Leftovers by any other name …

During a large family dinner my sister-in-law announced, “My husband doesn’t like leftovers.” To which my mother responded, “Oh, I don’t believe that.” (Mom meant, my brother pretty much eats anything that doesn’t move and we always ate leftovers growing up.)

My brother sat in the middle of the two women looking sheepish. How else can you look when your mother & wife are disagreeing on your dining preferences over your dinner plate? In my mother’s defense, my brother was devouring Turkey Pot Pie, made with the leftover turkey and any and all fixings from the previous day's dinner, clearly leftovers. In my sister-in-law’s defense, we always ate leftovers growing up. My house was really like that joke about no one actually remembering the original meal. And when there was an original meal, it was already dry and overcooked, so you can imagine how much we all looked forward to those leftovers, even my brother who was fairly indiscriminate about his food.

Anyway, we took pity on my brother and hijacked the conversation to discuss how we each deal with leftovers in our own homes — truly a great strategy for getting a quick meal on the table. One of my sisters said her family actually looked forward to “Make Your Own Plate Night.” She puts out whatever’s in the fridge, and — this is the important part — her only rule is you must choose one protein and one vegetable, other than that, you can choose whatever you like. I do the same thing, but I call it “Leftover Night.” When I tested out “Make Your Own Plate Night” tonight, it was met with much better results. Go figure.

The other thing I try to do is make a new meal out of an old meal, thus the turkey pot pie that was being eaten during the conversation in question. It's easy and healthy and my family always eats it with gusto.

Turkey pot pie
Tender turkey with vegetables in a creamy sauce and a flaky crust—ultimate comfort food!

1 puff pastry sheet
6 T butter
6 T flour
½ t pepper
1 14½ oz can chicken broth
½ c milk
1 thyme sprig
salt and pepper to taste
4 c turkey, cooked and diced
2 c carrots*
1 10 oz. package frozen peas and onions*

Preheat oven to 425°.

Melt butter over medium heat. Add flour, stir until combined and cooked into a roux, about 5 minutes. Slowly add chicken broth and milk and continue stirring. (If you’re making it from a leftover turkey dinner, add any leftover gravy at this point too.)

Once all the milk and broth have been incorporated, add thyme sprig. Simmer until sauce has thickened. Place turkey and all veggies into 2-qt casserole dish. Season sauce with salt and pepper. Pour over turkey and veggies. Top with puff pastry. (Can be wrapped in foil and plastic at this point, and frozen to cook at a later date. To cook after freezing, defrost in the refrigerator the day before you plan to eat, and continue with baking.)

Bake at 425° for 30-35 minutes.

Cover with aluminum foil if crust starts to get too brown.

Serve with mashed potatoes and green salad.

*Whenever possible, I use leftover veggies of any kind. That’s what makes it a true pot pie. When prepare it for clients, I have to use fresh or frozen veggies because I have no leftovers.

Variations: Chicken Pot Pie: Use leftover roasted chicken from your own oven, or from your grocer’s rotisserrie.
Crustless Pot Pie: Rather than using puff pastry as a top crust, use mashed sweet potatoes. It’s a yummy, low-carb alternative.
Dairy-free: Omit the milk, and increase the chicken broth by ½ cup.

Getting dinner on the table, Part 1

We always need a quick dinner, but Quickies cannot always be last-minute. It takes some planning to come up with healthy meals, and some variety too. You can only serve a salad with grilled chicken so many days in a row before someone — likely everyone — whines.

In that vein, take advantage of a slow, lazy day to get a jumpstart on some Quickies. Make a big batch of sauce with meatballs and Italian sausages (OK not the epitome of a healthy meal, but it’s got protein and the family will eat it and be happy — to increase the healthy factor, use ground turkey for the meatballs, and Wild Harvest Italian Chicken Sausage which tastes just like the real thing). With some Italian bread in the freezer, we have some options for Quickies: Meatball Subs, Sausage & Pepper Subs (peppers & onions can be sautéed in the time it takes to cut the bread and heat the sausages in the microwave, plus, they’re your veggie! Add olive oil and paprika to the peppers and onions), and extra sauce for a quick pasta dinner is always great to have on hand.

