Recent-ish Adventures

Two months without a post? Ridiculous. Things have been busy in our world lately - and blogging is, apparently the first thing to go when I have too much to do. Well, blogging and folding laundry.

Instead of blogging and folding laundry, we have been doing these things:

Clockwise from the top left:

Dixon drinking a blood orange fizz at Silver Queen Cafe. (Remains a terrific BYOB.)

Gorgeous hamachi crudo at Pen & Quill. (First visit in a while - and it was really, really good.)

Spying on the fish cutting operations at J.J. McDonnell. (Locally owned, impressively operated.)

Raffle baskets lined up for Fake St. Patrick's Day at Ryleigh's Oyster. (This year, benefiting House of Ruth - it was an enormous success).

Cooper at Dylan's Oyster House. (Short, good menu, fantastic space, instant classic of a restaurant.)

Iberico ham at La Cuchara. (Literally melts in your mouth. La Cuchara is still breathtaking, with fabulous food and service.)

Bmore BRD sandwich at R. House. (Breakfast, lunch and yoga at R. House/Movement Lab has become my Wednesday routine. I'm here right now. It's amazing.)

Laura Black photographing Dixon - and waffles - at Iron Rooster. (Our (cool) progeny collaborations are bringing me so much joy.)

Crab soup and pizza at Silver Queen. (Seriously, go there.)

And in the middle...the cheese knife Dixon made for Mike and Alicia. (It's pretty awesome.)

Good times, all around. Just busy ones.

Out and About in September

We have been going out like crazy lately and I've been terribly remiss about blogging about it. So here's a quick(?) recap of what we ate and did during September.

Parts & Labor for Burgers
In case you missed it, Dixon and I are collaborating on a series of articles for (cool) progeny. Each article highlights some of our favorite spots for a specific meal. First, we tackled mac and cheese. Next up was burgers.

One of the burgers on our list was the locally-raised monster at Parts & Labor in Remington. We used the article as an excuse for dinner at P&L - and it was as good as ever. The pre-dinner charcuterie was perfect, as it always is. Dixon's burger was ridiculous and Cooper's lamb was gorgeous. But I won the night with sausage-stuffed chicken over ratatouille. It was a simple but genius combination of summer and fall flavors. Everything about it was great.

CFF Passion for Food and Wine 
There are so many worthwhile causes out there and I am continually impressed by how Baltimore's restaurant community steps up to support them. The community rallies especially hard for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation - and rightly so.

The organization is one of the best I know - thin on bureaucracy (over 90% of funds raised go directly to research) and thick on results. There have been very real, significant strides in developing treatments for cystic fibrosis over the past several decades and CFF's fundraising efforts have fueled those developments.

But what does this have to do with what we ate in September? Early in the month, we were lucky enough to be invited to CFF's Passion for Food and Wine, an event that is so much fun and raises so much money. It's mind-boggling.

I've written about Passion here and here - but here's a quick overview: five years ago, a bunch of Baltimore chefs got together for an event to raise money for CFF. They wanted to do something unusual, so they decided instead of a standard "we fix bites and people mill around and visit our stations" cocktail event, they'd put together a multi-course, sit-down dinner - and they'd cook the dinner in front of the guests.

Each participating restaurant has its own table. Twelve guests sit around the table - shaped like a square-ish "U" - and watch the chef prepare the meal. This year, we were at the Colette table, where Chef Stefano Porcile absolutely crushed it. CRUSHED.

So much foie.

While this is happening, Sergio Vitale of Aldo's and Jerry Pellegrino of Schola hop up on a stage and auction off amazing experiences, like having Chef Cindy Wolf cook dinner for you and 12 of your friends. There's also a silent auction - this year we won some crystal from Smyth and a seafood tower and whiskey tasting at Loch Bar.

The event raises an unreal amount of money - hundreds of thousands of dollars, just in one night. And it is one of the most fun parties out there. I get a little emotional watching how committed everyone is to both the cause and the food. Everyone involved, from the CFF staff to the chefs to the other guests, is so dedicated and excited about the cause. "Passion" really is an apt name for the event.

Les Folies for Nan's 98th
In mid-September, my grandmother turned 98 and Dixon just happened to have the day off school.

