Thai Turkey Lettuce Wraps (Larb)

I have a house full of Giada wannabees. I don't know if it's the colorful spotless designer dresses that never show oil splatters, the snappy Italian pronunciations (prosciutto! bruschetta!) or the sunny carefree California parties she's constantly hosting. Whatever the case, my kids love Giada. I mean they love Giada.

Seriously, has your 4-year-old wistfully pined for Giada De Laurentiis to be her mother? Have you, after explaining back to said 4-year-old that Giada seems nice but how sad that would be since then you couldn't be her mother, experienced your 4-year-old reassuring that 'we could still be friends'? Given the opportunity my kids would dump me for Giada in an instant.

Well, in case you haven't heard, Giada spent some time in Thailand recently and this month she's sharing a few Thai-inspired recipes in Food Network Magazine, including one for this yummy Turkey Larb. Since we can't hit the Thai restaurant scene much due to Roo's nut allergies, I'm all for making Thai food at home. Larb is right up our alley, low carb for Mufasa, ground turkey for Roo, limes for the ladies, and most importantly, Giada made it!

But here's the thing. My kids are weird about cooked onion. Basically it makes them gag if they figure out it's in whatever they're eating. So, my strategy here is rather than mince, I slice the onion and shallot. That way, the larb gets infused with lots of flavor, but I can pick out slippery onion bits from the kids' servings before any retching occurs. Win win!

Thai Turkey Lettuce Wraps (Larb)
adapted from Food Network Magazine

For the Dressing

1/3 cup fresh lime juice
juice of 1 large lemon
2 tbsp fish sauce
2 tbsp honey

For the Larb

3 tbsp canola oil
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
3 shallots, thinly sliced
1/2 tsp kosher salt plus more to taste
Zest of 1 large lemon
1 & 1/2 pounds ground turkey
ground black pepper
1/2 cup chopped mint leaves
1 head butter lettuce, separated into leaves
1 or 2 Thai chiles (or serranos), stemmed, seeded, and thinly sliced (leave the chiles out until you've served the kids if they can't take the heat) 

Zest the lemon and reserve the zest. Set aside. You're going to need it in a minute for the larb.

To make the dressing, combine the lime and lemon juices, fish sauce, and honey in a little bowl. Whisk it all together and set aside.

Heat the oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, shallots, salt, and lemon zest. Cook about 5 minutes until the onion starts to get soft. Add the turkey, season with more salt and black pepper, and cook, stirring frequently, until the meat is cooked through (about 5-7 minutes). Add the dressing to the pan and cook a few minutes more. Remove from the heat, stir in the mint leaves and check seasoning. Add more salt and/or pepper to taste.

Spoon the turkey mixture onto lettuce leaves and serve. If you like a little (or a lot) of heat, sprinkle a few raw chile slices on top. Serve with sticky rice and lime wedges.

Sesame Sweet Potato Miso Dip

I owe many a luxurious and enlightening Sunday afternoon to one fine group of ladies. How else would I justify needing to spend a cozy hour curled up in an armchair furiously finishing a novel? And more importantly, when would I get to chomp pecan cookies, start drinking at one in the afternoon or have the excuse to make egg-filled cakes and other contraband delights? Give it up for book club.

Sure, sometimes we overdo it on the wine, but typically not until after we discuss the book. Briefly.

Not only do my book club ladies read, they cook. And they eat (with enthusiasm I might add) all the stuff I don't normally get to make at home. And I love them all the more for it.

Every time book club rolls around I'm faced with the impossible decision: sweet or savory? Clearly the answer is both. This time around blueberry-lemon yogurt cake with lemon cream was an easy sell and will be coming in a later post. I have promised Roo an egg-free version. Wish me luck.

The real dark horse though, is this crazy good sweet, silky, salty dip.

Sesame is such a rock star - all that toasty deep earthy flavor of nuts, without the nuts. Add the creamy sweetness of the potatoes, salty bite of miso and my friends, you have one heck of a dip on your hands. 

I actually had no intention of sharing with the kids but when Bean came by asking what that yummy smell was (toasting sesame seeds) I couldn't pass up the opportunity. The kiddos dipped snap peas and carrots and somewhat shockingly, no one snorted, choked, or exhibited odd facial contortions. A couple of kids even came back for a second round. That's a winner in my book.

