• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Joy the Baker
Joy the Baker
  • New Magazine!
  • Bread
  • Cookies
  • Cakes
  • Pies
  • Recipes
    • All Recipes
    • Biscuits
    • Muffins
    • Cupcakes
    • Drinks
    • Breakfast
    • Lunch
    • Dinner
    • Fruit
    • Nuts
    • Buttermilk
    • Chocolate
    • Vanilla
    • Holiday
    • Healthy
    • Gluten-Free
    • Vegan
  • Blog
    • Baking 101
    • Tips
    • Beyond the Kitchen
    • Let It Be Sunday!
    • New Orleans

Have Dinner With Us // Summer Inspiration from Aspen

June 24, 2016 by Joy the Baker 11 Comments

Have Dinner With Us // Summer Inspiration from Aspen

These are my very favorite days of the year.  The start of summer twinkles with magic.  The sunshine, warm evenings, the birds that chirp well into the night.  The possibility of beach escapes, and lake explorations.  Heck, even the threat of a sunburn has its thrill.  There’s so much possibility for adventure in these first few days of summer. 

I’m working hard on my Summer Bucket List (this was last year), and this year it’s fueled by inspiration from a recent trip to Aspen (glory-be Aspen) for the FOOD & WINE Classic. I took in loads of fresh air and kitchen inspiration from Chef Chris Cosentino.  KitchenAid partnered with him to give us his recipes and a few of his techniques to pull his Aspen-inspired summer meal off at home in a program called #HaveDinnerWithUs (because… who wouldn’t want in on this sort of goodness!? ).  

The Food & Wine festival is all about adventure in the kitchen.  Growing your ingredient lexicon and having some fun with fresh summer ingredients.  It’s not about nonstop grilling per say, I don’t even have a grill… it’s more about infusing that sense of possibility and adventure into the food I cook this summer. 

Adventure in the form of trying new proteins, playing with unexpected techniques, and finding themes and through-lines from the beginning to end of a meal.  

foo and wine collage

Have Dinner With Us // Summer Inspiration from Aspen

Here’s what you’ll need to bring the inspiration of Aspen home to your kitchen:

•  I’m following this three course meal by Chef Chris Cosentino.  He made it right before my eyes at the Classic and instantly made me want to find a big bundle of fresh bay leaves and an afternoon for some quality kitchen time.  

•  An oven-safe pot for braising lamb.  This KitchenAid 5-Quart Low Saute Pan is my go-to in the kitchen.  (Pssst… There’s a giveaway at the end of this post!!)

•  Big bundles of fresh herbs:  thyme, bay leaves, and mint.  

• A bottle of wine:  for cooking and a glass for sipping.

• A good summer playlist to raise your summer kitchen spirits and bring the festive vibe from the mountain top home! Find one here!

Have Dinner With Us // Summer Inspiration from Aspen

Here’s the adventure:  we’re cooking lamb.  Totally a protein I don’t experiment with in my kitchen, but we’re braising it which basically means it’s definitely going to be tender and delicious, and I’m definitely not going to mess it up. 

Braising is a low and slow process, meaning our oven is at a low temperature (taking it easy on the air conditioner) and we cook the meat slowly, allowing it to find give and tenderness over time. 

Try it!  Braised Lamb Shoulder with pickled peppers and fresh mint.  

Have Dinner With Us // Summer Inspiration from Aspen

Have Dinner With Us // Summer Inspiration from Aspen

These egg yolks are going to find their way on top of avocado toast with peas, BUT not before they’ve been salt cured with fresh herbs for a few days making them firm and shavable.  It’s kitchen science and so cool to do!

Try it!  Bruschetta with Avocado, peas, mint, and cured egg yolk. 

Have Dinner With Us // Summer Inspiration from Aspen

My favorite part of the meal, obviously, dessert.  Chris Cosentino made a panna cotta and my gooey pastry loving heart was skeptical.  But!  The cream is steeped with fresh bay leaves!  It’s unexpected and really just transcendent.  Paired with sweet strawberries and balsamic.  It’s a play on the savory side of sweet and is really quite lovely.  

Have Dinner With Us // Summer Inspiration from Aspen

 This panna cotta changed my mind about panna cotta forever.  What I thought was just cold jelly cream (I was rather close-minded) is actually nuanced, herbaceous and more creamy smooth than gelatinous.  So lovely.  

Try it! Bay Leaf Panna Cotta with strawberries, balsamic, and black pepper. 

Have Dinner With Us // Summer Inspiration from Aspen

I hope you’re inspired to experiment in the kitchen this summer!

Here’s the fun part! 

