The first three months of the year have been a total whirlwind. Since the last time I checked in, I’ve spent two weeks in Hong Kong, a week and a half in Singapore, and a few days in Thailand. And in the brief in between times back in the US, I left home again for weekend trips to Austin, Nashville, and Montreal. So despite the snowy remnants of the last few March Nor’easters, I’m relishing a few quiet weeks at home. I’m planning the garden and reading and cooking and just generally doing the small things that make me happiest. And it means I have the chance to blog for the first time since January!

Generally, I quite like the food in Asia. Particularly so in Hong Kong and Singapore, where you can find pretty much any type of food you want. It helps that Hong Kongers and Singaporeans are obsessed with food so everything meets a minimum standard of good. But after two weeks on the road, lots of Chinese and Thai and room-service gets heavy. When I hit that point, I turn to Vietnamese for brightness and fresh vegetables. Compared to the cuisines of neighboring countries, Vietnamese food is light and refreshing. Lots of mint, basil, cilantro, and pickled vegetables bring a greenness that I really crave when traveling.

One of my go-to orders is bún, a rice noodle salad with several options for customization. I like it best with grilled lemongrass beef and a mass of pickled carrots. After my last trip I attempted making it at home, and it was surprisingly easy to make a convincing replica of my favorite restaurant versions. I love the slightly floral sweetness that the lemongrass lends to the beef, and the contrast the hot beef provides to the cool noodles and vegetables. Bún is good pretty much any time of year, but it’s particularly refreshing when the weather is hot and swampy. So, why make it in March? Brightness. I realize we’re pretty far from days that qualify as “hot,” but I’m so, so ready to eat bright-tasting things in March. This fits the bill perfectly!

Bún Bò Xào – Vietnamese Rice Noodle Salad with Lemongrass Beef

A quick and refreshing Vietnamese rice noodle salad named Bún Bò Xào. Stir-fried lemongrass beef, pickled carrots, and sweet-salty nuoc cham sauce bring tons of flavor to this bright dinner.

Adapted from Vietnamese Home Cooking.

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

Ingredients

For the Lemongrass Beef:

• 2 stalks fresh lemongrass
• 5 cloves garlic
• 1 TBS sugar
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 TBS soy sauce
• 1 TBS sesame oil
• 2 TBS canola oil
• 1 lb thinly sliced flank steak

For the pickled carrots:

• 2 large carrots, peeled
• 1/3 cup distilled white vinegar
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 whole star anise

For the nuoc cham:

• 1/4 cup fish sauce
• 3 TBS sugar
• 1/3 cup warm water
• 3 TBS white vinegar
• 1 Thai chile, stemmed and finely minced
• 1 clove garlic, peeled and finely minced

For the bowls and assembly:

• 10 oz. dried rice vermicelli noodles
• 1 TBS canola oil
• One bunch of fresh mint, leaves picked off and washed
• 1/2 cup chopped peanuts, toasted in a dry pan for 3–4 minutes

Instructions

1. To make the beef marinade: Remove and discard the outer layer of each piece of lemongrass. Trim about 3-inches of the dry, stick-like part of the lemongrass from the top so that you are left with the plumper, white interior. Slice this interior into small coins, and then finely chop those coins until evenly minced. Place minced lemongrass in a medium bowl. Peel and mince the garlic and add to the bowl with the lemongrass. Add the sugar, salt, soy sauce, sesame oil and canola oil to the bowl and stir to combine. Add the sliced flank steak and stir to coat with the marinade. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.
2. To make the pickled carrots: Use a julienne peeler to shred the carrots into long, noodle-like strips. If you don’t have a julienne peeler, carefully chop the carrots into long, thin match-sticks. Place the carrots in a heatproof bowl. Add the vinegar, sugar, water, and star anise to a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Simmer just for 30 seconds, then pour the hot liquid over the carrots. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use, at least an hour. Discard the star anise before serving.
3. To make the nuoc cham: Place all of the ingredients in a medium bowl. Stir until the sugar is dissolved. Taste and adjust seasoning if desired.
4. To finish and assemble the bowls: Cook the rice noodles according to the package directions. Drain and rinse.
5. Just before serving, cook the beef. Heat the canola oil in a large, heavy-bottomed frying pan over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, add the marinated beef to the pan in batches (each batch of beef should easily fit in the pan in a single layer). Cook the beef for 1-2 minutes on each side, until deeply caramelized on the outside but just tender in the center. Remove to a plate and continue until you have cooked all the beef.
6. To serve, fill each bowl halfway with rice noodles. Top with a quarter of the pickled carrots, several pieces of the cooked beef, a small handful of fresh mint leaves, and 2 tablespoons of chopped peanuts. Serve the bowls with the nuoc cham sauce on the side, so that each person can dress their bowl according to taste.

Notes

If you pickle the carrots at the same time that you marinate the beef, this will only take about 20 minutes to finish up before serving.

The post Bún Bò Xào – Vietnamese Rice Noodle Salad with Lemongrass Beef appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

It’s one of those gray December days that makes me feel like cozying up on the couch with a blanket and a cup of hot chocolate. I know that it’s too warm for snow, but it looks like it could start flurrying any minute. It’s early enough in the season that I don’t mind. It still feels festive to stay inside by the Christmas tree, or even to bundle up and walk through the neighborhood at dusk, looking at everyone’s lights (and, let’s be real, the plethora of horribly tacky but also endearing Christmas inflatables in our neighborhood).

It’s also the perfect sort of day for slow cooking. It will be dark by 4pm, at which point we’ll start thinking about dinner and wonder what we have that we can pop in the oven. That’s what this short rib recipe is for. It’s for days when you have hours to while away indoors, when you crave something rich and tender, when you want an excuse to open a nice bottle of red wine before 5. This is your excuse – you’ll need a cup or two of wine to braise the short ribs. This is also your excuse to stay put while the short ribs roast, filling your house with the savory scent of beef slumping into red wine.

These short ribs are classic but wonderful. If you do a little research, you’ll find that most short rib recipes out in the world are fairly similar, with only minor tweaks in the order of operations and a secret ingredient here or there. You could argue that this means the recipe is ripe for innovation, or you could just take what’s been tried and tested by the world’s greatest chefs and go with it. This version is most closely inspired by Sunday Suppers at Lucques, my favorite cookbook. I go through periods when I can’t seem to cook from any other book, as I’ve mentioned before. It also takes a few cues from this Daniel recipe. Whichever recipe you use, the tricks I’ve picked up for great short ribs are as follows. One, season generously.  Two, brown until caramelized, not just grayish-brown. Three, set aside at least 3 hours cooking time and don’t be tempted to take the ribs out before they are super tender. Four, refrigerate overnight before serving in order to skim and discard as much fat as you can.

I had originally planned on doing a follow-up post as well – a short rib grilled cheese sandwich. They offer a similar sandwich, on rich challah bread, at Tatte. We made the sandwiches but, shockingly, they were too rich for me. It turned out I had met my match when it comes to how much richness you can squeeze into one bite. So I’ll save the short rib grilled cheese for another day, when I’ve cracked that recipe. For now, I hope these delicious red wine-braised beef short ribs will warm up your kitchen this winter.

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More winter braises…

Tunisian Lamb-and-Eggplant Stew with Farro and Harissa

Braised Lamb Shanks with Blue Cheese Polenta

French Beef Stew with Red Wine

Classic Red Wine-Braised Beef Short Ribs

Classic beef short ribs, braised in red wine for hours until meltingly tender. Best served over creamy mashed potatoes, potato gnocchi, or buttered egg noodles.

Adapted from Sunday Suppers at Lucques and Daniel (via Serious Eats)

• Author: Katie at the Kitchen Door

Ingredients

• 4 bone-in short ribs, about 10-12 oz each (3 lbs. total)
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp coarse sea salt
• 1 TBS fresh thyme leaves
• 1 TBS olive oil
• 1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
• 2 carrots, peeled and finely chopped
• 2 stalks of celery, finely chopped
• 5 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
• 2 whole bay leaves
• 2 cups full-bodied red wine, such as Cabernet Sauvignon
• 1/2 cup port wine
• 3 TBS saba or aged balsamic vinegar
• 3 cups beef broth
• 1 bunch fresh parsley

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 325F.
2. Pat the short ribs day and sprinkle the pepper, sea salt, and thyme leaves on top of them. Rub the seasoning in to fully coat the short ribs on all sides. Heat the olive oil in a dutch oven or medium heat, then add the short ribs to the pan (do this in batches if they don’t fit in a single layer). Brown the short ribs on all sides, about 2-3 minutes per side, until a nice, caramelized brown crust has formed on the exterior of the ribs. Remove the browned short ribs to a plate.
3. Drain the rendered fat from the pan, reserving only 1 TBS of fat in the pan. Return the pan to the heat and lower the heat to medium-low. Add the chopped onions, carrots, celery, garlic and bay leaves to the pan. Saute until the vegetables are tender and translucent, about 5-7 minutes.
4. Add the red wine, port wine and balsamic vinegar to the pan with the vegetables. Bring to a simmer and scrape up any browned bits stuck to the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Simmer the wine until it has reduce by one third, which should take 5-8 minutes.
5. Add the beef broth to the reduced wine and stir to combine, then place the short ribs back in the pan. They should fit snugly in the pan and be just barely covered by the liquid. Tuck the parsley in to the pan around the side of the ribs. Cover with a lid and transfer to the preheated oven. Roast the short ribs for 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 hours, checking every 30-45 minutes and turning the ribs over in the pan at least once. When finished, the ribs should be completely tender, such that you can easily pull the meat apart with a fork. Remove them from the oven and let cool for 20 minutes. For best results, cover and transfer them to the fridge overnight before serving.
6. When ready to serve, remove the ribs from the fridge. Skim off and discard the hard white fat on top of the dish (there will likely be a lot of this). Preheat the oven to 400F, and return the ribs, uncovered, to the oven for 15-20 minutes – this is to both reheat the ribs and to gently brown the exterior. Before serving, ladle the sauce and vegetables out of the pan and strain through a fine mesh strainer. Discard the vegetables. Serve the ribs on mashed potatoes, gnocchi, or buttered egg noodles, topped with the strained sauce.

