Marinated Vegetable Salad

This is quite possibly the easiest salad to make with the most pop. The fact that you can keep 95% of it in the fridge for a few days, makes this a great GO TO when you need a quick side on those night when you barely have time to make the meat.

This is the kind of salad that is really the vegetable side dish. I know everyone keeps a bag or container of greens in their fridge, whether it be baby spinach, a spring mix or a basic salad blend, they all work well with the vegetables.

My mom kept a large container of these marinated vegetables in our fridge all summer long. She would eat them with her sandwich at lunch, spoon them over a baked chicken breast, serve with fresh mozzarella, add them to croutons for a quick panzanella salad, and as they neared the end of their wonderful life, she would add them to boiled pasta and let the heat of the pasta warm them up. Serve with lots of cheese and dinner is served.

Smart woman, those mom's of ours. She called it being frugal, I call it genius.

There is no set vegetables you can use but there are four that I think are mandatory.

Tomatoes, cucumbers, red onion and olives. Since I always keep crumbles in the fridge, my preference is bleu cheese, I add this when serving. I have also been known to use feta or Swiss.

If you have red peppers, radishes, even day old bread, they all can be added. Throw in your leftover steamed broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus or even carrots. No need to throw them away, just start a marinated vegetable bowl.

Now, you can cheat and add a bottled vinaigrette but this wouldn't be much of a post if I did not include an easy but terrific homemade dressing. Even my dad, who does not like the bite some Italian dressings have, ate his whole plate.

Keep a cruet of this dressing on your refrigerator door and you will use it for everything. Best thing of all, it's extremely diabetic friendly, diet friendly and carb friendly.



Vegetable Salad Marinade
* 1/4 cup good EVOO
* 1/4 cup unseasoned rice vinegar (white balsamic will work also)
* 1 tablespoon honey or Mirin
* salt & pepper
* 1/2 teaspoon Dijon
* 1 tablespoon mixed herbs (thyme, basil, parsley, chives)

Place in a bowl and add the tomato wedges, cucumber & red onion slices and chopped Kalamata or Picholine olives.

Lay a bed of greens on a plate and top with a large spoon of marinated vegetables.
Store in the fridge.

Philadelphia Pierogi

Half a pork butt was more than enough for three separate dinners.
First round was slow roasted and then smoked on the grill. The leftovers from that made 2 dozen pierogi, and the last was used in homemade scrapple (post to come).

I make these several times a year and each time I always incorporate leftovers into the filling.

The pierogi dough was made with Philadelphia cream cheese and I used their new cooking sauce in the filling.
They came out so good, I entered this recipe in a contest The Women of Philly was running.
I cook these as I would pot stickers. In hot oil I place the pierogi in the pan and when the bottoms get golden brown I add 1/4 cup water, cover tightly and steam for 5 minutes or until the water is gone.

I am also fond of the Polish tradition of sauteing onions in butter until they caramelize, add the pierogi, mix together and dollop sour cream on top. Only way to eat these as far as I am concerned.



Roasted Pork, Mashed Potato and Garlic Cream Pierogi
Makes 24 pierogi

Dough
* 2 cups AP flour
* 1 large egg
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 cup (4oz) Philadelphia Cream Cheese
* 1/4 cup butter

Filling
* 3/4 cup mashed potatoes
* 1/2 cup ground roasted pork
* 3 tablespoons Philadelphia Garlic Cooking Cream
* salt & pepper

In the bowl of a processor place all the ingredients for the dough and process until it becomes a ball. Remove, wrap in plastic wrap and refirgerate for minimum 30 minutes.

Using a pasta roller, Kitchen Aid roller attachment or wooden pastry roller, roll 1/2 the dough to 1/8" thick sheets. Place on a floured dish towel until done.
Using a 3" or 4" cookie cutter, cut out circles from the dough, re-rolling the scraps till all used (should make 24 easily).

In another bowl, mix the ingredients for the filling. Using a medium (2oz) ice cream scoop, place one scoop of the filling into the middle of one circle of dough.
Press the edges together, wetting the edges if needed to seal securely. Sprinkle flour onto a sheet of foil and place the pierogi side by side in two row of six, then cover with wax paper and line up the other dozen in the same way on top of the wax paper. Seal the foil and refrigerate for up to three days.

Linguine with Tangy Arrabbiata Sauce

While my tomatoes are finally turning red (it just took forever this year!), I wanted to catch the essence of the sweetness of fresh picked tomatoes and you can not get any simpler then an Arrabata sauce.
You will notice there is similarity between this recipe and Amatriciana Sauce. With Arrabiata (Angry Sauce) there is more heat but there is no Pancetta (I cheated an added just a touch of pancetta for The Nudge).

The classic Arrabiata Sauce is found served in Lazio, Abruzzo, Moliese and elsewhere in the south where there is "peperoncino rosso" crushed red pepper in almost every dish and is in the same family as the other preparations that have heat like, Carbonara, Amatriciana and Shrimp Fra Diavolo.

Since most bottled red pepper flakes are all seeds, and they can be bitter (not in my sauce, thank you!), if you can, and you have, dried chile de arbol, split them open, remove the seeds and grind them in a spice grinder or a small efficient chopper. Try not to use ground cayenne pepper, it just does not have the same flavor.

Because of the simplicity of Arrabiata Sauce, try to use only the best ingredients. If using canned tomatoes make sure you use imported San Marzano tomatoes for the most authentic tasting sauce but using farmstand tomatoes makes a huge difference.

You could take the time to drop the tomatoes into a pot of boiling water to remove the skins but I don't have the energy for that. I started out cutting the tomatoes in half, through their equator and squeezing the seed sacks out. Into a saucepan with some olive oil, covered and simmered on low until the skins come off. Pick them out with a fork and discard. I added 2 garlic cloves put through a press and salt, pepper and red pepper flakes to taste.

