One of Trevor’s Christmas presents this year was a subscription to Walden Local Meat, a Boston-based company that delivers locally raised, high quality beef, pork, lamb, and chicken on a monthly basis. Our first delivery was in February and I was thrilled to find a boneless leg of lamb included in our share, along with fresh chorizo, pork for braising, and a nice flat iron steak. We don’t eat a ton of meat so it was exciting (especially for Trevor!) to have a freezer stocked with fancy cuts just waiting for inspiration to strike.

Sometimes constraints are the best driver of creativity, and this proved true with the lamb. I knew I wanted to make something special with it, something that highlighted the quality of the meat and was full of spring flavors. I found a recipe for leg of lamb with preserved lemon and cumin butter that was intriguing, but perhaps more Middle-Eastern then I wanted to go. But I loved the idea of using intense preserved Meyer lemon with the lamb, so I worked on the idea over a few days, and landed on a preserved lemon, harissa, and rosemary butter filling that I could slather all over the lamb.

As leg of lamb is a favorite choice for Easter, I decided to make the lamb the centerpiece of an Easter-themed Sunday Dinner post. It’s been a while since I’ve done a Sunday Dinner post, but they are still one of my favorite things to pull together. Of course, we didn’t actually eat it on Easter (or we wouldn’t have been able to share it with you in time!), but it made for a lovely Sunday evening meal in March. Alongside the lamb, we served Olive-Oil Braised Leeks and Peas with Feta and Roast Potatoes with Garlic Creme Fraiche. For dessert, we each had a thick slice of this Blood Orange and Olive Oil Cake I posted a few weeks ago.

The Olive-Oil Braised Leeks were a surprise hit, and I ended up making them twice in one week. I often find leeks a bit rubbery when served in larger pieces, but these were tender and flavorful. Braised in olive oil and chicken stock, then mixed with barely-cooked English peas, dill, lemon zest, and mild feta, they make a really lovely spring side dish. The layers of delicate flavors harmonize wonderfully and evoke all the best bits of spring. It’s definitely a permanent addition to my repertoire.

I’m excited to be really moving into spring cooking, now that the last of yesterday’s snow has melted and the sun is shining with real warmth. Before we know it the trees will be bursting into blossoms, and we’ll be spending Sunday afternoons putzing in the garden and sipping chilled glasses of rosé (I genuinely cannot wait until the first rosé-worthy afternoon, and I’m only a little embarrassed about it). The arrival of spring will only make coming together at the end of the day for a meal to linger over that much sweeter, whether it’s Easter Sunday or a quiet day at home.

The Menu
Olive-Oil Braised Leeks and Peas with Feta and Dill (recipe below, adapted from Simple)
Boneless Leg of Lamb with Preserved Lemon and Harissa (reicpe below)
Best-Ever Roast Potatoes (Serious Eats) served with Garlic Creme Fraiche (Food & Wine)
Blood Orange and Olive Oil Pound Cake

Past Sunday Dinners:

December 14, 2015: Roasted Root Vegetable Salad; Herb-Crusted Roast Beef; Cauliflower and Horseradish Gratin

February 15, 2015: Blood Orange Mimosa; Endive and Blood Orange Salad; Chanterelle and Chestnut Bisque; Coffee-Crusted Duck Breast with Brandy-Balsamic Sauce; Chocolate Espresso Layer Cake

August 31, 2014: Roasted Garlic, Ricotta, and Maple-Roasted Cherry Tomato Crostini; Eggplant and Pesto Napoleons; Maple Mixed-Berry Pie

March 31, 2014: Fried Halloumi with Spring Veggies and Strawberry-Basil Gastrique; French Gnocchi with Watercress Sauce; Strawberry-Rhubarb Meringue Pots

October 28, 2013: Braised Lamb Shanks with Gremolata; Creamy Polenta with Fresh Corn and Blue Cheese; Roasted Brussels Sprouts; Classic Apple Pie

July 1, 2013: Strawberry-Lime Agua Fresca; Smashed Pea, Dill, and Feta Crostini; Chilled Asparagus Soup with Meyer Lemon Yogurt; Mustard Spaetzle with Mushrooms; Ricotta Bavarese with Red-Wine Poached Rhubarb

May 26, 2013: Coffee-and-Chile Rubbed Strip Steaks with Chimichurri Sauce; Charred and Smoky Belgian Endives; Oven-Roasted Potatoes; Strawberry-Sour Cream Ice Cream

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Preserved Lemon and Harissa Boneless Leg of Lamb

Serves 4-5 as a main.

• 1/2 stick of salted butter, softened
• 1 TBS harissa paste
• 1/4 cup chopped preserved meyer lemon (about 1 lemon)
• 1 TBS finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 3-4 lb. boneless leg of lamb

1. To prepare the rub, mix the softened butter, harissa paste, meyer lemon and rosemary leaves together in a bowl until thoroughly combined. Set aside.
2. Remove the netting from the lamb and unroll onto a cutting board. Carefully remove as much of the interior fat as you can, leaving the exterior fat intact, or partially trimming if desired (see this Serious Eats article for a good tutorial on preparing a boneless leg of lamb). Using about half of the seasoned butter, rub all over the interior of the lamb, pushing the butter into pockets between muscles and fat. Tightly roll the lamb up so that the butter is inside and tie in several places with butchers twine. Use a sharp knife to cut deep diagonal slits in the fat on the top of the lamb. Use the remaining half of the butter to rub all over the outside of the lamb, including into the slits in the fat. Sprinkle with salt (go easy on the salt – the preserved lemon will already be quite salty). Place the lamb on a rack in a roasting pan. Let sit for 30 minutes at room temperature, or, preferably, for 8 hours in the fridge (bring it to room temperature for 30 minutes before cooking).
3. When you’re ready to cook the lamb, preheat the oven to 450°F. Cook the lamb at 450 just for 10-15 minutes, to brown the outside and crisp up the fat, then reduce the temperature to 300°F. Cook until the interior temperature of your lamb is 130°F for medium-rare lamb, which should take another 45-60 minutes for a small roast. Check the doneness of the lamb frequently using an instant-read thermometer to avoid overcooking it. Once it is cooked, remove from the oven, cover pan loosely with tin foil, and let sit for 10-15 minutes. Slice and serve.

Olive-Oil Braised Leeks and Peas with Feta and Dill

Recipe adapted slightly from Simple. Serves 4 as a side dish.

• 4-5 large leeks
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/3 cup chicken or vegetable stock
• sea salt and pepper
• 1 cup English peas, fresh or frozn
• finely zest from one lemon
• 2 TBS coarsely chopped dill fronds
• 2/3 cup crumbled feta cheese

1. Remove the dark green tops from the leeks and discard. Remove about 1/4 inch from the root ends as well, if the roots are still attached. Cut a long slit along one edge of each leek and rinse the leeks very well in cold running water. If the leeks are especially dirty, you may need to cut another slit on the opposite edge to rinse them very well. Once clean, cut the leeks into 1 inch pieces.
2. Heat the olive oil over low heat in a large frying pan. Add the leeks and saute until they are beginning to get tender, about 5-6 minutes. Stir leeks frequently and try not to let them brown. Add the stock, season with salt and pepper, and bring the leeks to a gentle simmer. Cover with a lid and cook until leeks are tender when poked with a knife, about 10 minutes. (Stir the leeks occasionally while they are cooking to make sure they don’t burn).
3. Remove the lid and add the English peas, lemon zest, and chopped dill to the pan. Cook for 2-3 minutes longer, until the peas are just tender. Transfer to a bowl and sprinkle with the feta cheese. Serve warm.

