Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24: 5 Stars Dinner at Home… But Will the Kids Eat It?

Are you a foodie? Are you a foodie and a parent? Do your kids share your passion for food? Or do they give you a hard time?

I am a foodie and a picky eater in a choosy finicky, or conscious eating way. Since we got married, I got my husband all excited about food too. Our kids, however, are a different story. We have a one-year-old girl who is willing to try anything, almost, but changes her mind about what she likes and dislikes quite often. And we have a kindergartener who challenges us more.

I always try to cook family friendly food (hence the name and essence of my blog) that we will all like. I compromise a lot between what I really love to cook and eat and what kids usually prefer (we all know what THAT is). I really go a long way to make them happy but I draw the line when it comes to junk food. We have never ordered pizza or any other take-out and we never set foot, (or car), at any of the junk fast food places (Well, not willingly. Oh, how I hate those kiddies birthday parties at Chuck E Cheese). Once a month I might prepare an upgraded pizza (see recipe here) or a Mac and Cheese but then I use real wonderful artisanal cheeses.

My son can be a picky eater even when it comes to dessert. He always prefers a candy (from Halloween and birthday parties… ) over a fresh home-baked cake. Can you believe it?! (Click here to see the cakes). On one hand, this kid can tell the difference between goat cheese, feta, parmesan, Gouda, Swiss, Brousin, mozzarella, cheddar… and of course, a cheese stick. On the other hand, he is a typical 5 years-old. After a few years of trying different strategies with the kid, I have decided – enough. This is not really working anyway and I’m getting bored with the food that we eat. We’re going back to what mommy likes to cook and eat. So OK, no chilies and no Bobby Flay food yet, but a few weeks ago I cooked dinner and the menu was:

Young onion tart with cantal, applewood-smoked bacon, and Herb salad
From “Sunday Suppers at Lacques” cookbook


Butternut squash, butter lettuce, arugula and apple salad
Inspired by Ina Garten’s recipe from her new cookbook “Back to Basics”

It was heavenly.

Why this menu?

The choice of the menu was affected by our decision to eat less meat and chicken following a few posts I wrote about the cruel conditions under which animals are raised. (No, we’re not becoming vegetarians, just eating a smaller amount of animals and less frequently. If you care about conscious eating, see my second blog “Good Food and Bad Food”)

I knew the menu will be a tricky one with the kids. However, I decided to make it anyway because I was very curious about the recipes and I fell in love with “Sunday Suppers at Lacques” cookbook (there’s a short review at the end of the post). The food was so amazingly delicious. And this is an understatement. Really. It was like a 5 stars restaurant dinner but only at home. (And by “5 stars” I mean in flavor, not in labor-intensive preparations). The baby devoured the tart. She had crumbs all over her face and in her beautiful and funny hair. The kindergartener? He, surprisingly, ate the onions on the tart. The onions! He never eats onions. He declares a ban on onions, and onions, you know, are the base for many many dishes. He ate it and said that it was good! Then I told him: “you know, those are onions”. His answer: “no, this is a new kind of chicken”.

Since we loved the tart and salad so much, I wanted to make them again. Tonight I have recreated this dinner to show you: 1) the challenges foodie parents face with young kids at home, 2) how amazingly delicious these dishes are, 3) how fantastically simple and easy it can be to cook a 5 stars dinner at home, and, of course, 4) the funny comments and reactions from the kids’ point of view.

The menu:
* Onion tart with gruyere, applewood-smoked bacon, and Herb salad
* Butternut squash, butter lettuce, arugula and apple salad
* Good wine (not for the kids) – Meadow 2007, Ross Andrew winery, Oregon (Something local that the guy at the grocery store recommended with my menu. Thanks, Bruce! It is a lovely wine.)
* Home-made cinnamon ice cream (you have been so good to read this long post up to this point, so I give you a bonus – dessert. Actually, we always have dessert on the weekend, remember the cakes?)


The Recipes:

Young Onion Tart with Cantal, Applewood-Smoked Bacon, and Herb Salad
Don’t skip making the herb salad. It will be a huge huge mistake. It is so unique and to die for.
Slightly adapted from Suzanne Goin, “Sunday Suppers at Lucques”
Serves 6-8

1 sheet frozen all-butter puff pastry (I used two 8*9-inch sheets)
1 extra-large egg yolk
½-pound sliced applewood-smoked bacon
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 cups sliced onions, red and white
1 tablespoon thyme leaves
½ cup whole milk ricotta, drained if wet
¼ cup crème fraiche
1/3 pound Cantal, Gruyère, or Comté cheese, thinly sliced

½ cup flat-leaf parsley leaves
¼ cup tarragon leaves
¼ cup chervil sprigs
¼ cup 1/2-inch-snipped chives
A drizzle super-good extra virgin olive oil
½ lemon, for juicing
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Defrost the puff pastry slightly and unroll it onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Use a paring knife to score a 1/4-inch border around the edge of the pastry.

Stack the bacon slices in two piles, then cut crosswise into 3/8-inch rectangles or lardons.

Heat a large sauté pan over high heat for 2 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil, and allow to heat another minute. Add the bacon, and sauté over medium high heat 4 to 5 minutes, until slightly crisp but still tender. Reduce the heat to low, and toss in the young onions, thyme, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Stir together a minute or two, until the onions are just wilted. Toss in the onion tops, and remove to a baking sheet or platter lined with paper towels to soak the fat, and to cool a bit.

Place the ricotta, egg yolk, and 1 tablespoon olive oil in abowl and whisk until smooth. Gently fold in the crème fraîche and season with 1/8 teaspoon salt and a pinch of pepper. Spread the ricotta mixture on the puff pastry within the scored border. Lay the Cantal over the ricotta, and arrange the bacon-onion mixture on top.

Bake the tart 20 to 25 minutes, rotating the baking sheet once, until the cheese is bubbling and the crust is golden brown. Lift up the edge of the tart and peek underneath to make sure the crust is cooked through. (If you underbake the tart, it will be soggy.)

Toss the herbs in a small bowl with salt, pepper, a drizzle of super-good olive oil, and a squeeze of lemon juice.

Cut tart to wedges and serve with herb salad.

Butternut squash, butter lettuce, arugula and apple salad
Inspired by Ina Garten’s recipe from her new cookbook “Back to Basics”
Serves 4-6

1 (1 1/2-pound) butternut squash, peeled and cut in 3/4-inch dice
Good olive oil
1 tablespoon maple syrup
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons sliced shallot
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
4 ounces baby arugula
½ head butter lettuce, torn into 2 bite-size pieces
1 apple, thinly sliced
1/2 cup walnut halves, toasted
3 tablespoons dried cranberries

Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Place the squash on a sheet pan. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil, the maple syrup, ½ teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper and toss. Roast the squash for 20 to 30 minutes, or until tender.

To make the vinaigrette, mix the cider vinegar, shallot, and mustard in a small bowl. Whisk in ¼ cup olive oil, salt, and black pepper.
Place the arugula and butter lettuce in a large salad bowl and add the roasted squash and apple. Add the cranberries and walnuts. Spoon just enough vinaigrette over the salad to moisten, and toss well.