Sesame Sweet Potato Miso Dip
adapted from Sunset Magazine December 2010

1 pound sweet potatoes
1 tbsp minced fresh ginger
2 tbsp white miso
2 tbsp tahini
2 tsp soy sauce
1 scallion, thinly sliced
toasted sesame seeds for garnish

Peel the sweet potatoes and cut into large chunks. Place the potatoes in a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and cook until soft but not falling apart, about 15-20 minutes. Remove the sweet potatoes from the water and allow to cool slightly. Reserve the cooking liquid.

Combine the cooked potatoes, ginger, miso, tahini, and soy sauce in a food processor or powerful blender. Puree the mixture, adding cooking liquid from the potatoes as needed until the mixture is smooth and silky. Transfer the dip to a serving bowl. Sprinkle with scallions and toasted sesame seeds. Serve with fresh vegetables for dipping.

Egg-Free Sunbutter Whirligig Cookies

Whirligig. Say it with me. Whirligig. See, you're having fun already!

I can never seem to bake just a few cookies. A double batch, sure, but who halves a cookie recipe?! Not me.

Inevitably though, after an initial warm out of the oven raid, Mufasa backs way off the cookie consumption. The munchkins, while avid cookie enthusiasts, possess stomachs the size of coin purses and are typically satiated at a one cookie per day rate. That leaves me, gluttonous martyr I am, to do the dirty work. I suffer my way through 3 dozen cookies threatening staleness if I wait too long to put them in my mouth. That, friends, is the hair shirt I wear.

But, oddly, despite strict self-imposed rationing on my end, this batch of whirligigs seems to be disappearing at a steady clip. That can only mean one thing. These suckers are good!

Whirligigs are not the easiest cookies to make. Nor are they the fastest, but don't be put off by the number of steps. Yes, they take a little time and a little nurturing, but stay the course. The reward of soft, chewy, nutty without the nuts, swirly, twirly, whirly cookies is totally worth it.

Egg-Free Sunbutter Whirligig Cookies
adapted from Baked Elements by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito

For the cookie dough

2&1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
6 ounces (1&1/2 sticks) butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 tbsp canola oil
1 cup creamy Sunbutter
3 tsp Ener-G Egg Replacer well mixed with 3 tbsp water
2 tsp real vanilla extract
Parchment paper

For the chocolate filling

12 ounces best-quality dark chocolate
1/2 tsp light corn syrup

To make the Sunbutter dough:

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Set aside.

Beat the butter, both sugars, oil, and Sunbutter on medium speed for about 5 minutes until light. Add the prepared egg replacer and vanilla and beat again until everything is well incorporated. Don't forget to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl in between mixing.

Add half the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and beat again until just combined. Add remaining flour mixture and beat again. Try not to mix more than necessary at this point.

Dump the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and press into a disk shape. Wrap the dough first in parchment paper, then cover the whole thing in a layer of plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours and up to 24 hours.

Now you're ready to roll!

Remove the dough from the refrigerator. Line a large work surface with a sheet of parchment paper. Dust the parchment paper lightly with flour. Break the dough disk in half. Use a rolling pin to roll half the dough out into a rectangle approximately 9 inches x 7 inches and 1/2-inch thick. Don't worry if it's not perfect, but don't roll the dough too thin. If your dough is very soft and pliable at this point, place the rolled out rectangle back in the fridge to firm up a bit. My dough was quite firm already so I skipped this step. Repeat the process with the remaining half of dough.

Next, make the chocolate filling. Melt the chocolate and corn syrup together in the microwave in 20 second intervals, stirring in between, until smooth. Paint, pour, or spread the chocolate over the rolled out dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border free of chocolate along one long edge.

Take a deep breath. Starting at the long, chocolate-covered edge, use the parchment paper to help you lift the edge and start rolling the dough into a log. You should be rolling toward the edge with a chocolate-free border. It's probably obvious, but just in case, make sure the parchment remains on the outside of the cookie dough unless you want paper in your cookies.

Take your time and try not to freak out of things don't do exactly as planned. If the dough cracks, gently press the crack back together with your fingers. If the chocolate starts oozing out the ends, great. You know you used enough chocolate. And if your dough snaps apart mid-roll like this...

pour yourself a cocktail and carry on, rolling the broken dough right into the center of the cookie roll. Repeat the process with the other half of the dough. Eventually, you'll end up with something along these lines.

