I have plans to be back at the fair a few more times over the next week, so I’ll share as I go along. So far, my favorites are the Sunnies in a Boat and the Krumkake. Of course, Summit on a Stick was also a welcome afternoon treat.
First of all, Sea Change is an amazing addition to the neighborhood. I have eaten there several times and everything has been perfect. The mussels in green curry (don’t forget to spoon up all that tasty broth) and braised short ribs are foods to dream about. I also recently checked out L’Ecosse, the new Scottish restaurant at 48th and Chicago – solid comfort food and creative dishes from a former White House chef. I even tried haggis…and liked it! Then this past week I tried Volnay Bistro in Wayzata, which was…well, not the best of dining experiences. I hope to see a turnaround from a restaurant with such an idyllic setting.
With all this eating out – I was looking forward to cooking a few meals at home. But to be honest, I’ve tried a few recipes recently that just haven’t been up to snuff. The corn risotto with seared scallops underwhelmed me. However, the leftover risotto, amped up with some additional seasonings and veggies, was pretty tasty stuffed into green bell peppers a few days later. Even pasta dishes that I normally love, just haven’t been as tasty. I blame the weather.
This all changed when I made the Herbed Ribeye with Mustard Sauce, which I topped it with crispy fried sweet onions and served on a bed of roasted green beans and onions. Oh, yeah…that satisfied.
Herbed Ribeye with Mustard Sauce
adapted from The Best of Food and Wine 1986 Collection
serves 2
1/4 c dijon mustard
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp grated fresh ginger
1 small garlic clove, minced
1 TBSP creme fraiche
1/4 tsp basil
1/4 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp rosemary, crumbled
1/4 tsp tarragon
1/8 tsp coarsely ground pepper
2 6-8 oz ribeye steaks
1. Combine the mustard, Worchestershire, ginger and clove in a small bowl. Cover and set aside.
2. Mix all the herbs in a bowl – basil through pepper – then press mixture evenly onto both sides of steak. Grill or broil steaks as desired. Allow to rest 5 minutes, tented with foil.
3. Stir creme fraiche into mustard sauce, along with any meat juices that have accumulated on the platter. Serve sauce on top of steak.
The roasted green beans and onions were tossed in olive oil with salt and pepper at 375 for 20-25 minutes and the fried onions were thinly sliced and fried in vegetable oil (without any batter) until crisp. Drain onions on paper towel then serve on top of steak.
This summer has been a complete whirlwind. I honestly don’t know where the time has gone. In particular, the last month has gone by really fast. I recall a trip up north to a friend’s cabin recently, but beyond that I am at a loss to account for most of my weekends.
The one thing that I do recall from this summer is an abundance of vegetables. We started the summer off slowly, splitting a CSA share with another couple that resulted in just the right amount of produce to keep me cooking healthy fresh meals at home without being overwhelmed. In fact, there was a couple weeks when I lived off this salad - I can’t get enough of it! Maybe I should whip up another batch today…
Then the garden started producing – we certainly have gotten some nice cucumbers and tomatoes. I missed the first harvest (where the cucumbers were much straighter – next year, we’ll need to use a cage), but was home to catch the second. There are a ton more tomatoes on the vine right now too and we also have a few green peppers, eggplant, watermelon, brussel sprouts and cabbage on the way. All in all – the garden has been a success!
Right now I am up to my ears in veggies, as the couple who we share our CSA with is out of town for two weeks. Pictured is the full share we got last week. I’ve managed to use about half of it and I’m due to pick up another full share on Thursday. Whew!
But having a CSA has been fantastic! I’ve rediscovered how much I love beets! Roasting them and tossing them in a salad with toasted walnuts, cheese (blue, goat or feta…whatever I have on hand) and balsamic vinaigrette is my favorite way to eat them. I adore, let me repeat ADORE, the sungold cherry tomatoes that we’ve received in the last four CSA deliveries. I eat them like candy – so sweet and tasty!
I still struggle with using my chard. In fact, I have a bunch right now that I need to do use up. Perhaps I’ll have to do a repeat of the best omelet of all time! And a surprise to me is how indifferent I am to yellow squash. Since I like zucchini so much I would think that I would also like the yellow variety, but it really doesn’t hold my fancy. I’ll have to research some recipes to see if I can fix that.
