Big Girls Small Kitchen Visit LA!

Cousin #3 with a Cookbook?  Did we mention that our family loves food?
I don't know if this 3rd (?) cousin remembers me, but I am going to try and stop by Vroman's Bookstore next Wednesday to check out the Big Girls, Small Kitchen book signing to say hello to Phoebe and get some great cooking tips.
Here are the particulars if you are interested in going, too.

Cara Eisenpress & Phoebe Lapine present and sign In the Small Kitchen

Start: 06/01/2011 7:00 pm

Location: 

Vroman's Bookstore

695 E. Colorado Blvd

Pasadena,

California

91101

United States

http://www.vromansbookstore.com/eisenpress-lapine

Less Spam, More You

There have been improvements in spam blocking on the blog!  Friend of the blog, MandiCrocker, noticed that the Blogger comment verifier, wasn't working quite right, especially in combination with programs like Networked Blogs on Facebook.  I decided to turn the Blogger visual verifier off for the time being, at the risk of spambots  overwhelming the blog.  I did get many spam comments sent to me, but they weren't showing up on the blog.  Lo and behold, Blogger has added a nifty spam collector in the comments tab of the dashboard.  More information on this functionality can be found at http://www.google.com/support/blogger/bin/answer.py?&answer=187141.  Good work Google, I am much happier with this approach.  Less hassle for readers leaving comments and less spam on the blog.  So let us test it out... leave your comment and let us know how it goes.  Just make sure it's not spam.

Busy Times

The holidays are always busy times. This year I have been blessed with more family time, a little freelance work (I am an Artist by trade), and the pleasure of living life. Yesterday we set up the Christmas tree, lit the candles on the menorah, and saw the Princess and the Frog; we are a multicultural family. We ate at The Counter,but more about that in a future post.
Husband of Food and I spent time with friends at their house in Torrance. I brought Muddy Buddies and found out who reads this blog regularly. I played a board game. I finished a book I could barely put down. If you are a parent with young kids, you may like it, too. I can't tell you how many times I laughed at this book thinking, "OK, so this happens to other people, too."

I chatted with Mother of Food. I let Husband of Food calm the overtired twins who were still up when we got home. I read an incredibly sweet post on the Mandicrocker Blog, featuring yours truly. Yesterday was a beautiful day. But enough about me... What's new with you?

Spongebob Truth or Square Ships!

OK, this is more Family than Food, Spongebob Truth or Square Shipped today. It is now available everywhere fine videogames are sold. You can get yours at these convienent amazon links. Daughter of Food especially reccomends playing level 6 and 7.

Honor Thy Father

This is the hardest post to write. I have been avoiding the blog for weeks because I wish to sojourn in the land of Egypt, you know, the land of de-Nile. When I pick up the phone to call him, or plan my next trip to Vegas, or get a sympathy card, or write this blog, it all comes back.
I just want it not to be true, but it is.

Father of Food passed away on October 5th.

He will be missed, remembered, needed, yearned for, but never forgotten.

Here is a chronological list of Dad's posts:
Priorities
A Real Cut Up
Hidden Treasure
Dining Sicilian Style
Special Hint
Oh My, What a Pie!
Mom's Night Out
Ole
Small Plates---BigTaste
Basil-Pesto (Recipe)
Size Matters
Food
24/7 Mandalay Bay
This Ain't Your Big Mac
Diet Rules For Cheaters (unknown)
True Confessions
Boo
Thanksgiving - common problems - simple solutions
The Deli Experience
Patio Dining on the Strip
Hammy Hannukah or (Chanukah)
Good - Better - Best
Pizzacue
24/7 Venetian
Zoozacrackers
Aunt of Food
Vintage Vegas
O Sole Mio! (Recipe)
Good Company
Passover Recipe (Recipe)
Passover Recipe Matzo Brie (Recipe)
Did I say smear?

Baby Food

Yesterday at lunch, my girl said "Mommy, this is my baby." She says, while pointing to the top where she had squished down the bread, "Here are her eyes." She says pointing to the big piece of bread in the middle, "This is her body." She points to the peas "these are her buttons." This baby has a lot of buttons. Then disturbingly she says as she points to the bits around the main form, "These are her spiders." What does that mean?

