By Chuck Martin
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Chef Meg Galvin (center) helps Sarah and Rob Schroeder saute vegetables (Brandi Stafford photo) | ZOOM |

Newlyweds Sarah and Rob Schroeder of Cheviot agreed to let us teach them to cook for their first dinner party in November. Since July, chef Meg Galvin of Cincinnati State has taught them how to use a kitchen knife, saute, make soup and other basic cooking skills.

The pressure was on. It was time for Rob and Sarah Schroeder to put their new-found cooking skills to use. In their previous two cooking lessons, they learned to chop and dice vegetables, saute onions, roast bell peppers, make soup and emulsify a vinaigrette. Their chef-instructor, Meg Galvin, even showed them how to make a salad look more attractive by stacking the greens high on the plate.

During this night's lesson, the couple was going to learn to make the most important food to be served at their dinner party in November - the entree, chicken roulade. Galvin explained roulade is a piece of flattened chicken or another meat, rolled around various stuffings, then cooked and sliced.

"We don't really have a recipe for this yet," the chef said, "so we're kind of winging it."

In their last lesson, Galvin stressed the importance of reading and following recipes carefully. But she also wants the couple to learn to cook with confidence, sometimes without the safety net of a recipe.

The chef suggested serving the chicken with rice, and because we were pressed for time, the Schroeders were going to use a seasoned wild rice mixture that requires 25 minutes simmer time. But there's a method to making rice - even from these "quick-cooking" mixes," the chef advised.

Chicken roulade

"When the rice is cooking, don't take the lid off," Galvin said. "And when it's finished, take it off the heat and leave the lid on. The rice will absorb the moisture and become more fluffy."

Once the water came to a boil, the Schroeders added the rice and clamped on the lid.

Next it was time to prepare stuffing for the roulade. But first, the cross-contamination lecture.

"You don't want raw chicken to touch other food you're using," the chef said, referring to the bacteria cross-contamination dangers from uncooked poultry. "So we're going to prep everything else on the cutting board, then the chicken."

Sarah began by slicing and dicing shallots.

"I do this the same way as an onion?" she asked.

"Yes," said Galvin, who reminded Sarah to make a series of cuts perpendicular to the root end of the shallot, then cut down into the bulb to create a small dice. Although she asked for a little coaching, Sarah handled this job easily.

The chef added butter and olive oil to a saute pan over medium heat and showed the Schroeders how to saute the diced shallots with fresh spinach and chopped garlic. Quickly, the kitchen began to smell sweetly of cooking onions.

"I know this looks like a lot of spinach," Galvin said, putting a handful of leaves into the pan. "But when it wilts, most of the moisture will evaporate."

While the spinach simmered, the Schroeders prepared other roulade filling ingredients, crumbling goat cheese and Maytag (blue) cheese and chopping fresh herbs and walnuts. For the roulade stuffing, Rob layered thin slices of pancetta, an Italian-style cured bacon, on the chicken.

"What we're doing is larding the chicken," Galvin explained. "Larding means adding flavor (to the chicken) by adding fat."

MEET THE COUPLE ...

Rob Schroeder and Sarah Polley married June 7. Rob, 28, grew up in Cheviot and graduated from Elder High School and College of Mount St. Joseph. He works as marketing communications coordinator for dbaDirect Inc. in Florence and is pursuing a master's degree in theology from Franciscan University of Steubenville. Sarah, 29, graduated from Mason High School and Indiana University. She teaches speech communication, media and culture and intercultural communication at Northern Kentucky University. The Schroeders live in Cheviot.

... AND THE CHEF

A Lexington native, Meg Galvin graduated from Eastern Kentucky University and Le Cordon Bleu Cookery School in London. She is adjunct culinary instructor at Cincinnati State and the University of Cincinnati. Galvin, who lives in Fort Wright, teaches at other cooking schools in Greater Cincinnati.

