Baked Stuffed Potatoes

Another family favorite.

6 baking potatoes (washed and dried)

1 c shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 c unsalted butter (cut into four tablespoons)
salt
pepper
Bacos (fake bacon bits)
Splash of milk

Preheat oven to 350.  Take the tried potatoes and stab them 6-8 times with a fork.  Bake for one hour.

After an hour, take the potatoes out.  Cut each potato in half, and then while holding the potato half in a pot holder scoop out the insides of each potato into a glass bowl.  Stir in cheese, butter, salt, pepper and bacos into the potato in the bowl.  Line a baking sheet with tin foil.  Heat oven to 400.  Take the potato mixture and put some in each potato skin, and place on baking sheet.  Bake for 20 minutes.

I like to top with some sliced scallions while my husband likes to top with salsa.

Serve with a side of broccoli.

Pepper Pasta (Mario Batali's spaghetti cacio e pepe)

Last night was a night I cooked an old favorite for dinner.  I made my own pasta using my pasta maker.  I made spaghetti.

Ingredients:
1 T coarsely ground black pepper (freshly ground)
1/4 c extra virgin olive oil
1/4 c unsalted butter
1 pound of spaghetti
1/4 c freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano (plus a little for serving for the dish)
1/4 c freshly grated pecorino romano
kosher salt

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add 1 T of kosher salt.

In a large wok, over medium heat, add the pepper and toast for 15-20 seconds.  Add oil and butter and stir until melted.  Turn off heat.

Cook pasta (reserve 1/2 c of the pasta water) and drain.

Add 1/4 c of the pasta water to the oil and butter, and turn on heat to medium.  Add pasta and stir until the pasta is well coated.  Toss in the cheese and a splash of the water.  Serve with the Parmigiano cheese.

I serve with a side of asparagus or carrots.  If I can, I also add a side salad.

Thanksgiving 2017

Thanksgiving 2017 is in the books!  Another great meal with family.

This years menu:

Homemade challah
Naomi's muffins (corn and cranberry orange)
Persian pepper dip
Pumpkin hummus with vegetables (supplied by my sister in law)
Beef Knishes and spinach knishes from the Butcherie in Brookline

Turkey
My Auntie's gravy
sweet potato with marshmallow
Brussel sprouts by mom
Stuffing with chestnuts by mom
Kugel by Barbara
Barley with mushrooms by mom
Kasha by mom
Homemade cranberry sauce by mom
canned cranberry sauce
honey glazed carrots

Beer from my brother
Wine (red and white)
Mike's lemonade
Sparkling apple cider for the kids
water
seltzer water

Fruit from my in-laws
Pumpkin pie from the Pie and Pastry Bible
Window Cranberry pie from the Pie and Pastry Bible
Candied Cranberry Chocolate Tart
Apple Crisp
Chocolate Pie
Maple Brownies
Tahini Cookies
Halavah Brownies from Sweet
Chocolate Chip Cookies from Naomi
Mandelbrot by mom
Madelines by mom
Salted Chocolate Brownies

Myers + Chang - Cookbook

On Sunday night I had another successful dinner!

I made Adam Kung Pao Chickpeas from the same cookbook which he loved and it made enough for 6 people.  The kids and I had the salmon dish.  I would double the amount of cucumber salad, since that was also a big hit.

I was surprised to find out that both of these recipes were easy to make.  Sometimes when you purchase a restaurant cookbook, not only is the list of ingredients long, but there are too many steps.  These two dishes were amazing to eat and great to prepare.

Small Kitchen Appliance - This year's craze - The Instant Pot

I love a great kitchen gadget/appliance.  My favorite ones are the KitchenAid Stand Mixer, a powerful food processor and of course my beloved bread machine.  I have had these three tools for 20 years.  They get used often in my kitchen.  The bread machine alone is used twice a week!  Homemade challah is a weekly event.  No bakery challah for the Weitzman family.

Last year, a co-worker told me how wonderful Philips Pasta Maker is and I agree.  The pasta is amazing, and as the water is heating up I can make a fresh batch of pasta, which is better than boxed pasta.  And it is super easy to use (not super easy to clean).  Who knew!

The craze this year is the Instant Pot and friends who are not kitchen lovers began to rave about the Instant Pot.  I read many posts from people and I knew I had to try it.

I purchased the 6 quart pot from Amazon and used it the next week.

