As a teenager, I spent what felt like entire summers babysitting for the kids across the street. There were three of them, aged 4-10, and they were a handful. But they also had a pool and they paid well, so it was a good job all in all. The kids used to love eating pastina, basically tiny little pasta stars, with masses of butter and that shakeable powdered parmesan cheese. I rarely had to cook anything for them (their mom was a great cook and there was always tons of food in their house), but I made pastina once or twice. It was perfect comfort food for kids, no spice, all warmth and simplicity.

Fast forward 15 years. Trevor and I just started a major kitchen renovation (!) and the house is full of dust. It’s still cold and snowy, and it’s that time of year where you’re just on the edge of being sick all the time. We’re ready for spring and it’s not here yet. Comfort food is in order pretty much every day. A few weeks back (before the renovation started!), in this late winter state of being, I was staring forlornly inside the fridge, hoping for inspiration to strike from a handful of leftovers. I was in a bad mood. I was tired. And there was really very little in the fridge since we’d been proactively cleaning it out. So I dumped half a container of homemade kitchen stock in a pot and boiled some Israeli couscous in it. I added a huge amount of freshly grated parmesan cheese and some cracked black pepper. I plopped it unceremoniously in a bowl and took a bite. And it turned out to be the most perfect thing – creamy, savory, comforting, cheesy – and just like pastina with butter, but all grown-up.

I’ve finessed this recipe a little bit to share with you, but it really is very simple. Use the best chicken stock you can as that’s where all the flavor comes from. Don’t be shy with the parmesan or the pepper or the parsley. Your reward for 10 minutes of effort will be a bowl of super delicious pasta to get you through these last few weeks of winter.

Israeli Couscous “Pastina”

A super simple, super comforting pasta, rich with the flavors of chicken broth and parmesan cheese.

• Author: Katie at the Kitchen Door

Ingredients

• 2 cups high quality chicken stock, preferably homemade
• 1 cup Israeli couscous (also sold as pearled couscous)
• 3/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup minced fresh parsley

Instructions

1. Add the chicken stock to a small saucepan and bring just to a boil. As soon as it reaches a boil, add the Israeli couscous (don’t wait as your stock will evaporate and there won’t be enough left to fully cook the couscous). Let stock return to a simmer. Simmer the couscous, stirring occasionally, until the couscous is tender and the chicken stock has been almost completely absorbed, about 7 to 8 minutes.
2. Remove the pan from the heat. Don’t drain it – the couscous will continue to absorb the stock, and it should have a slightly loose, creamy texture. Add the 3/4 cup of grated parmesan cheese, a generous amount of black pepper, and the chopped parsley. Stir until the cheese has melted into the couscous. Serve immediately, topped with additional parmesan and black pepper if desired.

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Although I’m a bit later than usual this year, my annual year-end post is one of my favorite things to write each year. I love reading other people’s posts, too, even people I don’t know personally. I like reflecting on how much growth and change and activity a single year can hold. It gives me perspective. But, if you’re not a big fan of this sort of thing, or of lengthy personal blog posts, skip on down to the end. There’s a recipe for a kale, golden raisin, and kabocha squash pasta that’s been getting me through this cold snap. I’ve made it four or five times to get the balance just right, and now it’s become my go-to winter pasta.

For those of you sticking with me for the long haul, let’s talk about 2017. For me, 2017 was the year of the wedding, first and foremost. After that, there was travel – but less of it than 2016 and 2015 and more of it for fun than for work. It was a year of great and easy friendships, of growing beautiful flowers, of work weekends in Maine. It was a good year, perhaps not a great year, but a good one.

The big thing – our wedding

Of course, we knew before the year even started that 2017 would be the year of the wedding. It dominated the whole year. Our wedding day turned out more beautiful than we had imagined, but it was a huge amount of work to get there. We had our wedding at my parent’s house in Maine, and it was very much a from-scratch affair. We built the barn by hand (and by we I mean mostly my parents), which was an enormous undertaking. We had gorgeous hand-made farm tables milled from trees on the property. I did my own flowers, and grew half of them. (As an aside, 2017 was 100% a year of flowers for me. I fell in love with flower gardening and arranging and I can’t wait to get my seeds started in the spring.) Every aspect of the wedding was personal and lovely, but it was so much work. I’m really glad we got married and had our closest friends and family there by our sides, and I’m really glad we’re not doing it again.

Twenty-eight countries and counting

Trevor and I kicked off the year with five weeks in Portugal, an incredible escape from the cold and dark of January in Boston. Of course, I was working the whole time, but we still got to explore on weekends and immerse ourselves in the wonderful Portuguese culture. I leave a little part of my heart everywhere I travel, but I left a big piece in Portugal. I miss the food and the wine, the lonely sounds of fado in tiny clubs, the white light reflecting off the cobblestones. I miss the café culture and the gentle winter sunshine. I miss the people, my coworkers and friends, who opened their hearts to us so easily. I miss the language, which I still practice almost daily, in hopes that I’ll need it again. I’m glad that we’re staying put this winter, after relocating for January and February in the past two years, but it was a wonderful experience to live in Lisbon.

In July, I took a long-anticipated trip to Iceland with three of my best girlfriends. It was a short trip – just five days – but absolutely packed. Iceland was stunning and wild, exceeding my already high expectations. It was also wonderful (if very tiring) to travel with friends, something I hadn’t done before beyond short weekend trips in the states. I already can’t wait to return to Iceland and continue exploring. And in November, we made a Thanksgiving trip to Colorado and Utah to visit my extended family. The sun was life-giving, and we were outside hiking in the beautiful desert every day.

