Living in the southwest, I see salsa everywhere. In every restaurant, whether it’s an authentic recipe, or the “chef’s own interpretation of” someone elses, salsa is the default dip de jour. And as much as I like salsa, I go looking for options now and then. Like this one.

Seriously Fine Hummus
Serves 8, more or less

1/2C extra virgin olive oil (use the good stuff here)
3/4C walnuts, toasted *
1 medium clove garlic, or to taste
1/2C hot water
Chopped cilantro to taste
1 1/2t crushed red pepper flakes
2C canned garbanzo beans, drained, rinsed
Juice of 1/2 lemon, about 2T
1/4C oil-cured olives, chopped

Combine the olive oil and pepper flakes in a small saucepan then heat over medium heat for about 4 minutes. You want to infuse the oil with the pepper flakes, not cook them. Set aside and let cool. If you can, do this a day ahead and set aside in the saucepan, covered.

Give the nuts a spin in the food processor, until you have a sandy texture. Add most of the garbanzos and 1-2T chili oil (no flakes), garlic and lemon juice. Now process until smooth. Drizzle in the water a bit at a time and continue to process until the hummus is creamy and billowy. Process one more minute to incorporate a bit more air. Taste and adjust the seasonings with salt and more lemon juice.

Serve it up in a shallow bowl, drizzled with plenty of the remaining oil and red pepper flakes for color. Stir in the remaining garbanzos and olives for color and texture, then garnish with cilantro. Serve with chips, toasted, pitas, sliced veggies…you get the idea.

Don’t expect leftovers.

* To toast walnuts, put them on a cookie sheet in a preheated 350F oven until you see they’re starting to turn a bit dark and are very warm to the touch, about 10-15 minutes, Watch them carefully as you don’t want them to burn. While still warm, place them on a clean dish towel and rub them back and forth to remove some of the skin. You won’t get them completely clean here so don’t fret.

Calories: 158, sat fat: 0.76,  Cholesterol: 0, Protein: 4.72

Recipe: courtesy 101Cookbooks.com
Photo: simplyrecipes.com

Kent McDonald is a Certified Personal Chef, living and working in Phoenix, AZ. All rights reserved, 2012

So, Paula Deen has diabetes…

No real surprise here, given her love of butter, heavy cream and recipes that heavily rely on bacon…lots and lots of bacon. The bigger surprise is that a major slice of the population in this country also has, or will develop, diabetes. Those of us who are overweight, over 45, and inactive are statistically more likely to develop Type 2 diabetes.

Deen is quoted as saying she sat on this information while she tried to figure out “is my life fixing to change”. If she’s smart, the answer is “yes”.

As a Personal Chef, I’ve spent most of my time helping clients stay on one diet or another. Some succeed, some keep trying. For the more challenged, I move them to a diabetic diet. While oversimplifying some, such a diet is based on portion control and eating the right foods. Put another way, it’s a long-term solution brought on through behavior modification, not a case of weight loss through a short-term diet.

This is a typical, delicious diabetic dish I often serve to clients

Halibut with Herbs and Capers
Serves 4

1/4C onion, chopped
1/4C Italian parsley, fresh
1T cilantro
2t lemon zest, freshly grated
1T lemon juice, fresh
1T green olives, pitted, chopped
2t capers, drained, rinsed
1 garlic clove, peeled, minced
1/8t fresh ground pepper
2T olive oil
1lb. fresh Halibut, cut into 4, 4oz. portions

Preheat the oven to 450F.

Place onion, parsley, cilantro, lemon juice, olives, capers, garlic and pepper in a food processor. Pulse several times to chop. Add olive oil and process, scraping down sides of the bowl several times, until you have a pesto-like consistency. Coat the fish with the paste.

Coat a baking dish with cooking spray or a light coat of oil. Place fish on dish, spooning any extra pesto onto fish. Bake, uncovered, until fish is opaque, in the center, 15-30 minutes.

I often serve this with simple steamed green beans and cous cous with raisins.

