Traveling around the country conducting cooking demonstrations gives me exposure to many different foods. We are always looking for new and interesting flavors. On one such trip, while shopping at a Trader Joe’s in Atlanta, I came across a unique frozen flatbread pizza-like product called ‘Tart D’ Alsace’. When I picked up the box to examine it, a shopper in the store said, “ Oh, those are really good.” I bought 10 boxes.

Alsace is an area located along the west bank of the Rhine between Germany and France. Between the 17th and 20th centuries Germany and France had a tug-of-war about who owned this region but King Louis XIV of France ultimately won. Today, the cuisine and the wine are influenced from both countries. Tart Flambé or Alsatian onion tart is a classic recipe of the region. The scratch recipe uses Crème Fraiche, bacon or ham, onions and a flour-based dough crust and takes about 20 minutes to bake at 400°F. The frozen tart I bought is made by Maitre Pierre and is based on a 100-year-old-recipe made with Crème Fraiche, caramelized onions, ham and Gruyere cheese. When you read the package instructions, they say to bake the tart at 475 degrees F for 10 minutes. So how do I do that in a TurboChef oven? Simple:

Select Bake > Pizza > Frozen > Thin crust. The oven will bake it for 2 ½ minutes from frozen. I placed it right on the rack and it came out perfect.

I recently bought a house in Santa Fe, New Mexico and I wanted to have a few neighbors over for hors d’ oeuvres and drinks. I thought, “why not serve the ‘Tart D’ Alsace’”? They have a Trader Joe’s in Santa Fe so off I picked one up. We had our little ‘happy hour’ and I was surprised by how much more time it takes to entertain when you don’t have a TurboChef oven. I don’t have a TurboChef oven at the new house in Santa Fe yet, so it took 25 minutes to heat the oven and over 10 minutes to cook the tart. More than 35 minutes for something I did in just under 10 minutes before. It was a bit like our computer system in the new house. We don’t have a direct connection to the Internet yet so we have to rely on dial-up. The TurboChef oven versus a regular oven is a bit like dial-up versus a T1 line. I can’t wait to remodel the kitchen in Santa Fe. Now that I have been cooking in the TurboChef oven, I just can't go back.

“Please tell me we get to eat this,” my wife says anxiously after I have spent what is apparently far too much time taking a photo of our new favorite mac & cheese recipe. You see, this is no ordinary macaroni & cheese. It is the ultimate comfort food creation from renowned Chef Guenter Seeger, currently collaborating with TurboChef to develop a collection of recipes for the newest installment of the TurboChef cookbook - concentrating on fresh, readily available ingredients and simple preparation.

For those who can’t wait until the cookbook is published (like myself), I offer a sneak peek of the good things to come. Guenter’s truffle mac & cheese has quickly become a favorite among the TurboChef staff working on the cookbook project. I tried it out this weekend and now have a guaranteed winner for any and all upcoming family gatherings. The thing that always strikes me about Chef Seeger’s dishes – and this one is no exception ­– is how you can taste each unique ingredient individually, yet they all work in perfect harmony together, even when you suspect they might not. I mean Panko bread crumbs, white truffle oil and nutmeg? Not your typical shopping list for mac & cheese, at least in my kitchen, where the southern cooking I grew up on often dictates the menu. But the result is nothing short of sensational. And the best thing about it? Even I can cook it now. In four minutes.

Enjoy the recipe:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 (17.5 ounce) package rustichella d’ abruzzo maccheroni or other tubular shape
2 cups heavy cream
3 cups (750 ml) low-sodium chicken broth
8 ounces grated Gruyère cheese
½ cup Panko bread crumbs
¼ chopped flat leaf parsley, for garnish
White truffle oil
Fresh ground nutmeg, to taste

1. Boil salted water for pasta and cook according to package directions. Stir occasionally so the pasta does not stick together. Drain and set aside.
2. In a medium saucepan, heat chicken broth to boiling and reduce to one cup. Add the heavy cream and with a whisk stir while bringing to boil.
3. Blend the butter and flour together with the back of a spoon to make a paste. Add to the boiling liquid and continue to whisk, until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon.
4. Reduce the heat; add the cheese and stir to melt.
5. Pour the cheese over the pasta and stir to coat. Spoon into casserole dish.
6. Sprinkle the top with bread crumbs and dot with butter.
7. Place in oven and press “Start”. Bake 4 minutes.
8. Garnish with parsley and drizzle lightly with truffle oil. Sprinkle with fresh nutmeg, to taste.

