Last Saturday I made a special point to attend the cooking class at Grace-Marie’s Kitchen because she was making Paella, which I have tried to make a couple of times, but wasn’t happy with the results. Grace-Marie’s recipes are always so well done and delicious, so I was really looking forward to seeing how she made it. And my confidence in her was again rewarded and the Paella was fantastic. Our luncheon also included Valencia Salad with Catalan Tomato Bread and Sangria Glazed Caramelized Pears with Honey Almond Cream. Now, don’t you wish you had been there?

Grace-Marie started off sautéing the cubed chicken thighs and sliced rounds of chorizo until they were lightly caramelized, then set aside on a pan until ready to add to the final paella. We were told not to wash the pan, because all that good chorizo flavor would be cooked in with the Sofrito to be made next.

The Sofrito, which is the flavoring, similar to mirepoix and serving the same function, was now added to the pan. The onions, peppers and garlic were sautéed in oil until tender and then the tomatoes with juice, thyme, oregano, cumin, paprika and bay leaf were added. The mixture was brought to a boil, reduced to a simmer and cooked, uncovered until thickened and slightly caramelized.

When the Sofrito was cooked to the desired consistency, the uncooked rice was added and stirred to completely coat each grain. Dry white wine was added and cooked until absorbed. Simmering chicken stock with saffron and turmeric was poured over and was cooked for about 10 minutes to partially cook the rice.

The reserved chicken and chorizo was folded into the rice. Grace-Marie said this was the point where you make a judgment call as to whether you need to add more stock, and she did.

Grace-Marie included some halibut also, but she said any firm white fish, such as Talapia, would be fine. At this point all of the ingredients were in the paella pan and it was put in the oven to bake, uncovered, until the rice was tender, about 20 to 40 minutes. The length of time to finish cooking the rice would depend on what type you are using. The recipe included this advice: If the rice is not done after 20 minutes, drizzle 1-2 cups of stock over the rice, scatter tomatoes and beans (or peas) over the top and bake until the rice is tender and the bottom is crusty (10+ minutes).

To serve, the Paella had sliced green onions scattered over the top and wedges of lemon inserted into the rice around the edges. I gave my plate of beautiful Paella a generous squeeze of lemon juice all over and it was divine. Thank you Grace-Marie for showing me how to make Paella!

For additional recipes from Grace-Marie’s Kitchen, look under Categories in the right-hand column.

Grace-Marie Johnston

For more information about the new schedule of cooking classes, visit Grace-Marie online at Bristol Farms or email her at gmj@bristolfarms.com.

The theme for the cooking class at Grace’Marie’s Kitchen last Saturday was Concert in the Park Picnic, featuring dishes that could be make ahead of time and eaten at picnic temperature. The menu included these Tuscan Picnic Chicken Wings, Mini-Red Bell Pepper & Pesto Bites, Chilled Leek and Zucchini Soup, and Limoncello Squares.

These Chicken Wings may be one of the best chicken dishes I have eaten. Ever. When you look at the photo, you see the sauce is that unphotogenic brown color. Do not be deceived! That sauce is brown because it is made with balsamic vinegar and you know what a sublime dance that does on your tongue. Add in honey, red onion, olive oil-braised garlic and flat leaf parsley, and blend til it’s smooth. Indescribable deliciousness. Oh, and the wings themselves are seasoned with rosemary, oregano, thyme and garlic. You are getting the picture now, right?

I ate my Wings along with the class, while Grace-Marie was demonstrating how to make the Limoncello Squares. I was completely wrapped up in getting every last morsel and drip of sauce off my plate, wiping my finger across the plate and then licking said finger. Well, Grace-Marie saw me from across the room and said to the room at large, “Wow, I guess Lynne really likes the chicken. She’s licking the plate!” At which point everyone in the room turned to see Lynne turn bright red, caught in the act. Oops. They had a nice little chuckle. Well, what can I say, it was so good!

The chicken wings are marinated over night in olive oil, wine, garlic, rosemary, oregano and thyme. Then they are dredged in flour and placed on a parchment  lined pan. The remaining marinade with the garlic and herbs is drizzled over and they are baked until brown. The bottom side becomes caramelized and luscious. Crusty on the outside, and soft and moist on the inside. Going to a cooking class at Grace-Marie’s Kitchen is the best!

