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1 March 13, 2013 Cookbook

A Happy Wednesday // Italian Apple Cream Tart

Happy Wednesday, everyone! I’m in a remarkably good mood. This can likely be 95% attributed to the fact that today was bonus-day at my real job, but I’m going to pretend for a minute that I’m not primarily motivated by financial gain and tell you some other things that are good right now. Like, that this morning when I was walking to the train it smelled like mud, and the birds were going nuts, and the sun was warm, and I took a deep breath and it finally felt like spring. And that I’m going to be spending this weekend in Philly with my three best college girlfriends, and I can’t wait to see them and drown ourselves in girl talk and good food. And that I went to a challenging-in-a-good-way ballet class tonight and now I feel all loose and tired. And that I started a new and interesting project at work this week, and it’s energizing to feel truly engaged in what I’m doing all day.

It feels really nice to be able to recognize all these positive things. Since the middle of February I’ve decidedly been suffering from a case of the winter doldrums (does that word remind anyone else primarily of The Phantom Tollbooth? Perhaps my favorite childhood book). Work has been a little slow, and the weather has been awfully gray, and I’ve just generally been feeling uninspired and unmotivated. But with the longer, warmer days, and the feeling that life is seeping back into the world, I feel better and better. Ready to get re-engaged. Re-energized.

This apple cream tart from Venezia in Cucina: The Flavors of Venice is another really nice thing I’ve experienced recently. It was the third recipe I made Saturday when reviewing the book (and it’s sister book, Sicilia in Cucina) and it was easily my favorite, and thus deserving of its own post. It’s a fairly simple dessert – store-bought puff-pastry as a crust, a thick, sweet pastry cream filling, and a topping of sliced apples. But somehow the combination really got me. I was skeptical of the technique for the pastry cream – just throw it all in a pan and whisk vigorously? No tempering of eggs? How much potato starch? But I followed the instructions and I actually loved how it came out. It was thicker and less rich tasting than typical pastry creams, and it worked perfectly in the tart. I ate three huge slices of this before I gave it up for good to Trevor, and even then I was a little sad when he ate it all and there wasn’t any more. This will definitely go into the “easy but impressive” dessert rotation around here.

I hope you all are starting to feel the transition into spring too. And if you’re still waiting, make yourself something sweet – it will make the time go faster.

Apple Cream Tart

Recipe adapted from Venezia in Cucina. Serves 6-8.

1/4 c. flour (35g)
1/4 c. potato starch (35g)
3/4 c. sugar (160g) + 2 TBS sugar, divided
2 egg yolks
1 whole egg
2 c. whole milk
1 whole vanilla bean (or 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract)
2 apples (I used Honeycrisp)
juice from 1/2 lemon
1 piece store-bought puff pastry, thawed

In a large saucepan, whisk together the flour, potato starch, and 3/4 c. sugar until lump free. Whisk in the egg yolks and egg, one at a time, then slowly whisk in the milk, incorporating a little at a time. Beat until the liquid is smooth and without any lumps. Add the vanilla bean or the vanilla extract and stir to incorporate. Heat the liquid over low heat, whisking vigorously the whole time, until the custard thickens to a spoonable consistency, then immediately remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.
Preheat the oven to 365°F. Wash and core the apples, then thinly slice them and toss with the lemon juice and remaining 2 TBS of sugar to coat the apples. Let sit 10 minutes.
Roll out the puff pastry to an even thickness and a width of about 10 inches by 12 inches. Cut a 2 inch strip off to make a 10 inch square. Press the 10 inch square of crust into an 8×8 baking pan, using the extra to press partway up the sides of the pan. Spoon the custard into this as a filling, then top with a layer of apple slices. Cut the 2 inch strip of pastry into 4-6 thin strips and use to criss-cross the top of the tart.
Bake the tart for 50-60 minutes, until the custard is set, and the pastry is golden. Remove from oven and let cool completely before removing from pan and serving.

