Love The One You're With

Chocolate, right? I know it’s a cliché and that I am becoming more and more like the cartoon Cathy by the day, but come on, chocolate is delicious.

In an ideal world, I would like to have at least 3 chocolate chip cookies every weekday and casual chocolate cake on the weekends. And maybe some brownies for snacks?

Sadly, life is not ideal. My desire to maintain a reasonable degree of health and not become entirely rotund puts a damper on the chocolate-lust that is in my heart.

So, as Crosby, Stills & Nash “when you can’t be with the one you love, love the one you’re with”.

Don't be angry, don't be sad.

When I cannot have all the things I want, which is always, I try to scrounge together something tasty and healthy.

I saw some haystacks a few years ago in the New York Times, since then I have been making them with a variety of things that I happen to bring home from work and store in my pantry.

Not exciting, but in life, what is?

Here’s the equation:

1.     Chocolate: dark, bitter-sweet, semi-sweet, milk, white (if you must), whatever form is fine.

Mini chocolate chips have half the calories of regular ones...so they are diet food? Right? Math?

2.     Chewy Dried Fruit (it should be dried bc fresh will release too much liquid): cranberries, dates, apricots, cherries, strawberries, apples, pears! The world of dried fruit is your oyster.

3.     Nuts: any nuts will do here. I like to toast and chop them, but you can do whole, raw, roasted, honey roasted. Go nuts!

4.     Filler: Flake cereal was the original idea I saw, but I have also used crushed saltines. Corn flakes, multigrain flakes, All-Bran, Fiber One, cheerios, potato chips, shredded wheat, rice krispies. What do you have? How would it taste covered in chocolate?

Looks a-mess, but tastes a-dream!

5.     Extras: These are things I sometimes see in my pantry and think I should use the rest of that jar/box. Quinoa: uncooked, I just toast it; it’s nutty and crunchy. Sesame seeds? sure. Poppy seeds? def. Sunflower seeds? Sold. Banana chips? Wonderful. Lentils? Too far.

6.     Topping: Sprinkle a little salt on top. Do you have maldon? Go for it! Himalayan Pink salt? YES, fancy. Morton’s Iodized Table Salt? Yes, child. Did your friends bring you fancy Peruvian salts from their vacation? Those would go nicely here.

That’s it! And don’t feel like you have to pick only one from each category. Mix and match. 2 fruits, 3 nuts, 1 chocolate. Do like nuts? Skip ‘em.

Melt the chocolate and just toss all the things together until they are coated. Spoon a little onto a piece of parchment (or a silpat). Freeze them to set up. Voila!

New York City has such roomy freezers!

Can’t have chocolate cake all the time? Love the one your with.

Xxx Martha

Chocolate Haystacks

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used mini, chopped chocolate is also good)

1/3 cup dried cranberries

1/4 cup toasted pistachios, chopped

1/2 heaping cup of flake cereal, I used a sprouted multigrain

1 teaspoon Maldon flake salt

Place a large, heatproof bowl over a medium saucepan with water low enough not to touch the bottom of the bowl. Heat over medium heat. Add chocolate to the bowl and stir occasionally until melted.

Once melted, toss cranberries, pistachios, and cereal in the chocolate until everything is coated.

Spoon mixture out in tablespoons onto parchment or a silpat.

Freeze or refrigerate until set. Store in the freezer (I like all my chocolate frozen) or refrigerator until ready to eat.

A Sweet Escape for the Parentals

Finding a good restaurant to bring the parents can be challenging in trendy New York City. The acoustics are often too loud, the seating cramped and the crowd...well, too young. Every time I take my dad to a restaurant in the city, he is acutely aware of his age in comparison to the other diners.  He tends to say something along the lines of "I'm the oldest guy in this place by at least 20 years." and I'm left looking around, realizing he's right. Oy!

My dad comes in town for Easter and for the second year in a row we have done brunch after church at Quatorze Bis on 79th Street on the Upper East Side. For years I would walk by the glow of this classic, classy French bistro and mentally bookmark it as a place I wanted to try. Though, it was always hard to find the right occasion until it dawned on me that it's a perfect family spot. 

