December is the season of cookies and champagne and lots and lots of cheese. Everyone has their own favorite food traditions this month. I indulge in Bailey’s-spiked hot chocolate with real whipped cream, in two slices of cranberry-vanilla coffee cake on Christmas morning, and in the truly excellent gouda my grandfather sometimes brings to our house. This year we are headed to Munich and Brussels around Christmastime, so I expect there will also be Belgian waffles, glühwein, pretzels, and lots of yummy Belgian beer. I try not to feel guilty about these indulgences – it’s part of the season! – but I do find myself strongly craving vegetables after a few days of heavy meals. Of course, it’s freezing cold in Boston, so the vegetables still have to be warm and comforting, which is where grain bowls save the day.

Grain bowls are a pretty regular feature of our weekly menu. Usually they are a pretty basic affair. Roast brussels sprouts and sweet potatoes are a staple, along with a few pieces of whatever cheese we have sitting in the fridge. There is maybe a dollop of hummus that serves as dressing and a handful of greens. The grain itself is whatever we have on hand – usually farro or rice. These grain bowls are always satisfying, but they aren’t always cohesive – it’s just a mess of stuff I like to eat on one plate. So every once in a while, I like to put a little more thought into how the components of the bowl will go together. Recently, we made a Middle-Eastern inflected grain bowl that came out so well that I thought it was worth sharing here (as well as documenting for myself!).

This grain bowl has a lot of goodness in it. Spicy honey-cinnamon roast sweet potatoes. Cumin-scented roast cauliflower with sticky dates. Crispy brussels sprouts. To pull it together there’s a tangy tahini-yogurt sauce, creamy goat cheese, and jewel-like pomegranate seeds. Each individual component is highly flavorful – the sweet and spicy sweet potatoes in particular are addictive. All together in one bowl each component enhances the others, for a warming, slightly exotic meal. Plus, if you double up on the quantities below you’ll have plenty of leftovers to see you through the week.

Middle-Eastern Grain Bowl with Sweet Potatoes and Cauliflower

A step above your average throw-it-all-together grain bowl. This recipe combines honey-cinnamon-roasted sweet potatoes with cumin-spiced cauliflower and tahini dressing for a Middle-Eastern inflected grain bowl.

Cauliflower recipe is adapted from Dining In. 

• Author: Katie at the Kitchen Door
• Prep Time: 20
• Cook Time: 30
• Total Time: 50 minutes
• Yield: 2-3

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup dry farro

For the sweet potatoes:

• 1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into wedges
• 2 TBS olive oil
• 1 TBS honey
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp ground cayenne pepper
• sea salt and black pepper to taste

For the cauliflower and brussels sprouts:

• 1 head of cauliflower, washed and cut into florets
• 20–30 brussels sprouts, outer leaves removed, cut in half
• 3 TBS olive oil
• 1 tsp whole cumin seed
• sea salt and black pepper to taste
• 8 dates, halved

For the dressing:

• 3 TBS tahini
• 3 TBS plain Greek yogurt or skyr (the tangier the better!)
• 1 TBS honey
• 1/4 cup lukewarm water
• Juice from 1/2 a lemon
• Sea salt and pepper to taste

Toppings/other:

• Several handfuls fresh baby spinach
• 2 oz. fresh goat cheese, crumbled
• Arils from 1/2 a pomegranate, about 1/2 cup

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400F. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. When the water is boiling, add the farro. Cook until al dente, about 20-25 minutes. Drain farro and set aside.
2. For the sweet potatoes: whisk the olive oil, honey, cinnamon, cayenne, salt and pepper together in a large bowl. Add the sweet potato wedges and toss to completely coat with the honey-olive oil mixture. Spread the sweet potatoes out on a rimmed baking sheet and place in the oven. Roast until very tender, about 25-30 minutes.
3. For the cauliflower: in the same bowl you used for the sweet potatoes, whisk together the olive oil, cumin seed, salt, and pepper. Add the cauliflower florets and toss, making sure to thoroughly coat the tops of each floret with the olive oil mixture. Add the halved brussels sprouts to the bowl and toss to coat. Spread out on a rimmed baking sheet and roast until the vegetables are tender in the middle and crispy on the edges, about 30 minutes. About 10 minutes, before the vegetables are done, add the halved dates to the roasting pan so that they roast slightly (they will get a little bit more sticky and caramelized).
4. For the bowls: whisk all dressing ingredients together in a medium bowl until smooth, then adjust seasoning to taste. Divide the cooked farro and the baby spinach between two bowls. Top each bowl with several roast sweet potato wedges, pieces of cauliflower and brussels sprouts. Crumble goat cheese on top of the bowls, then sprinkle with pomegranate arils. Drizzle with dressing and serve immediately.

Notes

All the cooked ingredients have approximately the same cooking time, meaning if you start the farro at the same time as you put the vegetables in the oven, everything will be ready almost at once.

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At this time of year I get so anxious for spring to arrive. The first few weeks of April are a special kind of torture for New Englanders. One moment it’s 70° and sunny and I’m sure that it’s time to plant the tomatoes, and the next day I’m wearing three layers while trodding through the rain. Every year I find myself scrolling back through my Instagram feed trying to find the moment when spring arrived. When did the apple trees bloom? When did the crocuses pop? It had to be earlier last year, didn’t it?

Slowly but surely, it’s coming. We had a weekend with a hint of sunburn, a beer on the porch in the afternoon, and a promise of more warm days to come. The peas have sprouted and we check on them three times a day, the only denizens of our garden so far. The trees are in that tentative green stage, and I find myself looking up every 10 minutes, as if they may somehow magically burst into blossom over the course of an afternoon. But that’s how it feels when it finally happens, isn’t it? One morning the gray branches and bare against the spring blue sky, practically bursting with anticipation, and the next somehow everything is green and lush.

But all this is the essence of spring, is it not? The uncertainty, the anticipation, the oscillation between summer and winter. So, thank you, spring, for showing up. For teasing us with sunshine and letting us plunge our hands into the soil. For the first signs of green and even for the cool nip in the wind. I promise to enjoy every moment of you, the most fleeting of seasons. I’ll enjoy the rainy days with fat raindrops pounding against the roof. I’ll enjoy every blossom you toss our way – first, the purple and yellow crocus tips, then the showy magnolia blooms, the showers of pink apple blossoms and the regal irises.

Because every season needs at least one or two go-to pasta recipes, I’ve been developing spring pastas. I’m trying to build a collection for each season, like this Creamy Mushroom Pasta and this Heirloom Tomato Spaghetti. And now, my latest for spring – Goat Cheese Stuffed Shells with Spring Vegetables. They have all the usual spring suspects – peas, asparagus, goat cheese, lemon – tucked inside thick pasta shells. The filling also includes ricotta, mozzarella, and chopped spinach. So much cheese! So many vegetables! The finishing touch is a quick bechamel sauce and just a little bit more cheese before baking.

A word of warning: these contain an almost lethal amount of cheese, as you might have guessed from the above. Pace yourself and remember that this batch should serve 8-10 people! Four or five shells is a good serving size, and it’s easy to wolf them down. Serve alongside a salad or some bright steamed asparagus for balance.

