Monthly Archives: July 2011

Time for Easy, Cheesy, Garden Vegetable Frittata

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I’ve never been a big fan of scrambled eggs. I can eat an omelet if I’m in the right mood, but only if it is fluffy and puffy and full of fresh, slightly crisp vegetables. And, I must have plenty of buttered whole wheat toast and crisp bacon on the side. But, just tell me there is a frittata in the oven and I’m there.

I was a young teenager when I ate frittata for the first time. I was visiting my aunt and uncle in Chicago. Both raised on Indiana farms, they loved to garden. They had a huge garden that took the place of grass in most of their relatively small suburban-Chicago yard. On this particular day, my uncle had gone out to the garden to harvest onions, peppers, tomatoes and basil. With those ingredients, he created one large, fantastic frittata — a mish-mash of fresh and flavorful garden vegetables and herbs all cooked together in a blend of eggs the color of the sun in a clear morning sky.

When I close my eyes, I can almost smell my aunt and uncles kitchen that morning, a perfume of fresh basil, Hungarian paprika, sauteed onions and peppers. And then, my mouth actually begins to water with the anticipation of the breakfast to come.

My vegetable garden consists of two pepper plants and a tomato plant each flourishing in its own big pot. There’s nothing ready to harvest from those plants, yet. Two big, bushy basil plants are in last year’s square-foot garden plot. I’ve been pinching off aromatic leaves from those plants for weeks.

Lucky for me, local farmers started their gardens way before I did this year. With the fruits of their labor, my favorite meal partner and I had a lovely frittata for lunch today.

The round frittata, chock full of peppers, onions and zucchini, begins cooking on the stove. When the egg-mixture is still a bit soft and liquidy in the middle, cheese is scattered over the top. The frittata finishes cooking under the broiler as the cheese melts and begins to bubble.

Today we topped each serving with a chopped ripe tomato and ribbons of fresh basil. I forgot the toasted pine nuts that I meant to sprinkle over the tomatoes and basil. If you happen to have some pine nuts, I highly recommend toasting a handful in a small pan over medium heat. They are so delicious eaten with this Garden Vegetable Frittata.

A nice big wedge of Garden Vegetable Frittata makes a great meal morning, noon or night. It’s quick and easy to prepare. It’s healthful. It’s scrumptious. What more could you ask for?

If Garden Vegetable Frittata with toast is a complete meal for me and my husband, this recipe is just right for the two of us. Add some bacon and roasted potatoes on the side, and this Frittata will yield 3 to 4 servings.

Here in northern Minnesota, there is a long harvest season ahead. Well, several weeks, anyway. That means so many easy, delicious meals of Garden Vegetable Frittata to look forward to.

Garden Vegetable Frittata

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • 1/2 of a green bell pepper
  • 1/2 of a red bell pepper
  • 1 cup chopped zucchini
  • 4 eggs
  • 4 ounces Cheddar cheese, shredded
  • 1 ripe tomato, chopped
  • 4 leaves fresh basil, sliced into ribbons (chiffonade)
  • Fresh basil sprigs for garnish

Heat olive oil in a 10-inch oven-safe skillet over medium heat. Add onions, peppers and zucchini and saute about 10 minutes, or until all vegetables are tender.

In a 4-cup glass measure, use wire whisk to blend eggs until mixture is all the same color. Pour over vegetables in skillet. Swirl pan to spread eggs evenly. As egg mixture cooks, it will get firm around the edge. Use a thin metal spatula to carefully lift the edge as you tilt the pan to allow liquid egg to run down into the empty space you’ve created. Continue this procedure around the pan 4 to 6 times. The egg will finish cooking under the broiler.

Scatter cheese evenly over the top of the frittata. Place oven rack about 6 inches below broiler. Slide pan with frittata under the broiler. If you have the option, broil on Low. If your oven does not have that option, just watch the frittata very carefully. Remove when cheese is melted and bubbling and just beginning to turn golden brown.

Cut the frittata into serving-size pieces and place on plates. Top each serving with chopped tomato. Sprinkle with ribbons of fresh basil. Serve hot. Makes 2 to 4 servings.

Tip from the cook

  • Toasted pine nuts are a pleasing addition to this Garden Vegetable Frittata. Sprinkle them over the top of each serving.
  • Orzo Skillet Dinner is another way to make good and tasty use of zucchini. It’s in my column this week. Click here to get to the recipe.

