kitchenmage

A Thanksgiving Note to Parents

Thanksgiving preparation is in high gear across America this evening. Most of those people are also on twitter so my twitterstreams are full of people, many of whom are parents—mostly moms, but that's another rant—working to get the pies baked, clean house, cook some side dishes and do something with kale. (Seriously, every fourth tweet is "Sous-vided bacon-wrapped kale infused with baby, free-range...") I am getting hungry reading and knowing that there is turkey tomorrow isn't helping much at the moment.

But that's not why I am here. I want to talk to the parents...

I keep reading a variant of "Kids SUUUUCK! Can't get anything done. Crap! I'll wait until they go to bed."

What the hell, y'all?

You had children so they could participate in your family life, right? So let them.

When it comes to helping with party prep (and general household chores) I believe in No Child Left Behind, aka Being a Slavedriver. No wait, make that SLAVEDRIVER. It's a job title more parents should embrace from time to time. Your kids will thank you when they are all grown up and coping with the activities of daily living without undue vapors.

• Tweens and older are treated like almostAdults when it comes to work.They are fairly independent, getting some directions to get started but no hovering like I might with a smaller child.
• School-age kids are extremely helpful sous chefs. They can read recipes, gather and prep ingredients and do a lot of the actual cooking.Teach them to work with heat and blades safely and
• Kids love to stir things. If all your stirrables are simmering away, give the toddler a bowl with a fistful of rice and dried beans and ask them to stir that.
• Small kids can do a lot of stuff if you give them a nudge and a wee bit of direction. Get them to pick up toys and other clutter, collect dirty laundry, wash vegetables, shell beans, set the table, load/unload the dishwasher and a thousand other things.
• Taster. This one is a double hit because your child is busy and happily eating (mostly) healthy treats. Do it right and you don't have to make them dinner tonight. Triple win!
• If all else fails, give your monstrrr a stack of paper napkins and ask them to fold them in Thanksgiving shapes. Praise whatever they do.
• Babies are tougher but I decided their job is to be adorable and provide toes to be nibbled. If you have a better job for them, please share it in comments.

How are the kids in your house helping? Give other parents a hand by sharing your secrets in comments.

Hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

 

Rosemary Fan Dinner Roll Recipe ~ v.Simpler

This is a slightly simpler, straight dough version of these Rosemary Fans. (Straight dough is mixed at one time, versus recipes using starters, etc.) If you have the time to do the original version, which requires an extra few hours for the starter to ripen. I encourage you to do so, the bread flavor is a bit richer, somehow more "grainy" in a good way. It's all those lovely enzymes and tasty bits...

Rosemary Fans

These rolls bloom in the oven into charming little fans, each with its own look. The bread dough is simple to make and shaping the rolls is quick, easy and (happily for small hands) not an exact science. You can substitute almost any other savory herb for rosemary, though fresh herbs really do work best for this.

Makes 12 large rolls

1 1/2 cups water (at body temperature)
1 tablespoon instant yeast
1 cup whole wheat flour
4 cups flour (bread flour is better, but all-purpose will work)
1/8 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon rosemary fresh, chopped
3 tablespoons olive oil (or melted butter)

1. Put the water, yeast, whole wheat flour, three cups of the bread flour and the olive oil in a large mixing bowl and stir to combine. (Use low speed on a stand mixer.) Sprinkle in the last cup of flour while mixing, stopping when the dough clears the bowl and stops absorbing flour. Cover the bowl and let the dough rest for 20 minutes.
2. Turn the dough out on a well-floured counter and sprinkle the salt on it. Knead the dough 5-10 minutes (stand mixer: 5-6 minutes on medium) until it is firm yet supple and smooth. (You may need to use a bit more flour on the counter.) Place the dough in a clean bowl and cover it with a damp cloth. Let rise until doubled in bulk, about an hour. (Use the rising amount, not time, to determine if dough is ready for next step.)
3. When the dough has doubled in size, turn it out on a lightly floured counter and flatten into a rectangle with your hands. Let the dough relax for a minute while you prepare a muffin tin by lightly coating each cup with olive oil.
4. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough into a 12x18 rectangle. If the dough starts resisting and springing back, let it rest for a few minutes and then finish rolling. Brush the dough with olive oil or melted butter and sprinkle liberally with chopped rosemary.
5. Cut dough in half crosswise and lay one piece on top of the other. Cut that stack in half and stack the pieces to make one four-layer stack that's about 6x9 inches in size. Make three cuts crosswise and 4 lengthwise to give you 12 rolls about 1 ½ by 3 inches. It doesn't matters if the sides are uneven, it's what gives them their charm.
6. Place in oiled muffin tins, one stack per cup with a short edge facing up. Cover and let rise until doubled in bulk, about an hour. When the rolls have increased in size by about half that amount, turn on the oven to 425 to preheat.
7. Bake for 25 minutes, until golden brown. Cool in pans for 15 minutes and then gently turn them out onto a rack to finish cooling. Don't handle the rolls too roughly; they occasionally fall apart when warm.

