Dinner

Picture Perfect

April 15, 2012 By Fran Leave a Comment

This may seem a sacrilege in the food blog world, but sometimes it’s not about the beauty of a food shot. I took most of these pictures with my iPhone and as we all know, although there are apps galore to help enhance your photos, available light is not a friend of iPhoneography.

But I’m not unhappy. There is beauty in these shots without the pixels being exactly as we’d like them to be.

Great photography is said to be about movement and feeling and while these photos may be dark and grainy, the movement is clear and I hope the feeling is as well.

What I took away from another fun night at la Casa de Fran is fun and friendship and the ability to blow off steam from a long workweek without talking about it all night.

We cooked. We ate. We listened to Fran make a valiant attempt to speak Spanish. We laughed. We cleaned up. And this makes for a great night.

Thankfully the table is large and sharing chairs with the other condo means most of us get to sit at the table while others (Mario!) stand and do a little salsa dancing while picking the bones of a rack of baby back ribs clean.

Everyone was into the meal. It was hard not to be. Everything was so good — I’m craving more ribs!

Emy was up to her chimol-making self and she added to the party with a perfectly made Michelada. I wonder if my friend Maggie from Loaded Kitchen makes these? I am going to whip up a batch at dinner when I get home from work tomorrow night and I’ll put the recipe together and let you in on this “Beer Cocktail” once I get it right.

Ribs-on-a-Platter

The ribs were a big hit. We’re doing this again on Saturday to welcome our new Operations Manager and I think ribs will make a reappearance.

Vera was so kind to model her husband’s invention — the JaCo. A Jalapeño Popper Taco with Beans. No one here had ever tried the American bar food classic — a Jalapeño Popper and they were a huge hit. I was addicted to them a couple of summers ago and could not pass up the opportunity to grill a tray for the team.

We’re talking heat right here. The ribs and seeds are vehicles of fire.

Thankfully Gearling and Emy made their way to the jalapeño station and lent a hand. I am going to return from my upcoming trip to Virginia with my trusted jalapeño corer to make quick work of this chore.

You can almost feel the heat coming from the grill full of ribs and poppers. The only thing missing is that beautiful aroma of grilled food. There’s nothing still or boring about it.

And whomever owns this plate is about to dig in.

And check this out. You couldn’t stop these four women from making quick work of the dishes and the floor.

Just look at all that garbage. For just 12 people.

Somehow, I’m reminded of the iconic American painting by Grant Wood when I look at this shot. Not sure what it is about it, but I’m seeing a pitchfork in Carlos’ hand instead of a hot bottle of tobasco.

Filed Under: All Tagged With: BBQ, Birthday, Cook, Dinner, Eat, Food, Grill, Honduras, Jalapeño Poppers, Parrillada, Party, San Pedro Sula, Work

Oh Basil, How I’ve Missed you

March 3, 2012 By Fran Leave a Comment

Albahaca. It’s got a mystical sound to it, don’t you think? It sounds somehow like it belongs on the coast of North Africa.

I’ve been been going through Basil – Albahaca – withdrawal for the three months I’ve been in Honduras, but as of this week, it is no longer something I need to crave. Super Mario, one of my coworkers, looked at me in disbelief the other night when I told him I have had no luck finding the elusive herb since I moved here. I thought it strange that in such a warm climate and tropical environment I would have trouble putting my hands on the leafy green and he agreed, telling me that the supermarkets in town definitely carry it.

I didn’t believe him. I’ve spent my share of time and money in the markets around town — Colonia, Los Andes, Guamilito and have yet to spot the green goodness. But Mario told me he would find it and bring me some.

Well, not only did he bring me some, but he brought me two bags of the fresh stuff AND a bunch of “long”– ancho cilantro. This cilantro is amazing. San Pedro Sula, you’ve redeemed yourself! It has the same fragrant aroma as “little” or “delicate” cilantro, but it’s a bit stronger. Warning, if you are one of those that HATE cilantro, this is not the herb for you.

I had to make a decision for dinner, would I use the basil for an Asian dish or for Pesto? When I got home I headed straight for the kitchen and pulled garlic, ginger, mushrooms, spring onions and a jalapeño pepper. I had defrosted a chicken breast in the fridge during the day and Thai Chicken with Basil was born.

Then it was time to do something else with the rest of the basil. I knew it wouldn’t hold up long so last night I turned it into Pesto. I had a package of pasta, a fair amount of garlic and a big wedge of Grana Padana my friend Bender willed to me before he left for Canada a couple of months ago before leaving for northern climes and pizza he could trust — story for another time.

But wait….that’s not all! I had a package of mozzarella in the fridge waiting to be made into something. I’m not sure what. It wasn’t fresh mozzarella, but how many years did we all survive on the firm ball of cheese before we became sophisticated and learned of fresh packed mozzarella? And no, there’s no fancy bottle of Balsamico lurking in this kitchen, but my Caprese Salad with good olive oil and red wine vinegar, fresh cracked pepper and salt satisfied the craving.

