Rosemary Rack of Lamb with Balsamic-Raisin Reduction

Good news - I got a new camera, so pictures are back!

I've never REALLY cooked meat before, but for some reason, this recipe caught my eye and I decided to challenge myself a little bit. I went out and purchased a rack of lamb, which I was very surprised to find at Trader Joe's. Seeing as red wine and balsamic vinegar are two of my favorite foods, I didn't see how this recipe could go wrong. I doubled the recipe to ensure we had plenty of leftovers to make it through the week.

I have a serious issue with the texture of raw meat and usually prefer not to touch it. Luckily this meat has bones attached, so I just touched the bones and I was ok. I also don't usually like food with bones, but rack of lamb is usually pretty easy to cut off the bone. I chopped some fresh rosemary, seasoned the meat, and popped it in the oven... pretty simple.

While the meat was in the oven I started on the reduction. This was also easier than I thought it would be... but it was kinda messy. When the wine and vinegar began to boil it started shooting little drops of red all over my white stove. After I added the brown sugar, the concoction got sticky and I had sticky, red dots all over my stove. After 15 minutes I smelled the reduction - it was SO strong I got nervous it wouldn't taste good.

When the reduction was finished, I was sure to clean the stove immediately - It came clean. I checked on the meat after 30 minutes, but it was still 'bleeding' and way too red, so I stuck it back in for another 10 minutes. (I really need a food thermometer!) After 40 minutes the meat smelled really good, but I thought it looked pretty boring and colorless.

I cut the meat into 8 pieces and paired it with some roasted potatoes and carrots and steamed green beans. The meat and the reduction came out GREAT together! The vinegar was tangy, but the raisins provided a sweet little punch to the meat. The reduction totally made the meat look and taste better. The left over reduction that dripped off of the meat also went well with the potatoes and veggies - It was such a yummy dinner.

I was surprised at how easy it was to cook meat - It was actually kind of boring. I have to admit, I am no longer terrified to make meat and I think my boyfriend will be very happy about that!

Recipe to follow:

Ingredients:

1 cup dry red wine

3/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup raisins

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 tablespoon butter

1 (1.5 pound) French-cut rack of lamb (8 ribs), trimmed

2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh rosemary

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

cooking spray

Methods:

1. Preheat oven to 425*

2. Combine first 4 ingredients in a small saucepan; bring to boil. Cook until reduced to 1/2 cup (about 15 minutes). Remove from heat; cool slightly. Add butter, stirring well with a whisk; keep warm.

3. Sprinkle lamb with rosemary, salt, and pepper. Place lamb, meat side up, on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 425* for 30 minutes or until a thermometer registers at 145* (medium rare) to 160* (medium). Let stand 5 minutes. Cut rack into 8 pieces. Serve with reduction. Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 2 chops and 2 tablespoons reduction).

Nutrition Facts:

Calories: 313 ; Fat: 15.1g ; Protein: 24.5g ; Carbohydrate: 17.5g ; Fiber: 0.4g ; Cholesterol: 88mg ; Iron: 2.2mg ; Sodium: 412mg ; Calcium: 34mg

Recipe courtesy of: Jeanne Kelley, Cooking Light, NOVEMBER 2007

Happy HEALTHY Holidays

Still in RD mode, I made some handouts for my weight management class and decided to share the info with all of you also!

Did you know?
--Americans gain about 5lbs from constant celebrating this time of year.
*Considering 1 lb = 3500kcals, those kcal dense holiday meals add up quickly!
--A study from the New England Journal of Medicine found that most people gain about 1 lb. between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day.

Tips to Avoid Holiday Weight Gain:
Eating regular meals and snacks every day makes it easier to resist over - eating at festive events. When you are busy preparing holiday gifts and meals and you skimp on meals, nosh on protein packed snacks, like low fat cheese or yogurt, to blunt your hunger before gathering with friends and family. Make it a new family tradition to go for a walk after the meal. A 1 hour walk can burn up to 250kcals... that's a large chunk of that delicious meal!
At parties, pile your plate with lower-fat foods to limit high-calorie splurges. The following foods have fewer calories, fat, and sodium and more fiber that other holiday items:

