Cooking Lesson with Two Home Chefs.

In my recent article reviewing Home Chef, the main reason I gave this product a try was due to not always wanting to cook from scratch.  While that was my personal goal, it did not end up being that way. 

It came to pass that I found ricotta and mozzarella cheeses, on sale, at the local market.  This was a great opportunity to purchase a double quantity, and make two trays of lasagna.  One tray would provide dinner, and a multitude of lunches during the week.  The other tray was wrapped up in foil, placed in the freezer, and would be consumed sometime within the next six months.  It took me a good three hours to prep all the ingredients, that includes homemade meat sauce, build up the trays, bake one, and freeze the other.

Lunch time comes around and Roy happens to say the last thing I want to hear, “Are you going to make those flautas you got from that food company?”  Count to ten, breathing in slowly, exhaling slowly, turn to face him and, “No hunny, you are!”  Oh, the look on his face…priceless.

However, I have to give the man credit, without flinching, he actually said, “Fine, but you have to watch me, and make sure I’m doing it right.”  Agreed!  So, while Roy became the home chef, I simply became supervisor, and, of course, demonstrator of technique if necessary.  My knife skills far exceed his, in the kitchen, and on the battle field.  I will leave that last sentence for you all to ponder over.

 

 

 

 

 

While the instruction card stated prep to cooking to dining time was 40 to 50 minutes, the company probably expects “home chefs” to be experienced and fast.  Not so with a beginner, and it took a good 1 and ½ hours before lunch was served.  Yes, Roy did follow the recipe card, but even the instructions, with photos, perplexed him a bit.  I did assist by showing, with half the tomato, how to slice and dice for salsa quality; large chopping for the spinach, and minimal slicing of the green onions.  Adding the seasonings, browning the chicken and making the finishing sauce he did on his own, and quite well.  Rolling the flautas was a challenge at first. He did not understand which end of the filled tortilla needed to be “folded over”.  I explained that, instead of making a burrito, pretend to make enchiladas, and the challenge was overcome!

 

She only had to show me, how to use the knife, once!

Browning the chicken.

"What the heck is this saying!?!"

 

 

Roll up the tortillas.

Place in skillet to brown.

 

Both sides browned.

Now, this recipe from Home Chef, is a fusion of Mexican and Italian tastes.  The pesto and mozzarella cheese are essentially Italian, and, well, we both did not see the point of the mixing of these two cuisines.  Oh, do not get me wrong, the meal was good, but nothing we would ever want to make again.  That is, using the ingredient list provided by Home Chef.  We discussed what flavor over or under whelmed the rest of the dish; what ingredients would have provided a better, tastier, meal.  So, we are keeping the recipe card, but will be playing and creating.

Overall, Roy said he enjoyed the experience, and now has a much better understanding of what I do, in the kitchen, and why I am an excellent home chef.  He will not be trading me in, for meal kits, any time soon.

 

Creamy Pesto Chicken Flautas

(Note: Recipe and directions are from the Home Chef recipe card received with Meal Kit.)

 

 Ingredients:

12 oz. Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts

6 Small Flour Tortillas

1 Roma Tomato

2 oz. Basil Pesto

2 oz. Baby Spinach

2 oz. Cream Cheese

1 oz. Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

2 Green Onions

¼ oz. Flour

½ tsp. Poultry Seasoning

Preparation:

Step 1: Prepare Ingredients and Make Salsa.

In medium sized bowl, coarsely chop spinach.  Separate green from white on green onions, and thinly slice green onions.

Core tomato and cut into 1/2" dice. (Note: the tomato in the kit was not ripe and bitter; sprinkling salt over it helped with taste).

Add white part of onions to spinach.   In another mixing bowl, combine tomato, green part of onions, half the pesto (reserve remaining for sauce), a pinch of salt, and 1 tsp. olive oil. Set aside.

Step 2: Prep and Cook Chicken

Pat chicken dry and top with 1 tsp. olive oil. Season both sides with poultry seasoning and a pinch of pepper.   On medium-high heat, brown chicken; remove to bowl and shred.

Mix shredded chicken spinach, white part of onions, shredded cheese, and a pinch of salt until spinach begins to wilt.   

Step 3: Assemble the Flautas

Place tortillas on a clean work surface. Place, in center of each tortilla, generous helping of chicken/spinach mixture.

