Planning a Dinner Party With Kids, Tiny Kitchen

Back before children, my husband and I loved to entertain. We'd spend time working on a menu and be super meticulous about the food. We had fun shopping together and he had fun making the drinks. We anticipated it and then loved to talk about it later. The last party we had before kids, I was six months pregnant. It was madness. I couldn't drink. I stood up doing so much preparations and didn't even enjoy myself. It was three years before we ever attempted a no kid party again.

This weekend will be our fourth dinner party in this house. Most of the time it is a mix of my husband's work colleagues, which is fun because they love to talk all the no-no topics of politics and religion. That's what happens when you invite people from The Hill. But as of late, dinner parties have become less fun in the preparation phase due to a few things:

1. The size/layout of our house
2. The size/layout of our kitchen
3. The kids
4. Did I mention my kitchen?

The past three parties, I have made my standard fare. The problem is anything which needs an oven heats means our entire main level of the house is painfully hot. Our kitchen only comfortably fits one maybe two people.

What I needed for this party is a complete menu that could be prepared ahead of time and in the final hours before the party, I could just plate things without using an oven and without being in the kitchen. It's no fun to be at the party if you're in the kitchen and no one can fit in there with you. Yes, it's seriously that small!

I was at a loss for a menu of tastefully done hearty appetizers to feed my 15 or guests. We're hopeful that the weather will hold out so that will help push everyone outside onto the deck.

I am super grateful to my fellow DC Metro Mom blogger Andrea of Andrea's Recipes who managed to arrange an entire menu for me free of oven! She is truly the small home dweller's dinner-party dream. I'm sure you're all curious of the menu, right? Well, I won't give you her entire list, but this is what I've chosen to serve in case anyone really cares.

So here is the menu for the small-house-no-oven-make-ahead-kids-in-the-way-spring-dinner-soire.

Fruit + Cheese
Fruit skewers (mix 2 or 3 types--strawberries, melon, grapes, apples, Swiss cheese, ham pieces, cocktail shrimp; cut the fruit 1 day before, prepare skewers the morning of and cover tightly in plastic so they don't dry out)

Chevre coated in minced parsley and finely chopped pistachios (chop the parsley and nuts and roll the log in it)

Wheel of brie, top removed for those who don't like the skin (I might wrap phyllo around it, but that would involve the oven.)

Dips and Toppings (all served with bread, crackers, pita, etc.)
Sun-Dried Tomato Tapenade (I'm cheating and using the Trader Joe's one)

Roasted Red Pepper Dip

Hummus (Cheating and using Whole Food's Garlic Hummus--the BEST store-bought hummus by far.)

Pesto & Sun-Dried Tomato Torta

Salads
Chicken Orzo Salad with Goat Cheese minus the chicken for my vegetarian guests

Meats
Thai Grilled Chicken with Cilantro Dipping Sauce (Cook the chicken and make the dipping sauce the day before and chill, then rewarm slightly and cut into chunks before serving. Garnish with fresh cilantro at the last minute.)

Sushi (get at Wegman's made fresh and arrange on platter)

Beef and Gorgonzola Toasts with Herb-Garlic Cream

Dessert
Florentines Turns out Trader Joe's also has almond meal already so looks like I won't have to process the almonds! Bonus.

Oreo truffle balls Of course no Oreos since they have partially hydrogenated oils...I had to get the ones from Trader Joe's.

So there's the menu. I can't wait. Now for the kids. I finally decided to use my babysitting co-op to get a few hours of prep on Friday, and then I got smart this time and arranged for the babysitter on Saturday night to come early this time. We may be well on our way to learning to entertain with kids. We'll just have to see how it all plays out. Now I'm on to preparations in my teeny tiny kitchen. That's a whole other issue!

Margarita Mama: Mocktails for Moms-to-Be

When I first received this book in the mail for me to review, I must admit I laughed. Someone came up with a book just for 'mommy- to-be' safe drinks? Seriously!

But I was pleasantly surprised at how clever Margarita Mama turned out to be. To be honest, I used to make my own mocktails (aka the Mama-rita) during my first prengancy. A few of them are actually in here like the Sparkling Cosmopolitan, Pregnant Punch and Hot Mama. Do you see how cute this is? By my second pregnancy, I was mixing sparkling water with a bit of real wine (no, not everyday!) for my own sanity of having to deal with being pregnant and having a not-yet-one-year old.

This is a great little gift book for a new mom-to-be. Not only do the drink names include things like Car Seat, Baby Shower Shake, Cranberry Crib, but each drink comes with a little humor before about being pregnant. Some even come with tips, like when to install the car seat or why blueberries are so good for you.

