A Family Friendly Dinner?

Let’s be honest, most of the recipes this month don’t really appeal to the younger set, but determined not to have to cook separate meals for my kids every night, I cobbled together three recipes from the February issue that I thought might appeal to everyone—Chicken Milanese p. 60 http://www.marthastewart.com/891284/milanese-101, Maple Roasted Vegetables p. 74 http://www.wholeliving.com/155109/maple-roasted-brussels-sprouts-and-rutabaga-hazelnuts, and Potato Scones p. 24 http://www.marthastewart.com/874311/potato-scones.  My thinking behind these choices was that my kids already liked the basics of each—chicken cutlets, maple syrup, and mashed potatoes—so how could I go wrong?

I did well with the Chicken Milanese.  Despite my inclination to be lazy and use store bought bread crumbs, I followed Martha’s advice and made my own.  I have to admit I was skeptical when I saw how huge the crumbs were clinging to my chicken, but the result was a very nice crunch with a soft juicy inside, just like Martha said. 

I don’t eat poultry or beef, so I relied on my husband for reviews.  He really liked it, especially the crunch, but said he thought my normal chicken cutlets had more flavor.  I usually use Italian seasoned bread crumbs, so I think just adding some Italian spices would be an easy adjustment to add some flavor and maintain the crunch of the homemade crumbs.  The kids liked the Milanese as well, but, as it turns out, this was the only thing they ate.

I still don’t understand the resistance to the potato scones.  They were really fantastic and surprisingly easy to make.  I had visions of them being difficult to work and sticking to the pan, but none of that materialized.  My husband and I loved them and agreed with Martha’s suggestion that they would be good with breakfast.  A rich replacement for hash browns to accompany eggs—yum!   Unfortunately, my kids were not convinced.  My protests that “you like mashed potatoes and these are just like fried mashed potatoes,” fell on deaf ears.  Sigh… 

I had no better luck with the vegetables.  I replaced the rutabaga (which wasn’t available at my grocery store) with baby carrots and parsnips, both of which I’ve used successfully in a variety of roasted vegetables previously and I thought would be a better sell to the kids than rutabaga.  Although my husband and I aren’t really Brussels sprouts fans, this whole Deconstructing Martha project is about trying new things, so those remained.  The view and smell from the oven left me optimistic.  Pretty, no?  

 I gave my kids only the baby carrots and parsnips since they already like carrots and I passed off the parsnips as “white carrots.”  My 7-year old turned up his nose the second the plate arrived in front of him.  Him: “Mom, you’ve made carrots with stuff on them before and you know I don’t like it.”  Me: "But, it has maple syrup on it, you love maple syrup.  Just try it.”  I think he managed a lick before he redeclared of his hatred of carrots with “stuff.”  My 2-year old never even tried it.  She ate her chicken and announced that she was ready for candy. Double sigh …
- Jacqui

It's Time for String Break

Wrap a piece of string around something?  Now, this I can do.  Martha suggests that twine be used to add a handmade touch of spring to dinner party decor.  For those of you who read this and don’t have a subscription to her magazine, she even has a photo of twine wrapped around pebble-like stones. They’re meant to be a spin on a place card, as she’s written names in chalk.  Cute.  If you're into that type of thing.  I can’t fathom a reason for needing place cards in the near or distant future. The most recent time I used them was at our wedding and unless I get married again (not planning on doing so, Ben) I can’t foresee any utility in them whatsoever.  Maybe in a fancier house than ours.  But even then, would you choose a stone?  Really?  

So I decided to make little favors for our upcoming citrus and chocolate fiesta.  If you are coming, cover your eyes, otherwise you’ll ruin the sorpresa!!  

I know, I know, I just said we live in a non-fancy house and here I am talking about favors for a non-baby and non-wedding related event.  Remember, it’s string, how fancy can it be?

Off to Michael's I went in search of something favor related and twine friendly.  I bet you guessed it, I came home with candles.  Too cliche?  It is better than a rock, right?

 I used double-sided tape to attach the twine and wrapped it a couple of times, et voila!!!  

I bedazzled them by attaching the initial of each of the attendees. 

It took about 15 minutes and they’re pretty cute.  My kind of project. 

As I write this, I’m thinking I should have used bakers twine!  Argh!  So much prettier and modern looking.  Check out all the amazing colors available at http://thetwinery.com/.  I could have used brown and orange to go with our citrus and chocolate theme.  I wish I had thought about this before this very instant... Damn.


