The Naptime Chef

What’s Going on Today: Send daughter out for the morning with babysitter. Set up yearly pickling project with Dad.

Naptime Goals: Process pickles in the water bath after a whole morning spent pickling.

Tonight’s Menu: Mom’s cooking!

Parenting Lesson of the Day: Always save an extra pint jar for the kids to play with!

Most days I cook during naptime and have the rest of the day to go about life with a toddler. But last week in Cooperstown I deviated from this routine. Once a year my Dad and I set aside a morning to make my grandmother’s famous recipe for Bread & Butter pickles. It’s not exactly a difficult recipe, but pickling takes times and can’t be rushed.

Bread and Butter Pickles

I set my daughter up for the morning with an awesome babysitter, Helen. Armed with ample supplies of chalk, watercolors and donut money I knew they’d be just fine. Then, my Dad and I set to work. As you’ll see, making these pickles is not complicated. It just requires attention to detail – especially when operating the automatic KitchenAid chopper – and patience. We pulled together the sliced pickle mixture in about half and hour, then they had to sit for three in the ice and salt bath. (I used the 2.5 hr break in the action to take a nice long jog.) After we rinsed and drained the pickle mixture we made the brew, added the pickles and processed the jars in the waterbath.

This recipe was handed down from my grandmother and is very sentimental. Her notebook of canning instructions and recipes for family food contain many cherished memories and notes. My father remembers eating most of it as a child and I, in turn, hope my daughter will as well. Though her food wasn’t terribly unique – she certainly didn’t invent Bread & Butter pickles – they are things she made every year for my father and he, in turn, for us.

What’s Going on Today: Spending a week in Cooperstown, trip to the farmer’s market, morning at the lake.
Naptime Goals: Shuck corn for boiling, spend time in the garden reading.
Tonight’s Menu: Grilled corn, grilled sausage, tomatoes with cucumbers.
Parenting Lesson of the Day: Ironically, children seem to sleep better when they’re on vacation.

Growing up in the heart of upstate NY corn country has made me a bit of a corn snob. I refuse to eat corn that is shrink-wrapped in the grocery store or, likewise, is sold in cans filled with wet goo. I like my ears fresh off the stalk, or not at all. For six weeks each year I eat it practically every night and still find myself wishing the season would never end. I can’t remember a summer I haven’t had it, and hope I never do.

I am in Cooperstown on vacation right now and, as you’ll see, I’ve been snapping up corn at the farmer’s market left and right. The corn in this region is so sweet and tasty this year it could almost be served for dessert. There are two ways I like to cook corn and I’ve filmed them both here. The boiling method is easy and delivers guaranteed results. The grilling method is slightly more involved, but gives each ear a slightly smokey caramelized flavor I find irresistible.

Since many hands make light work I’ve been spending less time cooking dinner during my visit. Instead, my parents and I split responsibilities, each working on one portion of the meal. Corn is great to be in charge of because it barely requires any attention. Even during naptime the most work I put into it is shucking the stalks or putting them in water to soak. The rest of my free time is spent catching up with friends and family and enjoying the garden. Which is exactly what summer vacation should be.

Corn, Two Ways

Boiling Corn: Shuck the ears of corn and remove all the silk. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook for 7 minutes. Start timing the cooking AFTER the water has returned to a boil. Remove from pot with a pair of tongs and serve hot with lots of butter.

Grilling Corn: Remove silk from the tips of corn. Fill a large pot or sink basin with cool water and soak corn for 20-30 minutes. Heat a grill to medium flame. Remove the corn from the water and shake the excess water off, but don’t dry it with a towel. Place wet corn on the grill and turn it occasionally for 10 minutes. Remove from heat, pull off husks and serve hot with lots of butter.

Naptime Notes:
Naptime Recipe Ideas: Flavored butters are delicious with corn. Alternatively, take the corn off the stalk and use it for corn salad.
Naptime Stopwatch: The boiling method takes approximately 20 minutes from start to finish (including shucking time) and the grilling method takes 40 minutes (including soaking time).
Naptime Reviews: We like the grilling method for the added flavor, but the boiling method works beautifully on days when we don’t turn on the grill.

