Patti Labelle's Lite Cuisine Page 3
Makes 6 servings
CHICKEN
1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
Four 6-ounce boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
SALAD
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons reduced-sodium chicken broth or water
2 tablespoons reduced-fat sour cream
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
¾ teaspoon red pepper sauce, such as Tabasco
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1 head romaine lettuce
To make the chicken: Preheat the oven to 375°E Coat a baking sheet with fat-free cooking spray.
In a small bowl, mix together the Cajun seasoning and poultry seasoning. Sprinkle evenly over both sides of the chicken breasts.
Place on the prepared baking sheet and bake until an instant-read thermometer registers 160°F in a breast and juices run clear, about 25 to 30 minutes.
To make the salad: In a large bowl, combine the oil, lemon juice, broth or water, sour cream, mustard, red pepper sauce, and Parmesan.
Tear the lettuce into large leaves and toss with the dressing to coat evenly.
Divide the lettuce among 6 salad plates. Slice the chicken into strips and divide among the plates.
Option: This dish tastes great as a wrap sandwich (even the next day!). Heat up some of the chicken strips and a large tortilla in the microwave oven, about 30 seconds. Then roll up with the dressed romaine lettuce.
Per Serving: 190 calories, 24 g protein, 3 g carbohydrate, 9 g fat, 2 g saturated fat, 60 mg cholesterol, less than 1 g dietary fiber, 370 mg sodium
Diet Exchanges: 3 very lean meats, 1½ fats, or 0 carbohydrate choices
Luscious Lobster Salad
Make sure you refrigerate this dish at least four hours before serving—longer if you have the time. That way the flavors can really come together and develop. If you cover tightly and refrigerate it overnight, you’ll have a seriously great salad, not just a seriously good one. And for the price of lobster tails these days—I almost fainted the last time I bought some!—great is exactly what this salad should be.
Makes 4 servings
⅓ cup reduced-fat mayonnaise, such as Hellmann’s Just 2 Good!
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
⅛ teaspoon ground red pepper
⅛ teaspoon paprika
2 lobster tails, thawed if frozen (about 1 pound total)
4 cups arugula or other lettuce leaves
1 tomato, cut into 8 wedges
In a medium bowl, combine the mayonnaise, lemon juice, mustard, olive oil, tarragon, salt, black pepper, red pepper, and paprika.
Bring a pot of lightly salted water to boil. Boil the lobster tails until just firm and opaque throughout, 8 to 9 minutes.
Drain and rinse the tails under cold water (it’s easiest to do this with tongs). Cut each tail in half lengthwise right through the shell (if the meat is not opaque all the way through, boil the halved shells for another minute or so).
Scoop the lobster meat from the shells with your fingers. Cut into bite-size pieces (you should have about 2 cups lobster meat). Gently fold the lobster meat into the mayonnaise mixture. Cover and refrigerate for at least four hours, preferably overnight.
Put the arugula or other lettuce on a platter or plates. Top with the lobster salad and garnish with the tomato wedges.
Patti’s Pointers: It’s easier to cut the lobster tails if they don’t curl up during cooking. To keep the tails from curling as they cook, skewer them lengthwise with short metal or bamboo skewers. I use arugula in this recipe because its peppery bite is the perfect complement to this mild and creamy lobster salad. But if you don’t like the taste, try romaine lettuce instead. It has six times as much vitamin C and up to ten times as much beta-carotene as iceberg lettuce. Just remember: generally speaking, the greener the lettuce leaves, the more nutrition they contain.
Per Serving: 150 calories, 14 g protein, 6 g carbohydrate, 7 g fat, 3 g saturated fat, 60 mg cholesterol, less than 1 g dietary fiber, 650 mg sodium
Diet Exchanges: 2 meats, 1 fat, or ½ carbohydrate choice
Crab Louis
Makes 8 servings
1 cup reduced-fat mayonnaise, such as Hellmann’s Just 2 Good!
½ cup chili sauce
¼ cup finely chopped red pepper
¼ cup finely chopped green onions
11/z teaspoons prepared horseradish
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 head iceberg lettuce, shredded (about 8 cups)
1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes
2 pounds fresh jumbo lump crabmeat, picked over to remove shells
In a large bowl, mix together the mayonnaise, chili sauce, red pepper, green onions, horseradish, salt, and red pepper.
Arrange the shredded lettuce on a platter and decorate the edge of the platter with the tomatoes. Gently scoop the crabmeat on top of the lettuce, being careful not to break up the lumps. Spoon ½ cup of the dressing over the crabmeat. Serve the remaining dressing in a small bowl.
Patti’s Pointers: You can make this dish ahead of time, then assemble just before serving. Refrigerate the dressing for up to 2 days. Prepare the platter of lettuce and tomatoes, cover, and refrigerate for up to 1 day. Then simply top with the crab and dressing, and you’re good to go.
