Intellectually, I know it’s December. The Christmas carols are playing on repeat in the local Macy’s and the front of the grocery store is filled with wreathes, poinsettias and other greenery. The Christmas cards have begin arriving. But all the same, I have this feeling of “Oh my goodness, it’s DECEMBER!” Like how did that happen? Wasn’t it just summertime?

And despite my good intentions to have a decked out house on December 1, the decorating has been slower, steadier. A mini-tree with food-related ornaments went up in the kitchen last week (an idea that I totally swiped from Cate). The wreath is hung outside. And today, I added the giant ornaments to our front porch. Next up? The lights outside, and the various angels and Santa’s inside. The tree won’t come until just before Christmas.

All the same, it is beginning to feel like Christmas. That makes me happy. And the kids too.

With the holidays already underway, holiday parties are abound. That means delicious drinks, great conversation and fab holiday appetizers (that is what parties are all about, right?) … and this amazing little Roasted Red Pepper and Artichoke Crostini is perfect. The bread lends a slight crunch. The hummus adds a whisper of creamy base and roasted red pepper and artichoke topping is sweet-cool-warm-savory. It sounds like a lot going on, but really all these flavors and textures are subtly working together to create a mouthwatering bite.

Want to make it an even easier, faster holiday appetizer to throw together — buy precut French bread. My grocery store bakery sells it at a slight premium, but it’s worth it when you are short on time (or just don’t want to cut the bread yourself).

Are you hosting a party this holiday season? What’s on the menu?

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Mmm. Guacamole. Just add chips or chopped up veggies.

But this isn’t your typical guacamole. This one is infused with the tart fabulousness of tomatillos, a relative of eggplants and gooseberries. It’s unexpected, but delicious all the same. We have a big crop of tomatillos growing in our garden this year, so I foresee a lot more Tomatillo Guacamole in our near future.

Recently I served this fun take on guacamole as an appetizer at a family birthday party and the bowl was completely cleared. Not a stitch of leftover guac. I don’t know who liked it the best: the kids or the adults. If you (or your kids) like avocado, guacamole and the like, then this is a fabulous thing to serve. Even if they don’t like avocado, this is delicious.

On a side note, kids do eat avocado. And like it. I know plenty of children who are practically addicted to it (and guacamole too!). But when I recently featured this recipe in my Tablespoon column, in a post about Kid-Friendly After-School Snack Ideas, I got a surprisingly negative reaction. I took some serious heat on Tablespoon’s Facebook Fan Page for suggesting that kids (or anyone) would enjoy this.

Guess what? Kids do eat this. They do. Not all of them (because seriously, everyone has preferences and tastes). But there are plenty who do.

When I spoke at BlogHer last month, I made the point that approaching food and eating with positivity is so important to getting kids to eat well — and really it is. Avoid negative statements (“I don’t think you will like this but..” “You usually don’t eat this …” “It’s okay if you don’t like it …”) and kids will be more likely to try things. Will this work every time for every child? Of course not! But even if it only works sometimes, it’s better than having your child married to a diet of white foods or whatever. Just my two cents.

What do you think?

Some more recipes you might like:

• Lime Guacamole
• Tomato Tomatillo Salsa

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Back to school is heavy on my mind these days. We are less than a week away from Will starting kindergarten. But as I wrote recently on Tablespoon, it’s Will’s school lunch that I think about most. Ok, think might be an understatement. I obsess.

I’ve checked out the lunch menu for his school and its … not good. A packed lunch it will be (and he’s okay with that!). Still, what do I pack? How do I keep it from getting too boring? Thank goodness for good friends like Cate, who give me fab ideas (like frozen grapes as a snack/way to keep the whole lunchbox cold. Love that!).

One snack that I know I will be packing is homemade hummus and veggies. Will adores hummus, as does Paige. Toss in some slices of cucumber, red peppers and carrots and you have a delish snack (or even a lunch item!).

This fast, easy hummus is filled with the warm, smoky-sweet flavor of sundried tomatoes and my very favorite herb: basil. I made it this afternoon for a very special video shoot (more on that later!) and it totally got rave reviews.

Now, I need some more ideas. What inventive foods do you pack in lunchboxes?

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Last night, a neighbor dropped by as we were starting to sit down to dinner. She took a look at the table and said, “Wow.” Our dinner featured grilled sirloin, which I sliced thin so that we could stretch the portions so that it would feed seven. Then there was Sweet and Sour Red Cabbage, rice pilaf and this vegetable platter with Basil White Bean Dip.

This easy bean dip was one of those things that just came to me when I was trying to figure out what to do with some leftover basil. I didn’t want it to go to waste, and I also didn’t want to turn it into pesto. Instead, I found a can of white beans in the cabinet and set to work. White bean dip, here we come!

