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.
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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.
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I’ve met so many wonderful, thoughtful, food-loving parents since I’ve started blogging, many of whom I’ve come to know through Twitter. One of my lovely Twitter friends is Jenna of Food with Kid Appeal, a self-proclaimed recovering picky eater who inspires parents to grow good eaters. Her recipes are wholesome, fun and thoughtfully take into account limited time, energy and budgets.
Without further ado, I’m thrilled to introduce you to Jenna. If you don’t already, check out her blog, follow her on Twitter (and me, too, while you’re at it!) and enjoy this great post inspired by the book 101 Foods That Could Save Your Life. You know that I’m a huge proponent of spicing up food for even the youngest eaters (offering such adventurous foods was the inspiration behind ChowBaby foods!), so I LOVE this post. Enjoy!
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When I’m asked by friends to give them some pointers on getting baby started on baby food, or the transition to table food, one of the things I like to tell them are about some super foods they might not think of as being good for baby. Most parents know that fruits, veggies and whole grains should be on baby’s spoon, but are herbs and spices front and center in your menu as good eats for baby?
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Check out this week’s Food News, Things I Crave, Green Your Eats, Tips, Tools & Techniques, and Weekly Roundtable. Plus, for a little while, I’ll follow the Weekly Roundtable with a quick update on my non-resolutions to, you know, keep me honest!
Just so you know, I’ll be in NEW ORLEANS (!!) all of next week visiting family, walking around, EATING! I’m hoping to post while gone, but I have no idea what’s in store for me, traveling with both kiddos for the first time. Check in with me, but forgive if I can’t keep up. No matter what, I’ll be back by the 1st. With lots of inspiration from gorgeous NOLA.
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Photo: Martha Stewart

I love risotto. (Who doesn’t?) Rich, creamy and endlessly versatile, it can be made to suit most any occasion, winter, spring, summer or fall. But despite this, risotto has a reputation for being a special occasion dish. Even I fall victim to this, sometimes thinking that it’ll take too much time or is unnecessarily fussy for a quick weeknight meal. I was recently reminded, though, that risotto is as basic as it comes. The most simple version is made entirely of pantry staples including olive oil, onion, rice and broth. And, as a 2-pot dish that has about an 18 minute cooking time and can be fed to kids as young as 8+ months, I’d say it’s a PERFECT family meal.
There are many classic risottos: milanese made with beef stock and flavored simply with saffron; risotto al Barolo made with red wine; seafood risotto, sometimes made black by the ink of squid or cuttlefish; and mushroom risotto rich in umami flavor from rehydrated porcini mushrooms. But these are far from the whole of your options. In fact, since risotto can hold (and make delicious) a huge variety of added ingredients, I’ve come to think of my weeknight versions as kitchen sink meals. I start by checking the fridge for unused veggies and build from there, adding stock (chicken, beef or veggie), cheese (traditional parmesan and pecorino, or any cheese that melts easily like feta or fontina), and herbs and flavorings (anything from leftover chives to lemon zest to dried mint). Simple as that.
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Photo: Martha Stewart

The ChowPapa and I love this comforting weeknight pasta which comes together in about 35 minutes. It’s super simple and gets most of its flavor from garlic toasted breadcrumbs that I could, if left to my own devices, eat by the spoonful. The radicchio flavor is mild to us but, truth be told, isn’t a favorite of our ChowBaby—it’s a little bitter for him. If you think the same may be true for your baby, I offer two easy variations so that you don’t have to miss out. Check ‘em out after the jump.
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