Live Interview and Cooking Demo with Chef Robert Lewis, aka the Happy Diabetic

The Recipes of LOVE

 

EVENT DETAILS

Time: May 9, 2013 from 1pm to 2pm
Location: TuDiabetes homepage
Website or Map: http://www.TuDiabetes.org
Event Type: live interview, videochat, cooking demo
Organized By: Emily Coles

HAPPY DIABETIC SHRIMP SCAMPI 

Shrimp and garlic goes together like no other combination!  This recipe makes a great appetizer or side dish. It’s one of my favorites because it takes very little time to make. This is a twist on the classic scampi…only much more HAPPY! 

Ingredients:

1 large tomato (4 slices)

2 oz Feta cheese

4-5 sprigs of fresh basil

4 T virgin olive oil

Dash cracked pepper

1 lb large fresh or cooked shrimp

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 clove minced garlic

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 fresh lime

Directions:

Wash and slice tomatoes crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices.  Arrange 4 slices on a large salad plate.  Sprinkle the Feta cheese on top each tomato.  Cut fresh basil leaves into strips and top sliced tomato with basil.  Heat the olive oil in a pan and add the garlic and the shrimp and cook until done. If you are using cooked shrimp it should take about 3 minutes. If you are using raw shrimp it should take about 5-6 minutes. Place the cooked shrimp on the tomatoes and drizzle the garlic and olive oil mixture over the cheese and shrimp. Add a dash of pepper and a squeeze of fresh lime Enjoy!

Servings: 4

Nutrition Facts (per serving:

      215 Calories

      2 gm Carbohydrates or 0 Carb Choice

      8 gm Fat

      13 gm Protein

CHEF ROBERT’S MEDITERRANEAN CHICKEN OF LOVE

If you've ever traveled to Greece, you know all about the healthy eating habits of the locals. This dish is a rich and full-flavored sample of their cuisine, heavy with aromas from the Mediterranean.  The tender chicken, garlic, and tomatoes create a delicious combination that your friends and family will not soon forget, and it's just as good if you substitute shrimp for the chicken. This recipe is easy to prepare… and remember, it was made with love!

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil

2 cloves of garlic

1 roma tomatoes, diced

3 fresh mushrooms

½ red pepper

½ green pepper

1/4 cup white wine or Veggie Stock

1 T oregano

1 T chopped garlic

1 can garbanzo beans drained and rinsed

1 T chopped fresh basil

1 pound skinless, boneless cooked chicken breast halves, sliced

10 pitted black pitted olives

1/8 cup chopped fresh parsley

¼ lime

Pepper to taste

Directions:

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Sautè all the veggies, garlic for 3-5 minutes, then add tomatoes and sautè for 2-3 minutes. Lower heat, add white wine, and simmer for about 5 minutes. Add oregano, rosemary, and basil, and simmer for 2 to 3 more minutes.  Add the cooked chicken and cook over low heat until chicken is completely heated through. Add olives and parsley to the skillet and cook for 1 minute. Season with pepper to taste, and serve.

Servings: 4

Nutrition Facts (per serving):

196 Calories

19 gm Carbohydrates or 1 Carb Choice

8 gm Fat

13 gm Protein

Recipe by Robert Lewis, www.happydiabetic.com

CHEF ROBERTS FRESH FRUIT BRUSCHETTA

Ingredients:

1 T of fresh blueberries

4 strawberries

2 T fresh raspberries

4 teaspoons sugar free chocolate syrup

4 small slices angel food (1 oz each)

Light real whipped cream

Directions:

1. Slice 4 pieces angel food cake in 1 inch slices and toast lightly under a low broiler until golden brown.

2. Place the angel food on a plate.

3. Top each piece with 1 teaspoon whipped cream.

4. Place 1 sliced strawberry on top of the whipped cream.

5. Drizzle 1 teaspoon of sugar free chocolate sauce on top of each slice of cake.

6. Sprinkle with sugar free cinnamon sugar.

7. Place the blueberries and raspberries around the cake.

Servings:  Makes 4 HAPPY Desserts

Nutrition Facts (per serving):

