Fresh Tart

Photo by Susan Powers

Oh burrata, is there anything better? Here's a weird thing - the night before the Piccolo shoot, without having any idea of what Chef Doug Flicker was preparing, I dreamed about burrata! It was a lovely dream, about poking open the solid mozzarella exterior to reveal the creamy fresh mozzarella interior...

Clearly, I'm weird. Clearly I'm extra weird for confessing my dream to Flicker. Susan just...laughed.

And clearly, burrata is one of my favorite foods, so I was delighted to play around with this dish with Susan. See the whole story, Susan's gorgeous photographs, and recipe for Burrata with Frozen Pea Puree, Bottarga, & Oilo Verde at Shooting the Kitchen.

Let me say this right away so that you don't stop reading: Souffles are so easy to make! I made this version with rhubarb but you can use almost any juicy fruit - local strawberries are finally happening!

Soon there will be cherries, blueberries, peaches, plums... Play away.

This recipes uses four egg whites. Don't toss the yolks! Just cover and refrigerate and make Old-Fashioned Vanilla Pudding with Crushed Strawberries the next day (or the day before - you choose). My recipe for Warm Fruit Souffle (in this case, rhubarb) at Dara & Co./Minnesota Monthly Magazine.

If the only vanilla pudding you've ever eaten is from a plastic Jello brand cup, then please make this. It takes about 15 minutes to pull together and will knock your socks off, gone.

You can eat the pudding warm right out of the pan (Stephanie style) or chill it for a bit to serve after dinner (the proper way).  Because strawberries are amazing right now, crush some with a little sugar (and a splash of booze?) and spoon them over the top. I don't know what it is about vanilla pudding + strawberries in particular, but for me, it is a holy grail combination that tastes of childhood, my grandmother's kitchen, and the world's most perfect strawberry ice cream.

Mmmmm, nostalgia.

(If you're loathe to waste the egg whites, then hold on until tomorrow for a recipe that just happens to call for four egg whites... Update: And here it is! Warm Fruit Souffle. Dessert yin and yang, right? Right.)

Old-Fashioned Vanilla Pudding with Crushed Strawberries
Serves 6

1 pint strawberries, hulled and chopped
1 Tbsp. sugar + 1/2 c. sugar (or even a bit less, depending on how sweet you like your...sweets)
4 large egg yolks
1/4 c. cornstarch
1/2 tsp. salt
4 c. whole milk
1 Tbsp. butter
2 tsp. real vanilla extract

In a medium bowl, stir together strawberries and 1 Tbsp. sugar. Mash with a fork or potato masher into a chunky sauce. Set aside at room temperature until ready to serve.

In a small bowl, lightly whisk egg yolks. Set aside.

In a large saucepan, stir together sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Whisk in milk. Place pan over medium heat and cook, whisking constantly, until thick and bubbling. Remove from heat.

Whisk a ladleful of the hot milk mixture into the egg yolks, then whisk the egg yolk mixture into the pan of hot milk. Return the pan to medium heat and cook, whisking constantly, until once again thick and bubbling. Cook for 2 minutes and remove from heat.

Whisk in butter and then vanilla. Cool in the pan, stirring occasionally, then spoon into serving bowls and serve at room temperature or chill for an hour. Top with crushed strawberries right before serving.

I first posted this last year, but the story and pics make me so happy, I'm pulling it up again for today. Happy Father's Day! - Stephanie

I sent my dad an email telling him to check out my buttermilk pancake post and wishing him Happy Father's Day.  This is what he wrote back:

I just got back from Canada last night.  We were fishing on Keefe Lake, which is in northern Saskatchewan, about 1,200 miles north of Sheridan.  We drove my pickup to Laronge and then flew the last 200 miles.  We had two shore lunches in the five days of fishing: The guide takes a large steel frying pan with high sides and fills it with canola oil, then sets it over an open camp fire.  When it's very hot, he dumps in frozen french fries.  When the french fries are starting to brown, he drops in onion rings.  After two or three batches, he starts frying the fish.  The fish are walleye, caught that morning and cleaned while still flopping.  Each fillet is rolled in flour, then dipped in beaten egg, then rolled in potato buds, and then dropped into the very hot oil.  They are fried until they "look pretty".  Meanwhile, canned baked beans are heating next to the fire.  Everyone grabs a plate and the feast is on while the guide continues to fry fish until everyone is stuffed.  All of this is best accompanied by cold beer.  Dessert is canned peaches with egg coffee.

