The Book: Grilling is not my strong suit. Nor, for that matter, is cooking large cuts of meat. I find both intimidating – partly because the idea of ruining an expensive piece of meat is so stressful, and partly because working with fire makes me jumpy. But I very much want to be good at grilling – at cooking over a flame, at coaxing beef and lamb and fish to a charred but juicy perfection, neither overcooking or undercooking them. And the only way to get better is to practice, and to learn, for which I turn to the grilling, meat-centric cookbooks in my collection like Around the Fire, the newest addition to that collection, and a gorgeous book by the team at Ox in Portland.

This book really wowed me. In my opinion, it has everything a cookbook needs – thoughtful, well-written words, inspiring photographs, and most importantly, creative but accessible recipes that work. I love cookbooks where the words themselves add something, where they are not just trite filler text surrounding the recipes, and Around the Fire fully meets that criteria. It is beautifully written, both evocative and informative. The story of the authors’ first Argentinean asado that fills the introduction is the perfect invitation into the book – it so clearly portrays the beauty and excitement of live fire cooking. There’s a big difference between a book that states “this is my favorite version of chimichurri” and this one, which includes a 6-paragraph love letter to the condiment while giving you a peek into it’s culture and history.

The inspiration for the book is primarily South American, but occasionally veers East to Italy, North to Portland, and West to Hawaii, to incorporate flavors from other cuisines and cultures into a unique, creative cooking style. The recipes are mid level as far as difficulty – many have long ingredient lists and multiple components, but are not overly complicated or so esoteric as to be inaccessible to the home cook. They certainly aren’t “grilling 101,” but if you know your way around a kitchen they won’t leave you overwhelmed, either. Recipes range from the expected, centerpiece meat dishes like grilled short ribs or whole grilled crabs, to chilled seafoods like poke and ceviche, to a collection of gorgeous grilled vegetable dishes and salads (that might be the highlight of the book for me). There are even a handful of intriguing and very of-the-moment cocktail recipes, like the “Things Done Changed,” which features pisco, smoked lemon, and jalapeno oil. As a collection, they’ll keep you busy at the grill all through summer and well into fall.

The Food: When we took this book for a spin a few weeks ago we went a little overboard, choosing three different recipes and loading the grill up with a pile of meat and veggies that lasted us for a full week in various forms. Maple-Brined Pork Chops were the star, a dish that couldn’t be simpler or more flavorful. Soaking the chops overnight in a salty-sweet maple brine before charring them on a hot grill made for the tastiest, juiciest pork chops I have ever tried. They will definitely be making more appearances on my table (and I might start brining all kinds of other meats in the maple brine as well). As a side, we served a warm vegetable dish of Grilled Sweet Onion with Buttered Beets, Blue Cheese, and Walnuts. For me this one was just OK – I can’t believe that I’m saying this, but I thought there was too much butter and richness – but Trevor loved it, so to each their own. The dish is what it sounds like from the title, with the roasted, diced beets sauteed in a generous amount of melted butter until they are completely and luxuriously coated. The sweet, roasty flavors of the onions and beets did make a good pairing for the maple chops – together, it made for a delicious September dinner, perfectly hitting all the notes I want in “between seasons” cooking.

Recipe Shortlist: Grilled Corn Empanadas with Poblanos and Gruyere; Shrimp Ceviche with Chiles and Avocado; Grilled Whole Chicken with Figs, Manouri Cheese, and Lentil Chimichurri; Cast Iron Grilled Trout with Potatoes and Capers; Grilled New Potato and Onion Skewers with Bacon-Sherry Cream; Salt Crust Roasted Tomatoes; Grilled Peaches with Maple-Corn Panna Cotta

Like what you just read? Subscribe to Katie at the Kitchen Door in the box on the right, on Feedly or Bloglovin‘, or follow along on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, or Google+. Thanks for reading!

Disclosure: I received a review copy of Around the Fire from Ten Speed Press, but I was not otherwise compensated and all thought and opinions are my own.

Grilled Maple-Brined Pork Chops

Recipe from Around the Fire. Serves 4.

• 1/4 c. kosher salt
• 1/4 c. pure maple syrup
• 2 TBS sugar
• 2 TBS dried thyme
• 1 tsp black peppercorns
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 head garlic, sliced in half crosswise
• 6 c. water
• 4 bone-in pork loin chops, about 1 1/2 inches thick each
• 2 TBS olive oil
• sea salt for seasoning

1. To make the brine, combine the salt, maple syrup, sugar, thyme, peppercorns, bay leaves, garlic, and water in a medium pot. Bring to a boil and let simmer for 1-2 minutes, stirring once or twice to help fully dissolve the salt. Remove from the heat and let steep for 30 minutes, before straining the brine into a large bowl. Let the brine cool completely.
2. Arrange the pork chops in a baking dish or storage container and pour the cooled brine over them to cover them completely. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 24 hours and up to 48 hours.
3. When you are ready to grill, prepare your grill to medium-high heat. Remove the pork chops from the brine and place on a plate or platter (discard the used brine). Drizzle the pork chops on both sides with olive oil and sprinkle sea salt on top. Grill the pork chops for 4-5 minutes per side, until the exterior of the pork is colored and the chops have reached an internal temperature of 145-150°F for medium doneness. Use tongs to hold the pork chops on their sides to quickly sear the fatty edges, then remove to a plate and let rest for 4-5 minutes before serving.