Calories: 199, sat fat: 1, cholesterol: 36, protein: protein: 2

Recipe: courtesy “The EatingWell Diabetes Cookbook”

Kent McDonald is a Certified Personal Chef, living and working in Phoenix, Arizona. (c) All rights reserved, 2012

A healthy soup that’s hard to beet

I love beets, I admit that up front. From a can or from the farmer’s market, with a touch of salt or a drizzle of balsamic reduction, beets are one of my favorite veggies.  Here’s a great, quick-to-table soup that’s not only flavorful, but healthy as well.

Beet and Fennel Soup
Serves 6

4 medium beets, about 1lb.
1/4C water
1 large onion, about a pound
4C vegetable stock, organic if available
1 3/4C fennel bulbs, chopped 
1C Granny Smith apple, peeled, chopped
2t white wine vinegar
2t lemon juice
1/2t salt
1/2t black pepper, freshly ground
8t sour cream, opti0nal, for garnish
fennel fronds, chopped, for garnish

Preheat oven to 375F. Leave the root and 1″ stem on the beets, scrub well. Place beets on a large square of tin foil, then sprinkle on water. Wrap beet package tightly, place on cookie sheet with onion and bake for one hour or until beets are tender. Set aside to cool.

Combine broth, chopped fennel and apple in medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes or until the fennel is tender. Cool.

Trim off the beet roots, rub off the skins by hand a coarsely chop. Peel and quarter the onion, add beets and onion to the broth mixture in pan, stirring to combine. Place half of the beet mixture to a blender, process until smooth. Pour the puree into a large bowl, then repeat with the rest of the mixture. Stir in vinegar, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Return everything to pan, cook two minutes on medium heat or until everything is well blended. Serve, garnished with a spoonful of sour cream and fennel fronds.

Calories: 96, saturated fat: 0.63, carbs: 14.77

Recipe: Cooking Light Magazine
Photo: tasteologie.notcot.org

Kent McDonald is a Certified Personal Chef, living and working in Phoenix, AZ. (c) All Rights Reserved, 2012

I resolve to make more soup.

Lose weight, read books more, watch tv less. Drive slower, walk faster. Yadda, yadda, yadda…been there, done that. Instead, I resolve to make more soup, something that I actually enjoy and is, in fact, very good for me.  Like this one.

White Corn Tortilla Soup

Serves 6

3T olive oil

1.5T garlic, minced fine

1.5 7″ corn tortilla, cut into 1″ squares

2T white onion, minced

1.5t jalapeno peppers, seeded, cored, minced *

1 pound white corn kernels, frozen or fresh

1.5 pounds tomatoes, chopped, canned or fresh **

1/3C tomato paste

2.5t cumin

1T salt

1/8t white pepper

1/2t chili powder

1.5C water

1 quart chicken stock, low fat, low salt

big handful shredded cheddar cheese

cilantro for garnish

sour cream, , optional

Over medium high heat, fry the tortilla squares in olive oil until golden and they begin to crisp. Add garlic, onion and jalapeno, cook, stirring for 1-2 minutes. Add spices, cook 1-2 more minutes, stirring. Add half the corn and all other ingredients, except for cheese and garnishes.  Bring to a low, even boil for 5 minutes. Remove from heat.

Using an immersion blender, or stand blender, process to a coarse puree.

Return to heat and add rest of corn. Again, bring to a low boil…be careful to avoid scorching or burning. Hold at low boil for one minute. Stir in cheese.

Serve, letting guests stir in sour cream, then cilantro.  Enjoy with beer. Cold beer.

* start with this amount of jalapeno, unless you know enjoy more heat.

** I usually use canned, fire-roasted diced tomatoes.

Recipe: thanks to Harlene Dean, harlene@thehomechef.com

Kent McDonald is a Certified Personal Chef, living and working in Phoenix, AZ. (c) All Rights Reserved, 2012

Chicken Supremes with Tapenade and Mushroom Sauce

The best part of fall, for me at least, is the shift to more substantial fare, meals that require a few more ingredients, a bit more thought than the lighter fare of summer. Stews, soups, roasts…dishes that require the oven, an appliance that I haven’t used since the temps went above 100F last April. What to cook, what to cook…

From Jacques Pepin comes this updated classic.

