(First, unrelated: a piece I wrote about the pleasures of giving away your baby clothes.)

Crisp potato pancakes
My mom used to make these and they were so good but I remember what a splattery mess they were, too. I love potato pancakes but Steve wouldn't appreciate the work that this took (and this is a given for the children in all instances.)

Stuffed portobello mushrooms with feta and almonds
I don't even like portobello mushrooms. They have the texture of a rubber mask.

Autumn vegetable patties
Things like fritters and patties rarely end well for me, after all that prep work.

Creamy broccoli and apple slaw
I like to make a lot of salad and have leftovers. You can't do that when there's an apple involved.

Oven-fried chicken with crunchy broccoli slaw
We just don't really cook chicken with bones in it here. If I need a roast chicken I get one at the store. Also it came from Real Simple whose recipes sometimes let me down.

Chicken tikka masala:
I think I'd just rather have somebody else make it for me. Also the recipe is really long.

Chicken noodle soup
Make no mistake, this was totally superior to regular canned soup but I'm just not going to do all this again. The first time I made it I definitely didn't have two children.

Chile-Garlic Shrimp
I'm scared of shrimp, with their veins and everything. I'd rather get this in a restaurant.

Chicken burgers with spicy peanut sauce
I feel like this is going to be a lot of work for a tepid response.

Steak & potato skewers
Eh.

Penne with white beans and spinach
Meh.

Blueberry oat scones
These belong in a certain part of my imagination where my home is a bed and breakfast and I don't so much make these as they magically appear in a beautiful basket with a charming dishcloth covering them and they're delicious and have no calories.

Scrambled eggs with leeks, fava beans, crispy breadcrumbs, and parmesan
Do you ever have over-the-top mac and cheese that has been covered in too many bells and whistles and you kinda just wished you had the stuff from the box? This seems like a similarly overly-gilded lily.

Grilled oysters with bacon and cayenne butter
This involves cooking oysters (which Steve would not come within 20 feet of) on the grill, on a baking sheet, not to mention making cayenne pepper butter. Get real, Claire.

Crème brûlée cookies
I cut this out because it involved a kitchen torch which I registere for my 2008 wedding and STILL HAVE NOT USED. I am not going to use it on these.

Chocolate-dipped chocolate-apricot sandwich cookies
I think when I clipped this, I was really clipping an imaginary trip to Vienna where I'd just eat a sachertorte there.