Grilled Sweet Onion with Buttered Beets, Blue Cheese, and Walnuts

Recipe from Around the Fire. Serves 4.

• 10 walnut halves
• 2 whole sweet onions (such as Walla Walla or Vidalia)
• 2 TBS olive oil
• sea salt and fresh black pepper
• 3 oz high quality blue cheese, crumbled
• 2 c. diced, roasted beets
• 1/4 c. water
• 1 stick unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 3 TBS saba or balsamic vinegar glaze
• 1/4 c. minced chives

1. Toast the walnuts – you can do this either by spreading them on a baking sheet and roasting them for 8 minutes in a 350°F oven, or by adding them to a dry frying pan and toasting over medium heat, stirring frequently, until they just begin to brown and are fragrant. In either method, be careful not to burn them. Once they are toasted, let cool and coarsely chop them, then set aside.
2. Prepare a grill to medium heat. Quarter the onions lengthwise, keeping the root attached so the layers don’t separate, and remove the peels. Drizzle the onions with olive oil and season with sea salt and pepper. Grill, 3-4 minutes on each side, until they are charred and softened. If the onions char before they are tender, move them to a cooler part of the grill and continue cooking until they are tender all the way through. Transfer the onions to a plate and set aside.
3. Put the beets and the water in a small frying pan over medium heat. As soon as the water begins to simmer, turn the heat to low and add the butter a few pieces at a time. Swirl the pan until the butter melts and fully coats the beets. To serve, place a few pieces of onion on each plate, top with several spoonfuls of the buttered beets, and sprinkle with the blue cheese, walnuts, and minced chives. Drizzle with the saba or balsamic glaze, and serve.

The post Book Club: Around the Fire // Grilled Maple-Brined Pork Chops & Grilled Sweet Onion with Buttered Beets and Blue Cheese appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

September is here and I’m thrilled by it. This month has been the light at the end of the very long tunnel of this year. I’ll be here all month, it’s the beginning of my favorite season, we’ve settled into the new house enough that it feels exciting to work on it instead of overwhelming, and, did I mention, I’ll be here all month? NO AIRPLANES.

We’re off to a good start, September and I. I took Friday off to get organized before going into the long weekend, and take care of a few things that I’ve been meaning to do for months: giving the house a thorough cleaning, ordering office furniture, processing the huge backlog of blog receipts I have, etc. Friday night we went out with good friends – it was cool enough to wear jeans and there was a back-to-school buzz in Harvard. I had one too many glasses of wine and had a great time. Saturday when I woke up there was a pleasant chill in the air – the kind that makes you snuggle a little longer in bed and revel in the simple pleasures of a good sweatshirt and a bowl of apple pie oatmeal. We did yardwork all day and then had my mom over for a big pile of pulled pork. Today we spent at the beach, soaking up the still-strong sun and finally-warm-enough water. And there’s still an entire day of the weekend left to enjoy!

I have a few things I’m focused on this month. First and foremost, I want to enjoy myself and relax, spending as much quality time with Trevor and with friends as I can. Second, I have to get rid of this travel weight, so long fall runs and healthy meals are in order. And third, I’m going to get this blog back up and running! It’s been a slow summer here on Katie at the Kitchen Door, and I mean to make up for that with plenty of delicious new recipes in the next few months. It will help that, with the arrival of our new stove next Friday, we’ll finally have a fully functional kitchen… and temperatures that make us feel like cooking again.

So here’s a fall drink to celebrate the arrival of this lovely month. A few weeks ago I was doing some recipe development for a client that involved figs and bourbon and I decided to set aside some of both to make a fig-and-vanilla-infused bourbon. Now that it’s ready I wanted to showcase it in a simple twist on a classic old fashioned, adding a splash of maple liqueur and a twist of orange to the bourbon and topping it off with a little club soda. It’s stronger and less sweet than my typical cocktail choices but it feels just right for fall – dark and brooding and featuring one of fall’s most sensual fruits.

Like what you just read? Subscribe to Katie at the Kitchen Door in the box on the right, on Feedly or Bloglovin‘, or follow along on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, or Google+. Thanks for reading!

Fig-Bourbon Old Fashioned

Serves 1.

