Pasta Puttanesca - Healthy Version

I know you must be wondering where I've been. Well, since my last post (almost a year ago), I've been enjoying my new life. I was still cooking and eating, but I was just too busy to write any posts. I could not be happier cooking for my 3 boys.  I'm still just as busy and just as happy enjoying life, but now, I have a message I need to share. I've discovered a new way of cooking and eating that's been the best thing that has ever happened to me. I've lost 15 lbs, and I've never felt better. Jamie bought 3 books, and I've read them all. They are Food for Life, The Engine 2 Diet, and Forks Over Knives. Before reading these books, I thought I was eating healthy. But I had plenty of room for improvement! I've gone down 2 pant sizes and I'm wearing clothes that haven't fit me in 3 years. I've decided to update my blog by posting old favorite recipes but making them more healthy. My first one is an inspiration from my Aunt Michele. She was visiting Uncle Joe, Chris and me when she made this delicious pasta recipe she learned from my cousin Rebecca. I really liked it, but decided to make it healthier. The original had bacon, so I removed that and replaced it with basil, olives, and spinach. It's just as tasty and delicious, but it has less fat and more good stuff. Enjoy the new me!

1 package whole wheat penne
1/2 TBSP olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 onion, chopped
1 large can chopped tomatoes, undrained
12 pitted Kalamata olives, sliced in half
2 TBSP capers, rinsed and drained
1 tsp anchovy paste
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
1 bag prewashed baby spinach

Cook pasta according to package directions until al dente.
Meanwhile, in large skillet over medium heat, heat oil, then add onion. Saute until soft, then add garlic, saute 1 minute more; do not burn. Add tomatoes with juice, olives, capers, basil, oregano, red pepper and S&P to taste. Heat to boiling, then reduce and simmer uncovered while pasta cooks, about 10 minutes, stirring.
Toss al dente penne into sauce and add pasta water if needed. Add bag of spinach, more fresh basil, and parmesan cheese if desired. Serve after spinach is just wilted, about 5 minutes.

Pork Souvlaki with Tzatziki

Souvlaki is the Greek version of shish kebobs. It is a fast and easy way to cook different types of meat on the grill. I like using kebobs for summer parties. You can prepare all the skewars ahead of time, let them marinate, then throw them on the grill whenever you are ready to eat. They cook quickly too, so you will have more time floating in the pool sipping your favorite summertime beverage. This Greek version uses pork shoulder, which is the same as a Boston pork butt. I am not sure why a shoulder is the same as a butt, but that's what my butcher said. You can also substitute chicken, beef, or lamb. The flavorful meat is paired with tzatziki, a garlicky cucumber-yogurt sauce which is very easy to make and quite addictive.

1 1/2 lb pork shoulder (Boston butt), trimmed, and cut into 1 inch cubes
Alternately, you can use cubed chicken breast, sirlion steak, or lamb
1 sweet onion, cut into thick wedges
1/4 cup olive oil
3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice, plus extra lemon slices for serving
2 Tbsp chopped fresh oregano
2 garlic cloves, mashed to a paste (divided)
salt and pepper
1 ripe beefsteak tomato, chopped
1 cup plain Greek yogurt
1/2 English cucumber, peeled, seeded, and finely diced
2 tsp fresh mint leaves, chopped
Pita breads

In bowl, toss meat cubes and onion wedges with olive oil, lemon juice, oregano, and 1 mashed garlic clove.
Season with 1 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper. Let stand 30 minutes. Soak wooden skewers in water.
Tzatziki - mix yogurt, cucumber, mint and rest of mashed garlic clove. Season with salt and pepper.
Skewer meat and onion wedges onto soaked wooden skewers.
Cook skewers on grill over medium heat, turning often. Cook until chicken or pork is cooked through, or steak or lamb is med-rare.
Brush pitas with olive oil on both sides and cook both sides on grill or skillet, until warm and lightly brown.
Serve souvlaki with tzatziki, chopped tomatoes, lemon slices, and warmed pita breads

