“Remember When...” 30 Years of Friendship and Food

From Michelle Thies — Blog by Michelle Thies

September 13, 2009

Picture it, Long Island, September 1979. On a late summer day, two young girls meet at the bus stop on their way to the first day of school. I was five years old and about to attend my first day of kindergarten, Erin was six entering first grade. We were on our way to St. Mary’s School, all decked out in plaid skirts, polyester vests and bilevel haircuts (now known as the mullet). Little did these two girls know at the time, that they would remain friends for life.

We are celebrating thirty years of friendship this month and there have been a lot of ups and downs, twists and turns, highs and lows. Buy whenever we get together, there is always two things that seem to happen, we eat and have belly laughs!

Erin had the distinct pleasure of being my guinea pig at an early age. I had the yearn to bake cookies one summer day around 1984. I told Erin that I knew how to do it, you just add eggs, butter, flour and sugar together and add chocolate chips. Well that sounded about right to Erin. It didn’t occur to us that I was missing one little detail, the measurements. So we mixed this concoction together at Erin’s house, put it in the oven and waited. “The batter” started to spread very thin and pour over the side of the cookie sheet, sticking to the heating element. I swear it was making the noise “weep-woooong” just like the episode of the Little Rascals when they make a birthday cake and throw shoes in the batter. Erin looked at and said “Are you sure you know how to make cookies?” and I responded “Of course” secretly praying that this thing in the oven didn’t explode. Erin’s mother walked in and yelled at Erin for making a mess on the stove and took out the cookies. I think Erin got a slap for that one too, taking one for the team. She still not over it I think.

As teenagers, both coming from Catholic families, Erin and I were forced by our parents to go the “Rock N Roll” mass on Sundays that was geared toward teenagers. So we came up with a scheme were we would get dropped off, take the church’s weekly bulletin and read it so we knew how to answer when asked what the sermon was about. After making sure the coast was clear, we would walk to Friendly’s for ice cream. Together we would laugh smugly over Reese’s Piece’s sundays, surprised how we were getting away with this. This went on for a few weeks until the jig was up, Erin’s mom caught us driving another of Erin’s friends to church after she had dropped us off. If we are going to hell, I know our little stunt is on St. Peter’s list of reasons!

Later in life, after I had gone to culinary school and Erin was studying to be a teacher, I would go to her apartment and cook for her and her now husband. They had a friend who they wanted to play a joke on. They had played a game the night before where you had to guess the meaning of the word. The word was “Foggato” and to be honest, I can’t remember what it means. Anyway, the next day they told me to make something with “Foggato Sauce” and see if their friend could remember the game. So I prepared a dish of Ravioli with Sage and Brown Butter Sauce, and made up this whole story how this was from Northern Italy where they cooked with butter because they share a border with France. Their friend said,"Wow-I love Foggato Sauce!” and Erin kicked me under the table and looked at me with sparkle in her blue eyes. We still laugh about it.

Through the years, food has always been a part of our friendship. I have given cooking lessons to Erin showing her how to make my famous brownies and Tomato Sauce. Erin goes to all the hip restaurants and makes thoughtful recommendations. We discuss “Top Chef” and all the cooking shows. Erin will tell me about things she has made and I will invite her over for game night where food is always part of the party.

Beyond food, we have witnessed so much of each other’s lives. As I think back over the last 30 years, I have watched her bloom from a shy girl on the bus stop to a beautiful woman who is now an elementary school teacher. I have seen my friend endure a lot of adversity in her life, and I am so proud of how she was able to overcome it. I take pride in knowing that our bond helped her in rough times, as she certainly was there for me.

I truly cherish having someone in my life that can transform me from a 35 year old woman to a 10 year old girl, just by uttering the phrase, “Remember when...”.

So Erin, my beautiful friend, here’s to us! To 30 years of an incredible friendship! You are truly my sister!

May the next 30 years be as delicious as the first!

An Italian Grandma’s Legacy

From Michelle Thies — Blog by Michelle Thies

September 7, 2009

Recently I started to reflect on how I got interested in cooking. When I thought back to my childhood, I think it was the legacy of my Italian Grandmother that heightened my interest. She passed away when I was only three years old, but I do have a faint memory of this big jovial woman with red hair squeezing my cheeks over and over, and getting quite annoyed that she wouldn’t stop! When I was older, I would ask questions in order to get a sense of this wonderful woman. It always struck me that the first thing anyone said was, “No one was a better cook then your grandmother!” That phrase was then followed by cherished stories of food and love.

My father would recall that when he came home from Vietnam my grandmother was so overjoyed that her baby was home safe, that after kissing and hugging him, the first thing she did was turn to the stove and prepare and Italian feast of lasagna and meatballs for him.

My mom would tell me that before she could marry my father, my grandmother had to test her tomato sauce. As my mother is of Irish decent, I guess Grandma had doubts. My mom nervously tried her best to make a good sauce, and when Grandma tasted it, she said “That’s okay, but your not going to feed that to my son” and proceeded to give my mom a lesson. She shared her secrets with my mother so my father wouldn’t have to suffer the worst fate to an Italian, eating bad sauce!

With a big smile my mother would recall that when I was born, my grandmother was so happy to have her first female grandchild that she made the whole neighborhood in Brooklyn Italian pastries to celebrate! I was Grandma’s princess from the start!

One recipe I can recall everyone speaking about was my grandmother’s Peppers, Potatoes and Eggs. I would watch with wonder as they would get a far away look in their eyes as they would describe the flavors and the experience of this simple dish, artfully prepared by a master.