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Goat Cheese Stuffed Shells with Peas and Asparagus

A Katie at the Kitchen Door original recipes. Serves 8-10.

• One 12-oz. box of jumbo pasta shells
• 6 oz. soft goat cheese
• 1 lb. ricotta cheese
• 8 oz. mozzarella cheese, grated and divided
• 1 egg
• 1 cup (6 oz.) frozen spinach
• 2 cups frozen peas
• 1 lb. asparagus, ends trimmed
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• zest of 1 lemon
• 3 TBS butter
• 3 TBS flour
• 2 1/2 cups milk, warmed in the microwave
• sea salt

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta shells and cook for the amount of time specified on the packages. Err on the side of undercooking the pasta just a little bit – if you overcook the shells they are more likely to fall apart when stuffing. Drain the shells and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, beat the goat cheese until smooth and creamy. Add the ricotta cheese and 6 oz of the mozzarella cheese and stir to combine. Reserve the remaining mozzarella cheese for topping the shells. Add the egg to the cheese mixture and beat slightly, stirring to combine evenly with the cheeses.
3. Add the frozen spinach to a microwaveable bowl with a little bit of water. Microwave until fully thawed, about 90 seconds to 2 minutes. Use a spoon to press any excess liquid out of the spinach, draining the liquid out of the bowl. When the spinach is dry, add to the bowl with the cheeses and stir to combine. Now add the peas to the microwaveable bowl with a little water and microwave for 60-90 seconds to defrost the peas. Drain the liquid from the bowl and add the peas to the spinach and cheese mixture, stirring to combine.
4. Bring a large pot of salted water to a simmer. When simmering, add the asparagus and blanch until bright green, about 90 seconds. Drain immediately and rinse the asparagus under cold running water to stop the cooking. Cut the asparagus into small pieces, about 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch long, and add to the cheese filling. Add the lemon zest and black pepper, stir to combine, and set aside.
5. To prepare the bechamel sauce, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add the flour and stir into the butter. Cook the flour and butter, stirring constantly, until fragrant and just beginning to color, about 2 minutes. Slowly pour in the warm milk, stirring as you do to incorporate the milk into the roux. Cook the bechamel, stirring the whole time, until it has thickened enough to coat the back of the spoon but still runs freely when lifted. This should only take 2-3 minutes. Remove from the heat and season to taste with sea salt.
6. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spread a little bit of the bechamel sauce on the bottom of a 9×13 inch casserole dish (to help keep the shells in place as you fill them). Working one at a time, spoon the cheese and vegetable mixture inside the pasta shells, using about 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons of filling per shell. As you stuff them, line the shells up on the casserole dish in a single layer. Pour the bechamel sauce over the top of the shells, then sprinkle the reserved grated mozzarella over the top. Bake for 30 minutes, until cheese is golden brown and bubbly. Serve warm.

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I recently discovered two things. First, Cara Cara oranges. Have you ever had one? They’re amazing. Whoever invented orange-flavored candies was definitely inspired by these guys. They are so much sweeter, juicier, and just more wonderful than regular oranges, and they’re a beautiful pink color inside, too. Although I usually associate citrus with January and February, Cara Caras seem to just be hitting their peak season now. At least, Wholefoods is full of them: no ramps or fava beans, just a lot of oranges. Although to be honest, I think my expectations for the seasonal produce that should be available in April have always been a little out of touch with reality. It was snowing two weeks ago, after all.

Writing the above paragraph has sent me down an internet rabbit hole looking for orange trees online. Because wouldn’t a Cara Cara orange tree be the perfect addition to our collection of trees that you probably shouldn’t try and grow in Boston? Our impulse-tree-purchase rate is way up this month anyways – last weekend alone we bought an olive tree and a coral bark Japanese Maple. What would harm could one more citrus tree do?

The second thing I discovered is that I’ve been cooking asparagus wrong. My standard cooking method for most vegetables is this: douse liberally with olive oil, sprinkle with sea salt, roast at 400°F until nicely charred. I like my roasted vegetables to be borderline carcinogenic. Especially brussels sprouts – I love the way the leaves get translucent and crunchy. Unfortunately, this method has left me unsatisfied when it comes to asparagus. If you roast asparagus even a little bit too long, it becomes stringy and mushy. So I recently tried a recipe in Diana Henry’s Simple which calls for you to lightly steam the asparagus by putting the thick ends in an inch or two of simmering water and pushing the tips just below the edge of the pot, without putting the whole stalk underwater. You only cook the asparagus for a few minutes, until they’re bright green, then drain immediately. This method resulted in asparagus that was fresh, tender, and perfectly cooked without being limp or mushy or stringy. Success!

In this recipe I’ve brought these two April delicacies together in – surprise! – a bowl. I just like things better when they’re in bowl form, OK? It’s a trend that makes me eat my vegetables. I’ve built on the Diana Henry recipe I mentioned above, which served the steamed asparagus with goat cheese and lemon butter, to build a warm bowl that screams spring. The base of the bowl is Israeli Couscous tossed with butter, lemon juice, and lemon zest while the couscous is still warm. Adding spinach, steamed asparagus, goat cheese, the lovely Cara Cara oranges, and shelled pistachios makes a healthy spring dinner that is complete and satisfying.

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Lemony Israeli Couscous with Asparagus, Oranges, and Goat Cheese

Inspired by Simple. Serves 2.

• 1 cup of uncooked Israeli couscous
• 2 TBS butter
• zest and juice of half a lemon
• black pepper
• 1/2 pound of asparagus
• 3 oz. of baby spinach
• 1 Cara Cara orange, peeled and supremed (cut into segments)
• 3 oz. soft goat cheese, cut into slices
• 1/4 cup of shelled pistachios

1. Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil over medium heat (the pot should be slightly less wide than the length of your asparagus stalks). Add the couscous to the boiling water and stir. Cook until tender and chewy, about 5-7 minutes, then drain. Transfer to a bowl and add the butter, lemon juice, lemon zest, and black pepper while couscous is warm. Stir until the couscous is evenly coated with the lemon butter and set aside.
2. Add about 2 inches of water to the pot and return to the stove. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Prepare the asparagus by snapping or trimming off the thick woody end of each stalk, usually about the bottom 1 inch. (You can gently bend the asparagus to find the natural breaking point as a guide). Place the thick end of the stalks in the simmering water in the bottom of the pot. Gently bend the asparagus so the tips are resting just inside the pot but aren’t submerged in the water, so they will steam but not boil. Cook the asparagus in this way until bright green, which should take about 3-5 minutes depending on the thickness of your asparagus. Remove from the heat, drain, and run under cold water for 60 seconds to stop the cooking process.
3. To assemble the salads, divide the couscous and spinach between two bowls. Top with asparagus, orange segments, goat cheese, and pistachios. Serve warm.

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We have a fridge! A fridge with a freezer! Which means: it’s high time for the summer’s first batch of homemade ice cream. Beyond high time, if we’re being truthful, as it’s been more than a year since I made a batch of ice cream. And the last batch was a really good one, too, so it didn’t last more than a week. Plus, I consider having enough time to make at least one batch of homemade ice cream per summer to be an essential indicator of sanity.

