Dinner’s On The Table – Healthy Specialty Foods & Recipes

     Pizza is by far the number one food served for a Super Bowl Party. You could order out for it, but you may not know what everyone wants on their pizza. And it’s cold by the time you go for seconds. Here’s a way to create a pizza buffet without keeping the oven on all night long, yet folks can enjoy hot, delicious pizza their way!

     Grilled Pizza is quick and easy and you can get started making the shells tonight. First of all, very important. If you don’t have an interest in standing in the freezing cold in front of your barbecue grill and you don’t have a stove top grill pan, you may want to go out and get one. They’re relatively inexpensive ($20-30) and very useful all year round.

     Then buy some pizza dough and toppings from your local megamart. Your going to make 8 individual pizzas out of each dough ball. So estimate how many your guests may eat and buy accordingly.

     When you get home let the dough rest at room temperature for 2 hours or until the dough rises and looks nice and fluffy from all the yeast activity. Spread some flour on your work surface and punch down your dough with your knuckles. Then form it back into a ball. Now take your pastry dough cutter, or a knife if you don’t have one, and quarter the dough and then half each of the quarters so you have 8 little dough balls.

     In the meantime, get your grill pan hot – use medium heat. Or start up your barbecue – on low for now. You can also spray some oil on the surface just before placing the dough.

     Spread a small amount of additional flour as needed on your work surface. You can either take a rolling pin and roll out each dough ball, or do it by hand to give it a more rustic look. If by hand, punch the dough down with your knuckles. Then grab an edge of the dough, lifting it off the surface. Place your fingers of both hands next to each other and lightly stretch apart. Don’t pull too hard or too far or you’ll put a hole in the dough. Gravity will be pulling and stretching the dough downward. Go around the dough at least once. You’re trying to make the dough into a rough circle but not too thin. Place back on the surface and spray cooking oil on one side of the dough. This side will be going down on the grill pan first.

     Take the dough by one edge, hands apart. You want to lay the dough’s bottom oiled edge onto the far side of the pan allowing it to "stick" so you can stretch the dough over as far as possible to the other side of the pan. Don’t worry, when the dough is cooked it won’t continue to stick to the surface. The pizza dough will cook fast, only a few minutes on each side. And you’ll have nice grill marks to show for it. Repeat with all your dough. You can wrap them in plastic and keep them at room temperature until the next day or put them in the fridge (but let them come back to room temperature before cooking because this way the toppings will cook faster and more evenly).

     On Super Bowl Sunday set up your pizza buffet line. The dough is already cooked so all you’re doing is making sure that the cheese melts and the toppings heat up. You can use your oven, broiler, toaster oven, specialized pizza counter cooker, frying pan or grill pan to reheat. If using a frying pan or grill pan, use a pot cover that doesn’t fit securely and allows air circulation, yet retains heat so the toppings heat through. A lower heat setting is best so you don’t burn the crust.

Important Note: Don’t put any raw foods on your dough – please cook them first!

 This works great for any party or sporting event (football, baseball, hockey, basketball, soccer).

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     Recipe testing is one of the most important – and really fun – things we do as Personal Chefs. You could say we’re food explorers. We scan through many different food magazines (Gourmet, Fine Cooking, Bon Appetit, Cooking Light, Cook’s Illustrated, Cook’s Country), cookbooks, and Web sites (The Food Network, Recipezaar, Epicurious) always looking out for recipes that will expand our palate and what we can offer you.     

     When we find a recipe to offer you, or you make a specific request, we make absolutely certain that it meets our standards and your expectations. In addition to testing the dish to see how it tastes the same day we cook it, we also test recipes for the 2-4 days they may sit in your fridge and whether they freeze well for the week or so they may stay in your freezer.

     Of course you don’t have to eat your meals the same week we prepare them. Most dishes will survive quite well for 4-6 weeks in your freezer. Any longer and they may acquire freezer burn which will affect the flavors. They can still be eaten, however. This is why we date everything we make with its "born on date," to borrow the term from Budweiser, so you know exactly when the dish was prepared. 

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That time of year is here football fans. The playoffs are almost finished and the Superbowl is right around the corner.

What are you eating for your Football Party or Superbowl Party?

