The Family Table

raspberry walnut rugelach

While I loved preparing Thanksgiving dinner a few weeks ago, the real excitement came in knowing I can start playing Christmas carols. But I also enjoy sharing in the traditions of my mother in law's Jewish heritage, so this past weekend I was making latkes and preparing the Menorah. In a reversal of religions, my husband was watching Bob Dylan's Must Be Santa video. Thanks to Olga I now have the best latke recipe ever and will share it with you later this week (but you can click the link if you just can't wait). I was also prepping homemade apple sauce and some rugelach to bring to a friend's Hanukkah brunch.

Don't you just want to lick the screen? Olga's latkes were a hit with the kids.

My husband has fond memories of the rugelach his grandmother made, but unfortunately his mother was not a baker and didn't think to get the recipe before her mother passed away. Talk about lost treasures. Hopefully technology won't change too much and my girls will be able to read this blog post way in the future (I will one day write a cookbook just for them!). Homemade rugelach is easy and fun to make with the kids—it just requires a little planning. First step is to make the dough, and since it needs time to chill, best to do this without them even knowing, unless you like hearing "is it ready yet?" over and over. Cutting the triangles is also a great math exercise for older kids (and much easier than Everyday Math in my opinion). And about those fine motor skills...after rolling 48, the amount each batch makes, they'll be a super star in pre-k.

one smart (butter) cookie

December was a crazy month before children. Add two to the mix, along with school recitals, classroom holiday parties, gift shopping and work and it's no wonder Pillsbury slice and bake cookies work their way into those "homemade" cookie plates. You don't have to sacrifice real homebaked treats just because life is on fast-forward this month. All you need is a cookie that's as versatile and good at multi-tasking as you. This basic butter cookie recipe was featured on one of my other blogs Gourmet, Unbound. The directions simply called for, ahem, slicing and baking or rolling in colored sugar and pressing flat. The closest I came to listening was using the colored sprinkles you see above. Kids will love rolling, dipping and pressing.

give the gift of pancakes

I must confess, before Virginia was born, little Ms. Isabella had a hot breakfast everyday. Pancakes were always her favorite, though we'd mix it up with waffles, eggs, and fresh scones. In fact, I'd make the batter before heading out to work and the Mr. would do the actual cooking, while letting Isabella play sous chef and sprinkle in some mini chocolate chips.

Well, no one clued me into to the challenge of balancing life with two children. Cereal has made it's way into our morning routine (we love Kashi's Honey Sunshine), but I also try to make a double batch of pancakes at the start of the week, so we can just pop them into the toaster for a quick, homemade breakfast. Trader Joe's makes a great tasting maple agave syrup blend that's also a lot less expensive than pure maple syrup. We've even topped them with some peaches I canned over the summer.

mushroom bolognese

The thing about resolutions is you don't have to wait until January 1st to start them. It's much healthier to do a check in with yourself and see what's going right, what needs improving, and look towards the future. I've been wanting to dedicate a place on my other blog, In Jennie's Kitchen, for families. It's been an interesting road since I started blogging three years ago. What started as a mom blog (before I even knew it was called mommy blogging), evolved into a food blog, and now I'm combining the two worlds in a way. You'll find the same great recipes you've come to cherish from In Jennie's Kitchen over here at The Family Table. The bonus is I'm going to offer helpful hints for making mealtime easier, and most important enjoyable, when there are growing tastebuds in the picture. Life changes when you have kids, but that doesn't mean you have to abandon the foods you love, sneak in vegetable purees or stick to chicken nuggets.

First up, let's talk about what makes a recipe family friendly. For me, it's anything that can be prepared in 30 minutes or less. I don't cater to finicky kid-palates. If that was the case, we'd be eating mac n' cheese, albeit homemade, every night of the week. But I do look at every meal as having "components" and the chance to introduce new foods and flavors. Notice, I say "introduce" because there's never a guarantee they will actually eat it all. I also keep my kids' tastes in mind and try to include a few things I know they'll like—it always helps to have familiar foods. All the while keeping time in mind.

coming soon

Stay tuned for The Family Table—strategies and recipes for feeding everyone, from first foods to sophisticated palates.