November 30, 2010

The Naptime Chef’s Foodie Holiday Gift Guide 2010! {Naptime Simple Tips}

In the spirit of the season, today I thought I’d give you a few ideas for some great foodie holiday gifts. These are all things I adore in my own kitchen. Each item greatly enhances the food I make in one way or another, and adds a great deal of fun to my daily cooking routine. I promise, fellow Naptime Chefs, I would never recommend any kind of complicated one-note piece of cooking gear or an uber-expensive tiny bottle of rare ingredients. Instead, I am sharing some ideas for things any cook would love, whether it be you, a friend or loved one, and are bound to add pleasure and joy to your kitchen!:

The Naptime Chef’s Foodie Holiday Gifts Guide 2010!

organic meyer lemons

1) Organic Meyer Lemons: It is not unusual you hear me wax poetic about Meyer lemons. I can’t get enough of them! Luckily the fun folks over at Food52 have found a place where we can order them by the case. Not all of us, a-hem Liz, live in a city where they grow naturally and this is the next best thing. Ship a big box to your loved ones, they can cook with some, preserve some and, of course, whip up a pitcher of hot spiced lemonade!

Square Tart Pan

2) Square Tart Pan: Tart pans can be used for all sorts of terrific desserts. I use mine for both sweet and savory tarts, as well as shortbread and thin pizzas. I love the idea of the square tart pan because the shape is so uncommon. This would be a great gift for the baker in your life!

Recipes Every Man Should Know

3) Susan Russo and Brett Cohen’s Recipes Every Man Should Know: The title says it all! I just bought a copy of this for my awesome bachelor brother, Uncle Will. Even though he is already an experienced cook I know these recipes will come in handy, especially the bacon-wrapped meatloaf and beef stew. This is a great gift for any bachelors or reticent cooks, the tempting recipes will easily inspire them to jump off the couch and into the kitchen!

November 25, 2010

Giving Thanks

PotatoesHappy Thanksgiving! There is no video or recipe today, just a note to say thank you. What am I thankful for this year? You, readers, as well as my family, my friends and everyone in this world who strives to make it a better place. I’ll back with loads of new recipes and fun things next week, but this week I hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday. Cheers! Kelsey

November 23, 2010

John’s Thanksgiving Leftover Pizza {Naptime Tales from the Trenches}

Thanksgiving Leftover Pizza

Thanksgiving Leftover Pizza

John Matthews is a professional chef and stay at home Dad of twins. Though restaurant work is no longer his day job he still cooks and bakes like crazy for his family. Today he is sharing his amazing recipe for Thanksgiving Leftover Pizza, the recipe that the whole family went bananas for when he made it up on a whim last year. Currently John is juggling his children’s schedules with his own baking start up. His new company, xx, is dedicated to serving up delicious gluten-free dairy-free baking goods and I’ll be writing more about that soon.

We did last Thanksgiving at my sister’s house in CT. Auntie Laura is a full service aunt. After doing most of the work shopping, cooking, baking, etc., she runs herself ragged playing the perfect hostess and favorite aunt of our twin’s Hadley and Deegan and cousins Rachael and Michael. Michael is old enough to take care of himself. Rachael is ten months younger than our kids and when the three of them get together it’s nonstop action. And very loud. Despite the presence of several adults, when you have very energetic three year old twins and a rambunctious two year old, anything can happen so it’s kind of all hands on deck.

November 17, 2010

Hot Beverages & Holiday Giveaway Series #3 {Webisode 50}

What’s Going on Today: Actually preparing for the holiday season, ordering gifts, making shopping lists.

Tonight’s Menu: Leftover Beef Tenderloin, Green Beans, Peppermint Patty Brownies.

Naptime Goals: Relax with some delicious hot chocolate and tell you all about my favorite winter beverages.

Parenting Lesson of the Day: You’ll always be amazed at what they ask Santa for Christmas (a trampoline?!)

