Today was bottling day for Steve Rudh's and my first batch of home brewed beer. You may have read a previous post about this adventure but if you didn't, we started on St Patrick's Day, about two weeks ago with a kit from Northern Brewer in St. Paul. We both like Irish Red so that is the kit we picked and boiled our wort that night using the basic brewing kit from the store. The folks there were very helpful in getting us started, suggesting some better upgrades to the basic kit and the right yeast to buy and how to transport it without killing it, etc. I called them the next week to get some advice on the next step and they walked me through it over the phone. Really good customer service and that is kind of rare these days, but I digress.
The next morning after brew day our fermenter was bubbling furiously as we had hoped and continued for several days, winding down to almost a stop by this week.
Tonight we cleaned and sanitized all our bottles and transferred the beer into the bottling bucket after testing the specific gravity. The boys at N.B. told me it should be 1.013 and we ended up at 1.010 so I think it is just right. We also tasted the sample from the hygrometer tube and it was very nice, even though at this point it is still "flat". We added the priming sugar and filled 48 bottles with a lovely amber liquid.
Now it is sitting in cases taped shut in case of any explosions and it will develop the carbonation over the next two to four weeks. I can't wait to taste one!
Here's to a good "soothing beverage"; more to come as we taste Steve and Tim's Inaugural Brew.
Tim
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Sunday, March 28, 2010
New restaurant coming
Teresa and I attended the Arrowhead Professional Chefs Assoc. annual Chef's Club Brunch at the DECC this morning and it was excellent! We were seated with some very nice folks at our table and one of them was a chef named Gary Snyder. We struck up a conversation and he told us his background and previous job here in Duluth. I asked what he was doing now and he said he was about to open a new restaurant in West Duluth at the site of a current restaurant that has been for sale for a while now. I won't say which one just yet because the employees of that place haven't been told yet that it has been sold.
Gary told us that he intends to make it a "comfort food" restaurant with things like good pot roast and meatloaf and Lamb shanks, things like that. He likened it to your kid coming home from a long time away at college and making the best meal he or she has ever had at home.
I liked the sound of that and personally I can't wait. From the sound of his background It will be very good. He said he wanted to avoid making it too "fru-fru" as his friends call gourmet stuff, but still excellent quality.
He asked us where we liked to eat and we told him some of our favorites. we all remarked that none of the places were in the city of Duluth. I told him we have been looking for just what he will be offering because it doesn't exist here yet; at least we haven't found it yet. He said his target opening is June 1st.
I'll certainly give you the whole scoop as soon as he's open.
Tim
Gary told us that he intends to make it a "comfort food" restaurant with things like good pot roast and meatloaf and Lamb shanks, things like that. He likened it to your kid coming home from a long time away at college and making the best meal he or she has ever had at home.
I liked the sound of that and personally I can't wait. From the sound of his background It will be very good. He said he wanted to avoid making it too "fru-fru" as his friends call gourmet stuff, but still excellent quality.
He asked us where we liked to eat and we told him some of our favorites. we all remarked that none of the places were in the city of Duluth. I told him we have been looking for just what he will be offering because it doesn't exist here yet; at least we haven't found it yet. He said his target opening is June 1st.
I'll certainly give you the whole scoop as soon as he's open.
Tim
Chocolate Malted Creme Brulee
For my friend Johnnie who has requested the recipe for Chocolate Malted Creme Brulee: I will direct you to one of my former posts entitled Creme Brulee. Follow the recipe and add
3 oz good milk chocolate (Dove bar, for instance).
1/2 Cup plus 1 Tablespoon malted milk powder ( find it in the ice cream toppings aisle at the grocery store).
Add these while you are heating the Cream , sugar and vanilla and whisk until the chocolate is melted in and combined well. Proceed with the remaining steps to finish.
Good luck, Johnnie!
3 oz good milk chocolate (Dove bar, for instance).
1/2 Cup plus 1 Tablespoon malted milk powder ( find it in the ice cream toppings aisle at the grocery store).
Add these while you are heating the Cream , sugar and vanilla and whisk until the chocolate is melted in and combined well. Proceed with the remaining steps to finish.
