Crabmeat Bread Pudding

I saw a version of this recipe in Food & Wine and had to try something that combines two of my daughter's favorite foods: crab and bread pudding. And come to think of it, those are two of mine, as well.
But the F&W recipe was called "Buttery Crab Bread Pudding," and contained not only more than a stick of butter but also a cup of half and half.
Here is a somewhat lighter version, still a rich meal -- and a great hit at dinner this past weekend!

Crab Bread Pudding
Serves 6

Ingredients:
One pound lump crabmeat
2 T chopped fresh parsley
2 T chopped chives
3 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
Dash of cayenne pepper (more or less, to taste)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Smart Balance or other plant-based, non-hydrogenated margarine
One 24-inch whole-grain baguette, or an equivalent amount of crusty, whole-grain bread (somewhat stale bread works best), cut into uniform, 3/4-inch thick slices
5 large eggs
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 cup fat-free half-and-half

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. (Use cooking spray, or some of the margarine, or even a little bit of butter)
In a medium bowl, toss the crabmeat with the parsley, chives, lemon juice and cayenne. Season with a dash of salt and pepper. (Don't overdo the salt.)
Spread each slice of bread with a little margarine and stand up the slices in the prepared baking dish. Spoon the crab mixture evenly between the bread slices.
In a bowl, whisk the eggs with the milk, half-and-half, and a little salt and pepper. Pour the custard evenly over the bread and let stand for 10-15 minutes.
Bake the bread pudding for 30 minutes, until the top is lightly browned and the custard is set.
Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Note: This dish goes perfectly with a French chardonnay, or one from California that isn't too oaky.

Top Ten Things You Can Do for a Healthier 2012

Here's a recap of my healthy foodie rules for living the good life -- a life that is healthy, of course, but also happy and fulfilled.
Few of us will be able to live up to these goals all the time, but I do think it's worth trying, most of the time.

Scroll down to older posts if you want to read details or tips for how to build these principles into your daily life.

Have a great 2012!

Pama (l) with her trainer

1. Eat at home, and cook your food. (That way, you'll know what you're eating)
2. Eat 9 servings of fruits & veggies every day. (There's virtually no upper limit on how many of these good foods you should incorporate into your way of life.)
3. Exercise 45-60 minutes a day. (Take a break once or twice a week, but otherwise -- move your butt!)
4. Avoid supermarket and fast-food meats. (Cut back on red meat overall, too.)
5. Minimize liquid calories. (Not easy if you are a wine-lover like I am!)
6. Eat good fats. (Don't cut out fat altogether, but choose carefully.)
7. Snack smart. (Avoid the vending machines.)
8. Monitor your health. (See doctors when needed.)
9. Take it easy at restaurants. (Eating out is fun, but don't go overboard.)
10. Eat breakfast every day. (That old advice is good advice.)

Sommelier Showdown -- fun food and wine event

The wine store/catering business in O'Bryonville called Art of Entertaining hosts cooking classes, wine tastings, grill-outs (in good weather) and all sorts of other parties, but for my money the best thing they do is an occasional "Sommelier Showdown" in which three local wine experts compete to see who can devise the most harmonious wine pairings with an array of dishes produced by the Art of Entertaining chef and assistants.

Charles Redmond won the night!

This week was the first such competition this year -- they did a couple last year -- and the owners promised to make it quarterly in 2012. I had attended the final one of 2011 sometime in the fall and had such a grand time, I knew to sign up right away for this one.

Mary Horn (two-time defending Sommelier Showdown champ), Jennifer Stewart and Charles Redmond were the wine experts who delighted a house full of participants on January 24th.

FIRST COURSE, in photo: Fennel and orange salad with poached lobster and tarragon vinaigrette (best wine pairing went to Charles' 2008 Raventos Reserva Cava) --
SECOND COURSE: Pan seared trout with pickled grape, corn puree, daikon and ginger (Charles selected a Kabinett Riesling that was the winner with this course)
THIRD COURSE: Seared duck breast with cherry demi, Brussel sprouts, bacon hash and star anise (Mary's 2009 Catena malbec won this round, but I preferred, and bought a bottle of, Jennifer's Austrian red wine called St. Laurent, a cousin to pinot noir).
FOURTH COURSE: Braised short rib with celery root horseradish puree (Charles took the honors again with his 2009 Domaine de Fontsainte Corbierres).

The champ for the night was Charles Redmond -- who currently delights diners at Orchid's restaurant downtown -- with Jennifer Stewart coming in second and Mary Horn losing her crown, at least for now.

Be sure to contact Art of Entertaining to get on their mailing list if you'd like to know when they do this again. My friends and I thought it was a grand time!

And finally -- one more idea for making 2012 a healthy, happy year

Healthy Foodie Rule #10: Eat Breakfast Every Day

If you don't already follow this important healthy-foodie rule -- what's your excuse?

That is: always start your day with a healthy breakfast. Even a less-than-healthy breakfast (bacon and the like) is better for weight control than none at all.

Here's some advice from Real Age  about the importance of breakfast when it comes to staying (or becoming) slim:

Ever skip breakfast, secretly hoping you'll fit into your jeans better if you do?
It's a natural thought. Less food in your belly means more room in your waistband, right? Think again. New research shows that skirting the ritual of a morning meal can totally sabotage your waistline by setting you up for minimal calorie burn and a bigger appetite throughout the day.