Ali

A Dinner Party (Recipes from pages 64 and 128-135)

My dinner party last weekend was a hit, thanks to great guests, wine and conversation, but also to three standout recipes from Martha and one from Epicurious.com to round out the mix.   I generally find it risky to make even one previously untested recipe for a party, and four is unheard of, but luckily, these were all winners. 

For appetizers, I borrowed two recipes from the article highlighting Buvette, the Manhattan bistro featured on pages 128-135.  I chose the walnut pesto and the pomodorini tartines.

http://www.marthastewart.com/874281/buvette-pomodorini-tartines

http://www.marthastewart.com/874292/toasted-country-bread-walnut-or-hazelnut-pesto

Ready for spreading

Pomodorini Tartines

Walnut Pesto

Both were excellent and received high marks from everyone, but my friends raved about the tartines.  I had doubled everything except the capers and fresh oregano when my original looked much more green than the magazine photo and even with twice as much spread, every last bit was gone.  It seemed not to matter that I used mozzarella cheese instead of the Stracchino called for in the recipe, which I could not find anywhere.  If I ever do track down Stracchino I’d like to try the recipe again to see if it’s even better.

I couldn’t find a main course recipe to complement the Buvette appetizers in the magazine.  Shrimp stir fry?  No.  Tofu?  Definitely not!  The Milanese would have worked, but one of my guests does not like fried food, so unable to knock out another Martha recipe I turned to Epicurious.com.  I found a recipe for sea bass with a tomato, onion, and anchovy sauce that seemed to fit the bill and had four forks with 36 reviews.  It was delicious! 

 http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Sea-Bass-with-Tomatoes-and-Onions-4252

I used angel hair pasta instead of the “crouton” called for in the recipe, which was more substantial and was nice to sop up all of the sauce.  So glad I did, because my guests’ plates were completely, literally completely, empty.  I had one bowl’s worth of pasta left over which I was excited to find in the fridge the next day, until my two-year old turned from her own dinner and gave me a “what you have there?”  She proceeded to devour it, anchovies and all!

What I keep thinking about though is the dessert.  I made the chocolate pots du crème from the Valentine’s Day dinner for two, but quadrupled the recipe.  Not having ever made or eaten a pot du crème, I assumed from the pictures that it would have a consistency of pudding or custard.  Instead, it was very, very dense, incredibly rich, and completely delectable.  It was also very easy to make and perfect for a dinner party because it could be made the night before.  I usually skip recipe instructions to “strain” custard, but I was too worried about messing this one up. 

Considering the few and fairly microscopic lumps that actually were strained out, however, I think my first inclination was right.  I would skip that step next time, but that’s the only thing I would change.  And, there definitely will be a next time. 
-Jacqui

http://www.marthastewart.com/874411/chocolate-pots-de-creme

So good!

Broccoli, Ham, and Cheesy-Creamy Cauliflower Baked Shells

This looked like a perfect recipe.  A whole head of cauliflower hidden in the sauce?  Genius.  
We have a very picky two-year-old... he’ll never know what hit him.

Here’s the link: http://www.wholeliving.com/155093/baked-shells-and-broccoli-ham-and-cheesy-creamy-cauliflower-sauce

There was one problem with this recipe and that was the estimated prep time.  15 minutes? Really? 45 minutes later, mine was in the oven and contrary to what you may believe, I actually do know my way around my kitchen.  Maybe Martha didn’t account for the time it took her little elves to pre-cut the cauliflower, garlic, shallots, and broccoli and pre-measure everything else.  Where were my elves?  Oh yeah, there’s only one and that’s me.  Also, math was never one of my strong subjects, but lets just check her instructions:

1. Cook the cauliflower, garlic, shallots, and 1/2 teaspoon salt: 10 minutes.
2. Add milk and simmer: 15 minutes.
3. Let cool: 5 minutes.
4. Blend mixture: 2 minutes.
5. Cook the pasta: 5 minutes

OK, by my calculations that adds up to 37 minutes... and now that we’ve established that math isn’t Martha’s strong suit either, just kidding Martha, I’ll move on.

The actual prep was quite easy.  Instead of using pecorino cheese I used a mixture of Parmesan and Manchego - they’re just what happened to be in my fridge.  I also tried to use a hand-held blender and maybe if it was charged it would have been more effective, so I ended up having to use a regular blender anyway.  If it had been charged, it would have worked fine and there would have been a lot less clean-up. 

It looks a bit anemic, doesn't it?

Martha suggests rather than baking the shells with the crumbs on top which can make them soggy, that they should be toasted separately, and tossed over each serving.  I didn’t do this.   It’s totally unnecessary, unless you like creating additional steps for yourself.  I sprinkled the panko right on before it went in the oven.  

