White Bean Mash

Posted on December 16th, 2009 by craighope

White Bean mash

When exploring for low carb substitutes for mash potatoes, I experimented with various ingredients. I landed on white beans and they are good.

Ingredients

- 2 15 oz cans of cannelloni white beans
- 2 tbls olive oil
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 2 anchovy fillets or anchovy paste
- chicken stock/broth
- 2 teaspoons of white wine vinegar
- salt and pepper to taste

1. Cook the beans in a pot with the chicken stock.

2. Move the warm beans (drain off some of the stock) into food processor and add the remaining ingredients. Pulse unitl you have a mash of beans. Keep warm until you serve it.

This made a great side to some fish or could work with beef too. It is flavorful enough to make a great potato substitute.

Tags: White Bean Mash

Grilled Trout

Posted on December 16th, 2009 by craighope

Grilled Trout with Corn Hash

Grilled Trout

Corn Hash (stuffing / topping)
- 1 Pablano Chili (charred on Grill)
- 6-8 scallions (charred on Grill)
- Corn (charred on Grill)
- Cilantro (about 1 cup)
- 4 or 5 gloves garlic
- Lime juice (1)
- Olive Oil (about 3 tbls)
- 1/2 cup Pine nuts (toasted)

Char the vegetables until the chili is blistered. The scallions won’t take as long.  Seed the chili and chop into smaller size, cut the corn off of the cob, chop the scallions into smaller pieces. Toast the pine nuts and crush into bits.

In a food processor, add the chili, scallions, cilantro, garlic. Pulse until a paste is formed (scrape sides as needed). Remove the paste and put into a mixing bowl. Add the lime juice, olive oil, pine nuts salt and pepper to taste.

Trout
- 4 Trout (heads optional)
- 8 slices of bacon (prefer thick)
- Butchers twine (note: you can use a grilling basket and layer the bacon and trout without the need for the twine)

Stuff the rib cavity of the fish with the corn hash, put a slice of bacon on either side of the fish and tie with 3 pieces of twice (head, middle, tail). Arrange all the fish into a grill basket and cook over hot coals until done (approx 4 minutes per side). The bacon will be a good indicator when the fish is done by how crisp it gets.

Remove the fish from the grill basket and arrange on a platter removing the twine. Use the leftover corn hash to put on top. You can place in a warm oven until ready to serve.

Tags: grilled trout

Roasted Brussell Sprouts with Simple Balsamic Reduction

Posted on December 16th, 2009 by craighope

Roasted Brussell Sprouts with Simple Balsamic Reduction

Serves 6 to 8.

- 2 dozen brussell Sprouts (frozen will work, but thaw first)

or

- 4 c. chopped red cabbage (in 1-in. pieces)
- 4 c. chopped green cabbage (in 1-in. pieces)

- 2 tbsp. olive oil
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp. black pepper
- Simple Balsamic Reduction (recipe follows)

Directions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Mix Sprouts (or cabbage) together in a large roasting pan. Drizzle oil, salt and pepper over cabbage, and toss to mix well.

Roast for 30 minutes, uncovered, stirring once halfway through. Cabbage is done when still crisp-tender and edges begin to caramelize. Remove from oven, and drizzle with Simple Balsamic Reduction to taste, if desired.

SIMPLE BALSAMIC REDUCTION

Makes about 3/4 cup.

- 11/2 c. balsamic vinegar
- 3 tbsp. brown sugar
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed and peeled

Directions

In a small pot, combine vinegar, sugar and garlic. Bring to a moderate boil, and boil 5 minutes to reduce mixture by half.

Reduce heat to low, and simmer 5 minutes or until sauce has thickened (about as thick as pancake syrup). Remove and discard garlic, and serve. (Leftovers can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to one week.)

Tags: Good Brussell Sprouts

Jerk Chicken or Pork

Posted on December 16th, 2009 by craighope

Jamaican Jerk Chicken (or Pork)

This recipe is EXCELLENT! It requires little effort and the finished product will impress family and friends. I have used this marinade on wild turkey breasts too.

4 pounds chicken tenders or other boneless chicken parts
1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cups finely chopped scallions (or onions)
2 Jalepeno Peppers (seeded) chopped into small pieces (4 for hot)
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
1 cup distilled white vinegar
2 tablespoons canola oil

Rinse chicken pieces well in 2 cups of the vinegar, drain, transfer to 2 sealable plastic bags and set aside.

Mix all the liquid and dry ingridients into a non-reactive bowl. This is your marinade.

Marinate the chicken in the bowl or use plastic bags for at least 4 hours. (I prefer overnight).

Grill chicken according to size of pieces.

Serve with grilled plantains, rice, or bread of choice.

Tags: Jerk Chicken

Fish Cakes

Posted on December 16th, 2009 by craighope

Fish Cakes

Fish Cakes (Freshwater)

This recipe surprised me. It turned out really good. I looked up some cod cake recipes and melded the ingredients to come up with this version. I like this because it is a great way to mask the less than extraordinary flavor of largemouth bass.

If you have a surplus of largemouth bass or any other freshwater fish fillets, you can make these fish cakes and avoid frying and keep it healthier.

