Last night we had our first in what I hope to be a series of pot luck Sunday suppers with themes to help us learn how to cook better. For this first one we tried our hand at Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Mastering, which is now, almost 50 years after it was published, a number 1 best seller. I love this for a few reasons, first, Julia rocked. Second, because French food celebrates the seasons and the places that grow the finest ingredients possible. And third, because it signals to me that people are willing to start looking at food anew by going back to the beginning. The french paradox isn’t a paradox, we are meant to eat cream and butter. When we do eat cream and butter, we naturally eat less and stay full longer. If butter and cream really made people fat we would have been fat all along – not just in the past 20 years since we’ve become fat-phobic.

So why not embrace Julia’s love of cream and butter as well her masterpiece? Particularly since we have such awesome dairy products in Minnesota. In my book one of the best frenchy uses for butter is making croissants. They’re also really easy to make. Two things you need to look out for are heat (if your butter melts there’s no point in going further) and time. (It doesn’t take much active time but it does take all day.) I promise that the recipe that follows works.

I served these croissants with the foods that follow the recipes. Hopefully, folks will add in their recipes. As always, the food, company and conversation were excellent. I hope you can join us next time.

Croissant

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Did you miss FRESH & Tasty, our 3 course dinner and screening of the movie FRESH at Corner Table? Really? What were you thinking? Oh, well, I guess you can just look at these pictures and pretend you were there. That ought to do it.

No. It won’t do. Won’t do at all! Okay, so here’s what you do:

1. Go to the Birchwood Cafe.
2. Have yourself a tasty snack and buy a copy of the FRESH screening kit.
3. Invite over your best friends, family members, farmers and a mayor.
4. Grab yourself some chefs and cook up some dishes featuring local foods and Thousand Hills grass fed beef.
5. Feed your guests.
6. Show the movie, outside if possible.

That’s better. Now all you need to do is study these pictures to show you just what you need to do.

First there is some cooking. Make sure you have lots of cooks.

Guests were greeted by a bunch of discussion questions about food and what should be done/if something should be done to make it safer. (More on this on tobemrsmarv.com, soon.)

Then comes the serving of some drinks.

A small bite to start off the food. (No, I don’t know what it is.)

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I am probably the luckiest girl in the world. I don’t mean to be, I just am. I’m friends with several of the best chefs in Minnesota. Not only are they great cooks, but they have created philosophies and ways of doing thing which makes each them completely unique and wonderful. To top that off they even love to teach, which means that I get to call them up and say, “Hey, what’s on your mind? Anything you want to share with some of my favorite cooks?”

When I asked my friend Scott Graden, owner/chef of the award winning New Scenic Cafe in Duluth that question and he answered, “Inspiration is everywhere and it’s so much more important than recipes and ingredients. I’d like to talk about that.” In my head I shouted, “woo hoo!” Then we chatted and brainstormed on how to go about doing a workshop on inspiration, came up with a plan and that he promptly forgot.

I, however, did not. It turns out that the things that inspire him most are the people and the land around him. Hence, on our weekend in Duluth we got to meet with Stephen Dahl his herring fisherman and David Rogotzke his maple syrup maker and salmon fisherman.

It really was the best adult field trip for cooks ever.

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Hello cooks!

I was putting together a list of resources for the folks joining us for dinner + movie at Corner Table (Go forth! Buy tickets!) next week and I just couldn’t help but feel like this information is so important for all of us that I’d just post the list a bit early so that everyone can learn and we can have an really excellent discussion on these topics with those who come to the dinner.

As anyone who has been within earshot of me knows, I’m really most interested in good food. For me, good food is good food, and a lot of the time I don’t much care where that food comes from.  It just so happens that animals and vegetables that are treated well are the best food.  So, I  get to eat yummy stuff and feel superior.  Yea!

I don’t feel like I have the luxury to do that anymore.  I think we have to start fighting.  See, what we’ve done is sold our food system, and by extension, our bodies to corporate America.  And what we’ve gotten for that is obesity and disease.  Now, I’m not against corporate America, but I’ve worked for large corporations and really, they don’t care about you.  It’s not that they’re not caring people or out for world domination.  It’s just that they care about making their shareholders money and what their stock prices are at each day.  That’s what they’re there for, making money.  If keeping you healthy and giving you awesome food was what they existed for, then they would do that.  They’re not.

See, we have to make it so that we’re a priority for them, so I made you this list of stuff to look at.