0 March 10, 2013 Beef

Book Club: Sicilia in Cucina, Venezia in Cucina // Spaghetti with Breadcrumbs and Parmesan Meatballs

At the end of April, Trevor and I are headed to Italy for a ten day vacation. I am beyond excited. It will be my first time abroad since returning from Prague in 2009 (unless you count two whirlwind days in Madrid for work last summer), and I’ve been daydreaming about the trip since we booked the tickets in January. I’ve also been practicing my Italian, drooling over hotels in Rome and Florence, and thinking about what, exactly, I want to eat and drink while I’m there. So the arrival of these two regional Italian cookbooks – Venezia in Cucina: The Flavors of Venice and Sicilia in Cucina: The Flavors of Sicily – could not have been more timely for me.

I have to start off by telling you: the pictures in these books are incredible. Not just pretty, stunning. Many times while reading these books I’ve stopped to linger for several minutes over one image or another – an explosion of red and green paper confetti in front of an ornate church; a man mid-jump off a cliff into a serene ocean, the sky pink and a smoking volcano in the background; an earthenware bowl of spaghetti on a sun-dappled table. These books are full of art, and it’s art that brings another culture to life on the page. Although I received review copies, I would have bought them for the photography inspiration alone.

As for the food, the recipes are authentic and the instructions are simple – oftentimes, there are no ingredient amounts listed for anything that could be considered seasoning. It will simply say “season with lemon, salt, parsley” or “dissolve 3 TBS tomato paste in hot water.” While I could imagine this being a deterrent for an inexperienced cook (how much lemon? how much hot water?), I felt that it added to the over all… Italianness of the books. I like that it gives you the freedom to add flavor as you go and taste for seasoning, and I also like the feeling that that’s how an Italian grandmother might tell you to do it – “you know, add parsley until there is enough parsley. Bene, basta.” The recipes from Venice focus heavily on seafood, with only a few non-fish dishes to be found. You’ll find plenty of pasta – tagiolini pasta with spider crab and cherry tomatoes – antipasti – scallops au gratin with tomato – and mains – baked turbot with summer vegetables. The recipes from Sicily are still influenced by the sea, but there’s more variety. High on my list are the fried cheese balls with chili-honey sauce, lamb stuffed with potatoes and pistachio pesto, and spaghetti with ricotta and fresh pecorino. Both books also have dessert chapters, as well as sections spotlighting local wines and unique regional ingredients.

A final point – I love that everything, from the section intros to the ingredients to the cooking instructions, is in both English and Italian – it totally indulges my inner language-learning nerdiness.

These books are like a travel advertisement in the best way possible. But they are also useful in the kitchen, as a cookbook should be. To test out the two books, I made three recipes for a large and indulgent Saturday lunch/ as food to welcome Trevor back from his week-long business trip. I’m sharing the first two recipes today – spaghetti in a tomato-anchovy sauce with breadcrumbs, from Sicilia in Cucina, and mini Parmesan meatballs, breaded and fried in olive oil to make them extra savory and crunchy, from Venezia in Cucina. Both recipes were simple, tasty, and filling, in a rustic sort of way. I’d make them both again for a quick dinner any night. The third recipe was an apple-custard tart which I could have eaten all of in one sitting – but you’ll have to wait a few days for that recipe.

The bottom line: These two books – Venezia in Cucina and Sicilia in Cucina – are a beautiful glimpse into the food and culture of two specific areas of Italy. I would happily have bought them for the photographs alone, as they depict far more than just beautiful food and create a gorgeous visual tale of life in another place. The recipes are simple, regional, and authentic, although in some cases the lack of specificity in the instructions may be a deterrent to a beginner cook. The fact that these are dual language books in both English and Italian was icing on the cake for me – now on my upcoming trip, I’ll be ordering dinner like a pro. I’d recommend these two books for anyone who daydreams about Italy, foodie or not.

Disclaimer: Ammo Books, the U.S. distributor of these books, sent me free review copies of both Venezia in Cucina and Sicilia in Cucina. I was not otherwise compensated for writing this review, and all opinions are my own.

Spaghetti with Breadcrumbs

Adapted from Sicilia in Cucina. Serves 4-6.

