Category: Food

Happy Valentine's Day

2/14/2016

It would be fun if conversation hearts came in different themes. I would be sure to buy ones that featured love song titles in the classic rock genre. I decided to make some of my own in the meantime.

Wishing you a Very Happy Valentine's Day!

Fine Home Dining in July: Napa Valley Cabernet Burgers and Cinnamon Crunch Peach Sundaes

7/13/2015

July 'round here means it's time to make two recipes which reside in my July cookbook: Napa Valley Cabernet Burgers and Cinnamon Crunch Peach Sundaes. These are best made in small stages throughout the course of a day or two. I started in the morning to have everything easily done for dinner at night. Follow along while I make both specialties.

Napa Valley Cabernet Burgers comes from a July 2003 issue of Bon Appetit and is James McNair's recipe. I usually double this recipe, but the following is for 4 servings. You can easily make twice the amount by 2x all the ingredients.

Ingredients
1 750 ml bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon
1/4 c. minced shallots
9 T. unsalted butter at room temperature
2 t. golden brown sugar
1 T. minced fresh rosemary

1 1/2 lbs. ground beef (15% fat - I have used lean in the past however)
1 t. salt
1/2 t. black pepper
1 c. packed grated extra-sharp white cheddar cheese

4 4-1/2 inch squares focaccia, cut horizontally in half
8 large tomato slices
2 c. arugula

Boil wine and shallots in medium saucepan until reduced to 3/4 cup, about 20 minutes. Add 1 T. butter and brown sugar, whisk until butter melts and sugar dissolves. Remove from heat. Mix remaining 8 T. butter and rosemary in small bowl. Set aside.

Prepare barbeque (medium-high heat). Mix beef, salt, pepper and 1/4 cup wine-shallot mixture in bowl. Form meat into 4 5-inch squares or rounds. Brush grill rack with oil. Grill burgers until brown on bottom, about 3 minutes. Turn burgers and brush with wine-shallot mixture. Continue grilling burgers until cooked to desired doneness, turning and brushing occasionally with wine-shallot mixture, about 4 minutes longer for medium-rare. Sprinkle with cheese after last turn and grill until cheese melts.

Spread cut sides of bread with rosemary butter. Grill, cut side down, until golden, about 2 minutes. Arrange bread, grilled side up, on plates. Top bottom halves with burgers, then tomatoes and arugula. Cover with top halves of bread.

Now here is the recipe, step-by-step with my personal photos and commentary.

Boil wine and shallots in medium saucepan until reduced to 3/4 cup, about 20 minutes.

20 minutes is up. I know from experience that this takes a lot longer than 20 minutes, but I am measuring it so you can see how much over 3/4 c. it still is.

15 minutes later, let's check it again.

Hmmm, closer, but still over the limit.

This is better, still over, but good enough for me.

Add 1 T. butter and brown sugar, whisk until butter melts and sugar dissolves. Remove from heat.

Mix remaining 8 T. butter and rosemary in small bowl. (I use a little less butter, as 2 T. per bun seems a bit much.) Set aside.

I like to get my focaccia at Trader Joe's because the price is right. This stuff can get pretty spendy. If you need 3 packages of it and it's 5 or 6 bucks a package, well you get the idea. But Trader Joe's didn't have it. I have a minimalist Trader Joe's by me, they are always out-of-stock on stuff. Anyways, I went to the local grocery store and settled on this because it was $1.99 a package. They are pretty small. I know I'm going to need 2 packages for sure.

This bread needs to be trimmed to make the edges even.

Spread cut sides of bread with rosemary butter. Grill, cut side down, until golden, about 2 minutes. Arrange bread, grilled side up, on plates.

This is a good time to get the arugula ready as well as the cheese and tomatoes. The best price on arugula is again at Trader Joe's. This bag was $1.99. It will cost double that or more at a regular grocery store. This is a very bitter lettuce but it is a nice counter balance for the sharpness of the cheese and the sweetness of the burgers.

Prepare barbeque (medium-high heat). Mix beef, salt, pepper and 1/4 cup wine-shallot mixture in bowl. (Do not mix this until the last minute. If you mix it ahead of time, it will separate in the bowl or on the plate and there will be wine running everywhere.) Form meat into 4 5-inch squares or rounds. Brush grill rack with oil. Grill burgers until brown on bottom, about 3 minutes. Turn burgers and brush with wine-shallot mixture.

Anyone counting? You are correct, I used extra beef and made this into 6 burgers instead of 4. Some are also a little smaller for people or kids who want a smaller burger.

