holiday |

Cranberry, Chèvre & Pistachio Terrine

16 January 2015 by local kitchen

Back in the Fall, the folks at Lava sent me a bunch of their cast iron cookware to try. And even though a bunch of free cast iron sounds great on the face of it, initially I was leery: I told them that I’d be happy to test out their stuff, but that if I didn’t like it, I would not offer a giveaway nor recommend it to my readers; i.e. they were not going to buy my good opinion […]

Categories: appetizer, cheese, cranberries, holiday, nuts, winter • Tags: cooking, food, holiday, local, recipes, starters

Holiday Party Menu 2014

22 December 2014 by local kitchen

The menu for this year’s Christmas party was pretty epic, if I do say so myself: bourbon-glazed pork belly, savory cheddar shortbreads, grilled skirt steak tacos, an amazing maple-mustard pulled pork, and more nibbles than you think you could possibly go through, but go through we did. I never get the chance to take photos; the light is Christmas-tree festive, but horrible for photography, and I’m always too busy running around and cooking to even think of it (hence I’ve […]

Categories: holiday, winter • Tags: cooking, food, holiday, local, recipes

Use It or Lose It! Finnish Jam Tarts

9 December 2013 by local kitchen

My great-grandfather emigrated from Finland. From which area of the country, I have no idea, since talking about our roots is not something that we really do in my family. Despite the fact that I remember him (although I thought, as a child of 3 or so, that he was my grandmother’s husband, not her father: there’s no difference between 60 and 80 years old when you are a kid, I guess), I know very little about him, save his […]

Categories: baking, dessert, holiday, Use it or Lose it!, whole wheat flour, winter, year round • Tags: baking, cookies, cooking, food, holiday, local, recipes

Double Chocolate Ombré Cake {Kami’s Cake 2013}

25 April 2013 by local kitchen

For longer than I’ve been writing this blog, I’ve been making birthday cakes for my friend Kami. There have been successes (a fantastic strawberry-pink yellow cake with a piped frosting garden by Tai the Pastry Chef, a lovely golden orange mousseline cake with royal icing butterflies) and disasters (an attempt at this cake that looked, well, absolutely nothing like that, and the Great Kami Cake Disaster of Aught-Nine); regardless, there has always been fun and laughter, good food and love. And while […]

Categories: baking, cake, holiday, spring, Use it or Lose it!, year round • Tags: baking, cake, cooking, dessert, holiday, recipes

Curried Kale & Potato Latkes

7 December 2012 by local kitchen

I’m back home (Grandma is doing very well, and has a pantry stocked with homemade granola, chicken soup and beef chili that should last until I get up there again) and working through a backlog of interwebs reading, when I stumbled upon this Hanukkah gem by Bubala Please: making latkes. I’ll warn you now: about every third word is a swear, so this is not safe for work (unless you have earphones) and there is liberal use of the term […]

Categories: appetizer, kale & leafy greens, potato, vegetarian, winter, year round • Tags: cooking, food, holiday, local, quick & easy, recipes, vegetarian, winter

Filbertines

15 December 2011 by local kitchen

Do you remember the Buck Pets? You might if you, like me, spent most of the late ’80’s and early ’90’s in tiny, beer-soaked music halls, clad in combat boots and excessive amounts of safety pins (including 7 in your left ear: never doubt that I am an overachiever in all walks of life), reveling in what was arguably some of the best music of the last two decades. What does this have to do with cookies, you ask? Well, not […]

Categories: baking, dessert, gifts, holiday, snack, year round • Tags: baking, cookies, cooking, food, holiday, local, recipes

Holiday Party Food

12 December 2011 by local kitchen

Happy December, all! It’s been awfully quiet around here of late: since I started the blog nearly three years ago, I don’t think I’ve ever gone for two weeks without posting. But a bum ankle is keeping me out of the kitchen and a string of lackluster recipe attempts (good, but not great, slow-roasted spareribs; not-quite-fluffy-enough cornmeal biscuits; baby-food-esque carrot soup) have not inspired me to share. It is also, of course, the Craziest Happiest Time of The Year, and I’ve […]

Categories: holiday, winter • Tags: cooking, food, holiday, local, party, recipes

Use It or Lose It! Cranberry Marmalade Sauce

24 November 2011 by local kitchen

For a truly last-minute cranberry sauce: bag o’ cranberries + jar o’ marmalade + 20-minute simmer = Thanksgiving cranberry perfection! If you have a jar of marmalade that set like a rock (like mine of last year), check out my recipe below. If yours came out a bit loose, check out Shae’s version, a cranberry-marm-apple relish. Either way, you can’t go wrong; cranberries are always good. Enjoy the day, everyone! ———————————————————– Cranberry Marmalade Sauce INGREDIENTS 2 cups cranberries, fresh or […]

Categories: cranberries, fall, holiday, preserving, sauces, Use it or Lose it!, winter • Tags: berries, condiments, cooking, cranberries, fall, food, holiday, local, preserving, quick & easy, recipes, thanksgiving

Cranapple Chutney

22 November 2011 by local kitchen

I still have to tell you about the super-quick-and-tasty cranberry marmalade sauce I made last week, but first: cranapple chutney. Oh so good. Easy. Quick, as chutneys go, with all that pectin from apples & cranberries setting up the preserve in no time. Nicely spicy but not killer hot. Tangy, oniony, gingery: hits every note. Tai ate nearly an entire jar for dinner last night, with a bag of tortilla chips. That good. Toss all the ingredients together, simmer for […]

Categories: apples, canning, chutneys, condiments, cranberries, fall, preserving, winter, year round • Tags: berries, canning, condiments, cooking, fall, food, holiday, local, preserving, recipes, thanksgiving, winter

Local cooking and eating in New York's Hudson Valley.

Tag: holiday