For the second year in a row, I let my birthday slip past without my customary celebratory blog post. Last year’s blog post is sitting somewhere in WordPress purgatory, photographed, partially written, but never published. It was a lovely pesto pasta salad with green olives and mushrooms that we ate at the beach on a sunny April afternoon. It was good, but not that memorable.

This year, I just didn’t get around to making my birthday dessert in time. I still celebrated my birthday with the usual enthusiasm, but had to take a last-minute trip to Portugal that week. The dessert I had planned – Portuguese Chocolate Mousse with Chocolate Salami – remained a plan. But it’s such a good dessert that I decided this was a “better late than never” situation. Plus, Trevor’s birthday is coming up on Friday so we have an excuse for having a fridge full of chocolate mousse.

This mousse is inspired by the Mercado de Ribeira, one of my favorite Lisbon haunts. Also known as the Time Out Market, it’s by no means a hidden spot. The concept is like an upscale food court, but all of the “stalls” are outposts of the best Lisbon restaurants and vendors. You can find tender grilled octopus doused in olive oil, bacalhau in all its forms, $5 wines, and rich eggy desserts. After 8pm it’s bustling with tourists and locals alike, and reserving a table requires some aggressive seat-saving. But it never fails to disappoint – the food is amazing, the vibe is energizing, and there’s something for everyone.

The chocolate mousse at Nos e Mais Bolos inside the market is amazing. It is rich and pudding-like and has bite-sized pieces of Portuguese Chocolate Salami as a topping. Don’t worry – there’s no meat in chocolate salami. The best way to describe it is as a no-bake fridge cookie. It’s made from cocoa powder, butter, a bit of rum or liquor, and chopped up cookies, then rolled into a log to look like salami. It’s a traditional dessert in Italy and Portugal, so common that I once found it in a vending machine in a 1,000 year old castle on top of a mountain. Really good hiking snack, by the way. It also takes chocolate mousse to the next level.

While researching mousse recipes, I stumbled upon something called “two ingredient chocolate mousse.” It’s an incredibly simple recipe by Heston Blumenthal, which requires nothing other than chocolate, water, and a bowl of ice. Because all Portuguese desserts are made primarily with a ton of eggs and a ton of sugar, I was pretty sure that this magical mousse could not be the answer. But I had to try it anyway, just to see. Because what if two ingredient mousse was really a thing? That would mean that I could have chocolate mousse at any time with only 10 minutes of effort. Dangerous, but also amazing.

So I made two batches of chocolate mousse. The first was the aforementioned two ingredient version. The second was a more traditional mousse, with eggs and butter and a touch of cream. The verdict? They were both really good. Different, but good. The super-simple mousse has a very pure, chocolaty taste and surprisingly creamy texture, but no richness. You want to use your very best chocolate for this, because it’s the only flavor. The mousse loaded up with eggs and butter and cream is obviously much richer, but doesn’t have that same purity. Tasted side by side, the winner kind of depends on my mood at that moment. But to be totally honest? I think most of the time I’ll prefer the two ingredient version. Crazy!

Whether you go the easy route or the rich route, the pieces of Portuguese Chocolate Salami on top add this amazing extra dimension. The chocolate salami is easy to make and super-chocolaty. It’s very rich – kind of the perfect thing to keep in the fridge at all times, as just a bite will satisfy an intense chocolate craving. As my trips to Lisbon are slowing down, I’m happy to have cracked one of my favorite dessert recipes at home. Now I just have about 8,000 pastries left to learn.

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Portuguese Chocolate Mousse with Chocolate Salami

Traditional Portuguese chocolate mousse served with crumbled “Chocolate Salami” – a sliceable chocolate fridge cookie. Inspired by the Chocolate Mousse at Nos e Mais Bolos.

Chocolate Salami recipe adapted from Easy Portuguese Recipes.

Note: this recipe is the traditional, rich mousse with eggs and cream. If you want to try the two-ingredient mousse, the recipe for that is below!

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

Ingredients

For the Chocolate Salami:

• 1 stick (4 oz.) salted butter
• 1/2 cup (4 oz.) granulated sugar
• 6 TBS (1 1/2 oz.) dark, high-quality cocoa powder, such as Valhrona
• 2 egg yolks
• 2 TBS port wine, rum, or fruity liqueur
• 7 oz. biscotti or vanilla wafer cookies
• powdered sugar for coating

For the Chocolate Mousse:

• 2 TBS butter
• 8 oz. bittersweet chocolate chips
• 2 TBS port wine or rum
• 1/4 c. heavy cream
• 4 large eggs, separated

Instructions

1. To make the chocolate salami: melt the butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. Add approximately half of the the sugar and whisk to combine thoroughly. Add the cocoa powder and whisk thoroughly. Continue to cook for 1 minute longer, whisking the whole time – mixture should be smooth. Remove from the heat.
2. Place the egg yolks and the remaining sugar in a medium, heat-proof bowl, and whisk until thick and creamy, about 1 minute. Slowly pour in the hot cocoa mixture, whisking the egg yolks vigorously as you do so. Stir in the port wine or rum and whisk to combine. Mixture should be thick, smooth, and glossy.
3. Cut the cookies into small pieces using a serrated knife. Add the cookies to the warm chocolate mixture and stir gently to thoroughly combine. Let the mixture cool to room temperature. Once cool, place a sheet of wax paper on the counter. Scrape the mixture onto the wax paper and shape it into a log roughly 8 inches long. If the mixture is too runny to do this, place it in the fridge for 30 minutes before shaping into a log. Wrap the log in waxed paper and then again and tinfoil. Place in the fridge and chill until firm, at least 2 hours.
4. To make the chocolate mousse: add the butter, chocolate chips, port wine or rum, and heavy cream to a medium metal bowl or double boiler. Bring a small pot of water to a simmer – the bowl should fit snugly on top of the pot without the bottom of the bowl touching the top of the water. Place the metal bowl over the simmering water and melt the chocolate, stirring continuously with a rubber spatula. As soon as the chocolate mixture is fully melted, remove it from the heat. The chocolate should be thick and glossy.
5. In a medium, heatproof bowl, vigorously whisk the egg yolks for 30 seconds, then pour the hot chocolate into the egg yolks, whisking as you do so. Beat thoroughly to combine. Mixture should be thick but run freely from the whisk when lifted. Set chocolate aside and let cool to room temperature.
6. Use a stand mixer or handheld mixer to beat the egg whites until they form soft, shiny peaks. Add half of the beaten egg whites to the cooled chocolate mixture and use a spatula to gently fold the two together. Repeat with the remaining egg whites, doing your best not to deflate the whites. When the two mixtures are fully combined, pour the mousse into four wine glasses or coupe glasses. Refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours.
7. To serve, cut the chocolate salami into slices, then cut the slices into cubes. Place on top of each glass of chocolate mousse. Serve chilled.

Magic Two-Ingredient Chocolate Mousse

This incredible chocolate mousse has only two ingredients – chocolate and water – with a deep chocolate taste and a smooth, fluffy texture.

Recipe by Heston Blumenthal via Eat Live Run.

Note: this recipes is all about the chocolate you use, so use the good stuff. If you don’t love the flavor of the chocolate, you won’t love the flavor of the mousse. If the mousse becomes grainy as you whip it, return it to the heat and re-melt, then try again.