Today is kind of a fun one. I was brewing up my favorite Christmas tea the other morning – Celestial Seasoning’s Nutcracker Sweet, in case you are wondering – and was struck with inspiration. I use my electric tea kettle daily (thank you Linda & Ginger, it was a most excellent wedding gift) and I was wondering if you all ever use one too. It is definitely the fastest way to boil water. It also is great for filling water baths when baking souffles, dissolving sugar and espresso powder and a whole host of other things when cooking and baking. If you don’t have one, why don’t I give you one? This time there are no sponsors, just me giving you one of my favorite kitchen appliances (a new one though, not the actual kettle from my kitchen) and a box of tea. And, while we are at it, let’s talk hot beverages.

November 16, 2010

Gerri’s Southern Chicken Pileau {Naptime Tales from the Trenches}

A Southern Table

A Southern Table

Gerri is a southern girl through and through. A mom, wife and college student she leads a busy life (to say the least!) but still finds time for great food. Here she shares her recipe for Southern Chicken Pileau and the flood of warm family memories it brings.

Having grown up in the deep south, I am blessed to have a wonderful heritage.  Remembering my grandmother’s kitchen, I am drawn back into a time that is now long gone.  However, in my mind’s eye I can still hear, see, and smell the inviting aroma that floated out of her kitchen.  It was divine!  Countless times she would let me stand on my tiptoes in a chair away from the stove and watch her fry chicken in her “black spider” (cast iron frying pan).  It was almost hypnotizing, making it hard for me to look away.  Watching her make biscuits was like watching an artist sculpt a one-of-a-kind masterpiece.  Her hands would mold and shape the dough without any effort.  The warm vanilla fragrance that would permeate the entire house when she was making banana pudding was one I could recognize even blindfolded.  She had no formal education, but one would have to be schooled to cook with love the way she did.  I enjoyed her kitchen and her love for many, many years.  Even though she passed away in 2001, I keep her memory alive by cooking.

November 16, 2010

Holiday Giveaway Series #2: Helping Local Hospitals with 77Kids & Giftcard Giveaway!

77Kids Wish 4 Snow

Yesterday morning I had the pleasure of decorating snowflakes at the 77 Kids store in Danbury Connectictut, with some fellow bloggers and friends, to support the local childrens center at Danbury Hospital. We are all busy this holiday season but there is always time to help those less fortunate.

In honor of helping children in need 77 Kids has commenced the holiday program Wishes 4 Snow. Visit this site to design a digital snowflake, it is a lot of fun and takes less than three minutes. If 100,000 people design snowflakes 77 Kids will donate $25,000 to select children’s hospitals around the country. How great is that! The best part is that you can do everything right from your computer, no purchase necessary. We all have to the time to help others and this is a great way to do it, ask your kids to help you, too!

snowflakes for 77 kids

To thank you for helping them with their mission 77 Kids has generously donated a $50 giftcard to one lucky winner to help out with your holiday shopping.

To be entered to win a $50 77 Kids giftcard courtesy of 77 Kids please follow these steps:

1) Visit Wishes 4 Snow and design a digital snowflake

2) Follow 77 Kids on Facebook

3) For an extra entry follow 77 Kids on Twitter and tweet why you love their store using the hashtag #77kids

4) Leave a comment here telling me about your favorite way to helps others over the holidays.

5) Contest runs from November 15th at 9pm ET through Monday November 22nd at 11:59am.

I was compensated to attend this program by 77Kids and The Motherhood.

November 11, 2010

Uncle Will’s Mexican Lasagna {Webisode #49}


What’s Going on Today: Close to meeting book deadline #1, attempting Christmas card photos, laundry!

Naptime Goals: Make Uncle Will’s Mexican Lasagna, writing, fifth and sixth laundry load of the day (cold weather = more clothes to wash)

Tonight’s Menu: Mexican Lasagna, Spanish Rice, Green Salad.

Parenting Lesson of the Day: Out goes Halloween, in comes Christmas shopping…

My cooking genius brother, Uncle Will, is back! In celebration of getting close to meeting one of my first book deadlines I’ve taken a break from recipe testing and am making his Mexican Lasagna. If you read the words Mexican Lasagna and think, wow, Kelsey, this is going to be a calorie-fest, well, you’re right. It’s not exactly light on the hips, but that’s okay if you only make it once or twice a year.

