Nigella Can Do Healthy Too

Nigella Feasts with Nigella Lawson

Feel Good Food

Citrus Yogurt
Antioxidant Fruit Salad
Red Salad
Vietnamese Shrimp and Glass Noodle Salad
Baby Spinach, Avocado, and Pumpkin Seed Salad

To get the recipes:

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Nigella explains that food is about pleasure and you should never sacrifice that, even if you're eating trying to eat healthier.

For the glass noodle salad, Nigella begins by “blanching” sugar snap peas and bean sprouts and then immersing them in cold water. This isn’t a true blanching, but rather she’s just pouring boiling water over and then dunking them in ice water. That’s ok, because these vegetables only need a quick cooking to be made more delicious. (Actually, the sprouts would be just fine raw.)

She moves on to make a dressing, which is “lean but packed with flavor." She grates 1 tablespoon of ginger - Nigella leaves the skin on, which I don't advise – and mixes it with 1 minced clove of garlic. She slices a long red chili in half lengthwise and removes most of seeds, wanting “warmth rather then heat.” She says that LONG red chilis are milder than the teeny ones. She chops it finely and adds it to her other ingredients.

A whole lot of other things go in: the juice of half a lime, fish sauce (or soy sauce with a little vinegar), water, a bit of sugar ( “balance is everything says our raven-haired host), a tiny amount of groundnut oil - 1½ teaspoons – and a splash of sesame oil. Everything gets stirred together to make a spicy and spirited dressing. Note: Groundnut oil is peanut oil. If you don’t want to blow your food budget for the week, just use a flavorless olive oil.

Nigella adds 1 cup of cooked tiny shrimp to the dressing. (I sure hope they didn’t come from China.) She tells us to take the time to chop a few “fat” scallions finely, leaving us with the impression that she normally just throws in enormous chunks and calls it a day. She chops “a huge handful of cilantro.”

The noodles for this dish are easily dealt with. Nigella just pours boiling water over the cellophane noodles and leaves them for a few minutes before draining. She mixes all the various bits and pieces together and tops with more cilantro. She revels in the salad as she tastes it, saying she hates the term “life-enhancing”, but, darned, if that’s not exactly what this salad is. I hear ya, honey. It looks positively salubrious.

Next we see the virtuous stash in her larder and fridge. She retrieves beautiful green pumpkin seeds as she explains, “Of course (they’re) good for you. I feel better even looking at (them).”

She’s serving smoked salmon alongside an avocado and spinach salad. She loves the convenience of the smoked salmon, because it enables you to serve fish, without having to buy it fresh that day. She snips the salmon into pieces and strews it on the plate. Black pepper and lime juice go on top.

For the dressing, she juices a lime, loving its sharpness against the smoothness of the avocado. She adds salt, which is essential with the avo, Nigella believes. She adds just a bit of olive oil and mixes it well. She drops 4 cups of spinach leaves in a bowl. She takes 1 small avocado and “gouges out lumps of it with a teaspoon.” I’m don’t know why that’s preferable to a nice dice, but Nigella has decreed it so.

She sprinkles pumpkin seeds over and pours over the dressing in a Food As Porn moment. She makes it look totally tantalizing. The Domestic Goddess arranges it delicately on the plate. She adds “a final few teaspooned-out hillocks of avocado.” I’m not entirely what that means, but it sure sounds good.

Next Nigella pours a glass of healthful, of course, red wine. She’s on to “a virtuous version of syllabub.“ A real syllabub is light as a feather, rich as a Rockefeller and as boozy as witches' brew. This ersatz syllabub starts with 1 tablespoon honey, a tiny amount of the requisite wine and some orange zest. These get whisked together first and then ¾ cup of lowfat "bio yogurt" gets whisked in next with a pinch of cinnamon.

Nigella quarters several of the plumpest, ripest figs just bulging with sweet buxomness. (Who do I sound like? Ok, who am I TRYING to sound like?) She places each in its own special vessel – that’s Nigella-speak for a bowl – and pours over the creamy syllabub. (FAP) She sprinkles over pistachios and next we see her enjoying the meal with a friend. It is interesting, the salad and the smoked salmon are being enjoyed by both ladies from the same plate. I think that’s rather touching and intimate…and highly unsanitary.

Next scene is Nigella food shopping. She picks up peppers and brazil nuts, oh and some herbal tea. And why not? She goes home (well, if that WERE her home) and brews herself a cup.

For a fruit combo salad, that takes full advantage of the anti-oxidant properties of the fruits. She shows us how she deals with a mango. I have NEVER seen anyone do to a mango what Nigella did. I tried it myself and I must say I wasn’t woman enough to handle it. She scores the skin of the mango and then REMOVES JUST THE SKIN. I thought I was seeing things. Then she cuts “down to the bone”, as she calls it, making a crosshatching design as she goes. She cuts right against the pit, freeing the fruit. THAT is unique. She squeezes all the good juiciness left on the pit into the bowl.

The usual way of dealing with an mango is to first cut against the pit and remove the entire half, with the skin still on. Turn the fruit over and do the same on the other side of the pit. You score the FRUIT in a crosshatch pattern and then cut it away from the skin.

Next Nigella whacks a pomegranate half with a rolling pin. I’ve seen her use a wooden spoon, which always seemed a bit ineffectual. The rolling pin does the job beautifully. She also squeezes the pomegranate over the bowl. In goes the juice of half a lime and she mixes gently. She serves herself some in a lovely lime green bowl. Gosh, that looks good.

As usual, the omega of this week’s visit with Nigella is her raiding the fridge. But for what? Some salutary morsel that she’s prepared this week? Yes, but she accompanies her snack with some dark chocolate. Only for its health benefits, of course.

Giada, If You Have The Thyme, I Have The Place

Everyday Italian with Giada De Laurentiis

Cooking From The Heart
Crostini with Sun-Dried Tomato Jam
Side Car Martini
Giada's Carbonara
Almond and Chocolate Clusters

To get the recipes:
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A big crowd is gathered around the table at Giada’s. She’s cooking her favorite foods in “Cooking from the heart.” By the look of her top, we can practically SEE her heart.

Giada starts with an interesting spin on Carbonara, by adding asparagus to it. She keeps the asparagus bundled up in its rubber bands and cooks it in salted water for 3 to 4 minutes. (I’ve never seen that before - the rubber bands, not the cooking technique.) She shocks it in ice water to stop the cooking.

In the same pot of water, she cooks the linguine and then slices the asparagus on the diagonal.

Another unusual addition to the Carbonara is a basil aioli. Because raw eggs are being used (they do get heated up slightly from the hot pasta), she advises us to use only the freshest eggs possible.

2 egg yolks get mixed in the food processor with Dijon mustard (the white wine adds a tangy flavor, Giada tells us), garlic, lemon juice, and a little cayenne. Then she slowly adds ½ cup vegetable oil and ½ cup extra virgin olive oil. She says the vegetable oil thickens it and olive oil gives it flavor. Well, the olive oil certainly has more flavor than the vegetable oil, but BOTH thicken the mixture. She adds ¼ cup chopped basil leaves. It looks good, but rather thin.

