2009 July « The Perpetual Feast

Archive for July, 2009

Smoked Trout Platter

Published July 27, 2009 Uncategorized Leave a Comment
Tags: bread, dip, fish, potluck, principle, smoker

There is a potluck today. It’s hot – in the 90’s, although today might be 2 degrees cooler. Too hot to bake something interesting. And you know everyone will be bringing salads and if they don’t feel creative, boxes of store-bought baked goods. And did I mention it’s hot? I am not fond of hot weather. I like clouds.

Then, to my rescue, the local grocery had whole trout on sale. Chubby, sleek trout with their heads on. I bought six of them. I had the butcher remove their heads (“I’m decapitating” he said. “Tell the other trout not to look”). I took off tails and fins at home and smoked the whole trout in my handy smoker. I didn’t do anything special to them – no seasoning or brine. I smoked them over alder chips for 2½ hours. Trout are actually rather fatty, so they grill and smoke well without getting dried out. They have a distinctive flavor, too, that I didn’t want to mask. I think next to steelhead, trout are my favorite fish.

Once the trout were done, I skinned them and took as many of the bones out as possible. I find this easier to do once the fish is cooked, since the skin peels right off and the bones more or less lift out when you pull the spine out. Then I wrapped them individually and put them in the refrigerator to chill. This morning, I made a big platter of smoked trout – three of the fish (the rest I’ll use for other things) atop fresh leaf lettuce, with thinly sliced sweet onion, ripe tomatoes, and cucumber, with lemons scattered about for those who want them. Now this has the requisite Wow Factor to take to a potluck. It actually looks more involved than it was to make (Remember, it’s hot). It’s all in the presentation, sort of like accessorizing a basic dress.

trout smoked

This also follows my Principle of never making anything for a potluck that you don’t want to eat as leftovers.

To accompany the trout platter, I thought that most people would want to put their bit of trout on bread or crackers. I bought some interesting dark bread and also cut up a baguette, toasting the slices to crisp them up. I made two spreads to go with the trout. One was cream cheese and chives – put chives in the food processor to chop, then add an 8 ounce bar of low fat or non-fat cream cheese. The second spread was a little more unconventional – blue cheese and sun dried tomatoes.

Blue Cheese and Sun Dried Tomato Spread

1 bar (8 ounces) fat free cream cheese
1/3 cup sun dried tomatoes (not oil pack)
1/3 cup reduced fat blue cheese
2 Tablespoons lemon juice

Place the sun dried tomatoes in a food processor and pulse several times to chop. Add the remaining ingredients and process until fully blended. Refrigerate overnight to blend flavors. This has about 1 gram of fat/2 tablespoon serving.

trout bread plate

Stuffed French Toast

Published July 17, 2009 Uncategorized Leave a Comment
Tags: banana, breakfast, rum

When I last visited Baltimore, my daughter and I went out for Sunday brunch at Gertrude’s. Gertrude’s is at the Baltimore Museum of Art. They have a Sunday Jazz Brunch of the sit down and be served something elegant kind. So I sat down and was served stuffed French toast with a cinnamon apple topping. It was divine. It was huge (I only ate half). It was definitely not low fat. When I got home, the memory of the brunch haunted me. How hard could stuffed French toast be to make? And lowering the fat was going to be easy – just use non-fat cream cheese and egg substitute.

So I researched recipes, and found that there are two schools of thought about stuffed French toast. All of recipes called for soaking the stuffed French toasts for at least an hour; some of them called for letting it soak overnight in the refrigerator, which would be handy if you were having people over for brunch the next day. Some cooks recommended cooking the French toast on the stove top, others called for baking the whole thing in the oven – again, this would be handy for brunch for a crowd.

I opted for the stove top method and set off on a stuffed French toast spree. I actually ate them for dinner most of the time, instead of breakfast, since I am not much of a big breakfast eater (except for the occasional Sunday brunch). The instructions for all the stuffed French toast variations themselves are identical, so I just listed the ingredient variations, and instructions for the different toppings. They were divine. They were huge. They were definitely low fat.

