Six years ago

It's hard to believe but six years ago, I woke up on this day and had no idea that life was about to change dramatically.  It felt a lot like today does.  Still feeling the post-birthday glow (my birthday is five days before Christmas) and eagerly anticipating all that Christmas brings from food to presents to family.  Work has died down and it's safe to check out for a while.

Six years ago, I departed my family's house early to head to meet a dear family friend for breakfast. My dad was sleeping peacefully.  All was quiet.

And then an hour or so later, my cell phone rang and my world as I knew it crumbled. It's all a blur from that moment but I remember racing to the hospital, arriving where the ambulance had rushed my dad  and never imagining I was going to be told he had passed away.  I remember thinking on the drive to the hospital that maybe we would be spending Christmas in the hospital where he recovered from whatever this was, likely complications from his battle with cancer.  Not the Christmas we had expected but at least in that scenario, my dad was with us and we would make the best of it.

But that wasn't to be. And just like that, my dad was gone.

I sat with my family in a stupor in the grieving room with family and friends trying to digest what had just happened.  But it's not really something that one is able to digest when a loved one is taken away so swiftly.

It's hard for me to think back on that day.  For a long time, I didn't allow myself to replay those quiet moments we had with him after he had passed away and we had one last chance to see him and say our quiet goodbyes in a tiny room in the hospital.

To kiss his cheek one last time.  To hold his hand one last time.  To remove his wedding ring and tuck it in one of our purses in a safe place.  To walk out of the room and not have him follow us out the door.

It felt so final.  And the feeling of emptiness that filled my heart was overwhelming and I wondered if it would ever go away.

It's taken a while to rebuild all that crumbled on that day.

But today, this day feels better than it has in the past.  I find the emptiness is being filled by my beautiful son and my wonderful husband.  And, also filling that space is cooking and writing this blog.  It's been nice to find myself remembering things my dad liked to cook or cooking something I know he would have loved.

So, thank you for reading the blog and for your feedback.  It's been cathartic and I don't think I expected that when I started writing back in May.  You've inspired me to keep writing this blog and in the process, it has helped heal a broken heart and reminded me to celebrate my dad's spirit and his beautiful life.

A peppermint bark consumer is born

I've never been one to hold back when it comes to spending money on food.  Whether it is spending on ingredients or prepared food, I look at it as an investment in my happiness.

For several years, I have been a happy consumer of a certain culinary goods store's peppermint bark candy.  I gladly shelled out over $25 a box for the confection.  Sometimes, I even did it more than once during the holiday season.  In 2008, when I was two months pregnant with my son, I decided the peppermint in the candy was soothing for my stomach as I battled occasional morning sickness.  Some people turn to saltines, I turned to chocolate.

But this year, I decided to say no more.  I was curious if I could reproduce the candy myself in the comfort of my own kitchen.

My advice: save your pennies and make this peppermint bark at home.  My homemade version was as good as the store bought and maybe better because I knew it was fresh and hadn't sat in a box for weeks.

First I bought quality white and semi-sweet chocolate and chopped it.

Once I had chopped the chocolate, I added heavy cream to the chopped chocolate.

Then, I melted the dark chocolate in my makeshift double boiler with heavy cream.

 I don't use a double boiler often so I can't justify purchasing the real deal and my homemade version does the job.  Here's how it looks, consisting of a glass bowl and a sauce pan with water:

Once the semi-sweet chocolate was melted, I poured it on a cookie sheet that I had lined with a silpat mat (you could use parchment paper in place of a silpat if you prefer).  Then, the cookie sheet went into the refrigerator to chill for 20-25 minutes.

While the semi-sweet chocolate was hardening, I started melting the white chocolate.  I should add that the key to melting the chocolate is to stir it almost continuously so that it gets smooth and doesn't scorch.

Burnt chocolate is nasty.  Trust me.

Once the white chocolate is melted, I removed the cookie sheet from the refrigerator and spread the layer of white chocolate on top of the semi-sweet chocolate.  From there, I sprinkled on the peppermint candies I had crushed.  I crushed the candies by putting them in a ziploc bag, wrapping the bag with a kitchen towel and then smacking the bag with a meat tenderizer.  It did the trick and I was left with crushed candies and frankly perfect peppermint dust.

From there, the cookie sheet went back in the refrigerator and hardened.  Once it was ready to go, I broke off pieces of the bark with a knife and put it in a cute gift box to use as a gift for a party we were going to attend.

Unfortunately, I totally forgot to take the bark to the party.  When we returned home, my son discovered the box where I had left it sitting.

He immediately investigated.

Those would be Davis' fingers in the box of peppermint bark.

Then he inspected.

Then he ate it and guess what?  He liked it.

Another peppermint bark consumer is born.

Homemade Peppermint Bark
(makes copius amounts of Bark and trust me, you cannot make too much)

Ingredients
20 ounces white chocolate, coarsely chopped
20 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
2 teaspoons peppermint extract
12 tablespoons heavy cream
30-40 peppermint candies, crushed

Details
Line two 9x12 baking sheets with silpat mats or parchment paper

Coarsely chop the semi-sweet chocolate and then the white chocolate.  Keep them seperate.

In a double boiler, add the heavy cream to the chopped chocolate.  Stir continuously while chocolate melts to keep it from scorching.  Once smooth, mix in peppermint extract and remove melted chocolate from double boiler and spread the chocolate on the prepared baking sheets using a spatula.  Chill in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.

While the semi-sweet chocolate layer is chilling, melt the white chocolate in the double boiler, stirring continuously until melted.

In a ziploc bag, place peppermint candies and wrap bag with a dish towel.  Using a meat tenderizer or other adequate tool, smash the candies until they are almost dust.  Set aside.

Once melted, set aside and once the semi-sweet chocolate is hardened, pour the white chocolate over the semi-sweet chocolate and smooth with a spatula.

Sprinkle with crushed peppermint candies.  Return baking sheets to the refrigerator to chill and harden.

Once hardened, use a knife to cut apart the peppermint bark.

Self-destruction by peanut butter?

