Happy May, and Happy Margarita Week! It’s year two for the tequila-fest that Kate over at Hola Jalapeno puts together in celebration of Cinco de Mayo. Last year, I contributed these Sparkling Lemongrass Ginger Margaritas. I was still feeling very inspired by all the amazing Vietnamese, Japanese, and Chinese food we ate while in Asia, so it was only natural to work some of my favorite Asian aromatics into a traditionally Mexican drink.

For this year, I dialed things back a little bit. It can sometimes feel like I’m constantly trying to outdo myself when I come up with recipes. I want the recipes on this blog to be creative and inspiring – I’m not here to write about super simple recipes or cooking basics. However, simple doesn’t always mean tired and overdone. Simple recipes can be a wonderful way to let the flavor of an incredible ingredient shine through. Think burrata cheese, high quality olive oil, and perfectly crunchy sourdough. So while last year’s contribution to Kate’s Margarita Week was exotic and new, this year I’m keeping it simple with Passion Fruit Margaritas. Just a perfect, balanced drink that lets the passion fruit sing accompanied by high quality tequila.

I developed a crush on passion fruit during my first few trips to Colombia two years ago, and since then it’s blossomed into a burning romance. Whilst I burn through some of my food obsessions in a month or two (like when you fall in love with a new song and play it non-stop for two weeks, only to realize that you never want to hear it again after that), others are a slow build. Passion fruit is one that’s here for the long haul. It’s so wonderfully tangy and fragrant, the perfect complement for desserts and drinks. I daydream about the passion fruit gelato at Santini in Portugal, and I can slurp down a fresh passion fruit juice in minutes.

The only downside to my love for passion fruit is the cost. Passion fruit are hard to find and exorbitantly expensive in Boston, running $2 a piece (if anyone in Boston has tips for where to get them cheaper, please share! I’ll bring you a margarita). This might be the only drink I’ve ever made that cost more to make at home than it would have to order at a restaurant.  At least I had a lightbulb moment when reading this post by A House in the Hills that you can grow passion fruit (obviously). True, it typically grows in subtropical places like Colombia and Australia. But we’ve tried lemon trees and avocado trees and olive trees, so why not give passion fruit vines a try? One day we’ll live in California/Portugal/Mexico where we belong. Until then, I’ll be forking out the cash to get fresh passion fruit for my margaritas and desserts.

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Passion Fruit Margaritas

Makes 3-4 margaritas.

• 6 fresh passion fruit
• 1 lime, plus more for garnish.
• 4 teaspoons sugar
• 4 oz. white tequila
• 2 oz. orange liqueur
• ice
• coarse sea salt, for rimming glasses

1. Cut the passion fruit in half, being careful not to spill the juice out of the center. Scrape the pulp and juice into a small food processor. Pulse 2-3 times just to loosen the seeds from the pulp. Pour through a strainer into a bowl, separating the juice from the seeds.
2. Cut the lime in half and squeeze the juice into the bowl with the passion fruit juice. Add the sugar and stir to thoroughly combine.
3. For each drink, add the following ingredients to a cocktail shaker with plenty of ice: 1 oz tequila, 1/2 oz orange liqueur, 1 oz passion fruit juice mixture. Shake vigorously for 20 seconds, then strain into a salt-rimmed glass. Add a few passion fruit seeds and a slice of lime for garnish. Serve immediately.

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This month marks the one year anniversary of buying and moving into our house. It’s a little hard to believe it’s already been a year! We had grand plans for the house when we bought it (we still do) but we’ve progressed a little slower (OK significantly slower) than we planned. Our major accomplishment is that we’re halfway through renovating our basement, and really, that’s mostly thanks to Carl (thank you Carl!!!) and to Trevor’s dedicated trench digging. And Trevor has painstakingly renovated the guest room – it’s almost done and is going to look gorgeous with the new orange couch we bought. But even though the to-do list for the house is miles long, I love living in it the way it is. Because it’s ours!

The last time I moved, from the sunny Davis Square house I shared with three roommates, to the little Inman Square apartment Trevor and I moved into, the place that will always be our first apartment, I wrote this post, about all the things I would miss and all the things I was looking forward to. This time, I didn’t have the time to indulge in that kind of thinking before we moved, but now that things are calmer and our new house is starting to feel like ours, I find myself thinking about it more – what I miss, what I love.

There’s so much that I love about our new house. One of the biggest things is the light – every room in our house is filled with sun, and we know at any given time of day the best spot to curl up in the sun for a minute or two. The sun is also the key to the second thing I love – having our own garden, which is thriving. We don’t have tons of space but we are making the most of it: in the front we’ve replaced hedges with a hodge podge of flowers – foxgloves and heather and poppies and whatever else tickled our fancy at the nursery. After much deliberation on varieties, we planted an apple tree this spring, and regularly talk about the wealth of apples we’ll have in oh, say, five years. And along the side of the house are the herbs and veggies and fruit bushes, planted neatly in raised beds that get 10 hours of sun a day this time of year. Almost every night you can find Trevor and I out “walking the grounds,” checking each plant’s progress and then sitting on our stoop to discuss. I love that.

I’m surprised how much I like living in a neighborhood. “Neighborhood” wasn’t particularly high on our list when we were house shopping – we were coming from a series of city apartments where neighbors weren’t really a concept that had much impact on our lives. We never even met any of our neighbors in Cambridge. So we were really lucky to end up moving into a place where neighbor is a word with meaning – people who will take in your trash barrels and check on your house while you’re away, who chat across fences when you both happen to be out. Families with kids that spend all day playing outside. It’s great. And when it’s nice, I like to take long evening walks around the nearby streets, looking at houses and gardens and just enjoying the fact that there’s little traffic and lots of fresh air. In Cambridge I only walked places when I had a destination or an errand – here I walk just to walk.

There’s more. I love having my own office. It might sound materialistic of me, but one of my favorite things is sitting at my gorgeous new desk, with a homemade latte in my favorite mug, snuggled up in my extremely soft jersey robe, catching up on emails and blogging with the early morning sun falling softly through the window. It’s “me-time” at it’s finest. I love that the entire house is filled with gorgeous wooden floors, deeper in color than most. I love that we can change whatever we want about the house. And I like the new routines we’re building, like the Friday morning dates we have at Tamper cafe, one of only two remotely trendy/interesting eating establishments within walking distance.

The list of things that I miss is shorter. I miss being able to walk 30 steps around the corner and find myself in one of best local grocery stores/butchers in the city, the kind of place where you can find pork belly and black pudding and fava beans without having to give it a second thought. Ditto for being able to walk across the street and choose from a selection of trendy bars and restaurants. I miss having a house cleaner – something we could afford when we had fewer rooms and no renovation costs. And I miss being a little closer to our friends, although honestly, we’ve been just as social as before – having easy access to the highway means an Uber home from downtown is only $20 and 15 minutes, which is very doable a few times a month. And I honestly can’t think of anything else I miss. Nothing about the house itself. Just walkability and a handful of individual establishments.