Cinnamon Ice Cream
Make this at least 1 day ahead just to be on the safe side that the ice cream has the right consistency.
Slightly adapted from Suzanne Goin, “Sunday Suppers at Lucques”
Makes 1 quart

2 cups whole milk
2 cups heavy cream
2 cinnamon sticks
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 extra-large egg yolks
½ cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract*
1 teaspoon hazelnuts extract*
Pinch ground cinnamon for serving*

Place the milk, cream, cinnamon sticks, and ground cinnamon in a medium pot. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Turn off the heat, cover, and let the flavors infuse about 30 minutes.

Bring mixture back to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Turn off the heat.
Whisk the egg yolks and sugar together in a bowl. Whisk a few tablespoons of warm cream mixture into the yolks to temper them. Slowly, add another ¼ cup or so of the warm cream, whisking to incorporate. At this point, you can add the rest of the cream mixture in a slow steady steam, whisking constantly. Pour the mixture back into the pot and return to the stove.

Cook the custard over medium heat 6 to 8 minute, stirring with a rubber spatula, scraping the bottom and sides of the pan. The custard will thicken, and when it’s done will coat the back of the spatula. Off the heat, add the vanilla and hazelnut extracts and mix. Strain (in a fine mesh sieve) and chill at least 2 hours in the refrigerator. The base should be very cold before you churn it. Process in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Serve with a sprinkle of ground cinnamon.

*My additions.

Kiddies comments and reactions:

Herb salad
I put some salad on my son’s plate. He immediately burst into tears. E.: “I don’t like salad. Take it out of my plate. I want a new plate”. Me: “OK, I’ll take it out”. E. :”no, I want a new plate”. Me: “I’ll wipe it clean”. E.: “you can’t wipe out the flavor”. Me: “relax already. Here, see? It’s all gone”.

R., that’s the baby, on the other hand, didn’t try it at all. The minute she saw it, she threw it away from her tray and onto the floor. E. finds it very amusing and laughs loudly. She was however, very interested in a long stem of chives.

Butternut squash salad
Me: “how about this salad? This lettuce taste very nice”. E.: “no, I don’t like salad”. Me: “OK, what about eating the ingredients separately but not the lettuce?” E.: “OK”.

R. tried to eat the lettuce but had a hard time chewing on it since she has only 2 tiny teeth. She made a funny face and spitted it out. Well, at least she tried. She ate the squash but can’t eat the berries and nuts (choking hazards).

Onion tart
E. eats the bacon on top of the tart, and then stops. Me: “why don’t you eat all the “pizza””? E.: “it has onions. I don’t like onions”. My husband: “you ate the onions last time and liked it”. E.: “No I didn’t. I don’t like onions”. Me: “OK, just take them out and put it on the side of your plate and finish eating it”. Then he takes a bite and me and my husband see the onion hanging from the side. There’s a moment of silence… he ate it! Didn’t say a word.

R. loves this tart. No complains on her part.

Ice cream
Me: “today we have home-made ice cream!” E. – “I want a candy on the ice cream because ice cream alone doesn’t taste good to me.” Me: “you need to choose – ice cream or candy”. E: “then candy”. At the end he chose a Scooby Doo push up Popsicle, leftover from his birthday party last spring. Me: “how can you choose a Scooby Doo over home-made ice cream?” E.: “I’ll eat ice cream another time”. Me: “so why don’t you eat the Scooby Doo another time and tonight you’ll eat ice cream?” E.: “because that is what I chose”.

R. – this is the first ice cream she had in her life! She loved it. She even managed to feed herself with a teaspoon for the first time.

Some photos taken by E. who likes to take pictures and do some food styling

Conclusions:
For this kind of dinner, send the kids to someone else’s home, like grandma and grandpa, if you can. Open a bottle of good wine, dim the lights, and have a nice, quiet dinner at home with good adult conversation, because this is the best food. I tell ya. And young kids are just too… too young to appreciate it. One day I’m sure they will.

Good night... Bye bye...

The Cookbooks:

“Sunday Suppers at Lacques” by Suzanne Goin
I have heard about Lacques cookbook here and there, don’t remember exactly where… so I borrowed it from the library (that’s what I do before deciding if I am going to buy a book or not). There is something about that book that makes you fall in love with it immediately. I can’t quite tell what it is. I really love that it is arranged by seasons. (Already an excellent reason to love a cookbook). But there’s something beyond that. Could it be the simplicity of its sophistication or the sophistication of its simplicity? There’s something very earthy, rustic, yet terribly smart and chic about it. The recipes I have read seem to be pretty easy to make, the photos are gorgeous. Everyone should own a copy of this book.

“Back to Basics” by Ina Garten
The Barefoot Contessa… no need to elaborate what I love about her, like so many millions of people around the world. I thought that owning 4 of her cookbooks is enough but I just couldn’t resist buying the fifth one. It is just as good and beautiful as the previous ones.

Wow! You have made it this far! It is a loooong post. I admire you! I do.
Would you like to subscribe to my blog? Click here.

Thank you for reading! Nurit.

Thank you Foodbuzz!

Some links and related posts:

Good Food & Bad Food blog
Sometimes it’s Pizza for Dinner
A cake for the weekendHome-Made Food is the Best!
Cooking with Kids: “Feast Lesson”
Baking with kids: Chocolate-banana cookies, recreating the magic

Linguine with Shrimp Scampi

I love this dish with delicate lemon flavored pasta and beautiful orange colored shrimp sautéed in butter. Yum. This recipe makes a perfect weekday meal. It is so easy to make and you can have dinner on the table in 20 minutes or less. I think that I cook this meal every 4-6 weeks when I am looking for a tried and true recipe or when I’m at the grocery store and have no plans what to cook for dinner. This is always the first thing to come to my mind when I'm at the seafood section. It’s like the little black dress that saves you when you have no better option for example, when you stop by the grocery store on your way home from work with no grocery list.
And, adults love it and kids too.


Linguine with Shrimp Scampi

Recipe adapted from Barefoot Contessa Family Style cookbook
Makes 4-6 servings

Kosher salt
1 box linguine
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons good olive oil
5-6 cloves garlic, minced
1 ½ pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2-3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
1 lemon, zest grated
¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (1-2 lemons)
¼ lemon, thinly sliced in half-rounds, optional
1/8 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes, optional
Freshly grated parmesan for serving, optional

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add 2 tablespoon of salt and the linguine, and cook according to the directions on the package.

Meanwhile, in another large (12-inch), heavy-bottomed pan, melt the butter and olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the garlic. Sauté for 1 minute. Be careful, the garlic burns easily! Add the shrimp, salt, and pepper and sauté until the shrimp have just turned pink, about 5 minutes, stirring often.

Remove from the heat, add the parsley, lemon zest, lemon juice, lemon slices, and red pepper flakes. Toss to combine.

When the pasta is done, drain the cooked linguine and then put it back in the pot. Immediately add the shrimp and sauce, toss well, and serve with parmesan.

Enjoy,
Nurit

Other ideas for dinner:

Fresh Wild Pacific Northwest Salmon

Grilling in the Rain

Thanksgiving-y Chicken Dinner

A simple yet delicious fall stew

Sometimes it’s Pizza for Dinner

Sometimes I get frustrated. Trying to do it all and having to compromise in everything that I do. I feel like I’m doing the best I can – which is not good enough to me – because I want to do everything perfectly. But in reality I find that I’m not giving enough attention to my kids, not investing as much as I want to in my work, I haven’t opened the mail in the past two weeks (besides paying the bills), haven’t said a word to my husband since he got home, and I’m cutting corners like crazy when I cook. Ohh, and the list goes on and on. Sounds familiar?