I continued to simmer, this time uncovered to evaporate some of the water. Once the bubbles become small, shut off the heat, let it cool and store in the fridge.

If you are making it all in one step, remove the sauce to a bowl, get out a frying pan and in 2 tablespoon olive oil, saute 2 tablespoons of minced red onion along with 3 slices of chopped pancetta. We do not want to brown these items so as soon as you see the bottom of the pan getting a tan, add 4 cloves of thinly sliced garlic. Saute until they begin to show some color. Add 1/4 cup white wine to deglaze the pan and simmer until the wine is almost gone. Add the tomatoes back to the pan with the pancetta/onion/garlic mixture and simmer for 15 minutes, uncovered.

Bring a gallon of salted water to a boil and cook your pasta of choice (I wanted thin linguine) according to the package directions. Taste for seasonings and add enough pepper flakes to make it hot but not burning.

Using a spider or tongs, remove the pasta and drop it directly into the sauce. Turn the pasta to coat completely and serve.

You could place a bowl of grated cheese on the table but I think a sprinkle of finely chopped parsley is really all you need.

I bought a loaf of garlic flavored Italian bread and made a simple marinaded tomato, cucumber and olive salad. The perfect meal for a lazy warm evening.
Fast, easy and oh, so tasty.

Summer is waning and I want to take advantage of the fresh produce while I can. Make a double batch and freeze a container for such a day in the middle of winter when you need a touch of summer on the table.



Arrabbiata Sauce
makes 4 (1/8 pound) servings

* 1/2 box pasta
* 1 tablespoon sea salt
* 3-4 huge fresh tomatoes
* 6 cloves of garlic, thinly spiced & separated (2-4)
* 1/4 cup olive oil, separated (2T-2T)
* 2 tablespoons finely minced red onion
* 3 slices pancetta, chopped
* 1/4 cup white wine
* salt & pepper
* 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
* Finely chopped fresh parsley
* grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

1. Cut the tomatoes in half and over a strainer, squeeze the seeds out but retain the juices. Drop the cleaned tomatoes with their juices into a small stockpot with 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
2. Add 2 minced garlic cloves and salt, pepper and red pepper flakes.
3. Simmer until the tomatoes thicken and most of the liquid is gone. (If making ahead, this is were you put it in the fridge).
4. Remove the cooked tomatoes to a bowl, clean out the pan and heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of good EVOO. Once it starts to ripple, add the onions and pancetta.
5. Saute until the pancetta starts to brown. Add in the 4 cloves of garlic.
6. Saute until the garlic becomes fragrant and add the wine to deglaze the pan.
7. Add the sauce and simmer, uncovered until the sauce is thick.
8. Taste for seasonings and heat.
9. Add the cooked pasta to the sauce and toss to combine.

Serve with a drizzle of olive oil and parsley.

It's Time to Get Real Here

I guess I was lucky to have a Mom who stayed home and cooked dinners every night. Not only every night but from scratch every night.

When I learned to cook at 9 years old, she got a part-time job working for the Health Department in our town. After I graduated High School, she went to college to get her degree in Health Education.

She graduated top of her class and applied for every job the state posted relating to her degree and experience. Sadly, she retired at 70 still at the same job at the same desk in the same town.

It was her knowledge (even back then) that cooking from scratch (in the era of TV Dinners and Campbell's Soup Casseroles) was the best way to live a long healthy life.

Her knowledge on health along with her love of cooking is part of her legacy I still follow today.

That was until I started participating in studies on prepared foods and read the feedback from young couples raising children in the 21st century.

Listen, I know I am in the minority on cooking from scratch and even when I worked 12 hour days I still made dinner without opening a box or can. I just don't know any other way and I feel guilty buying prepared mashed potatoes.

My warehouse club, my Shop-Rite and my butcher all reworked their stores to accommodate soups from Paneras, BBQ from Lloyd's, meatballs already cooked in a bag.
Hey I can take a hint. I am really out of it, I know that now.

Problem with packaged foods, unless you know exactly what's in that package you won't know how the food will react with your glucose.

Yes, one could correctly argue nowadays there are more healthy things to choose from but only a smidgen of diabetic friendly prepackaged foods are available. I am hoping that I can do things now to convince large food companies that diabetics need a line of foods also, and start to manufacture foods that microwave or bake quickly, but will give a mom or a daughter the peace of mind they are feeding their diabetic family members foods that if they could make them from scratch, they would.

One reason I started my weekly posting of the best fast food choices is to help people on the go, to make the correct choices based on their dietary needs. I think I might start a weekly post about popular frozen and refrigerated prepared foods. I am not going to buy them to taste test them, I will only let you know how it fits into a diabetic exchange program.

My Dad has been calling me every time he finds a packaged food he likes, to check to see if he can eat it on the diet he was prescribed for his medical issues.
He still does not understand the nutrition label, how to read it and what it means.
Although he calls me way too many times I am glad he does that and I have to admit he's getting better at understanding what areas of foods he needs to stay away from.

For now I use this wonderful sight that lists the nutrition of almost every food that is sold off a shelf in an American supermarket. If you want to know how one brand of fried chicken fingers stands up to the nutrition police, this is the place to go.

Grilled Teriyaki Shrimp with Asian Rice Pilaf

When my weatherman John tells me there is a 30% chance of an afternoon thunderstorm for every day this week, I plan on a few grilled dinners and a few indoor ones, then adjust daily.

As we age our brain slows down, it's a fact of nature. We all adapt without realizing it (as you would your hearing or sight). I adapted by writing lists. If I don't at least try to plan my days, I actually get nothing done.

