2011 April

A Right Recipe for Palak Paneer

April 29, 2011 By Fran 2 Comments

The Spinach Shines

Can you imagine spinach so creamy without a hint of cream? Take a look at this and you’ll see the creamiest, smoothest, greenest spinach you’ll ever put your eyes on — at least today. This is the Indian dish called Palak Paneer.

I made the Paneer (Indian Cheese) last night, cut it up and posted the photos and information here and knew that I was going to dine on the spinach goodness of Palak Paneer tonight.

I used Manisha, of Indian Food Rocks’ recipe for tonight’s dish. I used 1 tablespoon of oil for the spinach and pan fried the cheese with a few pumps of olive oil spray until golden brown. I’m linking to the recipe here because I want to give credit where credit’s due. I chose the recipe because of how vibrant and verdant it looked and I really can’t claim to have adapted this simple recipe.

It was the first time I made it, so I decided to follow it to the letter. Manisha says it’s not about adding flavors, that it’s about the ginger and lemon and while I was yearning for onion and garlic, I decided to stay true to the recipe — a feat for me. I’m happy I did. The ginger shone through and I added a little more lemon because my cheese wasn’t quite tart enough, but it’s one of those things you can taste as you go.

Key to the recipe for me was taking it off the stove as soon as the spinach was wilted and letting it whirl around in the VitaMix until it was silky smooth. I considered shocking the spinach in an ice water bath, but the recipe didn’t direct me to take that step and as you can see, it wasn’t necessary. Often, I’ll shock a green vegetable like green beans after cooking to retain that incredible green color, but that wasn’t an issue here. It took less than a minute to get to this consistency and while I could have let it spin in the blender until it became serving hot again, I put it back in the pot to simmer for just a few mintes before adding a few cubes of Paneer and serving as the recipe directed.

I can’t wait to hear what my Bangalore friends have to say about this effort. I’m sure it’s a surprise to all that I have this thing about cooking. In a year in India, I never allowed my cooking habit show. and that if I added up all the posts in my various blogs these past 4 years, Indian food appears most often. I’m happy to add another untried dish to my repertoire.

This Palak Paneer will cost you a Weight Watchers Points Plus value of 9 with the following breakdown:

Fat 27 g
Protein 21 g
Fiber 4 g
Carbs 7 g

Filed Under: All Posts, From India, From the Cow, From the Ground, Internationally Inspired, Side Dishes Tagged With: Cheese, India, Palak Paneer, Spinach, Vegetable

Indian Paneer Recipe

April 28, 2011 By Fran 3 Comments

MAKING PANEER

Making Paneer is so easy you can make it before heading to bed. I had 4 cups of whole milk in the fridge, knew I’d never drink it and had it in my mind that I wanted to make cheese. I’m just not the milk-drinking type and I couldn’t let it go, so that Paneer recipe I’ve been thinking about making turned into reality about an hour before bed time.

I love that I can create something from start to finish in my own kitchen and in such a short period of time.

I found countless paneer recipes online and while the results are good, it’s not knock your socks off. I’d like it to be more tart, like Queso Fresco or Queso Blanco. Next time I am going to either up the yogurt or the lemon or possibly both. And it definitely needs more salt — and that’s coming from someone who usually under salts everything.

I’m going to make it again and will post the recipe for you so that you know how to make it with just the right flavor profile. But this isn’t the last you’ll see of this first edition Paneer from my kitchen.

My love of Indian food usually results in very basic offerings from my kitchen, some of which you’ve seen on my other blog — FRANtasticFood — Butter Chicken, Rogan Josh, Dosa, Peas Pilau and Chicken Tikka Masala, to name a few. I am going to step outside of that comfort zone and make Palak Paneer tomorrow night and show you just what this cheese can do. Thanks to a wonderful blogger I’ve been following for a very long time — Manisha of Indian Food Rocks – I’m going to try her Palak Paneer recipe. Have you ever seen anything so green and slurp-worthy come to your table? I can’t wait to dive into the recipe.

In the meantime, take a look at these photos of my last minute, late night foray into cheese-making below:

Bring the milk to a boil, stirring constantly

Add yogurt and lemon and stir until the curds and whey separate

Rinse and drain for 20 minutes and then wring and drain for 30

When it’s been drained twice, press under a heavy cast iron pan or other heavy object and then unwrap and refrigerate or — eat!

Next up … Palak Paneer. I’ll post the nutritional details with the recipe, but for now, know that Paneer will cost you a Weight Watchers Points Plus value of 3 points per ounce. I used whole milk, but some make it with skim, so you can count on me trying a reduced fat version next. Why waste points or calories if you don’t have to, right?