As much as I love to cook – and I do, very much – and I got more than 117 cookbooks and a zillion food magazines around me, sometime I have no idea what I’m going to cook for dinner. This is how I came up with the weekly meal plan! But every now and then it’s… pizza for dinner. Ok, this is why it is a weekly meal plan and not a monthly meal plan.

BUT, I have good news. I am not going to give you a phone number to call for pizza when you are stuck without dinner. Today we’ll discuss not just any “pizza” but an upgraded pizza.
Here’s the thing.
I always have frozen pizza in my freezer that I buy at Trader Joe’s. Good planning so far! I tried all kinds of brands but this one is good and worthwhile cost-effective-wise. I use it as a base and add all kinds of good stuff on top. 10-12 minutes in the oven. A salad. And there you have it – dinner.
Kids can help too with the “cooking”. They can chop veggies for the salad and scatter the toppings. Very easy to do and they love it. Young kids can do it too.


This is the sad looking store bought pizza.

Which can be turned into this…

Or this...

How?

Pizza #1
Black and green olives, chopped/sliced
Mozzarella, cut to small pieces
Always add salt and black pepper
Tomato, chopped, without seeds and juice (so pizza doesn’t get soggy)

Thyme
Parmesan, grated
Toasted pine nuts (in a 350 F oven for a few minutes)

Pizza #2
Green olives, sliced
Crimini mushrooms, washed quickly and chopped/sliced
Thyme, leaves only
Feta, crumbled
Mozzarella, diced
Always add salt and black pepper
Parmesan, grated

Bake according to reheating instructions on the pizza package or until cheeses melt.

Sometimes I drizzle a little bit of extra virgin olive oil or truffle oil before serving.

For more toppings ideas, look in your fridge and use leftovers and ingredients who are about to expire soon.

Related posts:

Weekly meal plan

Cooking with kids

Leftovers ideas

Balsamic and Sweet Roasted Chicken

I love Giada De Laurentis’s idea of adding balsamic vinegar to chicken marinade (isn’t she pretty?). In her new cookbook “Giada’s kitchen”, she has a recipe for sweet and sticky chicken drumsticks using this vinegar.

I liked the idea but I changed the recipe (quite a bit). I thought she put too much sugar and honey which will make the chicken taste waaaaay too sweet, the oven temperature too high which might (probably will) burn the chicken (because of the honey and sugar) and also cause the meat to shrink from the high roasting heat. So, here is my version. It turned out just perfect, as you will see in the end.

By the way, there is a poll here on the right side column where you can vote for your favorite protein. I see that for now, chicken is leading. Don’t forget to vote for your favorite candidate.

Balsamic and sweet roasted chicken
Inspired by Giada De Laurentis sweet and sticky chicken drumsticks recipe

Makes 4-6 servings

½ cup balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup honey (½ cup in original recipe)
¼ cup light brown sugar (½ cup in original recipe)
¼ cup soy sauce (I use low sodium soy)
3 rosemary sprigs, leaves picked off the stem
5 garlic cloves, sliced
Salt
Ground black pepper
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 whole chicken legs, split to drums and thighs, or use 10-12 drumsticks

Combine all the marinade ingredients together in a big dish (like a 3 * 9-inch pan) which you will use for baking the chicken. Add chicken and mix well. Cover and marinade for 1-2 hours.

Roast the chicken with the marinade in a 350 F degrees oven for 50-60 minutes.
If you see that the skin is getting too dark, place an aluminum foil loosely over the chicken to prevent the skin from browning too much.

This chicken turned out delicious!

More chicken recipes:

Leftovers: Roasted Chicken
Roasted chicken with orange-mustard marinade, yellow jasmine rice, steamed broccoli
Whole roasted chicken with chardonnay-tarragon sauce, roasted potatoes and carrots
Chicken thighs, Israeli couscous, steamed cauliflower, and salad with feta

Coming up next: Garlic & Thyme Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Enjoy, and don't forget to vote for your favorite chicken.

Nurit

Fresh Wild Pacific Northwest Salmon

Hey, I just realized that this blog exists for almost 4 months and I still haven’t given you a single salmon recipe! How could that be?

Salmon are now “in season”. Meaning, they are swimming back to their home here at the local lakes, rivers, streams, and creeks. We went to see them during Issaquah Salmon Days Festival 2008. The salmon were dying while we were dining and having fun. What a life.

The first time I saw the salmon return from their exhausting journey at sea, to swim against the current, spawn in Issaquah Creek, and then die, was about 8 years ago. I thought that salmon have such a tragic life, and what a magnificent fish it is. I vowed to never ever eat salmon again. But they are just too good to say “No” to.

So anyway, it is time for a salmon recipe, and what better recipe to give you than by a local celebrity chef, who appeared on Iron Chef America and won against the legendary and almost invincible Iron Chef Japanese, Masaharu Morimoto? Do you know who I am talking about? Of course, it’s Tom Douglas.

This recipe is adapted from his cookbook Tom's Big Dinners by Tom Douglas

Salmon with sweet fennel butter
Makes 4 servings

1 ½ - 2 lb. salmon fillets, cut to 4 portions
½ stick unsalted butter, softened/room temp.
1 teaspoon fresh fennel fronds (or dill), chopped
½ tablespoon orange juice
½ teaspoon orange zest
½ teaspoon honey
Salt and ground pepper

Reheat broiler and place the oven rack about 7 inches from the heat element (or broil in a toaster oven).
Season salmon with salt, fresh ground black pepper, and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil on both sides.
Mash all the other ingredients together in a bowl to make the flavored butter.
Cook salmon under the broiler about 7-10 minutes until nicely browned on top.
Serve each fillet with a tablespoon of flavored butter.

Side dishes: I’m considering zucchini pancakes, roasted potatoes with whole grain mustard, and/or roasted fennel. Will see how it goes...

Enjoy your salmon,
Nurit

Tuesday, 8 PM:
I ended up making the Zucchini Pancakes and mustard roasted potatoes for side dishes from the “Barefoot Contessa At Home Everyday Recipes You'Ll Make Over And Over Again” cookbook.

Very delicious!

Thanksgiving-y Chicken Dinner

Our friends, the M. family, cook chicken every Friday. What a great idea! I used to drive myself crazy thinking what to cook for dinner every Friday. We like to have a nice dinner to celebrate the end of the week and beginning of the weekend. So, I embraced their idea and was looking for a recipe with home-style feel that will warm the heart and soul with seasonal spices and down to earth ingredients.

Dinner tonight was inspired by a recipe from one of my favorite cookbooks “Nightly Specials” by Michael Lomonaco. I cook from this book very often for the reason that it has many wonderful recipes like: Philly cheese steak; Roasted corn chowder with shrimp and tarragon; Beef and porter stew; Moroccan lamb stew; Alpine baked pasta; Coconut-scented basmati rice; Paella with chicken and sausage; Toasted barley and butternut squash; Pan-roasted halibut with asparagus, fava beans, and thyme broth; Floribbean-style tilefish pan-fried with limes, chiles, tomatoes, and avocado; Steamed bass with lemongrass and chile-coconut broth; Bitter greens and honey almonds… The list goes on and on, you got the picture.