We have a friend who is currently studying for his Master of Wine examination, who knows vast amounts more about wine than I could ever hope to. We have another, mutual, friend who recently brought a bottle of champagne to a soccer game to celebrate a finals win (they lost), only to find upon popping the cork that the champagne had gone flat. Upon discussing this event our wine-y friend told us – “Never save champagne. Open it up on a Tuesday night just because.” We are guilty of holding on to two bottles of fancy champagne that I know have been improperly stored. So we heeded his advice and opened one, just because, and also to celebrate our home-ownership anniversary. We drank half and the rest we poured over this gorgeous Rhubarb Campari Sorbet, which we slupred while watching Game of Thrones (now #champagneofthrones).

A few things to note. One, yes, it might seem wasteful to pour Veuve Cliquot over sorbet. I say, whatever floats your boat. Two, yes, the sorbet in some of these photographs is not at all set – it was almost Game of Thrones time and I couldn’t wait any longer. I need a blast chiller. Three, because of the aforementioned not-set sorbet, I photographed these again the next night. And yes, I opened another bottle of prosecco. Only this time, it was a $10 bottle of La Marca that’s been in our fridge for 2 1/2 years, so, about time. Which brings me to the main point of this paragraph – the prosecco was actually a much better match for the sorbet. It is significantly sweeter and blends better with the sweet and tangy sorbet. So, in conclusion, open your fancy champagne on a Sunday night just because. But if you’re going to pour it over sorbet, open the $10 prosecco instead. Or open both and live it up.

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Rhubarb Campari Sorbet

Makes 1 1/2 pints (3 cups). A Katie at the Kitchen Door original recipe.

• 1 lb. rhubarb, roughly chopped into segments (about 4 cups chopped)
• 1/2 c. water
• 1 c. sugar
• 3 TBS campari

1. Add rhubarb, water, and sugar to a large saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer until the rhubarb is very soft and almost falling apart, about 10-15 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from the heat and transfer to a blender. Blend on high until the mixture is a very smooth puree. Always use caution when blending hot liquids! Pour the blended mixture through a fine mesh strainer, using a spatula to press the mixture through the strainer into a large bowl. Stir the campari into the strained rhubarb puree until evenly combined. Chill the mixture until very cold.
2. Churn the chilled rhubarb puree in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Once churned, you may need to let the sorbet sit in the freezer for another 1-3 hours before it is firm enough to scoop.

The post The New Place // Rhubarb Campari Sorbet with Prosecco appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

September is here and I’m thrilled by it. This month has been the light at the end of the very long tunnel of this year. I’ll be here all month, it’s the beginning of my favorite season, we’ve settled into the new house enough that it feels exciting to work on it instead of overwhelming, and, did I mention, I’ll be here all month? NO AIRPLANES.

We’re off to a good start, September and I. I took Friday off to get organized before going into the long weekend, and take care of a few things that I’ve been meaning to do for months: giving the house a thorough cleaning, ordering office furniture, processing the huge backlog of blog receipts I have, etc. Friday night we went out with good friends – it was cool enough to wear jeans and there was a back-to-school buzz in Harvard. I had one too many glasses of wine and had a great time. Saturday when I woke up there was a pleasant chill in the air – the kind that makes you snuggle a little longer in bed and revel in the simple pleasures of a good sweatshirt and a bowl of apple pie oatmeal. We did yardwork all day and then had my mom over for a big pile of pulled pork. Today we spent at the beach, soaking up the still-strong sun and finally-warm-enough water. And there’s still an entire day of the weekend left to enjoy!

I have a few things I’m focused on this month. First and foremost, I want to enjoy myself and relax, spending as much quality time with Trevor and with friends as I can. Second, I have to get rid of this travel weight, so long fall runs and healthy meals are in order. And third, I’m going to get this blog back up and running! It’s been a slow summer here on Katie at the Kitchen Door, and I mean to make up for that with plenty of delicious new recipes in the next few months. It will help that, with the arrival of our new stove next Friday, we’ll finally have a fully functional kitchen… and temperatures that make us feel like cooking again.

So here’s a fall drink to celebrate the arrival of this lovely month. A few weeks ago I was doing some recipe development for a client that involved figs and bourbon and I decided to set aside some of both to make a fig-and-vanilla-infused bourbon. Now that it’s ready I wanted to showcase it in a simple twist on a classic old fashioned, adding a splash of maple liqueur and a twist of orange to the bourbon and topping it off with a little club soda. It’s stronger and less sweet than my typical cocktail choices but it feels just right for fall – dark and brooding and featuring one of fall’s most sensual fruits.

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Fig-Bourbon Old Fashioned

Serves 1.

• 1 sugar cube
• Dash of bitters
• Chilled club soda
• 2 oz. fig-and-vanilla-infused Bourbon (recipe below)
• 1 oz. maple liqueur
• ice
• 1 orange twist
• 1 maraschino cherry

1. Place the sugar cube in a short glass. Top with the bitters and a splash of club soda and use a muddler to stir/smash until the sugar cube is dissolved. Add the Bourbon and the maple liqueur and stir to combine. Add ice to fill the glass and garnish with the orange twist and maraschino cherry. Top off with more club soda if desired.

Fig-and-Vanilla-Infused Bourbon

Adapted from Bourbon and Toast.

• 2 c. Bourbon
• 6 figs, washed and halved
• 1/2 vanilla bean

1. Place the figs and vanilla bean in a sterilized pint jar. Top with the Bourbon and seal the jar with a lid. Place in a cool dry place out of direct light and let sit for 2-4 weeks, until the Bourbon has taken on the color and flavor of the figs.

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This week has my head spinning. I don’t want to jinx it by writing about it but we may have found our first house. Saturday night I arrived home from Chile, Sunday we went out for a round of open house visits like we’ve done almost every weekend since the beginning of February, Monday we went back to one of the houses for a second visit, and Tuesday we made an offer… which was accepted! Now we’re gearing up for several weeks of legalities and formalities – the inspection, purchase agreement, appraisal, and so on. It’s all new to me and completely overwhelming. I’m stressed to the point of exhaustion but also really excited (although I’m trying to keep my excitement somewhat in check until it’s a sure thing). It doesn’t help that I fly back to Colombia for a week on Monday morning. There’s so much going on! But before then, I’m going to do my best to enjoy the long weekend and celebrate my 26th birthday (tomorrow!) in style, starting with this springy pink cocktail.

This cocktail is inspired by our long weekend in New York this winter. The trip was Trevor’s Christmas present to me, and it was wonderful – we spent the first night in a beautiful old inn in Newport, where we had a superbly elegant French dinner and slept in a room that made me feel like a complete princess. The next morning we continued the drive into the city, arriving in time for the matinee of Les Miserables, which was incredible – I was in tears basically every time Val Jean opened his mouth. We spent the evening restaurant hopping, sampling big soft pretzels and candied pork belly at Pony Bar, incredible pizza at BSide Brick Oven Pizza, and a series of whiskeys at  On The Rocks. I’m not a huge whiskey drinker and actually had sort of a difficult time convincing the bartender there to make me a cocktail (“it’s a whiskey bar, not a cocktail bar”), but once I did, I very much enjoyed the Bourbon Sour he made me. Although I know a Whiskey Sour is about as classic as it gets, it was new to me and I felt a bit more grown-up then I usually do at bars, since there was no fruit, champagne, or sugar rim to be found in my cocktail for once. I’ve made my own spring version here, adding rhubarb and a dash of vanilla to the sour mix for color and a hint of sweetness. This drink is super easy to make and will liven up any spring gathering, so give it a go.

