Hot summer days are around the corner and we want to know, what is your kids favorite summer food? Give us some ideas for all the moms that are stuck in a food rut….
Sweet or salty, healthy or not, fast or slow – post a comment and share with us. We’d love to get some new ideas for those tiny tummies.
Around here my daughter loves when I freeze yogurt “tubes” – its like an ice cream treat!
A pure, delicious accident lead some friends and I into The Ten Bells in the lower east side of Manhattan on Saturday night. Our taste buds could not have been more grateful. This perfect little wine bar and tapas restaurant are sure to delight. I fully recommend a post at the bar near the east end, there you will be able to see all the dishes prepared. Complimenting the menu is a fantastic selection of natural wines too. The scene at Ten Bells is fun, unpretentious and totally yummy. Try the octopus salad and brandade and thank me later or better yet, post back with your favorites. Visit The Ten Bells at 247 Broome St, NY NY (near Ludlow St).
Peach Pie from Smitten Kitchen Recipe Blog
Lately, I have been craving peach pie. Its one of my most favorite things in the summer. Who can resist the smell of fresh peaches baked in warm pie. Yum, I am drooling now. On a recent google I happened on this recipe from Smitten Kitchen, an adorable blog about a simple cook in a tiny NYC apartment kitchen. The fabulous Deb posted about this recipe from Martha Stewart and can you blame her? Look at the ingredient list, peaches, creme fraiche, sugar and salt. Simple and mouth watering. I love a recipe that is simple and easy but yields a gourmet creation. This pie does just that. So head on over to the farmers market this weekend, grab some peaches and bake, Mama, bake! And of course baking is a great thing to do with your little ones. Have junior roll out the dough with you, sprinkle flour etc. Make a mess, its fun.
Here is the recipe, compliments of Smitten Kitchen:
Peach and Crème Fraîche Pie
Adapted really loosely from Martha Stewart Living
1/2 recipe All-Butter, Really Flaky Pie Dough, chilled for at least an hour in the fridge
Streusel
1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt
3 to 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour (I needed the latter amount to get this into a crumble)
1/4 cup cold (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
Filling
1 1/2 pounds ripe (4 to 5 medium) yellow peaches, pitted and quartered
2 to 4 tablespoons granulated sugar
Pinch of salt
5 tablespoons crème fraîche*
Prepare pie dough: Roll out pie dough (look!: a tutorial) to about 1/8-inch thick and fit into a regular (not deep dish) pie plate, 9 1/2 to 10 inches in diameter. Trim edge to 1/2 inch; fold under and crimp as desired. Pierce bottom of dough all over with a fork. Transfer to freezer for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 400°F right before you take it out.
Make streusel: Stir confectioners’ sugar, baking powder, salt and three tablespoons flour together in a small bowl. Add bits of cold butter, and either using a fork, pastry blender or your fingertips, work them into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs. Add additional flour as needed; I needed to almost double it to get the mixture crumbly, but my kitchen is excessively warm and the butter wanted to melt. Set aside.
Par-bake crust: Tightly press a piece of aluminum foil against frozen pie crust. From here, you ought to fill the shell with pie weights or dried beans, or you can wing it like certainly lazy people we know, hoping the foil will be enough to keep the crust shape in place. Bake for 10 minutes, then remove carefully remove foil and any weights you have used, press any bubbled-up spots in with the back of a spoon, and return the crust to the oven for another 5 to 8 minutes, or until it is lightly golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack to cool slightly. Reduce oven temperature to 375°F.
[P.S. If you're not overly-concerned about "soggy bottoms" (in the words of Julia Child) you can save time by skipping the par-baking step. Given the light nature of the filling, odds are good that it would not become excessively damp even without the parbake.]
Make the filling: Sprinkle quartered peaches with sugar (two tablespoons will make a just-barely-sweeteened pie; add the other two for a still not overly-sweet but sweeter pie) and salt. Let sit for 10 minutes. Spread two tablespoons crème fraîche in bottom of par-baked pie shell, sprinkle with one-third of the streusel and fan the peach quarters decoratively on top. Dot the remaining three tablespoons of crème fraîche on the peaches and sprinkle with remaining streusel.