Also on the subject of veggies, last weekend I spent time with Tammy Wong of Rainbow Chinese. I tagged along as she toured the farmers market with a few of her Facebook fans and then spent time in the kitchen with her as she created a few recipes from the veggies at the market. Talk about another addiction – the Salt and Peppers recipe is so simple and ridiculously good.
As if that wasn’t enough, I spent the better part of day yesterday pickling and canning – cucumbers (spicy, dill and caraway) and peppers (jalapenos and banana peppers). I’m really not sure why I felt possessed to do this, but it was fun…really! I have a few more jalapenos that are begging for me to try my hand at making jalapeno jelly…but I’ll leave that for another day.
Regardless, friends had told us that it’s an iconic Minnesota spot and that we should check it out. Enough said for a Sunday morning – we were there.
Driving up, I loved the huge sign outside that marked the spot “Charlie’s Cafe”. Given that there really isn’t much else around, and certainly no other competing signs, the sign screams at visitors with its bright yellow and red lettering. Walking inside I was instantly in love. From the booths to the display cases and the knick-knacks to the wallpaper, it was a true step back in time.
We took a seat in a small middle booth and immediately ordered coffee and one of their famous caramel rolls. The caramel roll arrived and we dug in – it was gooey, rich and tooth-achingly sweet. Seconds later, it was gone.
Our breakfasts arrived a short while later, the usual for me and a breakfast sandwich with sausage, egg and cheese for Kyle. A little disappointing, as overall it was pretty average fare on both accounts.
Perhaps not for their full breakfast menu, but when in the area again, Charlie’s Cafe’s throw back charm and caramel rolls might be just the thing to draw me back in for a stop.
While I like to have a good time, I have to admit that bachelorette parties get a little much for me nowadays. So when I got the invite for a friend’s bachelorette party at Spill the Wine for a five-course dinner with wine pairings, I was ecstatic! Food, wine, friends…perfect!
The group of fifteen of us gathered there a few Saturdays ago, seated on the wine bar side as the restaurant was full with a wedding reception. *What a great idea for a wedding reception location!* Individual menus printed with both the courses and the wines sat waiting for us, which of course I loved!
The first course was a salad with radishes and a mango vinaigrette paired with a Radcliffe sauvignon blanc. The salad was good, perhaps a little too much vinaigrette on mine, but it paired well with the light sauvignon blanc. *You may notice the hefty wine pours from the previous picture…I wasn’t complaining!
The next course was a beautiful piece of salmon (a generous portion in my opinion) with warm peaches and balsamic vinegar. I loved the salmon, but wasn’t crazy about the Valley of the Moon chardonnay it was paired with – it had absolutely no flavor.
The third course was my favorite. Perhaps this was because it was comfort food and I had had two glasses of wine by this time, but I loved the wild mushroom croquette with cream sauce. The table was buzzing about how good this dish was, which I equated to a scoop of hot dish with a lightly crisp exterior. Yum! And the wine – Luzon monastrell/syrah was a very nice pairing.
Unfortunately the next course, grilled beef tenderloin kabobs with red onion and peppers, was a flop. Overcooked, dry and absolutely no seasoning sums up this course. The Root 1 cabernet sauvignon was good, but not good enough to save the dish.
Last, but definitely not least, we were served dessert. Vanilla bean ice cream with a triple berry coulis (the menu only listed raspberry so the additional berries were a yummy bonus)! Paired with a sweet dessert wine, I was in heaven. There is something so simple and tasty about ice cream and berries.
I’ve always really liked Spill the Wine. They have a nice wine menu and good wine specials – $15 bottles of wine during happy hour and 1/2 priced bottles on Mondays. The food is good – the salads are consistently great.
And our wine dinner?
Overall it was good. It had its highs and it had its lows. However, for the bargain price of $35 for five-courses plus wine, I thought it was a great deal and a fantastic idea for a bachelorette party.
I had previously visited Blackbird to photograph a beautiful bowl of noodles for this Heavy Table article, by fellow writer Susan Pagani. The day I went to photograph I had just eaten lunch, so when the noodles were offered to me I regretfully declined, but vowed to myself that I would be back.