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Rhubarb Bourbon Sour

A refreshing spring cocktail made from fresh rhubarb syrup and bourbon, with a hint of vanilla.

• Author: Katie at the Kitchen Door
• Yield: 4-6

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 c. chopped fresh rhubarb
• 1 c. sugar
• 3/4 c. freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/2 c. water
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• Bourbon
• few drops bitters

Instructions

1. Combine the rhubarb, sugar, lemon juice, and water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a simmer over low heat and simmer gently until the rhubarb is completely soft and the mixture is syrupy, about 8-10 minutes. Keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn’t boil over. Strain the liquid into a bowl or glass jar. Stir the vanilla extract into the rhubarb syrup. Keep the stewed rhubarb for another use.
2. For each cocktail, add ice, 1 part rhubarb syrup, 1 part Bourbon, and a few drops of bitters to a cocktail shaker. Shake vigorously for 20-30 seconds, until foamy, then strain into a chilled glass. Garnish with extra rhubarb stalks if desired, and serve immediately.

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With Thanksgiving so late in the month and the early onset of wintry weather in much of the US, it feels like we’re hurtling into the Christmas season even faster than we usually do. December begins tomorrow and with it a flurry of excitement – holiday parties, decorating, baking, shopping, spending time with family and friends, and otherwise celebrating the season. While it may seem overwhelming to stick to a budget at this time of year, it’s not impossible, and even entertaining can be done in a way that’s frugal without feeling cheap. When Albertsons tasked me with coming up with a few recipes for throwing a holiday party on a budget, I was up for the challenge. Although my days of scrimping on every purchase (read: college) are getting further behind me, I still tend to entertain with a close eye on my wallet. But that doesn’t mean that the parties I throw can’t still be fun and elegant! When planning a party, I tend to rely on a few tips for keeping both my stress levels and my total expenses low:

• Choose recipes that can serve a crowd. Much of the cost for shopping for a recipe is in the ingredients that you only need a small amount of. If you’re doubling or tripling a recipe to serve a large group, you’re less likely to waste money in the form of lots of little bits and bobs that will be difficult to use up later. Besides, it’s much easier for you as the host to set out a large casserole or serving platter than to concern yourself with lots of small plated dishes!
• Look for ways to extend fancy ingredients. You don’t need to completely avoid luxurious ingredients to stick to a budget, just look for recipes that extend the main ingredient. Dying to serve steak? Slice it thin and serve steak sandwiches with blue cheese and caramelized onions. Want to serve candied nuts but worried about how many you’ll need for a large group? Toss them with homemade popcorn and there’s more for everyone (see below!).
• Cook from scratch. Wherever possible, make recipes from scratch to save money and keep things healthy. An example: making your own pizza dough is easy and requires only a little flour and water – much cheaper than buying one pre-made. Of course, there’s a trade-off here for how much of your time you’re willing to spend doing prep work, so don’t try to do everything by yourself.

With these tips in mind, I came up with the following four recipes. The ingredients would be easy to find at your local Albertsons or Shaws, and for a party of 8 should come in well under $100.

Pomegranate Mojito Punch: Punch is one of my favorite things to serve at a party, especially during the holidays. It’s the easiest way to serve a crowd a festive cocktail, and allows guests to serve themselves quickly and easily throughout the night. Adding a pomegranate and mint leaf studded ice ring to the punch bowl ups the elegance factor, with the added benefit of keeping the punch cool for longer than single ice cubes. Plus, if there will be kids at your party, they’ll love the non-alcoholic version of this, and you only have to make one recipe to please all ages!

Popcorn with Rosemary Butter and Honey-Chipotle Almonds: Candied or spiced nuts are always a hit at holiday parties, but they can be hard hitting on both your waistline and your wallet if you rely on them as an appetizer. Extend them by mixing with freshly popped popcorn, seasoned with fresh rosemary butter. Individual newspaper cones make for a cute presentation, and also allow your guests to help themselves, wandering around with their own personal appetizer without worrying about making a mess or finding a place to put their plate when they’re done. The almonds themselves are glazed with a honey and chipotle sauce – just slightly sweet with a deep savoriness from the chipotle powder, they are completely addictive.

Blue Cheese, Ham, and Fig Jam Stromboli: Similar to a calzone, a stromboli is like the jelly-roll of pizza. It feels slightly fancier than just serving a pizza, but is just as economical when you need to serve a crowd. It also allows easy and mess-free serving, and can be customized to use whatever fillings you have on hand. This one combines fig jam, blue cheese, and ham for a sophisticated and rich flavor combination.

Chocolate-Cherry Crepe Cake: Crepe cakes are similar in concept to a layer cake, except the layers are made from crepes instead of cake – good for those who are intimidated by baking cake from scratch. Assembling this neatly takes a bit of patience, but overall I find it easier than baking and decorating a layer cake. Plus, you get a much better ratio of whipped cream to “cake” then you do with a traditional cake. This crepe cake uses chocolate crepes, espresso whipped cream, and cherry jam.

More like this…

Homemade Eggnog

Rum-and-Pomegranate Glazed Duck

Peppermint Mocha Ice Cream Sundae

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

Pomegranate Mojito Punch

Serves 8-10. A Katie at the Kitchen Door original recipe.

• 1 pomegranate
• 1 bunch mint, divided
• Ice cubes
• 1 c. sugar
• 2 ½ c. pomegranate juice
• ½ c. lime juice, preferably freshly squeezed (from 4-5 limes)
• 2 c. white rum (optional)
• 2 c. lime seltzer, chilled

1. To make the ice ring: remove the arils from the pomegranate. One way to do this is to cut the pomegranate in quarters and peel away as much of the white skin as possible, then gently rub the seeds to release. Place the pomegranate arils in the bottom of a bundt pan. Place 10-12 fresh mint leaves on top of the pomegranate, then cover with a handful of ice cubes (the ice cubes will keep the pomegranate from floating when you add water). Cover the pomegranate arils with water – you should have water about 1 inch deep in the bundt pan. Place in the freezer and freeze until solid, at least 6 hours.
2. Roughly chop the remaining mint leaves. Add to a small saucepan along with the sugar and 1 cup of water. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and let sit for 10 minutes, allowing the mint leaves to further flavor the syrup. Strain the syrup through a fine-mesh strainer into a bowl and set aside, discarding the mint leaves.
3. Pour the mint syrup, pomegranate juice, lime juice, and rum, if using, into a large bowl. Stir, then cover and chill until very cold, at least 1 hour. Just before serving, take the punch out of the fridge and add the seltzer. Remove the ice ring from the freezer and briefly run the outside under hot water to loosen the ring from the pan, then invert the ice ring to remove from the pan and carefully add to the punch bowl. Serve immediately.

Popcorn with Rosemary Butter and Honey-Chipotle Almonds

Serves 8 as an appetizer. A Katie at the Kitchen Door original recipe.