Thursday's Dish: Safe Cupcakes

It's been a long time since I've done a recipe post. Today was the day to bring in cupcakes for Alex's birthday celebration at school. We were instructed at the beginning of the year to keep in mind of the peanut/milk allergies in the class. I have learned a lot about food allergies, as well as what it can do emotionally to the kids, from my friend Kari over at Everyday with Food Allergies. So I wanted to do my best to meet everyone's needs as best as possible.

I was all set to make my cupcakes and ran to Safeway to get the Duncan Hines yellow cake mix that is apparently free of milk and peanuts. I stood there looking at all the cake mixes. They were cheap at $1 a box. So what was the hestitation. I have my own food issues. My husband has conditioned me after 12 years to not buy things with partially hydrogenated oils. These are all around bad for you in every possible way. You can read more here if you like. Every cake mixed had it listed as one of the top ingredients and Duncan Hines had it listed twice!

I could not bring myself to buy the mix. So I left. I was sure that I could find a recipe online that would be safe and easy to make. I mean cake has been around a long time before the days of milk and butter. Surely, I could find something suitable.

Here is the recipe I found--amazed at how utterly simple it was to make.

For Cupcakes:
3 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups cold water
1 cup corn oil
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (check for ingredients)

On top:
I just sprinkled powdered sugar on top.

Make cake:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Lined muffin tins with paper muffin thingys. Mixed first 5 ingredients into medium bowl. Mix water, oil and vanilla in large bowl. Whisk in dry ingredients. Divide batter among tins. Sprinkle cup chocolate chips over batter in each pan.
Bake cakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 20-25 minutes. Made about 20.

So proud to have made safe cupcakes for everyone today!

Thursday's Dish: Pasta Fagioli Soup

It’s been a long time since I posted a recipe. Why, you ask? Because my kids haven’t been eating what I make. That’s right, wasted attempts at trying to feed my monkeys something beyond pizza, chicken nuggets and meatballs. We’ve made a few attempts the last few days (or weeks) at trying to get everyone back on track with real food. Today we had a winner with my kids. Surprise, it was soup!

Pasta Fagioli Soup (From Cooking Light’s Weeknight Cookbook)

12 ounces of sausage (I used chicken, but wished I’d gone for mild Italian)
3 cups chicken broth
½ cup uncooked small pasta (I used the wagon wheel ones and convinced my kids it was training wheels.)
2 cups of coarsely chopped zucchini
1 can stewed tomatoes, undrained
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
1 can of white kidney beans
½ cup Asiago and/or Parmesan cheese

Heat a large saucepan over high heat. Add sausage and brown. Add the broth and pasta. Bring to a boil Simmer for a bit. Add zucchini and tomatoes. Simmer a few more minutes. Add the basil, oregano and beans. Cook for another few minutes. Serve with cheese.

(Alex ate the sausage and pasta and Anna actually tried most of it.)

Thursday's Dish: Pasta with Salmon and Asparagus

Are you seeing a theme here? We do pasta in our house since that is my one ingredient that I know both my kids will eat. It used to be rice since Alex wouldn't touch pasta, but thank God we can now move on to another starch. This recipe my kids will eat, including the salmon. You might substitute the veggie out for zucchini or squash if it's more seasonal. From the Williams Sonoma Pasta Cookbook.

3 tablespoons of butter
1 1/2 pound of skinned salmon
1/4 cup of fresh lemon juice
1 lb of asparagus or other veggie
12 green onions, green and white part cut into 1 inch pieces
2 tbsp of lemon zest
salt and pepper
1 lb of pasta
2 cups of dried bread crumb
1 tbsp of olive oil

Slice the salmon into strips. Marinate the salmon in 1/2 the lemon juice for 30 minutes. (No, I don't ever do it for this long.) Cook aspargus until tender. In a skillet, melt the butter. Add the green onion and saute until tender. Add the asparagus or other veggie for a few more minutes. Add the salmon until it's cooked. Add the remaining lemon juice, zest, salt and pepper. Remove from head and keep warm. Boil pasta, drain and toss with oil. Combine it all with the bread crumbs.

Thursday’s Dish: Pasta w/ Roasted Vegetables

Unfortunately this week, all attempted dishes were a big thumbs down with the kids. So, as promised, I will only post recipes that all members of my family will eat. This recipe came from Cary in my mom’s group. My kids will not necessarily eat all the veggies, but once in a while someone will at least try some, depending on what I do throw in there. This makes a lot of leftovers as well.

