Fresh Tart

One of my favorite New York food treats is to inhale pork in many forms at Momofuku Ssam Bar. The Bo Ssam pork shoulder is particularly delightful, served whole and fall-apart-glistening for the table to share. Everyone grabs tongs and snaps at the meat like a pack of well-dressed wolves, filling lettuce leaves with slabs of silky shoulder topped with sticky rice, raw oysters (!), kimchi, and a bright blast of ginger scallion sauce. As gorgeous as that pork shoulder is - and it is a stunner, not to be missed - this last trip it was the addictive ginger scallion sauce that I couldn't stop thinking about.

Luckily, I possess the Momofuku Cookbook and just looked the dang stuff up when I got home. It's a snap to make and I am not exaggerating when I say that its sparkle belongs on everything: noodles, all vegetables, scrambled eggs, rice, tofu, soups, all meats, your finger. So. Good. (After a little googling, I find I'm not the only one obsessed with the stuff: Sarah Gim's take on Tastespotting blog and Francis Lam's "explosive" version on Gilt Taste, which I also can't wait to make.)

For the photo, I tossed the sauce with hot rice noodles, ladled a bit of rich chicken stock into the bowl, and added a few pickles and crushed peanuts for crunch. Let's call that dish Five-Minute Comfort, because that's exactly how long it took to make (given already prepared sauce and a stash of chicken stock in the freezer). The other dish is chopped Brussels sprouts stir-fried with some of the sauce, topped with cubes of crispy fried tofu, topped with more sauce and a few dashes of toasted sesame oil. I dub that dish 15-Minute Comfort.

I ate them both right after the pic (separately and then tossed together, yes!)...snip, snap, gone.

Recipe for David Chang's Momofuku Ginger Scallion Sauce at TC Taste/Minnesota Monthly Magazine.

While the rest of my garden is toast, the parsley lives on, just begging me to make tabbouleh salad. Except tabbouleh is made with bulgur, which is wheat, which I can't eat. Damn it!

Enter quinoa, the grain that is conveniently a gluten-free seed, hey. I'm not as obsessed with quinoa as some, but in a salad like this, its nutty crunchiness is perfectly tabboulehesque...in fact, you would likely not realize you weren't eating traditional tabbouleh salad if someone (like me) didn't point it out.

And except for all the substitutions I made, because that is one of the best things about tabbouleh - it welcomes just about any vegetable or nut you have knocking around in your kitchen. Zucchini not cucumbers? Fine! Roasted red peppers instead of tomatoes? Lovely! Pistachios in place of pine nuts? Great!

No matter the salad ingredients, I always add lemon zest, toasted cumin and coriander seeds, and toasted sesame oil to to the dressing to really pop the flavor. The recipe below is vegan, but feel free to cook the quinoa in chicken stock, or toss in crumbled feta cheese and/or pieces of tender chicken for further popping.

Or try this, my very favorite way to eat tabbouleh: while it hums alongside hummus (together stuffed into a warm, fresh pita for a flavorful sandwich if you're not gluten-free), this simple trick is even more mind-blowing: smear a generous dollop of Greek yogurt in the bottom of a bowl, sprinkle it lightly with a bit of salt and freshly cracked pepper, then spoon the tabbouleh over the top. As you enjoy your salad, swipe the bottom of the bowl with your spoon (I suggest a spoon, not a fork), so each bite of nutty crunchiness is elevated by a slide of creamy yogurt. I'm pretty sure you'll like it very much.

Quinoa Tabbouleh
Serves 6

1 c. quinoa, rinsed
1 1/4 c. water
1/2 tsp. salt
1 red bell pepper
2 small zucchini, cut into 1/2" dice (about 1 c.)
1/2 - 1 c. chopped fresh flatleaf parsley (to taste)
1/2 c. chopped fresh mint
2 scallions, chopped
1/2 c. chopped (pitted) kalamata olives
1/2 c. chopped toasted pistachios (or pine nuts)

Dressing
1/2 tsp. each cumin & coriander seeds
2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
grated zest of one lemon
1/2 c. extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp. toasted sesame oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. salt

freshly ground black pepper

Greek yogurt for serving

Add quinoa, salt, and water to a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Turn heat to low, cover, and simmer quinoa for 10 minutes. Keep covered, remove from heat, and let sit for 5 minutes. Transfer quinoa to a medium bowl to cool, fluffing with a fork a few times as it comes to room temperature.

