Comfort Foods: Crabmeat Crostini with Sriracha Mayonnaise and Toasting Another Happy Year

After a lovely Christmas with my family in Ohio, we came back to New York to enjoy the city with our daughters for the rest of the holiday vacation. After-Christmas shopping, Christmas windows and decorations and the giant tree at Rockefeller Center still hold their magic for all of us.

Last night, we opened a bottle of champagne to toast the end of a great year, and the start of a happy one. I made spicy crabmeat crostini, and they were a perfect accompaniment to the delicious champagne.

Easy to make, serve and eat, the crostini are elegant, rich and delicious. The crab gets an unexpected kick from the sriracha, and the toasty crostini adds crunch to the silky crabmeat pâté. If you are looking to cut down on carbs--you can spoon the spicy crabmeat into endive leaves for a light but crunchy amuse-bouche.

If you are looking for an easy and tasty appetizer to ring in the New Year--this is it. Not that a good glass of champagne needs much to go with it--a toast with loved ones and a grateful nod to all that is good in your life is plenty. Happy New Year!

Crabmeat Crostini with Sriracha Mayonnaise
1/2 pound fresh lump crab meat
2-3 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 teaspoons sriracha sauce (available in Asian grocery/markets)
1 baguette, sliced and toasted
Freshly ground pepper and chopped fresh cilantro for garnish

In a bowl, mix crabmeat, mayonnaise and sriracha with a fork until the sauces are mixed through with the crab. I prefer to keep the crabmeat a little chunky, but more mixing will make the pâté more smooth. Spoon onto crostini (or into endive leaves for a lighter dish) and garnish with freshly ground pepper and chopped cilantro.

Healing Foods: Persimmon Orange Salad and He Can Cook, Too!

I have often invited my husband to join me in the kitchen to cook. A dashing French gastronome, he has introduced me to many lovely dishes in our years (and travels) together. In the past couple of years, as we both try to take control of our health, he has become a wonderful partner as we peruse recipes, shop for ingredients and discover dishes that are both delicious and nutrient filled.

For Thanksgiving, he came across a recipe in the New York Times that he thought would be a great pairing with our “lighter than years past” meal with friends. It is delicious, and so worth sharing. The refreshing, sweet persimmons and the citrusy sweet/tart oranges are a great combination, and the peppery watercress is a great juxtaposition to fruit’s textures and flavors. We have made it a few times since Thanksgiving, and it is a welcome addition at any dinner. And although making this delicious salad isn't exactly cooking...it is a treat to have my handsome man joining me in the kitchen!

1 small shallot, minced

2 tablespoons sherry vinegar

Salt and pepper

4 tablespoons fruity olive oil

4 navel oranges

4 Fuyu persimmons

1 bunch watercress, optional

Put the shallot and vinegar in a small bowl and macerate 5 minutes. Add a pinch of salt and a little pepper. Whisk in the olive oil.

With a serrated knife, peel the oranges, then slice into 1/2-inch rounds. Arrange the orange slices on a platter. Peel the persimmons, cut into 1/2-inch thick slices or wedges and arrange over the oranges.

The salad can be covered and refrigerated up to 3 hours. Just before serving, whisk the dressing again and drizzle over the fruit. Garnish with watercress sprigs.

Healing Foods: Mushroom Ragout and Renewed Energy

My salt-free eating plan (not a diet!) has had some very tangible results over the past month. My blood pressure has come down, my energy level has gone way up, and I have lost 7 pounds. I now scour labels to see the sodium content of any food that’s canned, frozen or packaged, and have largely eliminated them as cooking or meal options. Because I am limited to 500 milligrams (1/5 of a teaspoon) of sodium per day, I am motivated to eat foods without dressings, heavy sauces—mainly foods in their cleanest state. Because I can feel such a huge difference in my health and energy level—it has helped keep me motivated to be creative with herbs, spices and flavors without adding salt.

The mushroom ragout recipe, below, is wonderfully versatile. As an appetizer on crostini, served over pasta, risotto or polenta, or as a side to chicken breast or a filet mignon, it is delicious. You can make it with a single mushroom (like button or crimini), or mix several types of mushrooms for a richer, more complex flavor.

Mushroom Ragout

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 garlic clove, chopped

1 tablespoon chopped chives

12 ounces crimini, shitake, oyster, button or portobello mushrooms (I mix them all for the richest flavor), sliced thin

1/3 cup unsalted chicken broth (Kitchen Basics is my favorite)

1/3 cup dry red wine

2-3 tablespoons whipping cream

1 teaspoon truffle oil (for drizzling)

Saute butter and garlic together. Add sliced mushrooms. Cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Add broth, wine, and continue cooking until the liquid reduces by about half. Add cream and chives, and cook for another minute to combine all flavors. Drizzle with truffle oil and serve with your favorite protein or starch.

