I’ll take all the little rays of sunshine these days and that also means enjoying the abundance of citrus this dreary winter is blessing us with. From hastily peeling a juicy clementine for a quick snack to dropping sections of Cara Cara orange on top of my morning yogurt, their sweet and zesty nectar are forever brightening my days. One stands above them all though for sensory pleasure – the blood orange.
A visual stunner with a deep crimson flesh and a tastebud pleaser with a sweet, intense berry-like flavor, blood oranges are as dramatic as their name implies. They’re begging to be showcased with panache and I can’t think of a better way then in this recipe from Martha Stewart pairing blood oranges with caramel sauce and cocoa nibs.
Slicing into a blood orange is all it takes to reveal a gorgeous and always unexpected ruby interior. Carve out the skin and pit to expose deep reds like wine and burnt oranges with purple streaks, cutting across the middle to form jeweled coins needing little to impress.
Lay them haphazardly on a blank canvas (you’ll want shallow bowls) – so pretty you could serve them this way and none would be the wiser! An easy caramel sauce is mixed with blood orange juice and a pinch of salt…
… before being poured generously over the glowing fruits.
A sprinkling of cocoa nibs adds crunch and a slight bitterness to accompany this sweet and I must say decadent dessert. So few steps needed to achieve such an artistic and insanely delicious chef d’oeuvre.
As pleasing to the eyes as it is to the palate, this blood oranges with caramel sauce and cocoa nibs dish is exactly what we all need right now. The buttery salted caramel sauce (which you’ll literally lick off the plate) blends perfectly with the intense, raspberry-like flavor of the blood orange.
A sweet and tart showstopper with lush colors and enough brightness to lift your spirits on the darkest of days. Hurry up before these little magical fruits disappear!
Make the most of citrus season with this stunning dessert showcasing blood oranges, an easy caramel sauce, and cocoa nibs. Easy to put together and packing a punch without being heavy, this is the perfect ending to a special meal or simply when you need a serious winter pick-me-up.
Prep Time:
15 min
Total Time:
30 min
Yield:
4
Preparation
1. Cut top and bottom off 3 oranges to expose flesh. Stand each orange upright, and cut off peel (including pith) in vertical strips. Cut flesh into 1/4-inch rounds, reserving juice in a bowl. Juice remaining 2 oranges, adding enough juice to reserved juice to equal 1/2 cup.
2. Make the caramel sauce: Prepare an ice-water bath. Bring sugar and 2 tablespoons water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Cook, stirring until sugar is dissolved; continue cooking until mixture is dark amber in color, about 6 minutes. Remove from heat, and slowly and carefully add butter, juice, and a pinch of salt, stirring until smooth (you should have 3/4 cup sauce). Transfer pan to ice-water bath, and let cool for 15 minutes.
3. Divide orange slices among 4 shallow bowls, and top with caramel sauce and cocoa nibs.
Ingredients
5 blood oranges 1/2 cup sugar 3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces Coarse salt 3 tablespoons cocoa nibs
Snacking on slices of apple and cheese is a classic pairing for taking the edge off between meals. The combination of the apple’s sweet and tart flavor with the saltiness of the cheese gets all our taste buds humming. But have you ever thought of pairing them cooked? Turns out, their chemistry when warm and gooey is as underrated as it is satisfying.
When you’re in the mood for a savory-sweet treat, this New England and Midwestern tradition of pairing apple pie with a slice of sharp cheddar is a delicious way to curb your craving. While there are still some nice and crisp local apples from this past season available in the Northeast, I’ve decided to stretch my fall baking into winter with this unique recipe for cinnamon-apple tarts with sharp cheddar and spiced honey.
The crust – which you fully bake before adding the filling – gets a nice nuttiness from adding a little bit of either almond or hazelnut flour. The diced apples are quickly sautéed in butter, sugar and cinnamon to preserve a crunchy bite.
Squares of sharp cheddar top the still warm apples before going under the broiler for a quick melt.
In the meantime, gently heat honey with some lemon juice and a dried chili and serve alongside the warm and gooey apple tarts. The sweet and spicy honey is absolutely superb drizzled on top, punching out the flavors and placing this dessert into the ‘mostly sweet, a little savory’ category.
Think of it as a novel way to indulge in your favorite cheese board, with your cheese, fruits, nuts and condiments all merged together in perfect harmony.
You’ll realize cheese is the dairy your apple pie had been missing all this time and you’ll be reaching for the cheddar (or why not Gruyere, gouda, Roquefort?) before the ice cream…
The traditional pairing of apple and cheese is a surprising game-changer in tart form, sweet and a little savory. You swap the cheddar for any cheese you fancy, from gouda and Gruyere to Roquefort and Parmesan.
