It has been a long day at work and here you are, starving and staring at the fridge, wondering what to have for supper.
Now imagine that you're a top-notch food professional and your seemingly endless workday involves preparing meals for other people. Would you feel like cooking once you finally made it home? And if so, what would you cook?
With these questions in mind, we asked a group of Arkansas chefs and restaurateurs for their go-to, quick recipes that make the thought of preparing a home-cooked meal a little less daunting after a hard day on the job.
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Amanda Ivy is the executive chef at Old Mill Bread in Little Rock and a private caterer.
"My husband and I are totally a team," she says, "so I never dread cooking for us after a long day, but I'm definitely less enthusiastic some days."
She serves up a twist on a classic sandwich that she has kept in her quiver since her student days.
"This recipe has evolved a lot since college, but it was definitely a product of being a starving college student."
Call her an "eggspert," too, because she says it's her love for eggs that makes this sandwich special. And it's also perfect for a simple, hearty supper.
"Admittedly this sandwich is so easy that I would say it makes my table a few times a week," she notes.
My Take on a Bacon, Egg and Cheese Sandwich
2 slices rye (Ivy uses Old Mill Dark Rye)
3 slices bacon (Ivy uses Petit Jean Black Pepper Bacon)
2 eggs
2 tablespoons cream
1/4 cup shredded parmesan
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons Dalmatia fig jam
Heat oven to 425 degrees.
Toast the bread and set it aside.
Cook the bacon in oven until crispy, 8 to 10 minutes.
In a very hot skillet, add eggs, cream, salt and pepper. Cut the heat off the pan and begin whisking vigorously. Add the parmesan and with a rubber spatula, finish scrambling the eggs.
Spread the jam on your bottom piece of toast.
Pile the eggs on the fig toast, stack the bacon on top and enjoy.
Makes 1 sandwich
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Capi Peck, executive chef and owner of Trio's in Little Rock, has a soft spot for a good, retro, wilted salad and this one comes with a rice twist.
Peck says she cooks outside of work "more so in the winter. After the crazy, busy holidays are over, I seem to cook a lot in January and February."
One of her home staples she likes to cook for herself and partner, Trio's co-owner Brent Peterson, is this quick salad.
"I love to cook easy things at home and I've been cooking this recipe since just shortly after college," she says. "It's fast and I love it. It's nostalgic more than anything else, and I've never really had anything quite like it. I like a wilted salad. In fact, we do a seasonal menu change and we're getting ready to do a warm, wilted spinach salad with a warm bacon vinaigrette at the restaurant."
Romaine & Wild Rice Salad With Bacon
1 (6-ounce) box wild rice and long grain rice blend
6 pieces bacon
1 tablespoon flour
Salt, to taste
1 tablespoon sugar
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 large head Romaine, washed, dried and torn into bite-size pieces
1 small red onion, sliced
1 cup sliced cucumber
1 cup sliced radishes
1 cup sliced celery, sliced
1 pint grape tomatoes, cut in half
Prepare the rice according to package directions. (While the rice is cooking, wash and prep the vegetables for the salad.)
Fry bacon in a large skillet. Drain bacon on paper towels. Set bacon aside.
Pour off all but 3 tablespoons of the bacon drippings. Save or discard the excess drippings. Blend the flour, salt and sugar in the bacon grease over medium heat. Whisk until smooth. Now add the water and vinegar. Lower heat to low and cook until very smooth. Remove from heat and immediately add the cooked rice. Make sure you have all of the salad components ready so that the rice and dressing mixture is warm when you add it to the greens and vegetables.
Place all of the salad ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Pour the warm rice and dressing mixture over and toss well to combine. Plate and top with the reserved bacon.
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Poorni Muthaian serves up creative and tasty Indian food Monday-Friday at her always busy lunchtime spot, Banana Leaf, in downtown Little Rock's Simmons Tower. But just because she's only open at lunch doesn't mean she's not working a full day.
Muthaian likes making this quick, baked fish, which she serves with brown rice and steamed broccoli, for her husband and two children.
Baked Fish
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 lime, juiced
4 pieces fish (any kind of fish will work)
Heat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine seasonings, olive oil and lime juice. Coat each side of fish (another method is to combine seasonings, olive oil and lime juice in a Ziplock bag. Put fish in bag and coat with other ingredients). Place fish on baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes, turn over and cook additional 5 minutes.
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Keeping the kitchen well-stocked goes a long way to make a quick meal easier says Justin Patterson, owner/chef at Southern Gourmasian restaurant and food truck in Little Rock.
"I have a 3-year-old and a 6-year-old, so we keep enough stuff on hand to make pizzas real quick. We're not really a plan-the-meal-out family. It's more keep the pantry stocked and we can do whatever we need to do."
He uses a packaged dough and his own homemade marinara, usually making pepperoni for the kiddos while he and his wife, who doesn't cook, will top theirs with good stuff on hand like olives or vegetables. He also prepares his dough on a peel, which he uses to slide the pie on and off a pizza stone he keeps in the oven.
Pizza Cornmeal
1 package pizza dough
Marinara, preferably from farmers market
Desired toppings such as pepperoni, mozzarella cheese, vegetables
Heat oven to temperature stated on dough package.
Sprinkle a little cornmeal on work surface such as peel or baking sheet. Prepare dough according to package directions. Top with marinara, cheese and other toppings. Bake according to dough package (Patterson says he cooks his a little longer than instructed for a crispier crust).
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After all these meals, there must come dessert. Carmen Portillo, CEO and chocolatier at Cocoa Belle Chocolates, Bryant, shares a decadent bread pudding with, what else? Chocolate.
"I came across this recipe years ago when I was looking for a dish to bring during a dessert cook-off Christmas party," she says. "I'm highly competitive and I knew I had to knock it out the park. This recipe comes through every single time. Friends and family ask me to bring this dish every year."
And even after making desserts all day for a living, she's happy to make them at home as well.
"Although I make chocolate confections every day, this recipe is my comfort dessert. It's a great curl-up-on-the-couch dessert or even great for a 'cheat' breakfast in the morning with a cup of coffee."
Dark Chocolate and Dried Cherry Croissant Bread Pudding
4 large butter croissants, stale is fine (see note)
2 cups milk or half-and-half or a combination (don't use skim)
2 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup dried cherries
½ cup mini dark chocolate chips
Fresh whipped cream (optional)
Tear croissants into pieces and soak in milk for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat oven to 325 degrees.
Butter an 8-inch square baking dish.
Beat eggs, sugar and vanilla until well combined.
Stir cherries and chocolate chips into bread/milk mixture.
Add egg mixture and combine thoroughly.
Bake 1 hour at 325 degrees.
Delicious warm with freshly whipped cream.
Makes 9 to 12 servings depending on how big you cut the pieces!
Note: No croissants? Use chocolate cherry bread, challah bread, baguette or brioche instead.
Food on 01/31/2018