FROM THE COOKBOOK SHELF
Happiness is receiving a new cookbook and for Christmas a friend sent me Anthony Bourdain’s Appetites Cookbook (HarperCollins Publishers, 2016, hardback/$37.50. My book came via Amazon.com.
Bourdain is man of many appetites. And for many years, first as a chef, later as a world-traveling chronicler of food and culture on his CNN series, Parts Unknown, he has made a profession of understanding the appetites of others. These days, however, if he’s cooking for family and friends.
Appetites, his first cookbook in more than ten years, boils down thirty-plus years of professional cooking and globe-trotting to a repertoire of personal favorites, dishes that everyone should know how to cook. The result is a home-cooking, home entertaining cookbook like no other, with personal favorites from his own kitchen and from his travels, translated into an effective battle plan that will help you terrify your guests with your breathtaking efficiency.
WONDERFUL MARINADE FOR CHICKEN
A Cornell University professor developed this marinade and I received it via Renee Isaac of Bryan via allrecipes.com. The original recipe called for 3 tablespoons of table salt. Renee reduced it to 1 tablespoon. Grilled chicken is to be basted with the marinade but I elected not to do this to cut the sodium even more. My Calphalon Grill Pan held 6 spread out boneless, skinless thighs.
CORNELL CHICKEN MARINADE
• 1 egg
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2 cups cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon sea salt
• 1 tablespoon poultry seasoning
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
Crack the egg into a medium bowl and whisk in the vinegar, salt, poultry seasoning and pepper. Arrange spread out thighs in shallow baking dish and coat each with sauce. Cover and marinate in refrigerator for 24 hours.
Source: Adapted from Cornell Chicken Marinade recipe from allrecipes.com via Renee Isaac.
NUTCRACKER’S VERSATILITY
It may surprise you but the nutcracker has other uses besides cracking nuts.
In my kitchen and even the bathroom, it’s responsible for opening containers it’s been used to open Lysol Toilet Bowl Cleaner that I can’t open any other way.
WHOLE GRAINS DEFINED
Since 2000, whole grain (WG) intake has been included among recommendations in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. In the 2005 and 2010 Guidelines the message states, “Eat at least 3 one-ounce-equivalents of whole grains daily and at least half of all grains should be whole grain.”
Studies show that while both children and adults still fail to consume the recommended amounts, WG intake has improved greatly between 2002 and 2012, a period during which a significant study was conducted.
It’s with good reason that bread is called “the staff of life.” A diet rich in WGs is associated with lower mortality and death from cardiovascular disease (CVD), a broad category that includes stroke, atrial fibrillation, myocardial ischemia, cardiovascular death, coronary artery disease and myocardial infarction; all-cause mortality, and mortality from cancers, particularly colorectal cancer.
According to the American Heart Association (AHA), many whole grains are excellent sources of dietary fiber, along with other important nutrients. Dietary fiber of whole grains may help improve blood cholesterol, and linium, which is vital for a healthy immune and thyroid Hormone. WG food should include one of these on the ingredient list: whole wheat, graham flour, oatmeal, whole oats, brown rice, wild rice, whole grain corn, popcorn, whole-grain barley, whole-wheat bulgur, whole rye, millet, quinoa and sorghum.
Source: Duke Medicine Health News, March 2017.
FIVE EASY STEPS TO HEALTHY DINNERS
One way to achieve a goal is to put your plan in writing. Choose the kind of lean protein you’ll be having each day: Fish, shellfish, chicken, turkey, lean cuts of meat including beef and pork and plant proteins such as beans and tofu are all healthy choices.
Choose Your Grain or Starchy Vegetable. For example if you choose pasta, make sure it is whole grain. For example, whole wheat pasta or brown rice.
Fill In the Blanks
Some guidelines for a healthy meal include a vegetable, a fruit and a serving of low-fat dairy, along with a protein and a grain, in each meal.
Make A Grocery List.
Once you get a week’s worth of healthy dinner ideas, take your list to the grocery store. Initially, creating healthy meal plans takes some time, but it will go more quickly once you get in the habit of doing it every week.
Best of all, you’ll be eating healthier.
Source: Weill Cornell Women’s Nutrition Connection, March 2017.