Dinner with my Baby

Beef Bourguignon by Catharine Skipp

2010-09-02T13:41:00.000-07:00

If you are ever at a loss for what to get the parents of a new baby as a gift, the best idea is probably to bring them dinner. There is no sweet relief like getting to put off for just one more night the ever nagging question of "what are we going to do for dinner?"

The other night I was given this amazing gift by my husband's co-worker, Catharine Skipp. She is quite a foodie apparently and it really showed in the beef bourguignon and creme brulee she so lovingly prepared for us. I mean, wow! Beef Bourguignon. You don't just whip that up in a couple of minutes. There was also the side of roasted potatoes and a delicious salad with dressing and all. We added a pre-dinner martini and a glass of red wine and voila - It was all delicious and I am still thankful for her generosity.

We ate the wonderful dinner while watching the president announce the end of the combat mission in Iraq. And there was probably the viewing of an episode of Mad Men that followed. We had missed a Mad Men Martini Monday because we had spent a long weekend up at my parent's place in Vero Beach. Regardless, it was an unexpectedly nice evening with my husband that was not in the least bit stressful. No food to cook. No pots and pans to clean.

So, thank you, Catharine. I'll try to pay this forward to the next friend who has a baby.

Just in case someone wants to know more about beef bourguignon, check out Ina Garten's recipe here and Julia Child's version here.

Braised Short Ribs

2010-08-26T11:52:00.001-07:00

I have a few bonus minutes right now because Baz has decided to take an extraordinarily long nap -- for him -- and Amelia has been kind enough to synchronize her latest nap to his. Guess going to Miami Beach Regional Library's story time was a good idea. Who knew a couple of kid books and sing-a-long songs would make everyone so tired. But, it might not last long, so I am going to try and take advantage of every precious minute. Besides, I made the best dinner last night and wanted to share.

Sure, overnight marinating and cooking something for four hours may not be in everyone's time budget. But, short ribs are one of those things you just have to let cook so even though it does take a ton of time, it isn't difficult or strenuous to make. It's quite simple actually. And it was so worth it! Damien even said it was a top five.

I looked at several different recipes and then sort of made up my own. The cure that I use is mostly based on a recipe I found for my favorite short ribs at Michy's here in Miami. It's one of our favorite restaurants and Michelle Bernstein is a fantastic local chef who you have seen as a judge on Top Chef from time to time. The rest of the recipe is based a lot on her ideas as well as the Balthazar recipe. I liked that Michelle's are a little sweet and spicy, but I think Balthazar's are so French and rich.

The only thing I wish I had done differently was made more ribs! 1 1/2 pounds didn't go as far as I would have thought.

Braised Short Ribs

Cure:

3/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1/2 tablespoon salt
1/2 tablespoon cardamom
1/2 teaspoon ancho chili powder
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon powdered ginger
2 pounds short ribs (with bones)

Combine all of the spices in a one gallon zip-lock bag and shake well. Dry the short ribs with paper towels and add them to the bag. Move them around so that all sides are coated with the spices. Refrigerate overnight or up to two days. (I chilled them for two nights.)

To cook the ribs:

2 tablespoons canola oil
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 carrots, chopped or 1 cup of baby carrots
2 celery ribs
1 onion, chopped
2 tablespoons ginger, minced (I used powdered ginger because I forgot the fresh version and I really wish I hadn't done that.)
1 jalapeno pepper, cut in half (remove seeds depending on how spicy you want it)
1/4 cup orange juice
16 ounces chicken stock
16 ounces robust red wine like cabernet sauvignon
1 sprig of thyme
1 sprig of rosemary
handful of parsley

Heat the oil in a pot that can also go in the oven -- like a dutch oven -- over medium heat. Add the garlic. Take the ribs out of the bag and without removing any of the spices that are sticking to the ribs, add them to the hot oil. Brown the short ribs on all sides being careful not to burn them but trying to get them crispy. Remove the ribs from the pot and set aside. Pour out just about all of the fat retaining about 1 tablespoon in the pot. Return to the heat.

Add the vegetables and saute until the onion is translucent. Then add the rest of the ingredients and bring it to a boil. Add the ribs back to the pot. Bring back up to a boil. Make sure that the ribs are completely covered with liquid. If not, add more chicken stock, wine and even water to cover.

Put the pot in a 350 degree oven and allow to cook for 3 hours. The ribs are done when they are very tender and are falling off the bone.

Take the pot out of the oven and remove the ribs. Set the aside. Pour the liquid through a sieve to remove all of the vegetables and herbs. Return the remaining liquid to the pot and continue cooking until it reduces by about half -- about 1 hour.

If you'd like the sauce to be a little thicker -- which I did -- take a tablespoon of flour and mix it with two tablespoons of water, stirring it until it is completely smooth. Very slowly add it to the sauce while stirring constantly to avoid any lumps.

Return the ribs to the sauce to reheat. You can serve it immediately, but this dish is also wonderful reheated later in the day.

I served the ribs on top of mashed sweet potatoes and a side of sauteed green beans. I wish I had found some haricot verts instead, but they were fine. It looked impressive and the ribs were succulent and super tasty. Like I said, I wish I had more.

So, that's it. Enjoy!

Mad Men Martini Mondays and Risotto ai Funghi (e Asparagi)

2010-08-24T10:03:00.000-07:00

Having a second baby started out much better than I had anticipated. Let's face it - having Baz really kicked my ass. I was stunned by the sleep deprivation and had this false notion that I would be able to control things. I quickly learned that you can function on much less sleep than what I was used to (hello, I use to sleep 9 or 10 hours a night pre-baby) and that the babies control everything. There is no rushing them to eat, sleep or adjust. They do everything on their own, unrelenting time.

Amelia has been a sweet relief. She took to breastfeeding super well. She started sleeping 6 hours a night very early on and she takes her brother's "attention" with a grain of salt. It's only now, almost 8 weeks later, that I am starting to feel a little "fatigued". Baz at 18 1/2 months has way more energy than my 36 year old body can handle and Amelia is figuring out that control thing. She cries less than Baz did, but boy does she make up for lost time when she does. Her mind-bending screams in the car are stuff of legends.

So, right about now I needed to figure out some sort of pick-me-up. My answer: Don Draper. I don't know about you, but I love the show Mad Men. Damien and I bought the first couple of seasons on DVD when Baz was first born and we were hooked immediately. This season started a couple of weeks ago but we are finding it just way too hard to stay up until 10pm to watch the fresh episodes on Sunday nights. So, I came up with a plan: We save Sunday's show on our DVR until Monday night so that after the kids were fed, bathed and put to bed, we can have martinis and a date with Don Draper. Last night was our first Mad Men Martini Monday.

In honor of the event, I also decided to be a little ambitious with dinner. After all, Don deserved it. And I guess Damien did, too. He's been a great big help despite the fact that work has been a little challenging lately. (It's all Wyclef Jean's fault.) So, I decided to make risotto -- a dish I know he loves.

Without further ado, here is the way I made Risotto ai Funghi with a little bit of asparagus for color and nutrition:

Risotto ai Funghi e Asparagi)

6 cups chicken stock
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 tablespoons olive oil
5 or 6 stalks of asparagus, cut into small pieces
1/4 oyster mushrooms, finely chopped
1/4 cup shitake mushrooms, finely chopped
salt and pepper
2 cups arborio rice
1/2 ounce dried porcini mushrooms, broken up into small pieces by hand
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
4 tablespoons butter

Heat up the chicken stock so that it is warm but not too hot. Set it aside over low heat.

Heat the olive oil and butter in a medium to large pot. When it's nice and hot, add the onion and garlic. Cook until the onion is translucent but not yet browned (about 8 minutes).

At the same time, heat up two more tablespoons of olive oil in a separate pan. When it is hot, add the asparagus, oyster mushrooms and shitake mushrooms. Saute just a bit, coating the vegetables with the olive oil (the asparagus should be slightly softened but not mushy.) Season with salt and pepper.

Returning to the first pot, when the onions are translucent, add the rice and toast it for about 4 or 5 minutes or until the rice is opaque. Add the dried porcini mushrooms. Then add the wine. Stir constantly until the wine seems to be absorbed into the rice.

Now you will start adding in the chicken stock one ladle at a time. It is very important that you let each ladle's worth of stock absorb into the rice before adding another. Stir it constantly as it is added. When you have added about 3 cups, start tasting the rice to make sure you do not overcook it. You'll probably need close to 5 or 6 cups, but the tenderness of the rice and consistency are what's important. The rice should be al dente but not hard, but it should also not be mushy.

When you are one ladle shy of reaching the right consistency, add in the sauteed asparagus and mushroom mixture from earlier. Add the last ladle continuing to stir constantly. Now add in the parmesan cheese and butter. You should have a rich, creamy risotto now with rice that is still slightly al dente.

Serve immediately.

The constant stirring as you patiently add the ladles of chicken stock are the toughest part. It'll make your arms tired, for sure. But it really only takes about 30 to 40 minutes from start to finish to make this dish and it is absolutely delicious, especially with an extra sprinkling of Parmesan cheese on top. Of course, I do think risotto takes some practice. Mine was a little bit mushier than I would have liked, but still really tasty.

Mad Men Martini Monday #1 - a complete success. Next week, maybe we'll have oysters and steak.

Banana Bread (with Chocolate Chips)

2010-08-07T07:32:00.001-07:00

I know it's been a while. It's been so long that I now have another baby! Amelia Francesca was born two weeks early on July 2, 2010. Note to other expectant moms: Try not to give birth on a Friday night at 9:41pm of a holiday weekend. You may be greeted at the front desk of the maternity ward by an eyes-glazed-over receptionist asking, "What are you here for?" Uh, well, let's see. I am standing here in the maternity ward swaying back in forth in pain and with what looks like a basketball under my shirt. What do you think?

Needless to say, it was quite a night, but all ended well. And now I feel inspired to cook again!

Then this morning, I had the rare treat of everyone sleeping in -- even new baby. I also had three ripe ripe bananas sitting around so I decided to make my family some fresh banana bread to wake up to. I looked up a few recipes and finally came up with this one of my own:

Banana Bread (with Chocolate Chips)

2 cups buckwheat flour*

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3 ripe bananas

2 eggs, beaten

3/4 cup chocolate chips**

Preheat the oven at 350 degrees and prepare a loaf pan by coating with butter and dusting with flour.

Combine the four dry ingredients -- flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. I suppose you should sift them together, but who has time for that, right? Set aside.

Beat the sugar and brown sugar into the butter until light and fluffy. Stir in the vanilla and cinnamon.

Mash the bananas with a fork and then add to the beaten eggs.

Add the egg and banana mixture to the sugar mixture. Slowly mix in the flour mixture until everything is evenly combined. Add the chocolate chips.

Pour the batter into the loaf pan and bake for 1 hour. A toothpick or knife should come out clean when inserted.

*I used buckwheat flour because I didn't have enough regular white flour and, I have to say, it was a great choice. I really liked the flavor it added. I found the buckwheat flour at Whole Foods one day and had grand visions of making the kind of buckwheat crepes I have come to love at one of my favorite local spots -- A La Folie. Never happened.

**Of course, I made them dirtier by adding chocolate chips but they can easily be omitted. Or, you can substitute nuts if you'd prefer.

And of course, you can always make muffins instead. I haven't but I am sure it would work just fine. I just don't know how long you'd want to bake them.

So, that's it. My first post-baby #2 recipe. I hope you like it!

Preparing for Swim Season

2010-05-06T06:17:00.001-07:00

Ugh, it's been a busy few weeks. First I had a bunch of projects to do -- don't you just love how you don't have much going on for a couple of months and then BAM! you get three jobs at one time? -- and then we went to New York and Vero Beach. Trying to get Baz back on a decent sleep schedule took another couple of days.

But, now I'm back and things are getting back to a manageable pace. And I have two finished videos under my belt -- keep an eye out for an exciting NY Times one on South Florida pythons in the coming week or so -- and my first blog post for Babble.com's Strollerderby blog about infidelity, this sex addiction "epidemic" and what children can learn from how mom's handle their cheating husbands.

Sure, I've been cooking, too. But mostly it's been some of my tried and tested recipes like picadillo, shrimp scampi and grilling everything from asparagus to kielbasa. My creativity well has been getting pretty tapped out.

I did make a pretty delicious turkey bolognese recently that I will post the next time I make it. Damien was skeptical of replacing the ground beef with ground turkey, but it was really good, if I may say so myself. The key, of course, is the seasoning rather than the actual meat and fresh thyme -- lots of it thanks to the wonderful suggestion of my Dad's Mario Battali cookbook -- made a big impact.

But, I do want to point out something that is a big deal for those of us in South Florida. The temperatures are rising a little too fast for my taste which is a reminder that swimming and pool season are in full swing around here. But, as The Miami Herald's MomsMiami blog points out, it's also a reminder that Florida leads the country in toddler deaths due to drowning. In fact, Miami-Dade (where I live) and Broward county (next door) are in the top five counties in the country for these types of accidents.

We don't have a pool and I am trying to teach Baz how to have a healthy respect for the ocean and water, but it's never a bad thing to try and educate yourself on preventing accidents.

So, take a moment to read up on how to prevent an accidental drowning. You don't have to live in Florida to be thinking about this. Summertime is here and we're all bound to be near water at some point.

Beets!

2010-04-05T18:07:00.000-07:00

I've never made beets before. I have always thought they were super complicated or something. So instead, kind of like risotto, I usually ordered them when I saw them on the menu at a nice restaurant.

But, I was feeling a bit like superwoman today because I got up early and was able to get a ton of work done, all before 11am. Baz was not interested in napping, but it was fine since I was feeling very empowered and ready to handle anything! So, I took him out to run a few errands and found myself itching to go to Whole Foods. I've taken to this whole trying to buy local and organic lately even though I do think that the whole organic movement is more of a marketing ploy than about real health issues -- especially when we are talking about Whole Foods and their perfect rows of asparagus and bins of whole grains and extraordinary prices. I do think that there is something a little scary going on with the food industry though, and I figure that while I can afford it, it's probably marginally better for me and my family to eat organic when possible. Publix's selection of such items is limited. So, I went to Whole Foods.

And there were these beets! They looked so pretty up there on the misty row of perfectly presented vegetables. And they were from Punta Gorda -- the west coast of Florida. They had me at hello : )

Well, turns out they are not difficult to make at all and I can't believe I've been missing out for so long. I looked up "beets" on the internet and found myself on the Fitness and Nutrition section of the New York Times web site. They said to cut of the greens off leaving about 1/4 inch of the stems (and save the leaves for other dishes), wash them well and then put them in a baking dish with about 1/4 in. of water. Cover the dish tightly and then put them in a preheated oven at 425 degrees for about 45 minutes (30 to 60 depending on the size. Mine were medium to large.) You can test them by sticking a fork in them and seeing if they are tender.

After you cool them enough to handle, the peel comes off very easily with your fingers. Then I just sliced them up and pour a light vinaigrette of olive oil, vinegar, honey, salt and pepper over them. They were awesome!

I served these delicious beets with the local jumbo shrimp I also got at Whole Foods and some organic asparagus, both of which I grilled on our BBQ. For the shrimp, I used the same soy, sherry, honey, ginger marinade I used for the pork loin last weekend. It worked really well. The whole meal was so tasty and felt very healthy.

The rest of this week is going to be a bit of a nightmare. I'm doing a video with Damien in addition to the corporate job I've been working on. And my usual babysitter is giving me a hard time these days, so I'm just hoping she doesn't flake on me this week. I really really need her. So, the dinners might suffer. I'll do my best, but I might not be able to blog too much. Wish me luck!

Marinated Pork Loin and Hamburgers a la Diana

2010-03-31T12:50:00.000-07:00

What a wonderful weekend! Some of my closest friend were in town for different reasons, but we were all able to get together this past weekend for a fabulous beach day and a couple of late night talks. Kita and her three girls were here from Colorado, Joey and her daughter for Portland, Maine and Karima from my old stomping ground, Brooklyn. There is nothing like being with your dearest friends in the world and even though we haven't seen each other in a while it felt like just yesterday we were drinking at Lucky Johnny's or covering up holes in our dorm room walls with posters left over from our butt rocker party. (Maybe I can find a picture of that to post!)

It was a great way to let off some steam too before I had to start digging into my work week this week. It went too quickly. But I did make dinner on Friday and Saturday nights and Kita was requesting I post the recipes so here we go:

On Friday, I grilled pork loin on the grill that I had marinated for several hours in a soy, dry sherry mixture that I found on the Food Network site. I think it turned out really well, but some of our younger guests thought it smelled like alcohol so maybe it would have been best to make something a little simpler for the under 21 in the group. They did eat it though so I am not sure if it tasted better than it smelled or if they were just being polite.

Here is the recipe I used:

2 pound pork loin
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup dry sherry
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil (the original calls for vegetable oil, but I liked the way the olive oil worked out)
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh thyme (the original calls for rosemary, but they didn't have any at the supermarket so I used thyme)
1 tablespoon minced onion (I thought I had the shallot the original recipe called for but it was bad, so I substituted onion and it was fine, but shallot probably would have been better.)1
1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger

I patted the pork loin dry and placed it in a gallon zip lock bag. In a medium bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, sherry, honey, vinegar, oil, and juice. Add the thyme, onion, and ginger and mix well. Pour the mixture into the zip lock, covering the pork loin. Marinate for as long as possible but at least two hours.

Preheat the grill. Remove the pork loin from the bag leaving the marinade in the bag. Place them on the grill and cook for about 18 minutes (depending on the size, it could be a little more or a little less. I use a thermometer to make sure it is done properly.) When it is finished, remove from the grill and let stand for 10 minutes.

In the meantime, pour the marinade into a skillet and heat it up to a slow simmer for about 10 minutes.

Slice the pork loin, arrange on a plate and pour the heated marinade over the slices. Yum!

The following night I made hamburgers. Damien is really the best one at making them, but this is how I do it:

Hamburgers a la Diana
3 pounds organic ground beef (after the whole NY Times e. coli article, I'm all about organic ground beef)
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons steak sauce (I used Smith and Wollensky's)
1/4 cup Italian bread crumbs

Put the ground beef in a large bowl. Add the salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce, steak sauce and bread crumbs to the beef. Use your hands to mix as well as you can. I don't really measure the ingredients when I do it so these are all approximate. You can use as much or as little of them depending on your taste. The goal is a moist and tasty burger.

Once it is well mixed, make about 10-12 hamburger patties. Preheat the grill to about 450 - 500 degrees. Place the patties straight on the grill and cook for 3 minutes per side for medium (but this of course depends on the thickness of the patties so you can check one to make sure it's cooked properly.)

You can add some cheese to the burgers when they are close to finished and I like to toast french style hamburger rolls from the bakery section that are much better than the usual hamburger buns you get in the bread section.

I also use ground turkey sometimes and they are just as good.

Grilled Grouper Two Ways

2010-03-26T06:39:00.001-07:00

After another night in Marathon visiting with our friends Emmett and Lindsay, we were a little behind on things at the homefront. Plus, with Baz walking, there is new meaning to the word exhaustion. He is all over the place. It's freakin' adorable with his little Frankenstein arms stretched out before him for balance, but it requires a new degree of vigilance that my 6 month pregnant body is having trouble keeping up with.

Our new house is close to a great little tot lot that Baz really enjoys so we like to go there to let off some steam in the afternoons. And then on the way home, we frequently stop in at the supermarket to figure out what we'll do for dinner. Last night I picked up some red grouper they had in the case which is funny since Damien is working on a story about how some of these fish are actually banned from being fished. Guess Caribbean red grouper is not one of them, or if it is, hopefully not too many people are reading this from the Fishing and Wildlife Commission. Because it actually was delicious. Grouper is one of my favorites since it has a light flavor but is a meaty enough fish that you can grill it without it falling apart.

I was craving cajun spiced grouper but of course I get home and Damien is like, "Can we not have cajun fish tonight?" Um, fine, but that was my whole point of getting grouper and I was pretty excited about it. He acts like we have cajun fish every other night or something. So, I marinated his piece in a mixture of butter, olive oil, garlic, white wine, salt and pepper. Once Baz was in his crib sleeping soundly -- oh, how glorious after running after him all day -- we fired up the Weber and Damien cooked the mismatched pieces of grouper.

I served it with some steamed broccoli that I seasoned with butter, salt, pepper and some garlic powder. And I also used a frozen bag of brown rice. Not sure if you are aware of this, and I am sure there is some reason this is not as healthy as making browned rice from scratch and I'll probably die because of some unknown preservative in it, but Birds Eye makes cooking up some brown rice so easy. You just put the bag in the microwave for 4 minutes and it comes out perfectly cooked and fluffy unlike the big glob of mushiness I usually get after 45 minutes.

So, check it out -- and please leave me in the dark if there is some reason I am poisoning my family with BPA infused rice or something. Okay?

**Oh, and while I was in Marathon I cooked up a batch of Picadillo for the gang. Some of the guests, including our dear friend Betsy who was also there, asked for the recipe so here is the link from when I blogged about it.

Bratwurst and Kielbasa with Sauerkraut

2010-03-23T14:11:00.000-07:00

Today I would be too embarrassed to elaborate too thoroughly on what I made for dinner. I was very busy with a video and getting things organized after being away for a couple of days, okay. Let's just leave it at the baked ham with pineapple I often make and have once blogged about on this site and try not to linger too long on the frozen sweet potatoes I had in my freezer from Thanksgiving and the frozen peas and carrots I usually reserve for a quick Bazzy vegetable. Not a proud culinary moment in the Oliva Cave house. But it was actually pretty tasty. And I did originally make those sweet potatoes. Or was that my mom's Thanksgiving contribution? I don't know. It was too long ago.

And this past weekend was not much better with the exception of the steak and shrimp kebabs we had at our friends Emmett and Lindsay's on Sunday night at their Marathon vacation house. Thank you, Emmett for braving the storm and sticking it out on the BBQ.

But on Saturday, after a beautiful day at the beach -- the first of this season -- Damien and I had a craving for sausage. With our new grill, we have been excited to grill just about anything, but on Saturday night we decided to go with our craving and enjoy some bratwurst and kielbasa.

We grilled them up, added a little bit of sauerkraut and some dijon mustard and voila! A delicious simple meal. We didn't even have room for the potato salad and cole slaw we bought as sides. The only thing I was missing was the ice cold beer Damien was able to enjoy. I didn't really miss alcohol during my last pregnancy, but this time is different. Man, I really would have liked that beer.

I'm hoping to make some progress on my videos this week so I can get back to creating some more memorable meals. But, I can't really complain considering that it feels so great to work. I think it's even been good for Baz. In fact, he started walking. Maybe a little distance from his mom has given him that sense of independence and confidence to take that big step. Go Baz!

Rotini with Spicy Italian Salami

2010-03-18T18:06:00.000-07:00

This is week is the first week that I have worked "outside the home" in a long time. I have a corporate client -- yay! -- and I had to video tape a users conference and produce some testimonial videos for their web site. It feels so great to be working a little bit and this kind of job is perfect. While it is serious and professional, it is not incredibly high stress like the Times jobs tend to be sometimes. And really, at the end of the day, it is just nice to go out and talk to people about things other than babies, even if it's about a programming software I know very little about.

Don't get me wrong, I could talk about babies -- my baby -- all day long, everyday. But, sometimes when I work, I am reminded that there is still another side to me and even though it is work, it's rejuvenating. It awakens a side of my brain that doesn't get quite as much exercise these days.

So thank you to Questionmark for a good shoot week and for inspiring me to get back to things like this blog and new recipes.

As for today's recipe, well, I wish I could say I loved this one, but it was just okay. I'm going to share it anyway because I think others might like it more and I think with a few adjustments, it would be better. I got if from a cookbook my sister gave me for Christmas. It's a Curtis Stone cookbook, the hot Aussie who I have often seen flirting with Kathie Lee and Hoda on the Today show. It's very simple and can be made in about 20 minutes. He uses Rigatoni. I used a whole wheat rotini which could have been one of the reasons I didn't think it was so great.

Anyway, here is the recipe, straight from the source - The "Relaxed Cooking with Curtis Stone - Recipes to Put You in My Favorite Mood" cookbook.

Rigatoni with Spicy Italian Salami, Baby Tomatoes, Olives and Capers
20 cherry tomatoes (I used grape tomatoes and they were the best part)
2 teaspoons plus 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
8 ounces spicy salami, such as Sopressata Vicentina, sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced (I crushed them, of course)
1/4 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup pitted kalamata olives
1/4 cup extra fine capers
1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley (which I thought I had, but didn't so it was not included in my recipe)
8 to 10 ounces rigatoni pasta

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. On a baking sheet, drizzle the tomatoes with 2 teaspoons of olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast them in the oven for about 8 minutes or until the skins start to split. Remove them from the oven and let them cool a bit.