• Whole Grains: Whole wheat rolls, wild/ brown rice, and quinoa
• Shrimp, lobster, fish, and other steamed seafood
• Plain, or lightly dressed vegetables and salad greens
• Meat and poultry WITHOUT gravy
• Fresh fruit

Depriving yourself of holiday treats can backfire and make you crave that food even more, leading to over eating. Curb calories from "naughty" foods by taking small portions. The first few bites of food provide the most pleasure anyway. Pick which foods you want to splurge on before the meal rather than mindlessly nibbling on anything that comes your way. Once you have finished your "sweetie treaties", fight the urge for more by:

• Sitting far away from buffet tables, candy dishes, and cookie filled plates
• Excuse yourself from the table when you are finished eating
• Keep your mouth busy talking to friends and family
• Chew gum or suck on a breath mint to prevent picking at food and grazing
• If you can, brush your teeth - the taste of toothpaste dulls taste buds

Source: http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asparticlekey=77296

Fighting the Flu with Food

Seems like everyone these days is talking about the swine flu. O, sorry... H1N1. I was lucky enough to get the vaccine through work, but I know it is hard to come by, so I decided to utilize my RD skills to provide some flu-fighting foods to get you through the winter.

New scientific studies are coming out that prove that a diet rich in nutrients like vitamin A and zinc can provide the critical fuel your body needs to fight off diseases like the flu. Try incorporating one of these foods into your cooking or baking for an added boost.

Vitamin A:Promotes good vision and helps to form and maintain healthy teeth, skeletal and soft tissue, mucous membranes, and skin.

Found in: liver, spinach, carrots, pumpkin yellow fruits & vegetables.

Vitamin D: Maintains proper levels of calcium and phosphorus, therefore helping to build and maintain healthy bones

Found in: fortified milk and orange juice, salmon, and tuna

Vitamin C: Necessary to form collagen in bones, cartilage, muscle, and blood vessels, and aids in the absorption of iron

Found in: red peppers, broccoli, oranges, citrus, orange colored fruits and vegetables

Vitamin B12: Helps maintain healthy nerve cells and red blood cells, and is also needed to make DNA

Found in: potatoes, bananas, garbanzo beans, dairy products

Selenium: Protects cells from oxidation and is important for a healthy immune system

Found in: Brazil nuts, turkey, canned tuna in oil

Zinc: Enhances your immune system and aids in wound healing. Involved in sensory perception (taste, smell, and vision) and controls the release of vitamin A from the liver

Found in: oysters, crab, pork shoulder, nuts, whole grains, seafood

Many of the flu-fighting foods can be incorporated into your Thanksgiving dinner: turkey, milk, spinach, pumpkin, potatoes, and broccoli... So load up on yummy nutrient dense foods for a happy, healthy holiday.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Oatmeal, Chocolate Chip, and Pecan Cookies

As I walked past a bakery this weekend, I had a serious craving for chocolate chip cookies. Before stopped in to buy one, I remembered my blog and decided to bake my own!

I found this recipe in my Cooking Light cookbook and it looked pretty quick and simple, so I tried it! I didn't have any pecans or mini chocolate chips, so I substituted raisins and regular chocolate chips. Otherwise, I followed the recipe dead on and I think they came out great. The cookies were perfectly crunchy on the outside and a tiny bit chewy inside... the perfect treat for a rainy day.

Not only did the cookies completely satisfy my craving, but they ended up being a combination of my favorite (chocolate chip) and boyfriend's favorite (oatmeal raisin). I will definitely be making these cookies again soon!

See Recipe below...

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (about 5 1/2 ounces)
• 1 cup regular oats
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/3 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup chopped pecans, toasted
• 1/4 cup semisweet chocolate minichips

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 4 ingredients (through salt), stirring with a whisk; set aside.

Place sugars and butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended. Add vanilla and egg; beat until blended. Gradually add flour mixture, beating at low speed just until combined. Stir in pecans and minichips. Drop dough by tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350° for 12 minutes or until edges of cookies are lightly browned. Cool on pans 2 minutes. Remove cookies from pans; cool on wire racks.

