Eat Together, Make Life Delicious...

Tell me if this sounds familiar...it's just about dinner time and the kids come into the kitchen to help set the table. As they sneak a peak of what's prepared you can already tell, the outlook isn't good. Fidgeting around the decision is made: they don't like it. Oh no.

Don't panic. This has happened to me more than a hundred dozen times. After the pleading, begging, and tearing my hair out, to get my kids to eat a balanced diet, I finally came up with something that more or less works. (btw: if even this fails, I have a handy cup of yogurt standing by and will explain below).

So, what's the big secret? Simple. Find out what your kids like and dress it up. I am not talking making trains of carrots or radishes. I'd love to, but honestly don't have the time. I am talking take the basic ingredients of what they like and add just a neat twist that helps them be more adventurous. For example, if they like baked potatoes, slice it up and drizzle with say sour cream-or if you know that's a no go- provide little bowls of butter for dipping. Make the potato fun.

And, without a doubt...instead of bringing them into the kitchen only after the meal is prepared...bring them in before you even start. I have found that if I get my kids to participate along side me in the kitchen, they take pride and ownership in what we're making. It's far harder for them to refuse sampling the food they helped make. But with every rule there are exceptions and I don't get it right all the time. And that's when ready meals are key. So that's that look like real time? Say, you sit down to a meal and the kids just aren't eating (it's too green, new, odd, funny, touching the other food, you can imagine).

That's ok. I can be picky too sometimes, though I hate to admit it.

So what do you do? Give them the option to go to the fridge and pick out a yogurt. Or something that's already made and ready to eat. Not you go the fridge. Them. Don't fuss, scream, or be upset. Take a deep breath. It's not personal, really. And when they come back to the table, talk about the next meal and what might be really fun to prepare together.

And eventually you'll find a nice balance where everyone is eating, participating and making the very most of it.

(Picture: baked potato sliced with sour cream drizzled on top)

Labels: dressing food up, getting kids to eat, getting kids to help in the kitchen

Homemade peanut butter and jelly makes all the difference—it is very easy to make and keeps for 6 weeks in the refrigerator. It is great fun to have everyone prepare their own P&J sandwiches and can be done by putting out the ingredients, plates, and plenty of knifes for spreading.

Peanut Butter is also the base to a lot of really neat salad dressings including my favorite, Sesame Peanut Salad Dressing (and listed below)! This is a delicious dressing that enhances salads and also other dishes too. This recipe is mouth-wateringly thick, to make it more loose, simply add more sesame oil and shake. Try a healthy dollop of this over a seared tuna or grilled burger. It is also tasty tossed in fettuccine noodles with slices of cucumber for a cold salad.

Homemade Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches
Makes 4 Servings

For the Grape Jelly:
2 cups grape juice
3½ cups refined sugar
1 (3-ounce) package fruit liquid pectin (or powder pectin or gelatin, just follow the instructions to dissolve)

For the Peanut Butter:
2 cups roasted shelled peanuts
1 tablespoon peanut oil
½ teaspoon salt (omit salt if using salted peanuts)

For the Sandwiches:
8 slices white bread

Make the Jelly
Place a medium saucepan over high heat. Add the grape juice and sugar and bring the mixture to a boil. Pour in the pectin, stirring constantly, and allow the jelly mixture to come to a hard boil for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and skim off any surface foam. Pour into a heatproof-glass canning jar and transfer to the refrigerator to cool completely.

Make the Peanut Butter
Meanwhile, in a standing blender or food processor, combine the roasted peanuts, peanut oil, and salt. Pulse until a creamy mixture forms. Carefully scoop out the peanut butter and place it in a clean container.

Make the Sandwiches
Generously coat 4 slices of the bread with peanut butter and the remaining 4 slices with jelly. Place the jelly-spread slices over the peanut butter-spread slices and serve immediately, either plated or wrapped in a heavy-duty paper napkin.

Try my favorite salad dressing...it's a must!

Sesame Peanut Salad Dressing
Makes 1 cup

2/3 cup store-bought of homemade peanut butter
½ cup rice wine vinegar
½ cup orange juice
4 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
2 tablespoons sesame oil
½ cup olive oil
1 teaspoon minced fresh garlic
1 teaspoon table salt

Combine the ingredients in a medium metal bowl and whisk until smooth. The dressing will keep in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

Labels: Comfort Food, Homemade Jelly, Homemade Peanut Butter, Sesame Peanut Salad Dressing

Baked salmon is quite a treat, and leftovers the following day are also delicious when broken up over a bowl of veggies, rice, or mixed with mayonnaise and tucked into a croissant. Salmon is best removed from the oven the moment is it cooked through; it's a delicate fish and if overcooked can become dry.

I like to prepare my Herb Mustard Glaze from scratch, but if you are lucky enough to find any in your local grocery store, by all means use that instead.