• 3 TBS canola oil
• ½ c. unpopped plain popcorn
• 4 TBS salted butter, divided
• 2 sprigs fresh rosemary, leaves removed and finely chopped (about 1 ½ tsp chopped)
• 1 ¼ tsp coarse sea salt, divided
• 2 TBS honey
• ¼ tsp chipotle powder
• 1 c. whole unblanched almonds

1. Place the canola oil in a large, heavy-bottomed stockpot with a lid. Heat over medium heat until shimmering, then pour the popcorn kernels on the bottom of the pot in an even layer. Cover with the lid and place over heat until you start to hear the kernels pop. Wearing oven mitts, shake the pot gently from side to side over the heat as the popcorn pops (to prevent kernels from sticking to the bottom and burning). Do this until the pops slow to 1 or 2 per second, then remove from the heat, and shake for another 30 seconds. Once the pops have completely subsided, remove the lid and give the popcorn a few stirs, then cover and set aside.
2. Preheat the oven to 300° In a small saucepan, place 3 TBS of the butter and the chopped rosemary. Melt over low heat, then pour over the popcorn and stir. Sprinkle 1 tsp of the sea salt over the popcorn and stir.
3. Place the remaining 1 TBS of butter, ¼ tsp of salt, the honey, and the chipotle powder in the small saucepan. Melt over medium heat, then add the almonds and stir to coat. Cook until the honey sauce has thickened and is bubbling, about 3-4 minutes, then spread the almonds out on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Bake for 12 minutes, then remove from heat and let cool. Use a fork to break apart any clusters, then stir into the popcorn. Serve the popcorn in individual paper cones for guests to pick up and carry around with themselves.

Blue Cheese, Ham, and Fig Jam Stromboli

Serves 8-10. A Katie at the Kitchen Door original recipe.

• 1 large pizza dough, room temperature (store bought or homemade)
• ½ c. of fig jam
• 2 TBS balsamic vinegar
• ½ lb. ham, thinly sliced
• 2 c. shredded mozzarella
• ¾ c. crumbled blue cheese (about 3 oz.)
• 2 c. baby spinach
• 1 egg

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Combine the fig jam and balsamic vinegar in a medium bowl. Whisk until smooth.
2. Roll the pizza dough out into a large rectangle, about 14 inches wide by 20 inches long. Carefully lift the dough and transfer to a large square of parchment paper placed on a rimmed baking sheet (dough will hang over the edges before you stuff it). Spread the jam in a thin layer over the middle of the dough, leaving 1-2 inches of space from all four edges. Place the ham slices over the jam in an even layer. Sprinkle the mozzarella and the blue cheese evenly over the ham, then top with a layer of spinach.
3. Prepare an egg wash by whisking the egg vigorously with 1 teaspoon of water. Set aside. Fold the short sides of the dough over by about 1 inch, just to cover the edge of the filling. Brush the top of the folded edge with egg wash. Fold one of the long edges over the filling to cover it by one third. Brush the remaining exposed edge with egg wash (to create a better seal when you fold it). Fold the other long edge so that it covers the previously folded portion, pinching along all edges to seal – you should have a long loaf with three layers inside, folded as you would fold a letter. Brush the entire top and sides with egg wash. Using a sharp knife, make a series of diagonal slits on the top to act as steam vents. Bake for 30-40 minutes, until the top is golden brown. Let rest 5 minutes before slicing and serving.

Chocolate-Cherry Crepe Cake

Serves 8. A Katie at the Kitchen Door original recipe.

• 4 large eggs
• 1 c. whole milk
• 1 TBS butter, plus extra for cooking the crepes
• 1 oz. dark chocolate chips
• ¾ c. flour, sifted
• 3 TBS cocoa powder, sifted
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 ½ c. heavy cream
• 2 TBS sugar
• 2 TBS freshly brewed espresso or 2 tsp espresso powder
• 6 TBS cherry jam
• 1 TBS kirsch, grand marnier, or other fruity liqueur

1. Put the eggs and milk in a blender and blend on high until smooth, about 30 seconds. Melt the chocolate chips and the butter together, either in a small saucepan over low heat or in the microwave (heat on half power for 15 seconds at a time, stirring in between, to avoid scorching the chocolate). Turn the blender back on and carefully drizzle the melted chocolate mixture into the batter, just until incorporated. Turn off the blender. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, and salt. Add to the batter and blend until smooth, another 30-60 seconds. Refrigerate the batter for at least 1 hour.
2. In a medium frying pan, heat a small pat of butter over medium heat. Once the butter has melted. Pour about ¼ cup of the crepe batter into the pan and swirl the pan so that the batter evenly fills the bottom of the pan. Cook until the visible side of the crepe begins to look tacky, about 60-90 seconds, then flip and cook the other side of the crepe for 30 seconds. Remove to a pan to cool. Repeat until you have used all the batter. Depending on the size of your pan, you should have 12-18 crepes. Chill the crepes until cool to the touch, about 30 minutes.
3. Add the heavy cream to a large bowl and beat on high until soft peaks have formed. Add the sugar and espresso or espresso powder and beat until stiff peaks have formed, then chill the whipped cream until you are ready to assemble the cake.
4. When you are ready to assemble the cake, place the cherry jam and the fruit liqueur in a small saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer (you are just trying to thin the jam to a consistency where it is easily spreadable). Remove from the heat. Place a small dollop of whipped cream on your serving platter or cake stand, then place a crepe on the whipped cream to stabilize the cake. Brush a small amount (about 2 teaspoons) of the cherry jam mixture on top of the crepe, then spread a thin layer of the espresso whipped cream evenly on top of the jam. Top with another crepe, pressing very gently. Repeat the process with another layer of jam and whipped cream. Do this until you have used all of your crepes. Chill the cake for at least 45 minutes before serving – this will make it much easier to cut into the layers neatly. Serve chilled.

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• 2 ripe pears, plus extra slices for serving
• 1/3 c. sugar
• 1 c. water
• 1 whole cinnamon stick
• 5 whole cloves
• 4 oz. maple liqueur
• 1 bottle white wine

1. Peel and core the pears and roughly chop into cubes. Place the pear cubes, sugar, water, cinnamon stick, and cloves in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer until the pears are soft, about 8-10 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to remove the cinnamon stick and cloves and discard. Puree the pear and syrup mixture until smooth, in a regular blender or using a hand blender.
2. Put the pear syrup back in a saucepan. Add the liqueur and wine and heat over low heat until just steaming. Remove from the heat and ladle into pre-warmed glasses (to prevent cracking. Garnish each glass with a few slices of pear, then serve.

The post Mulled Pear Sangria appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

I think maybe I overdid it on cherries this year. For me, cherries are the epitome of the “get ’em while you can” mentality that comes over me every time some new type of produce comes into season. Cherries just seem so fleeting, and they’re really at their best eaten fresh, unadultered. They can be expensive, but usually there’s a week or two when stores are trying to clear out their supplies before they go bad when you can get better prices. Long story short, a few weeks back, when Wholefoods announced a one-day sale on cherries for $1.99 a pound, I went a little crazy and bought 7 pounds. On top of that, I still had 3 pounds in the fridge from a previous grocery store shopping spree. I can tell you from personal experience, 10 pounds is a lot of cherries, even for the most rabid cherry consumer.

