"Guacamole with a punch"

Check out this nifty take on guacamole, given real zip with the addition of roasted tomatillos.

I think avocado is one of nature's perfect foods, so it's always nice to find variations on ways to enjoy it! Avocado is chock-full of calories, and adding these chilies and other veggies cuts the dip's calorie tally almost in half....but you still get that luscious, creamy avocado taste.

Recipe: Guacamole with Roasted Tomatillos
Makes about 1 1/2 cups, serving 4-6

Ingredients:

1/2 pound fresh tomatillos, husked

1 jalapeño or 2 to 3 serrano chilies, seeded if desired and roughly chopped

10 cilantro sprigs, plus additional leaves for garnish

Salt to taste

2 small or 1 1/2 large ripe avocados

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice

Instructions:

1. Preheat the broiler. Cover a baking sheet with foil and place the tomatillos on top, stem side down. Broil two to five minutes at the highest rack, until charred on one side. Turn and broil the other side for two to five minutes, until charred. Remove from the heat and transfer to a blender, tipping in any juice that has accumulated on the baking sheet. Add the chilies, cilantro sprigs and salt to the blender and blend to a coarse purée.

2. Peel the avocados and scoop the flesh into a bowl. Mash with a fork or pestle. (Do not use a food processor or a blender so you can retain some texture. Stir in lime juice, tomatillo mixture and salt to taste and combine well. Transfer to a bowl and serve with baked or microwaved tortilla chips or crudités, or use for tacos or avocado sandwiches.

Source: New York Times, 9/13/10

Another quick weeknight dinner (inexpensive,too)

Quesadillas are one of my guilty pleasures, although I rarely indulge in the cheesy ones at restaurants. It isn't just the cheese; what bothers me more is the trans fats in most mass produced tortillas, especially flour tortillas.
When you make quesadillas at home, you can select the best tortillas and control what goes inside them.
Here's a recipe for some very tasty and healthful sandwiches.

NOTE: When selecting tortillas at the store, read the ingredients label and avoid those that say "partially hydrogenated" anything. Even if the nutrition label claims the product has zero grams of trans fat, that's often misleading because it's per serving, and if the designated serving size (usually way less than we'd eat) has less than a gram of trans fat, they can claim "zero" grams. The stuff still adds up, even at .75 grams per serving.

RECIPE: Turkey and Onion Quesadillas
Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 4 10-inch whole-wheat tortillas
• 1 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
• 8 slices deli turkey, preferably smoked (8 ounces)

Preparation

1. Combine onion and vinegar in a bowl; let marinate for 5 minutes. Drain, reserving the vinegar for another use, such as salad dressing.
2. Warm 2 tortillas in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat for about 45 seconds, then flip. Pull the tortillas up the edges of the pan so they are no longer overlapping. Working on one half of each tortilla, sprinkle one-fourth of the cheese, cover with 2 slices of turkey and top with one-fourth of the onion. Fold the tortillas in half, flatten gently with a spatula and cook until the cheese starts to melt, about 2 minutes. Flip and cook until the second side is golden, 1 to 2 minutes more. Transfer to a plate and cover to keep warm. Make 2 more quesadillas with the remaining ingredients.

Adapted from Eating Well magazine

Dinner tonight: inexpensive, tastes and looks great, easy to make (Perfect!)

This pasta dish is a snap to put together, you can feed a family for under $10, and of course it's super healthy.
Fiddle around with the ingredients if you don't like something about the recipe. For instance, cauliflower can substitute for broccoli. And you can add some meat or other protein, such as cut-up rotisserie chicken, without adding much to the cost or taking away the healthful benefits.
The more garlic, the better.........and add as much cheese as your waistline and/or cholesterol numbers will allow.

Recipe: Farfalle with Broccoli and Grape Tomatoes Serves 4

(Note: I used whole-wheat bow ties, or farfalle, but penne or rotini will be good, too)

Ingredients:

4 cups broccoli florets, cut into bite-size pieces

10-12 ounces uncooked pasta, preferably whole grain

2 pint-size containers cherry or grape tomatoes

2 T canola or olive oil, plus cooking spray

3 T minced garlic, or more to taste

½ cup dry white wine or stock

1 tsp dried oregano

Salt and pepper

½ cup grated cheese, such as Parmesan or mozzarella

Instructions:

Cut grape or cherry tomatoes in half and set aside.

