The Naptime Chef

This is the latest installment of my Powernap column. The series where I share quick, easy food that can be made for all kinds of situations. Powernaps are short and sweet, and so are these recipes. These are the things I make in a jiffy when I need a quick snack, am in the mood for a recipe experiment, or simply need to clean out the pantry.

Today’s Powernap Situation: What is a delicious quick dessert that I can whip up in a snap during naptime and take to mom’s night out?

Last week I volunteered to bring something sweet to mom’s night out. I was so excited by the prospect of spending time with girlfriends, something that happens far too rarely these days, that I wanted to eschew the usual cupcake/brownie/cookie kid-fare and treat everyone to a dessert with a distinctly adult feel. I envisioned something creamy and smooth with a hefty dose of chocolate (obviously), and maybe even a little bit of booze. I hardly ever incorporate liquor into our family baked goods, but I knew it would be no problem, maybe even welcomed, by a group of fellow moms. Enter Kentucky Derby Chocolate-Pecan Pie.

What’s Going on Today: Retrieving computer from Genius Bar (phew!), trip to Goodwill, back in the swing of things.

Naptime Goals: Make Vanilla Bean Toasted Coconut Pound Cake, revel in fixed computer!

Tonight’s Menu: Leftover Chicken Enchiladas, fresh mexican rice, grilled peppers

More Great Cakes: Apple Spice Bundt Cake with Maple Glaze, Lemon Pudding Cake, Pear Butter Cake,

Winter vacation was pretty uneventful. We had what you would call a “staycation,” the popular term for staying at home for an entire vacation week. My daughter didn’t seem to mind, thankfully, and was happily entertained with plenty of playdates and a fun trip the Mystic Seaport Acquarium. I was busy with work, as was my husband, so all in all it was a pretty normal week. I’ll admit though, after a week-long break from our routine I was quite happy when things returned to normal. Though my daughter napped every day during break, I spent most of that free time working on the book for my upcoming deadline. It wasn’t until this week when she went back to school, in addition to taking her naps, that I had some extra time to do some fun baking.

This is the latest installment of my Powernap column. The series where I share quick, easy food that can be made for all kinds of situations. Powernaps are short and sweet, and so are these recipes. These are the things I make in a jiffy when I need a quick snack, am in the mood for a recipe experiment, or simply need to clean out the pantry.

Today’s Powernap Conundrum: How use the almost-finished yogurt in the fridge before it has to be thrown out.

I am constantly on a quest to make sure nothing in my refrigerator goes to waste. This is easier said the done. Almost every week I find myself faced with containers of sour cream, ricotta, yogurt, buttermilk and the like, all only a quarter full, with very little time before their expiration date. Using up things like vegetables, fruit and eggs is easy…omelet with a side of fruit salad anyone? But using up the condiments is a task that requires a bit more creativity. The other day I found myself down near the bottom of the gigantor Stonyfield Fat Free Vanilla Yogurt container I buy every week. I’d been making our usually smoothies and granola yogurt snacks, but hadn’t used it all up. What, I wondered, could I do to finish off the container instead of throwing it out?

This is the latest installment of my Tales from the Trenches Series. An ongoing series where friends and readers share their stories and recipes about the great food they fit into family life. We all have tips and tricks to share with each other: when we cook, what we cook and how we cook the delicious food we love to eat. If you are interested in contributing a story and recipe please feel free to contact me. To my friend Adelaide Mueller is sharing her easy recipe for delicious Fettuccini alla Vodka and Caesar Salad. The recipes can be prepared ahead of time (like during naptime!) and assembled right before dinner. Adelaide frequently fits cooking and easy entertaining into after-work hours and weekends. She is trained in French cuisine and tests recipes for blogs and cookbooks (like mine, for example!), while also writing her own blog The Moonlight Chef.

Like many people, my husband and I rush through the week in anticipation of the weekend.  We occasionally get to eat dinner at home maybe once or twice a week, but with work and other commitments, we don’t get to do this as often as we’d like. Oftentimes, on a crazed night, we’ll stop by our favorite neighborhood pizza spot or Korean restaurant.  And on the weekends, we’ll often meet friends out.  So when we do get to pull up chairs to our own table, light the candles and fold the linen napkins, I like to make something special and involved.

