Foodie Friday Archives - Page 3 of 6

Foodie Friday: Kennebunkport Food Festival

Earlier this month I was invited on a very fun and fabulous two day press trip to Kennebunkport, Maine, where I stayed at Hidden Pond. (You must go, but more about that in future posts). One of the highlights of the trip was attending the Grand Tapas Party, part of the Kennebunkport Food Wine Art Festival.

In a white tent along the Kennebunk River in downtown Kennebunkport. over 25 chefs offered up inventive and beautiful bites of food, each paired with specific wines. It’s a one price ($65) ticket, and once you get in, it’s all you can eat and drink. Everything I tried was absolutely delicious.

I think my favorites were the Nordic-inspired smoked salmon and blue potato dish (sorry I have no idea which restaurant provided them), and the vanilla buttercream frosting on the East End cupcakes. I am hoping to return for the Kennebunkport Festival next year. It was that good.

Photos by Marni Elyse Katz for StyleCarrot via Instagram

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Foodie Friday: Kid-Friendly Taco Salad

Both of my sons are pretty proficient in the kitchen. One loves to concoct things, like a mad scientist. He’s recently been experimenting with fruit infused water. I found a glass on the counter the other day with a vanilla flavored sparkling water he mixed, complete with recipe card tucked underneath. If you catch him on a good day, he might think it’s fun to set the table, with two forks and unneeded spoons, homemade recipe cards, and candles. Fire!

The other one, true to form, is much more practical. He can follow a recipe on the box (he excels at boxed cake mix and Rice-a-Roni), which is useful, because the kid is always hungry. We’ve recently started to teach him some more meal-like recipes too, like homemade chicken soup and tacos. Since he can be easily overwhelmed, we started out by giving him sous chef jobs. So far so good.

This is one of his favorite meals—taco salad. It’s a good dish to do together, because while I fry up the (organic, no antibiotic, grass-fed, etc. etc.) ground beef (he’s so not up to raw meat yet; thinks it’s gross), to which I add taco seasonings, he can get started on the washing and cutting of lettuce, tomatoes, and scallions, and microwave a handful of frozen corn. I cut the avocado, since that’s a bit trickier (not sure there’s any in this photo, we must have been out), sprinkle on the grated cheese, and we’re good to go. Takes a little bit of time due to the frying and chopping, but not too bad, but it’s healthy and filling for a 12-year-old.

T A C O S A L A D

Cooking, photo & styling by Marni Elyse Katz for StyleCarrot.

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Just In: Cooking with Raddish

My kids are both products of a Montessori lower school education, which means that technically, they should be expert and chopping, measuring, pouring, and the like. However, as we all know, skills don’t always spill over from school.

If you have kids who are keen to help out in the kitchen, or you simply (smartly) want to teach them to fend for themselves, Raddish is a fun way to get started. Created by the folks behind Kitchen Kid, a mobile culinary school for kids and families in L.A, Raddish brings the concept of edible education right to your kitchen.

Subscribers receive a monthly box 0f recipes and accoutrements to help you and your kids prepare easy and yummy foods for every type of eater. Each package contains three family-friendly recipe guides, skill card, two creative activities, shopping list, table talk card deck, and an iron-on patch for your child’s Raddish apron.

The whole thing is darn cute. Raddish sent me a starter kit, and while my boys are a bit older than the targeted demographic, I certainly enjoyed it, and am passing it along to a friend. It’s definitely a good idea, and while you certainly don’t need the fun accessories, it’s something for your children to look forward to and a nudge for you to motivate you to get cooking with them.

Here are some photos I took of my Raddish goodies.

Striped tray & ice cream scoop from IKEA; whisk from Raddish.

Dipped salad servers from IKEA; dipped box by from Urban Outfitters.

Mosaic placemat from Target; similar silicone funnel at Sur La Table.

Additional research by Liza Howard.

Photography & styling by Marni Elyse Katz for StyleCarrot.

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Organize and decorate and play >

Foodie Friday: Didriks Dinner Series

The lovely Alexandra Boeri from Didriks just sent over the official photos from last Saturday night’s dinner put on by Didriks at Austin Architects in Cambridge. These images are a lot more clear and well composed than the Instagram photos I posted yesterday. Enjoy the gorgeousness of the flowers by Laura Jean Floral & Design, decor by Nicole Rueda-Watts of Observatory, and table settings and food by Taryn Collins for Didriks.

Roasted Tomato and Cipollini Onion Crostini with Ricotta
Preserved Lemon Hummus

Shaved Fennel and Grapefruit

Seared Scallops over Saffron Risotto with Asparagus

Upside-Down Blood Orange Cake

Laura Jean

Nicole Rueda-Watts

Photography by Nathan Brescia

Foodie Friday Apple Picking at Smolak Farms

Two Saturdays ago, for my first fall weekend back in the city, I went apple picking at Smolak Farms in North Andover, Mass. It was a spectacular day. My son and I drove up to the North Shore to meet the always lovely publicist Nicole Kanner, who invited a handful of bloggers and writers to visit. Michael Smolak, whose grandparents bought the farm years ago, gave us a brief overview of the property, and sent us on our way. We picked two bags of lots of different apples, and two cartons of raspberries. I also carried off a few plums, my son fed the ducks, and we admired the burgeoning pumpkins.

In 1982 the Smolak Family preserved 107 of the 160 acres in cooperation with the State of Massachusetts Agricultural Preservation Restriction Program; the land will never be developed. For the past 35 plus years, Michael Smolak has overseen the development of the farm from a dairy farm to a multi-faceted property. There are many different crops that the public can come to pick: strawberries, raspberries, cherries, blueberries, currants, gooseberries, heirloom tomoatoes, peaches, apples, pumpkins, winter and ornamental squash, and Christmas trees. In addition to the regular apple orchards, there’s an separate orchard with 20 different varieties of antique apples.

There were numerous birthday parties happening, and a wedding scheduled for that evening. Hayrides, of course, a whole bunch of animals, a playground, a pond, and a farmstand, bakery, and ice cream stand. The apple cider and donuts were yummy. And, of course the fruit was too! Here are the photos I took that afternoon. If you’re around in the fall, I highly recommend a visit.

Michael Smolak of Smolak Farms

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