ChowBaby

YUM! EAT THIS...
a lovely, family-friendly recipe for squash and chickpea moroccan stew (via Smitten Kitchen)
3 family-friendly, easy veggies recipes (via Cookie Magazine)
a super healthy tofu (or chickpea) stir fry with spinach and okra (via Sassy Radish)
Making Orange Sherbet with Your Kids (complete with video!) (via Tara Parker-Poke's Well blog)
healthy, family-friendly turkey meatball recipe (via The Kitchn)
inexpensive, nutritious foods easily purchased in bulk (via Not Eating Out in New York)
Healthy Foods for Under $1 (via Tara Parker-Poke's Well blog)

INTERESTING! READ THIS...
5-year-old chef gets his own show (via NPR)
a review of Mark Bittman's Food Matters: A Guide to Conscious Eating (via Salon)
the problem of health care for farmers and how it impacts our food supply (via The Ethicurean)
the science of developing taste buds--from in utero onward (via the The Calgary Herald)

OF COURSE! TRY THIS...
a great hack to get sick kids to sip water while sleeping (via Parent Hacks)

USEFUL! LOOK INTO THIS...
Ziploc Zip n' Steam bags--worth it? (via The Kitchn)
Tilty sippy cups (via Weelicious)
small, melamine bento boxes perfect for toddlers and lil kids (via Oh Dee Doh)
reusable sandwich bags (via Cool Mom Picks)
reusable lunchbox napkins (via Springwise)

-S

Ahhh. La piña. The symbol of hospitality. Worthy of mention in the title of one of my favorite recent comedies. (Have you seen Pineapple Express?!) And the new favorite fruit in my house. Yea, yea. I know. So much for keeping it local. But January is a rough time for fruit in New York City and I didn't can or freeze. (Or pickle? Check it out: pickled limes from the fabulous food blog MattBites.com, quick pickled papaya or mango from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, and pickled watermelon rind from Martha Stewart Everyday Food!) Plus, with Isaac's palate still developing, I want to introduce him to a wide range of flavors. And if we go somewhere tropical where pineapple is indigenous, Isaac won't be with us--ha!

It all started with a Trader Joe's Pineapple Fruit Bar, a 100% fruit snack that is Isaac's latest food obsession. I've tried the other flavors, but he only wants "pie-nipple" (which sounds great in public). He loves these things so much that I moved him on to fresh pineapple. I wanted to see if the love affair would last in the absence concentrated sweetness. It did. So, when it came time to make birthday cupcakes for play group (Isaac turned two 2 days ago!), these pineapple carrot cupcakes were the obvious choice. (I found them while looking for a cupcake recipe that called only for agave syrup--serendipity!) Another hit with Isaac. 

         

Click here to download:

PINEAPPLE.zip (764 KB)

With one last fresh pineapple lying around, yesterday afternoon I announced to Isaac that we'd have fresh pineapple for dessert. Wasn't I such a nice mama?! Sure. Nice. But not so smart. I hadn't checked if the pineapple was ripe before making the promise. (Did you know that one way to check a pineapple for ripeness is to pluck a leaf from the top--if it comes out easily, you're good to go.) Bad move. I had to come up with something quick. Roasted pineapple was the move. It would soften the under ripe fruit and concentrate the sweetness.

I cut off the top and bottom, cut the fruit in half, peeled it with a knife, cut out the core, and made 1/2" slices. I used a baking dish that was too small to arrange the pieces in one layer. That didn't cause any problem. I laid the first layer down, sprinkled lightly with organic sucanat and cardamom, the repeated the process with a second layer. I dabbed the whole shebang with butter, but don't think it was necessary. I baked for about 45 minutes at 350 degrees, until the juices thickened into a nice, natural, syrupy coating.