Chicken Supremes With Tapenade and Mushroom Sauce

Serves 4

Tapenade:

3/4C mixed pitted, oil-cured Kalamata and green olives*

1 small garlic clove, sliced thin

2 dried apricot halves, cut into small pieces

1 1/2T drained capers

8 anchovy fillets in oil

2T evoo

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, about 6oz each

1T good quality olive oil

4T unsalted butter

S&P to taste

1 1/2C baby bella mushrooms, washed and cut into 3/4″ pieces**

1/2C chopped onion

1/2C white wine

2T chopped fresh chives or parsley for garnish

For the tapenade, put everything in food processor and pulse to make a course puree.

Cut a horizontal slit in each chicken breast to create a pocket and stuff with the tapenade. When ready to cook, preheat oven to 180 . Heat the olive oil and 2T of the butter in a large skillet. Meanwhile, season the stuffed breasts with 1/2t each salt and pepper and arrange them side by side in the hot skillet. Cook over medium heat, covered, for about 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a platter and keep warm in oven.

Add mushrooms and onion to the skillet and saute about 2 minutes. Add wine and reduce by boiling for 2 minutes. Add rest of butter and salt and pepper to taste, mixing well to incorporate the butter.

Serve the chicken breast on warmed plates, adding any juice that may have accumulated around them on the platter to the mushroom sauce in the pan. Spoon the mushrooms and sauce over the chicken breasts and sprinkle with garnish. Serve.

* If you have access to wild mushrooms, by all means use them.

** Many local markets now offer olive bars. Try combining the Kalamatas with any other oil-cured green olives available.

Recipe source: “Jacques Pepin More Fast Food My Way”, Houghton Mifflin, 2008.

Kent McDonald is a Certified Personal Chef, living and working in Phoenix, AZ. (c) All Rights Reserved, 2011

Gazpacho…because it’s too hot to cook.

I threw in the towel around 110F.   Preheat the oven? Boil? In this heat? Fat chance.

I can be quite content eating salads. Crisp, green, crunchy mash-ups of  fresh veg, an interesting cheese and hard salami of some sort and I’m good.  From salad,  it’s a short jump to Gazpacho, one of my favorite summer recipes.

Gazpacho

Serves 6ish

3 slices day old French bread, no crust

2 pounds canned Italian-style whole tomatoes, seeded, coarsely chopped

2 medium cucumbers, peeled, seeded, coarsely chopped

1 red or yellow bell pepper, seeded, coarsely chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1T sugar

2C tomato juice, good quality

1T paprika, Spanish if available

Kosher salt, ground black pepper to taste

1/2C extra virgin olive oil

1/4C sherry wine vinegar

Juice of half a lemon

Handful, chopped parsley

Soak the bread in 1C cold water for 5 minutes. Squeeze out as much water as possible, then combine with tomatoes, cucumbers, pepper, onion, garlic in the bowl of a food processor. Puree until almost smooth, leaving some texture.  Empty into a large bowl,  then stir in the juice, sugar, paprika, salt, pepper, vinegar, lemon juice and parsley. Stir to combine well. Chill for at least 2 hours. Season again with salt and pepper before serving.  Serve garnished with any of the above veggies, diced small. And there’s always the hard-boiled egg garnish.

This dish is better made the day before.

Notes: at first taste, the vinegar-lemon combination packs some punch, but mellows over time. You might want to play with the amounts to suit your taste. The amount of onion shown here is half the amount called for in the original called for, and that’s fine for my palate. Again, feel free to improvise.

Gazpacho photo, courtesy milescollins.com

Kent McDonald is a Certified Personal Chef, living and working in Phoenix, AZ. (c) All rights reserve, 2011

 

 

Sorbet in the Summer Time

I admit it, I’m a certified sorbet freak.  Rarely does a week go by in the summer when I don’t make at least one batch of sorbet.  Give me ten minutes at the farmer’s market and I’ll find the fixings for a week’s worth of deliciousness. And sorbets are healthy too…diary-free, fat-free, low in sodium, low in carbs, low in calories.