Select Bake > Prepared Foods/Entrées> Baked Pasta > Macaroni & Cheese > 40 oz.

*Note: for this recipe – adjust the 3:30 cook time to 4 minutes. When the cookbook is published these adjustments will be included in your “Cookbook” settings automatically.

If you have a TurboChef oven, you're going to find preparing for sporting events like today's Big Game allows for more time in front of the tube and less time cranking out snacks from the kitchen. The oven crisps up wings like they came from a deep fryer by using the Air Crisp setting. Crispy potato skins are also easy and don’t require frying either. Here's how:

Select Bake > Vegetables > Potatoes > Bakers > Quantity 4. Allow the oven to preheat. Brush your potatoes with a little olive oil, place them directly on the oven rack and hit “Start.” Four potatoes will take just 10 minutes to bake. This will give you enough time to prep any other ingredients you want to top them with later.

Quarter your potatoes (or halve them if they are smaller), and remove some of the flesh. To crisp the inside of the skins select Air Crisp > Appetizers > Unfilled > Fresh >Toasted. Place the skins on a baking sheet flesh side up while the oven is preheating. Once preheated, place the sheet in the oven and press "Start" to begin baking. It takes about two minutes.

When finished, the skins are ready to jazz up with toppings so select Toast > Cheese Melt > Count 6. Top the skins with grated Cheddar cheese, and place your baking sheet back in the TurboChef oven. Two minutes later, you're ready to garnish a perfect set of potato skins with salsa, sour cream, bacon and fresh minced chives. Touchdown!

Wandering through Whole Foods the other day, I was stopped dead in my tracks by, of all things, a cauliflower. More specifically, a romanesco cauliflower. It sports a lime green fractal-like spiraling pattern that is absolutely beautiful and otherworldly. In my opinion, it is quite possibly the most well-designed vegetable on the face of the planet (or whatever other planet it might have originated on). I quickly gathered up half-a-dozen florets.

We use a simple recipe to roast the garden variety cauliflower in the TurboChef Speedcook Oven at home. It takes about four minutes. So we decided to do the same thing with these precious little gems. A little olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, Parmesan, kosher salt and we popped them in the oven under the roasted vegetable setting. They came out just as beautiful, retaining their brilliant color while lightly browned on the tips. After a moment of hesitation, not wanting to disrupt the perfect pattern with knife and fork, we dug in. The result - milder, sweeter and more tender than standard cauliflower, the romanesco did not disappoint. It tasted as good as it looked.

Since then, I've been digging around for other ways to fix these little guys. Simple and traditional steaming, roasting and boiling preparations abound, but here's a nice little preparation twist from Albion Cooks. Enjoy.

It has long been believed that we have four taste receptors on the tongue. Salty, sweet, bitter and sour were the ones we all learned about in grade school. You may have heard though that recently a fifth term has been added to describe what can be perceived by the human palate. It's called umami, derived from the Japanese word for "deliciousness." Items like cheese, tomatoes, truffles and mushrooms exhibit the taste sensation of umami more readily than the traditional salty, sweet, bitter or sour.

All of this may be a bit abstract without tasting foods that fall into this flavor category for yourself. To do so, you can find a number of great recipes at the Umami Information Center. (Just the existence of such an organization is proof enough that it's a slightly more complex flavor than its commonplace cousins. I mean, you're not likely to find a "Salty Information Center.") And we'd be remiss if we didn't offer up an umami recipe of our own for you to cook up in your TurboChef Speedcook Oven. Again, this one is courtesy of Chef Seeger:

Risotto with Wild Mushrooms
Conventional Time: 35 minutes
TurboChef Time: 12 minutes
Servings: 6

6 ounces (3 cups) mushrooms (chanterelle, baby bellas, shitake)
4 1/2 cups (1100 ml) low-salt chicken broth
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 1/2 cups (300 grams) risotto
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided use
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened, divided use
1/4 cup minced shallots
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 4” sprig fresh rosemary
1 4” sprig fresh thyme
1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
3 tablespoons mascarpone
Fine sea salt
White pepper

Select Bake > Prepared Foods > Casserole > Fresh> Rice (uncooked) > 1 quart. Press “Start” to begin preheat cycle.

