Sriracha Deviled Eggs

I made a similar recipe of these little gems on Thanksgiving and decided to bring them out again for New Years. The heat is a nice touch to these Asian-inspired deviled eggs.

INGREDIENTS

12 eggs
6 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
4 teaspoons Sriracha hot sauce
2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lime juice
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

Hard-boil the eggs; cool, peel, and halve them; and carefully remove the yolks. Reserve the whites.
Combine the egg yolks, mayonnaise, Dijon, Sriracha, and lime juice in a medium nonreactive bowl. Season well with salt and pepper, then mix well until the yolks are broken up and the ingredients are evenly incorporated.
Evenly pipe or spoon the yolk mixture into the reserved egg white halves. As desired, top with smoked paprika.

Chicken Broccoli Roulade with Chili-Spiced Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Having trouble being creative with the staples? Chicken, broccoli, and sweet potatoes get transformed into something fun with this simple recipe...and it's healthy for you too!

BTW - diabetic patients can profit from the sweet potato’s low or moderate glycemic index. Compared to high-GI foods, sweet potatoes break down more slowly in the body, producing smaller fluctuations in blood glucose and insulin levels. In addition, sweet potatoes are low in calories.

Also, the mash is practically fat-free and the chili powder contains capsaicin, which studies have shown may inhibit fat-cell growth and help people consume fewer calories. And cinnamon is no slacker spice either: It keeps your blood sugar stable and your appetite in check, so you won't be tempted to go back for a second helping.


Make the Roulade:

Ingredients:

3 (24 oz total) large chicken breast halves
2 large eggs
2 tsp water
1 cup whole wheat seasoned breadcrumbs or panko
2 cups broccoli floret, cooked, chopped small
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1 tbsp low fat milk
2 tsp oregano
salt
spray oil
wood toothpicks

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°. In a small bowl, combine 1 egg, milk and a little salt. Beat with a fork to make an egg wash. Set aside. Fill a second bowl with breadcrumbs.

Slice chicken breast halves into thin cutlets. I usually get 3 thin cutlets out of one breast half. Pound them to make them thinner. This helps when you wrap the cutlets.

Put the chopped broccoli on a bowl and add water. Cover with saran wrap and microwave for about 2 minutes until broccoli is cooked. Add 1 egg, parmesan, and oregano. Stir to combine all ingredients.

Scoop about 2 tablespoons of the broccoli mixture on a chicken breast. Then roll the chicken tucking in the sides if possible. Keep in place by using a wooden toothpick. Dip the chicken into the egg mixture and then into the breadcrumbs. Repeat until all chicken is used and bake for 30 minutes.

Make the potato mash:

Ingredients:

1 large sweet potato, cubed
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
1/2 tsp orange zest
1/2 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp chili powder

Directions:

Boil the sweet potatoes in a large pot on the stove top about 25 minutes until potatoes are soft. Mash the chunks of potato and add in remaining ingredients. Viola!

Curried Carrot, Sweet Potato, and Ginger Soup

Did you know that one baked, medium-sized sweet potato contains 438% of your daily value of vitamin A? Did you know that a white potato only contains 1%? Time to start eating more colorful! Orange it is! This soup is super easy to make and perfect for a cold winter afternoon.

Ingredients
2 teaspoons canola oil
1/2 cup chopped white onion
3 cups cubed peeled sweet potato
1 1/2 cups sliced peeled carrots
1 tablespoon powdered ginger
1/2 tablespoon curry powder
3 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preparation

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion; saute 3 minutes or until tender. Add potato, carrots, ginger, and curry; cook 2 minutes. Add broth; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 25 minutes or until vegetables are tender; stir in salt.

Pour half of soup in a food processor; pulse until smooth. Repeat procedure with remaining soup. Garnish with a dollop of fat free sour cream if you want.

Beef and Rutabaga Stew

 It's been snowing all day today. When you're working from home and you want a warm and hearty soup, this does the trick. Plus, the root vegetables make it low carb and super healthy!

1 large onion, halved and thinly sliced
2 medium carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
3 celery stalks, diced
2 cups peeled and diced rutabaga
1 pound beef stew-meat chunks
1 bay leaf
1 clove garlic, crushed
3 cups low-sodium beef stock
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
Pepper to taste
3 teaspoons tomato paste

Make it:

Put everything in a slow cooker or a big pot; stir to combine.

Cover and cook 30 - 45 minutes on medium heat on the stove or for the crock pot do the low setting for 8 to 9 hours or on high for 4 to 5, until the beef is tender and the rutabaga are just fork tender.

Stir the stew once or twice as it cooks, if possible. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Why rutabaga?