I’ll just mention that the book has a recipe for the best French fries ever! And a very nice Flourless chocolate cake.
Anyway… let’s move on.

There is a recipe in the book for “Braised chicken with butternut squash, walnuts and sage” that I wanted to make. But I made so many changes in it that I think I can call it my own by now. I decreased the amount of spices to give the chicken a milder flavor than the usual Thanksgiving-y robust cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg combination so typical to recipes for the holiday season. And of course, like always, I made a few shortcuts, and added more vegetables. The result was terrific.

Thanksgiving-y chicken
Makes 4-6 servings

1 onion, medium diced
4 carrots, peeled and cut to large pieces
½ butternut squash, peeled, seeded and diced large
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and diced large
4 cloves of garlic, chopped
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon cloves
½ teaspoon ground ginger
Salt and ground black pepper
4 tablespoons olive oil
4 whole chicken legs, divided to thighs and drumsticks
2 tablespoon butter, cut to small pieces
Sage for garnish, optional

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a big pan, toss the vegetables with salt, pepper, the spices, and olive oil.
Generously sprinkle chicken on both sides with salt, black pepper, and olive oil. Add to the pan with veggies and mix so chicken gets some of the spices on it. Arrange nicely in the pan, chicken skin side up. Spread butter on top.

Roast for 50-60 minutes until nicely browned and skin is crispy. (If you like the meat falling off the bone, after 60 minutes of cooking time, reduce the temperature to 350 and roast for another 20-30 minutes.)
Add sage for garnish before serving.

Have a wonderful dinner.
Nurit

More dinner ideas:

A simple yet delicious fall stew

Grilling in the rain

Weekly meal plan - October 14th

Work & Cook: How to cook a dinner party for 6+5+2 on a conference day?

A simple yet delicious fall stew

As the temperatures drop down (sorry to bring this up), I feel that my energy levels go down too, and it makes me think of stew. But not just any stew. A stew that is easy to make, with good basic ingredients, a nice piece of meat that cooks fairly quickly, and an unfussy recipe.




Although cooking a stew for 3-4 hours will warm your house and warm your heart for 3-4 hours, it IS fall and I want to spend as much time in the great outdoors as possible and take advantage of a sunny day before the weather gets too cold.

Sunday was nice and sunny so we took the kids Farrel McWhirter Park in Redmond. It was really gorgeous there. See the little people and swings?




When we came back home I had half an hour to prepare the stew and 1 ½ hours to cook it in the oven. The recipe below was inspired by Jamie Oliver’s Jool’s favorite beef stew recipe from his jamie’s dinners cookbook, with some shortcuts and a few changes that I’ve made to make it faster to make and bake.

A Simple Fall Stew

Makes 4-6 servings

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 onion, peeled and medium chopped
3 cloves of garlic, peeled and smashed
1 ½ - 2 lb. beef chuck, cut into 2 inch pieces
salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 carrots, peeled and halved
½ a butternut squash, halved, deseeded and roughly diced
2 handfuls of Jerusalem artichokes, peeled
4 – 6 small potatoes, peeled and cut in half
a handful of fresh sage leaves
2 tablespoons tomato purée
2 cups red wine (I used shiraz)
1 cup water (or use stock, if you have any)
zest of 1 lemon
a handful of parsley, leaves picked and chopped

Preheat the oven to 350 F degrees.
Put oil and butter into a large pot. Add onion and sauté over medium heat until softened. Add garlic and cook 1 minute.
Add the meat and all the vegetables, the tomato purée, wine and water/stock, sage leaves. Season generously with freshly ground black pepper and salt, and gently stir. Bring to the boil, place a lid on top, then cook in the oven until the meat is tender, about 1 – 1 ½ hours, or until a piece of meat falls apart easily when you test it with a fork.
Before serving, sprinkle the lemon zest and chopped parsley and mix together.

Nice, isn’t it?!
Nurit

Grilling in the Rain

On the table tonight: Balsamic marinated lamb kebabs, Tomato and mint orzo salad, Hummus.

I was planning to try a new recipe for dinner – North African Lamb Kebabs by Emeril Lagasse that has the following ingredients:

(Tip: Read quickly. No need to memorize the list. Just get the general idea. Point to come.)

1 1/2 cups finely chopped onion
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint leaves
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup olive oil
2 to 2 1/2 pounds boneless leg or shoulder of lamb, cut into 1-inch cubes with...

But as reality stroke… (IT is always doing that), the following had happened:
I took the lamb and cubed it.
Started with the easy ingredients: salt, pepper, paprika, cumin, olive oil. Then, I was going to wash and chop the herbs…. And then… I was looking at the baby.

She was playing in the family room and giving me that cute little baby innocent but scary look that says “stay in the kitchen and cook if you want, just know that I am going to poop any second now, and this one will end with a bath”.

So, I have found myself reaching frantically for the balsamic vinegar while thinking – “but I never saw a recipe that uses balsamic vinegar with lamb, especially not with paprika and cumin! Does this combination work?????” I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and gave the lamb a big splash of vinegar, and hoped for the best.

2 hours later.

Husband returned home from work. I was making the hummus and orzo salad, and it was time to grill the lamb. Now, I’m not a fool. It was dark and cold outside, so I asked my husband if he doesn’t mind grilling the lamb in our outdoor grill, outside. “Sure”, he said. But as reality hit AGAIN, he got busy helping one kid with homework while entertaining the other one, so I found myself having to do the grilling myself.

And then it rained.


So there you have it – Grilling in the rain balsamic marinated lamb.
Makes 4-6 servings

2 pounds boneless leg of lamb, cut into 2-bite-size cubes
Salt, freshly ground black pepper
Cumin
Paprika
Evoo (extra virgin olive oil)
Balsamic vinegar
3-4 cloves of garlic, minced
½ red onion, diced big
Wooden*/metal skewers


Put cubed lamb in a bowl. Generously sprinkle with spices and drizzle evoo and balsamic vinegar. Mix well, cover with plastic wrap and marinate 1-2 hours in the fridge.
* If using wooden skewers, soak them in water so they don’t burn on the grill.
Prepare the kebabs: thread the lamb cubes and diced onion onto the skewers and grill over medium-high heat, turning once, about 5 minutes for each side.

Tomato and mint orzo salad
Makes 4-6 servings

½ box orzo pasta
Salt
Black pepper, ground
Extra virgin olive oil (evoo)1 big flavorful tomato, diced
Feta cheese, crumbled/diced small1 handful pine nuts, toasted*
½ lemon, juiced
Mint leaves, chopped

Cook pasta according to the instructions on the box.
Drain and season with salt, black pepper, and a splash of a good fruity evoo. Add all the other ingredients, and combine gently.

* toast the pine nuts in a 350F oven for a few minutes or in a skillet over low heat. Don’t burn them! Use a timer.

Hummus recipes are to be found all over the place and everyone likes it differently, so no recipe for hummus. Just combine your favorite ingredients in your preferred amounts.

