Dine and Dish

This summer, my mom told me about her cooking adventures during the time my brothers were young. She told me about watching Graham Kerr, The Galloping Gourmet, on television. As she watched his show, she attempted to recreate whatever gourmet concoction he was making and serve it as dinner for her own family. She would sit my brothers down and present the wonderful masterpiece she had been working on all afternoon. The response?? Not favorable. She'd find untouched plates in front of the children, whining and complaining was the tune to their meals, and requests for just a PB&J were always a plenty.

 My mom is a fantastic cook. The untouched plates were not because her cooking was bad. The untouched plates were because, as I am finding out, gourmet food is a waste on young children. Their palates just don't appreciate the finer things in life like a fancy schmancy meal.

By the time I was born many years later, my mom had finally learned that to get young kids to eat, you need to focus on simple recipes. That doesn't mean you need to sacrifice flavor... it just means that anything that requires ingredients you can't pronounce probably is better suited for a nice dinner with friends instead of a meal with your children.

The love of cooking my mom has did rub off on me. I enjoy trying out new recipes and making nice meals for my family. As much as I absolutely love the recipes in some of the finer gourmet magazines, I have found that the recipes that get the best response from my children are the recipes I find in magazines such as Simple and Delicious, Light and Tasty and Taste of Home. These three magazines provide simple recipes that are great tasting and quick to make. By cooking out of these cookbooks I'm not really stretching my culinary abilities, however, I am cooking food that my family will eat.  Most of their recipes are suitable for a quick weeknight meal and most of the recipes are great for a family on a budget.

I still cook "gourmet" meals... just not as often as I did before I had three small children. Typically those meals are saved for the nights when my husband and I have friends or family over for dinner. The kids get the mac and cheese while we appreciate some of the finer things that would go to waste on a toddler palate.

Here are two recipes that were hits with the family this week. They are simple to make and were devoured by all. The source of both is the Jan/Feb issue of Simple and Delicious magazine.

3 tablespoons ketchup
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 tablespoon maple syrup
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 pork tenderloins (3/4 pound each)

In a small bowl, combine the first six ingredients. Place tenderloins on a rack in a
shallow roasting pan; brush with some of the sauce. Bake, uncovered, at 425° for
35-40 minutes or until a meat thermometer reads 160°, basting occasionally with
remaining sauce. Let stand for 5 minutes before slicing.

Yield: 6 servings.