If you haven’t seen it, you should check out The Future of Food.  It’s a very important critique of food corporations and their modification of the DNA of foods like corn and soy beans and it’s free to watch on hulu.

Do you keep rolling your eyes at all of the freaking out about food allergies in the news? I do. But allergies in kids under the age of 18 are up, way up:

In terms of the absolute number of children below 18 who were hospitalized each year with diagnoses related to food allergies, there has been a sharp increase, too. From 2004 to 2006, the average annual number of discharges related to food allergies for this group was 9,537. This is marked higher than the corresponding figures of 4,135 from 2001 to 2003, and 2,615 from 1998 to 2000.

Holy crap!  That’s more than double over in two years!  And that’s hospitalization – not some little sniffly business.  This specific quote is from a blog Natural News – but you can find the same information from traditional news sources as well as the CDC. There are several problems with the loose way this data was collected, but the experts agree that the numbers are way too high to be an anomaly.

Natural News goes on to talk about possible reasons:

Broadly speaking, the root causes of allergic reactions are a state of over-toxicity in the body, or poor health and a weak immune system in general. When the body is overloaded with toxins, it cannot cope as well as it should with certain foods.

(If that doesn’t make fodder for an interesting conversation on keeping our families healthy, I don’t know what does.  And I’ve stopped with the eye rolling, turns out that was just mean.)

More info:

UK article on the link of hyperactivity to food colorings

Allergy Kids – an organization set up to inform and advocate for kids with allergies.

So just in case I’ve depressed you so much that you’re going to have to eat an entire cake sitting cross legged in a dark closet all by yourself, here are some links with information you need and ways that you can avoid the worst offenders and/or join some great advocacy groups to try to instigate change for the better.  (Remember if one person claps in a room, they just look weird: whole bunch of people clapping makes a big loud noise. Noise is good.)

Vegetables to buy organic

Additives banned in Europe still legal in the US

What’s on my food?

Slow Food’s movement to get real foods in school

Eat Local America!

And last but certainly not least Cooking Minnesota!  I plan to continue on with the classes and events I started last year creating great food from scratch and building a community of like-minded folks to share information as well as strategies to incorporate whole, artesanal, yummy foods into our hectic schedules.  We’re working on classes on curing, cheese and yogurt making, creative bread making, beer brewing, mother sauces, how to deal with ingredients you’ve never used before and more events with my favorite chefs.  We’re also working on a Harvest Extravaganza™ at our member Michelle’s farm.  We will have a day full of workshops on subjects from preserving herbs and vegetables and canning to how to design your kitchen to be more green.  (We’re even working on some fun stuff for the kids!)

I hope this didn’t get to be too much. It is a lot.  It’s also very important.  I do hope you join me with the clapping – I think we can make a lot of noise.

Love always,

Kris

Award winning restaurant, Corner Table, and cooking group, Cooking Minnesota, have paired up to do 3 nights of dinner + movie at Corner Table. The dinners will be 3 course meals featuring the best that harvest season has to offer, served family style. Beer and wine will be available for purchase.

After dinner we will be moving outside to watch FRESH: New thinking on what we’re eating. The movie takes on the large subject on reinventing our food system. It’s already sold out 3 showings in Minneapolis.

Beer and popcorn, both locally produced, will be available while we watch the movie and facilitate a discussion about how home cooks can incorporate conscientious food choices for our families, health and planet.

The cost for the whole evening is $55 (dinner, movie & popcorn.)
Dates are June 30, July 1 & July 2.
Dinner at 6:30 and move at 9:00 PM
Seats are limited to 40 each night.
Tickets will also be available for just viewing the movie at $15.

Tickets will be available through Corner Table or Cooking MN.

About FRESH
A film by ana Sofia joanes FRESH celebrates the farmers, thinkers and business people across America who are re-inventing our food system. Each has witnessed the rapid transformation of our agriculture into an industrial model, and confronted the consequences: food contamination, environmental pollution, depletion of natural resources, and morbid obesity. Forging healthier, sustainable alternatives, they offer a practical vision for a future of our food and our planet.