It only works if I plan other areas of my life, menu planning and food shopping.
In the summer, things have a tendency to pop up more then in the cooler months so I have to be somewhat flexible. Doesn't mean I still can't plan, I just have to be flexibly smart about it.

I used to make this wonderful teriyaki marinade that used maple syrup instead of sugar. It made scallops divine, chicken moist and juicy and vegetables savory and alive.

I don't know exactly who developed it, I only know it was featured in a local paper in 1991. I haven't made this in way too long a time, and when I rescued a recipe binder from a box down under (my crawlspace,) I found many lost gems tucked inside, along with this recipe, and immediately put a Teriyaki something on the menu.

I bought fresh jumbo shrimp and as soon as I got home from my monger, I gave them a good washing, put them into a freezer bag with 1/4 cup of that Teriyaki Marinade and popped that into the freezer.



In one hour's notice I can have dinner on the table, so with weather like we have been having lately, my plan is to use up the perishable foods when I can grill them and then defrost when I can't.

Only meal leftover from the planned week is the one currently residing in my freezer.
Might not be raining but it is too humid to enjoy a meal outside.

For a side dish I made a simple pilaf but with Asian ingredients. It was extremely tasty and very good, easy to make and my critic took one bite and agreed.

I love it when a plan comes together.



Asian Rice Pilaf
makes 4 servings

* 2 tablespoons canola oil
* 1/4 cup uncooked orzo
* 1/4 cup long grain rice of choice
* 1/4 cup sweet onion, chopped
* 1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
* 1 carrot, grated
* 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
* 1 tablespoon soy
* 1/4 cup Mirin
* 1 cup chicken broth
* 1 teaspoon sriracha

1. Heat oil in 2 quart saucepan until hot. Add onions, ginger and carrots and saute for 4 minutes.
2. Add orzo and rice and cook until bottom starts to brown.
3. Add Mirin and soy, stir to combine and deglaze pan.
4. Add chicken stock, black pepper and hot sauce. Lower heat to a simmer, cover and cook 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, until the liquid is absorbed and rice is cooked.
5. Add more stock if rice is still hard.
6. Taste for seasonings and adjust if necessary.

Marinade shrimp in teriyaki marinade for 30 minutes. Cook in a cast iron pan or on the grill, 3 minutes on each side.

I made a corn relish that I served on the side but any vegetable like broccoli or green beans would work well.

Best Fast Convenience Food Choices - Au Bon Pain

Au Bon Pain, with over 270 locations nationwide, has been a pioneer in the healthy fast food industry. They have a menu section called Portions, which offers 14 nutritious items on small plates, all under 200 calories. They even have computer kiosks that offer on-site nutritional information to peek at before you order.

With 38 pages of menu items, I could not pick just a few for this post, every group has pages of offerings.
There was 9 pages of soups alone, and then the salads and the food bar alone (they charge by the weight) has too many to mention.

I have never seen such a complete list of items and am curious how the insides of their locations can handle the inventory.

There are enough choices for everyones diets and preferences, so I suggest giving them a try if you see a location and are hungry. Then come home and let me know.

To download their PDF or to just scroll through the large menu, click here.

Grilled Chicken Thighs w/Ancho-Tequila Glaze

This dish is a keeper, BIG TIME.
I don't get this excited about many recipes, but even The Nudge told me to "make these again, please!"

Now I know why this dish graced the cover of the July Cooking Light Magazine.

There is nothing to not like, it is perfect.
Not too spicy, not too sweet, it has just the right amount of smoke.

Extremely easy to prepare and except for the brining (which is not mandatory), the dry rub marinade along with a very flavorful glaze comes together in an hour.

An excellent dish to make at a BBQ, and can be doubled and tripled easily.
The Nudge told me it reheated like a dream, so making this ahead and bringing to a pot luck will make you the star of the day.

I also grilled endive (our new fav vegetable) and made a Chipotle Mac 'n Cheese.

In the picture that accompanies the recipe, I noticed lime halves on the grill with the chicken, something I will definitely do the next time I make this.

Cook's Note: Watch the glaze carefully, I burnt my first attempt. Set your timer for 15 minutes and then stay by the stove.



Grilled Chicken Thighs with Ancho-Tequila Glaze
Adapted from Cooking Light Magazine July 2012
Yield: Serves 6 (serving size: 2 thighs, 2 teaspoons sauce, and 1 lime wedge)

Ingredients
* 1 1/2 cups hickory wood chips (I use cherry wood)
* 1 tablespoon ancho chile powder
* 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
* 1 1/2 teaspoons granulated garlic
* 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
* 1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
* 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
* 12 bone-in chicken thighs, skinned (about 2 1/2 pounds)
* 1 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Glaze
* 6 tablespoons amber agave syrup
* 3 tablespoons tequila
* 1 1/2 tablespoons hot sauce
* 1 1/2 tablespoons butter
* 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
* 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
* Cooking spray
* 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro (optional)
* 6 lime wedges

Preparation
1. Soak wood chips in water 30 minutes; drain well.
2. Preheat grill to medium-high heat using both burners. After preheating, turn the left burner off (leave the right burner on). Pierce the bottom of a disposable aluminum foil pan several times with the tip of a knife. Place pan on heat element on heated side of grill; add wood chips to pan. Let chips stand for 15 minutes or until smoking.
3. Combine chile powder and next 5 ingredients (through salt) in a medium bowl. Add chicken to bowl; toss well. Add oil to bowl; toss well.
4. Place syrup and next 5 ingredients (through red pepper) in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil. Cook until mixture is reduced to 1/2 cup and begins to thicken (about 3 minutes). Reserve syrup mixture.
5. Place chicken, meaty side down, on grill rack coated with cooking spray over left burner (indirect heat). Brush chicken with 2 tablespoons syrup mixture; grill 15 minutes. Turn chicken over. Brush with 2 tablespoons syrup mixture; grill 15 minutes. Turn chicken over and move to direct heat; grill 5 minutes or until done. Garnish with cilantro, if desired. Serve with remaining syrup mixture and lime wedges.

