Neiman Marcus recipes- need advice for lightening

[almiter]

Could somebody recommend ways to lighten the following recipes? As in previous post- not sure what to substitute for heavy whipping cream. Went to NM for lunch with a friend and fell in love with these recipes:

Neiman Marcus Chicken Salad Yield: 4 cups

1 1/2 pounds chicken breasts, cooked and chilled
1/2 cup finely diced celery
1 cup mayonnaise
6 tablespoons cups heavy cream
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt, or to taste
1/8 teaspoon white pepper, or to taste

1. Cut the chicken into one-inch pieces. Sprinkle with cider vinegar.

2. Add diced celery.

3. Combine mayonnaise and cream. Fold in diced chicken and celery. Adjust
seasoning to taste. Chill until ready to serve.


Orange Soufflé Serves 12

2 envelopes (2 tablespoons) unflavored gelatin
2 cups sugar
4 egg yolks
2 1/2 cups orange juice
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 cup mandarin orange sections
2 cups heavy cream, whipped to soft peaks

1. Soften gelatin in 1/2 cup of the orange juice. Set aside.

2. Combine sugar, egg yolks, and 1 cup of orange juice. Cook over low heat
until mixture is steaming and slightly thickened. Do not boil.

3. Add the gelatin, the remaining orange juice, and the lemon juice.

4. Transfer the custard to a clean mixing bowl.

5. Immerse the bowl into a larger bowl filled with ice and water. Cool the
custard, stirring occasionally, until syrupy.

6. Gently fold cream into custard mix, until no streaks remain.

7. Place the orange sections in the bottom of a 2-quart ring mold, or in 12
individual molds.
Fill molds with the orange soufflé. Chill until firm, about 2 hours.

NM

[Beth]

I would start with using low fat mayo (non-fat if you like it). You might be able to go half lowfat mayo and half nonfat yogurt and reduce the amount of cider vinegar. I would try evaporated nonfat milk or skim milk with a little nonfat dried milk added in place of the cream, or you could try buttermilk, but that would add more tang too.

For the souffle, it looks like the main candidate for lightening is the whipped cream. I haven't tried the lowfat options, but they are out there, including nonfat Cool Whip. You can even whip nonfat dried milk when it is reconsituted with less water than usual. I wonder if it would have enough body to hold up in the souffle. You could also use less and add beaten egg whites if you can get the pastuerized ones or dried ones. You might be able to cut back one egg yolk, but I'd tamper with that last since you need that custard as the base to hold it all together.

Let us know what you try, or submit it to CL on the home page to see what they can do with it.

[JJeannette]

For the whipped cream in the souffle, you could try a product called Dream Whip---comes in a box, usually in the baking aisle. The Cool Whip Free is very good as well.

[almiter]

thanks for all of the suggestions! I'll let you know what works out for me. I'll submit it to CL too!