 

 

Raspberry Cheesecake infused with fresh, fragrant basil

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I’ve never had luck trying to grow basil. It just never works for me. This year, one of the guys at the farmers market suggested I plant basil in 12-inch pots. I did. Today, two pots sitting in last summer’s square-foot garden hold basil that look like very lush, healthy shrubs. I just can’t believe it.

I pluck fragrant leaves from my basil plants everyday, layering them into sandwiches, tearing them to arrange over the top of homemade pizza, chopping them up to make fresh herb-flecked cream cheese spread and even steeping them in hot liquid to turn into jelly.

I recently discovered how well spicy-perfumed basil and sweet-tart ruby-red raspberries work together. Macerating raspberries with basil and a small amount of sugar produces a surprising treat for the taste buds. The longer the mixture is allowed to sit, the stronger the essence of basil will become. Basil-infused raspberry sauce is a unique topping for ice cream, waffles, French toast and is a delicious addition to a morning bowl of thick yogurt and homemade granola.

Yesterday, I stirred some Raspberry-Basil Sauce into a Chambord-spiked bowl of cheesecake batter. The resulting cake delivers an aromatic bouquet of fresh raspberries and basil with each forkful of creamy decadence. You won’t taste basil in the cake, but you will luxuriate in its refreshing sweet scent.

I like to top cheesecake with a mixture of melted chocolate and sour cream. It stays soft when refrigerated. It won’t crack when you slice into the cake like some chocolate toppings.

I stirred in a tablespoon of Chambord, a raspberry liqueur, to add depth of flavor. But, if you don’t have a bottle in your cabinet, don’t feel you must run out to buy one. It’s a little expensive. But, if you do buy a bottle, you’ll most certainly want to use some of it to make Chambord Brownies that I posted last summer. You can get to that recipe by clicking here. Or, how about Chocolate Raspberry Martinis? Right here :)

The crust for this cake is made with crushed or ground almond biscotti. That’s only because I had a bag of biscotti that my husband brought back for me when he was in Duluth for meetings. Feel free to use 2 cups of your favorite crumbs.

Raspberry-Basil Cheesecake is rich and velvety smooth. It’s pretty. And, it’s delicious — an exquisite way to make use of fresh basil.

Raspberry-Basil Cheesecake

Sauce:

  • 1 pound red raspberries
  • 1/2 cup loosely-packed coarsely chopped fresh basil leaves
  • 1 tablespoon sugar

Crust:

  • 2 cups ground almond biscotti (about 9 ounces biscotti)
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup butter, melted

Filling:

  • 2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 1/4 sour cream
  • 1 tablespoon Chambord
  • Squirt of fresh lemon juice
  • 10 or 12 extra raspberries, for garnish

Topping:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a flat-bottomed glass bowl, mash sauce ingredients together. A hand-held potato masher works well. Set aside while preparing cake. (This can be done several hours before making the cheesecake.)

Mix crumbs, sugar and melted butter for crust. Press onto bottom and sides of ungreased 9-inch springform pan. Bake 10 minutes. Set on wire rack to cool.

Pour raspberry mixture into a fine-mesh sieve placed over a bowl. Use a spoon or rubber spatula to push the mixture through the sieve. Discard berry pulp, seeds and basil remaining in the sieve. Measure out 2/3 cup of the sauce to stir into cake batter. Store remaining sauce in refrigerator until serving time.

For filling, beat cream cheese, sugar, eggs, sour cream, Chambord and lemon juice until very smooth and fluffy. Add the reserved 2/3 cup raspberry-basil sauce. Blend well. Pour into prepared crust. Bake 60 minutes. Cool to room temperature.

To make Topping, melt chocolate in small, heavy saucepan over low heat, stirring frequently. Remove from heat. Stir in sour cream until completely blended into the chocolate. Spread on cooled cheesecake. Refrigerate several hours. Cut into wedges. Garnish with reserved raspberry-basil sauce, fresh raspberries and sprig of fresh basil. Makes 10 to 12 servings.

Tips from the cook

  • It’s not a bad idea to put a baking sheet or large piece of aluminum foil on the rack below the baking cheesecake. There may be a few butter drips from the springform pan.
  • Raspberry-Basil Sauce turns Almond Peach Cakes into an elegant dessert. Find the recipe for the sweet little cakes in my column this week.

 

 

 

 

Weekend Baking: Bottoms-Up! As in Cake.

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I smiled as I stopped at a card in my recipe file that had a newspaper clipping taped to it. The cream-colored index card was stained brown where scotch tape had years ago been carefully placed just right to hold the recipe tight. A check-mark was penciled in on the top right corner, signifying the recipe had been tried and must have been worth keeping, since it was still in my recipe file. I certainly don’t remember ever making the cake.