Have you ever made cheese?

Filed Under: From India, From the Cow, Internationally Inspired, Side Dishes Tagged With: Cheese, Indian, Paneer, Recipe

A Surprising Polenta and Marinara Sauce Recipe

April 21, 2011 By Fran 4 Comments

Pan Fried Polenta and Marinara Sauce

Polenta and Marinara sauce are like an Italian marriage made in the kitchen and it usually requires a lot of watching and stirring and, oh yeah, tasting!

And here’s the surprising part … in the interest of time and temptation, I veered off the totally made from scratch, no packaged or jarred food routine I usually adhere to and bought a tube of polenta and a jar of marinara sauce. ::::::GASP:::::: !!

Ok, I’ll admit it, I always keep a small jar of Rao’s Marinara in the fridge. It’s my emergency stash. I often make Rao’s Marinara Sauce using this recipe, but scaling it back. I’m not feeding the neighborhood, after all, but I am not wonder woman and sometimes need help during the week.

This meal takes no more than 10 minutes to get from package to table and while you spend those 10 minutes hovering over a hot stove, it’s easy work and the results are well worth it for your 3 points, the effort is minimal and the taste and texture are just what you desire. Crispy on the outside and creamy on the inside.

Polenta Cakes with Marinara Recipe

Recipe Type: Side Dish

Prep time: 2 mins

Cook time: 10 mins

Total time: 12 mins

Serves: 1

Crispy pan fried polenta cakes are a delicious Italian side dish with marinara sauce

Ingredients

6 pumps of Olive Oil spray
2 Polenta slices cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 tablespoons Marinara Sauce
Grated fresh Parmesan Cheese

Instructions

Heat 6 pumps of olive oil spray in a skillet over medium heat.
While oil is heating, slice polenta into 1/2-inch pieces.
Place the polenta slices in the pan and cook over medium high heat.
In the meantime, spoon the marinara sauce into a microwave proof bowl and heat to take the chill off, about 45 seconds or heat in the other side of the skillet on top of the stove.
When brown and crispy, using a flexible spatula, turn and cook on the other side until also brown and crispy.
Remove to a plate and serve.

Serving size: 1 Calories: 71 Fat: 0 Saturated fat: 0 Unsaturated fat: 0 Carbohydrates: 15 Sugar: 0 Fiber: 1 Protein: 2

Notes

This is a quick and easy side dish that can be cooked and on the table in 10 minutes. I don’t make a habit of using prepared food, but there are times when products like these — Polenta Tubes and a Jar of Marinara Sauce are the perfect answer to a weeknight dinner.

I use the tube of polenta found in the vegetable aisle of my local grocery store. It’s quick and while I sometimes make it from scratch, for a last minute pan-fried polenta treat, I find the tube works well.

Remove to a plate and spoon a tablespoon of marinara sauce over each cake.

Grate cheese over and serve.

This side dish is worth 2 Weight Watchers Points Plus Values

Filed Under: All Posts, From Italy, From the Ground, Internationally Inspired, Side Dishes Tagged With: Italian, Marinara, Polenta

Puerto Rican Pernile Breakfast Tacos Recipe

April 18, 2011 By Fran 5 Comments

Which do you prefer for breakfast — sweet or savory dishes? Me? I’m a savory breakfast-eater. Bagels and Lox, Spanakopita and Chiles Rellenos, to name a few. And this was no exception. Last night was another cooking night at my friend Satya’s house and this time I got to sit back and enjoy the cooking as we celebrated our host’s birthday with food and a whole lot of conversation.

We all like good food and some of us really enjoy cooking. It makes for great Saturday night dinners. And this was another outstanding meal. We kind of wrangled our friend Don into being the chef this time and it was well worth it.

We had a meal of Pernile (Puerto Rican slow cooked pork roast), Spanish Rice and Black Beans. I don’t have Don’s recipe, but this Tyler version of Pernile al Horno is close, if not spot on. The pork cooked all day and was as tender as any pork roast I’ve ever tasted with flavoring that was salty, yet not overwhelmingly so and the chicharones he coaxed to a crispy bite was moist in the way a glob of fat rendered to a chip-like crust is moist, but I knew the evil that lurked below the dark brown crust and one piece was all I allowed myself. We polished off the beans, left a little rice and there was enough pernile for each of us to carry home for a couple of lunches or dinners.

