Stuffed basil mashed potatoes . The pleasure of dining in a restaurant is a well cherished social treat, especially among family and friends. As a customer one is waited on; the food is tasty and attractively presented; there is no need to shop for groceries, cook or clean up after a busy day; and menus frequently include a cornucopia of items offering patrons an easy way to mix and match between appetizers, entrées and desserts.
For many, and this is particularly true for us, it has become a regular indulgence to enjoy authentic ethic food (such as Asian and Indian dishes) in a restaurant, as cooking them requires many specialized ingredients and the dishes are often tricky to replicate with non-commercial equipment.
While an outing to a restaurant offers many conveniences, as well as an environment with atmosphere, style, or panache, another reason many dine out is the claim that restaurant cuisine tastes better than food they can make at home. With few exceptions of a memorable culinary experience at a Michelin-starred restaurant or at an exclusive Relais et Chateaux landmark, this doesn’t have to be true. With a little intuition, confidence, and basic ingredients at hand, one can easily transform cupboard essentials into a wonderful meal.
This realization, combined with often present time constraints after a busy day, have recently led to my desire to cook a restaurant meal in twenty minutes or less. Let’s be honest, few restaurants will offer wholesome food that matches comfort food, especially dishes that were staples of childhood memory.
Case in point: the other day I craved a classic meal: steak, mashed potatoes, and peas, nothing more, nothing less. Preparing to shop at my local grocery store, I was diverted when I discovered two orange peppers, fresh basil leaves, crumbled feta cheese, a large chicken breast and a stalk of baby bok choy in the refrigerator. A new plan was underway! I rummaged around in the pantry and found instant mashed potatoes, shallots, parsley, barbecue sauce and a few other generic staples.
Lo and behold, the phrase nothing more, nothing less tied to steak, potatoes, and peas was transformed into an inventive and elegant restaurant-style dish which retained a home cooked flavor. Now that the meal was decided I needed to orchestrate the sequence and timing of each dish: cooking, plating, and serving in twenty minutes or less. After setting the oven to 450F, I decided to quickly subdivide the meal into three tasks that, after quick prep work (cutting and chopping), could easily cook on their own with little attention.
Carbs
I prepared the mashed potatoes according to the package’s instructions, but added additional milk to make them slightly more liquid than usual. When ready, chopped basil leaves were folded into the mashed potatoes with half of the diced pepper cut from the tops and bottoms of the charred peppers (see below), salt was added, and after one or two turns of freshly ground pepper, I covered the potatoes and set them aside to keep warm. (The remaining diced pepper was used the next days in a salad—leftovers seem to be the gift that keeps giving.)
Vegetables
(Peppers): While the mashed potatoes were cooking, I charred the peppers quickly over the gas flame of the stove (2-3 minutes while turning them constantly), removed the skin after they were nicely burned, and cut a slice off the bottoms and tops. Then I set each pepper vertically into an individual mini casserole previously sprayed with butter and a dash of breadcrumbs. I sprinkled the inside (bottom) of each pepper with feta and scooped the basil mashed potatoes in the center to fill.
I mentioned adding more milk to the mashed potatoes then normally required as I was looking to have the potatoes leak out around the pepper into the bottom of the casserole while cooking. I topped the dish with some ready-made fried shallots (in the pantry and bought at an Asian Market) and a sprinkle of parmesan before setting the dish in the preheated oven. From here on, there is no need to monitor the peppers as it is simply a matter of heating the dish until the mashed potatoes come to a bubble.
Bok Choy:
In a non-stick skillet, I added a dash of olive oil and a touch of butter and let it heat. I halved the bok choy, and added it to the pan, then added salt and pepper, drizzled the top side of the bok choy with a little balsamic vinegar (typically used for salad dressing) and cooked the vegetable until nicely grilled at medium heat. Once it was nearly grilled to my liking, I lowered the heat to medium-low, added some ready-made fried shallots, some more balsamic vinegar (this time in the pan) and a little vermouth to slowly deglaze the sauce while the bok choy was still cooking. I knew that over medium low heat the bok choy could continue to cook until the peppers and chicken were ready, then I could add the bok choy to the dinner table.
Protein:
The chicken was started last. After blotting the chicken breast dry, it was lightly salted and peppered on both sides, and cooked over medium high heat in a non-stick pan with a little olive oil and butter. After grilling one side and turning it over, I added barbecue sauce on top of the chicken breast, then lowered the heat and let it cook slowly, covered. This added flavor and color to the chicken. To check for doneness, I simply cut open the chicken breast to inspect. You may also use a food thermometer and remove the chicken when it reaches 160-165F at its center.
It may seem at first overwhelming to cook three dishes simultaneously, but they are prepared separately and don’t demand active attention at the same time. No magic involved! And victory over the old adage: “it takes a long time to cook a good meal.” Give it a try, and you will see how fast and rewarding cooking can be.