I loved this email.  I laughed.  My mouth watered.

I thought of my Grandpa Meyer (my dad's dad, who was a walleye fisherman extraordinaire, above).  I thought of my Grandma Meyer (who fried all that walleye - dredged in flour, fried in butter - until we all got full).

I got a tear in my eye.

I marveled that my dad drove 1,000 miles before his short flight.  (He lives in Sheridan, Wyoming.)  He, my stepmom Susanna, and my sister Stacey embrace a long drive.  I...do not.

I thought about how my dad is a true Renaissance Man: Lawyer, serious hunter/fisherman/outdoorsman/horseman, history expert, dog whisperer, nightmare debater, incredible cook, our family's storyteller, father of four.

I thought about how much I love my family for loving real, good food.  I thought about how much I hope I'm passing this love on to my son.

And then I decided to fry up some walleye.  I'd never heard of dredging fish with potato buds before (see dredged in flour, fried in butter, above), so I decided to give the guide's technique a try, since I assume the man knows how to fry up some fish.  It was completely delicious, a light as air crust around moist fish (similar in effect to panko crumbs).

All of this is best accompanied by cold beer. Yeah.

Shore Lunch Fried Walleye
Serves 4 (except in my family, where this would barely serve 2)

1 lb. walleye fillets
1 egg + 1 Tbsp. water
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 c. flour, on a plate
1 1/2 c. instant mashed potato flakes or panko crumbs, on a plate
peanut oil or other oil for high heat frying

Fill a wok 1/3 full of oil and set over medium high heat.  While oil heats, beat egg, 1 Tbsp. of water, and 1 tsp. of salt in a pie plate.  Line up the egg, flour, and potato flakes.  When oil is hot, dip both sides of walleye fillets in flour, then egg, then potato flakes, then transfer the fillet to the hot oil.  Fry fillet, turning once, until fish is nicely golden brown on both sides.  Drain on paper towels.  Repeat with other fillets and serve immediately.

Naturally gluten-free, bánh xèo are simple, savory crepes made from rice flour and coconut milk. Served warm and filled with cool, crisp vegetables, herbs, and drizzled with a spicy-salty sauce, they will blow your mind with flavor and texture achieved with very little effort.

Recipe for bánh xèo, adapted from Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi, at Dara & Co./Minnesota Monthly Magazine.

OK, I'm going out on a limb here, but...I declare it summer. I know, we've had no spring at all, but that's how we roll...0 to 104 degrees F (yes, we reached 104 this week!) in the blink of an eye. Very Lamborghini, Minnesota, perhaps without the sex appeal. But no matter - it's relatively consistently warmish now, which means the farmers' markets are in full swing, and that's summer enough for me.

Do you subscribe to a CSA? If you're already feeling a wee bit overwhelmed by vegetables, no worries. Everyone who acquires a weekly box of vegetables feels that way, and if they say that they don't...well, they're lying. But worry not - of course carry forth with simple sautes, and throwing vegetables on the grill, or making lovely salads. But when you want to mix things up a bit, consider...

...savory pancakes. It is incredibly satisfying and delicious to roll a crepe or other pancake around cool, crispy vegetables. Or warm, crispy vegetables. Add a tangy vinaigrette, or a sprinkle of cheese, or creme fraiche, and you have the flavor explosion known as a meal. For very little effort. Which is what almost-summer is all about.

I have three savory pancake ideas for you to mess around with over the next few days. The first is a grain-free, gluten-free version, really just a very thin herb-omelet, wrapped around crispy potatoes and whatever greens suit your fancy. Add ricotta cheese or creme fraiche (if you eat dairy) and I swear you will be happily stuffed in no time. If you would like a little meat with your potatoes - fine! Saute sausage or bacon first until crispy, then add the potatoes and greens. Oh my goodness would that be good.