And then of course, there was our honeymoon. We were gone three full weeks, making our way up the Croatian coastline, driving through the Slovenian alps, then wrapping up with a city break in Prague. It was an epic trip. It was also so nice to just be with Trevor for three weeks and… hang out. Of course we were exploring and adventuring but we were also just being us, something I had missed in the chaos leading up to the wedding. I’ll write about our trip properly someday, but for now, I’ll just mention the highlights. There was a sunset bike ride through the sleepy hill-top olive groves in Korcula, followed by an unforgettable candlelit dinner under pomegranate trees. We spent an afternoon drinking champagne and watching the sun slowly sink over the Adriatic at a seaside bar where you could climb down into the ocean at any point. We hiked up through the emerald gorges in Slovenia, following a wooden sign with a piece of cheese on it, until we reached a beautiful alpine valley with two houses, one of which did, indeed, serve us some cheese. We designed our own brewery tour in Prague, sampling the best of the Czech Republic’s beer scene. We fit so much into three weeks – it will be a hard trip to top.

For other work travel, there was one follow-up trip to Portugal in April, for my birthday in fact. Never have I received so many hugs on a single day. A July trip to Hong Kong and Singapore registers as barely a blip on my mental calendar of the year, although it was my first time in Singapore. I’ll be back to both countries in a few weeks, and I’m excited to escape the cold (and for the food! Always the food). Then just a few weeks ago, a December trip to a small town in Northern Ireland followed by two days in Dublin. I love Ireland for so many reasons but this trip was a blur, especially getting home just three days before Christmas. Overall, work travel felt much more manageable this year – hopefully I can carry that through into 2018.

The best people

I’m not particularly quick to make new friends – I’ve always done better with a small group of people I’m really close to. But after 6 years living in Boston, I have such a solid crew, many of them high school friends who have moved back to the area. They are all good, smart people who are easy to be with, and some of my best memories of this year were with them. A lazy August Sunday spent tubing down the Saco river was a highlight, as was a weekend at a friend’s Maine island cottage, complete with hours of wine-laced Molkky, a candlelit lobster dinner, the poetry reading that his father mandates, beautiful sailing, and a late night bonfire dance party. And, I almost forgot, our 10 year Andover reunion. I imagine most people don’t look forward to their high school reunions as much as we do. It was a blissful weekend full of super impressive people, an all day kickball lawn party (complete with kegs), midnight dancing, and collapsing on the lawn in fits of giggles around 2am. Sunday we couldn’t move, because we’re old now, but it was worth it. Add to this the many other dinner parties, bar nights, one epic scavenger hunt birthday party and a casual NYE game night turned dance party to close out the year, and it sums up to a year of really good playtime with really good friends.

Working and blogging and growing

I feel a huge amount of relief going into 2018 with an understanding of what I want this blog to be. I spent the first half of 2017 listening to blogging podcasts ad nauseam, investing in a new design and a mailing list and SEO plugins. I thought a lot about my content and who I wanted it to reach, and I pored over my analytics to understand how I could grow. Basically, I hustled. It was stressful and frustrating and overwhelming. And then somewhere in the middle of all that hustle I realized that I don’t want to blog as a business-owner. That’s not why I started, and that’s not what brings me joy. I have a stable, compelling career that I love and it’s not blogging – so why should I turn blogging into work when it doesn’t need to be? I want to create beautiful content and delicious recipes and tell stories as long as it feels like a hobby and not a chore. Of course, it’s nice when a hobby has financial perks, but making business success the goal of blogging took all the fun out of it. Realizing this has been so helpful.

On the flip side of this blogging decisions lies my real work. Although I went through a similar questioning phase about what I wanted my next career move to be, I came out the other side with the realization that I really like my job. I’m going into 2018 in a new role, with a team and multiple projects to manage, and I’m excited. I have a lot to learn but I work in a team with the smartest, best people, which makes all the learning and growing easier.

Now for 2018

I’ve been reflecting this week about how open 2018 feels. It’s a wonderful feeling. Of course, we have things planned – weddings to attend and house projects and a few trips with friends already on our calendar. But largely, the year feels full of potential, untethered to major life milestones. I’m excited to see where it takes us, what new opportunities and adventures it will bring. My intentions for 2018 are to bring a sense of calm into every day, to spend as much time as I can outside in nature, to prioritize my health, and to learn and grow.

Winter Pasta

And if you made it through all of that… I’m impressed. I’m guessing even my mother will skim this one. So now, what most of you are here for, a recipe for a delicious winter pasta. A few year’s back I read a magazine article about how you should always be finishing your pasta in the pan with the sauce and a splash of the pasta cooking water, and it has totally changed the way I cook pasta. It’s such a simple trick and it makes a huge difference. Since reading that article, I’ve been experimenting with what I think of as “perfect seasonal pastas.” I test them over and over again until they are just right, foolproof, and full of seasonal ingredients. So far I have a summer pasta, with heirloom yellow tomatoes and sweet onions, a creamy mushroom spaghetti that is irresistible in the fall, and a spring carbonara with ramps and meyer lemon zest. Over the past 5 or 6 weeks I’ve been testing what I’ve come to think of as my winter pasta, and I’m ready to share it. This pasta has tuscan kale and shallots slow-cooked in white wine, plump golden raisins, a hint of chile, and sweet roasted kabocha squash. It is hearty and wintery without being overly heavy or creamy. It’s on weekly rotation in our house and I hope it will be in yours, too.

Happy 2018 to all of you!

Past New Years’ posts…

2016: Feta and Onion Phyllo Pie
2015: Brown-Butter Chestnut Waffles with Poached Pears and Mascarpone
2014: Rye Blini, Smoked Salmon Dip, Russian Beet Dip, Pretty in Pink Cocktail
2013: Raspberry Sherbet Champagne Floats
2012: Butter-Roasted Cinnamon Chicken with Almonds and Pomegranates

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Winter Pasta with Slow-Cooked Kale, Kabocha Squash, and Golden Raisins

A seasonal winter pasta with slow-cooked Tuscan kale, roasted kabocha squash and golden raisins. Satisfying and warming without being heavy.

Inspired by Sunday Suppers at Lucques.

