Cook Club: The benefits of cooking en papillote

This month's Gazette KCRG-TV9 Cook Club technique focus, cooking en papillote, which involves preparing food in individual parchment packets, has many benefits. As we mentioned in last week's article, cooking en papillote is prized for its ability to steam food and keep the dish in a lower fat profile. Besides easy clean up (just throw away those used packets), Johnson Avenue Hy-Vee dietitian, Judy Fitzgibbons, says another positive of this technique is portion control.

Since we're on the brink of the put-on-the-pounds time of year says Fitzgibbons, tools like cooking en papillote can help keep portions on track. According to Fitzgibbons, people concerned about diabetes need to be especially mindful of holiday choices as weight gain makes blood sugars and does damage internally.

Fitzgibbons offers two strategies she thinks should be top-of-mind to help us limit overeating in the holiday months:

1. Keep food out of sight at home and work. If you must have food on the kitchen counter, make it a bowl of fruit. A recent study of American kitchens found people who kept cereal and pop on the counter weighed about 20 pounds more than people who just had fruit in view. Agree to eliminate candy dishes on desks at work.

2. Eat only one handful or less of anything you decide to eat (except low-calorie vegetables) and choose three to four handfuls for any meal. Take time to enjoy the flavors. America's trend of eating ever-larger portions is a major contributor to our expanding waistlines.

Today Fitzgibbon offers two recipes, Sausage and Quinoa Stuffed Acorn Squash and Baked Pears in Papillote, which demonstrate how to prepare flavorful foods that come to the table pre-portioned in moderate amounts. Both help us limit our portion size, but also can be prepared ahead of time, cutting down on mealtime cleanup, which we all love any time of year.

Don't forget to try out our Cook Club recipe, Salmon En Papillote with Carrots, Radishes and Olives as another way to get a delicious, pre-portioned and healthy meal to the table.

Sausage-and-Quinoa Stuffed Acorn Squash

Serves 6 (or more)

All you need:

3 medium-sized acorn squash, about 1 pound each

1 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

1, 16 oz. roll Honey Suckle White Italian turkey sausage

1 small onion, about ½ cup chopped

½ cup quinoa

1 cup water

1 cup quartered grape or cherry tomatoes

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1/2 cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese

All you do:

1. Cut acorn squash in half lengthwise. Scoop out and discard the seeds. Place the squash halves in a microwave-safe dish, cut side down. Add 2 tablespoons water. Cover tightly and microwave on HIGH until tender, 5 to 10 minutes. Carefully uncover to vent steam.

2. Meanwhile, heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add sausage and onion; cook, breaking the sausage into small pieces, until no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Add quinoa and water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to maintain a simmer, cover and cook, stirring once or twice, until the water is absorbed and the quinoa is tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in tomatoes.

3. Position rack in upper third of oven; preheat broiler to HIGH.

4. Transfer squash halves, cut side up, to a broiler-safe oven pan. Sprinkle with pepper and salt. Fill with the quinoa mixture and sprinkle with cheese. Broil on the upper rack until the cheese is melted, about 2 minutes. Serve hot.

Source: Adapted by Judy Fitzgibbons from Eating Well, Inc.

Baked Pears in Papillote

Serves 4

4 medium Bosc or Bartlett pears,

2 tbsp. candied walnuts or pecans*

2 tbsp. dried cranberries

parchment paper and butcher's twine

1. Preheat oven to 375 °F. Stir together nuts and cranberries. Set aside.

2. Wash, then core pears from the bottom, using a melon baller or small spoon. Leave the stem intact. Peel the pear, if desired. Stuff each pear with about 1 tablespoon of the walnut-cranberry mixture.

3. Tear off four, generously sized, pieces of parchment. Place the pear in the middle, stem end up, and gather paper up around the stem. Tie off with butchers twine. Place on baking sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes until pears give to light pressure. Larger pears may need 35-40 minutes to become tender. Enjoy plain or with a dab of whipped cream or mascarpone cheese.

*To candy nuts, stir together ½ cup walnuts or pecans, 1 tablespoon melted butter or margarine, 1 tablespoon packed brown sugar and ¼ teaspoon cinnamon. Bake in a single layer at 350 °F, 5 to 8 minutes or until lightly browned. Watch carefully to avoid burning. Cool.

Source: Food52.com/recipes