Fresh Tart

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!

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.

Hello there.  I am still alive - and apparently in a bit of a mid-winter slump.  I'm going to New York over the weekend, that ought to get the creative juices flowing.  And oh, I'm seeing Maud, the most productively creative person I know, perhaps her energy will rub off on me a bit.  Yeah, I'll steal from Maud, that should do it!

Sooo, yes, I am still eating.  And cooking.  Funny thing is, nothing that feels "worthy" of writing about.  My recent tangle with a stomach virus was the exclamation point that marked the end of the holiday season for me.  It really shut me down, food-wise.  The food I've since been preparing for myself - and for the fam (when they'll go with it) - is very simple, very light, and not requiring much cooking.  Toast with almond butter.  Veggie burgers with avocado and salsa.  Whole-wheat pita filled with ricotta cheese, roasted red peppers from a jar, and toasted.  Quick soups - black bean (or white), Greek egg lemon, broth with spinach and a few tortellinis stirred in, tortilla.  Greek yogurt with nuts and (frozen, thawed) dark sweet cherries.  In fact, we're eating quite a bit of frozen fruit lately - (unsweetened) strawberries and dark sweet cherries are particularly good, especially warmed and spooned over waffles or Greek yogurt, especially when they're flavorlessly out-of-season in the produce section anyhow.

I made an interesting soup last night - Asian Soup with Shrimp Dumplings.  John LOVED it.  I appreciated that it was easy, light, and had clean flavors.  And I loved the peanut garnish.  A couple of tablespoons of nuts can really transform a soup - so can a drizzle of flavorful oil (olive, nut, or truffle), a dab of creme fraiche or a drizzle of cream, a sprinkle of cheese, or a handful of croutons or a slice of toasted bread. (I'll post the recipe later today or tomorrow.)

It's also worth noting, in case you're looking for a tasty restaurant meal, that I have had a few delicious meals out.  We finally made it to Heidi's and had a spectacular meal.  Delightful service, cozy setting, serious food.  Completely buzz-worthy.  I'm not a steakhouse fan, but I did want to scope the scene at the new Manny's (now in the W Hotel) so we hit it, last week in fact.  It was PACKED.  Felt good to see the economy succeeding somewhere.  All men, all expense accounts.  The setting made me feel like drinking a martini, but since I don't really like martinis, I had a killer vodka tonic.  Wow was it good.  And oh, so was the gorgeous NY strip steak I ordered.  It took me a couple of days to polish it off, very nice.  I also enjoyed an uber-yummy grilled vegetable sandwich at Yum Bakery last week with the Maven of Mischief.  Yum toasts their sandwiches without oil which makes them deliciously warm and crunchy yet light.  The way I do them at home, but better, 'cuz I didn't have to make it.

Yep, still in a slump.