And it wasn't a bit soggy.

An hour and 15 minutes later dinner was ready.  It was mild tasting, I might say bland, but that would make it seem more offensive that it was. 

Side note: I actually divided the mixture into two baking dishes and gave half to a friend for her family.  They have two girls, 5 and 2 and she said the girls loved it.  My friend and her husband added some additional spices to spruce it up.   Hmmm.. that was a good idea, why didn’t I think of that?

Regardless, we didn't have a hard time finishing it..

This recipe ended up feeding four adults and three children.  Ok - four adults and two children, my son didn’t touch it - clearly deep down he knew there might be a vegetable in there somewhere..

For all you veggies out there - this very mild recipe would have been tasteless without the ham - I’d recommend giving this one a pass.

Ali

Down-Cycled Necklaces ;D

I made jewelry for a lot of years.  It was a fun hobby and then it became not fun and then it became a pain in the a$$.  There, abandoned in my project room, are the little guys who never found a home.  They wait patiently in a heaped, careless pile for me to figure where their destiny lies... anyway, that’s a lot of unnecessary background to say that I have a lot of necklaces to choose from.  
 
Martha suggested updating a short necklace with a ribbon - it’s a romantic look, she claims. Lord. I’m not a fan of the ribboned-necklace look... OK, I was - in 2004 - it’s now 2012.  

Begrudgingly, I went to select something that had the potential to not be hideous.  I chose a double strand of stick pearls and three complementary spools of ribbon of varying widths. 

I knotted the three ribbons to one end of the necklace and at the same time tried to cover the clasp. I then braided the three ribbons together.  I actually liked the way the braided ribbon looked. Because of the different widths it had a bit of whimsy to it.. 

OK, some would say romantic.  It looked as though it should have been weaved though Buttercup’s hair in Princess Bride,  remember that movie?  Am I dating myself?  Again, I digress.  No, this braided ribbon was going to be attached to a necklace. Fantastic. 

Do you see the pearl in the middle of the right hand side?  That's the other part of the clasp. Classy, right?

Then I had the conversation with Ben about wearing it.  I didn’t want to - I was like a child not wanting to wear what my mom had picked out.  I was like my son not ever wanting to wear a sweater.  Ben thought I should, so I did.

Off to work I went with this travesty draped around my neck.  I was not proud.  I felt like a social experiment.  Would I be mocked?  Would people point and laugh?  Would there be whispering??  Then, not too far into the morning, it happened.  A compliment.  My friend exclaimed, 'that necklace is HOT!'  I loved her for it though I had to violently disagree.    Then, on my way home from work I stopped at the Papersource (love) and the cutest little bohemian elfin gushed about how much she loved it too.   Was I wrong?  How could I be wrong, when I'm always right?  It is hideous, no?

In retrospect, I should have given it to the girl at the Papersource, it would have made her day.

Ali

* * *

Ah, this is one of the few areas where Ali and I differ - I am not a jewelry girl.  I had very few necklaces to choose from (at least three of them were from Ali) and a less than extensive ribbon collection as well.  I chose a sad piece of ribbon from my stash saved from gifts of the past.  It seemed like it would work the best (who am I kidding, it was the only possibility) and set out to find a necklace to go with it.

My first attempt never made it to fruition.  It was a pretty necklace (thanks Ali) but didn't go with my blue ribbon.  So .... I went in a totally different direction.  I removed a silver flower from a chain and strung it on the ribbon.  Ridiculous, I thought.  Actually, I used a much ruder word when describing the result to Ali, but I put it on and went off to work. 

I received three compliments within the first half hour of arriving at work, including "is that new?"  Really?  I must have worn this flower with the regular chain 30 times!  I received 2 more compliments on my whole outfit!  And one on my shoes - unrelated, yes, but they are really cute shoes.

So, would I wear this again? It could be cute for a holiday party.  I'd give it a big maybe. 

Jacqui

Cookie Valentines

I liked a lot of the ideas from the article on the kids sock hop, but with no time (or inclination) to throw a kids party this month, I decided to combine the ideas for the party favors and lip cookies into one project—cookie valentines for my kids class parties.   I went with the heart cookies and nixed the lips.  The lips looked almost like they were cut by hand and since I was embracing the advice in the article to “incorporate the kids into the excitement,” I figured that would be a disaster.

We worked on the cards the weekend before the 14^th, using printed paper for the cards and the heart people, but pasted the hearts on the white side.  My son glued on the hearts and after accidentally gluing two hearts on one card, we agreed that it looked really cute and made the rest that way. 