Nutrition Information

Yield: 3 dozen (serving size: 1 cookie)

Calories: 81 (33% from fat) Fat: 3g (sat 1.4g,mono 1g,poly 0.3g) Protein: 1.1g

Carbohydrate: 12.9g Fiber: 0.5g Cholesterol: 10mg Iron: 0.5mg Sodium: 76mg

Calcium: 12mg

Julianna Grimes and Ann Taylor Pittman, Cooking Light, DECEMBER 2007

Broccoli Potato Gratin

After my banana bread didn't turn out great, I decided to pick another recipe from Cooking Light for dinner. My boyfriend, your typical meat and potatoes man, likes nothing more than meat and cheesy potatoes for dinner. I bought some pre-made brisket from Trader Joe's (shhh, it's our secret!) and found this recipe for Broccoli Potato Gratin. My plan was to make one of his favorite meals the "healthy way" in hopes that he wouldn't know the difference.

Broccoli Potato Gratin

6 cups chopped broccoli florets

3/4 cup minced shallots

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme

1/2 teaspoon minced garlic

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

3/4 teaspoon salt, divided

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 lbs peeled Yukon gold potatoes, cut into 1/8-inch-thick slices

Cooking spray

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups 2% reduced-fat milk

1 1/4 cups fat- free, less-sodium chicken broth

2 tablespoons chilles butter, cut into small pieces

3/4 cup shredded Gruyere cheese

Methods:

1. Preheat oven to 375*

2. Combine first 6 ingredients in a large bowl. Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper, toss to combine

3. Layer one-third of potato slices in a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray, overlapping to fit ; top with half of broccoli mixture. Repeat layers, ending with potato. Sprinkle evenly with 1/4 teaspoon salt.

4. Place flour in a medium bowl. Gradually add milk, stirring constantly with a whisk; stir in broth. Pour milk mixture over potato mixture. Top evenly with butter. Cover and bake at 375* for 1 hour. Uncover, sprinkle evenly with cheese. BAke 25 minutes or until browned. Cool on wire rack 10 minuted. Yield: 12 servings. Serving size: 2/3 cup.

Nutrition Info:

Calories: 225, Fat: 7.4g, Protein: 10.1g, CHO: 30.1g, Fiber: 3.3g, Cholesterol: 23mg, Iron: 1.9mg, Sodium: 432mg

This dish doesn't photograph as well as the bread, but doesn't it look yummy? I made a few substitutions to the recipe listed above. I used nonfat milk instead of 2% and less-sodium vegetable broth instead of chicken broth simply because it's what I had in the house. I didn't see a reason to purchase new milk and broth for one recipe.

By the time my boyfriend got home from work, the potatoes were out of the oven. This dish definitely doesn't look like something out of Cooking Light with all of the "cheesy goodness" on top. The potatoes came out great and were awesome with the brisket. I opened a nice 2000 Chateau St. Jean Cabernet Sauvignon to pair with the meal- YUM. Next time I will try to actually make the brisket from scratch rather than slipping it in the oven for a few minutes.

Boyfriend had no idea what he was eating was anything different than the high fat, cheesy potatoes and beef he's used to eating. This is definitely a recipe I will have to keep on hand for when he's in a true meat and potatoes mood!

Shabbat Shalom!

Coconut Banana Bread with Lime Glaze

For my first endeavor I decided to try a simple banana bread out of Cooking Light Annual Recipes 2008. The bread is pictured in the first few pages and it looks so yummy... who wouldn't want to make it? -->

Although this recipe looked reasonably easy, I just moved into a new apartment so everything is an experiment. The major problem I encountered was baking time. The directions say to bake the bread at 350* for an hour or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Unfortunately when it came time to insert the pick, I realized I don't have any toothpicks...

After an hour of baking, the bread had risen nicely and was beginning to brown on the top, so I took it out of the oven. When I stuck a fork in the top it was still pretty gooey, so I put it back in the oven for about 5 minutes. The buzzer went off and I checked it again only to find that the top was even darker and the middle was STILL gooey. After 5 more minutes (1 hour 10 minutes total baking time) I gave up and let it cool.

The banana bread came out OK, but didn't really look like the bread pictured in the book. The crust was very crunchy and the middle still kinda moist and even gooey. The flavor was yummy and sweet with a little tang from the lime juice. One piece was more than enough for me, so I donated it to my brother's college friends who enjoyed it thoroughly.

I don't think I will be making this banana bread again, but I definitely need to experiment with my oven more and buy some toothpicks!