This particular ice cream is one that I’ve been mulling over for more than 2 years. It’s loosely based on this incredible Strawberry Sour Cream Ice Cream, which is still the best ice cream I’ve ever made. Adding cultured dairy products, like sour cream or cheese, to the ice cream base ensures that it is extra thick and sets up really nicely when frozen, which can be a problem with homemade ice creams. Using sour cream or goat cheese also adds a delicious tang to offset the sweetness of the ice cream.

Since I knew that I wanted to try a recipe similar to the original that used goat cheese in place of the sour cream, we get an abundance of blackberries from our bushes every year, and blackberries and goat cheese and red wine are a great combination on a cheese platter, I decided that those three elements were the basis for what was sure to be a delicious dessert. The ice cream base would be a sweet goat cheese custard with a hint of vanilla, and the blackberries and red wine would enter the picture via a sweet and jammy swirl of fruit sauce. I added a splash of balsamic to the blackberry-red wine component for a little extra depth. The result was everything I imagined, and just as good as the strawberry sour cream version. It’s a good thing I made this 2 days before leaving for a week, or it would already be gone.

I also wanted to use this celebration of our new freezer to take a minute to share the first pictures (and progress!) of our new house. When we knew we were buying the house I had grand plans of becoming a design blogger and documenting all the cool DIY updates we did to the house. But, considering that I seem to be barely managing to find the time to be a food blogger, I suppose I should probably stick with what I know for now. So here’s the summary version, at least as far as the kitchen is concerned…

We started with a kitchen that is basically a blank slate: linoleum floors, cheap cabinets that have seen better days, yellow walls, ancient appliances, and plenty of space. Since the day we moved in we have 1) replaced the dishwasher and fridge with modern, stainless steel versions; 2) removed some of the counters and cabinets and replaced them with these sweet industrial DIY pipe shelves; 3) added a temporary kitchen island and stools; 4) refinished one of the walls and repainted it to a dolphiny gray; 5) added an awkwardly bulky washer and dryer that we can’t wait to move to the basement. We’re also in the process of continuing to replace the upper cabinets with shelves to match the pipe shelving, replacing the disposal, and swapping out the kitchen sink and faucet. Where we are now is certainly not our dream kitchen, but we are at least getting to the point where it feels usable and friendly – good enough until we’ve saved up enough to remodel for real. And good enough to make delicious ice cream!

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Goat Cheese Ice Cream with Blackberry Red Wine Swirl

Inspired by the NYTimes. Makes about 1 1/2 quarts.

• 7 egg yolks
• 1 1/3 c. sugar, divided
• 1 1/2 c. heavy cream
• 1/2 c. whole milk
• 8 oz. goat cheese
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 12 oz. fresh blackberries
• 1/3 c. red wine
• 2 TBS balsamic vinegar

1. Beat the egg yolks with 1/2 cup of the sugar in a heatproof bowl until smooth. Set aside. Place the heavy cream and whole milk in a medium saucepan and whisk in 1/2 cup of sugar. Whisking regularly, heat the cream mixture over medium heat just until bubbles begin to appear around the sides of the pan. Remove the cream from the heat.
2. Slowly drizzle the hot cream into the egg yolks, whisking the egg yolks vigorously as you do so. Once you’ve poured most of the cream into the egg yolks, pour the mixture back into the pan and return to the heat. Whisking constantly, heat the egg yolks until the mixture has thickened into a custard thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, which should take from 5-10 minutes. Remove from the heat.
3. Crumble the goat cheese into a large bowl. Strain the custard through a fine-mesh strainer into the bowl (to remove any bits of scrambled egg). Whisk the mixture until the goat cheese has fully melted into the custard. Stir in the vanilla. Let cool to room temperature, then cover the bowl with plastic wrap so that the plastic wrap touches the surface of the custard and refrigerate until cold, at least 3 hours.
4. In a medium saucepan, combine the blackberries, the remaining 1/3 c. sugar, the red wine, and the balsamic vinegar. Heat over medium heat, stirring frequently to prevent the bottom from burning, until thickened and bubbly, about 15 minutes. Mash the blackberries with the back of a wooden spoon so that the mixture has a jam like consistency. Refrigerate the mixture until cold.
5. To make the ice cream, churn the goat cheese custard in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Scrape half of the ice cream into a storage container in an even layer. Top with half of the blackberry mixture, then drag a knife through the two layers to create a swirl. Repeat with another layer of custard and another layer of blackberries. Freeze until solid, at least 2 hours.

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When this time of year arrives – that first week when the trees have those few, glorious days of pale greenness, and all of the spring flowers that have been patiently waiting their turn through the cold spring bloom at the same time; when we shed our layers and revel in the feeling of fresh air on our bare legs and everyone lights their grills for their first time in months so that whole neighborhoods smell of smoky charcoal – I feel as though something that I’ve been waiting for, without even realizing how desperately I was waiting, has finally arrived. It feels as though things should change, routines should fly out the window, evenings should be reserved exclusively for long conversations on the porch with old friends and cold beers, and the biggest decision to be made during the day should be whether to spend it at the beach, hiking somewhere densely green, or simply sipping lemonade in the backyard. Of course, for most of us, routines don’t change just because it’s almost summer, as much as years and years of summer vacations may have conditioned us to feel like they should. But we can certainly try to do a little more to embrace the season, and let some of our responsibilities slide, just for a while.

I took yesterday off, partly to get my life organized between trips, and partly just to savor the day. I woke up early to long morning shadows, a cool breeze on my face, cool clean sheets, and the first chirps of birds. Waking up early is such a pleasure when it’s a choice and not a necessity. I spent the day doing a mix of chores and treating myself to small breaks, like a trip to the bookstore to pick up a stack of new paperbacks for the summer and an invigorating workout. I walked everywhere. Something about the day kickstarted my creativity again. By the end of the day I’d jotted 5 or 6 new recipe ideas in my notebook, something I haven’t done in months. It’s a good reminder of how important it is to rest – and that even days with chores and errands can be restful if you approach them with the right mindset. After a winter spent in a melancholy fog and a hectic spring, I need more days like this. Days that open me up to hope and possibility and peace again. Almost summer days.

I wanted to make something to celebrate this time – something light and effervescent, that would capture this fleeting, pale green moment. Perhaps it’s a bit literal, but asparagus souffles – pale green, quickly deflating – are what came to mind. With blanched asparagus, butter-sauteed leeks, and fresh tangy goat cheese pureed into the batter, these souffles are light, savory, and just slightly vegetal. They would be the perfect addition to a brunch or as a light lunch all on their own. Souffles can be intimidating but really, does it matter if they fall? They will still be just as airy and delicious. I promise you no one will complain.

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Asparagus, Leek, and Goat Cheese Souffles

Makes 8-10 souffles. Adapted from Simply Recipes and All Recipes. 

