When chef Louis Lanza opened Josie's in New York City in 1994, he created a new breed of restaurant. Since then, this smart-looking eatery serving dairy-free food has been crowded with both health-conscious, food-loving yuppies and more mature and mainstream diners pleased by the comfortably sophisticated menu. In Totally Dairy-Free Cooking, Lanza explains that he avoids using dairy products to cut back on fat and cholesterol. Also, it helps people with allergies and other health problems. To ensure you get sufficient calcium on the dairy-free diet he espouses, Lanza provides a chart demonstrating how easy it is to get the all the calcium recommended by health authorities by eating green vegetables, grains, tofu, and other foods.

Lanza is a broadly talented chef. He prepares a wide range of dishes, creating novel choices and giving new twists to familiar favorites. His Spinach Salad is enhanced with ginger and roasted beets--add the marinated tofu or not, as you prefer. Margarita Chicken Paillard, marinated with lime juice, tequila, and Triple Sec, is sure to be a classic for grilling. Or try the Yellowfin Tuna Burger, enlivened with soy sauce and sharp wasabi. Less expectedly, there is Hummus-Crusted Salmon with Cucumber and Tomato Salsa, the hummus topping the fish made with black beans.

Meatless dishes are hardly bland in Lanza's hands--witness his creamy, puréed mushroom soup, seasoned with tarragon, and Baked Corn Macaroni with Soy Jalapeño Jack, studded with sliced zucchini. To ensure best results for cooks unfamiliar with dairy-free cooking, he lists specific brands of ingredients he favors. Most are organic and can be found in supermarkets as well as at natural food stores. In all, Totally Dairy-Free Cooking provides nearly 200 recipes, from fish and chicken dishes to meatless choices that are easy to make even when a bit off-beat. --Dana Jacobi


From Publishers Weekly
Believing that "humans were never meant to consume dairy products," New York City Chef Lanza sets out to replace dairy without sacrificing flavor. The popularity of his three restaurants (Josie's, Josephina, Citrus Bar and Grill) attest to his success, and his first book will find favor with the lactose-intolerant as well as the health-conscious eater. Lanza admits that soy products can take some getting used to, but he slips them successfully into appetizers (cinnamon-spiked Roasted Kabocha Squash Soup), entr?es (Penne with Soy Vegetable Bolognese) and desserts (Jasmine Rice and Banana Pudding). His practical approach--using readily available, brand-name products--balances nicely his creative culinary flourishes, such as Chicken Fajitas (free range) with Cilantro-Walnut Pesto. Lanza makes the idea of eliminating dairy products seem reasonable; selections like Wild Mushroom, Lentil and Walnut P?t?, and Monkfish "Osso Buco" with Tomato Soy Sauce, prove his point that health food need never be tasteless. Nutritional information accompanies each recipe. (Jan.) Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
Lanza is co-owner and chef of several New York City restaurants serving healthful but trendy food (two of them, perhaps incongruously, have a hot bar scene). Josie's, Lanza's first restaurant, specializes in organic foods prepared without any dairy products. The recipes included here also feature such products as Fakin' Bacon, sugar substitutes, and alternatives to wheat flour (as in Chocolate Chip Spelt Cookies), though the problem with wheat flour seems unclear; and Lanza begins by saying that "according to one study, most Americans eat around two and a half pounds of dairy and dairy-based products every day," which is hard to imagine. Nevertheless, lactose-intolerant cooks and others avoiding dairy products, as well as fans of the restaurants, will be interested; for area libraries and other larger or special collections. Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
Those with allergies to milk and milk products, or those who want to cut back on the amount of dairy products they consume, will enjoy cooking from Lanza's new book. The author's recipes eliminate dairy products and use soy milk and soy cheeses as alternatives to the common products of the dairy farm. Lanza knocks the milk out of all courses of a meal, from cream soups reimagined with tofu through entrees of grain-based meat loaves to desserts such as spiced pumpkin tofu pie. Lanza's expressed goal is to reduce, not eliminate, the amount of dairy products that people consume. Such a reduction, he expects, will improve cholesterol levels as well as reduce the intake of other fats associated with dairy products. Although many listed recipes needed no dairy in their original versions, Lanza still adds dairy substitutes such as his "enrichment" of split pea soup with soy milk. A brief nutritional analysis accompanies each recipe. Mark Knoblauch


Book Description
The latest statistics show that as many as 30 to 50 million Americans may be lactose-intolerant. Totally Dairy-Free Cooking offers lactose-intolerant people an alternative to medication--delicious, contemporary recipes made without any dairy products. This isn't "health" food--imagine rich, creamy pastas, savory soups, mashed potatoes, even ice "creams" so delicious you won't miss the dairy. Author Louis Lanza, chef at Josie's, New York's premier dairy-free restaurant, is one of the leading authorities on the subject. In his new cookbook, Louis explains exactly how to use ingredients like soy milk and soy cheeses, now available in supermarkets everywhere.Totally Dairy-Free Cooking is absolutely the best cookbook on the subject. The recipes are so delicious, anyone--lactose-intolerant or not--will enjoy them. For people who are trying to cope, medication-free, without dairy products in their diet, this cookbook is an essential purchase.


