Monthly Archives: March 2012

Just a Little Friday Reading

Easter entertaining advice from Ruth Reichl, plus an easy blueberry crisp that I am making as soon as I hit “publish” on this post. I’m liking this trend! Especially when someone notes that Andy and I are part of the evidence that proves it’s a trend. I don’t know why I didn’t own happy vintage juice glasses before this week…. Read more »

What Can I Bring? How About an App?

Before I was a mother, I remember being completely tongue-tied when my colleagues would bring their kids to work and swing by my office for an introduction.  How do I engage a toddler? I always wondered. What do I say to a kindergartener?  Is it sending the wrong message to tell a six-year-old that I like the head-to-toe hot pink… Read more »

Anatomy of a Friday Night Dinner

Friday Night Spicy Chicken Sausages with Baked Beans and Kale Salad 1. Procure 6-8 good quality Italian-spiced chicken sausages. 2. Fry in a skillet for 10-12 minutes until brown and cooked through. 3. Pour wine. 4. While sausages are frying, chop up some kale into shreds. Toss with olive oil, tablespoon or two of chopped shallots, handful grated Pecorino, squeeze… Read more »

How to Plan Family Dinner

Last weekend I was in my friend Nina’s bright, airy kitchen, taking in the expansive view of the Hudson River out the back window, when she motioned me over to the kitchen table.  “Please sit down,” she said. In front of me, there was a small pile of cookbooks, some old Gourmet magazines, and a well-loved, yellowed recipe booklet that once… Read more »

Life with a Food Mom

  Do you know how annoying it is every night to have to wait another five hours for Mom to finish taking pictures of her food? If you are wondering why she has to take pictures of food, well, you’re looking at it. Take for instance a black bean burrito! Shrimp rolls! And this chicken with artichokes that you are… Read more »

My How We’ve Grown!

Related posts: Pork Ragu; George Saunders Kid Book Picks; Andy’s First Cocktail Post; School Lunch-Packing Contract (our first post to go viral),  Salmon Teriyaki, Quinoa, NY Times Puts DALS on the Map. And if you are looking for a way to say Happy Birthday, a pre-order would definitely do the trick. Have a good weekend.

Winner

I’m pleased to announce that Amanda is the winner of last week’s Baked Better giveaway. Baked Better is a Brooklyn-based company that makes a line of delicious organic bread mixes — all you have to do is add water. (No long rising times or bread maker is necessary! How great is that?) A big thank-you to the folks at BBB for sponsoring… Read more »

Packaged Dinners You Can Feel Good About

It’s not that I don’t inhale what’s left of the frozen shrimp tempura from my daughters’ plates. Or that I didn’t grow up eating Stouffer’s creamy chicken pot pie once a week. Or that I have anything against a slice or two of Trader Joe’s quattro formaggio frozen pizza. My feeling is…if you can’t break out a good junky frozen… Read more »

Quick-ish Coq au Vin

There are times that call for Julia Child’s Coq au Vin: Holidays. Birthdays. Someone special coming over. (I always knew my mom liked her dinner guests when I saw Mastering the Art of French Cooking splayed on our mustard-colored formica counter.) And there are times that call for the abbreviated version. Like two weeks after coming home from the hospital with… Read more »

Friday Reading

Are you guys following Joanna’s cooking series over at Cup of Jo? She’s 33, mother to a 1-year-old, and sick of not knowing how to cook. So in her words, her plan is “to try to master–really master–the classic recipes: scrambled eggs, mac n’ cheese, tomato soup, chocolate chip cookies, that kind of thing.”  Each week she’s highlighting a new recipe… Read more »

Is the Breastpump Room the New Watercooler?

I don’t even know where to begin on this one. Below is an actual exchange between two working moms (who I don’t know! And who aren’t related to me!) coordinating their visits to the designated office breast-pumping room. My editor forwarded it to me with the instruction that I was only allowed to post it here word-for-word if I promised… Read more »

Kicking the Dessert Habit

You want to know what’s fun about being an editor? You get to live vicariously through people who are smarter, better traveled, and more interesting than you. Charles Duhigg is one of those people. Charles is an investigative reporter at The New York Times — if you haven’t been following his series on Apple, it’s really worth your time —… Read more »

When the Pasta-Hater is Away…

God knows, it’s not that I don’t love the kid. I have pledged my undying devotion to her here — she’s our firstborn, is kind to animals, has the soul of a poet, and is generally an all-around solid performer at the table. But Phoebe does not eat pasta. Phoebe, in fact, actively dislikes pasta. She hasn’t touched the stuff… Read more »