Morgan - Skinny dips : 60 recipes for dips, spreads, chips, and salsas on the lighter side of delicious

60 Recipes for Dips, Spreads, Chips, and Salsas
on the Lighter Side of Delicious

by Diane Morgan | Photographs by Sheri Giblin

Skinny Dips

Text copyright 2010 by Diane Morgan.
Photographs copyright 2010 by Sheri Giblin.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form
without written permission from the publisher.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available.
ISBN 978-1-4521-0024-1

Designed by Alice Chau
Photo assisting by Shay Harrington
Prop styling by Christine Wolheim
Food styling by Erin Quon

Chronicle Books LLC
680 Second Street
San Francisco, CA 94107
http://www.chroniclebooks.com

Best Foods and Hellmanns mayonnaise is a registered trademark of Unilever Supply Chain, Inc.; Diamond Crystal salt is a registered trademark of Cargill Inc.; Drop Top amber ale is a registered trademark of Widmer Brothers Brewing Company; Hidden Valley salad dressings is a registered trademark of HV Food Products Company; Kettle Brand chips is a registered trademark of Kettle Foods, Inc.; Microplane grater is a registered trademark of Grace Manufacturing; Silpat baking mat is a registered trademark of ETS Guy Demarle; Sterno fuel is a registered trademark of Sterno Group LLC;Tabasco hot sauce is a registered trademark of McIlhenny Company.

To Greg, my soul mate, for being so supportive,
tasting everything with a discerning palate,
and never complaining about having a selection
of dips and chips and calling it dinner.

Who knew that one could develop an entire cookbooks worth of recipes and not gain weight? Skinny Dips has been another terrific project to work on with Chronicle Books. Months of chopping, dicing, slicing, pureing, and pulsing has led to a collection of big-flavored, full-bodied, party-worthy dips and a crunchy selection of dippers. None of this book would have been possible without the support of my colleagues, family, and friends.

My sincerest thanks to the following:

The wonderful team at Chronicle Books, especially Bill LeBlond for being such a thoughtful editor, Amy Treadwell for years of inspiration and support, Sarah Billingsley for keeping my books on track, Peter Perez for his friendship and marketing smarts, and David Hawk for his responsiveness and forward-thinking ways of publicizing books.

Production Coordinator Ben Kasman

Managing Editor Doug Ogan

Photographer Sheri Giblin

Designer Alice Chau

Copyeditor Jonathan Kauffman

My agent, Lisa Ekus, for her sage advice and continuous enthusiasm, and everyone else at The Lisa Ekus Group for their dedicated support.

Andrea Slonecker, my trusted and dedicated assistant on this project; a huge thank-you for all your hard work.

Garrett Berdan, for his diet and nutrition expertise and for his careful nutritional analysis of the recipes. In addition, Garretts thoughtful foreword for Skinny Dips embraces and supports my thinking on how we should eat. I just didnt know it was called stealth health.

My enthusiastic tasters: Harriet and Peter Watson; Roxane, Austin, Joey, and Tommy Huang; Steve and Marci Taylor; Sherry Gable; Priscilla and John Longfield; Karen Fong; Deb and Ron Adams; Summer Jamison; Ben Bettinger; Christine Belluschi; Don New; and Rafael Ornelas.

Finally, my familymy husband, Greg, and my children, Eric and Mollywhose support and enthusiasm make my cooking and writing life possible. A huge hug and all my love.

Everyone loves a good dip. Have you ever left a cocktail party with that regretful over-full feeling, then realized you spent more time hovering over the artichoke dip than mingling? For me, this occurs every Fourth of July, when my wifes grandma makes her famous clam dip. There I am, dunking ruffled potato chips into the dip and gobbling them down, when it occurs to me that I have probably just consumed an entire days worth of calories and saturated fat. I try to think about healthy snacking, yet at a party, I indulge.

When its party time, most of us tend to overindulge. Mindless eating happens to the best of us. Munching, dipping, and dunking can be a huge source of calories. Many dips are made with high-fat, high-calorie ingredientsand, indeed, they taste deliciousbut they should be enjoyed in smaller quantities. High-calorie snacks can add extra pounds every year.

As a registered dietitian and a chef, I teach people how to eat more healthfully and enjoy it, which is all about balancing calories from healthful foods in the appropriate portion sizes. Fundamental to healthful eating is learning how to prepare delicious food that is good for you. When food that tastes great is healthfuland you dont even know itwe call it stealth health.

Diane Morgans Skinny Dips teaches you how to make delicious dips, spreads, and dippers that are low in calories yet taste like indulgences. With this book as your guide, you can pull off a festive spread that is both easy and easy on the waistline. Dianes recipes use wholesome, naturally nutrient-rich ingredients like fresh fruit and vegetables, low-fat yogurt, fiber-filled legumes/pulses, and healthful fats from olive oil, avocados, and nuts. She calls for just enough oil, cheese, or reduced-fat sour cream to deliver fantastic flavor and richness without overdoing the calories. Her dips get a punch of flavor from spices, dry or fresh herbs, citrus juices, and vinegars. This book is full of expertly crafted recipes that taste so good, you wont know you are doing something great for your bodystealth health at its best!

Dianes Skinny Dips can be used for more than just snacking and parties. Incorporate these dips and spreads as a foundation of flavor when preparing low-calorie everyday meals. Dress up a salad with a bit of the Svelte Green Goddess Dip. Top a grilled chicken breast with fresh Minted Peach Salsa.

Be mindful when you dip, dunk, spread, and munch. Next time you go to a cocktail party, bring Dianes Skinny Artichoke Dip. Your friends will love it, and you can indulge free of guilt. Just dont hover.

As a professional foodie, Im passionate about eatingits my lifes work. I think about food constantly, and I consider chocolate an essential food group, along with good wine and great coffee. To avoid the occupational hazard of overindulging, however, Ive cultivated lifelong habits of moderation and exercise that help keep me fit, trim, and happily fed.

Gustatory magic? Perhaps. But the real secret ingredient is that I pay attention to what I eat on so many levels, tasting for an amazing flavor, a delightful texture, comfort food to satisfy a longing, a luscious sweet sensation, an exotic new ingredient that excites my palate, or even a feel-good food when Im sick. Perhaps most important, I eat slowly to savor these foods that mean so much to me, and I know when Im full and sated. No self-imposed deprivation here. Just a sensible, thoughtful approach to eating.

I try to bring that consciousness to all the recipes I develop. It is so easy to add a lot of butter and cream to a dish and make it taste great. It is harderbut more satisfyingto develop recipes that do without butter and cream and to discover the amazing richness of flavor that can be found in many low-calorie foods.