1. Clean the mushrooms with a dry pastry brush to remove excess dirt. Remove the stems of the mushrooms to flavor the broth.
2. In a medium saucepan, bring the broth to boiling; add the mushroom stems. Let steep 5 minutes. Strain broth, discarding stems.
3. Butter the bottom and sides of an ovenproof ceramic or glass, covered dish (3 x 9 x 13-inch). Stir to coat the risotto with 2 tablespoons olive oil, one tablespoon butter, garlic and shallots.
4. Pour the 4 1/2 cups of broth and the wine over risotto. Stir to evenly distribute broth.
5. Place a sprig of rosemary and thyme on top of risotto. Cover; place in oven and press “Start”. Bake 12 minutes.
6. In a sauté pan, melt two tablespoons butter. Sauté the mushrooms over medium heat until softened about 5 minutes.
7. Remove the risotto from oven and let sit covered 5 minutes.
8. Stir in the herbs after removing the stems. Add Parmesan and remaining butter. Stir in mascarpone with rubber spatula.
9. Season to taste with salt and white pepper. Top with sautéed mushrooms. Drizzle with remaining olive oil and serve.

I'm always excited when I find something so simple to make that turns out so darn good to eat. I hit on one of those moments last night. I took a cue from Jonathan Waxman's presentation at the International Builders' Show. He was roasting tomatoes and garlic in the oven. Then he'd mash them up into a kind of rustic sauce that topped a rack of lamb he had prepared. Jonathan mentioned briefly that if you went on to purée that tomato base, you'd have a pasta sauce "you'd be very happy with."

He was right. The result was fantastic. And so short and simple that its greatness came as a surprise. Four and half minutes in the oven, a quick turn in the blender, and we had a sauce that was not only fast, but fresh, and as good as any we could hope to find and pay for in a restaurant. So, since short, simple and savory are much of what TurboChef is about, I couldn't wait to share. Here's all you do:

Oven Roasted Tomato Basil Sauce
TurboChef Cook Time: 4.5 minutes
Conventional Cook Time: 20 minutes
Serves 3 to 4 (depending on your appetite)

3 ripe heirloom tomatoes
6 garlic cloves - halved
4-6 fresh basil leaves
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Red pepper flakes to taste
Sea salt and ground black pepper to taste
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Please note that much of these ingredients are done to taste. Adding more here or there to your liking is encouraged.

Select Roast > Vegetables > Roasted Vegetables > 2 pounds. Press "Start" and allow oven to preheat as your prepare the dish.

1. Core tomatoes and slice in half, leaving the skins on. Place in a pyrex dish that can be covered.
2. Push garlic cloves into the tomato then top with olive oil, salt, red and black pepper and basil leaves.
3. Cover dish, place in oven and press "Start" to begin cooking. This will take 4.5 minutes in the TurboChef Speedcook Oven.
4. Remove from oven and mash tomatoes into a pulp. Add 1 tbsp butter and stir slowly until sauce begins to thicken a just a bit.
5. Pour into a blender or food processor (I added a touch more chopped fresh basil here) and purée.
6. Serve over angel hair or your favorite pasta. Add a sautéed shrimp if you want to get really fancy.
7. Repeat often - it's fresh, simple and delicious.

I have two little boys – ages three and four – and in our house I'm in charge of dinner each night. So one of my favorite things to do in the evening when I get home is to cook with the boys. It's fun to do together, it lets them be creative and, when they've had a hand in the creation, it gets them interested in trying new foods. And I can state unequivocally, there is no better oven that compliments their enthusiasm and eagerness to get from creation to completion better than the TurboChef oven.

