Interview w/ cookbook author Jenny Flake of Picky Palate

So many of my dear friends are working in the food blogging world.
And I love that I get the chance to not only see their dreams of getting published come true,  but also to interview them and see their finished product come to life.
Jenny of the famous family cooking oriented food blog Picky Palate recently published her first cookbook.
I couldn't be happier for her.  How she managed to create this cookbook while pregnant is beyond me.
Jenny is a self-taught home cook and an on the go mom to 3 boys and wife to her high school sweetie. Creating original recipes and capturing food photography is Jenny's passion, and she loves sharing her journey with her readers. Picky Palate has been featured on sites such as Saveur.com, BettyCrocker.com, Finecooking.com and Shine by Yahoo. Jenny was born and raised in AZ but now lives in Southern California with her family.
What is Picky Palate blog all about?
It's a popular food blog that is geared toward parents who need meals in a flash while entertaining those children (adults too!) who have, well, picky palates!
What is The Picky Palate Cookbook about?
All-time favorites from the blog along with nearly 100 exclusive new dishes accompanied by enticing full-color photographs.
About 128 total recipes, both favorites from the blog and brand-new from Jenny's kitchen.
Recipes for your own picky palate, finicky families, and some of the best solutions for dull family meals.

Jenny was also really kind enough to giveaway 3 cookbooks!
See the end of the interview on how to enter.



Jenny, first off congrats on the cookbook.  I loved how its laid out with a binder-like book, easy to turn pages, and the contents are so well laid out with (just like the book says ‘something for everyone’) breakfast, party food ideas, home is where the chicken dinner is, gone fishin, you’ll never miss the beef, sweet tooth, and bake sale ideas! Perfect way to lay out a cookbook when you have fussy eaters in the house.  But what I loved most was the opening line of introduction: “Had no idea I’d become such a foodie!”  Amazing what you learn, grow to love, and want to share once you start a food blog.  And for you, that’s kind of where you started all this?  Was a food blog?

I wanted a place to create recipes after I stopped doing cooking competitions.  Seemed like a perfect transition for me.

What made you do a food blog way back in 2007?

My boys were toddlers, very picky eaters and I LOVED creating recipes since I was doing cooking competitions.  I had no idea what I was doing with the blog, but I didn’t care either, lol!

And what made you start doing the cooking contests?

In 2001 my husband and I moved into our first home in AZ and I realized I didn’t know how to cook anything!  I made it a goal to learn to cook over a year or so and realized in the process that I absolutely loved it.  I started creating my own recipes and decided to enter the Pillsbury Bake-Off in 2004.  When I got accepted I continued to enter cooking competitions for about 4 years.  Had so much fun.

Do you still do the cooking contests?

I do not still compete, just enjoy the memories.

Which cooking contests did you win? 

My biggest win was winner in my category of the Southern Living Cook-Off for my Coconut Macadamia Shrimp with Warm Tropical Salsa, $10,000.

carrot cake loaf with thick cream cheese frosting pg. 181

Did most of your research for the cookbook come from your family?

You have a couple fussy eaters in your family is that right?  Now that they’ve grown are they still fussy eaters?

Yes, the research for my book was from my family and my boys were very picky eaters as toddlers.  As they’ve gotten older they are better, but certainly not perfect, lol!  It’s a process.

Did you find there was a ‘cookbook niche’ for finicky families?  I would imagine so.

Yes, I feel like so many families struggle with finicky eaters.

I love, and I know a lot of parents will love the part in your cookbook: “Ten great tips for feeding picky eaters”.   With tips like games at meal time that include “let’s see who can take more bites or how many different colors of the rainbow can we eat off our plate”.  Excellent idea.

I’m certain this idea came from your own dinner table?

Yes!  I love to incorporate some friendly competition with my boys J

Do you have a favorite recipe?  I know my favorite is the “tilapia tacos w/cilantro-cream sauce’ pg. 117.

I have so many recipes that are my favorite, but I love love love my Soft Double Chocolate Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting on Pg 166

Which recipes were a little bit harder to develop?

