This is recipe number three on my quest to broaden my horizons with new and exciting foods this year. So far, Im doing great (see how well non-resolutions work?). If you’ve been following along, so far I cooked with Quinoa, Miso Paste and this week, I  tackled wheat berries! tackled wheat berries. All my vegetarians, HOLLA, cause this one is definitely for you (and the vegans too!) Never hear of ‘em? Let’s dive into this exciting and tasty grain together, shall we.

What’s a Wheatberry?

The term wheatberry or wheat berry refers to most of the wheat kernel (except for the hull) which consists of bran, germ and  endosperm. They are tan or slightly red in color and look similar to short grain brown rice and may be purchased as a hard or soft (more processed) grain.  Nutty in flavor with a slight chew to their texture, this tasty grain add a nice crunch to salads and even baked goods.

Why Are Wheatberries Good For Me?

Wheatberries are considered a true “whole grain” because  the entire wheat kernel is left in tact and therefore, none of the nutrients are stripped away. Just one cup of wheatberries has 300 calories and is packed with fiber, protein and iron. They are also loaded with vitaminE and magnesium.

How do I prepare Wheat Berries And Where Can I Find Them?

They are super easy to prepare. You boil them ins salted water, similarly to the way you would any other grain like brown rice. Once they are cooked you can feel free to use them the same way you’d use any other grain. I like to serve them au natural as a side dish in lieu of brown rice, tossed with a vinaigrette as their own yummy salad or even steeped with some cinnamon and honey spiked milk for a warm and comforting alternative to oatmeal in the morning. They are even delicious stirred into yogurt for a nice chewy contrast to the creaminess of the yogurt.

Wheat Berries can be found in any health-food store or in the natural foods section of your supermarket. I found mine at Shoprite! Look for the kind that cooks quickly, it will save you a ton of time.

I have been obsessed with making my own baby food since my first son was born. Actually, I think my obsession first started when I was a little girl and I saw the movie Baby Boom but, whatever. C’mon, you know you wanted to buy a cottage, move to Vermont, and jar homemade applesauce too. Well…maybe that was just me. But I digress…

I won’t go into all of the reasons why I feel that making your own baby food rocks, but my main reason for doing so was to make sure that my baby’s first experience with food was as healthy, fresh and flavorful as possible. I wanted to choose the ingredients and be able to control the quality of the food that passed my baby’s lips. It was and still is important for me to expose them to different flavors and textures and cultures through the recipes I create. And I knew that making my own baby food was the best way for me to do all of this while also having some fun in the kitchen at the same time. I truly believe that a heathy relationship with food starts at the very beginning of  a persons life and it is that relationship (good, bad or otherwise) that is directly related to our overall health. What we eat matters. Period.

I know some people feel they are too busy or not savy enough in the kitchen to take on making their own baby food. I can assure you, no advanced culinary skills are necessary and I’ve been on both ends of the mommy-hood spectrum— full-time working mom outside of the home (with my first son) and chicken without a head work-at-home mom (after my second son). With both lifestyles, it’s been possible for me to take on homemade baby food. Truly, the process is simpler than most people think and not at all overwhelming if you start with the right information from a trusted source.

Hands down, my favorite resource for all things baby food is WholesomeBabyFood.com— one of the webs top rated baby food  sites. It’s really a one stop shop in the sense that not only are you getting recipes, you’re also being provided with invaluable information on allergies and detailed guides on how to introduce each food. From infant to toddler, you cannot get a better resource and it’s all just a click away. The site has been my go-to place for years and years and has never let me down. Which is why I was ecstatic when I learned that Maggie Meade (the sites creator) had published a book entitled The Wholesome Baby Food Guide.  based on her uber popular website. Go Maggie!

The book contains 150 easy-to-make recipes and tons of useful information on cooking techniques and storage tips. Maggie gives parents the courage to feel confident in the kitchen with her whip smart humor and gentle motivation. She’s not preaching here, she’s right there with you. She’s been there and done that with THREE BOYS! The guide is simply broken down into three stages—4-6 months, 6-8 months and 8 months and beyond. The recipes are simple to make but sophisticated and tasty enough to delight the entire family (love that!). And with dishes like Sweet Potato Custard and Baked Pear Crumble on the menu, this might very well become your new favorite family cookbook.

Sounds like an amazing book, right? Well thanks to the good people over at Grand Central Life and Style Publishing, I have a copy to giveaway. This is actually my first giveaway. Ever! And Im super excited to be able to give one of these fantastic books away to one of my amazing readers. Entering is simple but be sure to read the jargon below before doing so.

TO ENTER:

To be eligible to win, leave a comment below telling me what your favorite food was as a kid. That’s it. That’s all!!

THE RULES:

• Contest begins on Wednesday, February 15th at 4:00pm EST and closes February  18th- 10pm EST. One entry per participant, please.
• Contest is open to all US residents but prize cannot be shipped to PO Boxes (sorry!).
• Winner will need to provide email address and physical address so that prize may be shipped out.
• A winner will be selected by the Randomizer tool on Random.org and contacted via email. If winner does not respond within one week of being contacted, a second winner will be chosen.

