We recently had friends over for brunch. They don’t have kids (yet!), so we made a plan for 12:30 pm (a “morning” plan for after noon, imagine that!). That would have normally taken the pressure off of cooking the day-of, except for the fact that we had other friends over the night before, friends for whom I cooked dinner, friends who also have no children and stay up later than we usually do. I needed a plan. A plan that would make back-to-back entertaining possible. Even with two little kids.
And it did. My plan—it worked!
If you ask me, every brunch needs a) coffee, b) savory eggs, c) something sweet and d) something light and healthy to balance out the eggs and sweet. My brunch menu was complete with all of these essential elements and all I had to do the day-of was put eggs in the oven and toss together a salad. THAT’S ALL.
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I have a confession: I’m not so into soup. I can hear the collective gasp now. Everyone loves soup. Every foodie especially. I’ve heard from several food lovers that a chef’s ability is best assessed from how well he or she can make a soup. So, I know. You all think soup is great. Important, even. But, for me, it’s just alright.
At least that’s what I go around thinking. Until I eat the right soup. Something hearty and flavorful, silky and rich. Then I get it. I’ve been trying to tap into my  occasional  enthusiasm for soup since there are so many healthy, low carb, vegetarian options (if you haven’t been following my non-resolutions, I’m trying to cook foods that fit that bill more often). And so this is part of an attempt to master soup. Or at least develop a livelier appreciation for the good stuff. Along with my recent Red Lentil Soup with Sausage, this recipe has me off to a good start.
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Photo: Martha Stewart

You can’t have a party without cake, right?! I love serving cupcakes, at children’s parties especially, because they allow you to offer a range of flavor combinations without too much extra work. And they are just the right serving size—cute little packages of baked goodness!
Lately, my ChowBaby has been very excited by all things chocolate chip. Even just 5 chocolate chips—all on their own or thrown into our “trail mix” with walnuts and dried cranberries—totally make his day, so chocolate chip cupcakes were a gimme.
Because, as I said, variety is part of the joy of cupcakes, I wanted to make a second flavor cake that would go with the chocolate chip icing (so I wouldn’t also have to make two kinds of frosting). Devil’s food cake, a moist chocolatey delight made with sour cream, sounded perfect. So, with Martha’s help (I wasn’t about to experiment with recipes for my son’s party—this was all about reliable sources), I got to it. There’s not much more to say, except… utterly delicious
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Photo: Stabroek News

My oldest ChowBaby turned 3 (!!!) and we recently hosted a construction themed birthday party in his honor. I’m amazed that we pulled anything off seeing that his birthday is at the end of the always busy holiday season, just days after new years. And this year, we had a little baby, too. But we did. And with style.
To keep things easy, I had first planned on ordering pizza and buying cupcakes from BabyCakes. Then I thought better of it—I had to cook. No. I wanted to cook! So, instead or ordering in, I capped the shindig to 5 of my ChowBaby’s closest playmates to make cooking, hosting and cleaning manageable, even with an infant in the house.
The menu was simple, wholesome, and easy to make ahead (not to mention inspired by the orange and yellow of our construction theme): ChowMama baked chicken fingers, corn pudding, carrot sticks (which never made it out… oops), guacamole, black bean dip, tortilla chips, and homemade chocolate chip and devil’s food cupcakes with chocolate chip buttercream . The idea was to offer comfort food that would appeal equally to kids and parents, and this menu worked perfectly!
Check out the menu plan, my low-impact cooking schedule and recipe for corn pudding after the jump.
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Photo: Giada, Food Network

Do you like how I go from talking about eating more fish, vegetarian meals and going to the gym to talking about cheesecake? Smooth move, right? The thing is, I have yet to fill you in on the highlights of my holiday cooking, which was mostly holiday baking. I know that my timing isn’t great, but my favorites are all year around recipes definitely worth sharing. So, in an act of defiance against new year’s resolutions, I present to you cheesecake today and Chocolate Espresso Pecan Pie tomorrow. Now go ahead, use your bookmark tool. You’ll thank me later.
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Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies

This week is all about the Best Of ChowMama 2009! To help ensure that you begin 2010 with a recipe box loaded with quick and healthy recipes that your whole family will love, I’ve hand selected my favorites (recipes that I return to over and over again) and the most popular recipes as measured by traffic and comments (ones that worked out well for me and you).
You’ve been waiting for today, haven’t you? Healthy sweet treats and desserts it is. Enjoy! Tomorrow is the last day of this “best of” extravaganza and we’ll delve into parenting posts, because how we feed our families is central to how we raise our kids.
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