Kitchen Tips: Using Herbs
Kitchen Tips: Using Herbs

View my latest video on "Cooking with Herbs"  

 

Upcoming  Classes

Catering and

 In-Home Cooking Parties

 

Personal Touch Gourmet will design a fabulous menu for any occasion.
 
If you love to entertain and prefer to spend time with your guests instead of in the kitchen, Chef Mary Ellen will create a delicious menu to suit your tastes.
 
Or.....
Invite friends and family over for a personalized cooking class.  You decide what to prepare in your own home.  We bring all of the ingredients and when we have finished cooking you and your guests will sit down and enjoy the delicious meal you prepared!
Meet
Mary Ellen  
head shot

Chef Mary Ellen graduated with high honors from the   "Le Cordon Bleu" program of the California School of Culinary Arts. After an internship at the Los Angeles Times  Food Section, Mary Ellen created Personal Touch Gourmet, a boutique catering company and taught cooking classes around the South Bay and Los Angeles.

Several years later a call from the Los Angeles Times beckoned her back into the test kitchen with the position of "Recipe Tester." Over the course of her tenure, Chef Mary Ellen wrote articles and developed  recipes, several winning "Top Ten Recipe of the Year Awards."  

Click Here to learn more about Chef Mary Ellen Rae...  
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Hi!  

 

Are you looking for a new culinary experience? 
I LOVE food and want to share that passion with you. I'll come to your home and turn a culinary class into a party! As the host, you'll choose the types of food to prepare from a long list of ideas. I'll bring the ingredients and together we will cook our way through 4 recipes as we focus on cooking tips and techniques. Once we are finished, you'll enjoy the fruits of your labor.  

 

Or, check out the following group classes held in a kitchen in the Manhattan Beach area of Los Angeles.

  

                 Winter and Spring Culinary Classes

 

Thursday  February 9th  6:30 pm                                               Valentines Day Favorites

Travel to Italy, Japan and France to find the perfect recipes to prepare for your special someone.

Slow Roasted Cherry Tomato Bruschetta

Spicy Sausage and Fennel Orecchiette Pasta

Petite Filet Mignon with Creamy Brandy Peppercorn Sauce

Black Cod marinated with Saki and Miso and Sizzling Peppers

Bittersweet Chocolate Soufflé Cakes with fresh Raspberry Sauce

 

Thursday March 8th  6:30 pm

Quick Fix Dinners for Busy Parents

Parents have the toughest job in the world. Work all day then try to find a fast healthy recipe that your children will eat! Here are a few of my family's favorites. I am not a fan of hiding vegetables in food but presented this way, even your pickiest eaters will ask for more.

Stir-fried Sesame Beef with Snap Peas

Chicken and Stars Soup with Basil Pesto

Grilled Halibut with Pineapple Cilantro Salsa

Penne Pasta with Roasted Vegetable Tomato Sauce

Bittersweet Chocolate Pecan Blondies

 

Thursday  April 19th  6:30 pm

Farmer's Market Specialties

If you haven't been to the farmer's market all winter, its time to add this trip to your weekly shopping routine.  Through spring and on to summer, new fruits and vegetables arrive weekly. Plan your menus around what is available.

Braised Herb Stuffed Artichokes

Tuscan Farro Soup with Fennel and Cavalo Nero (Black Kale)

Grilled Baby Lamb Chops with Arugula and Mint Pesto

Scallops with Green Garlic, Lemon and Capers on Grilled Polenta 

Hazelnut Cookies dipped in Chocolate (of course) and Toasted Coconut

                                  

 

Stay Fit with Beach Physique Fitness  

My friend Maria Mizzi says, "Success is a Planned Strategy."  

Here are a few tips for the New Year:

Stay Hydrated

Make Healthy Food Choices (I can help you with that)

Exercise Daily

Exercise in your target Heart Rate Zone to burn fat

Maintain a Healthy Body Fat Percentage for optimal health

Contact Maria at www. BeachPhysiqueFitness. com

 

Please feel free to pass this newsletter along to your friends with curious palettes.  

 

Need a recipe for an upcoming party or not sure why the recipe you painstakingly shopped for and prepared didn't turn out like you expected?   Maybe I can help!

 

Tastefully,

Mary Ellen

"Creating Culinary Memories one meal at a time." 

 

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"Party Food" 
Caponata and Taleggio Cheese Crostini
Here is a perfect recipe to add to your Super Bowl or Academy Awards party menu. Chefs all over Italy have unique versions for caponata, here is mine adding melted cheese to the grilled bread. Taleggio is a soft Italian cows milk cheese that can be found at cheese shops, Whole Foods Market and recently Costco.  Substitute Fontina if necessary. Put cheese in the freezer for an hour to make slicing easier. This recipe makes a generous five cups of caponata. Divide in half or plan to use the leftovers stirred into pasta sauce or soup.  

 

Caponata

1 medium eggplant 

Kosher salt

1 large red onion

1 large red bell pepper

3 medium zucchini

2 celery stalks

½ cup extra virgin olive oil 

3 garlic cloves, crushed and coarsely chopped

1 tablespoon coarsely chopped fresh oregano leaves

1 cup basil leaves, torn into pieces

3 medium ripe tomatoes, seeded and diced

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

 

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Cut eggplant into 1/2 -inch cubes and place in a colander; sprinkle with a teaspoon of salt and set aside. Cut the red onion, red pepper, zucchini and celery into 1/2-inch pieces. Rinse and drain the eggplant. Heat the oil in a large skillet and gently sauté the onion with the garlic, oregano and basil for 5 minutes. Spoon into large rimmed baking pan or roasting pan; add the eggplant and tomatoes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss to coat. Place in the oven and roast vegetables for about 45 minutes to 1 hour or until very soft.

 

Crostini

8 (1/2-inch) thick slices Crusty Italian Bread

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Kosher salt

Dried Oregano

2 Garlic Cloves

8 ounces Taleggio Cheese, rind removed and thinly sliced

 

Brush both sides of bread with olive oil, sprinkle lightly with salt and oregano.  Heat a grill pan or raise oven temperature to 400 degrees. 

 

Grill bread on each side until golden brown. Or, lay bread slices on a rack placed inside a baking pan.  Toast bread in oven until firm and crisp, about 15 minutes. Cut garlic cloves in half and rub on hot bread. Place a slice of cheese on each piece of bread and return to the oven for a few minutes to melt the cheese. Serve immediately with a spoonful of Caponata.

  

  


"In Season Now"
         Fennel

Fennel is plentiful now through spring at markets all over southern California.  Look for bright white bulbs with fresh looking fronds. Store in a plastic bag for up to a week.  I love to add shaved fennel to a blood orange salad with grilled chicken.  Or, make a side dish of fennel wedges roasted with a little olive oil, kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper and grated Parmesan in a 375 degree oven until tender.  Save a few fronds to finely chop as a garnish!
 

"Testimonial from Roger"   Manhattan Beach

 

Wow what an outstanding class and it was all because of Mary Ellen.  The recipes, instructions, not missing a detail were all minor to  Mary Ellen's wonderful personality. My wife and I woke up this morning wanting more scallops and fish tacos!  Everything was great and we look forward to trying these recipes at home.

 

 Thank you Roger!!


lavendar

       

 "A recent class with new friends!"