The Book: A few years ago, Quirk Books reached out to me about reviewing a book called Winter Cocktails that had just been published. They sent over a copy and it quickly became one of my most used and best loved cookbooks. I’ve shared a number of recipes from it here, including Nutella Melt with Frangelico, Burnt Sugar Hot Buttered Rum, and Chocolate Stout Affogato. Now, the same talented ladies have teamed up to write a second book – Summer Cocktails, but of course. I love making and shooting cocktails: they’re quick to make, instantly rewarding, and they provide endless opportunities for creativity. Plus, at the end you have a cocktail to drink. So I was really excited to dive into this book, and I was not disappointed.

The first section of the book contains classics, always with the option for a clever, modern twist. Mint Juleps go further South with cilantro and ginger-infused rum, and Shirley Temple grows up with a splash of Bourbon and Campari. Next we move on to summer punches, large format drinks and pitchers to set out during backyard soirees, like a frizzante and herb-laced Italian sangria, basil and rhubarb vodka spiked lemonade, and peachy bourbon punch. The “Frosty Drinks” section includes all things blended, ice cream based, or best served with an umbrella. Frozen pineapple gets lots of opportunity to shine in fancy ginger-lemongrass piña coladas and blended with tequila and cointreau, while boozy pops made with everything from avocado and tequila to mango and sake will keep you cool (and really relaxed). The last section of the book is reserved for antidotes, “hair-of-the-dog” daytime mimosas, shandys, and micheladas to help you recover from the night before, if that’s your sort of thing. There are also a few, choice, non-liquid recipes included – think sliders, breakfast tacos, and other things you might start to crave once you’re a few drinks in. In short, this book is full of good stuff: tons of creative ideas, gorgeous photos, and enough inspiration for every summer party you’ll throw.

The Drinks: As we get into the sticky-hot heat of August, refreshing, thirst quenching drinks are just about the best thing in the world. While I was tempted by the boozy milkshakes and sweet punches, I knew that they might feel a little too heavy. But a Watermelon and Pisco Refresher? I was 100% sold on that. I’ve been drinking a lot of pisco in Chile, and I just bought a bottle to experiment with at home, so that was an added temptation. This drink is delightfully fresh from the watermelon, cilantro, and mint, and surprisingly spicy from the little bit of jalapeno that’s added. I may or may not have had one, gone for a run, and then come back and had another one… that counts as hydrating, right?

Recipe Shortlist: Kentucky Mule (with Bourbon and Ginger Beer); Fresco de Arroz con Piña; Bollywood Margarita (with Curry Leaves, Tomatillo, and Coriander Tequila); Moroccan Mint Iced Tea; Pink Ladies Lemonade (with Rhubarb and Strawberry Vodka); Peachy Keen Bourbon Punch; The Luxe Cherry Milkshake

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Disclosure: I received a review copy of Summer Cocktails from Quirk Books, but I was not otherwise compensated and all thought and opinions are my own.

Watermelon Pisco Refresher

Recipe adapted slightly from Summer Cocktails. Serves 2.

• 3 c. cubed, chilled watermelon
• 3 oz. Pisco
• 1/4 c. packed fresh cilantro leaves
• 1/4 c. packed fresh mint leaves
• 1/2 jalapeno, seeds removed, sliced thinly
• 1/4 c. sugar
• pinch of salt
• ice

1. Muddle the cilantro, mint, jalapeno, sugar, and salt in a cocktail shaker until fragrant. Add several ice cubes to the shaker.
2. Add the watermelon and the Pisco to a blender and blend until smooth. Let settle for a few minutes, then scoop the foam off the top and discard. Strain liquid through cheesecloth or fine mesh strainer into the cocktail shaker. Shake vigorously for 30 seconds. Strain into ice-filled glasses and garnish with additional watermelon slices, cilantro, and mint. Serve immediately.

The post Book Club: Summer Cocktails // Watermelon Pisco Refresher appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

Last week I wrote about a new little thing I’m trying – making a week-long resolution relating to health and trying to stick with it all week. The trick is that you have to make the resolution specific enough that it’s not mentally daunting, e.g. “No chocolate from the candy box at work” instead of “No dessert at all.” Doing something for a week is challenging enough to feel like an accomplishment when you’ve finished, but not so challenging that you give up after three days. If, at the end of the week, you’re glad that you were able to keep your resolution for the week, try to keep that one going for another week and add a new one as well.