My mom had also taken the day off work, so the four of us went to lunch at one of Nan's favorite restaurants, Les Folies in Annapolis.

Nan is a restaurant aficionado. I can't count how many times I have been out to lunch or dinner with her. Les Folies has long been one of her go-tos partly for convenience - it's on Riva Road, close to where she used to live - but mostly because their classic French food is consistently excellent.

Of course, what I ate wasn't classic, though the preparation was French, I suppose: sauteed softshell in a white wine and butter sauce. My mom had the same. Classic or no, it was fantastic.

Bookmakers with the Tribe
There are only a handful of William & Mary grads in the Baltimore area; most people end up in DC or New York or...somewhere else. And my college friends who do live in the area are scattered all over. As a result,we don't see each other much - if at all.

But one random Tuesday night last month, it just so happened that a friend from Austin would be visiting another friend in Columbia. Next thing we knew, we were having a little reunion at Bookmakers in Federal Hill, where the food is good and the drinks are amazing.

As is always the case when I do see W&M friends, it was super fun - and a great reminder that my college friends are crazy smart and interesting and they make the world a better place

Dining Out for Life at Silver Queen Cafe
Moveable Feast's annual restaurant-oriented fundraiser, Dining Out for Life, was September 15th. It's a good one - local restaurants donate a percentage of their take for the evening to the cause, which makes it easy to do a little bit of good.

This year, we went to Silver Queen Cafe in Hamilton, where we gorged on crab dip and pizza and pasta and fried chicken.

Silver Queen was packed, dinner was great, and we remembered that Hamilton is only about 10 minutes from where we live, so we should go there more often. It's good!

Jack's Bistro with Friends
Cooper and I have been to a lot of restaurants, but considering how quickly the food scene in Baltimore is growing, there's just no way we could possibly keep up with every place that's new.

But you'd think that, by now, we'd have been everywhere that's been around, and well-regarded, for at least a few years. But we haven't. We keep a short list of places we really need to go and, slowly but surely, we're checking them off.

We are not the only people who keep these lists. So when we coordinated schedules with our friends Rich and Lisa and their friends Doug and Kacey, we also coordinated our "places we haven't been" lists.

One of the places all of us needed to visit was Jack's Bistro in Canton. Everyone I know loves it and I've always felt a little embarrassed that I hadn't been. I was correct to feel that way. Jack's is fantastic and everyone should go.

It's tiny and pretty cramped, but in a charming way, and the food is really good and so are the drinks. I had pasta with pesto and duck that I loved so much - and everything on the menu looked excellent.

So that was one place we got to cross off our list. Of course, now we want to go back.

La Food Marketa for Tacos
In the five years that it's been open, Food Market in Hampden has established itself as one of the very best - and very most reliable - restaurants in Baltimore. It's not a surprise, then, that people were excited to hear that Chad Gauss, the chef/owner of Food Market, had plans to expand. And into the County, no less!

We visited La Food Marketa, Gauss's new south-of-the-border-influenced spot in Quarry Lake, about two weeks after it opened. It was a beautiful night and the restaurant was jammed. And it was good!

The menu is fun, with lots of flavor, and we liked everything we ate. But I really loved the drinks. The spicy, smoky pineapple margarita was absolutely killer. It might not be for everyone, but if, like me, spicy and smoky and pulpy drinks do it for you, you need to try this one.

Starlite Diner for Brunch
The second Shoo-Fly locked it's Belvedere Square doors in May of 2015, locals started speculating about what would take its place. Earlier this year, we got our answer: Starlite, a restaurant that promised to hew closer to the "diner" concept than Shoo-Fly did, while still being a little more upscale than your average roadside diner.

After an interior facelift - which looks great- and a few months to sort out the menu, etc., Starlite opened in late September. On its third day, I headed there for lunch with my friend Bert, who lives in San Diego but happened to be in town, just for a couple days.

As soon as we walked in, the host, manager and waitress all jumped to introduce themselves to us - and to let us know that since they just opened, we would be receiving 20% off our bill, as a thanks for our patience. Smart, I thought. Very smart.

