Shell Fish Ceviche with Roasted Pork Tenderloin

I wanted to create my own healthy version of a "Surf and Turf" meal . Pork Tenderloin is a great healthy alternative to having beef for dinner, and almost is identical to chicken breat for calories and fat.

3 oz. of pork tenderloin will  give 139 calories; 24g protein; 4.1g fat (1.4g saturated, 0.49 polyunsaturated)

My biggest problem with pork is that almost everyone overcooks it making it dry and tasteless.  Trichinosis, the reason most of our parent over cooked pork to death is virtually eliminated in pork, typically an internal temp of 141 degrees is more than enough to kill anything bad.  Thee are a few secrets one can use to make pork extremely tasty and juicy. Brine, don't over cook, and letting your meat rest before slicing.

I never ate ceviche till I moved to Southwest Florida and wow...what I great surprise! Raw fish that has been "cooked" in citrus juice....the beauty of Ceviche is you can be creative! Add the types of fish, seafood you like. Some items like shrimp and some other shellfish should cooked first. I was deeply inspired by Top Chef 's Howie Kleinberg from seasons 3 ceviche.

I hope you enjoy this meal. It is easy to prepare, very healthy, low calories, virtually carb free and simply delicious!

Shell Fish Ceviche

Ingredients:

• 1lb of mussels ( I use farm rasied which don't need to be "debeared")
• 1 lb of bay scallops ( You can use large scallops and cut, but why?? Bay scallops cost less!)
• 1 lb of pink shrimp
• 1/2 lb of white fish ( cod, tilapia..your choice, personally, I'm not a fan of tilapia) cut into small pieces
• 4 limes, juiced
• 4 lemons juiced
• 1 large honeybell tangelo* ( see note below)
• 2 scallions, sliced medium thin, including greens
• 1/2 medium sweet onion, sliced thin
• 1 medium red bell pepper, petite diced
• 1/2 cup of grape tomatoes, sliced in half
• 1 mango, diced
• 1 tablespoon of Old Bay Garlic and herb
•  5-6 sprigs of cilantro to taste
• salt and pepper to taste

*if you can not find a honeybell tangelo ( they are ONLY in season for a month or so and I believe exclusive to Florida) Use the juice of one medium sweet orange and 1 tangerine)


In a large pot, bring water to a rolling boil, salt moderately ( When cooking shellfish, I salt to "Ocean water" )
Cook mussels 3-4 minutes till they open and put in ice bath. In same water, add old bay and add shrimp, cook 1-2 minutes till pink and remove and add to ice water bath. Clean shrimp, remove shells, legs. Remove mussels from shells. In a large glass bowl, add mussels, shrimp,  bay scallops, fish. Salt everything and let stand for a few minutes. Juice all of the citrus, I recommend throwing the citrus in the microwave for 10-15 each to allow maximum juicing. Add citrus juice to seafood, add scallions, onion, peppers, tomatoes, cilantro and mango. Pepper to taste. mix all ingredients with hands. all seafood should be completely covered in citrus juice!! If not, try a different bowl, or add more citrus juice ( use in same proportions). Cover bowl in plastic wrap and chill at least 2 hours, ( You can make this over night, even better!)


Serve in Martini glasses and enjoy!!




Ken's Roasted Pork Tenderloin


Ingredients

• 1.5-2lb Pork Tenderloin
• nonstick vegetable oil spray
• Ken's pork rub * (see note)

*Ken's pork rub: You can make this in large quantities and store in  air tight dry containers.

• 4 tablespoon of prepared chili powder
• 2 tablespoons of ground cumin 
• 1 teaspoon of red pepper
• 2 teaspoons of kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon of of coarse ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoons of garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon of  dried ground chipotle
• 2 tablespoons of paprika

Mix all ingredients together, rub on any pork dish for a great flavor!