In a large pot, heat several quarts of salted water until it comes to a full boil. Add broccoli and let come to a boil again. Add pasta to this pot and cook until pasta is al dente, about 8-10 minutes. Pour mixture through a colander to drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a large frying pan to medium-hot, adding cooking spray as needed, making sure that the bottom of the pan is evenly coated with oil.

Add garlic and cook, stirring, for two minutes. Add wine or stock along with tomatoes. Reduce heat to medium and stir-fry for 3-4 minutes. Add oregano and seasonings, stirring well.

Stir in pasta and broccoli, cover and let mixture simmer for another couple of minutes.

Spoon into serving dishes and sprinkle with the cheese, passing more cheese at table, if desired.

Elk Creek Winery (Owenton, KY)

My brother's visit this weekend (that's him in the photo with me) provided the nudge we needed to finally get down to see the Elk Creek Vineyards and Winery, billed as Kentucky's largest winery and with quite a presence here in metro Cincinnati. They have a store and tasting room in the Florence (KY) mall and booths at various festivals and fairs around town.
Our first surprise was how far off the Interstate the place is.
There's a small sign on I-71 before the Rt. 127 exit and we always assumed the winery was just off the road. Not! Further, there is not another sign when you come off the exit so you have no idea whether to turn left or right. We ran inside a convenience store -- conveniently located at the end of the ramp -- and discovered that we had to drive at least 20 miles through winding country roads before we'd come to our destination.
That was okay as we had decided to devote the rest of the day to this outing, but a word to the wise here: don't expect to make it a quick visit.
The property includes a skeet shooting course, which was very popular on a Saturday in September, a five-room lodge, and the winery building. Once we found the right building, we had a nice time for the next couple of hours.
There's a deli so we grabbed made-to-order sandwiches and sat outside on a pretty patio overlooking vineyards. The weather was fine so the experience was restful after our long ride.
Then we went inside to try the wine.
They offer a variety of ways to taste and all three of us picked the "premium" tasting of their dry wines. They also have sweet/fruit wines, but that's not our cup of tea, so to speak. The sweeter wines are quite popular, however, according to our server.
For $8 per person we each selected five wines from their list of at least 15 white and red options. The pours were supposed to be one ounce each but it seemed more generous to me.
Not surprisingly, the more expensive red wines were the best, IMHO, especially a couple of Cabernet Franc wines priced at $35-$40 a bottle. My husband preferred a fruitier merlot that was less pricey -- maybe $20-$25, and he also liked their sweet ice wine.
Many of the less expensive wines seemed thin and uninteresting. We browsed their shop and gallery and my brother picked up a gift for his girlfriend, but we did not buy any of the wine.
On Saturday evenings Elk Creek has musical entertainment; however, we hit the road before we got to see who was playing.
It was worth the trip, we all agreed.

Beer Fest & Via Vite

At Fountain Square this weekend there's a beer festival -- continuing through Sunday.
We stopped by last night, although only my husband partook of the beer since we (my brother who's visiting from Florida & I) don't appreciate the suds.

After hanging out and listening to a couple of the bands, we had dinner at Via Vite, also on the Square. In the photos: grilled asparagus and beet salad with goat cheese; peppers stuffed with tuna mousse; spinach ravioli with a little bit of shaved black truffle. We also had some other pastas, and all were quite rich.......so it wasn't really a great "healthy foodie" meal. Oh well.

Terrific Stir-Fry Dinner

This vegetarian entree is based on rice noodles -- light but filling, and great if you're trying to minimize wheat and gluten in your diet.

If you want more protein or your family isn't happy with meatless dinners, you can easily add peeled shrimp, bite-size pieces of chicken breast or bits of lean pork toward the end of cooking.

Recipe: Rice Noodles with Bok Choy and Cherry Tomatoes

Makes 4-6 servings

Ingredients:

7 ounces thin rice stick noodles (1/2 of a 14-ounce package)
1/2 cup chicken or vegetable broth
1 tablespoon soy sauce (low-sodium if desired)
1 tablespoon Shao Hsing rice wine or dry sherry
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon minced ginger
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes or 1 to 2 teaspoons minced jalapeño
2 tablespoons peanut oil or canola oil
2 eggs, beaten
3/4 pound (2 medium) baby bok choy, trimmed, washed and dried, cut in 1-inch lengths
1 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
Salt to taste
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 cup coarsely chopped cilantro (can include stems), plus additional sprigs for garnish
2 teaspoons sesame oil

