FC Inner Circle

The new brown bag

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  I'm a huge fan of reusable lunchboxes and containers (see my "Boxed Set" post from awhile back). And my daughter just loves her Laptop Lunches Obento set. Are you ready to say goodbye to foil, plastic and wax paper? Now's the time, as LL is having a holiday special—20% off all items purchased by 12/16. just go to www.laptoplunches.com and enter coupon code winter2009 at checkout. your kids—and mother nature—will thank you.

Japanese Hot Pots are hot!

What could be better than a meal that is healthy yet satisfying, comforting yet exotic, quick and easy to prepare yet impressive? One that is also served in one pot that can be brought to the table for family members to gather round and choose whichever morsels they particularly like?

If that sounds like a great way to warm up a winter evening then I have just the cookbook for you: Japanese Hot Pots: Comforting One-Pot Meals by Tadashi Ono and Harris Salat. My co-worker Samantha Bednarek and I were lucky enough to attend the book launch party held at the elegant Matsuri restaurant, in downtown New York City’s Maritime Hotel. Authors Salat and Ono cooked up three delicious selections from the book for us to sample.

All the dishes are cooked in one pot and are surprisingly simple. Some do have exotic ingredients which might require a visit to an Asian grocery (or you can order online from Asian Food Grocer), but author Salat says hot pots are incredibly flexible, and substitutions won’t diminish the taste. For example in the chicken hot pot recipe below, Salat suggests these substitutions: “If you can’t find shungiku, you can substitute with spinach. No shiitake? Sub with crimini or white button or any mushroom except for portobello, which would overwhelm it. Instead of negi, scallions work great. Finally, if you can’t find itokonnyaku, you can use harusame or “bean thread noodles,” available in Asian markets, or just skip it."

No special equipment is needed—a dutch oven will keep the meal warm on the table (or you can use a hot plate). The hot pots are typically served with either a bowl of rice or noodles and diners can use chopsticks or forks to select what they want right from the pot.

Need more convincing? Japanese people are among the healthiest on earth so we would do well to follow their lead when it comes to food. If you're nervous about trying something new check out the helpful youtube video of Salat and Ono preparing this chicken hot pot.

HAKATA CHICKEN HOT POT
(Tori Mizutaki)

SERVES 4
4 chicken legs and thighs (2 to 3 pounds), skinned, boned, and cut into bite-size pieces
2 6-inch pieces kombu
1/4 small head green cabbage (about 1/2 pound), cut into bite-size pieces
1 7-ounce package itokonnyaku, well rinsed, strained, and quartered
1/2 package (about 1/2 pound) firm tofu, cut into 4 pieces
1 negi, white part only, sliced on an angle into 2-inch pieces
4 ounces shiitake mushrooms (about 8 pieces),stemmed
3-1/2 ounces shimeji mushrooms, trimmed and pulled apart
1/2 medium carrot, peeled, cut into 2-inch pieces, and thinly sliced lengthwise
2 teaspoons salt
4 cups chicken stock
2 cups shungiku leaves, stemmed
1/2 cup shibori scallions, for garnish
4 teaspoons green yuzu kosho, for accent

1). Fill a large stockpot with water and bring it to a boil over high heat. Add the chicken. When the water returns to a boil, poach for 1 minute. Remove from the heat, strain
the chicken in a colander, and cool under running water. Set aside.
2). Place the kombu on the bottom of a hot pot and add the cabbage over it. Add the chicken, itokonnyaku, tofu, negi, shiitake and shimeji mushrooms, and carrot on top
of the cabbage, arranging each ingredient in a separate, neat bunch. Sprinkle in the salt and add the chicken stock. Cover the hot pot and bring it to a boil over high heat.
3). Decrease the heat to medium and simmer for 10 minutes. Uncover the pot, add the shungiku leaves, and simmer for 1 minute more.
4). Transfer the hot pot to the dining table. Serve the ingredients together with the broth in small bowls. Garnish with the shibori scallions and accent with the green yuzu kosho.

—Lisa Kelsey, art director

LET THE GAMES BEGIN !

So, its December in NYC and 65 degrees. Thanksgiving has past and it is now time for the 40 days and nights of Holiday celebrations to begin no matter what the temp! Tomorrow is our annual family dinner  in NYC to kick things off. This year, Becco. YUM!  After dinner - coffee, dessert (maybe more wine??) here in our apartment. I made our fave giant chocolate chip cookie and a terrific coconut cake that is a Family Circle staple. It is the coconut cake that all others are judged by, in my opinion. Here is the recipe in case you want to include as part of one of  your festive occasions!

 

Paula Carlson's Coconut Cake

 

Ingredients

• Cake:
• 1  cup (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature
• 2  cups sugar
• 5 eggs
• 3  cups all-purpose flour, sifted
• 1  tablespoon baking powder
• 1-1/4  cups milk
• 1  teaspoon vanilla
• 7-Minute Frosting:
• 2  egg whites
• 1-1/2  cups sugar
• 1/8  teaspoon salt
• 1/2  cup water
• 1  tablespoon light corn syrup
• 1/2  teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2  teaspoon lemon extract
• 1-1/2  cups shredded unsweetened coconut

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease three 9-inch round layer-cake pans. Dust the pans with flour, tapping out the excess flour.