So I got out my cherry pitter and went to work. Plenty of the cherries got put aside for eating fresh and several pounds got simmered in brandy and red wine and packed away in jars for holiday eating. After this, I had about 2 pounds of cherries left, all of them a little sadder and more bruised than their fresh-eating counterparts. I toyed with the idea of making more jam to add to the pile of newly-filled ball jars that has been slowly building on our shelves, but really, the thing I couldn’t get out of my mind was fresh cherry soda. So I turned to my copy of True Brews and quickly whipped up a batch of Cherry-Vanilla Soda. If you have cherries to spare, please make this soda – it is so sweet and fizzy and refreshing, and it’s a gorgeous clear cherry-red color. Just a little glass feels like a special treat. And it’s even more of a special treat if you add a dash of bourbon and chocolate extract, like we did for this cocktail. The mixture of cherries and bourbon and chocolate feels very Southern and indulgent, a drink for sipping slowly on your porch at twilight, when the heat finally begins to fade.

Ingredient note: I’m not sure you can still buy the Taza Mexican chocolate extract we used for flavoring – I looked for a link to direct you all to, but learned that it was only produced from 2010-2013. You can read about it here, but I couldn’t find any online vendors selling it. It’s more similar to a chocolate baking extract than a chocolate bitters – something like this might work in its place.

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Cherry-Chocolate Bourbon Soda

Serves 1.

• 3/4 c. homemade cherry-vanilla soda (recipe below) or other cherry soda
• 15 drops Taza Mexican chocolate extract
• 1 oz. Bourbon

1. Add the soda, chocolate extract, and bourbon to a glass with several ice cubes in it. Stir gently, then serve immediately.

Homemade Cherry Vanilla Soda

Recipe adapted from True Brews. Makes 8 cups.

• 2 lbs. of pitted fresh cherries
• 4 limes
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 c. water, plus more to fill the bottles
• 9 TBS sugar
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp dry champagne yeast

1. Place the cherries, lime juice, and vanilla in a large bowl. Bring the cup of water to a boil, then stir in the sugar and salt until dissolved. Pour the mixture over the cherries and let macerate for 10 minutes.
2. Place the cherries and their liquid in a blender and blend until smooth. Strain the puree through a fine mesh strainer, catching the juice in a bowl. Pour the cherry juice through a funnel into a clean 2-liter soda bottle (do not use glass, as it may break under the pressure of the fermentation process). Add water to the bottle to fill almost to the top, leaving at least 1 inch of headspace between the top of the juice and the cap. Taste and add more lime juice, sugar, or vanilla as desired.
3. Add the yeast to the bottle. Screw on the cap and shake to distribute the yeast. Let the bottle sit at room temperature out of direct sunlight until the bottle feels rock solid when you press against the sides. This carbonation process usually takes 12 to 48 hours: check the bottle periodically to avoid overcarbonation and a potentially bursted bottle. Once the soda is carbonated, place it in the fridge to slow the carbonation process. Open very slowly over a sink the first time you serve it, to avoid bubble-ups. Serve cold. Refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.

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Facing this dilemna last week, asleep on my feet after a long day and without much of a plan, I chopped up the remaining 2 cups of strawberries and threw them in a bowl. I was planning on dousing them with sugar and using them in my yogurt for the next few days, but decided to look up how you make fruit shrubs before doing so. I had been explaining the concept of a shrub, a fruit and vinegar syrup often used to flavor cocktails, but sometimes drunk on it’s own, to Trevor a few days earlier, but had never actually tasted one.

Turns out, the first step to making a shrub is to douse your fruit in sugar and let it sit around in the fridge for a few more days, so I proceeded with my original plan, adding a handful of lemon peels that Trevor had conveniently prepared for cocktails and left in the fridge. After a day or two of maceration, the juices get mixed with an approximately equal amount of cider vinegar, and popped back in the fridge. Now, 10 days later, I have a jar of intensely sweet-and-sour pink juice that can be added to anything that needs a flavor boost. I actually really like it on its own, although only in small doses, but since today is the first day of my Maine vacation (!), I decided to make a celebratory champagne cocktail with it. A little of the shrub, a dash of bitters, top the glass of with champagne, and you have a sophisticated and not-too-sweet twist on champagne and strawberries.

This recipe is not precise in any sense of the word, so don’t feel constrained by it. Mix up the fruit, mix up the type of vinegar, let sit in the fridge for longer, mix it with something other than champagne… experiment and see what works for you.

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Strawberry-Lemon Shrub

Based on the instructions on Serious Eats. Makes about 2 cups.

• 2 c. hulled and quartered fresh strawberries
• 1 c. sugar
• peel from 2 lemons, white pith completely removed
• 1 c. apple cider vinegar

1. Stir together the chopped strawberries, sugar, and lemon peel in a large bowl. Cover tightly and let sit in the fridge for 2-3 days, stirring briefly every 24 hours.
2. Strain the juice from the fruit mixture. Stir the juice together with the apple cider vinegar. Place the juice-vinegar mixture in the fridge in a covered jar. Let sit in the fridge for at least 4 days before tasting – the flavors will mellow with time. Will keep in the fridge for several weeks.

Strawberry Champagne Shrub

Serves 1.

• 3 TBS strawberry-lemon shrub, recipe above
• 2 dashes cranberry bitters
• 3/4 c. chilled champagne or prosecco
• 1 small strawberry, for garnish.

1. Add the shrub and bitters to a tall glass. Top off with prosecco, drop a strawberry in, and serve immediately.

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We currently have a very large supply of beer in our house. Six cases plus four extra 22-oz bottles, to be exact. And it’s all a very dark, very fresh, very rich Russian Imperial Stout that we brewed ourselves at a place in New Hampshire called Incredibrew (their tagline is “Make beer, wine, and friends!” And they mean it, the other customers are the friendliest). My parents went there years ago with friends, and this year their Christmas gift to Trevor was a gift certificate to cover one batch of beer. It took us several tries to schedule a time where all four of us could go (my parents made their own batch, so we could swap some bottles after), but we eventually made it a few weeks ago. It’s a really fun little operation, very well organized and a pretty good deal. You pick one out of dozens of recipes to make, gather your ingredients, get assigned to a copper kettle, and then they walk you through the brewing process. It takes about 2 hours, then your beer sits around for 2 weeks fermenting before you come back and bottle it. The fact that you’re carefully supervised means you end up with very good results, and I never realized how much more flavor and zing really fresh beer has.

So it’s really good, but like I said, we have a lot of it. And while we’re excited to be pouring out something so high quality when friends visit, I got Trevor to agree that a few bottles could be spared for cooking projects. Part of the reason I wanted to go with a stout is that it’s a great beer for cooking and baking – the sweet chocolatey undertones can really amp up the flavor of a batch of brownies or braised ribs. I have a long list of recipes that I’m going to make with it, but first, I wanted to share a really quick and easy cocktail/dessert from Winter Cocktails – a Chocolate Stout Affogato.

This is a very adult dessert. Besides the fact that it has all kinds of things you’re not supposed to give to kids in it (espresso, beer, liqueur) the flavor is rich and mature, not overly sweet and certainly not simple. Both espresso and stout are strongly flavored and have a fair amount of bitterness to them, and when paired with the simple and syrupy sweetness of chocolate liqueur and coffee ice cream, it’s a gorgeous mix of sweet and bitter, with the coffee and chocolate undertones of all four ingredients connecting all the flavors together. The temperature and density contrasts – hot thin espresso, cold creamy ice cream, cold frothy beer – add another element of complexity, at least for the first few bites, before it all melts into one delicious mixture. Since the effort in throwing this together is absolutely minimal – brewing a pot of espresso is the most time consuming task – these are the perfect dessert to end your next dinner party. I promise, they’re so elegant and delicious your guests will have no idea that your copping out on hours in the kitchen to bake that perfect layer cake.