Have I mentioned that I am not a perfectionist? These are whimsical cookies. Expect a little mess. Wrap the dough logs in plastic wrap and refrigerate again, for at least 3 hours and up to a full day.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a couple of baking sheets with more parchment paper. Unwrap a chilled cookie log and place on a cutting surface. Using a very sharp or serrated knife dipped in hot water, slice the log into 1/2-inch thick rounds. After much trial and error, I found a small, serrated knife dipped in hot water between each and every cut worked best for me. Repeat with the second log and place the cookies on the prepared baking sheet.

Bake 10-13 minutes, rotating the trays halfway through bake time. They're done when you see the first hint of brown start to form. Remove from oven. Cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes then transfer the cookies to wire racks to cool completely.

They'll keep for a few days tightly covered...if they last that long!

Homemade Artisan Bread

Some women fantasize about Italian leather and diamond jewelry. Not me. I fantasize about bread. Lopsided crackling loaves of mouth-scathingly crusty on the outside, chewy, almost gummy on the inside bread really get me.

Looly is as fanatical about her bread as me. Bean is hardly one to refuse a warm slice with butter and lately, Roo's been coming around to embrace the crumb too. This is huge for those of you who aren't familiar with his oral textural struggles, and I'm all for keeping the trend moving forward.

But good bread, really, truly good bread, is hard to come by. Say nothing of that nonsense they pawn off as "Italian bread" or "baguette" at the grocery store. Lucky for us we have 2 honest to goodness bread bakeries within walking distance of home. But, they can never make the nut-free promises we need to keep Roo safe. Hence my excitement over the book, Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day by carbohydrate dream team Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois.

I admit, I was a skeptic. It's not that I didn't believe I couldn't whip something up in 5 minutes as promised by the book's title. It's that I didn't believe I'd really want to eat the resulting loaf. I thought it would be disappointing, not crusty enough, dry in the middle. How very wrong I was.

The master recipe upon which all others in the book are based, known simply as "boule" in our house, has become a near daily honored guest at our dinner table. The 5-minute method does not take rising and resting time into account. It also requires a few items you probably don't have on hand yet but that can be acquired easily thanks to my friend, amazon.com. Once you have everything you need, the process is really simple and I promise you will not be disappointed.

Here's the equipment you'll need:

Storage bucket or other food safe container with a loose fitting lid (5-quart or larger)
baking stone or pizza stone (I use this one)
pizza peel (I use this one and it works well for bread and pizza)
Dough whisk (totally optional, but handy)
granulated yeast - pretty much any dry yeast will do, instant or otherwise. I'm currently using Fleischmann's Instant Dry Yeast

Now you're ready to get to work.

Homemade Boule (free-form Artisan Bread)
from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

Recipe makes four 1-pound loaves

3 cups lukewarm water (not hot!)
1 & 1/2 tbsp granulated yeast (2 packets)
1 & 1/2 tbsp kosher salt
6 & 1/2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour (do not sift)
cornmeal to sprinkle on the pizza peel to allow easy dough transfer

1. Pour the lukewarm water into a 5-quart or larger bucket. Add the yeast and salt to the water. Stir to combine but don't worry about dissolving every last granule.

2. Add all of the flour. Mix with a dough whisk, wooden spoon, or your hands until the flour is incorporated. If you're using your hands, get them wet first to prevent the dough from sticking to your everywhere. There is no need to knead the dough.

Set the bucket aside, cover loosely (no tight lids!), and let it rise until it flattens on top and/or begins to collapse, about 2-3 hours depending on your room temperature and the temperature of the water you started with.

At this point you can put the bucket of dough in the fridge for later baking. It will keep in the refrigerator for a solid week at least, and you can cut a hunk off to bake at any time. If you're hungry for bread like me, get ready to bake!

Sprinkle a pizza peel with cornmeal. Don't be stingy. More cornmeal helps the dough slide easily off the peel and onto the baking stone.

Sprinkle the top of your dough with a little flour. Don't worry, it won't affect the bread itself but will help prevent sticking as you're trying to cut off a hunk. Grab some dough in your hand and pull it up and out of the bucket. Using a serrated knife, cut off a chunk about the size of a grapefruit. This will be approximately a 1-pound loaf.