• Author: Katie at the Kitchen Door
• Yield: 2
• Category: Dessert

Ingredients

• 4.5 oz of bittersweet chocolate chips or roughly chopped chocolate, the best you can afford
• 1/2 cup water
• ice

Instructions

1. Fill a large metal bowl with ice and cold water and set aside.
2. Place the chopped chocolate and the water in a metal bowl. Bring a small pot of water to a simmer – the bowl should fit snugly on top of the pot without the bottom of the bowl touching the top of the water. Place the metal bowl over the simmering water and melt the chocolate, stirring continuously with a rubber spatula. The water should get incorporated into the chocolate as you stir. As soon as the chocolate mixture is smooth and fully melted, remove it from the heat. Place the bowl with the chocolate in the bowl with the ice water, and whisk the chocolate constantly for 2 to 3 minutes, until the chocolate has thickened slightly and the color has become a bit more pale.
3. Divide the mousse into 2 wine glasses or ramekins and chill for at least 30 minutes, then serve.

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Yesterday, on the shortest day of the year, I was thinking about darkness, and about light. These past few weeks the dark has been so noticeable, dragging out the hours between when Trevor leaves for the restaurant and when it is reasonable to collapse into bed. I’m beginning to think that darkness, and not the cold and slush as I’ve always thought, is what makes this season so difficult, what pulls me close to apathy and lethargy and general lowness. The reason that, after that apocalyptic winter two years ago hit me so hard, I escape January as often as I can.

But darkness also makes room for us to celebrate light. Light is part of what makes Christmas feel magical. Standing in the cold, breath freezing in the air, watching the twinkling lights draped around the outside of homes. The stillness of a church full of candles, flames moving slowly, illuminating the faces of the people holding them. Sitting by the Christmas tree after the house is quiet, breathing in the sharp fragrance of pine, gazing at the reflection of the tiny lights on delicate glass ornaments. Light at Christmastime brings stillness and quiet and a certain sense of wonder. And it helps us get through the darkness, to remind us that, from today forward, the darkest day is behind us, that we are now spinning towards another summer.

Christmas is practically here, and I’m of two minds about it. Of course, I relish the chance to take a few days to relax with my family, and I love our traditions. On the other hand, I worry that a four day weekend of rushing between houses is not really the relaxation I need, and the need to “be ready for Christmas” (the presents! The baking! The decorations! We didn’t watch Elf yet!) feels like it’s coming from the wrong place, at times. I can say that I’m ready on at least one front and that’s the cookie front: we started baking early and we’ve been flush all month. I even ordered Dorie Greenspan’s new book, finding myself without a cookbook dedicated to cookies (hard to imagine, given the size of my cookbook collection).

The base of these Chocolate Peppermint Cookie Sandwiches is a chocolate cookie from Dorie’s book called a Melody. The Melody cookies on their own are delicious – crisp, buttery, and chocolaty. But I couldn’t leave well enough alone, so I decided to fill them with a simple peppermint-mascarpone buttercream and dip them in chocolate. This treatment makes them seriously decadent – definitely don’t have more than one! But really delicious, and beautiful to boot.

Have the most wonderful Christmas if you’re celebrating, and a relaxing long weekend if you’re not. As one of my lovely Colombian coworkers told me today, “I wish you not just presents, but love and health for the new year.” I thought that was the nicest sentiment, and I wanted to pass it on to you.

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Chocolate Peppermint Sandwich Cookies

Makes 13-15 large sandwich cookies

• 1 1/2 sticks butter, room temperature
• 1/3 cup mascarpone
• 2 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1/4 tsp peppermint oil
• 1 batch Melody Cookies, recipe below
• 9 oz. bittersweet chocolate chips

1. Beat butter and mascarpone together until smooth. Add 1 cup of the powdered sugar and beat until fluffy. Add the remaining powdered sugar and continue beating until the consistency is light and smooth. Stir in the peppermint oil. Taste and add additional peppermint oil if desired.
2. Spread a large spoonful of frosting on the flat side of one of the Melody cookies, spreading it evenly out to the edges of the cookie. Sandwich with another cookie. Place on a plate. Repeat until you have used all the cookies. Chill the cookies in the fridge for 30 minutes before dipping in chocolate.
3. Place the chocolate chips in a metal bowl. Bring a small pot of water to a gentle simmer. Place the bowl with the chocolate chips on top of the pot. As the chips melt, stir them with a rubber spatula, scraping down the sides of the bowl. When the chips are just melted and smooth, remove them from the heat. Dip the cookies halfway into the melted chocolate one at a time, using a spatula to smooth the chocolate up the edges of the cookie as needed. Place the cookies on wax paper to dry. Place the chocolate back over the simmering water as needed for a few seconds to keep it melty. Once the chocolate is dry, serve the cookies or refrigerate them until ready to serve.

Melody Cookies

Recipe from Dorie’s Cookies. Makes about 30 large cookies.

• 2 1/4 cups flour
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 2 sticks butter, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 tsp fine sea salt
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 large egg white
• turbinado sugar, for sprinkling

1. Whisk the flour, sifted cocoa, and baking soda together in a medium bowl until evenly combined. Set aside. In a large bowl, beat the butter, sugar, and salt together until smooth and light, which should take a few minutes. Beat in the vanilla, followed by the egg white. Beat until smooth again and the egg white is fully blended into the butter. Add half the cocoa-flour mixture and stir just until there are no dry spots left. Add the remaining half of the cocoa-flour mixture and stir just until the dough comes together.
2. Split the dough in half and pat into two round disks. Working with one disk at a time, place the dough between two pieces of parchment paper and roll out into a large rectangle with a thickness of ~1/8 inch. Stack the two slabs of dough (with the parchment paper separating the layers) on a large baking sheet and chill until firm, at least two hours.
3. When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350°F. Remove the cookie dough from the fridge and place on a work surface. Use a round cookie or biscuit cutter with a scalloped edge to cut circles out of the chilled dough and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Sprinkle turbinado sugar generously on top of the cookies.  Bake the cookies until firm to the touch, about 15-17 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool for a few minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Reroll and chill any dough scraps before cutting out additional cookies.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Chocolate Mousse and Passion Fruit Pie

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

For the passion fruit curd:

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

For the chocolate mousse and pie crust:

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

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

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

Every year I seem to end up posting Christmas recipes just days before Christmas is here. December is a busy month, and although I have the best of intentions to share delicious, festive recipes with you all month long, I always seem to get overwhelmed by the whirl of wrapping up projects and preparing for all the events and tasks that go along with the holidays. So here I am, two days before Christmas, with three Christmas cookie recipes for those of you who are planning on some last minute baking or some really early planning for next year.

Actually, if I’m being fully honest with you, this year is a bit different. I’ve been carving out more time to prepare for Christmas and here I sit, two days to go, with all my presents purchased and wrapped, three kinds of cookies in the freezer, two Christmas movies (and four of six Star Wars movies) watched, one party successfully thrown and several others attended. In fact, I’ve had these cookies baked and photographed for the past few weeks, I’ve just been having trouble finding the right words to accompany them. I’m trying to be more purposeful with the words I share on this space – less fluff and more meaning, and better use of the excellent education I’ve been so fortunate to receive (looking back at hastily written posts makes my former straight-A English student self cringe).

Earlier versions of this post, the ones that went unpublished and sounded eerily reminiscent of past Christmas posts, were filled with thoughts of stress and to-do lists and cold dark days, which is so counter to the idea of Christmas spirit that I couldn’t bring myself to publish them. But I woke up this morning, the first morning of my brief 5-day vacation, knowing what I wanted to say. So here it is: Rest. Take a deep breath. Stop worrying and enjoy being with the people you love, just for the next few days. Throw out your to-do list and congratulate yourself for everything you’ve already done. Celebrate Christmas with a calm and joyful heart. Drink a little too much wine or have an extra cookie and don’t stress about a few extra pounds. Take a break, because next year will be here before you know it and you need to rest every once in a while. I write these things with myself in mind more than anything – it’s so easy for me to forget to enjoy myself, even when I’m in the midst of something that should be a wonderful experience. So for the next few days, I’m going to focus on just that – enjoying myself.