Continue grilling burgers until cooked to desired doneness, turning and brushing occasionally with wine-shallot mixture, about 4 minutes longer for medium-rare. Sprinkle with cheese after last turn and

grill until cheese melts.

Top bottom halves with burgers, then tomatoes and arugula. Cover with top halves of bread.

Cinnamon Crunch Peach Sundaes is from an issue of Bon Appetit, not sure of the date. I think this is Barbara Frenzl's recipe.

1 c. plus 6 1/2 T. sugar
3/4 c. water
6 T. dark corn syrup
3 cinnamon sticks, broken in half

6 whole cinnamon graham crackers, crushed to coarse crumbs
4 1/2 T. unsalted butter, melted

6 medium peaches, pitted, sliced into wedges
1 1/2 T. fresh lemon juice
3/4 t. ground cinnamon

French vanilla ice cream (or I used vanilla frozen yogurt, just as good IMHO)
6 cinnamon sticks (optional)

Stir 1 C. plus 2 T. sugar, 3/4 c. water, corn syrup and halved cinnamon sticks in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves; bring to boil. Reduce heat to low; simmer until syrup is reduced to 1 1/2 c., about 20 minutes. Cool, remove cinnamon sticks. (Can be made 1 week ahead. Cover; refrigerate.)

Preheat oven to 350 F. Combine cracker crumbs, butter and 1 1/2 T. sugar in small bowl; toss to coat evenly. Spread mixture out on small baking sheet. Bake until golden, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Cool.

Mix peaches, 3 T. sugar, lemon juice and ground cinnamon in medium bowl. Let stand until juices form, at least 15 minutes and up to 1hour.

Place 2 scoops of ice cream in each of 6 bowls. Spoon peaches and juices over ice cream. Drizzle with syrup and sprinkle with crunch topping. Garnish with cinnamon sticks, if desired, and serve.

Again, here is the recipe broken down into steps, with my photos and comments.

Stir 1 C. plus 2 T. sugar, 3/4 c. water, corn syrup and halved cinnamon sticks in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves;

bring to boil. Reduce heat to low; simmer until syrup is reduced to 1 1/2 c., about 20 minutes.

Cool,

remove cinnamon sticks. (Can be made 1 week ahead. Cover; refrigerate.)

The cinnamon syrup is done. Now let's move on to the cinnamon crunch. Preheat oven to 350 F. Combine cracker crumbs, butter and 1 1/2 T. sugar in small bowl;

Why am I adding cinnamon? Because I only had regular graham crackers, so I'm turning them into cinnamon graham crackers.

toss to coat evenly.

Spread mixture out on small baking sheet. Bake until golden, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Cool. Did I mention that you'll want to double this part of the recipe? Why? Because it's so good you or your kids will be snacking on it and then there won't be enough for the sundaes later.

The cinnamon crunch is done. Now for the peach part of the recipe. Mix peaches, 3 T. sugar, lemon juice and ground cinnamon in medium bowl.

Let stand until juices form, at least 15 minutes and up to 1hour.

Place 2 scoops of ice cream in each of 6 bowls. Spoon peaches and juices over ice cream. Drizzle with syrup and sprinkle with crunch topping. Garnish with cinnamon sticks, if desired, and serve.

And here is the grand finale. As always, thank you for stopping by and I hope you are enjoying a fabulous summer!

Voyaging Vittles

10/24/2014

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In this part of the country, food trucks have become all the rage. They are mobile dining experiences and travel around to different locations throughout the week. I've tried them twice before. The first time was when I read about a Lobster Roll truck, and trying/hoping to recreate a Lobster Roll experience I had at Red's in Maine, I went down there. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't Red's. Well, this is Minnesota after all and while we do have a lot of lakes, there aren't any lobsters in them. Perhaps my expectations were a bit high.

The second time I tried one was at my favorite outdoor market, the Mill City Farmer's Market. This truck was run by Chef Shack. They create a lot of great food and one of their menu staples is the mini donut. It'll set you back $7, but they truly were some of the best and most memorable mini donuts I've ever had.

I've heard about purported mass gatherings of food trucks here and there, but always forget to go...until last weekend. I made it to an event that had 18 trucks in one spot.

The approach I took was to survey first, review their menus, then go back to whatever I had to try. Well, that was the plan anyway. Until I got to this truck, offering a Mango Fritter for $2. That was how it began. We had dessert first.

Next was my daughter's pick, the Empanada truck. They had food that sounded safe for her (aka not spicy) to try: the Mac-N-Cheese and the Cheeseburger Empanadas. They were good, but pretty bland for my taste.

