This is Mama Miche, and today in my magic kitchen: corned beef (the Instant Pot way), and this is the way!

I love corned beef. I really do. But I don't make it very often. It's easy to make but also quite time-consuming. That's why cooking it in the Instant Pot is my preferred method. You can set it and forget it! It's always perfect, and you can make it a one-pot meal if you cook your veggies in it as well. Makes clean up minimal, and we like that, too.

This is Mama Miche, and today in my magic kitchen: Valentine'choke

No, I didn't just reveal my kinky side… or did I?

When it comes to food, there are a few that are considered aphrodisiacs. Oysters, strawberries, honey, and avocados are among them. One of my favorites, though, is the artichoke—and not just the heart. I'll eat the whole damn thing, steamed, dipped in melted butter with Twice Stolen Spice™.

They take a long time to cook unless you use one of the greatest kitchen inventions ever: the Instant Pot. It takes hours off cooking times for some foods. A small artichoke steams in 5 minutes. A large one stuffed with this incredibly decadent seafood stuffing takes 15 minutes! This brings me more joy than it should.

This is Mama Miche, and today in My Magic Kitchen: Pho

I was born in Vietnam. Technically, I am not Vietnamese. It's the place of my birth, but it's not my family ethnicity. Most people do not look at me and see a person with Asian features, but I swear on all that's holy, when I was growing up, and people would ask where I was born, and I would tell them, they'd look confused and then nod and say, oh yeah! I see it a little around the eyes. And then I'd roll them. My eyes, I mean. Like seriously? My ethnic look isn't Asian at all. Eastern European, Italian, Spanish, Greek, Jewish. I can play any of those roles if any casting directors happen to be looking. But, since the days of Rita Moreno playing an Asian in movies, and yes, she did. (Tuptim in the King and I), casting me as Asian is about as obvious.

This is Mama Miche and today in My Magic Kitchen: Butter Chicken

To look at me, you would not know that I was born in Southeast Asia because my parents are not Asian, they’re of Eastern European and German descent. You also might not think I look Eastern European or German unless you know that I’m Jewish. Most people thought I was Italian growing up and I would often respond when they would ask, “Are you Italian?” I would reply, “ No, I’m not Italian I just play one on TV.” And we would laugh.

Growing up, my mom cooked so many different types of ethnic foods, but she never forayed into Indian food. I only ever ate Indian food in restaurants, but I grew up in NYC and if you know, you know, authentic Indian food, you needed to look no further than 6th St., NYC. The New York City area is home to the largest Indian American population of any metropolitan area in the country. In Manhattan, the neighborhoods of Rose Hill and Murray Hill between 25th and 30th Street have become known as Curry HIll, due to the growing Indian food scene. And closer to where I grew up and where I went to high school, Jackson Heights, has a large population from India as well as many great Indian restaurants.