And because I promised you cookies, here’s three. First, chocolate peppermint snowballs, dotted with chocolate chips and rolled in crushed candy canes. Second, soft and gently-spiced speculoos stars, dipped in white chocolate and colored sprinkles. Third, delicate, lacy florentines with candied orange peel, candied ginger, almonds, and a drizzle of dark chocolate, the most elegant holiday cookies you’ll put on your table. They’re all lovely, although I have a soft spot for the speculoos, which are like a gentler version of gingerbread. And with that, I’m signing off for a few days, hopefully to take my own advice and come back feeling refreshed and calm. Merry Christmas!

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Peppermint Snowballs

Recipe adapted slightly from Bon Appetit. Makes about 36 cookies.

• 8 oz. bittersweet chocolate, roughly chopped
• 1 1/2 oz. unsweetened chocolate, roughly chopped
• 1 stick butter, cut into quarters
• 1/2 c. finely crushed peppermint candies, plus more for decorating
• 6 TBS sugar
• 3 eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp peppermint extract
• 1 1/2 c. flour
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 c. milk chocolate chips

1. Place bittersweet chocolate, unsweetened chocolate, and butter into a medium saucepan. Heat over low heat, stirring, until chocolate and butter are completely melted. Remove from heat and stir in 1/2 c. crushed peppermint candies and sugar. Cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally.
2. Whisk eggs into chocolate mixture one at a time, then whisk in vanilla extract and peppermint extract. In a medium bowl, combine flour and baking powder, then stir into chocolate mixture. Stir chocolate chips into mixture. Cover batter and chill for 30 minutes, or until easy to roll into firm balls.
3. Preheat oven to 325°F. Roll cookie dough into balls that are approximately the size of a ping pong ball. Place on cookie sheets and bake until puffed and cracked on top, about 15 minutes. Remove from oven and let stand for 5 minutes, then sprinkle with additional crushed peppermint candies or powdered sugar.

White-Chocolate Dipped Speculoos Stars

Recipe adapted slightly from Bon Appetit. Makes about 36 cookies.

• 2 c. flour
• 1 TBS ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/4 c. dark brown sugar
• 1 stick butter, room temperature
• 1 egg
• 4 oz. high quality white chocolate, cut into pieces
• colored sugar sprinkles

1. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. In another bowl, beat brown sugar and butter until fluffy. Beat in egg. Add flour mixture to wet ingredients a few scoops at a time, beating to incorporate flour between additions. Dough will be slightly dry. Divide dough in two, flattening into two large rectangles. Wrap each rectangle in plastic wrap and refrigerate 1 hour.
2. Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly flour a work surface and roll out one of the dough rectangles to about 1/4 inch thick. Use cookie cutter to cut out stars and transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Repeat with remaining dough, re-rolling dough as necessary. Bake cookies until edges begin to darken, about 8 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool.
3. Melt the white chocolate in the microwave on low power, stopping to stir every 20 seconds, until the chocolate is runny. Do not overheat or chocolate will seize and you will need to start over. Brush or drizzle the chocolate onto the cookies, then sprinkle with the colored sugar. Let chocolate cool, then store the cookies between waxed paper sheets in the fridge or freezer until ready to serve.

Chocolate-Dipped Orange and Ginger Florentines

Adapted from Bon Appetit. Makes 30.

• 3 oranges, scrubbed
• 1 c. plus 4 TBS sugar, divided
• 1/2 c. water
• 1/2 c. plus 2 TBS heavy cream
• 1/4 c. brown sugar
• 2 TBS butter
• 2/3 c. sliced almonds, toasted
• 1/4 c. flour
• 2 TBS finely chopped crystallized ginger
• 4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped

1. To make the candied orange peel, peel the orange using a vegetable peeler, being careful to remove only the orange part of the peel and not the white pith. Finely chop enough of the orange peel to measure 1 TBS and set aside for the cookie batter. Place the remaining peel in a saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil, cook for 2 minutes, then drain. Add 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup water to the orange peel and bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Boil for 5 minutes, then drain, reserving the orange syrup for another use. Sprinkle 2 TBS of sugar on a plate or other flat surface, and transfer the candied peel to the sugar. Sprinkle another 2 TBS of sugar on top of the peel. Let dry for 20 minutes, then roughly chop enough candied peel to measure 2 TBS.
2. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with aluminum foil and spray generously with cooking spray (this is very important, as cookies will stick to aluminum foil if not prepared properly. You can also use silpat mats but you will need to let cool for longer before removing the cookies).
3. In a medium saucepan, combine cream, remaining 1/2 cup sugar, brown sugar, and butter. Bring to a simmer, stirring constantly, then add the 1 TBS of reserved un-candied orange peel, the 2 TBS of candied orange peel, the toasted almond, crystallized ginger, and flour. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, then remove from the heat.
4. Use a tablespoon to scoop the warm batter onto the prepared pans, spacing cookies 3 inches apart as they will spread a lot. You can expect to fit about 6-8 cookies per pan. Place pans in the oven and bake until edges begin to crisp, about 10-12 minutes. Slide foil off sheets and cool cookies on foil, then carefully peel the cookies from the foil. Repeat until you have used all the batter.
5. Place the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl and melt on low power, stopping to stir every 20 seconds, until the chocolate is runny. Do not overheat or chocolate will seize and you will need to start over. Use a spoon to drizzle the chocolate on top of the cooled florentines. Let chocolate harden then transfer cookies to fridge for storage.

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The Book: Katie Quinn Davies of What Katie Ate has been one of the world’s most celebrated, successful food bloggers. Although she doesn’t post as much as she used to, when she does, it’s always a treat for the eyes – and for the tastebuds, if you get the chance to cook her food instead of just drooling over the photos. Her first, eponymous cookbook, was hugely popular and now, her second book, What Katie Ate on the Weekend has just launched in the US. The book is distinctively hers – Katie’s signature photography and writing style fills each of the 310 pages of the book. Her photography style – which is a bit metallic, with high-contrast editing, off-center styling, and strong shadows – is one of the few that I can recognize before seeing the photographer’s name. Her writing, too, is specific to her – verbose and friendly, as if writing a long and warm letter to a friend she hasn’t spoken with in a while. The two come together beautifully in a book that is quirky, warm, and playful, scattered with images and phrases from old advertisements, fun typography, and of course, delicious recipes. The food in What Katie Ate on the Weekend has a universal appeal – pancakes, crispy chicken tacos, burgers, chili, brownies, etc. – but everything is dressed up just enough to make it feel special. It’s casual food, easy to prepare and to serve to friends during weekend gatherings.

The Food: I feel a bit guilty about defaulting to something as simple as a self-saucing pudding to showcase this book, especially when there are so many beautiful and creative savory recipes included. But I was reading this book on a chilly, rainy Sunday afternoon, after an exhausting and emotionally overwhelming week, and nothing sounded better than melty, gooey, chocolate. Perhaps in the end, it’s appropriate for a book called What Katie Ate on the Weekend… as in fact it was exactly what I needed to close out my weekend. This is perhaps not the most memorable or special warm chocolate cake in the world, but it is really easy, and really chocolatey, and probably one of the better ways to satisfy an urgent chocolate craving. It’s a one bowl affair, and any baker will have all the ingredients on hand, meaning it’s only about 35 minutes from conception to digging into a piping hot bowl of gooey chocolate pudding with quickly melting ice cream. There won’t be leftovers.