I finally got it right for my husband’s taste (I knew he’d like it), although I personally would have preferred to add more lemon, garlic, and cumin. Oh, well, life is all about compromises, isn’t it?!

More recipes for orzo and lamb:
Orzo salad

Lamb with chickpeas, yogurt and pan-roasted veg

Grilled potatoes, corn, and lamb with yogurt-mint sauce

Weekly meal plan - October

Cumin chicken breast with mango sauce and cilantro mashed potatoes.
(Yes, it’s green).

Hi dear family, friends, blog readers and subscribers,

Below you will find a suggestion for a weekly meal plan.
Of course, mix and match according to what you and your family like to eat.

PS. – Don’t forget to subscribe to the blog to get updates, and, if you like my ideas do forward and share with your friends… (Did you see the little envelope icon below to “Email Post to a Friend”?)
It feels nice to know that people are visiting here.

Day 1:

Roasted chicken with potatoes and carrots

Day 2:

Cold Sesame Noodles & Chicken wrap, In: Leftovers: Roasted Chicken

Day 3:

Beef Goulash Nurit’s savory bread pudding with cheese, In : A cake for the weekend & Leftovers: Bread (There’s a recipe for dessert too.

Day 4:

A little bit of this and a little bit of that chicken breasts, ginger-scented rice, haricot vert, In: A little bit of this, a little bit of that

Day 5:

Lamb with chickpeas, yogurt and pan-roasted veg, In: jamie’s dinners by Jamie Oliver

Have a wonderful wonderful week!
Nurit

Work & Cook: How to cook a dinner party for 6+5+2 on a conference day?

A week ago I invited friends to come over for dinner on Saturday. A few days later I found out there is a going to be a bloggers’ conference that day. Hmmm, what to do? I want to see my friends. I want to go to the conference. How can I have a cake and eat it too? I needed a plan.

Here is how I did it.

The guests:
I invited two families with kids to come over. That meant I had to cook for (including us) 6 adults, 5 kids, and 2 babies who eat small-cut finger food. That is about 10 adult portions.
Some people like beef, some like fish, some like lamb, but everyone likes chicken. Each one has his/her own likes and dislikes, so I wanted some variety with the side dishes to cover everyone’s preferences.

The menu:
In general, I like to make one flavorful entrée and two simple side dishes so the flavors of the different dishes don’t compete with each other or overwhelm the palate.
Another helpful thing is the cooking technique. In this case – roasting. If you want to make your life easy when cooking for a dinner party and be able to spend time with your friends instead of cooking while they entertain themselves or watch you slave in the kitchen, “roasting” is the key word. I decided on:

Roasted Moroccan-inspired marinated chicken
Roasted carrots
Roasted root vegetable
Roasted potatoes
Roasted beets with balsamic vinaigrette
Couscous with dried fruits and pine nuts
Vegetables salad
Pine nuts cake served with Rose water custard

Again, you can get by honorably with one entrée and two side dishes, but I wanted to impress and have plenty.

The plan:
The conference is on Saturday from 10 am to 4 pm. We wanted dinner to start at 6:30 pm. That meant I needed to do some cooking on Friday, or to be more precise, baking.

Friday
Make dessert. Bake the cake and make the custard.
Since the oven was already warm and working I scrubbed the beets and baked them for 1 hour.
Also, I toasted the pine nuts for the couscous.
Salad is a last minute item because you want it to be fresh and crisp, so I asked my friend to bring the salad. But if you want to do it yourself, you can use mixed greens and throw in some cherry tomatoes, croutons, if you want, and such ingredients. There’s no washing, slicing or dicing to do. Make a quick vinaigrette or use bottled one.

Saturday
Morning, 8-9 am:
Still in my PJ and drinking my coffee, I prepared the marinade for the chicken, covered and refrigerated it.
Diced the dried fruit for the couscous.
Asked the husband to set the table during the day between activities with the kiddies

Afternoon, 4 – 5 pm:
Prepare carrots and root vegetables.

Place potatoes and chicken on a large baking sheet.

5 pm: Put everything in a 350 F degree oven 1 - 1 ½ hours before dinner time. It is almost impossible to overcook vegetables and chicken thighs in a 350 F oven.

Peel and slice the beets and make quick vinaigrette for them.

Prepare couscous 5 minutes before dinner time. Add and mix with fruits and pine nuts.

Serve. Time to eat.

I like to serve family style. This way there is a lot of interaction around the table, plates and dishes are moving around, guests help each other and the kids, talk about the food, I try to convince people to taste food they claim they don’t like. There’s a lot of action.
Then it gets quiet as people start to eat…
Then it is action-discussion time again and a lot of fun.

I love having leftovers.
I love having leftovers because it means a day without cooking.
So Saturday’s leftover is going to be a wonderful Sunday lunch (see photo above), and I have some cake and custard for our game night with friends tonight.

PS – I did not post recipes as I believe you have your own or can find them in so many places on the web and your cookbooks.
If you do want a recipe, e-mail me at: nurit AT familyfriendlyfood DOT com

More dinner ideas:
Weekly menu plan
Pork schnitzel, potato-yam mash, roasted cauliflower
How to spend more time with your kids AND have a daily home-made meal
Roasted chicken with orange-mustard marinade, yellow jasmine rice, steamed broccoli
Rib-eye steak, grits, cherry tomatoes and butter lettuce salad
Grilled potatoes, corn, and lamb with yogurt-mint sauce

A little bit of this, a little bit of that - Improvising dinner

And there you have it. A photo of raw chicken breasts on an indoor grill…




Some days I have no idea what I am going to make for dinner. Most nights I hardly have any time to cook.
Dinner tonight was just like this. But we ended with a nice dinner with the help of some leftovers, pantry items, and a quick stop at the grocery store to buy chicken.

Using an indoor grill, as fall is seriously here to stay and winter is quickly approaching, and it is raining tonight, also made things quick and easy. I just hate cleaning that thing. I wish they will invent one you can out in the dishwasher.
Also, after reading the recipes’ please vote – what kind of recipes do you prefer – with precise instructions or general ones (see poll at the top of the page on the right side).

A little bit of this and a little bit of that chicken breasts, ginger-scented rice, haricot vert*


* Haricot vert are French thin green beans
Makes 4-6 servings

For the chicken:
I had no idea whatsoever how to prepare the chicken. I looked in the fridge and grabed the following:

3 chicken breasts, about 2 lb., cut lengthwise to thin portions
Big splash of extra virgin olive oil (evoo), or about 3 tablespoons
Salt, ground black pepper
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon mustard
Big splash of soy
1 handful parsley and cilantro, chopped small
3 cloves garlic, minced


Mix all ingredients together and marinate at least one hour (I did for 2 hours), and up to overnight.
Grill outdoor/indoor, or pan fry.

For the rice:
1 tablespoon evoo
½ of small onion, dices small
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup jasmine rice
Ginger, peeled and sliced thin (1 teaspoon if you want it “scented” or more for a stronger gingery flavor)
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups boiling water

Sauté the onion in evoo over low heat until translucent. Add garlic and cook 1 minute. Add rice, ginger, salt, and water. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer over low heat for 20 minutes. Remove from heat. Let stand, covered, about 5-10 minutes.
Fluff gently with a fork and it is ready to serve.