Giada’s going to garnish the dish with fried eggs. She adds 4 tablespoons of butter to a pan and cracks 4 eggs in. She fries them sunny side up. To assemble the dish, she adds asparagus to a bowl and then the cooked linguine. She adds the basil aioli and some shaved pecorino and mixes it together. She serves herself some. Giada salts and peppers the fried eggs and places one atop her portion. She proclaims it “so luscious.”

It looks beautiful and I’ve rarely met a dish that couldn’t be improved upon with fried eggs. One out of one, Giada.

We learn that Giada loves jam. Who knew? She’s making a jam that’s both sweet and savory. One tablespoon of oil goes into a saucepan with half an onion, thinly sliced, chopped garlic and seasonings. She drains oil-packed sun dried tomatoes, reserving the oil. She chops them and adds them to the saucepan with a little of the reserved oil. She cooks it down for 5 to 7 minutes.

To get the crostini ready, Giada slices a baguette diagonally and…Uh-Oh here we go again. Here comes the oil. Then a little salt. Into a 400 deg Farenheit oven for 8 minutes. Okay, I know I said I’d follow Mario into the fire of the bruschetta debate, but those DO look good.

She adds 1 cup of water to the tomato jam with ¼ cup red wine vinegar, 2 tablespoons sugar, ½ cup chicken stock and some fresh thyme. She cooks it for 30 minutes covered, then uncovered for 5 to 10 minutes until it thickens nicely. She gets her goat cheese ready at room temperature.

Giada spreads a little of the sun dried tomato jam on top of the crostini, then puts a dot of goat cheese on top. She garnishes with fresh thyme. It looks great, but I think I might reverse things. I’d put the goat cheese on first and then a dot of the jam. AND wouldn’t that jam be awesome with a little kick? How about adding half a finely chopped jalapeno? Yessirree!!! THAT would be good.

To wrap things up, Giada makes a little sweet. She sprays mini-muffin tins with nonstick spray. I wonder how those cool looking silicone ones would work. Probably very well. She puts a teaspoon of toasted slivered almonds in each cup. Then she places one caramel cut into quarters on top. She melts them in the oven at 350 deg. F. for 8 minutes. They go into the fridge to firm up. For the coating, she melts chocolate chips and white chocolate chips in separate double boilers.

She’s kind of wussy to use a double boiler. It IS the right way, but as long as you keep the heat low and keep checking the chocolate, you’ll be ok. The other thing that’s more worrying (well, that may be too strong a word) is that she’s added 4 to 6 tablespoons of room temperature cream to the melting chocolate.

The best coating, the one that dries hard to a nice shiny crisp shell, isn’t made with CREAM. It’s made with vegetable shortening. Yes, I KNOW, it’s slightly gross, but NO ONE will know you’ve added it. Add 1 tablespoon of shortening to every cup of chocolate chips. Just melt it along with the chocolate. And it will coat these clusters beautifully, as well as strawberries, of course.

In fact, I won’t even make chocolate covered strawberries if I don’t have Crisco in the house. (Of course, that’s not usually a problem, because it lasts for YEARS in the refrigerator.)

She pops the clusters onto a baking sheet. She dumps 4 at a time into the chocolate and fishes them out with a fork. Then she repeats the same with the white chocolate. They look good enough to eat…about 30 of them.

Giada sets her clusters in the fridge to set for at least 30 minutes. (If you use the Crisco, they set at room temperature.)

Her last favorite of the day is a Sidecar martini. She mixes sugar with lime zest and a bit of juice. She dips the rims of the martini glasses in the sugar. They look delightful. She mixes 1 cup cognac, ½ cup orange liqueur, ½ cup sweet and sour mix (!), ½ cup lemoncello (the recipe spells it limoncello) and ¼ cup lime juice. Shake for 10 seconds and pour into the rimmed glasses.

Great show this week. Each recipe had a slightly unique spin. Giada knows her stuff.

Never Mind...

They're baaaack!!!

Sorry, Folks

Food Network links are not working. Aaaarrgghhh! I'll keep checking them.

You can go to the Food Network website and search for a specific show, but their new website makes that so time-consuming.

Michael Chiarello Spins A Spanish Spread

Easy Entertaining with Michael Chiarello

Vacation Celebration
Paella Italiana
Sliced Orange Salad with Sauteed Olives and Ricotta Salata
Sparkling Sangria
Serrano Ham and Manchego Cheese Plate

To get the recipes:
Click here

Back from visiting his daughter in Spain, Michael brought back some recipes that he’s adapted to his own way of cooking.

MC starts with an Italian spin on paella, explaining that “paella is to Spain what risotto is to Italians,” and that each region puts its own spin on the dish. Today he’s using chicken, sausage and shrimp. He dices his vegetables – onions, celery, and carrots - very finely. I must say, I don’t remember EVER seeing celery or carrots in a paella, but we must remember he’s doing this Italian style.

Michael heats his Dutch oven and adds ¼ cup olive oil. Obviously, if he WERE making real paella, he would use a wide shallow pan that doesn’t have to have a particularly thick base. In fact, the crust that develops on the bottom is the most prized part of the paella. Michael DOES say not to use a nonstick pan, so you get some browning action.

He seasons his chicken breast pieces with salt and pepper. Now this IS interesting. He almost never uses boneless chicken breasts. They certainly wouldn’t in Spain, but HERE he is. Curious. He adds his chicken to the hot pan, telling us to make sure to add them in one layer, so they don’t steam. He cooks them until lightly browned and then adds the sausages briefly.

He got his fish guy to peel the shrimp for him. Michael seasons the shrimp and adds it to the pan. Then he adds oregano and some yummy smoked paprika (my favorite spice at the moment). He stirs well to flavor the food AND the oil. He takes out the chicken, sausage and shrimp and puts them on a baking sheet. His thinking here is that he doesn’t want to overcook them, so he’s going to add them toward the end of the rice’s cooking time.

Mike adds his beautifully diced vegetables to the fragrant and wonderfully flavored oil. This IS going to be good. He sweats the vegetables on a medium low heat until they’re soft, but not brown.

Luckily, we have a split second worth of macho food professionals bonding, as he buys cheese and tastes Serrano ham.

MC moves on to the heart of the paella, which is the rice. He’s using Arborio. As long as you use a short-grain rice, you’re ok. He adds it to the pan, cooking it for 30 to 40 seconds to pick up all the flavors on the bottom of the pan. (The recipe says one minute. In Spain, it could be as long as 5 minutes or as short as just coating the rice with oil. One to two minutes is a good compromise.)

He adds his stock all at once, plus a can of tomatoes. He seasons liberally saying “We're going to want to season this, 'cause we have only one chance to get salt inside the rice.” He adds saffron, discussing its rare provenance. The mixture gets brought to the boil, covered and placed in a 350 deg F. oven for 15 to 20 minutes.

Our host goes on to an easily arranged appetizer of Serrano ham, “the Spanish version of prosciutto.” He tells us that the difference between the two is that the Spaniards "use a different pig than the Italians. They use a white pig (which) is only fed on acorns" and is aged for 9 months. Then he tells us that the Italians porkers are also fed acorns, so the point is...? He says that the Serrano ham tastes much sweeter. (Actually, I understood that only the most luxurious of the Serrano hams comes from acorn-fed pigs and in Italy, the big guys are fed all kinds of different things, depending on the region.)