Dinner was finished, and as much as I wanted to reach in with a fork and eat more as we packed the leftovers into glass containers, one thought bounced around in my brain like it was jumping on a trampoline. While I’ve lost 14.6 lbs., in a flash a few of those pounds could easily be found and WHAT A WASTE OF EFFORT it would be to put even 1 lb. back on. So I quietly backed away, but the glass contiainer in my bag, put my camera over my shoulder and headed home — with one thought in my head … I can’t wait for breakfast because it’s gonna be great! And it was. It sure was.

Breakfast Tacos

Recipe Type: Main

Prep time: 5 mins

Cook time: 6 mins

Total time: 11 mins

Serves: 1

Pernile (Puerto Rican style slow roasted pork shoulder) is a perfect filling for a Sunday morning breakfast taco.

Ingredients

Spray Oil
2 Corn Tortillas
2 ounces low fat Cheese, shredded, divided
2 ounces shredded Pernile (or other pulled pork roast), divided
4 teaspoons Red Chile Sauce
2 tablespoons fresh Cilantro
2 pinches Salt
2 teaspoons Queso Fresco, crumbled

Instructions

Wrap the tortillas in a paper towel and heat in a microwave for 20 seconds to soften.
In the meantime, heat a nonstick skillet with 5 pumps of spray oil.
Place a tortilla in the pan.
Add 1 ounce of cheese to one half of the tortilla.
Add 1 ounce of the pernile to the other half of the tortilla.
Spoon 2 teaspoons of the chile sauce on top of the pork and top with 1 tablespoon of cilantro.
Cook until cheese begins to melt.
Using a heat proof spatula, fold the tortilla in half and press lightly.
Continue cooking for 1 minute. Spray the tortilla with 3 pumps of oil and turn, continuing to cook for 1 more minute. Remove to a plate.
Sprinkle crumbled queso fresco on top and serve.

Serving size: 1 Taco – Calories: 195 Fat: 11.3 Carbohydrates: 11.9 Fiber: 11.9 Protein: 11.6

Notes

You’ll spend 5 Weight Watchers Plus Points for one of these savory tacos.

Filed Under: All Posts, From the Pen, Internationally Inspired, Main Dishes Tagged With: Breakfast, Cook, Corn Tortillas, Pernile, Pork, Puerto Rico, Tacos

Al Fresco Tomato Sausage and Spinach Pasta Recipe

April 14, 2011 By Fran 2 Comments

Coming home after work and making dinner has become a fun adventure since I started this healthier eating (read Weight
Watchers) lifestyle. Rather than coming home and “winging it,” randomly pulling out a variety of ingredients and throwing together dinner, I’m actually planning.

For those of you that have been FRANtasticFood readers or Justin.tv viewers here and here these past 4 years, you’ll be familiar with my disregard for meal planning and while that was great, and fun and decadent, it wasn’t so smart or healthy. Oh sure, it all tasted darn good, but I never really felt “darn good” in the morning. The quick dishes I put together were laden with fat and calories and the amount of carbs I was downing would have made King Arthur and his team of sales people very happy. Now that I want to be sure that I optimize my meals for satisfaction and flavor, planning is something I welcome.

So this day, I pulled a couple of links of Chicken Sausage out of the freezer, put them in the fridge and and thought about how I’d use them while relaxing during the commute to work in the pre-dawn darkness. I could grill them and serve them with creamy polenta, but my allotment of polenta would be meager. I could panfry them and serve them with miso mashed potatoes, but it’s become a staple and I wanted something a bit different. I could put them in a pan and turn them into a pasta with sausage, tomatoes, spinach and cheese dish. Voila! A dinner plan is born.

I was inspired by Mark Bittman’s Chick Peas with Chorizo and Spinach dish. I’m a Bittman fan and caught his new show on my favorite cooking channel, aptly names — The Cooking Channel — on the Weekend. He made an Andalusian Chickpea dish with spinach.

I decided to take the idea and make this dish instead, but with the leftover spinach I headed back into the kitchen tonight and stayed a little closer to the original, although I put my own twist on it. I’ll post it at FRANtasticfood in a few days. Scroll down for a sneak peek preview.

This is one of “those” recipes. A recipe that’s quick, easy and delicious. A recipe that you can whip up for a satisfying dinner on a night when you walk in the door exhausted and say, “I just don’t want to do anything but take my coat off and put my feet up.”

Not only will you be able to put your feet up after a quick 20 minutes in the kitchen, but you’ll be sitting down, feet propped — or not — to a flavorful and savory pasta dish that will only cost you 317 calories or, if you’re counting, 8 Weight Watchers Points Plus.

Do you need to serve anything with this dish? No, but if you want something more, a salad or grilled or steamed vegetable would be a good addition.