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Chocolate Stout Affogato

Adapted from Winter Cocktails. Serves 1.

• 1 scoop coffee ice cream
• 1 shot (2 oz.) hot espresso, freshly brewed
• 1.5 oz. chocolate liqueur, such as Godiva Mocha
• 1/2 c. stout beer, preferably chocolate stout

1. Place the ice cream in a glass. Pour the espresso, chocolate liqueur, and stout over the top. Serve immediately.

The post Chocolate Stout Affogato appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

I am so over this winter. The snow has just been pouring down in Boston, and although I generally love that my office has a big window, it seems like all I can see lately are whiteouts. Last Thursday, this weekend, yesterday, today – four storms in seven days. Enough already.

But I know winter’s not all bad, and so I’ve been trying to enjoy what it does have to offer. I spent last weekend in Maine with my dad, and although it was still snowy and cold, at least there was a bit of sunshine, clean snow, and plenty of fresh air. We spent the mornings waking up slowly to drink coffee by the sunny windows; the afternoons trekking through the woods, enjoying the heavy stillness of a freshly blanketed pine forest; and the evenings eating too many cookies and watching movies. It was incredibly relaxing, and hopefully gave me just enough optimism to make it through the next three weeks (before we head to Ecuador!).

When I can’t be traipsing through pretty snow and enjoying the quiet of fresh winter air, I can at least be snuggled up enjoying rich, warm drinks I’d never make in the summer. This cocktail was inspired by a recipe in Winter Cocktails called 1,001 Nights. A smooth and thick mixture of rum-and-cinnamon-soaked dates blended with coconut milk and served warm, it’s an incredibly rich and comforting drink that hints of warmer climes. Tasting it after blending, I thought it was a little too sweet, so I skipped the honey and sweetened whipped cream that the original recipe called for and instead added a splash of bourbon to the mixture. The result was just right for me – the drink was still sweet and rich, but with just enough smoky, woodsy flavors to offset the syrupy-ness. While it certainly has it’s roots in Middle Eastern flavors, it has a profoundly American accent, so I’ve changed the name to 1,001 Kentucky Nights. And I’d make it just like this next time, too. That said, if you don’t have a copy of Winter Cocktails yet, you should really go order one – I’ve discovered so many great recipes from it this winter.

P.S. Check out the genuine Omani goodies making my pictures that much more authentic! That’s agar wood in the box in the background, and the little knobbly stuff in front of it is frankincense. I had never really thought about frankincense being a real thing before, so I was genuinely shocked when Trevor showed it to me. So cool.

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1,001 Kentucky Nights

Adapted loosely from Winter Cocktails. Serves 2-3.

• 1/2 c. pitted dates, roughly chopped
• 3/4 c. dark rum
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 3/4 c. coconut milk
• 1.5 to 3 oz. of Bourbon

1. Add the chopped dates, rum, and cinnamon stick to a small saucepan. Bring to a very gentle simmer over low heat, and simmer until the dates have absorbed most of the liquid and are very soft, about 8 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool 5 minutes, then remove the cinnamon stick (you can save it for garnish, if you’d like).
2. Add the dates and their liquid to a blender with the coconut milk. Blend on high until the mixture is smooth and thick. Strain the mixture back into the small saucepan. If you are using a high-powered blender, such as a Vitamix, you won’t need to strain it. Reheat gently until just warmed through. Stir in 1.5 oz. of Bourbon and taste, adding more if you’d like a stronger drink. Serve immediately.

The post Forever Winter // 1,001 Kentucky Nights appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

After 11 days of vacation, I had to go back to work… for all of 5 hours. Then we had our first Nor’easter of the year, they closed my office, and now I’m back on vacation for another 3 days. So far, 2014 hasn’t been too strenuous. Sadly, Trevor had to drive off into the snowy wilderness to go to work today, but he made this nice warm Russian drink and wrote this post for you to help those of you who are in the same boat warm up:

I’m especially pleased with the way Christmas and New Years came in 2013. It’s been like having a string of one day weeks for us around here, and work has been pretty low-key for everyone. I feel like I’ve had enough large meals and beer to hibernate at least through to March, and the bitter cold has kept us reading in bed until late in the mornings for quite a few days in a row. That being said, work is starting again in earnest, and most Bostonians are battling the first Nor’easter of the new year. For me, when I’m shoveling in the dark after a long day of work, the thought of a nice warm (alcoholic) beverage is pretty much the only thing that makes it bearable. [Edit: I swear Trevor isn’t a sad, lonely alcoholic. Also, I sometimes help with the shoveling.]

I discovered this drink while looking for ideas for the Captain’s Table Challenge, that Katie and I have been participating in (results for the second round are imminent).  With Katie traveling to Russia so often, it seemed like a good place to look for bracing beverages for the darkest depths of winter. At any rate, Sbiten, (according to the internet) it one of Russia’s versions of the hot, spiced, mulled winter drinks that cure what ails you. It stood out to me because the use of jam and honey make it so thick and hearty and give you a lot of control over the flavor. I’ve tried the recipe using a red wine base, as well as a rum-water base, and both turned out very nicely.

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Sbiten: Russian Mulled Rum

Serves 2.

• 1 c. water
• ½ c. spiced rum (plus one shot, optional)
• 2 T jam of choice
• 1 T honey
• ½ t ground ginger
• 1 t ground clove
• ½ t ground cinnamon
• ½ t ground nutmeg

1. Heat the water and ½ c. rum over medium heat in a small pot. When the mixture is just boiling add the jam and honey and simmer for 5 minutes.
2. Add the rest of the spices, and stir to mix. Strain into mugs and add a dash of rum to each, if desired, for a stiffer drink.

Note: For a red wine-base, replace water and rum with ½ c. water and 1 c. red wine.

The post Cold Weather Cocktails: Sbiten appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

As promised, I’m back with the drinkable half of my submission to Captain’s Table Christmas. Trevor did rum-cocktail research while I was away in Russia/Spain, and his favorite discovery was the Tom & Jerry, a variant of eggnog that is served warm. Apparently it’s a traditional Christmastime cocktail here in the States, but it was new to me, perhaps because it isn’t typically found outside of the midwest. I’m curious, have any of you ever had one? Do you have any favorite flavors? We decided to flavor this version with chocolate and orange, another traditional Christmastime combo. To make the “batter,” sweetened cocoa-powder and egg yolks get folded in to whipped egg whites, and then the batter is mixed with rum and orange liqueur and frothed with a little bit of warm milk, resulting in a sweet, strong, frothy drink with lots of Christmasy flavors. Give it a try! And then the next time you go to Wisconsin or Minnesota you’ll be that much more culturally attuned.

Remember, use the #CaptainsTable hashtag in your tweets/pins/instagrams/posts about holiday recipes and entertaining and $1 will be donated to WhyHunger every time. So mix up a drink, snap a picture, and share!