Do you like traditional Football Party snacks (Buffalo Wings, chips, dips, hot dogs, burgers, pizza) or crave something a little different that you can’t find at your local eatery, take out joint or grocery store? No matter which, Dinner’s On The Table can whip up some fresh to order goodies for your superbowl party – right in the comfort of your own home!

• No worries about buying ingredients!
• No worries about picking up the food!
• No worries about finding the time to make the food!
• And best of all, no cleanup afterwards!

Just sit back, enjoy the game and a spend a stress-free, fun evening with family and friends.

Give us a call @ 845-773-9013 to book your Superbowl or Football Party today. Limited bookings, don’t miss out!

Let Dinner’s On The Table cater your event and we’ll cover all 9 yards and maybe even 10.

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     Helloooo Salad! As Norton from the Honeymooners would say if he were addressing his salad instead of a baseball. We always fall back on the tried and true salad to cut back on our calories and fat when we’re looking to drop a few pounds. Besides, a big hearty salad tastes really good every once in a while.

     But the best way to blow the salad ideal is overload it with toppings. Gobs of shredded cheese, too many croutons and who has the time to measure a serving size of dressing anyway. Grab the bottle and pour on the goopy goodness!

     For one, skip the croutons and go for a small dinner roll. Choose a lower fat cheese. And if you can, make your own salad dressing using light or extra virgin olive oil, fresh cheeses, low fat mayonnaise, low fat cream cheese, low fat milk, low fat sour cream or low fat yogurt. and don’t forget the herbs, spices and a conservative amount of salt – to taste. (Stay tuned for some awesome salad dressing recipes in future posts). By making them yourself you avoid all those wonderful chemicals and scientific food additives.

     If you don’t have the time to make your own salad dressings or we’re not there to make them for you, here are a couple of tricks you can use to fully enjoy salad using store-bought dressings.

1. One way to avoid using too much salad dressing is to dip your fork into the dressing and then attack your lettuce, cucumbers and tomatoes. The last thing to hit your lips and taste buds is the dressing that has been pushed to the top of the fork.

2. Find a large enough Tupperware or Rubbermaid container that will hold enough salad for the servings you want to serve. Add salad. Measure out the suggested serving size of salad dressing. Cover tightly and shake it up! Keep shaking until the salad is covered evenly with the salad dressing. You can leave the tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots and other salad foods out of the container so you can arrange them appetizingly on the salad plate after plating the lettuce.

     Of course you could use those salad spritzers when you’re on the run, but you can over spritz yourself too!

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     It’s cold and snowy outside. The wind chill is giving your goose bumps, goose bumps. You CRAVE soup! Soups are some of the most wonderful dishes to enjoy. They’re delicious, filling, and usually inexpensive to make. But they are time consuming to make as well.

     So, in the modern age we reach for a can of Progresso’s or Campbell’s. But they don’t always have the flavors you want and you may not have the right flavor in your pantry. Here is a quick solution for creating fantastic soup in only a few minutes using chicken broth you may already have waiting for you in your pantry when you don’t have the time and we haven’t cooked for you yet:

Spicy Chipotle Chicken Soup

16 oz of Chicken Broth or use Bouillon and Water (follow package directions)
1/2 – 3/4 cup of Vegetables and/or Beans
1/2 cup Cooked Chicken (optional)
1/4 cup Cooked Rice or 1/2 cup Uncooked Broken Angel Hair Pasta
1 tablespoon Chopped Cilantro (optional)
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon Chipotle Powder (Can substitute Ancho or Chili Powder)
Salt and Black Pepper to taste (be careful that you taste before adding salt)

     Bring broth just to a boil in a sauce pan, turn down to a simmer. Break the pasta into 1 inch or smaller pieces. Add in all the ingredients except Cilantro.  Heat through or until pasta is soft. Add half the cilantro and cook for 1 minute. Add a dollop of sour cream (optional) or crumble in some tortilla chips and garnish with remaining cilantro. Serves 4-6. For another twist, sauté 1/4 cup of onion and 3 chopped garlic cloves before adding broth to the pan.

