Food of a Place - St. Paul

Everything But The Kitchen Sink Slaw

2012-02-06T19:31:00.000-08:00

Necessity/hunger is the mother of invention. Thus the "Everything But The Kitchen Sink Slaw" was born. Jicama, carrot, celery root, apple, cabbage, almond, watermelon radish, shallot, lemon juice, pure olive oil, s + p. This paired up nicely with some grilled sausage the other night, and the train wreck in the vegetable crisper never happened.

Splitting Hairs and Chickens

2012-02-06T17:55:00.000-08:00

There are countless small actions in cooking that result in the best result.

To the unconcerned it might even seem like hair splitting.

Tonight it was grilled chicken. Back bone removed. Breast bone minimally split.

Rested at room temperature for 45 minutes. Seasoned thoroughly and allowed to rest for at least 30 minutes before lightly oiling and grilling, not under a brick, instead under a curbstone metal platter combination.

Allowed to rest for at least 10 minutes before dividing and plating.

What resulted was exceptionally satisfying crunchy skin. Well seasoned mouthfulls of exceptionally moist and tasty chicken. Over the wall, out of the park, home run.

OK, so the actions are not countless, but you might call them critical.

Other variations: boneless, skin on, pancetta wrapped, double breast tied around a sprig of rosemary, seared then roasted, cut into medallions, and sauced with a brown stock reduction with buttery polenta and braised greens. Add in the crashing Bolinas surf. Yeah that's a memory. Add in boned leg meat, skewered with onion, bay and pancetta, marinated in red wine, and grilled over moderate charcoal. The bones on this beast were roasted, pan deglazed with blond stock, and the reduction became the sauce. Might have been mounted with a touch of butter, and some drippings from the resting skewers. You could do all this with a least cost Tyson chicken, or not. The "or not" could be a local uncaged hen with some insects and worms in the diet.

Brussel sprouts were on my least favorite list as a child - behind eggplant and ahead of winter squash.

2012-02-03T19:08:00.000-08:00

Here's a simple way to make them delicious, and even crave worthy:

1. Preheat a 400 degree oven and toss in 1 - 3 sheet pans (aka cookie sheets) depending on the size of the batch. The idea is to not overcrowd the sprouts and allow for caramelization.

2. Take off the stem end with a paring knife and peel off the outer leaves including anything that is discolored, perforated, or torn. Check for evidence of field dirt and rinse if there's any doubt.

3. Cut in half using the stem end as the south pole, along the north south axis. Julienne into even and narrow strips either cross cutting or cutting along the north south axis. Collect the julienne strips in a bowl and oil lightly with a lightly flavored to flavorless oil. Season with salt and pepper. Gradually seasoning and tasting the raw sprouts works fine in this instance, remembering that hot food requires a little less seasoning than cold. Physiologically this has to do with the effect of heat on the generation of saliva/flavor receptors. Blah, blah.

4. Distribute evenly on the preheated pans and don't overcrowd. You don't have to preheat the pans, but a pre heated pan adds to the show by making an immediate and satisfying sizzling sound. Do in multiple batches if you're short on pans. Taste and finalize seasoning after roasting. It's probably damned near perfect already. The color that the sprouts take will be a matter of personal taste. They start to smell delicious immediately, and as they color they also take on a satisfying crispy crunch. On the extreme, you will burn them and they taste about as bad as anything else that is burned. Take it to the edge, and I think you'll enjoy them. Add in some slivered garlic or julienned shallot, or sweet onion. Add a sprinkle of a good quality vinegar, squeeze of lemon, or a little finishing extra virgin olive oil, and kaboom.

When Vinaigrettes Attack

2012-01-29T04:39:00.000-08:00

The prize of the pantry/garde manger is a potentially beautiful combination of flavor, texture, and appearance. Last night's meal out was the classic Jeckyll and Hyde.

Dr. Jekyll was a shared salad with a truly great combination of quality ingredients, finessed knife work, light touch with composition, great acid balance and salt. Mr. Hyde was the simple side salad that accompanied the entree. The same great quality greens served in the first salad dressed with mouth pursing rocket fuel. In a very real way the second salad shoots the credibility pooch.

Stream of consciousness world of the pantry cook: Qualilty in. Fresh greens. Chi in the lettuce. Carefully washed and spun. Stored without compaction and with some method for preserving the balance of moisture. Labeled, dated, and rotated. Purchasing decisions based upon hands on survey. Quality problems arrived at when the product arrives at the door. Senses working. Taste. Eye and nose and touch for indications of quality. Staff meal or compost are better options than depressing the expectation of your customer. Light hands not drubbing the lettuces into wilted piles, but rather lifting them up, giving them structure on the plate. A vinaigrette made fresh nightly or saved for staff meal, or possibly the next day's lunch service, if you strain the shallots and freshen the vinaigrette up the next day. Vinaigrette applied to the bowl and not dumped on the greens like a bucket of water on your head. Salt broadcast widely and not slammed into the salad like a rifle shot. Quality oil and vinegar, not industrial crapola. Proper use of oils with respect for extra virgin oil as a finishing element and not a building block. A reliance on taste rather than "classic proportions" or a recipe for an understanding of acid balance. Tongs tossing the salad are a real issue introduced by fear of poor sanitation. If there isn't a hand sink in the pantry station they're a good idea, but if there is, and you're using tongs, God help you....

In my own pantryman's journey, I've had some key learning experiences. One was a Michael Bauer review of Star's Cafe in which a salad I had certainly made was directly critiqued. "Oxidized butter lettuce and a pungent/clunky blue cheese dressing..." or something to that effect. I had been cooking for a matter of weeks when this review came out. It raised my personal expectations for quality control from that point forward. No one is watching your work, you're only as good as your last plate, everyone is responsible for insuring quality. Other formative realizations were at Oliveto, where a combination of coaching from Tusk and Fernandez, and a great group of peers helped me realize that the pantry is most often the first introduction a customer has to your restaurant and is therefore not only the most important station, but also has the potential to steal the show. From that point forward I attempted to take all the ground I could with the pantry. The simplest salads at Oliveto were exemplary and the more complex salads realistically at least sometimes stole the show. I've loved a great salad and hated a bad one ever since.

Sauserd or Ellersage

2012-01-27T03:46:00.000-08:00

Last night's production marks the third year a neighbor of mine has asked me to pitch in for a school fundraiser. After eight hours of meat production what's a couple more? To no one's surprise (if you know me) it was a glide.

Opus one is a repeat of years one and two. Toasted curry and roasted garlic with a lean mix of knuckle and bacon. Lean bacon? It can happen. This is not currywurst, but it is curried wurst. This is a American interpretation of the German cultural phenomenon. Chips (fries) and curried catsup carry the dish in Deutschland. I prefer a condiment free interpretation, but whose to argue with fried potatoes? Cased in 32-35 hog and linked short. I'd call it a wurstchen, but that has more than one connotation.

Opus two is a riff on a Seward original - the Giosong Vietnamese. I'm calling it a dumpling sausage, because I can imagine it as a delicious dumpling stuffing. Cased in 32-35 hog, and 25-27 lamb for a variation. With a combination of oyster sauce, sirracha, mint, and cilantro this sausage can stand on its own. Sometimes sausage have feet.

There's a lot of elbow room in the world of sausage making for personal expression. With an understanding of fundamental principles of meat handling the door is wide open. Don't tell anyone or there might be a tidal surge of sausage. Wait a minute, there is a tidal surge of sausage in the Twin Cities.

There's even a fest in February at Summit Brewery. How can there be losers in the marriage of fresh sausage and beer? Win win.

This brings a tear to my "eye-ah"

2012-01-24T16:53:00.000-08:00

http://vimeo.com/15376488

Bob interviews Dario.

Enough said. Watch it.

Seven Heaven

2012-01-22T10:34:00.000-08:00

The affordability and deliciousness of a 7 bone chuck roast is unmatched. Any chuck roast is a great braising candidate. Better than roasts from the round because of the fat cover, intermuscular fat, and the presence of bones to add support, structure, and flavor. The seven bone is the king of bone in chuck roasts - arguably in competition with a bread and butter roast, but I'll give it the edge for appearance alone.

Round roasts can be coaxed into better moisture characteristics with the addition of fat internally, aka larding. We've begun to sell back fat at the coop, and the next opus will be a red wine braised larded eye of round roast. More on that later.

This beef is from Hill and Vale and is sold at Seward Coop and Mississippi Market as well as Clancey's. It's a grass fed grain finished feeding program that results in excellent taste quality as well as good land stewardship. Absolutely no growth hormones or antibiotic laced feed.

There's a strong revival of meat cutting from carcass right here in the Twin Cities. This is a boom for those who recognize the "bone in" advantage. However most conventional stores do not cut from whole animals, opting instead for vacuum sealed boneless sub primals. If you don't shop at a small shop or coop with this kind of cutting program, consider making the switch. I think you'll taste the result.

The following photographs represent some simple methods for coaxing the most from the roast:

Tied to facilitate even cooking/prevent separation. Rested at room temperature for 45 - 60 minutes prior to searing to reduce the negative effect of the temperature shock.

Escoffier credit. Caramelized onion taste.

Pretty. Imagine this with Vidalias or Walla Wallas.

Lazier than halving.

Merged with chopped tomato and beef stock. Make your own or buy the boxed product.

Battuto, Mirapoix, aromatic vegetables. Pick your language. There's a bay leaf in there too. Potatoes added far into the braising process. Nothing more than a simmer. Braise until meat easily yields to the point of a pairing knife.

Bloods

2012-01-20T16:17:00.000-08:00

Blood oranges have appeared in produce at the Seward. Garnish for a negroni. Sweet jewel in a salad as a supreme or a cross cut with peel and pith removed. I'm thinking the proper olives and some fried rosemary in the salad with some fennel. As a granita. With some langues de chat or short bread.

BTW - There's a substantial case discount should you want to go blood orange crazy.

Family Meal - Familie Mahlzeit

2012-01-16T05:48:00.000-08:00

Pastures of Plenty Berk Duroc - Seared and roasted to 130

meat and...

potatoes

with buttered and fried bread crumbs

Gnocchi-esque

not a yonic food

funtastic salad, jicama, celeriac, cabbage, carrot,

apple, spinach, sweet pea, spinach, shallot,

lemon, olive oil, salt, and pepper, slawish

kale to the left of me, chard to the right

hiring a dishwasher, one time gig

Knack Knack. Who's there?

2012-01-15T04:52:00.000-08:00

Sun Street Breads dinner program is something I've been waiting to try for a while and last night the stars aligned. I am reluctant to review a dining experience because I'm a certified pain in derrier when it comes to finding or enjoying restaurant food. I also find food reviewing to be a bit of a bizarre craft. So this isn't a review...

I have admired the elevated game Sun Street brings to bread making. They make great bread. I found the Figgy Rye (they're presently cranking out a delicious apple rye) to be one of the best loaves I've ever had. On a prior lunch visit I appreciated the presence of a fryer in what I consider to be the Minneapolis genre of principled counter service cafes without fryers or well designed kitchens. Put together great bread, good ingredients sourcing, culinary care, local beer, and a fryer and you've got a strong contender for a happy meal (no thanks to McD's for co-opting the term "happy meal").

Two things. Well maybe a few more than two. The Knackwurst appetizer combination was a little more than exciting because of my culinary leanings, travels, family history, career path, etc.. To say that sausage brings it all together is not an exaggeration. What was fun about last night's dinner was the unexpected preview of the sausage program that will reign at Butcher and Boar. I'm not an insider when it comes to the personnel, equipment, or menu at this yet to open restaurant, but it is generally speaking the kind of restaurant I have dreamed of opening (quality meat, beer, beer garden). This is all such a simple combination of things. Or is it? The sausage was excellent. Pleasing mouth feel, tight matrix, pleasantly seasoned. Smoke if there was any was subtle. Fully delicious. The rest of the plate carried the dish into the endzone. Notably a superb pretzel roll, fermented cabbage, cheese, and dijon. Put a pint of beer beside this combination and this is undeniably my favorite thing to eat on a regular basis. I also had the fish sandwich with previously mentioned excellent fries, slaw, and mayo sauce. Exemplary. Beet and egg salad, was a fun tour of culinary tricks with a hard boiled egg with viscous yolk. I have a theory on the execution of that one. Short ribs, chicken savory bread pudding, and an apple gallette rounded out the other tastes of the meal. I forgot what the second thing was... Sun Street's mojo factor is running high. Excellent quality, farmer's market camaraderie/collaboration attitude, good folks in the kitchen, and smiling service too.