The place I wanted to go back was to Andrew Zimmern's truck for the smashed potato running at $3. A lot of these trucks will set you back $9 or $10, but I wanted to sample a few different things. I was looking for some smaller portions so I wouldn't get filled up on one dish.

I could tell by their appearance these were gonna be good. In fact, I am pretty sure they were the most amazing potatoes I've ever had in my life. They were creamy inside, crunchy skins, salty, garlicky, OMG can-I-get-another-order-of-these good. I thought about going back, but I wanted to have room to try something else. What I decided on was the Moral Omnivore truck. Their menu had some very interesting things on it.

I decided to go with the Curried Mushroom Fries since they won an award for something and I love anything with curry in it.

They were good and unique. Very fried and very mushroomy. I don't know if I'd buy them again, but if someone else did, I would probably sneak one or two of theirs.

I also decided to get the Beet Mac-n-cheese to bring home for one of my other kids who happens to like beets. I sampled a few bites of it after they were done (they didn't eat it all). It was very interesting and good. The red onions were a bit overpowering. I liked the crunch they offered but I would have opted for a milder, maybe a green onion so it didn't become the dominant flavor.

What happened next can best be described as a post-Thanksgiving-dinner-like induced coma. I felt intoxicated from eating too much and there was only going to be one cure: sleep. I do not know how people sat in a beer tent and drank after, before or during that event, but they did. Maybe it's a timing thing that I haven't yet figured out. Something like: beer, food, break, beer, food, beer, food, sleep. Too bad I live so far away and had to drive. For those who live in the area and had the afternoon/evening off and could walk, it was a great plan for the day.

In the end, there was one thing I couldn't forget. Those potatoes. In fact, I might have to track down that food truck one more time before the snow starts flying.

In the meantime, thanks for stopping by and I hope you have the pleasure to try a food truck someday.

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The Cheeseburglar

10/18/2014

2 Comments

Well, at least it was a "second" helping for us. We didn't have the heart to stop the little guy.

In case someone is wondering, the grill wasn't hot anymore, but how does the bird know without first giving her a try?

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A Fall Farmer's Market

11/8/2013

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Fall Farmer's Markets offer a variety of vegetables different from any other time of the year. Two recent trips to the St. Paul's Farmer's Market provided opportunities to hunt for gourmet food items and more. It's a great way to support local farmers while also saving a few dollars compared to shopping at the grocery store.

Did you know that the St. Paul Farmer's Market was voted #5 out of 101 Best Farmer's Markets in the United States by The Daily Meal?

http://www.thedailymeal.com/101-best-farmers-markets-in-america

It is a small market, less than one city block and therefore one can get in and out in less than 30 minutes. At this time of year, it is easy to fill your arms and bags for less than $40 and come home with a lot of good, fresh food.

Since Thanksgiving is right around the corner, it is possible to get down there this week or next and check off some items from your list as many root vegetables will keep in a cool location until the holiday. Another favorite is Bob Otis and his free-range, happy farm animals. They are seriously the best eggs around and it is not too late to pre-order a holiday turkey. He also has a great selection of pork, lamb, chicken and beef and the long line at check-out attests to the popularity of his products.

Here is a link for more information:

http://www.stpaulfarmersmarket.com/

It says the market will have special hours the day before Thanksgiving to pick up turkeys and other items. Happy shopping wherever you are.

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Minnesota State Fair: Some people go for the Food

9/14/2013

If a person had to choose one thing to do at the fair, eating food or people watching, I'm not sure which I would pick. Every year the fair gets about 50 new kinds of food. Many of them are on a stick. This year the one new food I really wanted to try was something called Comet Corn. It was described as a futuristic caramel corn flash frozen with nitrogen. Since this sounds like something that you can't get at any other time of the year, I was willing to drop the money and calorie allotment on a serving of it. I forgot to photograph it because it's hard to operate my camera while I am holding and eating food. And when I am at the fair I do not sit down, at least rarely. There is too much to do and see for any breaks. I am always moving. But I did photograph the nitrogen tank that freezes it while I was waiting for them to freeze mine because they do it one batch at a time.

The next food I had to try was a couple things I had read about from a place called Mancini's. I had the same problem though. I ate it before I photographed it. It was becoming evident that I needed a new strategy.

Here is some food I did not eat but I did photograph.

Does beer count as food? I think in Minnesota it does. Barley, hops, barley malt, malted barley...

Those are all some kind of food product that originate out of the ground and if you stopped by the Ag-Hort Building (that's what we say up here in farm country, it is short for Agriculture-Horticulture also known as another food and beer building or get a beer and walk around and look at the giant pumpkin building)

or Adrian Peterson's Christmas tree

you could have had a sampling, literally, of four different types of locally brewed Minnesota beer. There were 4 or 5 of those stations, each unique, so if you tried them all, then 4x5 = I hope the swinging hammer ride wasn't your next stop.

