Sweet Hearts

Sugar Cookie Jam Hearts

A long time ago and very far away, I fell in love with food. I spent my free time at the public library or bookstore, studying cookbooks on every topic, and wouldn’t hesitate at the idea of spending my entire weekend shopping for ingredients and cooking. I’d happily lose myself in the process of preparing a duck confit, cultivating a sourdough starter, or building the layers of a fancy cake.

That was before, and this is now. Now my life is mostly about parenting, so by necessity it’s all about multitasking. Right now, as I write this, my daughter is breathing over my shoulder, the phone is ringing, and my son is requiring some chocolate milk.

I have to steal time to read cookbooks, and sometimes manage to carry out my plans to cook something that requires hours of advance prep. But mostly, because I’m not the girl I used to be, I’ve also had to reconcile myself to using some store-bought products that help make my desire to cook something a reality rather than pure fantasy. I just make sure the ingredient list is short and easy to pronounce - after all I am not Sandra Lee, people.

So yesterday - GASP - I pulled out a package of store-bought cookie mix so that during one free hour of our day, we made some Valentine treats for the kids’ teachers. We made jam heart sandwich cookies with Betty Crocker cookie mix and some raspberry jam that I heated and strained. Sweet and easy.

Copyright (c) 2007 FamilyStyle Food

Kid Friendly

Fun refresher

While on the subject of cocktails, I just saw this post on Gastrokid, a blog co-authored by Bon Appetit magazine feature editor Hugh Garvey.

Around the holidays, I created a drink for the grown-ups, and my daughter immediately requested her own “special” drink. Of course!

I poured her some of my favorite blood orange soda from Target, added some fresh tangerine juice, an orange slice and a real maraschino cherry. She was thrilled to have a big-girl glass that wasn’t plastic, and to join the circle of grown-ups. Our kids don’t drink soft drinks of any kind (because we usually don’t have it in the house, because we’re mean, mean foodie purists) so the little bubbles in her glass were especially fun. Things only got of hand when she soon tired of the charm school sipping technique and began lapping the drink out of her glass like a kitty cat.

Anyway. On my next trip to the grocery store, I thought I’d pick up a bottle of grenadine to have around for any future “mocktails”. Why was I surprised to find that the brand most widely available, Rose’s, is mostly high-fructose corn syrup and food coloring? Real grenadine derives its color and flavor from pomegranates; the stuff you get for $3.99 is totally artificial.

That partly explains why I purchased Sonoma Syrup Company’s pomegranate infused simple syrup the other day - it’s a mixture of cane sugar, water and pomegranate juice. Simple syrup! I know that you and I could make this at home for about two cents, but I guess that explains the other reason I was taken in by this product: I’m a sucker for a pretty package. Yes, I will gravitate toward an overpriced bottle of sugar water like a wasp to a popsicle if there’s a nicely designed label stuck to it.

However, since my intent is to allow my kids to develop a taste for real food whenever possible, I feel it’s a worthwhile investment.

Sparkly Pom-Pom

For one drink, put some ice cubes in a small glass. Add about a teaspoon of grenadine syrup, or some pomegranate juice. Top with sparkling water or real fruit soda, stir and garnish with orange slices and a cherry.

Copyright (c) 2007 FamilyStyle Food

Pinnacle of Pasta

Our house special

What kind of family-style food chronicle would this be if I didn’t tell you all about our relationship with Pasta Carbonara, our favorite family supper?

Well, Carbonara, as we affectionately refer to it, is probably the one and only meal I prepare that provokes J to shout for joy, that is, other than bacon. But Carbonara has lots of bacon in it, along with eggs and cheese, so there you go.

You see, every night, as the sun makes its swift departure behind the neighbor's roof, J drops his light saber and comes nosing around me as I get pans moving around in the kitchen.

"What's for dinner?"

If, as happens 6 out of every 7 days, I answer (in my best Mrs. Cleaver voice):
"Why, all your favorites, Dear; chicken with kung-fu sauce, scrambled eggs with pickles on top, and a great big pile of French fries".

"Oh, boy, Mom, thanks!" (gives me a big bear hug, and skips off to wash his hands).

