Busy with last-minute holiday preparations? This week's recipe for Hot Tuna Hoagies should make dinner preparation a snap. Canned tuna is combined with packaged slaw mix (shredded cabbage and carrots), then mixed with a blend of mayonnaise and ranch salad dressing. This goes on hoagie buns, heated under a broiler, topped with cheddar or Swiss cheese, and popped under the broiler again until the cheese melts.

        These hoagies are easy to make, but each serving contains 18 grams of fat. So for this rehab, we:

        • Replaced the regular mayonnaise with a low-fat (1 fat gram per tablespoon) variety.

        • Replaced the ranch salad dressing with a light variety.

        • Used a lower fat (5 to 6 fat grams per ounce) cheddar cheese.

        Our results were excellent. Due to the “ranch flavoring,” no one noticed the low-fat mayonnaise. And with only 7 grams of fat per serving, these hoagies would be great with a cup of soup. It sure beats carryout.

       Contact Karen Weber, Pat Streicher and Ellen Illig of Jewish Hospital's Cholesterol Center by phone: 585-7946; fax: 585-6107; e-mail (weberkd@healthall.com).
Hot Tuna Hogie
       1 1/2 cups coleslaw mix (shredded cabbage and carrots)
       1 large can (9 ounces) water-packed tuna, drained, broken into chunks
       2 tablespoons low-fat (1 gram per tablespoon) mayonnaise
       2 tablespoons light ranch dressing
       2 hoagie buns, split and toasted
       4 slices 2 percent cheddar cheese individually wrapped singles or Jarlsberg Light

        In medium bowl, combine slaw mix and tuna. In small bowl, combine mayonnaise and ranch dressing. Stir dressing into tuna mixture.

        Spread tuna evenly on four halves of hoagie buns. Put on rack of broiler pan. Broil 4-5 inches from heat for 2 to 3 minutes or until heated through. Top with cheese; broil 30 to 60 seconds longer until cheese melts. Makes 4 servings.
Before and after
        Values based on 1 serving ( 1/4 of recipe)
       Hot Tuna Hoagies...Adapted
       Calories...344.....254
       Fat........18 g ...7 g
       Carbohydrate...19 g ...21 g
       Sodium......625.mg ..837 mg
       Fiber 1.5 g....1.5 gm
       Cholesterol...45 mg...22 mg
       Calories
       from fat....49%....27%

        Nutritionists recommend those on a daily 2,000 calorie diet limit their fat consumption to 65 g or less, cholesterol to 300 mg or less and sodium to 2,400 mg or less per day.
       

Required Reading
        In an era of new-found American patriotism, I don't know how well Viana La Place's new book will go over. La Bella Cucina: How to Cook, Eat and Live Like an Italian (Clarkson Potter; $28) is all about how Italians are more soulful, more healthy and happier than we are. Yeah, well, while they're having their leisurely noon-time dinners and shopping every day and gathering wild herbs for long-simmered sauces, we're out kicking the Taliban's butt.

        But if you're an Italophile, or have a friend who is, it's a charming book. I've always liked Ms. La Place's other books, like Cucina Fresca, with their deceptively simple recipes that always turn out. This one includes some intriguing ideas like flattened shrimp, or roast pork with wild fennel or creamy chick pea soup with fresh bay leaves.
       

Kitchen Aid
        It's hard to cook well in a messy, disorganized kitchen. In her book, Unclutter Your Home (Storey Books; $9.95), Donna Smallin shares some tips for decluttering your kitchen and dining room:

        • In your pantry and cupboards, have specific shelves for specific things. Label shelves so other household members can help put away groceries.

        • When deciding what goes on each shelf in your pantry, keep in mind that it takes less effort to reach up than it does to reach down. Store the things you use most at waist level or higher.

        • Go through your spices and throw out any that are more than 3 years old. If you're not sure if they're good, open the jar and smell the contents. Pinch a small amount between two fingers and sniff. Anything? If you use certain spices infrequently, buy in smaller quantities.

        • Never store anything in the oven. You may remember you put something there, but no one else will think to look first before turning on the oven.

        • Set your table with a tablecloth to discourage things being dumped there.

        • Leave out on your counters only what you use every day. When your counter tops are neat, your whole kitchen will look neat.

We Tried It

        The comparison is inevitable: Procter & Gamble's new Torengos are the Pringles of corn chips. They come stacked in a triangular box so they don't break. In taste and texture, they're closer to real corn chips than Pringles are to potato chips. Still, they have an extra-processed texture, and taste more strongly of salt than corn. Their big break-through, says P&G, is their slightly rounded triangular shape that “holds loads of dip or salsa, without all the messy drips.” According to a survey cited in company material, 7 in 10 tortilla chip eaters have encountered broken chips, chips that are messy to dip and chips that just don't hold enough dip.

        If these are big problems in your life, Torengos will solve them. They are very efficient salsa-scoopers. Nevertheless, I'll stick to cheaper chips that taste like real tortillas.
Timely Tip

        Cracking nuts by the glow of the fire may be a time-honored holiday ritual, but who really enjoys the contortions required to wrest a walnut from its armored shell?

        Here's a tip from chef Jacques Pepin (via the Kansas City Star) for cracking and toasting walnuts.

        Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. For four servings, spread 4 cups in-shell walnuts on a baking sheet and roast them. After 20 minutes, carefully remove one nut, hold it with a dish towel or potholder, and crack it open. The meat should be lightly toasted and aromatic. If it still looks pale inside, roast a few minutes longer. Let the nuts cool, and serve in a bowl with nutcrackers and fruit and cheese on the side.
Learn to Cook

        These cooking schools offer classes different times of the year. Call for schedules and prices.
       • Cooks' Wares, Shops at Harper's Point, Symmes Township. 489-6400.
       • Cooking School at Jungle Jim's Market, Fairfield. 829-1919, Ext. 3.
       • Culinary Sol, Rookwood Commons, Norwood. 841-2665.
       • Dorothy Lane Market School of Cooking, Dayton. (937) 434-1294.
       • Kremer's Market Cooking Classes, Crescent Springs. 341-1067.
       • Restaurant Equipment Outlet's Cooking Classes, Northside. 542-5900.
       • Wild Oats, Rookwood Commons, Norwood. 531-8015.
       • Williams-Sonoma Grand Cuisine, Kenwood Towne Centre, 793-3445.

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