It's All About Me
Cooking with Micheleâ„¢ owner and chef Michele Morris has been cooking since the age of five when her early cooking forays included sugar and butter sandwiches and small undercooked cakes in an Easy Bake Ovenâ„¢. She quickly graduated to French toast, fried chicken, and salad preparation for her family, and at the age of fifteen surprised her mother with an elaborate Chinese dinner cooked entirely from scratch.
After putting her passion for cooking on the back burner for twenty years while working and raising a family, Michele began aggressively pursuing culinary education to supplement her years of learning by trial and error in her own kitchen. Her culinary and wine training includes:
Cook Street School of Fine Cooking - Denver, CO
Le Cordon Bleu - Paris, France
Cooking in an Undiscovered Hill Town - Casperia, Italy
Ecole Ritz Escoffier - Paris, France
The School of Gourmet Cooking and Catering - Atlanta, GA
Cookin' Cajun Cooking School - New Orleans, LA
Hofmann Escuale de Hosteleria - Barcelona, Spain
Oaxacan Cooking with Carmen - Playa del Carmen, Mexico
International Wine Guild - Certified Chef of Wine Arts, Executive Sommelier
The Awaiting Table Cookery School - Lecce, Italy
Michele launched Cooking with Micheleâ„¢ in 2006 and delights in sharing her passion for food, wine, and cooking with her students. She provides both private and group cooking classes for kids and adults and leads cooking dinner parties with wine pairings.
Me and My Love of Wine
I could never pick a single one! I love anything bubbly (Champagne, Cava, Prosecco, sparkling wines from CA) because they are festive and pair well with most foods. But I also love many different wines from around the world - Malbecs from Argentina, Tempranillos from Spain, Primitivos and Brunellos from Italy, Sauvignon Blancs from New Zealand, both red and white Burgundy from France, etc. It all depends on my mood and what I'm eating!
Italy, I think because it's just in my blood - my distant relatives were from the Lake Como region.
Any time I was treated specially by the producer - a wine dinner in the cellars of Silver Oak, a private barrel tasting with a small producer in Argentina, learning about French wines from a passionate guru in France, a Champagne lunch with friends in Reims, sipping a family's Sangiovese wines in their home for a homecooked lunch in Tuscany.
Champagne - the very best I can find!
I am primarily a cooking instructor and food writer, but I do alot of wine pairings with my events.
Interested in Contacting Me?
Check out my website or my blog at cookingwithmichele.blogspot.com, or email me at michele@cookingwithmichele.com, or check out my profile on LinkedIn.
Michele's Latest Posts
I’ve been up to my elbows in flour and other ingredients, cooking with kids in my kitchen during these last few days of summer before they head back to school. For the moms, I know how anticipated that first day of school is, finally finding a few minutes to yourself to get something done without [...]
. Refrigerator Dill Pickles Yields 1 pint 3-4 pickling cucumbers, about 4 inches long 2 heads dill weed (the seed heads) 1 clove garlic, peeled and halved 1 tablespoon minced fresh dill weed 1/2 teaspoon celery seed 1/2 teaspoon mustard seed 1/2 cup water 1/4 cup cider vinegar 1/4 cup white vinegar 1 tablespoon kosher [...]
My youngest son (21 year old middle child) is moving to Manhattan. That’s his office, the brown building basking in the reflection of the iconic Chrysler building. Doesn’t that building just scream Gotham City to you?I flew with him to NY last weekend to get a feel for the neighborhoods. I’ve been to the city [...]
Start by slicing the zucchini thin – if yours are overgrown like mine, scoop out the spongy seeds that run down the center.Find a casserole dish large enough to fit the slices, then start layering. A couple layers of thin zucchini, some thin slices of onion (any type will do)…and the most important ingredient, the [...]
Blueberry Tart Makes 2 11-inch tarts for a party 12 ounces all purpose flour 2 tablespoons sugar 8 ounces butter, cold, cut into chunks 1 egg 1/4 cup water 1 cup sugar 2 quarts (64 ounces) of ripe blueberries, rinsed and picked over 1 lemon, zested and juiced 4 tablespoons cornstarch Combine flour and sugar [...]
