December is the season of cookies and champagne and lots and lots of cheese. Everyone has their own favorite food traditions this month. I indulge in Bailey’s-spiked hot chocolate with real whipped cream, in two slices of cranberry-vanilla coffee cake on Christmas morning, and in the truly excellent gouda my grandfather sometimes brings to our house. This year we are headed to Munich and Brussels around Christmastime, so I expect there will also be Belgian waffles, glühwein, pretzels, and lots of yummy Belgian beer. I try not to feel guilty about these indulgences – it’s part of the season! – but I do find myself strongly craving vegetables after a few days of heavy meals. Of course, it’s freezing cold in Boston, so the vegetables still have to be warm and comforting, which is where grain bowls save the day.

Grain bowls are a pretty regular feature of our weekly menu. Usually they are a pretty basic affair. Roast brussels sprouts and sweet potatoes are a staple, along with a few pieces of whatever cheese we have sitting in the fridge. There is maybe a dollop of hummus that serves as dressing and a handful of greens. The grain itself is whatever we have on hand – usually farro or rice. These grain bowls are always satisfying, but they aren’t always cohesive – it’s just a mess of stuff I like to eat on one plate. So every once in a while, I like to put a little more thought into how the components of the bowl will go together. Recently, we made a Middle-Eastern inflected grain bowl that came out so well that I thought it was worth sharing here (as well as documenting for myself!).

This grain bowl has a lot of goodness in it. Spicy honey-cinnamon roast sweet potatoes. Cumin-scented roast cauliflower with sticky dates. Crispy brussels sprouts. To pull it together there’s a tangy tahini-yogurt sauce, creamy goat cheese, and jewel-like pomegranate seeds. Each individual component is highly flavorful – the sweet and spicy sweet potatoes in particular are addictive. All together in one bowl each component enhances the others, for a warming, slightly exotic meal. Plus, if you double up on the quantities below you’ll have plenty of leftovers to see you through the week.

Middle-Eastern Grain Bowl with Sweet Potatoes and Cauliflower

A step above your average throw-it-all-together grain bowl. This recipe combines honey-cinnamon-roasted sweet potatoes with cumin-spiced cauliflower and tahini dressing for a Middle-Eastern inflected grain bowl.

Cauliflower recipe is adapted from Dining In. 

• Author: Katie at the Kitchen Door
• Prep Time: 20
• Cook Time: 30
• Total Time: 50 minutes
• Yield: 2-3

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup dry farro

For the sweet potatoes:

• 1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into wedges
• 2 TBS olive oil
• 1 TBS honey
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp ground cayenne pepper
• sea salt and black pepper to taste

For the cauliflower and brussels sprouts:

• 1 head of cauliflower, washed and cut into florets
• 20–30 brussels sprouts, outer leaves removed, cut in half
• 3 TBS olive oil
• 1 tsp whole cumin seed
• sea salt and black pepper to taste
• 8 dates, halved

For the dressing:

• 3 TBS tahini
• 3 TBS plain Greek yogurt or skyr (the tangier the better!)
• 1 TBS honey
• 1/4 cup lukewarm water
• Juice from 1/2 a lemon
• Sea salt and pepper to taste

Toppings/other:

• Several handfuls fresh baby spinach
• 2 oz. fresh goat cheese, crumbled
• Arils from 1/2 a pomegranate, about 1/2 cup

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400F. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. When the water is boiling, add the farro. Cook until al dente, about 20-25 minutes. Drain farro and set aside.
2. For the sweet potatoes: whisk the olive oil, honey, cinnamon, cayenne, salt and pepper together in a large bowl. Add the sweet potato wedges and toss to completely coat with the honey-olive oil mixture. Spread the sweet potatoes out on a rimmed baking sheet and place in the oven. Roast until very tender, about 25-30 minutes.
3. For the cauliflower: in the same bowl you used for the sweet potatoes, whisk together the olive oil, cumin seed, salt, and pepper. Add the cauliflower florets and toss, making sure to thoroughly coat the tops of each floret with the olive oil mixture. Add the halved brussels sprouts to the bowl and toss to coat. Spread out on a rimmed baking sheet and roast until the vegetables are tender in the middle and crispy on the edges, about 30 minutes. About 10 minutes, before the vegetables are done, add the halved dates to the roasting pan so that they roast slightly (they will get a little bit more sticky and caramelized).
4. For the bowls: whisk all dressing ingredients together in a medium bowl until smooth, then adjust seasoning to taste. Divide the cooked farro and the baby spinach between two bowls. Top each bowl with several roast sweet potato wedges, pieces of cauliflower and brussels sprouts. Crumble goat cheese on top of the bowls, then sprinkle with pomegranate arils. Drizzle with dressing and serve immediately.

Notes

All the cooked ingredients have approximately the same cooking time, meaning if you start the farro at the same time as you put the vegetables in the oven, everything will be ready almost at once.

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The weekend before last, Trevor and I got sick. I might be kind of a wimp when it comes to being sick, but I was sicker than I have any memory of ever being before, although Trevor says he was sicker in Ecuador. We think it was some sort of norovirus we picked up, probably compounded by the fact that we’re in Portugal and we don’t have as much resistance to the viruses here. (I could be making that up though; feel free to correct me if you know about these sorts of things). I was totally miserable but at the same time a little fascinated: since I was wearing my fitness tracker, I could tell that I had been “active” for 75 minutes even though I was lying in bed, asleep. That visualization of how hard your body has to work to fight illness was really interesting for me.

It was a good reminder that health is one of the most important things in life. The Herophilus quote in my passion planner is fitting: “When health is absent, wisdom cannot reveal itself, art cannot manifest, strength cannot fight, wealth becomes useless, and intelligence cannot be applied.”

Health is one of my major focuses for this year. Not just weight loss, or exercise, although those are important pieces. Health. Being well. As a day-to-day reminder, I’ve set a little mantra: eat smarter, move more. Simple, to the point. If I tell myself this when evaluating options – what to have for lunch, whether I need that chocolate after lunch, if I should walk home or take the bus – it serves as a gentle reminder of my goals. It’s not a rule, or a restriction. It’s just a little push towards better choices.

The food we put into our bodies plays such a huge role in our overall health. I feel worlds better when I keep my meals light and bright – the trick is coming up with meals that make me crave eating this way. Generally, I find that lunch is the easiest time to get a lot of vegetables in, and when I’m home, I frequent b.good, a Boston-based chain. I think they started out as a burger place, but they also offer great grain bowls and salads. I love their butternut squash and apple salad (and when I’m really hungry, I add a burger to the top – all the flavor and none of the guilt of the bun, french fries, and cheese).

This salad was easy to recreate at home, and so good that I ate it 3 times in one week. In the spirit of #EatSmarterMoveMore, I forwent the burger and replaced it with farro to make the salad filling enough for dinner. In addition to the farro, the salad has roasted butternut squash, diced apple, tamari almonds, cheddar cheese, pomegranate, and spinach. All kinds of good flavors going on. I can’t take any credit for the combination, but I can vouch for its deliciousness. Also, I’d love to see how you’re choosing to #EatSmarterMoveMore, so follow along (and contribute!) to the hashtag on Instagram. I’ll be using it all year to track my healthiest recipes and active adventures.

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Butternut Squash and Apple Buddha Bowl

Inspired by b.good. Serves 2.

• 2 cups peeled butternut squash cubes (1/2 inch pieces)
• 2 TBS olive oil
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1 1/2 cups cooked farro, warm (reheated if  not prepared fresh)
• 3 cups baby spinach
• 2 small apples, cut into bite-sized cubes
• 2 oz. cheddar cheese, cut or shaved into thin pieces
• 1/2 cup fresh pomegranate seeds
• 1/3 cup tamari almonds
• Your favorite tangy salad dressing, or a simple mix of lemon juice and olive oil

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Toss the butternut squash cubes with olive oil and sea salt and spread in a single layer on a baking sheet. Roast until tender when pricked with a fork, about 30-40 minutes, stirring once halfway through. Remove from the oven and set aside.
2. Divide the farro and spinach between the bowls, mixing together gently to combine. Top each bowl with some of the butternut squash, apple cubes, shaved cheddar, pomegranate seeds, and tamari almonds. Drizzle with your favorite dressing. Salad is best when the farro and butternut squash are warm.

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Greetings from Lisbon! Time is flying by here – I can’t believe it’s been two weeks already.

The weather has been beautiful here, sunny and gentle every single day. Generally it’s been warm, in the 60s, but the past two days it’s gotten really cold. Of course, not as cold as Boston, where we unfortunately had a pipe burst only a few days after leaving (and we left the heat on). But as I write this I’m huddled around the little electric heater in our Air BnB, which is doing double time by also drying our laundry.

Breakfast here is typically a pastry and an espresso while standing at the counter of a pastelaria. It’s delicious, but with the cold this week, I could definitely do with something heartier. I made this whole grain porridge just before leaving, and it got me through that first week of January cold and snow. I used a mix of quinoa, farro, oats, and semolina to prepare it, and then topped it with apples stewed with maple syrup and fresh cranberries. It was delicious.

Trevor objected to my use of the word porridge (“what are you, Goldilocks?”), but I can firmly state that this porridge is just right. [Edit from Trevor: “it’s a stupid word, it’s a stupid food.”] It’s also much better than oatmeal. While oatmeal is convenient and easy, it can get thick and gloppy, especially if rushed. This porridge was much creamier and more varied in texture. Not to mention it was healthier with four different grains. I made a big batch, portioned it out into five tupperwares, and was ready for the week.

If you’re somewhere cold, too, I hope you’re staying warm!

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Whole Grain Porridge with Poached Apples and Cranberries

A comforting, creamy whole grain porridge perfect for chilly winter mornings. Topped with stewed apples and cranberries and lightly sweetened with maple syrup.

