Taking time

I've been gone for awhile and thought I needed to let you know why and when I'll be back.  I started this blog with lots of plans and thought it would be fairly simple.  How hard could it be to pick a recipe, make it, and write about it?   I found that not only was it not "simple", but more importantly I didn't like the way it was turning out.  While I was following my original vision, I don't think simply posting a recipe (that is not original) and a photo is all that helpful.  I love all of my cookbooks and the authors are all so good, they deserve more than a few comments about one recipe that I happened to pick out.  I also love to cook, and as a dietitian I often take recipes and "tweak" them or just throw something together that ends up being pretty good.  I want to share those ideas with you too!

So I've taken some time off, have talked to other food and nutrition bloggers and am taking another look at my vision.  I'm going to expand this blog a bit and I will relaunch it in the new year.  I am still planning on going through all these cookbooks I have collected (and continue to collect!) and share my favorite recipes from each, but also want to share tips and some of my own creations too! 

So, thank you for your patience and I'll be back on line soon!  Stay tuned....

Herbed Lamb Chops with a Greek Couscous Salad

So, a little procrastination, followed by an internet outage, followed by a trip to California Wine Country, followed by a little more procrastinations and this post is now more than just a couple of weeks late!  I actually have 2 posts to catch up on and another recipe waiting in the wings!   The one good thing is that I did get a lot of inspiration on my trip (a day at the Culinary Institute will do that!)....and I brought home a couple of new cookbooks to explore and have fun with! 

"Herbed Lamb Chops with Greek Couscous Salad" is in a book I've had for a couple of years .  I gave a talk and did a cooking demonstration for an employee wellness programs a while ago and the organizers asked me for ideas for a giveaway for the employees.  I was looking for something that would help motivate everyone but more importantly I wanted something that would be useful and not just sit on a shelf somewhere.   "The Eating Well Healthy in a Hurry: 150 delicious recipes for simple, everyday suppers in 45 minutes or less" is compiled by one of my favorite cooking magazines, "Eating Well".  Healthy, delicious and simple all in 45 minutes or less - that's a lot to promise!  But, knowing the magazine, I figured they'd be right on target and they are with this book.  Most of the recipes are really easy and things you could easily pull together after a long day at the office or hectic day running kids around.  The recipes all incorporate lots of vegetables, healthy grains and are pretty low in fat.  The use of fresh herbs, lemon juice and olive oil add flavor so you don't miss the fat.   The nutritional analysis is next to every recipe which is a nice feature and one I'd expect with a book like this.

I actually have made a few things from this book but as with other books I have my one or two favorites and never tried anything else.  For this blog post I decided to try the recipe for Lamb Chops.  My husband and I both like lamb but I shy away from preparing it at home.  I thought this recipe looked really easy and the Greek flavored couscous sounded fresh and spring like.  After this long dreary winter I was in the mood for something light and fresh - not that I've ever thought of lamb as light, but this really sounded like it would be - and it was! 

So the Lamb was really easy to make.  Here's an adaptation of the recipe: 

In a small bowl, combine 1 Tbsp. minced garlic, 1 Tbsp chopped parsley and a little salt.  (I typically don't use much salt, but it does help bring out the flavors of the meat so you need just a little)  Rub 8 lamb chops with the garlic mixture on both sides.   I let them sit that way for about a half hour to get the flavors into the meat - the recipe doesn't tell you to do that but I thought marinating for a little while would only help bring out the flavors) 

Heat 2 teaspoons of Extra-virgin Olive Oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.  Add the lamb chops and cook for about 5 - 6 minutes per side.  Keep warm while you prepare the salad.

For the salad:  Bring 1 cup of water to boil in a small saucepan.  Add 1/2 cup whole wheat couscous and simmer over low heat, covered for 2 minutes.  (you could certainly use regular couscous if you can't find whole wheat but you'll miss out on a little fiber and flavor)  Remove from the heat and let stand, covered for 5 minutes; fluff with a fork. 

Place couscous in a bowl and add 2 chopped tomatoes, 1 peeled and chopped cucumber 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese, 3 Tbsp. lemon juice and 2 Tbsp. finally chopped fresh dill.  (you could use dried dill if you don't have fresh, just decrease the amount to 1 Tbsp.)  Stir to combine and then serve on the side of the lamb chops.

I served them with spinach that I sauteed in a little Extra Virgin Olive Oil and minced garlic. 

The nutritional analysis shows up for all the recipes and this one is really pretty good.  For the lamb chops and the salad it's about:
330 calories
14 g fat
6 g saturated fat (about 30% of what you should have in a day - so a little high, but not terrible for dinner)
5 g monounsaturated fat (the good kind)
121 mg of cholesterol
18 g of carbohydrates
36 g protein
3 g of fiber
386 mg of sodium (this will depend on how much salt you add!)
It also has over 40% of your daily requirements for Vitamin C and 17% Iron. 

This was a really simple recipe to make - a little chopping of vegetables but I did that while the lamb was marinating.  In all, I probably had this dinner ready in less than 30 minutes.  Not bad for a nice dinner!