After pulsing the wilted spinach in a food processor, the Schroeders were ready to stuff and roll the chicken breasts.

"We're going to put the chicken on the cutting board, cover it with plastic wrap and pound it flat," Galvin announced.

Sarah reached to the top of the refrigerator to pull down her wooden rolling pin, handed down to her by her Indiana grandmother. And with Galvin's guidance, she slowly tapped a chicken breast, starting at the thickest part first.

"We're not trying to kill it," the chef said. "We're just trying to give it a uniform thickness."

It was especially impressive to see Sarah handling raw chicken, since she doesn't like to eat it. But back in July, when she and Rob first met with the chef, they decided to serve chicken at their party because their guests like it. It's Sarah's sacrifice.

When Sarah finished flattening one breast half, Rob carefully spread the spinach-based filling on the chicken.

"Like this?" he asked, spreading the filling nearly to the edge of the flattened breast.

With help from Galvin, Rob and Sarah rolled each piece of chicken breast jelly-roll fashion to contain the filling. When the roulades finally looked right (it took several rolling attempts), the chef tied each piece of chicken securely with cotton twine.

She placed the two in a hot pan with butter and olive oil and delivered another important lesson.

"When it's cooking, many people try to turn chicken too quickly and it sticks to the pan," Galvin explained. "When it's ready to turn, it'll let you."

Smart chickens

What was this - chicken-frying Zen? The Schroeders didn't quite comprehend this concept, so Galvin demonstrated by gently nudging the sizzling chicken. It stuck stubbornly. A few minutes later, though, the chicken responded to the spatula's nudge, releasing its grip from the pan.

There is a reason why sauteing chicken eventually "unsticks itself" from the pan, Galvin explained. Once the proteins sear and seal on the exterior of chicken and other meat, it turns easily.

The chef let Rob and Sarah turn the chicken several times to brown it on all sides. Then they put the chicken in their preheated 350-degree oven to finish cooking.

The rice was done, so the chef quickly showed the Schroeders how to snap off the tough bottoms of asparagus spears.

"Mother Nature will show where to snap," Galvin advised. "It'll snap where the tough part begins."

They steamed the asparagus a few minutes, then "shocked" it in cold water to keep it crisp and green.

After 15 minutes, Galvin checked the internal temperature of the chicken to see if it was done. (Chicken breast is done when its internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.) The chef allowed the chicken to rest a few minutes before removing the twine and cutting it into medallions, revealing a pretty green spiral of filling.

"But see how it looks a little uneven right there," the chef said, pointing to the interior of the roulade. "Next time, I think we need to get it thinner."

This lesson wasn't over. Galvin showed Rob how to make a quick pan sauce by deglazing the pan the chicken was cooked in with white wine. Rob scraped the flavorful brown bits from the bottom of the pan and reduced the wine by boiling it.

Sarah, meanwhile, learned a new way to serve rice. She stuffed the cooked rice into a half-cup measure and inverted it onto a plate.

"Wow!" she said, smiling.

It looked like a professional chef built the impressive "tower" of rice. And Rob's brunoise (tiny rectangular dice) of colorful tomatoes garnishing the chicken also looked like the work of a pro.

For the first time since she was in her teens, Sarah tasted chicken. And she liked it - at least until she bit into a chewy bit of tendon.

After only three cooking lessons in three months, the newlyweds appear to complement each other in the kitchen. Rob is organized, technically precise and thorough, while Sarah is more free-wheeling and creative. They seem even to move more confidently in the kitchen.

But the Schroeders know they have much more to learn and practice before their dinner party guests arrive in November.

Rob and Sarah experimented with two kinds of filling for their roulade: One made with pancetta (Italian-style bacon) and another with chopped walnuts. Both included the wilted spinach mixture, herbs and cheese. (They're not sure which filling they'll use for their dinner party.)

You can create your own roulade filling. Just make it colorful and flavorful.