• Author: Katie at the Kitchen Door
• Yield: 6

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup quinoa
• 1/2 cup stone cut oats
• 1/2 cup farro
• 2 1/2 cups water
• 3 cups milk
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup farina (Cream of Wheat)
• 4 apples, peeled and cut into wedges
• 1 cup of fresh cranberries
• 1 1/2 cups apple cider
• 3 TBS maple syrup
• fresh pomegranate seeds, for garnish (optional)

Instructions

1. Place the quinoa, oats, farro, water, and 2 cups of the milk in a large non-stick saucepan. Bring to a gentle simmer over low heat, stirring frequently. Add the cinnamon stick and salt and simmer until all of the grains are tender, about 30 minutes. Add some of the additional milk as needed to keep the porridge loose and creamy. When the grains are cooked, add the farina and the remaining milk (1 cup or whatever you have left from the original 3 cups) and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes, until the porridge has thickened slightly. Remove from the heat.
2. Prepare the apples while the porridge is cooking. Add the apple wedges, cranberries, apple cider, and maple syrup to a medium saucepan. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring frequently, until the apples are tender and the cranberries have softened and slumped, about 10 minutes. Simmer for another 5 minutes to reduce the sauce to a syrup, then remove from the heat.
3. Serve the porridge warm, with additional milk if desired. Top with a few spoonfuls of the apple-cranberry mixture and fresh pomegranate seeds.

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I’m glad I reread last year’s New Year’s recap before writing this one, because otherwise I think it might have ended up sounding eerily similar. There was travel. There was stress, largely related to the travel. We made progress on the house, bit by bit. I probably took on a bit too much for my own good. When I wrote last year I said I knew that 2016 was going to be another busy one, and it was. I also wrote that I wanted 2016 to be calmer, less stressful, more balanced; a little more relaxed, a little more joyful. I’m not totally sure I succeeded in that, but I want this post to focus on the positives of this year. What did I accomplish? How was it different – bigger, better – than the year before? And if you bear with me (or skip ahead), there’s a lovely recipe for Feta and Onion Phyllo Pie at the end of the post. It’s the perfect make-ahead dish for festive winter brunches.

All the good things.

It can be hard to recognize accomplishments as they happen, but when I look back, there they are – big and notable. I got promoted, and more importantly, I’m much better at my job than I was a year ago. I learned Portuguese! Enough to have a reasonable conversation with another person and to read children’s books. I went to three new countries, and three I’d been to before. We finished our first major house renovation, and we have a shiny new basement to show for it. And then there are things that are not so much accomplishments, but just… good. I have a job that I love. It’s engaging, I work with wonderful people all over the world, and I earn a good living doing it. My family lives nearby (except you, Rynie!) and I have great relationships with them. I have Trevor – we’ve been in a happy, stable relationship for almost 9 years and I still look forward to seeing him every single day. Everyone is happy and healthy. My social life is just what I want – good friends that I see frequently, with common interests and values. I no longer worry about not being fun enough or social enough; I just spend time with people that I like and don’t worry about people that I don’t. We live in a safe, warm house that I love being in, despite its quirks and flaws. And although money was more stressful this year than in past years (weddings and houses will do that), we are lucky to have the resources to live a very comfortable life, with travel and celebrations and stability. I am very fortunate, and very grateful.

Our travels, the short(ish) version.

Like the three years before it, I was on the road a lot in 2016. To be exact, I spent 113 days outside of the US. That’s more than 30% of the year. I was in six countries – Hong Kong, Japan, Costa Rica, Ireland, Portugal, and Colombia.

We started the year in Hong Kong, where it rained almost every day for a month. We loved it anyway. Hong Kong is incredible. It’s noisy and smelly and vibrant and elegant all at once. It can be overwhelming at times, but you’re never more than a short hike away from the mountains or the beach. And the food is amazing. We climbed winding jungle staircases to find golden temples at the top, we ate dumplings in subway stations and tea houses and on the street, we watched the neon lights pulse at night, and we drank ourselves silly at the race-track, placing $1 bets on the horses we liked the most. I have so much more to say about Hong Kong – I’m working on a few posts about it – but for now, suffice it to say it was awesome.

On our way home from Hong Kong, we spent a week and a half in Japan. Japan was mesmerizing, one of the best trips I’ve ever been on. I’ve written about Kyoto and Ise, but in a nutshell, we wandered through orderly temples and bamboo forests, saw the first plum blossoms unfold while Mt. Fuji stood majestically in the background, ate skewers of grilled chicken in smoky izakaya under the train tracks, and hiked past moss-covered shrines and ancient trees. I’m trying to find a way to get back there soon.

Not long after returning from Japan, we spent just a few days in Costa Rica with my family. I was stunned by the heat and the flowers and the incredible noise of so much life in one place. I mostly sat by the pool and watched the toucans swoop between the flowering trees, and the monkeys clamber noisily overhead. It was a short but beautiful rest.

In Ireland, in April, I was stunned by the vibrancy of the green. I took one extra day for myself at the end of the week, to hike the cliffs of Howth Head. It was windy and gray and the heather and gorse were blooming everywhere, with the waves crashing against the cliffs. After I was thoroughly chilled and exhilarated I ate bangers and mash and drank cider in a pub. This was my third trip to the Emerald Isle, and I fall a little bit more in love with it each time I go.

Lisbon is another city that is slowly stealing my heart, with the way the light reflects off the thousands of white cobblestones, filling the city with a permanent dusty glow. The Portuguese love food and wine perhaps more than any other culture I’ve experienced and I’ve had many long meals feasting on buttery octopus and rich sheep’s cheese and syrupy sweet port wine. We’ll be spending more time there this year, and I’m excited to get to know the country better.

Most of my trips to Colombia were of the airport to hotel to office and back variety, with one notable exception. I spent a lovely day exploring with my coworker and her family. She and her husband and her two young daughters took us to a cathedral buried in a salt mine followed by lunch at the real Andres. I love the way Latin cultures gather at the table on weekends, for long and rowdy lunches with family. To get a glimpse into that, to chat with her daughters in my basic Spanish, to play with them and teach them how to sing Miss Mary Mack while stuck in traffic – that was the beauty of that day. Oh and I became an official Colombian soccer fan with the purchase of a yellow Colombia jersey for watching the Copa Americana.

Seeing it all written out like this makes my heart full. All of that was in one year? I’m incredibly privileged to have so many amazing travel experiences as part of my job. It is hard, yes, and there is a lot of shuttling back and forth, packing and unpacking and sitting in airports. Most of my days abroad are not that dissimilar from a work day anywhere else, with a commute and lots of meetings in an office and the hope of squeezing a workout in at the gym. But then there are moments – afternoons and dinners and the occasional weekend – when I get to immerse myself in the culture of another place, to explore on my own, and those are the moments that make the whole thing worthwhile.

On stress, and why maybe it’s not such a bad thing.

When I look back at my recaps from the past two years (and all the posts in between, to be honest), there is a lot about stress. I know I’m not alone in this – stress is often described as an epidemic in our society. But I’ve thought a lot about stress this year – what causes it, how to reduce it, and how to limit its effects on my long term health. I also started to talk to some friends about it, and what we discussed is this: we didn’t necessarily like feeling stressed about work, but would we really be happy if our jobs were not causing us stress? Doesn’t the stress we feel about performing well mean that we are engaged and that we care about the results of our efforts? Then I read a book, The Upside of Stress, that echoed this exact sentiment and went on to express so much more about why, and how, we as a society should be rethinking our mindsets about stress. I enjoyed the book (especially since it really delves into the research supporting the idea that stress doesn’t have to be bad for you), but if you’re looking for the quick and dirty version, the author also did a Ted talk a few years back. After finishing this book, I’m starting 2017 with a different mindset about stress. Not embracing it, exactly, but learning to see the good with the bad, to recognize stress as an essential part of life, and of growth. To remember that without stress, I might be pretty bored. At the same time, I’ll be finding ways to take better care of myself and build up my resilience.

Hopes and intentions for 2017.

Last year I wrote down six words at the beginning of the year – genuine, generous, gratitude, decluttered, and balance. All of those still hold, but I particularly want to carry generous and gratitude forward to 2017. To these I would add: energy, health, and joyful. I will focus on bringing these things into my life this year, and on putting them back out into the world. In a less touchy-feely realm, this is also the year that Trevor and I are getting married! Now that we’re counting down in months instead of years, it’s starting to feel more real. I can’t wait; it’s going to be the most fun. There’s other big stuff coming up this year (a new kitchen?!), but that’s the main one.

And a recipe for Feta and Onion Phyllo Pie.

If you made it through all that, thanks for listening. And to those of you who skipped down here for the recipe, I’m happy to have you here too. And here it is! This Feta and Onion Phyllo Pie is a festive, brunchy recipe – like a very dense quiche where the filling is mostly cheese instead of mostly egg. Trevor’s dad and his wife are vegetarians and brought this to Christmas dinner as a main dish alternative, and it was my favorite thing on the table. It’s vaguely Scandinavian, thanks to a copious amount of dill, but the filling is primarily made of ricotta, feta, and not-quite-caramelized onions. It’s easy to make, easy to reheat, and delicious at any temperature, making it a prime candidate for festive brunches. I hope you have a chance to try it this winter. All my best wishes and good vibes to you for a 2017 that’s full of joy and energy and goodness!

Past New Years’ posts…

2015: Brown-Butter Chestnut Waffles with Poached Pears and Mascarpone
2014: Rye Blini, Smoked Salmon Dip, Russian Beet Dip, Pretty in Pink Cocktail
2013: Raspberry Sherbet Champagne Floats
2012: Butter-Roasted Cinnamon Chicken with Almonds and Pomegranates

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Feta and Onion Phyllo Pie

Adapted from Sunset Magazine via My Recipes. Serves 10-12.

• 3 sweet vidalia onions, peeled
• 1/3 cup olive oil, divided
• 1 1/2 tsp caraway seeds
• sea salt
• 3 large eggs
• 2/3 cup milk
• 1/3 cup farina (cream of wheat)
• 12 oz. fresh ricotta cheese
• 10 oz. soft feta cheese (in brine), cut into small cubes
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 1/2 cup minced fresh dill
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 6-8 sheets phyllo dough, thawed according to package directions

1. Cut onions in half, then slice into thin half-moon rings. Heat 2 TBS of the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat and add the onion rings, caraway seeds, and a generous pinch of sea salt. Saute the onions, stirring occasionally, until they are translucent and very soft, and just beginning to take on a pale golden color. Remove from the heat.
2. Preheat onion to 400ºF. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk and farina until evenly combined. Add the ricotta, feta, lemon juice, dill, and black pepper and whisk until smooth. Stir in the prepared onions.
3. Pour remaining olive oil into a small bowl. Brush the inside of an 8 or 9 inch springform pan with olive oil. Lay one sheet of thawed phyllo dough over the bottom of the pan and up one side, letting 1-2 inches of extra dough drape over the top of the pan. Brush phyllo with olive oil. Repeat with a second sheet of phyllo, this time draping over a different side of the pan. Repeat until all parts of the bottom and sides of the pan have at least 2-3 layers of phyllo dough covering them. Pour the cheese and onion mixture into the center of the pan. Fold the phyllo that is overhanging the sides of the pan on top of the tart so that it covers just 1 inch of the top, trimming any extra phyllo dough off if necessary. Place carefully in the oven.
4. Bake until filling is set and pastry is golden brown, about 50 minutes. Let cool for at least 10 minutes, then remove the outside of the springform pan. Cut into slices and server warm, at room temperature, or chilled.