Take the hunk of dough in your hands and gently wrap and stretch the surface of the dough around itself and tuck the ends under, turning the dough as you go to make a shape somewhere between a ball and a disc with a smooth outer "skin". It should look something like this.

Place the dough on the prepared pizza peel and let it rest for about 40 minutes.

Place your baking stone in the oven and preheat for at least 20 minutes to 450 degrees. Put an empty broiler tray (or other old pan you don't care about) on any oven rack that won't get in the way of the bread rising as it bakes. You will be pouring water into the pan to create steam while the bread bakes.

After the dough has rested for 40 minutes, dust the surface with flour and use a serrated knife to slash a shallow pattern (about 1/4-inch deep) into the top. A tic-tac-toe pattern or scallop work well but you can get creative. It doesn't need to be perfect.

Using a quick thrusting motion, slide the dough off the pizza peel and onto the preheated baking stone. Using the hottest tap water you can muster, quickly and carefully pour 1 cup of hot water into the broiler pan and close the oven as soon as possible. This will create steam.

Bake for about 30 minutes, until the crust is deep brown. I find my oven consistently takes closer to 45 minutes to get a good crust, but fear not. The dough is wet enough that it's very difficult to dry out the center of the loaf even with longer baking time. Use the pizza peel to remove the bread from the oven and cool on a wire rack.

Store the remaining unbaked dough in the refrigerator for a week to ten days and cut off a hunk any time the mood strikes.

Timber Ridge Resort Lake Geneva, WI

I've run my mouth a lot in the past about our less than ideal allergy experiences at various restaurants (I'm talking to you, Bahama Breeze!) but after a recent visit to Timber Ridge Lodge and Waterpark in Lake Geneva, WI, it's time for a big shout out. Thanks, Timber Ridge, for taking food allergies seriously and making our celebration of Bean and Roo's 5th birthday so much fun!

I'm 5!

Dealing with food allergies, there's not much worse than being far from home, starving, without an Enjoy Life Chewy Bar in the backpack, faced with the dire prospect of eating at a restaurant where the apathetic staff feigns knowledge and wishes you would just leave. We've been there time and again. Thankfully, Timber Ridge Resort is a different animal.

First and foremost, Timber Ridge Resort rooms have kitchens. Full kitchens!! Note there are no ovens, which could complicate some tasks (like baking a birthday cake for instance) but there is a full size refrigerator, stove top, microwave, coffeemaker, blender, toaster, sink, dishwasher, basic pots, pans, and dishes in each and every room. With Roo's allergies, this is a godsend for us, but having a kitchen at your disposal can only simplify the lives of anyone traveling with kids, allergies or not. 

Despite the kitchen, we ate at Smokey's Bar-B-Que House and the Hungry Moose Food Court at Timber Ridge over the course of our stay and were pleasantly surprised by the staff's accommodation of allergies at both restaurants.

Smokey's offers a binder filled with ingredient lists for every item on their menu. When I asked about food allergies, the hostess was eager to help me find the answers we needed. She didn't pretend to know whether or not there are eggs in the macaroni or if the french fries are fried in peanut oil but she knew exactly how to find out and was happy to do so. Having that peace of mind allowed us to focus on what we were really there for...water park!

Not to be misconstrued, my enthusiasm over the Timber Ridge restaurant scene has far more to do with addressing allergy concerns than gourmet meals. These are not 5-star restaurants by any stretch and that's totally okay with me. If you are in the market for something more refined, however, Timber Ridge sits on the grounds of the Grand Geneva Resort and Spa, which has several restaurants of its own. A free shuttle runs every few minutes between the resorts.

We had Sunday brunch at the casual Grand Cafe at the Grand Geneva and found the staff to be just as friendly and accommodating of food allergies as they were at Timber Ridge. Our waiter wasn't troubled in the least by my slew of questions and spoke to the kitchen to find all the answers we needed. Bean and Roo even got coloring books to take home in honor of their birthday.

For special celebrations it appears you can coordinate with the resort to have festive signs, balloons, and probably ponies and princesses set up in your room upon arrival. I am a bad mother and coordinated no such thing. Thankfully the water park and an ice cream breakfast were enough for Bean and Roo, despite the many other birthday kiddos we saw celebrating in full regalia.

Happy birthday, 5-year-old!