So far, I’ve completed two weeks of these little resolutions, and I’m feeling pretty good about it so I’m going to try and keep it up, at least for a little while. This week, I’m going to try and do 10 minutes of strength training and stretching every day. Strength training is something I do sporadically, at best, but I know that doing it regularly will both help me feel better about how I look, and help my balance and coordination in ballet. If you’re interested in joining me, I’d love to hear your own resolutions in the comments – and if you commented last week, let me know if you were successful!

To keep track of my resolutions so far…

1. Week one: No chocolate from the chocolate box at work – Success for week one and week two! This is huge.
2. Week two: Walk to or from Park St. to work at least once each day – Success! I even went in the rain.
3. Week three: Do ten minutes of strength training/stretching every day

And now for the food. Trevor and I took a trip to Wholefoods this weekend and, silly me, I went without a list. This resulted in a lot of impulse purchases, like camembert, Haitian mangoes, blackberries, satsuma oranges, and clementines. None of it local, all of it too tempting to pass up. I was originally tempted to use all the fruit in a mango-cream tart, but since this week is such a big eating week, and since I had just made a batch of chocolate cookies, I managed to talk myself into a healthier option – mango, satsuma, and black rice salad.

When I realized that I had bookmarked this salad from multiple sources, I knew it was about time that I tried it. Strangely, this salad seems both like summer food and winter food – summer food because it’s light and fruity and healthy, and winter food because it’s bright and citrusy and nutty. I doctored the original up a little bit, adding sour cherries and increasing the amount of orange. Feel free to play with the ratios to get it the way you like – an extra handful of peanuts, all scallions instead of the red onion, etc. It’s an easy and forgiving recipe!

Mango, Satsuma and Black Rice Salad

Adapted from Bon Appetit. Serves 4-5 as a side.

• 1 1/2 c. black rice, rinsed and drained
• 2 c. water
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3 satsuma tangerines or 1 c. canned mandarin oranges, drained, plus 1/4 c. of the drained juice
• 3 TBS fresh squeezed lime juice (from 1 large lime)
• 2 TBS canola oil
• 1 mango, peeled, sliced, and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 1/2 c. fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1/2 c. red onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 c. roasted salted peanuts
• 4 scallions, white and dark green parts removed, sliced
• 2 jalapenos, seeded and finely chopped
• 1/4 c. dried cherries

1. In a medium saucepan, combine rice, water, and salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover, and simmer until water is absorbed and rice is tender, about 25 minutes. Remove from heat and let sit, covered, for 15 minutes longer.
2. If using fresh tangerines, peel tangerines, remove as much of the white pith as possible, and separate into segments. Using a small knife, carefully slice along the skinny length of each tangerine segment, then use your fingers to remove the skin/membrane of the tangerine. Save the membranes with the little pieces of fruit attached (some staying attached is inevitable). Squeeze the membranes over a bowl and collect the juice – you should have about 1/4 – 1/3 of a cup. If you have less, squeeze one or two of your tangerine segments into the bowl to make up the difference. If you’re using canned mandarin oranges, you can skip this step, just be sure to save 1/4 c. of the juice.
3. Whisk together the tangerine juice, lime juice, and oil. Pour over the black rice and let cool.
4. Stir the tangerine segments, mango, cilantro, red onions, peanuts, scallions, jalapenos, and dried cherries into the salad. Taste and adjust the seasoning with more salt or lime juice if desired. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

The post Monday Morning Resolutions & A Mango, Satsuma and Black Rice Salad appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

Aha!  I got you.  You thought that after I posted the first two installments in this so-called series 3 months apart I would either get my act together and post with some continuity or give up like a respectable human being and stop with the chicken thing.  But you were wrong.  Because it’s been another 3 months, and I’m back with more lovingly-roasted-by-someone-else-chickens.  Get excited.

I’ve known for a while that the 3rd installment in my rotisserie chicken series was going to be a pizza.  Chicken on pizza is stellar.  It’s actually been on my menu for the past 5 weeks in a row… it’s just that I ran out of pizza dough, and making pizza dough without a stand mixer?  Huge pain in the ass.  I did it once last spring and made enough for 5 pizzas, but I ate those 5 pizzas and the 45 minute kneading process required to make more dough should definitely be categorized as an aerobic workout.  Maybe anaerobic.  And who likes exercise anyways.

