The Metamorphosis of the Picky Eater

This is a terrible admission to make, sort of like revealing "who done it" in a mystery story, but sometimes a thought grabs hold of you and it won't let go. The secret I am about to reveal came as rather a shock to the Picky Eater's dad and I - somehow over the last year, unbeknownst to us, the Picky Eater came out as a foodie!! It all started with her repeated readings of Anthony Bourdain's scandalous Kitchen Confidential and Bill Buford's Heat, the latter a heady mixture of tales from the depths of Mario Batali's NYC restaurant kitchen mixed with musings on Italian culinary history and recountings of internships learning the arts of pasta making and butchery in rural Italy.

Bolstered by years of watching America's Test Kitchen and vintage Julia Child episodes on PBS, the Picky Eater quietly started experimenting in the kitchen- a few sauteed shallots with her frozen peas, couscous cooked in tomato soup, some attempts at risotto. Then she started marking recipes in cookbooks with post-it notes. Before we knew it, there were piles of paper thin handmade pasta sitting on every open surface (granted there aren't too many of those in my kitchen), and requests for porcini mushrooms and sun dried tomatoes. Then she spent the summer making crepes and sauteed mushrooms for her friends, and generally bossing them around in the kitchen.

When asked about her evolution, the Picky Eater responded, "Well, with parents like you, wasn't it inevitable?" WE CERTAINLY DIDN'T THINK SO!! Her dad and I were convinced that once she left home her diet would consist entirely of bananas, Luna bars, baguettes, box macaroni and cheese, and 1% milk.

Handcrafted Butternut Squash Ravioli-
they taste as good as they look!

But, the Picky Eater, being who she is, has her own idiosyncratic style. Ingredients are confined to the narrow list of foods she likes, of course. Recipes are consulted, but never faithfully followed. Her mother's slavish care to have the exact ingredients a recipe asks for and careful measurements are met with ridicule. Ruefully, it must be admitted that her improvisational cooking is usually pretty successful. (But, of course, she hasn't tried baking a cake that way!)

So, without further ado, I present two of the Picky Eater Gourmet's standout recipes and one baking improvisation of her mother's (just to prove that she can do it!):


Butternut Squash Ravioli with Honey and Sage

For the pasta:
¾ cup semolina flour
1 ¼ cup All-purpose flour
3 eggs
½ Tb olive oil
Dash of salt

For the filling:
1 medium butternut squash
1 Tb oil
2 Tb butter
½ cup parmesan
½ cup bread crumbs
salt and pepper

For the sauce:
3 Tb butter
2 Tb honey
5 small sage leaves, cut into strips

1. Halve the squash and remove the seeds and the stringy stuff around them.
2. Rub the cut sides with oil and place the squash cut side down on a baking sheet.
3. Bake for 30-45 minutes or until soft.
4.  Scoop out 2 cups squash and beat with butter, parmesan and bread crumbs.  Flavor with salt and pepper to taste and set aside.
5.  Make the pasta dough my combining all the ingredients and kneading until it is flexible but not sticky.  If you need to add more water or flour do so.  If you have another pasta recipe you use that is probably fine.  Let sit for 45 min at the minimum, but longer is better.  Place it under plastic wrap to keep from drying out.
6. Roll out by hand or using a pasta machine.  I used the 2nd thinnest setting on our machine.

7.  Lay out dough strip and place filling along half it’s length.  I used 1 teaspoon per ravioli, with a 2” ravioli stamp.
8.  Fold over the strip of dough and stamp out the ravioli.  Press the edges dough to ensure they are closed.
9.  If there’s a wait between making the ravioli and cooking them, flour a baking sheet and place them in the fridge.  Be sure you flour the sheet or the ravioli will stick.
10.  Start heating a pot of water for the ravioli.  Put the butter in a skillet over medium heat.
11.  Once the butter is hot and bubbling, add the sage.  Wait until the sage begins to give off a strong aroma and add the honey.  Cook over medium heat until the ravioli is done.  If the honey begins to smell burnt add a little pasta water.
12.  When the water comes to a boil add salt and the ravioli and cook for 4-5 minutes or until the pasta casing is tender.  Remove with a slotted spoon, toss with honey and serve.

Adapted by Callie from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison.

