecce in the heart of Puglia is known for many things – the intricate Baroque architecture, the many churches, St. Irene and St. Oronzo, the duomo and Santa Croce, Roman ruins and the end of the Appian Way, cascading flower boxes from balconies with iron railings, wine, hidden courtyards behind imposing large wooden doors, and more. But what I think of most when I think of Lecce is how photogenic the city is. With the curved alleys of buildings built from the warm yellowish Leccese stone, and the structures bathed in early morning or late afternoon light…well, I can’t think of many more places just begging to be photographed like this. I’ll skip the commentary today and just share the photos in the hopes that you’d like to join me on next year’s culinary trip to Puglia.

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An Instagram Tour of The Awaiting Table Cookery School in Puglia

Michele — Tue, 07 May 2013 16:15:05 +0000

On my recent trip to The Awaiting Table, held at the Palazzo Bacile di Castiglione in Spongano, south of Lecce in Puglia, I fell in love with the Instagram app. Enjoy the filtered photo view of the week!

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Mangia Roma!

Michele — Mon, 06 May 2013 16:00:10 +0000

A trip to Italy – at least for me – is always an adventure in eating. He are a few of the places I like to eat and my favorite dishes.

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Unveiling the Opus Spring Menu

Michele — Mon, 06 May 2013 12:00:01 +0000

Right before I departed for Italy I was invited by Michael Long, the former chef and partner in Opus, to preview the new spring menu of the talented Chef Sean McGaughey who look over the kitchen at Opus. I already had a dinner commitment, but knew I didn’t want to miss the tasting, so managed to squeeze in just a taste of everything – and boy am I glad I did!
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Rambling in Rome

Michele — Fri, 03 May 2013 15:38:52 +0000

I have spent the last couple of days rambling around Rome, possibly my favorite place on earth. I have so many photos of the city that I sometimes lack the enthusiasm to shoot any more. But I decided on this trip to mess around with my Photogene app filters and give you a dramatic and moody view of Rome from my wanderings. I hope you enjoy!

Roses in bloom in front of Trajan’s Market

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Creamy Beet Soup (without cream!)

Michele — Wed, 01 May 2013 12:00:22 +0000

As you read this post, I’m enjoying my first day in Italy. I am here to lead a group of 10 on a food and wine adventure in Italy, starting with a few days in Rome, then heading south to Puglia to a cooking school in a castle. I’ve scheduled a few posts to run while I’m away, but will also be blogging all about my food and wine and adventures along the way (including a visit to Ireland after my time in Italy). I hope you’ll enjoy the armchair touring and consider joining me on the trip next year!I’ve been staring down a bag of beets from my CSA winter share for months now. Although I usually love roasted beets, for some reason I just wasn’t craving them this winter. But I did have a creamy beet soup at a friend’s recently and decided to make my own slightly healthier version of the soup. So how do you get a nice creamy soup without using heavy cream?
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Strawberry Rhubarb Sauce – Spring is Here!

Michele — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 12:00:32 +0000

It’s been a long wait for spring here in the Rocky Mountains – our past four weeks have included a freezing major snow storm every Tuesday (weirdly). But spring has finally sprung, and I can’t think of two spring ingredients that marry so well as strawberries and rhubarb.
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Packing for a Monthlong Trip

Michele — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 12:00:32 +0000

I’m leaving this week for a trip to Italy and Ireland, and as I prepare for my adventure, I’ve been asked at least twenty times how in the world I pack for a four-week trip. My response is simple: I always carry on and it seems whether I’m packing for a weekend or a month, I fill that suitcase. But then it dawned on me that it isn’t that simple, and perhaps readers of my travel blog would benefit from knowing my packing strategy. So please read on to learn my packing secrets as well as other tips for how to prep to be gone from home for an extended time!
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Whole Wheat Quinoa Pancakes

Michele — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 12:00:14 +0000

I woke up this past Tuesday to the fourth week of spring snow storms in Colorado. I don’t mean a simple little shower that melts instantly, I mean temperatures back in the 20s and 30s and several inches of accumulation. My husband was out of town, so it was a wonderful time to stay in my sweats and mess around in the kitchen – really the only way that I tolerate winter weather anymore!
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