What’s so sad about all of this is that I have no sense of smell since this affliction of Ebola or TB or SARS or, well, ok, just a rotten sinus infection hit me last week. But don’t kid yourself, for a brief moment I thought I should have the doc check for Malaria. I’ve heard from people that have had it that it feels like a horrible case of the flu, so my dramatic self began to worry, but a couple of days of the mega antibiotic Zithromax and I was on the mend. But a killer sinus infection means I have no sense of smell. Zip. Zero. Zilch. Nada. Nunca. Nyet. Nine. Nothing! I’m talking about not being able to smell even a hint of basil, nor the 4 cloves of garlic I used in the pesto and the olive oil? Well, I know it’s good because the smell of olives came through loud and clear the last time I was able to smell anything. I’m not quite sure why I’m eating anything or why I even care, the only flavors I can discern right now are salt, sweet and sour and they are all exaggerated. But it’s in my nature and I HAD to have something familiar and fresh and GREEN.

One day my sense of smell WILL return, although it could take months, but for now I’m happy to have the memories of what things like Basil smell and taste like and I am pretty good at making do with memories.

And there you have it, Albahaca is back in my life!

And just as fun as the bright and remarkably fresh and brilliant green albahaca has been, a trip to the beach on Sunday with a colleague from Costa Rica was equally as fun. It was another 6 day work-week, the end of a busy one with a whirlwind job fair on Saturday and we needed to get out of town. The resort I usually go to was full so we had to find someplace else. We lucked into Telamar and it turned out to be a great afternoon. The food was … meh, but the beach was wonderful.

And the warm water of the Caribbean was welcoming and a great respite from the searing sun. There was a bit of a rip tide and just staying in one place was a work out, but it felt good to have the sun bearing down on me while I planted my feet in the sand and tried to stay upright.

There was a lot of activity on the beach and while I can handle people and even young boys with drums dancing the Punta (on the tips of their feet), but the 4x4s vrooming up and down the beach was annoying. The pollution, both noise and otherwise takes a bit of the “peaceful day at the beach” out of the equation, but in the end, it was a relaxing few hours and I can’t get enough of the beach, so it cured my weekly craving.

The good news is that I can come here on a day off without much planning. It’s just a 90 minute drive north and we’re there and this time we only got stopped at the checkpoint one way. The officer asked us to roll down the window and check to make sure we were ok and once that was done we were on our way again. A brief stop along the way.

It still amazes me that when I plug in an address here it finds it and a route is created. You know what else amazes me? There is just ONE road to Tela. There is just one road to most places. Coming from a place were there are ALWAYS cars on the road and countless routes can be taken to get from point A to point B, the lack of transportation infrastructure always surprises me in countries like this. I’m not surprised, I just stare at the map in disbelief that there are really no options and my mind wanders thinking about the simplicity of this kind of life — the lack of choices. I think it would ease the stress of driving a bit, no?

Filed Under: All Tagged With: Asia, Basil, Beach, Chicken, Cook, Dinner, Food, Herb, Honduras, Tela

Winding Down

December 28, 2011 By Fran Leave a Comment

It’s time to take a deep breath. The holidays are almost over and things can return to normal. Oh, how I wish that were true. My life has not been consumed by holidays. As a matter of fact, I wouldn’t have known it was time for Christmas or Hanukkah if it weren’t for the few Christmas decorations at the office and the tree and decorations that were put up in the condo for us.

There has been no exposure to the constant hawking of Christmas gifts from the TV because I haven’t turned it on to sit down and watch anything yet.

I tried to find something to watch last weekend and sadly, it was beyond my attention span. I’m sure CNN International is available and if not, the BBC, but I didn’t have the patience to root around with the Channel Up and Down buttons to bother.

Cooking has not been something that’s been happening around here either. I’ve cooked two times. Yes, I said TWICE in the 31 days since I arrived in Honduras!

I seem to have fallen into a routine that has caused me to lose my mojo.

Those two meals I made were … there’s no other way to say it … meh. The first was a chicken dish that came out nearly tasteless and had the look of a pan of anemic chicken thighs.

The next was a Hanukkah meal for my condo-mates. The potato latkes came out like hockey pucks and the brisket was so tender it fell apart into a mass of shredded beef with no liquid left. We all enjoyed it, but I’m not quite sure why.

The thing is, I have lost not only my culinary mojo, but my trabajo de la vida (work life) is suffering as well. I need to get back into my stride, buck up and make things happen. There is good reason for all of it and it’s all about me making the changes needed to turn things around.

I think I have entered the “Honeymoon is over” stage of being an expat. It came quickly this time, but it’s here and time to move past it so we’ll tackle the food mojo issue here.

