Thanksgiving

5 Things Liz & Lisa didn't know about Jessica Seinfeld

As we've mentioned before, Liz has a hard time being Top Chef of her own kitchen.  Or at least she did until she picked up Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld one day in a desperate attempt to get her kids to eat something other than pasta with butter.   And no one was more surprised than her when the kids not only ate the recipes she made from there but actually asked for more! And they had no idea that Liz had pureed veggies into each recipe.  So when Jessica's new recipe book, Double Delicious, came out-Liz had to have it!  And once again, Jessica came through with kid-friendly recipes with pureed veggies hidden in every bite! And today we're excited to have Jessica share 5 things we didn't know about her.  And guess what?  We've got THREE copies OF DOUBLE DELICIOUS to give away!  You know the drill-just leave a comment and you'll be entered to win!  We'll announce the winners Sunday November 27th after 6pm EST.

CHICK LIT IS NOT DEAD PRESENTS: 5 THINGS LIZ & LISA DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT JESSICA SEINFELD

1. My favorite appliance in the kitchen is the food processor- because you can make soups and purees and I think it’s one of those things if you don’t’ have time to chop you can quickly do it in a food processor. You can make great pasta sauce or pesto which is a great meal to always keep in your fridge for veggies or pasta.

My 5 favorite kitchen gadgets I can’t live without:

  • A meat thermometer
  • A zester
  • A kitchen timer
  • A cutting board
  • And a great knife that feels good in my hand

2. I teamed up with Target for a new baby clothes line that benefits charity. The clothing line, designed by Petit Trésor for Target, is the second in a series of three that I'm debuting through a one-year, charitable-focused partnership with Target. In addition to affordable prices, 10% of each sale goes to support my non-profit Baby Buggy, a New York City-based organization I founded in 2001 that provides clothing and gear to families in need.

Over the years, I have been approached to take the Baby Buggy Brand into product but I didn’t want to do it unless it was helpful or meaningful in some way. Target is the master at making things feel and look like luxury but keeps them affordable. The new line is the most luxurious feeling cotton – sleepers and bibs and basic stuff – a really gift-able collection palette with price point between $2.99 and $16.99. I love it!

3. My family and Jerry’s are all eating together this year so I’m cooking for about 30 people. Traditionally my mom will help and we’ll serve my Grandma’s turnips, made every year and not eaten by one person, but we have to do it though. There will be kids screaming, someone will be fighting and the kids will be running all around. We’ll have turkey, apple pie (I love that) and pumpkin pie. I’m doing a whole thing on my website about Thanksgiving – how to make the simplest Thanksgiving. (Here’s the video to make the Turkey and Gravy, including recipe and tips and the video to show you how: http://www.doitdelicious.com/recipes/make_it/roast_turkey_and_gravy)

4. We love Italy. We also love Colorado and going skiing. My daughter broke her leg skiing three  years ago, so now I live in terror. We love to travel though and would love to travel around and see the world with our kids when they are older.

5. My favorite mom moment? All the times where parents have sent me an email or stopped me at school and mentioned to me something nice my kids have done for their children.  Recently a mom stopped me at school and said, “Your daughter was so nice to my daughter when it was her first day of school and welcomed her warmly.” I love that.

Thanks Jessica! xo, L&L

To read more about Jessica, head on over to her website or find her on Facebook.

Maternity Monday: Nesting In Overdrive!

I had heard this thing called "nesting" happens to you when you get pregnant. And I figured I wouldn't be immune- being somewhat of a *cough* *cough* anal retentive control freak anyway. But I (or I think I can safely speak for my husband) never in my wildest dreams imagined that it would hit me so hard and fast. Let's just say before I nested this past weekend, I'd never cleaned an oven... It all started innocently enough, when I woke up at 5:30 a.m. and announced to no one in particular (although the hubs probably wished he could've avoided my speech as it was Saturday morning) that I'd be making Thanksgiving dinner- that night. I dragged my big belly self out of bed and went into the kitchen to take inventory. But it was then that I noticed how raunchy and unsightly the inside of our refrigerator was. How had I let it get so bad?

Before I knew it, those long rubber ill-fitting yellow gloves were out and the cleaning frenzy was on like Donkey Kong. Once I figured out how to get in position to actually be able to clean (turns out one can sit rather easily on a child's step stool!).  I went off. Scrubbing and scouring and simultaneously gagging at certain unidentifiable stains and spots I found lurking within (I'll spare you the details).

And the refrigerator then led to the stove. How? I have no freakin' clue. But when my own scrubbing and scouring weren't enough to tackle it, I popped on something called the "self cleaning" button. Who knew? And then I moved on to the baseboards. Yes, baseboards. I haphazardly squatted and ran my duster along the edges while making a mental note to paint them. How did they get so dirty? And non-white?

I was a site as I frenetically moved from corner to closet to under every surface including the couch (ahhhh) and cleaned like I'd never cleaned before. I was like Molly Maid on crack as I mopped and vacuumed and removed rugs and window shades to be professionally cleaned. I was like Superman with X Ray vision as I noticed dust that I'm quite confident the non-prego human eye could not discern.

Midway through my cleaning frenzy, I started to freak out that I was harming the baby by inhaling cleaning products, so I made a trip across town to Target to get "green" everything. I was truly out of control.

But I marched on until exhaustion took hold (I'm proud to report I cleaned the entire house before I had to call it quits) and it was time to make that Thanksgiving dinner. Yes, I made it. Even after all that. The mashed potatoes were from scratch but the stuffing was from a box. And the pumpkin soup, well, let's just say it wasn't a big hit. And turkey? Well, that didn't happen either. But I was still happy with my poor man's "prego" Thanksgiving. And the fact that the house was spotless. In fact, we could've eaten that dinner off the kitchen floor- had I been able to get my pregnant self down there, that is.

So ladies.. please leave a comment- tell me I'm not alone! (Even if you're lying!) And be entered for a chance to win a $25 Target gift card!

xoxo