Cook of the Week
by Nathan Straus

Kristin Lindburg

Kristin Lindburg likes to tell other people about her cooking skills. In fact, when she's on the job at Brookshire's, she leaves copies of her recipes out so shoppers can take a look.

A junior business management student at Tyler Junior College, Lindburg is the Chandler Brookshire's deli manager. She's worked there for eight and a half years.

"I love my job," Kristin said. "I put my recipe ideas out a lot here."

Lindburg moved to Tyler from Mount Pleasant seven years ago, and makes the commute to Chandler for work.

"Tyler is much bigger than Mount Pleasant," Kristin said.

In addition to traveling from Tyler to Chandler and back for work, Kristin attends Jefferson Baptist Church in Mount Pleasant, nearly an hour and 15 minutes north of Chandler.

"I head over there around twice a month," Lindburg said.

While she enjoys sports such as volleyball and softball, Kristin said what she enjoys about cooking is trying different things.

"I'll just make up something half the time," Kristin said.

She's got experience, too. Lindburg was a gourmet chef in Whitehouse.

Now she leaves some of her recipes next to Brookshire's cheese display, in part to show how the cheeses can be used.

Chicken and Firejack Taquitos

2 tsp olive oil
1 pound boneless, skinless
chicken breasts, cut into 1- inch pieces
1/2 cup chopped, roasted red peppers, drained (from waterpacked jar)
1 tsp liquid smoke
8 (6-inch) corn tortillas
1 1/3 cups shredded pepper jack cheese

(Preheat oven to 400 Degrees.)

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add chicken and sautØ 5 minutes until browned on all sides. Add roasted red peppers and liquid smoke and cook one minute to heat through. Arrange tortillas on a flat surface and top each with an equal amount of chicken mixture to within ...-inch of the edges. Top mixture with cheese (1/3 cup per tortilla). Roll them up and place on a baking sheet. Spray with cooking spray and bake 10 minutes until cheese melts.

Asparagus Wrapped Prosciutto

6 tbsp butter
2 egg yolks from pasteurized eggs (identified in stores as "pasteurized" and although
not cooked, they have been sufficiently heated for food safety)
11/2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1/8 tsp ground white pepper
Dash salt
16 asparagus spears, tough ends snapped off and boiled until just tender but still bright
green
16 slices prosciutto, thinly sliced

Clarify butter by melting it in a very small pot or metal container over low heat and scooping out the foam that rises. Then spoon off the clear butterfat to a clean container, being careful not to disturb the water or milk solids at the bottom. The clear portion is clarified butter. Set this aside briefly in a warm place and combine the egg yolks, lemon juice, white pepper and salt in a blender and process at high speed for about 60 seconds. Leaving the blender running, pour the clarified butter through the feed opening of the blender in a slow, steady stream and mix until thickened. Pour into a shallow plate and dip each asparagus spear into the sauce so that ¾ of the stick is covered to hold prosciutto in place, then wrap a slice of prosciutto over the sauce on each asparagus spear, leaving a dry end for guests to serve themselves.

Pepperoni Stuffed Lasagna

2 pounds lasagna sheets
2 cups hand-cut 1/8-inch slices pepperoni
4 cups tomato sauce, recipe follows
1 pound ricotta
16 ounces shredded mozzarella
2 pounds bulk Italian sausage, cooked
¾ cup grated Parmesan

(Preheat oven to 375 Degrees and boil six quarts of water. Boil six quarts of water, add a pinch of salt and cook pasta to almost done. Remove from water and shock in ice bath.)

In a medium saucepan add pepperoni and sautØ over medium heat until crispy. Remove from heat and drain in a paper towel. In a 10x14x3- inch baking pan or dish, pour one cup of tomato sauce in bottom and around sides. Layer lasagna sheets on the bottom of the pan, overlapping by â030-inch. Add 1/3 amount of ricotta, 1/3 amount of mozzarella, 1/3 amount of sausage, then sprinkle generously with the Parmesan, add â030 cup tomato sauce and ... cup pepperoni. Repeat this two more times.

On the very top sheet, top with remaining ricotta, tomato sauce, mozzarella, pepperoni and dust with Parmesan. Bake for approximately 45 minutes. Remove from oven; let sit for 15 minutes. Cut and serve immediately.

Tomato Sauce:

3 ounces extra-virgin olive oil
1 yellow onion, minced
5 medium-sized garlic cloves, crushed
6 cups skinned and diced Roma tomatoes
2 tbsp thinly sliced fresh basil leaves
1 tbsp minced fresh oregano leaves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat olive oil in a medium saucepan. Add onion and cook over medium to low heat until transparent. Add garlic and cook until almost brown. Add tomatoes and cook for â030 hour over low to medium heat. Add the basil and oregano and continue to cook for another â030 hour. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper, cool and store in the refrigerator until ready to use.