I've become a peanut butter junkie in the past few years.  And like any good junkie, I make excuses for my addiction.

Such as:

It's good protein.

Just one spoonful can't hurt me.

But like the junkies I see on A&E's "Intervention," it rarely stops at "just one" or "just a little."

When I was single, I routinely came home after work and had a spoonful of peanut butter out of the jar while my dinner cooked.  One spoonful would turn into a peanut butter orgy parked in front of the TV watching reruns of "Law and Order" while a plate of chicken and vegetables congealed on the counter, pushed aside.

Thank goodness I met my husband and saved myself from self-destruction by peanut butter, right?

I've been making homemade granola quite a bit lately and noticed a recipe on the back of the canister for oatmeal cookies.  Yum.  Except they had raisins which didn't excite me.

What can make healthy oats naughty?

Peanut butter and two sticks of butter!

With my son down for his nap, I practically ran to the kitchen to start baking.  I mixed the dry ingredients (flour, oats, baking powder, coarse salt, baking soda) and then powered-up the mixer to whip together the butter, peanut butter, sugar and brown sugar.  Once those where combined and smooth, I added in eggs and vanilla.

Let me tell you, two sticks of butter, sugars and vanilla make quick-cooking oats much more exciting!

I added in the dry ingredients to the butter/sugar/egg mixture and mixed briefly until just combined.

And then, I couldn't help it.  I took a big spoonful of the dough and devoured it pushing aside thoughts of how salmonella could be lurking in the raw eggs that were in the dough I was shoveling in my mouth.

Now that's living on the edge, people.

The finished product is just as delightful as the raw dough.  The cookies are quite thin but become a little crisp around the edges and mushy in the middle.  I have no idea how they will taste tomorrow but these are a "live in the moment" cookie, I think.  (I will report back how they hold-up on Day 2.)

I fully realize I should be posting about holiday cookies and that will come very soon but today, I just needed my peanut butter fix.

It seems, this junkie's old habits are dying hard. Thank goodness.

Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookies

Ingredients
3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

• 1/3 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Details

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium bowl, mix the oats, flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.  Set aside.

In the bowl of a mixer, add butter, peanut butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar.  Mix until smooth.

Add eggs and vanilla to the butter mixture and mix until well combined.

Add dry oat mixture to the butter/egg mixture and mix until just combined.

Using a small cookie dough scoop, place dough on ungreased cookie sheet (I recommend using a silpat mat).

Bake for 13-15 minutes.

Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart Living

The aftermath

When I woke up the day after Thanksgiving, I came to a realization.

It felt strangely like the day after our wedding.  All the planning and effort that had gone into one big event had paid off, the guests had departed and left behind were two exhausted people since the adrenaline had stopped.  After our wedding, we waited until a week later to depart for our honeymoon and enjoyed having time to reflect on the big day and all the wonderful memories.  Now, over a week after Thanksgiving, we are still enjoying rehashing the memories of what was a great day.

We were joined by my family, my husband's mother and my dear friend, Crissie and her husband and two children.  Crissie and I went to college together and then were roommates in DC after college.  During our time as roomies, our families often came out to visit over Thanksgiving and we (well, our parents really) would cook a huge Thanksgiving dinner.  Those were the days when we didn't even have a proper utensil to use to serve pumpkin pie.  And, definitely the days before children.  Almost 10 years later, we sat together with our children playing happily and a meal that we had cooked by ourselves.

Crissie reading with our boys on Thanksgiving.
Photo courtesy of Crissie Traugott Photography.

Like the recapping of our wedding on our honeymoon (reviewing the food, who kissed whom, who drank too much and who was a maniac on the dance floor), one week after Thanksgiving, I am ready to recap the food!

Here you go:

The First Course: Salad
I highly recommend the salad as well with a lemon shallot vinaigrette, pomegranate seeds, apples and mandarin oranges with candies pecans.  Divine.  And, a perfect way to start a meal when you know the main course and dessert are going to be absurdly heavy.

As I was putting fork to mouth on my second round of dessert, I decided the salad was the best idea versus a soup or other heavy first course.

See my last post on Thanksgiving for the salad recipe.


The Main Event: The Turkey
The turkey was amazing.

Our guests words, not mine.

And thank goodness  because I did not want to be "the one" who everyone talks about every year on Thanksgiving as the person who served the disgusting turkey.  I was breathing a major sigh of relief after dinner.

This was the first turkey I had ever cooked and after successfully finding the neck in the turkey while rinsing it off and then having to go through the turkey's other end to get out the little bag of fun (giblets/gizzard I think), I thought I might never eat turkey again.

If you can't tell, I was the kid who didn't do well dissecting even a worm in high school.  I roasted the 17 pound turkey on 325 degrees for approximately 4 1/2 hours.  I ran out of time to brine the turkey but took a stick of butter still in the wrapper and rubbed it over the turkey before putting it in the oven.  I also sprinkled it with garlic powder.  Finally, I put some chicken stock in the bottom of the roasting pan to create a good base for the gravy.

I continued to rub the stick of butter on the turkey about every 45 minutes until it started to turn golden brown.  I also basted the turkey up until the last hour of cooking with the juices that accumulated in the bottom of the roasting pan.

The result?  Golden brown goodness.

Me with the first turkey cooked on my own.
Photo courtesy of Crissie Traugott Photography

This was so easy, I might just do it again!

Mashed Potato Thoughts
Go with heavy whipping cream versus skim or whole milk for the mashed potatoes.

Woweeeee!

Holidays are not the time to hold back on calories and fat.  Go big or go home!

Overwhelming Goodness: Pumpkin Bread Pudding with Caramel Sauce
I was nervous to make the pumpkin bread pudding with caramel sauce as it was not a 'traditional' pie dessert for Thanksgiving.

Sweet baby Jesus.  It was unreal.

If you make one dessert before now and the spring when it is no longer acceptable to cook with pumpkin (like wearing white after labor day, some of us still do it), MAKE THIS DESSERT.  The recipe is available in my last post on Thanksgiving.