The resort is not perfect. The water park is a bit small compared to others we've visited and I fear we're on the verge of outgrowing it but overall, it was a great way to spend a 5th birthday. Everyone we encountered on staff from the water park to the arcade to the trolley driver were pleasant and helpful. The resort is not luxurious but it is well-equipped and very family-friendly. Best of all, Mufasa and I were able to relax and enjoy the trip without having to stress over where Roo's next meal would come from.

Simple Sesame Noodles with Ginger Poached Chicken

Rotini, penne, bucatini, ditalini, elbow macaroni, linguini, fusili, shells, orecchiette, angel hair...The KC kids like pasta especially when it's buttered and buried under a snowbank of Parmesan cheese shaved from a hunk, not shaken from a can.

After 6 and a half years of sauce therapy, Looly is now almost as likely to choose spaghetti with meatballs and marinara as she is to opt for plain (that is, buttered and Parmesan-topped) pasta. Bean and Roo remain steadfast in their loyalty to butter. Progress is not fast.

Asian noodles would be such a welcome change of pace if only I could get the troops on board. Pad Thai and Peanut Noodles don't bode well for the nut-allergic, so we generally avoid Asian restaurants but that doesn't mean we can't rock scallions and soy sauce at home with our noodles.

Perhaps somewhat embarrassingly, my past attempts at any remotely Asian-style noodles, while decidedly edible to me, have been met with unsettling facial contortions and breathy grunts by the KC kids. They complain they're too spicy, too salty, too fishy, too saucy, too sticky, but mostly...there's just not enough Parmesan.

After a lot (and I do mean a lot) of trial and error, we have a winner! It turns out the key to my children's stomachs is simplicity. I really love big, bold, Asian-y flavors and have a tendency toward the more is better philosophy but in terms of impressing the munchkins, restraint is key.

Simple Sesame Noodles
adapted from The Hakka Cookbook

1 pound udon noodles, soba noodles or whole wheat spaghetti
3 tbsp toasted sesame oil
2 tbsp canola oil
3 tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce
3 tbsp thinly sliced scallions
1 tbsp fresh lime juice
lime wedges
2 tbsp cilantro, chopped
Thai red chili paste (optional)

Cook the noodles according to the package instructions, drain and rinse. Combine the oils, soy sauce, green onions, and lime juice in a large bowl. Whisk to combine. Add noodles and toss to coat. Garnish with lime wedges and cilantro. Serve with red chili paste for some extra oomph, if desired, and ginger-poached chicken (recipe follows).

Ginger-Poached Chicken
adapted from The Hakka Cookbook

6 cups chicken stock (preferably homemade)
6 quarter-size slices of fresh ginger (unpeeled is fine)
3 cloves garlic
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into chunks
1 tsp salt

Combine the stock, ginger, and garlic in a large pot. Bring to a boil over high heat. Carefully, add the chicken pieces, cover, and remove from heat. Allow the pot to sit undisturbed for 15-20 minutes until the chicken is cooked through. Remove the chicken with a slotted spoon and serve over Simple Sesame Noodles (recipe above). Stir the salt into the broth and serve alongside the noodles and chicken.

Bonus: If you happen to be having a wintery, runny nose, tickly throat kind of day like me, I highly recommend you stir a solid tablespoon of Thai red chili paste into your own bowl of broth. Your sinuses will thank you.

Valentine Marshmallow Krispie Hearts

Sometimes nothing beats a Rice Krispies treat, especially a Valentine's Day pink heart Rice Krispies treat with sugar sprinkles. I whipped these up for my funny valentines last week. We had tons of extras so I sent them to school with the little kids for an early Valentine's Day treat.

That's candy coating on top, not frosting, which is a total bonus if you're feeding them to a classroom of 3 to 6-year-olds. No mess. Ok, very little mess.

A word of CAUTION here. I used Wilton Candy Melts. Wilton's allergy information is hazy at best. As far as I can tell, Wilton candy melts don't contain nuts as an ingredient but they are processed in a plant where peanuts and tree nuts are present. I cannot get a straight answer as to whether the manufacturing lines are shared. Thankfully, we've never had a problem personally but if you're baking for anyone with a serious peanut or tree nut allergy, I strongly advise you to use these super guaranteed nut-free candy melts from Vermont Nut-Free Chocolates. Get the white vanilla candy melts and some safe food coloring and you'll be set for any holiday or color scheme. I'll be using them from now on.

