ZimWex Family Blog

You May Have Noticed...

That I haven't exactly been following through on my one recipe a week thing. Not even close. I just somehow can't really do it. It is the one thing too many that just can't be done. At this point, I am lucky if I get cooked food on the table at all! If I am lucky enough to find time/space/energy to come up with a few more new recipes, I will be sure to post them. Until then, I will spare you the post of the every other night mac n cheese! AZ

In Which she forces them to eat new foods:: #4

Okay, this is the frenzied Sunday evening version of this post.

It includes;  ZERO photos.  ZERO recipes.

But only the simple confession that I did manage to find a new dish this week.

BAKED ZITI!!

Amazingly enough, we have never made it before, and, like many other school lunches, it was requested at home.

So...on a tired Sunday night..with a messy kitchen and too much homework, I made the world's easiest Baked Ziti.   And though it was not so exciting, this worked very well for the under 13 set!

I basically boiled a pound of ziti and mixed it into a baking dish with one container of ricotta, one cup of mozzarella, and a jar of Rao's Marinara sauce.  Bake for 45 minutes at 350°. Sprinkle with parmigiano! Easy. Done.

I'll admit it, I had my mind set on a few more exciting things when I proposed the idea of a new recipe a week.  But, I'll take what I can get.

I paired it with some peas, cooked with garlic and scallions, which were also a big hit. And,  of course, a big loaf of Italian bread.

And, predictably, yes, two gave the big thumbs up, one picked her way through it, and one refused to take a bite.  

It would be way too easy any other way.

AZ

 

In which she forces them to eat new foods:: #2

On tonight's menu....

Macaroni and Cheese that does not come from a box

This is a recipe of my friend Diana's from the school potluck cookbook.  With two children, and this mother, it was a hit, though I probably would go a tiny bit easier on the optional onion the next time.  My youngest child suffered through it one slightly too cheesy elbow at a time, but nonetheless, by drinking water in between bites, managed to get to the end.  My eldest son, and total food wimp most picky eater, refused to try.  About an hour later, he decided to try (because I hadn't given him any other food).  Again, he lost confidence before the first bite. Finally! (at about 8:15 PM) he ate a very small portion.  Victory? The mere fact that there are general histrionics when macaroni and cheese  is served is enough to put me over the edge!

Sauteed Spinach

Simple spinach sauteed in garlic and olive oil.  Not new for me to cook, but new for me to ask my children to eat.  Three children at the table tonight said unprompted, Great Spinach! The other one has, ahem, yet to try it.

Baguette

Clearly not new. But good! And uncontroversial...

Brownies not from a box

Yum, yum, yum. And what else would you expect with one pound of butter and several cups of sugar? they are good and gooey and rich!

So, now you are getting the idea of what qualifies as new in my family.* How did it come to this? But, in any case, I am having fun with the idea of finding new stuff. Next week, chopped liver!

These recipes, I feel I cannot reprint, because if you email cookbook@lrei.org  you can order you own cookbook and support our school.  There are lots of great recipes in there, including from some fabulous chefs like Mario Batali! 

AZ

*Literally any change from the exact recipe  they are used to.

 

In which she forces them to eat new foods:: #1

And we're off.

And, yes, it went somewhat the way I had predicted.

But... I did it. Cooked a whole new meal. Served it and did not cook any other additional food for the kids.  Three of them got dessert. Only one went to bed in a fury over being denied a post-dinner snack.* And the wife was conspicuously un-suspicious of the entire situation.**

The menu was....

Roast Pork with Balsamic Vinegar.

 Quite good (what isn't with balsamic vinegar?), but too unnecessarily complicated.  You could easily accomplish the same thing grilling the pork quickly.  No point in even reprinting the recipe.

Potato and Pancetta Gratin, from the River Cafe cookbook. (where most all of the best things I make come from).

4 oz. pancetta affumicata thinly sliced

4 tablespoons olive oil
4 garlic cloves peeled and finely sliced
20 sage leaves
2 lbs. roseval or similar yellow waxy potatoes peeled
1 cup double cream
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
parmesan freshly grated

Preheat the oven to 375.***
Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the pancetta over a medium heat.
Stir in the garlic, add the sage, cook for a minute and remove from the heat.
Slice each potato lengthways down the middle so that you are left with two thick slices.
Place in a large bowl and add the pancetta and oil mixture and the cream.
Season with salt and pepper and toss together.
Put in a baking dish making sure that the potato pancetta and sage are evenly distributed cover with foil and cook in the oven for 40 minutes.
About 20 minutes before the end of cooking remove the foil so that the surface of the potatoes becomes brown.
Add a little parmesan 5 minutes before the end.

