All right, Gen X! Take yourself back a few years to the flavors of your youth. The smells of the mall, food courts, the golden era of chain restaurants, and empty calories with no consequences. This should be a cookbook, right? Surprise! It is! I co-authored it with Tiffany, ‘80s pop icon, songwriter, and my beloved food mate. It’s called “Pop Life” and it features 80 of our favorite retro recipes, “zhuzhed up” and reimagined. Let’s party!
Here is a peek of a few of the recipes:
Puffy Cheeseburgers
Puff pastry is the key to this fun, tasty appetizer. And guess what? This recipe is more about the method than the ingredients stuffed inside. We make pizza ones, taco ones, pad Thai ones, cottage pie ones … Hungry yet?
Serves 4
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 sheet puff pastry, thawed
3/4 cup ground beef
1/4 cup Thousand Island dressing
1/4 cup minced white onion
3 slices of American cheese, cut into thirds (9 pieces, total)
9 dill pickle chips
1 egg, beaten
3 tablespoons sesame seeds
Shredded iceberg, mustard and ketchup, for garnish
Shredded iceberg or romaine
Preheat oven to 400F.
Dust your cutting board (or your clean counter) with the all-purpose flour and roll out your pastry sheet to a 9x9-inch square. Cut the sheet into 3 pieces lengthwise, then make 2 more equal cuts the other way, yielding 9 pieces.
Combine ground beef and Thousand Island dressing.
In the middle of one pastry square, add a little over 1 tablespoon of ground beef mixture, followed by a sprinkle of minced onion and a piece of American cheese.
Top with one dill pickle chip.
Brush a small border of egg wash along the edge of the pastry.
Lift each pastry corner up to the middle over the filling and pinch all sides together so your filling is completely sealed inside.
Repeat with the other 8 pastry squares and transfer them all to a parchment lined baking sheet.
Apply a thin layer of egg wash onto each pastry.
Generously sprinkle the top of each with sesame seeds.
Bake at 400 degrees for 23-26 minutes, until puff pastry is golden.
Let cool for 5 minutes.
Serve over a bed of shredded iceberg.
Garnish with drizzles of yellow mustard and ketchup.
BBQ Chicken French Bread Pizza
Remember frozen French Bread Pizza - and the ‘80s BBQ Chicken Pizza craze? Tiffany and I adore a good mashup, and this one is pretty darn genius. Plus, it’s a great use for leftover chicken breasts. Or pick up some pre-shredded rotisserie chicken, along with some pre-buttered loaves of garlic bread, pre-sliced veggies and a bottle of your favorite sweet BBQ sauce.
Serves 4
1 loaf French bread
1/4 cup melted butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cups thinly sliced yellow and red bell peppers
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
2 cups cooked, shredded chicken breast
1/2 cup barbecue sauce
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
Preheat oven to 400F
Cut the bread in half lengthwise, then cut half down the middle (4 pieces, total).
Use a pastry brush to evenly spread butter over the bread, cut side up. Transfer the bread to a baking sheet and bake for 5 minutes, until lightly browned on top; set aside.
Reduce oven to 350F.
Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat.
Sauté the peppers for 6-8 minutes, until soft.
Place 1/4 of the peppers on each piece of toasted bread, followed by 1/4 cup of mozzarella cheese on each.
In a bowl, combine chicken and barbecue sauce.
Top each with 1/4 of the BBQ chicken, followed by the remaining mozzarella (1/4 cup each).
Bake for 5-10 minutes, until the cheese is completely melted and bubbling. Garnish with cilantro.
Egg Roll Cups
Lightened up and grown up! Ground chicken is another great choice for this deconstructed egg roll. Experiment with cilantro or lemongrass for extra flavor wow!
Serves 8-10
24 wonton wrappers
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1 pound ground pork
1 tablespoon sesame oil
3 scallions, minced + more for garnish
1 cup shredded purple cabbage, minced
1 teaspoon minced ginger
1/2 teaspoon garlic paste or 1 minced garlic clove
For garnish, sweet and sour sauce and shredded purple cabbage
Preheat oven to 350F.
Using a pastry brush, apply a light layer of vegetable oil to each wonton square, front and back, and place each square into the well of a mini muffin pan to form little cups.
Bake for 8 minutes, until golden; transfer wonton cups to a cooling rack.
Increase oven temperature to 400F.
Combine pork, sesame oil, scallions, cabbage, ginger and garlic, and form 24 small meatballs, about a half an ounce each. You will have filling left over to freeze or use in other recipes.
Place meatballs on a baking sheet and cook for 15-20 minutes, until internal temperature reaches 165F.
To serve, place one meatball in each wonton cup. Garnish with a drizzle of sweet and sour sauce and diced scallions.
Alicia Shevetone is a chef, cookbook author, and founder of America’s first cookbook library. Creator of Dink Cuisine and Distilled Spices, Chef Alicia’s cooking show, Sin City Kitchen, streams on Roku, Amazon FireTV, and Apple TV and is available in over 60 countries.