Foodie

As you may or may not know…I am a chocoholic. A BIG chocoholic. I have to have some form of chocolate every single day. That’s how bad it is. But, never fear, I have been working hard on getting healthy while still eating chocolate. Do I have 10 cookies a day? No…but I find ways to have really good chocolate things in small batches. Recently, I’ve attempted to make a couple of chocolate recipes from my Weight Watchers site. Yes, I am on Weight Watchers. It’s all good and has taught me how to eat very healthy, because honestly, I am in this life only once and am going to do all I can to last for the long haul. Anyway…I digress….

The first thing I made ( which was very yummy!) were these:

Chocolate Chip Meringues
1 spray(s) cooking spray
1 tsp all-purpose flour
4 large egg white(s)
1 cup(s) sugar
1/2 cup(s) mini chocolate chips, semi-sweet
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 200ºF.

Coat a large baking sheet with cooking spray; coat with a light dusting of flour and shake off excess.

In a large mixing bowl, beat egg whites with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar and beat until stiff, glossy peaks form; gently fold in chocolate and vanilla extract.

Drop mixture by heaping tablespoons onto prepared baking sheet about 1 inch apart, making 24 cookies.

Bake until lightly golden and no longer sticky on the surface, about 1 hour. Turn oven off and let cookies sit in oven for 1 hour. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Yields 2 cookies per serving.
After that, I made (for the first time) these:

Chocolate Souffle’s
2 spray(s) cooking spray
1 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa
1 Tbsp all-purpose flour
3 Tbsp sugar, granulated, divided
3 Tbsp low-fat chocolate milk
1 large egg white(s)
1/2 tsp powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Coat two 6 oz ramekins with cooking spray.

In a small saucepan, whisk together cocoa, flour and 2 tablespoons granulated sugar; set over medium heat. Add milk; cook until smooth, stirring constantly, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat; cool for about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk egg white until soft peaks start to form. Slowly add remaining tablespoon granulated sugar and continue beating until soft peaks form. Fold cooled chocolate mixture into egg whites, a little at a time, until no white streaks appear.

Pour batter into prepared ramekins; bake until set and tops look slightly dry, about 14 to 16 minutes. Dust with powdered sugar; serve warm. Yields 1 soufflé per serving.

*Notes* Do not open oven until soufflés are done! Cold air can cause them to sink.

This recipe can easily be doubled or tripled for larger gatherings.

Having never made or even eaten souffle’s before, I wasn’t sure what to expect. The chocolatey taste was definitely there…in fact, it was downright yummy. I had an issue with the souffle falling as soon as I took it out of the oven. Not sure if this is normal, or if I missed something. I did NOT open the oven door until it was done…so who knows. I will attempt these again and maybe add a bit of mint extract or cinnamon. Whatever strikes my fancy at the time. 🙂

Happy Eating!

Happy New Year! Welcome to 2011. I’ve been gone a while…busy with the holidays and such, but I felt now was the time to start blogging again. I made SO MANY new and fun things over the last couple of months, I will need to blog every day for a while just to catch up! 🙂 So, I guess the first thing I will blog about in 2011 will be an old stand-by…at least in this house. It goes back to my Greek roots and tastes fantastic every time. It can be a little tough to do at first, but as soon as you figure out how to work with Filo (fee-lo) dough quickly, the possibilities are endless. The original recipe has a ton more calories, but with a few tweaks here and there, this is lighter, and tastes just as good…if not better.

Spanakopita (Spinach Pie)

Cooking Spray
2 tsp Olive Oil
30 oz. frozen Chopped Spinach, thawed and squeezed to remove excess water
1 c. Onion, finely chopped
2 tbsp Fresh chopped Parsley
1/8 tsp Ground Nutmeg
8 oz. Fat Free Egg Substitute
4 oz Crumbled Feta Cheese
1 tbsp Grated Parmesan Cheese
1/4 tsp ea. salt & pepper
1 lb frozen Filo Dough

-Coat a 9 x 13 baking pan with cooking spray.

-Heat oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add spinach and onion and cook until liquid is absorbed, about 5-7 minutes. Stir in parsley and nutmeg. Remove from heat and transfer to a large bowl. Let cool just slightly. In a smaller bowl, mix egg substitute, cheeses, salt & pepper. Then combine 2 bowls. Mix well. *note: the reason why I separate these things into separate bowls is to avoid scrambling the eggs when adding them to the hot spinach. This gives the spinach mixture a little time to cool down.*

-Pull filo out of the package and cut in half to create a rectangle that fits in the baking pan a bit better. Lay 1 sheet of filo in and up the sides of prepared pan. Coat surface lightly with cooking spray. Top with 7 more sheets of filo, coating each layer with cooking spray. Spread spinach mixture over dough and top with 8 more sheets of filo, coating each layer with cooking spray as before. Roll the overhanging sides of dough into the edges of the pan creating a sort of border. *note: work with your filo quickly so as not to dry it out. Also, be creative here, you can layer the spinach mixture and filo like lasagna sometimes if you’d like.*

-With a sharp knife, cut into 12 squares almost through to the bottom, but not quite. You don’t want the filling leaking out everywhere. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

-Preheat oven to 375. Bake until crisp and golden, about 45 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before cutting, then cut through all the way to the bottom. Enjoy!

