Happy Eats!

In addition to being a menu consultant and food enthusiast, for more than 25 years I was a purchaser for a housewares store. Throughout the years I met with sales reps from just about all the major cookware, kitchen electronics, and gadget manufacturers worldwide. I tested just about every tool on the market. I also watched many makers of kitchenware get bought up or bought out - and to be honest, I wasn’t heartbroken when some of them disappeared!

But if there’s one company I hope will go on forever - a company whose products I admire, respect, and USE on a daily basis - it’s Kitchen Aid. Whle the company is best known for its signature stand mixer, the standard against which all other brands are measured, not all of us need that level of mixing power! A hand mixer works for most recipes, but don’t settle for a cheap, wimpy little gadget that can barely handle boxed cake mix. A wimpy mixer will make you very, very unhappy. On the other hand, a good handheld mixer will be a joy to use - and it will LAST.

Plus if you want to get real volume when whipping and beating, or if you’re going to make something like my special low-carb lemon souffle, you need a REAL hand mixer. Like my favorite Kitchen Aid handheld. It’s got five speeds and it’s a workhorse. You can even knead bread with it, no joke! Here’s where you can find it at a really good price:

KitchenAid 5 Speed Ultra Power Hand Mixer - KHM5DH

An intensely cool, lemony, creamy, low-sugar (and low carb) dessert that’s perfect for summer entertaining. It’s refreshing and not too sweet, just right after a big meal full of intense flavors. This recipe may sound like a lot of work, but you’ll see it’s just mixing up two concotions, then combining them and pouring them into a mold. There’s no special techniques involved, except for maybe unmolding the finished product. And if push comes to shove, you don’t absolutely have to unmold it, though a molded dessert makes for a very pretty and impressive presentation!

• Grated peel from 1 medium lemon
• Juice from 2 medium lemons
• 4 tablespoons cold water
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin
• 2 whole eggs
• 2 egg yolks
• 5 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons whipped heavy cream

Oil a 2-cup mold. A rigid mold works best, but most cooks don’t have one. A glass mixing bowl with sloping sides will work in a pinch, but it won’t be very fancy. The new silicone molds by Silicone Zone work wonderfully, but be sure to put the mold on a plate before you fill it so it’s stable. Place a small saucepan of water on the stove over medium heat - you’ll need this later.

Combine the lemon juice and cold water in a small non-reactive bowl (glass or stainless steel). Sprinkle the gelatin onto the water and juice mixture and set aside.

Next, place the whole eggs, egg yolks, and sugar in a medium bowl, then beat with a good electric hand mixer on medium speed until the mixture triples in volume. The mixture has to be fluffy. Power counts, so use a good strong handheld mixer like my favorite Kitchen Aid. Set this mixture aside.

Now set the bowl of gelatin mixture over the pan of hot water. Stir with a fork or spoon until the gelatin is fully dissolved. Don’t let it get too hot, just keep it over the heat to dissolve the gelatin.

Now you mix it all together: Gently mix the gelatin concotion slowly into the egg mixture. Stir in the lemon rind and whipped cream. Then pour everything into the mold. Stir the mixture around inside the mold using a small rubber spatula.

Put the mold into the refrigerator (don’t cover it). After it chills for 30 minutes, stir with the spatula once more. Then chill until set, about 3 to 4 hours.

Presentation: You may need an extra pair of hands for this, so enlist the guest with the largest and most steady hands! If you’re using a silcone mold, it should slide out easily. Just put a plate on top, hold on tight to both plates, and flip over. Gorgeous!

Use the same method if you used a rigid mold or a bowl. It should still come out easily if you oiled it well. But on the off chance it sticks, fill the sink or a very large bowl with hot, almost boiling water, then dip the mold into it for a few seconds (I count to 10). The heat should soften the outer layer of gelatin just enough to allow the souffle to slip out.

But if you happen to be very, very unlucky and that souffle just won’t budge, don’t despair. Just slice it right in the mold (be careful if you’re using silicone!), place on your prettiest individual dessert dishes, and garnish.

Garnishes: Sliced kiwi fruit. Fresh blueberries. Fresh raspberries. Or for a really gourmet treat, try paper-thin slices of lemon, sprinkled with sugar or your favorite sweetener.

What does it mean when a recipe tells you to “sweat” the vegetables? “Sweat” means that the vegetables are heated in some fat, in a relatively shallow layer, until their internal juices are released and mingle with the fat. The surface of the vegetables will have little “beads” of delicious juices all over them, and the liquid in the pan will be glossy.

Sweating is sort of the opposite of stir-frying. When you stir-fry, you toss vegetables into extremely hot oil, “flash-cook” them, and add a tiny amount of water to create steam that tenderizes the vegetable slightly. But when you sweat vegetables, it’s more like sauteing on lower heat. You don’t sear the vegetables. You cook them by coaxing the liquid out of them.”

That said, you can sweat vegetables a little, or a lot. It really depends on the type of veggie, how well-done the vegetables should be, and how much extra liquid from the pan the recipe can tolerate. But the important part of the sweating process is the veggies must release liquid and should be cooked through, and that means a lower temperature and a longer cooking time.

Here’s the basic process for sweating:

1. You put some oil or butter in a cold pan. Warm the fat just until it starts to spread or the butter starts to melt.

2. Add unformly chopped vegetables, stir to coat them with fat, and slowly let the heat warm them through until you hear a faint sizzle.

3. Adjust the heat so you hear inly a very faint sizzle. Stir the veggies occasionally. Partially covering the pan will speed up the sweating, but don’t cover completely or you’ll have too much liquid.

4. When the veggies start to get a sheen on them from the “sweat,” taste to see if they’re cooked to your liking. If so, remove from the heat, stir again to coat them with the glossy liquid, and set aside to cool or to use in the next stage of the recipe.

Some vegetables are sweated more than others. Onions, especially potent ones, benefit from sweating before being added to soups, sauces, purees, fillings, or toppings. When sweated slowly, even the most tear-inducing onion becomes sweet and delicious. You can also sweat stronger-tasting vegetables, like cabbage or cauliflower, to mellow them out and blend their flavors with other veggies. Sweating ordinary bland mushrooms with a little onion and garlic can create an incredible culinary experience!

You may find the swirl cooking technique a little more challenging than everyday pancakes. But only at first! Once you make three or four Happy Crepes, you’ll laugh at how easy it is.

What do I mean by swirl? You quickly tilt and turn the pan, similar to the method of making an omelet or a crepe. Trust me, it’s not brain surgery.

Whip up a batch of my Happy Crepe batter, then let it rest for the recommended time. Now practice! Heat an 8 inch skillet over medium high heat. Brush it with canola, safflower, or sunflower oil.

Now lift the pan off the heat, ladle about 3-4 tablespoons of batter into the pan all at once, and immediately tilt and turn the pan so the batter covers the bottom. If the pan is hot enough, it will set up very nicely. Once it starts to get a little dry and firm, use a long flexible spatula to flip it over and cook until done. Once you get the hang of it, each pancake will only take a minute or two.

Even if swirl sounds hard, try it! You’ll love the pancakes - they’re a little like a whole wheat crepe, and so delicious. Plus they have very little fat and are lower in carbs than most tortillas or pita breads.

Just be prepared for a few failures before you master the technique. The first pancake will look awful - that’s for the dog. The second one will be better - that’s for you to snack on while you cook. The third one will be just about perfect. By number four you’ll have it down pat, and by the end of your first batch you’ll be an expert!

And remember, it doesn’t matter if your pancakes are perfect. Folding or rolling them up will hide many flaws!