Service did take a long time that day; the waitress explained that the kitchen remade my dish, crawfish benedict, because they weren't happy with the first iteration. I don't know what round one looked like, but I was happy with the plate that made it to the table:

Overall, we liked everything we ate and liked the staff, too. In the couple weeks since then, I've heard mixed reviews from friends who have been, though by and large, it seems that the negatives are things that will get sorted out as the staff - both front of house and kitchen - gains experience.

And I remain hopeful that the building has found a concept that will stick around for a while.

Farm to Chef Maryland
Toward the end of the month, Cooper and I had the opportunity to go to Farm to Chef Maryland, a big food event held at the B&O Railroad Museum, benefiting Days of Taste.

Days of Taste is a program run by the non-profit TasteWise Kids. The goal of Days of Taste is to encourage young kids to appreciate the benefits of fresh food. Since I have a young kid, I know exactly how lofty a goal that is - and also how important.

Before we got to the event, I already knew that the restaurant community loves it. It's setup as a competition; each participating restaurant is matched with a farm and a panel of judges decides who does the best job on a handful of categories. The restaurant uses ingredients from the farm to create a small bite or a cocktail. Local breweries and wineries are also in attendance, so there are a lot of drink options a lot of food options.

We tried a ton of good stuff. My favorites included a really nice, simple quesadilla from Nacho Mama's, delicious sausage from Hersh's, a super-interesting take on watermelon from Alma Cocina Latina and this apple and oyster concoction from Conrad's:

It was a good party, packed with fun food people and I was so busy talking that I hardly took any photos. The oyster was it for the food photos.

I did, however, also take this one to send to Dixon, after he texted me to complain that the chicken tikka masala I ordered for him was "weird" and "not like the other place." I chose not to take that opportunity to regale him with the wonders of veal parm TV dinners, which is what I ate on babysitter nights when I was a kid.

I swear. Kids today. (And that's Black Ankle Crumbling Rock in that glass. It is so good. So good.)

Modern Cook Shop  Party
Farm to Chef was on a Monday and it kicked off a crazy busy week. On Tuesday, Amy and I headed down to Fells for a party at Modern Cook Shop, the new market-restaurant combo from the owners of Fork & Wrench.

I spent most of our time there trying to subtly scarf down as much charcuterie as possible. There were also oysters, gorgeous scallops and really excellent cocktails. So the food is good. But the space might even be better. I love the market-restaurant concept, especially since the "market" part of it isn't just an afterthought.

The shelves are stacked with rows of wine, olive oil, condiments and all kinds of useful items, many of which are made locally.

It makes for a space that's both good-looking and functional. I really liked it.

8 ball Meatball
After the Modern Cook Shop party, Amy and I ambled over to 8 Ball Meatball, the newish meatball shop and bar on Broadway. 8 Ball's concept: it's all about meatballs. You choose your meat, your sauce and any sides you'd like and next thing you know, you've got a plate of meatballs in front of you.

I took the bartender's advice, pairing the spicy pork meatball with a cream sauce and spinach. Everything was very nice (except my picture, which was awful). Best of all, it was seasoned properly. Just spicy enough, just enough salt.

The Ambassador for Dixon's 10th
At the very end of the month, Dixon turned 10. He's so old.

It took the three of us a long time to figure out where to eat for his birthday. Where do you go for a kid who's been everywhere, but still won't eat vegetables unless they are stuffed in ravioli or cooked down in some sort of sauce?

The answer, we decided, was the Ambassador. DRP loves Indian food - he would eat it every night if we let him.

Cooper and I hadn't been to the Ambassador for years, but it was just as stately as we remembered. Were we the youngest people in the place? Well, yes, but that doesn't bother me. Our service was lovely and my grilled shrimp was beautifully prepared.

And that was a wrap for September. So far in October, we've taken things slightly easier (though we did go to Clavel twice last week). I've even been cooking at home, occasionally. But with new places opening all the time - and our list of old places we haven't been still lurking - how easy can we take it?

This (Past) Week: DRP Turns Nine

It's been a big week at our house. A big, long, exhausting week full of celebrating Dixon turning nine. Nine! Those years have flown by.

His actual birthday was on Tuesday. At his request, we headed down to Fells to have dinner at Papi's Tacos. It's his favorite queso in the city. It was raining, but Papi's little back patio is covered, so we could sit out there anyway. It was kind of a steamy hotbox, but none of us really minded. The queso and tacos and - for me - boozy jalapeno limeade made it easy to forget about the humidity.

