Fresh Tart

Photo by Susan Powers

I'm very happy to announce that I'm collaborating with the amazing Susan Powers on a new endeavor: Shooting the Kitchen, a gorgeously photographed (all Susan!) behind-the-scenes peek at chefs in their element, doing their thing, cranking out truly stunning food.

We leave with a recipe, which I prep and tweak for home cooks, while Susan photographs away. Too fun, right?

Yes!  If you're on Twitter, follow the crazy deliciousness @ShootTheKitch.

Corner Table Restaurant chef/owner Scott Pampuch's recipe for Roast Chicken Sandwich with Pickled Marmalade, on Sunstreet Breads baguette, from Corner Table's Farm & Table Community Supported Kitchen (CSK) box, at Dara & Co./Minnesota Monthly Magazine.

Say that 20 times after a glass of champagne...

Recipe for Orange Yogurt Pancakes at Dara & Co./Minnesota Monthly Magazine.

The weather, I promised myself I would not talk about the weather.

But forget it man, this is Minnesota, and we talk about the weather.  So here it is: It rained ice last night, as John and I were on our way from not one but two fabulous dinners.  I first dug into champagne, pommes frites, and escargot with the lovely and incredibly talented Susan Powers at Vincent's.

Then John stopped by and whisked me off to Haute Dish for round two of champagne, this time alongside braised meat insanity, which of course I loved.  Pork belly for me, because that's what I always order, which prompted me to boldly declare braised pork my all-time favorite food ever.

Evar.

Then John handed me a forkful of his braised beef short rib with this insane almost-chocolate thing going on and I remembered how much I love that too and I was - and still am - terribly torn.

Apparently I'm not ready to list my all-time faves.  Except for fried potatoes in any form, I'm willing to float that out there.

And runny eggs - poached, fried, scrambled, boiled, bring it.  But there I must pause.

Anyhow, after heavy meatness, and ice-turning-to-snow, today I needed something spicy, spicy, spicy.  I have three jaw-droppingly fantastic salsas in my fridge thanks to Twitter friend Todd Tweedy, which I admit I've been eating with a spoon.

That good.

I decided that fish tacos - I used trout tonight - would be a mighty fine salsa delivery vehicle and in fact they were.  They were also a nice screw-you to all the snow, which made me smile maniacally.

I layered in cabbage, avocado, cilatro, creme fraiche (OK, not Mexican, but I had it, and thinned with with cream for a pseudo-crema), and the insane salsa.

Screw the snow.  See?

Screw-the-Snow Fish Tacos (Gluten-Free)
Makes 4 tacos

1/2 c. peanut or other high-heat oil
1/2 c. finely ground cornmeal
1/2 c. gluten-free, all-purpose flour
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. chipotle chili powder (I like the heat, and smoke, but use what you like)
1/2 lb. fish (I used trout for these, but really...use whatever you like and is freshest), cut into 1x4-inch strips
1 c. shredded cabbage
1/4 c. creme fraiche or sour cream thinned with 2 Tbsp. cream
4 warmed corn (or flour) tortillas
1/2 ripe avocado, sliced
fresh cilantro
salsa

Pour oil into a large skillet and heat over medium-high heat.

While the oil heats, in a pie plate, toss together the cornmeal, flour, salt, and chili powder.  Dredge the fish in the cornmeal/flour mixture and fry in hot oil until browned on both sides.  Drain on paper-towel-lined plate.

Serve in warm tortillas with cabbage, cream, avocado, cilantro, and salsa.

These Minnesota Food Bloggers events must end! They're just so damn fun that the next day is a bit of a let-down. Who's making me dinner? Pouring me glasses of prosecco? Making me laugh maniacally? Chatting endlessly about food, cooking, ingredients, restaurants, events, new projects, and when we should next have dinner?

Spoiled food blogger brat, me.

Wednesday's event was hosted by chef/owner Scott Pampuch, his right-hand-otherwise-known-as Meghan Likes, sous chef Dan Zeroth, and the rest of the awesome staff at Corner Table Restaurant. I put up the event registration a couple of weeks ago and within hours it was sold out with a long waiting list to boot.

Minnesota Food Bloggers Unite! Wow.

I think we have something amazing going on here, friends. Very exciting. (More coming soon, so stay tuned...)

In the end, 40 lucky bloggers arrived to find the dreamy spread pictured up top: Corner Table-cured meats, pickled vegetables, eggs, mustard, butter... Crostini with goat cheese and roasted beets... Perhaps other treats but I was talking, talking...

Needless to say, beautiful, local, delicious things.

Mmmm.

As crazy-fun as we food bloggers are, Pampuch didn't invite us to Corner Table (CT) for the sole pleasure of watching us empty his kitchen and drain his bar. He had a pitch to make, and he picked a good group to toss it to. As the cocktail hour wound down and he pulled together chairs to speak to the group, out came the cameras and phones: Twitter lit up with #MNFoodBloggers @CTKitchenTable @ScottPampuch; Andrew Zimmern tweeted in that he wished he could be there; and I had people from all over the world tweet-asking me what party they were missing.

