Strollerderby : kitchenista

Kitchenista Meatless Mondays: Grilled Vegetables

KeriF — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 14:35:00 GMT

As much as I enjoy the hearty braises of winter, I get most inspired in the summer months, when I can throw a handful of fresh ingredients onto the grill and have a deliciously simple dinner in no time.

Grilled vegetables are a staple in our house (replaced by roasted vegetables when it gets too cold and dark at night to use the grill). The beauty of this recipe is that it isn't really a recipe at all, but merely guidelines to create your own version at home, using whatever vegetables you have on hand or that looked good at the farmer's market.

I like to serve the vegetables straight up, as a salad, but you can also pile them high on thick slices of grilled sourdough or fold into a steaming bowl of pasta. My kids, who are by no means terrific eaters, will make a meal of the latter, though more often than not they will leave the mushrooms and squash on their plates. That's okay with me. Some adults do that, too.

Grilled Vegetable Salad

Serves 4 to 6

3 portobello caps

1 medium red bell pepper, seeded and cut into large planks

4 small tomatoes

2 small Vidalia onions, sliced 1/2-inch thick

1 bunch asparagus, woody ends removed

1 zucchini, sliced lengthwise into 1/2-inch planks

1 yellow squash, sliced lengthwise into 1/2-inch plans

1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon olive oil

Salt and pepper

Juice of 1/2 lemon

2 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh basil

Set grill to high heat. In a large bowl combine Portobello caps with 1 tablespoon oil and season with salt and pepper. Arrange on the grill and cook until browned and softened, about 2 minutes per side. Repeat with remaining vegetables, tossing each with 1 tablespoon oil and seasoning generously with salt and pepper. When all vegetables are cooked, set aside on a baking sheet to cool.

When cool enough to handle, cut vegetables into 2-inch pieces. Place in a large bowl and add remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil, lemon juice, and basil. Season with additional salt and pepper if necessary. Serve immediately.

Kitchenista Meatless Mondays: Chunky Gazpacho

KeriF — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 17:04:00 GMT

It's June, and I don't care what the weather is outside, it's officially summer as far as I'm concerned. Which in my house means it's chilled soup time.

I'm not a fan of all chilled soups--vichysoisse just doesn't do it for me (cold creamy potatoes? No thanks.) and borscht is just too... purple. But I absolutely love gazpacho. It's like eating a big bowl of salsa. But better.

Okay, maybe not a ringing endorsement, but if you've never had gazpacho, this is a great easy recipe to try. You don't need any fancy knife skills and if you have a food processor, the whole thing won't take more than a few minutes to put together. It's cold, it's refreshing... it just screams summer.

Serve with crumbled tortilla chips on top, or a bowl of chips on the side for the kids. Get them dunking, and they might not even notice they're eating gazpacho.

Chunky Gazpacho

Serves 6

6 cups diced tomatoes (2 1/2 to 3 pounds)

1 seedless cucumber, chopped

1 medium red onion, chopped

1 large green pepper, chopped

1 small jalapeno pepper, finely chopped

1 1/2 cups tomato or vegetable juice

1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro

3 tablespoons champagne vinegar

Salt and pepper

Combine tomatoes, cucumber, onion, and peppers in a large bowl. Transfer just over half of the mixture to a food processor and puree until smooth. Return to bowl and stir to combine. Add tomato juice, cilantro, and vinegar, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Kitchenista Meatless Tuesday: Caprese Pasta Salad

KeriF — Tue, 26 May 2009 18:30:00 GMT

It takes a virtuous person to refuse hot sausage off the grill at a Memorial Day BBQ. I am not a virtuous person, so Meatless Monday was postponed to today.

After a glorious weekend of sun and fun, today is cold and rainy here in the Northeast. But since I simply cannot accept that it is the end of May and just 58 degrees outside, I am going to pretend it's warm and make my favorite summer pasta salad for dinner.

This is simply a take on the classic Caprese salad of fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, and basil. Here the ingredients are combined with pasta and dressed with balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil. I also like to add kalamata olives because, well, because I really like them. Feel free to throw in whatever else you have on hand that might fit--capers, artichokes, almost anything that's briny and tangy works.

I started making pasta salads a lot last year when I realized that my kids wanted to eat pasta every night for dinner. I reasoned that if they like hot pasta, they might like cold pasta, too. Like anything else, sometimes they like it, sometimes they don't. Here's hoping tonight they do.

Caprese Pasta Salad

Serve with a loaf of crusty sourdough bread.

Serves 4 to 6

2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped

1 clove garlic, chopped

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

4 cups cooked and chilled pasta, such as penne or rotini

3 medium tomatoes, cut into 1-inch pieces

3/4 cup chopped kalamata olives

1/2 pound fresh mozzarella, cut into 1-inch pieces

Salt and pepper

Combine basil, garlic, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar in a blender and mix until smooth.

Combine pasta, tomatoes, olives, and mozzarella in a large bowl. Add dressing and toss to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve.

Kitchenista Meatless Mondays: Veggie Noodle Stir-Fry

KeriF — Mon, 18 May 2009 14:32:00 GMT

If your kids are anything like mine, they'd be happy to eat pasta for dinner every night of the week. And while there's nothing inherently wrong with pasta, I try to give the kids a bit more variety in their diets. So instead of buttered noodles every night, sometimes I make Asian noodles instead. (That's variety, right?)

