Cooking Light Night #3

So....effin.....good! I can get used to this new healthy eating. Made this for gaming group tonight. Excellent reviews all the way around. We made a couple of substitutions: multigrain seeded baguette for the french bread, dijon mustard for the regular mustard, Arugula for the watercress, and fresh fuji apples from the Farmer's Market for the Granny Smith. There are countless possible variations for this recipe but the base idea of it is phenomal.

Smoked Turkey, Brie, Green Apple, and Watercress Sandwich


This baguette sandwich is a meal in itself. Serve it with a glass of crisp Chardonnay.


1 1/2 tablespoons honey
1 1/2 tablespoons mustard
1 (8-ounce) French bread baguette
6 ounces thinly sliced smoked turkey breast
1/4 pound Brie cheese, thinly sliced
1 cup trimmed watercress
1 cup thinly sliced peeled Granny Smith apple
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 350°.

Combine honey and mustard in a small bowl. Cut bread in half lengthwise; place on a baking sheet. Spread honey mixture on bottom half of loaf; top with turkey and cheese. Bake at 350° for 5 minutes or until cheese begins to melt.

Arrange watercress and apple slices onto melted cheese; sprinkle with pepper. Cover with top half of loaf, and cut into 4 portions.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 portion)

CALORIES 337 (29% from fat); FAT 10.7g (sat 5.3g,mono 3.1g,poly 0.7g); IRON 3.5mg; CHOLESTEROL 45mg; CALCIUM 114mg; CARBOHYDRATE 40.8g; SODIUM 926mg; PROTEIN 19.4g; FIBER 2.5g

Cooking Light, AUGUST 2003

Strawberry-Kiwi Salad with Basil


Here we provide the exception to our picnic rule #1--the soupy sauce on this salad is irresistible, especially with angel-food cake "dunkers."


1/4 cup half-and-half
2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 peeled kiwifruit, each cut into 6 wedges
2 cups quartered strawberries (about 1 pint)
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil

Combine first 4 ingredients in a bowl. Add kiwifruit and strawberries; toss well. Cover and chill for 1 hour. Stir in basil just before serving.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 3/4 cup)

CALORIES 90 (23% from fat); FAT 2.3g (sat 1.1g,mono 0.6g,poly 0.4g); IRON 0.7mg; CHOLESTEROL 6mg; CALCIUM 46mg; CARBOHYDRATE 17.8g; SODIUM 157mg; PROTEIN 1.6g; FIBER 3.8g

Cooking Light, APRIL 2001

Midday Quickie

Like most Americans, I have a problem with delay of gratification. I was so excited about our cooking blog and so eager to try a new recipe to share that I actually got up this morning and searched for an exciting new lunch recipe! I knew I would not be around to cook this evening since we are celebrating the wedding of a dear friend and I could not, COULD NOT, wait until tomorrow.

After searching a few of my favorite internet recipe websites I found what I thought to be an exciting lunch combination: Ham and Cheese Breakfast Sandwich with Mango Chutney from www.myrecipes.com and Arugula and Pear Salad with Dijon Sherry Vinaigrette from www.foodnetwork.com. The best part about both of these recipes is that all of the ingredients can be purchased in a single trip to Trader Joes! (However, I recommend not going there at noon on a Saturday like I did.)

The sandwich was delicious. Do not overcook the eggs. This is best when they are still slightly runny to really bind the sandwich together. I will definitely make the sandwich again and cannot wait to try experimenting with different flavored jams and chutneys. As far as the salad goes, it was a nice energy booster with the dark greens (I substituted the fresh spinach I had on hand for the arugula) and great to make this time of year because those Bosc pears are really in season. The vinaigrette itself was mediocre. I sprinkled a little crumbled goat cheese over the top as well for an added treat.