Break Your Fast

In fact, breakfast skippers are twice as likely as breakfast eaters to pile on pounds, according to the study results. It may be because energy-deprived breakfast skippers tend to be less active throughout the day, so they burn fewer calories. On top of that, when people skip breakfast, their blood levels of ghrelin -- a hunger-inducing hormone -- creep higher, upping the odds of downing a supersized meal or high-calorie treat later in the day.

More Breakfast Boons

Here's yet another potential benefit of eating breakfast: a richer, happier life. Yes, really! In the study, people who often skipped their a.m. meal reported bigger drops in vitality, social functioning, and mental and emotional well-being compared with the breakfast eaters. So belly up to the breakfast table each morning. You'll look better and feel better if you do.

A better you in 2012: Tip #9

Healthy Foodie New Year's Tip #9: Have and follow a strategy when you eat out.
Here are a few ideas for making dining out a fun, rewarding experience that won't spoil your resolutions for a leaner, healthier new year.

Before You Go

Don’t arrive starving! Eat a little healthy fat -- like about six walnut halves -- before a meal. The healthy fat in walnuts triggers a chain reaction that slows the rate at which your stomach empties, so you’ll feel fuller faster. But the chain reaction takes 30 minutes, so plan for it.

The First 10 Minutes

• Raise a glass. Of water. To your lips. This can fill you up, so you don’t overeat.
• Ask for cut-up veggies instead of bread. Most quality restaurants (including inexpensive ones) provide this option.
• Dip in olive oil. If you can't get veggies and the restaurant brings you bread, dip it in olive oil. People who opt for this over butter eat less bread. And if the bread-basket includes choices, go for the browner, whole-grain stuff.
• Request the bottles. Order oil and vinegar on the side. Relying on the kitchen to dress your salad -- even with oil and vinegar -- can deliver as many as 450 extra calories. If you want a more elaborate dressing, ask for it on the side and use the tiniest bit possible.

The Last 10 Minutes

• Share. Get one dessert for every four or five people, and have just a few bites. If there are just two of you, take half of the dessert home, and freeze it for a special occasion.
• Savor your wine. Ending a meal with a glass of wine lets you avoid the cloying aftertaste of sweets . . . and helps you avoid calorie-bombs, too. Sometimes a foamy (decaf) cappucino can be satisfying, too. 
• Go European. Do what many Europeans do: Make salad the last thing you eat.

More ideas for a healthy new year: Tip #8

Healthy Foodie Rule #8: SNACK SMART

I don't skip meals, and I don't skips snacks, either.

While not all nutritionists agree about the wisdom of snacking, I find it helps me keep from eating too much at mealtime.

The key, of course, is to choose your snacks wisely. Having healthful snacks at hand makes it far less likely you'll grab a coworker's cookies or hit the vending machines.

One snack strategy is to make up several days' worth of raw veggie and fruit snacks, put them in single serving zip-lock plastic bags and so that I can grab one when needed.

My baggies usually include slices of orange bell pepper, crispy-sweet sugar snap peas, and apple slices. In summer, I'll find a substitute fruit for the apples.

What else to snack?

I'm a huge fan of Trader Joe's peanut butter pretzels, the variety with "no salt on the pretzel." You still get salt in the PB itself, so you won't feel deprived of a salty snack. At the same time, you won't be overdoing the sodium.

In the evenings I want something sweet, so I might go for a few squares of dark chocolate -- a favorite "everyday" chocolate is Lindt's Intense Orange. Stopping at 3-4 squares can be a challenge, though, so don't go there if your tendency is to eat the whole bar.

Otherwise, I like the single serving puddings you can find in the dairy case--Kozy Shack rice pudding or chocolate pudding are both quite good. And no temptation to eat too much, since it's portion controlled.

Other recommended snacks -- choose the ones you like best -- include a container of low-fat or fat-free, no sugar added yogurt; a handful of no-salt-added nuts; a small bowl of cereal with skim milk; crackers with a smear of crunchy, natural peanut butter.

Smart snacking can help keep your blood sugar level, your energy on an even keel, and minimize the danger of falling off the healthy foodie wagon!

Advice for a healthy new year -- continued

Healthy Foodie New Year Tip #7: MONITOR YOUR HEALTH

Even if you follow all the best health habits to the letter, you can't control every variable. Genetics (family health history) plays a huge part in our fate, and those factors are totally out of our control.

Therefore, be sure to get regular checkups and all recommended screening tests for your age and gender. Pay attention to your body and don't ignore feelings that you know in your gut aren't right. In the spring of 2010 I noticed rather suddenly that my usual exercise routing caused a great deal of fatigue. If I walked up one of the hills in my neighborhood as I'd done countless times before, it seemed as though I were trying to scale Everest. So I'd drive to a flatter part of my 'hood and try to get my exercise there; even that had me out of breath within a short distance. Long story short: two of three major arteries were 90% or more blocked and I ended up with four stents in those arteries. It was shocking, but not surprising given my family history (dad dead at 58 of heart disease, brother with triple-bypass in his early 50s).

So even those of us good health habits can have life-threatening health challenges well before old age.  Never take your good health for granted!