Featuring Our Wholesale Customer: Kitchen & Market

Sometimes shopping feels like a chore, but sometimes, with the right environment, it becomes an experience ripe with possibility. Enter Kitchen & Market. This is the corner store reinvented to make the shopping experience beautiful, fun, and easy. 

Expanding on the success of their Pike Place Market store, which opened in 2021, Kitchen & Market has quickly grown to five locations: Pike Place Market, Medina (2023), Madison Valley (March 2024), Yarrow Bay (August 2024), and Eastlake (October 2024). 

Macrina pastries and coffee in the morning give way to wine and beer in the late afternoon and evening.   “It’s the coolest, most beautiful seating area in a grocery store you’ve ever seen.”

At heart, the stores help busy people eat well. Owner and founder Stephanie King is the creative force behind Kitchen & Market and its popular meal kits. Six rotating meal kits are available at any given time, offerings include Thai Green Curry, Mediterranean Falafel Salad, Chicken Parmesan, and Beef Barbacoa, among others.  

Cooking from one of their locally sourced meal kits with step-by-step instructions is like having a chef guiding you with all your ingredients readied by a sous-chef. In less than 30 minutes, you have a tasty family meal that would impress dinner party guests.   

The stores also feature many grab-and-go options, curated grocery staples such as milk and eggs, and some produce. You won’t find an aisle with 60 types of cereal, but you’ll likely find something that excites you for every meal of the day.  

“We know you’re not coming here for butter,” says Stephanie. “But we have one butter — good butter — because we don’t want you to have to make another stop.”  

The recently opened Yarrow Bay store in Kirkland includes a café and wine bar with indoor and outdoor patio seating. Macrina pastries and coffee in the morning give way to wine and beer in the late afternoon and evening. “It’s the coolest, most beautiful seating area in a grocery store you’ve ever seen,” says Stephanie. “You can grab a beer and go sit with your friends. You can buy a picnic and go sit at the outdoor tables.” 

Kitchen & Market has been consistently impressed by Macrina’s reliability, timely daily deliveries, and the exceptional quality of its products. 

Every Kitchen & Market store has a neighborhood feeling, the corner store re-envisioned for contemporary times. It’s the kind of place where you see neighbors bumping into each other, conversations sparking naturally, future gatherings planned, and the latest news exchanged. 

“Another community I love is the one that exists among women in business,” says Stephanie. “Everybody is so supportive. There’s a camaraderie.” 

Recipe of the Month: Pumpkin Praline Cheesecake

Pumpkin Praline Cheesecake

 

Use what the world gives you, and in October it’s pumpkins! Inspired by the rustic simplicity of Basque cheesecake, this Pumpkin Praline Cheesecake is a new favorite of mine. Spiced with cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg, and topped with a crunchy pecan, pepita, and sesame praline, it’s a dessert that feels both familiar and fresh. It has a great balance of tangy cream cheese and sweet pumpkin, and a dynamic contrast in textures between the velvety cheesecake and crunchy caramel praline top.

While it’s a natural fit for fall, don’t be surprised if it finds a place on your Thanksgiving table, as it will on mine. I love offering a dessert buffet with our traditional maple apple pie and chocolate walnut tart, alongside new favorites like this one.

Printable PDF of this recipe here.

Makes one 9-inch cake; Serves 6-8

Cheesecake

24 oz cream cheese, room temperature

1¼ cups granulated sugar

¼ cup brown sugar

1 (15 oz) can of pumpkin puree

1 cup plain kefir (or buttermilk)

1 Tbsp vanilla extract

¼ cup unbleached all-purpose flour

1 tsp ground cinnamon

¾ tsp ground ginger

¼ tsp ground nutmeg

¼ cup kosher salt

4 eggs


Praline Sauce

½ cup granulated sugar

½ cup water

½ cup heavy cream

⅓ cup pecans, toasted and coarsely chopped

2 Tbsp pepitas (pumpkin seeds), toasted

1 Tbsp sesame seeds, toasted

¼ tsp kosher salt

Cheesecake  

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a 9-inch x 3-inch cake pan with two pieces of parchment paper, allowing the ends to extend above the sides of the pan. Set aside. 

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine cream cheese, granulated sugar, and brown sugar using the paddle attachment. Mix for 3 to 4 minutes. 

In a medium bowl, combine the pumpkin puree, kefir and vanilla extract. Set aside. 

In another medium bowl, combine flour, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt. Add this to the pumpkin mixture and stir well. 

Add the seasoned pumpkin mixture to the stand mixer and combine for 1 minute. Scrape down the sides to incorporate all the ingredients. 

Add eggs one at a time, mixing on medium-low speed, let each egg fully incorporate before adding the next. 

Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and place it on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake on the center rack for 55 to 60 minutes, until the top is deeply browned and the center is set. 

Cool at room temperature for 30 minutes, then refrigerate for another 30 minutes to allow the filling to set. Cover the cake with plastic wrap, invert onto a flat plate, remove the parchment, and invert again onto a presentation plate. 

Praline Sauce

While the cheesecake chills, make the praline sauce. Combine sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Brush down the sides of the pan with a water-dampened pastry brush to prevent crystals from forming. 

Once the sugar starts to turn golden brown, swirl the pan gently to ensure even browning. Add the heavy cream — expect a burst of steam — and wait for it to subside before whisking the sauce together. 

Stir in the pecans, pepitas, sesame seeds, and salt. 

Pour the sauce over the center of the cheesecake and chill before serving to set the praline. 

Serving

This cheesecake is best served chilled and topped with a dollop of lightly sweetened whipped cream. Since it will keep for up to a week in the refrigerator, it’s a great make-ahead dessert for when guests are coming to dinner. 

 

 

Pumpkin Praline cheesecake, a latte, and flowers.