*This prize is valued at about $15.99 plus shipping and will be shipped directly to the winner via Grand Central Publishing Co. I have not received any monetary compensation or any freebies (other than a review copy of the book) in relation to this post. All opinions are strictly my own.

Still searching for something sweet to make for your love on Valentine’s Day? Have I got the dessert for you! You ready for it?

Red Velvet Cake with Creamy Nutella Buttercream!

Don’t adjust your screen. You read it correctly. I said Nutella Buttercream. As in, NUTELLA FREAKING BUTTERCREAM! I know! Insanity, right? It’s every bit as good as it sounds and it quite possibly may be my new favorite cake topping. Deliciously creamy, light and silky, this icing is far from ordinary. The Nutella adds a depth of flavor and a smoothness that I really like in contrast to the delicate crumb of this light and airy red velvet cake. Oh. Right. There’s cake too. And if you hop on over to Momtastic, you’ll get the recipe for my red velvet cake as well. But let’s be honest here, isn’t it always about the icing? Enjoy!

I have to admit I’ve never been one to go all out on Valentine’s Day. I’m not trying to be a killjoy, I just think that it can be a little over-the-top.  My husband and I usually wait a week or two after Valentine’s Day to go out to eat or opt to do something nice at home instead. In my humble opinion, most restaurants are subpar on “holidays” like these and it’s usually not worth being one of the herd. Bus still, beyond the commerciality of this holiday, it’s nice to be reminded to appreciate the ones you love and do something special for them to say I Love You.

This year I decided to treat all of my boys to breakfast in bed. I’m super lucky to have three boys to call my sweethearts this Valentine’s Day, and treating them to a surprise breakfast in bed seemed like a fun thing to do (crumbs be damned!). The Italian mama in me loves to spoil them with yummy treats and I’m thinking this will be a big hit. My three year old is going to freak out when he’s presented with this delicious heart chock-full of fresh berries and creamy yogurt. He doesn’t even know what breakfast in bed is and I can’t wait to see the look on his face when he is given a fancy breakfast tray while he’s still warm and toasty in his jammies. My husband I think will just love the fact that he gets to sleep in a bit. And the baby, well he is along for the ride and loves himself some berries and yogurt. : )

The hearts come out so cute and take no time to make. In fact,the entire recipe can be made the night before and assembled right before service. Berries may be marinated overnight inside an airtight container in the fridge and the puff pastry hearts can be baked, cooled, then stored inside an airtight container at room temperature. These hearts would also be adorable topped with chocolate pudding and whipped cream or as a savory base for a lovely green salad topped with some nuts and crumbly cheese. Mmm….

Much love to you and your families, this day and always,

C

Puff Pastry Hearts With Yogurt And Fresh Berries 

Serves 4

 

Ingredients:

1 package (2 pieces) of frozen puff pastry dough, thawed

1/2 cup strawberries, hulled and quartered

1/2 cup blueberries

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

1 cup yogurt (any flavor will do but we like vanilla)

 

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 4oo degrees. Line a baking sheet with a Silpat liner or piece of parchment. In a small bowl, toss berries with sugar and allow to macerate while you make the puff pastry hearts.

Lay pastry onto a floured surface and using a rolling pin, roll out any cracks or creases.

Using a 5 inch heart cookie cutter, cut out 4 large hearts. If you have a smaller heart  cookie cutter, you can use it to cut out smaller hearts from the excess dough like I did and use it as a garnish.

Place hearts onto prepared baking sheet. Using a pairing knife, score a heart inside the puff pastry, leaving about 1/2 inch border. Be careful not to press all the way through, you just want to score it. The, use the tines of the fork or your knife blade to dock (prick) small holes in the dough.

Bake hearts for about 10 minutes or until lightly golden. Remove from oven and allow to coo for 5 minutes before toping with berries and a dollop of yogurt.

Do you love stuffed mushrooms? Me too! And I know my way around a mushroom or two. Check out this piece I wrote a while back for Every Day With Rachael Ray a while back on some fun (and unique) ways to stuff those bad boys. Sure, they’re perfect party food but did you ever think about SUPER sizing those babies and making a meal out of one GIANT ‘shroom?

I did.

These sort of ideas keep me up at night (that and my 1 year old) and I wanted to share this recipe with you right before Valentine’s Day because not only is it delicious, it’s impressive and yet so simple to make—a perfect meal to make for the one you love. No, it’s not heart shaped or dyed red but it comes out looking super elegant and dare I say, even a bit sexy (did I just call a mushroom, sexy? #inthekitchentoolong) sitting atop some delicate greens. Honestly, this recipe is easy enough to make any night of the week and something my entire family enjoys.

Play around with the recipe and substitute any ground meet or cheese that tickles your fancy. In fact, I’m thinking ground beef, cheddar and some chopped crispy bacon would be an amazing “cheeseburger” combo!!! Enjoy!