Among several main characters, FRESH features urban farmer and activist, Will Allen, the recipient of MacArthur’s 2008 Genius Award; sustainable farmer and entrepreneur, Joel Salatin, made famous by Michael Pollan’s book, The Omnivore’s Dilemma; and supermarket owner, David Ball, challenging our Wal-Mart dominated economy.

http://www.freshthemovie.com

About Corner Table
Corner Table is a restaurant that listens to the fields, farms, pastures, and seasons that surround us. That source of inspiration guides our creativity and our entire menu, which is crafted from foods sourced locally and in season from responsible family farms. This approach is completely sustainable, and it’s grounded in our respect for our history, nature’s perfection, and our place in the world. Corner Table will be celebrating its five-year anniversary during this event.

Nicollet Avenue at 43rd Street, Minneapolis MN | 612.823.0011

Spring has finally hit our little corner of the tundra. (Yea!) So, now we get to go out and get things that were grown here and cook them up. To that end I invited a special guest, Michelle Licata, a chef and teacher who shares her philosophy of good food and healthy eating with her eight-week wellness program, “Inspired Wellness,” upcoming cookbook, “Olives and Pearls,” and classes around Minneapolis.

This particular event happened almost a month ago, so there was very little available at the farmers market for us. But, what there wasn’t in variety, there was in flavor. Everything was beautifully fresh. We had chicken, trout, eggs, radishes, greens, grains and amazing artisnal sheep’s milk blue and fresh cheese. So we were forced to make due with just that. (Can I get any pity out there? Hm. No, eh?)

Alright, fine. The food was excellent. Michelle was an amazing and vibrant guide through a world of fresh and healthful eating choices. If you ever have the opportunity to take a class from her, I’d highly recommend it and I think anyone who was with me would as well.

Michele dazzling us with her charm and knowledge.

Linda starts to work on the roasted chicken. She decided on butterflying the chicken and dousing it with a mixture of olive oil, fresh squeezed lemon juice with thyme, salt and pepper.

Naomi is getting instruction while working on the radishes. (I think.)

Michele overseeing the risotto.

Ah, the fritatta needs some seasoning.

Meeting over the trout. Turns out the trout wants to be dipped in beaten egg, rolled in some panko and spices and then baked until done.

Michelle wokrs on panko/trout construction.

Frittata construction. Oh yes.

Linda carves up her chicken.

The finished frittata. (It was as good as it looks.)

‘

This salad of greens, arugula, radish and Northern Lights blue cheese is good, but not quite done. It needs a vinegarette.

Ava looks on.

Michele demonstrates how to drizzle in the appropriate amount of olive oil for the emulsion of a proper vinegarette to take place.

Trout breaded in Panko & Herbs with Honey Dipping Sauce

trout, cut into bite sized pieces
1 egg, wisked
pinch of salt
1/2 t ginger

sauce
2 T honey
1 T white wine
1 t sirracha
pinch salt

Preheat oven to 375&degf;.

Whisk egg in a bowl. Place panko, salt and ginger in another bowl. Take pieces of trout douse them completely in egg and then coat in panko. Place on a baking sheet.

Put the baking sheet in the oven and bake for 12 – 15 minutes or until fish feels firm.

While fish is cooking bring dipping sauce together over low-ish heat.

Serve fish with sauce.

Fritatta

4 radishes, sliced thinly
radish greens, ripped
1 T butter
6 oz fresh cheese
6 eggs
3 T cream
1/4 parmesan
oregano
salt
pepper

Preheat oven to 375°f.

Saute radish in 1 T of butter over medium high heat until translucent. Toss into frittata dishes with greens and cheese.

Whisk together eggs, cream parmesan and spices and pour over radish stuffs. Put onto a cookie sheet and bake for 45 to 60 minutes. Frittata is set when you press on the middle and it fights back.

Quinoua & Lentil Salad

Quinoua is not an ingredient that I’ve done much with – but as Michele pointed out it’s very easy, light and nutritious.

1 c quinoua
1 c water
salt

1/2 c lentils
1 1/2 c water
1 t salt
1 sprig rosemary
1 sprig thyme

juice of 1 lemon
1T honey
1Tmustard
salt to taste

Boil quinoua in water until done. Boil lentils in water with sprigs until done.

Put both into bowls and add in lemon, honey, mustard and salt to taste. Serve. People will be happy.

Lemon Thyme Roasted Chicken

1 chicken

juice from one lemon
2 T olive oil
2 t thyme
1 t salt
1 t pepper

Preheat oven to 400 °f

Butterfly chicken by cutting out the backbone and bending the chicken so that it is flat, breast side up. Put into baking pan.

