Week
of March 27, 2005
Looking
for a make ahead quick fix for drop in company?
These
tiny little pastry cups can be filled with shrimp,
tuna, chicken, crab or lobster salad. You can
even use a combination of dips or spreads and
veggies too.
50
wonton wrappers (3" squares)*
Vegetable oil spray
Preheat oven to 325°F. Place wonton squares
on work surface; brush or lightly spray with
oil. Press each into miniature muffin cup, oiled
side down. Bake until wonton cups are golden
brown, about 10 minutes. Cool completely in
tins. (Can be made 3 days ahead. Remove cups
from tins and store airtight at room temperature.)
Then you can fill as you need for drop in company.
*The
thin kind usually used for soups work best.
Each
wonton wrapper has: 23 Calories; trace Fat (4.8%
calories from fat); trace Saturated Fat; 1g
Protein; 5g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber;
1mg Cholesterol; 46mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1/2
Grain(Starch); 0 Fat.
Week
of March 20, 2005
Yogurt
cheese can be used as a low fat substitute for
cream cheese and sour cream in spreads, toppings,
dips, and desserts, or anywhere else cream cheese
or sour cream is called for. There are several
way to make the cheese - all basically involve
the straining of the liquid from fresh yogurt.
Once the whey is removed, the firm yogurt solids
that remain are called “cheese.”
Substitute
yogurt cheese for sour cream in dishes both
sweet and savory. Here's an easy way to make
it easy way to make it. Spoon unflavored yogurt
into a colander or seive lined with cheese cloth
or a coffee paper filter set in the top of the
glass coffee carafe or small bowl (smaller than
your colander or seive). Cover with plastic
food wrap and refrigerate overnight. Discard
the liquid that drains into the glass carafe
or bowl. Note that the longer the cheese drains,
the stiffer the cheese will become. Invert the
yogurt cheese in a small container, cover, and
refrigerate until needed. (You can also purchase
very inexpensive yogurt cheese makers if you
wish.) Yogurt cheese can easily be made from
most low fat or non fat yogurt but remember
that it must be free of gelatin and thickeners.
- Use
yogurt cheese in place of sour cream in dips
and spreads.
- Mix
yogurt cheese into tuna or chicken salad to
replace all or half of the mayonnaise.
- Add
a dollop of yogurt cheese to tacos, taco soup,
black bean soup or other favorite Mexican
dishes and garnish with cilantro.
- Mix
yogurt cheese with minced chives, scallion
tops, or fresh dill and spoon into hot baked
potatoes. Season with salt and pepper.
- Whisk
yogurt cheese into Caesar salad dressing as
an emulsifier in place of raw egg.
- Use
in place of sour cream in your favorite salad
dressing.
-
Spoon over fresh berries and drizzle with
honey.
- Sweeten
to taste with superfine sugar or Splenda®,
flavor with vanilla extract, lemon or orange
juice and finely grated zest and use as a
topping for any fresh fruit dessert and for
slices of angelfood cake.
Week
of March 13, 2005
To
zest citrus fruit . . .
- The
skin of citrus fruits, such as lemons, limes
and oranges, is called the zest and is an
aromatic and flavorful addition to many recipes.
- Remove
only the outermost colored layer of the citrus-fruit
skin, not the white pith, which can be bitter.
- To
remove the zest, scrape against a standard
box grater, using the side with the largest
holes. Or use a specialty tool such as a zester
or rasp. Or you may simply use a sharp paring
knife to remove the peel in thin strips.
Steaming
seafood is the first choice for many cooks,
as they discover how moist and flavorful a steamed
fish can be. When you steam seafood you'll avoid
adding fat and calories. Marinated in a light
rice wine for just 10 minutes before cooking,
the flavor and aroma of steamed fish is unparalleled.
Steaming is the quintessential way to maximize
the health and flavor benefits of healthy and
tasty seafood. What's more, it is also a quick
and easy way to prepare many varieties of the
fresh fish like white seabass, albacore, lingcod,
sablefish or rockfish. Thicker fillets are best
from 3/4 to one inch thick.
Steaming
guidelines are:
- Arctic
Char fillet (1" thick) 5 minutes
- Bluefish
fillet (3/4 to 1" thick) 7-8 minutes
- Cod
steak (1" thick) 6-8 minutes fillet (1"
thick) 6 minutes
- Flounder
fillet (1" thick 4-6 minutes and Gray
Sole folded in half so the tail end is under
the wide end)
- Grouper
fillet (1" thick) 10-12 minutes
- Halibut
steak (1" thick) 6 minutes
- Monkfish
fillet (1" thick) 10-12 minutes
- Pompano
fillet (1/2-3/4" thick) 6-8 minutes
- Salmon
steak and fillets (1" thick) 7-8 minutes
(med-rare) 8-9 minutes (medium)
- Snapper
fillet (3/4" thick) 5 minutes
- Swordfish
steaks (3/4-1" thick) 6 minutes
- Tilefish
steak (1" thick) 6-8 minutes Tuna
steak (3/4-1" thick) 2 minutes (rare)
4 minutes (med-rare)
- Wolffish
fillet (1/2-3/4" thick) 5 minutes
Note:
If you are steaming a fish not listed on the
chart, find a fish that has a similar texture
and thickness and use the time shown for it.
Cook's Notes: The bamboo steamer is favored
over metal steamers because condensation does
not form on the bamboo during steaming.