You can cook the fish fillets ahead of time and put them in a plastic container until ready to use for this recipe. I just lay the fish on baking paper on a cookie sheet, salt and pepper and placed a little onion over the top. Bake at 400 degrees until cooked through (about 25 minutes) or until you see the onions begin to caramelize.

Equipment: food processor, knife (duh)

2 celery stalks, diced fine
1 red pepper
1 carrot
1 tablespoon of garlic (minced), about 1 big clove or 2 medium cloves
Juice of 1 lemon
1/2 cup of mayo
1 egg
1 1/2 lbs of the fish, flaked or chopped up.
Bread Crumbs.
Salt and Pepper to taste.
Optional: Jalepeno juice.

Combine all ingredients by folding into a mixing bowl. The key here is to create a consitency of tuna fish. A food processor works great. Transfer the mix into a food processor and pulse until pasty. (note: you can service this cold if you wish. It is cooked at this point).

Using your hands, make patties about 3/4″ thick and coat each side with bread crumbs. This makes about 6 patties.

Fry in olive oil (or veg oil) until brown on each side.

Serve with a hot sauce and makes a good appetizer too.

Picadillo – Cuban chili

Posted on December 16th, 2009 by craighope

Picadillo

Picadillo – Cuban chili

This is a good low carb recipe and not too time consuming or difficult to prepare. We usually double this recipe and eat on it for a few days. It is a great lunch for the office.

Mary Beth modified some items to suit our tastes.

Ingredients

1/4 cup of olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium green pepper, seeded and chopped
2 to 3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 lb of lean ground beef
1/2 lb of boiled ham, diced (can you lunchmeat also)
1/2 cup of fresh tomato, chopped
1/4 cup of pimento-stuffed green olives, cut in half or quarter (you choose)
1 TBL of green olive juice
1 tsp of salt
pepper to taste
1/2 cup of cooking wine
1/4 tsp cumin
1/2 TBL chili powder
Pinch ground clove
Pinch ground oregano

In a skillet, heat the oil over medium heat until fragrant. Add onion, green pepper, and garlic. Cook for about 10 minutes or until “sweat”-ed.

Add the ground beef and ham. Stir until browned. 10 to 15 minutes. Drain off any fat.

Add the cooking wine, tomatoes, salt and seasoning. Add the olives and Tblspoon of olive juice. Cook for 10 to 15 minutes.

Serve with black beans and a salad. This dish can be served with whole grain rice.

Tags: picadillo

Eggplant Lasagne

Posted on December 16th, 2009 by craighope

Eggplant Lasagne

(modified December 2011) – modified to include whole wheat pasta and banana peppers.  The Noodles added some texture and the peppers added some zing.

Consider this vegetarian or low carb.  Optional: add some spicy Italian sausage.

• 1 eggplants, slice into 1/2″ slices (these will be your lasagne “noodles”).  You can slice lengthwise or across. I’ve done both, either works.

• Marinara Sauce:
  24 oz of your favorite canned sauce. (I used Trader Joes recently and it was fantastic)
  or
  Use a no sugar tomato sauce brand and add your own spices.

• Half a box of whole wheat pasta spaghetti.
• 10 grinds of McCormicks Italian Herb grinder.

• 1/2 cup of fresh basil, chopped

• 2 cloves of garlic, minced (3 or 4 if you like garlic)

• 32 oz of mozarella cheese

• 1 cup of parmesan cheese.  Prefer fresh grated

• (optional) 2 cups of low fat ricotta cheese.

• (optional) 1 lb of your favorite italian sausage.
• 1 Cup banana peppers
• 2 tomatoes sliced.

Prepare:

Brush the eggplant slices with olive oil, lightly salt and pepper. Grill (or broil) the eggplant until slightly tender or let it get slightly brown.  You could also broil in the oven.

Warm the marinara in a pan, at the very end add the chopped basil and minced garlic.   (option) Brown the sausage and add to the sauce.

Build your lasagne. In a 9 x 13 glass baking dish, layer the eggplant, noodles,  the marinara, fresh basil and cheese to make 2 layers.  Lay the sliced tomatoes on top then top with more mozzarella and Parmesan. (optional: put butter pats on top for a browning)  Bake a 350 for 20 minutes.  Then broil to brown the top to your specification (5 min).

Serve with a green salad and red wine. I prefer a Merlot.  Two Buck Chuck from Trader Joes works fine.

This is a simple recipe that you can make ahead of time and even freeze for later.  For the pasta lovers…. you won’t even notice the difference.

Tags: eggplant lasagne

IHOP

Posted on June 8th, 2008 by craighope

I saw a commercial for IHOP this morning and found myself being drawn in by the siren like call of the pancake. They look so good with all the “fruit” and whipped cream. Names like Rooty Tooty you can’t resist.

Then the cloud lifted and I came to earth and thought… what have the IHOP people become? They have gone too far with the pancake and waffle. They have overstepped the conventional boundary of butter and syrup topping by violating basic rules of breakfast nutrition and introduced dessert toppings. A simple breakfast food has turned into a decadent after dinner treat.

In my “research”, I was happy to know that IHOP actually has standard fare on their menu (see their website IHOP.com). You can find eggs, sausage, etc. Whew! I feel better. The TV ads simply glam up the pancake for enticement. Ok. Fine.

Enjoy!