The post Classic Red Wine-Braised Beef Short Ribs appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

Friends! It’s my 7th Sunday Dinner post! This is a series I started two-and-a-half years ago to force myself to slow down and make a meal worth savoring every once in a while, the kind of seasonal, made-with-love food that deserves to be enjoyed while sitting at the table, engaging in conversation, and enjoying a nice bottle of wine. It’s something I don’t do as often as I’d like, as indicated by the fact that I only manage to put together one of these posts every 5 or 6 months. But when I do take the time to put together a real, wholesome meal – and to share it here with you – it’s always worth the effort.

This Sunday Dinner – which consists of a Rosemary-and-Sage-Crusted Roast Beef, a cinnamon-and-ginger-spiced Roasted Root Vegetable Salad, and Cauliflower Gratin – is the first (hopefully the first of many) that I’ve made in our new house. Although the kitchen and dining rooms are not yet the cozy, functional spaces we hope they will be one day, we’re making them work for us. And if you want to enjoy a Sunday Roast Beef like this in front of the Patriots game, in the much-cozier living room – I say it still counts.

This meal is not nearly as extravagant as some of my past dinners (I’m looking at you 4-course Valentine’s Day dinner) – there was no dessert, and no special cocktail to go with it. But what it lacks in elegance, it more than makes up for with flavor and ease – it’s the kind of meal that you could easily make and serve at a small family gathering or holiday event without needing to spend 8 hours in the kitchen preparing or 3 hours after dinner cleaning-up.

The star of this meal was the roast beef, cooked to a perfect, juicy pink if I do say so myself. The cut we used was called a “spoon roast,” something we had picked up on sale at Wholefoods on a whim. I did a lot of research on how to properly cook a low fat cut of meat like this, and found that the consensus was to dress it simply, sear it off, then roast it at a very low temperature until medium rare. As I was prepping the roast, Trevor told me that the new thing in food science is to sear beef after it’s been cooked, and since I trust him, that’s what we did – and it came out really beautifully. Served alongside the two veggie-heavy sides and a nice bottle of wine, it was just the thing for a casual December afternoon at home.

The Menu
Roasted Root Vegetable Salad with Pomegranate (recipe below, inspired by A Change of Appetite)
Herb-Crusted Roast Beef (recipe below)
Cauliflower and Horseradish Gratin (recipe below, adapted from Bon Appetit)

Past Sunday Dinners:

May 26, 2013: Coffee-and-Chile Rubbed Strip Steaks with Chimichurri Sauce; Charred and Smoky Belgian Endives; Oven-Roasted Potatoes; Strawberry-Sour Cream Ice Cream

July 1, 2013: Strawberry-Lime Agua Fresca; Smashed Pea, Dill, and Feta Crostini; Chilled Asparagus Soup with Meyer Lemon Yogurt; Mustard Spaetzle with Mushrooms; Ricotta Bavarese with Red-Wine Poached Rhubarb

October 28, 2013: Braised Lamb Shanks with Gremolata; Creamy Polenta with Fresh Corn and Blue Cheese; Roasted Brussels Sprouts; Classic Apple Pie

March 31, 2014: Fried Halloumi with Spring Veggies and Strawberry-Basil Gastrique; French Gnocchi with Watercress Sauce; Strawberry-Rhubarb Meringue Pots

August 31, 2014: Roasted Garlic, Ricotta, and Maple-Roasted Cherry Tomato Crostini; Eggplant and Pesto Napoleons; Maple Mixed-Berry Pie

February 15, 2015: Blood Orange Mimosa; Endive and Blood Orange Salad; Chanterelle and Chestnut Bisque; Coffee-Crusted Duck Breast with Brandy-Balsamic Sauce; Chocolate Espresso Layer Cake

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Roasted Root Vegetable Salad with Pomegranate

Adapted loosely from A Change of Appetite. Serves 4.

• 2 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 1 sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 2 large parsnips, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 3 TBS olive oil
• 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp ground cayenne
• sea salt and pepper to taste
• 5 oz. fresh baby spinach
• seeds from 1 large pomegranate
• 2 oz. crumbled feta cheese
• 2 tsp pomegranate molasses
• 1 tsp mustard
• 1/4 c olive oil
• juice from 1/2 lemon

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Place the cubed vegetables on a large rimmed baking sheet in an equal layer. In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, cinnamon, ginger, and cayenne. Drizzle over the vegetables, using a spatula to fully coat them with the spice mixture. Season generously with sea salt and black pepper. Roast until tender, about 20-30 minutes.
2. To assemble the salads, divide the spinach between 4 plates. Top with a generous helping of the roasted vegetables, pomegranate seeds, and crumbled feta cheese. In a small bowl, whisk together pomegranate molasses, mustard, olive oil, and lemon juice. Season to taste with salt and pepper, then spoon over the salads.

Herb-Crusted Roast Beef

Serves 4-6.

• 3 TBS minced fresh rosemary leaves
• 2 TBS minced fresh sage leaves
• 1 TBS fresh thyme leaves
• 1 TBS kosher salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
• 1/3 c. + 2 TBS olive oil, divided
• One 2 to 3 lb. spoon roast (top sirloin roast)

1. In a small bowl, whisk together minced rosemary, sage, thyme, salt, black pepper, minced garlic and 1/3 cup olive oil. Use your hands to rub the herb mixture all over the spoon roast. Let the roast sit out at room temperature for about 30 minutes to absorb the flavors of the herbs.
2. Preheat the oven to 275°F. Place the roast on a roasting rack in a roasting dish. Cook the roast until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the roast registers 130°F, for a medium rare roast. The cooking time will vary depending on the size of your roast – budget at least 30 minutes per pound, potentially longer. For a 2 pound roast, start checking the temperature after one hour. Once the internal temperature has reached 130°F, remove from the oven and let rest for 10 minutes. After the beef has rested, heat the remaining 1 TBS olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the beef and sear until browned on all sides, about 2 minutes per side. Remove the beef, let rest for 5 minutes longer, then slice against the grave and serve.

Cauliflower and Horseradish Gratin

Adapted from Bon Appetit. Serves 4-6 as a side.

• 1/2 a large head of cauliflower, cut into florets (3-4 cups florets)
• 3 TBS butter, divided
• 2 TBS flour
• 1 1/4 c. whole milk
• 3 TBS horseradish sauce
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 3 oz. fontina cheese, grated
• 2 c. fresh breadcrumbs
• 1 TBS mustard

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Place the cauliflower florets in a microwave and oven proof 1.5 quart casserole dish. Add 2 TBS of water to the bottom of the baking dish and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Microwave until cauliflower is tender, about 3 minutes (check after each minute by poking cauliflower with a fork). Carefully remove plastic wrap and drain water from pan.
2. In a medium saucepan, melt 2 TBS of the butter. Add the flour and stir to form a thick paste, then cook for 1-2 minutes, until flour smells nutty. Slowly drizzle in the milk, whisking the flour-butter mixture as you do so to incorporate the milk. Once you have added all the milk, continue cooking until sauce has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon, which should take about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in horseradish sauce, nutmeg, and half of the fontina cheese. Stir until cheese is melted, then pour the sauce over the steamed cauliflower and stir to coat. Sprinkle the rest of the grated cheese on top of the cauliflower.
3. Heat the remaining 1 TBS of butter in a frying pan. Add the breadcrumbs and toast, stirring frequently, until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Stir in the mustard and sprinkle on top of the cauliflower.
4. Bake the casserole until crumbs are toasted and cheese is bubbling, about 20 minutes. Serve hot.

The post Sunday Dinner // Herb-Crusted Roast Beef, Roasted Root Vegetable Salad, Cauliflower and Horseradish Gratin appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

I can’t believe how quickly this month is slipping by. I had been hoping to get a few more blog posts published in the past few weeks, but find myself too preoccupied / overwhelmed by the combination of preparing for our short-term move to Hong Kong in January, trying to get the basics of a wedding planned before we leave, continuing to slowly renovate the house (although the burden of this one has primarily fallen on Trevor), and the general busy-ness that comes with the holidays every year. All of the things going on in our lives right now are good – they’re so good! – but they’re also big things, things that might be stressful at times on their own, and are definitely a little stressful taken all at once. Still, despite the stress, I’m enjoying having this season at home, and I’ve been making a point of taking the little extra time I do have to savor the loveliness of fall – whether it’s a quick afternoon walk on those last few warm, golden days of the year; a cup of hot chocolate as a break from work; or a savory pot pie like this one on a chilly Friday night.

Last month, Greek Gods Yogurt reached out to me about working with them to develop a pie recipe featuring one of their thick, tangy Greek yogurts. I can safely say that pie is one of my favorite food groups, so I was quick to agree to the collaboration. I love savory pies, especially after all the incredible ones I had in Russian (this rabbit and mushroom pie is one of my all-time favorites), so I decided to go a savory route with this recipe. This pot pie is filled with thick-cut chunks of beef, saucy mushrooms, pancetta, and tender potatoes. The sauce is a mixture of beef stock, dark ale, and a few heaping spoonfuls of Greek yogurt. The yogurt adds an incredible richness and tanginess to the savory filling, elevating the hearty flavors just a touch and giving each bite a smooth and creamy mouthfeel. I was really pleased with the way this recipe turned out – it’s another one that I left in the fridge to keep Trevor fed while I was in Hong Kong, but I was seriously disappointed that I only had a chance to have one serving. I guess that just means I’ll have to make it again sooner rather than later.

