Paella

Who does not LOVE Paella!   As a child, my father would take us to a Spanish restaurant in Greenwich Village called Sevilla, it was one of his favorite places to eat while he was attending law school at Brooklyn Law.   As far as I know it’s still there.

This was my first attempt at Paella and I felt it necessary (after reading a shlew of recipes) to purchase a Paella pan.  I picked this one up at Bed Bath & Beyond for about $30.00  and I have to say it worked out very well.  I don’t have a recipe (although I will try to get one together when I make it again) because I sort of combined 3 or 4 different ones that I liked.  It’s a pretty easy to make, just a little time consuming and takes a little organizing and prep work.  I made this one with muscles, clams, scallops, lobster, shrimp, calamari, chicken and chorizzo.  This is a great dish to make for a large crowd!  I will definitely be bringing this one back!

healthy low point stuffed chicken cutlet

Splurge on the weekend and eat really healthy during the week!  I cannot be on a diet 24/7, it just wont work for me.  I am a lover of food and the kitchen and nothing will ever change that, so I try to incorporate balance in my eating and cooking lifestyle.

I am actively on weight watchers.  I am trying to lose about 10 lbs by spring!  So far, I have lost 5 (it’s been almost 2 weeks).  So, here is a quick and easy (and very yummy!!) recipe.  You can use whatever you like, whatever you have in the house.  This recipe is never the same, I always change according to what I have in the house, or what looks fresh in the market.  Sometimes spinach and feta, or basil and tomato, or mozzarella or goat cheese or… just a sprinkle of pecorino (a big calorie saver)!  This time, I had leftover broccoli rabe with cannelloni beans from dinner the night before, and that is what I used to stuff my chicken breast!  I also had the laughing cow light cheese triangles…so i used 1/2 of one in each cutlet!  (only .5 point)!!

BTW, my husband who is not on WW loves this recipe too!

Ingredients:

• thin sliced chicken cutlets (4, 3 1/2 ounce cutlets)
• 3 egg whites
• tbls mustard
• 1 tbls parsley (fresh or dried)
• salt and pepper
• spinach (box frozen, squeeze out moisture, or use fresh leaves (uncooked)
• sundried tomatoes (6 pcs)
• pignoli nuts (or walnuts, pecans, chestnuts…)
• 2 laughing cow light swiss or garlic (use just 1/2 per piece of chicken)
• 1/4 tsp grated cheese (peccorino or parmesan) for sprinkling on chicken
• 1 tsp grated cheese to be added to breadcrumb mixture
• 1/4 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
• 1/4 cup unprocessed bran

Preheat oven to 350.  Spray glass dish with olive oil.  Combine egg whites, parsley s&P in a bowl.  Whisk.  Add chicken.  Separate plate combine breadcrumb, bran and 1 tsp of grated cheese, mix.  Dip chicken in breadcrumbs.  Layer tomato, spinach, cheese and pignolias, roll up and secure with a toothpick.  Bake in oven for about 45 minutes.  Each one is about 4 -5 points on WW (depending on which cheese you use)!

sunday dinner

eggplant fritti

fried chicken cutlets

braciole

sausage

stuffed artichoke or carciofe

There is nothing more delicious and special than a stuffed artichoke.  My parents made these as a special treat for us growing up.  Sometimes cooked in the oven, sometimes on the stovetop.  This yummy spiral journey  begins by eating each leaf, packed with yummy breadcrumbs and a bit of artichoke.  You must scrape the leaf between your teeth.  Like climbing down a flight of stairs anticipating the last step, you come to the heart.  Ahhhh.  Joy.  Be sure to remove all the fuzzy hairy fibers or “choke” that sit atop, protecting the jewel of this glorious vegetable.

Here is what I think is the best and “foolproof” way of making an artichoke.

First wash the artichoke.  Pull off the outer tough leaves, and then with a scissor trim each leaf so the tips are blunt. Next, with a very sharp knife cut off the top third of the artichoke.  I leave the “choke” intact, i don’t mess with it.  Bring a large pot of  salted water to a boil, drop carciofe in the water and let cook for about 8-10 minutes.  Remove from water, drain excess water.  Stuff them with breadcrumb mixture.

Breadcrumb mixture:

2 cups breadcrumb, 1/2 cup olive oil, 8 cloves garlic finely chopped, 1/2 cup  grated pecorino, bunch of flat leaf parsley chopped, handful of basil leaves chopped, black pepper, 1/2 cup chicken stock

Stir mixture together stuff carciofe (artichoke) and drizzle each one with olive oil.  Roast in oven at 350 for about 45 minutes to one hour.  Cover with foil for first 30 minutes.  You will know when artichoke is done if leaf pulls away with ease.

use watcha got

This past weekend NY was hit with a blizzard!!  Fun! Fun!  I love the  first snow-fall of the winter, always have!  As soon as the very first flakes of winter fall from the sky, it almost feels as if it’s the first time all over again.  So this weekend we had plans with our very close family friends to come over with their two children for early dinner on Sunday.  I decided to make what was in the house, so we did not have to go out…  a little of this, a little of that…and here is what i came up with:

Linguine with Cici and Tomatoes

I sauteed an onion in a large skillet with olive oil and a little butter.  I smashed about 7 cloves of garlic, salt and pepper, added this to the onions and let slowly brown on low for about 20- 25 minutes or so.  Do not let this burn.  I had Italian parsley  (this is the flat leafed parsley) and fresh basil in the fridge which I chopped up and three in to the onion mixture.  When everything was soft,  light brown and fully cooked, I added a nice splash of red wine, turn up the heat for about 3 minutes or so…stir with wooden spoon, then add about 3 tablespoons of butter.  I had cherry tomatoes in fridge, sliced these and threw them in as well.  Let the tomatoes blister a bit. I then opened a can of cici beans (chick peas), rinsed them in a colander…drain and add to the pan.  Add more fresh parsley and basil…let all of these flavors marry together in saute pan, then add cooked linguine to  pan and warm through.  Add a few tablespoons of peccorino cheese toss and serve!!  So freakin good!!! SOOO goood!!