Wednesday and Thursday were standard-busy with work and work dinners - and birthday party prep. Dixon's party was on Friday afternoon and the theme this year was Sharks and Zombies. He didn't want to have any set games, so instead we (I) created two photo booth type areas - one shark-related and one zombie, related. 

I found a lot of pretty sweet zombie and shark attack accessories - and I was especially pleased with the blood spattered shower curtain I got from Amazon. Seven dollars seriously well spent.

For the sixth year in a row, Dixon and Alicia collaborated on his birthday cake. This year, unfortunately, I made the wrong size cake, so the decorations were a little oversized. But they were still pretty pleased with their work.

What the picture can't show: how insanely good Alicia's buttercream is.

We have had Dixon's parties at our house every year since he was born. There is, frequently, a chance of rain during the party. But the weather always comes through for us, so the kids can run around the yard. 

Always, that is, until this year. Instead, we had a couple dozen nearly-tween boys wreaking havoc on our basement while they beat each other with Nerf weapons. It was...loud. Fortunately, in the end, no one required stitches or a trip to the hospital or anything. 

Still, I have learned my lesson. That was the last year for that kind of party. Dixon agrees. Cooper really agrees.

When they had cake to focus on, though, they almost look angelic.

And then the night ended.

Just kidding. I really didn't close it out with wine coolers. I closed it out with red wine. But Bill brought me this awesome four-pack of Black Cherry Fizz as a "good luck with the party" gift. He's a good friend like that. I will be saving these for a rainy day.

So now Dixon is nine - and my basement is still a wreck. But he's happy. (Until tomorrow, when I make him start writing his thank you notes.)

Straight Up Summer

As of today, summer has officially started Chez Pollard. School is out and we are shifting into vacation mode. (And by that I mean, Dixon starts his first camp on Monday.)

Of course, summer unofficially started a few weeks ago, with the earliest Memorial Day weekend imaginable. We went to Fenwick, where we had dinner with the Kennedys at Ropewalk and got to visit Jeff and Christine at their new house in Delaware. Plus, we started the weekend with a very nice, refined dinner at The Narrows and closed out with a fun lunch at Stoked in Cambridge (their wings...get them).

Since then, I have spent as much time as possible at the pool, drinking rose, and making the most of the huge amount of basil, mint and other herbs growing in our backyard. (All thanks to Cooper...I remain a non-gardener.)

This is what's been happening:

Top row, left to right: Dixon and his Sunsations/Maryland crab gun in Fenwick; braving the ocean; rose + pesto, which makes the best easy summer dinner

Middle: Dixon and Gray at Ropewalk Fenwick, where we had a fun, crazy dinner with the Kennedys and Missy and the girls; Mimi and Charlotte in the Ropewalk playground's picture board 

Bottom: Me with Mimi and Charlotte before Ropewalk (the matching stripes weren't even on purpose!); Dixon with a ginormous shrimp (shrimp cocktail is his new thing); Cooper getting his grill on with Maddy and her friend at the pool

Summer. It's just the best.

Birthday Babies

I am so behind in posts. Trust me, I'm feeling the anxiety, as I look at the photos I haven't shared and the recipes I haven't written about.

But it's been a busy few weeks - not least because we had back to back birthday weekends. First, my mom turned 65 and we celebrated by throwing a small party for her, at her house. My brother and sister and I collaborated (with help, of course, from Cooper, Clark and Cail), making way, way too much food and having a lot of fun.

Then, this past Monday, Dixon turned eight. Over the weekend, we had two parties - a boys-only get-together featuring a video game truck, lots of pizza, and a boatload of Nerf weaponry, followed by a tamer Sunday party with our little group of friends and a lot of cheeseburgers.