The post Sunday Dinner: Easter Edition // Preserved Lemon and Harissa Boneless Leg of Lamb appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

Friends! It’s my 7th Sunday Dinner post! This is a series I started two-and-a-half years ago to force myself to slow down and make a meal worth savoring every once in a while, the kind of seasonal, made-with-love food that deserves to be enjoyed while sitting at the table, engaging in conversation, and enjoying a nice bottle of wine. It’s something I don’t do as often as I’d like, as indicated by the fact that I only manage to put together one of these posts every 5 or 6 months. But when I do take the time to put together a real, wholesome meal – and to share it here with you – it’s always worth the effort.

This Sunday Dinner – which consists of a Rosemary-and-Sage-Crusted Roast Beef, a cinnamon-and-ginger-spiced Roasted Root Vegetable Salad, and Cauliflower Gratin – is the first (hopefully the first of many) that I’ve made in our new house. Although the kitchen and dining rooms are not yet the cozy, functional spaces we hope they will be one day, we’re making them work for us. And if you want to enjoy a Sunday Roast Beef like this in front of the Patriots game, in the much-cozier living room – I say it still counts.

This meal is not nearly as extravagant as some of my past dinners (I’m looking at you 4-course Valentine’s Day dinner) – there was no dessert, and no special cocktail to go with it. But what it lacks in elegance, it more than makes up for with flavor and ease – it’s the kind of meal that you could easily make and serve at a small family gathering or holiday event without needing to spend 8 hours in the kitchen preparing or 3 hours after dinner cleaning-up.

The star of this meal was the roast beef, cooked to a perfect, juicy pink if I do say so myself. The cut we used was called a “spoon roast,” something we had picked up on sale at Wholefoods on a whim. I did a lot of research on how to properly cook a low fat cut of meat like this, and found that the consensus was to dress it simply, sear it off, then roast it at a very low temperature until medium rare. As I was prepping the roast, Trevor told me that the new thing in food science is to sear beef after it’s been cooked, and since I trust him, that’s what we did – and it came out really beautifully. Served alongside the two veggie-heavy sides and a nice bottle of wine, it was just the thing for a casual December afternoon at home.

The Menu
Roasted Root Vegetable Salad with Pomegranate (recipe below, inspired by A Change of Appetite)
Herb-Crusted Roast Beef (recipe below)
Cauliflower and Horseradish Gratin (recipe below, adapted from Bon Appetit)

Past Sunday Dinners:

May 26, 2013: Coffee-and-Chile Rubbed Strip Steaks with Chimichurri Sauce; Charred and Smoky Belgian Endives; Oven-Roasted Potatoes; Strawberry-Sour Cream Ice Cream

July 1, 2013: Strawberry-Lime Agua Fresca; Smashed Pea, Dill, and Feta Crostini; Chilled Asparagus Soup with Meyer Lemon Yogurt; Mustard Spaetzle with Mushrooms; Ricotta Bavarese with Red-Wine Poached Rhubarb

October 28, 2013: Braised Lamb Shanks with Gremolata; Creamy Polenta with Fresh Corn and Blue Cheese; Roasted Brussels Sprouts; Classic Apple Pie

March 31, 2014: Fried Halloumi with Spring Veggies and Strawberry-Basil Gastrique; French Gnocchi with Watercress Sauce; Strawberry-Rhubarb Meringue Pots

August 31, 2014: Roasted Garlic, Ricotta, and Maple-Roasted Cherry Tomato Crostini; Eggplant and Pesto Napoleons; Maple Mixed-Berry Pie

February 15, 2015: Blood Orange Mimosa; Endive and Blood Orange Salad; Chanterelle and Chestnut Bisque; Coffee-Crusted Duck Breast with Brandy-Balsamic Sauce; Chocolate Espresso Layer Cake

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Roasted Root Vegetable Salad with Pomegranate

Adapted loosely from A Change of Appetite. Serves 4.

• 2 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 1 sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 2 large parsnips, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 3 TBS olive oil
• 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp ground cayenne
• sea salt and pepper to taste
• 5 oz. fresh baby spinach
• seeds from 1 large pomegranate
• 2 oz. crumbled feta cheese
• 2 tsp pomegranate molasses
• 1 tsp mustard
• 1/4 c olive oil
• juice from 1/2 lemon

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Place the cubed vegetables on a large rimmed baking sheet in an equal layer. In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, cinnamon, ginger, and cayenne. Drizzle over the vegetables, using a spatula to fully coat them with the spice mixture. Season generously with sea salt and black pepper. Roast until tender, about 20-30 minutes.
2. To assemble the salads, divide the spinach between 4 plates. Top with a generous helping of the roasted vegetables, pomegranate seeds, and crumbled feta cheese. In a small bowl, whisk together pomegranate molasses, mustard, olive oil, and lemon juice. Season to taste with salt and pepper, then spoon over the salads.

Herb-Crusted Roast Beef

Serves 4-6.

• 3 TBS minced fresh rosemary leaves
• 2 TBS minced fresh sage leaves
• 1 TBS fresh thyme leaves
• 1 TBS kosher salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
• 1/3 c. + 2 TBS olive oil, divided
• One 2 to 3 lb. spoon roast (top sirloin roast)

1. In a small bowl, whisk together minced rosemary, sage, thyme, salt, black pepper, minced garlic and 1/3 cup olive oil. Use your hands to rub the herb mixture all over the spoon roast. Let the roast sit out at room temperature for about 30 minutes to absorb the flavors of the herbs.
2. Preheat the oven to 275°F. Place the roast on a roasting rack in a roasting dish. Cook the roast until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the roast registers 130°F, for a medium rare roast. The cooking time will vary depending on the size of your roast – budget at least 30 minutes per pound, potentially longer. For a 2 pound roast, start checking the temperature after one hour. Once the internal temperature has reached 130°F, remove from the oven and let rest for 10 minutes. After the beef has rested, heat the remaining 1 TBS olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the beef and sear until browned on all sides, about 2 minutes per side. Remove the beef, let rest for 5 minutes longer, then slice against the grave and serve.

Cauliflower and Horseradish Gratin

Adapted from Bon Appetit. Serves 4-6 as a side.

• 1/2 a large head of cauliflower, cut into florets (3-4 cups florets)
• 3 TBS butter, divided
• 2 TBS flour
• 1 1/4 c. whole milk
• 3 TBS horseradish sauce
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 3 oz. fontina cheese, grated
• 2 c. fresh breadcrumbs
• 1 TBS mustard

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Place the cauliflower florets in a microwave and oven proof 1.5 quart casserole dish. Add 2 TBS of water to the bottom of the baking dish and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Microwave until cauliflower is tender, about 3 minutes (check after each minute by poking cauliflower with a fork). Carefully remove plastic wrap and drain water from pan.
2. In a medium saucepan, melt 2 TBS of the butter. Add the flour and stir to form a thick paste, then cook for 1-2 minutes, until flour smells nutty. Slowly drizzle in the milk, whisking the flour-butter mixture as you do so to incorporate the milk. Once you have added all the milk, continue cooking until sauce has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon, which should take about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in horseradish sauce, nutmeg, and half of the fontina cheese. Stir until cheese is melted, then pour the sauce over the steamed cauliflower and stir to coat. Sprinkle the rest of the grated cheese on top of the cauliflower.
3. Heat the remaining 1 TBS of butter in a frying pan. Add the breadcrumbs and toast, stirring frequently, until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Stir in the mustard and sprinkle on top of the cauliflower.
4. Bake the casserole until crumbs are toasted and cheese is bubbling, about 20 minutes. Serve hot.