It’s not my kitchen. I don’t have all the tools I’ve grown accustomed to surrounding me. Hell, I don’t even have one piece of All Clad cookware or a single Global knife in the cabinets. But really, should that matter? Renaissance Italians didn’t have food processors or grill pans to help them create masterpieces in the kitchen. A Chinese kitchen doesn’t necessarily have a gas stove to stir fry on. Sometimes the most incredible food comes from the most primitive equipment.

Take this most basic cast iron pan with a make-shift stove top resting on a few pieces of charcoal.

The fish that was frying in that well used pan looked incredible and I would love to have tried it because you know it was just fished out of the sea or the lagoon just a few steps from the fire, but I’ll have to save that experience for another time. It’s not like me to ask someone to give up part of their dinner.

I’d say the best thing to come out of the kitchen on Sunday night was this simple steamed broccoli, olive oil and smoked almonds dish and sadly, I didn’t make it. The second best thing to come out of that kitchen was the home made applesauce. It was missing just one thing, but we did fine without it — Cinnamon. I think I may have a jar in the box that’s still sitting in Customs. One day I’ll see it. I just know it!

My contributions to dinner — brisket and potato pancakes were nothing short of disappointing, but we were so desperate to be eating at home without the hassle of choosing a restaurant, navigating our way through the menu, ordering in halting Spanish and coming home at 10:30 at night, that we dove into our meal and enjoyed it like it was our last meal on earth.

By this weekend I’ll be in my own apartment. I will have gone to the local department store to shop for what I need in my kitchen, while I wait for a water cooler to arrive I’ll pick up a case of bottled water and I’ll stock my pantry and fridge with what I need to create delicious and healthy meals at my own hands.

Yes, life is starting to calm down at the office and I’m feeling a bit more tranquility and comfort at both work and home.

Saturday is New Year’s Eve and while I don’t have any big plans, I do plan to ring in the new year with a smile and a nod to 2011. And no, I don’t think the world is going to come to a screeching halt on December 21, 2012, but I have plans. Big plans. I’m only a few hours from one of the largest remains of Mayan civilization in the world and the quaint little town outside of the ruins has some incredible hotels or B&Bs to stay in, so I plan to make reservations this month to head to the Copán next year and stay in the town of Copán Ruinas to see what happens on the day the world is supposed to come to an end.

I’ll bet I won’t be the only one! The whole town is sold out this weekend, so I can only imagine what next year holds. As a matter of fact, I wonder if there is any room in town or if everyone is staying home to be near loved ones while they wait for the lights to go out on the earth. Time will tell, but in the meantime, there’s no reason for me not to get into Mayan calendar fever.

What about you? Do you think the world is going to come to an end in December, 2012?

Filed Under: All, All Posts Tagged With: 2012, Christmas, Cook, Dinner, Food, Hanukkah, Holidays, Mayan Calendar, Potato Latkes

Forgive Me Friends, for I Have Really Gone Off the Rails

November 24, 2011 By Fran Leave a Comment

~~I made a pecan pie.~~ I baked a pecan pie for tomorrow’s Thanksgiving Feast at my friend’s house. I had every intention of making something from scratch, but then things happened.

I had to take care of so many items on a long task list before I move that there is simply no time. Also, I’ve cleared out the kitchen, so there are no ingredients to make a dessert with, or much of anything else, for that matter. By this time in the season I would have roasted a turkey or a turkey breast a least once, but it wasn’t in the cards so I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s deliciousness even more! Control is the keyword of the day.

What’s a person to do when you’re responsible for dessert on one of the best food holidays of the year … Hit up your local supermarket and Williams-Sonoma!

I purchased a frozen pie crust and the the Pecan Pie Filling from Williams-Sonoma which is pretty darn delicious. It tastes to me as though they use Golden Syrup — it’s got that buttery smooth texture and taste.

I’m not gonna lie, I loved having to do nothing more than pull out a crust from the freezer, pre-bake it for a little while, beat a few eggs, melt a little butter, pour in the filling and bake a while.

The thought of doing anything else was overwhelming and in my state of sleep deprivation and a multitude of vaccinations and errands today, this was the best possible answer.

I doubt anyone will complain tomorrow. Isn’t that right, Miller Clan?

And now for the bad news. One slice of this pie will cost you FOURTEEN valuable Weight Watchers Plus Points. Eeek! That’s 1/2 a day of eating on a 29 point plan. Worth it? Probably not. I’d rather eat my points in Turkey, Gravy, Stuffing, Sweet Potatoes, Cranberries and a Vegetable, thank you very much.

And that’s it from Virginia. Next time you “hear” from me I’ll be in my new home — Honduras. I wonder if they do pecan pie down there?

