Poulet Saute a la Bordelaise -- lightened up a bit

From the great food author Elizabeth David's classic book "French Provincial Cooking," her chicken sauteed with shallots and artichoke hearts used to be in my repertoire, especially for company. (It was the first meal I cooked for the man who became my husband, it so happens.) But it calls for a whole chicken, cut up (with skin and bones), along with 6 tablespoons of butter. It had dropped out of my repertoire some years ago.
This weekend I resurrected it for a dinner party, but used breasts only -- with a little skin left on for flavor -- and substituted canola oil for the butter, and not cut back to four tablespoons. We also had a vegetarian entree (two of our guests were not meat-eaters), so I had the butcher cut the large chicken breasts in half. If the chicken pieces are large, this recipe easily will serve six.

One more note: look for free range chicken raised humanely, hormone free, and no water added to the meat. It's not easy to find this kind of chicken, and you're never really sure what you're getting, no matter what the label says. I bought mine at Whole Foods, where the head of the meat department assured me that "all our chicken is free-range."

Recipe: Poulet Saute a la Bordelaise/Sauteed chicken with shallots and artichoke hearts

Ingredients:
Four large bone-in split chicken breasts, cut in half
4 T canola oil
2 cups whole peeled shallots--cut in half lengthwise if they are very large
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 bay leaves
1 12-ounce package frozen artichoke hearts, defrosted and drained
1/2 cup chicken stock

Instructions:
Wash the chicken pieces and trim any visible fat and extra skin. Dry thoroughly with paper towels.
Heat 3 T of the oil in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Brown the chicken--a few pieces at a time, if necessary (don't crowd the pan)--on all sides, starting with the skin side down. When the pieces become brown, remove to a plate and tent with foil.
Add the shallots to the pan and stir well as you cook them. When they start to brown, return the chicken to the pan. Season with salt and pepper, lay the bay leaves on top and cover the pan.
Reduce the heat to medium-low and cover the pan. Every 7-8 minutes, spoon the pan juices over the chicken.
Meanwhile, heat the remaining 1 T oil in a smaller skillet. Add the artichoke hearts and stir well. Season with salt, cover the pan and cook over low heat for 8-10 minutes, or until the hearts are tender.
After the chicken has cooked about 15 minutes, remove the pieces from the skillet and arrange them on a platter with the shallots and artichoke hearts. Discard the bay leaves.
Pour the chicken stock into the large skillet and boil over high heat, scraping the pan drippings. Boil for a couple of minutes until the stock reduces to about 1/3 cup. Pour over the chicken and serve at once.

Snowed in? Bake cookies!

Let me say up front: I am not a baker. My mother had the knack--pies were her specialty--but I've never become adept at using the oven. But on the relatively rare occasions when I've been housebound due to weather, something compels me to dig through my cabinets, pull out the ingredients for oatmeal cookies, and bake up a batch. I just used the recipe from the oats box.

If the idea appeals to you, here's what Quaker Oats' website now posts as their Famous Oatmeal Cookies recipe. To the best of my memory, this is the one I used to make--in those days, using Crisco, which I now know to avoid due to its heart-unhealthy trans-fats. (Quaker now says to use vegetable shortening made without trans-fats.) The batter tastes as good or better than the baked cookie, but it's dangerous to eat raw eggs so beware of dipping your finger too many times into the mixing bowl.

While the cookies are cooling, go out and shovel your walkway to counteract the calories you're going to consume.

Stay safe!

Recipe: Quaker's Famous Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 3/4 cup trans-fat free vegetable shortening
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3 cups Quaker® Oats (quick or old fashioned, uncooked)
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt (optional)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In large bowl, beat brown sugar, shortening and granulated sugar on medium speed of electric mixer until creamy.
Add egg, water and vanilla; beat well.
Add combined oats, flour, salt and baking soda; mix well.

Drop dough by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake 9 to 11 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Remove to wire rack. Cool completely. Store tightly covered.

Note: Improve the final product by adding 1/2 cup of raisins, golden raisins and/or chocolate chips to the batter before dropping onto the cookie sheets.

Winter fruit salad with fennel

Grapefruit and orange are still at the peak of their season, and fennel (also called anise) also peaks in winter. Now is the perfect time to make this delicious salad. A generous sprinkling of toasted, chopped nuts adds monounsaturated fat--the healthiest kind!
This citrus and fennel salad would make a lovely contrast to the lentil soup, below. I'd serve the salad as a first course, then follow with this or another soup or a hearty stew.

Recipe: Citrus Salad with Fennel and Walnuts
(Serves 2-3; can be doubled)

Ingredients:
For the salad:
1 large orange, peeled (no white pith remaining) and sectioned
1 large or two small grapefruits, prepared the same as the orange
1/2 fennel bulb, stalks and outer layer discarded, cut into thin slices
1/3 cup toasted walnuts, coarsely chopped

For the dressing:
Juice from the orange and grapefruit (drain off as much as you can from the sections, and squeeze the remaining fruit well after you have sectioned them)
1 bunch fresh basil, chopped coarsely (about 1/4 to 1/3 cup when chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup olive oil, or a mixture of olive and walnut oil
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

Instructions:

1. For the salad: Combine orange, grapefruit and fennel in a bowl. Stir well. Drain off as much juice as possible to add to the dressing. Stir in walnuts and set aside.
2. For the dressing: Put all ingredients except oil(s) in a food processor and pulse until basil is chopped. Add oil slowly with processor running. The dressing will be thin, not creamy.
3. Pour dressing over salad and stir well. Serve!