A cross between a European cafe and a hunter’s lodge (only because of the mounted antlers on the wall..a bit of a mystery to me), Blackbird presents itself as an eclectic little spot that appeals to all. The menu is diverse with Asian, Latin and American flavors featured in the dishes. With all the tempting options, it makes it nearly impossible to decide on just one thing to order.
We decided to order some appetizers to start. My favorites were the BBQ ribs, coated in a rich and tangy sauce, and the empanada, a buttery pastry filled with green olives and pulled pork and served with smokey chipotle sauce.
Entrees were a wide array of choices, reflecting the diverse menu. Of course, I went for the Spicy Peanut Noodles with Tofu (featured in the Heavy Table article). This flavorful and well-balanced dish is similar to Thai pad thai, but with a saucier presentation (literally, it is presented with the sauce coating the noodles, rather than being sauteed together). If you do try this, don’t be fooled by the heat. The first few bites were Minnesota spice, but as the eating continued, the heat continued to build. And, of course, I love that Blackbird adds a fried egg on top – the yolk is a creamy, rich addition to the spicy sauce.
Also ordered was the salmon with creme fraiche and dill (a dish we replicated at home the next night), seafood tacos and the special of the day – halibut and blue crab ceviche served on masa cakes.
Our dining experience ended with fortune cookies. Everyone opened theirs and read their lovely fortunes. And then I opened mine. It was a bit like being a Chino Latino, where they give you nasty fortunes. Mine was a backhanded complemented that read, “You deserve respect and will eventually get it.” Ouch!
After Blackbird, we went back to Jill and Brian’s house for dessert. They had already made their assigned cooking club dessert and we certainly didn’t want it to go to waste. So we all enjoyed bowls of vanilla ice cream topped with homemade caramel and toasted coconut. Absolutely delicious.
Toasted-Coconut Caramel Ice Cream Sundaes
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup sweetened cream of coconut
1 1/4 cups sweetened flaked coconut
1 1/2 pints purchased French vanilla ice cream
Place sugar and 1/4 cup water in heavy deep medium saucepan. Stir over medium-low heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat to high. Boil until mixture turns dark amber, occasionally swirling pan and brushing down sides with wet pastry brush, about 9 minutes. Remove from heat. Immediately add cream and sweetened cream of coconut (mixture will bubble vigorously). Whisk over low heat until caramel sauce is blended and smooth and any caramel bits dissolve. do ahead Can be made 1 day ahead. Cool, cover, and chill. Rewarm slightly over medium heat, stirring often, before using.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Spread coconut evenly on small baking sheet. Bake until golden brown, stirring every 3 to 4 minutes, about 12 minutes. Cool. DO AHEAD: Toasted coconut can be made 4 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.
Scoop ice cream into bowls. Spoon some of warm caramel sauce over. Sprinkle toasted coconut over and serve immediately.
#10: Cafe Maude
#9: Black Sheep Coal Fired Pizza
#8: Shamrock Grill
#7: Minneapolis Restaurant Week 2008
#6: My Final Week in Uruguay
#5: Uruguay v. Bolivia (5-0) This is my personal favorite.
#4: Mate (mah-tay) Although not on the top 10 list, this is part 2 to the previous post Mate…the rest of the story
#3: Kindee Thai Restaurant
#2: Punta del Este It’s odd that I failed to mention in the post that we stayed up all night gambling in the casino that weekend – I won $400 playing craps!
#1: A to Z Produce Pizza – Stockholm, WI aka: The Pizza Farm
For the long 4th of July weekend, we headed out to Oregon. The first couple of days were spent on the coast and then we headed inland to Portland to visit our friends Jeff and Lisa. A beautiful coastline, great weather (it was unseasonably hot) and plenty of great food and drink made the trip a fantastic getaway.
The trip started on the central coast where we stayed in the small town of Manzanita. I loved this little town – great shopping, expansive beach – but the food in the area was a bit lacking. Actually, we struggled to find good food on this leg of the trip at all. It seemed every restaurant we had previously researched and heard great reviews about was closed, so we were left winging it. We drove up to Cannon Beach one evening and ate at the Wayfarer. It had a perfect sunset view but, besides some tasty clam chowder, the food was pretty standard. We also ate at a new Mexican restaurant in Manzanita (not worth even mentioning the name here) and the Manzanita Seafood and Chowder House, which served up a decent order of fish and chips.
