Making friends and guinea pigs

I have been looking forward to having friends over for dinner since my return to Plano. This weekend, I invited Lori, Toni, Mike and Keith to come over.  At first I planned a Thai Curry, something much more in line with my “normal” meal choices.

One problem with me is in making commitments on my decisions. So, over time the idea went from a Thai Curry to a Greek Shrimp Scampi and on from there. The problem for me is that I try to pre-think what people will eat. Since I don’t eat meat, it is a little more difficult when carnivores are coming over. Well actually, since I am not a true vegetarian, it can also be a challenge when ethical vegetarians come over.

I really wanted to make Salmon or Scallops. That is something I do a lot. But I am on a budget since I haven’t had much work and lots of expense. Seafood is expensive, so I nixed that idea.

In any case, I finally wore myself out planning so decided to make Penne with Vodka sauce, a salad and who knows what else. I had made the Vodka Sauce before using fresh marinara I bought at Central Market and it was good. It was also easy to make.

I also wanted the meal to be in line with healthier eating. Vodka sauce has cream in it, a challenge.  I found a recipe on Jamie Oliver’s site for a light Caesar dressing using 0% Greek yogurt. I thought that might be interesting too and healthier. I have made his recipes with much success.

I recently came across this nifty site where you can put a recipe in and get a very cool breakdown of what you are taking into your body. http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/vegetables-and-vegetable-products/2356/2

 I put in the Vodka Sauce recipe and the outcome took all the color out of my face (which, with my white skin, isn’t really much of a feat).  The calorie count was out the roof. The fat count wasn’t far behind.

So now I had a dilemma. How to improve on it? So I tried. Less Vodka, ½ heavy cream and ½ fat free half and half, about 1/8 of the parmesan in the original recipe and measured portions of pasta.  I tried to find a good multigrain penne but didn’t find one that was right so settled on semolina.

I made the Light Caesar dressing http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/caesar-on-the-light-sideand it needed some fixing up. Instead of minced fresh garlic, I roasted mine. Fresh is so strong and cutting, I didn’t want to use it.  I added a little Dijon mustard and at the last minute threw in some chopped basil.

I added some steamed fresh broccoli to the menu too.  For dessert, I made a Red Wine Sauce to go over peaches and Ice Cream. I chose the ½ fat Dreyer’s Vanilla.

So you might wonder how it turned out. Well I had a fantastic time with my friends. It was so nice to have them and they seemed to have a good time. It lifted my spirits, which I needed.

My opinion on the food; I decided that my best meals are not planned dinner parties. Somehow I am never as happy with the outcome. I am really a “harried cook” when it comes to planned events.

 My girlfriend and fellow foodie Moira in Florida once said, she makes her best meals just cooking at home. I think the same is true for me. I do better when I invite someone for a dinner I had cooked for myself.

The outcome: The sauce was watery. I think the non-fat half and half isn’t the greatest product. I have read that before but took the chance.  The portions were not filling enough, though only one person mentioned that. I was hungry later.

I don’t know how anyone felt about the Caesar but I don’t think it would pass muster with “Real Caesar” lovers.  The yogurt was just a little too tangy.  If I did it over, I would use some non-fat mayonnaise with it to tone it down some, or add honey to cut the edge.   I think I would have preferred a basil dressing for flavor.

I slightly undercooked the broccoli.  For me it would be fine, but not for company. The Dreyer’s light was good. The peaches were flavorless so I added some partly defrosted frozen peaches. I don’t think that was a good idea. I am used to eating half frozen fruit in my cereal, but I don’t think it went over too well.  My friends much preferred Crème de Menthe topping to my home cooked Red Wine sauce.  Go figure. I could have just bought that.

Even though this meal was not on the 4 star list, it was not “bad” I don’t think.  I figure, at least I tried to make it tasty and healthier. Sometimes it works the first time. Other times it takes some trial and error.  

Maybe some recipes will never be as good without the fat. I remember hearing a popular nutrition guru say, if you are trying to lose weight, just because you ate one unhealthy meal doesn’t mean you give up. It would be like getting a flat tire and then slitting the other 3. You move forward from where you are.