Bread Recipe Request

2012-01-13T18:36:00.000-08:00

Steel Cut Oatmeal Bread

Karl Gerstenberger

8:33 PM (0 minutes ago)

to Betsy

I reworked this, having misplaced the original notes.

2 Cups Water

1 Cup Steel Cut oats

1 1/2 t salt

1/3 cup maple syrup

6 tablespoons sweet butter

1 Cup water

1 T Yeast

1/3 Cup AP Flour

Bring the oats to a boil in 2 cups of water. Remove from the boil and add remaining ingredients. Allow to cool to "just warm" before mixing the dough.

Mix the yeast, warm to the touch water (too hot will kill the yeast), and flour in a vessel large enough handle some yeast growth. This concoction is called the sponge.

Add the sponge and oats together in a mixing bowl with a beater and slowly mix together. Gradually add flour over a few minutes a little at a time. Make a moist sticky dough and shift to a dough hook after adding 3 to 4 cups of flour. Continue adding flour slowly in small amounts (spponfuls), eventually forming a dough ball that sticks to the hook while the sides of the bowl become progressively "cleaner". Once the ball is formed the dough will "restick" to the sides of the bowl unless you add flour at the right moment. A little bit at a time enables you to control the moisture in the bowl as well as avoid texture issues associated with uneven mixing (globules). This may be all "old hat" but the small stuff can make this process a lot easier and the bread more consistent.

Allow the dough to more than double in mass in a lightly oiled bowl (the same bowl you mixed it in, unless you like doing dishes). Cover during the rise using lightly oiled plastic wrap, or a lightly floured cloth towel. Punch, divide, knead, and form into loaves (makes three medium sized loaves, or two large). Allow to double in size (a nice sized loaf, cover the same way you did on the first rise) and bake at 350 for 30 - 40 minutes depending on loaf size. The "hollow when thumped" adage works pretty well. I make two mediums and two super small in some "cutesy" little teflon loaf pans I used back during the Lauder days. These littler loaves are the ones I devour while it's still hot. I will continue to eat the other two loaves until I become semi-comatose, so I wrap them in plastic after they've completely cooled and freeze one.

This makes the best toast ever. If you've had better, I'd like to taste it. Actually Rustica Fruit and Nut with Hope butter pretty much rocks the toast world too. Anadama bread with honey. Next morning Challah french toast. Russian Black Bread with lox and cream cheese. Acme Currant Walnut. Acme Levain. Pastificio Olive Bread hot from the oven at the market with fresh baked danish and a Blue Bottle Cappuccino. Fanny beginet. Cheese board raisin brioche. Bread Garden morning bun. I am hugely grateful for the bread in the world.

Another Slice of Beef

2012-01-11T04:33:00.000-08:00

RUMINANT-IOS

pharm fortified cereal feed safe for humans too

AS AN ANIMAL FOOD

Decrease your need for grazing land - Increase Profits

Pack your herd into smaller and smaller

spaces, without the downside of bacterial infection

Uses grains subsidized by the Federal Government

Avoid

stomach rotting digestive problems

Increased growth rate and muscle bulk

Faster Bigger Cheaper

AS A HUMAN FOOD

Handy for children wanting to get ahead in contact sports

and on the playground too

Your body already makes it's own hormones - these ones

are like the icing on top

Probiotic chaser suggested

Avoid pesky bacterial infections

Beefed Up

2012-01-09T09:20:00.000-08:00

This piece is in for a re-edit.. Tune in again later.

I'm excited to see McDonald's making statements about the land, farmers, and animal health/treatment. The images and principles they're employing in a recent advertising initiative evoke a lot of feelings and opinions. The concept of "green washing" is a little bit nebulous, but there are companies who do more than just lip service. I'm looking into McDonald's policies more closely and I hope to find some substantive action.

Dumping Sparboe Farms as an egg supplier was a large decision. The new farm to table ads are another significant marketing redirect. What's happening behind the pastoral steer and potato scenes?

Steak and Pils and Diesel

2012-01-08T01:57:00.000-08:00

Ribeyes. Crispy potato wedges. Iceberg wedge with blue cheese. Lammsbrau.

Low culinary fruit. Heaven.

Lammsbrau barley farmer - flowers are an
indication of no herbicide use.

Lammsbrau is a beer with a great story. Family owned for 7 generations. Organic (sometimes perceived as a mixed priority in the worlds of beer and wine) since the 70's. Highly tested and touted deep water (recently "certified" organic). The brewery's farmers organized to reinvent organic production methods and share knowledge about organic hops and barley growing practices. In the matter of a couple of generations modern production norms had almost killed the knowledge of how to farm without herbicides/fungicides/pesticides. Yeast grown on organic certified medium. Dedicated malt works on the premises. Environmentally monitored and thoughtfully designed manufacturing practices (not least cost, but many of the solutions prove to be very cost effective). Rheinheitsgebot. Beer purity law, with the addition of no "petro/cide" type farming inputs.

On the "mixed priority" note, there's a perception that folks who focus on organic production are not as concerned about taste quality. This of course is a huge generalization, but I think there were/are producers whose product reflected this decision making. Perhaps there was the feeling that if you brewed in an organic certified process that this represented your "marketing angle" and you weren't as focused on taste. I think the air can be cleared by simply tasting the products blind, and arriving at your own palate's conclusion.

On that note many ale oriented people find pilsner to be boring. This is sometimes acknowledged by a committed pils drinker. Personally I find pils to be subtle and satisfying, and different from brewer to brewer in a way that makes them exceptionally interesting. The quality of the ingredients can be tasted as can the brewer's finesse. Pils can be the beer you come home to again and again, after forays into the worlds of headier brews.

Diesels don't really have anything to do with beer unless you're talking about German beer, and specifically Lammsbrau. Part of the greening process at Lammsbrau has been a very natural progression towards sharing knowledge and developing economical and practical systems. Growing a seed oil crop and making your own bio fuel is both practical and attainable for a group of farmers and a brewery. The delivery fleet all run on veg oil systems. Diesels, like organic brewers, have a public relations battle to overcome. General Motors engineered and released a sea of diesel "crapola" on the American market (parallel to all the crappy mass produced American beer) that created a lasting impression of diesel inferiority. Turns out the Euro diesels of today are all over performance and environmental footprint issues and 6 out of 10 new cars in Europe are diesel. Audi diesel reigns over gas at Le Mans (the ultimate 24 hour road challenge).

Lammsbrau is not yet available in Minnesota. No one has built the bridge between importer and distributor yet. Beer distribution is a whole other ball of fun. At present you can get Lammsbrau in the Milwaukee area, and I'm not sure how far and wide beyond... Drive to Milwaukee in your diesel, and pick up a 4 pack of pils, and a 4 pack of dunkel for me. Yeah right.

Goin' back to Cali, back to Cali, back to Cali.

2012-01-01T07:02:00.000-08:00

Last night's dinner was a direct riff on Oliveto back in the day, circa 1998. Mike, and Chris, and Paul, and Mal, and Matt, and Jon, and Miguel, and Gil, and Ray, and the other Paul, and Missy, and Eve, and Will, and Karen, and Matt, and Steve, and Carmen, and Adelino, and Tim, and Chuck, and Otter, and the other Mike, and Pierre, and ERIC, and Scott, and Dominic, and Adam, and Denise, and Jack, and Peter, and Mara, and Spencer...

It was common to have 7 pots on the back row, a stock pot on the end with boiling replenishment water, two refrigerated drawers, and an on line reach in freezer all in play.

Gnocchi, rolled cut pasta, extruded shapes of all varieties, agnolotti, ravioli, raviolo, tortellini...

Ragus, pan sauces, simple butter...

Most satisfying was probably the freshly extruded bucatini with Amatricana sauce. Closely followed by gnocchi with bolognese. Simple to the extent that you had to get everything precisely dialed or it could be a total fail. Simple and precise is the essence of any great food.

Spinach Tagliatelle

Gnocchi ropes

Bolognese with Hill Vale Skirt and porcinni mushrooms

Ridged to retain sauce

Toy from Bologna - "Coltello da pasta"

Agro Dolce

2011-12-13T02:44:00.000-08:00

This is a Facebook off the cuff(s) riff on ribs. Maybe I'll work out the bugs and rewrite it. Methodology, technique, common sense, finesse all very hard to capture in the medium of social media. Or anywhere else for that matter.

Bruce Allen

Hey Karl;

Do you know of a good recipe for Balsamic Glazed Beef Short Ribs? Trying to find something close to the ones they serve at Campiello in Eden Prairie.

· · See Friendship · 10 hours ago

- Karl Gerstenberger Agro Dolce - Sour and Sweet. I haven't tried the D'amico's version. One way to go at it would be to braise in beef stock with a splash of vinegar, and then glaze after the braise with a balsamic reduction. Season and brown the ribs. Briefly saute some aromatic vegetables and slap in a little tomato paste to add to the meat crust on the pan. Heat the stock to a simmer level. Add vinegar to taste. You don't want it to taste too "vinegary" but you do want it to begin to build flavor in the vinegar direction. Deglaze the pan with the stock and cover the ribs with stock. Cook until the meat is yielding/falling off the bone. Carefully remove ribs from the braise solution, strain out the aromatic vegetables, clean off the fat with a ladle and do a slow reduction of the cooking liquid. Reduce enough balsamic to a syrup consistency. Put the ribs on a roasting rack and baste/paint with the balsamic reduction in a moderate oven (say 300).
  2 minutes ago ·
- Karl Gerstenberger There are some logistical issue here. It's possible to do this with one pan or many. You have a choice between stove top and oven braising techniques. I would go with the oven because of the thermostatic control. I would go long and slow regardless.
  a few seconds ago ·
  
  POST EDIT: You're going to be using the braising liquid as a sauce. I can imagine this tasting really delicious with some 5:1 or 6:1 soft polenta. Riverbend Farm Polenta would be really nice. Drizzling a little balsamic glaze on top might be another way to zip it up, but depending on balance might be too much. There are a lot of judgement calls in this method. Add in a bay leaf or two to the braise as well as some sprigs of thyme. Proportions of vinegar to stock and amount of glaze is going to be trial and error and a matter of taste. I'd start moderate and build as it's hard to cook backwards.
  
  You'll want to do all of this in a non reactive pan (no aluminium). The reduction you'll want to do in a small pot and realize that syrup is a relatively narrow window. If you burn it, it will taste terrible. Do over.

Tool Obsessive

2011-12-10T03:16:00.001-08:00

Trades involving hand skill come with the light burden of making decisions about tools. Add up the cost of thoughtless design over a few thousand hours of repetition and "better" designs are worth any additional expense. Maybe not any.

Years ago I worked with a cook who did everything with a serrated knife. He had great pride in this decision and enjoyed looking down his nose at anyone who would have even two knives, not to mention tool boxes full of knives. He's the only person I've ever encountered with the single knife attitude.

Others have a minimalist orientation. Buying maybe three quality blades, learning how to keep them honed, and battling the variety of culinary tasks with some degree of pride in knowing how to self limit. They pay the cost of watching a tool obsessed cook attack a task with the perfect tool, knowing they'll be able to get there even though the may lose a little time or quality in the process. Or counter argue that the time they save in keeping it simple makes up for any slight tool related advantage in efficiency.

There's a level of cook who is content to use the cheapest cost blades, doesn't know how to use a steel, and is content to bump down the stream without being at all self conscious. They might even express some amusement with others who are zealous about tools. In this group there are cooks who learn to coax an edge from a low quality knife, and have completely credible knife skill.

So what are the rewards of additional fussiness and expense? On the top of the list is the relatively affordable appreciation of good designs and manufacturing quality. Close to the top is pride of ownership. You could also make an argument for joint health through optimal ergonomics.

I've slowed the pace greatly in recent years finding that the quality blades I bought years ago have filled up the stalls in the barn. I went on a cheese knife splurge after I was given some interesting blades a few years back. Minor binge, two knives. The latest page is a request I made of my sister on a recent trip to France. I asked that she shop for a high quality apron and a knife sheath. Holy knife lust Batman....

