Ideas Please!!! Please!!

So I am doing a cooking demo - Healthy Grilling - for the patients at Cardiac Rehab. I have/had plenty of ideas but here is the dilemma. My 'grill' is a saute pan on a portable burner - any ideas on what to make or how to pull off grilling in a saute pan - you throw those ideas right on over to me....I mean I supply you with some work procrastination/entertainment don't I? Show the lady a little love....xoxoxox

Nashville - "must tries"

If you are venturing to Nashville in the near future for business, fun, to hear some country music or to check out Vanderbuilt, there are a few neighborhood hot spots you should check out. I say 'neighborhood' because, similar to Jersey, Nashville also has townships or areas with names that are known by the population but not on a map. When you have a friend driving you around saying this is such and such and such and such you start to think you have crossed 50 different town lines. I do not recall all the specific neighborhood names of the restaurant locations, however, they are all in the Nashville zip code.

Tin Angel for a date night or business dinner
Puckett's for weekend brunch
Burger Up for a gathering of beer loving friends
Sweet Cece's - see prior posting in regards to frozen yogurt


Tin Angel has forever ruined eggplant Parmesan for me. Theirs dubbed 'Inside out Eggplant Parm' was by far the best I have ever had, and one I still continue to crave to this day. There were slices of eggplant breaded with panko and baked. The breading was crisp but the eggplant was soft and not at all hard to chew through as eggplant can be if not cooked properly. In between the layers of eggplant was a mixture of ricotta, Parmesan and mozzarella cheeses with a hint of pesto. The whole thing was served topped with some marinara sauce and seated over a grilled vegetable medley (onions, sweet peppers, zucchini). I came home to Boston from that meal, to find eggplant parm in the cafeteria at work on Monday. I was so excited. I got it - took one bite and spit it out in disappointment and now I'm not sure if I can ever eat eggplant parm again unless it is the inside out version from Tin Angel!

Puckett's was a cool mid-atlantic area staple. Most of the stores also sell groceries but the location we frequented in the heart of downtown-touristy Nashville, did not. We had to start off with fried green tomatoes of course, which came with a great chipotle dipping sauce, which cut the friedness and added some zing.

I followed that up with a Red Neck Burrito, which was their famous pulled pork, baked beans and house made BBQ sauce in a soft tortilla, which was then grilled on the flattop. I found that I needed to add more BBQ sauce with each bite, partially due to the deliciousness of the sauce and partly due to the fact that I thought the burrito could use a little more moisture (it wasn't dry and I don't want to give that impression, the meat was perfect, but like a pasta that cooks to long in its sauce and absorbs it all and is somewhat gloppy - that was what the burrito was like). My side of turnip greens was mushy and lacked flavor - I don't think they even added salt to them, BUTTTT the smoked pulled pork was pretty worth the trip!! Other hits at Puckett's were 'Meat and Three' as in three sides and a BLT.








Burger Up did have a damn good burger and an even better beer list with many locally brewed favorites. I got ground lamb with goat cheese, arugula, caramelized onions and Dijon mustard. I was torn between ordering the truffle fries or the sweet potato fries, so what do you do when you can't decide? You convince people sitting at the bar to let you try theirs so you can make your own decision! Sweet potato fries came out on top for me, slightly sprinkled with very coarse sea salt! I would not, however, recommend the onion rings. We were so excited for them the whole plane ride and they were a big disappointment. The onion pieces were fine, but they seemed to be covered in dough and deep fried - it was as if you were eating an onion donut - definitely not cool!! Caroline and I also split a Caesar salad which was HUGE and very fresh. The house-made croutons were light and airy and well seasoned, not covered in salt and onion or garlic powder like many of them are.

Thoughts from a Chocolate Shoppe

On a trip to San Diego recently, my brother took me to the Hotel del Coronado, known by many of it super-rich patons and the Coronado Island locals as 'the Del'. It is a fabulously beautiful place, built in the 1800s, the detail on the outside of the wood-shingled buildings is an architectural lover's dream. They have upscale poolside bars, great restaurants and many high end shops for guests to poruse. One in particular was a candy store called Spreckles, and while I wanted to eat every house-made chocolate or flavor of fudge they served, I was much amused by the 'Chocolate Lovers' trinkets. I took pictures of all of them and hopefully, you too will smile and see the truth in their jesting sayings.

Another great deal!

JP Licks - today and tomorrow only Print out the coupon and get $2 off a $4 purchase at any JP Licks location!! Its a rainy day celebration!

Deal of the Day

Open Table Spotlight restaurant is Club Cafe, 209 Columbus Ave, Boston. $25 buys you a $50 "gift card" which is really piece of paper that you print out and bring with you, but who doesn't want to buy something at 50% off!!! I have never frequented Club Cafe, but it looks like one stop shopping to me: drinks, dinner, dancing, all at 50% off!

