Poodleful and Her Nanny

Today's post, which was originally going to be about ironing (I will return to The Art of Ironing for the Modern Woman--don't worry) caused me to start thinking about my maternal grandmother, my Nanny. My Nanny is the ORIGINAL Martha Stewart--but more sophisticated. She is a housewife extraordinaire, not only were my mother and her sister's nightgowns, sheets and underwear always ironed, their whole wardrobes were all handmade by her.


She is a whiz at all kinds of crafts--she had extensive experience with floral arrangements, interior design and gardening in addition to her sewing skills. Additionally she is a woman of letters, she and my grandfather loved to read to one another, and she has an envious book collection. She is always up to date on current events and I think the only bone I have to pick with her is her great affection for the Republican party. My husband always swears that it is a historical difference of ours, and that if she had to rechoose today, she would be a democrat. I don't know...unfortch she is pretty committed to even the most reprehensible Republicans.

Anyway, I am so grateful to have her love and influence in my life. I still feel guilty for telling her that I didn't like the way that she wallpapered her bathroom when I was a little girl--she essentially decoupaged the walls with many many scraps of different wallpapers (she didn't care if I didn't like it..she was probably even relieved, Margaret, while beautiful and charming is not my advisor for matters of taste).

Pizza Bella

Several new restaurants have opened in Kansas City lately.

Pizza Bella: Pizza Bella is a new restaurant from the owners of 1924 Main. Poodleful likes 1924 Main (kind of) and is even less fond of Souperman (which is owned by the same outfit) but she LOVES Pizza Bella. Since it opened, a mere two months ago, Poodleful and her family have visited a number of times and tried, she thinks, every pizza, which is no good for her wasteline. She highly recommends the pizza with all of the different cheeses--not usually her kind of thing, but the ricotta on this pizza pie is so creamy and delicious it could be mistaken for a cheese less humble. And the prosciutto pizza with an arugula blend is also really really good. They also serve a delicious octupus salad and their roasted brussel sprouts are also nice. On the other hand, the chorizo on the chorizo pizza has nothing in common with good Spanish chorizo--it tastes like they cut up a hot dog and used it as a topping.

Additionally, Pizza Bella is a really good place to take your small children, as the service is fast and the waitstaff seems happy to see kids around. Additionally, it is very fairly priced. The restaurant itself is cute too with red plastic chairs and place mats that have the menu on the back.

In short, Poodleful could eat at Pizza Bella twice a week for the rest of her life and you would hear no complaints.

How to Roast from the Acclaimed Author of How to Sell

Because it is November, I would like to offer a meditation on roasting. The Pilgrims apparently favored roasting, so when you serve roast turkey this year do not fret about somehow being inauthentic, or somehow misconstruing the tradition. Please open this link to review a letter written from the Pilgrims about the "first" Thanksgiving dinner.

I find this letter to be particularly amusing because the Pilgrim author seems so concerned to let the audience know that they are living high on the hog over here in America. Jamestown, Roanoke--HA HA--those people are obviously just poser Pilgrims who don't have our good luck. We DEFINITELY made the right decision to come here on an extremely long journey by boat to celebrate our weird Puritan religion and fight terrible weather conditions, native populations, and mutiny among ourselves. Anyway, it sounds like quite a celebration they had themselves.

Technically speaking, roasting is a cooking method that utilizes dry heat in order to cook the meat or vegetable. Roasting often causes a caramelization of the surface of the food. A roast chicken is like an omelette in so far as it is an easy thing to seriously screw up, an extremely difficult thing to do correctly and accordingly is an easy way to measure the skills of a particular chef.

In order to offer the best advice about roasting, I interviewed Clancy Martin, celebrated author of How to Sell, who also happens to be an expert roaster.

1) What is the most difficult thing about roasting?

Knowing your oven (its real temperature). Make sure you roast different things in it so you know what the actual roasting temperatures and times are. Make sure you have time to baste if basting is recommended (and with chickens you should always baste).