• 1/2 lb. asparagus, tough ends trimmed, cut into 2 inch pieces
• 1 small leek, washed and sliced into half-moons
• 4 TBS butter, divided, plus more for buttering the ramekins
• 3 TBS cake flour (AP flour is a fine substitute)
• 1 1/4 c. whole milk
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 4 egg yolks
• 4 oz. soft goat cheese, crumbled
• 6 egg whites

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Generously butter eight 6-0z. ramekins and set aside on a baking tray.
2. Bring a small pot of salted water to a boil. Add the asparagus pieces and cook for 2-3 minutes, until bright green and just tender. Drain immediately and rinse with cold water two to three times, until asparagus is room temperature. Drain thoroughly and place in a blender.
3. Return the small pot to the stove, over medium-low heat. Melt 1 TBS of the butter in the pot and add the leeks. Saute leeks until soft, about 3-5 minutes. Add to the blender with the asparagus.
4. In a large pot, melt the remaining 3 TBS of butter over medium heat. Add the cake flour and stir into the butter, cooking until golden brown and nutty smelling, about 1-2 minutes. Slowly pour in the milk, whisking to make a smooth batter between additions. Once all the milk is added and the batter is smooth, season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Cook for 2-3 minutes longer over medium-low heat, then remove from the heat. Pour into the blender with the asparagus. Blend the mixture on high until smooth, then add the egg yolks and blend again. Pour the batter back into the pot (no longer over the heat), and stir the goat cheese into the warm batter until melted. Set batter aside.
5. In a large bowl, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Fold 1/2 of the egg whites into the batter until incorporated. Very lightly fold the second 1/2 of the egg whites into the batter. Spoon the batter into the prepared ramekins, filling 3/4 of the way to the top. Bake the souffles for 15-20 minutes, until puffed and lightly browned on top. Remove from the oven and serve immediately.

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It’s a bit impossible for me to believe that it’s already May. I was having this debate with my manager yesterday – whether time moves more slowly or more quickly when you’re incredibly busy. I say quickly. With all the planes and coming and going, I feel as if I’m in a constant state of transit, never quite settled. It’s not my favorite feeling, but I’ll admit that being a frequent traveler has a certain glamour to it. Anyway, between airports and planes and a never-ending Boston winter and buying a house, the last 5 months seems to have slipped right by, and now it’s the first of May. It was unreasonably chilly outside today, but I still woke up this morning excited about spring and summer and hopefully carving out some time to really enjoy this season. May is really a lovely, happy month. It has Trevor’s birthday, cinco de mayo, the season’s first BBQs, Memorial Day Weekend… and Mother’s Day.

My first picnic of the year was in honor of my mom, although she wasn’t actually there, which I’m sure she will mention to me as soon as she sees this post. (Don’t worry, mom, I will give you your own picnic when it is actually Mother’s Day — this picnic was just in preparation so that the real one can be as good as possible. And so that other people could read this and plan picnics for their moms. Also, I will bring you a trifle on Sunday.) Mothers are wonderful, special people who pour a whole lot of energy and love and heart into ensuring that we, their children, are safe and well-fed and happy and that ultimately we turn out alright. They are worth celebrating, probably a lot more frequently than once a year, but let’s start there. Brunch is perhaps the most typical way to celebrate Mother’s Day, but I think that a picnic is an equally lovely way to treat mom to something special. If the weather cooperates, it’s a great way to linger over a meal, enjoying the outdoors, each other’s company, and some light and spring-like dishes.

The savory part of this picnic is Mushroom and Goat Cheese Savory Squares, which is just a fancy name for “puff pastry tarts.” These are super simple to prepare: the mushrooms are sliced and sautéed with butter, garlic, Chardonnay, and thyme, then baked along with goat cheese on store-bought puff pastry. Despite being easy to make, they look and taste super elegant, thanks to the wonderful amount of butter in puff pastry. For dessert, there are Mini Lemon Curd Trifles. Trifle, because it reminds me of my mother; mini, because packing things in mason jars is trendy and perfect for picnics; and lemon curd, because I love it and it screams springtime. The trifle layers are lemon shortbread, lemon curd, whipped cream, and fresh raspberries. I could have eaten about 6 of these little trifle mason jars on my own, they were so good. And of course, the wine! A bottle of Cambria’s Bench Break 2012 Chardonnay is the perfect thing to bring along, because it’s a lovely match for the mushrooms, goat cheese, lemons, and buttery pastry and shortbread.

Find the recipes for the Mushroom and Goat Cheese Savory Squares and the Mini Lemon Curd Trifles over on the Cambria Wines blog!

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Cambria Wines. All opinions are honest and my own.

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Saturday was our first harvest, the first of many moments that I’ve been longing for since burying our seeds in tiny pop-up pots in the depths of February. The moment I daydreamed about while stabbing at still-frozen ground with my turning fork in March. The moment I finally believed might happen this year when the first tender sprouts poked their heads out of the ground at the end of April. Summer is really coming.

This week’s haul was modest – a few handfuls of the sweetest green peas, a world away from the starchy peas that even the best grocery stores carry; the twisty turny garlic scapes that shot up in a matter of a few days; and 3 pounds of the most beautiful bright red strawberries, the result of two years of patience as the plants developed their roots and spread across the ground. This week we came home with a few snacks, but from here it only gets better, until it’s the end of August and we’re hauling home more tomatoes than we can even imagine eating, begging friends to take our extra cucumbers and squash, and sweating over the stove as we can jar after jar of tomato paste and pickles, trying to save it all to brighten our winter shelves.

I’m saving the strawberries for next week (hint hint), so this week we’re talking scapes. For those of you who have never seen one, they look like curly, flexible scallions that come out of the middle of garlic plants. If you let them grow, they eventually flower, but most farmers and gardeners clip them to send the energy that would otherwise be used to create flowers into creating bigger bulbs. Since the scapes themselves are edible, trimming them off seems like a win-win. The most common thing to do with them is make pesto, although pickling them, grilling them, and using them in soup come in as close seconds. Since there are already tons of recipes for those things out there, I decided to try something less common – giving the scapes a quick dip in a seltzer batter and frying them to make garlic scape tempura. Even a little bit of heat mellows out the garlicky bite in these, so don’t worry that munching on them whole will be too intense. There are two tricky parts to making tempura – one, getting the consistency of the batter just right, and two, keeping the oil at a temperature that is not so hot as to burn your tempura, but hot enough to cook it quickly and keep the coating airy. After a little trial and error, I got the hang of it, and you will too. I served these with a goat cheese and sour cream dip flecked with chives – it was intense and delicious, but it overwhelmed the delicate flavor of the tempura a little bit. Go light with the dip, or try something thinner or less salty if you’re looking to change it up.

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Garlic Scape Tempura

Serves 3-4 as an appetizer.

• 8-10 garlic scapes
• vegetable oil, for frying
• 2/3 c. flour
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 2/3 c. + 2 TBS seltzer
• sea salt, to taste

1. Wash your scapes and cut into 3-4 inch pieces. Some people choose not to eat the flower bulb end, but if your scapes are young and tender and the bulb is small, it won’t make much difference.
2. Pour vegetable oil into a wide heavy-bottomed pan, filling to a depth of about 1 1/2 inches. Heat over medium heat, to a temperature of 375°F.
3. Whisk together the flour and baking soda. Immediately before you begin frying (i.e. when your oil is hot enough), whisk the seltzer into the flour until a light smooth batter forms. Dip your scapes into the batter to fully coat, then carefully place in the hot oil. Only put as many scapes as can fit with plenty of room between them in each batch – you don’t want to crowd them. Fry for 1-2 minutes, until just beginning to color, then remove from the oil with a skimmer and let drain on a paper towel. Immediately shake sea salt over the hot tempura. Repeat until you have used all the scapes. Serve immediately.