            110 Calories

            21 gm Carbohydrates or 1 ½ Carb Choice

            2 gm Fat

            2 gm Protein

Recipe by Robert Lewis, www.happydiabetic.com

Taking Control of Your Diabetes Marinated Grilled Breast of Chicken with Mango Salsa, Baja Vegetable Stir Fry

Marinated Grilled Breast of Chicken with Mango Salsa Baja Vegetable Stir Fry... of love

This dish was created for TCOYD. I'm partnered with Taking Control of Your Diabetes, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to helping people with diabetes live better lives through education and proaction.

Their conferences and health fairs bring together people with diabetes and those at risk with national and local medical professionals and diabetes related experts for a day of highly informative and motivating programs that empower our participants to take control of their diabetes.

What to expect from a TCOYD conference and health fair:

• Inspiring and motivating lectures from renowned speakers
• Health screenings, such as glucose, cholesterol, A1C tests and foot exams
• One-on-one conversations with diabetes specialists including physicians, diabetes educators, dietitians, psychologists, exercise specialists, , podiatrists, pharmacists and ophthalmologists
• Our lively, one-of-a-kind health fair with exhibits from national and local diabetes-related companies and organizations and physical activities for everyone
• Healthy, sit-down banquet lunch with an inspirational keynote speaker at most locations. In some venues we may not have the speaker, but a good lunch is always included.

Marinated Grilled breast of Chicken    

                

Ingredients:

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1/2 tsp dried rosemary leaves

1 medium garlic cloves, minced

Black pepper to taste

1 t olive oil

1/3 cup balsamic

Let’s put it together

1. Rinse chicken and pat dry.

2. In a small bowl, combine rosemary, garlic, pepper; mix together well. Place chicken in large bowl and drizzle with oil.

3. Rub chicken with spice mixture, cover and refrigerate for 1-2 hours.

4. Preheat oven 400 degrees F.

5. Spray a heavy roasting pan or skillet with nonstick cooking spray; place chicken in sprayed pan and bake for 10 minutes.

6. Turn chicken. If  the chicken begins to stick to pan, add 3 to 4 tbsp water and deglaze.

7. Bake chicken for another 10 minutes or until the outside is golden-brown and center is no longer pink. 165 degrees

8. Drizzle balsamic vinegar over chicken in pan. Transfer chicken to plates. Stir liquid in pan and drizzle over chicken.

Mango Salsa 

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Tomato (small diced)

1 T cilantro (chopped)

¼ cup yellow onion (small diced)

1 T Lime Juice

1/2 jalapeno (small, minced NO Seeds)

1 T  Mango (fresh, diced)

 S&P to taste

Let’s put it together

Mix all the ingredients and set aside.

Recipe by Chef Robert Lewis, www.happydiabetic.com

Happy and Healthy Corned Beef and Cabbage and Garlic Mashed Potatoes...of LOVE!

Corned Beef and Cabbage
Yield: Serves 12

INGREDIENTS:
5 lbs Corned Beef Brisket
4 quarts Beef Stock
1 Bouqet Garni (1 bay leaf, 2 sprigs fresh thyme, 5 fresh parsley stems, 4 star anise, and 10 black peppercorns bundled in a piece of cheesecloth and tied with string)
3/4 lbs Green Cabbage Braised
12 Peeled Carrots (0.75 lbs)
3/4 lbs Green beans

DIRECTIONS:
1. Place the beef and Bouqet Garni in the pot and cover with the cold beef stock. Bring to a slow simmer for at least 3 hours until beef is fork tender, remember low and slow.

2. Save cooking liquid, add salt and cook all vegetables in the cooking liquid

3. Clean brisket of all fat, slice thinly and present as in photo with potatoes, cabbage, green beans and 1 each of carrot, white turnip and yellow turnip.

