The Naptime Chef

My Day So Far: Morning dentist visit (me), Museum of Natural History to see Live Butterfly exhibit (me, daughter, friends), noodle soup lunch to combat frigid temps!

Naptime Goals: Make Double Chocolate Espresso Cookies for in-law’s. Pack for weekend trip to Martha’s Vineyard.

Tonight’s Meal: Thai take-out. We are leaving at the crack of dawn and I am not cooking tonight!

Parenting Lesson of the Day: Caffeine and toddlers don’t mix.

These cookies have been a favorite of mine for the past couple of years and I’ve been wanting to write about them for a while. They might ring a bell for some of you because in November they achieved a previously unknown level of fame when, to my surprise, they won the chocolate cookie contest on food52. After seeing the entries of chocolatey deliciousness from the likes of Food Blogga, TasteFood and Savour-Fare, I figured my little cookies would have a slim-to-none chance of being recognized. However, lo and behold, much to my amazement, they were.

Excited by this unexpected showcase, my friends, family and fans took a look at the site, watched the video of Amanda and Merrill engaging in a chocolate cookie baking race (yes, it actually happened), and voted for them. Then, after their trip to food52, everyone sent me personal emails requesting that I bring them a batch the next time I visited.

No problem, I thought, after agreeing to the first few requests, it would be nice to share these with friends. But the emails never stopped. Not for One. Whole. Month. At one point I considered breaking all agreements and hosting a massive cookie buffet at my place instead, but my conscious got the better of me. If everyone took the time to vote, then making them their own batch was the least I could do. (FYI, I seriously have about 25 more batches to make before my obligations are fulfilled.)

People have told me what they like most about these cookies is how the espresso powder enhances the richness of the chocolate. However, not to worry, the intensity of it is kept in check by the addition of semisweet chocolate chips. These create warm pockets of a lighter chocolate flavor, balancing out the cookies’ overall taste and texture.

Most of the time I keep these out of my daughter’s reach because I whip up the dough during her naptime, and bake them after she’s asleep at night. However, despite my best efforts, she has gotten hold of them a few times and had the time of her life. If you’ve ever seen a toddler on a caffeine high you’ll know what I mean when I say that, after eating these cookies, my child morphed into the Tasmanian Devil from that old Bugs Bunny cartoon. For your own safety, I recommend keeping these far out of reach of children, and slapping a parent safety warning on the container for good measure.

I am sorry it took so long to give you this recipe but, in a way, I’m glad I waited. We all need a little extra chocolate in January and this is the perfect time to share these cookies. They are just the thing to perk you up on a cold winter day. In fact, if you are like me, you might even sneak a few bites first thing in the morning. It is never too early for chocolate or espresso, and these are just the things to get you going.

My Day So Far: Post-holiday catch up: thank you notes, bill paying, grocery shopping (!), brunch with daughter at local bagel shop.

Naptime Goals: Make Artichoke Lasagna, take down Christmas decorations, catch up on after vacation pile o’ mail.

Tonight’s Meal: Artichoke Lasagna – we’ll have it for tomorrow night, too!

Parenting Lesson of the Day: Parents who say they never bribe their children are lying.

January 2nd is one of my least favorite days of the year. It indicates the end of the holiday season, the beginning of yet another cold northeastern winter, and requires that I snap out of holiday mode and get back to the daily grind. In short, on this particular day I find that there is very little to look forward to and lots of work to be done.

This year the start of the month proved to be no different on the work front, the only problem I had was figuring out where to begin. After a fun-filled ten days in Cooperstown I’d all but forgotten about my responsibilities here in New York. Upon returning we were faced with towering stacks of unpaid bills, a rather dusty apartment and bunches of stale-looking Christmas decorations. I have to say, the whole scene was rather forlorn, a feeling only furthered by a glance at the sad empty shelves in our fridge. Christmas baking was over and New Year’s entertaining complete, leaving me with two yogurts, a stick of butter and one small bag of fingerling potatoes. With no hope of utilizing these ingredients to assemble any kind of ad-hoc dinner, I quickly decided to commence my chores with the inevitable post-holiday large scale grocery shopping.