2) What is the best advice for roasting?

Turn your chicken. Spend lots of time preparing whatever it is you are going to roast. The most important stage of roasting is the preparation before it goes in the oven. Also, because it will continue to cook after you remove it from the over, err on the side of underroasting. If necessary you can always pop it back in for another ten minutes.

3) What are the preparations for roasting?

Varies from meat to meat. Make sure you ahve an hour you can dedicate to whatever you are roasting before it goes in the oven. Make sure you have string for tying. make sure you have butter, garlic and fresh thyme (you will use these on many things you roast). make sure you salt and pepper whatever you are roasting.

4) How do you get the skin to be just right?

Preparation before it goes in the over. For chicken, basting, turning the bird every 15-20 minutes, and watching. If a chicken isn't crisping, you can always roast and turn under the broiler at the very end.

5) Tell me about pan gravies.

Pan gravies take practice. The most important step is spooning off the fat. Caramelize at medium heat, then deglaze with a little room temperature and simmer down to half the volume.

Dearest Poodleful, Regards, Emily Post

Poodleful believes that the basic rules of entertaining in the '00s have not changed significantly in many years.

However, through the many guests she has had over for dinner, she has some modern advice for fellow hosts and hostesses.

1. One of Poodleful's favorite tips is: Have the guests over AFTER the little darlings are in bed. Poodleful has entertained both ways, with children awake and with children asleep and has discovered that the evening is much more enjoyable for everyone if the two year old is getting her forty winks. Poodleful usually asks guests to arrive for dinner shortly after 8 PM.

2. An entree and a dessert are sufficient for guests. Poodleful and her husband have experimented with the number of courses many times. Some poor guests have suffered through six or seven courses at her earnest but misguided hand. If you must, Poodleful feels like a simple salad, served either before or after the entree is allowable.



3. If you are the guest, please be sure to take something to your hostess. While Poodleful thinks fresh flowers are nicest, if you know that your host and hostess drink, a bottle of wine is also very nice (try to by something original--not expensive but not the cheapest most obvious selection either).


4. Seating arrangements: Traditionally, it goes man-woman-man-woman. But, Poodleful likes to mix things up sometimes, and just to be original, sit woman-woman-man-man, or any other variety. Poodleful feels as if the traditional arrangement is slightly stuffy and kind of awkward at times. And the most important thing about etiquette is that it is supposed to make others as comfortable as possible.

5. Avoid the following foods unless you know your guests fairly well: beets, turnips, shellfish, veal, foie gras, pate, mincemeat pie (Poodleful just included mincemeat pie on the list because she has always HATED it), mushrooms, lots of hot red pepper flakes and any other foods that are not popular with more or less everyone. While you cannot satisfy everyone's palate, there is nothing worse than watching guests fake love for your offerings because they feel as if they have to.
This comes from Poodleful's concrete experience.

6. Lock your dogs (except for Poodleful) in the bathroom close to the time that your guests are scheduled to arrive. Not everyone loves Fluffy as much as you do. (Although everyone loves Poodleful, seriously.)

7. This may seem obvious, but if you are the guest, than MAKE sure that you compliment the chef on their food, whether or not you like it. There is nothing more disappointing than receiving pointers and criticisms about a meal that you have lovingly prepared for a guest. (Poodleful does not mind criticism if she is close personal friends to the guest, this is mostly applicable to fairly formal circumstances.)

A Pepto-Bismol Birthday Bash!

Well, no actual pepto-bismol was involved. But, Poodleful decided that the best way to celebrate Margaret (3) and Portia's (1) respective birthdays was by throwing a large combination birthday party that had a "pink" theme. Overall, I felt that the party was wildly successful.

First, I drew up a guest list. I totally ignored the advice often given for children's birthday party guest lists--invite as many children as your child is turning. Here that would have been four guests (3+1). I invited fifteen children and all of their parents, and even some of our friends who are childless, and my whole family came from out of town.