Pasta w/ Roasted Vegetables
1 eggplant
1 red pepper
1 red onion
1 yellow pepper
1 package of mushrooms
1 box small pasta like penne or orzo
2 lemons
1 package of the crumbled feta
olive oil
salt/pepper
handful of chopped fresh basil
1/3 cup of toasted pine nuts (optional)
Chicken or shrimp is optional.

Chop the vegetables into bite-sized pieces. Place them on baking/cookie sheets and toss w/ olive oil and salt and pepper (so they won't stick). Cook at 400 for about 20 min (watch them-you want them tender but not too soft). Feel free to substitute vegetables. Asparagus is also good in there.

Cook pasta according to package directions, drain and place in large pasta bowl. Dump the cooked vegetables, the feta, nuts, basil and juice of two lemons in and toss. Add about 1/4c. of olive oil...enough to get the flavors to meld together. Add salt/pepper as needed.

It's good hot or cold.

Thursday’s Dish: Turkey Breast Milanese

I saw this while watching the Today Show last week. I can’t take credit for it. I did, however, make it from memory so I altered it a bit on lack of memory. It was a winner. My kids ate the meat and Andrew and I enjoyed the whole thing. The directions make it look harder than it is. Basically, it's a large turkey nugget on top of salad. The salad is for us the nugget for the kids.

Turkey Breast Milanese
Serves 4
You can prepare and fry up the turkey in the morning, refrigerate it until you’re ready to serve, and reheat it in the oven for 5 minutes. Accompany — or, more traditionally, top — the turkey with a lemony salad of mesclun, sliced cherry tomatoes, torn basil leaves, Parmesan shavings, capers and green olives.

INGREDIENTS
• Boneless turkey breast fillets
• 3 large eggs
• Kosher salt
• 7 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 1-pound loaf country bread (Lots of bread crumbs if you don’t have time to make your own)
• 2 lemons
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes or other tomatoes
• Basil leaves
• 4 tablespoons (1⁄2 stick) unsalted butter
• 1 bag of mixed greens
• 2 tablespoons capers, rinsed and drained well
• 1⁄4 cup chopped green olives or kalamata olives (I prefer those)
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar (skip this if you have store vinaigrette)

DIRECTIONS
One at a time, place each fillet between two sheets of plastic wrap and pound with a mallet until about 1/4 inch thick. (I use a measuring cup for this.) In a large shallow bowl, beat the eggs with 1 teaspoon salt and 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Place the flour in another large shallow bowl and season with salt and pepper. One at a time, place each fillet in the flour, dusting it well, then place in the egg mixture. Transfer to a platter and let the fillets stand for 1 hour, refrigerated. ( I didn’t marinate. It was fine.)

Meanwhile, remove the crust from the bread and cut it into 1-inch cubes. Put the bread in a food processor and process to fine crumbs. Place the crumbs in a 2-quart zipper-lock plastic bag or a paper bag. (Or buy breadcrumbs)

Juice the lemons; set the juice aside. Halve the cherry tomatoes. Tear the basil leaves in half. Transfer 1 fillet to the bag with the bread crumbs, close the bag, and shake well to coat the fillet thoroughly. Place on a clean platter and repeat with the remaining 3 fillets.

Place a large skillet over medium heat and add 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and 2 tablespoons of the butter. When the mixture is golden brown, add as many of the fillets as will fit in a single layer and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, until golden brown on the first side. Gently turn over each fillet. Cook for 3 more minutes, or until cooked through. Fry the remaining fillets, using 1 more tablespoon olive oil and 1 more tablespoon butter. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, toss together the greens, tomatoes, basil, capers and olives.
Make a simple vinaigrette by whisking together the remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil, the vinegar, and salt to taste in a small bowl. (I used store bought dressing.)

When the turkey is cooked, transfer the fillets to a platter. Wipe out the skillet with a paper towel. Melt the remaining 1 tablespoon butter in the skillet. Add the lemon juice and heat, stirring. Pour the lemon-butter mixture over the fillets. Toss the salad with the vinaigrette and serve it beside or on top of each fillet.

Thursday's Dish: A recipe for all

Let’s face it. As moms, we spend a good deal of our daytime hours in the kitchen. I’m not sure why that is, but is seems pretty universal that kids eat most of the day and if we’re not cooking, we’re preparing or cleaning up. So I thought I’d devote one day a week to talking about food and/or meals.

