Weekly Menu, June 26-June 30th: Countdown is On!

Happy Pride, everyone! I’m celebrating by booking a hotel on the Italian Riviera. Oh yeah. On the beach. You know what the weather looks like in Italy? SUNNY. HOT. PERFECT!

Pretty perfect looking in Provence, too.

Only five more days here in the states before we head off on the vacation to end all previous vacations! This week is all about: packing, pulling everything together, and getting ready to go.

Where? Paris, the South of France to stay chez Mousseron,

Don't the Mousserons look like fun? They are.

Tuscany, and then back again the way we came. The apartment in Paris is booked, the TGV tickets to the South bought, the car reserved, the house in Tuscany rented. Now, the countdown.

Mom & I in Paris, September 1988

Meanwhile, back in Brooklyn, things are pretty great! The Gods smiled and brought back gorgeous warm (not too warm!) weather AND our elected officials in Albany gave us legalized gay marriage in New York! Our last CSA pick-up yesterday yielded amazing greens (arugula, leafy lettuce, broccoli rabe), broccoli, beets, and of course, EGGS. Have to work our way through it all.

Weekly Menu:

Sunday night: We’re being entertained! Too early for SUMMER PUDDING? Hoping not.

Monday: Pasta with Crispy Prosciutto and Garlic-Scape Pesto (which we had on our pizza last night- delicious!) with Arugula Salad

Tuesday: Carne Asada Tacos with Grilled Vegetables

Wednesday: Fontina, Broccoli Rabe and Mushroom Omelets with Leafy Green Salad

Thursday: Rotisserie Chicken, Kale Salad with Avocado and Parmesan

And we’re off!

Paella from one of our last visits to France. YUM

Here’s to adventure!

Weekly Menu, June 5-11: Oysters + Romeo & Juliet

You might have noticed that when I like something I REALLY LIKE IT. To the point of being a little obsessive. Happens with the menu, with music, restaurants, books, you name it. I like to find what I think is the best and then enjoy the hell out of it.

The last few months, we’ve been lucky enough to be able to eat out on a regular basis. Which has in turn fed my mini-obsession with oysters. There’s something innately celebratory about having your own little iced tray of oysters on the half shell set in front of you. Malpeque, Bluepoint, Kumamotos, Wellfleets, Miyagis; I’ve tried them all and then some. I’m a bit intimidated about trying to serve them at home, but in coming up with the menu this week, I found this recipe I clipped from an old Bon Appetit: Grilled Oysters with Bacon and Cayenne Butter. Oh my.

Photo by Hans Gissinger for Bon Appetit

Three of my favorite things—call it four when you throw in the grill—in one delicious dish. I just have to brave the shucking process and I’m THERE.

And I still want to try this recipe for Lightened Up Oyster Po’Boys from MSL. Maybe with another oyster lover in the house this weekend we’ll get to it. Especially since, short of a financial miracle, we are not making it to our favorite fried oyster shack in Menemsha this year.

So the other thing on repeat in my brain is this great song called 40 Dogs (Like Romeo & Juliet). Really a confection of perfect pop, but with (don’t throw anything at me) Bob Schneider’s terrific lyrics that rattle around in your head over and over:

we’re like Romeo & Juliet…we’re like good times that haven’t happened yet, but will

come out tonight come out with me baby we’ll throw the careful into the crazy, turn a sky black into a sky blue, turn a closed shade into a WOO HOO

it ain’t no crime it’s just dreams we’re stealin anything to hold onto this feeling.

All better with music! We heard him perform it live at Bowery Ballroom a week ago, and we CAN’T STOP PLAYING IT NOW.  Seriously, watch the video (or don’t—just listen to the music—and you will not be able to resist). We’ve been plugging Schneider’s great new album A Perfect Day since it came out—now I have to make a plug for Lovely Creatures as well.

Weekly Menu:

Sunday: Roasted Tomatoes with Anchovy Oreganata and Salad via Bon Appetit and Gwyneth Paltrow. That’s right, Gwynnie! And let me tell you this was pretty fab, and we didn’t have time to slow roast the tomatoes. We just did a quick roast at 400 degrees for about 20 mins and it was great.

Monday: Tuna Tacos, Avocados and Slaw. Simple and delicious.

Photo by Dasha Wright Ewing for Bon Appetit

Tuesday: Grandma Patsy comes to town! Sticky Balsamic Ribs, Grilled Corn and Salad

Wednesday: Rotisserie Chicken and Roasted Leeks

Thursday: Fettucine with Prosciutto, Peas and Lemon Chive Sauce with a Salad

Friday: Eat out! Grandma’s choice

Saturday: Could be pizza…not sure!

