Fresh Tart

The email I just sent to my mom:

Hi Mom! Holy Hannah, what a whirlwind weekend! So so so much fun. The Levys say hello. We got to see everyone: Tom, Val, & kids; of course Dot & John; Bartley, Maud & Natalie; Andrew & Rishia; and lots of time with David, Etta, and Stacey. The food truck event on Sunday night was a BLAST. The AZ Canteen truck was a huge hit! So fabulous! Here's a link to the article Joy wrote for City Pages - yes, Joy was there too, got to see her several times! Attached is a pic of David, Etta, Stacey & me.

How are you feeling?

Love you, S

I realize that I sound about 16 years old in that email but it pretty well captures my enthusiasm for the weekend. CRAZY FLIPPING FUN! The best part was the time spent with friends and family, particularly my brother David and two sisters Stacey and Etta. With Stacey and me living in Minneapolis, and David and Etta living in NYC, the four of us only get together a couple of times per year.

I hated to say good bye.

John and I are lucky that his parents still live in the city. We always have a lovely place to stay and time to hang out and chat with my in-laws, who rock. That's my father-in-law John making his famous gumbo. He's a fan of a dark chestnut roux (not the darkest dark) and loads of mussels, clams, andouille, langoustines, and shrimp. No oysters. Okra fried a bit crisp before simmering. Heavenly, heavenly stuff.

Maybe some day he'll give me the recipe...?

Friday lunch John and I met his high school friend Michael Clurmen at Le Bilboquet. I can't imagine how I haven't met Michael before, but I'm awfully glad I have now. He's a riot AND he recommended a dish I wouldn't have otherwise ordered: Poulet Cajun, a dish of blackened Cajun chicken with frites. I'm pretty sure I haven't had a blackened Cajun anything since 1989 but oh my goodness...quite possibly my favorite dish of the weekend. What? I know! But it was absolutely delicious, butter tender and spicy (of course), served in a butter sauce, with perfect frites and crisp greens, meant to all be eaten together, on each forkful, for maximum salty-spicy-crusty-crunchy-tender-crispness. I don't know what I'm saying, I'm still confused by the Cajun. All I know was that it was just damn tasty.

(Ah ha! A little search for Le Bilboquet's website, which apparently doesn't exist, revealed that I am not alone in my love for Poulet Cajun...the dish made Eater NY's list of 12 Epic Chicken Dishes to Eat Before You Die. Hey cool. Eleven to go and I can check out.)

After lunch John and I hopped on the subway to visit my baby sister Etta at the Soho office of DuJour Magazine. Etta is the photo editor of this stunning new lifestyle magazine. I am her ridiculously proud sibling. Go Etta!

On Friday night, still full from lunch, we feasted a bounty of pork & pickles - I know, you must wonder if I ever tire of pork & pickles, but the answer is most certainly no, never - at Momofuku Ssam Bar with the Levys and our friends the Bryts. Highlights for me were the barbecue pork buns, a giant bowl of pickled vegetables that I pretty much ate by myself, raw oysters, and of course the house specialty: the glistening, fall-apart-tender Bo Ssam pork shoulder roast, served with rice, lettuce, kimchi, and their massively addictive scallion sauce.

Saturday morning John and I took a crispy, sunny walk through Central Park, to walk off about 1/1000th of the previous day's indulgences, just in time to...

...eat more. We met a couple of Levys as well as Joy Summers and Eric Tollefson at Le Charlot, another sweet little bistro, because I needed more frites. I very much enjoyed my crab avocado salad, but their frites couldn't hold a candle to Le Bilboquet's, not that I didn't eat plenty of them anyhow. Still, we had great fun pointing out examples of good and bad plastic surgery and taking enough pictures of each other for my mother-in-law to point out we were being rude.

Sunday morning I lay around reading and it was AMAZING. (I'm just about done with The Snow Child, a terrific read.) I could have felt guilty for not stealing another stroll through Central Park. Or catching a fabulous museum exhibit. Or breakfasting in some sunny, sparkly spot. But I didn't! I shrugged off the pressure to cram in New York experiences and fried up some leftover Bo Ssam, topped it with with a poached egg, sipped some bubbly, and relaxed. So good.