1 lb. dried thick spaghetti or bucatini
3 TBS olive oil, divided
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
4 anchovies
4 TBS tomato paste
1 c. hot water
1 c. fresh breadcrumbs
salt and pepper

Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook according to package directions, until just barely al dente.
While the pasta is cooking, heat 1 1/2 TBS of the olive oil over medium heat in a large frying pan. Add the garlic and anchovies and saute for 2-3 minutes, until fragrant, breaking up the anchovies with the back of a wooden spoon so they dissolve. Mix the tomato paste with the hot water in a small bowl until they have an even texture, then add to the anchovies and garlic. Let simmer on low, stirring occasionally, for 10-15 minutes.
In a separate pan, heat the remaining 1 1/2 TBS of olive oil. Toast the breadcrumbs in the oil until golden brown, about 3-4 minutes, then sprinkle with salt to taste.
Remove the spaghetti from the pot as soon as it is al dente and drop straight into the simmering sauce. Turn off the heat and toss the spaghetti with the sauce. Add about half the breadcrumbs and stir to coat. Divide the spaghetti between bowls and top each with a handful of the remaining breadcrumbs

Fried Mini Meatballs with Parmesan

Adapted from Venezia in Cucina. Makes 25 1-inch meatballs.

1/2 lb of ground pork
1/2 lb of ground beef
1/2 c. of grated parmesan cheese (about 40g)
2 TBS of flour
1/4 c. of finely chopped fresh parsley
1/4 c. breadcrumbs plus more for frying
2 large eggs
salt and pepper
olive oil

In a large bowl, mix together the pork, beef, cheese, flour, parsley, 1/4 c. of breadcrumbs, and eggs until they form a smooth mixture. Season generously with salt and pepper, and stir to combine. Cover, and let stand for 1 hour to allow the flavors to meld. If it’s going to be any longer than 1 hour, refrigerate while you wait.
Heat 1/2 inch of olive oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Form the beef-pork mixture into meatballs about 1 inch in diameter. Spread a generous amount of breadcrumbs on a plate, and roll the meatballs in the breadcrumbs to coat. Test the temperature of the oil by adding a few breadcrumbs to it – if they sizzle and fry up quickly, the oil is hot enough. Fry the meatballs in batches, using tongs to rotate every few minutes to ensure that they cook on all sides. When they are browned all over, check inside to ensure they have cooked all the way through. If they have, remove to a plate covered with a paper towel to drain. Serve hot, with tomato sauce for dipping.

2 March 7, 2013 Cookbook

March Fitness Challenge // Roast Vegetable Salad with Goat Cheese Mousse

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

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

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

Roast Vegetable Salad with Goat Cheese Mousse

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

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

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

137 March 5, 2013 Dessert

30-Second, 3-Ingredient, Microwave Hot Fudge

A while back I tweeted that I had come up with a foolproof method for making a single serving of hot fudge in 30 seconds in the microwave. I got an immediate response (“share now!” “I wanna know how to do this, but then also I don’t…”) so I promised that I would write a blog post about it. I’ve double checked the recipe a few times since then – quality assurance, you know, nothing to do with the fact that hot fudge is delicious – and I feel comfortable handing it over to you all now.

You should know that I’m a very picky hot fudge eater. My ideal recipe is the Ben & Jerry’s one – but that takes a good hour and a half to make, which is typically way too long to wait given the intensity of my hot fudge cravings. It also makes 2 cups of sauce, which is a problem in and of itself due to my lack of age-appropriate self-control. So I started experimenting with the microwave. Chocolate chips by themselves are obviously not ideal – too easy to burn, and they freeze again as soon as they come into contact with the ice cream. Chocolate chips and cream didn’t quite have the richness or consistency that I’m looking for. But chocolate chips, butter, and cream? Perfect – a thick, fudgey sauce that is liquidy when hot, and viscous at room temperature, but doesn’t freeze solid on the ice cream. (P.S. It’s even better with cinnamon butter, as I found out when I had a lot of leftover cinnamon butter from making monkey bread.)

Please, I beg you, use this recipe responsibly. We all love a big bowl of ice cream with thick and gooey hot fudge every once in a while, but I don’t want to feel responsible for anyone’s 30-pound weight gain that will decidedly occur if you make this every night. I’m trusting you.

30-Second Microwave Hot Fudge

Serves 2.