     If you read my Improv In The Kitchen posts you’ve noticed I like to play around with spices and make my own recipes. Frozen vegetables and canned beans are always in my freezer and pantry. You can use any combination of veggies to beans here. I had a Mexican frozen vegetable blend that had broccoli, carrots, beans, green beans and peppers in it. You can use corn and black beans or any other vegetable you have on hand. I actually used a packet of Lipton Chicken Noodle Soup as the base when I first tested this recipe out. You can use any brand chicken broth (College Inn, Swanson’s, Trader Joe’s, Wolfgang Puck) or even your own.

For Vegetarians: Substitute vegetable broth for chicken broth and firm tofu for chicken. Or simply add more beans.

Greek Chicken Florentine Soup

16 oz Chicken Broth or use Bouillon and Water (follow package directions)
3/4 cup Chopped Spinach
1/2 cup Cooked Chicken (optional)
1/4 cup Cooked Rice or 1/2 cup Uncooked Broken Angel Hair Pasta
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon ground marjoram or 1/2 teaspoon marjoram leaves
1 or 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (adjust to your tastes)
Feta Cheese, crumbled
Black Pepper and Salt to taste

     Add broth to sauce pan. Stir in oregano, marjoram and garlic powder and bring just to a boil, turn down to a simmer. Break the pasta into 1 inch or smaller pieces. Add in all the ingredients except Lemon Juice and Feta Cheese. Heat through or until pasta is soft. Add lemon juice and stir just before serving. Crumble feta on top when serving.

     For Vegetarians: Substitute vegetable broth for chicken broth and firm tofu or cannellini beans for chicken.     

     These soups are perfect for a quick dinner or taken to school or work for lunch the next day. Please note: Dinner’s On The Table, when cooking for clients, makes all soups from scratch. 
 

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We were asked the question whether hummus was healthier than mayonnaise. Hummus wins hands down. Here are the facts:

     Sabras Hummus, which is by far our favorite store bought hummus, has 6g fat, 1g saturated fat, and 130mg sodium for a 2 tablespoon serving.

     Regular Mayonnaise has 11g fat, 1.5g saturated fat, 10mg cholesterol and 85mg sodium for just a 1 tablespoon serving!

     Low Fat Mayonnaise has 5g fat, .8g saturated fat, 5mg cholesterol and 101mg sodium for a 1 tablespoon serving.

We went to Calorieking.com for our mayonnaise information.

And if you make the hummus yourself you can control the fat and sodium even more. And you can make as many flavors of hummus as you can think of. Just use your imagination!

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     So why do  millions of folks throughout the world turn to commercial diet systems to prepare and package their food? There is very little science to what NutriSystem, Jenny Craig, The Zone Diet and Weight Watchers do. They measure quantities and package it up. Yes, some measure the glycemic index, calorie levels, etc., etc. If you sit there and measure all these variables you may as well be an accountant as a profession. My grandmother, who was a very wise woman, said "everything in moderation." Now, of course, she said this to encompass everything, not just eating. But she had the right idea. If you eat too much of anything it will cause problems. Yep, you could probably eat too much salad too. (When you’re running to the restroom late at night you’ll know why )

     And besides, commercial diet food has proven to be OK, to barely edible, to ugh, I wouldn’t feed that to me neighbors dog much less my own! So why do we torture ourselves with nasty to blah food when we can make it ourselves?

     Oh, weight (pun intended), it’s the convenience factor.

     Well, believe it or not, with a little bit of planning and a few hours time you can be your own Personal Chef and prepare your own meals and snacks so you can succeed on your own diet plan (no, lifestyle change!). Seriously, you could do this yourself. You have plastic containers like Rubbermaid and Tupperware. You probably also have Pyrex containers too. Ziplock and Glad have disposable containers and plastic bags. You have all the tools needed. This is in effect meal planning. A topic most people shy away from because they feel it is too time consuming. And meal planning is what we do as Personal Chefs.

     One Sunday every other week (or whichever day off you have) put aside 4-6 hours to prepare meals and snacks for yourself. It takes just as much discipline to do this as it does to endure the food you’d buy from the diet systems and you’ll know they taste that much better- and what’s in them! Besides, I’m only talking about making meals, not necessarily snacks. There are plenty of options out there for snacking. They even have specific 100 calorie packages too. Not to mention nature’s prepackaged items like fruit and nuts which are healthy and tasty.