I used Greek Gods’ plain variety for the pie recipe, but I also had the opportunity to try a number of their other flavors. My favorite was definitely the Honey Salted Caramel, which was great on its own or with granola for breakfast, but was particularly delicious served on top of the Salted Caramel Apple Cake I made last month to celebrate our engagement. Greek Gods Yogurt is sharing a number of other delicious-looking pie recipes, sweet and savory, over on their Facebook page – head on over if you’re looking for pie inspiration for next week.

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Greek Gods Yogurt. All opinions are honest and my own.

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Beef, Mushroom, and Ale Pot Pie

Serves 6.

• 2 TBS olive oil, divided
• 4 oz. pancetta, cut into 1/4 inch cubes
• 1 medium onion, peeled and diced
• 10 crimini mushrooms, quartered
• sea salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
• 2 lbs chuck roast, cut into bite-sized cubes
• 1 TBS flour
• 1 c. dark ale
• 1 c. beef stock
• 1 TBS worcestershire sauce
• 1 TBS soy sauce
• 1 TBS mustard
• 2 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 1/2 c. Greek Gods Yogurt plain Greek yogurt
• 1 recipe kulebyaka dough, using yogurt in place of sour cream (another pie dough or puff pastry will work equally well for the crust)

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Heat 1 TBS of the olive oil in a large dutch oven or cast-iron casserole over medium heat. Add the pancetta and saute, stirring frequently, until crisped all over, about 3-5 minutes. Add the onion, mushrooms, and thyme and saute until golden brown and reduced in volume by half. Season to taste with salt, then transfer to a bowl.
2. Add the remaining 1 TBS of olive oil to the dutch oven and add the beef cubes to the pan. Brown the beef on all sides, which should take about 5 minutes. Add the flour to the beef and stir to coat. Add the mushrooms and pancetta back to the beef, along with the ale, beef stock, worcestershire, soy, and mustard. Stir to combine everything, then place the lid on the dutch oven and transfer to the oven. Roast, covered, for 1 hour. After an hour, remove the lid, add the chopped potatoes, and continue roasting, uncovered, until beef and potatoes are tender and sauce is reduced, about another 45 minutes.
3. At this stage, remove the dutch oven from the oven and stir the Greek yogurt into the filling. Roll out your prepared pie crust or puff pastry and place on top of the pot pie, carefully covering the edges of the dutch oven (don’t touch the hot pan!). Return to the oven and bake until the crust is golden brown, about 20-30 minutes longer. Let cool slightly before cutting and serving.

The post Beef, Mushroom, and Ale Pot Pie with Greek Gods Yogurt appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

A few weeks back, on a chilly Saturday afternoon, I packed up big bags of food, table settings, and wine, and brought everything to my parents’ house for a little harvest dinner party. The theme of the dinner was Pumpkin + Chardonnay, and I worked with the people over at La Crema Wines to pick out the best chardonnay pairings for each of the three recipes we created. There was no particular reason for hosting this dinner other than a desire to create something lovely to look at, an excuse to drink too much wine, and a way to use up the squash from the garden that have been lingering on our windowsill.

The first course was a simple Grilled Pumpkin and Raw Kale Salad, dressed with lemon and olive oil and served with a big slice of creamy camembert. To pair with the salad, we served the La Crema Monterey Chardonnay, which is rich and buttery and played beautifully with the funkiness of the cheese and the bitterness of the greens. While grilled squash and chardonnay might sound like a summery pairing, everything about this course was pungent, savory, and rich, setting just the right tone for kicking off our harvest dinner.

Next, we moved on to the main course – Mini-Stuffed Pumpkins with Middle-Eastern Spiced Beef and Israeli Couscous, paired with La Crema’s Sonoma Coast Chardonnay, which is a bit brighter and fruitier than the Monterey. Rather than the more traditional cheese/sausage/bread filling used in many stuffed pumpkin recipes, I opted for stuffing them with a tagine-like mixture of sweetly spiced, stewed beef, dried fruit, nuts, and Israeli couscous. The beef itself is hands down the best beef I’ve ever made. After numerous almost-but-not-quite-delicious preparations of short ribs and other fatty cuts and roasts, I finally had the fall-apart-tender, deeply savory, saucy, non-greasy beef of my dreams. And now I want to make it over and over again, in different flavors and served over different starches until I’m tired of it.

We wrapped things up with individual servings of Pumpkin-Vanilla Pot de Creme, creamy, gently spiced little puddings served with a generous dollop of maple whipped cream. The last bottle to be opened was the La Crema Russian River Valley, a honeyed chardonnay with slight echos of the baking spices used in the pot de cremes. At this point we were all full and happy and a little bit tipsy, lingering over the last creamy spoonfuls of pudding and sips of wine.

I perhaps went overboard in styling the table, but it was so much fun to shoot. There’s inspiration to be found in making something beautiful just for the sake of beauty. I wanted to capture the lovely colors of the last burst of foliage as the backdrop, enhancing them with oranges and reds and creamy colors on the table. Truth be told, it was a little cold for sitting outside for long, so we quickly moved the set-up inside by the fire, but the atmosphere was just as lovely indoors. In New England the foliage is mostly past, now, but I hope to make this sort of outdoor harvest dinner a tradition to look forward to at the peak of each fall season.

To see more pictures and notes from this dinner, check out the three companion posts and recipes over on the La Crema Blog!

Course #1: Grilled Pumpkin and Raw Kale Salad
Course #2: Mini-Stuffed Pumpkins with Middle-Eastern Spiced Beef and Israeli Couscous
Course #3: Pumpkin-Vanilla Pot de Cremes

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of La Crema. The opinions and text are all mine.

The post Harvest Pumpkin Dinner with La Crema appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

There are pros and cons to a travel schedule like mine. On the one hand, I get to fly all over the world for work, experiencing new cultures, meeting new people, trying all kinds of different foods, and exploring major world cities. It’s an amazing opportunity and an incredibly cool part of my job. On the other hand, as anyone who travels a lot can tell you, it can be exhausting and make it difficult to maintain a routine at home. After a long trip like my most recent one, I’m all but brain-dead for the first few days that I’m home, sleeping way more than I normally would and mostly just focused on getting an enormous amount of laundry done. Travel as a lifestyle is a skill, and it’s one I’m still working on.

One challenge of going on longer trips is prepping all my blog posts beforehand – not a whole lot of opportunities to cook in hotel rooms. This can mean that the weekend before a trip is totally consumed by cooking and photographing and preparing posts for a two week period. Sometimes even my best intentions fall short though, and that’s when I turn to my archives – recipes I’ve made and photographed but have never written about. I’m actually home now – I arrived Thursday night – but I still haven’t found the wherewithal to think about cooking anything other than eggs, toast, or reheating leftovers from the freezer. so today’s post is one of those archive ones – my favorite spaghetti and meatballs recipe. It’s another one from Franny’s Simple Seasonal Italian, the same book that inspired my recent bolognese recipe. These meatballs are the best homemade ones that I’ve ever had, super-flavorful and tender. I don’t think there’s any one trick that makes these so good, it’s every element of the recipe added together that does it: the lemon zest, the generous amount of chopped parsley, the parmesan cheese, the mixture of beef and pork, and the crusty chunks of bread soaked in milk in the place of traditional bread crumbs. I like to make a big batch of these and pop half of them in the freezer for nights that I need a quick fix – like the day after arriving home from a long trip. Even if you have a favorite meatball recipe, please give these ones a try, too – they really are delicious.

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Perfect Spaghetti and Meatballs

Recipe adapted from Franny’s Simple Seasonal Italian. Serves 4-6.

• 4 oz. day-old country-style bread
• 1/2 c. whole milk
• 1 lb. ground beef
• 1 lb. ground pork
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 c. finely grated parmesan chese
• 1/3 c. finely chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely minced
• 1 TBS kosher salt
• 1 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• finely grated zest of 1 lemon
• extra virgin olive oil
• 1 lb. pasta, prepared according to package directions
• your favorite tomato sauce

1. Preheat the oven to 450°F. Cut the crusts off the bread and then cut the bread into 1/4-inch cubes and place in a large bowl. Pour the milk over the bread and toss to coat. Set aside and let soak for 10 minutes, or until the bread has absorbed all of the milk.
2. In a large bowl, gently fold the beef, pork, onion, cheese, parsley, garlic, salt, pepper, and lemon zest together until evenly mixed. Stir in the soaked bread crumbs. Try not to over-mix the meat mixture, but to leave it relatively loosely combined.
3. Roll the meat into ping pong sized balls. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and place the meatballs an inch apart on the sheet. Brush the meatballs lightly with olive oil and then bake, turning once or twice, until meatballs are golden brown on the outside and cooked through, about 12-15 minutes. Serve on top of the pasta and tomato sauce.

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I’m on the road again this week, back in Bogotá for work. While I won’t deny that I’m really enjoying the sunshine, flowers, and complete absence of snow, I would be lying if I said that there isn’t a part of me that is always missing Trevor when I’m away. I tend to stock up the fridge and cook a bunch of big meals right before I leave – I think feeding him is my way of loving him even when I’m not there to do it in person. This week however I didn’t have the chance to do my usual stock-up. I did leave a batch of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies, but other than that the fridge situation was a little bleak. However, as I reminded him on the phone tonight, there is a generous amount of this bolognese sauce sitting in the freezer, and it’s about as comforting as comfort food can get.

