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.

The post Book Club: What Katie Ate on the Weekend // Self-Saucing Mocha Pudding appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

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.

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.

The post A Holiday Party on a Budget with Albertsons appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

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: I have been having so much fun with Winter Cocktails, the new cocktail book from the extremely talented ladies behind Cookin’ and Shootin’. Too much fun, probably, given the fact that based on current trends it looks like I’m going to be drinking my way through the changing seasons. The drinks that Maria and Tara have included here are perfect for cooler weather and cozy evenings at home – some are served hot, others are rich and creamy, and festively-spiced punches and chilled drinks round out the mix. There’s lots of tea, chocolate, cider, and whiskey to be found in these pages. As someone who until recently considered making a drink to be pouring a shot of tequila into whatever I was already drinking, the flavor combinations that are incorporated into these drinks – like kumquat-and-thyme-infused gin, English breakfast tea with cherry bitters and whiskey, and lemongrass-spiked coconut milk with rum – are stepping up my cocktail game quite a bit. I also found the introduction, with info on types of glasses, basic bar-tending techniques, and the liquors that any well-stocked bar should have, to be very useful.

Beyond the drinks themselves, there are also serving tips, party notes, and recipes for accompanying party snacks like Cheese-Crusted Olives and “Pigs on Cushions.” Like other Quirk books, the book is in a nice, small format (I love smaller cookbooks, I read them on the subway like a total food dork), with high quality paper and integrated design. Drinks and glassware are really challenging to photograph, so I especially appreciate the quality and variety of images that Tara has created. One word of caution: some of the drinks are a bit more complicated than shaking and pouring, so expect to set aside 15-20 minutes to prepare most of the drinks in this book. Longer than it takes to open a beer, yes, but so worth it. 

P.S. Check out the cute book trailer Maria and Tara made

The Drinks: One nice thing about drink cookbooks – it’s easy to test a lot of recipes, which is exactly what we’ve been doing. The first thing we tried was the Red Riding Hood, a spiced mulled cider mixed with red wine. We actually found it a little too dry, so we added a shot of Grand Marnier to each glass and then it was pretty much perfect. One of our favorites so far is the Burnt-Sugar Hot Buttered Rum, which we served en-masse at our Halloween party last night. It’s syrupy sweet and boozy, a quick and decadent way to imbibe. And the recipe pictured here, also no stranger to decadence, is a Frangelico-spiked Nutella Melt, served with espresso-flavored whipped cream. It’s a lot like hot chocolate, but with more nuanced flavors and the added benefit of being able to lick the Nutella spoon after you make it. It would be the perfect thing to sip on by the fire after a day playing in the snow. I might secretly stock my parents liquor cabinet with the ingredients so that we can have it there this winter (no fireplace at my house…). Definitely don’t skip the espresso-whipped cream – it’s easy and it really ties the drink together!

Recipe Short-List: Applejack Hot Toddy (with maple syrup, applejack, and cinnamon tea); Liquid Gold (mulled pineapple juice and rum); Pumpkin Bourbon Eggnog; Cherry-Vanilla Hot Chocolate; Chocolate Stout Affogato; Orchard Fête (maple syrup, apple cider, applejack, and rosemary)

Disclaimer: I received a review copy of Winter Cocktails free of charge from Quirk, but was not otherwise compensated for writing this review.

Nutella Melt

Recipe from Winter Cocktails. Serves 4.

Note: to toast both the hazelnuts and coconut flakes, you can spread them (do one ingredient at a time) in a dry frying pan over medium heat, and toast, stirring frequently, until golden brown. Alternatively, you can top your drink with chocolate curls, like I did.

• 4 c. whole milk
• 1/4 c. Nutella, or other chocolate-hazelnut spread
• pinch salt
• 6 oz. Frangelico, or other hazelnut liqueur
• 1 c. heavy cream, chilled
• 1/4 c. confectioner’s sugar
• 2 tsp instant espresso powder
• 1/4 c. toasted hazelnuts, chopped, for garnish
• toasted coconut flakes, for garnish

1. Bring the milk, Nutella, and salt to a simmer in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring until Nutella is completely dissolved. Taste for chocolate flavor and body, and add more Nutella if desired. Stir in hazelnut liqueur, and remove from heat.
2. Whip the heavy cream together with the confectioner’s sugar and espresso powder until soft peaks have formed. Ladle the drink into warmed cups, and top with a big spoonful of whipped cream. Garnish with the chopped hazelnuts and toasted coconut flakes.