This is a fun dish because it's pasta, which kids know and love, but with a Chinese brown sauce and lots of crunchy veggies. Feel free to use whatever veg you have on hand; these are ones that are in my refrigerator right now and happen to be ones my kids will eat. The sauce is a little sweet and a little salty, so should please both the young and old at the table. Feel free to pass some chili sauce on the side amongst the grown-ups.

Vegetable and noodle stir-fry

Serves 6

3/4 cup vegetable stock

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 tablespoons hoisin

1 tablespoon cornstarch

3/4 pound dry linguine

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 small head bok choy, sliced 1/2-inch thick, stems and leaves separated

2 medium red bell peppers, sliced thin

8 ounces white mushrooms, sliced thin

1 bunch scallions, sliced thin

Salt and pepper

1. In a small bowl combine chicken stock, soy sauce, hoisin, and cornstarch. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the linguine and cook according to the package directions.

2. In a large skillet heat the oil over medium high heat. Add the bok choy stems and cook 2 minutes, or until just starting to soften. Add the mushrooms and cook 2 minutes, or until edges begin to brown. Add the red peppers and cook 2 minutes, or until just beginning to soften. Add the bok choy leaves and cook 2 minutes longer, or until all vegetables are tender. Add the chicken stock mixture and cook 1 to 2 minutes longer, or until the sauce is thickened. Add drained linguine and toss to combine. Add scallions and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

Photo: BBC Good Food

Kitchenista: Another Tip on Getting Kids to Eat Veggies

Madeline Holler — Wed, 13 May 2009 20:02:00 GMT

No magic formula in this video, but there are a few nice veggie recipes that might get your kids chomping on produce.

This video is subtle plug for Hidden Valley Ranch, a substance I go back and forth on with regard to veggie enticement. But these recipes don't require the high-calorie, super-processed sauce. (No judgment if your kids do ... whatever it takes, right?)

I know the studies and I'm interested in getting my kids to eat veggies, too. But sometimes I wonder if we're not a little too desperate to get them to eat veggies. I'm not about to puree sweet potatoes for mac 'n' cheese (lazy!) or offer ranch and melted cheese on just-picked farmer's market produce. But I also try to get good tasting stuff, fresh and I will sautee or steam or grill and drizzle with oil and a sprinkling of salt.

I'm mainly of the offer it over and over/no-thank-you bite/no special meals school. My second-grader seems to be coming out of a three-year veggie slump (just as my four-year-old enters it ... nice!). Not sure if it has anything to do with me, but I just thought I'd throw that out there in case you need some hope.

Anyway, what are your veggie secrets?

Kitchenista Meatless Mondays: Real Kids Eat Quiche

KeriF — Mon, 11 May 2009 14:07:00 GMT

When my oldest son was 1, his favorite food was scrambled eggs. From there I extrapolated that he would probably like quiche as well, since quiche is basically scrambled egg pie. I was right. And since quiche is a lot easier to pack in a daycare lunchbox, it soon took over as favored food.

Now Declan is 4 1/2, and he still loves quiche. So it has become my easy go-to dinner during the week. If you're a big cheater like I am and keep a stash of frozen pie crusts in the freezer, the whole thing comes together in about 5 minutes. If you're a masochist and choose to make your own pie crust, more power to you. It still won't take very long.

Tonight, in honor of Meatless Monday, I'll keep the quiche vegetarian. For the kids, that means tiny broccoli florets and cheddar cheese. For the grown-ups, mushrooms, leeks, and goat cheese. I'll throw together a simple green salad and let the kids help themselves (most of them probably won't, but I still like to offer it).

I like to serve the quiche warm or at room temperature, but it's also good cold. And if there are any leftovers, try sending a wedge in your child's lunchbox. No fork required.

Quiche

6 eggs

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 cup cooked filling and 2 ounces cheese (or use one of the recipes below)

Salt and pepper to taste

1 frozen pie crust (not deep dish, not thawed)

1. Set oven to 400 degrees.

2. In a large bowl whisk together the eggs, cream, salt, and pepper until foamy.

3. Spread the filling in the prepared pie shell. Place on a sheet pan on the middle rack of the oven and pour the eggs over. Bake 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden brown and set. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Mushroom, leek, and goat cheese filling

2 tablespoons butter

8 ounces white mushrooms, sliced

1 leek, sliced thin (about 1 cup raw)

2 ounces goat cheese (about 1/4 cup), crumbled

In a large skillet over medium high heat, melt the butter. Add the mushrooms and leeks and cook about 10 minutes, or until soft and browned at the edges. Spread the mushrooms and leeks in an even layer in the pie crust and top with the goat cheese.

Broccoli and cheddar filling

4 ounces broccoli, chopped (about 1 cup)

2 ounces shredded cheddar cheese (about 1/2 cup)

Steam or boil the broccoli until cooked but still firm. Spread the broccoli in an even layer in the pie crust and top with the cheddar cheese.

Kitchenista: The Mother's Day Breakfast I Really Want

KeriF — Fri, 08 May 2009 19:30:00 GMT

I was going to write about a post about how all I really want for Mother's Day is a few hours away from my kids, but then I realized my sister already wrote that post last year, so I'll just link to it.