Without missing a beat, my daughter and her sister put the baby to bed by covering her with a paper towel.

"Wait!" she says, "We forgot to give the baby her lovey." and she places the blue spoon in the crook of the bread arm.

I think the bento designs are influencing the twins. All kids play with their food, but I think my not quite three year old is destined to be an artist.

Owl Face Bento

Last night my daughter mentioned to me that she loved the funny face bento I made her. That comment inspired me to do another. This healthy bento box she named the Owl Face Bento. It includes:
Broccoli
Cantaloupe
Grape Tomatoes
Raspberries
Yellow Bell Pepper
Turkey, Roast Beef, and Cheddar Wraps

Garden Bento

I know it's been a while since I posted a bento picture, and today I felt inspired. I have been making the girls wraps at lunch and they just remind me of flowers.

Here is what is in this bento box:

Rice with Tumeric for the sunny sky.
Canned Green Beans for the grass
Fresh String Beans for the stems of the flowers.
Green Pears for the leaves.
Tortilla wrapped Turkey and Cheese for the flower heads.

They said it couldn't be done; Pie-Cake!

Cake or Pie?
It's a question that comes up over and over again. You may have chosen sides long ago, ready to fight for your chosen dessert, "Give me Pie or give me death!" or "You can take my cake when you pry it out of my cold dead hands!"

No more, I say!

Cake or pie...They're both so delicious, so why choose? Why can't we all just get along? Why not make a Pie-Cake?


This is a first exploration into this new topsy turvy melting pot of a world. I have created a Banana Cream Pie-Cake. I recreate the method here. This recipe will make 2 pie cakes, so get two pie pans greased up, because here we go...

I wanted a heavier cake with some substance that would support a creamy pie filling, so I chose my favorite banana bread recipe for the cake base. This recipe is from Chef Paul Prudhomme's Louisiana Kitchen, one of the best cookbooks I have ever known. I print a version of the recipe here to show the modifications I made to make this Pie-Cake. If anyone has any objections, speak now or forever hold your peace...

OK

2 cups or 3 Large well-mashed overripe bananas

1 cup sugar

3 eggs (the original recipe calls for 2, but I got carried away)

1 1/2 sticks of unsalted butter, melted and cooled

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

3 Tablespoons of buttermilk (or a mixture of 3 Tablespoons milk and 1/2 teaspoon vinegar set out for 1 hour) - Note: I use the milk and vinegar mixture. I tried the buttermilk once, but decided it wasn't worth buying the extra buttermilk.

1 cup coarsely chopped pecans, dry roasted. (I used a half cup)

In a large bowl combine the bananas, sugar and eggs with a spoon until well blended. Gradually add the butter, mixing well. Stir in the flour and baking soda until well mixed and creamy. Stir in the buttermilk, then fold in the pecans.




(This next part veers from the original recipe)

Spoon batter into 2 greased pie pans. Bake at 300 degrees for 60 minutes until dark brown.

Allow to cool.

While the cakes are cooling, it's time to make the pie filling. I chose a recipe from Emeril's New New Orleans Cooking for my filling. I figured I'd stick to the region from where the cake recipe came from. I modified this recipe as well so I will write it up as I made it, if you want the real recipe, buy the book ; ).

2 Cups Whipping Cream

1 Cup Milk (the book uses 3 cups heavy cream, but I was out so I made do.)

1 tsp Vanilla

1 Tbsp Unsalted Butter

3/4 Cup Cornstarch

2 1/2 Cup Sugar

1/2 tsp Salt

5 Large Egg Yolks

4 Ripe Bananas

Heat the cream in a large saucepan over high heat. Stir in the vanilla and the butter and bring to a simmer.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the milk with cornstarch and stir until thoroughly blended and smooth.

When the mixture in the saucepan begins to boil, stream in the cream (milk)/cornstarch mixture, whisking constantly until all is thoroughly incorporated. Remove from the heat.

