Make Ahead

A deli side-dish favorite, macaroni salad is a gimme on every table in America come summertime. Everyone has a favorite recipe—some contain ham, some peppers, some bacon, and some peas. But all contain high-fat mayonnaise and white pasta, a fundamentally bad combo. White pasta is replaced here with whole-wheat shells, and the high-fat mayo with low-fat mayo. I added a few bits and pieces, like smoked paprika, to give it some personality.

Gnocchi are small dumplings made with cooked potatoes and just enough flour to hold them together. I swapped the traditional white potatoes for far-more-healthful sweet potatoes and paired the gnocchi with broccoli. The color combo is fabulous and so is the flavor, thanks to a sprinkling of Parmigiano-Reggiano. And while many gnocchi recipes include a cream- or butter-based sauce for tossing, these are served in a garlicky broth stirred together with a bit of Greek yogurt instead. They take a little while to make, but given the great taste and the powerhouse nutritional value of sweet potatoes—and just under 350 calories per serving—they’re more than worth the trouble.

There is much debate over whether chili should have beans in it. Some folks think beans make chili cheap—in the same way, they say, that breadcrumbs do to meatloaf. Actually, in both cases, those interloping ingredients contribute substantially to the dish. Breadcrumbs make meatloaf tender, while beans add texture and additional meatiness to chili—and lots of fiber and antioxidants, too.

A healthy amount of celery gives this traditionally rich seafood salad a good bit of crunch. The lightened-up lemony mayonnaise dressing would be delicious with any cold, steamed, or poached seafood, including crab, scallops, and lobster.

Because quiche is a custard, by definition it requires that a protein (egg) and fat (cream) mixture set up during baking but remain soft and silky when served at room temperature. Here, the cream has been eliminated completely, making a portion that is just over 200 calories. The flavor comes from caramelized onions, a little bit of bacon, and a small dose of an assertive cheese, such as Gruyère.

This recipe takes a little planning, as it needs to chill before cutting. It comes together in a snap, however, and is truly yummy—just like the Creamsicles you had as a kid!

These crunchy, chewy treats are sure to satisfy any sweet tooth! Try adding dried cherries or chopped bittersweet chocolate (depending on how many carbs you’ve had for dinner).

Serve with buttered and parslied orzo or small potatoes or with lots of crusty bread.

Serve with steamed green beans or broccoli, your choice, if you want to include a veggie on the menu.

Food Network is located at Chelsea Market, in Manhattan. The Lobster Place is a great seafood shop within this huge market. I made up this meal one night during a run of taping for 30-Minute Meals. I stopped into the market and took home pure white scrod, some tiny Manila clams, and a little pack of saffron powder as my inspiration. It was so delish that John and I ate it three nights in ten, sharing it with family and friends two of those evenings as the simplest, tastiest way we could think to entertain a crowd. Whether you’re feeding one or some, make a whole pot of this stoup (thicker than soup, thinner than stew), as the leftovers get even better!

This is a fun spin on traditional roasted turkey. It cooks evenly, slices beautifully, and cooks much more quickly than the whole bird. We’ve even used it on Turkey Day with great success. The Jaccard is a spring-loaded meat tenderizer that has fifteen, sixteen, or forty-eight blades, depending on the model you purchase. It creates tiny, evenly spaced holes throughout the flesh, shortening the muscle fibers. This allows seasonings to penetrate to the interior of the meat, speeds the cooking time, and helps it cook more evenly. It may seem counterintuitive, but it actually works very well. You can skip this step if you don’t have a Jaccard, but we really recommend keeping one in your kitchen. It’s a very handy tool to have around.

We call this Cheddar tofu because of the texture. Imagine soft tofu, silky against your tongue, infused with a rich Cheddar flavor. It’s pretty awesome stuff. You can use it in exactly the same way that you would real tofu. It happily sits center stage as the main component in a salad or soup, or it can be diced and incorporated into a dish much like gnocchi or small dumplings. We use both the high- and low-acyl gellans at a ratio of 0.2 percent of the weight of the other ingredients. The gellan makes it relatively heat stable, and it holds its shape beautifully when cut or molded.

This makes a gorgeous whipped topping that is fabulous on margaritas or strawberry lemonade. We’ve also been known to use it for garnishing fresh berries and various dessert preparations. It’s a nice introduction to using Methocel and xanthan gum together to create foaming action. Unlike whipped toppings made with other products, such as Versawhip, these preparations can tolerate heat and moderate amounts of fat in the mixture simply because Methocel is such a good emulsifier. In this recipe we are able to shear the Methocel directly into the base because we are working with an entirely liquid medium. For this recipe we use 1 percent Methocel F50 and 0.15 percent xantham gum.

This custard shows off the way that you can combine different types of carrageenans to create a custardlike dessert with a soft, tender texture that holds its shape beautifully. It gives you the gentle, set texture of a baked egg custard but it can be cooked on top of the stove. Beyond that, if you love peanut butter, you are going to be in hog heaven. It’s that good.

These white chocolate sheets are a wonderful example of the synergy between agar and locust bean gum. They are delicate and flexible, with a rich flavor. They can be draped across fruits, cheeses, or desserts. If you prefer, you can also let the chocolate set in one piece and slice it for serving as custard, or puree it for something softer and more pudding like. The sheets are best served cold, although they will hold their shape at room temperature.

Applesauce is a classic example of a delicious and down-home recipe that sometimes suffers from syneresis, or separation of liquid from the gel. In this recipe, we use crabapples for a slight twist on the original. We like them for their tartness and color; they make a beautiful pink sauce. You’ll find that crabapple sauce will make a striking counterpoint for a variety of dishes, both sweet and savory. The little bit of xanthan gum added at a ratio of 0.1 percent of the total weight of the other ingredients makes it almost perfect.

This recipe demonstrates the way that xanthan gum and Versawhip combine to form elegant and flavorful foams. Versawhip is an enzymatically treated soy protein that creates stable foam structures that can tolerate small amounts of acid but no fat. The whipped cherry juice is great over lime seltzer for a play on a lime rickey. It also works well sprinkled with chopped marcona almonds on top of marinated fish. The light, ethereal texture adds volume to dishes and the intense cherry melts on the palate, lingering so as to present more cherry than is actually there. The ratio of 0.15 percent xanthan gum and 1.5 percent Versawhip may be applied to many other liquid mediums.

Octopus is an acquired taste. People who enjoy it really love the meaty texture and slightly sweet taste. Here we’ve cooked it in oil flavored with garlic and smoked ham hocks. We like the gentle nutty flavor of rice bran oil, but you can substitute the vegetable oil or fat of your choice. The slow, gentle cooking leaves you with incredibly tender and flavorful meat.

This is a fun and unusual way to serve celery root.