Scarlett Ladybug's First BIrthday cake

Today my baby turns 1. It is exciting and breaks my heart at the same time. I, of course, have been dreaming up her first birthday cake since I found out I was having a girl. This cake I made, is not the cake of my dreams. I wanted to make a layered princess castle cake. I bought the Wilton Romantic Castle Cake Kit, in order to make this castle. The kit is misleading. In order to decorate the cake like the box, you have to buy another kit in addition to the castle kit, plus the cake pans. It irritated me, so I returned it. So I came up with the ladybug cake. I always call Scarlett "ladybug" so it is fitting.

I have spent the past few weeks searching for a perfect strawberry cake recipe. They are hard to come by. I have a recipe I had used in the past, but I am never happy with it. It is always too dense and dry. It also, does not have enough strawberry flavor. Most strawberry cake recipes call for cake mix or Jello. I would never be caught dead using either one, or so I thought. However, I compromised my morals... I am embarrassed to admit it, and I finally settled on a recipe that used both a cake mix and jello. We have not eaten the cake yet, so I don't know how it is. I can say with some authority, that the icing is spectacular. I ate my fair share while decorating the cake. It is a strawberry cream cheese icing. It contains both strawberry puree and strawberry extract, and it is heavenly. It is light and fluffy, just the proper amount of sweetness, balanced by a slight tart element from the strawberry puree. The cakes are sitting in my kitchen, waiting for party time, and the whole house smells like a luscious, ripe strawberry. I cannot wait to dive in. There will be pictures of Scarlett and I both with cake smashed all over our faces! What fun!

My Toughest Critic

As a chef, it deeply hurts my feelings to be told,"I don't like that yucky stuff" in reference to the meal I just lovingly prepared. On any given day, I can whip up a meal to please just about anyone, anyone except my picky little fellow.

Last night, I devoted an extraordinary amount of energy into dreaming up a delicious dinner that my son would eat, as I do most evenings. I was dancing around the kitchen, thrilled with myself for concocting a meal, that even my tiny critic would find palatable. I decided to put a spin on classic "kid food." I made Dijon crusted fish nuggets, green chile and smoked paprika mac and cheese (really good!) and roasted corn. Scarlett, my almost one year old, ate it heartily. Ethan, my three year old, crushed my dreams. Shooting me down, as always, using various adjectives similar to gross, and yucky. He ate corn. Where did this kid come from?

Before I had kids, I was smug...perhaps even cocky about picky kids. In my vast expertise (or lack-there-of) I knew that picky eaters were not born that way, they were made. My theory was, kids don't like vegetables because their parents do not know how to cook or season them properly. I assumed kids didn't like more exotic foods or strong flavors, because they had not been exposed to them. These "picky" kids were really just victims of culinary neglect. My kids would never be like this. My husband and I are solely ruled by our stomachs. We live for food. There is no way we could produce anything but a pint-sized foodie.

Well, I am humbled. I admit freely, that I was terribly mistaken. I think I did everything I could to avoid this picky thing. When I was pregnant, I tried to eat as many different foods as possible, so he would come out with a well-rounded palate. I made all of his baby food. I seasoned all his food, and added as much flavor as possible. For a short while, I thought it was working. He would only eat savory foods that had garlic in them. He would not touch jarred baby food. I thought I was raising a kid with a discriminating palate, for the finer things. I was wrong, here, as well. We finally settled on a diet that mainly consisted of oatmeal. Now, his diet is breakfast food-based, also. He eats waffles, pancakes and oatmeal, with the occasional chicken nugget thrown in. I once, vowed to never have dinosaur shaped chicken nuggets in my freezer. However, one day those horrible, compressed-meat dinos just followed my husband home, and now they seem to be here for good.

I know that nearly every parent of a toddler/preschooler deals with this. Our Pediatrician told me it is normal for a toddler to eat every three days. It doesn't make it any easier. I am still, astounded (and grateful) every day, that he is still alive. Luckily, the baby seems to be the exact opposite, so far. She has always eaten just about anything we put in front of her. I am always amazed how much food can fit in her tiny little body. I just hope she can stay that way through toddler-hood, as we are now on the cusp of it.