1 TBS butter
3 TBS chocolate chips
1 TBS heavy cream

Place butter on bottom of small microwaveable dish. Top with the chocolate chips. Microwave on high for 10 seconds, then remove, and stir until texture is even. Add heavy cream and stir. Microwave on high for another 10 seconds, then remove and stir until smooth. Serve immediately.

22 March 3, 2013 Cookbook

Book Club: The Little Paris Kitchen // Chicken Dumpling Soup

To so many, Paris is the ultimate destination – timeless, elegant, romantic and confident in its own charms. It’s the city of lights, the city of love and, one might argue, the ultimate city of food. Centuries of tradition have defined French cuisine as the haute cuisine, with dishes such as duck a l’orange, boeuf bourguignon, and chocolate souffle being practically synonymous with fine dining for many years. But classic French cooking doesn’t have to be intimidating and stuffy. As Rachel Khoo shows us in The Little Paris Kitchen, French food can be simple, wholesome, and yet still remain effortlessly chic.

Rachel is an all-around food personality – she has a pastry degree from Le Cordon Bleu, has written three cookbooks, and been the star of a cooking show. She’s more of an European personality than an American one, but I think the release of a US version of The Little Paris Kitchen, may change that. The book is a little glimpse into Rachel’s life in Paris, as shown through the food she makes to feed herself and her friends.

The recipes included are universally appealing, not in a way that made me think “Oh, I’d love to make that someday,” but in a way that made me add three recipes to my weekly menu after only 20 minutes flipping through the book. The fact that the food is simple but also interesting makes it easy to visualize incorporating into your everyday routine. Recipes such as Tartiflette Muffins, Onion Creme Brulee, and Cassoulet Soup with Duck-and-Sausage Dumplings are examples of the hearty, soul-warming food in this book that will probably be on my dinner menu soon. There are plenty of lighter, more elegant recipes that caught my eye as well – Champagne Sabayon with Strawberries and Cherry Tomatoes, Rosemary, Lavender, and Chevre Fougasse, and Cherry-Tomato Vanilla Jam are a few. In general, there’s a nice balance.

I should mention – this book has lots of pictures. And they’re beautiful pictures. In fact, every single recipe is accompanied by a full-page color photograph, a cookbook characteristic that I love – it makes it so much easier to decide what to cook when you can see the end result. There are also a lot of pictures of Rachel – Rachel shopping, Rachel riding her bike, Rachel holding a glass of wine and looking pensively into the distance, Rachel having a picnic with her attractive Parisian girlfriends. I think perhaps this would have stuck out less to me if I already knew more about her; as I didn’t, I found it a touch over-done. Just a personal thing. I will say that, along with the curly font and the pink text, the pictures of her out and about in pretty dresses definitely contributes to the overall girliness of the book’s style. It’s not over the top, but it’s definitely not gender neutral.

To test out the food, I started with two recipes – a roast vegetable salad with goat cheese mousse, and a chicken-dumpling soup. I’ll share the salad later this week, but for now let’s focus on this soup, which was even better than I was expecting it to be. The dumplings, also called quenelles, are made from ground chicken, soft white bread, and cream, and are then simmered for just a few minutes in a pot of chicken broth. The only other ingredients are a handful of just-cooked carrots and mushrooms and a sprinkling of fresh parsley. The result is a lovely bowl of super-comforting soup filled with soft, fluffy, deeply savory dumplings, the kind of soup that you wish someone would make for you every time you’re feeling down. (Solution: make some for yourself when you’re feeling good, then stick a bunch in the freezer for those days that you need to feel loved). It reminded me of matzoh-ball soup, but richer and more chicken-y (well, duh Katie). I loved it. I made a double-batch of the dumplings, and I’m saving the rest for the suggestion Rachel includes at the bottom of the recipe – broiling the poached quenelles with bechamel and grated cheese.

The bottom line: The Little Paris Kitchen is a book that makes classic French cooking an everyday affair. It’s a bit girly, and the author, Rachel, is strongly featured throughout the book (a la Giada or Rachel Ray), but the recipes are solid and the photography both beautiful and abundant. I can see this book quickly becoming a weeknight go-to for me with plenty of recipes that are quick and satisfying.

