Cuisine Diva

Individual Gourmet Pizzas

Above: Individual, whole wheat pizza crusts by Boboli.

Fun With Cheese

Yesterday I wrote a review of Alouette's Soft Spreadable Cheese. Here is an idea for an easy to prepare, gourmet pizza, featuring the sundried tomato with basil flavor of their spreadable cheese.

Above: A variety of toppings to add to gourmet pizzas.

Gourmet Pizza Ingredients

• Boboli, or other premade, individual pizza crust
• Alouette soft spreadable cheese
• Pizza toppings
• Parmesan cheese
• Fresh basil

Above: I used a perforated, metal pizza pan to make my gourmet pizza.

Gourmet Pizza Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Spread the bottom of the pizza crust with a layer of spreadable cheese. I used Alouette's sundried tomato and basil soft spreadable cheese.
3. Top the pizza with your favorite pizza toppings.
4. Sprinkle a layer of grated Parmesan cheese on top of the toppings.
5. Add a handful of chopped, fresh basil leaves to the top of the pizza.
6. Cook in the preheated oven for 8-10 minutes, until the cheese has melted and is lightly brown on top.
7. Cut into 4 pieces using a pizza wheel.
8. Serve immediately.

Above: Spread a layer of cheese spread on top of the pizza crust.

Gourmet Pizza Toppings

Choose from your favorite pizza toppings to top your individual gourmet pizzas. Here are a few suggestions:

• Kalamata olives
• Green olives
• Capers
• Minced garlic
• Marinated mushrooms
• Anchovy fillets
• Sundried tomatoes
• Thin sliced green onions
• Feta cheese
• Crumbled bacon
• Diced Canadian bacon
• Fresh herbs such as basil, parsley, oregano

Above: Sprinkle the toppings of your choice on top of the pizza.

Pizza as Appetizer or Dinner

Serve individual gourmet pizzas as the main course for dinner. You can also cut up a couple of pizzas to serve as an appetizer.

Above: Hot, homemade pizza fresh out of the oven.

Salad Topping

I've seen a few chefs adding fresh greens, such as baby arugula, to the top of their pizzas, after they come out of the oven. I decided to give it a try, kind of a neat way to eat a salad along with your pizza.

• Mixed greens such as baby arugula, spinach and radicchio
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Fresh ground black pepper
• Course sea salt

Above: Salad topping on top of individual gourmet pizza.

Sprinkle the greens on top of the pizza, as soon as you remove it from the oven. Then drizzle on a bit of good quality, extra virgin olive oil and top with a few grinds of black pepper and some course sea salt.

Above: Gourmet pizza, topped with salad greens, ready to eat.

Take care,
Lynn Smythe AKA the Cuisine Diva

Low Calorie La Tortilla Factory Recipes

La Tortilla Factory

I just received an email from the PR department of La Tortilla Factory. She thought I might be interested in posting the recipes to my Bike Diva blog, but I decided to post them up to my Cuisine Diva blog. Here are a few low calorie recipes featuring products from La Tortialla Factory.

Energy-boosting meals are crucial for cyclists working to break away from the pack. Now that we’re in the midst of summer race season, riders will be searching the Web and their favorite pubs for nutritional meals to keep them full without the fat. Here are some easy and healthy recipe ideas you can share with them from La Tortilla Factory that won’t sacrifice taste and quality.

Better-for-You Burger
Get your burger fix, without all the bad carbs. Skip the bun and make cheeseburger quesadillas with La Tortilla Factory’s Smart & Delicious Low Carb High Fiber Tortillas (recipe below)! Hamburger buns can add more than 200 calories to your meal. However, by using a low-calorie, high fiber tortilla, such as the ones made by La Tortilla Factory, you can enjoy your same grilling favorites with better nutritional value- made with only 80 calories, plus 14 grams of fiber.
 
Adding Culinary Zest to Boring Chicken
High-protein foods, like chicken, are crucial when prepping for a big race, but can get tiring to your taste buds. Spice up your routine with La Tortilla Factory’s Asian Rotisserie Chicken Salad Wrap, using their Extra Virgin Olive Oil SoftWraps, which are an excellent source of dietary fiber (52 percent of the recommended daily value) and are a good source of iron (recipe below)! This is a fresh summer meal everyone will enjoy for lunch or dinner.
 
