OTISFIELD – Peter Rogers has an eye for beauty. He enjoys watercolor and photography and to him, cooking is also a form of artistic expression. “A sight for artistic things in cooking makes a difference in how people perceive what they are eating,” he affirmed.

Rogers, who runs the food service at the Oxford County Jail, also does most of the cooking at home for his wife, Vicky, an elementary teacher in Oxford schools. When his grown daughter and son are home for the holidays, he cooks with his son, who manages a restaurant in Philadelphia. Rogers laughs about his son’s present-day interest in cooking. “He never wanted to learn about it when he was younger,” he recalled.

Rogers is a fan of spices. “If they are used right, they’re great,” he said.

He also enjoys taking five or six ingredients from his pantry and refrigerator and creating a tasty dish. His motto: “Don’t be afraid to try it.”

While Rogers cooks in a large kitchen, he doesn’t use a large conventional oven. He uses a microwave that is also a convection oven plus a gas cooktop. “I like gas,” he said. ” I don’t think I’ll ever go back to electric.”

Rogers doesn’t watch TVcooking shows for inspiration. In fact, he doesn’t own a television. “I have a library of several hundred cookbooks and I have computers,” he said. “I do a lot of reading. I have thousands of books in the house.”

Rogers likes to use a French press when making coffee. “It’s much better tasting, a richer taste,” he said, noting his dream is to one day open a coffee shop.

Cranberry-apple oatmeal crunch

Ingredients:

½ cup cleaned fresh cranberries

2 cups peeled apples, cut into wedges

1 teaspoon grated orange rind

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

½ cup white sugar

½ cup brown sugar

1 stick butter or margarine

2 cups oatmeal

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, mix cranberries, apples, grated orange rind, cinnamon and nutmeg. Mix well and place mixture in a 13- by 9-inch pan. In a larger bowl, mix softened butter or margarine, white and brown sugar and oatmeal until the oatmeal starts sticking together. Loosely place oatmeal mixture over ingredients in the baking pan. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes until golden brown. Serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Pork, potato, mushroom and onion casserole

Ingredients:

6 pork chops or 4 pounds boneless pork

1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning

1 tablespoon oil

4 large potatoes, peeled and sliced ¼ inch

1 medium onion, peeled

2 large garlic cloves, chopped

1 cup no-fat cream

1 18-ounce package Campbell’s Select Gold Label Portobello Mushroom Soup

Method:

Sprinkle both sides of pork with Cajun seasoning. Brown seasoned pork in oil using a frying pan. When brown, remove from pan and set on a large plate for later use. Cook peeled, sliced potatoes about 15 minutes in water. They should still be hard. Drain potatoes and put aside. Using the pan you cooked the pork in, cook onion and garlic until yellow. Set aside the pan. In a bowl, mix mushroom soup and no-fat cream. Set aside.

Place ¼ of the soup mixture on the bottom of a 13- by 9-inch baking pan. Place layers of ½ of the potatoes, ½ of the onions and garlic, ½ of the potatoes, ½ of the onions and garlic and a final layer of potatoes. Place pork on top and cover with the remaining mushroom and no-fat cream mixture. Seal the pan with foil.

Cook in a 375-degree oven for 45 minutes, then cook at 275 degrees for 45-60 minutes. Total time is at least 90 minutes. Serve hot with a green salad.

Chicken breast stuffed with spinach, mushroom, cheese

Ingredients:

3 large boneless chicken breasts

1 10-ounce bag spinach, washed

5 ounces white mushrooms, sliced

1 ounce oil

4 ounces grated three-cheese (This is a mix of three fresh shredded cheeses: Parmesan, Romano and asiago; usually sold refrigerated in supermarkets in 6-ounce packages; also can be bought whole and then grated. Any combination of your favorite cheeses could be used.)

3 ounces bread crumbs

½ teaspoon hot sauce

1 cup chicken broth

Method:

Cut chicken breasts in half. Flatten breasts between two sheets of wax paper, using a mallet. They should be 3/8 of an inch thick. Set aside raw breasts. Wilt the spinach with a tablespoon of water in a frying pan. Remove spinach from pan. Coarsely chop spinach. Sauté sliced mushrooms in the oil until cooked. Mix bread crumbs, spinach, mushrooms and grated three-cheese. Lay out a chicken breast, smooth side down and sprinkle with ground pepper. Place one-sixth of the above mixture on the chicken breast. Roll the chicken breast up from edge to edge folding end edges underneath. Place all breasts smooth side up in a 13- by 9-inch baking pan. Bake at 375 degrees for 18 minutes. Cover with foil and cook at 275 degrees about 15 minutes. Heat 1 cup chicken broth to boiling until thickened slightly, add hot sauce and pour the sauce over stuffed chicken breasts as you serve them. Serve with a salad or green vegetable.

Note: The stuffed chicken roll can be sliced and arranged on a plate with the sauce served on the top.