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Foodie Friday: Lotsa Latkes
Hanukkah is over tonight, which means that I won’t be seeing any more of these dangerous little suckers for another year. My waistline (what’s left of it) and cholesterol level are both thankful. I didn’t make the latkes this year, which was nice. Instead, my mother-in-law prepared these while the Dude took pictures. What did I do? Nothing but eat. That was the best present of all.
Click on the pictures to expand.
My mother-in-law makes the best latkes. (continues…)
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Foodie Friday: There’s Something About Ina
The Fabulous Barefoot Contessa
Foodie Friday is my newest weekly series about all things food. What does food have to do with a parenting blog? Everything. Other than love and shelter, children rely on us to nourish them well and help them grow healthy and strong. Food fuels the body and feeds the soul. I love cooking almost as much as I love eating. I will be sharing my own family recipes as well as advice and recipes from professional chefs. Foodie Friday won’t just be about recipes. I’ll be discussing other aspects of food, such as sociopolitical issues related to food and American food culture, in general. As I dish about dishes and feed your mind, I hope you work up an appetite for some good eats!
To get this Foodie Friday started, I need to discuss my most important icon for all things foodie and fabulous. I’m talking about none other than The Barefoot Contessa.
Ina Garten is the Barefoot Contessa and if you’re not familiar with her, please set your DVR to the Barefoot Contessa program on Food Network. What I love most about Ina’s cooking style is that it’s simple and elegant. Sure, her recipes tend to lean in the hearty (read: fattening) comfort zone, but she can also whip up delicious recipes that are very healthy and lean. Her lemon and garlic roast chicken (minus the butter and bacon) has become a weekly staple in my house. I found myself watching her program years ago and I became fixated on her approach and cooking demeanor. She also has this soothing and reassuring voice, as if to say, of course you can cook that! Some people take issue with her suggestions for “good” products only, such as “good” olive oil or “good” salt, which I take to mean expensive. She also always suggests homemade chicken stock. As much as I value her culinary opinions, I also value my time and wallet much more. I buy decent quality products that aren’t expensive and I buy chicken stock.
Ina is not a formally trained chef and it shows. But that’s what I like about her since I’m not either. Ina just really loved to cook and throw dinner parties, so she gave up her career working as a budget analyst in the White House to open a specialty foods store and catering service in the Hamptons. It became so popular that eventually Food Network sought her out for her own cooking show. As Ina would say, how fabulous is that?!? (continues…)