burbankfoodie's Profile
How do you manage to get dinner on the table?
Hi - having a baby definitely makes everyday life seem like a jugglnig act. Eventually you will get into a new groove and adjust. In the meantime, what worked for me (I have twin boys that are now almost 6) - make dinner the night before. Maybe not cook it the whole way - for example, if making a roasted chicken dish, I brown, make the sauce, chop the veggies/onions, etc., get everything in the pan. When I got home, I'd take the pan out and let it get to room temp while the oven was preheating. Pop it in the oven and let it cook while I played with the babies.
If you went this route, your husband could pop the pan in the oven since he gets home before you and then dinner would be ready (or close to it) when you got home. Other thing, with a young baby (8 months is still young to me), I'd feed the babies a simple meal (steamed pieces of veggies, cut up fruit, etc.) and then my husband and I would eat after we got them into bed. For the babies, I cut and steamed everything in advance - i.e., I'd steam a couple days' worth of broccoli, chop up a bunch of fruit, etc. so I could just take stuff out of the fridge and serve it to them cold. Really helped with their dinners.
Good luck!!
Freezing Peaches
I had a bunch of extra peaches after we went peach picking and I just peeled them, cut them up into chunks and put them in baggies/plastic containers. Didn't add anything. Froze. We've brought out and just eaten them straight from the bag or slightly thawed. They don't thaw completely very nice (they do turn mushy/brown) but semi-frozen or frozen they are GREAT.
Sportsman's Lodge
Event is for 150 or so people plus room for raffle tables (this size dramatically limited our options). Has to be SFV (Ca Del Sole was able to hold us but it was determined it was too far East). Tom O'Shanter would be too far East as well but thanks so much for the suggestion. I really appreciate the feedback.
Sportsman's Lodge
Thanks... right now we are looking at Pickwick Gardens, Sportsman Lodge, Hilton Woodland Hills Hilton, Spazio, and Woodland Hills Marriot. From a food standpoint, any comments?
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Spazio Restaurant
14755 Ventura Blvd Ste D, Sherman Oaks, CA 91403
Sportsman's Lodge
Hi - by any chance has anyone held a brunch (private party) function at the Sportsman's Lodge in Studio City? If so, how was the food? Thanks.
Any bean recipes for people who don't like beans?
I'm not a huge fan of beans in general but I recently made some cuban black beans inthe crock pot and they were awesome. Served with homemade flour tortillas, some yellow rice, some guac, some salsa and this chipotle cream chease sauce. Even my young kids liked them (a lot).
chicken stock vs turkey stock
Hi - I'm making soup tonight and the recipe calls for chicken stock (lots). I have homemade frozen turkey stock I could use or I could use canned chicken stock. Is turkey stock something that can pretty easily be switched out for chicken stock? I'm thinking homemade would taste a lot better than canned. Thanks,
Los Angeles Times Dry Brine
Thanks so much! We did this for our turkey at Thanksgiving and it turned out so good my SIL requested the same turkey again for Christmas. Definitely easy. Cooked faster than I expected so I'll check the temp earlier on than I did last time.
Los Angeles Times Dry Brine
Hi - I found the recipe for the Los Angeles Times dry brine (part of their November food section) but can't find the directions on the cooking temps/times. I have an 11-pound turkey... If I remeber correctly, I need to cook the turkey at 425 for the first 40 minutes and then reduce the temp to 400 and cook about 1 1/2 more hours or so? Anyone have a copy of the full recipe they could share? I looked on the Times website but wasn't successful in finding it there. Thanks so much.
$250 for an office breakfast??
Definitely at least reach out to Clementine's and see what they might be able to do for you in that price range. They have these great little mini ham sandwiches, amazing muffins, etc. We've ordered lunch from there (with more than enough for everyone - in fact too much) for our office of 20 for under $200 so I would imagine you could get more at breakfast time.
Best Brunch Places -- Silver Lake/Los Feliz
One minor thing to bring up on Alcove - I like the food there (love the apple/pear coleslaw) - I've gone there with my young children and it can be problematic sitting on the patio if you are the only adult with them. If you need to order anything else or get something or go to the restroom, you can't leave them there by themselves on the very open patio (and then it is weird to leave your table with no one there as it might get cleared off). In a restaurant, things are a little more contained. Just a side note.
As for Square One - we LOVE that place. It can get pricy quick but the French toast there is amazing.
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Square One
14 E Cota St, Santa Barbara, CA 93101
ice cream party (at home)
I'm thinking of having an ice cream truck or company/service of some sort come to my house for a birthday party so we can have that as the "theme". I'm in Burbank. Anyone know of any place that does this and if so, the approximate cost for about 20 people? Thanks so much.
Timing for baking a cake
I think it is a sheet cake (shaped like a bat) and I believe I will be coloring and piping the frosting (although if it lasts longer without the coloring, I could go with chocolate frosting I suppose for the bat). Thanks.
Timing for baking a cake
Hi - I need to bake a cake for a Halloween thing at the church this Friday. Cake is due to them by 5PM so I really need to make the cake the night before and possibly have someone else deliver it to them in the AM. So, what kind of frosting works best for keeping overnight? Also, can I make the cake and frost and just leave out overnight (covered) without it going dry? I'm guessing the fridge would be the worst thing for the cake as it would make it dry... any suggestions?
Thanks so much.
Fresh Pumpkin Puree shelf life
Curious if anyone knows how long freshly made pumpkin puree (cooked) would last in the fridge? Thanks.
Any farms open for Apple Picking (Glen Oak or otherwise) this weekend?
