In This Menu:

• Pork Quesadillas
• Arugula Salad with Peaches and Pecans
• Strawberry Cream Tart

We love quesadillas at my house. What’s not to like about crispy tortillas filled with some type of goodness swimming in melted white cheese topped with a tangy sauce and velvety sour cream? I have a flat top griddle on my range which makes it very easy to cook two quesadillas at a time. The quesadilla recipe below uses components from two other Mexican recipes: Cochinita Pibil and Corn and Black Bean Salsa.

For Pork:

• 1½ lbs of country style pork ribs
• 2 tablespoons chile powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons Kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons black pepper
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 small white onion, minced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• Diced green chiles, one can
• Juice of two oranges
• Juice of one lemon
• Juice of two limes

Sprinkle spices all over pork to coat evenly. Get a large skillet very hot over high heat. Add oil, then pork. Allow pork to sear until golden brown then turn and sear other side. Add onions and garlic to pan, reduce heat, cover and cook for 2 to 3 minutes until onions begin to soften. Add the green chiles and the three fruit juices, recover pan and simmer on low heat for at least one and one half hours. Remove pork from pan, leaving sauce in pan on stove for another 10 to 15 minutes or until sauce thickens to consistency of salsa. When sauce is thick, remove from heat and set aside. When pork is cool, tear the meat into shreds with your hands. After meat is shredded, place back in sauce and toss until the sauce and meat are thoroughly mixed.

For Salsa:

• One 12 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup of fine diced, white onion
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 ears of Olathe corn
• ½ cup chopped cilantro
• Salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil in a medium skillet and add onions and garlic. Remove husk from corn and cut kernels from cob. Add corn to skillet. Sauté, tossing frequently until onions are soft and corn is cooked. Remove from heat, add black beans, cilantro, and salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

For Quesadillas:

• Eight, 10 inch flour tortillas
• One pound of white, Mexican cheese grated
• Vegetable oil
• Sour Cream
• Salsa

Heat a griddle or skillet over medium heat for about 5 minutes or until 350°. Place one tortilla on a plate and cover moderately with cheese (about 2 oz). Top cheese with about ½ cup of the black bean salsa and about ½ cup of the meat mixture. Top meat with more cheese, then another tortilla. Place in microwave for one minute to start melting the cheeses to help hold the quesadillas together. Brush griddle or skillet with a light coating of vegetable oil with a pastry brush or just add 2 teaspoons or so of oil and swirl around. Place quesadilla on griddle. Brush top of quesadilla with more oil. Cook until golden brown then turn and cook other side. Remove from heat and cut into 6 triangle pieces. Serve with sour cream and salsa if desired.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 container organic, baby
  arugula

• 2 fresh, Missouri peaches,
  peeled and sliced

• One, 6 oz. bag chopped
  pecans

For Dressing:

• 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon or so of honey

PREPARATION

In a small bowl, with a wire whip, mix balsamic with oil, salt, and honey until dressing is one color. Place arugula in a bowl and add just enough dressing to coat and toss to coat evenly. Divide arugula evenly on 4 plates. Put peaches and pecans in the bowl with a little more of the dressing. Toss to coat peaches. Top arugula with peaches and pecans.

INGREDIENTS

For Crust:

• ½ cup butter, softened
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1¼ cups all purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons milk
• ½ teaspoon almond extract

For Filling:

• 3 oz. package cream cheese,
  softened

• ½ cup powdered sugar
• ½ teaspoon almond extract
• 1 cup sour cream

For Topping:

• 1 pint fresh, organic strawberries hulled and cut in half
• 2-6 tablespoons strawberry jelly, melted

PREPARATION

Heat oven to 400°. In small mixer bowl beat butter and sugar at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until light and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes. Add flour, milk and ½ teaspoon almond extract. Reduce speed to low; continue beating, scraping bowl often, until mixture leaves sides of bowl and forms a ball. Press dough on bottom and up sides of greased 10″ tart pan or 12″ pizza pan; prick with fork. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool.

In small mixer bowl combine cream cheese, powdered sugar and ½ teaspoon almond extract. Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until light and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes. Add sour cream; continue beating until mixture is thick and fluffy (2 to 3 minutes). Spread over top of cooled crust. Refrigerate at least 1 hour just before serving. Arrange fruit on filling. Brush or drizzle melted jelly over fruit.

I have to give my wife and her dad credit on this one. As I have said before, I grew up in a family that was very much involved in cooking and my dad loved to use the grill in addition to the various types of indoor cooking that he did. He grilled pretty much everything but with the exception of pork steaks. After Lisa and I were married, I remember being at a store and her commenting on some meat in the cooler: pork steaks, a cut I was not familiar with. She said her dad, Lee, used to cook them all the time and it was her favorite. I brought some home and eventually figured out that they needed to be cooked at a lower heat for a longer period of time and that basting the steak would retain their moisture. We now have pork steaks at least once a month and everyone in the family loves them!