Boil a large pot of salted water for the pasta.

While it's coming to a boil, heat up the tablespoon of olive oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Add the salami and cook for 30 seconds on both sides, until light golden in color. Remove from the pan and reserve.

Return the pan to the heat and add the garlic. Saute for a minute and then add the tomatoes and saute for 3 more minutes. Add the wine and simmer for 3 minutes or until the wine has reduced by half. Add the olives and capers and toss gently. Bring the mixture to a simmer and add the salami and parsley.

Meanwhile cook the pasta in the boiling water until al dente. Drain the pasta and then add it to the sauce.

We served it immediately and sprinkled freshly grated parmasean cheese on top. Again, it was fine, but not great. I think next time I will add a little bit of butter at the end. I just felt the sauce was too light and the ingredients didn't really come together the way I had hoped. But, because of that "lightness" I think people who are a little more health conscious might appreciate that. I'm almost 6 months pregnant -- I need richness. Plus, it gave me heartburn.

And I know, I have to try and remember to take pictures. I'm just getting back into the swing of things here....

I'm Back!

2010-03-16T11:28:00.001-07:00

After a long hiatus -- sorry about that -- I'm am back at it. I've missed writing on this blog, coming up with new recipes and keeping in touch with all of you who read and comment on it. But, it has been a hectic time and, well, there has been something else on my mind that I wasn't quite ready to talk about in public. Turns out I'm pregnant again -- like 5 and a half months pregnant -- and I just wasn't really read to divulge the info. And with my pregnancy causing a craving that had me eating eggplant parmesean four times I week, I was having a hard time figuring out how to explain that or what to write without coming clean. Not to mention that it is not really any fun to read a blog by someone who is not being totally honest. I mean, what's the point really.

So, there it is. I'm pregnant. And it's a GIRL! I know I am not really supposed to express a preference -- after all, I really do just want a healthy baby, yada yada yada. But, I did sort of want a girl to balance out the Oliva Cave household. I mean, a boy would be great too. A little buddy for Baz. A house full of boys and boy stuff. Stuff I already have. But, a little girl will be so much fun, too.

It's sort of hard switching gears though. I've figured out how to be a mom to a boy. Will it be different with a girl? Should it be different with a girl? It's not just about buying stuff for her -- and no she will not only wear pink stuff. But, will she be as tough as Baz? As loud? As active? Will we do the same things?

Anyway, I'm excited and relieved to get it off my chest. And now I am no longer craving just eggplant parmesean so I'll start making some good food again. In fact, we've already started.

We recently moved to a great new house in Surfside, FL where we have a backyard and, therefore, a grill!! It is heaven. We use the thing at least 3 or 4 times a week and everything really does seem to taste better when grilled -- especially steak! Plus the new house has a gas stove and oven which has made huge difference in the quality of my cooking. It's amazing. Those Miami Beach apartment might have nice-looking kitchens, but I don't think they ever expected people to actually cook in them.

So, I'll have new recipes shortly. Tonight I am not sure what I am making yet. I am going to go to the store to buy some groceries later in the day and I thought I'd see if there is some fish that I can sprinkle some cajun spices on and grill. We shall see.

In the meantime, it's nice to be back.

French Cut Lamb Chops and Roasted Potatoes

2009-12-21T15:56:00.000-08:00

It's finally cool around these parts. The low is getting into the 50s this week and last night we even had to use the heater for the first time this year. Poor little Baz woke up in the middle of the night because he was cold so we had to turn it on. I am actually really enjoying it and it helps make it seem more like Christmas. I am really excited this year. My whole side of the family is coming to Florida this year. It's the first time we've all spent the holidays together in a long time. I can't wait.

We'll be eating a lot of pork this week since our Cuban tradition is to make a whole leg of pork that we eat for Christmas dinner and then in Cuban sandwiches for the rest of the week. My dad is really the best at making them, knowing just the right amount of pork, ham, cheese, pickles and condiments to include before he grills them into the delicious pressed sandwiches I've been eating as long as I can remember.

So, until then, no pork. Instead I got a great deal on some french cut lamb chops this week. Turns out two of the three packages I bought were mislabeled so I paid a price that was for ground chuck instead of the beautiful lamb chops I got. Not bad.

I am marinating them right now in some olive oil, balsamic vinegar, white wine (cuz it was open - I would have used red if I had it) pressed garlic, salt, pepper and some fresh rosemary. I'll cook them in my cast iron grill when it gets nice and hot so that the outside of the chops browns nicely.

I'm going to serve them with some steamed broccoli and roasted red potatoes. I am already cooking the potatoes because they need to cook for about an hour. I just cut them up in quarters and poured some olive oil over them. Then I sprinkled some salt and freshly ground pepper over them as well as some more pressed garlic and some of the rosemary that I bought for the lamb chops. Could be too much rosemary, but I didn't really use much for the potatoes.

I'll let you know how it all works out, but I am definitely excited.

UPDATE: Turned out terrifically. I cooked the lamb chops for about 4 minutes on each side. A couple of the thicker ones could have used another minute per side, but for the most part they were pink and delicious! And the rosemary on both the potatoes and chops turned out just fine.

Buy Buy Baby Comes to Miami

2009-12-16T16:55:00.000-08:00

I was excited to get a flier in the mail announcing that Buy Buy Baby opened a store in Miami! This is a great baby supply store that I knew from New York. It has everything -- from high end to trinkets.

As I struggle to figure out what new car seat I'll have to get for Baz, it is a comfort to know that Buy Buy Baby is there so I can check them out. No offense to Babies R Us, but they just....I don't know....suck!

It's a little inconveniently located for Miami Beach folks. I suppose I should have planned a little better than attempting the Dolphin and Palmetto Expressways after 3pm, but I needed to get out of the house and I figured I'd check it out. Unfornately, it took me well over an hour to get home. Baz was none to pleased, despite the awesome tub toys we came home with.

Still, I think it is worth the trip -- just maybe next time, not at rush hour. So, check it out.

Buy Buy Baby
Miami, FL
8241 West Flagler St
Suite 100
Miami, FL 33144
Phone: (305) 266-5324

Chicken Marsala

2009-12-16T16:45:00.000-08:00

I was looking to make some sort of chicken dish yesterday and came up with Chicken Marsala. It was actually very easy to make and I think it might become one of our new staples. And it looked pretty impressive when I served it over mashed potatoes with a side of steamed broccoli.

This is how you make it:

Chicken Marsala
4 pieces of chicken cutlet
1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 or 3 cups sliced mushrooms (can be any kind, really)
2 shallots, diced
3/4 cups Marsala wine
1 cup chicken broth

Pat chicken dry with paper towels. Combine the flour with the salt and pepper. Dredge the chicken in the flour mixture to fully coat the pieces.

In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the butter in a skillet over medium high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of the olive oil to it. Place the chicken pieces in the oil and brown on both sides (about 3 minutes per side.) Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside.

Put another tablespoon of butter and olive oil in the skillet. Add the mushrooms and shallots and cook until they are brown. Try not to mix them too much so that brown bits start to stick to the bottom of the pan (without burning, of course.)

Once the mushrooms are brown, add the Marsala wine. Use the spoon to scrape all of the brown bits off the bottom of the pan. Reduce the wine by about half. Then add the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Cook for 5 minutes.

Add the browned chicken to the sauce. Cook until the chicken is cooked through (about 5 or 6 more minutes.) Serve immediately.

Buon appetito!

Cajun Red Snapper

2009-12-10T19:04:00.001-08:00

Today I went to West Palm Beach to meet up with my mother for some Christmas shopping and so that she could spend some time with Baz. It was a really lovely afternoon and it was great to see her. We even got his picture taken with Santa. But, then on my way home, I thought about how I needed to make dinner and I really just didn't feel much like making anything. How pathetic is that? All I did was do some shopping with my mom and that makes me not want to make dinner.

But, I pulled it together. I had to stop at Costco yet again to pick up some more formula for Baz -- oh, and this is after it started pouring rain and I got rear ended by some horrible Miami driver. Baz was really shaken up about it, but no damage to baby or the car. Anyway, once I finally arrived in Hades -- I mean, rush hour Costco -- I took at a look at what fish they had. I usually just go for the salmon, but today I saw that they had some reasonable portions of red snapper. Perfect!

So, I just sprinkled some cajun spices on the fish and sauteed the pieces in some butter and olive oil for about 4 minutes on each side. Then I heated up some of the left over potatoes gratin from the other night and microwaved/steamed some green beans, and it wasn't a half bad dinner.

I'll try and find out what exactly my cajun spice is made off. It's from a recipe my dad gave me years ago. We made a huge jar-full a while back and break it out every once in a while. It's fabulous.

Oh and thanks to Mima (that's my mom's nickname as grandma) for the awesome new truck she gave Baz. He loves it.

Lime Vinaigrette

2009-12-10T18:55:00.000-08:00

Last night, I was craving Penne alla Vodka so I kept it simple and served that along with a green salad. That's just a salad with all green and some white ingredients -- romaine lettuce, onion, avocado, cucumber, and hearts of palm. I made a lime vinaigrette because I used up all the balsamic vinegar on my meal the night before. It was actually delicious though. I think I'll make it more often.

This is how I made it:

Lime Vinaigrette
1/4 cup olive oil
Juice from a half of a lime
1/2 teaspoon dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon dry basil
salt and pepper to taste

Put all of the ingredients in a small plastic container with a lid. Shake vigorously until all of the ingredients emulsify.

Pork Chops Milanese and Potatoes Au Gratin

2009-12-09T10:49:00.000-08:00

Damien was supposed to be away last night reporting a story, but he ended up coming home instead of spending the night. So, I sort of had to scramble for dinner because I had planned on having left over Shrimp Creole.

So Baz and I took a walk to Publix to see if we could get inspired. There really wasn't much jumping out at me, but I remembered seeing a recipe for Potatoes Gratin in the Balthazar Cookbook and that sounded really good. What could be the main dish? Not wanting to spend a fortune, I decided on pork chops.

Then I was strolling past the produce section and I saw a bag of key limes sitting there. I thought, "Wow, maybe I should try and make key lime pie!"

This is very ambitious considering how tired I was feeling. But, I feel like I haven't really been cooking anything too interesting lately. With work, it's hard to make it a priority. So, I pushed through and it actually worked out well. Now, the potatoes take a bit of time so keep that in mind and start those early. Here's what I did:

Potatoes Gratin (inspired by the Balthazar Cookbook with some major changes)
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup milk
4 cloves or garlic - crushed with a knife
10 - 12 sage leaves, whole (Balthazar uses thyme)
4 stems parsley, whole (Balthazar uses rosemary)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
3 -4 medium Idaho potatoes
salt and white pepper
1 tablespoon butter

In a medium saucepan, heat the cream milk, garlic, sage, parsley, salt and pepper over medium heat. When it begins to simmer, lower the heat and continue simmering for 30 minutes.

In the meantime, peel and slice the potatoes into 1/8 thick slices. Use the butter to coat the bottom of a shallow cooking dish or ovenproof skillet.

After 30 minutes, strain the cream, removing the herbs and garlic. Layer the bottom of the buttered cooking dish with the most abnormally sized pieces of potato (so the top layer that you will see will look more uniform.) Overlap the potatoes by nearly half. Sprinkle so salt and pepper on the potato layer. Then pour 1/2 cup of the garlic infused cream over the potatoes. Arrange a second layer of potatoes and repeat the process. Continue repeating until all the potatoes have been used.

I also sprinkled a bit of cheddar cheese on the top layer, which Balthazar does not do. I liked it, but I think that just the cream would be delicious as well. I just like cheese.

Cover the dish or skillet with aluminum foil and place in the preheated oven for 45 minutes. Remove the foil and continue to cook for 15 minutes until the top is golden. Cool for a few minutes before serving.

Worth the time and effort.

Then I made the pork chops:

Pork Chops Milanese (also inspired by the Balthazar Cookbook with some major changes)
4 - 1/4 inch slices or red onion
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt
pepper
1 cup, romaine lettuce, finely chopped
1 medium vine ripe tomato, finely diced
2 pork chops
salt and pepper
1/2 cup flour
1 egg
2 tablespoons milk
1 cup bread crumbs (Balthazar suggested panko, but I used Italian because it is what I had)
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
Balsamic vinaigrette
2 lemon wedges

Brush the onion slices with a little bit of olive oil. Use the broiler or a grill (if you are lucky enough to have one) to char the onion slices a bit. Set aside to cool to room temperature.

Create a little chopped salad using the romaine and tomatoes. When the onion has cooled enough, dice and add as well. Set the salad aside.

Pat dry the pork chops and use a mallet (or in my case, a potato masher) to pound the chops down until they are about a 1/2 inch thick, making sure not to miss the section nearest to the bone. Sprinkle both sides with a little bit of salt and pepper.

Prepare three bowls in an assembly line -- one with the flour, one with the egg whisked with the milk, and the other with the bread crumbs. Dredge the pork chops in the flour first, then coat in the egg mixture and then coat with bread crumbs.

Heat up a large skillet over medium heat. Add a tablespoon of butter and melt until just starts to brown. Add a tablespoon of olive oil and heat. Place both pork chops in the butter/oil and cook on each side for 4 minutes. The bread crumbs should be nice and golden brown.

Remove from the pan and arrange on the plate.

Add balsamic vinaigrette to the salad and mix well. Put a dollop of salad on top of each pork chop. Serve with a wedge of lemon.

Then there's dessert. It is best to make key lime pie much earlier in the day so it has plenty of time to cool. But, since I thought of it too late in the game, we settled for a slightly still warm pie after dinner.

Key Lime Pie (adapted from the Miami Spice cookbook)

Graham Cracker Crust
1 1/4 cups of graham cracker crumbs (I used half a box of graham crackers in my food processor)
1/2 cup butter

Preheat the oven to 350.

Get your crumbs to a fine consistency in a food processor. Melt the butter and add to the crumbs. Mix well until it is like a paste. Press the mixture into a pie pan. Put in the oven for 8 minutes. Remove from the pie pan from the oven, but leave the oven on.

Filling
1/2 cup key lime juice
2 teaspoons key lime zest
1 - 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
3 egg yolks

The toughest part is juicing the small little key limes and grating the zest so leave yourself plenty of time to do this. (It took me about 15 or 20 minutes.) You don't want to skimp.

Combine the condensed milk and the egg yolks in a bowl. Use an electric hand mixer at high speed to mix until light and fluffy. Slowly add in the key lime juice. Then add in the zest.

Pour the mixture into the prepared graham cracker crust. Then put the pie in the oven and cook for 8 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool to room temperature. Then place the pie in the refrigerator and cool for as long as you can resist.

So there you have it. We really enjoyed it, I hope you all do too.

Let The Holiday Season Begin

2009-12-07T15:05:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving has come and gone and we have officially started the holiday season. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday -- with it being the kick off and all -- and it's a good thing too since I was able to enjoy two turkey dinners.

Our first was with my parents here at my Miami Beach apartment. My mother brought all of the side dishes and I was charged with making the turkey, stuffing and cranberry sauce. It was a little stressful since I don't really make a whole turkey very often, never mind stuffing that is not from a box or cranberries that are not in a can. But, I did it -- and it turned out quite well. Luckily I have a whole bunch frozen so Damien and I will be celebrating Thanksgiving several more times before the end of the year.

Then we went up to Woo-stah, Massachusetts to see Damien's family. It was actually really special since all of the Cave's were in one house -- a rare occasion. So for three days we all hung out and enjoyed a second Thanksgiving dinner.

Then I went to Boston to see my brother, Raul and his family, Meera and Elan. Elan was scheduled to have his second surgery on his cleft lip and palate so it was great that we got to see him before the big day. Now the surgery has passed and they are all doing well. Elan is a little trooper and so are his parents. It can't be easy to watch their little guy go through something like this, but they are holding up well and setting a brave example for Elan.

So now we're home and I have never been so tired! Okay, that's not really true, but I am really tired. All of that traveling took a lot out of me. But, I did cook tonight so I wanted to make sure I shared that. I made shrimp creole and I have one major adjustment to make to the recipe I posted last time I made it. So check it out.

You need Parsley. I used half of a bunch that I bought fresh at Publix - completely stemmed. But, I suppose you could use dried parsley. Maybe a tablespoon or so. When I tasted my batch tonight it confirmed that it was exactly what the original was missing.

So, Parsley. Make sure you add it. And Happy Holidays!

Oh, and I'm sorry I've been so bad about keeping up the blog. I am done with my 36 Hours in South Beach video and no more traveling for a few weeks, so I should be much better.

2,000,000 Cribs Recall

2009-11-24T09:43:00.000-08:00

Sorry, I was wrong about the number of cribs involved in the last recall. It's actually over a two million cribs, all with drop-sides. I now have the right link...

Another massive recall, this time with Stork Craft cribs.
I've included one picture, but there are several models included so be sure to check out the information on this.

The cribs were sold in the usual places - Walmart, Amazon.com, Babies r Us, Costco, J.C Penney, Kmart.

You can find information here.

Baby Back Ribs with Mac and Cheese and Brussels Sprouts

2009-11-24T05:17:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I decided that I had better go buy my turkey if I still plan on hosting Thanksgiving dinner here at my apartment. I didn't want to get stuck with a 20 pounder just because I didn't think ahead.

And I was also really busy editing so I didn't have a good plan for dinner. So, I decided to go get my turkey at Costco. That way I could also pick up a rack of baby back ribs that they have all prepared and ready to go. We've had them before and they are delicious.

Costco did not disappoint. I was able to get my 8 pound organic turkey and for $19 I picked up 2.5 pounds of ribs - a full rack. For sides, I decided we needed some mac and cheese so I made one of those Annie's Homegrown Organic mac and cheese boxes I had in my cabinet. I also decided to make those brussels sprouts that have been sitting in my refrigerator. Last week, my friend Kita wrote a blog post about her reintroduction to brussel sprouts after being served some at a dinner party. As a former brussel sprouts hater, she was converted and posted brussels sprouts cooking tips on her site.

This is how I like to make them.

Brussels Sprouts
1/2 pound (maybe? enough for 2 people) brussels sprouts
1 or 2 strips of bacon (I like a maple flavored kind for this)
salt and pepper

Clean and trim you brussels sprouts. Place them in a container with a lid - I use BPA free Rubbermaid ones - add a little bit of water, cover and cook in the microwave for 2 minutes.

In the meantime, cut the bacon strips into small pieces. Put in a frying pan and cook until the fat has emulsified and the bacon begins to brown.

Add the steamed brussels sprouts to the frying pan with the bacon. Cook until the brussels sprouts start to brown. Add salt and pepper to taste.

So super easy and really delicious. And good for you, too! Well, except for the cooking in bacon fat part.

Precious

2009-11-24T04:48:00.000-08:00

This past Sunday Damien and I did our little movie swap. Damien went to the movies first, then I met him at the food court of the Aventura mall to hand off Baz so that I could go see the same film.

We decided on seeing Precious: Based on the Novel PUSH by Sapphire, an intense, sad story of an obese teenage girl from Harlem who deals with lots of abuse and little opportunity to escape it. It is filled with really terrific performances. But, most of all, it is refreshing to see a story about someone other than middle class white boys coming of age. I certainly wouldn't go see this if you were in the mood for some sort of "pick me up", but I do think that it was a well done movie that offers a unique, if not incredibly uncomfortable, perspective of characters and situations we'd rather believe don't exist.

The only thing that really bothered me was the number of small children in the audience. Don't get me wrong, this was a powerful movie with an important, positive message. But, not for 6 or 7 year olds. This is a movie about a young girl who has been repeatedly raped by her father (she has two children with him.) In the film, the mother is physically and emotionally abusive, calling her all sort of horrible names and at one point tries to drop a television on her. I guess it's one thing if you are going to have some pretty hardcore discussions after seeing the movie, but I don't really think that was on the agenda after our Sunday matinee. And honestly, is it even in any way appropriate to have a discussion about incest with a 6 or 7 year old?

So, I do recommend going to see this movie. But, the kids should probably sit this one out.

Enchiladas Once Again

2009-11-18T17:46:00.000-08:00

Since I messed up last night. Tonight, I just went with something I know tastes great and that Damien loves - Mollie's MacDonald's Chicken Enchiladas. And they did not disappoint.

Thanks again for the wonderful recipe, Kita.

Tomorrow night, we have company. Damien's colleague from the Times is coming so I need to come up with something good. And something that doesn't take too much time since I am still slaving away on my freakin' video.

Any ideas? I'm thinking Shrimp Creole -- looks fancy and I can make it ahead of time (and add the shrimp right before serving.)

Quinoa and Apples with Curry

2009-11-18T17:01:00.000-08:00

Oh my goodness, I totally screwed up last night.

See, I have never made quinoa before. But I've ordered it at restaurants and loved it. So, when I saw a bag of it at Publix a couple of weeks ago, I bought it. But, it's taken me a while to actually try it. It's actually pretty easy to make -- just like rice. You boil 2 cups of water, then add the quinoa and cook for about 15 minutes or until the water is absorbed and the quinoa is fluffy.

I was in the mood for Balthazar's Mustard-encrusted Salmon and thought it would make a great side dish. I looked up a few recipes online and discovered this one from Martha Stewart . But, her recipe looked like it was a cold dish. I wanted it to be hot, so I cooked the apples and shallots in a little bit of butter before I added them to the quinoa.

But, I totally messed up. I don't know what I was thinking -- probably something along the lines of "I hope Baz doesn't choke on his toast while I am turned the other way cooking and man, I should be editing right now" -- but when I went to put my spices back in the cabinet this morning, I discovered what went wrong. I used coriander instead of curry. No wonder my quinoa tasted so different than what I expected. No wonder it sorta sucked.

I figured I'd give you the recipe anyway. Like I said, Martha makes this as a cold salad dish. I think it would be good hot too.

Quinoa and Apples with Curry (adapted from Martha Stewart's recipe)
1/4 cup sliced almonds
1 cup quinoa
1 tablespoon butter
1 small apple, diced
1 small shallot, diced
1 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon curry powder (not coriander)
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Freshly ground pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons dried currants
a few fresh mint leaves, coursely chopped

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Put the almonds in a single layer on a small cookie sheet and toast in the over for about 8 minutes.

Boil two cups of water. Add the quinoa and return to a boil. Cover, lower the heat to low and cook for 15 minutes.

While the quinoa cooks, melt the butter in a small saute pan. Add the shallots and apples and saute until just soft. Set aside.

Make the dressing by combining the honey, curry powder, salt, pepper, olive oil and lemon juice in a small bowl. Stir until it emulsifies.

When the curry is done, add the apples and shallots and mix well. Drizzle the dressing into the quinoa and mix well. Then add the currants and mint and mix well.

I hope it's good. I wouldn't know.

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

2009-11-17T15:54:00.000-08:00

I was craving chicken noodle soup yesterday so I decided to make use of some of the delicious chicken stock I had in the freezer to make some. It's a little time consuming but fairly easy to do. I started with a recipe from Emeril Lagasse and made adjustments from there.

Then today, I pureed a bit of it to give to Baz. I'm Cuban. We puree a lot. I actually turned out really well and Baz seemed to enjoy it even though he much prefers foods he can pick up and feed himself these days.

Anyway, here is my recipe. For the chicken stock I used this recipe from a couple of weeks back.

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup (Inspired by Emeril Lagasse's recipe)
3 pound whole chicken
4 cups chicken stock
8 cups water
2 stalks of celery, chopped into large chunks
2 carrots, peeled and chopped into large chunks
2 onions, chopped into large chunks
4 sprigs of thyme
6 sprigs of parsley
1 bay leaf
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
10 button mushrooms, cut into six pieces
2 stalks of celery, diced
2 carrots, diced
2 onions, diced
1/4 cup white wine
salt and pepper
1/4 pound egg noodles

Put the chicken in a large pot and cover with chicken stock and water. Add the large chunks of vegetables and the thyme, parsley and bay leaf. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 1 hour.

Remove the chicken from the pot and set aside to cool enough so you can handle it. Pour the liquid through a very fine strainer or a strainer lined with cheesecloth. Set the broth aside.

Remove all of the skin and bones from the chicken. Shred the meat into small pieces.

In a large pot heat up the olive oil. Add the butter and melt. Add the mushrooms and saute until brown. Add the diced carrots, celery and onions and saute until soft and brown bits begin to stick to the bottom of the pot. Add the wine and use the liquid to scrape the brown bits off the bottom of the pot. Cook for a couple of minutes to let the alcohol evaporate. Add the shredded chicken. Add the reserved broth. Season with salt and pepper to taste which could require quite a bit.

