A Breakthrough + Something Lovely

Amy and Ann's lovely new calendar

So I'm realizing that most of my tales of new food attempts (and rejections) over here revolve around Audrey. I rarely talk about how Millie responds to our culinary adventures, but I think most of that is due to the fact that she's only two, and I tend to write-off most of her food pickiness to evolving taste buds.

When Audrey was two she was a little foodie rock star. Her favorite dish was crab claws in butter and garlic. Needless to say she evolved...backward. So I tend not to put too much stock in Millie's current food preferences (or rejections) knowing that they will likely change.

That said, I am completely reveling in her current absolute favorite food. Wait for it...

Roasted asparagus.

The child eats it like candy. She can't get enough. She calls it green beans, so really she doesn't even know what she's eating, but no matter. It's a beautiful thing. Truly.

Now onto pretty things. My friend Amy, along with her talented partner and crime Ann, has just added an incredibly lovely calendar to their shop. A perfect Christmas gift for all your foodie friends. Take a peek!

Happy weekend. Cook something fab!

Online Cooking Group Week Five... A Pie

my pie before baking -- friends it was divine...

We had so much going on this past weekend that I didn't really have an opportunity to try and make a new full-blown meal (I do most of my big cooking on the weekends), so I opted to make a "quick" dessert for my weekly recipe.

Before I get to the pie though, I have to pause to wax a bit about my lovely cousin Erin's quick quiche from our Sunday brunch. Watching her throw this bad boy together from memory made me seriously reconsider how I agonize and pour over recipes. I think all my attempts at precision might be getting in the way of the spontaneity and fun (for me) in cooking. I've seriously struggled with the last few things I've cooked obsessively from a recipe (i.e. my eternally raw quiche from a few weeks ago.) Surely there's a happy medium.

When I grilled Erin on the exact measurements + ingredients in the quiche, here's what she said:

• "seven eggs...no wait eight, Audrey made me let her crack another one."
  
• "A splash of milk" (me, "how much is a splash?") Erin: "I don't know, like this" (mimics pouring a splash)
  
• "Some cheese -- you know, like a nice handful"

And friends there you pretty much have it. There was no recipe, no precision, no real measurements. She first put some asparagus (I roasted it earlier and cut it into one inch pieces) and a bit of sliced ham into a pre-made pie crust. Then she poured in the mixture of 8 eggs, the "splash" of milk and "some" cheese (shredded mozzarella , a little herbed goat cheese and some parm and asiago...we were cleaning out the fridge.) The whole lovely, haphazard thing went into the oven at 350 for about 40 minutes and voila...perfection.

So channeling this vibe, I used the second pre-made pie crust and made an apple pie.

I started by peeking at a recipe I'd seen and wanted to try (this one to be exact) and then I set it aside and sort of went for it. I omitted the cranberries (both dried and frozen) as I really wanted the girlies to like it and I thought this would help my chances (it didn't), added a little more orange juice (the juice of 2 small oranges instead of one) but omitted the zest and used less sugar in the filling.

The pie was killer, and I felt sort of like a rock star throwing it all together so confidently, barely glancing at that recipe.

It felt good. Maybe I'm onto something.

What You're Cooking -- Week Five

First up, what you've been cooking this week, as I'm way behind on posting these. In fact I've been generally slacking in this space overall -- but I'm getting my cooking mojo back and will amp up things over here soon. I promise.

In the meantime, take a peek at...

Amy's Sweet and Spicy Popcorn Balls


Kate's "Tuna Melt" -- This one is calling my name...seriously.


Antonia's Veggie Stir Fry

I'll be back later today with my weekly recipe!

Online Cooking Group Week Four...Cooking it Out

I realize that this is technically week five of the cooking group, but since I was struck with the Swine flu, I totally skipped last week, so I'm a week behind...sorry.

Honestly I've had a bit of a cooking hiatus I suppose. I could blame it all on the flu (and the fact that all I wanted to eat for a week was oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, go figure) but truth is, save a few batches of killer pancakes thanks to our rockin new griddle (more on that later), I've been in a cooking dry spell for a couple of weeks.

It's taken everything in my power to churn out one measly new thing a week for our cooking group, so thanks for your virtual peer pressure, otherwise my family would literally be eating nothing but the aforementioned pancakes and quesidillas.

So I'm happy to report that last Sunday was my turning point. I channeled my friend Kristie, who is a formidable cook and as such, anytime she's in any sort of major funk, has a seemingly unsolvable problem or can't get going on a project, she "cooks it out".

So Sunday morning I pulled out the cookbooks and old issues of Gourmet (sigh) and started flipping through for inspiration. We've had blissful Fall weather, so I knew I wanted to make a soup of some sort and bake a bit, but it's not too cold yet, so I also wanted something "fresh" to sort of temper the "warm" Autumn food.

