Elegant but light meal leaves room for creativity
| • | Make a DASH for deliberately healthy dishes |
By Elaine Magee
Q. I would like to make something light and elegant for my wife on Valentine's Day. Every "romantic" recipe I've seen is way too rich for us. Please help us!
A. By eating an elegant but light meal, you are keeping your stomach nicely satisfied but leaving the body energetic and comfortable — sounds like a recipe for romance to me. For this occasion, I took a rich recipe for Chicken Cordon Bleu using Swiss cheese, ham, 6 tablespoons of butter and a cup of heavy whipping cream and turned it into a light entree using lean ham and light Swiss cheese, a tablespoon of olive or canola oil and a cup of fat-free half-and-half.
The result is a romantic entree with 75 percent less fat and saturated fat and almost half the amount of calories and cholesterol.
This dish is elegant enough to serve at a party and yet simple and savory enough to serve the family any night of the week.
The original recipe contained 577 calories, 40 grams fat, 23 grams saturated fat, and 201 milligrams cholesterol per serving.
CHICKEN CORDON BLEU
Pound chicken breasts between 2 sheets of wax paper until thickness is reduced by half. Lay a slice of cheese and ham on top of each breast, then fold the ends of the chicken over like an envelope and secure with a toothpick.
In medium-size bowl, mix flour with paprika. Coat the outside of the rolled chicken pieces with the flour mixture.
Start heating a tablespoon of oil in a large, nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken pieces and brown on both sides. Add the wine and chicken broth powder to the skillet, reduce heat to low, cover the skillet and simmer for 30 minutes (or until chicken is cooked throughout).
Transfer breast to a serving dish and remove toothpicks. Add cornstarch to a small bowl and slowly whisk in the half-and-half until smooth. Add the mixture to the skillet and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until thickened (about a minute). Pour over the chicken pieces and serve warm.
Makes 6 servings.
Elaine Magee is a registered dietitian. Learn more about her, and her book, "Food Synergy," at www.recipedoctor.com.
