Read From Mama's Table to Mine Online
Authors: Bobby Deen
From Mama's Table to Mine (15 page)
Serve the beans over the rice, sprinkled with the scallions.
After: 10g fat, 273 calories
9g protein | 36g carbohydrate | 5g fiber | 537mg sodium
As an even healthier alternative, serve these red beans on brown rice. Or, for something a little more exotic tasting, try this dish with a brown and wild rice mix.
Serves 8
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 9-inch square baking pan with cooking spray.
Break the pasta into 3-inch pieces. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the pasta 1 minute less than the package directions suggest. Drain well.
In a large bowl, whisk together the half-and-half, yogurt, egg, egg white, Italian seasoning, and red pepper flakes. Whisk in 1 cup of the Monterey Jack and the feta.
Spread half of the pasta into the bottom of the pan. Top with half of the shrimp, all of the salsa, and the remaining ¼ cup Monterey Jack. Finish with the remaining pasta and shrimp and pour in the egg mixture. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until bubbly. Place under the broiler until golden, 2 to 4 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.
After: 6g fat, 256 calories
30g protein | 15g carbohydrate | 2g fiber | 646mg sodium
You’ll always find a variety of pastas in my pantry, from angel hair to rotelle to orzo. As my brother, Jamie, likes to say, “If you’ve got pasta in your pantry, you’ve got dinner halfway made.” And in recent years, I’ve branched out to the whole-grain pastas now available on supermarket shelves.
Serves 14 to 16
In a large bowl, stir together the salt, garlic powder, and black pepper. Add the meat and rub the mixture all over the pork. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 hours or overnight.
In a small saucepan, combine the vinegar, ketchup, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, mustard powder, chili powder, and cayenne. Simmer over low heat for 5 minutes.
Place the pork in a slow cooker. Pour over two-thirds of the vinegar mixture. Cook until the meat is falling-apart tender, 7 to 8 hours on low heat or 4 to 5 hours on high.
Remove the pork from the cooker and place on a rack with a rimmed baking sheet placed underneath. Let stand until cool enough to handle.
Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, warm the remaining vinegar mixture over low heat. Place the warm pork on a cutting board and shred or chop the meat into bite-size pieces, discarding any fat or skin. Place the pork in a large bowl, add the sauce to taste, and mix well.
After: 5g fat, 216 calories
34g protein | 7g carbohydrate | 0g fiber | 417mg sodium
Nutritional count based on 15 servings
I like to serve this pulled pork wrapped in big, crisp butter lettuce leaves. The crunchy lettuce balances nicely with the soft, tender pork filling. It’s a great low-carb dinner that’s just as fun to assemble as it is to eat.
Serves 4
After: 4g fat, 326 calories
25g protein | 46g carbohydrate | 3g fiber | 640mg sodium
When I’ve got a hankering for seafood, I sometimes swap out the chicken for some plump and tasty shrimp. I just add the peeled and deveined shrimp to the pot during the last 5 to 7 minutes of cooking time. Delicious.
Serves 8
In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the pasta 1 minute less than the package directions suggest. Drain well.
Return the pasta pot to the stove and melt the butter in the pot over medium-high heat. Whisk in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Slowly whisk in the milk and simmer until bubbling and slightly thick. Whisk in the Cheddar, Parmesan, cream cheese, Worcestershire sauce, mustard powder, and pepper to taste.
Stir the pasta back into the pot and cook until heated through, about 1 minute. Season with some more salt and pepper and serve.
After: 7g fat, 293 calories
15g protein | 45g carbohydrate | 4g fiber | 199mg sodium
This mac’s got all the makings of my classic pimiento cheese, so why not add some chopped pimiento if you’ve got some on hand? The pimiento adds a nice tangy note and an eye-catching pop of color.
MY FAMILY OWES A GREAT DEBT to the humble sandwich. As the undeniable star of my Mama’s first food business, The Bag Lady, the sandwich set us on an unbelievable journey in the food world that continues to amaze me to this day. Who knew that when Jamie and I were running all over Savannah delivering tasty bag lunches, that tiny business would grow into the hugely popular restaurant it is today. So, as you can imagine, I never take a sandwich for granted.
For my family, a sandwich never meant a plain old slice of turkey with mayonnaise (although I wouldn’t knock that in a pinch). Oh no, for the Deens, building the better sandwich is well and truly a competitive art. You’re adding peppers to your sandwich? I will do you one better and add some roasted chile to mine. You’re heaping some salad onto that sandwich? Look out, I’ve just piled some quick Southern slaw on mine. Sandwich building is serious business, folks, and less is most definitely not more. That’s why my sandwiches have names like
Overstuffed Dagwood Sandwiches
and
Bobby’s Turkey and Cheese Power Wrap
. They are a meal, y’all! That’s just good sense and good for you, because, if your sandwich is packed with flavor, you’re going to feel more satisfied. And when you’re satisfied, that means less picking at the chips on the side.
Spending so much time recently in New York working on my TV show, I’ve been inspired by the sandwich culture there. New York is such a fast city that the sandwich is the perfect way to get a meal in and still stay on the go. I love that it’s a meal that I can eat standing up. In a tip of my hat to New York, I’ve taken a crack at the ultimate New York indulgence sandwich, and I’ve made it healthier. Once you’ve tried my
Crispy, Crunchy Reubens
, you may never go back to the traditional Reuben. The secret is light rye crispbread in place of rye bread.