And then I slowly got myself ready for the big show, the real reason we were in town, to attend the New York Wine & Food Festival's Trucks & Train event, hosted by Andrew Zimmern to raise money for Share Our Strength. Andrew's AZ Canteen food truck was at the event and since my husband John is a partner in the AZ Canteen venture, we were nervous and excited to see New Yorkers' reaction to cabrito butter burgers. The verdict was...they loved them! There were 24 trucks at the event, but the longest lines were at AZ Canteen, and it warmed our Minnesota hearts to hear passersby raving as they stuffed their faces with pretzel-bunned goat.

My sister Stacey's friend Michael got us off to a grand start, snagging Venezuelan plantain sandwiches, Cubano sandwiches, AZ Canteen butter burgers, and arepas before the doors even opened.

Andrew introduced John and me to Food & Wine Magazine editor-in-chief Dana Cowin, who is as petite and lovely in person as she is in photographs. I'm quite sure I failed at not seeming utterly star struck.

I ate about 20 of these crispy little plantain sandwiches, stuffed with tender chicken. Look for a blog post soon, I can't wait to try my hand at them. Gluten-free goodness, much appreciated.

I am kicking myself that I didn't get a picture of Joy Summers' face when she laid eyes on this bare, bumpy butt parading around the event. This lady damn near stole the show!

Joy and I had a blast eating, drinking, and snarking our way through the weekend and event. That girl is 100% smarty pants fun. Love.

My in-laws had a great time at the event, eating and dancing with the best of them.

My cool sisters. Apparently we all like Ray Bans. Hey.

That's Andrew, backstage while Train brought down the house.

John, Joy, Eric, and I said goodnight to Andrew and his wife Rishia and the whole of Team Zimmern and then grabbed a Chinese feast at Chin Chin because we're crazy. Monday morning we all flew home and...

...here we are, digesting, reminiscing, and planning for the next trip. I'm still full and I can't wait!

Most-viewed Fresh Tart recipe in 2011...Pasta Amatriciana from the Muir Glen Vine Dining Tour dinner I attended at Corner Table Restaurant back in February. Chef Scott Pampuch shared his recipe, I made it at home and included it with my post about the event, and kablam.

You all LOVE pasta! And pork! I don't blame you one bit!

Coincidentally (or not!), that was a very special event for me. I met so many new friends, all on the same night, I look back and shake my head at the evil food fun that has spun out of that night. Joy! Dave! Minnesota Food Bloggers! Not kidding.

I didn't realize it then, but 2011 was just starting to simmer. I couldn't possibly have known that it would boil over into the most significant year of my life, short of the year that Nathan was born. (I chat about a few highlights in my recent Twitterview with Joel Carlson for Minnesota Monthly Magazine.) I am in awe of the friends I've met, the relationships that have blossomed, the work that has come my way, the food I've been able to cook/photograph/write about, the opportunities to grow and push and do crazy shit that blow my mind from the moment I open my eyes each morning.

Thank you for reading what I write, cooking my recipes and letting me know (truly, nothing makes me happier, nothing), chatting on Twitter, sharing your pictures and stories on Facebook and your own blogs. We are very lucky here in Minnesota that we've been able to turn our social media connections into real and lasting friendships, good work, delicious food, charitable contributions, and the energy of connecting with people who love what they do.

There's so much more coming! Amazing. Cheers to 2012, much love, Stephanie

So...on to Part II and the pretty details of the Tour de Farm/Celebrity Chef Tour dinner. Despite the bumps in the evening (see Part I), it really was an amazing night. In fact, the whole weekend was a blast, starting on Friday night, when Joy Summers, Molly McNeil, and I stopped by Birchwood Cafe to chat with proprietress Tracy Singleton and to meet National Geographic fellow, sustainable seafood advocate, and chef Barton Seaver. I bought Seaver's book For Cod and Country and had the chance to talk with him for a few minutes about his work and mission. As I left I told him I'd see him not just at Sunday's event, but also for dinner Saturday night at Corner Table, where he and Tour de Farm founder/chef Scott Pampuch were cooking together, featuring a menu of sustainable fish as well as CT's signature local fare.