Cook Time:
20 min
Total Time:
180 min
Category:
Dessert
Yield:
8
Preparation
1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix all of the ingredients for the crust until a dough ball forms. Flatten the dough ball with your hands to form a disk and envelop it in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least one hour.
2. Get the dough out of the refrigerator and roll out to a thickness of 5mm. Line 8 individual tart pans with the dough, cutting out excess. Refrigerate the tart pans.
3. Preheat the oven to 350F (180C) and bake the tart crusts around 15 minutes, until nice and golden. Let them cool completely.
4. In a large pan, melt the butter over high heat and quickly sautéed the apples with the sugar and cinnamon until cooked but with a crunchy bite left - just a few minutes.
5. Fill in the tart pans with the apple mixture. Add a cube of cheddar on top of each tart and place under the broiler until the cheese has melted.
6. In a small saucepan, heat the honey, lemon juice and dried chili gently for 5 minutes. Strain to remove the chili.
7. Serve the apple tarts warm with the spiced honey.
Ingredients
For the crust: 200g all-purpose flour 130g softened butter 90g powdered sugar 2 egg yolks 60g almond or hazelnut flour 3g fine sea salt Filling: 6 Golden Delicious apples, diced into 1/4 inch cubes, unpeeled 3 cinnamon sticks 3 tablespoons unsalted butter 50g granulated sugar 8 x 20g cubes of sharp cheddar Spiced Honey: 1 cup of honey Juice from one lemon 1 dried chili
As everyone knows, Vermont is chock full of pretty little villages (hello, Grafton!), each more exquisite than the next, and picking a favorite is near impossible. I must admit though that upon arriving in Woodstock, I felt very much as if I had found the one, the fairest of them all.
First settled in 1765, Woodstock grew in popularity as a publishing center in a very attractive location, luring wealthy families away from the big city. What sets this village apart is its sheer elegance which is on display everywhere from the quaint downtown area to the graceful mansions dotted along its charming streets.
The compact downtown consists of only two main streets, zero traffic lights, and a plethora of boutiques, galleries and restaurants attesting to the village’s upscale residents and visitors.
A 130-year-old general store has 8,000-square-feet of locally-made gifts and all the necessities you didn’t know you needed, from maple cookies and folk puzzles to camping equipment.
Cozy cafes with street-facing terraces offer both light nourishment and front-row seats to stop and marvel at the magical display that unfolds every season. For a quick and healthy lunch, stop at Soulfully Good Cafe which sits on a quieter stretch of the main street.
The crowd around Mon Vert Cafe is testament to the excellent coffee and organic brunch fare at the perpetually busy eatery. If pressed for time (or just dying for that A.M. jolt of caffeine), take your order to go and sit at one of the picnic tables across the street or wander to the nearest park 2 mins away.
Well hidden and even more scenic, Abracadabra Coffee Co was by far my favorite morning discovery. Down a little path leading to the river just off the main road you’ll find the beloved local coffee roaster’s red building and the best espresso and cold brew drinks around. Even better – the shop is right next to a park with plenty of outdoor tables right by the river with views of fields and mountains.
Or take your coffee for a walk and sit at one of the benches set by the little brook that crosses Central Street. It is flanked by historical buildings as it winds its way through the village – simply beautiful.
Woodstock’s ideal size is part of its appeal (population is around 3,000) and one can easily wander around the quiet residential streets to take in the beauty from a slower-paced era.
The lovely village green is smack in the middle of it all, literally a stone’s throw from the town’s main intersection and many would say the heart of the village.
Standing anywhere in “The Green” gives you camera worthy moments as pretty much every building and home on its periphery is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Woodstock’s Public LibraryCounty Court
A 360° tour on your heels will give you a comprehensive review of the different architectural styles from the 19th and 20th century – so many handsome homes all in one place!
St James Episcopal Church
Crowning the green with its outstanding entrance and manicured gardens, the Woodstock Inn & Resort epitomizes the ‘impeccable historic’ feel of the village.
The luxury hotel is one of many contributions from the Rockefeller family in Woodstock and one of the finest places to stay in the state. From lounging on the gorgeous lawn and relaxing at the spa to feasting at one of the in-house fine dining restaurants, a stay here will definitely give you a taste of timeless elegance.
Of course, this being Vermont there’s an impossibly pretty covered bridge just off the green that will lead you to another picturesque part of the village.
Middle Covered Bridge
The gently flowing Ottaquechee River forms a dreamy backdrop to some more handsome homes.
