Ricotta Cheesecake

Italians make a wonderful cheesecake, using ricotta in place of the cream cheese. (I add a little cream cheese here for extra richness.) The pine nuts and candied citrus peel give this cheesecake its uniqueness and pizzazz.
Serves 12 to 14.
Ingredients
1/4 cup marsala or other sweet wine
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/2 pound low fat cream cheese, at room temperature
2 pounds low fat or no fat ricotta cheese
1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs, plus 5 egg whites (or 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons egg substitute)
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
2 teaspoons grated orange zest
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup diced candied orange peel, lemon peel, or a mixture of both
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
1 8 inch springform pan, lightly sprayed with oil
Cooking Instructions:
Pour the marsala over the raisins in a small bowl and let soak until soft, about 10 minutes. Drain well.
Preheat the oven to 350°F. (The rack should be set in the upper third of the oven.) Bring 1 quart water to a boil. Wrap a piece of foil around the bottom and sides of the springform pan. (This prevents water from leaking in.)
Puree the ricotta in the food processor, scraping down the sides several times. Add the cream cheese and puree until smooth. Add the sugar, 2 tablespoons flour, and salt and puree. Add the eggs, egg whites, lemon and orange zest, and vanilla and puree. Toss the raisins and candied orange peel with the remaining 1 tablespoon flour in a small bowl. Add the raisins, peel, and pine nuts to the batter and run the machine in short bursts to mix. (Do not puree: you want these ingredients to remain whole.) Pour the mixture into the prepared pan. Tap the pan a few times on the work counter to knock out any bubbles.
Set the pan in a roasting pan in the oven. Add 1 inch boiling water to the pan and bake the cheesecake until set, 40 to 60 minutes. To test for doneness, gently poke the side ? when the top no longer jiggles, the cheesecake is cooked. Another test: an inserted skewer will come out clean when the cheesecake is cooked. Do not overcook or the cheesecake will become watery.
Transfer the cheesecake to a cake rack to cool to room temperature, then refrigerate until cold. To serve, run the tip of a small knife around the inside of the pan. Unfasten the sides. Cut into wedges for serving.
Nutrition Facts
Calories: 340
Fat: 12g
Saturated Fat: 6g
Sodium: 225mg
% Calories from Fat: 34%
% Calories from Saturated Fat: 16%
Note: using non-fat ricotta reduces the fat to 6 grams and the saturated fat to 2 grams ? 21% of calories from fat and 6% from saturated fat.

Amazing Low Fat Cannoli

This offbeat cannoli is faster to make than the traditional Italian dessert, because you don't have to fuss with the dough. When you take a bite, it shatters into a thousand buttery flakes, just like the real McCoy. The secret? The pastry tubes are made with Chinese wonton wrappers, which are baked instead of fried.
Note: the recipe is quick and easy to make, but you must start the night before to drain the ricotta.
Serves 6
Ingredients
2 pints low or no fat ricotta cheese
1/3 cup sugar, or to taste
1 teaspoon orange flower water
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon grated lemon zest
to finish the cannoli:
12 four inch wonton wrappers
spray oil
1 teaspoon cornstarch dissolved in 1 teaspoon water
1 tablespoon melted butter
1 tablespoon chopped, toasted pistachio nuts
cannoli tubes

Cooking Instructions:
The night before place the ricotta in a yogurt strainer or cheesecloth or paper-towel lined strainer over a bowl. Drain overnight in the refrigerator. Discard the whey. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Lightly spray 12 cannoli tubes with spray oil. Starting with the corner of one wonton wrapper in the center, roll the wrapper around the tube. Glue the opposite corner to the tube with a dab of cornstarch paste. Lightly spray the outside of the cannoli with oil. Roll the remaining wrappers the same way.
Bake the cannoli until golden brown and crisp, about 4 to 6 minutes. Let cool slightly, then slide the pastry shells off the tubes onto a cake rack and let cool to room temperature. Brush with the melted butter.
Prepare the filling. In a large bowl combine the drained ricotta, sugar, orange flower water, vanilla, and lemon zest and whisk to mix. Correct the sweetness, adding sugar or orange flower water to taste. Transfer the filling to a piping bag fitted with a 1/2 inch star tip. The recipe can be prepared several hours ahead to this stage.
Just before serving, pipe the ricotta mixture into the pastry shells, adding filling from each end. As you withdraw the piping tube, make a rosette at each end. Sprinkle the ends with chopped pistachios and serve at once.
Nutrition Facts:
Calories: 260
Fat: 3 grams
Saturated Fat: 1 gram
Sodium: 53 milligrams
Total Carbohydrates: 25 grams
Dietary Fiber: 0 grams
Protein: 15 grams
% calories from fat: 14%
% calories from saturated fat: 6%