Anyone know of any farms open now? Thanks so much.
HELP! Family dinner ideas for picky toddler!
One family friendly meal that is surprisingly toddler friendly is a whole roasted chicken, green beans and maybe some roasted (with a little brown sugar, olive oil and cinnamon) butternut squash cubes. Chicken is pretty basic (and it smells so good while it is cooking!). Green beans and BN squash can be something the rest of the family would like and maybe you could get him to try a couple of bites of both. This is a pretty standard meal choice for our family and now one of my four yr olds sons (I have twins) favorite foods to eat is BN squash.
Another choice that actually is pretty child friendly (at least to most kids) is grilled salmon. You could add some brown rice and/or wild rice pilaf (might go over really well with little bits of dried cranberries in there) and some kind of green veggie.
One plus about either of these meals - if you cook them semi-regularly and your son gets used to them and will eat them, if you go out to a restaurant, most places would have something similar.
Good luck...
Food for the adults at kid's birthday party
If you want to do nice and make a nice impression but still make it so folks will be able to grab and go as they are chasing their 2-year old kids around, maybe a really fancy cheese platter (full spread) with nice bread slices, beautiful fruits (grapes look really pretty spread around the platter) - cut and ready, maybe some fancy sliced meats, some nice nuts (you can spice them or something), etc. I agree with the other comments that a full spread isn't going to be touched. Enjoy!
Yellow Watermelon
Where in the SFV/SGV can I find any yellow watermelon (whole to take home not at a restaurant)? I haven't seen any at the Studio City Farmers Market. Thanks for any assistance.
your dream birthday cake
I made the Yellow Cake with Chocolate Frosting from Smitten Kitchen's blog - wow, that was the best (and prettiest) cake I've made so far. It will now be my go to cake for all birthdays.
Best French Toast in LA?
Defintiely Square One. I used to think it was Cafe Montana with their one French toast with the cruncy crust and the raspberry coulis and vanilla sauce. Now that I've been to Square One, I can't go anywhere else for French toast.
Help with Mexican food
Hi - there is a great Cooks Illustrated (I believe) recipe for homemade tacos (the meat part). I too wanted to try to avoid the packets just to reduce the crazy sodium they have. Anyway, after I used that recipe, I can't go back. Sooo much better - noticably so.
Lemon water - how long does it last?
I'm curious if I make lemon/lime water where I just put in slices of lemons and limes to slightly flavor a large jug of water, how long does that stay good (in the fridge)? Thanks so much...
Car picnic ideas needed
Not sure how fancy you want to go but we pack a simple car/truck picnic for every Sat lunch for my boys for our way home from class. We tend to be more simplistic but here are some ideas: grapes (off the vine, cleaned, so ready to eat directly out of the container), chopped up (large chunks) fresh strawberries, cheese sticks, carrot sticks, mini muffins or cupcakes or something like banana bread slices/squares. As for the "main dish" that is more difficult as we normally do PB & J since those are easy to eat and not messy. Cooked, chunked chicken breast would be good. Or if you are wanting to go a little fancier, maybe a container with a bunch of different sliced meats (salami, pepperoni, etc.) as well as a separate container with a bunch of different cheeses and then maybe some fresh sliced baquette.
By the way, you are are very thoughtful neighbor.
Restaurant suggests for Sat - btw Burbank and Pasadena
Looking for restaurant suggestions for good food, nice but not dressy and a place not requiring reservations but hopefully in turn no crazy wait. No ASIAN/Indian, please. For this Saturday for dinner. Thanks.
Chicken - how long is it good?
Saw the thread about the chicken that sat out overnight to thaw... have a related but slightly different question. I bought a whole raw organic chicken from Whole Foods this last Monday and haven't had a chance to cook it (it's been refrigerated this whole time). Will it still be good to be cooked tomorrow night or should I throw it in the freezer today (seems a waste cause then I have to thaw it tomorrow) or have I missed my window of opportunity and wasted a good roasting chicken? Thanks.
Cheap and Quick for kids!
We just had a foodie friend come over to my place to make lunch with my 4-yr old twins (boys). They made homemade gnocci - it was the simplest thing ever. We just steamed some choped up BN squash (which you could do ahead of time) and then mashed it (which the kids could do on meal day), mixed I think it was 2 cups BN squash with 3 cups flour and then added a tensy bit of salt and pepper and nutmeg. Then squshed it all together so it was mixed up really well. Take a chunk and roll into "logs" and then cut with butter knives. Then just throw into a pot of boiling water (boys didn't do this part) and cook for about 5 minutes or until the gnocci are floating at the top. We (the adults) made a simple sauce of butter and sage melted/fried in a small pan and poured over the top. So simple, so cheap and my boys loved it. We added a side salad of kale (raw black/lucinato kale chopped up small with some chopped shallots, mixed with a dressing of lemon juice/olive oil and a little salt, and the mix and add grated ricotta salata cheese - that might be considered too "gourmet" for your plan but a simple green salad could be replaed). Might need an extra side of protein for growing kids - chicken or something like that. Anyway, long answer but it was great and the boys have talked about doing that again (and eating it again!).
Okay to freeze pesto?
I made a batch of homemade pesto last night and only used half. Is it okay to freeze what's left? Thanks.
New Panini maker - now what?
Just got a nice panini maker but needs some ideas. What's the best bread to use (I'd prefer something wheat/higher fiber if anyone has any suggestions), filling suggestions, do you put mayo/mustard etc on when making these kinds of sandwiches? Thanks.
Half n Half
I have a whole half carton of half and half that expires in one day - any suggestions of what I could do with it today? Thanks.