Baked Swordfish with Lemon, Capers, and Fennel

I must like swordfish, because this is the second recipe I've posted with it. This version is Sicilian style; it has lemon, capers, tomatoes and fennel. I must say, it's quite tasty. I'm now going for my second helping. Originally, I was looking for a recipe for grilled swordfish, but I just could not pass this one up.  I began with a recipe from Emeril Legasse as my inspiration, but added the tomatoes, shallots and white wine. I just can't seem to follow a recipe from start to finish. I always like to add my own spin to it. Good thing I don't like to bake!  What's nice about this dish is I was able to use my mandoline. No, I was not cooking with a musical instrument. That would be a mandolin. A mandoline is a very useful slicer for fruits and vegetables. It's perfect for slicing the fennel and the lemon. You can slice as thin as you dare. So far, I have not sliced my finger, which is a good thing. I served this dish with Kendall-Jackson Summation 2008 white table wine. It is a blend of white grape varietals grown in California but originating from the Loire and Rhone regions of France. It pairs well with the fish, especially since I also used it to make the sauce.

1 lb swordfish steaks
olive oil
1 fennel bulb, sliced very thin
1 lemon, sliced very thin
1 shallot, sliced very thin
1 clove garlic, sliced very thin
salt and pepper
fresh rosemary, about 1 1/2 Tbsps, chopped
fresh mint, about 1 Tbsp, chopped (if you don't like mint, substitute 1 Tbsp fresh basil)
dried oregano, about 2 tsps
2 small Roma tomatoes, chopped with juice
1 Tbsp capers, rinsed and drained
1/3 cup dry white wine

Preheat oven to 350.
In an oven safe skillet (such as a cast iron skillet), add olive oil. Heat to medium. Add shaved fennel, shallots, salt and pepper. Cook until wilted, about 5 minutes. Add sliced garlic clove and cook until soft and fennel begins to brown. Season with salt and pepper. Drizzle olive oil on fish steaks and season with salt and pepper. Move fennel to one side and add fish. Brown each side for about 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Add herbs, capers, lemon slices, and chopped tomatoes. Bake in 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes. Add wine, cook for 5 minutes more.

Serve with small pasta like orzo, spooning sauce over entire dish.

Roasted Potato and Asparagus Salad with Scallops

This dish has no back story, and no interesting history. It's just really good. I found it in the Grape magazine I get for free from Publix, which is my local grocery store here in Florida. I've never cooked or eaten fingerling potatoes. Now that I have, I will definitely use them again. They each have a different flavor, texture and color. Some of them are purple! They are all very interesting and also very good. The Cajun spices on the scallops are a perfect match and will be something I will use again. The white wine vinaigrette with Dijon mustard goes perfectly with the asparagus and eggs.  It took about 45 minutes to make. I will definitely make it again.

1 lb sea scallops
1 1/2 lb assorted fingerling potatoes, halved
3 Tbsp, plus 1/4 cup olive oil, divided
1/2 tsp salt, divided
1/2 lb asparagus, woody ends removed
2 Tbsp flour
2 tsp Cajun seasoning, such as Chef Paul Prudhomme's Magic Seasoning Blends
3 Tbsp white wine vinegar
1 Tbsp minced shallot
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1 10 oz pkg spring mix salad greens
2 hard cooked eggs, peeled and quartered
1/3 cup pitted black olives, halved (I used Kalamata, or Greek style)
1/4 cup thinly sliced radishes

