Who's Cooking: Michael Rosenfeld

Michael Rosenfeld, 18, is studying the hospitality field at Nassau Community College. He lives in Oceanside with his parents, Rochelle and Samuel.

When did you start cooking? When I was 9. Everyone in my family can cook, and I pretty much learned through them. 

What's your favorite dish to cook? My favorite dish was always rice -- straight-out white rice. But over the years I've expanded and made many different kinds, different rices and different seasonings, brown rice, yellow rice, all kinds. If I'm making chicken, the rice isn't far behind. 

What other kinds of meals do you make? This past Passover, I cooked the brisket for the first time. I got the gist of what you're supposed to do by looking at recipes online, but then I did my own version. I made a dry rub, mostly paprika, that I put all over the meat. I made my own wine sauce, one that my dad taught me, so it wouldn't dry out. 

Do you have a favorite kitchen gadget? I have an apple corer that's really cool. When my dad's in the mood for baked apples, I use that. 

Do you have a guilty food pleasure? Sesame chicken from any Chinese restaurant. 

What's your next frontier in the kitchen? Something called "Moroccan cigars." It's a Mediterranean dish of meat you wrap in a special type of dough. The meat is spicy, and you fry it in the dough.

HERBED CHICKEN CUTLETS WITH HERBED WHITE RICE 

Extra-virgin olive oil

1 cup rice

2 cups water or chicken broth

4 chicken cutlets

1 tablespoon paprika

1/2 tablespoon oregano

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon cumin

1/2 tablespoon lemon pepper

1/4 tablespoon salt

Dried parsley, for garnish 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Wash and pat dry chicken cutlets. Combine spices in a shallow bowl and rub onto both sides of cutlets. Set coated cutlets on a plate.

3. Film a medium saucepan with olive oil and add 1 cup rice, turn to medium heat and stir to coat rice. Add leftover chicken spices, stir and add 2 cups of water or chicken broth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer about 15 minutes, until cooked. Adjust seasonings.

4. While rice is cooking, film large oven-safe frying pan with olive oil and heat to medium high. Cook cutlets about 2 to 3 minutes per side, until well-browned on both sides.

5. Place frying pan in oven for about 3 minutes, until cutlets are cooked through. Remove cutlets from oven and let rest 3 to 5 minutes. Divide rice among 4 plates, top each with a chicken cutlet and garnish with parsley. Makes 4 servings.