By: David Jones - Tasty25 Magazine
w/ additional comments by: Kent B. - MSTv

The first month of 2013 is virtually gone, New Orleans is hosting another Superbowl and Mardi Gras is building up steam for its February 12th finale.  Hmm, sounds like we all have a lot out there to embrace and enjoy, right? 

But, trying to do even half of all this activity is bound to take its toll on anyone.  So, skip the Popeye's and countless other junk food options out there( Hey, I know they're quick and handy. But, we're talking about staying healthy to party harder for another year!!  Jeez! )  and opt for a healthy & yummy, energy-packed meal!

So be you natives or visitors and whether you're in a house or hotel room, this strawberry/peach & chicken salad is easy to make and will give you the energy to face all this insanity going on around us.  But, Angela ain't here to amen my claims, so I'll let Tasty25.com editor and boss, David Jones take this one.   David??

D.J. - It’s never a bad idea to whip up a balanced salad in the kitchen for lunch or dinner! Check out Episode 2 of Tasty25 TV, as we bring you a Strawberry & Peach Salad w/ Chicken recipe submitted by a very special Tasty25 contributor - Chef Dana Herbert of New Castle, Delaware.

Chef Hebert recently competed for Buddy Valastro’s 8-week baking contest “Next Great Baker” on the cable television network TLC™, and won first place! His culinary creations have also been featured on several other cable TV networks, including WeTV™ and QVC™, and it’s an honor to welcome this world-class baker & food enthusiast to our food conscious community.

His salad recipe is a complete meal consisting of only 390 calories per serving, contains 33% of your daily Vitamin A recommendation, and over 124% of your Vitamin C! Give Chef Dana’s recipe a try, and let us know what you think by rating and/or commenting. Enjoy, be food conscious, and Happy Cooking!

By:  Angela Frances - MSTv Food Correspondent

Turkey can be used as a healthy, nutritional substitute for beef in many dishes such as lasagna or burgers. Just make sure to add extra seasonings and flavorings to the meat so you don't miss that extra flavor the fat from the beef imparts.

In this dish we substitute turkey breast in place of veal scaloppine.
The nutritional value of turkey is highly notable being packed with protein (32 grams per 4 oz. serving), vitamins B3 and B6, cancer fighting selenium, and it is low in saturated fat.

Yield 5 portions 4 oz. each. 

To roast the shallots:
15 Shallots, peeled
4 fl. oz. Olive oil
1/2 tsp. Dried thyme
1/2 tsp. Coarse salt
1/4 tsp. Coarsely ground black pepper

1. Pour the olive oil over the shallots and sprinkle with thyme, salt and pepper. Toss or mix until vegetables are well coated with oil. Add more if necessary.
2. Bake at 375 F for about 45 minutes until the shallots are tender and slightly browned. Turn or stir the shallots several times during cooking to be sure of even cooking. Do not allow them to become too browned, or they may be bitter.

Now, the turkey:

1 1/4 lb. Boneless, skinless turkey breast
7 1/2 oz. Shiitake mushrooms, caps only
Salt to taste
to taste White pepper for dredging White or wheat flour
1 fl. oz. Canola oil
1/4 oz. Butter (1/2 Tbs.)
15 Roasted shallots

1. Cut turkey breast across the grain into 10 scaloppine, about 2 oz. each.
2. Lightly flatten each piece with a meat mallet.
3. Refrigerate until ready to cook.
4. Slice the mushroom caps into strips about 1/4 inch wide.
5. Dry the meat, season with salt and pepper, and dredge in flour. Shake off excess. (Do not do this step until immediatly before cooking.)
6. Heat the oil in a large saute pan until very hot. Add the turkey in a single layer and saute over high heat just until lightly browned on both sides.
7. Remove the meat from the pan and keep warm. Spoon or drain off any excess oil from the pan.
8. Add the butter to the pan. When it is hot, add the mushrooms and saute for about one minute, just until the mushrooms are cooked.. Adjust the seasoning.
9. Place the meat on hot dinner plates and top with mushrooms. Arrange three roasted shallots on each plate.

By: Angela Frances - MSTv Food Correspondent

Tandori chicken is especially popular in Indian restaurants in North America and Europe. In the original version, whole chickens are marinated in yogurt and spices, usually strong colored with an intense red food coloring, then impaled on skewers and lowered into the tandoor.