Whisk together the rest of the ingredients and liberally cover the chicken. Put into oven and cook until chicken is browned and reads 160°f on a quick read thermometer. Cover and let sit until it comes up to 165°f. It will be perfect. Enjoy!

Hello Cooks!

As you can see we have a new website!  (Actually, we have three, but we’re working on sorting that out.)  Regardless, you can come to www.CookingMN.com to find all the recipes, news about and pictures from events so that you can foodie your little hearts out.

In this post you’ll be viewing my photos and commentary of Kat’s amazing cheese-o-thon.  All the recipes are from the blog that she set up for her first Future Cheese Makers of MN meeting!

Enjoy!

Kat and Matt greeted us with some hors d’oeuvres featuring… cheese!

Ricotta & Fig Dip
(adapted from Gourmet Oct. ’01)

1 c ricotta
3 T fresh tarragon, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 c dried soft figs, finely chopped (We used 8 mission figs.)
1/4 c extra virgin olive oil
2 – 4 T milk
1/2 t salt
1/2 t pepper

Mix the ricotta, tarragon, garlic, figs, olive oil & 2 tablespoons milk together breaking up the ricotta curds. Add more milk if the dip is a little too dry. Stir in salt & pepper.

Can be made 1 day ahead of time & kept covered & chilled. Drizzle with a little more oil before serving. Serve with breadsticks or other crusty bread.

Makes about 2 cups

Based on Indian chenna, this cheese log is full of the flavor of chive & a touch of lemon. Its super easy to make especially with a stand mixer with a dough hook.

Fresh Chive Cheese
(from Sunset Magazine)

1 gallon whole milk
1/2 c lemon juice
1/2 t salt
2 T fresh chives, chopped

In a large pan heat the milk over medium-high heat until boiling, stirring frequently to prevent scorching. (This will take a long time, it took us close to 45 minutes.) Once the milk is boiling remove it from the heat & stir in the lemon juice. Stir until the white curds separate from the green whey. Let sit for 10 minutes while the curds settle to the bottom of the pan.

Line a large colander with four layers of cheesecloth. Pour the curds & whey into the colander. Rinse with lukewarm water for 5 seconds. Bring the corners of the cheesecloth together & tie them in a knot. Squeeze the curds to form a ball pushing out the whey (be careful not to burn yourself, gloves work good here. Place the cheesecloth wrapped curds back into the colander & top with a plate. Set a 5 pound weight on top (we used a brick). Let sit for 45 minutes.

Unwrap the curd & place in the bowl of a stand mixer with a dough hook. Knead for 10 – 15 minutes until the curds become dough-like, silky & not grainy at all. (You can also do this part by hand though it might take a little longer.) Add the salt & chives & blend to combine. Roll the cheese into a 2-inch log. Wrap in wax paper & chill for at least two hours up to 3 days. Slice to serve.

They showed off their lovely peas in progress.

Guest, Ken, the Design Ninja himself, can’t wait to make some cheese.  (At least that’s what we hope.)

Half of the group goes inside to do some learin’ while the other half hang in the shade with the wine and eats.

If you’ve done everything just right, your curds will form.

You let the curds sit for a bit and they’ll firm up on the bottom of the pan.  The top part is the whey.

If you haven’t done everything just right, then you call Matt in to sort things out.

There is much discussion about the ability of these curds turning into mozzarella.

Oh well, may as well just start on the Ricotta.

The nice thing about making homemade ricotta is that you don’t need any special chemical & the only special equipment is a thermometer & a bit of patience.

Fresh Ricotta
(per Lauren at I’ll Eat You)

1 gallon milk, you can use 1 percent on up, remember that the more fat in the milk, the more cheese it will yield
1 quart buttermilk
-cheesecloth,a good, tightly woven one, not the kind you buy at the supermarket – If you don’t have one of these, you can get by with a slotted spoon, but you may lose some of the cheese. ( I used supermarket cheesecloth & just doubled it. That worked just fine.)
-a thermometer
- A collander

Place buttermilk and milk in a pot, heat on med-low heat until it reaches 185 F.

It will begin to separate into curds and whey. Be sure to stir occasionally to make sure no curds stick to the bottom and burn. You will see that as the temperature approaches 185, the whey becomes clearer as the curds coagulate more.

Pour the curds into a cheesecloth lined collander. Tie the ends of the chesecloth together and hang for 10-15 minutes. Remove from cheesecloth and place in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week..

This recipe will give you about a pound of cheese. I made 1/4 of it & got 6 oz.

