Curried Pasta Salad

Ahh fall. 

A couple of weeks ago we made the trek to Wisconsin to kick back, soak in the scenery and most importantly, to celebrate my father-in-law's 70th birthday. Rest assured there was plenty of swimming, drinking, celebrating, and oh yes, eating to be done.

Now, three households, consisting of 6 adults and 5 kids sharing a single kitchen for a few days can pose some unique challenges, especially when everyone has their own agenda - food allergies, vegetarians, carnivores, diabetics, picky kids, you get the idea.

My solution? Make as much as possible ahead of time so you can sit back, relax, and sip a Mai Tai by the (yes, indoor) pool. In addition to a batch of egg-free chocolate chip cookies and a few loaves of banana bread I had stashed in the freezer, this easy salad also made the trip and was a tasty accompaniment to sandwiches and salad greens all weekend long.

Curried Pasta Salad
adapted from The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook by Ina Garten

4 cups small pasta (such as stellina, ditalini, or similar), prepared according to package instructions, rinsed in cold water and drained.
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
1/2 cup fruity, good quality olive oil
2 tsp white wine vinegar
2 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp tumeric
2 tsp kosher salt
2 tsp black pepper (cut it back to 1 tsp if you're serving kids)
1 cup carrots, grated
1 cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup dried cherries
4-5 scallions, sliced
1/2 cup red onion, diced (you might want to omit this if you're making it for kids. Mine balked at the "spicy" onion bits)

1. In a small bowl whisk together the yogurt, olive oil, and next 5 ingredients (through black pepper).
2. In a separate large bowl, combine the cooked, cooled, and drained pasta with the carrots, parsley, raisins, cherries, scallions, and red onion, if using. Toss to combine. Pour yogurt mixture over pasta mixture and stir to combine.

Serves 12.

Egg-Free Crispy Parmesan Chicken and Arugula Salad

Okay, excuse me for a moment but I am temporarily blinded by the cuteness that is this boy. Don't worry, it won't last long. It never does. Any minute there will be a defiant glance, a whine, a covert squeal-inducing pinch for a sister passing by. But for right now, in this moment, this boy, is super adorable, wonderfully agreeable, and to top it all off he's one heck of a chicken dredger. Screw egg allergies. Thanks to buttermilk, my boy can dredge.

Don't worry. Everybody gets their hands dirty.

Now, I've read the literature and I realize my kids are supposed to love chicken nuggets. They don't. I can't take credit for this since I have no idea what I did to incite their contempt for fast food. Honestly with the restaurant limits Roo's allergies place on us, I am not above a stop at the golden arches on a road trip if it means he can eat without going into anaphylactic shock. One health concern at a time, you know? Still, the KC kids would much prefer me to travel with a hunk of Parmesan cheese and a few apples in my purse than to suggest they eat nuggets for lunch.

So maybe your kids adore chicken nuggets, maybe they don't. That's really not the point. The point is, that this crispy crunchy golden chicken is way better than any old chicken nuggets. Whether they do or do not appreciate nuggets currently, if they go crazy for Parmesan cheese like mine do, they will likely enjoy this chicken. And bonus, it's one big nutritional step up from the ones you-know-who serves in a cardboard box. Use organic chicken, add a green salad, and you might as well start searching out wall space for your parent of the year plaque.

Looly teaching the art of finely grated Parmesan to a rapt audience

 Egg-Free Crispy Parmesan Chicken

1 cup buttermilk
1 cup flour
3 cups panko
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp kosher salt, divided
1/2 tsp black pepper, divided
6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pounded to 1/2-inch thickness
2 tbsp canola oil

1. Pour buttermilk into a shallow dish. Set aside. Pour flour, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper into a separate shallow dish, mix to combine and set aside. Combine panko, grated Parmesan cheese, remaining 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper in a third dish. Stir to combine.
2. Heat a large NON-non-stick (got that? we want the stick here!) skillet over medium heat, add 1 tbsp of the oil.
3. Dip pounded chicken breasts, one at a time, in buttermilk. Allow excess to drip off then dredge in flour, followed by a second dip in buttermilk, and finally dredge in panko mixture.
4. Place half the chicken breasts into hot skillet and cook, flipping once, until crisp and golden brown on the outside and cooked through (about 4 minutes per side, depending on size). Repeat with remaining chicken.