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I’ve been trying to perfect some of my pasta recipes. In my kitchen, pasta is both a luxury and a staple, giving it a unique place in my repertoire. It’s easy to make, and it’s what I crave when I’m exhausted and can’t think of anything else to make. But it’s also a treat – I usually go heavy on the cream and the cheese. So when I make it, I want it to be really good. And too often, it’s just OK. Why indulge in a giant bowl of pasta that’s just OK? I want my pasta to be great.

The first recipe I tackled was a fresh heirloom tomato sauce. It took a few tries, but now it’s pretty much the only thing I want to eat when I’ve got an excess of fresh tomatoes (and you can find the recipe here). Next up, mushroom cream sauce. I’ve been making a variation of this for ages, but it’s never quite what I want, which is: golden brown and crispy mushrooms; a thick, luxurious sauce that covers each and every bite of pasta; the right balance of mushrooms and pasta; and plenty of cheesy flavor in every forkful.

So here’s what I’ve learned over the past few weeks in my efforts to make the perfect bowl of creamy mushroom pasta. First, there’s never enough sauce. What looks like a huge amount of sauce becomes dwarfed by half a pound of pasta in no time. As a corollary, you need more mushrooms than you think you do – I weighed my mushrooms this time, thinking there would be way too many and wanting to give you accurate measurements. But a pound of mushrooms quickly cooks down into just enough for half a pound of pasta. You already know this one, but don’t crowd your mushrooms – give them lots of space in the pan so they turn crisp and brown. And last, my secret pasta weapon: mascarpone. A spoonful stirred into hot pasta makes all your pasta dreams come true, thickening the sauce just enough to luxuriously coat each noodle.

I know that many of us are trying to watch the indulgences this month – saving room for all the cookies and wine and Christmas treats. But it’s all about balance, right? And sometimes you just need a bowl of pasta. When you do, make it a good one.

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More perfect pasta recipes:

Heirloom Tomato and Sweet Onion Pasta

Rigatoni Bolognese

Butternut Squash Carbonara with Fried Sage

Creamy Mushroom Pasta

A Katie at the Kitchen Door original recipe. Serves 2-3.

• 3 TBS butter
• 2 shallots, peeled and sliced into thin rings
• 1 lb of mixed wild mushrooms, thinly sliced (I used an equal mixture of criminis, shiitakes, and chanterelles)
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 lb. spaghetti
• 2 oz. freshly grated parmesan cheese (about 3/4 cup packed)
• 1 cup of pasta cooking water
• 1/4 cup mascarpone
• black pepper
• sea salt
• 2 TBS minced fresh parsley leaves

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil. Let boil while you prepare the sauce (don’t add the pasta until the sauce is almost ready).
2. Melt the butter in a wide frying pan over medium heat. Add the sliced shallots and saute until soft and translucent, about 3-4 minutes. Add one variety of the sliced mushrooms in a single layer, being careful not to crowd the mushrooms to ensure good browning. Let the mushrooms cook undisturbed until they are golden brown on one side, about 2-5 minutes depending on the mushroom variety, then flip and cook on the other side. Transfer the cooked mushrooms to a plate, then repeat with the remaining varieties of mushrooms. Once all the mushrooms are cooked, add them all back to the pan and lower the heat to medium-low.
3. Add the spaghetti to the boiling water and cook until barely al dente, 1 or 2 minutes less than the package directs.
4. Add the heavy cream to the pan with the mushrooms and stir until the mushrooms have absorbed most of the cream, about 1-2 minutes. When the pasta is just al dente, use tongs to transfer the noodles directly into the pan with the mushrooms and cream. Add a ladleful of the hot pasta water to the pan as well (about 3/4 to 1 cup), along with the grated parmesan cheese. Use the tongs to toss the pasta with the mushrooms until the cheese is melted and a smooth, luxurious sauce has formed. Cook one to two minutes longer if needed for the sauce to thicken. Remove from the heat. Stir in the mascarpone and parsley until they coat the noodles. Season generously with black pepper, and to taste with sea salt, and serve immediately.

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Well, Thanksgiving went off without a hitch. It was lovely, actually. We managed to squeeze everyone around a long skinny table, and we had almost enough matching place settings, although it was a bring your own chair affair. The turkey (brined in maple, with rosemary-butter under the skin) came out beautifully, and we had far more side dishes than we could eat thanks to everyone’s generosity. The wine was good, and my mom brought four glorious, enormous pies for the ten of us. There’s still half an apple pie and two cups of freshly whipped cream in my fridge, calling my name pretty much every time I walk by.

And then today? I did almost nothing. I mean, I finished cleaning up the kitchen, I did some online furniture shopping from the comfort of the couch, I wrote, and I worked my way through a pile of Bon Appetit magazines, so not nothing. But, it was cold and gray and rainy and for the most part I indulged in a full day of sloth (with a short, one hour exception for a bracing run that actually felt really good). After this year (and let’s be honest, last year too), I could use about two weeks of days like this. But the next two days are a good start, and I’m going to use the pause to share a few recipes here, starting with this Tunisian Lamb-and-Eggplant Stew.

We had a dinner party recently, with a few friends. I’m so happy we’ve entered the dinner party stage of our lives (coinciding with the “hosting Thanksgiving” stage of our lives). What a lovely thing, to sit with friends around a table full of home-cooked food, to drink good wine and talk for hours. I served this Tunisian lamb stew, and I loved it so much that I made it again a week later to share here.

I go through phases where I want to come up with all my own recipes – phases during which I feel unstoppably creative and can’t stop jotting down ideas to test in the kitchen. But I also go through phases where all I want is to cook other people’s recipes, testing them exactly as written, respecting all of their hard work and creativity in developing them for me to eat and enjoy. This fall I seem to be more in the latter phase. More specifically, right now I want to cook my way through the “fall” section of Sunday Suppers at Lucques, which might be my all time favorite cookbook. Reading through the table of contents makes my mouth water, particularly in the fall section where it seems that all of the year’s best produce comes clashing together to be stewed and simmered and roasted to perfection in hearty autumn meals. Grilled Duck with Creme Fraiche, Roasted Grapes, and Potato Bacon Gratin? Braised Chicken with Saffron Onions, Italian Couscous, and Dates? Grilled Tuna with Potato-Tomato Gratin and Rouille? These recipes make me want to hideaway in my kitchen and cook for the next month.

The second time making this lamb stew, when I wasn’t also trying to make a Pumpkin Streusel Cake and a fancy Kale Caesar Salad and put out appetizers, this was actually relatively easy to make. I skipped a few minor steps and consolidated the number of pots and pans used to reduce clean-up, but generally stayed pretty true to the recipe, and it was very manageable for a slow Sunday afternoon. It’s spicy and intense and exactly the sort of homey but slightly exotic dish I want to be putting on the table during these dark November days.

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More from Sunday Suppers at Lucques:

Ricotta Gnocchi with Corn, Mushrooms, and Sage Butter

Fig and Almond Custard Tart

First-of-the-Season Summer Succotash

Tunisian Lamb-and-Eggplant Stew with Farro, Parsley, & Harissa

An incredibly flavorful North African lamb stew with a lot of spicy kick!

Recipe adapted from Sunday Suppers at Lucques. 

• Author: Katie at the Kitchen Door
• Yield: 6

Ingredients

• 3 lbs boneless lamb shoulder or leg, cut into 1 1/2 inch chunks
• 1 TBS caraway seeds
• 1 TBS ground coriander
• 6 cloves garlic, peeled and smahed
• 3 chiles de arbol, cut into small pieces (easiest with scissors)
• 2 tsp parika
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 6 TBS olive oil, divided
• 2 small onions, peeled and finely diced
• 2 bay leaves
• 3/4 cup canned crushed tomatoes
• fresh juice from 1 lemon
• 4 cups beef or chicken stock
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 large Italian eggplant
• Farro with parsley and butter (recipe below)
• harissa paste, homemade or store bought, for serving
• 1/4 cup flat leaf parsley leaves, minced
• Sea salt and pepper

Instructions

1. Place the lamb in a bowl or a large ziploc bag with the cumin, caraway, smashed garlic, arbol chiles, paprika, cayenne, and 2 TBS of the olive oil. Season generously with sea salt. Use your hands to coat the lamb with the olive oil and spices, making sure to coat all the pieces. Cover bowl with plastic wrap, or zip up the plastic bag, and refrigerate overnight.
2. When ready to cook, take the lamb out of the fridge. Preheat the oven to 325°F. Add 2 TBS of olive oil to a large Dutch oven or wide pot and heat over medium-high heat. Add the lamb (and its marinade) to the pot in a single layer (if the lamb does not fit in a single layer without crowding, do this in two batches). Sear the meat until it’s well browned and caramelized all over. Don’t rush it! You want the lamb to develop a nice, dark brown color. As the lamb is browned, use a slotted spoon to remove it to a plate.
3. When all the lamb is browned, turn the heat down to medium and add the onion and bay leaves to the pot. Saute until onions are tender and golden brown, about 8 minutes. Add the tomatoes and the lemon juice and cook 2-3 minutes, just to coat the onions. Add the beef stock and cinnamon to the pan and bring it to a boil.
4. When the stock is boiling, turn off the heat. Add the browned lamb to the pot. Cover with aluminum foil and a tight fitting lid. Braise the lamb in the oven for 3 hours.
5. About an hour before the lamb is done, cut the eggplant into 1 inch cubes. Toss them with a teaspoon of sea salt and place them in a colander over a plate or bowl. Let them soften and drain for about 20 minutes. Heat the remaining 2 TBS olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the cubed eggplant and cook, turning frequently, until it is seared on all sides and tender, about 10 minutes total. Transfer to a plate lined with a paper towel to soak up the excess olive oil.
6. After 3 hours, check the meat for doneness – it should be falling apart and super tender. Taste the stew for seasoning and add salt and pepper if desired. At this point, you have two options. The easy option is to add the fried eggplant and the minced parsley to the lamb as it is, then serve. The second option, if you want a more elegant presentation, is to ladle most of the lamb’s braising juices out of the pan, and pour them through a strainer into a second pot. Discard the vegetables and keep only the strained juices. Skim the fat from the juices, then reduce the juices over medium heat until thickened. Add the reduced juices back to the stew, along with the eggplant, then stir in the minced parsley. Serve.
7. To serve, divide the farro between bowls and ladle the stew on top. Serve with harissa on the side.