Do Not Pass Up Chocolate on Thanksgiving
Crissie's mocha pie was out of this world and frankly, it was nice to have a dessert that didn't revolve around nuts or feature the traditional Thanksgiving dessert spices like nutmeg, ginger and cinnamon.  I adore chocolate 365 days a year and why pass it up on Thanksgiving?  I am going to try to get the recipe from Crissie to post.

I must admit that reading about all this food is now making me hungry again and I just ate dinner.  I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and enjoyed it as much as we enjoyed the holiday on this end.

A stretchy pants worthy Thanksgiving feast

Since moving into our new home in Washington, DC last week, my family of three has been settling in, unpacking boxes and hanging pictures in preparation for celebrating the holidays in our new digs. As if becoming first-time homeowners isn’t exciting enough, we are hosting our first Thanksgiving dinner which has left me in a state of unadulterated, total foodie happiness. I’ve been planning the details for weeks and plotting my cooking schedule vigilantly. The grocery shopping started last week. I took Davis with me to buy our first round of Thankgiving ingredients and most importantly, our first turkey. We walked away with a monster turkey and my little boy grinning ear-to-ear as he looked at the frozen bird in our cart.

In fact, why am I blogging right now and not cooking?

Thanksgiving was always my dad’s favorite holiday probably because it was a day devoted to eating.

And eating.

And then eating some more.

In fact, he even had special pants he wore on Thanksgiving. He would pull out his favorite “stretchy” pants (worn with a sweater and collared shirt of course), buried in his closet from the last Thanksgiving and sigh with happiness knowing that a food fiesta awaited. He could rest assured that his favorite “stretchy” pants would not fail him as the waist band could expand as he ate with abandon and pure joy.

You can imagine that I am wishing my dad was here to celebrate the first Thanksgiving in our new house and the first Thanksgiving dinner I am cooking. I know he would have been in the kitchen “sampling” along with Dan and Davis as the cooking went on Wednesday into Thursday. He would have supervised the roasting of the enormous turkey from the living room while watching football and cursing the Cowboys.

So I am setting out to make my dad proud and cooking a “stretchy” pants worthy Thanksgiving dinner.  I won't lie either; I am considering resurrecting my old maternity pants with the elastic waist-band from the attic.

I’ll be sure to post pictures of the food right after Thanksgiving but for now, here is my menu for the big day. I’ve made most of these recipes before with the exception of the salad. A lot of them are adapted or taken straigh from my favorite food magazines.  I like to experiment but I feel like Thanksgiving is not a time to mess around and potentially have a kitchen debacle. 

Back to cooking!  I may even try to brine my turkey if the big bird unthaws in time. Oh, so much to look forward to in the next 48 hours! Am I a nerd that I am excited to brine a turkey? Of course I am.  Oh well, so be it.

The kitchen can't handle me right now!

Colleen’s Thanksgiving Day Menu
(Any dish with an asterisk has a recipe included below)

First Course
Butter lettuce, Apple, Mandarin Orange, Pomegranate and Candied Walnut Salad **

Main Course
Hello?! Of course, it’s TURKEY!

Side Dishes
Homemade Simple Stuffing **
Sweet Potatoes with Butter and Brown Sugar
Mashed Potatoes (use a potato ricer ... you will have the smoothest potatoes EVER!)
Cranberry Sauce **
Parker House rolls
A fabulous vegetable dish courtesy of my dear friend C.

Desserts
Confession: with so much cooking to do, a toddler to chase after and guests to entertain, I am buying pre-made crusts ... yes, you read that correctly)

Perfect Pumpkin Pie **
Pecan Pie **
Pumpkin Bread Pudding with Caramel Sauce **
A non-traditional Thanksgiving dessert, Mocha Cake, courtesy of my dear friend C. because hey, everyone needs chocolate, even on Thanksgiving!

Wine
Beaujolais Nouveau ( a nice young red that goes beautifully with the whole meal ... though I am not a sommelier but in my humble opinion it is pretty darn good)
Diet coke (yes, I don't give it up for Thanksgiving)

RECIPES

Butter lettuce, Apple, Mandarin Orange, Pomegranate and Candied Walnut Salad
(serves 6)

Ingredients
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 shallot, minced
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon peel
1 8-ounce Fuji apple, halfed, cored, cut into matchstick-size strips
6 cups butter lettuce
6 mandarin orange slices, peeled
Pomegranate seeds
Candied walnuts

Details
Whisk first four ingredients in a small bowl. Season dressing with salt and pepper. Place apple in medium bowl and mix in 3 tablespoons of dressing.

Place butter lettuce in large bowl.  Add apples.  Toss, adding more dressing to taste.  Divide salad among 6 plates.  Garnish each with 1 mandarin orange slice and sprinkle with pomegranate seeds and candied walnuts.

Recipe adapted from Bon Appetit, September 2004

Homemade Simple Stuffing
(serves 8-10)

Ingredients
1 stick butter
1 large onion, diced
1.5 cups celery, diced
12 cups bread cubes, cut in 1/2 inch cubes and toasted
1.5 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon dried sage
1 tablespoon thyme
1 cup chicken stock

Details
Toast bread cubes in oven until light brown.

Melt butter in a medium saute pan.  Add onion and celery and cook until tender. 

In a large bowl, place the toasted bread cubes and mix in the onion and celery.  Add salt, pepper, sage and thyme and toss until mixed.  Add chicken stock and toss until blended.

Place stuffing in lightly greased casserole dish and bake at 325 degrees until heated through about 30 minutes.

Cranberry Sauce


Ingredients
12 oz bag fresh or frozen cranberries
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon orange zest

Details
Place water and sugar in a sauce pan and boil until sugar dissolves.  Add cranberries and cook over medium heat until cranberries pop.  Stir in orange zest and cool.

The sauce can be made up to 2-3 days ahead of tie.

