Chef-Inspired Recipes

I learned this dish when I was 16 and cooking at a great restaurant in Springfield, MO, called the Library. The two lead chefs were brothers, Tom and Bill Hatch, and we soon became fast friends. Today they both own restaurants, one on the west coast, one on the East coast. This is their version of the classic Italian dish. I have yet to find one better!

You need to be careful when cooking boneless, skinless chicken – if overcooked it tends to dry out. This Chicken Picatta recipe is made in such a way that the chicken comes out moist and tasty without a lot of effort. The one piece of equipment that you must have to make this dish is a good non-stick pan. By “good” I mean one that the non-stick surface has no major scratches and still keeps things such as eggs from sticking without extraordinary effort.

INGREDIENTS

For the chicken and batter:

• Four, 3 to 4 oz. boneless, skinless, chicken breasts
• ¾ cup plus 1 tablespoon flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• 3 eggs
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 3 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan cheese
• Olive oil as needed

For Sauce:

• 3 tablespoons real lemon juice
• 6 tablespoons white wine
• 1 tablespoon heavy cream*
• 2 tablespoons small capers
• 1 tablespoon minced shallot (you can substitute white onion)
• 1 stick of butter cut into “¼ pats
• Pinch of salt and pepper

*You can make this sauce without the cream. As a matter of fact, the original recipe did not use cream. I found that the cream acts as a stabilizer and makes the sauce much less likely to break because the butter fat in the butter adheres to fat in the cream causing a stronger bond.

DIRECTIONS

For the chicken and batter:

Pre-heat oven to °200. Lay a chicken breast on cutting board and pound with a meat mallet until very thin, but not so much that the meat tears. Repeat with remaining three breasts. Mix salt and pepper with the ¾ cup of flour in a small bowl. Set aside. Make the batter by mixing the eggs with the remaining tablespoon flour, milk and cheese in small bowl. Beat until frothy. Place your non-stick pan over medium high heat and let it get hot for about 3 minutes. Dredge chicken breasts in flour, brush off extra flour and place in the bowl of the egg and cheese mixture. Add about 2 tablespoons olive oil into heated pan and add as many chicken breasts as your pan will hold with out crowding. Cook for about 3 to 5 minutes a side or until golden brown on each side. Continue cooking chicken, adding more olive oil if necessary, until all of the chicken is cooked. Place in oven to keep warm.

For the sauce:

Put the lemon juice, wine, cream, capers, and shallot in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil and reduce liquids by ¾. This means to boil until only about ¼ of the original starting liquid remains. There is no need to measure this, do it by feel. If there is a little more or less than ¼ it will not make a difference.

Remove sauce from heat and begin to add butter, a few pats at a time, whisking constantly until the butter is incorporated and completely melted. Continue whisking butter into sauce until all the butter is gone. You may need to put bag back onto heat if it gets too cold to melt the butter. If you do, do not place on heat any longer than 30 seconds or so at a time. If the sauce gets too hot, it will separate. Add pinch of salt and pepper. If you do not whisk constantly while adding the butter, the sauce will break which means the liquids and solids in the butter separate causing an undesirable, greasy tasting sauce.

Place chicken on a plate and nap with sauce. This is a great dish to serve with any kind of pasta and maybe some fresh asparagus that has been lightly steamed.

The search for the “World’s Best Burger” has been a difficult one. There are so many different variations of this classic, how can one ever determine what is the “best?” Sometimes I think the fried-on-a-flat-top burgers are best but when I BBQ burgers at home I think those are the best. Who knows? What I do know is that there are certain things that one needs to do when cooking burgers that will ensure that yours are in the running for the “World’s Best Burger!”

Select the Best Meat

The best, juiciest burgers are made from ground chuck (beef), which is about 20 percent fat. Less fat makes a drier burger. Meat labeled “ground beef” or “hamburger” can be up to 30 percent fat and authorities agree that it is also best to know what part of the animal your burger is coming from.

Don’t Handle the Meat Too Much

The heat from your hands begins to melt the fat and makes the patty too dense. Move it lightly from hand to hand and loosely make a patty ¾ to one inch thick (no thicker, or you will have to cook it too long).

Don’t Squash the Burgers When Cooking

I know how tempting this is. Resist temptation! Squashing with a spatula compresses the meat, making it denser, and also squeezes the juices out of the meat leaving you a dry burger.

Make an Indentation in the Top

To keep a burger from getting that “dome” shaped top, make a ¼ inch depression in the center of the meat. The burger will then come out flat keeping your condiments in place.

Try Different Types of Meats or a Combo

Almost any kind of ground meat can be used to make burgers, or mix together different ones. You can mix pork with beef, chicken with lamb, or even buffalo with beef. For flavor, try mixing some fresh sausage or ground bacon in with another type of meat.

Adding Flavors to the Meat

Many people just want great beef, straight up with salt and pepper. You can try adding spices and other flavors to make an interesting burger. A lot of people will add soy sauce or Worcestershire to the meat. Some name brand spice mixes, like Montreal Seasoning or Cavenders, work very well. I, however, am a purist. I use Kosher salt and a little coarse ground pepper when seasoning my burger. I want to taste the meat, not a bunch of spices!

