During our banter we decided that we needed to form a dinner party club, that met once a month and everyone brought something delicious and healthy to share. By the end of the shift, we had a full club, an inaugural date, and more ideas for what we were going to bring, than we could possibly fulfill in years of clubbing.
I hosted the first dinner, and we had an amazing time eating and laughing and eating and laughing some more. One of the rules of this dinner club, was that you had to bring a copy of the recipes that you brought. That was overlooked in the frenzy of food and joy, but I managed to pin down a few of the girls for the following recipes.
I was going to make about a thousand different things, but as fate would have it, my copy of Cooking Light came in the mail that very same day, and this recipe was on the cover. The fish looked so delicious in the picture, and while I was at the grocery store, the salmon just kept calling to me. There real secret to this recipe is the pure Maple syrup. It makes all the difference, do not try to substitute pancake syrup or Aunt Jemima.
Maple-Glazed Salmon
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ancho chile powder
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 4 (6-ounce) Alaskan salmon fillets
- Cooking spray
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
Preparation
1. Preheat broiler.2. Combine first 6 ingredients; rub spice mixture evenly over flesh side of fillets. Place fish on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray; broil 6 minutes or until desired degree of doneness. Brush fillets evenly with syrup; broil 1 minute.
Abbie who always manages to bring delicious stuff that I have never tried brought an appetizer of Fresh Figs and Apples with Low-Fat Ricotta Dip, and a delicious warm salad. They were both delicious, and it was fun to try figs that hadn't been crammed into a newton. They were so good and beautiful to look at. The salad was equally delicious and a great way to use up any veggies you might have sitting around. I don't necessarily love eggplant, but it was delicious cubed and roasted in the salad. The recipe made a crazy amount of salad, so Abbie gave me some left overs and I enjoyed it for days after. Really tastee.
Fresh Figs & Apples with Low-Fat Ricotta Dip
Ingredients:
8-10 fresh figs
1 apple
2 cups reduced fat ricotta cheese
2 tsp cinnamon
1tsp vanilla
sweetener to taste ( I used agave nectar to taste which you can find in any grocery store, but honey or stevia or even straight up sugar will do the trick.)
Cut each fig into 4 pieces and slice apple. Put dip in center of a plate and arrange fruit around it. Sprinkle with cinnamon and a drizzle of honey/agave nectar. Sprinkle chopped almonds on top. You could also add some chopped Medjool dates on top if you would like.
Roasted Vegetable & Chickpea Salad
Ingredients:
Vegetables for roasting- for today's salad I used:
2 zucchini
2 yellow squash
1 red bell pepper
1 eggplant
2-3 cups mushrooms
*Chop veggies into equal size pieces and drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast in a 400 degree oven for approximately 30 minutes, or until veggies are soft. They will shrink quite a bit.
In a bowl, combine roasted veggies with:
1 can artichokes, roughly chopped
1/2 cup kalamata olives
2 (15oz.) cans of chickpeas, rinsed and drained
2 (4oz) containers, or as much as you like of feta cheese. I used one 4 oz. pkg of sun dried tomato feta and 1 4oz. container of reduced fat feta. (Athenos brand)
Make dressing:
1 T. dry basil or 2 T. fresh basil, chopped
2 T. fresh squeezed lemon juice ( about 1 lemon)
1/4 cup olive oil
Salt and Pepper to taste
2 T. red wine vinegar
Pour dressing over mixture in bowl. Taste before serving and add more salt and pepper as needed. Serve warm or at room temperature. This makes a ton, and could serve 6-10 as a side dish.
*As always you could changed this up so many ways. Add whatever veggies you have in your fridge that need to be used up. You could add chopped tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, or omit any of these ingredients that you don't like!
