A healthy take on fried shrimp

We all love to indulge in fried foods from time to time; I myself am completely guilty on an ongoing basis. Whoops! But there are ways that we can improve the nutritional value of homemade fried foods! To start, fried food isn't as bad as people make it out to be. Frying food actually helps preserve the foods natural moisture, which in turns preserves vitamins and minerals found within the food you're frying! The food becomes bad for you when you over indulge, as well as the unhealthy intake of the frying oil, salt, butter, etc.

So today, I'm going to teach you how to make a healthier version of fried shrimp!

What you'll need:

- As many raw, de-veined and de-shelled shrimp as you want (I suggest 5 or 6 per person)
- Panko bread crumbs (I would aim for a cup)
- Fresh shredded coconut (it helps if you've opened and shred your own coconut) (approx 2-3 tbs)
- A small can of coconut MILK (coconut water is from the coconut; coconut milk is human made)
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- Canola oil
- Salt and pepper

First, pat your shrimp dry. Next, cover them in seasoned flour (in a bowl, stir flour, a few pinches of salt, and black pepper). Once shrimp are completely covered in flour, quickly submerge them in the coconut milk, and straight into the bread crumb/coconut shaving mixture. Cover shrimp in mixture and pack mixture onto shrimp to ensure mixture is completely stuck to shrimp.

In a deep skillet, heat oil until it shimmers (about 1/2 inch deep worth of oil). Once oil is ready, carefully place shrimp in oil, and cook approximately 30 seconds, or until the tail turns red and the cooking side of the shrimp is golden brown. Flip, and repeat cooking time. Once the shrimp are completely cooked, place on a sheet pan lined with paper towels to drain the oil off of the cooked shrimp. Voila! You're about to consume some tasty and healthy homemade fried shrimp!

Restaurant review: Tartine

Last night, Brian and I decided to have a date night. How exciting! He chose a small French restaurant in the village called 'Tartine' (253 West 11th Street). While the average check is small, so is the restaurant. With only 10-ish tables in the entire restaurant, you'd think I'd have some leg room... not so much. The tables are so crammed that us tall folk must fold our legs up just to sit. However small the restaurant, the flavor of the food is oppositely large.

I ordered escargot as my appetizer and sauteed chicken for my main course. The snails were excellent in the clarified butter, though I would have preferred to have true French snails, in which the snails are essentially drowned and cooked in butter, while allowing the customer to remove the snail from the shell themselves. The chicken, served with a spinach salad, was tasty and properly cooked, though the chicken could have been cooked a little less, and served with less sauce made of chicken stock. The spinach salad was adequate, but hardly a salad as the spinach was simply piled on one half of my plate.

Overall, the experience is nice. A small, quaint restaurant with all of 2 servers. You're almost forced to make friends with your dining neighbors, talk about the wine they brought (as this is a BYOB restaurant), or share thoughts on the dish your neighbor is eying on your table. Out of 5 stars, Tartine gets 3 from me for tight spaces, only partially correct French food with true French titles (it's hard to stomach something French-named when it's not true French food), but excellent and quick service.

Overall, out of 5 stars, this restaurant earns 3 from me.

A tasty, and healthier, alternative to mashed potatoes

We all grew up loving mashed potatoes... or at least I did in my mainly Irish-descent home. They can be fluffy, dense, filling, buttery, and delicious. But there's so much butter and salt in this lovely dish that makes it, well, delicious! It's also super high in starch which is great in moderation, but lets face it... who can only have one helping of this fluffy side dish?

So my solution? White bean puree. I know I know, it sounds like something on the menu at an elderly assisted living home menu. But I assure you it's SO much more!

Here's what you'll need for this yummy alternative to it's starchy and fattening counterpart:

2 15oz cans white bean, drained and rinsed
2-3 cloves garlic
1/3 cup low-sodium chicken stock or broth
1 tbs tomato paste
1-2 tbs finely chopped rosemary
1/3 cup dry white wine
1 tbs olive oil

In a food processor, drop in garlic cloves and pulse a few times to chop up garlic. Add white beans, oil, and chicken broth. Pulse until mixture is smooth (we don't want any chunks, unless that's how you like it!)

In a skillet (preferably after cooking a nice piece of meat, but without is OK too) add 1 tbs olive oil and heat over medium heat. Once oil shimmers, drop in tomato paste and rosemary. Stir together and cook about 20-30 seconds. Add white wine and boil an additional 30 seconds. Lastly, add bean puree and cook 2-3 minutes, stirring often.

Voila! You have a delicious alternative to mashed potatoes! It's a little less "together" as potatoes are, but it's just as delicious and much healthier. Add salt and pepper to taste, but don't over-do it!

Pictured above:

pan seared steak, bean puree, and broccoli sauteed with dried thyme

Stuffed Artichoke side dish

 So you're having friends over for a dinner party. Everyone is expecting your usual dishes... pasta, chicken, green beans, rice... sound familiar? Well go ahead and make your usual meal, but how about sprucing it up a little?

What you'll need:
- 1 artichoke per person (the whole choke!)
- Panko bread crumbs (or any PLAIN bread crumb- NO SEASONED CRUMB PACKETS! That's cheating :-P)
- 4 whole lemons
- Fresh thyme
- Fresh flat leaf parsley
- Gorgonzola cheese (about 2oz per choke)
- S&P
- 1tbs heavy cream
- 1-2 cloves minced garlic
- Olive oil

What to do:

In a very large pot, fill 3/4 with water and salt. While water is boiling, trim the chokes. Cut off stem as close to base as possible, so choke can stand level on a plate; trim any pointy leaves left on choke with kitchen utility scissors. . Cut approximately 1 inch off the top, so the heart of the choke is exposed. Cut lemons in half. Add chokes to boiling water, squeeze lemon into water and add leftover lemon rinds to water. Allow to boil approximately 25 minutes, or until softened (I suggest between 25-30 minutes).

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In the meantime, add Gorgonzola cheese, cream, 1tbs finely chopped thyme, garlic, a pinch of Kosher salt and black pepper. Mix together in a kitchen bowl and place in fridge until you're ready for the next step! In a separate bowl, gently mix 1/4c panko with 1tbs roughly chopped parsley, a pinch of finely chopped thyme, and a small pinch of both salt and pepper. For an extra kick, try adding just a little chili pepper to the bread crumbs.

Once chokes are done, remove from water and allow to cool. I suggest turning them upside down to make sure all the water gets out. Once these are cooled off, take a small spoon and remove the inner choke heart (usually a pinkish area). Don't remove too much, though! Fill empty cavity with cheese mixture, generously sprinkle with panko, lightly drizzle with OO, place on a sheet tray and place in a 400 degree oven for 25 minutes. Remove from oven after 25 minutes, or when panko is nice and golden.

That's it! It's a gorgeous little side dish, and something that will certainly impress your friends. For those who want something a little more substantial out of this side dish, keep the choke hearts you removed, roughly chop, and add to the cheese mixture with a couple teaspoons of breadcrumb.