Hoppin’ John
Eat Good Luck for your New Year! There was an idyllic snow on Christmas eve, and after walking home from a Norwegian Jule dinner on quiet streets in the falling flakes, we awoke to more snow and a perfect day for a …
Year: 2013
Smoked Sweet Potato Puree
Nearly everyone who eats this deep orange treat asks for the recipe, it is yet another dish that will convince even the anti-yam-ites to change sides and join my Orange-Love Camp. The original recipe was from Scott’s family and has seen adaptations along the …
Bacon & Liver Pâté
Two liver posts in one year?!? I must really have a need to push your boundaries, and this time there is no conclusion to the cliff-hanger story. Just think of it as another tasty grey spread….creamy and rich and great on a cracker. Step …
Ostkake (Swedish Cheesecake)
I love this plate. Ost = cheese Kake or kaka = cake Ostkaka (or ostakaka) was the Swedish cheesecake dessert we served at my friend’s Surströmming party (sour herring). It’s another understated but surprisingly addictive Scandinavian dessert…fresh-cheese with eggs and sugar. My friend gave me this …
Polenta Pancetta Dressing
This is another recipe that appears the November/December edition of The IOWAN magazine. They asked for “Iowa-Sourced” holiday recipes so polenta seemed like a good direction to take the classic dish since organic polenta is grown and produced near Cresco. It resembles cornbread stuffing—flavorful and …
Happy Anniversary
Apparently my celebration for the two year anniversary of this website was to take a week off. Many things going on and very few of them have to do with food. But that’s okay. I started this little project because people often …
Holiday Chutney
This should probably be labeled “Tart Super-Fruit Chutney” or “Antioxidant Chutney“. Some of these tart fruits are not available right now unless you happen to have frozen them or dried them, but this gets our juices flowing for ways to use this …
Favorites October 2013
Still some color left and I’m soaking it in. We spent an entire day last week hiking in the woods, the leaves were still bright yellow and the sun shone through as we wandered in the golden dome effect. Funny how I so …
Potatoes with Cumin (Aloo Jeera)
Aloo = Potato, Jeera = Cumin Aloo + Jeera = Yum It’s been a while since I’ve had time to sit down and ramble on about food, I’ve been too busy catering. It seems the more I cook the food the less …
Basil Salt
It’s a drizzly overcast day with a chilly night coming on, and time for all of the basil to be dug out of the garden and processed. I’ll be up to my elbows in pesto of course, but I’ve been wanting to try herb …
White Beans with Grilled Peppers, Rosemary and Oregano
I recently made this dish for a wedding I catered, and as I have been known to do I included something on a menu that I hadn’t exactly done before but it sounded like a good combination of ingredients. Fortunately for everyone this assumption …
Parsley Shallot Butter
I was searching at the Farmers Market for shallots and unable to find any so I finally asked one of my favorite vendors. He pointed to containers on the table filled with what appeared to be red onions. Shallots! Shallots the size of baseballs! …
Balsamic Maple Walnuts
It’s time for a little image-tribute to the last days of summer and the radiant color of its bounty. These are two photos from my friend David Cavagnaro of Pepperfield Project. I never tire of looking at his pictures. He photographs using only natural light, …
Homestyle Tomato Soup
A pile of ripe tomatoes and a drizzly day remind me of another soup we used to make in the deli. This creamy tomato soup is simple and homey, and if it doesn’t bring up good childhood memories hopefully it will create warm fuzzy …
Sumac Basil Tea
Tis the season of these fuzzy tart rubies. The cicadas are buzzing, the days are steamy, but the nearly-sharp chill of the early morning gives away that secret I’ve been aching to hear…that fall is knocking at the door. Sumac is often …
Savory Sweet Potato Pie
Years ago we used to organize an all-day street festival called Live on Winnebago, and one of my roles was to feed the numerous bands that were playing during the day and night. Many of them were on tour across the country or world, and that …
Favorites August 2013
In this late-summer heat the largest organ of my body has been working hard—my skin. Opening up those pores and flushing out toxins, there has been no shortage of the that salty substance flowing forth. I am not one of those who adore summer …
Scott’s Waldorf Slaw
. Cabbage. Magnificent. This is an easy-to-make Waldorf-Coleslaw hybrid that Scott created and I love it. The cabbage is already at Farmers Market and the early apples are coming in so it seemed like a perfect time to share this salad with you. …
Green Coriander Seed Paste
If you’re growing cilantro in your garden it probably looks like this right now: a mass of beautiful little flowers and bulbous green seeds. Usually I don’t have time to deal with them and just wait until they dry in the garden then harvest …
Fig Balsamic Vinaigrette
Figs and Balsamic Vinegar…a match made in heaven! Rich, Deep Flavors with Sweet and Tangy, together they tango. Balsamic Vinegar Balsamic originates from the word ‘balm’ and years ago this rich caramel liquid was used for medicinal purposes such as curing colds and …