Sunday, May 10, 2009

Brunchin' with the Ladies

Today was my first day cooking for others post-op. I have never cooked something for other people that I can't eat or don't like, and today was the same. I kept it light and WLS-friendly, and I think they were pleased with the food. But more importantly, we had an awesome time catching up. :-)

My girlfriends brought juice and pastries, so that was the only non-WLS-friendly food present.

I made "Portabellos Benedict" (recipe below), fruit salad (recipe below), and grilled asparagus wrapped with turkey bacon.

My fruit salad 1
Stuff you need:
  • 3 Granny Smith apples, diced
  • 6 kiwis, cut into slices
  • 1 orange, cut into wedges
  • Zest of one orange
  • Juice of 1/2 lemon
  • 1/2 cup Splenda
  • Tiny pinch of cinnamon

What you do:

  1. Mix everything together and serve. Ta-dah! Lol.

I served this with my cream cheese dessert stuff, but it tastes fantastic on its own. I might add strawberries, grapes, or cantaloupe next time. I got the cinnamon tip from my stepsister-in-law. She makes a delicious summer fruit salad with watermelon, grapes, and strawberries, and the cinnamon is random but makes it taste so amazing.

Portabellos Benedict
"Portabellos Benedict" is a concept that I borrowed from Ellie Krieger, who hosts the show Healthy Appetite with Ellie Krieger on the Food Network. Her version has a little olive oil, Canadian bacon, and pesto sauce. My version has cooking spray, turkey bacon, and a creamy sauce made with nonfat Greek yogurt, spicy mustard, and beef stock concentrate that is designed to have a consistency more similar to hollandaise. I just took random stuff from my cupboards for seasoning, and if you make this, you should do the same.

Here’s the recipe for my version.

Stuff you need:

  • 3 Portobello mushroom caps with the gills and stems removed
  • 6 whole eggs
  • 6 slices of turkey bacon (I used Butterball thin and crispy)
  • 1 bag of pre-washed spinach
  • 2 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1 firm-fleshed tomato, sliced ¼ to 1/3-inch thick
  • A little reduced-fat shredded mozzarella, or fresh mozzarella if you have it
  • A few pieces of turkey bacon
  • 1 container of nonfat Greek yogurt, separated
  • 2 tbsp. spicy brown mustard
  • 1 packet beef stock concentrate (I got mine from Trader Joe’s)
  • 1 packet chicken stock concentrate (I got mine from Trader Joe’s)
  • Fresh basil, cut into ribbons
  • Salt and pepper
  • Celery seed, if you already have it on hand
  • 2 tsp. fat-free ricotta cheese, if you have it on hand (American cheese would be tastier, but all I had was fat-free American and it’s too much of an acquired taste to serve to other people)
  • 2 tsp. nonfat half and half, if you have it on hand
  • A sprinkle of paprika, if you have it on hand

What you do:

  1. Saute the mushrooms caps whole with salt, pepper, and celery seeds until they are juicy and done. Keep them warm in the oven.
  2. Saute the garlic in some nonstick spray and water.
  3. Add the spinach to the pan with garlic and let it reduce down. Cook until it’s done with a salt and pepper to taste. Keep it warm in the oven.
  4. Grill the tomatoes on a stovetop grill (or you can just sauté the slices.)
  5. When you turn them over, add the shredded mozzarella and let it melt. (This would also work great if you have an oven pan with a broiler.)
  6. Sprinkle the tomatoes with some of the basil. Set them aside.
  7. Crisp the turkey bacon in a little nonstick spray. Set it aside.
  8. Mix together ¾ container of nonfat Greek yogurt with the spicy brown mustard and the beef stock concentrate. Sprinkle paprika on top for garnish and a bit of flavor. This is the fake hollandaise sauce.
  9. Crack open the eggs and start to beat them.
  10. Add ricotta, ¼ container of nonfat Greek yogurt, the half and half, and salt and pepper to the eggs and whip them until frothy.
  11. Scramble the eggs and top them with the remaining basil.
  12. Assemble in this order, leaving out any ingredients you don’t want: Mushroom, turkey bacon, tomato, spinach, eggs, sauce.

As you see, it’s a bunch of simple tasty components that you stack together. It’s a fabulous choice for brunch entertaining because it’s a comprehensive concept, but people can construct their own dishes to match their preferences. For example, my friend who doesn’t like bacon just left that layer out and it was no big deal.

I had a miniscule portion of all the layers together and it was faaaabulous!

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