‘Everyday Food’ Articles at Sweetnicks

Recipe: Cucumber-Feta Toasts from Martha Stewart

June 29, 2010 · Narrative

Cucumber-Feta Toasts

With the type of eating I’ve been doing lately, there is little room for exploring new recipes and new cookbooks the way I used to. It’s very “clean” eating, using ingredients as close to their “naked” start as possible. It completely takes the focus off of food, something that takes a little getting used to for this food writer. It is very reminiscent of how and what I ate when I worked out with a personal trainer years ago. There was nothing with “ingredients.” The food was grilled, roasted, steamed or stir-fried, but was as close to nature intended as it could get.

So when I’m looking for recipes now, I’m focusing on fruits, vegetables, salads, or some combination of all of those. There are huge benefits to eating this way for sure. The prep time to get a meal on the table is minimal because the less you do to a food item, the quicker it’s ready. Nothing is any more labor intensive than a little bit of chopping or peeling. The meals itself are a snap to get used to. For me, the challenge is more in changing the mindset. I mean, you’re talking about someone who loves to plan dinner parties, menus, meals weeks on out. That’s all gone. Food is no longer the focus. But I can’t argue with what it’s done to me and my body. It’s simple, takes no thought and doesn’t get much healthier than this.

That being said, it takes me a little longer to find a new recipe I want to make because the criteria is changing. My parents came over for dinner tonight, and usually that would mean the opportunity to try out three or four new recipes, including something sinfully delicious for dessert. Not now. Dinner was grilled chicken and sausages, along with roasted asparagus and a vegetable stir-fry. I did, however, manage to find a new appetizer to try out that kept largely to some of the rules I’ve placed on myself.

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Mini Bacon and Cheese Toasts

June 22, 2010 · Narrative

I was going to say that I made these Mini Bacon and Cheese Toasts a few weeks ago, but when I went to go dig out the picture, I found it was a different case altogether. I made these on April 30th. Ouch. After I make a recipe I want to write about, I stick it on the side of the desk next to my laptop, so I don’t lose it. But I don’t always write about food, and before you know it, I’m telling you about a recipe six weeks later. Not all the time, mind you. Just sometimes. The trials and tribulations of a food writer, eh?

When I saw this recipe in a recent issue of Martha Stewart’s Everyday Food magazine, I knew it would be perfect for our (then) upcoming dinner with The Neighbors. After all, when a meal starts with an appetizer that features both bacon and cheese, it can only get better from there. It was super simple to make and a great, no mess finger food that I’d make again. I think the only thing that I’d change would be to swap out the pumpernickle bread it called for and use something a little milder like whole wheat or sourdough. I like pumpernickle just fine, but I think its strong flavor just overpowered the cheese and bacon goodness here, and we certainly don’t want to do that.

Project 365
June 22, 2010, Photo #115

When I cleaned out Nick’s backpack today, I not only found four spoons, I also found this birthday tag that they had displayed in the classroom. I love that it’s a cupcake. And yes, there might still be a little green dye on my finger. Just part and parcel of making a gorgeous rainbow cake.
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Emeril’s Chicken Patty Pockets with Pico de Gallo and Guacamole

April 15, 2010 · Narrative

My Facebook status tonight said something like, “Tonight I cooked with jalapeno peppers for the first and last time. omfg.” Every time I make a recipe that calls for jalapeno peppers, I automatically skip them. Spicy things just usually aren’t my thing, and even more so when it’s a meal I’m sharing with the kids. Today I decided to throw caution to the window and not skip over the jalapeno peppers. Trust me, that won’t happen again. And honestly, I didn’t even COOK with them. I just chopped them up. I carefully scooped out all the seeds, since that’s where most of the heat lies. The problem is that I, of course, rubbed my eyes shortly thereafter. I’m the kind of person that takes a pan out of the oven, and then not a mere 10 minutes later, I forget that it came out of the oven and grab it with my hands. Clearly short-term memory deficits are not my friend in the kitchen, so to protect me from future jalapeno pepper incidents, I’m going to just go back to skipping them. Moving on…