Recipe Shortlist: Chocolate and Sour Cherry Hotcakes; Chorizo Rosti with Duck Eggs and Anchovy Mayo; Smoked Trout, Egg, and Potato Salad with Cider Mayo; Crispy Chicken Tacos with Creamy Slaw; Lamb Shank Pie; Truffle Beef Burgers with Creamy Mushrooms and Pancetta; Pretzels with Chocolate and Sea Salt; Double Chocolate Brownies with Salted Butterscotch and Cherries

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Disclosure: I received a review copy of What Katie Ate on the Weekend from Penguin Random House, but I was not otherwise compensated and all thought and opinions are my own.

Self-Saucing Mocha Pudding

Recipe from What Katie Ate on the Weekend. Serves 4.

• 2/3 c. AP flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 4 TBS cocoa powder
• 1/3 c. light brown sugar
• 1 1/2 TBS espresso coffee
• 7 TBS milk
• 1 egg
• 3 TBS butter, melted
• 1 1/2 TBS creme de cacao or chocolate liqueur
• ice cream, to serve

For the sauce:

• 1/3 c. brown sugar
• 4 tsp cocoa powder
• 1 tsp espresso instant coffee powder
• 1 c. boiling water

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Butter a 4 cup capacity souffle mold or baking dish and set aside.
2. Sift the flour, baking powder, and cocoa into a large bowl and whisk to combine. Whisk in the sugar. Add the espresso, milk, egg, melted butter, and creme de cacao and stir to thoroughly combine. Pour into the prepared baking mold and place on a rimmed baking sheet (important to catch drips).
3. Mix the dry ingredients for the sauce (brown sugar, cocoa powder, and espresso instant coffee powder) together in a small bowl. Scatter evenly over the top of the batter, then pour the boiling water over the top.
4. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the pudding has risen and the sauce is bubbling up around the sides. Serve warm with ice cream.

Reprinted by arrangement with Avery Books, a member of Penguin Group (USA) LLC, A Penguin Random House Company. Copyright © Katie Quinn Davies, 2015.

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I’ve learned by now that there’s really no way around my post-lunch chocolate cravings. I’ve tried ignoring them, or substituting something healthier, and sometimes that works for a few days, but it inevitably ends in a huge chocolatey binge at some point.  I’m just a person who needs chocolate, and that’s that. But since I’m determined to rein in the travel-driven overeating of the last few months, I’m currently searching for less-bad-for-you, more-portion-controlled chocolate treats.

For the past few months my chocolate fix has been to go down to the lobby shop and fill a bag with chocolate covered almonds, chocolate covered raisins, and white chocolate pretzels. This is a bad, bad habit, because even if I tell myself a lot of times that the bag of chocolate-covered goodies will last me all week, I always eat it in one sitting, staring at my computer screen, during that 3pm work slump. (Is that a universal thing? It seems to be at my office). And then I usually feel sick, because I usually overfill the bag.

So taking inspiration from this habit, I came up with a recipe that hits the same notes but is a bit less indulgent: Chocolate Almond Granola Bites. Using oats, rice cereal, a mix of Blue Diamond Dark Chocolate and Sea Salt Almonds, almond butter, honey, and of course, chocolate, I whipped up a batch of these bars, and then cut them into very manageable pieces. They are still chocolatey and satisfying but the almonds, almond butter, and oats give them more staying power and nutritional value. I also used unsweetened chocolate, which made me feel extra virtuous. I’m not saying that eating one of these is the same as eating a bag of chocolate covered pretzels… but it does the trick!

This post is sponsored by Blue Diamond Almonds. All opinions are honest and my own.

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Chocolate Almond Granola Bites

Makes 16 bars.

• 1/4 c. almond butter
• 1/2 c. honey
• 3 oz. unsweetened chocolate
• 1 1/2 c. rolled oats
• 1 1/2 c. puffed rice cereal
• 1/2 c. Blue Diamond Sea Salt Almonds
• 1/2 c. Blue Diamond Dark Chocolate Almonds
• 16 white-chocolate covered pretzels

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line an 8×8 inch baking pan with parchment paper and set aside.
2. In a small saucepan, combine the almond butter, honey, and chocolate. Stirring, melt the liquids over low heat until the mixture is smooth and even in color. Remove from the heat
3. Add the oats, rice cereal, and almonds to a large bowl and stir to combine. Pour the chocolate-honey mixture over the cereal and stir to thoroughly coat the cereal with the chocolate. Let cool to room temperature, then press the mixture firmly into the prepared pan. Press the white-chocolate covered pretzels on top of the mixture, spacing them evenly.
4. Bake the granola bites for 15 minutes, then remove from the oven. Let cool completely before slicing and serving.

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This Sunday Dinner post is a big one – I’m not even entirely sure where to start. There’s the obvious, of course, that it was for our Valentine’s Day celebration, so it had to be special and a little bit decadent. There’s the fact that we prepared it during a blizzard, the third big storm in what feels like a never-ending chain of snow and white skies and freezing temperatures – a winter so beyond our imaginations that our city is stuck somewhere between awe, deep frustration, and total apathy. There’s the coffee-crusted duck, the centerpiece of the meal, that we lifted from the menu at Bouchard in Newport, where we spent a wonderful evening last weekend, dining in quiet elegance before slipping back to a room with a fireplace and a four-poster bed, where I wanted to stay forever. There’s the champagne we popped last night, the leftovers of which we unexpectedly took to a blizzard brunch around the corner – because day-drinking and eating waffles is a pretty good way to spend a blizzard. There’s the chocolate espresso layer cake, which we ate thick slices of in bed this morning with our morning coffee, our windows completed whited out by the snow whirling outside. There’s the chanterelle bisque, made from chanterelles we foraged in the middle of the summer, a time so green and warm and damp that it seems like it happened in another lifetime. These recipes have so many bits and pieces of memories tucked inside them it’s hard to sort out a clear thread between them – and now of course they will bring back to us the Valentine’s Day Blizzard of 2015, another weekend spent together grateful for a quiet and warm house in which to hide away and dream of spring.

The menu we made for this dinner is wintery, earthy, and elegant all at the same time, with rich flavors tied one to the next: blood orange, endive, chanterelle, chestnut, coffee, brandy, chocolate. Brilliantly colored blood orange mimosas spiked with Campari and honey. A salad of bitter endive and radicchio topped with blood orange slices, goat gouda, and toasted hazelnuts. A velvety bisque of roasted chestnuts and chanterelles. A gorgeous duck breast, coated in coffee and drizzled with rich brandy-balsamic sauce. And a cake – two fat layers of chocolate cake spread thickly with chocolate-espresso buttercream. Everything turned out beautifully, and although there are certainly a lot of components, it was doable to prepare everything in one afternoon, and still sit down with enough energy to enjoy the meal and each other’s company.

The Menu
Blood Orange Mimosa
Endive and Blood Orange Salad
Chanterelle and Chestnut Bisque
Coffee-Crusted Duck Breast with Brandy-Balsamic Sauce
Chocolate Espresso Layer Cake

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

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Blood Orange Mimosa

Serves 2.

• 1/2 c. freshly squeezed blood orange juice (from about 2 oranges)
• 1 1/2 oz. Campari
• 1 TBS honey
• chilled Prosecco or Champagne

1. Whisk together blood orange juice, Campari, and honey until honey is dissolved. Divide between two champagne flutes and top with prosecco or champagne. Stir gently with a long handled spoon or small whisk. Serve immediately.

Endive and Blood Orange Salad

Serves 4.