At 13, I decided to learn to make sauce. My mother guided me, passing down Grandma’s technique. I would ask my father to taste it, asking if it was as good as his mother’s. He would try it and say, “It’s good, I give it a 9.5, keep trying.” I made countless sauces and got the same response, until I realized that even if it was as good as Grandma’s, it could never compare for the simple fact it wasn’t her cooking it.

When I think of all this, it amazes me that even though I did not know my grandmother, it was her legacy that made me want to cook. I wanted to make people experience the same joy. It was these beautiful memories that made me realize that food really is love.

I often wonder now if my son who is only two, will also have sacred memories of my cooking. I certainly hope he will.

My father passed away in January of this year, but I like to think that Grandma was there, waiting with a piping hot tray of lasagna that she made to welcome him home.

After all, there has to be food in heaven!

Here are the recipes of Grandma Vecchio’s Peppers, Potatoes and Eggs. I am doing this two ways, her version (which the recipe is based on how it was described to me) and a modern twist on it.

2 extra large eggs
1 tablespoon heavy cream
1/2 red bell pepper (diced small)
1/2 cubanelle pepper (diced small)
2 Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into quarters
1/2 vadilla onion (diced small)
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons good extra virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic
kosher salt and pepper
sourdough roll

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Warm a cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Take the sourdough bread and drizzle a little olive oil on it, and rub the garlic clove, add a pinch of salt and pepper. Place bread face down on the hot cast iron skillet and toast until desired doneness, remove from the pan and place on plate.

Add 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and cook until butter is melted. Add the potatoes, flesh side down and some salt and pepper. Let the potatoes carmelize . When the potatoes have developed a nice brown color, put them in the oven to finish cooking, about 12 minutes.

Remove potatoes from pan. Add remaining butter and olive oil and sautee the onions and peppers, adding a small amount of salt and pepper to season. Cook for about 3 minutes. Add the potatoes for another 2 minutes. Whisk together the eggs and heavy cream, again adding a small amount of salt and pepper to season. Whisk until the eggs develop a nice foam. Reduce the heat in the pan to medium low. Pour eggs into the pan and mix slowly allowing the curds to develop. Keep stirring until the eggs are set. Pour over the bread and drizzle a little olive oil over the eggs. Enjoy!

Modern Twist

Sour Dough Bread cut into two slices
extra virgin olive oil
kosher salt and pepper

1 ripe tomato cut into chunks
4 chives, cut small
1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Kosher Salt and Pepper

1/2 red pepper diced small
1/2 cubanelle pepper diced small
1/2 vadalia onion diced small
2 potatoes (cooked as stated in above recipe)
1 extra large egg
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
2 chive sprigs
kosher salt and pepper

Mix the tomatoes, 3/4 of the chopped chives, olive oil, salt and pepper into a small bowl. Set aside.

Rub the garlic over the bread and drizzle with olive oil, season with a little salt and pepper.

Heat a cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Toast the bread to desired doneness. When done, place the bread on a plate.

Melt butter and olive oil in the skillet. Saute the onions and peppers until soft, about 3 minutes. Add the potatoes and season with salt and pepper, cook for another 3 minutes. Remove mixture from pan and wipe pan clean.

Melt the remaining butter and olive oil in the skillet. Crack open the egg and place in the skillet. Cook the egg until the white sets and begins to lift from the pan.

Assemble the bread, spooning the peppers, potatoes and onions over the bread, then spoon most of the tomato salad over the peppers, leaving a little of the juice and tomatoes for garnish.

Slide the fried egg on top. Spoon some of the juice and remaining tomatoes over the egg. Drizzle a little olive oil over everything. Sprinkle with remaining chives and add two of the chive sprigs over the egg.

Manga!

Julie and Julia

From Michelle Thies — Blog by Michelle Thies

August 30, 2009

I recently saw the movie Julie and Julia, and I felt as if I was watching my own life. Julie, like me, has a job in which she sits at a cubicle and basically gets yelled at all day, and when she comes home, she uses cooking as an escape. This is exactly my life. I sit in my grey cubicle during the day, and after fielding through calls from bill collectors, emails from the insureds demanding something be done right this minute, and claimants who never seem to get their checks, I often look around and say “How did I end up here?”

When I come home however, a culinary world awaits me. I have a growing culinary library and cookbooks by my bed. My mind often wanders into thinking about putting menus together for a dinner party, or a Christmas feast even though it’s months away. My husband thinks he is the luckiest man alive because he gets to eat a home cooked meal almost every night! We are sort of a culinary team because I cook with the beautiful ingredients from his garden that he lovingly attends to. In the movie Julie embarks on cooking all the recipes from Julia Child’s, “Mastering the Art of French Cooking”, and she does this, all at night, after she has suffered at her insufferable job. In the movie Julie’s husband is her biggest supporter, just like my husband is to me.

I went to Johnson & Wales and received my degree in Culinary Arts. I cooked professionally after that, but after a health issue decided to stop. I was 22 years old and hated working the long hours and having no life. I decided to take my life in a different direction, and ended up where I am today.

But cooking has always been there for me. It has only been in recent years that I have felt a calling, to do something in the culinary world again.

The other part of Julie and Julia that I loved, was the story of the great Julia Child. Julia’s career as a chef was really her second career, as she was a spy in her early adulthood. It wasn’t until she was in her 40’s that she began to learn to cook. She was what you might call-a late bloomer. It is this part of the story that gives me hope. That somehow I will be able to foray into something that I am passionate about again.

I know my friends and family are behind me, I just need to find the right forum to enter into again.

My heart and passion has always been, and will always be in preparing beautiful dishes and having my loved ones tell me-that’s the best thing I ever had!

Then maybe there is hope that I will be, a late bloomer!