‘Tom Colicchio’ Articles at Sweetnicks

Weight Loss Tips: Tales from the Front Line

November 29, 2010 · Narrative

Isn’t that the most beautiful pumpkin pie you ever did see? It shouldn’t surprise you that it comes from my chef crush Tom Colicchio. You know, the guy behind the Top Chef franchise and all those awesome restaurants…? I have made no secret about my love for Chef Tom. My sister brought the pumpkin pie from his ‘wichcraft restaurant in NYC to our Thanksgiving dinner, and given that Tom was involved with it, well that just made it even more delicious. It had a deeper taste than the usual pumpkin pie and the crust was like no other. Part of the uniquely delicious taste comes from the fact that they use roasted pumpkins and local honey, along with the usual suspects. I got two small slices in my to-go box from my parents, and, sniff, sniff, they’re already gone. All gone. Beth, you hear that?

I am happy to report that I survived the eat-fest holiday known as Thanksgiving.

Carb overload.

And I didn’t gain a pound.

Not only that, but I lost three.

Even better, it was quite unintentional.

I mean, I’m supremely intentional about losing weight, but wasn’t super-vigilant about it during the holiday. I try to keep an “everything in moderation” way about it. Because if you don’t indulge, just a little, you’ll soon find yourself chin-deep in a quart of Ben and Jerry’s Cherry Garcia, with no one to blame but yourself.

I had the Brown Sugar Brie. And a Spinach Cheese Square. And a few Sausage Cheese Puffs. And Cranberry Conserve. And a few Cranberry Almond Bars. And two slices of pumpkin pie. Not all in one sitting, mind you.

But then I was going non-stop activity-wise the night before, cooking up all the side dishes and running around like crazy doing stuff with the kids’ schools. And I was up for 23 hours the next day. So while I might have indulged a little, my body was busy too.

The “everything in moderation” thing has worked well for me this year. You can’t go crazy with the interpretation of it though. It doesn’t mean Tortellini Alfredo with Garlic Bread one night, and a big fat piece of cake the next. It means that if there is a special day or an infrequent just because, have that small piece of cake. Because if you don’t, you’ll end up tipping your scales the other way. And with all of us knee-deep in the holidays, it’s an important lesson to take heed to.

Don’t deprive yourself. Indulge. Just a smidge. And continue back on the straight and narrow. You’ll enjoy the holidays more. And you’ll enjoy yourself more. Swear.

Project 365
November 29, 2010, Photos #229, 230, 231, 232, 233, 234 and 235

This poor little face. Since late this afternoon, she has been coming up to me every half-hour or so. “Mom?” Yes, Madeline? “I’m sick.” I know, sweetie, I’m sorry. I smooth her bangs a bit across her forehead. Rub her back and belly. Offer her something to suck on or drink. And commiserate. She has a stuffy head cold, poor thing. And now that she says it hurts when she coughs, well, we’ll see how she is faring tomorrow when she wakes up. I’m hoping she can sleep it off. None of us have been down for the count since pre-2009 Winter, and we’re all vitamined, flu-shotted and orange-juiced up, and hoping to make it through another Winter germ-free. My sad little girl.

The newest art installation in the O’Malley Art Gallery. I do so love kid art. So colorful and happy. This time, Madeline has completely monopolized the wall, but that’s ok because the last installation was all Nick, with the exception of one of her paintings.

This one is Nick’s, his Gratitude Wreath that we made as a class project last week.

A recipe for tomorrow.

Comfort Food: Meatloaf

November 8, 2010 · Narrative

I love picking people’s brains when it comes to things they make in the kitchen, or little tips and tricks they’ve picked up along the way. When I was out for dinner on Saturday night, the topic turned to food and everyone shared little things they did that were a stray from the norm (at least to me, anyway). Joy uses chicken broth when boiling pasta, instead of water. I’ve swapped out the water for chicken broth when I make rice, and it makes a huge difference, but had never thought to do the same when making pasta. (As an aside, after a trip to Costco this weekend, I learned that they made their mashed potatoes with chicken broth, instead of water or milk too, and for instant potatoes, they were delicious). Joy also uses Progresso tomato soup when making sausage and peppers, instead of tomato sauce. Another swap I hadn’t thought of. Beth poaches her meatballs, instead of pan-frying or baking them. Who knew? And Lisa, well, she doesn’t like to cook or bake and only has five spices in her kitchen (salt and pepper amongst the five), so she’s more of our consumer.