Garlic Mashed Potatoes 

Ingredients

• 1 head of cauliflower, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2T parmesan, freshly grated
• 1 small clove garlic, minced
• 1/2t salt
• pepper to taste
• chives, finely sliced
• butter, for serving

Instructions

1. Set a large pot of salted water on the stove and bring to a rolling boil. Meanwhile, clean and cut your cauliflower. Boil the cauliflower 6-7 minutes until tender all the way through. Drain thoroughly and pat dry with paper towels.
2. To a food processor, add the cauliflower, parmesan, garlic, salt, and pepper. Pulse until the mixture resembles mashed potatoes. Taste for seasoning and adjust if needed. Transfer to a serving dish. garnish with chives and butter.

When Anna and Bates moved into there new home, the stove was fired up and the cooking began. Mr Bates remembered roast chicken while growing up. Simple and easy and so good. 

Downton Abbey fans across England have come to call Sundays “Downton Day”.

Mrs. Patmore, Daisy, love to cook and show how food can play an important part in people’s lives.  

Families used to sit down to Sunday dinner, and some to try to keep this one day of the week for gathering for a great meal. 

So it's Roast Chicken and here we go!

Some Chicken pointers:

Picking Chicken:  Picking a good chicken at your butcher or grocer is a great start to get the best results.  Certified Organic tops the charts if you can find/afford, air-chilled is a good choice, and kosher is great because the process of salt brining kills bacteria and enhances the flavor.

Safe Prepping:  the spread of harmful bacteria is particularly evident in chicken and other fowl.  Make sure you disinfect your work surfaces as you go.  It is actually safer to forego the step when advised to wash the chicken before baking. So just check inside the bird for giblets, cut away excess fat.

The Best Breast:  My trick is to add lemon slices or butter between the skin and the chicken breast.

The Key is 165° -170°F:  Use an instant-read thermometer as your most reliable indicator of doneness.  It should read 165° to 170°F when inserted into the thickest part of the chicken (aim for the inner thigh),  Otherwise you look for clean running juices when you prick with a knife.

Give it a Rest:  A trick to ensure the chicken stays moist, let your chicken rest, covered with tin foil for 15 – 20 minutes which allows the juices to absorb.

ROAST CHICKEN

Ingredients

• 1 whole chicken (3 lbs is ample for 2-3 people)
• Extra virgin olive oil
• 1 lemons
• kosher salt
• freshly ground pepper
• 3 garlic cloves
• Dried herbs...  rosemary, sage, thyme, flat-leaf parsley.
• 1 tbsp. softened butter

LETS PUT IT TOGETHER

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

1. Place the chicken into a shallow roasting pan which should have a grill rack. Mix the garlic and toss in fresh herbs.  We love rosemary in our house.
2. Remove the giblets from the chicken and wipe down the chicken with paper towels.  Rub with olive oil and salt and pepper. Rub other dried herbs you have on hand (rosemary, thyme, Herbes de Provence) and garlic.
3. Gently separate the breast skin from meat on each side with your fingers or a spatula.  Insert lemon slices and some fresh herbs which will help flavor the bird and keep the moisture in.  Alternatively, you can rub a little softened butter, again between the skin and the actual breast meat.  
4. Place in the oven, uncovered.  As a general rule, calculate a cooking time of 20 minutes per pound of meat.  The temperature of the chicken needs to be 165° -170°F (see above).
5. Let the cooked bird rest for 20 minutes to let the juices settle into the meat.  If you cut it too soon, you will see all the flavour on your cutting board. Remove from your roasting pan and cover with tin foil and get your table setting ready.
6. You may be tempted to make gravy, but you really don’t need it and your doctor will thank you for it. You can use a fat separator to take the fat off and serve the juices on the side to your family/guests.
7. Carve the chicken and serve with vegetables.

Taste of Downton Life:

Recipes for eating and living better from “The Happy Diabetic”

We’re changing the way you eat one recipe at a time.

Hollandaise is thought to be the most finicky of all the French Mother Sauces. All kind of things can happen, the sauce "breaks", the eggs curdle, you drop in on the floor and cat starts licking it up.

Now DO NOT allow this sauce to intimidate you. Ounce you understand the basics and the how too's then take a deep breath...let's cook!
 