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Captain Morgan, who provided me with product samples and monetary compensation in exchange for my participation in this program. All opinions are honest and my own, as always.

Chocolate-Orange Tom & Jerry

Serves 4.

• 2 eggs
• 2 TBS sugar
• 1 TBS cocoa powder
• 1/8 tsp cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg
• 2 c. milk
• 4 oz. Captain Morgan Black Spiced Rum
• 4 oz. Cointreau or other orange liqueur
• zest from 1 orange

1. Separate the eggs. Whip the egg whites until white and frothy, so they hold their shape but are not stiff and shiny. In a separate bowl, sift together the cocoa powder, sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Beat the egg yolks together with the cocoa-sugar until very smooth and runny. Gently fold the whipped egg whites into the yolks until the mixture is even in color and consistency.
2. Heat the milk over low heat, until it is just beginning to steam, then turn off the heat. To prepare the drinks, add a few TBS of the chocolate egg white “batter” to each of four glasses, then add 1 oz. of rum and 1 oz. of orange liqueur to each glass. Stir gently to combine. Add 1/2 c. of warm milk to each glass, and stir vigorously to froth the drink. Taste, adding more milk or chocolate batter to your liking. Serve immediately topped with orange zest.

The post Captain’s Table Christmas // Chocolate-Orange Tom & Jerry appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I hope that none of you have had any major kitchen or travel mishaps, and that you’re all getting ready/happily in the midst of/recovering from a relaxing day of family, friends, and delicious eating. We’re in the car on our way up to Maine to see Trevor’s family, but before we sit down to overindulge, I wanted to share our Thanksgiving submission to the Captain’s Table Challenge.

As I mentioned Monday, we’re part of a group of 15 bloggers that are teaming up with Captain Morgan to create delicious rum-based food and drink recipes for the holiday season. There’s a bit of a contest aspect to it as well, so I’m extra motivated to make these recipes top notch (there’s nothing like a little competition to get me going). For the Thanksgiving edition of the challenge, we decided to work with two classic November ingredients, sweet potatoes and cranberries, turning each into a rum-infused masterpiece. After a bit of group brainstorming at the wedding we were at last weekend, we decided that the only thing for the sweet potatoes was a souffle, and not just any souffle, but a light, fluffy, rum-scented souffle drizzled with a rum-raisin caramel sauce. There are a surprising number of sweet potato souffle recipes out there, but you’ll quickly notice that most of them are not actually souffles, but instead just mashed sweet potatoes buried under some form of sweet goo (I so enjoyed Sommer’s rant on this topic). What we were going for was a real souffle, with a classic roux-base, a bit of rum, and a hint of sweet potato flavor.

Creating our own recipe for souffles was a bit of a risky move, and it was a tense 30 minutes in the kitchen as we waited to take them out of the oven. We’ve made souffles before, but tweaking any baking recipe can be hit or miss, plus souffles are notoriously challenging and we did significantly more than tweak a base recipe. We did our research, though, and what came out of the oven was far more perfect than we expected – puffed up gracefully over the top of the ramekins, cooked through yet still creamy, light and sweet and everything you want a souffle to be. With the thick, syrupy-sweet rum raisin caramel drizzled on top, I am not ashamed to admit that we each had two of these, one after the other. And then we skipped dinner.

As for the cranberries, I knew I wanted to do a festive riff on Dark and Stormy’s, the classic ginger and dark rum cocktail that’s pretty much perfect any time of year. I wanted to incorporate cranberries, but I didn’t want the drink to be too sweet or cloying, so instead of using cranberry juice, I made a thick, almost jam-like cranberry-ginger syrup for the base of the drink. After reading an article in Bon Appetit about how we should be celebrating Thanksgiving with the new crop of artisanal hard ciders that wouldn’t have been out of place at early colonial celebrations, I decided to replace the traditional ginger beer with one of my favorite sparkling ciders, Bantam’s Wunderkind. The resulting drink was strong and slightly sweet, with hints of spice, cranberry and apple.

So, if you’re looking for something to do with your leftover mashed sweet potatoes or that bag of cranberries you didn’t end up using? Try a souffle, or a cranberry-ginger cocktail, or maybe even both. And let me know what you think! Also, if there’s any flavor combinations or recipe types you’d like to see for our Christmas Captain Morgan challenge, leave a note in the comments – we’re looking for inspiration anywhere we can get it. Have a wonderful holiday!

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Captain Morgan, who provided me with product samples and monetary compensation in exchange for my participation in this program. All opinions are honest and my own, as always.

Sweet Potato Souffles with Rum Raisin Sauce

Serves 5.

For the souffles:

• 2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 2 TBS olive oil
• 3 TBS butter plus extra for greasing the ramekins
• 3 TBS flour
• 3/4 c. warm milk
• 1/4 c. Captain Morgan Original Spiced Rum
• 3 egg yolks
• 1/4 c. sugar plus extra for preparing the ramekins
• 6 egg whites
• pinch cream of tartar

1. Preheat the oven to 375F. Toss the sweet potato cubes with the olive oil and place in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake for 30-40 minutes, until very tender and almost falling apart. Stir the sweet potatoes once after 20 minutes. While still warm, add the sweet potato cubes to a blender and puree until smooth. Scrape the puree out of the blender and set aside.
2. Adjust the oven temperature to 350F. Butter five 6-oz. souffle dishes or ramekins, then sprinkle a bit of sugar into each. Tap the sugar around the edges of the dish, tapping out any excess. Set the prepared dishes aside.
3. In a wide frying pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Whisk in the flour, and cook for 2-3 minutes, until the mixture is a pale yellow and smells nutty. Add 1/4 c. of the warm milk to the roux and whisk until smooth, then slowly whisk in the remaining warm milk. Cook over medium-low heat until thick and smooth, about 1-2 minutes, then remove from the heat. Whisk in the rum, and let cool slightly.
4. Beat the egg yolks and the sugar together until thick and pale yellow. Quickly whisk into the roux, taking care that the roux is not hot enough to scramble the eggs. Then, whisk in 3/4 c. of the sweet potato puree, adding 1/4 c. at a time. When the mixture is smooth and evenly colored, set aside.
5. In a large, clean bowl, beat the egg whites until frothy. Sprinkle the cream of tartar over the top, and then beat until the egg whites are shiny and hold a stiff peak. Fold the sweet potato mixture gently into the egg whites until they are just combined. Spoon the souffle mixture carefully into the prepared dishes, filling them just shy of the brim. Place the ramekins in a larger baking dish, and fill the baking dish with hot water so that it reaches halfway up the sides of the souffle dishes. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until souffles are puffed up and set in the middle. Remove and serve immediately with the warm rum raisin sauce.

For the sauce:

• 1/2 c. Captain Morgan Black Spiced Rum
• 1/2 c. raisins
• 1/2 c. sugar
• 1/2 c. cream

1. Place the rum and the raisins in a small saucepan. Heat over low heat until the rum just begins to steam, then immediately remove from heat and set aside. Let sit for at least 10 minutes to allow the raisins to plump up.
2. Pour the sugar into the bottom of a heavy-bottomed saucepan in an even layer. Place over medium heat, and melt sugar, whisking frequently. As you whisk, the sugar will clump up, but once melted, all the clumps should dissolve. As soon as all the sugar is melted, stop whisking but swirl slightly. Watch the sugar closely as it begins to darken. As soon as it reaches a golden caramel color, add the heavy cream all at once. Be careful, the caramel will bubble violently when you do this. Whisk until the mixture is even. Now add the rum and raisins all at once, again, being careful to avoid the bubbling up, and whisking until the mixture is even. As soon as the mixture is smooth and consistent. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly. Sauce should be served warm.