Sweet Tooth

One of the hardest hills to climb when watching your food intake is finding a sweet and satisfying snack that can be enjoyed at home OR on the go. Take a wrap, such as La Tortilla Factory’s 100% Whole Wheat 100 Calorie Tortilla (made with 20 grams of Whole Grains per serving!) and add Greek yogurt, honey and your favorite fruit and/or nuts for a sweet and delicious parfait that is super portable!

RECIPES
 
Cheeseburger Quesadilla
Serves 1
Ingredients:
1 large La Tortilla Factory Smart & Delicious Low Carb/High Fiber Tortilla
1 Boca Original Meatless Burger, thawed
1 slice fat-free American cheese, chopped
1 tablespoon chopped onion
1 tablespoon chopped pickles
Optional ingredients: salt, black pepper, garlic powder
Optional topping: ketchup
 
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cut burger into small bite-sized pieces. Bring a pan sprayed with nonstick spray to medium heat on the stove. Add onion and burger pieces. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until onion is soft. Season mixture to taste with optional ingredients, if you like.
 
Spray a medium-large baking sheet lightly with nonstick spray. Lay tortilla flat on the sheet and evenly top with the cheese pieces. Bake in the oven for about 2 minutes, until cheese has melted slightly. Leave oven on. Spread burger mixture over one half of the tortilla. Top with pickles and fold tortilla in half, pressing down lightly with a spatula to seal.
 
Bake in the oven for another 3 to 5 minutes, until tortilla edges are slightly brown. Remove from the oven and cut into triangles. Top or serve with ketchup, if you like. Yum!

Asian Rotisserie Chicken Salad Wrap
Serves 2
 
2 La Tortilla Factory Extra Virgin Olive Oil SoftWraps
3 ½ oz shredded Rotisserie Chicken, breast meat only
¼ c shredded cabbage
¼ c shredded carrots
2 Tbsp coarsely chopped green onion
2 ½ Tbsp coarsely chopped cilantro
4 Tbsp Reduced Fat Asian Toasted Sesame Dressing (or any other favorite Asian dressing)
 
1.     In a bowl, combine the chicken, cabbage, carrot, green onion and cilantro and toss with dressing to mix well.
2.     Place half of the chicken salad on a tortilla and roll away from you into a wrap.
3.     Place the remaining mixture in the second tortilla and roll into a wrap.
 
Nutrition Analysis per serving: Calories: 250; Total Fat: 6g; Carbohydrate: 39g; Dietary Fiber: 10g; Protein: 18g

Chaiyo Thai Bistro - Delray Beach

My husband and I do a lot of bike riding, so as part of our Valentine's Day celebration we did a 25 mile road bike ride, along with a friend of ours that had just purchased her very first road bike. We were kind of tired after the ride, and I had gone for a 8 mile run the day before, so I was also pretty sore.

Thai Food To Go

The Olympics had started just a few days before, so we decided between being tired from the bike ride, and wanting to watch the Olympics, that we would get take out from a local restaurant for our Valentine's Day dinner. The Chaiyo Thai Bistro is located just down the street from our house, in western Delray Beach. I didn't think my husband would be interested in trying Thai food, but he said he heard a lot of positive comments about the restaurant. I love Thai food, so we decided to get Thai take out for our Valentine's Day dinner.

Chaiyo Thai Bistro used to be a Miami Subs-Arthur Treacher Fish fast food restaurant, so I didn't think the atmosphere was going to be too appealing for dining in. But my husband was pleasantly surprised when he went to pick up our order. He said it was very elegant, filled with people enjoying their meals, and the staff was very friendly. We will definitely try eating there in person next time.

Delicious Thai Food

Since my husband and I had never eaten at Chaiyo Thai Bistro, and my husband didn't know too much about Thai food, we decided to order a bunch of food to sample off their menu. When ordering any of their soups, curry or noodle dishes, you get to choose your protein from tofu, chicken breast, beef, prawns, squid or scallops. I like that they have a tofu option for many of their menu items, our daughter became a vegetarian about a year ago, and I'm always looking for food options for her picky palate.

My husband and I ordered the following items from the menu:

Appetizer platter - 2 each of spring rolls, prawn rolls, chicken satay, beef satay, golden flowers and crispy tofu. Golden flowers are little wonton-like pockets filled with a mixture of ground chicken, potatoes, onion and yellow curry. The platter came with three dipping sauces; plum sauce, spicy peanut sauce and a sweet vinegar sauce which had finely diced cucumber in it. Besides the the rubbery tofu chunks, we really enjoyed the appetizer platter.