It was the name of the recipe that put a smile on my face. Bottoms-Up Lemon Cake. I immediately pictured my youngest granddaughter, who is now teetering between diapers and big-girl undies. When it’s time for a diaper-change, she lays down, flings her little legs up into the air, whipping them over until her toes almost touch her nose. At the same time her melodious voice yells out, “Bottoms up!” This acrobatic results in a bare little bottom ready for a new diaper to easily be positioned just where it must be for a comfortable, dry bottom.

The name of the cake alone would have been enough to get me into the kitchen to begin baking. But, when I saw the first ingredient listed, I knew I had to give it a try.

Who ever heard of hollandaise sauce mix in a cake recipe? I did a quick search of the internet and came up with nothing even close to this recipe.

If you’ve been a regular reader of my blog, you know I’ve never posted a recipe made with a cake mix. But, this one was so unusual, my curiosity got the best of me.

A yellow cake mix is sweetened with honey and flaked coconut, then poured over a mixture of hollandaise sauce mix, more flaked coconut, brown sugar and a little bit of butter. Since the recipe title implies lemon and the sauce mix listed lemon as the last ingredient, I decided to add 2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice to the Topping.

Topped with sweetened whipped cream, Bottoms-Up Lemon Cake is not bad. It gets even better with fresh berries added at serving time. I have fresh raspberries that I picked at a local berry farm yesterday, with lots of help from three of my grandchildren and their mom.

 

 

 

 

 

We were joined by my neighbor and another friend bright and early. I think we were the first wagon-load of eager pickers to get pulled out to the raspberry field.

This cake doesn’t rate at the top of the incredible dessert list. But it sure brings a smile to my face with each sweet bite.

Bottoms-Up Lemon Cake

Topping:

  • 1 (1.25-ounce) package Hollandaise Sauce Mix
  • 1 (20-ounce) can crushed pineapple, undrained
  • 1/2 cup flaked coconut
  • 1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Cake:

  • 1 (18.25-ounce) box Yellow Cake Mix
  • 1/2 cup flaked coconut
  • 1 cup water
  • 1/3 cup honey
  • 2 eggs
  • Sweetened whipped cream and fresh berries, for serving

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Topping: In 13- x 9-inch metal cake pan, combine dry sauce mix, pineapple with syrup, coconut, brown sugar, butter and lemon juice. Cook over medium heat until butter is melted and mixture is blended. Set aside.

Cake: In a large mixing bowl, combine all cake ingredients. Blend well. Beat at medium speed for 2 minutes. Pour batter over Topping. Bake in preheated 350-degree oven for 45 to 55 minutes, until top of cake springs back when touched lightly. Loosen edges of cake from pan. Let stand 2 minutes. Invert onto serving platter. Let stand 2 minutes. Remove pan. Serve cake warm with sweetened whipped cream and fresh berries.

My favorite cool treat on a hot day — homemade ice cream

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Mother Nature couldn’t have planned a better time to blast us with heat and humidity. After all, July is National Ice Cream Month. In 1984, President Ronald Reagan said so. He also claimed the third Sunday of July will always be National Ice Cream Day. Thank you very much, but I don’t need to wait for a specially designated month or day to enjoy ice cream. It’s one of my favorite indulgences — any day. Or, everyday! It doesn’t have to be a hot day to scoop up a big bowl of ice cream, but it is the perfect frozen treat to bring the body temperature down.

I accidentally brought home a one-pint carton of Organic Valley French Vanilla-flavored half-and-half last week. I meant to grab a carton of the plain old stuff — my husband can’t drink coffee without it. He doesn’t like added flavor — just added fat.

So, when life hands me French vanilla half-and-half, I make ice cream. Ice cream with fresh-picked, sun-kissed, sweet strawberries. Lots of creaminess from a generous dose of fat. Don’t count the calories. Just indulge, enjoy and stay cool! There’s still a lot of ice cream month left on the calendar :)

Oh, what a great mistake I made!

Old-Fashioned Strawberry-French Vanilla Ice Cream

  • 3 cups fresh strawberries, cleaned, stems removed
  • 2 large, fresh eggs, preferably local
  • 1 1/4 cups sugar
  • 2 cups Organic Valley French Vanilla half-and-half
  • 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup whipping cream, preferably organic

Wash strawberries. Remove and discard caps. Puree berries in blender or food processor. Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat eggs until thick and lemon-colored, about 5 minutes. (This is where an electric stand mixer comes in handy.) Beat in sugar, half-and-half, vanilla and whipping cream. Stir in pureed strawberries. Pour into ice cream canister. Freeze, according to manufacturer’s directions. Makes about 2 quarts.

