Organic Gluten Free Low GI Double Down Insanity

Unless you are very lucky or have been living under a rock you may have heard of the new sandwich Kentucky Fried Chicken recently released called the Double Down.  It is two breaded chicken patties (or you can get the grilled version if you're watching your girlish figure), bacon, cheese, and the frightening sounding Colonel's sauce which is basically spicy mayo.  No bun, no bread, instead it gets wrapped up in a baggy so the copious amounts of grease don't roll down your sleeve.  Sounds great, right?

It has been impossible to ignore especially as a serious foodie.  At least once a day someone is talking (okay usually rending their hair at the creation's ick factor) about this sandwich.  The Jamie Olivers of the world are declaring it the food equivalent of the apocalypse and basically acting like it will be the down fall of civilization.  While the Anthony Bourdains shrug at its impressive caloric content while admitting that it kind of looks like it would be fun to try just once.

I fall somewhere in the middle.  It is a rather unnecessary calorie bomb and the world doesn't really need another bit of junk food.  On the other hand people already eat crap and this actually isn't near to the worst thing you can get in the world of fast food.  Its kind of impressive actually how much press this silly breadless sandwich has gotten and though they are a bit late to the trend it was nice to see a low carb option being marketed.

But mostly I'm just sick of hearing about it.  So after an acquaintance of mine ate one and lived to write about it I decided I would make a Double Down that I could eat.  It would be my protest against fast food to try to make a less coronary inducing version of this monstrosity.  The joke was on me however.  By trying the old low carb meat dredging trick of substituting ground nuts for breading  I may have actually made a sandwich even worse for you than the original.  Now that is impressive!

I did however make it will all organic and gluten free ingredients which is not something you are ever going to find in a fast food restaurant any time soon.  So with that small victory I will admit the most embarrassing part of this whole qualifier heavy post is this... 

This was one of the most delicious things I have ever eaten!

There I admitted it and as an proponent of healthy eating I shall now hang my head in shame.  The thing is though, Michael Pollan is right, if you are going to eat something this bad for you then you should make it for yourself for two reasons.  One is you can control the quality of the ingredients, limit the calories where possible and if you have to take the time to prepare it you can't impulse eat it.  And secondly after you learn what goes into certain things and how gross and greasy they are you will never ever want to put them in your mouth again.

For example I decided to make homemade mayonnaise for this recipe because I never had before and didn't want to buy a tub of it at the store.  Like so many things Julie Child makes it sound so freaking easy.  This woman had to have the arms of an ox because halfway through the process the fella and I were all out of arm strength in all of our combined appendages.  And after whipping a cup and a half of oil into two egg yolks I realized how sickening mayonnaise is, now that I really truly know what goes into it I have no desire to ever consume it again. 

Which is how I ended up feeling about this entire experiment; it was a fun adventure but I will never do it again.  In fact if I had to suggest to someone how to make a less evil Double Down I would say add some cayenne to the breading, skip the bacon and go light on the cheese.  The mayo and the bacon added nothing to the sandwich.  I know, its blasphemy to speak poorly of bacon but hear me out. 

The fake KFC seasoning mixed in with the ground pecans were what really made this a treat.  That was the truly delicious part and the copy cat blend of spices did taste amazingly like how I remember the real Kentucky Fried Chicken tasting.  So I would perhaps bread chicken that way again in the future.  The other crazy piles of stuff on this sandwich and the extra chicken breast are really just for show.  And it succeeded, we now how far KFC is willing to go to get press.  It worked, we're talking about them, even I gave in to the trend.  Darn it.

Organic Gluten Free Low GI Double Down Insanity

1 cup finely ground pecans

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon garlic salt

1 teaspoon onion salt
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried rubbed sage
1/4 teaspoon dried powdered rosemary
1/4 teaspoon dried powdered thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 egg 

1/4 cup rice flour

2 large chicken breasts

4 tablespoons oil

4 pieces of cooked bacon

4 slices of cheese (I used organic goat "cheddar")

2 tablespoons of spicy mayo (recipe to follow)

Using a spice or coffee grinder, finely chop the pecans.  They will turn wet and sticky very quickly while being ground so make sure to watch their consistency so that you don't end up with pecan butter.  Also use the grinder to powder any of the spices that aren't already ground.  Mix the spices and the ground pecans in a shallow bowl.

