Undomesticated Me

Chocolate Chip Cookies for Thanksgiving

2010-11-23T21:06:00.010-05:00

I recently wrote over at Strollerderby that this time of year, I feel especially undomesticated. While other folks brag about their out-of-this-world cornbread stuffing or green bean casserole, I smile weakly and change the subject.

Avo finds it relaxing spending time in the kitchen, but being in the kitchen stresses me out. Therefore, he is usually in charge of planning and preparing the Thanksgiving meal and all I do is show up, eat, and clean up.

As you know if you've been following this blog for a while, last year I decided to pitch in a bit — I was proud of myself for making my first-ever apple pie (I even made the crust from scratch!).

Since Ruby has enlisted me to bake an apple pie for her class Thanksgiving party and I'm making an apple and a pumpkin pie for our Thanksgiving dinner at home, I went for the store bought crust.

For Jesse's school party, I figured I'd mix it up a bit and go with an old favorite: chocolate chip cookies. It was a breeze preparing the batter -- until I tried to mold it into little balls and it crumbled into pieces.

Oops. Seems I forgot to add the eggs! I whisked in some eggs at the last minute and it seemed to do the trick. They came out of the oven looking perfectly browned. I figured I'd let them cool for a while before packing them up for the night.

Oops again. I was so tired that I forgot to pack up the cookies. When I awoke this morning, I realized my mistake. They're no longer nice and chewy. In fact, they're like cookie pellets.

"You ruined chocolate chip cookies?!" my mom asked in disbelief.

"Well, they might still have some life in them," I said.

She suggested that I wrap them in a damp paper towel and microwave them a bit to moisten them. A Twitter friend gave me another idea: put a piece of bread in the container with them.

Jesse's party is tomorrow. I'm hoping one of these methods helps to resuscitate them by then.

The New Brooklyn Cookbook

2010-10-05T14:42:00.011-04:00

Last night I was lucky enough to be able to go to the book party for "The New Brooklyn Cookbook" by husband-and-wife team Melissa and Brendan Vaughan. And when I say "lucky enough," I mean lucky to have gotten a babysitter because the party was open to the public.

Even though it was a big turnout (especially for a rainy Monday night), the crowd of over 250 people felt quite cozy -- perhaps because I recognized so many folks from my kids' school (where the Vaughans also send their son).

The party was held at the spacious powerHouse Arena in Dumbo. You can see pictures here (and if you look closely, you can see my hair -- it's like Where's Waldo except it's Where's Paula's hair?)!

It was a pretty impressive (and fabulous) crowd including Brooklyn authors Gary Shteyngart and Steven Johnson; documentary filmmaker Liz Garbus, literary agents Larry Weissman and Sascha Alper (who repped the Vaughans book), Brooklyn restaurateurs and chefs Doug Crowell (Buttermilk Channel), Jacques Gautier (Palo Santo) and al di la duo Anna Klinger and her husband, Emiliano Coppa.

And, of course, there was food (assorted cheese and charcuterie from Stinky bklyn and Smith & Vine) and drink. I opted for the Brooklyn Rumble, a house specialty at The Jakewalk in Carroll Gardens.

Here is the recipe (from The New Brooklyn Cookbook):

2 ounces Scarlet Ibis Aged Trinidad Rum or other aged rum
3/4 ounce freshly squeezed lime juice
3/4 ounce simple syrup
1/2 ounce framboise
Dash of Angostura bitters

In a cocktail shaker, shake the first three ingredients and strain into a lowball glass filled with crushed ice. Pour in the framboise (it will sink to the bottom) and top with a dash of Angostura bitters.

It was as tasty as it sounds! I might have Avo try to replicate this cocktail at home (he's the house mixologist).

Of course, I purchased a copy of the book, which also features recipes for "new" Brooklyn specialties including: Dumac and Cheese (Dumont), Steak and Eggs Korean Style (The Good Fork), Duck Legs and Dirty Rice (Egg), Chicken Liver Crostini (Franny's), Braised Rabbit with Black Olives and Creamy Polenta (Al Di La), and well as many other gourmet treats.

The truth is that I'm unlikely to attempt any of these at home (although I'm not discouraging you from trying). It's challenging enough for me to make something as simple as basic lasagne these days. I'm not sure I'm game for the inevitable comparisons to some of Brooklyn's best restaurants.

But looking at the pictures (by Michael Harlan Turkell) sure does make me want to go out to dinner to one of these spots...Good thing my birthday is coming up!

Someone Else's Laundry

2010-08-30T11:20:00.004-04:00

We recently returned from Cape Cod, where we stayed with our good friends and their three charming children. The plus of staying with friends rather than at a hotel are obvious -- you have more time to spend with your friends and get the chance to experience the rhythmes of their every day life. The downside is pretty obvious too -- there's no hotel maid, no room service (or mini-bar) and not much privacy.

The truth is that I'd trade even four-star hotel food for our friend's cooking. They made even the most simple dish (a BLT sandwich, for instance) into something truly memorable and delicious.

When it came time for their daughter's 8th birthday party, they went all out -- making two cakes from scratch, along with two types of frosting, homemade ice cream, homemade whipped cream and caramel and fudge sauces. I am still coming down from the sugar high.

In return to their amazing hospitality, I tried my best to be handy. I helped do the laundry, tidied up the toys and volunteered to help clean the house. They assigned me the task of vacuuming the living room and I happily agreed. But then I was stumped.

"How do you do this anyway?" I asked.

"Don't you vacuum at home?" one of my hosts wondered.

"Well, usually Avo does the vacuuming."

So I got a lesson in Vacuuming 101 and they saw first-hand how undomesticated I still am.

Then at dinner, they asked if I could kindly cut the corn off of their daughter's corn on the cob since she has some missing teeth.

"Sure!"

But when I picked up a sharp paring knife and started to whittle the cob, our hostess looked alarmed.

"You're scaring me!" she said before doing the job herself with a dull dinner knife.

I can only hope that at least I did a decent job changing the sheets when it was time for us to go.

And I hope they don't hold my lack of domestic skills against me and invite us back again next year. My witty banter, sharp conversation skills, and warm companionship compensates for my lack of know-how around the house, right?

Pop-Tarts, Vitaminwater and Dinner Doulas

2010-08-11T17:47:00.006-04:00

I haven't been cooking much lately, but at least I have been writing. Since April, I have been blogging twice a day for Babble's Strollerderby where I write incredibly witty, insightful analysis about the latest parenting news. Recently, I've been writing quite a bit about food and nutrition for kids

You can check out some of my latest blog posts here:

Do You Need a Kitchen Doula?

Why We Don't Need a Pop-Tarts Store

Don't Fool Yourself: Vitaminwater Isn't Healthy

Don't Fool Yourself: Go-gurt is Candy

As for cooking, I'm preparing some brown rice in a rice cooker right now and am hoping to make a simple dinner of tempeh and broccoli on rice. Next week, we'll be headed to Cape Cod where my friend Beau is sure to cook us up some tasty grub.

Once the kids are back in school (and the weather cools off), I hope to get back into a regular cooking routine (I know - excuses, excuses!) Please bear with me until then.

Have you been cooking anything interesting this summer?

Summer Salads for the Season

2010-07-24T20:47:00.015-04:00

We've been ordering in quite a bit these days -- much more than I'd like. Not only is it getting expensive, but I'm actually getting tired of eating restaurant food. I can't believe it, but I miss cooking. Avo recently reminded me that last summer we mostly dined on Mark Bittman's 101 Simple Salads for the Season, his collection of light, flavorful salads made fairly simply from fresh ingredients.

Last summer, I tried to work my way through all 101 of them (I think I only made it to 20 or so). Looking over the notes I jotted into the margins on the print-out from last summer, next to a recipe for bulgur and cauliflower, I noticed a review from Avo. "I'd say it's a winner," he had proclaimed. I decided to give it a shot.

Here's the recipe:

#92 (out of 101): Simmer a cup of bulgur and some roughly chopped cauliflower florets until tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Toss with chopped tarragon, roughly chopped hazelnuts, minced garlic, Dijon mustard, oil oil and lemon juice.

I had the ingredients on hand, but how do I go about simmering bulgur? In "How to Cook Everything," Bittman's recipe for bulgur calls for pouring 2 1/2 cups of boiling water on top of a cup of bulgur and covering for 20 minutes or so. Where does simmering come into the equation?

I go wild chopping up cauliflower florets (he did say "roughly" after all) and toss them into a pot with 1 cup of bulgur and 2 1/2 cups of water. I stir and simmer for about 15 minutes until the florets are tender.

Meanwhile, I chop up the tarragon, the hazelnuts and the garlic and toss in some Dijon mustard, olive oil and lemon juice to make a dressing.

What I like about Bittman's recipe is that he doesn't actually tell you how much of each ingredient to use. I find it liberating not to have to measure things out. Of course, it's tricky finding just the right balance. Luckily, I managed okay. I drained out some extra water from the bulgur cauliflower combo and then tossed in some of the Dijon/tarragon/hazelnuts/garlic/olive oil/lemony dressing.

"I'd say it's a winner," Avo declares yet again. It was tasty the first time around, but even tastier when Avo whipped up the leftovers today -- he had sauteed them in bacon grease and added bacon. "Bacon makes everything better!" said Avo. Can't agree with him more.

Burning Down the House

2010-06-26T14:56:00.005-04:00

I've always joked that I'm so dangerous in the kitchen that I might burn down the house. But I never thought that my cleaning could be hazardous.

Yesterday evening as I was running a bath for the girls, I started to smell smoke. It had the distinct smell of a campfire, but as far as I could tell, there was no campfire in our apartment.

"I smell smoke," said Jesse as she came out of the bathroom.

"Me too," I said.

"Look, mom! There's smoke by the lights in the kitchen."

Indeed, a layer of smoke covered the kitchen ceiling.

"It's coming from there!" Jesse exclaimed, pointing at the microwave.

"The sponges! The sponges must be on fire!"

I opened the microwave to find one sponge smoldering and the other a burnt ember. I tossed them in the sink and doused them with running water.

"Guess four minutes was too long," I told Jesse.

The day before Avo had told me that he saw something on TV about sterilizing sponges once a week by putting them in the microwave for two minutes. He tried it and it seemed to work.

After scrubbing the bathroom, I wanted to sterilize the sponges. I figured for two sponges, I'd add an extra minute. Seemed reasonable to me.

When Avo walked in the door, he immediately said, "It smells like smoke in here." Jesse excitedly recounted the dramatic tale of the fire. Of course, she was a hero for pinpointing the source of the smoke.

Amazingly, the microwave survived the ordeal. But the whole experience has put me off cleaning. Not sure when I'll be ready to face a sponge again. You never know when I might accidentally set it on fire.

The 5th Annual Brooklyn Blogfest

2010-06-15T09:00:00.002-04:00

The Blogfest Backlash is in full gear as critics snipe that this was the year the gathering of Brooklyn bloggers sold out to Absolut Vodka, the event's sponsor.

Controversy aside, for a first-time attendee like myself, it was an opportunity to meet fellow bloggers and to be inspired by the community. Sure, Spike Lee's chat made it clear he was there to shill Absolut Brooklyn, the new vodka blend "inspired" by Brooklyn. And it was also painfully apparent that he knew nothing about blogging or the purpose of the event. Still, I appreciated the fact that Spike Lee attracted a more diverse audience to the blogfest.

And, to be honest, I also appreciated the free entry fee, vodka, and food (and no, I didn't get a flip camera or a bottle of vodka to take home). Producing an event like this isn't cheap. Kudos to blogger/Blogfest founder Louise Crawford for helping to make it accessible to all.

Ultimately, the cocktails were not as memorable as the conversations. During the "Blogs of a Feather" sessions where bloggers broke up by subject matter, I got to know fellow food and home bloggers, including:

Carolina Capehart of Historic Cookery, who cooks over an open fire, using the equipment,the ingredients, and the receipts (recipes) of the early 19th Century.

Phyllis Bobb of Reclaimed Home, who blogs about low impact housing and renovations options for thrifty New Yorkers.

Heather Johnston of SoGood.tv, which features videos about wine and food for the home cook.

Susan LaRosa of A Cake Bakes in Brooklyn, who revisits American home cooking in the era before convenience foods became popular. LaRosa bakes and cooks from old cookbooks and recipe cards of home cooks purchased at estate sales in Akron, Ohio, and other "exotic" locations.

Chattting about the state of blogging in Brooklyn was fun, but the highlight of the night was when I stumbled upon an inflatable couch on the sidewalk outside the Brooklyn Lyceum.

It was after 11 pm and the man reclining on the couch was handing out free cookies.

"Want a cookie?" he asked.

I eyed him suspiciously. My mom always warned me about taking cookies from strangers, but it was a homemade orange chocolate chip cookie and he assured me that not only was it safe, but it was gluten free. I couldn't resist. It was delicious.

He handed me his card. Turns out the cookie man's name is Scott Alexander. Apparently, he's a musician who makes friends and contacts by setting up his couch and handing out cookies. He's got a 24-hour Free Cookie Hotline, 347-829-4YUM and a web site, FreeCookies.Net.

Scintillating conversation with old friends and new, strong cocktails and free cookies. I couldn't ask for much more in an evening out in Brooklyn.

Photo: Hugh Crawford/otbkb.com

My Friend, She's Fried

2010-06-07T10:27:00.006-04:00

My best friend Dori was a foodie before being a foodie was cool. She is the sort of person who phones just to tell you she made the most fabulous Potatoes Au Gratin with Gruyere that you just have to try. When we eat out, she knows where to go and exactly what to order (not to mention how it should be cooked).

Dori always makes cooking seem effortless and fun. Somehow, she manages to whip up potato latkes for 50 with two kids underfoot while still looking as glamorous as a movie star (some see a resemblance to Meg Ryan). Not surprisingly, she has always been baffled – if not a bit irked – by my culinary ineptitude.

After years of feigning interest as she recounted her latest success in the kitchen, I finally have begun to pay attention. Now that I've begun to cook myself, I appreciate her passion for food and cooking even more. I'm lucky to have her on hand to (well, by phone or e-mail) to answer my questions about grilling, sauteing, steaming, and everything in between.

I'm proud to say that after years of dreaming about it, Dori has finally taken the leap and begun cooking school at the Institute for Culinary Education in Manhattan. She had taken recreational cooking classes there before, but this one is for pros. Of course, I thought Dori already knew everything there was to know, but I'm sure they can teach her a thing or two.

Dori is chronicling her journey on her blog, She's Fried, which, like Dori, is smart, witty, and always lively.

In her most recent post, Dori tells of how she took on a lobster -- and lost. Well, to be fair, she won (the lobster is dead), but she lost some blood in the process (don't worry, she's okay).

Check it out and see She's Fried for yourself.

Photo: Dori Fern

The Way We Eat: Issues at the Table

2010-06-03T09:09:00.008-04:00

I can't wait for this event:

Readings On The 4th Floor

"The Way We Eat: Issues at the Table"
June 15 - 7:30-9:00 PM

Moderated by Michael Moss, PS 107 parent and 2010 Pulitzer Prize winner for his work in the New York Times on contaminated hamburger and other food safety issues. He just wrote an excellent story on the salt industry.

Panelists:

Janet Poppendieck, author "Free For All: Fixing School Food in America."

Traci Des Jardins, owner/chef of the acclaimed Jardiniere, in San Francsico; she has been named a James Beard “Rising Star of the Year” and she also appeared on “Iron Chef,” defeating Mario Batali.

Kim Severson, reporter with the dining section of the Times, and author of the just published "Spoon Fed: How Eight Cooks Saved My Life."

Buy Tickets Here

Hope you can make it!

Brooklyn Blogfest 2010

2010-06-01T08:35:00.003-04:00

Fifth Annual Brooklyn Blogfest
Tuesday, June 8th, 2010 at 7:00 PM
The Brooklyn Lyceum
227 Fourth Avenue at President Street in Park Slope

It's free, but Pre-Register Here.

THE BROOKLYN BLOGFEST 2010 IS SPONSORED BY ABSOLUT® VODKA

"Where better to take the pulse of this rapidly growing community of writers, thinkers and observers than the Brooklyn Blogfest?" ~ Sewell Chan, The New York Times

How many bloggers does it take to fill the Brooklyn Lyceum? Come find out on June 8 at 7:00 p.m. when the borough’s most opinionated and dedicated bloggers, Spike Lee and Lemon Anderson to sound off about how and why Brooklyn remains such a rich source of material and inspiration.

But forget about filling the room. Here’s the real question the Brooklyn Blogfest will answer: How many bloggers does it take to wrap their arms around New York’s most happening borough? So, whether you are a blogger, wannablogger, reader, or media maven, you’ll want to come see for yourself. And meet up with this year’s most tenaciously keen tribe of bloggers as they gather to celebrate all the reasons Brooklyn is such a potent source of runaway creativity.

Since it was founded in 2005, the Brooklyn Blogfest has established itself as the nexus of creativity, talent, and insight among the blogosphere’s brightest lights. This year will be no different as a panel of blogging's best disect the unique brand of entrepreneurial creativity flourishing here. Also on tap: a video tribute to Brooklyn's most visionary photo bloggers, special networking sessions for like-minded bloggers (i.e. Blogs of a Feather), the return of the ever-popular Shout-out, when bloggers are invited to share their blogs with the world, and a roof-raising after-party with ABSOLUT® VODKA cocktails, food and music.

"The borough of Brooklyn has always been front and center in the world of blogging," says Louise Crawford, founder of the Brooklyn Blogfest and onlytheblogknowsbrooklyn.com. “Whether you live by a blog, blog to live, or live to blog, you’ll want to come out on June 8.”

The Brooklyn Blogfest 2010 program featuures:

CREATE, INSPIRE, BLOG: a panel discussion moderated by WNYC's Andrea Bernstein
BLOGS-OF-A-FEATHER, special interest, small-group sessions led by notable bloggers
The SHOUT OUT, your chance to share your blog with the world
THE BIG PICTURE: a video tribute to Brooklyn's photo bloggers
SPIKE LEE AND LEMON ANDERSON APPEARING
Great opportunities for networking
Music, mingling, and general merriment at the after party

FIFTH ANNUAL BROOKLYN BLOGFEST 2010
Tuesday, June 8th, 2010 at 7 PM at the Brooklyn Lyceum in Park Slope
Doors open at 6:30 PM

I'll be there!

No Cooking or Cleaning for Me

2010-05-18T07:57:00.000-04:00

It's amazing how quickly I've fallen into my old undomesticated habits. Now that I've got a job, I've been seriously slacking off around the house. There's a pile of dishes in the sink and while the laundry is folded, I haven't had time to put it away. I don't remember the last time I cooked dinner that didn't come from the frozen foods section.

When pressed for time when something's gotta give, it seems cooking and cleaning are the first things to go.

Somehow Avo manages to find time to go to the gym, work a full-time job, and cook -- even when he doesn't get home until 8 p.m.

Last night, I was prepared to have cereal for dinner, but he was determined to come up with something more nutritional and satisfying. Using the few ingredients we had in our fridge, he whipped up the best omelette I've had in my life (no kidding) -- eggs, ham, onions, and mushrooms never tasted so good. Or maybe I just appreciated the fact that I was eating a home-cooked meal for a change.

For the past week, I've had plans to cook chili. I have all the ingredients on hand, but I haven't gotten around to it yet. I fear that unless I start cooking soon, I'll forget everything I've learned. I'd hate to come this far only to settle back into my old undomesticated life.

Sometimes I wonder if there are two types of people: those who cook because they love it and those who cook because they have no other choice. Maybe I'm just not hardwired to cook. What do you think?

I'll Be Back

2010-05-06T11:16:00.007-04:00

Please forgive me, readers. It's been over a week since my last post.

I've got a good excuse. I started a new job where I'm actually getting paid to blog! You can check out my blog posts about parenting at Babble.com's Strollerderby where I'm writing about everything from mental illness in kids to whether spanking is a human rights issue.

I haven't been cooking or cleaning much since I got this new gig, but I hope you'll be patient with me (Avo has been!)

I promise to get back to the domestic life as soon as I can tear myself away from the computer.

It Takes a Village

2010-04-27T08:30:00.002-04:00

Everybody knows that it takes a village to raise a child. But does it take a village to prepare dinner?

In our house, dinner is often a collaborative affair. For years, my husband, Avo, bore the full responsibility of meal preparation -- shopping, cooking, and cleaning (well, I'd occasionally chip in). But then when he landed a new job with later hours, I rose to the occasion and took over these household duties on weekdays while he ruled the kitchen on weekends. Now that I'm suddenly busy with work, he's happy to chip in (what a mensch!).

On Friday night, we pieced together a meal -- I roasted asparagus with olive oil and salt and pepper (always a safe, yummy bet) and he grilled buffalo burgers (the ones at Trader Joe's are the cheapest and the best). It wasn't anything fancy, but it was as satisfying as a gourmet meal at Chanterelle.

Friends have suggested that we form a dinner co-operative so we can all take turns preparing meals. The idea appeals to me, but the logistics overwhelm me. Just coordinating a play date seems tough enough these days since everybody is so overbooked.

In college, I lived in a co-operative where we all traded off on meal duties. Since I didn't know how to cook, I made the same thing every week -- falafel from a prepared mix. Now that I'm a bit more domesticated, I bet I could even try making falafel from scratch. And then Avo can make some tabbouleh to go with it. I'm ready for the kids to learn how to cook so they can pitch in too!

Cooking Ennui

2010-04-16T09:30:00.002-04:00

"Cooking ennui is an inevitable test of your character to which you must rise."

At least that's what my friend Beau, says. Beau cooks a full meal for his wife and kids every night and makes it seem effortless.

"What's your secret?" I ask. "How do you manage to maintain your enthusiasm for cooking when it's so routine? And how do you come up with something to cook every night?"

"The secret is pre-planning for easy predictability occasionally interrupted by novelty," said Beau. "You've got to plan a handful of days at once, so you won't have to think about it all too much. Then, most of those meals have to be things that are relatively easy and well-liked, so going on auto-pilot isn't too taxing. Add one (relatively easy) thing you've been meaning to try (you may have to dig for this: another reason to subscribe to Fine Cooking) that keeps the week from seeming like endless repetition, and you're good. time will pass and suddenly, you'll find you're over the hump. definitely takes deliberate planning and will, though."

Of course, relatively easy is all relative. For me, it means taking out a bowl of cereal and pouring in milk! Maybe some fresh fruit to add some color.

With Beau as an inspiration, I've come up with the following ideas. Keep in mind that I don't practice what I preach, so let me know if you have any ideas to add to my list:

Ten Tips for Easy Meal Planning:

1. Designate a "Meal Planning Day," where you compile a list of recipes and ingredients you'll need for the week. Try to pick at least one recipe that you can incorporate in several meals.

2. Keep your pantry, freezer and refrigerator organized so that you can cross-reference the ingredients needed for a recipe with what you have on hand. Plus, this way you'll be sure to toss old stuff before it becomes rancid.

3. Plan for every night of the week (and lunch if you prepare that too). Try to mix it up so you don't have pasta or red meat two nights in a row. Designate one night "Leftover Night."

4. Create a recipe binder to organize recipes from magazines, friends, and family. We use a photo album to store favorite recipes and keep it handy in the kitchen

5. Rely on old favorites, but be sure to experiment with a new recipe at least once a week. Or else you'll get bored fast.

6. For new recipes, rely on websites such as CookingLight.com, myrecipes.com or allrecipes.com where you can enter a particular ingredient (or a list of ingredients) and get recipe ideas.

