July 16, 2007

Chef Tim Says...

I love avocados. I have loved them since I was a kid when my mom would serve them garnished simply with her fantastic French Dressing. There was a time, though, when avocados had gotten a very bad rap. That was in the day when we had less information about fat in the diet and it was felt that ALL fat was bad (not so).

OK, we know better now. The best part of knowing better about avocados is that you can eat them without feeling like you’re committing some low-fat, healthy diet sin. Just the opposite. They’re really good for you. Avocados

Featured Recipe

Shrimp Quesadillas
These quesadillas can be made using almost any fish or shellfish. I like to use a firmer fish like halibut or grouper, however. They are even great made on the grill outside during the summer. Since you can pre-make them to the point of putting the filling in the tortillas, they are perfect for outdoor weekend barbecue.

Ask Dr. Gourmet

I tend to eat too much cheese, and have been told to lay off. My main artery has two new areas that are 30% clogged in one year's time, which I am sure is due to eating too much dip made with Velveeta, hamburger, tomatoes and onion. Very delicious, but harmful to me apparently. I just feel that now I need to avoid most cheeses. What do you think about this?

Dr. Gourmet Says....

Cheese is great food. Like wine, there are infinite varieties that are complex and delicious.

That said, cheese is high in saturated fat, and like many fine foods, too much of a good thing can become a problem. The key is to use really good high quality cheeses for cooking, no matter what the fat content. It takes much less of a high quality Parmigiano-Reggiano to add flavor to your dishes than the cheap stuff in the green shaker box. A good example of this is Blue Cheese dressing. By selecting the best quality imported or artisan cheese, you'll end up with a fantastic dressing that has only 1 gram of saturated fat and 7 mg of cholesterol. Cholesterol and Cheese

Featured Ingredient: Cilantro

Cilantro is also called Chinese parsley in the US , but is known as coriander in most other English speaking countries. A lot of cuisines use the leaves as well as the seeds (both whole and ground). Fresh cilantro is now as common as parsley in most markets.

I find that the stems have as much flavor as the leaves. I generally use the leaves without stems in a recipe where the cilantro both adds flavor to the dish and is also garnish. I use the stems when a sauce will be pureed, because they will add flavor without affecting the texture. Cilantro

Dr. Gourmet Needs Your Help!

For the past several months, we at Dr. Gourmet have been working on creating an interactive version of eatTHISdiet, called "My eatTHISdiet," that will allow our visitors to customize the meal plan.

We'd like to invite some of you, our subscribers, to help us test the software before it is made available to everyone. Those subscribers who volunteer to help us and are selected to do the testing will receive a copy of "Hand on Heart", my recent cookbook, as a thank-you for your assistance. How can I help?

Hand on Heart

Dr. Harlan's latest cookbook, Hand on Heart, includes several of the recipes from drgourmet.com, plus a few that were developed specifically for the book, like Banoffee Pie! More on what's inside.

Cooking to Reduce the Burn

Cooking to Reduce the Burn was created specifically for those suffering from GERD (Gastro Esophageal Reflux Disease). With Tummy Tips and easy recipes to help you eat well and eat healthy without painful acid reflux. Download it for FREE!