Recipe

Chicken Roulade with Pan Sauce

1 tablespoon olive oil, divided

1 tablespoon butter, divided

2 shallots, diced

6 ounces fresh spinach, washed

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 tablespoons chopped fresh herbs, such as tarragon and rosemary, or combination, divided

Salt and pepper, to taste

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

About 2 ounces sliced pancetta (Italian-style bacon)* or 2 tablespoons roughly chopped walnuts

2 ounces crumbled goat cheese or blue cheese, or mixture of both

1 cup white wine or chicken broth

Heat 1/2 tablespoon butter and 1/2 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat in large saute pan. Add diced shallots and cook a few minutes, until shallots are soft. Add spinach and chopped garlic, and continue to cook, stirring often, until spinach wilts. Don't let garlic brown. Add salt and pepper to taste, 1 tablespoon chopped herbs and stir.

Remove spinach mixture from pan and drain. When cool enough to handle, squeeze dry and chop (or use food processor and pulse several times). Set aside. (If stuffing chicken to cook later, refrigerate spinach mixture until well-chilled.)

Place chicken breasts on cutting board, cover with plastic wrap and pound gently with a rolling pin or bottom of frying pan. Flatten chicken until about 3/4 inch thick. If using pancetta, cover top of flattened chicken with several thin slices of the bacon.

Spread thin layer of spinach mixture on top of pancetta, stopping before reaching the edges of chicken. Sprinkle with chopped walnuts (if using) and crumbled cheese.

Starting at one long end of each flattened chicken breast, roll over 1 to 1 1/2 times to contain filling. Tie roulade several times with cotton twine.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat remaining 1/2 tablespoon butter and 1/2 tablespoon olive oil in oven-proof pan over medium-high heat. Sear chicken on all sides to brown.

Place pan in oven and cook, uncovered, 15 to 20 minutes, until chicken juices run clear and internal temperature registers 165 degrees. Remove chicken to platter to keep warm before slicing.

To make pan sauce, place pan in which chicken was cooked over medium-high heat and add white wine and remaining 1 tablespoon chopped fresh herbs. Using a wooden spoon, stir bottom of pan to scrape up brown bits. Simmer wine a few minutes, until reduced slightly and flavor is concentrated. Taste sauce and add more salt and pepper, if needed. Strain sauce into another pan and keep warm until serving.

Cut twine from chicken roulade and slice into 8 to 12 medallions. Before serving, drizzle chicken with pan sauce. Makes 4 servings.

* Pancetta is available at some specialty markets. If you can't find it, blanch American bacon a few minutes in boiling water to remove smoky flavor.

Lessons learned

Cross-contamination means spreading harmful bacteria from one food to another. To avoid cross-contamination, use separate cutting boards for vegetables and raw meat or chicken. Or, wash cutting boards thoroughly with hot water and soap after using. Also, don't put cooked meat or chicken on an unwashed cutting board or plate that held raw meat or chicken. And remember to wash hands and knives after they have touched raw meat or chicken.

Pancetta (pan-CHEH-tuh) is Italian-style bacon that is cured, but not smoked. Pancetta is available in some specialty stores, but if you can't find it, use an equal amount of American bacon and blanch it in boiling water for a few minutes to remove the smoky flavor.

To sear means to cook the food over high heat giving it a browned or caramelized surface. When searing chicken or meat, be patient. Let it cook a minute or two before testing it with a spoon or spatula. When the surface seals underneath, it can be turned easily without sticking.

Shallots are a member of the onion family that have a milder, sweeter flavor than regular onions. Buy dry-skinned shallots that are plump and firm, with no signs of wrinkling or sprouting. Store in a cool, dry, well-ventilated place for up to a month. Use in recipes like onions.

Next in Dinner Party Countdown: The dessert dilemma - will it be crĖme brulee or a new take on apple pie? Which wines to serve with which course? And will Sarah change her mind and ditch the chicken?