Welcome, More magazine readers!

Welcome to kitchenMage!

I was chuffed when More asked me to contribute a recipe to their Best-loved Christmas Recipes article. The Rosemary Fan recipe they posted is a simpler version of these Rosemary Fans — which uses a starter and has step-by-step photos if you find them helpful.

If this is your first time at kitchenMage, let me show you a few things you might find interesting:

• My bio...since people insisted.
• the Venn diagram of kitchenMage.
• I wrote a cookbook.
• There was this day that PETA annoyed me: Dear PETA, women are animals too.

Here are a few other recipes you might enjoy:

• 8 Things You Can Do For Thanksgiving Dinner Right Now
• Simple, flaky biscuits (some of the most popular on the Interwebs)
• Pesto rolls
• How to cut an epi
• How-to Shape Christmas Tree Bread

I hang out on twitter. Follow me there and join the fun.

8 Things You Can Do For Thanksgiving Dinner Right Now

If you are like many Americans, you are probably buried in Thanksgiving recipes and wondering why you bother to look at new dishes since the family will boycott if you don't make every traditional bit of dinner. Personally, I am a child when it comes to sweet potatoes (with marshmallows please) but I have never understood that green bean thing. What is up with that?

This weekend is a good time to check on some critical, and often overlooked, things so you have a chance to fix any problems you find before Thursday. You should actually get the dishes out and do this exercise; of course you think it all fits, I want you to know. Make notes as you go so you don't find yourself trying to remember what you figured out.

National Restaurant Association #flashBoycott

Yeah, yeah, this is a food blog. Well, in theory, at least. But bear with me, this is sort of foodish...

As a staunch advocate of everyone's right to speak, I am hoping that the National Restaurant Association does the right thing tomorrow and decides to release the women accusing Herman Cain of sexual harrassment from their silencing.

I don't have a whole lot of faith, however, so I am hoping you will join me in giving them a small nudge. Between now and when the association announces its decision, boycott all of their members. No morning espresso. No drive-through on the way to work. Maybe even go to that tiny hole in the wall for lunch. The big chains will survive without us for a day.

Partial National Restaurant Membership List

7-Eleven, Inc.	Marriott International
AmRest Applebee's LLC	McDonald's Corporation
ARAMARK Corporation	Morton's of Chicago National Headquarters
Arby's/U.S. Beef	Nordstrom Restaurant Division
Benihana Inc.	Panda Restaurant Group
Bennigan's Franchising Co	Panera, LLC
Big Boy Restaurants International	Papa Gino's, Inc.
Burger King Corporation	Papa John's International Inc.
California Pizza Kitchen, Inc.	Papa Murphy's International, Inc.
The Cheesecake Factory, Inc	PF Chang's China Bistro
Chick-fil-A, Inc.	Quizno's Master LLC
Chipotle	Red Robin International
Denny's	Ruby Tuesday, Inc
Domino's Pizza, Inc.	Ruth's Chris Steak House
Dunkin' Brands, Inc.	Shakey's of California
Emeril's Restaurant	Shari's Management Corporation
Hard Rock International, Inc.	Sonic Industries, Inc.
Hooters of America, Inc.	Starbucks Coffee Company
Hyatt Hotels Corporate Office	Subway Sandwiches and Salads
In-N-Out Burger	Tim Hortons Inc.
Jack in the Box Inc.	Walt Disney World Company
Jamba Juice Company	Wendy's/Arby's Group
Krispy Kreme Doughnut Corporation	White Castle System,Inc
Little Caesar's Enterprises, Inc.	Yum! Brands, Inc.
Macy's Food Division 1143

Yes, it is broad and there are a lot of nice places on that list. But it's for only half a day.

Join me?

If you'd like to do something more direct, here's how.