I must have been overcompensating--or got caught up in the gooey sweetness of it all--because I mixed a 1/2 tsp of organic agave syrup with 1/4 c organic plain whole milk yogurt to top the whole thing off. (Plain yogurt would have worked just fine!) A sprinkle of cinnamon brought the whole thing together (balanced out the cardamom on the pineapple). (Sorry for the bad camera phone picture!)

This was Isaac's favorite pineapple dish yet. He couldn't stop saying, "MMM!" He seriously said it with every bite. Hysterical. Good thing our pineapple wasn't ripe!

I'm sure we'll have more adventures in pineapple-ville. But, in the meantime, all of this cooking with the tropical fruit got me wondering... is it even nutritious?! (Always smart to ask this question after you've stuffed your kid full of the stuff--LOL!) According to the World's Healthiest Foods, pineapple is an excellent source of manganese and vitamin C, and a good source of vitamins B1 and B6, copper, and dietary fiber. Manganese and B1 (thiamin) are both important for energy production and antioxidant defense. Vitamin C also provides antioxidant protection and immune system support. You can read more in WHF's profile of pineapple. Or check out the hard nutrition facts at NutritionData.com.

Works for me. (Phew!) So more pineapple stuff I will make. Got any pineapple recipes to share?

-S

A few days ago, while still recovering for our colds, Mike and I took Isaac to the NYC transit museum for a much needed outing. By the time we returned home, I was pooped. I opened the fridge hoping to find a complete leftover meal and instead found about 2/3 of a rotisserie chicken (New Yorkers: Fresh Direct sells tasty roasted antibiotic free chickens). I hit the pantry and pulled a can of chickpeas and a container of Maya Kaimal curry sauce. (As you can tell by the frequency with which Michelle and I mention these all natural sauces, they are a lifesaver that keep me from defaulting to mac-n-cheese every time I'm super short on time.) Next stop, the freezer for 1 box of frozen spinach. Within 15 minutes (total prep and cooking time), a well-rounded meal, topped with a little yogurt, was on the table.

Could dinner have been better had I sauteed some fresh garlic and ginger first? Or added a little cilantro and lime juice? Sure. Was it necessary? Nope. Not on this night. That was the beauty of it. Dinner was so easy, in fact, that I got to thinking: what else could I make with 1 store bought rotisserie (or leftover) chicken, 1 box of frozen spinach, 1 can of beans, and some pantry staples?

Here's what I came up with. (A little jaunt around the globe!) I didn't bother with with exact measurements--you can play with each "recipe" based on taste and also consistency (e.g., you may want a soupier dish if serving with noodles, a thicker sauce if serving plain or with rice). Some of these "recipes" will take longer than 15 minutes to cook down the sauce (since they don't call for pre-made sauces like the curry one I used the other night). I also gave some ideas of other ingredients you can add if you feel like getting fancier. Would love to hear your ideas, too.

GREEK style with chickpeas and avgolemono (egg-lemon) sauce
1. Put some organic chicken broth over medium heat. The amount of broth depends on what consistency you want. One whole box (32 oz) or more will make a soup (to which you can add orzo or rice). Just a little less will make a stew-like meal. A whole lot less will make just enough egg-lemon sauce to coat your chicken, chickpeas, and spinach.

2. Meanwhile, in a separate pan, saute chickpeas and shredded chicken in a little olive oil. Add thawed & drained spinach. Set aside once all 3 ingredients are well mixed and excess water from spinach is cooked off.

3. Beat 2 eggs until they begin to froth. Continue beating while slowly adding juice of 2 lemons. When the mixture is very frothy, slowly add some hot broth. The point here is to slowly raise the temperature of the egg/lemon mixture so that it won't curdle (ie, the egg won't cook) when you add it to the rest of the hot broth.

4. Once your frothy egg-lemon mixture is hot, bring all of the elements (egg-lemon sauce, any remaining broth, chicken/chickpea/spinach) together. Season with salt and pepper.

you can also add...frozen peas, sauteed onions, fresh dill
serve with...orzo, rice, couscous, top with a dollop of yogurt

FRENCH style with white beans (inspired by cassoulet)
1. Saute onions and garlic in olive oil. Add fresh or dried thyme or herbs de provence.