Filed Under: All, All Posts Tagged With: Dinner, Honduras, Moving, Pecan Pie, Thanksgiving, Time

Chicken Piccata

November 6, 2011 By Fran 1 Comment

Try this meal for a treat on a weeknight or make it for guests and everyone will be talking about what a fabulous kitchen magician you are! and it doesn’t have to cost a lot of Weight Watchers Points Plus or calories. Weighing in at just 7 points or 307 calories, it’s a great main dish that so many side dishes go with. I added egg to give it a bit of a Chicken Française touch. If you leave the egg out, subtract a point or count it as just 272 calories.

Keeping cubes of pesto on the freezer and adding a dollop of ricotta cheese to it before adding to a hot pot of pasta is a weeknight trick that you’ll want to keep in your back pocket. Roasting vegetables doesn’t take a lot of time and in just 15 minutes you can have this Chicken Piccata from stovetop to table.

Another trick for your kitchen repertoire is to have capers in your fridge. I pick mine up at Costco in a huge jar. It’s much less expensive than that little jar you find in your local grocery store and they’re packed in brine and have a half-life of about forever, so even though you don’t use them by the cup there’s no need to worry about them going bad before you use the jar.

Chicken Piccata

5 minutes

15 minutes

25 minutes

Yield: 2 Servings

307

Chicken Piccata

This 7 point Weight Watchers Points Plus or 307 calorie chicken dish needs no difficult to find or special ingredients. The capers and lemon give the dish the salt you may want and the dish is tart and delicious.

Ingredients

1 Chicken Breast, no skin, cut in half

1/4 cup Flour, white, 0.25 cup (remove)

1/4 cup Chicken stock, home-prepared

juice of 1 lemon

1 large Egg, lightly beaten

1 tablespoon Capers

1 tablespoon Olive Oil

1/4 cup White Wine

1 sprig Parsley, chopped

Freshly cracked pepper

Instructions

Dredge (dust) the chicken in flour

Heat olive oil in a non stick skillet

When hot, add the chicken and brown on both sides cooking for 4 minutes per side, (longer for thicker chicken breasts)

When just cooked, remove to a plate and cover with foil

Before putting the skillet back on the heat, add the wine

Cook for about 30 seconds to reduce slightly

Add the lemon juice and chicken stock and cook until heated through

Turn off the heat and add the egg, stirring until just cooked through

Return the chicken to the pan

Add the parsley and capers and stir to combine

Add freshly cracked pepper and serve

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Filed Under: All, All Posts Tagged With: Chicken, Cook, Dinner, Food, Piccata, Weight Watchers

Eggs for Dinner — Shakshuka, Try Saying that Three Times Fast

September 24, 2011 By Fran Leave a Comment

How often do you have eggs for dinner? I’ve found myself making eggs for dinner more often in the past 7 months, since I’ve started this Weight Watchers journey than I’ve ever done before.

Eggs are filling. They are full of nutrients. Eggs fit incredibly well into a weight loss program. If you’re on Weight Watchers, one egg will cost you just 2 Weight Watchers Points Plus values. If you’re counting calories, an egg is just 70 calories.

What a bargain! Now, don’t get me wrong, they’re high on the fat scale, so it’s probably not a good idea to eat them everyday, but like all food — moderation is the answer.

I’ve seen recipes for the Israeli dish called Shashuka online and in cookbooks recently and just last night came across the dish twice while catching up on the blog posts that have accumulated in my reader while I’ve been busy driving up and down the East Coast this week. I also ran across it in a fabulous new cookbook I picked up — Plenty,by Yotam Ottolenghi. More on that in a future post.

I went to bed thinking about Shashuka and thought about the dish all day today and although the recipe was right there on page 87 and in a variety of blogs I follow, I decided to make it my own using ingredients I had hanging out in my fridge.

Having been at the beach last weekend and turning right around and heading up to Pennsylvania on business for a few days, there wasn’t much in the produce drawer that was still fresh enough to cook with, but I made it work and it was as delicious as I’d imagined it would be when I was behind my desk putting together reports and wrapping up the week before heading home for the weekend.

As usual, I didn’t stay true to any one recipe. Most of the recipes I ran across called for red and yellow bell peppers which I had in the fridge, but I wasn’t in the mood for that flavor profile, so I used a nice, hot jalapeño instead. It gave the dish a little heat without the power of a bell pepper.

And instead of fresh tomatoes, which I didn’t have, I opened a tin of diced San Marzanos. The result was fabulous and it paired perfectly with a couple of roasted corn tortillas.

You’ve seen this trick here before … many times. It’s the best way to heat a tortilla if you want to reduce the number of points or calories and stay away from added fat. Just be careful — these suckers will go up in flame without warning, so they need your undivided attention.

When you get home from work or school after a busy day and you just don’t feel like futzing around in the kitchen, whip up a pan of Shashuka and tortillas for a satisfying meal that won’t wreck your weight loss progress.