This recipe is based on one I found in Franny’s: Simple Seasonal Italian. Franny’s is a book that came my way last summer, but was published almost two years ago (which somehow seems like forever in today’s cookbook-laden world). A publicist over at Artisan sent me a copy as a sort of bonus book when I was planning coverage of a current title, noting that although it wasn’t current, she thought I would like it and wanted to share a copy. I do try to keep my cookbook coverage focused on recently published books, so I didn’t plan to do much with Franny’s, but it slowly worked it’s way into my kitchen. First it was the meatballs, which were the most perfect meatballs I’d ever eaten. Then I tried a few hearty soups and pastas with equal success, and soon it had become my first point of research for any classic Italian cooking. So a few weeks back, in the middle of another snowstorm when nothing but a slow-simmering pot of meaty bolognese sauce would do, Franny’s was my first point of reference. I made a few significant changes to meet my tastes – doubling the amount of tomatoes and using a mixture of beef and pork – but the base recipe was just what I needed to make my own perfect pot of bolognese. And now it’s waiting at home to keep Trevor warm and well-fed when I can’t do it myself.

Rigatoni Bolognese

A slow-simmered bolognese sauce with beef, pork and bacon, delicious over pasta.

Recipe adapted from Franny’s Simple Seasonal Italian. 

• Author: Katie at the Kitchen Door
• Yield: 6-8

Ingredients

• 2 TBS butter
• 2 TBS olive oil
• 1 lb. ground pork
• 1 lb. ground beef
• 1/2 tsp chili flakes
• 1/4 lb. bacon, sliced into 1 inch pieces
• 6 large garlic cloves, minced
• 1 large onion, peeled and finely diced
• 3 carrots, peeled and finely diced
• 2 TBS tomato paste
• 2/3 c. dry red wine
• One 28 oz. can of crushed tomatoes
• 2 c. water
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 lbs. rigatoni, cooked according to package directions

Instructions

1. In a heavy stockpot, heat the butter and olive oil over medium heat. Add the ground beef and pork, season with salt and chili flakes, and cook until browned all the way through. Use a slotted spoon to remove the meat to a bowl and set aside. Add the sliced bacon and cook until crispy. Remove the cooked bacon to the bowl with the cooked beef and pork. Drain the fat from the pot, returning 3 TBS of the fat to the pot and discarding the rest.
2. Lower heat to medium-low. Add the minced garlic, onion, and carrot to the pot and cook, stirring frequently, until onion is translucent and carrot is tender, about 10-15 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes, then add the red wine and bring to a simmer.
3. Add the meat and bacon back to the pot, along with the tomatoes, water, and salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer then cover the pot with a lid and simmer for 40 minutes to 1 hour. Remove the lid and continue to simmer until ragu has reached desired consistency. Serve immediately on prepared rigatoni.

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Last year, I decided that I wanted to be into wine. I knew that I liked drinking wine in general, and I liked drinking wine with food, but beyond that, my knowledge was pretty limited. If I had to choose a glass of wine at a restaurant, the only thing I knew I liked was Merlot, and I started feeling boring pretty quickly always ordering the same thing. So I started learning. The wine world can be pretty daunting at first, especially because it has something of a reputation for snobbery. But the best way to get past that is just to dive in and start tasting, so that’s what I did. I began trying new wines, writing down whether or not I liked them, and trying to determine why I liked them, using whatever words came to me and not worrying about whether they were real “wine” words or if they were accurate (I use Vivino to keep track of what I’ve tried and how I felt about it). I started going to the tastings at Bacco’s after work and asking whoever was running the tasting a lot of basic questions about each bottle. At IFBC I signed up for all the wine events possible – tasting sessions and winery tours – and paid close attention to the details of each presentation (well, I paid attention at least through the third glass). I discovered that tasting 4 or 5 wines in a row really helped me pinpoint the differences between them, and that if you’re paying attention to it, food can make a huge difference in the way a wine tastes.

And after all this learning? I know that I like Merlot and Chardonnay. But also a really yummy, smoky Pinot Noir from Chile, and a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc that’s loaded with grapefruit flavor. And that there are some wines I really don’t like. I feel like I’m just beginning to scratch the surface, but it’s less daunting now, and mostly just fun. And I want to share that fun with you, so I’m starting a “Wine Dinner” series here, where every once in a while I work with a winery or regional wine board to put together a little dinner party focused on the wine they promote, and recipes to pair with them. I kicked things off last weekend with Alamos Wines, an Argentinean winery that I connected with at IFBC. They sent me two bottles of wine and I invited my roommates from last year, Allison and Jane, over for a little dinner – they seemed like safe first guests since they already know that I’m weird and take a lot of pictures of my food. It was so fun to see them, and to come up with the recipes, and to evaluate the wine – but it turns out I need to practice my dinner party photography! Don’t judge me too harshly, I’m still learning.

Wine #1: Torrontés – For the first course, Alamos sent me a bottle of their 2012 Torrontés. I’d never tried Torrontés before, but I read that it’s a fairly sweet white wine, sometimes compared to Gewürtztraminer and Riesling. Pairing suggestions included sweet fruits, rich meats such as salmon and foie gras, and spicy food. I went the sweet/rich route and prepared an arugula salad, lightly dressed with a Meyer lemon and maple dressing, then tossed with poached quince, manchego, and prosciutto. Most of the quinces available in the U.S. come from Argentina, so it seemed like an appropriate ingredient. I was really into this salad – sweet, salty, bitter, and rich, it hit all my flavor high points. The Torrontés was indeed a bit sweet, but with a crisp, dry finish. The Alamos wines are on the lower end of the price scale, with the Torrontés coming in at under $10 a bottle, so I wasn’t expecting very much complexity, and didn’t find it, but for a $10 bottle of wine it was full-flavored and very drinkable. No complaints here.

Wine #2: Malbec – Malbec was the varietal of choice for the second course. Another wine that I don’t have a ton of experience with, Malbec is frequently characterized as an intensely fruity wine with berry and plum flavors, and a good budget alternative to Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah. I liked this particular bottle – my first thought was “mmm, tastes like Merlot” (I was relieved to see other writers compare it to Merlot, as well). Another good value, this medium-bodied wine would make a good everyday red. Since Malbec pairs well with rich flavors, red meat, and aromatic herbs, we served this with a beef short rib braise and potato gnocchi. Argentina’s cuisine has a lot of Italian influence, so the gnocchi aren’t at all out of place in this dish, and the pillowy dumplings soak up the beefy red wine sauce really well.

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Disclaimer: Alamos provided me with two bottles of wine to use in this post, but I was not otherwise compensated and all thought and opinions are my own.

Arugula Salad with Poached Quince, Prosciutto, and Manchego

Adapted from Food52. Serves 4.

• 3 quince
• 1/2 c. sugar
• 4 c. water
• 1 Meyer lemon
• 1 TBS maple syrup
• 1/4 c. olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• 5 oz. baby arugula
• 4 oz. manchego cheese, cut into small cubes
• 2 oz. prosciutto, sliced into thin strips

1. At least 3 hours before you’d like to serve the salad, poach the quince. Use a vegetable peeler to peel the quince, then very carefully slice the fruit away from the core and seeds  in wedges – careful, quince can be kind of slippery. Place the sugar and the water in a large pot and bring to a simmer. Place the quince wedges in the simmering syrup, and place a plate over the top of the fruit to keep them submerged. Keep at a gentle simmer until quince have turned rosy and are very tender, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Add a little more water if the syrup gets too low. Pour the quince and their syrup into a bowl, cover, and refrigerate until chilled.
2.  Cut the lemon in half and remove as many seeds as possible. Squeeze the lemon juice into a jar or small bowl. Add the maple syrup, olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste. Cover jar with lid and shake to mix dressing, or whisk vigorously if using a bowl. Set aside.
3. About 15 minutes before serving, add the arugula to a large salad bowl and gently toss with the dressing. Let sit for a few minutes, then divide dressed greens between four plates. Top each plate with a few slices of quince, cubes of manchego, and strips of prosciutto. Serve immediately.

Braised Beef Short Ribs

Inspired by Bon Appetit and Emeril Lagasse. Serves 6-8.

• 2 TBS paprika
• 2 TBS sea salt
• 1 TBS garlic powder
• 2 tsp black pepper
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• 1 1/2 tsp cayenne powder
• 4 lbs. bone-in beef short ribs
• 2 TBS vegetable oil
• 2 medium onions, peeled and diced
• 2 medium carrots, peeled and diced
• 3 TBS flour
• 2 TBS tomato paste
• 2 c. red wine
• 8 sprigs thyme
• 2 c. crushed tomatoes
• 2 c. beef stock
• Potato Gnocchi, to serve (store bought is fine, too)

1. In a small bowl, stir together the paprika, sea salt, garlic powder, black pepper, oregano, and cayenne until evenly combined. Rub this spice mixture all over the short ribs, covering all sides. Heat the vegetable oil in a large dutch oven over medium heat. Add as many short ribs as will comfortably fit, and brown on all sides, about 8 minutes total per rib. Once browned, transfer the ribs to a plate and set aside. Repeat until all the ribs are browned.
2. Discard all but 2 TBS of the fat from the pan, and return to the heat. Add the diced onions and carrots and cook for 5-7 minutes, until onions are translucent, stirring frequently. Add the flour and stir to coat the veggies, and allow to cook for 1 minute. Then stir in the tomato paste, and slowly add the red wine, stirring and allowing the mixture to thicken slightly between each addition. Once you’ve added all the wine to the pot, return the ribs to the pot. Reduce heat to a gentle simmer and let simmer, uncovered, for 25 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350°F.
3. After the ribs have simmered for 25 minutes, add the tomatoes and beef stock to the pan, stir to combine, and cover with a lid. Place in the oven and cook, turning every hour or so, until ribs are very tender, about 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Remove from oven, and skim as much fat from the surface as possible. If you want a more elegant preparation, remove the ribs, strain the sauce and discard the vegetables – this is optional, and we served this rustic-style. Season sauce to taste with salt and pepper, and serve the ribs and their sauce over freshly cooked potato gnocchi.

