Senior community chef focuses on dishes with nutrition and flavor
Just because you or a loved one is living in a senior community, doesn’t mean the food has to be sub par.
In our kitchen today, James Krebs, Regional Culinary Support, Traditions at North Willow, and Libby Mellinger, Executive Director, Traditions at North Willow, share some of their residents’ favorite dishes, including a Spring Salad and Sage and Lyme Chicken Breast with Roasted Asparagus and Baby Carrots!
Candied Walnuts
Serving size: 3 oz
Yield: 3 cups
Ingredients:
3 cups of walnut halves
2 T of soft unsalted butter
½ t cayenne pepper
¼ t freshly ground pepper
½ cup of granulated sugar
¼ cup Brown Sugar
2 egg whites
Pinch of salt
Instructions:
1) Pre heat oven to 350 degrees F
2) Combine salt, sugars, black pepper, cayenne in a small bowl and mix, set aside
3) Lightly beat the egg whites in a separate bowl.
4) In a separate bowl add the walnuts, then butter and egg whites, add the dry seasoning and mix well.
5) Bake at 350 degrees F for 5-6 minutes until toasted but not dark.
Raspberry Vinaigrette:
Serving size 2 oz per salad
Yield: 8 fl oz
Ingredients:
½ cup of fresh raspberries
¼ cup of extra virgin olive oil
3 T fresh lemon juice
1 T honey
Kosher salt to taste
Black pepper to taste
2 T of dried basil
2 T of cider vinegar
4 T of granulated sugar
Instructions:
1) Mix all ingredients in a blender except for the olive oil. (use a standard home kitchen blender)
2) Turn the blender on and slowly add the olive oil to incorporate.
3) Taste dressing and adjust to your liking.
4) Finish blending until the olive oil is incorporated. Place in refrigerator when finished.
Note: If you are using a bigger blender multiply the recipe X 2 to for better consistency.
Roasted Asparagus with Baby Carrots
Yield: 4
Serving Size: 4 asparagus for each plate
Ingredients:
1 stalk of Fresh Asparagus, washed and cleaned
1 T olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste (season)
1 T fresh garlic minced
8 oz of baby carrots, 2 oz per plate
Instructions:
1) Pre heat oven to 375 degree F.
2) Cut the ends off of the asparagus and throw away ends.
3) Blanch carrots in hot boiling water for 3-4 minutes, they should still have a slight crunch to them, cool in ice-water bath until ready for use.
4) Combine all ingredients in a bowl and toss and mix evenly.
5) Place asparagus and carrots on a baking pan and bake for 5-6 minutes until soft with a little crunch.
Chicken breast with sage and Thyme Butter sauce
Serving size: 4 oz
Yield: 4
Ingredients:
1 lb chicken breast
1/8 tsp kosher salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/8 cup of flour (all purpose)
2 T unsalted butter
½ tsp sage
2 tsp shallots (minced)
½ tsp dried thyme
1 T fresh lemon juice
1 T of extra virgin olive oil
1 T of chardonnay (white wine)
Instructions:
1) Place each breast between 2 sheets of plastic wrap and pound to ½ inch thickness.
2) Season with salt and pepper.
3) Add the olive oil to the skillet and place on medium heat.
4) Place the flour in a shallow dish and add the sage and thyme, dredge the chicken in the flour.
5) Add chicken to the hot pan, sear until golden brown and flip chicken breast over.
6) Remove chicken from pan and place on a sheet, bake chicken on 350 degrees F until internal temperature reaches 165 F.
7) Add the 1 T of butter and shallots to the pan and cook on medium heat, being careful not to burn the shallots.
8) Add white wine and lemon juice and reduce. Then finish with the rest of the butter and drizzle over the chicken breast.
Spinach Salad
Yield: 4 servings
Serving size: 2-3 ounces
Ingredients:
8 oz Fresh Spinach, cleaned
8 whole Strawberries, cleaned and washed (2 per salad), sliced and cut in 4
1 handful of candied walnuts per each salad
8 T of Crumbled gorgonzola cheese, (2 T per salad)
2 whole fresh pears sliced thinly for garnish on each salad
8 oz of Raspberry vinaigrette, 2 oz per salad
Instructions:
1) In a large bowl, mix all ingredients except for the dressing and pears.
2) Divide evenly on 4 plates and garnish with the sliced pears.
3) Serve with dressing on the side to avoid discoloring and wilting of the lettuce.
To learn more, visit www.traditionsatnorthwillow.com.
SEGMENT IS SPONSORED BY TRADITIONS AT NORTH WILLOW