I am not above bribery when I need my daughter to be on her best behavior at the grocery store. There are plenty of occasions, like the one just this week, when I happily hand her a box of chocolate milk and cruise the aisles enjoying a kind of peace only brought on by typically verboten treats. In this instance her enjoyment of chocolate milk and pretzels allowed me to gather the ingredients for a week’s worth of meals including one of our favorite’s, Artichoke Lasagna.

Since I needed to buy myself some free time during naptime the following day for baking I decided to make this dish because it will last for at least two dinners. We also happen to love this particular lasagna because it showcases one of the best vegetables on the planet (according to me, at least) – artichokes! I first tasted it when my friend Barbara made it for me a few years ago. I was instantly smitten with it’s simple creamy white sauce, hint of salty parmesan, and buttery artichokes layered between thin noodles.

Barbara explained her variation was inspired by the Marcella Hazan recipe of the same name. However, Hazan’s recipe calls for endless sheets of homemade pasta, hand-trimmed artichokes and many many layers. While we both love the idea of these handmade ingredients, we generally agree that neither of us have the time to conquer all of these steps in the midst of busy family life. Instead we’ve developed a recipe that mimics the flavor of Hazan’s with simpler instructions for assembly.

I could write forever and ever about this deliciously simple lasagna, but I’ve made a video instead. I hope you enjoy it and see just how easy it is to make during the day or evening. I guarantee your family will love it. Happy New Year!

It is so exciting that people have seen me on television over the past two days. In case it hasn’t aired in your area yet, my good friends at WKTV Utica/Rome filmed me cooking earlier this month and put together a wonderful segment about The Naptime Chef. In it you’ll see me cooking my healthy, favorite Butternut Squash Ginger Soup with Cider for Television. I hope to put the actual clip up soon (complete with a reference to Julie & Julia!), but in the mean time here is the recipe!

Becoming a parent requires developing a new sensibility about home cooking. Nothing throws a wrench into a family’s food life like the birth of a baby. Gone are the long hours of free time available for “project cooking” and making homemade puff pastry. Once a child arrives we, the parents, are forced – often under extreme duress – to develop a whole new approach to our kitchens. All of sudden we find ourselves steeling free moments during the day and evening to cook dinner, bake cookies or simply mix a much-needed cocktail. In addition, any remaining blink of free time is used to complete basic, but necessary, household chores likes laundry and bill-paying. In short, all it takes is one baby to take everything we once knew about happily cooking at home, and turn it upside down.

I was sad to discover that cooking and eating at home had indeed become a problem for my friends over a playgroup discussion in 2008. As I shared my strategy for make-ahead Chicken Tortellini Soup and Eggplant and Prosciutto lasagna, several people confessed to succumbing to the formulaic solutions often foisted upon new families. Many of them were turning to uninspired boring ideas like meals made in a short time-frame, with 5 ingredients or less, or assembled with a “fast, easy, fix-it” mentality. They had given up any hope of enjoying good food. Instead, taking the position that family cooking is a problem that needs to be solved, rather than a daily routine that should be enjoyed. It was at that point I realized my personal home cooking strategy and recipes were more relevant then I had previously thought.

A year ago I started this blog to inspire parents and foodies alike, record my ideas and share my revised approach to home cooking as a parent. Since 2007, despite the ceaseless demands of my wonderful daughter, I have stubbornly refused to let go of my favorite activities, cooking and baking. Most of time I cook and bake during her afternoon naptime, sometimes I cook on the fly, and on many nights we have leftovers or, occasionally, take-out. But, not matter what, I insist on enjoying my time in the kitchen. In two short years I have made the transition from fun singles and couples cooking a la “Big Girls, Small Kitchen” – a time in my life I remember fondly – to becoming a true Naptime Chef.

The key to fitting great food into family life, I find, is to marry the voices of the foodie and the parent in my mind. My dishes are inspired by many sources including the farmer’s market, cookbooks, magazines or just what I happen to be craving that day. In that way I act like a complete foodie. However, before I actually cook or bake anything, I consider the time-frame in which it can be made, how many ways I can serve it and what might be freezer-friendly. In that way I think like a parent. Both perspectives are absolutely necessary when enjoying home cooking, they are inextricably intertwined. Parenting is forever, and good food should be, too.