Directions

Spray tenderloin lightly with vegetable oil spray and rub rub pork with my pork rub. Wrapin plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2-3 hours ( better if you do this the night before and lety set over night)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Over high heat, heat a nonstick sear pan, or other large pan, spray lightly with nonstick oil.  Remove tenderloin from plastic wrap and sear all sides, about 1 minute per side till you can see the sear marks (I use a nonstick grill pan that leaves grill marks). Once meat is seared, put in oven, for 20-22 minutes......DO NOT OVER COOK!!!!!

Remove from oven and wrap tenderloin in foil, alllow to rest for at least 10 minutes ( the foil holds in the heat while it is resting and allows for some additional cooking). Once meat is rested ( this allows the meat to be extremely juicy!) slice and serve!

Cod with Shaved Mushrooms and Truffle Oil and Cauliflower Puree

Good food does not have to be overly complicated, have a arms length of ingredients nor be bad for you. Tonight's dish was very easy to prepare and simply delicious.

I use a slight...and I mean slight amount of truffle oil to finish the dish. No reason to go overboard with the truffle oil, as it will just give you wasted calories, but more importantly, it will over power every other flavor, If you've never used truffle oil, be careful because it is very easy to over do. Also make sure you purchase a quality product, most truffle oils are garage and contain little to no truffle at all and taste artificial at best.  The oil by Urbani is a good product and can purchased from Amazon.com

Cod with Shaved Mushrooms and Truffle Oil

Ingredients

• 1.5 lbs of Cod cut into four pieces ( I used two pieces)
• 2 large portobello mushrooms, shaved on madoline
• 1 clove of garlic, crushed
• Black pepper to taste
• Kosher salt to taste
• Pam Organic Olive oil spray
• Truffle oil to drizzle ( less than 1/4 teaspoon)

In a large nonstick pan , heat over medium high and lightly coat pan with Pam Olive Oil, heat and add cod that has been salted, peppered and rubbed with the crushed garlic . Cook on each side about 3-4 minutes,. Add mushroom to pan after first side of fish has cooked, you do not wat to over cook these mushrooms as they have been shaved thin and don't take long to cook. Serve with Mushroom on Cod, and lightly drizzle with truffle oil.


Cauliflower Puree

Clean and remove stem from one large head of cauliflower, remove flowerettes and place in steamer, heat in steamer about 5 minutes till totally tender. Put cooked cauliflower in food processor with 2 teaspoons of 0% fat strained greek yogurt (I use FAGE) 1 teaspoon of salt, 1 clove of garlic, and black pepper, puree till smooth.

Greek Chicken With Mushrooms Rockefeller

In my quest of eating healthier and making tasty food I have been trying multiple takes on classic dishes.I love stuffed mushrooms, but they are typically loaded with butter, fat and lots of other ingredients that are a "no no" for me right now. So this take on Rockefeller is delish and loaded with flavor.


The Chicken dish is simple and this whole dinner, and the whole dinner from beginning to end took under 30 minutes to prepare. I also served this dish with caramelized cabbage with balsamic ,  and a home made tzatziki sauce.

Again this is a low fat and almost zero carb dish. I used small amounts of shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano on the mushrooms, but that was the only added fat to the whole dish.


Greek Chicken

Ingredients

•  Pam no stick olive oil spray
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 tablespoon  rosemary
• 1 tablespoon thyme
• 1 tablespoon oregano
• 1 teaspoon savory
• 1 teaspoon marjoram
• 1 teaspoon of kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon of lemon pepper
• 1 lemon ( juiced and zest grated)
• 3 boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into pieces

In a large skillet preheat a nonstick pan over medium, spray with cooking oil. In a small bowl mike cut chicken, lemon juice, lemon zest, all the herbs, garlic, lemon pepper and salt. Let set several minutes and ad to hot pan, "stir frying" until down, about 5-6 minutes.