7. When in doubt, just cook something. It doesn't have to be a masterpiece. Make the effort and it will be worth it.

8. It's okay to cheat with household gadgets like a rice cooker, a microwave and a crock pot to speed things up.

9. Cook in bulk and freeze individual portions.

10. Don't feel bad about ordering in or going out to dinner every once in a while. You deserve it!

Now what am I cooking for dinner tonight?

A Fishy Setback

2010-04-15T20:49:00.003-04:00

"I feel like an undomesticated failure," I moaned to Avo tonight.

"Why? Because dinner didn't turn out as you planned?" he said.

That was a generous understatement. Dinner was pretty much inedible.

I tried something that I thought would be a no-brainer: I baked catfish with panko (seasoned with thyme, salt, and pepper) for 15 minutes at 425 degrees. But instead of becoming brown and crispy, the panko remained the color (and taste) of sand. I suspect the problem is that I used canola spray on the bottom of the pan rather than relying on good old fashioned butter (or margarine). As a result, the panko never browned. The fish tasted about as tantalizing as cardboard. I would have been better off using a store bought fish seasoning mix.

I also experimented with a tomato, cucumber, mint salad:

I marinated cucumber slices in 1/3 cup red wine vinegar, 1 tablespoon sugar and 1 teaspoon of salt for about an hour. Then I tossed it with two tablespoons of olive oil, 1/4 cup of chopped mint and a handful of plum tomatoes. It looked colorful and appetizing, but it tasted like it had been doused in soy sauce.

With effort, Avo forced the fish in his mouth, trying to make a good show of it.

"I'm not lovin' it," I confessed, letting him off the hook.

"Well, it is nice to come home to have dinner waiting," said Avo, trying his best to be encouraging. "That said, I think I'm done," he added, pushing away his plate.

"Me too."

Not only was dinner a complete flop, but toys are strewn around the living room and I've got a pile of laundry waiting for me to do.

All is not lost though since my sweetie was nice enough to clean up the kitchen.

The Spice of Life

2010-04-15T09:34:00.009-04:00

Variety is the spice of life, so I assume that using spices might add some variety to my culinary repertoire.

While looking for recipes which rely on spices that I have in our spice cabinet, I came across this in an old issue of Everyday Food Magazine:

Chicken Tenders with Cucumber Salad and Chickpea Couscous
(from Every Day Food Magazine)

Ingredients

- 1 (1 pound) seedless cucumber
- 1/2 cup whole flat-leaf parsley leaves
- 1 to 2 tablespoons white-wine vinegar
- 3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon olive oil
- Coarse salt and ground pepper
- 1 can (15.5 ounces) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1/3 cup raisins (I left them out)
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 1/2 pounds chicken tenders
- 1/2 cup couscous

Directions

1. Make salad: Quarter cucumber lengthwise; slice quarters 3/4 inch thick diagonally. In a medium bowl, combine cucumber, parsley, vinegar, and 1 tablespoon oil. Season with salt and pepper; toss to coat. Set aside.

This is where I had to call my dad and read him the recipe so he could translate for me.

"What does it mean to quarter cucumber?" I asked.

"You cut them in quarters."

"Yeah, but what does that mean exactly?"

I'm a bit dense when it comes to directions sometimes. Without a video connection, my dad couldn't demonstrate.

"Don't worry. I'll figure it out," I reassured him.

When I got off the phone, I cut the cucumber in four pieces lengthwise and then did my best to slice them diagonally. But, the pieces looked too long, so I cut them again.

2. Make couscous: In a small saucepan, combine chickpeas, raisins, 1 teaspoon oil, 1 cup water, 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt, and 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper; bring to a boil. Stir in couscous, and cover pot; remove from heat. Set aside (at least 5 minutes) while cooking chicken. Fluff couscous gently with a fork before serving.

This was the easy step. I left out the raisins since I don't like raisins in my food (except for Raisin Bran).

3. Make chicken: In a medium bowl, combine ginger, coriander, 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt, and 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper. Add chicken and toss to coat.

This was surprisingly easy and fun. The only question I had was: what are chicken tenders? Are they like chicken nuggets or cutlets? I'm still not sure, but I used chicken breasts and they did just fine.

4. Cook chicken in two batches: Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium-high; add half the chicken, and cook until browned, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate; add remaining tablespoon oil to skillet, and repeat with remaining chicken. Serve with cucumber salad and couscous.

I cheated and cooked the chicken in one batch. Basically, all I did was coat the chicken with spices and sautee it in oil. I kept checking to make sure it didn't get overcooked. Amazingly, I pulled it out at the perfectly tender moment.

When Avo got home, he was thrilled to see dinner on the table waiting for him. Usually, I just make one or two dishes, so making three separate things to complete a balanced meal was a big accomplishment for me.

He bit into the chicken first.

"Delicious!" he exclaimed.

He looked at the cucumber salad and crinkled his nose.

"I wasn't sure if I cut it the right way," I explained, showing him the recipe.

"You're supposed to hold the cucumber lengthwise and then cut it once horizontally and once vertically so you get quarters."

"Oh! Now I get it," even though I still a bit confused.

I admit the cucumber salad looked weird, it was crunchy and refreshing (and a worthwhile companion to the spiced chicken).

The couscous, however, was too mealy and bland. Next time, I'll try to spice it up some more (maybe some garlic would help?)

NOTE: Photo courtesy of Martha Stewart's Everyday Living (my meal didn't look nearly as photogenic).

Ginger-Carrot Soup

2010-04-13T09:24:00.002-04:00

There are days when I slack off on my domestic duties and can't even bear to make the effort to toast a slice of bread or make my bed. Other days, I frantically scrub, bake, and neaten. I'm a whirling dervish of domesticity. Friday was one of those days. Here is a rundown of all of the useful things I did:

1. Washed and folded two loads of laundry
2. Went shopping at the Park Slope Food Co-Op (and lugged the groceries home)
3. Loaded the dishwasher (and unloaded it once it was done)
4. Cleaned the bathrooms
5. Made the beds and generally tidied up
6. Baked uber-hearty banana muffins (using honey, canola oil and whole wheat flour)
7. Cooked up a big batch of carrot ginger soup.

In hindsight, I realize I made the soup simply so I could have an excuse to finally bought a hand blender. The kids were intrigued by the new toy, but I knew Avo would roll his eyes as yet another kitchen gadget crowding the pantry.

I was just finishing up with the soup when Avo walked in the door. I shoved a spoonful of the soup in his mouth and pretty much begged for praise. Before he could swallow the soup (or compliment the soup), I hurried out the door -- on my way to Manhattan to celebrate my friend Becky's 40th birthday. As I ran down the hallway, I called back to Avo, "eat the soup and then freeze the rest!"

"So how was it?" I asked the next morning.

"Not gingery enough for me. And I don't think you pureed it enough. I got some big chunks of carrot," he said.

Oh well. I guess I need to practice some more with the hand blender.

Luckily, I liked the soup just fine and will surely make use of the frozen leftovers.

Ginger-Carrot Soup (from Every Day Food)

SERVES 8

Ingredients

- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 medium onions, chopped
- 2 lbs carrots, chopped
- 1 1/2 lbs sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
- 2 (14 1/2 ounce) cans reduced-sodium chicken broth
- 4 cups water
- coarse salt
- ground pepper
- 2-3 teaspoons sugar
- 2-3 teaspoons fresh lemon juice (1 lemon)
- 1/4 cup heavy cream (optional)

Directions

1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.

2. Add onions, stirring occasionally until they are translucent (5 minutes).

3. Add carrots, sweet potatoes, ginger, broth and water.

4. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook until vegetables are tender (20 minutes).

5. Puree mixture in batches in a blender until smooth. (for safety, you should let the soup cool a bit before doing this, and be careful of any splattering. Or use an immersion blender right in the pot).

6. Add sugar, lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste.

7. Return to pan and reheat over medium heat, adding in cream if you wish.

Disclaimer: That's not my soup in the photo.

In the summer months, I think this would be yummy chilled. Refreshing and oh so healthy.

A Potato Garden

2010-04-09T09:51:00.004-04:00

"Honey, your potatoes are sprouting," Avo said last night after peeking in the shopping bag I had perched on the window sill beside the air conditioner. "They look like little alien creatures!"

Oops. Guess I waited too long to decide what to do with the leftover potatoes from Passover (thanks for the shepard's pie idea, mom).

"So what do I do with them now?" I asked.

"Well, you've got two options: throw them out or grow potatoes in the back garden," Avo answered.

Dear reader, I chose the first option.

The good news is that now I don't have to figure out how to use this sack of potatoes. The bad news is that now I feel guilty for wasting so many good (organic!) potatoes.

My cooking juju is clearly off these days. I just can't seem to get it together to prepare a decent meal. Even Avo's birthday dinner on Monday night was underwhelming ("I'm just not that hungry," he said, perhaps to spare my feelings).

I blame the balmy weather we've been enjoying -- It's hard to contemplate cooking hearty foods like potatoes and meat when it's scorching out.

But now that it's cool and misty today, I've got no excuse. You'll be relieved to know that as I type, I'm prepping banana muffins -- I can't bear to throw out these fast ripening bananas without putting them to good use.

Buffalo Meat for Cheap

2010-04-08T09:44:00.006-04:00

Wouldn't you know it? Just when I finally get the hang of cooking with beef (well, I can make burgers), Avo's doctor tells him to keep his cholesterol down by cutting out the red meat.

At the same time, I'm still trying to come up with a recipe which will use up the potatoes left over from Passover (I made so much kugel and yet somehow I still have a ton of potatoes). In my truly undomesticated days, I used to mock Avo for his obsession with using every last bit of food we had in the fridge. Now I think I'm worse than he ever was. Can't let one potato go to waste!

I found a recipe for meat loaf and mashed potatoes in an old copy of "Everyday Food" that one of my neighbors left on the window sill in our front hallway. But, not surprisingly, it calls for ground beef.

"Why not use buffalo meat?" asked Avo. "It's leaner and they sell it cheap at Trader Joe's. And instead of using the potatoes for mashed potatoes, why not make potato gratin?"

Well, for one, the potato gratin recipe in Patricia Wells' Bistro Cooking calls for 1 cup of Gruyere cheese and 1 cup of heavy cream -- somehow I am guessing Avo's doctor wouldn't approve of that!

Brooklyn Eats

2010-04-06T09:27:00.006-04:00

As I've said before, Brooklyn is the place to be for foodies -- or anyone who appreciates a good deal (and a tasty meal), scintillating conversation or all of the above.

Today is my hubby's birthday, so I plan to cook him something special and stay home to celebrate. But if you're in the mood to go out on the town and do something fun and food-related, you're in luck. There's plenty of events to choose from tonight (April 6):

1. Melt's "Taste of Life Tasting Menu"

Melt Brooklyn 5-course Tasting Menu $30

TEMPURA FRIED OYSTER
Soy and Dashi Dipping Sauce

ATLANTIC SALMON CEVICHE
Avocado, Wasabi, Salmon Roe

POTATO AND LEEK SOUP
Garlic Croutons

KIWI BURGER
Grass Fed Lamb Burger, Sunny Side Egg, Beet Relish on Brioche.

GRANNY SMITH APPLE TART
Butter Pecan Ice Cream

created by Mark Simmons, Executive Chef

Pair each course with a taste of 5 carefully selected wines $20

Call 718.230.5925 to secure a table as seating is limited.

2. Edible Brooklyn & Edible Manhattan Magazines Present
GOOD SPIRITS, a cocktail celebration, at The Bell House, 6-9 pm

Brooklyn-based mixology-minded chefs will strive for liquid symbiosis, cooking up perfect pairings for cocktails made with storied spirits. They'll be pouring Empire State favorites like Tuthilltown Spirits and Warwick Valley Winery and Distillery, as well as small batch selections from Vertical Vodka, Chartreuse and Ilegal Mezcal.

The Vanderbilt, No. 7, James, Walter Foods, The Farm on Adderley and Palo Santo will be on hand to prepare food.

A special guest bartender will provide bite-by-sip commentary.

Tickets are just $40 for an evening of food, drink and merriment.

Information at www.ediblebrooklyn.com and www.ediblemanhattan.com or contact Samantha Seier, sam.edible@gmail.com.

3. The powerHouse Arena is hosting a book release party:

Gristle: From Factory Farms to Food Safety (Thinking Twice About the Meat We Eat)
Edited by Moby with Miyun Park

Tuesday, April 6, 7–9PM

For more information, please call 718.666.3049
RSVP: gristle@powerHouseArena.com

Multi-platinum musician Moby has compiled writings from 15 of the country's leading food-minded folks who lay out a hard-hitting and eye-opening guide to the meat you eat.

Moby and co-editor Miyun Park, Executive Director of Global Animal Partnership, as well as a selection of Gristle's contributors, will be present to discuss and sign the book. Refreshments will be served.

Just because I'm staying home doesn't mean you have to! Now I've got to figure out what to cook for Avo's birthday dinner tonight.

Spring Break and Mila's Thighs

2010-04-05T11:49:00.004-04:00

Did you miss me? Not only did I miss you, but I actually missed cooking. With the kids off school for the week and our friend Beau and his kids in town visiting, I barely had a moment to boil water.

We were busy playing tourist in our hometown -- visiting The Museum of Natural History, The Bronx Zoo, and Coney Island. Mostly, we ate out (although we did pack homemade sandwiches for our daytime outings).

One night, our friend Beau, a terrific cook, treated us to one of his specialties, Mila's Thighs.

Here is the recipe (in Beau's own words):

Mila’s Thighs

4-5 lg. cloves garlic
1 t kosher salt
2 T lime juice
2 T olive oil
1 lg bunch cilantro
2-3 lbs chicken thighs

Finely chop the garlic, then sprinkle the salt over it and chop the salt into it a little more. Then use the side of your knife to work it into a paste. (Hold your knife at a 5-10-degree angle, almost flat against the cutting board, and start nipping bits from the pile of minced garlic, sliding your knife along as you press it against the board. It’s obvious once you’re confronted with it....)

Put it in a bowl, add the juice and the oil and give it a good whisking, then chop the heck out of the cilantro. Don’t worry about avoiding the stems--just gather the leafy stuff up and chop it finely, stopping when you run out of it.

Marinate for a couple/few hours—no more—and grill as above. Sometimes I substitute a couple big whacks of tarragon for some of the cilantro.

Can't wait 'til August when we'll visit Beau and his lovely wife Galen at their place in Wellfleet and enjoy some of his other culinary specialties, including Jamaican meat pies, caramel cod, and Thai Fried Halibut.

He's kindly shared his recipes with me, so I'll see if I can re-create the magic on my own....

Meanwhile, once the girls return to school on Wednesday, it's back to the old routine. Time to go shopping and start drawing up a menu or else I'll be reduced to takeout again.

See You Next Week

2010-03-31T08:42:00.003-04:00

Enough Kugel Already

2010-03-29T15:18:00.004-04:00

"Yay! Mommy doesn't have to make any more kugel!" Ruby cheered yesterday when we arrived home from our "early bird seder" weekend adventure.

Both of my girls were clearly tired of hearing about my kugel conundrum -- not to mention the sound of the food processor chopping all of those carrots, potatoes, and onions!

I was relieved to finally be done with it myself.

Do you want to know how the kugel turned out? In short, it was a hit -- all my hard work paid off -- and there was more than enough to go around. I ended up making about four batches of the recipe so we had enough for leftovers. Dori will be pleased to hear that the "muffin kugels" were the most popular. She was right -- making the kugel in muffin tins kept it crispy.

The rest of the family pitched in to make it a lovely seder meal.

My cousin Marla made matzoh ball soup that was better than the one they serve at The Second Avenue Deli; Claudia made homemade gefilte fish and mouth-watering brisket; My brother made carrot kugel (he vowed next year, he'd add garlic to spice things up a bit); and cousin Tina baked desserts that were so outrageously delicious, you'd swear they were made with flour (she swears they weren't!)

When I bought the matzoh meal for the kugel, I noticed Streit's slogan is "The Taste of a Memory..." Isn't holiday cooking all about revisiting old memories and creating new ones? Maybe my girls will one day aspire to recreate their mom's kugel.

I can just picture Ruby asking her sister, "Remember when mom nearly went crazy making all that kugel one year?"

How could they forget?

Meanwhile, I promise not to post anymore about kugel...until next year.

Kugel Conundrum

2010-03-26T08:30:00.000-04:00

"I'm having a kugel cunundrum," I said to Avo last night.

It was already getting late and it was time to go to sleep.

But first I had to check on the kugel or else I wouldn't be able to rest soundly.

I ended up getting a jump-start on things rather than leaving the cooking 'til the last minute as I had planned. I loaded up a cart with about 30 potatoes and a whole lot of onions and carrots. For good measure, I bought the last two boxes of Streit's matzoh meal (not sure I really need that much, but just in case...)

I doubled up the kugel recipe and found that the potato-carrot-onion mix didn't fit in any of my mixing bowls. Then I went through an entire roll of paper towels and a few dish towels trying to sop up the potato "juice." Now all my dish towels smell like potatoes!

In hindsight, I'm not so sure the muffin tins were the way to go. It seemed like a lot of extra effort pouring the kugel mix into the tins. Then, I packed up the kugel muffins in a plastic bag to store them. I checked on them a bit later and the bag had started to fog up. I guess I put the kugel muffins in while they were still hot and humid.

The bottom of the bag was like a shallow pond and a lot of the muffins were soggy sponges. I sorted through the salvageable ones and left them to dry out on the counter.

"Now I'm not sure I'll have enough for everyone," I griped to Avo.

"Maybe you should make more."

"I can't bear it!"

After a day scrubbing potatoes and "slaving" over the food processor, it was hard to imagine doing it yet again.

"Well, it's better to have too much than not enough."

Which brings me back to the kugel cunundrum: "Do I leave the kugel overnight to dry or do I put it in the fridge?"

Avo suggested I set an alarm for 2 a.m. so I could go and check on them.

I nixed that idea and decided to leave them out.

Luckily, Ruby inadvertently came to the rescue by waking up at 3 a.m.

After bringing her a sippy cup, I tended to the kugel.

And now I'm ready to start another batch.

I'll let you know whether they pass muster at the "early bird" Saturday seder.

Passover Panic

2010-03-25T08:33:00.001-04:00

It's official. I'm beginning to freak out. How will I ever have time to make my first ever potato kugel in timer for Saturday's "early bird" seder?

"What were you thinking?" Avo asked last night. "You're doing your food shopping on Friday morning and then Friday night, we're going to see Angelique Kidjo. Then we head upstate to the seder Saturday morning. When do you plan to cook the kugel?"

"Um, guess I hadn't thought it through (as usual)."

To make matters worse, cousin Claudia just informed me that the number of guests at the seder has just jumped to 34!

Luckily, my BFF Dori came up with a good solution: use muffin tins to make individual potato kugels. Rumor has it that this will help the potatoes "crisp up nicely." Thanks, Dori, for reminding me to use non-stick spray in the tins if I go this route (although couldn't I also use paper liners?)

Plus, we won't have to cut the kugel or worry if there's enough for everyone. But forget about making enough for seconds!

One reader requested that I post my mom's treasured recipe, so here it is:

Mom's Potato Kugel

6 Medium white potatoes (2-1/2 lbs)
1 large onion
1 large carrot
1/4 Cup matzo meal
1-1/2 tspn. salt
1/4 tspn white pepper
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup peanut oil

Pare and put vegetables through grinder or food processor (grater disc). Add remaining ingredients and mix thoroughly. Pour into a well greased 1-1/2 quart baking dish (or deep dish pie plate).

Bake in a moderate oven (375 degrees) about one hour or until top is browned and crisp at edges. Serves 6-8

"Does pare mean to peel the skin off?" I e-mailed my mom.

"Yes, my dear. To pare is to peel. In olden days, before such gadgets as veggie peelers, you would use a small "paring knife" to peel vegetables. Thus, the term paring," mom wrote back.

Meanwhile, I found another recipe at Cooks.com that calls for frying the onions first. I'm sure it would taste better, but since I have to make so much kugel in such a short amount of time, I think I'll skip that step and stick with mom's (hopefully) reliable recipe.

The Grown-Up Table

2010-03-23T08:33:00.003-04:00

Growing up, when my extended family gathered for holidays, the kids would be relegated to a separate "children's table." Presumably, there wasn't enough room at the grown-up table -- or maybe they just wanted us kids to be seen and not heard.

As you can imagine, it was a big deal when I finally "graduated" to the grown-up table.

Although that was many years ago and I now have two kids of my own, in a way, I feel as if I'm only now worthy of the grown-up table. Why? Because now I know how to cook.

Passover is coming up next week (although my family is having an "early bird" seder on Saturday) and I'm excited. It's the first year that I'm going to be cooking rather than just bringing wine or macaroons.

My cousin Claudia is in charge of delegating cooking responsibilities. She assigned me the task of cooking potato kugel. I should just be thankful I wasn't given the job of making gefilte fish or matzoh ball soup.

The older generation is no longer able to cook, but my cousins and I still rely on their recipes. I plan to use my mom's treasured potato kugel recipe.

(If you strain, you might be able to hear the melody to "Tradition!" from "Fiddler on the Roof.")

I'm not too intimidated by the idea of making potato kugel, but when I think of making it for 28 people (the number who are expected at the seder), I am terrified. What if it turns out rock solid? What if I burn it? Will they send me back to the children's table?

The good thing about kugel is that it can be made in advance. I better start peeling potatoes right away.

Do you have any special holiday recipes?

Oven Fried Panko Chicken

2010-03-20T21:09:00.009-04:00

Guess what? We are officially a pro-panko household.

My dad was right. This stuff is great. Tonight I made oven-fried panko chicken and Avo and I were both won over by the light and crispy texture of Japanese bread crumbs.

"I feel like we're eating at a Japanese restaurant," I told Avo, since we also had salad with miso dressing and rice with soy sauce. "I should be wearing my Kimono."

Years ago for one of my birthdays, Avo bought me a beautiful Kimono that I have only worn once or twice on Halloween.

(To set the scene, you should note that while we ate, the girls were eating popcorn and watching "The Brady Bunch" on DVD).

Then, right after our lovely panko-inspired dinner, Avo confronted me with something that's been bothering him.

"I see that you got this (pointing to a brand new container of sea salt) when we already have all of that (pointing to an old container of kosher salt)."

"Well, some recipes call for sea salt," I said, defending my purchase.

"Oh, we've reached that point, have we?"

"Apparently, we have," I said.

"I'm living with Alice Waters!"

And then I headed out to buy a pint of chocolate chip Haagen Dazs.

I am guessing that Alice Waters makes her own ice cream.

Panko Power

2010-03-19T14:32:00.006-04:00

"Do you know about Panko?" my dad asked when he called the other day.

"Yes, dad, you've only told me about Panko every time we have spoken in the last few weeks!"

My dad is just a bit obsessed with Panko.

"What's Panko?" you ask.

Panko are Japanese bread crumbs (I'm pretty sure that Panko translates to "bread crumbs" in Japanese. Correct me if I'm wrong). They are supposed to be lighter and crispier than traditional bread crumbs.

Apparently, my dad isn't the only one obsessed with them. You can read about Panko in detail here.

Despite my dad's urging -- or perhaps because of it -- I steadfastly refused to give Panko a try. But today I finally gave in and bought a container of the stuff. This weekend, I plan to experiment with it and report back.