Within five minutes of walking, you’ll find yourself in front of another one of Woodstock’s delights: Mount Tom. Smack into the village, this small mountain is the perfect lazy hike to work off some of that Vermont beer and cheese while immersing yourself in nature. The trail entrance is right on Mountain Avenue just behind the covered bridge.
It’s a gentle ascent to the 1,200-foot summit and 30 minutes will get you there without breaking too much of a sweat.
You would have gladly climbed a lot more for that kind of view though…this is the biggest bang for your bucks around here.
You can take in the entire village from up here, spotting the covered bridge, the green, and all of Woodstock’s glory in one big, splendid panorama.
You’ll also get up close to the star of Mt Tom that shines down over the village during the Christmas period since the end of WWII, and the cross that gets illuminated for Easter.
Back down, you can continue to stretch your legs by visiting the Billings Farm and Museum, a working dairy farm and agricultural museum set in a restored 1890 farmhouse.
Hop in your car and drive the short distance to Farmhouse Pottery, a dreamy artisanal houseware shop housed in a former bible bindery.
The old-world pottery studio is in plain view from the shop where you can see artisans shaping the clay into gorgeous, minimalist kitchenware right before your eyes.
The elegant simplicity and top notch quality of everything on offer here will surely find a place in your home or as a cherished gift.
You won’t want to leave Woodstock at this point, but when you must, the pastoral surrounding countryside will take a bit of the sting out. Follow the river East to Taftsville for a colorful photo op with the famous bright red covered bridge.
Completed in 1836, it is one of the oldest covered bridges in the nation, and one of the longest, spanning 189 feet.
And any dirt roads in the vicinity is likely to give you that bucolic red barn scene that is so typical of the region and never fails to charm. Whether you brave the hordes at peak foliage time, partake in the numerous winter activities before cozying up in the village, or enjoy summer’s long days of hiking/boating/meandering, Woodstock and its exquisite natural surroundings will give you that quintessential New England getaway in the prettiest of packages…
Few smells are as inviting and enveloping as that of freshly baked bread. The aroma wafting through the house on a cold day is the most wondrous thing, and even better when it is mixed with the herbal and nutty notes of Za’atar. I find myself transported straight to the streets of Ammanin Jordan where it is a popular breakfast and lunch snack, as it is throughout the Levant.
Za’atar flatbreads, also known as manoushi or man’oushe or mana’eesh, are a breeze to make and super quick to bake so when you want some hot, fresh bread fast – they’re my number one choice. This foolproof recipe is from Sababa, a wonderful Israeli cookbook that has been on heavy rotation in my kitchen lately – I highly recommend you take a look!
If you’re not familiar with Za’atar, prepare to be wowed. The Middle Eastern spice mix varies greatly across the region although usually includes a combination of dried thyme, oregano, sumac and toasted sesame seeds. It’s savory, tangy, woodsy and so versatile it pairs equally well with roasted meats as it does fresh bread (try it on pizza – a game changer). Here it is simply mixed with olive oil to form a paste to then slather all over the prepared raw dough.
These quick breads are typically baked in a clay oven but you can reproduce similar results with a pizza stone which gets a lot other than your standard baking sheet. They’re not expensive so a worthwhile purchase to have a fresh flatbread ready in 5 minutes!
Golden, puffed and perfectly crispy around the edges, you can jump right in and tear it into pieces to eat on the spot as many do in the streets from Libya to Turkey. The soft and airy pita-like bread is best served very fresh and delicious on its own.
You can also serve your warm Za’atar flatbreads with olives and labneh topped with olive oil for a typical breakfast like I do. I remember starting many of my days in the Jordanian desert with such flatbread, a handful of olives, some pieces of cheese and an hard boiled egg for the long hike ahead…such sweet memories.
Their simplicity and versatility will open up so many ways for you to enjoy these savory flatbreads which totally belong in your baking repertoire. Use them as pizza base with some fresh tomato, mint and cheese on top or tearing them to dip into hummus or baba ghanoush…
A staple snack and breakfast found all over the Middle East, these Za'atar flatbreads are incredibly versatile on top of being really easy to make. Enjoy them on their own or as part of a light meal spread with thick labneh, some olives, hummus, etc. or make your own creation with veggies or grilled meats.
Prep Time:
20 min
Total Time:
105 min
Cuisine:
Middle Eastern
Yield:
6
Preparation
1. Combine the flour, salt, yeast, 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, honey, and water in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. Mix on medium-low speed for 1 minute, then increase the speed to medium-high and knead until smooth and very lightly tacky but not sticky, adding flour by the tablespoonful if necessary, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a clean kitchen towel, and keep in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
2. Preheat the oven as high as it can go, anywhere between 500° and 550°F. Place a pizza stone, inverted heavy baking sheet, or clean cast iron skillet in the oven. Precut 6 10 x 10-inch pieces of parchment paper. Meanwhile, whisk together the remaining 1/2 cup olive oil and the za'atar in a small bowl.
