Le Top Chef Series: Easy Fish Fillet with Herb Butter

…In under 15 MINUTES prep time!
(Prep Time: 15 min. 
Cook Time: 30 min. 
Total Time: 45 min.)

Easy Fish Fillets with Herb Butter
An easy seafood main dish with a fast 15-minute prep time, leaving you some time to spend with your kiddies while it bakes!
Serves: 6

2 lbs fillet of sole
1/4 cup melted butter
2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp. fresh tarragon leaf, coarsely snipped
1 tbsp. fresh chives, snipped
1/4 tsp. salt

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Brush fillets with 2 tablespoons of the butter.
2. Sprinkle with lemon juice. Arrange in greased 13 X 9 X 2 baking dish
3. Cover dish with foil. Bake 30 minutes, or until fish flakes easily with fork.
4. Combine rest of butter with tarragon, chives and salt.
5. Heat slightly. To serve, put fillets on platter; pour warm herb butter over them.
SUBSTITUTION TIP: Frozen fish may be substituted. Cod is great too!
Source: ivillage

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Celebrity Pregnancy: Taye Diggs and Idina Menzel Baby Gender Announcement

Private Practice star Taye Diggs, 38, and his wife, Broadway star, Idina Menzel, 37, are expecting their first child, and they've announced that it's a boy!

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Does it Feel Like Summer?

Alexandria "Alex" with her pet caterpillar!

Oooh, these sunny warm days and photos of old tricycles and bowl cuts are reminding me of those carefree days of summer when I was a kid. I used to live for summers…playing outside from dawn to dusk…until the chorus of crickets meant your name was going to get called for dinner. I loved lightning bugs, big, fat, furry caterpillers, the heavy stillness of the night air, and feeling sleepy and finally a little cool as the moon rose to put me to bed.

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Are You Sneaky Around Your Picky Eaters?

The Sneaky Chef: Simple Strategies for Hiding Healthy Foods in Kids' Favorite Meals (Paperback) by Missy Chase Lapine

I was always the picky eater in my family. Looking back, I honestly don’t know how my mom dealt! I never liked anything my parents put in front of me, especially vegetables (well, OK, I would eat Mac ‘n Cheese – but that was about it!). If I had it my way, it would have been cereal for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
As I begin to think about having kids of my own, as well as watching friends and family raise their own picky eaters, I’m beginning to wonder how on earth I’m going to deal with a child who won’t eat what I put in front of them: Will I use the “3 bite” rule? Will I make them sit at the table until they finish (or at least try) what I’ve given them? I can’t imagine I’d just fix them something else? What will I do?!?
My friends don’t seem to be having much luck themselves, except, Sarah, who’s doing the hide-the-nutritional-stuff-in-their-food trick. There is actually a cook book out by Jerry Seinfeld’s wife, Jessica, on doing just this. How fantastic! The book is called “Deceptively Delicious” and has an array of kid-friendly recipes that hide the “good for you” in regular food, like Mac ‘n Cheese and Brownies! There is another book I’ve seen called “The Sneaky Chef” with the same idea. For some reason, though, Cauliflower Eggs doesn’t sound that appetizing…
What have been your tricks to get your picky eaters to gobble down your Chef-tastic meals? Have you tried any of these books, and do their recipes really help?! Let us know, and by all means, PLEASE share your Picky Eater Recipes!

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A Trip to Ethiopia

The DeAndrea family of five...soon to be six!

This is one big-time, “Wow!” email I got from a great voice-over talent with whom I work from time to time. He sent a little note earlier this month to say that if there were any recordings I needed, I’d better send over the script soon because he and his wife were headed to Ethiopia! They were planning for an early May trip to meet and then bring home their adopted daughter!! Their last hurdle before taking off to Ethiopia was a court date, where 50% of adoptive parents pass/don’t pass the first time. I just got an email saying they’d “passed” their court interview and were now officially Fasika’s new parents!! Congratulations!! I’ll make some updates once they bring 10 month old Fasika home!

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Fooled! Baby’s First Steps

Happy Baby! 9 month old Anna is standing...sort of!

A friend of mine sent this photo of her daughter, Anna…and I thought Anna was walking already! Ooopsie…do you spy a hand off to the side? 😉 Still, it’s amazing to see the progression of development. Anna has mastered rolling over, just started crawling and can stand with a little help. Better get ready mom…you know she’s going to get into everything soon because walking and running aren’t too far behind, right?!?

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Le Top Chef Series: Arugula and Tomato Frittata

…In under 30 MINUTES!
(not including bake time)

Perfect for springtime brunches, great for baby showers and other midday events where you’re expecting many guests and want a beautiful table presentation. Conveniently make this in advance and serve at room temperature.

INGREDIENTS:
10 large eggs
1/4 cup cream
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 heaping cup cubed (1/2 inch cubes) day-old sweet batard or Italian bread, with most of the crust removed before chopping (see Note)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup small-diced onion
1 bunch arugula, thick stems removed and leaves roughly chopped
1 tablespoon butter
1 heaping cup cherry tomatoes, stemmed

INSTRUCTIONS: Preheat the oven to 350°.

Crack the eggs into a large bowl and whisk together with the cream, 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt and pepper to taste. Fold in the bread cubes and let soak while you chop and saute the vegetables.

Heat the olive oil in a 10-inch ovenproof nonstick or cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and saute for 2-3 minutes, then stir in the arugula leaves a little at a time until wilted, then saute until any stems are mostly tender, 3 minutes. Season vegetables well with salt and pepper to taste.

