What’s Going on Today: A little fun with the awesome King Arthur Flour package of pie making goodies that just arrived.
Naptime Goals: Make and bake Dried Cherry Apple Streusel Pie to celebrate National Cherry Pie Day
Tonight’s Menu: Dinner out with Mom!
Right before I left for Thailand I was invited to celebrate National Cherry Pie day withKing Arthur Flour. Any chance I have to work with my baking mecca is a priority for me! I adore everything about their products and am a huge fan of The Baking Sheet, their bimonthly baking newsletter. The Editor in Chief of the publication, Susan Reid (a fellow bobcat!), is incredibly talented. Every recipe printed has been tested over and over by her skilled team until it is just right. Trust me, I bake a lot from that publication and everything always turns out brilliantly.
We got an iPad for Christmas and I’ve totally fallen in love with it. I never thought they were a big deal, but now that we have one I’m not sure why we waited so long to get it! One of the first things I did on December 26th was load it up with foodie apps I’d been hearing a lot about. Of all the ones I bought there are four I’ve been turning to constantly for information and inspiration over the past few months. I’ve even find myself turning to them on the road when travel! If you are in the market for an awesome, parent-friendly, foodie apps here are a four I highly recommend:
I am in packing mode so this week is all about speed and convenience without compromising taste, of course. One of my go-to quick meals is the classic panini.There are nearly endless combinations of what can be pressed between two slices of bread and this particular recipe was inspired by a panini I ate at LaGuardia airport last November. Yes, you read that correctly, a sandwich bought at an airport inspired me. I tell you – good food can be found just about anywhere!
I’ll share the menu I am naptime cooking for tonight at a later date. I am experimenting with a few new techniques and I don’t want to write about anything until I know they work (!) In the mean time, since you are reading this on actual Valentine’s Day I thought I would post a few last-minute tips for wooing your sweetie tonight. Most parents I know, like us, will be spending the night in and celebrating with something more formal over the weekend must like Brooke and James told us about last week. If you are scrambling to pull together a romantic meal tonight here are a few naptime cooking tips for you:
1) Keep it Simple & Fun: Complicated dishes do not spell romance. In fact, they can sometimes kill the mood when nothing goes as planned and you’re dialing for take-out at nine o’clock. Try things like salmon-roasted pesto, tomato soup, or a simple busy day buccatini. If you have time to make things ahead today, do it. Then assemble for dinner and you are golden!
2) Splurge on the cocktails: I great cocktail can take a simple, classic meal over the top. Heck, why not serve margaritas with soup? I don’t think there is anything wrong with that. I like the Filthy Fizz a lot, it is perfect for tonight!
3) Chocolate: I mean, really, even if you are serving take-out or some pre-made food go all out with the chocolate dessert. Seriously – a sensual rich chocolate cake is a universally romantic gesture. Have you ever heard anyone complain that their rich chocolate tart simply wasn’t romantic enough? I haven’t either. There is a reason why.
I love drinking good wine, but personally find it daunting to select a good wine on my own. In fact, I usually find myself chatting up the sommelier or wine store owner to find something I think I might like before I make a commitment to buying anything. Today I am invited my friend Sasha of Spin the Bottle NY to share her tips for buying wine. Specifically, I wanted her to share suggestions for buying wine at restaurants and getting the most of out a bottle for Valentine’s Day. After all, I firmly believe us parents deserve a great bottle of wine and if we are going to splurge, let’s do it right!
1) Navigating a wine list can be a minefield – what are your tips for picking out delicious, budget-friendly wines at a restaurant where the wine list is several pages long?
It doesn’t have to be a minefield. I always check out a restaurant’s wine list online before I visit. Pick out a few wines in your price range and spend a few minutes researching them. It’s a worthwhile investment of your time. Better to spend the evening gazing into the eyes of your loved one that staring at a wine list, no?
Tell the sommelier what you’re looking for, and don’t shy away from establishing a price range. Tell her you want something under $40 — or if you feel awkward saying a dollar amount out loud, point to a wine in your price range on the list and tell her you want something for around that price. Mention some wines you know you like (or ones you don’t) to give her a sense of your taste.
Word to the wise: asking for a “dry” wine is virtually meaningless. Almost every wine on the list will be made in a “dry” style. If by “dry” you mean mouth-drying and a little bitter, like oversteeped tea, then you really mean “tannic.” (Wines made from Cabernet Sauvignon, for example, can be quite tannic.) And if you mean zesty and mouth-puckering, like a glass of tart lemonade, then you mean “acidic.” (Sauvignon Blanc is the quintessential example here.) Being precise with these terms will help you get what you want.
Finally, look beyond the tried-and-true (Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne, Napa) for the best values. Southern France and Spain are two regions I always look to, as well as off-the-beaten track regions in California. And this is just me, but I rarely order Pinot Noir-based wines when I’m out at a restaurant. It’s very tough to get this grape right. Inexpensive Pinots aren’t much to write home about–and good Pinots at a restaurant mark-up can be seriously pricey.