Of course, one of our favorite things to make is pizza. Our local market sells a great fresh pizza dough that I bring home at least once a week now and it is always a culinary highlight for them. They can really have fun with a pizza and handle just about every aspect of it by themselves (although they seem to be a little behind in the dough spinning category). So when I stumbled upon this video at the very clever "Tamra Davis Cooking Show", I was inspired to take our pizza-making to the next level. Last weekend was Henry's 3rd birthday party and instead of the backyard inflatable jumper or the piñata, we let two-dozen kids loose on a table full of pizzas. It was a ton of fun and the kids got a kick out of eating their own creations. We cooked up eight fresh-made pizzas in about 30 minutes – four minutes each with the TurboChef oven. We could never have pulled it off any other way. Even the parents got into the act, taking turns manning the oven and slicing up pies.

Coincidentally, I spoke to a customer just a few days later and she shared the same sentiment. Dee-Dee in Chicago said, "One of our favorite things to make in our TurboChef on a regular basis is Chicago-style deep dish pizza. With five kids and many different tastes, we make several different kinds in one meal. The TurboChef lets me offer a greater variety of options for the family with no problem. I can make four different pizzas in the same time it takes to make one in a conventional oven. That means everyone is satisfied and harmony is achieved at the dinner table." Keep in mind, you're typically talking 30-45 minutes for a typical scratch recipe for deep dish pizza. TurboChef cooks one up in about six and a half minutes.

Bottom line, thanks go out to Tamra for the inspiration and to TurboChef for helping us pull it off in record time. Henry and his friends had a blast.

Ellen Hanson (Ellen Hanson Designs in NYC) and her associates enjoy a TurboChef Speedcook Oven in their office kitchen. Tired of the daily hassle and the countless boxes, wrappers and containers accompanying every take-out order, Ellen describes how their oven has bettered the lunch break:

Lunch at Ellen Hanson Designs is, as in most offices, a harried affair. We are very busy and suddenly realize we are starving. Until recently we would most often order in, but as our office has become increasingly 'green' we find we can't live with all the packaging that accompanies food delivered from a restaurant. Now someone from the office stops at the local health food store on the way to work and gets some good-looking organic produce. Shortly before we plan to eat, we pop it into the TurboChef oven. Within minutes we have a beautiful home-cooked meal with no wasteful packaging.

One of our favorites is roasted cauliflower. Sometimes we pair it with quinoa and plain yogurt. It is also good with pasta, rice or roasted potatoes. Check out how easy it is to make this vegetable!

Chop, slice, or break into florets a head of cauliflower. Place in a roasting dish and drizzle with olive oil to taste. Sprinkle with salt. The prep time is about 2 minutes! Cook it in the oven using the "Roast Vegetable > 1 pound" setting – 3 minutes. When the chime indicates 80% done, add walnuts and grated Parmesan to taste. Complete cooking cycle and serve hot or room temp.

If you'd like to share stories and experiences with your TurboChef Speedcook Oven, we'd like to hear from you. Email The TurboChef Blog and we'll review your submission for inclusion on the site.

Our stay at K/BIS last week began with a very special event. A select group was on hand at Charlie Trotter's in Chicago for an exclusive TurboChef demonstration with Chef Trotter himself. Not only does Chef Trotter use commercial TurboChef ovens in his restaurants, he has a residential version in his studio kitchen.

In this setting, Chef put on a quite a show for our audience, using his TurboChef 30" Double Wall Speedcook Oven to cook extraordinary dishes with extraordinary speed. It was a vivid reminder of just how remarkable this oven is. I see it demonstrated and cook with it every day, yet I am still thrilled and amazed when I see new foods prepared in it – particularly in a location that has been named the best restaurant in the world.

In a little less than thirty minutes, Chef Trotter had prepared, cooked and plated the following dishes as we looked on.