Usually on gym nights, I like to keep dinner simple and it’s a fend-for-yourself night or leftovers, but I feel like I haven’t cooked much this week (um, because I haven’t), so when I saw this recipe for Emeril’s Chicken Patty Pockets, I threw the set bedtime out the window and made a full dinner when we got back home. The recipe comes from a recent issue of Martha Stewart’s Everyday Food magazine, and is crazy simple to make. The recipe calls for putting the patties into a pita pocket and then filling it with lettuce, tomato and cucumber, along with a Minted Yogurt Sauce. But then I saw a recipe for Pico de Gallo and Guacamole from The Pioneer Woman and decided to change things up a bit. I served the patties on the plate, topped with the Pico de Gallo and the Minted Yogurt Sauce on the side. The Pico de Gallo was where I got into trouble with the jalapeno peppers.

The chicken patties were a nice diversion from a red meat patty, and with the abundance of fresh vegetables, it was a meal I could feel good about serving, make quickly and one that would be kid-friendly to boot. Madeline is particularly crazy for tomatoes, and as soon as she saw me slicing and chopping them up, she clamored for a few pieces. She actually ended up eating a whole tomato before I even got dinner on the table. Nick was a little suspicious of a chicken burger, but actually ended up going back for a second. We were both a little suspicious about the Minted Yogurt Sauce. I ended up liking it (and I’m usually not a fan of mint in savory recipes) and he didn’t.

So when time is short, but you still want to deliver a homemade meal full of flavor and vegetable goodness, this meal is a great place to start. But if you’re like me, nix the jalapeno peppers. Just sayin’.

Project 365
April 15, 2010, Photo #78

I have this photo collage in the kitchen that I’ve been working on for the past two months or so. Originally I wanted to make it in the shape of a heart, and while I could get the heart shape of it right (and it is not as easy as it sounds), I couldn’t get it to fit the space I had picked out for it. So it slowly evolved and now takes up residence on our two pantry doors. I catch the kids going over and looking at the pictures often, pointing out different ones to friends, or just looking up smiling. That’s definitely one reason that I put it up. It’s fun to look back at the different pictures and remember the memories associated with each shot. Instead of getting put into a photo album (and believe me, we have many), it’s nice to have a daily visual of what’s important. I know people quickly scan and look to see if The Ex is up there, two have actually mentioned it. Of course he is. I think it’s important for the kids to see happy pictures from when we were all together. And that’s what these doors are all about. Happy pictures. Happy times. Happy memories.

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15-Minute Lentil Soup

February 16, 2010 · Narrative

When I found out that Jamie liked lentils, I became just a little excited. I can’t lie. I am a big lentil fan, but know very few people that are. It was the perfect opportunity to try a new Martha Stewart recipe for 15-Minute Lentil Soup. And since Jamie jokingly complains that she has gained, ahem, a few pounds since she started coming here a little over a year ago, I felt it only right to offset the cookies and other sweet treats with something hearty and healthy. It’s fair.

This recipe came from Martha’s Everyday Food magazine. Between this and the meatloaf yesterday, it’s quickly turning into Martha’s week here. Each serving has 281 calories, 5.7 grams of fat, over 19 grams of protein and 16.8 grams of fiber. It’s definitely soup you can feel good about eating, and given the fact that Winter seems like it’s never going to leave us (seriously, snow again today?!), it will do right by you and warm you from the inside out. It’s crazysimple to make and a guilt-free but tasty way to start off a dinner or be a nice, light lunch.

Project 365
February 16, 2010, Photo #46

Had company for dinner last night, and our guests brought a bunch of different desserts, including a jar full of pink M&Ms. Don’t you just love friends like that? Thank goodness these were the milk chocolate version. My weakness is for the peanut butter ones. If it had been those, I would surely have been in trouble. Big time.

