Don’t worry if you missed it: You can still watch the recorded video from the class on The Motherhood.

There were a lot of awesome questions asked — about slow cookers themselves, what works best in cookers, etc.

For my part, I asked Chef Duran if it’s okay to just toss raw ground beef in a slow cooker to make chili. He said you can (yay!) but the flavor deepens if you get a good sear on it first. Still, after watching many episodes of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, I am really tempted to try making a super easy chili in the slow cooker without cooking the ground beef first. It seems to break down the ground beef into tiny pieces, which could be awesome for a chili to top nachos, baked potatoes and more. Have you ever done that?

Duran also suggested that it’s a great idea to spray the slow cooker with cooking oil spray before cooking because it makes cleanup easier later. I always forget to do that, but can’t wait to try (and hopefully have easier cleanup!).

If you missed the class, you can read more about it by heading over to The Motherhood blog for a full recap. Also, special thanks to ReadySetEat, George Duran and The Motherhood for allowing me to co-host.

Disclosure: I was compensated for co-hosting the class. All opinions are my own.

Sometimes you need a hands-free dinner. Like when the kids have activities after school that keep you running. Like when you know you’ll be home just in time to sit down to eat. Like when you want to be spontaneous and don’t want to have to cook when you get back.

Whether you love to cook or tolerate it, sometimes you just need dinner to make itself.

Slow cookers are great for that. When the kids and I recently took advantage of an unseasonably warm day to picnic at the beach and take a bike ride, having a meal in the slow cooker was a godsend. It meant that we could take our time, enjoy ourselves and when we arrived home, dinner was waiting.

Are you a slow cooker fan? I didn’t use one for years, but I’ve become a convert — it’s just so easy, convenient and handy to make a good dinner without a good deal of time in the kitchen. Mine makes an appearance two to three times a month. How about you?

If you aren’t using one, I urge you to give it another try. Coming home to a fresh dinner bubbling away in a slow cooker is such a treat.

Also, I wanted to invite you to a fun slow cooker event that I am co-hosting on Thursday with nine other bloggers. It’s virtual cooking class on The Motherhood hosted by Chef George Duran. The topic is Game Day and Slow Cooker Recipes. With the Super Bowl this Sunday, there couldn’t be a better time for it.

What to come? Here are the details:

What: A virtual cooking school class called Game Day and Slow Cooker Recipes. The class is part of the Cooking Connections series on The Motherhood.

When: Thursday, February 2, at 1 p.m. ET.  It will last 30 minutes.

Where: TheMotherhood – here is the link to the page where the class will be held: http://www.themotherhood.com/talk/show?id=62363

About the class: Get ready – and hungry – for Game Day! Cold weather and football puts us in the mood for some tasty slow cooker recipes.  Join us to share your favorites and be inspired by suggestions from others! We will watch a live video demonstration of a slow cooker recipe from website Ready Set Eat while chatting via text.

The class is sponsored by ReadySetEat.com and ConAgra Foods, and it is hosted by TheMotherhood.  You can get and share suggestions for crowd-pleasing halftime recipes during this class and turn to recipe website ReadySetEat.com for more quick and easy meal ideas.

The other nine co-hosts are …

Johanna, Momma Cuisine
John, Stay at Stove Dad
Liz, Thoughts of a Mommy
Melanie, The Coupon Goddess
Migdalia, Latina on a Mission
Robyn, Robyn’s Online World
Shari, Earth Mother Just Means I’m Dusty
Silvia, Mama Latina Tips
Yoly, Cuponeando

Disclosure: I am being compensated for my participation in this virtual cooking class. All opinions expressed are my own.

Tasting cups ... different brew methods.

Coffee and I? We’re old buddies. I grew up in a coffee-drinking family, who gathered every weekend day for a leisurely cup. In summer, we’d all sit on the sun porch — even before I started drinking coffee myself — and chat, sometimes inviting neighbors in with a friendly call out the window. Sometimes, we still do that.

