I had a good coupon for prepared pizza dough, so I bought two and fed them to my unsuspecting children tonight. They were not fooled. A. thought it was fine, but G. complained that I keep changing around the types of crusts I use, when we’ve already found one he likes. That winner is a homemade dough, which I also like a lot. It’s only drawback is that he likes it less when I add whole wheat flour, in any proportion, to the mix.
Can you guess which side of the pizza the boys ate, and which one was mine? They had good old marinara and shredded mozzarella. My side included caramelized onions, chopped green olives, and havarti cheese. I’m still avoiding tomato sauce, so I can’t say for sure, but I’m willing to bet that my third tasted better.
I had a plan in my head, and now it’s written down. Not in stone, though.
This week I’m getting a chance to eat out for lunch twice, for Hudson Valley Restaurant Week. On Monday, I tried the Birdsall House in Peekskill (my first time there). Lunch was very good, and we were able to sit outside on their patio. Not what we expected in March! I chose to start with the Chicken Liver Pate, served with cherry preserves and warm crusty bread. I am a sucker for liver, and I don’t make it myself, so it’s hard to resist when I see it on a menu like this. Then I chose the Beet and Grain Burger, served with wilted spinach, caramelized onions and apples, goat cheese, honey mustard, and a challah roll for my entree. If you follow Chick in the Kitchen on Facebook, you saw a picture of it yesterday. I loved the flavor of this vegetarian main, though there was nothing burger-like about it; the beets and grains had the consistency of risotto and could not be eaten as a sandwich. Dessert was Chocolate Devil’s Food Cake with Rocky Road ice cream. Needless to say, I was stuffed.
Tomorrow I’m headed to Cafe of Love in Mt. Kisco for lunch, and I am already dreaming about their Truffled Chickpeas.
My meal plans have changed a lot since school started in the fall. With an increasing amount of homework each year, we finally hit a point where I felt I needed to change the amount of family we had over during the week. For years, my mom or parents had come after school and stayed for dinner one weeknight a week, and some combination of J.’s family, including my 4 year-old niece, had come another night. Then we often saw them on the weekend, too. I loved having my kids grow up with so much family around, and selfishly I also loved having those nights to cook bigger dinners. The kids were occupied with their grandparents and cousin, and I had a willing group of adults to eat real food with me. It worked perfectly for everyone, until A. started having trouble getting his homework done with so much going on in the house (I don’t blame him — he just wanted to play with everyone else), and after-school activities became more frequent. This year, our family is only here sporadically mid-week, and though it was the right decision I do miss have the company to cook for and chat with at dinner!
For a time, we were in a sweet spot with several meals: grilled chicken tacos, baked ziti, and roast chicken were all dinners that made my boys happy. Now, one or both of them no longer care for those dinners, and I am back to a place where plain pasta seems like the only answer. Confounding that problem is that I have been testing out a low-acid diet for myself, to try to fix a nighttime coughing issue my doctor thinks is due to silent reflux. I’ve already given up carbonated drinks and caffeine (sob!), and I’ve seen some improvement. But now I need to get serious about eliminating tomatoes and tomato sauce, which is pretty big deal when your kids’ favorite meals for you to cook are pizza and pasta.
Certainly, as my kids get older and their schedules and tastes change, it’s normal for our dinners to change. I just want to make sure we’re evolving, not going the other way. Right now I feel stuck in neutral.
Back to school and our regular routine after a week off for winter break! The pizza and roasted chicken are G.’s choice; the spaghetti & meatballs and bagels & lox are A.’s request.
Monday: Make Your Own pizza or calzone (I wanted to try braiding one), sugar snap peas
I'm Dara, the Chick in the Kitchen. Living in the suburbs of Manhattan with my two school-aged boys and husband. Feeding my family something more diverse than a different shape of pasta each night. Read more about me and CITK, and keep in touch:
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Moroccan Chicken Tajine: I recently had a chicken tajine dish at Fig & Olive in Scarsdale, and wanted to recreate something similar at home. This is an Ina Garten recipe, and she never fails me.
I'm Dara, the Chick in the Kitchen. Living in the suburbs of Manhattan with my two school-aged boys and husband. Feeding my family something more diverse than a different shape of pasta each night. Read more 
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