Fold tortilla over filling, tucking long edge under. Roll tortilla and place seam side down. Repeat with remaining tortillas

Step 4: Cook the Flautas

Place a medium non-stick pan, over medium heat, and add 2 tsp. olive oil.

Working in batches of 3, place flautas in hot pan, seam-side down. Cook until browned on one side, 2-3 minutes. Replenish oil if necessary. Gently roll to opposite side and cook until browned, 2-3 minutes.

Remove to plate, repeat with second batch of 3.

Step 5: Make Sauce and Finish Dish

In a microwave-safe bowl, combine softened cream cheese, flour, remaining pesto, and 1/3 cup water.  Microwave, 15 seconds a time and stirring in between, until smooth and heated through, 45-60 seconds.  If too thick, add water, 1 tsp. at a time and up to 1 Tbsp., until desired consistency is reached.

Plate dish as pictured on front of card, halving flautas, if desired, and topping with sauce and salsa. Bon appétit!

Mary Cokenour

 

 

 

 

Fusion Cuisine is Not a Novel Idea.

In 2020, there was a barrage of “Lives Matter” movements occurring across this great nation of the United States of America.  It got me to thinking, about this section of North America, and why the sudden divide.  “Together we stand, divided we fall” is a meaningful quote that is mainly attributed to one of the country’s founding fathers, John Dickinson.  A Pennsylvanian farmer who penned many a letter that would influence the thinking, and opinions, of the colonists.   He opposed British taxation of the colonies, but also opposed the use of force against mother England.  You could say that Dickinson believed that compromise and peace could be achieved via communication, not violent acts.  The American Revolution proved that ideology not to be necessarily true.

By the way, John Dickinson did not come up with the phrase, “Together we stand, divided we fall”, but took it from Aesop (620–564 BCE).  Aesop was a Greek storyteller, and this line appeared in one of his fables, “The Four Oxen and the Lion”.  John Dickinson placed the line in his song, “The Liberty Song”; written in 1770, reflecting on the growing tensions between the colonies and mother country.  “Then join hand in hand, brave Americans all,

By uniting we stand, by dividing we fall”.  So, and this is my personal take on it all, of course, but, as a nation, should we not be standing together, instead of planning on taking a fall?  We are a nation of various races, religions, cultures, ancestries, beliefs, ages, genders and cuisines which, as a melting pot, should fuse together.  Perhaps we all should read, or reread, the European folk story, “The Stone Soup”?

Now to food, and Fusion Cuisine; what exactly is it? When a fancy restaurant advertises fusion cuisine, you are paying an exorbitant price for a “current fad”.  Guess what?  This type of cuisine has been around for centuries.  Fusion cuisine is not just the merging of food from different cultures, but the cooking techniques as well.  As different countries and cultures, visited, immigrated to, or invaded elsewhere, food items and recipes were either brought along, or discovered; not unusual to also discover that many went well together.  Cooking techniques were also shared, so where a culture had only baked bread over open coals, now they learned about the clay oven.

If you go into a restaurant that offers different cuisines, that is not necessarily fusion.  The dishes may be Greek, Korean and Mexican, but each dish is prepared and served in its traditional form.  An example of fusion would be to take the ingredients of a Greek Gyro (roasted lamb, tzatziki sauce, vegetables), but preparing them as a Mexican Enchilada; adding some of the ingredients usually found in a traditional enchilada, and/or taking away some of the gyro ingredients.  While this might sound simple, care must be taken to ensure that the tastes meld together successfully.

The recipe I am giving to you is my attempt at fusion cuisine; a mixture of Irish with Mexican.  The O’Brien potatoes are cubed potatoes that are fried with diced onions, pimientos (roasted red bell pepper), or diced red and green bell peppers; this is the Irish part.  The other part will be ingredients that would typically go into tacos; the Mexican part.  The technique will include some frying, but finish off baking in an oven.

Taco Beef and Potato Bake

 

Ingredients:

2 lbs. lean ground beef

1 cup diced onion, divided in half

1 envelope taco seasoning, medium

1 (14 ½ oz.) can diced tomatoes with green chilies, medium

1 (16 oz.) can light kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 (28 oz.) bag frozen O’Brien potatoes, thawed

1 (10 ½ oz.) can cheddar cheese soup

¾ cup 2% milk

¼ cup diced red bell pepper

1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 Tbsp. paprika

1 tsp. ground black pepper

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 F.

In a skillet, over high heat, brown the beef; add ½ cup of onion halfway through cooking; drain.  Reduce heat to low; add taco seasoning and tomatoes; mix well.  Let simmer for 5 minutes.