Good luck, Johnnie!
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Dinner group
A bunch of acquaintances began a gourmet dinner group a few years back after my friend Anita Barr and I began kicking around the idea. I read about a couple that started one by inviting friends to their home for dinner and cooking great food. The word spread about the group after a while and it grew into a regular event. I thought this was exciting and I told Anita and our friend Casey LaCore about it and we began to talk and Casey told a few others and soon we were under way. It has been a very good thing for us. We were joined by Bruce and Lisa Reeves, the La Cores and Nelle and Lance Rhicard to make a group of ten. that seemed like the maximum we could handle at one time. It has proved to be just about right. We aren't all able to participate every time but usually most of us are there.
We have tried to meet on a monthly basis but that has sometimes proved hard to keep up. Nevertheless, we enjoy every time we can get together because the food is always excellent and we have become friends with folks we hadn't known before we started meeting. The common thread for us is obviously food and our love for making really great stuff and at the same time we have begun to form some relationships and that is a very good thing too.
We met again this last Saturday evening and our theme was "Steakhouse Night". Our menu consisted of a Wine and Cheese course, Home-aged Steaks (see a previous post on steaks), Onion Rings, Carrot Souffle, Spiked Shakes and Blackout Cake for dessert. I must say, it was most excellent! The aging process turned out to be really good and worth the time and effort. The Carrot Souffle was marvelous and I hope to bring the recipe here if Lisa will give it up. I will include the onion ring recipe here and will try to get the Spiked Shake and Blackout Cake from Lisa and Anita.
My Onion Ring recipe is one I have been trying to replicate from one of my favorite restaurants, Norman Quack's in Forest Lake, MN. They make the best rings I ever tasted and I have tried to make them over and over resulting in failure a few times but got it right at Deer Camp in November and I was ecstatic!
Here it is: Yield: 8 to 10 servings
3 to 4 Large sweet yellow onions sliced in 3/4" slices and separated into individual rings.
1/2 cup all purpose flour for dredging the rings
1 pkg McCormick's Beer Batter mix
1/4 to 1/2 Cup all purpose flour added to the dry Beer Batter
1 1/2 - 12oz. cans lager beer; Bud, LaBatt's, etc.
1 Gallon Peanut oil in a Propane fish cooker
Oil thermometer
Sheet pans lined with paper towels to store and transport the cooked rings to the oven for keeping warm until serving.
Kosher or Sea salt for seasoning.
In a large bowl, dredge the individual rings in the flour and toss to coat.
In another large bowl, mix the Beer Batter, extra flour and beer until smooth and fairly thin like a thin pancake batter that just barely coats the rings.
Heat the oil to 350 degrees and dip the rings into the batter to coat, then into the oil in batches and cook, flipping them over midway until they are a nice golden brown, about 1 minute per side.
Transfer to the paper lined trays, season with salt ( and pepper if you like) and transport to another pan in a warm oven. Continue cooking the batches until all are done, seasoning each batch as they come out of the oil and still very hot ( this way they absorb the seasoning nicely) and keep them in the warm oven until ready to serve with dinner.
I think you'll find they are light, crisp and stinking good!
As I receive the other recipes I'll pass them along if I'm allowed.
Go forth and cook!
Tim
We have tried to meet on a monthly basis but that has sometimes proved hard to keep up. Nevertheless, we enjoy every time we can get together because the food is always excellent and we have become friends with folks we hadn't known before we started meeting. The common thread for us is obviously food and our love for making really great stuff and at the same time we have begun to form some relationships and that is a very good thing too.
We met again this last Saturday evening and our theme was "Steakhouse Night". Our menu consisted of a Wine and Cheese course, Home-aged Steaks (see a previous post on steaks), Onion Rings, Carrot Souffle, Spiked Shakes and Blackout Cake for dessert. I must say, it was most excellent! The aging process turned out to be really good and worth the time and effort. The Carrot Souffle was marvelous and I hope to bring the recipe here if Lisa will give it up. I will include the onion ring recipe here and will try to get the Spiked Shake and Blackout Cake from Lisa and Anita.