In a bowl combine the sugar and salt, and whisk this dry mixture vigorously into the saucepan until the cream is thick and the dry ingredients are thoroughly incorporated. Over low heat, whisk in the egg yolks one at a time. Remove from the heat and whisk the pastry cream until smooth and creamy.

Take the bananas and slice them into 1/4 inch slices, set aside.

Now that the cakes are cool, take a long sharp knife and carefully cut off the tops of the cakes. Set tops aside.

Scoop a bit more of the cake out to make more room for pie filling.

Pour about 1/6 of the pie filling mixture into each cake shell. Layer 1/4 of the bananas into each of the shells.

Cover with 1/6 pie filling in each shell, layer the rest of the bananas (saving a few for garnish) onto the filling and top with remaining pie filling.

Place the cake tops you set aside onto the cake and garnish with a few banana slices.

Refrigerate for 2 hours or until firm. You may cover your pie cakes in the fridge... it just wasn't as pretty that way.

I enjoyed this first pie cake, but I found that I wanted more. I may try an crumb cake apple pie or a chocolate cake pudding pie. If I do, I promise to report my findings. Until then, enjoy your new world... one in which pie and cake no longer have to be separate.

Freebie on Family of Food!!! Today and Tomorrow Only

Family of Food has a gift for you! Today and Tomorrow only we a

In honor of Valentine's Day, and to publicize the MP3 Downloads you can get on their website, Amazon.com is giving away Gaye.

We are featuring the Amazon banner ad at the top of the page which gives you a FREE drm free MP3 of Marvin Gaye's classic "Let's Get it On".

If you've never downloaded an MP3 from Amazon before, they will encourage you to download their MP3 Downloader, but you don't have to, just click the link that says skip the download and get the MP3.

That's it! Free MP3.

Family of Food Drive

We are so lucky at Family of Food, although times are tough for everyone this year, we can afford to eat. This is no small miricle. Many Americans are not as well fed as they used to be. People who may have gotten by in the past with a bit of scrimping are now slipping into poverty. The food bank demands in my home city, Los Angeles, are up 41% from last year.

As a gesture of goodwill towards our fellow Man, and a strong "Family of Food" desire to feed others, we are starting a Family of Food Drive. This virtual food drive will raise money to benefit the Los Angeles Regional Foodbank. Los Angeles Regional Foodbank is a private, nonprofit, charitable organization that has been serving the disadvantaged of the Los Angeles community since 1973. They are at the heart of a charitable food distribution network that includes over 1,000 charities in Los Angeles County.

For every $1 you donate the Los Angeles Regional Foodbank can distribute enough food for 5 meals. Please join us in our attempt to give 10,000 hungry people a meal. If we beat that goal, even better. Any amount will help, even a dollar.


Please click on the Food Drive Link to give. This will take you to the foodbank. Then tell your friends to visit our site and donate. You can even join the family and become a fundraiser too. You can make a whole lot of real people less hungry this Holiday Season. Thank you.

*Donate to The Family of Food Drive

*Become part of the Family of Food Drive Team.

The Carnegie Gorgefest, A Family Tradition

Daughter and Son in Law of Food Went to New York. For us, one of The City's greatest point of interest is the food.

For our fist meal in Manhattan we went to the Carnegie Deli. The Carnegie has long been legend in our Family. Father of Food tells one of his first trip to the restaurant, which sums up what makes this place extraordinary.

When Father of Food first sat down to a table at the Carnegie, he asked the waitress for a Bowl of Soup and a Corned Beef Sandwich. The waitress looks at him and says dryly "Pick One." My father, not a small man, rather a somewhat hefty fellow at the time, a man that could ironically wear the name "Tiny," says "What am I, a kid? Bring me the soup and the sandwich." She did, and he was sorry. Try as he might, he did not finish that soup and sandwich because one soup and sandwich at the Carnegie could feed a hungry family.