My brother fine-tuned his love for Mexican food during his Coast Guard years in San Diego. A city renowned for it’s fantastic fish tacos was definitely the right place for him to hone his palate for all things spicy and fresh. He returned to the east coast with all sorts of new dishes and recipes. I mean, we always liked taco night as kids, but he took taco night to a whole new level when he came home with stuff like this in his back pocket.

November 9, 2010

Emily’s Case Against Family Dinner & Veal Stew for Two {Naptime Tales from the Trenches}

Veal Stew

Emily Paster is a busy woman. This mom of two, wife and part-time law professor lives in Chicago and writes about work-life balance on her blog, West of the Loop. When Emily responded to my query for guest posts she proposed an interesting essay topic: the case against the family dinner with a recipe for her favorite veal stew. Fitting great food into family life, she says, is a challenge with two young children. One of her concessions in recent years has been to eat with her husband after they are asleep. I was interested and excited to hear her argument. I have to say, after reading her essay I do agree with her on many points. There are usually one or two nights a week when we put my daughter to bed before eating dinner ourselves. It’s like having date night in our own kitchen. What do you think about family dinner? How do you feel? Let us know, Emily and I would love to hear.

Shhh…do you want to hear a secret? Come a little closer. Okay, here goes: my family doesn’t eat dinner together and I couldn’t be happier about it.

Are you shocked? Do you think my children will grow up to be overweight glue-sniffing felons? I’m actually pretty confident that my children are going to turn out okay despite my flagrant disregard for the importance of family dinner. You see, my husband and I have given up family dinners in favor of two other considerations that we believe are equally important: early bedtimes and happily married parents.

My husband works long hours.  Most nights, he arrives home at 6:45 pm. That is simply too late for our children, ages seven and three, to wait to eat dinner and still get to bed at what we consider a decent hour. Instead, I feed the kids their dinner around 6 pm and then, when Daddy walks in at quarter to seven, they are ready to head upstairs for baths and the bedtime routine, a routine which is handled exclusively by my husband. That way, the kids get some dedicated time with Daddy every evening.

November 8, 2010

Holiday Gift Series #1: Masterbuilt Butterball Turkey Fryer Giveaway!

Masterbuilt Butterball Fryer

When I received my very own Masterbuilt Turkery Fryer in the mail this week I was initially skeptical. Would it make my life easier, not harder? Would it produce the moist, delicious turkey I love, without making a huge mess and burning my fingers in the process? The answer? Yes. I kid you not, this machine is quite the thing when it comes cooking turkey this year. When I tried it this week the turkey came out perfectly cooked and tender. Best of all, I was able to cook the entire thing while my daughter was at school. Doing it for the first time while she wasn’t underfoot was helpful, though now I’ll be able to do it with her in the kitchen with no problem. It is that easy to use.

We all will be tackling a lot this Thanksgiving and I want to help make your cooking responsibilities easier. Fry up a turkey with this piece of machinery, Naptime Chef your Twice-Baked Potatoes and bake a nice big batch of Pumpkin Bars. That’s all you need for a great family meal!

To give you a quick summary, the Butterball Turkey Fryer from Masterbuilt has the following features:

•                     The fryer is retailed at $159.96

•                     Adjustable thermostat temperature control

•                     Stainless steel construction

•                     Porcelain-coated inner pot

•                     Digital timer

•                     Folding lid with window and filter

•                     Cooking basket with drain clip

•                     Drain Valve for easy cleaning

•                     Saves on oil – uses 1/3 less than conventional turkey fryers

•                     It can feed up to 8 people when frying a 14 lb turkey

Don’t believe me? Check out this fun video on how to use it.

To celebrate my newfound appreciation for this piece of machinery I am giving one away courtesy of Masterbuilt! The winner will also receive a $15 coupon for a Butterball Turkey and a copy of Dadgum That’s Good! A cookbook from John McLemore, the CEO of Masterbuilt.