I honestly didn’t have too many that were too tricky to develop.  I had to make my Homemade Yellow Butter Cake with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting at least a dozen times to make sure I got it just right.

Now looking back (they say hindsight is 20/20) are there any chapters you wish you included in the cookbook but didn’t?

Nope J

The nights you don’t feel like cooking, what is your favorite quick and easy meal?

Spaghetti! ….or Trader Joe’s Pizza Dough to make a quick pizza.

What made you become such a foodie?  Did you grow up in a foodie family?  Were parents good cooks?

My Grandmother was such a great cook.  She is French and was a great example to me.  I was always cooking and baking with her.

And the most asked question I got from your fans: how did you come up with the idea of the cookie in a cookie?  The infamous Oreo stuffed chocolate chip cookie?

The cookie in a cookie was just one of those light bulb moments I had when I was visiting my mom and dad over Christmas Break a few years ago.  Who would have thought it would be such a sensation, lol!

Is there a second cookbook in the works?

Not sure yet about a second cookbook, would love to do a dessert book.

I see in your food blog you write a few posts about eating in and around DisneyLand.

How did this come about? 

When we moved to Southern California 4 years ago, one of my stipulations was that we get season passes so we can go all the time.  Since we went to Disney ALL the time, I figured out all of the fun places to eat and get snacks, so I decided to share my tips with my readers.  

On your food blog, is there a favorite recipe of yours? One that you go to time and time again?

I make my Oreo Stuffed ChocolateChip Cookies almost weekly, so I have to go with that one.

I always love to ask every author I interview what kind of time constraints were placed on you to write and finish this cookbook?

If I remember correctly, I had 4 months to develop the recipes.

baby bacon cheeseburgers with special sauce pg 103.

What foods do you have a hard time creating new recipes with?

Seafood is not my favorite to develop.  I love to enjoy it at a restaurant, but not so much cooking it at home.

What foods are your favorite to create recipes with?

I LOVE creating cookies.  They are my favorite by far.  I feel like the options are endless.

Favorite place to travel to just for the food?

New York City is my favorite

Any cookbook authors you’d love to hang out with?  why?

Ina Garten.  Love her style and love her home J

Tell us about the cooking segments you are doing on TV with The Cooking Channel.

I did those cooking shows “From The Kitchens Of” a couple years ago in partnership with Pillsbury.
It was so much fun.  They still play the re-runs.

Jenny if you hadn’t started the popular food blog Picky-Palate.com, what do you think you might be doing now?  Possibly something food related?

Good question, I can’t imagine doing anything else.  This is my dream job.  Maybe I’d still be doing Dental Hygiene and Pilates.  I’d probably have a tighter body, lol!

Is there a second cookbook in the works?

Not yet J

skillet-baked mac & cheese pg 38

Jenny thank you so much for the interview.
For a chance to win a copy of her cookbook The Picky Palate,
please leave ONE comment telling us one of your "go to"meals for your fussy eaters?
PLEASE make sure you have a valid email & name in your signature line or in the comment
field.
Anonymous comments will not be counted.
We'll do the drawing on March 15, 2013.

To order Picky Palate click here.

jacques torres chocolate chip cookies

When I have photos, foodporn worthy photos, I often wonder if anyone will read the accompanying article (besides the recipe of course).
I know I'm guilty of doing just that--I drool over the photos, and hastily scan down to the recipe to see if I have the ingredients on hand.
So to spare you tons of chit chat, let me just get right to it: these are hands down the best chocolate chip cookies I've ever made.
Jacques Torres knows chocolate chip cookies.  He's also called Mr. Chocolate too!
AND, this recipe is completely fool-proof.
You cannot mess this recipe up.
These cookies lasted 4 hours? I called the next person on the list of "baked goods to receive", they were here in half an hour!

The recipe also states to cover the dough well and refrigerate for 36-72 hours.
I wanted to see if it would make it to 96 hours and it did--perfectly!


Cover well, really well with plastic wrap.

The dough is hard to scoop out, so use a sharp knife to cut into sections.

At this point I can call it a day.