The Serrano ham gets arranged on the plate, followed by Manchego cheese, made for sheep's milk from the La Mancha region of Spain. (You may substitute a pecorino from Italy). He scatters the manchego over the prosciutto. Before serving, he’ll drizzle over a bit of extra virgin olive oil.

He’s outside gathering fresh oranges and dill.

Michael takes out the rice and adds the chicken, sausage and shrimp on top with all their juices. Covers and puts the pan back in the oven for another 10 to 15 minutes.

I do have something to say about this dish and I’m saying it directly to the chef. Michael, baby, those of us who follow you are up for a bit of a challenge. We could have handled learning how to make a real paella. (I’m not bragging, but I do make quite a good one.) You could have put your Italian Stallion mark on it, and still cooked it in the traditional way. This dish, while quite tasty (I made it 2 days ago… sorry…sans photos) is basically a creamy pilaf. The rice in a paella should have a bit of a bite, because of the cooking technique of bringing it to the boil initially, and then finishing it, UNCOVERED, in the oven.

Let’s move on to Michael’s colorful accompaniment - an orange and olive salad. He starts by removing the peel from 2 oranges in strips. (Don’t get any of the white bitter pith in there.) He juliennes them VERY finely. I would (in fact I DID) use HALF the amount of orange zest. He pits the cured olives in an interesting way, by smashing each one with his thumb and squeezing out the pit. They get cut in half. He chops rosemary…not as finely as the recipe suggests…and cooks it in hot oil until it begins to crisp, less than 30 seconds. He adds the olives and orange peel and seems to cook it a bit longer than the few seconds called for in the recipe. He does his fancy tossing action and sets the pan aside.

He juices a pair of oranges and adds salt to the juice, so it will dissolve before the oil goes in. MC eyeballs the fresh orange juice and adds twice the amount of olive oil.

To get nice orange slices, he cuts both ends of the oranges off and then removes the peel in strips by running his knife down the sides of the orange. He halves the peeled fruit lengthwise and slices them thinly. Those go into a bowl with the spinach. The olive mixture from the frying pan goes in with the dressing. He tosses and plates the salad. Then he GRATES (that’s different) ricotta salata over the top. He loves “the tangy citrus with salty olives and sweet spinach.” I made this salad and I LOVED the olive component. The dressing was blah, however, so I added a touch of balsamic vinegar, which did perk it up. Next time I think I’ll just use my regular vinaigrette. Or maybe I would add a bit of those wonderful new oils, an orange flavored oil would be divine.

Michael moves on to the cocktail, which is inspired by the Spanish Sangria. I like how he’s doing this. He's mixing the base of the drink in a large clear glass bowl, from which he'll serve. He stirs together ¼ cup sugar with 1 cup brandy. “The brandy is hiding behind the sugar, no one can really taste it.” He adds ½ cup orange liqueur and a sliced lime, lemon and orange. A container of raspberries goes on top. Then he pours in 2 bottles of Cava. He serves it over ice in wine glasses with a bit of fruit in each glass. How fabulous it that?!

The friends snack on the prosciutto. Did he think we wouldn't recognize Koerner Rombauer??? Of course, we did. (He wanted us to, too).* They all love the paella. Michael toasts Koerner “Salute! 100 years!” For you, too, my chef.


*Okay, so I replayed it over and over again, until I could read his shirt that said Rombauer Vineyards...and how many Koerners could there be?

Ina’s A Sure Thing...Every Time

Barefoot Contessa - Ina Garten

Shore Thing
California BLT's
Herbed Basmati Rice
Panna Cotta with Balsamic Strawberries
Scallops Provencal

To get the recipes:
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For a picnic - harborside - that Ina is planning with Jeffrey, she's making wonderful BLT's. She calls them CALIFORNIA BLT's, so she has the excuse of putting avocado on them. Call them New Jersey BLT's for all I care, avocado added to ANYTHING is awesome!

Ina starts with the dessert that she’ll be serving when they get back from the docks. She describes it as a “classic Italian Nursery Dessert”. She dissolves ½ package of gelatin in 1½ tablespoons of cold water. I have to admit, I get a bit annoyed when a recipe calls for half a package of gelatin. It’s not the easiest thing in the world to eyeball. If you’re nervous about it, just dissolve the entire packet in 3 tablespoons of water and use only half the mixture.

She mixes three-quarters of a cup of cream (wow, she’s really being judicious in her amount of cream!) with 1 cup of plain yogurt, 1 teaspoon of “good vanilla” and the seeds from half a vanilla bean. On top of the stove, she’s heating ANOTHER three-quarters of a cup of cream. AHA! I was right to be suspicious of that first amount. She adds 1/3 cup sugar to the cream and brings it to a simmer, so the sugar will melt. She adds the softened gelatin to the hot cream and stirs to dissolve it. She explains that it thickens as it cools, as she whisks the gelatin mixture into the yogurt mixture. It gets poured into ramekins. Ina says to chill it at least 8 hours or overnight. (Don’t panic if you don’t have that much time. It will certainly be fine after 5 hours. But it is a nice thing to get out of the way.)

The Contessa begins her Left Coast sandwiches. She shows us her standard trick of avoiding the mess of frying bacon. She places “6 really thick slices of smoky bacon” on a rack on a baking sheet. She cooks them in the oven at 400 deg. F. for 15 minutes. She does avoid the greasy stovetop spatter, but there IS the oven to deal with. One day, anyway. (My yearly – who am I kidding? – my EVERY OTHER YEAR oven-cleaning took place recently and I would be loathe to have to repeat it months early because of spattered bacon.)

She slices 4 thick pieces from a beautiful loaf of white bread and toasts THAT in the oven too. (INA seems capable of doing that without having to engage an assistant to make sure it comes out alright, unlike some people.)

Ina takes the bacon out of her now cruddy oven…just kidding…Ina would NEVER allow that. She drains it on paper towels. To save on paper towels, I always use just 1 paper towel on top of a stack of newspapers whenever I drain anything.

She halves and peels an avocado. She likes to buy them a few days in advance to ensure they’re ready to use. (I put anything I need to ripen in a brown paper bag with a green apple and leave it on the counter. The apple releases an ethylene gas, which hastens the ripening.)

She cuts the avos thickly and squeezes lemon juice over the cut sides to prevent browning. She remarks that “the BLT is a mayonnaise delivery system.” I’m with her on that. The bread comes out of the oven at exactly the right moment. It gets flipped over to toast on the other side and is returned to the oven.

She slices tomatoes and “clears the decks” to get ready to assemble her creation. She tells us to use 1 tablespoon of mayonnaise on each slice of bread. I DO love Ina, but does she really need to tell us THAT, especially since most of us, she included, will probably use a lot more than that. She places Bibb lettuce on top of two of the slices and then avocado slices on top of that. She likes the “great flavor” of the avo and says that it’s healthy for you…Well, not really 600 calories of avocado per person...but never mind.

