Category Archives: meat & dairy

Dark Days: Thick Cut Pork Chops with Roasted Vegetables

16 February 2010 by local kitchen

For Valentine’s Day dinner, I had planned to use the last of our Flying Pigs pork; two thick pork chops that have been in our chest freezer since our last delivery of Flying Pigs back in the Fall. I realized, after reading Sophie’s post on her Dark Days meal of the week, that 1) I had also had local pork chops, and 2) I had forgotten to post my DDC Meal of the Week. As so often happens, when 90% […]

Categories: 100% local, Dark Days Local, main course, pork, winter • Tags: cooking, food, local, pork, recipes

Orange-Kissed Chocolate (cup)Cake

14 February 2010 by local kitchen

Of all the dessert flavor combinations, orange and chocolate is by far Tai’s favorite. Anything orangey-chocolate, or chocolaty-orange, is sure to rate high with his tastebuds. Since it is Valentine’s Day (our first as an ‘official’ married couple) I wanted to make him something special and use his two favorite flavors. My first thought was of a Cointreau chocolate cake with Burnt Orange Buttercream. I’ve made the Burnt Orange buttercream before, and he loves it; I figured I could sneak some […]

Categories: baking, cake, dessert, eggs, whole wheat flour, year round • Tags: baking, cooking, dessert, food, recipes

Nachos

11 February 2010 by local kitchen

Satisfying. That’s the word for these nachos. Basic, yes; merely four ingredients make up the basis of this dish; but endlessly versatile and oh-so satisfying. We’ve all had our share of nachos – they’ve practically become as American as hot dogs and apple pie. They are the easy bar food that everyone can agree upon; the post-soccer fuel that you shovel in with abandon; the football-watching crowd favorite. But how often have you had really good nachos? The kind with a perfect ratio of […]

Categories: 100% local, appetizer, beans, cheese, quick & easy, vegetarian, year round • Tags: cooking, food, local, nachos, party food, quick & easy, recipes, vegetarian

Glazed Berry Tart with Sweet Ricotta Filling

8 February 2010 by local kitchen

This tart is a riff on my standard Glazed Blackberry Tart recipe, with an added sweet cheese filling and 100% local ingredients for our Northeast Dark Days gathering (Dark Days post to follow- stay tuned!). This is a lovely tart to make in the winter, when fresh berries are still months away, yet you can relive the taste of summer with berries from the freezer. It can easily be made with any frozen berries you have on hand, and a variety […]

Categories: 100% local, baking, berries, cheese, Dark Days Local, dessert, pastry, winter • Tags: baking, cooking, dessert, food, local

Sweet Ricotta Tart with Honey-Spiced Peaches

6 February 2010 by local kitchen

I’ve been dreaming of summer lately. Don’t get me wrong, I love the seasons, winter included. I love snow (and I wish we were getting the blizzard that DC is enjoying today, but we didn’t get a single flake). Despite my love of snow, I, like everyone else, get tired of the cold, the dark, the dry indoor air, the wearing of layers and layers to keep warm. That feeling that your core is always twisted into a tight little […]

Categories: 100% local, baking, cheese, dessert, pastry, peaches, whole wheat flour, winter, year round • Tags: baking, dessert, food, local, recipes

Strawberry Balsamic Roasted Turkey

3 February 2010 by local kitchen

Remember summer? Remember bright blue skies, long green grass, hot sun, warm rain and… strawberries? Back in July I made this strawberry jam with the very last of the season’s strawberries: kind of sweet, kind of savory, and a loose set just perfect for turning into a quick and easy marinade on a winter’s Monday night. The smell of strawberry when I popped the top on the jar was incredible and instantly took me back to a hot summer’s day, in […]

Categories: berries, main course, roasting, turkey, Use it or Lose it!, vinegar, winter • Tags: balsamic, cooking, dinner, food, local, main course, recipes, strawberry, turkey

Spicy Mexican Red Beans & Rice

1 February 2010 by local kitchen

My girlfriend Christina gave me the best Christmas present – Rancho Gordo beans and popcorn. She lives in San Francisco now, so while I don’t get to see her very often these days, the (albeit tiny) silver lining is that she is local to the fabulous Ferry Market and when she comes home to visit, she can bring me Rancho Gordo goodies and I can consider them ‘local.’ Because it’s local to her. And she flew to me. And just happened […]

Categories: 100% local, beans, celery, heirloom beans, hot chile peppers, main course, pork, rice, sausage, stew, year round • Tags: beans, chorizo, cooking, food, local, Mexican, pork, recipes, red beans and rice

Dark Days: Roasted Green Beans with Potatoes & Bacon

31 January 2010 by local kitchen

I discovered last week that I am on my last bag of frozen kale, which shocks me; I feel like all I did last summer was blanch and freeze kale. As I uncovered things in the chest freezer (that had been buried under the avalanche of kale) I realized that I have a lot of frozen green beans. After calling for some green bean inspiration from my fellow Dark Dayers, I got a lot of great recipe ideas, and have […]