• 1 sugar cube
• Dash of bitters
• Chilled club soda
• 2 oz. fig-and-vanilla-infused Bourbon (recipe below)
• 1 oz. maple liqueur
• ice
• 1 orange twist
• 1 maraschino cherry

1. Place the sugar cube in a short glass. Top with the bitters and a splash of club soda and use a muddler to stir/smash until the sugar cube is dissolved. Add the Bourbon and the maple liqueur and stir to combine. Add ice to fill the glass and garnish with the orange twist and maraschino cherry. Top off with more club soda if desired.

Fig-and-Vanilla-Infused Bourbon

Adapted from Bourbon and Toast.

• 2 c. Bourbon
• 6 figs, washed and halved
• 1/2 vanilla bean

1. Place the figs and vanilla bean in a sterilized pint jar. Top with the Bourbon and seal the jar with a lid. Place in a cool dry place out of direct light and let sit for 2-4 weeks, until the Bourbon has taken on the color and flavor of the figs.

The post Welcome, September // Fig Bourbon Old-Fashioned appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

Last April, Trevor and I made the drive up to Montreal just to partake in the sugar shack dinner at Au Pied de Cochon, Martin Picard’s infamous and lively, pork-loving restaurant. We’d been waiting for over two years to go – reservations open December 1st at midnight, and over 2,000 people submitted requests in the first five minutes – and it 100% lived up to our (very high) expectations. I wanted to write about it right away, but by the time we were back and I’d processed what I wanted to say, we were well into May, and it just seemed like an inappropriate time to share maple-syrup laden pork and duck dishes. So I waited until now, when heavy winter dishes are once again on the menu (and now this post can serve as a more timely reminder to those of you who might want to snag a reservation!).

As I flip through the pictures from that trip, I’m wishing now that I took better notes for you. I’m left mostly with a memory of warm yellow light filling a crowded cabin-style room, anticipation and excitement building with every course. A loud and convivial atmosphere of friends and strangers enjoying food that is completely over-the-top in more ways than one. A giant block of cheddar cheese being wheeled around the room on a trolley cart, the servers tossing steaming hot blood-and-ink fettucine in the hollowed out center to coat the noodles with  melted cheese. A cognac-doused duck-stuffed-duck being placed in front of Trevor and me, flaming, the whole duck just for the two of us. Sitting at the bar, watching the waitresses pour mug after mug of maple beer. Walking through the still-cold, still-muddy woods at twilight, enjoying the contrast between the still woods and the jolly feast inside. It was a wonderful experience: lively and joyful and a bit otherwordly, like something out of a book or a play. I’d go back in a heartbeat.

I do have a good list of what we were served, course by course. First, the drinks: a hefty mug of maple beer for Trevor, and a series of just-sweet-enough maple daiquiris for me. The appetizer course had three meal-sized components: a huge piece of maple foie-gras served with duck fat toast; a “sushi cake,” made with layers of rice, salmon tartare, and wasabi avocado mash; and pork cracklings served with little pots of maple-soaked scrambled eggs and maple baked beans. Next up was sturgeon in mussel and bacon sauce, followed quickly by an omelet of sorts, baked into a skillet with potato, beef, tomato, and a parmesan bread crust. Then one of my favorites, a make-it-yourself sandwich with duck fat fried dough as the bread, mustard, and inch-thick slices of juicy ham unlike any ham I’d every had before. Perhaps the most impressive course was the afore-mentioned duck, fed on maple syrup then stuffed, drenched, doused with cognac, and flambeed. This was served with baked sweet potatoes topped with maple-meringue, a dish I’ve recreated for you here. The last savory course was the blood and ink fettucine with blood sausage and cheddar cheese, and then we moved on to the desserts. Served all together, the desserts were a banana cream pie with maple meringue, maple taffy on ice, a mocha maple cake, and a maple frozen yogurt with maple sugar and whiskey.

There was an absurd amount of food served, and all of it was incredibly rich and delicious – easily the most lavish meal I’ve ever been a part of. The standouts for me were the maple daiquiris, the ham sandwich, and the maple frozen yogurt, which had an incredible tang to it. We may try to recreate all of these dishes at home at some point, but the easiest, and the most appropriate for this month, were the simple but clever baked sweet potatoes with maple meringue topping. Although I know that realistically, anyone who is cooking Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow has had their menu set for weeks and is not looking for last minute additions to their very long to-do list, these baked sweet potatoes would theoretically be a great addition to a Thanksgiving menu. They are super easy – just bake the potatoes, whip the egg whites, and broil just before serving – and they capture the much-loved flavors of sweet potato casserole without as much added sugar or fat.

Whatever you’re serving tomorrow, I hope that all of you have a lovely, relaxing, and delicious Thanksgiving! Ours will be small and non-traditional this year – we’re having steak tips and stuffing and raspberry pie – but I’m looking forward to the long weekend, spending downtime with my family, and eating whatever turkey leftovers Trevor manages to salvage from his family’s dinner. Plus going to the movies at least twice. Have a great holiday!