Cranberry-Ginger Sparkling Rum Cider

Serves 4.

• 3/4 c. sugar
• 3/4 c. water
• 1 1/2 c. fresh cranberries, rinsed (remove any squished/deflated berries)
• 1-inch piece of ginger, peeled and sliced thinly
• 6 oz. Captain Morgan Black Spiced rum
• ice cubes
• 2 c. sparkling cider (alcoholic)
• sugared cranberries, for garnish

1. Add the sugar and water to a medium saucepan and place over medium heat. Stir until the sugar dissolves, then add the cranberries and ginger. Simmer the mixture until thick and syrupy, about 15 minutes. Stir occasionally to prevent the cranberries from foaming up, pressing the cranberries against the side of the pan to pop them.
2. Pour the cranberry mixture through a fine-mesh sieve and strain the liquid into a medium bowl. Press gently on the cranberries to extract more juice, but be warned that if you press too hard you may end up with more of a jelly than a syrup (still delicious!). Refrigerate the syrup until cold; save the berries for another use.
3. Add 1 to 2 TBS of the cranberry syrup to each of 4 glasses, then add 1 1/2 oz. (1 shot) of rum to each glass. Stir vigorously to mix. Add a few ice cubes to each glass, then top off with 1/2 c. of sparkling cider. Garnish with sugared cranberries and serve immediately.

The post Captain’s Table Thanksgiving // Sweet Potato Souffles with Rum Raisin Sauce + Cranberry-Ginger Sparkling Rum Cider appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

I’m excited to announce that for the next few months, I’ll be participating in the Captain’s Table Challenge that Captain Morgan is running this holiday season. Along with 14 other food bloggers, I’ll be creating six recipes – three cocktails and three sweet or savory dishes – using Captain Morgan. The first official recipes will be coming at you later this week, just in time for Thanksgiving, and then later on there will be some Christmas treats, and something snacky and craveable for the Superbowl. Hugh Acheson, of Georgian restaurant and F&W Best New Chef fame, will be judging the challenge, picking a winner for each holiday, and an overall winner at the end of the program. I’m looking forward to getting creative with rum, and also taste-testing everything –  because a little extra rum in the cold winter months never hurt anyone.

Besides free rum for me and a lot of rum-based recipes for you, there’s another great aspect to this program – every time the #CaptainsTable hashtag is used on social media this season, Captain Morgan will donate $1 to Why Hunger. So break out your rum, get cooking/mixing, and share your recipes and entertaining tips using the hashtag, because drinking is even better when you’re drinking for a cause.

Since I know you guys mostly come here for the food, I didn’t want to leave you hanging with no recipe today, so I have a bit of a bonus recipe for you. Trevor and I were both feeling a little rundown this weekend, although we did manage to put in a respectable showing on the dance floor at our coworkers’ wedding Saturday night. Come Sunday, all I wanted to do was lie on the couch and avoid going out into the “feels like 4°F” weather.  While I was laying there, bundled up and half-asleep at 4 in the afternoon, Trevor sat down next to me with a steaming cup of sweet, herbal rum. He’d been toying with the idea of a sage-based rum cocktail all weekend, and I’d been kind of a hard sell, but one sip of the drink changed my mind. Hot, soothing, sweet from the honey and rum, but balanced by the meyer lemon and sage, it really did make me feel better. This is probably completely a placebo effect, but my mom was always a proponent of hot toddies (just a teeny splash of whiskey) when we were sick, and who am I to argue with my mother’s wisdom? Side note: is Trevor not the best boyfriend of all time? I’m pretty sure he is.

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Captain Morgan, who provided me with product samples and monetary compensation in exchange for my participation in this program. All opinions are honest and my own, as always.

Meyer Lemon and Sage Hot Toddy

Serves 1.

• 1 TBS honey
• 1/2 c. water
• 4 sage leaves, washed
• 1 small meyer lemon
• 1 1/2 oz. Captain Morgan Original Spiced Rum

1. Add the honey, water, and sage leaves to a small saucepan. Heat over medium-low heat until sage is fragrant and honey is dissolved, about 4-5 minutes. Stir occasionally to prevent the syrup from foaming up, and do not let it come above a gentle simmer. Remove from the heat, remove and discard the sage leaves, and pour the syrup into a pre-warmed glass.
2. Cut the lemon in half, and squeeze 1-2 tsp of juice into the glass. Cut a slice of the remaining lemon for garnish. Add the rum and stir to combine. Serve immediately.

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I love a hot drink in the winter. Not just the drink itself, but the anticipation of it as you trudge home in the cold, that first sip sending warmth flooding through your chest. Breathing in the steam, letting the spices and alcohol tickle your nose, even as your fingers are still stiff with cold. When I lived in Prague, a plastic cup filled to the brim with sweet mulled wine from the closest street vendor was a much-anticipated afternoon ritual, with a sleeve full of candied almonds in the other hand when I was feeling indulgent. As we get into the holiday season, with Thanksgiving right around the corner and Christmas following close behind, I want to share a few of my favorite seasonal drinks to help you get in the spirit, whether you’re cozying up to the fire with a good book or throwing the season’s best party.

A little while back I reviewed a cookbook called Winter Cocktails, and I mentioned that the recipe we’ve been enjoying the most is Burnt-Sugar Hot Buttered Rum. We tried it a day or two after we received the book, and liked it so much that we whipped up a few big batches for our Halloween party a few weeks later. So far, everyone who has tried it has wanted seconds. It’s made by creating a dark amber caramel, adding a few cups of water to make a thin syrup, and then serving the hot, sweet syrup with an equal part rum and a pat of vanilla-butter melting into the top. It’s rich and over the top and a surefire way to get toasty fast, in both senses of the word. Give it a try the next time you’re feeling chilled.

Burnt-Sugar Hot Buttered Rum

Recipe adapted slightly from Winter Cocktails. Serves 6.

Note: We like to make these strong, with almost equal volumes of syrup and rum. Start with 1.5 oz of rum per glass, and taste as you go to find the ratio that works for you.

• 2 TBS softened salted butter
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tsp dark brown sugar
• 1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
• 3/4 c. sugar
• 1/4 c. + 3 c. water, divided
• 9 to 12 oz. dark rum

1. Stir together the softened butter, vanilla extract, brown sugar, and cinnamon until smooth. Set aside
2. Stir together the sugar and 1/4 c. water in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan. Heat over medium-high heat, swirling the pan occasionally, until mixture turns dark amber and just begins to smoke. Carefully add the 3 cups of water – the caramel will bubble violently and seize, so be prepared to stand back. Reduce heat to medium and stir until mixture is smooth. Add 1/2 c. of the hot syrup to each of 6 heatproof glasses, along with 1.5 to 2 oz. dark rum. Add 1 tsp of the vanilla butter to the top of each drink. Serve hot.

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