Second, I arranged the entertainment. Margaret really adores puppet shows, so I secured a puppeteer to come to the party and give a performance. The other main attraction was the cotton candy machine that we rented. They are very easy to use, although not very nice looking.



Third, party decorations were fairly elaborate. I made tissue paper pom poms that hung at different lengths above the party table. I made pennant flags from a variety of pink fabrics that I purchased at Hancock Fabrics. My mother and I made crepe paper roses. We purchased piles of pink candy, and created paper flower/candy bouquets to adorn the table. We dressed the table with a pink crushed velvet piece of fabric trussed with reems of pink ribbons. Directions for the pom poms and pennants follow. Finally, we served some light food items--Matt's famous quesadillas; a bowl full of strawberries, pomegranate seeds and balsamic vinegar; french bread and goat cheese; a barbie birthday cake and a chocolate tart (inspiring my mad tart trend described in my October 30th post); kir royales for the grownups and a pitcher-ful of shirley temples and pink lemonade for the kids.



TISSUE PAPER POM POMS
supplies: tissue paper, scissors, ribbon, pipe cleaners, stapler

1. Procure several different colors of tissue paper. Each pom pom requires 6 sheets.

2. Take six sheets of tissue paper, and fold them accordian style. Tie center with pipe cleaner. Holding the accordian closed, as if it was one narrow strip, cut off the ends into either round or pointed shapes.

3. Release the strip, and pull the tissue paper sheets apart on either side, forming a puffy ball.

4. Attach string to pipe cleaner in the middle and hang pom poms from the ceiling on different length strings.

I used many shades of pink and orange, and they looked very pretty.

Pink Pennant Banners
supplies: several different patterned fabrics, pink bias tape, newspaper, ruler, sewing machine.

1. Create a pennant flag pattern. (This is very easy--just use a ruler to draw an isosceles triangle on a piece of newspaper.

2. Fold your pieces of fabric in half and pinning the pattern to the folded pieces of fabric, cut out many pennant shapes. (For each pennant, I would recommend around 14.)Remember that you want each pennant shape to have two pieces, hence the folding in half. Once you get going, this part takes no time at all.

3. Take the two pieces of fabric and turn them so that the back of the fabric is facing outwards. Use sewing machine to sew a running stitch down the two long sides of the isosceles, leaving the short third side open.

4. Once you have completed sewing all pennants, turn them right side out, and iron. I used a pencil to really push the bottoms of the pennants into points.

5. Use straight pins to pin the pennants, one after another, to the middle of the bias tape. Once all pennants are pinned, sew a running stitch down the middle of the bias tape.

This project took me approximately two late night hours (no rest for the wicked or for working mothers either), one hour of which 1 year old Portia was awake.

Matt's Awesome Quesadilla Recipe

My brother, Matt made these quesadillas for my daughters' birthday party last month and they were a HUGE hit. Additionally, I plan on bringing them to the law office "Mexican Party" next week. Kids and adults alike gobble them up.

Just chop up 3/4 of a small onion and sautee in oil until soft.
Add chopped red bell pepper and maybe a jalapeno halfway through. Add a little garlic if you feel like it. Also, throw in some frozen corn too.

In another pan, sautee your chicken. I prefer to use the chicken tenderloins. I like to season the chicken with a little Adobo (definitely), some chili powder, salt and pepper, and a touch of cumin. Don't overcook the chicken. Pull it while it's still moist and shred it with some forks. After this combide your vegetables and chicken and throw some chopped cilantro in there too.

There you have it...just melt some butter and brush it on one side of a tortilla and throw it face down in a skillet. On one half of the tortilla, sprinkle a little jack cheese down, add the chicken mixture and add some more cheese on top. Fold the tortilla over and flip when golden brown. These should be fine to warm up in the oven and keep covered in foil.