The parties:

Clockwise, starting at the top left: My brother's perfectly cooked tenderloin (#nofilter!!!); Dixon just before school on Monday morning; Cail's very simple, very delicious crab; the inside of the video game bus; the singing of happy birthday; a monster antipasto platter; Erin's homemade cheese straws at my mom's, 

At my mom's party, we started with a cocktail, dubbed "The Medicare Eligibility Elixir" - it was a combination of vodka, sparkling clementine juice, ginger beer and pomegranate juice. To eat, we had the crab, antipasto platter (lots of hearts of palm, which we all love), cheese and crackers, cheese straws, heart of palm dip, and parmesan and celery stuffed dates. THEN we had cider-braised pork with caramelized onions and Cooper's barbecue sauce, Tom's grilled tenderloin, Cail's garlicky mashed potatoes and a really bright cucumber and cabbage slaw by Erin.

At Dixon's party, the menu was not quite as fancy. Pizza from Pizans and some chips. 

They were equally well-received.

And of course, at both parties, there was cake:

For my mom, my sister made a chocolate hazelnut cake with buttercream frosting, topped with candied hazelnuts (Hazelnut and chocolate are my mom's go-to flavors. If she had a blog, it would be called Chocolate and Hazelnuts.) It was awesome, both flavor-wise and texturally.

For Dixon's birthday, he and Alicia collaborated on the main cake - for the fifth year in a row! This year's extravaganza was a camo cake made using Duff's cake mix (which I made), with buttercream frosting and silver sprinkles, topped with a giant Xbox controller made out of rice krispie treats and covered in fondant. It was impressive.

For Dixon's party #2 - the Sunday friends and family celebration - AKB made vanilla bean cupcakes with buttercream frosting topped with purple Ravens sprinkles. Some of her best work yet.

Two big weekends, back to back, can be exhausting. And it's not over yet! Yesterday was Cail's birthday and next Monday is Cooper's mom's. It's birthday season chez Pollard. Good thing we always have room for cake.

Making the Most of August

The end of summer means amazing food...and a mad rush to do everything everything everything before school starts again. Here's a smattering of what we've done and eaten recently, starting middle top and working clockwise:

1. We're sailing! Last weekend, for the first time all summer, I had a chance to go out on the boat with my dad and brother and sister - plus Cooper and Clark (Cail was on her way home from vacation, so she didn't make it). There was absolutely no wind but it was a beautiful day, so a good time was had by all.

2. Early August cupcakes at the pool. We've been all over the happy hour/dinner hour at the pool this summer, including one random Tuesday night in early August, when Alicia made some of her best cupcakes yet. They were snickerdoodle cake with light cocoa buttercream...and so good.

3. Jalapeno jelly time. Every year, Mary's parent's neighbors, Frito and Cindy, turn a bunch of their jalapenos into a kick-ass jelly to be served over cream cheese. A little spicy, a little sweet and old school in the very best way. It's awesome.

4. Haircuts. Our deal this summer was that as long as Dixon was good, we wouldn't make him have his hair cut until it was time to go back to school. It is now time to go back to school. Yesterday, he had his mop chopped off and styled at Salon Method...and it looks great in the cutest little boy band way. He is less enamored, since his fierce lax mullet is now gone. But he looks so cute! (And it will grow back.)

5. Pie! Post-sailing, Cail arrived at my parents' house, bringing lots of fun with her, in the form of her dad...and pie! She had been on vacation in Little Compton, Rhode Island (my brother was with her for a week then he had to go back to work, so her dad joined her for a week). In Little Compton, they frequent a pie stand called Wilma's at Walker's. She brought two pies for dinner - one blueberry and one peach raspberry. They were so good words can't do them justice. Seriously, just amazing.

6. Tooloulou at Belvedere Square. One of the city's most fun carry-outs, Tooloulou, has recently relocated to Belvedere Square. I'm thrilled that it's so close by. The other night, we gorged on fig and goat cheese pizza, a muffaletta sandwich, dirty rice and a whole lot of pecan pie. Welcome to the neighborhood, Tooloulou!

7. How 'bout them O's? Seriously, how about them? We're not huge baseball fans but I love all the energy around the Orioles right now. It's so fun. We took Dixon to his first game recently. Though he lost steam somewhere around the fourth inning, he was quite taken with the swag - and the food. His new fave snack: the pretz-cho. Soft pretzels, nacho cheese...what more could you really want?