• 1 small head of radicchio
• 1 large Belgian endive
• 3 blood oranges
• 1/4 c. hazelnuts, chopped and lightly toasted in a dry pan
• 2 oz. thinly sliced goat gouda or other goat cheese
• 2 TBS champagne vinegar
• 1/4 c. olive oil
• sea salt and pepper to taste

1. Remove and discard the outer leaves from the radicchio and cut out the thick core at the bottom. Roughly chop or shred the radicchio and place in a bowl. Remove the outer leaves from the endive. Slice into thin rounds and add to the bowl with the radicchio. Toss the two vegetables together to evenly combine.
2. Peel the oranges. Juice one of the oranges so that you have 1/2 cup of juice. Slice or supreme the remaining 2 oranges and set aside.
3. Assemble the salads by dividing the radicchio mixture between four plates. Top each with several pieces of blood orange, a spoonful of the toasted hazelnuts, and a few slices of the goat gouda. To make the dressing, whisk together the blood orange juice, champagne vinegar and olive oil until well combined. Season to taste with salt and pepper and drizzle over the salads. Serve immediately.

Chanterelle and Chestnut Bisque

Serves 2-3.

• 2 TBS butter
• 1/3 c. finely diced onion
• 2 c. fresh chanterelles, cleaned and torn into bite-sized pieces
• sea salt and pepper to taste
• 1 c. peeled, roasted chestnut pieces
• 3 c. chicken stock
• 3 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1/2 c. heavy cream

1. Melt the butter in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the onion and saute until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the chanterelles and saute until soft and browned on the edges, about 8-10 minutes, stirring frequently. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Set several spoonfuls of the cooked chanterelles aside (for garnishing the soup).
2. Add the remaining chanterelles, chestnuts, chicken stock, and thyme to a soup pot and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer for 10-15 minutes, then remove from the heat. Spoon out the thyme stems and discard. Transfer the soup to a blender and add the heavy cream. Blend on high until very smooth. Pour into bowls and garnish with the reserved chanterelles. Serve immediately.

Coffee-Crusted Duck with Brandy Balsamic Sauce

Inspired by dinner at Bouchard. Serves 2-3

• 2 medium duck breasts, trimmed of fat
• 4 TBS freshly ground coffee beans
• 2 TBS dark brown sugar
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 3/4 tsp chili powder
• 3 TBS butter, divided
• 2 tsp flour
• 1/4 c. brandy
• 1 TBS balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 c. stout or other dark beer

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Mix the coffee, brown sugar, salt, pepper, and chili powder together in a small bowl. Rub the mixture all over the duck breasts so they are fully coated. Melt 2 TBS butter (or duck fat, if you’d like) in a dutch oven over medium-high heat. Place the duck breasts in the pan and sear for 1 minute on each side. Flip them a second time (to return to the original side) and transfer the pan to the preheated oven. Cook the breasts for 5-7 minutes, to at least an internal temperature of 130°F. Remove from the oven, transfer to a cutting board or plate and let rest for at least 5 minutes.
2. Scrape as much of the coffee grounds as you can out of the dutch oven and discard. Melt the remaining 1 TBS of butter in the dutch oven over medium heat. Add the flour and stir to make a paste, cooking for 60 seconds. Add the brandy to the pan (don’t stand over the pan as you do this, as the alcohol will evaporate rapidly and can make you quite dizzy), followed by the balsamic and the stout. Stir to make a thick sauce and cook for 2-3 minutes, until thick and syrupy. Remove from the heat. Slice the duck on the bias and serve drizzled with the brandy-balsamic sauce.

Chocolate Espresso Layer Cake

• 1 recipe of Add A Pinch’s “Best Chocolate Cake,” baked in three 6×2 inch pans for 35-40 minutes
• 1 recipe Chocolate-Espresso Flour Buttercream, recipe below

1. Once you have baked the three cake layers, turn out onto a cooling rack and let cool completely. Use a serrated knife to trim the dome from each cake so that you have flat layers. Frost the cooled cake with the buttercream, using a dot of buttercream on your cake plate to hold the cake steady. If the cake is crumbing too much as you frost, refrigerate the cake briefly before continuing to frost. Chill the frosted cake for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Chocolate-Espresso Flour Buttercream

Adapted from Serious Eats basic Flour Buttercream. Makes about 3 cups of frosting.

• 4 TBS flour
• 1 c. granulated sugar
• 2 tsp espresso powder
• 1 c. whole milk
• 2 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped into bite-sized pieces
• 2 sticks salted butter, softened to room temperature

1. Whisk the flour, sugar, and espresso powder together in a medium saucepan until smooth. Whisk in the milk, and place over medium heat. Bring the mixture to a low boil, whisking the entire time. As the mixture begins to boil it will thicken to a custard like consistency – still whisking, cook the custard for one minute, then remove from the heat. Add the chopped chocolate and whisk until melted. Continue whisking the custard until it has cooled to body temperature, about 5 minutes. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, beat the softened butter until it is light and fluffy. If it is greasy, refrigerate for a few minutes to make it more firm. Add the cooled chocolate custard to the whipped butter one spoonful at a time, beating to thoroughly incorporate the custard into the butter between additions. If the frosting begins to break or separate, refrigerate for a few minutes before continuing to add the chocolate custard. Once all the custard has been incorporated into the butter, refrigerate the buttercream for 20-30 minutes before frosting your cake. If you refrigerate the buttercream for longer than 30 minutes, you will need to allow it to come back to slightly below room temperature before using.

The post Sunday Dinner: Valentine’s Day Edition // Chanterelle and Chestnut Bisque, Coffee-Crusted Duck Breast, and Chocolate Espresso Layer Cake appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

It’s finally the weekend! And not just any weekend, the weekend before Christmas. This week certainly dragged on, but Trevor and I both finished our classes on Wednesday night, work is winding down for the holiday break, and the path to more relaxing times is getting clearer. I have a few things to wrap up this weekend (holiday photo shoots! Christmas shopping!), but I’m definitely going to be spending some quality downtime with Trevor, and heading home to make cookies with my mom on Sunday. If you’re also planning on breaking out the sugar, butter, and flour this weekend, I have one more recipe for you to add to your lists – peppermint bark brownies.

Brownies are perhaps the hardest baked good to make from scratch, at least when it comes to making homemade ones that are as good as the box mix version. Some might argue that when the boxed mixes (especially that amazing Ghiradelli stuff) are so good, there’s no reason to tinker around with from-scratch recipes. And I’d almost agree with you, but there’s something about figuring out how to make a recipe work exactly how I want it to that’s very satisfying. Plus I really enjoy baking – the whisking, the melting, the folding – and I’m much more likely to have the ingredients for brownies in my cupboard than an actual box of brownie mix. All that said – if you’re a box mix person, make those, stir in peppermint bark at the end, and you’ll be very pleased. For the rest of you, a few notes on this recipe: this recipe makes a very fudgy, thick brownie with a crackly crust. They’re a lot better once they’ve fully cooled – the consistency improves – and the best on the second day. I thought the original was a touch too sweet, so I reduced the sugar slightly, with no adverse effects on the texture. I’ve tried a lot of brownie recipes, and this is definitely one of the best. The addition of peppermint bark gives the whole thing a slight mintyness and biting into big chunks of peppermint bark in the middle of a brownie is pretty satisfying. I took most of this batch to a holiday party at my old roommate’s last weekend (perhaps foreseeing my terrible lack of self control during times of stress), but I may have to make another batch this weekend to keep for myself.

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Peppermint Bark Brownies

Brownie recipe adapted from Baking Illustrated via Chew Out Loud. Makes 16.