My Onion Ring recipe is one I have been trying to replicate from one of my favorite restaurants, Norman Quack's in Forest Lake, MN. They make the best rings I ever tasted and I have tried to make them over and over resulting in failure a few times but got it right at Deer Camp in November and I was ecstatic!
Here it is: Yield: 8 to 10 servings
3 to 4 Large sweet yellow onions sliced in 3/4" slices and separated into individual rings.
1/2 cup all purpose flour for dredging the rings
1 pkg McCormick's Beer Batter mix
1/4 to 1/2 Cup all purpose flour added to the dry Beer Batter
1 1/2 - 12oz. cans lager beer; Bud, LaBatt's, etc.
1 Gallon Peanut oil in a Propane fish cooker
Oil thermometer
Sheet pans lined with paper towels to store and transport the cooked rings to the oven for keeping warm until serving.
Kosher or Sea salt for seasoning.
In a large bowl, dredge the individual rings in the flour and toss to coat.
In another large bowl, mix the Beer Batter, extra flour and beer until smooth and fairly thin like a thin pancake batter that just barely coats the rings.
Heat the oil to 350 degrees and dip the rings into the batter to coat, then into the oil in batches and cook, flipping them over midway until they are a nice golden brown, about 1 minute per side.
Transfer to the paper lined trays, season with salt ( and pepper if you like) and transport to another pan in a warm oven. Continue cooking the batches until all are done, seasoning each batch as they come out of the oil and still very hot ( this way they absorb the seasoning nicely) and keep them in the warm oven until ready to serve with dinner.
I think you'll find they are light, crisp and stinking good!
As I receive the other recipes I'll pass them along if I'm allowed.
Go forth and cook!
Tim
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Confit continued and Brewing day!
The confit experiment I wrote about in my last post came out well, I think. The venison came out of the oil after two hours at 300 degrees and was thoroughly cooked and fairly tender. I was fairly conservative with the spices and salt so it was not terribly flavorful, but then again it was an experiment to test the cooking technique. I have looked up some recipes for duck confit to see a comparison of technique and find it is done on the stove top in a dutch oven over low heat for about the same time (2 hours) and then left in the fat for storage. That corresponds with Hal McGee's description of the ancient use of the system for storing cooked meats. the duck will keep for months in the fat layer and just needs to be reheated in an oven or in a particular dish which it is being used.
I sliced my cold venison confit very thinly and warmed it in a beef jus that I had saved in the freezer which had some pureed roasted onions in it. I then made some mashed baby red potatoes to serve it over and fried some leftover walleye cheeks from the wild game dinner which hadn't been cooked yet; kind of a surf-and-turf deal. The walleye was dredged in very well seasoned flour, dipped in beaten egg, then in Panko bread crumbs and fried in a combination of butter and vegetable oil. the walleye was excellent and the venison was much improved by combining it with the beef jus. Overall I think it was a success.
I think I'll try the same system using the dutch oven and much more seasoning next time as it will be much easier to do on the stove top. By the way, I had covered the baking dish in the first attempt with plastic wrap and then foil. I found in opening it up at the end of cooking that the plastic wrap was a wasted step as it disintegrated under the foil. That combination works well with meat in a braising liquid in the oven to keep moisture in but apparently the oil was too hot or somehow degraded the plastic wrap to nothing. It was a good lesson learned.
On another front, my friend Steve Rudh and I brewed our first batch of beer yesterday. We chose an Irish Red Ale as our first project. It was a fun evening of reading instructions, sanitizing brewing equipment and boiling the wort. The whole process took about 3 1/2 hours from start to finish and was not difficult at all. I had been studying the possibility of brewing for a while and on Teresa's and my culinary adventure trip a couple of weeks ago we went to Northern Brewer (www.northernbrewer.com )store on Grand Ave. in St. Paul and purchased the basic brewing equipment, the Red Ale kit and some liquid yeast. The folks at the store were very helpful in going over the whole process with us and getting us the right equipment to start out. They also told me to call anytime during the process of brewing with questions and they would be glad to answer and be of help.