Categories: 100% local, chickpeas, Dark Days Local, green beans, main course, pork, potato, roasting, side dish, spring, winter, year round • Tags: cooking, food, local, recipes

Roasted Pepper, Onion & Sweet Corn Pizza

26 January 2010 by local kitchen

I know what you’re thinking: “Corn? On pizza? She’s crazy.” Crazy like a fox, I say. Or crazy like a person who enjoys crispy, chewy, sweet, spicy, savory, salivatingly (salivatingly? Oh, shut up I’m on a roll) good pizza. Corn is the key. Don’t get me wrong, roasted peppers & onions are lovely by themselves, but the corn! The corn added texture, a hint of smoky sweetness, a foil for the tomato sauce. Roasting brought out a flavor very much like grilled […]

Categories: cheese, corn, hot chile peppers, main course, pizza, roasting, vegetarian, whole wheat flour, winter • Tags: cooking, local, pizza, recipes

Can Jam: Lime Curd for Water Bath Canning

19 January 2010 by local kitchen

Apparently it is Citrus Curd Week on the Interwebs – and no one told me! I’ve been thinking for a couple of weeks now about what I was going to make for Tigress’ January Can Jam; citrus is a lovely and broad category and there are so many choices! There are a couple of marmalades that I make each winter that Tai loves; one a pink grapefruit version with bourbon vanilla bean, the other a spicy orange marmalade with Arbol chiles. […]

Categories: Can Jam, canning, citrus, dessert, eggs, winter, year round • Tags: cooking, dessert, food, local, preserving, recipes

Dark Days: Venison Chile Verde

18 January 2010 by local kitchen

Friends of ours gifted us with some venison this week, received from friends of theirs who had shot and butchered a deer. I’m not exactly sure where the deer came from but I’m pretty confident that it was somewhere in the Northeast; our friends live in Connecticut, not far from Mystic, and the deer probably came from either New Hampshire or the Adirondacks in NY. It seemed a perfect candidate for this week’s Dark Days spotlight meal. I’m not a […]

Categories: 100% local, cilantro, Dark Days Local, hot chile peppers, main course, meat & dairy, tomatillos, winter, year round • Tags: cooking, food, local, recipes

Dark Days: Handmade Whole Wheat Pasta

10 January 2010 by local kitchen

I’ve been meaning to make fresh pasta again for a while now; I probably would not have done it today if I had not remembered that it is Sunday and I hadn’t yet planned my Dark Days meal o’ the week. Thanks, Dark Days Challenge, for giving me a kick in the pants! The last time I made whole wheat pasta, I used all whole wheat bread flour (hard red spring wheat flour from Wild Hive) and the dough was so […]

Categories: 100% local, appetizer, Dark Days Local, eggs, main course, vegetarian, whole wheat flour, year round • Tags: cooking, food, local, recipes, vegetarian

Yogurt Cheese Scones with Lemon & Thyme

9 January 2010 by local kitchen

The latest entry in my scone obsession, these are a savory, tangy mini scone that I made to bring to dinner tonight at our friends Amy and Bob’s house. These are an appetizer scone, great nibbled with fresh slices of apple or a nice chutney. How lemony they taste depends on the depth of flavor in your cheese; a strong cheese will allow just a hint of citrusy freshness to come though, while with a milder cheese you will really taste the […]

Categories: appetizer, baking, breads, breakfast, cheese, citrus, quick & easy, thyme, whole wheat flour, year round • Tags: baking, cheese, cooking, food, local, recipes, whole grain breads

Dark Days: Sausage & Pepper Pizza

28 December 2009 by local kitchen

Last night we had the happy coincidence of two friends traveling back home from Christmas celebrations, both of whom decided to stop and spend the night with us en route. We had a delicious, impromptu, and local dinner of sausage & pepper pizza, served up with Saranac ales, good conversation, and many laughs. Thanks, Frannie & Christina, for a great night! Happy holidays everyone! ————————————————————- Sausage & Pepper Pizza INGREDIENTS 1 recipe Quick(er) Whole Grain Pizza dough 1/2 lb smoked […]

Categories: 100% local, basil, cheese, Dark Days Local, main course, pizza, sausage, tomatoes, whole wheat flour, winter, year round • Tags: cooking, food, local, pizza, recipes

Dark Days: Swiss Chard Quiche Minis

21 December 2009 by local kitchen

Undaunted by the blizzard, a few intrepid souls made it to our annual Christmas party on Saturday night. Luckily for them, there was no shortage of yummy food on hand. My kitchen counter was groaning under the weight of this sausage bread, made with linguica and local smoked mozzarella, Wild Hive rosemary bread crostini with olive oil, garlic and basil, a selection of local cheeses, curried apple chutney, sweet cherry chutney, cranberry apple butter and cranberry sauce, homemade stuffed grape leaves […]

Categories: 100% local, appetizer, breakfast, cheese, Dark Days Local, eggs, kale & leafy greens, main course, vegetarian, whole wheat flour, winter, year round • Tags: baking, cooking, food, local, recipes, vegetarian