Spray a 3 quart baking dish with non-stick spray; spread meat mixture in dish.  Spread on top of meat mixture the beans and potatoes.

In a large bowl, mix together the soup, milk, bell pepper, remaining ½ cup onion and Worcestershire; pour mixture over the potatoes, spreading evenly to edges of dish.  Sprinkle the paprika and black pepper over the sauce.

Bake for 1 hour covered with foil; bake uncovered for 15 minutes.  Let rest for 15 minutes before serving.

Makes 8-10 servings.

Mary Cokenour

 

 

Fusion Cuisine for Fall Harvest.

Fusion Cuisine has been around since the 1970s, a blending of culinary cultures and techniques which creates unique taste combinations. Those fajitas so well loved are a perfect example of fusion cuisine; Tex-Mex which is a combination of Southwestern United States and Mexican cultures.

With the last of the fall harvest coming in from home gardens, a question often heard is, “What can I do with all of these….?”  Pickling, canning, freezing and sharing with others are great options; so is playing with new recipes.  Tomatoes, that lovely, vine grown fruit that can be eaten raw and cooked; made into sauces; added to sandwiches and salads; mixed into skillet dinners or casseroles.  Green tomatoes can be sliced ¼ inch thick, dipped into egg wash, bread crumb coated, or batter dipped; deep fried into a delicious treat that brings sighs of delight.  Ah, but here comes the fusion part for tomatoes of reddish hue.

Stuffed tomatoes are not a novel idea; main form of stuffing being rice or bread.  My recipe calls for cubed bread stuffing  which is typically American,  veggies, cheese and herbs which are typically Italian, but some of those same veggies plus chili powder gives it a taste of Mexican cuisine; hence the fusion part.  To really boost up the taste and texture, to make this a complete meal, here comes more American influence…chicken!

I love using chili powder from New Mexico; it seems to have a heady aroma, a smokiness not found elsewhere.  As a rule of thumb, I typically use mild spice when cooking; the longer the cooking, the spicier it becomes.  Remember, you can always add, but cannot take away; that's always the best rule when working with spicy ingredients, and any other seasoning ingredients, especially salt.  If you like more heat, but this is your first time making this recipe, take a little advice; start with mild and add dashes of hot sauce as you eat to see what it will taste like to you.  This method not adventurous enough?  Then use three types of chili powder (mild, medium and hot); make three stuffed tomatoes and use one type of chili powder with each.  Stick a toothpick (one for mild, two for medium, three for hot) in the appropriate tomatoes; after they're baked do your taste testing.  Don't forget you can get others in on this too for a real judging.  Use firm tomatoes that can be easily gripped in the hand and won't squash or crack when being hollowed out.   

Fusion Stuffed Tomatoes

Ingredients:

4-6 medium to large firm tomatoes (dependent on size)

2 cups herbed stuffing cubes

1 Tbsp. butter

¼ cup each small diced red onion, red bell pepper and mushrooms

1 tsp minced garlic

2 chicken breasts halves, boneless and skinless

½ tsp each salt, ground black pepper, mild New Mexico chili powder; mixed together

Additional salt to season tomato interior

Olive oil; 1 Tbsp. per tomato

Grated Parmesan cheese; 1 tsp per tomato

Preparation:

With a small knife, cut out hard center where stem was attached and discard. Cut ¼ inch off the top; use a spoon to hollow out tomato to ¼ inch inside. Rinse out tomatoes and invert onto a paper towel lined pan.  (I had two large and three medium which fit perfectly in my casserole dish.)  Strain tomatoes, but reserve ½ cup of liquid; dice tomatoes and set aside.

Place stuffing cubes in a medium sized bowl, pour reserved tomato liquid over and mix.

In a medium sized skillet, over medium-high heat, melt tablespoon of butter; sauté onion, bell pepper and mushroom until softened. Add in ½ cup of diced tomatoes and garlic; let cook another minute; add to stuffing cubes.

At same time vegetables are sautéing; season both sides of chicken with seasoning mixture; brown in skillet, with one tablespoon olive oil, over medium- high heat (3-4 minutes per side). I made several extra which I cut into 1/2 inch slices and froze for use later on; very convenient when doing a spur of the moment recipe.  Dice chicken and add to stuffing bowl; mix thoroughly.