I've already begun to research recipes that call for Panko (pretty much anything you make with bread crumbs, you can make with Panko).

This Panko-Crusted Cod sounds good. So does this oven-fried panko chicken.

Have you ever heard about Panko? What do you use it for?

If I try this stuff, maybe my dad will finally lay off on the Panko pitch. Maybe I will even join the Panko proselytizing bandwagon.

Follow these Blogs

2010-03-18T14:26:00.002-04:00

I'm having a very undomesticated week.

Instead of food shopping or cleaning or cooking, I've been busy with other stuff: getting a cavity filled, going to the gym, volunteering at my kids' school, going on a field trip with Ruby's class, taking the girls to Manhattan, teaching memoir-writing, writing and revising, overseeing play dates, and generally doing everything possible to avoid the kitchen (granted, I've been a bit busy).

Not sure why I suddenly don't feel like cooking, but I won't read too much into it. Luckily, Avo has been a sport about it and happily cooked up the pork chops last night.

While I'm taking this hopefully brief hiatus from my domestic education, I thought you might like to check out some foodie blogs that I go to for inspiration. So go visit these other nice blogs, but promise to come back and visit me soon. Maybe by then I'll be in the mood to cook, clean, and entertain.

Dinner: A Love Story -- makes me want to cook a family dinner

A Dinner Party -- makes me want to throw another dinner party

Not Eating Out in New York -- makes me want to not eat out in New York

Take Back the Kitchen - makes me want to prepare healthy, delicious food for my family

Meanwhile, I may go out for dinner tonight.

Burrito Backslide

2010-03-16T09:42:00.003-04:00

After three dark days of rain, life was beginning to feel quite gloomy yesterday.

Because of daylight savings time, it felt early and dark when the alarm rang. We struggled to get up and ready for school and work. And then I hurried off to Manhattan to get a cavity filled. And then I rushed back to Brooklyn to get to Jesse's school in time for "Take Your Parent to Lunch" Day in the school cafeteria. And then I hurried back home to cram in some work before school pick-up.

Sensing my grumpiness, the kids bickered and I barely managed to keep my cool. It was a long, difficult afternoon.

So when Avo got home, I did not have dinner on the table. All I had done to prepare dinner, in fact, was turn on the rice cooker. So we had a lot of rice and not much else.

"I could make some tempeh with broccoli," I said.

He looked disappointed.

"Don't worry. I'll come up with something," he said.

"Why don't you run out and get burritos?" I suggested.

He agreed to pick up Mexican food as long as I promised to steam the Haricots Verts so we could eat when he got back.

"Sure," I said.

Fifteen minutes later, I heard the door open. I was so busy on the computer that I hadn't even begun to steam the veggies. Busted.

I could actually hear him scoff.

"I'm sorry. You asked me to do one little thing and I couldn't do it."

In that moment, I forgot everything I've learned about cooking. I needed Avo to hold my hand and show me how to steam the Haricots Verts.

"I can't believe I'm backsliding," I said.

"You're having a little meltdown."

"I'm just beating myself up for not making dinner and then not steaming the Haricots Verts."

"You're just looking for something to beat yourself up for," said Avo. "It's a rainy Monday. Cut yourself some slack."

I chowed down on a massive grilled chicken and corn burrito and felt much better.

And today the sun is out and I plan to make pork chops for dinner!

My Semi-Private "Top Chef"

2010-03-15T15:30:00.005-04:00

Two nights after throwing my first-ever dinner party, I was lucky enough to attend a dinner party at Park Slope’s Melt Restaurant.

Of course, I paid $50 for the privilege of attending this dinner party, but it was well worth the money. Hosted by momasphere.com, an organization that creates innovative events and programs for moms of all ages, the intimate evening began with an informal cooking class.

The event was billed as “How to Prepare a Restaurant-Class Dinner for Four for Under $20!” but the real draw was Melt’s executive chef, New Zealand born and bred celebrity “Top Chef” contender Mark Simmons, who is not only charming and informative (and talented), but also quite easy on the eyes. Simmons wasn't the only New Zealand import of the night. The wine of choice was Savee Sea Pinot Noir Marlborough from New Zealand (2008).

Once we had settled in at the bar with a glass of wine, Simmons wowed the group of eight moms with his recipe for Beer and Honey Braised Lamb Shank with truffled polenta and charred asparagus.

"It’s all about trying to create a meal for your friends and family without breaking the budget," said Simmons, who noted that the lamb shanks cost about $3.50/lb.

Simmons invited the ladies to join him in Melt’s cozy kitchen so he could show us how the pros work.

The secret to Simmons' recipe is the mix of fresh spices, including lavender flower which he grows in his backyard, green cardamon, coriander seed, cumin seed and white pepper corn.

“If you don’t have a mortar and pestle, you should run out and get one,” said Simmons. “People say variety is the spice of life, but I say freshly roasted ground spices are the spice of life.”

His other tip: buy lamb and other meat products at Los Paisanos, a small butchery at 162 Smith Street.

After seasoning the shanks with the spice mix and salt, Simmons dusted them with flour and then braised them (for non-cooks: braising means cooking in liquid with a cover).

“I like braising a lot because it imparts flavor into meat,” said Simmons, who likened the dish to an orchestra. "The spices are the percussion."

Luckily for us, Simmons had prepped the meal in advance so we didn’t have to wait three hours for the lamb to be ready to eat.

We began the meal with a tantalizing "amuse bouche" of marinated baby beets with house made lavender-infused ricotta.

We oohed and ahhed at the delicately flavored grits and the tasty charred asparagus.

The lamb was so tender it fell easily off the bone. The group was collectively skeptical that we could pull off such a culinary masterpiece on our own at home.

“All my kids want to eat are frozen waffles,” said one mom.

“You should challenge yourself in the kitchen regularly,” said Simmons and we all nodded at the notion.

Of course, he's right, but it's easier said than done.

"No offense, Mark, but I will never be trying this at home," said one mom of two young tots.

To be honest, I don't think I'll be cooking up lamb shanks anytime soon either, but it's a nice idea.

“So what do you cook when you get home?” I asked him.

“Sometimes after I’ve been cooking all day, I want a break from the kitchen. My wife understands,” said Simmons.

"Any last questions for me?" he asked the group.

"Can we have your home phone number?" one mom asked and we all broke up laughing.

If you want to try some of Simmons’ cooking, keep in mind that Melt is participating in Brooklyn’s Restaurant Week a.k.a. “Dine in Brooklyn,” which starts today and runs through March 25. In fact, Melt is extending the $25.00 dinner prix fixe promotion til March 31st. The menu will change weekly, so if you want you can try something new each week.

Dinner Party Dish

2010-03-12T00:06:00.002-05:00

It's nearly a week since my first-ever dinner party and I'm still basking in the glory of my success -- and fretting about things I might have done differently.

Some curious friends have requested more nitty gritty details from Saturday night (and the lead-up to the big event), so here goes:

The morning of the dinner party, I began to fret about the fact that I didn't have soup bowls to match the dishes I had rented.

"Just use our regular bowls. Nobody will notice," said Avo.

"But they don't match."

"Who will notice?"

"They'll notice that our dishes are cream colored and the rental dishes are white," I whined.

"Who cares? It's about the food, right?"

I tried to explain that presentation had really begun to matter to me.

"I remember when my parents had dinner parties when I was a kid. They always had enough matching dishes and silverware," I said. But since Avo didn't grow up in the suburbs, he didn't get what I was fussing about.

Then, just in time to hear me kvetch, Dori called. I vented to her about my bowl dilemma.

"You rented a table and dishes?!" she asked, incredulously.

Yep, and apparently, I forgot to rent bowls.

"I don't think anyone is expecting this to be as fancy as it's going to be," she reassured me. Again, Dori did not grow up in the suburbs.

I decided to be Zen about it and "let go" of the bowls. Later, when the time came to serve the stew, people had drunk enough wine and were so engrossed in conversation that I don't think anyone noticed the non-matching bowls.

By afternoon, I was antsy to get outside and enjoy the spring-like weather, but I was too busy sauteing bacon, peeling carrots, and halving Brussels sprouts to take a break.

Since we had decided to dress for the occasion, Avo broke out one of his dad's "vintage" jackets and promptly ripped a seam. Meanwhile, the girls had fun throwing Avo's ties up in the air and trying to catch them.

Meanwhile, even though I bought a ton of Brussels Sprouts, it wasn't looking like enough to feed 12 people.

"Hopefully, people will fill up on cheese and crackers," I told Avo. "Don't eat too much, okay?"

It turned out that we had just enough food -- which means that probably we could have used some more.

When I asked one guest if he wanted more stew, he replied "Are there any more courses coming?"

When I said "no," he said "then I'll have more stew."

I thought six pounds of beef would be enough for 12 people. At least we had leftovers baguettes, so I could send guests home with a parting gift.

Luckily, the one thing I got completely right was inviting the perfect mix of people. Even though most of the guests had never met each other before, they found amazing connections and had no problem keeping up the lively conversation.

The guests spanned the globe -- we had a Brit, a Romanian, and an Argentinian. We also boasted natives from all five of New York's boroughs, including Staten Island.

Most impressively, two folks actually schlepped to our place all the way from Manhattan. Now that's dedication!

Thanks

2010-03-11T08:00:00.008-05:00

At school pick-up on Tuesday afternoon, a friend greeted me with a hearty "Congratulations!"

"What for?" I asked.

"Your dinner party, of course."

Quite frankly, I'm flattered that anyone cares about my little dinner party.

Thanks to friends, family and fellow bloggers who have lent their support and cheered me on along on my journey towards domestication.

Yesterday, when someone asked me to describe this blog, I started by saying "it's about my attempt to learn how to cook, clean, and entertain."

But the more I rambled on about it, the more I began to realize that it's not just about my quest to become "domesticated." Undomesticated Me is about re-inventing yourself and tackling new challenges.

For years, I viewed myself as a non-cook -- a general hazard in the kitchen. I'd laugh about how I couldn't cook anything other than pop-tarts. It was a running joke in my family that I couldn't be trusted to turn on the microwave. I was always afraid that if I learned to cook, I'd be stuck in the kitchen rather than out in the world doing things.

I'm surprised to discover that I can do things in the kitchen and have fun. It's empowering to know that I can feed myself and my family and friends. And it's exciting to know that you're never too old to learn a new skill (even though I've heard that before, I never quite believed it). Now that I've sort of learned how to cook, I can tackle anything -- learning to knit, learning to sew, who knows what's next?!

Dinner Party Tips

2010-03-09T08:10:00.002-05:00

I'm still recovering from the excitement (and the wine!) at Saturday night's first-ever dinner party. I'm proud to announce that I pulled it off -- it was even better than I had anticipated (then again, I had pretty low expectations). The guests all showed up. People seemed to like the food and to enjoy themselves. And I had a lot of fun too.

All in all, I'm very proud. Considering that less than a year ago, I could barely defrost a microwave dinner or follow the directions on the Amy's macaroni and cheese box, I have come a long way. I'm mostly relieved that all of my guests showed up and I didn't burn anything!

Still, there's always room for improvement.

I've learned so much during this adventure. If you're hoping to throw your own dinner party, here are some Undomesticated Me tips:

1. Plan a detailed scheduled for the day of the party, leaving time for last-minute errands. I was so busy cleaning the apartment and buying baguettes on Saturday that I waited until too late to start prepping the food. I had to scramble at the last minute to halve the Brussels Sprouts and scrub and quarter the mushrooms. I barely had time to put on makeup and get dressed (not to mention time for the clothing crisis!)

2. Make sure you have enough serving dishes and cutlery. I ended up renting a table, dishes and silverware and I still didn't have quite enough bowls (luckily, I found some from a different pattern, but at least I didn't have to resort to using the kids' Disney princess bowls).

3. It's nice to entertain without kids. I know it's a hassle to get a babysitter and it's not cheap, but it's worth it to have a night out without the kids, right? It was certainly a treat for me to have adult chat without having to worry about any meltdowns or freak-outs (my kids were perfect angels and went to bed without any struggle).

4. Don't be afraid to ask for help. Realizing I was in over my head, I asked Avo to prepare salad dressing (a wonderful garlic vinaigrette). Then I had Mr. Di Franco plate the salad. What a team!

5. It seems obvious, but don't forget to invite an assortment of interesting guests and not just the usual suspects. I went out of my way to invite people I wanted to know better and who I thought would get along, not necessarily old friends.

6. Keep color in mind when deciding what to serve. Honestly, I never considered it when planning my menu, but in hindsight, I wish I had injected some color -- maybe in the form of glazed carrots?

7. You can never have too much wine or cheese. I bought a wonderful selection of cheese, but it went pretty fast (whereas I bought way too many baguettes). I only bought one bottle of wine and even though guests generously brought wine, we cut it pretty close. A little more wine would have been a good thing and we could always have saved leftovers for another night.

8. Don't be a perfectionist. I had planned to make whipped cream to top the apple spice cake and brownies for dessert. But I didn't want to stress about whipping up whipped cream while I was enjoying dinner. Besides, the vanilla ice cream a la mode was sweet enough.

9. Try to relax and enjoy yourself. At the end of the party, OTBKB's own Louise Crawford said "It was so nice to see you enjoying yourself. So many times you go to a party and the host spends the whole night in the kitchen. Guests don't like that. They want to see the host enjoying the party." So true.

10. Guests will appreciate the fact that you invited them and cooked for them. And you'll get a kick out of cooking for other people (I promise!). It may be a lot of work, but the end result is worth it.

One guest e-mailed the day after the party to say "Great food, guests and conversation. Wonderful success! You have arrived as a hostess!"

I e-mailed back, "I'm not sure I've arrived, but at least I'm in the driveway."

I had so much fun planning the first-ever dinner party that I'm already undertaking another challenge: a Very Belated (6 years late!) Housewarming Cocktail Party. I'll be sure to let you know once I set a date.

Oh yeah, one last final tip: Don't forget to take pictures! I forgot, but luckily there were a couple of photographers at the party. Hopefully, they'll send me some good pics soon (Hugh and Ken, if you're reading this, get on it pronto!)

Dinner at Eight

2010-03-07T08:59:00.009-05:00

Meryl Streep and Sandra Bullock can shine at the Academy Awards tonight. I had my moment in the spotlight last night. There was no red carpet, but the guests got gussied and looked fabulous up for my First Ever Dinner Party.

I’ll give you the full report in due time (although you'll have to be patient because there's too much to include in just one blog post). But, rest assured that nothing burned and nobody was injured in the course of the evening. In other words, it was a roaring success!

After loading up on groceries at both Fairway and The Park Slope Food Coop on Friday, I started to panic.

"Do I have enough food?" I asked no one in particular as I surveyed six pounds of meat, more Brussels Sprouts than I've seen in one place before, and a tub of ice cream that could barely fit in our freezer. I have never cooked for so many people before, so it was hard to judge how much to buy.

I resolved to pick up some last-minute items on Saturday (including baguettes), but I continued to fret.

"Should I serve the cheese at the end of the meal like the French or at the beginning of the meal?" I asked Avo.

Avo, who is an unabashed Euro-phile (he crosses his sevens!) was surprisingly insistent that we should have a cheese table for people to graze on (paired with wine, of course) when they arrive. He even had the brilliant idea of printing out labels for the cheese and sticking them on tooth picks so people know what they’re eating.

Thanks to the "cheese guy" at Fairway, I picked up quite a selection (descriptions courtesy of Fairway):

Le Petit Billy --Unripened, unashed selles-sur-cher. Named after the village of Billy in Berry. Pasteurized goat’s milk),
Brillat Savarin -- The first triple-crème, created in the 1930s by cheesemaker Henry Androuet, named for the 18th century gourmant and politician, Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin. Luscious, sweet, faintly tart. Pasteurized cow’s milk.
Kerry Gold Vintage Irish Cheddar -- The Irish cheese crafters that produce Blarney and Dubliner, limited production. Only the very best are allowed to bear the vintage label. Pasteurized cow’s milk, cheese cultures, salt and enzymes. A connoisseur’s cheddar, rich, firm, smooth body.
Spanish Cabrales. Cabrales cheese is only from cabrales and 3 villages of concejo de panamellera alta, in the southeastern principality of Austurias,
in the northside of the picos de Europa mountains. Pasteurized cow’s milk
Le Chatelain -- Camembert from Normandy, lower temperature pasteurizatioin ensures big, fruity flavor, as close as you’ll get to the A.O.C. original. Pasteurized cow’s milk.

For good measure, I also tossed a container of smoked salmon pate into the shopping basket at Fairway.

"You bought it?" asked Avo. "Why not make it from scratch?"

"Well, The Joy of Cooking says it's very French to mix in some quality store bought things like pate."

"Sounds like a rationalization to me! If the French do it, it must be okay."

Well, it works for me.

Then I proceeded to stress about dessert.

I had planned to make the apple spice cake from The Joy of Cooking and offer it up a la mode (Haagen Dazs vanilla). But the recipe serves eight and I had twelve people coming.

What to do? Of course, I'd bake my reliable brownie recipe. It's a crowd pleaser and I already have the ingredients on hand.

"I thought you wanted to make something gourmet," said Avo.

"But everybody likes the brownies. And I've done them before."

"They're just so pedestrian. I just thought you were going to really challenge yourself."

He's right – this dinner party was supposed to be a challenge, but there's no reason I should make it an insurmountable challenge.

To be continued...Check back soon to find out if the guests showed up on time and... if the cheese was a hit...and if dessert impressed...and if everybody had enough to eat and drink.

Last Minute Scramble

2010-03-05T08:00:00.002-05:00

Tomorrow is the big Dinner Party day and I have still have so much left to do. Luckily, my friend Kathryn has offered to give me a ride to Fairway so I can stock up on last-minute items (which pretty much includes everything). I plan to prep as much as possible today, so I can focus on the stew tomorrow.

I also need to clean the house (although the kids will undoubtedly wreck it before tomorrow night). Plus, I still haven't decided what to wear. My folks bought me an apron ("The Dinner Miracle: It Only Happens If You Believe") that I'll don for the occasion, but I still need an outfit suitable for an aspiring domestic goddess. It's too late to shop, so I'll have to scavenge through the closet and see what I can come up with.

I'm wondering if I should assign seats and create place holders. Experts say that the key to a successful dinner party is inviting the right mix of people and sparking a lively conversation. I have a feeling that this group won't have any problem finding something to gab about. Still, since they are mostly new friends of mine (and a couple of people I've never met before) who don't know each other, it might be fun to seat people according to interest.

Should I put the two photographers together and what about the foodies? I have a feeling that Mr. Di Franco, the girls' music teacher, is going to hit it off with Giulia Melucci since they're both Brooklyn-bred Italian-Americans who love to cook. I'm also guessing that the British film critic will get a kick out of Avo's tales of old Hollywood stars he met as a kid. Even I enjoy hearing his story about how Peter Sellers offered to buy him a gold digital watch, but his mom made him refuse the offer -- and I've heard the tale countless times before.

Of course, the girls are excited to greet the guests. "Mr. Di Franco will get to see our room and he'll see our pajamas!" We'll let them stay up past their bedtime so they can say "hello," but then hopefully, they'll say "good night" and leave the adults to wine and dine.

Just writing about my expectations for the night is getting me excited. I hope I'm not disappointed. It is, after all, just a dinner party. Still, it's my first-ever dinner party and a girl can only have one of those.

Anyway, I promise to report back as soon as I recover from the festivities.

Practice Makes Perfect?

2010-03-04T10:22:00.007-05:00

Whoever said "practice makes perfect" clearly hasn't tasted my apple spice cake.

On Sunday afternoon, I practiced the recipe before Saturday's dinner party.

I'm usually a chocolate gal, but I was inspired by a dinner menu recommended by The Joy of Cooking, which suggested beef stew with apple spice cake for dessert. It sounded very grown-up (and also homey and comforting in cold weather), so I figured I'd give it a try.

Since I had all of the other ingredients, Avo was a doll and ran out to get me some tart green apples and some buttermilk.

Ruby helped whisk together the flour (I used a combination of all-purpose and whole-wheat), light brown sugar, baking soda, ground cinnamon, ground cloves, ground nutmeg and salt while we waited for Avo to return with the missing ingredients.

NOTE: I'm too lazy to type in the whole recipe, but if you're interested, it's on page 933 of the 1997 edition of The Joy of Cooking.

Avo sauntered in to deliver the goods just in time. We proceeded to stir in the buttermilk and vanilla (I decided to skip the optional rum or brandy) and then mix in the chopped apples (I omitted the chopped walnuts or pecans).

We poured it in the pan and popped it in the oven (which had been pre-heated to 350 degrees). I set the timer and waited.

Ten minutes passed and I suddenly realized I forgot something...something important.
I double-checked the recipe and, yep, indeed, I did forget something important. In my haste, I neglected to mix in the 1/2 cup vegetable oil with the buttermilk and vanilla.

Since Avo had already taken off for the gym and I was too embarrassed to call my mom to ask her what to do, I made a bold decision on my own. I took the cake out of the oven. Even though it was already getting firm, I mixed in some canola oil.

When it was finished about a half hour later, the cake looked, well, greasy.

"It's very moist!" said Avo. Instead, he could have easily said, "What is this greasy thing pretending to be a cake?"

Nobody minded once we served it with some vanilla ice cream. And now I'll be sure not to repeat the same mistake on Saturday night. Hopefully, practice will indeed make perfect.

Dinner Party Practice

2010-03-03T08:33:00.000-05:00

The Joy of Cooking has a section devoted to Entertaining which I referred to recently for advice about dinner party etiquette. They have two simple rules when it comes to planning the menu:

Choose food that can be prepared ahead of time, so that you can spend more time at the table than over the stove, and never, ever, make a dish for company that you haven't made before and mastered.

Along those lines, I thought it was only wise to try out the Slow-Cooker Beef Burgundy (from The Best Slow & Easy Recipes) that I had planned for Saturday's dinner party.

I have barely ever cooked with meat before and I have certainly never made a stew, so the task was a bit daunting. For some reason, I feel like making stew with a slow-cooker is less intimidating than using a big pot on the stove. Avo continues to scoff at the gigantic Crock Pot that is taking up valuable space in our cupboard, but I am determined to put it to good use.

On Friday -- during the snowstorm -- Avo was sent home from work early, so I dispatched him to United Meat Market to buy 5 pounds of boneless beef chuck eye roast, trimmed and cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces. Why cut the meat myself when the butcher is happy to do it for me?

"Bacon!" bellowed Ruby, who is hog wild about the stuff. She begged for a taste when I cooked up the bacon (I couldn't deny her).

"How do you mince carrots?" I asked Avo.

He took one look at me trying to chop carrots with a bread knife and rolled his eyes.

"Why don't you use the Cuisinart?" he asked.

"Um, yeah, of course, good idea. In fact, can you mince the onions, carrot, garlic and thyme for me?"

Sweetheart that he is, of course, he agreed to be my "sous-chef" and prep the veggies and herbs.

After cooking the onions, carrot, tomato paste, garlic and thyme in the bacon fat, I double-checked the recipe. Oops, I forgot an essential ingredient: a bottle of Pinot Noir. I quickly got on the phone to the mom of one of Jesse's friends and made a barter arrangement -- You can drop your kid off at our house for a few hours as long as you bring me a bottle of Pinot Noir. Deal.

When I got to the end of the recipe, I panicked when I realized I didn't have any frozen pearl onions. Avo said he couldn't find them at the co-op. I decided to boldly ignore the recipe and do without them. What other option did I have?

