Thursday, February 03, 2011

Better Football Food?

Super Bowl feasts are typically feasts with a capital F - high-fat, high-calorie, high-salt and low in a lot of nutrients.

NuVal, a company that has a rating system for the nutrition values of many foods, offers a few ideas to at least diminish the caloric onslaught of any Super Bowl party, if you’re so inclined.

The score for NuVal are 1 to 100, with 100 being super-nutritious. I guess that would make 1 near-lethal.

At any rate, here are some of NuVal’s suggestions for making Super Bowl Sunday a little more nutritious:
• Some refrigerated dips, such as hummus or guacamole, can benefit from their protein, fiber
and vitamin E. Fresherized Foods Wholly Guacamole, for instance, scores a 59, a very high score
for the category.
• Gringo Green Mountain Salsa Scores a 9 and Newman’s Own Black Bean and Corn Salsa scores a
48.
• Don’t let terms such as “fat free” or “fruit dip” fool you. T Marzetti Dill Fat Free Veggie Dip scores
an 11 on the NuValTM scale, and the cream cheese fruit dip gets a 2.
•The difference in score between baked and fried chips may not justify
the difference in taste. Lay’s Baked Potato Chips, for instance, score a 24. Regular Lay’s chips score a 23.
• Don’t assume pretzels are more nutritious than potato chips. Rold Gold Pretzel Rods score a
14, while Cape Cod 40% Reduced Fat Chips score a 31.
• If you don’t mind skipping
the salt, Garden of Eatin Blue Tortilla Chips score a 52, the highest NuValTM Score in the
category.
• If you’re looking for better nutrition than chips or dips can provide, try nuts. Whole natural almonds score an 81, Flavorite sunflower seeds rank a 52,
and Planters’ Honey Roasted Peanuts come in at a respectable 29.
• For wings, TGI Friday’s Frozen Buffalo wings
come in low at 14 while Morningstar Farms meatless “buffalo wings” score a 29.
For more game-day suggestions, visit www.nuval.com.

Wednesday, February 02, 2011

Thai One On for the Super Bowl

Thai food for the Super Bowl? Well, it may not be first on everyone’s list, but it definitely offers up some different possibilities.

Take, for example, this dip made with red curry paste, apricot jam and other ingredients stirred into a mayo base.

Red Curry Dip
1 tablespoon oil
¼ cup minced shallots
1 tablespoon Red Curry Paste
¼ cup apricot jam
1 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lime juice

In a medium nonstick pan heat oil. Sauté shallots until wilted.
Add Red Curry Paste. Cook 2 to 3 minutes until dissolved and fragrant.
Turn off heat. Add apricot jam and mix until melted.
Add mayonnaise and lime juice, mixing together well.
Makes about 1½ cups.

Recipe and photo courtesy of A Taste Of Thai.

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Another Lasagne

After seeing my lasagna story, Karen Kooken sent in another idea, unlike any of the recipes I published.

This one features artichokes. It also calls for caponata, which is a piquant eggplant relish, usually with olives, anchovies, capers and more.

Caponata is available in some gourmet shops. Kooken has bought the the vegetable caviar, or cowboy caviar, at The Golden Apple on Robinhood Road and used that. Another substitute is to saute some diced eggplant and mix it with tapenade and, if desired, a little sugar to taste.

Artichoke Lasagne

2 14½-oz cans diced tomatoes with garlic and onion, undrained
1 7½-oz. can caponata (eggplant appetizer, see note)
1 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 16 -oz. container low-fat cottage cheese
2 6-oz. jars marinated artichoke hearts, well drained
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 8-oz. package no-boil lasagna noodles (sometimes takes more than 8 oz)

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Lightly oil an 8-by-11 inch or similar baking dish or coat it with nonstick spray.

2. In a food processor, combine tomatoes, caponata and ½ teaspoon salt. Pulse until coarsely chopped. Season with pepper. Set aside.

3. Wash and dry processor bowl. Add cottage cheese; process until smooth. Add artichokes, ¼ cup Parmesan and remaining ½ teaspoon salt; pulse 2 to 3 times to coarsely chop artichokes. Season with pepper.

4. Spread one-third of the tomato mixture over the bottom of the prepared dish. Cover with 3 lasagna noodles. Spread half the cottage cheese mixture over noodles. Cover with 3 noodles. Spoon on half the remaining tomato mixture and sprinkle with ¼ cup Parmesan. Cover with 4 noodles and remaining cottage cheese mixture. Top with 4 noodles and remaining tomato mixture.

5. Cover dish with aluminum foil and bake for 25 minutes, or until bubbling. Remove foil and sprinkle remaining ½ cup Parmesan over top. Bake, uncovered, for 10 minutes, or until cheese has melted. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Makes 6 servings.

Recipe from Eating Well magazine, September 1997

• For the caponata Kooken uses a jar of Vegetable Caviar (sometimes called Cowboy Caviar) found at The Golden Apple. The 1st ingredient listed is eggplant andshe uses the whole 9-ounce jar.