To get dinner on the table, you do have to plan ahead a little, but come Wednesday night, you'll be glad you've got dinner in the freezer.

Day-after deviled eggs

OK, we went to my sister's in Poughkeepsie, NY, for Easter weekend, and I left the Easter eggs (for 10 kids!) in our fridge in Newburyport. Now I have 2½ dozen hard-boiled eggs.

What do I do with all those hard-boiled eggs? Deviled eggs! When I make deviled eggs, I don’t follow a recipe, and they’re probably never exactly the same twice, I just throw in mayo (Miracle Whip, usually), mustard (Dijon, usually), horseradish sauce, hot pepper sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and relish, and whatever else I'm in the mood for (curry, dill, parsley, or cilantro?). But, a couple of years ago, I stumbled across a recipe for deviled eggs on epicurious.com. There were pages and pages of feedback from people who had tried the recipe. Who knew deviled eggs could inspire such prose – and opinions? If you can use a laugh, you might want to check it out – it was hysterical!

Peep jousting

Two competitors choose 1 Peep each and place a toothpick “sword” in the Peep’s “belly”.

Place them in the microwave facing one another. Turn the microwave on for 30 seconds to 1 minute.

The Peeps puff up and seem to poke at each other until one (or both) fall over.

Who won?

Eggs-acting facts and eggs-traordinary folklore

Do you know that

• a hen requires 24 to 26 hours to produce an egg? Thirty minutes later, she starts all over again — Wow! She’s a better woman than I.
• the egg shell may have as many as 17,000 tiny pores over its surface and eggs age more in one day at room temperature than in one week in the refrigerator? Keep your eggs fresh and your family healthy by storing your eggs in their original carton in your refrigerator.
• white shelled eggs are produced by hens with white feathers and ear lobes? Brown shelled eggs are produced by hens with red feathers and red ear lobes, so if the “Brown eggs are local eggs and local eggs are fresh” jingle is true, our local hens have red feathers and red ear lobes. In fact, New England is one of the few places in the U.S. where brown eggs are preferred by consumers over white eggs (except at Easter time). Red hens are slightly larger birds and require more food, so brown eggs are often more expensive than white eggs at the supermarket.
• you can tell if an egg is raw or hard-cooked by spinning it? If the egg spins easily, it is hard-cooked, but if it wobbles, it is raw. Because the liquid yolk and white in raw eggs are different densities, they flow from side to side, and wobble, as the egg spins.
• if an egg is accidentally dropped on the floor, you can sprinkle it heavily with salt for easy clean up?
• during the spring equinox (on or about March 21), it is said that an egg will stand on its small end? According to the American Egg Board (aeb.org), some people have reported success, but it is not known whether such results were due to the equinox or to the peculiarities of that particular egg.
• egg yolks are one of the few foods that naturally contain Vitamin D?
• yolk color depends on the diet of the hen. Natural yellow-orange substances such as marigold petals may be added to light-colored feeds to enhance yolk color? Artificial color additives are not permitted by the FDA.
• a young hen may produce an egg with no yolk at all?
• true free-range eggs are those produced by hens raised outdoors or that have daily access to the outdoors? Due to seasonal conditions, however, few hens are actually raised outdoors. Some egg farms are indoor floor operations and these are sometimes erroneously referred to as free-range operations. Due to higher production costs and lower volume per farm, free-range eggs are generally more expensive. The nutrient content of eggs is not affected by whether hens are raised free-range or in floor or cage operations.
• no commercial laying hen feed ever contain hormones?
• a blood (or “meat”) spot occasionally found on an egg yolk is caused by the rupture of a blood vessel on the yolk surface when it’s being formed or by a similar accident while the egg is being laid?
• in late-nineteenth-century Germany, eggs were used as birth certificates? The newborn’s name and birth date were etched into the shell of a dyed egg, and courts honored these “IDs” as proof of age and identity.
• the term “egg money” originated before World War II, when most eggs were produced by small flocks that scratched their way around the barnyard; the farmer’s wife usually supervised the operation and the money received from the sale of the eggs was considered hers?
• eggs were originally colored, blessed, exchanged, and eaten as part of the rites of spring long before Christian times? Even the earliest civilizations held springtime festivals to welcome the sun’s rising from its long winter sleep. They thought of the sun’s return from darkness as an annual miracle and regarded the egg as a natural wonder and a proof of the renewal of life.
• in the Jewish tradition, a roasted egg on the Passover Seder plate has stood for life and the hope of salvation for many, many centuries
• in Christianity, the Easter Egg is a symbol of Christ’s Resurrection from the tomb?
• for centuries, eggs were among the foods forbidden by the church during Lent, so it was a special treat to have them again at Easter? In Slavic countries, baskets of food including eggs are traditionally taken to church to be blessed on Holy Saturday or before the Easter midnight Mass, then taken home for a part of Easter breakfast. In Newburyport, Fr. Marc Piché from Immaculate Conception Church will visit your home to bless your food if you call the rectory and make an appointment.
• many countries continue the age-old ritual of egg-tapping? My husband’s family is Lebanese, and they call it “fey-hees” (note: phonetic spelling only). Two opponents choose an egg and hold it in their fist, leaving only the tip exposed. Then they tap the eggs, one against the other. The one finishing with an unbroken egg wins, and continues to challenge other opponents. (The trick is protecting as much of the egg as possible with your fingers.)
• in China, parents might give family members and friends a red-dyed egg to announce the birth of a child?
• Germans use green eggs as a symbol of mourning on Maundy Thursday (Holy Thursday)?
• during the Renaissance in Italy, romantic young men tossed empty eggshells filled with perfume or cologne at young women? The custom spread to Austria, France, and Spain. Later, in Mexico, empty eggshells were filled with confetti and used to make wishes. The eggshells, called cascarones, are still used today at Easter and for other happy occasions.
• for a special celebration, Japanese parents give their children eggs that are decorated to look just like the children?