Goat Cheese and Sour Cream Dip

Makes about 1/2 cup.

• 2 oz. goat cheese
• 1/4 c. sour cream
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp minced fresh chives
• salt, to taste

1. Put the goat cheese in a medium bowl and beat with a fork until mostly smooth. Add the sour cream and mix together until evenly combined. Stir in the black pepper and chives. Taste, and season to your liking.

The post The First Harvest // Garlic Scape Tempura with Goat Cheese Dip appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

I just have a quick little side dish recipe for you today, but I promise, it’s a good one. I made these crispy salt and vinegar potatoes the same day that I saw them in Bon Appetit, and I’ve since tweaked the recipe to get them just how I like them. I used to find salt and vinegar chips to be too strong, but now I find the combination addictive, and this recipe embodies the combo well. In order to get creamy-on-the-inside, crispy-on-the-outside potatoes, you boil them until just tender and then pan-fry them until golden brown. Served hot and dotted with fresh goat cheese and chives, they’re a very satisfying and craveable side dish. Or, if you’re the kind of person who considers a bowl of potatoes to be a perfectly acceptable dinner, like I am, they make a very satisfying dinner.

In other news, I’m on the second-to-last day of a 10 day business trip, and I have to run out and enjoy the generous free afternoon I’ve been given to explore Rome (!). If you want to follow along, come join me on Instagram, but be warned, I’m doing my best to make everyone I know jealous. I swear I’m going to make up for it by doing lots of real work on the plane tomorrow, though. I’ll be back with another recipe at the end of the week once I’m home – I hope everyone had a great Memorial Day Weekend!

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Crispy Sea Salt and Vinegar Potatoes with Goat Cheese and Chives

Adapted from Bon Appetit. Serves 3-4 as a side.

• 2 lb. small Yukon gold potatoes, quartered
• 1 cup distilled white vinegar
• 1 TBS sea salt
• 2 TBS butter
• 1 TBS malt vinegar
• 2 oz. goat cheese crumbles
• 1 TBS chopped fresh chives
• flaky sea salt, for finishing

1. Place the potatoes, vinegar, and sea salt in a large saucepan, and cover by one inch with cold water. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Keep at a gentle boil until potatoes are just tender when poked with a fork, about 20 minutes. Drain.
2. In a large frying pan, melt butter over medium heat. Add potatoes and saute, stirring occasionally, until they are golden brown and crispy on all sides, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in malt vinegar.
3. Serve the potatoes sprinkled with goat cheese, chives, and flaky sea salt. Serve hot.

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“All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind is a part of ourselves; we must die to one life before we can enter another”

-Anatole France

That quote has been running through my head all week. I actually heard it at a change management workshop at my real job, but it resonated so strongly with the mental state I’ve been in for the past few weeks, that I’ve been repeating it to remind myself that everything I’m feeling is normal. Although more than half the work of moving into our new place – washing, sanding, painting, packing, unpacking – is done, I’m still feeling a little overwhelmed and, honestly, sad whenever I think about leaving my house. So I think it’s important to take a moment to reflect, to have my melancholy, but then start to focus on the positive, on all the changes that I really have longed for.

Things I’ll miss:

• My roommates. I have three great roommates, and it’s nice to have people to chat with at the end of the day. We mostly sit and talk in the kitchen, or crash on the couch at the same time to watch trashy TV. Having someone to watch trashy TV with is not to be taken for granted. I hope that I’ll still be friends with them, but friendships are never the same as when you share day to day concerns and experiences. I’ve been lucky to have such a happy living experience with them!
• My house. It felt like home the very first night I slept here, and it’s breaking my heart a little bit to leave it behind. It’s a beautifully maintained single-family home, full of light and interesting architectural details. It was such a great find – I think it would be a miracle to find something that was so great with so little work again.

• Morning runs on the bikepath. I’m less than a quarter mile from the start of the Minuteman Bikepath, a flat, 11-mile path that goes through some beautiful parts of Greater Boston. It’s super convenient for running, and now that I’ve finally been converted to morning running, I’ll miss how quiet and peaceful it is at that time of day.
• Davis Square restaurants. Dave’s Fresh Pasta. Five Horses Tavern. Boston Burger. The Painted Burro. Mr. Crepe. Of course, I can still go to these places – I’m only moving two miles away! – but they won’t be as readily accessible. And the Davis neighborhood in general is just a fun, lively place to be, with more great restaurants opening all the time.
• My backyard. While it’s not huge, it has a fence that makes it feel private, and a lovely shady patio with a table for eating out on nice days. I use it to garden, to work-out, and just to look out at from the kitchen as I wash dishes or eat my breakfast. Our new place also has a small yard, but it needs a lot of work before it will look like this one.

Things I’m looking forward to:

• Seeing Trevor every single day. Of course, this is the whole reason for moving. After 3 years of long-distance dating, and 2 years of living separately in the same city, I think we’re both excited about being even closer to one another. It may mean less independence, but it will mean more sharing, in a good way. I’m sure there will be challenges, but I’m hopeful that the whole experience will make our relationship stronger and even happier than it already is.
• Having my own fridge and freezer. If there’s one thing that’s not great about living with three roommates, it’s the amount of fridge space you get allocated. After spending a good hour cleaning in and around our new fridge, it is pristine, and awaiting much delicious produce. Hopefully from our garden.
• New restaurants. This one is pretty much an even trade – well-loved Davis restaurants will be replaced by new well-loved restaurants. The Biscuit, for coffee and savory croissants. Thai Hut, for late night takeout. Dali, for lively dinners of delicious tapas and lots of wine. And maybe even the restaurant my new landlords are opening next year.
• Living less than half a mile from a brand new Wholefoods. I’m so looking forward to being able to run out and get pretty much any ingredient I want (especially since I’m also a stone’s throw from Savenor’s).
• Trevor making me dinner. Like he was doing as I wrote this. Seriously, the boy can cook.

And now goodbye to you guys too, but only for a few days – I’ll be on a business trip to Russia for the rest of the week! Don’t worry, I’m leaving you with a treat, the last thing I’ll make in my old kitchen. These little tartines are from Le Pain Quotidien, which I reviewed the other day, and they are so good! The spicy corn cream is super tasty – I love how rich it is and the heat is just strong enough to make your lips tingle. Together with the fresh tomato salsa and the goat cheese, these tartines make an excellent celebration of summer flavors. Just be warned – these should be eaten with a knife and fork. You’ll make a total mess if you try to pick them up whole.

And when I get back, I’ll make you a little something from my new kitchen.

Corn, Jalapeno, and Goat Cheese Tartine

Adapted slightly from Le Pain Quotidien. Serves 2.