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Yes, it’s been a while since my initial post about the awesome food and farming alternative spring break I took part in a few weeks ago, but I’m definitely not over how cool it was, so I thought I’d share a little bit more.  The trip focused on eating locally and sustainably, as well as learning about where your food comes from and the people who are creating it.  Durham happens to be one of the country’s biggest hotspots for local food – as a growing urban area sitting on miles of tobacco land which is slowly being converted to other types of crops, the city has access to a wide variety of locally-sourced vegetables and animals, as well as a young population ready to commit to eating locally.  The NY Times wrote an article last April about the local food movement here, and this year, named Durham one of the top 41 places to visit in 2011 in the entire world, due to the wealth of excellent, sustainable restaurants in town.  Pretty cool place to be if you’re into food, right?  Even cooler was getting to meet some of the chefs behind the incredible food Durham’s top restaurants are turning out, and then dig in (for free!  Thanks, Duke).  Below you’ll find a brief summary of each of the local restaurants we visited, who we met, and what we learned.

Piedmont – Marco Shaw, the chef and part-owner at Piedmont, is one of the most inspiring people I’ve ever met.  His passion for what he does is apparent in everything from the way he speaks to the way he cooks.  Having worked with Alice Waters at the beginning of his career, the decision to cook locally was an easy one for Marco – when asked why his menus don’t loudly proclaim their sustainable ingredients, he answered that not every restaurateur can afford to make the same choices, but for him, it’s a responsibility.  He also makes it a point to use every part of the animals he gets – my pig trotter tronchon was delicious – and does all of his own butchering (which, after reading Heat’s 50 page description of how complicated it is to butcher anything, completely impressed me).  A final fact – he changes 50-90% of his menu every single day, based on what his farmer’s are able to get to him.  Dedication.

Fullsteam Brewery – Durham’s own micro-brewery, Fullsteam uses local produce to create its seasonal specialty beers, which include rhubarb, persimmon, and basil beers, as well as their famous Sweet Potato Ale.  The brewery is also a favorite destination for the young and old alike – while we were there on a Sunday afternoon there were kids riding tricycles across the open room and even having birthday parties while their parents relaxed with friends and had a few beers, but on a weekend night it has the vibe of any other cool, slightly off-beat bar.

Ninth Street Bakery – Frank, the owner and head-baker at the Durham institution, Ninth Street Baker, has a great hippie baker’s life story.  After dropping out of UC Davis in the ’70s, he lived in a zen Buddhist monastery, which is where he learned to bake.  And baking turned out to be his thing.  Thirty years ago he and his wife began 9th street bakery, way before 9th street was a fun, safe place to go.  Now they’re located downtown, and we had the pleasure of touring the bakery and learning how one churns out hundreds of loaves of bread a day (my favorite part was punching down the dough … that filled an industrial-size trash barrel).  All of their breads and pastries use organic flours and grains, and are completely delicious.  You can buy their sandwich bread at both Wholefoods and Kroger, and it’s 100% worth the extra dollar.

Bull City Burger and Brewery – A brand new restaurant on the Durham scene, Bull City Burger and Brewery opened a week ago to an overwhelmingly positive response.  We met with Seth Gross, the owner and chef, a few weeks before the restaurant was set to open, and he graciously took a few minutes out of the overwhelmingly busy pre-opening schedule to talk to us about his concept.  The restaurant is completely sustainable in its concept – even the tables are made from recycled barn beams.  The beef (grass-fed, but of course) will all be from the region, and hopefully 100% from North Carolina.  The restaurant will use burger toppings from local farmers – so don’t expect tomatoes on your burger in January! – and buns made from locally processed flours.  Even the beer will one day use barley and hops from North Carolina.  On top of all that localness, pints will be $4.50 and burgers are around $6, meaning even I can afford to go there.  A final cool fact about BCB&B – they sponsored the “golden bull contest” for the months before the restaurant opened, hiding 5 golden bulls (Durham – “Bull City’s” – mascot) in various locations downtown, providing clues as to the locations of the bulls each day on their website.  The finders of the bulls won a free lunch every week for a year, and the competition was fierce.

