Kinda financier fail, terrific dinner, Party Tuesday

The financier batter was so lovely and tasty (though not the green that was Eric Kayser's; did he use more pistachios??), but those buggers would NOT release from the pans; yes, I tried two different types: a canoe pan (because traditionally, financiers are rectangular), and a mini-muffin as the recipe suggested (mine from Eric Kayser was round though about 8 times the size of a mini-muffin). I was so dismayed by the terrible aesthetic aftermath that I didn't taste them. Tom came home from work, ignored their bad looks, gobbled one and said, "that's delicious." So, I tried one. And it was good. But it wasn't like that one in NY. Boo. I will try again because now the ante has been upped.

I felt very spirited about Party Tuesday. After I picked the boys up from school, we went to get Ol new sneakers and then headed home to get the celebration started. The boys just did not cotton to the German Chocolate cupcake (I think I've always loved GC) but the strawberry and rice krispie treats were a hit as were the vanilla cupcakes Ol insisted we make this past Sunday. We never bothered to frost them which is frankly all the better because Baked & Wired is not shy re: sugar use. They are outstandingly good cupcakes but I can eat no more than 2/3 of one at a time or I feel like I'm gonna die. So the austere vanilla ones were sort of a nice counterpoint.

Jack and I played Rush Hour, Ol watched some of The Little Mermaid, we cleaned a bit, and I started on dinner: mashed potatoes with kale and buttermilk; roast chicken with thyme-butter and garlic; end-of-summer tomatoes; and some nice Pinot Noir. It was a lovely, comforting, Hello Fall! kinda meal, and T and I had a fun date. Have y'all ever food processed or finely hand-chopped steamed kale and added it to your mashed potatoes? It is delicious! I just threw fresh kale into the boiling potato water near the end, drained it and then put it in my processor with some buttermilk, whizzed it until nicely chopped and stirred it into just-riced potatoes and boiled garlic. White pepper, salt, a pat of butter... et voila! And just look at the skin on my chicken!! He's gorgeous!

Hilarious

Y'all, look what one of Tom's aunts mailed the kids. A mother of two sons now grown, she's often told me that a sense of humor is a must in raising boys. This is priceless!

If you missed the story that inspired this gift, read here!

Veg-out!

Both at and after dinner, friends. Little Ol was up several times last night with a fever and felt fairly awful today. Then the Cinderella dress arrived, I helped him get it on and he immediately shrieked, "TAKE IT OFF! IT HURTS!" Feverish skin and lace don't mix, but also most boys have no idea how much girls deal with in dresses. He was dismayed, but not so much so that he didn't readily agree to a return; the slippers we'll keep, but that dress is history. I suspect the search will commence anew in the near future. The rest of my day involved bike rides, yard work, Tae Kwon Do, monitored match-striking, grocery shopping and various other activities. I'm going to bed stat. Tonight for din, I made some old faves: roasted, curried cauliflower; and zucchini-feta fritters (tonight, griddle cakes instead). A very good meal!

I'm reading Unorthodox right now, a memoir about a woman raised in a Satmar community in Brooklyn who ultimately leaves it. In part because I majored in Religious Studies with an emphasis on American Judaism and in part because I like Deborah Feldman's writing style, I'm immersed in it and am going back to it now. The reviews were very weak, but so far, I really can't tell why.

I'll keep you posted. I've also been meaning to write an attempted explication of my thoughts on Syria, but that's been a bigger fish than I've had time to fry lately.