Baguette Chips + a coupon

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Enjoy Pillsbury Baguette Chips alone, with your favorite dip, as a soup topping, or to add some crunch to your salad! With 130 calories per serving (21 baguette chips), and 50% less fat than regular potato chips*, Pillsbury Baguette Chips are delicious snack chips that you can feel good about eating!

See for yourself by going to http://bit.ly/PBCcoupon to download a printable coupon to save $0.75 off one package (and if your store is doubling, that's a really good thing).

I would process a few and make a crust in a mini cupcake pan and fill with all sorts of mixtures. Omelette's, tuna salad, pizza ingredients, buffalo chicken, great for a buffet or a BBQ. The uses are endless.

Share this coupon with your friends, family and other blog readers.

This coupon offer from Pillsbury was sent to me through MyBlogSpark.

Easy Peasy Breakfast Fruit Smoothie

 

Something weird happened in this house and has been the talk of the dinner table for, I would say, at least two weeks now. It seems The Nudge's cholesterol shot up 14 pts in 6 months while mine went down that amount. Same medication, same food but for some reason different results so we have been analyzing his eating habits when I am not supplying the food (he's been traveling lately).

You need to understand that dinner table conversation changes dramatically when you hit 55. All of a sudden you are considered a "Senior" in some retail venues and naps, bathroom visits and burps become the main focus of how you rate the day you are having. If not about that then it's all about your cholesterol, HDL/LDL, triglycerides, blah blah blah.

Hey, sorry, but if commercials have embraced these topics then it must be OK to talk about them, right? OK, maybe not at the dinner table but in this house it is the best time to get his undivided attention.

I always liked that little saying that floats around the aging community...."I think that if I ever wake up pain free, I may actually be dead".

The Nudge is finally getting on the band wagon with me so this week I bought turkey/chicken everything (except a pork butt) and he's eaten more fiber, leaner and vegetarian dishes then he's ever eaten before.

Guess what? He likes it. It must be on his mind because after every meal he turns to me and asks "exactly what was in that dish?, like I am putting in weird foods to make it healthy.

This morning I finally made my first smoothie. What took me so long? I have no idea.

They are super easy, super tasty and super healthy. I didn't add wheat germ or nutritional yeast this time but I have had a smoothie with grains on vacation and I could not swallow but 2 sips before I went for a fruit salad.

Baby steps, right? Blueberries are still abundant here in New Jersey and I bought two pints, along with a bunch of bananas, no fat strawberry-banana yogurt, 2% milk and sugar-free sweetener, all for my first blend.

I now have a great morning starter and in the winter when the berries are gone, I plan on using oranges, pears and apples with cranberries.
I am hooked. Now, I know The Nudge will also drink these if I can steer away from that constant question....."what's exactly in this drink?"



Blueberry-Banana Breakfast Smoothie
makes 6 servings

* 2 bananas
* 2 containers flavored non fat yogurt (I used Banana Strawberry)
* 2 teaspoons Truvia (optional)
* 1 pint fresh blueberries, washed
* 1/2 cup 2% milk (skim is just fine)

Blend all ingredients until smooth.
Refrigerate leftovers.
Shake before serving.

Favorite Vacation Meal - The Recipe Redux Challenge August 2012

This month's Recipe Redux Challenge was to healthify our most memorable vacation dish.

Me and the Mr. play this "Top 10 Best Meals" at least once a year (usually after a memorable vacation) but we also do restaurant meals in general, vacation places, favorite islands (we have been to 30 or so), and best one day trips. After thirty-something years together we pretty much have run the gambit of chit-chat.

It's funny to see that we don't agree on the order of the restaurants, just that we agree about the same ones.

If I was to base this challenge on just the food and then another for the ambiance it would have to be, hands down my favorite for both. My #1 was octopus braised in a bouillabaisse sauce that we were served, right on the Mediterranean in Cassis, France.

We were staying in Marseilles, and after doing all the sights we took a bus ride over the mountains that surround Marseilles, to the small town of Cassis.

99% of the seaside bistros are closed between the hours of three to six in France. We were late getting there, starving and as we walked down the beach to the last one in a row of many, we noticed the doors were still opened so we popped in to see if they were still serving, ANY food.
The owner, who spoke excellent English, was happy to feed us but he could only serve what he had leftover from the lunch crowd.
What dish could he ever serve us that wasn't going to be phenomenal? I sure wasn't wrong.

He had left over bouillabaisse broth and grilled pulpo. He served the octopus in the broth with a garlic and saffron rouille and a loaf of the best bread I ever ate.



It was simple, delicious, wonderful, filling and the best dish I ever ate, period.

There have been many dishes I have re-created that were top dishes on our list but for me, this was Number One and this was my chance to finally put it to the pot.

After extensive research on the Internet, I found a recipe for Braised Pulpo French Style but there was no tomato. I decided to take parts of Julia's Bouillabaisse (Happy Birthday Julia!!), and take the best from both and cross my fingers.

First problem was finding pulpo, or so I thought. I was pleasantly surprised to find it in my Shop-Rite, frozen of course, but cleaned, thank the gods.

With my recipes in hand and an inkling of what I wanted the end result to be, I pulled out my Dutch oven and got to chopping.

Italians like to tenderize using vinegar, which works well, so I went with that technique, along with a basic mirepoix, a ton of crushed garlic cloves, some leeks, fennel and honey. I will braise the octopus for 1 hour to tenderize it in this mixture and then I will remove the meat, chop it into bite-sized pieces and build the sauce into which it will finally simmer in. It should be yummy, tender and hopefully, as good as I remember.