I am happy to report that as of this morning the airlock on the fermentation bucket is bubbling away which means that we have fermentation going on. that should last for about two weeks or so and then we'll test with the hygrometer to see if the specific gravity is stable ( that means it's done fermenting). At that point we transfer to the bottling bucket and make about 48 bottles of a hopefully lovely Red Ale. It has to sit in the bottles for about two more weeks to produce the carbonation and then we refrigerate and sample! I am excited about this! I'll tell you all about it when the day arrives.
Tim
I sliced my cold venison confit very thinly and warmed it in a beef jus that I had saved in the freezer which had some pureed roasted onions in it. I then made some mashed baby red potatoes to serve it over and fried some leftover walleye cheeks from the wild game dinner which hadn't been cooked yet; kind of a surf-and-turf deal. The walleye was dredged in very well seasoned flour, dipped in beaten egg, then in Panko bread crumbs and fried in a combination of butter and vegetable oil. the walleye was excellent and the venison was much improved by combining it with the beef jus. Overall I think it was a success.
I think I'll try the same system using the dutch oven and much more seasoning next time as it will be much easier to do on the stove top. By the way, I had covered the baking dish in the first attempt with plastic wrap and then foil. I found in opening it up at the end of cooking that the plastic wrap was a wasted step as it disintegrated under the foil. That combination works well with meat in a braising liquid in the oven to keep moisture in but apparently the oil was too hot or somehow degraded the plastic wrap to nothing. It was a good lesson learned.
On another front, my friend Steve Rudh and I brewed our first batch of beer yesterday. We chose an Irish Red Ale as our first project. It was a fun evening of reading instructions, sanitizing brewing equipment and boiling the wort. The whole process took about 3 1/2 hours from start to finish and was not difficult at all. I had been studying the possibility of brewing for a while and on Teresa's and my culinary adventure trip a couple of weeks ago we went to Northern Brewer (www.northernbrewer.com )store on Grand Ave. in St. Paul and purchased the basic brewing equipment, the Red Ale kit and some liquid yeast. The folks at the store were very helpful in going over the whole process with us and getting us the right equipment to start out. They also told me to call anytime during the process of brewing with questions and they would be glad to answer and be of help.
I am happy to report that as of this morning the airlock on the fermentation bucket is bubbling away which means that we have fermentation going on. that should last for about two weeks or so and then we'll test with the hygrometer to see if the specific gravity is stable ( that means it's done fermenting). At that point we transfer to the bottling bucket and make about 48 bottles of a hopefully lovely Red Ale. It has to sit in the bottles for about two more weeks to produce the carbonation and then we refrigerate and sample! I am excited about this! I'll tell you all about it when the day arrives.
Tim
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Venison Confit
As I am writing tonight I'm trying a new type of cooking technique for me. I saw it on an episode of Iron Chef America on Food Network the other night. One of the chefs was cooking some venison in oil to make a confit. He put coffee in his but I am going basic with this experiment to see how the method works. While watching this I immediately became intrigued with the process so I went to my go-to book for information, Harold McGee's On Food and Cooking. He writes that the method was originally used as a way to preserve cooked meats by burying them in a thick, airtight layer of fat. It is best known these days for the French confit of goose and duck legs cooked in their own fat. I've never tasted either of them but it sounds wonderful. If it is anything like Fois Gras I am in!
I started tonight with a package of Venison chops and seasoned them with Kosher salt, black pepper, fennel seed and cumin seed, then covered them in vegetable oil to just cover the meat in a baking dish. I covered the dish with plastic wrap and then with foil ( yes, the plastic wrap is safe in the oven as long as it is under a layer of aluminum foil). I placed the dish in a 300 degree oven and it is now baking for the next two hours. I will report the results in the next post and I am hoping for good things; we'll see.
As an update, please see Venison Confit Success, a later post on this same site and you will find the full recipe that turned out fabulously!
Tim
I started tonight with a package of Venison chops and seasoned them with Kosher salt, black pepper, fennel seed and cumin seed, then covered them in vegetable oil to just cover the meat in a baking dish. I covered the dish with plastic wrap and then with foil ( yes, the plastic wrap is safe in the oven as long as it is under a layer of aluminum foil). I placed the dish in a 300 degree oven and it is now baking for the next two hours. I will report the results in the next post and I am hoping for good things; we'll see.