So, I will either try these recipes again or find some better healthy choices. I find it a worthy and healthy pursuit.

Vegetarian Lettuce Wraps

 People are always raving about the Lettuce Wraps at PF Changs. I did try their vegetarian version a number of years ago, and although I liked the idea of it, I found them kind of salty and greasy.

I hadn’t really thought much about it until I ran across a recipe that sounded as if it would be tasty.  I can’t tell you where I got this. I found it last year in a magazine at the local library. I am one of those obsessive types that collects recipes from everywhere and can’t always remember the original author or sometimes where I put them!

My sister came over for dinner last night and since she is the perfect guinea pig, I decided to try the recipe on her (and  also on me..the other perfect guinea pig!).

We loved them and the best thing about them was they were easy to make.  The wraps were fresh, light and flavorful.  For a couple of small women like us, it was a great meal. More hearty eaters might want to add more to the dinner menu than just the wraps.

I did change a few things and would change another if I was to make them again. The recipe called for ¼ cup of crushed red pepper flakes in the sauce. I am sure I wrote that down wrong. It sounded like too much. I added about a teaspoon.  Instead of jicama, I used water chestnuts. I couldn’t find jicama at the store and water chestnuts sounded more authentic anyway. I also put a few drops of sesame oil in the wok along with the canola oil.  I like the flavor.

The lettuce used was romaine, but romaine isn’t very flexible. I would use a butter lettuce next time.  The recipe was not enough for 12 lettuce leaves. It really just served 2 people with 2 Romaine leaves each. Double the recipe for 4 people if it is for dinner rather than an appetizer.

 I followed the rest of the recipe with success.

 How I made them:

I put together the ingredients for the wrap and stuck it in the fridge while making the sauce and the brown rice. While the rice was cooking, I threw the sauce ingredients into the blender, blended them then put it in a bowl. While the rice was cooking, I cleaned up the kitchen.

When it was time to eat, I pulled out the mix, stir fried it, added the sauce and that was it. When all was done, there was very little clean up, which to me is a big plus.

Ok, for you non-tofu lovers, feel free to substitute something else. I think some chopped up cooked shrimp would be a good substitute but you decide on that. 

You can serve these with hot Green tea or you might try a Zentini or Saketini 

http://www.thenibble.com/reviews/main/cocktails/zen-green-tea-liqueur.asp
(by the way The Nibble is a great newsletter too)

Tofu Lettuce Wraps- Serves two dinner size portions

Sauce:

¼ cup tamari sauce (low sodium if you prefer)

1 tsp minced garlic

1 tbl minced shallot

1 tbl packed light brown sugar

1 tbl plus 1 tsp rice vinegar

¼ cup plus 2 tbl water

1 tbl plus 1 tsp cornstarch

1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

¾ tsp peeled and minced fresh ginger (a fine microplane works great for grating both the ginger and the garlic)

Put all of the sauce ingredients in the blender and blend until smooth.

Wrap ingredients:

½ cup diced carrots

½ cup sugar snap peas diced

½ cup diced jicama (or substitute water chestnuts diced)

½ cup pineapple diced

¾ lb extra firm tofu, diced

A drop or two of sesame oil (optional)

Canola oil spray for stir frying

½ cup unsalted peanuts (I used salted because I had them on hand)

12 romaine lettuce leaves (or substitute boston lettuce) See note on this. I only used 4 leaves

1 1/3 cup cooked brown rice

Toss together the carrots thru the pineapple in a large bowl. Mix in the tofu.

Heat a wok sprayed with canola oil on high heat (I added a drop of sesame oil for added flavor)

Add tofu mixture and stir fry briefly (30 sec to a minute). Stir in enough sauce to moisten well and cook another minute or until the sauce is just thickened.

Serve with the lettuce to wrap, the peanuts, rice and whatever leftover sauce there is.

Fill lettuce leaf with some of the mix, put some rice on top, then some peanuts. If you want, a little extra sauce is good too. Wrap and eat. Messy but fun and tasty too!

Fresh orange slices would be a great dessert.

I hope you enjoy these and would love to hear about it.