My first cup of coffee was had at age 10. We were in Florida for Thanksgiving, and my vacation friend (she and I were always there at the same time every year) and I decided to be a little rebellious and have a cup from the free coffee bar. My family didn’t bat an eye, and I’ve been drinking coffee ever since. By the time I hit sophomore year of high school, I had my own gigantic travel mug that accompanied me to school every morning until I lost it in college.

Eventually, I cut back on my consumption. I mean, really, brewing a whole pot just for me? That’s a little too much. These days, I usually have one to two cups a day. Sometimes I have three, if I end up at the coffee shop to get some work done. Turns out, all the coffee drinking is a healthy move. My husband is now up to two to three cups a day himself, something supported by recent research that drinking a couple cups a day can lower the risk of prostate cancer in men. (Ladies, good news for you too: female coffee drinkers also have a lowered risk of developing breast cancer.)

A Starbucks in Seattle

But coffee drinking is more than a health move or a morning ritual: it’s a social thing. Coffee brings people together — neighbors over a morning cup, spouses at the kitchen table, co-workers in the latte line. There’s no secret why the term coffee klatch came into existence. Coffee is naturally friendly.

When was the last time you lingered over a cup, talking about whatever was on your mind? For me, it was this morning. When was the last time you and a friend met at a coffee shop for a quick chat – planned or unplanned? When was the last time you put on a pot of coffee to share?

If you haven’t done these things lately, you should. It’s worth it.

Given my love of coffee, you can imagine how excited I was about a recent adventure. A couple months back, I received an incredible invitation to attend Starbucks Coffee College in Seattle. It’s a once-a-year program where Starbucks invites a handful of writers and journalists to go behind the scenes at their company, seeing how they make coffee from procuring the beans to roasting to serving customers. I could barely contain my excitement as I lined up childcare for the kids and prepared to go (I may or may not have referred to it as “the mothership calling me home”).

Cate, enjoying a cup of coffee

Not only did I get to take this amazing trip and learn so much about coffee making, but I got to do it with my good friend Cate from Sweetnicks. (I mentioned this trip briefly when I returned, promising a few more details.)

As a journalist, this trip wasn’t just about fun though — it was about research and learning, both of which happened in droves. I came home with incredible amounts of information to fuel a year’s worth of coffee-related assignments. I have a notebook filled with pitch ideas for the websites and publications that I work for — and a ton of background information to get me started. That’s incredibly valuable, and I cannot wait to write them all — whether right here or for other publications.

Hands on a French Press

In the meantime, think about the socialness of coffee. Plan a coffee date, invite a neighbor in for a cup or just chill with your family over a freshly brewed pot. With our busy, technology filled lives today, it can be easy to forget about connecting on a personal, face-to-face level with people in real-life. But it’s important, and you should. Whatever you do, enjoy that time and have a lovely weekend.

In the meantime, who do you share your coffee experience with?

Disclosure: Starbucks provided me with transportation, lodging, food and training during my Starbucks Coffee College experience. They didn’t require me to write about them or do anything more than attend and follow their schedule. Anything I write here or anywhere else regarding the experience is my own personal opinion and not impacted by the free trip.

Homemade pasta with pesto

If there was just one carb to darken my doorway for the rest of eternity, it would be pasta. My kids request it nightly. I like it. My husband likes it. And there are endless ways to flavor and dress it. As far as versatile ingredients go, pasta is right up there.

Typically, we eat dried pasta. Heck, if you were to open my kitchen cabinets, you would find no less than five boxes of dried pasta. Go down to my basement and there is a whole tote of pasta (I stocked up during a great sale). It’s easy, and we like it.

But lately, homemade pasta has been on my brain. When I recently went to Minneapolis, I ate a delicate, tender housemade pasta that was out of this world. Every bite was creamy, silky bliss. Ever since then, I have been toying with the idea of making pasta again. The last time I made pasta was years ago, and I didn’t feel like the results were better than my favorite dried pasta, so I swore it off. But things change — skill levels, interests, desires … so this weekend, I did it again.

