Stuffed In A Good Way

One of my staple easy dinners is "make your own stuffed sweet potatoes." All you have to do is bake however many sweet potatoes you need and then prepare the "stuffings." My stuffings usually consist of: green onions, peppers, broccoli, cheese, corn, BBQ chicken (this time I had ground venison), black beans, salsa, tomatoes, etc... Basically the sky's the limit on this. Just use what you have in your house- it's a really easy and nutritious dinner. AND, sweet potatoes are one of the beauty foods! We had these on Thursday before Anna's concert at Crane. Thanks to Nathan for really upgrading the photos in my blog- all the sudden my foods look a whole lot more appetising.

Want to look like a model? Read on!

Want to be more beautiful? Unless your one of my many readers who is a fabulous model then here's a recipe to get you gorgeous, and it's delicious! What is this miracle food you ask? Well, maybe you already guessed it....yep, SALMON! Not only is Salmon beneficial for your health by being protein packed and high in omega-3 essential fatty acids but it also aids in giving you a youthful complexion...yippie! First off, we hear a lot about omega-3 fatty acids. We know they're good for you...but really, what are they? As their name implies, essential fatty acids are essential for human health because they cannot be made by the body, so they must be obtained from foods. Cold water fish, like salmon, are higher in these fats than warm water fish. Also, the fat composition of salmon is superior because it also has a great ratio of omega-3s to omega-6s and has a health-supportive balance of saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated fats! (That's a mouthful). If that's not enough to convince you to eat salmon....then I'll go on to the superficial reasons...READ ON!

Lisa Dryer in her book The Beauty Diet lists 10 foods that are essential for keeping cells refreshed and in good repair.

"These foods give your body the materials it needs to keep you healthy, radiant, vibrant and young -- so you have delicate, soft skin, thick, shiny hair, long, smooth fingernails, clear, bright eyes, and a brilliant, gleaming smile."

Right on Lisa! So guess what her number one food is.....you guessed it again, Salmon! It keeps the outer layer of skin soft and smooth, reduces inflammation in the skin (especially the face) thus preventing any redness, wrinkles and increasing firmness.

Here's a recipe I made last night that was a huge hit- I got it from Sara Moulton's new book "Sara Moulton everyday family dinners." I wish she had picked a different title...It's super lame, and almost made me not want to buy the book. But, I like her stuff and this recipe is no exception to her talent. (And, it's super easy and fast)

Roasted Salmon with Hot Mustard Cracker Topping

Serves 4

1/3 cup sour cream

1 1/2 tsp dijon mustard

1/2 tsp brown sugar

about 35 rice crackers (I liked to use the wasabi flavor ones)

Four 6oz pieces of Salmon-pat dry and remove skins (ew...)

Preheat oven to 400 and pat your salmon dry. Season both sides with salt and pepper. In a small bowl mix together the sour cream, mustard, and sugar. Place your salmon in a 9x13 or whatever you fancy. Then spoon the sauce mixture over each salmon distributing evenly. Put your crackers in a big freezer bag and smash them with your hands. Once they're nice and crumbly, sprinkle on top of your salmon and bake for about 10-12 minutes or until JUST done. Consume and immediately look in mirror....is that a model looking back at you?

Care to know what the other 9 beauty foods are???

I did....so here they are:

2. Low fat yogurt -plain

3. oysters

4. Blueberries

5. Kiwi fruit

6. Sweet Potatoes

7. Spinach

8. Tomatoes

9. Walnuts

10. Dark Chocolate

Ohhhh La La

I had a lovely French Themed Dinner Party to celebrate my Graduation from Le Cordon Bleu! My parents hosted 22 guests and we had an all French menu. It was tres chique! Here's some pictures from the night as well as the recipe for Roasted Shrimp Cocktail. It's a family staple at our house- we make it whenever we have an excuse to celebrate something-Graduations, Christmas, Wednesday, Celebrity sighting, you get the drift. (Thanks to Nathan for taking these pictures!)

Roasted Shrimp Cocktail

Adapted from The Barefoot Contessa

8 cocktail servings

Shrimp:

2 lbs shrimp (12-15 count shrimp)

olive oil

Kosher salt and pepper

Sauce:

2/3 cups chili sauce (not hot)

1/2 cup ketchup

3 Tbsp prepared horseradish

2 tsp fresh lemon juice

1/2 tsp worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp hot sauce
Use some paper towels to pat dry your shrimp after you've peeled and devained them-leave the tails on. Rub both sides with olive oil, salt and pepper. Pop them in a preheated oven at 400 for about 5 minutes- they'll cook fast. Combine all of the sauce ingredients in a bowl- mix and then pour into another pretty bowl and garnish with lemons. Voila!