Best of all? This Basil White Bean Dip helped me use up some spare veggies too. We had celery, red sweet peppers, and cucumbers with this, but any firm summer veggies would do. The simple, easy, bright flavors of this easy bean dip are a big favorite around here.

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Oh tomatillos … are they fruits? Vegetables? Tomatoes? Something else? When I tried them for the first time a few years ago, I was totally filled with a bazillion questions. The papery husk, and slightly sticky skin, had me all sorts of confused. But I read up on them and figured out how to use them to make delicious dishes. For the record, they are a fruit that is part of the nightshade family — and a relative of the tomato, eggplant and gooseberry. They are popularly used in Mexican cooking.

Earlier this summer, I decided to try growing tomatillos in my garden. With just one plant, I figured we would get a few tomatillos .. enough to make a recipe or two. But not the plant is now huge. It’s branches have extended far and wide, bearing so many little husks for tomatillos that it’s almost unbelievable. Once they are all fully grown, it will be quite the harvest.

If you aren’t growing tomatillos though, you can also purchase them at grocery stores and farmers’ markets all over. The tart taste is fabulous in sauces and other dishes.

My favorite way to use them? In salsa. This easy, fast, raw salsa is a cinch to make and it pairs well with everything from tortilla chips to tacos to cheddar omelets. Tomatoes, tomatilloes, garlic, a shallot, a jalapeno pepper and lime juice are whirled together in a food processor with salt and pepper to make a delicious fresh salsa. And since it’s pretty mild, the kids love it too …

Of course, you could switch out the jalapeno for a hotter pepper and make it hot too. Just sayin’.

Also try my Tomatillo Guacamole recipe!

Do you have a favorite tomatillo recipe? Share a link! I am looking for more great uses for these delicious fruits.

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Last night, I was watching television and the news came on. Typically, I avoid watching the news because I hate being force-fed all the murder and mayhem that goes on. And while I do not at all believe in ignoring reality, I choose to focus on things that are pertinent to my family: politics, health, money, etc. I know very well that bad things happen all the time, but I can’t let that clutter my mind. After years of writing those stories, I just can’t.

So, usually I change the channel when the news comes on. But last night, I heard the announcer say that coming up was a story on a new study that links asthma and a high-fat diet. I didn’t change the channel. That I had to watch. I’ve had asthma since I was a very young child, and it’s been particularly bad for the past five years.

Turns out that a new study from researchers at the University of Newcastle in Australia looked how eating high-fat meals (a burger and hashbrowns) impacted asthma and the effectiveness of albuterol, the rescue inhaler that many asthmatics use. Not only did symptoms worsen after the high fat meal (which was compared to responses after eating a lower fat meal), but the medication’s effectiveness was lessened.

I woke Shawn up when I heard that, astonished that a study had proven something that I had wondered about for awhile. Last year, I stopped cooking and eating pancetta because it consistently gave me bad asthma attacks. We talked about the implications of the study and whether it should change how we eat.

The answer? A clear, resounding yes. I have a high-fat diet, and have had one for years — ever since I was pregnant with Will. I don’t shy away from butter or oil, although I do attempt to use both in moderation, and I adore a good steak. In trying to eat more naturally, I have eaten more fat as a result. A lot more. But if a simple change in my diet can make my asthma symptoms just a little better, than that is totally worth it.

I won’t be going back to low-fat processed foods, like the ones I ate for years and years. But I will make smarter, healthier food choices. More chicken, more turkey, more fish … We’ll have to make smarter choices about the cuts of beef we eat on a regular basis, and even the fat content of the meats. Maybe I will have to eat more spinach (which admittedly, I am not that fond of) for iron … I don’t know. It’s going to be a challenge to find a new way of eating that bridges my desire for a local, natural diet and my need for a low-fat one.

Whether it improves my asthma or just helps me lose weight, I can see only positives coming from this. This was just the catalyst I needed to really commit to changing how I eat.

Now, this is where I would normally come up with some transition between the story and the recipe but there is no natural transition … so instead, I just give you a delicious, homemade hummus recipe. It’s rich and creamy with a tinge of sweetness from the caramelized shallots. Easy as pie … and it falls in line with my need for a lower-fat diet.

Does this study change anything for you? Share! Read the rest of this entry…

When my friend came to visit this weekend, I don’t think she was expecting me to be recipe testing. But it was a rainy, dreary Sunday and that meant that heading to the zoo, the park or anywhere else outdoors was out. So, I whipped out my handy dandy notebook and decided to test a few recipes.

This friend has known me since before I could really cook. In college, I tried. I really did. But it felt like recipes were written in some version of English I had never seen before. My friend was there when I eschewed cans of Spaghetti-O’s to make a fancy-pants pasta lunch that looked strangely like … Spaghetti-O’s (and she appropriately laughed at the time I spent creating from scratch what I already had). She braved my many vegetarian soups … which all tasted strangely similar. And then, when my cooking ambitions were replaced by frequent ventures for take out, she and I supported each other as we dropped all the pounds.

