Barbecue Salmon-Asian Fusion Style

Ingredients:

• Salmon:
• 1 1/2 lbs. skin-on salmon fillet ([4] 6 oz. fillets)
• 3/4 cup prepared barbecue sauce
• 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
• 2 tbsp finely chopped scallions
• 1 tsp finely grated ginger
• Chives, chopped, for garnish

•  Vegetables:
• 1/2 head napa cabbage
• 1/2 head radicchio
• 1 1/2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 lb. oyster mushrooms, chopped
• 1 cup sake or white wine
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
 
• Chinese Mustard Sauce:
• 2 tbsp mayonnaise
• Dash of mustard powder
• 1/8 tsp Dijon mustard
• 3/4 tsp rice wine vinegar
• 1 1/2 tsp finely chopped scallions
• salt
• freshly ground black pepper

Makes 4 Servings

To make the salmon:

1. Preheat the grill. Leave skin on salmon if desired.
2. Place the barbecue sauce, vinegar, scallions and ginger in a blender and mix.
3. Start grilling the salmon to the desired doneness and baste with barbecue sauce mixture as grilling. (If you like the skin, first grill skin side down until the skin is crispy, then turn over and continue basting with barbecue sauce mixture.)

To make the Vegetables:

Take out the hard bottom center of the greens. Chiffonade the greens. Heat a saute pan over high heat. Add the oil and saute the cabbage, radicchio and mushrooms quickly. (They should stay crisp.) Before taking the vegetables out of the pan, deglaze the pan with the sake or white wine. Add salt and pepper.

To make the Chinese Mustard Sauce:

Place the mayonnaise, mustard powder, Dijon mustard, vinegar, scallion, and salt and pepper to taste in a blender and mix.

To plate:

Place sauteed vegetables in the center of each plate. Put five dots of Chinese Mustard Sauce around the vegetables. Place the salmon on top of the vegetables. Sprinkle the plates with chopped chives.

 

WW POINTS VALUE: 12 PTS

 Note: This recipe appears in the South Beach Diet Cookbook. I wanted to clean out some of the food in the fridge and I have looked at this recipe so many times I had to try it for dinner tonight. This dish appears on the menu of China Grill in Miami courtesy of Chef Keyvan Behnam.  China Grill has been a Miami hot spot since it opened in 1995 and offers "World Fusion" cuisine. The picture of this dish is beautiful and I wanted to replicate it but it didn't go that way. However, the taste of this dish is delicious and you can taste the world fusion of East-Meets-West with the Chinese flavors with the white wine and barbecue sauce and mustard. The salmon was also delicious and cooked beautifully. My mom doesn't like to eat salmon but she enjoyed this dish. I just loved how the barbecue sauce blended with the mustard sauce and how the white wine vegetables and salmon melted in your mouth. It really was funky fusion in your mouth. I highly recommend this dish on a weekend dinner or for a special occasion because this dish is worth the time and effort. It may look like a lot but it's very simple to make. Thank you Chef Keyvan Behman. I look forward to your other recipes as well. 

Mini Cherry Cheesecakes

Ingredients:

• 8 graham crakers, mashed into crumbs
• 2 tbsp reduced-calorie margarine, melted
• 4 oz. fat-free cream cheese
• 4 oz. light cream cheese
• 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 2 large egg whites
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 20 oz. light fruit pie filling, cherry, warmed or 20 oz. cherries, warmed

Makes 12 Servings

1. Preheat oven to 375 F. Place 12 cupcake liners in a cupcake pan. Combine graham craker crumbs and margarine; mix well.
2. Spoon 1 tbsp of crumb mixture into the bottome of each liner and press down gently. Refrigerate until ready to fill.
3. Beat cream cheeses until fluffy andadd lemon juice, egg whites, vanilla extract and sugar; beat until smooth.
4. Spoon cream cheese mixture evenly into crumb cups. Bake for 15 minutes. Cool. Top each cheesecake with 1 tbsp cherry filling.

WW POINTS VALUE: 3

 

Note: This recipe appears on www.weightwatchers.com. Who does not love cheesecake?!?! If you are ever having a craving for cheesecake but you want to watch your health, this is the recipe for you. The calories are cut fr this yummy dessert and you won't feel guilty eating it. I do highly recommend using 8 oz of either fat-free or light cream cheese to save money and use real cherries insterad of pie filling. One bite of this mini cheesecake and your taste buds will be in heaven with the creaminess of the cherries and cheese and graham crakers melting in your mouth.

London Broil

Ingredients:

• 1 (1-lb.) top round or sirloin tip steak, trimmed of all visible fat
• 1/2 cup dry red wine
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 sprig, fresh rosemary, chopped
• 1/2 tsp salt

Makes 4 Servings

1. Place the steak in a gallon-size zip-close plastic bag; add the wine, garlic and pepper, then lightly rub the marinade into the meat. Add the rosemary (if using dried, add with other ingredients). Seal the bag, squeezing out any air; turn to coat the steak. Refrigerate, turning the bag occasionally, overnight or up to 24 hours.Remove the steak from the refirgerator about 30 minutes before broiling.
2. Preheat the broiler at leat 20 minutes. Transfer the steak to the broiler rack; discard the marinade. Broil 3 inches from the heat, turning once then salting the cooked side, about 4 minutes on each side.Transfer the steak to a cutting board; let stand 2-3 minuts, then cut across the grain into 16 slices.