Per Serving: 290 calories, 37 g protein, 10 g carbohydrate, 10 g fat, 1.5 g saturated fat, 170 mg cholesterol, less than 1 g dietary fiber, 880 mg sodium
Diet Exchanges: 3 meats, 1½ fats, 2 vegetables, or ½ carbohydrate choice
Berry Cool Chicken Chili
I got this recipe from one of the most gorgeous and talented women on the planet—Halle Berry. You know that commercial where the model says, “Don’t hate me because I’m beautiful”? Well, I won’t lie: If the child weren’t so sweet, I would have to hate her. But I can’t. She’s as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside, and when you’ve got a face and body like hers, that is saying something, right? The night she won the Academy Award for best actress, you would have thought I had won a Grammy Award for best album (Note to the Recording Academy: yes, that is a hint). When they announced Girlfriend’s name on that stage, I was so happy for her I started screaming and shouting so loud I woke the whole neighborhood up. But it was her acceptance speech that had me crying like a baby. It was just like her—beautiful and gracious and real.
Halle-lujah! That’s what I said when Girlfriend caught the bouquet at the wedding of my coauthor and sister-friend, Laura Randolph Lancaster. (Photo by Roosevelt Sharpe)
While everybody knows Halle is as talented as she is gorgeous, here’s something you may not know about her: she’s diabetic. She found out several years ago when she went into a diabetic coma on the set of her first TV show, the long-canceled sitcom Living Dolls. Like millions of people, Halle didn’t know she had the disease. Which is why it is so important for all of us to ask our doctors about getting tested for it. When you make Halle’s fabulous chili, why don’t you make an appointment to do just that? Halle would like that. And so would I.
Makes 8 servings
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped green bell pepper
¾ cup chopped carrots
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 pounds ground chicken
1 tablespoon chili powder
1½ teaspoons dried oregano
1½ teaspoons dried basil
½ teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
One 14.5-ounce can no-salt-added diced tomatoes, undrained
One 15-ounce can great northern beans,
rinsed and drained
One 14.5-ounce can fat-free reduced-sodium chicken broth
One 6-ounce can low-sodium tomato paste
Coat a large soup pot with fat-free cooking spray and add the oil. Heat over medium heat until the oil is hot. Add the onion, bell pepper, carrots, and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are just tender, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the chicken and, breaking up the meat with a spoon, cook until the chicken is no longer pink, about 10 minutes. Pour off any fat.
Stir in the chili powder, oregano, basil, cumin, salt, and red pepper flakes. Cook about 2 minutes.
Stir in the tomatoes, beans, broth, and tomato paste. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low and cook, uncovered and stirring occasionally, until the flavors come together, about 45 minutes.
Per Serving: 250 calories, 31 g protein, 23 g carbohydrate, 4 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 65 mg cholesterol, 5 g dietary fiber, 350 mg sodium
Diet Exchanges: 3 very lean meats, 2 vegetables, 1 starch, 1 fat, or 1 carbohydrate choice
Luther’s Italian Chicken Soup
You know who gave me this fabulous recipe? The one and only velvet-voiced Luther Vandross. I love Luther; he and I go way back. And when I say way back, I mean waaaaay back. Back in the sixties, when he was just a kid, Luther used to cut school to come to the Apollo Theater to see Patti LaBelle and The Bluebelles. But seeing us wasn’t enough for Luther. He wanted to meet us. So badly, in fact, that he concocted this ingenious plan to get backstage. Luther told Peter Long, the Apollo’s public relations director at the time, that he was writing a school report on The Bluebelles and if he didn’t get an interview with us he would flunk. Even back then, Luther was so smooth and charming and convincing that Peter bought the story hook, line, and sinker. While I was running an errand at the time, Luther got his interview with Sarah and Nona. Even then he had chutzpa.
The way Nona Hendryx, Sarah Dash, and I looked when Luther used to sneak into the world-famous Apollo to see us. Check out the outfits; you couldn’t tell us we weren’t too cute!
Not long after the interview, Luther and his friend choreographer Bruce Wallace started the first Patti LaBelle and The Bluebelles Fan Club. Bruce was the first president, with Luther serving as his vice president. Of course, these days I’m the (unofficial) president of the Luther Vandross Fan Club. Boyfriend can sing. A voice like Luther’s—silken, sexy, smooth—doesn’t come along often, as evidenced by all of his hits (too many to count) and awards (Do you store them in a warehouse, honey?). Not only can he sing, but as anyone who has ever seen Luther perform can tell you, Boyfriend can work a stage. What you may not know is that he can also work a stove. Since he learned he was diabetic, however, Luther has been into healthier cooking and eating. But don’t take my word for it. Try Luther’s Italian chicken soup recipe. When you taste it, you’ll be singing his praises.
Makes 6 servings
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
½ cup chopped celery
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 pound ground chicken
Two 14.5-ounce cans no-salt-added stewed tomatoes, undrained
One 14.5-ounce can reduced-sodium fat-free chicken broth
One 8-ounce can no-salt-added tomato sauce
One 4-ounce jar chopped or sliced pimientos, drained
½ teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
½ teaspoon dried basil
½ teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup uncooked rotini pasta
Coat a large soup pot with fat-free cooking spray and add olive oil. Heat over medium heat until the oil is hot. Add the onion, celery, and garlic. Cook, stirring frequently, until the vegetables are just tender, about 4 minutes. Add the chicken and cook, breaking up the meat with a spoon, until the chicken is no longer pink, about 10 minutes. Pour off any fat.