8. Busting out the good stuff. Back in early 2006, just before I found out I was pregnant, we started buying Bordeaux futures from Wells. All of a sudden, this year, we realized that it was just about time to start actually drinking some of those wines, including the 2003 Cap de Faugeres - a part of our first big purchase. Early in August, we celebrated Mary's birthday with dinner at our house and a couple bottles of the wine. It was delicious, of course, and felt very special. It's weird to start actually drinking something you've been cellaring for years. Makes dinner feel super fancy.

9. Tomatoes, tomatoes, tomatoes (in the center). We are growing them - successfully - but I also can't help buying them. They're just so gorgeous. And they taste so good. I'm in a rush to eat as many as possible before this gorgeous time of year ends.

Because it is ending...and soon. Dixon goes back to school next week and we will be back in our regular routines. I'm ready for the structure and I love the fall. But still, some days, it's easy to wish that summer would last forever.

SEVEN

Just over eight years ago, I started this blog. A few months later, 

I woke up at 5 a.m., took a pregnancy test, and discovered that we 

were going to have a baby.

Food blogging and baby gestating don't mix that well. I took most of the

year off from writing.

Late that September, Dixon was born, not yet realizing

he was destined to have his life documented on the internet.

(To be fair, I actually only document a little bit of it - and even

then, only the good stuff. I never talk about our never-ending

fights about his lack of vegetable eating, for example.)

Anyway, this weekend was his birthday. He's old enough now that birthday

parties are straight drop-off - and he opted to have a boys-only

party for the first time ever.

The theme: Survival (just like last year).

The cake: Camo.

As per usual, Dixon and Alicia collaborated on the cake - and it

truly was a work of art. The decorating took place in a flurry

of fondant and frosting spray paint, with a few fig leaves and figs as garnishes.

After the boys-only party, we hosted a second round of celebrations,

this time with our families and a couple friends. D and Alicia

made another cake for this party - one that was more of a 

free-form glitter bomb:

Admittedly, the second cake wasn't quite as exciting as the first -

you can see that Grayson is more interested in weapons and even

Dixon isn't paying much attention to his lit candles. 

But slathered in homemade buttercream, it was better than cake #1.

This was Dixon and Alicia's fourth cake collaboration - 

they've been decorating together for more than half of 

Dixon's life! It's special for him - something he really loves.

Which makes me think I should put Alicia on "get my kid to eat 

vegetables" duty, too.

Chevre Disaster

This made me think I could make goat cheese:

This made me realize I could not:

 

Let me back up. Just before Christmas, I got a Food52 Shop email hawking

the Belle Chevre goat cheese box. It would be a fun activity for Dixon and I

to do together, I thought. He likes science. Cheese-making is kind of science.

 

So I bought the box and gave it to him for Christmas. Then I ordered the milk from

Atwaters (who couldn't have been nicer) and last Sunday, he and I set about

making some goat cheese.

 

According to the instructions, it's as easy as adding some citric acid to milk,

then heating it up.

 

You're supposed to heat it to 185 (they even give you a thermometer),

stirring continuously, then let it sit for 10 minutes.

 

After that, you pour the liquid into a cheesecloth-lined bowl, where

you let it sit for a bit longer, then you strain out the liquid.

 

Except for me, at that point, it was still all liquid.

 

And it remained that way.

 

Maybe I heated the milk too quickly?

That's the only thing I could've done incorrectly.

 

Oh - and fun family activity? HAHAHAHAHAHA.

 

After about 30 seconds, Dixon's arm hurt from stirring,

so he asked if he could go back downstairs to play video games.

 

Sigh.

 

At least Cooper helped.

 

Helped me make a big bowl of hot, acidic goat's milk, that is.

How to Throw an Awesome Kid's Birthday Party

Dixon turned six (SIX!) over the weekend and his party pretty much rocked, if I do say so myself. It was a combination Survivorman/Star Wars party and as far as I could tell, everybody had a blast. And there were exactly zero fights.

Now that I have a few of these birthday parties under my belt, I feel pretty confident in my ability to organize a good one. And how do I organize a good kid's party? I'm glad you asked. Here are my tips:

1. Kids Create Great Themes.

If all of your boys' birthday knowledge comes from the party aisle at Target, you'd think that all the parties were Star Wars, Spongebob or Angry Birds-themed.

The reality, of course, is much different.