Preheat oven to 375F; spray 2 quart round casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray. Sprinkle ¼ teaspoon salt inside each tomato, then stuff with mixture; place ¼ inch top back and place in casserole dish.

Drizzle one tablespoon olive oil over each tomato; bake for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and top with one teaspoon grated Parmesan cheese; return to oven for 5 minutes.

Makes 4-6 servings.

So, how does all this fusion in a tomato taste? It was a cultural party going on in the mouth and it tasted so good! The chicken was tender, juicy and savory; the stuffing herbalicious with a mild tomato flavor from the tomato liquid used to soak the cubes. The tomato itself, while fully cooked, could be cut with a fork and still hold together its texture; it tasted with the Parmesan cheese, like a very chunky and rich tomato sauce.  

Mary Cokenour

Remember that Garlic Butter Sauce?

You remember, don't you?  The packet of Garlic Butter Sauce I had stashed in the freezer from the Buitoni Shrimp and Lobster Ravioli box. Well I found another way to use it, and to try out a little more fusion cuisine while I was at it. Once again this pasta making challenged woman used a Buitoni product, Cheese and Roasted Garlic Tortelloni; but mixed it with stir fry vegetables...a little bit Italian with a little bit Asian.


I purchased two (9 ounce) packages of the tortelloni and one (16 ounce) package of frozen stir fry vegetables.  I opened up the package of vegetables and put them in a colander, so the water could drain away as they defrosted.  That way I could also defrost the packet of sauce at the same time.  When ready, I first cooked the pasta only to the halfway point, not even to al dente; it was going to finish cooking with the vegetables and the sauce later on.



In a large skillet, set on medium-high heat, I melted two tablespoons of butter with two tablespoons of olive oil; the defrosted vegetables went in plus a teaspoon of minced garlic.  I let them cook for five minutes, stirring occasionally to keep them from sticking or burning.  Just before I added the pasta, the contents from the sauce packet got mixed in; squeezed out every drop of the creamy, garlicky, buttery goodness.





Reduce the heat to low, mix in the tortelloni and cover.  Let this cook for seven minutes; basically the pasta will be steamed to desired doneness while absorbing the flavors of the sauce.  You'll end up with four generous portions, or stretch it to six with an added side dish; sprinkling grated or shredded cheese over top is optional.






Here's the completed dish, Garlic Pasta Stir Fry.  Quick, convenient, easy to make and yummy; it looks pretty too, so you'll be sure to impress someone.    Enjoy!

Mary Cokenour

Fusion Stuffing

So why am I calling this post "Fusion Stuffing"?  Basically it's the best way to describe the combination of ingredients for today's recipe....Stuffed Tomatoes.  I'm using cubed stuffing and chicken which is typically American,  veggies, cheese and herbs which are typically Italian, but some of those same veggies plus chili powder gives it a taste of Mexican cuisine; hence the fusion part. 

Now let me warn you now about the heat in the Mexican spice factor; I used mild, since this is the first time I'm doing this dish.  Remember, you can always add, but cannot take away; that's always the best rule when working with spicy ingredients.  If you like more heat, but this is your first time making this recipe, take a little advice; start with mild and add dashes of hot sauce as you eat to see what it will taste like to you.  Not good enough?  Then use three types of chili powder (mild, medium and hot); make three stuffed tomatoes and use one type of chili powder with each.  Stick a toothpick (one for mild, two for medium, three for hot) in the appropriate tomatoes; after they're baked do your taste testing.  Don't forget you can get others in on this too for a real judging.

I thought this dish would be difficult and sure that I would mess it up terribly; but it wasn't that bad.  The trick is to use firm tomatoes that you can easily grip in your hand that won't squash, or crack when being hollowed out.  Have a game plan for all the tomato meat and liquid you'll gather as you won't be using all of it for this recipe.  I was planning on making Vegetarian Pasta Sauce anyway, so what better to put fresh tomatoes in?

Stuffed Tomatoes

Ingredients:

4-6 medium to large firm tomatoes (dependent on size)
2 cups herbed stuffing cubes
1 Tbsp butter
¼ cup each small diced red onion, red bell pepper and mushrooms
1 tsp minced garlic
2 chicken breasts halves, boneless and skinless
½ tsp each salt, ground black pepper, mild New Mexico chili powder; mixed together
Additional salt to season tomato interior
Olive oil; 1 Tbsp per tomato
Grated Parmesan cheese; 1 tsp per tomato

Preparation:

With a small knife, cut out hard center where stem was attached and discard. Cut ¼ inch off the top; use a spoon to hollow out tomato to ¼ inch inside. Rinse out tomatoes and invert onto a paper towel lined pan.  (I had two large and three medium which fit perfectly in my casserole dish.)  Strain tomatoes, but reserve ½ cup of liquid; dice tomatoes and set aside.