Tip: When adding other ingredients to ground meat, use a spoon or spatula to avoid heating the meat with your hands – see above.

Cooking the Burgers

A BBQ grill or specialty grill like a Big Green Egg or Webers works very well for hamburgers. You want your grill to be at least º400. Spray the grill with vegetable spray like Pam and place the burgers on. Close the lid or you will have flare ups. If your burgers are an inch or less, cook for about 5 minutes (a little less if you want it less done) on the first side. Do not turn until you have cooked on the first side for at least 3 minutes! Turn and cook on the other side for another 3 to 4 minutes until the desired temperature is reached.
It is generally recommended to cook until º160 to be safe.

The Bun

Nothing ruins a good burger faster than a lousy or stale bun. Buy good quality buns. I like to wrap them in damp paper towels and then microwave for 30 seconds. This “steams” them and makes them incredibly soft. Lastly, add your favorite condiments but remember, YOU WANT TO TASTE THE MEAT! Have fun!

A Note From Our Chef

As some of you may know, Price Cutter has recently opened a new venture at the corner of Walnut and South Avenue in Springfield called Bistro Market. Bistro Market is the first of its kind in Downtown Springfield and we believe that it fills a niche that was long overdue. In addition to the products and quality that you have come to expect from Price Cutter, Bistro Market features a full-service restaurant, 24-foot salad bar with many organic foods, a gelato location with 24 flavors, full-service bar, Starbucks, and a full-service meat counter with specialty meats that are not to be found anywhere else in the metro area. I will be spending the next several weeks at the market cooking, training staff, and helping to create a shopping experience unlike anything you can imagine. To that end, we will be revisiting some past recipes that have been featured on the Price Cutter blog and will resume our regular program in the autumn. Come and see me at Bistro Market at 401 South Avenue in Springfield; I look forward to seeing you there!   – Chef Clary

In This Menu:

• BBQ Chicken
• Guacamole
• Blueberry Gooey Butter Cake

People tell me all the time that they have trouble with BBQ chicken. They say it is either burnt on the outside, not done in the middle, or dry. I will admit that doing chicken on the grill outside can be a bit tricky, but with some basic tools and common sense it can be one of the best things you cook. Because I like the flavor of chicken on the grill, I probably grill chicken twice as much as any other meat. I have encountered all of the issues mentioned above and over time learned how to BBQ chicken that has a great fire-roasted flavor, is cooked through, and is still moist. I hope this helps!

Secrets to success with BBQ chicken

Grill temperature – One of the cardinal rules of BBQ chicken is a low fire. Since chicken has to be cooked completely through, it takes longer to cook than a steak. Because of this, if your fire is too hot, the chicken will be burnt before it is cooked! If you have an open top grill with no lid, use less coals than you normally would. After the coals are all glowing, move them to one side. Place the chicken on the other side and rotate and move the chicken frequently throughout the cooking process to ensure it doesn’t get too dark on any one side. If you have a Weber, Green Egg, or other grill with the ability to close the lid and adjust the air flow, close the vents to allow just a small opening for air. This will lower the temperature, reduce or eliminate flare ups, and leave you with a perfect chicken.

Different Pieces, Different Time – A chicken leg cooks in half the time as a chicken breast. So why do we put all of the bird on at the same time? Because no one ever told us differently! I usually start my breasts first and cook for about 15 minutes. Then I put the legs and thighs on and cook for another 20 minutes or so until the chicken is done.

Don’t Sauce Too Early – Chicken burns so easily because most of us think that if we start slopping the BBQ on the meat right away it will be better. The problem with this philosophy is that BBQ sauce is full of sugar. When cooked, sugar turns brown or “caramelizes”; the burnt crust you often see on BBQ chicken is usually made up of sauce. I water down my sauce so that the sugar content is thinned. Never add sauce until the last 10 or 15 minutes of cooking.

INGREDIENTS

For the Chicken:

• 4 chicken breasts
• 4 chicken thighs
• 4 chicken legs

For the Dry Rub:

• ¼ cup chile powder
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon onion powder
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 teaspoon oregano

PREPARATION

The Sauce:
1 part your favorite BBQ sauce mixed with 1 part water

To make the dry rub, mix all of the ingredients together in a small bowl. Rinse the chicken, pat dry with a paper towel then add the chicken, one piece at a time to the spice bowl and turn chicken until it is completely coated with the dry rub. Shake off excess rub, then repeat until all of the chicken pieces are coated.

Place the chicken on the grill, following the procedures outlined above. Check every 10 minutes or so and turn frequently to ensure that the fire is not getting too hot and that the chicken is not burning on any particular side. Start basting the chicken with the sauce and water mixture after the chicken has been cooking for about 20 to 25 minutes. The total cooking time for the chicken, depending of course on the size of the pieces and the temperature of your grill, will be about an hour for the breasts and 30 to 45 minutes for the thighs and legs. This is assuming you are using average-sized chicken cooked over a fire that is about 300°.