Farro with Parsley and Butter

Recipe adapted from Sunday Suppers at Lucques. Serves 6.

• 2 TBS olive oil
• 1/2 cup diced onion
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 1/2 cups farro
• 2 tsp salt
• 4 TBS butter
• 1/4 cup minced flat leaf parsley

1. Heat the olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the onion, cinnamon stick, and bay leaf and saute until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the farro, stir to coat with the olive oil, and toast for 2 minutes. Then, add 8 cups of water and the salt. Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat and simmer for 30 minutes, or until the farro is tender.
2. Drain the farro and discard the cinnamon stick and bay leaf. Add the butter and the parsley to the hot farro and stir until the butter is melted and the parsley is fully mixed in. Serve warm.

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I had originally meant this recipe to be for my book review of Simply Ramen, a lovely new(ish) book with a great mixture of traditional and non-traditional ramen recipes by Amy of Easy Peasy Japanesey. But then I opened a bottle of sake to steam the chicken, and poured a few glasses, and Trevor and I sat down to these steaming bowls of ramen, and I couldn’t stop thinking about our time in Ise. So instead of a book review this post is the much overdo second part to our Japan travelogue, dedicated to our time in Ise, and a true review of Amy’s book will come later. (Warning: this is a long post, so if you’re just here for a delicious ramen recipe, skip to the end!)

After our magical introduction to Japan in Kyoto, we wandered a bit off the beaten track, to the Ise peninsula, a coastal area about 2 hours southeast of Kyoto. Ise is the home of the Grand Shrine complex Jingū, one of Shinto’s holiest and most visited sites. Trevor had learned about the shrine and its architecture in college and it was at the top of his list for things to see in Japan. There were plenty of other visitors in Ise, but I would guess that 99% of them were Japanese, pilgrims coming to visit the shrines. English speakers became harder to find and we became more of a curiosity.

When I think about Ise, I think about sake, and blonde wood rooms, and strangely deserted beach resorts, and 500 year old sacred Cypress trees, and our ever-smiling pink-pajamaed Ryokan room attendant. I think about getting caught in a rainstorm in the middle of a frustrating and misguided walk from one shrine to the next, somehow finding ourselves in an Italian restaurant in one of those travel moments where everything feels like it’s going wrong, only to emerge to find the sun shining and realize that we were only 10 minutes from where we wanted to be. I think about sitting in the small basement-level restaurant in our hotel, using Google Translate to attempt an interpretation of the Japanese-only menu, and somehow successfully ordering two bowls of ramen. And I think about sitting alone, naked, in a steaming, outdoor Ryokan bath late at night, with icy cold winter winds whipping around the trees and the sound of the ocean pounding below.

Oishiya Ryokan

Our three days in Ise had two major components – a stay at a traditional Japanese inn called a ryokan and a visit to the grand shrines. A ryokan is more of an experience than just a place to stay – it has a whole set of traditions around it, and is widely considered a “must-do” while in Japan. We chose a mid-range ryokan called Oishiya right next to the Wedded Rocks (or Meoto Iwa). When you arrive, your room attendant greets you and takes you to your room, typically a spare, furniture-free room with a tatami mat floor and paper-screen walls. You are given a yakuta to change into, and then your room attendant returns to serve you tea. Our room attendant (I wish I could remember her name!) was such a lovely, smiling woman. She had a little note card with all of the English phrases she needed to say tied to her waist, and she giggled a lot and just made us feel so cared for, which is a big part of the ryokan experience. And then after that you… just relax. You’re not really supposed to do much other than visit the baths and wait for dinner.

Dinner is served in your room, in a series of tiny, elaborately-plated dishes – ours included raw spiny lobsters that we cooked ourselves in boiling miso, fried fugu (blowfish) that I was too nervous to try, and two bottles of sake, which left us red-faced and giggly, sitting on the floor in our matching yakutas. I really enjoyed the dinner – it was so different and strangely intimate, a cross between a romantic dinner out and dining in, with an added element of discovery as I’d never tried most of the foods we ate that night. After dinner, our attendant pushed the table to the side and pulled out our futons, fluffing the comforters and pillows and practically tucking us in… and then we slept. Soundly.

Ise Grand Shrine

The grand shrines, the reason most people visit this part of Japan, were the center of our full day in Ise. For me, the shrines themselves weren’t the most interesting part of the visit – you actually can’t even see most of the shrine, as only the imperial family and a few select priests are allowed to enter the gates. What I found most fascinating was watching all of the other visitors, who clearly felt a certain reverence being there, and feeling myself to be part of a pilgrimage. It was also a lovely, sunny day, and the shrines are surrounded by forests with ancient trees and a wide and winding river, so I enjoyed the walking as much as anything. Outside the inner shrine, Ise Naiku, there is a small, traditional town called Oharai-machi, which includes a pedestrian street filled with food vendors and shops. It is more a recreation of a traditional shrine town than a contemporary one, but walking down the main drag, sampling fried oysters and local beers and window shopping, was a highlight of the visit for me. We even managed some non-verbal conversation with a group of young Japanese men we were sitting next to who didn’t like their beer and wanted to share it with us. (Key words – “oishii?” “ie oishii” “arigato!”)

Ise Travel Tips

From a practical standpoint, visiting Ise was the most complicated (and frustrating) part of our trip. Getting there required advanced train navigation (JR passes, probably the most popular way to get around Japan for foreigners, only work on Japan Railways lines, which thinned out considerably on the Ise peninsula), we switched between two hotels (perhaps a misguided decision, but we weren’t sure two nights at a Ryokan was worth it for us), and communication became difficult. But looking back, it also provided some of the most memorable and unique experiences. If you’re also headed there, a few tips:

• Bring lots of cash with you. We had a really tough time finding a place to get cash out during our visit to the shrines (if all else fails, try the post office) and we ended up wasting  a very frustrating hour looking for it.
• Plan out your train routes and schedules beforehand (we had a JR pass and took the Shinkansen Hikari from Kyoto to Nagoya, then took the JR Rapid Mie line from Nagoya to Iseshi. You do have to pay a small supplement while riding the JR Rapid Mie line, which the conductor collects in cash when you cross into the non-JR part of the track).
• If you’re not staying close to the shrine itself, take the Kintetsu line to Isuzugawa instead of Iseshi/Ujiyamada. While Iseshi/Ujiyamada are the main access points for the outer shrine, it’s an hour long walk or a fairly expensive (500Yen) bus ride to the inner shrine, and the queues for the bus can be really long. Isuzugawa, however, is only a 20 minute walk from the inner shrine (which is the one that most people really come to see, as well as where the fun, touristy villages of Oharaimachi and Yokocho Okage are).
• Take advantage of tourist incentives if they are being offered! Our ryokan had us take a 5 minute survey in exchange for 20,000 yen in “coupons” that could be used throughout the peninsula. I was incredibly skeptical at first but we ended up being able to use the coupons to pay for all sorts of things – they covered one of our nights at the hotel and I bought myself a pair of pearl earrings. So, that was an unexpected perk.
• Here’s a helpful English guide for spending a long weekend in the area.

Miso Ramen

This is the third ramen recipe I’m posting here, and this one, far and away, is the closest to the real deal. The miso base is made by blending together aromatic vegetables, ground pork, a healthy amount of bacon fat, and two kinds of miso paste (the real stuff, not the minute miso that comes in a bottle). The base is simple to make, and once you have it, you have the key to practically instant ramen bliss. A few spoonfuls of the intensely flavored miso base stirred into good chicken broth makes a cloudy, salty, deeply savory ramen soup. Beyond the noodles (essential), you can top it with pretty much whatever you want. For this version, I’ve topped it with Amy’s ginger-and-sake steamed chicken (delicious on its own, as well), a few sauteed shiitake mushrooms, and a soft-boiled egg. It’s one of the most satisfying things I’ve eaten in the past few months. Luckily, having a tupperware full of the miso base stashed away in the freezer means I can experiment with toppings to my heart’s content for the rest of the fall.

More from Japan:
Japan Travelogue Part One: Kyoto; Matcha Cream Puffs

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Ginger Chicken Miso Ramen

Recipe adapted from Simply Ramen. Serves 2.

• 1 boneless, skinless chicken breast, thinly sliced on the diagonal
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 TBS freshly grated ginger
• 1/4 cup sake
• 1 TBS olive oil
• 8 shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and caps thinly sliced
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 4 TBS miso ramen base, or more to taste
• 2 soft-boiled eggs, peeled and cut in half
• 2 servings ramen noodles, fresh or frozen, cooked according to package directions and then rinsed in cold water

1. To make the chicken, season the sliced breast all over with salt and pepper. Add the sake, grated ginger, and chicken to a small non-stick skillet. Cover with a lid and bring sake to a simmer over medium-low heat. Simmer until chicken is fully cooked and you can no longer see any pink, about 8 minutes. Remove from heat, let chicken cool, and shred into bite-sized pieces.
2. To prepare the mushrooms, heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the sliced mushroom caps and cook undisturbed for 3 minutes, then flip to the other side and cook another 2-3 minutes. Mushrooms should be golden brown and crispy. Set aside.
3. Place the chicken broth and miso base in a pot and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Stir to fully incorporate the miso into the broth. Simmer for 5 minutes. Divide the cooked and rinsed ramen noodles between two bowls, then pour the hot broth over the noodles. Top each bowl with chicken, mushrooms, and a soft-boiled egg. Serve immediately.

Miso Ramen Base

Recipe adapted slightly from Simply Ramen. Makes enough for 12 servings.