The other problem is the chicken itself – if I don’t get at it right away, while it’s still warm, it’s a goner.  Cold rotisserie chicken that’s been in the fridge for two days and has congealed in the bag?  Not my favorite thing to pick apart.  And if I do manage to tackle the chicken as soon as I get back from the grocery store then there’s the problem of trying to make stock at night and getting really exhausted before it has time to cool properly.  Whine whine bitch moan.

But I’ve been really wanting this pizza.  And the prospect of having pizza dough in the freezer again is highly appealing.  So I buckled down.  I’d like to say that the stars just aligned and I woke up this morning totally jazzed to knead dough and boil chicken carcasses and then have the energy to photograph my lunch before snarfing it.  But no, I actually just had to make myself do it.  But it was totally worth it.  Especially because as I was taking my pictures it started to snow.  And not only is it the first snow of the season, I’ve actually never seen it snow like this in Durham.  We had one really heavy, really brief, really nasty storm last January and no one could figure out how to drive for 2 and a half weeks, but this is like… beautiful, perfect snow.  The kind of snow I actually like.  All the freshmen from Texas/Florida/Southern California are probably freaking out like they do every year.  Anyway, I just sat by the window and ate my pizza and watched the snow and didn’t think about anything other than how lovely it was, and it was really nice.

Back to pizza.  This was just like I wanted it to be – pizza is one of those sum of its parts things.  In a good way.  If you use quality ingredients that you like, and you have some idea of how to combine them, your pizza will be good.  Like this.  Besides the dough-making process it was also really quick to throw together.  If you already had dough in the fridge/freezer this could be ready to eat in 20 minutes.  And now I no longer have to be tempted by the frozen California Pizza Kitchen pizzas in Kroger, cuz I can do it myself. :-)

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Want More Chicken?

• Rotisserie Chicken Chronicles #1 – Asian Pesto Chicken Salad
• Rotisserie Chicken Chronicles #2 – Fettucine, Mushrooms, and Chicken in a Mustard Cream Sauce

Thai Chicken Pizza

Serves 2-3.

• 1/5 basic pizza dough recipe, below
• 2 TBS minced fresh ginger
• 1/2 c. peanut butter
• 1/2 c. water
• 2 TBS soy sauce
• 3 TBS hoisin sauce
• 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
• 1 c. shredded cooked chicken from rotisserie chicken
• 3/4 c. mozzarella cheese
• 3 scallions, sliced
• 1 carrot, grated
• 1/2 c. sprouts
• 1/2 c. chopped cilantro

1. Preheat oven to 425°F.  Roll pizza dough out to 1/4 inch thickness.  Sprinkle baking pan with a teaspoon or two of cornmeal to prevent the bottom from burning and place dough on pan.
2. In a small bowl, mix together ginger, soy sauce, water, peanut butter, hoisin sauce, and red pepper flakes until smooth.  Spread 2/3 of the mixture evenly over the pizza dough.  Add the remaining 1/3 of the peanut sauce to the chicken and stir to coat.  Sprinkle cheese over the sauce/dough, and then place chicken pieces on top.  Bake for 15 minutes.
3. When pizza is cooked, remove from oven and allow to cool for 1 or 2 minutes.  Then sprinkle the top with the scallions, shredded carrot, sprouts, and chopped cilantro.  Slice and serve.

Basic Pizza Dough

This is my mom’s calzone dough recipe.  It’s very simple and actually takes significantly less time than 45 minutes to knead, so I’m glad I have it now.  It also gets a great rise, and extra can be frozen after it has risen and been punched down.  This recipe makes enough for 5 individual sized pizzas or calzones.

• 2 c. skim milk
• 1/4 c. very warm water
• 1 TBS active dry yeast
• 1/4 c. olive oil
• 1 tsp. salt
• 5 1/2 – 6 c. flour

1. Proof yeast – sprinkle yeast over 1/4 c. warm water and allow to stand for 5 minutes.
2. Heat milk in the microwave for 2 minutes, until quite warm but not bubbling.
3. In a large bowl, mix together 4 c. of flour, salt, and olive oil.  Add milk and yeast mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until well incorporated.  Add remaining flour half a cup at a time until the dough comes together and is not too sticky.
4. Dump dough on lightly floured surface and knead for 10 minutes until smooth and elastic, adding flour as needed.
5. Place in a lightly oiled bowl and allow to rise for 1 hour.  Once risen, punch down and break into five equal portions.  Freeze portions in individual ziploc bags or use within 1-2 days.