For additional recipes from Grace-Marie’s Kitchen, look under Categories in the right-hand column.

Grace-Marie Johnston

For more information about the new schedule of cooking classes, visit Grace-Marie online at Bristol Farms or email her at gmj@bristolfarms.com.

I was really looking forward to my recent visit to Grace-Marie’s Kitchen, because the theme was Italian Cucina Sunday Supper. Grace-Marie grew up in an Italian-American family, so her Italian dishes are always authentic and wonderful. She absolutely fulfilled my expectations with this succulent Chicken, Sausage, Asparagus and Mushroom Pasta with a Parmigiano and Mascarpone Sauce, plus Provolone Bruschetta with Cucumber & Pepper Salad, and Strawberry Glazed Italian Ricotta Cheesecake. Grace-Marie has told the story about how her Mom would never tell her what they were going to have for dinner, so each meal was always a big surprise. If this meal is an example, I would have been really happy to wait and find out when it was served.

First the chicken pieces and sausage were sautéed until browned, then held on a big sheet pan, covered, to keep warm. You can see the mise en place for the pasta vegetables in the boxes, waiting expectantly for their turn to be cooked.

Grace-Marie’s assistants, Miss Marty [on the left], and Miss Diane, cook the vegetables in three big pans. Diane is a surgical nurse during the day and Marty is a travel agent, so they come and help Grace-Marie cook for therapy. Finally the chicken and sausage are put back into the pans with the vegetables, and the mascarpone is added in dollops with the Parmigiano and mixed in.

The basil pesto was mixed into the pasta, and Grace-Marie began putting it on plates for the guests and topping it with big spoonfuls of the Chicken, Sausage and Cheese Sauce. The smells in the kitchen were mouth-watering the whole time the cooking was going on, and we finally were served this beautiful pasta dish. The sauce was exceptional and rich, along with the mushrooms and asparagus. It was soooo good! Thank you, Grace-Marie.

For additional recipes from Grace-Marie’s Kitchen, look under Categories in the right-hand column.

Grace-Marie Johnston

For more information about the new schedule of cooking classes, visit Grace-Marie online at Bristol Farms or email her at gmj@bristolfarms.com.

Last week, when my friend Michele and I were done with our afternoon Country Western Line Dancing Class, she said, “You’re coming home with me and I am going to feed you leftovers for dinner!”

“Oh goodie! Count me in!” I replied. Because I LOVE LEFTOVERS.

We proceeded to set the table with a cold rotisserie chicken from the Manhattan Beach Farmers Market from the day before and some jasmine rice sprinkled with olive oil, salt and pepper. The salad from the day before had fresh spinach and roasted cauliflower, to which we added more spinach, tomato and radishes. She offered a creamy bottled dressing and I said I’d rather make an oil and vinegar one from scratch, which I did and the whole meal was divine. We were very proud of ourselves for our creations.

There is nothing I like better than leftovers, of every kind. I treasure my frozen containers full of homemade chili and pieces of cornbread individually wrapped. That wedge of pizza that is waiting to be microwaved until the cheese is molten. The cold grilled sirloin or meatloaf which will make splendiferous sandwiches. Just think about that Thanksgiving turkey, stuffing and gravy waiting for you the day after.

And then there are the leftovers that come in those white boxes from restaurants. Oh, I love those especially. Some chef toiled for hours making something really delicious, and all you have to do is heat it up for a couple of minutes! I live with two people who sometimes bring home little white boxes filled with surprises. I love to open the refrigerator and look expectantly inside. It’s like Christmas. And they share.

So, two weeks ago after our dancing class, Michele and I went to The Kettle in downtown Manhattan Beach. This place has been there since the mid-1960s and was the first restaurant I went to when I moved from Chicago to Los Angeles in 1971. It has great beach atmosphere, with booths of dark wood and red leather. The backs are quite high, so when you sit down, you can talk in privacy. The food is American comfort food – burgers, pasta, salads, pancakes and eggs. They have the best bran muffins I have ever eaten. And you can see the ocean.

We were hungry, so for some reason I ordered fried chicken with mashed potatoes and country gravy. Usually I get a Chinese chicken salad, but that chicken sounded good. When it arrived, it was ok. I was hungry, I ate the chicken, then I wasn’t hungry any more. Mission accomplished.