Eggs for Dinner — Shakshuka

15 minutes

30 minutes

45 minutes

Yield: 1 Serving

2 Eggs

Calories per serving: 328

~The Weight Watchers Points Plus value is 9 ~Calories 328 ~Halve the recipe and you've got a hearty brunch ~Add 1 point for each tortilla

Ingredients

1/2 teaspoon Cumin Seeds

2 teaspoons Olive Oil

1 very small Onion, sliced

2 cloves Garlic, smashed

1 Jalapeño Pepper, diced

1 12 ounce tin of plain, diced tomatoes -- preferably fire roasted

1/2 teaspoon ground Cumin

1/2 teaspoon dried Thyme or 1 sprig Thyme Leaves

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground Black Pepper

1/2 teaspoon Sea Salt

2 teaspoons Demerara or Brown sugar

2 Eggs

1/4 cup fresh Cilantro, roughly chopped, divided

Instructions

In a small pan, or casserole, dry fry the cumin seeds for 2 minutes on medium heat

Add oil

Add onion, garlic and jalapeño pepper and cook until translucent (sweat) for 1 - 2 minutes -- take care not to brown the onion or garlic

Add tomatoes, herbs (reserving a sprinkle of cilantro), salt and pepper and stir to combine

Simmer for 15 minutes, stirring and reducing the sauce until the tomatoes break down, adding water to thin the sauce if necessary

Taste for seasoning and adjust as necessary

Making a small indentation in the sauce with the back of a spoon, taking care not to clear the sauce to the bottom of the pan -- you want to cook the egg on top of the sauce, not on the pan

Carefully crack an egg onto the top of the sauce

A few inches apart, crack another egg

Cover and cook for 8 - 10 minutes, or until the egg is set and still shimmies when you move the pan

Remove from the heat, sprinkle the remaining cilantro on top and serve with roasted or steamed corn tortillas

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Filed Under: All, All Posts, Internationally Inspired Tagged With: Dinner, Eggs, Low Calorie, Tomatoes, Weight Watchers

Sauce it Up with Barilla and a ThinRecipes Giveaway!

August 25, 2011 By Fran 10 Comments

Making this side dish is easy, especially when you’ve got a “helper.” And welcome help is what I received with a package that arrived recently from Barilla.

Barilla, a sponsor at the BlogHerFood conference in Atlanta in May, shipped out a box of their new sauces, bags to carry them in, a good looking Apron and a wooden spoon.

Leaving the house at 6am, returning at 5pm and putting dinner on the table sometimes calls for what I like to call “helpers” in the kitchen and Barilla was my helper of choice last night — along with a sleeve of polenta.

While I get great satisfaction in creating food from scratch, with a busy lifestyle that has me leaving the house at 6:00am and returning at 5:00pm, sometimes I need a bit of help. I keep at least one jar of marinara sauce in the pantry and it was great to receive this Barilla package to try out a wide variety of new sauces.

Before the recipe and giveaway details, a little information. Barilla has reformulated their sauces using all natural ingredients and there are eight to choose from. I tried the Napoletana. It is a Roasted Garlic Sauce. It has a rich flavor with a thick texture and chunks of tomatoes. The garlic flavor was strong enough to let you know garlic is in there, but is not overpowering, which I appreciate.

These are the sauces I received:

Arrabbiata: Spicy Marinara
Basilico: Tomato and Basil
Calabrese: Sweet Peppers
Formaggi: Three Cheese
Marinara: Traditional
Montanara: Mushroom and Garlic
Toscana: Tuscan Herb

The best part is that it fits well in my weight loss program. I’ve got a number of recipes up my sleeve, but for this first outing with these sauces, I kept it simple. The sleeves of polenta shave a lot of time off what would be a somewhat laborious and time consuming project in the kitchen after work and not having to cook down tomatoes, herbs and seasonings on the stove gave me much more time to relax after dinner.

And now for the contest …

One winner will receive a Barilla Apron, Wooden Spoon and a Jar of Sauce — your choice of one of the sauces listed above.

I’ll choose a winner using a random number generator. Entering is simple All you need to do to receive this package is leave a comment below letting us know what you’d like to make with the sauce of your choice. One comment per person. Please include an email address so I can contact the winner. You’ll get another chance to enter by “liking” ThinRecipes on Facebook. The contest closes at midnight, Eastern Daylight Time, Saturday, August 27th. Good luck!!

There will six more sauces available to giveaway in the weeks to come, so stay tuned.

Barilla Polenta Rounds

Recipe Type: Side Dish

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 10 mins

Total time: 20 mins

Serves: 1

Putting dinner together with a delicious sauce like this and polenta discs cut from a tube makes an dinner side dish or a satisfying lunch quick and easy

Ingredients

Olive Oil Spray
4 slices prepared Polenta
1 slice Provolone Cheese, cut in quarters
1/4 cup Barilla Sauce
1 tablespoon Parmesan Cheese, grated

Instructions

Using Olive Oil spray, lightly coat a nonstick skillet.
Add the polenta slices to the pan and cook over medium heat, browning evenly.
Meanwhile, in a small saucepan or microwave bowl, heat the sauce.
Turn and brown on the other side.
Add a piece of cheese to each slice just before the polenta is done.
Remove the polenta slices to a serving plate and spoon sauce on top.
Finish with a sprinkle of Parmesan Cheese and serve.