Valentine Marshmallow Krispie Hearts

3 tbsp butter
10 ounces marshmallows (any size)
6 cups Rice Krispies cereal
Heart shaped cookie cutters
12 ounces chocolate candy melts
sugar sprinkles or any other sprinkles of your choice

1. Melt the butter in a large sauce pan over low heat. Stir in the marshmallows and continue to stir slowly until they are melted and soupy. Remove the pan from heat and stir in the Rice Krispies.
2. Dump the mixture onto a lightly greased sheet pan or wax paper.

3. Use a spatula sprayed with cooking spray to press the marshmallow cereal into a single flat layer about 1-inch thick. Cool for 15-20 minutes.

4. When the mixture is cool to the touch, cut out heart shapes with your cookie cutters. If things are getting a little sticky, spray the cookie cutters with cooking spray.

5. Melt the candy coating according to the package instructions and spread it onto the hearts. Immediately top with sugar sprinkles or any sprinkles you like. Any red, pink, and white sprinkles would be festive but Roo is exceptionally sensitive to sprinkles so I played it safe with the simplest of sugar crystals. Let the candy coating set and hand them out to all your valentines.

Easy Peppermint Bark

In keeping with our new tradition of holiday treats that don't include nuts or eggs from the get go, here's a super simple but sublime addition to our cookie tray this year.

Peppermint Bark
adapted from Food Network Magazine, December 2012

1 10-ounce bag good quality bittersweet chocolate chips
12 ounces good quality white chocolate
2 tsp peppermint extract
3-4 candy canes, crushed

1. Line a 9 x 13-inch baking dish with foil, shiny side facing up. Place the bittersweet chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl and heat in 20 second intervals, stirring between each cycle until about 2/3 of the chips have melted. Stir the chocolate gently until completely melted. Stir in 1 tsp peppermint extract. Pour the bittersweet chocolate mixture into the prepared pan and spread to an even thickness. Allow the bittersweet chocolate to cool until it's almost set, about 10-12 minutes.
2. Chop the white chocolate into small pieces and place in a microwave safe bowl. Heat as you did the bittersweet chocolate, taking extra care not to scald the white chocolate. (All chocolate can be temperamental but I find white chocolate to be particularly so. Take your time and don't rush the melting process!) Stir the white chocolate until completely melted. Stir in remaining 1 tsp peppermint extract. Pour the white chocolate on top of the almost set bittersweet chocolate and smooth to an even thickness. Immediately sprinkle with crushed candy canes, gently pressing the larger pieces into the chocolate. Allow to cool to room temperature for an hour or more.
3. Once completely set, use the foil to lift the peppermint bark from the pan. Break into pieces and store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks - or better yet, wrap some up to give as a festive holiday gift.

Chocolate Truffles and New Traditions

I don't spend much time thinking about Roo's food allergies anymore. At the risk of sounding blasé, I kind of run on autopilot these days. We eat at home most of the time. I know what pastas have egg in them, where to get a safe pizza, which ice cream parlors will open a fresh carton and change gloves, and if all else fails, there's always a stash of Dum Dums in my bag. Restaurants and potlucks still present some challenges but for the most part we just come prepared with a lunchbox full of safe foods and an EpiPen Jr. pack and enjoy the party.

But it never fails. At this time of year I start to grow a little rock garden in my gut. The first pebbles appear at Halloween when Roo hands over his peanut butter cups, Snickers, Butterfinger, and M&M's in exchange for half a bag of Dum Dums. Fortunately he doesn't recognize the injustice in this yet but it's coming.

Thanksgiving brings a few larger stones as Roo munches an egg-free chocolate chip cookie while the rest of us choose between an array of cookies, egg-y pumpkin pie, cheesecake, or downright scandalous pecan pie. Plunk, plunk, plunk.

Then Christmas rolls around - the holiday at our house in which baking traditions are stronger than ever and the boulders start bearing down. Buckeyes become SunButter Buckeyes. Seven Layer Bars become Five Layer Bars. I'm still trying to devise a way to make a decent egg-free lemon square. Fortunately my pal, Stephie, over at Eat Your Heart Out has offered the brilliant suggestion of adding gelatin. We'll be putting that one to the test soon. Thanks, Stephie.