So the next day, when I opened the refrigerator, I had forgotten about the leftovers. There were those white boxes, which I opened, looked at the contents, and thought to myself, I really didn’t want to heat up that hard blob of mashed potatoes and the congealed gravy. The cheese and broccoli soup was hard like a hockey puck. But I didn’t want to throw anything away either. So I decided to do the logical thing under the circumstances: make soup.

I heated up two cans of chicken broth in a big pan and mixed in the mashed potatoes, gravy and cheese soup. They dispersed beautifully into the broth. Then I cut up the chicken into bite-sized pieces and added it to the soup. That cheese soup must have been full of parmesan because the cheesy, potato-y broth was really, really good. I sopped up the broth with the garlic bread. Yum. And I had made enough to create more leftover containers to freeze, like money in the bank. Yes!

Two years ago I weighed 150 pounds, which might not have been remarkable, except I am only 5 feet tall. I was a lit-tle por-ky. Plus I didn’t feel good, my knees hurt all the time and my blood pressure was too high. In high school I weighed 108 pounds and even after having two kids in my 20’s, most of my adult life I weighed about 110. I also smoked and never ate sweets (I’m a salt person, remember). Well, when I was 40 I remarried and decided to have another baby. (I hear you thinking, Was she nuts?) So I quit smoking and gained 10 pounds. Had the baby and gained 10 pounds. Went to culinary school, including a Certificate in Pastry and Baking, became a foodie and gained 10 pounds. Well, you get the idea.

So I decided to go on a diet. I had taken off a few pounds in previous years doing the Atkins diet, so I started off with that. But after losing 15 pounds, I could not look at another hard-cooked egg or cube of cream cheese. I was doing some research on the internet about diets and ran across a website that compared all the popular diets out there, including Atkins. His description was spot on, so when I read that in his opinion Weight Watchers was the only diet and method that not only took the weight off, but allowed you keep it off, I was willing to give it a try. Fortunately there was a Weight Watchers class about five minutes from my house.

I went there, sat through one lecture and signed up. I was lucky to find a leader that was a great stand-up comedienne, whose name was Loretta. And I made a friend that I met up with each week. So I went for a year, losing about 1 pound a week and eventually got down to 100 pounds. What I learned was portion control. And not to eat any white stuff: potatoes, rice, bread, pasta., etc. And I journaled everything I ate every day and counted the calories. It really worked. It was so interesting to treat food, eating and my body as a cause and effect science experiment. But I’ll have to tell you, don’t ever try to feed me a whole wheat tortilla. They are one of the most disgusting things I have ever tasted.

So what does all that have to do with Mojito Grilled Lime Chicken Wings? This recipe is a Weight Watcher recipe that I copied out of a WW cook book in the classroom, but didn’t write down the title. My big problem while on that diet was finding food that tasted really good that didn’t have tons of calories. The first time I ate these Chicken Wings, I was completely blown away with how astounding they were. Of course, on the WW diet, you only got to eat two pieces. LOL. However, now that I am not on that diet any longer, I ate a whole bunch of them. The first time I fed them to my 22 year old son, I asked him what he thought. “Oh my god, these are freaking amazing!!” he said.

It was hard to photograph these wings because of the lime sauce glaze, which gave the whole thing a weird looking texture. But you get the idea. The red onion slices were brushed with balsamic vinegar and olive oil and the carrots with olive oil, and both grilled alongside the chicken. If you like that South of the Border taste combination of lime-cumin-garlic, then you must try these.

On June 26, Grace-Marie’s Kitchen Cooking School at Bristol Farms presented a cooking class and luncheon in collaboration with the Italian Trade Commission and Eos featuring wines, cheese and speck from Alto Adige, Italy. I had never tasted any of these marvelous products before, so it was a wonderful introduction to the area for me. Grace Marie provided some wonderful California- style recipes perfect for entertaining family and friends utilizing the following authentic alpine ingredients: Speck PGI, and the following cheeses: Alta Badia, Lagrein and Dolomiten Konig. The regional wine selection included Tiefenbrunner Pinot Grigio and Kurtatsch Cortaccia Lagrein.