The recipe I used came from Vegetarian Pasta Cookbook, a cookbook that I’ve own for … a long time (and we will just leave it at that). It started like most pasta recipes do — flour and eggs. But it also had oil and water.

The dough is mixed together until it’s crumbly. Then, you turn it out onto a floured surface and knead it until the gluten breaks down and it gets smooth. It takes maybe five minutes of kneading to get it there. While I was working the dough, Paige came running in to see what I was up to. She, as is often the case, pulled up her favorite stool and stood to watch. I know she wanted to help, but being my first time, I decided to press on myself. Next time though, I would love to let both Will and Paige take a turn at knead (with just-cleaned hands, of course). It’s an interesting process to feel as the dough goes from crumbles and bits of flour between your fingers to an elastic-y ball of dough. The change in texture and composition is amazing.

In any case, one the dough is smooth, it’s stuck into a resealable plastic bag and left to sit for about a half-hour.

Once it’s all rested (and yes, that is an important step), the dough is rolled thin in a pasta roller into a sheet. Again, this could be a good place to get the kids involves — they could catch the sheets as they come out of the pasta roller and set them aside for cutting (natch, that’s the next step). I made linguine, using a pasta cutter attachment for my KitchenAid for this step as well.

Now, this is the point where I have gotten frustrated in the past — because when you are inexperienced in the art of pasta making, it all can be intimidating. But this time, I learned a few things. First, the dough needs to be relatively thin before feeding it into the roller for the first time — otherwise it will get stuck. Also, the dough that you aren’t rolling should remain covered so that it doesn’t dry out. And finally, the dough needs to be rolled thinner than you think you want it to be, because it will puff upon cooking.

In the end, the pasta was pretty good — tender, but not silky. Flavorful, but not perfect. The dough was firm — perhaps too much so — which made handling it a challenge as well.

So, no, this isn’t the perfect homemade pasta recipe, so I am not going to share it today. But I am on the hunt. One of the big things to come out of my pasta making was discovering that it’s not as intense a project as I remember it being. All in all, the pasta went from flour to plate in about an hour and a half, which isn’t bad for a lazy weekend day.

Do you make your own pasta? Have a favorite recipe? Share in the comments!

P.S. Love pasta? Johnsonville Sausage has recently launched Pastaville, a recipe contest using their Italian sausage. Head over to the site to find out how to enter — and yes, I will be entering soon too! Details on my entry to come …

Easy Low-Fat Salt and Pepper Chicken, Take Two

If you are a longtime reader of Sarah’s Cucina Bella, you might remember my recipes for Easy Low-Fat Salt and Pepper Chicken Breasts. It was a long post with adorable pictures of the kids, and a bad picture of the chicken. On Tuesday, I had the chance to reshoot this recipe with the help of professionals to figure out how to take something basic like this and make it look fabulous. The photo above is the result.

When I created my (ridiculously easy) recipe for Salt and Pepper Chicken, I was clueless how to make it look tasty in a photograph. I ended up tossing one piece on a white plate and snapping a picture.

The original photo ... Would you crave that?

And did it look irresistible? Like that special, easy recipe that everyone should have in their back pocket to make when you have no time to cook dinner or when you need a lightly seasoned chicken breast for topping a salad or drizzling with an extra special sauce? Um. No. That’s the original photo at the right … See how it looked more like a bland piece of chicken? The darkness and poor lighting didn’t help anything at all. I doubt anyone gave it a second look.

As a food writer who has had to learn to shoot photographs of the dishes and recipes I create, it’s been an uphill battle. This photograph frustrated me, but I just wasn’t sure what to do about it.

Yea.

So, when my buddies (and coworkers!) at Tablespoon asked me to choose a couple potential recipes for my photography lesson with General Mills pros on my recent trip, this one topped the list. Fortunately, they agreed.