I got the Tom Ka soup with scallops. Tom Ka is a coconut milk based soup with fresh mushrooms, galangal, kaffir lime leaves, cilantro, tomatoes and your choice of protein (tofu, chicken breast, prawns, squid or scallops).

For his main dish, my husband ordered the Pad Thai with prawns. Pad Thai is stir-fried rice noodles, egg, bean sprouts, green onion and special Pad Thai sauce. It is served with fresh bean sprouts, limes, ground peanuts, carrots and cabbage. I tried a bit - it was a nice mixture of hot noodles/shrimp with crunchy cold vegetables. Pad Thai is a classic Thai food dish.

For my main dish, I ordered the Green Curry with chicken. That was a mixture of a slightly hot/spicy green curry paste with coconut milk, eggplant, bell peppers, peas and Thai basil. Served with your choice of Jasmine or brown rice. You definitely need to serve this dish with a generous portion of rice, to help cut down on the heat. Not too hot, but it definitely built up in the back of your throat and mouth as you continued eating the dish.

Additional Information

Their menu is listed on their website, so you can get an idea of the type of food they serve: www.chaiyothaibistro.com. Chaiyo Thai Bistro is located on the southeast corner of Military Trail and Atlantic Ave. There is a BP gas station, Bed/Bath/Beyond and CVS in the plaza where the restaurant is located.

Chaiyo Thai Bistro is my new favorite restaurant, I look forward to dinning in the next time we get the craving for Thai food. And I really like the fact that it less than a mile from my house.

Take care,
Lynn Smythe AKA the Cuisine Diva

Tomato, Mozzarella and Basil Salad

Caprese salad plate

Tomato, mozzarella and basil salad is also known as Caprese Salad, or Insalata Caprese. I wrote an article on how-to make a caprese salad, for the Herbs & Spices section of Suite101 on September 14: Insalata Caprese; How-to Make a Classic Italian Salad Platter.

Lunch Salad
I had a caprese salad for lunch yesterday, which is shown in the photo at the top of this blog post. I used perfectly ripe, campari greenhouse tomatoes, layered with marinated mozzarella cheese and fresh basil leaves. The mozzarella had been lightly coated in olive oil, then rolled in a finely chopped mixture of garlic, parsley and red peppers. That must have been red pepper flakes, because the cheese was a bit hot and spicy. I sprinkled the salad with a fruity extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar, freshly cracked black pepper and a bit of sea salt.

Platter of caprese salad kabobs

Balsamic Vinegar VS Lemon Juice
I found the balsamic vinegar to be a bit too sweet for my taste. So for today's salad, I used a bit of freshly squeezed lemon juice instead. That was the secret, the tangy lemon blended perfectly with the fruity olive oil. Lots of yummy dressing to sop up with my big chunk of crusty Italian bread.

Take care,
Lynn Smythe AKA the Cuisine Diva

How-to Make Caesar Salad Dressing

Individual serving of Caesar salad

Caesar salad can be ordered at most any restaurant. Fancier eating establishments will make the salad table side, which makes waiting for the rest of your meal to arrive not quite so boring. Authentic Caesar salad dressing should be light in texture, yet rich and tangy in taste, and not a gloppy, mayonnaise clogged mess.

 

Making homemade breadcrumbs for Caesar salad

To make an authentic Caesar salad, first you will need to make homemade breadcrumbs. While the breadcrumbs are toasting in the oven, begin to make the dressing. Once the breadcrumbs and dressing have been made, you can assemble the salad.

This recipe calls for a raw egg, which has been coddled in hot water. If you have an aversion to using raw eggs, look for pasteurized eggs in the grocery store. Or you can substitute a tablespoon of mayonnaise for the raw egg if absolutely necessary.

 

Ingredients for making a classic Caesar salad

To make a vegetarian version of the Caesar salad dressing, omit the anchovy fillets. I used to be afraid of anchovies, thinking they were nasty little fishy beasty things, but after making pasta with homemade puttanesca sauce for the first time, I am no longer afraid of this classic, gourmet ingredient.

 

Anchovy fillets packed in olive oil

Making Breadcrumbs

Use leftover Italian or French bread to make the breadcrumbs. I used leftover sesame coated Italian bread that I had purchased a few days earlier at a local Italian market. The bread was pretty much dried out when I went to make breadcrumbs with the leftovers. Fresher bread will require less oil, and a longer toasting time, while staler bread will require more oil and a shorter cooking time.