2. Add white beans, shredded chicken, and thawed & drained spinach. Cook until excess water from spinach is cooked off.

3. Add a bit of red wine or balsamic vinegar and a can of whole peeled tomatoes, breaking each one up with your hands. The amount of juice you include depends on the consistency you want to achieve. (If you want something even soupier than what you can achieve by adding the whole can of tomatoes and juice, add chicken broth.)

4. Cook down until the sauce thickens as much as you'd like. Season with salt and pepper.

you can also add...sauteed carrots and/or celery, sage, rosemary, sausage
serve with...couscous, egg noodles, rice, top with breadcrumbs

TEX-MEX style with pinto or black beans
1. Saute onions and garlic in a neutral oil. Add cumin, a little chile powder, and a chopped jalapeno (if you want a little spice).

2. Add an all-natural enchilada sauce or a can of tomato puree. If using tomato puree, you may need to add a little broth and additional spices, and cook down until the thickness of an enchilada sauce.

3. In a separate pan, saute beans, shredded chicken, and thawed & drained spinach in oil. Cook until all ingredients are well combined and any excess water from spinach is cooked off. 

4. Add sauce to chicken, beans, and spinach. Season with salt and pepper.

you can also add...unsweetened cocoa powder (add at the same time as cumin and other dry spices for a depth of flavor), frozen or canned corn, sauteed peppers, fresh lime juice
serve with...tortillas, rice, lime wedges, salsa/pico de gallo, top with a dollop of sour cream and/or shredded cheese

ITALIAN style with white beans (inspired by chicken cacciatore)
1. Saute onions and garlic in olive oil. Add fresh or dried rosemary and/or oregano.

2. Add white beans, shredded chicken, and thawed & drained spinach. Cook until excess water from spinach is cooked off.

3. Add white wine and simmer a few minutes.

4. Add a can of diced tomatoes and juices. Cook down to desired consistency.

5. Season with salt and pepper and a final drizzle of olive oil.

you can also add...sauteed mushrooms, olives, capers, frozen peas
serve with...polenta, pasta, noodles, rice, top with grated cheese

MIDDLE EASTERN style with chickpeas and yogurt sauce
1. Saute (a bunch of) garlic in olive oil. Add a lot of fresh or dried mint, yogurt (the thick greek kind will work best), and fresh lemon juice.

2. In a separate pan, saute chickpeas, shredded chicken, and thawed & well drained spinach in olive oil. Cook until excess water from spinach is cooked off.

3. Add yogurt sauce to chicken. Season with salt and pepper.

you can also add...bits of pita chips, cubed cucumber (at the very end), white wine (add to chicken, spinach and chickpeas, cooking off before adding yogurt sauce)
serve with...couscous, rice/pilaf, top with slivered almonds

and, of course, you can always just toss cooked penne or other cut pasta with the beans (chickpeas and white beans would both work well), spinach, and chicken in olive oil and a little broth (or a can of all-natural jarred sauce, if you can find one you like), and top the whole shebang with grated cheese. yum.

-S

related posts: talking turkey with you chickens (plus turkey paprikash for 10+ mos)

i almost didn't take pictures while cooking last night. i'd decided to make one of my and mike's favorite dishes, bucatini all'amatriciana (sloppily plated above with a side of swiss chard--pictures really were a last minute decision!). i used to make it all the time. i'd perfected it. even once claimed (while drunk) that mine was better than mario batali's. while not true, i do have a knack for this dish. but with pancetta, hot peppers and a ton of olive oil (none of which i'm willing to skimp on, even for my tyke--sorry, isaac), i've never made this for the three of us. in fact, i haven't made it in 2 years.