• 1/3 c. cocoa powder
• 1/2 c. + 2 TBS boiling water
• 2 oz. unsweetened chocolate, roughly chopped
• 1/2 c. + 2 TBS vegetable oil
• 4 TBS salted butter, melted
• 2 large eggs
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 c. sugar
• 1 3/4 c. flour
• 1/2 tsp fine salt
• 1/2 recipe homemade peppermint bark, chopped into small pieces

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 9×13 inch baking dish with tin foil, smoothing it out across the bottom and up the sides, then grease the tinfoil (don’t skip this, as the brownies will stick to the foil).
2. Bring a kettle of water to a boil. Sift the cocoa powder into a large, heatproof bowl. Measure the boiling water out (1/2 cup plus 2 TBS) and pour over the cocoa powder, whisking until smooth. Immediately add the chopped chocolate and stir until fully melted. Add the vegetable oil and the melted butter and whisk until thoroughly combined. Add the eggs and egg yolks one at a time, whisking to incorporate between additions. Add the vanilla, then add the sugar and whisk vigorously until thoroughly incorporated.
3. Sift the flour over the top of the chocolate mixture, then sprinkle the salt over the top of the flour. Use a spatula to gently stir until the flour and chocolate is just combined. Stir in 3/4 of the chopped peppermint bark, setting the remaining pieces aside. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, then sprinkle the remaining pieces of peppermint bark over the top of the batter. Bake for 40-45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached. Remove from the oven and let cool completely, then remove the brownies from the pan by lifting the tinfoil up and out. Cut into squares and serve.

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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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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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This post is sponsored by CoinTent, a micropayment system that allows bloggers to monetize premium content.

There’s something a little different about today’s post: CoinTent, a new service with the goal of providing bloggers and other internet content creators a way of directly monetizing their content through small pieces of premium content sold at a price between $0.05 and $1, has asked if I would test out their plugin. So, you’ll notice that in today’s post, one recipe is visible but the other two are hidden behind a paygate. As I’m sure many of you know, bloggers put a lot of time and effort into their little pieces of the internet, first and foremost because it’s something we truly love to do. But sometimes, when you’ve worked a 50 hour week at your regular job and you’re facing a Saturday with three recipes to cook and shoot, you wonder if it’s worth it. Being able to earn a little side income helps us rationalize the amount of effort we put in, and also helps pay the grocery/prop/photo equipment bills. Some bloggers have figured out how to make what they love a full time job (see these incredibly helpful income posts from Pinch of Yum, if you haven’t already), but for most of us, we’re still trying to work through that part of the blogging equation. If successful, a direct monetization tool like CoinTent could be a really interesting way to create income – as well as feel validated by your primary consumers, your readers, and not just third party advertisers and brands.

I’d like to ask you guys a big favor (and no, it’s not to click through the paygate, although if you choose to do that, thank you so much for your support!). What I would really love is to hear everyone’s thoughts on the potential of CoinTent. As a reader, would you be willing to pay directly for content? Because of the content itself? Because you’d like to support the bloggers you like the most? If not, why not? And since I know many of you are bloggers, too, what do you see as the advantages of using a system like CoinTent for monetization? The drawbacks? I’d love to discuss all of this with you, so please, if you have any thoughts, leave them in the comments.

And now, if you’re not here for a diatribe on blogging and income, here’s the regular part – the food! I put together this menu with the idea of an easy summer lunch to make for family or friends on vacation. Nothing is difficult or requires much time in the kitchen, and everything makes the most of summer produce and flavors. As the main event, we have a turkey pesto club with goat cheese-pesto spread, crispy  bacon, super ripe tomatoes, and mashed avocado, a combination that’s good on homemade slider buns, biscuits, or any other good bread you have. In my opinion, nothing beats a really good sandwich for a perfect lunch. To wash them down, I made a big batch of fresh peach Arnold Palmers – half iced tea, half lemonade, with a generous dose of sweetened fresh peach puree, this is the most refreshing summer beverage I’ve tried this year. And as for dessert, I’ve taken the ooey gooey goodness of s’mores and turned them into individual-sized tartlets, with chocolate graham cracker crusts, a warm chocolate ganache filling, and a marshmallow meringue on top. So good. Seriously.

Turkey Pesto Club

Serves 4.

• 8 slices bacon
• 2 TBS pine nuts
• 1 clove garlic, peeled and chopped into large pieces
• 4 oz. goat cheese
• 3/4 c. packed fresh  basil
• 4 buns, biscuits, or 8 slices of bread
• 2 avocados
• 1/2 lb. sliced turkey
• 1 large heirloom tomato, thickly sliced

1. Fry the bacon over medium heat until crispy. Drain on a paper towel-lined plate and set aside.
2. In a food processor, pulse the pine nuts and garlic until finely chopped. Add the goat cheese and pulse until smooth, then add the basil and blend until smooth. Set aside.
3.  Slice the buns in half and toast until golden brown, in a toaster or in a dry skillet. Spread the bottom of each half with 1-2 TBS of the goat cheese and pesto spread. Cut the avocados in half and scoop the flesh into a bowl. Mash roughly with a fork, then spread on the other half of the buns. Place 2 slices of bacon on top of the goat cheese spread, then top with turkey and a slice or two of avocado. Top with the avocado covered buns and serve immediately.

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Fresh Peach Arnold Palmer

Serves 8-10.

• 3/4 c. fresh lemon juice (from 3-4 lemons)
• 3/4 c. + 1 c. sugar
• 4 black tea bags
• 2 fresh peaches, pitted and sliced

1. In a large pitcher, stir together the lemon juice and 3/4 c. of the sugar until the sugar is dissolved. Add 4 cups of cold water and set aside.
2. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Place the tea bags in a heatproof container, preferably with measurements marked on the size (quart-sized mason jars work great). Pour 4 cups of the boiling water over the tea bags. Let steep for 5-10 minutes, then remove the tea bags, cover the tea, and place in the fridge to chill.
3. In a small saucepan, place the sliced peaches, the remaining 1 cup of sugar, and 1 cup of water. Bring to a simmer, and simmer until peaches are very soft and fragrant, about 8 minutes. Remove from the heat, let cool slightly, then puree with an immersion blender. Add the peach puree to the pitcher of lemonade, and place in the fridge.
4. When ready to serve, mix the peach lemonade and the iced tea together in one pitcher. Serve in tall glasses over ice.

S’Mores Tartlets

Makes 6 small tartlets

• 8 whole graham crackers
• 1 TBS cocoa powder
• 4 TBS melted butter
• 3 egg whites, divided into batches of 1 and 2
• 8 oz. bittersweet chocolate chips
• 1/3 c. heavy cream
• pinch cream of tartar
• 3 TBS sugar
• 3/4 c. marshmallow fluff

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a food processor, pulse graham crackers until finely ground. Pour into a small bowl and whisk in the cocoa powder, then stir in the melted butter. Lightly beat one of the egg whites, then add to the graham cracker crumbs and stir until crumbs are all well moistened. Divide the crumbs between six 3-inch tartlet pans with removable bottoms, and press crumbs firmly into bottom and along sides with your fingers. Bake for 8 minutes, then remove from oven and let cool.
2. In a small saucepan over low heat, combined the chocolate chips and the heavy cream. Heat, stirring constantly, until all of the chocolate chips have just melted, then remove from the heat immediately and divide the chocolate mixture between the six tartlet shells, filling each about 3/4 of the way up. Chill the tartlets until firm, at least 30 minutes.
3. Just before serving, preheat the oven to broil. In a large bowl, use an electric beater to beat the remaining 2 egg whites until frothy. Sprinkle the cream of tartar over the top, then beat until soft peaks form. At this point, continue beating while slowly sprinkling the 3 TBS of sugar over the top. Beat until stiff peaks form, then add the marshmallow fluff and beat until fully combined and stiff. Spread a dollop of the fluff meringue on top of each tartlet, then broil on high until golden brown in spots, about 4 minutes. Remove from oven and serve immediately. Refrigerate any leftovers, reheating quickly before serving.