Like what you just read? Subscribe to Katie at the Kitchen Door on Feedly or Bloglovin‘, or follow along on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, or Google+. Thanks for reading!

Baked Sweet Potatoes with Maple-Meringue Topping

Inspired by dinner at Au Pied de Cochon. Serves 4.

• 4 small sweet potatoes
• 2 egg whites
• pinch cream of tartar
• 1/2 c. maple syrup

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Wash the potatoes and poke all over with a fork. Place on a foil-lined baking sheet and bake until tender, about 40 minutes to 1 hour depending on the size of the potato. Flip the potatoes halfway through, at about 25 minutes.
2. Remove the potatoes from the oven and let cool slightly. Cut a lengthwise slit into the tops of the potatoes, and scoop out a small amount of the potato flesh so that there is a shallow, circular hollow on top of each potato.
3. To prepare the meringue, beat the egg whites and the cream of tartar on high until soft peaks form. Set whites aside. Place the maple syrup in a small saucepan, and heat over medium heat until just simmering and the temperature is 235°F. While beating the egg whites on high, slowly drizzle the hot maple syrup into the whites, until the meringue is shiny and holds stiff peaks. Spoon or pipe the meringue on top of the sweet potatoes. Broil on high until meringue is golden brown, about 3-5 minutes, or use a pastry torch to cook the meringue only. Serve immediately.

The post Montreal Travelogue: Cabane A Sucre Au Pied de Cochon // Baked Sweet Potatoes with Maple-Meringue Topping appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

April’s goal was my least successful so far. It turns out that cumulative goals are much easier for me than daily goals, where you have no room to recover from a bad day and make up for it later. 8,000 steps a day seemed like an easy target, but weekends in particular – my sore spot to begin with – proved much more challenging than I expected. Some of the 11 days that I came in under 8,000 I’m excusing myself for: there were a few days where we spent all day outside in the garden, and although walking up and down a hill with watering cans and shoveling compost for hours may only count as 5,000 steps, it’s certainly more active (and exhausting), then taking a walk through the park. Other days I think my tracker app was a little glitchy – like when it thought I slept at the liquor store and drove for the entire 15 minute walk to the train. But really, I don’t want to make too many excuses. I just didn’t quite succeed, and I need to recognize that.

But failing doesn’t mean that it wasn’t a good goal – on the contrary, it means it was a hard goal and therefore a great goal. There’s no point in setting your sights too low. So although I have a new official goal for May, I’m not taking the 8,000 steps off my list, either. I know I won’t get it every day, but having it in the back of my mind makes me so much more conscious of how active I’m being, and even on the days that I fell short, I made an effort to get out at lunchtime, or walk through the park on my way home. So I want to keep doing that, and I’m considering ordering a real tracker to help with the technological frustration piece. Although, the idea should be the movement, not the number. We’ll see.

Moving forward… it’s May! How on earth did that happen so fast? I think my problem is that I spent so much of January, February, and March yearning for the next season, and then you get here and realize that the year is almost half gone. I’ve been doing a good job keeping up with my running, getting faster and feeling better, and I’ve been toying with the idea of making this summer another racing season (it’s been over a year since my last race). What I haven’t been doing so well with is my cross-training: I’ve only been to ballet twice in the last six weeks and I’ve completely abandoned my Nike Training Club strength workouts. And once you stop doing those, it’s really hard to start from scratch again. So that’s my goal for May, to work that stuff back into my routine, without letting the running slip either. Specifically, I want to do 180 minutes of NTC workouts this month: ideally, I’ll be building in 15 minute sessions to the end of my runs, but in case that isn’t working out for me, I can also do more intense 45 minute sessions once a week. I know the first few sessions are going to be killer, but it will be so satisfying to feel toned again.

As for this month’s healthy recipe, Trevor and I are arguing about what to call it because I wanted to call it a “bounty bowl,” which he insists is vomit-inducing (his suggestion: “It’s A Fucking Salad, Get Over It.” So crass, that boy.) As you can see, we’ve compromised with Warm Arugula Salad (boring). But it doesn’t matter what you call it – what matters is that the maple-mustard dressing is so addictive, I would eat anything that you put underneath it. That said, I highly recommend this particular combination of ingredients: spicy arugula, warm crumbled Italian sausage, wheat berries, goat cheese, and roasted asparagus. It’s got spring freshness and zip from the arugula and asparagus, but with the warm sausage and wheat berries it’s hearty enough for chilly nights.

Past Fitness Challenges

January: 10 Visits to the YMCA; Recipe: Gluten-Free Olive-and-Feta Corn Muffins
February: One vegan meal every day; Recipe: Pakistani Chickpea Pulao with Sweet-Hot Date-Onion Chutney
March: Run 40  miles in 20 days; Recipe: Chocolate-Dipped Almond Butter Cookie Bites
April: Walk 8,000 steps a day; Recipe: Herb-Flecked Spring Couscous

Like what you just read? Subscribe to Katie at the Kitchen Door on Feedly or Bloglovin’, or follow along on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. Thanks for reading!