when i decided to make amatriciana for me and mike as a new year's eve treat i figured there was no point in posting about a dish that isn't particularly family-friendly. especially as my first post of the new year. but i've changed my mind. i've even come to think that it's the perfect first post of the new year.

michelle and i share our recipes, feeding hacks, and point of view here because we hope to inspire and help parents create healthy, adventurous eaters. but, at the end of the day, reading a blog isn't going to make your children healthy, adventurous eaters. neither is buying particular products or making particular recipes. it's your love and respect for food that will instill your children with their love and respect for food. which brings me to amatriciana. a dish i'm passionate about. a dish that reminds me of why i love food and, even though he's never eaten it, why isaac loves food, too.

so, here's the recipe. you can serve it to your kids or not. with adjustments or not. and if you don't feel like making this, find time to make something else you love. even if you can't feed it to the kids. just keep your passion for food alive. in 2009 and beyond.

Bucatini all'Amatriciana
2 tbs organic olive oil
1 large organic red onion, halved & cut into 1/2" slices
2 cloves organic garlic, thinly sliced
1/2 lb pancetta (or guanciale), 1/4" thick, diced
1-3 fresh hot peppers*, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced (or 1/2 - 1 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes)
1 can organic whole peeled tomatoes (28 oz)
1 lb organic bucatini (spaghetti works well, too)
1/2 cup organic pecorino romano cheese, grated (plus extra to top!)
salt and pepper

*the amount of pepper you use and whether you seed the fresh ones depends on how spicy you like your food; i typically use 2 fresh peppers, seeds and all. also, the type of pepper you use will impact the taste of your sauce, so play around. i've used everything from red jalapenos to (fewer) scotch bonnets. 

1. Put a large pot of salted water on medium-high heat (about 6 qts water & 2 tbs salt). Bring to a boil.

2. Heat olive oil in large skillet. Add onions and garlic. Sauté over medium heat until transparent.

3. Create a space in the middle of the skillet by pushing onions and garlic to the edges. Spread the pancetta in the open space and cook until it starts to turn brown.

4. Mix pancetta, onions and garlic together, and add peppers. Keep sautéing until you get a nice golden brown color to everything.

5. Add tomatoes to onion mixture, breaking up each one with your hands. When all of the tomatoes have been added, pour the sauce from the can into the skillet. Add salt and pepper to taste (don't be shy with the salt). Cook for about 15 minutes, until sauce thickens and pulls all the ingredients together. (This is not meant to be a heavy sauce, rather it should give a nice coating to the pasta. the picture below was taken just as the tomato sauce was added to the skillet.)

6. Cook pasta in boiling water until al dente. Drain, saving about a mug's worth of cooking water.

7. Toss pasta in the skillet with sauce over low-medium heat. Add cheese, an extra drizzle of olive oil, and the pasta cooking water. Keep tossing until all of the pasta is coated and heated throughout. Taste and adjust seasoning to get it just right--you may want to add more olive oil, cheese, salt, and/or pepper.

happy eating. all year.

-S

instead of making and posting about all kinds of wonderful, memory-making, family-friendly recipes this holiday season, i've been convalescing. well, as much as you can convalesce with a snot covered (literally) 2-year-old screaming songs from yo gabba gabba in your face.

in the midst of all my lying around and horizontal, half-ass attempts to entertain a toddler, my mother-in-law saved the leg of lamb that i bought (and never made) for christmas dinner by roasting it up with lots of garlic and herbs de provence three nights ago. delicious. but instead of many eaters ready to throw down in honor of baby jesus, it was just three of us plus that pesky toddler, and my appetite wasn't even near full force. this made for A LOT of leftovers.

though not feeling 100% yet, i was up for some cooking last night. one of my winter stand-by's is shepherd's pie. it's an easy and delicious way for all of us to get some protein and veggies in one, simple dish. and the mash potatoes make eating the veggies easy even when isaac is going through a pickier phase. (lil' cheat: sometimes i make this even easier by buying already made mashed potatoes from my natural foods supermarket).

it's easy to make a  whole bunch of this recipe so that there are leftovers for lunch or dinner the next day, and it freezes well. what more could you want from a family-friendly dish?

i usually use ground beef or turkey and start from raw. this time i used he already cooked leftover lamb, which required some adjustments to my recipe.