For the haricot vert:
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon evoo
½ medium onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced/thinly sliced
About 4-5 cups haricot vert, cleaned and steamed for 3-4 minutes
Salt, black pepper


Sauté the onion in evoo and butter over medium heat until browned. Add garlic and cook 1 minute. Add the beans. Season with salt and pepper.

Additional "dinner tonight" ideas:

Weekly menu plan

Pork schnitzel, potato-yam mash, roasted cauliflower

How to spend more time with your kids AND have a daily home-made meal

Roasted chicken with orange-mustard marinade, yellow jasmine rice, steamed broccoli

Rib-eye steak, grits, cherry tomatoes and butter lettuce salad

Grilled potatoes, corn, and lamb with yogurt-mint sauce

Beef Goulash

Rosh Ha-Shana (a Jewish holiday) is coming soon and people are looking for good recipes. Naturally, some are asking me, but regardless, I feel pressured to post something, and it must be good, and easy, of course. So here is a winner recipe for beef goulash by one of my favorite top chefs, Wolfgang Puck (you will find more recipes on his web site, click the link).

I make this Goulash very often.

Wolfgang's Beef Goulash
Serves 6

*see my comments in ( ). I hope you won’t find it confusing. This is just to show you that cooking is no science. It is magic ;-)

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (or canola oil)

4 cups onion, thinly sliced (2 onions)

1 tablespoon sugar3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon caraway seeds, toasted and ground (I use 1 teaspoon ground cumin, no toasting)

1 1/2 – 3 tablespoons sweet paprika (3 tablespoons in the book)

1 teaspoon hot paprika (or regular paprika/Spanish)

1-2 tablespoons minced fresh marjoram leaves (I use oregano)

1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves (I just put the whole thing with the stem)

1 bay leaf

3 tablespoons tomato paste

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

4 cups chicken stock (or 3 cups + ½ cup water)

2 1/2 pounds beef shank, cut into 2-inch cubes (I use beef chuck)

1-2 teaspoon kosher salt (2 in the book)

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1. In a large sauté pan, heat the olive oil and sauté the onions and sugar until caramelized. Add the garlic and caraway seed. Cook another minute.

2. Add the sweet and hot paprika, marjoram, thyme and bay leaf. Sauté another minute, until fragrant (1 minute).

3. (add all the other ingredients at the same time…) Add the tomato paste. Deglaze with the vinegar and the stock and add the pieces of beef shank, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer and cook until very tender, about 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.

4. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.

If there are any leftovers, I add them to soup. I’ll post a recipe for lentil soup where I use even just the sauce of the Goulash without the beef soon.

I highly recommend this book. It is one of my most favorite cookbooks. Many very easy recipes, and quick, perfect for a weekday cooking when we don’t have a lot of time to fix something good.

Other recipes I have cooked from this book:

Chinese five-spice spare ribs
Wine braised brisket of beef with caramelized pearl onions and dried apricots
Honey marinated beef satay
Pan-seared steaks with port-Dijon-cream sauce
Eggs en cocotte with smoked salmon and horseradish cream (it is much easier than it sounds)
Buttermilk-marinated chicken breasts
Whole roasted garlic chicken
Marjolaine cake
White and dark chocolate chunk cookies
Linzer cookies
Pizza
Minestrone soup
The list goes on and on…

Click to read more about the book: Wolfgang Puck Makes It Easy by Wolfgang Puck.

You might be interested to read other reviews:

Jewish Cooking For Dummies cookbook

jamie’s dinners by Jamie Oliver
Thanksgiving-y chicken dinner

Happy Holiday and happy New Year!

Nurit

Leftovers: Roasted Chicken

(Yes, that's purple potato.)

(And, yes, I know it’s a scary photo. My husband says to remove the photo from the post, but I think this is the whole idea - it is a leftover picture and that's what leftovers look like, right?!).

People sometimes ask me for ideas on what to do with leftovers. Some have asked me to post the ideas on the blog. So here is the first post in a series to come. This one will focus on chicken.

An important point is: if you want to have dinner at home with your family every night without working too hard and driving yourself nuts, leftovers is the key word. For me too. As much as love to cook, bake, and food in general, when I have to cook everyday sometimes it feels like a chore and then I don’t enjoy it as much. It feels more like a burden. So, leftovers, here we go…

The point of start is with a roasted chicken, potatoes (from the farm), and carrots we had on Friday.
See recipe here Roasted chicken with potatoes and carrots
So here are a few options:

Chicken wrap
This is more a list of ingredients than a recipe and you can mix and match ingredients to make your favorite wrap:

Leftover chicken, shredded, reheated
Pita/flatbread, warmed
Sour cream/Tzaziki /thick yogurt (like Greek yogurt)
Cucumber, tomatoes, bell peppers, red onion – diced/sliced/chopped
Avocado – sliced/mashed
Cilantro, or any fresh herb that you like and have available
Leftover grated cheese


Another way to go is make a soup. A-ha!

Leftover chicken soup

First, look in your fridge for other leftovers you can use.

For example, in addition to the chicken and its roasted vegetables, I had:
½ onion, 2 celery sticks, ½ bag baby carrots, and 1 sweet potato in the pantry. Put all in a big pot, add salt and black pepper, use the chicken carcass too! and the cold gelatin-y jus as well for more flavor.
Cover with water and bring to a boil. Lower heat and cook for 20-30 minutes (gentle simmer), or longer if you added any fresh vegetables that need to be cooked more.
Towards the end of the cooking, add parsley if you have any.

Other ingredients you can add:
Pasta, beans, leafy greens, cauliflower, root vegetables, the list is endless…
Serve with some leftover grated cheese on top and cubes of leftover bread (or even better, toast the bread before to make crunchy croutons)

A third option can be Thai style salad.
OK, I had soba noodles and a jarred Peanut Satay sauce. I usually don’t like prepared jarred condiments and other pantry items and sauces of that sort, but from time to time I think “let’s give it a try”. I always end up with the same conclusion – anything home-made will taste better than any of the canned or jarred stuff.

Here’s a recipe I tried and like from the Food Network by Tyler Florence (good looking, ha?!). If you don’t have all these ingredients, a few tablespoons of peanut butter will be nice too. It will sure taste better then the jarred sauce.

Cold Sesame Noodles

1 pound Chinese egg noodles or spaghetti

Kosher salt

1 (1-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and chopped

3 cloves garlic, smashed

2 tablespoons light brown sugar

1 cup creamy peanut butter

3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce

1 teaspoon red chili sauce (recommended: Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce)

1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

6 tablespoons water

2 scallions, sliced thin

1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds, for garnish

Fresh cilantro leaves, for garnish

Cook the noodles in large pot of boiling salted water over medium heat until barely tender and still firm. Drain immediately and rinse with cold water until cool. Drain the noodles well and transfer to a wide bowl.

In a blender, add the ginger, garlic, sugar, peanut butter, vinegar, soy sauce, chili sauce, sesame oil, and water. Process until the mixture is smooth. Put the blender jar into the refrigerator and let it chill for about 1/2 hour. Pour the peanut sauce over the noodles and toss until well coated. Serve garnished with the scallions, sesame seeds, and cilantro.

And of course, add your chicken to it.