She places 3 pieces of bacon on each sandwich and salts and peppers the whole thing, which is “real important”. The tops go on and the ULTIMATE BLT’s get wrapped up. (Tyler, where are you? You would approve of these.) 2 fancy bottles of water go into the bag as well. And she and her special Jeffrey are off to the docks. They watch the boats go by, as they eat and Jeffrey lobbies for a boat. After it’s been established that he would nap on it all day and that she would be responsible for swabbing the decks, they move on to the fish store, no promises made about a boat purchase..

Asa is behind the counter and helps her. She pretends not to know that bay scallops aren’t in season to give Asa a little lesson to teach. But surely our Contessa knew that. She was just being her gracious self. She goes for the sea scallops. Good thing, ‘cause she would have to wait a few months for the other ones. She tells us that she “would rather be standing in a fish store than rocking on the big seas.” D’accord.

Back in the kitchen, Ina slices a pint of strawberries. She adds 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar and ½ tablespoon of sugar. She keeps telling us it may sound strange to try it. She adds 1/8 teaspoon a pepper and repeats how different it may seem. Is that code for this tastes nasty, but I want to do something trendy? I actually don’t think so. I think she genuinely wants to tell folks, who think it may sound weird, to give it a try.

She starts her Basmati Rice with herbs by combining ¾ cup water and 1 cup of rice, a little salt and - this is Ina, remember - 1 tablespoon of butter. THAT water cannot be right! You would scorch your beautiful rice with that little water! Oh good, the recipe says ONE and ¾ cups of water. She brings it up to a simmer, and cooks it, covered, for 15 minutes. She then lets it rest on the back of the stove for 5 minutes. By the way, a bit of butter does add a luxurious richness to rice. You can also ramp up the flavor by cooking it in stock, instead of water. If you’re watching things, skip the butter and try the stock.

Our Barefooted One gets a bowl of hot water ready to unmold the Panna Cotta. She dips a ramekin in the water, counts to 3, runs a knife around the ramekin and unmolds it perfectly. She shows us again with the second one. I would add only one thing. Whenever you’re unmolding any gelatin thing, wet the plate or platter first. That way if you’ve missed the center of the plate, it will slide nicely. Isn’t that a GREAT tip? ...That’s what I’m here for. The balsamic strawberries go on top with a bit of freshly grated lemon zest.

For their main course, Ina begins by salting and peppering the scallops, BEFORE she flours them. Ina makes a wonderful point here. She says that when you add salt and pepper to the flour, the seasoning doesn’t get into the scallops enough. I never thought of that and I agree.

That tip alone shows what a masterful conveyor of the art she is. You know, not to go overboard here, but THIS is what watching these food shows is all about. Every once in awhile, you come across an authentic nugget of wisdom that actually changes the way you cook and the way your food comes out.

In a small way, I would venture to say, it even changes the world. How? Your dish comes out phenomenally. You’re delighted. Your family and friends are delighted. There’s true bliss in your little corner of the world, which, if things work the way I think they do, starts a ripple effect. And how could that be a bad thing?

That’s why I go crazy when someone like Giada, who should know better, uses a cake mix. THAT’S not going to impact the universe the way that knowing to season your scallops BEFORE you flour them will.

Ina, after that great seasoning move, cooks the scallops in butter for 2 minutes. She adds chopped shallots, garlic and parsley (which really makes it Provencal, she tells us) and sautés it for another 2 minutes. She adds 1/3 cup white wine, cooks it for a minute and the dish is done.

To the cooked rice, Ina stirs in some additional herbs – parsley and dill, plus some scallions. She uses the green AND white parts for a little piquancy.

Ina and Jeffrey eat their dinner companionably outside. She toasts to the future boat…the VERY future boat. And we sail into the sunset after another divine visit with the Contessa, who may not know her sailing, but, gosh, does she know the nuances of fine cooking.

The Next Food Network Star...How About The Next Great Barbecue Sauce?

HINT: It's not his or hers. IT'S MINE...And JB's

The July issue of Bon Appétit arrived the other day with an inviting looking cover showing Barbecued Ribs. It was the winning recipe of Rory Schepisi, competing in one of the weekly competitions on The Next Food Network Star. I took a look at the recipe. It was pretty darn good for having to put it together in 2 hours.

One thing does worry me a bit though. The Food Network put this at the bottom of the recipe:
This recipe was provided by a finalist, who may or may not be a professional cook, for The Next Food Network Star. Food Network has not tested this recipe and therefore, we cannot make representation as to the results.

I sure hope Bon Appétit tested it before putting it on their cover!

While we're nitpicking, the grilled cantaloupe, alongside the ribs, probably looks better than it tastes. The best idea for grilled fruit that I've run across is Bobby Flay's grilled lemons. For some reason, I find that a positively sensational idea. Others have done it since, but he was the first one that I saw.

I also love grilled peaches. Their grill-marked sweet juiciness go so well with barbecued meats and what about with lemon pound cake? Hmmm. That would be good with a little (or a lot) marscapone sauce scented with lemon rind.

Here is a recipe that you do not have to test. THIS is the best barbecue sauce in the land. It's a knock-off from my revered and greatly loved James Beard. His recipe called for 2 sticks of butter (which of his earlier ones didn't?) and I've changed his method quite a bit. But try it, you'll like it.

James's and My Barbecue Sauce
(So what if I pretend that we worked on it together?!)

4 tablespoons olive oil
2 big onions, chopped
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
2 tablespoons supermarket chili powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
3 garlic cloves, pressed
1 cup ketchup
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon Tabasco
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons dried basil or 2 tablespoons fresh basil

Heat the olive oil in a heavy bottomed medium or large pot. Add the onions and salt. Stir to mix well over medium high heat. When you hear them sizzle, stir again, cover and cook on low heat for at least 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. When you lift the lid, there should be plenty of steam. If there isn't, raise the heat a bit, cover and continue to cook.

The onions should be completely softened, before you go any further.

With heat on low, add the chili powder and cayenne. Stir over low heat for 3 minutes. (Okay, 2 minutes is better than nothing.) Add garlic and cook one minute. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a simmer. Cook for 5 minutes, covered. Let cool slightly and pour into food processor, fitted with the metal blade. Pulse until smooth-ER, but not completely textureless. Return to pan until ready to use.

This freezes beautifully.

I always make sure to serve big baked potatoes with this barbecue sauce. And, of course, besides ribs, you can use it on chicken, even vegetables and tofu.

Roy's - You Had Me At Aloha

If you have ever had the great fortune to visit Hawaii, you know that the entire state is imbued with the "Aloha" spirit. It's that almost indefinable attitude of goodwill and friendliness that you find on every street corner or inch of beach. The lovely ladies greeting us at Roy's, Roy Yamaguchi's Philadelphia outpost, exuded that spirit from my first interaction with one of them on the phone. When they turned out to be 2 out of 3 triplets, somehow that added to the fun. (The third triplet, much to the chagrin of one of my dining partners - a single and very male male - is a boy. That busted alot of his fantasies.)