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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.

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The Book: It seems that at least once a year, a cookbook that is more aptly described as an encyclopedia of a particular culture and cuisine is released. Gran Cocina Latina is a good example, as is The New Book of Middle Eastern Food, and to a certain extent even Dorie Greenspan’s Around My French Table. These books are much more than just exciting cookbooks, they’re reference books for chefs and travelers and budding anthropologists that contain hundreds of classic recipes along with a thorough communication of the culinary culture and history of a particular region of the world. Often these books become instant classics, essential books for any cook seriously interested in learning about other cuisines. This season I have two books of this type in my review pile, and the first is about a very specific place – the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico. Yucatan: Recipes from a Culinary Expedition, written by David Sterling, is the product of his decades of culinary experience living in the Yucatan while running a cooking school there.

Starting the book knowing nothing about the Yucatan, except that it looks like a nice place to go on vacation, I quickly realized I was in the hands of an expert. I was easily drawn into the narrative of this ideologically isolated peninsula, even when that narrative had nothing whatsoever to do with food. History, geography, biology – you’ll get a little bit of everything with this book. Of course, eventually it all ties back to food and cooking, and I don’t know if there was a single recipe in this book that I wasn’t interested in trying. The recipes are mostly traditional, yet still presented in a creative and intriguing way – combinations like Roasted Quail with a Puree of Squash Seeds, Chaya, and Habanero and Zucchini and Squash Blossom Stew with Tiny Corn Pancakes are representative of what people have eaten traditionally, but totally new to me. I should note that as much as the 60-page ingredient primer will help orient you to traditional ingredients, many will still be hard to find for American cooks. Beyond that, many of the recipes will be time-consuming for those not accustomed to cooking with the major base ingredients of the cuisine, as sourcing or preparing the spice mixes, flours, and fats that are traditionally used will add to the total preparation time. However, once you have a few of the key pantry items built into your repertoire, I imagine the recipes become less daunting – there’s just a bit of a learning curve.

The Food: One of the goodies we brought back with us from Ecuador was a bag full of fermented cacao beans. As part of our trip we learned about the entire chocolate making process, even roasting and grinding our own beans before making the freshest hot chocolate ever. We picked up a half pound bag of the beans for $2.50 in a little souvenir shop later in our trip, and now I’m wishing we had brought more home with us, as whole beans go for $20 a pound on Amazon. When I saw the dessert recipes calling for freshly ground cacao paste in this book, I knew we’d found a way to put our beans to good use. This Mayan Chocolate Frozen Custard is one of the most intense ice creams I’ve ever tasted. Using a whole host of traditional ingredients – Mexican crema, freshly ground cacao, cayenne pepper, and a hand-ground spice mixture called recado rojo that includes achiote, garlic, and vinegar – it has a ton of different flavors, and a somewhat gritty texture from the ground cacao beans. And preparing all the components really gave our mortar and pestle a good workout. I realize that this description might not make it sound all that appealing, but it’s a really exciting recipe that’s definitely worth stepping outside of your comfort zone for. If you can find whole cacao beans, use them – the smell of freshly roasted cacao being mashed to a paste is otherwordly – but otherwise, you can use cacao nibs or bittersweet chocolate.

Recipe Shortlist: Venison in Red Squash-Seed Sauce; Maya Succotash of New Corn and Black-Eyed Peas; Mashed Plaintain Croquettes with Pork Cracklings and Goat Cheese; Lobster Tails in Charred Chili Sauce; Guava, Marschino Cherry, and Sherry Frozen  Custard; Chicken and Potatoes Stewed in Oregano-Black Pepper Sauce; Honey-Drenched Yuca Fritters

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Disclaimer: I received a review copy of Yucatan: Recipes from a Culinary Expedition from University of Texas Press, but I was not otherwise compensated and all thought and opinions are my own.

Mayan Chocolate Frozen Custard

Recipe from Yucatan: Recipes from a Culinary Expedition. Makes about 1 1/2 quarts.

• 2 c. whole milk
• 2 TBS recado rojo (bought in a Latin grocery, or homemade)
• 2 c. creme fraiche (or heavy cream)
• 1 c. sugar
• 1/4 c. honey
• 3/8 tsp ground allspice
• 1/8 tsp cayenne powder
• 5 large egg yolks
• 8 oz. fresh chocolate paste, recipe below (or bittersweet chocolate, chopped)
• 1 TBS vanilla

1. Place the milk and the recado rojo in a blender and blend for 30 seconds. Strain the milk through a fine-mesh sieve into a heavy saucepan, discarding the solids that get caught in the strainer. Add the creme fraiche, sugar, honey, allspice, and cayenne to the milk. Heat over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the sugar dissolves and the mixture has just reached a simmer, then remove from the heat.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks until they are pale yellow and frothy. While whisking the eggs, slowly pour 1 cup of the hot milk into the eggs in a thin stream, whisking vigorously to temper the eggs. Repeat with another cup of hot milk, then pour the egg mixture back into the hot milk mixture, whisking the milk as you do so. Still whisking, return the custard to low heat and cook just until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. It will still be fluid – about the consistency of a creme anglaise.
3. Once the mixture has thickened, strain through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl, discarding any solids. Stir in the chocolate paste or bittersweet chocolate until mixture is thick and chocolate is melted. Let cool, then stir in the vanilla. Cover and refrigerate for at least 6 hours, or overnight. Once thoroughly chilled, process according to your ice cream maker’s directions.

Fresh Chocolate Paste

Makes about 8 oz.

• 1/2 lb. of whole fermented cacao beans

1. Place the beans in a dry skillet over medium heat. Roast, stirring occasionally, until fragrant and skins are cracking, about 8-10 minutes. Remove from heat. As soon as beans are cool enough to handle, peel the skins away from the beans and discard the skins. Return any peeled beans that are still brown as opposed to a deep blackish brown to the pan for a minute or two, cooking until they are all deeply browned.
2. Place peeled, roasted beans in a blender and blend until evenly ground. Transfer to a mortar and pestle in grind to a fine paste in batches.

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Today was my last day at my job! On Monday, I begin a new role – I’ll be in the same company, but I’m transferring to a project management role in our International business unit. I’ll be traveling a lot more (in fact, I’ll be on a plane to Hong Kong on my first day on the job), and working on some really neat projects with our teams around the world, with the side benefit of getting to tell you all about the awesome foods I get to try. I’m very excited about my new job, but the past few days have been bittersweet. This was my first job out of college, and I’ve had two and a half great years in the group that I’m leaving. I’ve learned a ton, developed so much more confidence in myself, and, maybe most importantly, met some really great people. When I was first looking for jobs, I didn’t realize the sheer volume of time you spend with your coworkers, and I consider myself lucky to have found myself in a group of smart, entertaining, and caring people who have become my close friends. I spent a good part of most days at work laughing with an intensity that I never expected to experience in a workplace, and I know I’m lucky to be able to say that. I’m certainly planning on maintaining my friendships with everyone, but it will be different not being there for the little day to day stories and jokes. So, thank you CS&R, for being awesome.