As for my Ethan man, I will just keep trying. One day he may surprise me. I just need to work on developing a thick skin, in order to handle the blunt criticism of my cooking.

Green Chile and Smoked Paprika Mac and Cheese

2 cups uncooked penne pasta
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp finely chopped onion
1 small can diced green chiles
1 tbsp flour
2 c milk
1 c shredded sharp cheddar cheese
3 ounces crumbled queso fresco
2 tsp smoked paprika (or more to taste)
Salt and pepper to taste

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Cook the pasta according to directions.
Melt the butter over medium-high heat in a medium saucepan. Add the onion, green chiles and a pinch of salt. Cook until the onion is tender. Stir in the flour, and cook for a minute. Pour in the milk, while stirring to prevent lumps. When the milk gets hot, add the cheeses, and let it cook, while stirring, until thickened. Do not let the milk boil, or it will scald. Stir in the paprika, salt and pepper. Taste and re-season, if necessary.
Pour the sauce over the pasta, and pour into a greased baking pan. Top with more cheddar cheese. Bake until bubbly and browned on top.

Our Romantic Cajun Meal

This past weekend was a three day weekend. My husband and I took advantage of the long weekend, by cooking and eating our way through the days. I think life should always be this way, centering your day around the next meal.

For Valentine's Day, we just stayed home and cooked a meal that reminded us of our early days together, crab cakes, shrimp poboys and chicken and sausage gumbo. My husband and I met while working in a restaurant called the Acme. I was the chef, he was a very good-looking waiter, that I was instantly in love with. After a while, we felt we had made it as far as we could at the Acme, so we both moved over to another restaurant, a Cajun bistro. We both worked int the kitchen, and developed our love of Cajun cooking. We worked long hours, and worked very hard, but we were always together, usually sharing a shrimp poboy. Now, whenever we have a romantic meal, it is usually Cajun food. It takes us back to the good old days...just me and him and a kitchen.
We had so much fun making this meal. It was and all day, collaborative effort. We started the Gumbo at 1:00 in the afternoon, and got to savor the process all day, and of course, we had to
taste it all day...just to make sure it was turning out okay.


Chicken and Sausage Gumbo

1 stick of butter
8 tbsp flour
1 onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
Creole seasoning
1 1 1/2-32 oz. boxes of chicken stock
1 whole chicken, giblets removed, rinsed and patted dry
1 link of sausage, sliced into rounds (use what you like, we like V&V garlic or jalapeno sausage)

In a large, heavy-bottomed pot, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the flour in a tablespoon at a time, stirring with a wooden spoon, continuously, to make a roux. Cook, stirring the whole time, until the color of the roux is halfway between peanut butter and chocolate. Add your onions, bell pepper and sausage to the roux. Cook, stirring continuously, until the vegetables become fragrant and tender. Add the garlic and about 1 tablespoon of creole seasoning. Stir in the chicken stock slowly. Put the whole chicken in, breast side down. Add more stock, if necessary, to mostly cover the chicken. Bring up to a boil, stir, and reduce heat to a simmer. Let cook, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is done. You can tell the chicken is done when you grab the leg with a pair of tongs, and the leg starts to come off. Remove the chicken and let it cool. Leave the gumbo simmering, adding more stock if it gets thick. It should be a hearty soup consistency, but not thick. Taste and re-season, if necessary.
When the chicken is cool enough to handle, remove the skin and pull the meat off the bones, adding just the meat back into the pot. Use a ladle and skim the fat off the top of the pot. Serve over rice. We like just a couple of tablespoons of rice, so it doesn't dull down the flavor.

Creole Seasoning

3 tbsp kosher salt
3 tbsp sweet paprika
2 tbsp garlic powder
2 tbsp onion powder
1 tbsp black pepper
1 tbsp dried sweet basil
2 tbsp dried thyme
2 tsp dried mustard powder
2 tsp white pepper
2 tsp cayenne pepper

Grind all ingredients in a food processor or spice grinder. Store in an air-tight container for up to 3 months.

