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Mariooch’s Chicken

I was inspired to make an authentic Italian meal after meeting Emma the owner of Da Emma in Montreal, Canada. Previously, she had lived in Rome and owned a restaurant there for 25 years. I asked to meet her and my husband and I went into the kitchen. She only “parle Italiano” spoke Italian, but her food spoke for itself. We all instantly had a bond. She reminded me of my grandmother. The sauce in this dish is inspired by Emma. In this dish is chicken, black olives, onions, Yukon potatoes and fresh basil.

Ingredients:
1 whole cooked chicken (Rotisserie is fine)
1 bunch of fresh basil
6 cloves of garlic
¾ cut Kalamata olives
5 large Yukon potatoes (or yellow)
1 large can of san marzano whole tomatoes
1 large yellow onion

Directions:
Wash and scrub the potatoes. Peel the skin off, I prefer the skin off but you can keep it on if you like. Once peeled, dice the potatoes into large chunks. Put in a pot with water, and boil for 10-15 minutes. They don’t have to be cooked through because they will cook more in the frying pan. Drain them and put them aside.

Making quick Tomato Sauce: (The longer version of my sauce can be found at Mariooch’s Homemade Tomato Sauce)

In a frying pan, add some olive oil and saute about 5 gloves of garlic until it browns and then toss them. Keep the olive oil in the pan. Add some fresh cloves of garlic and diced onion to the pan saute until they are translucent. Then, in the blender add the San Marzano tomatoes, some fresh basil, and a few tablespoons of olive oil, and the diced onion and garlic cloves and pulse for about 30 seconds. I also add salt, but taste is as you go along. Let this simmer 15 minutes. (you can keep the tomato seeds in this sauce, that’s why I am calling it the quick version.)

In the meantime, take all the skin off the chicken, (I always save it for my daughter who loves the skin!) and dice it. Set the chicken aside. Cut the olives in half, and check for pits, there is nothing worse than biting into a pit. Add the Yukon potatoes to the simmering sauce and let them cook for 5 minutes, then add in your diced chicken, the olives, and stir everything together. Also, add some onions in larger chunks. Let this simmer for about 30 minutes. You can add a little water as you go along. Keep the heat on low. You do not want to burn the sauce, it will not taste good. Then add the basil last. It’s ready to serve with a hot piece of Italian bread.

Teaching in the inner city

Although I have a strong background in financial services and business & sales development, I am also a certified Elementary School teacher. I had the pleasure of working for Merrill Lynch in sales, but at some point early on in my career I decided to pursue teaching to make a difference. I was hired to work in an inner city school located in a very tough neighborhood. I was greatly impacted by that job. I had kids who came to school hungry quite often, some were well fed. Some kids came to school in below 30 degree weather with no hats, or gloves and that influenced me. It was heartbreaking.

Going to work every day knowing I could directly impact someone’s life was very meaningful. Also, when you have kids who have tough home lives you also tend to see a good amount of behavioral issues. I had a few kids like this. My strategy was to work with their strengths. For example, we decided to have a class play and I made the one most disruptive child in the class have a lead role. It empowered her and she really shined. I decided at the end of the play the kids would sing a song, “Lean on Me”. They had a tremendous sense of musicality and rhythm. I remember having the school principal in to see the play and listen to the song, and she couldn’t get through even part of the song. She was so moved by it.

Virginia was one special teacher who I had the pleasure of working with. She served as a great role model to me in my early twenties. I had just started this job, and lost my mom a few weeks later. I had been visiting the hospital every day since August. Thankfully, she was a great support system. But truth be told you cannot let your guard down with these kids. So after one week, I was back working and dealing with the loss of the most influencial person in my life.

I had never met anyone in my life who was as caring and loving as Virginia. She was in her sixties and drove to work every day and had some ailments too. She would buy gloves, hats and have cookies and food for the kids. I learned a lot from her and did what I could to support the kids struggling in my class. I gained a sense of compassion from this experience which has influenced my entire life. I am forever grateful for the opportunity to have taught with such kind-hearted teachers, and such sweet kids who truly appreciated me every day.

Over the past few years I have been a volunteer chef at a local pre-school in my community. A large percentage of the pre-schoolers are homeless and in need of a warm, nutritious meal. They are provided with a daily warm breakfast, and lunch. Multiple groups/businesses take part in feeding the kids. Some dishes I have prepared in the past are: baked potatoes with all the fixings, pasta, chicken soup, Sweet Meatballs & Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes, and many other nutritious meals. The sweet meatballs they especially loved. I provided you with the link to the recipe. Using my skills as a chef to feed and nourish these kids gave me great joy. The school has since closed, but I cherish those memories.

Remember to bring food to your local food pantry, drop off baked goods at the local senior center, serve a meal at a soup kitchen. There are so many ways to give back. Here is a link to Feeding America which will give you a list of your Local Food Banks . What you will receive will be beyond measure.

Wishing you and your family a Happy New Year!

xo Mariooch

Thanksgiving Traditions

Thanksgiving holds a special place in my heart. The Wednesday before Thanksgiving was the big prep day. My mom would enlist my help to make her mom’s dressing or as we call it Mama’s Dressing. I loved spending time with mom, so this was a great way to kick off the Holiday weekend. We would spend hours peeling the potatoes, so many potatoes!! It reminds me of the scene from My Big Fat Greek Wedding, where the mom is peeling all the potatoes for what is suppose to be a “small” family gathering, but it turns out everybody is coming!!! Our family was no different. We always made plenty of food to be prepared for all the cousins, aunts, uncles and everyone else who showed up!