Instead, I'll share a recipe for what I'd like for breakfast on Sunday. No, not a complicated brunch lovingly prepared by my husband (though he is a wonderful chef and would probably make me eggs Benedict, which is my all time favorite brunch), nor an equally lovingly but not quite as professionally prepared brunch by my two sons, aged 3 and 4, which would likely feature cold cereal and chocolate milk. I don't even want to go out to brunch, which we did last year with a newborn and two sons aged 2 and 3, and I'm sure I don't need to tell you how that went.

No, all I really want Mother's Day morning is a few extra hours in bed, with a hot cup of coffee and a banana muffin. That's not so much to ask for, is it?

The thing is, Mother's Day breakfasts can get completely out of control. Either you end up eating in bed while your children and husband watch you, waiting for signs of approval, and then you spend weeks getting all the crumbs out; or you eat it in the kitchen, and end up chasing after the kids while your husband does all the cooking. Neither option is very relaxing.

So I vote for simplicity. Muffins can be eaten while propped up in bed reading a book, or even laying down, catching up on In Treatment.

Then, when you're ready, you can open your handmade gifts from the kids (A felt visor! I love it!) and your husband (A gift certificate for a massage! I love it!), have a giant family snuggle, and remember exactly why you had kids in the first place.

Banana Bread

The key is to use really, really, really overripe (aka rotten) bananas.

1 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 very ripe bananas

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup chocolate chips (or chunks)

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Set oven to 350 degrees. Grease a pan or muffin tin. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl. Combine bananas and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle and beat well, about 3 minutes. Add eggs, oil, and vanilla and mix until combined. Add dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Add chocolate chips and walnuts and mix until evenly distributed.

Pour into prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out with a few moist crumbs, about 15 minutes for cupcakes, 30 minutes for 9-by-11-inch cake, 50 minutes for loaf pan.

Photo: MadBaker

Consumer Reports Picks Top Cookie; Kids Don't Care

KeriF — Thu, 07 May 2009 12:34:00 GMT

How do I know the new ranking of chocolate chip cookies by Consumer Reports magazine is bogus? Because I have kids.

Even though the CR study was done with "trained sensory panelists," I'd put my 3-year-old son up against them any day. Why?

Have you ever tried to tell a 3-year-old what to like or not to like? "But honey, this is a top-rated cookie! You have to like it!"

I'm sure that CR winners Health Valley's Mini and Keebler Chips Deluxe Original are very tasty chocolate chip cookies. But as any parent will tell you, kids like what they like. End of story.

What I really want to know is: what kind of chocolate chip cookie do the children of the "trained sensory panelists" like? That would be a cookie I might buy. Because let's face it, the palate of a child and that of an adult are different. That's why we don't share our decadent chocolate truffles with our kids; they just wouldn't appreciate it.

So what's your kid's favorite chocolate chip cookie? Do the Consumer Reports rankings sway you at all?

Kitchenista Meatless Mondays: Dip It, Dip It Good

KeriF — Mon, 04 May 2009 13:01:00 GMT

Welcome to Meatless Mondays!

Meatless Mondays is a national public health campaign in association with Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health to help Americans eat healthier for themselves and for the environment. The goal: to reduce our consumption of saturated fat by 15 percent by 2010. The method: skip meat just one day a week.

Michael Pollan, author of In Defense of Food and several other sustainable food tomes, also advocates reducing the amount of meat in our diet. He says the easiest way to reduce our carbon footprint is to to reduce the amount of meat we eat. "I'm not talking about going vegetarian," he says. "But even one meatless day a week—a meatless Monday, which is what we do in our household."

Reducing the amount of meat we eat not only helps the environment, it helps our bodies as well. "To the extent we push meat a little bit to the side and move vegetables to the center of our diet, we're also going to be a lot healthier," Pollan says.

I'll be posting menu ideas on Monday mornings... Please share your own ideas as well in the comments!

Tonight we're having dipping day, aka tapas for tots. The best part? You don't need any silverware. Heck, if you're a really close family, you don't need any plates either!

Of course what you serve depends on what you have around, but here's what we're having:

Hummus and pita wedges: The kids aren't too keen on the hummus, but the parents are, and sometimes the kids will try it. Eventually, I figure, they'll get so used to it they'll eat it themselves. I like to make my own hummus--it's a fairly simple combination of chick peas, tahini, lemon juice, garlic, water, olive oil, and salt and pepper, pureed in the food processor--but you can certainly buy it as well.

Roasted tomato salsa and pita chips: I don't have any tortilla chips in the house, so I'll toss some pita wedges with olive oil, salt and pepper, and bake them in a 400 degree oven until they're brown and crisp, about 10 minutes. Since the oven will already be on, I'll roast some tomatoes, garlic, red onion, and red pepper for a quick salsa. That takes longer, about 30 minutes, until the veggies begin to blacken at the edges and the onions are soft. Then I puree it all in the food processor with some lime juice and, if I have it, cilantro (unfortunately, I don't have any today), and of course, salt and pepper. Though I prefer my salsa spicy, I keep this one on the sweet side since the kids actually seem to like it.

Veggies and dressing: Pretty self-explanatory. I've got baby carrots, celery, and red peppers. And a bottle of ranch for the kids. We also have some leftover Caesar dressing my husband made over the weekend, so I'll put some of that out for the adults.

Fruit and vanilla yogurt: We're got strawberries, grapes, and clementines. And lowfat vanilla yogurt.