Whisk the egg in another shallow bow and set aside.  Place the rice flour in yet another shallow bowl.

Using a mallet pound the chicken breasts until they are an even thickness, about 1/4 inch.  You should have two very large mostly flat chicken breasts.  Cut each into 2 equal sized pieces so that you now have four pieces of thin chicken breast.

Warm the oil over medium high heat in a non-stick pan while you batter the chicken.  First dust the chicken breast with the rice flour.  Next coat the chicken in the egg.  Lastly dredge the chicken in the pecan and spice mixture until well coated.  When the oil is warm pan fry each piece of chicken, trying to avoid burning the pecan coating by flipping the chicken often and keeping the temperature low.  Cook until the inside of the breasts are cooked through then set aside.

Place two chicken breasts on a plate to beginning assembling the sandwich. Place two slices of bacon and  2 pieces of cheese on one of the chicken breasts and 1 tablespoon of the mustard on the other breast.  Fit the two prepared chicken breasts together like a sandwich.  Repeat with the remaining ingredients to make the second sandwich.

Copycat KFC seasonings from this website.

Spicy Mayo

1/4 mayo (make your own or from a jar if you like)

1/2 teaspoon cayenne

1/4 teaspoon paprika 

In a small bowl mix everything together well.

Sunchoke Fries and Zataar Chicken

Sunchokes also know as Jerusalem artichokes are an interesting little root vegetable.  In their raw form they look like the evil cousin of ginger root, there is no chance they will win a prettiest food contest that's for sure.  And they taste like an artichoke heart had a love child with a particularly waxy potato.  In other words oddly delicious.  It's a fun way to get your artichoke fix without the bother of steaming and dissecting an artichoke.  They also have a GI of about 50 so they aren't a great option for the diet but they're a better option than the evil carby potato and are a great treat for when you're on the weight maintenance phase and miss making homemade steak fries.

Until the other night I've only ever had them in delicious root vegetable mashes in fancy restaurants which I love but have never tried to recreate.  When it came time to prepare the sunchokes however I was not in the mood to experiment, I just wanted something fairly quick and tasty to eat.  So I turned on the oven, cut up the sunchokes, seasoned them and hoped for the best thinking they would probably do well baked like any other vegetable to make a sort of french fry.  And they came out great.  I also threw together my favorite no effort chicken and had a great meal that was easy but also very extraordinary. 

So if you ever see sunchokes in the store or more likely at the farmers market give them a try.  Especially if you're a lover of artichokes, these are the next best thing.

Zataar Chicken

2 pounds skinless boneless chicken thighs

1 tablespoon oil

salt and pepper, to taste

2 tablespoons zataar seasoning 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  In a square glass baking dish coat the chicken with the oil then toss the spices on the chicken until somewhat evenly coated.  Bake in oven about 30 minutes or until the chicken is done all the way through.

Zataar is a blend of thyme, sumac and sesame seeds.  It's fairly easy to find and worth looking for because it's very flavorful and a nice seasoning for Mediterranean dishes.

Sunchoke Fries

handful of sunchokes, well scrubbed and cut into thin slices

2-3 tablespoons olive oil

salt and pepper, to taste

1 or 2 tablespoons rosemary

Heat oven to 375 degrees.  Spread sunchokes out on cookie sheet large enough to accommodate them all in a single layer.  Drizzle the sunchokes with enough oil to keep them from sticking to the pan, tossing them in the oil to coat.  Sprinkle salt, pepper and rosemary on the sunchokes to your taste.  Toss them again so the spices are evenly distributed and the sunchokes are spread out enough to not overlap much.  Bake for about 20 minutes or until the vegetables are tender in the middle and crispy on the edges.

Cannellini and Chickpea Pottage

 Even with the appearance of warmer weather there is just something about a big pot of well seasoned root vegetables and beans that is still really satisfying.  Then again I'm the type of person that has been known to suffer over a boiling pot of soup and cook a loaf of bread when it's 100 degrees so I might be biased.  I think we can all agree that a tasty one pot meal is pretty amazing regardless of the weather.

