Easter Feast

For Easter, we decided to have a spiral sliced ham, pan roasted fingerling potatoes, steamed carrots with butter and a Bibb lettuce salad (Thomas Keller Bouchon recipe).

We did not attempt anything excited with the ham and it still tasty delicious. Madelyn was a big fan and is willingly eating leftovers. Next year, I hope to try a fun sauce to baste the ham with while it cooks.

The pan roasted fingerling potato idea came from Mario Batali's recipe on The Chew - http://beta.abc.go.com/shows/the-chew/recipes/Pan-Roasted-Turnips-Paprika-Mario-Batali. We were a little scared about adding the vinegar, but the potatoes turned out very tasty!!!

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 pound Fingerling Potatoes (thinly sliced)
• Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper
• 1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil (we used 1/8 cup)
  
• 2 tablespoon Unsalted Butter (we used 1 Tbsp)
  
• 2 tablespoon Poppy Seeds (Omitted)
  
• 1 teaspoon Ground Cardamom (omitted) - substituted a hefty shake of garlic powder
  
• 2 tablespoon Paprika
• 1/4 cup Red Wine Vinegar
• 3 tablespoon Parsley (chopped)
• 3 teaspoon Chives (chopped)

Instructions:
Place the potato slices in a bowl and season them with salt and pepper.

In a 12-to 14-inch cast-iron skillet, heat the oil and butter over medium-high heat until starting to brown. Add the potatoes and toss to coat them well. Then add the (poppy seeds if using) and sauté until the potatoes are a light golden brown, 8 to 9 minutes.

Add the garlic powder (cardamom) and paprika, and toss to coat. Cook for one minutes until all potatoes are coated. Add the vinegar and cook until it has evaporated, 4 to 5 minutes. Add parsley and chives. Remove the skillet from the heat, season again with salt and pepper, and serve.

I love the Bibb lettuce salad because it is full of fresh herbs - chives, tarragon, chervil and Italian parsley. You also add salt, pepper and minced shallots with a homemade vinaigrette (red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard and canola oil - season with salt and pepper). It's a fresh side dish that boasts lovely 'green' flavors.

We paired a Pinot Noir from Williamette Valley, Oregon with this simple, yet delicious meal.

Bon Appetitt!

Easter Fun

We found the cutest Easter bunnies in our kitchen. We decided to keep them. :-)


Madelyn quickly figured out how to take the foil off of the chocolate bunnies and eggs as evidenced in the next two pictures.

Kaitlyn was very excited that the Easter bunny left her a butterfly net and Merlea Barbie with her bunny ears.

It's time for the Easter egg hunt.

Kaitlyn saw the eggs from mommy and daddy's bedroom window. She could not contain her excitement to get outside to find some eggs. This year Madelyn joined her in collecting the eggs.













The partial aftermath of the Easter egg hunt.
It was a gorgeous day, so we ate dinner outside.

Cake Mixes

I love Cook's Illustrated! In the March/April 2008 issues, they explained why yellow cake mix stays so moist and fluffy. Essentially all the additives (chemically engineered emulsifiers and leavening agents) keep the cake moist and fluffy and error free.

They call it 'foolproof' cake mix b/c if someone overbeats it, adds the wrong amount of ingredients, or uses the wrong pan, the cake still turns out good.

In addition, some of the emulsifiers help incorporate more air into the batter. While eggs help do this in a homemade cake, they can't compete with the chemically added ones in store bought mixes.

Cake mix also boasts hydrogenated fats (bad fats) and food coloring, thus giving it a gorgeous yellow, brown, or white color that you just can't mimic when making a homemade cake.

While I occasionally use cake mixes, I still love making homemade cakes b/c it's all about the process, enjoyment and love put in to it that makes it worth while. And seeing my awesome kiddos and honey enjoy it too!!

Welcome Sous Chef Madelyn!

Princess Kaitlyn welcomed little sister Madelyn into her world of cooking and baking today. Madelyn donned an apron and rubber scraper (okay, spatula) to join us in making oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.


Princess Kaitlyn's mommy loved having both girls in the kitchen with her. She held Madelyn most of the time, but on the occasion that Madelyn's feet hit the floor, Madelyn crawled up on the chair with her big sister. She wanted part of the action too!



Princess Kaitlyn and Princess Madelyn will make a great team (provided they don't eat all the chocolate chips before making it into the batter)!

Kaitlyn is a Hula Hoop Star!

Check out Kaitlyn's latest Hula Hoop demonstration...

St. Patrick's Day Fun

We had a busy St. Patrick's Day weekend. We had swimming, soccer, a birthday party and delicious Shepard's pie for dinner.

Kaitlyn tried desperately to take a nice picture with Madelyn, but to no avail. Oh well!



Here are a few pictures from cousin Carter's birthday party.


Cutie pies!!

How do they know?

I swear it is intuitive that kids know how to eat an Oreo. Kaitlyn and Madelyn both went for the twist the first time we gave them an Oreo. It cracks me up that they know the yummy goodness hiding in between the two chocolate cookie layers. Kaitlyn eats the whole cookie, while Madelyn aims for the frosting and sometimes the cookie.



Kaitlyn and I still do kitchen activities together. Recently we made blueberry pastry 'purses'. Kaitlyn did a lot of the work. It's amazing to look at the pictures and see how much she can help in the kitchen now.

Princess Kaitlyn uses the pastry cutter to create nine squares for our purses.

Kaitlyn measured the blueberries and sugar by herself while mommy added the lemon juice and zest.
Kaitlyn helps prepare the egg wash.

After we stuffed each purse, Kaitlyn brushed the egg wash all over each one.

Princess Kaitlyn's blueberry purses.

After the purses cooled, Princess Kaitlyn piped a orange flavored glaze on top of each one.

Princess Kaitlyn's Blueberry Pastry Purses!