Perfect Pumpkin Pie
(serves 8 to 10)
**Please note I am using a pre-made crust this year

Ingredients
9-inch pie crust
1 (15-ounce) can pure pumpkin (I like the Libby's brand)
3/4 cup (packe) golden brown sugar)
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
Pinch of ground cloves
3 large eggs
1.25 cups heavy whipping cream

Details
Cook pie crust according to directions.

Puree pumpkin in food processor.  Mix in next 6 ingredients.  Add eggs 1 at a time, pulsing after each addition.  Gradually add cream, processing just until blended.  Process 5 seconds longer.

Pour filling into warm crust.  Bake at 350 degrees until center is set, about 1 hour.  Cool completely on rack.  This pie can be made 1 day ahead.  Cover and chill.

Recipe courtesy of Bon Appetit, November 2006

Pecan Pie
(serves 8)
**In the past, I have doubled the filling for this so that the pie is heaping with pecans.  The recipe below is for a single round of filling but feel free to double.  I think it makes the pie much better.

Ingredients
9-inch pie crust
3/4 stick unsalted butter
1.25 cups packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup light corn syrup
2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon grated orange zest
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
2 cups pecan halves (1/2 pound)

Details
Cook pie crust according to directions.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat.  Add brown sugar, whisking until smooth.  Remove from heat and whisk in corn syrup, vanilla, zest and salt.  Lightly beat eggs in a medium bowl, then whisk in corn syrup mixture.

Put pecans in pie shell and pour corn syrup mixture evenly over them.  Bake on hot baking sheet until filling is set, 50 minutes to 1 hour.  Cool completely.

Pie can be baked 1 day ahead and chilled.  Bring to room temperature before serving.
 
Recipe courtesy of Gourmet, November 2009

Pumpkin Bread Pudding with Caramel Sauce
(serves 6)

Ingredients
Bread Pudding
2 cups half and half
1 15-ounce can pumpkin
1 cup (packed), plus 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
2 large eggs
1.5 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1.5 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1.5 teaspoons vanilla extract
10 cups 1/2 inch cubes egg bread (about 10 oz)

Caramel sauce
1.25 cups (packed) dark brown sugar
1 stick unsalted butter
1/2 cup whipping cream

Powdered sugar

Details
For Pumpkin Bread Pudding:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Whisk half and half, pumpkin, dark brown sugar, eggs, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon and vanilla extract in large bowl to blend.  Fold in bread cubes.  Transfer to 11x7 inch glass baking dish.  Let stand 15 minutes.  Bake pumpkin bread pudding until tester inserted in center comes out clean, about 40 minutes.

For caramel sauce:
Whisk brown sugar and butter in saucepan over medium heat until butter melts.  Whisk in cream and stir until sugar dissolves and sauce is smooth, about 3 minutes.

Sift powdered sugar over bread pudding.  Serve warm with caramel sauce.

Recipe courtesy of Bon Appetit, November 2000

A soup to exist on

I fall into the category of people who could exist on soup. Not a watery, sad can of Campbell’s soup with mystery meat they call chicken but rather hearty, homemade concoctions packed with vegetables.

If you are following Weekend Gourmet, you’ve seen a few of my favorites like Perfect Chicken soup, Lentil soup and Tortilla soup. These have been in my soup repertoire for a few years but this fall, I decided to experiment with a few new soups to change things up.

Without further ado, please welcome Potato Pancetta soup to the blog. I could exist on this soup.  The broth alone, which is enriched with the smoky flavor of pancetta, is to die for.

Cream of Potato soup has always been one of my favorites. In my opinion, this perfectly lovely soup has been bastardized by chain restaurants into a clumpy mess most commonly called Baked Potato Soup. Now, I am not one to hold back when it comes to adding cream to soup but seriously, the most commonly found version I alluded to is like a heart attack in a bowl. And the worst part is, it’s not even that good! The potatoes get lost in a mess of gloppy cream and there isn’t any complex flavor to the broth.

On Sunday, I set out to create the perfect potato soup. I started by melting butter in my favorite soup pot along with two cloves garlic that I minced and half of an onion, chopped. To the browning garlic, I added five slices of pancetta which I had chopped to smithereens. This was a nice way to take out some post-election aggression.

 There is no better smell than that of pancetta browning in a pan with garlic and onion. My mouth was watering about two minutes into this new recipe which couldn’t be a bad sign.

Then, I added in carrots and celery and sautéed the mixture until the vegetables started to soften.

Next to the pancetta, the main star of this dish would be the buttery yukon gold potatoes.

I peeled (okay, I missed a few spots here and there because I absolutely detest peeling potatoes) and diced five to six potatoes. Then, I added them to the vegetable and pancetta mixture and threw in one teaspoon of salt and half a teaspoon of ground black pepper.

Finally, I added one and a half containers of chicken broth. I prefer the Progresso brand (low sodium) if I don’t have time to make my own.

Let the soup simmer on the stove and once the potatoes are soft, strain out half the potatoes from the soup and place in a small bowl. To the potatoes, add one cup of whole milk. Mash the potatoes in the milk. Then, add the mixture back to the rest of the soup. You are left with a pot of creamy potato and pancetta goodness.

Can life get any better? Not really.

Perfect Potato Pancetta Soup
(serves 4-6)

Ingredients
2 tablespoons butter
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 yellow onion, diced
5 slices pancetta, finely chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
3/4 cup carrots, chopped
5-6 yukon gold potatoes, diced
1 large container chicken broth (add another half of a container of broth if you want a thinner soup)
1 cup whole milk

Details
Place a large soup pot over medium heat and melt butter.  Add garlic, pancetta and onion and cook until lightly browned.  Add carrots and celery and cook until slightly tender.  Add diced potatoes to the mixture.

Add chicken broth.  Allow soup to cook over medium heat until potatoes are soft.  Once soft, strain half of the potatoes (there may be some of the other ingredients mixed in and this is okay) and place in a medium bowl.  Add milk to the mixture and mash. 

Return the mashed mixture to the remainder of the soup in the pot and stir.  Cook for five more minutes and serve.