• 1 carrot, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1/2 medium onion, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1 apple, cored, peeled, and roughly chopped
• 1 celery stalk, cut into large pieces
• 3 garlic cloves, peeled
• 1/2 cup bacon fat
• 1 TBS sesame oil
• 1 1/2 cups ground pork
• 1 tsp fresh ground ginger
• 1 tsp sriracha
• 2 TBS soy sauce
• 1 TBS apple cider vinegar
• 1 TBS tahini
• 3/4 cup white miso (such as Shiro miso)
• 3/4 cup red miso (such as Akamiso miso)

1. Add the carrot, onion, apple, celery, and garlic to a food processor and process until evenly and very finely chopped. Add the bacon fat and the sesame oil to a large skillet and melt over medium heat, then add the finely chopped vegetables. Saute until veggies are tender, about 6-8 minutes.
2. Add the ground pork the the skillet with the veggies and use the back of a wooden spoon to break it into small pieces. Saute until pork is fully cooked, about 8-10 minutes. Add the ginger, sriracha, soy sauce and vinegar to the pork and veggies and stir to incorporate fully.
3. Transfer the cooked veggie and pork mixture back to the food processor and process until it is finely ground, almost a paste. You want the miso base to be as paste-like as possible so that it incorporates evenly into the soup. Scrape the paste into a bowl. Add the miso pastes and the tahini and stir until fully incorporated.
4. Refrigerate the miso base for up to a week or freeze for up to a month.

The post Japan Part 2: Ise Travelogue // Ginger Chicken Miso Ramen appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

This year Trevor and I are hosting Thanksgiving for the first time. It’s my doing – even though our house is small and unfinished and we’ll need our guests to bring their own chairs, I really wanted to do it, to bring our families together in our home. It will probably be a little bit stressful and uncoordinated and messy, but I’m still thrilled we’re doing it.

I was thinking, on the morning of Election Day last week, how great Thanksgiving is. How it is something truly American and something to be proud of. Two days for the entire country to be with their families, a holiday with no religious element, no political element, just a time reserved for being thankful and being with family. What a nice thing! A holiday designed to celebrate gratitude! I know that sentiment can get lost amidst the planning and family squabbles and food and excitement for the start of the “holiday season,” but let’s try to bring it front and center this year, at least for a few hours next Thursday. In the midst of a busy season, let’s use Thanksgiving as the bright spot that it is – a time to rest, to take a break from our busyness, to slow down and focus on the people and things that matter most to us.

We’re still tinkering with our menu for next week, but last weekend we did a sort of test run, putting together a Latin-inspired Thanksgiving menu. It’s the latest in our series of globally-inspired dinner menus we’ve been creating in partnership with La Crema Wines – the others include October’s autumnal Korean dinner, the summer’s Italian seafood feast, and a Greek-American cookout for Labor Day. I have unexpectedly fallen in love with the Latin culture over the past two years of travel, and a big part of that is due to the food. There’s so much more to Latin cuisine than I realized before I started traveling there. So this Thanksgiving menu is laced with chiles and rich sauces that remind me of dinners in Colombia and Chile.

As a main dish, we created a Mole Roasted Chicken (or turkey, if you’re feeding more than two people!) with a very-simplified mole sauce, that uses the basic techniques of a traditional mole but takes a few shortcuts. We also made a Cornbread, Chorizo, and Poblano Stuffing – I could have eaten an entire tray of it on my own and I think it’s one we’ll repeat next week for the real thing. As a side dish, Chipotle Sweet Potato Pommes Anna, a super simple dish that’s easy to make but has tons of flavor and a lovely presentation. And for dessert, a showstopper of a pie, a far cry from your traditional apple and pumpkin pies but still equally deserving of a spot on your Thanksgiving table: Chocolate Mousse and Passion Fruit Pie.

One of the foods I fell in love with in Latin America, particularly in Colombia, was passion fruit. If you’ve never had the chance to try one, seek it out – it’s sweet and citrusy and tangy and unlike any other flavor I know. Chocolate and passion fruit has become one of my favorite combos, and it’s now my standard order at any gelato place that offers passion fruit as one of the flavors. I first experienced the pure deliciousness of chocolate and passion fruit at a restaurant in Chile that served me an enormous bowl of incredibly rich and decadent chocolate mousse with a passion fruit caramel on top – I think it was the best dessert of my life. I may have to take some more time to think about that statement, but off the top of my head, I can’t think of anything that surpasses it. That dessert was the primary inspiration for this pie, which combines a passion fruit curd with a light chocolate mousse and a buttery chocolate cookie crust.

It was shockingly hard to find passion fruit near me in Boston, and when I did, they were pretty pricey – $1.99 a piece and I needed 5 to scrape together 2/3 of a cup of pulp. But as soon as I cut into one and that beautiful, tangy smell filled the air I knew it was worth it. Turning the fruit into a curd stretches the flavor and also gives you a filling with a beautiful, silky texture. The passion fruit curd together with the chocolate mousse made the pie pretty much everything I imagined it would be.

The recipe for the pie is below, and you can find the recipes for the Mole Roasted Chicken, the Cornbread, Chorizo, and Poblano Stuffing, and the Chipotle Sweet Potato Pommes Anna on the La Crema blog. All three dishes were designed to pair equally well with La Crema’s Sonoma Coast Chardonnay or their Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir. Since a “help yourself” policy is usually best when it comes to wine and big holidays, it makes sense to choose a few versatile bottles that will be good at any point during the meal and will also give guests the flexibility to choose for themselves. These two La Crema bottles fit the bill perfectly.

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by La Crema. All opinions are honest and my own.

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Chocolate Mousse and Passion Fruit Pie

Serves 8. Passion fruit curd recipe adapted from Nigella Lawson. Chocolate mousse pie adapted from Chowhound.

For the passion fruit curd:

• 2/3 c. passion fruit pulp (from 6-7 ripe passion fruit)
• 2/3 c. sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 stick butter

For the chocolate mousse and pie crust:

• 6 oz. chocolate cookies
• 4 TBS salted butter
• 6 oz. bittersweet chocolate
• 1 c. heavy cream
• 2 TBS sugar
• 2 egg whites

1. To make the passion fruit curd: place the passion fruit pulp in a food processor and pulse several times to loosen the juice from the seeds. Strain the juice through a fine mesh sieve into a large bowl. Add about half of the seeds and pulp to the juice, and discard the other half (or eat it!). Add the sugar, eggs, and egg yolk to the passion fruit juice and whisk to combine very thoroughly. Set aside.
2. Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium low heat. Add the passion fruit mixture to the melted butter, whisking vigorously as soon as you add it to the pan to prevent the eggs in the mixture from scrambling. Cook over low heat, whisking continuously, until the curd has thickened to a spoonable consistency. Remove from the heat, pour into a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and chill until set, at least 3 hours.
3. To make the pie crust: preheat the oven to 350°F. Place the chocolate cookies in a food processor and pulse until they are small crumbs of even size. Melt the 4 TBS butter in the microwave and stir into the cookie crumbs. Press the cookie crumbs around the bottom and sides of a 9-inch tart pan. Bake in preheated oven for 12 minutes, then remove and set aside to cool.
4. To make the chocolate mousse: roughly chop the chocolate and place pieces in a metal bowl. Add ¼ cup of the heavy cream to the bowl with the chocolate. Bring a small saucepan half full of water to a boil. Place the metal bowl over the boiling water and whisk chocolate until evenly melted. Set aside and let cool slightly. Beat the remaining heavy cream together with the sugar until the whipped cream holds a firm peak. Fold half of the whipped cream into the warm chocolate mixture, taking care not to overmix. After incorporating the first half of the cream, gently fold in the second half of the whipped cream, leaving some streaks of white and chocolate. In a clean bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the egg whites into the mousse.
5. To assemble the pie: spoon the chilled passion fruit curd evenly over the bottom of the cookie crust. Use a spatula to spread the chocolate mousse over the top of the curd, leaving some of the curd visible around the edges of the pie. Dome the mousse in the center of the pie. Cover with plastic wrap and chill until set, at least 3 hours. You can also freeze the pie for 1-2 hours for a firmer set.

The post Latin Thanksgiving: Chocolate Mousse and Passion Fruit Pie appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

I’m so happy that I’ve had this week at home. I expected fall to be over by the time I got back from Portugal last Friday night, but instead, I woke up early Saturday to find a brilliant, glowing fall morning. I went for a walk at sunrise (jet lag problems) and reveled in the pink sky, the orange leaves tinged with sunlight, the blue-green frost on the grass, the smell of woodsmoke, even the cold, which is still exhilarating and festive feeling, and not yet the menacing cold of January and February. All week I’ve been marveling in the outdoors, as well as in the simple pleasure of being home. It’s weeks like this that make me think I will always end up back in New England, no matter how far afield my adventures take me.

This week was also a bit of a roller coaster, for many. In my circles at least, there was a lot of negative emotion being dumped into the world – shock and anger and frustration. No matter what your political opinions are, it’s difficult to be surrounded by people who are upset. We all absorb each other’s emotions – empathy is a critical component of being able to function in our society – but when that emotion is overwhelmingly negative sometimes I feel the need to withdraw. So this weekend I am taking things slow, taking care of myself, fighting off the beginnings of a cold before I get on a plane again tomorrow night. And part of that care is this soup, into which I crammed as many autumnal flavors as I could. The base of this soup is roasted pumpkin and carrots tossed with curry powder, then pureed into a light and creamy bisque and topped with fried prosciutto and sage. I’m glad to have gotten at least one pumpkin recipe up this fall before we transition into holiday flavors (is it possible that there are only 7 weeks left this year? How absurd). I hope you enjoy the soup and these last few days of autumn!

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Curried Pumpkin Bisque with Prosciutto and Sage

A Katie at the Kitchen Door original recipe. Serves 4-6.