Once I dumped the mixture to the slow cooker and stirred in the chicken broth, soy sauce, tapioca, and bay leaves, I "nestled" the beef into the crock pot.

"How do you nestle beef anyhow?" I asked Avo rhetorically.

"Beats me. I think it just means be gentle with it."

I put the lid on and set the thing on high.

"You sure it's plugged in?" asked Avo, who almost seemed as if he was hoping to catch me in a glaring mistake (he really does hate the crock pot).

Luckily, it was, in fact, plugged in.

Nearly seven hours and a roasted Brussels Sprouts tossed with bacon later and dinner was served.

The girls got a kick out of setting the table "fancy" with a table cloth and cloth napkins. It was a lot of effort for just one guest, my grown-up nephew. But it was worth the effort since now I can confidently re-create this dish on Saturday.

Even Avo had to grudgingly admit the meat was flavorful, tender and delicious. We didn't even miss the frozen pearl onions.

So I guess the crock pot has gotten a reprieve...for now.

Dinner Party Countdown

2010-03-02T07:52:00.000-05:00

The countdown has begun for my first-ever dinner party which is less than a week away. Of course, I’ve had friends over before, but usually, they were impromptu affairs – beer and Thai take-out with old friends.

This time, I’m going all out. I already sprung for the fancy letterpress invitations and now I’m sparing no expense in planning the big event. I’ve inquired about renting a table and chairs and am thinking I might spring for the table cloth, linen napkins, place settings and silverware. I’m not sure if I’ve got any other options unless I want to serve dinner on paper plates with plastic cutlery and paper napkins (I don’t).

After taking requests and mulling over the suggestions, I have finally decided what I’m going to serve. I’m tempted to be sheepish about it and hold off until I report back afterward. But I know that I can’t keep a secret and I don’t want to keep you waiting.

So here is the (tentative) menu:

1. Green salad
2. Slow-Cooker Beef Burgundy from The Best Slow & Easy Recipes
3. Roasted Brussels Sprouts Tossed with Balsamic Vinegar and Bacon
4. Baguette (but of course!)
5. Apple Spice Cake from The Joy of Cooking accompanied with Vanilla ice cream (not homemade, I’m afraid) and coffee/tea
6. Cheese Course

I may serve some pate and grapes to start things off. As you can tell, I'm trying to keep things relatively simple and stick to dishes a few quality dishes I can prepare in advance.

I don't want to be stressing when the guests arrive. I'd rather be spending time enjoying my guests than scrambling in the kitchen.

As the wonderful writer Laura Shaine Cunningham wrote:

The best dinner parties are those where the hostess appears not taxed, but relaxed. What do guests truly want? To be welcomed, and to talk. If the dinner is too studied, it can become a funeral for food — guests taking choreographed sips and nibbles, conversation as strained as the purée.

A little imperfection makes everyone feel at home. The slapdash but happy hostess has happy guests.

Along those lines, I am guessing that my guests will feel at home because this slapdash hostess is destined to be imperfect and hopefully, happy.

.

First-Ever Lasagna

2010-03-01T08:00:00.004-05:00

When Avo was freelancing, he had more time to prepare dinner. In particular, he liked to make a big pot of soup or a pan of lasagna and then freeze it so we'd have leftovers handy whenever we didn't have any dinner plans.

Now that he's got a full-time gig, I've decided it's up to me to keep up his good work. So the other night, I made my first-ever lasagna using a recipe for Beef and Sausage Lasagna from the late, great Gourmet Magazine.

"How does this recipe look to you?" I asked Avo.

"I use the recipe on the box of lasagna noodles and it works just fine," said Avo. "Don't get too fancy. And whatever you do, just double the garlic."

I ignored Avo and went with the Gourmet recipe, although I left out the veal and doubled up on the beef chuck.

I used the no-boil lasagna noodles, which ended up being too crunchy. Not sure what I did wrong, but it couldn't have helped that I removed the tinfoil twenty minutes -- not the ten minutes the recipe recommended -- before removing the lasagna from the oven.

The result was a wee dry.

"We'll still eat it, right?" I asked Avo.

"Yes," said Avo. "And don't worry. I think you have many more lasagnas in you," said Avo. "It's a good thing to experiment with."

Actually, despite the a little extra crunch in the noodles, the lasagna was quite tasty.

"It's good and I made it!" I exclaimed.

"So you cut off the casings on the turkey sausage?" Avo asked.

I nodded. It gave me the heebie jeebies at first, but I quickly got over it by pretending the meat was wet, slimy Play Doh.

"The Paula I married never would have done that."

I'll take that as a compliment.

I wonder if there will come a day when Avo takes it for granted that I do such things. I still can't believe it myself.

Bitten by Bittman

2010-02-25T10:58:00.012-05:00

It was bound to happen. My love affair with Mark Bittman was destined to end at some point.

I could accept the fact that I was only one of many Bittman lovers out there. I didn't even mind that his recipes often don't specify exact measurements. But when he bashed Tilapia, I had to step back and reconsider our relationship.

Here's what happened. Yesterday, on a whim, I purchased two Tilapia filets at United Meat Market, the excellent Windsor Terrace butcher, with no specific plans about what to do with them. (If you haven't been there, by the way, you need to high tail it over to the market, which has been operating since the early 80s and is a real slice of 'old Brooklyn.').

I assumed that Mark Bittman would have an idea of how I should cook my Tilapia. But when I checked my well-worn copy of Bittman's Bible How to Cook Everything, I was shocked and disappointed. Not only does Bittman not feature any Tilapia recipes, but he's got a paragraph (highlighted in red, no less) about "Why I'm not Crazy About Tilapia."

Bittman writes:

Framed tilapia has become extremely popular and readily available over the last few years, in large part becasue it's so easy to raise. (You, personally, could probably dig a hole in the ground, fill it with water, and become a tilapia farmer tomorrow.) But I'm not taking the bait. To me, tilapia is bland tasting (or worse: muddy) with a mealy texture that disintegrates into shreds within a few minutes of cooking. If you disagree, by all means use it in any of the recipes that call for thin fish fillets.

Pretty harsh, if you ask me. And to be honest, I don't think I have it in me to farm my own tilapia in a ditch in our backyard.

Determined to show Bittman that tilapia can be tasty, I came up with my own recipe:

1. Roast Brussels Sprouts and garlic (with olive oil, salt and pepper) at 450 degrees.

2. Coat Tilapia fillets with sesame oil, salt and pepper, soy sauce, and sesame seeds and toss on the pan with the Brussels Sprouts.

After about 10 minutes, take them out.

That's it! Once the Brussels Sprouts are done (about 35 minutes later), serve with the Tilapia and couscous. Or you can time it better so that the Tilapia is done at the same time as the sprouts, but I couldn't get it together.

Roasting is my new favorite way of cooking. Put anything on a pan and coat with some sort of oil and salt and pepper and it tastes great -- even Tilapia.

For the record, Mr. Bittman, my Tilapia did not disintegrated into shreds within a few minutes of cooking (or at all), as you predicted.

"It's not as good as Chilean sea bass, but it's pretty yummy. And not at all muddy," said Avo.

Bake Sale Buzz Kill

2010-02-24T08:30:00.001-05:00

My timing couldn't have been worse. Now that I finally know how to bake sweet treats from scratch, New York City is voting today on whether to amend the pre-existing ban on selling homemade goodies at school "bake" sales.

According to yesterday's New York Times' "City Room" blog:

The new regulation is meant as a compromise between the city’s concerns about childhood obesity— which they cite as the reason for the restrictions — and the fund-raising needs of student and parent groups, some of which are struggling amid difficult economic times, especially after losing one of their most lucrative sources of revenue.

Under the new rules, students may sell fresh fruits and vegetables, or one of 27 specific packaged items that have been approved for sales in city vending machines, between the start of school and 6 p.m. on weekdays. The same goes for parent groups, except for an exception carved out for one no-brownies-barred Parent Teacher Association bake sale during the school day per month.

No homemade or unpackaged items are on the list of “approved” foods because “it’s impossible to know what the content is, or what the portion size is,” said Kathleen Grimm, the deputy chancellor for infrastructure and portfolio planning, who oversees the regulation.

As a mom of two school-age children, I'm all for limiting the sweets intake. But I don't see how packaged items such as Dorito's and Pop-Tarts (both of which are on the list of approved items) are healthier than my homemade brownies.

Clever Household Hints

2010-02-23T20:54:00.000-05:00

Apparently, this list has been circulating on the internet for some time, but it just recently arrived in my in box. In case your mom already forwarded it to you, I thought you should check it out:

Clever Ideas Worth Knowing

1. Take your bananas apart when you get home from the store. If you leave them connected at the stem, they ripen faster.

2. Store your opened chunks of cheese in aluminum foil. It will stay fresh much longer and not mold!

3. Peppers with 3 bumps on the bottom are sweeter and better for eating. Peppers with 4 bumps on the bottom are firmer and better for cooking.

4. Add a teaspoon of water when frying ground beef. It will help pull the grease away from the meat while cooking.

5. To really make scrambled eggs or omelets rich, add a couple of
spoonfuls of sour cream, cream cheese, or heavy cream in and then beat them up.

6. For a cool brownie treat, make brownies as directed. Melt Andes mints in double broiler and pour over warm brownies. Let set for a wonderful minty frosting.

7. Add garlic immediately to a recipe if you want a light taste of garlic and at the end of the recipe if your want a stronger taste of garlic.

8. Leftover snickers bars from Halloween make a delicious dessert. Simply chop them up with the food chopper. Peel, core and slice a few apples. Place them in a baking dish and sprinkle the chopped candy bars over the apples. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes!!! Serve alone or with vanilla ice cream.

9. Heat up leftover pizza in a nonstick skillet on top of the stove, set heat to med-low and heat till warm. This keeps the crust crispy.

10. For Easy Deviled Eggs, put cooked egg yolks in a zip lock bag. Seal, mash till they are all broken up. Add remainder of ingredients, reseal, keep mashing it up mixing thoroughly, cut the tip of the baggy, squeeze mixture into egg. Just throw bag away when done. An easy clean up.

Dinner Party Guests

2010-02-23T00:06:00.000-05:00

Word has apparently gotten out that I'm in need of dinner party guests.

This morning, a friend generously offered to supply me with a vetted crew of entertaining guests -- "insta-guests" guaranteed to have a good time.

"I've got a group of friends who get together for dinner parties already. I'm sure they'd be happy to come to yours," she said. "They're a fun bunch."

Although I'd love to meet her friends, I'm happy to announce that the folks on my list have re-adjusted their priorities (and rescheduled their manicure appointments for another night). On top of that, my daughters' music teacher Mr. Di Franco (and his significant other) has volunteered to be our not-so-mystery guest.

I'm excited about the eclectic mix of guests -- if everyone shows up, we'll have a professional photographer, a teacher/musician, a writer and cook, a blogger, a film critic, a web marketer and other interesting folks. Hopefully, they'll all get along -- and if they don't, that will be interesting too.

But now I have the opposite problem -- too many people are coming to my dinner party.

The idea was to host an intimate gathering of 8 (including me and Avo), which means six guests.

Since I panicked that nobody would come, I ended up inviting 10 people, rather than 6. Two people have declined the invitation, and I haven't yet heard from OTBKB's own Louise Crawford and her hubby. But at this point, the other 8 are planning to come. So it will be dinner for 10 -- or 12.

Unfortunately, even when it's folded out to its largest size, our dinner table only sits 8. So it will be a very intimate dinner indeed!

According to eHow, "a crowded, cluttered table takes away from the party experience, and can make guests feel uncomfortable."

Therefore, no more reservations are being accepted at Casa Undomesticated Me. I promise I'll have you over for dinner -- some other time.

In the meantime, does anybody know a place in the 'hood where I can rent a table for 12?

More Dinner Party Ideas

2010-02-19T11:18:00.012-05:00

I love that friends -- near and far -- are getting into the spirit of my first-ever dinner party and are suggesting possible menus.

Hinda Bodinger, along with her husband and two kids, bought my childhood home when my parents retired more than a decade ago. Since then she and her family have welcomed me and my family to come and visit whenever we're in the neighborhood. She's also been a big supporter of my book and this blog.

This morning Hinda e-mailed with some dinner party ideas:

Your friend Pamela had excellent advice – do whatever you can in advance so you can actually ENJOY your guests. That is what makes Ina Garten’s recipes so good (and they are usually reliable too!)

My advice too is to make lists – and then once you have your menu set, type it up, print it out and tape it to a kitchen cabinet. For one thing, it makes it much less overwhelming to see what you are doing, and what you have done and to get a good mental picture of it all. And for me, it insures that I remember to put everything out! I have had the experience of forgetting to serve an entire side dish.

I have a friend who, on the day of the party, puts out all of the serving dishes she is planning to use with little notes in each one of what goes it what. It saves her from searching for that perfect bowl at the last minute, or needing to WASH that perfect bowl at the last minute. I always thought that was a good idea. She also pairs them with serving utensils.

I recommend making Chicken Marbella, an impressive EASY recipe from back when The Silver Palate cookbooks were all the rage – you MUST prepare it in advance, and it is fine to serve at room temperature. Huge hit always. You could serve it with a nice rice dish.

Italian pasta dishes are also a great way to go – with a big salad and some crusty bread, usually everyone is quite happy. (unless they don’t eat cheese, in which case you would need to have something with just a red sauce to go along with it).

Good luck – have fun planning!

I also recently heard from my college friend Heidi, who has been living in Paris for years. Heidi has been watching my culinary progress with amazement since she remembers not so long ago when I told her I didn't know how to cut vegetables (for real!)

Eggplant parmigiana sounds like a good idea. The breading the eggplant probably needs some practice, but you could try a couple of times to get it down. Then when it's good, you know that you can prepare it in advance and just put it in the oven and be fresh and pretty for your guests. You could serve it with some great fresh Italian ingredients - simple food but excellent and full of love for your guests.

My mom is also pushing for an Italian meal.

She sent me an e-mail yesterday:

Maybe you should serve Lasagna with a salad, Italian bread and Tiramisu and make it an Italian night. You can even serve Chianti.

Have fun with the planning. That's the hard part. After that, it's a piece of cake.

Yum. A piece of cake sounds good about now. Meanwhile, keep the ideas coming!

Food Blogging Buddies

2010-02-18T08:33:00.000-05:00

One of the fringe benefits of blogging that I hadn't counted on is getting to know a whole community of folks I might otherwise not have an opportunity to meet.

While I initially pooh-poohed twitter, I now view it as a way to find out what other food bloggers are thinking, talking and writing about.

As a newcomer to the food community, it's essential that I have an unofficial group of advisers to whom I can ask questions (on days when my mom isn't available).

When I asked my "computer friends" what to serve for dinner at my first-ever dinner party, one friendly food blogger, Pamela Goldsteen a.k.a. "perryarla", responded with this sage advice:

I think it's always best to serve something that you can make a day ahead. Stews are good for this, as they actually taste better the second day. (Carbonnade, anyone?) Short ribs are nice, or a brisket; this southwestern pulled brisket is my current favorite.

Soups are good this way too, but I don't like to serve soup at dinner parties, as it can be messy to serve, and eat.

At very least, something that doesn't require a lot of fussing at the stove. I like to keep it simple and down home. Roast chicken is always a good choice. If that seems too boring, I love, love, love Jamie Oliver's chicken in milk, which gives roast chicken a bit of a twist, and Oh My Lord, is it good.

I've served Ina Garten's Indonesian chicken to guests before; tasty, and easy.

I don't do a ton of courses; usually just appetizer, entree, dessert. Sometimes, I'll serve a slightly more substantial nibble with drinks, skip appetizer and go right to entree.

Do one more complicated course, and keep the other parts of the meal simple; if the entree is a little labor intensive, I do an easy roast vegetable rather than something that needs stove top treatment, and then, something from a bakery, or homemade brownies, or ice cream and nice cookie for dessert.

This is assuming you're serving omnivores, not vegetarians. For vegetarian meals, I go to casseroles, especially, baked pastas; I can give you some suggestions along those lines if you like.

Thanks for your helpful hints, Pamela. By the way, you've got the best bio:

Pamela Goldsteen is, among other things: a wife, mother, homemaker, yogi, blogger. In a previous incarnation, she was an art historian and a grant writer. She likes cream in her coffee, the Arctic Monkeys, and being upside down. She finds cilantro, Doo-Wop music, and cold, wet sponges extremely disagreeable.

Does anybody really like Doo-Wop? I must say, however, that I'm surprised you don't like cilantro.

By the way, I'm already beginning to think I need to start hosting dinner regularly (maybe monthly?). If so, I'll have to invite you and some other blogger friends I've never met (such as dinner party expert Lisa Cericola) to the next one. Then again, perhaps I'm getting ahead of myself...

Dinner Party Update

2010-02-16T09:38:00.003-05:00

It's been a couple of weeks since I decided to host my first-ever dinner party and already, I'm behind schedule.

All I have managed to do so far is set a date -- Saturday, March 6, 2010. I don't have a guest list and I certainly haven't gotten around to planning a menu.

Granted, I have been soliciting advice about the menu from none other than Martha Stewart, Giulia Melucci, and chef Sara Jenkins. Not to mention my friends and family. It seems everyone has an opinion about what I should serve, but I still can't decide.

The truth is that I can always come up with something to serve -- even if I take Martha Stewart's advice and order in. But the one thing I can't do without is guests.

Aside from Giulia Melucci and her new beau, nobody has agreed to come.

Then again, I haven't formally invited anyone. I made the mistake of e-mailing the date to a few folks asking if they might theoretically be available for the night of the 6th.

The response was lukewarm at best. People seemed downright disinterested. I thought friends would be vying for a spot at the table, not fabricating excuses.

"I'm a freelancer, so it's hard to commit," said my friend Ken.

"I've got co-op duty that night," said Dori.

"Who is going to babysit?" asked Kathryn.

Another friend just rescheduled her Belated Chinese New Year's party for the same night, which is sure to siphon off some potential guests.

"I feel dissed," I told Avo last night. "I finally get around to throwing a dinner party and nobody wants to come."

"People are busy with their own lives. Plus, it’s easy to ignore an e-mail invitation," he said. "You've got to go the whole nine yards and send out snail mail invites. Maybe even hire a calligrapher. Then people know you're serious about this."

Not sure about the calligrapher, but he's right about the handwritten invitations. In the age of Evite, nothing gets people's attention as quickly as an invitation sent via the good old U.S. mail.

"With a cocktail party, you just invite a bunch of people and see who shows up," said Avo. "There are no RSVPs. A dinner party is much more problematic."

You're telling me! So I went out and bought fancy letterpress invitations and addressed them myself. Maybe that extra effort will make all the difference.

"You have to invite a last minute mystery guest who changes the whole equation," said Avo. "Don't tell me about it."

What does he think this is? An Agatha Christie dinner party? I think we'll have enough mystery without this added element of intrigue -- especially since at the moment all of the guests are a mystery!

Random Undomesticated Me Tip

2010-02-11T14:45:00.001-05:00

When defrosting fish in the fridge (or anywhere, for that matter), don't forget to put it on a plate. It seems obvious enough, but it didn't cross my mind. And now my fridge smells awfully fishy.

Get Organized!

2010-02-11T09:00:00.000-05:00

Calling all school auctions!

My friend, Eleanor Traubman, professional organizer to busy Brooklyn moms, would like to donate her services to local school auctions (public or private).

Eleanor helps parents de-clutter and set up user-friendly organizing systems for home offices, filing cabinets, closets, children's rooms and more. Her motto: less clutter equals more room for you and your family!

Each donation will consist of a 2-hour consultation with Eleanor.

To contact Eleanor about her offer, please email ETraubman@aol.com and also visit her blog at creativetimes.blogspot.com.

Please note: Eleanor will select 10 schools; after your initial email to her, she will contact you only if you fall within that 10.

Cooking Carbonade

2010-02-10T08:04:00.013-05:00

My friend Katherine has taken it upon herself to teach me how to cook. Remember how she schooled me in the art of making burgers??

Last Thursday, before the double playdate planned with her kids, she texted me, "Do you want to help me cook beef stew?"

Of course, I responded "yes!"

I certainly wasn't going to pass up an opportunity to watch her at work in the kitchen. Since I've never made a beef stew (or cooked with beef at all aside from hamburgers), it was an especially appealing offer.

"Here's the deal," Katherine said when I arrived with the girls after-school.

"My husband is going out of town tomorrow morning and he asked me not to cook tonight. He wants to order in because he doesn’t want to come home tonight to find the place a mess and me stressed. But I promised that wouldn’t be the case. So we have to be neat and methodical.”

In other words, the pressure was on. It was the culinary version of "Mission Impossible."

"Basically, I'll need you to read the recipe to me and guide me through it. Cook’s Illustrated magazine is notoriously high maintenance and persnickety," said Katherine, referring to the winter 2010 issue of Cook's Illustrated and specifically, a recipe for:

Belgian Beef, Beer, and Onion Stew (Carbonnade a la Flamande).

The magazine recommends using Top blade steaks (also called blade or flatiron steaks), but said that any boneless roast from the chuck will work.

If you end up using a chuck roast, look for the chuck eye roast, an especially flavorful cut that can be easily trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces. Buttered egg noodles or mashed potatoes make excellent accompaniments to carbonnade.

As someone who has never cooked a steak and almost never cooked meat, I certainly don't know anything about cutting it.

"Meat has a grain and you want to cut with the grain," explained Katherine. "You can also get the butcher to do it for you."

I'll go for the second option.

"I’m pretty sure I’m cutting it wrong," said Katherine, who was using chuck eye roast rather than top blade steaks. "I'm trying to trim as much fat as I can without shredding the meat."

It was challenging enough for me to read and understand the recipe. I can't imagine actually trying to cook it myself.

I watched in awe as Katherine sliced the onions with machine-like precision.

Instead of using Chimay (the recipe's first pick for beer), Katherine settled on Guinness Extra Stout.

She would live to regret that decision.

Amazingly, she got the stew in the oven with more than enough time to neaten up before her hubby arrived home. What a domestic goddess!

The following morning, after school drop-off, Katherine invited me over to try some of the stew leftovers and to teach me how to chop onions.

We both agreed that the meat was tasty and tender, but the sauce was overpowered by the taste of Guinness.

Katherine suddenly remembered that she had never gotten around to teaching me how to chop an onion.

"Learning how to chop an onion is so essential," said Katherine. "If you are methodical, you will end up with uniform bits."

She set me up with an onion and a knife and told me to "Trust your instinct."

I nearly sliced off a finger. Who said I had any natural instincts when it comes to cooking?

"To keep the onion in place when cutting, don't forget to use the cutting board to steady the knife," she reminded me.

Okay, I'm starting to get the hang of it, but I'm not sure I can do it without Katherine standing next to me cheering me on.

Fully stuffed, we both headed off to a Pilates class to work off some of the carbonnade.

Brooklyn Foodies Rule

2010-02-09T09:04:00.004-05:00

Slowly, but surely, I'm becoming a bonafide foodie. I can't pinpoint the precise moment of transformation, but I now care about where food comes from and my eyes no longer glaze over when someone tells me about what they cooked for dinner last night.

I might not have the proper credentials to be a foodie, but I've got the interest. In other words, I still can't properly identify radicchio (see photo) and I have no idea what to do with one, but I'm curious and I'm learning.