The fella and I have been making this all winter and had it again yesterday and it still retains it's yumminess no matter how many times we cook it.  The only problem has been trying to find gluten free chicken sausages here in town.  Amy's Organic are the only ones I've been able to find and sadly they are precooked without a casing which results in a slightly less appealing texture since the sausage refused to crumble into the beans nicely.  But if you can handle any ole chicken sausage you are in luck because raw crumbly sausage ups the delicious scale of this meal.

I've also found that I prefer giant white lima beans in this recipe instead of the cannellini beans from the orginal recipe.  The lima beans hold their texture much better during the baking process.  This was another one of those surprising discoveries, finding out that lima beans done right are out of this world.  More proof that just because you hated it when you were a kid doesn't mean you'll hate it later in life now that you know how to cook.

First beets, then kale, now lima beans.  Soon I'll find a way to make kohlrabi edible.  Now that will be the day.

Cannellini and Chickpea Pottage

1 tablespoon oil

4 chicken sausage links, casings removed (the only gluten free variety I've found in town is Amy's brand)

1 yellow onion, chopped

2 carrots, peeled and chopped

1 cup chicken stock

3 tablespoons tomato paste

1 teaspoon agave nectar

4 cups giant lima beans

2 cups chickpeas

3 tablespoons fresh thyme, divided use (or 1 1/ 2 tablespoons dried thyme)

salt and pepper, to taste

1 bay leaf

1/ 4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, finely grated

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Heat a  Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add about a table of oil and the sausage, breaking it up with a spoon as it browns. Once meat is browned, add the onion and carrots and sauté for 5 minutes or until both the carrots and onions look like they are beginning to soften. Add the garlic, and sauté for 2 minutes.

Stir in chicken broth, scraping the pan to loosen browned bits stuck to pot.  Add the tomato paste, agave nectar, lima beans, chickpeas, one tablespoon of thyme, a pinch of salt and pepper, bay leaf and crushed red pepper. Bring to a boil, then cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat.

Sprinkle shredded Parmesan cheese evenly over the pottage and transfer dish to oven (uncovered) for 20 minutes or until the top becomes brown and bubbly.

Remove from oven, sprinkling any remaining thyme and Parmesan cheese over the top.

Original recipe from Food52 Blog.

Indian Butter Chicken in the Crockpot

Not too long ago I finished Jay Mcinerney's A Hedonist in the Cellar which is a wild ride through the best of his articles for House and Garden. He spends a lot of time talking about wine no ordinary person is going to have the opportunity to get within 1000 feet of. The rest of the time he obsesses about wine and food pairings. As a lover of Indian cooking I was especially intrigued by his going on at great length about the perfection that is pairing a great spicy curry dish with Alsatian Gewürztraminer Seemed just crazy enough to give a try.

Unfortunately an Alsatian Gewürztraminer is about as affordable as a sports car and I wasn't about to spend that much on a bottle of wine I knew nothing about. So I left the comfort of the semi-upscale wine store I work in to go to a local warehouse wine store and browse the random Gewurztraminers of the world. Oddly enough they didn't have any German Gewürztraminers in the entire store but had two at a reasonable price from South Africa of all places. I don't remember the name of the wine we bought that night because it was utterly unremarkable and didn't do anything for the curry we made that night.

So I gave up in the Gewürztraminer/curry pairing that I was so excited about until the most recent meeting of Wasted, the wine tasting group I'm involved in. The theme was women wine makers and earlier in the week I happened to be at work shelving a Gewürztraminer from Oregon made by Joy Anderson, it was organic and $11 so I was sold. It was awesome, sweet but not cloyingly so with nice undertones of cinnamon and cloves that really opened up the palate. It got a lot of ohs and ahs which is always rewarding. Since then the fella and I have been obsessed. We've bought the Snoqualme Naked Gewürztraminer no less than three times and it never gets old.