I am glad you have joined me as I capture this time in my life and write it down for you to read. I hope you understand how I fit delicious food into my hectic daily life and feel inspired to do so in yours. In addition to my writing, I’ve also been filming my webisodes to demonstrate exactly how I do things in my kitchen. And, trust me, those videos are the absolute truth. I have never had any sort of regular nanny or babysitter, I film everything while my daughter is napping – from start to finish.

Thank you all for reading and leaving such wonderful comments, it is always much appreciated. I look forward to a fantastic coming year and already have lots on the docket to share with you. In the mean time, please feel free to leave any and all feedback, your thoughts are always welcome. Happy New Year!

2009 Highlights:

The Naptime Chef’s Cooking channel on MEVIO

The Kitchn, Holiday Guest Post

Bon Appetit Holiday Bake-Off participant

Food52 two-time winner

Woman Around Town profile

CafeMom profile

Babble Nibblers regular contributor

The Naptime Chef Recipe Index

(Also, my trademark was just approved!!)

Stay tuned for Thursday’s recipe, my very favorite French Silk Pie with Coconut Crust for the New Year!

My Day So Far: A happy relaxing Christmas Eve catching up with friends and family.

Naptime Goals: Take 10 minutes to whip up dough for Cinnamon Chip Scones tomorrow morning. Spend the rest of the day in front of fireplace.

Tonight’s Meal: Christmas dinner at a friend’s house = no cooking for me!

Parenting Lesson of the Day: There is nothing like the holidays and promises of Santa to send children into orbit!

A happy holiday season to all! I am stopping in with a quick post today because, no matter the occasion you are celebrating, you are going to need breakfast. Needless to say, given that I’ve risen at 7am or earlier for the past two years, I have become something of a breakfast expert. Pancakes in a jiffy? I’m your girl. Homemade yogurt shake with fresh berries? No problem. My daughter and I spend ample amount of time in the kitchen between the hour of 7 and 8am. She eats while I fix food for the both of us, and several cups of tea for me.

These scones are quickly becoming a traditional Christmas breakfast in our family. I’ve been experimenting with all sorts of scone recipes over the past few Christmases, even landing on one similar to what Megan wrote about earlier this month. I thought I’d stick with that recipe until my friend Nicole, a favorite source of delicious inspiration, generously contributed her own version.

Of course, it wouldn’t be a recipe to me if I didn’t spend some time tweaking the ingredients. To start with, I decided to use cinnamon chips. Mini-chocolate chips would be delicious too, of course, but cinnamon seemed like a particularly Christmas-breakfast like spice, sweet without being overly so. Then, per the suggestion of Nicole, I added some fresh orange zest and glossed the top with milk and a sprinkling of raw sugar. The result was a buttery, mildly cinnamon scone with a light flaky texture. Upon first bite I knew these were the ones I’d been looking for.

Like most good doughs, this one is perfect to make ahead of time. In fact, this afternoon I am whipping up a double batch and putting it in the fridge to bake tomorrow morning. Then I’ll be getting my daughter up from her nap and watching her tear around the house with excitement. At two years old she doesn’t quite understand that holidays yet, but she knows something fun is happening. I’m sure it will be hard to get her to sleep tonight, and, honestly, it will probably be hard for me to sleep, too. I’ll lay awake all snug in my bed, while visions of scones dance in my head.

My Day So Far: Christmas-chaos! Present wrapping, stocking-stuffer shopping, packing for Cooperstown, cleaning out the fridge, etc, etc, etc (!!!)

Naptime Goals: Make Ragu to get us through the next two nights before we travel. Finish, well…. everything. There is no end to what needs to get done before the 25th.

Tonight’s Meal: Ragu with Rigatoni.

Tomorrow’s Meal: Ragu over Polenta.

Parenting Lesson of the Day: Children are impervious to the cold; parents are not.

Ragu, one of my favorite cold weather foods, was on my mind earlier this month while reading Merrill’s post about it on Food52. After reading salivating over her article I moved it to the top of my winter foods list, my source of inspiration when the forecast calls for fleece-lined boots and trapper hats. The food gods must have been watching me work because right on cue, just days after writing r-a-g-u in my notebook, the thermometer plummeted from a balmy 50º to below freezing. It is no secret that I am not a fan of cold-weather, but in this instance I was kind of happy about it. Great, I thought, now it is officially the proper climate for making Ragu.