Roasted Monkfish with Baby Carrots, Iowa Spiced Fatback & Shallot Marmalade
TurboChef time: 9 minutes

Lemon-Ricotta Soufflé with Rhubarb Compote
TurboChef time: 2 minutes

After the demonstration, the group adjourned to the dining room where we were treated to an exceptional menu. Again, Chef Trotter prepared each item in the TurboChef Speedcook Oven, and each one was a delight for the senses. The unique presentation, the flavor, the remarkable pairing of food and wine – all of it made for a wonderful experience. When asked for his opinion on the evening, Stephen Weiner of Abt Electronics in Chicago, summed things up well:

“Listening to Charlie speak about the oven's performance and it meeting his high standards was a testament to the product. I was impressed to know the TurboChef products were being used daily in one of the finest restaurants in the world. The monkfish was most memorable and the Eyrie Vineyards Pinot from Oregon complimented the delicate flavors of the perfectly prepared fish. It boggles the mind to know the fish was roasted in less than four minutes.”

We thank everyone who attended the evening and extend a special thanks to Chef Trotter and his remarkable staff at Charlie Trotter's for an evening of excellence. For an inside look at the evening, we've complied a slide show for your viewing.

As promised, we're sharing a couple of the recipes we prepared with Chef Waxman at K/BIS. These are easy, fresh and take only minutes to prepare and cook – making them perfect for a meal on any night of the week. Enjoy.

Pizza with Bacon, Parmesan, Scallions & Tomato

1 frozen 10" pizza crust
Note: Chef Waxman prepared his own crusts then froze them. You can prepare this doing the same thing, using store-bought crusts, or using fresh dough. Simply adjust your oven settings accordingly.
2 cups halved grape tomatoes
1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced
8 ounces Applegate organic bacon, sliced
¾ cup freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano
Extra virgin olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper
Sea Salt

1. Using your Cookwheel, Select Bake > Pizza > Frozen > Combo. Press “start” to preheat.
2. Roll frozen dough into a 10-inch round and place on metal sheet pan.
3. Press bacon gently into surface of the dough, distributing evenly.
4. In a large bowl toss the tomatoes and onion together. Drizzle with a tablespoon olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Distribute tomatoes evenly to the edge of crust in a single layer. Sprinkle with the Parmesan and cracked black pepper, to taste. Brush the edge of dough with olive oil.
5. Place pizza in the oven and allow to bake 3 minutes. Scroll to "Cook and Brown More" if desired for a slightly darker bottom and crust.

You can find more great recipes like this in Chef Waxman's cookbook, available here.

Here's one more recipe prepared by Chef Waxman at K/BIS. Chef is known for his roasted chicken and, while the taste is exceptional, this recipe couldn't be more simple to create. Best of all, using organic chickens, you can cook up two in the TurboChef Speedcook Oven in about 12 minutes.

Roasted Organic Chickens

2 small (3.0 pound) organic chickens
Extra virgin olive oil
Freshly cracked black pepper
2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1. Using the Cookwheel, select Bake > Meat/Poultry > Poultry > Chicken > Unstuffed > 3-4.5 pounds. Press “start” to preheat oven.
2. Rinse the chickens and dry with paper towels.
3. Place the chickens in a 9 x 13 inch baking dish and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place a tablespoon of butter on top of each.
4. Place chickens in oven, press “start” to begin cooking. Allow to cook 12 minutes of the 22 minute cook cycle (organic chickens will typically cook more quickly than a non-organic chicken). Allow to rest about 5 minutes before slicing.

You can find more great recipes like this in Chef Waxman's cookbook, available here.

This entry comes to us from Ted Curtis, a TurboChef customer and avid user of his TurboChef 30" Double Wall Speedcook Oven. If you own a TurboChef Speedcook Oven and would like to share stories, recipes or tips on this blog, please contact us.

I prepared my first filet mignon in the oven the other night. It was amazing.

I took an 8-9 oz. filet and brought it down to room temp (a very important first step). Then I bacon wrapped it and coated the top and bottom with Oklahoma Joe’s Steak Seasoning (great stuff!). I melted a tablespoon of butter on a plate, then coated the steak – top and bottom – right before putting it on a small, preheated Le Creuset grill pan. I had preheated the pan in the bottom oven on “Hi-Broil” for about 20 minutes before moving it to the top for cooking. There is no need to apply non-stick spray to the pan due to the butter. In fact, you don’t want to because you want the pure juices from the meat, butter, and bacon to pour onto the steak when you're ready to plate.