The highlight of our coastal eating was actually a breakfast spot in Nehalem called Wanda’s Cafe. We actually ate there twice and I got the same breakfast both times (my usual order of two eggs, bacon, hash browns and toast). I did try a bite of the French toast and the breakfast quesadilla as well, which were very good. The best part of my breakfast was the thick-sliced, pepper-crusted bacon. Crispy goodness!
We also found some good eats at the Tillamook cheese factory. After taking the self-guided tour, which allows you to look down into the huge facility where the cheese is shaped and packaged, we tried a few small samples of cheese (fantastic cheese curds and extra sharp cheddar) and then headed down to get some ice cream.
Overall the ice cream was extremely creamy and very good. We enjoyed our cones, but it definitely seemed that these kids, who were there for a birthday party, were enjoying theirs much more.
On to Portland…
The first place we ate at in Portland was a neighborhood spot called Meat Cheese Bread (1406 SE Stark Street). Locally sourced ingredients are featured in creative salads and sandwiches like the popular BLB (bacon, lettuce and beets) sandwich and the flank steak with pickled red onions and blue cheese. My favorite, however, was the sandwich I ordered – asparagus, hard boiled egg and bacon relish (yes, you heard me right…bacon relish) on a chewy baguette.
Next up in Portland was to hit The Waffle Window in the Hawthorne neighborhood. After walking around the neighborhood’s cute shops, Jeff led us around a corner to the small window opening at the end of a long brick wall where these treats are made. Although there are many sweet and savory waffle variations, we decided on two sweet flavors – one with strawberries and another with blueberries and lime curd. The toppings were fantastic and the waffles were also very good, although more cakey than the typical fluffy breakfast variety.
A strong contender for the best pizza I’ve ever eaten (I struggle giving it this full title given my love for Wig and Pen pizza in Iowa City) can be found at Apizza Scholls. This gem of a pizza place makes their dough fresh daily, then opens up for business at 5:30pm. The masses patiently wait their turn to be seated, as they know what is to come…beautifully chewy, yet crisp-crusted pizza pies.
We ordered two pizzas – one pie with pickled red peppers and sausage and the other pie with half ‘Margo’rita (their version of the margherita with red sauce, two types of mozzarella, pecorino romano, garlic and basil) and half Tartufo bianco (mozzarella, pecorino romano, truffle oil and sea salt). The pickled peppers on the sausage pie and the truffle oil on the bianco were absolutely delicious! This place is a must. And if do want to try it out, be sure to get there early. When the fresh dough runs out, they simply close up shop for the day.
Saturday morning of our trip was perhaps the craziest breakfast morning ever. The day started with Voodoo Doughnuts. Awhile back I had seen an episode of Man v. Food on the Travel Channel where Adam visited this doughnut shop – home to the voodoo doll doughnut and the bacon/maple doughnut. I didn’t get the chance to visit the shop, but Jeff was kind enough to go pick up a box of doughnuts for us to sample while we got ready for the day. He chose the following flavors: Tang, voodoo doll, bacon/maple, and Butterfinger.
The bacon/maple (oh, that crispy bacon and super sweet maple frosting!) and voodoo doll (with raspberry filling) doughnuts were the favorites. As for the Tang and Butterfinger varieties? We could have done without them – the toppings were too powdery. The overall consensus was that for novelty, Voodoo Doughnuts is a must…but a high quality doughnut should not be the expectation.
After our light breakfast, we headed to the Portland Farmers Market. This busy market is chock full of beautiful produce vendors. Ranier and bing cherries were in season – $3.75/pound! The artichokes and berry boxes were my favorite displays. But we were on a hunt for hot food – biscuits and tamales.
Pine State Biscuits has a restaurant in Portland and, recently added a vendor booth to the farmers market. Fluffy buttermilk biscuits with rich toppings make up the menu – I couldn’t resist ordering the Reggie topped with fried chicken, bacon, cheese and gravy. We also got a plain biscuit that we topped with their marionberry jam. Absolutely amazing!
