Low-Carb Chicken Nuggets

• 1-1/2 cups Parmesan cheese, grated
• ½ cup low-carb bread crumbs?
• ½ cup soy flour (for dredging)
• 2 whole eggs
• Salt
• Pepper
• 1-1/2 pounds boneless chicken breast
• Canola or other vegetable oil for frying

Place eggs in a small dish and whisk until mixed. Place soy flour on a plate. Mix Parmesan cheese, bread crumbs, salt, and pepper and place on a plate.

Slice chicken breast into pieces of desired size. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Dip chicken pieces into soy flour until covered. Shake off excess flour. Dip quickly into egg mixture until fully coated. Put immediately into Parmesan cheese mixture, rolling well until the chicken is thickly-coated. Place aside until all the chicken is coated.

Heat oil in a large pan until hot. Fry chicken, a few pieces at a time, turning once, until it’s golden brown and firm. Remove to drain on paper towels. Serve immediately.

Buy packaged low-carb bread crumbs from a low-carb retailer, or make your own by toasting low-carb bread in the oven on low heat until it’s dried and then pulsing in a food processor.

Joe likes these with a small handful of French fries and sugar-free BBQ sauce or sugar-free ketchup. They also can be used for a delicious Chicken a la Parmigiana, topped with a good tomato sauce and mozzarella and broiled for a moment.

I make this with packaged grated Parmesan cheese, using my good Parmigiano Reggiano more discriminatingly.

Low-Carb Croutons

These are good for topping salad or soup. Use the proportions of butter, garlic, and herbs to suit your taste.

• 5 slices commercial low-carb bread
• 1-1/2 tbsp. butter
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp. minced fresh herbs, minced, (rosemary, thyme,
  sage, dill, etc.), if desired salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Cut low-carb bread into 1 inch cubes. Spread the cubes on a cookie sheet and place in the oven until dried. Place butter, garlic, and herbs over medium low heat in a large frying pan. Add croutons and heat, tossing constantly, until croutons are evenly-coated. Remove from heat and cool. Store in an air-tight container.

Coffee Ice Cream

This recipe can be made without the egg, although it will not be as thick and creamy. Some people like less cream, or more vanilla, so experiment. The basic custard can be flavored with any number of ingredients: chocolate, extracts, and food colorings, so your imagination is the limit.

Let the ice cream temper for a few minutes before serving for the best texture.

• Approx 1 cup good quality, strong decaf coffee, preferably from drip
• 1 whole egg
• 3 cups Carb Countdown milk
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• Sweetener to taste (be generous, and taste until you get it right)


• Make decaf coffee and set aside.

Whisk egg until yolk and white are blended. In a large bowl mix together all ingredients except coffee. Pour mixture into a heavy-bottomed pan (a double-boiler would be best, if you have one), and turn on burner to medium-low. Heat gradually (do not boil, or the eggs will scramble!), stirring constantly with a whisk, for about 5 minutes, until the mixture is very warm and thickened slightly. Remove from heat. Add coffee to desired strength and mix well. Pour into a storage container and cool in the refridgerator for 3 hours or overnight.

Place coffee custard in your ice cream machine and make according to instructions.

Tasty (Low-carb!) Meatballs

Mark Strausman adapted these meatballs from the ones that are highly popular at his Manhattan restaurants, Fred’s at Barney’s New York and Coco Pazzo. They are delicious served by themselves with a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese and a salad. Of course, they’re also good tossed with low-carb pasta, if that’s something that’s allowed in your regimen.

For the meatballs:

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 cup minced onions
• 1/2 pound ground veal
• 1/2 pound ground beef
• 1/2 pound ground pork
• 1/2 pound sweet sausage, removed from casing and crumbled
• 3 tablespoons fresh oregano
• 1/2 cup freshly-grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
• 1/2 cup freshly-grated Pecorino Romano cheese
• 2 large eggs
• 2 egg yolks
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper

For the sauce:

• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 cup minced red onion
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 2 28-ounce cans crushed Italian plum tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (or more to taste)

Heat a 7 - 8 quart casserole over medium heat and when it is hot add the olive oil for both the meatballs and the sauce. Add all the onions and garlic and cook until golden and soft, about 5 - 7 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

Place the meats in a large bowl and mix them together with your hands. One at a time add the oregano, cheese, eggs, and parsley, mixing each one until thoroughly combined. Add a portion of the onion/olive oil mixture, leaving the rest in the pan for the sauce. Add salt and pepper and mix together well. Set aside while you make the sauce.

To the casserole with the onions add the tomato paste and stir until it melts into the onions. Add the tomatoes, salt, and pepper flakes and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low and gently simmer, stirring occasionally, while you make the meatballs.

Using your hands, roll the meatballs into pieces the size of ping pong balls. When they are all shaped, gently add them to the sauce. Increase the heat until the sauce returns to a simmer, and then reduce the heat so that the sauce simmers very gently. A strong boil will cause the fat to separate from the meat and the meatballs will dry out.

Cover and simmer gently for 1-1/2 hours.

All recipes © 2006 Mark Strausman and Susan Littlefield