Photo: hermitsmoores’

Upon my recent return from New Orleans, I gave you a killer family meal idea: a hummus platter dinner. A great tip for sure  (has it become a go-to weeknight meal at your house, too?), but not exactly the Big Easy flavors you may have expected. I owe you. And it’s pay up time. Sort of.

New Orleans has a ton of great seafood and draws a lot of inspiration from traditional French cooking. This equates to (among other things) a lot of creamy seafood preparations like a favorite of mine, crawfish etouffee. Since I didn’t indulge in any such dishes this past visit, I decided to make one at home. Except I didn’t use cajun seasoning. The big kid is going through a “no spicy” phase, so I substituted Old Bay for my favorite Tony Chachere’s creole seasoning. Hm. I guess that means that  this isn’t much of an homage to New Orleans after all. Oh well. It’s good. And it reminds me of my shrimp salad, a favorite lobster roll substitute inspired by the Old Bay brown butter I had at Momofuku Ko.

So have I settled the score? If not, substitute your preferred creole seasoning for Old Bay (modulate the amount for how much heat you want). And keep tuning in. I’ve got another trip to New Orleans coming up in June. I’ll get ya back then.

Old Bay Shrimp Pasta

(can be adapted for kids 10+ mos)*

1 lb organic pasta (I like linguine or fettuccine)
3 tbsp organic butter
2 cloves organic garlic, minced
1/3 c chopped organic celery
1 1/2 tbsp Old Bay seasoning
1 1/2 dozen medium shrimp, shelled & deveined*
1/4 c white wine (optional)
1 tbsp organic tomato paste
1/2 c organic chicken broth
1 1/2 c organic heavy cream
organic parmesan
ground black pepper
chives or celery leaves (optional, for garnish)

1. Put a large pot of salted water on medium-high heat (about 6 qts water to 2 tbs salt). Bring to a boil. Add pasta and cook until al dente. Drain, and set pasta aside.

2. In the meantime, melt butter in a large dutch oven over medium heat. Add garlic and celery; saute until soft and fragrant. Add Old Bay and stir quickly to coat veggies, making sure not to burn the seasoning. Add shrimp and white wine, stir.

3. When wine has cooked off and shrimp are just opaque, add tomato paste. Cook for 1 minute, then add broth and cream. Cook for 5-7 minutes, stirring, to bring all of the flavors together.

4. Add pasta and toss to coat. Take off heat and finish with grated parmesan and pepper to taste. (Old Bay has salt added—I don’t add any additional.) Garnish and serve.

*Note: Food introduction guidelines are constantly changing. There is mounting evidence that even high allergen foods can be carefully introduced as early as 6-8 months so long as the child has no personal or family history of allergies. (Read here, here and here to learn more.) Shellfish is considered a high allergen food and the traditional recommendation is to hold off on introducing shellfish until 12+ mos or even 3+ years if the child has a history of food allergies. Speak to your pediatrician about what’s best for your child. And you can always substitute a firm flaky fish for shrimp in this recipe.

It’s no secret that I love eggs for dinner, whether a “proper” meal like my quickest curried eggs, a poached egg to complete a bowl of soup, or an egg salad sammy to save us from take out. So, the first thing I thought of to make my meal of french lentils over wilted spinach heartier was, you guessed it, an egg.

This rustic salad comes together effortlessly. The greens are dressed in the simplest vinaigrette (I used olive oil, white wine vinegar, dijon, salt and pepper; a bit of finely chopped shallot would be nice, too). The lentils quick cooked and finished with creamy dijon. And the eggs fried in a flash. Layer one over the other—spinach, lentils, eggs—break the yolks, and take a big bite. Serve with crusty bread and wine (for mama and papa), and you’ll be transported to the French countryside. Perfection. In no time flat.

French Lentils
(can be served to children 8+ mos)

3 strips all-natural bacon, cut into 1/2″ pieces
1 organic onion, chopped
2 organic carrots, chopped
1 bulb organic fennel, chopped
5 cloves organic garlic, minced
1 tsp herbs de provence or chopped fresh organic thyme
1 c organic French green lentils
1/2 c white wine (optional; substitute 1/2 c of broth)
1 1/2 c organic chicken or vegetable broth
2 c water
1-2 tbsp dijon mustard

1. Fry bacon in a large dutch oven over medium high heat until crispy. Add onion, carrots and fennel; saute until translucent. (The bacon should render enough fat to saute the veggies. If not, add a drizzle of olive oil.) Add garlic and herbs. Saute another 2 minutes, until fragrant.

2. Add lentils; stir to coat. Add white wine. When wine has almost completely cooked off, add broth and water. (If you decided to skip white wine, add all of the broth and water, at once, as soon as lentils are well coated.) Cook until all liquid evaporates and lentils are soft, about 30 minutes. Take off heat and stir dijon to taste.

My littlest ChowBaby is already 5 months old. I can hardly believe it! Time is flying and, relatively speaking, it’s been a smooth ride. But, all that said, my big guy is missing me. Lots. And so I’ve decided to carve out even more one-on-one time with him. We’re having tons of fun, but our new Monday afternoon excursions are putting a cramp in my dinner style. By the time we’re back home and settled in, it’s about 30 minutes to eatin’ time. And, when trying to coordinate dinner, 2 baths (ha!) and 2 bedtimes, there isn’t much flexibility.