WW POINTS VALUE: 3 PTS (4 Slices)

Note: This recipe appears in the WW New Complete Cookbook. Attention all steak lovers: this dish is for you. There's nothing like a nice big piece of juicy steak marinated in red wine, garlic and herbs with your choice of sides. You can have some of the leftover steak for lunch as a sandwich or in a salad and it will taste just  as delicious.

Pork Scaloppine with Herbs

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 lbs. pork cutlets
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 2 tbsp capers, drained and rinsed
• salt
• freshly ground black pepper

Makes 4 Servings

1. Pound cutlets to 1/4 -inch thickness; rub with basil and thyme and season wth salt and pepper.
2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork and cook for 2 minutes per side. Remove to a plate loosely cover with foil to keep warm.
3. Add lemon juice and capers to skillet; bring t boil and cook until slightly reduced, about 1 minute. Top pork with sauce and serve hot.

WW POINTS VALUE: 7 PTS

Note: This recipe appears in the South Beach Diet Quick & Easy Cookbook. Scaloppine is an Italian cuisine that consists of thinly sliced meat (veal or chicken) that is dredged in flour, sauteed, then heated and served with a wine or tomato sauce which denotes a caper and lemon sauce. This is a new take on Scaloppine that includes dried herbs, fresh lemon juice and capers. These herbs and saucewill give this pork dish  a vibrant look and taste in your mouth that's perfect for dinner any night of the week. 

Southwestern Egg Salad

Ingredients:

• 6 medium whole hard-boiled eggs
• 2 medium scallions, finely chopped
• 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely diced
• 1 tbsp cilantro, minced
• 1/2  small sweet red pepper, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup fat-free mayonnaise
• 1 tbsp salsa
• 1/4 tsp ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Makes 4 Servings

1. Peel eggs, mash with a fork or potato masher ina large bowl. Add remaining ingredients and mix thoroughly to coat.
2. Serve egg salad in a cored bell pepper, over mixed greens or on its own in a bowl.

WW POINTS VALUE: 3 pts. (1/2 cup per serving)

Note: This recipe appears on www.weightwatchers.com. I have now become quite a fan of eggs, deviled, poached, omelette, fritatta, you name it. Egg salad is bascially deviled eggs all mushed up with some flavor and seasoning. This egg salad has the flavors of the Southwest. The original recipe calls for a teaspoon of green chili peppers but I used a jalapeno pepper for a little more flavor and heat. This egg salad was delicious and it made my mouth pop. Plus, eating this egg salad will fill you up in no time. AND... Iron Chefs Bobby Flay and Jose Garces will be happy that you made this dish.



Cran-Gria

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cups unsweetened cranberry juice
• 1 cup blueberries, roughly chopped
• 1 peach, thinly sliced
• 3 tbsp granular sugar substitute
• 1 lime, thinly sliced
• 1 1/2 cups chilled seltzer water
• Ice cubes

Makes 4 (1-cup) Servings

1. In a large pitcher, combine the cranberry juice, blueberries, peach, sugar substitute and lime; stir well to dissolvce sugar substitute. Let mixture sit at room temperature until flavors blend, about 30 minutes. Add seltzer and stir to combine.
2. Fill 4 (10 oz.) glasses with ice cubes. Pour Cran-gria over ice, add a few pieces of fruit from the pitcher to each glass, and serve.

WW POINTS VALUE: 1 Pt

Note: This recipe appears in the South Beach Diet Taste of Summer Cookbook. Summer is still here and you're looking for a cool refreshing drink to cool you down, then this is the beverage for you. This beverage is the first beverage recipe in the cookbook and if you ever saw the photo of the Cran-gria, you would want to make this drink too. A sangria is a classic Spanish drink and this drink offers a refreshing and fruity twist. You can serve this Cran-gria from a clear pitcher or punch bowl and use wineglasses to show off the fruit. 

Classic Deviled Eggs

Ingredients:

• 4 hard-cooked eggs, peeled and halved lengthwise
• 2 tsp reduced-calorie mayonnaise
• 1 tsp ketchup
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/8 tsp salt

Makes 4 Servings

1. Remove the yolks from the egg halves; set the whites aside. In a medium bowl, mash the egg yolks with a fork; mix in the mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard, cayenne, and salt.
2. Spoon the yolk mixture evenly into the egg whites.

WW POINTS VALUE: 2 Pts. (2 filled egg halves)

Note: This recipe appears in the WW New Complete Cookbook. I have now become a fan of eggs and deviled eggs have become quite popular with my mom. Deviled eggs can be used as a delicious party appetizer, light lunch or snack. Deviled eggs may take some time to prepare them but they are worth the time and effort. The secret to hard-cooked eggs: Place the eggs in a saucepan and add enough water to cover by 1-inch. Then bring the water just to a boil; then remove the pan from the heat, cover and let stand 15-20 miinutes. Then run cold water over the eggs to stop the ccoking process and place in the refridgerator for about 30-45 minutes before cracking them and removing the yolks. Even though the recipe calls for Dijon mustard, I highly recommend using dry mustard so the egg yolk mixture doesn't get to runny.