• Author: Katie at the Kitchen Door
• Yield: 2-3

Ingredients

• 1/2 small kabocha squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 5 TBS olive oil, divided
• sea salt and black pepper to taste
• 4 shallots, peeled and thinly sliced
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1 sprig fresh rosemary, needles finely chopped
• 1 chile de arbol, broken in half (or 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes)
• 1 bunch Tuscan kale, center ribs removed, torn into bite-sized pieces
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1/4 cup golden raisins
• 1/2 lb. orechiette pasta (or other similar shape)
• 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400F. Toss the cubed squash with 2 TBS of olive oil and spread out on a rimmed baking sheet. Season with sea salt and black pepper. Roast in the preheated oven until tender, about 25-30 minutes. Flip the squash cubes over halfway through cooking.
2. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil.
3. Heat 1 of the remaining tablespoons of olive oil in a large saute pan over medium-low heat. Add the sliced shallots, sliced garlic, chopped rosemary, and the chile de arbol to the pan. Saute until the shallots are soft and golden brown, about 5 minutes. Add the kale along with the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Season with sea salt. Cook the kale in the olive oil for 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently, then add the wine and the raisins to the pan. As soon as you add the wine, stir to scrape any burnt bits off the bottom of the pan.
4. Cook the kale over low heat for about 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, add the pasta to the boiling water. Continue cooking the kale while the pasta cooks. When the pasta is just barely al dente, use a skimmer to add the pasta to the pan with the kale. Add a few splashes of the pasta cooking water to the pan as well, along with the grated parmesan cheese. Add the roasted squash to the pan. Cook everything together for 2-3 minutes, stirring to fully coat the pasta in the sauce and to evenly distribute the vegetables. Serve immediately.

The post 2017 – A Year in Review // Winter Pasta with Slow-Cooked Kale, Kabocha Squash, and Golden Raisins appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

We had a glorious sneak peek of spring last weekend. The temperature rose to over 70° and the snow melted away in one warm rush. I woke up to birdsong and a warm breeze coming in through the open window. I was ready to plunge my hands into the soil and prepare it for new life, to throw open all the windows and air out the house.

We knew it wouldn’t last, and it didn’t. This weekend fickle March is welcoming us with a cold snap and below freezing temperatures. But that reminder that there are days where no jacket is required, where slow afternoons outdoors are the norm, was just what we New Englanders needed to help push on to spring.

We’re in the last days of comfort food – already my cravings are starting to shift towards brighter, greener flavors. So I figured now was a good time to post one last warming soup for the season. This Portuguese Kale Soup is a family favorite, something we’ve been making for years. Actually, it was one of the very first recipes that I ever posted, way back in 2010. (Look at those pictures! Good for perspective, no?) It’s still one of my favorite recipes, although I’ve tweaked it a bit as I’ve become a better cook. Since we just got home from Portugal, now seemed like a good time to give it a refresh.

While we were in Portugal in January, I ate plenty of bowls of green and filling caldo verde. But caldo verde and this Portuguese Kale and Linguiça Soup, while largely based on the same ingredients, are somehow very different. Where caldo verde is mild and very green, this soup is assertive and tangy, rich with the flavors of tomato and vinegar. After some research, I think this particular soup may very much be a Massachusetts-special: not strictly traditional Portuguese, but a Provincetown evolution.

I realize that 3 of my last 5 recipes have been soups (what can I say? I know my strengths), so I promise that after this we’ll move on to other food groups. Food groups that are not stewed for hours on end and that involve green vegetables. Until then, stay warm and think spring thoughts!

P.S. I relaunched my blog this week with a snazzy new design. What do you think? I’ve also got a newsletter in the works, so if you’re not already subscribed, head on over now and subscribe in the side-bar.

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Portuguese Kale and Linguiça Soup

Family recipe. Serves 6.

• 2 TBS olive oil
• 1 onion, peeled, grated or finely minced
• 1 large carrot, peeled and grated
• sea salt
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 5 cups chicken stock
• 3 medium Yukon gold potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 1 large bunch of kale finely chopped
• One 14.5 oz can of crushed tomatoes
• 8 oz. linguiça, cut into 1/4 inch slices
• One 15 oz can of kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 tsp red wine vinegar

1. Heat the olive oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Add the grated onion and carrot and season with sea salt. Saute until tender, about 6-8 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the minced garlic and the cumin and cook for 2 minutes longer, stirring.
2. Add the chicken stock, cubed potatoes, kale, crushed tomato, and linguiça to the pot, and stir to combine. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat slightly and simmer for 30 minutes, until potatoes and kale are very tender. Add the kidney beans and vinegar and cook for 5 minute longer, just to heat the beans through. Serve hot with crusty bread.

The post Portuguese Kale and Linguiça Soup appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

I always tell myself I’m not going to order Indian food when I get home from an international flight, but I’m pretty much never right. Typically, it’s a Friday, and I’ve been on a plane all day, zoning out on movie after movie. We land, I go through customs, pick up my luggage, get in a taxi. It all feels like a bit of a time warp, difficult to remember how long you’ve been in between places. In between away and home. When I walk through my front door, into my warm house, I’m always so happy to be there.

When I get home, I check the fridge, thinking that I’m going to find some magical answer to my post-flight comfort food craving. But after being in transit for 12+ hours, mustering the energy to cook is just not realistic. So I cave and order malai kofta and naan and butter chicken (because it always takes two entrees to meet the delivery minimum) and $40 later I’m sitting on the couch, tucking in to the most delicious, creamy, comforting Indian food. It’s not the healthiest or most budget-conscious habit, but it’s a hard one to break.

The last time I did this, a few weeks back, I found myself wondering: what if I had my favorite Indian food in the freezer, waiting for me? That might solve the problem. Even at my most disoriented, I can usually manage to simmer rice. So I resolved to learn how to cook malai kofta and stash some away before my next trip.

Malai kofta is one of my favorite take-out orders. If you’re unfamiliar, they’re sort of a vegetable meatball served in a thick, tomato-based curry sauce. I’ve ordered them for years without ever really knowing what’s in them. When I made them myself, it became quite obvious why they’re one of my favorite foods – they’re basically fried potato and cheese balls served in a spicy tomato cream sauce. It’s probably not possible to get more of my favorite foods into one dish.