I'll put everything out on big platters and let the kids eat whatever they want. We've recently instituted a no-dessert policy in the house, since dinnertime turned into a giant negotiation by the kids to see how much food they had to eat to get dessert (we'll just save the treats for earlier in the day or on the weekend; we're not heathens). So now we just tell them to eat what they want until they're full, since there won't be any more food before bed. We'll see how that works.

How to Raise a Foodie

KeriF — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 13:35:00 GMT

Step One: Lovingly hand-puree baby's first foods, taking care to use only organic vegetables and lots of herbs and spices so baby's palate develops.

Step Two: Continue to feed baby everything under the sun as she develops into an adventurous eater by the time she turns one, diving into plates of pad Thai and roasted mushroom risotto with abandon.

Step Three: Keep feeding your toddler everything under the sun, even when she literally spits it back in your face, on past her second birthday when she simply stops eating.

Step Four: Fingers crossed behind your back, tell all your friends she's a foodie.

My kids should have been foodies. They were born into it. Their parents are both chefs, and would sooner eat asparagus in February than eat processed food. And we did Steps One and Two with great success. Unfortunately, we also did Step Three. By that time, however, we didn't care that our oldest son wasn't a foodie. We just wanted him to eat.

My sister, with whom I share a communal household, found this quite funny, and even wrote about it for Babble. Now that my youngest daughter is nearly one and eating everything under the sun, I'm enjoying Step Two while I can, knowing that Step Three is just around the corner.

I'm not the only one to harbor not-so-secret hopes of raising an adventurous eater. Matthew Amster-Burton wrote a book about it, "Hungry Monkey: A Food-Loving Father's Quest to Raise an Adventurous Eater" (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2009).

"I really didn't want to fall into something where I was cooking separate food for her," says Amster-Burton. "Luckily, pretty much from her first mouthful of solid food, Iris was way more interested in what we were eating anyway."

Sure, that's how it starts.

Now Iris is 5. Does she still eat sushi and Thai chicken salad?

Of course not.

Amster-Burton concedes that his daughter may be slightly less picky than other kids her age, but if so, "it's by a factor of like 5 percent."

But that's not the point, insists Amster-Burton.

"She has a vast interest in food beyond what she actually likes to eat," he said. "Someday, that's going to pay off."

That's what I keep telling myself.

Photo: The New York Times

Kitchenista: Candy is Dandy (But Cheating is Quicker)

KeriF — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 21:06:00 GMT

I've always openly admired (but secretly hated) those moms who make handmade candies for their children's parties, artfully decorated homemade marshmallows or intricately crafted chocolate pops. Don't get me wrong, I love making homemade treats, and will shamefully use them to bribe the preschool director, but my treats always look homemade.

So when it comes to candy, I skip the tempering of the chocolate and the boiling of the sugar and the fancy molds and such, and I do what every smart mom does: I cheat.

Lately, I'm big on chocolate. Especially this coating chocolate made by Ghirardelli, which my brother-in-law picked up in a 5-pound block at Costco. Coating chocolate has other ingredients in it that make it shiny and allow it to dry super-duper fast. Here's what I've made with it in the last few weeks:

Fancy pretzels: Dip braided pretzel in melted coating chocolate so that about 3/4 of the pretzel is covered (enough room for your fingers to hold the pretzel while you dip it in the chocolate). Sprinkle pretzel with sprinkles (multi-colored non-pareils are good). Place on lined sheet tray to air dry. If you're feeling really fancy, stick a mini marshmallow on the chocolate tip of the pretzel before you sprinkle the sprinkles.

S'mores: Combine mini marshmallows, chocolate chips, and graham cracker pieces. Add melted coating chocolate and stir to, well, coat. You want enough chocolate to just coat the ingredients. Scoop into little mounds on a lined baking sheet or fill mini- or regular-cupcake liners. Set aside to set at room temperature.

Chocolate-covered nuts and dried fruit: You need patience for this: dip individual salted nuts and pieces of dried fruit (the sweet/salty combo is divine) into the chocolate so that each nut is covered halfway. Set on a lined baking sheet to set. Some good combos: salted almonds and dried apricots; salted cashews and dried cherries; salted pistachios and "dried plums."

Mores S'mores: I made these with my niece for pajama day at her school and they were a big hit: dip large marshmallows in melted chocolate so that the chocolate covers them about halfway. Top chocolate end with a small piece of graham cracker, or dip in graham cracker crumbs. Leave at room temperature to set.

Of course, all of these will work just as well with melted chocolate (semi-sweet or milk) or chocolate chips; they will just take longer to set. If using real chocolate (rather than coating chocolate) I like to put it in the refrigerator for half and hour or so to set, then remove and keep at room temperature. (Real chocolate will set, eventually, at room temperature, but it will take over an hour.)

What are your favorite uses for melted chocolate? (Keep it clean, folks!)

Happy Meals at Haughty Places?

KeriF — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 20:04:00 GMT

When my oldest son was one, I wrote a story for our city magazine about fine dining with children. I dragged Declan to five white tablecloth restaurants and tried to enjoy myself. Just because Declan didn't eat foie gras, I reasoned, didn't mean I couldn't.

I think I wanted to prove to myself more than anything that I could do it, that my life didn't have to change completely just because I had a baby. And I did do it, even if it wasn't always relaxing.

Over at Gourmet.com, they have an article that offers similar advice, though they stress that you should not bring your baby to a fine dining restaurant.

"Despite what some people would argue," author Genevieve Ko insists, "anywhere with crisp white tablecloths, beautiful glassware, and $20-plus entrées is out. (Save those places for date nights; the cost of a sitter is worth it.)"

