The Chew Sept. 26, 2011 Carla's Fried Apple Pancakes, Michael Symon's Pork & Beans, Ozzified!

On today’s The Chew, Michael Symon cooked up some Pork & Beans & repeatedly made it a point to mention he included kale in deference to Daphne Oz & her dad, Dr. Mehmet Oz’s healthy sensiblilities. His recipe is here: http://beta.abc.go.com/shows/the-chew/recipes/Michael-Symon-Pork-and-Beans , but I made it for dinner tonight with a few alterations that Dr. Oz (and my pantry) would support.   

I Ozzified Michael Symon’s Pork & Beans as follows:

• ·         I used chicken instead of pork, a protein that’s a lot more in line with what Dr. Oz would eat.  
• I didn’t have any prosciutto, so I Ozzified it by using ½ slice of turkey ham per pounded out cutlet instead
•   I also didn’t have any parsley (my herb garden died while I was out of town) so I used some nori (toasted seaweed) from my pantry. 
•  I swapped the white flour for whole wheat flour & seasoned it with low sodium Bacon Salt. It’s wonderful stuff that can be bought online or if you’re lucky, at your local grocery store.  
•  I used a non-stick pan, omitted the butter & added just a little bit of olive oil. 
•  I didn’t have any shallots, so I’m used red onions instead which Daphne’s dad, Dr. Oz touts as a great ovarian cancer preventative & is a whole lot cheaper to use.
• I used pre-cut, pre-washed, packaged organic kale
•  I had no white beans on hand, so I used low sodium canned garbanzo beans, another one of Dr. Oz’s superfoods. 
• I didn’t have an orange, so I used ¼ cup 100% pomegranate juice which is about the same amount of juice in a medium orange, and the zest of an organic lemon.

I did use my Microplane to grate the zest. Had to love how the Microplane was the first gadget recommended by The Chew. Doesn’t just about everyone who watches food shows already have one?  See how I made this:

Also on today’s The Chew, Carla, one of my all-time favorite Bravo cheftestants, made an updated version of Fried Apple Pancake Rings.  http://beta.abc.go.com/shows/the-chew/recipes/Carla-Hall-Fried-Apple-Pancake-Rings  Here’s how I Ozzified them for dessert tonight:

·         used whole-grain, high protein pancake mix

·         threw in some psyllium husks for even more fiber

·         substituted sparkling water for plain water to make the batter even fluffier

I was surprised Daphne Oz didn’t know what pumpkin pie spice is…pumpkin pie is a dessert made from VEGETABLES!!!  You’d think it would be an Oz family favorite.

I also skipped making the apple cider syrup. It’s hard to find an American one here out of season. Here in AZ, the store shelves pretty much only have ciders made from Chinese apples. I don’t eat or drink anything from China, and not because of Dr. Oz. His show on arsenic in apple juice just confirmed what I already believed after premium dog food made with that crappy Chinese wheat gluten killed my Yorkie.  

Didn't matter...they tasted just fine with a light dusting of cinnamon, another one of Dr. Oz's recommended spices.