Ices, as our grandparents knew then, certainly aren’t new. Toss the mixture in a lasagna, and into the freezer. Every 30 minutes or so, run a fork through the mix to break it up. In a few hours, you have an ice-cold rustic dessert.

You can do that, or you can get yourself an ice cream machine. Major department stores carry them, starting around $25. Buy yourself a good one. I have a Krups I bought years ago for about $60. Incredibly reliable, few moving parts, cleans up fast, and like most Krups products, lasts forever (major Krups fan here).

I’m planning a menu for a fancy 5 course dinner for ten, one that features big, bold flavors.  The menu needs a palate cleanser and this one’s perfect.

Lemon-Ginger Sorbet 

Serves 6

2C water

1/2C sugar

2 lemons, zest of one, juice of both

3T fresh ginger root, chopped fine

Combine the water and sugar in a small saucepan. Bring to a rip roarin’ boil, stirring until sugar is dissolved.

Add zest, lemon juice and ginger, and return to boil; hold for one minute. Take off heat, transfer to a small metal bowl, float in a larger bowl filled with ice cubes and water. Stir now and then to encourage rapid chilling.  When fully chilled, pass the mixture through a strainer to remove the ginger, then prepare in your ice cream machine…in mine, it’s about 30 minutes.

What you get is a sorbet that’s close to soft-serve ice cream in texture, clean, fresh, sparkling on the tongue, bright with lemon essence without the citrus edge, underscored with the slightly heavier tones of ginger.  To maximize the impact of this dish, it will be served as a single bite.

Option:  When you add the lemon and ginger, add a 3″ rosemary sprig and let steep for 3 minutes only. The result is a hint, a ghost of rosemary flavor that  hangs back on the palate at the entrance to the nasal passage, clearly present but difficult to identify.

 Recipe: an adaptation of a basic sorbet recipe

Photography courtesy of me.

Kent McDonald is a Certified Personal Chef, living and working in Phoenix, AZ. (c) All rights reserved, 2011.

Swiss Chard Lasagna with Ricotta and Mushrooms

Is there anything better than food shopping at the local farmer’s market? Sunday mornings, Tonopah Rob http://tonopahrob.com/ sets up shop a few miles from me, along with several other local food growers and foodies.  Mini-mountains of beautiful multi-colored carrots, the most aromatic display of fresh strawberries a nose could encounter, and piles of just-picked swiss chard.  What to do, what to do…

Swiss Chard Lasagna with Ricotta and Mushrooms

Serves 8

Bechamel

2 1/2C whole milk

1 bay leaf, Turkish if possible

6T unsalted better

1/4 AP flour

1/2t kosher salt

1/2t (scant) ground nutmeg

pinch of ground cloves

Swiss chard and mushroom layers

1 pound fresh Swiss Chard, center rib and stem cut from each leaf

4T EVOO

1 1/3C chopped onion

4 large garlic cloves, chopped, divided

1/4t  dried crushed red pepper

kosher salt to taste

1 pound crimini mushrooms, sliced

1/4t ground nutmeg

lasagna

9 7″x3″ lasagna noodles, scratch-made if possible

15oz whole milk ricotta, organic if possible

6oz Italian Fontina cheese, coarsely grated, about  11/2C packed, divided

8T finely grated Parmesan cheese, divided

For the sauce, bring milk and bay leaf to a simmer in a medium sauce pan, remove from heat. Melt the butter in a medium heave sauce pan, whisk in the flour. Cook 2 minutes, whisking almost constantly….do not brown.  Gradually whisk the milk with bay leaf into the roux. Add 1/2t kosher salt, nutmeg and cloves and bring to a simmer. Cook until sauce thickens to the point where it will coat the back of a spoon, whisking often, about 3 minutes. Remove the bay leaf.

To prepare the layers,  blanch the chard in a large pot of boiling salted water for one minute then drain, pressing out all the water. Chop coarsely.

Heat 2T of the olive oil in a heavy medium skillet over medium high heat. Add the onion, half the garlic and the crushed red pepper. Saute the onion until tender, 3-4 minutes. Mix in chard, season with kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper.