Bring the soup to a boil. Add the egg noodles and cook for 10 to 15 minutes, until the noodles reach their to desired tenderness.

Voila! It's pretty good stuff and just what the doctor ordered if you are feeling a little under the weather. And it was good left over, too. And pureed like what I did for Baz.

Norman Rockwell and Au Pied de Cochon

2009-11-16T07:01:00.000-08:00

Last Thursday, Damien and I had a rare night out together -- sans baby -- to attend the opening of the Norman Rockwell exhibit at the Fort Lauderdale Museum of Art. Let me start by saying how impressed I was with the museum. Aside from the wonderful Norman Rockwell exhibit, they also have a more modern stuff upstairs featuring some Andy Warhol, Damien Hirst and other contemporary artists. The space is really nice with lots of different types of rooms. If you are in the area, I definitely recommend checking the place out. It's very easy to see everything and the quality of the work was top-notch.

The Norman Rockwell exhibit is running through February 7th, 2010. All of the paintings are drawn from the Norman Rockwell exhibit in Massachusetts and what I liked most about it is seeing the evolution of his work. It was inspiring to see how much he honed his craft through the years and how he really started to layer is work with different themes and meanings.

It was a great date night!

Friday was another doozy of working my butt off, so Damien made dinner that night and he did a spectacular job. He made delicious pork chops that he served with some Zatarain's red beans and rice and some broccoli. Nice job!

Then on Saturday we spent a big part of the day shooting additional footage for my video. At the end of the day we found ourselves in South Beach so we stopped in at Au Pied De Cochon, a newly opened French restaurant to see what it was like since we've heard good things. It's open 24 hours a day apparently, and at 6pm, when we were there, it was pretty empty. So we decided to brave a visit with our sleeply little Baz in tow. They had a high chair for him and beautiful raw bar set up near our table so Baz behaved wonderfully -- minus a couple of loud screeches at certain points.

Wish I could say I was as happy with the food. I mean, maybe I was expecting too much, but when I saw that the steak frites would cost at least $41 (for the New York Strip) I decided to just get a hamburger. I know, I know. Ordering a hamburger at a French restaurant. But, I don't know when I order a burger to Balthazar in New York, it's delicious. They serve it on a great bun and it's expertly prepared. I guess I was thinking it would be the same here. Besides it was $25. It had to be pretty good.

I ordered the burger medium but when it came it was very rare -- and not that snobby, but "we're a fancy french restaurant and this is what we call medium" rare. It was really, really rare. So, I had no choice but to asked that they take it back. Well, in the kitchen they simply scrapped off the condiments I had put on it and charred the outside to get it to the usual medium pink inside. Not for nothing, but for $25 bucks, you'd think they would have asked if I wanted a new burger entirely so that the outside didn't taste like a burned mess. But, no, I just ate the freakin' thing. And it was on a plain old sesame seed bun like I could find at Publix. No fancy brioche bun like I had imagined.

Damien ordered the veal cheeks and they were tasty and fine. And the French onion soup au grain I had as an appetizer and the salad Damien ordered were fine too. But, the burger really got to me.

The next day, Damien and I left Baz with his grandparents for a couple of hours so I could shoot some of the last few shots for this video. And to make up for our overly expensive hamburger annoyance the night before, we stopped at Joe's Stone Crab take-away store and had ourselves some stone crabs and a lobster roll. Now we were talking.

Mom's Shrimp Creole

2009-11-11T18:05:00.001-08:00

REVISED RECIPE!

Okay, you really have to try today's recipe. It is so good.

It's a good thing it worked out, too. Today was strange and unproductive, well, except I also made that fresh mozzarella cheese which turned out pretty well. A little hard, but still tasty served with some vine ripe tomatoes and a little bit of olive oil.

Anyway, about my unproductive day -- I just hate paying the babysitter when I don't feel like I got enough done. But with the weather being pretty crappy, I couldn't shoot much so I tried to digitize and get started on the editing. The beginning of this process always feels like this. Very slow and painful. I mean, I knew going into it that it was going to be slow. Just not this slow.

So, I tried to redeem myself by making a great dinner which began with a quick trip to the supermarket to pick up some of the ingredients I would need. I don't normally stock pimientos and I was out of tomato sauce.

This recipe is so super easy but you need a food processor (or, I guess a blender would work too -- and it would probably help to have a child who does NOT burst into tears every time he hears the roar of the processor motor. Poor little Baz is terrified every single time.)

Here's how you do it:

Shrimp Creole
1 green pepper, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 6.5 ounce jar of pimientos
1 8 ounce can of tomato sauce
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
REVISION: 1/4 cup fresh parsley, stemmed
1/4 cup olive oil
1 pound shrimp

Place the green pepper, onion, garlic, pimientos, tomato sauce, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco, salt and pepper and parsley in a food processor. (If you have a small one like me, you may have to do two rounds. Poor Baz.) Blend until smooth. Pour the mixture into a saucepan, stir in the olive oil and cook over medium heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

In the meantime, clean and devein the shrimp removing the shells and tails. When the sauce has 5 minutes left of cooking time, add the shrimp and continue cooking.

Serve over white rice. And you may want to throw in a side of sweet plantains. Yummy!

I hope you like as much as I do. It is actually really great left over so throw a few extra shrimp in there for tomorrow.

Homemade Cheese!

2009-11-11T09:01:00.000-08:00

This is a very busy week where I will be scrambling to figure out what to make for dinner. I have been working on this new video and, man is it requiring a ton of freakin' legwork! Since Damien's been pretty busy too, poor Baz has either been toted around for a few shots or surrendered to his awesome babysitter for the afternoon. I am beginning to feel like he is forgetting the fun we have together. And so far for dinner, I have picked up a fried chicken dinner including macaroni and cheese from Publix one night and one of my Mom's frozen lasagna dinners the other.

But, today I am taking it a bit slower so I will hopefully be making my mom's recipe for Shrimp Creole. This is my favorite dish that I used to request for every birthday. In fact, this year I asked Damien to make it for me. So he wrote to my mom and got her recipe. I will write more about this when I actually make it.

I also decided to use my slower day to try this amazing gift that my brother and sister-in-law sent me for my birthday. It's a cheesemaking kit (that Baz is modeling above.) So, after getting a gallon of organic whole milk from Whole Foods, dissolving some citric acid and rennet tablets in some water, I found myself stirring and stretching my way to some fresh homemade mozzarella.

This was just the first try but I think it looks pretty good. What I would like to do is try to find some really fresh milk -- like from a local dairy -- because I think that is key to making the most flavorful, creamy cheese. For now though, my attempt can be called a success. And tonight, before our shrimp creole, I will be serving a caprese salad!

Maclaren Recall

2009-11-09T09:37:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to get this news out there to help protect those little fingers.

Maclaren is recalling all of their umbrella strollers -- about 1 million of them -- because their hinges pose a danger to kids. Apparently 12 children have had the tips of their fingers amputated by these hinges. They are going to supply everyone who owns one of these strollers with hinge covers that should solve the problem. But it's probably best to keep your little ones away when folding or unfolding the stroller.

You can contact Maclaren through their web site at: www.maclaren.us/recall

Of course, when I went to look at it, the site was down. Probably has something to do with the fact that a million people have these strollers.

Potato Leek Soup

2009-11-06T11:42:00.001-08:00

The other day I made chicken stock and one of the reasons was because I have been craving potato leek soup and chicken stock is a main ingredient. So, now that I have a freezer and fridge filled with it, I am ready to go.

I used an Emeril Lagasse recipe and it turned out pretty well. I guess I was hoping for a slightly creamier version so next time I might add more heavy cream to the mix. But, this recipe does include bacon and we all know that, really, anything that contains bacon is guaranteed to be delicious.

And it's pretty easy to make, if you have the chicken stock handy. You can always buy the canned kind. So, without further ado:

Potato Leek Soup (inspired by the Food Network, Emeril Lagasse recipe)
1 large leek
2 bay leaves
4 sprigs of thyme
1 teaspoon of peppercorns (I used a multi-colored version)
2 tablespoons of butter
2 strips of bacon, chopped into small pieces
1/2 cup of white wine
5 cups of chicken stock
3 large russet potatoes, peeled and diced
1 1/2 teaspoons of salt
1 teaspoon of pepper (white if you have it)
3/4 cups of heavy cream (or creme fraiche)

Cut of the green part of the leek and use two of the larger leaves to make a bouquet garni. Simply fold the bay leaves, thyme and peppercorn into the leaves and tie it closed with cooking twine or cheesecloth (which I luckily had on hand thanks to the cheese-making kit my brother and sister-in-law sent me for my birthday a few months ago.) Set aside.

Split the white part of the leek down the middle and rinse well since leeks are notorious for holding sand and dirt in between their leaves. Then slice both pieces thinly.

In a large pot, melt the butter over a medium heat. Add the bacon and cook until the bacon is soft and it's "rendered most of it's fat" as Emeril says. This takes about 5 minutes. Then add the leeks and cook until soft and wilted which also takes about 5 minutes. Add the wine and bring to a boil. Now add the chicken stock, the potatoes, the salt and pepper and the bouquet garni you created. Bring to a boil and reduce to simmer for about 30 minutes.

Remove the bouquet garni and, in batches, use a food processor to puree the soup. Return the puree to the pot and stir in the heavy cream. Yummy.

This is best served immediately but is still very good left over if stored overnight in the refrigerator.

I served this as an appetizer last night followed by my chicken cordon bleu which I made a little bit more traditionally last night with ham and swiss cheese. Things are starting to pick up again for work, so I wanted to have at least one fancy-ish meal before we get back to it. We topped things off with a couple of pieces of Halloween candy.

Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture again : (

Red Light with the Ladies

2009-11-05T18:27:00.000-08:00

Last night a couple of my girlfriends and I met for dinner at an organic diner/restaurant called Red Light. The three of us all had our first babies within months of each other so every once in a while we like to get together without the babies -- there are plenty of time when they come with us too -- and talk about how things are going.

The Red Light is a pretty cool spot on Biscayne Boulevard. It's nestled between a dingy motel and a strip club right on the Miami River. The place is pretty small but it's got a great retro diner feel and hipster wait staff. I liked it. The food was...okay. Two of us had the warm spinach salad which I really liked (it has bacon in it), while the third ordered a vegetarian plate that they specially put together for her. We also shared an artichoke appetizer and a fish dip that was pretty tasty. Unfortunately they brought a butternut squash soup way too late so we didn't even eat it.

But the best part of the night was definitely catching up with my new Miami mom friends. I may not have known them for long, but we've been through a lot together in this limited time. God, this whole motherhood thing has just been insane. It's not only introduced us to a new part of ourselves, but it's changed who we are as career women, as wives, as friends. So every once in a while it feels really nice to get together and hash some things out.

Chicken Stock

2009-11-03T17:05:00.000-08:00

Today, I decided to try and make chicken stock since a few recipes I have been looking at recently required this ingredient. I have used canned or boxed stock in the past, but I would imagine that freshly made chicken stock is probably so much better -- and better for you.

Since today was a slower day for me -- or at least I thought it would be -- I undertook the challenge. I bought an organic whole chicken from the Publix Greenwise section and bought some celery and leeks to add to the carrots and onions I already had.

I looked at several different recipes and decided to just wing it based on what I read. This is sort of an all day undertaking so take that into consideration before you start. Here is what I did:

Chicken Stock
1 whole chicken
2 carrots
2 onions
2 stalks of celery
1 leek, the green stems included
4 sprigs thyme
4 sprigs parsley
1 teaspoon peppercorn (I used a multi-colored mix)

Put the chicken in a large (and I mean really large) pot. Cover the chicken with water (about a gallon) and bring to a boil. Remove the foam that accumulates on top.

Chop up the vegetables into big chunks (the pieces should be about an inch). Add the vegetables and the herbs to the pot and bring to a boil. Once it boils, reduce heat to medium low and let the mixture simmer for 4 or 5 hours.

Strain the liquid through a sieve to remove all of the other ingredients. Chill the stock in the refrigerator overnight. The next day, remove the fat that has accumulated on the top. Refrigerate or freeze.

I am chilling my stock now and will let you know how it goes tomorrow. I also saved the very, falling apart, moist chicken and hope to use the meat somehow. We'll see though. It wasn't looking very appetizing after soaking for 4 hours.

God, I really hope it works out. That was a lot of food to use up. But, how could it not work out? It's just that I was so distracted trying to get this done with my newly mobile and very enthusiastic adventurer, Balthazar. Well, first it was his sleeping that really tripped me up. I mean, I put that kid in the car and he is out for an hour at least. So, first I sat in the parking lot at Costco and then again at Publix letting the little guy catch some z's. It was such a waste of time. But, I have to let him rest because when he's awake he is a MANIAC. He's standing up against the table, the refrigerator, the oven. He pulling down pots and pans, screaming when I won't let him leave the refrigerator door open or when I insist that the knife is off limits. Ugh, I'm exhausted just thinking about it.

But, the stock finally got simmering and then I made some Penne alla Vodka for dinner.

I also booked myself another video today. So it looks like this "hiatus" was a short one. I guess that's good.

Full report of the stock tomorrow. Oh and if anyone has made a good chicken stock before and sees that I have made some terrible errors, please let me know. I would really appreciate it.

Yankees Suck Meatloaf

2009-11-02T17:34:00.000-08:00

I'm gonna have to write this quickly. My power supply doesn't seem to be working properly. Then I remembered that I found Baz sucking on the end of it today. I hope it is not another casualty of Baz the drooling electronics fanatic. We've already lost a Blackberry and a couple of remote controls.

But, I am back at it today. After taking Baz to his 9 month doctor's appointment, and waiting out an hour nap in the parking lot of the Surfside Publix, I went food shopping and then came home and cooked a nice meal.

I was in the mood for meatloaf. So, I sort of made up my own recipe and added a glaze that I liked from a Food Network recipe. It turned out pretty well.

Here's what I did:

Yankees Suck Meatloaf
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic, pressed or diced
1 small onion
1 small carrots
1/2 green pepper
1 small Roma tomato
4 small mushrooms
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon bread crumbs
1 slice of bread
1 pound ground beef (I used organic ground beef after the New York Times article)
1 egg

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Finely dice the carrot, onion, tomato and mushrooms. Put the olive oil in a large saute pan and heat over high heat. Add the garlic and saute until it starts to brown. Add the rest of the vegetables and saute until soft and the onion is translucent. Set aside to cool a little bit.

Combine the dry ingredients and put in a large bowl. Add the ground beef and break up the slice of bread and use your hands to mix it with the meat and spices. Add the sauteed vegetables and egg. Mix all ingredients together with your hands.

Form the mixture into a loaf either using a loaf pan or your hands. Put the loaf in the middle of a baking sheet and put it in the oven.

After ten minutes, add this glaze which I got from Alton Brown on the Food Network site:

Combine 1/2 cup of ketcup, 1 tablespoon of honey, 1 teaspoon of ground cumin, a dash of Worcestershire sauce, a dash of hot sauce. Mix well.

Cover the meatloaf with this glaze and continue cooking until a meat thermometer reads that it is 165 degrees in several places. This takes about 1 hour of cooking.

I served it with mashed potatoes and some steamed broccoli. It was really good.

Oh and I call it Yankees Suck Meatloaf because the Yankees suck.

Supper Sum-Up

2009-11-01T07:09:00.000-08:00

I was unusually busy this week finishing up this video for The New York Times that is running on the homepage today (check it out!). So, I didn't really do a lot of cooking. In fact, I can barely remember what I ate. Luckily, I have an awesome husband, who despite having to finish the article that the video accompanied and another piece about the world's largest rubber band ball being moved out of Lauderhill, FL, kept me fed and hydrated.

So, I thought I'd do just a quick run down of what we did for dinner this week in hopes that maybe it will inspire some ideas and distract people from the fact I have been such a blog slacker.

Saturday: One of my mom's frozen Chicken Parmesan meals with a side of penne.
Friday: Filet Mignon with wasabi mashed potatoes and steamed asparagus. (I put a rub on the filet mignon of olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper and cumin and cooked in a cast iron skillet to medium rare -- with no fire alarms set off this time)
Thursday: Shrimp Scampi (that I made, thank you very much)
Wednesday: Damien made this excellent Cashew-encrusted chicken dish from the Miami Spice cookbook we recently picked up at the Bookstore in the Grove. I'll post the recipe soon.
Tuesday: Cafe Prima Pasta for the early bird 50% off special. I had the mushroom ravioli special and Damien had the Seafood pasta.
Monday: Rotisserie chicken dinner from Publix with macaroni and cheese and steamed broccoli on the side.
Sunday: Our usual Sunday night pizza order from Pizzafiore.

This week I should be back to cooking so I'm hoping to come up with some new recipes. Any suggestions?

Oh and Happy Halloween!

The Carnivore’s Dilemma

2009-11-01T06:35:00.000-08:00

An interesting New York Times "food for thought" column here. I have several friends who push their vegetarian/vegan views and this op-ed piece offers another perspective.

I'm more of an "everything in moderation" kind of girl so I'm not really likely to give up meat anytime soon. But when I can find it, I have been trying to buy only organic or farm raised products. Apparently, it's even better for the environment that eating tofu since so much soy comes from the handful of Brazilian international agribusinesses that are big culprits in the deforestation of Brazil.

I found this paragraph pretty interesting too:

And it should also be noted that farmers bear only a portion of the blame for greenhouse gas emissions in the food system. Only about one-fifth of the food system’s energy use is farm-related, according to University of Wisconsin research. And the Soil Association in Britain estimates that only half of food’s total greenhouse impact has any connection to farms. The rest comes from processing, transportation, storage, retailing and food preparation. The seemingly innocent potato chip, for instance, turns out to be a dreadfully climate-hostile food. Foods that are minimally processed, in season and locally grown, like those available at farmers’ markets and backyard gardens, are generally the most climate-friendly.

No! Not potato chips!

So, take a read and if anyone has any suggestions for where to buy organic meat, let me know. I already get Verde Farms organic ground meat at Costco.

Locally Grown

2009-10-30T13:57:00.000-07:00

So sorry that I seem to have been on hiatus for the past week and a half. I had a video to do for the New York Times so it's been insane around here. But, hopefully it will all pay off this weekend. The story is scheduled to run on Sunday. Take a look at nytimes.com and check out the video player.

I have a few recipes I would like to share from last week -- Damien is actually the one who did most of the cooking -- but I will get to that in the next post. First, for all of you who read about my experience with the Coconut Grove Farmers Market, I wanted to point out this interesting Miami Herald article about how Publix is going to start identifying local produce with a Redland-Raised label. It also explains a few reasons there is not as much locally grown produce as you might expect from South Florida.

Again, apologies for my lack of posts. Video is finished so I'll start cooking again.

Baked Brie with Apricots in French Bread

2009-10-20T15:54:00.000-07:00

We are up in Vero Beach this week visiting with my parents. I savor these weekends because not only do they get to see Baz for a few days, but we get to take much needed breaks to just relax with the peace of mind that someone we trust is watching after our little rascal. It's a treat. For instance, today Damien and I both got facials. Tomorrow we'll go out to dinner and see a movie. And as an added bonus when we go back to Miami Beach we'll be taking home 13 frozen meals that my mother has prepared for us. Her prepared meals were a godsend after Baz was first born. When I couldn't even tell what day it was, never mind if it was time for dinner, I could just pull out some lasagna or the best chicken parm I've ever had from the freezer. About an hour later, a home cooked meal. And she's a great cook.

So it comes as no surprise that my mom made a wonderful appetizer tonight that I'd like to share. It's very easy to do and has a real "wow" factor to it if you are looking for something to impress guests.

It's Baked Brie topped with Apricot Preserves in a french bread crust. I have to give props to our family friends, the Goodwins, who introduced my parents to this recipe while they were visiting them last week in the Adirondacks.

Baked Brie with Apricots in French Bread
1 full wheel of brie
1 jar of apricot preserves
1 container of Pillsbury Crusty French Loaf

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Spray a baking sheet with a non-stick spray like Pam. Place the whole brie in the center. Stretch the french bread dough around the outer edge of the cheese leaving the top exposed. Pinch the two ends together so that it is securely joined in a circle. Pour the apricot preserves into the center, completely covering the top of the brie, but not the dough.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes (or according to the french bread instructions). Remove from the oven and let stand for 10 to 15 minutes.

Then you can just slice the bread and spread a little cheese and apricots on it as it oozes out from the center. Man, I wish I had remembered to take a picture.

Thanks, Mom and Mrs. Goodwin!

Babies Make You Better at Work

2009-10-19T07:23:00.000-07:00

I was just catching up on the Motherlode blog on the New York Times web site and saw this post that I found pretty inspiring.

It's about how having a baby can actually make you better at work. Watching the little guy trying to walk -- how he gets up, falls and then gets right back up again with the same happy enthusiasm as the first 100 times until one day he finally takes that first successful step -- is a good lesson in how we should approach our work.

Pork Loin for a Whole Family

2009-10-18T19:58:00.000-07:00

With Damien's family here visiting, I had to come up with something for a bigger group. When I couldn't find the McCormick pulled pork packet, or a boneless pork shoulder for that matter, I decided on a pork loin that I found at Costco last time I was there. It was a huge 4 pound pork loin that was already in a onion and garlic marinade. It was so super simple. I just put in a roasting pan and cooked it for about an hour. I covered it which may have helped keep it moist. I used a meat thermometer to make sure it was fully cooked and then I sliced it and put the slices back into the roaster so that I could coat the individual slices with the juices that had pooled in the bottom of the pan.

I served it with some Yukon Gold mashed potatoes and steamed (well, microwaved really) broccoli. It was actually really tasty and good. Comfort food. We paired it with a nice bottle of La Crema Chardonnay, one of our favorites, and had a lovely dinner with Damien's siblings.

This is how I made the mashed potatoes and they turned out really well:

Yukon Gold Mashed Potatoes
(for 6 people)
7 or 8 medium or large Yukon Gold potatoes
1 tablespoon of olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, pressed
1/2 stick of butter
1/2 cup of milk (more or less to taste)
salt and pepper
1/4 cup Asiago cheese, shredded

Cut the potatoes into chunks and place in a pot of water so that all the potatoes are covered. I don't peel the potatoes, but if you prefer you can peel them. Cook until soft (about 20 minutes). Pour the potatoes into a strainer to get rid of the water.

Put the olive oil in the emptied pot. Add the garlic and saute until lightly browned. Add the butter and pour the hot potatoes back into the pot. Add milk and coat the potatoes with the butter and milk. Use a masher to mash the potatoes in the pot. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add the cheese and mix.

I use Yukon Gold because they really are the tastiest for mashed or roasted potatoes. Check them out.

We top off our simple meal with some ice cream for dessert and everybody seemed happy. It was a great visit and I can't wait for them all to come back again.

Flu Vaccines

2009-10-18T18:29:00.001-07:00

Last week was a busy one with Damien's two brothers visiting. It became a full house on Friday when Ryan's wife, Samantha arrived. Then Dani, their little sister, joined us on Saturday for a great beach day -- and their timing was perfect since a bit of a cold snap came through last night and we were in the low 70s today. For us Floridians, that's cold!

It was a reminder that flu season will soon be in full force and, of course, the crazy H1N1 flu is all over the news. Since people seem to be talking so much about it -- in fact, I just watched a good segment on 60 Minutes -- I have gathered a bunch of articles I've read about it. Most of the links below are from the New York Times, a source that I wholeheartedly trust. Hopefully this will help inform and also ease some of the anxiety people have about the flus and vaccines. And please remember that pregnant women and children are particularly vulnerable. Take care of yourselves.

I found this Q&A to be particularly useful.

This one is one of the more recent articles that talks a bit about anti-vaccinators.

The New Yorker had this Michael Specter "The Talk of the Town" piece in their Oct. 12th, 2009 issue.

And if you want to dig even more into vaccinations and immunizations, one place to start is the New York Times Topics Page on the subject -- their H1N1 page is pretty good too -- that has a good list of links, including the Vaccine Education Center at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia that I found particularly informative.

Frontier and Pull Pork Sandwiches

2009-10-14T07:23:00.000-07:00

Hilton Head 1996

I had an absolutely fabulous weekend traveling to Denver, Colorado to visit with four of my best college friends. My friend Kita perfectly summarized why it was so great on her blog here.

