We are all finding whatever way we can to survive this recession. One thing for certain is that we are staying at home more. We watch On Demand, Pay per View, TV programs, in stead of going out. We entertain at home or not at all and we decide to take day trips or work in the garden on our flowers or even planting a vegetable garden, or maybe doing improvements or repairs around the house instead of taking vacations. We might do day trips with the family and actually enjoy our local flavors. Maybe we are getting to know our children a little better.

The other practical and healthy thing we are doing is buying fresh foods and preparing them at home in the kitchen or outside on the barbecue. Many of us want to eat in more healthy fashion and aren't visiting that greasy fast food restaurant around the corner as much as in the past. We want to have the best cookware, cutlery and silverware that we can within our budget to make this even easier and more enjoyable. Our store has fabulous premium cookware, cutlery and silverware (flatware) as well as barbecue tool sets. I want to share a couple old recipes of my Mother's who was a wonderful cook and spoiled us horribly with her wonderful cuisine. You can adapt many recipes to the Waterless grease control cookware and cut back on the amount of fats added to the meal.

VEAL SCALOPPINI:

Take 1 and a half pounds of veal thinly sliced. You can buy scaloppini cuts at the grocery store but my family has always bought veal shoulder roasts and sliced the amount we felt was needed for the numbers we were serving. Trim the fat, skin and gristle from the veal.

Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons butter for sautéing the mushrooms and onions

2 Tablespoons of oil (Olive oil is what I like)

A little Garlic powder but personally I have changed this to pressing a clove of garlic

1 sliced and cut medium onion

Mushrooms sliced (amount varies with your taste)

1 cup chicken broth

½ cup dry white wine (can drink the rest…)

¼ cup tomato juice

Drench the veal pieces in flour that has salt and pepper to taste added to it. Pre-heat skillet to 350 or medium heat if not electric. Sauté onions and then mushrooms in the 2 tablespoons of butter, remove from skillet. You can add the 2 tablespoons of olive oil (could use olive oil for the sautéing if you wish as well) then add the flour drenched veal to skillet and brown on both sides. Add back the sautéed onions and mushrooms along with the chicken broth, wine (can always use a little more wine according to taste), and tomato juice. Reduce heat to simmer, cover and cook for 30 minutes. You can add more chicken broth as needed so that you have nice gravy. Towards the end you can mix in a little more flour to thicken the gravy.

You can serve this with rice or small potatoes, or of course with pasta with butter only or white sauce. A good green salad with vinaigrette and fresh French or Italian bread would round out this meal to perfection. I would serve it with a nice Pinot Noir or dry Chardonnay, Pinot Griggio, Sauvignon Blanc or …you get the idea.

The recipe was used by my Mother over the years. My sister had a copy but has altered it a little. I have mentioned some healthy alterations that my wife and I lean towards. The less oil used the better but olive oil goes nicely with Mediterranean dishes and is healthier than most other oils. Any oil is 120 calories per Tablespoon and there are no exceptions to this. However olive oil actually breaks down unsaturated fatty acids and helps to lower cholesterol rather than add to the problems. Silvia and I tend to use natural fresh ingredients where possible (for example garlic cloves over garlic powder or garlic salt). They bring more flavors out.

This is a loose recipe with lots of opportunities to individualize. Have fun. Always use good quality cookware where possible.

Jay Mawhinney