Anyway, we (my husband and I) awaited our friend at the bar, a smallish but well-designed area with high round tables and chair-stools that were surprisingly comfortable. My Roy's Cosmo was everything it should have been. VERY COLD, glass VERY FULL, a good balance between the top end Ketel One Citron and cranberry and lime juices. The beer was served in an ice cold glass. Sam Adams Summer was a good choice. Our waiter was very charming, offering us menus to gaze at, while he gave us the skinny on the place - appetizers served family style, what was really good etc.

Triplet Number One (honestly, she could have been Number Two or Number Three, I didn't think to ask about birth order) took us upstairs to our requested mezzanine table, where we overlooked the entire restaurant. If you don't get to make it upstairs, don't worry, Aloha is in every corner of the place.

Our affable waiter, Jay, or maybe "J" - you never know these days, presented us with menus. A pleasant, but slightly mumbly bus-person or wait-person assistant, not sure, came by with a plate of edamame. She gave us some lengthy explanation about something, but we really couldn't understand her. When she came back, we asked for a repeat and it turned out she was just telling us to eat the center peas and leave the pods on the plates, but that we COULD eat the pods if we wished, but some people found them rather chewy. TMI. Either serve them already peeled or get the explanation down to a sentence, clearly spoken: These are edamame, eat the peas inside and here are plates for the pods.

First courses ordered and awaited.

The Lobster Dim Sum, which had been suggested by my friend at the bar was flawless. The filling was moist and supremely lobstery tasting, with a dash of white truffle foam, which frankly neither added nor subtracted from the dish.

The Baby Romaine Salad was imaginatively presented. Beautiful leaves, some reddish, of perfect romaine were dressed in a Caesar dressing and arranged upright in a baked croute which had been formed into a circle. Polenta croutons decorated the plate which was dotted with a bit more Parmesan. It was good that I knew they were polenta croutons; otherwise they would have seemed soggy. "A" for presentation, the dressing could have been schuzzed up a bit to give more of a kick.

Auntie Lei’s Aloha Roll was an excellent rendition of a Spicy Tuna Roll. Each roll was stuffed with a piquant and rich tuna mixture and topped with avocado, hamachi or salmon. They were topped with black and white sesame seeds. Yummy.

Before our main courses arrived, we were informed that if we wanted to order the chocolate soufflé, we should let our server know then. That was slightly jarring to think of a chocolate soufflé right after eating spicy tuna. We demurred and continued our conversation. I have no problem with the wait-person mentioning this AS ONE IS ORDERING, but not in the middle of the meal. I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt that he was just looking out for us, but he should have mentioned that as he gave us our menus.

We also had to ask to have the messy looking plates of edamame garbage removed. It should be automatic that that happens. The only other lapse in service was infrequently filled water glasses, which is another no-brainer that should happen like clockwork.

After a bit (maybe too long a bit) our entrees arrived. The sea scallops were browned off perfectly but still slightly undercooked inside, as ordered. They were moist and presented on a bed of deliciously prepared quinoa, which, normally, I detest. Tarragon (which I also normally hate, but it didn’t register as objectionable) Vinaigrette was rakishly strewn about the plate. Very modern, most attractive. Probably the best part of the dish was the piquillo peppers. They were stuffed with a crab mixture, which captured the full essence of the crab and was smooth as silk. They were the perfect foil for the simply flavored scallops.

The Salmon was grilled on an hibachi, very attractively and crustily browned. The person on the grill does his or her job wonderfully. It was served with a Citrus Ponzu which, although not life changing, was a well thought out accompaniment. On the plate was also an amalgam of cucumber and beansprouts speckled with tiny scallions.

The last main course was New Zealand Grouper. The flavor was sweet and fresh. This was the one dish where the presentation was definitely not the thing. The fish was sitting sadly all by itself in the corner of the plate, while the other elements took the spotlight. The Yuzu Sabayon was a gorgeous giant teardrop in the center of the plate. But its attractiveness only highlighted the plainness of the fish.

We moved on to dessert. The Pineapple Upside Cake was a fairly traditional, although delicious, rendition. I’ve been noticing individual upside down cakes all around lately. I like them.

The other two desserts were quite tasty as well. The Mascarpone Cheesecake was creamy and rich, although I could have lived without the balsamic vinegar reduction. The Ginger Crème Brulee was the plainest-looking of the three, but really it was divine. It was sweet and smooth with a lively ginger aftertaste. The shortbread served with it was fine.

I liked Roy’s…a lot. The more restaurants I go to and the more wonderful food I eat, the more important service becomes to me. Not snooty, most-people-are-not-good-enough-to-eat-here service, but warm, welcoming, genuine caring for the well-being of the guest service. I did find that here, and with such excellent food, it’s a place I plan to visit again. And maybe...if we're lucky...Triplet Number Three will make an appearance.

Foodies, This Is For You

If you like reading food blogs, check out the list on the left called The Foodie BlogRoll. If you ARE a food blogger, join on in. Jenn is doing a great job putting it together. Her blog, incidentally, is quite amusing. It's called The Leftover Queen.

Giada Entertains Us With Her Stuffed...Mushrooms

Everyday Italian with Giada De Laurentiis

Great Weekend Hors d' Oeuvres
Polenta and Chicken Tartlets
Tuscan Mushrooms
Mediterranean Bruschetta
Pizza Pockets

To get the recipes:
Click here

The show begins with Giada signing books for her public. She does seem quite lovely to people.

Back to the kitchen, she's doing elegant hors d'oeuvres today. Why is my husband lurking in front of the television? Oh, cleavage check. I should have known.

She goes on, “You don’t need fancy ingredients to make elegant hors d'oeuvres." (Is that a see-through top?) I kinda think it is.

She begins by cooking sausages in olive oil. BTW, the sausage is out of its casing. Meanwhile, she mixes 4 oz of cream cheese with Parmesan and a little salt and pepper. She pushes at it rather ineffectually with a spatula. Maybe room temperature cream cheese would have helped.

She ANNOUNCES that she's making an egg wash. Well, that IS good news, but I'm not sure it warranted a special mention. She beats one egg and sets it aside. She does say you may add water, but she's not. I say you SHOULD add water or milk or cream, but you and I have had this discussion before.

Guess what she's adding to the sausage now? Arugula. How could we go an entire half hour without any arugula from our Food Network hosts? She pours the contents of the sausage pan into the cream cheese. NOW it's easier to mix.

She rolls out the pizza dough. (The recipe recommends Pillsbury, but that don't look like no Pillsbury dough. It looks like real pizza parlor dough. Use whatever, but just don't tell me if it's Pillsbury.) She rolls it into a long rectangle and cuts it in half lengthwise then in half again to make 4 pieces. The RECIPE says she gets 16 rectangles out of the dough. She must be working with a smaller piece of dough.

She places 1 teaspoon of filling on one side of each rectangle. She brushes the egg wash along the edges and brings the other half of the dough over. She presses the edges well to close the pockets and then "forks" all around the edges, cutting off the excess dough. Giada brushes them with the egg wash. They get sprinkled with Parmesan and into a 400 degree Farenheit oven they go for 15 to 20 minutes.