Healing Foods: Caramelized Brussels Sprouts and How Much is 500 Milligrams of Salt?

1 teaspoon of table salt is approximately 2400 milligrams of sodium. That teaspoon of salt thrown into boiling water to cook pasta is now almost 5 times my daily allowance of sodium (my cardiologist told me to limit my sodium intake to 500 milligrams a day). So, how does someone not familiar with watching her salt intake learn to live with less than 1/5 of a teaspoon per day?

Stop cooking with it, for starters. That has been going on for a few weeks now, and I have been pleasantly surprised that we can go without it at mealtimes with no complaint. My daughters have been enjoying their sodium-free meals, and eating more vegetables. One of their favorite veggie dishes is caramelized Brussels sprouts.

I grew up with an English mother, and Brussels sprouts, along with mashed carrots and turnips, were staples at our house. We always ate our sprouts steamed, until one year we discovered that if you steamed them lightly and then sautéed them, they were even better. When I learned in a cooking class what caramelized Brussels sprouts tasted like—I was hooked.

Steamed lightly, sautéed in a little butter sprinkled with ½ teaspoon of sugar, the sautéing process gives the sprouts a sweet/savory coating that makes the outside of the sprout a caramel brown color. They are tender, sweet/savory, delicious bites full of goodness. Steaming helps bring out the cholesterol lowering benefits of these healthy cruciferous vegetables, and they are loaded with vitamins K, C, and manganese—and fiber.

Paired with any protein, these are a healthy and delicious accompaniment.

1 lb. Brussels sprouts, stems cut and sprouts cut in half (or quartered, if they are large)

1 tablespoon unsalted butter or olive oil

½ teaspoon sugar

Pepper to taste

Place Brussels sprouts in a steamer basket over boiling water for 5 minutes. Drain to remove excess water/steam.

In a skillet, heat butter over medium heat until completely melted, and sprinkle sugar over butter. Add sprouts and sauté, stirring gently ever 3-4 minutes for about 15 minutes, until outsides of sprouts become caramelized. Serve immediately.

Healing Foods: Zucchini, Onion and Tomato Tian-Delicious Without Salt!

As I continue to eliminate salt from my diet—I am, of course, shocked at the amount of it that I was consuming on a daily basis. Not only did I salt as I was cooking, but most condiments, stocks, and processed food ingredients contain very generous amounts of sodium. I have had to rethink using canned tomatoes, ketchups and other condiment sauces, chicken, beef and vegetable stock, and other key ingredients as I scour the labels to assess the sodium level in all of them.

The other evening, I was pleasantly surprised (again!) at how tasty a dish completely devoid of my once favorite seasoning can be. I made veal cutlets that were sprinkled with pepper and sautéed in a little olive oil. Once they were cooked, I deglazed the pan with a little white wine, and added my favorite salt free Kitchen basics chicken stock. I added a teaspoon of spicy Dijon mustard to the liquid and let it reduce. With that, I made a vegetable tian of thinly sliced layered vegetables that are roasted with olive oil and fresh herbs. It was delicious—and with the fresh thyme and other herbs added to it—very flavorful. The vegetables, all heart-healthy and nutrition dense, meld deliciously into a tender side dish that you can serve with many different main courses.

My daughters didn’t notice that salt was missing, and ate it all. So, if you are looking to cut down on sodium—here is a recipe that is so yummy you won’t even know it’s not there.

Vegetable Tian

2 medium zucchini sliced thin

1 large onion sliced thin

2 tomatoes sliced thin or chopped into small dice

3 tablespoons olive oil

3 tablespoons chopped herbs (I use rosemary, thyme and parsley)

pepper to taste

Coat the bottom of a 9X11 roasting pan with olive oil. Spread a thin layer of zucchini, and top with herbs and pepper to taste. Add the layer of onion, and sprinkle more herbs. Add the tomatoes to the top and drizzle remaining olive oil and herbs over it. Bake at 400 for 25 minutes, until vegetables are softened. Serve with your favorite protein (it goes well with the veal cutlets above).

Healing Foods: Butternut Squash Soup and A Wakeup Call

Anyone who knows me knows that I decided to meet 50 with a vengeance. When my daughter suggested that there should be 50 celebrations of my birthday this year, I embraced it. Dining out, cooking elaborate dinners with friends, and toasting myself that I didn’t feel my age with over 36 celebrations so far this year. After a gastronomic trip through the French Alps this summer, and a month spent researching fried chicken around NYC for a comfort food chapter of a cookbook project—I realized that something was not right.

