It’s Friday . . . an ugly Friday, but Friday nonetheless. It sounds like it will be a wickedly bad weekend weather-wise, so that may further delay the finishing touches of my very cool raised bed garden . . . Sigh.

Here’s a few things I wanted to share:
First, I am not a chef, I am a cook. But for Mother’s Day last month, my husband did something that made me feel like one . . . if only for a moment: He gave me two chefs coats and two absolutely fantastic Global knives. Now I am all ready for my stint on Top Chef . . . or maybe Hell’s Kitchen. Actually, given the choice, I would just love my own Food Network show. Food Network, are you listening? I’ll even promise to drop that pesky baby weight!

Anyway, back to my very cool coats . . . They even have Sarah’s Cucina Bella embroidered on them . . . how awesome is that? Of course I am afraid to get either dirty (one is black, one is white). Thoughts? How do you keep these coats crisp and clean? Should I wear my apron with it?

As for the knives, I have only cut myself a few times with the ridiculously sharp blades . . . knock on wood.

Second, Top Chef is almost over. I have really, really loved the discussions that have popped up in the comments and would love to keep that going. I was thinking of blogging the Next Food Network Star — which started last week (I missed the first episode, sadly . . . but hope to catch it this weekend.). Thoughts? Would you all tune in for that? Or is there another show? Any other ideas?

Have a great weekend . . . I am taking this one off.

Happy Memorial Day!

It’s the unofficial start to summer, so here’s a quick and easy drink for your next backyard shindig. I hope you are out enjoying this beautiful summer day like we are.

Easy Sparkling Strawberry Lemonade

1 1/2 cups lemon juice
1 12 oz can strawberry nectar
4 cups water
3/4 cup sugar
ice
2 cups club soda

In a large pitcher, combine the lemon juice, strawberry nectar, water and sugar. Stir until combined. Add ice, leaving enough room for club soda. Add club soda just before serving and stir very lightly (you don’t want to knock out all the bubbles!).

Note: No, Paige did not eat the Snickers bar. She’s six months old for crying out loud. Do you think I am nuts?

I’m sure that many mothers are looking forward to lazy mornings of sleeping in and breakfast in bed. But I’m no fool. After three years of motherhood, I know that ain’t happening here. Perhaps someday I can guilt them all into it. For now, I will take my personal treat of sleeping until 6 instead of 5 . . . then getting up and having a cup of coffee in the quiet house. With two kids and two dogs, you don’t get much quiet around here.

To all the fantastic mothers out there, I hope you get your few moments of peace and gratitude today.

Happy Mother’s Day!

What do you do when you suddenly find yourself with a free hour or so? An hour without your toddler because your neighbor has graciously said he could play at her house. An hour with just your sleeping infant . . . Read the rest of this entry…

When I was younger — probably 8 or 9 — I struggled with the limited array of fish, vegetables and fruit served around my house. While we ate a diverse selection of meats and poultry, vegetables were limited to standard salad vegetables, corn, peas, green beans, cauliflower and broccoli. Occasionally there would be a Brussels sprout or a bit of asparagus thrown in for good measure, but it was rare. And other than salad, asparagus and Brussels sprouts, vegetables usually came from one of those cardboard boxes in the freezer. No seasoning. No sauces. Just plain (and dare I say, bland).

I knew there had to be more out there. There had to be some reason why people wanted to eat vegetables. I found it hard to believe that adults would choose to eat such tasteless foods by choice. I’ve learned that vegetables don;t have to be flavorless, frozen or bland. There is more fruit to the world than apples and bananas. And, most importantly, salmon and swordfish are not the only types of fish to cook at home . . . See? I knew there was more to eating then what I was exposed to.

Read the rest of this entry…

Many moons ago, I let all my blog readers know that our family was expanding. Well, the expansion is now complete, so to speak. Our newest little home chef arrived just before Thanksgiving at 7 lbs, 6 oz., so we are now officially a party of four. Everyone is doing well.

Let’s hope little Paige will be as into food as her big brother is.

Ever hear something shocking in a store from a worker? I have. It seems these days that customer service is nonexistent and employee conduct is reprehensible. There is no such thing as standing behind a product either . . .