Debbie and Stu Williams, as well as Rudy Maxa, Ana Scofield, and Ana's daughter Natalie, joined John and me for dinner. We chatted with Seaver and Pampuch, decided to let them choose dishes for us (very wise decision), and had the best meal of the summer: Tomato salad with trout roe. Pickled herring, smoked clams, and basil pesto. Trout cakes with sweet corn. Pork belly with scrambled duck egg. Braised rabbit. Slow roasted salmon with goat cheese butter, baby Brussels, and walnut pesto.

And oh, lovely sweet corn panna cotta for dessert, mmm. Although I didn't realize it at the time, it turns out those creamy dreamy bites were the first of many I'd be maniacally inhaling over the next couple of weeks...but more on that in a bit.

After precious little sleep on either Friday or Saturday night, I picked up my friends Joy Summers, Shaina Olmanson, and Molly McNeil and we were off for Star Prairie Trout Farm in Star Prairie, Wisconsin, for Sunday's Tour de Farm dinner. I think it's fair to say that Star Prairie is the Lothlorien of Wisconsin farms, watery and elvish and a little bit magical. The sight of the long, communal dinner table - always impressive - was particularly delightful as it twisted and turned amongst crystal clear trout springs.

Did I mention that the weather was perfect? Dry, sunny, warm, clear. No frizz. Even though I stayed for far too long, I didn't score even one mosquito bite. I'm telling you...Lothlorien, for real.

As a Celebrity Chef Tour/James Beard Foundation event, the guest chefs included Seaver, of course, as well as chefs Tim McKee and Andrew Zimmern, with Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl as the evening's sommelier. Yes, I write for Dara, and think she's just the bees knees in every possible way, but those are not the reasons that the highlight of the evening, for me, was the marvel of the wine pairings with the food.

The reason is...the wine pairings were delightful. Interesting, approachable, and just really...fun. Wine fun! Food fun! So good.

Also fun? Sitting next to and chatting with Kris Hase, Tour de Farm organizer (along with Pampuch), as well as TDF website designer, blogger, and photographer. All the stunning Tour de Farm photos that have made you so eager to attend one of these dinners? She took them.

Yeah.

When the lovely sweet corn panna cotta I'd had for dessert the night before at Corner Table showed up alongside skirt steak at this dinner, it kicked off a whole rave about the beauty of panna cotta, both sweet and savory, and how rather easy it is to make, and how it should be invited onto more plates.

See Dara & Co./Minnesota Monthly Magazine for Kris' genius "cheese course" take on Goat Cheese Panna Cotta with Honey & Berries and Sweet Corn Panna Cotta with Bacon & Blue Cheese.

And see below for the Sweet Corn Panna Cotta I had on Saturday and Sunday, a recipe that Thomas in the kitchen at Corner Table came up with for the event. I photographed - and let's be honest, quickly devoured - it with fried sage (up top) as well as a with a sexy strawberry-balsamic-black pepper jam (below) I was lucky to possess, one of the amazing Serious Jams by Heidi Skoog that you will soon be hearing much about...killer stuff.

In case you're counting, that's three versions of panna cotta I've made in the last couple of weeks. A couple of them I made twice. That's a lotta panna cotta friends, and I've loved every spoonful.

Your turn now...hit it.

Sweet Corn Panna Cotta
Via Tour de Farm/Celebrity Chef Tour Dinner
Makes six 4-oz. servings

1 c. whole milk, divided
2 tsp. powdered gelatin
2 tsp. butter
3 ears corn, husked, kernels sliced off cob
1 c. heavy cream
salt & freshly ground black pepper

Pour 1/2 c. of whole milk in a small bowl and sprinkle gelatin evenly over the top to soften it. Set the bowl aside.

In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Stir in the corn and heat, stirring a few times, for 5 minutes. Add the remaining 1/2 c. of milk and the heavy cream. Simmer uncovered for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Remove pan from heat and let cool for a few minutes. Whisk the milk/gelatin into the warm mixture.