There are seven of us girls who were and continue to be especially close and we do our best to see each other as often as we can. Whenever we do get together, even when it's been years, it feels like just yesterday we were hanging out in our Ignacio Hall dorm room. It's just so easy to be with them and I feel more myself with these women than with just about any other people in the world. They've seen me at my best and at my worst -- and I them : ) -- and I grew into the adult that I am with their unconditional friendship and support. Of course, I have my family, but they have to love me. These girls have stuck by me even when they weren't legally obligated to - and believe me, sometimes I made it hard. And they are the compass that leads me back to the idealistic, independent, simple college student I was when life gets complicated.

Of course, these days life is a lot more complicated. I was sad and nervous to leave my little guy behind. But I think the time with his dad and his two uncles (who happened to come for a visit) was a very good thing. The pictures that were emailed to me (one is to the left) put me at ease, although I was a little hurt he looked so freaking happy that he didn't seem to miss me at all. But I do think that Damien has a better understanding of how challenging it can be to be the only one responsible for the baby. So that's good.

I wanted to recommend the fantastic airline that took me away to Denver with on-time flights and Direct TV entertainment to distract me from what I was leaving behind. Frontier Airlines is a Denver based company that was similar to JetBlue or Southwest. Casual, inexpensive, no-frills, but well done.

I'd also like to share what we had for dinner in case anyone is looking for ideas to feed a larger group. One night Kita made a delicious pasta sauce that included ground beef (that I think was organic beef she got a Whole Foods and she hadn't even read the NY Times article.) She served it over spaghetti. And the other night, as an homage to a few debauched nights we spent at a BBQ joint in our old neighborhood called Brother Jimmy's, our host Jen pulled out a slow cooker (yay! - another recipe) and made pulled pork. It was so tasty that I also had it for lunch before I left for the airport.

This is how she did it:

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork
3 lb. boneless pork shoulder
1 packet McCormick Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Seasoning
1/2 cup ketcup
1/2 brown sugar
1/3 cup cider vinegar

I think she just mixed everything but the pork in a bowl and then pour it over the pork shoulder that was placed in the slow cooker. Then she set the slow cooker to low for 8 hours. When it was done, she shredded the meat and returned it to the slow cooker until we were ready to eat. Cole slaw is almost a necessary side dish for this meal. I mean, you can't really have pulled pork without cole slaw!

I couldn't find the McCormick packet at the Publix near my house. I have one other to check. And Jen ordered the pork shoulder from her fancy butcher which I think I'll have to do too.

Anyway, this was fantastic and it's one of those dishes that is almost better leftover. When I ate some for lunch the next day, it made having to leave a little less bitter.

Denver bound and The End of an Era

2009-10-10T10:26:00.000-07:00

I usually don’t write on this blog on weekends because I’m try to be out and about and not cooking much on Saturdays. And this weekend is no exception, except that it’s more exciting than just eating out at local spots because I am traveling to Denver for a little reunion with my nearest and dearest college friends. So I am sitting here at Denver International Airport waiting for my friend Karima’s flight to arrive from New York before we get picked up by my other friend, Kita – of Enchilada and Tortilla Soup fame – and they have free wi-fi so why not write in.

I am very excited to see the ladies, but it also means leaving my baby behind for the first time in his short life. While I have enjoyed the hassle-free experience at the airport sans baby gear and unpredictable child, I’m definitely pining for the little guy. Damien emailed me a video of his morning – thanks for showing me that he hardly knows I’m gone by the way, Damien (you can see a small video below) – and I am sure he is in very capable hands, but I miss him. So I have gotten myself a large latte and need to distract myself a bit so that I am not thinking about him this whole wait.

It’s also a major milestone for me because it officially marks the end of my first breastfeeding experience. Breastfeeding was something I really struggled with at the beginning. I mean, really, really struggled. And I feel a lot of pride about the fact that I made it 8 months. It was a rough start and I thought about quitting a million times. But, I somehow managed to exclusively breast feed him through his first few months despite incredible pain and bleeding nipples, the nadir of which took place in a very warm, badly lit J. Crew dressing room, store clerks jiggling the door handle, when I pulled him away from me to see that there was blood mixed with the milk he had running down his chin – my blood. Sorry if that’s too much information, but it was even more traumatic for me.

But then, around 3 months, it very suddenly got better. Everyone had told me it would. It was so hard to believe. I mean, it was terrible. How could it possibly get better? Then, I don’t know if hormonally things started to even out or what, but just like magic, at 3 months Baz seemed to get his latch right and my poor tender boobs stopped aching. It was a miracle! In fact, I actually started to enjoy it. It was nice to have some quiet time, and there is nothing like your baby needing to eat to make you stop what you are doing and take a break to cuddle with him for a few minutes as he gets what he needs.

Toward the end I had gotten it down to once a day – in the mornings when he first woke up. It was a really nice ritual. He’d start to talk to the monkeys hanging from his mobile when he woke up. Damien would go pick him and change him and then bring him to the bedroom where we’d hang out, I’d feed him and we’d get ready to face the day.

I suppose we can still hang out in bed and Damien or I can give him a bottle, but that will require a trip upstairs and mixing of formula – just enough effort and technology to disrupt our peaceful, natural morning.

Cosmopolitans and Turkey Sausage Penne Alla Vodka

2009-10-09T06:06:00.000-07:00

Last night I looked in my freezer and all I had left was three one pound packages of V erde Farms Organic ground beef, a huge Costco pork loin and a package of turkey sausage. I guess the turkey sausage was the only thing that looked reasonable to me so I had to figure out something to do with it.

I was craving a little vodka sauce, but we'd run out of vodka after the last batch...okay, and there were maybe a couple of dirty martinis involved one evening during a sunset on the beach. I hadn't been out of the house all day because I am still working on my video, and so I decided that maybe going to the liquor store was just the outing I needed! I put Baz in the stroller and off we went.

It was worth it. I plopped the sausages into a frying pan and browned them in a couple drops of oil olive. I took them out of the pan and sliced them before returning to the pan so that they would cook faster. At this point Damien came home, noticed the fresh bottle of vodka and asked me if I knew how to make Cosmopolitans. I didn't, but I sure wouldn't mind finding out!

This is what we discovered:

Cosmopolitans alla Damien (makes 2 servings)
3 ounces vodka
1 ounce Cointreau or Triple Sec (we used Cointreau)
2 ounce cranberry juice
1 lime

Pour all liquid ingredients in a martini shaker with ice and shake. Squeeze the juice of 1/2 of the lime into each of two chilled martini glasses. Pour contents of the shaker over the lime juice. Garnish with a wedge of lime.

You can adjust the ingredients to your taste. Apparently, there really isn't a right or wrong way to do it.

Now armed with my pre-dinner cocktail, I continued making my vodka sauce. I put the pasta in to boil and removed the sausages from the frying pan, cleaned it out and continued to make the vodka sauce like I did in my post a here.

This recipe is becoming a real favorite around here, and the sausage added a new twist. It was really tasty.

Today, I am getting ready to go on my first trip sans baby. While I am very excited for the reunion with some of my dearest friends in Denver, CO, I am also very nervous about leaving Baz behind. I know he's in good hands -- in fact, Damien has his two brothers coming in this weekend so he'll have reinforcements (even though I was sort of looking forward to him experiencing a full two days alone with the baby.) But I've never been away from him for more than a few hours. And to make matters more difficult, he has started saying "Mama" this week. Way to break my heart, baby.

My First Slow Cooker Experience - Chicken and Mushrooms

2009-10-07T18:10:00.000-07:00

A year or so ago, Damien told his mom that we'd like a slow cooker for Christmas. I am not sure what possessed him to say this. I have never used a crock pot in my life, and while Damien does do some of the cooking around here, I just couldn't imagine him thinking of a recipe to throw in the thing before he went off to report on something.

Well, a couple of years later, it has never seen the outside of a closet -- and it takes up a lot of room in that closet cuz it ain't a tiny piece of equipment. That is until today. I have absolutely no idea how to use a slow cooker, but it seems pretty easy -- I mean, just throw a few ingredients in there and set to cook. Right?

I guess the idea of ending up with a nice meal in 4 to 6 hours with minimal effort sounds good to me right now. I have been having some trouble budgeting my time since I have an actual paying job to do this week. The tough part of being a freelancer and a mom is that when I have real work to do for someone other than my family, my job of taking care of Baz and keeping the Oliva Cave house in order doesn't just get put on hold. Baz still needs to be dressed, fed and entertained, laundry still needs to get done if I want something to wear, and, of course, dinner needs to be made. And since it is just freelance, it's not like I get into a rhythm. Things are too erratic for that.

Now, Damien is really great -- much better than average -- so this is not to say that my husband is good for nothing or that men just don't get it. He gets it, but he has a demanding, full time job every day.

It's just that even with his help, being a mom is a full time job, more so than I ever imagined. In fact, I'd actually like to apologize right now to my mom and my mom friends who have known this for a long time. I was insensitive. So, when I add to my schedule -- even when it's not as demanding as a breaking news video for The New York Times -- that means I have a second full-time job. People will say, why don't you just get a babysitter and I do. I do get someone to help me out for a few hours here and there, but that can only cover so much time and, quite frankly, finding people and getting them organized takes a bunch of time, too, not to mention that since I work from home the distractions are endless even when someone is watching him. And it's limited. Before baby, I'd just work all day and night until the job was done. Now I have to be ready to work during the time I have help, and if you work in something creative you know that sometimes your creative juices aren't quite as disciplined as your schedule.

I really am not complaining so much as I am trying to figure this out. I mean, hell, I'm super lucky -- my husband is great, I can afford to get some help and at least I actually have some work, work that I can do at home no less. It's just is it possible to have a successful part-time freelance career and take care of babies? If any of you have any tips for how you organize your work/baby life, I'd love to hear them.

In the meantime, I'm still cooking with that slow cooker. I put some cut up chicken breast in there with about 10 sliced up mushrooms, 1 small diced onion, 2 chopped up carrots,2 chopped up cloves of garlic, some fresh thyme, a bay leaf, 1/2 cup of wine, 1/2 cup cream and 1 cup of chicken broth. I'll let you know how it goes. Maybe this crock pot will become a big help as I go forward. Oh, and thanks for the gift, Mrs. Cave.

Chicken and Shrimp Enchiladas

2009-10-06T19:44:00.000-07:00

Tonight, I decided to go back to my friend, Kita's, enchilada recommendation. Her sister sent her this recipe and I have adapted a few things to my taste and what I had available.

For tonight's version, I replaced the beef I originally used with both chicken and shrimp (since I realized a little late in the game that I was running low on shrimp, I just sauteed a chicken breast that I had seasoned with salt and pepper.) I didn't use them together but instead made two different kinds of enchiladas. I also used two kinds of red salsa instead of green salsa because the Publix I went to only had some lame El Paso Salsa Verde available. I used the mango and peach salsa I bought a Costco a while ago as well as Publix brand of medium salsa which was actually quite nice.

The mango/peach salsa was pretty tasty with the shrimp enchiladas in particular. The only thing I didn't like was that it didn't taste particularly Mexican. But, whatever, it was a little gourmet and Damien seemed to like it, too.

I also mixed up the veggies a bit. I did use the squash and corn like the recipe calls for, but I also threw in a poblano pepper and a half of a jalapeno to make things a little spicier.

All in all, it was pretty good. My apologies to Kita and her sister, Mollie for screwing with an already terrific recipe. You're original is still the best.

Verde Farms Organic Beef

2009-10-06T19:15:00.000-07:00

A little dismayed by the New York Times piece about how we're all going to die from eating ground beef (okay, so maybe it wasn't that bad), I decided to send an email to the producer of the organic ground beef I've been purchasing from Costco -- Verde Farms.

I was happy to get a reply within an hour. Dana Ehrlich, the founder of Verde Farms sent me this email in response to my questions about the way they handle their ground beef production:

Hi Diana,
Thanks for your message and patronage. I assume you are referring to the NY Times articles which has received a lot of attention.

We take a number of steps beyond that which the large, conventional grinders and USDA requires such as:
.    Food safety audits by independent companies of our slaughtering and processing facilities
.    HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point) plans to identify high risk areas
.    No bench trim used from the grinding facility
.    Slow line speeds at the slaughterhouse in Australia and US which reduces risk of fecal contamination
.    Majority of beef is free-range which minimizes fecal contamination on the hide and moving to 100% free-range, grass-fed cattle
.    No organ meats, no old dairy cows, no reconstitution, no fine textured meat or rendering, etc.only meat from healthy animals
.    Require Certificate of Analysis for negative E Coli 0157:H7 for all incoming raw material
.    First production of the day after nightly sanitation
.    Test and hold of finished product for E Coli 0157:H7, generic E Coli, aerobic plate counts, and coliforms

A good customer is an educated customer.let me know if you have any additional questions that I would be happy to answer.

Thanks, Dana

I still have a few questions for Mr. Ehrlich. For instance, does requiring a certificate of analysis for negative E Coli for all incoming raw material mean that they test the incoming beef themselves? But, I suppose their handling seems better than most places.

In the meantime, I'll stick to whole cuts of beef and other types of meat. And I suggest everyone be very careful with their handling of food in their kitchens.

Yesterday's New York Times Article on Ground Beef

2009-10-05T07:55:00.000-07:00

Not sure how many of your saw this yesterday, but the New York Times did a very disturbing article about ground beef production and as much as I love hamburgers -- it's one of the foods I most craved while I was pregnant -- it has me reconsidering whether I should ever eat one again.

I guess I could always have a whole piece of meat ground for me, but how much is that gonna cost?

You can read the article here.

Also take a look at Gabe Johnson's video that's embedded in the article.

The Coconut Grove Farmer's Market To Which We Can Never Return

2009-10-04T12:02:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Balthazar was in a real state because the night before he was kept awake by a tooth that seems to be emerging from his little gums. The teething is also causing a bit of a runny nose so he was very uncomfortable lying down. That made napping a little tricky, too. And no napping plus a bad night of sleep equals one cranky baby and two exhausted parents.

So, Damien and I thought our best course of action would be to drive somewhere, anywhere. That way Baz would maybe sleep because he now usually falls asleep within minutes of getting in the car and the car seat keeps him in an upright position. We pretty much used up all of our brain power coming up with that part of the plan so figuring out a destination was nearly impossible. We started out towards Lincoln Road -- the pedestrian shopping zone in South Beach. But as we reached our initial destination, Baz was so soundly asleep that we decided we needed to go somewhere further to continue the glorious, quiet siesta. We just kept driving south and somehow found ourselves on I-95 heading to Coconut Grove -- another Miami neighborhood famous for its Bohemian feel even though it is now mostly known for the big outdoor mall, Cocowalk, and all of it's Gap, Victoria Secret and Cheesecake Factory glory.

After about an hour of driving around (I know, we're terrible, but it's the small carbon footprint we need to make in order to rest our child,) we stumbled upon the Coconut Grove Farmers Market. I like farmers markets, I really do. But, I like farmers markets because the ones I've been to in San Francisco and New York usually offer local produce -- fresh stuff that didn't require cargo planes to get it to me (especially since we now need to reserve our gas-guzzling for restful car rides). The farmers markets in Miami however, aren't quite like that. This one, like another I have visited, offered produce from one supplier and while it was organic, most of it was from far away. We were in Coconut Grove, one of the lushest places in Miami -- proof that basically anything can grow here -- yet they were selling avocados and tomatoes in addition to lots of other produce from California and other far away places. I mean, Hello! Immokalee, Florida grows something like 90% of the tomatoes consumed in this country. Why bring tomatoes from California for your farmers market? Just because someone slapped an "organic" label on it? What does that really mean, anyway? That you can charge exorbitant prices? What about the amount of fuel that had to be used to get all of this produce here to Miami? I might as well buy the local stuff at Whole Foods or Publix even.

Then two things happened which made me hate the Coconut Grove Farmers Market even more. Seduced by some lovely leeks they had and some shitake mushrooms I haven't been able to pick up Publix, I thought I'd get over myself and buy something. When I finally figured out where to pay there was a guy ahead of me buying 100 things and then there was me with my three items (I also picked up a couple of onions since I was running low) and another guy behind me with his two or three items. The cashier went so slowly with the guy ahead of me, calling out each of his 100 items, looking up their prices on his list of about a million things. "Wow, look at these beautiful poblano peppers. These are, let me just find it on this here piece of paper, oh, I see, $3.60 a pound. And you have about 2 pounds. That's, let me see, $7.20. Next, you have these gorgeous bundles of parsley...." It took him forever.

When he finally finished, he looked at me and the guy behind me and pronounced, "Sorry folks, I'm parched. Before I do anything, I need to get some water." And he skipped away. Wait, was he kidding me? It literally should have taken him two seconds to ring us both up. It was past 4pm, not the busiest time of the market. There was sure to be some time after us. And we had just waited patiently....really? I didn't freak out. But, I calmly returned all of my items to their cardboard boxes and decided to find Damien who had gone to the other side to buy us some fresh juice from the prepared food side (which did look like homemade, local stuff, by the way, and the juice was very tasty and delicious.)

That's where we encountered strike three.

As we finished up our pineapple/lemon/ginger and watermelon juices, we encountered this woman (you can see a picture of her to the left that I got from the Glaser Farms web site) who was selling glass straws. Seriously, glass straws. She spent 10 minutes trying to convince me I needed to buy one for Baz because plastic ones are dangerous for babies -- they can drown or slice themselves with the rough edges, as if glass ones won't break or anything especially being used by a baby. She was admiring Baz and his fat, pork chop thighs that were sticking out of the Baby Bjorn Damien was holding him in. She asked if they were the result of breastfeeding. Uh oh. I could see where this was going. Calmly, I told her that they were the result of everything since I am now breastfeeding, formula feeding and giving him solids. She asked if he ate grains. I said yes, and then she went on to explain that in India babies don't start eating grains until they have their four front teeth because that is a sign that their intestines are developed enough for grains. Now maybe it was just the bad night's sleep he had suffered the night before, or perhaps he is suffering from PTSD from our time in a war zone, or maybe he's lost his patience for Eat, Pray, Love wannabes and their romanticism of anything Indian, exotic or, really, anything not American. Whatever it was, he jumped down her throat! What kind of research did she have to back up that claim?! Who was she to judge how we decided to feed our own, obviously healthy baby?! She started criticizing his inability to stop talking and listen to her. He pressed her for her credentials.

Part of me was mortified as I watched him and this woman going at it in the middle of the farmers market. But a bigger part of me was completely amused and entertained by the loud fight that had started. My favorite part might have been when she asked him if he was a lawyer. Or when she tried to convince us that she had spent many years assisting a scholar in India giving her the authority to comment on the nutritional needs of infants. Regardless, my job in these situations is usually to get Damien out of them. I politely apologize for his fiestiness and pull him away. But this time I couldn't. It was too much fun and I liked watching her try to match Damien punch for punch. And all this while Baz was just sitting there, dangling from his daddy's puffed up chest. It was great.

Eventually, I offered a qualified apology. "Thank you for the tip. We have to go." I latched my arm around Damien's and we laughed as we made our way to Cocowalk to check out if they had any baby pajamas on sale at the Gap. I think they're made in India.

Balthazar's Mustard Crusted Salmon Over Lentils

2009-10-04T10:13:00.000-07:00

On Friday night, after we had a chance to adjust to being back, I thought I'd try a more ambitious recipe to get us back on our Friday night ritual of a great meal with a nice bottle of wine. I hit up Publix and Costco earlier in the day to restock. At Costco I was able to buy a great piece of salmon, so I decided to check out The Balthazar Cookbook for a salmon recipe.

I settled on the Mustard-Crusted Salmon because it sounded fairly easy -- and let's face it, not all the recipes in the cookbook are that simple. It also suggested serving the salmon with lentils which I had been wanting to try and make since they could also be a great addition to Baz's diet.

It went really well. There were couple of kitchen limitations I encountered. I just hate my stove and oven. Gas would make it much easier to control the temperature and I probably could have achieved the beautiful golden crust like the photograph they use. Instead, I got a slightly darker, almost burned look to my salmon crust. Then of course with my new fear of the smoke detector in our building, I was a little tense about setting my smoky oven to 500 degrees. But, I positioned Damien just under then alarm waving a dish towel and in the end not a peep was heard.

So, without further ado, here is the recipe:

Mustard-Crusted Salmon over Lentils (adapted from The Balthazar Cookbook)

Cook the lentils first:
1 cup lentils (the cookbook suggests French green du Puy lentils)
2 slices of bacon, diced
4 sprigs of thyme
1/2 medium onions, diced
1 garlic clove, pressed
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 medium carrot, diced
1 celery stalk, diced
1/4 teaspoon white pepper (I used black pepper because I didn't have white pepper)

Rinse the lentils in cold water and then place them in a medium saucepan and cover with 4 cups of water. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook the bacon with the thyme in a saute pan. When the bacon starts to brown and the fat has liquefied, add the onion, garlic and salt. Cook for about 5 minutes until the onions are translucent. Add the butter, carrots, celery, pepper and 1 cup of water. Bring to a simmer and cook for 5 more minutes.

Drain the lentils and put them back into the pot. Add the bacon and vegetable mixture to the lentils and stir. Simmer for 7 to 10 minutes or until the lentils are very tender.

Mustard-Crusted Salmon
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 salmon fillets, about 7 ounces each, skinned
2 teaspoons dijon mustard (I used 1 teaspoon of honey dijon mixed with 1 teaspoon of regular dijon)
2 teaspoons bread crumbs

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees.

Rinse and dry the salmon fillets. Mix the two dijon mustards if you are using both honey and regular. Spread one teaspoon of the mustard on the side of the salmon that was skinless to start. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of bread crumbs over each fillet. Use your fingers to press the bread crumbs evenly into the mustard.

Heat the vegetable oil in a large overproof saute pan over high heat. When the oil begins to smoke, place the fillets in the oil, mustard side down. Reduce the heat to medium and cook the fish for 2 minutes. Flip the fillet over and cook the other side for one more minute.

Move the pan into the preheated oven and finish cooking for 3 or 4 more minutes depending on the thickness of the fillets.

I think it would probably okay to keep the fish on the stovetop and simply cover the pan to cook for the additional 3 or 4 minutes, but I went with the original recipe.

To serve, place a bed of lentils in a shallow bowl and arrange the fish on top of them. It looks and tastes beautiful.

We ate it outside on our balcony looking out at the nearly full moon over the calm ocean while the baby slept soundly downstairs. Paired with a nice bottle of South African sauvignon blanc, it was a memorable meal. We topped it off with some delicious cupcakes Damien picked up at Books and Books and a glass of port. Then we slipped away to the television to watch an episode of the first season of Mad Men, which is a really great show : )

Room Service, PF Chang's and more in Tampa...

2009-09-29T17:40:00.000-07:00

We have just returned from another work trip and this one worked out quite well. We left Miami on Monday morning for Tampa and just got back yesterday. It's not too far away -- about 4 1/2 hours -- and Baz was a little angel for the ride there and back.

Of course, traveling in Florida leaves much to be desired in terms of dining options. Add a baby to that and you find yourself scrounging for just about anything as long as it comes early and fast. Luckily we stay at the Intercontinental that has a nice rate for us New York Times folks. And their room service options are pretty good.

So, on Monday night after I finished videotaping our female Iraq War veteran attending her class at the SW Florida College, we ended up having a glass of wine and an appetizer (a delicious spinach, crab, artichoke dip) in the bar downstairs and then ordered a Cobb Salad and desert in our room after Baz went to sleep. What a good Cobb Salad! One salad was good enough for the both of us and we topped it off with a delicious slice of key lime pie -- my favorite!

I guess we were still full from the huge hamburger lunch we'd had on the road. We ate at Red Robin which I had never heard of, but turned out to be really tasty. I mean, it was not the healthiest meal I've eaten in a while. For instance, my burger had french cut onion rings right in the bun along with the BBQ burger and cheddar. Damien's was even worse with the same onion rings and gorgonzola.

Then on Tuesday night we hit up the PF Chang's across the street from the hotel. It's sort of a joke between me and Damien because I am not quite as ashamed of all the suburban things I like as Damien is -- he likes to hide his suburban side. PF Chang's is one of those chain Chinese places that tries to be a bit fancier. I love it and whenever we pass one I am always like, "Hey, PF Chang's! We should go there!" to which Damien replies, "No." But on a business trip in the state of Florida, PF Chang's is pretty much gourmet. So, I got my fix.

Then we were invited to my aunt and uncle's house for dinner on the other night. I had not seen my cousins in a very long time. It had been so long that I had never even met the six kids they've collectively added to the Oliva side of the family. It was utter chaos at their house, but it was just great to see all the little ones running around. Baz just sat there in awe -- too young to really participate, but old enough to know that they were all pretty cool.