I have had pulpo in Spain and there they serve it with roasted potatoes. I made potato pancakes and topped them with the rouille but some people spoon the rouille over the top and stir it in and make it part of the sauce (almost like the garlic aioli they use in Spain).

My neighbor is standing outside my kitchen door with bowl in hand.

South of France, here we come........



Pulpo Bouillabaisse-Style
Makes 6-8 servings

BRAISING LIQUID
* 1 carrot, diced
* 5 cloves garlic, crushed
* 1/2 large sweet onion, chopped
* 1 leek, chopped
* 1 package frozen pulpo
* 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
* 1 fennel bulb, sliced or 2 tablespoons Pernod
* 1 cup clam broth
* salt & pepper
* 1 tablespoon honey

Place everything into a large stockpot or Dutch oven. Simmer for 45-60 minutes.
Remove pulpo and cool.

Pulpo Bouillabaisse
* Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
* 1 good bunch of thyme stems
* Good olive oil
* 1 large head garlic, separated into cloves and peeled
* 1 teaspoon saffron threads
* 1 teaspoon whole fennel seeds
* 1 (28 ounce) can tomatoes, pureed
* 1 1/2 cups clam juice
* 1 cup dry white wine
* 3 tablespoons Pernod
* 1 batch tenderized pulpo, bite-sized pieces
Rouille, for serving, recipe follows
Crusty French bread, for serving

Directions
1. Heat olive oil in cleaned out Dutch oven.
Lower the heat to medium-low and add the garlic, saffron, fennel seeds, tomato puree, clam broth, white wine, Pernod, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon of pepper to the pot. Add bunch of thyme. Stir and scrape up any browned bits on the bottom, and simmer for 30 to 40 minutes, until the garlic is very tender, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.

Carefully pour the sauce into the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Puree until smooth. Return the sauce to the Dutch oven and add the pulpo. Stir carefully.

Cover the pot and bake for 45 to 55 minutes. Check the seasonings and serve hot in shallow bowls with big dollops of Rouille and slices of crusty bread.

Rouille:
Makes 1 cup
* 4 large garlic cloves
* 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
* 1 extra-large egg yolk, at room temperature
* 1 1/2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
* 1/2 teaspoon saffron threads
* 2 strips of roasted red pepper
* 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
* 1 cup good olive oil

Place the garlic and salt on a cutting board and mince together. Transfer the mixture to a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Add the egg yolk, lemon juice, saffron, and red pepper flakes. Process until smooth.

With the machine running, pour the olive oil in a thin, steady stream through the feed tube to make a thick mayonnaise emulsion. Transfer the rouille to a serving bowl and store it in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Grilled Pork Scallopini Topped with a Corn Panzanella Salad

Today turned out to be surprisingly nice. The rain is gone and the cold front ushered out the humidity. Although in the upper 80's, eating on our patio under a shaded yard was exactly what I was yearning for after days of intense rain and humidity.

Hey, for two days the humidity was 100% with no rain in sight. Now that is humid.

I was planning on making Pork Milanese but I never egg-washed and breaded anything that was to be grilled.

I have seen breaded thin cutlets grilled, but I am not sure I would like that on a pork chop. So, it got me to thinking....

Why not take croutons, break them up into small pieces and then toss them with a salad to be served over the pork?

One step further to a Tomato and Corn Panzella Salad served over a Grilled Thin Boneless Pork Chop. Sounded good to The Nudge so it was a GO.

First I brine the meat. Equal parts sweet tea and salt in a gallon of water.
I am also sticking in two boneless chicken breasts with the pork. Might as well kill two birds with one stone....

Since I want the bread to maintain it's crunch and the corn to be grilled, I will have to time this meal carefully.

This salad was amazing. Full of flavor, color and crunch.



Tomato Corn Panzanella Salad
Makes 6-8 Servings

Ingredients
* 3 large tomatoes, chopped
* 1 small red onion, halved and thinly sliced
* 1/3 cup chopped green onions
* 3 tablespoons balsamic glaze
* 3 tablespoons minced fresh basil
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon pepper
* 4 cups fresh corn (about 9 ears of corn)
* 2 tablespoons olive oil
* 3 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
* 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
* 1 teaspoon honey
* 2 cups pounded croutons, any flavor
* 2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts
* Salad greens
* Shaved Parmigianno Reggiano cheese

Directions
1. In a large bowl, combine the first seven ingredients. In a large skillet, saute corn in oil until tender. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Stir in mustard and honey. Add to vegetable mixture; toss to coat. Just before serving, toss in crouton pieces and pine nuts.

Serve lettuce leaves over pork and spoon salad over greens.

Best Fast Convenience Food Choices - Arbys

#8 on our Hit List of best fast food choices, we visit Arby's Restaurants, who are primarily known for selling roast beef sandwiches and curly fries. The Arby's menu also includes chicken sandwiches, appetizers, salads, Market Fresh (deli-style) sandwiches, wraps, and submarine sandwiches.

I thought they were gone but I was surprised at how many Arby's are out there.
I thought I was doing this for people who need to know how to eat healthy on the run but this series of Sunday post's has actually been an eye-opener for me.

We start our list with their famous Roast Beef.