I decided to ease in with a couple of things I've made before (Alice Water's cornbread and carrot soup) and a new salad from an old Food and Wine to serve on the side.

It was all divine. I love the salad (it's definitely going into heavy rotation this fall), and really I can't say enough about how amazing (and super easy) the carrot soup is. It's definitely one of my favorite.dishes.ever.

As for how the girlies liked it all, well...they wouldn't touch the salad (no surprise there), gobbled up the corn muffins (again no surprise) and each took a single bite of the soup and promptly gagged, which frankly was a surprise as they both love carrots. Oh well, I'll try again at some point. That soup rocks my world.

Celery Salad with Walnuts, Dates and Pecorino -- adapted from Food and Wine

• 1 1/4 cups walnuts
• 1 small shallot, minced
• 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
• 2 tablespoons walnut oil
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
• 2 bunches celery (2 pounds), thinly sliced on the bias
• 3/4 cup dried pitted Medjool dates, quartered lengthwise
• 3 ounces dry pecorino cheese, shaved with a vegetable peeler

Preheat the oven to 350°. Spread the walnuts in a pie plate and toast for about 8 minutes, until lightly golden and fragrant. Let cool completely, then coarsely chop.

In a small bowl, combine the shallot with the sherry vinegar. Whisk in both oils and season with salt and pepper.

In a large bowl, toss the toasted walnuts, celery, dates and pecorino. Add the dressing and toss. Serve at once.

Alice Water's Carrot Soup -- Adapted from The Art of Simple Food by Alice Waters

• 1/2 stick unsalted butter
• 2 onions, sliced
• 1 sprig thyme
• 2 pounds organic carrots, peeled and sliced
• 6 cups organic chicken stock

Melt the butter into a pot set over medium-low heat. When butter has melted add the onion and thyme. Continue cooking on medium-low heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the carrots and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Pour in the stock and turn the heat to high. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat, add the salt, and simmer for 30-45 minutes.

Puree the soup in a blender or food processor and return to pot. You may need to do this in several batches and be careful, as hot liquids will expand in the blender.

Serve plain or with a dollop of creme fraiche and a sprinkle of crumbled bacon.

Fair Food

For the most part, we're pretty darn healthy eaters. The girls eat loads of fruit, mostly drink water and prefer wheat bread. We never buy soda or juice, rarely buy candy (minus good chocolate) and hardly ever eat fried food or fast food or, well junk food in general. Our issue has never been so much about the girlies being "unhealthy" eaters so much as the fact that they are supremely picky and so my mission has been to try and expand their palettes a little bit each day.

But a few times a year we throw all caution to the wind. We're not really strict when it comes to birthday parties or Halloween or Easter -- the girlies take to the treats with abandon and then the next day we go back to business as usual -- and so far, it's been a good system for us.

Our annual visit to the Texas State Fair is one of those "all wheels off" days. So enamoured we are with the culinary bacchanal that is the fair that we actually spend a lot of time plotting our food strategy beforehand. We all have our favorite (incredibly bad for you) fair food and our own little rituals for eating it. Bryan and I always go for the giant corny dogs... always. He likes his plain, I get the jalapeno cheese one -- it is spectacular, and I'm not even a big fan of hot dogs, so this is saying a lot. I also love the frozen, chocolate covered cheesecake. I know, I know... I told you, this is insanely bad for you food friends.

Audrey's go-to treats are those crazy battered chicken strips with loads of ketchup, she and Millie both beg for a giant bag of cotton candy, and we end up going home with a year's supply of peppermint saltwater taffy.

Last Friday was our yearly fair trip and after a week battling the flu, we all held back a bit on the food front. (Audrey and Millie couldn't even finish half their shared bag of cotton candy.) We were lightweights.

We'll have to make up for it next year...

What You're Cooking Week Three

First up Melissa’s Gingered Butternut Squash and Carrot Soup... I just found out I have H1N1, so I'm all about soup right now...

Then there's Nicole’s Pomegranate-glazed chicken...

And finally Pittsy’s Almost Pantry Pasta with Sausage, Tomatoes and Peas... Seriously great name, no?

Some of my favorites from your kitchens this week...

When in Rome…

images by Roland Bello for Gourmet... Bello's gorgeous work is one of the many reasons I'm so, so sad Gourmet will be no longer. sigh.

Recently, Erin from of the blog Villa Pacis e-mailed me with a peek into her kitchen in Rome. Specifically she shared her family’s seven staples, which I plan to copy immediatamente…

Here’s what Erin's family can’t live without on the food front:

1. Riso Giallo (yellow rice, which is actually risotto alla milanese) the kids LOVE this. we normally serve it with prosciutto after and parmesan cheese on top.
   