I get just as excited about my first go-round of favorite winter foods as I do by the first cookout of summer. Opening my binder to cold weather recipes signifies the start of the new cooking season. For me, pulling out instructions for lasagnas, stews and slow-cooker meals is like catching up with old friends. I read each one carefully, reacquainting myself with the flavors and cooking styles, then get excited about what I’m going to make first.

Reading over these recipes became even more relevant this year when I quickly realized my daughter does not share my distaste for the cold. She is completely unfazed by ice and frigid winds, requesting daily trips to the playground as if it were still August. If my winter continues this way, I think it means that I’ll be doing lots of cold-weather cooking this year. We will surely be in need of lots food to warm us up after chilly days outdoors.

Ragu is one of the most perfect cold weather meals, the rich meaty tomato sauce is a thick stick-to-your-ribs kind food that can be served any number of ways. As you’ll see, I serve it over pastas, polenta and have even eaten it on top of a thick slice of peasant bread sprinkled with cheese. Every time I make it I like to adjust the flavor by playing with the ingredients. In this webisode I’m using fresh pork sausage from my butcher, but I have also used ground lamb, beef and even turkey. I also like to change up the herbs and vegetables sometimes, both are easy and fun ways to alter the flavor of the sauce.

The true brilliance of making Ragu for families is that it can be eaten for several meals and freezes beautifully. I often make this during my daughter’s naptime and we eat it in a variety of forms for two or three days. Then I freeze a small container so that we have more stashed away for a night when I am dead tired at 5pm and haven’t done any Naptime Chef-ing. Luckily my daughter has taken to eating Ragu. Like most children she is a big fan of noodles, so my addition of a tasty red sauce makes her all the happier to clean her plate. I hope you all feel the same way! Enjoy!

My Day So Far: Distributed all the Christmas gift bags, weekly Friday farmers market visit, mushroom soup for mother/daughter lunch.
Naptime Goals: Write timeline for Christmas cooking next week, wrap gifts and hide them (!), make Katie’s Candy for tonight’s party.
Tonight’s Meal: Buccatini Alla’ Amatriciana – a favorite go-to dinner.
Parenting Lesson of the Day: Toddlers love unwrapping presents, even when they are not their own!

The Christmas spirit is alive and well in our house. My daughter has spent the day searching for gifts she suspects I’ve wrapped and hidden from her (she’s right) because she loves nothing more than tearing off paper and bows. Truth be told, I don’t think she really cares about what is actually underneath the paper, she is still at the stage where she just likes the act of unwrapping in general. In keeping with the holiday season we’ve been to several parties lately and we have another tonight. I am not hosting this particular party, but I do plan on taking some homemade Katie’s Candy to the hostess.

I’ve named this after the person who gave it to me because she deserves the credit. Katie has given me some of my favorite recipes over time, and this is yet another one from her treasure trove. Katie actually gave this to me when I was in high school and beginning to make homemade Christmas gifts for my friends. It was the perfect recipe to start with. It only takes a few steps to make, requires four simple ingredients and is unbelievably delicious.

I’ve seen this recipe around in other places and have sometimes heard it referred to as “poor man’s toffee” or “cracker bark.” These names come from the fact that the simple act of baking the butter and sugar over the crackers forms a pure toffee. The unsalted cracker remains as the innocuous core, giving it structure without any undesirable taste. For extra flavor sometimes I like to top the bark with sliced almonds or chopped hazelnuts, but in this particular case I used holiday sprinkles to make it party-perfect.

When I used to make this for my friends I would break up the tray of candy into pieces and put them in clear treat bags. For my friend’s party I will break it into shards, separated the layers with wax paper, and take them to her house in a Tupperware. As you can see by the directions below, the eight minutes of baking time means that preparing this candy while my daughter naps is a snap. The 15 minutes of preparation time is easily one of the fastest ways to prepare toffee that I have ever found. And, happily, the quick preparation time means I can spend the rest of naptime taking care of family holiday gifts – making sure I don’t leave a trace for my daughter to find when she wakes up!

If you have Christmas parties to attend this weekend I guarantee this will be a surefire hit. I know it was for my friend, and it was for my daughter, too. I let her have a nibble after it had fully cooled in the fridge. I think it has become her most favorite part about Christmas, next to the gift unwrapping, of course.