Al Fresco Gnocchi

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by Lisa

Diner began really badly last night: first, child trauma after school. Then, I realized the pickled shrimp I had committed to wouldn’t be ready for 8-10 hours. So much for reading the recipe all the way through. Which meant I had not much time and another dinner to cook.

I looked around my kitchen and found: breadsticks and leftover fava bean spread. That set me on the Italian trail, and since my book rights just sold in Italy, I am very happy to eat Italian for a long time. I had gnocchi & sun dried tomatoes, and fresh oregano, and good parmesan, which meant sundried tomato pesto over pan fried gnocchi. I quickly made the pesto, set some artichokes to steam, and joined the family outside. I brought out the breadsticks and spread to accompanying their Harry Potter Cocktail Hour in progress. Finn had some BabyBel cheese.

It was our first really beautiful evening with everyone home for dinner, and we just kept reading and eating outside. It could not have been more casual. I even ruined the artichokes by letting the water boil away, thus burning the bejeesus out of those lovely thing. But I had a washed and prepped head of tender Boston lettuce, and some leftover homemade dressing, so even that was taken in stride. Harry Potter cocktail hour became Harry Potter dinner hour. Salad and gnocchi were served in one bowl with a fork. Nothing simpler.

Finn wandered around finishing his salad. Generally speaking, we don’t let them wander away from the table, or eat with their hands. But sometimes we do.

Lost his tooth.

And then we took the kids on bikes to the park.

My family life is not perfect. It is often filled with stress, and somedays, like yesterday, are full of stress and storms. But one place where we almost always find peace and the time to reconnect is around the family meal. Kory and I have worked hard to make meals a time to connect, a time to slow down, a time to remember that we are, after all, in this together. Meals have become part of the fundamental structure and architecture of our life. They are among the most important scaffolding of our family. We’ve been building this framework for years, and days like yesterday, it pays off.

Sundried Tomato Gnocchi

  • sundried tomatoes, about 1 cup
  • 1 large clove garlic
  • 1 Tablespoon fresh oregano
  • 1/4-1/2 cup grated parmasen
  • olive oil
  1. Put tomatoes, garlic, oregano, parmesan in mini-food processor and chop one or two pulses. Then add olive oil in a steady stream to blend. Taste, add more cheese, salt, or herbs as needed.
  2. Pan fry gnocchi in mixture of 1/2 butter & 1/2 olive oil (about 1-2 T each).
  3. When gnocchi is golden brown, add pesto to the pan and toss for a minute to coat. Serve immediately.

Eating Out

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By Lisa

I didn’t really want to do anything for Mother’s Day, which I feel pretty ambivalent about. Aside from an exciting, early morning soccer game for Ella, I had no plans, and I wanted to keep it that way. I thought a nap might be in order.  Later, I just didn’t feel like cooking dinner.  I didn’t feel like takeout. Nor did I feel like having my husband cook dinner and make a mess in the kitchen–even a little mess.   To his credit, Kory took it upon himself to make a reservation at a local restaurant that we hadn’t been to for a meal. I’d had drinks and snacks there with some friends but had never seen the menu. I was a little skeptical, but too tired to make a big deal. So we dressed up and went out to an early dinner.

My first impression: not so positive. It’s one of those places with the kind of faux Tuscan decor that’s just sort of cheesy and nondescript: murals of villas and sunflower fields, faux arches, earthy colors.  The menu was less than inspired and sort of expensive. They served mostly standard Italian American fare,and the kids menu looked like this:

So, we weren’t expecting much.

The restaurant was very quiet. There were white linen tablecloths, pretty little candles, nice flatware and glassware on the table. But  they brought the kids a big box of crayons and some paper which happily entertained them while we ordered and waited.

I had a really good glass of Prosecco, which makes almost anything better than okay, and when the server brought the Casear salad, to our great surprise, both kids dug in. Finn shared with me, Ella shared with her dad, and was even persuaded to eat several of the anchovies.

It was incredibly calm–at our table, but also in the restaurant more generally. There were several elderly couples around us, but across the way was  a family with two teenagers, dressed casually in hoodies and jeans, tucking into filet mignon, having what seemed to be a really pleasant time.