Shepherd's Pie
*can feed children as young as 10 mos who are already eating meat, just be mindful of meat and veg piece size and added salt

1 lb organic ground beef (any kind of ground meat will do, though you may need to add a little butter depending on how lean it is)
1 medium organic onion, chopped (finely minced for early eaters 10+ mos)
1 clove organic garlic, finely minced
1 tsp organic thyme (i've used dried, too)
3 tbs organic ketchup
1 tbs organic flour
1 lb bag frozen mixed veggies (or whatever you have in the freezer; chop veggies for early eaters 10+ mos)
1/2 cup of beef or chicken broth (optional)
salt and pepper (optional)
1/2 cup parmesan (or some other yummy melty cheese like mozzarella, gouda or cheddar)
mashed potatoes (my recipe below)

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Sauté ground meat in a skillet until cooked through. Break up meat as much as you can, making sure there are no big chunks (be especially mindful if you plan to feed this to an early eater 10+ mos).

2. Add onions and garlic and cook until they are translucent. (Here's where you may need to add a little fat if you're using a super lean meat.)

3. Add thyme, ketchup, flour, frozen veggies (straight from the freezer is fine) and up to a 1/2 cup of broth or water. Cook until liquid thickens. You can play with the amount of liquid--you don't want soupy, but rather a medium-thick gravy that pulls all the ingredients together. If all of your eaters take salt and pepper, season now. Otherwise you can save the S&P until you serve.

4. Put the meat & veg mixture in a baking dish and top with mashed potatoes. Sprinkle cheese on top. I like to also sprinkle some black pepper for a little contrast in color. Bake until cheese is melted and mashed potatoes are browned.

Notes on using already cooked, leftover meat:

• i sauteed the same amount of onion and garlic called for by the recipe above in 2 tbs of butter as my first step
• while the onions and garlic were cooking, i minced the leftover slices of lamb in the food processor
• i added the lamb to the onions and garlic and found that, since i had trimmed a lot of the fat, i needed to add 1 more tbs of butter and a touch of broth before resuming step 3 above

Mashed Potatoes
everybody has a mashed potatoes recipe and/or technique. here's mine. it's far from perfect, but they are pretty yummy for a recipe that doesn't use cream, sour cream or cheese (all of which make for sinfully good mashed). i use my kitchen aid mixer with the paddle attachment when i feel fancy and want restaurant-like consistency, but i'm not a stickler for that. i'm happy to eat lumpy, hand-mashed potatoes if the flavor is good.

about 2 lbs organic potatoes (i used yukon gold, but read here for more on choosing the right potato for making mashed
4 tbs organic butter
1 cup of organic whole milk
salt and pepper to taste

1. peel potatoes and cut into 1-2" pieces (don't fret over being exact!)

2. put potatoes in a big pot and cover with cold water. cook over medium-high heat until potatoes are just cooked through (you should be able to pierce them with a fork)

3. place cooked potatoes in bowl (of mixer, if using). begin mashing or turn mixer on to start breaking down potatoes

4. add milk and butter in 1 tbs pieces

5. keep mashing or mixing until desired consistency. give it time and effort. even with the mixer, this step always takes longer than i remember when trying to achieve super smooth mashed

hope there's some inspiration here. either for what to do with leftovers, making a quick weeknight meal or something you can make in a big batch and freeze. enjoy.

