Good Morning.
My stepson sent me an e-mail on New Year's Eve to detail his celebratory plans that included a nice evening of tapas at
a favorite restaurant with his significant other and cheese fondue on New Year's Day. Then on to what he
referred to as Dry-uary to make at least a stab at recovering from the holidays. Most of us aren't terribly successful
with this sort of self-deprivation, so I offer a menu that is lower in calories from my usual fare but not the boring
stuff that drives people back to their usual indulgences in five minutes.. The key thing is to make the food attractive so you don't feel that you're missing out on one of life's great pleasures which is eating good food, preferably not alone.
We begin with a beverage that is alcoholic but reasonable.
Peach Cosmo
1 1/2 oz. vodka
3/4 oz. peach schnapps
3/4 oz. light cranberry juice
Don't just dump these ingredients into a glass with ice. Fill your cocktail shaker with several cubes, add the vodka, schnapps, and juice, shake well, and strain into a stemmed glass. Garnish with a slice of lime. Garnishes are therapeutic in nature.
Serve your Cosmo with Bagel Bites.
1/2 tsp. Parmesan from a jar
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. oregano
Just a titch of cumin
1/4 tsp onion powder
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. Omit the salt if you're female.
2 plain bagels, sliced in half
In a bowl, combine the Parm and spices. Place the bagel slices on a cookie sheet and sprinkle with the topping. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 5 minutes until the slices are slightly crisp and golden brown. Remove from oven and cut into bite-sized pieces.
For dinner we suggest Chicken Marsala. This amount will take care of four people
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pounded to a half an inch thick
Kosher salt, optional, and freshly ground pepper to taste
1/3 cup whole wheat flour
2 tbsp. olive oil
3/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes, not the kind packed in oil
1/2 tsp. rosemary
10 oz. white button mushrooms, wiped clean and sliced
1/3 cup Marsala
2 tbsp. unsalted butter, optional
Sprinkle the chicken breasts with salt maybe and pepper definitely. Dredge the meat in the flour and shake off the excess. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet and saute until golden, about 4 minutes per side. Place on a platter and cover with aluminum foil. Add half a cup of the chicken broth, sun-dried tomatoes, and rosemary to the skillet and cook, stirring,
for a minute. Add the mushrooms and a bit more pepper and cook until the mushrooms are soft, maybe 5 minutes. Add the wine along with the rest of the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Add the butter if you dare and I won't tell. Spoon the mushrooms and sauce over the chicken and serve.
Serve your chicken with Hasselback Sweet Potatoes. Hasselback is a gorgeous way to do potatoes and sweet potatoes are lower in fat than the regular stuff.
4 medium sweet potatoes
1 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted, or omit
1 tsp. olive oil
1 tsp. thyme
1 garlic clove, minced
Kosher salt, optional, and freshly ground pepper
1/3 cup non-fat Greek style plain yogurt
1 green onion, chopped
Make a series of slits 1/8 inch apart along the tops of the potatoes. Cut them about 2/3 of the way through the potatoes. Stir the butter, if using, olive oil, thyme, and just a titch of salt and pepper. Rub the potatoes with this mixture and make sure it gets into the slits. Place the potatoes on a baking sheet and roast in a 425 degree oven for close to an hour. Halfway through the cooking time, remove from the oven and run a fork across the tops of the potatoes to fan the slits and separate them. This will make them look really cool. In a bowl, mix up the yogurt and chopped green onion with a bit more salt and pepper and serve the sauce at room temp with the potatoes.
For a salad we suggest a Kale Slaw. Kale is trendy.
1 head kale, stems removed and thinly sliced
1 large carrot, peeled and grated
1/2 navel orange, juiced
1/2 lemon, juiced
Salt and pepper, same suggestion about the salt
1 tbsp. olive oil
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
1 slice bacon, cooked very crisp and chopped. Leave this out too if you're particularly motivated.
1 tbsp. mayonnaise, light if you wish
Place the kale in a salad bowl. Combine with the shredded carrot, juices, and a bit of salt and pepper and toss with your hands. Let the kale sit. Put the sliced onion into a saucepan with boiling water for 30 seconds then place it in a bowl of ice water to shock. Drain and blot with a paper towel. Add the onion, bacon, olive oil, and mayonnaise and mix well. Put in the fridge for at least half an hour to chill.
For dessert, we suggest something light and fat though not calorie free. Most people do not eat dessert, but here's a reasonable one anyway.
Pineapple Orange Sorbet
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 cups orange juice
1 tbsp. lemon juice, fresh preferred
1 20 oz. can crushed pineapple
2 tsp. freshly grated orange zest
In a saucepan, bring the water and sugar to a simmer and cook until the sugar is dissolved. In a food processor or blender, puree the pineapple with its juice until smooth. Place in a bowl and stir in the sugar syrup, juices, and orange zest.
Process the mixture again until nice and smooth. Put in a freezer container and freeze until firm, at least 2 hours.
Candlelight does wonders when one is eating sensibly. Actually candlelight does wonders when one is doing anything
except trying to get through a power outage. If you forego the Cosmo you can easily have a glass of wine with your candles and not suffer a minute's worth of guilt. This is called rationalization.
Best regards,
Elisabeth
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