Honey French Toast with Cinnamon Apple Topping

4 1½ inch thick slices of French Bread
1 8 ounce block of fat free cream cheese, softened
2 Tablespoons honey
1 cup egg substitute
½ cup fat-free milk
½ cup fat-free half and half (or all non-fat milk)
2 teaspoons butter, divided

Cinnamon Apple Topping
4 medium apples, peeled, cored, quartered, and sliced thinly
2 Tablespoons water
2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Process the cream cheese and honey in a food processor until very well blended. Cut a pocket in each slice of French bread by slicing it almost all the way through. (Alternatively, you can use two slightly thinner slices of French bread – 8 slices total for the recipe – if you don’t want to mess with pockets.) Spread ¼ of the cream cheese mixture in each bread pocket (or between the slices of bread). Whisk together the egg substitute, fat-free milk, and fat free half and half. Place the stuffed French toasts in a flat glass (or non-metal) pan. Pour the egg mixture over the French Toasts, cover with plastic wrap, and place in the refrigerator for at least an hour, turning once while it is soaking. The egg mixture should be almost all absorbed.

Heat a large frying pan or griddle over medium heat. Place one teaspoon of butter in pan and swirl around so the pan is coated. Place the French toasts in the pan and cook for about 5 minutes or until golden. Remove the French Toasts from the pan, add the second teaspoon of butter, swirling to coat the pan. Return the French toasts to the pan to cook the second side. Remove from pan and top with whichever topping you are making.

To make the cinnamon apple topping (I usually make my topping while the French toast is soaking in the refrigerator) place all of the ingredients in a medium saucepan and cook over medium heat for about 15 minutes until apples are soft, stirring occasionally.

Makes 4 servings with about 3 grams of fat/serving. The fat gram count is the same for all the variations.

stuffed french apple Honey French Toast with Cinnamon Apple Topping

Banana-Rum Stuffed French Toast with Rum Raisin Topping

4 1½ inch thick slices of French Bread
1 8 ounce block of fat free cream cheese, softened
2 Tablespoons honey
I large mashed ripe banana
2 teaspoons dark rum
1 cup egg substitute
½ cup fat-free milk
½ cup fat-free half and half (or all non-fat milk)
2 teaspoons butter, divided

Rum Raisin Topping
½ cup raisins
¼ cup brown sugar
¼ cup water
¼ cup dark rum
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 Tablespoon cold water
2 Tablespoons fat free half and half

Make stuffed French toast as described above, adding the banana and rum when processing the cream cheese filing.

To make the rum raisin topping, place the raisins, brown sugar, water, and rum in a medium saucepan and cook over medium low heat, stirring frequently, for about 10 minutes. Mix the cornstarch with cold water, and add to the rum raisin mixture. Cook stirring constantly, until mixture thickens slightly. Remove pan from heat and stir in fat free half and half. (Confession: when I was experimenting with this, I added the half and half before the cornstarch, and let it cook. It curdled unattractively. The cornstarch helped a bit, but, although it tasted great, as you can see below, it was less than elegant. So add the fat free half and half last, after you remove it from the heat.)

Variation: You could leave the raisins out and just make rum topping.

stufed french banana Banana-Rum Stuffed French Toast with Rum Raisin Topping

Honey Ginger Stuffed French Toast with Ginger Apricot Topping

4 1½ inch thick slices of French Bread
1 8 ounce block of fat free cream cheese, softened
2 Tablespoons honey
½ teaspoon ground dried ginger
1 cup egg substitute
½ cup fat-free milk
½ cup fat-free half and half (or all non-fat milk)
2 teaspoons butter, divided

Ginger Apricot Topping
10 ripe apricots, pitted and coarsely chopped
¼ cup of apricot jam
¼ cup of water
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
½ teaspoon ground dried ginger

Make stuffed French toast as described above, adding the ginger when processing the cream cheese filing. I added a teaspoon or so of ginger preserves that I happened to have in the refrigerator on top of the cream cheese filling, but if you don’t have it, it isn’t necessary

To make the ginger apricot topping, place all of the ingredients in a medium saucepan and cook over medium heat for about 15 minutes until apricots are soft, stirring occasionally. I actually wasn’t sure I would like this, because the ginger seemed a little bitter, but the ginger actually gave the French toast and the topping a subtle warmth.

stuffed french apricot Honey Ginger Stuffed French Toast with Ginger Apricot Topping

Roasted Red Pepper Potato Salad

Published July 14, 2009 Uncategorized Leave a Comment
Tags: pepper, potato, salad

My problem in the summer is that I don’t feel like eating. Actually, I feel like eating, but I want to eat fruit, yogurt, ice cream and the like, rather than sensible cooked meals. This creates a parallel problem of too many odd leftovers. When I do cook something sensible, I don’t feel like eating what’s left. So I had leftover roasted red peppers from the day I cooked the kebabs (I can only tske so many roasted red pepper and goat cheese sandwiches for lunch), and a large container of cold boiled potatoes (talk about unappealing). I’m rather fond of potato salad, so I decided to see what I could come up with for the aging cold potatoes.