The post Sunday Dinner // Herb-Crusted Roast Beef, Roasted Root Vegetable Salad, Cauliflower and Horseradish Gratin appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

This Sunday Dinner post is a big one – I’m not even entirely sure where to start. There’s the obvious, of course, that it was for our Valentine’s Day celebration, so it had to be special and a little bit decadent. There’s the fact that we prepared it during a blizzard, the third big storm in what feels like a never-ending chain of snow and white skies and freezing temperatures – a winter so beyond our imaginations that our city is stuck somewhere between awe, deep frustration, and total apathy. There’s the coffee-crusted duck, the centerpiece of the meal, that we lifted from the menu at Bouchard in Newport, where we spent a wonderful evening last weekend, dining in quiet elegance before slipping back to a room with a fireplace and a four-poster bed, where I wanted to stay forever. There’s the champagne we popped last night, the leftovers of which we unexpectedly took to a blizzard brunch around the corner – because day-drinking and eating waffles is a pretty good way to spend a blizzard. There’s the chocolate espresso layer cake, which we ate thick slices of in bed this morning with our morning coffee, our windows completed whited out by the snow whirling outside. There’s the chanterelle bisque, made from chanterelles we foraged in the middle of the summer, a time so green and warm and damp that it seems like it happened in another lifetime. These recipes have so many bits and pieces of memories tucked inside them it’s hard to sort out a clear thread between them – and now of course they will bring back to us the Valentine’s Day Blizzard of 2015, another weekend spent together grateful for a quiet and warm house in which to hide away and dream of spring.

The menu we made for this dinner is wintery, earthy, and elegant all at the same time, with rich flavors tied one to the next: blood orange, endive, chanterelle, chestnut, coffee, brandy, chocolate. Brilliantly colored blood orange mimosas spiked with Campari and honey. A salad of bitter endive and radicchio topped with blood orange slices, goat gouda, and toasted hazelnuts. A velvety bisque of roasted chestnuts and chanterelles. A gorgeous duck breast, coated in coffee and drizzled with rich brandy-balsamic sauce. And a cake – two fat layers of chocolate cake spread thickly with chocolate-espresso buttercream. Everything turned out beautifully, and although there are certainly a lot of components, it was doable to prepare everything in one afternoon, and still sit down with enough energy to enjoy the meal and each other’s company.

The Menu
Blood Orange Mimosa
Endive and Blood Orange Salad
Chanterelle and Chestnut Bisque
Coffee-Crusted Duck Breast with Brandy-Balsamic Sauce
Chocolate Espresso Layer Cake

Past Sunday Dinners:

May 26, 2013: Coffee-and-Chile Rubbed Strip Steaks with Chimichurri Sauce; Charred and Smoky Belgian Endives; Oven-Roasted Potatoes; Strawberry-Sour Cream Ice Cream

July 1, 2013: Strawberry-Lime Agua Fresca; Smashed Pea, Dill, and Feta Crostini; Chilled Asparagus Soup with Meyer Lemon Yogurt; Mustard Spaetzle with Mushrooms; Ricotta Bavarese with Red-Wine Poached Rhubarb

October 28, 2013: Braised Lamb Shanks with Gremolata; Creamy Polenta with Fresh Corn and Blue Cheese; Roasted Brussels Sprouts; Classic Apple Pie

March 31, 2014: Fried Halloumi with Spring Veggies and Strawberry-Basil Gastrique; French Gnocchi with Watercress Sauce; Strawberry-Rhubarb Meringue Pots

August 31, 2014: Roasted Garlic, Ricotta, and Maple-Roasted Cherry Tomato Crostini; Eggplant and Pesto Napoleons; Maple Mixed-Berry Pie

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Blood Orange Mimosa

Serves 2.

• 1/2 c. freshly squeezed blood orange juice (from about 2 oranges)
• 1 1/2 oz. Campari
• 1 TBS honey
• chilled Prosecco or Champagne

1. Whisk together blood orange juice, Campari, and honey until honey is dissolved. Divide between two champagne flutes and top with prosecco or champagne. Stir gently with a long handled spoon or small whisk. Serve immediately.

Endive and Blood Orange Salad

Serves 4.

• 1 small head of radicchio
• 1 large Belgian endive
• 3 blood oranges
• 1/4 c. hazelnuts, chopped and lightly toasted in a dry pan
• 2 oz. thinly sliced goat gouda or other goat cheese
• 2 TBS champagne vinegar
• 1/4 c. olive oil
• sea salt and pepper to taste

1. Remove and discard the outer leaves from the radicchio and cut out the thick core at the bottom. Roughly chop or shred the radicchio and place in a bowl. Remove the outer leaves from the endive. Slice into thin rounds and add to the bowl with the radicchio. Toss the two vegetables together to evenly combine.
2. Peel the oranges. Juice one of the oranges so that you have 1/2 cup of juice. Slice or supreme the remaining 2 oranges and set aside.
3. Assemble the salads by dividing the radicchio mixture between four plates. Top each with several pieces of blood orange, a spoonful of the toasted hazelnuts, and a few slices of the goat gouda. To make the dressing, whisk together the blood orange juice, champagne vinegar and olive oil until well combined. Season to taste with salt and pepper and drizzle over the salads. Serve immediately.

Chanterelle and Chestnut Bisque

Serves 2-3.

• 2 TBS butter
• 1/3 c. finely diced onion
• 2 c. fresh chanterelles, cleaned and torn into bite-sized pieces
• sea salt and pepper to taste
• 1 c. peeled, roasted chestnut pieces
• 3 c. chicken stock
• 3 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1/2 c. heavy cream

1. Melt the butter in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the onion and saute until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the chanterelles and saute until soft and browned on the edges, about 8-10 minutes, stirring frequently. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Set several spoonfuls of the cooked chanterelles aside (for garnishing the soup).
2. Add the remaining chanterelles, chestnuts, chicken stock, and thyme to a soup pot and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer for 10-15 minutes, then remove from the heat. Spoon out the thyme stems and discard. Transfer the soup to a blender and add the heavy cream. Blend on high until very smooth. Pour into bowls and garnish with the reserved chanterelles. Serve immediately.

Coffee-Crusted Duck with Brandy Balsamic Sauce

Inspired by dinner at Bouchard. Serves 2-3

• 2 medium duck breasts, trimmed of fat
• 4 TBS freshly ground coffee beans
• 2 TBS dark brown sugar
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 3/4 tsp chili powder
• 3 TBS butter, divided
• 2 tsp flour
• 1/4 c. brandy
• 1 TBS balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 c. stout or other dark beer

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Mix the coffee, brown sugar, salt, pepper, and chili powder together in a small bowl. Rub the mixture all over the duck breasts so they are fully coated. Melt 2 TBS butter (or duck fat, if you’d like) in a dutch oven over medium-high heat. Place the duck breasts in the pan and sear for 1 minute on each side. Flip them a second time (to return to the original side) and transfer the pan to the preheated oven. Cook the breasts for 5-7 minutes, to at least an internal temperature of 130°F. Remove from the oven, transfer to a cutting board or plate and let rest for at least 5 minutes.
2. Scrape as much of the coffee grounds as you can out of the dutch oven and discard. Melt the remaining 1 TBS of butter in the dutch oven over medium heat. Add the flour and stir to make a paste, cooking for 60 seconds. Add the brandy to the pan (don’t stand over the pan as you do this, as the alcohol will evaporate rapidly and can make you quite dizzy), followed by the balsamic and the stout. Stir to make a thick sauce and cook for 2-3 minutes, until thick and syrupy. Remove from the heat. Slice the duck on the bias and serve drizzled with the brandy-balsamic sauce.

Chocolate Espresso Layer Cake

• 1 recipe of Add A Pinch’s “Best Chocolate Cake,” baked in three 6×2 inch pans for 35-40 minutes
• 1 recipe Chocolate-Espresso Flour Buttercream, recipe below

1. Once you have baked the three cake layers, turn out onto a cooling rack and let cool completely. Use a serrated knife to trim the dome from each cake so that you have flat layers. Frost the cooled cake with the buttercream, using a dot of buttercream on your cake plate to hold the cake steady. If the cake is crumbing too much as you frost, refrigerate the cake briefly before continuing to frost. Chill the frosted cake for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Chocolate-Espresso Flour Buttercream

Adapted from Serious Eats basic Flour Buttercream. Makes about 3 cups of frosting.