"Crepes" with Crispy Potatoes, Greens & Creme Fraiche
Adapted from a recipe by Yotam Ottolenghi from Plenty
Serves 4

This recipe is highly adaptable to whatever seasonings meet your cravings. I immediately envisioned sauteeing a chopped fresh chili with the potatoes, adding a bit of cheese over the top to melt, and serving with salsa and sour cream. Adjust the herbs in the crepes accordingly. You could also fill the crepes with beans, uncooked greens, yogurt, any herb imaginable, on and on and on. Fun!

2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp. butter, divided
4 medium new potatoes, diced small
1 small bunch greens (spinach, bok choy, Swiss chard, or other quick-cooking green), coarsely chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
Kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp. smoked paprika
5 free-range eggs (or 4 duck eggs, if you're lucky)
1/3 c. milk
1 c. chopped fresh herbs (any combination of basil, thyme, parsley, tarragon, oregano...)
1/2 c. creme fraiche

Put olive oil and 1 Tbsp. butter in a large saute pan over medium heat. When butter is melted and hot, add the potatoes, greens, and a generous pinch of salt. Toss the vegetables to coat with the oil, then cover and cook for 5 minutes, until greens are wilted and potatoes are beginning to soften. Set the cover aside and continue to saute until potatoes and greens are nicely browned. Stir in paprika and saute for another 3 minutes. Season with more salt if needed and add freshly ground black pepper to taste. Remove from heat and set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, herbs, 1/2 tsp. salt, and a generous grind of black pepper. Cut the remaining 1 Tbsp. butter into 4 pieces. Heat a 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. When the pan is hot, add 1 small piece of the butter, swirling it around the pan until browned. Ladle in 1/3 c. of the egg/herb mixture and swirl the pan so that the egg is a very thin crepe. Cook until the edges are dry & browning, about 3-4 minutes. Flip crepe and cook for 1 minute more, then turn out onto a baking sheet. Cook the remaining three crepes the same way.

To serve: Spread crepes with creme fraiche. Divide potato mixture among the four crepes, roll, and eat warm or heat in the oven for a few minutes until hot. Serve with additional creme fraiche.

Over the course of an intensely sucky non-spring in Minnesota, a bit of an obsession developed among the Minnesota Food Bloggers for gathering on a patio. It began on Twitter with the wistful hashtag #BigPatioNight, while the average high temperature was 40 degrees at best, and roared into a full-blown fantasy when we were generously invited to spend May 23 on the brand-new patio at Heidi & Stewart Woodman's lovely restaurant, Heidi's 2.0.

Would it be a nice night? I'll confess...I thought no damn way. The forecast was for clouds at best, rain at worst.

I was ready for the worst.

But then...a stroke of luck! The clouds drifted away, the sun shone forth, and we all gathered outside, for real, on the patio, for real. For real!

It was...magical.

The sense of sparkle was enhanced, I suspect, by the absolutely delicious - and KILLER - cocktails being concocted and named by bartender extraordinnaire Johnny Holder (@film_cocktails) and sommelier James Parsons (@jsommplus). Several drinks were named, of which I sampled (inhaled) two. The first was The Stephanie, named for Minneapolis/St. Paul Magazine food editor Stephanie March (@stephmarch), an evilly fabulous mix of Makers Mark, chartreuse, brandied cherries, with muddled orange, sugar cube, and tobacco banana bitters.

Ka. Blam.

The second sashayed around after Tracy Morgan (@segnavia) & Molly Herrmann (@tastebudtart) of Kitchen in the Market (@KitchenInTheMkt) - two girls who know their way around a cocktail - challenged Johnny to create a champagne-tequila beauty. Dangerously comprised of champagne, tequila, ginger syrup, celery bitters, and lime juice, The Blonde Bombshell kind of blew everyone away, both at the party, and on Twitter the next day. I've been thinking about her ever since...