Potato salad, which is a great summer side dish that seems to appear at everyone’s barbecue, is usually loaded with fat, meaning I can have a taste, but not much more. This is too bad, because I really like a good potato salad. This potato salad is different. It is not only low fat, but both tangy and a bit sweet, and a lovely coral pink. It uses the roasted peppers in two places: in the salad itself to create both flavor and color, and in the dressing. Since I already had the leftover potatoes and peppers, it was easy to make, too.

Roasted Red Pepper Potato Salad

6 cups of peeled, boiled potatoes, cut in about 1 inch pieces
1½ roasted red peppers, seeded and skins removed, divided
2 medium stalks of celery, finely diced
3 green onions, thinly sliced
¼ cup non fat sour cream
½ cup low fat mayonnaise
1 Tablespoon parsley
1 clove garlic
2 Tablespoons honey
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
salt to taste

Place boiled potatoes in a large bowl. Cut one of the roasted red peppers (two halves) into a small dice and add to the potatoes, along with the celery and green oinions. Cut the other 1/2 pepper into quarters and place in the food processor, along with the remaining ingredients (sour cram through black pepper). Process the dressing until smooth, taste and add salt if needed. Mix the dressing into the potato mixtures. This makes 6 servings at just over 1 gram of fat/serving.

roasted red pepper potato salad The salad is prettier than the photo.

Variation: I think this would be good as macaroni salad, too, using six cups of cooked macaroni instead of the potatoes. And I like macaroni salad even more than I like potato salad.

Curried Pork Kebabs with Mango Chutney

Published July 4, 2009 Uncategorized 1 Comment
Tags: barbecue, India, mango, pork

You may notice a mango theme recently. This because the grocery store had a two-for-the-price-of-one mango sale. Who can resist. I love mangoes. I grew up where people had mango trees in their yards, and in season brought you bags of mangoes.

I recently learned that two-for-the-price-of-one is called a BOGO (for buy one, get one), so now I know that the email ads that tell me BOGO today are not asking me to play a game or dance, but are trying to get me to buy two pairs of shoes.

Back to my BOGO mangoes (that actually sounds like a good name for a recipe: pork with bogo mangoes.) My problem with mangoes is that they are hard to peel, which is compounded by the fact that I tend to eat them while I peel them, leaving me less than I need of peeled mango. I have seen photos where someone cuts the mango down its flat sides and neatly dices the flesh while it is still on the skin. Allegedly, the diced mango comes off the skin neatly diced – but mine never does. I just peel the whole mango first, slice off as much as I can to dice for whatever I am making – and eat whatever is still clinging to the pit, mango juice dripping down my chin.

This recipe started as a recipe for chicken breasts from Cooking Light, but I have turned it into pork kebabs, adding the vegetables to make it a more substantial meal.. A chutney is a variety of sweet and spicy condiment, usually involving a fresh, chopped vegetable or fruit with added seasonings. When I lived in Mumbai, fresh chutney, made of whatever fruit or vegetable was available in the open air market that day, accompanied most meals. It was often made with chili peppers and very spicy. The piquant chutneys were thought to stimulate the appetite. Mango chutney in Mumbai was likely to be made from green mangoes. This mango chutney, made with ripe mangoes, follows a more western interpretation of chutney: fruit, vinegar and sugar, cooked down to a reduction, and often preserved like jam, rather than eaten fresh. Leftover chutney of any kind is great on cream cheese or goat cheese sandwiches.

Curried Pork Kebabs with Mango Chutney

Mango chutney:

2 cups chopped peeled ripe mango
¼ cup brown sugar
1 cup apple juice
1/3 cup diced dried apricots
2 teaspoons cider vinegar
1 teaspoon grated peeled fresh ginger
¼ teaspoon ground allspice
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper

Pork Kebabs

1/3 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1/3 cup fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon curry powder
1½ lbs pork tenderloin, trimmed of all fat and cut into 1” pieces
1 medium onion, peeled, quartered, and cut into 20 chunks
1 red or yellow bell pepper, de-veined and seeded, and cut into 16 chunks

To prepare chutney, combine all chutney ingredients in a medium saucepan, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring mixture occasionally. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

To prepare kebabs, combine the soy sauce, juice, curry, and pork cubes in a zip-top plastic bag; seal and shake. Marinate in refrigerator 10 minutes, turning once. (I actually marinated them while I prepared the chutney). Pre-heat a grill and lower the heat to medium high.