When it's all said and done though, I think most people would agree that the hands down #1 mandatory food stop is Sweet Martha's Cookies. I don't get it and I used to be offended when my kids insisted we drop $15 on a bucket of chocolate chip cookies. What about MY chocolate chip cookies? I don't care that they are hot and gooey, that they just came out of the oven. Mine are like that too when they are hot off the press. Maybe it's a quantity thing. They say you get 3-4 dozen in a bucket. When I make cookies, I put half of the dough in the fridge for another day. So I suppose if I made all the cookies and put them on the table in a bucket and imposed no limitations, then maybe, just maybe, they might like mine as much as her's.

I finally caved in though and had one. Then I had another. Then I had another. And then it happened. As they say...if you give a mouse a cookie. 3 cookies was my personal limit before needing a drink of some sort. Some people are really smart and they get a bucket and head straight to the all-you-can-drink milk stand. Note: the fair did not put the cookie stand anywhere near the milk stand. It is several fair blocks away. But the wise get their bucket and bee-line it to the milk stand.

Now that it's a couple of weeks after the fair, I imagine that Sweet Martha has boarded her multi-million dollar yacht funded with cookie money and is sailing off in the sunset to her own private island or vineyard. She is one smart lady. Who would've thought a simple chocolate chip cookie could build an empire? I bet the deep-fried pickle people are thinking the same thing right now. Or maybe the fried alligator people. Which raises an interesting question. Why do the alligator people always run out of gator? They are giant animals. I'm just glad they sell frozen grapes there so I can look like I'm getting some gator. It's one of the healthiest treats a person can get at the fair and look cool doing it.

That is a wrap for my food report from the fair. I hope you will come back for the animal report and next week to see what the second floor of the State Capitol looks like! Thanks for stopping by!

A Visit to the Wedge

8/24/2013

I made it back to the State Capitol to cover the first floor and with only minutes to spare before closing, I ran down to the tunnels to see if they are worth photographing. They will be off-limits in a week and my decision is that I need to go back and spend one day shooting them. Next week is basically the last week of summer and with the State Fair in town I don't know what to say about spending 3 hours or so down in a tunnel system but I'll see if I can manage it. If I don't, I may miss an opportunity to capture them before they are renovated.

At any rate, I also made it into one of my old neighborhoods this past week for an errand, and whenever I get over there I usually end up stopping in my old favorite grocery store, The Wedge.

It is a cooperative that features organic food with a focus on sustaining local organic growers. It's a real feel-good experience shopping there. The food is healthy and buying there means supporting local farmers who are using clean growing methods. But I'm not going to kid around, the real reason my kids want to stop there is for the cookies in the bakery.

I have a favorite in there too, it's called the Black Angus.

It could be after the cow or maybe there's an AC/DC fan working in there. Either way, I love it. The bakery, the cheese department, and the bread section are all wonderful.

So, please take a trip with me through The Wedge and I will be reporting back on the State Capitol soon.

Here's a link for more information or directions if you'd like to go:

http://www.wedge.coop/

A Spring Trip to the Mill City Farmer's Market

5/26/2013

Our local gourmet farmer's market opened May 11 this year and it has been on my mind ever since. I found a window to make a quick trip there this Saturday but since it was still snowing here in early May our growing season is definitely a little more behind than usual. So there really wasn't a whole lot of fresh produce to pick from, but there were plenty of stands featuring sheep's milk cheeses, chevres, specialty jams, smoked trout and salmon, crusty breads, and organic coffees and chocolates. Here is a little slideshow of what I found. I think my favorite find from this trip was the ramps. I've heard they are great in omelets or caramelized, and I think I have enough to try both.

I will plan to head back in a couple weeks to see if I can find any spring type vegetables such as peas or radishes!

20+ Reasons to Love the Farmers' Market: A Pictorial Essay

2/7/2013

Originally published June 2, 2012

You just viewed images from the St. Paul Farmers’ Market in St. Paul, Minnesota made fresh this morning!

I hope you are enjoying the beginning of summer too!

Happy Valentine's Day

Fine Home Dining in July: Napa Valley Cabernet Burgers and Cinnamon Crunch Peach Sundaes

Voyaging Vittles

The Cheeseburglar

A Fall Farmer's Market

Minnesota State Fair: Some people go for the Food

A Visit to the Wedge

A Spring Trip to the Mill City Farmer's Market

20+ Reasons to Love the Farmers' Market: A Pictorial Essay

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