I have a little experience cooking Indian food but not very much, and it can be hard to get the same richness and balance of flavors as restaurant-quality takeout. These, however, were a very close approximation of my favorite malai kofta (and better than some of the ones I’ve had from inferior Indian restaurants). They’re still not particularly healthy – they are made of fried cheese and potatoes – but they are much more economical to prepare. And so good. Seriously, even if you don’t make these at home, promise me you’ll order them the next time you get takeout.

My plan to make this and stash it in the freezer for my next homecoming was good in theory. In practice, Trevor and I ate two thirds of this the first night. We couldn’t bring ourselves to freeze what was left, either – the idea of eating the leftovers for lunch the next day was too tempting. At least now I know how to make them. And since it’s not that difficult to scale up, next time I’ll make a double batch so that at least a little bit makes it into the freezer.

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Malai Kofta

Malai Kofta – a favorite vegetarian Indian takeout dish. Potato, paneer, and vegetables are rolled into kofta and fried, then served in a rich tomato-cream masala sauce. 

Recipe adapted from Spice up the Curry, Padhu’s Kitchen, and Veg Recipes of India.

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

Ingredients

For the kofta:

• 3 medium red-skinned potatoes, peeled and quartered
• 8 oz. paneer cheese, grated or finely crumbled
• 1/3 c. frozen peas
• 1/4 c. grated carrot
• 2 TBS raisins
• 3 TBS finely chopped cashews
• 1 Thai green chile, chopped finely
• 3 TBS cornflour, plus more for rolling
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• canola oil, for frying

For the masala sauce:

• 2 TBS canola oil, divided
• 1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and pressed or pounded into a paste
• 2-inches fresh ginger, peeled and pounded into a paste
• 2 cups. crushed tomatoes
• 12 cashews
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/2 tsp red chili powder
• 3/4 tsp ground coriander
• 1/2 tsp garam masala
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 TBS butter
• 2 cloves
• 1 bay leaf
• 2–3 cardamom pods
• 1/2 tsp caraway seeds
• 1/4 cup heavy cream

Instructions

For the kofta:

1. Place the potatoes in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil and boil until potatoes are very tender, about 15-20 minutes. Drain potatoes.
2. Add potatoes, grated paneer, peas, grated carrot, raisins, cashews, and chopped chile to a bowl. Mash the potatoes with a fork, then mix everything together thoroughly. Use your hands if it’s easier.
3. Stir in the 3 TBS of cornflour, sea salt, ground cumin, and ground coriander. Mix until evenly combined.
4. Roll mixture into golf-ball sized balls, pressing together gently with your hands. Pour the extra cornflour into a bowl and roll the balls through the cornflour so there is a light coating on the outside.
5. Pour enough canola oil into a high-sided frying pan to reach 1/4 inch up the sides. Heat over medium heat until a piece of potato mixture dropped into the oil sizzles on contact. Add two or three of the potato balls to the oil and fry until golden brown all over, using tongs to carefully turn the balls as each side cooks. When they are done, use tongs to transfer them to a plate lined with a paper towel.

For the masala sauce:

1. Heat 1 TBS of the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the onion and saute, stirring frequently, until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger paste and saute until fragrant, another 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, salt, cashews, and all the ground spices. Bring to a simmer and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Then remove from the heat.
2. Transfer the sauce to a blender (let cool first if your blender can’t process hot liquids). Add 1/2 cup of water to the sauce and blend on high until a very smooth sauce is formed. Set aside.
3. Rinse or wipe the frying pan out. Heat the remaining 1 TBS of oil and 1 TBS of butter in the pan until the butter has melted. Add the cloves, bay leaf, cardamom pods, and caraway seeds. Fry for 60-90 seconds, then add the blended sauce to the pan. Cook, stirring frequently, until the oil begins to pool on the top of the sauce, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the heavy cream. Add the kofta to the sauce, and serve over basmati rice.

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People ask me all the time what my favorite thing to cook is. Once they find out that I’m a food blogger, it’s one of the first questions I get. For a long time, I didn’t know how to answer. Having a favorite thing to eat is one thing, but a favorite thing to cook? Do people have just one favorite dish to prepare? What if my favorite thing to cook changes weekly?

After years of thought, I have an answer: soup. Making soup is methodical and creative and easy. There’s something ritualistic and comforting about preparing it. It almost always starts with the same few steps – chopping an onion and sauteing it in olive oil, peeling and dicing vegetables, pulling out my favorite spices and flavorings. But from there, soup allows infinite creative possibilities. If I’m feeling healthy I’ll make a soup of lentils and vegetables and wholesome broth. For particularly cold days, a chili with lots of meat and beans and plenty of cheddar cheese is my go-to. Pureed vegetable bisques are elegant and great with fresh bread, and when I’m sick nothing but homemade chicken broth with egg noodles will do. I rarely use recipes, and the result is almost always good. And so, soup is my favorite thing to cook.

I’ll eat soup at any time of year, but it appears on our table most frequently during the winter months. From December until March you’ll find me making homemade chicken broth on the weekends, then experimenting with different soup recipes during the week. My most recent experiment resulted in a soup I loved so much that I immediately recreated it to share with you. It’s a Spicy Chorizo Soup with Israeli Couscous, made with fresh Mexican-style chorizo sausage, white beans and carrots and fennel seeds. But the real secret to this soup is a spoonful or two of mole sauce stirred into the soup just at the end. The mole gives the soup a little more heat and a lot more flavor – a bit of sweetness, some chocolatey notes, and a little nuttiness.

I just happened to have extra mole sauce in my freezer after making this Mole-Roasted Chicken, but I know that’s not a particularly common ingredient to have laying around. If you don’t have any, substitute another spicy chile paste, preferably one with some sweetness and depth of flavor. I think harissa would work well. Get ready to feel warm inside and out after a bowl or two of this!

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Craving more soup recipes? Here are a few favorites:

Black Bean Soup with Roasted Poblano

Sweet Potato and Coconut Milk Soup with Brown Rice and Lentils

Loaded Baked Potato Soup

Spicy Chorizo Soup with Israeli Couscous and Mole Sauce

A Katie at the Kitchen Door original recipe.