Ingredients for the Homemade Breadcrumbs

• 4 cups cubed, day old/stale Italian or French bread
• 1/4 to 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic - minced, or 1 tablespoon garlic paste
• 1 tablespoon fresh, or 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions for the Homemade Breadcrumbs

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Cut the bread into 1 to 2 inch cubes.
3. Place the cubed bread into a large mixing bowl.
4. In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, garlic, oregano and salt.
5. Toss the bread cubes with the olive oil mixture, until all the bread is well coated.
6. Place the seasoned bread cubes onto a baking sheet.
7. Bake in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes, until golden brown, and crisp.
8. Remove to a wire rack to cool until ready to use in the Caesar salad.

Coddle egg in hot water

Caesar Salad Ingredients

1. 3-4 teaspoons minced garlic or 1 tablespoon garlic paste
2. 4 anchovy fillets - finely chopped
3. 1 teaspoon capers - drained
4. 1 teaspoon grainy, Dijon mustard
5. 2 tablespoons lemon juice
6. 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
7. 1 egg - room temperature
8. 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
9. Freshly cracked black pepper
10. Grated Parmesan cheese
11. 2-3 heads Romaine lettuce - chopped

Caesar Salad Dressing Directions

1. Place the garlic and anchovies into a mortar, and grind into a fine paste with a pestle.
2. Add the capers, and mustard and continue grinding until a smooth paste is formed.
3. Use a spatula to scrape the paste out of the mortar, and place it in a mixing bowl.
4. Whisk in the lemon juice and Worcestershire sauce.
5. Place the egg in a large coffee mug, or other heat proof container.
6. Pour boiling water over the egg, and let sit for 3 minutes.
7. Drain the hot water off the egg, and cover with cold water.
8. Whisk the coddled egg yolk into the mixing bowl with the other Caesar dressing ingredients (discard the egg white).
9. Slowly whisk in the olive oil, until well blended. The dressing should have a consistency which is just a bit thicker than heavy cream.
10. Add the Romaine lettuce to a large salad bowl.
11. Toss with a bit of the Caesar salad dressing, then garnish with Parmesan cheese, freshly cracked black pepper and a few of the homemade breadcrumbs.
12. The salad should be well coated, but not drowning, with dressing.
13. Because of the raw egg that is used, any leftover dressing should be discarded.

 

Garlic, anchovies, capers and mustard processed with mortar and pestle

 

The complete Caesar salad dressing

Cardini's Original Caesar Salad Dressing
Read the story about the origin of Caesar salad: Cardini's Caesar Dressing. The salad was invented circa 1924 when Italian born Mexican Caesar Cardini started making the salad in his Tijuana restaurant.

Take care,
Lynn Smythe AKA the Cuisine Diva

Turkey Taco Salad with Blue Corn Chips

 

Turkey taco salad with blue corn chips

I have a problem with high cholesterol, despite all the exercising I do. A few years ago, I decided to stop eating red meat. While I do cave-in and have a beef burger a few times a year, I no longer purchase red meat products for the house. My daughter has recently turned vegetarian, so she doesn't miss not having red meat at the house. But my husband and son are true carnivores, so I had to figure out a way to keep the cavemen happy.

 

Ground white meat turkey

Ground Turkey VS Ground Beef
I discovered that ground white meat turkey can be used in a variety of dishes that I used to use ground beef in. And most people don't notice the difference until I tell them they are eating ground turkey. I've made lasagna, hamburgers, meatballs, meatloaf and more using ground turkey in place of ground beef.

I occasionally use ground dark meat turkey, which is moister than ground white meat turkey, due to its higher fat content. But that's kind of defeating the whole lower-fat eating program I'm trying to follow, so I try to stick to using white meat turkey.

 

Store bought taco seasoning mix

Spiced Taco Meat
I started making my own taco seasoning mix a few years ago. Prepackaged taco seasoning can be found in the ethnic food section of most grocery stores. Commercially made taco seasonings contain a bit too much salt for my taste, so making your own taco spice blend lets you reduce, or completely eliminate the salt.