ARBY'S ROAST BEEF SANDWICHES - rated by Total Carbs

No. 1
Roast Beef Classic
Calories 350 * Total Fat 12g * Total Carbs 39g * Sugars 5g

No. 2
Roast Beef Mid
Calories 440 * Total Fat 17g * Total Carbs 40g * Sugars 5g

No. 3
Beef 'n Cheddar Classic
Calories 440 * Total Fat 18g * Total Carbs 47g * Sugars 9g

No. 4
Beef 'n Cheddar Mid
Calories 530 * Total Fat 23g * Total Carbs 48g * Sugars 9g

No. 5
Roast Beef Max
Calories 650 * Total Fat 22g * Total Carbs 49g * Sugars 6g

No. 6
Beef 'n Cheddar Max
Calories 650 * Total Fat 29g * Total Carbs 52g * Sugars 9g

SANDWICH SAUCES - rated by Total Carbs

No. 1
Arby's Sauce®
Calories 15 * Total Fat 0g * Total Carbs 3g * Sugars 2g

No. 2
Horsey Sauce®
Calories 50 * Total Fat 5g * Total Carbs 3g * Sugars 2g

BEEF SANDWICHES - rated by Total Carbs

No. 1
Delux Bacon Cheddar
Calories 420 * Total Fat 17g * Total Carbs 43g 8 Sugars 8g

No. 2
Angus Three Cheese & Bacon
Calories 640 * Total Fat 33g * Total Carbs 45g * Sugars 3g

No. 3
Bacon Beef 'n Cheddar
Calories 310 * Total Fat 23g 8 Total Carbs 48g * Sugars 10g

No. 4
Angus Philly
Calories 590 * Total Fat 29g * Total Carbs 48g * Sugars 4g

No. 5
"Shroom & Swiss
Calories 510 * Total Fat 25g * Total Carbs 49g * Sugars 9g

No. 6
French Dip & Swiss/Au Jus
Calories 430 * Total Fat 14g * Total Carbs 52g * Sugars 3g

MARKET FRESH SALADS - rated by Total Carbs

No. 1
Chopped Side Salad
Calories 80 * Total Fat 5g * Total Carbs 5g * Sugars 2g

No. 2
Chopped Farmhouse Salad - Roast Chicken
Calories 250 * Total Fat 14g * Total Carbs 11g * Sugars 5g

No. 3
Chopped Farmhouse Salad - Crispy Chicken
Calories 430 * Total Fat 24g * Total Carbs 26g * Sugars 5g

DRESSING

No. 1
Buttermilk Ranch Dressing
Calories 210 * Total Fat 22g * Total Carbs 2g * Sugars 1g

No. 2
Light Italian Dressing
Calories 20 * Total Fat 1g * Total Carbs 3g * Sugars 2g

No. 3
Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing
Calories 130 * Total Fat 12g * Total Carbs 5g * Sugars 5g

No. 4
Dijon Honey Mustard Dressing
Calories 180 * Total Fat 16g * Total Carbs 8g * Sugars 7g

PRIME-CUT® CHICKEN - rated by Total Carbs

No. 1
Prime-Cut® Chicken Tenders (3)
Calories 350 * Total Fat 17g * Total Carbs 25g * Sugars 0g

No. 2
Cravin' Chicken - Roast
Calories 380 * Total Fat 12g * Total Carbs 42g * Sugars 8g

No. 3
Roast Chicken Club
Calories 460 * Total Fat 19g * Total Carbs 42g * Sugars 9g

No. 4
Prime-Cut® Chicken Tenders (5)
Calories 590 * Total Fat 28g * Total Carbs 42g *8 Sugars 9g

No. 5
Chicken Bacon & Swiss - Roast
Calories 480 * Total Fat 20g * Total Carbs 43g * Sugars 9g

No. 6
Cravin' Chicken - Crispy
Calories 510 * Total Fat 22g * Total Carbs 51g * Sugars 7g

No. 7
Chicken Bacon & Swiss - Crispy
Calories 610 * Total Fat 30g * Total Carbs 51g * Sugars 8g

SAUCES

No. 1
Buffalo Dipping Sauce
Calories 10 * Total Fat 1g * Total Carbs 1g * Sugars 0g

No. 2
Ranch Dipping Sauce
Calories 100 * Total Fat 11g * Total Carbs 1g * Sugars 1g

No. 3
Honey Mustard Dipping Saucehttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
Calories 140 * Total Fat 13g * Total Carbs 5g * Sugars 4g

No. 4
Tangy BBQ Sauce
Calories 45 * Total Fat 0g * Total Carbs 11g * Sugars 8g

For comprehensive nutrition facts for all their products including optional/regional items, click here.

Fettuccine with Tangy Grilled Summer Squash

I don't think I'm stupid, I mean, I was on the honor roll all through grammar school, got early acceptance to college and have been successfully employed in a few very technical jobs.

I must just be getting slow because I find myself confused by the lack of directions lately.

Why would you put left turn directions on the lower side of a concrete column that is on the right side of an intersection AT the intersection?

I was two cars behind at a light that had turned red and by the time I got to that column and saw that I had to turn left, there was a line of 5 cars already in the left hand lane. Did I miss a sign further back or was I supposed to already know that the Walmart was tucked down that side street and anticipated that I should get into the left lane?

Is it me or is it the Urban Planner?

Do food writers expect you to know that you must read the recipe all the way through before cooking or is that what bloggers jobs are supposed to be?
We make the boo-boos so you don't have too?

Please, does it take too much space to warn someone that the last direction of the recipe effects the beginning. Why don't they just start at the end?

Now, I know you have done this and I know we are all smart cooks, but.... how many times have you gotten to the last step only to hit the wooden spoon on the edge of the pan, realize you missed part of the directions only to re-read the recipe and see that there was no warning, you should have read the whole recipe 3x before cooking. Curses!! Bulls**t!!

I think if I ever write a cookbook, I will put those directions in a spot called cook's notes after the ingredient list and BEFORE the directions.

You know I'm right. This is not our faults. Even The Nudge asked me what does divided mean? Yes, I needed validation, I showed him the recipe.



