Julia Child

Do you need the perfect gift idea for a busy Mom?  Or for that amazing Dad who does all the meal planning, shopping and cooking?  What better gift than the gift of more time?  (That’s what I need for Christmas.)  If you are the cook in the family, then dropping a well-timed HINT might be in order. 

A couple weeks ago, Ann Marie launched her CHEESESLAVE Menus by Mail.

She sent me a copy to try out and I love it because it’s like having Julia Child walk me through recipes herself, only Ann Marie completely simplifies everything.  And if I get stuck, I can go to the online forum and she (or another member) will come to the rescue.

I wasn’t raised eating all different kinds of foods.

My Mom worked full time, and still cooked mostly from scratch (even with 5 kids!), but she wasn’t much into trying a variety of cuisines.  I believe that one of the reasons Ann Marie came into my life was so she could culture me on the finer things.  She has introduced me to many new and interesting tastes:

• Oysters (I love the fresh salty flavor, as long as I remember not to chew.)
• Fois Gras (Not “liver” tasting at all, just super flavorful.)
• She’s even got me to like wine a little more all the time.  Granted, I only like the super-sweet ones (“Kool-Aid” wines, as Kent calls them), but hey, it’s a start, and plus I’m cheap – I like the $5 a bottle wines.  (For all you other wine rookies, here are the ones I’ve found that I like so far:  Livingston Cellars Red Rosé, Sutter Home Moscato that my friend, Jen hooked me onto (that one is my favorite), and a local wine that Sonia bought me, Leelanau Cellars Great Lakes Red – tastes like grape juice and this one is LOCAL for us Michiganders!)
• And how could you not love someone who turned you on to the tastiest treat ever, bananas fried in bacon grease?!  Hey, don’t knock it ‘til you try it.  The bananas caramelize and become extra tasty.
• Read all about how she taught me to expand my palate when I visited her in L.A.

So Ann Marie is continuing to “culture me” with her new menu mailer.

She’s teaching me how to make things I’ve never heard of like “potato dauphinoise”.  I love learning the new words, what they mean, and she even tells how to pronounce them.  Best of all, she keeps it simple.  In another totally different type of meal, she’ll give the recipe for some familiar comfort food, like chili dogs and cornbread.  (I can’t wait to try that cornbread, it looks so much better than the dry stuff we used to eat…)  No matter what it is, though, she takes the recipes and uses such nutrient-dense ingredients that they turn into powerhouse meals for your family’s health.

Everything I’ve made so far has been out of this world.

For example, I normally make my mashed potatoes with a lot of cream and butter, but Ann Marie kicks it up and uses even more than I do…guess what, I’ll make it her way every time now.  (I thought I was going to pass out they were so dreamy.)  We followed her recipe for “Perfect Roasted Chicken” and it was really good, because we soaked it overnight in salt water like she suggested and then basted while it cooked with butter – both things we had never done before, although we didn’t baste as often as she suggested.  Here’s a picture of Kent getting it ready for the oven.  We also added a little organic chicken broth to the bottom and a splash of vinegar to draw the minerals out of the bones as it cooked – that and the butter basting made the best gravy!

How would you use it?

You can use it just like she writes it, straight up for full meal ideas, or you can do what I do and use it for new tried and true nourishing recipes to mix in with some of our family stand-bys.  The tried and true part is especially nice, she tests all her recipes so you know they “work”.

Here’s the other thing I love:

Each menu mailer starts out with a nice little intro where she teaches a variety of interesting facts about the recipes.  As I read I feel like we’re just hanging out and talking together about my favorite topic:  FOOD, of course.  I always learn something new, but yet never feel overwhelmed.  Her latest one made me laugh with a quote from “Bubbe”, Seth’s Jewish Mom.  (Who I love and feel like I know since she (Nancy) comments here at my blog often!)

HOW TO WIN THE FREE GIVEAWAY… (And scroll down for how to get even more entries!)

1.  She’s got a full menu up at that link.  Once you visit, come back to tell me in the comments which recipe looks the tastiest to you or which one you’d like to try first.  (That’s good for 1 entry)

Note: when you enter through there, you’ll be helping to support the Kitchen Kop blog and I’ll be paid a small amount.  Thank you for your help so I can keep blogging!

You must do #1 to enter, and keep reading to find out how to get more entries – it’s up to you how many you choose to do.  ***NOTE THESE NEW ENTRY INSTRUCTIONS (not the same as my past giveaways): This time, you must post a NEW comment for EVERY entry you do!

MORE WAYS YOU CAN ENTER:

2.  Blog about the giveaway and link back to this page on your blog. Comment below with the link. (1 extra entry)

3. Sign up for my email updates or RSS feed (upper right hand side of this page or below this post). Leave a comment below telling me that you signed up. You will also get an entry if you already subscribe — make sure to comment! (1 extra entry)

4. Follow me on Twitter and tweet about the giveaway. Please be sure to include the URL to this page in your tweet. Or you could just hit the “retweet” button above. Comment below telling me that you followed and tweeted. (1 extra entry)

5. Email 5 friends about the giveaway, with a link to the page. Comment below telling me that you did. (1 extra entry)

6. Stumble this post and comment telling me that you did. (1 extra entry)

There are a total of 6 possible entries.

If you also would Friend me on Facebook and post about the giveaway on your Facebook status I would really appreciate it, but due to the new FB rules, I can no longer give an extra entry for it.   THANK YOU!

To be clear:

You must do the first one to enter, and then you can do as many or as few as you’d like after that. Just make sure you comment below letting me know about each and every one, so I know how many you did when I’m figuring up the entries!  ***NOTE THESE NEW ENTRY INSTRUCTIONS (not the same as my past giveaways): This time, you must post a NEW comment for EVERY entry you do!

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Questions? Comment below.

This contest will end in one week, on Wednesday, December 16th at 11:59 PM EST. The winner will be chosen via random.org and announced at my blog on Friday, December 18th.

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