Meanwhile, over a gas flame or under a broiler, scorch the bell pepper until blackened on all sides. Place in a small paper bag for 20 minutes. When cool, slide charred skin off, remove and discard seeds and stem, and cut flesh into 1/4" dice.

While the quinoa and bell pepper cool, toast the cumin and coriander seeds in a dry skillet over medium-high heat until fragrant (watch carefully so they don't burn). Grind in a coffee grinder or mortar & pestle and add to a small bowl. Whisk in lemon juice, lemon zest, olive oil, sesame oil, garlic, and salt. Set aside.

When quinoa is cool, add the bell pepper, zucchini, parsley, mint, scallions, olives, and pistachios. Whisk dressing and pour over salad, tossing well to combine. Season with freshly ground black pepper (and a bit more salt, if needed). Serve with Greek yogurt. Can be made one day ahead; however, reserve pistachios until just before serving to preserve crunch.

Remember August? It sure was pretty...

August 9, in fact, was the Outstanding in the Field farm dinner at Little Foot Farm in Afton, Minnesota. Little Foot raises heritage breed hogs so it's no surprise that this dinner was a celebration of pork, pork, and more pork.

Thanks to chef Mike Phillips of Three Sons Meat, Inc., it was spectacular indeed.

I had the privilege and pleasure of working at the event this year instead of just attending it. I pitched in to help host chefs Mike Phillips and Scott Pampuch make and serve about 50 million pounds of pickles and condiments to enjoy with all of those beautiful courses of pork. 

While the guests gathered and enjoyed cocktails in Karen Weiss and Sally Doherty's picture-perfect farm yard...

...the hogs got frisky...

...and the crew set the signature Outstanding in the Field table.

Coppa. Glorious.

Afternoon showers meant a bit of a rush to set the table...

...with pickles! Okra, beets, peppers, cukes, rhubarb, green beans, corn, chanterelles, on and on.

It takes a village to serve charcuterie to 150 people.

Just...wow.

Kielbasa's on the grill. These beauties were plated with kimchi...

...as fast as pork-greased lightning by Scott and Mike.

The one vegetarian at the dinner ate very, very well. Kimchi and pickled corn with a poached egg? Yes, please!

That's Mike, slicing one of the three golden, crackling porchettas, plated and served with sauerkraut.

Huge thanks to my left and right hand ladies Emily Anderson...

...and Kathy Yerich for working their butts off AND being a total blast. Oh how I love those gals.

Stunning Laughing Loon Farm and Minnesota Peach Farm tomato salad with grilled kale was a welcome refresher after three courses of pork. Those bowls came back very empty!

As the sun set...

...little jars of roasted fruit topped with toasted oat crumble, whipped cream, and magical sugar-glazed grapes, prepared by pastry chef Kelsey McCreight, wrapped the meal.

Another dreamy farm dinner for the books. Huge thanks to Mike Phillips, Scott Pampuch, and the whole crew for letting me help out. The highlight of my summer, without a doubt, both the event itself and the preparation leading up to it.

See pics from:
Scouting Little Foot Farm with Mike and Scott
Pig butchering/charcuterie making in preparation for the meal
Outstanding in the Field dinner 2011 at River Bend Farm in Delano
Pork Burgers!

When I got home, and unloaded the 50 million pickle jars from my car, I found...a gigantic tub of honey! Farm dinner spoils, nice. In honor of the buckets of delicious coffee that powered the dinner prep and clean-up, I made these coffee, honey, and cinnamon custards. I will not lie...they are divine.

Ode to OITF Coffee Custards with Honey & Cinnamon
Based on a Martha Stewart Living recipe
Serves 4-6

soft butter
1 c. heavy cream
1/2 c. milk
2 Tbsp. instant espresso powder
3 large egg yolks
1 large egg
1/4 c. honey
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Set out a 9x13 baking pan. Butter 4-6 oz. (or 6-4 oz.) ramekins and arrange them evenly in the 9x13 pan.

In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine cream, milk, and espresso powder and heat until mixture almost simmers. Remove from heat and set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together egg yolks, egg, honey, cinnamon, and vanilla. Whisk a bit of the hot cream mixture into the eggs, then whisk in all of the cream mixture until well combined. Ladle into the prepared ramekins. Set the 9x13 pan on rack in preheated oven, then pour hottest tap water into the pan until it comes 3/4 of the way up the sides of the ramekins. Bake until the custards are set and jiggly, about 35 minutes.

