Fresh Tart

I know, I know, I should have posted this before Easter, but lamb with gremolata is lovely all spring (year) long, so make it this week instead! I had let gremolata - a relish of minced lemon zest, garlic, and parsley - slip out of my rotation but it's back with a vengeance, thanks to helping out at a Cooking the Market class at Kitchen in the Market last week.

Have you ever taken a Cooking the Market class? Led by co-owner chef Molly Herrmann, the classes are pure improvisation, cooking with imagination and instinct, the perfect cooking class in my mind because it captures exactly the joy (and reality!) of cooking at home. Molly leads the class through a tour of Midtown Global Market, pointing out potential ingredients from The Salty Tart, Holy Land Market, Grassroots Gourmet, Produce Exchange, and El Burrito Mercado. The goal is to step out of your comfort zone and experiment with new ingredients while a chef provides guidance and assistance. Add music and wine and you've got a winning evening out with friends, coworkers, or family.

Last week's gremolata topped a dish our group named Mediterranean Tacos: socca (chickpea flour pancakes) topped with harissa, crispy Brussels sprouts, fried haloumi cheese, and preserved lemon gremolata. So lovely! And a pretty terrific Meatless Monday dinner if you need ideas...

You may have had gremolata atop osso bucco, where its bright, fresh zing is a traditional contrast to silky braised meat. But you don't have to think hard to imagine that it is just fabulous tossed with warm (or cold) new potatoes with olive oil, or spooned over a pan of sauteed peas, or swirled into soup, or sprinkled over seared fish...on and on. Add mint if you like - terrific with lamb, of course - or shallots instead of garlic. Some recipes call for adding anchovies which would probably make the best egg salad sandwich ever (still have Easter eggs to use up?) For me, when spring is frustratingly near but not yet quite here, punches of color and zest are not just welcome, but essential.

Recipe for Grilled Lamb Chops with Gremolata at TC Taste/Minnesota Monthly Magazine.

Make-ahead sandwiches are a terrific way to feed a crowd and muffuletta sandwiches are the best way of all. First of all, the fresh-spicy giardiniera relish is ridiculously addictive - in fact, make a double batch, put half the vegetables in a jar to enjoy on as pickles, puree the other half to smear on the sandwiches. And what meat eater doesn't love a pile of salami, ham, AND mortadella smothered in melty provolone cheese? (Even if you don't eat meat, a grilled cheese with giardineira relish is a mighty fine thing...perhaps add a fried egg...you know the drill.)

The trick is to choose crusty bread that isn't impossible to bite through. The traditional New Orleans-style muffuletta bread isn't easy to lay your hands on here in the Midwest, but choose your favorite fresh, hearty bread or rolls and your sandwich will be fantastic. This baby actually improves with sitting for a bit - the relish really soaks into the bread, mmm - so absolutely make sandwiches a day ahead, wrap them in foil, then heat them to eat them the next day or even two days later.

Wash down the loveliness with this recommendation from my beer-fiend friend Mark Dewes: Choose a rich, malty brew to stand up to all that glorious meat, cheese, and relish, such as local craft brew Boom Island Belgian Dubbel, or NOLA’s Abita Mardi Gras Boch. Cheers!

Recipe for Muffuletta Sandwiches at TC Taste/Minnesota Monthly Magazine.

After a snackful weekend loaded with the usual Super Bowl suspects - raise your hand if you too had con queso with tortilla chips - today I was ready for a pile of fresh, tender-crisp vegetables. This is my go-to stir-fry, flavorful, light, and adaptable in every which way. Feel free to substitute or add pea pods, peppers, mushrooms, eggplant, summer squash...basically any tender vegetable that loves a quick saute.

Ditto the protein, by the way. I love beef with broccoli, but chicken breast, pork, or tofu are all stir-fry classics. The trick for tender meat is to "velvet" it in a slurry of egg white, cornstarch, and wine while you chop vegetables. I add a generous pinch of Chinese five-spice powder to the mix because I crave the stuff. Typically a heady mixture of cloves, star anise, cinnamon, pepper, and fennel (variations abound, found in most grocery stores), it's an easy way to add a big punch of flavor to a quick stir-fry.

This is not a saucy dish, but there are definitely enough pan juices to enjoy spooned over rice or noodles. If you choose noodles, cook and drain them, then dump them into the wok with the meat and vegetables and toss. Lightly crushed peanuts or toasted almonds are a delicious garnish on pretty much anything, but particularly vegetables alongside a soft, chewy starch. Go for layers of flavor! Go for layers of texture! Go!

Recipe for Beef & Broccoli Stir-Fry at TC Taste/Minnesota Monthly Magazine.

I've written before about the beauty of braising a pork shoulder one day, then crafting several meals from it as the week wears on. This version is more basic than the Pork Braised with Chiles & Cinnamon, which means you can eat it even more ways. Seasoned with onions, garlic, salt, and pepper, the finished roast can be eaten as is with its rich pan juices. (Mmmashed potatoes would be a perfect accompaniment.)

Then the next day you can warm some of the pork with hoisin sauce and roll it in lettuce leaves with rice, scallions, pickled vegetables or kimchi, and a dab of chile sauce. Or ginger scallion sauce. Oh my goodness YES.

Then the next day you can warm some of the pork with barbecue sauce, and spoon it into a crusty roll with a caraway-seed studded coleslaw. You could slather ginger scallion sauce on this too, because seriously, that stuff belongs on everything.

Then for the last batch, you can fry the pork into a gloriously crispy hash along with potatoes, peppers, and onions, moistening it with pan juices as you go, topping it with a poached egg, but of course.

What are your ideas?