Spanish Chickpeas with Sausage, Spinach and Tomatoes

Do you plan your meals, or a you a “just wing it” type cook?

Pasta with Sausage and Al Fresco Tomato Sauce

Recipe Type: Main

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 20 mins

Total time: 30 mins

Serves: 4

Creating an al fresco sauce is quick and fresh. The sausage lends a balance of flavor that’s just right.

Ingredients

8 ounces Barilla Gemelli Pasta or other small, thick pasta
4 links fresh Chicken Sausage, sliced
3 cups Fresh Baby Spinach, washed
1.5 cups Cherry Tomatoes, washed
2 ounces Italian Truffle Cheese or other melting cheese, grated

Instructions

Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil. When the water has come to a full rolling boil, add the pasta. I don’t add salt to my water. I am of the school of thought that the sauce should flavor the pasta and that the pasta in its most natural state should taste like, well… pasta, without salt hiding its flavor.
Heat a 10″ nonstick skillet and add the sausage slices, cooking to brown on all sides.
Add the tomatoes and cook until they become “weepy” or soft and wrinkled. They do not need to be cooked through. This should take about 5 – 10 minutes. This is an Al Fresco style sauce, so you’ll want a few of them in an almost uncooked state.
The tomatoes will continue to soften and a sauce will be created imparting the flavors of the sausage. When all of the sausage pieces are brown add the cheese and stir to combine.
Add the spinach and cook until wilted.
Drain the pasta, saving 1/4 cup of the cooking water. Add the pasta and reserved water to the skillet and stir to combine for another minute to cook off most of the pasta water.
Remove from the heat and transfer to a bowl for serving.

Calories: 317 Fat: 8 Carbohydrates: 46 Fiber: 3.1 Protein: 16.6

Notes

This is a hearty main course that goes well with a salad. If you want to bulk up the dish, add mushrooms when cooking the sausage.

Filed Under: All Posts, From the Silo, Internationally Inspired, Main Dishes Tagged With: Cheese, Easy, Food, Pasta, Sausage, Spinach, Tomatoes

Black Truffle Potato Gratin Recipe

April 12, 2011 By Fran 7 Comments

This Potato Gratin has a decadent twist — Black Truffles! While you can use a variety of semi-hard “melty” cheeses, the Italian Truffle Cheese sold at Trader Joe’s adds a luxurious element to a simple side dish.

Truffle-Potato Gratin works very well with poultry, fish or beef and only one quarter of a 6″ gratin pan is a satisfying addition to your meal. The dish is easy to prepare, but does take time to cook, It will reheat well so if you don’t have time to make it after work, prepare it, put it in the oven for 90 minutes, let it cool and put it in the fridge for dinner the following night. Return it to the oven for 15 minutes to reheat, but watch it to ensure the cheese doesn’t burn.

Who said putting fresh, healthy food on the table has to be bland and boring? This decadent dish has just 206 calories and if you’re counting Weight Watchers Points Plus values, you’ll use 5 for this gratin. Enjoy!

Truffle-Potato Gratin Recipe

Recipe Type: Side Dish

Prep time: 15 mins

Cook time: 90 mins

Total time: 1 hour 45 mins

Serves: 4

Black Truffle Cheese adds a luxurious twist to a traditional potato gratin making this a special side dish.

Ingredients

Cooking Spray
1 tablespoon Butter
1/2 small Onion, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon flour
1 cup skim milk
1 large potato, thinly sliced
2 ounces Italian Black Truffle Cheese, grated
2 ounces Colby/Cheddar mix, shredded
4 grinds of fresh Black Pepper or 1/4 teaspoon

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375º. Spray a shallow gratin pan with 6 pumps.
In a small bowl, mix the cheese to combine and set aside.
In a saucepan large enough to hold the sliced potatoes, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion and cook until onions just begin to brown. Do not overcook or they will become bitter.
Stir in the flour, stirring constantly for 2 minutes, taking care not to burn it. You are creating a thickening agent (roux) for a béchamel sauce.
While the roux is cooking, heat the milk in a microwave or in a small pan on the stovetop to take the chill off. Do not let it boil. Remove from the microwave or turn off the heat.
Slowly pour the milk into the onion mixture, stirring constantly. The milk should begin to thicken. Continue to cook and stir until the milk mixture coats the back of a spoon. If it begins to thicken too much, add a bit more milk.
Add the potatoes and stir in 3 ounces of the cheese. Stir to combine, taking care not to break the potato slices.
Spread the mixture evenly in a gratin pan. Bake for 90 minutes. Check the potatoes at 60 minutes and cover with foil if they begin to darken too much. You want them to brown, but not burn.
At 90 minutes, sprinkle the remaining cheese on top and continue cooking for 2 minutes, just until the cheese is melted.
Remove from the oven and let sit for 5 minutes. Cut into quarters and serve.
I have not added salt to this dish. The cheese adds the right balance of salt for me, but feel free to add as needed.