Place potatoes in baking pan and drizzle with 2 Tbsp oil and 1/4 tsp salt, mix well
Roast, uncovered, at 425 for 25 minutes, until potatoes are just tender and brown on the edges
Stir potatoes, and add asparagus. Bake 5 minutes more until asparagus are tender. Add salt and pepper to taste. Remove from oven to cool slightly.
Meanwhile, Pat scallops dry. Mix flour and Cajun seasoning in small bowl. Add scallops and coat.
Cook scallops in large skillet with 1 Tbsp oil over med-high heat. Cook about 3 minutes, or until opaque, turning halfway through cooking time. Remove from skillet and set aside.
Meanwhile, in small bowl, mis vinegar, shallot, mustard, sugar, 1/4 tsp salt and black pepper. Whisk in 1/4 cup olive oil until dressing thickens and is well combined.
In large bowl, combine salad greens with half of the dressing, and toss. Transfer greens to serving platter or 4 plates. Arrange potatoes, asparagus, eggs, olives and radishes on the dressed greens. Drizzle with remaining salad dressing and top with scallops and serve. Serves 4 main dish salads.

Wine to serve: Dry sparkling white wine, like a Prosecco. My favorite is Riouolo Prosecco del Veneto NV. At about $10.00, it's a great deal. It features a medium effervescence, with notes of green apple and pear, a nice acidity and a slight sweetness that makes it easy to drink.

Buffalo Chicken Pizza

I have this idea that you can make any dish into a pizza. My friends and I have a tradition of watching Survivor together. Everyone brings a dish to someone's house and we watch this week's episode while noshing on goodies. Tonight I tried my pizza idea out on them. I had a craving for Buffalo chicken, so I decided to turn it into a pizza. It came out better than I expected. I wasn't sure if I should use the blue cheese dressing or the hot sauce as the "sauce" for the pizza. I'm glad I decided to go with the hot sauce for the base and use the dressing as a topping on the finished pie. I didn't follow a recipe.
I decided to just "wing it".
Sorry....couldn't resist.

2 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 lb chicken breast, cut into chunks
salt, pepper, cayenne pepper
1 cup Frank's Hot Wing Sauce
3 green onions, thinly sliced
1 stalk celery, thinly sliced
1/2 cup mozzerella
1/4 cup blue cheese
Marie's Blue Cheese salad dressing

1 pizza dough, or 1 Boboli pizza crust

Cut chicken into 1 inch chunks. Sprinkle salt, black pepper, and cayenne; toss to coat
Add butter and oil to skillet and heat to medium high. Add chicken and saute until browned and cooked through. Remove from heat and add buffalo hot sauce, mixing well.
Prepare dough if using fresh. Preheat oven to 500. After dough is stretched out to desired thickness, place on pizza peel and let rest 5 minutes. When oven is ready, spoon on hot sauce/chicken mixture and spread out so entire pizza is covered in sauce. Sprinkle all the celery and most of the green onion. Add both cheeses. Add remainder of green onion. Cook pizza about 10 minutes if using a pizza stone, or according to package directions if using Boboli crust.  Remove from oven when bottom of pizza is well browned. Let cool slightly, then cut into slices. Drizzle blue cheese dressing on top, if desired.

Before cooking

After cooking

Janet's Shrimp Pasta

Yeah, that's right. This recipe is all mine. Made it up myself. No surfing, no foodnetwork.com, no Epicurious.com. All mine. I had shrimp I just bought and needed to cook it tonight. I have some newly planted rosemary and basil plants, and I needed to pinch off the new growth. I didn't want to throw the clippings away (heaven forbid), so I thought, "What could I make with shrimp, rosemary, basil, half a lemon and half a red pepper?" Oh, did I mention tonight was clean-out-the-fridge night? I also had a box of these scrumptious grape tomatoes. They must be in season, because they were the sweetest batch I ever had. Brett kept eating them like candy. I took all these fresh ingredients and came up with a delishus pasta dish that was ready in 20 minutes. I hope you enjoy my creation!

1 lb large shrimp, shells removed

Put shrimp in bowl with some olive oil (about 1/4 cup), 3 cloves garlic, minced in the garlic press, 1/2 tsp fresh rosemary, juice of 1/2 a lemon plus the zest, 1/4 tsp (or more) crushed red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Let marinate while preparing veggies.