-S

i've been hit again. stomach virus, done. new sickness, not quite. just as i was starting to feel human again, my throat started to hurt. within 24 hours it turned into a swollen neck, lost voice and achy body. isaac's had a congestion/coughing sickness since the day after xmas. i must have caught it from him. rough times here. thankfully, though, baby daddy has been holding up and was able to fulfill my first request for food since christmas eve: his version of orzo risotto.

this is one dish that baby daddy makes better than me 100% of the time. he's been making it for many years. it started with mark bittman's recipe for orzo risotto from How to Cook Everything. his variation adds tomatoes which, somehow, makes a world of difference. it goes from being a simple, quick, creamy pasta dish, to a comfort food staple that we call adult mac-n-cheese. it's perfect sick food. it's perfect not-sick food. try it, you'll like it.

Baby Daddy's Orzo "Risotto"
adapted from Mark Bittman's Orzo Risotto, How to Cook Everything

2 tablespoons organic olive oil
1 organic onion, chopped (minced if you plan to serve to an infant)
1 box organic chicken broth (32 fl oz)
1 box organic orzo (16 oz)
1 can crushed organic tomatoes (28 oz)
1 cup grated organic parmesan, plus extra to top (optional)
salt and pepper

Heat stock in a small pot. Meanwhile, in a separate saucepan, sautee onions in olive oil until translucent. Add orzo to onions and stir until coated--season with salt and pepper. Add stock to orzo all at once--cover and reduce to a simmer, stirring occasionally. After about 10 min, as liquid starts to thicken and orzo puffs up, add entire can of tomatoes. Turn up heat and bring to a boil, stirring frequently to avoid sticking. Reduce heat again and cover. Cook for another 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until orzo reaches consistency of risotto. Take off heat and drizzle with additional olive oil (optional). Mix in grated cheese and let sit for 5 minutes. If you like it extra cheesy (like us), serve with additional grated cheese sprinkled on top.

this recipe can be served to any child  10 months and up who is already eating pasta, cheese and tomatoes. if your child isn't eating tomatoes yet (or is sensitive to them), try Bittman's version which is basically this one minus the tomatoes. just be sure to cool all the way to room temp and mash up the orzo before serving (orzo is bigger than pastina). it's also super easy to add veggies to this recipe for eaters of any age--it's delicious with sweet potato or squash puree and a dash of nutmeg, frozen peas, or a bunch of chopped up spinach. enjoy.

(sorry there are no pics of us cooking this. i was too sick to take 'em. next time.)

-S

we usually do our grocery shopping on friday or saturday. but we're leaving early next week for a visit with the grandparents (make that both sets of grandparents. and, yes, we will be driving on christmas day. sigh.), so we're trying to run through what's left in the pantry. the good and bad news is that there's not much left. so today, i was trying to piece something together that would warm our bones when atticus and i got back from our icy afternoon adventure. i found some rice, some dried fruit, some almonds, and a wayward can of coconut milk and figured i should be able to make something yummy with that, right?
 
here's what i came up with. a slightly sweet sticky-ish rice. it'd go great with a chicken curry. if only i had some chicken....

final tip: when the rice cooled, atticus "helped" me roll the rice into little balls that make great healthy hand-held snacks!

coconut apricot sticky rice
2 cups rice (i used white, since that's all i had, but next time i want to try a short-grain brown)
1 14 oz can coconut milk (i used low fat, again since that's all i had, but whole fat should work)
2 cups plus 2 oz water
1 teaspoon canola oil
1/2 teaspoon sucanat (you could also use cane sugar, brown sugar, and maybe agave nectar)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon alcohol-free vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cardamom
1/4 cup diced dried apricots (you could use just about any dried fruit like raisins , prunes, or mango)
1/4 cup crushed, sliced, or chopped almonds
combine all ingredients in a rice cooker (if you don't have one, this is a super convenient kitchen tool—and the cheapest version works as well as the more expensive varieties). turn it on. when done, fluff/mix with fork (especially since a lot of the add-ins float to the top).

-m

damn. this blog post is longer than one of mine. ha!

check it out--thorough, thoughtful, convincing & with some resources at the end:
5 good reasons you should encourage your kids to cook at an early age.