Twitter: @WeRRestaurants

Facebook: National Restaurant Association

Email: Sue Hensley

Wordless Wednesday: A Moment of #!*@ing Silence

My oven has decided that now, with money impossibly tight and the holiday cooking season closing fast, is a good time to die. The picture above is not it. That picture is what I am taunting my increasingly erratic beast range with. "Work or I'll replace you with this sexy thing!" does not seem to be working.

I have, however, developed a new technique for roasted chicken that involves heating the oven up to 350, letting the temperature fall to 190-270, reheating the oven to 350 and repeating. (All temperatures are +/-75 degrees. Seriously.) It takes about three...or maybe it was four hours and the chicken was remarkably moist yet cooked through. How that happened I have no idea.

Guess that's where the magic comes is.

I am biting back everything I want to say about the range in honor of Wordless Wednesday (and be glad it's not Swearing Saturday because holy #!*@balls, Batman would I ever be going for it) and simply quietly dream of something like that pretty thing up there .

Wordless Wednesday: Containing the Flour Tornado

I am not sure which wise person told me this first, but this is the best tip I got with my Kitchen Aid mixer most of two decades ago

Drape a towel over your mixer before turning it on and you will not have a flour covered kitchen.

Simple but so incredibly helpful, to both me and the help.

Feeding Hungry People and Other Charitable Acts

This is epic-length, well for this medium at least, but forgive me. I felt it was an important topic and I trust that if you hang out around here you have a long enough attention span to handle it. Besides, I got to make up terms and use bullet lists and my deeply geeky writer side is just dancing with joy. Thank you for your indulgence. ~beth

The holiday season is creeping up and for a lot of us that means we are going to be feeding people. Not just our family and friends at various gatherings – the "orphan" Thanksgiving is one of my favorites – but also by choosing some food-related charities when it comes to charitable donations and gift-giving.

One way to find deserving charities is asking friends who they support, so I did just that. I got some great recommendations, starting with, of course, food banks.

Food banks are the most fundamental and most direct way to feed hungry people. I am a huge fan of local food banks, having been involved as staff, volunteer and client. To find a food bank close to you, go to Feeding America's food bank locator. You can also make a donation while you're there. Alternatively, Share our Strength is dedicated to ending childhood hunger.

I live in the northwest so it's not surprising that a couple of local food banks got a shout-out:

• The Auburn Food Bank, which has a big annual breakfast fundraiser coming up November 4 from 7-8:30 AM, call 253-804-5696 or drop them e-mail for more info. If you are in the area, I hear it's a great event for a good cause. 
• The University District food bank in Seattle got a couple of votes, too. Check out this video that explains a bit more about them.

#anAppleForSteve

image courtesy Miss Mags at I want to go to Faerie College, one of my favorite blog names ever.

The Interwebs has a huge iSad today for Steve Jobs has uploaded himself to elsewhere.

While I am not a member of the club, I know that there are many of you who have been deeply touched and inspired by Steve over the years.

As a foodPerson, I also know what we do to console ourselves, or celebrate the lives of those who touched us. We eat.

Often special, ceremonial foods. Favorite foods to honor people. Something appropriate for the occasion.

The obvious thing to eat for Steve is an Apple.

It was not only the name of his company, it was his favorite food. (Unless you count the sushi that was the sole exception to his veganism.)

So if you're going to miss Steve, eat an apple. Locally grown, organic, from a farmer's market, as Steve would, or picked up at the local Wallyworld, I don't care. Just eat one.

It's affordable, near effortless, good for your health - and the Apple industry in my home state of Washington - and Steve would approve.

The tradition of my childhood plants trees in memory of people we love. If you have a garden, you might want to plant him a tree. An apple tree, of course.

Eggs Ahoy! Eat Like a Pirate

Breakfast for Talk Like a Pirate Day.

Take one egg in frame, add bacon and toast eyepatch. Serve with graham cracker sand and a large side of "Arrrrr!" Parrot(fish) optional.

The grilled pineapple? It's Pineapples of the Caribbean. *

Recipe from everyone and their grandmother. Photo from my cookbook

* Okay, I'm sorry for the awful line...but the truth is it's a family cookbook and many kids LOVE pineapple. Plus, lightly grilled with brown sugar! It's like dessert with breakfast.

Are you celebrating Talk Like a Pirate Day? Tell me what kind of pirate food you are eating, whose booty you covet, or who's walking your plank...