Day off recipes from the pros

Again it’s Labor Day, when, without a hint of irony, we celebrate our country’s workers by taking a day off from work. For most professionals, a day off is assumed to entail doing pretty much anything other than their job. To be sure, as much as we chefs love sitting back and savoring someone else’s cooking, we’ll often seize the opportunity to cook something “just because I want to.”

When I was in my 20s, I worked for a catering company in Chicago. My fiancé and I lived in one unit of a four-flat that happened to be occupied entirely by restaurant folks. A restaurant managerand-cook couple lived in the apartment behind ours, and the two upstairs units were occupied by a bartender and a chef. Monday was the one day we were all reliably off work, and hence, the Monday night cookout became a regular and cherished event. We grilled whole snapper, made crème brûlée, carne asada, and had heated debates over whose potato salad recipe reigned supreme. We all relished the opportunity to make something fun and delicious, interesting or comforting, just for ourselves, simply for the love of doing so.

With Labor Day in mind, I asked three of the busiest chefs in town to share their favorite “day off” recipes to make for family and friends.

Monterey Chicken From Marc Reeves, executive chef at The Inn at 835:

• 4 ounces smoked bacon, diced

• 4 ounces diced mushrooms

• 1 cup diced bell peppers

• 1-2 cloves garlic, minced

• ¼ cup good quality tomato sauce

• 4 ounces Monterey jack cheese

• Salt and pepper to taste

• 6 boneless chicken breasts

• Minced parsley, for garnish Sauté bacon until crispy.

Remove bacon from the pan and set aside on a paper towel. Pour all but 1 tablespoon of the rendered bacon fat out of the pan and discard. Cook mushrooms in remaining one tablespoon of bacon fat over medium high heat until brown. Add the peppers and garlic and sauté until slightly softened. Transfer the mixture to a plate and set aside to cool. Once cooled, add the tomato sauce and grated cheese and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Cut a horizontal slit into the side of each chicken breast, being careful not to cut all the way through the meat. Pack about 3-4 tablespoons of the cheese mixture into the pocket, then secure with kitchen string.

Smoke over apple wood chips on medium low heat or bake at 375 degrees until chicken is golden brown and the juices run clear when a knife is inserted into the deepest part of the meat. Top with minced parsley.

Serves 6. The chicken breasts can be prepared right up until the point where they will be baked and either refrigerated or wrapped well and frozen for up to three months. If freezing, remove from the freezer the night before you plan to cook them and allow to thaw in the fridge overnight.

Watermelon Feta Salad From Michael Higgins, chef and owner of Maldaner’s Restaurant:

• 1 small to medium seedless watermelon

• 1 red onion

• 1 bunch mint

• 6 ounces balsamic glaze

• ¾ cup crumbled feta cheese Wash and peel watermelon and cut into ½-inch cubes. Transfer to a large mixing bowl.

Thinly slice the red onion and mint and add to the watermelon. Toss with balsamic glaze and top with crumble feta. Serve well chilled.

Sour Cream Pound Cake with brandied apricots, raspberries, basil and fresh whipped cream From Aurora Coffey, executive pastry chef at American Harvest: For the pound cake:

• 1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter

• 3 cups sugar

• 1 cup sour cream

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• 3 cups all-purpose flour

• 6 large eggs

• 1 teaspoon vanilla

For the sauce:

• 2 apricots

• 1-2 tablespoons brandy, or to taste

• 1-2 tablespoons Grand Marnier, or to taste

• 2 tablespoons brown sugar

• 1 tablespoon butter

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar together. Add the sour cream and mix until incorporated. Sift the baking soda and flour together. Add to the creamed mixture alternating with eggs, beating each egg one at a time. Add the vanilla and pour the mixture into a greased and floured pan. Bake for 1 hour 20 minutes.

Let cake cool and then slice. Make a half and half mixture of brandy and Grand Marnier. Get a heavy-bottomed sauce pan on the burner and add 2 tablespoons of brown sugar, 2 pitted and halved apricots and a squirt of the alcohol mixture (you only need about 2 ounces total per portion). Be careful; it will flame! Let the alcohol cook out and the sugar caramelize. Then add a tablespoon of butter and shut off the heat. Swirl the pan so that the butter melts into the warm syrup.

Pour sauce on top of the pound cake and garnish with fresh raspberries for a nice tart burst of flavor in the rich sauce. Top with a dollop of fresh whipped cream or ice cream. A chiffonade of basil adds the perfect bite to balance out all of the flavors. Add crushed peanuts for a nice crunch.

Ashley Meyer lives in Springfield with her husband and 4-year-old daughter. While she was living in Chicago she worked for a rock catering company that specialized in backstage hospitality and chef services. During this time Ashley got to meet and cook for the likes of Harry Connick, Jr., Jerry Seinfeld, Jimmy Buffet and the Grateful Dead.