Healthy - Part 1

Tuna, vegetables, mung bean noodles, Asian style sauce

Shame on me for posting so many unhealthy recipes, no?  Sure, I’ve posted some that are good for our health, but very few.  Truthfully, though - I’ve been taking steps to eat healthier lately, and the results have been very good - I found myself in a bit of a health rut and started eating better and exercising more, and so far I feel great!  My energy levels are back up to where I wanted them, my body feels and looks good, my hair and nails feel healthier, and I’m sleeping better at night.

Sure, I still dabble in my less than healthy recipes, but some of them I change out a few ingredients to make it a little less caloric and better for me, but rarely, since I don’t believe in messing around with recipes that have worked for so many years.  A restaurateur once told me in his native Italian, “sempre un po” - “always a little” - yes, we can have things that seem fattening, if we do it only in moderation instead of piling it onto our plates.  We can enjoy food and wine, butter, cheese, meats, etc., and stay healthy, if we just take less of it.  There’s no reason to deprive ourselves of what we love.  Right?

Pinot Blanc

So, I’m big into fish of all kinds, cooked and served all different ways.  Fish is generally really healthy, with lots of nutrients, natural oils, and often fairly low in calories (at least that’s what I like to believe).  I try to eat fish as often as I can, served and prepared lots of ways.  I’ve already told you quite a bit about how I like to prepare salmon many ways, and shellfish too.

What I’ve also told you on more than one occasion is that I like cooking Italian and French style, and lately I’ve been experimenting with Hungarian cooking as well.  Challenges for me include Spanish and German.  Another big challenge for me is Asian cooking.  But I do love Asian cooking methods and flavors.

Pinot Blanc

So a short time ago, I needed something fairly quick and easy, and healthy if possible.  I chose sushi grade tuna at the local fish monger (expensive, yes, but totally worth it if you love good fish) - and I seasoned it with sea salt, black pepper, and coated it in sesame seeds.  I pan seared it (barely) and sliced it into small pieces.

I love beans.  I love foods made with beans.  So I chose mung bean noodles, the clear and fun ones in the Asian section of the food market.  I boiled them for a moment until they were softened (which doesn’t take very long at all).  And I julienned carrots, scallions, cilantro, and thinly sliced avocados.  I then made a sauce of soy sauce, wildflower honey, sesame seeds, fresh lime juice, ginger, mirin, and wasabi.  I whisked it together and poured it over the noodles, added the vegetables, and topped it with the tuna - and WOW was it delicious, and very healthy!

I chose an Alsatian (fairly) dry style Pinot Blanc to pair with it, with orchard and tropical fruit notes and floral characteristics with a white stony minerality and bright acidity with a long finish.  I don’t usually go for Pinot Blanc but not only was this one delicious, it was a perfect pairing.

Black and Blue Steak with Bearnaise Sauce

I was involved with someone a while back - actually, several guys - who insisted, invariably, on ordering their steak well done.  For those of you who like it well done, I’m very sorry for judging, but that just seems a waste of perfectly good meat.  In fact, one guy went so far as to refuse to watch me eat steak that was pink in the middle.  What a fool.

Anyway, I love my meat cooked, well, barely.  Recently, I challenged myself to a meat dish with just a steak and whatever ingredients I had available.  My mom told me about Arthur Schwartz and how he suggested recipes to make when it seems you’ve got nothing in the house.  Well, I learned to cook that way when I was in law school and living away in Connecticut for 3 years.  Sometimes I didn’t have time to get to the market and buy ingredients - and many a recipe was created that way, with items I’d find in the refrigerator, pantries, etc.  (And of course, you’ve got to have a variety of wines in the racks, at the ready, depending on what you choose to make.)

Fortunately, there were some great ingredients available.  I was talking to my sister and snooping around and realized that it looked like ingredients were available for a Bearnaise sauce.  Wow!  Steak with Bearnaise sauce!

I chose a Barbaresco to pair with it.  Just in case you aren’t familiar with Barbaresco, it’s an appellation in Northern Italy, in Piemonte, made form the Nebbiolo grape.  You want it to be a bit aged at least, as Nebbiolo is tannic and therefore bone dry, and shows characteristics of cherry, rose petals, spice, and

The steak was cooked black and blue - seared and darkened on the outside, and very rare on the inside - just the way I love it.  And all the while, I sipped on the Barbaresco as it opened up.

So - the Bearnaise sauce.  honestly, I’d never made the sauce before, but I’ve had it many, many times. All I needed was unsalted butter, white vinegar, lemon juice, chopped shallot, kosher salt, black pepper, egg yolks, and tarragon.  (By the way, I love tarragon.)  Melt the butter and then saute the shallots in it, with a touch of kosher salt and black pepper, and stir in the vinegar.  Set it aside and let it cool.  In the meantime, heat your blender, preferably with warm or hot water.  Heat up more butter.  Put the egg yolks, lemon juice, and some warm water into the blender.  Begin trickling in the warm melted butter.  Once the mixture is pureed smooth, place in a bowl and mix in the shallot mixture.  Season to taste with kosher salt and black pepper, and add in the tarragon.  That’s it!

It was a perfect pairing - the Barbaresco, steak black and blue, and Bearnaise sauce.  Delicious.  And it’s simple, and inexpensive.

Lemon Meringue Pie

Believe it or not, I’ve got It’s a Wonderful Life on in the background (yes, I realize it’s technically a Christmas movie, but I like watching it when I need a little encouragement), and sipping Primitivo (after some Stoli tonight).

Recently for our 4th of July barbecue, I made my first lemon meringue pie.  I love pie, especially these days when I make them at home.  This was, I believe, my fifth pie.  My signature pie is key lime, but I also enjoy making blueberry, banana cream, pecan, and now lemon meringue.

When you make it from scratch, it’s a little less simple than buying a pie crust and the pie filling.  I make a basic pie crust - flour, water, shortening, salt.  I make it very thin, and when it comes to pie crust, practice makes perfect - or near perfect, at least.

The filling isn’t difficult, but you’ve got to plan correctly because you’ve got to keep on whisking it by hand and you’ve got to keep an eye on it.  Milk, egg yolks, lemon, sugar, butter - just pure golden deliciousness.

And the meringue - well, that’s egg whites, cream of tartar, and sugar, and just a pinch of salt I believe.  For the meringue, I used the stand mixer with the whisk attachment.  Once they’re whipped into stiff peaks, they’re done.  A hint - add the sugar once it’s started forming into a foamy texture, and add it very slowly!

To assemble - bake the pie crust a bit - first with rice or pie weights in the pie shell on with a sheet of wax or parchment paper in between, and then again a few more minutes until it’s turning slightly golden and firm, and then once it’s cooled a bit, pour in the lemon pie filling.  Then, top it with the meringue, and form it into peaks with a spoon or a butter knife.  Let it set a while, and enjoy it.

It’s fairly simple, and worth doing it from scratch.