I love making fried rice. I know the word “fried” always conjures up negative thoughts of greasy take-out but, when made at home, fried rice can actually be very healthy. I consider it perfect family food because besides being healthy, it’s quick and a one-pan/one-bowl meal—making clean-up a breeze! Depending on what you put into it, it can be a meal in and of itself and tastes even better the next day.

Fried rice is a great way utilize any leftover rice, veggies, meat or shrimp you have on-hand. Feel free to riff off of this recipe and add whatever ingredients you like. Get the kids involved, they will love choosing the ingredients and making their own customized fried rice recipe. My son just loves when we make take-out food at home and it gives us an excuse to break out our chopsticks and Chinese soup spoons. Make it fun and get creative. The possibilities are endless. Some of our favorite mix-ins are sauteed mushrooms, baby corn, diced chicken and even firm tofu. Enjoy!

Everybody loves a cookie, right? No one more than me. Seriously. If I had to choose one dessert to have for the rest of my life, cookies would be it. Not sure what it is but cookies always make me happy. They are my comfort food dessert. I spend a lot of my time creating and perfecting cookie recipes, like this one and this one and my mind is constantly consumed with different cookie combinations and flavor ideas. What can I say? I’m a bit of a cookie monster. Lucky for you, eh?

Baking has always been the thing that relaxes me so even when my life is complete chaos (most of the time), I have been known to whip up something sweet as a means of calming myself down. You are talking about a girl who once made Creme Brulee at 11:30pm because inspiration hit after watching Julia Child make some on TV. Nuts. I know! But my family is always grateful when my stress reliever produces something yummy.  This was the case yesterday. I had no intention of baking anything and my day had already been a flurry of insanity and craziness, so I wasn’t really in any place to start a baking project. But, I had this idea in my head for days to make a chewy chocolate chip cookie with figs in it and I just couldn’t let it go. The idea came from these candies I was obsessed with a few years ago—Figamajigs. They are these delicious chocolate covered fig candies—think Raisinettes only ten times more delicious! Anyway, I wanted to translate that flavor combo into a chewy chocolate chip cookie so I took one of my tried and true double chocolate chip cookie recipes, upped the cocoa powder a bit and threw in some chopped figs. The batch came together super fast and I barely had time to take a pic because I was in such a rush to get to a birthday party. Right before I left, I took a quick bite of one of the still-warm cookies and oh my goodness!!!! I was in heaven. The inside of each cookie is soft and rich, almost like a flour less chocolate cake. They are rich and sophisticated (are we talking men or cookies, here?) and not too sweet—the perfect balance of flavor and texture. And the chopped figs added a great chew and depth of flavor that really made this cookie a show stopper. I have to admit, these might be my favorite cookie recipe. Ever. And that’s saying a lot given my cookie addiction. Give ‘em a try and let me know what you think. This recipe is super versatile so, if you don’t have any figs, toss in some raisins, dried cherries or even nuts.

So far this winter has been unseasonably warm in New York City. I can’t even believe it’s January! I must admit, I’m stoked about the warm weather, even if it is a little weird. I was a little concerned about how I was going to keep my two boys (ages 3 and 11 months) busy during these normally frigid winter months. I wasn’t looking forward to being trapped inside but, so far, so good and we’ve gotten to enjoy playing outside way more than we thought for this time of year. Of course, now that I’ve said this, we will have a blizzard and I will be eating my words. Honestly, though, regardless of the season or the weather pattern, every parent knows that they always need a few tricks up their sleeve to keep the kids busy. Am I right?

Something we really enjoy doing is making playdough. I know some of you think I’m insane for making something you can easily by pre-made at the store. It’s true, pre-made Play-doh is a life saver (especially at restaurants), and we certainly have some of those yellow cans floating around our house. Still, making it from scratch is super easy and super fun and I bet you already have all of the ingredients in you pantry. All you really need is flour, salt, water, oil and a little food coloring if you want to get fancy. The kids really get a kick out watching the raw ingredients turn into something fun to play with right before their eyes. They love customizing the colors and playing around with fancy mix-ins such as glitter and sprinkles (see ideas below). Most importantly, making it myself allows me to control the ingredients so I can ensure it’s truly non-toxic—super important when you have an 11 month old who wants to play with his big brother and loves putting stuff in his mouth!!

Homemade playdough is fun for all ages and takes less than 10 minutes to make. Give it a try the next time you are looking for something fun and creative to do.

It’s almost the end of January and today we finally got some snow here in NYC. When I say finally, it’s not like I was wishing for it— I definitely was not. I was perfectly happy with this strangely mild winter, especially after being pregnant and walking home for two hours in waist deep snow last year during Snowpacalypse.!!! I’m more of a Summer gal and tend to want to hibernate during the winter months so most of the time, the beauty of freshly fallen snow is lost on me.