 

We LOVED This recipe and I will definitely make again and would also be a good potluck recipe. I had to cook it longer, but think I used the wrong kind of potatoes or sliced them too quickly. Nonetheless, at the end of the day you are eating potatoes, heavy cream, bacon, and cheese.  Very hard to f$*(% up.

Broccoli Rabe with Garlic and Oil

I totally did not make my kids finish this because I myself did not like it. I never cook broccoli rabe...But like it in restaurants. However, it was totally bitter. Advice?

All served with a baguette.

And so, for one first early January week, a goal accomplished! Hold your applause, please, until I make at least a second one.

AZ

*worth noting that this particular child goes to bed in a post-dinner no-snack fury easily half the days of the week, so I did not take that one too personally. 

**full of surprises after 20 years of wedded bliss...

***who knows how to make a degree symbol?

Being good class parents.

We are NOT really good class parents.

We bring the paper products to the potlucks, forget to bring the money for the class gifts, and are generally clueless, most of the time.

So, true to form, we were the LAST parents in Ruby's class to come in and cook with the class.*  (we still have not signed up to bring in snack, either...)

So today was the day and we went and had a lovely time cooking with the children, who were all so well-behaved and steady, seeing as they were in school.  Nothing like they are at home.  They even did the dishes, swept, and wiped the table when done.

We made the delicious SPIDER MONKEY BREAD.**

This was a concept that Jerry had brought home from school at an earlier age, that we make from time to time at home.  Turned out to be a perfect choice for cooking with kids, as it mostly just involves rolling dough into balls.

Here's the recipe:

Buy Crescent Rolls

Uncork them and roll them into small balls, or other shapes.

Roll them in cinnamon-sugar.

Bake.

Couldn't be easier and I absolutely recommend it as both a yummy treat and a fun activity with the kids.

AZ

*To be fair, we did have a prior meeting with the class in which we discussed gay marriage and pets.

**I don't understand the name, either.

Peanut Butter Cookies that are not too dry.

Over the weekend, I made some peanut butter cookies.

My kids are so freakish, however, that only one out of four would TRY THEM.

What is the matter with them?

Anyway, more for me.

I have been feeling for a while that my peanut butter cookies are always too dry (and maybe it is traumatic memories of those cookies that have made my children UNWILLING TO TRY new ones).  Anyhow, I posted on my facebook page that I was looking for a new recipe, and guess what? That facebook thing really works.

I got a couple of recommendations within 20 minutes or so.*

This is the one I made. 

Preheat oven to 350.

Grease a cookie sheet.

Mix together: 1 cup peanut butter, 3/4 cup sugar (brown and white mixed together), 1 egg.

Make into balls, bake for ten minutes.  When removing from the oven, do that little fork design thing.

Making these cookies was a very strange experience. The lack of flour was unnerving and the goop that I was trying to mold into balls seemed unpromising, to say the least.  However.....it worked!

Cookies came out perfectly and all grownups in the room seemed to love them.  Your kids are probably more flexible (about new cookies) than mine are, so maybe they will like them, too.

Thanks, facebook.

AZ

*I love the internet.

Lasagna. Yum.

So I wish my kids ate lasagna.

Because I really love it.

But between them not eating it, and me trying to be (from time-to-time) low carb, we don't make it a heck of a lot.

HOWEVER, I still enjoy making it, and so I tend to make it for other people. Actually, truth be told, it is almost the ONLY thing I make when I am supposed to make food for a. a potluck, b. a new baby, c. someone who is going through a hard time.

A few of you have asked me for the recipe over the years, so figured I would post it.

Turkey Sausage-Spinach Lasagna with Spicy Tomato Saucesubscribe to Bon Appétit

ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 1/4 pounds hot Italian turkey sausages, casings removed 
• Spicy Tomato Sauce (  I use one jar of Rao's Marinara Sauce)
• 1 15-ounce container ricotta cheese
• 1 10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, squeezed dry
• 1 3/4 cups grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 large eggs
• 3 tablespoons whipping cream
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 9 uncooked lasagna noodles
• 3 cups shredded provolone cheese (about 12 ounces)

preparation

Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add sausages; sauté until brown, using fork to break up meat into coarse pieces, about 7 minutes. Add Spicy Tomato Sauce. Simmer 5 minutes.

