Tag Archives: cream

Cat Cora’s Truffled Halibut (Masterchef)

Last night I was watching Masterchef and the most awesome looking recipe was cooked ! It was Cat Cora’s Truffled Halibut, which in recipe books by Cat Cora is also referred to as Pan Seared Halibut with Sweet Corn Zabaglione.

Today I am going to make an exception and list a recipe here that comes in higher than 400 calories – this one just looks too exquisite to miss. And it’s just a few calories over 400 – barely enough to count 😉 With all original ingredients this one comes in at around 850 calories per serving. But by using fat free half and half instead of heavy cream and frying the zabaglione onions in Pam and some water instead of oil , you can come in at about 449 calories – not bad at all for a gourmet dish.

As soon as I make this, I will post pictures – for now, I just wanted to get the recipe up for you.

4 servings
449 calories per serving

Sweet Corn Zabaglione (cream sauce)
Pam
1-3 T water (instead of oil)
1/2 c fresh yellow corn kernels (about 1 ear)
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 c fat free half and half (instead of heavy cream)
1 egg yolk
Kosher salt to taste

Halibut
2 T olive oil
4 6 ounce halibut fillets
Kosher salt to taste
Fresh ground pepper to taste
2 c arugula, stems removed
1 c cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 c thinly sliced red onion
1/4 c fresh yellow corn kernels (about 1/2 an ear)
1/2 c fava beans

Prepare the cream sauce – Heat a skillet and spray with Pam and cook corn and garlic 4 minutes. Add the half and half and simmer on very low heat 10 minutes. Because the half and half has no fat, you have to be careful to not let this come to a boil.

Transfer all to a blender and puree until smooth and then strain through a fine mesh sieve. Bring 1 inch of water to boil in a double boiler and pour the corn puree into a bowl and whisk in the egg yolk then place in the top pan of the double boiler and whisk until thickened, about 10 minutes. Season with salt.

If you do not want to go out and buy a double boiler, you can carefully fit together 2 sauce pans and accomplish the same thing – the main purpose of a double boiler is to make sure the pan with the food in it does not come in direct contact with the heat – it is like cooking with indirect heat. It is much gentler for sauces and other preparations. So just fill the bottom pan with a bit of water, rest a smaller pan on top making sure it does not touch down to to the other pan. It takes some coordination, but it can be done 😉

For the fish – Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Season the fish with salt and pepper. Heat 1 T oil to very hot and them saute fish 2 minutes per side being sure to get a nice golden sear on each side. Transfer to oven and bake 5-6 minutes to cook all the way through.

Bring 2 c of water to a boil and boil the shelled fava beans for just a minute or 2 to soften them some.

Toss together arugula, beans, tomatoes, onion and corn and mix with 1 T oil, salt and pepper.

Divide the cream sauce on dishes, plate the fish atop it and add the salad bits to the top.

Braised Pork in Cream Sauce

What a GREAT sauce this makes ! I think it would be equally as good on chicken or even steak. You definitely have to give this one a try for a nice change to pork chops – these are definitely NOT boring, old pork chops. Try serving with Roasted Brussel Sprouts.

Braised Pork in Cream Sauce
Braised Pork in Cream Sauce

6 servings
200 calories per serving

6 4 oz. boneless pork chops
¼ t salt
1/8 t pepper
¾ c beef broth
1 T barbecue sauce
1/3 c fat free evaporated milk
1/3 c fat free sour cream
3 T flour
Pam

Sprinkle meat with salt and pepper and cooked in a heated skillet sprayed with Pam. Cover and cook 3 minutes on each side. Combine ½ c broth and the barbecue sauce and pour over the chops and cover the pan, reduce heat to medium low and cook 10 minutes. Remove pork chops and keep warm. Combine ¼ c broth, milk, sour cream and flour and mix with a whisk. Pour into skillet and stir over medium heat for 3 minutes and thick. Pour over chops and serve.

Vanilla Soft Serve Ice Cream – NO ICE CREAM MAKER NEEDED

It is amazing how creamy of a product this turns out considering there is no ice cream maker involved. I’ve made it many times, always with good results. It’s well worth the calories 🙂 If you are lucky enough to know what Carvel ice cream tastes like – – well, this is similar !