Fischer Fischrom fine steel:

Arcos 250mm Butcher:

Arcos 130mm Butcher:

F. Dick Messerköcher für 4 Messer:

Guy Cotton Rubber Apron:

A letter to Eban on curing meat...

2011-12-09T03:50:00.001-08:00

Eban,

The natural curing stuff is tricky and adds a hefty price per pound of finished product. I think it's noble, but a little misguided. I'd be happy to talk about the finer points with Mark.

Basically there's a big hullabaloo over sodium nitrite. Over use in a single dose is a concern and that's why the stuff is harder to get ahold of than conventional salt and colored pink to call attention to itself. It's the same sort of idea as natural gas being odorless, and some where in the process they add a foul smell so humans don't blow themselves up.

Nitrate curing sounds better because you can cite naturally high levels in some vegetables and the fact that your body produces detectable amounts in saliva. The seldom told part of the story is that there's a chain of reactions (think hopscotch except in this instance there's no way to jump over or out of the squares). Nitrate to Nitrite to Nitrous Oxide (woo hoo) to nitroglucosamine reacts with protein (i think myoglobin) and changes pigment from brown to pleasing pink. This reaction is unkind to botulism and other pathogens that otherwise might have a party in your cured meat.

Props to the Sample Room

2011-12-08T18:46:00.001-08:00

100 Sausages or Bust is a great idea and a funky journey. Where repetitions and skill meet the art. Considering the history of the form and the wide range of tastes and opinions I can't think of another culinary sector that is as diverse. Of course I am unquestionably warped on the topic.

Cutting the meat, blending the spice, taste testing and adjusting the batter, evaluating "show face" and texture, are all steps in a journey. Meat block, fat percentage, grinding, mixing, stuffing, curing, smoking, cooking, blah, blah, blah, bliss.

When the horse finally gets back to the barn, the question is was it an epiphany, or just another day's work?

There is nothing new under the sun when it comes to the art of the tradition, where micro gastronomists may only be able to try.

I've had sausage prepared by blowhard cooks touting provenance and falling like a lead balloon on basic fundamentals.

I've had exceptional sausage as simply made as possible. Sausage that falls into the delectable zone of gorge worthy.

Most sausage is somewhere in between, and every effort is an opportunity to improve.

Rock on Sample Room. You're my heroes!

Thanksgiving or St. Ballontine's Day

2011-11-24T10:59:00.001-08:00

The ballontine is a little more challenging with a turkey, mainly due to all the tendons in the drums. Rather than painstakingly remove them, I just took off the low end of each drum.

Ferndale 20 pounder,

bone free, muscles still in place,

no forcemeat or other stuffing.

All the skin, nothing left behind.

Considering skin and flavor are strongly associated,

I'd say this has a shot at being on the tasty

side of the flavor matrix.

Ring of rings. No reference to Mordor. This is

Hidden Stream pork butt, with the addition of

Ossabaw fat back, red wine, garlic, and sage.

They've been poached in the big turkey stock pot.

The leave behind sausage in the stuffer is incorporated

into the stuffing. Another shot at delicious.

Brown gravy. Turkey veloute with pan drippin's.

Spuds. Russets with Cedar Summit heavy whipping cream and Hope butter.

Chard and black kale.

The rest is up to Jane...

Orchard Fed Ossabaws!

2011-11-10T10:53:00.001-08:00

The Ossabaw is a heritage breed with origins in the State of Georgia. It prefers wild foraging, loves to root for food, and does an exceptional job overturning soil. The usefulness of animals in an orchard is undeniable for soil turning and insect control (mainly an attribute of the Freedom Ranger chickens living in the orchard too).

I cut hog 1 of 2 today. Exceptionally cute little chops, steaks, hams (green), spare ribs, butts, and shoulder roasts. The most fun I've had in a while. Guanciale (in the works). Gorgeous bellies. Fat back to inspire sausage making bliss. Thanks to the Hochs! Do this again please.

Coming up Hoch Orchard Old Spot/Berkshire (3 larger hogs).

Nothing wild tasting about these chops (like a wild boar for instance). Just plain delicious.

Star Prairie Rainbow Trout

2011-11-01T18:40:00.000-07:00

The Rainbows from Star Prairie are coming in so beautiful that they're jumping out of the case. I have a couple of methods for cooking them in the broad scope. Drastically simple is often best. These are local, sustainable, and a real treat at $10.99 per pound.

HOW TO COOK IT:

400 degree oven.

Cookie sheet, or sheet pan in the commercial kitchen vernacular. Parchment if you fear aluminum.

Buy yourself one trout per person. You're looking for moist skin and clear eyes. A good fish monger won't sell you anything other than first quality. A half trout is fine if there's a lot of other action on the plate.

Lightly oil the trout on both sides and lay unfolded and flat, skin side down. Use a neutral flavor oil like canola or pure olive oil (not extra virgin). Season the flesh side only generously, not ridiculously. Broadcast the salt evenly. The only way to get better at seasoning is to approach it with some confidence, and then learn from your mistakes. I suggest seasoning some vegetables you like to eat, as they cost a lot less than protein.

Bake it until the fish flakes easily when you partially lift it with a spatula. Should take no more than 10 minutes.

HOW TO EAT IT:

This is where it gets a little tricky because this is generally sold as a head on fish, with fins, and pin bones intact. Squeamish people should realize that it's all delicious. Remove the head (it will fall off easily when cooked). You can delicately remove the fins, two per side, and tail. I think you're missing the point of eating a whole fish if you make it fully inhalable. Sorting your way through the inedible bits is primal, and satisfying. Maybe not white table cloth, but who eats that way with any frequency? The skin is super moist and satisfying. Removing the filet based on some predisposition against eating skin is a mistake. The pin bones are tiny, Princess and the Pea scenario. If you choke on a trout pin bone, you're trying really hard to choke. They can be cut out, or unimaginably removed with pliers (badge of manual dexterity and bifocal functionality).

Anyhow, this eats like "buttah".

We served ours with some blanched black kale and a piece of buttered baguette. Freakishly satisfying!

Other methods: mustard crusted, brined and smoked ala' Rivoli in Berkeley.

Lamb Shoppe - Hutchinson MN - PLANS FOR SATURDAY YET?

2011-11-01T17:18:00.000-07:00

We sell Lamb Shoppe lamb at the Seward. Doug Rathke is a very accomplished shearer and practices great husbandry. Wish I could make it. I'll be cutting at the coop. Meat not wool.

Hand Blade Sheep Shearing Contest

10 am Saturday, November 6th.

The store will be open from noon to five and features farm meats, dried herbs, and other delectable treats.

Doug will demonstrate machine shearing and herding with a working dog as well.

Liberty Land & Livestock is nestled in the heart of Upper Midwest Farm Country 10 miles west of Hutchinson, Minnesota. Our farm is conveniently located just 75 scenic miles west of Minneapolis/St. Paul on Hwy 7.

From Hutchinson at the crossing of highways 15 & 7, go 9.7 miles west on highway 7. We are located on the south side of the road, the first farm west of the village of Cedar Mills. Look for the big The Lamb Shoppe sign by the driveway.

Karlissimo's Pizzeria - Mise en place

2011-10-31T08:56:00.000-07:00

Dough from Chez Panisse recipe - double sponge and a touch of Rye

Italian Sausage

Roasted Leeks with Thyme

Blanched German Butterball Potatoes

Roasted Mushrooms

Roasted Peppers and Sweet Onion

Blanched Black Cabbage

Delicata Squash and Fennel

Whole Milk Mozzarella

Fontina

Black River Blue

Beers

Bamberger Hell

Pinkus Munster Alt

Black Sheep - Not A Problem Child

2011-10-29T03:43:00.000-07:00

I admire restaurant concepts that know what they are and know what they aren't.

Black Sheep in St. Paul rings true in so many ways. Simple menu. Well designed seating. Minimalist interior. Great music (a matter of my quirky taste, probably). Beer galore. Quality ingredients (no least cost junk). Properly mastered dough. Well coordinated happy staff. If this sounds like an easy mix of characteristics, it isn't. It's very conscious and reflects hard focused work.

Last night while waiting at the bar with a glass of wine, I listened (as a bystander) to an explanation of why too many ingredients is not a good idea on a Black Sheep pie. It was a good read of the customer's lack of knowledge of their style, and it was not a lecture or a brow beating. Their crust, their ingredients, their oven, their style does not support a kitchen sink style pie. The speed of the coal oven is ripping fast, and too many ingredients defeat the ability of the oven to make the magic with the crust. Nuff said. Delicious pie.

Their salads are similarly stacked with quality ingredients and super consistent.

Get thee to the Black Sheep.

Coop Epicenter

2011-10-26T04:10:00.000-07:00

A diverse business community is what keeps the State and country strong. I don't think many people realize how significant cooperatives are in Minnesota's economy. The numbers are striking. After attending my first coop annual meeting last night, I am invigorated to understand more about the bigger picture. In today's news cycle, it's nice to hear a few success stories too.

Excerpt from Cooperative Network.coop, see full article at: http://www.cooperativenetwork.coop/wm/news/mediareleases/web/ritchiecoopweek.html

St. Paul, Minn.—Secretary of State Mark Ritchie today recognized “Co-op Week” which is observed the week of October 16-22 by announcing that Minnesota is home to more cooperative businesses than any other state and several of the nation’s largest co-ops are headquartered here.

“Minnesota ranks number one in sheer numbers of cooperatives and our residents enjoy the tremendous benefit co-ops bring,” Ritchie said. “Our state’s co-ops generate more than $34 billion in revenue and provide good jobs for 46,000 Minnesota residents.”

Owned and governed by their members, co-ops provide products and services as close as possible to actual cost, with profit margins plowed back into the business or returned to the members. Many individuals are members of more than one co-op.

Nearly 1,000 cooperative businesses serve approximately 3.4 million members in Minnesota. These co-ops provide goods and services ranging from farm supplies and farm credit, to electricity, petroleum products, grain marketing, dairy products and processing, housing, health care, telecommunications, ethanol and sugar production, credit unions, and food co-ops.

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I'm also hugely proud of Seward Coop's status as a Top 100 Workplace in the 2011 Star Tribune ranking!

I've got this itch... In Defense of Working in Berkeley.

2011-10-24T06:30:00.000-07:00

So what if any knowledge does one pick up while working in Berkeley?

In the grand scheme a Mediterranean climate is an unfair advantage. The palate of ingredients is endless and the farmer's markets year round. This actually has the potential to make you feel jaded as a cook, because it's very easy to be lazy. What can also come out of this bounty is a level of understanding about ripeness and readiness that you can only get if you're a hell of a good vegetable gardener/cook. Conceivable perfection in ingredients. That's Berkeley. It's not only growing climate, it's the growers. They take risks in lock step with chefs and vegetable merchants, and the benefits have been accumulating over the last 40 years. Varieties like you wouldn't freaking believe.

You also get exposed to an interesting array of fish and learn to judge its qualities. What is not commercially viable in terms of the transportation costs and marketability is available every day in at least three markets (Monterey, Tokyo, Berkeley Bowl). The sand dab is the poster child for fish that is not commercially viable, but eats so beautifully that I am craving it now. There are a variety of other fishes in a variety of sizes, whole or filleted that makes this one of the richest places in the world to understand fish.

Artisan meats are taken most seriously here too. Perhaps even in the sense that it is arguably the ground zero for a national rebirth of interest in quality, ethics, and tradition. Provenance became popularized by Jeremiah Tower. National interest in traditional salami was greatly ignited by Paul Bertolli. What's interesting is that the best hogs in the country were at the time coming from Iowa and Minnesota, a fact that has not escaped Mike Phillips. Niman Schell Beef and Lamb and Willis Pork, and a wonderful array of game birds came off the spits at Chez Panisse and Oliveto at the highest level of quality I've seen in my incomplete travels. You can't enjoy quality like this in many places.

The chefs and cooks in the Bay Area are also a unique breed. They are broadly willing to pay the increased rents for the opportunity to surf the wave of the ranching, farming, cooking communities. They don't get paid more than in other markets, so it's actually a rite of poverty. Of course there's a broad band of crappy food in a population center like the Bay Area (5 million plus), but the layer of cream at the top is different from other urban centers. Is it better here than New York, or St. Paul? Who cares? Well yes, it's a little better.

