Central Market at Preston Royal – First look!

New Central Market opens

Central Market throws open it’s doors today! The Preston Royal locale (previously housed by Borders) marks the opening of Central Market’s ninth store. IttyBittyFoodies had a media sneak peak yesterday at some of the innovations and offerings customers can look forward like the new selection of New York Deli-style dishes and baked goods. Think artisanal boiled and then baked bagels onsite and new bialys and New York City based Charlito’s cocina artisan salumi.There’ll be a full service custom sandwich bar with a “Build Your Own” sandwich option as well as a menu of chef created sandwiches.

Family Dinners & the Dine-in Date Night

We are big proponents of eating together as a family. Gathering for dinner is a time for sharing not just the food on the table but also to catch up on our day’s events. Pikelet and Lollo like to tell us about the ‘best bits of the day’ and also talk about solving the challenges they’ve faced during their day. Although the kids are just four and six years old and life isn’t too dramatic at this stage, Beefcake & I want to set this framework now so they know that the channels for openness are always there. We also use the time to teach table manners and try new foods in a familiar environment.

Tiger Mom meets IttyBittyFoodies Mama – Amy Chua in Dallas

From one Tiger Mom to another

Amy Chua, aka Tiger Mom is like a pistol. The whip smart Yale law professor and notorious author of Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother enters the room packed with confidence that says Ka Pow! Dressed in an elegant black suit, showing off her tiny frame and killer calves, Chua made a stop at the Authors LIVE! event at Highland Park United Methodist Church.

Fall for this Valentine’s Day Ice Cream Cookie Sandwich

Chocolate Ice Cream with Espresso Cookie Sandwich

“Mama, what happens when Cupid’s arrow pierces your heart?” asks my wide eyed 6 year old, Pikelet. “Does it hurt?” Kids this age are so literal. I laughed and gently told him that there wasn’t a real arrow. “It just means that you’ve found the right person to love but it’s not something you need to worry about till you’re grown up.” I’m not the syrupy commercialised sentimental type and Valentine’s Day has never been an ‘event’ in the household. But Pikelet’s statement has stuck with me and I realise just how much we’ve fallen in love with our kids. So perhaps we’ll allow some mushiness and let this Ice Cream Cookie Sandwich recipe melt our hearts.

Dim Sum – the point & eat food

traditional dim sum

In honor of the Lunar New Year, we wanted to share one of our favorite Chinese meals – Dim Sum. Pikelet and Lollo love dim sum – the traditional Chinese brunch food and we like to frequent Kirin Court Chinese Restaurant in Richardson. The crowd is mainly Asian (always a good sign) but the staff speak enough English to get by.  The most fun part of dim sum is in the ordering. Servers wheel carts filled with steam dumpling and little plates and present them to you at the table. All you need to do is point to what you’d like and they serve it immediately. It’s so easy, no Chinese required and even the kids get in on the action. I liken it to online shopping and for us, dim sum is our ultimate ’point and click’ meal. 

Enter the Year of the Dragon – Lunar New Year 2012

Chinese Tea Ceremony set up

2012 brings the auspicious Year of the Dragon in the Lunar calendar. “Gong Xi Fa Cai!” as the Chinese say. The new year runs from January 23rd to February 6th, 2012 with fifteen glorious days of celebration and customs. There are so many traditional practices during this time, I wanted to share one of Pikelet & Lollo’s favorite – the Chinese tea ceremony. This is a sweet and private family ritual that is performed on special occasions such as weddings and we do it every year on the first day of the Chinese New Year.

Healthy Granola Wedge to kick off the New Year!

Happy New Year folks! Pikelet & Lollo are back at school this week and I’ve found the perfect healthy snack to pack in their lunches. It’s the Honey Wedge by Honey Crew gal Denise Bethel Molina who also brought us Honey Crew Granola. Pikelet took one bite of it and said he wanted to save it for dessert because it was so good.

IttyBittyFoodies Babbling about Babble.com

Wow… hasn’t the year flown by? Just checked the national parenting site Babble.com to find an early Christmas present for me under the Top 100 Food Mom Bloggers to see that I’m hovering around No 32! The year hasn’t been without scandal – remember the sabotage? And I thank you all for voting for me and staying loyal. If you haven’t voted, please take a few seconds to ‘Like’ me here. It will be listed under Cheryl Collett. I hope to finish out the year on a high!