When my neighbors and I gather outside in the remaining hours before dinnertime, without a doubt, the one question that always comes up is “what are you making for dinner?” Then we stand there, causally swap recipes and quickly think how we could alter that to accommodate our particular family’s eating habits and/or the items we already have stocked in the frig.

In my former life, before kids (BK), I used to be a gourmet. I would buy cookbooks and watching cooking shows and experiment with strange ingredients. Obviously I don’t buy cookbooks anymore or watch cooking shows or experiment with anything beyond basil or onions. I don’t even think my kids will eat those. In an effort to resurrect myself after almost three years of being short order cook for kids less than two years apart, I have made a commitment that my children will try to eat normal grown up food that we eat. Yes, we still do chicken nuggets, pizza, meatballs and mac and cheese on those nights I can’t get dinner on the table fast enough, but I will teach my kids to eat normal food somehow. My plan is to make dishes where I know each child will like something on their plate. Even it if means I have to throw carrot sticks on there to satisfy our veggie quota for the week. (If Alex dislikes dinner, he will eat a million carrots in lieu of dinner, which is fine by me.)

My first recipe is one I believe I got from my mom and my mother in law. I think they each make a different version of it. It’s one everyone will eat most of or parts of, makes good leftovers, and takes less than 30 minutes.

Quick Sausage and Spinach Pasta
(Don’t let the spinach throw you off this one, my kids will eat around it and even occasionally try it.)

1 pound of any kind of pasta
1 package of sausage (we like the Garlic and Cheese ones from Trader Joes, but anything that’s not too spicy will do)
1 bag of baby spinach leaves
1 carton of cherry tomatoes (I’ve even used canned in a pinch or regular tomatoes)
Pine nuts are optional
Parmesan Cheese

Boil pasta. Cook sausage until done. Cut up tomatoes or slice cherry ones in half. Once the pasta is done, drain quickly. Once the sausage is done, slice. Put everything back in the pot that you boiled the pasta in—pasta, sliced sausage, tomatoes, and spinach. (Add in a little oil or some of the juices from the sausage.) The steam from the pasta will “cook” the spinach and just wilt it. If you like, you can cook the tomatoes and spinach in the same skillet as the sausage for just a minute or two to wilt them both a bit. Right before serving add cheese and pine nuts, if desired.

(Note: This makes a lot. My daughter inhales the pasta and some of the spinach and a few bites of sausage. My son will eat the sausage, a few bites of pasta and if we’re lucky will eat a bit or two of spinach. Feel free to add more to this, zucchini might be good too.)

Worth my time with Funny Meatballs

I don’t know why my kids have developed this affinity for meatballs, but they have. Alex started eating them at a very early age in Qatar. They were of course Halal ones (special Islamic blessed food) no less. When we moved to Sweden, I thought he’d nearly faint when he found out he, in theory, could eat meatballs everyday. Swedish Meatballs are in fact served at street side cafes, by street vendors and it’s always the kid’s platter at a restaurant (think Sweden’s chicken nuggets.)

Upon arriving home to the U.S., Alex would ask for meatballs at every restaurant, and every time I would have to explain that was not a choice. Too bad because they are a much healthier choice to chicken nuggets. We have found comfort in the Trader Joe’s meatballs or even the Swedish ones from Ikea. This past weekend, I had some left over meat and decided to try my Swedish meatball recipe. I spent almost two hours mixing, balling and frying to have every meatball come out looking like a meat patty instead of a ball. I vowed never to do this again until….not only do both my kids eat the entire batch and ask for more. But a few days later, Alex very sweetly asks for “mommy’s funny meatballs.” When I asked what he was talking about his response: “Funny meatballs are the ones you made. They’re funny because they were oval. I like the oval ones. They were yummy funny meatballs.”

Here is the recipe I have for those that asked:

Meatballs (Kottbullar)

1/2 cup Fresh Bread Crumbs (Would advise having more on hand as I had to use more)

1 cup of milk (I would use much less as I had trouble. Recommend 1/2 cup)

1 onion minced

Butter or oil

10 oz ground beef

4 oz of ground pork

1 egg

Salt, pepper, allspice to taste.

Soak breadcrumbs in milk. Brown onion in butter. Combine ground meat, bread mixture, onion and egg. Season with salt and petter and allspice. Mix lightly adding water if necessary. Make small balls with wet hand and spoon. Fry meatballs in butter. Shake pan frequently so they stay round.

Sauce if you're interested. 2TBLS of butter; 2 TBLS of flour; 1 1/4 cup beef stock; 1/2 beer. Brown butter in a pan whisk in flour. Whisk in stock and beer. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes until flour disappears.