As an update, please see Venison Confit Success, a later post on this same site and you will find the full recipe that turned out fabulously!
Tim
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Gone Wild
Last night I had the privilege of cooking for about 100 men at the Vineyard church in Duluth, MN for their Gone Wild game dinner. It was a blast. I enjoyed using the commercial kitchen there as I don't ever get a chance to use a flat top grill, some serious burner BTU'S or a double set of Blodgett convection ovens. Also, the vent hood is amazing. We did about 35 to 40 large Walleye fillets which we cut into 2-3 pcs and set them on sheet pans with a pat of butter on each, a generous amount of Old Bay seasoning and some lemon juice. We set the ovens at 375 and cooked them for 11 minutes; awesome! The Old Bay has a nice kick to it and, of course, we did plenty of sampling as we cooked each of these dishes.
My friend Charlie Plys was the coordinator for the event and we had some great help in the kitchen: Bob James, Joshua Herbert, Dee Charles, Charlie P, Andy (don't know last name) and Sammy Aiken as well as a young lad named Matt who is aspiring to be a chef. Matt helped us greatly by assembling Elk Burgers and delivering them to the serving tables and also helping scrub pots and pans, up to his elbows in soap suds putting in his time in the trenches.
Back to the Elk Burgers; someone donated 10 lbs of ground Elk and frankly, I was concerned it might be gamy but it was excellent. I formed the meat into balls, about 1/4 lb each and set them on pans and as we cooked them we would set them on the flat top and press them down to a thin patty. Here is where the flat top shines at making good burgers. Elk is very lean so we oiled the grill for each batch and seasoned the burgers with my smoked salt and pepper. The flat top gave them a killer crust on each side and the smoked salt and pepper was just right. They smelled great on the grill and as we sampled, they tasted not only not gamy but excellent; nothing to worry about!
Bob James brought a load of Crappie fillets and Dee helped fry them along with my Walleye Cakes and they were excellent ( we sampled these as well). Bob uses seasoned Italian bread crumbs and egg wash as a coating and it was very nice, not hiding the flavor of the Crappie.
many other guys brought some good soups and stews and Joshua Herbert had me sample his Guinness Chili. It was very good. the seasoning was just right for my taste; not too hot but hot enough to feel it, a good amount of salt and a nice texture and mouth feel. I am generally not a chili fan but that was a good one.
There was plenty of food for everyone and we had lots of leftovers. I hope we will do this event on an annual basis because I thought it was very successful in terms of numbers of people who attended and quality of food people brought. Definitely good eats!
Tim
My friend Charlie Plys was the coordinator for the event and we had some great help in the kitchen: Bob James, Joshua Herbert, Dee Charles, Charlie P, Andy (don't know last name) and Sammy Aiken as well as a young lad named Matt who is aspiring to be a chef. Matt helped us greatly by assembling Elk Burgers and delivering them to the serving tables and also helping scrub pots and pans, up to his elbows in soap suds putting in his time in the trenches.
Back to the Elk Burgers; someone donated 10 lbs of ground Elk and frankly, I was concerned it might be gamy but it was excellent. I formed the meat into balls, about 1/4 lb each and set them on pans and as we cooked them we would set them on the flat top and press them down to a thin patty. Here is where the flat top shines at making good burgers. Elk is very lean so we oiled the grill for each batch and seasoned the burgers with my smoked salt and pepper. The flat top gave them a killer crust on each side and the smoked salt and pepper was just right. They smelled great on the grill and as we sampled, they tasted not only not gamy but excellent; nothing to worry about!
Bob James brought a load of Crappie fillets and Dee helped fry them along with my Walleye Cakes and they were excellent ( we sampled these as well). Bob uses seasoned Italian bread crumbs and egg wash as a coating and it was very nice, not hiding the flavor of the Crappie.
many other guys brought some good soups and stews and Joshua Herbert had me sample his Guinness Chili. It was very good. the seasoning was just right for my taste; not too hot but hot enough to feel it, a good amount of salt and a nice texture and mouth feel. I am generally not a chili fan but that was a good one.