Side dishes to consider with the Salmon are: pasta, rice, baked potatoes, mash tomatoes, or a nice mixed green salad.


Baked Salmon Fillets with Herb Mustard Glaze
Makes 4 Servings

For the Herb Mustard Glaze:
½ cup smooth Dijon Mustard
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 tablespoon pickle relish
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, finely chopped
1 teaspoon freshly grated horseradish
1 teaspoon fresh dill, finely chopped
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

For the salmon:
4 organic salmon fillets with skins (6 ounces each)
4 tablespoons of Herb Mustard Glaze

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees with a rack set in the middle.

Prepare the mustard glaze by combining the Dijon, mayonnaise, relish, parsley, horseradish, dill, and pepper in a small bowl. Mix with a fork until well combined. Set aside.

Place the salmon, skin side down, on a baking dish and generously coat each fillet with at least 1 tablespoon of the mustard glaze. Extra mustard glaze will keep in a well sealed container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. Bake the salmon until it turns pink, or about 7 minutes. Remove from the oven and set it aside to cool for a few minutes before serving.

Labels: baked salmon, fish, herb mustard glaze, holiday meals, seafood

Last year we traveled to Sicily to visit my grandmother's home town of Militello va di Cantania. While we were in Sicily, we had some of the best pizza in a small pizzeria off the main drag in a town called Sciacca. You might have heard of this coastal town for its proximity to the temples and sulfur baths.

After dining with locals, drinking a little wine, and chatting with the owners, the kids were surprised with a nutella pizza for dessert. I had only heard about nutella pizza before and was more than happy to give it a try. As a kid I loved nutella but it had been years and as a grown up I was limiting my sweet intake but I have to admit, after one bite I was a fan again. Nutella pizza is out of this world. I especially like the two tone flavored nutella, it's a dessert that cannot be beat regardless of your age.

If you want to prepare some of your own nutella pizza, follow the recipe below or use frozen pizza dough instead. I don't bother letting my pizza dough rise, but if you have the time, let the dough rise for one hour before preparing the pizza. It does make it more fluffy and light.

Nutella Pizza
makes 2 large nutella pizzas

1 cup warm water (110° F)
1 teaspoon yeast
1 teaspoon olive oil
½ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
2½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
olive oil spray
Nutella

Preheat the oven to 400F with the oven rack set in the middle of the oven.

In a mixture fitted with a dough hook, combine the warm water and the yeast. Whisk it with a fork and let is sit for a minute to bubble. Add in the olive oil, salt, sugar, and flour and mix at medium low speed until the dough starts to form. Once it forms, turn the dough out on to a floured surface (About 1 tablespoon) and knead it for 5 minutes. If the dough is too wet and sticky add a little bit more flour, but don't over do it. When the dough is soft and supple, cut it in half. If you don't plan to prepare two pizzas, just one, wrap one of the dough balls in plastic wrap and place it in the freezer for another time.

On a well-floured surface roll out the dough until it is anywhere between ¼-inch thick to ½-thick and resembles a very flat pancake or pizza crust!

Spray a large sheet pan with olive oil spray and transfer the dough onto a sheet pan and place it in the oven to bake for 10 minutes.

The pizza dough will start to cook and turn golden. After 10 minutes remove it from the oven and generously and carefully spread nutella all over the pizza leaving a ½-wide ring. Place the pizza back into the oven and bake for another 10 minutes or until the crust is golden and done to your liking. Slice up the nutella pizza and serve immediately with plenty of napkins!

Labels: Easy Desserts, Nutella, pizza, Sicilian family recipes

The other day I took a trip to the local butcher in search of a steak dinner. I wasn't entirely sure what cut I was going to ask for, but I knew which ever it was, I wanted to come home with something easy to prepare. Entering the store, I was greeted by Leo, a butcher of 45 years. Asking his advice, he quickly pointed me to the shell steaks that had been cut to 1-inch thick early that morning. "So, Leo, how would you recommend preparing these steaks?" and his reply couldn't have made me happier. "Salt, keep it simple" he said. And so that's exactly what I did more or less. Broiled Shell Steaks are an easy recipe to prepare that takes about 15 minutes from start to finish. It's perfect for any occasion and especially nice when you are in a hurry. After salting my steaks I created a marinade of dried rosemary, fresh minced garlic, and olive oil--any herb works here should you like thyme, oregano, or parsley. The real tricks to broiling steak are:

- starting with room temperature steaks - having the oven rack set at the right distance from the heat - using a timer

And no matter what cut you eventually decide on for your broiled steak, follow the video for a simple step by step. Besides easy, it's also quite delicious.



My early morning trip to the Butcher to get the scoop on a few secrets!

Labels: broiling steak, butcher, garlic, rosemary, shell steaks