Maple-Mustard Bounty Bowl

Serves 2.

• 2/3 c. wheat berries
• 2 c. chicken broth
• 1/2 bunch thin asparagus
• 2 TBS olive oil, divided
• sea salt
• 1/3 lb. hot Italian sausage
• 4 c. fresh baby arugula leaves
• 2 oz. soft goat cheese
• 2 TBS mustard
• 1 TBS white wine vinegar
• 1 TBS maple syrup

1. Add the wheat berries and the chicken broth to a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat and cover pan, and simmer for 40-50 minutes, until wheat berries are tender. Drain and set aside.
2. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Remove the stem ends from the asparagus and discard. Chop the asparagus into 2-inch lengths, then toss with 1 TBS olive oil and sea salt. Place on a baking sheet and roast until bright green and tender, about 10 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.
3. Heat a small frying pan over medium heat and squeeze the sausage into the pan in small pieces. Break up further with the back of a spoon, and cook, stirring frequently, until cooked through and browned all over, about 5-7  minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
4. Assemble the salad. Toss the arugula with the wheat berries, roasted asparagus, and warm cooked sausage. Divide between two bowls, and dot each bowl with 1 oz. of goat cheese. In a small bowl, whisk together the mustard, white wine vinegar, maple syrup, and remaining 1 TBS of olive oil until smooth. Drizzle the dressing over the salads and serve.

The post Monthly Fitness Goals: May // Warm Arugula Salad with Maple-Mustard Dressing appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

I’ve been thinking about this recipe for over a year now. The phrase “pumpkin ice cream sundae” popped into my head one day, and since then, I’ve been considering how to get this just right. I knew it had to have all of the components of a brownie sundae, but tweaked for fall. Some sort of gingerbready brownie. Super creamy pumpkin ice cream. Caramel sauce and whipped cream. I tinkered with the brownie base last year, but never hit on the right combination of brownie consistency and gingerbread taste, so I put it to rest until this fall. And now, I think I have it.

The key to getting the gingerbread base right was making the mental switch from “brownie” to “blondie.” A quick google search revealed that someone else had already perfected the recipe for me, so I made Pink Parsley’s White Chocolate and Gingerbread Blondies pretty much as written. For the ice cream, I used the Pumpkin-Maple Ice Cream from the new book Jenny McCoy’s Desserts for Every Season (I just reviewed it a few weeks ago, if you want to know more). It has 7 egg yolks in it, so I knew there wasn’t going to be a problem with creaminess. Topped off with a caramel sauce runny enough to drizzle and some fresh whipped cream, it was just what I was imagining – spicy, chewy blondie, sweet pumpkin ice cream, and rich and salty caramel sauce blending together in every bite.

But, as I was finally assembling this perfect fall dessert, I knocked my camera off the chair. Total klutz. Several minutes of panic ensued as I tried to get my relatively new, fairly expensive camera to turn back on while simultaneously wanting to smack myself repeatedly in the forehead. Thankfully, I switched out the lenses and realized that the camera works fine but the front of the lens had popped apart on impact. I still feel like an idiot, but it’s one of my cheaper lenses, so if I can’t get it repaired it won’t devastate my bank account to replace it. Speaking of, does anyone know of any good camera repair shops in Boston? Or should I just send it straight to Canon? Anyway, if this sundae looks a little melty/panic-tinged, that’s the reason. On the other hand, I really needed an ice cream sundae after all that camera-stress, and a perfect one was sitting right in front of me.

Pumpkin and Gingerbread Ice Cream Sundaes

Serves 1.

• 1 gingerbread blondie, recipe below
• 2 scoops pumpkin-maple ice cream, recipe below
• 3 TBS caramel sauce, recipe below
• 1/4 c. heavy cream, beat into soft peaks, OR canned whipped cream
• chopped nuts for topping

1. Assemble, serve, be happy.

White Chocolate Gingerbread Blondies

Recipe adapted slightly from Pink Parsley. Makes one 9×13 inch pan.

• cooking spray
• 2 3/4 c. flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 2 sticks salted butter, softened
• 1 1/4 c. packed brown sugar
• 1/2 c. white sugar
• 2 large eggs plus 1 large egg yolk
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/3 c. molasses
• 12 oz. (1 bag) high-quality white chocolate chips

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 9×13 inch baking dish with cooking spray.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves, until evenly mixed. In a separate, large bowl, beat the softened butter until light and creamy. Add the sugars and beat to incorporate fully. Add the eggs/egg yolk one at a time, beating well between each addition. Beat in the molasses and vanilla, then add the flour mixture 1/3 at a time, incorporating fully between additions.
3. The batter will be very thick at this point. Stir the white chocolate chips in to the batter to distribute evenly throughout. Spoon the batter into the prepared baking pan, and smooth the top with the back of a wooden spoon. Bake for 35-45 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and a toothpick poked into the center of the pan comes out clean. Let cool completely in the pan before cutting and serving.