I love Stir-Fry. It’s easy, quick, and allows me to eat lots of veggies at one time. Plus, I love experimenting with different things to add to it. Sometimes I’ll add chicken, sometimes it’s shirmp, sometimes it’s all veggies. Whatever I feel like at the moment. It doesn’t get any easier with the bag of Stir-fry veggies from Costco. I’m all about quick and easy! Recently, I upped the ante quite a bit and have scored a big hit in this house. Here is my basic recipe…you can add whatever meat you like to it…and I can find everything at my local grocery store:

Stir Fry with Udon Noodles
Bag o’ stir-fry veggies from Costco (any amount you’d like to make)
diced onions
minced garlic
meat of your choice
Soy Sauce
Ponzu Sauce
Hoisin Sauce
Olive oil
Udon Noodles (1 bunch)

In a wok type pan, heat about a tablespoon of oil on med/high heat. Throw in onions and garlic adding a pinch of salt. Stir and allow to saute a bit. Now throw in meat and saute until just about done. Pull all of this out of the pan and add another tablespoon of oil in. Once heated up, add veggies and cook until they are just about done. In the meantime, heat water in a small pan until boiling. Add in 1 bunch of Udon noodles (there are 3 in the package) and cook until done (about 3-4 minutes). Back in the wok, add in about a tablespoon of soy sauce, a tablespoon of ponzu sauce and a tablespoon of hoisin sauce. Mix well, covering all of the veggies. Add back in the meat/onions/garlic. As soon as the Udon noodles are done, add those in as well. Mix it all up and BAM, you have dinner! 🙂 Look at this gorgeous dish full of yummy goodness…how can you resist? Top with a few chow mein noodles if you desire and serve warm.

So, the moment you’ve all been waiting for….let’s talk about food! You already know how I got to this place, so now I think I’ll start talking about some recipes I work on in the kitchen. Watching things on TV is a great help because I learn so much better by watching, and then doing vs. reading a book or studying. Hands on is where it’s at for me! These days, I tend to watch what they do (or even if I see a recipe) and then put my own twist on it. Case in point, a recipe I came across recently that looked really good…but I thought it may need a little something more. If there is one thing you wanted to know about me, it’s the fact that I LOVE chocolate. Not a little….a LOT. It’s something I need to have every day in some form. Am I addicted? Probably. But, it doesn’t hide the fact that I do all I can to create some really yummy goodness. Dark & Creamy Fudge. Sounds good, right? I thought so too when I came across this recipe. Then, of course, I added a little special something to it to make it my own. In this picture, you really can’t tell there is much sea salt on top…that’s because my husband is not a big fan of the salt on top, so I limit it for him. Enjoy!

Dark & Creamy Fudge…with a Twist
10 oz. Bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 (14 oz.) can fat free sweetened condensed milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
Pinch + scant 1/2 tsp coarse sea salt
1/2 tsp. mint extract (optional)

Line 8″ square baking pan with plastic wrap, leaving 2″ overhang, smooth out any wrinkles.
Combine chocolate, condensed milk, vanilla and pinch of salt in large heavy saucepan. Cook stirring occasionally, over medium/low heat, until chocolate melts and mixture is smooth, about 5 minutes. Add mint extract if desired. Transfer to prepared pan; spreading evenly with rubber spatula. Let cool. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours.
Uncover fudge; remove from pan by lifting edges of plastic wrap. Invert fudge onto cutting board; discard plastic wrap. Cut fudge into 8 strips, then cut each strip crosswise into 8 pieces. To serve, bring the fudge to room temperature. Sprinkle evenly with remaining sea salt. Yields 2 pieces per serving.

In 2007, friends of ours, from San Jose, flew to our house for Christmas.  Their birthday’s are right around Christmas Day and that year, they decided they wanted to get out of town for the celebrations and just relax at our house.  We had plans to go to a nice dinner and see the Nutcracker on stage.  After that, we came back and they were very insistent that we sit down and watch a movie.  The movie they wanted to watch was Ratatouille.  I was tired, but we had never seen the movie before, so we watched it.  Little did I know, this was all a themed plan.  I truly had no idea what was coming, but our friends were very excited for me to open my Christmas gift right after the movie was over.  Still not knowing what was going on, I opened my gift and there was my chef coat!  It was personalized with my name on it (in lowercase letters, just the way I spell it!), had a “name” for my restaurant, and I was labeled as “Executive Chef”.  The trim and buttons on my coat is teal in honor of my hockey team the San Jose Sharks and on each arm is a flag representing my heritage…Greek and Italian.  It has to be one of the coolest gifts I have EVER gotten!  It fit perfectly and I wear it ALL THE TIME when I’m in the kitchen.

Yes, here we are.  Food is a “language” that has no barriers.  No matter who you are or what culture you come from, you gotta eat, right?  Because of this, why not make it great?  I’ve spent the last 8 years or so learning how to eat more healthy…but have only recently realized the power of making my food FANTASTIC.   And why shouldn’t we eat fantastic food?  I used to be very nervous in the kitchen…why, I don’t know.  I grew up in a household that always cooked.  If it wasn’t my Mom cooking, it was my Italian Grandmother or my Yiayia (Greek for Grandma)…and everything they made was amazing!  Back then, I wasn’t really interested in learning how to create any of these amazing dishes.  I was too busy doing whatever.  Once I became a mother, I was even more nervous and could only make a few things…which got me by…most of the time.  I think the turning point for me had to be a few years ago when I watched my first cooking show on TV.  I was amazed at how easy they made it all look and how simple the ingredients really were.  I tended to think I had to buy expensive this or high priced that or have many gadgets in the kitchen to make things work…when in reality, I just needed a few key pieces, fresh food and imagination.  Oh, and practice, practice, practice.  I welcome you to read, follow along, comment and try experimenting in your own kitchens.   In whatever language you prefer…Guten Appetit! (German)