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So here’s something new… I’m handing the blogging reins over to Trevor today. Yes, my silent, handsome, boyfriend is starting to get the blogging bug, and I think it’s awesome. The only thing I want to add to his review: I usually will only eat my steak cooked medium-well, because any fatty texture really kind of grosses me out. These steaks though? I devoured them cooked medium-rare, because the steaks held together so well even when only minimally cooked and had a great, chewable texture. It was a great discovery that if the beef is grass-fed, I can stop horrifying chefs by ordering everything medium-well. And now, to Trevor.

It was a super nice surprise last week to be asked by Marx Foods to sample some grass-fed Beef Strip Steaks from New Zealand. I could definitely get used to receiving last-minute steak deliveries from the friendly folks over there, and it’s sure nice to have an excuse to cook a big steak dinner with my best gal. Don’t be fooled though! This was a research-heavy endeavor. When I spring for meat, it’s either as a part of one of Katie’s gourmet super-projects (i.e. rabbit pie, venison ragout, stuffed quail,) or it’s the supermarket-special 5-pound pork loin (serves ten), which I proceed to eat solo while Katie jets around Europe for work. So I hit the books, nearly exhausting the meat-related content of Katie’s cookbook reference library.

What I found was pretty consistent; to earn the “grass-fed” moniker, the animal has to be raised on grasses, hay, silage or legumes, not finished on a high volume of corn and the low dose of antibiotics typical of commodity beef, and it must spend most of its time in a pasture. The result of these practices is a healthier animal with a lower fat content, with the added benefit of not promoting the evolution of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. What this all means when it comes to cooking grass-fed beef is pretty straightforward:

• It doesn’t hurt to tenderize: The leaner meat is not as thickly marbleized. Bruce Aidells’ The Great Meat Cookbook suggests using a Jaccard.
• Aidells and The American Grassfed Association (AGA) agree that leaner cuts can benefit from a marinade.
• Cooking rare to medium-rare yields the best results, but grassfed beef cooks more quickly than non-grass-fed.

The perfect preparation was definitely Aidells’ marinade-dry rub combo. The steaks sat in a mushroom-flavored dark soy with some smashed garlic, then they got a beautiful porcini-rosemary dry rub which ended up really emphasizing the natural earthy, beefy flavor of the grass-fed beef. Overall, the slight tang from the soy and garlic along with the dark, aromatic, meaty flavor of the beef, made this preparation totally killer. The marinade yielded a nice, tender texture without any sort of unpleasant mealiness. My one regret for this recipe was our current lack of grill. Though a little trickier in terms of temp control, I think doing the initial searing-off on the grill could have added some awesome flavor. Although a little pricey at $13 for each 12 oz. steak, the combination of the gamier flavor and firmer texture makes these steaks worth the occasional splurge.

As a meal, the steak could certainly stands alone, or with any steakhouse sides. For this meal though, Katie set her yorkshire pudding with creamed spinach against my beer-battered onion rings with mustard aioli in what turned out to be a delightfully diverse night of overeating. Both side dishes came from Richard Blais’ Try This At Home, and while the duck-fat coated yorkshire puddings puffed up beautifully in the oven, the onion rings and the sweet, tangy mustard dip were the clear victor [edit: Katie agrees].

Disclaimer: Marx Foods sent us these steaks free of charge in exchange for our honest review. 10 bloggers received steak samples, and the blogger with the most thorough review will win a credit to the Marx Foods store.

Pan-Seared Grass-Fed Strip Steaks with Porcini and Rosemary Rub

Recipe adapted from The Great Meat Cookbook. Serves 2.

• Two 12-oz grass-fed strip steaks
• 4 garlic cloves, smashed
• 1/2 c. dark mushroom-flavored soy sauce (available at Chinese groceries)
• 1/2 c. dried porcini mushrooms OR 2 TBS porcini powder
• 1 TBS finely chopped fresh rosemary
• 2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
• 1 TBS olive oil

1. Place the steaks in a ziploc bag. Combine the smashed garlic and the dark soy sauce and pour over the steaks. Seal the bag and shake to thoroughly coat the steaks with the marinade. Let the steaks marinate at room temperature for 2 hours, flipping them over occasionally to distribute the marinade.
2. Grind the dried porcini mushrooms in a coffee grinder until they are a fine powder. Combine 2 TBS of the porcini powder with the chopped rosemary and black pepper in a small bowl.
3. Remove the steaks from the marinade, letting the excess drip off. Scrape off any garlic, and pat the steaks dry with a paper towel. Generously sprinkle the porcini mixture over the steaks so that both sides are completely coated.
4. Preheat the oven to 275°F. Heat the olive oil in a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Swirl to coat the bottom of the pan with oil. Add one of the steaks and cook for 2 minutes on each side, or until it has a deep brown exterior. Transfer the steak to a baking sheet, and repeat with the second steak.
5. Place the seared steaks in the oven. After 10 minutes, check the internal temperature – when the temperature reaches 125°F to 130°F they are medium-rare. When they are medium rare, let rest 5 minutes covered loosely with aluminum foil, then serve.

Vidalia Onion Rings with Beer Mustard Aioli

Recipe adapted from Try This At Home. Serves 4.

• 2 large Vidalia onions
• 2 c. low-fat buttermilk
• 1/4 c. + 2 c. AP flour, divided
• 1/4 c. rice flour
• 1 c. soda water
• 4 oz. beer (drink the rest!)
• 1/2 tsp honey
• kosher salt
• vegetable oil
• beer mustard aioli, recipe below

1. Peel onions without cutting through them, then slice each onion crosswise into 1/4 inch thick slices. Separate the slices into individual rings. Place the onion rings in a shallow pan and cover with the buttermilk.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the 1/4 c. AP flour, rice flour, soda water, beer, and honey until smooth. Place the remaining 2 c. flour in a shallow pan and season with kosher salt.
3. Fill a large heavy pot with at least 3 inches of vegetable oil, and heat over medium-high heat to about 350°F. Working in batches, lift the onion rings from the buttermilk and shake off the excess. Dredge them in the flour and toss until coated, then dip them one by one into the batter, shake off the excess, and carefully add to the hot oil. Fry, turning often with heat-proof tongs, until golden brown, about 3 or 4 minutes. Remove from oil and drain on paper towels, then sprinkle with salt while they are still warm. Serve warm with beer mustard aioli.

Beer Mustard Aioli

Recipe from Try This At Home. Makes 1 1/2 cups.

• 1 c. high quality mayonnaise
• 1/2 c. Dijon mustard
• 2 TBS molasses
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp beer extract OR an additional 1 TBS molasses
• pinch of cayenne

1. Whisk all ingredients together in a small bowl until well combined. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 month.

New Yorkshire Pudding with Licorice-Spiced Creamed Spinach

Recipe adapted from Try This At Home. Serves 4.

• 1 TBS olive oil, plus more for greasing the pan
• 1 small garlic clove, minced
• 1 small shallot, minced
• 2 whole star anise
• 1 1/2 lbs. fresh spinach, trimmed, washed, and sliced into thin ribbons
• 1/2 c. heavy cream
• 3 large eggs, divided
• kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1/4 c. + 2 TBS whole milk
• 2/3 c. flour
• 3/4 tsp pastrami spices, recipe below
• 1 TBS duck fat or bacon grease
• 1 TBS cold water

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F. Grease a small baking dish with olive oil, and set aside.
2. Heat the 1 TBS olive oil over medium heat in a large saute pan. Add the garlic, shallot, and whole star anise and saute until the garlic and shallot are softened, about 3-5 minutes. Add the spinach and cook, using tongs to continuously toss the spinach so that all sides are exposed to the heat, just until spinach is wilted, about 2-3 minutes. Immediately place the spinach in a colander and let drain. Discard the star anise.
3. Whisk together the cream, 1 of the eggs, and salt and pepper to taste in a small bowl. Squeeze the spinach to rid it of any excess water, then add the spinach to the prepared baking dish. Pour the cream mixture over the spinach and stir to combine. Bake for about 30 minutes, until center of spinach is set, then remove from oven and cover with tinfoil to keep warm.
4. Increase the oven temperature to 400°F. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, pastrami spices, and salt to taste. Add the remaining 2 eggs and the milk, and stir to combine. Divide the duck fat between 4 cups of a jumbo muffin pan or 8 cups of a regular muffin pan and place the pan in the oven until the fat begins to sizzle and smoke, about 5-8 minutes. Remove from the oven, quickly whisk the cold water into the pudding batter, then fill each muffin cup about 1/3 of the way full with the batter (the yorkshire puddings should puff up dramatically while they bake). Return the pan to the oven. Bake until puffed and golden brown – if using a jumbo muffin pan, about 30-35 minutes, or 15-20 minutes for a regular muffin pan.
5. Remove the puddings from the oven, cut a slit in the top, and stuff with a spoonful of the creamed spinach. Serve hot.

Pastrami Spices

Recipe from Try This At Home. Makes about 1/4 cup.