Brooklyn is clearly the right place at the right time for a newbie foodie like me. In addition to the exciting "New Brooklyn Cuisine" served at restaurants such as Applewood and al di la, there is also a loosely formed community of home cooks in Brooklyn.

I always thought of foodies as snobbish, but the food folks I'm getting to know have been generous about sharing their knowledge.

I'm inspired by Brooklynites like writer Cathy Erway, who chronicles her attempt to not eat out in New York in her aptly named blog Not Eating Out in New York (as well as the soon-to-be-released book The Art of Eating In: How I Learned to Stop Spending and Love the Stove).

Erway occasionally teaches classes at The Brooklyn Kitchen, the Williamsburg-based kitchen supply store. Now that the G stops at 7th Avenue, I've got no excuse not to make the trip to The Meat Hook, where you can buy fresh made sausages daily.

Gowanus music venue The Bell House has also become an official meeting (and competing) place for the new Brooklyn food community. It makes sense then that Erway will be holding her book publication party there on February 18th. In addition to reading from her new book, Erway is also engineering a "Bruschetta Takedown." Can't wait to experience that firsthand.

Meat eaters won't want to miss The BROOKLYN BEEFSTEAK on March 21st at The Bell House. What's exactly is The Brooklyn Beefsteak, you ask? Picture endless pitchers of McSorley's Light and Dark Ale on every table, mountains of choice steak cuts, and absolutely no utensils. Now that sounds like a good time!

Chocolate-Hazelnut Spread

2010-02-07T18:28:00.015-05:00

How could I have missed World Nutella Day?

Apparently, it was on February 5th. I can't believe I didn't hold a Nutella party or even eat Nutella to commemorate the day!

If you aren't familiar with it, Nutella is the dangerously addictive chocolate hazelnut spread that has been a staple of the European diet forever -- or at least since the 1940s when Mr. Pietro Ferrero, a pastry maker and founder of the Ferrero company, concocted it.

At the time, there was very little chocolate because cocoa was in short supply due to World War II rationing. So Mr. Ferrero used hazelnuts, which are plentiful in the Piedmont region of Italy (northwest), to extend the chocolate supply.

Today in Europe, Nutella is more common than peanut butter. And depending on the peanut butter, it's just about as healthy (those hazelnuts pack protein). It's only caught on stateside fairly recently (it's now manufactured in America and available just about everywhere).

According to the Nutella Day web site:

Nutella is more than just a “chocolaty hazelnut spread,” it is a way of life.

From childhood memories to oozing hot crepes, from breakfasts on vacation to free-spooning sessions on the couch, Nutella is prominent in the memories of many children and grown-up children in the world.

If you're a Nutella fan (or if you're curious about the sweet treat), check out the Nutella Day web site for links to Nutella-based recipes such as Nutella & Mascarpone Cream Chocolate Tarts and Banana Nutella Brownies.

If you want to take it one step further, try making a homemade version.

Pastry chef, author and all-around chocolate expert David Lebovitz posts a recipe for Chocolate-Hazelnut spread on his blog.

How I would love to attend Lebovitz's Paris Chocolate Exploration Tour from May 2-8!

Not surprisingly, it is already booked. And even if it wasn't, there's no way I could afford to fly to Paris and indulge in my love of all things chocolate. But a girl can dream, can't she?

Meanwhile, I'm counting the days until February 5, 2011 -- the next World Nutella Day.

Martha Stewart's Advice

2010-02-05T09:48:00.036-05:00

Martha Stewart told me to order take-out for my first-ever dinner party. It's pretty pathetic when the Doyenne of Domesticity thinks you're a lost cause!

Yesterday, Elyse (on the left) and I were on "The Martha Stewart Show" for her special "Twin Show." Also featured were hunky Italian twin chefs Fabrizio and Nicola Carro from Miami's Quattro Restaurant, as well as twin expert Dr. Nancy Segal (thanks for the photo).

Fabrizio and Nicola prepared a classic Italian eggplant parmigiana and rigatoni with eggplant, tomato, basil, and cheese. Looked yummy!

I only wish they had let the audience sample some of the food since Elyse and I could hear our tummies grumbling. Maybe I'll have to try making eggplant parmigiana on my own. Believe it or not, I've never cooked with eggplant before.

Not surprisingly, Martha made the expected comments like "I feel like I'm seeing double" when she surveyed the audience of twins dressed in matching outfits. She even joked that she was wearing a twin set. I should note that -- perhaps because we didn't grow up together and weren't used to matching ensembles -- Elyse and I were the only twins in the audience not dressed identically (although we both wore dark colored turtle necks).

Martha asked Elyse and I what it was like to learn, at age 35, that we had an identical twin.

Of course, there was no way we could adequately answer in two minutes, but we managed to satisfy Martha's curiosity for the moment. Fortunately, Random House was generous enough to donate copies of our book, "Identical Strangers: A Memoir of Twins Separated and Reunited" to the audience so they can read the whole crazy story themselves!

During a commercial break, Martha fielded questions from the audience.

My hand shot up. "I'm very undomesticated and I'm hosting my first-ever dinner party. What would you recommend that I make?"

"Order take out," Martha suggested.

Very funny, but I wanted a serious answer.

"Any other advice?"

"Make something simple. Maybe a soup, a salad and crunchy bread."

"Okay, thanks."

I can handle a soup, a salad and crunchy bread, but won't my guests go home hungry and disgruntled? If so, I can always tell them it was Martha's idea!

Martha, Martha, Martha

2010-02-03T09:19:00.019-05:00

What a wild week! On Saturday night, I got an insider's look at The Food Network Kitchen. As if that wasn't exciting enough, tomorrow I'm going to be on "The Martha Stewart Show."

No, I'm not going to be talking about Undomesticated Me or getting a lesson in entertaining from the domestic diva herself.

Instead, in honor of Martha's "Twin Show," I'll be appearing with my long-lost identical twin sister and co-author, Elyse Schein.

Surrounded by an audience of fellow twins (in matching outfits, of course!), we'll be plugging our book "Identical Strangers: A Memoir of Twins Separated and Reunited."

Of course, I'm secretly hoping that I'll get a chance to ask Martha advise about what to serve at my first-ever dinner party. Do you think Martha will be patient and generous with little old Undomesticated Me? I'll report back.

Food Network Heaven

2010-02-02T07:52:00.006-05:00

On Saturday night, I lived out my fantasy of setting foot in The Food Network Kitchen. No, I am not starring in a spin-off of "America's Worst Cooks."

To gain entry to the hallowed ground, all I had to do was fork over $50 for a good cause -- my kids' school, P.S. 107. The school's Wellness Committee, which is working to improve the school lunch program, held their first-ever cocktail party at The Food Network Kitchen in Chelsea Market.

Lucky guests got the chance to sample an assortment of appetizers created by local chefs from The Farm on Adderley, Egg, Palo Santo and Porchetta.

PS 107 parent Jill Novatt, who has the super-cool title of executive culinary producer at The Food Network, pitched the idea of the party to her boss, who gave her the thumb's up.

The evening wouldn't have happened without PR/event maven and P.S. 107 parent Jane Walsh, who helped secure vendor donations and NBC Universal's Randi Roberts, who helped pull the whole thing together.

Meanwhile, fellow P.S. 107 parents (and friends of mine) Melissa Vaughn, a recipe developer, and Carol Diuguid, an editor at Zagat, helped land the distinguished roster of chefs.

Along with her husband, GQ editor Brendan Vaughan, Melissa is writing "The New Brooklyn Cookbook," a collection of stories, recipes, and resources from Brooklyn's dining revolution (to be published by William Morrow in October 2010). Can't wait to read it!

I started tearing up when I took a bite of the delectable ceviche from Palo Santo.

“I should put up a warning sign on the green mango with pickled habenero,” said Chef Jacques Gautier.

"No problem. I'm crying because it's so good," I told him.

In fact, Gautier's pinto beans sopa with mole de Hongos was my favorite dish of the night.

Egg’s pimento cheese toast was also a big hit.

“It’s a no-lose proposition,” said Egg’s Chef George Weld.

Porchetta, the only Manhattan eatery represented served – what else? – porchetta, plus pizza from sister restaurant Veloce Pizzeria. I asked Porchetta chef Sara Jenkins what I should cook for my first-ever dinner party and she said “Keep it simple. Roast chicken, potatoes, and salad.”

Sounds good to me. Now if only she can come and help me out in the kitchen.

Robo Maid

2010-02-01T14:02:00.009-05:00

Ever wish you had a robot who could do your housework? Well, your wish may come true.

Scientists in South Korea have invented a robot that can tidy up your house, dust, do laundry, and even heat up meals in the microwave.

Apparently, the walking robot maid has a rotating head with a three-dimensional sensor so it can figure out what work you need it to do. With a human-like body over 4 feet tall, the robot weighs 121 pounds and can supposedly recognize people.

The robot's head, arms, and legs rotate and its six fingers allow it to pick up sandwiches, cups, or any other rubbish lying around the house. There's no guarantee, of course, that it won't mistake Little Jimmy for garbage.

Sorta creepy if you ask me. Check it out yourself here.

It won't be available to the public for some time. Would you be interested in purchasing one if it sold for a reasonable price?

Personally, I wouldn't mind a robot who could cook dinner from scratch on nights when I don't have my act together.

Easy Brunch Baked Eggs

2010-01-31T17:01:00.016-05:00

A few years ago, when my kids were pre-schoolers, I hosted a music class at our apartment featuring the now famous singer-songwriter Randy Kaplan.

"Did you go to Blind Brook High School?" Erica Morris, one of the mom's asked me.

Why yes, as a matter of fact I did.

We compared notes and realized that Erica and I grew up in the same small town in Westchester, where I had been friendly with her older sister. Now Erica and her family lived around the corner. More evidence to back my theory that everyone eventually ends up in Park Slope.

There's no huge dramatic pay-off for this story (no long-lost separated twins, for instance), but I still think it's pretty cool.

Basically, after graduating from college and taking a few months to travel and figure out what she wanted to do, Erica worked a number of jobs in the food industry and attended to the Culinary Institute of America. After completing an internship with The Union Square Cafe, she became dining room manager and handled catering sales at the defunct Manhattan restaurant The Tonic.

Eventually, she landed a gig as special events supervisor at People Magazine. A plum position at New York Magazine followed and then her dream job, Director of Events and strategic partnerships at the late great Gourmet Magazine.

With a culinary expert around the corner from me, it seemed only natural I would ask for some advice regarding my upcoming dinner party.

"The truth is that with kids, I don't have many dinner parties. Brunch is really ideal for entertaining," said Erica, mom to two girls. "It's easy and the kids can run around while the adults talk. It doesn't have to be fancy."

Here are Erica's two "go to" brunch recipes (I haven't tried either yet, but maybe next weekend...)

Easy Brunch Baked Eggs
1 loaf white/wheat sandwich bread
10 eggs
1/2 cup milk
2 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard (I can give you some so you don't have to buy a whole container since you'll likely never use it for anything else!)
2 teaspoons salt, pepper to taste
1 yellow onion, sliced thin and sauteed til clear and soft - you can do this in a little butter or a little olive oil, up to you
1/2 -3/4 lb sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup melted butter

Butter a 9 x 12 glass casserole dish
Remove bread crusts, cube bread and line bottom of casserole dish
Grate cheese if you bought it whole
Mix milk, eggs, spices, cheese and onion in bowl
Pour over bread and cover
Refrigerate overnight
Pre-heat over to 325
Melt butter and pour over top of eggs
Bake for 1 hour

You can add cooked, crumbled bacon too, this makes it super tasty. You can add it when you mix the milk, eggs, spices and cheese together.

Serves about 8-10 people depending on size of slices

Chocolate Chip Pancakes
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour (I like to use King Arthur Flour - good quality product)
3 tablespoons sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cup milk (if you can, use buttermilk, creates a better flavor)
1/4 cup unsalted butter (melted)
2 large eggs - separate the whites from the yolks
1 cup chocolate chips (I like to use mini chips) - or 1 cup of any desired fruit (banana, berries, peaches, etc)

Combine the dry ingredients (first 5 items) in one bowl.
Combine the wet ingredients (milk, butter and yolks) in another bowl.
Combine dry and wet, stir until mixed together (large wooden spoon is best).
Beat the whites with a whisk until foamy and stiff - when you pull up on the whites, they should form a stiff peak.
Fold the whites into the rest of the batter - do this gently and try not to stir too much as you want to keep the air in the whites because this is what makes the pancake fluffy.
Add the chocolate chips.

Add approx 1 tablespoon butter to a sautee pan over medium high heat - once butter is melted and spread on bottom of pan, drop individual pancakes into pan, a large tablespoon works best. Wait until batter is set and bubbly - approx 2 minutes (go by look rather than time) before flipping. Flip pancake and let cook on other side for another 2 minutes or so.

The first batch of pancakes almost always comes out the worst so if you over/under cook them or they just don't come out great, don't worry - it gets better.

I like to preheat my oven to about 250 degrees and put the finished pancakes in the oven on a sheet tray. Then, when my last pancakes are done - all my pancakes are hot and ready to go!

Here are Erica's other cooking tips:

• Have fun! Cooking shouldn't be a grueling task, even if you aren't a "natural".

• Don't be afraid to try new things - so many people follow recipes to a t. I think you can experiment a little based on your own likes/dislikes. For example: if a quiche recipe calls for asparagus and you don't like asparagus, swap it out with something else - like broccoli or spinach.

• Clean as you go - one of the basics taught in culinary school and if you watch any cooking show, you'll see that chefs keep their work space very clean, always wiping counters and cutting boards down, getting garbage out of the way. If you start off this way, it will become second nature and you'll form a good habit that really will make you a better cook

• Cardinal rule of cooking when using a recipe - always read the recipe all the way through first!! You'd be surprised how many people don't do this.

• Lastly - don't fear the fat - fat is flavor. Butter, oil, they are your friends. But of course, everything in moderation.

All great advice, especially that final tip. DON'T FEAR THE FAT! That's my new motto.

Lentil and Rice Mush

2010-01-28T20:49:00.017-05:00

I'm sure by now you've become accustomed to reading about my culinary successes. After all, it's been quite a while since I burned anything (unless you count the Brussels Sprouts). Just when I begin to think I'm getting the knack of this cooking thing, I make a rookie mistake.

Last night, I returned to my naturally undomesticated ways.

Avo had bought me super-fancy Sabarot French Green Lentils in hopes that I would use them to concoct something truly wonderful. Sadly, I failed him.

The evening started auspiciously enough. I turned to Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything and followed his recipe for

Lentils and Rice with Caramelized Onions

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1 medium onion, chopped, plus 1 large or 2 medium onions, halved and sliced

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 teaspoon ground cumin

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

2 cups lentils, washed and picked over

About 6 cups chicken, beef or vegetable stock, or water, warmed

1 cup long- or short-grain rice

Minced fresh parsley leaves for garnish

Place 1 tablespoon oil in a large, deep saucepan, and turn the heat to medium. A minute later, add chopped onion, and cook until it begins to become tender, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, cumin, salt and pepper, and cook 3 minutes more. Add lentils, stir, and add about 4 cups of the stock.

Luckily, Avo made stock from my roast chicken, so I used that. But since I only had about 3 cups, I cut the recipe in half.

Cook, stirring occasionally, until the lentils begin to soften, about 20 minutes. Add enough of the remaining stock or water so the lentils are covered by about an inch of liquid. Stir in rice. Cover, and turn the heat to low.

Meanwhile, place the remaining oil in a medium skillet, and turn the heat to medium-high. Cook the onion slices, stirring frequently, until they are dark brown but not burned, about 15 minutes.

At this point, the girls ran from the room complaining that they couldn't stand the smell of the onions. I can't blame them. I remember doing the same thing when I was a kid.

Scoop out the onions, and let them drain on paper towels while you finish cooking the lentils and rice.

Oops. I forgot to let the onions drain. I just left them in the pan to wait their turn.

Check the rice and lentils after 20 minutes. When both are tender and the liquid is absorbed, the dish is ready. If the lentils and rice are not tender, add more liquid, cover, and cook for a few more minutes. If, on the contrary, the rice and lentils are soft and there is much liquid remaining, raise the heat a bit and cook, uncovered, stirring, until it evaporates.

Here's where things went bad. The lentils were done, but the rice took about another 20 minutes to cook. Apparently, I used 40 minute rice in a recipe for 20 minute rice. How should I know what sort of rice to use? By the time the rice was cooked, the lentils had pretty much lost all shape and dissolved.

"The lentils are basically mush," I warned Avo.

He took a bite.

"But good mush!" he said.

Once I topped them with caramelized onions, the lentils and rice were slightly more edible.

"The parsley is a nice addition," said Avo. "But it needs pork!"

This morning, when I opened the microwave to re-heat my tea, I found a bowl of green beans in the microwave that I forgot to serve last night with the rice and lentils. It just wasn't my night.

Undomesticated Brooklyn

2010-01-26T09:22:00.011-05:00

In case you haven't heard the news, I'm repeating it here. Undomesticated Me is going to have a weekly column on Only The Blog Knows Brooklyn, a must-read Brooklyn blog created by Louise Crawford. Look for my Undomesticated Brooklyn column on Louise's site on Tuesdays.

This week I'm going to make it easy for you lazy readers by duplicating the column here (but don't let this become a habit):

I haven’t yet set a date for my first-ever dinner party, but I’ve already enlisted a distinguished list of guinea pigs to get me ready for the big event. My new game plan is to invite one guest over for dinner each week to help me hone my skills. I’ve also begun soliciting advice from Brooklyn-based culinary mavens. First up is Giulia Melucci, author of the fabulous foodie memoir, “I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti.”

After reading her book, which chronicles her romantic and culinary adventures, I felt as if I already knew Giulia. So I did what any reasonable person would do. I stalked her on Facebook. Giulia was nice enough to reply to my message and to accept my dinner invitation. We had a wonderful meal at Fonda, the upscale Mexican place on 7th Avenue (between 14th and 15th).

Since our first date was a success (the delicious margaritas didn’t hurt), I was so bold as to suggest a 2nd rendezvous. Last Thursday night, we had dinner at Provini, the newish Northern Italian Trattoria on 13th Street and 8th Avenue.

It felt a bit like a private party since I knew almost everyone in the cozy restaurant. In addition to the fellow P.S. 107 parents who congregated by the bar after the PTA meeting, one of my neighbors was celebrating her 40th birthday with a group of friends in the corner booth.

I introduced Giulia to everyone as “my new author friend who I met on Facebook.” As I gushed about her terrific book, Giulia kindly offered to go to her car and get some copies. The birthday girl was thrilled when Giulia returned and signed a copy of the book for her. Giulia and I enjoyed our prosecco and drooled over a selection of appetizers, including grilled calamari and Malfatti. A perfect Brooklyn evening.

As someone who has thrown countless dinner parties, Giulia is just the person to give me advice. So I grilled her with questions:

Undomesticated Brooklyn: What makes a dinner party?

Giulia Melucci: Good and abundant food, of course. But what’s most important is appreciative guests who are open to talking to everyone and keeping up a lively spirit.

UB: Describe the best dinner party you ever hosted.

GM: I had a lot of great ones when I was testing recipes for “I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti.” In fact, I had a dinner party every night with just about every friend I ever had.

I remember enjoying the September “seder” I made for a bunch of my old Harper’s Magazine colleagues. I paired brisket and matzoh ball soup with teriyaki pork roast and Bok Choy. A strange Asiatic-Semitic amalgam, but all of it was delicious and the table was alive with office gossip and political discussion that I could drop in and out of while I ran from table to kitchen.

As hostess, you can pick up the vibe, but you’re only feeding it, not creating it. I like that.

UB: What is the most important piece of advice to keep in mind when prepping for a dinner party?

GM: If you show generosity in what you serve, you’ve done all you need to do. The food need not be perfect, but it should show a spirit of giving that will set the tone for your guests. You can’t make people have a good time—that they have to do on their own, you’ll be busy—but you can facilitate good feelings by offering the abundance of your own heart in the food and drink you put out.

UB: Any warnings I should heed?

GM: Try not to do anything that will take extensive work in the kitchen while the guests are there. No risottos, etc. I like roast meats and vegetables that you can just chuck in the oven, then you’ll have a few minutes to visit with your guests. Or stews that cook in a pot for hours and are ready to go whenever you feel like ringing the dinner bell. There is no peril inherent in entertaining, so I will give no warnings.

Julia Child said “make no apologies,” if you think something isn’t quite right, no need to talk about it, your guests will probably not notice. That’s probably good advice, but I don’t heed it.

UB: Any recommendations about what I should serve?

GM: I believe in making it easy on yourself and keeping it simple. I love roast pork, or roast fish, with sautéed vegetables or roasted vegetables. The dinner party menus in my book are great, easy, and ready to go. Nigella Lawson’s cod wrapped in prosciutto can be prepped earlier in the day and popped into the oven twenty minutes before you want to serve it. That on a bed of lentils with some chopped parsley adorning it looks so professional and is so tasty. Follow that with a salad and bread (Have lots of bread so people can stuff themselves if you somehow didn’t make enough, which would never happen, of course) a lovely dessert (bought from a bakery is perfectly acceptable) and you have all the elements of a great meal.

UB: Will you come to my dinner party?

GM: I never thought you’d ask!

Lemon Chicken and Old Friends

2010-01-25T08:55:00.002-05:00

In preparation for my dinner party (date yet to be determined), I've enlisted a distinguished list of guinea pigs to get me ready for the big event.

On Saturday night, Becky, my old housemate, schlepped from the East Village all the way out to Brooklyn to try my cooking. Becky and I lived together for seven years during our 20s and during that whole time, I never once cooked for her -- or for myself, for that matter. Mostly, we subsisted on chicken with broccoli that we ordered from Mee Noodle Shop.

"Don't worry about impressing me," Becky said before she made the trip to our apartment. "I'll be impressed even if you just serve me some cheese and crackers."

Becky had no idea what I had planned for her. I had spent the bulk of the day cooking in preparation for her arrival.

"How are you going to roast the chicken?" Avo asked earlier in the day.

"In the oven."

"Very funny."

"I wasn't trying to be funny. I wasn't sure what you were asking."

"Are you going to rub it with salt and butter or put a sprig of Rosemary in it or stuff it?"

"Um, I haven't gotten that far."

After consulting The Bible a.k.a. Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything, I settled on Lemon Chicken, which is pretty easy to prepare. I just rubbed the chicken with olive oil and squeezed the juice of half a lemon on it. The other half a lemon, I put inside the chicken. Then I cooked at 450 degrees for about 45 minutes.

I decided to roast the Brussels Sprouts in the same pan as the chicken and roast the potatoes in a separate pan. This was all fine and dandy until I burned my arm on the oven door trying to remove the potatoes. Things went from bad to worse when I realized I had neglected to flip the Brussels Sprouts.

"How do I flip the Brussels Sprouts when they're under the chicken?" I asked Avo.

"Figure it out yourself," he said.

I took this to mean that he didn't know how to do it. Later, I realized he was presenting a challenge -- one which I failed to acknowledge.

Instead of heeding his advice, I put the Brussels Sprouts of my mind until the chicken was ready to come out of the oven.

Oops. The Brussels Sprouts were more burned than my arm. They were so gloriously blackened, I should have saved them to display in The Burnt Food Museum (see photo above).

"You mean you didn't flip them at all?" Avo asked.

"You didn't tell me how," I said, accusingly.

"I didn't tell you not to flip them. I said figure it out yourself."

