Prudent [Kitchen] Advice Giveaway

Oct 15th, 2010 // Giveaway

I am officially in awe of my dear friend, Jaime Curtis. Jaime’s much anticipated book, Prudent Advice, hit stores this past week and it SOLD OUT on Amazon within days. (They have since ordered more.) The book is absolutely gorgeous and it’s filled with thoughtful advice that is neither preachy nor old-fashioned. Each page reminds me of the kind of woman I want to be and inspires me to teach my kids to be as ethical as they are witty.

Isn’t the advice in #3 so lovely? “Don’t ever underestimate your father’s ability to understand you.” I would never have thought to tell my kids that but I totally agree 100%. (Love you, Dad!)

And how cool is it that the book includes a color wheel with the words “There is a science to everything.” Even ART! Believe me, it gets better and better with every page. Congratulations, Jaime. You are truly an inspiration and I’m so lucky to call you a friend.

Lucky for us, Jaime chose Cooking With My Kid to be a part of her blog tour! That means we get to giveaway a copy of Prudent Advice. In honor of Jaime’s great achievement and generosity, I invite you to share your Prudent [Kitchen] Advice when commenting on any of this week’s post. Starting today we’ll post a new piece of advice with each post through 10/22. All you have to do is comment with your own piece of kitchen advice to be entered to win. If you want more chances to win Prudent Advice come back each day and enter another piece of advice. (Only one comment per day please.) The giveaway will close at midnight on 10/22 and the winner will be selected at random from all the comments / advice received.

I couldn’t help but post this picture of my kid with his mama because it relates to my advice! Here it is: A watched pot never boils. You can accomplish so much while you’re waiting!

What’s your Prudent [Kitchen] Advice?

Cinnamon Pecan Swirl Coffee Cake

Oct 13th, 2010 // Breakfast, Desserts, Kid-tastic, Recipes

The brunch bunch raved about those Bacon, Egg and Cheese Biscuits but the real show stopper was this bundt cake. Everyone went crazy for it. Well, everyone except Dana. She doesn’t like nuts in her desserts. After hearing all of the ranting, Dana bravely dug in and ate around the nuts – two slices worth! Next time I’ll make her a nut free mini bundt of her own.

My kid likes any recipe where he can throw stuff around without getting the evil eye. I poured the nuts into a plastic bag and let him do the “chopping” by inviting him to kind of punch at the bag and then hit it against the counter. Weeeeeeee!

We mixed the nuts up with brown sugar and cinnamon. If I had let him he would have eaten this mixture by the spoonful. I did not because I’m somewhat of a responsible person.

Finally we made the batter and then began assembling the bundt cake. Came out better than expected and perfect for a brunch. Now for the recipe…

Read more after the jump…

Bacon, Egg & Cheese Biscuit Muffins (Veggie Option!)

Oct 13th, 2010 // Breakfast, Most Popular, Recipes

It’s funny how sometimes the recipes that take the least amount of effort are what satisfy most. When we planned our brunch we put these muffins on the menu to ensure that there would be something for the kiddos to eat. Turns out the adults liked them best.

They are so simple to make that it’s almost comical, but  they really produce oooos and ahhhhs. It starts with packaged (yes! packaged!) biscuit dough. We buy ours at Trader Joe’s because it doesn’t have that partially hydrogenated junk in it. Then we take a rolling pin and flatten them out a bit.

My kid’s favorite part is stuffing them into well greased muffin tins to form a little well for the bacon egg and cheese. He has his own technique for this making sure none of the dough touches.

Then we bake them up for 10 or 12 minutes and have ourselves a little breakfast muffin. Even the vegetarian of the house is satisfied – his muffins are filled with veggie bacon, egg and cheese or with egg and cheese only. Now for the recipe…

Read more after the jump…

How to Plan Brunch

Oct 12th, 2010 // Breakfast, Lunch, Recipes

When I was a kid, my father occasionally had his ‘department’ from work over for dinner. I would dress up like a little waitress and help serve the meal. Even as a child I knew that really meant a lot to the people who came. Today socializing with “work friends” on the weekend is a rare treat that I really, truly enjoy. Before pumpkin week started, I invited the work gang and their little ones over for Sunday brunch. I started my prep work the night before after my kiddos were in bed. For this deconstructed Nicoise I boiled up 1/2 dozen eggs and made the potatoes and then stored them in the fridge overnight.

I also made my signature dish, caramelized carrots, the night before because they taste just as good at room temp. I did everything including putting them in the serving bowl and then just threw the parsley garnish on in the morning.

I shredded the red cabbage and made the dressing for this salad but stored them separately in the fridge overnight.

The next morning my kid and I baked up this unbelievably amazing cinnamon pecan swirl coffee cake. (You can totally make this ahead as well – but my kid would have had my head for doing it without him!)

We also made these super tasty (turkey) bacon, egg and cheese biscuit muffins in the morning.

Then chopped up some fruit, assembled the rest of the item and moved the kitchen chairs to the side and put everything out on the table with a sweet little orchid in the middle.

Everyone dug right in. (No, I do not only hire women! They’re just smarter and got to the brunch table first!) I’ll be posting most of the recipes this week starting with the deconstructed nicoise recipe… Read more after the jump…

Pumpkin Spice Smoothie

Oct 11th, 2010 // Drinks, Recipes

If you are a fan of Starbuck’s seasonal favorite, the Pumpkin Spice Latte, you are in luck. We made up our own caffeine-free version in the form of a smoothie and it is damn good. Did I just swear? It’s THAT good.

It includes two of my kid’s favorite things: maple syrup and the blender. The only mistake we made was that we only made one serving to share. (Don’t worry, I’ve included a recipe for 2 servings below)

My little guy is pretty sick right now but this ice cold (yet cozy) smoothie was a perfect way to brighten up his face. I think being allowed to watch movies all day helped as well. Now for the recipe…

Read more after the jump…