Remove from oven and water bath. Cool to room temperature and serve or chill to serve later. To serve, run a knife around the edges of the custard and then flip over onto a serving plate. Give the plate and ramekin together a bit of a shake to loosen and the custards will slide right out.

Despite our first frost, there are still plenty of tomatoes kicking around! Make a double batch of this easy soup and freeze it for a mid-winter's treat. Or eat it all hot from the pot, which is a good plan too. I make this soup all season long by roasting tomatoes as I pick them, stashing them in the fridge, then at week's end simmering it all into a batch of soup. You could freeze batches of roasted tomatoes as well, see mid-winter's treat mentioned above.

It's always great fun to enjoy tomato soup with a grilled cheese sandwich so if that's what you're in the mood for - back-to-school and chilly nights and such - skip the croutons and cream and grill away with cheese and butter. Slide a slice of tomato or a smear of tomato jam into the middle of the sandwich for a vertically integrated tomato explosion. Killer.

I left the cream in the version pictured, then fried up socca (chickpea flour pancakes) to eat as a warm (gluten-free) flatbread with my soup. Bits of crispy sage, a sprinkle of garlic scape salt, lots of freshly ground black pepper, and an extra drizzle of olive oil made for a fast treat, one of my very favorites.

Recipe for Roasted Tomato Soup at TC Taste/Minnesota Monthly Magazine.

In my world, 'tis the true season of giving right exactly now, when friends share the bounty of their gardens and the lovely jams, syrups, salsas, booze, and pickles made to stretch summer and fall into winter.

My own garden is planted primarily with heirloom tomatoes (thanks to the amazing Heidi Skoog, she of Serious Jam and Bastian Skoog florists), which I've been eating while picking, slicing for BLTs, and roasting for soup. Depending on how many I end up with over the next week or so, I may press my friend Laurie Jesch-Kulseth, who writes the food blog Relishing It, for tips on making salsa. She brought me a jar as a hostess gift awhile back and in the confusion of post-party clutter, I lost track of who it was from. A few days later, when the family popped the jar and dug in, we were all thrilled by the hit of bright summer heat in the middle of winter. In order to properly thank the cook/gift-giver, I had to ask on Twitter who had brought me such a generous homemade treat...Laurie answered that it was She, Giver of Salsa and Smiles.

If you too find yourself buried in tomatoes, be sure check out One Tomato Two Tomato blog, written by forager/pickler/canner extraordinaire Tammy Kimbler. She's even (gorgeously, per Instagram stalking) making tomato wine! Love.

And if you find yourself with a giant box of just-picked pears, like I did courtesy of my friend Scott Pampuch, consider throwing together this tart. I've been meaning to adapt this crust to be gluten-free for awhile and a bounty of firm-juicy pears provided the perfect opportunity. I find that recipes that require very little wheat flour - crepes, popovers, and nut cookies/crackers/tarts - are ideal candidates for tasty gluten-free baking. This crust's flavor and texture is derived primarily from ground almonds (and butter!) and is pressed into the pan (not rolled). Prepared with sorghum flour, the crust turned out as nutty and crisp as your favorite holiday shortbread cookies. (It goes without saying that it's quite lovely prepared with wheat flour as well.)

Scott and his family spent a whole day picking pears courtesy of Linda Newman, in Watertown, MN, and another whole day delivering them to lucky friends. I spent very little time throwing this tart together and figure I came out quite nicely as I scarfed down a large, warm piece with honey whipped cream melting into it. (For the record, inspired by my friend Molly McNeil and her Minnesota Peach Farm pears, with input from Tim Niver of The Strip Club Meat and Fish via Twitter - as you can tell, I so love social media for ideas, recipes, and tips - I also soaked a mason jar stuffed with peeled, diced pears in gin for a few days. Pear gin! Hurray!)

Try this crust with your other favorite fresh, juicy fruits as well - think cherries, peaches, apples, plums, figs, or blueberries for year-round tartiness.

Recipe for Pear Tart with Almond-Thyme Crust & Honey Whipped Cream at TC Taste/Minnesota Monthly Magazine.