So, I've discovered and devised all kinds of ways to make holiday treats that don't include eggs or nuts, but the truth is no matter how good they are, our egg-free, nut-free versions are not the ones I grew up with. Roo will never get to experience them the way I did. I'm certain that the gravity of this situation weighs much more heavily on my stomach than his, but still.

So that got me thinking, maybe it's time for some new traditions. Not egg-free, nut-free versions of old favorites, but bona fide, tried and true, yummy treats that never included the dreaded contraband to begin with. Enter decadent chocolate truffles.

Chocolate Truffles
adapted from Barefoot Contessa

1 pound awesome, bittersweet chocolate chips
1 cup heavy cream
3 tbsp. strong coffee (prepared, not grounds)
1/2 tsp. real vanilla extract
1/4 cup cocoa powder, for dusting

1. Pour the chocolate chips into a heat-resistant mixing bowl.
2. Heat the cream in a small saucepan. Bring it just to a boil. Turn off the heat and let the cream sit for 20-30 seconds. Pour the cream through a mesh strainer over the chocolate chips. Stir the mixture slowly until the chocolate is completely melted. Stir in the coffee and vanilla.
3. Refrigerate the chocolate mixture until very firm (about 2 hours).
4. Pour cocoa powder into a shallow bowl. Using a melon-baller or your bare hands, roll the cold chocolate into 1-inch balls, then dip and roll in cocoa powder until fully coated.

You can store them in the fridge for a few weeks but let them come to room temperature before serving if you can wait that long. I usually can't. 

Makes about 60 truffles

If you don't mind a few chocolate-coated children and countertops, this is a perfect recipe to have the kiddos assist. Little hands are just right for rolling balls, just watch the errant tongues that can't seem to resist licking fingers here and there.

Roo is a dark chocolate kind of guy and while the cocoa powder proved a little bitter for the girls (we'll roll some in confectioner's sugar next time), he loved these! So did his mother and father. They're so easy and deep and rich and chocolatey that we'll be trying out several more variations in the coming weeks. So, while these were not a part of our Christmases past, they will definitely be part of our Christmases future. Here's to new traditions!

Lemony Chicken Skewers with Sunbutter Satay Sauce

Ordering Thai takeout is a perilous operation here at Kid Cultivation. The risks are great with Roo's peanut and tree nut allergies.

Generally, one parent gets the kids to bed while the other places a covert phone call to Bodhi Thai. While stories are read and molars of unwitting children brushed and flossed, a lone wolf slinks out to procure the contraband soup, dumplings, and noodles. Thirty minutes later we eat in stunned silence, slurping and savoring the bright, salty, citrus-y freshness and making peace with the crunchy peanuts we've been missing.

Then it's hazmat time. The trash immediately goes to the dumpster out back, counters are wiped, tables scrubbed, mouths disinfected, clothes burned, fingernails removed...okay, maybe not but it is a process to say the least.

Fortunately Sunbutter is our friend. And Lemony chicken with Sunbutter satay sauce is our Thai infatuation.

Sunbutter Satay Sauce
adapted from The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook

1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp dark sesame oil
3 shallots, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1&1/2 tsp fresh ginger, minced
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
2 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 cup creamy Sunbutter
1/4 cup ketchup
2 tbsp dry sherry
1&1/2 tsp lime juice, freshly squeezed

1. Heat a small, heavy bottomed pot over medium heat. Add both oils, shallots, garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes. Cook until the shallots are tender and transparent, about 10 minutes. Whisk in the remaining ingredients and cook for 1-2 minutes more. Cool to room temperature and serve with lemony chicken skewers (recipe below).

Lemony Chicken Skewers
adapted from The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook

Juice of 3-4 lemons
3/4 cup olive oil + 1 tbsp
2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp dried thyme
3 tbsp green onions, thinly sliced
2 pounds chicken tenders
wooden skewers

1. To make the marinade, combine lemon juice, 3/4 cup oil, salt, pepper, thyme, and green onions. Stir well. Place chicken tenders in a glass dish or large zip top plastic bag. Pour marinade over the top. Marinate in refrigerator overnight.
2. Heat a grill pan on the stove over medium-high heat. Add remaining 1 tbsp oil to pan. Cook chicken tenders until done, about 3-4 minutes per side. Allow to cool slightly, insert wooden skewers lengthwise and serve with Sunbutter Satay Sauce and fresh lime wedges.