Sunday, October 25, 2009

Devon's Cooking... Healthy Fish & Chips


I think that Dave and I are both fat kids at heart. We love pretty much all food and we often enjoy those delicious, but guilty pleasures like desserts, burgers, pasta, and fried goodness. In particular, we're partial to fish & chips... if I had my way (and a magical metabolism, a heart that could fend off heart disease and arteries that could resist the blocking qualities of fryin' oil) we would eat at Tin Fish (in downtown San Diego) weekly.

But in the absence of a magical metabolism, I always like to look for ways to enjoy our guilty pleasures without suffering from the guilt part (or the fat adult-ness that comes along with the guilt). Accordingly, tonight I made a much healthier version of fish and chips and though it didn't have quite the same crunch of a perfectly-fried piece of fish, it hit the spot!

HEALTHY FISH AND CHIPS
Ingredients
4 spray(s) olive oil cooking spray
1/4 tsp table salt, or more to taste (enough for potatoes and fish)
1/4 tsp black pepper, or to more taste (enough for potatoes and fish)
1/4 cup(s) fat-free skim milk
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1/4 cup(s) all-purpose flour
1 cup(s) fresh bread crumbs
20 oz raw tilapia
16 oz potato(es), peeled and cut into 8 wedges each

Directions: Preheat oven to 400ºF. Coat 2 large baking sheets with cooking spray.
Place potato wedges on one baking sheet and lightly coat with cooking spray; season to taste with salt and pepper. Bake until golden brown and tender, about 45 minutes.
Whisk milk and mustard together in a shallow dish. Place bread crumbs in another shallow dish and put flour in a third shallow dish. Season both sides of fish with salt and pepper. Place fish in flour and turn to coat. Place fish in milk mixture and turn to coat. Place fish in bread crumbs and turn to coat. Transfer fish to second prepared baking sheet and lightly coat with cooking spray. Bake fish until fork-tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. Serve fish and potato wedges with vinegar on the side. Yields 1 fillet, 4 potato wedges and 1 tablespoon of vinegar per serving.

Devon's Cooking...Bridal Shower Apps



It's hard to believe that Ronna and Heav's wedding is almost here! Only 2 more weeks before we all head to Tahoe to celebrate (this will be Dave and my 8th wedding this year, so we'll also be celebrating the end to Wedding Madness 2009!). While the guys were in Newport for Heavy's bachelor party, the gals were a little classier. The FBT crew, Trish (though she's part of the FBT crew now, if you ask me!), Janine, Stephanie, Heavy's mom Nancy and Ronna's mom Lynn all came to Anna's house for a lovely little bridal shower.

I thought this would be a fun time to try my hand at some appetizers and I might have gone overboard a little (we had WAY too much food, between my apps and the amazing stuff that everyone else brought!), but it was fun to put together a few different things! After much thought, and a slight time-crunch (I was in San Jose at a conference until late Friday night), I decided to make Marinated Feta-stuffed Cherry Tomatoes, Black Bean and Corn Salad (1 can of Black Beans, 1 can of corn, 1 red onion chopped, salt and pepper to taste, 1 jar chunky salsa), Avocado, Bacon and Bleu Cheese bites (these didn't taste that good, though, so no recipe will follow on that one), Gorgonzola Bites, Chipotle Cream Cheese-stuffed Endive, and Mini Provolone Popovers. These were all fun and pretty easy to make, though be sure to buy the biggest cherry tomatoes you can find if you decide to make the Feta-Stuffed Tomatoes. My cherry tomatoes were more like grape tomatoes so scooping out the pulp of each one took FOREVER!


MARINATED FETA-STUFFED CHERRY TOMATOES
Cherry Tomatoes stuffed with marinated feta (double)
INGREDIENTS
1 7- to 8-ounce package feta cheese, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil plus additional for drizzling
1 tablespoon minced shallot
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano
1 pound large cherry tomatoes
12 pitted Kalamata olives, halved lengthwise

Directions: Toss cubed feta, oil, shallot, and oregano in small bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Cut 12 tomatoes crosswise in half. Scoop out tomato pulp with melon baller or small spoon. Place tomatoes, cut side up, on serving plate. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Stuff hollowed cherry tomatoes with marinated feta. Slide in olive half alongside cheese. Drizzle with additional olive oil.