We also ordered tamales at a Mexican stand in the market. Huge tamales stuffed (and I mean stuffed!) with either chicken or vegetarian options like artichokes and cojita cheese. A surprise to me, I preferred the vegetarian tamale – the creamy cheese with the artichokes was a winning combination.
Our last meal in Portland was another extremely decadent breakfast at the Screen Door. Sunday mornings, this neighborhood restaurant opens its doors at 9:00am to a lengthy line of people in need of coffee and some Southern food. By 9:15, all the seats are filled (indoor and out), yet the line continues down the sidewalk. We were lucky to be in the first seating and put in our order right away. An obvious choice for a breakfast appetizer (yes, we ordered an appetizer, much to the confusion of our waiter) was the praline bacon. Three crispy slices of bacon with a crunchy topping of brown sugar and pecans – oh my god! Yes, it was that good.
As for our main course? At first, we thought of going the more subtle route; perhaps just an egg scramble and toast for me and french toast for Kyle. But, when the waiter approached, we changed the plan. Our order? The Fried Chicken and Waffle – a fluffly sweet potato waffle topped with three boneless pieces buttermilk-battered fried chicken. The order was quite large, but a great bargain for $12.95 (we split it and still had a piece of fried chicken left). I don’t know that I would need to order it again (it is a bit of an absurd breakfast entree), but it was certainly a great meal.
And that was how we ate our way through Oregon. Yes, it did make us thirsty (thank goodness for Portland breweries!), but that is for another post.
While we all were eager to learn and help, we were given strict instructions to just observe her while she busied herself in the kitchen. It was a great time chatting with the girls and watching Lana as she pulled everything together.
The essence of the soup is in the broth, which Lana made from scratch using pork bones, lemongrass and taro root. This bubbled on the stove while she prepared a spicy sauce of lemongrass, garlic, tomato (she used ketchup) and oil and then cleaned the seafood and greens.
Once the broth was ready, she removed the lemongrass and bones and then added the sauce. Along with some Tom Yum paste, a seafood bouillon cube, tofu and the seafood itself – we were ready to dish up our bowls.
Usually this soup would be poured into a serving bowl with a heating unit and placed on the table for everyone to make their bowls of soup, but in this occasion we did this at the stove. Lana demonstrated how to assemble the steaming bowls. First, your serving of greens are added to the soup pot to wilt. You then put some noodles in your bowl and choose the seafood and other vegetables that you want. You then retrieve your greens and then ladle the spicy broth on top. We all patiently waited in line clutching our bowls for our turn – it smelled incredible.
The taste was absolutely perfect. Spicy but slightly sweet – the ultimate comfort food. The seafood was perfectly cooked, tender and saturated with the spicy flavor. When the weather turns a bit cooler, I’ll have to dig up a recipe to see if I can make this at home myself.
Last week marked the beginning of our CSA share season. This is our first time doing a CSA and we’ve heard that you get a large amount of veggies for two people, so we decided to share with another couple. I didn’t get a good photo of our share last week, so I’ll just list out the contents: lettuce, snap peas, broccoli, spinach, kale, green onions, arugula, basil.
As you can imagine, this bunch allowed me to make several meals with the veggies. Some were a hit and others need a little more work. And some veggies never made it into a meal (the snap peas were just crunched as a yummy snack.)
In addition to the couple meals below, we also made pesto to toss in pasta, a broccoli pasta (total flop) and several salads. I had a couple lunches of my increasingly favorite salad – arugula in a lemony vinaigrette. We also had a great salad of lettuce, cannelini beans, red onion, and kalamata olives. This was served for dinner with some stinky cheese and homemade baguette, this was one of the favorite meals of the week.
The best meal of the week, however, was the pork chop. I started with olive oil and chopped garlic in a skillet and sauteed the kale for a few minutes. I removed that from the skillet, then added some cannelini beans. Both the kale and beans were finished with a squirt of lemon juice and served with a grilled, juicy pork chop. The flavor combination was fantastic – salty pork, sweet beans and earthy, rich greens. I will definitely be making that dish again!
As for the sandwich – all I can say is that my eyes were bigger than my stomach. But I had a fresh baguette and I was starving…so please don’t judge me by the size of my sandwich.
