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Sunday is Mother’s Day. You may be taking Mom to brunch or preparing a feast. Making tasty, nourishing meals can often be a harried experience.
“The Mom 100 Cookbook: 100 Recipes Every Mom Needs in Her Back Pocket” by Katie Workman is perfect for the occasion. She cleverly came up with solutions for all cooking-for-kids dilemmas that everyone faces daily.
This visually inspiring book is not just for moms. Dads, aunts, uncles and cousins should keep a copy in the kitchen whenever kids come to visit.
Workman, 44, lives in New York City with her husband Gary and their sons Jack, 12 and Charlie, 9. She’s a busy working mother who loves to cook and understands the fatigue parents sometimes feel following a day and work and must face the stove.
“I wrote a book which is the go to answer for day to day cooking for kids and family,” Workman said during a telephone interview. “Certain issues can drive you to this book. A school bake sale or potluck which you forgot about. These things creep up on you.”
Workman solves breakfast dilemmas along with the kinds of foods kids want to find in their lunch which won’t end up in the cafeteria trash can. She has sound opinions on how to insure children eat well every day.
“I like to take my kids to ethnic markets and farmers markets because they can sample a new food and we often buy it and take it home,” she said.
Getting kids involved in the selection of foods and preparing dishes are important.
“Buffets are a good choice because they can try something and if they like it will go back and try something else,” she said. “Having children of all ages at the table is also good because younger ones see the older ones. They may look up to him as the cool guy.”
Workman encourages her sons to play with ingredients adding new twists to classic favorites.
“There is fun with mac and cheese,” she said. “It is pretty forgiving and the kids have fun adding bacon, garlic, chopped tomatoes — they like to spice things up.”
As we chatted I realized Workman and I had much in common. We grew up eating many of the same foods and learned to cook from "The Silver Palate Cookbook" written by Julee Russo and the late Sheila Lukins published by Workman Publishing. Workman’s father Peter founded the company 44 years ago. Workman knew Lukins well. I met her on a number of occasions and spent more than an hour over iced tea at the Four Seasons Hotel interviewing her when the 25th anniversary of the “Silver Palate Cookbook” was published.
“I can tell you the moment I really missed her,” Workman said. “My manuscript was finished and I wanted to send it to her for a quote.”
Here’s Workman’s recipe for Monday Night Brisket, which you should make on Sunday.
Monday Night Brisket
Ingredients:
1 teaspoon of olive oil
2 teaspoons of minced garlic
1 teaspoon of dried thyme
1 teaspoon of kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon of ground black pepper
1 first-cut brisket, about 4 to 5 pounds
2 cups of chopped onions
4 large carrots, peeled and thickly sliced
3 bay leaves
3 tablespoons of tomato paste
1 cup of low-sodium beef or chicken stock
1 28-ounce can of crushed tomatoes with their juice
1 cup of dry red wine
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
Place the first five ingredients in a small bowl and stir to mix. Rub the mixture over the brisket.
Place the brisket, fat side up, in a large roasting pan or Dutch oven with a tight fitting lid. Toss in the onions, carrots and bay leaves. Blend the tomato paste into the broth and pour over the meat. Add the crushed tomatoes and wine. The liquid should cover the meat and most of the vegetables. Cover and bake until the meat is very tender, for about three hours.
Serves eight to 10.
Note from Phyllis: Brisket, like many braised dishes, soups and stews, tastes better made the day before. Monday Night Brisket is a great idea. Skim the fat from the liquid, slice the meat while cool and gently reheat.
Spice Rubs for Chicken
Spiced Curry Rub Ingredients:
4 teaspoons of curry powder
4 teaspoons of chili powder
1 teaspoon of ground cumin
1 teaspoon of allspice
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt
Cajun Rub Ingredients:
1 teaspoon of garlic powder
2 teaspoons of onion powder
2 teaspoons of dried thyme
2 teaspoons of dried oregano
2 teaspoons of sweet paprika
1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon of kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper
Warm Spice Rub Ingredients:
2 tablespoons of sweet paprika
2 teaspoons of ground ginger
2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon of kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
Directions:
Combine all of the ingredients in a small bowl. Makes enough Spice Rub for 3-1/2 to 4 pounds of chicken parts.
Note from Phyllis: The ingredients are slightly different, but the directions for all three versions are the same. SPR
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