I would argue that you can bring your baby to upscale restaurants, but you have to choose the right places. Starkly silent dining rooms will only serve as echo chambers for a toddler's budding vocal chords. Bustling cafes, on the other hand, have enough underlying noise in which to blend a child's endless chatter.

Also important is the time at which you dine. If you can, plan your nice meals for lunchtime, which is inherently more casual and your child will likely be more tolerated. At dinner, plan on arriving early when there are fewer diners and your toddler won't be up past his bedtime.

Though many fine dining restaurants are all about leisurely pacing, babies are not. Keep the meal to one course (or ask for appetizers and entrees to arrive together) and don't be afraid to ask for the check the moment your food arrives, in case you have to make a quick getaway. And you should always be prepared for a quick getaway; the most important tenet of dining with kids is knowing when to quit. At one restaurant we followed all the rules, arriving early, sitting in the lounge, and ordering fast. But our son was simply not in the mood, which, coupled with slow service and disapproving businessmen seated around us, caused us to leave half our meals behind.

Ko offers other advice that holds true no matter where you're eating: Bring plenty of toys, games, and crayons to keep the kids occupied, and always, always, tip generously. You're bound to leave a big mess behind.

By the time my second and third children arrived, our fine dining forays faded fast. I realized I didn't need to prove anything to anyone. Of course your life changes completely when you have kids. That's the whole point, right?

Photo: Gourmet.com

When are Kids Old Enough to Watch Star Wars?

Kitchenista: Instant Chocolate Cake

KeriF — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 21:02:00 GMT

What if I told you that you could make a chocolate cake, from stirring to baking, in less than 5 minutes? What if I told you that this cake served just one person and could be en route to your mouth before the kids get home from school?

Now, what if I told you that this cake was borderline disgusting?

You may have received one of the dozens of versions of this email floating around, offering up a quick and easy single-serve chocolate cake right from your microwave. Maybe you were lulled into a fantasy of warm chocolate cake RIGHT NOW, without the hassle of sifting, folding, mixing, and baking for upwards of 30 long minutes.

Thankfully, I was spared this email, though I can't say it would've tempted me; with 12 people living in the communal household I share with my sister (plus any number of friends, relatives, or strangers wandering through at any given time), a single-serve cake is laughable. But I certainly see the appeal.

Curious? If you must try it, read all about it over at the King Arthur Flour blog, where you can see the original version (truly horrific) and a modified version (partially horrific, but good enough for a child, apparently).

If you do try it, please post your results below. If I can find a few moments when there are fewer than four people in the house today, I just may try it myself.

Source: Boston Globe

Kitchenista: Soft Pretzels

KeriF — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 13:21:00 GMT

I know what you're thinking: there's no way in heck I'm making soft pretzels. That's what Auntie Anne's is for. Only crazy people with too much time on their hands make soft pretzels.

I know what you're thinking because I was like that a few months ago. I'm a trained chef but I still thought soft pretzels were one of those things, like spaghetti or Cadbury Cream Eggs, that you buy rather than make.

But then I made them and I haven't been the same since.

Okay, that's a slight exaggeration. Part of me hasn't been the same, because now I think about soft pretzels all the time, hot and dripping with butter, and I think, hey, I could make a batch right now. They're just that easy.

Here's how you do it: make an incredibly simple dough of water, yeast, brown sugar, and flour. Don't knead it, just combine it; it will look a bit shaggy. Let it rise for half an hour, then cut it into pieces, roll it out, and shape it into pretzels. Actually, that's the hardest part. (I certainly didn't make those pretzels in the picture... mine were a bit more, er, rustic looking.) To get the pretzels super brown and shiny, you dip them in a baking soda bath first. Then sprinkle with salt and bake.

What makes them really delicious, however, is the butter. That's how we do it here in Pennsylvania. You brush the hot pretzels with melted butter. And really, what doesn't taste better with melted butter?

Soft Pretzels

You can make these any size you want; if you divide the dough into fewer pieces, you'll have large pretzels, or you can divide into many pieces for smaller pretzels.

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups warm water

1 tablespoon instant yeast

1/4 cup brown sugar

3 1/2 cups flour

1/3 cup baking soda

3 cups water

Coarse kosher salt

Melted butter

Set oven to 500 degrees. Grease two baking sheets. Combine 1 1/4 cups warm water, yeast, brown sugar, and flour in a large bowl and mix on medium speed until it just forms a dough; do not overmix. Transfer to a greased bowl, cover, and place in a warm spot (like the back of the stove) to rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.

Turn out onto a clean surface and cut into equal pieces. Roll each piece into a long rope and shape into a pretzel, gently pinching the dough where it touches so it holds its shape.

Dissolve the baking soda in 4 cups water and bring to a boil. Place the pretzels into the boiling water for 30 seconds, then remove and place on a greased baking sheet. Sprinkle pretzels with coarse salt.

Bake until pretzels are deep golden brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Brush with melted butter and serve immediately.

Kitchenista: Cake Pops

KeriF — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 15:03:00 GMT

I'm a pretty good baker, if I do say so myself. But I'm a terrible decorator. I have neither the skill nor the patience to create edible works of art. So for my kids' birthdays, I convince them that cupcakes are a far better choice than a whole cake, since I can passably frost a cupcake with a pastry bag and not have it look like it was done by the birthday child.