Easy lentil soup for a snowy weekend

It looks like much of the Midwest and Northeast are in for a snowstorm this weekend. Before the stuff hits, be sure to pick up the ingredients for this hearty soup. My favorite grocer, Trader Joe's, sells cooked lentils in their refrigerated-produce section. Using them makes the soup come together really fast!

Recipe: Easy Vegetable and Lentil Soup
Serves 4-6

Ingredients
3 T canola oil
2 cups chopped onions, celery and carrots
1 12-ounce package sliced mushrooms
1 large clove garlic, chopped
4 cups vegetable stock or broth
1 cup fresh green beans, cut into one-inch pieces
1 large can diced tomatoes, preferably no-salt-added
2 cups cooked lentils
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
1 teaspoon dried thyme
Salt and black pepper, to taste (add at table or to pot)

2 cups fresh arugula or spinach, coarsely chopped

Instructions
Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onions, celery and carrots. Cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently, until veggies soften and start to brown a little. Add mushrooms and garlic and cook another 3-4 minutes, stirring often.
Add remaining ingredients except spinach or aruglula and stir well. Cover and bring the soup to a low boil, then remove cover and cook until the green beans are tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in greens (arugula or spinach) and cook another 1-2 minutes, just until greens wilt. Serve immediately.

Serve with crackers, hearty whole-grain bread or brown rice.

Food rules to live by

This is the most-emailed article on today's New York Times website--an article by health writer Jane Brody that summarizes Michael Pollan's most recent book, Food Rules.
Great advice for our personal, our society's and our planet's health.

Bison/Dark Beer Chili -- for Super Bowl Sunday

Looking for a hearty, one-pot, crowd-pleasing meal to have on Sunday?
Try this chili recipe that uses a lower-fat red meat, plenty of veggies and beans, and it's all enhanced with a bottle of dark beer--the darker, the better.
Be sure to have some of the same brew on hand to drink with the meal, along with lighter beers for those who prefer them.

Bison contains significantly less fat and saturated fat than beef (or any other meat, for that matter), and it adds a similar flavor to chili, spaghetti sauce, and so on. With two kinds of beans and a little cheese on top, this is a protein powerhouse.

Recipe: Microbrew Bison Chili

Serves 8-10

Ingredients:

3 T canola oil, divided

1 large onion, diced

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

1 red bell pepper, coarsely chopped

2 ribs celery, thinly sliced

½ cup diced green pepper (optional)

3 T good-quality chili powder

½ teaspoon chipotle powder, or more to taste

1 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 15-ounce can kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 large can diced tomatoes, preferably no-salt-added

1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed

1 cup water

1 pound ground bison (buffalo)

1 bottle dark beer, such as stout

Salt, to taste

Instructions:

1. Heat 2 T of the oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add next five ingredients (onion through green pepper) and sauté, stirring frequently, until veggies start to soften, about 4 minutes.

2. Stir in chili and chipotle powders. Add next 5 ingredients (black beans through water) and stir well. Reduce heat to medium, cover pan.

3. Meanwhile, heat the remaining 1 T oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add bison and cook, crumbling meat with a wooden spoon as it cooks. When the meat has no pink left in it, remove with a slotted spoon and add to the chili.

4. Stir in beer, and add more water if you want a more soupy consistency (leave it as is if you prefer stew-like chili). Cover pot, reduce heat to low, and let the chili simmer for at least 15 minutes to let all the flavors combine.

Season with salt to taste.

Serve over rice, with corn chips or (my favorite) cornbread. Pass a bowl of grated jack or cheddar cheese at table.

Mediterreanean foods -- eat more of these!

Here's a list of nine foods that are staples the mega-healthy Mediterranean diet and that we should all be finding ways to include on our own tables. They include some of my favorite ingredients, most of which are easy to find and prepare.

The list is adapted from an article in Eating Well, one of the best food mags out there.

1. Broccoli rabe (also called rapini) -- an Italian green (pictured, right) that's loaded with vitamins and antioxidants. To remove any sharp bitterness, blanch a coarsely chopped bunch in boiling water for a couple of minutes, drain and saute in 2T canola oil with a bit of minced garlic added right before you take the pan off the heat. Serve as a side dish with grilled fish or meat, or toss with pasta.

2. Chickpeas (garbanzo beans) -- if you eat hummus, you're eating chickpeas. They're also good on salads or added to cooked veggies or soups. Just be sure to drain and rinse the canned beans--as you would any canned beans--to remove excess salt.

3. Couscous -- whole wheat versions are the healthiest, and the big bonus here is in convenience. No cooking required--just soak in boiling water -- or follow package directions.

4. Eggplant -- an amazingly versatile veggie, can be prepared a thousand ways. Just search the 'Net until you find a recipe you like.

5. Hazelnuts -- though most nuts will substitute. You should eat some nuts every day, really.

6. Olive oil -- a healthy foodie's staple

7. Peppers -- green, yellow, orange, red or purple, they're good raw or cooked. These are even more versatile than eggplant. I eat raw orange pepper slices literally every day--they make a convenient, tasty and super-healthy snack.

8. Shrimp -- but almost any seafood will suffice. Try to eat fish at least twice a week.

9. Tomatoes -- out of season, go for the canned variety, although I've been trying to find them in other containers after hearing how bad the can-liner substance BPA is for us.

Bon appetit!