Turns out, we kind of rock.

Pampuch welcomed the group and introduced CT's latest endeavor, Farm & Table Community Supported Kitchen (CSK). All of the lovely treats everyone had just inhaled? Similar items will be available in CT's single purchase or 4-, 6-, or 8-week CSK membership boxes, to be picked up at the restaurant on Friday evenings, starting April 1.

The contents of the boxes will vary each week, but will contain the ingredients for serious meals at home: Seasoned (marinated, brined, stuffed...) meats (pork, chicken, beef, duck...), ready for the oven or grill. Seasonal produce (radishes, carrots, ramps, beets...), cleaned, peeled, and ready to cook. Sides, stocks, seasonings, cured pork, cheeses, preserves or other good and lovely things to set in your empty fridge.

(For CSA veterans, the idea of a box of a few pretty, clean vegetables alongside the makings of an entire meal is kind of mind-blowing, right? I don't know how many cabbage recipes I wrote the year of my first CSA share, but I pushed my marriage to the edge. I think John finally drew the line at a cabbage tart, although I thought it was pretty fabulous.)

CT had given out CSK test boxes to three busy couples a week before the event, then invited the group to chat with us about how easy it was to pull together meals from the box and even better - how much they enjoyed what they had prepared.

And then...

All hell broke loose when two real-live sample boxes made an appearance and we bloggers were invited to dig in and get cooking in CT's kitchen. Whoosh, the dining room emptied, the kitchen filled, and things got wild. It turns out that food bloggers like to cook!

Or talk and eat and drink and watch and photograph each other cook.

In a flash there was marinated chicken stuffed with goat cheese, wrapped in bacon, and fried until crispy and melty and bacon-y ridiculous. I heard a rumor about sauteed cabbage, apples, and sausage (actually, I saw the pictures from my own camera, kindly taken by Dania Miwa - thanks dear) which I'm sorry that I missed.

.

The women in the kitchen swooned at the sight of a sunny-side-up egg sandwich, layered with bacon into a Rustica Bakery miche roll, topped with CT's housemade kimchi...someone cut it in half (Pampuch?), eyelids fluttered, and I could not stop laughing.

Ditto the smoked trout cake topped with bacon, topped with pickled cabbage and carrots, topped with an egg poached in chicken broth, topped with sauce remoulade (photo by Amy B. Peterson).

Ooh, ahh, attack, inhale. (Guys, here's a tip - poach an egg for your girl and be very glad. It takes 3 minutes.)

In case you're too busy to cook anything at all, there's also a membership for what CT is calling Farm Dinner in a Box, in effect a box of fully cooked, scratch-made meals, ready to heat-n-eat. Menus will be posted weekly on the CT blog. As with the CSK box, order one at a time or subscribe for the summer. All good.

And if you can't commit to a whole box of food, or you're in CT having a fab din, or you're picking up your box and decide you need more, more, more...there's now a deli case full of bacon, sausages, preserves, eggs, butter, chicken liver pate, and other treats.

In addition to the Farm & Table CSK offerings, Pampuch also announced that beginning Sunday, April 3, CT will be offering breakfast-not-brunch. I predict bacon on the menu. Likely eggs too. If I weren't going to be eating bacon & eggs in NYC that very day, I'd be there. You should go in my place.

He also announced that CT plans to soon close on Tuesday nights and instead offer cooking classes, including for children, details forthcoming.

Needless to say, huge thanks to CT for hosting us crazy bloggers. To say that the group had fun is like saying cured pork is amazing. I confess that I stood back and watched everyone food-geeking out and thought: I am never going to top this night.

It was a good feeling.

For more and other fun takes on the evening, check out:

Eating the Minneapple
FoodStoned
Green Your Plate
Joel's Views
She Said She Said
Minneapolis/St. Paul Magazine Foodie File
Twin Cities Foodie

Heidi's owner/executive chef as well as Shefzilla blogger Stewart Woodman's recipe for Fried Trout & Refrigerator Pickles, from Shefzilla: Conquering Haute Cuisine at Home, at Dara & Co./Minnesota Monthly Magazine.

I took this picture after...6 pm!  That is so outstanding I can barely contain myself.  It's been a long, dark winter in Minnesota and while it's still cold as hell, with a thick blanket of dirty snow covering everything (the color of despair as my Twitter friend @ChefSpencerGray called it, perfect), there is light.  Lalalight!

Light.

It's still braising weather, however, which I'm not really complaining about - yum, braise, always - but I am itching to put away the Dutch oven and stand on the deck, after a day of too much sun, sipping champagne while I grill...

Uh, not quite yet.

A painfully delicious taco conversation with Eating for England blogger Angharad Guy, paired with these longer days of sunlight, appears to have spiked a serious craving for spicy food - no, I'm not pregnant - so I turned to one of my favorite all-time blogs, Homesick Texan, for her recipe for Dallas-style brisket tacos.  I've been eyeing the recipe for awhile, waiting for a lazy Sunday, just perfect for sliding a roast in the oven and letting it slow-simmer all day.  While there are fresh jalapenos in the broth, the beef emerges flavorful-not-spicy (and falling-apart tender, of course).