Mushrooms Rockefeller

Ingredients

• 18 fresh large white mushrooms ( about 1 pound) Stems removed and stems chopped and saved
• Pam non stick Vegetable oil spray
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 10-ounce pack frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dried
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• 1 teaspoon of Italian bread crumbs
• 1 teaspoon of finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
• Parmigiano-Reggiano shavings for garnish

Lightly spray a baking dish with Pam non stick oil and preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a non stick saute pan, spray with Pam non stick oil and chopped mushroom stems, onion and garlic to pan. Cook over medium heat and cook to onions are translucent. Add spinach, lemon juice, lemon zest, bread crumbs, and cheese to pan. Cook an additional 3-5 minutes. Stuff each mushroom cap with mixture, and top with shavings of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. Bake in oven for 15-20 minutes till cheese is golden and bubbly.


Enjoy!

Low Fat Turkey Chili

I love chili! no ands if or buts about it; chili is one of my favorite dishes. Being on a low fat and restricted carb diet can be pretty tough, but recently I had an amazing turkey chili at Bar Louie and thought I could make something as good at home.

Make sure to make plenty as I did. Makes a great dinner, and the photos below were how I served it for my lunch. As a side, I made hot and spicy pickled green beans, peppers and onions....recipe to follow for that!

Ken's Low fat Turkey Chili

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 4-5 tablespoons chili powder ( adjust to taste)
• 2 tablespoons of cumin
• 2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 can of tomato paste
• 1 chipotle chile en adobo, coarsely chopped, with 1 tablespoon sauce
• 4 pound ground turkey
• 2 cups of beef broth
• 2 (14 1/2-ounce) cans of  fire roasted tomatoes
• 8 oz of mushrooms, sliced

Directions:

In a large Stock pot over medium heat, add the oil, let heat and add onions and garlic to sweat,  around 5 minutes. add in sliced carrots and mushrooms, stir constantly and cook an additional 5 minutes. Add in Ground turkey and stir to break up and let brown. Add in all salt, chili powder, and cumin.  take half a cup of beef broth and puree chipotle and adobo sauce until smooth, add to pot. Add oregano, tomatoes,  tomato paste and remaining beef broth, bring to simmer, and simmer uncovered for 45-60 minutes.

Serve with your favorite garnishes.

Warning Non Food Related!

Ok, now that we have that out of the picture, those who know me well, know that equal to my love of food and cooking is photography. Food photography is very new to me, the first picture of food I ever took was for this blog, so literally its been less than 2 months. 

My real passion is nature, landscape and cityscape photography....I also seem to have some fetish for doors, as many of my photos throughout the years have been doorways. I primarily shoot in very vivid color(color's pushed beyond what we would normally see with our vision, very saturated, rich and vibrant) or B/W. B/w is my real love, as I started off back in HS shooting only black and white and developing and printing my own photos that way.

This post is more for myself, but also to share with fans of photography. One of my twitter followers, Christine Riojas has a great blog of very stimulating photos; many haunting, some erotic but always beautiful. Following her blog and photos has inspired me to start a separate blog of just my photograph, so this is merely a "sneak peek" of what is to come. Please Visit my photography blog: The Tao of Photography

I hope you enjoy them, and feel free to leave comments...negative or positive...the only way I can improve is with feedback! All of these photos shot in Fort Myers

P.F Chang "Style" Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Those who know me; know that I would rather find a small cafe, a family owned place, or some whole in the wall over a national chain, but there are always exceptions. P.F Chang's is one of those. I love them! I typically order the small plates....Chinese tapas if you will! That way I can try a variety of Pf Chang's goodness and is fun to share!

My daughter turned me on to Changs a few years ago. Alli and her girlfriends would go out there for dinner back in high school when ever they wanted a fun girls night out, and she made me a believer! 80% of my business lunches I do at Changs.

Chicken lettuce wraps are pretty healthy, but I figured I could tweak them even more and make them with even less carbs and fat. I have seen several recipes for them online, but this is my own.