• 1 TBS olive oil
• 1/2 lb fresh Mexican-style chorizo sausage
• 1 medium onion, peeled and cut into small pieces
• 1/2 tsp fennel seeds
• 3/4 cup Israeli couscous
• 3 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch round slices
• 1 cup cooked cannelini beans
• 6 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade
• 1 TBS plus 1 tsp cheater’s mole sauce or other spicy chile paste

1. Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the fresh chorizo to the oil, removing the meat from its casings by squeezing it out with your hands into the pot. Use the back of a wooden spoon to break the sausage up into small pieces. Cook until the chorizo is browned all over, about 6-8 minutes, then add the onion and fennel seeds. Saute, stirring frequently, until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes.
2. Add the couscous to the pot and stir to coat with the oil and chorizo juices. Toast in the oil for 1-2 minutes, stirring, then add the carrots, cannelini beans, and chicken stock to the pot. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook until the carrots are tender, about 20 minutes.
3. Just before serving, stir in the mole sauce or spicy chile paste. Taste and add more chile paste if desired. Serve immediately.

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This post was supposed to be a cocktail. Something springlike and sparkling because we just bought a house. And, well, it’s worth celebrating. The problem is it’s 45° and raining, I’m leaving on another 10-day trip to Latin America in 36 hours, and the idea of packing and moving and fixing all of the things in the house that need fixing has my brain in overdrive. Don’t get me wrong – I’m excited and I know this is a huge milestone – it’s just all a little overwhelming right now. So a cocktail, however springlike and celebratory, is not what I needed today. What I needed was something comforting, energizing, nourishing, and whole. Something to warm me up and keep me focused. Like this soup.

This soup, which is lightly adapted from Sprouted Kitchen Bowl + Spoon, is healthy soul food  (because another thing I need right now is to be especially careful about what I put in my body). It’s based on a mixture of gently spiced sweet potatoes and coconut milk, served with a few spoonfuls of crisped black lentils to give it more staying power. I followed the original recipe fairly closely, only adding the step of roasting the sweet potatoes for a bit more sweetness and depth, and serving the whole thing over a bowl of brown rice for extra body. The flavors in this are balanced just right – I often find vegetable purees too spicy or too one-dimensional, but this uses a good amount of fresh ginger, and just a touch of turmeric and curry powder. You can taste the coconut but it doesn’t overwhelm the other flavors, and the soup has a good body. It’s a keeper. And despite the fact that it’s the first day of June and Sweet Potato Soup sounds like something you should make in October, it’s exactly what I want to eat right now.

I promise I’ll tell you all about the house soon. In fact, you might even get tired of hearing about it, given that we’re planning on remodeling practically everything, and I’m sure I’ll be coming here to share our victories and challenges. And maybe later this summer – once we have some furniture and a place to enjoy a cocktail – we’ll get to that festive, sparkling drink.

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More nourishing soups…

Spicy Chorizo Soup with Italian Couscous

Lentil and Roasted Tomato Soup with Saffron

Black Bean Soup with Roasted Poblano

Sweet Potato and Coconut Milk with Brown Rice and Lentils

Slightly adapted from Sprouted Kitchen Bowl + Spoon. Serves 6.

• 2-3 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch thick slices
• 2 TBS olive oil
• sea salt and pepper to taste
• 3 TBS coconut oil, divided
• 1 large yellow onion, peeled and diced
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• 1 TBS curry powder
• 2 TBS freshly grated ginger (from a 1 inch piece of ginger)
• 4 c. vegetable or chicken broth
• 3/4 c. orange juice
• 1 c. coconut milk
• 2 large shallots, peeled and minced
• 1 1/2 c. cooked black lentils
• 3 c. cooked brown rice
• yogurt, for serving
• fresh minced cilantro, for serving

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Toss the sweet potatoes with the olive oil, salt, and pepper and spread out on a large rimmed baking sheet. Roast until tender when pierced with a fork, about 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside.
2. Melt 2 TBS of the coconut oil over medium heat in a large saucepan. Add the onion and saute until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the turmeric, curry powder, and ginger and saute until fragrant, 2 minutes more. Add the roasted sweet potato and broth and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer for 2o minutes, then remove from heat and carefully transfer to a blender. Add the orange juice and coconut milk and blend until very smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Set soup aside.
3. In a small frying pan, melt the remaining 1 TBS of coconut oil over medium heat. Add the shallots and saute until translucent, about 2 minutes. Add the cooked lentils and saute until crispy, another 2 minutes. Remove from the heat.
4. Scoop a 1/2 cup of brown rice into each bowl. Pour soup over the rice, then top with lentils, yogurt, and cilantro.

The post A House // Sweet Potato and Coconut Milk Soup with Brown Rice and Lentils appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

I’ve been spending a good amount of time in Bogotá this year, and will continue to visit for work throughout the spring and summer. Unfortunately, my plans to take an extra day to explore the city on my last visit were thwarted by a combination of more snow (surprise!) and my plane catching on fire (don’t ask, but everything was fine), so I still haven’t seen too much beyond the area near my office. My initial impressions of the city are very positive – it’s fun and vibrant and I love the sunshine, the views of the mountains, and the vaguely German bungalow style architecture in the financial district. I also love the food, which is rich and hearty and full of avocados, plantains, beef, and potatoes. In particular, I’ve sort of fallen in love with ajiaco, a classic Bogotano chicken and potato soup that hits the spot every time.

I’m headed down to Latin America again this week, this time with a few days in Chile in addition to Colombia, but before I left I wanted to make some ajiaco at home for Trevor to try. The soup broth is fairly thick, like a stew, but still somewhat translucent, and flecked with the herb guascas, which apparently gives the soup its distinctive flavor. Chicken, potatoes, and corn on the cob are served in the soup, and capers, avocado, rice, and cream are served on the side for you to top as you go. It’s this last aspect – spooning bits of perfectly ripe avocado and plump capers on top of the hot bowl of soup – that really makes the meal special for me. Each time you bite into a caper it’s such an unexpected pop of salty tang against the creamy and hearty background flavors, I just love it.