This sauce is like a mayo, hollandaise is an emulsified sauce, that means the mixture stays together unlike a oil and vinegar dressing that quickly separates. The egg yolks are the thickening magic. That and the clarified butter bind the sauce so its thick, smooth and creamy. The more you cook the egg yolks, the thicker your hollandaise will be. However, the longer you cook your egg yolks over the heat, well...it's now a scrambled eggs sauce.
 

I like to heat the egg yolks in a stainless steel bowl placed over a pot of gently simmering water (aka double boiler). The gentle heat of the steam is much more forgiving than a direct flame. With that said, let's make some sauce of LOVE!

First What Is Clarified Butter?

Clarified butter is whole, unsalted butter that is melted down and allowed to separate so that the milk solids can be removed. The milk solids is what make butter BURN. The solids need to be removed to make a perfect sauce.

First the easiest way to clarify butter is to place it into a pan on medium heat and bring to a gentle boil and then turn it off. What happens next is  milk solids "foam" on top.  To finish the process, simply skim off the “skin” and pour off the clarified butter, being careful not to pour off any of the solids that's settled to the bottom.

Ok...now it ready to become a thick and creamy and amazing sauce...

The Happy Diabetic Classic Hollandaise Sauce

The Classic Ingredients:

• 3 egg yolks, large eggs
• 1/2 pound unsalted butter, melted
• 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• Salt, to taste

The Classic Preparation:

1. In a small saucepan set over a double boiler on medium heat, whisk 3 egg yolks and a splash of water.

  2.Continue whisking the egg yolks, taking the bowl off the steam occasionally so not to cook the eggs to quickly.

See the wipp marks?

 3. When the sauce is thick and you can see the wipp marks take if off the heat. now its time to add the butter. 2 teaspoons at a time, until all the butter is thoroughly incorporated into the sauce. The sauce will be thick, smooth, and glossy.

Whisk the lemon juice and salt into the hollandaise sauce, and then continue stirring it for 1 minute. Remove the sauce from the heat and serve it immediately.

This hollandaise recipe makes about 2 cups

Signature Chefs Auction Quad Cities 2012

It's time again for the Signature Chefs Auction Quad Cities 2012

Team Happy Joe's will defend our culinary skill's against the best chef's on the planet!  

It's all about the kids!  Here are some pics from last year.

Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Time: 5:30 PM
The River Center 
136 East 3rd Street
Davenport, IA 52801

Join Quad Cities' finest chefs as they prepare exquisite cuisine during our annual Signature Chefs Auction fundraiser. Enjoy live entertainment bid on exciting live auction packages featuring one-of-a-kind entertainment and chef-inspired culinary packages. Guests are also invited to Fund the March of Dimes Mission by making a 100% tax-deductible gift in honor of the many families in the community who have been touched by premature birth or birth defects.

2012 participating chefs and restaurants:

Bass Street Chop House-Chef Douglas Lear
Biaggi's-Chef Patrick Trainor
Blackwatch Room-Chef Beau Eastin
Cafe Fresh-Chef Juan Hernandez
Faithful Pilot-Chef Robert Cook
Front Street Brewery-Chef Jon Fredenburg
Happy Joe's-Chef Robert Lewis
Hotel Blackhawk-Chef Kevin Nape
Jumer's Casino & Hotel-Chef J.R. Greenwood
Red Crow Grille-Chef Aman Razdan
Rhythm City Casino-Chef Tony Garcia
River Center-Chef Chris Carton
Scott Community College-Chef Brad Scott
Thunder Bay Grille-Chef Andy Wildermuth

Schedule of Events:

5:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m.- Cash Bar, Gourmet Sampling, Silent Auction, Peoples Choice Judging at Chef’s Stations, Edgar Crockett Quartet

7:40 p.m. - Welcome from Emcee, Steve Ketelaar, KUUL 101.3, Program & Chef’s Awards Presented

8 p.m.: Live Auction begins: Jana Stenzel, Auctioneer, 2012 Ambassador Family video, featuring The Wilson Family