Watt’s Grocery – One of the restaurants I frequent most in Durham, Watt’s ascribes to the same concept as Piedmont, and attempts to source as many of their ingredients locally as possible.  While after listening to Marco some of us were a bit disappointed to hear that they don’t change their entire menu every day, it was important for us to learn that using local ingredients is a serious commitment for a restaurant.  All of the restaurateurs we spoke with mentioned the difficulty of adapting to the variability of what farmer’s can give you in any given week – if you planned your entire menu around the availability of 6″ tomatoes and your farmer can only give you cherry tomatoes, you have to adapt fast, and not every restaurant has the resources to do so.  Watt’s is up there with the best in terms of sustainability, and their food is delicious.  During our extended three course dinner I had their hush puppies with basil mayo, rib eye with farmer’s cheese dumplings, and incredible lamb meatloaf with a farro salad.  Then, for dessert, our table ordered every single dessert on the menu and demonstrated excellent sharing abilities by each taking one bite and passing the dessert on.  The almost unanimous favorite dessert was the espresso pot de creme, which brings me to today’s recipe!

My version of the incredible espresso pot de creme we had at Watt’s is not quite as good as theirs, but it is pretty excellent.  The recipe is straight forward and not too time-consuming, although it does use a large number of bowl (never a plus in my kitchen).  It is an extremely thick and rich dessert, and a little goes a long way.  I do wish that it was a bit creamier – the density of this is similar to that of pumpkin pie, and next time I might up the cream to egg ratio in order to achieve a more “mousse-y” consistency.  To serve with it I made a batch of lemon peel tuiles to emulate the Italian tradition of serving espresso with a twist of lemon.  The tuiles were fun to make, used up all the leftover egg whites from the pot de cremes, and turned out perfectly – wonderful lemon flavor, well formed, and a crunchy bite!  A great afternoon snack for this rainy spring week.

Chocolate Espresso Pot de Creme

Recipe adapted from Gourmet.  Serves 4.

• 3 oz. high quality bittersweet chocolate, broken into small pieces
• 3/4 c. heavy cream
• 1/4 c. whole milk
• 1 1/4 tsp. espresso powder
• 3 egg yolks
• 1 TBS sugar

1. Preheat oven to 300°F.
2. Place chopped chocolate in a medium heat-proof bowl.  In a separate, larger bowl, beat the egg yolks with the sugar, and set aside.  Bring cream, milk, and espresso powder just to a boil over medium heat, whisking until all espresso powder is dissolved.  Pour hot cream over chocolate, whisking continuously, until mixture is smooth.  Then pour hot chocolate mixture over egg yolks in a slow stream (so as not to scramble the eggs), whisking continuously, until smooth.  Pour custard through a sieve into a glass bowl and let sit for 15 minutes.
3. Prepare a hot water bath: place a kitchen towel or dishcloth on the bottom of a baking pan large enough to hold your 4 ramekins.  Bring a pot of water to a boil.  Divide the chocolate-espresso custard evenly between 4, 4-oz. ramekins, and place on top of the dishcloth in your baking pan.  Carefully pour the boiling water around the edges of the ramekins so that it rises 2/3 of the way up the sides of the ramekins.  Cover the baking pan and ramekins with a piece of aluminum foil, poking several holes in the top to allow steam to escape.  Place in preheated oven and bake for 30-35 minutes, until custards are set on the edges but still slightly soft in the middle.  Remove from oven and allow to cool.  Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving.  Will keep covered in the fridge for 3-4 days.

Lemon Peel Tuiles

Recipe from Gourmet.  Makes 3-4 dozen cookies.

• 1/2 c. sugar
• lemon zest from 4 medium lemons
• 1/2 stick salted butter, softened (room temperature)
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 2 egg whites
• 1/4 c. AP flour

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a food processor, pulse the sugar and the lemon zest a few times until evenly mixed.  (This lemon-sugar smells lovely and could be used for lots of other purposes…)
3. Beat the lemon sugar with the butter until smooth and fluffy.  Add vanilla and egg whites and mix until well-combined.  Add flour and mix until just combined.  Spoon batter into a pastry bag (or a ziploc bag with the tip snipped off), and gently pipe 6 inch long stripes about 3 inches apart.  Cookies should only be about 1/4 inch wide, as they will spread a lot in the oven.  Bake for 8 minutes, or until the edges are beginning to brown.  (Underbaked cookies will not form shapes as well and will have a chewy texture; golden-brown cookies will form very well and have a great crunch plus a slightly caramelized taste).  Remove tray from oven and immediately and gently remove cookies from pan and drape over a dowel, forming an enclosed circle lengthwise around the dowel.  (You could also use a mixing spoon handle, but you’ll run out of space quickly!)   If cookies begin to harden to much to form, place the tray back in the oven for 30 seconds to re-soften.  Repeat with remaining batches of cookies.  Don’t remove cookies from dowel until hardened, which takes about 3-4 minutes.
4. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

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