 

Ingredients for homemade taco seasoning mixture

Here's a quick recipe for creating spiced, ground turkey meat, that can be used in tacos, enchiladas, taco salads and other Tex-Mex style dishes. Use ground chile pepper, such as ancho or chipolte, not chili powder spice mix in this recipe. Chili powder spice mix is usually a mixture of ground chile, garlic powder, cumin, salt and oregano.Ground chili pepper is 100% ground chili pepper.

Taco Spice Seasoning Mix

• 1 tablespoon corn starch
• 1/4 to 1 teaspoon salt, if desired
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin powder
• 1 teaspoon coriander powder
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon ground chile pepper
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon thyme leaves, or Mexican oregano

Cook meat until no longer pink in center

Using Taco Spice Mix

1. Add 1 pound of ground meat to a large frying pan, placed over medium heat.
2. Cook the meat until no longer pink in the center.
3. Sprinkle 1 recipe of taco spice mix over the cooked meat.
4. Pour in 2/3 cup water and still until well blended.
5. Cook over medium high heat, until most of the water has been evaporated.
6. Use the spiced taco meat as desired.

Taco spice mix added to cooked ground meat

Turkey Taco Salad with Blue Corn Chips

1. Add 1 cup shredded lettuce to the bottom of a medium bowl.
2. Add 1/2 cup of turkey taco meat on top of the lettuce.
3. Sprinkle with 1-2 tablespoons grated cheese, such as cheddar or Monterey Jack.
4. Add additional toppings as desired, such as sliced black olives, diced onion, chopped tomato, sour cream or hot sauce.
5. Serve with your favorite type of corn chip. I have a preference for blue corn chips.

Seasoned turkey taco meat, ready to eat

Take care,
Lynn Smythe AKA the Cuisine Diva

Bacon Honey Mustard Potato Salad

 

Bowl of bacon honey mustard potato salad.

In the summer I like to eat a lot of potato salad. Oh, who am I kidding? I eat potato salad all the time. Bacon is one of those food of the Gods items. On July 6, I blogged about Oscar Mayer Real Bacon Bits on Cuisine Diva. Here is another great idea for getting more bacon and potatoes into your diet.

Bacon Honey Mustard Potato Salad
Tip: if you like your bacon a bit crisp, place the bacon bits on a baking tray and bake in the oven or toaster oven, at around 400 degrees, for a few minutes. Watch closely, it doesn't take very long for the tiny pieces of bacon bits to crisp up.

The Kraft Free dressing used in this recipe is fat free. I like to jazz up the dressing a bit by adding some grainy stone ground mustard and little bit of honey. The salt that is called for in this recipe is only used to flavor the potatoes as they are cooking in the boiling water. You may omit the salt if desired. 

A bit of fresh herb, such as parsley or dill, would be a nice touch to add to the potato salad. Guess I was too hungry, I ate half the potato salad before I even though about herbage. Oh well, maybe a bit of greenery will find its way into the next batch.

 

Cooked potatoes, red bell pepper and green onions waiting for honey mustard dressing.

Bacon Honey Mustard Potato Salad Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 pound baby red skin potatoes
• 1 red bell pepper - seeded and chopped
• 1-2 bunches green onions - sliced
• 1/3 cup Kraft Free Honey Mustard Dressing
• 1 tablespoon stone ground mustard
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1/2 package Oscar Mayer Real Bacon Bits

Bacon Honey Mustard Potato Salad Directions

1. Scrub the potatoes well, to remove any dirt that may be present.
2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
3. Add the salt to the boiling water.
4. Add the potatoes to the pot of water, and let cook for 15 minutes.
5. While the potatoes are cooking, prepare the dressing by whisking together the honey mustard dressing, stone ground mustard and honey in a small bowl.
6. Drain the potatoes in a colander and rinse with cool water.
7. Add the cooked potatoes to a large mixing bowl.
8. Add the bell pepper and green onions.
9. Stir in the honey mustard dressing and bacon bits.

Additional Tater Salad Ideas
Hop on over to the Orato website, to view my recipe, including three photographs, of another version of Honey Mustard Potato Salad. That tater salad recipe is a good one for vegetarians, the God of bacon stayed away from my kitchen the day I was testing that version.

Take care,
Lynn Smythe AKA the Cuisine Diva

Honey Mustard Potato Salad

ABOVE: Honey Mustard Potato Salad

I am a full time freelance writer and I write for a variety of online publications. A little while ago I signed up to write for Orato.

I just published my first article to Orato. It's a recipe for Honey Mustard Potato Salad.

Take care,
Lynn Smythe AKA the Cuisine Diva