I selected Broil > Beef > Filet > Medium > 1 Count using the Cook Navigator and put the steak in to cook for 6 minutes when preheat was complete. Then I flipped the steak at the 3-minute point to mark both sides.When it came out of the oven, I placed the pan and steak on the stove top under the hood, letting it rest on the pan for about 5 minutes until the internal temp got to around 125-130 degrees. While still in the pan, I salted the steak with kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper. I placed the steak on a hot plate that was placed in the oven for about 30 seconds. Then I poured the juices that collected in the pan over the top of the steak.

It may be the best steak my wife and I have ever had. The flavor was unbelievable! I’ve prepared it since for a few friends and it’s blown them away! They say it’s as good, if not better, than Ruth’s Chris. I agree.

Hungry yet? - Ted

I'll start by saying that I'm somewhat intimidated by baking. While I am quite interested in it and admire those who do it well, it seems a bit delicate and intricate so I typically steer clear of the territory. At the same time, we are very often asked how the oven performs with baked goods. So, emboldened by the confidence in my oven's ability and inspired by a recent TurboChef-oriented post from The Knead For Bread, I stepped up to the challenge this weekend to illustrate just what the TurboChef can do when it comes to baking.

To begin my adventure in baking, I started with something familiar and comfortable. The Knead For Bread is a treasure trove of great baking recipes. What's more, for those who need a helping hand like myself, they offer a step-by-step "class" complete with visual representations of each part of the process. TKFB provides a nice twist to traditional banana bread with their Chocolate Banana Crunch Bread recipe. The recipe's ingredients are easy to procure and preparation is relatively simple (just be sure to have several mixing bowls ready for duty). Once everything is combined, baking is a snap. Using the oven's recipe settings, I selected Bake > Bread > Quick Breads > Regular Size. While there are also size variations for 3x6 mini loaves in the oven's menu selections, this recipe called for a standard 5x9 loaf pan. With this setting, TurboChef cuts the cooking time in half – to 30 minutes – while the original recipe calls for an hour. Crossing my fingers that I had combined everything correctly, I placed the batter in the oven, closed the door and pressed Start.

30 minutes later I was thrilled with the outcome. My creation came out with a golden brown and chocolaty marbled exterior. The inside was moist and filled with melted chocolate chip morsels and crunchy toffee chips. The resulting swirl of chocolate, banana and toffee is nicely balanced, sweet and delicious. With an ice-cold glass of milk, it's perfect.

Already, I see much more baking in my future. I've got me eye on another TKFB recipe to try out – far afield from this one. I'll share the results in a few days. In the meantime, let me know if you've got a favorite you'd like to see cooked in the oven by posting it in the comments section below.

Combining the last few posts, I've continued with my baking exploration and settled on a Martha Stewart recipe I came across this past weekend. I used the Cake > Scratch Recipe setting under the Bake menu and took the cake out at the 80% check point - reducing the final cook time from 45 to 18 minutes.

While Martha's looks a bit better than mine (no shock there), it tasted sensational. With a big scoop of vanilla ice cream, this cake is the perfect end to a summertime cookout. You can find the recipe here.

Summertime in Atlanta means fresh, juicy peaches are in plentiful supply. While a good fresh peach stands up on it's own, we've taken to baking our latest bushel in the TurboChef oven for a wonderful, simple dessert to end the evening.

Prep is simple. Cut two or three peaches in half and remove the pits. Drizzle with a little spiced rum, brown sugar, cinnamon and chopped walnuts. Don't bother peeling the peaches as the skin will separate during cooking. Place the peaches in an 8" x 8" baking pan and cook under the Roast > Vegetables > Roast Vegetables > 1 Pound setting. In less than three minutes (I take them out at the 80% chime) you'll have beautifully caramelized, warm and luscious roasted peaches. They are good on their own but I can't resist topping them with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. A down home Southern taste treat that couldn't be easier.