I find a lot of great new recipe ideas from the foodbloggers I follow on Twitter, and in my daily blog skimming, and instead of just saving them to my own favorites I’ve started a “recipe retweet of the day” to share what I find. For those of you who aren’t on Twitter, here’s what I’ve added to my collection recently:

• Recipe RT @sugarlaws Salmon with Fennel, Olives and Dill, link {looks amazing!}
• RecipeRT @Lelonopo “green alien” smoothies, link. {another way to eat your daily greens!}
• Today’s RecipeRT @RuthDaniels Seared Scallops with Peruvian Parsley Salsa, link {have seafood on the mind!}
• RecipeRT – A variation on the usual curried butternut soup, link.
• RecipeRT @jerseybites whole wheat pasta with salmon in pumpkin sauce, delicious and healthy!!, link.
• RecipeRT @sophiemostly New blog post: Breakfast quinoa with clementines, sour cherries and pecans – Mostly Eating, link.
• And on the cheeseboard this week, Beecher’s Flagship Reserve & Isle of Mull cheddars.

If you enjoy FoodieTots, why not subscribe &/or connect on Facebook. Thanks, and enjoy!

Ruth’s Presto Pasta Nights was one of the first foodblogging events I stumbled across when I began my blog, and I am thrilled to now be hosting the holiday edition! One of the great things about the event is getting a peek at how pasta is enjoyed all across the world, and our first submission comes to us from Greece!

Ivy of Kopiaste to Greek Hospitality writes from Athens, Greece, to share Tagliatelle with Chicken and Veggies.

Navita of Zaayeka shares a Spaghetti Americana.

Kitchenette of Got No Milk creates a lactose-free Tetrazzini Reconstructed.

Ferdzy of Seasonal Ontario Food submits an easy weeknight Whote Wheat Noodles with Stir-Fried Vegetables.

Gilli of So So Simple cooks up an Italian Chow passed down from her mother-in-law, for a holiday buffet.

Robin of Made with Love shares Ham & Shells Casserole, with a ziti twist.

City Girl of City Girl Lifestyle adds a Greek twist to Shrimp Scampi Pasta with Feta.

Daphne of More Than Words writes from Perth to share a celebratory Chinese Seafood Mee Sua; stop by and congratulate her on passing her University exams!

And another submission from the South Pacific, Ning of Heart and Hearth in Manila shares Cheezy Beefy Twirls.

Back in the Northern hemisphere, Katie of Thyme for Cooking writes from Lot et Garonne, France, with Chicken with Cauliflower Pasta.

Mary of One Perfect Bite shares Thai Rice Noodles with Beef and Spinach.

And Marye from Baking Delights writes with a dish that combines three of my favorite things, Artichoke & Parmesan Pasta.

Our founder Ruth of Once Upon a Feast received an early gift of Giada’s Kitchen and prepared her Pasta with Shrimp, Arugula & Lemon Oil.

As for me, I’m still enjoying leftovers of the Cherry Coconut Kugel I baked for my son’s daycare holiday potluck.

Thanks everyone for participating and thanks to Ruth for allowing me to host this week! Presto Pasta Nights is now officially on holiday vacation. Visit the archives to get your pasta fix between now and January 9, and submit your latest creations to our founder Ruth of Once Upon a Feast, ruth (at) 4everykitchen (dot) com, by January 8 to be included in the first round-up of 2009. Happy Holidays!!

The next foodie parent I’m pleased to feature in our holiday treats series is Pamela Price of Red, White & Grew. She writes about growing her own food and the revival of the Victory Garden, and is a proponent of the “Eat the View” campaign which is advocating for the Obama family to plant an edible garden on the White House lawn. As someone who has yet to keep a plant alive other than herbs, I enjoy reading Pamela’s blog for inspiration and hope you will too!  Pamela has a two-year-old son, known on the web as “Tater Tot,” and writes to us from Central Texas.

What was your first cooking experience?

Oh, golly. I remember sugar cookies pretty vividly. My mom collects cookie cutters, so that was always big at major holidays. I remember cutting out cookies at 3 or 4, I think.

There’s a photo in my baby book of me with apples and a pan of flour in our garage. I must have been almost a year old. There’s a black cat in the picture, too. He was my sous chef! Unfortunately, I can’t get the picture to budge from my baby book, but I did locate this later photo of me “cooking” at age two. I’m not sure if the basketball was an ingredient, a utensil or just for decoration

What is your greatest challenge in cooking for your son?

Keeping it interesting. When he was a baby–and before I started working again, every day seemed open to culinary adventure. Now I feel like I’m lucky if I can keep a running tally of his week’s worth of veggies, using colors as my guide. Have we had enough orange? Enough green? What about blue?

What is your son’s favorite dish?

For breakfast, it’s eggs with a bit of garden-fresh swiss chard. For dinner, he likes broccoli steamed with a bit of lemon juice and garlic–though I’ve neglected making that of late. Unfortunately, he inherited my sweet tooth. Ack! He loves organic raisins mixed with a few semi-sweet chocolate morsels–not too awful, I guess.

Is there any food your son just will not eat?

Mushrooms.

What is your family’s favorite holiday treat?