Arugula Salad

3 cups arugula
1 large tomato, chopped
Juice of 1 lemon
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp shallots, minced
1/4 cup good quality olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 ounce Parmesan cheese

1. Combine arugula and chopped tomato in a large bowl.
2. To make the dressing, combine lemon juice, mustard, shallots, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Slowly whisk in olive oil. Pour dressing over salad. Top with shaved Parmesan.

Crispy Brussels Sprouts Chips

Building. We're always building on past success. Of course I use the term very loosely as it pertains to feeding my kiddos.

Kale chips are a hit. Even Looly is coming around, albeit slowly. Beet chips are hugely popular with most of the family and I suspect Looly will come around on those eventually too. So then, Brussels sprouts chips?

Along with beans, beets, kale, and most things colorful, vegetarian, and healthful, Bean has always loved Brussels sprouts. Two Thanksgivings ago, as a two-year-old, she sat on the counter eating raw "baby lettuce" while I prepped to roast them for the rest of us - the "rest of us" being the adults of course. Looly was not convinced and at that point I wouldn't have even entertained the notion of putting a leaf of any variety in Roo's mouth for fear of gagging. But this is a new realm. And in this realm, we make chips out of Brussels sprouts.

Crispy Brussels Sprouts Chips

1&1/2 pounds Brussels sprouts
2 tbsp olive oil
Kosher salt

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Chop the ends off the Brussels sprouts and discard any wilted or yellow leaves. Separate each sprout into individual leaves. This is the perfect job for eager little fingers that want to help! When you get to the dense core and can't remove any more leaves, you can toss it, save it for another recipe, or feed it to Bean.
2. Spread the leaves in a single layer on 2 rimmed baking sheets. Toss with oil to coat. Bake 10-15 minutes, shaking pan occasionally, until leaves are crisp and brown on the edges. If some leaves brown faster than others, remove the crisp leaves and continue baking others until they are all nice and crisp. Season with salt to taste.

No surprise, Bean went barmy for these. And once again Looly and Roo were not impressed, but they each managed a few nibbles. Perhaps the biggest surprise of the evening was Mufasa, who was nearly as enthusiastic as Bean. That's success in my book. These little munchies are staying in rotation and might just make it to the Thanksgiving table this year.

Mufasa's Fork-Tender Baby Back Ribs

At last, here's a much-anticipated guest post from Mufasa! He's a super star husband, extraordinary father to Looly, Bean, and Roo, master fly hunter, and a force to be reckoned with when he has a slab of meat in his hands. Take it away, Mufasa...

Three years ago when Amy was thinking about starting this blog, I played the role of dutiful husband. I told her how therapeutic it would be to write about the trials and tribulations of our family. I guess I must’ve gotten carried away because I promised to be a regular guest blogger.

I haven’t been so regular. It turns out blogging is a lot of work. Well, after a few gentle reminders I decided to gear up and tackle a topic that doesn’t get much airtime on this site: grilling. Now, I know that Amy has the talent and interest to be an excellent griller, but she leaves the domain of outdoor cooking to me. I think she likes having Looly, Bean and Roo see their father cook. I like having them see me cook, too.

I decided to have the kids help me make my slow cooked, fork-tender bbq ribs. This isn’t an endeavor to be taken lightly, not because it is hard to pull off, but because it is a whole day affair. My dirty little secret is that when I make these ribs, I usually (over)emphasize the time commitment. If people jump to the conclusion that they must be a lot of work, there isn’t much I can do about it, can I?

My most memorable rib making adventure happened in Albuquerque when we were visiting Amy’s sister. I decided to break in her new grill with these ribs and unfortunately “missed out” on a day trip to Santa Fe. Instead, I started a glorious day with a trip to the grocery store with an early 80’s vintage manual transmission pick-up truck as my chariot. Next I enjoyed some quality me time as I prepared my ribs accompanied by a frosty 6-pack. When the gang returned I was eager to greet them with some falling-off-the bone meat. Amy’s mom dubbed them “fork-tender” and the name stuck.