On sympathy carbo-loading (a.k.a. gratuitous carb consumption)

For many years, the arrival of fall meant the anticipation of race day for whatever marathon I was running that year and, most importantly, carbo-loading. For several years, I was one of those crazy people who thought running 26.2 miles for fun was enjoyable.

Turns out, my hip flexors didn’t find the same enjoyment. After my eighth race, I have hung up my sneakers for a bit. A couple weekends ago, with the Marine Corps marathon approaching in my city, I was having marathon envy. Other than the high of crossing the finish line intact and knowing a humongous diet coke and Swedish fish were awaiting me, the best part of the lead-up to marathon day for me was always carbo-loading.

Carbo-what you ask?

That’s right, for one week every year I would eat as many carbs as I wanted to help fuel my system through the upcoming race. Now, complex carbs are recommended but damn, if I was running a marathon, I was having whatever carbs I wanted as a reward.

There were a lot of moving parts involved in running marathons and my mom and dad were there every step of the way.  Including, for the eating leading up to the race.  They were loyal spectators –okay, groupies-- at all my races. And being a groupie ain’t all it’s cracked up to be, even if it’s for your own child.

Being part of my marathon posse meant schlepping with me to the starting line of my first race in Chicago on a very cold and blustery morning and traipsing all over the city in the cold to see me at various mile markers. It also meant getting up at 3:30 am with me to catch the bus to the starting line of the Disney Marathon on a chilly January morning in Orlando. Not sure that was the “Happiest Place on Earth” that morning.

Bleary-eyed with my dad at the Disney Marathon before heading to the starting line.

But my parents did it with a smile. And signs. Lots of signs that said “Run, Little Flower, Run.” My dad was not shy about advertising my nickname.

Being my marathon groupies also meant that my parents joined me for the massive carbo-loading dinners on the eve of race day. As you may have gathered, my dad loved nothing more than to eat. Gosh, he would have been a good marathoner because he could carbo-load with the best of ‘em.

It was at the carbo-loading dinner before the Disney Marathon in 2001 that my dad coined a term non-marathoners and anti-Dr. Atkins folks all over the world should embrace and adopt.

After two huge bowls of pasta from a huge buffet of every kind of pasta and sauce imaginable and a huge pile of bread, I put my fork down and said UNCLE. Same for my mom. My dad sat at the table looking a bit full but not quite and with a twinkle in his eye asked me if he thought it was okay for him to keep eating even if the marathoner had stopped. Before I could answer he said, “Oh what the hell, I am sympathy carbo-loading for you, Little Flower! I’m going back for another round.”

Sympathy carbo-loading!? Right on, Dad!
My mom and I couldn’t stop laughing as my dad lurched toward the buffet and proudly told everyone that he was “sympathy carbo-loading because did you know my Little Flower is running the race tomorrow?”

Earlier this month with marathons on the brain, I decided to sympathy carbo-load as well for all my friends running races this month. Well, um, actually, I don’t really know anyone running. To be honest I really just needed some gratuitous carbs. BAD. And that’s why I made pumpkin biscotti with a cinnamon glaze.

The biscotti are incredibly easy to make. Simply combine the dry ingredients in one bowl, the wet ingredients in another and then combine the wet to the dry. I suggest dusting your hands with flour before combining the two as the dough will get sticky as you mix it together using your hands. The flour will keep most of the dough from sticking to your hands.

On a baking sheet and with the oven heated to 350 degrees, I arranged the dough in two loaves on a silpat mat.

After baking the biscotti for 30 to 40 minutes Bake for 30-40, I removed the biscotti from the oven and cooled until just slightly warm. Using a serrated knife (I recommend this one), I cut the biscotti into 1 inch wide pieces and laid each piece flat on the silpat mat. Then, I turned the oven down to 300 degrees and baked the biscotti for an additional 15-20 minutes. This will ensure they start to harden a bit to give you that nice crunch that really good biscotti have.

While the biscotti were cooling, I mixed up the cinnamon glaze which is very simple to do. Once the biscotti cooled, I dipped a spoon in the glaze and drizzled it over the biscotti.

The finished product

I pulled Davis in to the sympathy carbo-loading once he woke up from his nap. It’s never too early to start training.

Pumpkin Biscotti with Cinnamon Glaze

(Makes 25-30 biscotti)

Ingredients

For the biscotti:

2 1/2 cups flour

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmet

Pingch of ginger

Pinch of cloves

Pinch of salt

2 eggs

1/2 cup pumpkin puree

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the glaze:

1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

1 tablespoon milk

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Details

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Sift together flour, salt, sugar, baking powder and spices in medium bowl.

In another bowl, whisk eggs, pumpkin, and vanilla extract.  Pour the pumpkin mixture into the flour mixture.  Lightly dust your hands with flour and use your hands to incorporate the ingredients or use a medium spatula.  Dough will be crumbly once it is ready to be baked.  Knead dough gently in the bowl.

Deposit dough on silpat-lined baking sheet (or use parchment paper if you don't have a silpat mat.  Form the dough into two loaves.  They should be fairly flat and about 1/2 inch high.  Bake for 30-40 minutes or until center is firm to the touch.

Remove from oven and let biscotti cool.  Once cool enough that you can touch, using a serrated knife, cut into 1 inch wide pieces and lay flat on the baking sheet.  Turn the oven down to 300 degrees and bake for an additional 15-20 minutes.  Cool completely.

While biscotti are cooling, mix powdered sugar, milk and cinnamon in a small bowl with a whisk or fork.  Mix until smooth.  Dip a spoon in the glaze and drizzle glaze over biscotti.

Recipe adapted from Simply Recipes

Zuppa and Lucca

Almost four years ago when my husband and I set out for Italy on our honeymoon, I had no idea the adventure and gastronomical delights that awaited us.

And Italy didn't disappoint on either count.

We started out our honeymoon in Rome, seeing the major sights and settling into large lunches every afternoon where we occasionally ended up with three entrees instead of two. Damn that language barrier ... but not really since it worked to our advantage enabling us to sample more of the local delicacies.

Lunch in Roma circa November 2006.

