Our Guest Chef's First Dinner

Last year I bid on a "Guest Chef" at a charity auction and won. WOW, did Cathy like that idea! She was a little worried, that we didn't have the right cookware for our "Guest Chef", but we went ahead and invited another couple over for our cooking lesson and dinner. Chef Hannah believes that with a little help and the right kitchen tools anyone can make magic in the kitchen. These are a few must haves for any kitchen according to Chef Hannah:

Santuko Knife - cuts razor thin pieces of meat, slices delicate tomatoes, and tackles rock-hard squash.

Dutch oven with porcelain enamel surface won't react with foods so you can cook virtually anything in it. Plus, the pot's heavy construction evenly distributes and retains heat.

Cast Iron Skillet - it cooks evenly, browns beautiful, and can be used to fry, sear, or sauté. It's oven proof so you can bake in it too.

Mandolin - the go to tool for slicing everything from apples to zucchini quickly, precisely and uniformly.

Immersion Blender - allows you to puree soups or sauces right in the pot - simple to use and easy to clean

For our first dinner we made a four-course meal with a focus on presentation and less dirty dishes. Re-use of ingredients in different courses was also a goal. Example: arugula pesto spread for the starter and arugula leaves for the salad; asparagus stuffed chicken. This repeating technique not only saves money, it also saves shopping and prep time.

After soaking the asparagus in water and snapping off their tough ends, Cathy began by sautéing them in a little bit of olive oil a stainless steel frying pan. Not too long, just al dente.

Our neighbor Frank used our food processor to make the arugula pesto. When that was finished, we set aside some pesto for the main dish, and put the rest into a serving bowl with pita chips for us to snack on. The salad dressing was whisked together and the salads were plated and set aside.

We stuffed the chicken breasts with the asparagus and pesto, and Chef Hannah browned them in our cast iron skillet to get them caramelized with a crisp seal on both sides. Par cooked, the chicken breasts were set aside for baking later. As for the rice we used Trade Joe's frozen brown rice. It cooks in the microwave in 3 minutes and always comes out perfect.

Using a sharp knife, cut a horizontal slit 3/4 of the way through each chicken breast. Open as for a book. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place a thin layer of pesto over half of each breast. Top with 3 or 4 asparagus. Close breasts over filling. Tie with kitchen string.

Preheat oven to 425'

Melt 1 Tbls butter in large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper: brown in skillet, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer to baking sheet . Bake until chicken is cooked through, about 15 minutes.

"When making a coursed dinner, it is best to get all the ingredients and tools mise en place, (French, for things in place), before diving into the final cooking and plating."

After the prep was done, we were able to uncork a bottle of California Chardonnay and enjoy a glass of wine. The kitchen filled with amazing aromas by the time we were ready to sit down to eat. There was little left to do but sit back and enjoy the evening. With the right tools and planning, meals are made with ease and little time.