3. Once the dough has doubled in size, uncover it and gently transfer to a lightly floured work surface. Use a knife to cut the dough into 6 equal pieces. Using lightly oiled hands, form each piece into a ball, tucking the ends underneath and pinching them together gently to encourage a nice round shape. Lightly flour the work surface again and roll the balls into 6-inch rounds, letting them rest for 5 minutes, then rolling them again and keeping them covered with a towel. Transfer a round to one piece of parchment paper, spoon 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons of the za'atar mixture onto the center of the round and use the back of the spoon to spread it, leaving a 1/2-inch border around the edges.
4. Transfer the bread with the parchment paper underneath it onto the heated baking sheet and bake until golden and puffed (some bubbles may form in the dough - that's great!), 5 to 7 minutes. Repeat with the remaining dough and za'atar. Serve warm or on the same day. If you're serving the next day, reheat in a 300°F oven for 6 to 7 minutes. Right after baking, za'atar breads can be cooled completely then wrapped tightly and individually in plastic wrap and frozen for up to 3 months.
Ingredients
3.5 cups bread flour, plus more for dusting 1 1/2 teaspoons fine sea salt 1 1/4 teaspoons instant (rapid-rise) yeast 2 tablespoons plus 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil (plus more for oiling the bowl) 2 teaspoons honey 1 cup warm water 1/2 Za'atar spice blend
A simple guacamole with a little salt and fresh squeeze of lime juice is one of the most universally-loved appetizers (or simple meal if you like avocados as much as I do). This being 2020, everyone could use some extra festive addition to pretty much everything this month, and that includes the classic guacamole.
You can find seasonal variations throughout Mexico but none as gorgeous and cheery as this Mango and Pomegranate Guacamole which I stumbled upon in an old Gourmet Magazine. A pop of bright color and contrasting textures really do wonders to the classic dip and would be a great showstopper on your holiday table. Keep the tropical theme by swapping homemade plantain chips for the usual tortillas. Not only do they look more elegant, their delicate crispiness is a match made in heaven for creamy guacamole.
Frying thin slices of plantain couldn’t be easier and only takes a few minutes.
They curve beautifully in the hot oil and are addictive to snack on so better hide them until the guac is ready!
The slight tartness of the mangoes pairs so well with creamy avocados.
But the stars are the pomegranate seeds. They pop right out like little red jewels against the guacamole’s creamy green and add a delightful crunch bursting with flavors that is just spectacular. It’s simply perfect to bring some more joy to the holidays this year and dress up a crowd favorite for a special occasion.
A beautiful, uplifting and tasty twist on the beloved guacamole, this festive recipe pairs silky mangoes and crunchy pomegranate seeds with creamy avocados. Serve with delicate homemade plantain chips for a gorgeous, holiday-worthy appetizer.
Prep Time:
20 min
Total Time:
20 min
Category:
Appetizer
Yield:
8
Preparation
1. Halve, pit, and peel avocados. Coarsely mash in a bowl. Stir in onion, chiles, 1/4 cup lime juice, and 1 1/4 teaspoons salt, then fold in pomegranate seeds, mango, and cilantro. Season with salt and additional lime juice.
2. Heat 1 inch oil to 375°F in a 4- to 5-quarts heavy pot over medium-high heat.
3. Meanwhile, cut ends from (unpeeled) plantains, then halve plantains crosswise. Cut a lengthwise slit through peel and discard peel. Cut plantains lengthwise into very thin slices (less than 1/16 inch thick) with slicer.
4. Fry plantains in batches of 10 to 12 slices, turning frequently, until golden, about 1 minute per batch. Drain on paper towels, immediately seasoning each batch with salt. Return oil to 375°F between batches.
5. *Chips can be made 1 day ahead and kept (once cool) in an airtight container at room temperature.
Ingredients
4 ripe avocados (2 pounds total) 1 cup finely chopped white onion 2 fresh serrano chiles, finely chopped (2 tablespoons), including seeds 1/4 cup fresh lime juice, or to taste 3/4 cup pomegranate seeds (from 1 pomegranate) 3/4 cup diced peeled mango 1/2 cup chopped cilantro For the plantain chips: About 4 cups vegetable oil 2 pounds green plantains Equipment: a deep-fat thermometer; an adjustable-blade slicer or Y-shaped vegetable peeler