Even though I’m not a fan of snow or winter in general, I have to say, watching my three year olds excitement as the white stuff fell down and began to accumulate in our Brooklyn backyard was pure happiness. To me, one of the greatest joys of being a parent is being able to see moments like these through the eyes of your babies. He was excited, so I was excited. And I knew this newly fallen snow was the perfect excuse to get dressed and head out for some wintertime fun and a delicous batch of snow cream!!!

Snow cream is super simple to make and something that kids (and adults) go wild for. I mean, who doesn’t want to eat (clean) snow when they see it? Yes, it’s true, clean snow can be rare in New York City so all the more reason to grab some and eat it when you see it! You can flavor it any way you’d like using different extracts and mix-ins. Want chocolate snow cream? Use chocolate milk instead of plain. We like to bring our ingredients outside and have a little al fresco snow cream making/eating session. making it outdoors adds to the fun and keeps the mess out of your kitchen! Enjoy!

Remember a few weeks ago when I gave you a recipe for a slammin’ quinoa muffin and wrote about how I wasn’t a fan of New Years resolutions ? Well, if you remember that, you should also remember that in lieu of a proper and oh-so restrictive resolution, I made a promise to myself to incorporate more healthy items into the Salerno household. I also vowed to try and incorporate some new foods as well. It’s the third week in January and I’m happy to say that so far, I’m doing great (see how well non-resolutions work?) And to prove to you just how adventurous I’m getting, last night I made this:

 Boom. Boom. POW!

In TEN MINUTES, YO!

That delicious and super quick meal was brought to you by the fascinating and only slightly exotic….Miso Paste! Let’s learn more about it, shall we?

What is Miso Paste?

Miso paste is a lovely word for fermented soybean paste. This savory paste is a staple in Japanese cuisine and believe it or not is made by adding a yeast mold (known as “koji”), salt and other ingredients to soy (most commonly), rice, barely or wheat. The fermenting process can take anywhere from a few weeks to a few years depending on the type of miso that is desired. Once the fermenting process is complete, the fermented ingredients are pureed into a thick paste as you see above and below.

If you’re still with me after you read the words “yeast”, “mold” and “fermented” all in the same paragraph, Brava! The process may sound a bit strange and unappetizing but chances are, you’ve eaten the stuff in one way or another if you’ve been to a Japanese restaurant. Most commonly, it’s used in the ever popular Miso Soup. Simply add 1 cup hot water to a teaspoon of miso paste, a few cubes of tofu and some scallions and you have yourself a kickin’ miso soup for one, that will rival any of your neighborhood take-out joints. For reals!

What Are the health Benefits of Eating Miso Paste?

Miso paste is high in sodium but a very little goes a loooong way! It’s an excellent source of B12, especially for vegans and just one tablespoon of miso contains 2 grams of protein for as little as 25 calories.

Now that we have the description out of the way, I can tell you what I did with the stuff. I was super excited to buy it because I have been eyeing it in my local health food store for quite some time now. So, when I got that bad boy home, I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it—make a sweet and savory glaze for fish! You see, I’ve had many delicious fish dishes in NYC Japanese restaurants where the chef coats a lovely piece of salmon or cod with this gorgeous glistening glaze. The taste is both sweet and savory and incredibly flavorful—just what me and my family needed to jazz things up a bit. Except, I wanted to try something different and super fast so I decided to use it on some shrimp.

The dressing is ridiculously simple and takes all of 3 minutes to make. In fact, the entire recipe only takes 10 minutes, which means it can be thrown together with your last bits of energy—perfect for busy folks! Serve them over some steamed rice or lovely salad greens and you’re in bizniss! This dressing is extremely versatile so feel free to spread it over any piece of fish (my fave is salmon) before roasting or use it as a marinade for any chicken or veggie dish.

Exciting News!

I am proud to say that I have joined the amazing food team over at Momtastic. If by chance you’ve never heard of Momtastic, it’s a great site dedicated to Motherhood and all that surrounds it. Looking for answers, support, inspiration or just a good laugh? Momtastic is the place for you. I love that all of the content is aspirational and not inspirational. Their approach is friendly and supportive–exactly what a mama needs during the trying times of motherhood.

What’s this, you ask?  Only the Best (and Easiest) Salmon You’ve Ever Made!!  It’s a quick and healthy and most importantly something that everyone in my house loves! Hope on over to Momtastic for the recipe!

Enjoy!

I haven’t posted many reviews or product mentions on this blog. When I started this blog, it was my intention to feature a review section on the blog to inform you of cool stuff to spend your money on, but I wasn’t exactly sure how to approach it. Product reviews can seem impersonal and well, contrived. As a blogger, I get approached every single day by companies asking me to review their products, but it’s not something I ever took part in. I realize that lots of blogs do it but initially,  I wasn’t entirely comfortable with the concept. So, I put my opinions on a shelf and avoided the area all together. Except, in doing so, I have been ignoring a part of myself that I’m kinda known for. I will admit it, I have a bit of a sickness when it comes to vetting a product or company. It’s because like you, I only want the best for my family and to be honest, I don’t have a ton of money to waste on products that are sub-par. I research so I can be an educated consumer and I kinda like it.

