Happy Friday!

If you are in LA, I highly recommend checking out the silver sale at Geary's - I was able to get a pasta server in my pattern (Towle Chippendale). K loves getting out and about in BH, so we also purchased some "Famous Cupcakes" to sample later. I'll report back if they are good - but the store gets props for being adorable!

Anyway, tonight we're going to eat roast chicken with some potatoes and salad. I don't need to tell you how to roast a chicken (I stuff mine with fresh rosemary, garlic, thyme and a lemon - a la Nigella's recipe from "Feast") because I'm sure there are other delicious ways of doing it - hint - please share with me! The recipe that I wanted to share is Ina Garten's pot roast from her "Back to Basics" cookbook.

I didn't grow up a huge fan of pot roast. My mother didn't make it very often, and I was one of those picky kids who needed all elements of a meal placed separately on the plate. I was so wrong. What was I missing all those years? A delicious and relatively nutritious dinner that is easy to assemble, and cooks quietly all by itself, so you can play with a baby, do laundry, phone calls, or whatever else you want!

This recipe also makes a tremendous amount - it would be a perfect dinner for 6-8 of you. As we are only two adults, it makes dinner for about four nights.

Ina Garten's Pot Roast

1 4-5 lb prime beef chuck roast, tied
1 onion, coarsely chopped
2 cups carrots2-4 carrots, chopped to your preferred thickness (I like a smallish cut)
2-4 ribs celery, again, the cut is your preference
2-4 leeks (WASH them very well - I soak in water for about 10 minutes then drain and rinse again)
5 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 bunch rosemary and thyme (tied or throw them in loose, but remember to fish out the stems at the end)
2 cups red Burgundy (pick a wine that you'd like to drink - you definitely taste it)
2 TBS cognac or brandy
1 28 oz can of whole plum tomatoes in puree
1 cup chicken stock
1 chicken bouillon cube
1 TBS unsalted butter at room temperature
salt, pepper and flour for dredging

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a LARGE dutch oven, heat about 2 TBS of olive oil on medium heat. Pat the roast dry, season all over with salt and pepper, then dredge through flour. Add roast to pan and sear about 4-5 minutes each side. Remove roast from pan and set aside on a large plate.

2. Add more oil to pan (if necessary - Ina tends to use oil with a much heavier hand than I do) and add carrots, onions, celery, leeks, garlic, 1 TBS salt and 1 1/2 tsp pepper. Cook over medium heat 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender, but not browned. Then add the wine and cognac and bring to a boil.

3. When the vegetables and wine mixture are boiling, add the tomatoes, chicken stock, bouillon cube, thyme and rosemary. Put the roast back in the pot and bring the whole mixture to a boil and cover. Place the pot in the oven for 2.5 hours, or until the meat is "fork tender" (about 165 degrees internally). Turn heat down to 265 degrees after about 1 hour of cooking to keep the sauce simmering.

4. Remove roast to carving board. Remove and discard herbs. Skim off as much fat as possible. Transfer half the sauce and vegetables to a blender and puree until smooth. For safety, and to make it easier to skim the fat, I recommend waiting maybe 15-20 minutes to allow the sauce to cool down a bit. Pour the puree back into the pot, place on stove over low heat and return to simmer.

5. In small bowl, mix the 2 TBS room temperature butter and 2 TBS flour with a fork until all combined. Stir into sauce and simmer for about 2 minutes or until thickened. Taste for seasoning. Remove the string from the roast and slice meat. Serve warm with sauce spooned over.

This is great made ahead, and any extra sauce makes a really fantastic base for pasta sauce. Happy winter cooking with this one!

A treat for you - the most delicious plum tart!

It's cool here at night now. K has gone to bed (she never got the memo about daylight savings), so I'm enjoying a nice cup of tea and a piece of plum tart. This is hands down the easiest recipe. I can throw it together in about 15 minutes (not counting taking the butter out early to soften). It's pretty enough for company, and homey enough to bake just for you. It also freezes like a dream. We devoured the tart pictured above, so I don't have any pictures of it baked - but it's gorgeous. The plums turn a dark reddish purple, and your house smells like plums and cinnamon.

Have I convinced you?

Here's the recipe for the New York Times Plum Tart:

1 stick unsalted butter (softened)

3/4 c. sugar plus 1TBS set aside for sprinkling

1 t. vanilla (this is my addition - I like vanilla in almost all cakes)

1 c. unbleached flour, sifted

1 t. baking powder

2 eggs

pinch salt

12 Italian prune plums, pitted and split into halves (you can use regular purple plums too)

1. Preheat oven to 350 and place rack in lower third of oven. Grease a 9" spring form pan and set aside.

2. Cream butter and sugar. Mix in egg and vanilla. Add flour, baking powder and salt. (I mix these together in a separate bowl and set aside, but you can just dump them in - this recipe is very forgiving!)

3. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and spread it out with a spoon. This is a thick batter, so you may think you messed up - just spread it out as best you can. Then, arrange the plum halves in a decorative pattern around the top. Sprinkle with sugar and a little cinnamon. I bet some nutmeg would be good sprinkled on top too.

4. Bake 40-50 minutes or until tester inserted in the middle of the tart comes out clean. This is great warm or at room temperature. I'd serve with vanilla ice cream, or some of that Haagen Daaz brown sugar ice cream.

The Great Pumpkin

Happy Monday! Halloween was fun - and the great pumpkin had a pretty good time. Unfortunately, the introduction of rice cereal wasn't such a big hit - but we'll keep trying!

Boo!

I'm a terrible blogger. Really bad. But, I have a crawler on my hands and K is going EVERYWHERE. So, because we're looking to sell our place and look for a more baby-friendly one, I'm generally occupied during the day.

Here are my random thoughts of the week:

1. Kate and Jon - please get out of my trashy tabloids. I'm not into you anymore, and when I have time to get my nails done, I want to read good stuff - like spoilers for the new SATC movie!

2. I love Lululemon - I swear I don't wear yoga pants all the time - but if I did, I wouldn't be ashamed because theirs are so cute!

3. Italian prune plums - I just made a really easy tart and will post the recipe soon.

4. It's nice to be in my tall flat boots. I don't really like fall because it means winter, but K doesn't like heat, so I'll take some cooler weather and a baby who naps again.

5. Why am I the most cluttered person in the world? How do I reform?

6. This whole swine flu thing has me a little worried - the Today show should stop scaring me!

7. Happy Halloween!

Survivors

We survived our first cross country trip. We also survived our first night away from Baby K to attend a wedding. She's been flirting with sleeping through the night for a few days now - we'll see about that.

Fall has started creeping into Los Angeles - the sun doesn't climb as high in the sky, and the fog has been rolling in overnight a little. I'm back reading books again, and I've fallen in love with the Los Angeles Public Library. Has anyone else read "To Hell With All That" by Caitlin Flanagan? If so, I'd love to hear your thoughts - I'm still processing what I think. Next up is "The Feminine Mistake" by Leslie Bennets.

K can roll over, and we're eagerly awaiting the delivery of the exersaucer because she likes to try to stand with help these days. Here's my two cents - it is actually kind of nice to go out and buy baby stuff as she needs it - there is a lot less clutter in the house. Next up to purchase: a convertible car seat - as I think we'll be out of the infant seat in a couple of months.

We are having success with bottle feeding because we found the right kind of bottles - Born Free!

I'm working on a couple of home projects - reupholstering my beautiful new (well, second hand but lovely chippendale mahogany) dining room set, working on a family gallery wall, and just generally decluttering.

So, I think after a nice long summer, I'm ready to be back blogging, and especially posting recipes. Now that I am pretty much back to cooking every night, there's a lot to think about.

We're off to visit some very special great grandparents this weekend - watch out Colorado!

A little of this, a little of that

Our adorable K was a very good girl during her baptism. She got to wear the dress that was made for me (I never wore it as it was over 100 degrees for my baptism).

These are my favorites right now - tomatoes. Seriously, my husband was away for a night, so I could indulge in a completely me-centric meal. Tomatoes and basil over pasta and pretty heirloom tomatoes with basil and olive oil. What do you like to eat when it's just you?

BTW, it looks like I can extend my maternity leave through November, so I've got to get better about blogging. I hope you all are having a lovely summer - the heat came back here with a vengeance this week so we're just trying to stay cool!

Random Things

Ok, look forward to an investigation of the chicken breast later this week, but I'm taking a break from the recipes today.

Here are my questions - some rhetorical, some not :)

1. Who cuts Kate Gosselin's hair? And why is it long in the front and spikey in the back? It's like a reverse mullet?

2. How come people don't often hold the door for you when you are trying to push a stroller into a store? I swear I don't run people over or hit them with my stroller, but I could use a little help getting in the door sometimes.

3. If you have children, what is your strategy for getting dinner on the table? I try to pick out recipes in advance, and then prep/set the table during naptime, anything else?

4. If your baby doesn't like a bottle, how do you persuade them that it isn't so bad?

5. Why is all the lemonade in LA so sweet? I like mine really tart with just a hint of sweet, and everything I've had (most particularly you, Barney Greengrass) is almost gritty with sugar.

6. Recommendations for a lightweight travel stroller?

7. Why do people go to the grocery store in their pjs? I give parents and the elderly a pass, but I am always confused by the college students - they have no responsibilities?

8. Why does the Food Network have so many shows that aren't about cooking? I love my chefs and want more from them!

9. What is your favorite flavor of doughnut? I haven't had one in ages, and I'm starting to have a major craving. I'm a coconut or plain cake doughnut kind of girl.

10. Is it bad that I just don't blow out my hair all that often?

Happy Monday - what are your burning questions?