Vanilla Soft Serve Ice Cream
Vanilla Soft Serve Ice Cream

12 ½ c servings
299 calories per serving

½ c whole milk
1 T vanilla
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1/8 t salt
2 c heavy cream

Stir milk, vanilla, condensed milk and salt in a medium bowl. Beat heavy cream to stiff peaks (but don’t over beat or the cream will begin to break down) and then fold into the milk mix. Folding is just a method to mix things a little gentler than stirring. You just keep inserting a spatula or spoon UNDER the ingredients and left or fold them up on top – keep repeating to fully incorporate the ingredients. Pour into a shallow 1 ½ quart METAL (because it conducts the cold better) bowl and freeze the mix 4 hours, stirring once halfway through.

If you keep this in the freezer for more than a day, it will get very hard and you need to let it sit a few minutes before scooping out servings.

Variations:

Strawberry – omit the milk and vanilla – instead stir in 4 c pureed strawberries and 2 T corn syrup.
Coffee – add 2 T instant coffee to the milk and dissolve , then continue with other steps
Others – add 2 T flavored coffee creamers to the milk mix (Irish Cream tastes GREAT)

Pierogies in Mushroom Sauce

Pierogies are the Polish version of the Italian ravioli or the Mexican empanada. They are little pockets of dough filled with a mixture of cheese and potato. There is nothing NOT to like and tons to love – it’s carbs wrapped up in carbs with some cheese thrown in for good measure 🙂

Pierogies in Mushroom Sauce
Pierogies in Mushroom Sauce

4 servings
233 calories per serving

1 t oil
2 c sliced mushrooms
1/2 t salt
1/4 t black pepper
1 T flour
2/3 c skim milk
1/2 c vegetable broth
1 lb. frozen low fat potato pierogies (I used the mini ones)
2 T light sour cream

Heat oil in skillet and add mushrooms, salt and pepper. Cook until tender, about 5-6 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over and stir well. Add milk and broth and stir until smooth. Add the pierogies and bring to a boil and then cook on medium heat 4 minutes or until heated throughout. Remove skillet from heat and stir in the sour cream. Be sure to remove from heat or the sour cream may curdle. Serve immediately.

Chocolate Cream Pie

Quick prep, creamy chocolate filling, crowd pleasing taste – – what else can a Chocolate Cream Pie offer?!?!

Chocolate Cream Pie
Chocolate Cream Pie

8 servings
214 calories per serving

2 c skim milk
2 packages sugar free chocolate pudding (1.3 oz. each)
1/4 c dark chocolate chips
1 low fat graham cracker crust (6 oz.)
8 oz. Cool Whip Free, thawed
Cocoa Powder for dusting

Mix milk and pudding in a medium pan on medium heat whisking continually. Cook 8 minutes or so, until it comes to a boil. Remove from heat and add chips stirring until all are melted. Fill a large bowl with ice water and place bottom of pan in the ice bath for 5 minutes or until cooled off – be sure to stir frequently so the mix will cool down quicker. Pour the mix into the crust and cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 3 hours or more. Just before serving, put on a layer of whipped topping and garnish slices with a dusting of cocoa powder.

Low Fat Lattes (flavors: brown sugar, gingerbread, caramel, vanilla, mocha)

A large latte in the evening is one of my favorite things. And at a fraction of the calories (and cost!) of a Starbucks drink, it’s worth it to get set up with all the equipment and make these at home. Just buy the sugar free syrups since they have ZERO calories. They are available right at your local Starbucks store (so you can get your favorite) or you can try Torani syrups and find a new favorite. I have been using these for months and have a stock of 10 different flavors.

Low Fat Latte
Low Fat Latte

1 serving
100 calories per serving

Heat 6 oz. of skim milk in a large mug in the microwave for 90 seconds. Add 1 serving of espresso or ½ a cup of strong coffee. Add 3 squirts of a sugar free flavored syrup. Top with a good amount of low fat whipped cream (from the can). Sprinkle with cinnamon or cocoa powder or chocolate shavings. I find the best shavings come from chocolate and cinnamon mills – I purchased this chocolate mill from Amazon and have been very happy with the performance:

This is the espresso maker we use – my husband is quite the espresso snob and let me tell you, he RAVES about this machine. We have had much more expensive machines and have had espresso out at some of the finest coffee shops and Italian restaurants, and nothing compares to the espresso that this little machine makes:

And these are the sugar free syrups that I use (local coffee shops also sell versions of these):

Related Posts with Thumbnails