Just a couple of weeks ago, I had the great honor and pleasure of taping an episode of Ciao! Italia with Mary Ann Esposito at the beautiful Mohegan Sun Hotel and Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut. Mary Ann has the distinction of hosting the longest running cooking show on PBS, and, indeed, the longest consecutively running cooking show on the air in the US. There are many special things about Mary Ann, and among them (as pointed out to me by a member of my team who is a long-time viewer) is her ubiquitous approach to the cooking of Italy. When you watch her show week after week, you will not be limited to the cooking of just Rome, just Naples, or just Tuscany. Stay tuned and you will get an eventually get an education on cooking in all of the regions from Trentino-South Tyrol “all the way down” to Sicily. Along with Mary Ann and a great friend of ours, Chef Lynn Mansel from the Mohegan Sun (a Welshman who’s also a great pastry chef- imagine that!), the three of us teamed up to create an easy to manage, great-tasting, “Italian style” Thanksgiving menu based on recipes inspired by our gracious hostess. It was all taped in front of a live audience and our dishes were served later in the evening to a crowd of about 1,500 invited guests and the results were spectacular. You will have to wait until the air date to get the recipe for what I cooked on Ciao! Italia, but, I will tell you I had the privilege of doing the entrée and it was mmm-mm, go-ood! It’s hard not to look good and do your very best when you’re paired with two stellar professionals like Lynn and Mary Ann.
So, rather than being an utter tease and making you wait until next year for the recipes we did on the show, I took inspiration from these photos of me (taken by Jim Lewis) goofing around with a pumpkin I found on the set during the rehearsal (Rehearsal? Who rehearses?), and challenge you to actually cook that pumpkin! My sincere thanks to Mohegan Sun and to Vicky Cirilli (who was a vital part of making it all happen), to Chef Lynn, to the great lady herself, Mary Ann, to her husband, Guy (a true gentleman), to Paul Lally (Mary Ann’s longtime director and friend), and to my old pal, Chef Michael Luboff (who did a great job doing the cooking for the 1,500 guests, giving me a rare night off and the chance to enjoy jokes backstage with comedian Pat Cooper.)
Enjoy, and Ciao!
Entrée: Chicken
CHICKEN BREAST ON PUMPKIN/CRANBERRY RISSOLE
WITH WHITE CHOCOLATE BALSAMIC SAUCE & ASPARAGUS
Copyright 2008, Robert Irvine, All rights reserved
Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients for rissole:
1 pumpkin squash or butternut squash, peeled, seeds removed and diced into ¼ inch to ½ inch chunks
3 large potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks
1 medium white onion, diced small
2 tablespoons grapeseed oil (as needed to sauté the onion and rissole cakes, respectively)
½ cup Hershey’s Premier White Chips® (vanilla white chocolate chips)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
3 scallions, white and tender green parts only, sliced on the diagonal into ¼ inch thick slices
1 cup fresh cranberries
Ingredients for garnish:
12 asparagus spears, tough ends snapped off
Salt, to taste
Ingredients for sauce:
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick or ¼ cup) butter (2 tablespoons to sauté onion and 2 tablespoons to whisk into the sauce)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 cup chicken stock
1 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar (such as Colavita brand)
1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
1 medium potato, peeled and diced into ½ inch pieces (as a thickener)
¼ cup Hershey’s Premier White Chips® (vanilla white chocolate chips)
Salt and pepper, to taste
Ingredients for chicken:
6 boneless chicken breasts
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon lemon peel powder (such as Spice Islands brand)
2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
1/4 cup minced fresh fennel fronds
Method for the rissole cakes:
Boil the squash cubes for the rissole cakes until just tender, and drain well. Set aside until needed. At the same time, boil the potatoes in a separate pot until soft and drain well.
In the same pan you used to sear the chicken, heat additional grapeseed oil (if needed) and sauté the white onion until tender. Transfer the onion to the pot of drained potatoes which have been boiled for the rissole cakes, again reserving the sauté pan. Season the potato/onion mixture to taste with salt and pepper, and mash together. Fold in the white chocolate chips, scallions, cranberries, and cubes of squash, trying not to break up the squash.
Allow to cool until cool enough to handle, then use 3 inch circle cutters as molds and form into rissole cakes. In the same pan, heat additional grapeseed oil (if needed) for the potato cakes over medium high heat and sear the potato cakes leaving undisturbed for the first 2 to 3 minutes on each side to let the caramelization process begin and to prevent the cake from breaking apart. When you see the edges of the cake beginning to turn golden brown, flip and sear the other side. Then cook further until the cake is firm. Remove from heat and keep warm.
Method for the sauce:
Begin the sauce while the squash and potatoes for the rissole are boiling. Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter over medium heat in a saucepot (reserving the other two tablespoons) and cook the onion until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the chicken stock, vinegar, soy sauce, and potato chunks, and let the potato chunks cook until very soft while the liquid reduces and thickens.
After you have sautéed the asparagus for the garnish, fold the white chocolate chips into the sauce, and transfer the sauce to a blender and puree until smooth. Whisk in the reserved 2 tablespoons butter to finish the sauce, and season to taste with salt and pepper.
Method for the chicken:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. While the chicken stock mixture is cooking for the sauce, season the chicken breasts with salt, pepper and lemon peel powder, rubbing well into the surface of the chicken. Heat the grapeseed oil over medium high heat in a separate large skillet and sear the chicken, leaving undisturbed for the first 3 minutes or so on each side to let the seasonings integrate into the surface of the chicken and allow the caramelization process to begin. (This will prevent tearing of the chicken or “crusting off” of the seasonings.) After the chicken is seared on both sides, transfer to a baking sheet and finish the chicken in the oven (until fork tender) about 20 to 25 minutes, depending on the thickness of the chicken. (Reserve the pan in which you sautéed the chicken for the rissole cakes.)
Method for the garnish:
For the garnish, boil asparagus spears until just tender in salt water and set aside.
(Return to the rissole cakes.)
In the same sauté pan you used for the rissole, sear the asparagus spears for a few minutes to add a little color and a nutty flavor.
(Return to the pot of the chicken stock mixture which has been cooking for the sauce.)
Presentation:
Place a rissole cake on each serving plate, top with a chicken breast, spoon sauce over and garnish with asparagus spears. Original post blogged on
b2evolution.
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Ciao, italia! It?s the great pumpkin! 
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