Even a small amount of internet research will quickly reveal that making an authentic pot of ajiaco is basically a science, and one that doesn’t leave much room for experimentation. The thickness of the broth is typically created by the addition of papas criollas, a small Andean potato that dissolves into the broth. Since they’re hard to come by outside of Latin America, I used grated russets instead, and that worked well, although the soup wasn’t quite as thick as other versions I’ve had. From everything I read, using guascas is essential to the flavor of the soup, so I ordered some from Amazon in advance. For everything else I pretty much stuck to the traditional method, although I do prefer using frozen corn to serving the whole cob in the soup (I’ve had it both ways in Bogotá, so I think it’s fair to still call it traditional). It’s a bit time consuming to make the stock, but otherwise a very easy recipe, and the result was pretty close to, although not quite as good as, the Colombian version. I have a feeling this may be a new staple in our kitchen.

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Ajiaco Bogotano – Chicken, Potato, and Corn Soup with Avocado and Capers

A classic Colombian chicken and potato soup. Thick and creamy, it’s served with capers, avocado, and crema on the side so you can add toppings as you eat. One of my favorite Colombian recipes!

Adapted from these sources:The Kitchn, My Colombian Recipes, and Serious Eats. 

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

Ingredients

• 1 rotisserie chicken
• 2 carrots
• 1 onion
• 5 cloves garlic
• 20–30 parsley stems
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 2 medium russet potatoes, peeled and coarsely grated
• 3 medium red bliss potatoes, cut into 1/4 inch cubes
• 2 TBS dried guascas
• 3/4 c. frozen corn kernels
• 1/4 c. Mexican crema, for serving
• 2 avocados, pitted and sliced, for serving
• 1/4 c. capers, rinsed, for serving

Instructions

1. Use a fork to pull the meat from the chicken, setting aside in a large bowl. Place the chicken carcass, bones, and skin in a large stockpot. Cut the carrots and onions into rough chunks and add to the stockpot. Peel the garlic and cut in half, then add to the stockpot along with the parsley stems, salt, and black pepper. Cover the stock ingredients with water, using 3-4 quarts of cold water. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, then simmer until stock is rich and golden, about 3-4 hours.
2. Ladle 8 cups of the stock through a fine-mesh strainer into a different stockpot, discarding the solids left behind and saving any extra stock for a different use. Add the grated potatoes, diced red potatoes, and guascas to the stock and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer until the russets have completely dissolved and the soup has thickened, about 20-30 minutes. Add the reserved chicken meat, chopped into bite-sized pieces if necessary, to the soup and simmer for another 15 minutes. Add the corn and cook until warmed through, about 5 minutes. Season the soup to taste with salt and pepper, and serve immediately with the crema, avocados, and capers on the side.

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

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

Rigatoni Bolognese

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

Recipe adapted from Franny’s Simple Seasonal Italian. 

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

Ingredients

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

Instructions

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

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We’re leaving for vacation in the morning and I still have about a million and one things to do before that, so I apologize in advance for the brevity and scatteredness of this post. If it illustrates the situation for you, let me just share that I’m sitting in a pile of laundry, eating leftovers of this penne alla vodka cold out of a plastic tupperware. Food blogging isn’t all rustic wooden tables and nice ceramics, guys. Sometimes it’s cold leftovers in tupperware.

Anyway, penne alla vodka. When I was in college, most likely in similar states of chaos, I used to order penne alla vodka from the local Italian place for late-night delivery. It came in a big aluminum container, was just spicy enough, and the sauce to pasta ratio meant I was always spooning sauce out of the container long after I’d eaten the last bite of penne. I hadn’t thought about those glorious containers of terrible-for-you noodles until this fall, when I suddenly started craving them, and since then I’ve whipped up a batch more times than I should probably admit. Let’s just say that I brought a bottle of nice vodka home from Russia last year, and about 90% of it was used in this recipe. That may sound like a waste of good vodka to some, but I don’t regret it one bit. It’s just the perfect thing for harried nights or after a particularly long day – it only takes 20 minutes to make, and hits all the tangy, salty, creamy, spicy notes I crave when I’m feeling less than motivated. I use the Serious Eats recipe as a base, but tone down the vodka and quadruple the red pepper flakes. If you have the time, blend the sauce for that smooth and thick consistency that coats penne so well, but if you’re in a hurry, or just don’t feel like washing your blender, I can attest to the fact that it’s just as good a little bit chunky.

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Penne Alla Vodka

Adapted from Serious Eats. Serves 6.

• 3 TBS butter
• 1 small white onion, peeled and finely diced
• 6 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes
• One 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
• 1/4 c. vodka
• 1/2 c. heavy cream
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 lb. penne pasta, cooked to al dente

1. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add the diced onion and cook, stirring frequently, until onion is fragrant and translucent, but not browned, about 5-7 minutes. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook for 2 minutes longer, stirring.
2. Stir in the tomatoes and bring to a simmer. Add the vodka and cook until the alcohol has evaporated, about 5 minutes. Transfer the sauce to a blender, and blend on high until smooth. Return to the saucepan and stir in the heavy cream. Season to taste with salt and pepper, then toss with the penne and serve immediately.

The post Cravings: Penne Alla Vodka appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

The Book: Every season I receive a handful of cookbooks in the mail that weren’t previously on my radar. I don’t review everything that comes across my doorstep, but every once in a while I get a surprise gem that I never would have thought to look at otherwise. This fall, Duck & Waffle, the cookbook from the trendy London restaurant of the same name, was that unexpected treasure. Right away you can tell that this book is exceptionally creative: “Dossants” – croissants stuffed with amaretto donut cream? PB&J turned into french toast? Spicy ox-cheek filled doughnuts? I am so in. This book is packed with comfort food recipes but with fancy ingredients and flavors – so basically, right up my alley. As you might have guessed, this is not food for when you’re craving something light. In fact, the chef and author Daniel Doherty writes in his recipes for Grilled Cheese with Ox Cheek, “as always, feel free to add one of the magical three: bacon, more cheese, or hot sauce.” Words to live by. The breakfast and brunch chapter is where this book really shines, but there are some inspired dinner and dessert picks as well. Whatever time of day it is, flipping through Duck & Waffle is going to make you hungry.