It will take Matt’s skill to save the curd.

In the end it all works out.  Team 2 has achieved good curd!

Homemade Mozzarella

1 gallon milk (see the notes on milk in the supplies post)
1/4 t calcium chloride mixed in 2 T distilled water (check your calcium chloride it may call for a different amount per gallon of milk) (optional, this will give you a firmer finished cheese)
2 t citric acid
1/4 t liquid rennet mixed in 1/4 c distilled water
flake salt

Place the milk in a large enamel or stainless steel pan over medium-low heat & stir in the calcium chloride. When the milk reaches 55 F stir in the citric acid. Continue to heat until the milk reaches 88 F. You should see curd starting to form. Gently stir in the diluted rennet. Continue heating the milk until it reaches 105 F, do not stir if at all possible so as not to break up the curd. Once it has reached 105 F, turn off the heat & cover the pan. Let sit for 20 minutes allowing the curd to gel. The curd should pull away from the side of the pan & be firm almost to the bottom of the pan. Let sit another 10 minutes if not quite set.

Using a slotted spoon carefully remove the curd to a microwave-safe bowl. (Save the whey!) Press the curd & pour off as much whey as possible. Microwave the curd on high for 60 – 75 seconds. Press again with a spoon & drain as much whey as possible. Start kneading the whey as you would bread either with your hand or the back of the spoon. Microwave for another minute. Drain any remaining whey. Knead again with the spoon adding 1/2 t salt a little at a time. The curd should have come together in a smooth mass & be sticky. Continue to knead until it is smooth. Try stretching the cheese. If it stretches easier stretch & pull like taffy until cool. If it doesn’t microwave for another 35 minutes & try again. For a softer cheese don’t stretch. Put cheese in a cold water bath (I salted my water for extra flavor.)

After all that work, we need cheesecake!

This cheesecake was very light & quite smooth. We used local Ames honey from the farmer’s market & it has such great flavor we didn’t miss the orange zest at all. The nuttiness of the biscotti made for a fabulous tasting crust.

Honey Ricotta Cheesecake

Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis

Ingredients

• 8 ounces purchased biscotti
• 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted
• 1 (12-ounce) container fresh whole milk ricotta, drained
• 2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, room temperature
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup orange blossom or clover honey (I just used some good local honey)
• 1 tablespoon orange zest (I didn’t have any so I just skipped this)
• 4 large eggs

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Wrap the outside of a 9-inch springform pan with 2 3/4-inch-high sides with 2 layers of heavy-duty foil. Finely grind the biscotti in a food processor. Add the melted butter and process until the crumbs are moistened. Press the crumb mixture over the bottom (not the sides) of the prepared pan. Bake until the crust is golden, about 15 minutes. Cool the crust completely on a cooling rack.

Blend the ricotta in a clean food processor until smooth. Add the cream cheese and sugar and blend well, stopping the machine occasionally and scraping down the sides of the work bowl. Blend in the honey and orange zest. Add the eggs and pulse just until blended.

Pour the cheese mixture over the crust in the pan. Place the springform pan in a large roasting pan. Pour enough hot water into the roasting pan to come halfway up the sides of the springform pan. Bake until the cheesecake is golden and the center of the cake moves slightly when the pan is gently shaken, about 1 hour and 5 minutes (the cake will become firm when it is cold).

Transfer the cake to a rack and cool 1 hour. Refrigerate until the cheesecake is cold, at least 8 hours and up to 2 days. Cut the cake into wedges and serve.

Ahh.  That was nice.  I’d like another dessert, please.

Ricotta Gelato
(from Bon Appetit Sept’ 07)

4 c fresh whole-milk ricotta
1/2 c whole milk
1 1/2 c chilled simple syrup**

Put the ricotta & milk in a blender & process until smooth. Add the simple syrup and continue to process until completely smooth. Put in an airtight container & chill.

Transfer to an ice cream maker & process according to the machine’s directions.

Put into an airtight container & freeze until firm, about 3 hours.

Can be keep for 2 days.

** Simple Syrup

1 1/2 c water

1 1/2 c sugar

Put the sugar & water into a saucepan & bring to a boil to dissolve sugar. Turn down to simmer. Let simmer for 3 minutes. Chill.

A lovely time was had by all.  A big thanks to Kat and Matt for opening their home and refrigerators to us!

If you would like to join us at our next event, go to Cooking Minnesota, www.meetup.com/cookingMN.

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