Now, doesn’t this make cooking life easier?!

Check out this post: A cake for the weekend & Leftovers: Bread

Have fun.
Nurit

Weekly Menu Plan - September

I thought that in addition to posting recipes on the blog, I will collect a few to create a weekly menu for you. This way you can have a meal plan for the week. How easy is that? It sure does;

* Save time on planning and thinking what to cook (that’s the part that takes most of my time, going through recipes and cookbooks and trying to choose what to prepare)

* Make a grocery list through copying & pasting the ingredients in the recipes

* Print the recipes to make a collection

* All recipes are easy and/or quick to make

There are a lot of chicken recipes since this is a kids’ favorite ingredient. I always have a success with chicken.
So, your weekly menu plan can look like this:

Monday – Grilled potatoes, corn, and lamb with yogurt-mint sauce

Tuesday – Chicken thighs, Israeli couscous, steamed cauliflower, and salad with feta

Wednesday – Rib-eye steak, grits, cherry tomatoes and butter lettuce salad

Thursday – Pork schnitzel, potato-yam mash, roasted cauliflower

Friday – Roasted chicken with orange-mustard marinade, yellow jasmine rice, steamed broccoli

Vegetarian meal – Artichokes, Brussels sprouts, Eggplants, Simplest vegetable salad/Love-ly Heirloom tomatoes salad, Easiest corn on the cob ever, with good bread, cheeses, etc.

Let me know if you like this idea and would like to have more weekly menu plan ideas.
E-mail me: chef@wflavors.com, Post a comment below, or forward this to a friend (click on the little envelope icon below).

Have a wonderful week!
Nurit

Pork schnitzel, potato-yam mash, roasted cauliflower

I love it when things works like that: it’s a sunny day, I pick up the kids from school, we go to the park (preferably by a lake), come back home around 5:30, I give the baby some food, put her to sleep, and then start working on dinner.
Today was a day like that. So much fun.
I started cooking around 6:15 pm. We sat to eat around 6:50 pm.
Dinner was delicious!

For the pork:
4 pork cutlets*
Salt
Black pepper, ground
1 egg, beaten
1 ½ - 2 cups breadcrumbs (preferably with herbs) **
Canola oil and/or extra virgin olive oil

Reheat oil/s over medium heat in a large skillet.
Season pork with salt and pepper. Put egg in a shallow bowl and the breadcrumbs in separate bowl.
Dip each cutlet in the egg, then coat in the breadcrumbs pressing with your fingers to adhere the coating.
Fry on each side until golden-brown.
Remove from oil and put on paper towels to soak the extra oil.

* Today I used pork loin rib center thin cut (it has some nice marble/fat), or use other cuts (ask the butcher to tenderize them for you if needed), or use chicken breasts.
** Whenever I have leftover bread and herbs (like parsley, cilantro, oregano), I process them together in a food processor to make fine breadcrumbs and freeze it in a Ziploc bag until needed.

For mashed potatoes & yam:
Originally, I planned to write: “You know how to make mashed potatoes. Just add a yam to this one.”
But then I recalled a few watery mashed potatoes I had in the past in other people’s homes. Not a good thing. So, I must add – after draining the potatoes, return them to the hot pot to release some of their steam. This way the water evaporates and your mashed won’t taste so diluted/watery. Also, I find that it is best to cook them whole and unpeeled.
Otherwise, it is the same salt, pepper, butter, and a bit of milk/half and half/heavy cream.

For roasted cauliflower:
1 medium size cauliflower, cut to florets
Salt

Option 1: In a small steaming pot add 2’’ water and bring to boil. Put the cauliflower in the steam basket, salt lightly, cover and cook about 8 minutes (I forgot to measure the time. I think this is what it took).
Now, you can stop here, or take the extra step and roast the cauliflower in a 375 F oven. First check if it needs more salt, black pepper, and if you want, sprinkle some turmeric to give it a nice yellowy color. Drizzle evoo. Mix it gently with your hands. Roast for about 30-40 minutes until browned.

Option 2: just roast it without the steaming step. The cauliflower will be more crunchy.

Bon appétit.
Nurit

How to spend more time with your kids AND have a daily home-made meal

It all starts with having a weekly meal plan.
Choose recipes with no more than 20 minutes of prep time. That is, the time you have to be active and actually prepare the recipe, unlike the cooking time which is usually inactive and allows you to do other things while the food cooks.

Here is an example for a weekday meal plan. These meals don’t take more than 30 minutes to prepare. If you keep it simple, like in the example below, you will find that you have more time to do fun stuff like go to the park with the kids, because dinner is almost ready and all you need to do is 1-2 quick side dishes!

In the summer it is especially easy because you can grill the food and have fun outside in your backyard, deck or porch and play with your kids while the food cooks.

Monday
Grilled Salmon
Grilled baby potatoes
Grilled asparagus
* Do ahead – cook Bolognese sauce for Thursday on Monday/Tuesday night

Tuesday
Grilled steaks
Mashed sweet potatoes
Steamed broccoli

Wednesday
Grilled lamb chops
Israeli couscous
Cinnamon glazed carrots

Thursday
Spaghetti with Bolognese sauce (reheat)
Pasta
Small salad

Friday
Buffet OR Pizza party = take all the leftovers out and “clean” your fridge before Sunday’s grocery shopping (put it all on flatbread and make “pizza”), OR Light dinner of fried eggs, cheeses, deli meat, veggies, tuna salad, etc

* Do the grocery shopping on Sunday and you are good for the week.
* Do ahead the prep or cooking is best to do in the evening after the kids are in bed. I know it might be the last thing you feel like doing at the end of the day when you can finally rest, but he next day you will be happy you did it. You will feel so wonderful when you know you don’t have the pressure of cooking dinner fast and can do something “funner” instead.
* If you have leftovers, that is the best. Pack everything and have a picnic dinner in the park, or the backyard.

Make your life and easy, keep cooking simple, and you’ll see that having a home-made dinner everyday can be easy. It just takes some practice (or a cooking class, see World Flavors).

Enjoy summer.
Nurit

Roasted chicken with orange-mustard marinade, yellow jasmine rice, steamed broccoli

I know this photo is not pretty either, but there was no time for food styling. I had 20 minutes to make dinner and 5 minutes to take a picture before it was dinner time. But this is another easy meal to make. My kind of food – very home style, simple to make, and delicious. A real pleasure.
While the chicken roasts, bring the kids to the kitchen and do some activity together like a coloring book, drawing, play a game or do a puzzle.

For the chicken:

4 whole chicken legs
2 tablespoon orange marmalade
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 orange, juiced
3-4 sprigs thyme, leaves taken of the stems
2 pinches chili powder
1 tablespoon champagne vinegar (or other mild vinegar like apple cider, or lemon juice)
2 tablespoon evoo
Salt
Black pepper, ground

Put all ingredients in a Pyrex/glass 9*13 roasting pan (non-reactive pan). Marinade for 2-3 hours, or overnight.
Roast in a 375 degrees oven for 45-60 minutes. If chicken is browned and there’s still cooking time left, place aluminum foil on top (no need to wrap tight) to protect skin from burning.