Basic Braised Pork Shoulder

1 boneless or bone-in pork shoulder (sizes can vary greatly)
Kosher salt
2 Tbsp. high heat vegetable oil or bacon fat
1 yellow onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, smashed & peeled
1 1/2 c. chicken broth or water
freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.

Sprinkle pork shoulder on all sides with Kosher salt, rubbing it in a bit. Heat a Dutch oven (that can snugly hold the roast and has a fitted lid) over medium high heat. When the oil is hot, add the roast and brown thoroughly - to a deep golden brown - on that side. Flip the roast and brown thoroughly on the next side, continuing until all sides (including the ends) of the roast are evenly browned. Remove the roast to a plate and set aside.

With the pan still over heat, add the onions and garlic to the pan. Stir around for about 7-8 minutes, until vegetables are beginning to soften and look glassy. Add the chicken broth or water to the pan and top with the roast. Add a few turns of black pepper to the pan and bring liquid to a simmer. Cover pan and transfer to oven.

Bake for 3 hours, perhaps more, depending on the size of your shoulder. The pork is done when the meat is very, very tender and is easy to pull apart with a fork.

Transfer roast to a cutting board and let rest. Meanwhile, spoon fat from pan juices. Puree defatted pan juices with an immersion blender or by transferring to a stand-up blender (be careful when blending hot liquid). Return pan juices to the pan and season to taste.

Pull roast apart into bite-sized pieces, discarding any large pieces of fat, and stir into the pan juices. Serve immediately or cool to room temperature, cover and chill.

Burger maniacs (including myself), I have a proposition for you (us)...pork burgers! Why do we all not eat pork burgers? I'm not suggesting that beef burgers are anything but delectable, but I have been pondering - given the borderline gastronomic insanity over bacon, pork belly, and charcuterie - why the heck isn't a fabulously juicy, porky burger on every menu in this town?

I took my question to Karen Weiss of Little Foot Farm, host of this summer's Outstanding in the Field farm dinner. Weiss and her partner Sally Doherty raise heritage breed hogs on their picture-perfect farm for chefs like Lenny Russo of Heartland Restaurant and Mike Phillips of Three Sons Meat Co., but they also sell their highly-prized pork to the public, including ground Gloucester Old Spot (GOS) pork.

Weiss confessed that she's on a mission to convince Minnesotans that pork burgers deserve a spot on everyone's grill, particularly best-quality pork like she and Doherty raise, the kind that actually tastes like pork.

Pork!

After grilling a few batches myself, I can not agree more. Not that I thought I wouldn't agree - it's no secret that I'm a big, BIG pork fan - but holy cow my friends, the first batch of burgers I pulled off the grill were not savored, they were inhaled. I seasoned them with nothing more than salt and pepper so we could enjoy the clean, rich, pure pork flavor that Little Foot's tender loving care delivers. In a buttered, toasted bun, of course. Gah.

For round two pork play, I added cheddar cheese and tomato jam. Kablam. Future rounds might go breakfast-y with a fried egg and a crumble of bacon to gild the lily. Or Asian-style with scallions, ginger, and a splash of soy sauce. Or bratwurst-esque with caraway cheese and sauerkraut on a pretzel roll. Or even quicky barbecue, with a slathering of sauce topped with slaw before devouring. You get the picture - keep it simple, or go with classic-for-a-reason pork accompaniments. All paths lead to porktastic.

Go!

Tips for perfect, juicy burgers at TC Taste/Minnesota Monthly Magazine.

To purchase Little Foot Farm pork, call 612.207.9771 or email customerservice@littlefootfarm.com.

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.

I posted a chimichurri recipe here once before, back in February of 2011, upon returning from a trip to Costa Rica. I fell into a deep craving while on that trip, eating the local twist on this classic Argentian sauce on everything that I touched. While the recipe that I posted is bright and snappy, I've grown to prefer this version, mellowed with salt water (salmuera) via the fantastic cookbook Seven Fires: Grilling the Argentine Way by Francis Mallmann.

Not only is this sauce a perfect way to use up bunches of fresh parsley and oregano from the garden, it sits nicely in the fridge for 2-3 weeks, improving with age. Spoon it over strips of steak or vegetables hot off the grill, wrap in fresh corn tortillas, and feast away. Or, make everyone's favorite potato salad by tossing still-warm new potatoes, boiled in their jackets, with the chimichurri and showering the whole with chopped hard-cooked eggs. While the sauce is traditionally served with beef steak, it's equally delicious served with grilled chicken or fish.

Happy grilling 4th everyone!

Francis Mallmann's recipe for Chimichurri at TC Taste/Minnesota Monthly Magazine.

Spring is in the air! And on your plate!

Tarragon-Crusted Lamb with Goat Cheese Fondue at Andrew Zimmern's Kitchen Adventures/Food & Wine Magazine.

Um, I'm a bit late putting this up, I'm very sorry. This dish is of course is perfect for leftover Thanksgiving turkey...perhaps you froze some? Then you're in luck! A creamy, delicious topping for rice, or filling for a luscious pot pie.

Perhaps you're roasting a turkey for Christmas? I'm trying...

Recipe for Turkey a la King at Food & Wine Magazine/Andrew Zimmern's Kitchen Adventures.

Are you cheering for the Badgers in the Rose Bowl? I will be! Yay Bucky!

Are you cheering for the Packers this weekend? Because no one is cheering for the Vikings anymore? Then make this! Thick and spicy with pork and chiles. Serve with beer and it won't matter who wins. (Spoken like a girl who watches very little football these days...hey.)

Recipe for Game-Day Pork & Black Bean Chili at Food & Wine Magazine/Andrew Zimmern's Kitchen Adventures.