Proximity to wine country is another major bump. I'm a beer drinker in my soul, and did not take full advantage of gaining wine knowledge. The synergy between food and wine can happen in restaurants and at vineyards on an amazing level. I picked up a little wine knowledge here. What's strange is that my favorite wines while living in Berkeley were coming from France in the hands of Kermit Lynch. I generally found them to be more subtle than California wines. The targets are always moving.

Breads are yet another area for celebrating leadership. Acme Bread in Berkeley has helped generate a wave of national interest in traditional forms and methods. We're increasingly rich on that front here in the midwest.

Cheese products have an appropriate level of importance here too.

The audience for all these categories of food is very well educated, and generally will not tolerate half efforts or fake attempts. It's a sophisticated and simultaneously relaxed clientele. As long as you don't take a square dump on something that should be simple and delicious.

Yeah. I'll defend Berkeley a little. Let it be said that a lot is happening in Minneapolis St. Paul. We're gaining ground here fast, but Berkeley has been running marathons for years.

Trail Food

2011-10-24T04:54:00.000-07:00

Back in the day at Camp Menogyn, we did very well with a diet consisting of nothing from a plastic lined foil pouch, freeze drying, or ultra pasteurization. We were on the cutting edge with Tang - the forefather of all the electrolyte crap that increases performance. We even boiled our drinking water, in an out of conflicts with wooly mammoths and saber toothed tigers...

Three leaders:

Bannock Bread - quick bread cooked on a backpacking stove in a skillet, stored in the same skillet, and eaten for lunch along with salami and cheese. This was a finesse job on cooking the bread and not burning the crust. As fuel it was exceptional.

Matt Food/Menogyn Pemmican - Rolled oats, peanut butter, dried milk, sunflower seeds, dates, raisins, coconut, vegetable oil, and honey. This was a sticky globular mess. Look ma, no packaging. Superior trail energy.

Hot Cereal - various, and almost always served with raisins.

My early interest in making things taste consistently better emerged on these trips. When time and weather permitted, we'd go off the deep end. Powdered egg omelets. Pizza cooked in a dutch oven. Bannock sticky buns.

Wetter Uglier Delicious-er Surlier

2011-10-22T03:07:00.000-07:00

Hopping mad? Hopping to impress?

"Wet" hops. That ugly can color will stick in my wee brain like "duck tape". Green hops. I get it. No pellets. Burp. Thanks. This is out on the frontier for a lager lover like myself. Aleheads enjoy. Excellent for a hopaholic, or for a quaffing share with 1 or 2 others...

Bigger not always better... not just splitting hairs.

2011-10-22T00:37:00.000-07:00

There's an optimum size for a steer in terms transformation into retail cuts. Yields are predictable and the economics are reliable. A larger beast does not evenly transform into the same proportions. Bone, fat, muscle ratios differ, and it's not practical to change pricing according to yield. More bone weight, and more fat weight in proportion to salable meat. You win some, you lose some. The last two weeks our carcass weights have been up significantly. Thus the learning curve.

While the brain is on steers... The Belted Galloway is an interesting beast on two key points. Bone proportions and cover fat are different than breeds that have become standard on the American table. It's an old breed with shorter legs (less bone weight proportionally) and a heavy coat (less cover fat). Belties have long hair and do really well in cold climates. Shorter haired breeds develop more cover fat, and yield differently.

I met a State Rep, Tony Lourey, who runs a Beltie farm up towards Duluth. He gave me a primer on key differences in the breed. He's a pretty cool guy. We talked about the idea of the professional politicians of today versus the politician/farmer model of the past. Imagine a political representative anchored in farm operations with that kind of practical minded lifestyle. Even the legislative schedule is a relic of the seasonal requirements of harvest. I'd trust a farmer any day of the week over a pro politician. Tony and his wife also operate an organic apple orchard. His focus at the capital is on health care. Keep your eye on Tony. He's a mover.

Mr. Loon, Your table is ready.

2011-10-21T03:52:00.000-07:00

http://heavytable.com/category/stories/louie-the-loon/

I am a huge fan of Louie the Loon's elegant style. His talking points are laser focused and hit with greater weight than any hairy mammalian critic.

I will gladly feather Louie's nest with real American folding money if and when he chooses to cash in on his image and style in the classy world of t-shirt sales.

Tremolos to you Louie!

Harsch Crock - Sauerkraut

2011-10-20T04:07:00.000-07:00

When this kraut is complete the meat will be ground and chopped, the sausage stuffed, the grill fired, and the keg tapped.

Wild fermentation only works with microbially rich vegetables. Vegetables mass produced with chemical fertilizers and grown on increasingly dead soil do not ferment properly. Of course you can spike your crock with starter culture, just like you spike your diet with supplements. It's just easier to do it the old way.

Did you say "bone in"?

2011-10-16T05:19:00.000-07:00

Number Seven and Bread and Butter might sound like names for a couple of thoroughbreds, and in a sense that is correct, but this is about the beef.

There's a lot of boneless sub primal cutting in today's world of retail and restaurant meats. Fortunately there's also a revival of bone in meat cutting. The operative piece of equipment is the band saw, the least forgiving, yet greatest tool of modern meat cutting. The juices that come from a bone in pot roast are truly delicious, as the connective tissues dissolve and the bones add their flavor. Pot roast nirvana.

Sunday dinner is a 3 pound Bread and Butter roast from Hill and Vale. Pictures to follow if they're worth their salt.

Kickapoo Coffee

2011-10-16T05:05:00.000-07:00

Some names are made to stick like duct tape....

Something good is happening over in Viroqua. Kickapoo Coffee Roastery Organic Harvest Blend is a crema wolf in sheep's clothing. It's time to do some more reading and figure out why. Freshness is a factor. Variety. Roast. The grind variable might have just landed in my hands by pure luck. I tweak the grinder fairly often looking for the mouse's tail speed (appearance of the stream) that seems to result in good flavor. Great crema always seems like a blessing maybe coming from the quality of the roast. Blue Bottle coffees always performed well with Ye Old Pavoni. The Rancilio seldom equals the results of the Pavoni - I think this is a matter of pressure generated by lever action versus pump. Rancilio steam pressure to the wand blows milk out of the pitcher, so every machine has it's strengths in the world of counter top espresso. A compact machine that does it all would be an interesting quest if I could just find that suitcase of money.

Coops sell Kickapoo Coffee. Their fair trade and sustainability credibility is high.

Shetland Salmon - A proper Fall feast - don't cook the bejesus out of it

2011-10-14T17:57:00.000-07:00

Stem and 3/4 inch julienne a bunch of lacinato kale.

Peel and quarter and 1/4 inch slab a butternut squash.

3/4 inch dice a head (or half a head if gargantuan) red cabbage.

Toss with canola oil, salt, and pepper and roast on a sheet pan in a 400 degree oven. Stir every few minutes until the squash and cabbage are tender and the kale crispy.

Pin and skin the salmon. Portion. Don't cook the bejesus out of the fish, but get the pretty side nicely crispy in light oil and medium high heat. Flip the fish, turn off the pan, and let rest for 3- 5 minutes leaving the center rosy and moist. Add a little more pan heat if the fish does not appear to have coasted far enough.

I don't like to eat a lot of farmed fish from distant shores, but this Shetland tastes so clean and the fat to flesh quality makes for the most delicious crispy crust. Wild Atlantic salmon isn't commercially fished anymore. All aquaculture is not equal. The product we enjoyed tonight is certified organic, low density, and pharm free.

BTW - the last of the Coho is trickling in and the first of the flash frozen Sockeye is now available. The frozen product early in the freeze cycle has flawless color and eats like fresh.

Granola for a Minnesota Winter

2011-10-13T14:59:00.000-07:00

I recently transitioned back into Winter granola eating mode. Somehow I find the carbs work better in colder weather. The omelet routine just doesn't cut it, as the boiler fire needs to blaze a little hotter to compensate for the cold.

Here's a La Methode on Gerstenberger Granola -

10 cups of thin rolled oats
1 cup of shredded coconut
1 cup of raw sunflower seeds
1 cup of sliced almonds
3/4 cup of sesame seeds
1 cup of maple syrup
3/4 cup of canola oil
cinnamon to taste - ususally a couple of shakes - subtle is good

In a huge freakin' bowl (sorry i just needed to say "freakin'") mix the dry ingredients. Have a helper slowly pour in the liquid ingredients as you mix aggressively in the bowl. Your trying to make this as evenly sweetened/oiled as possible. Kneading the mixture (clasping and releasing handfuls) with a fair amount of energy gets the job done quickly. Don't rush it. Even distribution is the goal.

Lightly oil or spray three sheet pans (aka cookie sheets). You should get yourself some commercial grade sheet pans. They have slightly higher edges than cookie sheets, and your cool factor goes way up. Spread product evenly. Should be about 4 handfuls per sheet tray. Bake in a 250 degree oven until granola starts to take a light brown color. Over cooking it is a bad idea, so approach this with some caution and take it further next time, if you don't feel it's cooked enough. Somewhere between 30 and 50 minutes should get you into the fully cooked zone.

I eat this concoction with goat yogurt and freshly ground flaxseed. Flaxseed is really popular in Germany and has all sorts of heart healthy, and anti inflammatory qualities. They sell neat little ceramic seed grinders in many of the local cooperatives. Flax rules.

If you really want to go into cool overdrive buy yourself some Silpats or Exopats. They're French so I don't really need to say anything more.

Eating History

2011-10-10T08:32:00.000-07:00

I've been working with bison for the past three years. It doesn't find it's way on to my table that often, but it is still a fascinating, certainly historically significant large meat animal option.

The High Plains Bison exposure I got at Lorentz was a slice at understanding a mass marketed product (heavy into Costco channels). The kill was an interesting departure from the captive bolt stunning used for cattle. The horns of the beast were quite dangerous, and the proximity of the bolt gun was an unacceptable risk. As a result a rifle was the adapted method.

The animals arrived in low belly trailers from across the Western U.S.. It was sometimes obvious that they'd been purchased on the commodity market, because they'd arrive in various, some unmarketable, sizes. This is a phenomenon with contract cattle as well. They are an investment mainly, and stunted growth due to health issues does not always enter into the equation. Of course this had a large bearing on standard yields, but this was at least somewhat acceptable to the buyer.

Contrast this channel to Ed Eichten's outfit in Center City. It's a small operation. Animals are not transported by trailer to a kill operation. They do not experience the stress and noise of over the road transportation. They have a nice looking pasture with wallows, a pond, and plenty of forage. Ed kills in the field using a rifle with scope, hoists the animal using a front end loader, and sticks it (bleeds) in the field. All this occurs with an inspector on the premises to insure that nothing inhumane or unsanitary happens. This is the way to do it, regardless of whether this method could ever reach a higher volume level of efficiency. If you've ever tasted an animal that was under stress during the kill process, or seen muscles that have been damaged in the kill, you know how much better this method is.

This is the bison we cut at the Seward. We're running a solid grind program using Eichten product. The braising cuts and steaks don't always sell that evenly, but interest should pick up as the word spreads. Health benefits are much like grass fed cattle, and the idea of eating a piece of North American natural history is an added, maybe even reverential, plus.

These are the slaw days of fall

2011-09-26T05:23:00.000-07:00

Last night's impromptu neighborhood bbq mosh and smore festival included one of the best slaws of the year.

Red Cabbage
Yellow Onion
Sweet Tango Apple
Celery Root
Champagne Vinegar
Canola Oil
Salt and Pepper

The Benriner is like gas in the car for any slaw. "Watch Your Fingers" admonition noted. Pick one up at United Noodle. If you haven't been here yet, you're missing out on a gem.

Slice yellow onions paper thin. In your largest bowl, just cover with vinegar, add salt and pepper. Abuse this concoction with your finger tips to accelerate the acidification of the onion (in essence, cooking the volatile compounds). This mellows the onion and broadcasts the flavor throughout the slaw in a really balanced way. A word on bowls. I have bowl obsessive disorder. I have an wee bowl for beating eggs, and a giant bowl for feeding a crowd, and many bowls in between. How can you go wrong? Too many bowls? Never.

Widen the setting on the Benriner to match stick width and slab a peeled celery root. Julienne match sticks with a knife or alternately put the "rake" into the slot, and the Benny does it for you. Toss with the onions - the acid helps arrest oxidation in the brilliantly white root sticks.