• 2 TBS whole coriander seeds
• 1 TBS whole yellow mustard seeds
• 1 TBS whole black peppercorns
• 1 1/2 tsp paprika

1. Toast the coriander seeds, mustard seeds, and peppercorns in a dry skillet over medium heat, shaking the pan frequently to prevent them from burning. Toast until fragrant, about 3-4 minutes. Cool completely, then grind coarsely in a spice or coffee grinder. Stir in the paprika. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 6 months.

The post Marx Foods Grass-Fed Strip Steaks + Onion Rings + Duck-Fat Yorkshire Pudding appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

To be honest, the design and message of this book are a little intense for my taste – it’s a large book, with big blocky text and “aged” paper, trying maybe a little too hard to be not-feminine. And while I think it would be completely awesome to roast an entire lamb on an iron cross or a 20 lb. turkey on a spitjack, I just don’t think that I’m going to pull that off in the tiny, grass-less yard of my new apartment (but if you think you might want to do that, or throw other show-stopping meat-centric events, then this is the book for you). But there are things that I like a lot about this book – Michael’s clear passion for cooking with fire that comes through on every page; how informative it is, especially for a grilling/fire newbie/scaredy-cat like me; and how personal and infused with love and memories the book is.

The book is broken up into seven sections by cooking method – grill, hearth, plancha, fire pit, hot box, rotisserie and embers. Obviously some of these methods are more accessible to home cooks than others, but I like that it pushes the envelope on what’s achievable in your own kitchen or yard (or even fireplace). Many of the recipes in these sections list alternative methods for preparing the same foods in your oven or on your stovetop, which on one hand kind of defeats the point, but on the other hand lets you see how versatile your grill can be (cooking pasta on the grill? Yep!). Some of the recipes are part of big menus, like the harvest dinner, the burger bash, and the backyard camping breakfast, but others stand-alone. High on my list? The Lemon-Garlic Chicken with Kalamata Tapenade Cooked Under a Brick, the Salt-Baked Potatoes with Mascarpone and Prosciutto Bits, the S’Mores with Espresso Marshmallows, and the Grilled Zinfandel Sangria.

And the recipes I’ve already tried? Blue-Cheese Stuffed Burgers with Red Onion Marmalade and Grilled Corn on the Cob with Roasted Red-Pepper Butter. Both were a success – there’s nothing like a big, juicy burger with molten blue cheese oozing out of the middle, at least in my book. But for me, more important than the success of the flavors was the success of the process. I lit the grill, by myself. I prepped the burgers, by myself. I cooked the burgers, by myself, (OK, with Trevor’s supervision), and I didn’t even drop them when I flipped them. These sound like small accomplishments, but I get super nervous around the grill (fire, gas, burns, explosions…), and squeamish about cooking meat via any method other than braising it for hours and hours, so I was pretty proud of myself. And I’m grateful to Live Fire for enticing me to just get out there and do it.

The post Book Club: Live Fire // Blue-Cheese Stuffed Burgers and Grilled Corn with Red-Pepper Butter appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

So we’ve had a little rhubarb cocktail, we’ve folded it into a whipped custard for dessert, and we’ve looked at all the amazing things other bloggers are cooking up with it – now let’s talk a little more about rhubarb as a plant and as a culinary ingredient. Since it’s one of the earliest “fruits” ready for harvest, rhubarb is usually heralded as a spring ingredient, but really it keeps growing all summer, and certainly stays tasty through September. I use “fruit” in quotations since it’s not technically a fruit, although in the U.S. it’s regulated as such, but a member of the knotweed family, which also includes sorrel and buckwheat.

In cool climates, growing rhubarb is surprisingly easy. It pops out of the ground in early March, and quickly proceeds to become a huge leafy giant. Some varieties always stay green, while others ripen over time to that gorgeous deep red most people expect. Usually, the stalks we harvest in our garden are red partway through but still greenish towards the top – this is totally fine, and they still taste delicious. To harvest rhubarb, reach your hand down to the base of a stalk, inserting a finger a little way into the ground right against the stem, and give a little twist-and-tug to pull the rhubarb stalk up from its base. It should come out fairly easily. Make sure you cut off and discard the leaves – they’re poisonous (to both people and some bugs – it has even been used in insecticides!).

In the United States in particular, rhubarb is known for it’s use in sweet dishes, and I would venture to guess that most people don’t really encounter it beyond its appearance in strawberry-rhubarb pie. So well loved are rhubarb pies that rhubarb is also known simply as “pie plant.” Beyond the classic strawberry-rhubarb pairing, rhubarb also goes well with cinnamon, orange, honey, and cream, all of which are typically thought of as sweet ingredients. However, if you dig back into rhubarb’s history, you’ll find recipes from its places of origin – China, Russia, Mongolia, and other parts of Central Asia – that use these pairings in savory dishes. I was fascinated to learn from Vegetable Literacy that before sugar was plentiful, rhubarb was actually used as a detoxifier and curative herb. It was during this same general time period that rhubarb was considered a luxury good, included in lists of trade goods side by side with rubies, diamonds, silks, and satins.

Inspired by all this history, I decided to try out one of these savory rhubarb recipes, this Persian Rhubarb and Beef with Rice. While Persia/Iran isn’t technically part of Central Asia, it’s right on the border and certainly shares some culinary heritage with the region. Although this is admittedly not the most photogenic of recipes, I really enjoyed the flavors at play in this dish. It’s quite sour, but I thought the rhubarb gave it a lot of depth and character. That being said, as written, I found that the ratio of rhubarb to beef was a little high for my taste, so I’ve shared it here with a little less rhubarb than the original called for. This recipe is a bit adventurous and might not be the best thing to serve a picky eater, but if you like Middle-Eastern food and intense flavors (or you have a bumper crop of rhubarb), definitely give it a try.

Please note: Some of this information came from Vegetable Literacy, a cookbook that also provides a bit of a garden/history/culinary education! I also used information from Wikipedia.

Rhubarb Week Part One: Rhubarb-Prosecco Spritzer
Rhubarb Week Part Two: Rhubarb Custard Fool
Rhubarb Week Part Three: Recipe Round-up from Around the Blogs
Rhubarb Week Part Five: Rhubarb-Ginger Bars

Persian Rhubarb and Beef with Rice (Khoresht-e Rivas)

Adapted from The New Book of Middle Eastern Food. Serves 2-3.

• 3 TBS butter
• 1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 lb. lean stew beef, cubed
• salt and pepper
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp allspice
• 3/4 c. short grain brown rice
• 2/3 lb. fresh rhubarb stalks, cut into 2 inch lengths
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1/2 c. chopped flat leaf parsley

1. Heat 2 TBS of the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat until melted. Add the onion and saute until golden, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes. Add the beef, season with salt and pepper, and brown on all sides. Add the cinnamon and allspice and stir to coat the beef – cook 1-2 minutes longer, until fragrant.
2. Add water to cover the beef and simmer for 1 1/2 hours, until meat is tender. Check water periodically and add more to keep beef covered and prevent burning. When it is nearing serving time, allow most of the water to evaporate so that the sauce is thick.
3. While the beef is cooking, prepare the rice. Add the rice and 1 1/2 c. of cold water to a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Immediately reduce heat to low, cover saucepan, and simmer rice, covered, until all water is absorbed and rice is tender, about 30-40 minutes. Remove from heat and fluff with a fork.
4. Ten minutes before you are ready to serve the meal, heat the remaining 1 TBS butter in a medium frying pan over medium heat. Add the sliced rhubarb and cook until beginning to soften, about 3 minutes, then sprinkle with lemon juice and cook 1 minute longer. Remove pan from heat and add rhubarb to beef. Stir in chopped parsley. Cook entire mixture for 2 minutes longer, then remove from heat and serve over rice.

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There isn’t always something to say about dinner. As a blogger, this fact sometimes stumps me. But food isn’t always nostalgic, or earth-shatteringly creative. Sometimes, dinner is what it is simply because it uses what you had in the fridge and it was the Friday of a long week, so you wanted something more than a quick omelette or a salad. Something hearty that would go well with a much-needed cold beer.

That’s all the story there is behind these short ribs. They were simple and satisfying and good enough to share. The Asian flavors in the spice rub on the beef married well with the lightly dressed soba noodles, and the raw peppers and snow peas provided a nice freshness and crunch. I adapted the recipe from The Great Meat Cookbook, where I turned as soon as I realized my original plan for the short ribs (goulash) wasn’t going to pan out. I reviewed the book late last year, but I’ll say again that it’s an excellent resource for a meat cooking novice. And with that, I’ll leave you all to enjoy your weekend.

Vietnamese-Style Short Ribs with Soba Noodle Salad

Adapted from The Great Meat Cookbook. Serves 2.

• 1/2 tsp Chinese five-spice powder (I made my own)
• 1-1/2 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 2 TBS plus 1 tsp dark brown sugar, divided
• 2 lbs beef short ribs
• 1 TBS peanut oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tsp minced fresh ginger
• 1 1/2 c. chicken or beef stock
• 1 TBS Asian fish sauce
• 2 TBS plus 1 tsp rice vinegar, divided
• 1 1/2 tsp soy sauce
• 1 whole star anise
• 8 oz. dried soba noodles
• 1 TBS sesame oil
• 1 red pepper, washed, stemmed and seeded, and sliced into thin strips
• 1 c. fresh snow peas, washed and sliced in half on the diagonal
• minced fresh mint or cilantro, for garnish

1.  In a small bowl, mix together the five-spice powder, paprika, salt, pepper, and 1 tsp of the brown sugar. Rub this spice mixture all over the short ribs, then place on a platter, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight.
2. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Heat the peanut oil in a large dutch oven over medium heat. Add the short ribs and sear for 1 to 2 minutes per side, until nicely browned all over. Remove the short ribs and set aside. Add the onion to the dutch oven and saute for 5 minutes, until softened. Add the garlic and ginger and saute 2 minutes longer, stirring. Add the stock, fish sauce, 2 TBS of the rice vinegar, the soy sauce and the star anise. Scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan, and bring to a boil. Return the short ribs to the pan, cover, and place in the preheated oven.
3. Cook the short ribs in the oven for 90 minutes, flipping them over and checking for done-ness every 30 minutes. They are done when they are tender enough to pierce with a fork, but are not falling apart. Remove the ribs from the oven but keep covered.
4. Put a pot of water on to boil and prepare soba noodles according to package directions. While they are cooking, degrease the sauce from the ribs, and add 1 cup of it to a small saucepan. Stir in the remaining 2 TBS brown sugar and 1 tsp rice vinegar. Bring to a boil over medium heat and reduce to make a thick, syrupy sauce, stirring frequently.
5. When the noodles and sauce are done, toss the noodles with the sesame oil, sauce, and prepared peppers and snow peas. Serve with the short ribs and chopped mint or cilantro.

