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Bye bye to the old, and a warm welcome to the new! Planning the New Year's Eve menu for the adults was easy and resulted in a sumptious feast of foie gras, lobster and many, many other yummies.
The children's menu? Oh, yeah. Not as easy. Cooking for kids from three different households with different habitsand food preferences. Well, that was a bit more challening. A safe bet my 2 and 4 year olds is pasta in a light Alfredo sauce, with meatballs and green beans. Add to that a simple sour cream & chives dip and some veggies, and noone will go hungry. With the sauce on the side, I suppose there was enough variety in that, so that noone went hungry. Be that as it may, when it came to desert, the kids' table was so quiet you'd think there was nobody there. The reason? Raspberry ice cream in almond biscuit baskets with raspberry sauce! The adults got a hazelnut praline ice cream version of the same desert, but I must admit that the kids desert was better.
And 2011? The new year's resolution is to learn more about food. Why does the bread get too dry? Why is the meat dry sometimes and sometimes juicy? Cooking classes are to come, and reading some Alton Brown.
Recipes:
Meatballs Pasta Alfredo:
Meatballs: Any small meatballs will do. Trader Joe's pre-cooked meatballs are a hit at our house.
Pasta: We prefer Barilla and a shape that can catch a fair amount of a creamy sauce.
Alfredo Sauce (enough for 2 kids): melt a table spoon of butter in a sacue pan; add 1/4 cup milk, 1/4 cup whipping cream, 1 table spoon grated parmesan cheese, salt and pepper to taste. Simmer until the sauce starts to thicken.
Combine pasta, meatballs and sauce, and prego!
The Ice Cream Desert:
From the French Recipe Cookbook, by Carol Clements and Elizabeth Wolf-Cohen, which I don't believe is in print any more (pity). For the French speaking, check out the following link, which seems to have a good recipe: http://www.cuisine.tv/cid9446/tulipe-gourmande-de-glaces-avec-sa-sauce-caramel-au-beurre-sale.html
Photo courtesy of: