A FAMILY AFFAIR January 19, 2005 Susan Noble Family and Consumer Science Extension Agent

My latest round of recipe testing has been a family affair. No, Mother and Daddy did not don aprons and cook with me. Actually, I'm not sure that Daddy knows how to put on an apron. Instead, they were the chief taste testers.

Now this may sound like they got out of doing any work. However, in this case, they really were the taste experts. As I was choosing recipes to try, I came across reduced-fat versions of their favorite dishes. For Daddy it was French onion soup; for Mother it was garlic and oil spaghetti. I figure if it's your favorite dish, you're bound to have some expertise on its taste.

But why should they have all the fun? I found a sandwich using blue cheese for myself. I would prefer to just eat blue cheese straight from the package, but then I wouldn't have a recipe to share with you.

As mentioned, the spaghetti dish was selected for Mother. She used to enjoy a similar dish at Dale's Deli in Long Beach. I don't think we ever went to Dale's that she did not order garlic spaghetti. When Dale's closed, she went through a mourning period.

This reduced-fat version uses just a bit of olive oil. Being monounsaturated fat, olive oil tends to reduce total blood cholesterol by raising good cholesterol while lowering the bad. So using olive oil in cooking is a good idea.

However, in researching other recipes for garlic and oil spaghetti since trying this one, I discovered that the typical recipe uses a half cup of olive oil to a pound of spaghetti. Too much of even a good fat can be bad. For healthy eating, the total amount of fat should be limited.

Some versions of this dish also include butter, a "bad" saturated fat.

I say all this to build up to the results. The reduced-fat version tasted good, but it was not Dale's. Both Mother and I added more oil and more garlic. But if you never had Dale's, I think you will be well pleased with this version.

Daddy's onion soup beat the original I was trying to imitate. I cut the recipe in half thinking that four servings would be more than fine for the three of us. Was I wrong. We totally cleaned the pot and wished for more. So much for portion control.

The French onion soup recipe I have used in the past calls for four tablespoons of butter. Check out the amount of fat in this healthy version. Big difference, uh? Notice also that the healthy version uses olive oil, not butter.

However, foods cooked in olive oil instead of butter do not caramelize (turn golden brown) as well. Thus, sugar is included in the healthy version to aid caramelization of the onions.

The wine intensifies the flavor of the onions and beef broth. Preferring blush wine over white, I do not always have white wine on hand. Vermouth is a great substitute that keeps almost forever in the refrigerator. Be sure to purchase dry vermouth, not sweet.

Do not use cooking wine -- dry, sweet, white, or red. Cooking wines tend to be heavily salted. Not only is excess sodium unhealthy, but it throws off other flavors.

If you prefer not to use wine, substitute water.

My wrap sandwich was a take-off on the salad made famous by the Brown Derby Restaurant in Hollywood. Typically, a Cobb Salad contains chicken or turkey, bacon, hard-cooked eggs, tomatoes, avocado, watercress, cheddar cheese, and lettuce tossed with vinaigrette dressing and topped with a generous portion of blue cheese.

This version omitted some of the fattier items such as the avocado and cheddar cheese. My only complaint about the healthy version is that the blue cheese was not generous. But that would defeat the purpose. Bummer.

Cook pasta in boiling salted water till pasta is almost al dente. (Many Americans would describe this as half raw.) Drain pasta in colander over a bowl, reserving 1 cup cooking water. Meanwhile, heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add garlic; cook 2 minutes or till fragrant or beginning to turn golden, stirring constantly. Do not let garlic burn as it will become bitter. (This is the tricky part. Try pushing the garlic to 1 side of the pan, so it will cook evenly.) Remove pan from heat; stir in 3/4 teaspoon salt, reserved 1 cup cooking water, parsley, and pepper. Add pasta to pan, stirring well to coat. Return pan to medium heat; cook 1 minute or till pasta is al dente, tossing to coat. Place 1 cup pasta in each of 8 bowls; sprinkle each serving with 2 tablespoons cheese. Serve immediately.

Yields 8 servings.

Recipe adapted from Cooking Light magazine.

Heat oil in a Dutch oven (coated with cooking spray) over medium-high heat. Add onions to pan and saute 5 minutes or till tender. Stir in sugar, pepper, and salt. Reduce heat to medium; cook onions for 20 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent burning. Raise heat to medium-high, and cook for 5 minutes or till onions are golden brown. Stir in wine; cook 1 minute. Add broth and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Place bread cubes in a single layer on a baking sheet. Broil 2 minutes or till toasted, turning after 1 minute. Place 8* ovenproof bowls on a jelly-roll pan. Ladle 1 cup soup into each bowl. Divide bread evenly among bowls; top each serving with 1 cheese slice. Broil 3 minutes or till cheese begins to brown.

* Alternate methods -- I do not own individual ovenproof bowls. I put all the soup into 1 large ovenproof souffle dish, placed all the bread cubes and cheese over the entire surface, and broiled. Then we served ourselves from the dish.

If you do not have any ovenproof vessels, return soup to boiling. Then ladle into serving bowls and top with bread and cheese. The heat of the soup should fairly well melt the cheese. Using grated instead of sliced Swiss cheese would facilitate melting.

Yields 8 servings at 290 calories and 9.6 grams fat each.

Recipe adapted from Cooking Light magazine.

Combine mayonnaise and cheese; spread evenly over tortillas. Arrange 1/2 cup ham on each tortilla and top with a slice of bacon. Top each tortilla with 1/3 cup lettuce and 1/3 cup tomato. Divide onion slices among tortillas. Roll up tortillas.

Yields 6 servings.

Recipe adapted from Cooking Light magazine.

The use of brand names in this column does not imply endorsement by the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service of the products or services named or criticism of similar ones not mentioned.

E-mail address: Susan_Noble@ncsu.edu

Mailing Address:
P. O. Box 2280
Lumberton, NC 28359-2280

Phone: 910-671-3276
Fax: 910-671-6278

Date Created 2/8/05