Lunch was capped off by my daily visit to a gelateria. Occasionally, I even had gelato for dinner.  Is there anything more gluttonous?  After several days in Rome, we drove into Tuscany to a beautiful villa that was awaiting us.

There was only one problem.

The villa didn’t exist.

Details, details.  (It's a long story and if you're ever over for dinner, we'll recount it for you but for now, back to the blog post.)

Ah yes, an early test for our very young marriage. After driving around for two hours looking for the villa and discovering it did not exist, we headed back in the direction we had come from trying to re-calibrate our plans.

We rebounded nicely and settled in the charming small town of Lucca for two days as we figured out our game plan for the rest of the honeymoon. I also introduced Dan to a McCarthy family rule of thumb: when all else fails, EAT!

And so we found ourselves in a small trattoria in Lucca for dinner after a very long day of driving on Italian roads with me navigating which was a debacle in and of itself given my very poor map-reading abilities. It was a slightly chilly November night and the restaurant was bustling with families and young couples. At this point, I think we were both a bit homesick for the States given our tough day.

As I eyed the menu, my eyes lit up when I discovered Zuppa di Lenticchie on the menu. Lentil soup!  My mom makes the most wonderful lentil soup and a bowl of it was just what I needed to put the day behind me and make me feel at home in this town we hadn't expected to be in.

The soup was divine.  It was thick and stew-like.  The lentils were cooked perfectly and the soup smelled and tasted of herbs including rosemary, just like my mom's.  I can't even tell you what the rest of the meal consisted of because I was so taken by the soup.

As it turned out, that dinner was the start to a terrific two days in a town we would have never visited but for our villa catastrophe.  I credit the Zuppa for getting us back on the right track.

A bowl of Zuppa di Lenticchie alla Diane I made recently.

Zuppa di Lenticchie alla Diane
This soup freezes well and is delicious on a cool, fall or winter's day.

Ingredients:
2 celery stocks, diced
1 medium onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons butter
1 large container Chicken Broth
1 28 oz can of diced tomatoes, undrained
3/4 cup dry lentils, rinsed
3/4 cup barley
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary crushed (you can use fresh if you want)
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 cup sliced carrots
3/4 cup parmesan cheese

Details
*In a large soup pot, melt the butter and saute the celery, onion and garlic until tender.
*Add the chicken broth, tomatoes, lentils, barley, oregano, rosemary and pepper, bring to a boil.
*Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 40 minutes or until lentils and barley are almost tender.
*Once cooked, you can garnish each bowl of soup with parmesan cheese if desired.

Will you still need me, will you still feed me

Dear Dad,

Today I was listening to the Beatles song, “When I’m 64” and thought of you, even though today you would have turned 65!

As you know being the Beatles fan that you were, the refrain to the song goes, “Will you still need me, will you still feed me, when I’m 64.”

And, even though you’re 65, I like to think I am still feeding you vicariously every day. You inspire my cooking and were the inspiration for me to begin this blog. Whether it is the apple crumble I made a few weeks ago (recipe is below if you want to make it for your friends up there or the Big Guy … if he could turn water into wine, who knows what he could do with this crumble), your orzo salad or trying something new like Indian Chicken. You are with my every time I enter the kitchen.

You’ve also made me realize the importance of including my son and your grandson, Davis, in the cooking process. He loves to be in the kitchen to see what is going on. He has now mangled my whisk which has become his beloved kitchen tool of choice. You would be so proud of the way he manhandled his tortellini last weekend.  Here's a picture of the aftermath:

As I have on your birthday since you passed away way too soon almost six years ago, I went out to lunch with Dan to celebrate what would have been your 65th year. I know, I know. I am sure you did think I was really just looking for an excuse to eat an insanely delicious, gluttonous lunch. That’s only partly true.

Today we celebrated your life by eating a few of your favorite things that you taught me to enjoy and toasting to you. I had a divine pizza with provolone cheese and homemade soppresata. You would have loved it. Salty and authentic perfection. I can still remember when you introduced me to soppresata for the first time at 9 years old at Glorioso’s, a small Italian grocery store in Milwaukee. I could hardly pronounce the word but oooooooooh did I love that piece of Italian goodness that the lady behind the deli counter sliced for me. I remember that you said to me, “See Little Flower, you try something new and you might like it. I would never lead you astray when it comes to food.” As usual, you were right.

And then, we finished with a homemade cannoli, one of your all-time favorites, for dessert today. No, we didn’t share one either. We each ordered our own because you always thought people shouldn’t have to share if they didn’t want to … they should order their own, no matter the cost and in your words, “ENJOY, DAMNIT because you only live once!”

And how true those words are.

You showed me how to live life to the fullest, particularly when it came to food -- both eating and consuming it.

To enjoy every meal like it was your last.

To worry about watching your weight another day but definitely not on the day when you had the chance to eat something amazing or try a new dish for the first time.

To understand how feeding people brings a group together.

As for the other part of the Beatles song (‘Will you still need me?’), the answer is Y-E-S.

Even at 31 years old, I need my dad. Thanks to your gentle nudging from above, I have found that the way to stay connected to you is through cooking. And it has brought me more comfort and enjoyment than you will ever know. Thank you for pointing me in the right direction and I will keep ‘feeding you’ from down here.

Xoxo
Little Flower (a.k.a. your daughter, Colleen)

Dad's Birthday Apple Crumbly
(Serves 6 to 8)

The remains of the Apple Crumbly

Filling
5 Granny Smith Apples, peeled, cored and cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

Crumble topping
1 stick unsalted butter
1 cup light brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup rolled oats or quick cooking oats

Details
*Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
*To make the filling, combine the apples, granulated sugar, lemon juice, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmet and kosher salt in a baking dish and mix well.
*To make the streusel topping, melt the butter.
*Remove the butter from heat and stir in the brown sugar and kosher salt.  Add the flour and oatmeal and stir until incorporated.
*Crumble the mixture over the apple filling.  Place the baking dish on a baking sheet and bake until the topping is golden brown and the filling is bubbling for 50 to 60 minutes.