Strawberry Jam
This recipe makes: pints

[Ingredients]
4 cups strawberries
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 package powdered fruit pectin
1 1/2 cups honey


[Cooking Instructions]
1. Mix the strawberries, lemon juice and pectin in a heavy-bottomed, stainless-steel pot.

2. Bring to a boil over high heat. Stir in the honey.

3. Return to a boil and stir slowly for 10 to 12 minutes. The mixture will resemble a thick syrup when done. Let cool, then pour into a storage container, cover and refrigerate.

Serving Size: 1 tablespoon
[Nutritional Information]
Number of Servings: 2
Per Serving
Calories 30 Carbohydrate 8 g
Fat 0 g Fiber 0 g
Protein 0 g Saturated Fat 0 g
Sodium 2 mg

Scallop Dill Chowder
This recipe serves: 6

[Ingredients]
1 slice bacon, diced
1/2 cup diced onion
1/2 cup diced celery
1 sprig fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
1 1/2 cups clam juice or fish stock
6 small red potatoes
2 cups reduced fat (2%) milk
2 cups fresh bay scallops
1 teaspoon chopped, fresh dill


[Cooking Instructions]
1. Put the bacon in a soup pot and heat over low heat. Add the onion, celery, thyme and bay leaf and cook until the vegetables are soft, about 10 minutes.

2. Dice the potatoes and add them to the soup pot with the clam juice. Simmer until the potatoes are just tender, about 10 minutes. Add the milk, scallops and dill and heat thoroughly. Remove the thyme and bay leaf. Adjust the salt and pepper to taste.

Serving Size: 1 cup
[Nutritional Information]
Number of Servings: 6
Per Serving
Calories 197 Carbohydrate 33 g
Fat 3 g Fiber 3 g
Protein 15 g Saturated Fat 1 g
Sodium 316 mg

Lemon Angel Cake with Blueberry Sauce
This recipe serves: 14

[Ingredients]

For the lemon angel cake:
1 cup cake flour
1 1/2 cups superfine granulated sugar
1 1/4 cups egg whites (about 10 large egg whites) at room temperature
1 1/4 teaspoons cream of tartar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1 pint strawberries

For the blueberry sauce:
1 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen
juice of 1/2 lemon
sugar (2 to 4 tablespoons, to taste)


[Cooking Instructions]
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.

2. Sift the flour twice with 1/2 cup of the sugar.

3. With an electric mixer on high speed, beat the egg whites, cream of tartar and salt until soft peaks form when the mixer is removed from the batter.

4. Add half of the remaining sugar and beat for 1 minute. Add the remaining sugar, 2 tablespoons at a time, beating after each addition.

5. Stir in the vanilla, and add lemon zest.

6. Fold the flour and sugar mixture into the egg whites, 1/4 cup at a time, until just incorporated.

7. Put the batter in an ungreased 10" tube pan and bake until the cake is a light golden brown and springy to the touch, about 1 hour. Invert the pan and let the cake cool completely before removing from the pan.

8. While the cake is baking, puree the berries in a blender with the lemon juice. Blend in the sugar by the tablespoonful, tasting after each addition, until the desired degree of sweetness is reached.

9. Strain through a fine strainer, pressing with a rubber spatula to release the juices.

10. Place 1 slice of cake on each of 6 plates. Spoon the blueberry sauce on and around the cake.

Serving Size: 1 slice (1/14th of cake) with blueberry sauce
[Nutritional Information]
Number of Servings: 6
Per Serving
Calories 154 Carbohydrate 35 g
Fat 0 g Fiber 1 g
Protein 3 g Saturated Fat 0 g
Sodium 79 mg