My aunt Maria -- or Tia Maria as I call her -- made a delicious lasagna and salad and there was plenty of wine flowing. What a nice evening. She was also a total lifesaver because she watched Baz on Tuesday afternoon so Damien and I could tape our sit-down interview with our vet. I don't know what we would have done without her.

All in all, it was a great trip -- culinary and otherwise. Burgers, PF Chang's and homemade lasagna. You can't ask for more. The real dessert was the fact that Baz slept beautifully the whole trip. Sure, he had his moments, but for the most part he slept through the night allowing Damien and I to be in good form when doing our reporting. Thanks for that Bazmatazz.

Recession Prices at Cafe Prima Pasta

2009-09-25T11:09:00.000-07:00

Damien and I haven't been going out to eat as much as we used to. Even after Baz was born we would take him out with us and he'd sleep soundly in his stroller while we enjoyed some nice meal at Ice Box off of Lincoln Road or Michael's Genuine Food and Drink, our favorite place in Miami. But, these days we have sort of become slaves to Baz's schedule because it is so freakin' painful when it's disrupted and he doesn't sleep for a couple of nights.

We discovered however that if we go out early enough, not only can we maintain Baz's routine, we can also get some great deals. Now we totally understand the whole Early Bird Special thing. It's not just for old people - it's also for people who took pay cuts because of the recession!

Our early bird special is at a fabulous Italian cafe that we frequented a lot before Baz was born - Cafe Prima Pasta. It's our neighborhoody place that has some of the most dependable service we've found in Miami so far and good old fashioned, if not a little overpriced, Italian fare. The only reason we stopped going there for a little while is because the last time we went Baz had one of his worst meltdowns ever, a meltdown that scarred us for life. So, in addition to the schedule thing, we also were way too embarrassed to show our faces there. Luckily we didn't have a repeat.

I ordered the fabulous Eggplant Parmesan special and Damien had the Chicken Marsala and we ordered a bottle of Pinot Grigio too. We started off with a Tri Colore salad and they brought us some complimentary, homemade Amaretto to top things off at the end. The whole thing, including tip: $55. During the week, if you are seated before 6pm they give you a 50% discount.

I added a few dollars to the automatic tip and in addition to being on his finest behavior, we were home in time to give Bazzy his usual bath, bottle and bedtime. All in all, a great evening.

Leftover Chili and Cafe Bambini

2009-09-25T10:49:00.000-07:00

Last time I tried to take some chili out of the freezer, I accidentally pulled out my saved Tortilla Soup. It was a happy accident partly because I really like the Tortilla Soup, and partly because I still had the chili to use at some point.

Well, that some point came the day before yesterday when I was still reeling from my horrible london broil cooking night. So, I reached into the freezer and pulled out the tupperware filled with my delicous chili.

It was perfect because I had also spent the afternoon at this neat cafe called Cafe Bambini in North Miami Beach. My friend Stasi discovered it somehow and asked if I wanted to meet her there to check it out. What a good idea! According to the web site, it was created by two stay-at-home mom's who were looking for a safe place to take their kids where they could also enjoy a great cup of coffee. They created a fun play space for kids that have things like a toy piano, one of those ball pits that the kids can jump around in and a science and discovery play station. And they have a wonderful little cafe that serves things like paninis and pizzas as well as Segafredo coffee products. You can also buy small packages of Cheerios and other kid friendly items.

You pay $5 for use of the play space and I have to say, it was pretty worth it just so I didn't have put everything back in it's place afterwards - or maybe I was supposed to, but how I could I with all those kids tearing shit up! The other kids made it pretty exciting for Baz, too. Not only could he play with - and get a big scratch on the face from - his good friend Sophia, Stasi daughter, but there were older kids who he could be in awe of.

He was pretty pooped after the whole thing, which meant a good sleep night for me. And Damien and I enjoyed a nice bowl of piping hot chili when he finally went to bed.

London Broil

2009-09-23T08:57:00.000-07:00

Monday I had a bit of a dinner failure. It's not that the recipe was bad, it was all in my execution. I just screwed up.

I made a London Broil that I marinated for a short time prior to cooking. I served it with some creamed spinach and brown rice which both turned out quite well if not a little boring.

The marinade was pretty good. In a plastic storage container, I mixed the following:

London Broil Marinade
1/4 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon Worcestshire Sauce
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
1 teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon marjoram
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper

Combine all ingredients. Cover plastic container and shake.

For my london broil, I then sliced one small onion, added it to the marinade and then coated the london broil with the marinade in a zip lock bag. That made it easy to refrigerate as I marinated.

Sounds pretty easy and decent. Right? Well, I used a pretty thick cut of london broil. So, when I went to broil it in my shitty broiler, I wasn't quite sure how long it would take. I placed my piece of meat along with the onion and all of the marinade in a baking pan. I decided to broil for 10 minutes per side. Sounded reasonable to me.

The meat looked really nice. It was browned on both sides and the marinade had turned into a beautiful looking sauce. So, I took it out. I cut open the meat to see if it was cooked enough. It was definitely pretty red in the middle, but trying not to overcook it, I just put it on the cutting board and covered it with aluminum foil hoping it would continue to cook while I made the spinach. (I had made the brown rice much earlier so I could give it to the baby. It takes about 45 minutes to make brown rice, so plan accordingly.)

At this point I also took the pan I had cooked the meat in, put it on a medium heat on my stove top and added just a bit of water to scrap up the delicious browned bits at the bottom. That was the last of my good cooking.

I put a gravy boat in the sink so I could pour the sauce into it. But, as I was trying to pour the sauce, I knocked the gravy boat over ruining 90% of my delicious sauce. Then when I went to slice the meat, I realized it was really way too rare. Dammit! I just basically threw away the cooking juices and I needed to return the meat to the oven!

Meanwhile I had already spooned out my rice and spinach which were now getting cold on the plate. It was so annoying.

I finally got the london broil appropriately cooked and was able to salvage enough of the onion sauce for Damien's serving, but I had to resort to A1 sauce which I barely had enough of.

I think I should have marinated the meat for much much longer. Maybe 6 hours or so. Overnight would have been even better. It was fine, but not nearly as tasty as I thought it would be.

Anyway, not the best cooking night. So last night we decided to order the pizza we skipped on Sunday. Damien insisted that maybe I needed a break.

(NO PICTURES TO DOCUMENT MY FAILURE.)

Penne Alla Vodka

2009-09-21T07:29:00.000-07:00

Usually on Sundays we have pizza, but since Damien and I had spent the day drinking beers and eating cheese and hummus while watching Juanes' Peace without Borders Havana show, we didn't feel hungry enough to place our usual order. We had a bit of risotto left from Friday night, but not enough for the two of us. So Damien suggested he'd be in the mood for Penne alla Vodka if it were simple enough to make.

I did a little investigating on the internet and figured out it is actually pretty easy. Here is what I did:

Penne alla Vodka
1/2 pound penne pasta
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, finely diced
1 garlic clove, pressed
1/2 cup vodka
14 ounces crushed tomatoes
1/4 cup cream
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
Parmesan cheese

Boil water for pasta. Pour in the pasta and cook to desired tenderness.

In the meantime, heat up olive oil over medium high heat until hot but not smoking in a large saute pan. Saute onion and garlic until onions are translucent and garlic is browned - bits should begin sticking to the bottom of the pan. Add vodka, scrapping pieces of onion and garlic off the bottom of the pan. Cook for about 1 minute to reduce and cook off alcohol. Add the tomatoes, stirring constantly. Stir in the cream. Add red pepper, salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer and cook for 2 or 3 minutes.

When pasta is finished. Drain and return to pot. Pour sauce onto pasta and stir to coat. Top with grated Parmesan cheese.

I think next time I'd like to add a little bit of pancetta before I add in the vodka. And you can adjust the amount of cream depending on your taste. Same goes for the red pepper.

It was the perfect end to a fun day. The concert was fun to watch and we enjoyed sharing the time with our friends Casey, Arian and their son, Luca who stopped by for a little while.

Plucking that Chicken

2009-09-19T19:52:00.000-07:00

I saw this last week and am still laughing whenever I hear anything about it.

Since there is mention of chicken in it, I thought it would be appropriate to post it here:

My favorite part is the look on his co-anchor's face.

Enjoy! And keep plucking that chicken!

The Best Risotto EVER!!!

2009-09-19T05:53:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned in my last post, Damien came home yesterday, so I decided to try and make something a little special. As an ode to my adorable little boy, I broke out the Balthazar Cookbook.

While it is slightly embarrassing to admit, Baz is named after our favorite New York City restaurant, Balthazar. Sure there were other reasons too, but the main one is that we used to go to this restaurant for special occasions, when my parents were in town and paying for dinner or when we just wanted to splurge on a really great meal. When we began the name search for our boy, we were thinking of meaningful places we had been and Balthazar came up.

I started going there when it first opened in 1997. On my first visit, I was alone and sat in the bar area for lunch. It was so extravagant for me. I was just a lowly advertising assistant making maybe $20,000 a year, including the late night meals and cab rides they'd pay for when I worked past 8pm. But, I ordered a steak frite, a glass of red wine and took in the awesome scene while documenting it in my journal. After I'd spent a good amount of time there, I was ready for my check. It was bustling and busy, so I asked the maitre 'd to help me out. He said, "Oh no, you can't leave without having dessert!" I replied that I would love to but that I really needed to go. I think he recognized that the real issue was I couldn't afford the additional $8. He said, "Please, wait one more minute." Just then, a server swooped in and placed the most beautiful and perfectly browned creme brulee in front of me. The maitre 'd gave me a big smile and said, "Bon appetit on me." It was the most delicious creme brulee I had ever had.

So I had to keep going back. It was the first place I had oysters (thanks to my dad) and a dirty martini. It's where we went after we got engaged - and fulfilled my dream of ordering Le Grand (their three tiers of unbelievably delicious shellfish). And when we went back this summer for the sale of our Brooklyn Heights apartment, that's where we went to celebrate, taking little Balthazar for his first visit. (See picture to the left.) They didn't seem particularly impressed when we told them his name. I'll let that slide.

Since Damien's homecoming was a somewhat special occasion (sure he travels a lot, but I'll have the ability to sleep in a little bit longer so that makes it a special occasion) I decided I should go to The Balthazar Cookbook. And boy, oh boy was it AMAZING!

I decided to make the Shrimp and Roasted Red Pepper Risotto. Now, this was not the easiest thing in the world to make and I must give a special shout out to my baby without whom I would not have my newly muscular arms that enabled me to endure the incredible amounts of stirring it required. It is quite labor intensive, but it was so worth the effort.

Here is the recipe (adapted, of course, from The Balthazar Cookbook):

Shrimp and Roasted Red Pepper Risotto a la Balthazar
Start by making roasted red peppers a few hours before you are to start making the risotto. For this you will need:
6 red peppers
olive oil
salt

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Split and remove the seeds for the peppers. Slice the peppers into 1 inch strips. Lay them on a cookie sheet, peel side up, and brush the peels with olive oil. Sprinkle them with salt. Place in the oven and cook for 40 minutes or until the peppers are turning black.

Remove from the oven, put the peppers in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. When they are cool enough to handle, peel the peppers. They should come right off. Set aside or put in the refrigerator.

You can also prepare chicken stock at this point, however, I did not have time for that so I did the awful thing of buying canned chicken stock (I'm so sorry Keith McNally). Next time I make a chicken, I'll try making my own.

Now for the risotto, you'll need:

6 cups of chicken stock
6 roasted red peppers (from above)
30 medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
salt and pepper
4 tablespoons of olive oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 medium yellow onion, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, pressed or minced
2 cups Arborio rice (Italian risotto rice, regular rice will not do)
1/2 cup white wine
3 scallions, cut into 1/4" rings on a bias
2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped finely
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Heat 5 cups of the chicken stock over a medium low setting until it simmers. Lower the heat to the lowest setting to keep warm.

In the meantime, cut the roasted peppers into large chunks. In a small saucepan, combine them with the other 1 cup of chicken stock and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to a medium low setting and cook for 10 minutes. Put the mixture in a food processor and blend for a few seconds - until smooth, but a few small pieces of pepper remain.

Dry the shrimp with paper towels and season them with a little salt and pepper. Heat up 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large frying pan until hot but not smoking. Saute the shrimp (in a single layer) until just cooked through (about 1 1/2 minutes per side). Remove from pan and set aside.

In a big saucepan or dutch oven, melt the butter with 2 tablespoons of olive oil over a medium-low heat. Add the onions, garlic, and a sprinkling of salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until the onions are translucent and soft (about 2 minutes). Add the rice and stir to coat the grains with the butter/oil and to lightly toast them (about 2 minutes). Add the wine and stir until it is fully absorbed into the rice (about a minute.)

This is where you'll need the endurance. You'll be adding the warm chicken stock to the rice in 1/2 cup increments. After each addition, stir constantly until the liquid has been fully absorbed into the rice. Then add the next. This will take about 20 minutes, maybe more. Towards the end, start tasting the rice to make sure it has not become too soft. It should still be al dente after the last addition. After the last 1/2 cup has been fully absorbed, stir in the scallions.

Then start adding the red pepper puree. You will add this in three increments, stirring constantly and letting it fully absorb before adding the next. Again, keep tasting the rice to make sure it is not becoming mushy.

When the puree has been absorbed and the rice is at it's perfect consistency, stir in the shrimp, basil and Parmesan. Sprinkle a little more salt and pepper to taste.

This risotto is best served immediately with an additional sprinkle of Parmesan. Bon Appetit!!!

It was seriously some of the best risotto I've ever had (if I may say so myself. Actually, Damien said so, too.) The stirring was made less painful by the couple of glasses of wine I drank as I cooked : )

In the cookbook, they explain a way to partially cook the risotto so that you can prepare it to a certain point and finish it later. I find this helpful because there is really no way you could prepare this for a dinner party, unless you don't mind spending the whole time in the kitchen stirring risotto while everyone else is drinking wine and having a good time.

Now, as if this weren't enough for my hardworking husband's return, I went a step further. I made THE BEST CREME BRULEE EVER, also from The Balthazar Cookbook.

Creme Brulee (adapted from The Balthazar Cookbook)
2 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup sugar
1 vanilla bean (split and with the seeds scraped free from the bean)
1/2 stick cinnamon
5 large egg yolks

Preheat the over to 300 degrees.

In a saucepan, combine the cream, sugar, vanilla bean and seeds, and cinnamon stick. Bring to a boil over medium heat, watching carefully so that it won't boil over (which it is wont to do if you are not careful.) Put the mixture into a glass measuring cup (because it has a spout.)

Prepare an ice bath in a large bowl. In a bowl that will fit into the ice bath (but not yet), lightly beat the egg yolks with a whisk. Begin adding the hot cream to the yolks, in a very light stream and whisking constantly so as not to cook the egg yolks. Cool the bowl down by placing it in the ice bath. Let it cool until room temperature (about 30 minutes.)

Once cooled, pour the mixture into individual ramekins nearly to the top. Balthazar uses 4 inch shallow dishes because in the end, after you have created the sugar crusted top, you get the perfect ratio of crunch to cream. Since I don't have those, I used a deeper, but smaller ramekin. This made 4 servings.

Place the ramekins in a large baking pan. Fill the pan with warm water until it reaches halfway up the ramekins. Cover the whole pan with aluminum foil and carefully place in the oven.

Cook the custard for 45 minutes. You'll know it's ready because the custard is set and firm when you jiggle the ramekins.

Let the ramekins cool a bit and then put them in the refrigerator for at least an hour.

When you are ready to serve, create the crisp sugar topping. You will mix 2 tablespoons of brown sugar with two tablespoons or regular granulated sugar. If your brown sugar is moist, put the mixture in a 250 degree oven for 15 minutes to dry it out. Then put the sugar in a food processor and mix.

Evenly sprinkle a layer of sugar over each serving of custard, making sure to get all the way to the rims. You can use a kitchen blowtorch or you can cook it under a broiler for about 2 minutes or until the sugar is brown and bubbly. Then sprinkle a second layer of sugar over them and repeat. I wish I had a blow torch because one of my favorite things about Balthazar's creme brulee is the warm crispy top over the cool custard. Broiling it heated up the custard too.

Regardless, it was delicious! I also have to tell you that the vanilla bean was sort of difficult to find and was wicked expensive (one bean costs me $7) so I suddenly don't feel like the $8 price tag at the restaurant is that outlandish. But, making it at home had the added bonus of being served so incredibly fresh. While the complimentary dessert I got at Balthazar on my first visit will always hold a special place in my heart, the creme brulee I made for Damien's return has now replaced it as the best creme brulee I've ever had.

Planning Ahead

2009-09-17T19:58:00.001-07:00

Ugh, I am getting so tired of Damien traveling so much! I mean, I am physically tired. I don't sleep that well when he's not here to begin with. Then Baz had a bad night so I slept even less than usual. And, man, is he demanding during the day. Throw in a tough work day - tough in the sense that things just didn't work out after I took time away from my baby to put in the effort - and I was ready for a nutritious, comforting dinner tonight.

So I went to my favorite solo meal - the Frittata. This time I made it with poblano and green peppers, red onion, broccoli, and some boursin cheese. I really liked the boursin addition. I used the garlic and fine herb version. It's creamy like a goat cheese but with a little extra flavor. I didn't have a baguette this time so I paired it with a perfectly toasted English muffin and had some grapes at the end of the meal for something sweet. It was just what I needed. Since I am so tired I decided to stay away from alcohol, but a glass of white wine would have been a nice addition.

Luckily Damien is coming back tomorrow. He should be home in time for dinner so I want to think of something really great to make. I just have no idea. I have a London broil that I bought last week because it was on sale. My mom used to make that sometimes - sliced pieces of tasty steak. And I have a whole chicken that I can make something with. Maybe I'll break out the Balthazar cookbook!

We shall see. I just hope Baz sleeps better tonight so I have the energy to be creative...

Rotisserie Chicken Saves the Day

2009-09-16T20:43:00.000-07:00

Hi there. Sorry I've been M.I.A. Just been really busy videotaping interviews with Latin pop stars and taking Baz to swim lessons. And Damien is away yet again so it's been pretty bland around here in the dinner department. Tonight I had my favorite combination of peanut butter and jelly sandwich paired with a sweet potato I nuked in the microwave for a little too long. And yesterday I just reheated some leftover lasagna from last week.

But, Monday while Damien was still around, I did one of our other simple dinner solutions. I got us a rotisserie chicken at Publix and paired with their delicious mac and cheese, some cole slaw and steamed green beans. Rotisserie chicken is really the best. Well, the Publix fried chicken is actually the best, but it's just so bad for you I can't get it every time. Rotisserie chicken is a little healthier and so easy. Of course, this last time the chicken was a little dry, but most of the time it's moist and fresh. We used to do this like once a week, but with the blog, I've been inspired to cook a little bit more.

I also forgot to take a picture of our whole dinner and when I went to take a shot of the half eaten chicken, I discovered that ants (that have been so relentless this year) had already attacked it. Yuck! And too bad since that was gonna feed me for the next couple of days.

Instead, I'll post a video by the Latin pop star we interviewed because he is delicious, too. : )

Juanes is a huge star here in Miami and on top of being quite a looker, he was the nicest guy. He is putting on a concert in Havana this weekend as part of his "Peace Without Borders" concert series idea. The first one was on the border of his native Colombia and Venezuela during the 2008 Andean dipolmatic crisis and 300,000 people attended. The Havana concert is stirring up a bit of controversy especially among the Cuban-American "exilio" community who see it as a concession to the Castro regime. But, he insists that he has no political motivation and simply wants to bring a little happiness and music to the Cuban people. So he is pushing forward and the concert is scheduled for Sunday.

It also turns out I am a huge fan of his music even though I didn't realize it prior to interviewing him. His music is all over the Miami radio stations I listen to, but I don't really catch the titles or artist's names when I listen. The video I posted above is one of my favorites.

Enjoy!

Corn Bread

2009-09-11T11:42:00.000-07:00

Last night, I thought I had taken out some chili I had frozen the last time I made it. But, it turned out that I had actually taken out Kita's Tortilla Soup I made a couple of weeks ago. It was even better after being frozen actually.

Since I thought I was making chili, I made some cornbread that I was going to serve with it. Tortilla Soup also has that Tex Mex flair to it so luckily the cornbread still worked.

Here is the recipe I used:

Cornbread
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Melt the butter in a saucepan until it starts to brown just a bit (about 3 minutes). In the meantime, beat the eggs with the milk. Drizzle the butter into the egg and milk mixture whisking constantly so as not to cook the eggs with the hot butter.

In a separate bowl combine cornmeal, flour, sugar, salt and baking soda. Mix well.

Whisk the egg mixture into the dry ingredients and mix until well combined. Pour the batter into a cask iron skillet and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.

It's a simple addition to any Tex Mex meal. It also makes a great breakfast the next morning.

District 9

2009-09-10T13:41:00.001-07:00

The other day, Damien's little sister, Dani, returned to Florida for school. She is a junior (I think) at Palm Beach Atlantic University. It is so great to have her back and we look forward to spending more time with her this semester.

Turns out that Dani is also a terrific babysitter. So the other day, Dani came down and watched Baz when we went to see a great movie, District 9. So good! It was so refreshing to see something unique, that didn't take place in the U.S. and had no actors that I recognized in it. It was really exciting and I highly recommend it. I'm not a big sci-fi fan or anything but this was so well done and so fresh.

So Dani, thank you so much. It was a great afternoon for Damien and me. We are such movie buffs and this was the first time in a long time that I thoroughly enjoyed a movie. No complaints!

Old Standbys and Leftovers

2009-09-10T10:08:00.000-07:00

I forgot to write in last night with my dinner plans. It was a busy afternoon for me, so Damien agreed to make dinner. But when I got home from a playdate, he hadn't really gotten started on that dinner. Then as he got started he was asking me how to actually make the Chicken Cordon Bleu he had decided on making. I mean, every step. Jeesh, doesn't anyone read my blog?! I posted about my Chicken Cordon Bleu not too long ago here.

In the end, I just ended up taking over since I was being forced to sit at the table and direct him. Damien is a great cook when his head is in the game. But, I could tell he was super distracted. And since he had had a long day of working while my busy day entailed heading to a mom's group first at Mercy Hospital and then at the beach on Key Biscayne, I thought I'd just jump in.

For tonight, I have decided to defrost one of the portions of chili I saved the last time I made it (which must have been before I started this blog because I don't have the recipe listed yet.) You guys, it is really good chili! I just stole the recipe from the Food Network and made some adjustments to it more to my liking. But what I like most about it is the fact that it is made with cubes of beef rather than with ground beef. The recipe doesn't call for beans, but I like to add a couple of different kinds to it. And it also has chipotle in it which is just about my favorite new way to spice up meals. So good!

I'll post the recipe next time I make a pot of it. For tonight, it's already made and defrosting on my countertop as we speak.

High Chairs

2009-09-09T07:25:00.000-07:00

My friend Becky was asking a bunch of us mom friends about what high chairs we use. Her daughter, Olivia, is just starting on solid foods so she was trying to figure out what equipment she'll need especially since her husband, Brian, insisted she do some research before putting yet another piece of baby gear in their Brooklyn apartment.

I thought I would gather the information that her email elicited.

The ideas:

1. Bumbo (Baz is sitting in one in the above photo) - Me and another friend used the Bumbo for the early stages of feeding since it is a comfortable way to keep the baby sitting securely upright. It's also super easy to clean.

2. Phil and Ted's Me Too and Chicco Caddy Hook-On Portable Latch On Chairs - They fit right on your table so they take up less space. The only thing I don't love about my Chicco version is that it is kind of cumbersome for travel purposes and since there is no tray, things fall between the chair and the table.

3. Ikea Antilop $19.99 High Chair - Our friend, Annie, believes this is the best option because it is so inexpensive and so easy to clean since it has no nooks and crankies for food to get stuck in. She has a Peg Perego Primo Pappa collecting dust in the basement because it is just too difficult to clean. I think I'll be getting one of these!

4. Stokke Tripp Trapp - At $250, this one is a little rich for my blood, but it sure does look cool. I mean look at it - it's beautiful! And it's fairly compact for a high chair, sliding nicely under most kitchen tables. It does also double as a stool for adults and a play seat/desk chair as your child grows so it might be worth it for some folks.

So there you have it. Any other suggestions are welcome.

End of Summer Shrimp Scampi

2009-09-08T14:09:00.000-07:00

After a wonderful holiday weekend, the summer is supposedly over and it's time to get back to work. I wish I could say I jumped right on it and had a productive day, but I can't really say that. Instead, I tried to figure out new and creative ways to keep my 7 month old stimulated so that he wouldn't get bored and start to fuss. It's getting harder and harder to do and I wasn't entirely successful.