Place stuffing cubes in a medium sized bowl, pour reserved tomato liquid over and mix.

In a medium sized skillet, over medium-high heat, melt tablespoon of butter; sauté onion, bell pepper and mushroom until softened. Add in ½ cup of diced tomatoes and garlic; let cook another minute; add to stuffing cubes.

At same time vegetables are sautéing; season both sides of chicken with seasoning mixture; brown in skillet, with one tablespoon olive oil, over medium- high heat (3-4 minutes per side). I made several extra which I cut into 1/2 inch slices and froze for use later on; very convenient when doing a spur of the moment recipe.

Dice chicken and add to stuffing bowl; mix thoroughly.

Preheat oven to 375F; spray 2 quart round casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray. Sprinkle ¼ teaspoon salt inside each tomato, then stuff with mixture; place ¼ inch top back and place in casserole dish.

Drizzle one tablespoon olive oil over each tomato; bake for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and top with one teaspoon grated Parmesan cheese; return to oven for 5 minutes.

Makes 4-6 servings.

So, how does it all taste together? It was a cultural party going on in the mouth and it tasted so good! The chicken was tender, juicy and savory; the stuffing herbalicious with a mild tomato flavor from the tomato liquid used to soak the cubes. The tomato itself, while fully cooked, could be cut with a fork and still hold together its texture; it tasted with the Parmesan cheese, like a very chunky and rich tomato sauce. I will most definitely be making this recipe again!

Mary Cokenour

Fusion Cuisine is not a novel idea.

When a fancy restaurant advertises fusion cuisine, you’re paying an exorbitant price for a current fad.  Guess what?  This type of cuisine has been around for centuries.  Fusion cuisine is not just the merging of food from different cultures, but the cooking techniques as well.  As different countries and cultures, visited or invaded elsewhere, food items were either brought along, or discovered; not unusual to also discover that many went well together.  Cooking techniques were also shared, so where a culture had only baked bread over open coals, now they learned about the clay oven.

If you go into a restaurant that offers different cuisines, that is not necessarily fusion.  The dishes may be Greek, Korean and Mexican, but each dish is prepared and served in its traditional form.  An example of fusion would be to take the ingredients of a Greek Gyro (roasted lamb, taztziki sauce, vegetables), but preparing them as a Mexican Enchilada; adding some of the ingredients usually found in a traditional Enchilada, and/or taking away some of the Gyro ingredients.  While this might sound simple, care must be taken to ensure that the tastes meld together successfully.

The recipe I’m giving to you today is my attempt at fusion cuisine; a mixture of Irish with Mexican.  The O’Brien potatoes are cubed potatoes that are fried with diced onions, pimientos (roasted red bell pepper), or diced red and green bell peppers; this is the Irish part.  The other part will be ingredients that would typically go into tacos; the Mexican part.  The technique will include some frying, but finish off baking in an oven.

Taco Beef and Potato Bake

Ingredients:

2 lbs lean ground beef

1 cup diced onion, divided in half

1 envelope taco seasoning, medium

1 (14 ½ oz) can diced tomatoes with green chilies, medium

1 (16 oz) can light kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 (28 oz) bag frozen O’Brien potatoes, thawed

1 (10 ½ oz) can cheddar cheese soup

¾ cup 2% milk

¼ cup diced red bell pepper

1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 Tbsp paprika

1 tsp ground black pepper

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 F.

In a skillet, over high heat, brown the beef; add ½ cup of onion halfway through cooking; drain.  Reduce heat to low; add taco seasoning and tomatoes; mix well.  Let simmer for 5 minutes.

Spray a 3qt baking dish with non-stick spray; spread meat mixture in dish.  Spread on top of meat mixture the beans and potatoes.  In a large bowl, mix together the soup, milk, bell pepper, remaining ½ cup onion and Worcestershire; pour mixture over the potatoes, spreading evenly to edges of dish.

Sprinkle the paprika and black pepper over the sauce.  Bake for 1 hour covered with foil; bake uncovered for 15 minutes.  Let rest for 15 minutes before serving.

Makes 8-10 servings.

Mary Cokenour