P.S. A drizzle of your favorite chocolate sauce is exceptional on this Old-Fashioned Strawberry-French Vanilla Ice Cream.

Another P.S. If you are concerned about using uncooked eggs in the ice cream you may want to buy pasteurized eggs from the store. I feel comfortable using local eggs from a farmer I know and trust.

 

Eat your greens the Moosewood way–with tofu and spice

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I first heard of Moosewood Restaurant sometime in the 1980′s when I lived in Fargo and often took cooking classes from Andrea Halgrimson. She spoke highly of the restaurant located in Ithaca, New York that serves natural, healthful food, making it sound exotic, alluring and hippie-ish and very alternative to the common, everyday meals I was preparing and eating for my young family in Fargo, North Dakota.

Visiting Ithaca and eating at least one meal at Moosewood Restaurant has been on my “Must Do” list ever since those cooking classes in Andrea’s kitchen. In the meantime, I’ve been collecting the cookbooks that keep coming from the Moosewood collective.

One of the Moosewood books I’ve used most is “Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home: Fast and Easy Recipes for Any Day.” That book holds the recipe for the first Pad Thai I ever prepared in my own kitchen. It’s the only one I will ever make. It is that delicious.

Earlier this summer, a young friend of mine prepared a meatless meal that I was so lucky to be invited to eat. She used a recipe from a cookbook she’d gotten as a gift from a friend, “Moosewood Restaurant Simple Suppers: fresh ideas for the weeknight table.”

I enjoyed every flavorful bite of Scrambled Tofu with Greens & Raspberry Chipotle Sauce. I came home with the a copy of the recipe. Last week, with a 3-pound bag of beet greens from the farmers market in my refrigerator, I knew it was time to pull out the recipe from “Simple Suppers.”

This meal takes little time to prepare. The recipe suggests using kale, chard or collards. I’ve discovered beet greens work spectacularly well. Beet greens are thin, allowing them to wilt quickly. Tofu takes on the flavors of whatever it cooks with. In the original recipe, the greens, onions and garlic offer their deep flavors to the tofu. I added half of a hot yellow banana pepper and some minced garlic chives from my CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) basket. A smoky sauce of jam and chipotle is served along side. I used some homemade strawberry-blueberry-Grand Marnier jam a friend shared with me. I like the dish spooned over cooked brown rice.

A friend of mine ate at Moosewood Restaurant last week. She sent me an email to tell me she had enjoyed a meal of quinoa and marinated vegetables with a cup of gazpacho. Sounds so healthful, doesn’t it? Not to mention hippie and alluring :) One of these days I’ll get to that restaurant myself.

My husband and I gobbled the scrambled tofu and beet greens right up. It completely vanished before I even thought to take a picture. My bag of beet greens is gone, but I’ll be making the dish again tomorrow with spinach or chard.

Scrambled Tofu with Greens & Berry Chipotle Sauce

(adapted from “Moosewood Restaurant Simple Suppers: fresh ideas for the weeknight table,” by the Moosewood Collective.)
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 cup chopped onion
  • 1/2 of a hot banana pepper, seeds removed, chopped
  • 1/4 cup minced garlic chives
  • 3 garlic cloves, chopped
  • 3 cups chopped beet greens
  • 1 (14-ounce) cake extra firm tofu, drained and mashed with a fork
  • 3 tablespoons soy sauce

For sauce:

  • 1/3 cup berry jam
  • 2 teaspoons adobo sauce from canned chipotles
  • 1 to 2 tablespoons water
  • 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Pour olive oil into a large skillet over medium heat. When oil is hot, add chopped onions, banana pepper and chives. Saute until onions and pepper are tender. Add beet greens and stir to coat with mixture in pan. Cover with tight-fitting lid and steam until greens wilt.

Remove lid from skillet. Increase heat to high and cook off any remaining water in the pan. Add mashed tofu and stir. Cook for 3 or 4 minutes. Use a spatula to turn over the tofu mixture. Cook for another 3 or 4 minutes, until tofu begins to brown.

While the tofu cooks, make sauce by mixing jam, adobo and water together in a small saucepan. Simmer on low heat until hot and slightly thickened. Add lemon juice.