To keep you adventurous and inspired this summer KitchenAid is giving away a Tri-Ply Stainless Steel 10-Piece Set and 7-Piece Professional Series Cutlery Set.    It’s major and will be with you through years and years of good cooking!   Make these three recipes yourself (get a bundle of those glorious fresh bay leaves) and share your meal using #HaveDinnerWithUs, @kitchenaidusa and @joythebaker on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter.  

I’ll be watching out for your meals!  A winner will be randomly selected from the #HaveDinnerWithUs hashtag on Monday July 25, 2016.  Happy cooking!  

This post is in partnership with KitchenAid.  I hope you find some kitchen inspiration in some of these images from Aspen.  Summer, here we go here we go!

Previous PostNext Post

Filed Under: Holiday, Savory

Previous Post: « Let It Be Sunday!
Next Post: Let It Be Sunday! »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Brenna

    July 31, 2016 at 2:38 pm

    https://instagram.com/p/BIihWM9AHTt/
    Delicious!

    Reply
  2. laughterbubbles

    July 3, 2016 at 11:26 am

    Joy, love your recipes! (and the music suggestions!) Re the cured eggs – its mentioned leave it out in room temperature for 2 days. Now I stay in Bombay, and the weather is moisture laden – humidity levels of almost 90 percent right now. What should I do??

    thanks a ton – appu

    Reply
  3. Michele Parvizi

    June 30, 2016 at 7:31 am

    OMG the salt-cured eggs!!! In the end I had to combat the Nashville humidity with a drying session in my toaster oven but they were ultimately a success! https://instagram.com/p/BHOHkN0DO7a/

    Reply
  4. Debra

    June 26, 2016 at 12:47 am

    You would undoubtedly enjoy the Kapalua Food and Wine Festival in Maui. I make a point of attending every year. Foodie paradise in paradise!

    Reply
  5. Stacy

    June 25, 2016 at 7:57 pm

    Those all look good, but that’s a rather . . . expensive contest to enter.

    Reply
  6. sweetteasweetie (@SweetTSweetie)

    June 25, 2016 at 7:23 pm

    That panna cotta looks absolutely amazing!
    Kari
    https://sweetteasweetie.com/sweet-spicy-turkey-tacos/

    Reply
    • rrlaura

      June 26, 2016 at 4:28 am

      I was just thinking that your chances of winning would probably be better than most contests because this is a little more labor intensive :)

      Reply
  7. Lori

    June 25, 2016 at 7:54 am

    Joy- I’m so happy you were able to go! Looks like an incredible trip. I’m listening to your playlist and thinking of when I might make that bruschetta. Your post is inspiring and your photos are gorgeous!

    Reply
  8. V

    June 25, 2016 at 5:33 am

    Braising lamp, huh?

    Reply
  9. Platt College

    June 24, 2016 at 10:11 pm

    Aspen is one of my favorite places. I got their more when I lived in Colorado. Miss the good food!

    Reply
  10. alexa

    June 24, 2016 at 1:58 pm

    Any Aspen restaurant recs? I’ll be there next week for another event!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

RELATED POSTS IN Holiday

assembling chicken burger on wooden board
Bacon Jalapeno Smashed Chicken Burgers

Allow me to sneak in at the start of your holiday weekend, here at the unofficial beginning of summer (and my favorite weekend of the year) with a humble but high-key FANTASTIC chicken burger. This is one of those smash burger recipes that once you know, you cannot unknow.  This will color your burgers for…

Read More

fresh baked blueberry cobbler on a plate with vanilla ice cream on top.
The Secrets To My Favorite Blueberry Cobbler

In a shock to no one, I have a lot of thoughts about the perfect summer cobbler.  Cobbler is a sweetened fruit base topped with a wet biscuit batter that bakes up to be something between a cake and a biscuit atop simmering fruit.  A cobbler is not a crisp (though this apple crisp really…

Read More

Bowl of easy risotto recipe in a small bowl.
Oven-Baked Pea, Pancetta and Lemon Risotto

Rice is my preferred starch. Wait… does banana bread count as a starch?  If not I choose rice – it’s more versatile when it comes to dinner anyhow.  Today we’re taking the most elegant of Italian rice dishes and making it more of a one-pot-wonder than a labor of love.  There’s surely still love (read:…

Read More

Primary Sidebar

Fresh baked emails, delivered to your inbox

Jump to Recipe

Receive recipes from Joy the Baker and updates on events at The Bakehouse.

HI! I’M JOY!

Jump to Recipe

Welcome! This has been my little corner of the internet since 2008!

I’m a baker, photographer, cookbook author and teacher.  I live laugh love in New Orleans. 