Using the same setting make haste with the apple, planking off the sides down to just before the core. "Match-stickify" and toss. Season a little bit along the way, rather than all at the end. This creates very even seasoning and helps dial it in. Peel the apple or not for the rustic/lazy or refined appearance.

Quarter, core, and slice the cabbage and watch your fingers. Widen the setting or not, if you like. Toss it all. Check for seasoning, and add just a little oil, you shouldn't need any additional vinegar.

Don't forget to watch the amazing sunset and rainbow. This is all sweeter here, because we're about to freeze our as**s off... Also served: Grass Run skirt steak with salsa verde, Eichten bison burgers, Grass Run burgers, boneless pork chops and dogs...

"Benefitations" of orchard raised meat animals....

2011-09-19T11:02:00.000-07:00

Years ago outside of Davis, California I visited an ag research farm called Sky High Ranch. They were applying ag science to the concept of animal based insect control (among many other research topics) the idea being that if there's a way to absorb insect problems by taking advantage of the food chain than why not create a more diverse system? The different types of laying hens in the test group produced an array of egg colors, and the concept of Sky High Rainbow Eggs was born. These were sold in Berkeley and used in local restaurants.

Page ahead to Hoch Orchard in La Crescent 2011. They are using both hogs and meat chickens to help weed, control insects, and turn the soil. I test roasted one of the hens last week and found it to be exceptionally tasty. The breast meat was slightly tougher than birds that I know spend most of their lives in a barn, but that's a logical consequence of a truly free range life cycle. Hogs are next, and as you'd imagine it's not a huge number of animals. These are hogs that forage for a large percentage of their diet IN AN ORCHARD. I cannot wait to taste the result.

West Concord to Sienna

2011-09-19T09:03:00.000-07:00

The Callister farm visit was a blast, and as usual I'm left feeling that my work life is easy compared to any agricultural pursuit. Add in a State Inspected processing plant, and I definitely live on easy street.

There are a lot of generalizations made about small versus large animal production facilities. I categorically prefer small scale, but until you actually see the operation, what do you really know? What you see at Callister is a great deal of care in all husbandry practices, and a spotless processing plant. The scale does not compute in the modern world emphasizing "go big or get out" production values. There are thousands of birds through here on an annual basis, and 16 mainly part time local employees. This is in contrast to thousands per day, and hundreds of employees in a large scale facility.

I will happily continue to pay the premium and continue to eat Callister meat chickens, as well as enjoy the delicious eggs. This Thanksgiving we'll be roasting a Red Bourbon hen, and enjoying some Poulet Rouge chickens as well.

The Italian connection was an unexpected add on. Molly, the Callister's daughter, spent several months in Italy recently working with a producer and processor of Cinta Senese hogs. These are animals that thrive in woodland areas on wild forage, and produce distinctively delicious meat (prosciutto notably). Molly is well aware of how special it is to work with these animals and these artisans. She's planning a return stint soon for yet more learning. The Italy tie in was prompted by a slide show in the hayloft, and a meal which included chicken sandwiches, slaw, popcorn, 1919 root beer, and excellent apple pie. Add in a couple of kittens for Anna (8) to fawn over, and this was a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

All things being unequal

2011-09-18T09:31:00.000-07:00

Fish cookery is delicate business. The difference between optimally cooked, and overcooked is tighter (more a matter of seconds than minutes) than in most areas of cookery.

There are some tricks in the bag of most fish mongers and fish cooks. This is one of them that compensates for the tapered shape of a filet in any application where an even crust and even cooking is the desired end result. The tail end is thinner than the head end, which would generally result in the tail segment getting overcooked, or not having enough pan time to develop a comparable crust to a thicker filet(s).

1. Remove pin bones and skin.

2. Divide into equal weight portions (approximation only). The tail piece in this scenario should be considerably longer.

3. Fold back the tail upon itself. Depending on the thickness, you may need to buttlerfly the tail piece at the point of fold (cut partially - 1/2 to 1/3 of the way - through the filet from the top down, towards the cutting board). You are essentially making the filet easier to fold in half. Cutting all the way through and double stacking is another less elegant answer, but is more prone to separating.

4. Optimizing the crust entails cooking on the presentation side of the fish for the majority of the pan time, easily 2/3 to 3/4 of total cooking time. The delicate crunch of a properly sauteed filet along side of the delicate moistness is the prize of good cooking.

5. Accompaniments were not particularly well thought out, but delicious, and ate well with the Coho (AK, wild). Minnesota cabbage/apples/onions/garlic (yes all Minnesota) and roasted potatoes (OK, Wisconsin).

Misspellings

2011-09-16T04:10:00.000-07:00

OCTOBER UPDATE:

For all my spit fire on this one, the management at MVK is to be thanked for correcting the spelling error as they apparently entered a new menu cycle.

I think I can actually claim that the food community is richer when restaurants care about correct spelling on their menus.

When you see a misspelling on a menu, it can sometimes ascend to a disproportionate importance.

Such is the case with Mill Valley Kitchen. When a review by the most prominent food critic in town gushes about "Harvard Business School case study" qualities of the place, the misspellings begin flashing like a neon sign. Granted, I can ignore the flashing light, but if the bar is to be raised in Minneapolis as a food town, we all need to pay attention to the small stuff.

"Chipollini"- cippolini
"Lock" Duart Salmon - Loch
Kadejan "Farms" - is a farm, singular (and they do not use the farm or farms nomenclature)

I took a little extra interest in the name of this place, given that I lived in Northern California and bicycled through Mill Valley regularly. I sent a polite heads up e-mail regarding the misspellings months ago. Maybe the menus are correct in the restaurant, and errant on the website.

Knickers now un-knotted. Undies un-bunched.

Negroni - Super Size Me? (warning rantish content)

2011-09-11T06:42:00.000-07:00

A beautiful evening with a antipasta platter and half pint of Minnesota brewed beer followed by a favorite cocktail gone wrong.

A negroni should not be super sized. It should be served shaken, and served "up" in a small to normal sized martini glass. Not served in a rocks glass the size of a large breed dog bowl. It should be garnished with orange peel, not a clumsy lemon wedge and orange wedge.

Maybe the strainer was broken.

Maybe the bartender thought super sizing was the key to customer perceived value.

To their credit, the half pint beers were a huge step up in beer service. Guzzling pints is for college students. Quaffing freshly poured half pints is religious. Full head and proper temp, over a flat, warm, nap inducing slog.

This is a two way street. Maybe I should order it up in a martini glass next time? Or maybe I should look for a bartender that knows how to make this drink properly. It's parallel to the unceasing detail customers feel they're entitled to give baristas.

The Joy of Beef - Hill and Vale Farm Ribeye

2011-09-05T18:38:00.000-07:00

Few greater pleasures than to eat what you cut.

Grilling a one and three quarter pounder is a matter of controlling grill zone temp (hot side/cool side) and turning like a Mexican jumping bean (with frequency). Do yourself a favor and rest it on a wire rack when you're done grilling. This prevents that exceptional crust from "going soft".

I used an instant read thermometer on this, not trusting time or touch on a one time outing. It ate really well despite having spent a week frozen. This is not optimal, but I hardly cared considering how well this ate.

This is ungraded beef coming from a pastured and grain finished Angus steer. "Bone in" is a good thing with steaks generally as it adds some structural support to the muscle. It also allows for a display of cave man tendencies.

Jan popped a delicious Rauchbier from the Ale Jail. Potato salad was spontaneously donated from Dorothy up the street. Apple crisp for dessert. Summer time and the living is easy.

BEAN RANT

2011-08-24T03:13:00.000-07:00

A ticket to green bean heaven is as affordable as a pot, a wire basket, a bowl of ice, and the right amount of salt.

Rules to remember -

Garbage in, garbage out. This is green bean season. The middle of Winter, beans from hell and gone, and "Houston, we have a problem." Proximity can contribute to ripeness, and can lead to exceptional mouth feel and flavor. Why "can"? Because these matters are in the hands of the farmer and the produce man/woman. Pedaling beans that taste like flaccid pencils should be a crime.

Take off the stem end neatly with a paring knife. If you take off the pointy tip, you are a Cretin.

If you pronounce Haricot Vert with hard T's, you are a hill billy.

Salt the blanching water until it almost tastes like sea water. If using this much salt seems too expensive, look at how cheap salt is and look for coins in your sofa cushions.

Shocking the beans in ice water is like jumping into a lake after a sauna. It's righteous. It also stops the cooking at the perfect point, and fixes color. Army Green is not desirable in contrast to vibrant Bean Green.

This is "top secret" so don't tell anyone about this. Salt your shock water too. The sublime distribution of salt that is the effect of salted shock water is better than the addition of the perfect amount of salt by the lightest hand in the sprinkling world. If you think this is splitting hairs, than get out the tweezers and start cuttin'. This is the next level. Your palate will come around to this, if you keep at it.

Using a basket enables you to keep the beans moving, as do a pair of tongs. It also enables you to blanch and check doneness with great ease, and to blanch other vegetables in the same pot, thereby saving the planet from inevitable doom. Like fennel cut into julienne strips for instance. Blanch anything you can imagine. Do it separately, because sometimes segregation is not evil.

There are a couple of additions to the perfect green bean salad. A splash of vinegar. Banyuls works great. A splash of good olive oil. A twist or three of pepper. Some toasted walnuts with the peels removed (nut rant later, maybe). Some halved cherry tomatoes fresh from the vine and perfectly ripe thank you.

This was dinner last night. I'm a little excited, still.

2011 Apple Season Has Started - Hoch Orchard, La Crescent MN

2011-08-20T03:23:00.000-07:00

Apple Crisp
Apple Pie
Apple Sauce
Baked Apple
Apple Tart
Tart Tatin
Apple garnish in a pig's mouth
Apple/Fennel/Reggiano Salad
OK, I'm not going to make cider.

Oh yeah, Apple with Super Chunky industrial peanut butter (taste the bad ethics)

Food Epistle

2011-08-18T03:10:00.000-07:00

Large systems are great in theory and operate with self preserving integrity as you'd expect. The counter theory is that small is beautiful, and while that's true, it's also more expensive. The "real" costs of a food system are seldom acknowledged because it's not yet necessary to have a larger perspective. I feel that we are stronger with more people living on the land, sharing knowledge, depending on traditional techniques as opposed to wiz bang technological large scale solutions.

In our future at a distance even humans can grasp, fuel cost and water scarcity will combine with world population explosion, and a lot that we take for granted will have to be reckoned. Urban farming will become increasingly important.

The Bachelor Farmer - I suppose this is a review

2011-08-13T14:27:00.000-07:00

I'm personally interested in this restaurant more than any other recent opening. I opened Aquavit, and opened Cue and those were personal enough. So why the interest in The Bachelor Farmer (BF)? I'm not working there. This restaurant is a figurative bridge between the two worlds I've occupied as a culinary professional, the SF Bay Area and Minneapolis St. Paul. The two top toques in the kitchen at BF are Oliveto alumni. Oliveto is the place where I fledged as a fully competent cook, and left to take a management position in another restaurant. Minneapolis and SF are not in the same league, and there's no one who would argue that convincingly. Napa Valley Grill at Mall of America, and Mill City Cafe in St. Louis Park pay a shallow tribute to one of the greatest food regions in the world. More humbly stated, there's bad food in SF too, but the food at the top is of unusually high quality.

DINNER ON 8.13

Early word, the food and feel are exciting and represent a new level of simplicity and refinement. Is this a level that Minneapolis can embrace? I believe so. The menu is very approachable (when Baked Camembert is followed with the "cheese" descriptor, there's healthy acknowledgment that not everyone eating here is a high flyer).

Hands down, great service. Thanks Mike. The most playful/smart wine idea I've seen ever is the "buy a half bottle/we'll sell the other two glasses" chalk board. There are five pours in a bottle generally speaking, so the pours in this case are quite generous. The Sinskey blended grape red we had last night was a great food wine. Served in Reidel glassware and decanted in a TBF trademarked Reidel vessel. This was a $69 dollar bottle and I personally am not interested in drinking two - two and half glasses of a wine I've never met before. The chalk board idea is simple and works great. Server writes the name of the wine and the number of pours (max of 2) still available. Those two are ordered and served on a first served basis, so there's the possibility that two servers will make NBA moves for the eraser. Not really, but well played ideas are rare.