     Now we say 4-6 hours when you’re cooking for one. We put aside 6-8 and sometimes up to 10 hours for a cookdate for a family of 4. In the long run it is time well spent for you. Because during the busy week all you have to do is re-heat and eat. Then pop the dishes into the dishwasher.

     When you have your meals planned, mapped out for you throughout the week, you’re more likely to stick with it, especially if you enjoy what you’ll be eating instead of dreading it.

     Ultimately, if you’re looking to lose weight you’re better off adjusting your activity levels and watching what and how much you eat instead of counting calories. Because counting calories is an inexact science anyway. And do what my Grandmother used to say – eat everything in moderation.

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     This post we look at what Jenny Craig has to offer the folks who want to lose weight using a commercial diet system.

     Compared to NutriSystem, the biggest difference between programs is that Jenny Craig comes with different levels of counseling and support which you get to choose depending on how much money you want to spend to lose weight.  From what folks have said in reviews the food is much more expensive as well. You also have to become a "member" which allows you to order the food and includes a fee, of course.

     One reviewer described the counselors as not having any connection to their clients because they had "been thin all their lives" and couldn’t possibly understand what it is to fight with weight issues. Other reviews described the counselors as being "so large they couldn’t possibly have used Jenny Crag themselves. So how do you know it works?"

     Other reviewers describe high-pressured selling tactics to drag them into the highest level program as fast as possible. Is this a diet program or a used car lot?

     As for the food, it was also a mixed bag. Many reviews describe the food as being terrible. Others loved it. Everyone has their own tastes. On a positive note, some dieters have responded that they lost weight more gradually and had an easier time adjusting their eating habits to what was expected of them for the diet to succeed.

     But you’re still spending $150-175 or more on food for one person. And from what we’ve heard this doesn’t include the shipping costs. So, if you have a family of 4 on this program it would be close to $800 per week!

     Sticking with a diet or lifestyle change needs to be a positive move otherwise it will more than likely fail. If you dread the food you won’t stick with the program and you’ll hit the cookie aisle for a bag of Oreos! (By the way, there is nothing wrong with a little indulgence!)

     Do a search on Yahoo! or Google for Jenny Craig reviews and you’ll find dozens of Web sites that offer a huge variety of reviews from customers and, believe it or not, former employees with opinions on the program from the inside and out. You need to decide how important the Jenny Craig system will be to you reaching your goals. Because it seems there is much to sacrifice here to succeed.

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     The reality is commercial diet systems like NutriSystem, Jenny Craig and The Zone Diet want you to become dependent upon their food. This is how they make money. So, you decide to make the leap thinking that 12-18 dollars per day for food isn’t that bad. This sounds inexpensive until you add in the fact this doesn’t include your spouse or the rest of your family if you have children. So you still have more work to do to prepare meals for everyone. And you thought your food worries were eliminated?

     Jill and I have searched through various review Web sites and spoken to a number of folks who have been on these diet systems and we get very mixed responses. From the quality of the food to poor customer service to menu availability.

     We found these responses for NutriSystem:

• "A few of my friends swear by it, but it seems expensive, especially if you still have to cook separately for your family."
• "After losing 15 pounds on NutriSystem, I have gained all plus five back. The diet was OK, food ranged from decent to inedible. The pictures on the website and TV are inaccurate."
• "They are very small portions and require salad and other side dishes to complement to get full enough."
• "I dealt with almost constant problems just with getting the food I ordered. They were constantly out of things and would just send substitutions."
• "Even though I took their survey on what I can or can’t eat they still got it wrong. I said I don’t eat beef and they sent beef as a substitute and I’m allergic to nuts and they completely ignored that."
• "The food is flat out disgusting, and thats IF you get any of the entrées that actually HAVE taste."
• "I have to say I don’t think the food is so bad but I am starving from mid-afternoon to the time I finally fall asleep. I’m totally following the diet which is supposed to keep you "full and satisfied" Really the sodium is so high it should keep you so bloated you won’t want to eat anything but, no, I’m HUNGRY."