-S

we've all done it--carried on about how different we were before we became mamas. you know, when we had time to put on makeup every day. and go shopping for clothes that actually fit and don't have to be vomit-food-marker proof. it's not that i don't talk about that stuff--believe me, i do--but i more often talk about how well i entertained before isaac. when there was time to care about details, perfect recipes and timing, plan ahead for days, and roll out a perfectly elaborate cocktail party in heels and lipstick without breaking a sweat. yea. those days are gone.

after a two year hiatus (isaac is 2-years-old--do the math), my baby-daddy and i decided to bring our holiday party back. unlike previous years, we put rules designed to keep the party as low stress as possible in place: isaac must spend the night AND next day at grandma's (key to enjoying a party is not having to care for a toddler the day after), and limit cooking and clean up so that we can actually enjoy ourselves.

leaving isaac with grandma overnight--easy breezy. low impact party menu--not so much. what's a party without days of prep? cooking for hours and hours? making everything homemade? it was tough, but i was up for the challenge. and am happy to report that we had a great time with great friends, no kids, and good food that i was proud to serve... even though i didn't slave for days.

MENU PLANNING
advance planning is necessary, but i knew it had to be minimal enough to handle in just 1 or 2 nights after isaac went to sleep. it couldn't drag on for days and days the way it used to. as much as i love that process, i just don't have the time. to keep myself on track, i asked three questions to assess potential menu items:

can i make extra to have around for isaac?
cooking for a party is enough major cooking for the week. there was no way i was going to put any significant amount of time into something that i couldn't also feed isaac. 

can i make the recipe while isaac sleeps or is playing around the kitchen?
this focused me on stuff that could be easily and quickly made ahead. it ruled out all elaborate recipes or anything that required delicate timing. no souffles. nothing made to order. (yes, i've gone there.)

can store bought components pass without sacrificing quality?
this was a hard one for me. i'm a nut for making everything myself. but i knew i couldn't feed 25 people 100% homemade food without breaking the rules and stressing out. in sticking to this rule i learned that a few, high-quality, specialty store bought items mixed in with an otherwise homemade menu works really well. it's kind of like mixing expensive accessories with an otherwise inexpensive outfit. if you do it right, you look barneys when you're really 90% forever 21.

when you consider store bought items think beyond your conventional market's prepared foods or frozen section. while there are exceptions, most of that stuff isn't so good. is there an ethnic section of your neighborhood that has a killer specialty store or bakery? what about online resources? iGourmet has an interesting international section. i've never ordered from dean and deluca online, but have been curious about their mail order appetizer selection. trader joe's is a good option, too. (any other suggestions?)

MENU
so, after some (but not much) deliberation, here's where i ended up:

dub pies
these are delicious australian/new zealand-style gourmet meat and veg pies made in my beloved brooklyn. i got 100 2" party pies (50 steak mince & cheese, 25 curry veg, and 25 chicken) for $130. we still have a bunch left over and though they aren't organic, i feel comfortable feeding these high quality, hand-made, hand-held meals to isaac. he likes all of the flavors, though the curry veg might be too spicy for some kids. dub pies offers mail order all over the country (they come frozen) and delivery or pick-up options for either frozen or hot pies throughout nyc.

bacon wrapped dates (stuffed with almonds)
my holiday party stand-by. delicious. a crowd pleaser. this is not something i'd feed isaac, but there's also NEVER any leftover, no matter how many i make. and these are so easy to make ahead that it barely matters. just stuff a blanched almond into a pitted date (or prune); split a strip of bacon down the middle; use half to wrap the date. pile prepped dates onto a platter, cover, and put in the fridge until it's time to pop these babies in the oven. when it's time, i preheat the oven to 400 degrees and bake until the bacon looks nice and brown. remember that bacon will crisp up more once out of the oven and left to rest.