Dixon loves Target as much as the rest of us - he can't resist paper Star Wars napkins - but like other kids his age, he doesn't get boxed into just one theme. Take last year's party, for example. Here's the image we used in the invitation:

That's right, the theme was Indiana Jones/Pirates of the Caribbean/Star Wars/Lego. Inclusive.

This year? Star Wars + Survivorman. Obviously.

And isn't that more fun that Spongebob?

2. Keep It Simple.

The party is for kids, not for other moms on Pinterest.

Throw a couple balls in the backyard, or some crayons and paper in the playroom, and you will be in great shape.

Or, if you're feeling ambitious, create a "shelter" for the kids to decorate (how else were we going to turn Survivorman into an activity?). My handiwork:

It's burlap draped over tomato cages and "decorated" with plastic leaves that I scattered around the yard before the party. High concept, huh?

Ugly as anything, but the little ladies loved it...and the boys liked it, too. And as it turns out, tomato cages are pretty sturdy!

3. Get Used to the Glitter.

Dixon is a very lucky boy because I do not decorate his cake. I'm not much of a cake-decorater, you see. But you know who is? Alicia.

For the past three years, she has come over on the morning of his party for some one-on-one cake decorating action. Here's the team with this year's cake:

And what's that cake, you ask? It's the Luke Skywalker trapped in the wampa cave on the ice planet Hoth - from Star Wars. With some personalization:

Dixon is in charge of the cake's theme - and he plays an active "sprinkles" role in the decorating process. After he and Alicia finished decorating, our kitchen floor was more glittery than Studio 54.

Decorating with Dixon can be a challenge for Alicia, who is a very careful and restrained decorator when left to her own devices. But it's hard to resist Dixon's enthusiasm for sparkle.

Here's a close-up of Luke in the wampa cave (the cave is made from rice krispie treats):

Complete with red sanding sugar "blood" - and a dead body.

Because nothing says "happy 6th birthday" like a bloody skeleton. Apparently. (This is where I admit I do not really understand boys - Dixon could not have been more thrilled with the cake.)

4. Don't Overthink the Menu.

In most situations, I am all about overthinking. I will happily spend all day Friday shopping and chopping and cooking fancy hors d'oeuvres for a quick afternoon happy hour. But there is really no reason to go all gourmet for a houseful of kids.

Clear out the Trader Joe's dip aisle for the parents and order enough pizza for everybody. Just make sure you buy the good dips (I love the caramelized onion dip with TJ's ridge cut potato chips, the spinach and Greek yogurt dip with carrots and pita chips, and the blue cheese and walnut dip with celery). And order from a decent pizza shop, even if they don't deliver (Fortunato's is our go-to).

5. Parents Are Party People, Too.

The biggest expense at this year's party? The booze bill. Not that we drank everything I bought on my most recent trip to Wells. But we might have.

6. Keep It on Schedule.

As all my friends know, I am a sucker for spreadsheet schedules. For most parties, I create a timeline, starting three days out, that outlines what I need to accomplish in 15 minute increments.

Yes, I'm kind of crazy. And no, I never completely stick to the schedule.

Since I don't do a wild amount of cooking for Dixon's parties, my pre-party timelines aren't so intense. But I am a stickler for during-the-party timelines. This weekend, the timeline looked like this:

3 PM - Guests start to arrive
3:30 PM - Chase the kids out of the basement and into the backyard to play Survivorman
4 PM - Cooper picks up the pizzas
4:20 PM - Pizza for everyone
4:40 PM - Time to sing and serve cake
5 PM - Parents pick up the kids

This year, during parent pickup, Dixon ended up opening presents. That was nice, since he was able to say thank you right away, and his friends were excited to see his reaction to their gifts. In the past, when parties were bigger, he opened gifts after the guests left, just so we didn't spend the whole time on gifts.

The party didn't end at 5, of course. The last guests (Kyle and Mary) didn't go home until about 9 - Dixon conked out an hour before they left:

7. Say Goodbye with Starburst

It's so easy to create a goody bag that's a hit with kids: Just add candy. Doesn't even have to be a lot of candy, but it's better to give the kids lots of small pieces than one big thing.

Because while it's fun to eat the candy, trading it is even more satisfying. And a five year old can make eight individual Starbursts go a lot farther than one big bag of Skittles.