Wishing you L.A. days, in other words, ENDLESS SUMMER

June 4 – 5: Weekend Links for Brooklyn Mamas

Come, eat, bounce, play, help out a Brooklyn school.

Keeping it short, sweet, and personal this weekend with good ideas from a few Brooklyn moms I like….

What to do:

My friend Diana — who owns fab Park Slope women’s clothing and jewelry boutique Diana Kane — is the lead parent organizer of this weekend’s P.S. 39 Spring Carnival. Join the festivities — food! games! ponies! a bouncy house, and more! — this Saturday. And support a local school while you’re at it.

What to get:

Nylon Knife Set from Curious Chef, $9

My friend Lainie — who, with her chef husband, owns South Slope eatery Sidecar — turned me on to these genius Nylon kids’ knives from Curious Chef this week. Kids can safely chop and slice right alongside you in the kitchen with blades that will handle food but won’t harm little hands. I foresee lots of tomato, avocado, mango, and melon slicing this summer. I’ve ordered my set — and a vegetable peeler, too! — J. and M. are psyched.

What to try:

You could swap your place in Brooklyn for this view. Yep. Ya could.

My friend Cay is taking her family to Yosemite and San Diego this summer — and she’s doing a housing swap with a local family there, through HomeExchange.com. I’ve thought a million times about doing this…. But have never gotten around to it. The idea of exchanging homes with another family on vacation is highly appealing, though — think of the money you could save! and think how much more accessible it could make destinations you’ve fantasized about as well as those you’ve never even considered! — so I’m snapping pics of our house, plunking down the $100 annual fee, and signing us up! Cay says they’ve had offers from families in France, the Netherlands, and more. Count me in.

I’ve already got my eye on this 3-bedroom home in the South of France, right on the beach — note the view above — and very close to where our friends Kim and Pierre live.

(FYI, you can search homes for free to get an idea of what’s available — you don’t pay the fee until you’re ready to sign up and list your place, so let the travel fantasies begin….)

Happy weekend!

Weekly Menu, May 29-June 4

Cheery!

Hope everyone is having a wonderful Memorial Day weekend!

Summer has officially arrived in New York, with sunny days, and the traditional uptick in temperature; seems like just yesterday it was 60 degrees, now it’s 90.  This transition is accompanied, per usual, by my seasonal musing on why we didn’t put in central A.C. while we had a chance. Alas. Part of the weekend’s festivities include wrestling the window units back in place.  Real feel is 100 tomorrow! I might be taking a dip in the kiddie pool.

Still, can’t complain after the winter we had.

Even Spidey didn't know what to do.

All to say that grilling season is now in full swing. Anything not to turn on the oven. See below.

Weekly Menu:

Sunday:  Dinner out, yippee! Momofuku Ssam Bar with Scott & Katie and then…Bob Schneider at the Bowery Ballroom! His new album, as you know, has been swirling in my head for a month.

Monday: Toby’s graduation party! How can he be out of college? Seems like he was just ten yesterday. Looking forward to Coca-Cola Ham…

Tuesday: Grilled Fish Tacos and Cilantro Slaw

Wednesday: Spaghetti with Pecorino & Pepper with some sort of salad

Thursday: Grilled Shrimp Quesadillas with Homemade Tomato Avocado Salsa

Friday: Was going to grill a rack of lamb, but have you noticed lamb is $28/lb? So, instead…Greek Grilled Chicken with Yogurt Mint Sauce and Grilled Corn

Saturday: Trying Gwynnie’s Grilled Halibut with Mango Avocado Salsa from the June Bon App

Photo by Matt Jones for Bon Appetit

Here’s to SUMMER!

Weekly Menu, February 27 – March 5: Oscar 2011 Edition

We’re back! Our week-long break in Texas was a treat, including Austin moms-only shopping sprees (see: Adelante again) and visiting (Karen! Debra! Bailey!), the annual Grandpa Parkinson Seafood Fry and Nightly Margarita Hour, movie marathons with Grandma (the Force is now with us, always), plus the Great Sweeny Pilgrimage to see Great Pa-Pa (97!!) and Great-Grandma (a young 92). (Not pictured: nightly comb-outs in the back yard).

We re-emerged in our home city of New York nit-free and almost done with louse care (only 2 more comb-outs to go!), probably 5 lbs heavier, but evangelical; people: we’ve seen the future and it is WARM. Yes, we have spent a week wearing short sleeves and turning on car A.C. Can tulips and spring dresses be far behind?