For the yellow rice:

I asked my son if I can put some onions in the rice. He doesn’t like onions, or at least he says so. I think he likes the taste but not the texture, so I mince it fine. He agreed. After the rice was done he asked if I put any onions in the rice because he couldn’t see it. Of course he ate it and liked it too.

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (evoo)
¼ onion, diced small
1 cup (Jasmine) rice
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon turmeric
2 ¼ cups water

Sauté onions in evoo until soft. Add all other ingredients. Stir. Bring to boil. Lower heat to a gentle simmer. Cover and cook for 20 minutes. Remove from heat. Let stand, covered, 10 minutes. Fluff with fork.

For the steamed broccoli:

4-5 cups broccoli florets
Salt

Bring 2 inches water to boil in a steaming pot. Insert the steamer basket with the broccoli. Sprinkle salt. Cover and cook about 6-8 minutes. Broccoli should be a little crunchy since it will continue to cook a bit more as it cools.

Bon appétit.
Nurit

Rib-eye steak, grits, cherry tomatoes and butter lettuce salad

This dinner is so easy to make. It will take you 30 minutes from start to finish, or 15-20 minutes active time. So delicious, and family-friendly too.

For the steaks:
I ask the butcher to cut the steak, which usually weighs 1 lb. each, lengthwise to make 2 thinner steaks.

4 each ½ lb. steaks
Salt
Black pepper
Extra virgin olive oil (evoo)

Rub steaks with salt, pepper and evoo. Let stand at room temperature for 20 minutes.
Reheat a stainless steel skillet over medium-high heat (or a grill). Cook steak about 3-4 until nicely browned and releases easily from the bottom of the skillet. Flip to other side and cook 3-4 minutes more for medium doneness.
Let rest 5 minutes before slicing.

For the grits:
This makes 6 servings.
I can’t believe some recipes use a whole stick of butter for this recipe. It is so unnecessary. (I won’t say the name of the “chef”, but it’s someone from the South and she is on the Food network channel…)

2 ½ cups water
1 ¼ cups milk
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup quick cooking grits
2 tablespoons butter

Bring water, milk and salt to a boil in a small pot. Add grits and stir well. Return to a boil. Lower heat to a gentle simmer, cover and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add butter and mix.

For the salad:
1/3 head of butter lettuce, torn to large bite size pieces
1 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced if you want
4-6 mint leaves, cut to thin strips
2 basil leaves, cut to thin strips
Salt
Black pepper
Evoo
½ lemon, juiced

Toss all the ingredients together.

Cook with your kids.
Kids can: measure ingredients for grits, season steaks with salt, pepper and evoo, make the salad.

Enjoy.
Nurit

Whole Roasted Chicken with Chardonnay-Tarragon Sauce, roasted potatoes and carrots

This photo is not the prettiest, I know, but dinner was sooo delicious, AND this is the easiest meal on earth to prepare! AND, kids love it too. It’s a win-win.


Whole Roasted Chicken with Chardonnay-Tarragon Sauce
Makes 4-6 servings

For the chicken:
1 whole chicken, about 4 lb.
3 garlic cloves, chopped
¼ cup parsley, chopped
5 sprigs thyme, optional
1 sprig rosemary, optional
1-2 garlic heads, cut lengthwise, optional
Salt
Black pepper, ground
Extra virgin olive oil (evoo)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Mix garlic and parsley with some salt, pepper, and evoo. Distribute between the skin and meat of the chicken breast.
Place thyme, rosemary and garlic, if using, inside the chicken’s cavity. Tie the legs with kitchen twine (optional). Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper, drizzle evoo, and give the bird a nice massage.
Put chicken in a pan, preferably on a roasting rack, breast side down. Roast for 15 minutes. Lower heat to 350 degrees (use the convection oven, if you have it). Roast another 15 minutes.
Turn chicken breast side up, and continue to roast another 45-60 minutes, or until chicken is nicely browned and cooked through (if using a thermometer, the temperature at the legs, not near the bone, should register 180 degree).

For the chardonnay-tarragon sauce:
The sauce is from the cookbook “Wolfgang Puck Makes It Easy” by Wolfgang Puck. It is called “chardonnay butter” sauce there, but I think chardonnay-tarragon is a better name. The sauce is optional, but it is so good, I highly recommend you take the extra step and make it.

½ cup chardonnay
2 tablespoons lemon juice
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon tarragon, chopped
Salt
Black pepper

When chicken is done, remove it to a platter or a cutting board. Let rest covered with foil. Meanwhile make the sauce.
Pour excess fat from the pan (you can use paper towels to soak the oil). Pour remaining juices into a small pot (or use the roasting pan if it is flame proof). Over high heat, add wine and lemon juice to the pot, bring to a boil and reduce to half the volume. Remove from heat. Add butter and tarragon, salt and pepper, whisk all together. If you like a smooth sauce, blend in a blender, or serve as is.

For the potatoes and carrots:
4-5 medium potatoes, preferably with red skin, cut to quarters
4-6 carrots, cut to big chunks
Salt
Black pepper, ground
Extra virgin olive oil (evoo)

I cook the vegetables separate from the chicken so they don’t get soaked with all the chicken fat. But you can certainly roast them together in the same pan, chicken on top.
Put all in a pan and roast 45-60 minutes in a 350 degrees oven (do this when you roast the chicken to save time and energy).

Oh, and don’t forget the roasted garlic cloves! They are delicious! Eat them.

Enjoy.
Nurit

Chicken thighs, Israeli couscous, steamed cauliflower, and salad with feta

This dinner can be prepared in 20 minutes if you are quick and efficient in the kitchen.
If you are not, you know what I say: 1) take a cooking class, and 2) the more you cook, the better you get.

Makes 4-6 servings

For the chicken:
4-6 boneless skinless chicken thighs
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon Shawarma seasoning, optional (available at Mediterranean stores. Or use more cumin, turmeric, and thyme)
Salt
Pepper
Evoo (extra virgin olive oil)

Rub chicken with spices, salt, pepper and a drizzle of evoo.
Reheat 10-12’’ stainless steel skillet over medium heat. Sear one side of chicken for about 4 minutes until browned, turn on the other side and sear another 4 minutes. Turn heat to medium-low, turn from side to side every few minutes until done. It will take about 20 minutes or so. (You can also grill the chicken).

For the Israeli couscous:
1 tablespoon Evoo (extra virgin olive oil)
1 tablespoon butter
¼ cup onion, minced
1 box Israeli couscous
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups boiling water

In a small pot, sauté the onion with evoo and butter until translucent and soft. Add couscous, salt, and boiling water. Mix and cover the pot. Cook over low heat 8-10 minutes until al dente.

For steamed cauliflower:
1 medium size cauliflower, cut to florets
Salt
1 garlic clove, whole, slightly crushed, optional
3 sprigs thyme, optional

In a small steaming pot add 2’’ water, and garlic and thyme, if using. Bring to boil. Put the cauliflower in the steam basket, salt lightly, cover and cook about 8 minutes (I forgot to measure the time. I think this is what it took).

Salad with feta:
See “Simplest salad” + add crumbled feta.

Cook with your kids.
Kids can: gather ingredients from pantry, make salad (young children can use plastic knife), sprinkle salt and pepper, ground the black pepper, pick herbs from pot (or use small scissors), drizzle olive oil.

Enjoy.
Nurit