• 1 large tomato, diced
• 1/2 onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, divided
• 2 TBS + 2 tsp finely chopped cilantro leaves, divided
• juice from 2 limes, zest from 1/2 a lime
• 1 slice cooked bacon, crumbled
• 4 TBS creme fraiche
• 1 tsp finely chopped jalapeno pepper (seeds removed)
• 1 ear fresh corn, kernels removed
• 2 big slices sourdough bread
• 2 oz. soft goat cheese

1. Make the tomato salsa: combine the diced tomato, chopped onion, 1 of the garlic cloves, finely minced, 2 TBS of the cilantro, and the lime juice in a bowl. Stir together, cover, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
2. Add the crumbled bacon, creme fraiche, lime zest, and jalapeno to a small saucepan, along with 1 TBS of water. Crush the remaining clove of garlic and add to the pan. Stir, and bring to a simmer over low heat. Simmer for 1 minute, then add the corn kernels and simmer for 1 minute longer. Remove from heat.
3. Place the bread slices on a baking sheet. Divide the corn cream between the two slices – the liquid will soak through the bread. Dot the top of each slice with goat cheese. Broil on high for 3-4 minutes, or until the goat cheese is melty and beginning to brown. Sprinkle with the remaining 2 tsp of cilantro leaves. Serve immediately – with a knife and fork!

The post Goodbye, Hello! // Corn, Jalapeno, and Goat Cheese Tartine appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

If any of you follow me on Twitter (do it! I promise I’ll do my best to say vaguely entertaining things), you may have noticed that I’ve been tweeting some nonsense about #March15ADay for the past 7 days. Basically, I’ve challenged myself to workout for at least 15 minutes every day in March. Things that count as workouts are running, lifting, jump rope, ballet, and NTC workouts (which I’m really loving). Things that do not count are walking to the subway and lying on the floor with my arms spread out while telling myself that I’m stretching (I have, in the past, counted this as exercise). Vigorous cooking does not count either.

Tonight marks the end of my first week – I’ve gone running twice, done a 20 minute jump rope session, and done targeted strength training for my arms, abs, and back. I’m kinda sore. But proud of myself! When it’s 10 o’clock at night and I haven’t done anything yet, I close my eyes and imagine myself looking fabulous in a linen dress that I don’t own yet on a hillside in Italy where I’ll be in 49 days (49? Am I prematurely excited?) and it’s highly motivating. I’d love it if any of you want to join me for the remainder of the month and tweeted your workouts! It’s always helpful to have a group of people to hold you accountable for something like this.

To support my health kick, I’m also trying to eat a lot more green stuff. I’ve said it before, but I sometimes have a tough time with salads – I want to like my salad, so as I walk down the salad bar I add ingredients I love, and before I know it, I have a container full of bacon, hard-boiled eggs, feta cheese, and chickpeas, with a few pathetic leaves of spinach on top. NOT THE POINT, KATIE. So when I find a salad recipe that’s both tasty and healthy, and that I can easily make ahead and bring in to work all week, I’m thrilled. This roast vegetable salad, from the newly released The Little Paris Kitchen (see my full review here!), fits the bill perfectly. Make the goat cheese mousse if you’re feeling creative, but if not, regular goat cheese crumbled on top would be just as yummy.

Roast Vegetable Salad with Goat Cheese Mousse

Recipe adapted slightly from The Little Paris Kitchen. Serves 4.

• 4 carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
• 2 Granny Smith apples, cored and cut into 1 inch chunks
• 2 parsnips, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
• 1 large beet, trimmed and scrubbed
• 7 TBS olive or sunflower oil, divided
• salt to taste
• 4 oz. bacon, cut into pieces and cooked until crisp
• 2 TBS cider vinegar
• 4 oz. goat cheese
• 1/4 c. milk
• 1/4 c. whipping cream
• 5-6 oz. of salad greens (I used spinach)

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Toss the carrots, apples, and parsnips with 2 TBS of the oil, and sprinkle liberally with salt. Spread out on a large baking tray. Place the beet inside a tinfoil package, drizzle with 1 TBS of the oil and a sprinkle of salt, and seal the tinfoil package. Place on the baking tray with the other vegetables. Roast for 45 minutes, flipping the chopped veggies once to prevent them from burning. Remove the chopped vegetables and set aside, and continue to roast the beet until you can pierce it easily with a fork (the length of time will depend on the size of the beet, it could take an additional 10-30 minutes). Once the beet is cooked, remove from the oven and let cool just until you can handle it comfortably. Then, peel the beet with your hands – the peel should slip easily off. Thinly slice the cooked beet and place with the other veggies. Toss the roasted veggies with the bacon pieces.
2. Mix together the remaining 4 TBS of olive oil with the cider vinegar to make the dressing. Season to taste with salt. Set aside.
3. Beat the cheese and the milk together until soft and lump free. In a separate bowl, whip the cream until stiff peaks form. Fold the whipped cream into the cheese a bit at a time, until it is thoroughly combined. Place in a frosting piping bag.
4. Arrange the salad leaves on four plates. Top with the veggie-bacon mix, and drizzle with the dressing. Use the piping bag to place small blobs of the goat cheese mousse on top of the salad. Serve immediately.

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Happy Friday everyone! This week was long, but it’s ending on a high note – the release of the spring edition of N.E.E.T. magazine, in which I’m thrilled to have a feature! N.E.E.T. is primarily a fashion magazine, but the back of each issue contains a “N.E.E.T. eats” section (this one starts on page 141). This issue’s theme is spring salads, so I’ve contributed a light and sweet strawberry-balsamic salad, topped with sugary candied pecans and creamy goat cheese. Even though flip flops and lemonade are a long way off, the longer days and melting snow are promising signs that spring is on it’s way, and this salad is a great way to jump the gun a little on spring flavors. I encourage you to take some time and flip through the whole issue, as it’s a lovely publication, but if you’re in a hurry to get to the recipe, you can find it as a stand-alone PDF here.

Update 8/2013: N.E.E.T. magazine is currently on a hiatus and their online content is unavailable. For the time being, I have published the recipe below!

Balsamic Strawberry and Spinach Salad with Goat Cheese and Candied Pecans

The post N.E.E.T. Magazine Feature // Strawberry-Balsamic Salad with Candied Pecans and Goat Cheese appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

Don’t tell anyone, but I’m taking tonight off from my cleanse to go out and celebrate my friend’s birthday. We’re going to Masa, and I’m so excited to a) drink margaritas, and b) eat cheesy, meaty, gluten-y things that are decidedly un-cleanse-worthy. I promise I won’t go too crazy – I don’t want to undo all my hard work thus far! – but I am looking forward to the meal.

To make up for tonight’s planned splurge, I made my other main meal today a super satisfying and healthy salad. With loads of spinach, roasted beets, hard-boiled eggs, pomegranate seeds, oranges, goat cheese, and a delicious honey-almond vinaigrette, it’s fresh-tasting and filling enough that it doesn’t need any accompaniments. I made extra hard-boiled eggs and roasted beets so that I can easily make it again throughout the week. I’ll probably bring some to work Monday… having a lunch that I’m looking forward to always makes Monday morning a little easier!