Me: I could never work in a store like this! The paycheck wouldn’t make it home.
Pottery Barn Cashier: You’d be surprised. You learn what to buy and what not to buy pretty quickly.
Me: Oh?
PB Cashier: Like this enamelware (gestures to a Sausalito plate I am buying), I would never spend money on this.
Me: I have a whole set at home. I just wanted to refill the few pieces we’ve damaged over the past few years.
PB Cashier: It chips so easily.
Me: Hmph. Well aside from the bowl and plate we broke, the only problem we’ve had is a few pieces got a funny patina.
PB Cashier: Oh, yea. That’s our warehouse staff. They mean well, but sometimes they don’t watch where they are spraying. You don’t know the crew we have here. (Laughs)

Now, mind you, I have owned this set for three years and we’ve broken three pieces over those years. That is normal wear and tear. While a few serving bowls I bought did chip quickly, overall the set has been solid. So I have NO idea what she’s talking about. And secondly, WHAT ARE THE WAREHOUSE PEOPLE SPRAYING EXACTLY?!? Besides, I doubt that would be the case since the patina took 2 years to show up on two pieces in the set.

And besides that, shouldn’t these employees be standing BEHIND their products, not talking about why they wouldn’t buy them?

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Bagger Girl: EW! (Holds up a package of pate for the cashier to check out. Meanwhile the purchaser is standing right there.)

I’m sorry, but since when was it okay for cashiers and baggers to critique your grocery purchases?!? I mean really! These kids need some better conduct training.

Well, we are still struggling without a fridge here in my Cucina Bella. It’s certainly not easy. Meals are a challenge since everything has to be bought in the quantity to eat, no leftovers. Plus we are buying a new container of milk (and spending a fortune on smaller containers) because we can’t fit the gallon in the tiny mini-fridge. It’s almost worse than just not having power at all, since all the other appliances are just teases now . . .

We did request a loaner, seeing as we have one of those extended warranty thingys and are facing quite a bit of hardship thanks to this new fridge conking out. My husband was laughed at. Great. Wonderful customer service, right? But more on that another time.

So my question to you is, what dinner would you make that would use only enough ingredients to serve 3 without any leftovers?

On April 6, 2006, I wrote a post titled “I dream of” that listed several items I wanted to successfully make. Over the past year, I have made some of the items, rejected making others and pondered the difficulties of still others. I thought it might be time to revisit the list, see what I have done and revise.

So check it out, this is the original list (the ones in bold have been accomplished) with my notes:

1. - Chocolate croissants – I have thought about making this several times and even gathered the ingredients. I did make some with puff pastry that were good. But from scratch is still very daunting.
2. - Napoleons – Mmm. Need to sit down and do this.
3. - Black and whites – See above.
4. - A delicious and super creamy strawberry milkshake – Tried and failed, so far.
5. - Tortillas (soft) – Check out my method for this here.
6. - Red clam sauce - The recipe for this isn’t on the website yet, but geez who knew a weird throw together concoction could be the best red clam sauce I have ever had? It was.
7. - Brown basmati rice that is cooked all the way through (it’s a big problem for me with this type of rice) – I don’t even like brown rice.
8. - Palek Paneer – This one is really ambitious, since I will have to make the cheese too. And I don’t think I am ready for that.
9. - Garlic knots (NY pizzeria style) -I tried this, but haven’t perfected it yet.
10. - Flan – Not sure why this was on here. I am not really a big flan fan.

Now, to revise the list, I am pulling out the ones that have been accomplished as well as the ones I changed my mind about (brown rice, palek paneer, flan) and adding some new ones to the mix. Hopefully this year I will have a better success rate.

Here it goes:

1. - anything from Julia Child’s French Chef Cookbook
2. - sandwich bread
3. - Chocolate croissants
4. - Napoleons
5. - Black and whites
6. - A delicious and super creamy strawberry milkshake
7. - strawberry jam/preserves
8. - canning
9. - a good, light and fluffy homemade pancake
10. - Garlic knots (NY pizzeria style)
11. - panna cotta