The Food: If a book has a recipe for something called “hangover hash,” how can you not make it? Whether or not you’ve had a bit too much to drink the night before, is there anything more appealing than a skillet full of potatoes, sausage, eggs, and cheese set in front of you on a lazy weekend morning? I’d argue there isn’t, unless of course you sweeten the pot with a piping hot mocha and a bowl of fresh berries on the side. This hash would shine at any respectable brunch restaurant – it’s got potatoes, caramelized onions, an incredible tangy sauce of red peppers and tomato, chorizo, egg, and of course, a healthy handful of grated gruyere cheese. Both the caramelized onions and the peperonata take a long time to prepare, slowly sweating over low heat, but the pay-off is well worth the wait. The peperonata in particular is a flavor powerhouse – Doherty writes that he is never without a jar in his fridge, and I may have to follow suit. I will say that if you were actually hungover, making this would be altogether too daunting, at least as far as I can tell from my experience with hangovers and cooking. But if you’re planning ahead, then you’ll make the caramelized onions, peperonata, and boiled potatoes in advance, and the morning of all you’ll have to do is put everything in a skillet, put it in the oven, then lie back down and wait 25 minutes for it to be done. And once you’ve tried the basic recipe, it’s easy to riff on – I made my second batch with a fat spoonful of ricotta on top, and next time I think I’ll replace the caramelized onions with sauteed mushrooms.

Recipe Shortlist: Smoked Haddock with Hash Browns and English Mustard Cream; Toasted PB&J with Banana and Berries; Smoky Mutton Sloppy Joe with Crispy Lamb’s Breast; Steamed Clams with Guanciale and Lardo-Parsley Crumb; Spicy Ox Cheek Doughnuts with Apricot Jam; Duck and Waffle with Mustard Maple Syrup; Rabbit Agnoli with Sage Brown Butter; Polenta Chips with Truffled Pecorino Dip

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Disclaimer: I received a review copy of Duck & Waffle from Mitchell Beazley, but I was not otherwise compensated and all thought and opinions are my own.

Hangover Hash

Recipe adapted slightly from Duck & Waffle. Serves 2.

• 3 TBS olive oil, divided
• 2 large onions, finely sliced
• 1 bay leaf
• 10 new potatoes or 3 medium Yukon Gold potatoes
• One 4 1/2 inch long cooked, smoked chorizo or andouille sausage, sliced into 1/4 inch rounds
• 1/2 c. peperonata, recipe below
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 c. shredded Gruyere cheese, or a mix of Gruyere and Gouda
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Place 2 TBS of the olive oil in a large skillet and heat over low heat. Add the sliced onions and bay leaf and toss to coat with the olive oil. Cook the onions over low heat until golden brown and caramelized all over, stirring every 3-5 minutes – this should take 40 minutes to 1 hour. If your onions are browning on the outside inside of turning golden, turn down the heat. Remove the bay leaf and season onions to taste with salt.
2. Cut the potatoes into 1/2 inch cubes. Add to a saucepan and cover with cold water. Salt the water, then bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Boil for 10-15 minutes, until potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork, then drain.
3. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Divide the cooked potatoes and the sliced sausage between two 6 inch cast iron skillets. Drizzle with the remaining 1 TBS of olive oil. Bake the potatoes and sausage for 10 minutes, then remove from the oven and stir in the caramelized onions and peperonata. Bake for another 10 minutes, then crack one egg over each skillet and cover with grated cheese. Bake until egg white is cooked through, about another 8-10 minutes, then remove from the oven and serve immediately. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Peperonata

Recipe adapted slightly from Duck & Waffle. Makes about 4 cups.

• 1/4 c. olive oil
• 4 large red bell peppers, seeded and sliced into strips 1/4 inch thick
• 1 red onion, peeled and thinly sliced
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• One 15 oz. can of crushed tomatoes
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 sprigs of thyme
• 2 TBS dark brown sugar
• 4 TBS red wine vinegar

1. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan, then add the peppers, onions, and garlic. Season to taste with salt and black pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until peppers and onions are soft, about 20-25 minutes. Add the tomatoes, bay leaf, thyme, brown sugar, and red wine vinegar and stir to evenly mix. Cook for another 10-15 minutes, until it has a semi-thick sauce consistency. Remove and discard the bay leaf and thyme stems, and store in a jar in the fridge.

The post Book Club: Duck & Waffle // Hangover Hash appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

The Book: Mexico: The Cookbook is the latest in Phaidon’s line of beautiful, country-specific recipe compendiums. I reviewed Thailand: The Cookbook earlier this year, and was excited to see that a Peruvian book will be released in the spring. All of these books offer a very different experience than most of the cookbooks being released today. They’re short on prose – no recipe headnotes or historical sidebars – and while the pictures that are included are lovely, they’re not the focus of the books. What these books lack in personality, however, they make up for with sheer thoroughness – Mexico clocks in at over 600 recipes. That volume of recipes means that there will definitely be something new and different to try for everyone who picks up this book. Besides the comprehensiveness, the biggest draw of these books for me is the authenticity – each recipe is tied to a specific region of the country and uses very traditional ingredients and techniques. In the kitchen, that translates to authentic home-style dishes and a deeper understanding of how different cooking techniques can truly open up new flavors. I was a little frustrated with the quality of editing in this book. While I’m sure it’s a massive project to edit a book with 600+ recipes in it, I tried four different recipes for this post and all of them had issues with clarity of instruction and ingredients, to the point of listing ingredients that are never used, and, the opposite, calling for ingredients that aren’t listed. Confident cooks will be fine adapting as they go, but just a warning to those who get frustrated by a lack of clarity in recipes. Other than that, I’m excited to have added this book to my shelf, and I’m sure it will be one of my primary references for Mexican home-cooking.