It's true -- I shouldn't blame him for my failure. Sweetheart that he is, Avo ran out to buy more Brussels Sprouts. The second batch came out perfect.

Here is the full of menu:

- crackers and a baguette served with a nice selection of cheeses
- a green salad with cherry tomatoes and sprouts
- roasted Brussels Sprouts
- Rosemary potatoes
- roasted Lemon Chicken
- Brownies (homemade) and mint chip ice cream (Alden's)

Aside from my burnt arm and the burnt Brussels Sprouts, dinner was a complete success. The chicken was cooked just right -- nice and tender. After it was done, I realized I had no idea how to carve it, so I begged Avo for help. I'll put "Learn how to Carve a Chicken" on my To-Do List.

The Rosemary potatoes were crisp and flavorful and the dessert was a big hit.

"These Brownies are so good, I would have thought they were from a mix!" said Avo.

"I'm impressed!" said Becky.

It was a helpful trial run since I realized I need to work on my choreography and timing. The potatoes were finished way too soon. Also, I need more serving utensils ASAP.

My new plan is to have one guest over for dinner each week to help me hone my skills.

Who's my next guinea pig?

Dinner Party Plans

2010-01-22T14:04:00.010-05:00

And the winner is...dinner party. The people have voted (19 for Dinner Party; 6 for Housewarming Party; 6 for Learn to Knit; 2 for Learn to Sew). Who am I to refuse? I'm flattered that you have faith in me. Or maybe you just want to see if I can survive the challenge.

The first thing I need to do is set a date -- not too soon because I won't be prepared and not too far off because then I'll have too much time to fret about the daunting task ahead.

Second, I must draw up a guest list. It's going to be challenging finding an interesting and compatible group who is free on the same night.

Third, I will draft a menu. My mom suggested that I keep the dinner party simple, including several dishes I can make in advance.

Avo will be in charge of pre-dinner cocktails and I can certainly pick up some tasty cheese and crackers from the co-op. But what then?

I have so many questions to answer: How many courses will there be? Will I prepare dishes I've made before or something entirely new? Most importantly, do we have enough chairs to seat everyone?

In the coming weeks, I plan to work out these and other details. I'm also excited to survey some local dinner party experts and solicit their advice. First up is Giulia Melucci, the Brooklyn-based author of the appetizing memoir "I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti," which was published to much acclaim last year. Look for Giulia's dinner party tips next week.

Brussels Sprouts Breakthrough

2010-01-20T14:45:00.012-05:00

Part of the reason it took me so long to learn how to cook is that I was such a picky eater. Why bother cooking when I didn't like the finished result?

As a kid, I somehow managed to survive on plain pasta, candy, and the occasional fried chicken. I don't think I ate a vegetable until I was in my 20s (don't tell my kids).

It wasn't until fairly recently that I began to notice that my taste buds had changed. I am still mad for chocolate (although now I prefer dark over milk), but in general, I favor savory over sweet.

Some credit for my expanding diet goes to Avo, who managed to cook vegetables in ways that made them taste delicious. Sorry, mom, but the canned peas you served me as a kid were pretty nasty (ditto to the packaged mashed potatoes).

My parents are getting a real kick out of the fact that not only am I now eating vegetables, but I'm cooking them as well. Until recently, I never would have tried Brussels Sprouts, but last night, I whipped up a batch of roasted Brussels Sprouts without relying on a recipe.

Here's what I did:

1. Cut off the brown ends of about 1 lb. of Brussels Sprouts.
2. Chop Brussels Sprouts in half and toss them in a roasting pan
3. Pour in a few teaspoons of extra virgin olive oil
4. Sprinkle on a bit of freshly ground pepper and salt
5. Shake the pan to make sure the Sprouts were doused in oil
6. Roasted at 400 degrees (pre-heated, of course) for about 35-40 minutes or 'til they're nice and crispy.
7. Put them in a bowl and toss on some Balsamic Vinegar.

"These are better than my Brussels Sprouts!" Avo said after trying them. Now that's the ultimate compliment since I know how highly Avo thinks of his Brussels Sprouts.

I still need to work on meal planning. As good as the Brussels Sprouts were, roasted Brussels Sprouts alone do not make a meal.

If "Throw a Dinner Party" wins in the Undomesticated Me poll, I might serve Brussels Sprouts. But what else should I cook?

Decide My Fate

2010-01-18T17:32:00.011-05:00

I feel so vulnerable. My future is in your hands (or rather, keyboards). You have three more days to vote in the Undomesticated Me poll.

Right now, "Throw a Dinner Party" holds a strong lead ahead of "Housewarming Party" in the poll, with "Learn to Knit" coming in a distant third and "Learn to Sew" garnering no votes. But I know how these things can suddenly change at the last minute, so I won't send out dinner invitations just yet.

Still, I am beginning to brainstorm about this theoretical dinner party. I've never actually entertained before. Sure, I've thrown my share of kids' parties before and in my 20s, my housemate and I threw lots of rockin' bashes. But I have never invited adults who are not related to me over to eat good food and engage in grown up conversation.

Before I learned to cook, the question of a dinner party was moot. It seemed awfully gauche to invite people over just to order in pizza.

Now that I've got dinner parties on my brain, I'm wondering who I would actually invite to this thing. Our dining table seats 8, so not including me and Avo, that leaves room for six guests. I've been told that a successful dinner party depends nearly as much on the mix of people as the quality of the food.

Doing research online, I found a guide to dinner party etiquette which suggests:

When selecting guests for your event, you’ll want to choose an interesting mix of characters, but make sure they will all get along. It wouldn’t do to invite people who are known to clash with other dinner guests or cause heated debates. No one wants tension at a dinner party. Your party should be a lively, stress-free event. Invite guests who are good conversationalists, especially those who are known to bring along their sense of humor.

Do you know any charming, sophisticated guests who are good conversationalists with a sense of humor? Maybe I could even write a script beforehand for them to read so I can be sure it all goes smoothly.

Anyway, I'm getting ahead of myself. Learn to Knit still has a shot. The poll's not over 'til it's over.

Undomesticated Goals

2010-01-15T11:48:00.013-05:00

When I started this blog eight months ago, I had only a vague goal in mind. Unlike Julie Powell, I didn't set out to do anything particularly ambitious or to achieve anything specific. I just wanted to learn how to cook, clean, and entertain.

I dove into the project without knowing where it would lead. In fact, I'm still not sure where my quest for domesticity is headed, but I'm sure enjoying learning how to bake, cook and blog (not so much cleaning or entertaining so far).

Now that I've gained a wee bit of confidence in domestic matters, I'm wondering if it's time I set some goals for myself -- something along the lines of cooking dinner every night for a week, planning a dinner party, or even learning how to sew!

My mom has been trying to teach me to knit for years, so that's an idea. And then there's the fact that we've been in our apartment for six years and still never got around to throwing a housewarming party. I checked and Miss Manners says it's never too late.

What do you think? Perhaps it's time for an Undomesticated Me poll (vote above).

Worst Cook in Brooklyn?

2010-01-14T14:08:00.018-05:00

It was my big shot at television stardom -- and I blew it.

About a year and a half ago, I got a call from a talent scout at Food Network who had heard through the grapevine that I was a notoriously terrible cook. She told me that the cable network was developing a show called "America's Worst Cooks" and she thought I might qualify.

"That sounds perfect for me!" I said.

They were looking for home cooks who were unable to produce an edible meal. At the time, I could barely prepare toast without putting the fire company down the block on alert.

"I'm your gal!"

But I quickly realized that I was not up for the challenge. While my culinary failures are legendary, I was not prepared to abandon my family and hole up for the long-term with a bunch of other bad cooks.

Last night I tuned in to a repeat of the show. Watching the contestants stumble through the kitchen, I realized that I've come a long way since that phone call. Not only can I now prepare toast (without setting off any alarms), but I can also whip up any number of other more complicated dishes.

Still, I could relate to so many of the contestants -- the young college grad who feared people's disgusted reaction to her cooking, the housewife who felt like a failure because she couldn't prepare a meal for her family, the woman who was afraid she'd cut or burn herself in the kitchen.

I'm not sure I would fare well in the competition since I don't cook well under pressure. But at least now I know how to properly hold a knife. I definitely don't regret my decision not to abandon my family for a shot at TV fame, but I wouldn't mind a Culinary Boot Camp for myself.

I definitely benefited from the quick knife skills lesson on last night's program. Here's a brief recap:

Chop - The most basic knife skill, which is used for foods that don't need to be cut in uniform shapes and sizes. To hold the knife properly, put your middle, ring and pinky fingers around the handle, and grip the blade with your index finger and thumb.

Julienne- To julienne, cut food into rectangular one-eighth-inch planks. Then stack the planks on top of each other and slice lengthwise into one-eighth-inch strips.

Chiffonade- A technique which is used to cut herbs and other leafy green vegetables into long, thin strips. Stack the leaves, roll them tightly, then cut across the rolled leaves with a sharp knife, producing fine ribbons.

Slice- You can make slices as thin or as thick as you want. Slice vegetables on the diagonal at 1/2-inch intervals with knife held at a 45 degree angle during slicing.

In all of these cases, make sure that your knife is sharp and watch out for those fingers!

You can bet I'll be tuning into "America's Worst Chef" next week to get some more pointers.

Kitchen Gadgets

2010-01-11T12:29:00.012-05:00

Now that I'm turning into a foodie (well, a newbie foodie), I've been thinking it's time to invest in some helpful tools of the trade. In other words, I've decided I need more unnecessary crap in my kitchen.

"Honey, do you think I should get an immersion blender?" I asked Avo yesterday.

"Why in the world would you need an immersion blender?" asked Avo. "What the Hell is an immersion blender anyway?"

"It's a hand blender. And remember back in October when I was trying to make broccoli soup and I made a mess by trying to puree it in the blender? It would have been a lot easier with an immersion blender."

Given the limited space in our kitchen and the fact that Avo still hasn't forgiven me for devoting an entire shelf to the rarely used crock pot, he quickly nixed the idea of an immersion blender.

"How often do you make soup anyway?"

This is coming from the same guy who asked for an electric pepper grinder for his birthday! You would think he would understand my need for an immersion blender. Well, maybe for my next birthday.

Nearly 10 years ago when Avo and I got married, we registered for six brandy snifters and a dozen champagne flutes! What were we thinking? Were we stocking up a bar or a household? If only I could register now when I actually know a thing or two about what sort of pots and pans and cooking utensils we need. You could be certain that an immersion blender would be on the list.

What kitchen gadgets could you not live without? And which ones sit unused in your kitchen cabinets?

Cooking and Exercise

2010-01-08T09:28:00.006-05:00

The title of this post is misleading -- I am not going to give you tips on how to do leg lifts while roasting a chicken.

Rather, my point is that cooking -- for me at least -- is a lot like exercise. It's an effort for me to actually do it, but when I do it, I always feel better. I never regret having exercised and I rarely regret having cooked. If I slack off and stop exercising for a week, it's always a huge struggle to get start again. The same goes for cooking.

After my "time off" during the holidays, it's been a challenge to get back into the routine of cooking dinner every night. So last night, even though the kids and I had pizza with friends, I decided to cook something small just to work out my cooking muscles. Also, I didn't want Avo to fear that I had returned to my old undomesticated ways.

I was so out of practice that I actually fouled up the rice -- and I was using a rice cooker! I made my old mistake of using one cup of water to one cup of rice, instead of two cups of water. Not surprisingly, the rice turned out dry and pretty much inedible, so I had to dump it and start all over again (thankfully, I got it right on the 2nd try).

I was also determined to use the broccoli that was withering in the fridge. If broccoli had eyes, it would be looking at me accusingly, imploring to be used. The same was true for the packaged tempeh that was nearing its expiration date.

In my old undomesticated days, I would have stared at the ingredients without a clue as to how to proceed. But last night, I knew enough to stir fry up the coconut curry marinated tempeh strips with the broccoli and serve it with rice. Simple, healthy and delicious.

Avo was relieved to see that I haven't abandoned my quest to cook and pleased that I wasn't letting the ingredients in the fridge go to waste. Of course, now I need to go food shopping and figure out what to cook next.

Cooking really is a lot like exercise -- no matter how much you time and energy you devote to it one day, you've got to start all over again the next day. Hopefully, I'm gaining some momentum.

Baking Tips for Beginners

2010-01-06T09:37:00.009-05:00

I know I keep promising to give up baking and get back to cooking dinner, but it's so satisfying -- and people seem to enjoy the treats of my labor.

From an informal poll of friends and family members, it seems that people tend to fall in two categories: those who love following recipes and enjoy the straightforward nature of baking and those who like the improvisational nature of cooking.

It's true that you can't be creative with the basics of baking -- if you decide to skimp on flour or baking soda, those cookies don't stand a chance.

As a kitchen newbie, I'm finding baking to be easier than cooking. With cooking, there are so many options -- do you saute, grill, boil, or broil? With baking, there's just...baking. But I've still got a lot to learn about baking. In addition to the baking tips for dummies I posted about last month, keep these "rules" in mind:

1. Rotate your pans from top to bottom, back to front, halfway through the cooking time (per my friend Katherine). But don't do this when you're baking cakes though since opening the oven door too often can spell disaster for a cake.

2. Preheating the oven really makes a different. It is key for good color and texture. Keep in mind that it generally takes around 20 minutes for an oven to hit its stride, so plan ahead.

3. Certain ingredients fare better at certain temperatures: Room-temperature eggs beat up fluffier; cream whips best ice-cold, and, though cold butter makes the flakiest pie crust, room-temp butter makes the lightest cakes. Got that?

4. Most baking recipes call for all-purpose flour, but cake flour really does help cakes get a lighter, softer texture.

Anything I'm forgetting?

Oh yeah, don't forget to set a timer so you don't burn those cookies!

Happy Undomesticated New Year!

2010-01-04T13:26:00.009-05:00

It's a back-to-school, back-to-work, back-to-blogging sort of day. I think I'll ease back into this place slowly. In other words, I'll keep this post short and sweet. Very sweet.

I didn't do much cooking over the holidays. Instead, I grazed on appetizers and finger food at various holiday parties and satiated myself with festive cookies and cakes. On vacation in the Berkshires, we mostly ate out.

Brownies were the one exception. They became my my standard party gift -- cheaper and more satisfying than bringing booze. From Hanukkah to New Year's, I was the brownie lady. I found an effortless recipe from Food Network's "How to Boil Water: Life Beyond Takeout" that I can just about whip up from memory by now. But I'll jot it down here for you:

Brownies

Ingredients

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for the baking dish
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate
1 cup packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
4 large cold eggs
1 cup all-purpose flour

Note: If you don't have enough light brown sugar, you can compensate with white sugar and vice versa.

Note #2: Splurge and buy genuine vanilla extract

1. Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and heat oven to 325 degrees. Line an 8x8 -inch square metal or glass baking pan with foil so it hangs over the edges by about an inch. Butter the bottom and sides of the pan.

2. In a microwave-safe bowl, melt chocolate and butter in the microwave on 75% power for 2 minutes. Stir, and microwave until both are completely melted, about 2 minutes. You can do it the old fashioned way by heating in a saucepan on the stove, by why bother?

3. Stir the sugars, salt, adn vanilla into the chocolate mixture. Add the eggs and beat vigorously until fully incorporated (the batter should be thick and glossy). Add the flour and stir gently just until it disappears.

4. Pour batter into the pan and bake until the top is crispy -- about 40 to 50 minutes.

5. Cool brownies in the pan on the counter or a rack. Try not to nibble at them until they're fully cool. It won't be easy. Lift the brownies out of the pan, using the foil as handles. Peel off the foil and cut brownies into squares.

Note: Feel free to add 1 cup of chopped nuts just as the flour gets mixed in.

There are so many different varieties of brownies. These fall into the classic, rich, gooey variety. They were a bit too dark (e.g. "grownup") in flavor for Jesse, but that meant more for the rest of the family.

I know everyone is griping about the pounds they packed on during the holidays, but do yourself a favor and try out these brownies. It will help get you through the mid-winter blahs.

Gone Ice Fishin'

2009-12-25T09:30:00.005-05:00

Enjoy the holidays! Hope you'll join me for some more (un) domestic adventures next year...

Muffin Meltdown

2009-12-22T09:36:00.005-05:00

It was a muffin emergency. The first batch of muffins I made for Ruby's class' holiday celebration were passable, but I had to ditch the second batch, which were deflated and undercooked.

What to do?

Like any reasonable person, I trudged through the snow to the local bodega to pick up a pumpkin-flavored Pillsbury "Quick Bread" mix (hoping nobody would see me in my moment of shame).

I added milk, oil and eggs to the mix. The directions on the back of the box said I should "stir 50 to 75 strokes," but I admit I lost count after 35 or so.

The good news is that I managed to produce respectable looking pseudo-homemade muffins.

"My mom made these muffins," Ruby bragged to her classmates this morning.

I didn't let on that I had a little help from Pillsbury and the pre-K kids couldn't tell the difference.

But don't worry -- I haven't given up in my quest to make the perfect muffin from scratch.

Please send in your muffin making tips. Clearly, I could use some help!

Muffin Mania

2009-12-21T10:37:00.018-05:00

Now that I know how to make muffins, I no longer have to purchase the overpriced muffins at our local bakery.

Even more satisfying -- I can bake my own muffins to bring to the girls' school for their breakfast "winter celebrations" this week.

Now I'm playing the role of the happy homemaker who vies to outshine the other parents with her homemade contributions. But don't feel bad if you didn't have time to make your own croissants or fresh szueezed orange juice. I'm just overcompensating for all of the years of bringing in napkins or plates.

The only catch is that Avo is out of town snowboarding and I'm stuck inside with a sick kid and only three eggs and one banana (luckily, I stocked up on butter!). I just used two eggs for the sour cream muffins I baked for Ruby's class. Now I might have to get creative and make a pseudo-banana muffin for Jesse's class with one egg and one banana, rather than the 2-3 bananas called for in the recipe.

I learned a couple of tips about muffin-making (forgive me if you already know this):

1. Don't over mix muffin dough. It should be clumpy or else your muffins will be too dense.

2. If you're not going to eat the muffins right away, add more butter or oil than the recipe calls for or else they'll get too dry.

3. You know your muffins are done when the tops are golden and spring back lightly when touched, a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Oops. Apparently, you're supposed to put the muffin pan on the middle rack in the oven. I didn't do this, but the muffins still turned out okay. Still, it seems like good advice.

Another tip I learned too late for this batch: Sift flour for best results and use fresh baking soda and powder since so muffins rise nicely. I just checked and my baking soda expired in 1993!

Luckily, I knew enough to let the muffins sit in the tin for a few minutes after removing them from the oven. Usually, I rush to take them out and they fall apart.

But I didn't know that some muffin experts advise setting the pan on a cool wet towel to prevent the muffins from sticking to the bottom. Just be careful that you don't keep the muffins in the tin for longer than 5 minutes or else they might get soggy.

Clearly, I still have a lot to learn about baking muffins! Still, the first batch came out pretty well.

"It tastes like cake!" said Jesse. I think that qualifies as a good review. Personally, I think they're a little too bland, but I doubt that the pre-K kids will be too discerning.

Aside from the pride I take in bringing in homemade goods, I'm also appreciating the warmth that the oven is generating since it's freezing here in Brooklyn!

UPDATE: That'll teach me to get too cocky about my muffin-making skills. The banana muffins were a disaster. Since I didn't have enough bananas, I poured in some milk. To compensate for the lack of banana sweetness, I tossed in some chocolate chip cookies. I forgot that unlike cooking, baking requires that you follow the recipe. I paid for my "creativity."

Instead of the nice, puffy muffin tops I aspired to, my muffin tops turned out deflated and basically concave. The inside is gooey and undercooked.I think even the pre-K kids are savvy enough to notice that these muffins suck. Jesse agreed that the muffins are inedible. Sadly, I just tossed them in the trash.

Now it seems I might have to patronize the pricey bakery around the corner. Maybe I should have volunteered to bring the napkins and plates after all.

Meanwhile, if you have muffin problems and need to diagnose what went wrong, check out this helpful site.

A Childhood Favorite

2009-12-18T12:20:00.006-05:00

It's freezing out. Much too cold to schlep to the co-op to replenish the fridge.

Luckily, I've learned how to scavenge the pantry for potential dinner ingredients.
Last night I discovered we had penne pasta, tomato sauce, chicken breasts, and bread crumbs waiting to be used -- just the right stuff to make chicken parmigiana, a childhood favorite of mine.

Although I was a picky kid when it came to food, I loved chicken parmigiana, which is basically -- let's face it -- a big chicken nugget topped with pizza.

After proving I can make chicken cutlets, I decided I was ready to go the next step.

Conveniently, Avo had just made mozzarella cheese using a cheese making kit from the New England Cheesemaking Supply Company. The cheese came out looking more like ricotta or cottage cheese than mozzarella, but I had a feeling it would be perfect on top of my chicken parmigiana.

I loosely followed Mark Bittman's recipe for chicken parmigiana, but basically, here is what I did:

I fried up some chicken cutlets, plopped them on a baking pan with some tomato sauce and topped with some more tomato sauce, mozzarella and shredded parmigiana. I baked it for about 15 minutes at 400 degrees. What do you know? It looked -- and tasted -- like the chicken parmigiana of my childhood.

Ruby and Jesse ate the chicken cutlets without the "parm" on top, along with some penne.

"This is the best meal ever!" declared Ruby. "And my mom made it!"

(Seriously -- she said that.)

"It's so-so, but for me, that's pretty good," said Jesse. "I still like regular chicken nuggets better though."

Served with a nice green salad and a glass of wine, the chicken parmigiana and penne made a nice romantic dinner for me and Avo.

"This chicken parm holds its own against any deli chicken parm," said Avo.

That's high praise.

I am still marveling at the fact that I can cook at all. Will there come a time when Avo and I take it for granted?

Meanwhile, tonight I plan to use up the bunch of broccoli and seitan in our fridge. Then it's time to go food shopping before we find ourselves trying to make a dinner out of butter, yogurt and carrots.

Undomesticated Bloopers

2009-12-17T14:33:00.010-05:00

It's taken me years to discover the the simple pleasures of meal planning and preparation, as well as the satisfaction that comes from nourishing friends and family.

But, even though I now know the difference between a whisk and a spatula, I've still got a lot to learn. Just this week, I made two major gaffes:

1. When I tried to duplicate Katherine's delicious hamburgers in my own home without a "hamburger helper" looking on, I made a terrible beginner's mistake. The outside of the burgers were burning, but the inside meat was still rare. Instead of lowering the flame, I tossed the burgers in the microwave. Yes, the meat cooked, but it also turned barely edible. Ruby happily chowed down on the burgers, but Avo opted for a frozen Indian meal instead.

2. I'm getting better, but I still have a problem following recipes. Just today, for instance, I ignored the very clear instruction to "let butter soften" before mixing the batter for oatmeal cookies. The butter was too hard and the batter got stuck to the mixing blades. At least I knew better than to toss the bowl into the microwave! Instead, I turned the mixer on high until most of the butter splattered off. I scooped the rest out with my fingers. No harm done. The cookies turned out tasty, but it was a close call nonetheless. (And, yes, I'm still baking. I can't stop myself!)

The Joy of Baking

2009-12-16T09:07:00.006-05:00

I know Avo and my mom are right. I have to back away from the Bundt pan and cookie tins for a while. But it is hard when baking is so satisfying.