The first recipe was for Mac and Cheese and while fast and easy (once I figured out how to use the pot) it wasn't the best recipe.  The kids liked it but I know I can make a better recipe.  It is much faster than the oven version and isn't bright orange like Kraft Mac and Cheese.  The only issue was that using the timer was difficult. . . . instead of ten minutes, I think I originally set it for 10 hours - OOPS.  Luckily my son pointed that out to me.

The next recipe was risotto, and while my family loves risotto, it requires me to stand over the pan and stir constantly.  However in less than 30 minutes I had risotto that I did not have to stir constantly and one could not tell the difference.  The next time I am going to make a squash risotto.

And how do I know that it is a craze?  Today's Boston Globe Food section had an article dedicated to the Instant Pot.  It is a great article.

Tonight I am going to try a chicken recipe in the Instant Pot.

I can't imagine cooking in it every night, but I can add it to the rotation of small kitchen appliances to use.  And while I don't eat meat and milk together, I am hoping that the chicken dish tonight comes out delicious.  And I have joined the Facebook Kosher Instant Pot Group (and another relative sent me an article to kosher recipes using the Instant Pot).

Tomorrow night I will use the pasta maker.  I need to make sure all my gadgets are used often.

Newton Politics

Our great city of Newton, MA is in the middle of election time, and on November 7, we will elect a new mayor between Scott Lennon and Ruth Ann Fuller.  I like to educate myself on the candidates and these two candidates have many similar ideas and visions for the city.  Due to Naomi's dance team, I have been to many of the local fairs, and have spoken to both sides in order to make the best decision. 

Fast forward to today, when Scott Lennon has taken out an ad that includes "I am the only candidate who has consistently held a full time job for the last twenty years."

Ouch.

Let

That 

Sit 

For 

A 

Moment

Twenty years ago, who traditionally was the stay at home parent?  (I like to think that is changing and more fathers are choosing that path, but in reality 20 years ago it was the female who stayed home.)

I feel that both of these candidates are well qualified, however I am supposed to cast my vote because he didn't take time off to raise his kids full time?  I do not know anything about Lennon's family, but did his wife take time off, and if she were to return to the work force and interview, would the hiring manager not hire her because she took time off to raise kids?  Did Lennon's wife's career take a back seat to his while their kids were young?  Did she work?  How does she feel about this statement?

And it isn't like his opponent isn't a good opponent.  She has served as Vice Chair of the Newton Citizen Advisory Group, in addition to co-chairing the town of Brookline's Financial Planning Advisory Committee.  She spent 8 years at WGBH.  And if some of this is volunteer work, it is still good experience.  She has experience planning and strategizing.  

And if a stay at home parent (male or female) returns to the work force, and tried to interview for a job with Lennon, would Lennon disregard any stay at home parent just because that person hasn't held a full time job?

President Trump doesn't value women in higher office.  His trusted advisors are mostly white males.  (Mostly - not all).  He has been accused of sexual harassment and views women as inferior.  I don't need another elected official to tell me that women don't have experience or intelligence.  This one sentence smells of Trump.  I know Lennon doesn't mean it that way, but as a female, that is how I am reading the one sentence.

I am uncomfortable using my one vote for Lennon.  He is telling stay at home parents that they don't add value.  They are very valuable.  Everyone has a different view point, and just because he has held a full time job for 20 years doesn't earn my vote.  In fact, he has lost my vote.  I am very aware of the glass ceiling, especially in higher levels (executive boards, C level, venture capital, finance, investments), and I am concerned that he is going to discount future employees because they were not fortunate enough to have the same 20 year experience as he did.

I really wish that someone earned my vote, instead of losing it, but Mr. Lennon, you lost my vote, because that statement hurts stay at home parents.

Sharing a post from another blogger

Working Mothers

http://www.classycareergirl.com/2017/10/working-moms-positive-character-traits-children/

Please read and let me know what you think.

Both of my kids have seen my husband and I work hard over the years, and I hope they see that we coordinate and cooperate in raising them and keeping the house together.  We both do laundry (actually all four of us do, some more than others), and even though I cook, my husband cleans.  We all shovel the snow during the winter.  No one person is responsible for the upkeep.

And we are raising our children together.  With a teenager and a pre-teen, that means driving the kids (and other kids) all over the place.  We both share in the carpool and driving tasks.  We are a family and I hope that is what our kids see in us.

We also have device free meals.  Dinner time is a time for all of us to come together and talk and hear our stories from the day.  In order for the family to run smoothly, we all need to communicate.

I did enjoy the Classy Career Girl's blog post, but I also think the whole family benefits from a family that communicates and eats together.