I picked this dish because I had lots of zucchini to use. From the beginning the recipe had me totally confused. I read it no less then six times and then read it again. I just didn't get it. Why marinade zucchini, then grill it only to use the marinade as a saute for more zucchini. Why not just marinade and grill all of it?

At first I thought maybe I missed an ingredient and there should have been green and yellow squashes.

Not.

Then I thought the step of grilling marinaded zucchini was a mistake and the writer meant to grill half with just salt & pepper and saute the marinaded slices in the marinade then meld them together and toss with the pasta.

Not.

Did she realize the minute you saute fresh zucchini with a marinade it will taste exactly like the marinaded slices?
I thought I might go my way and saute marinaded slices in the marinade and then at the table toss the dry grilled slices in with the sauteed slices but, in the end, I did it her way.

Do me a favor, read this recipe and let me know if I should have gotten in the left lane before I knew I needed to make a left turn.

Fettuccine with Tangy Grilled Summer Squash
Adapted from Food & Wine with notes from me
Makes 4 servings
* (6)4-ounce summer squash—4 sliced lengthwise 1/3 inch thick, 2 sliced lengthwise 1/8 inch thick on a mandolin
* 2 tablespoons kosher salt, plus more for seasoning
* 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
* 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
* 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
* 5 garlic cloves
* 3 large tarragon sprigs plus 2 tablespoons chopped tarragon
* 1/2 cup mint leaves, plus 1/4 cup chopped mint
* 1/8 teaspoon saffron threads, crumbled
* 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
* 1 pound vegan fresh spinach fettuccine
* Freshly ground pepper

1. Toss the 1/3-inch-thick squash slices with the 2 tablespoons of kosher salt and let stand for 45 minutes.
2. In a large bowl, combine the cider vinegar with the sugar and stir to dissolve the sugar. Rinse and dry the salted squash and add it to the bowl; toss to coat with the vinegar.
3. In a blender, puree the 1/2 cup of olive oil with the garlic and transfer to a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer, then pour the garlic oil over the squash. Add the tarragon sprigs and mint leaves and press to compact. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
4. Light a grill. Lift the squash out of the marinade; scrape any excess marinade back into the bowl and reserve. Grill the marinated squash strips over high heat until nicely charred, about 1 minute per side. Cut the squash into 1-inch pieces.
5. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. In a large, deep skillet, heat 1/4 cup of the reserved marinade and add the saffron. Add the 1/8-inch-thick squash slices and cook over high heat, tossing, until al dente, about 1 minute. Add the rice vinegar, season lightly with salt and toss well. Add the grilled squash and toss to heat through. Remove from the heat.
6. Cook the fettuccine until al dente. Reserve 3/4 cup of the pasta cooking water. Drain the pasta and add it to the skillet. Toss well over moderate heat, gradually adding the reserved pasta cooking water to make a sauce. Season with salt and pepper and transfer to a large bowl. Drizzle the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil all over, sprinkle with the chopped tarragon and mint and serve right away.

Make Ahead: The grilled squash can be refrigerated for up to 2 days.

Review: I added toasted pine nuts for crunch and I like them with zucchini. This dish was light and zesty and pretty darn good, but totally confusing with way too many unneeded steps. Next time I make this I will marinade the zucchini, grill them and then toss them in the leftover marinade with the hot pasta.

Now that's a direction I can follow.
Over and out.

What Would You Do?

While reading a magazine, I have a habit of turning the upper corner on the page where I find a dish I would like to try.

Right before planning my weekly menu I will revisit those recipes and if they make the second cut, I put it on the menu and add the ingredients to my shopping list.

I always have high hopes for the recipes that make the second cut but every once in a while, with no ingredient adjustments or direction faux pas, the meal is just not appealing and yes, most times, it ends up in the garbage. I try to read the reviews if there are ones and still, every once in a blue moon, one gets by me.

This happened the other day and started me thinking....

Should you post a less then stellar recipe?
Do we have a duty to use our blog as a review. What if you try an ingredient you have never tried before and absolutely hate it but the picture is perfection, and the writing is cleaver and oh, what about all that work? Yes, 10 million people love liver and you don't, so what, who needs to know?

Do I have an obligation to warn my readers about a potential disaster or just chalk it up to one of those things, hit the delete button and move on? I mean, if it's that bad shouldn't I just use the rate/review section at the end of all published recipes? Why use my blog for that?

Well my blogging friends, I think it all depends on why you started your blog in the first place.
If every recipe you post is your own creation and you are a budding food writer and looking for a book deal, then by all means, leave those honkers in the trash.

If you have a decent following, the time to make improvements and people actually cook the recipes you post, then I would write about that in hopes of teaching others.

Are you posting perfection to monetize your work? No answer needed here, right, but are you selling yourself short and not respecting your followers intelligence to understand why you posted a not so good recipe and give you credit for doing so. Will they be disappointed and your stats will reflect that or do you have enough self confidence in your work to follow the path not often taken.

Reminds me of that TV show What Would You Do?

Although I feel obligated to let my readers know that a recipe published in a national magazine was a good one but had a slight flaw, if it turns out to be a total disaster, you won't see it here.

What brought all this on? A while back I saw a picture of a dish in a blog. It looked wonderfully delicious, had all ingredients I love and was from a highly rated cookbook which was actually sitting on my shelf at that exact moment. How could I not put it on the menu.
After the second try and a full garbage pail, I tried one more time, adjusted the recipe to what I thought would work and it finally made an appearance to the dinner table (and on my blog).

Am I obligated to say anything to anyone, or just assume no one really cares.
Think about it, I have.

The Nudge says I should stop thinking so much and remember that old saying....."What is one man's garbage is another man's gold".

Sausage by a Different Name

What exactly is a bratwurst?
And I like this one better...what exactly is IN a bratwurst.