Husband of Food and I kept this tale in mind when ordering our lunch. We were hungry so we settled on a Corned Beef Reuben and a side of Fries, for the two of us. Here is the Reuben. The plate is tilted a bit in this shot, so it is difficult to see just how big it is, but you get the idea, right?

We almost made it through the whole sandwich; I struggled to eat about a third of it, but I was not sorry. Now had I ordered the soup...

Translating the Family of Food

Hello All! I am so excited to announce the addition of the Google Gadget Translate My Page to this website. It will translate our blog into a number of languages. If you are reading this blog in a language other than English, please tell me if it makes sense to you by leaving comments in the comments section at the end of the post. I hope this gadget brings many international readers to The Family of Food.

Happy Reading and Happy Eating!

Octopus' Garden - Experiments with an 8 Legged Cake

The Twins are two! This glorious event called for a very special cake. If you remember, for their first birthday, I made a Duck Cake. Friends gave us an octopus cake form a few months back, so this time, we went with an under the sea theme giving us the OCTOCAKE.

Like with the Settlers Cake I made for my husband a few weeks ago, I used the Lemon Cake for Lino recipe from Amy Sedaris' Cookbook,I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence. The cake baked well with only a small sink hole at the bottom and a few tiny abrasions to the surface. Those small deficiencies did not worry me because the frosting would easily cover any imperfections.

This is where things got a little dicey. I had a lemon buttercream recipe that called for powdered sugar and a white frosting recipe which called for boiling water. I only had regular cane sugar and I was not sure if the other recipe would turn out thick enough for frosting the octopus cake.
Under pressure for time, I made a rash decision. I combined the recipes. I thought maybe the sugar just needed to be lighter so somehow combining it with boiling water would make it work like powdered sugar. I beat the mixture in my Kitchen Aid for several minutes, but as you've probably suspected, no frosting came of it. Instead a thick lemon syrup formed. Feeling I had nothing to lose I added some flour and baking soda and attempted to make a lemon cookie. It was not a crazy idea, either the cookies would come out poorly and I would just be out a little bit of flour or they would be great and we would have an extra batch of cookies for the party. Either way it wasn't much of a risk. Well, it was close but no cigar. The cookies came out pretty tasty, but they wouldn't come off the pan. I was left with a I pile of lemon crumbs and a cookie sheet in need of some sort of solvent to remove the stuck on cookie bits.

It was time to face facts, I needed powdered sugar, but time was tight. I sacrificed a few of the dishes I was going to make and hopped down to the market for the powdered sugar. I left trusty Husband of Food in charge of the wee ones and a few of the cooking related tasks I had left to do other than the cake. He came through for me, like the prince that he is, and I was able to get to making the frosting.

The lemon buttercream (dyed green) came out beautifully. Frosting the octocake was not easy, but I had enough for coverage. I used store bought icing for the face and details, blue icing and coconut for the ocean waves at the base of the cake, Swedish Fish surrounding the bottom, and Hershey's chocolate sauce on the side for the octopus ink. The ink was a big hit. As amateurish as this cake may be, I can say this, it was made with fun, love, and just the right amount of powdered sugar.

Back to School

Here's some food news worth writing about; Colbert University, the online school for all things Stephen Colbert related, has listed a new course,
Colbert University GAST 101 - Gastronomic Adventures.

It's a frighteningly comprehensive collection of Stephen Colbert's adventures with FOOD!

There are links to everything from Dorito’s Spicy Sweet Pennsylvania Primary Coverage from Chili-Delphia—The City of Brotherly Crunch to the classic Cooking with Feminists.

Our Family of Food loves Stephen Colbert and you know we love Food... It may just be time to curl up with a pint of Stephen Colbert's Americone Dream and catch up on our studies.

First Day Bento

The twins start daycare tomorrow, a special occasion, indeed. This is their first packed lunch and my first Bento Boxes.

The fancy details are strawberries cut like hearts over a bed of raisins, bunny crackers hopping along in a green bean patch, slices of cheese aside roast beef, and cut grape tomatoes. Click on the picture for a bigger image.

I don't know if I am doing it right, but the meal is balanced, healthy, and definitely made with love.