• 1 medium (3 lb.) sugar pumpkin or acorn squash
• 2 carrots, peeled and cut into one inch pieces
• 4 TBS olive oil, divided
• 1 1/2 tsp curry powder, divided
• sea salt
• 2 TBS butter
• 1 large onion, peeled, halved, and sliced into thin half moons
• 8 sage leaves, divided
• 1 TBS minced fresh ginger, from a 1 inch piece of ginger
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 1/3 cup heavy cream, plus more for garnish
• 3 thin slices prosciutto, torn into pieces

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Cut the top off the pumpkin and set aside. Carefully slice the pumpkin in half lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds and pulp and discard or save for roasting. Cut the pumpkin halves into thick wedges and place on a large rimmed baking sheet, along with the carrot pieces.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together 3 TBS of the olive oil, 1 tsp curry powder, and about 1/2 tsp sea salt. Drizzle over the pumpkin and carrot, using your hands to rub the oil onto both sides of the vegetables. Roast until the pumpkin and carrot are tender, about 30-40 minutes, flipping once halfway through. Use a spoon to scoop the soft roasted pumpkin flesh away from the skin, saving the flesh and discarding the skin.
3. In a large soup pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the sliced onion and saute until translucent and tender, about 5-7 minutes. Roll 4 of the sage leaves into a cylinder and thinly slice, then add the slices to the onions and butter. Add the minced ginger. the remaining 1/2 tsp curry powder and the cumin seeds to the pot as well and saute until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add the roasted carrots, roasted pumpkin flesh, and chicken stock to the pot and bring to a simmer. Simmer for for about 10 minutes, then remove from the heat and add the heavy cream. Transfer the soup to a blender (or use an immersion blender) and blend until very smooth and creamy. (Always be careful when blending hot liquids! If your blender is not designed to blend hot liquids, wait for the soup to cool to room temperature before blending). If necessary, thin out the soup with more cream or chicken stock until it reaches the desired consistency.
4. Before serving, heat the remaining 1 TBS of olive oil in a small frying pan. Roll the remaining 4 sage leaves into a cylinder and thinly slice, then add to the olive oil. Fry sage until crispy, about 3-4 minutes, then add the prosciutto pieces and fry until prosciutto is crispy, another 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat.
5. To serve, divide the soup between bowls. Drizzle with a little cream and top with the fried sage and prosciutto. Serve immediately.

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I’ve been working with La Crema for a while now, and we recently seem to have found a groove in a series of internationally-themed dinners to pair with their Chardonnays, Pinot Gris, and Pinot Noirs. In July we did an al fresco Italian seafood feast, for Labor Day we had a Greek-American cook-out, and now, as the weather turns colder, we’re looking to the other side of the world to find the inspiration for this Korean-inspired dinner. I say Korean-inspired because, well, I’m not Korean, and I’ve never even been to Korea, and I don’t want to call these recipes something they are not. Because they are definitely not traditional, authentically-prepared Korean recipes, the kind of recipe that gets passed down from generation to generation and takes a lifetime to learn. What they are are a collection of delicious recipes that attempt to incorporate some of the influences and flavors of Korean cooking into the way I cook and eat at home.

With that disclaimer out of the way, let’s get to the food! The appetizer here is Vegetarian Lentil and Mushroom Mandu, Korea’s stuffed dumpling. Trevor walked in the door just as I was frying these up. “You’re just in time,” I told him, and he grabbed one (one of the ugly ones that I would let him eat before photos) straight from the frying pan. He bit into one and sort of grunted appreciatively before I said “they’re vegetarian.” At which point he looked at me with a mixture of anger and confusion, so upset because he didn’t even notice they were vegetarian. (Also when we eat vegetarian food without me telling him in advance he feels like I’m tricking him.) Because lentils and mushrooms and cabbage can taste as good as ground pork when wrapped up in a dumpling and fried. Not that I have anything against pork, I just love being able to create vegetarian food that’s as satisfying as meat. You can find the Mandu recipe here on the La Crema blog.

For the main event, we have two dishes – a simple Cabbage and Kimchi Salad with Sesame-Miso Dressing, and an Autumn Bibimbap. The salad is all about the super flavorful and creamy dressing – a mixture of tahini, miso, honey, ginger, and rice vinegar. It’s the kind of dressing that makes eating raw cabbage slightly addictive instead of slightly awful. The addition of kimchi – a funky, tangy, spicy fermented cabbage dish that’s ubiquitous at any Korean meal – brings an unexpected heat and excitement to an otherwise sweet and mild salad. The bibimbap, which is inspired by the book Bowl: Vegetarian Recipes for Ramen, Pho, Bibimbap, Dumplings, and other One-Dish Meals, includes a few seasonal variations on a classic bibimbap: gochujang-roasted brussels sprouts and tamari-roasted portobello mushrooms. Mixed with the more traditional toppings of bulgogi-marinated beef, pickled cucumbers, and a fried egg, it makes a comforting, delicious fall dinner, especially served with a glass of La Crema Monterey Pinot Gris. The bright minerality of the wine is a good counterpoint to the spicy gochujang and rich egg in the bibimbap and the funky heat of the kimchi in the salad. (Find the bibimbap recipe here and the cabbage and kimchi salad recipe here!)

And for dessert, we have Red Bean Paste Filled Sesame Cookies, which are arguably more inspired by our time in Hong Kong and Japan than Korea but the flavors seemed to be loosely aligned with Korean desserts. I knew what I wanted these cookies to taste and look like, but I wasn’t quite sure how to get there. Incessant googling of variations on “crispy sesame cookies stuffed with red bean paste” didn’t reveal anything, so I had to experiment on my own. I started with the vague idea that these cookies should have the texture of shortbread, crumbly and buttery, with a distinct sesame flavor from a generous amount of tahini. And I knew I wanted them to be sizable, big enough that you could fill them amply with sweet red bean paste. I’m pretty happy with the way they turned out – and they were super easy to make. They’re not perfect perfect, but I’ll come back with an updated recipe if I end up tinkering with them any more.

Stay tuned, because I’m really excited about what La Crema and I have cooked up for Thanksgiving! Think chipotle, passionfruit, mole sauce… it’s going to be all kinds of delicious.

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by La Crema. All opinions are honest and my own.

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Red Bean Paste Filled Sesame Cookies

A Katie at the Kitchen Door original recipe. Makes 8 large cookies.

• 1 stick salted butter, room temperature
• 1/4 c. tahini paste
• 1/2 c. powdered sugar
• 1 c. cake flour
• 1/2 c. sweetened red bean paste, store bought or homemade, chilled
• 2 tsp sesame seeds

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, beat room temperature butter until light and fluffy. Beat in the tahini paste until it is evenly combined with the butter. Sift the powdered sugar into the butter-tahini mixture and beat until evenly combined. Stir in the cake flour and beat until a smooth dough is formed. Dough should stick together in a ball when you make one with your hands. If the dough is too difficult to work with, chill for about 30 minutes before continuing.
3. To form the cookies, take ~1 TBS of dough and use a cupped hand to form a half sphere with a hollow center. Fill the center of the cookie with 1 tsp of the chilled red bean paste, then carefully close the tops of the cookie dough over the top of the red bean paste. Roll into a ball and then flatten slightly to make a thick, disc-shaped cookie. Use a fork to gently press hash-marks into the top of the cookie and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Repeat until you have used all of the dough. Bake cookies until golden brown and just beginning to crack, about 20-25 minutes. Let cool slightly and serve warm.

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I have the perfect recipe for your last heirloom tomato – I hope you’ve been saving it. When all of our beautiful, Striped German tomatoes ripened seemingly simultaneously at the end of September, I was sort of at a loss for what to do with them all. I like tomatoes but I don’t love tomatoes, at least the way some people do. You will probably never catch me eating a tomato like an apple. I’m a little bit embarrassed to admit it but you might actually find me picking the tomato out of a sandwich now and then, if it’s a particularly bad tomato. So I was a bit stressed by the idea of using up 12 pounds of beautiful homegrown tomatoes before they went bad.

I was flipping through my favorite cookbooks, looking for tomato-inspiration, when I came across a recipe for Spaghetti with Heirloom Tomatoes, Basil and Bottarga Breadcrumbs in Sunday Suppers at Lucques, which is my very favorite cookbook, at least currently (all of Suzanne’s recipes are so spot on, and seemingly timeless, given that the flavors still sound incredible over 10 years after the book was published). While I wasn’t looking for anything as complicated as making homemade breadcrumbs flavored with cured tuna roe on this particular evening, the other flavors in the recipe sounded just right, so I made a few quick modifications and tried it. It was good, but not mind-blowing. But I loved the idea of the dish, and there were elements that were really strong – I loved the mellow sweetness of the onions melding with the tangy-sweet tomato, the way the rosemary fried in olive oil seemed to perfume the whole dish, and the process of cooking the spaghetti in the sauce so it would soak it up. It just needed more body and more salt. So I kept trying the recipe, adding a spoonful of capers here, toning down the chile heat, and finally, the move that sealed the deal, stirring in a generous spoonful of mascarpone cheese, which transformed the sauce into something silky and luxurious that coated every noodle.

Now that it’s perfect, I want to eat this spaghetti every day. Which is why, although I considered it, I couldn’t wait until next tomato season to share this with you. I want you to be able to try it now, with those last tomatoes. And after this I promise that it’s going to be all soups and roasts and dumplings and pumpkin-y things around here.

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Heirloom Tomato and Sweet Onion Spaghetti

Inspired by Sunday Suppers at Lucques. Serves 2-3.

• 2 TBS olive oil
• 1 TBS chopped fresh rosemary leaves
• 1/2 small red chile, seeded and finely minced OR 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 large sweet onion, peeled, halved, and cut into very thin half-ring slices
• 2 large heirloom tomatoes (about 2 pounds total), cored and cut into 1 inch pieces
• 1/2 lb. spaghetti
• 2 TBS butter
• 1 TBS capers
• 1/4 c. mascarpone cheese
• 10 leaves fresh basil, rolled and julienned
• 2 TBS chopped fresh parsley leaves
• 1 oz. parmesan cheese, shaved into flakes with a vegetable peeler

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the rosemary leaves and the minced chile or red pepper flakes. Saute until fragrant and sizzling, about 60 seconds. Lower the heat to medium-low, add the onion slices and saute, stirring frequently until very tender and translucent, about 5-7 minutes. Add the tomato pieces and stir. Cook, stirring frequently, until tomatoes have softened into a sauce and the sauce has thickened, about 10-15 minutes.
3. When your sauce is almost ready, add the spaghetti to the boiling water. Cook until it is almost al dente – drain the pasta about 1-2 minutes before it is done (you are going to finish cooking it in the sauce). Transfer the hot pasta to the pan with the tomatoes and toss to coat. Add the butter and capers and toss with the pasta and sauce. Cook for 1-2 minutes longer then remove from the heat. Stir in the mascarpone cheese until it has coated all of the pasta. Sprinkle the sliced basil and parsley over the top of the pasta and stir to mix. Divide the pasta between 2 or 3 plates and top each serving with some of the flaked parmesan cheeese. Serve immediately.