**Weekend Gourmet's note: You can make the filling 6 to 8 hours in advance but do not crumble the topping over the filling until ready to bake.

Recipe courtesy of Bride & Groom Cookbook

"Fish"-ing for dinner: a working mom's dinner solution

If you are a parent working outside the home or a stay-at-home parent, I am sure you can relate to my dilemma:

How do I prepare the kind of dinner during the week for my family that is the quality of what I cook for my family on the weekend?

Since going back to work last October after Davis was born, this has been an ongoing dilemma for me along with the continuing struggle of keeping a balance between work and parenting.

Sometimes, a plain chicken breast and boring vegetable just won’t suffice for dinner. The trouble is that both Dan and I want to spend time playing with our son, Davis, when we get home from work.  We want to make the most of that precious time we have before he goes to bed. This is one of the blocks of time on a Monday through Friday basis in my life that I do not want to spend cooking.

Be that as it may, we both still need to eat!

Almost one year after returning to work, I am starting to come up with recipes that feel like what I would cook on the weekend (simple but somewhat creative) but that I can still prepare and eat at a normal hour. We are not a 9 p.m. dinner household. That’s more like our bedtime most nights!

In the last year, I have discovered that fish is one of the easiest proteins to cook fast.  Not only is it healthy, but it doesn’t require a mass amount of prep work to turn it into something special. On Monday night, I stopped at our local fish market on the way home from work and purchased Atlantic Cod. A flakey, white fish, Atlantic Cod is a very mild fish and also relatively inexpensive. I also picked up a few lemons and a dried-spice rub that contained rosemary, red pepper flakes, garlic powder, sage and oregano.

After giving Davis his bath before bed, I made the "Davis hand-off" to Dan for pajamas, bottle and bedtime and went downstairs to prepare dinner. I preheated the oven to 385 degrees in order to create the perfect condition for roasting the cod. I pulled out my favorite baking dish and drizzled enough olive oil in it to coat the bottom. Then I placed the two pieces of fish in the pan, drizzled each with a small amount of olive oil and the squeezed the juice of two fresh lemons over the fish. I then sprinkled a small amount of the spice rub on the fish. Finally, I cut the last lemon into thin slices and placed it on top of the fish. A finishing touch before hitting the oven were a few kalamata olives I added to the baking dish with the fish that were nearing the end of their days if not eaten soon.

The fish went into the oven after about 2 minutes of prepping and after approximately 17 minutes, it was ready to eat!

To accompany the fish, I made some couscous which has become a staple of weeknight dinners at our house. We have seriously become couscous junkies with part of the appeal being that it cooks in about 5 minutes.  Yes, we like instant gratification in my house. I added a small amount of butter and garlic powder to give it a bit of flavor. While at the fish market, I also picked up a beautiful salad of chickpeas, feta, tomatoes, kalamata olives and onions. It was the perfect accompaniment to the fish.

By 7:30 pm (approximately 20 minutes after I began cooking dinner), with the table set and a sleeping baby, I sat down with my husband to a perfect dinner. It felt like a weekend dinner and we both agreed we needed to pinch ourselves to remember it was Monday night.

Five Spice Fish
(serves 2)

Fish Ingredients
*3/4-1 lb of Atlantic Cod (or a similar mild, flaky white fish)
*3 small lemons
*Olive oil
*Handful of Kalamata olives (optional)
*Dusting of spice rub (see recipe below) for each piece of fish

Details
*Preheat oven to 385 degrees.
*Coat bottom of medium-sized baking dish with olive oil.
*Place fish in baking dish.
*Drizzle olive oil over the fish and squeeze the juice of two fresh lemons over the fish.
*Sprinkle the Five Spice Rub (see recipe below) on the fish.  You only need a little to lightly dust the top of the fish.
*Cut the third lemon into thin slices and place on top of the fish.
*Add the kalamata olives to the baking dish (optional).
*Bake for 17-20 minutes or until cooked through.

Five Spice Rub Ingredients
(makes enough for you to store long-term in a sealed jar or container)
*1 tablespoon dried Rosemary
*1 tablespoon dried sage
*1 tablespoon garlic powder
*1 tablespoon dried, crushed oregano
*1 tablespoon dried red pepper flakes

Details
*Mix with a fork and store in a glass jar for continual use.

Perfect Chicken Soup for all Ages

A bowl of Perfect Chicken Soup.

I have been exalting the cooler weather and the imminent arrival of Fall.  Unfortunately, cooler weather also brought our version of the plague to my house this week.  My son, Davis battled a nasty cold and since he likes to share (I know, what a sweet boy), my husband, Dan, has also acquired the beginning of a cold.  This left me feeling bad for my boys last night and wanting to make a warm, comforting meal for both of them.

A few years back, my mom shared with me a recipe for what I think is the perfect chicken soup.  If you are like me, you probably turn your nose up at the chicken soup sold in stores with the chicken that appears to be of questionable origins and is so salty that you probably fulfilled your daily sodium intake for a week after one bowl of soup.  I will fully admit that I am a bit of a chicken soup snob and so making the soup (almost) from scratch is my preference. 

This recipe could not be more simple and the outcome is delicious.  It's a great recipe for the weekend but also quick enough for preparation during the work week.  With a cup of brown rice, a cup of chopped carrots, one diced medium yellow onion, three to four stalks of celery chopped, low-sodium chicken broth, three chicken breasts and celery salt, you will have the most perfect chicken soup.

I pre-heated the oven to 350 degrees and baked the chicken breasts in a bit of olive oil for 30 minutes.  While the chicken cooked, I added my chopped vegetables to my soup pot and cooked them in a bit of butter to soften them up.  I then added chicken broth to the pot, chopped the cooked chicken into pieces and added it to the soup along with the brown rice.  I seasoned the soup with a bit of salt and pepper and added celery salt.  After about 45 mins to one hour, the soup was ready to eat.

Davis and Dan loved the soup and we went to bed with full tummies and feeling better, as only a homemade bowl of chicken soup can make one feel.