Bake the pie: Until the crème fraîche is bubble and the streusel is golden brown, about 50 minutes. Cover edge of crust with a strip of foil if it browns too quickly. Let cool on a wire rack at least 15 minutes before serving.
I stored this in the fridge, due to the crème fraîche, and found that I liked it even better cold, with the flavors better married.
* Make your own crème fraîche: It’s true! You can make a version of it at home, using these instructions.
Who do you think is more insane, the man that opens a pizzeria in the suburbs during a recession or a mom who has been cooped up with kids for 20 straight days of rain? I am willing to bet its the mom because last week I tested out the newly opened Frankie & Fanucci’s Pizzeria in Hartsdale. I heard about Frankie & Fanucci’s from my friend Erika, who in all honesty should be writing this post! She is a total foodie and always has great recommendations. So last Friday night I joined Erika with another friend for a delicious Neopolitan style pizza, some nice chianti and great conversation. I made Erika do the ordering because well, as a single mom-preneur, I make way too many decisions all day long and gladly appreciate when someone else takes the reins. My taste buds were oh so appreciative of this submission!
Here’s what we had: Pear & Gorgonzola salad, Fresca salad, a large Di Parma pizza and for dessert, the homemade Tiramisu and two perfect cappuccinos. We also ordered a side of meatballs with the best marinara sauce I have had in probably five years. The owner, Brad Nagy, later revealed after we closed down the place, that the sauce is made in the oven. Delicioso! A few glasses of wine and our total bill was about $86 for the three of us. Well worth it!
Although I went with other adults this is completely the kind of place you could bring your kids. The atmosphere is easy going, the service is attentive and best of all the food is really tasty. So when you can’t stand to be inside your four walls anymore, want to please your taste buds and can’t stomach breaking the bank, head on over to Frankie & Fanuccis located at 202 E. Hartsdale Ave, Hartsdale NY 10530. Need a take out order? Give them a call at 914-725-8400.
Dinner : the end of day battle no one likes. Even if your kids are “good eaters” the daily dilemma of what to make can be a drag. And we all seem to get stuck in a rut of making the same ol’ things. This little article recently appeared in the NY Times about polenta, providing for some much needed inspiration in the cooking department. Ahh, polenta! It’s easy to prepare and you can do a thousand things will it. Baked, fried, and as a base for yummy things like chicken caciatore. Delish. Best of all kids like it. Not easy enough? Try this – Trader Joe’s sells it in these handy tubes. Just slice and go. I did this but I love it ligthly fried so its a bit crispy! Which had my darling daughter saying “yummy, yummy polenta in my tummy”. Click here to find a Trader Joe’s near you. Ps. I totally recommend the simmer sauce for chicken caciatore but it needs a little more spice so use it as an easy base and then add a little kick of your own!
Slowdown, recession, or downturn, however you choose to phrase it, we are in it together. Each one of us is feeling it in someway or another. The challenge for many of us, myself included, is to still feel satisfied not deprived during these times. Its almost like a diet. Eating only two bites of chocolate cake when you really want that huge chunk. How do we do this with our kids when they keep growing and have definite needs? As a small business owner, I have made numerous sacrifices in my personal life to build and grow the business. I thought I would share my top tricks for stretching and yet still feeling satisfied. After all deprivation is a feeling no one enjoys.
Those are just a few of my personal tricks. I would love to hear from you what tips you can share! Email me at Chiara@chichibean.com.
Who wants to crank up that oven or slave over the hot stove in the summer? Not I. But, like most of America you are probably more conscious of your wallet these days. So we are delighted to report on this fab find in the Clinton section of Manhattan. Check out il melograno on at 51st and 10th Ave NYC. With homemade pasta that’s too die for and panini’s that those little hands can wrap around, its easy to see why this corner spot will delight you and junior just the same. Here’s what NYC nosh had to say in its review “…we do think you’ll want to come back for seconds, or possibly thirds”. Mangia Baby!