A little planning ahead can make all the difference when watching your weekly budget. Dave discusses the pit-falls of coming home from work and having take-out because there is nothing to eat or cook with. He solves this dilemma by cooking several dishes on the weekend and saving them in the fridge and freezer for the mid-week crunch. He'll show you three one-pot main courses and a salad that can be prepped ahead leaving only one or two additional purchases to round out each meal. Recipes include: Boston Lettuce Salad with Avocado Lime Dressing, Moroccan Chickpea Stew, Braised Shoulder Lamb Chops with Kale and Beans and Red Wine Pot Roast.
The key to any great meal is that is has to be full of flavor. Emeril shows us that making sure the spice and the flavor is right in a meal is all about having the right herbs. In this episode you will leave with the know how on how to make flavorful dishes. He introduces viewers to a Chimichurri herb mixture that makes the flavor of a pork chop jump off of the plate. Then it's a grilled swordfish with a citrus herb vinaigrette that takes this fish dish over the top. Then he brings it on home with a baby lettuce salad with herbed red wine vinaigrette and shaved parmigiano reggiano. It's all about unbelievable flavors.
Emeril focuses on the "Farm to Table" movement in Florida. His first stop is at "The Floridian" in downtown St. Augustine. There, the owners are working hard to be as farm-to-table as possible. The chef has a farming background and actually ran a farmers market prior to opening the restaurant and tries to use those experiences to help stay true to the restaurant's philosophy. Next, Emeril travels to Boca Raton to a restaurant big on local sourcing and securing most ingredients from local fisherman and farmers. Then Emeril heads to Miami where he visits an urban farm located right near Miami International Airport. The farm mostly grows herbs and also serves as a place city-based school children can come to learn about where their food comes from. Emeril finishes the episode by preparing a farm to table dish of his own, Lettuce Wraps with Tuna, Ponzu, Jalapeno and Sriracha.
Chef George Stella is right at home as he cooks up a smorgasbord of his favorite Italian dishes. He assembles a beautiful antipasto platter of sliced meats and cheeses topped with fresh basil that takes only a few minutes to prepare. He makes an Anaheim shrimp scampi with spaghetti squash in lieu of pasta; a radicchio salad with a simple and light raspberry vinaigrette; and he finishes the meal off with low carb neopolitan parfaits topped with strawberries and mint for garnish.
Top 5 Tips
1. Don't peel cucumbers -- the skin is full of vitamins and nutrients.
2. Remember to buy unsweetened cocoa powder for the parfaits, not a cocoa drink mix.
3. Radicchio is a great Italian lettuce you can buy in most grocery stores. Cut the core off the bottom, throw it away, and peel off the leaves.
4. If you can't find fresh raspberries for the salad, substitute frozen ones without added sugar.
5. Stock your pantry with a low carb staple: hearts of palm.