A closer look ...

The food stylist suggested turning this one recipe into a meal on a plate for better photographing. She made some couscous as a side dish, and that doubled as a way to prop up the chicken, giving it more body in the photograph. For a vegetable, we used a few carefully placed fresh cooked green beans. What a big change, right? I can hardly believe that I took these photos.

I learned so much during my training session, so I wanted to pass along a few tips for you too …

5 Food Photography Tips for the Non-Photographer

1. Don’t just pick a plate. It’s important that the color and shape of the plate compliments the food. Hold a few up to see which works the best with the colors in whatever you are photographing … or even try the food out on it first. Don’t be afraid to shoot a test shot to see which looks better in the digital realm.
2. Go small. The smaller the plate, the better your food will look — you really don’t want all that empty space around it, since it will just make the food look diminutive.
3. Take test shots. Trying to decide which place mat or napkin to use? Choose a few, and put them around the plate so you can compare how they look. Then take a test shot and whittle the linens down. Same goes for plates and other decorations.
4. Use either complimentary or contrasting colors. You can’t just choose red because you like it. Instead, consider using similar colors (such as a green napkin and plate) or contrasting ones (such as a dark brown plate and a pale khaki napkin). This will make the food stand out.
5. Don’t let the props/plates/background be distracting. Ultimately, you want the food to stand out, not the decorations that you put around it. So be sure the food is front and center and in focus (and remove anything that overshadows it).

Easy Low-Fat Salt and Pepper Chicken Breasts
serves 4

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts
kosher salt
course black pepper
olive oil cooking spray

Heat a skillet over medium heat on your stove. Make sure the size of the skillet will hold all the chicken.

Rinse the chicken breasts in cool water and trim away any excess fat. Place in the center of a long (about two feet) sheet of wax paper and fold the paper over the chicken. Use the flat side of a meat mallet to pound the chicken to about 1/4-inch thickness.

Cut each breast into two even pieces. Sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper on both sides.

Spray the skillet with olive oil cooking spray. Add the chicken to the skillet and cook for 5-7 minutes, until lightly browned on the bottom side. Flip and cook for an additional 5-7 minutes until cooked through.

Remove the chicken from the pan and use as desired.

I’m sitting at my desk eating a turkey sandwich on 7-grain bread with a smear of roasted red pepper hummus and a slice of Swiss cheese. It’s divine. I didn’t bother to cut it in half, though I am a devoted sandwich-cutter (as yesterday’s turkey sandwich, above, shows). The house is quiet, still even. My kids are both in school, and I am here alone, save the two crazy beagles who are taking their mid-day nap.

It’s so quiet.

I’ve worked at home for more than two years, since I left my wonderful staff job to freelance full time. And for the past two years, I have almost constantly had my kids underfoot. It was what I left my job for. But right now, I am grateful for the quiet.

Two years ago, I would rush and rush to drop Will off to school in the afternoons and hope that Paige would remain asleep long enough for me to get a little work done before she needed her afternoon dose of eat, play, diaper change, nap, repeat. Last year, we made it out on time to get to school more often than not, but after drop off would be a rush to get Paige into bed for her nap and prayers that she actually would take one.

But now it’s quiet, and I really like it — despite how unnerving it is. Today, I ate a whole turkey sandwich without anyone asking for a bite, or a glass of water, or cookies for dessert. Shortly, I might pick up and run to the store, just because I can. Or, perhaps I will clean (that doesn’t sound as fun though) or even kick back for a little relaxation. (More likely I will just keep working …)

Whatever it is, it feels so nice to have this little spot of time to myself. Although I love the happy chaos of my kids being constantly underfoot, I also need the quiet moments to recharge. That turkey sandwich was phenomenal … not necessarily because it was the best one ever (though it was really very tasty), but because it’s something I got to do on my own. And that is very good for everyone.