For one thing, although people can get pretty fancy with pastries and cake decorating, for the most part, baking relies on a few basic ingredients: generally sugar, flour, eggs, baking powder. And the directions are pretty straightforward – you mix the ingredients and then you bake them. Not at all like cooking, where you’ve got to double-check the shopping list to make sure you’ve got the right ingredients and then decide whether you’re going to steam, sautee, smoke, roast or fry your food.

For another thing, apart from a few freaks who don’t like anything sweet, most people appreciate a tasty cookie, cupcake or cake. You don’t have to worry that your guests are vegetarian or don’t like onions or won’t eat fried food.

On a day when I’m procrastinating about articles to write and toilets to clean, it’s satisfying seeing the result of my labor – in the form of a muffin.

So when my friend Kathryn invited me and the girls over for a cookie baking bonanza on Saturday, I didn't hesitate.

In addition to the Butter Spritz dough I prepared, Kathryn prepped the dough in advance for Swedish Tea Cakes, Gingersnaps, Chocolate crinkles and rolled sugar cookies. Where did she get the recipes? From the Pillsbury Kitchen Family Cookbook circa 1979. It's great if you're looking for recipes featuring onion soup mix or for classic cookie recipes. Unfortunately, it's long out of print and is available used on amazon for nearly $90! So take good care of that cookbook, Kathryn.

Even with the dough prepared in advance, it took Kathryn, me and assorted children six hours (!) to churn out five batches of cookies. The kids especially enjoyed decorating the sugar cookies with multi-colored sprinkles -- by the end of the day, the kids were coated in a thin layer of flour and "snacked" by licking the sugar off their hands.

Just to show that even a pro can make an honest mistake, Kathryn accidentally used the Spritz dough for the Swedish tea cakes.

"That's okay. We can paint them with egg yolks and sprinkles. Kids go wild for anything with sprinkles," said Kathryn.

Kathryn was right about the sprinkles, but unfortunately, the Spritz/Swedish tea cakes didn't hold up. They were a crinkled, sprinkled mess. Not one to be discouraged, Kathryn quickly whipped up some more spritz dough, which produced perfectly spritzy cookies. Light, sweet, and buttery.

A helpful baking tip from Kathryn: "Remember, use parchment paper for everything except for the Spritz cookies since they need to stick to the pan."

Aside from the initial batch of botched "Spritz" cookies, the rest of the cookies were delicious -- and so colorful too. The Ginger Snaps were Jesse and my favorite, while Ruby preferred anything with sprinkles. Apparently, this was the most cookies Kathryn has produced in a day. I was proud to be a part of the production process.

The girls and I went home with a nice stash of assorted holiday cookies -- which somehow managed to disappear before the weekend was over.

Perhaps it really is time to take a break from baking or else I'll have to buy a whole new wardrobe -- in a bigger size.

I Baked A Cake!

2009-12-14T10:54:00.000-05:00

The economy is rocky. There's still a war overseas. But all is right in the world -- for the moment, at least. Why? I baked a cake.

For the first time ever. Yes, believe it or not, it took me 41 years to learn to bake a cake and then to go ahead and DO IT.

After my disastrous Nanaimo Bar experience, I was skittish about trying to make my mom's famous Coffee Apple Cake, but I was not going to let a little unsifted and sugar intimidate me -- especially not after finally managing to hunt down a Bundt pan.

Mixing the ingredients was a breeze. Everything was going smoothly until I poured the gooey batter into the greased bunt pan without flouring it first.

Oops. It only reached about halfway up the pan.

What to do? Call mom, of course.

"Mom, it doesn't look as if I have enough batter."

"It will rise," mom assured me. "That's why you flour the pan."

"Um, do you need to flour the pan?" I asked.

"Yes," said mom.

"Oh well, I didn't flour it."

"It might not rise very much, but it should be okay," mom assured me.

"I can pour the batter out now and flour it."

"No, it's too late. Hopefully, it will be okay. You just may have a low cake."

Luckily, even though I neglected to flour the pan, the cake reached the top of the pan. After taking it out of the oven, I quickly flipped it over and onto a plate.

It looked okay, but was I was supposed to wait until it cooled before flipping it?

I phoned mom to find out.

"Do I flip it out right away?"

"No, wait for it to cool."

"Oh. I already flipped it out," I said.

"Why did you ask me after the fact? I hope you at least remembered to peel the apples. And you brewed the coffee, right? You didn't just put in coffee grinds."

Phew. Luckily I peeled the apples and brewed the coffee. And even though I didn't wait for the cake to cool before flipping it, it held together.

I drizzled on the glazing in time to hurry over to Dori's Hanukkah party, where the cake was a big hit. I foisted it upon a couple of foodie friends.

"Very moist!" one exclaimed.

"Tasty!" said another.

"I like the texture," Avo added.

I was fishing for compliments, but they seemed genuinely impressed.

One party guest who had brought a packaged (albeit yummy) apple pie asked, "Did you make that cake by scratch?"

"Yes and it's the first cake I ever made!" I told her and anybody who seemed mildly interested.

Buoyed by my apple coffee cake success, yesterday I started shopping online for Bundt pans.

"I'm sort of hoping this baking thing is just a phase," said Avo. "And that you'll start focusing on the main course."

He's got a point. Baking is fun, but it doesn't help feed us at dinnertime. Then again, 'tis the season for sweet stuff.

Baking Tips for Dummies

2009-12-11T08:40:00.016-05:00

"Do you have a Bundt pan I can borrow?"

Yesterday, I phoned all of my domestically-minded friends in the neighborhood in a desperate attempt to locate a Bundt pan.

Not long ago, I didn't even know what a Bundt pan was.

Luckily, my friend Katherine came to my rescue just in time for me to bake my mother's famous apple coffee cake for Dori's Hanukkah party tonight.

Yes, this is the same apple coffee cake that I spurned in favor of the failed Nanaimo Bars (in case you're keeping track of these things).

Meanwhile, my friend Kathryn (not to be confused with the aforementioned Katherine) is a super-duper cook and baker has invited me and the girls to a holiday cookie baking bonanza tomorrow morning. She is baking Russian Tea Cakes, Gingersnaps, Chocolate crinkles and rolled sugar cookies. I'm impressed (and a bit intimidated!).

When I asked if I could bring anything (maybe some extra butter?), Kathryn replied:

"Oh, here is an idea: find a recipe for spritz cookies, make the dough and bring that. I have the cookie press for them and kids think this is the coolest thing since Playdoh."

So in addition to scrambling to find a Bundt pan yesterday, I was also searching for an easy Spritz cookie recipe. Here's what I found (courtesy of the Food Network):

Butter Spritz Cookies

Ingredients

1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 sticks unsalted butter
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 cups sifted flour
Sprinkles for garnish

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a mixer with a paddle attachment, add the sugar and the butter. Mix until light and fluffy. Add the egg, vanilla and almond extracts and mix to incorporate. Sift together the baking powder and the flour. Add the flour mixture. Mix until combined. Using a cookie press, press cookies onto ungreased cookie sheets. Top with the sprinkles of your choice. Bake for 5 to 8 minutes, or until firm, but not yet browning.

When I got to the bit about the paddle attachment, I panicked. But Kathryn assured me I can use my hand mixer as long as the butter is softened first.

"It's the key to cookies: leave the butter out till it reaches room temp and always use non-salted so you can adjust salt accordingly."

My mom e-mailed me another basic baking tip:

"When you measure flour for baking, lightly spoon the flour into a measuring cup, then level off with a knife or spatula. Don't pack it down into the cup as this will make your cake too heavy. That goes for all baking unless they say to firmly pack (which is very often the case with brown sugar)."

Believe it or not, I remember this tip from when I was a kid and I would help my mom bake cookies.

I've got the spritz cookie dough ready to bring to Kathryn's tomorrow for the mega-baking session and today, Ruby and I will tackle the apple coffee cake. Hopefully, it will turn out better than the Nanaimo Bars. Wish us luck! And feel free to share any more baking tips with me (I could use the help).

Oh No Nanaimo!

2009-12-09T10:08:00.008-05:00

Perhaps my first mistake was not following my friend Sam's recipe for Nanaimo Bars. After all, as a native Canadian (from Vancouver), she should know her Nanaimo Bars. Instead, I trusted my friend Dori, a native New Yorker (from the Bronx), to supply me with a recipe for the famous British Columbia treats.

I'm not sure what my second mistake was, but clearly I made one because the bottom layer of the bars I produced pretty much crumbled in my hands. And the middle layer was just an ooey gooey mess of sickeningly sweet goop.

I can't blame Dori since she was just trying to make my life easier by presenting me with an Americanized version of the Nanaomo Bar (translated by Kraft). After all, I could barely decipher Sam's recipe, which called for vanilla custard powder. It took me several days before I realized that custard powder is the same as instant pudding.

Since I didn't have any Graham Cracker Crumbs around the house, I had fun crumbling graham crackers by hand. Ditto for the walnut pieces, which I smashed to bits with a potato masher. So it was a good recipe for working through any excess aggression.

I also liked the fact that I didn't need to use the oven for this recipe. Otherwise, I'd say it was pretty much a disaster.

The middle layer -- which consists of dry pudding mix, softened butter and powdered sugar, was sickeningly sweet (not surprisingly, that was the girls' favorite part). The bottom layer was a crumbly mess and the top layer was too bitter (I mistakenly used bittersweet chocolate instead of semi-sweet).

Jesse and Ruby enjoyed squeezing out the inner goop, dipping their fingers in the mess and then licking it off. But even they lost interest when it came to the chocolate.

I forced Avo to try just one bite.

"Well, it's better than anchovies," he said. Avo hates anchovies.

This morning I was about to dump the messy creation in the trash, but Jesse asked me to hang on to it so she could play with it after-school. So I may not have succeeded at creating a delicious dessert, but I did make an after-school activity!

After a heavy week of baking, I am getting heavier by the minute. I think it's time to get back to some lentil and bulgur dishes!

Nanaimo Bars Win!

2009-12-07T15:02:00.008-05:00

I guess it wasn't much of a competition -- yummy, gooey, exotic-sounding Nanaomi bars vs. my mom's apple coffee bake. The deck was stacked pretty much in favor of the Nanaimo Bars and not surprisingly, Nanaimo Bars won. So they will be the next sweet treat I will try to bake (sorry, mom).

I'm gathering the ingredients and promise to report back as soon as I've done the deed.

Meanwhile, with so many holiday parties ahead, it's a good thing I've learned the basics of baking. Now I don't have to fret about what to bring to the upcoming festivities.

Then again, Nanaimo Bars don't exactly shout "Hanukkah!"

Color-Coding Crayola

2009-12-03T12:36:00.006-05:00

As you all know, I've been on a domestication bender for the last six months or so. In addition to learning to cook and clean, I'm trying to just generally organize my life more smoothly (I say this as the timer for my laundry goes off and I'm pre-heating the oven for brownies!).

Jesse and Ruby are starting to get with the program. Ruby has always loved to clean. In fact, she often says that when she grows up she wants to be a cleaning woman (if she's not a "nail painter.") She's happiest when she can help me "fold" laundry, vacuum or unload the dishwasher. But, Jesse's notion of tidying up means tossing her candy wrappers in the trash.

Maybe all of my neatening efforts have gotten to Jesse because last night, she decided to color-code her enormous crayon collection and enlist Ruby as her helper. I was all for it. It gave us an excuse to weed out the nubby stumps of colored wax masquerading as crayons. Plus, it was a good way to kill time before bedtime.

Maybe I'll ask Jesse to color-code her clothes too -- it might be a good way to convince her to clean out her dresser.

What's For Dessert?

2009-11-30T14:56:00.017-05:00

Thanksgiving is so last week. I've ridden the wave of apple pie success for long enough. It's time to tackle another challenge.

After all of the fun I had baking sweets for Thanksgiving, now that's all I want to do. Last night, I swear I dreamed about brownies.

Maybe my friend Sam could sense I needed a new goal because she e-mailed a suggestion:

This might be a little bit over-the-top complicated - but the Nanaimo Bar is a seriously delicious native-to-British Columbia treat. Now that you have baked an apple pie (which looks gorgeous, btw), perhaps you are feeling ambitious enough to try something like this. They're so yummy...

I know a challenge when I hear one.

I checked out the recipe for Nanaimo bars and Sam is right -- they look pretty tricky. They also look insanely good. Note that they're referred to as both "sinfully rich" and calorie-laden." Plus, they've got a mildly interesting history, if you care about that sort of thing.

Just when I was all set to take on Nanaimo bars, my mom e-mailed with a much less intimidating dessert idea:

Coffee Apple Cake

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

2 Cups Unsifted flour
1-1/2 Cups sugar
2 tspn cinnamon
2 tspn baking soda (not baking powder)
1 tspn salt
1/2 Cup oil OR apple sauce
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup strong brewed coffee
1-1/2 Cups peeled, sliced apples - (about 1-1/2 large Rome, Gala Or Fuji apples)
1 Cup chopped nuts

Mix dry ingredients in large bowl.
Stir in wet ingredients and blend.
Stir in apples and nuts
Pour into greased and floured 9" tube pan or bundt pan
Bake at 350 degrees for 55-60 minutes or until tester is clean

Glaze:
1 Cup powdered sugar
2 Scant TBSP milk
Whisk until thick and drizzle over cake.

Serve warm or cool, sprinkled with powdered sugar or glazed (see above). Serves 10-12.

It doesn't look nearly as decadent as the Nanaimo bars and it looks a lot easier to bake. I can't decide which to try first. Can you please decide for me?

Yes I Can!

2009-11-27T13:00:00.006-05:00

"I can't believe how far you've come," my dad said this morning.

Honestly, I can't believe it either.

If you had told me a year ago that I would be baking pies from scratch, I would have called you a liar.

Am I finally getting over my fear of the oven?

If so, it's about time. It's only taken me 41 years!

So in case you're wondering, Thanksgiving was a big success. Avo cooked up the bird and all of the fixings, and I tackled dessert. I ditched the snickerdoodles at the last minute and came up with dessert menu:

1. Homemade Apple Pie (a la mode, with vanilla ice cream, of course)

2. Pumpkin pie (using a frozen pie crust and canned filling)

3. Brownies from scratch

4. Freshly whipped cream (to top the brownies or the pies)

5. Sugar cookies which the kids decorated with disgusting store-bought pink frosting and then topped with equally disgusting "chocolate" sprinkles (this recipe was more for entertainment than culinary value)

Everyone was stuffed after Avo's amazing meal (turkey, gravy, Brussels sprouts, roasted veggies, mashed potatoes, mashed sweet potatoes, and cranberry sauce). Still, we mustered up the energy to pack in quite a bit of sweet treats. I've got to say that the apple pie was the real crowd-pleaser.

The consensus was that it was perfectly done -- not too sweet, not too runny, not too tart, not too chunky. Just right. And Crisco fans, take note: the all-butter crust was nice and flaky. The only thing I might do differently the next time is add some more apples.

Maybe it was just beginner's luck, but I'm starting to think this may become my signature dish. I can't wait for the next holiday, just so I'll have an excuse to bake another pie. Then again, who needs an excuse to bake a pie?

Easy As Pie!

2009-11-25T20:44:00.004-05:00

Friends and family members have been calling and e-mailing to find out how it turned out, so I figured I'd announce it publicly: I made an apple pie today and it looks darn good (see picture). The verdict won't be in until tomorrow, but I'm optimistic.

I don't want to get all cocky about it, given I haven't even tasted it yet. But it wasn't so difficult to make. Even the homemade crust wasn't such a big deal.

In case you're wondering, I ended up using a variety of apples: Cortland, Winesap, and Gala.

I guess I've caught the baking bug because after I finished the pie, I baked sugar cookies with Ruby. We both had fun using her toy-sized cookie cutters to make various shape cookies: stars, hearts, little people. But eventually, Ruby lost interest and turned to Play-Doh to bake a "birthday cake." Sadly, the sugar cookies were pretty tasteless. Her Play-Doh cake probably tasted better.

"Think I should serve them tomorrow?" I asked Avo.

"Are you proud of them?"

"No."

"Then don't serve them. I wouldn't."

Good advice.

Instead of wallowing in my minor failure of the afternoon, I decided to bake brownies. Nothing too fancy. Just basic brownies. Once I whip some cream tomorrow, they'll be delicious. Of course, I'm hoping all eyes will be on the apple pie!

I'll report back.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Easy As Pie?

2009-11-24T12:48:00.010-05:00

The anticipation is killing me. Thanksgiving is two days away and I'm antsy to bake my first ever apple pie. But I want to wait 'til tomorrow so it's fresh for the big day.

In the meantime, the dough is already ready and waiting in the fridge. And I've been busy listening to advice. Everyone, it seems, knows the best way to bake the tastiest pie.

I made a couple of bold decisions: I opted for an all-butter crust rather than using lard or Crisco (despite advice to the contrary from some well-respected foodies). Instead of investing in a pastry blender, I relied on the food processor.

Now comes the next big decision: which type of apples to use and how thinly do I slice them?

My cousin's wife passed on some advice from her Aunt Viola, who apparently makes an amazing apple pie.

"Her trick is to use many different types of apples (red delicious, granny smith, Rome apples, Macintosh, etc). In addition, when she cuts up her apples instead of using thin slices (which she says turns into applesauce) she uses big thick slices (which yield nice chunks of apples after cooking)."

Sounds like good advice. I might even follow it!

Friends and family have rallied together to bolster my confidence (although my mom suggested I go out and buy a frozen crust).

One friend e-mailed her support.

"May there be many flaky, flaky crusts in your future," she wrote.

Thanks!

The Thanksgiving Countdown

2009-11-21T12:03:00.011-05:00

It was all set. Yesterday, my foodie friend Katherine K. (not the Katherine who taught me how to make burgers) invited me over for an after-school cooking lesson. She was going to teach me how to roast pork and veggies. More importantly, she was going to give me a lesson in the pie-baking basics.

But, alas, Jesse came down with a fever and we had to cancel. So now I'm on my own when it comes time to bake my first ever pie. Yikes!

It's the 4th year in a row that we are hosting Thanksgiving Dinner at our house. But this year is different. Usually, Avo is in charge of planning and preparing the meal and all I do is show up, eat, and clean up. But now that I've learned a thing or two about cooking myself, I want to help Avo out. Then again, I'm not sure he wants my help!

To make things easier for Avo -- especially given that we have a small kitchen -- I will make the desserts and leave the rest to him. I plan to spend the day before Thanksgiving baking, so he can have the kitchen to himself for the big event.

I've decided on making apple pie and snickerdoodles. Apple pie is classic Thanksgiving -- and it goes well with vanilla ice cream. picked the snickerdoodles because the kids will have fun making them with me. Plus, I like any excuse to say "snickerdoodle!"

Recently, I've become intrigued by the pie-making process, especially after an especially gripping "pie" episode of "Throwdown with Bobby Flay" on the Food Network (Bobby beat the Maine "Pie Moms" with his Peach-Blackberry Pie.

Katherine K. warned me that the biggest challenge is the crust -- it's difficult to get the crust flaky and to be sure that the bottom isn't soggy.

"Do you have a pastry blender?" she asked.

"Um, no. What's that?"

"You can use forks for the pie crust, but using a pastry blender makes it easier to cut the butter into the flour."

Katherine also tipped me off that many apple pie recipes call for Crisco.

"They taste good, but I refuse to eat anything with Crisco in it," she said. "Same goes for lard. I'm all about butter."

Indeed, it seems as if every recipe I find calls for Crisco.

Butter or Crisco? Pastry blender or food processor or by hand? What apples work best? How small do you cut the apple slices? What's a girl to do?

Who knew there were so many choices were involved in making apple pie? Everyone insists that their way is the only way!

I've got to make some decisions and fast because I don't want to have to resort to buying a store-bought crust -- or be forced to pass off a store-bought pie as my own!

Why We Cook

2009-11-20T10:00:00.003-05:00

In past generations, people learned how to cook by watching their elders in the kitchen. Nowadays, people learn how to cook by watching TV or listening to their ipod. Yes, you can now download countless free cooking shows to your ipod so you can learn how to flambe, saute, and broil while you commute to work.

I'm not pointing fingers or assigning blame for our country's poor eating habits. In fact, I'm addicted to The Next Iron Chef. And my good friend Muffy recently turned me on to "Why We Cook," a weekly radio show and podcast (on the Heritage Radio Network) featuring Chef Erica Wides (see photo), who teaches at the Institute for Culinary Education in Manhattan.

In thoughtful, conversational segments, Wides, who is down-to-earth and informative, answers the basic question "Why do we seek out interesting foods?"

The half-hour show isn't for anyone looking for quick and easy tips about how to get dinner on the table. Rather, it's for people who enjoy asking questions about why we cook the way we do and contemplating the sociological, historical, and cultural issues related to cooking.

Wides bills "Why We Cook" as a virtual cooking school on the radio, focusing on techniques, seasonal dish how-to’s, ingredients, and philosophical musings about the industry. Each show Wides features a different style and technique of cooking and answers listeners' questions about food. Occasionally, she interviews special guests from the culinary world.

When I type "How to cook" into the itunes search engine, I am amazed at how many free cooking podcasts are available, including "Food Done Right," "Bluewater TV" from the Bluewater Grill, and "Under the Tuscan Gun," featuring gum-cracking New York actress Debi Mazar and her Tuscan born hubby Gabriele Corcos.

The only problem with all of these options is that if I get hooked, I may not have anytime to actually cook.

Eco-Me Fun

2009-11-17T11:55:00.028-05:00

First, a disclaimer: my old sleepaway camp buddy is married to the founder of Eco-Me, Robin Kay Levine (see photo), who has since become a friend of mine. Robin was kind enough to send me a package of free samples. But it takes more than a shipment of swag to get a good review from me.

What first impressed me was the product packaging -- simple, yet eye-catching. Then, I was struck by the product names. In the few days since they've arrived at my house, I've already grown fond of Bill, Emily, Kate, and Emma. Now when I'm scrubbing the tub, doing the laundry, or washing the dishes, I don't feel so alone. I've got my Eco-Me buddies alongside me.

Seriously, the products -- which are derived from natural ingredients like vinegar and baking soda -- work well and you don't have to worry that you're poisoning yourself and your family with chemicals every time you clean.

My favorite thing about Eco-Me is that if you want, you can use one of their DIY kits to make the products yourself at home. My kids loved these "chemistry experiments" and I got a kick out of watching housework turn into an after-school activity. If you can't figure out how to make these cleaning potions on your own, Eco-Me provides video instructions (starring my new friend).

The girls were excited to take a bath so they could use the body scrub they made out of sugar, olive oil and essential oils. The only trick was preventing them from eating the stuff!

Pretend Soup

2009-11-16T08:33:00.000-05:00

You may recognize Mollie Katzen's name from "The Moosewood Cookbook," once of the best-selling cookbooks of all time. Published in 1977, "Moosewood" earned its strong following with its conversational tone and precious pen-and-ink illustrations. But, the biggest draw was the easy-to-prepare vegetarian recipes. The book became an instant classic on college campuses and in hippy, crunchy towns around the country.

Until recently, I had no idea that Katzen has also penned many other cookbooks, including "Pretend Soup and Other Real Recipes," which is geared to the kid set.

Lately, I've been thinking a lot about how I want Jesse and Ruby to learn how to cook. For one, I'm hoping if they help prepare the food, they might be more interested in eating it. Another thing, I'd love it if at some point they could start preparing dinner for me and Avo! Finally, I figure if they learn their way around a kitchen at this age, they won't do what I did and wait until I was 40 to learn how to cook.