In a blender, puree the corn and liquid together on highest setting to a very smooth puree. Pour the mixture through a fine mesh strainer set over a medium bowl, using a ladle to press out as much liquid as possible. Season mixture to taste with salt & pepper. Ladle into six 4-oz. ramekins. Chill until set, 6-8 hours.

Serve cold in ramekins, or turn out onto plates by warming the bottoms of the ramekins on a plate of hot water for 2-3 minutes and then running a knife around the edges before inverting.

I inhaled the gorgeous plate of food above two weeks ago, which feels like two years ago, given that between now and then my mom had major emergency surgery and time has sped up and stopped both at the same time. It's almost impossible to imagine that I was ever running around stunning Star Prairie Trout Farm, at the Tour de Farm/Celebrity Chef Tour Dinner, in a sun dress, laughing with my friends, snapping too many pictures, eating perfect food perfectly paired with perfect wine...

...but there I am. I'm so grateful that I have the pictures to remember that I was there, having an awfully good time, with my lovely friends Molly McNeil, Joy Summers, and Shaina Olmanson.

About those pictures. There were seven of us bloggers at the event, all with big cameras and a passion for taking pictures of food and chefs and pretty things, and we were...overwhelming.

While it was a rather perfect storm of elements not likely to recur anytime soon - a very special event, a gorgeous setting, an unsual mass of photographers, a level of comfort with chefs that we all know and like and have photographed before, lots and lots o' wine - we did have a long discussion on the Minnesota Food Bloggers Facebook page about blogger etiquette, as it were, concluding with a general consensus  to 1) be aware of our impact as a whole (to avoid a paparazzi effect), 2) be respectful of chefs and staff and their space, 3) not bother other diners/guests, 4) ask permission to take photographs, and 5) remember to sit back and enjoy the food and setting.

When deciding if it's appropriate to bring a big camera, it's obviously important to bear in mind the mission of the event. I worked on the Eat Ramen Help Japan event held earlier this summer, and our stated goal was to raise awareness and money to help feed Japanese families affected by the March earthquake and tsunami.

In that case - bring on the paparazzi, right? We courted as much media and social media coverage as possible.

In the case of Tour de Farm, the stated goal, via the TDF website, is "...to gather people with their family, friends and new friends to share an experience that generations of farm families experience all the time. By celebrating the harvest, the goodness it provides and the toil at the hands of those who provide it, we hope people are inspired to consciously live and eat the way we should, naturally, healthy and as a family and community.  We want people to escape the city to unwind in a tranquil setting and appreciate the wonderful farms where our food is produced."

Click click click click click. Not particularly tranquil. As someone who loves to take pictures, pretty much all the time, I confess that I didn't even consider not bringing my camera. I was so excited to be away with my friends, in a lovely place, with so many people that I respect and admire, that I couldn't wait to photograph the farm, guests, food, chefs, all of it. While I've so enjoyed looking at and sharing my images, I'll never go to an event like this again expecting to document it from beginning to end, unless I'm hired to do exactly that.

What do you think?

Details about the evening, including a recipe for one of my favorite parts of an overall breathtaking meal, in Tour de Farm/Celebrity Chef Tour Dinner, Blogger Etiquette & Sweet Corn Panna Cotta: Part II.

Don't miss my colleagues' beautiful and varied spins on the same evening:

Amy Peterson at Green Your Plate
Joy Summers at City Pages Hot Dish Blog and Eating the Minneapple Part I and Part II
Shaina Olmanson at Babble Network's The Family Kitchen

Make sure to see the results of the long and scrumptious panna cotta discussion I had with web designer/photographer/cook/Tour de Farm organizer Kris Hase, including her recipes for Goat Cheese Panna Cotta with Honey & Berries and Sweet Corn Panna Cotta with Bacon & Blue Cheese, at Dara & Co./Minnesota Monthly Magazine.

Thanks to a conversation with my friends Chef Ian Pierce of 128 Cafe and Joy Summers of Eating the Minneaple and CityPages, witness my latest food obsession. Recipe for addictively crunchy-spicy-sweet Pickled Carrots, at Dara & Co./Minnesota Monthly Magazine.