When they brought the pasta, you could tell right away it was impeccably fresh. Ella’s pesto was bright green, as if it had just been mixed. Finn’s marinara was bursting with flavor, and my bolognese was perfect.   The portions were just the right size. So in spite of the fact that the kinds menu looked like the worst kind of generic pandering to kids, they got to choose their pasta shape and the sauce, and both were beautifully prepared–simple, fresh, delicious–and served in elegant bowls. The kids loved it. I loved it.

At some point, a family with a baby and a 5 year old in complete butterfly face paint and a lovely party dress sat  next to us. They had a conversation with the grandparents on their other side. The little girl listened intently to some story Kory was telling Ella and Finn, then joined the conversation at our table.  By this time, the restaurant was packed with a really diverse group of people, and maybe it was the second glass of prosecco that got to me, but I prefer to think that there was something magical at hand. The general quality of the food, the welcoming atmosphere, the young and old, moms, dads, kids of all ages, grandparents, the mix of elegance with a deep family-friendly attitude. Yes, it was pricey, but I can’t help but think that helps to maintain a certain mood of dignity and respect.

And things went so swimmingly, we even let the sit next to each other and tuck into a pretty great ice cream sundae. At home, this would easily have devolved into disaster.  But they knew better.

Not every family dinner can be so lovely and calm, but when things go as well as they did on this night, I remember the basic tenants we’ve been working on since Ella was a year old: be open to new experiences; teach your children appropriate restaurant behavior; a little bit of fancy dress does wonders to calm the beast and raise expectations; go to dinner when your children are hungry, even if this means a 5 PM reservation.

Scones for Mother’s Day, or any other day

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by Caroline

I spent my first Mother’s Day at the racetrack with my husband, our colicky two month old, my brother-in-law and my horse-loving mother-in-law. We ate a brunch that was as good as you would expect brunch at the racetrack to be, and then I sat on the floor in a back corner and tried to nurse fussy Ben while Nancy and her sons bet happily on the races.

It’s a measure of how I feel about my late mother-in-law that it was an excellent day.

I just don’t have strong feelings about Mother’s Day. Growing up, I knew that my mom didn’t much care for how the original political origins of the day had been diluted into a Hallmark holiday, and at church we celebrated the Anglican tradition of Mothering Sunday. Now that I have kids of my own, I am happy to accept their Mother’s Day bouquets of dyed coffee filter flowers or other classroom art projects, but I don’t feel strongly about being feted or fed, in bed or at brunch or anywhere else.

This year, half the family will be off at the kindergarten camping trip so we’re skipping Mother’s Day entirely, which is really fine by me. But if you want a nice treat, let me recommend the scones Tony and the boys have made for me on Mother’s Days past; they are tender and not too sweet, a perfect way to start the day.

Preheat the oven to 450°F.

Sift together into a large bowl:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 c wheat germ
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 c sugar
1⁄2 teaspoon salt

Stir in:
1 1/4 c rolled oats
1/2 c raisins, dried cranberries, or dried cherries

Whisk together, then add all at once:
1 large egg
10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) warm melted butter
1/3 c milk

Mix until the dry ingredients are moistened. The batter will be very sticky. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and pat into an 8″ round about 3/4″ thick. Cut into 8 or 12 wedges, then move the wedges to an ungreased baking sheet. Bake until lightly browned, 10 to 12 minutes.

Salmon “ceviche” Tacos

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By Lisa

I have been cooking a little more these days, and spring is making it easier: new food, fresher produce, etc.   Last weekend I picked up a bag of salmon backs, which are my favorite cut of salmon for their economy, flavor and ease of preparation. And then I found some Mexcian limes, which to my mind make any meal worth eating.  And I came up with these tacos. Citrus marinated salmon, topped with chopped green onion, cilantro, and cumin cream sauce.  We ran out of tortillas, so my husband and I ate them with middle eastern flat bread, which might have been better. They’re totally delicious and were a huge hit with the kids, who added guacamole. They’ll add guacamole to anything. & really, why not?

These are easy enough to get on the table tonight, just in time for Cinco de Mayo!