The price/value grinding stone will be interesting to observe over time. Having watched reactions to Marcus Samuelsson's cafe versus restaurant from the perspective of the fish station, I can say that the cafe food was much more warmly received. BF's food is much more cafe like in approachability, and it will be interesting for them to find themselves. This is where a comparison to Oliveto is worthwhile, but probably esoteric too. I remember one of the handful of times I dined at Oliveto (in the dining room as opposed to family meals) I watched a table's collective jaw drop at the size of the pasta portion. They had no back story to inform their expectation so their minute portion, since they clearly expected entree size, was a shock they couldn't get over (and were probably embarrassed about too). The server can play a cool role here, if the customer is ready for extra information, and if the server can create an effective elevator speech. "We're about small simple tastes of Scandanvian slow food." would be my two cents. An $18 egg entree, and meatballs and mashers for a similar price, have the potential to create blowback if not managed with care.

Brief rundown on last night's meal with my descriptors:

Flatbread with butter and radishes - amuse' that amused, unlike some excuses I've had in recent years.
Filtered water in reusable plain bottles - environmental points noted
Lamb Sausage - This was easy to love because frankly sausage is the best form of protein on earth in my overly biased opinion. This was the best executed sausage I've had in town (and I've had a couple at places known for their charcuterie skill). Well done. Oliveto is a temple of charcuterie with uber respect for protein. The training shows in this dish. Pretty plating with beets, lefse, and mustard. Very diminutive. Lamb in lamb casing. Thanks.
Toast-a-palooza (my descriptor not theirs) - the toast caddy is cute as hell for this deconstruction of a crostini idea, pureed pea/mint/ricotta/cherry tomato AND pickled herring/pickled beets/cured salmon/pickled cucumber. This was playful and fun. Flashbacks to Aquavit.
Sinskey Red - Cab, Cab Franc, Merlot. I've always enjoyed Sinskey wines! The aforementioned wine share program is a superb idea.
Meatballs - I've paid my dues making Swedish meatballs. This was Jan's entree. Very credible. Perfectly seasoned. Refined. This is culinary thin ice with Midwesterners. If a dish is delicious, I don't care what I pay (within the realm of reason). Not all diners have this philosophy.
Grilled Rabbit - the boned loin and saddle was very lightly grilled (I'm guessing a gas grill). Served with a saute of cabbage and pole beans. It ate well (that is to say that the cooking/seasoning/portioning were all balanced and smart).
FrozenYogurt Blueberry Compote - this was a kick ass dessert. I'd give it show stopper rating, but the rest of the show was strong. Jan ordered a glass of Ransom Grenache to go with the meat balls. The awesome surprise is how this wine paired with the dessert. Nothing I'd set out to taste specifically, but very fun. The espresso was well pulled and spot on. The espresso and cornmeal shortbread cookies hit me in the bullseye.

KUDOS! I'll look to come back here again and see how it's adjusting over time. We're lucky to have this one.

The way you get to the store is part of your food system

2011-08-11T15:06:00.000-07:00

New vertical racks at the Seward.

I am extra proud of the support that Seward Coop gives the principles of personal health, environmental health, and sustainability. Carbon footprints are a little esoteric (though completely credible), but bike racks boil it down nicely by putting our money where our mouth is. These racks represent a key piece to a alternative transportation system. They are a vision of how the world will look with less reliance on internal combustion machines and more dependence on the wondrous low impact bicycle.

Jefferson Avenue Block Party

2011-08-07T15:01:00.000-07:00

This is our fifth summer in St. Paul. The ritual of a summer block party appears to be firmly moving forward into our neighborhood's future. Every year is different, but some elements are fundamental. There's the scheduling "dance around" phase. There are five anchor families who create mile long e-mail trains chasing down the date that works best. Then there's the brainstorming phase during which everyone brings forth ideas for amusements, distractions, menus, etcetera. There's the delegation process, which works well because we're a positive bunch. As we move into implementation there's the weather watch, the rain plan, and the final push.

This year's specifics:

A dunk tank - out of the "jumpy castle phase" and into the more aggressive idea of inflicting a cold bath. On a hot day this was a huge success. The cost per use on this contraption amounted to pennies.

A visit from the fire department - this year a pump truck and ambulance (hook and ladder last year). This is a no fee public relations service provided by the City. It is phenomenally fun and builds good will. All the children were offered the chance to use a pistol grip hose contraption, and then the water canon was fired for a 500 gallon arching shower. Quite a spectacle.

Pig - a cooperative effort in the true sense of the word. A borrowed roaster and a 65 pound Berk/Duroc pig stuffed with cabbage, apples, sweet onion, garlic, and rosemary. BBQ sauce, beans, and buns from the neighborhood bakery.

Corn - super delicious soaked, then grilled in the husk, and held warm in the roaster.

Beer - mini kegs from Bells/Oberon, New Castle, Heinie (Blue Velvet Pabst quote omitted), and Miller Lite (Ellerd Lite).

Special treat - Mexican Coca Cola and Fanta (sugar sweetened - thanks no corn syrup).

Assorted BYO items - salads, brownies, etc..

Dinner with Tom, Jan, and Jan - Traveling Culinary Dog and Pony Show

2011-07-25T07:25:00.000-07:00

SALAD

Rochdale goat cheddar souffle, arugula, red plums, and fennel

SOUP

Sweet corn with mortared basil

GRILL

Pepper bacon wrapped pork tenderloin, lamb chops, mahi, keta salmon

VEGETABLE

Roasted gypsy peppers, spring onions, eggplant, and summer squash

DESSERT

Door County sour cherry crisp with whipped cream

Callister Wings and Whole Birds in 100% Humidity With Occasional Rain

2011-07-18T19:07:00.000-07:00

Callister availability is going to be spotty for a bit. They had a die off, and lost a significant portion of their flock. Farming and gambling sometimes seem related.

Should have taken a picture of the lean to plywood. Too freakin' humid. The humidity was so severe that the newspaper laughed at me before it sputtered out. On the third attempt combustion started. This could be a new direction for micro gastronomy. Cooking in air so thick with moisture that fire does not start.

The wings and flattened birds were allowed to steep in garden herbs, mortared garlic, chili flake, and black pepper. 5 pounds of wings. Everyone commented that we always have too much food. 8 yr. old Anna had 9 wings. They all disappeared.

The salads were the show stoppers. Red cabbage/red onion/red wine vinegar/raisins/damn I would have used a ruby carrot if they had 'em out here/halved almonds (freakin' yummy). Aioli potato salad with herbs - trying to crank out a La Methode-like riff on this one (previous post in progress). I made enough for days, and it all disappeared.

Nectarine almond crisp. Who bakes on a day like yesterday? This fool does. Should of had a couple of extras - they somehow disappeared...

Slow Potato Salad with fresh aioli and herbs - Photo Illustrative attempt

2011-07-18T00:01:00.000-07:00

IN PROGRESS

A mayo based potato salad is conceivably the most popular form, and made with industrial ingredients can be seasoned properly, acid balanced, and taste delicious. A handmade version is "delicious-er".

Potatoes: slice evenly - season the blanching water thoroughly - cook evenly (stir) - do not boil - do not overcook - drain and cool evenly

Aioli: understanding emulsions is fundamental to a lot of

Yokel Foods Belly Flop

2011-07-15T16:56:00.000-07:00

REDEMPTION FOR THE LOWLY CISCO:

A customer wanted to do a local fish ceviche. She was fascinated with Cisco. She wanted to try to slice it thin, almost like a carpaccio. I was pretty sure this would require finesse that I could not fully describe (slicing/pounding on oiled celo, peeling, etc.) I recommended skinning it and slicing it into an even dice - approx. 1/4 inch. She did this, cooked it in lemon juice, fresh herb, peppercorn, zest concoction that tasted "magnifico". This was her seasoning and method, my steering on cutting and technique. With the right oil, acid, salt, pepper, etc. I can imagine this being quite tasty! Here here for telephone collaboration. Phone a fish cook. Ring a roundsman. Buzz a butcher. She served this with a green salad on toast points. Cool.

Occasionally you reach for what's from here on principle more than quality. Blue Herring aka Cisco is not a merit-less fish, but it isn't a king either. Tonight I flew high hoping the Cisco would come along for the ride.

Fancy summer vegetable saute (sweet corn, spring onion, tomato concasse). Fancy new potato salad with aioli and herbs from the yard. Tortilla crusted Cisco.

The Cisco had a musty flavor that comes along occasionally in fresh water fish. I don't recall this flavor characteristic in years past specific to Cisco. In previous outings, I brined and smoked the Cisco and served it sparingly as an element in a salad. I also have successfully served a battered Cisco sandwich smothered with remoulade. Honestly that sandwich was about the toasted hoagie bun, the sauce, the fries, and the slaw.

So a belly flop. I'm glad I didn't set up the fryer and do the battered version.

Cest la vie. Walleye is eating great, as is the smoked lake trout, and the farmed trout from Star Prairie. On the oceanic side, the Keta and the Copper River Sockeye both are eating beautifully.

Wingdiculous - The little grill that could

2011-07-03T19:21:00.000-07:00

HAPPY THIRD of JULY WURST- Keep hands from under cover at all times

2011-07-03T18:08:00.000-07:00

Throwing Bricks - Curbstones really

2011-07-03T17:27:00.000-07:00

Pressure is your friend in some instances. The idea of the brick, or maybe the voodoo of the brick is that it increases the surface area, and pressure on the surface area of poultry most commonly. Fat renders from the skin faster than without pressure and it crisps. Technical enough?

Wrapping the brick in foil was a solution at Oliveto. Freaked out by aluminum (pronounce it the British way - way cooler), then use a saute pan, or a stainless sizzle pan. A sizzle pan is one of my fave kitchen tools. I've worked in restaurants that use pie plates for the same purpose (seasoning things holding things in advance of grilling generally). A real sizzle platter is probably cast iron. An intermediate sizzle platter is stainless steel (like the one above). Cheapo is aluminum. Ultra cheapo is a pie plate.

The Italians call cooking under a brick "Mattone".

Copper River Sockeye

2011-06-27T18:45:00.000-07:00

Pinned, skinned, sauteed crispy in pure olive oil with a finish of butter, turned, rested, served, enjoyed. Rose at the heart, crisp on the surface, clean through and through. Sustainably fished in Alaskan waters. Sides of kale, brocolli, and brown rice. So an airplane is involved. Flying fish.

Hill and Vale Pastured and Grain Finished Angus - Wowza!

2011-06-26T10:32:00.000-07:00

Graded beef is not widely sold these days in favor of taking what you get at a lower cost. I briefly learned how to grade beef at the U of M Meat Laboratory. The ribeye is examined to gauge surface area and degree of marbeling. The yield for the entire carcass can be calculated from this measurement. Professional graders know Prime on sight. If we aren't dealing with a Prime carcass from Friday's delivery I would be very surprised. The animal is clearly larger, which generally means more mature, but whatever the case this fellow loved to eat and marbeled beautifully. Is it hard to imagine getting inspired by meat, week after week? Not when you see a beauty like today. Two beef a week at Seward, plus boxed primals from an entirely grass fed operation, Grass Run Farm. The occasional bison and elk, 3 to 6 lambs per week, and 6 to 8 hogs......

Blind Braising Leaps of Fire - Line Cook War Story

2011-06-22T11:22:00.000-07:00

There are stories that we tell about life experiences that sometimes begin to feel larger than life. Walking to school, any weather, uphill both ways, no shoes. This morning I had the pleasure of a telephone conversation with one of the home boys from mid nineties Oliveto (at the time someone at some publication thought we were the best Italian place in the country), Matt Gennuso. Matt has been plying his trade in Providence Rhode Island for the last 9 years at as chef/owner of Chez Pascal, and somewhat recently started a solidly successful sausage oriented food truck. The story he told his kitchen staff last night after I called briefly during dinner service was a story he has told many times over the years.

The story goes that this tall guy I used to work with was removing a braise from one of the two ovens at Oliveto. Some dinkus opened the door of the second oven and did not call out "open oven" which is tantamount to not wiping yourself. The tall guy turns with the hot braise pan obstructing his vision (and probably yelled "coming down hot" as he wasn't a dinkus) and immediately and blindly encounters the open oven door with his shin bones. What should have happened had physics prevailed is the sequoia like tall guy should have fallen down, over the oven door, on top of a boiling hot pan of braised meat. Instead he jumped completely over the door, landed on his feet, and did not spill the braise. If that wasn't enough, his clogs were left empty on the opposite side of the oven door. I shit you not.