Platters of lovely food made the rounds as well, escorted by servers in "Cheese is the New Black" t-shirts. Awesome. Salmon spring rolls, blue cheese-topped poundcake, tender rabbit meatballs, lamb, and a serious chocolate mousse (on gluten-free spoons, for me, how sweet!) were devoured. There might have been some licking going on.

The best part of the night? The Minnesota Food Bloggers raised $500 for Emergency Foodshelf Network plus an additional $205 for American Red Cross Minnesota for North Minneapolis tornado relief. Amazing.

Huge thanks to the Woodmans, JSomm, Johnny, Liz, and the whole Heidi's team for hosting such a beautiful party.

Happy Patio!

The play of hot against cold, tender against crunchy, preferably with a salty-sweet vinaigrette, hits enough texture and flavor notes to transform a simple salad into a meal. Use this recipe as a formula to play with all summer long, as other vegetables come into the market.

My recipe for Grilled Asparagus Salad with Bacon Vinaigrette at Dara & Co./Minnesota Monthly Magazine.

It is so ridiculously easy and delicious to braise a whole chicken that I do it almost every week, just to have on hand for last-minute meals. I've posted my recipe for chicken braised in coconut milk before, but not some of the other variations I play around with, so hopefully this post will round things out.

If you've made the coconut milk version, you know that a braised chicken achieves a silkiness in texture that a roasted chicken just doesn't achieve. It's almost obscene the way it falls apart into a pile of intensely-flavored goodness, ready to eat as is or perfectly happy to sit in the fridge for a few days getting better and better (that's why I make one so often).

I vary the seasoning profile to keep things interesting - the aforementioned coconut curry; Mexican (dried chiles, salsa, cumin, splash of cream); French (fresh herbs, wine, splash of cream); and this Moroccan version. I suggest that you take the formula below and experiment to your heart's (and palate's) content.

And then, let me know what you come up with!

The carrots in the picture above are the pickled carrots posted below. They are the perfect, crunchy-sweet condiment for tender chicken.

Braised Moroccan Chicken with Saffron Rice
Serves 4

Chicken
1 roasting chicken
Kosher salt
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. cumin seeds
1 tsp. coriander seeds
1 medium onion, quartered
2 cloves garlic, smashed & peeled
2 Tbsp. harissa
2 tsp. paprika
2 tsp. freshly grated ginger
2 Tbsp. honey
1 preserved lemon, seeded, chopped
1/2 c. water
freshly ground black pepper

Saffron Rice
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. butter
1/2 medium onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
3 saffron threads, crumbled
1 c. basmati or long-grain rice
1 1/2 c. water
1 tsp. salt

For the chicken:
Preheat oven to 275 degrees F.

Sprinkle chicken generously with salt, inside and out.

In an oven-safe Dutch oven with a lid, heat oil over medium-high heat. Brown the chicken thoroughly on all sides. Don't rush the process, since the chicken won't brown much while braising.

While chicken browns, in a small skillet, toast the cumin and coriander seeds until fragrant. Grind them in a mortar & pestle and set aside.

When the chicken is thoroughly browned, transfer to a large plate. Add onion and garlic to the pan and saute for 2-3 minutes, then stir in harissa, paprika, ginger, honey, and preserved lemon. Nestle the chicken back into the pot, breast up, and add water to the pan. Bring to a simmer, cover, and set in the oven.

Bake chicken for 1 1/2 hours or until very tender. Transfer chicken from the pot to a cutting board (it may fall apart, which is fine) to cool a bit. Skim fat from pan juices, then puree juices with an immersion blender or in a blender. Return to the pot and season with salt & pepper.

Using your hands, pull chicken meat into bite-sized pieces, discarding bones (and skin if you don't like it). Add chicken to the pan juices. Serve warm with saffron rice. Or cool, cover, and chill. Reheat gently to serve.

For the rice:
In a large saucepan, heat oil and butter over medium heat. When hot, stir in onion, garlic, saffron, and rice. Saute until onion softens and rice browns a bit, about 10 minutes. Stir in water and salt, bring to a boil, turn heat to low, and cover tightly. Set timer for 20 minutes.

When rice is done, stir with a fork.