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

More with Mandarin Oranges

On Jan. 26, the same day I published two recipes for Mandarin orange salad, I got yet another, very different, recipe in the mail from regular Recipe Swap contributor Linda Meier of Lewisville.

It’s different enough that I think it’s worth sharing.

Mandarin Orange Salad
Dressing:
1/2 teaspoon salt
Dash of black pepper
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup corn oil
Dash of Tabasco sauce
1 tablespoon snipped fresh parsley
Topping:
1/4 cup sliced almonds
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon sugar
Salad:
1 small to medium head iceberg lettuce
1 head Romaine lettuce
1 cup thinly sliced celery
2 green onions, thinly sliced
1 11-ounce can Mandarin oranges, drained

1. For the dressing, mix all the dressing ingredients together and chill, preferably 2 hours or more.
2. For the topping, cook almonds and sugar in small skillet until sugar melts and almonds are coated. Cool completely, then break apart.
3. For the salad, mix lettuces, celery, green onions and oranges in a bowl. Just before serving, stir in dressing and sprinkle almonds on top.

Friday, January 21, 2011

National Pie Day

In honor of National Pie Day, which will be Sunday, Jan. 23, I offer this prize-winning recipe for apple pie from Sarah Spaugh, one of the best pie makers in these parts.

This took first place in summer 2010 in a contest held at Historic Bethabara Park.

All-American Apple Pie
First place by Sarah Spaugh.
Crust:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup chilled shortening
6 to 7 tablespoons icecold water
1 tablespoon white vinegar
Milk for brushing crust
Filling:
6 cups cored, peeled and thinly sliced apples (a combination of McIntosh, Gala and Rome)
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 ground allspice
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup apple juice
2 tablespoons melted butter, slightly cooled
Streusel
1 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup cold butter, cut into 11/4-inch pieces

1. For the crust, combine flour, salt and sugar in a bowl. Cut in shortening until coarse crumbs form. Combine water and vinegar. Gradually stir enough of the water mixture into flour mixture until a soft ball of dough forms. Divide dough into 2 balls and press down into disks. Wrap and chill for a few minutes.
2. Roll 1 ball of dough into a large circle, 12 to 13 inches in diameter, and place in a 9-inch pie pan. Roll the other ball into a large circle for the top crust and set aside.
3. Heat oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, make the filling by tossing apples with sugar, flour, cinnamon, allspice, lemon juice, apple juice and melted butter until combined.
4. In a separate bowl, make streusel by mixing flour, sugar and pieces of butter until combined. Sprinkle about 1/4 cup of the streusel on the bottom of the crust in the pie pan. Add half of the filling. Sprinkle another 1/4 cup on top of the layer of apples. Then add the remaining apples and top with another 1/4 cup of the streusel. Cover pie with top crust, cut away any excess dough and seal edges. Use any dough scraps to create decorative apple or other shapes if desired and place them on top crust. If desired, sprinkle a little streusel on top of the crust. (You will have some streusel left over.) Use a fork to make a few perforations in top crust. Brush the top crust with a little milk.
4. Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake 45 to 50 minutes or until pie is golden.

Tuesday, January 04, 2011

Parading the Pasta

Today, Jan. 4, so I’m told, is National Spaghetti Day.

I got a nice little quote from Sophia Loren—who is a good cook and put out a good cookbook a while back—tucked into a press release: “Spaghetti can be eaten most successfully if you inhale it like a vacuum cleaner.”

Feel free to inhale this recipe for Spaghetti Puttanesca from Jamie Oliver, courtesy of foodnetwork.com.

Spaghetti Puttanesca
1 pound dried spaghetti, the best you can get
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 handful capers, soaked in water and drained
2 handfuls big black olives, pitted
12 anchovy fillets, roughly chopped
3 small dried red chiles, crumbled
1 tablespoon dried oregano
Extra-virgin olive oil
2 14-ounce cans tomatoes, drained and chopped
1 good handful fresh basil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Cook the spaghetti in salted, boiling water until al dente. Meanwhile fry the garlic, capers, olives, anchovies, chiles, and oregano in a little olive oil for a few minutes. Add the tomatoes, bring to a simmer, and continue to cook for 4 or 5 minutes, until you have a lovely tomato sauce consistency. Remove from the heat, plunge the drained spaghetti into it, toss it over, and cover with the sauce. Rip all the basil over it, correct the seasoning, and drizzle with good extra-virgin olive oil.

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Converting to Gluten-Free

So many folks are eating gluten-free these days. And there are tons of GF products and recipes.

But what if you want to make a favorite family recipe gluten-free?

Converting to gluten-free, particularly with baked goods, is not just a simple substitution.

That’s why I was pleased to get an email the other day from Better Homes and Gardens. It was touting is 2010 Cookie edition that hit newsstands last week. The edition includes a recipe by gluten-free, dairy-free expert Jean Duane, whose business is called Alternative Cook.