     Of course there are plenty of positive responses as well. Consider, if you are satisfied with store bought frozen dinners then you will most likely find NutriSystem’s meals fine. But if the quality of your food extends from beyond weight loss to nutrition and taste, you will most likely not feel satisfied. And if have to prepare regular style meals for the rest of your family you’ll be torturing yourself because you won’t be able to eat what they’re having for dinner.

     A Personal Chef offers you and your family a more livable option for changing the way you eat as part of a new lifestyle. We sit down with your entire family and learn about likes and dislikes, allergies, and special diets. We work one-on-one with you to create a weekly menu (usually for dinners only, but we can add lunch and breakfast too) based on what you wish to eat. You will always have the correct menu prepared unless extreme circumstances make a particular ingredient unavailable in our region. In which case we find an acceptable substitution that fits your expectations. From experience we’ve found that on rare occasions some species of fish, fruits and vegetables may not be available due to season.

     Would you prefer to conform to what a diet system offers you to eat or would rather have custom made meals that fit your dietary (lifestyle!) needs? With a Personal Chef preparing healthy, delicious meals for you, even if you do decide to have store bought, "healthy" frozen dinners for lunch, you’ll have a fantastic dinner to look forward to 5 nights each week.

     Please explore NutriSystem and other diet programs for yourself and find other folks who have enrolled in these programs so you can make an informed decision for yourself.

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     Terrible words, The Diet. Yet, its the most popular New Year’s Eve Resolution – and the one most likely not to succeed. We try and we fail. Why, most likely because we need to plan better. Meal planning is one of the more challenging things to do when you’re living a hectic life. When you don’t have the time to put together a healthy meal, you grab fast food, hit the diner or hope the TV dinner you just bought will be worth eating.

     Then there is the concept of The Diet. It has such a negative feeling tied to it now that the thought is an immediate turn off. Unpleasant to say the least. And we all know how well we react to doing unpleasant things – we avoid it at all costs! Plain salad for lunch – yum. Where’s that Snickers bar!

     If you’re looking to lose a few pounds so you’ll look good in your wedding dress, tuxedo or swimsuit then a diet will possibly work for you. You’ll most likely gain most, if not all, of the weight back anyway. But for long term success it has been proven that diets don’t work for the masses.

     What if we were to ditch the diet concept and look at it as part of an overall lifestyle change?    

     Lifestyle changes are the most important aspects to maintaining a healthy weight or keeping diabetes and heart disease in check. And lifestyle changes means long term changes, not short term spurts of action. These changes have to be positive. They have to leave a positive mark on your psyche, how you feel about yourself, and need to be easily repeated. And of course, this means positive choices for food and activities that will allow you to retain the lifestyle you envision for yourself.

     You could be like all those celebrities out there and choose a "diet plan" like Jenny Craig, NutriSystem or The Zone Diet. Then again, if you were being paid to lose weight it would be a great incentive to do so. Got to love those endorsements! In the next few posts I will be examining what these 3 diet plans are while looking at objective reviews and comparing them to how a personal chef can help make the difference for you in making positive changes to your lifestyle.

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     Both Jill and I were snow bound, sick bunnies last night. The first time in years we hadn’t spent New Year’s Eve with friends. And we found ourselves without a store-bought onion soup mix to make a dip with. (Shutter to think of it!)

     So, I hit the pantry. We keep brown gravy mix on hand when we get lazy and don’t want to make gravy from scratch for ourselves, check. We have dehydrated onion flakes on hand for many uses, particularly when making tuna salad. Why? Because you get all the delicious onion flavor without the strong onion taste that can overwhelm the salad.  Check. A little fresh cracked pepper, check. And my secret ingredient – mustard oil. Just a drop. It adds a cool little bite and an unusually interesting flavor.

     You don’t need any extra salt because the brown gravy mix has it already.

16 oz Sour Cream
3 Tablespoons Onion flakes, Dehydrated
1 Tablespoon Brown Gravy Mix (Or Powdered Vegetable Bouillon if vegetarian)
Pepper to Taste
1 Teaspoon Mustard Oil (optional)

     Always taste the recipe. If you feel you want more brown gravy mix, add a teaspoon, mix and taste. If you think it needs more, repeat. If you want to explore, look for other ingredients in your spice cabinet. Cajun? Dry Mustard?Chili Powder? Have fun with it. Now grab your chips and veggies and your set!

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