She heats up a jarred marinara sauce and again makes an announcement: "I'm going to put them (the baked pizza pockets) on my platter." Well, I didn't expect her to serve them on the baking sheet. They do look good. She dips them into the sauce. Yum, and yes, that shirt is definitely see-through.

She's wearing a black bra under a super-thin knit black shell, worn under a print wrap-shirt. Her husband works for Anthropologie, doesn't he?

She's on to the polenta. She adds 1 pound of instant polenta to 8 cups of boiling water with a little salt. Go ahead and do it that way, but I prefer to add my water TO the polenta. I find it lumps less. She whisks it and it does look a little lumpy, but she doesn't seem to notice. She adds heavy cream and stirs it in with a wooden spoon. A whisk is just too heavy going at this point. She spreads it onto an oiled baking sheet and lets it cool for 30 minutes.

For the topping, she uses a rotisserie chicken…Scratch that, she's using the skinned breasts from a rotisserie chicken. She shreds the chicken with 2 forks and stirs in store-bought pesto with some salt and pepper. Giada makes "polenta "tartlets" with 2 inch fluted cookie cutters. They go on a platter (No announcement this time.) Note that the recipe makes A LOT - 24 tartlets. She spoons a bit of the chicken over and places a few dried cranberries on top. She tastes it. Perfect. Now THAT is a wonderful dish. It's really tasty and so pretty to look at. What more could one want?

For the next dish, Tuscan Mushrooms, Giada cuts the stems off mushrooms to ready the caps for filling. She chops 2 scallions very finely, reminding us that everything must be cut to fit into the small mushroom cap. She pits green olives by cutting down alongside the pit and chopping the resulting pieces small. She chops up roasted red peppers and adds them along with sheep’s milk Pecorino Romano, salt, pepper and a little olive oil.

She fills the mushroom caps and bakes them at 400 deg F. for 20 minutes. I would probably toss them in a bit of olive oil and seasoning before filling. Some recipes suggest baking them in advance. They come out of the oven, looking a bit shriveled, but the shredded basil that Giada adds on top improves their appearance. As she tastes, she tells us that “the salty bite from the olive and cheese kicks in.”

She moves on to the bruschetta. She oils 1/2 inch slices of bread on both sides and grills it for 3 minutes per side. HOLD ON just a minute! I want it decided here and now what the proper procedure is for preparing the bread for bruschetta. Do you OIL IT BEFORE OR AFTER?

Giada usually does it before, Michael says not to, usually. I checked the recipes of no less an authority than Mario Batali. His answer is clear. Do NOT oil the bread before toasting or grilling it. That does make sense. You don’t want to risk sodden-ness before you add the topping. And often a drizzle of olive oil goes on after. So I’ll be following his lead from now on.

Back to Giada, after the bread is done, she drizzles it with lemon juice and sprinkles over oregano. (Now I would think THAT would lead to sogginess.) She beats whole milk ricotta cheese and adds salt and pepper and chopped tomatoes, saving a bit for garnish. (She squeezed out the seeds first.) She tells us to make it ahead of time, if we wish, but to use it at room temperature. She stirs in fresh chopped mint, telling us, “You’ve got the colors of Italy right here.” She serves it in a bowl next to the grilled bread. She spoons some on the bread, tastes it crunchily and pronounces it yummy.

These recipes are her secret weapon to stress free weekday entertaining, but it’s no secret that Giada is an excellent cook, with mostly great recipes with great eye-appeal. (I'm talking about the RECIPES.)

Rachael Separates Eggs...Not!

Not to get on Rachael's case too much, because that can get just as tiresome as unremitting praise (there's little chance of that!), but I did catch just a few moments of her 30 Minutes To A Terrible Meal Show this morning. (I was waiting for Giada). I must say I was rather appalled.

She was breaking some eggs for a Greek Lemon Soup, I believe. She had to separate 2 of them and she was very sheepish and apologetic before she began. She cracked one and let the white fall into her "garbage bowl". (You can freeze those whites, Rachael, for meringues!) She put the yolk in her other bowl. She did one more egg and then we saw a closeup of the egg yolk bowl. THERE WAS SO MUCH EGG WHITE in there that it looked like a whole egg, not just the yolks. It was shocking. That didn't matter so much in this recipe, but you certainly wouldn't want to make a custard with whole eggs, for example.

I get that part of her shtick is to burn toast and not be able to bake. But I KNOW that she's capable of separating an egg properly, and I don't find it amusing to jest about basic kitchen skills.

Rachael Ray, The Daytime Emmys and That Dress

I was watching the Daytime Emmys rather halfheartedly, when I heard a voice (a rather piercing one) coming from the audience. OMG it was Rach in an unbelievably revealing gown. At first I was shocked and then I thought, good for her - she's not in Kansas anymore, or even Albany.

And I have to admit it did make me wait around to get another look at her to see if she could hold her own amongst all those soap opera sirens. She lost Best Talk Show Host to Ellen DeGeneres. No one gives an acceptance speech like Ellen and Rachael didn't look too disappointed. She's just happy her show isn't on opposite Oprah, like Ellen's is in New York.

I have to say the best moment was when Elmo won. Oscar watched intently from the audience and then he, too, won a second Emmy in this category. That's good stuff. Elmo made another appearance with Tyra Banks later to help her introduce a clip of the children's programming awards presented last night. Elmo really is too cute.

Ellen won her 4th Emmy for Best Talk Show, even beating out the, now Rosie-less, controversial The View.

And next is Rachael Ray presenting the Emmy for Best Drama Series???!!! I'm trying to figure out a connection between RR and Drama and I'm just lost. Is she the highest status person there tonight? And I must say her dress looked less provocative and more potato sack-like than when she was seated in the audience.

But she did do a good job of corralling two large casts of folks who won in a tied award. Don't ask me who won, I was just waiting to see what would happen with her dress. Everything stayed where it should and, thankfully, the show ended on time. Anyhoo...

These were the foodie winners at the Creative Craft Daytime Emmy Awards, given on Thursday. -

Lifestyle host: Paula Deen, "Paula's Home Cooking," Food Network

Lifestyle program: "Paula's Home Cooking," Food Network

Technical direction/electronic camera/video control: "Rachael Ray," syndicated

Good Food On Rachael Ray? How Did THAT Happen?

What a surprise!!! The recipe on Rachael Ray's Show this morning was actually good, more than good...it was great.

The part that WASN'T a surprise was that SHE didn't do the cooking. Kitchen warrior Mario Batali did - with actress Kristin Davis. They were promoting a online cookbook by Barilla that benefited Second Harvest. The only problem is that the show was a repeat, the cookbook is longer available AND THE RECIPE IS IN LOCKDOWN SOMEWHERE. When you go to Rachael's web site, they say you can't have THAT recipe, but try this one of Rachael's instead. NO THANK YOU. I want THAT one.

I watched the show frame by frame to work out the recipe. It wasn't easy, because they were rather fuzzy on some of the details. After I had completed my recipe re-creation, I did one last search and guess what?? I found the actual recipe for the meatballs AND the sauce. (And I'm quite proud of myself, the only thing I got wrong was that I low-balled the amount of bread).