Serve tofu and greens with warm sauce. Brown rice is a nice accompaniment. Makes 3 or 4 servings.

See and/or purchase the book “Moosewood Restaurant Simple Suppers” at BetterWorldBooks.

Learn more about Moosewood Restaurant and see some of their recipes at their website:

http://www.moosewoodrestaurant.com/index.html

If you are intrigued with this recipe, you will find my recipe for Brunchschetta, an anytime meal� using beet greens with bacon and a poached egg on toast in my column this week. Click here to get to the recipe.

 

 

Weekend Baking: Scandinavian Almond Strawberry Shortcake Bites

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A Scandinavian Almond Cake pan has been tucked into my cupboard for several years. I remember tasting the sweet cake with texture of buttery pound cake and fragrant with almond at a friend’s house. She shared her recipe with me. I went straight to Stabo, the Scandinavian store at the local mall, to purchase one of the long, narrow, ridged and rounded pans of my own.

I think I’ve used the pan once.

The week before I was scheduled to do a cooking demonstration at the Lakes Area Farmers Market in Detroit Lakes, I paid a visit to the farmers and food vendors to see what I would have available to cook with. It was there I met Elsa, bread-baker extraordinaire. She owns Bethlehem “House of Bread.” My eyes lingered over racks of fresh, puffy loaves of bread, alluring caramel rolls and bags filled with substantial-looking granola. My eyes stopped at a few small, clear plastic bags filled with bite-size cubes of Scandinavian Almond Cake. I immediately thought of strawberry shortcake made in parfait glasses for individual servings with layers of these sweet bits of almond cake, fresh juicy strawberries and light, luscious sugar-spiked whipped cream.

I commented on a what a nice seasonal idea this was to sell Scandinavian Almond Cake cubed, ready to be served shortcake-style or layered into trifle. Elsa explained the cubes were an accidental result of almond cakes that didn’t quite release from the pan in perfect manner.

I remembered something the store clerk told me on that day long ago when I purchased my Scandinavian Almond Cake pan. “Use margarine when you make the cake. Don’t use butter. The cake will stick to the pan if you use butter.” She was adamant.

Me use margarine? There’s just no way.

I used butter. I allowed the cake to cool completely in the pan. When I was ready to turn the cake out of the pan, I held my breath as I slightly twisted the pan. I tipped it over. The cake stuck to the pan as if it were held by dried concrete. I turned the pan upside down and started whacking it on the counter covered with a clean kitchen towel. After several whacks, each one getting a bit more heft behind it, the cake finally came out of the pan — all in one piece.

This time of year, when local berry farms are harvesting strawberries and raspberries, Scandinavian Almond Cake sprinkled with powdered sugar, is a perfect accompaniment.

I cubed up a small portion of Scandinavian Almond Cake and carefully pushed them into strawberries (from a berry farm very near to where I live) that I’d sliced open with a sharp paring knife to form something that looked a bit like a tulip. A swirly squirt of an orange-almond-cream cheese topping completed the sweet little dessert.

Any cake with the texture of pound cake can be used for these one-bite strawberry shortcakes. For convenience, use frozen pound cake. I’d be tempted to brush frozen pound cake slices with some amaretto before cubing to give nice almond flavor.

Thanks, Elsa, for the inspiration. And, thanks to my friend Roberta for the Scandinavian Almond Cake recipe.

Scandinavian Almond Strawberry Shortcake Bites

  • Fresh Strawberries, rinsed
  • Small cubes of Scandinavian Almond Cake (recipe below) or pound cake
  • 1 (3-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
  • 1/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted, chopped fine or ground up in food processor
  • Grated zest of 1 orange
  • 1 to 2 tablespoons half-and-half
  • Mint leaves or thyme blossoms, for garnish

In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese with almonds and orange zest. Add half-and-half to thin the mixture a bit for easier piping. Spoon into a pastry bag with a number 10 metal tip, or a plastic zip-top bag with one corner snipped off.

With a sharp paring knife, slice stem end away from strawberries, creating a flat base. With flat side on work surface, cut 4 slits into tip of each berry, without going all the way through.

Gently push a cube of cake into the center of each cut berry.

Pipe cream cheese mixture over the top to cover the cake. Garnish with mint leaves or thyme blossoms.

Tips from the cook

  • These Bites can be prepared early in the day you will be serving them. This will allow for the cake to absorb some strawberry juice. Store, covered, in the refrigerator.
  • Toast slivered almonds in a preheated 350-degree oven for about 5 minutes. Cool completely before chopping or grinding in the food processor.