What’s Going on Today: Errands! Library, dry cleaner, playground break (wearing a purple tutu of course.)
Naptime Goals: Laundry, Carrot Souffle, Peppermint Patty Brownies.
Tonight’s Dinner: Uncle Will’s Ribs, Souffle, Bread, Brownies for dessert.
Parenting Lesson of the Day: Sometimes it’s a good idea to let them pick out their own outfits, sometimes it’s not.

I’ve been on a bit of a brownie kick lately. I’m not sure why, but I guess one doesn’t really need an excuse to bake brownies. They are perfect in both winter and summer, served warm or chilled. On occasion I’ve been known to swirl in caramel, cream cheese or jam, and other times I’ve added espresso powder and chocolate chips. This week I decided to top them with a layer of peppermint icing. I’ve always loved the flavors of chocolate and mint together and this brownie is one it’s best iterations.

I call these Peppermint Patty Brownies for the obvious reason, they taste just like my favorite York, only a million times better. Each bite brings with it a deep chocolate taste and icy mint chill that’s decadent and refreshing all at once. I made these the other day mostly for fun. You know I like to always have a sweet nibble around the house and these brownies just happened to be what I was craving that day.

Baking the brownies during my daughter’s naptime was a snap. Since they shouldn’t be frosted until completely cooled, I made the peppermint and chocolate icings while the brownies were baking and kept them in the fridge until later that afternoon. The brownies had cooled by then and I frosted them while the ribs were on the grill. Thankfully my daughter was deeply involved in her doodling while I did this, lest she have spotted me and insisted on licking the spatula and ruining her dinner. I introduced them after she cleaned her plate and we all enjoyed our fun family dessert.

What’s Going on Today: Trip to The Garbage Museum (no joke, watch the video).
Naptime Goals: Prepare Baked Tomatoes with Parmesan & Herbs, Cookie Crumble Parfaits.
Tonight’s Menu: Tagliatelle, Baked Tomatoes, Cookie Crumble Parfaits, Wine (for the parents)
Parenting Lesson of the Day: Never underestimate the appeal of garbage!

It’s hard to believe that we spent an entire morning at The Garbage Museum, but we did. I have to say, it was quite an educational outing that all the parents, unexpectedly, enjoyed! When we came home from our inspiring outing my daughter crashed for a long afternoon nap. While she rested I used the time to prepare dinner with some of the great tomatoes I’d recently brought home from the farmer’s market.

I love cooking with tomatoes and can’t get enough of them in the summer when they are so readily available. It’s not unusual that I roast tomatoes. If you remember, last summer I wrote about how I love to slow-roast them during naptime and eat them all afternoon. This summer I decided to write about another favorite recipe, baked tomatoes. Here you’ll see that I drizzle them with a generous coating of olive oil, stuff them with a mixture of Parmesan and herbs and keep them in the fridge until I roast them for dinner. Easy and delicious, they are a great way to celebrate summer flavor.

What’s Going on Today: Morning at the beach, afternoon hosting friend’s bridal shower with Mom.
Naptime Goals: Set out napkins, dessert plates and centerpiece.
Today’s Menu: Lemon Cake, Fruit Salad, Meringues, Homemade Snickers Bars, Champagne.
Parenting Lesson of the Day: When hosting parties keep the kids far, far away from the house.

There was a period in my 20’s when I attended a bridal shower or wedding every other week. That era seems to be over now that most of my friends are, in fact, married. Instead, those bridal showers have been swapped for baby showers, baptisms and the like. I have to say, I kind of miss the exciting parties that surrounded all of our weddings. It was such an fun time, the start of a new chapter, picking out flowers and china. Last weekend I was thrilled to relive that excitement when my Mom and I hosted my friend’s younger sister’s bridal shower. It was a chance to dust off our champagne flutes, do up the house with ribbons and host some present-opening fun.