Salmon “ceviche” tacos

serves 4

  • 3/4 lb salmon (1 1/2 lb if you use backs, since there is a lot of bone)
  • juice of 1 orange, 2 limes, 1 lemon
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 stalk chopped fresh green garlic, including greens (or 1 clove garlic or 1 stalk green onion)
  • soft taco shells
  • chopped cilantro for garnish
  • Mexican lime for garnish (if none are available, use regular limes)
  • cumin cream sauce, see below

Cumin cream sauce

Mix equal parts plain, greek style yogurt with mayonnaise, the juice of one lime, and 1 tsp cumin, a pinch of salt.

  1. Marinate salmon in ziplock bag in refrigerator with citrus, salt, and chopped garlic. for at least 1/2 hour or longer.
  2. Grill or broil until cooked through.
  3. Shred salmon into flakes.
  4. Serve on tacos with cilantro, cream sauce, and limes  for garnish.

Nigella’s Lemon Linguine

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by Caroline

daffodils, since I forgot to take a picture of the dinner

I don’t know when I began needing so much lemon in Easter dinner, but this year it worked its way into almost every dish I made for my family, parents, and brothers on Easter day: lemon fettucine, lemon roasted asparagus, and a lemon cheesecake for dessert; only the peas (grown by my dad) and bread were lemon free. And yes, I acknowledge that following cream sauce with cheesecake might feel over the top, but it’s better, perhaps, or lighter, than the Easter my sister and I unthinkingly served the all-cream-and-carb meal of strata and trifle. But it’s Easter, the joyous end of a long fast, so a family should feast.

Here, in her own inimitable voice, is Nigella Lawson’s fabulous lemon linguine:

* 2 pounds linguine
* 2 egg yolks
* 2/3 cup heavy cream
* 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
* 1 lemon, zested, and juice of 1/2, plus more juice, as needed
* Salt
* freshly milled black pepper
* 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
* 2 to 3 tablespoons chopped parsley leaves

Directions

Fill just about the biggest pot you have with water and bring to a boil. When friends are coming for lunch, get the water heated to boiling point before they arrive, otherwise you end up nervously hanging around waiting for a watched pot to boil while your supposedly quick lunch gets later and later. Bring the water to the boil, cover and turn off burner.

I tend to leave the addition of salt until the water comes to a boil a second time. But whichever way you do it, add quite a bit of salt. When the bubbling’s encouragingly fierce, put in the pasta. I often put the lid on for a moment or so just to let the pasta get back to the boil, but don’t turn your back on it, and give it a good stir with a pasta fork or whatever to avoid even the suspicion of stickiness, once you’ve removed the lid.

Then get on with the sauce, making sure you’ve set your timer for about a minute or so less than the time specified on the package of pasta.

In a bowl, add the yolks, cream, Parmesan, zest of the whole lemon and juice of half of it, the salt and good grind of pepper, and beat with a fork. You don’t want it fluffy, just combined. Taste. If you want it more lemony, then of course add more juice.

When the timer goes off, taste to judge how near the pasta is to being ready. I recommend that you hover by the stove so you don’t miss that point. Don’t be too hasty, though. Everyone is so keen to cook their pasta properly al dente that sometimes the pasta is actually not cooked enough. You want absolutely no chalkiness here. And linguine (or at least I find it so) tend not to run over into soggy overcookedness quite as quickly as other long pasta. This makes sense, of course, as the strands of “little tongues” are dense than the flat ribbon shapes.

Anyway, as soon as the pasta looks ready, remove a cup of the cooking liquid, drain the pasta, and then, off the heat, toss it back in the pot or put it in an efficiently preheated bowl, throw in the butter, and stir and swirl about to make sure the butter’s melted and the pasta covered by it all over. Each strand will be only mutely gleaming, as there’s not much butter and quite a bit of pasta. If you want to add more, then do; good butter is the best flavoring, best texture, best mood enhancer there is.

When you’re satisfied the pasta’s covered with its soft slip of butter, then stir in the egg mixture and turn the pasta well in it, adding some of the cooking liquid if it looks a bit dry (only 2 tablespoons or so – you don’t want a wet mess – and only after you think the sauce is incorporated). Sprinkle over the parsley and serve now, now, now.

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