Alto Adige, Italy borders Austria and is very mountainous, covering a large part of the Dolomites and Southern Alps. Italian and German are both spoken, however German is  the most common language. Potato Dumplings, known as Knodel in German and  Canederli in Italian, made with speck and spinach, are much more prevalent in this area of Italy than spaghetti.

The Alto Adige area has been important since time immemorial due to the existence of the Brenner Pass through the Alps and so whoever controlled the region could control all trade flowing north and south from central Europe to Italy. It has been fought over for centuries and has many castles and forts perched upon mountain tops to guard the mountain valleys.

One of the products I had for the first time was Speck Alto Adige PGI. It is a flavorful cousin of bacon, prosciutto and pancetta. Speck is made from boned hog legs and seasoned with salt, pepper, laurel and juniper berries, then rested for a month. It is then cold-smoked at no more than 68F using flavorful low-resin beechwood, ash or juniper for 10 days. Then aged (air-cured) for 22 weeks producing a smoky, slightly spicy product with a distinct pink/red interior with a small amount of fat and a salt content less than 5%.

Grace-Marie chose to highlight speck and Dolomiten Konig  in a wonderful appetizer, Speck and Dolomiten Konig wrapped Baby Greens and Summer Melon, accompanied by Alta Badia Savory Bread Toasts. I know how much you like photos of melted cheese, so here is a close-up.

Next on the menu was a Quick Summer Pasta with Alto Adige Speck and Lagrein Cheese. This was such a tasty pasta dish, which included one of my favorite ingredients, sun-dried tomatoes. It also used Lagrein cheese, which I fell in love with, that is cured with “Lagrein” wine and spices. This recipe includes artichoke hearts; however, Grace-Marie’s artichokes had small hearts, so she left them whole and included them later in the chicken dish.

The Herb Grilled Chicken with fresh Summer Garden Vegetables was just a spectacular and photogenic dish. The chicken was so tender and flavorful, and the vegetables were crisp and colorful. The addition of the whole artichoke just took it from great to magical.

First the chicken was marinated in a white wine, olive oil and herb mixture.

Some of the chicken was baked. Notice the speck under the skin.

Grace-Marie sautéed two chicken breasts on the stove top to demonstrate that technique.

As you can imagine, we were all stuffed by this time, but the desert Grace-Marie prepared was a light White Chocolate Panna Cotta with Summer Berries. Guilt-free. The perfect finish.

Special thanks to Vincenza Kelly of the Italian Trade Commission for visiting with us and discussing the wonderful wines and gourmet products of Alto Adige. I hope you come back soon, so Grace-Marie can create more fabulous dishes from Alto Adige, Italy!

But then there was one more surprise – a birthday! With a birthday hat and a candle!

For additional recipes from Grace-Marie’s Kitchen, look under Categories in the right-hand column.

Grace-Marie Johnston

For more information about the cooking classes visit Grace-Marie online at Bristol Farms or email her at gmj@bristolfarms.com.

You’ve read my post about the Wisconsin Farmhouse Gooey Cheddar Bread, so this is the follow-up post about the Patriotic Family Picnic menu from the cooking class at Grace-Marie’s Kitchen at Bristol Farms in Manhattan Beach. Grace-Marie chose recipes from the four corners of our country, so we not only had the pleasure of Wisconsin Gooey Cheddar Bread, but also California Coast Grilled Vege Picnic Salad, Alabama Back Roads BBQ Chicken and Maine Countryside Blueberries and Lemon Cream Bars. It was so much fun to watch Grace-Marie grill the ingredients for these homey dishes, creating the wonderful smoky, charred flavors. These recipes are perfect for a picnic or BBQ, and now that I’m looking at the photos, I’d like some more of this food as soon as possible!

Grace-Marie started off with the Alabama Back Roads BBQ Chicken recipe. She had coated the chicken with oil and a seasoning rub, and refrigerated it over night. She browned them on indoor grill pans on the stove and finished them in the oven. Grace-Marie explained that she likes seasoning rubs to flavor the meat, because marinades break down the meat fibers, making them mushy (ugh), and rubs don’t.

Next the white BBQ sauce was ladled over the chicken and returned to the oven. This sauce has a mayonnaise base with cider vinegar, honey, horseradish, garlic and Dijon. Really delicious.