Although I’ve brought baked goods in to work once or twice, I have to admit that overall, I probably fell short of my coworkers’ expectations of having a food blogger around. So today, to celebrate my time in the group and make good on all my “yeah I’ll make those someday” promises, I brought in a batch of classic, gooey, super sweet seven layer bars. I considered going all fancy/homemade with these – you know, homemade cookie crust, a caramel drizzle, etc. – but in the end, what I really wanted was just the classic version, over-processed store bought ingredients and all. So that’s what I made, although it turns out that if you live in Cambridge, it’s pretty difficult/expensive to try and find things like sweetened coconut flakes, butterscotch chips, and sweetened condensed milk when Wholefoods has taken over the local grocery scene (typically a good thing, but not for something like this). Still, these are certainly worth making in my book, and hopefully my coworkers thought so too. Now I just have to start managing the baking expectations of my new coworkers.

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More like this…

Peppermint Bark Brownies

Blackberry Cheesecake Bars

Toffee-Coconut Crack Cookies

Classic Seven-Layer Bars

Adapted from Brown-Eyed Baker. Makes 18-24 bars.

• 1 package of  graham crackers (8 or 9 whole crackers)
• 1 stick butter (8 TBS) melted
• 1 1/2 c. whole pecans, coarsely chopped
• 1 c. semisweet chocolate chips
• 3/4 c. white chocolate chips
• 1/2 c. butterscotch chips
• 1 c. sweetened coconut flakes
• 1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 9×13 inch baking pan with tinfoil so that the foil hangs slightly over the sides. Place graham crackers in a blender and pulse several times until crackers are finely ground. Pour into a bowl and add the melted butter, stirring to fully coat the crumbs with the butter. Spread the buttered crumbs into the bottom of the lined pan, pressing to create a thin and even layer.
2. In order, sprinkle the chopped pecans, chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, butterscotch chips and coconut flakes evenly over the graham cracker crust. Spoon or pour the can of sweetened condensed milk evenly over the surface of the entire pan. Place in the preheated oven and bake until the top is golden brown, about 25-30 minutes. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for about two hours. Cover and store in the fridge.

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In January, I decided that instead of setting one big, difficult goal for my health and fitness for the whole year, I would create a new, smaller challenge for myself each month. The idea was that my progress would be more measurable and the goals would be easier to achieve, and so far, that’s been true. I’m now in the middle of challenge #3, and I’m really glad that I’m doing it this way. I’m feeling pretty fired up about exercise (at a time of year when it’s easy to want to give up on it entirely), and I’m craving super indulgent foods less and less. Thinking more about fitness and my body does mean that there are some days when I’m much more frustrated than I would be if I weren’t trying to achieve something, and on those days I have to continually remind myself to take the long view – the negative emotions that come with overthinking your size and shape can be so overwhelming. But there are also days when I feel really happy about something I’ve achieved – like making it to the top of a rock climbing route I’ve been struggling with for weeks (seriously, that caused elation), or noticing that I feel really good three miles into a run. While sometimes I think that feeling neutral about yourself is preferable to the emotional highs-and-lows of struggling to achieve something, when it comes to my health, I should probably choose the highs-and-lows.

February’s challenge, which was to have one entirely vegan meal every day, was eye-opening for me in a couple of ways. First, it’s really hard to find vegan food in restaurants, even in a  big food city like Boston. Even at health-food and salad chains completely vegan choices are few and far between, making finding lunch on the days I was too busy to make it ahead of time a real challenge. Second, just having to think through all of the ingredients in a dish to make sure they were fair game made me a lot more aware of what I was putting in to my body at any time of day. I will admit that I cheated on the two days that my girlfriends were visiting, but I didn’t beat myself up about it. Although I don’t love eating vegan meals, I did like the way doing this challenge made me think and feel, and that I’m starting to see the numbers on the scale creep down, so I’m thinking about how I want to incorporate this into my eating habits longer term.

Since I’ll be on vacation for a third of March, I’m only applying this month’s challenge to the 20 days that I will be home. This doesn’t mean that I’m giving up on being active and healthy while I’m away – on the contrary, I think it’s going to be a super active and outdoorsy trip. What I am giving up is lists and schedules and my daily routine, which is definitely where these fitness goals tend to fit in. So, with that in mind, I decided that my goal for March is to run 40 miles over the course of the 20 days that I’ll be home, a goal that is certainly achievable but feels like a true challenge. Since I started using the Nike+ Running app to keep track of my runs, the most miles I’ve logged in any month is 41, and that was last June. To be fair, I started using the app after my two half-marathons and I probably only use it for about 90% of my runs, but still, I’m not running more than 40 miles most months, and 10 miles a week is something that I should be able to achieve on a regular basis. I’ve already gotten 10 miles in so far this month, so if I can squeeze in another 10 before we leave, I’ll be halfway done.

One of the challenges of fitting runs in during the work week is figuring out how and when to eat to best fuel yourself. I am not a run on an empty stomach type of person, and whether I’m running in the morning or after work I need to eat something filling and energizing 45 to 60 minutes before I hit the road. As I thought about the attributes of my favorite pre-run snacks, I began making a mental list of the features I’m looking for in the perfect snack: portable, so I can easily bring it to work with me; dense, so that I feel energized without having to eat a large volume of food; a little sweet, to satisfy my dessert cravings and get my blood sugar up; a good balance of carbs and protein, for short and long term energy. Where did this list lead me? To these almond butter cookie bites, portable mouthfuls of energy-dense almond butter, dates, oats, and chocolate. There are lots of recipes for no-bake almond butter bites out there (these ones and these ones both look good), but I wanted these to be baked so they felt more like a cookie, and were easier to throw in my purse without having to worry about melting/smushing. These little cookies come in at just under 100 calories per piece, with 2 grams of protein and 1 gram of fiber in each one. They’re a little bit crumbly, so you have to be careful while dipping them in the chocolate, but I think that might be their only flaw. They’re flavorable, filling, and sweet enough to feel like dessert without the “empty” ingredients that most cookies and desserts have.

Past Fitness Challenges

January: 10 Visits to the YMCA; Recipe: Gluten-Free Olive-and-Feta Corn Muffins
February: One vegan meal every day; Recipe: Pakistani Chickpea Pulao with Sweet-Hot Date-Onion Chutney

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Chocolate-Dipped Almond Butter Cookie Bites

Makes 18 small cookies.

• 3/4 c. oats
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 c. brown sugar
• 4 pitted dates
• 1 egg
• 1/2 c. almond butter
• 1/3 c. chocolate chips

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Place the oats in a food processor or blender, and blend until finely ground. Pour into a bowl, and whisk in baking soda, baking powder, and salt until evenly combined.
2. Add the brown sugar and the dates to the food processor or blender, and pulse until a smooth paste has formed. You may need to stop to scrape the mixture down the sides once or twice. Scrape the paste out of the blender and into the bowl with the oats. Stir to combine. If there are still a lot of big chunks, add the whole mixture back to the blender and pulse a few more times to fully integrate.
3. Add an egg to the bowl with the oats and sugar mixture, and stir until all of the mixture is evenly moistened. Stir in the almond butter until fully combined. You should have a smooth, moist dough that holds its shape when rolled into a ball. Roll the mixture into 18 small balls (less than an inch across) and place on a baking sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until the edges of the cookies are starting to turn golden brown and the cookies have cracked on top. Carefully transfer to a baking rack to cool.
4. While the cookies are cooling, melt the chocolate chips over a double boiler, whisking just until the chocolate is smooth. Carefully dip the cooled cookies into the melted chocolate so that half the cookie is covered. Place on wax paper to cool completely.

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