As a rule of thumb, I trust spots where you can immediately spot locals. The patrons of Quatorze are seasoned residents of the Upper East side who have done serious time up here. These people have raised their kids in the neighborhood, but now that they are out of the house, they don't have to cook and you can tell this is one of their spots on the weekly rotation. Needless to say, this place is well vetted and you cannot go wrong with anything on the menu. Everything is solid and since we had quite an indulgent Easter brunch, I won't go too far into the details of every dish and I will let the pictures tell the story. 

When with a big group, oysters are a must and they are the easiest thing in the world to share. These ones were great. 

We also shared the Smoked Salmon and it is the best I have ever had. I would seriously consider going back to grab a glass of bubbly at the bar and just ordering this. 

The Bacon, Leek and Gruyere tart! It's incredible. But, it's very rich so it is perfect for sharing too. 

Quartorze offers their dinner menu in addition to the the brunch menu so I went for the Grilled Salmon served with traditional matchstick fries off their main menu. The salmon was cooked to perfection and I cannot resist any sort of french fry! 

John had the Quatorze Club Sandwich off the brunch menu and it was stacked with all this deliciousness. He was a happy camper and I can attest the bacon was cooked just right. 

Andrew had the Eggs Benedict with Smoked Salmon and he gave it a thumbs up. 

Jill had the Mixed Green Salad with Grilled Goat Cheese and added Chicken. She gave it her seal of approval. 

Since the Easter bunny forgot to bring us baskets this year, we made up for it by ordering lots and lots of desserts. Dad's choice was this fancy Hot Apple Tart a la mode (bowl of vanilla ice cream not pictured). The buttery crust made it a nice blend of sweet and salty. 

Profiteroles, sauce chocolat. How can something that looks like this be bad? Impossible. 

The Chocolate Hazelnut Mousse was my favorite because I love anything that reminds me of Nutella. This did. And, Nutella reminds me of Europe.  I felt like I was across the pond by the end of this meal! 

When parents come into town, it sort of feels like you are on vacation too. Going to places and restaurants you don't frequently go to is a treat.  Quatorze truly transports you to a Parisian frame of mind, so next time you're looking for a sweet escape with your parents, remember Quatorze!

XO,

Katie 

Quatorze Bis - 323 East 79th Street (Between 1st and 2nd Avenues) 

Spring into Pasta!

As I mentioned in my last post: it’s SPRING!

So, it’s time for delicious seasonal produce. It’s been a cold spring, so it is still a little early up here for the really good stuff to show up at the farmers markets, (ramps, baby carrots, asparagus, sugar snap peas, baby artichokes) but the grocery stores are starting to stock them. I already got some fresh peas, and I LOVE THEM!

What to do with fresh spring produce? CARB IT. Now, let’s be reasonable. Lent just ended, so I am back to eating flour, BUT I’m still trying to keep things under control. So, I’m experimenting with some new chickpea pasta. It's higher in fiber and protein than wheat pasta, and doesn't leave me quite as sluggish. Is it 100% as delicious, no, it is not. Is it delicious on it's own merits? Yes, definitely.

The stores are chock-full of it!

My only complaint is that the pasta is not great reheated or cold. You really should consume it all in one go. That doesn't sound like a huge problem, but making pasta sauce for one is a bummer. Also, as I'm sure I've mentioned, cold pasta is a favorite of mine. Once the chickpea pasta gets cold, the texture doesn't really hold up. BUT, there are worse things. With that in mind, I took it to a friend's house so I could make a full recipe. The boxes are 8 ounces instead of the normal 16 ounces of wheat pasta. One box is enough for two good sized bowls--or four if you made a hearty sauce.

With all that in mind, here's dinner.