Remove pork cubes from bag. String pork cubes on 4 large or 8 small skewers, alternating with onions and peppers. (If you are using bamboo skewers, soak them in water for at least ½ hour prior to stringing them on the skewers). Brush kebabs with marinade, and then discard remaining marinade.

pork kebabs 2

Place pork kebabs on grill. I have a kebab rack, a nifty metal square with notches that suspends the kebabs above the grill rack. If you don’t have one of these devices, be sure to coat your grill rack with cooking oil so the kebabs don’t stick. Cook for about 5 minutes, then turn kebabs over and cook for an additional 5 minutes or until pork is done. Serve with chutney on the side. This makes 4 servings (one large or 2 small skewers) with about 4.5 grams of fat/serving. I served the kebabs over couscous made with chicken broth.

pork kebab abnd couscous2

Grilled Trout with Roasted Pepper-Mango Salsa

Published July 1, 2009 Uncategorized Leave a Comment
Tags: barbecue, fish, mango

I have been traveling a lot for a month or two and not having much chance to cook – although I’ve discovered some outrageous restaurants. I love to eat in good restaurants, but I miss my own cooking.. My kitchen has been bereft of fresh fruits and vegetables in order to avoid having them rot while I was on the road (or in the air). But now I’m back, and the farmers’ markets and grocery stores are packed with summer fruits and vegetables – the grill has been more or less cleaned – so let the cooking begin!

Tonight I grilled trout. The grocery had them whole, heads and all, but I asked the butcher to chop of the heads and tails and split them open so they would lay flat on the grill. They were too small to bone prior to cooking, but once they were grilled, the bones more or less lifted right out. I decided not to fuss with the trout, since they were fresh and would have their own delicate flavor. Trout Is often sautéed or pan fried, but freshwater trout has a high fat content and can easily stand up to grilling. I made a lightly spicy fruit salsa with and Asian touch to go with the fish.

Grilled Trout with Roasted Pepper-Mango Salsa

4 whole trout, heads and tails removed, and halved lengthwise. (These trout were only about ½ pound whole, and after the head and tail were removed, there was probably 4 ounces of meat left)
Mesquite seasoning (I used Costco’s, which is not too strong)
1 red bell pepper
Cooking Spray
2 ripe mangoes, peeled, pitted, and cut into ½ inch dice
½ cup sweet onion (like Vidalia or Walla Walla), finely chopped
2 Tablespoons cilantro, finely chopped
1 green chili, seeded, de-veined,, and finely chopped (optional)
2 Tablespoons sweet chili sauce (I used Sun Luck, but there are several brands)

Preheat the grill, then reduce the heat to medium low. Cut the red pepper in half and remove the seeds and veins. Place cut side down on hard surface and flatten with the palm of your hand. Spray both sides of the pepper with cooking spray. Place on grill, cut side down. Grill for about five minutes per side, turning once. (I used a barbecue grill pan sprayed with cooking spray on top of the regular grill to make it easier to remove the pepper without sticking). Remove pepper and allow to cool slightly. Cut the pepper into ½ inch dice. Mix the pepper, mangoes, onion, cilantro, chili, and sweet chili sauce in a medium bowl and set aside. Spray the trout with cooking spray and sprinkle lightly with mesquite seasoning. Place flesh side down on the same grill surface you cooked the peppers on. Cook for 5 minutes, turn over, and cook for about 4 minutes more. Serve with salsa. This makes 4 servings. The amount of fat depends in part on the type of trout – rainbow trout have more fat than lake trout, but I estimate that the total fat is about 8 grams/serving.

trout and mango salsa

NOTE on peppers: I had a bag of red bell peppers, and took the opportunity to grill all 5 of them so that I could use them for sandwiches and such. No sense turning on the big barbecue and grilling one every time I need one, when they keep quite well for several days refrigerated in a sealed plastic bag.

ABOUT KAREN

I have lost 200 pounds. I did not do it through surgery – I don’t like knives and needles – or by joining a club, vigorous exercise, or rigorous dieting. I did it by gourmet cooking. To be precise, by cooking low fat, really delicious food. I love to cook as much as I love to eat. Food magazines are some of my favorite reading. I would feel deprived if I couldn’t have the sensuous experience of good food crossing my lips. This blog is about my perpetual feast, my passionate love of food, with recipes, photos, and occasional advice and principles that I have learned along the way.

More about me.

The Perpetual Feast

Archive for July, 2009

Smoked Trout Platter

Stuffed French Toast

Roasted Red Pepper Potato Salad

Curried Pork Kebabs with Mango Chutney

Grilled Trout with Roasted Pepper-Mango Salsa

Search this site

Follow me on Twitter

Archives

Tags

Follow “The Perpetual Feast”