Only hitch is that you have to sign up to be able to purchase the Open Table Spotlight deals - but unlike Groupon there is no quota as to how many people have to buy in to get the deal which is fabulous!

Barley with Walnut Pesto and Goat Cheese

This makes a lot - but leftovers for lunches are a big plus!!

2 cups dry, pearled barley (not quick cook)
4 cups 99% fat free, low sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup walnuts
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 cups fresh basil leaves
2 cloves garlic
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (could be optional but provides an easy 'bam' in the mouth without being painful)
kosher salt
4 oz goal cheese
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved

1. Boil chicken broth, add barley, stir, reduce heat to low and let cook until barley is done. If not all chicken broth is absorbed that is ok.
2. In food processor chop walnuts and garlic, add basil, red pepper flakes and stream in oil while pulsing. Season with salt.
3. Add pesto to cooked barley over low heat and melt in half of the goat cheese. Add tomatoes, stir until everything is heated through and barley is completely covered with pesto - about 2-3 minutes.
4. Top with remaining goat cheese and serve.
ENJOY!!!

Broccoli Soup

This recipe was created for my bariatric patients as a dish during their post-op liquid phase. When a fellow RD in the office made it and raved about the finished product I thought I would share it with everyone!

1 large onion (sweet Vidalia would be great)
1 medium carrot (and/or a turnip - looks like a white carrot but really sweet!)
1 medium potato
1 large celery stalk
3 bunches broccoli (or 2# fresh/frozen broccoli florets)
1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil
1 bay leaf
2 cups non-fat milk
28 oz 99% fat free chicken broth/stock or vegetable broth/stock
salt and pepper

1. Dice up onion, carrot, and celery.
2. In sauce pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add diced vegetables and bay leaf. Let sweat for 10 minutes or until vegetables are translucent.
3. If broccoli heads were purchased, remove main stem from the top. Leave stem whole and put in pot with sweating vegetables. Chop up florets.
4. Peel, then dice potato into 1" cubes. When vegetables in pot are soft (not including the broccoli stems) add potato, chopped florets and broth. Cook about 20 minutes, until potatoes are falling apart.
5. Remove bay leave and broccoli stems.
6. Stir in milk.
7. Use an immersion blender (hand) or stand up blender to puree soup. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Enjoy with a loaf of crusty bread immediately or freeze in 1 cup portions for an easy lunch later!

Agnolotti? Don't mind if I do!

On a recent trip to NYC I had promised my host that I would make us dinner one of the nights I stayed with her. Though busy at work all week, I had plenty of time to figure out what I was craving as I sat in Friday rush hour traffic infront of the GW bridge, which if you have ever frequented, is a huge pain in the ass.

I wanted something creamy and cheesy but no overwhelmingly heavy. What I decided on was a knockoff (yes I'll proudly admit it) of a dish I had many years ago at Fahrenheit.

-1 pound Agnolotti (the half moon shaped ravioli - I got ones filled with Pesto and cheese, you could choose most any filling)
-Marscapone Cheese (truth be told, I don't know how much it was, the store had a big container and a small container, I used the big one which was about 1.5 cups)
-1/2 cup fat free, low sodium chicken broth
-1 tablespoon fresh thyme
-salt and pepper
-1 cup cherry tomatoes
-teaspoon olive oil

1. Boil the water - add about 1 tablespoon salt - dump in agnolloti and cook until done about 6 minutes
2. Heat over medium heat, olive oil in pan, add thyme leaves, cook about 30 second to 1 minute
3. Add marscapone cheese and stir until it all melts and spreads thin, then add chicken broth, stirring to combine.
4. Season with salt and pepper
5. Add tomatoes and then when agnolloti are tender, drain them and add to sauce.
6. Cook together another 6 minutes stirring regularly so that sauce does not burn and all items are heated throughout. You would like for the tomatoes to pop open a little bit also.

I served with a hearty loaf of bread and a platter of roasted vegetables (porchini mushrooms, red & yellow bell peppers, asparagus) and a soft, slightly acidic Chardonnay to cut the fat from the cheese.

Are you a licker or biter?

Get your mind out of the gutter people, this a food blog! No matter which way you like to attack your ice cream, be it licking or biting (sans ice headache), you will be able to do it for free on Tuesday (May 4) from 4-6pm at any JP Licks location. Tuesday is their spring tasting day, so try all the flavors you can put down FOR FREE!!!! Pineapple sorbet is there newest edition, just intime for warmer weather, so cool your jets and give it a go!