Pea Prosciutto and Pecorino Pasta

8 ounces dry shells (I used Banza, but any pasta will do)

2-3 ounces proscuitto, torn into bite size pieces

2 scallions thinly sliced

2 cups fresh peas, blanched OR 2 cups frozen peas, thawed

Juice and zest of 1 lemon

1/2 cup grated pecorino cheese

1/4 cup mint, torn

Olive oil

Kosher Salt and freshly cracked black pepper

Red pepper flakes

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Cook pasta according to instructions--minus 1 minute, because you will cook in the sauce a little--reserve 1 cup of pasta water before draining.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet over medium high heat, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add the proscuitto to the pan and cook until crisp, flipping halfway through.

Add scallions to the pan. Season with pepper and red pepper flakes (I like a hefty pinch). Cook until slightly browned. Pour in 1/2 cup pasta water, bring to a boil, and let reduce slightly. Toss in peas and pasta. Cook for another minute, or until the pasta water has reduced and become thick and sauce. Take off heat and douse with cheese. Feel free to use more than a 1/2 cup!

CHEESE IT!

Serve immediately with torn mint on top and a glass of rose on the side.

Peas and thank you.

Head to your farmers market or grocery store.

Have a giant bowl of pasta and share it! It won't be as good tomorrow as it is right now. That's life.

Also, see if you can't find a dogwood blossom to admire. It will do your soul good.

Xxx Martha

It's National Siblings Week. Right Mom?!

I have off today and I couldn't be happier for an opportunity to relax and recenter. My New Years resolution of slowing down has proven harder to stick to that I originally thought. These days, life is coming at me so fast that I constantly feel like I am a day late and a dollar short. The thing is, all these things coming at me are VERY good things. I have a full life and I could not be more grateful for everything in it...but, I could use a breather! 

This past week was National Siblings Day and I missed acknowledging it because I was too busy to notice. Lame and a lousy excuse, but it's true. As my mom proudly announced on Facebook, it's National Siblings Week in her book so I'm going to follow her lead on that! As I ease into this long weekend where I get to relish time with my loved ones and all my siblings, I am going to fill you in on the joy my brothers Marc and Andrew and my sister Jill bring me. 

Before I get too gushy, I will acknowledge a truth everyone already knows. No one can piss you off like your siblings. Am I right?

Little me, not having it. 

But, no one has your back like them either. 

When I decided to start this blog with Martha, my siblings were some of my loudest cheerleaders. They always support me with whatever I do. Of course, with some healthy teasing and regular checks to make sure I don't get too full of myself, but otherwise they are always there for me. 

This is my life on a daily basis. Whatever. I'm obvi proud my serveware matches and looks good :)

We show up for each other. 

Both of our parents have instilled in us the importance of showing up for people. Sometimes it's not what you say, but being present that matters most. Any party I've ever thrown, my siblings are always there. It means more than they know that I count on at least 3 guests :) But, maybe it's the free alcohol too...

Andrew's Surprise 30th. Not pictured: Jill partying in NOLA. 

No one else in the world understands your family dynamic like they do. 

The holidays can be tough when your parents are divorced and it's nice to have three people in this world who truly and completely get it. The holidays can also be hard when your parents make your reenact the manger scene for your family Christmas card...Only Marc, Andrew, and Jill understand why on earth someone would come up with this idea! It is the picture that will never go away...

Schott Family Christmas Card 1991. My mom's favorite picture to repost on Facebook. 

We have fun together. 

We are truly friends in addition to being siblings. Now that we are older, we have brought our friends into the fold and now my friends are friends with my siblings.  Nothing makes me happier than that. They have also been so welcoming to my boyfriend John and that means the world to me. Plus, when you are around people that know you better than anyone, you can REALLY let your freak flag fly and what's better than that? 

Marc's 30th with friends and their siblings too! 

My best friend Kim on vacation with our family. My dad thinks Kim is "an excellent dishwasher" so she is always invited back. 

If you haven't already, I hope you all take time to let your siblings or cousins and friends that feel like siblings, know how much they mean to you. In the midst of the daily grind it's easy to take them for granted, but at the end of the day, it's the people in our lives that matter most. 

XO,

Katie