Stay safe in the coming holidays and live 2012 without regret.

Till our next happy meal! Happy holidays!

Oh*holidays Oh*Brownie

Oh*Brownie, I think our whole family is collectively in love with you. The crunchy top layer at first bite that dissolves into a soft gooey chew and oh the many flavors. How does one begin? Oh*Brownie, will you give us Good Karmal for a choosing a Dark and Mysterious over a Smart Blondie or should we trust that Smooth Operator ? Whatever we choose, I’m sure it will be just Mochalicious.

Iris McCallister’s new venture Oh*Brownie has scored some serious swoon points with Pikelet & Lollo. It was so much of a treat that Lollo sneaked one into his lunch bag the first time he had lunch at school. McCallister (you may recognize the famous last name if you’re a foodie) is Matt McCallister’s wife of the much acclaimed CampO Modern Country Bistro that opened about a minute ago in Oak Cliff. But the brownie thing is all hers and she’s been working on perfecting her recipe for over four years now.

Gimme some dough – Dough Pizzeria Napoletana

A picture says a thousand words and this picture taken by amazing photographer, Carissa Byers for Modern Luxury, told me to go get me some of that Dough. Dough Pizzeria Napoletana, the new pizzeria at Preston and Forest just by Little Gym and Emler Swim School is the perfect locale for families. Except my own. Pikelet & Lollo hate cheese which makes eating Italian cuisine slightly challenging.

‘Surprise food’ from co-ops – Urban Acres

Pikelet & Lollo carrying the empty crate

Food co-ops have often intrigued me but I’ve always shied at the thought of getting 30 lbs of produce I do not know what to do with. This week, my dear friend D who is off to Sydney, let me pick up her half share from Urban Acres who have pick up sites all over Dallas.

Here’s how it works. You sign up to commit to a half share ($30 for 15 lbs) or full share ($50 for 30lbs)  and pick up your produce every two weeks. There’s a membership fee $50 and a bin fee $14 that you pay at signup.

The winner of the Toni Rivard Cake Balls Giveaway is…

Wow! So many entries and only just one winner. We picked it using the very scientific method of putting all names into a mixing bowl. As promised, one of the kids got to pick out the name. So without further ado…drumroll please… the winner of the Toni Rivard Cake Balls Giveaway is ….

TOGA – Taste Of Greenville Avenue

The weather looks like it’s cooperating for this Saturday’s 3rd Annual Taste of Greenville Avenue (TOGA) event unlike last week’s mosh pit at the Texas Veggie State Fair. Bring the kids, wear a Halloween costume and nibble food from over 27 Greenville eateries like The Grape, new Korean fusion Rohst, Rusty Taco etc and listen to live music. The menu items are presented in small portions costing between $3 and $6. Wrist bands ($2) are required to purchase alcoholic beverages (beer and wine) in the TOGA Beverage Center.

Last call for Cakeballs Giveaway from Toni Rivard Bakery!

enter the giveaway!

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m a bit of a ditz – in my excitement to post the Toni Rivard Cakeball Giveaway, I forgot to put down what time the giveaway ended. I shall be drawing out one lucky winner’s name at 3pm CST on Friday 28th October, after I pick up Pikelet & Lollo from school. The winner will receive 1 dozen cakeballs (choose from 30 flavors!) from the new Toni Rivard bakery in NorthPark Center.

Also I made the giveaway rules a little wordy and a whole bunch of you guys ‘Liked’ me on Facebook but forgot to put it in the comments below. So here’s your chance to drop me a comment here to enter the giveaway. Remember you can either put a comment on IttyBittyFoodies or at CraveDFW.

And if you don’t win you can always, drop by the grand opening at Toni Rivard this Saturday October 29th for some free samples and a draw of 6 months of free cakeballs!

Till our next Happy Meal!

Healthy Halloween Snacks! Mummies in a tomb, devilled eyeballs & goblin teeth!

Boo! We are getting right into healthy Halloween snacks that doesn’t involve candy. The kids loved making the Mummies in a Tomb (our take on the pigs in a blanket) using puff pastry and helping assemble the devilled eyeballs. The goblin teeth made of apples are wonderful for that ghoulish Halloween smile! Do try these recipes at home!