5 Ways to Perk up Your Turkey Sandwich:

1. Trade the mayo for hummus: I’ve never been a big fan of mayo, but hummus is fabulous on turkey sandwiches. It adds a nice zing.
2. Make it California style: A little avocado (or mashed avocado), lettuce and bacon can really make a plain turkey sandwich phenomenal.
3. Ditch the bread: I love my sandwich on bread, but it’s also delicious in a wrap or pita pocket. Or just roll up the turkey with cheese for a fast finger food.
4. Change the cheese: Swiss is awesome with turkey, but so are so many other cheeses like havarti, cheddar and brie.
5. Stack it: Love tapanade? Hummus? Avocado, tomato and lettuce? It’s okay to mix, match and experiment with your favorite toppings … and use several at time. It could be the best sandwich that you’ve never had.

Meet ramps …

In the bowl pictured above are some chopped ramps, a wild onion that grows in the Eastern part of the United States and Canada. Also known as a wild leek, it has a bold flavor with notes of onion and garlic. And until this past weekend, I had never had one, despite hearing raves about them. At right, you can see what they look like in their natural form.

Basically, you remove the root part and use the rest of them. Stems, leaves … it all works.

Are you familiar with ramps?

I’ve known about them for a few years, but have never been able to procure any. However recently when my Garlic Scape Carbonara recipe was featured on Saveur, I received a kind note from a new reader asking if ramps could be used in the recipe. I told him that it was possible — though I’ve never actually had ramps. He offered to send me some, and I excitedly agreed. Last week, they arrived.

Now, it’s one thing to read about the garlic-onion taste of ramps and a whole other to experience it. I sauteed a few up to get a feel for their taste and fell in love. Head over heels love. Then I whipped up a Ramp Pesto … oh my.

That night, the kids and I feasted on more sauteed ramps, Tortellini with Ramp Pesto and a Jamie Oliver recipe for braised cabbage (more on that tomorrow!). It was a delicious, decadent night. Will wasn’t a fan of the cabbage, but couldn’t get enough of the ramps — particularly the pesto.

Do you have a favorite ramp recipe? Share! I have a few more to play with and am trying to decide what to do with them.

A special thank you to reader Mark! And thank you to the Colrain, Massachusetts, farm where these were harvested. We LOVE them.

Ramp Pesto
yields about 1 1/2 cups

1 cup ramps (greens and white part), cut into 1 inch lengths
1 cup baby spinach
1/2 cup walnuts
1 tsp sea salt
2/3 cup olive oil
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Add ramps, spinach, walnuts and salt to a food processor and process to a paste. Add oil and process again. Stir in Parmesan.

Months ago, I started doing something new every week. Every weekend, I would sit down and decide what dishes would appear here for the next week. Taking the time to plan this into my week helped me to spend less time fretting over what to make and more time on the recipe development and writing. I’ve also had more time to try recipes from books, magazines and blogs, which is always fun.

The only problem? Sometimes recipes don’t work out. Yesterday, I planned to feature an Arugula Pesto adapted from a popular food blogger’s recipe … however, even with my changes (which included cutting the amount of garlic in half), the recipe was a huge fail. The overpowering flavor was shocking.

Today, I planned to feature a recipe from my weekly meal plan: Peanut Soba with Stir-Fried Beef and Broccoli, which came from the April/May 2010 issue of Fine Cooking. I followed the instructions to the letter, but the recipe just didn’t end up being something to share here. While we enjoyed the Stir-Fried Beef and Broccoli, we just weren’t fans of the soba noodles or their peanut sauce. Plus, the preparation was far more involved than I like food to be. I really thrive on quick, simple and flavorful … not so much on dishes that require lots of steps.

While I love Fine Cooking, this was one instance where I didn’t love a recipe from there. That’s okay.