• 4 TBS flour
• 1 c. granulated sugar
• 2 tsp espresso powder
• 1 c. whole milk
• 2 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped into bite-sized pieces
• 2 sticks salted butter, softened to room temperature

1. Whisk the flour, sugar, and espresso powder together in a medium saucepan until smooth. Whisk in the milk, and place over medium heat. Bring the mixture to a low boil, whisking the entire time. As the mixture begins to boil it will thicken to a custard like consistency – still whisking, cook the custard for one minute, then remove from the heat. Add the chopped chocolate and whisk until melted. Continue whisking the custard until it has cooled to body temperature, about 5 minutes. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, beat the softened butter until it is light and fluffy. If it is greasy, refrigerate for a few minutes to make it more firm. Add the cooled chocolate custard to the whipped butter one spoonful at a time, beating to thoroughly incorporate the custard into the butter between additions. If the frosting begins to break or separate, refrigerate for a few minutes before continuing to add the chocolate custard. Once all the custard has been incorporated into the butter, refrigerate the buttercream for 20-30 minutes before frosting your cake. If you refrigerate the buttercream for longer than 30 minutes, you will need to allow it to come back to slightly below room temperature before using.

The post Sunday Dinner: Valentine’s Day Edition // Chanterelle and Chestnut Bisque, Coffee-Crusted Duck Breast, and Chocolate Espresso Layer Cake appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

Finding the time for these Sunday Dinner posts is harder than I would like it to be. Perhaps part of the problem is that I tend to choose rather elaborate menus that take all afternoon to prepare and shoot, but that’s also part of the fun. When we finally did another Sunday Dinner a few weeks back, its origins were mixed – it grew partly out of the feeling that it had been far too long, partly out of the need to use up the huge stacks of garden produce in our fridge, and partly out of a desire to celebrate that same summer produce at its very peak.

This Sunday Dinner is the first we’ve done that is entirely vegetarian, but with gorgeous stacks of Eggplant Napoleon as a centerpiece to the meal, meat was not missed in the slightest. I’ve been eyeing this particular eggplant recipe since early spring, when I reviewed Olives, Lemons, and Za’atar. Back in March, the bright stacks of fried eggplant layered with baba ghanoush and pesto seemed impossibly summery, products of a season that felt like it might never come. But come it has, and now the sun-soaked afternoons and baskets of tomatoes are too quickly fading into cool breezy evenings and the first ripe pumpkins. We do still have plenty of nice weeks ahead of us – it won’t do to get nostalgic prematurely – and we’re still cooking up a storm with the weekly haul from the garden. Our homegrown eggplant was the star of the show in this meal, and we rounded things out with piles of maple-roasted cherry tomatoes on ricotta-slathered crostini and a gorgeous pie made with the last of our blackberries.

Eggplant can be a little labor intensive to prepare well, and this recipe was no exception. A lengthy process of salting, drying, marinating, breading, and frying may feel a little like overkill, but results in an incredibly flavorful and tender eggplant. There are a number of other components to the recipe as well – the pesto marinade, the baba ghanoush, and a tomato and pesto salad that gets served on top of the final dish. The recipe calls for about seven lemons – we felt that using three was sufficient – and the acidity of the final dish is powerful, but works nicely with the savory crunch of the eggplant slices and the smokiness of the baba ghanoush. I’ve written the recipe here with a few shortcuts to save time and effort, but the end result should be equally flavorful and elegant as the original.

On the other end of the labor intensive spectrum are the super easy crostini we had as an appetizer. We make a big batch of maple-roasted cherry tomaotes pretty much every week during August and September, roasting them the day they’re picked then using them on top of pastas and meats and eggs throughout the week. Once the oven is on, I sometimes throw another vegetable or two in to avoid heating up the house more than once – the week I made these crostini, that other vegetable was a few heads of our freshly harvested garlic, roasted into a sweet paste. The roasted garlic got mixed into some good thick ricotta, slathered on hot baguette, and topped with the candy-sweet tomatoes. It was so good and so easy.

The final element of our dinner was a big slice of mixed berry and maple syrup pie, which I wrote about in detail a week or so ago. It was a pie that I had been dreaming about since the first blackberries ripened, and it exceeded all my expectations for it. A big slice of the juicy pie, supported with a flaky buttery crust and topped off with a melting scoop of vanilla bean ice cream was the perfect close to our late summer dinner feast.

The Menu

Roasted Garlic, Ricotta, and Maple-Roasted Cherry Tomato Crostini – see recipe below
Eggplant and Pesto Napoleons – see recipe below (adapted from Olives, Lemons & Za’atar)
Maple Mixed-Berry Pie

Past Sunday Dinners:

May 26, 2013: Coffee-and-Chile Rubbed Strip Steaks with Chimichurri Sauce; Charred and Smoky Belgian Endives; Oven-Roasted Potatoes; Strawberry-Sour Cream Ice Cream

July 1, 2013: Strawberry-Lime Agua Fresca; Smashed Pea, Dill, and Feta Crostini; Chilled Asparagus Soup with Meyer Lemon Yogurt; Mustard Spaetzle with Mushrooms; Ricotta Bavarese with Red-Wine Poached Rhubarb

October 28, 2013: Braised Lamb Shanks with Gremolata; Creamy Polenta with Fresh Corn and Blue Cheese; Roasted Brussels Sprouts; Classic Apple Pie

March 31, 2014: Fried Halloumi with Spring Veggies and Strawberry-Basil Gastrique; French Gnocchi with Watercress Sauce; Strawberry-Rhubarb Meringue Pots

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Roasted Garlic, Ricotta, and Maple-Roasted Cherry Tomato Crostini

Serves 6-8 as an appetizer.

• 1 recipe of maple-roasted cherry tomatoes
• 3 heads of garlic
• 1 c. of ricotta
• 1 baguette
• olive oil
• sea salt and pepper

1. Prepare the maple-roasted cherry tomatoes. While they are roasting, roast the garlic as well: slice the tops off the garlic heads so the cloves are partially exposed. Place the heads in a piece of tinfoil and drizzle with olive oil, then sprinkle with sea salt. Close the foil into a pouch, and roast until soft, about 45-55 minutes at 350°F.
2. Remove the garlic from the oven, and let cool until comfortable to handle. Squeeze the roasted garlic out of the papery shells into a bowl, and mash with a fork. Mix the roasted garlic with the ricotta, and season to taste with salt and pepper.
3. Preheat the broiler. Slice the baguette into thin rounds, then place on a baking sheet. Brush the tops and bottoms lightly with olive oil. Broil the toasts until golden brown, about 5 minutes total, flipping once halfway through. Remove from the oven and let cool to room temperature. To serve, spread the ricotta mixture onto the toasts and top with a spoonful of roasted cherry tomatoes.

Eggplant Napoleon

Recipe adapted from Olives, Lemons, and Za’atar. Serves 4-6.

Note: This version of the recipe is slightly simplified. The full original recipe is available on Epicurious.

