FROM THE COOKBOOK SHELF
It didn't surprise me when I saw a panini cookbook during the holidays. Panini, an Italian sandwich, is much like our grilled sandwich only thinner. I don't know about other countries but right now the panini is certainly a popular sandwich in America. I have two Williams Sonoma gift cards from Christmas that are burning a hole in my pocket but I restrained myself from purchasing a panini maker at Williams Sonoma but I did buy author Melanie Barnard's cookbook. Although you won't have characteristic grill marks, you can make a panini sandwich simply by setting something heavy on the sandwich (like an iron skillet) as it grills and get the same affect. Choose a country-style bread that's sturdy and firm textured and the sky is the limit when it comes to fillings, just don't use too much so the filling falls out of the bread, Barnard cautions.
With Lent approaching early this year, I was attracted to Three-Cheese & Tomato Melt.
THREE-CHEESE & TOMATO MELT
- 4 slices crusty, country-style bread cut 1/4-inch thick
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin oil (light-type olive oil is fine for me)
- 3 tablespoons garlic and herb cheese (like Boursin available at Chief and Ray's)
- 2 ounces mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced
- 2 ounces provolone cheese, thinly sliced
- 4 thin slices firm ripe tomato
- 6 large fresh basil leaves
Preheat grill. Place the bread slices on a work surface and brush 1 side of each with olive oil. Turn and spread the unoiled sides with the herbed cheese, dividing evenly. On each of 2 slices, layer one-fourth of the mozzarella and one-fourth of the provolone, 2 tomato slices and 3 basil leaves. Divide the remaining mozzarella and provolone on top. Place sandwiches on a panini maker, grill or skillet, cover with something heavy enough to press the sandwiches down and cook until bread is golden and toasted and cheese is melted, about 3 to 5 minutes in a panini maker or a little longer if you're not. Cut each sandwich in half diagonally and serve immediately. Recipe makes 2 sandwiches.
Source: Panini by Melanie Barnard, Weldon Owen Inc. and Williams Sonoma Inc. 2007, $17.95/hardback.
SOUP WEATHER
I'm a year-round soup eater but it's even better when the snow is flying and the wind is blowing. It's a winter comfort food! I don't know of any soup that generated more positive comments than Cabbage Patch Soup did in Mary's Memo several years ago. Shoppers were looking for ranch-style beans in every Chief store. Down south ranch-style beans are their pork and beans, at least that's what I was told. There's a demand for them because I did notice that Bush added ranch-style beans to their selection. I made Cabbage Patch Soup recently and decided it's worthy of reprinting! It's also in my cookbook, Thank You, I'm Glad You Liked It.
|
CABBAGE PATCH SOUP
- 1 pound lean ground chuck
- 1/2 cup celery 2 medium onions, chopped
- 1/2 small head cabbage, shredded
- 2 cups water
- 2 14 1/2 ounce cans diced tomatoes
- 1 15-ounce can ranch-style beans
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- Salt and pepper to taste
In a Dutch oven, saute meat and drain fat. Add celery, onions, cabbage and water. Cook 15 minutes. Add tomatoes, beans, chili powder, salt and pepper. Cook 20 minutes longer. Recipe makes 6 servings. Source: Thank You, I'm Glad You Liked It.
THE NO-DRUG, LOW-DRUG APPROACH TO HEART HEALTH
Simple lifestyle changes can dramatically reduce risks. Medication obviously plays a key role in preventing ands treating heart disease. But a wealth of research shows the surprising success that simple lifestyle changes can make in helping along that effort. Those steps can reduce and sometimes eliminate the need for medication and invasive procedures by stopping, slowing or reversing the artery-clogging process. For instance, government-funded trials have shown that a diet low in salt and high in fruits, vegetables and low-fat dairy products can lower blood pressure as well as commonly prescribed drugs. And a combination of exercise, weight loss and dietary strategies raises the level of HDL (good) cholesterol at least as effectively as any drug.
Lifestyle measures can even outperform some medical treatments. A combination of weight loss, a healthy diet and exercise, for example, is more effective than medication in preventing type-2 diabetes, a major risk for heart disease. And a German study found that volunteers with coronary heart disease who started a carefully regulated exercise program had fewer heart attacks than those who underwent angioplasty, an invasive procedure to open blocked arteries.
Government guidelines urge lifestyle changes as the first step, either alone or, if you're at high risk, with medication. Those measures can boost the benefits of drugs and minimize dosage, as well as reduce costs and side effects.
In summary, eat a heart-healthy diet, get on the move with an exercise regimen, trim your waist, cool your anger and if you smoke, be a quitter! Cigarette smokers have more than double the heart-attack risk of non-smokers, but risk starts to drop as you quit.
Source: Consumer Reports on Health, February 2008. |