When the chicken came out of the oven, it had such a beautiful caramelized color and flavor to match.

While the chicken was roasting, the vegetables were being grilled. They had been tossed with olive oil, minced shallots and Italian herb seasoning. Is there any better way to prepare veggies? They get charred and caramelized with those great grill marks.

The veggies were cut into bite-sized pieces and tossed with roughly chopped Italian parsley and a red wine vinaigrette.

This was such beautiful food! The BBQ’d chicken, roasted vege salad  and the cheese bread.

And then, when I was feeling like I had died and gone to heaven, along came the dessert, Maine Countryside Blueberries and Lemon Cream Bars. The perfect end to a fabulous luncheon. Grace-Marie, you are a genius!

For additional recipes from Grace-Marie’s Kitchen, look under Categories in the right-hand column.

Grace-marie Johnston

For more information about the cooking classes visit Grace-Marie online at Bristol Farms or email her at  gmj@bristolfarms.com.

Last Saturday I went to a meeting and potluck with the FBLA (that’s Food Bloggers Los Angeles). We get together about once a month to, guess what, talk about our food blogs, share what we know about blogging and EAT. The Chicken and Potato Crisp Salad with Watercress, which I love, is what I brought to this meeting. Some of the dishes other people brought were apricot clafouti, black bean dip with salted potatoes, cranberry walnut scones, potato and cheese frittata, coffee cake and gougeres. These are food people, so you know everything was wildly delicious.

One of the subjects we always seem to talk a lot about is SEO and how to drive more people to our websites. We were lucky to have a master of these subjects visiting us this month. None other than Greg of SippitySup. Thanks Greg for your insights. It was nice to see people in person that I only read online and be able to actually have a conversation. All of the people who came to the meeting have amazing websites with great photos, interesting writing and good recipes. If you have a chance, check out these food blogs:

Greg at SipptySup. Right now he is blogging about Filipino Chicken, wondering if you can say Adobo.

Erika at In Erika’s Kitchen is in the process of cooking every recipe on the planet that has table grapes in it. Also, her 11 year old son, a budding chef and blogger, gave my salad a big thumbs up.

Adair at Lentil Breakdown is pondering the Six Freezing Degrees of Al and Tipper’s Separation through Ben & Jerry’s ice cream flavors. We were trying to figure how to get this article on the Huffington Post, its that clever and hilarious.

Michael at South Bay Foodies is currently writing about Shakespeare by the Sea in San Pedro and the Wine Maker Socials at Café Pierre in Manhattan Beach.

Pam at My Man’s Belly is making Easy Cranberry Walnut Scones and giving relationship advice.

Suz at You Can’t Eat What? is making a Frozen Eyeball Margarita Pie.

Gisele at Small Pleasures Catering, who is originally from New Orleans, has an interview with Poppy Tucker, a New Orleans TV and radio personality and fishing camp owner. Gisele is going to be doing a fund raiser for New Orleans.

This meeting was really interesting and informative, besides the part where we laughed and ate a lot. I for one am really looking forward to the meeting next month, and each following month. Thanks again you guys and I’ll see you soon.

The first time in my life that I ate Chilaquiles was at the Food Bloggers lunch and cooking demonstration sponsored by the California Avocado Commission at Ciudad Restaurant with the Too Hot Tamales, Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger. I saw on the menu that they were going to prepare it, but I had no clue what it was. It turned out to be a dish that is easy to make and very tasty, but looks like a blob of brown stuff. But that’s ok, because some really delicious food looks like a blob of brown stuff.

Chilaquiles is a traditional Mexican dish that is usually eaten at breakfast or brunch, served along with scrambled or fried eggs and roasted chiles. Chilaquiles are often recommended as a cure for a hangover, because in Mexico spicy foods are believed to help with this condition. This dish is popular from the U.S. border all throughout Mexico into Guatemala because it’s a popular way to use leftover salsa and stale corn tortillas.

Recipes for chilaquiles have been found in a U.S. cookbook published in 1898 by Encarnacion Pinedo called El Cocerina Espanol (The Spanish Cookbook).

Mary Sue prepares her knife.