Then today the stars aligned. In our house Tuesday is crockpot day since neither one of us are home to cook, we let the crockpot do the work. The fella threw together Indian butter chicken this morning and by the time I got home between jobs this afternoon the house smelled divine. Curry powder and chicken and all sorts of yum were lingering in the air.

Even without rice, this chicken might be the best thing we've made in the crockpot. The chicken thighs fell apart under my fork, super tender and juicy. The sauce was creamy and rich with butter, coconut milk and spices. Then I opened the refrigerator and was surprised to see an open bottle of the Naked Gewürztraminer from the other night that I had totally forgotten about. It was time to test the Gewürztraminer/curry pairing again.

This time it worked, both the chicken and the wine are outstanding alone but together they literally made me drool. The curry matched perfectly with the herbal notes of the wine and they both opened up on the palate to do wonderful things that even I don't have the wine vocabulary to describe. You'll just have to try it yourself.

Now I know what Mcinerney was talking about. It just took the right curry and the right wine to make it happen. I don't think the Naked Gewürztraminer would pair with every curry but with this thick saucy chicken it was magic that made me even more obsessed with this wine. And the chicken curry is super easy, all the ingredients get tossed in and you walk away. The most difficult part is making a satchel for the cardamom pods which is way simpler than the original recipe which wanted you to sew them together. That wins for craziest set of cooking instructions ever, sewing does not belong in the kitchen. Nonetheless I still adore the A Year of Crockpotting blog, insanity and all.

Indian Butter Chicken in the Crockpot

15 cardamom pods wrapped in cheese cloth or a tea bag
2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs
1 onion, sliced
6 garlic cloves, chopped
4 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons curry powder
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 tsp garam masala
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 can light coconut milk
1 6-ounce can tomato paste
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 cup plain yogurt


Use a 5 quart or larger crockpot.

Tie cardamom pods in a cheese cloth bundle. Put chicken in crockpot, and add onion, garlic, and all of the dry spices. Plop in the butter and tomato paste. Add lemon juice and coconut milk. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours, or high for 4. The chicken should shred easily with 2 forks when fully cooked.

Stir in plain yogurt 15 minutes before serving. Discard cardamom pods. Salt to taste if needed.

Original recipe from A Year of Crockpotting.

Pistachio Crusted Chicken or Pork

Since coming down with the plague early on last week and still having not fully shaken it, the fella and I have been falling back on a lot of old favorites for cooking. That means a lot of African, Indian, and Chinese food modified to fit the diet. This usually works out pretty well but requires the fella to take on the cooking since I don't have the stamina for food that requires constant attention or the brain power to understand the multi step directions. And he has actually been thrilled to be off dish washing duty and back to cooking up a storm.

Our other fall back recipes are simple but interesting meat dishes from Ms. love her or hate her Rachel Ray. This pistachio crust is out of this world and requires the level of cooking skills I'm up to in my weakened state. The hardest part is shelling a million pistachios without eating all of them, I just can't bring myself to pay $3 more for pre-shelled nuts so it's a necessary evil. The fella and I actually had fun with this chore on this particular day, he shelled nuts and pitted olives while I did the intricate vegetable chopping for the side dish and we had a nice assembly line going on. Both dishes got finished at the same time and we had a nice relaxing Sunday dinner.

We've done this yummy pistachio thing with both chicken and pork and both are equally yummy. Even if you're not on a crazy French diet I would suggest leaving out the breadcrumbs in the original recipe however. The pistachio crust by itself is subtle and well rounded, giving the meat a crunch and a nice flavor. With the breadcrumbs the garlic and lemon disappears and it tastes like homemade Shake 'n' Bake. No thanks. If that's your thing feel free to bread crumb it up.

This goes surprisingly well with Boulud's fussy Tapenade Salad. I can only imagine what would happen with overly perky Rachel Ray and snobby Daniel Boulud actually at the same table. It's a rather amusing mental image but I'm not sure which one would walk away alive in the end. Hmm. Their food together however made the best meal I've had in a while.