Disclaimer: I received a review copy of The Little Paris Kitchen free of charge from Chronicle Books. I was not otherwise compensated and all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Chicken Dumpling Soup / Bouillon de Poulet avec Des Quenelles de Volailles

Recipe from The Little Paris Kitchen. Serves 4.

6 1/2 c. chicken stock
2 large carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
7 oz boneless skinless chicken breast or ground chicken
3 1/2 oz. white bread, no crusts (I used burger rolls)
6 1/2 TBS of half and half
1 egg plus 1 egg yolk
1 tsp salt
a pinch of pepper
a pinch of nutmeg
5 button mushrooms, thinly sliced
1/2 bunch of fresh parsley, leaves roughly chopped

Bring the chicken stock and chopped carrots to a boil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Boil for 10 minutes, or until carrots are tender.
In a blender, combine the chicken, bread, half and half, egg, egg yolk, salt, pepper and nutmeg, and blend until you have a smooth and sticky paste. Use a spoon to form the paste into dumplings of about 2 TBS apiece, and drop the dumplings into the boiling broth. Cook the dumplings for 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, then add the mushrooms and cook for 1 minute longer. Check the inside of a dumpling just to make sure it is cooked all the way through. Serve the soup immediately, with a generous sprinkling of chopped parsley stirred in.

3 March 1, 2013 Food

N.E.E.T. Magazine Feature // Strawberry-Balsamic Salad with Candied Pecans and Goat Cheese

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

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

Balsamic Strawberry and Spinach Salad with Goat Cheese and Candied Pecans

Serves 4.

1 lb. strawberries, washed, hulled, and sliced
1/2 c. + 2 TBS sugar, divided
1 1/2 TBS balsamic vinegar
4 sprigs fresh mint, finely minced (about 1 TBS minced)
1 c. pecan halves
5 oz. baby spinach (1 standard clam-shell container)
4 oz. goat cheese, crumbled

In a small bowl, combine the sliced strawberries, 2 TBS of the sugar, the vinegar, and the minced mint and stir gently together. Let sit for 10 minutes while you prepare the candied pecans.
To make the candied pecans: Mix the remaining 1/2 c. sugar with 2 TBS of water in a large frying pan to make a thick paste. Bring to a boil over medium heat, then stir gently a few times. Let cook until just beginning to turn golden, then add pecans. Stir to coat the pecans with sugar. As you stir, the sugar should begin to crystallize on the pecans. Continue to cook, stirring, for about 3-4 minutes to toast the pecans. Remove from heat and let cool. If pecans are stuck together in any places, break apart with a wooden spoon.
To serve the salad, divide the spinach between four plates. Divide the strawberries into four portions and arrange on top of the spinach. Spoon some of the balsamic-strawberry juices over the spinach leaves as well. Sprinkle a few tablespoons of the candied pecans over the top of the strawberries, then dot the top of each salad with 1 oz of goat cheese crumbles.

0 February 27, 2013 Winter

January, February

Now that two whole months of 2013 have passed, I just wanted to check in and share some of the things I’ve been doing, reading, eating, and loving, that may not have made their way onto the blog. I’m glad that it’s almost March, because March means spring, but there have been some good things about winter, too, and it would be a shame to forget about them.

Did you know I got my very first smartphone in January? Yeah, I know, I’m 3 years behind. Still, it’s awesome, and I may have been going a little bit overboard with Instagram… it’s just so fun! It turns out that most of the pictures I’ve taken recently are of gardening – one of the best things about this time of year is planning ahead to the summer and watching all the little tiny seeds burst into a much needed flourish of green:

1) Seeds arrived! All from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. 2) T planting the first batch of seeds. 3) First sprouts! Basil seedlings. 4) Eggplant, onions. 5) Impulse buying a key lime tree and an orange tree on a recent trip to Mahoney’s. 6) Peppers, varieties might be named after Game of Thrones. 7) Blossoms on my Meyer Lemon. 8) My Christmas present – an olive tree – before it lost all it’s leaves (don’t worry, I’m nursing it back to health)

It also feels like we got a never-ending amount of snow these past two months. First there was the blizzard (Nemo, if you must call it that), which mostly involved shoveling (and was the beginning of two full weeks of being sick for me), and it seems like every few days since then we get another few inches. I don’t mind snow, but in the city, it gets so slushy and gross so quickly. I’ve had my fill for this year.

