For the love of food

I'm one of those people who possess a not-so-surprising love of food with a lot of poundage. But I looooove to cook, eat fancy food, drink wine, and so on. In the past couple of years I've become a huge fan of both watching Top Chef and enjoying fine dining (and a book with a bodice on the front and lots of archaic words).

Once I started to go out to these lovely places and watching more cooking shows, I started to think about Double Coupon Wednesdays at Sprouts, Newflower and Sun Harvest. And thus, I realized what my new passion would be.

Dry sea scallops for $7.99 / lb. Lamb loin chops for $8.99 / lb. Baby artichokes for $4.99 / lb, and herbs, herbs, HERBS!!!

That said, here's a sample of my attempts at lower-fat-yet-still-amazing evening menus for the past several days:

Saturday 02 May 2010

Pecan-crusted trout filet, pan-fried with 1 T. butter & 1 t. EVOO

Boiled sweet corn with butter & tomato chipotle rub (2 small ears)

Broiled tomato topped with EVOO, salt, pepper, goat cheese, fresh parsley, fresh basil, & dried rosemary

1 glass rosé wine

Sunday 03 May 2010

Roasted chicken with crushed garlic, lemon, salt, pepper, fresh parsley & fresh thyme

Mashed red potatoes with goat cheese, crushed garlic, salt, pepper, 1% milk, 1T. butter

Chicken gravy from the juices, with white wine & onion (1/4 c.)

Green beans amandine: fresh green beans, boiled and tossed in sherry-vinegar mustard EVOO mixture and topped with toasted almonds

1 scoop light ice cream topped with 1/3 c. strawberries, 2 t. chocolate syrup, 2 squirts whipped cream (small), 5 chocolate chips, 3 pecans

2 glasses rosé wine

Monday 04 May 2010 (School tonight - have to be quick!)

Boneless, skinless chicken thigh rubbed with salt, pepper, garlic powder, cumin, and curry powder (sauteed with cooking spray)

Leftover Mashed red potatoes with goat cheese, crushed garlic, salt, pepper, 1% milk, little butter

Leftover chicken gravy (1/5 c.)

Leftover green beans amandine

1/2 c. part-skim ricotta cheese topped with 3 chopped fresh figs, 1 T. honey, and a few walnuts (dessert, after class)

No wine tonight...feel good.

Tonight after enrolling for another History class for summer semester and doing a pile of dishes, I looked up Olivia's daily menu just for giggles. I love checking it out online and seeing what kinds of flavor profiles are going on. Same for Wink. And sure enough, after my grocery shopping this weekend, all of the ingredients for at least 3 of their menu items are in my possession!

So. Tomorrow I'm going to make:

- Slow-roasted beets sliced with red onion, fresh tarragon, fresh goat cheese, and a smattering of light sherry vinaigrette, served atop some arugula

- Seared scallops with wild mushrooms, baby artichoke, cream, arugula and herbed bread crumbs.

- And for dessert, either light strawberry ice cream or almond-scented ricotta topped with brandy-flambeed strawberries and a speck (!) of whipped cream.

Oh, and my mom sent me an ice cream maker which was delivered today. I've been eyeing some awesome sorbets...coconut lime, anyone? Of course she also sent me a really amazing diet scale, which I want but probably have to opt for "either / or" when it comes to fine dining cooking and losing weight.

And here we are again.....