I have had high blood pressure, and been on medication, since my daughters were born prematurely as a result of preeclampsia. In my 30’s, and even into my 40’s, I let the medication manage my blood pressure while I lived my life with gusto—enjoying food and wine with occasional exercise thrown in. At 50, my erratic blood pressure got to levels so high that I knew that I needed help.

My doctor and my cardiologist have both told me very firmly that I need to lose at least 25 pounds, and cut out sugar, fried foods and salt. I also needed to start moving, and managing my stress in a much more consistent way. I know they are right—I can feel it.

I have accepted the challenge to still try to cook things that are satisfying without butterfat, salt, and the usual doses of sugar, cream and chocolate that are staples in my cooking. I also wanted to make sure that the whole family came along on the journey and didn’t feel deprived.

On Sunday, we made a butternut squash soup that has made me very hopeful that this will work. It is loaded with beta-carotene, potassium, vitamin C and fiber, and when pureed into a soup, makes a creamy, satisfying bowl of goodness that is completely dairy free. And its easy—25 minutes from stove to table.

This recipe is going out to help others get inspired to cook delicious and healthy foods. Especially my dear friend who reminded me the other evening that living our lives to the fullest with our children is the best gift we can give ourselves—and them.

Butternut Squash Soup

1 tablespoon

1 large onion, chopped

1 large butternut squash, peeled, seeded, cut and chopped into large dice (about 3 cups)

1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage (or 1 heaping teaspoon dried, rubbed sage)

1 quart unsalted chicken stock (Kitchen Basics makes a great one)

Pepper to taste

In a soup pot or dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium heat and sauté onion until translucent. Add butternut squash, sage and pepper. Stew for about 3 minutes. Add stock and bring to a boil, the reduce to simmer for about 25 minutes until tender. Puree in a blender or food processor in batches until smooth. Return to pot and correct seasonings, adding more stock, pepper and sage as needed. Serve with a green salad and crusty French bread.

Comfort Food: Lobster Rolls and Loving the Red Hook Lobster Pound!

Each weekend, we take a trip to Brooklyn to do our grocery shopping and some gastronomic exploring. It is an excursion I look forward to with delight, to find new ingredients to cook with, new places to eat, and new dishes to try to recreate at home in the little ethnic neighborhoods of Brooklyn.

When we discovered the Red Hook Lobster Pound on Van Brunt Street in Brooklyn—I knew I had hit the jackpot. A storefront that sells the freshest of lobsters from Maine to take home and cook (and they sell the lobster pots to cook them in—nice, deep pots for steaming or boiling), they also have a brisk and wildly popular business selling Maine and Connecticut lobster rolls for take out or to eat-in at the lovely Maine-inspired patio dining room next door. We love to order the rolls and sit in on the lovely picnic tables hand-crafted by owner Ralph Gorham, and study the lobster lore featured on the walls of the eatery. There are also benches outside for al fresco eating for the crowds that line up down the street to sample the delicious rolls. Two lobster rolls are offered—the Maine version—a chilled lobster salad with mayonnaise, scallions and celery is a favorite of my husband and daughter, while the Connecticut version, served warm and topped with lots of melted butter and chopped chives and scallions, is the best food discovery I have made in a long time. They also sell a steamed lobster dinner for eat-in or take out, with corn on the cob, and a choice of cole slaw and potato salad, and a host of sodas from Maine. And if the lobster rolls are not enough, they offer whoopee pies and Maine blueberry cupcakes for dessert.

Since lobster is an excellent low fat source of Protein, Niacin, Vitamin B12, Copper and Magnesium, and a good source of Fiber, Vitamin B6, Calcium, Iron, and Potassium—it can make for guilt free eating (even with the butter and bun!) I have taken to bringing lobsters home to steam and crack open with friends over a great bottle of wine, and have even created my own Lobster Pound-inspired version of the Connecticut roll. All I need is a sandy beach outside my Manhattan apartment building and life will be grand indeed…

Connecticut Lobster Roll (inspired by Red Hook Lobster Pound)

• ¼ cup chopped scallion greens (about 2 scallions)

• ¼ cup melted butter

• 1 tbsp. chopped chives

• 1 pound cooked lobster meat, roughly chopped (about 2 1/2 cups)

• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

• 4 lobster roll buns or hot dog buns

On a griddle or in a skillet, add 1 tbsp. melted butter. Add lobster meat. With a pastry brush, add additional melted butter onto lobster, and sauté, turning lightly until warmed through. Add sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Butter insides of lobster roll and toast, butter sides down, on the griddle alongside lobster until lightly browned and toasty—about 3 minutes. Fill each with a generous 1/2 cup of the lobster, top with scallions and chives and serve immediately.