Position rack in center of oven; preheat to 375°F. Whisk ricotta, spinach, 1 cup Parmesan, eggs, cream, basil, oregano and pepper in large bowl. Set aside. Spoon 1 cup sauce over bottom of 13 x 9 x 2-inch glass baking dish. Place 3 noodles over sauce in single layer. Spread 1 cup sauce over noodles. Spoon 1 cup ricotta mixture over sauce. Sprinkle 1/4 cup Parmesan and 1 cup provolone over ricotta mixture. Repeat layering with 3 noodles, 1 cup sauce, 1 cup ricotta mixture, 1/4 cup Parmesan and 1 cup provolone. Arrange remaining 3 noodles over cheese. Spoon 1 cup sauce over noodles. Sprinkle remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan and 1 cup provolone over lasagna. Dollop remaining ricotta mixture atop lasagna. Spoon 2 1/2 cups sauce around ricotta dollops. Tightly cover baking dish with foil.

Bake lasagna 50 minutes; uncover and continue baking until noodles are tender and lasagna is hot and bubbly, about 25 minutes longer. Let lasagna stand 15 minutes before serving. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cool slightly. Cover and refrigerate. Rewarm, covered with foil, in 350°F. oven about 45 minutes.)

Meanwhile, rewarm remaining sauce in small saucepan over medium heat. Serve lasagna, passing remaining sauce.

Pretty easy and always a hit.

Bon Appetit!

AZ

What we saw today*.

Inside:

A beautiful ballerina

With a little pantyline issue.

 

Some work at the barre:

We take this very seriously:

And then outside:

It will probably be either melted or dirty in the morning, but until then, Let it Snow, let it snow, let it snow...

AZ

* fyi most of the ballet pics were Jerry's.

The quiche.

Many of you have tried this crustless quiche at our house, and liked it.

I am blogging about it especially for my friend A, afflicted with sad case of gestational diabetes and cut off from all things crust.

It is, however, chock full o' good things like bacon, heavy cream, and gruyere.

Also a very good way to get one's kids to eat spinach. *

Here it goes:

Ingredients

4 oz. bacon 1/2 yellow onion, thinly sliced 6 eggs 3/4 c heavy cream 2 boxes (10 oz. each) frozen chopped broccoli or spinach, thawed and sqeezed dry 1/2 pound gruyere cheese, shredded 1/2 tsp salt 1/4 tsp pepper

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350*F. Butter a 10-inch tart pan or 9-inch deep pie plate ( I used a square 9 by 9 glass baking dish).  2. In a large skillet over medium heat, cook bacon until crisp. Drain on paper towels; coarsly chop. 3. Remove all but 1 tablespoon bacon drippings from skillet. Add onion and cook 5 minutes, until softened but not brown. In a large bowl, combine eggs, cream, broccoli, cheese, salt, and pepper. Stir in bacon and onion. 4. Pour mixture into prepared pan. Bake 1 hour and 15 minutes (tenting with foil, if necessary, to prevent over-browning) or until a knife inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes before cutting into wedges. Bon Appetit! AZ

*Yep, I really get a high out of other adults coming over and seeing my kids eating something so green and spinachy, because it is just so......rare.

Eat your brussel sprouts.

These were famous last words in my family...famous before I barfed 'em all up.

Lets be honest (sorry, Mom) brussel sprouts of our youth (frozen and then steamed) SUCKED.  It has taken me years to be willing to voluntarily put one into my mouth.

However, since I am on my new local food/farmers market kick, I was inspired to pick up some brussel sprouts (on a huge stalk, who knew they grew that way?) from the farm last weekend.

Tonight came the big test....I dug up a recipe for sauteed brussel sprouts with pistachios and lemon, and we all agreed* that it was yummy. So, in case any of you have been looking for the perfect brussel sprout recipe (or even if you haven't), you should check it out.

Here it is:

3 tablespoons grapeseed oil

1 tablespoon minced shallot
12 large brussels sprouts (about 1 1/2 pounds), trimmed, leaves separated from cores (about 8 cups), cores discarded
3/4 cup shelled unsalted natural pistachios
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add shallot and stir 20 seconds. Add Brussels sprout leaves and pistachios, and sauté until leaves begin to soften but are still bright green, about 3 minutes. Drizzle lemon juice over. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to bowl and serve.

AZ

*By all, I don't mean anyone under 5 feet tall.