Holy Moly Cannoli Cones

 First there were appetizers ... now a fabulous dessert!

As previously mentioned, these were a recipe from Lisa Lillien's "Hungry Girl 1-2-3" cookbook. (Available at Target, Amazon and other major bookstores). So for those who enjoy eating healthy food that doesn't lack in flavor, check out her books. LOTS of great stuff!

I prepared the Cannoli filling early in the morning. I would highly recommend this part -- the filling sets up much nicer. The filling consists of fat free ricotta cheese, fat free cool whip, 1T of vanilla pudding mix, powdered sugar and a few mini chocolate chips. Chill and fill. Ha ha! Voila!

I love that this recipe uses sugar cones in lieu of a traditional cannoli shell. It cuts out a lot of work, and nixes the frying, rolling and having to have the shell mixture to a science. It's also a great recipe to let kids help make. And I think they'll enjoy eating it too ... it looks like melted ice cream. :0)

According to the recipe, a single serving (1 cannoli ... the recipe makes 6 ... but you can get 8 out of it) is 134 calories. Not too shabby compared to what you might get in a restaurant! But I splurge a little and squirt a little fat free whipped cream from a can on the side and sprinkled a few more chocolate chips on top for presentation -- though a dusting of powdered sugar or some fat free chocolate or caramel syrup would work nicely too. They make a lovely pairing with a little after-dinner coffee and conversation.

Crab Cakes

Crab Cakes displayed with Dijon Mustard and Chives. (Photo AMayberry)

Our Italian seafood dinner for Christmas Eve was a success! Though we didn't due the traditional 7 courses of fish (or more) since there were only 5 of us present, it was still a culinary experience that was enjoyed by all.

I had the pleasure of creating the appetizer courses. One, was a delightful bruschetta-style shrimp. It consisted of a small slice of day-old french baguette topped with a small, shaved slice of fresh parmesan cheese. Then comes the shrimp, sauteed in a splash of olive oil with a little fresh pepper. Top it all off with a warmed mixture of plum tomatoes (de-seeded), garlic, fresh basil, spinach and green onion. They were a little messy, mainly due to the fact that the shrimp was slightly too big for the diameter of the baguette .... a minor issue that I can easily remedy by either using smaller shrimp, or slicing the shimp and adding it to the rest of the mixture so that it would be similar to a cevíche. More of a change in the delivery, not the flavor.

But surely, the star of the first course were the crab cakes ... Crabby Patties as Sponge Bob would call them. I started with a recipe that I found in our Princess Cruises cook book (purchased on our Honeymoon) and made a few minor changes to make this dish a little less fattening and a lot more budget friendly. For starters, the recipe called to brown the crab cakes in melted butter. Since I am not Paula Dean, I opted to bake them until heated through instead. Still delicious, still crispy on the outside, but not dripping (literally) with calories of fat. The biggest "swap" was the use of imitation crab. For any crab cake purists out there, I apologize! But this swap made the dish much more pocket-book friendly, and also saved me a LOT of time and effort from cracking my own crab legs ... and perhaps saved my sweet husband a big ... no ... HUGE mess in the kitchen.

For the crab mixture itself, I started with 2 lbs of the imitation crab (flake style). Note ... next time, I would start with the shredded or salad style to make it easier to bind into the cake form. I then added 1 cup of plain bread crumbs, 1/2 c of FAT FREE Mayo, 2 eggs, 1/3 c chopped chives, 1 teaspoon of Worchestershire Sauce, 6 dashes (plus a few) of Tabasco Sauce, salt and pepper, 2 T of Dijon Mustard. I mixed all of this together in a large bowl and let the flavors marinade for a couple of hours in the fridge.

While I was preparing the mixture, I realized that my choice to make Chicken Parmesan the night before left me a little short on breadcrumbs for the outside of the crab cakes. DOH! But, I had some original Fiber One cereal in the pantry and threw it in my food processor to make some quick bread crumbs. FYI ... Fiber One cereal makes outstanding bread crumbs if you're looking for that nice crunch that will not get soggy on your jalapeño poppers!

