Like almost everyone on the planet, I love the smell and taste of golden, perfectly cooked french fries. Granted, though having the deep-fried variety is a once-in-a-while treat, I often prefer the baked version, which I can flavor any way I want. The secret is in the seasoning and technique.
Here's a step-by-step guide to making your own oven fries.
Step 1: Choose the right potato and slice 'em up.
Russet or sweet potatoes are best for fries. Sweet potatoes have to be peeled before slicing, but you can keep the skins on white potatoes. Cut the potatoes as uniformly as possible to ensure even cooking.
Step 2: Toss with oil and seasonings to coat.
Place the fries in a large bowl and start by drizzling a tablespoon of olive oil and seasoning with 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Then feel free to spice it up -- use one or two cloves of garlic (minced), one teaspoon chopped parsley or rosemary, 1 teaspoon hot or mild paprika, 1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper, or 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin or curry. Once you've chosen your spice(s), place the spice(s) in a small bowl and mix with 1 teaspoon cornstarch.
Whole wheat linzer cookies. Photo: Jennifer Iserloh.
With Thanksgiving around the corner, baking season has officially begun. I consider desserts a special treat, but if I can find a way to make them lighter without compromising on taste, that's even better.
Here are some suggestions on how how to lighten up your baking.
Use plain low-fat or non-fat yogurt (I especially love the thick, strained Greek non-fat yogurt) to cut back on a quarter or half the oil. Yogurt will reduce the fat, but not the moisture, and it adds protein.
1-percent buttermilk makes excellent, tender cakes and can be used in place of whole milk or heavy cream – it can also be used to lessen the amount of oil or butter.
Substitute fat-free or reduced-fat sour cream for full-fat sour cream. Either makes lovely coffee cakes and light fluffy muffins.
Use fruit puree, such as applesauce or blended canned pears or peaches in natural juice, to cut the butter or oil – or to cut back on the amount of sugar – to make brownies and cookie bars soft.
Substitute two egg whites for every whole egg to make baked goods lighter on fat without drastically changing the texture.
Find the Skinny Chef's Whole Wheat Linzer Cookie recipe after the jump.
When you don't have the foods you grew up eating, you sometimes get that sharp craving for specialties that simply don't exist where you live. My husband grew up in the land of pretzels, wurst and beer in a small town in northern Germany, and every six months or so, he looks off into the distance and utters longingly two words: curry wurst.
My first encounter with curry wurst was in Berlin -- soft tasty sausage and spicy curry ketchup sauce that's also slightly sweet. No one that I've spoken to seems to know the origin of this fast-food delight, which is still made with very high-quality products in Germany. My challenge was to make it with American ingredients and update it so we could enjoy curry wurst as a healthy meal that can be served for dinner with a side of steamed broccoli.
Get my updated curry wurst recipe after the jump...
As a teen, I had a real passion for fried rice and, since I was a vegetarian at the time, I thought that ordering takeout Chinese vegetable fried rice at least twice a week was a fairly healthy choice.
I could literally eat an entire takeout container and call it dinner. Now that I cook at home more frequently and often have leftover rice, I find that making my favorite takeout dish at home is cheap, healthy and delicious. The trick to making the best fried rice is to use day-old rice that has been in the fridge and slightly dried out. My version is made with hearty short-grain brown rice, and gives you two servings of vegetables (which usually means about half a cup).
Find a healthier version of Chinese vegetable fried rice after the jump.
I love to host a party around Halloween time -- dressing up is optional, eating is a must! Every year I'm reminded of a story my Granny tells at Halloween. She is the queen of holiday celebrations and always had plenty of food, decorations and guests.
One Halloween, as she was giving away the best treats in the neighborhood, my family cat, Ariadne -- black as night -- decided to show off by stretching and cleaning her paws in the window. Just then, a little boy from across the street rang the doorbell. "Hey lady, did you rent that cat?" he asked my Granny, who responded quickly, "Yes, we just got her yesterday but she expires tomorrow!"
After the jump, find a recipe for Pumpkin Tortellini with Sage and other menu ideas to host your own "Black and Orange" Halloween fest. The catch? You'll have to rent your own black cat!
When most people think of pumpkin, the first thing that comes to mind is pie. But pumpkin is nutritious, inexpensive and the canned variety is available year-round, so there's no need to confine it just to sweet recipes.
One cup of canned pumpkin has about 80 calories and pumpkin is high in vitamin A and potassium, rich in dietary fiber and also contains nutrients like folate, manganese even omega-3 fatty acids. But when it comes to antioxidants, pumpkin is bursting with beta-carotene, which lends the squash its rich orange hue.
Since pumpkin-growing season is primarily in the fall, other fall foods like chestnuts, apples and sage make naturally delicious flavor combinations. Try layering fresh sheets of pasta in between canned pumpkin with a part-skim ricotta filling. Top with grated Parmesan or Romano cheese and sprinkle on a handful of toasted walnuts.
After the jump, see the Skinny Chef's recipe for Cheesy Pumpkin Biscuits.