P.F Chang "Style" Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Ingredients for dipping sauce:

• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons  low sugar ketchup
• 2 tablespoons of water
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon hot water
• 1 tablespoon hot mustard
• 1 clove garlic, minced 
• 1 -2 teaspoons Sriracha sauce ( a hot chili, garlic sauce)
• 2 small green onions, sliced thinly

Ingredients for stir-fry sauce:

• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 3 packets of sun crystals (a 5 calorie blend of stevia and cane sugar)
• 1/2 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
• 2 teaspoons hoisin sauce
• 2 tablespoons oyster sauce

Ingredients for chicken:

• 1 tablespoons garlic infused oil
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 2 teaspoons of olive oil
• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed to 1/2″
• 1 – 8oz can sliced water chestnuts,chopped
• 1-  8oz can of bamboo shoots, chopped
• 1-  83/4 oz can of baby corn, drained
• 3/4 cup mushrooms, chopped
• 4 green onions, sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced fine
• 6 large leaves of iceberg lettuce or Boston Butter lettuce

To make the dipping sauce:

1. In a small bowl, dissolve sun crystals in cup warm water, then add soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, ketchup, lemon juice, Sriracha sauce and sesame oil. Mix well
2. Combine 1 teaspoons hot water with hot mustard and garlic and mix in small bow, add to the dipping sauce to taste.

To make the stir-fry sauce:

1. Prep the stir fry sauce by mixing soy sauce, hoisin sauce, oyster sauce,  sun crystals, and rice vinegar in a small bowl.

To make the chicken stir-fry:

1. Heat wok over high heat; Mix oils and add to wok . Heat oil over high heat until it glistens, about one minute. Add chicken and saute until mostly cooked through, about 4-5 minutes.
2. Turn the heat down to medium-high, add garlic, onions, water chestnuts, mushrooms,bamboo shoots,  baby corn and the stir-fry sauce.  Stir-fry until the mushrooms are tender, about 5 minutes, and remove to a serving dish.
3. Serve stir-fry with iceberg lettuce or Boston Butter lettuce and top with dipping sauce.

Chicken with Roasted Red Peppers and Italian Herbs

This is another chicken dish that looks fattening, but it is not. Great for low fat and low carb diets. For a side I simple made a simple dish of  zucchini with fire roasted tomatoes, but this dish would be great with pasta!
Sometimes trying to eat "diet food" or trying to eat healthy can seem boring, but this dish has very little fat  (the cheese totals about 3 grams of fat) and only around 6 carbs

This dish is so easy to make, almost no prep time and only 20 minutes to cook, dinner and side in under 30 minutes total, a dish you can make any weeknight for your family and feel good about what you are feeding them.



Chicken with Roasted Red Peppers and Italian Herbs
Ingredients

• 2 chicken breast, split  (4 pieces from two breast)
• 1  12 oz jar of Roasted Red Peppers ( I use Vigo)
• 2 teaspoons of Italian seasoning
• 1 teaspoon of dried oregano
• 2 cloves of crushed garlic
• 1/2  14.5 oz can of fire roasted tomatoes
• 2 teaspoons of  low fat Parmesan cheese
• 2 slices, cut in half of low fat provolone cheese (4 pieces) 
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

In a shallow baking dish arrange chicken pieces, and sprinkle with Italian herbs,  oregano, salt and pepper.
Remove peppers from jar and tears pieces to cover Chicken...I used about 3/4 of the jar, but use more less based upon your love of peppers :)  Pour half or more of the contexts of the vinegar/ liquid of the pepper jar into the pan and spoon fire roasted tomatoes equal over chicken and bake for 20 minutes.

Remove from oven and put one slice of the provolone cheese, and sprinkle with parmesan. Turn oven on broil, and return under broiler till cheese is bubbly and turning a golden brown.

Serve with your favorite vegetables or pasta