And now it’s Oscar night. So here’s the thing: like most moms of young kids, we haven’t seen much. Our personal movie awards would go something like this:

Best Actress in the Fabulous Hair Category: Julia Roberts in Eat, Pray, Love. No the movie isn’t great. But Julia Robert’s HAIR!! Amazing, in every scene, whether it’s up in Italy or wavy in Bali. (And if you’re not into her, or great hair, hold out for Javier Bardem at the end).

Calling my stylist RIGHT NOW

Best Actress in the Fabulous Clothes Category: Melisa calls this one for Sarah Jessica Parker in her J’Adore Dior outfit in Sex & the City 2. Chrissy calls this for SJP in the great white Halston Heritage dress from the opening scene of the same movie.

 

Melisa's pick

Chrissy's pick

2011 Movie that Made us Want to Move to California: The Kids Are All Right. Obviously, we were interested in this one for other reasons (that could be a whole other post) but on the lighter side: California is so distracting. The cute bungalows! The great weather! We ♥ the left coast!

5 bedrooms, 2 baths in Los Feliz...

Movie We Didn’t See, Don’t Want to See, But Thanks for Filling Us In, Friends: Black Swan. Those crazy red eyes on Natalie Portman, and all that nutty picking feathers out of her back: we’re sure it’s interesting but no, thanks.

Best Comeback in a Corset: Helena Bonham Carter in The King’s Speech. We actually haven’t seen this one, but it’s just nice to see Helena again the way we fondly remember her from A Room with a View.

Remember this?

Movie Chrissy is Beginning to See the Point of: 127 Hours. A few hours in front of the Independent Spirit Awards — the movie was promoted continuously between the commercials for it and the show itself — and I’m starting to buy this as possibly uplifting (instead of thinking “what an idiot.”)

And seriously: we loved and are rooting for The Social Network and Annette Bening.

On to the menu:

Weekly Menu (which is VERY LOW KEY this week due to re-entry):

Sunday: We’ve got too much to do to cook, and since we discovered Fornino would deliver to us, why bother? Pizza and salad all around.

Monday: Rotisserie Chicken & Roast Broccoli (again, still recovering)

Tuesday: Burrito Night

Wednesday: Forecast says 53 degrees and sunny! Time to break out the grill. Flank Steak, Salad, and Pilaf.

Thursday: Continuing my “if you build it, it will come” approach to spring, spring-like dish: Spaghetti with Lemon & Olive Oil from Smitten Kitchen. I also love her recipe for Green Bean Salad with Fried Almonds and Pickled Red Onions to go with…may be too work intensive for a Thursday. We’ll see.

Friday: Roast Salmon, Sautéed Spinach, and Quinoa

Saturday: Pizza Night! Veggie style.

Have a great week!

Weekly Menu, January 30-February 5

Short & sweet this week:

Sunday: Maple Roasted Chicken with Apricot Jam via Sweet Paul’s fall 2010 issue. This was the cover recipe and mmmm it looks great. Love that it all cooks in one cast iron pan. Sautéed green beans on the side.

Monday: “Low-Cal” Lasagne. This is an old recipe I borrowed from my friend Amy. Not the fanciest recipe in the world, but a crowd-pleaser. Served with a simple salad.

Tuesday: White Bean Soup (another old favorite from Todd English)

Wednesday: Burritoville

Thursday: Spaghetti & Meatballs via The Family Kitchen. We have some of the meatballs frozen so this is a an easy one.

Friday: Dying to try Dorie Greenspan’s Almond Flounder Meunière (from In My French Kitchen). Perhaps with sautéed spinach or broccoli. Check out the picture.

How could this be anything but delicious?

Saturday: Pizza pizza!

Weekly Menu, January 23 – January 29

Last week was a mixed bag for new recipes; we had a big winner and some losers. The winner: The Pioneer Woman‘s amazing chicken pot pie. This recipe alone is worth the cost of the cookbook and would make a great, casual company dish. The crust was divine, the filling delish…the whole thing such a success that I’m trying another PW recipe from the cookbook this week.

I wish I could say the same for the vanilla pudding from Smitten Kitchen. I’ve had plenty of success with Deb’s recipes before, but the pudding, well, mine never set, alas. Not sure what I did wrong (maybe I didn’t cook it long enough). Scrolling through the comments on her site, I saw this happened to a few people, but plenty more had it work for them, lucky ducks. Luckily, our friend Scott brought rice pudding à la From Rice to Riches in Manhattan, so the Golden Globes dessert was saved. By the way, the Globes: a bit of a disappointment, no? The show was kind of a snooze, but the clothes were fun. Looking forward to the SAG awards next weekend.