Some Parisian Restaurant Recommendations

Well, Poodleful, as the modern homemaker eats in restaurants almost as frequently as she eats at home. (Who, on a daily basis has time to cook when you don't get off of work until 5:30 and your children have 7:30 bedtimes?).

And, being a modern homemaker, her professional life calls for her to often have expensive lawyer type lunches too. So, she believes that restaurant reviews are just as important to Martha-types as recipes. So she will begin with some Parisian restaurant reviews. (Poodleful is really not a francophile-she swears..she is a poodle, yes, who likes to bake tarts, yes, and has recently been to Paris, but she swears that this will NOT be a francophile blog.)

Poodleful and Clancy went to Paris recently to celebrate their 5th wedding anniversary. It was a wonderful trip without the children. We stayed in an apartment in the 10th arrondissement, which was perfectly located--away from tourists, interesting working class neighborhood within walking distance of the Marais.

After extensive research and an honest assessment of our budget (medium, enough money to eat where we wanted, but not enough to go to any Arpeges) I determined where we would eat. I try not to use recommendations from the guidebooks because they are always full of tourists. Nothing against tourists, I just hate to always go to restaurants that have the "tourist buzz". So thank you Pim, Chocolate and Zucchini and Chowhounds. The restaurants that I believe you must eat at if you are traveling to Paris anytime soon are as follows:

L'As du Falafel. L'As du Falafel, located in the Marais has been reviewed and praised rather extensively. And, all of the praise is very well deserved. L'As du Falafel is located on a narrow Paris street surrounded by diamond stores and other falafel restaurants. Get there early, and grab a seat in the restaurant and watch the cooks make the falafels.

I ordered a standard falafel. They brought me an extremely large pillowy pita stuffed with a mountain of food. I began to eat it and the best thing was that every bite is different. You begin with the cool lettuce and tomatoes/onion/herb salad on top and as you keep eating you encounter warm hummus and the hot falafel. And the whole thing is drenched with a yogurt sauce. I covered mine with warm (flavored not temperatured) spicy harissa from a ketchup bottle on the table. The whole thing costs 5 euros.


Le Comptoir du Relais. Le Comptoir is really really good. We could not procure a dinner reservation (unsurprisingly) so I gave up on the idea of eating there at all. Then one day, Clancy and I were walking around the left bank when we ran into it. We weren't hungry however, so we decided to stop and have a coffee. Clancy ordered gazpacho, so we could try something. During the day, Le Comptoir is a bistro that takes no reservations. A family came and sat beside us (they were really cute with their two kids) and they ordered something very quickly, in French.

Moments later (well, probably not moments, this is Paris, minutes...hours...) the waiter returned with a tin bucket full of different kinds of sausages. Knives were stuck in the sides of the sausages (all cured, dried sausages several feet long) and you could just cut off as much as you liked. The dad started to cut off bits of different sausages for his wife and two sons, and before long his friend and his friend's little scottie dog joined them. Of course the dog loved the sausage too.

Our gazpacho was delicious. It was very thin and soupy, with small peeled yellow an red grapeseed tomatoes hidden in the bottom. I love peeled tomatoes, they taste so good and are so pretty, all covered with spidery veins. The best part was that there was a lot of garlic prepared in several different ways. It was sliced across lengthwise, and some of it had been fried, some was baked and some was pickled.

We ate at Le Comptoir several more times and everytime it was excellent.

The best restaurant was the one right at the end of our street. It was a little neighborhood cafe that was always packed with locals. When we first arrived, all bleary eyed and jet-lagged we went there after dropping off our luggage. We ordered three pates, and a salad. The salad was very special, it had warm elements and cold elements (bacon, eggs, frisee, lettuce pickles onions) and was covered with a mustardy vinaigrette. The three pates were delicious also. Even though smoking is no longer allowed in French cafes, everyone smoked and the management didn't care.

Well, time for a telephone conference.