GORGONZOLA BITES
Ingredients
1 sheet frozen puff pastry
4 oz. gorgonzola, crumbled
Fresh ground pepper

Directions: Preheat oven to 350. Let puff pastry stand at room temp (about 30 mins). Scatter cheese over pastry, grind pepper. Drape plastic wrap over pastry and gently roll over wrap with rolling pin to press cheese into pastry. Peel off wrap and cut into 1-inch squares (40 portions). Transfer to ungreased baking sheets, bake about 25 minutes, let cool before serving.


CHIPOTLE CREAM CHEESE-STUFFED ENDIVE
Ingredients
4 oz fat-free cream cheese, at room temperature
1/4 cup(s) roasted red peppers, water-packed, blotted dry, finely diced
3 Tbsp scallion(s), thinly sliced
3 Tbsp cilantro, fresh, chopped (plus extra leaves for garnish)
2 tsp canned chipotle sauce
1/4 tsp table salt
1/4 tsp ground cumin
3 small head(s) endive, Belgian (about 24 leaves)

Directions: In a small bowl, stir together cream cheese, roasted peppers, scallions, cilantro, chipotle sauce, salt and cumin until blended. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve (up to 1 day). When ready to serve, spoon about 1 teaspoon of chipotle cheese mixture into bottom of each endive leaf; garnish with remaining fresh cilantro leaves. Arrange on a serving platter and serve. Yields 3 leaves per serving.

MINI PROVOLONE POPOVERS
Ingredients
1 cup whole milk
2 large eggs
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, divided
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/3 cup finely chopped provolone + 1 Tbsp
2 tablespoons grated parmesan
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped chives

Directions: Whisk together milk, eggs, flour, 1 tablespoon butter, salt, and pepper until smooth, then stir in cheeses and chives. Chill 1 hour to allow batter to rest. Preheat oven to 425°F with rack in upper third. Butter muffin pan with remaining tablespoon butter, then heat in oven until butter sizzles, about 2 minutes. Gently stir batter, then divide among muffin cups (they will be about two-thirds full). Bake until puffed and golden-brown, 18 to 20 minutes. Serve immediately.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Devon's Cooking...Spicy Chicken and Sweet Potatoes



I've been really good about using all of the vegetables I have and trying to use everything in the refrigerator before it goes bad... so I had to find some way to use up the sweet potatoes I had leftover from the gnocchi. This recipe sounded very strange at first-- cold and spicy chicken salad over a warm sweet potato?!?! But trust me, this tasted amazing! Be sure to have a glass of water and no need to kiss anyone for about 4 hours after eating this, though!

SPICY CHICKEN AND SWEET POTATOES
Ingredients
4 medium sweet potato(es)
12 oz cooked boneless, skinless chicken breast, shredded
1 medium red onion(s), sliced into thin half moons
1/4 cup(s) cilantro, fresh, chopped
1 Tbsp canned chipotle peppers
1 small garlic clove(s)
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 tsp olive oil
1 Tbsp water
1/2 tsp McNeil Nutritionals SPLENDA No Calorie Sweetener

Directions: Preheat oven to 375°F. Place potatoes on rack in middle of oven and bake until tender, about 45 to 50 minutes. Put chicken, onion and cilantro in a medium bowl; set aside. Put remaining ingredients in blender container or bowl of a food processor and blend until smooth. Pour dressing over chicken mixture and toss to coat. Cut a slit in each potato and top each with a heaping 3/4 cup of chicken mixture. Yields 1 filled potato per serving.

Monday, October 19, 2009

Devon's Cooking...A Mushroom Extravaganza!



It feels like the first time in a VERY long time, but Dave and I were actually home this weekend! We even had time to go to the Farmer's Market on Sunday morning, something we haven't been able to do in months. Truly, the food tastes so much better when it comes from Farmer's Market-- we bought avocados, apples, lettuce, grape tomatoes (they tasted like candy!), giant squash and beautiful, fresh mushrooms.