Anyone who knows me knows, I do A LOT of research before purchasing something. All of my friends come to me when they want to buy something. You see, I have an illness that keeps me up at night comparing and contrasting products and shit so they figure they’ll save themselves some time and just ask me. Seriously. It’s scary. Go ahead, ask me about whole food vitamins or which double stroller is the best and I’ll give you a five page excel document to aid you in your search. Like I said, ILLNESS!

The more I thought about it, the more I realized that my penchant for researching could be a great feature to add to this blog.  Besides my basic research,  I rely heavily on the reviews and opinions of other people when I’m purchasing anything from a car to a pair of boots for my boys. I’m a research fiend and make sure that I check a product out top to bottom before purchasing it. After reading an initial description, I head straight to product reviews to seek the opinions of others before spending my hard earned cash on anything. In short, reviews ROCK!

It’s taken me almost three years to decide to start posting my opinions on products with you. It’s something I have thought long and hard about and I’m super excited to get chatty about what I’m buying and share my new CONSUME section with you. After all, we spend a large part of our lives consuming. The way I figure it, we might as well help each other out and be informed consumers together. My hope is that you all will share your opinions with me as well via the comment section so we can all learn and shop and learn and shop.  Ya dig?

The Nitty Gritty:

-This blog is and always will be a place where you can find healthy, fast, delicious recipes with the busy family in mind. That will never change.

-Any time I mention a product on my blog I will tag it with the word {CONSUME}, (so you’ll know right off the bat what you’re getting into).

-I will never mention a product on this blog that I don’t love or currently covet.

-I am not interested in being a sales person so you will get nothing but 100 percent honesty with me. I’m not here to pitch, only share.

-I love giving my opinion on anything and everything from diaper rash creams to preschools to strollers but in keeping with the overall theme of this blog, I will mainly be focusing on food and food related products, services, etc…

-I never have, nor will I EVER write about something just to get paid if it’s not something I love. PERIOD. END. OF. STORY. If I’m offered a free product or some sort of monetary compensation in exchange for a review or write up, I will clearly mark it with the words {Sponsored Post}. And again, this will only happen if I truly love the product.

I hope that clearly explains it all. My readers and followers mean a lot to me and I look forward to sharing this new section with you.

We’re 11 days into the new year and I’m curious…how are we all doing on our resolutions? You over this whole resolution thing yet?

Me too!

Actually, I don’t care for New Years resolutions. Never did.  They always come with a lot of guilt and this “all or nothing” mentality which, if you ask me, is basically a one way ticket to disaster-ville. So, instead of resolving to do something drastic like “swearing off dessert for eternity”, I much prefer to use the start of a new year as a way to refresh, rejuvenate and take stock of what needs a little work in my life. No guilt. No hard restrictions. No failure. Am I right?

This year rather than starting a “diet” which will inevitably end in disaster, I’ve decided to treat the start of 2012 as reset button when it comes to my health and eating habits. I’m not swearing off of any particular type of food (life is WAY too short for that!). My goal is to simply try to incorporate more (healthy) items into mine and my family’s every day diet. Now, anyone who knows me knows, I’m generally a very healthy eater and feed my family the same way, but towards the end of the year, we all tend to go off track and get a little sloppy and this reset/fresh start is a reminder to get back to basics.

For our very first week of 2012, I decided to try my hand at baking with quinoa. We’ve cooked with it before but I never tried to bake anything using it. If you’re not familiar with it, quinoa, is pronounced (KEEN-wah). Some of you might have tried cooking it and found it rather “bleh”. Me too, at first. But then I tried a few different preparations like this Confetti Quinoa and Lentil and now I’m a huge fan of the stuff. And the nutritional value, can’t be beat! Quinoa is often considered a grain, but it’s actually a relative of leafy green vegetables like spinach and Swiss chard. It’s high in protein which makes it an excellent choice for vegans, vegetarians and mamas like me who don’t eat much meat and can’t get their babies to eat a lot of meat either. My 11 month old loves the stuff.

If you are a quinoa newbie, these muffins are a nice way to give it a try. I will say, having never baked with them before, I was pleasantly surprised at how great they turned out after just one try. I simply took one of my standard muffin recipes, played with the liquid ratio a bit, and added in a cup of steamed quinoa. These aren’t your typical gut-busting sugar bomb muffins. Bursting with blueberries, moist and flavorful, these babies are much healthier for you than your average coffee shop 1,000 calorie Franken-muffin nightmare. The quinoa adds a nice texture to the muffin and a slight nuttiness which is very delicious. Sure, they have sugar in them but because of the protein in the quinoa, they don’t give you that sugar crash like most muffins do. Which means you can eat this as a quick breakfast and not be starving in 10 minutes.

Hooray for quinoa and a positive outlook on the year ahead! Stay tuned for more of my 2012 food experiments and remember, be kind to yourself!