Stir in the stewed tomatoes, broth, tomato sauce, pimientos, Italian seasoning, basil, oregano, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and return to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and cook until the pasta is just tender, about 15 minutes.
Patti’s Pointers: When Luther makes his delicious Italian chicken soup, he uses rotini, but I make it with stelline because it means “star”—like the super-talented one he is.
Per Serving: 250 calories, 24 g protein, 27 g carbohydrate, 6 g fat, 1.5 g saturated fat, 50 mg cholesterol, 3 g dietary fiber, 850 mg sodium
Diet Exchanges: 1 starch, 2½ very lean meat, 2 vegetables, 1 fat, or 2 carbohydrate choices
Better than Mom’s Beef Stew
A delicious and complete meal in a bowl! Like most stews, this one tastes even better the next day when the flavors have had plenty of time to get to know one another. In fact, this is the kind of dish you could let sit on low heat all day, go out shoe shopping, and, come dinnertime, it would be as fierce as your new pumps.
Makes 6 servings
1 pound beef top round, trimmed of fat and cut into bite-size pieces
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
One 14-ounce can fat-free reduced-sodium beef broth
One 14-ounce can Italian-style chopped fresh tomatoes, undrained
1 tablespoon prepared horseradish
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon chili powder
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
5 medium red potatoes, scrubbed and cubed
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
1 cup baby carrots, halved if large
2 ribs celery, sliced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano or ½ teaspoon dried
Put the beef and Worcestershire sauce in a resealable plastic bag and shake to coat. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours and up to 4 hours.
Coat a large saucepan or stew pot with fat-free cooking spray and heat over medium-high heat until smoking hot. Remove the beef from the marinade and add to the pan, cooking until browned all over, about 5 minutes.
Reduce the heat to low and stir in the broth, tomatoes, horseradish, garlic, chili powder, salt, pepper, and any leftover marinade. Cover and cook for 1 hour and 45 minutes. Add the potatoes, onion, carrots, celery, and oregano. Cook, covered, until the vegetables are tender, about 1 hour more. If the liquid in the pan is too thin, raise the heat to medium-high and boil until the liquid thickens.
Patti’s Pointers: If you can’t find beef top round, extra-lean stew beef works just as well and is up to 97 percent lean.
Per Serving: 250 calories, 23 g protein, 32 g carbohydrate, 3.5 g fat, 1.5 g saturated fat, 45 mg cholesterol, 4 g dietary fiber, 400 mg sodium
Diet Exchanges: 2 very lean meats, 2 starches, 1 vegetable, or 2 carbohydrate choices
Daniel’s Chilled Spring Carrot Soup with Lobster and Lime
You are going to fall in love with this soup recipe! It was created by the renowned French chef-restaurateur Daniel Boulud, who gave it to me when I told him I was writing Lite Cuisine. And when I say renowned, I mean renowned. Not only has Daniel been named chef of the year by Bon Appetit magazine, Boyfriend’s restaurant received Gourmet magazine’s Top Table Award. A few months ago, when the New York Public Library held its “Preserve the Cookbook Collection” benefit gala, guess where they held it? At Boyfriend’s restaurant, DANIEL. The menu, by some of New York’s most famous chefs, was off the hook. I’m talking seriously scrumptious. Mad fabulous. To-die-for delicious. But like I told Daniel, for $750 a plate it better be! Proceeds from the dinner benefited the cookbook collection of the New York Public Library, which is why I agreed to sing at the dinner. (You people took that “sing for your supper” saying seriously, huh?) That, and to get to sample some more of Daniel’s cooking. The library has thousands of cookbooks from around the world. (Note to the staff: I will be dropping by to make sure at least two of them are by Patti LaBelle.) When Daniel makes this soup at his r
estaurant he uses chicken stock and heavy cream, but I lightened it up with low-sodium chicken broth and fat-free half-and-half. It’s the perfect first course for your next puttin‘-on-the-ritz affair.
Makes 8 servings
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium leek (white part only), thinly sliced, rinsed, and patted dry
1 small onion, thinly sliced
1 rib celery, thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, peeled and left whole
6 sprigs cilantro, stems and leaves separated, leaves finely chopped
2 sprigs thyme
15 California spring carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Pinch of sugar
5 cups fat-free, low-sodium chicken broth
3 cups fresh carrot juice
1 lime
Tabasco sauce
½ cup fat-free half-and-half
2 large lobster tails, thawed if frozen (about 1¼ pounds total)
Warm the olive oil in a medium pot over medium-low heat. Add the leek, onion, celery, and garlic. Lower the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring frequently until the vegetables are translucent but not browned, about 10 minutes. Tie together the cilantro stems and thyme sprigs with kitchen twine and add the bundle to the pot. Stir in the carrots, salt, pepper, and sugar. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 to 15 minutes.