Pistachio Crusted Chicken or Pork

1/2 cup pistachios, shelled
1 garlic clove
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon salt
(original recipe also calls for 1/4 cup breadcrumbs which help nuts stick to meat but dulls the flavor of the dish and adds an odd texture when baked)

4 chicken breasts or boneless pork chop, 1-inch thick
1 large egg, beaten
1/4 cup oil (I only use enough to keep meat from sticking to pan)


Preheat the oven to 400°. Cover baking sheet with aluminum foil and set aside.

Using a food processor, finely grind the nuts, garlic, lemon peel and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Transfer to a shallow bowl (whisk in breadcrumbs if you're going to use them.)

Season the chicken or pork with salt and pepper. Dip each piece of meat into the egg, then coat with the nut mixture.

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the meat and cook until golden, about 2 minutes on each side then place on the baking sheet. Bake until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center registers 140° for pork or 170° for chicken, about 20 minutes.

Original recipe from Everyday With Rachel Ray.

Berry and Rosemary Chicken Thighs

Back when I was living in a crappy studio apartment, working three jobs to barely get by but wanted to start cooking I made meals almost exclusively from Rachel Ray cookbooks. There was variety, it was easy, had cheap ingredients, and most importantly I could make an entire meal during the very brief times I wasn't at work. It was also a nice way to experiment in baby steps with ethnic cooking and buying a couple uncommon ingredients to build the palate up for the really crazy stuff I love now.

This was of course before her soul was removed, she developed the voice of a transsexual without the benefit of hormones, and decided to take over the world. Basically when she was still somewhat novel and much less annoying. I totally understand the notion most people have of her as less appealing than nails on a chalkboard while being force fed lima beans. Once she developed a dog food line even I knew she had outstayed her welcome.

However I remember the good ole days and continue to cook from her better recipes while thinking of the pre-plastic surgery evil diva Rachel Ray, once upon a time when she was cute and cooking decent food and I had a huge girl crush on her. Times change but I don't feel guilty putting her on the bookshelf next to Boloud, she had some good quick ideas that I still use. It's just a matter of taking what I like and leaving the ridiculous crap (using the abbreviation EVOO for extra virgin olive oil for example.)

This fabulous purple chicken is as good as it looks and comes from one of her recipes that is actually an all around winner. Orange-Balsamic Chicken Thighs with Pecans and Sage Butter Pasta is fabulous (though overly wordy) but there is no such thing as sugar free marmalade and pasta is taboo on high protein nights so I improvised and was happy with the results. I would suggest the original recipe if you ever have the inclination that simple saged pasta is to drool for.

My version of the recipe takes 10 minutes and you get to eat tender purple chicken. How is that possibly a bad thing?

Berry and Rosemary Chicken Thighs


2 tablespoons oil
8 skinless, boneless chicken thighs, quartered
2 sprigs rosemary, finely chopped
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup sugar-free black berry jam
3 cups arugula or baby spinach


In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium high heat. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and add to the skillet. Sprinkle the rosemary on top and cook the chicken until crispy and brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a plate.


Whisk the balsamic vinegar and jam together in a small bowl and add to the skillet, making sure to scrape the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Lower the heat and simmer for 1 minute or until thickened. Return the chicken to the pan just long enough to coat with the sauce and warm. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the arugula, tossing it thoroughly in the sauce as well.


Original recipe from Everyday with Rachel Ray Magazine.

Chicken Satay Salad

Anything involving peanut butter is a winner in my book and this did not disappoint. Added bonus was that it was insanely easy. We made it even easier still seeing as the fella roasted a whole chicken the day before, stuffing it with garlic, parsley, onion, sage, rosemary, and lemon grass to create the best extremely juicy bird in recent memory. We used the carcass to make stock and the left over meat for this recipe, totally skipping the chicken skewer preparation.

Tada dinner in 5 minutes.

This was a welcome change from recent overly complicated meals which I will be returning to tomorrow. Until then I've had quite the evening of rude yuppies at the wine store and then the cork broke in my bottle or Carmenere so I believe the world it not so gently telling me to go to bed.

