Cooking Advice

I just returned from a wonderfully inspirational visit to San Francisco. The trip was the California Walnut Board’s Spring Salad event. The day we spent in San Francisco and Sonoma was breathtaking and information-packed. I came back more committed than ever to sharing my enthusiasm for the importance of cooking and eating well.

It was great to meet with Dr. Michael Roizen, the co-author of the best-selling YOU: Staying Younger, coauthored with Dr. Mehmet Oz, as well as all the other best-selling YOU: books. He is the co-founder of RealAge, and author and co-author of the best-selling Real-Age books.

Dr. Roizen emphasizes that we can reset the clock by choosing to eat well and exercise. If you have ever felt depressed or overwhelmed by listening to the doom and gloom broadcast by some health reporters, Dr. Roizen’s simple upbeat approach is a relief . According to this well-qualified expert, simple change can help all of us undo past damage and feel better, live longer, and be healthier.

There were two interesting pieces of information that he shared with us that I’d like to share with all of you. According to Dr. Roizen, eating a small snack of six walnuts before a meal with a drink of some kind – perhaps a glass of wine or some mineral water, he didn’t specify – can actually make you less hungry for dinner. The fats in the nuts are healthful but they also have the effect of blocking your hunger. The good fat in nuts signals your body to release the chemicals that tell it that it’s full. Now that is my definition of a happy hour.

Dr. Roizen also explained that nuts are not dangerous to people with diverticulitis. The idea that nuts will bother or be dangerous to individuals with this very common condition of small pockets in the intestinal wall is simply a medical myth. This is great news for anyone who has been passing up tasty and nutritious nuts.

http/www.dolcedolce.com/ns_apr.222008/Walnuts

Being nuts about nuts, I am thrilled to have even more reasons to serve them. Below is one of my favourite walnut recipes. Simple and elegant, it’s perfect if you are looking for something a bit different. Now you can also have the satisfaction of knowing you are not just serving dinner but a banquet of antioxidants and ALA a plant-based Omega-3 fatty acid. How is that for feeling elegant and virtuous, at once?

“Agliata” walnut sauce

on brilliant green fettuccini

Agliata is a garlic walnut sauce that dates from medieval times. This is my own recipe – creamy but not too rich. If you don’t like strong garlic, leave it out or just rub the casserole with the clove. I like a lot of garlic, which is also a super food. I serve this dish with salmon or sautéed shrimp. It is perfect with just a salad, too.

2 pieces of bread with the crusts removed, cut/torn in small pieces and placed in a food processor or blender.

Pour 1 cup of milk over the bread.

Toast 1cup of walnuts in a dry pan for 3-5 minutes at med-high heat.

Add the toasted walnuts and 1 clove of crushed garlic.

Pulse

Add 4 tbsp. of good quality olive oil

Pulse.

Add ¾ cup of freshly grated Reggianno parmesan cheese.

Pulse.

Transfer the sauce to a casserole that can hold the pasta.

Toast ¼ cup bread crumbs with 1 tbsp. of slightly crushed walnuts and set aside. Be careful not to burn them.

Cook the pasta al dente. Do not overcook. Look for a good brand of spinach pasta, with natural ingredients, and slightly undercook it. The pasta will continue to cook in the casserole. Reserve ¼ cup of the pasta water to thin your sauce. Add the drained pasta to the sauce and mix. Add the pasta water to thin the sauce slightly. Toss with the toasted crumb-nut mixture. Add black pepper to taste. Serve immediately when it’s very hot. This dish looks very beautiful and fresh.

http/www.dolcedolce.com/ns_apr.222008/Chef

Chef Charlie Ayer

If you are excited about cooking with walnuts as I am check out: The Smart Salad Contest at www.walnuts.org It looks like fun. It will be judged by former Google chef Charlie Ayres. The contest ends June 30.