When chicken is done, remove from grill and let chicken rest for 10 minutes, cooling a bit. This gives the juices a chance to reabsorb into the tissue. Serve hot with fresh, and buttered, corn on the cobb.

INGREDIENTS

• 6 ripe avocados
• 1 medium red onion-diced
• 1 large, ripe tomato-diced
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 2 Poblano chiles, roasted, skinned, seeded, and diced*
• ½ cup loose packed cilantro
• Juice of 2 limes
• 1 teaspoon Louisiana hot sauce or Cholula
• 2 teaspoons salt

PREPARATION

Peel and seed the avocados. In a small bowl, mash the avocados with the back of a spoon. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well. Serve with your favorite tortilla chips.

*To roast Poblanos; rub peppers with olive oil evenly coating the skin. Place on a greased cookie sheet and cook in a 450° oven for 15 minutes, turn over, then cook for another 15 minutes. Total cooking time is 30 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately place in a brown bag or other tight fitting container. Wait 20 minutes or so then remove chiles from bag and peel skin from the peppers. Open them up and remove seeds. They are now ready to dice. This procedure can be used to skin and seed any pepper.

INGREDIENTS

For the Crust:

• 1 box yellow cake mix
• 4 oz. butter
• 2 eggs

For the Filling:

• 2 cups fresh blueberries

For the Topping:

• 4½ cups powdered sugar
• 12 oz. cream cheese
• 3 eggs

PREPARATION

In a medium mixing bowl, mix cake mix with butter and eggs until a thick dough is formed. Make sure that the cream cheese is room temperature then mix topping ingredients well.

For a large cake, wet your hands with cold water then press crust evenly into a 9″x13″ pan. Sprinkle berries evenly over crust. Pour topping over berries. Bake at 350° for 45 minutes. Let cool slightly before serving. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

You can do individual cakes by using soufflé dishes, cupcake molds, or other single serving bakeware. The number you end up with depends on the size of the pans you are using. Just follow the same procedure; crust in bottom followed by berries then topping. Bake until golden brown on top.

In This Menu:

• Spinach and Watermelon Salad
• Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas
• Peach Bread Pudding

It is true. I like Mexican food. A lot. I just spent the weekend in St. Louis celebrating my mother-in-law’s birthday. Happy Birthday Virginia, you’re the best! I was able to cook with my sister-in-law, Gloria, who is not too shabby when it comes to Mexican cooking (growing up there helps). Gloria is passionate about food, family, and entertaining and because of that, cooking with her is truly a joy! This is the long explanation as to why I did enchiladas this week.

I wanted to give you a recipe for enchiladas that is fairly quick and easy. The ground Smart Chicken is an amazing product and you should be able to get this dish in the oven in less than 45 minutes. It freezes well and if you are looking for a dish to take to a friend, this does very well in a foil pan. Salud!

INGREDIENTS

• 1 tablespoon honey
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• Dash of salt
• 4 cups torn spinach
• 4 cups thinly sliced romaine
  lettuce

• 2 cups (1 inch) watermelon
  balls

• 1 cup sliced strawberries
• ½ cup sliced cucumber
• ¼ cup thinly sliced onion, separated into rings

PREPARATION

Combine first 4 ingredients in a bowl; stir well with a whisk. Set aside.
Combine spinach and remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Drizzle dressing over salad, and toss gently to coat. Serve immediately.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 small white onions, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 ears Olathe corn cut from cob
• 1 lb. ground Smart Chicken
• Salt and pepper
• 1, 12 oz. can black beans
• Juice of 2 limes
• 1 lb. soft, Mexican cheese grated
• 12, 8 inch corn tortillas
• ½ cup vegetable oil
• 1 can green enchilada sauce
• 8 oz. sour cream
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 bunch cilantro, rough chop

PREPARATION

Heat the oil in a large skillet. Add onion, garlic, corn, and chicken and sauté, tossing frequently until chicken is cooked through. Drain meat, then place in bowl. Add black beans, ½ of the chopped cilantro, ½ of the cheese, and lime juice to chicken and stir to mix. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Heat vegetable oil on low heat. Dip tortillas one at a time in hot oil and set aside on paper towels to drain. Fill each tortilla with about ¼ cup of the filling, roll and place in a greased ovenproof pan, like a Pyrex.

Make sauce by mixing enchilada sauce with sour cream and salt. Pour sauce over enchiladas and bake for 45 minutes at 375°.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 fresh peaches, peeled and
  sliced thin

• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 6 cage free eggs
• ½ cup honey
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ cup heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• Pinch of salt
• Several slices of dense, white
  bread, crusts removed

PREPARATION

Slice peaches, place in bowl with brown sugar and set aside.

Beat eggs with next 5 ingredients and set aside. Butter a 8″x8″ Pyrex. Line bottom of Pyrex with peach slices, slightly overlapping. Top peach layer with a layer of bread to completely cover peaches. Repeat until pan is full. Pour custard over all and let the custard soak into the bread. Bake in water bath for about 90 minutes at 275° or until a toothpick comes out clean.