Pumpkin-Maple Ice Cream

Recipe from Jenny McCoy’s Desserts for Every Season. Makes 1 quart.

• 7 large egg yolks
• 1 cup grade B maple syrup
• 1 1/2 c. whole milk
• 1 1/2 c. heavy cream
• 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• generous pinch ground ginger
• generous pinch ground nutmeg
• 3/4 c. roasted sugar pumpkin and kabocha squash

1. Prepare a large bowl of ice water and set aside. In a separate, large bowl, whisk the egg yolks together, then set aside.
2. In a medium saucepan, simmer the maple syrup over medium heat until the volume is reduced by half. Add the milk, cream, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and pumpkin puree, and bring to a boil. Slowly pour the hot cream over the egg yolks, whisking the eggs vigorously as you do so, until the mixture is fully combined.
3. Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a large, heatproof bowl. Place this bowl over the ice water and stir until cool. Refrigerate the ice cream base until thoroughly chilled, then churn according to your ice cream maker’s instructions. It will have a soft-serve like consistency when done – freeze for 4 hours to set before serving.

Caramel Sauce

Makes about 1 1/4 cups.

• 1 c. sugar
• 4 TBS butter
• 1 c. heavy cream

1. Pour the sugar into the bottom of a heavy-bottomed saucepan in an even layer. Place over medium heat, and melt sugar, whisking frequently. As you whisk, the sugar will clump up, but once melted, all the clumps should dissolve. As soon as all the sugar is melted, stop whisking but swirl slightly. Watch the sugar closely as it begins to darken. As soon as it reaches a golden caramel color, add the butter all at once. Be careful, the caramel will bubble violently when you do this. Whisk the butter in until melted.
2. Once the butter is melted, add the heavy cream. Again, be careful. The caramel may seize up in the middle, but keep whisking it and it will dissolve into the heavy cream eventually. Once dissolved, let bubble gently, still whisking, for about 2-3 minutes, then remove from heat and let cool slightly. Serve warm.

The post Pumpkin and Gingerbread Ice Cream Sundaes appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

Sorry for the radio silence around here! I’ve been missing this space, but between traveling, moving, and ballet camp (yes, ballet camp for adults, it’s awesome and exhausting), I feel like I’m running at 150% capacity, with not much of a reprieve in sight. Right now, October seems like the light at the end of the tunnel, but I’m trying to enjoy the summer for what it is, because while busy can be overwhelming, this time around, busy is ripe for making lasting memories.

Sometimes when your mind is in a hundred different places, you can forget to choose nourishing foods (especially if all your equipment for making nourishing foods happens to be packed away in boxes). But when you’re slammed is when you most need good energy to get through the day, which is why recipes like this Baked Blackberry Oatmeal from Vegetarian Everyday are minor life savers. It’s effortless to throw together, low on fat and sugar, high on fiber and protein, craveably good, and one batch is enough for breakfasts and snacks all week. I would venture to say that this might be the best baked oatmeal you’ll ever have – the huge volume of blackberries oozes up into the oats making it taste like a giant blackberry muffin, and the crunchy, maple-sweetened topping tastes like something that should be really bad for you, but it isn’t at all. And if you live near any sort of bramble patch, now is the time to make this – we have more ripe blackberries in our garden than we can keep up with and I’m sure some of you have the same problem.

I promise I’ll be back soon – I want to update you on our garden, tell you about all the food I got to try in Russia, show you my new house, and share a few more great summer cookbooks with you. Thanks for not forgetting about me in the meantime!

Baked Blackberry Oatmeal

Adapted from Vegetarian Everyday. Serves 6-8.

• butter, for greasing pan
• 2 1/2 c. fresh blackberries
• 1 1/3 cups rolled oats
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger or cinnamon
• pinch of sea salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 c. milk
• 3/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 c. maple syrup, plus more for serving
• 1/2 c. pumpkin seeds
• 1/2 c. pecans or hazelnuts, roughly chopped
• 1/4 c. sunflower seeds

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F. Grease a loaf pan with butter. Pour the blackberries onto the bottom of the pan and spread so they are at an even height.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the oats, baking powder, ginger or cinnamon, and salt. Pour over the blackberries. Whisk the eggs, milk, and vanilla extract together in the same large bowl, then pour over the oats, evenly soaking the entire mixture.
3. In a small bowl, use your fingers to mix together the maple syrup, pumpkin seeds, nuts, and sunflower seeds until they are all evenly coated. Sprinkle the seed mixture over the top of the oatmeal. Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, until the oatmeal is set and the seeds are lightly browned and crunchy. Serve at any temperature with a drizzle of maple syrup. Keep leftovers in the fridge.

