Faithful readers will recall from recent blogs that I have decided to switch to a low-carb diet. I wish that I could cite grandiose or philosophical reasons for the decision... but, sorry, no. I'm doing it to lose weight. Not much weight, mind you, but when I recently jumped seven pounds in a month, I knew I had to do something. Now, certainly understand, that is seven pounds up from a weight that I'm perfectly happy with (this is Pittsburgh, after all. I'm not competing with runway models), but one must keep these things in check. Given Saundra's luck with a low-carb, low-glycemic diet, I decided to give it a try, albeit in modified form (I've allowed myself a handful of exceptions). As diets go, it seemed like the best way to 1) avoid having to give up my favorite food in the world, cheese, 2) limit what I eat by restricting my options across the board, and 3) raise my protein consumption so to build muscle when I swim. It's been about three weeks now, and I've lost a grand total of two pounds. Alas. Still, I'm sticking with it—I'm holding steady and not gaining weight. Besides which, it's something of a culinary adventure, and I sure love to experiment with new recipes. As a result, I plan to share my favorite recipes here as I discover them.

Sarah's Quiche Lorraine (see recipe below) shown on Corelle Simple Lines with Cambridge Chop flatware

This past weekend I hosted a small cocktail party at my apartment. The guest register included such notorious Pittsburghers as Sabrina Spiher and Professor G—a tricky combination, as Professor G is a discerning connoisseur of all things meat and cheese, and Sabrina is for all intents and purposes vegan. I solved the vegan side of things by frying up not-dogs and Tofurkey Italian sausage and offering them cut up with a variety of dipping sauces including Dijon mustard, horseradish and marinara sauce—a low-carb and vegan solution. As for the meat and cheese side of things... with a few slight modifications, my favorite go-to low-carb dish for entertaining has become Quiche Lorraine. It's eggs, it's cheese, it's bacon... what's not to love? The only problems with traditional quiche recipes are the crust and the flour. The crust in a traditional quiche is, perhaps not surprisingly, a traditional pie crust. Savory, flaky, delicious, but a little high on the carb scale. Traditional recipes for quiche also often include a few tablespoons of flour in effort to thicken the cream or milk as it bakes. My fix for the crust dilemma? Use a nut crust instead of flour crust.

Corningware French White

Getting rid of the flour? Use sour cream instead of liquid cream or milk. It's already thick! The only tricky part about the nut crust is that, since it only goes on the bottom, a pie pan doesn't work so well. Instead, I use my shallow, rectangular 1 1/2 quart Corningware French White baking dish, plus baking parchment to keep the sides from getting browned too quickly. Mark my words, French White and baking parchment are two additions you must make to your kitchen if you don't have them already. French White is the best casserole set I've ever used, it's versatile, reasonably-priced and cleanup is always easy. Baking parchment is a god-send; it not only keeps food from sticking to your cookware, it also helps distribute heat more evenly. It's fabulous on cookie sheets and with anything you want to retain its shape after baking. See my quiche recipe below for more on how these items conspire to make a great quiche.

Low-Carb Cosmo in a Lenox Tuscany Martini glass

A cocktail party also requires, of course, a good selection of cocktails. The vegan issue was not a problem, as most any cocktail worth drinking does not contain meat or dairy (with the possible exception of Baily's Irish Cream, but, oof, the hangovers are no fun). There were martinis, of course—Professor's G's unwavering drink of choice—a naturally low-carb selection which I served with Quintessential gin and just a whisper of Martini & Rossi dry vermouth. Another easily low-carb selection were the gimlets; while most bars will serve up your gimlet with Rose's sweetened lime juice (not so low carb), the home bartender can easily substitute the fresh-squeezed juice of half a lime. The tricky part was, however, the cosmopolitan. While this drink is primarily vodka (when made correctly) the traditional recipe does call for triple sec, Rose's lime and cranberry juice, all of which boast their fair share of sugar. Solving the Rose's lime was easy—just use unsweetened lime juice.

Oxo Zester

The cranberry was a bit trickier, not so much because the solution wasn't clear, but because it took some experimentation to get the proportions right. The low-carb substitution for cranberry juice cocktail is, of course, 100% cranberry juice. A word of warning, do not drink 100% cranberry juice on its own. It's 70 calories for an 8 oz serving, and it is intense. As a result, it easily overwhelms the cocktail if the precise amount is not used. Finally, the substitute for the triple sec was perhaps least obvious; in the end I realized that orange flavor could be added to the drink, without adding sugar, by simply garnishing with a twist of orange peel. And how does one create an elegant twist of orange peel? Why, with an Oxo zester of course. While you're stocking up on French White and baking parchment, you might as well get an Oxo zester to boot.

And so, it was a successfully low-carb cocktail party catering to the tastes and dietary restrictions of all attendees. But never fear, my chronicle of low-carb cookery does not end here. Stay tuned for more tips and recipes.


Sarah's Quiche Lorraine

• 1 lb. of bacon
• 2 medium onions
• 4 jumbo-sized eggs
• 2 cups of sour cream
• 4 oz. swiss cheese, shredded
• 3 oz. aged provolone, shredded
• 3 oz. sharp cheddar, shredded
• salt, to taste
• white pepper, to taste
• dash of nutmeg
• sliced almonds, toasted

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Prepare your shallow, 1 1/2 quart French White baking dish by greasing it with butter and lining the sides with baking parchment. The butter on the sides will help the baking parchment stick to the sides, there is no need to put butter on the outside of the baking parchment itself. Spread a thin layer of the sliced almonds over the bottom of the baking dish. Dice the raw bacon and then fry in a large skillet until crisp. Meanwhile, dice the onions, but add them to the bacon only when bacon is crisp. DO NOT drain the bacon grease. This is what you're using to sauté the onions. Besides which, bacon grease is your friend. While the bacon is frying and/or the onions sautéing with the bacon, combine eggs, sour cream, cheeses, salt, pepper and nutmeg in a large bowl. Beat together with a whisk. When bacon is sufficiently crisp and onions are well-softened, combine the bacon mixture with the egg mixture. Pour over the almonds into the previously prepared French White dish. Bake at 325 for 40-45 minutes.


Low-Carb Cosmo

• 3 oz. vodka
• 1/4 oz. unsweetened lime juice
• 1/4 oz. 100% cranberry juice
• twist of orange peel

Shake all liquid ingredients over ice. Strain into a chilled cocktail class. Garnish with the orange peel.