I decided to try this park that is located nearby in Surfside. It's right on the intercoastal on Bay Drive and it seemed like a nice spot. It was. I liked that it had a play area for bigger kids that was separate from the play area for much younger kids. So we hit the swings in the little kid area and sat on the grass to watch some of the older kids playing around. I think Baz enjoyed that.

I got the idea because this past weekend we took Baz to brunch with us and then went to a park down in South Beach where he rode his very first park swing. And he loved it! It had been such a good day too. We had brunch at Big Pink on Collins and 2nd Street which was the perfect place to bring a baby. It's crowded, lively and loud so even if he had cried it wouldn't have been noticed. Plus with so much going on, Baz loved every minute of it. He flirted with the waitress and customers alike and enjoyed his time in the high chair. It was a very successful outing for us.

But, it's time to start cooking again. Tonight I thought I'd go for one of our old standbys - Shrimp Scampi. It's so easy to make and can look pretty impressive if you ever want to make it for company. I use frozen shrimp that I get at Publix which makes it super easy since they are already deveined.

So here's how you make it:

Shrimp Scampi
1/2 box capellini or linguini
16 to 20 medium to large shrimp
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 cloves garlic, pressed
1/2 small onion, finely diced
1/2 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes (more or less depending on how spicy you like it!)
1/2 cup white wine
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1/2 stick butter
1/4 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped

Put a pot of water on to boil. Add pasta and begin to cook to taste (I like al dente).

While pasta is cooking, heat up the olive oil over medium high heat. Add garlic and onion and saute until golden. Sprinkle the hot pepper flakes over garlic and toast it. Add white wine and allow it the alcohol to evaporate (a minute or so.) Add salt and pepper.

A couple of minutes before the pasta has finished cooking, add butter to the garlic/wine sauce. As it is about to finish melting, add shrimp. Cook shrimp in the sauce until firm and pink (about 3 minutes).

Drain pasta leaving just a bit of the cooking water in the pot. Return pasta to the pot. Pour the shrimp and sauce over the pasta and mix well. Add the parsley and mix well.

We like to add a bit of Parmesan cheese over the individual servings which I think might not be authentically Italian. (I don't think Italians mix seafood and Parmesan cheese. But I like it.)

Baby Jogger City Mini Recall

2009-09-07T17:13:00.000-07:00

Just in case any of you have one, there is a recall on the Baby Jogger City Mini. Apparently, the restraint mechanism can break or unlatch if there is too much force on it, so they want to replace it with a new buckle. You can get the details on the recall here. I called last Monday and had a new buckle by Friday. They were super friendly, too.

I also want to point out that regardless of the recall, the City Mini is my favorite stroller! I highly recommend it. It is lightweight but sturdy and folds up with the easiest design I have ever seen. And while it ain't cheap, it is not nearly as expensive as a lot of other, less versatile strollers out there. We also bought the car seat adapter bar and now use it as our travel stroller. A big thanks to my aunt Coca who bought it for us as a gift.

Soy Ginger French Cut Lamb Chops

2009-09-04T19:17:00.000-07:00

I can't really write too much today because I've run out of time, but I did want to pass on my recipe for tonight because it was really good.

And the best part - I used the cast iron skillet! It was the first time since the I got the $314. 58 fine letter because of the Smokin' Steak incident. But this time, no smoke. And the lamb chops were delish.

Soy Ginger French Cut Lamb Chops
6 - 8 french cut lamb chops (depending on size and your hunger!)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, pressed
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon ginger
juice from 1/2 lime
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper

Put the chops in a 1 gallon sized zip lock bag. Add the olive oil, garlic, soy sauce, ginger, lime juice, salt and pepper. Shake the bag until all the ingredients are mixed well and until the chops are completely coated. Place in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour but no more than 2 hours.

I served them with some yukon gold mashed potatoes and sauteed spinach (with a bit of garlic).

Baby Food Bonanza

2009-09-03T18:42:00.001-07:00

Today I decided to make a whole bunch of homemade baby foods for Baz. I bought a few organic vegetables and these really nice looking peaches as well as some other fruit. I steamed, roasted, baked and pureed my way to six different types of baby food.

Baz is a pretty good eater as you can probably tell by looking at him. He was born pretty "petite" (as our pediatrician likes to call him in his Argentine accent) and had these little chicken legs like his cousin Elan now has. He has certainly grown. But while he went from 25th to 50th percentile in head size and weight, he's remained 25th percentile in height. We joke that we have a short, fat baby with a big head. So eating has never been his problem. That is until now.

Our problem is that Baz LOVES yogurt. And now that he knows that yogurt is in the rotation, he won't really eat the other things I offer him. When we first started on solids, he would try and seemed to like everything....well, except bananas. Sweet potatoes were a big hit, avocados got a gag at first but then he ate his entire serving, winter squash was good and carrots were a favorite. But yesterday, I went to give him some delicious avocado and he wouldn't take it. I was worried that he'd be hungry so I took out a yogurt. He attacked it! I couldn't shovel it into his mouth fast enough.

So, I thought if I tried to make him some fresh baby food, took the time to roast and draw out the flavor of some fruits and vegetables, then maybe he'd like it better. Only problem was I couldn't finish everything because the food processor was scaring the shit out of him. I mashed up some butternut squash for dinner, but it didn't get the positive reaction I was going for. I didn't cave and give him yogurt, but he did take a couple of spoonfuls of Gerber Organic carrots. My own roasted carrots will have to wait until I can find the right time to sneak them into the food processor. And the peaches we've got ready for tomorrow morning have got to be a hit. They are delicious!

Pollo Tropical!

2009-09-02T15:38:00.001-07:00

As I mentioned, Damien is away...again...so I'm not feeling very inspired to cook. So, I'm just enjoying the leftover enchiladas from yesterday which were so good. Thank you, Kita.

But I did want to share my new fast food find. Pollo Tropical! I have seen them all over Miami but it just never won out over Taco Bell when I was traveling or in need of a quick on-the-go lunch. However, yesterday I was out running errands and Baz fell fast asleep in the car. Not having the heart to wake him, I looked for a way to stall for a few minutes before I went to the supermarket. I hadn't eaten so I searched around for someplace with a drive-thru since drive-thru's are my saving grace these days. And by the way, quick aside: All of you people who don't have young kids and are not handicapped, is it too much to ask that you not use the drive-thru ATMs? I mean really, how lazy can you be!

Anyway, where was I? Looking for a drive-thru so I don't have to wake my sleeping baby. And the idea of McDonald's or Burger King just sounded terrible after our week of junk food in Boston. That's when I saw Pollo Tropical. I'd heard they have rice and beans so I thought that sounded like a healthier alternative.

Well, it was fabulous! I ordered the chicken, white rice and beans Tropichop for $3.29 and a side of fried plantains for $1.89. It was all delicious and with the chicken being grilled, all-white breast meat, it felt somewhat healthy. If only I could have resisted the fried plantains. And there were tons of other things on the menu that probably would have made better deals. I just felt all flustered and pressured to order at the drive-thru. But, I did drive away wondering what had taken me so long to check this place out. I'll be back and will make sure I take a little more time to examine the menu beforehand. I love it!

Tomorrow I am going to make a ton of baby food for Baz. I talkin' peaches and pears and string beans and squash. It's going to be a baby food bonanza! And I am also going to continue my quest to get him to drink out of a sippy cup. Wish us luck...

Mollie McDonald's Enchiladas

2009-09-01T18:24:00.000-07:00

These enchiladas are so good that I couldn't even get the picture taken before we started to devour them! Salsa Verde is so good. I need to figure out how to make that from scratch.

Anyway, Kita, who has already contributed the fantastic Tortilla Soup recipe, also sent me this recipe that her sister made when they were visiting together in Maryland.

I changed a few things based on what I had available. For one thing, I decided to make steak enchiladas instead of chicken because we've been eating a lot of chicken lately. I also switched up the veggies a little bit since I had poblano peppers and no corn. But, the essence of the recipe is the same and it was rich and delicious.

So, without further ado:

Mollie McDonald's Enchiladas
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic
1 small onion
1 small zucchini(or any summer squash)
1/2 cup corn
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon coriander
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1 jar salsa verde
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 shredded rotisserie chicken
1 can refried beans (*pinto or black beans)
1 cup shredded or crumbled queso fresco
6-8 corn tortillas

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Saute garlic, onion, zucchini and corn in olive oil. Add cumin, coriander and cayenne to vegetables.

Cover the bottom of an oven proof dish with a 1/3 of the salsa verde. Stir in the heavy cream.

Assemble the enchiladas by spreading 1 or 2 tablespoons of refried beans onto each tortilla, sprinkle the cheese over the beans and then adding chicken and sauteed vegetables to them. Roll individually and place each one onto the green salsa coated dished with the ends down.

Cover the enchiladas with the rest of the salsa verde. Top with the remaining cheese. Cover and bake until the cheese is melted and it is bubbling (about 30 minutes).

As I mentioned, I made this with steak instead of chicken and with poblano peppers instead of corn. And it was delicious! One suggestion I have is to microwave the corn tortillas for a few seconds before assembling the enchiladas, just to soften them a bit because mine started to crack (of course, I wasn't using the freshest tortillas.) It didn't really matter though. In the end, the weigh of the salsa verde and cheese put everything back together and it looked impressive and tasted great.

Damien is going away...again. So, it'll just be me and Baz for a couple of days. I'll try and treat myself fairly well dinner-wise, but the recipes might be a little "simple" for the next two days.

We're Back!!!

2009-08-31T13:59:00.000-07:00

I am very embarrassed for my long blog absence. I mean, I promised to write even when traveling. Well, I don't have the greatest excuse, but it is true that where we were staying we didn't have an internet connection. That made it tough. Plus, I was really busy chasing a story with Damien and meeting my new nephew (who is super cute, by the way - see photo.) And finally, we didn't really have any culinary excitement on the trip. Damien and I scarfed down way too many Dunkin Donuts (I like jelly, he likes chocolate-glazed) and there were pizza and TGI Friday's potato skins involved. And to top it all off, I got an email from my building asking that we pay $314.58 for the smokin' steaks incident! A bit excessive, no? All this to say, it was not the best food week.

There were a couple of bright spots though. When we visited Worcester, Damien's mom made us a wonderful chicken dish that I'll have to ask her about. And one night my mom made our family favorite Hot Dogs Delicious. It was just the kind of comfort food we needed. My brother and his wife hadn't slept because of their newborn, Damien and I had been betrayed by a source, it was raining like crazy thanks to Hurricane Dani and we had spent a good part of the day watching Ted Kennedy's funeral. This recipe was something simple and delicious (hence the name) that we used to eat as kids. Plus, as we've covered before, I love hot dogs. Throw in a couple of cold beers, and we were all feeling a lot better.

Hot Dogs Delicious
1 large onion
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup ketchup
1 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce (or to taste)
4 hot dogs
4 hot dog buns

Cut the onion into small slices. In a large saute pan, heat up the olive oil over medium high heat. And the onions and saute until soft and caramelized. Add ketchup, smothering the onions and stirring to keep it from burning. Sprinkle the Worcestershire sauce and Tabasco sauce over the onions and ketchup. Cook until nice and bubbly. Add the hot dogs and cook until dogs are heated through (about 8 minutes).

Toast hot dog buns under the broiler. Serve the hot dogs with some of the onions in the toasted buns.

We always seem to pair this with baked beans. It's a very red meal, but it's really tasty too. One other note - if you are sparking up the grill, you might want to grill the dogs before adding to the sauce.

I'm going to the supermarket tomorrow, so we should be back with something a little bit more exciting. And I will do my best to never let the ball drop this badly again.

Traveling to New England

2009-08-25T18:08:00.001-07:00

Today I have resorted to some frozen leftovers because it was a busy day of organizing for a trip to Boston tomorrow. So tonight it's Picadillo redux.

Traveling has taken on a whole new life with Baz involved. We used to have it down. Packing took just a few minutes. One small rolling suitcase a piece, check-in online and we were out the door on the plane with little fuss. But, now we have become that annoying family arriving at the check-in counter in utter chaos with to many bags and equipment.

Luckily, Baz has been a tremendous traveler... so far. (I know just writing those words means that tomorrow is likely to be a complete nightmare.) But he really has been so good on the three trips we've taken including one to Hawaii and one to San Francisco. I think he enjoys the adventure. He charms the TSA agents and flirts with the flight attendents. There are lots of new faces to look at and he thinks the overhead lighting is the coolest thing he's ever scene.

And I do think we are adjusting. I realize now that we don't need nearly as much as we thought we did on that first trip, especially when we have access to a washing machine like we will in Boston. Then you buy diapers and food on the other side because what's the sense in packing something that you can easily buy and will use up before you return home.

Plus, now we know, at the airport, bring the car seat and the smallest stroller we have to the gate with us. If we're lucky, there's an extra seat on the plane so that we can use the car seat on the plane without buying a ticket. Damien gets on first with a bag, the car seat and the stroller. I follow at the very end of the boarding process to minimize the time we're stuck to our seats in a crowded row. For 5 of the 8 segments we've flown we've been able to use our car seat. And our stroller has always been returned to us in good condition.

Tomorrow I will report back on how our trip goes and what we did for dinner. I am a little nervous about that, especially for Baz. We are flying at his least agreeable time of day when he usually is power eating and getting ready for bed time. I've got some of those ridiculously expensive, ready-made 8 oz bottles of formula on hand in case we need to act fast.

For tonight, it's Picadillo and some fried plantains.

Salmon and Asparagus Linguini Alfredo (aka Heart Attack in a Bowl)

2009-08-24T18:07:00.000-07:00

Having gotten over my cooking fiasco from Friday, I jumped back into the saddle tonight with a new meal. Publix was having a sale on Coho Salmon that looked really good, so since I had to go there to buy some milk, I bought a pound and had to figure out what to do with it.

I was also craving pasta, so I decided to make the linguini I bought at the Argentine pasta shop down the block. And I thought if I could make some sort of alfredo sauce to go with the salmon and some asparagus, well, that just sounded pretty good to me.

So here is my recipe (it looks more complicated than it is; total cooking time is about 30 minutes):

Salmon and Asparagus Linguini Alfredo
2/3 pound fresh linguini
1 pound salmon fillets (although a little less would be fine too)
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic
salt and pepper
1 small onion, diced
10-15 spears of asparagus, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 pint heavy cream
1/2 stick of butter
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup chopped parsley

Boil a large pot of water for pasta. But do not cook pasta until the very end.

Rinse off the salmon fillets and pat dry. Coat with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Press two garlic cloves on the salmon and rub in evenly. Sprinkle with a light coat of salt and pepper.

Heat the other 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a saute pan. Add the onions and asparagus and saute until the onions are translucent and the aspargus is just tender. Put the cooked vegetables in a bowl on the side.

Using the same pan, cook the salmon fillets. Start with the skin side down. When you flip the salmon, peel off the skin and continue to cook until cooked through. This take about 8 minutes depending on the thickness of the salmon. When finished, remove from pan and set aside.

In a clean saute pan, heat up the heavy cream over low to medium heat. When it just starts to bubble, add the butter and whisk together until butter is fully melted. Add the cheese and continue to whisk until cheese is blended in completely. Add in salmon - breaking it up with your fingers as you put it in the pan - and vegetables and coat with cream sauce. Stir in fresh parsley. Sprinkle with black pepper to taste.

Add the pasta to the boiling water. If using fresh pasta, cook for 3 or 4 minutes. Drain and serve in individual bowls.

Serve the salmon and cream sauce over the pasta.

Not to toot my own horn here, but it was pretty freakin' tasty. Okay, so you might have to go straight to the hospital and have your arteries cleaned out after this meal. But, before you go, don't forget to have a glass of wine. We opted for a Sancerre that we've been saving for a special occasion even though tonight wasn't a particular special occasion.

The wine was actually part of my fabulous anniversary gift from Damien (which was at the end of May.) He bought me several bottles of wine that commemorate special moments in our marriage. So, there was a pinot noir from the Anderson Valley from a weekend we spent near there when I first moved out to San Francisco. There was a Provence rose because I started drinking rose after a great night we spent out at Pearl Oyster Bar where we saw Jodi Foster drinking it and decided to try it ourselves. There was a trebbiano like the cheap, but good wine we used to get at our favorite Italian restaurant in Brooklyn, Noodle Pudding. And the sancerre, which... well, we just like Sancerre and order it on special occasions.

I guess the special occasion tonight was that Damien proclaimed the alfredo sauce the best he ever had. I'll drink to that!

Costco Hot Dogs Are Really Good

2009-08-23T16:43:00.000-07:00

After my adventure in the kitchen on Friday (with my Smokin' Steaks) I decided maybe I should take a break from cooking for a couple of days. So Saturday, Damien, Baz and I ate out for both lunch and dinner.

For lunch, I was craving the crepes I get at one of my favorite little places in the unlikely Espanola Way section of South Beach. It's a French place called A La Folie Cafe and I just love it. Espanola Way is a pretty touristy part of town, but if you go past the pedestrian-only zone, A La Folie Cafe is a little gem slightly off the beaten path. They have their semi-rude French wait staff (although our waitress this weekend was very sweet) and serve French rose by the glass (although I couldn't really justify getting one at noon on Saturday) so it feels pretty authentic. We sit out on the sidewalk especially with Baz and greatly appreciate the fans they have set up to try and help us fight off the oppressive Miami summer heat.

Every time I go, I really just want the nutella and banana crepe, but I feel sort of guilty just eating that alone. So Damien and I split a "totale" crepe first which includes ham, swiss cheese, egg and mushroom and then we split the nutella/banana crepe afterward. Tres magnifique!

Then for dinner we ordered some sushi from Sushi Republic in Surfside. It's fine. We haven't really been able to find a great sushi place here in Miami. I have to try that Japanese Market I mentioned before. But, I didn't think of it in time last night.

Then today we had one of my favorites - Costco hot dogs! I swear they are the best. Well, that's if you like hot dogs. I happen to love them! Costco's are delicious - 1/4 pound, all beef, big and juicy. And they are a total bargain. Damien and I had two dogs, two drinks, and a chocolate frozen yogurt for less than $5 total. Of course, you can't walk out of the rest of Costco without spending at least $50. So keep your eye on the ball. Also, Costco is a zoo on the weekends, but it was worth the wait for the dogs. And I have to say, Costco is the only place in Miami with a really superb work staff. Well, maybe Publix, too. At Costco, the staff is efficient and gracious even when dealing with the worst of the worst Miami customers.

Their pizza looks pretty good, too. But, besides loving hot dogs, Damien and I are ordering pizza tonight so I didn't want to double up.

Other than that it was a great weekend. No movies. We spent most of our time trying to organize our mess of an apartment. We did squeeze in a couple of trips to the beach though. Today was a bit stormy but that just alleviated the heat a bit and made from some beautiful, dramatic skies.

Tomorrow I'll jump right back on that horse. Not sure what I'll make just yet, but I am sure it will not need to be cooked on cast iron.

Smokin' Steaks

2009-08-21T19:41:00.000-07:00

When Damien and I were in Baghdad, our security advisor would secure us all some t-bone steaks at the PX and on Saturdays we'd have steak night. We'd set the table outside (despite the crazy temperatures) and the cooks would light up the grill and we'd all sit around enjoying our red meat along with some bad red wine and assorted side dishes like potato salad and tabouli. Dinners at the bureau were always pretty entertaining, but steak nights were fun and something I fondly remember.

It's a tradition that Damien and I brought back with us (along with the need for the Gaggia espresso maker we purchased after becoming addicted to it in Baggers.) Especially since we've had Balthazar, we've been recreating steak night mostly on Friday evenings after a long week of work. Some nights we make t-bones, other nights, filet mignon. Whatever cut we make, we pair it with a much nicer bottle of wine than we had at the bureau. This time I bought us some nice looking New York strip steaks and a bottle of Chilean cabarnet sauvignon.

Well, things turned out a little bit more like Baghdad than I had hoped. See, I decided to try and cook our New York strip steaks on our cast iron pan. Not recommended in an apartment with a bad ventilation system and sensitive smoke alarms.

I usually use our double-sided teflon coated grill, but I noticed when I made those banana pancakes last week that it was in pretty bad shape. So after I seasoned my steaks and made my wasabi mashed potatoes, I heated her up over high heat. I put a little bit of olive oil on there just to ensure the steaks wouldn't stick.

I had seasoned the steaks by coating them with a thin coat of olive oil. Then I pressed two garlic cloves on them and rub it into the meat. Then I sprinkled a good coat of salt, pepper and a lighter coat of cumin on each side and rub them all in.

The key to a good steak is a really hot grill or pan. To test the heat, I sprinkled a little bit of water on the pan and watched it immediately sizzle away. I turned on our sucky stove ventilation system. I thought I was ready to go.

But, as soon as I put the steaks on the cast iron, the pan started to smoke...and I mean a lot. I quickly opened the sliding glass door and then opened our front door into our apartment building hallway to get some cross-ventilation. Damien had just put Baz to sleep so I really didn't want our smoke alarm to go off. Phew. I thought I was in the clear.

Then I flipped the steaks over after 5 minutes. (I am very disciplined about how I cook my steaks. 5 minutes each side, one flip.) And there was some more smoke. I went out to the hallway and opened the sliding glass door out there. I really thought that would take care of it. I mean there was some smoke, but it wasn't that bad.

But just a minute or two later, the fire alarm for the whole building went off. There were sirens and a computerized voice exclaiming, "There is a fire in the building. Please evacuate the building. There is a fire in the building. Please evacuate the building." Oh no!! It totally reminded me of the warnings we used to hear across the Tigris in the Green Zone when a mortar attack was imminent!!!

Damien rushed down to the lobby to alert the doorman that it was a false alarm. I ran out onto the balcony to tell my panicked neighbors that it was just me cooking steak. I was probably more panicked than most of them. In fact, one guy even said, "That just means you did a good job!"

But, I was horrified. Some of the neighbors on my floor were rushing around trying to determine what was going on. I kept apologizing. And the alarm continued to go off for at least another 20 minutes.

Despite the loud sound, we did sit down and eat our beautiful steaks. And I have to say, the cast iron really made them turn out perfectly. A little charred on the outside and pink on the inside.

Too bad I can't do that again.

Kita's Tortilla Soup Recipe

2009-08-20T06:04:00.000-07:00

I have some reader input! Kita Murdock, who was part of my inspiration for starting a blog because of her awesome chronicles of moving her young family out west (threegirlsmovewest.blogspot.com), has shared one of her favorite recipes and I think I'll give it a shot tonight. Sounds delish!

Tortilla Soup
Saute in 2 T. olive oil:
1 1/2 cups onion, diced
2 tablespoons fresh garlic
1 cup poblano chiles charred (I put them right over my burner for a minute or two) seeded, and chopped
1 cup frozen corn kernels
1 teaspoon each of oregano, coriander and cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne

ADD:
4 cups chicken broth
1 15 ounce can diced tomatoes in juice
1 15 ounce can black beans drained
2 soft corn tortillas diced
1 cup to 1 1/2 cups diced cooked chicken ( I cook it chopped in olive oil on the stove)
or you can add some peeled shrimp at the end instead
MMMMMMM........

I am excited to try this recipe especially since it is not something I would likely have found or sought out on my own. It sounds terrific! We might add a bit more cayenne or something else to make it a little more spicy. And I think we'll give the shrimp a try since I have a bag of Publix frozen shrimp in my freezer.

Thank you, Kita. She just moved the whole family to Boulder, CO in a whirlwind trip. They were settled in Los Angeles one day, back east for a family gathering the next and moved into their new home and starting school in Boulder all in less than one month. Amazing!

So a special good luck to her girls who are starting at their new school this week. As someone who was the new kid a whopping 6 or 7 times, I feel for them. But I also know that I wouldn't be who I am today without the experiences. I think that our moving so often made me adventurous, flexible and well rounded having been exposed to some many new people and places. And I think the humbling experience of being new in town made me more compassionate, too.

Fresh Pesto

2009-08-19T17:36:00.000-07:00

Last night I didn't make dinner because we went to a concert. I know! Totally crazy not just because we have a baby and all late night activities have taken a big hit, but also because we live in Miami and there are not that many concerts rolling into our adopted hometown. But, Damien heard that the Counting Crows were coming to the newly renovated Amphitheater in downtown and thought enough ahead to get us lawn seats.

Well, it turned out to be a great night! We are not like these huge Counting Crow fans or anything, but who didn't listen to them in college? Everyone did. They were total crowd pleasers. And they still are. The audience was filled with everyone from young pot smoking college kids to people just like us who brought their kids with them to see their old college favorites. Plus, we were supposed to get drenched by the remnants of Tropical Storm Ana, but it was a beautiful, only slightly stiffling hot night. Baz fell asleep despite the loud music and we had a couple of beers under the stars. It was great.