Ham and Cheese Breakfast Sandwich with Mango Chutney

Ingredients

Cooking spray
8 (1/2-ounce) slices soy ham (such as Lightlife) or Canadian bacon
4 large eggs
4 whole-grain English muffins, split and toasted
8 teaspoons mango chutney
3/4 cup (3 ounces) shredded reduced-fat sharp cheddar cheese

Preparation

Preheat broiler.

Heat a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add ham; cook 2 minutes on each side or until lightly browned. Remove from pan; keep warm. Reduce heat to medium; recoat pan with cooking spray. Break eggs into hot pan; cook 1 minute on each side or until desired degree of doneness.

Place muffin halves, cut sides up, on a baking sheet. Spread 2 teaspoons chutney over bottom half of each muffin; top with 2 ham slices, 1 egg, and 1 tablespoon cheese. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons cheese over top half of each muffin. Broil 1 1/2 minutes or until bubbly. Place top halves of muffins over the bottom halves.

Yield

4 servings (serving size: 1 sandwich)

Nutritional Information

CALORIES 334(30% from fat); FAT 11g (sat 4.8g,mono 3.7g,poly 1.5g); PROTEIN 24.8g; CHOLESTEROL 228mg; CALCIUM 380mg; SODIUM 865mg; FIBER 4.7g; IRON 3.4mg; CARBOHYDRATE 34.7g

Robin Vitetta-Miller , Cooking Light, JULY 2003

Arugula and Pear Salad with Dijon Sherry Vinaigrette Recipe courtesy Dave Lieberman Show: Good Deal with Dave Lieberman Episode: Pantry Challenge

1 medium bunch arugula, washed and stemmed 1 Bosc pear 1/4 cup sherry vinegar 2 heaping teaspoons whole grain Dijon mustard 1/3 cup olive oil 1 shallot, minced Kosher salt Freshly ground black pepper 3/4 cup walnuts halves, toasted Add the arugula leaves to a medium bowl. Core and slice the pear into 1/8-inch thick slices and add to arugula. In another small bowl, whisk together vinegar, mustard, olive oil, and shallot. Season with salt and pepper. Toss the arugula and pears with the dressing. Divide the salad between the plates and top with the toasted walnuts. Serve immediately.

So hot my lips went numb!

Sunday night I made Greek Turkey Burgers and after I was done I saw next to it this recipe for Pulled Chicken Sandwiches. Even though it called for Serrano Peppers (which sounded horribly spicey and wound up calling Cindy from the grocery store because I had never heard of them) I thought it looked like a great recipe to make quickly after getting home from a long day's work. Matt gobbled them up. Yes, my lips went numb (and I used jalepenos, significantly less spicey than Serranos) and could only eat half. Be warned, non lovers of spice!

Pulled Chicken Sandwiches
(from Better Homes and Gardens)
http://www.bhg.com/recipes/recipedetail.jsp?recipeId=R100186

Spicey lovers rating: 5 wooden spoons
Non-spicey lovers rating: a metal lid (be sure to have a tall glass of milk nearby)

Ingredients:

* 1 2- to 2-1/4-pound deli-roasted chicken
* 1 tablespoon olive oil
* 1 medium onion, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
* 1/3 cup cider vinegar or white wine vinegar
* 1/2 cup tomato sauce
* 3 to 4 tablespoons seeded and finely chopped fresh red and/or green hot chili peppers
* 2 tablespoons snipped fresh thyme
* 2 tablespoons molasses
* 2 tablespoons water
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 4 sandwich buns, split
* Bread-and-butter pickle slices

Directions:

1. Remove meat from chicken (discard skin and bones). Use two forks or your fingers to pull meat into shreds.

2. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add onion; cook about 5 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally to separate into rings. Add vinegar; cook and stir 1 minute more.

3. Stir in tomato sauce, chile peppers, thyme, molasses, water, and salt. Bring to boiling. Add the chicken; tossing gently to coat. Heat through. Serve on rolls with pickle slices. Makes 6 sandwiches.