Simple Dinner Party: Avocado, Orange and Kohlrabi Salad, Yucatán Pork Stew and Quinoa.

My favorite stew, it turns out, is a fabulous dinner party main dish. Not only does it taste great but all of the cooking and clean up is done long before guests arrive. It is pretty easy to put together and then just simmers for 4-5 hours.

Dinner party day at 1pm, getting started:

Yucatán Pork Stew. I first saw this recipe in a very fun newsmag called The Week, which had reprinted from Food and Wine. When I was visiting my sister in San Francisco we walked into Avedano's, her favorite local butcher shop and I saw a copy of the recipe on display. It had originated in that very shop! The only changes I've made to this recipe are that doubled the carrots and onion, and I serve the cilantro on the side. If I didn't have a 3 year old I'd probably throw some jalapeños into the stew to give it a little kick. Please note also that browning the pork may take up to 20+ minutes. Also, I take the lid off after the first hour and cook it for closer to 4-5 hours, rather than 3 so it cooks down a bit more and the house smells yummy. The rest you just throw together. Oh, and make sure you use a large pot, I like my 6 quart enameled cast iron pot, Absolutely delicious.

This will serve 7 hungry folks with several rounds of leftovers. Freezes great!

20 min before guests will arrive, start the quinoa.

Quinoa. 20 min before you are going to serve dinner, put 2 cups quinoa and 4 cups of cold water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil then cover and simmer about 20 min until water is gone and grain is a little fluffy. Toss lightly with a fork to lighten it up.

The salad can be made right before guests arrive, or as they are arriving.

Salad. Makes 6-7 plates.

• 1 head butter lettuce
• 3 ripe but not oversoft avocados cut into wedges then halved
• 3 seedless oranges cut into sections then halved- rind and white removed
• 2 small or one medium kohlrabi, grated
• 3 T cup olive oil
• 1 T fresh squeezed lime
• 3 T white wine vinegar
• 1/3 tsp brown sugar
• 1/3 tsp cumin
• 1/3 tsp ground black pepper
• salt to taste
• additional lime to taste

1. Wash and dry butter lettuce leaves, leave whole.
2. Whisk together dressing ingredients in a small bowl
3. Mix oranges and kohlrabi in medium bowl.
4. Pour dressing over oranges and kohlrabi and toss.
5. Add avocado and lightly toss

Place butter lettuce leaf or two on a small plate and top with a spoonful of avo mix.

Sorry no photos, I'll see if I can snap some the next time I make them.

But how do I find good recipes without gluten?

And while we're at it, let's add "without dairy" "without too many carbs" "with high omega-3" "without sugar?" And so on and so on.

Sitting where I sit, after 20 years of working on recipes that fit my family's dietary restrictions, it's easy. But I know that up front, when those first changes are being made, it can be quite daunting to say the least. So, where to start?

There are 3 main things I stress when working with folks who are making dietary changes.

1. You can enjoy food no matter what changes you decide to make, or have to make. How do I know this? From looking to the cookbook editor with a life threatening allergy to nuts, the food writer and recipe developer who learned in her 30's that she has a severe gluten intolerance, and the Foodie in San Francisco who cannot eat any saturated fat without having severe health repercussions, to name just a few. They're all people I know, and all people that have extremely satisfying culinary lives. Trust that you can do this.

2. Be willing to experiment. All cooks know that some recipes end up in the compost. If you don't try a new food or recipe though, you won't know if you like it. At our house I try at least one new recipe a week (okay, maybe every other week since our baby turned into a toddler with 8 hands. )

3. Think outside the box. Once you get the hang of cooking for whatever your needs are, you can start making subsitutions. The prosciutto and halibut recipe below for instance. You can't eat fish? Try it with chicken. You don't eat pork? Try wrapping it with a lightly steamed chard leaf and cook it in foil. Will this work? I have no idea. But, that's how you come up with new staple recipes that work for you. Honestly it is nary a recipe that I don't change somehow (note: this is not always the best idea with baking as baking is more science than cooking.)

So now, where to go for recipes?

First, my 2 current favorite websites.

1. Epicurious. You can type in an ingredient such as "kale" and it will come up with a list of recipes that have appeared in their magazines (Gourmet and Bon Appétit to name a few.) Two cool things about this site are that you can save your recipes with notes in your own 'recipe box' and you can read changes other people made to the recipes and how it turned out. This has taught me some great tricks and given me some great ideas.

2. Cookstr. This is a relatively new site that I am using more and more of late. Cookbook authors allow their recipes to be posted and you can then just click and buy if you find a book by a chef that you like. You can sign up for emails and you'll get 10 recipes on their theme of the week. They don't have the recipe box feature as above but I emailed them and it is apparently in the works. The best part of this site however is that you can search by dietary restriction! Most of the time it works swimmingly.

3. OK I know I said 2 but I'd also like to give a shout out to Post Punk Kitchen. It's not common that I recommend a vegan diet for my patients but for those who are already vegan, this is a very good resource. Just please, don't use margarine. Ick.

Other tips and tricks.

1. Clear an afternoon to sit in the cookbook section of your local bookstore. Peruse to your heart's content.

2. Send out an email and ask your friends for their favorite recipe (dairy free, wheat free, or whatever.)

3. Google. I know it's a bit desperate but sometimes I'll google something I'm looking for, like "bread machine spelt challah" or "vegan soy-free frosting." Over time you'll learn to review the recipes that come up and have a clue as to whether they may be worth trying or not.

Really though, have fun. If you choose to make changes, remember that it is a choice. If you have to make changes, remember that it is something you're doing that is good for your body. Enjoy yourself. Know that there are worlds of foods out there that you haven't even considered yet, and you may just like them.

In Health,
Dr Samantha

Edited to add: Thank you to the commenter who noted that I neglected to include Living Without magazine on my list. We have this in our waiting room (of course I read it cover to cover before anyone else even gets to see it!) and we love to recommend it to patients. I'll plan another post with GF resources in the near future.

Recipe: Green Bean 'French Fries'

We were doing a detox a few months back and I was looking for some new simple recipes. I came across a recipe for roasted green beans, which I adapted to the following and called Green Bean 'French Fries'- my 2 year old loves them!

Ingredients:
1 pound green beans
1.5 TBS olive oil
3 garlic cloves- crushed
salt
truffle salt (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Cut or pick off end of green beans, wash, and lay out on a dish towel to air dry for a little bit.
3. Mix olive oil and crushed garlic in small bowl.
4. Put green beans into a plastic bag (ziploc is easiest, produce bag will work), pour in oil/garlic mixture, sprinkle with desired amount of salt (less salt if you plan on adding truffle salt, see #7), shake bag to coat beans.
5. Arrange single layer on baking sheets and place in oven.
6. Cook for appx 20 minutes or until the beans are slightly browned in areas, turning with spatula a few times during cooking.
7. If desired sprinkle with a little bit of truffle salt for a gourmet touch.

In Health,
Dr Samantha