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It’s funny, before I really cooked much cookbooks were a single category, filed in my brain under “types of books.”  Now, when I open a cookbook, I instantly start checking off characteristics: single-subject, informational, restaurant tribute, DIY… the list goes on.  It’s kind of like buying a couch.  Before you’ve ever bought a couch, you think – “couches, they’re pretty simple, the only difficult part of this will be having so many to choose from!”  Then you start shopping for couches, and slowly you start checking off things you like and don’t like – skirted couches are out, no plushy cushions, definitely not leather.  Before you know it, your couch-shopping-brain is saying “structured couch, must have arms, wooden legs, a blue-gray linen but not too finely woven, curved back, three cushions not two” and your problem has become that you can’t find the couch of your dreams.

Anyway, couches are not the point.  The point is, cookbooks are all different.  This one, La Cucina Italiana: The Encyclopedia of Italian Cooking, very much fits its title.  Before anything else, it’s instructive. It’s not a book that I’d be likely to turn to for spur-of-the-moment inspiration, but it is one that I would reach for when I had a question – how do you make homemade tomato puree?  Why should you purchase bronze-cut spaghetti? What is the classic preparation of Pasta All’amatriciana?

This book was created by the editors of La Cucina Italiana magazine, and covers 21 categories of Italian cuisine in its 450 pages, including fresh pasta, dried pasta, garden vegetables, beef, pork, poultry, lamb, seafood, and desserts. Many of the recipes are photographed step-by-step, making it visually simple to understand the preparations.  Aesthetically, I’m not usually a big fan of this sort of photography, but here it’s entirely appropriate, and very useful.  Folding tortellini, making couscous by hand, peeling and coring celeriac – these are things that aren’t very intuitive the first time around!

One trade-off for having all of this useful information packed into one book?  You lose the personal voice and story.  Many of my favorite cookbooks are my favorites precisely because I can hear the author’s thoughts through their words, because their recipes are accompanied with stories that ignite my imagination. This book is missing that element, but it does make a great reference for preparing the most classic Italian dishes.

I have to mention one thing that really frustrates me about this book – the recipe layout. The introduction explains that there are several types of sections in this book – ingredient guides, which cover basic information about the taste and varieties of various ingredients; feature recipes, which are laid out like a traditional recipe, with an ingredient list and numbered steps; and essential methods, which are basic recipes using the ingredient in question, and are laid out paragraph style. The majority of the recipes in this book come from the “essential methods” sections, and while I understand what they were going for with the layout, I find it somewhat irritating not to have a separate list of ingredients and amounts available when I’m writing a grocery list or planning a menu. It may just be personal taste, but I think it would make using these sections of the book a bit more challenging for beginners.

However, overall this book is a well thought-out, thorough, and useful guide to Italian cooking. Because this book focuses on traditional cuisine, I wanted the first recipe I tried to be a classic, so I went with the most classic one I could find – spaghetti bolognese. The preparation was very simple, and after two long hours of the ragu simmering on the stove and making my whole house smell like the North End, Trevor and I finally dug into huge bowls of spaghetti topped with the tender, flavorful sauce and some good Parmesan. The sauce was spot-on, exactly what you might have in your favorite Italian hole-in-the-wall restaurant when you were craving comfort food. Next time I’m definitely making a double batch to freeze!

The bottom line: La Cucina Italiana: The Encyclopedia of Italian Cooking is a great learning book for both beginning and advanced home cooks. While it’s not the most inspiring cookbook I own, its practical information and detailed step-by-step photographs will make it a book that I turn to when I need to know the basics of a classic Italian recipe. The recipes themselves are fairly traditional, and they are well-tested and clearly explained.

Disclaimer: I was sent a free review copy of La Cucina Italiana by the publisher, Rizzoli New York, but I was not otherwise compensated to write this review and all opinions are my own!

Classic Spaghetti Bolognese

Recipe from La Cucina Italiana: The Encyclopedia of Italian Cooking. Serves 3-4.

• 2 oz. pancetta, minced
• 1 carrot, peeled and minced
• 1 stick celery, minced
• 1 onion, minced
• 1 lb ground beef
• 1/2 c. dry white wine
• 2 TBS tomato paste
• 3/4 c. whole milk
• salt to taste
• 3/4 to 1 lb. spaghetti, cooked according to package directions

1. Add pancetta to a large saucepan and place over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes, or until pancetta begins to crisp. Add carrot, celery, and onion to pan, and cook, stirring the whole time to prevent burning, for another 8 minutes, or until beginning to soften.
2. Add ground beef to the pan and brown, chopping up into small bits with a wooden spoon. Cook until mostly browned, about 5 minutes. Add the white wine, stir to incorporate, and raise heat to bring to a boil. Cook until it has almost completely evaporated.
3. Add the tomato paste to 1 1/2 c. warm water and stir to dissolve. Add this to the pan, and stir to incorporate. Reduce heat to a low simmer. Place the milk in a pourable container. Add a small splash of the milk to the pan and stir to incorporate. Cook the ragu at a low simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, adding a small splash of milk and stirring every 10-15 minutes, until you’ve used up all the milk. Season with salt to taste (do this at the very end so you don’t over-salt it). Serve ragu over spaghetti with a generous grating of parmesan cheese.

The post Cookbook Review: La Cucina Italiana and Classic Spaghetti Bolognese appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

Update: Congratulations to Amanda of Something Savory on winning the giveaway!  Please contact me with your information so I can send the book.

There are a lot of great cookbooks coming out this fall.  And I mean a lot.  Like, so many that Eater had to split up their fall cookbook preview into two parts due to post size restrictions.  As an avid cookbook devourer, blogger, and all around food dork, this is pretty exciting to me.  Even more exciting?  The fact that I have a stack of these cookbooks on my bedside table to review – and a few to giveaway to you.  I hope you don’t mind a bit of a cookbook and recipe frenzy here for the next few weeks!

First up is Home Made Winter, released as a follow-up to Yvette Van Boven’s wildly popular cookbook, Home Made.  Full of warming Irish, French, and Dutch recipes, this book has arrived just in time for what seems like it may be a long, cold winter – at least here in New England.  It’s a whimsical, playful tribute to the sorts of hearty, made-with-love foods that get those of us that live in colder, darker, Northern climes through the winter.  This playful spirit is set as early as possible – on the copyright page, which is covered with doodles and a “welcome cocktail” to draw you into the book.  Throughout the book various recipes are drawn out and illustrated rather than typed and photographed, which I think is cute – and a good way to remember to not take cooking too seriously.

Recipe-wise, I like this book.  There is a pretty broad range of time commitments, levels of difficulty, healthiness, and flavors represented here.  Some examples: homemade apple cider made in your food processor (time consuming), quinoa apple cake (healthy), rarebits with pear and blue cheese (easy, bad for you).  But even the time-consuming recipes are un-fussy, which appeals to me – home cooking never needs to be pretentious (even if sometimes it’s fun to be a little pretentious about it).  I’m also a fan of the comforting Irish classics Yvette included – dishes I’ve read about but never had the opportunity to try, like steak and kidney pie, bannock bread with devonshire cream, and colcannon.  Yvette’s French and Dutch roots are represented too (tartiflette, gevulde speculaas), but the Irish recipes stuck out to me the most.

Design-wise, I both like and dislike this book.  The thing I love about it is the fun – the sketches, notes, paper cut-outs, and overall friendliness of the design.  What I’m not so crazy about is the photographic style, which is not really my speed.  The photographs are a bit too, well, wintry and realistic for me – many are shot indoors with that characteristic yellow overhead light glow, some are fuzzy and blurred, others are of dark, gray, wintry landscapes – no pristine snowscapes here.  On the one hand, it’s appropriate – it truly brings to life the feeling of winter, being stuck inside, wishing it wasn’t so grey for so long, and finding comfort around the warm light of the kitchen table.  I’m sure this was deliberate, and it’s done well.  But I find that whole aesthetic kind of depressing – I typically want opening a cookbook to be an escape to somewhere beautiful and inspiring and filled with light, not a reminder of where I already am.  Now, this is not a comment on the skill of the photographer (who is also Yvette’s husband) – there are many photographs in the book that are beautifully shot and lit – it’s just a stylistic choice that doesn’t draw me in.

The first recipe I tested from this book was the Daube Provençale – a French beef stew simmered long and slow in red wine, citrus, and olives.  I served it over super-creamy garlic mashed potatoes, and it was as scrumptious as it sounds.  The beef was fall-apart tender and packed with flavor, and the wine-y notes and salty olives made it stand out from other traditional beef stew recipes.  It was also easy (although it takes some planning ahead), so I’ll for sure be making it again!