1) More snowflakes, sigh. 2) Trevor preparing to face the blizzardy streets. 3) Boston common in the snow and fog. 4) Pretty on the trees, if only briefly.

To stay warm, I’ve been filling up on plenty of hearty foods. A spicy chicken soup Trevor made for me, this vegetarian chili with chocolate from Green Kitchen Stories that I made for the Superbowl (during which I may or may not have watched an Anne of Green Gables marathon instead…), sausage and tortellini soup from Handle the Heat, and plenty of hot chocolate with Bailey’s.

And books! I’ve read a few really great ones recently. I just finished Exit the Actress tonight and it’s the only book I’ve read in a while that has had me up late at night reading. It follows the life of (real) historical figure Ellen Gywn, an orange-seller turned actress turned King’s favorite mistress. The characters and story are so compelling. I also read Pretty Birds, a deeply moving but disturbing account of the Bosnian War, told through the eyes of a female sniper. I think it had such a profound impact on me because it was so recent. A worthwhile read. Last, Fearless, which chronicles the journey of Freya Hoffmeister as she circumnavigates Australia in a kayak. Fascinating, and kind of makes me never want to go to Australia – too many ways to die. Now, she’s 407 days into her journey around the entire continent of South America – you can track her progress daily on her blog.

I’m realizing that this post makes me seem like I might be the most tame 23 year old on the planet – gardening, snowstorms, reading. I don’t have any pictures to prove otherwise, but I promise I did spend a couple nights out doing fun things as well. I even stayed up past 2am last weekend. Crazy. I’ll try to get some proof for you in the next few months that I’m not a little old lady. Until then!

0 February 26, 2013 Food

Blue Apron Meals – Review and Giveaway

I have something really exciting to introduce to you today – and an equally exciting giveaway to go along with it. A few months ago, Kelli from Blue Apron Meals reached out to ask if I’d be interested in reviewing their weekly meal service. I was hesitant at first – I mean, I write a food blog after all, half the fun is in coming up with my own recipes to share with you! But as I thought more about it, I realized that Blue Apron might be just what some of you are looking for. In particular, I was thinking about all my 20-something friends just setting out on their own – the ones who tell me they want to learn how to cook but don’t know where to start, the ones who ask me what they can make that’s both healthy and easy, and the ones who just don’t have the time to think about what to make and when they’re going to get groceries and how to carry them back to their apartments. So I decided to give it a try – and to give one of you the chance to try it out for yourself, as well.

So how does Blue Apron work? It’s easy. They send you a box full of pre-measured, clearly labeled ingredients, along with three recipe cards. Each box has enough to make three meals with two servings each, and the cost is $10 per person per meal (so, a $60 weekly minimum). The only ingredients you need to supply are olive oil, salt, and pepper – everything else comes with the box, including tiny bottles of maple syrup, little containers with pats of butter, and pre-measured spices. You can choose either the vegetarian or meat and fish box, and all that’s left for you to do is cook! You will need to know some basic techniques (peeling, chopping, searing), and to have a basic set of kitchen implements (I needed a cutting board, knife, pot with lid, saute pan, roasting pan, and zester/grater for this week’s meals), but the instructions are clear and each step is illustrated with photographs.

My experience using Blue Apron Meals was very positive. I got to try three tasty, healthy meals – Minute Steaks with Picadillo Sauce and Yellow Rice, Chicken with White Beans, Escarole, and Meyer Lemon, and Maple and Ginger Glazed Salmon with Watercress Parsnip Salad (you can find the full recipes for any dish, which would be easy to recreate even without the service, on Blue Apron’s site). Each dish took between 30 and 50 minutes from start to finish, and all were generously portioned (I got 3 full meals out of the steaks). The best parts of the service for me? Not having to go to the grocery store, not having to decide what to cook and find a recipe, being able to turn your order on or off based on that week’s meals (which are announced ahead of time), and knowing that the meals are healthy and balanced. And although I received this week’s box for free, I think the service is affordable. If I were to have made three meals with different proteins – steak, chicken, and salmon – I would have spent close to $30 on the meat alone, especially since it’s hard to buy proteins in a size appropriate for a single meal.

