Eating healthy doesn’t deserve its expensive reputation and Ellie has some great ideas for nutritious meals that won’t break the bank. There’s a scrumptious Chopped Nicoise Salad that’s so good for you and cheap, cheap, cheap, plus a 3 Bean and Beef Chili party for 6 people--with all the sides including a cool Green Avocado Dip for just 5 bucks a head. She'll also share tips and strategies to make your money go much further.
The secret to happy dieting? Count the flavor, not the calories with fast and delicious fruit vinegars, caramelized veggies, a citrusy halibut salad, even a bit of rich zabaglione with strawberries. Heaven (not heavy)!
Gameplan
Day Before Dinner:
Prepare honey zabiglione for dessert
Reduce tomato juice for a broken vinaigrette
Make caramelized onion and mango sauces to be drizzled on zucchini batons for appetizer
Finish broken tomato vinaigrette dressing
Day of Dinner:
Wrap proscuitto around zucchini batons & saute them
Half Hour Before Dinner:
Make corn and fava bean salad for halibut
Makes dressing for corn & fava bean salad
Season and pre-saute the halibut
Saute zucchini batons with mango and caramelized onion dressings drizzled on top of the batons
Serve zucchini appetizers to guests
Dinner Party:
Finish halibut in the oven
Plate and serve dinner
Dave shows how much bang you can get for your bird when he throws a dinner party that can fit everyone's budget. His secret? He uses the leftovers from the previous night’s chicken rotisserie and rice dinner and creates a fabulous Latin-themed menu. There's no need to go to the supermarket because Dave shows you how to transform the leftover chicken into a couple of mouth-watering and economical dishes for later. Recipes Include: Chicken and Bean Puff Pasty Empanadas, Tomato Pineapple Salsa Fresca, Mexican Chicken Stew, Banana Fritters with Powdered Sugar.
It's a transatlantic brunch for Mary McCartney and her friends, sisters-in-law Cameron Diaz and Nicole Richie. The menu includes Homemade Granola, zesty Lime Coconut Yogurt, Simple Chia Seed Pudding and Minted Berries, which all come together in a delicious Brunch Bowl. Mary also makes a stunning Deluxe Hash Brown Skillet piled high with Cumin-Spiced Beans and other savory fixins. In Los Angeles, Cameron and Nicole set up with a spread of Mary's recipes and join her to share great eats and the secret to Cameron's Spritzer.
It's the most-delicious invite in London as passionate vegetarian Mary McCartney puts her own spin on American classics for lunch with her friend, actor Stanley Tucci. A busy mom and photographer, Mary shares McCartney family stories while making easy, healthy eats like Black Bean Burgers, Thousand Island Dressing, her Auntie's Caraway Slaw and Mom-inspired Nutty Brownie Thins. She shares local haunts including the deli she has been visiting since she was a kid, and she pulls the whole meal together in a fun pin board featuring the food, Stanley and her family.
For Nigella, entertaining means spending time with friends, not anguishing alone in the kitchen, and the taste of the food is far more important than its presentations. To take the strain out of home entertaining Nigella goes a Middle Eastern style meze. The food itself is not all from the Middle East, rather it's the pattern of eating that's emulated, with a series of dishes, including hummus with yogurt, olive oil and toasted pinenuts, lime-sharp guacamole studded with green chili, garlic and prosciutto with beans. This is easy cooking and easy eating.
Music legend Bryan Adams joins Mary McCartney for some delicious plant-based cooking, McCartney style. Bryan rolls up his sleeves to help make a super speedy Skillet Flatbread Caponata Pizza before spilling the beans in a quick-fire Q&A. Then, Mary shares her family's favorite comfort snack, a Towering Nacho Traybake, and a taste of her childhood with a quick and easy spin on her Mom's Cream of Tomato Soup, perfect for a picnic in the park with her BFF and Texas lead singer Sharleen Spiteri. No comfort lineup would be complete without something sweet and chocolatey, and Mary's No-Cook Chocolate and Raspberry Tart fits the bill perfectly.
Michael Chiarello shares great tips for a simple cheese plate and great wines to make you the most sophisticated, relaxed host around. Throw open the doors and let them come!
Gameplan
Day Before Party:
Mix beginnings of focaccia together, let stand for 15 minutes to rise
Make white bean puree for bruschetta, refrigerate
Add rest of flour to risen focaccia dough, mix fruit topping
Mix half of fruit topping into dough, knead with hands into ball, refrigerate overnight.
2 Hours Before Party:
Take focaccia bread dough, mold into baking pan, cover and set aside to rise again.
Slice bruschetta for white bean dip, bake in oven
Assemble, puree and refrigerate Melon soup.
Finish bruschetta by coating with garlic and extra virgin olive oi
Bake focaccia in oven till light brown
1 Hour Before Party:
Top focaccia with fruit mixture, bake for 7 or 8 more minutes
Set up cheese course on tray with fruits, breads, garnishes and crackers. Leave it out to get it to room temperature.
Roast and bake almonds
Set out wines
Wine Recommendation
Sauvignon Blanc (New Zealand or California Central Coast); Syrah (Napa, Rhone, or Australian)