Valentine Special: Sharing the Love

I've been enjoying a virtual sugar high from all the Valentine treats floating around online, and wanted to share a few of my favorites.

I had to make these brilliant Secret Message Decoder Cookies, posted at FamilyFun. The idea is simple: Cut out the center of a sugar cookie, fill with crushed red candy, and bake. Write your message on paper with blue ink, scribble over it with red, pink, and orange, and magic! You can read the message through the candy "window."

Two tips: Use Jolly Rancher-type candies, and don't overload your cookies. Rather than sort out the red candies from a mixed bag of Jolly Ranchers, I bought those candies wrapped like strawberries. Too gummy. Don't use them. I filled the cookies to the brim, but the candy was a bit thick -- the secret messages were easier to read where the candy was a little thinner. (The ones at the top? Too thick, too difficult to decipher.)

If secret message cookies aren't cool enough for you, check out these gorgeous treats:


Clockwise from top left: Valentine's 5-Layer Finger Jell-O, Red Velvet Cake Balls, edible Valentine cakes, and Tickled Pink Bread

I'm going to make a variation of layered Jell-O, beautifully demonstrated by the Food Librarian, for my son's kindergarten party this week. The Red Velvet Cake Balls from Bakerella look perfect for a playdate or Valentine goody bag. The Giver's Log made me swoon with her use of wafer paper -- I love the idea of kids decorating a cake with their own drawings! I have to get my hands on some of that stuff And finally, bread bakers could have some fun with Gourmet Mom on the Go's Tickled Pink Bread.

What treats are you planning for Valentine's Day?

Tips & Gadgets: Avoiding Mealtime Battles

I'm jinxing this, but here goes: We've enjoyed whine-free meals with our 5-year-old for a couple months now. And he's eating a more varied diet than ever.

It's been nothing short of a miracle, so I'll share the secret: We told him he could have plain cottage cheese if he didn't like dinner. He was thrilled. Problem solved.

Yep, it was that easy.

I read "How Cottage Cheese Saved My Life" over at It's Not About Nutrition (via Fix Me a Snack) and immediately pitched the idea to my son: It can be your choice. If you don't like what I make for dinner, you could have some plain cottage cheese, yogurt, or tofu. No more wailing and complaining. Deal?

Yes! he exclaimed. Cottage cheese! As enthusiastically as if I'd announced Handy Manny was moving in next door.

Do read Dina Rose's full post, but I'll outline the basic approach:

• Make the backup consistent: Use the same thing as a backup every time, no exceptions. Always have it on hand.
• Make it nutritious: No appeasing with pointless food.
• Make it convenient: You're not preparing a special meal -- you're dishing something out in mere minutes. Or maybe your child can help herself.
• Don't make it too enticing: The backup should be something your child likes, but doesn't love -- think unflavored yogurt, tofu, canned beans.

The first time out, my son started to howl about his dinner plate. We reminded him about cottage cheese, and he immediately calmed down and took us up on the offer. A handful of times over the next few weeks, he eyed his plate and politely requested cottage cheese.

Even better, this kid -- who used to wail about anything that wasn't pizza or pasta sans tomato sauce -- has been trying all sorts of food. Chili, salmon, black bean burritos, roasted chicken -- even spicy dishes at a Singaporean restaurant. Tomatoes, peppers, onions have been devoured with happy exclamations that he likes them!

He hasn't asked for cottage cheese in over a month. I think he's forgotten it's there.

Playdate Special: Build a Better Grilled Cheese

Grilled cheese sandwiches are an easy kid-pleaser: crunchy, warm, gooey, and satisfying. It doesn't take much to elevate a good-enough grilled cheese to a spectacular sandwich. The trick is to play with your food.

We set out to create a better sandwich (the winner is below) with a build-your-own grilled cheese bar: several varieties of cheese, breads, spreads, and toppings. It's so much fun with kids. Encourage them to smell the different ingredients, then taste them. Talk about the textures. Let them nibble pieces of bread, scoop up shredded cheese, dip a (clean) finger in a spread. One of our boys was surprised that the "stinky" cheese -- Appenzeller Swiss -- was so tasty. The kids ended up building plain cheese sandwiches, but they enjoyed exploring the options. And next time they might try something new.

We had near consensus on a favorite combo: hearty bread -- either rye or the homemade light wheat sage bread -- with fig jam or chutney, caramelized onions, chopped sage, and Appenzeller and Monterey jack cheese. I liked mine with apples; my mother, who was visiting us, preferred a slightly spicy mango ginger chutney from Trader Joe's to the sweeter fig jam.

Some ideas for a build-your-own grilled cheese bar:

• breads: Italian, sourdough, rye, wheat, oat
• cheeses: cheddar, Swiss, Gruyere, Havarti, Muenster, colby, goat, mozzarella, Monterey jack, pepper jack (shredded cheese melts more readily, and is easier for sandwich-builders to taste-test)
• spreads: jam, chutney, apple butter, hummus, tapenade, roasted red pepper spread, tomato sauce, pesto
• toppings: sliced apples, fresh or caramelized onions, tomatoes, ham, bacon, prosciutto, chicken, chopped herbs, avocado, mushrooms, peppers, baby spinach

Have a favorite grilled cheese sandwich? Share it in the comments!

Better Grilled Cheese

To make caramelized onions, I like this Cooking Light preparation: Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add thinly sliced white onion and stir frequently for about 15 minutes, then lower the heat and add a pat of butter. Cook about half an hour, or until the onions are browned and the liquid is gone. Add a bit of salt and pepper. Freeze extra in a flattened plastic bag so it's easy to break off a piece to thaw.

There are no measurements here: Use as much or as little of each ingredient to suit your taste.

light wheat bread, sliced
fig jam
caramelized onions (see note)
Appenzeller cheese, shredded
Monterey jack cheese, shredded
fresh sage, chopped
butter, at room temperature

Preheat skillet over medium heat.

Spread one side of each slice of bread with fig jam. Lay one slice on plate, jam side up, and top with a thin layer of cheese, onions, sage, and more cheese. Top with second slice of bread, jam side down. Spread butter on the top and bottom slices.

Lay sandwich in pan. Cook until golden brown; flip and cook other side. If the sandwich is browning quickly and the cheese hasn't yet melted, press the sandwich lightly with a spatula.