Roberta’s Scandinavian Almond Cake

  • 1 1/4 cups sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons pure almond extract
  • 2/3 cup milk
  • 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 cup butter, melted
  • Powdered sugar, for serving

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously grease cake pan and set aside. (Roberta sometimes sprinkles some finely chopped almonds in the pan, too.)

In large mixing bowl, beat sugar, egg, almond extract and milk together. Add flour and baking powder, mixing at low speed to blend. Add melted butter and mix well.

Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 40 to 50 minutes. Be sure to bake until fully done.

Cool cake in pan. Cross your fingers and turn the cake out of the pan.

Sprinkle with powdered sugar, slice and serve.

 

 

Time To Eat Rainier Cherries

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Just on the edge of the vegetable garden my Hungarian grandparents had on their Indiana farm was a cherry tree. The sprawling branches thick with leaves provided a welcome canopy on hot, sunny days — and a perfect climbing structure for fun-loving children.

I do remember climbing very carefully into the tree, not too high, but just far enough off the ground to be able to reach for ripe cherries that I would pop into my mouth, spitting the hard-as-stone pits onto the earth below. And, thus began my insatiable desire for sweet, rosy cherries.

Several years ago, I brought a handful of Rainier cherries home from the grocery store. I couldn’t resist their characteristic rosy blush with a warm, sunny undertone. I ate one. I was hooked. It was the sweetest, most delicious cherry I had ever eaten. The creamy colored flesh was juicy and much more flavorful than the traditional bing cherries I was used to eating. The Washington Rainier was cherry perfection.

Yesterday I was in cherry heaven when I had lunch at the Hotel Donaldson (affectionately referred to as HoDo by all the locals) in downtown Fargo. Executive Chef  Tim Fischer, a semi-finalist for the 2011 James Beard Foundation’s Best Chef in the Midwest, and his team were chosen to represent North Dakota in the Northwest Cherries Tree-to-Table campaign. In celebration of National Rainier Cherry Day, which was yesterday, Chef Fischer agreed to highlight 40 pounds of Rainier cherries in dishes his diners could not resist.

This Executive Chef and his team did not disappoint.

Sous Chef Ryan Nitschke created a sensational salad of fresh butter lettuce, mild goat cheese, roasted walnuts and warm cherry and prosciutto vinaigrette.

Nitschke’s luncheon salad would have been all I needed, but how could I pass up a serving of Frozen Maize Cheesecake, covered with ground caramel corn and topped with pitted and halved Rainier cherries in a not-too-sweet syrup? A pretty edible flower, plucked from the HoDo’s rooftop garden, along with a dark smear of sweetened huitlacoche, turned the plated dessert into a masterful work of art.

What is huitlacoche, you ask? Well, it’s Mexican corn fungus. It’s a delicacy. I can’t really describe the flavor — maybe a little sweet, a bit sour, slightly earthy, musky — it was not like anything I’ve ever tasted. All I know for sure, is that the sweetened huitlacoche brought perfect balance to the sweet cherries and cheesecake with caramel corn. Expertly developed with a sensational blend of flavors, so gourmet and exactly the surprise you would expect coming from the kitchen team of a James Beard-nominated chef.

Sous Chef Ryan Nitschke is definitely creative and knows exactly how to combine flavor and texture that excites the tastebuds.

He was so kind to take the time to give me a peek into the kitchen, where Sous Chef Nick Weinhandl was busy pitting delicate Rainier cherries, one at a time, all by hand. And, all by himself.

Nitschke assured me enough Washington Rainier cherries were set aside so that the salad and the frozen maize cheesecake could be featured on the HoDo lunch menu all this week. If you’re in the mood for dinner at the HoDo this week, you will have the opportunity to enjoy a five-course Rainier cherry-tasting meal created by Executive Chef Tim Fischer. Call ahead, though. These gourmet dinners featuring cherries will be available only as long as the 40 pounds of Rainier cherries from the Tree-to-Table promotion last.

You can find the participating Tree-to-Table restaurant in your state by clicking here and then click on your state on the map.

I checked with grocery stores in Bemidji and Fargo and discovered Rainier cherries have just begun making their appearance, with prices ranging from around $7.00 to $10.00 per pound. I think they are worth every penny. Pick up a few and see for yourself!

And, if you buy a few extra Rainiers, stuff them with cream cheese whipped up with almonds and orange zest and serve them in a pool of rich chocolate sauce. The recipe is in my column this week. Click here for the details.