If you've only had hominy in pozole or other Mexican-inspired dishes, you're missing out. Hominy is corn that has been dried and then soaked in lime water to soften and puff the kernels. Simmering hominy in broth softens the kernels even further, resulting in dumpling-like little pillows just begging to deliver brown butter to your palate. At least that's how I think of them. They're darned good baked with cheese as well, macaroni-style, or gratineed with cauliflower, which is how chef JD Fratzke serves hominy at The Strip Club Meat & Fish.

All good.

This dish would be made better with cubes of roasted squash, which I meant to include, but forgot to grab at the market. So add squash! Or halved end-of-season cherry tomatoes, warmed through for a minute in the butter. Toss, toss. I've added a few slices of leftover grilled sausage and been glad, too. It's that kind of dish - fast, cheap, comforting, and highly adaptable.

As a side note, I'd like to advocate for the stand-alone beauty of fried sage. Oh my gosh so delicious. I always fry a few extra leaves to snack on while I make the rest of the dish.

As another side note, brown sage butter is incredible on popcorn!

Recipe for Hominy with Brown Butter & Crispy Sage at TC Taste/Minnesota Monthly Magazine.

I had a blast chatting fall soups on Twin Cities Live this week! I specifically talked about Coconut Curry Sweet Corn Soup, but also brought along Pozole (pork braised with chiles and hominy) and a Chicken Vegetable Soup that's pretty much the perfect post-Thanksgiving soup (obviously made with turkey not chicken - please forgive me for mentioning Thanksgiving this early in September...).

It's nice to serve the Pozole with freshly fried tortilla chips. Then again, everything is nice with freshly fried tortilla chips.

It was fun for me to look back at my Farmily post for the Chicken Vegetable Soup recipe. We've had so many delicious times at my aunt Mary & uncle Bruce's farm!

Recipes for all three soups at Twin Citites Live.

Swimming in tomatoes yet? Even if not, make this gorgeous gazpacho anyhow - it's one of my very favorite versions of everyone's favorite summer treat.

Recipe for Gazpacho at Andrew Zimmern's Kitchen Adventures/Food & Wine Magazine.

Like some sort of mad fryentist, give me a pan of hot oil and I will riff on and on an on... See below - Fried Cheese Curds - for what was really Part II of my latest fry tear (and a delicious one at that).

Part I began last Friday night, when my cousin Kelly and her husband Jomo came for dinner, and I spied leftover risotto in the cooler. The vision of arancini leapt into my head and while I really didn't have time to make them, I did anyhow, and gosh were we glad that I did. Risotto is lovely fried (le duh), especially with a little square of mozzarella cheese pressed into the middle (le duh), and just beautiful to snack on with a glass of prosecco.

In fact, I would happily have just that for dinner, with sliced tomatoes and a light salad to finish.

I made mine gluten-free by using Udi's white bread ground into bread crumbs in the food processor. Stir some of the bread crumbs into cold, leftover risotto to hold things together a bit, then roll risotto into 3/4-inch (or smaller; small is better, in this rare case) balls. Press a small cube of mozzarella into the center of the ball (optional), then roll the ball in more bread crumbs, pressing the crumbs into the risotto as you go. You want a sturdy coating to hold the filling in place as the balls fry.

Use peanut oil or safflower oil to fry them (not canola which tastes disgusting when heated to high heat). Serve hot.

You probably don't want to know this, but it's seriously easy to make fried cheese curds at home. In fact, in the time you spend in line at the Minnesota State Fair, sweating your brains out while standing on a smushed-curd covered floor, you could have whipped up a batch at home and EATEN it. Kablam!

So in case you couldn't hack the line, or your kids got too cranky before the cheese-curd portion of the day, I offer this fast tempura version for your kitchen. A combination of rice flour and corn starch yields a shatteringly crisp exterior (that just happens to be naturally gluten-free).

Assuage fried-food guilt by dipping a few sliced vegetables in the batter too. I had fried mushrooms for breakfast just this morning, in fact, as a quick test to make sure that I could recommend the batter for vegetables...all good. I suspect strips of bell pepper, zucchini, onions (of course), dill pickles, or asparagus would all work beautifully. I guarantee that little balls of leftover risotto and mashed potatoes are crispy-gooey fabulous. (Breakfast of champions for me today, oy...)

Recipe for Fried Cheese Curds at TC Taste/Minnesota Monthly Magazine.