But for the next birthday party, I'm making these.

If you can roll Play-do, you can make these cake pops. You bake a cake, then crumble it into very small pieces--which means even if your cake comes out lopsided or dry at the edges, you can't ruin this--then add frosting, mix it all together, and shape into balls with your hands. Then you insert a lollipop stick, dip the balls in melted chocolate, and you're good to go. You can stick on some sprinkles or nuts or candies while the chocolate is still a little wet, or let it dry completely and then drizzle them with melted white chocolate.

The Kitchn has step-by-step instructions here. And if you want to get really fancy, Bakerella will teach you how to make amazing Hello Kitty cake pops. I am in awe.

Photo: TheKitchn

Kitchenista: Make the Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Even Better

KeriF — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 14:25:00 GMT

I have tinkered over the years with the iconoclastic chocolate chip cookie and must agree with Jeanne that the Toll House recipe, printed right on the bag of chips, is the best version. But that doesn't mean you can't put your own twist on it.

Here are a few of my favorite variations on the good ol' fashioned Toll House chocolate chip cookie:

Butterscotch: Instead of half white, half brown sugar, use all brown sugar and add butterscotch chips

Chocolate orange: Use orange extract instead of vanilla and add dark chocolate chips (like Ghirardelli)

Blueberry white chocolate: I love this combo in granola bars, oatmeal cookies, and here: add one package white chocolate chips and 1 cup dried blueberries

Mint chocolate chip: Use peppermint extract instead of vanilla and add milk chocolate chips or break York Peppermint Patties into small pieces and add them

What about you? Do you ever mess with the classic?

Kitchenista: It's Chocolate Chip Cookie Week!

JeanneSager — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 14:07:00 GMT

When I was a kid, my tastes for chocolate chip cookies were almost sacriligious. I prefered them out of the box to fresh from the oven.

Boxed cookie were verboten in my house - making their soft, chocolatey goodness so much sweeter when I got my hands on a box. Because the boxed cookies, found at the end of the grocery aisle with the donuts and coffee cakes, were far and away THE best. No sleeves of Chips Ahoy for me.

Fortunately, I've learned the error of my ways. So my family can celebrate Chocolate Chip Cookie Week the way it was meant to be honored - muching on homemade goodies a la my old French friend Nes-lay Toulouse (yes, that's Nestle Tollhouse to you party poopers).

Because like Monica in one of my favorite Friends episodes, I have resigned myself to the fact that all my home tinkering can't improve on the original . . . with one exception. I leave the chips up to my daughter. She's allowed to pull anything I have in the closet out for CCC baking - the white chips, the caramel swirled chips, the half butterscotch, the semi-sweet, the dark, the milk chocolate - and they all go in one big batch.

Yes - it's my kid who has improved on the classic chocolate chip cookie recipe. It seems fitting - chocolate chip cookies are, after all, the ultimate kid treat. Is there any kid that WON'T eat them?

Are you ready to celebrate? Chocolate Chip Cookie Week is the second week of March, and courtesy of Nestle Tollhouse, here's their famous recipe:

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) chips - they call for Nestle Tollhouse, of course, but throw in EVERYTHING you've got
1 cup chopped nuts (with all the nut allergies, I leave these out)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375° F.

Combine flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.

Bake for nine to eleven minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for two minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Image: Very Best Baking

Kitchenista: How to Cook With What's Left in the Kitchen

Would You Let the Kid Eat Dog Food?

Kid Foodies Annoy Food Writers Everywhere

JeanneSager — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 22:30:00 GMT

I have to wonder if Regina Schrambling has spent any time around a kid.

The food writer for Epicurious and the like ranted about what she calls the most annoying food craze since Rachael Ray in Slate this week. Her problem with kiddie gourmets?

For one, they rate texture over taste, she says. So kids give a big thumbs down to food that's slimy. Don't you?

Schrambling is also skittish about kids spending any time inside kitchens - because they're not nurseries. She's got a point, but then again, that's their parents' problems - not hers. Boiling pots of water? Food processors? Run just as much a risk of hurting kids who race around underfoot when their parents are making dinner as they do when a child is taught to teach them with respect and properly use them.

Her biggest problem seems to be that she just doesn't think kids can discern delicious from decent - while adults can. Considering some of the strange things my three-year-old will eat, I can't exactly disagree. But considering some of the strange things my twenty-one-year-old brother will eat, I can't exactly agree either.

What makes kid foodies unique is their honesty. They know what they like, and they're generally not afraid to tell you. They'll often tell you what they DON'T like about it too, even if - as Schrambling says - they don't have the "math skills" to quantify exactly what's off about the food. But put a piece of overcooked eggplant on a child's plate, and they have no qualms about telling you it tastes like rubber. And they'd be right. Their palates might be inexperienced, but they're still human, and they still have very definite things to say about what they like.

The question is whether anyone is listening.

Image: Slate

Kitchenista -- Snow Ice Cream

Brett Singer — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 00:00:00 GMT

With yesterday's record snow fall, lots of kids doubtless indulged in the snow ball fights, snow angels, and the requisite snowperson ("snowman" seems so last century). But if you want something new, why not try making...drum roll please...

Snow Ice Cream!

This is a real thing, and Valerie Reiss over at Beliefnet's new blog FreshLiving actually went the extra mile and made some. Just to report back on how to do it, and to make absolutely certain that it wasn't poison. Tough job, but somebody's got to do it.