So, this Sunday, she helped me eat my way through three deviled egg recipes that I’ve been working on. One was a fail — it happens. But the other two turned out perfectly. There was supposed to be a fourth but, well, it turns out that there is a such thing as too many eggs …

These are Will’s and my favorite of the bunch. I love the nuanced combination of flavors in these Prosciutto and Arugula Deviled Eggs. They’re a little salty and peppery … but not too much of any flavor. It’s subtle, but still a step up from the ordinary.

These would be a fantastic addition to any Easter spread.

On another note, as part of my work with Tablespoon, I have been helping them develop an awesome feature where you can embed recipes into blogs, making it easy to print. Check it out after the jump – and let me know what you think.

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Sundried tomatoes are one of my favorite ingredients. Ever since college, when I first started making versions of sundried tomato pasta, I have been a huge, huge fan. So, whenever I see an alluring package of little, flat dried tomatoes, I have to buy them and use them. They are good in everything from pesto to foccacia to meatballs … and many things in between.

This past weekend, some good friends visited from New York and I wanted to make a few good dishes for them. But, the dishes needed to be mostly cook-ahead — I wanted to enjoy the company, not slave in the kitchen while they were there. On the menu was this spread: a high-flavor mix of white beans, sundried tomatoes, garlic and basil. Not only is it really tasty, but it’s also a cinch to make.

To make this, you start with some hot olive oil. Toss in some crushed garlic, chopped basil and chopped sundried tomatoes and let it simmer for a few minutes to bring out the flavor. I love the scent that is produced while the mixture is cooking. It’s positively intoxicating. Now, the sundried tomatoes I use are dry-packed. They’re simply my favorite — and I may or may not actually snack on them from time to time. Just sayin’.

Next, you toss the beans with the sundried tomato mixture — just enough to coat them. I use Great Northern beans in this recipe because I like the meaty taste of them. But if you prefer, you could use a different white bean.

Finally, everything gets poured into a food processor. Oil, tomatoes, garlic – the works. You whirl it around a bit until the beans are totally pulverized and it’s got an even, thick texture. Remember, this is a spread so it’s supposed to be pretty thick.

Transfer it to a bowl and serve it up with some thin slices of French bread. If you want, you can put some pretty basil leaves on top and drizzle it with a little (very good) olive oil, just before serving. Make sure you have a knife or spreader handy so everyone can help themselves.

What do you like to make when guests visit? Share in the comments! Read the rest of this entry…

When I was in college, I had a roommate one semester who loved garlic bread more than anyone I had ever met. Her mom would buy her a loaf from the grocery store every week and she’d bake it up one portion at a time. As much as I adore garlic bread myself, that was a level of adoration that I hadn’t expected.

Nonetheless, I get it. The combination of warm, melted butter, garlic, salt and perhaps a little parsley and cheese is just delicious. Make that butter into a nutty brown butter and it’s extraordinary. And that’s exactly why I decided to put it on some snack mix.

My family wasn’t the snack mix making sort of family, so honestly, the first time I ever bought these cereals was when I was making this recipe. Will was a little surprised to see me buying three boxes of cereal at once. I rarely buy cereal … and certainly not en masse. But sometimes it’s okay, right?

If you’ve never made a snack mix at home, then you are totally missing out. Sure, it sounds fussy, but it’s totally not. All you need to do is stir, mix and bake. Really!

Want a different variety of snack mix? Check out my latest post on Tablespoon for ideas. Read the rest of this entry…

Forgive me, I don’t have a great photo of this recipe. Sigh.

For Christmas, my husband got me something that I’ve been wanting for a long, long time: a point and shoot camera. I love my big Canon with its lenses and power and sharpness. But I wanted something that I could tote around everywhere and capture impromptu shots of the kids anywhere.

The only problem? I am completely inept when it comes to taking pictures with this camera. I can’t seem to get the hang of it to get brilliant, clear, in-focus shots … The photo below? Taken with the point and shoot (and thank goodness, since I hadn’t taken many shots of this dip!). Figures, I can handle a camera with about a billion settings, but the point and shoot eludes me. Am I the only one with this problem?

Okay, onto the dip. I love spinach artichoke dip, and have since my very first bite of it years and years ago. The combination of cheese, spinach and artichoke is just delightful — and perfect for a party. Last week, when I wrote about it for Tablespoon, I also decided that it would be great to make for Super Bowl Sunday. This healthier version was a huge hit — Paige, my two year old, couldn’t get enough of it (seriously, she kept asking for more … and licking it off the bread).

With ingredients that are a little lighter (reduced fat cheese, milk, etc), and a hearty dose of spinach and artichokes, this recipe is a little friendlier on your waist than some others … as long as you don’t eat it all yourself.

Looking for an appetizer for a crowd? This is fast, easy and won’t disappoint.

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