Instructions:

1. Place the noodles in a large bowl and cover with warm water. Soak for at least 20 minutes, until soft. Drain in a colander and, using kitchen scissors, cut into 6-inch lengths. Set aside. Combine the broth, soy sauce, and rice wine or sherry in a small bowl. Combine the garlic, ginger, and pepper flakes or minced jalapeño in another bowl.
2. Heat a 14-inch flat-bottomed wok or a 12-inch skillet over high heat until a drop of water evaporates within a second or two when added to the pan. Swirl in 2 teaspoons of the oil, making sure that the bottom of the wok or pan is coated with oil. Add the eggs, swirling the pan so that the eggs form a thin pancake. Cook 30 seconds to a minute, until set. Using a spatula, turn the pancake over and cook for 5 to 10 more seconds, until thoroughly set, then transfer to a plate or cutting board. Season to taste. Allow to cool, then roll up and cut into strips 1/4 inch wide. Place near the wok.
3. Swirl the remaining oil into the wok or pan and add the garlic, ginger and chili. Stir-fry no more than 10 seconds, until fragrant, and add the bok choy. Stir-fry for 1 minute, until it is bright green and the leaves are wilted, and add the broth mixture, the drained noodles, and the tomatoes. Reduce the heat to medium and stir-fry 1 to 2 minutes, until the noodles are just tender and the tomatoes are beginning to soften. Add the cilantro and egg shreds, and the salt and sugar, and stir-fry another 30 seconds to a minute, until well combined. Add the sesame oil, stir together, and serve, garnished with cilantro sprigs if desired.

From "Recipes for Health" feature in the New York Times, 9/6/10.

What are your "magic ingredients?" Here are two of mine!

I've always felt that if a dish contains quality ingredients, it's going to taste good.
Of course, a cook can mess up almost anything, but as a rule of thumb when I'm creating a new concoction, I try not to worry about the outcome if the basic components are solid.
Which brings me to MAGIC INGREDIENTS: things you can add to a variety of dishes for an instant punch of yumminess.
Fresh figs and avocado almost qualify, but the former is only available a few months per year at most, and avocado isn't all that versatile because (in my experience at least) it's only good raw. Garlic doesn't count because every cook on earth knows that it's crucial to so many cuisines' tastiness.

Do you have any foods that are "magic" in your cooking (or dining, even if someone else cooks)?

Here are my two faves:
FENNEL (cooked especially, but also fine raw) and...SAFFRON.
Readers of this blog know that fennel is a recurring ingredient in my cooking. For a wider view of wonderful ways this veggie can enhance many different recipes, click here for some great ones.

I use saffron much less frequently, but when I do, it's a sure-fire way to give a dish a marvelous complexity and depth of flavor.
For a variety of recipes that use saffron, check out "Sarah Saffron's" website.

The following is my favorite, go-to recipe that has both fennel and saffron as key ingredients. (You actually can make it without those golden threads -- but why?) Halibut would make an excellent substitute for the sea bass -- in fact, I often prefer it. This scrumptious dish definitely is good enough for company.

Recipe: Sea Bass in Orange-Fennel Tomato Sauce
(Serves 4)

Ingredients:

4 six-ounce sea bass filets
3 T canola or olive oil
1/2 C chopped onion or shallot
2 T minced garlic
1/2 C thinly sliced celery
1/2 fennel bulb, cored, sliced thin, with 2 T chopped fennel fronds reserved
1/2 C dry white wine
1 tsp. saffron threads
1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes, drained
1/2 C orange juice
1 T orange zest (optional)

Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

Heat oil on stovetop in a deep, 12" skillet on medium-high heat.

Add onion/shallot, garlic, celery and fennel bulb and sauté for 8-10 minutes, stirring frequently, until veggies are tender and start to brown.

Meanwhile, heat orange juice in a microwave-safe bowl or glass measuring cup for 1 minute on high heat. Remove from microwave and crumble saffron threads into juice. Set aside.

Add wine to skillet and stir-fry for 2 minutes.

Add tomatoes and orange zest to skillet, stir in OJ/saffron mixture. Bring mixture to low boil. (Can be prepared to this point in advance; transfer mixture to large Tupperware bowl, cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days. Reheat sauce in same skillet to low boil.)

Add fish filets and cover pan; reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 8-10 minutes, until fish is opaque. Season with salt and pepper, transfer to serving platter or individual plates, and sprinkle reserved fennel fronds on top.