I’ll be back tomorrow with a healthy and delicious brunch recipe (got to ease back into healthy eating after a night out, right?). I hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Roasted Beet and Spinach Salad with Goat Cheese, Eggs, Pomegranate, Orange, and Almond-Vinaigrette

Adapted from Serious Eats. Serves 2 as a main.

• 2 medium beets, greens removed
• 4 TBS olive oil, divided
• sea salt
• 1/4 c. blanched whole almonds, toasted and roughly chopped
• 1 TBS honey
• 1 TBS sherry vinegar
• 1 TBS minced shallot
• 1 navel orange
• 1 blood orange
• 4 large handfuls of clean baby spinach
• 3 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and cut into quarters
• 1/4 c. pomegranate arils
• 2 oz. fresh goat cheese, crumbled

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Scrub the un-peeled beets and place in the center of a large sheet of tinfoil. Drizzle with 1 TBS of the olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt. Fold the edges of the tinfoil up to make a sealed packet. Place the packet on a baking sheet, and roast for 1 hour, or until a toothpick can easily penetrate the center of the beets. Let cool for ten minutes, or until they are cool enough to handle comfortable. Slip the beets out of their skins, then thinly slice them and set aside.
2. Whisk the toasted and chopped almonds, honey, sherry vinegar, shallot, and remaining 3 TBS of olive oil together to form the dressing. Season to taste with sea salt.
3. Cut the peel and pith from the oranges. Supreme/segment the oranges to remove the membranes. Set the orange segments aside.
4. Divide the spinach between two plates and drizzle each generously with dressing. Top each plate with orange segments, one and a half hard-boiled eggs, roasted beets, pomegranate arils, and fresh goat cheese.

The post Roasted Beet and Spinach Salad with Goat Cheese, Eggs, Pomegranate, Orange, and Almond-Vinaigrette appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

Yes, I know it’s not the morning anymore, but at least it’s still Monday! And I did do my new resolution today, I just didn’t get the chance to tell you about it. Actually, there are a bunch of things I want to tell you about, all somewhat unrelated, so excuse this post for being a little bit jumpy…

Let’s start off with this week’s resolution: to bring a healthy snack to work each day (with the ultimate goal of staving off those mid-afternoon junk food cravings). Today I brought half an avocado and a clementine, tomorrow I’m thinking nuts and dried cherries. Anyone out there have any great snack suggestions for me? I’d love to hear them.

More on the resolutions – I did a pretty good job with them last week, except I ate only three green salads instead of four. I’ve forgiven myself, though. If you’re new to my little resolutions challenge, you can read about the impetus behind it here, and please join in by posting your own resolutions in the comments (or updating me on how they’re going, for those of you who have already shared)! And to continue holding myself accountable, here are all my cumulative resolutions thus far:

• Week one: No chocolate from the chocolate box at work
• Week two: Walk to or from Park St. Station each day (an additional 15 minutes of walking on my commute)
• Week three: Do ten minutes of strength training and stretching every day
• Week four: Eat at least four green salads per week
• Week five: Bring a healthy snack to work every day

Moving on: the reason I was late in posting today was because I spent the weekend away on a girl’s weekend with my mom, as my (very) belated birthday present to her for her 50th. I had so much fun and it was really nice to get away, so I just wanted to share a few trip notes and pictures. We stayed at a cute B&B – William’s Grant Inn – in Bristol, RI, through a LivingSocial deal, and while we were there took a tour of The Breakers (which was all decked out for Christmas!) in Newport. It’s stunning how much detail went into those houses. As part of the deal we had a lovely dinner at Le Central, where I was pleasantly surprised by how yummy the food was. Sunday we spent some time walking around Bristol shopping (I picked up a great set of Spanish bakeware at an antique shop – I can’t wait to photograph it), and then went on a neat little hike in the Norman Bird Sanctuary. Such a nice little getaway!

And now for everyone’s favorite part – the food! The pictures here are of a super delicious crespelle recipe from a beautiful new book on Italian food, SPQR: Modern Italian Food and Wine. I’ll be posting the full review later this week, but I couldn’t wait to share these lovely little treats. Crespelle are just the Italian version of crepes, and these particular ones are filled with a mixture of sweetened goat cheese, mascarpone, and ricotta, then simmered briefly in an orange-caramel sauce. To top it off, the crepes themselves are made with nutty browned butter and are as light as air, with crispy lacy edges. The cumulative result is kind of sigh-inducing, and totally worth the extra work. If you’re looking for a more savory crepe, check out these Mushroom and Goat Cheese Crepes I created for Life’d last week (it appears I’m on some sort of major crepe kick). And one last thing I wanted to mention before I leave you with the recipe: I’m being featured on NoshOnIt on Wednesday, if you’d like to check it out. Personally, I’ve been loving reading their daily emails and discovering great new food bloggers and recipes, and I highly recommend them.

Ricotta and Goat Cheese Crespelle with Orange-Caramel Sauce

Adapted from SPQR: Modern Italian Food and Wine. Serves 3-4.

Notes: The original recipe made a lot of crepe batter, so I’ve scaled the proportions back to make it more manageable for a small household. However, I thought the ratio of filling to crepe in the original recipes was a bit off, so I’ve left the amount of filling at the original amount. Feel free to fill them according to your taste. The crepes are very thin and delicate, and flipping them takes a little bit of practice. You also have to plan ahead a little for this one, as both the batter and the filled crepes require a little chilling time in the fridge. Refrigerating the batter overnight will yield the most delicate crespelle.

• 1 1/2 TBS + 1 TBS salted butter, divided
• 3/4 c. whole milk
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 c. + 2 TBS flour
• 1 1/2 TBS + 1 TBS sugar, divided
• 1/4 c. goat cheese
• 1/4 c. mascarpone cheese
• 1/3 c. ricotta cheese
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/3 c. powdered sugar, sifted, plus additional for garnish
• 1 navel orange, zest and juice (1/2 c. juice needed)

1. Make the batter: Melt 1 1/2 TBS of the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook the butter until it bubbles and begins to smell nutty, then pour into a bowl and let cool slightly. Add the milk to the same saucepan and return to the heat. Heat the milk for 2-3 minutes, just enough to scald it. Remove the milk and let cool slightly (it should feel warm to the touch but you should be able to touch it without hurting yourself).
2. Add the warm milk and the eggs to a blender and pulse to combine. Add the flour and 1 1/2 TBS of the sugar and blend to combine. Drizzle in the butter (with the blender running, if possible), and blend until fully combined. Strain the batter through a fine-mesh strainer into a large bowl. Cover and refrigerate the batter for at least 30 minutes, or overnight.
3. Make the filling: in a medium bowl, stir together the goat cheese, mascarpone, and ricotta until smooth. Add the vanilla and the sifted powdered sugar and stir to combine. Zest the orange and add 1 tsp of the orange zest to the mixture. Reserve the remaining zest for garnish. Stir to combine, then refrigerate until ready to use.
4. Cook the crepes: Heat a very small pat of butter in a large non-stick saute pan over medium heat, then carefully wipe most of it out with a paper towel. Pour 1/4 c. of batter into the heated pan and quickly swirl in a circle to coat the bottom of the pan. Cook for 1 minute, until light golden brown, then carefully and quickly flip to cook the other side for 1 minute. Remove the cooked crepe to a plate and continue with remaining batter. This should make about 8 crepes.
5. When the cooked crepes are cool, spoon 1-2 TBS of the cheese filling in the middle of each crepe. Spread in a vertical line about 1/2 inch thick, then roll the crepe up like a burrito. Place the filled crepes on a platter, cover, and refrigerate for 1-2 hours, to firm up the filling.
6. When ready to serve, heat the remaining 1 TBS of butter in your largest saute pan over medium-low heat. Add the filled crepes, seam side down, and toast for 2 minutes, before carefully flipping each crepe over. Sprinkle with the remaining 1 TBS of sugar. Once it dissolves, and the orange juice from the orange. Cook down the mixture until the juice is slightly thickened and has been absorbed somewhat by the crepes. Remove the crepes to individual plates and top with the extra orange caramel. Garnish with powdered sugar and any extra orange zest.