One of the misses on the menu was the shrimp tacos from Dinner A Love Story. The shrimp was stone cold by the time I bit into my taco. DALS has given me a number of keepers (see Tony’s Steak), so perhaps this is worth trying again. Might be a dish better for summer.

Joanne Weir’s Penne with Tomatoes and Herbed Ricotta Salata also did not please. Again, suspect this is a better summer dish. We’ll try it again in August when the tomatoes are juicy and flavorful.

On to the menu this week.

Sunday: Chili a la The Pioneer Woman Cooks. I’m usually a Silver Palate chili gal, so we’re mixing it up a bit.

Monday: Roasted Vegetables and Goat Cheese over Quinoa. We’ll see. This may morph into Ina Garten’s Roasted Vegetable Soup instead.

Tuesday: Chicken with Lemon-Leek Linguine (below) via Cooking Light. We’re on a major leek kick, and this looked like a simple and tasty weekday meal.

Photo by John Autry for Cooking Light

Wednesday: Black Bean & Spinach Burritos. It’s on the menu every week for a reason; we love it.

Thursday: Fresh Orange Pork Tenderloin (still haven’t tried this from Dorie Greenspan’s Around My French Table but am determined to this week) with Lemony Steamed Brussel Sprouts

Friday: Fettucine with Mushrooms and Hazelnuts from the February Cooking Light, which, btw, is chock-a-block full of intriguing weekday recipes.

Saturday: Entertaining or being entertained…otherwise PIZZA!

Have a great week everyone! Happy recipe hunting.

2011 First Weekly Menu! January 2-8

The first week of 2011 is here!! And so is the menu.

Unfortunately, the season’s fun has taken a toll on the denizens of our home (besides me so far). I’ve got one 102 degree fever, two sore throats, one runny nose and a headache on my hands. Jello is in the fridge and restorative dishes are on the menu.

Sunday: Nina Simonds‘s Cinnamon Beef Noodles are first up. This is an Asian beef stew, filled with ginger, garlic and cinnamon. The scent of this soup is amazing, and tends to make it past even the worst stuffed nose. See Simonds’s Asian Noodles cookbook for the recipe as it is not online. A bit of a challenge, since it appears to be out of print, but the book is available used, and well-worth acquiring if you like this kind of food.

Monday: Oh yes, it’s time for Shrimp & Soba Noodles, one of my favorite meals even in healthy times. The combination of shrimp, cilantro, lime and scallions with salty soba noodles is the best. According to the chef who created this, “The sour (lime) juice protects the respiratory system…and cilantro helps when you’re congested.”

Tuesday: Taking it easy with Rotisserie Chicken and Steamed Broccoli

Wednesday: Wasting away again in spicy (for adults at least) burritoville

Thursday: Linguine with Grated Parmesan and Pepper, Green Salad and vinaigrette on the side

Friday: Steamed Halibut over Spinach

Saturday: We’re entertaining, so menu is to come. Pizza night for the kids!

Good luck everyone heading back to the regular routine this week!

Weekly Menu, New Year’s Recipes, and SNOW

The view outside our living room window. Can Spidey help with the shoveling?

Whew, well Christmas is over, and we’ve got the credit card bills to prove it! And now 2010 is going out in a roar; there’s probably two feet of snow on the ground outside. The streets aren’t plowed and there are snow drifts all over the place, climbing walls and covering cars. The kids are beside-themselves excited. I’m remembering I don’t have good gloves for shoveling. And grateful that we’re snug in our little house, with heat and food.

Perfect time to think of the menu and peruse the cookbooks we got for Christmas.

The cast of characters.

For me: The Pioneer Woman Cooks, Ree Drummond’s cookbook (you might recall it was on my Christmas list). I’m looking forward to making some of her down-home recipes (egg in the hole this morning or migas? I need some protein to get me ready for shoveling). The cookbook reads like her website: like you’re talking to a good friend, albeit one who lives on a working ranch and has more time to cook. Spicy pulled pork, here I come.

For Melisa: Around My French Table by Dorie Greenspan. Now this is how a cookbook should look: gorgeous. I want to make everything. There’s tons of white space on the pages, making the recipes easy to read, and the photography is outstanding. Not to mention the recipes, which look amazing. Even the fancy stuff sounds simple to pull together and perfectly elegant (Crab & Grapefruit Salad, Salmon & Tomatoes en Papillote, Mediterranean Swordfish with Frilly Herb Salad). I see trying Dorie’s “Go-to Beef Daube” (a type of beef stew) or Roast Chicken for Les Paresseaux (for “lazy people”) in the next few weeks for sure.