Crab Cakes with Lemon Caper Sauce

1 1/2 c lump crab meat
2 tbsp finely chopped onion
1 egg, lightly beaten
3 tbsp mayo
juice from half a lemon
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 1/2 tsp creole seasoning
1 1/2 c fresh bread crumbs, made from a day old baguette

Put first 7 ingredients in a medium bowl, and stir gently so you don't break up the crab meat. Fold in the breadcrumbs, and add more if the mixture is too wet to hold together. Taste and re-season, if necessary. Form the mixture into cakes, (I like them smaller, so they get crispier) and chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours.
Heat a large skillet, with enough canola oil to coat the bottom, over medium-high heat. Pan-fry the crab cakes on each side until golden-brown. Serve with lemon caper sauce.

Lemon Caper Sauce

3 tbsp mayo
juice from 1 lemon
1 tbsp capers + 1 tbsp caper brine (or more, to taste)
pinch of salt
black pepper, to taste
4 dashes hot pepper sauce

Stir all ingredients together, taste and re-season as necessary

Food Snob

I have been accused on many occasions of being a food snob. I have mostly taken offense to it. I try to be an accepting, ope-minded person in all aspects of my life. Recently, I have come to realize and accept that, as far as food is concerned, I am a snob...and I am actually proud of it. I know food, I know what I like, and I am not afraid to express this opinion.

This past weekend, my sister-in-law, so sweetly, invited me to a Pampered Chef party. I had never been to one before, and I was really excited about it. I had heard that they are fun, and have great tools and cookware. Well, I tried to keep a positive attitude, but the poor Pampered Chef representative was infuriatingly lacking in epicurean knowledge, (and sales skills while I am criticizing her).

When we [guests/sales marks] walked through the door, we were informed of, the first of many, culinary atrocities. She had seasoned a whole chicken and put it in the microwave for 30 minutes. It was in a special dish, made to act like a crock pot in the microwave, but in my book, that does not make it okay. She then proceeds to ask us "raise your hand" question after question. I loathe these, I always refuse to raise my hand...(personal pet peeve). She wanted to know if we had good knives, a good can opener, a good garlic press (why, yes. It is called a chef's knife) etc. This question and answer session was the extent of her sales pitch. I suppose she thinks the food and products will sell themselves. They might have, but she forgot her recipe, and apparently has no idea how to really cook. On the day's menu was microwaved chicken, over a spinach salad. She managed to pull the recipe up, eventually, on her laptop. She then, was glued to it for the duration of the cooking demonstration. She wanted helpers, to chop. I got volunteered, because I am a pro. So, she hands me an onion and a chopper. One of those gadgets you put food in the bottom, and press the handle on top repeatedly until it macerates your product. I stood there a minute, not knowing what to do, before I ask for a knife. She hands me a paring knife version of a santoku. It is possibly the dullest knife I have ever used. I chop the onion, and resign myself to be a spectator, only. I watch as Pampered Chef lady fumbles around looking for missing ingredients. She insists her husband must have eaten them. She makes a salad dressing that called for freshly-squeezed orange juice and zest. She forgot the orange, so she uses the syrup from a can of mandarin oranges. This dressing now consists of fat-free mayo (which should not even exist), orange syrup, mustard and garlic. My inner snob is quivering inside my body. I glance at my mom and sister, I see it in them, as well. Another helper is called upon to assemble the salad. None of the produce gets washed. A bag of spinach is poured in the bowl, topped with canned mandarin oranges, my beautifully chopped onion, chopped celery, pecans and that wretched dressing. The microwaved chicken, was then shredded and placed on top. I have to admit, the chicken didn't taste too bad, but it was not quite cooked, and had a nearly slimy texture.

After this, I have an attitude. I try to hide it. I don't want to be "that" person at the party. I think about buying something, but I don't really want or need anything in the catalog. Then, I learned you have to pay shipping and wait 3 weeks before you even get your product, I decided to buy nothing.

I wanted to love this. I really did. I thought there would be a smorgasbord of delicious food, (I left very hungry) and an array of tempting gadgets and cookware. I was not tempted, just disappointed.