8. Brace Yourself for Thank Yous

Now that the wrapping paper has been cleaned up and the cake is (nearly) gone, we've moved on to the thank you note portion of the program. It is way less fun than the rest...but it's arguably the most important part.

This year is especially tough because Dixon can write, but  he doesn't know how to spell anything by himself. Though I want to just write the notes myself, I know that's a bad idea. So the Sharpie-scented slog continues.

And when they're all in the mail? It's time to start planning for next year.

First Day of School

Today is Dixon's first full day of school.

He's handling it fine.

I, on the other hand, am a little emotional.

But if nothing else, at least it's an appropriate day for my article

on ethnic-inspired school lunches to run in The Sun. Read it here.

Oh and did I take my own advice, packing Dixon something exotic and unusual?

Hell no. Peanut butter sandwich and cookies.

Of course, he did have leftover General Tso's chicken for breakfast.

So maybe it's the peanut butter that's actually exotic.

My Baltimore's Child Column!

I'm late in posting this - which is ridiculous since it's my own column - but for anyone who hasn't already seen it, my monthly food column for Baltimore's Child debuted in the June issue of the magazine.

The plans for the column are pretty far-reaching - anything related to food + parenting is fair game. This column, however, was mostly an introduction. An excerpt:

Food is complex. On one level, it’s a basic necessity: fuel for the body. For some people, their interest doesn't go very far beyond than that. But for most people today, food is much more than just a delivery mechanism for the calories we need to get through the day; it’s a way to explore new cultures, to learn about history and agriculture and how the world works.


Plus, bringing people together over a meal can strengthen existing relationships and create new ones. Food is educational, entertaining, creative, emotional and—best of all—fun.

So far, it's been fun to write. And research!

Dixon's First Sauce

Big milestones for little kids: first day of school, learning to ride a bike, making their first sauce.

Or maybe that last one is only a big deal at our house.

At any rate, Dixon crossed that big boy bridge this weekend, when he created

his very own dipping sauce for chicken nuggets. Here he is, proudly posing next to

"DRP's Awesome Chicken Nugget Dipping Sauce."

The sauce was such a hit that he had to make a second batch on Sunday.

The sauce is a combination of ketchup, spicy mustard, black pepper and a splash of pickle juice.

It's a little sweet and a little spicy and the pickle juice makes it interesting.

We didn't record the proportions - I think my favorite part of the whole weekend was watching Dixon taste and taste, while adding little bits of mustard and pepper. He did such a good job!

So proud.

Christmas Construction

Gingerbread houses have always been one of Dixon's favorite parts of Christmastime. This year, Cooper's mom took him to a gingerbread house decorating class. The house he came home with was a whole lot better than most of our previous efforts.

The front:

From the side:

A close-up of the "face" on the front (the Oreos are the eyes, the fudge stripe is the nose and the red is the mouth, in case you couldn't tell):

And the snowman, watching guard:

Dixon had a great time at the class, which was a great fit for him considering his love of all things symmetrical (and all things candy). I should point out, though, that because our young prince doesn't like getting his hands sticky (though he doesn't mind getting them dirty), he told Patsy where to put the decorations and she did the actual application.

What a delegator. Destined for management, that one.

The Foodie Baby at Five

Today is National Mocha Day, but in bigger news at our house, it's Dixon's 5th birthday. He's a total grownup now, though it doesn't feel like so long ago that he ate his first real food (mashed avocado).



He did a lot of smiling in those first couple of months. So agreeable...until he learned how to talk.



At his first birthday party, he asked for a fork to eat his cake. That's my boy!



Just after his first birthday...when he still deigned to wear shirts with buttons.

 

Here he is at about one and a half - chopping play dough with my cheese knives, while I fix dinner.

 

Just before he turned two at the beach - I wish he still liked to rake that much.



This is one of my favorite pictures, from just after Dixon's second birthday, when we'd sit on the deck, drinking some tea and eating some cake.

 

Not really enjoying his first oyster, at three.



With his masterpiece, Christmas before last.

Everyone loves bacon. This is right before Dixon's fourth birthday.

In his natural state: Indy hat + weaponry.

And now, a full-on big boy.

Happy birthday, Dixon!