Cookbook Review: The Best Light Recipe

Part of the reason I learned to cook was so I could eat healthier food. (Not that you can tell that by this blog.) Still, I do try, on a day-to-day basis, to make food that is mostly healthy. My BFF showed me this cookbook, and I liked hers so much that she sent me one, too.

This cookbook was put together by the editors of Cook's Illustrated, (think America's Test Kitchen). The best thing about this book is that, in addition to the recipes, they take you through their quest to lighten each recipe. You learn WHY the ingredients in the final recipe made it, and why others were cut. This is VERY helpful to those of you who, like me, are tempted to stray from the recipe or cut out steps that seem like too much work. It also makes it easy for you to transfer what you learn to other recipes. Plus it's just interesting.

There are a LOT of recipes in this book I haven't made. (Just give me time.) Most of what I have made, though, has been a hit. I was out of honey-mustard dressing once when I wanted a spinach salad, and so I made the recipe in the book. YUM, and better for you than what you'd buy in a store (plus I had the ingredients already, so it felt free). There is also a roasted garlic dressing my BFF says is good. If you're partial to creamy dressings, recipes include blue cheese, Parmesan-peppercorn (BFF approved), and ranch, among others. The section on salads includes recipes for croutons and a guide to lettuces and salad greens.

The soups section includes what you'd expect from a light cookbook (broth-based with lots of veggies), as well as cream-based soups. Cream of Broccoli, Asparagus, Sweet Pea, Roasted Carrot, Butternut Squash, Mushroom, and Tomato make up that section. There are even chowders, stews, and chillies.

The vegetable section includes the best method for preparing Stuffed Bell Peppers I've seen (even the very picky Big Geek liked the stuffed peppers), and their scalloped potatoes recipe is mouthwatering and surprisingly rich. They'll even tell you how to make your own veggie burgers (although I haven't tried it yet).

Many recipes start with a basic recipe, and are followed by variations. A section on risotto, for example, begins with a classic Parmesan Risotto and then gives three different variations for special risottos. The book is full of helpful information, like which vegetable protein tested the best for their recipes, how to cook beans, how to mince basil and how to cut chicken. There is no way I can explain how much information is here. This is the only cookbook I've ever actually gone cover-to-cover on, because their are tips on nearly every page that help me in my everyday cooking.

Some of my favorite recipes from this cookbook include the one-pot chicken and rice dishes, Pork Tenderloin with Apple and Sage Cream Sauce (oh, dear GOD, why haven't I made this recently??), several of the wet rubs and glazes for meat, and peach cobbler (it has brandy in it, and you know how I like liquor in my food). The oven friend chicken, which I make as chicken strips, is a huge hit at my house with both big and little geeks.

The only recipe I've tried from this book that gave me trouble were the cinnamon rolls (they are a quick bread, not a yeast roll), and my BFF swears they worked out for her. She also raves about the lasagna, chicken parmesan, and buttermilk biscuits.

The other thing I like about this cookbook is that if a recipe wasn't good, they didn't print it. Apparently, you can't make a decent "light" pie crust, and so none are included. They tried, and none met their standards. They did, however, manage a cheesecake (after trying 28 times).

Eventually, I will work my way through this entire cookbook. It's currently $23.10 on Amazon, and worth every penny. I'd pay significantly more than that.

My rating: 5 of 5 bytes

Peanut Butter and Chopped Bunny Cookies

There is too much Easter candy in my house right now. Someone in our playgroup mentioned chopping it up and throwing it into cookies or brownies. So tonight, when the little geek said she wanted to make cookies, we ended up with Peanut Butter and Chopped Bunny.

2 cups peanut butter
2 cups sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
one Easter bunny, chopped (the chocolate kind)

I should pause here to say that you need to look closely at your Easter candy. Some bunnies are chocolate. Some are chocolate "flavored." Just throw the chocolate "flavored" ones out. I'm sure Grandma meant well when she bought it, and she probably didn't see the word "flavored" since they put it in tiny print with "Genuine Milk Chocolate" in giant print preceding it (because no one would purposely buy a chocolate-impersonating bunny), but chocolate "flavored" bunnies would not lend themselves to this recipe (or to eating, in my opinion). Only real chocolate will do here.

Mix the peanut butter, sugar, and eggs. Stir in the chopped bunny. Roll into 1-inch balls and place on cookie sheet (little geeks are good at this). Then take a fork and mash the balls, making a criss-cross pattern on the top (little geeks are also good at this). Bake at 350 for 15-18 minutes. Mine cooked for 18 minutes, but I also have those "air cushioned" cookie sheets, and they sometimes take longer.

Let cool for 5-10 minutes on sheet, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely. Enjoy with a tall glass of milk.

Makes about 3 dozen.

These cookies are VERY sweet. I might try to cut down on the sugar the next time I make them, but I worry about that seeing as they're just peanut butter, sugar, and egg, and I don't want them to fall apart.

(If you have a good peanut butter cookie recipe, or even a mix, you could use that and just throw in the chopped bunny.)

It's just fun to say "chopped bunny."

I am sick.