Perfect Chicken Soup

Ingredients
*2 containers chicken broth (I like Progresso's reduced-sodium chicken broth)
*1 cup chopped carrots
*3-4 stalks of celery, chopped
*1 medium yellow onion, chopped
*1 cup brown rice
*3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
*1 teaspoon celery salt
*Salt and pepper to taste
*1 tablespoon butter

Details
*Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
*Place chicken breasts in a baking dish with a bit of olive oil in the bottom. Salt and pepper the chicken and bake for 30 minutes or until cooked through.
*Melt one tablespoon butter in a soup pot (I like the Le Creuset dutch oven).  Add chopped carrots, celery and onion to the pot.  Cook until slightly softened.
*Remove chicken from oven and cut into bite-sized pieces and add to the vegetable mixture in the pot.
*Add one cup of brown rice to the chicken and vegetable mixture.
*Add chicken broth to the chicken and vegetables.  Add 1 teaspoon celery salt.  Salt and pepper to taste.
*Cook covered on medium heat for 45 minute to one hour or until vegetables are tender and rice is cooked.

Mise en place envy

I've long enjoyed reading "Cooking with Dexter" online and in the New York Times Magazine.  A column about cooking with his son, I often find parallels between the author's cooking adventures and my own cooking fun.   Though I wish that I could have all my food prep (known as mise en place) done earlier in the day so it was good to go when I start cooking dinner at night, it's not the reality for this mom.  Unless, of course, my Christmas gift this year includes an assistant from the Food Network kitchens who will place my equipment needed for cooking neatly in my kitchen and have all the food prep done before I hit the kitchen.  Until then, on the fly food prep is my destiny!

Check out today's column and let me know what you think.  I really enjoyed reading this today.

Operation Pumpkin Indoctrination

Like so many of you, I was a fan before it became cool and everybody was seeking it out.

What, you may ask, am I speaking of?

Skinny jeans?

No.

Ballet flats?

No.

Lady GaGa?  Cosmospolitans?

No and No.

Pumpkin?

Yes!

Before Starbucks made pumpkin cool to eat on days other than Thanksgiving and in items other than pumpkin pie by serving the pumpkin spice latte, pumpkin scone, pumpkin cream cheese muffin or pumpkin bread, I was obsessed.  I could have eaten just pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving and been perfectly happy without the turkey or the other dishes.

The proliferation of pumpkin to the reaches of the coffee counter and bakery case at Starbucks and beyond has only fueled my obsession and made it easier for this pumpkin junkie to get her fix.

After discovering the first pumpkin scone of the season last week, I declared to my husband that all was right with the world.  I also found myself inspired to produce some pumpkin goodness in my own kitchen.  Plus, I wanted to give my son a chance to experience pumpkin without all the additives and preservatives of the store-bought pumpkin treats.

The weather in D.C. turned cool late last week and with the arrival of a crisp, feels-like-fall morning, I set out for the grocery store with my son, Davis.  Both of us had our hoodies on as we embraced the cooler temperatures and you could see he was as excited about the mild weather as I was.  Little did he know, he was about to experience the delights of pumpkin post-nap.  We picked up the ingredients for pumpkin bread and once home, Davis took a nap and Operation Pumpkin Indoctrination commenced in the kitchen.

The batter took about 15 minutes to put together while the oven preheated to 350 degrees.  I used fresh ginger this time, but you could easily use the powdered form found in the spice aisle.

Since the recipe made six mini-loafs and I had four pans, I used my mini-muffin/cupcake pan (as featured in my cupcake recipe from last month) to create some pumpkin mini-muffins that were perfect for a snack or for a special and easy to manage treat for Davis and his small hands.

If you have children at home or you simply can’t polish off a whole loaf of pumpkin bread before it has that not so fresh taste, I highly recommend purchasing a set of small loaf pans.  Not only are these perfect for a quick snack for a small family but I find that bread cooks more evenly in the smaller loaf pan.  Less chance for the middle of the bread that just won’t cook as I often encounter when using a standard loaf pan.

While the loaves of pumpkin bread took about 45-50 minutes to cook, the mini-muffins were done in approximately 18-20 minutes.

And, neither disappointed.  I froze a loaf of bread and sent the others to family.  I also froze half of the muffins and kept more out and we snacked on the muffins throughout the weekend.  I placed the muffins to be frozen in an air-tight plastic bag and for the loaves of bread, I took each out of the pan and wrapped it in plastic wrap and then foil before depositing in the freezer.

As the muffins and bread cooked, I took a moment and enjoyed the cool breeze coming in through the windows and the smell of pumpkin and fall filling our home.  To say it was delightful, is an understatement.

Upon waking from his nap, Davis’ pumpkin indoctrination began.  He grabbed a muffin from me, took a small bite and then proceeded to shove the rest in his mouth as he pointed toward the plate with the remaining muffins, asking for more.

With that, another pumpkin junkie was born and Operation Pumpkin Indoctrination was declared a success.

Mission accomplished.

Perfect pumpkin bread and pumpkin mini-muffins

Ingredients

Nonstick vegetable oil spray

3 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

3 cups canned pure pumpkin (about 24 ounces)

1 cup sugar

1 cup (packed) golden brown sugar

1 cup vegetable oil

4 large eggs

1 teaspoon minced peeled fresh ginger or the powdered ginger found in the spice aisle

3/4 cup buttermilk

Details

*Preheat oven to 350°F.

*Spray mini loaf pans and/or mini-muffin pans with nonstick spray.

*Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg in medium bowl; whisk to blend.

*Using electric mixer, beat pure pumpkin and both sugars in large bowl until blended. Gradually beat in oil, then eggs 1 at a time, then minced ginger. Stir in dry ingredients and buttermilk, alternating between each.

*Pour batter into loaf pans or use a small scoop to deposit batter in mini-muffin pan.

Baking time

*Baking time for bread will be 45 minutes to 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the bread comes out clean.

*Baking time for mini-muffins will be 18-20 minutes.

*Recipe adapted from Bon Apetit 2001, Miniature Pumpkin Breads