For the baba ghanoush:

• 2 medium eggplants (2 lbs total)
• 1/2 c. tahini paste
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• juice from 1/2 lemon
• 2 TBS pomegranate molasses
• 3 TBS olive oil

For the fried eggplant:

• 2 medium eggplant, cut into rounds
• sea salt to taste
• 1/4 c. basil pesto
• 1/2 c. olive oil
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• juice from 2 lemons
• 1/2 c. flour
• 2 egg whites, lightly beaten
• 2 c. panko
• 2 TBS grated parmesan cheese
• 2 TBS dried parsley
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• vegetable oil for frying

For the tomato salad:

• 4 plum tomatoes, cored and roughly chopped
• 1/4 c. of finely chopped red onion
• 1/2 c. basil pesto
• juice from 1 lemon
• 3 TBS olive oil
• sea salt to taste

1. Prepare the baba ghanoush: Preheat the oven to 450°F and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Pierce the eggplants all over with a fork and place on the baking sheet. Roast until skin is blackened all over, turning the eggplants with tongs every 5 minutes. Remove from the oven, slice in half lengthwise, and scoop the soft eggplant flesh out into a large strainer. Let drain for 20 minutes, then transfer to a bowl. Mash the eggplant with a fork, then stir in the tahini, garlic, lemon, pomegranate molasses, and olive oil. Adjust seasoning to your taste.
2. Prepare the fried eggplant: Place the eggplant rounds on two large baking sheets and salt liberally. Set aside for 30 minutes, then pat the slices dry with a paper towel. In a large bowl, whisk together the pesto, olive oil, garlic, and lemon juice. Add the eggplant slices to the bowl, toss to coat, and let marinate for 1-2 hours at room temperature.
3. To bread the eggplant, prepare your workspace: place the flour on a large plate, whisk the egg whites together with 1 cup of water in a shallow bowl, and mix the panko, grated parmesan, dried parsley, and black pepper together on a large plate. Set a piece of waxed paper to the side of your workspace. Working with one slice of eggplant at a time, dredge the marinated eggplant slices in the flour, gently shake off the excess, dip it in the egg mixture, then dredge in the panko on both sides. Set on the waxed paper and repeat with all of the eggplant slices.
4. Heat a large frying pan filled with 1/4 inch of vegetable oil over medium heat. Fry the eggplant slices in batches, frying 2-3 minutes per side or until golden brown all over. Remove to a paper towel lined platter and repeat until all eggplant is fried.
5. To prepare the tomato salad: mix together the chopped plum tomatoes, chopped red onion, pesto, lemon, and olive oil in a large bowl. Season to taste with salt.
6. To serve, place one slice of the fried eggplant on a plate, then spread with a few tablespoons of baba ghanoush. Repeat twice more, building a layered stack of eggplant, then top with a few large spoonfuls of the tomato salad. Serve immediately.

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It’s been ages since my last Sunday Dinner post. Five months to be exact. I’ve had a blog-color-coded Google Calendar event called “Sunday Dinner!” that I’ve been dutifully dragging forward from Sunday to Sunday, month after month, until finally, it found its resting place last week. Since we had just gotten back from two completely cooking-free weeks, I was fired up to be back in the kitchen, and looking ahead at the busyness of April, it didn’t seem like there would be another chance to do a Sunday Dinner for a while, so I went all out. Although it is decidedly still wintery in Boston, the fava beans, English peas, asparagus, and strawberries that are being flown in from California were too tempting to pass up, so I pretended that I lived somewhere where it was spring and bought a little bit of everything.

I haven’t cooked from Girl in the Kitchen in a while, so I decided to make it the theme of this dinner. Stephanie Izard is a wonderfully creative cook, and I’ve made some great spring recipes from her in the past (like this Asparagus Pasta with Almond-Parmesan Crumble and a Poached Rhubarb and Goat Cheese Salad). This time, I chose to make the Fried Halloumi with Spring Veggies and Strawberry-Basil Gastrique as an appetizer, followed by French Gnocchi with Watercress Sauce as a main. Fried halloumi is something I’ve been wanting to try for a while, but the warm and gooey cheese ended up playing second fiddle to its toppings. The lightly dressed mixture of favas, peas, raw asparagus, and basil was fresh and lemony and very spring-like, and I would make just this component again to serve on its own, or perhaps to mix with couscous or scrambled eggs. The strawberry-basil gastrique was the polar opposite of the veggies – thicky, syrupy, sweet, and intense, paired with the fresh-tasting vegetables and the warm and mild cheese it was quite the flavor combination. The only challenge was finding an elegant way to eat them, as they’re not quite finger food but not really large enough for a fork and knife.

On to course two: we’ve made gnocchi a lot of different ways. We’ve made the traditional potato version (served with Argentinean-style beef short ribs), we’ve made sweet potato gnocchi, we’ve made ricotta gnocchi with corn and mushrooms (one of my all-time favorite recipes), and now, we’ve made “French” gnocchi. In the intro to this recipe, Stephanie explains that you can make a type of gnocchi by making a classic pate a choux dough, piping it into gnocchi-sized rounds, freezing them, and then cooking them still frozen. I was intrigued by this idea, as it’s quite different than traditional gnocchi recipes I’ve seen, so I decided to give it a try. Ten eggs and a stick of butter went into the dough, so I had high hopes for its flavor, but in the end, I was kind of disappointed. While it’s an interesting technique, my “gnocchi” spread out to the point that they looked more like little pancakes, and they kind of tasted like pancakes too. The simple watercress sauce they were served in was a beautiful color, but mostly just tasted like butter, in a sort of overwhelming way. I’m still sharing the recipe, as it has its strong points, but I wanted to give you my honest take on it, first.

As for dessert, I knew we would want something light after all that butter, and I wanted to use up at least a few of the 10 egg whites I had leftover from making the gnocchi. We also still have several pounds of rhubarb in our freezer from last spring, so it was high time that some of that got used up. With those constraints, I whipped up a sort of crustless strawberry-rhubarb meringue pie, baked in a casserole dish like a crisp or a crumble, and it ended up being my favorite course. I used a fair bit of cornstarch in the filling to make sure that the dessert would be semi-spoonable, then chilled it thoroughly before quickly broiling the meringue topping. With just a hint of vanilla, it was light, sweet, and just the right ending for a spring dinner.

The Menu

Fried Halloumi with Spring Veggies and Strawberry-Basil Gastrique – see recipe below
French Gnocchi with Watercress Sauce – see recipe below
Strawberry-Rhubarb Meringue Pots – see recipe below

Past Sunday Dinners:

May 26, 2013: Coffee-and-Chile Rubbed Strip Steaks with Chimichurri Sauce; Charred and Smoky Belgian Endives; Oven-Roasted Potatoes; Strawberry-Sour Cream Ice Cream

July 1, 2013: Strawberry-Lime Agua Fresca; Smashed Pea, Dill, and Feta Crostini; Chilled Asparagus Soup with Meyer Lemon Yogurt; Mustard Spaetzle with Mushrooms; Ricotta Bavarese with Red-Wine Poached Rhubarb

October 28, 2013: Braised Lamb Shanks with Gremolata; Creamy Polenta with Fresh Corn and Blue Cheese; Roasted Brussels Sprouts; Classic Apple Pie

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Fried Halloumi with Spring Veggies and Strawberry-Basil Gastrique

Adapted from Girl in the Kitchen. Serves 4-6 as an appetizer.

For the Strawberry-Basil Gastrique:

• 1 c. white balsamic vinegar
• 1 c. sliced fresh strawberries
• 1/4 c. packed fresh basil leaves
• 1/4 c. sugar
• 1/4 c. fresh lemon juice

1. Add the vinegar, strawberries, basil, sugar, and lemon juice to a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and then immediately reduce heat (keep an eye on it to prevent it from boiling over). Simmer to reduce the liquid by half, which should take 25-35 minutes. Strain, discard the solids, and allow the liquid to cool.