I am sure the people in the middle of this country can recite the ingredient list by heart.

Hey, sorry but if the bratwurst fits (allow me to explain)......

"Bratwurst is a common type of sausage in the United States, especially in the state of Wisconsin, where the largest ancestry group is German. Originally brought to North America by German immigrants, it is a common sight at summer cookouts, alongside the more famous hot dog. Wisconsin is also the origin of the "beer brat", a regional favorite where the bratwurst are poached in beer (generally a mixture of a pilsner style beer with butter and onions) prior to grilling over charcoal.
The bratwurst was popularized in Sheboygan County, Wisconsin in the 1920s. In general, each local butcher shop would take orders and hand make bratwurst fresh to be picked up on a particular day.

The fat content of the sausages was substantial, making daily pick up necessary to avoid spoilage. Much of the fat was removed during the cooking over charcoal. Usually one kept a pan of cold water handy to the grill, so it was easy to dip one's fingers in and fling the water onto the flames caused by the burning of the excess fat.

The bratwurst (or "brat") also became popular as a mainstay of sports stadiums after Bill Sperling introduced bratwurst to Major League Baseball in Milwaukee County Stadium in 1953. The bratwurst were such a hit, Sperling said, that Duke Snider of the Brooklyn Dodgers took a case back to New York. Currently Miller Park in Milwaukee, Wisconsin is the only baseball stadium that sells more bratwurst than hot dogs.

The town of Bucyrus, Ohio (known as the "Bratwurst Capital of America") has held the three-day Bucyrus Bratwurst Festival annually since 1967.

Every year, during the Memorial Day weekend, the city of Madison, Wisconsin hosts the Brat Fest, which is billed as the "world's largest bratwurst festival."

OK that's interesting and covers the where and the how, but I want to know about the what. What meat is inside?

Back to the show.........

"A bratwurst (German: Bratwurst [ˈbʁaːtvʊɐ̯st] is a sausage usually composed of veal, pork or beef.
The name is German, derived from Old High German Brätwurst, from brät-, which is finely chopped meat and Wurst, or sausage. Though the brat in bratwurst described the way the sausages are made, nowadays Germans associate it with German verb “braten”, which means to pan fry or roast. Bratwurst is usually grilled or pan fried, and sometimes cooked in broth or beer."

Ahhhhh, the hot tub they are always referring too.
Shhhhh, there's more..........

"Recipes for the sausage vary by region and even locality; some sources list over 40 different varieties of German bratwurst."

THE END

So, let me get this straight, liverwurst is in fact a bratwurst?

Sigh...."Most varieties of German sausage fit into one of three categories, all of which have several sub-categories. "Bruhwurst" are sausages scalded in broth, hot water or steam, then hung and smoked, like frankfurters. "Kochwurst," or cooked sausages, are typically made from scalded or boiled meat and bought ready to eat, like liverwurst."

If you want more information on German sausages, you can read this very comprehensive article here.



Right now I want to talk about the veal bratwurst I get from my butcher.
They also make knockwurst (my fav), a cheddarwurst (pork) and kielbasa (I get the turkey).
One day every summer, I buy a medly of sausages, grill them and serve with sauerkraut, baked beans and an assortment of good mustards.

That is a splurge and only done once a year because, let's face it, after that meal your heart is gonna yell at you.

I always thought that the bratwurst made with veal was healthier then all the others but I recently discovered that veal bratwurst is extremely fattening.

41% Total Fat
63% Sat Fat
22% cholesterol

I did find out that there is a Chicken Bratwurst (which is really good) just like the Turkey Kielbasa (always in my freezer) and that my butcher does carry chicken, you just have to ask for it.

Although the chicken style is also high in cholesterol (as compared to a chicken breast), the fat is cut way down to 13%.
One sausage is OK once in a while, a regular serving is 3oz., which is usually two of those babies.

For a very good article about why we should eat foods with fat, click here, it will blow your mind (especially if you are a female).

OK, everyone that read this up till now, has passed the class and your reward is a very good, and pretty healthy recipe, for another way to cook that favorite wurst.



Bratwurst, Cabbage and Noodles w/Three Mustard Sauce
makes 4 servings (1 sausage each)

* 4 Bratwursts (chicken or veal)
* 2 cups shredded cabbage
* 1 large carrot or two medium
* 1/2 sweet onion, roughly chopped
* 2 tablespoons olive oil
* 6 oz. apple cider or hard cider
* 1 small shallot, minced
* 1/2 cup white wine
* 1/2 tablespoon juniper berries, crushed
* 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
* 1/4 cup cream
* 2 cups cooked whole wheat no yolk Pennsylvania Dutch noodles

1. Cut carrots into 1/2" diagonal slices and cut each slice into thirds lengthwise.
2. In a large skillet, add 1 tablespoon olive oil and heat, on high.
3. Add onions, carrots and cabbage and saute until it starts to brown.
4. Lower the heat, cover the pan and continue to cook for 15 minutes. Carrots and cabbage should be very soft. Remove to a bowl.
5. Wipe out the skillet, add another tablespoon of oil and brown the sausages on all sides until browned, about 3 minutes per side.The skin should be blistered, yum.
6. Remove to same bowl as vegetable mixture and cover.
7. Add shallot to pan that has remaining oil in it, and saute for 1 minute on high. Add cider, wine, mustard seeds and juniper berries and boil until the liquid is reduced to half.
8. Add cream and pernod and simmer for 2 minutes to incorporate the flavors. If liquid gets too thick, just add some more cider. Remove sausages and strain sauce over vegetables.
9. Mix vegetables and sauce well.

To serve:
Place the noodles on the bottom of a platter, spoon vegetables over the noodles and place the sausages around the sides or over the top.
Can garnish with chopped parsley or minced chives.