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The Book: Grilling is not my strong suit. Nor, for that matter, is cooking large cuts of meat. I find both intimidating – partly because the idea of ruining an expensive piece of meat is so stressful, and partly because working with fire makes me jumpy. But I very much want to be good at grilling – at cooking over a flame, at coaxing beef and lamb and fish to a charred but juicy perfection, neither overcooking or undercooking them. And the only way to get better is to practice, and to learn, for which I turn to the grilling, meat-centric cookbooks in my collection like Around the Fire, the newest addition to that collection, and a gorgeous book by the team at Ox in Portland.

This book really wowed me. In my opinion, it has everything a cookbook needs – thoughtful, well-written words, inspiring photographs, and most importantly, creative but accessible recipes that work. I love cookbooks where the words themselves add something, where they are not just trite filler text surrounding the recipes, and Around the Fire fully meets that criteria. It is beautifully written, both evocative and informative. The story of the authors’ first Argentinean asado that fills the introduction is the perfect invitation into the book – it so clearly portrays the beauty and excitement of live fire cooking. There’s a big difference between a book that states “this is my favorite version of chimichurri” and this one, which includes a 6-paragraph love letter to the condiment while giving you a peek into it’s culture and history.

The inspiration for the book is primarily South American, but occasionally veers East to Italy, North to Portland, and West to Hawaii, to incorporate flavors from other cuisines and cultures into a unique, creative cooking style. The recipes are mid level as far as difficulty – many have long ingredient lists and multiple components, but are not overly complicated or so esoteric as to be inaccessible to the home cook. They certainly aren’t “grilling 101,” but if you know your way around a kitchen they won’t leave you overwhelmed, either. Recipes range from the expected, centerpiece meat dishes like grilled short ribs or whole grilled crabs, to chilled seafoods like poke and ceviche, to a collection of gorgeous grilled vegetable dishes and salads (that might be the highlight of the book for me). There are even a handful of intriguing and very of-the-moment cocktail recipes, like the “Things Done Changed,” which features pisco, smoked lemon, and jalapeno oil. As a collection, they’ll keep you busy at the grill all through summer and well into fall.

The Food: When we took this book for a spin a few weeks ago we went a little overboard, choosing three different recipes and loading the grill up with a pile of meat and veggies that lasted us for a full week in various forms. Maple-Brined Pork Chops were the star, a dish that couldn’t be simpler or more flavorful. Soaking the chops overnight in a salty-sweet maple brine before charring them on a hot grill made for the tastiest, juiciest pork chops I have ever tried. They will definitely be making more appearances on my table (and I might start brining all kinds of other meats in the maple brine as well). As a side, we served a warm vegetable dish of Grilled Sweet Onion with Buttered Beets, Blue Cheese, and Walnuts. For me this one was just OK – I can’t believe that I’m saying this, but I thought there was too much butter and richness – but Trevor loved it, so to each their own. The dish is what it sounds like from the title, with the roasted, diced beets sauteed in a generous amount of melted butter until they are completely and luxuriously coated. The sweet, roasty flavors of the onions and beets did make a good pairing for the maple chops – together, it made for a delicious September dinner, perfectly hitting all the notes I want in “between seasons” cooking.

Recipe Shortlist: Grilled Corn Empanadas with Poblanos and Gruyere; Shrimp Ceviche with Chiles and Avocado; Grilled Whole Chicken with Figs, Manouri Cheese, and Lentil Chimichurri; Cast Iron Grilled Trout with Potatoes and Capers; Grilled New Potato and Onion Skewers with Bacon-Sherry Cream; Salt Crust Roasted Tomatoes; Grilled Peaches with Maple-Corn Panna Cotta

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Disclosure: I received a review copy of Around the Fire from Ten Speed Press, but I was not otherwise compensated and all thought and opinions are my own.

Grilled Maple-Brined Pork Chops

Recipe from Around the Fire. Serves 4.

• 1/4 c. kosher salt
• 1/4 c. pure maple syrup
• 2 TBS sugar
• 2 TBS dried thyme
• 1 tsp black peppercorns
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 head garlic, sliced in half crosswise
• 6 c. water
• 4 bone-in pork loin chops, about 1 1/2 inches thick each
• 2 TBS olive oil
• sea salt for seasoning

1. To make the brine, combine the salt, maple syrup, sugar, thyme, peppercorns, bay leaves, garlic, and water in a medium pot. Bring to a boil and let simmer for 1-2 minutes, stirring once or twice to help fully dissolve the salt. Remove from the heat and let steep for 30 minutes, before straining the brine into a large bowl. Let the brine cool completely.
2. Arrange the pork chops in a baking dish or storage container and pour the cooled brine over them to cover them completely. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 24 hours and up to 48 hours.
3. When you are ready to grill, prepare your grill to medium-high heat. Remove the pork chops from the brine and place on a plate or platter (discard the used brine). Drizzle the pork chops on both sides with olive oil and sprinkle sea salt on top. Grill the pork chops for 4-5 minutes per side, until the exterior of the pork is colored and the chops have reached an internal temperature of 145-150°F for medium doneness. Use tongs to hold the pork chops on their sides to quickly sear the fatty edges, then remove to a plate and let rest for 4-5 minutes before serving.

Grilled Sweet Onion with Buttered Beets, Blue Cheese, and Walnuts

Recipe from Around the Fire. Serves 4.

• 10 walnut halves
• 2 whole sweet onions (such as Walla Walla or Vidalia)
• 2 TBS olive oil
• sea salt and fresh black pepper
• 3 oz high quality blue cheese, crumbled
• 2 c. diced, roasted beets
• 1/4 c. water
• 1 stick unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 3 TBS saba or balsamic vinegar glaze
• 1/4 c. minced chives

1. Toast the walnuts – you can do this either by spreading them on a baking sheet and roasting them for 8 minutes in a 350°F oven, or by adding them to a dry frying pan and toasting over medium heat, stirring frequently, until they just begin to brown and are fragrant. In either method, be careful not to burn them. Once they are toasted, let cool and coarsely chop them, then set aside.
2. Prepare a grill to medium heat. Quarter the onions lengthwise, keeping the root attached so the layers don’t separate, and remove the peels. Drizzle the onions with olive oil and season with sea salt and pepper. Grill, 3-4 minutes on each side, until they are charred and softened. If the onions char before they are tender, move them to a cooler part of the grill and continue cooking until they are tender all the way through. Transfer the onions to a plate and set aside.
3. Put the beets and the water in a small frying pan over medium heat. As soon as the water begins to simmer, turn the heat to low and add the butter a few pieces at a time. Swirl the pan until the butter melts and fully coats the beets. To serve, place a few pieces of onion on each plate, top with several spoonfuls of the buttered beets, and sprinkle with the blue cheese, walnuts, and minced chives. Drizzle with the saba or balsamic glaze, and serve.

The post Book Club: Around the Fire // Grilled Maple-Brined Pork Chops & Grilled Sweet Onion with Buttered Beets and Blue Cheese appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

People ask me all the time what my favorite thing to make is. I think that’s sort of a difficult question – it depends on my mood, on what I feel like eating, on what produce is abundant in my garden. But when someone asks you a question like that, to show interest in your hobby, to learn a little more about you, they don’t want to hear “it depends.” So I tell them, soup. And it’s true. I love to make soup. I love the rhythm of chopping vegetables, I love the way onions browning in butter smell, I love the sound of gentle simmering, the way steam curls over a pot and fills the entire house with the scent of comfort. I love sitting with a warm bowl of soup between my hands, how nourished and relaxed I feel after eating it. Campbell’s got it right all those years ago – soup is good food.

In our house, it’s an all-year food, too – I eat soup almost as much in the summer as I do in the winter. But it’s particularly gratifying to make and eat in the fall, on a rainy and blustery day, when the leaves are wet and slippery under your feet and houses, windows lit up against the blue-gray sky, begin to look incredibly inviting. I’m getting a little bit ahead of myself here – it’s currently 75° and partly sunny here, and while we did get some much needed rain this week, it was more of a tropical, humid rain than a cold, fall-ish rain. But I still found myself thinking about simmering pots of fragrant broth and chunky vegetable stews. So I thought it was finally time to share this lentil, mushroom, and pancetta soup that I made on a rainy day back in May. It’s a fairly straightforward French-style soup – shallots, carrots, celery, potatoes, and lentils – that gets three little upgrades. First, a bit of pancetta or bacon cooked with the mirepoix; second, crisp and earthy sauteed mushrooms on top; and third, a dollop of thyme-laced whipped cream that melts into the top of each bowl. It’s a soup that makes the simple and earthy just a little bit elegant, but still while being easy enough to whip up on a weeknight with ingredients you probably have in your fridge already.

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Lentil and Mushroom Soup with Thyme Cream

Adapted from Revolutionary French Cooking. Serves 4.

• 1 TBS olive oil
• 3 oz. pancetta or bacon, cut into 1/4 inch pieces
• 2 shallots, peeled and finely sliced
• 1 carrot, peeled and diced
• 1 stalk of celery, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
• 4 sprigs thyme, divided
• 1 c. Puy lentils, rinsed
• 5 c. chicken or vegetable stock
• 2 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 2/3 c. heavy cream, divided
• 2 TBS butter
• 1 1/2 cups thickly sliced shiitake mushrooms
• sea salt and pepper to taste

1. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the pancetta and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown all over. Add the sliced shallot, carrot and celery and saute, stirring frequently, until vegetables are slightly soft and beginning to brown, about 6-8 minutes. Add the minced garlic and saute until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes longer. Add the 2 of the thyme sprigs, the lentils, and the stock. Bring to a simmer then add the cubed potatoes. Simmer the soup until the potatoes and lentils are tender, about 15-20 minutes.
2. When the potatoes are tender, use a slotted spoon to fish out the thyme sprigs and discard the stems. Add 1/2 cup of the cream to the soup. Transfer two thirds of the soup to a blender and blend until smooth and creamy, then return to the saucepan and mix with the remaining lentil and vegetable pieces. Season the soup to taste with salt and pepper. Keep the soup warm over very low heat.
3. Melt the butter in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the sliced mushrooms to the pan in a single layer, and season with sea salt and pepper. Let the mushrooms cook for two minutes without disturbing them, then flip them over using a spatula and cook two minutes on the other side. Mushrooms should be golden brown. If not, continue sauteing, stirring occasionally, until golden brown. Remove from the heat and set aside.
4. Pour the remaining heavy cream into a medium bowl. Whip until soft peaks form. Remove the leaves from the remaining two sprigs of thyme and whip into the cream. Season the cream lightly with black pepper.
5. To serve, ladle the soup into bowls, then top each bowl with sauteed mushrooms and a generous spoonful of the thyme cream. Serve immediately.

