Moroccan Meatballs

By Andrew Hunter
For The Family Table, a blog for busy families

Meatballs are made for boys and maybe for girls, too, but in our house boys rule the roost, except for Marilyn, of course, who’s really in charge. In addition to being an accomplished maker of spaghetti and meatballs, she experiments with a variety of seasonings, sauces and meat blends.

It’s always fun to watch Ben and Nick when Marilyn announces that dinner is meatballs; their faces light up, they typically yelp with joy a few times and Nick often breaks into a dance, or lately, does a break dance. Meatballs are also a fun interactive family dinner because the boys roll the meat mixture into balls and other odd shapes.

Click to read more ...

Dubliner Breakfast Toast

By Andrew Hunter
For The Family Table, a blog for busy families

One of my favorite food memories as a kid was making cheese toast with my brother. We would toast regular white bread, layer on thick slices of yellow cheese, then add “too much pepper and garlic salt, ” which was just enough by our standards, and then broil them in the oven until mouth-burning hot. I’m sure the cheese dripped down onto the floor of the oven making a mess for mom to worry about.

But alas, our tastes have grown up and we now have our own ovens to clean. So I have refined this childhood favorite in the spirit of St. Patrick. Instead of white sandwich bread, I slice artisan sourdough, and instead of sliced yellow Cheddar I grate Dubliner cheese and sprinkle with minced fresh garlic. The sharp, nutty flavor of the Dubliner takes this dish to a whole new level. Dubliner Breakfast toast is quickly becoming one of Ben and Nick’s childhood favorites too!

Click to read more ...

A Lenten Fish and Chips Dinner

By Andrew Hunter
For The Family Table, a blog for busy families

It’s great to be back! I just finished shooting the premiere season of a new reality show, Supermarket Superstar, airing soon on Lifetime Network. I’ll share more information as it gets closer to the launch date.

In the meantime, here’s a great family fish recipe just in time for Lent. As we approach the fourth Sunday of Lent and the Feast of Saint Patrick, we’ve been eating a lot of fish in our house, especially on Fridays. While I prefer a grilled salmon filet, there’s something to be said for Friday night fish and chips dinners.

Not surprisingly, if you asked our boys, they would tell you that fish and chips is their favorite seafood dish. There’s a great fish grill we can walk to from our house where the fish is fresh and the beer is cold.

Click to read more ...

Meatloaf in Half the Time

By Joanne Lamb Hayes
For The Family Table, a blog for busy families

Meatloaf has always been one of my family’s favorites, but as our schedule got busier and busier, the one-hour baking time made it scarce on the menu. When I discovered this easy trick, everyone was delighted to have meatloaf back on our table and looking a lot cuter.

I can’t take credit for the idea of baking meatloaf in cupcake pans; I must have seen it in a magazine somewhere. But I added another touch: pre-cooking the onion and carrots and then heating them with the salsa. Once I added the vegetables and salsa hot to the meat mixture, these little loaves cooked in 5 to 7 minutes less time than when everything was mixed in cold. And that made it a lot easier to have dinner on the table on time.

Click to read more ...

Seafood – a Family Tradition

By Debbie Goldsmith
For The Family Table, a blog for busy families

Ever since my son Brandon was very little, he had an affinity for seafood. I remember how surprised we were one evening in a New York City restaurant when, at the age of 10, he checked out the menu and ordered a dozen oysters on the half shell. We tried to explain to him what he had just chosen but he held his ground…and ate the whole thing (minus the two that my husband and I stole).

So, needless to say, we have some sort of seafood on the home menu at least once a week. And, this fish stew allows me to change up the seafood combination each time I prepare it.

Click to read more ...