Adults and children alike will be all over these.

In fact, you can think of these as the Philly cheesesteak of tacos.  Dallas-style means cheese melted onto the tortilla before piling in the brisket with sauteed peppers and onions.  Serve the tacos with pan juices and salsa for dipping.

Sigh with happiness for the beauty of braised beef.

Squint into the sun.

Try not to eat six of them, like John did.

Snack on raw jalapenos with salt, like I did, so good, come on sun, bring it.

Recipe for Brisket Tacos, Dallas Style on Homesick Texan.

I've been meaning to post this recipe since the holidays, when I brought this dish to my aunt Mary & uncle Bruce's house for Christmas Day.  Time flies...

Actually, time doesn't fly in Minnesota between December and March, so I'm not sure what my excuse is.  But no matter, here it is.

Collard greens, for you (we) northerners, require longer cooking than say Swiss chard, spinach, or kale.  But that's what makes collards amazing - a slow simmer allows them to bathe long enough in smoky, porky broth to emerge...smoky and porky.  And meltingly tender.

Irresistible.  Doubters, trust me.

It's probably far from traditional, but I'm all about crispy pork, and from North Dakota, so I pull apart whatever I've used (smoked ham hock or shank, kielbasa) and brown in a little butter - yep - and make a meal of it.

Collard Greens
Adapted from Paula Deen via www.foodnetwork.com
Serves 4-6

1/2 lb. smoked meat (ham hocks or shanks, smoked turkey wings, or smoked neck bones)
1 Tbsp. house seasoning (below)
1 Tbsp. salt
1 Tbsp. hot red pepper sauce
1 large bunch collard greens
1 Tbsp. butter

In a large pot, bring 3 quarts of water to a boil and add smoked meat, house seasoning, salt, and hot sauce.  Reduce heat to medium and cook 1 hour (uncovered).

Wash collard greens thoroughly.  Remove the stems that run down the center by holding the leaf in your left hand and stripping the leaf down with your right hand.  The tender young leaves in the heart of the collards don't need to be stripped.  Stack 6-8 leaves on top of one another roll up, and slice into 1/2- to 1-inch thick slices.  Place greens in pot with meat and add butter.  Cook 45-60 minutes, stirring occasionally, until just tender.  Adjust seasoning when done.

House Seasoning
1/2 c. salt
2 Tbsp. black pepper
2 Tbsp. garlic powder

Mix ingredients together and store in an airtight container for up to 6 months.

Recipe for Tastebud Tart Molly Herrmann's famous Lemon Rosemary Shortbread at Dara & Co./Minnesota Monthly Magazine.

Spring may be right around the corner, but I'm freezing right now.  Brrr!  I keep going out at night without stockings on, dying to wear something other than boots, hoping that because it's now March, 20 degrees will feel more like 50 degrees.

Not that 50 degrees is warm enough to go stockingless either, but if you're from 'round these parts, you know how it goes.  When you ride a +100-degree annual temperature swing, it seems perfectly logical to skip stockings while wearing a wool coat and giant scarf.

At least it does to me.

It's all about bridging the seasons, mixing things up.  Given hot comfort with bright, fresh flavors, tortilla soup fits my fickle mood.  Make it as spicy as you like, then layer in the good stuff - cheese, avocado slices, a squeeze of lime, and of course crunchy tortillas.

It takes a bit longer to start from scratch, but it's so worth it for the rich chicken flavor.  You could definitely do this soup in a crockpot of you're so inclined.  The final puree gives the soup body and thickness without adding flour or masa.

Tortilla Soup
Serves 8

Soup
1 broiler/fryer chicken (2-3 lbs.)
8 c. chicken broth
3 dried guajillo chiles, stems removed, cut into large pieces (guajillos are mild dried chiles, substitute others as you like or add more or less to taste)
1 carrot, halved
1 medium onion, quartered
3 cloves garlic, smashed and peeled
1 Tbsp. dried oregano
1 Tbsp. ground cumin
1 14-oz. can chopped, fire-roasted tomatoes

Garnishes
sliced avocados
shredded jack cheese
chopped fresh cilantro
wedges of fresh lime
corn tortilla chips

Place chicken in a large Dutch oven, add the remaining soup ingredients, set over high heat, and bring to a boil.  Turn heat to very low, so that broth barely bubbles. Simmer for 2-3 hours, uncovered, or until chicken is falling-apart tender.

Remove chicken from broth and set on a cutting board to cool.  Skim fat and residue from the broth.  Using an immersion blender, or a stand blender in small batches, puree the soup and return to the pot.

Remove and discard chicken skin, then remove chicken meat from the bones and cut into bite-size pieces.  Add chicken to the pot.  Season soup to taste with salt and pepper.  Serve with garnishes.