Next I'm going to try to figure out how to use up jelly beans.

Three (or Four) for One: Smokey Orange Chicken

I got this recipe from some food network show where the host cooks once and preps a bunch of stuff for 3-4 meals. I've seen the show several times, and it generally works like this: roast chicken of some variety, then a chicken salad (duh--did I need your show to tell me that?), then something else with chicken.

Honestly, this recipe is not my favorite, but I do like the "cook once eat lots" aspect of it. So here you go.

Smokey Orange Chicken:

1 cup orange marmalade
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp liquid smoke
salt
pepper
a bunch of boneless, skinless chicken breasts (at least 8, or whatever you can fit in the roasting pan)
cooking spray

Heat oven to 400.
Spray roasting pan/baking dish with cooking spray.
Salt/pepper chicken on both sides and place in baking dish.
In bowl, mix marmalade, soy sauce, and liquid smoke.
Pour mixture over chicken.

Bake 30-35 minutes.

Meal 1: Chicken breast with a veggie and a starch of your choice.

Meal 2: Garden Chicken Quesadillas. Slice chicken breast, green onions, zucchini, bell peppers, or whatever else you have (green onions really should be part of this). Place on one half of a flour tortilla. Top with cheese and fold tortilla in half. Heat on skillet on both sides until tortilla is browned and cheese is melted. These are surprisingly yummy for something so simple.

Meal 3: Chicken Enchilada Casserole. Heat some olive oil in a skillet. Add 1 chopped onion and cook until soft, then add 1-2 cloves of minced garlic and cook 30 more seconds. Add 1 1/2 cups shredded (or cut up) chicken and 1 tsp cumin. Cook until heated. In casserole dish, pour 1/4 cup enchilada sauce (I like green, but you can use red, too). Top with corn tortillas (tear them to make them fit if needed). Top with half of chicken mixture and a layer of cheese. Then pour another 1/4 cup enchilada sauce over that and repeat a tortilla, chicken, cheese layer. Top with tortillas, remainder of sauce, and a layer of cheese. Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Meal 4: Chicken salad. Do you really need me to tell you how to make a salad? :) I think this particular chicken is good with a vinaigrette dressing (citrus would be good), and some almond slivers and mandarin oranges.

You could also use this chicken in a soup, or in any number of casseroles. Whenever I have chicken that will expire soon, I go ahead and roast it or boil it (sometimes just with salt and pepper), shred it, and freeze it for later use.

Ham Glaze!

Because I wanted my kids to nap at home, I ended up hosting Easter. Part of that was cooking a ham, which I'd never done before. I just bought a spiral sliced ham from the store, and then looked online for a glaze.

You all know I love me some liquor in or on my food, so this is the one I used:

(makes enough for a 4-6 lb ham, although I'd double it and pour it on THICK)

One boneless, fully-cooked smoked ham half (spiral sliced is easier). This recipe is for a 4-6 lb ham, but if yours is larger just adjust the cooking time and make more glaze.
1/3 cup light brown sugar
1/3 cup bourbon/whiskey
1 Tbsp finely grated orange peel (I left this out b/c I didn't have an orange)
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground allspice

Preheat oven to 325.
On a rack in a roasting pan, roast ham, uncovered, for abotu 20 minutes per pound, or until a meat thermometer reads 140.

Before ham is done (at about 100), simmer a mixture of the brown sugar, bourbon, orange peel, cloves, and allspice over medium low heat for about 15 minutes, or until slightly thickened.

Brush the glaze over the ham about 20 minutes before done (around 120).

YUM!

Antipasto Salad and--BUNNY CAKE!

Had some friends over today to color Easter eggs, and wanted an easy lunch, so I bought some hot dogs and threw together a pasta salad. It was based loosely on a recipe from Taste of Home.

1 package penne pasta, cooked (spirals would have been better, but I wanted to use up some of my excess pasta)
1 small jar quartered marinated artichoke hearts
1 green pepper, diced
1/2 onion, diced
bunch of cherry tomatoes, halved (I just kept putting them in until I thought I had enough)
about 4 oz provolone cheese, cubed
about half a can of black olives, halved
about 1 lb low-fat salami, chopped

dressing:
1 1/2 cups olive oil
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
about 2 Tbsp fresh oregano, chopped (or 1 dried)
1 tsp salt

Combine all ingredients in large bowl. In small bowl, combine dressing ingredients. Pour dressing on pasta mixture and toss to coat.

I took out some of the pasta salad before adding the salami as one of our friends is Muslim and doesn't eat pork. But after she went home I threw it all back together. :) I know, I know, our Muslim friend came over to decorate eggs. It's a multi-cultural world, my friends.

Also, the original recipe called for chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans), but I couldn't seem to find any at Safeway and I didn't have any at home (I could have sworn I did). It also called for pepperoni in addition to the salami, but they didn't have turkey pepperoni at Safeway and do you know how much fat is in that stuff?

It was good, and will be even better tomorrow. I may eat some for dinner, too.

Then after naptime, the geeks and I made a bunny cake.