Serving size: 4 Rounds Calories: 160

Notes

You’ll spend 5 Weight Watchers Points Plus or 160 calories for this delicious dish. Enjoy!

**Full Disclosure: Barilla provided the products for me to try and to tell you all about them. I have not received any compensation for writing this post and the opinions are my own.

Filed Under: All, From Italy Tagged With: Barilla, Calories, Diet, Dinner, Polenta, Sauce, Weight Watchers

Have You Had a Plumcot?

August 17, 2011 By Fran 1 Comment

Over the course of the past few years I’ve run across a few varieties of fruit that I’ve never heard of before, like the Plumcot. Before I reached into the bin at my the supermarket and picked it up, I had no idea what a Plumcot was. It looked like a golden colored plum which I figured was a hybrid of a plum and an apricot and this made it very intriguing. I put three in my cart and as I strolled around the market finishing my shopping, I thought about what I’d do with it.

That’s when a Plumcot Tart came to mind. This dessert is so quick and easy you can whip one up and have a warm Plumcot Tart for a weeknight dessert.

I was having a friend over for dinner and knew it would be the perfect end to a simple summer dinner. We didn’t need anything complicated to finish the meal. This tart was just right.

I adapted a Weight Watchers Apple Tart recipe by adding a few spoonfuls of my version of Apricot Compote and I used less sugar. I found the recipe in a Weight Watchers cookbook a few months ago, and while I can’t find a copy of it, I was able to recreate the dessert with ease. There are just few ingredients, as you’ll see in the recipe below.

The definition of a compote is fruit stewed with sugar or in a syrup and sometimes with a splash of alcohol, but mine had none of that. I had a container of perfectly ripe apricots and needed to do something with them so I put them in a small saucepan, unpeeled and let them simmer until they broke down.

Once they began to slump in the pan I scooped out the pits and threw them away. After tasting the fruit I decided it needed just a bit of sugar so I added 1/2 packet of Truvia. I’d never used it in baking before and didn’t want to ruin the fresh fruit flavor. It was that perfect sweet-tart flavor. If you don’t want to use a sugar substitute or real sugar, a 1/4 cup of fresh orange juice will give you the sweet lift you’re looking for. Cook until you can mash the fruit and you’re done. And a bonus for those of you with babies — stewing fruit in this manner (without the sugar substitute) makes quick baby food. Buzz it in a food processor or with a stick blender and you have a treat your child is not likely to turn their nose up at.

So, as the tart was finishing up in the oven I got a wild hair and decided a few spoonfuls of that sweet-tart Apricot Compote needed to become part of this tart. I guess I was just a little off my game. It tasted incredible, but the apricots would have been just as delicious and more visually appealing on the bottom of the tart shell, and as I was spreading the compote on the plumcots I realized my mistake. I have one more shell left in the freezer, and more stone fruit on the counter, so I’ll make another and share it with neighbors! Oh yes, I know my limits.

The rest of dinner was delicious as well. We feasted on Mexican flavored Chicken Burgers using my friend Stephanie of Copycat Recipes’ Taco Seasoning recipe, Corn on the Cob with Queso Fresco and Cilantro and a Stacked Caprese Salad inspired by David Leite’s Tomato and Basil Tower post. I wasn’t true to that recipe either, but loved how it looked in his post and made it my own by slicing an heirloom tomato into thick “steaks” and layering with fresh mozzarella and basil. A little good quality extra virgin olive oil, a drizzle of quality balsamico (tradizionale, if you can spring for it), freshly cracked black pepper ground Himalayan salt and we had a summer vegetable to round out the meal. Next time, I’ll try it the way the recipe intended — blanching and peeling the tomato and no cheese, but this version worked well. Truth be told, I just plain forgot that step! Ah people … don’t let your brain turn to mush, ok?

Ok, you caught me! I decided to make it my way one more time this week to have with dinner and I have to be honest, I like the resistance and the slightly tart zing that lies just beneath the skin. Next week I’ll hit up the farmers market and find a beautifully round specimen to blanch. Promise. Oh, and I’ll plate it more beautifully. My poor tomatoes are a little sad.

Plumcot and Apricot Tart

Prep time: 15 mins

Cook time: 40 mins

Total time: 55 mins

Serves: 6

A stone fruit tart like this is the perfect ending to a refreshing summer meal.