HA! No, sillies, that's not what happens.

Basically if the menu consists of anything other than Carbonara, he falls on the floor in a raging, apoplectic fit. Kind of like Jake La Motta during the steak scene in Raging Bull, except he doesn't actually throw any food at my head. (and that would merit a time-out, for sure).

I have to admit, that Carbonara is also one of my all-time favorite comfort foods. My husband holds the title of Official Maker of the Carbonara, but lately, I've tinkered with the tried-and-true recipe (because that's what I do), and now have made it even more comfortable and delicious.

Pasta Carbonara alla FamilyStyle

For 4 generous servings

4 ounces applewood smoked peppered bacon * (see note)
4 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto
1 pound of your favorite dried uncooked pasta, but make an effort to use the imported Italian stuff
1/2 bag frozen baby peas (optional, but makes this seem more like a "one dish" meal)
1 small onion, diced very fine (about 1/2 cup)**
4 eggs, lightly beaten in a small bowl
1/4 cup each freshly grated Pecorino Romano and Parmigiano-Reggiano (plus more if you're like me - a cheese piggy)
Chopped Italian parsley


Fill your biggest pot with water, throw in a good handful of salt - pasta cooking water should be as salty as the sea - and bring to a boil.

Meanwhile, slice the bacon and prosciutto into roughly 1-inch pieces. Put the bacon in a large skillet over medium-low heat, stirring every few minutes, until it starts to render its fat. Keep cooking until it begins to crisp and turn brown on the edges. Toss in the prosciutto, and cook for a few minutes to crisp, too. Remove the whole lot from the pan with a slotted spoon, and place on a paper-towel lined plate.

Your water should be boiling about now; put the pasta in to cook. Halfway through, add the frozen peas.

Cook the onion in the hot bacon fat until it softens, about 5 minutes. Scoop out about 1/4 cup of the boiling pasta water and whisk into the eggs - this will help prevent scrambling the eggs when you toss it all together.

Drain the pasta and peas and add to the skillet with the onion. Pour on the eggs, tossing to coat. Add the reserved bacon and prosciutto. Serve hot topped with the cheese and some parsley.

* I like to use very, very good bacon, like Nueske's. Another brand I like is Wellshire Farms.
** The onion could potentially be a big "ick" factor. My kids don't even know it's in there, because it's finely chopped, and it melts into the sauce. I think it adds a nice layer of flavor.

Copyright (c) 2006 FamilyStyle

Raspberry Delights

Raspberry Martini


Best of the Berries

I had a very Martha moment this past weekend, when I woke up at the crack of dawn and drove to a pick-your-own raspberry patch. It's kind of a family rite in our house - berry season starts and we feel the need to seek out the ephemeral glory of locally grown, ripe strawberries, raspberries or blueberries.

I have a vivid image of of our daugher A, almost a year old, crawling around in the raspberry patch on her first picking expedition and cramming her mouth full of them. Before we left the farm that day, we insisted that we pay for the extra pound of berries that she most definitely had packed into her distended belly.

For the past couple of years, however, we've let the need to sleep in on weekend mornings overtake our desire for our favorite fruits of summer.

It must be that I'm feeling well-rested these days. I checked the weather forecast and saw that Saturday morning would offer a stellar berry-picking climate - temperatures in the 60's and low humidity. That's important not only for the comfort and happiness of the picker, but raspberries are on the fragile side, and will begin their decline into soft, moldy piles soon after picking, especially if it's hotter than a roofer's armpits outside. Of course, you can always just get home and stick a Ziploc bag-full of berries in the freezer for mid-winter muffins, but I wanted to use these red, red lovelies in their fresh-picked state.

Plus, my sister-in-law was on her way from Maine to visit us for her birthday, and I had a special cake in mind. I made it about 3 years ago for A's 5th birthday, and she's been asking for it every year since then. It is quite a beauty, Raspberry Lemon Mousse Trifle Cake from the August/September 2002 issue of Fine Cooking. The recipe is rather lengthy, but it's totally worth it for making birthday memories.