For the veggies and cheese:

• 3/4 c. shelled fresh fava beans
• 1/2 c. shelled English peas
• 4 spears of fresh asparagus
• 5 fresh basil leaves, chiffonaded
• 1 lemon
• 2 TBS olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 1/2 c. shredded halloumi or oaxaca cheese
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 2 TBS flour
• 2 TBS canola oil
• 1 or 2 pieces of lavash, torn into bite-sized pieces (10 to 12 pieces needed)

1. Bring a small pot of salted water to a boil. Add the fava beans and English peas and boil just until bright green, about 2-3 minutes. Drain the beans and peas and plunge in ice water to cool. Pop the fava beans out of their paler shell by slitting with your thumb and pressing on the other end.
2. Slice the asparagus into very thin rounds. Add the asparagus rounds, fava beans, peas, and basil to a small bowl. Zest and juice the lemon, adding both to the bowl with the vegetables. Add olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste. Stir to thoroughly mix, and set aside.
3. Just before serving, stir together the shredded cheese, egg, flour, and salt and pepper to taste. Heat the canola oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Place spoonfuls of the cheese mixture into the pan, forming small round pancakes, and pressing down lightly to compress the cheese. Cook until golden brown, about 1 minute on each side, then transfer to a paper towel. Repeat until all the cheese mixture is used up. Place the warm fried cheese on top of pieces of lavash, and top with a spoonful of the vegetables and a drizzle of the gastrique. Serve immediately.

French Gnocchi with Watercress Sauce

Adapted from Girl in the Kitchen. Serves 4.

• 2 sticks (1 cup) of unsalted butter, divided
• 1/2 c. milk
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• salt
• 1/2 c. plus 2 TBS flour
• 8 egg yolks
• 2 whole eggs
• 8 oz. fresh watercress, roots/stems removed
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

1. Add 1 stick of butter, milk, pepper, and 1/2 tsp of salt to a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, then add the flour and stir with a wooden spoon until the mixture pulls away from the sides of the pot. Cook for 30-60 seconds longer, still stirring, then remove from heat and continue stirring until the dough has cooled to room temperature.
2. Beat in the egg yolks and eggs one at a time, mixing completely between additions. The dough should have the consistency of a tacky paste. If the dough seems runny, chill the dough in the fridge for 20-30 minutes before piping/forming the gnocchi.
3. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Either use a pastry bag to pipe 1-inch dots of the dough onto the baking sheet, or use a tablespoon measure to scoop small rounds (I tried both and preferred scooping). Once the baking sheet is filled, freeze until gnocchi are solid, which should only take 10-15 minutes.
4. When ready to serve, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the frozen gnocchi to the boiling water and cook them for about 4 minutes – they will float to the top when they are done. Remove them with a slotted spoon and transfer them to a large bowl.
5. Add the watercress to the boiling pasta water and blanch until tender, about 2-3 minutes. In a small pot, melt 6 TBS of the remaining stick of butter. Add the melted butter to a blender, then use a slotted spoon or tongs to transfer the cooked watercress from the pot to the blender. Blend on high until smooth, then season with red pepper flakes and salt.
6. Place the remaining 2 TBS of butter in a saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the gnocchi to the pan and saute until they are golden brown. Toss with the watercress sauce and serve.

Strawberry-Rhubarb Meringue Pots

Serves 4.

• 2 c. sliced rhubarb, in 1/2 inch pieces
• 2 c. sliced strawberries
• 3/4 c. plus 1/4 c. sugar, divided
• 1/4 c. cornstarch
• 3 egg whites

1. Add rhubarb, strawberries, 3/4 c. of the sugar, and cornstarch to a small saucepan, and stir to combine. Bring to a boil over medium heat, then reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until mixture is very thick and fruit is broken down, about 10 minutes. Pour mixture into a small, oven proof casserole dish or ramekin. Refrigerate until chilled.
2. Beat the egg whites on high until frothy, then add sugar and continue to beat until whites are stiff and shiny. Spread meringue over the top of the strawberry-rhubarb mixture with a spatula, forming peaks as you do. Preheat the broiler. Broil on high until meringue is just beginning to turn golden brown, about 5 minutes. Remove from oven and serve immediately.

The post Sunday Dinner // Fried Halloumi with Spring Veggies, French Gnocchi with Watercress Sauce, and Strawberry-Rhubarb Meringue Pots appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

I’ve been wanting to do another Sunday Dinner post since the last one I wrote in July, but, as I’ve probably mentioned one too many times, the second half of this year has turned out kind of nutty. So, before my most recent trip to Russia, I made it a priority to do a real Sunday dinner menu. I had gone a little crazy at the farmer’s market that Friday, walking home with 4 pounds of apples, 4 pounds of beets, fresh sweet corn, and brussels sprouts still on the stalk. I sometimes forget that there’s still plenty of late summer produce mingling with all the fall favorites at the farmer’s market in October – the corn is still wonderfully sweet, the last big, juicy tomatoes tempt everyone, and ripe melons sit side-by-side with pumpkins. Combined with the root vegetables, cabbages, brussels sprouts, squashes, apples, and pears that are so plentiful, these veggies make the middle of fall one of the most abundant times of year.

Since we had two lamb shanks in the freezer that needed to be put to good use, we decided to make a slow-braised lamb in a rich tomato sauce, served over polenta jazzed up with fresh corn and blue cheese, and a side of roasted brussels sprouts. With a few glasses of a nice red wine and a classic apple pie for dessert, it was a delicious summer-meets-fall dinner (and then I flew off to St. Petersburg where there was more of a fall-meets-winter thing going on). In all honesty, this is one of the best meals I’ve had in recent memory – fall-off-the-bone tender lamb in a tangy sauce and rich and cheesy polenta with bursts of sweet fresh corn make a really excellent pairing, perfect for a lazy, chilly, Sunday afternoon.

The Menu

Braised Lamb Shanks with Gremolata (adapted from Bon Appetit) – see recipe below
Creamy Polenta with Fresh Corn and Blue Cheese – see recipe below
Roasted Brussels Sprouts
Classic Apple Pie

Past Sunday Dinners:

May 26, 2013: Coffee-and-Chile Rubbed Strip Steaks with Chimichurri Sauce; Charred and Smoky Belgian Endives; Oven-Roasted Potatoes; Strawberry-Sour Cream Ice Cream

July 1, 2013: Strawberry-Lime Agua Fresca; Smashed Pea, Dill, and Feta Crostini; Chilled Asparagus Soup with Meyer Lemon Yogurt; Mustard Spaetzle with Mushrooms; Ricotta Bavarese with Red-Wine Poached Rhubarb

Braised Lamb Shanks with Gremolata

Recipe adapted slightly from Bon Appetit. Serves 4.

• 4 lamb shanks (about 3 lbs.), trimmed
• 1 TBS kosher salt
• 1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tsp. minced fresh rosemary
• 1 tsp coarsely ground fennel seeds
• 4 garlic cloves, 1 grated, 3 minced
• 2 TBS olive oil
• 1 large onion, minced
• 1 TBS flour
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 cup canned diced tomatoes
• 1/4 c. dry white wine
• 2-3 c. chicken broth

For the gremolata:

• 3/4 c. flat leaf parsley, minced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 TBS finely grated lemon zest
• 1 tsp minced fresh rosemary

1. Place the lamb shanks on a rimmed baking sheet. Stir salt, black pepper, minced rosemary, ground fennel seeds, and grated garlic together in a small bowl, then massage into lamb. Cover and let sit at room temperature for 1 hour, or refrigerate overnight.
2. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Heat the olive oil in a large dutch oven over medium heat, add onions and saute until golden, about 10 minutes. Add minced garlic, flour, paprika, and red pepper flakes and stir vigorously to distribute flour. Cook until mixture becomes dry, about 1 minute, then add tomatoes and wine. Simmer, stirring frequently, until mixture begins to thicken and tomatoes are breaking down, about 10 minutes. Stir in 2 cups of the chicken broth and simmer for about 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add lamb shanks to pot in a single layer, pushing them down into the sauce. If necessary, add additional chicken broth so that the shanks are about 3/4 submerged
3. Roast, uncovered, for 30 minutes, then use tongs to flip the shanks over and roast for another 30 minutes. Then, cover the pot and cook, turning the shanks occasionally, until the meat is falling off the bone, about 45-90 minutes. Remove from oven and skim fat off the surface. Let shanks rest in liquid for 20 minutes before serving.
4. Stir the gremolata ingredients together and let sit for 30 minutes. Serve on top of the lamb shanks.