hearts of palm dip & pita chips
this is the easiest dip ever. it's basically a simple hummus made with hearts of palm instead of chick peas. toss 1 can hearts of palm, a couple of garlic cloves, and juice of a lemon into a food processor. puree while slowly drizzling in olive oil until the mixture becomes the consistency of hummus. done and done. it's light, refreshing, and delicious. people dig in expecting hummus and are always pleasantly surprised. i've passed this recipe on to many people for whom it has also become a staple.

feta dip & crudite
the feta dip was new for me. i adapted this recipe from martha stewart. i didn't have quite enough sour cream, so i added cream cheese which worked fine. i wanted to make the recipe even easier, so i put everything but the scallions into the food processor (i mixed the scallions in afterwards). it worked well, though i would have preferred the chunkier texture achieved from hand mixing. next time i'll use the processor but set some crumbled feta aside with the scallions to mix in before serving.

potato pancakes served two ways: with gravlax and creme fraiche, with homemade applesauce
classic cocktail party combos made easy thanks to pancakes purchased at trader joe's. i decided to make the applesauce from scratch because i thought it would have a nicer texture than the jarred stuff. (it did, which actually helped the potato pancake a lot--i wasn't thrilled with the gravlax version). plus, applesauce is so easy to make and freeze. you can do it with your eyes closed and it's about as family friendly as food gets. i didn't even follow a recipe. just peel and core a bunch of apples (try to use two different kinds--i used fuji and gala--here's a list of varieties suggested for apple sauce); throw in a pot with some water or apple cider (about 1/2 a cup per 4 apples, though you can easily add or drain liquid as necessary); squeeze juice of a lemon; throw in a few dashes of cinnamon and some sugar if you wish (about 1/4 cup of sugar per 4 apples seems standard--i use less--you can always use a little honey at the end).

deviled eggs
i fell in love with the deviled eggs with tuna and black olives at oleana in boston years ago. i've worked hard to approximate their deliciousness. i haven't perfected a recipe, but basically mix the following to taste: hard boiled egg yolks, creme fraiche, low fat mayo, either chopped gherkins or black olives (don't use the kind that come in cans--they'll give a tinny taste), italian oil packed tuna, salt, and pepper. i added the tuna last this time so that i could set a few vegetarian eggs aside for isaac. he ate one for breakfast this morning. yum!

cheese plate
if you can, go to a cheese store and splurge on a few special kinds. it doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg. i used umbricao, ossau iraty, and idiazabal. just place on a platter with almonds (i used marcona almonds), grapes, crackers and, if you want to get really fancy, quince paste.

gougeres
these delicious cheese puff apps are not hard to make from scratch, but i had to follow the rules and my to do list was growing. anyway, cheese temple artisinal in nyc sells a delicious frozen version that just need to be popped in the oven. believe me. these don't need a homemade component. they are delicious as they come.

BOTTOM LINE
i ended up making 2 dips (both with basically only 1 step), a bunch of bacon wrapped dates, applesauce, and deviled eggs from scratch. not bad.

PREP SCHEDULE
i made the applesauce and boiled and peeled the eggs during isaac's nap the day before the party. i made the dips the morning of, while drinking coffee and watching isaac play in his bean box. i prepped the bacon wrapped dates and deviled eggs while isaac napped the day of the party. i composed the cheese plate and crudite and preheated the oven just a few hours before guests arrived. the first thing to go in the oven were the potato pancakes. once crisped, it took all of 10 minutes to top them as the first guests arrived. then it was just a matter of doing oven rounds: popping batches of dates and gougeres in and out and warming the dub pies as necessary.

it was honestly a breeze. for the first time ever. i don't think the food was quite the same caliber as it has been in the past, nor was i as organized or put together, but that was mostly because i was so excited to be entertaining--loudly!--in a house with no sleeping toddler. it worked out beautifully. and i learned myself a little something about taking it easy.

cheers to that. happy holidays.

-S