The post Hectic Times // Baked Blackberry Oatmeal appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

As I try to keep up with the healthy habits I was starting to establish during my cleanse (no thanks to the likes of these chocolate-hazelnut mousse cakes I made for Lake Champlain Chocolates!), I’ve come to realize that if I don’t get started on the right foot in the morning, my whole day is thrown off. Making sure that I have a healthy breakfast doesn’t necessarily mean I’ll stick to the plan through dinner, but starting the day off with something bad usually means I can’t recover and end up indulging all day. This is good knowledge to be armed with, but it’s still something I struggle to execute on. I like mornings, so that’s not the problem – it’s more that I’m the sort of person who’s perpetually five minutes late to everything because I try to cram too many things into one time slot. So when 8:05 rolls around and I’m still in bed writing emails and catching up on my reader, and I suddenly realize I have exactly 7 minutes to get dressed, make breakfast, clean up from breakfast, brush my teeth, make my lunch, do my hair, and leave, breakfast frequently falls by the wayside. And I’m still 10 minutes late to work.

Enter pre-made breakfasts: I’ve found that having something already made in the fridge makes it about 90% more likely that I’ll eat something nutritious before leaving for work. If it’s something I’m excited about eating, I’ll even go grab a plateful at 7:30 and then return to bed with it. Last week I did really well with a batch of whole wheat fruit and nut pancakes that I made on Sunday and ate throughout the week. This week, I whipped up this breakfast quinoa bake and have really been enjoying it. A quinoa bake was kind of a logical next step when breakfast quinoa is already a staple meal of mine, and overnight oats have inundated the internet. So I threw some ingredients together that I thought might work, and it turned out even better than I hoped – it’s sweet, mild, and fruity, with a consistency similar to rice pudding. Definitely worth getting out of bed for. You can find the recipe over at Greatist – if you try it, let me know what variations you make!

The post Greatist Collaboration: Quinoa Breakfast Bake appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

On Monday, I posted the richest, most decadent dessert in my repertoire – Bailey’s Chocolate-Chip Cheesecake. It’s one of my all-time favorites, which shouldn’t be a surprise, coming from a girl who has been known to order a blue cheese salad, followed by pasta carbonara, followed by creme brulee when out to dinner. (Read: I don’t know what I’d do with myself if I were lactose intolerant). But even I have limits, and as I was making that cheesecake and actually seeing what 2 pounds of cream cheese looks like in a bowl, I knew I’d have to exercise some self-control. And then atone for my gluttony.

Enter these baked apples. Stuffed with dates and pecans and drizzled with just a touch of maple-flavored mascarpone cream (yes, there’s still dairy…), they are significantly lighter than most of the desserts of this season, yet still delicious, festive, and elegant enough to serve to company. And, dare I say it, these might even be healthy enough to have for breakfast. At least on a special occasion. Like a Tuesday.

Head on over to Greatist for the recipe, and check back here on Friday for more Christmas-time treats!

The post Greatist Collaboration: Baked Stuffed Apples with Maple Cream appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

I’m currently supposed to be at work, working, but I’m shirking a little bit and sitting outside in the freshly manicured garden to write to you about our trip to Vermont, because amazingly beautiful spring Sundays don’t come around all that often, and when they do, I’m pretty sure they shouldn’t be spent inside at the desk where you’re going to spend the upcoming week.  There’s plenty of time for work, but not so much time lately for just enjoying life, and sometimes you have to make executive decisions about your own happiness.  Like, “I’ll go to work later.”

Trevor and I spent last weekend in Arlington, VT, down on the Southwestern border just a few miles from NY, smack dab in the middle of the Green Mountains.  We went to celebrate his birthday, as well as just to get away, which we haven’t done in a while.  It was lovely.  We stayed at the West Mountain Inn, thanks to a really good Groupon deal that included dinner, two breakfasts, and two nights at the inn.  The inn is a huge old place sitting on the top of a hill, surrounded by 150 acres of land filled with well-kept trails, quiet streams, and forest.  The inn was nice, the food was good, but it was the land that really got me.  Sunday morning we went for a run along the trails that was so refreshing and peaceful – it’s been ages since I’ve run in the woods, with no other people, soft dirt trails, and just the sound of your own breath and the morning birds.  I wish I could run like that every day.

We also spent a surprising amount of time just hanging out at the on-site alpaca barn, watching the alpacas (what funny creatures!) and the den of baby fox kits living under the barn.  The tiny kits were very active in the early evening, and we spent a few hours watching them roll and tumble on top of one another, prance and pounce, and catch a surprising number of small mice and voles in the adjacent field.  They were fairly used to people being around, although still quite cautious, which allowed us to sit and watch their whole evening ritual.  One of my favorite things to do (obviously) is take pictures – it’s part of vacation for me, and an afternoon spent alone in a beautiful landscape with just my camera is my idea of heaven – and having the foxes, as well as alpacas, chipmunks, frogs, and salamanders, to chase around with my lens was such a treat.