Creamy Polenta with Fresh Corn and Blue Cheese

Serves 4-6.

• 2 c. water
• 2 c. milk
• 2 TBS butter
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 c. polenta
• kernels from 3 ears fresh corn (about 3 cups)
• 1/2 c. crumbled blue cheese

1. Bring the water, milk, butter, and salt to a boil in a medium saucepan. Gradually add the polenta to the boiling liquid, whisking as you do so. Once all the polenta has been added, lower the heat to low, and cook, stirring continuously, until the polenta is thick and creamy, about 10-15 minutes. Add the fresh corn kernels, and cook 2 minutes longer. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and remove from heat. Serve hot, with blue cheese crumbled over each bowl.

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Last weekend I finally had time to put together another Sunday Dinner menu. I’d been mulling over this one for almost a month, the inspiration coming mainly from the beautiful (if slightly challenging) modern Italian cookbook SPQR. While planning the first round of ingredient of the week (starring rhubarb!), the recipe for Ricotta Bavarese with Verjus-Poached Rhubarb caught my eye. It ended up being too complicated to make (and photograph and write about) on a weeknight, but I made it a few weeks later, and proceeded to plan a menu around it. SPQR is organized into regional sections based on the eight major thoroughfares in Ancient Rome, and the bavarese recipe came from the Trentino-Alto Adige section, focusing on recipes from the Northernmost part of Italy. Since I loved the idea of making a coherent, regionally-specific meal, I chose two other recipes from the same section that also utilized spring ingredients to complete the menu – Chilled Asparagus Soup with Meyer Lemon Yogurt and Fish Roe, and Mustard Spaetzle with Mushrooms. Of course, then I went and served a Mexican drink where a glass of white wine would probably have been more appropriate, but hey, it was really hot.

In contrast to the first Sunday Dinner I posted, this menu is quite elegant, the trade-off being that it’s a bit time consuming to prepare if you’re ambitious enough to make everything. Of course, everything except the spaetzle can be made ahead of time and served chilled, so it actually might make a wise choice for a dinner party. The thing I love about this menu is that it stars so many of my favorite spring foods – strawberries in the agua fresca, English peas in the crostini, asparagus in the soup, mushrooms in the spaetzle, and rhubarb in the dessert. Each dish is flavorful and elegant in its own right, and all together they make a luxurious and impressive meal. Since I’ve already written about the agua fresca, the crostini, and the bavarese, a few notes about the soup and the spaetzle: the asparagus soup is both refreshing and filling at the same time. The cream lends it a rich sweetness, and the asparagus flavor is not overwhelming. The lemon yogurt is essential – it provides a much needed acidic counterpart to the rich soup – so don’t skip it! The spaetzle is surprisingly easy to make, once you’ve got the hang of grating it into the boiling water. It feels both fancy and rustic, and it becomes extremely luxurious with a spoonful of cold creme fraiche stirred into the hot pasta just before serving – like the most grown-up mac and cheese you can imagine. Whether you only try one of these recipes, or you try them all together, I hope you enjoy them!

The Menu

Strawberry-Lime Agua Fresca (adapted from Tacos, Tortas, and Tamales)
Smashed Pea, Dill and Feta Crostini (adapted from The Modern Vegetarian)
Chilled Asparagus Soup with Meyer Lemon Yogurt – see below (adapted from SPQR)
Mustard Spaetzle with Mushrooms – see below (adapted from SPQR)
Ricotta Bavarese with Red-Wine Poached Rhubarb (adapted from SPQR)

Chilled Asparagus Soup with Meyer Lemon Yogurt

Adapted slightly from SPQR. Serves 4-6.

• 2 lb. asparagus
• salt
• 4 c. spinach
• 2 c. flat-leaf Italian parsley
• olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
• 1 medium leek, roots and dark green parts removed, thinly sliced
• 2 stalks spring garlic or 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 c. plus 2/3 c. of heavy cream, divided
• 1/2 packet of gelatin (3.5g or 1/8 of an oz)
• 1 c. whole-milk plain yogurt
• zest of 1 meyer lemon
• 1/4 c. fresh meyer lemon juice (from 1-2 meyer lemons)
• 1 oz. fish roe

1. Cut the tips from the ends of the asparagus stalks. Prepare an ice bath, and bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Blanch the asparagus tips in the salted water until bright green, about 1-2 minutes, then remove with a slotted spoon and immediately plunge into the ice bath. Let chill completely, then remove from the ice bath, place in a covered bowl, and refrigerate until ready to serve.
2. Add the spinach and the parsley to the boiling water. Blanch for 1-2 minutes, then remove with a slotted spoon and plunge into the ice bath. When chilled, remove from the ice bath and squeeze the greens to remove excess water. Set aside. Dump the boiling water from the pot.
3. Remove the bottom half inch from each asparagus stalk and discard. Slice the remaining stalks into rounds about 1/4-inch thick. Add a thin film of olive oil to the bottom of the pot, and heat over medium-low heat. Add the onion, leek, and spring garlic and saute until translucent, about 5-7 minutes, stirring frequently. Do not let the vegetables begin to caramelize. Stir in the asparagus and cook until softened, about 5 minutes longer. Turn off the heat and pour in 3 cups of the heavy cream and the blanched greens. Season with salt and pepper and place in a blender. Blend until smooth, then strain into a large bowl through a fine mesh strainer, pressing on the pulp to remove as much liquid as possible. Discard the green pulp. Taste the soup, season with salt and pepper, then cover and refrigerate until ready to serve, at least one hour.
4. To prepare the meyer lemon yogurt, dissolve the gelatin in 1/3 c. of the remaining heavy cream, whisking to combine. Heat the other 1/3 c. of the cream in a small saucepan over low heat, until just beginning to simmer, then pour over the gelatin. Whisk to combine and dissolve fully. Whisk in the yogurt, meyer lemon juice, and a pinch of salt. Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour. Once chilled, yogurt should be semi-solid.
5. To serve, pour the soup into 4 to 6 chilled bowls. Dress the asparagus tips with the meyer lemon zest, a drizzle of olive oil, and a sprinkle of salt. Top each bowl of soup with a scoop of the meyer lemon yogurt, a few asparagus tips, and a small spoonful of fish roe. Serve cold.

Mustard Spaetzle with Mushrooms

Recipe adapted from SPQR. Serves 6.

• 2 c. whole-milk plain yogurt
• 6 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 egg white
• 3 TBS Dijon mustard
• 2 1/3 c. flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• olive oil
• 8 oz. sliced mixed mushrooms
• 2 TBS butter
• 2 c. baby spinach
• freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1. In a large bowl, stir together the yogurt, eggs, egg white, and mustard until mixture is smooth. Add flour in three additions, whisking until smooth between additions. Stir in the salt and pepper, then cover spaetzle batter and place in the fridge for 30 minutes to 6 hours.
2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Use a spaetzle maker or a large-holed box grater to grate the spaetzle batter directly into the boiling water in batches. Cook each batch for 2-3 minutes, or until the spaetzle float to the top, then remove with a slotted spoon and place in a large bowl with a little olive oil to keep them from sticking. Repeat until all the batter is used.
3. Heat a thin film of olive oil in a very large saute pan. Add the sliced mushrooms and saute until golden brown, 4-5 minutes. Add the cooked spaetzle and cook, stirring occasionally, until spaetzle are golden brown in places, another 4-5 minutes. Add the butter and stir to melt. Add the spinach and stir it into the spaetzle, cooking until wilted, about 2 minutes.
4. Remove the spaetzle from the heat and scoop into bowls. Top with the grated Parmesan and serve hot.