Like most kids, they enjoy helping me bake cookies or other sweet treats. But I'm trying to segue into more savory dishes.

Pretend Soup is still pretty sweet, but at least it teaches the concept of measurements. It may be pretend soup, but it's real something.

Ingredients

2 cups orange juice
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1 tablespoon honey
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 small banana, sliced
1 cup berries (any kind, fresh or frozen — if they're frozen, defrost them first, and use all the juice it'll add)

Directions

1. Place the orange juice in a bowl.
2. Add yogurt, honey, and lemon juice.
3. Whisk "until it is all one color.".
4. Place 5 banana slices and 2 tablespoons berries in each bowl.
5. Ladle the soup over the berries and bananas.
6. Eat!

Note: You can add other kinds of fruit as well. Slices of kiwi are especially pretty.

The kids had a lot of fun following the directions. Of course, they fought over who was going to add the honey and then begged to lick the spoon afterward.

The soup itself was sort of funky tasting -- I'm not crazy about the yogurt/orange juice combo. The kids weren't either.

I dumped the whole bowl of "soup" into the blender, tossed in some more bananas and frozen berries. Success! We made ourselves a delicious fruit smoothie. So now, in addition to learning how to follow a recipe, the girls learned how to improvise.

"If you don't want to be a writer anymore, maybe you could work somewhere making smoothies," Jesse said.

I guess she liked her smoothie.

Banana Muffins to the Rescue

2009-11-13T12:59:00.003-05:00

As I've mentioned before, Avo has one major pet peeve: He can't stand to see bananas go uneaten. It pains him to watch them get so dark and ripe that he knows they are destined for the trash. Before they reach that dire point, he is generally driven to make a banana smoothie or banana bread (in fact, he baked some just last week).

To save him the angst and the effort of baking again, I beat him to it.

Since I knew he'd be seriously bummed out if he came home from last night to find the darn bananas still hanging around, I baked banana muffins (for the first time ever).

Lucky I found this easy, kid-friendly recipe online.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 large bananas, mashed
3/4 cup white sugar
1 egg
1/3 cup butter, melted

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat muffin pans with non-stick spray, or use paper liners (I like the liners). Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

2. Combine bananas, sugar, egg, and melted butter in a large bowl. Fold in flour mixture, and mix until smooth. Scoop into muffin pans.

3. Bake in preheated oven. Bake mini muffins for 10 to 15 minutes, and large muffins for 25 to 30 minutes. You know they're done when the muffins spring back when lightly tapped.

The most fun part of the process was mashing the bananas. I used a potato masher and really enjoyed pounding the bananas to a pulp.

The least fun part was melting a frozen stick of butter in the microwave. Apparently, I left it in for too long because when I opened the door to the microwave, it smelled like popcorn and there was very little butter left in the glass measuring cup. Where had it disappeared to? Was this some sort of strange magic trick? Unfortunately, not.

Rather, the entire microwave was coated in a thin layer of butter. In case you're wondering, cleaning butter off the inside of a microwave is a real pain.

The muffins, however, turned out perfectly (once I melted more butter, of course). I gave a couple of muffins to Ruby's teachers and in return, they gave me the ultimate compliment.

"Can you bake these for the entire class?" they asked.

"Um, sure. Why not?"

So it looks as if I've got more banana mushing in my future.

A Simple Question

2009-11-10T11:38:00.004-05:00

It was a simple question that required a simple "yes" or "no" answer. But really, the only acceptable answer was "yes!"

The question?

"Can you vacuum the bedroom carpet?"

It was the first time my husband -- the domestic guru -- has ever asked me to do anything around the house. This is after nearly 10 years of marriage.

Until recently, Mr. Perfect has done pretty much everything on his own -- the food shopping, the cooking, the cleaning, everything.

When I first started to do some food shopping and cooking, he admitted he felt a bit threatened. But he's quickly grown accustomed to coming home to a freshly cooked meal.

The only problem is that now he's starting to expect more of me -- not only does he want dinner on the table, but I'm getting the feeling that he wants the place to be clean and tidy too.

Is that too much to ask?

Definitely not. He's carried more than his weight for the last decade. I've got a lot of catching up to do!

Sure, I'll vacuum the carpet. But first I've got a few e-mails to return.

It's a Boar

2009-11-09T09:17:00.013-05:00

I've learned how to cook rice. I can cook chickpeas and lentils too. Maybe even some chicken or fish dish. But cooking meat still freaks me out.

Sure, my friend Katherine taught me how to make a simple burger. But I haven't tried it on my own and I certainly haven't expanded my culinary repertoire to include any steak or pork.

I've never been a vegetarian, but I've also never been a big eater of meat. Like me, Avo generally prefers a vegetarian dish over a juicy steak. But, occasionally, he likes to experiment with exotic meats.

"What's for dinner, honey?" I asked yesterday since he pretty much takes over on cooking duty on the weekends.

"Wild boar!"

After all of the silly puns I could make (that sounds "boaring!"), I figure since Avo doesn't watch sports on TV, he's got to assert his masculinity somewhere -- and occasionally, that somewhere is the kitchen.

Since Avo bought the boar at the Park Slope Food Coop, I like to think the boar was humanely raised in a free-range wild boar sanctuary with his friends and family. I'm sure they lived a plush life -- taking two baths a day and dining on wild mushrooms and other delicacies. Or at least that's what I like to tell myself.

I took the kids out to enjoy the lovely weather yesterday while Avo dedicated himself to prepping the boar (he marinated it in a secret concoction which involved sending me out for fennel seeds).

If you're curious about how to cook wild boar, don't ask me. You can look here for some tips. Or some boar recipes here.

It was an interesting experiment, but ultimately, it was disappointing. Too tough. Too chewy. Too meaty.

Back to tofu, tempeh and seitan for us.

The truth is I'm just not wild about wild boar.

Rice Cooker = New Best Friend

2009-11-05T09:55:00.009-05:00

You've heard me vent my frustrations about my crock pot. I like it in theory, but in never really works out for me in practice.

My new favorite kitchen appliance is my rice cooker. Amazingly, I've had it for nearly 20 years now and we've just gotten better acquainted.

Until recently, the only thing I did with it was cook rice -- and even that proved too tricky for me (Avo always had to remind me it's two cups of water to every cup of rice and still I sometimes confused the measurements).

I didn't even realize that you could cook complete meals in a rice cooker. What a revelation!

I've been feeling too crummy this week to cook or even to eat much, but last week, I had great success with this rice cooker recipe:

Spiced Lentils and Rice
(thanks to Fat-Free Vegan Kitchen)

2 cup brown rice
3/4 cup lentils
2 cinnamon sticks, broken in half
6 cloves
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1 tsp. salt (optional)
1/4 cup minced parsley

I put all of the ingredients (except parsley) into the rice cooker. Then I added four cups of water, stirred and turned on the rice cooker. By the time the cooker shut off, the rice and the lentils were tender.

I dug through the rice to recover the cinnamon and cloves, fluffed the rice, and added minced parsley. Voila. Dinner -- or at least a tasty side dish -- is served.

"I like that you're trying out all of these vegetarian dishes," said Avo," but I think it's time to move beyond the Middle East.

Okay, I get the message, honey. No more lentils and chick peas for a while.

Meanwhile, I bet you didn't know that Roger Ebert is a big fan of the rice cooker.

The Grossest Recipe Ever

2009-11-03T09:51:00.006-05:00

As you might have guessed, the recipe exchange I recently participated in, was a total and complete bust. I received only one recipe -- and I'm honestly not sure if that one was a gag.

Here it is so you can judge for yourself:

Broccoli Slaw

1 lb. bag shredded broccoli slaw
1 cup toasted slivered almonds
1/2 cup craisins
1/2 red pepper, diced
1/3 cup sugar
2 pkgs. ramen noodles crumbled by hand
1 cup soy or pignoli nuts
1/2 bunch scallions - dice with scissors
3/4 cup canola oil
1/3 cup white rice vinegar

Combine all above ingredients. Season with salt and pepper.

First off, what the Heck is broccoli slaw? A combination of broccoli and cole slaw? The name itself turns my stomach. Secondly, are there any decent recipes that call for craisins? Finally, do any decent chefs dice scallions with scissors?

What really tipped me off to the fact that this might be a friend playing a joke on me is the part about "ramen noodles crumbled by hand." That sounds like the sort of thing I might have "cooked" in my truly undomesticated days. I'm assuming they're referring to raw ramen noodles and not cooked!

Needless to say, I won't be trying this one out anytime soon. Not only does it sound disgusting, but I've been sick with the flu and haven't felt up to cooking anything anyhow.

I'm wondering if anyone knows of a more unappetizing recipe. If so, please let me know. It might be fun to collect them.

An Undomesticated Halloween

2009-10-30T10:31:00.012-04:00

Aside from dressing up as an over-sized M&M and eating tons of candy, my favorite thing about Halloween as a kid was eating homemade roasted pumpkin seeds.

Until recently, I was always too timid to turn on the oven and try this out for myself. When Avo carved the pumpkin Wednesday night, I summoned the courage to roast the seeds (instead of tossing them in the trash like I usually do). In case you're wondering, here is how you do it:

How to Roast Pumpkin Seeds

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Dig out the innards of the pumpkin. Search for the seeds. Don't be timid. Once you get over the initial "ick" factor of having your hands covered with pumpkin pulp, it's sort of fun.

3. Toss the seeds -- and any leftover muck -- into a colander and rinse will cold water.

4. Spread the seeds in a single layer on baking sheet and toss with oil (canola will do). Coat lightly and sprinkle with salt.

5. Bake for 25 minutes or until nicely toasted. Let them cool and then store in an air-tight container. You won't be keeping them for long since they're too yummy to resist!

It's a good idea to make them a couple of days before Halloween since once the candy comes out, all bet's are off and nobody will be interested in the seeds -- no matter how good they taste.

And if you want to get really fancy about it, you can toast pumpkin seeds with sugar and spice or curried pumpkin seeds.

A Cooking Emergency

2009-10-28T09:27:00.001-04:00

Many people I know -- including Avo, Dori, my dad, and my brother -- find cooking relaxing. It's the perfect antidote to a long, stressful day at work (or in my dad's case, a long, relaxing day of horseback riding and dog walking).

Me? I almost had a nervous breakdown yesterday trying to make broccoli soup. I am not exaggerating. Let me explain.

I was halfway through Giulia Melucci's recipe for Broccoli soup when I realized I hadn't yet added the 1/4 cup of cream required. I scanned the directions, but didn't see anything specified about when to add the cream.

Take a look for yourself:

Giulia Melucci's Broccoli Soup

Ingredients

1 tablespoon butter, plus another for finishing (optional)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 carrot, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
cups broccoli florets
3 cups chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 cup cream
1 lime, juiced

Directions

1. Melt the butter in a large heavy pan over medium heat, add the onion and carrot and salt. Saute until soft, about five minutes.

2. Add the broccoli, stir to coat, then add the chicken broth and cumin. Raise the heat to medium high, bring to a simmer, return heat to medium and cook until broccoli is very soft, about 15-20 minutes.

3. Puree the soup in a food processor, or with an immersion blender. (My preferred method, so much easier than transferring to a machine, if you don't have one, you should.) You might want to add another tablespoon of butter here for a richer soup--that's not where I'm at today but I think it's a good move. Add lime juice and a few grindings of pepper and your virtuous meal or first course is ready.

Perhaps a cooking pro would innately know when to add the cream, but I'm still a novice. Panicked, I e-mailed Giulia, whom I met recently after stalking her on Facebook. My broccoli was already pretty soft and I was ready for step 3, but I didn't want to proceed without the cream. What to do?

Things were rough going before they took a turn for the worse. I realized with horror that the cream leftover in the fridge from when I made my parents chocolate mousse a week and a half ago had curdled. I'll spare you the description, but it was not a pretty sight.

I hurried out in the rain and stopped at several bodegas before finding one with cream. Would Half and Half do? I wondered.

Still, no word back from Giulia, so I made a move and dumped in 1/4 cup of cream.

The next challenge was transferring the soup into the food processor since -- no surprise here -- I don't have an immersion blender. In fact, I don't even know what an immersion blender is. It sounds like some sort of SCUBA gear to me.

I poured the entire pan full of soup into the food processor before noticing that the soup was seeping out onto my kitchen counter.

By this point, I was dripping sweat into the soup. Taking a deep cleansing breath, I mopped up the mess and managed to salvage some of the soup. Good thing I moved my laptop off the kitchen counter before this step!

I tried the soup and it's pretty tasty (I didn't add lime to it). But I'm not sure it was worth all of that stress. And I realize now that Avo is probably sick of broccoli dishes -- especially since I just made orecchiette and broccoli with walnuts yet again!

Maybe one day I'll find cooking relaxing. But for now, I'll stick with Tension Tamer tea.

Update: I heard back from Giulia who was baffled by my message. "What cream? I didn't say to add cream, did?" Apparently, she made the soup with cream last week, but this week, she cut the cream and added lime. All that stressing for nothing! Well, not nothing -- I have the soup to show for my efforts, and it IS nice and creamy. I'm just pleased that I knew better than to add the lime to the cream. "You've got natural instinct," said Giulia. Well, I'm getting there.

If I Can Cook, So Can You

2009-10-27T10:00:00.015-04:00

For the first time in my life, I am experiencing the satisfaction that comes from having a refrigerator full of food that I made.

In addition to the hummus and Ful Mudammas that I made recently, I also have leftover orecchiette with broccoli and walnuts (yes, that's my favorite dish lately). I felt amazingly satisfied watching Avo pack lunch with food that I had prepared. It sounds corny, but it feels good to nourish the people you love.

I was planning to make Giulia Melucci's broccoli soup and Dori's moujadara (bulgar & lentils) today, but Avo said we should work our way through the food in the fridge.

Since it's raining out and I've already bought some ingredients, I may go for it anyway. I can't believe it might actually reach the point where Avo will have to tell me to take a break from cooking! Boy, have times changed.

Mujadarra can be made with either rice or bulgar. Here is Dori's recipe, which she made up herself:

1. Saute a thinly sliced onion in about 3-4 T olive/safflower/veg oil over med-low heat til carmelized (not burned), about 15 minutes.

2. Add in ... a cup each bulgar/lentils (you could do 1/2 cup lentils, too, which might be better)

3. Add in about 2-1/4 cups water (maybe 2 cups if 1/2 cup lentils; I just kept watching and adding water as needed at the end) and bring to a simmer, cover and cook for about 20 mins. Add salt & pepper to taste.

Yesterday, while walking through Prospect Park, I ran into two fellow moms I know from the neighborhood. We got to talking about cooking and they both confessed they've fallen into the old mac and cheese/chicken nuggets routine for their kids.

I started telling them about my recent experiences cooking and they seemed impressed.

"Seriously, just six months ago, I didn't cook anything. If I can cook, so can you!"

Suddenly, I'm like a recent convert to the gospel of home cooking. I want to share the good word with everyone.

My First And Last Recipe Exchange

2009-10-23T10:47:00.013-04:00

Call me a dork, but I'm sorta excited that my friend Sam invited me to join her e-mail recipe exchange.

Yes, I realize it's a chain letter, but at least there is no financial scam involved. The goal is to get lots of new recipes, which sounds like fun to me.

Here's the deal:

You email a favorite, easy recipe to the first person on the list, move the second person up, put your email address in their place, and then send the email out to 20 or so of your friends. If no one breaks the chain, you’re supposed to get 20 recipes sent back to you.

I quickly sent out my recipe for my new go-to recipe Orecchiette with Roasted Broccoli and Walnuts.

Most of my friends e-mailed back immediately politely declining. Apparently, these e-mail recipe exchanges are quite popular and they've already received a ton of these requests. But, it's a novelty for me since nobody has ever asked me before -- until now, I wouldn't have had a recipe to contribute.

Luckily, a couple of people have taken pity on me and though they declined to officially participate, they've passed on some fave recipes.

Here is one I'm looking forward to trying:

Terry's Ful Mudammas (Broad Beans in Sauce)

Ingredients

• 2 cans (15-ounce each) cooked fava beans

• 6 cloves garlic, or to taste

• 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste

• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice, freshly squeezed

• 1/4 cup olive oil

• 1 1/2 Tablespoons parsley, minced

Directions

1. Press the garlic cloves through a garlic press into a medium bowl.

2. Mash the garlic and salt together.

3. Next, add the lemon juice, olive oil, and parsley to the garlic mixture and combine thoroughly.

4. Drain the beans well, rinse, and put beans into a large pot over low heat.

5. Add garlic mixture and stir with a wooden spoon to combine thoroughly.

6. Serve warm with the garnishes arranged on a platter.

In fact, I'm heading out now to buy some fava beans. I'll let you know how it goes.

And I promise not to send out anymore e-mail chain letters! I don't want to test the bonds of friendship any further.

Sex and Housework

2009-10-21T13:44:00.022-04:00

Pick up that broom if you want some action in the bedroom. According to today's Wall Street Journal, doing housework helps your married sex life.

The new shows that for husbands and wives alike, the more housework you do, the more often you are likely to have sex with your spouse.

Earlier studies have hinted at this connection for men; the sight of a husband mopping the floor or doing dishes sparks affection in the hearts of many wives. But the more-housework-equals-more-sex link for wives, documented in a study of 6,877 married couples published online recently in the Journal of Family Issues, is a surprise.

Scrubbing the floor is no aphrodisiac, and seeing your spouse doing it usually isn't either. "My husband loves doing laundry, yet I don't get any thrill out of his doing it," says Chicago writer Julie Danis. And "I don't think he thinks it's sexy when I go around gathering the detritus of his daily life."

But for some high achievers who take a "work hard, play hard" approach to life, researchers say, working hard in one domain produces more energy for others. The study also found a correlation between hours spent on paid work and the frequency of sex in marriage.

"Rather than compromise their sex life" because of time demands at work or at home, "this group of go-getters seems to make sex a priority," says Constance Gager, lead researcher and an assistant professor of family and child studies at Montclair State University, Montclair, N.J. The study doesn't measure what proportion of spouses fall into this group, but she believes "they are on the leading edge of couples we expect to see more of in the future."

Many husbands and wives I interviewed offered an additional explanation—that housework may be a proxy for a general willingness to invest in shared interests, a symbol of commitment to home and hearth. Perhaps "working on the same task … makes the couple remember why they married—to be on the same team, to build a life," Ms. Danis says.

Maybe there's a connection between this study and the other study I wrote about recently which suggested that doing housework produced the same level of the feel-good hormone serotonin as being in love.

On the downside:

The study defined housework as nine chores: cleaning, preparing meals, washing dishes, washing and ironing clothes, driving family members around, shopping, yard work, maintaining cars and paying bills. Wives in the study spent an average 41.8 hours a week on these tasks, compared with 23.4 hours for husbands—a split that is fairly typical, and often regarded by wives as unfair. However, the effects of any fairness concerns among wives weren't measured in this study.

Let's hope that word of the study inspires husbands to do more laundry.

An Unexpected Delicacy

2009-10-20T08:53:00.014-04:00

Remember when I was obsessed with Mark Bittman's 101 Simple Salads for the Season? It was fun working my way through Bittman's list, but then the season changed and I moved on to heartier fare.

Although I won't be able to get all of the fresh produce required for the 101 Salads, some of the salads can work even in Autumn. In fact, brussels sprouts are generally better this time of year.

70. Shred brussels sprouts in the food processor, preferably with the slicing disk. Toss with vinaigrette and crumbled bacon.

On Sunday night, Avo tried out the recipe, adding his own twist. After shredded the sprouts and frying the and crumbling the bacon, he threw them both in a wok and stir fried them. He tossed the mix with a vinaigrette dressing and the result was surprisingly tasty. Then again, anything tastes good with bacon.

It re-heated amazingly well for lunch yesterday.

Since Ruby is home sick and I strained a muscle in my back, I don't plan to do much cooking (or cleaning) today. But Avo is excited to make a meat lasagna when he gets home tonight. Can't wait.

Kasha Spells Comfort

2009-10-16T10:14:00.015-04:00

It's been a dark, rainy week here in Brooklyn. Just the right weather for comfort food.

And when I think "comfort food," I think "kasha varnishkes."

Never heard of it before?

Kasha is toasted hulled buckwheat and varnishkes is the Yiddish term for farfalle or bow-tie pasta.

It's a classic Eastern European dish that was imported to America (and, in particular, the Lower East side), by Russian Jewish immigrants (like my grandparents). Even though I was a picky eater as a kid, I had no problem finishing off a plate of my mother's kasha varnishkes.

Then, in my post-college years in the East Village, I regularly ordered kasha varnishes at Ukrainian restaurants like Veselka.

So now that I've become a bit more comfortable in the kitchen, I thought it was time I see if I can make the dish myself.

People are very passionate about their kasha varnishkes. When I posted on Facebook that I was making them, old friends came out of the woodwork to announce that it was their all-time favorite dish.

My idol Mark Bittman wrote about kasha varnishkes in The New York Times:

To make a completely authentic dish, you must cook the onions in chicken fat. (You can use olive oil, but it’s not the same.) You can buy chicken fat, but it’s easy enough just to save the excess fat from a few chickens that you are using for other dishes and freeze it. When you have about a cup, cut it up and cook it over very low heat until the fat is rendered and the solids crisp up (save those solids, and eat them on crackers). Onions are never better than when cooked in chicken fat.

Unfortunately, I didn't have any chicken fat, but thanks to Avo, I had fresh chicken stock to cook the kasha. You can't have everything!

Kasha Varnishkes
(adapted from Mark Bittman)

3 cups chopped onion
3 tablespoons neutral oil, like grapeseed or corn (not olive oil!)
1 egg
1 cup kasha
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cups chicken, beef or vegetable stock
1 to 2 tablespoons butter (optional -- I skipped it)
1 pound of farfalle (bowtie pasta)

1. Put the onion in a large skillet with a lid over medium heat. Cover the skillet and cook for about 15 minutes, until the onion is dry and almost sticking to the pan. Add the 3 tablespoons oil, raise the heat to medium-high, and cook, stirring, until the onion is nicely browned, another 15 minutes or so.

2. Meanwhile, beat the egg, then toss it in a bowl with the kasha. Put the mixture along with some salt and pepper in a heavy, large, deep skilled over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring, until the mixture smells toasty, about 3 minutes.

3. Turn the heat to a minimum, carefully add the stock, and stir once. Cover and cook until the liquid is absorbed, about 15 minutes (it took me much longer because my stock wasn't entirely defrosted). Turn off the heat. Stir in the onion, taste, and adjust the seasoning.

4. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it. When the kasha is just about done (or is already resting), cook 1 pound of farfalle pasta until it's tender, but not mushy. Drain it, reserving some of the cooking water. Use a fork to toss the pasta with the kasha and onions, adding some butter (if you want) and enough of the reserved cooking water to make the dish a little creamy.

The steps are simple enough, but it was hard for me to manage the timing of it all. Also, I realized too late that I don't have enough covers for my pans (so I used a large serving plate instead).

My other mistake -- I forgot to reserve some of the cooking water from the pasta and didn't add butter. So the result was not as creamy as Bittman recommends, but it still hit the spot.

Avo, who has never been a fan of kasha varnishkes, said that mine was even better than Veselka's. It would have tasted even better if I had made a pot roast and gravy to serve with it!

As if that wasn't enough comfort food for one day, I went ahead and baked oatmeal cookies (without the chips) with the kids.

A very comforting day!