At the time of our food discussion, I was trying to figure out what to make for dinner Sunday night, and Beth suggested meatloaf. I haven’t made it in ages because although I love meatloaf (and especially meatloaf sandwiches the next day), the kids aren’t big fans. I usually reserve meatloaf for when we have company over, so Sunday night was perfect. I also promised a neighbor dinner (in return for them generously blowing all the leaves on our steps, not once, but twice), so I could kill many birds with just one bake (doubling the recipe got me three meatloaves; two for dinner, one for the neighbors). Beth mentioned that her husband loves the Lipton Onion Soup version of meatloaf. I usually don’t use a recipe when making meatloaf, but figured I’d give it a whirl.

When I brought the meatloaf to the table, everyone handed me their plates, one by one, to load up on meatloaf, fresh fruit and Garlic Spinach Balls. When it comes to sitting down at the dinner table, Madeline is a bit of a challenge. She is still for a very small window and then she is in and out of her seat, no matter how much begging, pleading or cajoling I do. And if she doesn’t like what’s for dinner, it’s even harder. Fruit is always a good sell and gets her to stay put for a bit. She looked at the meatloaf and started to tell me that she didn’t want any of it. I convinced her to at least try it. Just a few minutes later, I checked back in on her, and she had polished off the whole slice. This is monumental for her, trust me. And Nick? Same deal. Ate his entire piece. He who does not like meatloaf. Out of the two meatloaves that hit the table for dinner, there was half of one left. Five out of six kids had seconds. Gotta love those stats.

I don’t know what made this recipe so much more likable for the kids than the others I’ve made, but it definitely is one of the more moist versions we’ve had. I followed the recipe for the most part, although I swapped out the bread crumbs for oatmeal (as Beth suggested), so the end result was something that was pretty darn healthy and loaded with fiber to boot.

This one’s a keeper. Meatloaf haters be darned.

Need more meatloaf recipes?
This one from Martha Stewart back in February was mighty tasty.
Then there was this one from my chef crush, Tom Colicchio.
And lastly, Sunny Anderson gets in on the action with her turkey version.

Project 365
November 8, 2010, Photo #206 and 207

As soon as Nick walked in the door after school today, he went looking for hot chocolate. The weather has seriously turned overnight, and with it came hail, crazy wind, spots of snow and cold. Darn you, Mother Nature.

I’ve always liked leftover meatloaf sandwiches better than the first day’s version of meatloaf. Whole wheat bread, toasted, thin slice of Cheddar, horseradish, delish.

…

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….

Tom Colicchio’s Meatloaf

June 2, 2009 · Narrative

I’m not going to lie. The men-with-no-hair thing just doesn’t do it for me. I’m not talking about men that are balding. I’m talking about men that have zero hair on top a la Michael Jordan, Moby, Vin Diesel and the like. But that being said, Tom Colicchio, on the other hand, is a whole ‘nother story. He is a little drink of hotness served up with a side of sparkling blue eyes. Never heard of him? He’s the head judge of Bravo TV’s Top Chef and has a string of successful restaurants and cookbooks. I don’t know what it is about him, but for him, my man-must-have-hair rule quickly goes out the window.

People magazine has been running a Meals Under $10 column, and one of the recent celeb chefs to make an appearance was Tom himself. With meatloaf. Love meatloaf. Total.comfort.food. A stick-to-your-ribs dinner one night, and a delicious lunch sandwich the next, how can one not like meatloaf? I’ll never understand it. I think I actually look more forward to the warm sandwiches the next day than the original dinner serving. Toasted white bread, healthy amounts of ketchup and mayo, total yum.

Usually when I make meatloaf, I wing it. Ground beef, a little bit of this, a dash of that, and a whole lotta something else. I don’t measure, I just do. But for Tom, I measured. I poured. I mixed. I followed the recipe, his recipe, to the letter. I always use a loaf pan when making meatloaf. I never do the whole shape-it-into-a-loaf on the baking sheet thing. But, of course, Tom wanted me to. So I did.

When the meatloaf came out, it was bubbly and juicy and just so incredibly mouthwatering that I couldn’t wait to dig in. As much as I love meatloaf, I’m not sure it’s the type of dish that can ever be elevated to OMG status. I mean, really, it’s a hunk of meat. You want it moist and juicy and you want it to taste like meat. This does. So does mine. No matter which recipe you use, as long as it covers the basics (egg or other binder, meat, light seasonings, ketchup), you can’t go wrong. If you’re looking for a recipe, feel free to use Tom’s version below. I don’t think he’ll mind one little bit….