Serving size: 1/4 of a 6″ pan Calories: 206.2 Fat: 7.3g Carbohydrates: 19.5g Fiber: 2.1g Protein: 8.5g

Notes

You can use any melting cheese you choose. I like the truffle cheese because of the hint of decadent flavor it adds.

While the points value for this side dish is a reasonable 5 points, it’s a rich dish, so take care not to make this a routine addition to your meals.

*5 Weight Watchers Points Plus

Filed Under: Side Dishes Tagged With: Cook, Food, Gratin, Potatoes, Recipe, Truffles

Kitchen Essentials

April 10, 2011 By Fran Leave a Comment

As with anything else in the kitchen, planning is key, so it’s time to talk Kitchen Essentials. Below are some of my favorite kitchen tools; the pots, pans and knives I reach for on a daily basis.

As you can see, I’m not hung up on matching — colors and like brands don’t mater to me, but what is important, is quality. Each one of these tools was a considerable investment, but I know that as long as I care for them properly, each one will last for a very long time.

If you don’t want to make the investment now, find just one pot and one pan and an all around knife, a silicone spoon or spatula and a pair of tongs along with a good cutting board and you’ve got the beginnings of a well-stocked kitchen.

Let’s take a look at what I’m showing you here:

Stainless Steel Pots & Pans

2 quart All Clad saucepan

10 inch All Clad nonstick skillet

4 quart All Clad sauté pan

8 quart All Clad stockpot

Cast Iron Pots & Pans

1.5 quart Le Creuset “bean pot” (I’m pretty sure this was a limited edition, but there are plenty of other options out there)

4 quart Staub cocotte

6 ” Staub round gratin

4 Staub quart braiser

Knives

3.5″ Global paring knife

5.5″ Global vegetable knife

8″ Global chef’s knife

Shun Kaji cleaver

Shun Kaji Boning Knife

Shun Kaji Bread Knife

Check your local outlet stores. These manufacturers send “seconds” to the discounters and unless you can’t stand an almost imperceptible nick or scratch, these are as good as the much more expensive first quality pieces you’ll find in the retail stores.

And a note: I took a few years to pursue my hobby and worked at Williams-Sonoma. I loved learning about the products and sharing my knowledge and talking about food with customers. During my 3 years with the company I had the opportunity to teach numerous classes and although I never received product in exchange for blog posts, I did win prizes and make purchases at an incredible employee discount which gave me hands on experience with so many wonderful products.

Up Next … Potato – Truffle Gratin for just 5 points!

Filed Under: Kitchen Tagged With: Cast Iron, French, Knives, Pots & Pans

When Losing is Winning

April 8, 2011 By Fran 8 Comments

I retired a pair of Pants today! They were an expensive, relatively new pair of pants, but I don’t care! It’s a very good thing and while I don’t look like miss thing over there to your left, I’m feeling great and am proud of the accomplishment. I feel like a winner!

So you see … Losing really IS Winning!

And why is that, you may ask? Because I’m on a mission. A mission to have my pants fall down! Yes, I want my pants to get so big that I can’t keep them up. I want to fold them, put them in a box and take them to Goodwill. And this means losing. So with one pair of pants in the donate pile, I’m on the right track and I want to share my recipes with you.

For me, this means making the right choices at meal and snack times and realizing that all food is still on the table, it just takes a bit of planning. I’ll share the foods and dishes that are not only delicious and satisfying, but easy to put together and beautiful to put on your plate to not only treat yourself, but to serve to friends and family as well.

We’ll explore fresh ingredients and creative ways to integrate your favorite foods into your eating plan, whatever kind of plan that is. Anytime a recipe is posted you’ll find the nutritional values and Weight Watchers Points Plus totals posted so that you can implement the recipes into a plan that works for you.

I can’t guarantee the success you’ll have on your own weight loss plan, but I can guarantee that I’ll work hard to come up with ways to make your meals more than the usual broiled or baked chicken and steamed vegetables that so many think losing weight means and we’ll limit the use of packaged, processed foods. You’ve heard it before, but it rings true — it’s not about deprivation — it’s about a lifestyle change. Making good choices and portion control will lead you to the kind of healthy life that works for you.

Next up … Kitchen Essentials

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: Kitchen Essentials, Losing, Pants, Weight Loss, Winning

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