Tonight it was back to usual though. And I was having a craving for pesto. So, I made it from scratch. I still have to work on my recipe. I feel like it was good, but really how can a combination of fresh basil, Parmesan cheese, and olive oil not be good. I just think it could be better. I'll keep you posted as I refine my recipe.

For now though, this is how I made it and like I said, it was still pretty good.

Fresh Pesto
2 oz. fresh basil (about 2 packed cups of just leaves - remove stems)
1/2 cup of freshly grated Parmesan cheese
3 cloves of garlic
1 tablespoon pine nuts
1/3 cup olive oil

In a food processor, finely chop the basil. Add the Parmesan cheese, garlic and pine nuts and mix until well blended. Drizzle in the olive oil to create pesto paste.

We have an Argentianian style pasta shop nearby that makes wonderful fresh pastas, including tasty ravioli and gnocchi. So, I paired my pesto with a goat cheese ravioli. I don't know. Maybe that was a mistake. It was fine, but I don't know. I think pesto is a strong flavor that might have gone better with plain pasta or gnocchi.

Now I have to go and watch America's Got Talent... (I know, I can't believe I watch that show either.)

Tzatziki... or Cucumber Yogurt Sauce

2009-08-18T05:05:00.000-07:00

When we were in Turkey in 2007, not only did I fall in love with Istanbul, but I also couldn't get enough of the cucumber yogurt meze they served everywhere. It was so refreshing and delicious.

Now that my crazy life of traveling the world is on hiatus, I miss the wonderful food I was being exposed to all the time. Then one day I was looking at the New York Times Web site and there was a recipe for tzatziki - the Greek name for the cucumber yogurt dip I loved so much. So, I made it. And it was delicious and completely satisfied the craving I'd been having for it.

Then yesterday, there it was again - that craving. The only problem: I can't seem to find that recipe anymore, so I decided to just wing it. It turned out just as well.

The hardest parts of the recipe are finding the right yogurt and making sure that your cucumbers are dried out enough. Not paying enough attention to either of these details makes for a watery, gross mess.

Make sure you find a Greek style yogurt. I can't stress that enough. Dannon will not do. If you can take the full fat kind, go for it. But, if you want a low fat or non-fat yogurt, that's alright as long as you choose properly. Let me say it again - it must have the word Greek on the container. And, of course, I am talking plain yogurt here. (Baz is modeling a container of my favorite non-fat kind - Stonyfield Farms Oikos Organic Greek Yogurt. In fact, a clean, empty container makes an excellent toy.)

As for the cucumbers, after chopping them pretty finely, put them in a colander in the sink and let them sit there for a while until most of the water has drained out of them. I mean, like an hour if you can handle that. Then I scoop them out of the colander with a paper towel to get some more of the moisture out of them.

Once you've got your yogurt and cucumbers set, it's very easy to make.

Tzatziki
1 large cucumber, finely chopped
1 teaspoon salt
2 cloves garlic
16 oz. Greek style yogurt
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh mint leaves, finely chopped
salt and pepper, to taste

Chop the cucumbers into small pieces. Some people even grate them. Then sprinkle them with salt and drain them in a colander until most of the water has drained out of them.

Using a paper towel to remove more moisture, scoop the cucumbers out of the colander and move them into a bowl. Press the garlic cloves over the cucumbers. Stir in the yogurt until well mixed. Drizzle in the olive oil and continue mixing. Fold in the mint leaves. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve the sauce as an appetizer with pita bread or a nice crusty french baguette. You can also serve it on the side of a main course like grilled beef.

Some people like to add a little lemon juice as well. You can experiment to find a mixture that's right for you.

Julie & Julia...and lots of cake

2009-08-17T08:03:00.000-07:00

I am still plowing through my chocolate coconut cake and enjoying every gluttonous bite. And no, I don't think there are really any glass or plastic shards in it. It has been carefully inspected after Damien's accident yesterday.

And I was able to redeem my horrible movie-going experience from the other day by seeing a much better movie. Go see Julie & Julia. It was just....delightful. I don't know how else to describe it. I just loved seeing two loving marriages portrayed in such a fun, light way. Meryl Streep is just amazing as Julia Child. I was giddy every time one of her scenes would start. And even the Julie part with Amy Adams was better than I thought it would be. I'm sure it doesn't hurt that it was partly about a woman who decides to start a blog about cooking. It's not exactly why I decided to start this blog, but I am sure that it subconsciously had something to do with it. So, for me in particular, it was an inspiring happy movie that I thoroughly enjoyed. Go see it!

Even though I was inspired by the delicious looking food in the film, we still had our usual Sunday night pizza. And tonight, I think I should just make one of the many meals I have saved in my freezer. Maybe meatloaf tonight. We'll see though since I am inspired and since I do have to go to the store to by milk - God knows I could die tomorrow morning if I can't have my latte.

Turning 35 Sucks...but Shrimp Creole Doesn't

2009-08-16T19:13:00.000-07:00

My birthday was yesterday and I wasn't particularly happy about it. To make matters worse, the weather was absolute shit. It was super rainy and just when the sun managed to peak out, another storm rolled in. Plus, I was awoken by some text messages that my father was sending to my brother. Somehow, he accidentally wrote them to me. So much for sleeping in.

Then to make matters worse, I paid good money and took time away from my son to go see a crappy movie. Don't even bother going to see The Time Traveler's Wife. The book was pretty good, but the movie sucked big time even with Rachel McAdams in it.

But, the good news in all of this is that Damien did indeed make me my favorite kind of birthday cake - boxed chocolate cake with vanilla frosting and coconut. And he made me my favorite meal that my mom used to make me for my birthday growing up - Shrimp Creole. I think it is fairly easy to make, but you really need to have a food processor for it to have the right consistency.

And the cake was totally delicious...even though today he dropped it on the floor and smashed a full bottle of Simi Chardonnay on top of it. Luckily the cake was covered in plastic wrap so we could salvage most of it. And it was the morning after anyway, so I had already had a good two or three pieces by then. (Besides, the chance of a few plastic and glass shards aren't going to keep me for devouring a couple more.)

My mother is going to send me a more precise recipe for her shrimp creole, but this is what she sent to Damien so he could make it for me:

Shrimp Creole
1 Green Peppers
1 or 2 Onions depending on size
3 cloves of Garlic
One small can tomato sauce
A jar of Goya pimentos
Tablespoon of vinegar
Teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce (my husband from Worcester had to tell me how to spell this)
Teaspoon salt and pepper
Teaspoon Tabasco sauce (or to taste)
1/4 cup olive oil in pan

In a food processor, combine all of the ingredients except for the olive oil. Blend until finely chopped.

Heat up the olive oil in a pan. Pour the mixture in and cook for 15 minutes over medium heat.

Meanwhile, clean shrimp by deveining and removing the tails. Then add to sauce about 5 minutes before wanting to serve. Serve over white rice.

It was perfect. Not only was the meal great, but the fact that Damien pushed me out the door to go see a movie (even if it sucked) and then went out of his way to make this for me made turning 35 a little less painful.

Pork Chops with Mango Chutney...delicious!

2009-08-14T18:50:00.000-07:00

Tonight I made use of those pork chops I took out last night. And boy, did they turn out to be delicious! In a nod to my new half-Indian nephew, I made a mango chutney to go with the chops. It is fantastic. Spicy, but the perfect compliment to the pork.

For the mango chutney, I pretty much followed a recipe I found on the Food Network's web site by Alton Brown. Now, I am not a big Food Network watchers, but I really like Tyler Florence's Ultimate Chili recipe so I thought I'd give this a try. I made couple of adjustments and I didn't really measure my ingredients too perfectly, but it turned out great. Very spicy, but great!

Check out the Alton Brown recipe here. (Not sure if there are copyright issues for reprinting so just follow the link.)

Some of the thing I changed:

1. I probably used less mango than it called for, but it was fine. I only had one mango.

2. I didn't use macadamia nuts because I just didn't have any and I didn't really want nuts.

Once I was finished cooking, I did to the ice water bath to cool it and I put it in the refrigerator for a few hours.

Then I made the pork chops themselves. I hate how pork chops sometimes end up so dry, so I tried to use a brine to tenderize them. So, I used this:

Pork Chops in Orange Brine

4 cups orange juice

1 cup apple cider vinegar

1 cup brown sugar

2 tablespoons salt

1 tablespoon pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

I combined all the ingredients in a gallon-sized ziplock freezer bag. Add the pork chops and make sure that they are coated with the brine. Put in the refrigerator for 2 hours.

When you are ready to cook them, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Remove the chops from the brine and pat dry. Sprinkle a little more salt and pepper on each side of the chops. Heat up olive oil in an oven proof frying pan. When the oil is nice and hot, place the chops in the oil. Brown both sides well, only flipping them once. (This should be about 2 or 3 minutes per side.)

Once the chops are browned, place the pan in the oven to roast the chops for about 15 minutes. If your chops are pretty thin, you might want to check them sooner. If they are thick, it might take up to 30 minutes to cook through. They should be very slightly pink inside.

I served the chops with a side of whole wheat cous cous that I made out of a box. I love this side dish since it is super easy and fast. After you boil the water, it only takes five minutes for the cous cous to be ready. I also served a side of asparagus. I probably could have found a more Indian vegetable, but oh well. Asparagus is just so tasty.

And I have to say, the brine worked. Even though my pork chops were slightly more cooked than I had hoped, they were tender and juicy. Not the cardboard I usually make.

Anyway, it turned out terrifically and I highly recommend the mango chutney. It made the whole meal more exotic and exciting.

Today is my birthday, so I don't think I am going to cook for myself. And if Damien doesn't make me my favorite birthday cake - chocolate cake with vanilla frosting covered in coconut - then I just might have to make it myself : )

Banana Pancakes and Espresso

2009-08-14T07:52:00.001-07:00

I needed some pancakes this morning. In Baghdad, one of the photographers, Scott Nelson, used to host Friday Pancakes* in our kitchen and it was one of those things that made me happy over there. So I decided that I needed to make Friday Pancakes for myself. It's been a rough couple of days and I just wanted something sweet and delicious to start off my new day.

*Scott has trademarked that name so I hope he doesn't sue me for using it : )

I just use the Aunt Jemima Buttermilk Complete 'Just Add Water' Mix. I used to make pancakes from scratch which is really pretty easy, but why bother when the mix is so good and inexpensive.

So really not too much of a recipe needed. Just follow the instructions on the back of the box depending on how many you want to make. However, I do mash up a fairly ripe banana (like when they have those brown spots on them) with a fork and add it to the batter before I cook them which I think makes them a little special.

I use a 1/4 cup measuring cup to try and get my pancakes to be the same size. I also think it's important to have a good non-stick griddle and a stove that heats pretty evenly - both of which I do not have. I try to only flip the pancakes once so I wait until they are nice and bubbly on top and cooked on the edges before I flip them.

These were not my best effort, but with some real maple syrup, they sure were tasty.

Add to that an almost perfect cup of espresso for my morning latte, and I am feeling a little better already.

Pork Chops with Mango Chutney...will have to wait

2009-08-13T17:28:00.000-07:00

Damien was supposed to be home in time for dinner so I took some pork chops out of the freezer and planned on making a nice dinner for him. But, at about 4pm he called to let me know that his flight was delayed and he'd likely miss his connection to MIA.

Also, I found out tonight that a friend of mine from film school, Michael McLaughlin, passed away this past weekend. He died while on vacation in Mexico with his family. He was snorkeling by himself and something happened to him out in the water. I'm not really clear exactly what happened. So sudden and so sad. Michael was a genuine, funny, sweet man who was always very generous and friendly to me. He was one of the few people who actually wrote to me while I was in Baghdad and we used to send editing jobs each others' way. He was married to an equally sweet woman, Lauren, who I only met once while on a long subway ride up to our Columbia apartments. It hurts to imagine what she must be going through.

So, it's been a rough couple of days and I don't really feel much like cooking. Instead I'll leave the pork chops til tomorrow and tonight I'll just have some canned lentil soup and a half of a whole wheat bagel with cream cheese.

Tomorrow, I need to collect some of the ingredients I'll need for the pork chops. For the mango chutney, I'll need some curry powder, ginger, red onions, cider vinegar, yellow raisins and some red pepper flakes.

I'll get into the recipe tomorrow. For now, just remember to hug your loved ones and to tell them that you love them.

Ladies Night

2009-08-12T15:11:00.000-07:00

Tonight, Damien is away still and I have to go to a Ladies Night/Birthday Drinks thing for my friend, Laura. I love Laura and am excited to help her celebrate since she had her son not to long before I had Balthazar and she has been super helpful to me with lots of advice and baby items that I never would have known I needed. But, I am not in the greatest of moods today and I don't feel so hot.

Poor Baz has been under the weather too and it might be his fault that I am coming down with something - what, with his love of putting his hands in my mouth so I'll pretend like I'm eating them : )

Plus with Damien away it means I have to have a babysitter so that I can go which makes it sort of a splurge and I am a little hesitant to add another splurge to our life. I mean we already added big steak dinners and nicer bottles of wines. Plus there are the baby things and childcare when I'm working and the fact that I have to pay someone $200 on Friday to wall mount our LCD television so that Baz won't accidentally pull the thing on to himself. See, I'm just cranky today.

The point of my bitching is that I don't really have a recipe for today. I might enjoy a peanut butter and jelly sandwich when I get home. Or I might be terrible and stop at Taco Bell. Who's gonna stop me?

Damien will be back tomorrow and I will definitely cook something then.

Vegetable Frittata

2009-08-11T15:29:00.000-07:00

Damien had to rush up to Pensacola for a story so it looks like I am on my own again for dinner. In fact, Bazzy will likely go to bed a little early since he had a little bit of a rough day. Aside from missing his Daddy, he had his 6-month immunizations today. While it certainly was no repeat of the first immunizations (when he freaked out a few hours after the shots from the throbbing pain in his leg), he definitely got a little sore late in the day and needed a lot of comforting, in addition to a dose of Tylenol. Poor baby.

So, since I am by myself and since I have a nice crusty french baguette as inspiration, I am going to make a frittata with some of the fresh veggies I have in the fridge. What's nice about it is that I can make enough for just one person but it's still nutritious and tasty.

This is what I'll do:

Vegetable Frittata
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 yellow or red pepper
3 or 4 chopped asparagus spears
2 tablespoons diced onion
1/4 cup cauliflower florets
(Really any vegetables you have in the fridge will do. These are just the ones I have and like)
salt and pepper
3 eggs
1 tablespoon milk or cream
3 tablespoons shredded or soft cheese (I'm using Gouda, but I wish I had some Chevre.)

Preheat the broiler or the oven at 425 degrees.

Heat up the oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add the vegetables and saute until they soften a bit. It takes about 5 to 7 minutes. Season the veggies with a little bit of salt and pepper to taste. Lower the heat to a low setting.

In a bowl, use a fork to whisk the eggs with the milk. Pour egg mixture into the skillet. Use a wooden spoon or spatula to scrape the bottom of the pan and cook the eggs. Sprinkle the cheese on the eggs. When there are lumps of cooked egg, but they are still very wet on top (after about 2 minutes), move the entire skillet to the oven. Broil or bake for about 5 minutes.

I also put a big old chunk of that baguette I mentioned in the oven with the eggs. This makes it nice and crispy and warm.

Remove the eggs and bread from the oven and let it sit for a minute or two. And voila! An easy dinner for one. Of course, just add a few more eggs and you've got dinner for two or three or four too.

**Be super careful with the handle of the skillet. It's probably very hot and once when I was very sleep deprived I frickin' burned the hell out of my hand by forgetting and grabbing it (on the stove, not from the oven. I wasn't that tired.)

Honey Soy Glazed Salmon

2009-08-10T17:18:00.000-07:00

Tonight is very special. For one thing Damien is cooking for me. He is making his famous Honey Soy Glazed Salmon which is really spectacular.

And then, the other more exciting news is that I became an aunt today for the very first time. My brother, Raul and his beautiful wife, Meera welcomed their first son this afternoon and the whole family could not be prouder. I'll leave the details for later, but mom and baby (and dad, of course) are doing great.

Let's get back to the recipe now. Damien found this recipe on epicurious and adapted it to suit our taste.

Honey Soy Glazed Salmon
3 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons soy sauce
fresh lime juice of one lime (should be about 2 tablespoons)
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon water
dusting of flour
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1 pound salmon fillets

Put honey, soy sauce, lime juice, dijon mustard and water in a plastic container with lid. Shake the container to mix well.

Remove the skin from the salmon and dust both sides of the fish with a little bit of flour.

Heat up the vegetable oil in a skillet big enough to fit the salmon. Heat the oil on high heat until the oil is hot but not smoking. Place the salmon fillets in the skillet and cook until they are golden brown and cooked through which should take about two or three minutes on each side. Remove the fillets from the skillet and put aside.

Pour the honey soy glaze mixture into the skillet and simmer for one minute. Pour the glaze over the salmon.

Tonight Damien served with a side of string beans (I know, we eat a lot of string beans) and some coconut rice which was a bit of an experiment that generally worked.

Here is how we made it:

Coconut Rice
1 cup water
1 cup coconut milk
1 cup rice
2 tablespoons shredded coconut

Bring the water and coconut milk to a boil. Stir in the rice and shredded coconut and return to a boil. Lower heat to low setting and cook for 20 minutes.

Next time I think we will use coconut water instead of coconut milk. I also think we will try and toast the coconut in a bit of butter in the pot before we add the water and coconut water. And we should maybe try using jasmine rice next time, too.

We also drank a glass or two of Verdejo, a white Spanish wine, that went perfectly with the sweet dish.

It was a delicious dinner and I thank Damien for making it. I also thank him for cleaning up after himself.

(500) Days of Summer

2009-08-09T18:47:00.000-07:00

It's Sunday which means that Damien and I have ordered our usual Sunday night pizza from Pizzafiore.

We also have a new Sunday tradition: We go to the movies! See, before Baz was born, we used to go to the movies all of the time. I mean, we'd see at least one movie a week. We vowed that when Baz was born, we wouldn't give it up. Somehow we'd need to get Baz used to the movie theater because we were taking him with us.

We did try. During those first couple of months we took him to see a couple of films. We figured that going to the first showing on a Monday morning would be safe. The theater would be e

mpty. That and pick a not so popular movie - I am ashamed to admit that his first film was He's Just Not That Into You. And he did pretty well. I only had to leave the theater once when he started crying and when I got him securely fastened to my boob out in the hallway, I was able to get back into the theater and finish the movie. (It's not like the plot was so hard to follow.)

But, then Damien had to go back to work so the Monday morning matinee was out. And we could never muster the courage to try at another, potentially busier time of day. It seemed like our movie-going life was gone forever - or at least until we could hire a dependable babysitter.

After a few months, we decided to give something else a try - One of us would go see the movie while the other watched the boy and then we'd switch places. That way we could both see the movie and then talk about it after we both had a chance to see it. Well, two weeks later, it totally works!

Last week we saw The Hurt Locker (which was actually really good) and this week we saw a much lighter movie - (500) Days of Summer. Maybe it's just because I love going to the movie so much and I am so happy to be back at them, but I really enjoyed it.

That Joseph Gordon-Levitt is way more charming and adorable than I ever thought he could be when he was on that stupid 3rd Rock show. And it was so refreshing to see a romantic comedy that was in any way surprising. So, I highly recommend it. Not just the movie. Splitting up the childcare duties and discussing over dinner once baby is asleep has turned out to be a perfect way to get back in the movie saddle.

Tomorrow: We're cooking something. Not sure what yet, but I am sure I'll come up with something.

Chicken Cordon Bleu - Diana Style

2009-08-07T07:19:00.001-07:00

First of all, I need to take two boneless, skinless chicken breasts out of the freezer right now before I forget. They're defrosting in the refrigerator. Now I can relax.

Damien is coming home tonight which makes me happy. I had a busy couple of days so it wasn't too bad, but I miss him and wouldn't mind having a little back-up for the boy. Baz slept great the first night Damien was gone, but last night he woke up at about 1am. I tried to let him fall back to sleep on his own, but after about 10 minutes I went in there and discovered he had peed through his diaper and pajamas and was really in a state. So, I cleaned him and cuddled with him for a few minutes before putting him back to bed. He was alright after that. Well, until about 7:10am.

In honor of Damien's return, I thought I'd make one of his favorite old stand-bys. I like to call it Chicken Cordon Bleu, but since I use prosciutto and fresh mozzarella instead of regular ham and swiss cheese, I guess it's not really chicken cordon bleu.

Regardless (or irregardless, as they say in Massachusetts) it's simple to make and sort of impressive looking. Here's how I do it:

Chicken Cordon Bleu - Diana Style

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1/4 cup of flour

1 egg

2 tablespoons of milk

1 cup Italian breadcrumbs

4 slices of thinly sliced prosciutto

2 - 1/4 inch slices of fresh mozzarella

1 tablespoon butter

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cut the chicken breasts lengthwise so that you can fold them open to stuff. Beat the egg with milk until frothy. Coat the chicken breasts with a light layer of the flour. Then dip the floured chicken breasts in the egg mixture. Fully coat the egged chicken breasts in the Italian breadcrumbs both on the outside and inside the split.

Lay the chicken so that they are butterflied. Place two slices of prosciutto inside the fold of the chicken breasts. Then place one slice of cheese on each breast. Fold the chicken breasts so that they are now stuffed with the prosciutto and cheese.

Place the two chicken breasts in a baking dish small enough to keep them assembled. Cut a pat of butter for each breast and place it on the top center of the breasts.

Cover the chicken with aluminum foil, loose enough so that it does not touch the top of the breasts. Cook in the oven for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and cook for 5 more minutes. (The cooking time can vary a bit depending on the thickness and defrosting status of your chicken. You might need a few more minutes than this. I did tonight.)

While the chicken is cooking, I make the Chicken Seasoned Rice that I also made to go with the Chicken with Mango and Peach Salsa. And I also make a steamed vegetable - Tonight I think I'll make steamed string beans sauteed with a little bit of garlic.

It's really simple and delicious. Damien's gonna love it especially if I follow it up with some Haagen Dazs Dulce de Leche and Caramel Cone ice cream.

Update - Peanut Butter and Jelly

2009-08-06T20:03:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I didn't have pesto for dinner tonight. I had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with half of a baked sweet potato and some broccoli. It's the kind of dinner Damien absolutely hates. It makes him sick just hearing about it. But, I liked it. It's just what I wanted.

For some reason I've been craving peanut butter and jelly lately. This was my third sandwich this week. But I was afraid it wouldn't be enough, because I was also starving. (I fit in a short run before the babysitter finished her shift.) So I threw in the sweet potato and broccoli because they also offered some nutrition. Plus now I have the other half of the sweet potato for Bazzy. He loves sweet potatoes.

On another note, John Hughes died today. I'm so sad. His movies had a huge impact on my adolescence and he is even the reason I ended up working the film business. See John Hughes went to my high school in Chicago and he liked to shoot his high school movies there. During recess one day while I was at Maple Junior High School (which was right across the street), we all got to watch as Mr. Hughes directed a scene for Ferris Bueller's Day Off involving that beautiful red Ferarri. At one point, a production assistant came over and told us that when we went to the theater to watch the movie, we should remember that the scene had to be re-shot because of us - a bunch of excited 12 year olds who couldn't be quiet. We did remember. When what seemed like the whole town of Northbrook went to a screening of the movie, we all clapped and cheered throughout as our town, school and even our friends showed up on screen during the now classic film. I thought, wow, one day I want to be a part of this. Not to mention that Sixteen Candles was and still is one of my favorite movies ever!

He was only 59 which is not really helping this heightened sense of mortality I've been feeling since Baz was born.

RIP John Hughes.

Pasta with Ready-Made Pesto

2009-08-06T13:32:00.000-07:00

Since Damien is still away, I'm gonna keep it simple tonight and just make some pasta and toss it in a ready-made pesto sauce that we always keep in the refrigerator for just such nights.

I like to use the Contadina Buitoni brand pesto that you find in the refrigerator section of the supermarket rather than the ones you can find in jars in the pasta section. It just tastes better.

But, I also should say that making your own pesto is really easy and delicious. You just need to have a bunch of fresh basil. Unfortunately, our beautiful basil did not survive our trip to New York. A few scorching Miami days and it was fried. And I'm feeling too damn lazy to run out and buy some at the supermarket.

So there.

Home Game

2009-08-06T05:31:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I sat down and read a book! I know, it's crazy. But, Baz decided to take a really long nap, like 2 hours, and so I read. And I want to recommend the book.

