recipephile

Classic, Easy and Healthy Marinara

For the last few weeks I have been trying my hardest to follow a strict diet.  Low in calories, fat and carbs and high in protein.  The plan that I am following does not cut out carbs completely, but really limits what you can and cannot have. In an effort to spice things up a little bit I have taken some of my classic recipes and am altering them to meet some stringent dietary requirements.  It has not been easy, but the challenge has been lots of fun.

I grew up on marinara sauce and everyone in my family claims that they make the best.  My mother beats everyone -- she has never revealed her secret, but I know that there is something she does and keeps it from us so that her "Queen of Marinara" reign continues to hold.  The version I have made for years required only slight adjustments to make it diet friendly.

The end result works great with whole grain pastas, a piece of chicken baked in the oven with low fat cheese as an accompaniment to delicious turkey meatballs... go ahead and get creative.  Soon you will be slathering this sauce on just about everything.

- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion chopped
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 1/4 cup chopped parsley
- 1 tbsp chopped rosemary
- 1 tbsp chopped oregano
- 2 cans crushed tomatoes
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Lemon zest (optional)

In a large sauce pan heat up the olive oil.  Sautee the onions until translucent and then add in the garlic.  This should take about 3-4 minutes. Toss in the herbs and cook for another 2-3 minutes.  Add the tomatoes and let simmer on low for 10-15 minutes making sure the sauce does not boil.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

I always add in about a tsp of lemon zest to my sauce.  It adds a fresh flavor and lovely little zing.

Olive Oil At The Dermatologist's Office

So I visited the dermatologist today and as I was sitting in the waiting room I noticed a display case with bottles of oil and samples. What??  Why is my dermatologist hawking olive oil?? Is he expecting me to wipe it onto my dry scalp or into my skin to make it glow?

I grabbed a sample and on my arrival at home I gave it a try.

The brand name is Lykovouno (pronounced Lee-ko-voo-no), which is an ancient village on the southeastern slope of the valley of Sparta, an area renowned for its fine quality olive oil.
Then I read the Web site and soon learned why my derm was displaying the oil.

Lykovouno Olive Oil is produced on the private estate of San Francisco Dermatologist Dr. Peter Panagotacos. Thw estate, which is in Greece, was started in 1985 on the slope of his ancestral village of Lykovouno with the help of his cousin, who still lives there. Over 3,500 Koroneiki trees were planted at that time. It was the doctor's intention to produce the finest quality olive oil to be sold back home in the United States.

The olives are hand picked, cold pressed, and hand bottled on the family estate. According to the site, "Lykovouno Olive Oil is pure Koroneiki olive oil, solely produced on this estate, not blended with other oils. It is unsurpassed for its exquisite and flavorful aroma, possesses excellent organoleptic qualities. It has a fresh fruit-of-the-olive taste and aroma with hints of fruit, pepper and grass." I tasted it at home and loved its grassy and smooth qualities.  You buy it at some stores throughout Northern CA or you can order on the site.

Tzatziki With Mint, Basil and Meyer Lemon

The other day I posted a recipe for my twist on the traditional jambalaya. With the addition of cumin and saffron the flavor reminded me of Middle Eastern food. So I decided to serve it with something cool and refreshing that would complement the flavors of the dish.

If you've eaten a Gyro (spoken by many as Jyro, but traditionally pronounced Yeero) before or had a mezze at a Greek restaurant you have tried this dip. The traditional contains Greek yougurt, cucumbers, mint, dill, lemon, salt and pepper.

I had all of those ingredients, except for the dill, so I decided to pair the dish with my own version of tzatziki. It was a perfectly refreshing accompaniment to a spicy and flavorful dish.

Here is what you will need:

- 2 cups chopped cucumber

- 1 tbsp chopped mint

- 1 tbsp chopped basil

- 6 oz of non fat yogurt

- The juice of 1 meyer lemon

- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Mix everything together (except for salt and pepper) and mix well.  Add salt and pepper to your liking. You can serve immediately, but I think tzatziki tastes better after setting in the refrigerator for a few hours.

Tzatziki goes great with grilled meats or as an appetizer dip served with toasted pita.

A Twist on Traditional Jambalaya

On January 1, 2010 I started a new diet. For the next 90 days I will be eating the majority of my meals at home, my alcohol intake will be nil (I am actually giving up the sauce for the month of January) and I will be working out like a fiend.

The plan that I have signed up for gives some pretty well thought guidelines around what to eat and when. The recipes are great, but of course following recipes is not my thing so I make them up as I go along.