Ingredients

1 frozen Puff Pastry sheet, thawed
3 tablespoons Apricot compote (optional)
4 tablespoons granulated sugar, divided
zest of 1 Lemon
2 Fresh Plmucots, cut into wedges

Instructions

Separate 1 tablespoon of sugar and place in a bowl.
Spray the bottom of the tart pan with baking spray.
Carefully unfold the pastry sheet and roll it to fit your tart pan. A removable bottom tart pan that is 9″ square or a rectangular pan like I have will work with one pastry sheet.
Lightly flour your work surface and a rolling pin and roll the pastry to overhang the rim of the pan slightly.
Using your rolling pin, roll off the extra dough.
If using apricot compote, brush the fruit on top of the dough.
Sprinkle with1 tablespoon of sugar.
Place plum slices in the pan, lining them up, evenly.
Set aside.
Mix the remaining sugar with lemon zest and sprinkle on top of the plumcots. The sugar will clump, but once it begins cooking, will melt into the tart.
Bake at 400º for 40 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and the plums are cooked through and bubbling.
The plum cots will likely give off a lot of liquid, but will “gel” during the end of the cooking time.
Allow to cool before serving.

Serving size: 1/6th Calories: 102.3 Fat: 0.8g Carbohydrates: 18.1g Fiber: 0.1g Protein: 0.7g

Notes

One slice of this tart will cost you just 3 Weight Watchers points 102.3 calories

Filed Under: All Posts, Chicken, From Mexico, Totally American Tagged With: Apricot, Baby Food, Chicken Burger, Compote, Diet, Dinner, Fruit, Low Calorie, Tart, Tomato Stack, Tomato Tower, Weight Watchers

A Thin Recipe Week in Review with a Video

June 20, 2011 By Fran 6 Comments

This was a colorful week. In many respects. It started with a bit of an experiment. An egg poached in a plastic bag dropped into a pot of water. Good idea. Poor execution. You’ll see in the video below that I had to do a bit of trim work to try to make the egg look like, well … an egg rather than a white tube with a yellow spot. I prefer the texture of an egg poached the traditional way — in a pot of boiling water.

Mid week, a spectacular double rainbow accompanied me on the way to work and while friends tell me it marks an auspicious occasion, I’m still waiting for that propitious event. I’ll let you know when it happens. I hope you plan to follow me for a while — I have a feeling it might be a while.

In other news, I had a date with the scale this morning, as I do every Sunday morning and I decided I’d better go light for dinner the night before.

Another crack at a quinoa cake with a poached egg and my new favorite condiment — Peruvian Aji Verde (recipe below) hit the spot, although I’m still not in love with the quinoa cake thing. I think I’m hoping it will have the taste and texture of a potato pancake, but it’s missing a fairly important component… frying in oil!

After the weigh-in breakfast ensued. It wasn’t a heavy Sunday brunch affair. Those meals are a thing of the past, but somewhere in the week I apparently overdid it because I managed to put on 4/10ths of a pound. ACK! Stop that now! It could be worse. To date, I’ve lost an average of 1.1 lbs. a we ek! Sure, more would be great — better even, but I’m still smiling and feeling so much better.

I decided to continue on the lean eating after the weigh-in and during my usual trip to Trader Joe’s after the meeting I picked up an interesting Vegetable-Rice Bento Box from the frozen food department. It wasn’t the best Japanese food I’d ever had … ok, maybe it was among the worst Japanese food I’d ever tested, but it satisfied my hunger. I’d finally broken down and eaten at the Sushi carousel at the mall the day before and while it is a cool idea, it was obviously mall food and while not great, like the bento box, my 4 small plates satisfied me without an overabundance of food. I’d forgotten to take a look at the rate sheet and had no idea how much I was paying for each plate. The waitstaff tallies the number of plates in each color category to come up with your total and I didn’t want to spend a ton on lunch in either points or dollars since I was a big points-spender at breakfast before heading to the mall.

A home made waffle and a bit of maple syrup accompanied by a couple of rashers of turkey bacon added up to a whopping 11 point breakfast. That left me with just 18 points for the rest of the day. Not a killer. Just something to keep in mind and I guess it was just too much for the day before a weigh-in, although really … does a gain happen in real time? Right, I don’t think so either. That waffle and syrup may yet find their way to the scale.

I’d say it was a deliciously colorful week and I’m looking forward to what next week will bring.

Have you had Aji Verde? How about Peruvian food? It’s my current favorite cuisine!

Peruvian Aji Verde

Recipe Type: Condiment

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 2 mins

Total time: 12 mins

This tangy, slightly spicy sauce is great with just about anything.

Ingredients

1 large bunch fresh Cilantro
1/4 cup Flat Leaf Parsley
1/2 small Onion
3 fresh Jalapeño Peppers, ribs and seeds removed
2 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 teaspoons Cider Vinegar
Zest of 1 Lime
Juice of 1 Lime
1 teaspoon Sea Salt
1 clove Garlic
2 tablespoons Water

Instructions

Blend all ingredients in a blender, food processor or mortar and pestle until smooth. Add more water, a teaspoon at a time if necessary.
Refrigerate unused sauce.