As a centerpiece for our afternoon dessert buffet my Mom ordered a professional cake in the shape of the bride’s house. It was lemon flavored, layered with thin swipes of jam and whipped cream. It was decadent to boot and it was up to me to figure out how to supplement the citrus sponge with a few more sweet nibbles. Since I love just about any recipe by Dorie Greenspan and, of course, we needed something chocolate, I decided to try out her recipe for Snickety Squares. They are the perfect make-ahead sweet and can easily be cut into bite size pieces.

I did a lot of preparation for the shower the day before. While my daughter napped I made the squares, baking the shortbread, layering the dulche de leche and chocolate, topping it all with caramelized peanuts. Then I set about folding the napkins, pulling platters out of the closet and doing some general clean-up in anticipation of guests the next day.

The squares chilled in the fridge overnight and I cut them into bite size pieces right before the shower. Not only did they prove easy to make, they looked great on the table and were the perfect foil for the rest of the buffet which was full of fruit flavors. The entire event came together beautifully though, truth be told, we were all paying more attention to our friend, the bride-to-be, then the food.

What’s Going on Today: Last day in Cooperstown, bike ride with daughter, blueberry picking with Dad!
Naptime Goals: Can 2 quarts of Blueberry Pie filling with my Dad.
Tonight’s Menu: Mom’s cooking (again!), I am in charge of the corn.
Parenting Lesson of the Day: Never let them wear treasured clothes when blueberry picking.

Last weekend in Cooperstown was so much fun that I’m still writing about it. Luckily, our visit coincided with the height of blueberry season. My Dad and I took my daughter blueberry picking one morning and came home with several pints. We also had a few more pints that we’d picked up at the farmer’s market so, come naptime, there was a lot to work with. As you saw earlier this week, I’d already made a cake and this time I wanted to do something different.

The unfortunate part about fruit pies in general is that they are typically seasonal due to the availability of the fruit. However, I have now found a way to get around this. Inspired by my friend Cathy, I made my usual blueberry pie filling recipe and canned it in quart jars for later. As you’ll see above, the process was incredibly simple and easily handled during naptime. Once the jars cooled we even took one right over to our friends house as a gift. I think I might have to dedicate a few more naptimes to canning fruit pie fillings. Not only will the larder be stocked with fresh, local berries for the whole winter, but I’ll have all of my Christmas presents completed by the end of July!

Yes, the rumors are true! The Naptime Chef: Fitting Great Food Into Family Life, my first cookbook, will be published by Running Press in Spring 2012. Just writing that sentence makes me want to jump out of my seat and do a little dance around the room! Or, at least, have another glass of champagne.

Selling a book is an awesome project. Awesome in the sense that it requires quite a bit of work, patience and time. It’s a bit of marathon really, from start to finish, and I definitely did not do it all by myself. This process would never even have started without my awesome agent Jenni. She saw the potential in the story from the start, coached me through the proposal and rallied me through the sale. Because of her I am looking forward to entire year of writing an fantastic cookbook filled to the brim with Naptime Chef recipes (some old, MOST new!) and I couldn’t be more grateful. I promise, I will write and cook my heart out to create a wonderful and true resource that will reside on your cookbook shelf for years to come. I also promise a few great book parties. And, a few more flutes of champagne.

So, my editor, Kristen, and I are off and running. I can’t wait to share more about the process of writing a cookbook the further I dive into this. Also, if anyone has suggestions for something they want to see in the book feel free to leave a comment and let me know. I’m all ears!

In the mean time, as if a new book weren’t enough, this lovely lady is redesigning my entire website that will be debuting in less than month. You can look forward easy navigation, great style and lots of printable recipe pages!

And, last but not least, I thank you, readers, for all of your support and enthusiasm. I look forward to giving you a true bound book that will prove exciting and invaluable. This is a day for all of us to celebrate. So, pour yourself a glass of bubbly and toast to the beginning of a new adventure!