Mary Sue and Susan each made a big skillet of the chilaquiles, starting off with chicken broth, salsa and half-and-half. It was brought to a boil and the chicken and tortillas were added, turned over and over to coat. The cheese was added and stirred in, and then the avocado, onion, jalapeno and cilantro. It was cooked for about a minute more, just to heat through. When it was served it got a squeeze of lime and a dollop of sour cream. That’s it. Fast. Easy.

You can read here about the other dishes prepared for Cinco de Mayo by the Too Hot Tamales.

Crispy Avocado Taco with Chipotle Corn Relish
Avocado, Bacon and Tomato Salad
Avocado and Mango with Honey Yogurt and Avocado and Orange Liquado with Lavender Shortbread Cookie

As I have mentioned numerous times, I love to go to cooking classes, so when Mary Ellen invited me to participate in one she was teaching, I jumped at the chance. I was advised to bring my chef’s knife and an apron, and of course I took my camera. It is always fun to see how a cooking teacher conducts her class and what tips I can pick up. Plus I get to eat wonderful food and take the recipes home.

Mary Ellen graduated at the top of her class with high honors from the “Le Cordon Bleu” program of the California School of Culinary Arts in Pasadena. Her culinary internship was at the Los Angeles Times Food Section and test kitchen. After culinary school, Mary Ellen started Personal Touch Gourmet, a boutique catering company specializing in small intimate parties, freelance recipe testing and cooking classes around the South Bay and Los Angeles.

Chef Mary Ellen Rae

Several years later a call from the Los Angeles times beckoned her back into the test kitchen with the position of “recipe tester.” This included sourcing, shopping, preparing, testing and editing the recipes published in the weekly Food Section. Mary Ellen had the opportunity to write articles and develop many of her own recipes for publication, several winning “Top Ten Recipe of the Year Awards.”

In 2007, after four years of commuting downtown, she left the paper and decided it would be great to run her own life again. She teaches private classes in your home, either one-on-one or group parties, a great way to celebrate birthdays, bridal showers or special celebrations. And, of course, the participation cooking classes, such as the one I attended.

There were 10 people who came to the class, which included three husband-wife couples. The class took place in a professional catering kitchen, so everything was stainless steel, and every cooking utensil and piece of equipment was available for us to use. Mary Ellen had five recipes for us to prepare, so we paired off in teams of two for each dish. My partner and I got to prepare the Caesar Salad (recipe follows), although I have to admit, she did most of the work, because I was running around photographing everything. And the salad turned out to be just stellar!

One couple prepared the appetizer, Kalamata Olive and Pequillo Pepper Tapenade, which we ate on water crackers. They were set out on the counter and we just walked by and grabbed a bite as we prepared the other dishes. So tasty!

The next dish was the Chicken, Sun-Dried Tomato and Basil Wrapped in Filo. Each person got a chance to wrap one chicken breast themselves. The filo was brushed with butter and the chicken was topped with a mixture of mayonnaise, sun-dried tomatoes, basil, prosciutto, garlic and parmesan, and then the filo was wrapped around to make a neat packet.

The resulting dish had chicken that was so moist and tender, it melted in my mouth. I loved this dish. The recipe follows.

One couple prepared the Linguine with Shrimp and Spanish Chorizo. The sauce had a base of whole tomatoes in puree and tomato paste, with diced Spanish chorizo, capers, Kalamata olives, red wine, garlic, shallots and red pepper flakes. It was simmered for about 30 minutes, with the shrimp being added in the last 5 minutes.

As you can guess, we were getting pretty stuffed by this time. But we persevered and truly enjoyed the Chocolate Espresso Brownies. I had to laugh, because when I started to take the photos of the brownies, Mary Ellen rushed over and said, “Let me get that ugly old strainer out of the way!” I had to stop her, because that strainer was the coolest old thing ever that could be used for a food photo prop. Food stylists and photographers go on hunting trips for props like that. Anyway, that strainer had been used to sprinkle powdered sugar over the brownies that we ate. They were fudgy good.

Thank you Mary Ellen Rae for inviting me to your cooking class. I had a lot of fun, ate too much and got to take a bunch of photographs of your beautiful food. What could be better!

You can contact Mary Ellen at MaryEllen@PersonalTouchGourmet.net or visit her website at www.PersonalTouchGourmet.net to find out all the details of her classes and services.