Quick Ratatouille Serves 8 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil 1 large onion, diced 1 medium eggplant, cubed 1 medium zucchini, cubed 1 medium yellow squash, cubed 2 green peppers, diced 2 large tomatoes, diced 1 tablespoon fresh thyme 1 sprig rosemary 1 bay leaf 4 ounces tomato juice 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar 2 tablespoons [...]
I signed up for something new this year – a fruit share from Ela Family Farms. I’ve had a bad habit in recent years of forgetting to eat enough fruit, which is a shame considering how delicious the Colorado grown fruit is. I figured a CSA share would ensure I got my fill. I pick [...]
There might not be any other food that is so singularly simple yet good as an egg. I love them hard boiled, but sometimes it just doesn’t work out right. You might remember awhile back I did a post with a link to an incredible video that showed how you could actually blow a whole [...]
Watermelon and Tomato Salad with Feta and Herbs Serves 8-10 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar 1 lemon, juiced 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon cracked black pepper 1/2 medium onion, thinly sliced 4 cups diced watermelon, seeds removed 4 cups diced tomatoes 1 small cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced 1 [...]
Citrus with Basil and Pernod Serves 4 2 navel oranges 1 grapefruit 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 cup water 1 tablespoons basil chiffonade 1 tablespoon Pernod Peel the citrus with a vegetable peeler and cut into small strips. Place in a small pot of cold water and bring to a boil. Drain and repeat 2 more [...]
The winner of the first olive oil giveaway is Laura Bloom from Boulder, Colorado. She said: “My absolute favorite way to enjoy fine extra virgin olive oil, is a last minute, generous, drizzle on a bowl of hot, soft polenta or a lovely pappardelle and spring vegetable dish. This final touch is what makes the [...]
It’s with great pleasure that I introduce today a new sponsor of the Cooking with Michele® blog – Gourmet Cooking & Living, those great folks who import wonderful high quality extra virgin olive oil from Italy. I’ve been a fan for years, and love when my monthly shipment arrives from their Olive Oil of the [...]
Spanish (Mexican) Rice Serves 8-10 1 tablespoon canola oil 1 small onion, minced 2 cups long-grain rice 14 ounces stewed tomatoes, with chilies 1 teaspoon ground cumin 1 teaspoon ground coriander 1 tablespoon chili powder salt and pepper, to taste Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat and add onion; cook until [...]
Chop the wilted greens and combine with a diced and sauted onion and 1 container of Boursin herb cheese; while the greens are still hot, stir together until the cheese melts into the greens. Pour into greased ramekins and top with bread crumbs.I wanted a nice garlic flavor so I crushed those fabulous garlic foccacia [...]
Traditional Brown Irish Bread Yields 1 loaf, about 20 slices Adapted from the Ballyvaughan Farmers’ Market Cookbook 12 ounces whole wheat flour (2 cups) 4 ounces all purpose flour (2/3 cup) 2 ounces pinhead oats (also called Irish or steel cut) (1/3 cup) 2 ounces wheat bran (1 cup) 2 teaspoons baking soda 1 teaspoon [...]
I’ve been meaning to post these pics for weeks, but forgot about the recipe – and the delicious end product – while I was away in Ireland. I read somewhere online (apologies to that original blogger as I can’t find where that was!) that making homemade maraschino cherriesRead the rest of Maraschino Cherries from Scratch [...]
Spaghetti alla Nerano Serves 4 Don’t skimp on the olive oil added at the end – it combined with the pasta cooking water creates a wonderful sauce. 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 1 medium to large zucchini, thinly sliced 2-4 cloves of garlic, minced 8 ounces spaghetti, cooked, 1 cup cooking water reserved 3/4 [...]
I cooked tapas dishes for a friend’s party yesterday, and here’s an appetizer I’ve never tried before but I really like. Simply slice flank steak or trip tip across the grain in thin (1/4″ thick) slices, then thread onto a wooden skewer that’s been soaked in water (to prevent burning). Rub with a little olive [...]
Just toss a big handful of each of the three herbs into the food processor (or chop very finely by hand), add a little salt and pepper, then drizzle in extra virgin olive oil until it reaches the consistency of ketchup. Marinate the chicken in the herbs for an hour or so in the refrigerator [...]
Last updated over 1 year ago