I now know what all the fuss was about from the New York Times.
I totally get it now--the best chocolate chip cookies ever!  You'll see.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

from Jacques Torres

print recipe

2 cups minus 2 TB (8 1/2 ounces) cake flour

1 2/3 cups (8 1/2 ounces) bread flour

1 1/4 ts baking soda

1 1/2 ts baking powder

1 1/2 ts coarse salt

2 1/2 sticks (1 1/4 cups) unsalted butter

1 1/4 cups (10 ounces) light brown sugar

1 cup plus 2 TB (8 ounces) granulated sugar

2 large eggs

2 ts natural vanilla extract

1 1/4 pounds bittersweet chocolate disks at least 60 percent cacao content

Sea salt.

Sift flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Set aside.

Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars together until very light, about 5 minutes.

Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla.

Reduce speed to low, add dry ingredients and mix until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds.

Drop chocolate pieces in and incorporate them without breaking them.

Press plastic wrap against dough and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours.

Dough may be used in batches, and can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours.

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat. Set aside.

Scoop 6 3 1/2-ounce mounds of dough (the size of generous golf balls) onto baking sheet, making sure to turn horizontally any chocolate pieces that are poking up; it will make for a more attractive cookie.

Sprinkle lightly with sea salt and bake until golden brown but still soft, 18 to 20 minutes.

Transfer sheet to a wire rack for 10 minutes, then slip cookies onto another rack to cool a bit more.

Repeat with remaining dough, or reserve dough, refrigerated, for baking remaining batches the next day. Eat warm, with a big napkin.

Yield: 1 1/2 dozen 5-inch cookies.

Note: Disks are sold at Jacques Torres Chocolate; Valrhona fèves, oval-shaped chocolate pieces, are at Whole Foods.

granola thins

Those granola thins by Nature Valley are an excellent idea: thin crispy granola; granola you won't break your teeth eating, all dipped in chocolate or peanut butter.
I've had this on my "recipe clone" create list to make for some time.
Granted these don't look exactly like the granola thins, I'm sure they have precise machines to cut them into little perfect squares.
But with mine you can rest assure there are far less chemicals and far better tasting chocolate.
If you make these, keep in mind the thinner you spread the oat mixture out on the baking sheet the thinner the bars will be.  I made mine somewhere in the middle: not too thin, not too thick.
And thinner means more crunch, thicker means chewier.
I need to work on making a batch with peanut coating.

I must warn you that these are highly addictive.
And you simply must try them with the little bit of heat.
It's a gentle heat...I promise.

Toast the oats! Important step for sure.


Secret ingredient: those coconut chips from Trader Joe's, my goodness those are good.
If you can't find those, then use toasted coconut flakes--just make sure they are toasted a bit to ensure a nice crunch.

Remember spread thin for crispy bars, thicker for chewy.

Do the chocolate coating thin too.  I made mine too thick, but I guess that's a good thing too.


granola thins (with a touch of heat)

print recipe

4 cups rolled oats (not quick oats, not quick cooking, not instant)

1/8 cup canola oil

4 TB butter, melted

½ ts sea salt

¼ ts (or more) of cayenne

½ cup light brown sugar

¼ cup + 2 TB honey

¼ cup pineapple juice (an oversized ¼ cup)

¼ cups molasses

1 ½ ts pure vanilla extract

1 cup of crushed graham crackers, fairly fine crush

1 cup rice krispies

3/4 cup sweet & spicy pecans from Trader Joe’s, rough chop (you want chunks)

1 cup of Trader Joe’s Coconut Chips, crushed

cook notes: for thin and crunchy-like granola thins spread the oat mixture thin on baking sheet.  If you want chewy granola bars, then spread it thick-like.

If you can’t find Trader Joe’s coconut chips use some toasted coconut flakes. Light golden brown toasted coconut. And you can use any spicy pecans you want really. 

for chocolate coating:

11-12 ounce bag of milk chocolate chips, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a bowl, toss the oats with the canola oil, melted butter and salt.

Spread the mixture out onto a baking sheet, in a nice thin layer.  Bake in oven for about 15-20 minutes or until oats turn light golden brown.