About the Author
Louis Lanza is the co-owner and executive chef at Josie's, Citrus Bar & Grill, and Josephina, all located in New York City. His healthy dairy-free recipes have recently been featured in two bestselling books, Marilu Henner's Total Health Makeover and Marilu Henner, The 30-Day Total Health Makeover. A native of California, he now lives and works in New York City.Laura Morton is the coauthor of three bestselling books on health and fitness, including Joan Lunden's Healthy Cooking and Marilu Henner's Total Health Makeover. She lives in New York City.


Excerpted from Totally Dairy-Free Cooking by Louis Lanza, Laura Morton. Copyright © 2000. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved
New England-Style Clam Chowder Makes 12 Sevings Preparation Time: 1 1/2 Hours I suggest making your own clam stock and using fresh clams bought from your local seafood store when making this soup. But if you don't have the time, buy a commercially canned clam broth, available at all food markets. Make sure there is no MSG (monosodium glutamate) in the ingredients. You can usually find fresh chopped or minced clams at most seafood stores. When I came to New York from San Francisco and opened my first restaurant, Coastal, my recipe for New England Clam Chowder won the New York Times's "Best of the Best" in the chowder category two years in a row. I felt challenged to try to reproduce the gorgeous flavor of that dairy laden version minus the dairy and this recipe is a real winner. My secret ingredient is the spicy chicken sausage that replaces the traditional slab bacon. 1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cloves garlic, sliced
1 large shallot, sliced
One 4-ounce precooked, spicy chicken sausage, sliced
2 cups canned whole plum tomatoes
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 cup diced bell peppers
1 cup diced carrots
1 cup diced onions
1 cup diced celery
1 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels
6 cups Clam Stock or commercial clam juice (no MSG)
1 1/4 cups chopped fresh clams
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano
3 cups peeled and diced Idaho potatoes
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup trimmed and chopped scallions
2 teaspoons Old Bay Seasoning
Freshly ground black pepper
2 cups plain soy milk
4 tablespoons arrowroot 1. Heat the olive oil in a medium stockpot over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and shallots and cook, stirring, until the shallots are golden, 1 to 2 rminutes. Add the sausage and cook, stirring, untilbrowned, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes and Worcestershire sauce and simmer 5 minutes. Puree the mixture with an electric handheld blender or in a food processor and return to the pot. 2. Add the bell peppers, carrots, onions, celery and corn and simmer 10 minutes. Add the clam juice, clams, thyme and oregano. Simmer 25 minutes more. 3. Add the potatoes, parsley and scallions. Simmer 15 minutes more, stirring frequently to avoid burning. Add the Old Bay Seasoning and black pepper to taste. Then whisk in the soy milk. 4. In a separate bowl, mix the arrowroot with 1/4 cup water and add to the chowder and cook for an additional 3 to 4 minutes, then serve. Refrigerate for up to 5 days. Bring to a simmer when reheating. Calories: 206.1
Fat: 7.1 G
Protein: 10.6 G
Carbohydrate: 26.2 G
Cholesterol: 13 MG
Sodium: 211 MG ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Arugula with Creamy Shallot Vinaigrette Makes 4 Servings Preparation Time: 30 minutes Mustard and shallots have always been a favorite combination of mine. This is a zippy dressing where a little bit goes a long way. Try sprinkling Lightlife Fakin Bacon Bits on top of this salad for a crunchy meatlike flavor. Chopped grilled chicken or cold poached baby shrimp also go wonderfully in this salad. This dressing will last in your refrigerator for up to 2 weeks in an airtight container. 1 tablespoon egg whites (from about 1 egg)
1 teaspoon whole grain mustard
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons minced shallots
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1/4 cup soft tofu
1 tablespoon walnut oil, or olive or canola oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 bunch arugula leaves, cleaned and dried
8 cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup chopped Bermuda onion 1. In a food processor, combine the egg whites, both mustards, shallots, vinegar and tofu. Pulse on/off and slowly drizzle in the oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste. 2. In a mixing bowl, combine the arugula, tomatoes, onion and 2 tablespoons of the vinaigrette. Toss thoroughly, adjust seasoning and serve on chilled plates. Note: There will be enough vinaigrette left to prepare 4 additional salads. Calories: 58.5
Fat: 4.4g
Protein: 2.2g
Carbohydrate: 3.5g
Cholesterol: 0mg
Sodium: 42mg