There's nothing quite like coming home and having dinner ready. And when we say dinner, we mean a real dinner -- with vegetables or salad and yes, perhaps even a little dessert -- as opposed to a can of soup, yogurt or (horrors) a bowl of cereal.
Still, if all the adults in the house work and the kids are too young to cook anything more ambitious than frozen waffles, cooking that homecooked meal, even if like me, you actually like to cook, can often feel like just one more chore at the end of a long day. I know, some of you are organized, cook on the weekends or do other things to make it easy. But recently, after taking on extra work, during an already particularly busy work week, I decided to treat the family to something better than pasta with sauce from a jar.
To the rescue was personal chef Linda Ippolito, who brought dinner to my house for a week. For those few nights, walking through the door after a long bus or train ride home, my husband and I sat down to the table feeling as if a fairy godmother came to the house and left us a feast. The fact that Linda is also a talented artist shows in her presentation; the food looked as beautiful as it tasted.
Our faves? Linda's mustard coriander chicken with lemon basil vinaigrette and the killer potatoes that came with it --crisp fingerling spuds seasoned with spicy Indian seasoning. Another hit was the spinach ricotta lasagna and the fig crusted salmon with jasmine rice. A few weeks later, remembering how easy it was to have food magically show up on the table, I asked Linda to create a menu -- her choice -- for 20 guests for a last-minute party alfresco. The food arrived -- sweet and spicy chicken wings, roasted vegetable wraps with goat cheese and a summery edamame bean salad -- and we got to enjoy the party (plus the leftovers!). If you need a break, reach Linda here.
Ippolito's not the only chef we know willing to bring meals to your door. Chef Barry Bonser formerly of Manhattan, Teaneck and Church Street , has started his own catering business. His barramundi is shown above; find him and his menus here. And if having someone bake for you sounds like a dream come true, Cat Morris is hanging out her oven mitt soon with yummy pies (like the one shown, right) and more. --Liz George
What's the cost of this wonderful service? Does she have a website?