You should turn and mix oats around during the baking.

Remove from the oven and set aside.

To make the mixture for the bars:

In a medium saucepan, over low heat, mix the brown sugar, honey, pineapple juice, vanilla extract and molasses. Heat the mixture slowly, stirring until all combined. Don’t let it come to a boil—just want to dissolve everything.

Take the toasted oats, place them in a large bowl, add in the crushed grahams, rice krispies, pecans and the coconut chips.  Mix all.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Toss the toasted oat mixture with the sugar mixture, stirring as you pour.

Toss to combine.

Take a baking sheet (large), grease up with nonstick spray even the edges, and place down parchment paper.  If you don’t have parchment paper then use non stick spray on foil. 

Press mixture onto baking sheet . 

For thin crispy granola try and spread the granola as thin as possible on the sheet.  It’s hard, but just keep at it.

For chewy granola, keep the mixture thicker.

Bake until golden, about 20-25 minutes.

Remove from oven and let cool.

It will take about 2- 3 hours for this to harden up.

Once it’s harden, then pour on the melted chocolate, in a nice thin layer.  I did not go all the way to the edges.

Let the chocolate harden and set up. 

Being careful cut pieces with a very sharp knife and remove from the pan.

Makes about 30  2-inch bars +/-

friday links

Happy Friday!
ON a recent trip to Trader Joe's here's what I found, tried, liked, hated.

Haven't tried, but it looked fairly moist.

Hubby loved it, I hated it. Not nearly enough cheese on it.
The crust was ok.

This is new (and good news!)

This was pretty good. Not quite danish, but close enough.

These were good, small but good.

Loved these!

Haven't tried these.  Have you?

These were ok, very dry.  If you make them, add a few splashes of cream to dough before baking.

I LOVED these!

Haven't tried these.  Have you?

Haven't tried these. You?

Pretty good!

Fairly good.

Not good.  I wanted to like them, but there is no cheese flavor whatsoever.

Anyone tried this?

Around the web:
Did you know that you can truly make a solider overseas life better by simply writing them letters?
That's all it takes is a letter to help. Please visit Soldiers' Angels.
Guide to writing better than you normally do from McSweeney's
Prebiotics can truly help you lose weight from blisstree
fake food: the fake ingredients in your food from greatist.com
immune boosting carrot-ginger juice from detoxinista.com
60 must read health & fitness blogs from greatist.com
oyster fats may curb breast cancer from vitalchoice.com
dosa: indian style pancakes w/ pickled cucumber from wholesomeireland.com
vanilla bean ricotta donuts from cannella-vita
rosemary shortbread rounds from becca-bakes.com
red velvet strawberry chocolate cake from heatherchristo.com
happy cheeks!  LOL  (love this idea) from myhappycheeks.com
no bake pb krispy treats from collecting memories
15-minute thin mints (no bake, vegan) from topwithcinnamon.com
chai spiced snickerdoodles (vegan) from arismenu.com
chewy peanut payday bars from averiecooks.com
archie bunkers house in queens from scoutingny.com
top herbs & spices for your health from marksfdailyapple.com
rewire your brain for positivity & happiness from lifehacker.com
meet porter: the worlds 1st driving dog from the driving dogs
there's a new nut butter company in town! dying to try this from bigspoonroasters.com
3-phase plan to fix your metabolism? from doctoroz.com
homemade cinnamon-raisin newtons from supergluemom.com
peaches & cream mousse pie from seriouseats.com
baked french toast sticks from abeautifulmess.com
roasted broccoli & cheddar queso from macheesmo.com
lasagna soup from noshingwiththenolands.com
spicy asian chicken noodle soup from divinecusine.com
corn chowder w/ shrimp from agirlinthesouth.com
chocolate-coffee banana donuts (paleo) from paleomg.com
homemade chicken bouillon cubes from the musician who cooks


one of my favorite breakfasts (full of protein too). bacon & egg on peanut butter toast.

puffins with peanut butter? oh yes.

frosting shots at cupcake charlies on cape cod.

hostess with the mostess cupcakes are my all-time weakness.
Let's go from cupcakes to steamers?  LOL

Yum, never get sick of these.