Thanks to the Bento Love blog for inspiration.

A Family of Food Cookbook?

I was looking for a recipe for pesto the other day and guess where I found it... on our own blog.
For your convienence, I will list the recipes from the Family of Food Blog so far right here. I have also cleaned up the tags a bit on older posts, so you should be able to find our recipes by clicking on the recipe tag to the right.

Pesto

A Marzipan Cake

Lemon Curd Frosting

Birthday Duck - Duck Cake!

Nann - Traditional Indian Bread from Majula's Kitchen

Mini Strata

Potato Latkes

Recipe for Yogurt

Jewish Soul Food - Traditional Jewish Brisket

Crock Pot or Slow Cooker Brisket

A Lighter Kind of Passover Recipe - Weight Watchers Passover Chicken with Tomato Mint Salsa

Passover recipe - Matzoh Brie

Passover recipe - Sweet & Sour Meat Balls

Gribenes

Matzo Ball-o Loco - a host of Matzo Ball Soup Recipes

Spaghetti alla Caruso

Flavors of the Eastern Mediterranean: Curry Powder

More Flavors of the Eastern Mediterranean: Gazpacho Recipe

Star Wars Recipes

Tiny Little Recipe: Strawberries and Cream for Breakfast

Another Tiny Recipe: Roasted Sweet Potatoes or Yams

Pâté de Campagne

The Nicest Restaurant To Which My Kids Have Ever Been

This past Friday, I took my two 19 month old girls down to the Los Angeles Central Library to read some books. Since we were to be downtown on a Friday we arranged to meet Grandfather of Food for Lunch. He picked a spot right next to the library, a nice little joint named Cafe Pinot. OK, Cafe Pinot is not just a little joint, it is one of the Patina group of Restaurants founded by Chef Joachim Splichal. I love Patina, but I had never been to Cafe Pinot before. Based on my experiences at Patina, I had expected an elegant and delicious menu. What I hadn't expected was how very child friendly Cafe Pinot was. I should have guessed this was the case when I saw Chef Splichal's latest cookbook, Feeding Baby in the lobby of the restaurant. After checking in, we were seated in the garden with our two high chairs already in place (it pays to call ahead). We were given milk for the girls in their sippy cups right away. This is a blessing for parents and patrons who don't wish to hear babies crying for milk. The Kids were given children's menus which had no prices because kids food is free, a bargain that would starve Joachim Splichal? Nah, don't worry, The Patina Group made out fine on the adult's meal. Grandfather of Food and I had salads, but plates the girls got could have fed us all. They had a grilled cheese with french fries and a chicken breast with french fries. Both were made with more care than at the average restaurant. Specifically, I had the Yellowfin Tuna in Salad, which was seared perfectly. We were all fed beautifully. My one and only request for the "in diapers" set would be for Cafe Pinot to get a diaper changing area. The only place I saw to use was the on floor of the bathroom. I opted to wait until we went in to the library where, FYI, they have a koala bear care changer in the children's section on the second floor.

Another Addition, Random Recipes!

Hello extra special Family of Food reader,


There is a new resource for you on the Family of Food Page.
Over on the sidebar, you may notice something called "Random Recipes".

<------------------ It looks like this.




This is a Google Gadget that searches for Random Recipes and puts them in the box. If you see one you like, view the recipe and copy it to your computer at that time, because the next time you come back it may be gone.

Enjoy Random Recipes!

What's on Our Shelf

Family of Food has been highlighting some pretty cool stuff lately, like cookbooks and videos. See this blog post, or this one, or this one. Maybe you want some of this stuff?

We've added Amazon Links of stuff we like to our Blog to help you find these things more easily. Some of our favorite cookbooks are not even in print anymore, but often Amazon will have a used copy from one of it's affiliates. The links are prominently placed on our sidebar. We will periodically change links or add something new we like.

Please use the links to find out more about these goodies and if you do end up buying them from Amazon, we will get a small commission which helps support the blog. Yay! If you don't, please enjoy clicking anyway and check your public library for some of these titles.

Thanks for all of your support!