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Comfort Food: Martha’s Meatloaf

February 16, 2010 · Narrative

When it comes to meatloaf, it seems that the camps are quickly divided right down the middle. You either love it or you hate it. Being firmly ensconced in the “love it” category, but being in the minority in this house, I sometimes use company coming over as an opportunity to have it. When I’m really desperate for a meatloaf fix, I make it and give half to The Neighbor Wife. What is it about meatloaf that gets everyone going? I mean, seriously, it’s the same consistency and basic taste of a meatball, right? And those don’t get everyone yelling “hate it!” Enlighten me.

I usually don’t use a recipe for meatloaf, but decided to give a new one from Martha Stewart a whirl. As most meatloaf recipes are, this one was super simple. Mix a bunch of things in a bowl, shape the mixture into a loaf and bake it. Dinner is done. Her recipe included a lot of horseradish and, while I may like it, it sounded like a little much. I scaled it back to just two teaspoons, instead of the one tablespoon plus two teaspoons that it called for. You can definitely taste a hint of horseradish. I think it could handle adding back in a bit more, but think the overall total originally called for in the recipe was a little steep. And this coming from someone who loves horseradish. Just sayin’.

It had a nice, mild flavor, was easy to make and perfect the next day with a little bit of light mayo, ketchup and smushed in between toasted slices of bread.

Hungry for more meatloaf recipes?
This one from my chef crush, Tom Colicchio, was another good one.
Sunny Anderson’s version of meatloaf got The Ex to clean his plate….

RIP Gourmet Magazine (1941-2009)

October 5, 2009 · Narrative

It was a sad day in both the publishing and culinary worlds as a shudder went through the respective communities. Conde Nast announced that after 68 years of publication, next month’s issue of Gourmet magazine would be the last. As if that wasn’t enough, the hits just kept on coming. The entire staff of 180 was let go, right up to editor Ruth Reichl. Not only that, they had to be cleared out by the end of the week. Staff members that have been there for 30+ years now have just days to empty their offices. A sad day indeed. The reason for the fold? It just wasn’t profitable anymore and the advertisers weren’t there. The decision came after a three-month independent study, and unfortunately, Gourmet magazine wasn’t the only casualty, as Cookie Magazine, Elegant Bride and Modern Bride all got the ax as well. I’m disappointed about Cookie leaving too … it’s a wonderful parenting magazine that remembers all the other sides of you that exist, along with the parenting side.

I’ve had a love/hate relationship with Gourmet magazine over the years. Their covers, particularly two years ago, were dark and dour, quite the opposite of what I want to inspire me to rush into the kitchen and start banging pots and pans around. They didn’t make my mouth water. The recipes aren’t nearly as accessible as the ones in their counterparts like Bon Appetit and Everyday Food. Not that that’s bad, after all, it just had a decidedly more cultural slant. I read and subscribed to it for different reasons … much like Saveur magazine, their writers all exceled at transporting you to a faraway place, weaving food tales accompanied by moving pictures. It was iconic like no other.

If advertising, or more importantly the lack of it, managed to take down the iconic Gourmet magazine, I have to wonder what that means for a magazine like Taste of Home, a magazine that has no advertising. I guess if you don’t rely on it to meet your payroll and make a profit, then all is good. At this rate, as some of my favorite magazines are quickly disappearing all too fast, I certainly hope so. Taste of Home is a completely different animal … a magazine filled to the brim with comfort food; recipes that use ingredients that you know and know well, and ingredients that you likely have on hand to begin with. Recipes that your mom and grandma likely made. I took a few years off from Taste of Home magazine, but warmed up to it again earlier this year, perhaps in my own search for more comfort from the kitchen, who knows?

Is there a good way to segue into a recipe for Peanut Butter Bars? Probably not, so I won’t try. Suffice it to say that the Gourmet magazine news is terribly sad and I hope that’s the last magazine demise we have to hear about for awhile. So many of my favorites have closed up shop this year. No matter how much access we have to things online, I still have some 50+ magazine subscriptions and read books voraciously. Nothing replaces the written word. And nothing will replace Gourmet magazine.

Now onto peanut butter …

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