Layers of sponge cake, lemon curd-mascarpone mousse, raspberry syrup and a good dose of fresh raspberries. Yum.


This is how the cake turned out...well worth the groggy morning and prickly raspberry bush scratches. I made extra raspberry syrup so that I could shake up a few batches of martinis. What better way to celebrate a beautiful summer birthday?

Raspberry Martinis
for one drink:
2 ounces gin
1 ounce fresh lime juice
1 1/2 ounces raspberry syrup (see recipe below)
1 plump raspberry

Pour the gin, lime juice and syrup in a cocktail shaker filled with ice and shake briskly.
Strain into a cocktail glass, and plop in the raspberry. Sit down on your favorite lawn chair and sigh before taking a sip.

Raspberry Simple Syrup:
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1 cup fresh raspberries

Bring the sugar and water to a boil in a small saucepan, whisking to dissolve sugar. Set aside until cool.
Puree the raspberries in a food processor or pass them through the fine disk of a food mill. Strain into the saucepan of syrup.
Makes about 1 cup.

It's All About the Meat

My son J was sitting at the kitchen table with the pieces of his latest Lego spaceship spread all around, when he suddenly shouted out "Hey, where's the meat? Are we having MEAT for dinner!?

I had just returned from firing up the grill with some fine Kingsford mesquite charcoal, and a smoky halo had apparently clung to me like good karma on the Dalai Lama. I suppose the scent was enought to tickle his nostrils and trigger what I think is his almost primal, instinctive need for animal flesh.

I wish I could phrase it more delicately, because it really does surprise me a little. Ever since my children were able to use their pincer grip on small pieces of food, they've been wild about eating meat. They pretty much start growling when I casually mention that I might be cooking up some bacon in the near future. When my first-born was a mere babbling infant, she reached across the table to grab a bloody-red squab leg that I had prepared for her dad's birthday. She had to advance to the age of two before she could ask for a pile of bacon for her lunch whenever we took her out to a restaurant.

It's not that we discourage that sort of behavior or anything, but my personal desire for meat products tends to be more moderate. I've been known to create entire meals around a block of semi-firm tofu and a can of chickpeas. But, inevitably, there are days when nothing but a side of cow or pig will satisfy.

Today, for instance. I saw the cover of the June Food and Wine magazine and knew I had to taste that glistening pile of ribs. I made a special trip to my local international food store to find the canned guava paste, but, man was it worth it. This recipe is outrageously good. The guava barbecue sauce is tangy-sweet, and forms a very appealing crackly crust on the ribs, which are falling-apart succulent. "Juicy and a little saucy" is how my son described them.
And my daughter is already planning her next birthday dinner with these ribs as the highlight.
We had these for dinner with a big bowl of cole slaw.

Rosemary Snack Bread

Rosemary Snack Bread

I've been craving this bread after seeing its tempting photo in Desserts and Sweet Snacks, Rustic Italian Style by Viana La Place. It's called Sweet Olive Oil Quick Bread in the book, and it really is simple to put together - I mean all of 5 minutes, in 2 bowls. My son was my very willing mixer.





I varied the original recipe somewhat by omitting raisins ( I have a thing about raisins embedded in my baked goods, but more on that later), and added some chopped rosemary from my garden. I also replaced milk with an Australian Muscat wine that I had languishing in the fridge, which adds a slightly sweet tang that reminds me of the Italian wine biscuits I used to eat when I was little. This really is a perfect snack because it's not too sweet. Wrap it up and it will keep for a few days on your counter - maybe. Mine is already vanishing...

2 eggs, lightly beaten
3/4 cup sweet wine, such as muscat
1/2 cup olive oil
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon grated fresh orange rind

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a standard size (9 x 5 x 3-inch) loaf pan with nonstick spray.
Whisk together the eggs, wine and olive oil in a medium bowl.
In a large bowl, combine all remaining ingredients; add egg mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until flour is incorporated. Scrape into pan and bake 50 minutes, or until the top is rich golden brown.
Cool in the pan for 15 minutes before turning out onto a cooling rack. Slice into thick slices while warm or let cool completely. (We have a hard time waiting in our house).
Makes 1 loaf.