That being said, there is always room for improvement. While the meals are tasty and home-cooked, they are not as exciting as the typical dinner I make at home – in each dish, I was left wanting a little bit more contrast of flavors – more olives and raisins in the Spanish rice, more seasoning on the chicken, more oranges for the watercress salad. (My friends and family will be shocked to hear that I thought the salmon was actually the best dish, since I’ve long been a self-proclaimed seafood hater! So here’s to expanding horizons.) Also, the ingredients were high quality, but I was a teeny bit put off to find a few small snails in the watercress. Harmless, I know, and they do tell you to wash all your veggies, but it still made me a touch squeamish.

The bottom line: Overall, I would heartily recommend Blue Apron Meals, especially for those of you who want to cook more at home but either don’t have time or don’t know where to start. I’m considering signing up so that for weeks when I know ahead of time that I’ll be crazy busy, I can turn this on and know that healthy, tasty meals for the week will be taken care of.

Giveaway details: Blue Apron has generously offered to send one reader a week’s worth of meals (that’s 3 meals at 2 servings each)! Unfortunately, this giveaway is only open to readers within their current delivery range (CT, DE, IL, IN, KY, MA, ME, MD, NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA, RI, TN, VA, VT, WV and some parts of AL, AR, GA, IA, MI, MO, MS, NC, SC, WI… for a more precise definition of whether or not you’re eligible, see their delivery map). Directions for how to enter the giveaway are:

Mandatory Entry: visit Blue Apron’s recipe book then come back here and leave me a comment letting me know which recent recipe you think sounds the best.
Additional Entry #1: Like both Blue Apron Meals and Katie at the Kitchen Door on facebook, then return here and leave a comment letting me know you did so.
Additional Entry #2: Follow @BlueApronMeals and @Kitchen_Door on twitter, tweet “Win a week’s worth of healthy and tasty meals from @BlueApronMeals and @Kitchen_Door via http://wp.me/pMUN2-Yj”, then come back here and leave a comment letting me know you did so.

That’s all! The giveaway will be open until Tuesday, March 5th, 2013 at midnight, at which point I will randomly select a winner. Good luck to everyone.

Disclaimer: I received a week’s worth of meals from Blue Apron free of charge, and they are hosting this giveaway. All opinions are my own, and I was not otherwise compensated to write this post.

1 February 20, 2013 Asian and Indian

Greatist Collaboration: Sesame Chicken Bowl

My shelf in the fridge is kind of a disaster right now. There’s leftover tamarind and palm sugar from three batches of Pad Thai, dark mushroom soy sauce and Chinese broccoli from Gong Bao Chicken, tahini from Roasted Carrot and Tahini soup, failed grapefruit and ginger bars (a precursor to these cookies) that I don’t want to eat but can’t bring myself to throw out… it’s crowded in there. I love having all these fun condiments available, but when you’re sharing a fridge with four people (read: four bottles of milk, four cartons of eggs, four bottles of soy sauce, etc.) it can feel like they’re taking up room for real food. You know, like vegetables, and chicken. The fridge situation is complicated by the fact that tonight, I’m getting my first delivery from Blue Apron, with ingredients for 3 delicious meals that will also need to make their way into the fridge. Conundrum.

So when I was thinking about what to make for Greatist this week, I knew it couldn’t require anything that wasn’t already in my fridge/freezer/pantry. As I thought about it, I realized that this is a way I should try to eat more often – using up what I have instead of always running out to get something new in order to make something just so. It’s less wasteful. So I mixed up a delicious tahini, soy sauce, and honey sauce, marinated some chicken I had waiting in the freezer in it, added some blanched Chinese broccoli, and cooked it all up in a frying pan with rice. It came out amazing – sweet and salty and satisfying – and just goes to show you that a good sauce can go a long way! Head on over to Greatist for the recipe – and feel free to use it as a blueprint for using up whatever you have languishing in your fridge.