This is the best I got.

Pinkus Ur Pils

2011-06-14T04:21:00.000-07:00

A local establishment holding the honor of hosting the most significant first date I have ever had (Jan) some 23 years ago is still cranking out the product. 23 years ago it was a bourbon on the rocks as I was an early adopter of Wild Turkey. Earlier this week it was Pinkus Ur Pils, a beer I hold near an dear.

Pinkus is a Rheinheitsgebot brewed product from Munster Germany brewed with organically raised inputs and flying a series of retro hip labels. They hold the distinction of being the only brewery I have inadvertently attacked. "What?" you might say. Explanation please. Before the opening of Biofach 2005 in Nuremburg I opened a display cooler in the Pinkus tent only to discover that it had not been carefully installed and was missing a leg. What followed was a cascade of beer and glass, a few what I think were questions delivered in rapid fire high German, and a good deal of embarrassment on my part. Being from Minnesota I take even the most random event personally. Why was I there? I had come to massage the deal for an import agreement with another, not Pinkus, organic German brewery. This lifestyle of travel to Germany and swishing German beer was not to be - at least not legitimized by a business venture.

Looping back to St. Paul, I sent back two bottles of the Ur Pils because of sediment reminding me of The Wizard of Oz tornado scene. The partially informed server was happy enough to do this, but remarked that the beer was indeed unfiltered. The term for this kind of partial information spreading in Germany and in other parts of the world is "HORSE SHIT". Don't mess with the Pinkus, Biofach cooler crasher. I still love the place (the restaurant) and the Pinkus (last bottle enjoyed with steak on the home grill, notably without any crap flying around in it), but not the misinformed waiter. Misinformed waiters piss me off.

A rack from Hill and Vale

2011-06-02T03:08:00.000-07:00

A local meats decision making sad story. Hill and Vale is out of the lamb business. As a grower not a breeder, they've encountered the economic reality of a national market for lambs, a higher demand for smaller animals, and as a result a non starter in the Minnesota marketplace. In the new cost structure, the market price would be so excessive that they would price themselves out (versus other meat systems). Fuel prices and the roller coaster of our national economy occasionally come to bear on a local producer. If we want a strong local meat system I guess we need someone with the time, equipment, and know how to start a breeder program. The irony is that they'd be sorely tempted to cash in on the same demand that has caused the problem at Hill and Vale. On a higher note of irony, this is a kind of meat system that converts feed to protein much more efficiently than beef. From a land use, environmental health, and human health standpoint, there are some very good reasons that the world eats a lot of lamb. Beef and Nascar are American birthrights. I love beef. Car crashes are fascinating too.

Big Ass Meat Loaf - The obvious rip is "Meatloaf? More like meat loaves."

2011-06-01T18:59:00.000-07:00

One of two "mothers of all meat loafs" created for a striking union by Common Roots Cafe. Locally raised beef too.

This was a good illustration of cooking temp and finishing temp. Slow cooked and finished under high heat for a little color and flavor.

If all is not right in the world make this. Pork in a potato salad - no brainer

2011-05-30T12:32:00.000-07:00

Yellow potatoes, amply salted water, bay leaf. Cook until tender, remove a piece, tap with the back of a spoon, if it crumbles you're done.

Render some pepper bacon. Don't throw away that fat. This is Grass Run Farm bacon made at Lorentz Meats in Cannon Falls.

Slice some peeled shallot as thin as you dare and macerate in good quality red wine vinegar, salt and pepper. Add just enough vinegar to cover and use it all in the salad. Adjust up if necessary with another sprinkle of vinegar. Don't make these swim in a lake, add it all to the salad, and complain when your eyebrows curl.


Rinse off the sand. Chop coarse, no stems, and add in.

This all goes together hot, except the parsley. After it cools down add parsley, adjust vinegar, add seasoning, and finish with a touch of good quality extra virgin olive oil. The bacon fat is the primary fat in the salad. The olive oil is there to take it to a greener place along with the parsley. Don't add so much.

Saturday's Work

2011-05-29T02:53:00.000-07:00

Maximizing eye appeal, cutting the right proportion of steaks v. roasts, handling special orders and culinary questions, setting the fish case including a three day order, managing the grinding of trim, rotating inventory, roasting lunch meats, stocking packaged meats, the flow of the full service case, and sanitation. The reward is in the work itself. Butchers are not rich. If we had to live on the income generated by this career, we'd barely be strapping it together, but that is my only complaint.

Arm:
Chuck roasts
Shanks
Brisket
Stew
Trim

Blade:
Chuck eye steaks
Mock tender steaks
Blade steaks
Chuck roasts
Chuck steaks
Stew
Trim

Loin:
Flank
Skirt
Hanger
Porterhouse
T-bone
Sirloin
Stir fry
Stew
Trim

Rib:
Short ribs
Rib eye
Trim

Me(AT)morial Day

2011-05-29T02:39:00.000-07:00

Happy Me(AT)morial Day Weekend - Pastures of Plenty Marinated Spare Ribs, Callister Chicken Brochette with Sweet Onion and Bay, Callister Whole Bird grilled flat with spicy rub, Grass Run Dogs, Hill and Vale Tri Tip and Chuck Eye Steaks, a couple of salads, a million dollars worth of local asparagus (slight exaggeration), New Glarus taste treats, various wines. Nancy's cornmeal crust berry pie, vanilla ice cream.

Big Woody was in action, so there was plenty of smoke. Oh the double entendre. This was the 4th time the Donahue/Millers, Sherwood/Johnsons, and the Gerstenbergers rocked this holiday. Lhasa de Sela on the pandora followed byJose Gonzalez, and finishing with James Taylor. The JT brought back visceral memories of the hard life growing up tough in Edina.

2050 Dinner Surveillance Report

2011-05-26T16:34:00.000-07:00

Hill and Vale chuck burgers.

Free bread from the co-op baked by those folks over at Rustica.

Two day old green garlic potato puree browned in a skillet.

Half a small head of red cabbage cut thin on da Benriner and lightly dressed with mayo, champagne vinegar, salt and pepper.

Cooked on the wee hibachi.

Oh yeah, Snowshoe Ale from New Glarus.

Controling the fat content of sausage products

2011-05-26T04:18:00.000-07:00

Pearson's square. "Nuff said".

Visual inspection to deduce expected variances from specification. Adjustment of ratio by SWAG methodology (Scientific Wild Ass Guess). Validation with bench instrument followed by expletive terminology or wild over reaction to bullseye. Adjust by over steering corrections several times before hyperventilation and increasingly intense expletive deployment.

Building complex flavor texture elements in a meat matrix

2011-05-26T04:03:00.000-07:00

It's not just sausage making, sometimes it's building complex flavor texture elements in a meat matrix. Sometimes you want homogeneity in this world, and other times you want a more challenging and distinctive taste experience. "Nuff said".

Moo-mentum

2011-05-25T16:05:00.000-07:00

Last night I rushed a dinner after a last minute request to attend the neighbor's coach pitch softball game (at Groveland School - a quick walk).

In 40 minutes we had two steaks, a chuck eye and a blade (Hill and Vale both). Two other elements on the plate were green garlic potato puree made with more than a touch of heavy cream, and blanched black cabbage aka lacinato kale, dino kale, cavolo nero, blah blah blah....

BTW the best damned bread I've had in Minneapolis was the "Figgy Rye" at Sun Street Breads. I also had a delish pork sando on hoagie with a side of fries. Get there. The ginger cookie was over the top as was the Dogwood iced coffee. Yes. Food culture is saturating the Cin Twitties - despite my recent vitriol about MSP airport food (I still think airport food is an oxymoron).

When Asked If I'd Heard About This Nitrate/Nitrite Hubbub - Warning Rantish Qualities Herein

2011-05-21T22:27:00.000-07:00

Nitrate and Nitrite are different entrance ramps on the same expressway. Nitrate converts to Nitrite converts to Nitric Oxide and reacts with myoglobin to change pigment and flavor.   They react given the correct concentration, time, and temperature to create a playground (within the structure of processed meat) less friendly to botulism, with a pleasing pink color, delicious flavor, and increased resistance to spoilage. Gross under explanation.

To call something with Nitrate curing elements "uncured" is too focused on pleasing the crowd concerned about nitrites, and not clear enough for anyone trying to make sense of this. What the bureaucracy is not acknowledging is that there is more than one way to cure.   I'm wondering if saying "naturally cured" was too objectionable because we don't want to eat "unnatural" anything. Particularly if its the product of a multi billion dollar industry with deep lobbying efforts. Hmmh. Just a stab in the dark.

To call fermented celery powder "natural" or "unprocessed" is misleading too.   Same is true with fermented celery juice. Celery powder generically (drop the fermentation element) is not a curing agent. I'm not prepared to substantiate this, other than to say, it just ain't so. BTW celery powder is not a great culinary ingredient - it's more of a flavoring agent.

So at the end of the day (a colloquialism that need's to be improved) Sodium Nitrite is very closely monitored by a different set of bureaucrats for health reasons and possibly because it may have other applications the government wants to monitor (I dunno). Fermented juices and powders are a lot less regulated. Some were tested at some point in time, but they are not necessarily batch tested and verified. I think it's harder to say your controlling concentration with a "less frequently tested" product, but I could be wrong. You also don't have the benefit in an "uncured product" of Sodium Erythorbate, an ingredient which increases the speed of curing action (the conversion from nitrite to nitric oxide to myoglobin reaction).

We all want to think we're smarter than dumber. Paranoia about additives in food is healthy. When the government adopts it, runs with it, dances in the endzone with it, maybe we have a problem. USDA label approval process is not a fine tuned machine. It's a bit like a roulette wheel with seamless approval on one instance and blood letting on the next. Undoubtably there are good people holding these posts, but are they attached to the smarter people who can look at science, take into account political pressure, and detect bullshit when they smell it? I dunno. Good luck.

A less critical post rapture posture for the "writings" herein this here blog thingy

2011-05-21T21:56:00.000-07:00

This blog is now officially a restaurant admiration zone. Caroline Bates used to write reviews of restaurants for the retired and once great Gourmet Magazine. She encouraged people who took the time to read her column to patronize worthy restaurants. Her reviews were never an axe grinding festival. It was her review of Chez Panisse that put it on my radar. Not 800 other reviews of all the shitty restaurants in Northern California.

Good bye cruel energy suck. Hello sea change (not a reference to the restaurant).

Going, going, Ngon!

2011-05-21T21:42:00.000-07:00

Ngon Bistro, pronounced "non", rocked the rib eye Pho tonight for the low low price of $10. The pleasure in that bowl of oxtail enhanced, Vietnamese spiced broth far exceeded the asking price. I do not want them to charge $14, but I'd pay it. I had a $39 aged strip a few months ago that this dish KO'd on appearance alone.

This and superior keg beer selection. This and spinning vinyl. This and the friendliest busser/wait assist in the Twin Cities. This and highly competent service with real beer knowledge.

I fear for the business climate here during the great light rail installation may create a vacuum. It hasn't hit this part of University yet, so get there early, and often. During construction, make believe you're in a world where a little adversity improves the appetite.

Grilling Season Opens - Just maybe.

2011-05-18T19:40:00.000-07:00

Connor and Curt's link-o-rama today.

Pork Belly Sandwich - Nirvana

2011-05-18T14:06:00.000-07:00

Maybe it was the mosquito free-ness. Could have been the exceptional tulip display. Perhaps the lack of carbon emanating from all the parked bicycles. No.

It started with the key to any and all good sandwiches. The sandwich holding edible apparatus. Not just a bun you sandwich disrespecting fools. This was a a well toasted, fresh baked, perfectly made bun.

You could have put (insert semi edible/semi lewd descriptor here) ____________ on top of that bun, and I still would have been happy. But you did not.

Instead you took the deliciousestist part of the porcine species (need you ask even once?) cooked it with finesse, foiled it with I don't care what ginger and something, and displayed it there on that bun.

Best Sandwich at the Birchwood Ever. It was in the air. Bullseye.

last summer's garden "extrapaganza"

2011-05-17T18:08:00.000-07:00

This year's vegetable garden has been knocked off kilter. Herbs and berries only so far. No lemon cucumber, cherry tomatoes, shell beans or green beans. Time to plant lettuces.