Decorating eggs
People in central European countries have a long tradition of elaborately decorated Easter eggs. Polish, Slavic, and Ukrainian people create amazingly intricate designs on the eggs. They draw lines with a wax pencil or stylus, dip the egg in color and repeat the process many times to make true works of art. Every dot and line in the pattern has a meaning. Yugoslavian Easter eggs bear the initials “XV” for “Christ is Risen,” a traditional Easter greeting.

You can use Easter egg dye available in the supermarkets and drug stores at this time of year, food coloring packages also have tables on the side for getting great bright colors. A while back, I read about coloring eggs with natural materials and gave it a try. In theory, you will get the following colors from the following materials: Pink-red – fresh beets, cranberries, radishes, or frozen raspberries; orange – yellow onion skins; light yellow – orange or lemon peels, carrot tops, celery seed, or ground cumin; yellow – ground turmeric; light green – spinach; green-gold – yellow delicious apple peels; blue – canned blueberries or red cabbage leaves; beige-brown – strong brewed coffee; brown-gold – dill seeds; brown-orange – chili powder; grey – purple or red grape juice or beet juice. I did not try all of these, but the ones I did try did not have brightly colored results – and it was a pretty expensive experiment.

According to marthastewart.com, you can die eggs with silk neck ties.

1. Cut silk into a square (or a piece) large enough to wrap around a raw egg.
2. Wrap a raw egg with a piece of silk, making sure the printed side of the material is facing the egg. Silk can still be used if it doesn't fit perfectly around egg.
3. Place the silk-wrapped egg in a piece of old white sheet, white pillowcase, or white tablecloth and secure tightly with a twist-tie.
4. Place the egg(s) in an enamel, glass, or coated metal pot (a metal pot will react with the vinegar, causing the solution to become cloudy, and your eggs not as vibrant). Fill pot with water to cover eggs completely. Then, add three tablespoons of white vinegar.
5. Bring water to a boil, turn heat down, and simmer for 20 minutes (longer if you plan on eating the eggs).
6. Remove eggs from water with tongs or spoon and let cool.
7. Remove fabric from cooled egg.
8. For shiny eggs, wipe with vegetable oil.

Silk can be reused on eggs.