MORE ABOUT JOY AND THE TEAM

BOOKS + Magazines

Jump to Recipe

JOY THE BAKER 2022 SUMMER MAGAZINE

JOY THE BAKER 2021 HOLIDAY MAGAZINE

JOY THE BAKER 2020 HOLIDAY MAGAZINE

HOMEMADE DECADENCE

OVER EASY: SWEET AND SAVORY RECIPES FOR LEISURELY DAYS COOKBOOK

JOY THE BAKER COOKBOOK

Jump to Recipe

Joy the baker with dyed bandana around neck

HOW TO MAKE DYED BANDANAS

as seen in JtB Magazine!

Jump to Recipe
joy the baker on facebook joy the baker on twitter pinterest-social instagram-socialbloglovin-social

JOY @ WILLIAMS SONOMA

Jump to Recipe

SHOP THE CAKE LINE OF CAKE MIXES!

DRAKE ON CAKE

Jump to Recipe

Passionate from miles away since 2015.

Check it out on Instagram

Drake on cake instagram.

 

FAVORITE FRUIT RECIPES

strawberry sheet cake on a plate with strawberries on top.

My Favorite Super Easy Strawberry Sheet Cake

Berry crostata topped with whipped cream with coffee.

A Single Serve Berry Crostata Recipe

fresh baked blueberry cobbler on a plate with vanilla ice cream on top.

The Secrets To My Favorite Blueberry Cobbler

POPULAR CAKES

strawberry sheet cake on a plate with strawberries on top.

My Favorite Super Easy Strawberry Sheet Cake

Slice of coconut cake on small white plate with coffee.

My favorite Coconut Cake is actually made with cake mix

A slice of lemon blueberry gooey butter cake held on a cake slicer.

Lemon Blueberry Gooey Butter Cake

Footer

Instagram

joythebaker

📚Baker and author of books and magazines
🎂Creator @drakeoncake
💁🏻‍♀️Classes with me @thebakehousenola
🍰 Products with @williamssonoma

joythebaker
My EASIEST Strawberry Sheet Cake is also my absolu My EASIEST Strawberry Sheet Cake is also my absolute favorite. Get into a box of white cake mix and fresh 🍓🍓 purée! Topped with a thick layer of strawberry cream cheese frosting - this cake is a little pink dream! ⁣
⁣
The Easiest Strawberry Sheet Cake recipe linked in the bio for you! 💋
Our resident reader, @tobyfels shares my favorite Our resident reader, @tobyfels shares my favorite list of the summer on Joy the Baker this year: The Best Books for Summer 2022!  As a person who reads Beach Reads all year long, this is IT! With titles by @ashleymcoleman_ @anarasong @annleary @bonnie_garmus_author @heyashposton @annabelmonaghan @greerhendricks @sarahpekkanen @shelbyvanpeltwrites @marilynsimonrothstein @@misterosman and @kirstin.chen. The guide to your bookworm summer linked in the bio!
Over here testing the limits of “you are what yo Over here testing the limits of “you are what you eat” and will soon be taking my final form as a summer tomato. ⁣🫠🍅
⁣
This Mediterranean Feta and Fresh Tomato Tart is an absolute show stopper with a buttery crisp, press-in crust, whipped feta, and layers of fresh tomato, cucumber, onions, and olives. I’ll leave the recipe linked in the bio - it’s really very special. Join me. We are 🍅🍅.
Here are my two best kept secrets for getting thro Here are my two best kept secrets for getting through this summer.  I’ve never been much for secrets so I’m letting you right in! ⁣
1.	I’m committed to folding crumbled chewy brownies into the easiest homemade no-churn ice cream.⁣
2.	I’m shopping for all of my baking and summer entertaining essentials, wine and cheese at the new @aldiusa stores opening across the Gulf Coast! Wait… you’re as obsessed with ALDI as I am, right? The shopping is always easy and affordable and I always come home with a fun treat among my essentials. Hit up my stories to see my grocery haul (and the chips I ate in the car on the way home) and head to your nearest ALDI for your summer essentials!  #ad⁣
⁣
I’ll leave the recipe and your #ALDILove grocery list linked in the bio!
Let’s just make one! ⁣ ⁣ One Single Berry Cr Let’s just make one! ⁣
⁣
One Single Berry Crostata just you for. Double the recipe (🔗 in the bio) only if you want to share. ⁣
⁣
#joythebaker #berry #crostata #smallbatch #dessert #foodblogfeed
The freezer is packed with ice cream treats from h The freezer is packed with ice cream treats from here on out, and that’s a promise. ⁣
⁣
Find this Milk and Cereal Ice Cream Bar and loads of other semi-homemade ice cream treats linked in the bio! 💓🍦🫠
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Copyright © 2022 · Joy the Baker
All rights reserved. Violators will be whupped and sent to bed with no dessert · Privacy Policy

Scroll Up