Ramen noodles are the college student's best friend -- they're cheap, filling and taste great. But what happens when you graduate from college and want to start making smarter, and even better-tasting choices?
The old college girl in me just can't get over the crush I used to have on the 33-cents-a-pop ramen noodle package. (Beef was my favorite flavor.) So now that my budget has grown and my waistline has shrunk, I still like to make room for ramen noodles in my kitchen.
Get the recipe for healthier ramen after the jump.
Remember when sun-dried tomatoes were trendy in the 1980s? They were considered chic, foreign, even elegant. I remember one of my first experiences eating them in a Pittsburgh restaurant called Café Allegro.
I had a Gorgonzola-stuffed pear -- which I still think about to this day -- and creamy, luscious bow-tie pasta with plumped sun-dried tomatoes soaked in oil.
These tomatoes are so sweet and tangy. Why did they fall out of favor?
Dulce de Leche, a sweet found in Argentine, Uruguayan and Chilean cuisine, is prepared by cooking sweetened condensed milk to create a sumptuous sauce that tastes like melted milk caramels.
I will warn you -– it is dangerous. I could eat it out of the container with a spoon, but it can also be extremely versatile when used sparingly as a topping for healthier ingredients to make hundreds of fast desserts.
It was one of those things that my granny always insisted on: finding ways to use leftovers and never wasting food. Even though I've grown up eating leftovers, I've never liked eating a big plate of odds and ends, a spoonful here and bite there.
I wondered if that's why Americans waste about 27 percent of their available food. But what if you could turn those tidbits into something luscious? I guarantee that you won't be tempted to toss that handful of broccoli florets, those spoonfuls of blue cheese crumbles or your remaining half a jar of olives.
First I took a look in my freezer before proceeding on to my self-imposed "Top Chef" challenge. Frozen dough disks didn't look that interesting resting in my freezer door, until I remembered that they're Goya empanada wrappers that you can fill with just about anything. Bingo!
Tamari almonds make their way into my banana-nut breakfast smoothie as they add a hint of saltiness against the sweetness of really ripe bananas. But as unexpectedly good as they may taste, I was in for another shocker: As I recently reviewed my grocery bill, I realized that those tamari almonds were almost $2 a bag!
Since I had a bottle of low-sodium tamari taking up space in the cupboard, I shopped for the plain, raw almonds with the skins on and tried my hand at homemade tamari almonds.
Apart from a big juicy steak, I think a lot of us associate meat with certain recipes. From burgers to tacos and meatloaf, meat adds flavor and texture to meals that meat lovers crave.
But I know quite a few vegetarians who cook for their meat-loving spouses and friends on a regular basis, as I do. I've always wanted to cook the dishes I crave, without having to make something separate when vegetarians come to dine. Here are my staple meat substitutions and how to use them. Now you can keep those classics on the dinner table without a trip to the butcher.
Chickpeas have a firm texture that makes them ideal for burgers. Use them directly out of the can -- just drain, then pulse in a food processor for a chunky base that works well as a ground meat substitution. When working with beans, remember to add some spice with lots of seasonings. I like to use Worcestershire and steak sauce that are both vegetarian but have the seasonings cooks usually pair with meat. A dash of hot sauce can also add depth and warmth to the dish.
More meat substitutes and my Luscious Lentil Taco recipe, after the jump.
During grad school, when I wasn't busy studying or working my part-time job, I was all about entertaining. My favorite co-host was my cousin Frank, and he always had great ideas, including shortcuts to making complicated recipes without losing a lot of the taste or texture.
I'm sure that the experts from the famous Pierogie Plus, a 10-minute drive from my family's house, would swat me for not making the dough myself. But when I crave my favorite treat, I use wonton wrappers to make them, an idea my clever cousin Frank came up with.
This week, we've had our first cool night on the East Coast, which got me craving something warmer for dinner. Savory beef with a soupy tomato sauce is my favorite Cuban country dish (with the exception of black beans and rice, of course!).
I've always wondered about the name, but realized the shredded beef does indeed resemble a twisted old dress shirt. There are several stories as to how the dish was named, but my favorite is about a very poor man who didn't have money to buy food for his family. He took some "ropa vieja" -- old clothing -- from the closet and cooked it in a pot with a lot of love. Miraculously, it turned into a rich and hearty beef stew.
I'm not sure how this myth got started -- I used to believe it too, before I met my husband, who grew up in Germany. Every time I tell someone I'm making schnitzel for dinner, they talk about hot dog buns and sauerkraut. Then they try to convince me that I really meant sausage and they will go as far as to ambush random passersby to help corroborate their story.
In truth, the word schnitzel comes from the German term "schneiden" which means to cut, so schnitzel means cutlet. Thus, Wiener Schnitzel is not a cut-up hot dog, but rather a "cutlet from Vienna or Wien." See how I make it after the jump.
What Can I Get You Folks? - Server Revenge
Reality-Show Celebrities Serve Up Chef Curtis Stone's 'Hundred-Dollar Burger'
Foods Celebrity Chefs Hate
