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February 14, 2008

Happy Valentine's Day

For the past few years, our Valentine's Day dinner has included heart-shaped biscuits. This year I decided to branch out to heart shaped cornbread. Cornbread goes perfectly with Spicy Chicken Cutlets, which Tom and I both love and I haven't made for a long time. And coleslaw. All easy enough to make after a day of cooking for clients. I used my favorite cornbread recipe (Creamed Corn Cornbread from Alton Brown) and baked it in Reynolds Fun Shapes heart muffin cups. I got 15 heart shaped cornbreads from the recipe.

The Spicy Chicken Cutlets come from the Reader's Digest Live Longer Cookbook. I distinctly remember getting this cookbook from Tom's mother for Christmas many years ago. It was the first Christmas that we spent with his parents. I opened it and my first thought upon seeing that it was a Reader's Digest book was "hmm, Reader's Digest food, this is not going to be anything that I'll use. Well, I couldn't have been more wrong. The recipes in this book are easy and delicious. Not at all "Reader's Digest" bland. This book is one of my favorite cookbooks. (You can find it used on Amazon or many other sites, or try your library.)

I use three types of paprika for this recipe. I buy all my spices from Penzeys.

The coleslaw was a package of broccoli slaw with a tossed together dressing made with mayo, mustard, ketchup, cider vinegar, and black pepper.

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Posted February 14, 2008 11:08 PM in | Comments (1)

Karina-s Kitchen: A Gold Mine of Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, Egg-Free, and Delicous Recipes

In December, I stumbled on Karina-s Kitchen. I was looking for some new recipes for my gluten-free, dairy-free, and egg-free clients. Two clients had requested some treats for the holidays. I was bored with my standard treats that fit the bill and wanted to find something new. Karina's blog was exactly what I was looking for. Since December, I've made a bunch of recipes from her blog and each one has been a big hit with my clients. Some of the recipes that I've made are Vegan Coconut Bars, Vegan Banana Bundt Cake, Jazzed Up Turkey Tetrazzini, and Uncheese Sauce Fit for A Goddess. I have a lot more of Karina's recipes on my To Do list.

My banana cake wasn't nearly as pretty as Karina's, but my client loved it and wants it again. I'll try it in miniature bundt pans next time. My client who hasn't had cheese for a year has loved all of the dishes that I've made with the Uncheese Sauce.

If you or anyone who you cook for is gluten-free, be sure to check out Karina's blog.

Posted February 14, 2008 9:58 PM in Food Writing, Gluten-Free | Comments (0)

February 11, 2008

Today's Experiment was Saffron Biscuits

Today's menu included a pressure cooker version of this Middle Eastern Slow-Cooked Stew with Lamb, Chickpeas, and Figs. Normally I would pair this with couscous, but today's client prefers not to have grain or pasta side dishes. But they love biscuits, so I decided to pair it with saffron biscuits. I searched the internet for saffron biscuit recipes but didn't come up with anything that would work. The only savory saffron biscuit that I found took hours to prepare and the rest of the recipes were for sweet saffron biscuits. So I decided to take my favorite biscuit recipe and turn it into a saffron biscuit.

My biscuit recipe is adapted from Entertaining Light by Martha Rose Shulman. A personal chef colleague shared this recipe with me a few years ago and it is my go-to biscuit recipe.

To turn my biscuit recipe into a saffron biscuit, I infused the buttermilk with saffon and added some white pepper.

Here's the golden saffron biscuit dough ready to be cut into biscuits.

saffron biscuit dough.jpg

Ready to go in the oven.

saffron biscuits ready to bake

Piping hot from the oven.

saffron biscuits done.jpg

We (my client and I) tried them hot from the oven and we both loved them. You can definitely taste the saffron, but they are not strongly flavored with saffron, which is perfect. The golden color is very appealing. They'll go perfectly with the stew.

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Posted February 11, 2008 8:53 PM in | Comments (4)

February 4, 2008

Fast (and Healthy) Pork Chops with Apples and Thyme

I write a column called Fast (and Healthy) for Applaud, a local women's magazine. The column provides a quick and healthful recipe and some information about the health benefits of ingredients used in the recipe. This article appeared in the Winter 2008 issue.

In the fall, I like to use local apples in my cooking. Apples not only taste delicious, they provide many health benefits. I’m sure that you’ve made apple desserts, but apples can also be a part of a fast and healthy dinner.

Apples are an excellent source of dietary fiber, which helps aid digestion and promotes weight loss. When you snack on an apple, you are getting five grams of fiber, virtually no fat, and no cholesterol. Apples are delicious snacks that are good for you. When you snack on apples, it’s a good idea to eat apples with their skin. Almost half of the vitamin C content is just underneath the skin.

The fiber and phytonutrients in apples have been shown to help in lowering cholesterol. Studies indicate that two apples a day reduced the damaging effects of LDL cholesterol, the “bad” cholesterol.

Apples can help fight cancer. Studies have linked apples with reduced cancer risk in several studies. A Mayo Clinic study indicates that quercetin, a flavonoid in apples, helps prevent the growth of prostate cancer cells. A Cornell University study indicates that phytochemicals in the skin of an apple inhibited the reproduction of colon cancer cells by 43 percent. The National Cancer Institute has reported that foods containing flavonoids like those found in apples may reduce the risk of lung cancer by as much as 50 percent.

So grab some apples and let’s make dinner.

pork chops with apples and thyme