My brother's birthday was early this month (Happy Birthday, My Brother!) and to help him with the celebration, we went to his house and made dinner. (I like it when someone else gets to clean up the house. Happy Birthday, My Brother!) I stuffed some pork rib chops with Parmesan cheese, dates, wild mushrooms and sage, and that got me thinking of our inclination of stuffing one food into another. The whole concept is glorious: take a good food and then stuff it full of more good food to make one super food. That is gluttony at its most crapulent! (And yes, that's a word. Look it up.) 
It's also delicious, and we who consume food nearly demand it. At restaurants, Stuffed Crab or Stuffed Lobster grace the menu of almost every seafood establishment. We like to dress up baked potatoes as Twice Baked Potatoes. Chicken Kiev, Chicken Cordon Bleu, Roulades, and Baked Alaska all fulfill our need to enhance the dining experience by putting more food into the food we started with.
Turducken. Need I say more?
So how can you create a new dish by stuffing one food into another? What do you need to look for?
First, of course, begin with flavors. Find compliments. Sweet and sour are a safe start for any savory dish, while acidic flavors are also good at cutting through heavy fats. But find a way to surprise the audience. Wrap bacon around a kumquat and use that combination to throw a culinary curve ball. Now stuff it into a Cornish Game Hens for roasting! Sweet, savory, rich, lightly acidic. . . Mmmmm! I'm making me hungry!
Next, think of the physics involved. How can you get enough space open to get the goodness in? A yin for the yang, if you will. You also want to figure out how to keep it in place. Remember that, when heated, some things expand and take up more volume. Also, when heated to sufficient temperatures, proteins contract and tighten their bonds making them both less elastic, as well as smaller. That juxtaposition nearly guarantees to squeeze out whatever stuffing you're attempting to stuff--unless preparations have been made. Fowl is easy: a natural cavity and supporting bone structure help. Whole fish is similarly easy. Mushrooms, potatoes and zucchini all work well. Steak, pork chops and chicken breasts will put up a fight. Employ butcher's twine, skewers or a crust or wrapper to help (think: puff pastry).
For those who haven't tried it before, here's a couple of recipes to get you started in the right direction.
Stuffed Mushrooms
8 large Button Mushrooms, whole, blemish free and firm
1 small Shallot (or Onion) minced, about 1 1/2 tablespoons
2 strips Bacon, chopped fine
2 teaspoons Bread Crumbs
Salt and Pepper, to taste
Cheese (I prefer sharp cheddar or pungent asiago, although Parmesan works well, too) sliced into little squares to cover the mushrooms
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
In a medium skillet on medium high heat, saute the bacon until crispy. While cooking the bacon, clean the mushrooms, gently remove and chop the stems, leaving the the rest of the mushroom whole. When the bacon is about ready, add in the shallot and mushroom stems, salt and pepper. Saute until the shallots and mushroom stems are soft. Add the breadcrumbs, stir and remove from the heat.
Scoop the filling from the pan into the mushroom tops and place them onto a greased cookie sheet. Lay the slices of cheese over the top and pop them into the oven for 15 minutes or until the cheese is melted.
Be careful when eating. These bad boys can stay hot for a while!
Chicken Roulade
4 large, boneless Chicken Breasts
1/4 cup soft Cream Cheese
1 teaspoon dried Sage
1 teaspoon Thyme
2 teaspoons Parsley
1 teaspoon Lemon Zest
Salt and Pepper
Plastic Wrap
The secret to this dish is making it far enough in advance to let it chill firmly before cooking it.
Lay a chicken breast between 2 pieces of plastic wrap. Using a flat meat tenderizer (I use a large rubber mallet) gently pound out the breast until it is evenly flattened to about 1/4 to 3/8 of an inch. Repeat for all four.
Lay 2 flattened breasts on a fresh piece of plastic wrap, overlapping each other slightly. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, then spread 1/2 of the cream cheese evenly over the chicken. (DO NOT use a contaminated knife or spoon to scoop another helping of cream cheese out of a container. That's how you get sick! And my mom would have a fit!)
In a small bowl, combine the sage, thyme, parsley and lemon zest. Mix to combine. Sprinkle 1/2 of the mixture onto the cream cheese.
Using the plastic wrap to help you, roll the chicken into a tight pinwheel log. Be sure to not roll the plastic into the pinwheel. Wrap the log tightly in plastic and refridgerate for 8 hours. Repeat with the other 2 breasts.
I prefer to cook the chicken on the stove top. While still cold, remove from the plastic wrap and lay the roulades into a hot greased skillet. Brown on each side, using tongs to turn it over. Reduce the heat to low, cover and let cook 5-10 minutes more, or until the center reaches 160 degrees on an instant thermometer. Cover and let stand for 10 minutes.
Posts
