Pizza Pizza

On a recent trip to the Caribbean, G’s parents and I discovered her love of pizza. Though she had had pizza prior to our trip, she had never shown such admiration for it before. She scarffed down about half as many pizzas as days we were on vacation. Of course being the little carnivore she is, she particularly enjoyed her pizza topped with ham. Coincidently, G’s parents recently received a pizza stone as gift so upon our return to the states, I decided to put my pizza making skills to the test.

Starting with fresh dough that I set out to rise, I used my hands to stretch out the dough into a personal size pizza disc. Next I floured my pizza paddle and with a bit of beginners luck, managed to slide the dough effortlessly on to the hot pizza stone. After five minutes I again gracefully removed the dough, dressed it with sauce and cheese and returned it to the oven. What came out was a delicious crispy crust, soft cheesy middle pizza perfection. I felt I was a pizza making natural, until of course my luck wore out just in time for my next attempt. My second pizza, a broccoli and cheese topped pie, was tasty yet too chewy in the middle. This was probably due to letting the dough rise for the first pizza and then putting half back in the refrigerator. My third pizza was my best yet. After asking G’s mother to purchase a rolling pin, my pizza crust was much improved. As a result, it came out much thinner, which made it easier for G to chew. With this third pizza I also added thinly sliced ham just as it came out of the oven. Yum!, or so G thought.

Pizza is fun since the variations are endless and there does not seem to be an end in sight for G’s love of the delicious cheesy delight. I don’t think anyone has ever grown out of or become bored of pizza but you never know with a two year old.

Meatloaf, Double-Beatloaf, I...Love Meatloaf?

As I was flipping through the pages of Jessica Seinfeld's brilliant children's cookbook, I came across a recipe for turkey meatloaf I just knew G would love. As she is a fan of anything turkey, it's just a bonus that four slabs of bacon rest neatly atop this loaf. I am certain G had never tasted bacon before, as it caused quite the little reaction. About three chews in, she actually reached inside her mouth, pulled out the half chewed piece of bacon and offered it to me to try. She looked pretty surprised when I denied the gnarled bacon bit but she gladly put it back in her mouth to finish. Just in case you are wondering, yes, I do realize that I am the only one who finds this story adorable. The point is, although I would not know, apparently this recipe is delicious.

Italian Meatloaf

Adapted from:

Deceptively Delicious

by Jessica Seinfeld

In a large bowl, soak 1 cup Italian-style breadcrumbs in 1/2 cup non-fat milk. Saute 1/2 onion, finely chopped in 2 tablespoons olive oil for 7-10 min. Add 2 celery stalks, finely chopped and cook for 3-4 min. longer. Put the mixture into the bowl with breadcrumbs and add 1 pound lean ground turkey, 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, 1/2 cup carrot puree, 1/4 cup ketchup, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/8 teaspoon pepper and stir to combine. Put into a 9x5 inch loaf pan and smooth over the top with a spoon. Pour 1 cup tomato sauce over top and place 4 slices turkey bacon across the top. Bake for 45-50 minutes at 350 degrees.

Kid Tested, Nanny Approved

In my first ever blog post, I mentioned that G loves Turkey Meatballs. As an early Christmas present to anyone who loves meatballs, I thought I would share the recipe I use. I served these to G for dinner recently and after her first bite she turned to me and said, “mmm yummy, thanks!”

Turkey Balls

Adapted from:

First Meals
By Annabel Karmel

In a bowl, mix together 1 lb ground turkey, 1 onion finely chopped, 1 small apple, 3 tbsp bread crumbs, 1 egg, 2 tbsp chopped fresh sage or thyme, salt and pepper. Form walnut-size balls, coat in flour, and sauté in vegetable oil until golden brown all over. Transfer meatballs into a casserole, cover with tomato sauce and cook in a preheated oven set to 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

My New Kitchen

There is a reason why New Yorkers eat out and order in so frequently, their kitchens or lack there of. Residents in this city are rarely allotted more than a cubbyhole size space to work with. Pre-war buildings may be very beautiful, however the pre-war appliances they are likely to come with, not so much. The kitchen in my first apartment post college, a studio on the Upper East Side, is a good example of such.

Firstly, it was small, so small only one person at a time could step foot inside it. Secondly, the appliances were extremely old, so old that each and every one was broken to some extent. The electric burners would often shut off randomly, so as you can imagine, boiling water was an issue. The oven racks were tilted forward, something I learned when my first casserole dish filled with bubbling hot baked ziti went sliding off and straight onto the floor. The refrigerator made a consistent ticking noise and from time to time the freezer required chiseling as it would turn into a solid block of ice. One of the biggest selling points of the apartment, due to the extreme rarity of such, was the dishwasher. Sadly it only leaked water, broke dishes, and was used all of about three times before I gave up on it. Funny how the last line of my lease mentioned that if the dishwasher was broken, the landlord was not responsible for fixing it. There was also the unfortunate rodent problem, which after realizing the mice were gaining access to my apartment through my kitchen, I was terrified to use it. And that's just the kitchen but for the purpose of this blog, I will stop here. I am one hundred percent okay with blaming my mediocre cooking on my past kitchens, as it does not matter how much interest you have in something, if the proper learning environment is not provided, skills are very hard to come by. Though there were a few pathetic kitchens to follow this one, I am happy to say that the days of, well, terrible apartments are officially behind me.

Within my beautiful new apartment in Brooklyn exists the most gorgeous kitchen I have ever seen (in my price range of course). It is big, big enough for a full-size dining table, has new(er) appliances, lots of storage, and counter space. I am so fortunate as I feel this kitchen is the launching pad to my cooking success. In the past, kitchens that were cramped and dysfunctional created a stressful and simply miserable cooking environment. In my new kitchen, I can look forward to learning and creating in the ease of space intended for a fun and rewarding cooking experience.

Impromptu Paella(ish)

In an attempt to mix up the usual meal routine, I recently went looking through one of G's kid cookbooks in search of a new recipe. On this particular day, I came across a recipe called Chicken with Tomato Sauce and Rice. In recent months, introducing new foods has become a more difficult task so the recipe was quite perfect as it incorporated some of G’s favorite foods yet constructed them in a new and interesting manner. Unfortunately, I only had half the ingredients the recipe called for and therefore improvisation was required. Since I did not have chicken, the main ingredient, I went with sausage as a substitute. This actually worked in my favor as I’m convinced G only tried the meal after realizing it contained sausage. What I ended up with was a much less complicated and fussy yet delicious meal, essentially simplified paella. A saucy rice dish combined with onions, carrots, peas and sausage…an instant hit with G!


Natalie’s Paella(ish)

Sauté 1 small onion and 1 carrot, both chopped in some olive oil. Add approximately ½ cup tomato sauce, cover, and simmer for a bit until onions and carrots are tender. Add 1 cup cooked white rice to the mixture along with some frozen peas, stir and cook on low just long enough for the rice to absorb the tomato sauce. May need to add more depending on how saucing you like it. You can eat as is, adding more veggies if you like, or a protein such as chicken, sausage, or shrimp.