I would wake up early on Thanksgiving, and meet my mom in the kitchen. I’d still be sleepy eyed, but I’d attentively watch as she stuffed the turkey with mama’s stuffing. Finally into the oven it would go! The turkey was always prepared very early so that we could feed everyone an early dinner.

One Thanksgiving, my oldest daughter woke up and started, to my surprise, washing and then peeling the potatoes. (We didn’t have time to make the stuffing the night before!) Soon I could smell the onions sauteing in the olive oil, and the house smelled so good! Before I knew it the stuffing was done! This is a recipe that will stay in the family for many generations to come and for that I am grateful! I hope you try Potato & Thyme Stuffing aka Mama’s Stuffing for your Holiday gathering.

As a child we celebrated Thanksgiving with my cousin’s family. My uncle would make this stuffing and I always loved it. My cousin gave me the recipe and I cherish it because it reminds me of all the fun family gatherings, laughs, and special bond we all have. This recipe will always be dear to my heart. It is made with sausage, ground chopped meat, onion and thyme. It is a nice stuffing to stuff your turkey with during Thanksgiving or for any Holiday gathering. Here is the link for the recipe. Traditional Sausage and Herb Stuffing.

Another delicious side dish is my Cauliflower, Chick Peas & Thyme Recipe. This is a nice gluten-free option to the Traditional bread stuffing.

Here’s what you will need:

Serves: 4

½ large cauliflower or one small, cut off the large stems

¼ red onion, diced

¼ white onion, diced

5 stems (white and light green parts) scallion, diced

1 teaspoon minced garlic (store bought is fine)

Fresh thyme, 5 stems

Fresh basil, 5 leaves

Sea salt

A good quality extra virgin olive oil

1 large can Goya Chick peas drained (you’ll need roughly 2 cups)

¼ cup of freshly grated parmesan cheese.

You’ll need a large frying pan. Start by adding a few drizzles of extra virgin olive oil to the pan and heat it up. Dice up the yellow and red onions, and scallions. Add these to the pan and saute on low heat and add a few sprinkles of ground sea salt. Let these cook about 5 minutes on low heat.

In the meantime, rinse the cauliflower, cut out the stem and chop up the cauliflower into bite size chunks. After the onions have cooked for five minutes, toss in the cauliflower. You can also add the garlic and stir. Keep the heat on low. Add in a few more drizzles of olive oil. The cauliflower needs a few heavy drizzles to start to cook through. If you prefer, add a few tablespoons of water to cut down on the oil. Let this cook about 15 minutes or until the cauliflower is tender. Taste it to check. Once it is tender, you can grate in about 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese.

In the meantime, drain and rinse the can of chick peas (I like Goya!). Measure out about 2 cups, and add it to the pan. Stir and add in a few more sprinkles of sea salt. At this time you can add the fresh thyme leaves. Takes them off the stem and toss in the pan. Also, chop the basil and add this to the pan as well. (I have skipped the basil before, still amazing!).

Let it simmer on low heat just until the chick peas are warm. The onions should be caramelized at this point and the cauliflower should be tender. Your guests will love it!

Now we can’t sideline the sides! A family favorite is roasted asparagus, but really the possibilities are endless with the sides. You can do candied yams baked with marshmallows, broccoli, creamed corn, peas and carrots, petite carrots and pearl onions, the list goes on and on. Just remember some sides like the yams you can prep a day or two before.

I think everyone has a fond Thanksgiving or Holiday memory they cherish. If so, keep those going and share them with the next generation. That is how we keep our family traditions alive and going strong. My brother keeps a frozen turkey in his freezer during the winter months and during the first snowstorm of the season, he thaws it and cooks it! A great idea, and a fun family tradition. What is yours!??? If you don’t have one, start one!

Did you know that David Beckham loves pie?! #pie #Thanksgiving #yum

Did you know that former professional Soccer player, David Beckham loves pie! He says it is right up there with snails and mash! I actually love escargot aka snails as well, prepared in a puff pastry. They can be a bit rubbery though. Read what other movie stars love to eat. Here is a link movie stars favorite eats. I mean really who doesn’t love pie?! There are so many options: cherry, blueberry, peach, apple, pecan, and how can we forget pumpkin. When I worked as a teacher in the inner city, I had the pleasure of trying sweet potato pie. It was fabulous. Unfortunately, I never got any recipes.

This is the time of year I start pulling out the pie recipes. At the very first sight of apples on my apple trees, I start getting excited about apple pie. I have a wonderful recipe that was shared with me by my mom’s friend, Betty. It will not disappoint. The crust is melt-in-your-mouth-goodness. It is so crumbly and delish. I like using gala apples, but you can use any apples you like. But try to stick to the ones that will hold their shape like gala, golden delicious or red apples – you can even mix them! Here is a picture of the apple pie and a link to Betty’s Apple Pie recipe.

Another yummy pie recipe is my pumpkin pie. It is just the right combination of sweet and spicy. The cream cheese gives it an added creaminess. Many pumpkin pie recipes call for evaporated milk or heavy cream (very high in calories!), I opted instead to just add a few heaping tablespoons of cream cheese. The taste is really smooth, and very delicious. I often omit egg from recipes, but this pie has one egg. However, you can skip it!

When you are responsible to prepare the Thanksgiving meal, you have to cut corners. This pie incorporates a boxed pie crust (shhhh don’t tell!). It’s delicious! Here is the pie crust that I pressed into the pan. I cut off all the excess with a knife and pinched all around to create a nice design along the top edges as you see in this photo. After all these photos your mouth will be watering, so here is the link to the Pumpkin Pie recipe. Enjoy!