Chicken Satay Salad


2 chicken breasts
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
1 garlic clove, diced
1 tablespoon, canola oil
wooden skewers, soaked in water


8 ounces of arugula or baby spinach
1 cup bean sprouts
2 carrots, ribboned
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped


DRESSING:
1 tablespoon peanut butter
1/2 teaspoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 lime, juiced
2 tablespoons oil


Soak about a dozen wooden skewers in water for around 20 minutes so they won't scorch under broiler. Slice chicken into long strips. Toss chicken pieces in ginger, garlic, and oil then season with black pepper. Heat the broiler. Twist chicken strips in half and thread on the skewers. Broil for about 10 minutes, turning halfway through cooking time.


Whisk together all of the dressing ingredients in a small bowl. Combine arugula, bean sprouts, carrots and cilantro, divide evening among salad bowls. Top with chicken skewers and drizzle with dressing to serve.


Original recipe from The Big GL Plus Diet Planner.

Chicken in Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

This is the wine carnage that resulted from yesterday evening's dinner party. You know it was a good time when you're too busy cooking and chatting up the company to have a moment to think about taking pictures of the delightful food that was eaten. Ah well, this will have to do.

The fella and I had three delightfully patient friends over to enjoy our first attempt at a genuine dinner party. With all the prep work I had done the day before and the hour head start I was getting before anyone arrived I thought people would walk in the door about the time the “pizza” was coming out of the oven. How wondrously optimistic of me. That just is never going to happen when anything from he Boulud cookbook is involved. Things got super complicated there for a while.

The eggplant refused to be mandolined, cut or salted. Then it burnt and smoked while being fried just in time for the first guests to arrive and help me air out the noxious plume of smoke in the kitchen so no one would asphyxiate.

Then I realized the fresh basil that went in both recipes had gone black and not at all fresh so the fella was sent out for new basil while out to pick up our other friend. Apparently it was an adventure to find it being so out of season so he was gone a lot longer than expected. I had to go on assembling the fakey pizza without the basil and hope it would be okay tossed on top later.

By now all the counters were covered in the wreckage of three half prepared dishes, making butterflying and pounding chicken breast practically an Olympic sport. I didn't allow myself to look at our friends to see how they were handling the now I'm sure very apparent news that the person cooking for them was nuts and they wouldn't be eating for a while.

Thankfully our friends know us well and brought a surplus of wine and the fella returned from the hunt for fresh basil in time to make a cheese plate so that people could snack and be pleasantly distracted as the endless cooking continued. The fella's fellow Mason is a bit of a wine snob himself and was nice enough to bring some really exciting bottles of Cotes du Rhone and a Chilean Sauvignon Blanc.

The Santa Rita Reserva Sauvignon Blanc was my favorite. Some fruit on the nose, light bodied and a super delicious melon and mineral finish. It was pleasantly complex, not one of those New Zealand Sauvignons that are like drinking pure grape fruit juice (which I also love by the way but would not have fit in with this meal.)

The Domaine Oratoire St. Martin was a very basic Cotes du Rhone. Drinkable, light bodied with some unripened red berries early on the tongue, finishing with the typical French mineralistic tannins. Unfortunately the special bottle of Domaine de la Janasse from 2000 that he has been holding on to may have gone past it's prime. The nose was a little too dirty gym sock to be enjoyable and the wine was almost tasteless so the poor Cotes do Rhone was abandoned for the other bottles.

We also opened a bottle of non alcoholic cranberry and cherry spumante from door county for our pregnant guest. A nice gesture but I'm going to agree with her when she said it was like drinking cherries in a sewer. The taste was nice but it was hard to get past the icky smell. Kind of like a durian apparently.

An hour after anticipated we finally sat down to dinner. The fake pizza was yummy but overly oily and very much not worth all the effort, it would have been better just to steam all the vegetables together and add a bit of oil. The chicken dish however was a huge success and it was super hands off and easy. I would make it again but would probably add some sort of addition herb like oregano, rosemary, anything to give a little extra flavor.