In This Menu:

• BBQ Pork Steaks
• Cheesy Potato Casserole
• Fresh Green Beans
• Tuna Carpaccio
• Strawberry Shortcake

INGREDIENTS

• Four, thick cut Farmland All Natural Pork Steaks
• ¼ cup vegetable oil
• Head Country BBQ Sauce

Dry Rub

• ¼ cup paprika
• 2 tablespoons Kosher cup salt
• 2 tablespoons garlic powder
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon crushed red pepper

PREPARATION

Start a fire in your grill and cover to produce a fire that is about 300°. If you do not have a thermometer on your grill, just make sure and move the really hot coals to one side. In a medium-size bowl, combine the paprika, salt, garlic powder, chili powder, brown sugar, and red pepper to taste. You need to taste this “dry rub” before applying it to the meat. Rub steaks liberally with dry rub. Pour a little of the oil on each steak and rub oil into the meat. Barbecue slowly, turning frequently. The idea is to get them very dark and crispy on the outside without being black and burned. This does require some careful monitoring. After the steaks have cooked for about 60 minutes, brush with ½ cup of BBQ sauce thinned with ½ cup water. Turn and brush frequently for another 45 to 60 minutes. Steaks should be golden brown and ready to eat. Serve with green beans and Cheesy Potato Casserole.

This potato dish is a variation of one I used to do regularly at my previous restaurant. They have mass appeal and are not too difficult.

INGREDIENTS

• 4 large russet potatoes
• 8 slices of bacon
• 1 small, white onion
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 2 cups of grated swiss cheese
• Kosher salt
• Black pepper
• 1½ cups heavy cream
• 2 eggs

PREPARATION

Peel russets under cold water. Cut each potato in half vertically and cut into slices as thin as you can make them. If you have a mandolin or slicing attachment on your food processor, use that. Cook bacon in oven until crisp. Chop bacon and set aside. Mince the onion and the garlic, mix the two together and set aside. Butter an 8″X8″ Pyrex or similar sized casserole dish.

To make the dish, place a layer of the potato slices on the bottom of the dish. Lightly sprinkle layer with the chopped bacon, onion/garlic, salt and pepper, and a little cheese, Repeat this process until the dish is full. The top layer should end with the cheese. In a small bowl, beat the two eggs. Add the cream to the eggs and beat with a wire whisk until well blended. Pour this mixture over potatoes and allow the liquid to seep to the bottom of the pan. Bake at 350° for about one hour and 15 minutes until the top is golden brown and bubbly.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 lb. fresh green beans
• 2 quarts of water
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Kosher salt
• Black pepper

PREPARATION

Bring the water to boil, add green beans and cook until tender. This is a personal preference. I like to cook them about 4 minutes. Some like to cook them more and some less. After cooking, immediately plunge into ice water. The cooking part of this process is called blanching and plunging in ice water is called shocking. When you prepare green vegetables this way they will keep their dark green color and not turn yellow. When ready to serve, sauté the beans in the butter mixed with the olive oil, a little salt, and a little pepper.

INGREDIENTS

• One, 8 to 10 oz. piece of fresh
  tuna

• Extra virgin olive oil
• Kosher salt
• Black pepper
• 2 tablespoons capers
• 1 lemon
• ½ head white cabbage
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

PREPARATION

Place a skillet over high heat for at least 5 minutes before cooking the fish. Season tuna with salt and pepper, then rub with some of the oil on both sides. When pan has finished heating, place fish in pan using tongs! I have seen some bad burns caused by placing fish in a hot pan without tongs. Let fish sear on each side for about 1½ minutes. Remove fish and slice into the thinnest slices possible. While slicing fish, add a little more oil to the same skillet you just used for the fish and place cabbage in skillet. Over high heat, sauté cabbage until it just begins to get tender, about 3 minutes. Add the vinegar and cook for another minute until liquids are almost all gone. Serve immediately with tuna.

INGREDIENTS

Strawberry mixture:

• 2 pint strawberries, hulled
  and sliced

• ½ cup granulated sugar

For the biscuit:

• 2 cups, all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon double-acting
  baking powder

• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons shortening
• 2/3 cup and 1 tablespoon, milk

For the topping:

• 1 cup heavy cream, well-chilled
• 3 tablespoons powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3 tablespoons sour cream

PREPARATION

Into a bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add sugar, butter, and shortening. Cut in butter and shortening with a pastry cutter until the flour mixture resembles a coarse meal.

Add milk and vanilla and stir until it forms a dough. Drop the dough in 4 mounds on a buttered baking sheet. Bake at 400° until golden brown. Carefully transfer the biscuit to a rack and cool. Cut the top one-quarter off the biscuits with a serrated knife. Transfer the bottoms to 4 plates and spoon the macerated strawberries and the liquid over each biscuit. In a bowl, beat the cream with the powdered sugar until it just holds a soft peak. Beat in the sour cream and beat the mixture until it is stiff. Top the macerated strawberries with the cream mixture and cover the mixture with the biscuit top. Garnish with powdered sugar and fresh mint.

