Recipes Inspired by Supermarket Dishes

Here are some recipes inspired by some of the interesting prepared dishes I found in supermarkets near me:

Grilled Corn With Cilantro Butter

6 large ears of corn, husks removed
2 tablespoons whipped butter
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh cilantro

• Preheat barbecue to medium-high heat. Coat ears lightly with canola cooking spray.
• Grill corn until tender and charred in spots (about 10 minutes).
• Add the cilantro and whipped butter to a small cup and stir with fork to blend well.
• When corn is ready, remove the ears from grill and spread a teaspoon of cilantro butter all over the outside of each ear.

Yield: 6 servings

Per serving: 156 calories, 4 g protein, 30 g carbohydrate, 4 g fat, 1.8 g saturated fat, 1.2 g monounsaturated fat, 1 g polyunsaturated fat, 7 mg cholesterol, 3.5 g fiber, 47 mg sodium. Calories from fat: 21%.

Olive Salad

This dish was inspired by an olive salad I sampled at a nearby supermarket's olive bar. It's wonderful on crackers or as a spread on sandwiches. It can also be used in most recipes calling for tapenade.

1/2 cup black olives, pitted
1/2 cup green olives, pitted
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon capers, drained and rinsed well
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped red bell pepper
1 teaspoon lemon zest, finely chopped
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper (add more to taste if desired)
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

• Add olives, garlic, capers, red pepper, and lemon zest to the bowl of a small food processor and press "chop" briefly. If you don't have a mini food processor, put the ingredients on a cutting board and chop well with a knife or chopper tool. Add the chopped mixture to a small bowl.
• Add pepper, mustard, and olive oil to the olive mixture and stir well to blend.

Yield: 1 cup olive salad (8 servings of 2 tablespoons each)

Per serving: 47 calories, 0.2 g protein, 1 g carbohydrate, 4.7 g fat, .6 g saturated fat, 3.7 g monounsaturated fat, 0.4 g polyunsaturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 0.3 g fiber, 276 mg sodium. Calories from fat: 90%.

Tuxedo Cookies

1/4 cup whole-wheat flour
1/4 cup unbleached white flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
2 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate
3 tablespoons less-fat margarine (with 8 grams fat per tablespoon) or butter
2 tablespoons cooled espresso or double-strength coffee
1 tablespoon chocolate syrup
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup egg substitute
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup white chocolate chips

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two thick baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
• Combine flours, baking powder, and salt in a 2-cup measure and stir to blend.
• Place chocolate chips, baking chocolate, margarine, coffee, and chocolate syrup in a medium-size microwave-safe bowl. Cook in microwave on HIGH for 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from microwave and stir to finish melting the chocolate. Set aside to cool slightly.
• Add sugar, egg substitute, and vanilla to mixing bowl and beat on medium-high speed for 2 minutes. Reduce to low speed and beat in the chocolate mixture just until combined. Gently fold in the flour mixture with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula.
• With a cookie scoop, scoop the cookie dough onto the prepared pans. Bake for 8 minutes or until the surface of the cookie is dry (do not overcook). Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet, and then peel them off of the parchment.
• While cookies are cooling, place the white chips in a 2-cup glass measure. Microwave on LOW until chips are melting, once stirred with spoon (about 1 minute).
• Dip the edge of each cookie (about a fourth of the cookie) into the melted chocolate and let the chocolate harden by placing the cookies on waxed paper.

Yield: 24 cookies

Per cookie: 131 calories, 6 g protein, 16 g carbohydrate, 5 g fat, 2.5 g saturated fat, 1.8 g monounsaturated fat, 0.5 g polyunsaturated fat, 1 mg cholesterol, 1 g fiber, 120 mg sodium. Calories from fat: 36%.

Published May 3, 2007.

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