Potato vs Turnip vs Rutabaga

NUTRITION PER 100 GRAMS	WHITE POTATO	TURNIP	RUTABAGA
Calories	77	28	36
Carbohydrate	18 grams	6 grams	8 grams
Fiber	2 grams	2 grams	3 grams
Vitamin C	33% RDA	35% RDA	42% RDA
Glycemic Load *	8	2	3
Inflammation Factor **	-46	-1	-3

*Glycemic load is a way of expressing a food or meal’s effect on blood-sugar levels. Experts vary on their recommendations for what your total glycemic load should be each day. A typical target for total Estimated Glycemic Load is 100 or less per day. If you have diabetes or metabolic syndrome, you might want to aim a little lower.

Thanksgiving Turkey Brine

I was trolling the internet looking for a good brine recipe for my 19 pound turkey (courtesy of my job - thanks NBTY!) and I was inspired by Alex Guarnaschelli's recipe. 

Ingredients

6 quarts tap water
1 pound kosher salt
2 cups molasses
1 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon dried sage
Large bunch fresh thyme
1 orange, quartered
7 pounds ice cubes
14 to 18-pound turkey, cleaned, innards removed
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 lemon, zested and halved
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon sweet paprika
1 teaspoon crushed black pepper

Directions
In a medium pot, bring 3 quarts of the tap water to a boil over medium heat. Put the kosher salt in a large bowl and slowly (and carefully!) pour the boiling water over the salt. Stir to blend.

Add the molasses, soy sauce, sage, thyme and half the orange to the salt and water mixture. Stir to blend. Add the remaining 3 quarts of cool water. Add the ice to a cooler or bucket large enough to hold the brine and the turkey. Pour the brine over the ice and use a large whisk to blend all of the ingredients.

Submerge the turkey, breast side down, in the brine. Make sure the cavity of the bird fills with the liquid as you are submerging it. Cover the cooler and allow the bird to sit in the brine overnight or for about 12 hours.

Remove the bird from the brine and dry it thoroughly with thick (absorbent) kitchen towels. Take care to wipe inside the cavity as well. Discard the brine. Whisk together the butter and the lemon zest. Gently lift the skin covering 1 breast of the turkey and spread half of the butter right on the meat under the skin. Repeat with the other breast. The butter will add extra moisture and richness as the bird roasts. Rub skin with garlic and crushed black pepper. Sprinkle the paprika. Put the leftover orange and lemon quarters into the carcass of the turkey.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Arrange the turkey in a roasting pan fitted with a rack. Put on the lower rack of the oven and roast until the internal temperature of the turkey taken from the thickest part of the thigh reads 170 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer, for my 19 pound bird it will take about 5 to 5 1/2 hours. Remove the turkey from the oven to a cutting board or serving platter and tent with foil. Allow to rest for 15 minutes before carving and serving.

Prickly Pear Cranberry Sauce

I started making my own cranberry sauce a few years ago. I can never go back to the canned stuff again. This year I made it different - I used prickly pears! Say what?! It really amped it up with that extra ingredient. I would recommend making it this year for your Thanksgiving feast.

1 pound prickly pears
1 cup sugar
1 (12 ounce) bag cranberries
Zest of 1 orange
Zest of half a lemon

I had never handled prickly pears before but I found out quickly that they have fine spines that are uber annoying. You can wash and scrub them off but I personally wouldn't handle them with bare hands. If you have gloves you're golden, otherwise stab them with a fork to balance them and using a knife cut the top and bottom off then the sides. If you managed to scrub them, cut the ends from the fruit, score one side and peel skin from flesh.

Chop up the fruit and put in a pot with 1/4 cup of water. Bring it up to a boil then reduce heat. Cook 5 minutes.

Strain puree through a fine sieve and discard seeds.

Combine prickly pear juice and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil.

Add cranberries, lemon, and orange zest to pot and return to a boil.

Reduce heat to simmer 6-8 minutes, until cranberries begin to split.

Remove from heat to cool completely. Refrigerate before serving.

SKAL

So, I've been to Iceland a few times now and I love it there. Not only is it beautiful and relaxing, the food is good too! Check my previous posts on the Foods of Iceland. Anyhoo, there is a new restaurant that opened up on Canal St. and it features a Nordic menu. Fun! I was too busy eating so I forgot to take my own photo. I stole the photo from Gothamgal, but I must say my plate was way more beautiful than this. This was Grilled Monkfish, Cauliflower, Cabbages and Peppermint. The monkfish was cooked to perfection but the cabbages on the side were divine! They had a slight char to them that really made them sing. The table also shared Salt Cod Croquettes with a Horseradish Remoulade (which were super salty and chewy but delicious) and a Plate of Pickles (which was more of a plate of pickled things - not necessarily types of pickles. I would come back!