A house on the CC National Seashore (chatham side) collapsed after the recent storm. Here is a
barge bringing over the house parts, inside and out.

chatham fish pier, chatham, ma.

We've had three storms, one was a blizzard, and this weekend we're expecting another one.
I pray all these storms are a nice prelude to a beautiful, sunny, non-rain filled spring & summer.
Before I forget, the winner of the Old Farmers Almanac Cookbook is Lori Stilger (#13).
Congrats Lori please email me your shipping address.
Have a great weekend all!

gluten free pecan blondies

After my last post, the recap of the blizzard of 2013, did you know we got another heavy storm one week later?
When it hit cape cod it was dubbed as a semi-major storm, and then as it moved up the coast towards Maine it became a blizzard?
AND, now they're saying we (the cape) might get another weekend storm? So that's three storms.
What is going on?
Tell me this is the prelude to nice, sunny, CALM, spring and summer?
If so I'll take it.
Did I tell you my cabin fever is at an all time high?
Have you ever had cabin fever?
Oh some of my friends in california don't even know the term (poor babies I should educate then firsthand right?)
I tell you, the older I get the harder it is to take these frigid winters with insane amounts of snow.
My bones, they feel weak when that blustery cold keeps hitting the body over and over.
No amount of hot showers can truly penetrate down to the bones, well, maybe a hot tub.
I had hoped to take a tax refund check and put in a bathtub or something similar one of these years, but it looks like we have other plans for that refund.
So with this last coastal storm we learned that we have a few trees that have to come down before hurricane season starts.
It's funny because one of the main reasons I bought this house was the fact that the previous owner had cleared a fair amount of the land of trees.
If you live on cape cod you know that wind is always a factor here and having trees close to the house is dangerous.
We have a couple trees left that aren't right up close to the house, but close enough that if they fell they'd do some damage.
But the main reason that I want to clear more trees is that I saw the aftermath of what fallen trees did to other peoples homes and it scared me.  Can you imagine a tree falling on your house? Going right through the home? In the middle of winter, a giant hole in your house?
Where do you go?  A hotel?  And for how long?  And surely your insurance won't cover it all?
It's scary when you really think it through. So all this and more is going through my head; aka the clutter and noise in my head.
With my tax refund I was hoping to save away for a nice half-house generator or a whirlpool tub.  Ahhh a tub to soak my old bones...yeah, not going to happen.
How many more days till summer?

With these tasty gluten free blondies keep in mind they are moist, very moist, tasty too.
I might have under-baked a bit, which is fine by me, but just watch the baking times; I think I should have added on another 4-5 minutes of baking time.
You don't have to add in the nuts, I did for texture and the buttery taste of the batter just begged for the addition of the pecans.

To be honest, I prefer the taste of almond meal over flour--it truly adds a nice flavor.
I just wish almond meal wasn't so expensive; I need to make my own.

gluten free pecan blondies

print recipe

10 TB unsalted butter, room temp

1 ¾ cup almond meal

1 (heaping) ts baking powder

3/4 ts salt

1 cup light-brown sugar (not packed)

2 large eggs

½  ts pure vanilla extract

½ ts butter extract

about ½ cup chopped, toasted pecans (optional but wonderful)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Grease up an 8-inch or 9-inch square baking pan with non-stick spray or butter or if you prefer using parchment paper then do so.

In medium bowl, whisk together almond meal, baking powder, and salt, set aside.

In a glass or cup, mix the eggs, butter extract and vanilla extract until combined.

In a large bowl, mix the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or by hand; cream on medium speed until smooth and fluffy. 

Then add in egg mixture, mix well, then add in the dry ingredients and mix till combined.

By hand, add in the pecans.

Pour batter into prepared pan; spread with a rubber spatula.

Bake in oven for about 25-33 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into blondies comes out “almost” clean.  Okay to have a few bits of crumb on the cake tester. 

Cooking times vary depending on oven, so please check at 25-minute mark. 

Cool blondies at least an hour.

Cut into squares.  You should get about 10-12 squares depending on how you cut them.