The recipe is pretty basic:

2-3 cups clean snow
2 TBs half-and-half
1 TB maple syrup
1 TB cocoa powder
1 dash pure vanilla
"Add ingredients to medium-small bowl, smoosh with a spoon, serve and enjoy!"

It would never occur to me to do something like this. Then again, I live in Manhattan, where most of the snow turns brown within minutes of landing. Valerie scooped some fresh powder off of her fire escape, other city dwellers could try a park; Central should work, although personally I'd watch out for stray dog mess. Or wait until the next snow fall.

So I haven't tried snow ice cream, but it sounds like just making it would be a hit with kids. One to file away for the next snow day.

Source: Beliefnet FreshLiving

Image: All Recipes (also another way to make it)

Kitchenista: Quick Cinnamon Rolls

KeriF — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 14:30:00 GMT

As I write this (before dawn), 8 children are sleeping soundly in the communal household I share with my sister, oblivious to the blanket of snow that is falling. But soon, our kids, ranging in age from 9 months to 10 years, will wake, scream for joy that school is cancelled, and then stare at me expectantly, waiting for me to entertain them.

So we're going to make cinnamon rolls. Not the time-consuming yeasted Cinnabon kind you can get at the mall, but a quick and dirty biscuit-based roll. These rolls come together in about 10 minutes and are decadently delicious.

The rolls are best served warm, which isn't really a problem in our house--they're gone before they hit the table--but if you manage to save a few, nuke 'em for 15 seconds or so to warm them up before serving.

Quick cinnamon rolls

Yield: 12 rolls

For the filling:

1/4 cup dark brown sugar

1/4 cup sugar

2 teaspoons cinnamon

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

For the dough:

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 tablespoons sugar

1 stick unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces

3/4 cup whole milk or buttermilk

For the icing:

1 cup confectioners’ sugar

2 to 3 tablespoons whole milk

1. Set oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 9-inch cake pan. In a small bowl combine all the filling ingredients except the butter and set aside.

2. In a large bowl, combine the blour, baking powder, and sugar and mix to combine. Add the butter, one piece at a time, until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the milk and mix until the dough just comes together. Turn out onto a floured surface and roll into a large rectangle, about 9-inches by 16-inches.

3. Brush the dough with the butter and sprinkle the filling mixture over it evenly, leaving a 1/2-inch border at the top. Gently roll the dough, starting from the bottom, pressing the seam to seal. With a serrated knife, cut the log into 12 equal pieces. Arrange the pieces evenly in the cake pan. Bake 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden brown.

4. While the rolls are baking, combine the icing ingredients in a small bowl and whisk to combine. When the rolls come out of the oven, cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a cake plate. Drizzle the icing evenly over the rolls. Serve immediately.

Photo: King Arthur Flour

Kitchenista: No Bake Cake

KeriF — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 14:30:00 GMT

My great-grandmother used to "bake" this Icebox Cake all the time, I'm told, and now my Aunt Rita has taken ownership of it. Her version features chocolate Jell-O pudding, Cool Whip, and graham crackers layered together and topped with maraschino "cherries." The layers all meld together and get soft and yummy and yes, cake-like. No oven required!

Of course it's delicious, as anything with pudding is, but I'm not big into Jell-O pudding or Cool Whip (or "cherries"), so I developed my own version using homemade chocolate pudding and whipped cream.

This has become my go-to dessert when I'm entertaining, going to someone's house, or in the mood to scarf down an entire cake. I love it because I always have the ingredients on hand so can make it at a moment's notice. I realize not everyone lives in a communal household of 12 like I do and therefore does not buy graham crackers by the case, so even if you don't have all the ingredients at the ready, they're easy enough to pick up at the grocer. Heck, you could probably find everything you need at 7-11.

Icebox Cake

Serves 12

For the chocolate pudding:

1/4 cup cornstarch

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

Pinch salt

2 cups whole milk

2 cups heavy cream

8 oz semisweet chocolate, finely chopped, plus extra for garnish

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 tablespoon vanilla

1 14-ounce box graham crackers

For the whipped cream:

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

2 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

Whisk together cornstarch, sugar, cocoa, and a pinch of salt in a heavy medium saucepan, then gradually whisk in milk and heavy cream. Bring to a boil, whisking constantly, then boil, whisking, until thickened, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in chopped chocolate, butter, and vanilla until melted and smooth. Set aside to cool slightly.

Arrange one single layer of graham crackers in a 9-by-11 baking dish. Top with 1/3 of the chocolate pudding. Repeat with remaining graham crackers and pudding, ending with a layer of pudding. Refrigerate while you prepare the whipped cream.

Combine heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla in the bowl of a stand mixer and whip to soft peaks. Spread whipped cream in an even layer on top of pudding. Garnish with grated chocolate (or maraschino cherries, if you insist).

Photo: The Wandering Eater

Kitchenista: Homemade Hamburger Helper

KeriF — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 15:48:00 GMT

You may not harbor fond memories of family dinners gathered around a steaming skillet of Hamburger Helper like I do, but there’s no doubt that most of us have a soft spot for simple one-pot meals. They can be quick and easy, and if you skip the boxed stuff, actually healthy. And what kid can resist elbow macaroni?

So here's my recipe to "help your hamburger make a great meal." Since everything is cooked in one pan, there's very little clean-up. And the whole thing can be on the table in less than 30 minutes. Unfortunately, I can't help you with the inflated rubber glove guy… You'll have to find your own four-fingered friend to talk to while you prepare dinner.