2. Lentil Soup served with parmesan cheese on top and oil
   
3. Polpettine con Sugo (little mini meatballs which I lace with grated vegetables and serve with a fresh tomato sauce.)
   
4. Pesce al Forno (whatever pretty fish we find at the market in a pan in the oven with cherry tomatoes sliced potatoes rosemary salt pepper to taste and olive oil baked together.)
   
5. Pollo Arrosto (roast chicken, stuffed with garlic, lots of lemon wedges, bay leaves, rosemary, salt and pepper to taste, olive oil and a splash of beer:-) we also add potatoes, carrots, fennel and garlic bits around in the pan.
   
6. Milanese (fried or baked but when fried only in extra virgin olive oil. served with steamed greens on the side and lemon juice on top.)
   
7. Minestrone (a Sunday night staple when we take every single vegetable we have in the fridge, cut them into bit size pieces, throw in a pot where we browned 1/2 and onion, garlic and celery, cook until waters come out of veggies, stir, cover with water to level of soup desired and cook for 30 minutes on low flame. we serve it with grated parmesan cheese on top and a drizzle of fresh olive oil.

Inspiring no?

So I’m curious, what are your staples?? We’ve talked a little about go-to meals in the past, but I’d love to hear more about what you always have on hand. I really believe there’s a science to stocking a pantry and if I could just get our staples worked out and have my ten go-to meals set in stone then I think I’d have this dinner time thing beat…

Online Cooking Club Week Three – Component Meals...

image via the NYT -- suffice to say, my end result looking nothing like this, no, it was kinda ugly, not strikingly beautiful as Bittman promises (proof below), but it was still incredibly yummy...for what it's worth!

When it comes to food, my girlies are purists.

One of my biggest challenges in getting them to try new things is their squeamishness at dishes containing multiple ingredients, which as you can imagine is a pretty major hurdle. They (like my husband, the apple didn’t fall far from the tree on this one) prefer their food one flavor at a time…they don't even like the different foods touching on their plates, which is pretty much, well…the total and complete opposite of me. (I once concocted a dish of Thanksgiving leftovers aptly named “Bowl of Thanks” that was sublime if I do say so myself. As you can imagine, Bryan did not agree.)

I’ve learned to deal with this challenge by falling back on (for the girlies, Bryan thankfully has *mostly* grown out of this unfortunate affliction) “component meals.” My typical system is to make something with multiple ingredients for me and bryan (like the pasta with asparagus, goat cheese and sausage) and then set aside the things the girls will eat and make a more palatable (read fewer ingredients) meal for the girlies…

What I decided to try for this week’s cooking club easily fell into this category. I made Mark Bittman’s Roasted Sweet Potato salad for the grown-ups and separated out some of the black beans and roasted sweet potatoes for the girlies.

The salad was a major win, and I think it could easily stand on its own, as it’s hearty and incredibly satisfying. We ended up serving it with some sliced grilled chicken, but the chicken felt like the side dish and the salad the star, it was so flavorful.

The only complaint is that it didn’t save well. I packaged some up for lunch the next day and it was average at best. I would highly recommend eating this right away, slightly warm. I also didn't add the red bell peppers, as we didn't have any on hand, so the consistency was very soft -- like a true potato salad. I think the crunch would have made it even better (and far prettier)...so I'd highly suggest following Bittman's recipe below.

Maybe your kiddos will be more into it than mine ;-)

Roasted Sweet Potato Salad with Black Beans and Chili Dressing – adapted from Mark Bittman

• 4 medium sweet potatoes (about 1 1/2 pounds), peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
• 1 large red onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 minced jalapeño
• 1 clove garlic, peeled
• Juice of 2 limes
• 2 cups cooked black beans, drained (canned are fine)
• 1 red or yellow bell pepper, seeded and finely diced
• 1 cup chopped fresh cilantro.

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Put sweet potatoes and onions on a large baking sheet, drizzle with 2 tablespoons oil, toss to coat and spread out in a single layer. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast, turning occasionally, until potatoes begin to brown on corners and are just tender inside, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove from oven; keep on pan until ready to mix with dressing.

Put chilies in a blender or mini food processor along with garlic, lime juice, remaining olive oil and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Process until blended.

Put warm vegetables in a large bowl with beans and bell pepper; toss with dressing and cilantro. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

What You're Cooking...

Kristine’s Potato and Boursin Frittata

I'm still planning to post my weekly Online Cooking Group meal on Tuesdays, but I've decided to feature some of your recipes on Mondays instead of Thursdays... in case you're wondering ;-)

You guys whipped up all sorts of goodness last week, and you certainly seemed to have better luck than me and my raw quiche!

Here are some of my faves from last week. I can't wait to try Kristine's fritatta. Eggs haven't scared me off... yet.

Lucy's butternut squash soup. Loving the little bit of bacon on top...YUM.

Keely’s Steak with Potato-Parsnip Mash...

In Print...

My first ever piece for an actual magazine. Pretty fun stuff! Take a peek...