The Food: The team behind Mexico: The Cookbook, has joined forces with the folks at Casa Noble tequila to promote a great cookbook and a great tequila in one shot (no pun intended). Casa Noble offers crystal, anejo, and reposado tequilas, in addition to single-barrel versions of their anejo and reposado. All the tequilas are produced using traditional methods, and aged in French white oak to create a complexity of flavor that elevates the drink above most lower-end brands. Since tequila is my drink of choice most any night, I was eager to try a new brand and do a little boozy cooking. Although tequila tasting is definitely not an art I’ve mastered, I did take a few little sips (not shots, I promise!) of the reposado without anything to distract from the tequila itself – it’s very smooth, and I picked up a certain fruitiness while Trevor got mostly vanilla. The tasting notes also mention chocolate, citrus, and butter, but I don’t think my tequila palate is advanced enough to pick up on those.

There are about a dozen recipes in this book that call for tequila, including an amazing-sounding recipe for shrimp marinated in sangria and tequila then served in mole sauce, and a tequila-based drink I’d never heard of before, the lagartija. But the recipe that was calling my name the strongest last weekend was the Slow-Cooked Pork in Tequila. It’s a fairly simple recipe, calling for pork butt and ribs to be cooked slowly on the stove-top in a chili sauce, then finished up with a quick simmer in tequila. The book recommends serving it with “Pot Beans” and rice, so I made both those recipes as well. And even though it may not be traditional, I decided to make a Michoacan Avocado Salsa to serve with the pork and rice and beans, for a little punch of brightness and color. The combination of the four dishes? Phenomenal. I’m not exaggerating. It was everything I crave in good Mexican food – a little heat, a rich sauce, a certain heartiness, and brightness from the salsa. It tasted like something I could have eaten for dinner in a hole-in-the-wall family restaurant, cooked by a little old abuela. I was particularly enamored with the beans, which could not have been simpler but were incredibly creamy and flavorful. This meal left me so excited to keep cooking from this book – loving four out of four recipes is a pretty good hit rate.

The Giveaway: Casa Noble and Phaidon have generously offered to give away an additional copy of Mexico: The Cookbook, to one Katie at the Kitchen Door reader. To enter the giveaway, please leave a comment below, telling me about your favorite cooking/eating experience involving either tequila or authentic Mexican cuisine (or both!). By entering the giveaway, you are agreeing to the official rules:

• No purchase necessary
• Void where prohibited
• One entry per household, and only entries addressing the question above will be considered!
• The sponsors of this giveaway are Phaidon and Casa Noble.
• The estimated retail value of the book is $50
• The odds of winning will depend on the number of entries received
• This contest is only open to U.S. Citizens over the age of 18
• The contest will open today, December 10th, 2014 at posting time, and will close at 11PM EST on Friday, December 19th, 2014
• One winner will be selected randomly and contacted via email (so please leave an accurate email address!). If I do not hear from the winner within 48 hours, the winner forfeits their prize and an alternate winner will be chosen.
• I will post the winner here by Friday, January 2nd, 2015

Recipe Shortlist: Duck in Green Pumpkin Seed Sauce; Short Ribs in Chili and Coffee Sauce; Lamb in Cider Sauce; Goat Stew; Green Chile Soup with Corn; Divorced Eggs; Tuna with Chipotle Crust; Plantain-Stuffed Chiles; Corn Cake with Eggnog Sauce; Mexican Bloody Mary; Caramel Gelatin with Drunken Sauce

Disclaimer: I received a copy of Mexico: The Cookbook, a bottle of tequila, and reimbursement for ingredients from Casa Noble and Phaidon. I was not otherwise compensated for this review and all opinions are honest and my own.

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Slow-Cooked Pork in Tequila

Recipe adapted from Mexico: The Cookbook. Serves 6.

Note: I’ve written the recipe as we’ve made it, which used significantly less chiles than the original, which called for 200g. I’ve also included some other notes and clarifications that aren’t in the original.

• 50g mixed dried chiles (preferably a mix of cascabel, ancho, and jalapeno)
• 3 TBS of canola oil, duck fat, or lard
• 1 1/2 lb. pork butt, diced into 1 inch cubes
• 1 1/2 lb. pork ribs, meat cut from bones and diced into 1 inch cubes
• sea salt, to taste
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1 large white onion, cut into chunks
• 4 TBS tequila
• white rice, to serve
• prepared pinto beans, to serve
• Michoacan Avocado Salsa, to serve (recipe below)

1. Boil a pot of water and pour about 3 cups of boiling water over the chiles in a heatproof bowl. Let steep until chiles are soft and water is a deep red, about 15 minutes.
2. Heat the oil or fat in a large saucepan. Add the pork butt and pork rib meat and cook over medium-high heat, stirring and turning frequently until evenly browned. Season with salt.
3. Place the chiles, the chile soaking water, the cumin seeds, oregano, garlic, and onion into a blender and blend on high until smooth. Strain into a bowl, then add the sauce to the pork. Reduce heat to low, cover the pan, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour, or until the meat is tender and has absorbed most of the sauce. If the sauce begins to look dry at any point, add water.
4. Add the tequila to the pan and continue to simmer, without the lid, for another 10 minutes. Remove from heat and serve with rice, beans, and avocado salsa.

Michoacan Avocado Salsa

Recipe adapted from Mexico: The Cookbook. Makes about 1 cup.

• 3 tomatillos, papery husks and stems removed
• 3 serrano chiles
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1 large avocado, peeled and pitted
• 2 TBS finely chopped cilantro
• sea salt, to taste

1. Remove the seeds from 2 of the chiles and the stems from all 3. Put the tomatillos and chiles into a small saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil and boil for 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and use a slotted spoon to transfer the tomatillos and the chiles to a food processor. Add the garlic to the food processor and process until combined. Add the avocado flesh to the food processor and process until smooth. Stir in the cilantro and season to taste with salt.

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