Chili Mac

Serves 4

Though this dish is delicious on its own, feel free to garnish it with sour cream, scallions, slices of avocado, crumbled tortilla chips, or anything else you can get your kids to eat.

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 medium onion, diced (about 1 cup)

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 pound ground beef

8 ounces elbow macaroni

1 can crushed tomatoes

2 cups chicken stock

2 teaspoons chili powder

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese or Mexican cheese blend (about 4 ounces), plus extra for garnish

Salt and pepper, to taste

1. In a large skillet over medium high heat cook the onion in the oil 5 minutes, or until lightly browned and soft. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute.

2. Add the ground beef and cook 5 minutes, or until browned and cooked through. Add the macaroni, tomatoes, stock, and spices and stir to combine. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer, cover, and cook about 10 minutes, or until liquid is mostly absorbed and macaroni is tender but still al dente.

3. Add cheese and stir until melted. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve immediately, garnished with extra cheese.

Kitchenista: How to Cook With What's Left in the Kitchen

JeanneSager — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 22:02:00 GMT

I'm the queen of procrastinating on the shopping. Fortunately, I have a husband who isn't afraid of a little cart-pushing around the local grocery store.

But with procrastinating about the shopping also comes procrastinating about list making, and my husband is not a mind reader (he's working on it, but you know what they say about not marrying a man with the intention of changing him). So more often than not, the pickings in our closet come dinner time are . . . slim to none.

Easier to deal with before the economy took a dive (hello? yes, I'd like a large pie . . . ). Now that we're cutting back, I've been spending a little more time on the list-making and the shopping . . . and a lot more time of scrounging around the closet looking for ideas.

Which would be easier if I didn't have a three year old who liked to stand at the doorway to the kitchen and ask, repeatedly, "Mommy, what are we eating, Mommy, what's for dinner, Mommmmmmy."

My new find? Not Beans Again. Plug five ingredients into their homepage, and they spit back a list of choices you can make with what you have left (and a few basics - come on, if you don't have flour in your house, you REALLY need to get food shopping). Use it to bust your picky eater out of their comfort zone by letting them pick the ingredients.

You don't have to stick with their recipes, if they don't interest you, but it's a great jumping off point for parents who have gotten stuck in that chicken nuggets and mac and cheese rut. Especially parents like me, who procrastinate.

Even if you're not cooking tonight, it's a good (free) time waster. What are the weirdest combinations of foods you can come up with to plug into the list? Can't think of any good ones? Ask your kids - they'll come up with something goofy.

Image:

Kitchenista: Salted Caramel Popcorn

KeriF — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 23:05:00 GMT

Pitchers and catchers reported for spring training this weekend! That means it's almost baseball season! Time to sit on a couch for hours, watching the slowest-moving game known to mankind creep and crawl towards an agonizing finish that doesn't even matter anyway since there are so many gosh darned games in a season...

Okay, I'm kidding. Sort of. I don't watch a lot of baseball on television (and even confess that I fell asleep watching my husband's beloved Red Sox in the World Series two years ago), but I love going to the games. Why? Because I'm a glutton. As long as I'm eating, I'm happy.

I used to love Cracker Jack, but either it got really bad or I got really old. So I make this instead, which is how I think Cracker Jack should taste. It's sweet and salty and really delicious. Serve it with hot dogs, beer, cotton candy, soft pretzels, peanuts, ice cream, and nachos, and you can feel like you're really at the game!

Salted Caramel Popcorn

Serves 6

You can pop your own corn, buy a bag of it, or microwave a bag, but try not to use anything that's too heavily coated with artificial butter.

6 cups popped corn

1 cup salted peanuts

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup corn syrup

1/4 cup water

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon table salt

1. In a large bowl combine the popcorn and peanuts. Set aside.

2. In a medium saucepan combine the sugar, corn syrup, and water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and cook about 10 minutes, or until it turns a light amber color.

3. Off heat add the butter, baking soda, and salt, and stir until smooth (the mixture will foam up; just keep stirring). Pour over the popcorn mixture and stir to coat evenly; work quickly as the caramel will begin to harden. Transfer to a greased cookie sheet and spread in an even layer. Set aside 10 minutes to cool and set.

4. When cool, break into small pieces and serve immediately.

Photo: Good Housekeeping

Kitchenista: Chocolate Sweets for Your Sweetie

KeriF — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 14:31:00 GMT

Truffles sound like they'd be really complicated to make, but the truth is, they couldn't be simpler. In fact, there are only three ingredients: chocolate, heavy cream, and butter. Melt them together, roll them into balls, dip them in more melted chocolate and toss in some cocoa powder (okay, four ingredients), and you're good to go.

These truffles are perfect for Valentine's Day because, well, they're truffles. But more importantly, they're homemade. It won't cost you much more than $5 to make several dozen, which would run you $100 or more at a fancy chocolate store.

Last year, my friend Greg Case, a pastry chef, and I wrote an article about ganache (which is the base of a truffle) for Fine Cooking; you can get the recipe with step-by-step instructions so you too can impress your honey here. Be sure to check out the tasty variations, like Toffe and Fleur de Sel. They need more than three ingredients. But they're worth it.

Photo: Fine Cooking

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Kitchenista -- Snow Ice Cream

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Kitchenista: No Bake Cake

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