This version began at Blue Ribbon Meat Market, my favorite old school, always packed, family-owned butcher shop. I love taking the kids to this place where the display cases barely contain all the meat and the 10 minute wait to be helped provides delightful people watching.

Like all good rib recipes, this one starts with a rub. The measurements are approximate and should be fiddled with liberally.

Mufasa's Fork-Tender Baby Back Ribs

4 tbsp brown sugar

1 tsp ground cumin

2 tsp garlic powder

2 tsp onion powder

½ tsp chili powder

2 slabs baby back ribs                          

1. Combine spices in a small bowl and mix well (preferably with your fingers).

 2. Cut two slabs of baby back ribs into sections with 3 or 4 ribs each.   

3. Find some helpers and get them to rub the rub into the ribs vigorously. 

4. Put the ribs into a foil pan, cover with foil and cook on indirect heat for 2 – 3 hours, after which they should be fork-tender

5. When the ribs are tender, brush liberally with bbq sauce and put them back directly on the grill grate (still cooking with indirect heat) for 10-15 minutes, enough for the sauce to develop a hint of crispness.

You can use any bbq sauce you like but I prefer to make my own. 

Mufasa's Favorite BBQ Sauce

1 cup ketchup

½ cup chicken broth

4 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

4 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

4 tablespoons brown sugar

2 cloves chopped garlic

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon black pepper

¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

Just combine all the ingredients in a pot, bring to a boil and let cool.

 Enjoy, but don’t let on how easy they were to make!

Back to School Cupcakes

Looly started first grade yesterday. First Grade! Since Bean and Roo still have a week of summer vacation to go, the three of us made her a special treat while she was away at school.

Yes, I totally ripped this off of Pinterest. The idea is straight from FamilyFun Magazine, but we modified it a bit according to what we had on hand.

First we made egg-free, nut-free chocolate cupcakes from our trusty Divvies Cookbook.

Then we licked the beaters - one of the best benefits of egg-free baking!

While the cupcakes cooled we made a quick trip to the grocery store for chocolate covered graham crackers. Keebler Deluxe Grahams are nut-free, egg-free and the perfect size for little cupcake blackboards.

Then the real fun began. Bean and Roo used strawberry and green apple Laffy Taffy to roll tiny red and green apples with stems while I piped school-related messages in white frosting onto the chocolate covered graham crackers. Then we frosted the cupcakes in bright blue and school bus yellow.

Together we placed the blackboards and apples on the frosted cupcakes and topped them off with a tiny piped line of white chalk.

Many of you know that artistry is not my strong suit but these were well within even my shaky abilities. Looly loved her cupcakes and asked for them again next year. I said sure but warned her that next year, the math problems are going to get harder.

Grilled Cheese with Roasted Tomato Dip

The tomatoes have finally arrived! Between the bounty from Angelic Organics and the blushing vines outside our own back door, we are in tomatoes at every meal mode. Enjoy it, folks. It won't last forever. Now put down that Campbell's can and try this fresh spin on a classic kid-friendly lunch. No kids necessary. 

Grilled Cheese with Roasted Tomato Dip
adapted from Williams-Sonoma Cooking Together by Erin Quon

For the dip
2 pints cherry tomatoes or the rough equivalent in larger tomatoes, quartered
2 tbsp olive oil
kosher salt
10 fresh basil leaves

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Place tomatoes on a baking sheet, drizzle with oil, tossing to coat, and roast in the oven for about 30 minutes, until the skins are wrinkly and tomatoes are soft. Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly.
2. Place tomatoes, salt, and basil leaves in a blender and process until nearly smooth. Pass through a sieve to remove solids, if you don't like too much texture in your tomato dip. Serve with grilled cheese sandwich triangles.

butter, anyone?

For the Sandwiches
(makes 2 sandwiches)

4 slices bread of your choice
4 slices cheese of your choice
Lots of butter, at room temperature

1. Heat a saute pan over medium-high heat. Slather bread slices with butter on one side. Place one slice of bread buttered side down in the pan, top with 2 slices of cheese followed by second slice of bread. The butter faces out. Flip the sandwich when the first side is golden brown and delicious. Remove when both sides are lovely and golden. Repeat to make second sandwich.