I was planning on just reheating left-over sloppy joes for dinner, but the siren call of the mushrooms was too much for me to ignore. Dave was watching football, which usually means he doesn't talk for about 6 hours, so I got to work experimenting in the kitchen. The night before we had a wonderful dinner at Avenue 5 with the Schneiders and I had fish with a light broth around it... and this became my inspiration.

The first thing I did was slice up a bunch of those fresh mushrooms and throw them in a sauce pot with about 4 cups of chicken broth. I added chopped green onions, salt, pepper and herbes de provence...but it still needed something. Luckily I had some dried porcini mushrooms in the fridge, so I reconstituted those and then poured half of the water from the reconstitution into the sauce pot.

In the meantime, I took about 1/2 pound of tilapia, seasoned both sides with salt and pepper, and threw it in the toaster oven to cook for 10 minutes.

While that was cooking, I utilized the 2 leftover russet potatoes I had from making gnocchi the previous week, cooked them in the microwave and then riced the potatoes. I chopped up the reconstituted porcinis and then added them to the potatoes with a little fat-free milk, salt and pepper.

To serve, I put each serving of fish in a small bowl and poured the mushroom broth over the fish. Then I served it with sauteed squash and the mashed potatoes. It was almost like going out to dinner!!

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Devon's Cooking...Stuffed Acorn Squash


While it might still be in the 70s and 80s in San Diego, Dave and I were just in Buffalo, New York where it was undoubtedly NOT in the 70s and 80s... more like the 50s plus lots of rain. Dave and I-- thin-skinned San Diegans that we are-- shivered and whined our way through Buffalo (perhaps I should say "wined" our way through Buffalo, since we definitely drank our fair share of great vino there). So despite coming home to a promise of rain but a reality of 80 degrees (I LOVE San Diego), we still felt like making something warm, toasty, autumn-like and tasty. This recipe is excellent and it makes a beautiful presentation!

Stuffed Acorn Squash
INGREDIENTS
2 medium acorn squash
Nonstick cooking spray
8 ounces cremini or white button mushrooms, cleaned and thinly sliced
3 medium scallions, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp dried rosemary
1/2 tsp rubbed sage
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3 Tbsp dry vermouth or dry white wine

Instructions: Position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 375°F. Split the squash in half, stem to bottom, and scoop out the seeds. Spray a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray and place the squash on it cut side down. Bake until tender, about 50 minutes. Meanwhile, spray a large skillet with nonstick cooking spray and set over medium heat. Add the mushrooms, scallions and garlic, and cook, stirring frequently, until the mushrooms give off their liquid, about 4 minutes. Stir in the Worcestershire sauce, rosemary, sage, thyme and pepper. Cook 1 minute. Remove pan from heat and stir in the rice, cheese and vermouth or wine. Once the squash are fork-tender, turn them cut side up and fill each with a quarter of the rice mixture. Bake until warmed through, about 10 minutes.

Devon's Cooking...Sweet Potato Gnocchi



Dave and I celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary last Wednesday and I wanted to make something very special to celebrate. But just as we celebrated our continued union, we heard the sad news that Conde Nast was ending its relationship with Gourmet magazine and ceasing publication after the November issue (a travesty!). So in honor of our healthy marriage, in memory of Gourmet and in the spirit of trying new things by making gnocchi for the first time, I settled on Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Fried Chestnuts and Sage from the penultimate issue of Gourmet. It was amazing, delectable, totally satisfying, perfect... in short, the food version of our marriage (ah, how sweet!). It's a lot of work, but worth the effort (that's sometimes like marriage, too, isn't it?).

Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Fried Chestnuts and Sage

INGREDIENTS:
1 1/4 lb russet (baking potatoes)
1 (3/4-lb) sweet potato
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1/3 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano plus more for serving
1 1/2 to 2 cups all-purpose flour plus more for dusting
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup sage leaves (from 1 bunch)
1/3 cup bottled roasted chestnuts, very thinly sliced with an adjustable-blade slicer or a sharp vegetable peeler
2 tablespoons unsalted butter

DIRECTIONS: To make gnocchi, preheat oven to 450°F with rack in middle. Pierce russet and sweet potatoes in several places with a fork, then bake in a 4-sided sheet pan until just tender, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Cool potatoes slightly, then peel and force through ricer into sheet pan, spreading in an even layer. Cool potatoes completely. Lightly flour 2 or 3 large baking sheets or line with parchment paper.

Beat together egg, nutmeg, 1 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp pepper in a small bowl. Gather potatoes into a mound in sheet pan, using a pastry scraper if you have one, and form a well in center. Pour egg mixture into well, then knead into potatoes. Knead in cheese and 11/2 cups flour, then knead, adding more flour as necessary, until mixture forms a smooth but slightly sticky dough. Dust top lightly with some of flour. Cut dough into 6 pieces. Form 1 piece of dough into a 1/2-inch-thick rope on a lightly floured surface. Cut rope into 1/2-inch pieces. Gently roll each piece into a ball and lightly dust with flour. Repeat with remaining 5 pieces of dough. Turn a fork over and hold at a 45-degree angle, with tips of tines touching work surface. Working with 1 at a time, roll gnocchi down fork tines, pressing with your thumb, to make ridges on 1 side. Transfer gnocchi as formed to baking sheets.

Fry sage leaves and chestnuts: Heat oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium heat until it shimmers. Fry sage leaves in 3 batches, stirring, until they turn just a shade lighter and crisp (they will continue to crisp as they cool), about 30 seconds per batch. Transfer to paper towels to drain. Season lightly with salt. Fry chestnuts in 3 batches, stirring, until golden and crisp, about 30 seconds per batch. Transfer to paper towels to drain. Season lightly with salt. Reserve oil in skillet.

Make sauce: Add butter to oil in skillet with 1/2 tsp salt and cook until golden-brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from heat.

Cook gnocchi: Add half of gnocchi to a pasta pot of well-salted boiling water and stir. Cook until they float to surface, about 3 minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon to skillet with butter sauce. Cook remaining gnocchi in same manner, transferring to skillet as cooked. Heat gnocchi in skillet over medium heat, stirring to coat. Serve sprinkled with fried sage and chestnuts and grated cheese.

Monday, October 5, 2009

Devon's Cooking...Baked Penne with Sausage










I have been a bad blogger. And a bad home cook. As Dave and I approach our eighth wedding of the year and 20th weekend away from home (!), I am realizing how hard it is to work full time and try to be super wife. So I'm all about easy recipes these days-- particularly those that last a long time (and are healthy, thus reversing the awful eating we undoubtedly have done the weekend prior). This recipe serves 8 (I ate it 4 days in a row!), was super easy, quelled our craving for pasta, and is healthy (although the delicious bottle of Unti Shiraz we polished off Friday night with our pasta probably wasn't the healthiest decision)! Enjoy! p.s. I really did use fat free mozzarella on this-- it didn't melt, though, hence the bizarre white clumps on top. I recommend making this with part-skim mozz instead.

BAKED ZITI WITH TURKEY SAUSAGE
Ingredients
3/4 pound(s) raw turkey sausage, casings removed
1 medium onion(s), chopped
1 medium green pepper(s), chopped
28 oz canned diced tomatoes
2 Tbsp canned tomato paste
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp fennel seed
1/2 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
12 oz uncooked whole-wheat pasta, ziti, cooked according to package directions
6 oz shredded fat-free mozzarella cheese

Instructions: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Crumble the sausage meat into a large saucepan and brown over medium heat, stirring often, about 4 minutes. Drain off any fat, then add the onion and bell pepper. Cook, stirring often, until softened, about 3 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, peas, tomato paste, oregano, basil, thyme, fennel seeds, salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat and cook uncovered 5 minutes, stirring often. Stir in the pasta and half the grated cheese. Spread evenly into a 9- X 13-inch baking pan. Top evenly with the remaining cheese. Bake until the cheese has melted and the casserole is bubbling, about 20 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes at room temperature before slicing into 8 pieces and then serve.