Michael Lewis' Home Game was just what the doctor ordered. Damien bought it awhile back (since he is addicted to ordering books from Amazon) and then my friend, Annie was talking about seeing Michael Lewis on some television talk show and how interesting the book looked. (I think at the time we were also talking about how her 2 year old daughter, Rosie, was on a strictly french fry and gummy vitamin diet.)

The book was funny and honest and inspiring. We're all idiots when it comes to parenting, yet most of us will raise pretty good kids. It's nice to be reminded of that every once in a while especially when it's in a well-written and entertaining form by a guy who is definitely a lot smarter than I am. Not to mention it's also short enough to read in a sitting or two.

So, check it out if you get a chance.

Leftover - Hearts of Palm

2009-08-05T12:59:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned earlier, we had the fabulous Miso Glazed Chilean Sea Bass last night. I would have let it sit another day, but Damien is going on a reporting trip to St. Louis today, so I wanted to make sure he got to enjoy one of our favorite meals.

Since he's gone today, Baz and I are suffering from withdrawal and uninspired to cook. So I think I am going to make use of some of our leftovers. We have some chicken left and I think I'll remove the fried skin part, shred the chicken and make a chicken salad out of it by adding some mayonnaise, onion, mustard and maybe some cut up grapes or raisins. Then I'll cut up some lettuce and other salad fixings like avocado and top it with the chicken salad.

One salad ingredient that I love and is not as common up north as it is here in Florida is Hearts of Palm. Yummy. They come in a can packed in water. (Baz is holding a can in the picture above.) I prefer to buy them uncut and slice them before adding to my salads. They really make a salad special.

Publix Fried Chicken and Wasabi Mashed Potatoes

2009-08-05T04:43:00.001-07:00

I know, I know, I didn't write a post yesterday which goes against everything I wanted this to be.

I'll just quickly fill you in on what we did for dinner. See I was waiting for my miso glaze to really soak in to my Chilean sea bass fillets. So, on Monday night I did something a little bad, but so good. I went and picked up an 8 piece fried chicken box from our local Publix.

This is a really delicious quick dinner fix. Damien and I do it every so often, usually on days that I hit the supermarket anyway. They have both rotisserie and fried chicken, but since the fried was on sale I went with that one. The rotisserie is wonderful though and I imagine a wee bit healthier.

Then I pick up a side of cole slaw, macaroni and cheese and I'll steam a vegetable. This time I made broccoli. And that's it. Dinner in a few minutes.

Then last night I was ready to make my favorite meal. The miso glaze was soking in to the fish for two days. It was time!

I also was able to make the wasabi mashed potatoes because of my Japanese market find.

Wasabi Mashed Potatoes
8-10 small red creamer potatoes
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 clove of garlic
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup milk
2 tablespoons sour cream
salt and pepper
1 teaspoon wasabi paster or 1 tablespoon wasabi powder

Boil the little red creamer potatoes (I peel them half way so there is not too much skin when I mash them) for about 15 minutes. After pouring them into the colander, use the same pot to saute some garlic in a little bit of olive oil. When the garlic is just browning, return the potatoes to the pot and add some milk, butter and a tablespoon or two of sour cream. Mash the potatoes with a potato masher until smooth. Sprinkle some salt and a little bit of pepper on the potatoes. Then squeezed about a teaspoon of wasabi into the potatoes and mix.

They were delicious and the perfect compliment to the Miso Glazed Chilean Sea Bass along with some steamed aspargus. I think next time I'll try a little bit more wasabi, but it definitely had the flavor I was looking for. And Damien loved it!

Japanese Market

2009-08-03T13:54:00.000-07:00

I got a bunch of work done this morning so when the babysitter came today at 3pm, I took the opportunity to run out to this Japanese Market that I had heard about. I needed some more miso paste (since I forgot to take a photo of it before I threw out the package) and knew they would have it. Besides, I've been wanting to see what this place was all about.

For those of us who live in Miami, WHAT A FIND!!! I loved this place. It is literally just a Japanese market that seems to stock anything you could possibly need for Japanese cooking. But, it is located in this weird little mall next door to a beauty and massage school. Only in Miami. I never would have found it without Google Maps.

They also have a wonderful little sushi bar there that I have to go back and try out. I've heard good things about it, and I am sure it is the most authentic you can find here.

Anyway, just wanted to share. I bought some wasabi too so now I can make wasabi mashed potatoes....

Miso Glazed Chilean Sea Bass

2009-08-03T06:52:00.001-07:00

Once upon a time, Damien and I were the type of people who would show up at a restaurant like Nobu on a random Wednesday or Thursday night to splurge on a fabulous meal. During one such visit, I discovered Miso Glaze. Wanting to try something besides the wonderful sushi there, we asked the waiter for a suggestion. He highly recommended the Miso Glazed Black Cod. Not being the biggest cod fan, I wasn't so sure about it, but he REALLY loved it. So, we ordered it.

Well, it was just about the best thing I've ever eaten. And it turns out black cod is actually sablefish which is not really a part of the cod family at all -- although I have come to appreciate cod as well. But, that's beside the point.

Now life has changed and I don't get to make last minute decisions like that night not very long ago. Instead I make it myself for a romantic dinner at home or to impress friends. Turns out that if I plan a little ahead and can find the ingredients, it's freakin' easy to make.

Here's how I do it:

Miso Glazed Chilean Sea Bass

1/3 cup saki - or maybe a little more : )

1/3 cup mirin

1 cup miso paste

2/3 cup sugar

1 pound Chilean Sea Bass

The hardest part about this recipe is finding the ingredients. Mirin is a sweet Japanese cooking wine that I have been able to find at regular grocery stores. And sake can be found at most liquor stores. The miso paste can be a little more challenging if you live outside of large metropolitan areas. I buy it at Whole Foods, but when I lived in New York, they carried it at my local bodega and at Fresh Direct. It is often kept in the refrigerator section with other soy products, like tofu.

Once you've found all of your ingredients, it's quite simple. In a medium saucepan, bring the saki and mirin to a boil. Let it boil for 20 seconds to let the alcohol evaporate. Remove from heat and add the miso paste stirring it so that it will dissolve in the liquid. Put it over low heat if the mixture cools too much and the miso stops dissolving. Once it is smooth, put the pot back on the high heat and return it to a boil, stirring it constantly so it won't burn. Slowly add the sugar, stirring well and letting the sugar dissolve. The mixture will start to look a bit shiny, like a glaze. Remove from heat and let the glaze cool to room temperature.

This recipe makes enough miso glaze for about 1 pound of fish.

You can use this with all sorts of different fish but the black cod works particularly well as does regular cod. But, I found some frozen Chilean sea bass at Costco the other day, so I am going to make it with that. It has as similar texture and subtle flavor that's quite good for the glaze.

Pat the fish dry with some paper towels. Place the pieces in a one gallon size, ziplock freezer bag or some other non-reactive container that will fit in your fridge. When the miso glaze has cooled to room temperature, pour the the glaze over the fish in the bag. Make sure the pieces are fully coated. Zip up the bag and put it in the refrigerator to marinate. The longer the better. I'm talking two or three days. But, if you can only do one, well, that's okay. It'll still taste good.

When you are ready to cook it, preheat the oven to 400 degrees and heat up an oven proof pan on your stove top. I use the All-Clad pan I got for our wedding. Heat the pan over high heat until it is very hot. Remove the fish from the bag a let the excessive glaze drip off of it. Place the fish in the pan and sear it for a few minutes on one side only.

Once the fish is seared on one side, put the whole pan in the pre-heated oven. Cook the fish for 10 or 12 minutes.

I like to serve the fish over mashed potatoes with a side of steamed asparagus. Even better, make the mashed potatoes with a little bit of wasabi in them. Yummy.

This is definitely one of my favorite meals. It's totally worth the trip to Whole Foods for the miso paste. Just try not to get suckered into all the other delicious-looking but overpriced items there.

**NOTE: Miso Paste lasts, like, forever. Okay, so really about a year. But, since it is a pain to find this is good because you can buy a big container of it and keep in your fridge for those days when you are craving a little miso.

Sunday Update

2009-08-02T07:13:00.000-07:00

It's Sunday and I'm sad that the weekend is coming to a close. It's been a really good weekend mostly because it felt totally normal. Okay, so in the past, pre-baby, we probably would have slept a lot later than 7am. But, getting up early is unexpectedly nice. We've been going to the beach first thing, which is just lovely in the morning. Today we even met up with Laura and her son, Joaquin, for a little while. Of course, Damien had to leave us to go get a facial at the Delano's spa, Aqua. Fancy, right? I had given him a gift certificate for his birthday a couple of months ago so it's about time he took advantage of it. It's something he enjoyed when we were on a break from Iraq. We'd always hit the Dead Sea after a tour and pamper ourselves. So, this facial at the Delano was a way to remember what we were like before the baby.

We braved the unpredictable baby mood swings with an outing to Coconut Grove to meet up with some friends at Scotty's Landing. It's a wonderful dockside spot behind the Grove Harbor Marina. We shared some peel-n-eat shrimp and Damien had a burger. They have Newcastle on tap there, so I like it! And since it is outdoors and casual, it's a great spot for kids.

So, while it is sometime really difficult to get everyone out the door, both outing were well worth the effort. It's great to connect with friends, especially those going through similar things - like dealing with sometimes cranky, unpredictable babies.

I'd also like to update on the Chicken with Mango and Peach Salsa. You know, it was pretty good!! Really tasty. I marinated it for about an hour. When you sear it, or anything for that matter, make sure you get the pan really, really hot. I test it by sprinkling a bit of water on it. If the water immediately sizzles and evaporates, you are good to go. Also, before I put the chicken in the oven, I put a little bit more, spoonfuls of the chunky salsa on it for the texture. I also covered the baking dish with some aluminum foil until the last 5 minutes so that it would stay moist. It worked. The only thing I think I would change next time is to make it with beans and rice rather than the regular chicken flavored that I made. And again, I wonder if it would have been even better with a bone-in piece of chicken.

On Sunday's we have a tradition of ordering pizza. We usually order a half Hawaiian, half peperoni and mushroom large pie (ordered well done because, according to Damien, the pineapple on the Hawaiian half causes the whole pizza to undercook) and a Greek salad from Pizzafiore (on 71st Street in Miami Beach). Since we are from New York, we don't really think the pizza in Miami can compare, but Pizzafiore is not bad.

Tomorrow morning, look for a recipe prep for another dinner this week - Miso Glazed Chilean Sea Bass. Ooooh-la-la!

Michael's Genuine and "Free-Range Kids"

2009-07-31T12:44:00.001-07:00

Tonight I have to shoot some video of sex offenders living under the Julia Tuttle Causeway. Don't worry - I am bringing Damien with me. But, I certainly don't want to expose wee little Baz to this shoot so I am hiring a babysitter to watch him. And since we'll already be out, we figured why not have a bit of a date night after we meet the sex offenders!

So, we are going to try and hit our favorite Miami restaurant - Michael's Genuine Food and Drink. We found it when it was #4 on Frank Bruni's favorite American restaurants in the New York Times. And, boy, was he right on the money about this place! We love it and it is one of only two or three places that we go back to again and again when we get a chance. I like to start with either the deviled eggs or fresh potato chips with onion dip. Then they have this system where you order either "small," "medium," or "large" dishes. We usually have a couple of smalls and mediums and split a large. It's fabulous food made with fresh, local ingredients and feels healthy while also tasting terrific. Okay, so deviled eggs and potato chips with onion dip is not the healthiest thing on the menu.

It'll be a nice break. And it gives me an opportunity not only to recommend my favorite restaurant but also to talk about this book I'm reading that might be of interest to other moms out there. It's Lenore Skenazy's book, "Free-Range Kids." She has a blog. too. No, it's not about how to corn feed your babies. It's about how we parents worry too much about our kids and how we need to fight against our fears and give our children the freedom we had growing up. You might remember the author from her controversial column in the New York Sun when she decided to let her 9 year old son ride the subway by himself. Especially after my last parenting class, this book is really hitting the right note for me. I am just so sick and tired of fear-mongering parents that have so little perspective on things. I mean, we literally had a 20 minute conversation about how lavender has an estrogen-like component to it that could be dangerous for babies. I mean, all these moms were like, "Oh, my gosh, I use lavender scented soap!" The horror, the horror. First of all, I really don't think Johnson and Johnson would be able to sell lavender scented baby products if it were really that dangerous. Someone would have sued them by now. I mean maybe lavender has estrogen like qualities, but how much lavender can these moms be exposing their infants to?

But what really got me going was when someone later mentioned that they were going on a trip to Cuba and not taking a car seat. I had the audacity to ask why? Wouldn't they be taking taxis to and from the airport and possibly driving cars while they were there? Plus, there are conveniences to bringing a car seat like the fact that if there's an extra seat on the plane, you can use it - in fact, most airlines will go out of there way to hold the seat open for you - and then you don't have to carry the baby on your lap the whole time. Well, you would have thought that I had just asked if zebras can fly? Everyone looked at me like I was a total nut case and even Faith, the nurse who leads the class, said, "Oh they don't have the same laws in Cuba."

Wait a minute! We just spent twenty minutes talking about the unlikely idea that lavender scented baby soap might cause your baby boy to develop breasts yet you don't have a problem leaving the car seat - something that has lowered fatal car injuries by 50% - behind when you are going to a country where on the ride from the airport alone your modern taxi will be sharing the highway with horse and buggies and 1950's Buicks? Are you kidding me? Where are the hidden cameras?

But, that's really beside the point. The point is, with the internet and mom's groups and way too much time on our hands, we have become a bunch of paranoid, fearful, over-informed, 24 hour news-watching idiots. And while I don't think it is always the best idea to send 9 year olds out alone to navigate the New York City subway system (unless they are mature and prepared for it), I think there is definitely something to the idea of chilling-the-fuck-out!

Chicken with Mango and Peach Salsa

2009-07-30T15:15:00.000-07:00

So I am waiting with baited breath for my brother's wife to go into labor already. What's the hold up Apple Jack? I hear that she's not even a wee bit dilated or effaced.

Another Caribbean themed meal tonight. This time with chicken. It's a bit of an experiment since I haven't made it before, but it sounds like a good idea to me.

See, I bought this enormous jug of salsa at Costco over the weekend when we were having people over for appetizers and drinks. It was like $5 for 100 gallons of it. Well, maybe not quite. But since I have tons of it left, I thought I'd try to use it for something besides a corn chip dip.

So here is what I made:

Chicken with Mango and Peach Salsa
1 1/2 cups of mango and peach salsa (Costco sells it, but you can use whatever salsa you have)
2 cloves of garlic
3 tablespoons of olive oil
2 chicken breasts (I'm using boneless, skinless, but I bet it'd be better with bone-in, with skin)
salt and pepper

I took the salsa, garlic and some olive oil and blasted it in the food processor for a few seconds to get it nice and smoothed out and mixed together. Then I seasoned the chicken breasts with some salt and pepper and poured my salsa mixture all over it. It's marinating now. I'm giving it about an hour or so.

I'm going to take the chicken out of the salsa and sear it in a frying pan with just a tiny bit more olive oil. I just want it to get a bit browned on the outside. Then I'll put the chicken in a baking dish and pour the salsa mixture over it and bake it for about 20 minutes at 350 degrees.

I'm serving it with a side of chicken seasoned rice. This is how I make that:

Chicken Seasoned Rice
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 onion, diced
1 cube of chicken bouillon
2 cups water
1 cup of rice

Melt the butter in a small pot on medium to high heat. Add the onion and saute until they are translucent and just starting to brown. Add the chicken bouillon cube and break it up a bit with a wooden spoon. Then add the water and stir until the bouillon cube is dissolved. Bring the mixture to a boil. Add the rice and return it to a boil. Then lower heat to the lowest setting and cook for 15 minutes. Fluff with a fork.

Since this has tomatoes and peaches and mango, I don't think I am going to make another veggie side dish. But, I don't know. Maybe I should. We'll see how Damien reacts.

I hope it's good. I'll give you an update when it's done.

Mom's Lasagna - Frozen

2009-07-29T12:41:00.000-07:00

Man, today is a bit of a doozy. I was 10 minutes late for the babysitter because I thought I had enough time to go to my "parenting" class at Mercy Hospital. If anyone reads this who lives in Miami and is looking for a way to meet other new moms, Mercy's Lactation Center might be the place for you. Faith Ploude, the baby guru or baby whisper - as some people like to call her, runs these classes in which she gives a short seminar about a particular parenting topic like "Starting Solids" or "Teething and Weaning" or something else to help us newbies along. But, the real reason everyone goes is to ask their particular question (we all get one or so) and to listen to other mother's questions and Faith's answers.

I started going because I had a hell of time breastfeeding and I needed all the support I could get. I'm not sure if anything anyone told me help me physically, but just hearing other people's issues and finding out that I was not alone was really helpful. So, I kept going back and now Baz and I have graduated to the older baby group which is where I was this morning. I've met a bunch of great moms this way.

Anyway, then I needed to rush home for the babysitter so I can work this afternoon. I've already done a conference call, and when I finish with this post, I am going to do some more video editing and then I have to go out and shoot this tent-camp community of sex offenders who live under a Miami bridge because the law currently won't let them live within 2500 feet of a place where children gather and there is no other place in Miami except for under that bridge where that is possible.

Therefore, I don't have a ton of time to cook tonight. So, I am going to go into my freezer and find something to serve my husband.

What I have chosen to take out is some lasagna that my mother has made for just such nights. She graciously makes me about 10 two person servings of a couple of Italian dishes that she freezes and brings to me about once every two months. I am so lucky and I know it. This batch was one of the best chicken parmesan and one of tastiest lasagnas I've ever had. Since we've been eating a lot of meat this week, I thought I would go with the lasagna which I believe is vegetarian.

I'll probably pick up some fixin's for a salad and maybe a baguette that I can use to make some garlic bread. That's pretty simple. Just slice the bread lengthwise and then slather some butter on it and use that awesome garlic press to press some garlic right onto it. I then use a knife to spread it out as evenly as I can. I sprinkle some salt and pepper and some parsley for color and then I fold the bread back together, wrap it in aluminum foil and put it the oven with my heating lasagna for the last five to ten minutes. Delicious.

We're getting towards a weekend so hopefully I'll be able to jazz things up a bit in the coming days....

Ham with Pineapple

2009-07-28T09:58:00.000-07:00

Man, I don't know how people have full-time jobs outside of their homes and still manage to get it all done. I mean, I feel like I just spent the morning running around the house trying to get shit done before my babysitter gets here at 2pm so I can do the work I'll actually get paid for (hopefully).

On top of that, I might have to go out and shoot video tonight with Damien for a story he's working on. So, tonight is gonna have to be an old stand-by. Hopefully Damien will be able to deal with it. On numerous occasions, he's expressed his fatigue with this particular dish.

Ham with Pineapple is really good though. And if you don't make it once a week like I was doing for a while there, I really think it's the easiest, tastiest dinner you can make. Just add a couple of veggie side dishes and you are ready to go.

I'm gonna make some dirty rice and string beans tonight. But, sometimes I'll pair it with baked (or really microwaved) sweet potatoes and broccoli.

The dirty rice makes me think of it as a Caribbean themed meal. Maybe I'll even use that line to get Damien to make us some fruity cocktails to start. He made the best white sangria with mangoes and nectarines in it the other night for a little get-together we threw. But I guess that's not really Caribbean.

Anyway, here it goes:

Ham with Pineapple

1.25 lb center cut smoked ham slice

8 oz. can of pineapple slices in 100% pineapple juice

3 tablespoons brown sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Place the slice of ham in a baking pan. Place pineapple slices on the ham. Pour half of the juice from the can over the ham and pineapple slices. Drink the rest of the juice : )

Sprinkle the brown sugar evenly over the ham and pineapple slices. You can use a little more or less depending on your taste... and aversion to sugar on main dishes.

Place the baking pan in the oven and cook for 25 minutes. The ham is already cooked so you really just want to get it nice and heated up. I also like it to brown a little bit on the edges.

While the ham is in the oven, I like to make the side dishes. Tonight I am going to make dirty rice and string beans. I use the Zatarain's New Orleans Style Reduced Sodium (does that make up for the sugar on the ham?) Dirty Rice Mix.

I'm sure you could make your own from scratch, but I don't really feel like figuring it out and the Zatarain's is really tasty and easy. Sometimes it comes out a bit soupy so I am going to try using a little less water than it calls for in the recipe this time.

Side Note: The rice is excellent left-over.

Then, about 5 minutes before the ham is done, I'll just cut the tips off the ends of my fresh string beans - that I'll need to go out and buy at some point today because we are out of all fresh vegetables right now - and steam them in the microwave for about 2 minutes. Then I'll saute some garlic in some olive oil in a frying pan and give the string beans a quick saute in it. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper, and voila, healthy side dish.

It's sort of the perfect sized dish for a couple. But we always have leftovers so it would also serve a kid or two as well.

Tomorrow is gonna be another toughy since I'll still be working. I'll have to see what I can come up with but it might time to go to the freezer....

Picadillo

2009-07-27T06:59:00.001-07:00

Today I think I'll make Picadillo for dinner. This is a traditional Cuban dish that I ate about a million times growing up and have since adapted into my own version. It's made with ground beef and vegetables and served over white rice. I always throw in a side dish of fried plantains which have become really easy to make now that Goya packages a frozen version (look for "platanos maduros") that just needs to be warmed up in the microwave. It's just so hard to find fresh plantains that are the right ripeness. Goya's are always perfect and so freakin' easy.

It's also nice to remember to take the ground beef out of the freezer sometime during the day. I hate having to defrost things last minute.

To make picadillo you need to start with a sofrito - a very popular start to many Cuban meals. My mom and grandma don't use tomato paste and wine, but I think it has a nicer flavor when you do it this way.

Sofrito
1 medium onion
1 medium green pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 clove of garlic (although I usually throw in at least a second cuz I love garlic)
1 can of tomato paste
1/4 cup white wine
water
Optional: Sazon Goya with Saffron packet

Chop up the onion and green peppers into small diced pieces. Heat up the olive oil in a medium sized saucepan over medium heat.

Squeeze a peeled garlic clove through a garlic press (I like this one from Hoff ritz) into the heating oil. When it starts to brown, add the chopped onion and peppers.

Cook the garlic, onions and peppers over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the onions are translucent and the peppers are soft. This take about 7 or 8 minutes. Try not to under cook the vegetables but don't let them get too dry either.

Lower the heat to a lower setting and stir in the can of tomato paste. Then add the white wine and stir until it starts bubbling. You might want to add a bit more wine or water to make the consistency a little looser. It shouldn't be soupy but it should be soft and wet.

If I have it, I add in a packet of Sazon Goya with saffron, a seasoning you can find in the Goya, Latin food section of a supermarket. This just gives it an added zing and a beautiful color.

This is your sofrito.

Now, for the rest of the Picadillo.

Picadillo
Sofrito (see above)
1 pound ground beef (I've never tried turkey or other ground meats, but I bet they'd be fine, just not very Cuban)
salt and pepper
1 teaspoon cumin
1 bay leaf
1/4 cup chopped green olives with pimentos
1/2 cup raisins
Optional: a couple of chipotle peppers canned in adobo sauce

You'll add the ground beef to the sofrito you just made, breaking up with your hands as you add it. Season it by sprinkling a light layer of salt and pepper over all of the beef/sofrito mixture. Then add the cumin and bay leaf, olives and raisins. I know raisins are an odd addition, so if it freaks you a bit, just leave it out. But, I gotta say, they're my favorite part of picadillo.

I also have been adding a couple of chopped up chipotle peppers that have been canned in adobo sauce. I've been adding them to just about everything actually. (They are superb in chili!) This makes it a little spicy and probably makes it taste more Mexican than Cuban. I buy it at this bodega on the corner since they don't seem to carry it at Publix, my local supermarket (which is surprising since they have everything.)

Cook the sofrito/beef mixture over low/medium heat for about 20 minutes.

In the meantime, make some white rice. And don't forget to put the fried plantains in the microwave just before you are ready to serve. They take about 3 1/2 minutes to heat up well.

I serve individual portions of this dish in shallow bowls. I start with the rice, put a good amount of the picadillo on top and a couple of sweet plantains on the side. Delicious. Even my gringo husband calls it a favorite!

***I'd also like to send a shout out to my friend, Becky, who went back to work today. I know it's gonna be a hard day for you, but it's got to get easier. I am sure you are much more upset than Olivia. She's probably having a blast playing with her new friends. And you get to have adult conversations and skip a couple of nasty diaper changes!