Friday Food Porn

Lock up your daughters. Shield your eyes. Pull out your one dollar bills. It’s time for Friday Food Porn.

Why a post of pictures, you may ask? Well, I’ve been traveling a lot lately, so my time in the kitchen has been few and far between (except when I took over my brother’s stove on Monday). So while I do not have a sodium free recipe or time saving tip to share with you today, I do have a library of gorgeous sodium free food pictures for your scanning pleasure. And you know you’re excited.

Today’s installment is from my recent menu tasting for my upcoming nuptials. And yes, this may be my favorite part of the entire party planning process (although hanging with mom while picking out linens is also a blast…hi Mom). But before I release you to feast your eyes upon the incredible dishes we “critiqued”/devoured, let me set the scene:

Twelve dapper looking family members, in his and her Thursday best, gathered around a rectangular table, anxiously awaiting the appetizers (dim sum and mexican-inspired bites), the first course (an heirloom tomato salad), the entree (a choice of spice crusted lamb, roasted halibut, or butternut squash ravioli with brown butter and sage), dessert (this is top secret information), and the post dessert/let’s keep ’em dancing food (also top secret).

Already sounds overwhelmingly delicious, right? Well, here’s one more important detail. While the eleven other guests shared plates of the previously listed courses, the wonderful, genius, totally accommodating catering company created separate, low sodium versions for me. But we’re not talking a few dumplings here and a chunk of fish there. I mean they made entire servings of each dish for me – two steaming baskets full of salt-free chicken shu mei and vegetarian potstickers, a whole plate of halibut, a whole plate of lamb, a whole plate of ravioli, and everything in between.

For some, the amount of food may have sent off a signal to that part of the brain (which I don’t have) that says, this is too much food and I should slow down, share with others, or save some for leftovers. But as I gazed across the sea of plates in front of me, I didn’t see a grossly large quantity of meat and vegetables, but an opportunity to eat an endless amount of flavorful, low sodium food. And I happily worked my way through each plate, giving my gracious hosts my honest opinions, which were pretty incomprehensible since my mouth was full of food. This is my kind of bridal diet.

So without further ado, enjoy six pictures of low sodium wonder. And if you haven’t been convinced yet that low sodium food can be extraordinary, just be prepared to have your mind blown.

Chow on!

To start, a basket of freshly made chicken shu mei dumplings and vegetable pot stickers in green colored dough (not pictured because I ate them before my camera could capture them).

And a plate full of plantain and guacamole chips, spicy pulled chicken in matzo meal crusted baskets, and plantain empenadas.

Next, a pinwheel of beautiful heirloom tomatoes, resting on a bed of arugula for a peppery taste, and coated in a low sodium balsamic reduction for a sweet balance.

And finally, the trio of lamb with a roasted tomato and herb pesto sauce, served over steamed asparagus and roasted fingerling potato shoots…

…the roasted halibut, surrounded by a medley of mushrooms, spring squash, fava beans, and purple carrots…

…and my personal favorite, the butternut squash ravioli, topped by a hat made from a roasted tomato and a gigantic roasted onion. It was so good, it deserves to be shown twice.