Mario says, "one of the big problems that most Americans have" when they make a meatball mixture "is that they put too much meat in it, so it's never extended, so it's never tender and soft. It's always too firm and too hard." We certainly don't want that. He also soaks the bread before adding it, which gives the meatballs an incomparable fluffy texture.

Now why do I say this is so superior to any of Rachael's recipes? Here are 2 examples. In HER recipe that they're pushing on her website, she makes her meatballs and then drops them into the simmering sauce WITHOUT browning them first. That's basically like steaming your meatballs. It's just wrong. Another thing...Mario CARAMELISES the onion, which is the base for the sauce. So before he adds another thing to it, he already has a lot of flavor going on.

Mario is a masterful chef and this recipe could easily become a family favorite. Click on the sauce recipe too. It's good. Buon appetito!:

Mario Batali's Version of Kristin Davis's Mother's Spaghetti and Meatballs (Got that?)

Out Of The Bleu, Ina Serves Souffles

The Barefoot Contessa with Ina Garten

LA Story

Apple Turnovers
Blue Cheese Souffle
Fingerling Potatoes with Aioli
Pomegranate Cosmos

To get the recipes:

Click here

Ina's LA screenwriter friend Bill Finkelstein* and his architect wife Barbara are coming over for dinner. (Couldn't she just once have Harry the plumber and his wife Edith, a state government worker, over for a meal?) She's not giving her left-coast guests what she thinks they eat in LA most of the time - water and frozen yogurt. Oh no, she's going the other way and really packing a punch with rich gorgeous food. And she jokes that most people say they don't want dessert, but she doesn't remember anyone ever turning it down.

She starts by making apple turnovers - interesting choice. I don't think I have ever served or been served turnovers at a dinner party. But I've never known our Contessa to fail in her menu planning, I'm going to go with her on this one.

She peels and chops 3 granny smith apples, 1 teaspoon grated orange zest, fresh orange juice (from 1/2 an orange), 3 tablespoons sugar, flour, cinnamon and nutmeg. Then she adds some dried cherries. She tastes it. It’s good...

Ina takes out frozen puff pastry that she's thawed. She flours the counter and rolls it out to 12" by 12", telling us to keep the dough really cold and that this "sure beats making pie crust." The Barefooted One cuts the dough into squares and spoons the filling in the middle. She paints an egg wash around the edges and folds over the turnover into a nice triangle. Then she forks the edges (I just HAD to say that.) 2 little slits get made in each one and Ina sprinkles sugar over each turnover. They go into the fridge to be baked before serving.

Meanwhile we see friend Michael arranging flowers in his shop. Ina comes in and tells him she needs chic flowers. She wants to do a "deconstructed French bouquet." (Does that mean throwing them around on the floor?) She gets enough flowers to decorate Versailles. I like how she gets basically one color.

Now she's on to the heart of the meal - THE COCKTAIL.

She making a yummy one - a pomegranate cosmopolitan. She premixes a batch in a pitcher. She mixes 2 cups vodka (I would definitely go with a flavored one), 2 cups Cointreau, 1 cup of pomegranate juice and 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lime juice. (Don't tell anyone but I use Rose's Lime Juice in place of fresh. I like the added sweetness.) The Pom Cosmos will get a final shaking over ice before serving.

For an hors d'oeuvre, she's serving fingerling potatoes with aioli. That's fine as long as you're sure EVERYONE is eating the aioli, so that everyone will be equally garlic-scented.

Ina boils the potatoes for 10 minutes, drains them and then does her little truc

of covering them with a cloth and leaving them to steam for 10 minutes to finish cooking. She tears up bread and soaks it in champagne vinegar to make the base of the aioli. She chops 8 garlic cloves in the food processor and then adds 2 yolks, lemon zest, lemon juice and saffron (interesting), as well as salt and pepper. Ina squeezes out the bread and adds that to the mixture. Then she adds one and a half cups olive oil. She's NOT using extra virgin olive oil, because she doesn't want its strong taste to come through. She tastes it. It's wonderful.

I would do just one little thing different here. I would dissolve the saffron in 1 tablespoon of really hot water, and then when it's cool, add it. Or at least let it sit in the vinegar or lemon juice for a minute.

She cleans up a bit while explaining, "I can really make a mess." Well, as Rosanne Barr says, "Excuse the mess, but we live here." Ina pours the aioli into a bowl and surrounds it with the halved fingerlings. She sprinkles over salt, pepper and chives.

The only reservation I have about this dish is that you really have to be spot-on with cooking the potatoes. If they're too underdone, you have an unpleasant crunch that shouldn't be there, and if they're overcooked, they can be mealy. I might serve this with other veggies instead - carrots, fennel, blanched cauliflower. (I only use baby carrots when I'm feeling overworked in the kitchen. They really have no flavor.)

Now, finally, we get to the main course - 2, count 'em two, bleu cheese soufflés. She is bold, our Contessa, in supposing that her dinner guests like bleu cheese. It's not an assumption that I would be brave enough to make, but Ina stands firm in her conviction that bleu cheese has universal appeal. Dang all that, SHE just really likes bleu cheese.

For 2 soufflés (after all, there are FOUR people...I'm surprised she didn't throw 2 or 3 more in the oven) she melts 6 tablespoons of butter and adds 6 tablespoons of flour and cooks it. She heats 2 cups of milk and pours it in, not particularly gradually, and whisks the whole thing.

I have to admit I would have been REALLY impressed if she had infused her milk with the heel of an onion, a few peppercorns and a bay leaf (like we did in cooking school, back in the 3rd quarter of the 20th century. Ah well.)

She adds salt, pepper and fresh nutmeg. Please, for the rest of your entire life, add ONLY freshly ground nutmeg. A nutmeg berry lasts FOREVER and its aroma is INCOMPARABLE. Then off the heat, she beats in 8 egg yolks, more or less one at a time.

Ina tells us that this makes a "light" dinner as she adds the bleu cheese and 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese. She pours the base into 2 different mixing bowls. She has 10 egg whites at room temperature (very important) She adds 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar and beats them on HIGH.

The correct amount of cream of tartar, according to Rose Levy Beranbaum in The Cake Bible is 1/2 teaspoon for 4 egg whites or 1 teaspoon for 8. Ina is using 10 whites, so technically the proper amount of cream of tartar is 1 1/4 teaspoons. The cream of tartar virtually guarantees that you can't overbeat the whites and that's an assurance that I want when I'm dealing with that many egg whites. Obviously, we're talking about COOKED egg whites here. If you're using them uncooked, then don't add cream of tartar. You don't want the sour taste. Ina also adds salt. I wish I knew why. They dry out the egg whites and add to the beating time. Don't do it.

Salt or not, her egg whites are glorious. She places half in each bowl and folds them in.

She cuts down the middle and folds them over, turning the bowl as she goes. She pours the mixture into 2 greased and cheese-d soufflé dishes. They get put into a 400 degree F. oven that immediately gets turned down to 375 degrees. She bakes them for 30 to 35 minutes, setting a timer, so she doesn't forget about them.