But back to the crab cakes at hand ... The recipe said it would make 12 cakes. Uh ..... right. More like 2 and a half dozen. But we made a good meatball sized cake. So they were perhaps a little small? Or perhaps it was because I started with the 2 lbs of actual crab meat, not crab meat plus shell. (sigh) ANYWAY .... so we took the crab cakes, rolled them in the Fiber One bread crumbs and baked them on a cookie sheet at 350 degrees until heated through. We went for about 12-15 minutes. I might try between 15 and 20 next time for a little extra crunch on the outside.

The flavor was very pleasant. Very fresh ... and yet the dijon mustard has a nice punch. They were delicious by themselves, but might also be well-served with a little tartar sauce. The fancy-schmancy version calls for a tomato compote and some other decorative plate sauce. But since these were meant to be the opening act for the main event (a tasty Cioppino -- Italian Seafood Soup) I opted to go for plain. Though next time I may go with a light tartar sauce and swap the mustard for a little wasabi sauce. These would go splendidly with a fresh Chardonnay or a flute of Bubbly --- cold Sake if I go the wasabi route.

Next blog, I'll be covering the dessert course from La Vigilia di Natale ... Holy Moly Cannoli Cones. (A Hungry Girl recipe that is fun for all).

Until then,
Buon Appetito!

Fasten Your Seatbelts ...

A good friend of mine suggested that I start a food blog.

"You're crazy," I said. "Ever since 'Julie and Julia' it seems like everyone has a food blog. Why would mine be any different?"

"But you talk about food SO OFTEN on Facebook. You should think about it," she said.

Well, I thought. And thought. I decided she was right. It seems like that's all I talk about -- not just on Facbook either. I guess I can't help it. I LOVE FOOD. I get excited to share about the culinary creations that come to life inside the confines of my little kitchen. In return, I get beggings for recipes and comments about how hungry my posts seem to make my "followers". So, I figure I'll give it all a whirl.

My background? My love of cooking began in my parents' kitchen. Some of my fondest memories of home took place there, watching and helping my parents cook dinner, make pancakes, toss in a little of this and a little of that. It seemed as though there was just SOMETHING about the smell of garlic and butter in the frying pan that made it all so magical.

Though I now use olive oil instead of butter, I still love that scent in my kitchen. Sauteed Garlic should be a Yankee Candle "flavor".

Similar to the movie "Julie and Julia", cooking is my therapy. Rain or shine, good day or bad, my dinner menu awaits me when I get home and I relish the thought of chopping, sauteing, baking, boiling, mixing, roasting, grilling -- it is a miniature masterpiece just waiting to be devoured.

But wait -- there's more. I also like to find healthy alternatives for food. I go for low cal, low fat, low sodium recipes. But they are PACKED with flavor. In my family, there are many special diet requests that include the aforementioned and more. I even managed to lose 30 pounds myself with the recipes that I have used. (Okay, so I have only kept off 20, but that's a totally different blog.....)

Many people ask how I do it ... keep the fat and calories out of my recipes and still have them taste good. How can I say that making some of these intricate and exotic sounding recipes are EASY? I tell them it's very simple. I have a collection of "Hungry Girl" and "Weight Watchers" cook books that are all centered on simple food alternatives (like using fat free sour cream instead of egg and oil in baking) and creating meals in 30 minutes (relatively) or less. My day job is very demanding, so I keep it simple to ensure that dinner is served before it gets to be too late in the evening. The rest is all just fearlessness of food and an openness to try new flavors, dishes, vegetables or anything out of the ordinary.

My next posts will be centered on making appetizers and dessert for our Christmas Eve festivities with my dear husband and his family for our first try at La Vigilia de Natale, also known as Sette Mare (Seh-teh Mahr-eh) or a traditional Italian Christmas Eve feast of pastas and seafood. Photos of these tasty crustacean creations will follow, I promise. 

So, until next time, Buon Appetito!