Ellie's handiwork.

  

On to the cookies! I used the cookie recipe from the Land o’ Lakes butter box as recommended in the article.  Unfortunately, I waited until Sunday night to get around to the cookies and didn’t realize the dough had to sit in the fridge for 2-3 hours!  Total let down for the kids who thought they were getting cookies for dessert that night.  So, we made the dough (I threw two dough balls in the oven for the kids) and we rolled and baked the rest the next night. 

Rolling the dough was a pain!  By the time I rolled it out, it was already getting too soft to cut nicely and they didn’t come off the rolling surface easily.  It didn’t help that my 2-year old wanted to “help” by mushing the cut cookies onto the baking pan and putting her elbow in one.  No time for do overs, I covered up the dents with sanding sugar and stuck them in the oven.  By my last batch I had finally perfected a method of rolling out the dough in saran wrap, putting it in the freezer, and doing a short final roll before cutting.  Those cookies came out the best and didn’t spread much in the oven.  Even taking the cookies off the pan had to be timed right—too early and they bent and broke, two late and they cracked and broke.  Like Ali, I tend to avoid food that has to be rolled out so maybe this was just my inexperience or maybe this is why I tend to avoid rolling pins!

Ellie's elbow print.

The recipe said it would make three dozen cookies, but I managed only to squeak out only 26—the exact number I need for my kids classmates.  I broke two pretty badly (yes, I ate them) and I baked up one sad looking circle of left over dough in case my daughter’s class needed an extra.  Including the two from the night before it totaled 31, which I guess is not too far off and could easily have been that my cookies cutter was too big.  In the future I’d make a double batch to easy the stress about breaking them and to have extras for us. 

All in all they looked cute and the kids were really proud of their valentines.  My husband judged them to be the “best” of the ones he saw when he went to school and we did hear from our neighbors that one of my son’s classmates showed them the great cookie valentine she got.  Next time though, I’ll try to find a slightly stronger cookies recipe that can hold up better coming off the baking sheet and to help from a 2-year old.
-Jacqui

Grand Marnier, Candied Orange, and Golden Raisin Scones

I had been kind of dreading this recipe.  It’s no accident that it was one of my last projects to do for the month.  I seem to have some type of phobia when pastry-like doughs and rolling pins are involved.  I’m sure the next few months will help cure me of that.

So, I ordered the candied orange peel off of amazon and went off in search of cake flour.  Yes, before this recipe I was a cake flour virgin and finally tracked it down at grocery store number 2.  I now know it comes in a box, not a bag - for all the other virgins out there.

So Martha has you divide the flour in half - I’m not sure whether that was vital to the recipe, but because of my fear of pastry I followed everything to the letter.  She seemed to miss the step of  when to recombine the dry ingredients (mainly the butter flour and the dry flour).  So I guessed it was right before making a well for the egg and cream.  I couldn’t have been too far off, because they were definitely edible.  

I folded it like an envelope just as she suggested.

I opted to cut them into squares vs. using a cookie cutter.  

They were light and fluffy little pieces of heaven. 

Ben had half of one and that was it. Shocking considering this is the same guy who gobbled six of the coconut caramel cookies as if he was never going to eat again. 

I surprised our neighbors with warm scones early on a Sunday morning.  Lucky them!  I also dropped some off at a friends house who’s pregnant.  Her response was ‘scarfed them down-delicious!! Soft buttery goodness.’ 

I brought the remaining few into work.  They were carefully wrapped in foil when I left them in the common area.  I went to check on them five minutes later - not thinking anyone would have noticed them as the sun slowly came up on a cold Monday morning.  I was wrong. They were gone.  The foil was gone.  The container was on its side with its top off... was there a scuffle over the last one??  Do these people not eat at home?

One co-worker’s eyes rolled back into his head and he simply said ‘It is awesome.’  Yes, he’s a grown professional man, with adult children.  Apparently, this is what these scones will do to you - but he’s right, they are awesome.  Ben was wrong to disagree.  Just as he’s always wrong when we disagree.  ;P  I digress. 

I’ll use this as a base for any scone that I make in the future - especially the more traditional one with just raisins.  And when I make this specific recipe again, I’ll halve the amount of candied orange I put in (from ½ a cup to a ¼ of a cup) and will mix the fruit in with the dough rather than do Martha’s envelope technique.  

Here’s her recipe:
http://www.marthastewart.com/874313/candied-orange-and-golden-raisin-scones

All in all two thumbs up, Martha, well done.

Ali