Here I am baking with Dave Lieberman. Photo by Bobby Marro Photography.

I first "met" Dave Lieberman years ago when he signed my copy of his first cookbook, Young and Hungry. So I was thrilled to attend an event last week featuring the opportunity to cook alongside Dave himself, who also happens to be one of People's hottest bachelors in addition to a Food Network host, chef and food writer.

Dave's latest book (due out December 29th), The 10 Things You Need to Eat, is all about healthy dishes and how they can easily be prepared in over 100 recipes. The book is co-authored by Anahad O'Connor, a New York Times health columnist with a weekly column in the Science Times section titled, "Really?"

The theme of the event was "Value without Sacrifice" - inexpensive and healthy recipe ideas featuring Del Monte® canned vegetables, which I love because it keeps the cost of ingredients down. The following Chicken Cacciatore recipe has my very own test kitchen's stamp of approval. I prepared this dish last week using about 2.5 lb of lean chicken breast (since I have a personal preference towards boneless chicken). My notes are italicized below.

Chicken Cacciatore

• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1 teaspoon paprika
  

  Chicken Cacciatore. Photo by Bobby Marro Photography.

• 20 grinds fresh black pepper
• One 3-4 pound chicken, cut into pieces (I used 2.5 lb chicken breast instead)
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil (I probably used about a 1/2 cup. I cooked the chicken in shifts since my skillet wasn't large enough to cook all 2.5 lb at the same time.)
• 1 large onion, roughly chopped (A few pulses in the food processor did the trick.)
• About 5 ounces button or cremini mushroom, roughly chopped (I used canned, sliced mushrooms - two 4oz. cans worth.)
• 1/2 cup dry red wine (I used some leftover merlot.)
• 3 large cloves garlic, thinly sliced (I prefer to use the minced kind that comes in a jar. It lasts much longer than fresh garlic cloves and in a dish like this, you don't taste a difference. Also, I love garlic so I doubled the amount that's called for here).

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, oregano, paprika and pepper. Dredge the chicken pieces in the flour until well coated.
2. In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium high heat. Add the chicken pieces and brown well on both sides.
3. Remove the chicken pieces from the pan and set aside.
4. Add the onions and mushrooms to the hot pan and cook them, stirring often, until soft, about 7 minutes.
5. Stir in the red wine, tomatoes, and sliced garlic. Add the chicken back into the pan and cover the pan loosely.Reduce the heat to medium and cook 1 hour, until chicken is cooked through and tender. (1 hour was a tad too long for me to wait. It smelled GREAT. I took it off the heat after about 40-50 min and served over instant brown rice. Yum!) Serves 4.

One of the other great dishes of the night was a beet mash cake. They were served in cupcake form at the event with a basic (and delicious!) buttercream recipe. The cupcakes were very moist and also SUPER messy to eat, but totally worth it. Dave did a tutorial and I was fortunate enough to taste a lick of the batter. Recipe is below. I haven't tried baking this one myself yet, but I added some notes in italics below.

Cake batter - yum! Photo by Bobby Marro Photography.

Beet Mash Cake with Beet Frosting

For the cake

• One 14.5 oz. can Del Monte® Fresh Cut® Sliced Beets, drained
• 2 sticks unsalted butter, melted
• ½ cup vegetable oil
• 2 ½ cups granulated sugar
• 3 eggs
• ½ cup warm water
• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• ¾ cup sweetened cocoa
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt

For the Icing

• 2 sticks unsalted butter
• Approx. ½ a can of Del Monte® Fresh Cut® Sliced Beets, drained
• 1 pound confectioners sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 325F. (Get an oven thermometer & use it to check the accuracy of your oven temp. It's very helpful to make sure baked goods are baked properly)
2. In a small bowl, mash the drained can of beets finely with a potato masher and set aside. (Dave suggested a food processor in order to achieve a smoother cake batter)
3. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the melted butter, granulated sugar, oil, eggs, and water. In a separate bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients until thoroughly combined. Gradually mix the dry ingredients into the wet. Fold in the mashed beets and mix well. (Dave suggests folding until just combined. Mixing too much can result in a dense cake.)
   

   Beet Mash Cake. Photo By Bobby Marro Photography.

4. Pour the batter into a greased 10-inch Bundt pan. Bake about 70 minutes, until set but moist. (I always turn the pan halfway through to ensure even baking. I also like to begin testing before the suggested bake time is up, usually 5-10 minutes earlier. There's nothing worse than burned or over-baked cake). Let cool, and turn out onto a large serving plate.
5. Make the Icing: Mash the ½ can of beets finely with a potato masher (Again, use a food processor for easier mashing and a smoother icing). Melt 1 stick of butter in a saucepan and add mashed beets. Simmer on very low heat for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, cream the second stick of butter with a mixer in a bowl. Mix in the melted butter and beet mixture until fully incorporated. Gradually beat in the confectioners sugar. (Dave suggests adjusting the amount of sugar according to your desired icing. More sugar will result in an icing-like texture. Less sugar will result in a thin glaze.)
6. Ice the cake with a thick layer of icing. Each cake serves 12-15.

There were several more recipes and tasting dishes at the event, including a dip and a corn chowder. I hope to take these to the test kitchen soon. Will share feedback shortly!