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It’s hard to believe it’s already September. Even when you’re not a student and/or don’t have school-age kids, September still has that back-to-school feeling, doesn’t it? Maybe it’s just ingrained in us to start buying jeans and sweaters and new notebooks once September hits. Or maybe that’s mass marketing at it’s finest. Either way, September always feels like a little bit of a new start.

So, since I’m feeling the September-vibe as much as I did as an eager high school freshman, and since I have the luxury of being at home for a few more weeks, I’m launching a little health challenge here and on Instagram for the next few weeks. Every day I’ll be eating (and sharing!) some form of “bowl food,” whether it’s a smoothie bowl topped with fruit and coconut or a full-on meat+grain+veg combo like this one.

“Bowl food” seems to be all the rage right now, a trend that places like Sweetgreen and Dig Inn have really been able to capitalize on. Trevor thinks it’s a dumb trend – he argues that any food placed in a bowl becomes “bowl food” – and I see where he’s coming from. But to me a bowl is a distinct culinary thing, a combination of healthy but filling ingredients, placed together in a bowl but each maintaining their own flavors and textures. It’s different than a salad, and I can’t seem to get enough. In a nutshell, it’s going to be healthy around here, and it’s going to be delicious. Follow along on Instagram with #dailybowlchallenge (by the way, most existing permutations of #DailyBowl on Instagram were primarily about pot, which didn’t even cross my mind until I searched it. Sigh.)

This first bowl is one that even Trevor grudgingly acknowledges is delicious (primarily because it contains steak, which can pretty much warm him to any meal). For me, the star of the show is the corn, which is so good at this time of year that I’m always nibbling it off the cob without cooking it. Elote, which is a Mexican street snack of grilled corn topped with mayonnaise, lime juice, chile powder, and grated cheese, is one of our all time favorite things to eat, so converting it into bowl form is a big win. Sweetgreen did offer an Elote Corn Bowl earlier this summer, but it had too many other vegetables and not enough cheese for my taste, so I had to make it my own. And by make it my own I mean add rosemary-and-olive oil grilled steak, barely cooked green beans, nutty farro, and tons of mint and basil. It’s summery and nourishing and a pretty good start to this little challenge, I think.

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Steak and Elote Corn Bowl

Inspired by Sweetgreen and Bon Appetit. Serves 4.

• leaves from 2 sprigs rosemary, roughly chopped
• leaves from 3 sprigs thyme
• 1/3 c. plus 1 TBS olive oil, divided
• 1 tsp coarse sea salt
• 1 1/2 lb. skirt steak
• 2 c. cooked farro
• 1 lb. fresh romano or green beans
• 3 large ears fresh corn
• 3/4 c. grated parmesan or pecorino cheese
• 2 TBS butter
• leaves from 3 sprigs mint, cut into thin strips
• 4 sprigs basil, cut into thin strips
• 1/4 tsp. smoked paprika
• sea salt to taste
• pepper to taste

1. In a small bowl, whisk together 1/3 cup of olive oil, rosemary leaves, thyme leaves, and sea salt. Place steak in a a shallow baking dish, pour marinade over steak, cover dish with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 6-8 hours.
2. About 30 minutes before you are ready to serve, preheat the grill to medium-high. Grill the steak until medium-rare, about 3-5 minutes per side. Remove from the grill and let rest for 10 minutes before slicing on the bias.
3. While you are grilling the steaks, also grill the corn. Place the ears of corn, still in their husks, directly on the grill, and grill for about 15-20 minutes, turning the corn every few minutes to char on all side. When the corn is done, remove it from the grill and let cool for a few minutes before removing and discarding the husks. Use a serrated knife to cut the kernels from the cob. I find that the easiest way to do this is to hold the corn by the cob vertically, with the tapered tip in a bowl, and slice down the length of the corn. Mix the warm corn kernels with the grated cheese, butter, mint, basil, and smoked paprika, stirring to evenly incorporate. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
4. To assemble the bowls, mix the cooked farro with the remaining 1 TBS of olive oil then divide between four bowls. Top the farro with a handful of green beans on one side of the bowl, and several scoops of the corn mixture on the other side of the bowl. Spread 3-4 pieces of sliced steak on top and serve.

The post September Fitness Goals: #DailyBowlChallenge // Steak and Elote Corn Bowl appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

Labor Day is a bittersweet moment – it’s a sign that summer is winding down and instead of summer firsts (“the first swim of the summer! The first BBQ!”) everything becomes the last. The weather is still warm and the summer produce is still abundant, but the days are decidedly shorter, and there’s a chill in the air in the evenings. It’s actually a beautiful time of year, but the prospect of having to wait 8 long months until the season returns is saddening. So we soak up the last warm days, storing memories of sunshine, salty water, and grill smoke to get us through the cold dark ones we know are ahead.

Grilling is one of summer’s great pleasures, and it’s how people all over the country will be closing out the season. Together with La Crema, I’ve put together an indulgent, Greek-American inspired cookout for you this Labor Day. We’ve got lamb burgers, we’ve got Greek-style sweet potato fries, we’ve got gooey roasted tomato and feta dip, and we’ve got baklava ice cream sandwiches. You’re going to be full and happy after this one.

The appetizers set the tone for any party, and this is a casual, friendly feast, so our first course is a Roasted Tomato and Feta Dip, the kind of thing that’s a little messy and requires you to reach over your friends to dip into one big bowl. I didn’t want this roasted tomato feta dip to be fresh – I wanted it to be indulgent, spreadable, and addictive. So I whipped some cream cheese and high quality feta together, and spread it on top of the cherry tomatoes before popping the whole thing in the oven. The end result was hot gooey cheese hiding sweet and garlicky roasted tomatoes underneath. This dip would pair equally well with La Crema’s Monterey Pinot Gris or Monterey Chardonnay, although I have a slight preference for the chardonnay – buttery chardonnay and creamy cheese is one of those combos I just can’t resist. (Find the dip recipe on the La Crema blog , here!)

For the main event, burgers and fries, because there’s no greater crowd-pleaser on a languid summer night. A solid burger with crispy, steak-cut fries is one of my all-time favorite meals – it’s tied with spaghetti bolognese as my answer to the “last meal” question – but it’s a combo that is strangely underrepresented on this blog. So here’s one small step towards remedying that. The burger is simple – just ground lamb, salt, pepper, and a pinch of cumin, so that all the wonderful, gamey lamb flavor comes through. It’s topped with a creamy lemon-garlic aioli and a few delicate slices of red onion, sliced as thinly as you possibly can. The fries are thick-cut wedges of sweet potato, tossed with oregano and olive oil before getting roasted to crispy perfection, then finished with the “Greek-style” treatment – a shower of grated cheese, lemon juice, and fresh parsley. Both the burgers and the fries pair beautifully with a bottle of La Crema Willamette Valley Pinot Noir, which has just enough earthiness to complement the grilled lamb. It’s a lovely wine, pleasantly tart and light-bodied enough to feel right at home at an end of summer, outdoor gathering. (Find the lamb burger recipe here and the sweet potato fries recipe here.)

And for the grand finale, Baklava Ice Cream Sandwiches. Admittedly, us Bostonians will eat ice cream even on the coldest day of the year, so ice cream isn’t exactly seasonal. But I would argue that ice cream sandwiches and popsicles and other frozen treats that you eat on the porch so that all the sticky drips running down your arms can be rinsed down with a hose, are very seasonal. So for a last summer hurrah, fancy ice cream sandwiches, with smooth pistachio gelato sandwiched between two skinny layers of homemade baklava. The flaky crunch of the baklava, sticky with rosewater-perfumed syrup, makes a delicious wrapper for the sweet and mildy nutty gelato.

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by La Crema. All opinions are honest and my own.

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Baklava Ice Cream Sandwiches

Baklava recipe adapted from The New Book of Middle Eastern Food and Serious Eats. Makes 8-10 ice cream sandwiches.

• 2 c. sugar
• 1 c. water
• 2 cardamom pods
• 1 1/2 tsp rosewater, divided
• 1 1/2 c. shelled pistachios
• 1/2 c. blanched sliced almonds
• 2 TBS powdered sugar
• 1 stick + 2 TBS butter
• 3/4 lb. phyllo dough, defrosted for 8 hours in the fridge
• 1 pint pistachio ice cream

1. To make the syrup: combine sugar, water and cardamom pods in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer and simmer until sugar is dissolved and syrup is thick, about 3-4 minutes. Remove cardamom pods from syrup and discard. Stir 1 teaspoon of the rosewater into the hot syrup. Let syrup cool to room temperature, then chill in the fridge until cold.
2. To make the pastry: preheat the oven to 350°F. Place the shelled pistachios, sliced almonds, powdered sugar, and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of rosewater in a food processor. Pulse until the nuts are very finely chopped. Set nuts aside. Melt the butter in the microwave and keep warm. Remove the phyllo from it’s packaging and cover with a sheet of plastic wrap followed by a damp paper towel, to keep it from drying out. Brush a cookie sheet with melted butter than place one sheet of the phyllo dough on top, letting any extra dough push up over the sides. Brush generously with butter, then top with another sheet of phyllo. Repeat until you have used 6 sheets of phyllo. Spread the ground nuts evenly on top of the phyllo, then continue the phyllo-butter layers to use 4 more sheets of phyllo. Brush the top sheet generously with butter. Place any extra phyllo dough in a sealable plastic bag and place in the freezer. Use a sharp knife to cut the baklava into rectangles, being sure to press through all the layers of the phyllo to make a clean cut.
3. Bake the baklava for 30 minutes, until golden brown on top. Remove from the oven and pour the cold syrup over the hot baklava, particularly along the cut edges. You can use anywhere from half to all the syrup, depending on how sweet you want your baklava to be. Let baklava cool completely.
4. Remove ice cream from freezer and let soften just enough so that it is spreadable. Spread a thick layer of ice cream on top of one of the baklava squares, then quickly top with another baklava square, pressing down gently to adhere. Immediately place in a plastic tupperware or wrap with plastic wrap and place in the freezer. Repeat until you have used all the ice cream. Let ice cream sandwiches freeze for at least 3 hours, preferably overnight. Just before serving, you can use a paring knife to trim the edges of the ice cream into a neater square. Serve immediately.

The post Greek-Style Cookout: Baklava Ice Cream Sandwiches appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.