I was lucky enough to take part in Panasonic’s recent Summer Tasting for New York based online influencers last week at The Kitchen Table at 132 Mulberry Street in Little Italy. The legendary company’s research and development executive chef Hadar Cohen Aviram cooked several dishes for influencers that were fast and easy but long on flavor. 
Naturally, everything was cooked in Panasonic appliances, starting with numerous types of fresh soft bread including rye and sourdough. Fresh bread takes less than a half hour in the latest Panasonic bread makers, such as the sleek looking YR2500 which is customized for those who like to make gluten free bread and which has special compartments for adding nuts and raisins. The bread that I has was not gluten free but it was amazing and was as delicious as anything in the famous French boulangerie chains around town.
Chef Aviram rocked in the veggie department as well as she prepped both fresh yellow and red beets in a simple style with fresh olive oil, lemon and basil. She put the beets in a Panasonic microwave with just a little water and less than 15 minutes later she was easily peeling off the skin with an oven mitt. The twist was that at the end she added fresh goat cheese and used a kitchen torch to make the cheese warm and oozy. The dish was light but satisfying–and a complete lunch in itself.
Panasonic has commercial style convection ovens that are available to consumers now with special grill pans that let you grill up to nine sliders like the ones pictured here in less than ten minutes. You even get grill marks. Chef Aviram’s secret for great sliders is to mix two parts ground beef to one part ground lamb. She also makes “quick pickles” by slicing two cucumbers super thin (she makes 1/8th inch slices), then puts them in two cups of water with a little white vinegar and fresh dill, and microwaves on high for eight minutes. She serves her sliders topped with her quick pickles and fresh Bermuda onion.
Chef Aviram also showed us how to make a quick mixed veggie dish using the grilling drawer from one of Panasonic’s popular convection ovens. She just chopped sushito peppers, Jersey tomatoes and leeks, then mixed in fresh chopped parsley, salt and olive oil. The flavors of the veggies cooked together in a matter of five minutes and they retained their crunch.
Chef Aviram is also a master of the Mediterranean salad since she hails from Israel. She made faro in a Panasonic rice cooker and then after it cooled on a tray for a half hour, she added in chopped pistachios, tomatoes, cucumbers, parsley and pomegranate. She spitzed with lemon and olive oil. This was hearty and satisfying and nutritionally was truly well-rounded.
Chef Aviram concluded our meal with a Mediterranean style dessert of tahini topped with fresh fruit and some fig jam. It tasted a bit like a cross between a sweetened yogurt and one of those Indian rosewater puddings and was truly a unique taste sensation.
I admit that I am so in love with Chef Aviram’s cooking that I have to get her go-to Panasonic CIO convection oven above. She made truffle popcorn for us in it and also made truffle popcorn in another popular brand of microwave. The difference was incredible. The popcorn came out so much moister and fluffier in the Panasonic microwave. For more info on Panasonic kitchen products, simply go to www.panasonic.com. You can see the most Panasonic products up close and personal by visiting a Best Buy store.