The post Monday (Morning) Resoultions: Italian Crepes with Sweet Cheese Filling and Caramel Sauce appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

I know that by the time I publish this, some of you will have been up for hours, standing in long lines and snagging amazing deals on everything from that perfect pair of riding boots to new televisions and cameras. I take my hat off to you, since I plan on being in bed all morning,  nibbling on leftovers and looking forward to having a bowl of this lovely soup for lunch, all while taking advantage of Black Friday via my favorite shopping vehicle – the internet.

Online shopping – it’s a beautiful and terrifying thing.

But while I’m lying here clicking away, I thought I’d take a moment and, in the spirit of consumerism, share some of my favorite holiday picks for the food-lovers in your life. If you’re only interested in the soup pictured above (one of my favorites, a sweet-nutty-creamy blend of roasted chestnuts, potatoes, and thyme, topped with a smidgen of goat cheese), skip on down to the bottom for the recipe.

A quick note – I really like themed gifts. I’d typically much rather give (and get!) a bunch of little things that all go together than one big thing. I think it’s fun, so most of the ideas below reflect that. I also tried to keep everything within a price range that wouldn’t have made my heart skip a beat when I was in college – sometimes the small, thoughtful gifts are the best! Also, I had a lot of fun putting this together, but I know it’s a bit different from what I usually post – if you found this helpful, or if you think I should stick to the recipes, I’d appreciate you letting me know in the comments.

1) For the Coffee Lover
This is a version of a gift I got for Trevor a few years ago. Maybe this is a memorable gift for me because I’m still benefiting from it – namely in the form of piping hot lattes served to me in bed. The Bialetti is a great little espresso maker – my family always has one with us!

1) Bialetti Stovetop Espresso Maker; 2) AeroLatte Milk Frother; 3) Espresso Cups; 4) Coffee Grinder; 5) The Blue Bottle Craft of Coffee; 6) Sugar Bowl

2) For the DIY-er
I’m kind of obsessed with the “do it the way your great-grandmother would have” movement back towards creating our own kitchen staples through various forms of preserving. It’s not always practical, but if you have the inclination, it can be a lot of fun! Below are some of my favorite resources for making your own bread, pasta, cheese, and canned goods – most of which I own or have given to friends in the past few years.

1) Baguette Pan; 2) Local Breads; 3) Pizza/Artisan Bread Stone; 4) Pasta Maker; 5) Pastry Wheel/Ravioli Cutter; 6) Artisan Cheese Making at Home; 7) The Preservation Kitchen; 8) Canning Basket; 9) Canning Tools

3) For the Cookbook Collector
There were a lot of cookbooks released this fall. I’ve been reviewing and giving away a bunch of them over the past month or so, but there’s so many I haven’t gotten to yet. If the food-lover in your life stays current with the cookbook scene, here are some of the most exciting books from this fall. (It’s so great to see that some of the best books are coming from bloggers, too!)

1) Burma: Rivers of Flavor; 2) Jerusalem: A Cookbook; 3) Gran Cocina Latina (see my review); 4) The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook; 5) Small Plates & Sweet Treats; 6) What Katie Ate; 7) Baked Elements; 8) Japanese Farm Food (see my review); 9) Bouchon Bakery

4) Stocking Stuffers – My Favorite Kitchen Gadgets
Given that the little presents are my favorite kind, it might come as no surprise to you that stockings are my favorite part of present opening. These are some of my favorite everyday kitchen gadgets that are small enough to fit inside a stocking. Also, this can opener? It will change your life. Mine was a gift from my parents and my roommates are so amazed by it. And I know that the pastry brush is marketed to kids – I just like that it’s silicone, and a fun color.

1) OXO Can Opener; 2: Silicone Pastry Brush; 3) Microplane Grater/Zester; 4) Cherry Pitter; 5) Pastry Cutter; 6) Garlic/Ginger Press

Note: I feel it’s especially important to disclose in a post like this that if you buy anything through the Amazon links provided in this post, I’ll get a small commission from the sale. If you’re not cool with that but interested in the items recommended, just don’t use the link! And if you do use the link, I appreciate it!

And now for the soup! If you can get your hands on some fresh chestnuts, please do try this – in my mind, it’s one of the ultimate seasonal treats.

Roasted Chestnut and Potato Soup with Goat Cheese

Adapted from Cannelle et Vanille. Serves 2-3.

Note: Buy more chestnuts than you think you’ll need. Fresh chestnuts are very perishable, and I always end up with at least a few that have gone moldy inside. Others just never come out of their shells, so leave yourself some wiggle room. And when you’re at the store, try to pick nuts that still feel completely firm – any mushiness may be a sign that they’ve begun to mold.

• 20 chestnuts, roasted and peeled
• 1 TBS butter
• 1 small leek, trimmed, washed, and sliced into thin rounds
• 1 small onion, peeled and finely diced
• 2 small russet potatoes, peeled and roughly chopped
• 4 c. chicken stock
• 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
• 1 c. skim milk
• 2 oz. fresh goat cheese, crumbled
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Heat the butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. Add the leek and the onion and saute until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add potato and saute for another 5 minutes. Add stock, thyme leaves, and roasted chestnuts, and bring to a boil.
2. Lower the heat, cover the pot, and simmer for 20-30 minutes, until potatoes and chestnuts are tender. Carefully ladle hot soup into a blender (or use an immersion blender) and blend into a smooth puree. Add the cup of milk and blend to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and ladle into bowls. Top each bowl with some of the crumbled goat cheese. Serve hot.

The post Chestnut Potato Soup & A Foodie Gift Guide appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

The big day is almost here! I’m headed home for the holiday (and bringing this cake and this salad with me), but I wanted to say a quick hello first and share with you this yummy little recipe I’ve put together for Greatist. When you all come out of your turkey and mashed potato comas, give this hash a try. It’s got brussels sprouts, sweet potatoes, roasted chestnuts, chorizo, and goat cheese – in other words, health and flavor. The perfect thing to ease you back into normal eating habits without depriving you of deliciousness. Just please don’t forget a sunny-side up egg to top it off – the runny yolk oozing into the warm hash lifts this dish from good to great. You can find the full recipe here.

Wishing you all a Happy Thanksgiving!

The post Greatist Collaboration: Brussels Sprout, Sweet Potato, and Chorizo Hash appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.