Helloooo Potluck Season

It's that time of year again, the holidays have arrived.  For those of you whose work places are like mine you are familiar with the onslaught of 'treat days' and potlucks that generally accompany the season. 

the Thanksgiving Potluck
the Christmas Potluck
the 'half the office is out on vacation so let's eat junk' party

No one wants to be the office potluck scrooge, including yours truly.  So, in order to participate, I had to find a greed-free dish to take to these functions.  I choose to take the perfect salad.  Many moons ago, I fell in love with the Blue Cheese Chopped Salad at Outback Steakhouse.  When I gave up sugar, I gave up the salad too . . . . caramelized pecans, and a super sweet vinaigrette took my favorite salad off of the acceptable list.  Then one day, I realized there was this really cool place called the Internet, where I could find the recipe for my favorite salad, and then find ways to improvise and make it without sugar!

My measurements may be a bit vague, but it always seems to turn out fabulously.

Blue Cheese Chopped Salad

(adapted from Outback Steakhouse)

Ingredients

1 head iceberg lettuce

1/2 Romaine heart

Green onions

Red cabbage

Shredded carrots

16 oz blue cheese crumbles

1 cup pecan pieces

1/2 cup pure maple syrup

1 cup angel hair pasta, broken into small pieces

2 Tbsp Butter

Balsamic vinegar

Chop the iceberg lettuce, romaine, cabbage, and onions into small pieces (but not mush)

Mix in a large salad bowl with the shredded carrots & blue cheese crumbles and set aside.

Melt the butter in a small sauté pan

Add the angel hair pasta pieces and saute until brown

Blot with a paper towel and set aside

Add the pecan pieces and maple syrup to the sauté pan

Cook on high heat, stirring, until the syrup is reduced by about half

Spread the pecans /syrup on a cookie sheet, or stone, and bake at 400° for about 15 minutes

Let cool, and crumble

Add the fried pasta and candied pecans to the salad, and dress with balsamic vinegar

Enjoy

This is truly one of the most delectable salads ever created, and if you ask me; it's just as good without the sugar (plus, how many people can say they make their own candied pecans?).

Go to the potluck, avoid sugar

JamiK

p.s. A handful of these pecan pieces make a really great snack when you need something to satisfy a craving for sweets.

When Your Fish Flounders

It's that time of year again.  As the weather gets colder, and we spend more time inside, I find that I am tempted to eat much more than when I am busy outside.  For the first time in two months I did not spend my entire Saturday working in the yard, and instead, tried out a new recipe.  The sudden return to cooking and blogging is to improve my odds of beating the winter weight gain.  This particular recipe called for a trip to the grocery store, as I didn't have any slivered almonds or Swiss chard on hand . . . or flounder, for that matter. 

Before jumping in to the recipe, I would like to say a word about shopping for groceries you've never seen before.  I have no idea what Swiss chard is, or what it looks like; but I think it's a vegetable, probably something leafy.  I get to the produce section, and there are three types of chard listed above the random stacks and piles of leafy green stuff.  Swiss Chard, Red Chard, and some other type of chard.  I picked one that didn't have red stems.  So I think I got the Swiss chard, but for all I know, it could be Hoboken Chard . . . . whatever it is, it is AWESOME.

Flounder with Almond Brown Butter and Swiss Chard
(Courtesy of Every Day With Rachael Ray)
**I have a subscription now, it is also Awesome**


Ingredients:

* Extra Virgin Olive Oil

* 1 Bunch Swiss chard,

       leaves and stems chopped separately

* 2 Cloves of garlic, minced
* 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
* Salt & Pepper
* 3 Tbsp butter

* 1/4 Cup sliver almonds, toasted
* 3 Tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley
* 1 Lemon, cut into 6 wedges
* 4 Flounder fillets, patted dry

 1. In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1/5 tbsp EVOO over medium heat, add the Swiss chard stems; cook until just softened, 5 minutes.

2. Stir in the garlic, Chard leaves, and vinegar; season with salt and pepper.

3. Cook, stirring often, until the leaves are just wilted, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and cover loosely. Wipe the skillet clean.

4. In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat and cook, swirling often, until browned, 5 minutes-ish.





5. Remove from the heat and carefully stir in the almonds, parsley, the juice of 2 lemon wedges and a pinch of salt.


6. In the reserved skillet, heat the remaining 2 Tbsp EVOO over medium-high heat. Season the flounder with salt & pepper, add to the pan and cook, turning once until light golden, 6 to 8 minutes.

 

7. Spoon the almond brown butter over the fish. Serve with he chard and remaining lemon wedges.

This is where a bit of previous experience with fish might have come in handy.  I'm not sure if it was the temperature of the skillet, the quality of the fish, or the quality of the cook, but my fish turned out kind of mushy. 

The almond brown butter made it quite tasty, but the fish itself  needs some practice.  The Swiss chard on the other hand, WAS INCREDIBLE. 

I could eat Swiss chard with every meal.  I can't think of a way to describe it with accuracy - so just try it. 

I refuse to be defeated by fish, so I will do this again sometime soon.  In the meantime, I shall be regularly treating myself to Swiss chard. 

Try new veggies -even if you're not sure what they are.

Avoid sugar.

JamiK

p.s. I don't know if I should be capitalizing Swiss chard, but the spell check is insisting I do.