The bottom line:  Home Made Winter is a fun, accessible cookbook packed with comforting, cold-weather recipes.  The recipes are a mix of traditional and innovative – I think there’s probably a little something for everyone in here.

Giveaway:  Thanks to the folks over at Abrams Books, I’m giving away one copy of Home Made Winter.  To enter, leave a comment below, answering the question: What is your very favorite winter weather recipe?  For one additional entry, you can subscribe to Katie at the Kitchen Door via email or RSS, and leave a separate comment letting me know you have (you can also do this if you’re already a subscriber).  One winner will be picked at random on Wednesday, October 24th.  Be sure to include your email in the comment form so I can get in touch with you!  If the winner doesn’t respond to me within 48 hours, they forfeit their winnings and I will pick a second winner.  US only, apologies to my international readers! Giveaway is now closed!

A final note – lucky for us, (spoiler alert!), we haven’t seen the last of Yvette – she tells us in the introduction to Winter that Home Made Summer will be released sometime in the not too distant future.  In the meantime, enjoy this delicious French beef stew, enter the giveaway, and look out for two more recipes from the book to be posted here over the next week!

Like what you just read? Subscribe to Katie at the Kitchen Door on Feedly or Bloglovin‘, or follow along on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, or Google+. Thanks for reading!

Disclaimer: A review copy of Home Made Winter was provided to me free of charge by Abrams Books.  I was not compensated for writing this review, and all thoughts and opinions are honest and my own!

More like this…

Pomegranate-Glazed Lamb Chops

Beef, Mushroom, and Ale Pot Pie

Braised Beef Short Ribs with Potato Gnocchi

Daube Provençale (French Beef Stew with Red Wine)

Recipe from Home Made Winter, by Yvette van Boven.  Serves 8.

A note on the orange/grapefruit: Several people have been disappointed in the orange flavor that leaving the rind in the stew gives – if you are concerned, consider omitting it. I found that, when using a grapefruit, leaving the entire grapefruit in the stew gave it a slightly bitter aftertaste (a reader using grapefruit as well found the same thing). Although not mentioned in Yvette’s original recipe, I’d recommend separately adding the zest of the grapefruit and the fruit of the grapefruit to the stew, avoiding the bitter pith. 

• 3 lb stew beef, cut into 1 inch cubes
• 1 (750-ml) bottle Cote du Rhone [I used Bordeaux and it was fine, but Yvette recommends Cote du Rhone, Vacqueyras, Gigondas, or Minervois]
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 3 sprigs fresh thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• 3 carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch slices
• 1 orange, washed well and cut into 8 wedges [I substituted grapefruit]
• 1 large onion, peeled and cut into rings
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
• olive oil
• 1 6-oz can tomato paste
• 3 1/2 oz. pitted black olives

1. Season meat with salt and pepper on all sides.  Place meat in a big bowl with wine, thyme, bay leaves, carrots, orange, onion, and garlic.  Cover and marinate in the fridge for at least 12 hours, and preferably 24 hours.
2. Heat some olive oil over medium heat in a large stockpot.  Remove the meat from the marinade and brown the pieces in the oil on all sides.  Pour the marinade (including the oranges, bay leaves, etc.) over the meat and bring to a boil.  Boil for 5 minutes, skimming any foam from the surface.  Lower the heat to a simmer, stir in the tomato paste, and add 4 1/2 c. water.  Cover, and let stew on low heat for 2-3 hours, stirring occasionally.
3. 15 minutes before the stew is ready, add the pitted olives.  Let cook for 15 minutes on medium heat without the lid to thicken the stew.
4. Serve over mashed potatoes, rice, or pasta.

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Serves 6-8.

• 6 russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• salt
• 8 cloves garlic, cut in quarters
• 1/2 c. heavy cream

1. Place cubed potatoes in a large saucepan.  Cover with cold water, salt liberally, and bring to a boil over medium heat.  Boil for 10-15 minutes until potatoes are easily pierced with a fork, skimming starch foam from top occasionally and checking to keep from boiling over – lower heat if necessary.  Drain potatoes and place in a blender.
2. Return saucepan to heat, lower heat to low, and add garlic and heavy cream.  Heat until garlic is fragrant and cream begins to simmer, then add to blender.  Blend until potatoes are a totally smooth puree.  Add water or skim milk as necessary to even out texture.

The post Cookbook Review and Giveaway: Home Made Winter appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

My internet persona has been so M.I.A.  It’s just that I got distracted by real life things like moving to a new apartment and hunting down my missing research advisor and learning to live in the same 1000 sq. ft. as my not-so-long-anymore distance boyfriend.  There’s been a lot going on, but it’s been a good time.  The pictures I printed three months ago are actually on the walls now.  A working vacuum cleaner is once again within my grasp.  My herbs are thriving on their new porch.  Almost thriving.  Not dead.  We survived a night camping at an incredibly beautiful beach.  And we had a little party last night.

Parties are just the best, aren’t they?  You get to eat and drink and laugh with people that you like.  What more could you want?  And this party, this party involved a new food, a food that’s been on our list for a long time: tamales.

Mmm, tamales.  Although they were indeed served hot, I would like to clarify that they were not hot tamales.  Why are they called that anyway?  I really don’t see any resemblance between a small, red, cinnamon flavored candy and a large, steamed corn husk full of masa and chili sauce and exceedingly tender beef.  Someone in the candy industry goofed.  And now there are probably many poor lost souls who don’t know what a real tamale is.  Which is tragic, because they are really good.

However, they are a serious time commitment.  The beef needs to stew for 3 hours.  The chili sauce takes 45 minutes.  The corn husks need to soak for half an hour.  You have to assemble each tamale by hand.  And then they need to steam for an hour.  So not something you can really throw together at the last minute.  But I’m not telling you this to scare you away!  On the contrary, they’re very easy.  And they’re very social.  So if you feel like inviting some friends over and drinking sangria and tequila and having everyone play with their food, you should really go for it.  Just make sure you have many snacks to sustain the diligent tamale makers.

And make a lot.  We made a lot.  We now have a lot.  Tamales on tamales.  Tamales for days.

This is a positive thing.

Beef Tamales

Adapted from Food Network

• 2.5 pounds beef shoulder roast
• Salt and pepper
• 2 onions, sliced
• 6-12 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
• 6 dried New Mexico chilies
• 2 dried ancho chilies
• 2 TBS cumin seed, toasted
• 2 tsp molasses, optional
• 1 bag dried corn husks (3-4 dozen)
• 4 c. masa flour
• 1 TBS baking powder
• 4 c. reserved beef broth from roast
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 c. shortening or lard

Timeline:  Prepare roast.  While stewing, make chili sauce and masa mixture.  When beef is done, begin soaking corn husks.  Shred cooled roast and mix with chili sauce.  Form tamales.  Steam tamales.  Eat tamales.

For the beef:

1. Season the beef shoulder on both sides with salt and pepper.  Brown in large, heavy-bottomed dutch oven.
2. When browned on all sides, cover roast completely with water.  Add 1 of the sliced onions and 6-10 cloves crushed garlic.
3. Cover and simmer for 3 hours, until meat is tender enough to pull apart with a fork.
4. Remove roast from pan and place on platter to cool.  Keep the broth – it is used to make the masa.

For the chili sauce:

1. Cut the tops off of the dried chilies and shake the seeds out.  Slice lengthwise to open up and remove any remaining seeds and ribs.
2. Place chilies in a medium pot.  Cover with water, add the toasted cumin, remaining onion, and remaining garlic.  Boil for 20 minutes, until chilies are very soft.
3. Use tongs to place chilies in blender.  Ladle some of the chili water into the blender.  Puree until smooth.  Pass puree through strainer.  Add salt, and molasses if desired, tasting to check seasonings.  Keep sauce in fridge until it is ready to be used.

Note:  The original recipe instructs you to add only one ladle-ful of chili water to the blender.  However, I added all of the chili water because I wanted to get all of the cumin seeds and as much flavor as possible into the sauce.  This led to a very thin sauce, so I returned it to the pan and boiled for another 10 minutes until the consistency was as desired.  Trevor thought the sauce needed an extra dimension so I added molasses and it worked perfectly.

For the masa:

1. In a large bowl, combine the masa, baking powder, and 2 tsp. salt.
2. Pour 4 cups of reserved beef broth into masa a little at a time, working it in with your fingers.
3. In a separate bowl or mixer, beat shortening until fluffy.  Add it to the masa and beat until it has a spongy texture.

Assembly:

1. Carefully separate dried corn husks in soak in a large pan or sink filled with warm water.  When corn husks are soft and no longer fragile, drain and pat dry.
2. Shred beef into small pieces by hand and mix with chili sauce.
3. Take several of the corn husks and tear lengthwise into half inch “ropes.”  These will be used to tie the tamales.
4. To form a tamale, take a corn husks and place rough side down with the narrow end pointing towards you.  Take a small handful of masa and press it into a square in the middle of the corn husk.  Their should be an inch or two free on the top and bottom of the corn husk, and an inch free on one side of the corn husk.  Place a heaping tablespoon of the beef mixture into the middle of the masa, keeping it away from the edges.  Carefully fold the sides of the corn husk together so that the edges of the masa are just touching, and wrap the extra husk around the outside.  Using the strips of corn husk, tightly tie the ends of the tamale together so that it resembles a Christmas popper.
5. Fill a large stockpot with 2-3 inches of water and bring to a low boil.  Stand tamales up in a steamer basket or large colander and place over boiling water.  Cover tamales with a damp towel, and place lid over pot/steamer or pot/colander combination.  Steam tamales for one hour, checking occasionally to make sure the water does not boil away.

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