Cut up 1 red pepper into strips
Slice 1/2 sweet onion ( I happened to have leeks, so I used what was left of them)
Wash 1/2 container of grape tomatoes

Fill large pot with water, and heat to boiling. Add salt.
Don't add pasta yet.

Heat large saute pan with 1/4 cup olive oil.
Add onion (or leeks), and saute until soft.
Add red pepper strips and saute for 2 minutes. Add salt and pepper.
Add the grape tomatoes and the marinated shrimp to the saute pan.
At the same time, add about 3/4 box of penne to the boiling water.
Cook shrimp about 3 minutes per side, until pink.
Cook pasta until al dente.

After you've cooked both sides of the shrimp and they are pink, add 1/2 cup white wine, and about 1/4 cup low salt chicken broth. Bring to boil and simmer for about 5 minutes, until shrimp are cooked through.

By this time, the penne should be ready. Scoop them out with a slotted spoon and put them into the saute pan with the sauce. Mix everything together and cook for about 5 minutes, until all flavors combine. Add chopped basil and Italian parsley, more olive oil, salt, pepper, crushed red pepper flakes if you want more heat, and grated parmesan cheese.

Curried Cauliflower Soup

I've just introduced powertools in the kitchen. Today, I bought an immersion hand blender. How did I ever make soups without it? By making a mess in my kitchen, that's how. This thing is awesome! I was able to puree my curried cauliflower soup in about 3 minutes. I've used a blender to puree soup in the past, but have also given myself a nasty burn. The hand blender is easy to use, fast to puree, and a cinch to clean. I'm sold!
My other great find this weekend was the Williams-Sonoma Sous Chef Series. Every month, you get to recreate a recipe demonstrated by a sous chef from a well known American restaurant. This month was a recipe for curried cauliflower soup from Gramercy Tavern in New York City. I used several techniques to make it, including toasting whole spices, making a bouquet garni, and pureeing with the immersion blender. The end result was amazing. My favorite part of the soup was the yogurt garnish. Mixing yogurt with lime juice is so simple, but so delicious. Thank you, Jamie, for the website!

Curried Cauliflower Soup, courtesy of Sous Chef Series from Williams-Sonoma

• 2 heads cauliflower, cut into florets (about 10 cups)
• 1 onion, diced (about 1 cup)
• ½ leek, white and light green parts only, diced (about ¾ cup)
• 2 large carrots, diced (about 1 cup)
• ¼ cup plus 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• ½ teaspoon coriander seeds
• ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
• ½ bunch cilantro, chopped (about 2 cups)
• ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
• ½ teaspoon mild curry powder
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 8 cups vegetable stock
• ¾ cup plain yogurt
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

1. Reserve 1 cup of small cauliflower florets, ¼ cup of onion, ¼ cup of leeks and ¼ cup of carrots for garnish.
2. In a large pot, warm ¼ cup of the vegetable oil over medium heat. Add the remaining onion, leek and carrots and cook, stirring frequently, until the vegetables have begun to soften, about 6 minutes. Add the cauliflower and cook until soft, about 10 minutes longer.
3. In a small skillet over medium-high heat, combine the coriander and cumin seeds and toast until they are fragrant and slightly browned, about 2 minutes. In a square of cheesecloth, combine the toasted seeds and the cilantro and tie into a bundle, securing it with a piece of kitchen twine. This is called a bouquet garni. Add it, along with the turmeric, curry powder and garlic to the vegetables in the pot and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
4. Add the vegetable stock, bring a simmer and cook until the vegetables are very tender, about 25 minutes. Remove the bouquet garni and discard, then puree the soup in a blender until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Return the puree to the pot and keep warm.
5. In a large skillet, warm the remaining 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Add the reserved cauliflower, onion, leek and carrots and cook until the vegetables are just tender and lightly browned, about 6 to 8 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper and reserve.
6. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the yogurt, olive oil and lime juice and season to taste with salt and pepper.
7. Divide the hot soup among 6 deep bowls, garnish with the reserved vegetables and drizzle with the yogurt mixture. Serve immediately.