Shrimp Scampi - Alton Brown's "I'm Just Here For the Food"

I typically shy away from shrimp scampi because the type of scampi I'm familiar with is usually swimming in butter, which to me just isn't appetizing.  Yes, that's probably the dietitian in me!  But, because of that, I've never considered trying to make it at home.  However, as I was reading one of my Alton Brown books the other night, I found a recipe in the section on "broiling and grilling".  Apparently, broiling the shrimp, rather than sauteing it in butter is the classic way to prepare scampi - so problem solved!  Honestly, I was a little hesitant.  Shrimp can be difficult to cook well, at least for me.  It only takes a couple of minutes and cooking it even a minute too long can leave you with something that feels like you have a small rubber tire in your mouth! 

In typical Alton style, the directions were simple but explicit.  There was no way I could mess this up unless I really wasn't paying attention! Alton said this method gives the shrimp a better flavor and better texture and he's right.  This was lovely! It turned out perfectly and we enjoyed it over angel hair pasta with asparagus on the side with a glass of Chardonnay.   It ended up being a fancy dinner that was ready in about 15 minutes - a little luxury after a long day in the office!  (Even served it on our china!)  Thanks Alton!

Recipe from:  Alton Brown's "I'm Just Here For the Food"

Heat the broiler and put the rack 5 inches away from the heat.  Spread 1 lb. of shrimp on the broiler pan, not letting the shrimp overlap.  (I lined the broiler pan with foil so it would be easier to clean up later).

Drizzle 2 Tbsp. olive oil over the shrimp and toss with 1 tbsp. minced garlic, kosher salt and ground black pepper and Old Bay Seasoning.  Place under the broiler for 2 minutes, just until the shrimp start turning pink.  (Watch closely or you will over cook it)

Stir in 4 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice add 1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs and 2 Tbsp. chopped parsley and toss well.

Return to the broiler and cook until the bread crumbs are evenly browned.  (This only took a minute or two).  Serve immediately.

Marcella Cucina

I've had Marcella Hazan's "Marcella Cucina" sitting on my kitchen shelf for at least 10 years.  I don't remember when I bought this book or why, except that my mother had made one of Marcella's chicken recipes on one of my visits home.  I remember really enjoying it, so I think I probably picked this up after that trip. 

As I started going through the book last week I really thought I had made something from it, but the more I dug into it, the more I realized I never had.  This makes no sense to me! There are so many really good recipes here and the photography is gorgeous!  Marcella also explains different techniques (along with photos) and the history of some of the recipes or techniques throughout the book which is fun to read and helpful. 

One of my goals with this project was to not only make recipes out of all of these cookbooks, but to challenge myself and try something that veers from my norm.  I also want to make recipes using ingredients I don't typically cook with.  So, the recipe I chose from this book was"Breaded Veal Patties with Bell Pepper, Scallions and Tomato".  Both my husband and I like veal, but it's not a meat I typically buy and cook with.  It's expensive and if you don't know how to cook it, it can get tough.  So then you've just spent a lot of money and have tough meat for dinner!

For this recipe you use ground veal, which actually was pretty reasonable.  It's also a bit lower in fat and saturated fat than ground beef so not a bad choice either.  (Well, until you mix it with some of the other ingredients!)

The recipe calls for a pound of ground veal, that is mixed with chopped red peppers and scallions.  It is then combined with fresh bread crumbs, milk (1-1/4 cups!), Parmesan cheese and an egg.  When I was mixing it up, it was pretty liquid-y and I couldn't see how I was going to make patties out of it.  For the first time I really thought I was going to have a flop and we'd have to order pizza for dinner!  But after a minute or two of mixing, the liquid was absorbed and the patties came together easily.  They were softer than fish cakes or a typical hamburger, but they definitely became nice patties.  They are then covered in dry bread crumbs and placed in a hot pan with olive oil and butter and cooked for about a minute on each side to brown them.  Canned tomatoes and juice are added to the skillet and they cook for another 15 minutes until the sauce thickens. Served with the tomato sauce, these veal patties are nice and tender, colorful.  The peppers and scallions add a nice but not overwhelming flavor and help flavor the tomato sauce.  We enjoyed them over Cavatelli with a salad on the side.

I've found a number of other recipes I'll try from this book - Baked Eggplant Rolls with Mozzarella and Pecorino Cheese, Baked Tomatoes Stuffed with Salmon, Garlic and Capers and a Barley and Cannellini Bean Soup.  This may come off the kitchen shelf more often now and end up being one of my more tattered cookbooks!

Coming soon!

The idea for this blog came one night as I was looking through another new cookbook I had picked up on a recent trip.  My husband asked me if I had ever made anything out of another cookbook sitting on the shelf.  For that matter he asked, had I made anything out of the majority of cookbooks I own?  I love cookbooks and pick one up on just about every trip I take.  But, he's right, I have my favorites and tend to stick to those and just "look through" the rest.  So I decided a good project would be to make at least one recipe from every cookbook I own (around 90 - we think!) and blog about the recipe and the book.  My husband is an amateur photographer, so he will take photos of the finished dish.   

Now the fun begins...where to start!  Which book and which recipe?   Stay tuned!