While you do that, I’m off to the store to buy some Rainier cherries! Boy, I’ve come a long way with cherries since my tree-climbing days.

 

 

 

 

This Cherry Cake brings music to my ears

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I love the fresh, dark sweet cherries of summer. This time of year, when the ruby-hued fruit from Washington is toppled into huge bins in grocery stores, long slender stems going this-away, that-away, I just can’t resist them — no matter the price. And, the price is high when you choose organic cherries. So, I buy them in small quantities, bring them home and savor each luscious orb of succulence.

This morning, though, I have gained even stronger appreciation for each cherry I slip into my mouth.  I was tuned into NPR in the car as Gracie and I were heading home from the kennel this morning, where she spent her Saturday while I was cooking at the Lakes Area Farmers Market in Detroit Lakes. As I listened, Anna King did a short piece about migrant workers from Mexico who have discovered that picking cherries is one of the best-paying agriculture jobs in the northwest. As the men and women perch themselves on ladders raised high up into trees heavily laden with cherries, they learn to become adept at quickly and carefully picking and dropping as many cherries as they can into their buckets. They are not paid an hourly wage. They are paid by the amount of cherries they pick. As the listener is hearing the sound of melodious voices of migrant workers singing in Spanish, a slight cry breaks in as a young woman falls from her ladder. It’s alarming.

When the NPR piece ends, I begin to wonder what it’s like to live the life of a migrant cherry-picker. Little things come to mind. Must they worry about getting stung by bees as they climb their ladders and disappear into a lush mass of leaves and ripe cherries? Do they itch with sweat, but don’t dare take time to wipe their brow, that moment or two keeping a few cherries from the bucket? How many have had to overcome a fear of heights in order to take this good-paying job? And, is this “best-paying” agriculture job actually paying these hard-working migrants a fair wage? If so, I won’t mind as much having to pay a high price for this summer fruit that I love. And, I will appreciate the laborious work of the migrants who have made it possible for me to enjoy Washington cherries in my Minnesota kitchen.

After a morning walk with Gracie, constantly swatting away pesky deer flies buzzing around my head, I was ready for a piece of moist and spicy Cherry Cake with a good cup of coffee. I could hear those melodious voices singing songs in Spanish each time a cherry half burst with juice on my tongue.

And, I wonder, do the migrant cherry pickers have to deal with deer flies? Oh, I certainly hope not.

Cherry Cake

  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 cup buttermilk
  • 3/4 cup butter, room temperature
  • 1 1/2 cup sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1 cup pitted sweet cherries, halved

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 13- x 9-inch baking pan. Set aside.

Stir baking soda into buttermilk. Set aside.

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add buttermilk mixture. Beat well.

Sift flour with allspice and cloves. Stir into creamed mixture, blending well. Stir in cherries. Spoon batter into prepared pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes or until cake tests done. Makes 12 to 15 servings.

 

Weekend Baking: Muffins with a sweet summer surprise inside

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Last week I had a cooking class in my kitchen for an 8-year-old birthday girl and her good friend. The birthday girl has a grandma who appreciates the fact that her granddaughter loves to cook and bake and she wants to nurture that interest. So, grandma arranged for me to give a cooking and baking lesson to her young and very kitchen-savvy granddaughter.

I knew the moment the girls walked in with their own aprons that they meant business. My assumption was reinforced when I began showing the girls to crack eggs on the work surface rather than the edge of the mixing bowl to prevent little pieces of shell from sliding into the bowl and to drop the insides into a little custard cup before adding it to the mixing bowl and I heard, “Yup, I saw that on a cooking show.” Yes, these girls knew their way around the kitchen.

We snipped fresh herbs from the garden to add to a salad, made pizza with whole wheat pasta, mixed up granola for them to take home and squeezed lemons to stir into a cool beverage (yes, they knew lemons at room temperature rolled around on the counter give more juice). For dessert, the young bakers made banana muffins with a strawberry hidden inside.

Very ripe bananas got mashed with a fork and stirred into a buttery batter. Then, the batter got scooped into paper-lined muffin tins.

Before the muffin tins were ready to slide into the oven, the girls rolled clean, whole strawberries in sugar. A sugar-coated strawberry got pushed into the top of each muffin before baking. That’s the sweet,  juicy summer surprise inside.

The cooks in my kitchen that day made a delicious, healthful lunch that they shared with the birthday girl’s grandma and mom and lucky me.

