Not Diet Food
No, this is definitely not that.
Not when there’s a ton of heavy cream in it.
Sometimes, though, you need to live big, go for the gusto and just enjoy without looking back.
“Fettuccine with Meyer Lemon Cream” is one of those times.
Category Archives: Recipes (Savory)
The Incomparable Cecilia Chiang
She has been called the Chinese Julia Child.
As Child is credited with introducing authentic French cuisine to Americans, Cecilia Chiang has done the same for Chinese food in this country.
At a time when Chinese restaurants were all run by men and serving gloppy chop suey, egg foo young and other so-called Cantonese specialties, Chiang — who had never owned a business before — dared to open the elegant Mandarin restaurant in San Francisco in 1961 to cook up the real flavors of her native Shanghai. Ethereal dumplings, spicy Sichuan shrimp, kung pao chicken, tea-smoked duck and minced squab in lettuce cups were novelties in the Bay Area then, but soon after became staples at Chinese restaurants trying to capitalize on Chiang’s runaway success.
The Mandarin closed in 2006, but not before becoming a culinary legend beloved by locals and such glitterati as Child, Alice Waters, Jeremiah Tower, John Lennon and Jackie Onassis.
At 92, Chiang still cuts an elegant figure with remarkable energy. She still travels to China annually with friends like Waters; remains a mentor to young Asian-American chefs such as Corey Lee at San Francisco’s Benu; dines at Betelnut in San Francisco regularly, wheres she was the opening consulting chef; cooks dinner parties at her penthouse abode in San Francisco; and only stopped driving a year and a half ago, when she got a speeding ticket and her license was taken away.
Recently, I had a chance to meet this amazing woman for the first time for a profile story for Food Arts magazine.
When I marveled at her stamina, she replied with a smile, “I never get tired. And I am interested in so many things. I love to cook, garden, and see movies. Just keep yourself busy — that’s the secret. I never take naps. I eat three meals a day, and I always eat well.”
If food is truly the fountain of youth, then you could hardly do better than to whip up a couple dishes from her classic, “The Seventh Daughter” (Ten Speed Press), a cookbook memoir she wrote in 2007. There’s no better time, too, what with Sunday marking the first day of the Lunar New Year.
The slightly spicy “Eggplant in Garlic Sauce” is perfect for what promises to be a fiery “Year of the Dragon.”
Speedy Chicken Chilaquiles with Less Guilt
Chilaquiles are a guilty pleasure — a traditional Mexican brunch dish of fried tortillas, salsa, eggs, loads of cheese and a generous amount of thick, tangy sour cream.
If you’re wanting to dial that back a bit in the New Year, cookbook authors Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough have a version that won’t bust any waistbands.
It’s included in their new cookbook, “Cooking Light: The Complete Quick Cookbook” (Oxmoor House), of which I recently received a review copy. The book is filled with recipes to get dinner on the table fast during a hectic weeknight. The straightforward recipes make use of time-saving ingredients such as quick cooking grains, bottled minced garlic, canned chickpeas and store-bought rotisserie chicken as in this dish.
A tangy, spicy tomatillo sauce gets whizzed up in a flash in a blender. Corn tortillas are simmered in the sauce, rather than fried. Low-fat milk and a modest amount of Monterey Jack with jalapenos add creaminess without a ton of calories. And shredded rotisserie chicken substitutes for the usual eggs for a more substantial dish.
Not Your Usual Spinach Dip
When the champagne glasses start clinking on New Year’s Eve, you’ll want something tasty to go along with all of that bubbly.
But why settle for the same old spinach dip in a hollowed-out bread loaf when you can have this instead?
“Yogurt and Spinach Dip ‘Borani Esfanaaj’ in the Persian Manner” sure looks pretty, doesn’t it?
It’s also a bit more healthful than the old standby because it’s made with thick, creamy Greek yogurt instead of cream cheese or sour cream. You can make it with low-fat Greek yogurt, but it’s far more satisfying with the whole-milk version. If you insist on being virtuous (even on New Year’s Eve), use both — a tub of each. Just make sure you get some of the full-fat version in there.
The dip is by Shayma Owaise Saadat, a Toronto economist, whose recipe is featured in the new “The Food52 Cookbook” (William Morrow) of which I recently received a review copy. The book is by illustrious food writers, Amanda Hesser and Merrill Stubbs, whom as you may now developed the Web site, Food52.com, which each week for 52 weeks ran recipe contests to find the best recipes from home cooks all over the country.
Nutty Brussels Sprouts
When the holiday table is groaning under the weight of heavy cream, loads of cheese, bountiful bacon, enormous hunks of meat and other heavy fare, a veggie side dish that’s simple — and simply adorned — always offers a welcome relief.
Such is the case with “Buttered Brussels Sprouts and Chestnuts” from the new cookbook, “Holiday Dinners with Bradley Ogden” (Running Press), of which I recently received a review copy.
Ogden, co-founder of San Francisco’s Lark Creek Restaurant Group, offers up 150 recipes perfect for the big winter holidays.
This dish is beautiful to behold all on its own, what with the plump, whole chestnuts peeking through a bowl of green. Brussels sprouts are blanched, then put into an ice water bath to ensure their hue stays vivid, too. Then, they are tossed in a hot saute pan with chestnuts that have been roasted and shelled, as well as a knob of butter, and salt and pepper. That’s it.