Before decorating eggs, you can either hard-boil them or blow the egg out of the egg shell. If you use blown-out eggshells, you can use them again and again. If you use hard-boiled eggs as a centerpiece or decoration, they will be out of refrigeration for hours, or even days. You should not eat eggs that have been cracked during coloring or while out, and you should not eat eggs that have been at room temperature for more than 2 hours. Cook extra eggs to refrigerate for eating and discard the eggs that have been left out as a decoration.

Either way, if eggs are to be dyed, washing them in a mild detergent solution helps to remove the oil coating so that the color adheres more evenly.

To blow out an eggshell, first, wash and dry the egg. Prick with a long needle to make a small hole in the small end of the egg and a large hole in the large end of the egg (probably about ¼"). Stick the needle into the yolk to break it.

Then, either shake the egg large-end-down over a cup or bowl until the contents come out. you can also use a baster to pull out the contents or an ear syringe to “blow” them out. If the contents don’t come out easily, insert the needle again and move it around to be sure both the shell membranes and yolk are broken. Rinse the shell under cool running water and let it dry. Be careful when decorating empty shells – they’re quite fragile.

The contents can be used in any thoroughly cooked recipe which calls for mixed yolks and whites. Label containers in which you store the insides of these eggshells with the number of eggs they contain. Use them immediately in a fully cooked dish or freeze them for later use. Most baked dishes such as casseroles, custards, quiches, cakes or breads are good uses for eggs emptied from their shells.

To hard-boil eggs, place eggs in single layer in saucepan. Add enough tap water to come at least 1 inch above eggs. Cover. Quickly bring just to boiling. Turn off heat. If using an electric stove, remove pan from burner to prevent further boiling. Let eggs stand, covered, in the hot water about 15 minutes for large eggs (12 minutes for medium, 18 for extra large). Immediately run cold water over eggs or place them in ice water until completely cooled.

Erin go bragh

Happy St. Patrick's Day to you all! I have one, and only one, recipe from my grandmother who emigrated from County Sligo, Irish Soda Bread, and I've made 13 loaves of it in the last 6 days, for clients, and family, and friends, and — if truth be told — I made a mini-loaf, and ate it all by myself!

Grandma's Irish soda bread

1/2 c raisins*
2 c flour
1 1/2 t baking powder
1/4 t baking soda
1/4 t salt
1/4 t caraway seeds, optional
1 c buttermilk**
grated rind of 1/2 orange***

Preheat oven to 375°. Soak raisins in very hot water for 10 minutes to soften them.

Sift together dry ingredients, orange rind, and caraway, if using. Drain and towel dry raisins, add to dry ingredients.

Moisten with enough buttermilk to form a slightly sticky dough. Form dough into a round loaf on an ungreased baking pan. Slice a cross into the top of the loaf.

Bake at 375° for 10 minutes. Reduce oven to 300°, bake for 40 minutes longer. Cool 10 minutes before slicing. Best served warm with butter.

*My friend, Karen, said her mother used a combination of raisins and currants. I'll try this next time.

**If you do not have buttermilk available, you can combine 1 c milk and 1 T white vinegar and let stand for 10 minutes.

***My husband doesn't like the grated orange rind, so this year I substituted ¼ t orange extract and it worked perfectly.

Fun makes it easier

I was talking with a client this morning, and she's struggling with getting her kids to try new foods. Her solution has been to cook what she knows won't cause arguments, because who wants to sit down to dinner and have fights about the food. No good bonding there. The flip-side of that is that she and her husband are bored with the same few meals that her kids will eat.

My suggestion is to make minor modifications in what you know works, and whereever possible, make the food fun for your kids.

To make burgers that make you happier: Put them on whole wheat rolls, add some new flavors to the burgers (barbecue sauce, Italian seasonings, Cajun spices), try different cheeses on your cheeseburgers, use ground turkey instead of ground beef (ground turkey breast is too dry and burgers will fall apart, but ground turkey works well)

To make burgers that make your kids happier: Turn them into mini-burgers and put them on mini-rolls (sliders are all the rage as apps in restaurants these days) and kids love food that's right-sized for them. Try wrapping them in butcher paper and have pretend take-out.