To Enter For Your Chance to Win here are the rules:

1. Sign up for my newsletter on the upper left side of this page (I’ll be checking!)

2. Be a fan on my Facebook Fanpage here (I’ll be checking!)

3. Tell me how you think this Masterbuilt Butterball Turkey Fryer will help you this holiday season!

4. Contest runs from Monday November 8th through 11:59pm ET on Monday November 15th.

5. Winner will be selected by Random.org and has 5 days to claim his/her prize. After that the prize will be awarded to another person.

Happy Thanksgiving!

November 4, 2010

Apple Spice Bundt Cake with Maple-Sugar Glaze for Fall Fun {Webisode #48}

What’s Going on Today: Prepping for Halloween night, having a bbq with the neighbors!

Naptime Goals: Make Apple Spice Bundt Cake with Maple Glaze, buy beer.

Tonight’s Menu: Brats, Dip, Cake, Beer.

Parenting Lesson of the Day: Halloween is now an endurance holiday, it lasts almost as long as Christmas!

Halloween has proved to be a much longer holiday than I expected. When I was little it was one night of trick-or-treating. But sometime in the thirty year span between my childhood and my daughter’s, Halloween morphed into a much bigger deal. Over the course of the weekend we attended no fewer than four events all of which required costumes and receiving candy. Not to mention the Halloween themed meals, school parties and presents (!) that preceded the big day. I couldn’t believe how busy we were!

By the end of the weekend my Blue Tootsie Pop (her costume idea) was tuckered out. To make the actual day of Halloween fun and relaxed my neighbors and I decided to have a little bbq and restrict trick-or-treating to our local neighborhood only. We wanted to give it the family fun feeling, strolling the streets, chatting with neighbors, that we remembered from growing up.

November 2, 2010

Aimee’s Harvest Dinner {Naptime Tales from the Trenches}

Butternut Squash Puree

Butternut Squash Puree for Harvest Dinner

Aimee Wimbush-Bourque is the editor of Simple Bites and the well-known blog Under the High Chair. She is also a culinary school graduate and busy mom of two. I never cease to be amazed at her fabulous inventive recipes and the techniques she employs to fit great food into her daily life. Today I invited her to share some stories about cooking with her kids and her recent harvest dinner. I loved hearing how she cooked her family meal over the course of several days and enjoyed it every step of the way. Note: For more of my interview with Aimee, and her amazing recipe for Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese, come over to Babble and take a look.

Naptime Chef: Your boys are no longer infants but when they were, what kind of cooking methods did you employ to get table on the table every night?

Aimee: Parents of young children will agree that kids like to be right where the action is when they’re trying to make dinner. That’s right, directly underfoot. Now that I have two children of my own, it seems they appear at my elbow as soon as I pull out my Kitchen Aid. Fortunately, I wouldn’t have it any other way!

As parents, we have a responsibility to make eating about more than just putting food in our mouths.  Take the time to make the gathering and preparing of food, as well as the crucial sitting down together around the dinner table, central to eating.

First things first, however, be sure to teach your children the importance of kitchen safety and set boundaries early.

I have a few tricks that I employ when I need to get dinner on the table. Since the little ones wanted to be where I am, I don’t fight it (impossible anyway!) and often set them up to play in the corner of the kitchen.

They have one cupboard and one drawer that they are free to rifle through and ‘cook’ with the contents. I also occasionally set up ‘rice play’ – think mini indoor sandbox, but with post-dated rice, a few toy machines, and plenty of measuring spoons & cups.

If I’m canning or doing something that requires my full attention, I keep them occupied at the table with art supplies or play dough, and keep the youngest strapped into a booster seat so I can decide when he gets down!

I’ve also discovered that popsicles are my friends. My incredibly active 2 year old sits in his high chair for a full twenty minutes and enjoys a homemade popsicle. That usually gives me enough time to prep supper in the afternoon, if for some reason, he’s decided to skip his nap.