Lavender Honey Ice Cream
This was one recipe where the Picky Eater measured her ingredients.

3 cups whipping cream
1 cup half-and-half
1 sprig lavender
9 large egg yolks
1 cup lavender honey

Makes 1 quart. Make the custard a day ahead.

Heat the cream and half-and-half to boiling in a saucepan with the sprig of lavender, and let steep 1 hour. remove the lavender and reheat the cream to boiling.

Whisk the egg yolks until completely blended. Then whisk in 1 cup of the hot cream, then whisk in the rest of the cream. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, 3-5 minutes. Do not boil (unless you want lavender flavored scrambled eggs.)

Strain the custard into a mixing bowl and place immediately in a larger bowl filled with ice water. Heat the honey over low heat until liquified, then stir into the custard. Chill the custard overnight in the refrigerator. Freeze in an ice cream maker, following the manufacturer's instructions.

From The Mediterranean Kitchen by Joyce Goldstein.

Garnish your lavender honey ice cream with...
Crystalized Lavender

Lavender blossoms
1 –2 egg whites
1 cup finely granulated white sugar
Tiny, clean, artist’s brush
Cup of cool water
Wax or parchment paper for drying the flowers
Paper or cotton towels


1. Cut the nicest blossoms you can find at their peak of bloom, taking care to keep enough stem on them to allow you to hold them easily (3 to 4 inches).

2. Use only unsprayed flowers.

3. After picking the blossoms, gently – but thoroughly – wash them in cool water to remove every single speck of dirt, dust or unexpected life form.

4. Dry gently with absorbent paper or cotton towels and place each stem in a glass of cool water, until you are ready to frost the flowers.

5. Beat the egg whites with a whisk or fork, until they have lost their original heavy texture and become a bit frothy.

6. Place the sugar in a soup bowl - this will be used to dip the flowers.

7. Taking a single flower at a time, use the tiny brush to gently – but completely – coat the entire flower blossom, one petal at a time. Do NOT immerse the blossom in the egg white, as it causes the flower to take-up too much egg white. It will then not harden properly.

8. Dip the egg-washed blossom into the sugar, taking care to get the sugar onto each petal. Gently shake off any excess sugar.

9. Place the blossom on wax paper – or parchment paper – and snip the flower blossom off its stem-holder.

10. Allow the blossom to completely dry and harden.

11. Store in an airtight container – they will keep for weeks.

Adapted from Suite 101

Chief Cook & Bottle Washer Improvisation-
Polenta Cake with Olive Oil, Chocolate and Dried Fruit
adapted from Ready for Dessert by David Lebovitz

1/2 c unsalted butter (or substitute), softened, plus more to grease the cake pan
3/4 c polenta or cornmeal, plus 2 Tb
1 c flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 c mild olive oil
5 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/3 c sugar
1 c chopped good quality chocolate
2/3 c dried cherries
2/3 c golden raisins

Chocolate glaze:

2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/3 cup sugar
3 ounces semi- or bittersweet chocolate, chopped

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Grease a 10 cup bundt or kugelhopf pan with a tablespoon or so of butter and sprinkle on the extra polenta.

Stir the flour, polenta, baking powder, and salt together in a small bowl. Set aside. In a second bowl, whisk together the olive oil, eggs, egg yolks, and vanilla.

Use a mixer to beat the 1/2 cup butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Slowly dribble in the egg mixture and beat until completely incorporated. Hand stir in the flour and cornmeal mixture until just mixed and then stir in the chocolate, cherries and raisins.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake in the upper center of the oven until the cake has pulled away from the sides of the pan, is firm on top, and a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Cool in the pan on a rack for 15 minutes, and then invert the cake on the rack to cool completely.  Makes 10-12 servings.

Polenta Cake on left, with Devils Slide cookies, and Ginger Cake

Chocolate glaze (from Chowhound)
When the cake is cool, drizzle on this glaze (work quickly):
In a small saucepan, bring the water, corn syrup and sugar to a simmer over low heat. Stir until the sugar is completely dissolved. Remove from heat and add the chocolate, swirling pan to submerge it in hot syrup. Whisk the mixture until smooth. Pour the warm glaze over cake and drizzle it down the sides- you will only have a couple minutes to work with it before it sets up.