Fries for you: Make your own and bake them, rather than deep-frying, leave the skins on -- that's where all the vitamins are. Experiment with different flavors and spices. Try a combination of sweet potatoes and white potatoes to introduce your kids to something new in a relatively painless way.

Fries for your kids: Let's face it, any fries make kids happy. You can serve them in brown paper bags (like take-out) to make it a fun event.

Meatloaf for you: Like hamburgers, you can try a variety of flavors and spices. Meatloaf is a perfect place to hide veggies too. First find a flavor combination that your family likes, then add veggies in ways they can't identify them (finely shredded or pureed works well).

Meatloaf for your kids: If kids balk at the idea of meatloaf, try to make it more fun for them. Bake it in mini-loaf pans or cupcake tins for individual mini-meatloaves.

Macaroni and cheese for you: Whether you make your own or use the box, experiment a little. Add frozen broccoli and diced chicken, or make Steakhouse Mac & Cheese with frozen peas and crumbled bacon, or hide veggies in it by adding pureed baby carrots or sweet potatoes to orange cheese or pureed cauliflower or white beans to white cheese.

Macaroni and cheese for your kids: Like fries, most kids are really happy if their choice for dinner includes macaroni and cheese. Do your kids love steak? Add some leftover steak from last night's dinner, they'll think they hit the jackpot. Then you can add a veggie to make you happy and they can try one bite, they might just like it (if they don't they can always pick it out.

Spaghetti and meatballs for you: Using whole wheat pasta is now a great, flavorful option, and once the sauce is on it, most people would be hard-pressed to tell the difference. Like meatloaf, meatballs hide a multitude of veggies. Feel like you're having pasta every night? Try meatball subs on whole wheat buns with reduced fat cheese.

Spaghetti and meatballs for your kids: Meatballs are a fun food, and they might think you're the coolest mom in town for serving subs for dinner!

Welcome!

Welcome to the in home cooking blog. In my family, food is an event. It inhabits our conversations, our emails, our thoughts.

I have four kids, three of whom have busy, busy schedules, and a husband who commutes more than an hour each way to work, and still tries to coach the kids' sports when he gets home, but still, I try my best to get everyone to the dinner table together whenever possible. And it's not always possible.Family dinner is important to me for a myriad of reasons. First, I had it growing up. The world is different now than they it was 20 or 30 years ago, and anyone who says it's not is delusional. Some of the experiences I had as a child, my children will not have, and they're having some I didn't, that's the way it's supposed to be. But family dinner is one tradition that was important to my parents and is important to me, and my husband and I are doing our best to maintain it.

Second, we catch up with each other and get to know each other. Get to know each other? you might ask, Don't you live together? Yes, but you know what they say about ships that pass in the night ... If we sit down together, we can hear about each others' days, what the plans are for the rest of the week, about what's going on with friends and family, in fact, in this election year, we're talking a lot about primaries and candidates. It's a great learning opportunity for the kids to learn and for us all to share our views, and learn respect for views that differ from yours.Third, we tell each other "You're important to me." Now, I'm realistic, I have three boys (15, 13, and 9) and a daughter who just turned 2, of them, the one who can barely speak is the only one who's likely to utter those actual words, and they don't want to hear me say it, either. But if you clear your schedule, put your homework away, turn off the TV, PS2, computer, iPod, and don't answer the phone, you're telling me, "You're important to me." And I'm no fool, I'll take that sentiment in whatever form I can get it.

Finally, I've read study after study that says family dinner promotes good self-esteem among children, keeps them off drugs and away from violent and risky situations, encourages them to do well in school, and develops them into responsible, contributing adults. How can it not? We're clearing our schedule for them too, we're telling them, "You're important to me."

Sound good? I can do it for you, too. I'll be posting thoughts about food and cooking, recipes, ways to get everyone together easily and quickly for what's really important, the bonding.

Many of my recipes can be made ahead of time, and put in the refrigerator or freezer for use later in the week or month. Many are quick meals that can be made in 20-30 minutes from beginning to end. Many are meals that are crowd-pleasers, there's nothing worse than getting everyone together at the table only to have them complain about what's being served.

If you try any of my recipes, please let me know how they came out. Of course, if you live in the Greater Newburyport area, I can come cook for you and your family.