The Naptime Chef

What’s Going on Today: Cool fall day, enjoy leaf collecting and carving our first jack-o-lantern.

Tonight’s Menu: Pork Tenderloin, Crispy Squashed Potatoes, Green Salad.

Naptime Goals: Prep the tenderloin and potatoes.

Parenting Lesson of the Day: Take a cautious approach to pumpkin carving with toddlers, it looks a tad scary to them!

With the cooler weather I am back to cooking heartier food. Earlier this week I shared my crispy potato experiment, which was a big success, and this was the meat I chose for the main course. I wanted to pair my starchy potatoes with something solid and hearty but not an actual steak. Pork tenderloin fits the bill for these sorts of occasions. In the past I’ve purchased the pre-flavored tenderloins at the market but have decided I prefer flavoring it myself.

My friend Caroline is the mother of two boys, 3 and 2 years old respectively. She is one busy woman! When I asked her to share a favorite treat she enjoys with her children she told me about Amee’s Lace Cookies. Sometimes Caroline bakes these with her boys and other times she enjoys her time baking when they are at school. Her school time, she explained, is her time to do errands and get things taken care of around the house. She is a classic Naptime Chef fitting great food into family life!

My great-grandmother Amee is the source of this delicious recipe.  These cookies remain a staple in my family.  My relatives and I have wonderful memories of Amee’s cookie tin, which was lined with wax paper and filled with her exquisite lace cookies.  As children, we would make a bee line to the refrigerator in her house on each visit, as the tin was stored on top!

The ingredients for lace cookies are as simple as the recipe.  Furthermore, no large quantities of any one item are needed, so chances are that you already have everything in your kitchen.

The name of the cookies comes from the lace-like holes that are formed when they bake. Lace cookies are delicate and fragile, but not to worry, the crumbs are tasty as the whole cookie!

Hi! Today’s post is over here and it’s all about my amazing trip to Portland Oregon as part of the Good Egg Project. Come on over and take a look!!

What’s Going on Today: Tropical storm gusting through town, indoors playing after school.

Naptime Goals: Put chicken thighs in to marinate, prepare measuring cups for Honey Spiced Madeleines.

Tonight’s Menu: Soyaki Chicken Thighs, jasmine rice, madeleines.

Parenting Lesson of the Day: Madeleine/Madeline, it really comes down to living in an old house in Paris covered in vines.

The first tropical storm of the season raged through Connecticut the other day. We were stuck inside for most of it, only venturing out for school and swimming lessons. I have to admit, I didn’t really mind the weather-induced seclusion. It gave me an excuse to stay inside and pay attention to my neglected household chores. Plus, it gave my daughter and I a chance to embark on a baking project. For inspiration I flipped open my newest favorite cookbook, Around My French Table by Dorie Greenspan, to find a child-friendly goody we could make together. I love this new book so much that today I am giving away a copy! (Entry rules below).

What’s Going on Today: Second activity of the weekend, apple picking at nearby farm. Daughter loves the tractor!

Naptime Goals: Slice apples for Cinnamon-Sugar Apple Chips, make Maple Syrup Baked Acorn Squash.

Tonight’s Menu: Same as this one!

Parenting Lesson of the Day: “Chips” are always a hit!

Apple picking is a huge fall activity in Connecticut and we were happy to join in the fun last weekend. There is a farm nearby that boasts apple trees, a petting zoo and farm stand. As you can imagine, it is just about the busiest place in the world on Saturdays.  My daughter simply adored riding the tractor wagon up to the orchards. In fact, adored might not be the right word – she is still talking about it two weeks later! It took us about ten minutes flat to pick a bag of apples just as big, if not bigger, then my own child and we headed back down the tractor trail from whence we came.

What’s Going on Today: Having friends over for dinner, taking advantage of the great fall weather with a walk at the Audubon Park.

Tonight’s Menu: BBQ Chicken, Baked Pasta with Vegetables and Smoked Mozzarella, Salad, Roasted Asparagus, Heart-Stopping Bread, Pumpkin Bars

Naptime Goals: Bake Pasta Casserole, Pumpkin Bars, prepare the bread for the oven.

Parenting Lesson of the Day: It’s a little alarming at how quickly they take to the idea of partying!

When I came across this bread on The Pioneer Woman the other day it’s dark crispy crust caught my eye. I wanted to serve bread at an upcoming dinner party but the menu didn’t call for my usual garlic variety. Why not, I thought, give this decadent recipe a try. I’ve been upping my gym regimen lately what with all the book recipe testing, so it seemed to be as good a time as any to experiment with more butter than I ever thought possible for one loaf of bread.