I just made another batch of these moist muffins. I used garden-fresh strawberries that I bought at the Lakes Area Farmers Market in Detroit Lakes. My favorite guy ate a couple warm out of the oven for a snack last night. He grabbed a couple on his way out the door this morning to eat on the way to work.  Sprinkled with a little powdered sugar and served with a tiny scoop of vanilla ice cream (homemade is great!), these muffins become cupcakes for dessert.

These muffins are a nice way to use a handful of the strawberries that are ready to pick at local berry farms. Tomorrow (Saturday), I’ll be turning some fresh strawberries into Strawberry-Almond Cheesecake Bites when I do a cooking demonstration at the farmers market in Detroit Lakes. I’ll be cooking there from 11:00 to 1:00, using fresh produce, beef, bread and edible flowers from the farmers/vendors who will be selling there on Saturday. If you are in the area, please stop by. I’d love to see you at the Lakes Area Farmers Market.

Sweet Surprise Summer Muffins

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/4 cups sugar
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
  • 2 ripe bananas, mashed
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • Whole, fresh medium-sized strawberries
  • 2 to 3 tablespoons sugar for the strawberries

 

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  2. Put muffin papers into the baking pan.
  3. Sift flour with baking powder, baking soda and salt and set aside.
  4. In a large mixing bowl, use an electric hand mixer to beat sugar and butter together until creamy.
  5. Add mashed bananas and beat.
  6. Break eggs into a medium-sized bowl. Beat slightly with a whisk. Add buttermilk and lemon juice. Whisk about 20 times.
  7. Pour the buttermilk mixture into the bowl with the butter and sugar. Beat at low speed with the mixer to blend.
  8. Add sifted dry ingredients all at once to the bowl.
  9. Gently stir with a wooden spoon until the flour disappears.
  10. Use ¼ cup measure with a handle to scoop batter into muffin papers, filling almost to the top.
  11. Roll each strawberry, one per muffin, in the 2 tablespoons sugar.
  12. Using your fingers, push a sugar-coated strawberry into the top of each muffin
  13. Bake muffins in preheated 400-degree oven 15 to 20 minutes.
  14. Transfer muffins to a wire rack to cool.
  15. Makes about 1 1/2 to 2 dozen muffins, depending on size.

Cookie Dough and Ice Cream create Snickderdoodle Scream

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My column is written for the week and I’m all set to tape a food segment for Lakeland News at 10. With a short breather before the camera guy arrives, I wanted to quick share with you about the yummy dessert I put together over the weekend using cookie dough and ice cream.

We were home for the long holiday weekend. We enjoyed the beautiful northern Minnesota sunshine as we floated around on our boat, well equipped with snacks and cool beverages, of course. Friends were in and out of our house during the weekend, so it seemed there was always plenty of activity in the kitchen.

One evening we grilled chickens and had a wonderful meal with neighbors. For dessert we made some homemade ice cream using one of our favorite recipes for Butter Cream Base in the Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream and Dessert Book. Strawberries and blueberries were available for creating a patriotic red, white and blue treat.

I remembered I had some snickerdoodle dough in the refrigerator. And then, I had a bright idea.

I’d been anxious to use some shallow baking dishes a friend gave me not long ago. She knows I love old restaurant ware. She found some darling individual-serving-sized dark green dishes for me.

Can’t you just see some cheesy potatoes served up in these dishes along side a fried pork chop at a small-town restaurant? Or, maybe some hash-brown potatoes that were slipped under the broiler to get golden and crisp, then served for breakfast to a hungry guy in a tiny cafe?

I love these little darlings…

So, for their very first use in my kitchen, they were patted with Chippy Snickerdoodle dough and baked for about 10 minutes. Then, while still warm, they were topped with generous scoops of homemade ice cream and plenty of fresh berries. I’ll bet they’d never experienced that!

I’m sure you could use your favorite homemade cookie dough to pat into small, shallow oven-proof dishes to create your own ice cream bowls. Or, use Chippy Snickerdoodle Dough, which I posted the recipe for last week. Just click here to get right over to the recipe.

Go to this Amazon link and scroll down to page 28 of the Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream and Dessert Book. You will find the recipe for Sweet Cream Base #1. It’s the recipe I often use — creamy and absolutely dreamy. When I get my load of Colorado peaches, I chop some and stir them into this Base. I’ve also added chopped peanut butter cups for my peanut butter-lover. One year, on Christmas Eve, I chopped a 3.5-ounce bar of Divine Dark Mint Chocolate and added the bits to this cold, creamy wonder. Naturally, it was divine!

Okay, time to go. See you for Weekend Baking on Friday.