On the other hand, last night I a pretty good meal from another magazine. It was Maple and Soy-Glazed Flank Steak from the March 2010 issue of Cooking Light. I eliminated the scallions from the rice noodles dish, and used vermacelli rice noodles (which we had on hand), but ultimately, this was made close to the original … and I really liked it. But, to be fair, Shawn and Paige weren’t fans of the noodles … and Will and Shawn didn’t like the cucumbers. Everyone adored the meat. Ultimately, it just wasn’t a homerun of a meal though so I am not sharing that one either.

I really like Cooking Light too. This particular recipe just needed a little more for the sides to make it perfect for me. Or maybe different sides to make it universally favorable. In either case, it’s ok.

Everyone has kitchen fails sometimes. There are so many variables — from freshness and quality of ingredients to personal tastes. Sometimes, things don’t work. But that’s okay because even cooking fails can turn into learning experiences. Through these recipes, I found two new ways to make flank steak that we really like. The Maple-Soy one is sure to hit our table again very soon.

Have you had any fails lately?

P.S. Sarah’s Cucina Bella is now on Facebook! Won’t you become a fan? I’ll be sharing behind the scenes info there as well as little tips, tricks and previews of what’s coming.

Photo - Amazon.com

Happy New Year!

This year, I plan to focus even more heavily on healthy living and raising a healthy family. If we take care of our bodies, then we can live longer and happier, and who doesn’t want that? So I am hoping you, my dear readers, will indulge me as I feature occasional tips and interview tidbits from notable health experts. Please?

First up: Advice from Dr. Oz.

I was asked recently to participate in a press conference call with Dr. Mehmet Oz (yes, that Dr. Oz. I am a big fan of his). Sure, the call was in the middle of a day when I had a bazillion deadlines, but it was a small sacrifice. The topic? New Year, New You – particularly focusing on healthy living. So, I jumped on the call and asked about healthy eating on a budget.

His response was really interesting.

Buy in Bulk as a Group – Dr. Oz suggests that families band together and shop in bulk for staples like grains. He said that people should “find a large vendor somewhere near them where they can go and buy their staples and buy them in bulk.” This strategy removes the costs of marketing and packaging that can drive consumer prices up.

I loved that idea.

Join a CSA for Vegetables – Buying vegetables from farmers’ markets can be costly (not always, but in some areas, that is definitely true). Dr. Oz advises that people join a consortium with a farm, like a Community Supported Agriculture program. Through these programs, people buy a share in a farmer’s crops, supplying money for seeds and other costs of farming and getting boxes of produce in return.

“Farmers are cash poor, consumers are food poor,” Dr. Oz pointed out, so this relationship is mutually beneficial — people get freshly grown produce for cheap while the farmers get the capital they need to get their farm running in the spring.

Losing Weight? Remember to cut yourself some slack, since everyone slips up sometimes.

“The question isn’t whether you will fail – It is how you will deal with your failure.” – Dr. Oz

Are you a Dr. Oz fan? His television show, The Dr. Oz Show, will have a healthy living focus to kick off the New Year. On January 4, the show will feature Dr. Oz’s Ultimate Diet. And on January 5, it will feature a 28-day Detox Diet. Check your local listings for showtimes and channels.

DO have 6 cups of broth/stock at the ready for each 2 cups of risotto rice. You might not use it all, but in my experience the majority of the 6 cups is needed for a creamy end result.

DO heat your broth/stock in a separate pan on low for about 10 minutes before you start making the risotto. It will absorb faster since it doesn’t have to warm up and absorb at the same time.

DON’T walk away while making risotto – be sure that you have a solid block of at least 30 minutes to dedicate to stirring and adding more liquid.

DON’T forget the ancillary seasonings like salt, pepper and fresh parsley.

DO have all of the ingredients out before you start cooking.

DO know your broths: beef broth may overpower other flavors. Chicken is generally the preferred choice. Vegetable broth (or a homemade stock) can add an extra depth of flavor.

DON’T be afraid to experiment with flavors and ingredients. Just keep the liquid to rice ratio the same and things will be okay.