The post Rotisserie Chicken Chronicles #3 appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

• I have eaten an entire box of mini strawberry cream cheese strudels.  They were in the manager’s markdown bin right by the checkout at Kroger.  I did not get them, they got me.
• The highlight of my day so far was cleaning the fridge.
• I wore sweatpants to school.  And a sweatshirt.  This does not count as fashion.
• I spent 6 hours in a row doing math, pencil to paper.  I know that in the real world this is called a “work day” but I’m not there yet.
• I turned in my stats quiz with no answers.
• The rain has been falling at exactly the same rate for the entire day.  I know because I stood in it a lot and my umbrella, while trendy, is quite petite.

This is why I needed daal.  Hot, spicy, lentily daal, served on crispy toast (because one more pot to wash, i.e., for the rice, might have put me over the edge) with a cucumber-dill raita.  The Refectory, one of the on-campus eateries at Duke, makes a daal that I live for.  I asked for the recipe a year ago and they said that they were compiling a cookbook and I should wait until it came out, but I don’t think it ever came out.  Liars.  And they’re part of the Divinity School.  Jeez.  So anyway I shall resort to trying all the daal recipes I can find until I can recreate that one.  This is attempt #1.

An aside: I love all things that come out of India – best flavors in the world.  And also colors.  And also dance moves.  I went to my first ever Bhangra class on Wednesday night, and very much enjoyed it.  I have little to no coordination when it comes to dancing, but I love to move!  And I’m slowly mastering that little hand flick thing.  I left class with a new appreciation for how much calf strength it takes to jump up and down for an entire hour.  Oh yeah, and a blood blister the size of my big toe.  But that’s healing, so we won’t talk about it.

Back to the food – this daal was created as a sort-of mash-up of several daal recipes I found on the web.  Everyday yellow daal on smitten kitchen was a source of inspiration, as was Route79.  Really though I know so little about Indian cooking and there are so many types of daal out there that I was sort of winging it.  To be honest, my daal didn’t even come out yellow.  And it tastes exactly nothing like the daal at The Refectory – it’s much meatier, for lack of a better descriptor.  But it’s still delicious and warming and comforting and the highlight of my day is no longer cleaning the refrigerator because I am on my second plate of dinner, drinking my first glass of wine in a month, and watching a sappy old person love movie.* So here’s the deets:

Basic Yellow Split Pea Daal

• 1 c. yellow split peas
• 1 T canola oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 T cumin
• 2 tsp ground ginger
• 2 tsp turmeric
• 2 tsp garam masala
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 3/4 c. diced tomatoes (approx. 1/4 28 oz. can)
• 2 carrots, grated or finely chopped
• 2 T butter
• 1/2 c chopped cilantro
• 2 tsp kosher salt

1. Soak the split peas in cold water for half an hour.  Drain, and rinse 2 or 3 times until water is fairly clear.
2. Cover the split peas with water and bring to a boil.
3. Meanwhile, sautee onion with cumin in olive oil in medium heat for 5-7 minutes.
4. Add onion, tomatoes, carrots and spices to split peas.  Simmer on medium heat, half-covered, for a full hour and a half, stirring occasionally.  Add water as needed to keep covered.
5. When split peas are soft and begin to break down, add butter, cilantro, and salt.  Simmer for another 10 minutes.
6. Serve on basmati rice or hot toast with a cucumber-dill raita glopped on top.**

*Old people love movies are movies where people that I consider old have a surprising amount of sex.  The prime example of this genre is Something’s Gotta Give.

** Cucumber raita: Take a spoon, a tub of yogurt, half a cucumber (diced), lemon juice, black pepper, kosher salt, cilantro and dill.  Mix ingredients, tasting after each addition, until you like it.  Personally, I use vanilla yogurt because I like the extra flavor and greek yogurt kind of freaks me out, but most people recommend plain greek yogurt.  Also, I used dill in a tube – yeah, I was skeptical too, but there wasn’t any dill in the grocery store and this stuff tastes great!  And you don’t have to chop anything!  So I approve of that too.

The post I love India. appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.