The email included Duane’s tips for converting a conventional recipe to gluten-free:
1. Start with a combination of flours in these ratios: 50% grain flour (brown rice or sorghum), 25% starch (cornstarch, tapioca or potato starch) and 25% protein flour (navy, fava, garbanzo, soy, gafava flour) or a different grain flour. One cup of wheat flour translates into 1/4 cup of grain flour, 1/4 cup of bean flour and 1/4 cup of starch.
2. Add 25 percent to 50 percent more leavening (baking powder, baking soda or yeast). Don’t skip this one!
3. Add 1/2 to 1 teaspoon acid (vinegar, citric acid, ascorbic acid dough enhancer, cream of tartar or citrus juice).
4. Add 1/2 tsp. of either xanthan gum (now sold in some supermarket baking aisles) to the dry ingredients or guar gum to the wet ingredients for every cup of flour, or 1/4 teaspoon of each. For smaller baked items, gums can be omitted.
5. Let the batter sit for a few minutes to absorb liquids before baking.

For Duane’s gluten-free, dairy-free brownie recipe, see www.askjeanblog.com

Monday, December 13, 2010

Tweaking Tradition

If you love sweet-potato casserole, but would like something a little different, here’s a modern twist from the folks at The Fresh Market.

Curried Sweet Potato Casserole

4 medium sweet potatoes, roasted and flesh scooped out

2 tablespoons yellow curry powder

1 cup coconut milk

½ cup fresh cilantro leaves, chopped

1 cup pineapple chunks, drained

½ cup toasted coconut

Using a mixer with a large bowl, combine the sweet potato, curry powder, coconut milk and cilantro. Fold in the pineapple chunks and transfer mixture to a baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Sprinkle toasted coconut over the top and serve. Serves 4.

Note: To toast coconut, spread in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake in a 350-degree oven, stirring often, about 5 minutes or until golden. Watch carefully because the coconut can burn easily.

Monday, December 06, 2010

Christmas with Martha

If you believe—like a lot of people—that nobody’s does the holiday like Martha, be sure to check out Martha Stewart’s Holiday Open House at 8 p.m. Monday, Dec. 6, on the Hallmark Channel.

The special, filmed at Stewart’s home in Bedford, Ct., will include actresses Jennifer Garner and Claire Danes and such recipes as Golden Cream Cheese Bow Cookies and Egg Nog.

Also the show right after it, at 9 p.m., is well worth checking out. Stewart protege Lucinda Scala Quinn will host a holiday edition of her show Mad Hungry with Lucinda Scala Quinn, cooking up standing rib roast, Yorkshire pudding and a peach, lemon and raspberry trifle. If you haven’t seen Quinn in action, she’s like a looser Stewart without the crafts. Quinn is all about the food—and the show title comes from cooking for her teenage boys.

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Chowing Down on Chowder

The other day I was talking about how turkey goes so well with fruit. Well, sweet potatoes, being a sweet vegetable, is next best thing to fruit.

Try using some leftover turkey with sweet potatoes in this easy chowder.

A little sausage helps beef (or pork) up the flavor here.

You might want to skip the vanilla and sweet potato puree and just use a few more plain diced sweet potatoes.

This recipe is from the folks at Samuel Adams, hence the lager. You could always use chicken broth instead.

Sweet Potato-Turkey Chowder
2 ounces breakfast sausage meat

½ cup finely diced sweet potatoes

1/3 cup finely diced onions

¼ cup finely diced carrots

¼ cup finely diced celery

1 ½ cups sweet potato and vanilla puree (recipe below)

1/3 cup chopped cooked turkey meat

3 cups lager

coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper

Place sausage meat in a large, heavy-duty saucepan over medium heat.  Cook it, stirring frequently, for about 5 minutes, or until the fat has rendered out of the meat.  Drain off the excess fat.  Add the diced sweet potatoes, onions, carrots and celery and sauté them for 4 minutes, or just until the onions are translucent.  Stir in the puree and turkey.  When the mixture is well blended, add the Boston Lager and bring it to a simmer.  Simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 15 minutes, or until the mixture is chowder-like in consistency.  Taste it and, if necessary, adjust the seasoning with more salt and pepper.  Serve hot.

Sweet Potato and Vanilla Puree

2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed

1 vanilla bean

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

½ cup hot milk

coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Place the sweet potatoes in a medium saucepan.  Add cold, salted water to cover the potatoes by 1 inch.  Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.  Lower the heat and simmer the potatoes for about 15 minutes, or until they are tender when pierced with the point of a sharp knife.  Drain well.  Transfer the potatoes in a single layer to a nonstick baking sheet.

Place the sweet potatoes in the preheated over for 5 minutes, or just until their exterior is quite dry.  Transfer them to the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Split the vanilla bean lengthwise and, using the edge of a sharp knife, scrape the seed with the sweet potatoes.  Add the butter and milk and process to a smooth puree.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.