Since Sunday was such a beautiful day, we decided to spend as much of it as possible outside, hiking.  We took a 4 mile hike to Lye Brook Falls, which was fairly easy (but not boring-easy) climb to a gorgeous fall.  We chose a big flat rock at the bottom of the fall that jutted out into the sun and took a nap there, with mist from the falls blowing over our faces and the sun just warm enough that we didn’t get chilled.  The water was ice cold, but we stuck our toes in anyways.  Our first hike of the season!  Hopefully one of many.

The afternoon we spent relaxing over sandwiches, pickles, and cream sodas from Graze in downtown Manchester, the cute-if-yuppy nearby outlet town.  We ate in a park and continued to enjoy the sun, before heading back to the inn for the always-available coffee and brownies, and a shower (plus a nap, if you were Trevor).  Each night before dinner the inn put out a lovely tray of cheeses, crackers, and berries (including the sweetest blackberries I’ve ever had), which was half our dinner – the other half was popcorn at the tiny two-screen movie theater in Manchester, where we saw The Avengers.  (It was Trevor’s birthday, we had to do something he wanted to do…).  The theater was independently owned, meaning their advertisements were all local-local, like, “come to blah-blah farm to celebrate your birthday, only 5 minutes away!” and “join the VT skateboarders club!”  I got a kick out of it.  And Avengers was good, even if Scarlett Johansson’s Russian accent was really bad, I totally loved the Hulk character.

On the drive back Monday I had plenty of time to muse over what I could make to share with you that would represent our weekend.  Maple syrup was a given, because one of my favorite things about breakfast in Vermont is that real maple syrup is always available in the quantities that I like.  I will never, ever eat fake maple syrup, and one of those tiny little cups of “real maple syrup” they give you in Massachusetts restaurants is about 1/4 the amount I need.  The West Mountain Inn, though, served maple syrup in pitchers.  Just right.  From that starting point, my mind wandered until it settled on this quiche, which I knew would be perfect – apples caramelized in maple syrup, brie and aged gouda, sopressatta for just a little spice.  And it was perfect.  I didn’t get around to making it until last night, when, along with a fresh pea and radish salad I’ll share with you later this week, it made a filling and comforting dinner after a lovely day working in the garden.

And now I’ll do a little actual work.  But I’m not going inside just yet.  Last weekend was sort of a kickstart to summer, and now that it’s around, I plan on enjoying it every chance that I get.

Maple-Apple Quiche with Brie and Sopressatta

A Katie at the Kitchen Door original.  Serves 6.

• 1 1/4 c. flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 stick butter, cut into small cubes, then placed in freezer
• 3-6 TBS ice cold water
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 c. heavy cream
• 3/4 c. milk
• 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
• 4 oz. aged gouda, grated
• 4 oz. fresh brie, thinly sliced
• 2 medium apples, cored and sliced
• 1/4 c. maple syrup
• small pat of butter
• 1/4 c. diced sopressatta

1. Make the crust: In a large bowl, mix together flour and salt.  Add in frozen butter cubes, and use a pastry cutter to blend until the mixture has the texture of coarse sand, with pea-sized chunks.  Add the ice water 1 TBS at a time, stirring with a fork between additions to moisten dough.  Use as little water as possible to get the dough to come together – I’ve never been able to accomplish this with less than 6 TBS, but some people can do it with only 1 or 2 TBS.  Shape dough into a disk and wrap in plastic wrap, then refrigerate for 1 hour.
2. Preheat oven to 375°F.  In a large frying pan, place pat of butter, and melt over medium heat.  Add maple syrup and apple slices, and cook, stirring occasionally, until apples are soft, about 5-10 minutes depending on the thickness of your slices.  Add diced sopressatta and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes.  Remove all from heat.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, cream, milk, nutmeg, and gouda, until fully combined.  Set aside
4. Flour your counter and a rolling pin, and roll out the chilled dough into a 11-inch circle.  Place dough circle over 9 inch quiche or pie pan, and press gently into the sides.  You can either trim off the extra that hangs over the edge, or leave it, as we did.  Poke a handful of holes in the bottom of the crust (this is to prevent the crust from bubbling – you can also use pie weights instead) and place in preheated oven for 15 minutes, checking part way through to make sure the bottom isn’t bubbling up (if it is, poke gently with a knife to allow the air to escape).  Crust should be beginning to brown.  Remove from oven, and layer apples, sopressatta, and brie on the bottom.  Pour egg mixture over the top.  Carefully place in oven, and bake for 30-35 minutes, until top of quiche is golden brown, and the egg mixture is cooked all the way through.  Enjoy hot, warm, or cold!

The post Vermont and a Maple-Apple & Brie Quiche appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.