The tandoor is a clay oven widely used in northern India. With wood or coals as fuel, it cooks food quickly at a high temperatures. Western kitchens can approximate cooking this dish on a grill or in a very hot oven.

Our chicken marinade is similar to typical ones for tandoori chicken, but without using of butter or food coloring.

First, let's make the ginger oil:  Yield: 8 oz.

1. Place chicken in a ziploc bag. Poor all ingredients (except for ginger oil) over chicken. Marinate at least 8 hours or overnight, turning once.

2. Remove chicken from marinade. Reserve marinade. Broil or grill the chicken basting with marinade several times during cooking until done.

3. Shortly before chicken is done, brush the pieces once or twice with ginger oil.

Serve over brown rice cooked in chicken stock. Remember when cooking brown rice, you must use two times the amount of liquid than when cooking white rice. Also, twice the amount of cook time is needed.

Enjoy!!

By: Angela Frances - MSTv Food Correspondant

Using a salt substitute in place of table salt is a great way to control your sodium intake. here is a recipe packed with dried herbs to give your dish that added flavor you desire from salt.

Keep this blend on your table for daily use on every meal. If you like it spicy, add 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper.

1 tsp. marjoram
1 tsp. black pepper
Crush or grind together all ingredients. Cover tightly. Let stand overnight before using. For your table use. 

By: Angela Stabler - MSTv Food Correspondent & Critic

This dish is a healthy take on an American classic. You won't miss the mayo or fried cooking method. Here it is all about the crabmeat and the traditional flavorings. Crab cakes are a definite staple on any Louisiana menu. You can enjoy these ones at only 150 calories per serving. Enjoy!

Serves 5

Steps:
1. Cook potatoes in boiling water, cool, rice with potato ricer.
2. Pick crabmeat to remove bits of shell. Place crabmeat in a bowl.
3. In another bowl, mix together 1 1/2 teaspoons of chives, parsley, Old Bay Seasoning, mustard, thyme, and riced potatoes. Add crabmeat and fold gently, careful to not break up the crabmeat.
4. In stainless-steel bowl, place 1 1/2 egg whites, lemon juice, and white wine. Whip to form stiff peaks.
5. Fold whipped egg whites into crab mixture and mold into 3 ounce crab cakes.
6. Slightly whip (only to break up) 1/2 egg white in a metal pan. Mix together bread crumbs and chives in a second pan. Dip the crab cakes in egg white, then in crumbs mixed with chives.
7. Heat nonstick pan to medium to medium high heat. Spray pan with vegetable oil cooking spray and saute crab cakes to a crisp golden brown.

Serve with salsa or over a bed of spicy greens.

By:  Susan Langenhennig, The Times-Picayune
January 02, 2013

Ten years ago,  Magazine Street was home to about 25 restaurants; mostly clustered on a handful of blocks. Today, there’s more than three times that number.

New Orleans, as a whole, has seen a surge of new eateries since Hurricane Katrina. But the growth rate on Magazine Street is particularly eyebrow-raising.

The 4200 block is a good example. As of this month, there are five restaurants on that block, of which three are newcomers that opened within the past year – Magasin, Saucy’s BBQ and N’awlin’s Jazz Café. Another, Dominique’s on Magazine, is scheduled to debut in the next month.

From a diner’s perspective, that one block now offers Vietnamese food (Magasin), barbecue (Saucy's), pizza (Theo's Pizza), traditional Creole cooking (N'awlin's Jazz Cafe) and fine dining (La Petite Grocery and soon Dominique's on Magazine). If you widen your view a bit to include the few blocks around it, you also have Mona’s Café for Middle Eastern fare and Nirvana for Indian, both of which have been open for several years.

N’awlin’s Jazz Café, at 4206 Magazine St., took over the former C’est La Vie bistro space two weeks ago. It’s the second location for Arthur and Shawnette Humphrey, who also own a café and packaged spice shop in the French Market, where Arthur Humphrey’s grandfather started a produce stand in the 1920s.

With such a constant game of musical chairs, it’s hard to pin down an exact number of restaurants on Magazine Street.  On his New Orleans Menu website, local food critic, radio host and cookbook author Tom Fitzmorris keeps a running tally of operating eateries around the New Orleans area. He says the number on Magazine Street has “passed 60.”

His count, though, doesn’t include take-out-only places, bars with food, fast-food places and national chains, such as Jamba Juice, the juice bar franchise that opened recently on the corner of Magazine and Louisiana Avenue.