2. Prepare the cakes: Beat the butter in a large bowl until creamy. Gradually add sugar, beating thoroughly, until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

3. Combine the flour and baking powder in a small bowl. Add to batter, alternating with the milk, beginning and ending with flour, beating thoroughly after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Divide batter equally among the three prepared cake pans.

4. Bake cakes in the 350 degree F oven for 25 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the centers of the cakes comes out clean. Cool the cakes completely in the pans on wire racks.

5. Prepare 7-Minute Frosting: Combine the egg whites, sugar, salt, water and corn syrup in a heavy saucepan. Heat over very low heat, beating constantly with a hand mixer and scraping down the side of the pan to prevent sugar crystals from forming, until soft peaks form about 7 minutes total. Remove the saucepan from the heat. Add the vanilla and lemon extract; beat for 1 minute.

6. Turn the cakes out of the pans. Place one layer on a serving plate; slide thin strips of waxed paper underneath the layer to keep the plate clean. Spread a small amount of frosting over the top of the cake and sprinkle with a little of the shredded coconut. Stack second layer on top; frost and sprinkle with coconut. Top with third layer. Frost the top and sides of the cake. Sprinkle the remaining coconut over the sides and top. Remove waxed paper strips. Makes 12 servings.

On my way to where the air is sweet.......

As a child I spent many mornings watching Sesame Street. I loved the songs, the celebrities and of course the Muppets. The show helped teach me to count, my alphabets and the importance of sharing. Ever so often I catch a glimpse of the show and it brings a smile to my face. I listen to the words of the theme song and long for a time when life was simpler.
Recently,  Sesame Street:  40 Years Of Sunny Days was released and needless to say I had to have it. As I watched the DVD of the shows that I had seen so many years ago, I realized that I hadn't changed that much. I still love the Cookie Monster, Ernie and Bert, and Big Bird. I still remember the words to the songs. But most importantly, I was able to really remember what it was like when I was carefree.

Chocolate Turkeys!

Growing up one of my favorites things about Thanksgiving was getting a chocolate turkey. I thought the tradition had vanished until I found these delicious, solid chocolate turkeys by the Madelaine Chocolate  Novelties Inc. You can find them in gourmet stores as well as ShopRite supermarkets. Happy Thanksgiving!

Help underprivileged kids in a few short minutes

The National Mango Board and Ingrid Hoffmann are still working hard on reaching their $5,000 goal to benefit the underprivileged youth of New York City’s Food & Finance High School.

For just four short minutes of your time, this video <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BuL1UIfBrv4>  can help them reach their goal. They are at 1,000 views or so now and hope to get to 5,000 before January 1.

Now see this......

I have always been interested in the journey of the food that we eat. I was more curious about it travels after reading Cod: A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World by Mark Kurlansky. Recently, I sat down to watch Food, Inc and was fascinated by the insight provided by this documentary. If you are faint of heart then this might not be the best thing for you to watch. But if you enjoy books such as The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan or Fast Food nation by Eric Schlosser, then this is right up your alley.  I tend to be a bit squeamish but was happy to have watched.

Under the Big Top

Editorial Assistant Krista Meyerhoff and I got a sneak peek of Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus, the new party game for the Nintendo Wii, and experienced a virtual version of the “Greatest Show on Earth.” Its cool features and vivid graphics made us feel like we were actually at the circus. My favorite act was clown bowling—I even came close to knocking down all of the clown-faced pins. With patience and balance, Krista tested out the high wire and successfully made it across. Other mini-games include the human cannonball, juggling, and aerial acrobatics. We earned Barnum  Bucks throughout the demo and made our way to the Big Top for our final performance. I felt like I was a kid again. The only thing missing was cotton candy and popcorn!

—Nicole Reddick, Editorial Intern

Musical Genius

I’m rarely excited for a CD to be released—unless it’s Dave Matthews Band’s newest studio album. But I couldn’t wait for Glee: The Music, Volume 1 to hit shelves on Monday. After two weeks without my favorite new show (thank you, World Series!), I missed the high school drama, witty dialogue and, of course, the catchy tunes I looked forward to every Wednesday night. I immediately uploaded all 17 songs to my iPod and was practically dancing in the street on my way to the subway the next morning. Now I can relive every musical moment from the first nine episodes on-the-go! —Krista Meyerhoff, Editorial Assistant

Tight Knit

I recently read Knit the Season, the newest addition to Kate Jacob’s immensely popular Friday Night Knitting Club series. (You’re getting the sneak peak here—we’re featuring it as the book pick in our upcoming December issue.) I loved the warm, fuzzy feeling the book gave me, and now Kate Jacobs is taking that beyond the pages. She’s teaming up with Lands' End for their Holiday 2009 project, the FeelGOOD Campaign. Every time a FeelGOOD sweater, mitten or hat is purchased, Lands' End will donate yarn to Warming Families, a national charity that knits clothing for the homeless. Warming Families estimates that they will knit 25,000 hats for the homeless just during this fall alone. If you live near the Boston, Portland and Seattle areas, catch Kate Jacobs at a Lands' End stores, or shop the FeelGOOD campaign until the end of the year. That’s definitely shopping you can feel good about!
—Celia Shatzman, Associate Editor