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As you might imagine, I cook a lot. Like, a lot. Some weekends, I spend 4 or 5 hours each day in the kitchen, mixing batters, chopping veggies, frosting cupcakes, and styling photos. The output of my weekend cooking sprees becomes a hodgepodge of things – meals for the week, posts for the blog, and leftovers destined for the freezer. But this means that dinner is usually just that – a hodgepodge. I’ll defrost a container of soup and slice up some bread, or throw pasta on to boil to use up a batch of ratatouille, or I toss all the leftover cooked veggies and grains into a bowl, drizzle it with whatever sauce is currently in the fridge, and call it a night. And for the purpose of full disclosure, I have to admit that at least once a week, to the horror of my nurse roommate, dinner is a glass of red wine in front of the TV because even defrosting something seems like too much effort. It’s pretty rare that I actually sit down to a composed meal of the kind that I ate growing up – one with 3 or 4 different parts, a salad, a protein, a few sides, and dessert. On the one hand, I don’t really need to eat that way – I’m not trying to feed a family, and it’s usually just me eating, or Trevor will join me and we’ll cobble together our leftovers. On the other hand, it’s kind of nice to sit down to a real meal, one with parts that go together and that feels like dinner, not just eating. So I’m going to give Sunday dinners a try. Not every week. But once in a while.

Last Sunday, we broke out the grill. Grilling is one of those things that I really want to learn how to do, but I’m kind of afraid of doing it wrong and burning myself or ruining a pair of $20 steaks or, worst-case-scenario, exploding the grill by doing the gas wrong. I put learning how to grill on my summer bucket list last year, but definitely failed at achieving it. Last week, I made a little progress – I cleaned out the ashes and lit the coals, all under Trevor’s careful supervision. Then he took over. But I’m committed to it this year – I even have two grilling books sitting on my window bench, waiting to be reviewed.

What we put on the grill last week was a little bit indulgent for us – two beautiful grass-fed strip steaks, rubbed with a coffee-chile-brown sugar mixture and Belgian endives, dressed simply with olive oil and salt and grilled until charred and smoky. To go with it we had chimichurri sauce, crispy oven-roasted potatoes, and the most delicious, decadent ice cream I’ve ever had – sour cream ice cream with a strawberry-brown sugar swirl. It tastes like cheesecake with strawberry sauce but even smoother and creamier. It’s insane. And over-the-top rich, but I’ll absolutely be making it over and over again. We threw in a few beers and a cranberry margarita and it definitely felt like a real meal – a really nice start to the week. Given that we had several different dishes on our plate, it was surprisingly easy to put it all together. The steak, potatoes, and endives were all very simple and quick, the chimichurri only took a bit of chopping and stirring, and the ice cream was already made. Plus, everything was good. Really good. Sometimes simple is the best! Most of you probably already have plans for grilling tomorrow, but if you don’t, I definitely recommend all of these recipes.

The Menu

Coffee-and-Chile-Rubbed Strip Steaks – see below (from Food and Wine)
Chimichurri Sauce – see below (adapted from Food and Wine)
Charred and Smoky Belgian Endives – see below (adapted from Food and Wine)
Oven-Roasted Potatoes – see below
Strawberry-Sour Cream Ice Cream – see below (adapted from The NY Times)

Coffee-and-Chile-Rubbed Strip Steaks

Recipe from Food and Wine. Serves 4.

• 2 TBS finely ground dark roast coffee
• 2 TBS chile powder
• 2 TBS dark brown sugar
• 1 TBS smoked paprika
• 1 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1 TBS kosher salt
• Four 10-oz strip steaks

1. In a small bowl, stir together the coffee, chile powder, brown sugar, paprika, cumin, and salt until evenly mixed. Rub the mixture on all sides of the steaks. Let steaks sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.
2. Grill the steaks over moderate heat, turning once, until they are charred outside and medium-rare within, about 11-13 minutes. Transfer to a clean plate and let rest for 10 minutes before serving. Serve with chimichurri sauce.

Chimichurri Sauce

Adapted from Food and Wine. Makes about 1 1/2 cups.

• 1/4 c. red wine vinegar
• 1/4 c. white balsamic vinegar
• 2 TBS olive oil
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1 small shallot, peeled and finely minced
• 1/2 c. finely chopped parsley
• 1/4 c. finely chopped cilantro
• 4 scallions, thinly sliced
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Whisk the vinegars, olive oil, and sugar together in a medium bowl. Stir in the shallot, parsley, cilantro, scallions, and oregano. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Let chimichurri rest at least 20 minutes before serving. Keep chilled. 

Charred and Smoky Belgian Endives

Recipe from Food and Wine. Serves 4.

• 4 Belgian endives, sliced in half lengthwise
• olive oil
• kosher salt
• freshly ground pepper

1. Brush the endive halves with olive oil on both sides, then season with salt and pepper. Grill over moderate heat on a charcoal fire, turning occasionally, until charred and tender, about 12-15 minutes. Transfer endives to a platter and tent with foil. Let steam for 5 minutes, serve warm.

Oven-Roasted Potatoes

Serves 4.

• 1 1/2 to 2 lbs. small red new potatoes
• 8 cloves garlic, peeled
• olive oil
• sea salt

1. Preheat oven to 425°F. Wash potatoes and cut into quarters, or halves if they are very small. Toss potatoes and garlic with olive oil and salt in a large roasting pan. Spread potatoes on the bottom of the pan – they should have enough room so that they are not touching one another. Roast for 40-50 minutes or until golden brown with crunchy edges, flipping with a spatula halfway through.

Strawberry-Sour Cream Ice Cream

Adapted from The NY Times. Makes about 5 cups.

• 1 c. sugar
• 9 egg yolks
• 1 c. heavy cream
• 1/2 c. milk
• 1 1/2 c. sour cream
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• pinch salt
• 1 lb fresh strawberries, hulled and diced into 1/4 inch pieces
• 3 TBS brown sugar
• 1 TBS brandy

1. In a large heat-proof bowl, whisk together egg yolks and 1/2 c. of sugar until smooth. Set aside.
2. In a medium sized saucepan, whisk together remaining 1/2 c. sugar, the heavy cream, and the milk. Heat over medium low heat, whisking all the while, until the mixture just reaches a simmer. Remove from the heat.
3. Slowly pour about 1 cup of the hot cream into the eggs in a thin stream, whisking the eggs vigorously as you do so to keep them from scrambling. Pour yolk mixture back into saucepan with rest of cream, still whisking. Heat the custard over low heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. This will take 7-10 minutes. After it begins to thicken, it will continue to thicken fairly quickly, so remove from heat about 30 seconds to 1 minute after it starts to thicken.
4. Strain custard through a sieve into a large, clean bowl, pushing through sieve with a spatula. Allow to cool for about 5 minutes, then whisk in sour cream, vanilla extract, and salt, whisking until smooth. Cover custard tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, or overnight.
5. About 1 hour prior to churning the ice cream, prepare the strawberries: Place the chopped strawberries and the brown sugar in a large frying pan and stir. Let sit for 15 minutes to allow the strawberry juices to release. Heat over medium-low heat, stirring, and cook for 10-15 minutes, until berries are soft, and juices have evaporated enough to become syrupy. Remove from heat and stir in brandy. Transfer berries and syrup to a bowl and freeze for 20-30 minutes, until chilled but not frozen.
6. Churn the ice cream in an ice cream maker according to directions. When the ice cream has reached a soft serve consistency, turn off the machine and fold in the chilled strawberry mixture so that there are streaks of berries. Freeze to further solidify.

The post Sunday Dinner // Coffee-Chile Strip Steaks, Grilled Endives, Strawberry-Sour Cream Ice Cream appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.