It’s the day after Christmas and one would think I’d be SO over the cooking and baking thing. And I sort of am. We’re in the home stretch as far as the holiday season goes. But it ain’t over yet. I still have some more entertaining to do and I bet you do too. After all, New Years Eve is only a few short days away.  And even though I find cooking and baking relaxing (yes, I’m a crazy person.), after hosting both Thanksgiving and Christmas at our place this year, even  a nut like me wants recipes that are short on time and ingredients but still big on flavor and style.

Enter: Puff Pastry.

If you don’t have a box of puff pastry in your freezer my friends, you are seriously missing out. If you’ve never had it before, I apologize in advance for introducing you to your new addiction. It’s a light and flaky pastry consisting of many layers of dough and fat (usually butter). It’s a delicious and extremely versatile ingredient that has saved me many times because it can be stored in your freezer, pulled out and thawed super fast and turned into the most gorgeous recipes, like this and this. The dough itself is flaky and delicious and rather neutral in favor so it’s yours to jazz up however you wish. It bakes up lightening fast and always comes out looking fancy-schmancy which is exactly what you need when you are low on energy but still want something attractive and tasty to serve to guests.  I’ve used it to make a host of different meals and snacks from savory to sweet. The possibilities really are endless.

In fact, the other day, after experiencing cookie baking burn-out, I came up with yet another easy and delicious use for puff pastry— Sweet and Spicy Mexican Chocolate Pinwheels. I’ve made many different versions of puff pastry pinwheels before, from plain sugar  to savory tapenade and they are always a hit, especially at cocktail parties. But I have to say, I’ve really out-done myself with these babies. No really. I think I ate 2 batches all by myself. OMG! And the best part? Minimal mess and no mixer required. That’s right! These are easy-peasy, exactly the kind of recipe we all need after the past few weeks of non-stop: Cooking. Eating. Cooking…

The combination of sweet and spicy are really what makes these special. And by special I mean, addicting!! I’m a sucker for Mexican Hot Chocolate  and these cookies strike that same perfect balance of sweet and. Perfect with both cocktails and coffee.  I really can’t think of a better nosh to add to your New Years Eve hors d’oeuvres table. Give ‘em a try and do it FAST, before that New Year’s Resolution kicks in.  And most of all, enjoy them with the company of good friends and family (and preferably with your feet up). You deserve it!

Happy New Year!

Here’s what he gave us:

Written on the bag (in my father-in-laws distinguishable writing) was an explanation of what we’d find inside and directions on what to do with it. In case you can’t read it, here’s what it says:

Dear Griffin,

Inside this bag is a special santa to help you know when Christmas is coming. You hang the santa doll over your bed then each night before you go to sleep, you un-tie one knot. When you see the last knot and un-tie it, that’s the night that Santa will come and the next morning when you awake, it will be CHRISTMAS.

Love, Grandpa

What a great idea!!!  I had never heard of this before but apparently this is something my father-in-law did with my husband and something he did with his own father. When we opened the bag, here’s what we found:

A red take-out container and inside, we found this:

A piece of rope with seven knots tied in it.

As a mama, I was loving the tradition aspect of this activity and super touched that my father-in-law took to the time to make this incredibly detailed gift for my son. What a great way to countdown the days until Christmas or any event, really. I can see this being a great way to count the days before Chanukah (use a blue or silver rope/ribbon) or even a birthday. It truly is something special and yet, so simple.

We un-tied our first knot last night and my son is loving his countdown until Christmas. Who would have thought that a piece of rope with knots in it would make a kid so happy? And he loves it even more than any of our other countdown to Christmas contraptions.What a great tradition to pass down to future generations and it doesn’t have to cost anything if you use what you have around the house. That certainly beats the $29.95 it costs to own an Elf on a Shelf or a fancy advent calendar and it’s much more special because it’s handmade and from the heart. I get teary-eyed when I think about my son one day sharing this tradition with his own son or grandson and cannot help but be reminded that this is what the holiday season is really about-not money or fancy presents but time spent with family and friends, making memories and sharing your time.

Happy Holidays, Everyone!

My 3 year old and I do our fair share of cookie cutting and baking all year round and it always proves to be a great way to keep both of us entertained, especially on cold winter days. Besides baking yummy cookies, another one of our favorite holiday baking activities is making salt dough ornaments for our tree.

Salt dough ornaments are super simple to make, requiring only 3 ingredients: salt, water and flour. They can be decorated any way you want and always come out so cute! It’s a project even your littlest helper can get into because there’s lots of steps requiring no heat or sharp knives such as mixing, measuring, cookie cutting and decorating. Get creative with the decorating, use whatever you have around the house, paint, glue, beads, glitter, anything goes. They can be customized to suit any holiday or occasion, not just Christmas. You really are only limited by your imagination.

We like to make a whole bunch and hand them out to the Grandparents as handmade gifts from our son-always a big hit! Be sure to use a marker on the back of each ornament to label them with each child’s name, age and date. This project is something you’ll want to remember and cherish for years to come.