Classic middle-class, all-American holiday goodies: sausage balls, cheese balls, Chex Mix, sugar cookies…stuff like that. I have a secret family recipe for pound cake that my mother made me swear we’d keep in the family! I like to make mini-cakes and give them to friends.

When we lived in Louisiana, I used to make steamed shrimp (from Tony’s Seafood in Baton Rouge) for New Year’s Eve. I miss those shrimp (and Tony’s!).

Pamela also shares with us her blog’s official muffin recipe, which I look forward to trying with some of my freezer stash of blueberries (my son’s favorite food) and zucchini.

Red, White & GREW-berry Muffins
By Pamela Price, redwhiteandgrewblog.com (reprinted by permission)

Ingredients:

• 1 C. sugar
• 3/4 C. unsweetened applesauce
• 1/4 C. canola oil
• 2 eggs
• 3 tsp. vanilla
• 2 C. grated zucchini
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 & 1/2 C. oat bran (or substitute with oatmeal pulsed in food processor)
• 1 & 1/2 C. whole wheat pastry flour
• 3 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 C. blueberries (fresh or frozen)

I hope everyone has been over to visit Jenna’s blog at Kid Appeal. The next foodie parent who graciously agreed to share some memories and treats with us is Ruth from Once Upon a Feast, though you may know her as the founder of Presto Pasta Nights and author of Every Kitchen Tells Its Stories. Ruth is parent to two grown daughters, Joanna and Sharon, and grandmother of two boys, 2-year-old Boaz and brand new baby Dov. Ruth and her daughters grew up in Montreal, Quebec, but now reside in Halifax, Nova Scotia. She often blogs about some of her favorite places in or around Nova Scotia, which is always a treat. And with two generations of cooking for kids under her belt, I’m excited to have her share a few stories here with us!

What was the first cooking experience that you remember?

I can’t seem to recall a time I DIDN’T spend in the kitchen, but my best memory was making cookies for my dad when I was 5 or 6. My mother was an awesome baker and even when I was little I got to play with her scraps. I lovingly played with the dough until it was gray and tough (it looked wonderful to me), cut them into shapes and baked them along side my mother’s delicate golden ones. I still can feel the pride I felt as I gave it to my daddy. Looking back, I’m not sure how he even bit into one, but he put on a great show. I guess that’s what daddies do best.

What was the most memorable cooking experience with your daughters?

Making challah with my girls when they were 4 & 6 AND they invited a friend each! What was I thinking! But it became a tradition that lasted until Joanna went off to university. (Joanna is pictured at left, hard at work!)

What was the biggest challenge in feeding your daughters when they were young?

Getting them to eat vegetables, so I hid them into many dishes. but these two are ones they ask for even today. Green Chicken Soup and Zucchini Bread. Isn’t it amazing how chocolate chips make even vegetables taste delicious?

What are your grandson’s favorite foods?

Well Boaz is a pretty good eater, but his favorite are still breaded chicken, spaghetti with tomato sauce, grilled cheese sandwiches. And while he loves chewing on frozen green peas, he’s not really a vegetable fan.

Are there any foods your daughters just won’t eat?

Both girls grew up to be very adventurous, but Joanna still won’t eat beets or brussels sprouts – she doesn’t know what she’s missing.

Do you have a favorite holiday treat in your family?

Well every holiday has a different favorite, but Hanukkah is approaching and I can’t imagine not serving potato latkes.

Thank you, Ruth! We celebrate Hanukkah as well and are looking forward to latkes on Sunday. Happy Hanukkah to you and your family!

And a note: I am hosting Presto Pasta Nights this week, so read the instructions and please share your family’s favorite pasta recipe with us for the holiday edition of PPN. And check back on Friday for the round-up of pasta dishes from around the world!

Photos by Ruth of Once Upon a Feast, used by permission.

The second installment of Eric Ripert’s Dinner Social event was a holiday cocktail party theme. We were having trouble finding a slot on our calendars and wound up doing a cocktail brunch. What better way to start a day than with some festive cocktails and hors d’ouevres?

photo by Alison

Alison of The Humble Gourmand hosted this time, and prepared the cranberry champagne cocktails, pita and spreads, and lettuce-wrapped beef rolls.

Tiffany of The Garden Apartment made the wonderfully crisp and flavorful cheese straws with cayenne and pistachios, and shrimp and chorizo skewers.

April of The Food Scribe made creamy smoked salmon deviled eggs — with creme fraiche in lieu of mayonnaise — and spiked apple cider.

And I made the portobella mushroom fries with truffled aioli and the ginger-infused bourbon smash. The fries were simple, seasoned with good pecorino and dried thyme, and were definitely addictive. The toddler even enjoyed the leftovers, asking for more when they ran out. I will definitely be making them again soon!

The cocktail called for muddling fresh ginger, lemon slices, and sugar cubes. Instead I made a ginger simple syrup (1 cup sugar, 1 cup water, 2-inch peeled piece of fresh ginger, sliced; bring to boil, cover and reduce to low simmer for 10 minutes), then muddled lemons and a little more fresh ginger. I don’t usually like bourbon but I really enjoyed the blend of the smoky liquor with ginger and lemons.

It was a shame we were rushed to get on with our other obligations for the day, but it was a fun time enjoying great food (and photography practice) with friends. If you have a cocktail party on your agenda, check out Chef Ripert’s recipes for some tasty inspiration.