Ina claims that she never quite has a handle on the table setting. PULEEZ!!! Our Contessa is all-knowing about flower arrangements and tabletop design. That bouquet could have been done for a State Dinner, it's so beautiful.

The California folks have arrived. They're really tucking into the potatoes. (Where's Jeffrey?)

The tarts go In the oven. If this were LA, they'd be sitting at the table too. JUST KIDDING. The timer rings. "The moment of truth. Now isn't that a WOW?" Her guests are thrilled. The soufflés are presented to much acclaim.

I couldn't have written it better myself. Dessert is served. Bill wants to move in. Maybe there's a story to be written here about the Contessa and her love of bleu cheese or maybe there's just one heck of a recipe.

*I'm thinking that that ain't just any screenwriter, that's LA Law's William Finkelstein.

It Was An Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny... Sorry, It Was Actually Just Giada In The Kitchen

Everyday Italian with Giada De Laurentiis
Giada's Bikini Ready Dinners

Roasted Halibut with Grapefruit Fennel Salsa
Whole-Wheat Linguine with Green Beans, Ricotta, and Lemon
Mixed Berries with Limoncello
Shaved Carrot and Pear Salad with Curry Vinaigrette

To get the recipes:
Click here

Ok, really, they must be kidding me. I know the close-up shots of Giada's chest have become fodder for many an internet search, but titling an episode Giada's Bikini Ready Dinners is ridiculous. This is nothing more than blatant pandering to those Giada viewers who watch her for no other reason than her evident sex appeal. Oh, sorry, it's starting...I have to grab a closer seat and pay attention to the "recipes".

Dang, there isn't even a faraway filmy shot of her in a bikini. There WAS, though, on her Giada's Weekend Getaways. All we got here was Giada SHOPPING for a bikini. I guess those college boys, who are her biggest fans, will just have to use their imaginations. Eeewww.

Okay, back to business, she's giving us a menu of low calorie foods that are supposed to get us bikini ready. If we're on the same beach as she is, we might just as well give up now...

She starts with a light halibut dish. She seasons both sides and tells us that they're known as halibut "STEAKS" not filets. She's cooking them at 375 degrees F. for 10 to 12 minutes, until they are firm to the touch.

She has decided to serve them with a "clean and yummy" fresh grapefruit and fennel salsa. The grapefruit zest that she's using "perfumes everything." Giada shows us how to segment a grapefruit. After cutting both ends off, she slices off the skin by running her knife down the sides of the grapefruit. Then she "runs a little paring knife between the segments" and out they come. "A sharp paring knife is all-important." D'accordo.

She slices fennel and places it in a bowl with the grapefruit. Next she adds chopped nicoise olives, a little salt, Italian parsley to add a "fresh herb component" and chili flakes. She SAYS she's adding a LITTLE bit of olive oil, but the recipe says 1/4 cup. No way do you need that much, in fact, I'm not sure you need any.

She places the salsa on a plate and arranges the halibut on top. "Eating healthy is so much fun" she coos. You get "the rich flavor from the olives and a kick from the chili flakes." "This is going to make you feel like you want to get into that bikini." Au contraire, Giada, it's probably making your core audience want to get into YOUR bikini. Sorry, I couldn't resist. But what we really have here is...

A LOVELY DISH. It's flavorful, but light. The combination of fresh fennel and grapefruit is inspired. I like it a lot, but cut down on that oil.

Next is a pasta dish, not exactly something I would think of as particularly slimming. Of course, anything is slimming if you don't wolf down an enormous amount and Giada does make the point that nothing should be off limits if you exercise portion control.

The whole wheat linguine goes into boiling water. She adds 3 tablespoons of olive oil to a pan and puts it on low heat to INFUSE the oil with a nice garlic flavor. She doesn't mention that in the recipe, but it's a good idea. She chops the ends off of the green beans. Is she doing both ends? I can't tell. I stopped doing that years ago, so now instead of "topping and tailing" them, I only "top" them. She adds the beans to the pan with some pasta water to "blanch" them. Not really... since that's not what blanching means, but at any rate they continue to cook until tender.

She halves cherry tomatoes, as arduous a kitchen task as ever there was, and sets them aside. She checks the pasta. It's ready. She adds the pasta and the tomatoes to the green beans with a little pasta water, which will "bind the sauce and give it flavor". She adds 1/2 cup of part skim ricotta to make the sauce creamier.

I can't quite put my finger on it, but what is it that I don't like about this dish? Oh, I know...IT HAS NO FLAVOR. Green beans can be wonderful on their own if they're sauteed or roasted or dressed with a flavorful vinaigrette while warm. All of those methods can be achieved in a low-fat scenario. Here they're basically steaming away and they just don't work as a foil to whole wheat pasta. Giada would have done better to leave out the green beans altogether and add more tomatoes and maybe a bit of chopped olive or a few capers.

"To enhance the flavors even more"...she's adding fresh lemon zest. See? Even SHE knows this is a blah dish.

Next is a light salad. Giada shaves 8 (?!) carrots into curls. She quarters, cores and slices 2 pears, which she says are firm, but which look definitely UNDERRIPE to me. She adds them to the carrots with chopped parsley, which adds a "vibrant color."

For the dressing, she places white wine vinegar into a blender with 2 teaspoons of honey (too much, I think), which she says will make it thicker and 1 tablespoon of curry powder (I sure didn't see that coming - I guess I could have looked at the recipe names in advance). She blends that together and slowly adds 1/4 cup of olive oil. Don't bother adding it slowly, it's not necessary. She reminds us to use a fruity extra virgin olive oil. She pours it on top of the carrots and pears. She looks way too excited as she chews happily on her salad.

Fruit is the best dessert, but Giada tells us she's bugged by fruit cups that have tons of melon. She prefers berries. She puts a nice variety in a bowl - strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries - and adds some chopped mint. She pours over a couple of tablespoons of Limoncello. "So sweet, so clean, you can feel good about what you eat and even better about the way you look."

Thus with a couple of good healthful recipes, so ends the bikini episode, not exactly as steaming as her male fans hoped. And we never did see the bikini that she finally bought, probably much to their chagrin.

A Foil For A Dirty Grill

Am I the only person in the world who didn't know that you could use foil to clean a grill? I was perusing a Good Housekeeping Magazine...By the way, I just LOVE the etiquette questions - I always get them wrong...I WOULD tell some hapless mom to put more sunscreen on her kid and NO WAY would an acquaintance get the same wedding present if they eloped and I missed out on the sirloin tips or salmon filet...

ANYWAY, this was a tip from barbecue impresario Steven Raichlen. After you've used your grill and it's still hot, take a piece of aluminum foil and crumple it into a ball. Grab the foil with tongs (plastic tipped ones are probably not a good idea) and vigorously rub it on your grill, removing all the burned-on food and gunk. What's great is that foil is malleable enough to press in between the grates. You can really work it around and remove every trace of food residue. And Raichlen points out that a clean grill makes better grill marks. Excellent point.

I tried this on my indoor stovetop grill, as well as my gas grill outside. It worked like a charm both times. Here are some additional hints on GH's website. Happy De-Gunkifing!