Ah.

I could look and dream all day. Alas, the kids are restless to get out in the snow and breakfast needs to hit the table. So off to the weekly menu, which is a bit abbreviated this week due to holiday visiting with friends:

Sunday: Black Bean Burritos. We needed a break from the rich Christmas meals and this was just the thing.

Monday: Looking forward to the Tortilla Soup Melisa made yesterday for lunch. For dinner: Salmon fillets (pre-marinated from Omaha Steaks -- thank you, Aunt Angel & Uncle David!) with Sautéed Green Beans & Pilaf.

Tuesday: Ellen & Kyre’s baby shower is in Williamsburg, and assuming we get a sitter, we’ll be over in the hip neighborhood for the dinner hour. The kids will dine on Pasta & Veggies.

Wednesday & Thursday: We’ll be with company both evenings and should cook together. Let’s just say I’m bringing my new cookbooks. Personally, I want King Ranch Casserole one of those nights. Not sure if the kids will like it –has anyone tried it with their kids? Chicken Pot Pie is also up there as a possibility.

Friday: New Year’s Eve will be Melisa and me celebrating with the kids. It may be all about Ina Garten’s Pasta with Truffle Butter chased by her festive Chocolate Cake.

Saturday: Pizza night for certain.

6 Things to Do with the Kids in New York City During Christmas Break

Christmas break = fun, presents, and holiday food, but it also means no school. You’ll be staring down long cold-weather days with the kids, and I bet you’re starting to sweat it (all the new toys can only take you so far). I’m giving the sitch some advance thought so I have a few tricks up my sleeve. Here’s my list of things to do — let me hear what’s on yours, too!

Let your kids create a winter log cabin at Moomah in Tribeca.

Make a cool craft at Moomah

We do a lot of easy, homespun crafts, so I decided to take a look around for a cute one to do over the holidays. A real project, rather than the usual I-make-it-up-as-I-go BS. I looked. And I looked some more. But, I have to say, I was freaking intimidated by most of what I saw out there. I just cannot see myself doing all of the necessary prep — buying tons of special materials, measuring and cutting, even sewing for God’s sake. So screw it. Let’s go to Cafe Moomah instead, where I can pay for a genius, way-creative project that someone else has come up with! (Check out the cool winter log cabin above — impressive, huh? ) All of the materials are there for you. And there’s staff on hand to help direct the kids. And there’s good coffee.

Take the kids to see MOMENTUM at the New Victory Theater

Live music, dance moves, cool visual effects — sounds awesome! It runs through January 2 and is suitable for the whole fam. Buy tix here.

Sloppy Joes (photo: Kevin @ Closet Cooking)

Make dinner with the kids

On the menu: Sloppy Joes from Dinner: A Love Story. At dinnertime, I am usually shooing the kids out of the kitchen so I can focus and get food on the table ASAP. But during the holidays, when we don’t have to stick to such a strict dinner-bath-book-bed sked, maybe I can loosen up a little. I know they’d love to help make a dinner from A to Z, and this looks like an easy recipe to try the “cooking with kids” thing out with.

Hit a museum during free museum hours

NewYorkology has a great, updated list of museums and cultural institutions that have free or pay-what-you-wish days and times during the winter.

Go see the Big Apple Circus

I’ve heard for ages how great the Big Apple Circus is; now may be the time to try it out. Mommy Poppins says this season’s show is fun and “fast-paced… with one surprise after another.” Also, that it’s small and intimate. I think the kids would love it.

(flickr photo: jonny.hunter)

Head to Hill Country Barbecue

In case you missed it, I’m from Texas. And I can tell you Hill Country Barbecue is the real deal — the dry-rub brisket and sausage from legendary Kreuz Market in Lockhart never disappoint. Lots of sides, a huge open space, and Blue Bell Ice Cream for dessert (yep, it’s made in Texas) make it a super-easy lunch spot with kids. Weather permitting, you can let them romp for a few minutes before or after in the not-too-far-away playground in Madison Square Park.

Have fun!

Other ideas for cold-weather fun:

Children’s Museum of the Arts

Brooklyn’s BounceU

The Polar Express 4-D Experience at The Bronx Zoo

(Sloppy Joes photo, Closet Cooking)