The P90X nutrition book (P90X is the program that I have started) provides you with the basics you need to know to get started and also offer up daily menus.  What I have been doing is following the snack portion of the book, but altering breakfast, lunch and dinner so that my meals follow similar protein, calorie and carbohydrate intakes.

Couscous is on my "allowed to have" carb list and so is turkey, shrimp and chicken. Right before I left to come home from the East Coast my mother made a delicious jambalaya with rice, shrimp, chicken and kielbasa.  I wanted to try my hand at a similar dish, but a little more healthy using couscous instead of rice and virtually fat free turkey kielbasa instead of the traditional.  The result was rather tasty and provided me with some tasty leftovers to much on for the rest of the week.

Give this recipe a try and let me know what you think.

- 1 tbsp olive oil

- 3-4 cloves of garlic, minced

- 1 cup onion

- 3/4 cup carrots

- 1 tsp of salt

- 1/2 tbsp of freshly ground black pepper

- 1 tbsp cumin

- 1 tbsp ancho chili pepper (or regular chili powder)

- 1/4 tsp of saffron (or tumeric if you do not have saffron)

- 1 8 oz. chicken breast

- 1/4 lb - 1/3 lb of turkey kielbasa

- 1/2 lb of peeled shrimp, uncooked with tail on

- 2 cups crushed tomatoes

For the couscous

- 2 cups couscous

- 2 1/2 cups chicken broth or 1 1/4 cup chicken broth and 1 1/4 cup fish stock

Heat the olive oil in large saute pan or short sided stock pot.  Add in the garlic and saute over medium heat for about a minute or two being sure not to burn. Add in the onions and carrots and saute until cooked through.  Season the pot with the salt, pepper, cumin, chili pepper and saffron and stir well.

Add in the chicken and cook until lightly brown on all sides. Place the kielbasa and tomatoes into the pot and once the mixture is simmering add in the shrimp.  Turn to low heat cover and let cook. Once the shrimp is cooked through (it will be pink). Remove from the flame and let set covered on the stovetop while the couscous cooks.

To make the couscous bring the chicken stock (or mixture of chicken and fish stock) to a boil. Once boiling add in the couscous, cover with a clean kitchen towel and let sit for five minutes. When ready add the couscous to the other pot.  Mix well and serve.

New Year's Last Supper With Vichychoisse

This New Year's my friend Tim and I decided to host a dinner for 4 of our close friends. Since I started a pretty crazy diet on January 1 we wanted to make it my last supper and as decadent as possible. 

The meal started with fondue made from Gruyere and Emmenthaler cheeses. Then we moved on to a creamy Vichychoisse topped with Creme Fraiche and chives.  For dinner our guests enjoyed broiled lobster tails, filet and buttery sauteed baby bok choy hearts with shitake mushrooms.

At the end of the meal we were thoroughly stuffed, but extremely happy. We toasted to the New Year and looked back on 2009 and all of the amazing food we had eaten. At midnight I had my last sip of Champagne and started my alcoholiday for the month of January.  This day also marked a new diet plan, so over the next few months the recipes I will be posting will be much healthier, but absolutely delicious.

Back to the Vichychoisse... Usually, when I make this creamy soup I use the recipe from the Duquesne Club, but Tim wanted to try Julia Child's version. We found her recipe, but were surprised to learn that she does not use chicken stock. Nor does she saute her potatoes and leeks prior to adding in the broth. So we adjusted her recipe to suit our tastes and the result was amazing.

Here is what you will need:

- 4 cups of potatoes

- 4 cups of leeks (white parts only)

- 2 tbsp butter

- 1/2 bay leaf

- 6 cups of chicken broth (heat until close to boil or microwave for a few minutes before adding into the pot)

- 1 cup heavy cream

- Creme Fraiche and chopped chives as garnish

Peel and chop the potatoes into bite size pieces. Set aside. Chop, clean and dry the leeks and set aside. Melt butter in a stock pot and saute leeks and potatoes for about 3-5 minutes over medium heat. Add bay leaf and chicken broth and bring to a boil. Once boiling turn heat down, cover and cook until potatoes and leeks are tender (20-25 minutes).

Using an immersion blender or regular blender, blend the soup until creamy and smooth. Add in the heavy cream.   To really smooth out the soup take a strainer and strain the soup using a spatula to force it through the strainer.   You'll need to do this 2-3 cups at a time being sure to remove the leftover starchy bits from the strainer before you add more soup.

Let cool to room temperature.

Ladle into bowls, top with a little bit of Creme Fraiche, garnish with chives and serve.