Serving size: 2 tablespoons Calories: 14.2 Fat: 1.4g Carbohydrates: 0.8g Fiber: 0.1g Protein: 0.2g

Notes

This sauce is so versatile, you’ll find yourself using it on almost everything once you’ve gotten a taste of it.

This condiment has a Weight Watchers Points Plus value of 1. Be careful, you’ll find yourself wanting to drink it!

For added body, add 2 tablespoons mayonnaise. Surprisingly, the addition of mayo will not increase the points value. The calories will just about double, however to 32.2.

Filed Under: All Posts, Breakfast, From Asia, From the Sea, Internationally Inspired, Side Dishes, Totally American Tagged With: Aji Verde, Breakfast, Cook, Dinner, Food, Lunch, Peru, Recipe, Video, Weight Watchers

Sesame Seared Tuna for a Light, but Tasty Dinner

May 12, 2011 By Fran Leave a Comment

This Tuna Just Kissed the Pan

If you took a look at this photo without reading the post title or headline, would you have known you were looking at an 8oz. piece of fresh tuna? I’d have thought it was a nice, juicy cut of steak. When cooked well it has the texture of steak too.

I like my tuna to just kiss the pan. A very hot, well seasoned cast iron pan is my recommendation. This time I marinated the fish for 30 minutes and then coated it with black and white sesame seeds which added a pleasant crunch, the kind of crunch you might expect when biting into the char of a steak just pulled off the grill.

But for those of you that prefer your fish cooked, Salad Niçcoise is a delicious way to use a tuna steak that’s cooked through.

And if you’re lucky enough to have access to “sushi grade” fish, sushi, or sashimi is the way to go with tuna. If you’re really lucky and can score some fatty (toro) tuna, and have the funds to pay for it, a little wasabi paste, soy sauce, some pickled daikon radish and cucumber served with sushi rice that you’ve toiled over to get just right is possibly the perfect sumer meal. It’s light, low in points and filling.

And how’s this for exciting … an 8 ounce slice of raw tuna will cost you just 5, yes, that’s FIVE Weight Watchers Points Plus Values or approximately 240 calories! So what’re you waiting for? Go out there, find a trusted fish monger and get yourself a beautiful piece of fresh tuna.

Oh, and by the way, that’s an 8 ounce piece of tuna you see in the photo above. I cut it in half and made two meals out of it.

Sesame Seared Tuna for a Light, but Tasty Dinner

Recipe Type: Main

Prep time: 35 mins

Cook time: 7 mins

Total time: 42 mins

Serves: 1

A fresh piece of tuna can be used in so many ways. Today’s tuna has an Asian flair and is light and easy.

Ingredients

1/3 cup low sodium Soy Sauce
1 ounce Japanese Mirin (sweet rice cooking wine)
2 teaspoons grated, fresh Ginger
1/2 teaspoon Fish Sauce
1/8 teaspoon Sriracha (chili sauce)
4 oz. fresh Tuna
2 teaspoons sesame oil
2 tablespoons Black and White Sesame Seeds to coat top and bottom sides of the tuna

Instructions

Mix the first 5 ingredients in a non-reactive pan.
Add the tuna, cover and marinate for 30 minutes, turning once.
While the tuna is marinating, sprinkle sesame seeds on a plate and stir to combine. Set aside.
Remove from the pan, letting the marinade drain.
Press the tuna into the sesame seeds, turning to coat both sides. It’s not necessary to coat the sides. You’ll be able to watch the sear as the tuna cooks and pull it from the pan when it’s cooked to your liking.
Heat a heavy pan (cast iron works well) on medium high to high.
When hot, add sesame oil.
Place tuna in the pan and cook for 3 minutes, turn and cook additional 4 minutes.
Remove to a plate for serving.

Serving size: 1

Notes

This light and easy dish will cost you just 8 Weight Watchers Points Plus values — if you use the entire 2 tablespoons of sesame seeds. Halve the seeds to gain a point.

Watch the sides of the tuna to see how fast your fish is cooking. Pull from the pan when it’s cooked to the degree of “done” you prefer, leaving it on longer for a less red or pink center.

The Points Plus value for 2 tablespoons of sesame seeds is high. Two tablespoons of sesame seeds is more than you need to coat both the top and bottom sides of the fish, so if you want to be meticulous in your points calculation follow these steps:

Measure 2 tablespoons of sesame seeds onto a plate. Coat the tuna on both sides and place in the hot pan. Measure the amount of seeds remaining on the plate and subtract from the total and that will give you the exact amount of sesame seeds you used.

If you used 1 tablespoon, the Points Plus value will equal — 1. That number triples with 2 tablespoons. Yikes! And it won’t matter if you don’t cover the fish entirely with sesame seeds.

Filed Under: All Posts, From the Sea, Main Dishes Tagged With: Cook, Dinner, Fish, Food, Recipe, Tuna, Weight Watchers

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