Heat the remaining oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add the mushrooms and the rest of the garlic. Saute until the mushrooms are browned and tender, 7-8 minutes. Add nutmeg, season with salt and pepper.

Cook the lasagna in a large pot of salted water until just tender but still firm to the bite, stirring now and then. Drain well. Arrange noodles on a sheet of plastic wrap.

Brush a 13″x9″x2 baking dish well to coat.  Spread 3T of the bechamel all over the bottom of the dish. Place 3 lasagna noodles in the dish to cover. Spread half the chard mixture over the noodles, then half the mushrooms. Drop half the ricotta in large dollops, spread to cover. Sprinkle with half the Fontina,  4T of the Parmesan, then 3/4C of the  bechamel. Repeat. Top with 3 lasagna noodles and remaining bechamel.

Preheat oven to 400F. Cover with tin foil, bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake until heated through and top is browned, 20-30 more minutes. Let stand for about 15 minutes before serving.

A nice side salad, fresh loaf of french bread, the right beverage…dinner.

Kent McDonald is a Certified Personal Chef, living and working in Phoenix, AZ. I(c) All rights reserved, 2011.

Recipe courtesy bon appetit, january 2011

Chard photo courtesy girl-heros.com

Why Should Diabetics Have All The Fun?

I’ve mentioned before that, as a Personal Chef, I spend a lot of time helping people keep on diets and eat healthy. For those who are “serial dieters”, I move them toward a diabetic diet, and for good reason. First, a diabetic diet will in fact help you lose weight and live a healthier life. Second, it requires a change in behavior, in lifestyle. Popular diets don’t, leaving you to hope for a short-term solution to what is a long-term challenge.

People who don’t know much about a diabetic diet often assume it can’t be very appetizing, something that “medical” in nature.   Does this recipe look “medical” in nature to you?

Honey-Dijon Chicken

Serves 4

3/4t fines herbes or herbes de Provence

1/4t garlic powder

1/4t salt

1/4t fresh ground black pepper

1 pound boneless, skinless breasts, cut into 8 equal pieces and pounded 1/2″ thick

1T evoo

3T thinly sliced scallions or finely chopped parsley

Sauce:

1/4C plus 2T chicken broth

1T fresh lemon juice

1T Dijon mustard

1T honey

Combine the herbs, garlic powder, salt and pepper and sprinkle some on both sides of the chicken pieces. Heat the oil in a medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken, cook 2+ minutes to brown evenly on all sides. Cover the skillet and reduce heat to medium, cooking for about 3 minutes, turning once, until chicken is cooked through. Remove from the skillet, keep warm.

Combine the sauce ingredients in a small bowl and stir to mix. Add the sauce to the skillet and bring to a bowl over medium-high heat. Cook for 1-2 minutes or until mixture is reduced by half.

To serve, place 2 chicken pieces on each of 4 serving plates, drizzle with some of the sauce, then garnish with the scallions or parsley. Serve hot and don’t expect leftovers.

I like to serve with this steamed green beans or broccoli drizzled with a balsamic reduction and white rice prepared with diced dried fruit.

Kent McDonald is a Certified Personal Chef, living and working in Phoenix, AZ. (c) All rights reserved, 2011.

Eat All-Natural Meats, Seafood and Poultry For Less

Several times over the last month or so, I’ve posted on the importance of eating more natural and organic meat, seafood and poultry, foods that are free of pesticides, chemicals, hormones and additives that harm us. Several of you have sent me notes about the difficulty in sourcing such products, and the added expense of purchasing them.

Personal Gourmet Foods in Scottsdale, AZ specializes specifically in these products, and has for the last ten years.  If you don’t know about them, here’s a great opportunity to do so. They’ve paired with DealChicken here in Phoenix to introduce you to all-natural Kobe beef burgers and kabobs and 4 ounce all-natural chicken breasts, 54 portions in all, for $137.00,  50% off the regular price. And, it’s delivered to your door if you live in greater Phoenix.

Here’s the link: www.phoenix.dealchicken.com

Kent McDonald is a Certified Personal Chef, living and working in Phoenix, AZ. (c) All rights reserved, 2011.