My father had a great influence on me in many ways, not the least of which was stirring up a passion for Chinese food and cooking. My earliest memory of using a knife to chop vegetables in our kitchen was while I was helping Dad prepare one of the many multi-course Chinese feasts that he did for friends and family. Of all the dishes that I learned back then, my favorite Chinese dish was, and still is, Potstickers. When done right, they are soft on the top, crispy on the bottom, and when combined with the dipping sauce, Potstickers is one of life’s greatest pleasures! Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS

Dumpling Dough:

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 cup boiling water

Filling:

• 8 ounces Napa cabbage
• 1 oz. peeled, fresh ginger
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 pound boneless pork loin
• ¼ cup finely chopped green onions, with tops
• 1 TB white wine
• 1 tsp cornstarch
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• Dash white pepper

Dipping Sauce:

• ¼ cup soy sauce
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 3 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1 teaspoon hot sauce or Chinese Mustard (optional)

PREPARATION

Cut the ginger into ¼-inch pieces. Cut the cabbage into 1-inch pieces. Put ginger in food processor and pulse until very fine. Add cabbage and pulse until cabbage is very fine and mixed with ginger. Place cabbage/ginger mixture in large bowl. Cut pork into cubes and place in processor. Pulse until pork is very finely chopped. Add pork to bowl with cabbage. Add the green onions, wine, cornstarch, salt, sesame oil, white pepper to the pork and cabbage mixture. Mix well.

In another bowl, mix the flour and 1 cup boiling water until a soft dough forms. Knead the dough on a lightly flour surface for about 5 minutes or until smooth.

Divide the dough in half. Roll dough out on a floured surface until thin, but not transparent. Cut 3-inch circles out of dough and place 1 tablespoon pork mixture in the center of each circle. Wet the edge of the dough and fold the dough over the meat mixture and then pinch dough closed around meat. Press edges with a fork to seal dumpling. Place on a lightly floured surface until ready to cook. Repeat with the remaining circles of dough and filling. The scrap dough can be reworked and cut.

Heat a nonstick skillet until very hot. Add 1 tablespoon vegetable oil to pan. Place as many dumplings in the pan as will comfortably fit and cook until the bottoms are golden brown.

Add ½ cup water to pan. Cover and cook for about 3 minutes, remove lid and continue cooking until the water is evaporated and dumplings begin to get crisp on the bottom. Repeat with the remaining dumplings.

To make the dipping sauce, in a small bowl, mix the soy sauce with sesame oil, vinegar, and hot sauce. There are many variations of dipping sauces. Don’t be afraid to try some different combinations of ingredients. Serve with the dumplings.

The marinade for this recipe is a variation of my typical Asian-style marinade. Like most things that you are going to eat, it is important to get a proper balance of flavors. Have you ever made something, tasted it, and then thought, “It needs something!,” except that you have no clue as to what that something is? Maybe this will help. Flavor categories are a great way to make sure you have all of the necessary elements in an excellent dish covered. Here is how I break down the flavors:

1. Salty – Of course salt creates salty, but remember, so does soy sauce. Most processed foods are loaded with salt. If you eat fresh food and salt accordingly you will have no issues with salt. Salt is also very often the missing culprit when a dish “needs something.”
2. Savory – Garlic, onions, herbs, spices, aromatic vegetables, leafy vegetables. Also includes proteins like fish, meat, chicken, etc.
3. Fats & Dairy – Oils, butter, cream, etc. Gives things a pleasing mouth feel.
4. Sweet – Honey, sugar, and almost everything in nature has some sugar!
5. Acidic – Wine, citrus, vinegar, etc. This is the first thing that I, and most chefs, check when a sauce is “not quite there.” For instance, Alfredo sauce can be made with cream and cheese, but add some garlic (savory) and white wine (acidic) and you have a much better sauce.

Use this list as a checking point when cooking and try to find the balance between the different flavors. Below is my “well-balanced” marinade for Chinese Pork Chops; I will note which category the ingredients fall into.

INGREDIENTS

• 4 boneless pork loin chops

For the marinade

• ¼ cup chopped cilantro (savory)
• 2 tablespoons fresh ginger (savory)
• ½ cup soy sauce (savory and salty)
• ½ cup rice wine vinegar (acidic)
• ¼ teaspoon Chinese 5 spice (savory) – available in our ethnic foods section
• 1 tablespoon Chinese hot mustard (savory)
• 2 tablespoons dark, sesame oil (fats)
• 3 tablespoons Hoisin sauce (sweet)

DIRECTIONS

Place all ingredients in a medium bowl and mix well. Place pork chops on a cutting board and with a paring knife, poke about 12 slits in each chop to allow the marinade to get “inside” the chop. Pour 3/4 of the marinade into a large, Ziploc bag with the chops. Reserve remaining marinade for drizzling on finished pork. Let pork marinate overnight if you can. A minimum time should be 3 hours at room temperature.

Grill the chops over a hot fire until they are medium well or 140°. Remove from grill and let rest for at least 10 minutes. Place on plate and drizzle each chop with reserved marinade. Serve with stir-fried broccoli. Enjoy!