For a long time, Citarella’s vodka sauce was our favorite weekend meal.  Spooned on top of pasta and topped with freshly shredded Parmesan cheese, it made us happy. As I began to feel more confident and comfortable creating my own recipes, I decided to take on our preferred jar of pasta sauce. Once I figured out what made this sauce so delicious (heavy cream, high-quality canned whole tomatoes, a splash of vodka) and the texture so unique (cubed pancetta, delicate leaves of basil and strings of onions) I went to the stove.

Fun news, this week I’m co-hosting an upcoming class in the Web’s first-ever virtual cooking school, Cooking Connections, and I would love for all of you to join me!  Here’s what you need to know to participate:

When: Wednesday, March 2, at 1 p.m. ET

Where: TheMotherhood – here is the link to the page where the class will be held: http://www.themotherhood.com/talk/show/id/62135

And here is the registration page for all Cooking Connections classes: http://www.themotherhood.com/cookingconnections

What: The class I am co-hosting is called “Expanding Your Family’s Palate by Placating Picky Eaters,” and it is hosted by Jennifer Leal (Savoring the Thyme) and Kimberly Coleman (Mom in the City). We will be talking about how to make meals work for all members of the family, healthy and interesting foods that kids AND adults love, and strategies for getting picky eaters to try new things.  Join us, and feel free to ask questions, share recipes or chime in with your own suggestions!

The class is sponsored by ConAgra and hosted by TheMotherhood.

I hope to see you there!

My other fabulous co-hosts are:

Jen Rabulan-Bertram, Next Kid Thing, http://nextkidthing.com/
Marla Meridith, Family Fresh Cooking, http://www.familyfreshcooking.com/
Kristy Bernardo, The Wicked Noodle, http://www.thewickednoodle.com/
Jo-Lynne Shane, Musings of a Housewife, http://www.musingsofahousewife.com
Dara Michalski, Cookin’ Canuck, http://cookincanuck.blogspot.com
Brooke McLay, Cheeky Kitchen, http://www.cheekykitchen.com/
Shaina Olmanson, Food for My Family, http://foodformyfamily.com/
Carol Cain, NY City Mama, http://nycitymama.com/
Shari Simpson-Cabelin, Earth Mother just means I’m dusty, http://dustyearthmother.typepad.com/dusty/home.html
Amy Johnson, She Wears Many Hats, http://www.shewearsmanyhats.com/
Stacie Billis, One Hungry Mama, http://onehungrymama.com/

What’s Going on Today: Lazy Saturday morning at home.

Naptime Goals: Wrap up book recipe testing, catch up with husband after being away last week.

Tonight’s Menu: Book recipe (shhh! can’t tell)

Last week I was trolling my mother’s recipe box for new ideas and pulled out this recipe for pancakes. She smiled broadly when I asked her about it which I took as a sign to prepare myself for warm family stories about how my grandmother used to make them for her and her siblings growing up. But, instead, she told me how she used to make the pancake batter when she visited my elderly grandmother, Harriet, once a week, and how Harriet would use the batter to make herself three pancakes each morning all week long. My mother would repeat this batter-making process at her visit the following week, and so on, enabling Harriet to make fresh pancakes for herself for years on end. In short, these weren’t the food of my mother’s childhood, they were the food of my grandmother’s widowhood.

This is the latest installment of my Powernap column. The series where I share quick, easy food that can be made for all kinds of situations. Powernaps are short and sweet, and so are these recipes. These are the things I make in a jiffy when I need a quick snack, am in the mood for a recipe experiment, or simply need to clean out the pantry.

Today’s Powernap: Need insta-satisfying salty snack, preferebly not laden with calories.

Like most people, I am often faced with instant gratification snack dilemma: I want a salty snack right this second (!!), but not a boat load of calories. Everyone touts the benefits of snacking on vegetables. But, I’ll be honest, I rarely consider vegetables a satisfying snack unless they are roasted and placed atop a garlic rubbed crostini. For quick mid-day snacks I usually crave something salty and crunchy, like potato chips or crisp french friends. The only problem with those is that they are not known for being bathing suit friendly, and with summer approaching I need to be mindful of my waistline! When faced with my snack dilemma the other day I had to think fast. Last week I OD’d on Dorie’s delicious buttery Jammer cookies and knew I needed to dial it down this week to compensate for the several sticks of butter I’d already ingested. Enter spiced popcorn.