Kid Friendly Friday - Leading up to Advent

OK, so the PTA meeting ran WAY longer than expected and I was going to write about planning your advent season. What? You don't PLAN for advent? Well, a few years back I attending a workshop that gave tons of background and ideas for advent celebration and it completely changed the way our family does the holidays. IT IS AWESOME. The girls look forward to it all year....and now you'll have to look forward to my explanation next week. I know my limits...it's bedtime. What have you been up to this week?

FNCCC Assignment #11 - Daisy Martinez

Daisy Martinez did six episodes of Viva Daisy at the start of this year. She hosts a very popular PBS series, Daisy Cooks! Prior to becoming a chef she was an actress and model. You will find her Latin roots throughout her recipes. There's not a lot to choose from but there are a lot of basics.

We will post recipes from her on Wednesday, November 11, 2009.

Can't wait to see what you are cooking!

Kids in the Kitchen - Pumpkin Seeds!

I tore out recipes for spiced pumpkin seeds from the last issue of Redbook and I found a keeper! The Sugar and Spice seeds are so very good. They will be a holiday tradition in this house. I'm not actually sure if anyone else likes them but the baby and I cannot get enough :) I would try the savory recipes but would feel bad if they weren't nearly as good. We had fun with this recipe. Even Little Bit joined in (as she always tried to do).

Sugar and Spice Seeds
Ingredients
1 cup(s) pumpkin seeds
3 tablespoon(s) melted unsalted butter
3 tablespoon(s) sugar
1 teaspoon(s) pumpkin-pie spice
1 pinch(s) kosher salt
Directions
Clean pumpkin seeds: Rinse under cold water and remove all the pulpy strings. (This is best done before the pulp dries.) Dry seeds thoroughly.
Roast pumpkin seeds: Heat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with nonstick foil. Toss seeds with melted unsalted butter, sugar, pumpkin-pie spice, and kosher salt. Place on prepared baking sheet and roast 15 to 20 minutes, or until browned.

Separating the seeds from the goo.

Playing with the goo. Getting the goo on the floor.OK.....I felt like a cooking show. After separating the seeds you are supposed to let them dry, which I find takes a few days. I had roasted a pumpkin a few days earlier so had dried seeds on hand...we used those so we could do all the steps at once. The ones that she just separated will have to dry a few days.

Mixing in the spices. Posing. Cheesing.The finished product in all of their glory.

Go over to A Little Fun With Me and Lu to check out more Kids in the Kitchen posts!

FNCCC Week 10 - Claire Robinson

This week's featured chef is Claire Robinson who is the host of Food Network's 5 Ingredient Fix. This was a tasty recipe. Too much of lots of ingredients but it was good! While plating the meal I had to laugh at my completely orange meal....on an orange plate. So much for a rainbow meal :)

Blackened Catfish

Compound Butter: (we only used half of this)
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 tablespoon Creole seasoning
1 lemon, zested and juiced
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
1 tablespoon chopped chives (we didn't have any so it didn't get included)

Catfish:
2 lemons, thinly sliced
Compound butter
4 (8-ounce) fresh skinless, boneless catfish fillets (we used grouper)

1/4 cup Creole seasoning (recommended: Tony Chachere's) - I even found this brand, but didn't use nearly as much as recommended.

Whole chives, for garnishing

Directions
In a bowl, add the butter, Creole spices, lemon zest and juice, salt and pepper and mix to combine. Stir in the chopped chives and set aside. The butter can be made ahead and chilled; bring to room temperature before using.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Preheat a large well-seasoned cast iron skillet or nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Line the bottom of a 9 by 11-inch baking dish with the lemon slices and dollop half of the compound butter evenly over the lemon.

Evenly coat both sides of each fish fillet with 1 tablespoon Creole seasoning. Working in batches if necessary, add the seasoned fillets to the hot skillet, and cook 2 minutes on each side to just toast and brown the seasoning. With a spatula, carefully place the seared fish on top of the buttered lemon slices in the baking dish. Bake until fish easily breaks apart with a fork, 12 to 15 minutes. Immediately top each hot fillet with a spoonful of compound butter; transfer to heated serving plates and garnish with a few whole fresh chives crossed like an x over each fillet.

So what recipe did you tackle this week? Link your post to Mr. Linky below.

Tempt My Tummy - Grilled Eggplant

A few months back I was turned on to grilled asparagus and have not wanted it any other way. Last night we grilled asparagus, corn on the cob, and eggplant. The eggplant was an experiment but it was fantastic!! The best part is, it couldn't be more simple (unless you just ate it raw).

Recipe:

Slice eggplant in 1/4 inch slices (the thinner slices were better tasting)

olive oil

salt (I LOVE kosher salt for grilled veggies)

pepper

Drizzle oil over slices and top with salt and pepper. Grill until brown. Don't be scared to keep them on the grill until they are nice and dark brown. They look a little soggy at that point but they are delicious! Beware, you may never go back to cooking veggies any other way!

Enjoy! Go find more Tempt My Tummy recipes at Blessed With Grace!