How does one recover from a Valentine’s Day smorgasbord of chocolates from six great artisan chocolatiers, not to mention cookies, brownies and a tasting of three rosé Champagnes?
By retreating to one of our favorite diet dishes—Asian Chicken Salad—for the next several meals.
We make it in less than 5 minutes, thanks to:
Dole Cole Slaw Mix (shredded cabbage and carrots)
Perdue Short Cuts Carved Turkey Breast (restaurant secret: lots of that “chicken salad” out there is made with turkey, which allows for larger chunks of poultry)
A few shakes of our SoyCha soy-based salad dressing and marinade (or other dressing made from canola oil, vinegar, tamari sauce, sesame oil and salt.
This takes less than 90 seconds to throw into a bowl and is delicious as is. But for more complexity, we take another two minutes to add:
A sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds
Chopped green onions (scallions)
Some fresh orange segments, from a bounty of Cushman’s Honeybell oranges, received as a gift (they’re very, very juicy and come with a plastic juice-catching bib!)
SoyCha salad dressing/marinade and its
spicy sister. Photo by Hannah Kaminsky |
THE NIBBLE.
Optional garnish: crispy noodles saved from Chinese take-out
SoyCha, from Palcha Products, is also a great marinade for meats and fish and a dressing for a fusion Chinese noodle dish (otherwise stated, toss your favorite pasta with it) or rice salad (or heck, potato salad, string bean salad, you-name-it). We’ve tried it with spinach salad and cole slaw, and used ChiliCha to make a spicy beef salad.
ChiliCha has a nice spicy kick—noticeable but not fiery. We enjoy it in as a dressing for the Asian Chicken Salad. Tipsee Sesame is a gluten-free version, made without soy paste, which contains wheat. Now, we’d wish for a sugar-free version. There are only 3g of sugar per two-tablespoon serving, but the less hidden sugar in our diet, the better. We need to balance ourselves out on the days that we’re not facing down all those chocolates, cookies and brownies.
If you missed out on chocolate because you’re on a sugar-free diet plan, take a look at our favorite sugar-free chocolates. They’re not calorie-free, but they’re a real find for people who can’t have sugar.
And Happy Valentine’s Day from all of us at THE NIBBLE.
Wine and chocolate are a great pairing. But we never saw them together in a cake until this recipe, the grand prize winner in the first Bundts Across America contest in 2008.
The Chocolate Cabernet Flavors Di ‘Vine’ Wine Cake is a creative combination of chocolate devil’s food cake, black cherry gelatin and a cup of California Cabernet Sauvignon. The creator, a third grade teacher, is married to a grape grower in Stockton, California.
The Bundts Across America contest is held bi-annually, and one will be held in 2010. Stay tuned for information.
Mix up some passion for Valentine’s Day.
Photo courtesy Grey Goose.
You still haven’t found your perfect Valentine’s Day cocktail? We’re here to help!
How about something red? Something vodka? Something sexy? And delicious, of course!
Try the Lovesicle, Midnight Moment or Pair-tini from Grey Goose. All blend infused vodka (pear or orange) with Valentine flavors, including passion fruit purée, red grapefruit juice, vanilla liqueur and a liqueur called Parfait Amour, based on a Curaçao base.
For a fun Valentine’s Day party, let guests invent their own “love cocktail” and name the winner. Be prepared with a large-size (3 liters or more) of at least one base spirit like vodka, plus all of the liqueurs and mixers required to let contestants evoke their inner mixologists.