Also included in this meal:
Eggplant Pizza
Vanilla Panna Cotta

Chicken in Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

2 tablespoons oil
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, cut finely
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/4 cup white wine
3 ounces black or kalamata olives, halved and pits removed
4 roasted red peppers (I used can ones but you can certainly roast then yourself it you have the time)
4 chicken breast halves (will cook faster if butterflied and pounded thin)
fresh basil

If you're roasting your own red pepper heat the oven to 400, place peppers on cookie sheet and roast about 45 minutes until blackened all over. Transfer to a bag to cool, this will make the skins easier to remove later before chopping.

Heat the oil in a deep pan and cook onion about 5 minutes or until translucent. Add the garlic and cook about 2 minutes longer. Now add tomatoes, tomato paste, wine, and olives then simmer slowly for about 30 minutes. Stir occasionally and add water if sauce becomes too thick. Cut red peppers into bite sized pieces, stir into sauce with some black pepper. Add chicken pieces, then cover and simmer about 20 minutes or until meat is cooked through.

Garnish with fresh basil and serve in shallow pasta bowls with a good ladle of the sauce covering each chicken breast.

Original recipe from The Big GL Plus Diet Planner

Mexican Dry Rub

Another night more celery to peel.

The fella dubbed this meal “eating at the American embassy” seeing as we ended up making a Mexican dry rub to go with the French braised vegetables and Californian wine. So it wasn't a well thought out plan, but it was delicious.

See, we bought crazy random veggies like turnips and celery root for a recipe we found interesting and in the whirlwind that was trying to find food we could eat during the grocery trip earlier in the week we forgot to consider the GI of certain vegetables. Whoops. It's like eating dessert at a friend's house, right, root vegetables you have never tasted before have no fat? Unfortunately no, in the real world that meant I had to cook this meal as French cooking practice when in fact it doesn't comply with any of Montignac's eating rules.

Funny thing is even without going all out French diet yet, eating butter and heavy cream but avoiding sugar and most carbs, I've already lost 7 pounds. I haven't even been exercising. How can this be! I didn't think it was actually going to work but I guess just giving up sugar is a huge step so I shouldn't be that surprised. I didn't really think I was doing anything revolutionary until I stepped on the scale and then later in the day watched a friend of a friend put five raw sugar packets in one small cup of tea while ravaging a brioche that I realized that Americans have a serious problem with sugar. I've only been five days clean of sweeteners and I still had to hold back the tidal wave of holier than thou-ness I felt bubbling inside while watching the tea sweetening incident happening in the same breath as a clueless conversation about diabetes. Oy vey.

Getting back to dinner; to even out the butter in the vegetables for the original recipe (another one from the Boulud cookbook) I decided to switch out the steaks it called for and use chicken breasts instead and save some calories. Problem was I really was not feeling the need to search out the 5 different whole pepper corn varieties the recipe called for so I ended up making making a dry marinate that is a staple in our kitchen instead. We usually do it on very thin steaks but as I found out last night on pounded thin chicken it is just as good and insanely easy for the delicious meat you end up with.

The vegetables were not quite so low maintenance. Aside from unnecessary celery peeling, Boulud also insisted on cutting all the vegetables in precise eighths. What could that possibly have to do with the outcome of the dish? Obviously Boulud has some obsessive compulsive control freak issues to deal with, however the two times I've followed his instructions to the nth degree the fella and I have ended up with meal so good we were speechless after the first bite. All we could do was chew and making yummy noises while staring at each other and nodding joyfully. So I cut everything in eights and threw it in the pot and hoped for the best.

Obviously I'm going to have to come up with a reconsidered version of these braised vegetables that have a low GI because they were fabulous. Celery root is way better than any potato just in case you were wondering, it's a crime they sit rotting in the “ethnic” part of produce section being ignored. I would stop cheating and actually peel the celery to eat that again.

Until then here is the Mexican dry rub. It originally came from a Rachel Ray 30 minute meal but don't hold that against it, we'd tweaked it so much I think it's safe it call it ours at this point.

Mexican Dry Rub

2 tablespoons grill seasoning
2 limes, zested
1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder

4 (1 inch thick) strip steaks or butterflied and pounded thin chicken breasts


In a small bowl, combine the spices and lime zest. Work dry rub into meat. Set aside on a plate to marinade for about 15 minutes. Pan fry in a small amount of oil until cooked through.