Here's what you do:

1. Make a cake in 2 round pans. Whatever kind you like. Mine is carrot.
2. After they cool, cut one of the rounds to make the ears and a bow tie. It kind of looks like this when you cut it: ()() Ok, imagine those parenthesis are part of a big circle. If you google "bunny cake" you can find pictures.
3. Cover a cookie sheet or tray or something (piece of cardboard?) with foil and place the cake so that it makes a bunny with a bowtie shape.
4. Frost with white frosting. Since my cake is carrot, my frosting is cream cheese. I do not suggest using the low-fat cream cheese to make cream cheese frosting. It's kind of thin. But we survived.
5. Decorate. We put coconut on the bunny to give him "fur" and used candy and some pink decorator icing for the rest. Tint some coconut green by putting it in a ziplock bag with a few drops of green food coloring and shaking.
6. Admire your bunny cake!

Quick Coq au Vin

This recipe calls for mushrooms. SIX CUPS of mushrooms. Which would be fine, except that I don't like mushrooms. It's a texture thing. When they are raw, they are spongy, and when they are cooked, they are slimy. The flavor of mushrooms is quite good, but the texture is not for me.

So when I make it, I make it with more carrots and throw in some pearl onions. I'll include the mushrooms in the recipe here for those of you who are less weird than me, but rest assured that you can make it without the fungi and it turns out just fine. I'm sure the flavor with the mushrooms is even better.

from Cooking Light

1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp salt
6 (4 oz) boneless skinless chicken thighs
1 Tbsp olive oil
6 cups quartered cremini mushrooms (optional if you are like me)
2 cups sliced carrots (or 3 if you leave out the mushrooms)
1 cup pearl onions (frozen is fine--this was not in the original recipe but I think they are good)
1/3 cup slices of Canadian Bacon, coarsely chopped
1 cup dry red wine (2 buck chuck works well)
1 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 Tbsp tomato paste (I confess I sometimes use ketchup b/c I don't want to open a whole thing of tomato paste)

Combne flour, thyme, and salt in a ziplock bag. Add chicken. Seal and shake to coat (I shake, and Mom bakes--remember that commercial?). Remove chicken from bag, shaking off excess flour.

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken. Cook 8 minutes or untill browned, turning frequently. Remove chicken from pan.

Add mushrooms (if you use them), carrots, onions, and bacon to pan. Saute 2 minutes.

Stir in wine, broth, and tomato paste (or ketchup). Cook 9 minutes.

Return chicken to pan. Cook 8 minutes or until chicken is done, turning at least once (so the wine gets on both sides).

When you are finished there won't be much (if any) sauce left, but the chicken will be tender and taste AWESOME.

I like to serve this with rice (you can add the rest of the chicken broth to the water you cook it in).

The Big Geek likes the chicken but isn't a fan of the carrots. Of course, he's not a fan of anything that resembles a vegetable, except green beans and corn. And since neither of those would go well in this recipe, he's out of luck. I just eat his carrots.

He also told me the pearl onions were "weird" and "like grapes." I think they are good, and since I'm cooking, he can just pick around them.

I have no picture of this because I was really hungry. I plated the food, then thought, "I should take a picture." Then I thought, "screw that, I'm hungry." So you'll have to make do without one this time. :)

Lemon Basil Bow Ties

I think this is from Taste of Home.

This is a quick, easy side dish that could be made into a main course by adding some sliced grilled chicken or scallops (or other protein, although I don't think beef would be very good). It's meant to be served hot, but I served it cold as a pasta salad for a playgroup party today.


4 cups uncooked bow tie pasta (I used "easter" pasta today in the shapes of bunnies and eggs and carrots, but bow tie would work best with this sauce/dressing
1 garlic clove, minced
1-2 Tbsp olive oil (I thought it needed more)
1 Tbsp lemon juice (about 1/2 a lemon)
1 tsp grated lemon peel (if you don't have a plane grater, you should get one, it works way better than my "lemon zester")
1/2 tsp salt (or less, I thought it could have used less)
1/4 tsp coarsely ground pepper
1/2 cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced
1/4 to 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

Cook pasta according to directions. Meanwhile, in a skillet, saute garlic in oil for one minute. Stir in the lemon juice, lemon peel, salt, and pepper. Drain pasta. Add to skillet. Add basil. Toss to coat. Cook and stir for 1-2 minutes or until basil is wilted. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.


I will make this again--it was easy and good--as a way to use leftover chicken in the future.

Also, I hate dishes, so I put the pasta in a colander and did all the dressing in the pasta pot, then put the pasta back in (rather than use a skillet). It worked just fine, although I maybe could have let the pasta pot cool down a bit more.

Update: I made this again yesterday, using bow tie pasta. I used more like 5 tbsp oil, the juice and zest of an entire lemon, 2 Tbsp garlic, and doubled the salt and pepper. I also cut up some leftover chicken breasts that had an Italian marinade on them and tossed them in before I added the pasta. We ate it warm, and it was GOOD. This may become a staple in my house. The Big Geek loves lemon, the little geek likes eating "butterflies," and I just like eating. :)