Sausage Production Frames of Reference - Small USDA

2011-05-11T02:29:00.000-07:00

An honest day at Lorentz yielded 3000 lbs. of product. This involved a battery of equipment produced domestically and in Germany, and a tight crew (daily roles included spice blender/meat breaker, bowl chopper operator, stuffer operator, two to four sausage hangers depending on product, smokehouse operator, someone to keep the supply chain primed, a curing specialist, and HACCP documentation elements throughout).

Buttermilk Chicken Legs

2011-05-03T17:07:00.001-07:00

These particular legs were not worthy, but the method is still solid. Why? Post analysis, the birds obviously were part of some Michele Obama chicken exercise program involving Beyonce in a chicken suit... hazy dream sequence fades in.... and out. Come to think of it those stockings look a little chicken leg like, and the heels could be claws.

The real test of fried chicken is the second phase sometimes known as "ice box" chicken. This could be a reference that reveals my dinosaur status. The next day's cold chicken is so damned good if all is well in the world. In this instance, the same toughness prevailed and a 1/8 step of timidity on seasoning missed the mark. Weak, but still edible.

The method is to soak the legs (separated drums and thighs) for 1 to 3 days in buttermilk. Drain, but not too well, and dredge in a mix of AP and semolina. I usually season the dredging mix. That's probably why they were a little bland. I forgot. The dog ate the homework, blah, blah. The semolina gives the crust an excellent crunch. More semolina, more crunch. You figure out the rest or "axe" questions. Is anyone reading this cra*?

On Marcella Hazan's Retirement of Her Espresso Machine and Local Roasteries

2011-05-02T02:04:00.000-07:00

In the Starbucks world we live in, doing it yourself regardless of technology is a smart move. Regardless of method its about the quality of the beans, the freshness of the roast, a proper grind fitting the technology, cleanliness, and the simplest most repeatable ritual. I still fuss with a Pavonni and a Rancilio, but I get huge flavor satisfaction from my $30 travel Aeropress. I turned a Bialetti into molten aluminum in the wee hours of the morning once...

The Bead on Beans - More Links Later...

The Roastery - Jeremy delivers (no additional cost and all around the Twin Cities) very well selected and skillfully roasted coffees. He's been at it for years, consults, travels the world for coffee and has no ego about any of it. Great.

Coffee and Tea Ltd. - Jim has been doing this since the 70's, well before coffee became cool in North America. He still leads the pack in my opinion in his tight and not so perfect Linden Hills Store. He's a pleasure to chat with, a huge lover of Rhodesian Ridgebacks, roasts with an ancient contraption and will forget more than you'll ever know about the origin and art of it all. Their milk handling in the store is not a huge priority, so I fuss with the product at home rather than enjoying a prepared drink in the store.

Bull Run is a new comer and their product on a Synesso at Rustica is equal to the best pastries in town (that I've tasted so far - I understand there are some new comer bakeries that are hitting home runs).

Sen Yai Sen Lek - Northeast Minneapolis

2011-05-01T18:52:00.000-07:00

Enjoyed a meal here with the Paul and Amy. The biggest stand out was the meat purchasing philosophy. Clean meats from local growers.

Simply seasoned dishes with a caddy of four additional seasonings including pickled pepper, salty hot pepper, chili flake, and sugar. A good assortment of local and Asian beer. Well thought out wine choices too. Cono Sur Chardonnay played well with the meal.

Fresh Spring Rolls
Tom Yum Soup with Shrimp
Sweet Dried Beef with Sticky Rice
Pork and Shrimp Wontons with chicken broth, rice noodles, bbq pork
Curried Chaing Mai Egg Noodles with beef, cilantro, and pickled mustard greens
Panang Curry Stir Fry with rice
Moo Tad Garlic and Pepper marinated pork with egg noodles
Sticky Rice with Mangoes
Fried Bananas with Izzy's Coconut ice cream

Service level was super relaxed and matched the price. Pace was slow, but we were clearly in no rush. Deafeningly loud party behind us in the bar area, left before any intervention needed.

Brunch for Brian and Lissa

2011-05-01T08:08:00.000-07:00

Goat milk cappuccini

French Toast with Rustica Levain

Pepper Bacon from Lorentz Meats

Baked Eggs with ramps,
artichokes, and Cowgirl Creamery

Wagon Wheel Cheese

Roasted Russsian Banana fingerling
potatoes with backyard herbs

The Little Grill That Could, and The Meat Cookery Wish List

2011-04-25T16:22:00.000-07:00

A rotisseur's playground equipment. Wood flavor, char, rendering, and showmanship are all part of the deal, but it's the affordable/practical that you live with without as much compromise as you'd guess. The Lodge "Hibachi" at $70 cranks out searing heat, can be hauled on a bicycle trailer, and reportedly was able to feed 25 people hot dogs and brats at a coach pitch end of the season BBQ... Yeah Boy.

In a Perfect World, Every Family Has a Traditional Meal - Brezeln, Roast Pork Loin, Sally's Bacon Potato Kraut, Chard, Wickelkloße, Baked Apple

2011-04-24T06:10:00.000-07:00

Potato Dumplings - Wickelkloße RECIPE IN PROGRESS
Saute three to four slices of small dice bread (if you're using pre-sliced bread, the thickness is a fine measure of how small your dice can easily be) in enough butter to make it delicious and reserve. There can't be too much butter, but don't be ridiculous. Home made oatmeal bread was the ticket in Harry's kitchen.

Boil three large (not gargantuan) russet potatoes in their skins/jackets. Don't boil too vigorously or the skin will break - slow roll to a simmer. The objective is to keep the insides dry (not water logged) - the same way you'd handle potatoes for gnocchi. Cook them until they're yielding roughly the same way a baked potato feels when it's done. Let them cool until you can handle them. Peel the skin off with a paring knife or peeler. They'll peel very easily and the outside flesh will be soft. Push them through a box grater, or large screen on a food mill, or place a cooling rack on top of a bowl and push it through as illustrated. Add two eggs, fully season with salt and pepper and add enough flour to make a dough that is minimally "handleable".

Dust a counter with enough flour to prevent the dough from sticking and roll it out to uniform thickness. Rotate the dough sheet while rolling to gauge whether it's sticking. You can lift it and add more flour. A dough scraper can be a useful tool at this point. The dough does not need to be square, but if you're looking for more uniformity in life, here's an opportunity. Melt three or four tablespoons of butter and spread evenly over the "sheeted" dough. You can use a pastry brush for this, but why bother when fingers are already in the making. Spread the crumbs evenly and divide into rectangles. The....

"Gerstenberger Hamburger" Honestly Simple Beef Flavor

2011-04-22T14:40:00.000-07:00

Good cooking is trouble, but not that much trouble.

In this case coarse ground chuck from Hill and Vale pastured/grain finished

(as distinguished from grain "fed") beef. Free from antibiotics,

hormones, and any other goofy stuff. If you want to believe

meat is "happy" I guess I'll have to allow that too, if happy is

not being fed grains that compromise your ruminant digestive system.

Seasoned with kosher salt and black pepper which effectively

stays out of the way of true "beeflishness".

Grilled on a moderately hot hardwood charcoal fire.

And that's all she wrote.

Served on a toasted Toast to Bread whole wheat sesame seed bun with

Bushel Boy hydroponic sliced tomato, thinly sliced sweet

onion, freshly made mayo, and La Bor leaf lettuce.

Bison at Seward

2011-04-21T16:51:00.000-07:00

Big Jim cut the loin and the rib on today's half carcass. Beautiful work as usual. It's for sale now. We'll cut the round when there's space for it, and when this religious holiday convergence thing simmers down. A smart shopper bought 8 ribeyes today, before we even had the beast on the table. About $70 worth of product that will create a really cool eating experience I'm guessing.

Porterhouse, T-bone, Flank, Skirt, Tri Tip, Tenderloin.

Very thorough video of a harvest at Eichten's. Not for those disinterested in the rest of the story regarding our choice to eat meat. That was an uneasy sentence.

What is a "foodie" supposed to be? A twisted knicker rant.

2011-04-21T16:31:00.000-07:00

I'd like to live in a world where the people who cook and serve professionally are not referred to with the term "foodie" unless someone can tell me what it's supposed to mean. In the same world vegetables would be vegetables, and not "veggies".

Watching food television, subscribing to food magazines, installing granite counter tops, and cooking with All Clad are all noble, but if that's a "foodie" than I think the term needs further definition. Food travel, now that's potentially cool. Domestic trips to a food town buys some cred, but international food travel shows some real depth. How do these "foodies" know how to avoid the 96% of food that sucks in any food town? Might they be raving about a great meal at a place that has the locals scratching their heads and grabbing their wallets (defensively)? Cooking School, that's the ticket, or is it? Sitting in a lecture format class never put that much water under my keel, but I did learn some things from watching Jacque Pepin (Catahoula, Healdsburg, mid 90's). Mainly he has huge hands, and showed extreme competence in a chicken roasting and omelet demo. Hands on rules here if you learn by doing. Cook book collecting? That could be the ticket depending on the depth of the collection, and which ones are actually used (versus for show). Joy of Cooking is the most food stained in my collection and I have a great many I could sell as "new". The extent of the knife collection is a revelation. Is a sharpening steel something that gets used or is it just a place holder in the knife block? Are the knives in a set representing a one time purchase, or is it a mixed collection from different places. Above all, can the "foodie" execute a small dice? Are there nerdy specialty tools in the kitchen? Is there a mandoline? A food mill? How about a mortar and pestle (multiple sizes)? Small electrics? Stick blender? Cappuccino machine? Does Viking or Wolf or La Cornue get you into the club? I hope not.

Is it just a matter of patronizing lots of restaurants? Please say it ain't so.

In the end I guess it really is just a word representing the evolution of the English language. I've scratched my head enough.

Would AQUAVIT succeed in Minneapolis in 2011?

2011-04-20T14:44:00.000-07:00

The cafe yes, the restaurant no. Aquavit Cafe resonated in Minneapolis because it was based on Swedish traditions of home and hotel cooking. The menu items in the Aquavit Restaurant still seem outlandish for this market.

Seared Crispy Salmon

with braised veal rib, apples,

sweet and sour sauce and beets

Steamed Lobster

with squid ink ravioli, curry broth, bok choy,

tomato mango pizza bread,

tomato jam and mango chutney

Lotus Crusted Char

with sorrel risotto, smoked yellow tomato broth,

roasted artichoke, carmelized salsa and lemon oil

Menu worksheet circa 1999.

Marcus is increasingly present on the web and tube, and the web tube. The new restaurant in Harlem, Red Rooster, seems more targeted to today's hot buttons of comfort, affordability, and seasonal variation. I could see it succeeding in Minneapolis too.

Rob and Mike Lorentz Make Fine Bacon

2011-04-19T17:21:00.000-07:00

Rob and Mike have the method and skill to make some of the best bacon I've ever tasted. With belly prices gone wild, I'm curious to know where they're going with it. Try it at Da Wedge under the Lorentz label, or at other Co-ops under the Grass Run Farm label.

I've heard that Hormel's bellies are given 20 minutes to cure. Lorentz takes 7 days and is super clean. Celery juice, brown sugar, sea salt, maple syrup - to name the ingredients.

IF THE FIRE'S ALREADY BURNING...

2011-04-18T07:55:00.000-07:00

Grilled Shellfish Salad - Mussels, Scallops, and Shrimp

Grilled Fish - Slow Salmon, Fast Salmon

Grilled Vegetables - Spring Onions, Leeks, Green Garlic, Sweet Onion, Fennel, Summer Squash, Fingerling Potatoes

Mixed Grill of Chicken - Whole Bird, Paillard, Spiedino, Cracklings

Mixed Grill of Lamb - Chop, Umbrian Sausage, Marinated Leg, Riblets

Mixed Grill of Beef - Ribeye, Skirt Steak, Beef Sausage, Texas Rib, Burger

Mixed Grill of Pork - Tenderloin, Ribs, Spiedino, Fresh Sausage

Grilled Fruit - Peaches, Figs

Pan/Misc. Work on Live Fire - Paella, Polenta, Pizza

Sauces - Mortared Classics, Compound Butters, Olive Oils