So the new challenge: come up with even more healthy and SUPER quick recipes. This one was inspired by the Martha Stewart app, my new source for perusing recipes (on the go!). This recipe couldn’t be easier. And in the 30 minutes that it takes from start to finish, you can also make rice (cook in rice cooker or on the stove top according to package directions) or quinoa pilaf (cook on the stove top according to directions then toss with olive oil, white wine vinegar, dried cranberries, slivered almonds and green onion) and roast some asparagus (clean, trim, toss with olive oil and salt on a rimmed baking sheet; as soon as salmon is done, heat oven to 350 degrees and roast asparagus until cooked through, time will depend on how thick your asparagus is).


Salmon with Tarragon Yogurt Sauce, adapted from Martha Stewart
(can be adapted for kids 8+ mos)

1 c greek style yogurt
2 tbsp chopped fresh organic tarragon
1 tbsp freshly squeezed organic lemon juice*
1 tbsp organic olive oil
1/3 c chopped organic seedless cucumber
salt and pepper
wild alaskan salmon fillets (the sauce makes enough for up to 8 portions)

1. Make sauce: Stir together yogurt, chopped tarragon, lemon juice, olive oil and cucumber; season with salt and pepper.

2. Heat broiler, with rack set 4 inches from heat. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place salmon on sheet, and season with salt and pepper. Broil until opaque throughout, 8 to 10 minutes. Serve with sauce on the side.

*Note: Skip the citrus juice in portions fed to eaters under 12-months-old.

I love this meal. It’s simple. It’s quick. It’s hearty and affordable. You’ll spend about $15 and get a huge pasta meal that, unless you have 4 ravenous or 6 people total, will give you leftovers (yummy even cold). And, if you want to save a few bucks or keep it vegetarian, just skip the sausage. It’s still delicious.

If you’re like me and keep roasted cherry tomatoes in the fridge for when you need a quick meal, this will take 30 minutes max to throw together. Otherwise, start roasting the tomatoes about 45 minutes before dinnertime. Go back to whatever you were doing for 15 minutes, then take the last 30 to start putting dinner together. What more is there to say?

Penne with Roasted Tomatoes, Sausage & Ricotta
(can be served to kids 10+ mos)

2 pints organic cherry or grape tomatoes
1/3 c organic olive oil, plus more for sauteing sausage
1 lb organic penne
1 lb sweet italian sausage (turkey or pork), cut into 1″ pieces
7 oz ricotta (about 1/2 of a 15 oz container)
salt and pepper

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees and roast tomatoes: throw them in a roasting pan with 1/3 c olive oil and a healthy sprinkle of salt. Cook for 45 minutes, unattended.

2. 15 minutes into your roasting time, put a large pot of salted water on medium-high heat (about 6 qts water to 2 tbs salt). Bring to a boil. Add penne and cook until al dente. Drain, saving a mugful of cooking water. Set pasta aside.

3. Very lightly coat the bottom of the pot you cooked your pasta in with olive oil. When hot, add sausage and saute until cooked through, about 5-10 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to remove cooked sausage from pot and drain remaining fat.

4. Return pasta to pot. Add sausage and roasted tomatoes, complete with oil and accumulated juices. Stir in ricotta and season with salt and pepper. The oil and juices from the tomatoes should thin the ricotta nicely. If not—if it’s too thick—use some of the reserved pasta cooking water to thin it to your desired consistency.

When planning my make-ahead brunch, I was looking for a hearty salad to pair with the Spinach and Cheese Strata. At first I considered something with, well, bacon (I told you I was conflicted about serving a brunch without breakfast meat!), but then I came across this salad. Hold the bacon, add the squash! It may not seem like the most exciting move but, trust me, you can’t get better than deeply caramelized chunks of butternut squash tossed with escarole, apple and high-quality aged cheddar. And then you get the satisfaction of having made a totally satisfying, meat-free brunch.

Making this salad—which also works great at lunch or dinner time—ahead is super easy. Simply roast the squash and make the dressing the night before you plan on serving the salad. Store both in (separate) air tight containers in the fridge. The day of your brunch, allow the squash to return to room temperature while you prep the rest of the ingredients. Then toss and serve.

Escarole Salad with Roasted Squash & Cheddar, from Martha Stewart
(can be adapted—or deconstructed!—for kids 6+ mos)*

1 small organic butternut squash, peeled, seeded, cut into 1 1/2″ pieces
1 tbsp organic olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
pepper
1 organic granny smith apple, quartered, cored & thinly sliced
1 head organic escarole, torn into 2″ pieces
2 1/2 ounces organic sharp cheddar, thinly sliced or shaved into ribbons

For the dressing
2 tbsp organic white wine vinegar*
2 tsp organic Dijon mustard
1 tsp packed organic light brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt, plus more to taste
pepper
3 tbsp organic olive oil

1. Prep the salad! Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Toss squash with oil, salt and pepper on a rimmed baking sheet. Roast until tender and caramelized, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack.

2. Make the dressing: Whisk together the vinegar, mustard, sugar, 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper. Add oil in a slow, steady stream, whisking until emulsified.

3. Gently toss squash, apple, escarole and half of the cheese in a large serving bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Drizzle with dressing and toss again. Top with remaining cheese.

*Note: Set aside and mash some roasted squash for eaters as young as 6 months. Older kids who can eat all of the ingredients, but haven’t yet taken to leafy greens can have their own escarole-free version (yummy squash, apples and cheese!). Consider using a minimal amount of dressing on portions for younger eaters and substituting apple cider vinegar for kids under 12 months.