While still on medium heat, add the butter and stir around until foamy, then add the egg mixture and spread out the bread cubes and vegetables evenly, then dot the top with the cherry tomatoes, pushing down any that aren’t mostly submerged in the egg mixture. Let the frittata brown on the bottom for 5 minutes. It should bubble lightly in only a few places.

Place in the oven and cook until almost completely set with just a little liquid on top, 20 minutes. Increase heat to broil and place on a rack a few inches under the broiler until browned and puffy, about 5 minutes.

Slide a thin spatula around the sides of the frittata and gently under the bottom, then slide out onto a large plate. Serve right away or at room temperature.

Serves 6

Note: If you don’t have stale bread, toast bread cubes in a 300° oven until slightly dry, about 10 minutes.

PER SERVING: 235 calories, 12 g protein, 9 g carbohydrate, 17 g fat (6 g saturated), 373 mg cholesterol, 158 mg sodium, 1 g fiber.

Recipe from the San Francisco Chronicle Food and Wine Newsletter

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Baby Model, Cousin, Cyclist…All-Round Good Guy

Alec (Yellow Turtle baby model!) in le•top, circa 1993, with his tricycle and...is he holding a bug?

J. at Yellow Turtle found a “vintage” photo of her son in le•top and sent it over for fun. I loved the old tricycle and the whole composition of this photo; the un-mowed grass, the dandelions, the lone tennis shoe and little Alec looking like the quintessential, all-American portrait of little boy having a great summer! Of course, I wanted to share with everyone on the blog, so I asked J. for a more recent photo of her son, Alec (now 18), and she sent over a few. I noted to her that there seemed to be a cycling theme, and she said her niece, Alec’s cousin, has MS, so Alec has been doing the Bike MS ride since he was 12! Alec and his dad do this ride every year. Last year Alec raised over $2000 – they both rode 75 miles each day, in the hills of Vermont! J. and her daughter are the cooler girls – they wait at the rest-stops with drinks and food. Great family support! We’re looking forward to photos from this year’s Bike MS in Vermont which will be held August 8-9, 2009…Go, Alec!

Alec, now, but still being a little boy at heart! Photo at left is from his Bike MS 2008 event

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Reverie Baby

Where would we be without friends? We are so fortunate to work with retailers who are wonderful partners in business – and even more privileged when we can call some of these wonderful people our friends!

Reverie Baby welcomes you!

We wanted to share pictures and information about one of our “best friend’s” beautiful store – Reverie Baby, located in Santa Rosa. This part of California is home to beautiful countryside, fabulous wineries and one very distinctive children’s boutique! The owners – Eva and Arnie Levine – are very special people. They operated stores that specialized in fine linens for over 35 years – and just when they began to consider retirement, they happened upon the idea of opening a children’s specialty boutique. The store has been open for 5½ years, and is located adjacent to their linens store, Reverie Linens, in Montgomery Village Shopping Center. I don’t want you to get any mistaken ideas about Eva and Arnie being ‘ready for the rocking chair’ – when we go out to dinner they can “out-party” me!  Everyone needs friends who work hard…and know how to have fun!

Arnie with his friendly smile, ready to help

Their beautifully merchandised store specializes in clothing for children in sizes newborn to toddler – and is known by some as “Grandma Heaven!” Arnie tries to buy merchandise that is ‘special’ – and would appeal to moms and grandmothers who are looking for the classic baby outfit or gift. The moms especially love playwear that is unique – but never ‘over the top!’ Reverie Baby offers beautiful gift wrapping, and for years had one ‘signature paper’ – only the ribbon colors would differ. They have now added choices in gift wrap, because at baby showers in the area all the gifts would be wrapped in identical wrap! A gift from Reverie Baby is cherished and valued as something truly special and exceptional.

We asked Arnie, “What is the key to your success?” I loved his answer, because it is fundamentally simple – yet so difficult to achieve: “Everyone comes in my store happy, and they always leave happy.” The staff at Reverie Baby always greet you with a genuine smile and have excellent product knowledge – so nice, when compared to many retailers these days. We love Arnie’s philosophy, maybe THAT’S why he is our good friend!

Reverie Baby at Montgomery Village, 2406 Magowan Drive, Santa Rosa, CA 95405. Click on photos to shop Reverie Baby online.

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Picking Your Battles

It’s hard to say "no" to this face!

I have a 28 month old. I don’t want to call it the terrible twos  because she’s just being independent…right? I love that she has a will of  her own, but boy, is it ever a challenge to get through everything these days! In the morning, it’s a struggle to pick clothes that are  acceptable to both of us. Throughout the day, it’s a (not fun) game trying to get her to pick up her toys.

The other night, I asked her to pick up all her magnetic letters and either put them on the fridge or in the old coffee can. She refused. I then asked her to help me do it. She just sat there and watched me. OK, I know I can’t do it for her because that is just setting myself up for the next 15-20 years of continuing to “do” for her. I decided this was a battle I was going to win and was prepared to do whatever it took to make it happen. Now I had to get tough and tell, not ask, her to do it. She still refused. I wrapped my hand around hers and helped her to pick up each letter and then released her hand making her drop it, but all that did was entertain her. She just thought it was funny. Finally I told her if she didn’t cooperate she had to go to bed. She still refused so I hauled her to the bedroom. She cried and said, “No, no”. When I asked if she would pick up her letters she said she would. I brought her back to the kitchen. When I sat her down she again refused. After going back and forth a couple of times with longer periods of time in the bedroom she finally gave in and picked everything up.

I know this process was significantly more painful for me than for her, but at least I won this round. She’s been a bit better about it this week. Next week, I’m sure there will be a whole new battle. I’d love to find out if anyone has a fun ways to teach kids to pick up after themselves.

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