Happy Holidays!

Still searching for that perfect food themed gift? Look no further. I give you my 2011 Foodie Gift Guide. Read on and I promise you’ll find something for everyone on your list (and maybe even a little something for yourself, too!).

Happy Holidays! Now start shopping!

{WEAR}

I’ve been a huge fan of Gabiele Corcos and Debi Mazar’s blog for years now and the hits keep coming with their show Extra Virgin and now a line of food-themed clothing & accessories. I’m loving every single design from Peace and Pasta Apparel but I gotta say, the “Make Sauce Not War” design is my fave! Pssst…use coupon code “NATALE” for a 20% off discount!

{HOME}

The moment I saw these MoMA Memo Canisters, I knew I had to have them. Besides being cute as hell, they are super useful and dishwasher safe-the perfect balance between form and function if you ask me. And at $40.00 for the set, you can totally justify buying yourself a set. Get’em.

{STOCKING STUFF}

 Morris Kitchen Ginger Syrup ROCKS! Let me tell you, Ginger Ale made with this syrup is something special. But this syrup’s not just for soda, it’s delicious drizzled over ice cream and pancakes or stirred into your favorite cocktail. Gorgeously packaged in amber bottles with letterpress labels and hand made in Brooklyn. The stocking stuffer for your favorite foodie.

 Why didn’t I think of THIS?!?! Know someone who loves stirring “the sauce?” Get them this set. Who needs a spoon rest when your spoon and ladle can hang out on your favorite pots edge thanks to a super clever notched handle. Rachael Ray’s Lazy Spoon & Ladle set is genius! Totally giving this as a hostess gift this year.

{READ}

Know someone whose Gluten Free? Send them a subscription to the hottest new all-digital magazine-EASY EATS! Gorgeous pictures and delicious recipes delivered to your inbox six times a year, proving every step of the way that it really is “good to be gluten free”.

I’ve been drooling over Donna Hay’s magazine for years now and was delighted to see this extensive collection of her recipes in a hard bound book. In true Hay style, Seasons is not only BEAUTIFUL, but it’s also usefully divided by season and coded savory or sweet to help you find the perfect meal for any mood or time of year. Brilliant!

{ENTERTAIN}

Every host should own a cheeseboard and this one is hands down my favorite. The Brooklyn Slate Cheeseboard is unique and beautifully rustic. Crafted out of a piece of natural slate, each piece includes soapstone chalk-perfect for labeling cheeses. Every board comes beautifully wrapped inside a burlap bag. And at $30.00 each, I can’t think of a more elegant and useful hostess gift.

I used to think all punch bowls were, well, ugly thanks to my mom’s 1970′s crystal-ish one. That was until, I came across this GORGEOUS punch bowl and ladle. A gals gotta have something to serve her party juice in and this one is elegant and delicate. This beauty will have you sipping pretty and is also lovely as a soup terrine or trifle dish.

{WEE FOODIE}

Mealtime is all wrapped up with this innovative bib. The OiOi BBox Travel bib is the perfect stocking stuffer for your littlest eater. Simply pop the soft-bite spoon inside the bib pocket, zip it up and go. No more fishing around your diaper bag for a spoon. All of babies mealtime essentials in one neat little pouch. How cool is THAT?

If your kiddo is like mine, the mixer is a source of great entertainment and curiosity. Sadly, up until recently, kiddie kitchenware never really looked, well, real and my son can’t be fooled. Thank goodness those days are gone and now it’s all about the stainless steel. Dare I say, this Kids Toy Kenwood Mixer looks cooler than mine?

{EAT}

Want to send an edible gift in the mail that blows boxed fruit out of the water? Send a William’s Sonoma Salted Caramel Truffle Tart. It’s rich and sinful yet perfectly balanced and beautifully accented by flakes of French sea salt. Tres Chic! Serious chocolate lovers take note, this tart’s for you.

Looking for a gift that keeps on giving? Or perhaps, something for the person who has everything? One word: Cheese!!! Bet you never thought of gifting a cheese subscription. Yeah. That’s right. They exist. And their tasty, too. If your looking for a gift thats unpredictable, elegant, and fun, cheese delivered to your doorstep is the way to go. I’m partial to The Bedford Cheeseshop and William’s Sonoma because their quality and customer service cannot be matched.

{SPLURGE}

Ahem…hubby, are ya reading?!?I need want need these Inside Out Champagne Glasses. OK. I know we haven’t entertained in a while since baby #2 came along but, HOW GORGEOUS ARE THESE? No. Seriously. OMG! I know. Seems like a lot of excitement for some pricey champagne flutes, but you’ll have to forgive me. After two kids, sippy cups are as fancy as it gets ’round these parts. Excuse me while I fantasize about sipping bubbly out of one of these babies while sitting on a verandah in the south of France. Pretty sure even chocolate milk tastes classy sipped outta one of these.

Last week I was invited to my son’s preschool pot luck party. I have never been to a school pot luck before and I was pretty excited. I couldn’t wait to mix and mingle with the other parents and get to know some of his classmates but, to be honest, I think I was more psyched about the food portion of the event than anything else. Pot luck parties are right up my alley. This is me, after all and I live for this stuff. Seriously.

Surprisingly I didn’t spend a lot of time trying to figure out what I’d bring because it seemed pretty obvious to me. Anything one brings to a pot luck should meet these three requirements: 1. Must be able to feed a crowd easily. 2. Must taste good at room temperature. 3. Must be able to be kept that way for a while without getting weird. Oh yeah, and it better taste good or else people will tawk. LOL.

I knew instantly that my Vegetarian Rice Salad was the way to go. But of course, I couldn’t stop there. I wanted to bring a little something sweet as well. Something seasonal that both adults and kids would like but not nothing too sweet or cloying since I knew that the dessert table would be overflowing (they always are at these sort of events). I thought about making pumpkin muffins because who doesn’t love a good fall muffin? But the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to try a little something different. Muffins seemed like a good idea because they are easy to eat and if I made them mini sized, there would be perfect for tiny hands and yield me plenty to go around. So, I decided to make my tried and true pumpkin muffin recipe and swap in butternut squash puree instead and throw in some mini chocolate chips for good measure.

Even though I wasn’t sure how these would turn out, I was willing to take the risk since I had the Rice Salad as my back-up. I used less sugar  in this version to take into account the natural sweetness of the butternut squash, but other than that, my original recipe remained untouched. And you know what? These were incredibly moist and delicious. Dare I even say better than the pumpkin version? And they were a big hit with my family. My 3 year old was not happy when he asked for a muffin the next day and I informed him that we left them at the pot luck. So, I made them again that same week for the little guy only this time using a mixture of half pumpkin and half butternut squash. Equally delicious!

These babies are definitely our new favorite muffin. Make a big batch on a Sunday night (minus the chips) and serve them as a quick breakfast or snack all week long. Their small size makes them perfect for snack week at school or as a healthier dessert inside your kiddos lunch box. How delicious would these be on Thanksgiving morning with a steaming cup of Joe, or as a tasty fall treat for your next weekend brunch? Add in chopped walnuts for some crunch and a protein boost.

It’s almost that time of year again, folks. The holiday that every foodie loves best. I’m talking Thanksgiving, people. I don’t know about you but, as soon as Halloween is over I start obsessing over my menu. It kinda consumes my thinking to the point where I almost can’t think about anything else (except maybe the black friday sales and my kids Christmas gifts). It’s a sickness. I can’t help it! Thanksgiving is “my holiday” aka, my turn to host a family gathering and it is important that I do it up right.

Each year my meal is always a mix of tried and true family recipes (Roasted Turkey with Herbed Butter, Easy Orange Cranberry Sauce, Pannettone Stuffing and Pumpkin Cheesecake) and some new ones. It’s my trick for keeping things traditional yet, exciting at the same time and switching things up is how I keep ‘em coming back for more : ).  I usually mix it up in the salad/sides department and play around with new ideas and techniques. Nothing worse than the same roasted veggies and boring old green salad year after year and I know my guests always appreciate the effort I put in making sure our veggies are anything but ordinary.

This year I decided to make a crisp and delicious brussels sprout salad in lieu of the usual roasted brussels sprout side. I know no one in my family has ever had a raw brussels sprout. I bet they are gonna be a little freaked out at first but I know as soon as they taste it, it will be love at first bite. Even if you’re not a brussels sprout fan, I urge you to try this salad. Brussels sprouts are more mild and slightly sweet in their raw state making them incredibly delicious and super healthy as a salad “green”. The crispiness of the brussel sprouts stands up perfectly to the sweet and tangy honey vinaigrette. Top that with seasonal pomegranate toasted walnuts and salty ricotta salad, you have one slammin’ Thanksgiving salad. If you can’t find pomegranate seeds, feel free to swap in some dried cranberries for an equally delicious and festive addition.

There’s nothing better on a cold day than a marshmallow topped mug of hot cocoa. What’s that? It’s only October you say? Well, it’s freaking snushing (snow/slushing) here in NYC and me thinks our days of sunshine and warm weather are quickly coming to an end. Rather than get depressed about the crappy weather, I decided to seize the snow day and whip of a batch of instant hot cocoa mix to keep in my pantry for the cold days ahead.

If you’ve never made your own batch of instant hot cocoa powder, I urge you to give it a try.  My three year old son loves helping me mix and measure the ingredients. it’s super simple to make and having a pre-made mix comes in handy when it’s freezing out and the kids need something to melt the icicles off of their noses.  I like to flavor mine with different spices and give them as gifts for the holidays. Simply place the mix inside a cellophane bag or mason jar and tie with an attractive ribbon. Package that up with a couple of pretty mugs, et voila! Instant gift for your favorite hostess, teacher, babysitter, neighbors etc…Enjoy!