There was plenty of food for everyone and we had lots of leftovers. I hope we will do this event on an annual basis because I thought it was very successful in terms of numbers of people who attended and quality of food people brought. Definitely good eats!
Tim
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Wild game,etc.
Tonight I'm cooking for a wild game dinner on Friday evening at the Vineyard Church in Duluth, MN. (6:30 pm by the way in case you're interested. $3.00 and call ahead because space is limited). Anyway, I'm making my Walleye Cakes, Wild Rice Pilaf with onions, bacon, and craisins, and a Venison Bourguignon. The Pilaf has to feed 120 people so I'll be cooking that at the church kitchen as I don't have a stock pot that big. Also I won't have to transport the stuff; that's a lot!
The venison dish is done using Julia Child's recipe from her book Mastering the Art of French Cooking. I have done this one before with venison and it turned out nicely. The Walleye Cake recipe is my own and I'm not sure I want to share that one here just yet. We'll see. It is too late tonight post the Pilaf recipe but I will soon. It was given to me by Chef Paul Madsen and I have adapted it to my liking. Also smoked some more of that red/yellow pepper-onion ragu I was fooling around with a while ago. It really is good. I tried it over scrambled eggs, on top of a grilled steak, and on Friday we'll see how it goes on Elk Burgers. Someone is bringing the meat and I'll be cooking them on the flat top at the church. I'm very excited about doing this dinner; very nice to just be cooking and not have the whole thing to plan and execute.
Tim
The venison dish is done using Julia Child's recipe from her book Mastering the Art of French Cooking. I have done this one before with venison and it turned out nicely. The Walleye Cake recipe is my own and I'm not sure I want to share that one here just yet. We'll see. It is too late tonight post the Pilaf recipe but I will soon. It was given to me by Chef Paul Madsen and I have adapted it to my liking. Also smoked some more of that red/yellow pepper-onion ragu I was fooling around with a while ago. It really is good. I tried it over scrambled eggs, on top of a grilled steak, and on Friday we'll see how it goes on Elk Burgers. Someone is bringing the meat and I'll be cooking them on the flat top at the church. I'm very excited about doing this dinner; very nice to just be cooking and not have the whole thing to plan and execute.
Tim
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Culinary Adventure weekend
Just arrived home from an excellent culinary adventure in the Twin Cities. Teresa and I decided to spend a couple days there and find some restaurants we had not tried to hopefully find a couple of gems. We were not disappointed. Our son Jesse started us out on Saturday morning with a great spot for breakfast. It is called Cafe Cravings in White Bear Lake (http://www.cravingsmn.com/). A small place on Cty Rd. E just off 35E that I think might have been a KFC at one time. Jesse suggested their Bananas Foster French Toast but I had Eggs Benedict in mind and that is one dish I absolutely love so if they have it I have to try it. It was excellent! The Hollandaise was perfect; not too lemony and a hint of dill, super soft and light served with their signature Home Fried Potatoes. Those potatoes were very well seasoned with a mixture of seasoned salt, parsley and a smackerel of rosemary.
Teresa had the best surprise of the day. What a way to start a Saturday! Some folks at the next table, which by the way was REALLY close to ours (typical of the rest of them) suggested the Apple-Walnut Pancakes with Cinnamon Sugar and topped with Maple Butter. UNBELIEVABLE!
There aren't many dishes that cause me to say wow with every bite but this one was more than exceptional. The pancakes were amazingly crisp on the outside and almost ethereal on the inside.
The apples were sliced in small dime-sized pieces and sauteed to make them soft. The walnuts toasted and in fairly large pieces. I think the cinnamon sugar was in the batter because that crust on the outside was sugary-crisp and the inside was so light and airy that it defied description. All of that combined with the Maple butter topping was absolutely amazing! Teresa was eating them but allowed me a few tastes and with each one I couldn't help but say wow. I thoroughly quizzed the servers for information on the ingredients and they gave up a few tips they have seen in the kitchen. I am going to try to replicate these and I'll let you know (along with the recipe) how it comes out.
After a trip to Northern Brewers on Grand Ave. in St Paul to pick up supplies for our first attempt at brewing beer, our next stop was Patrick's Bakery in Edina, MN across the street from SouthDale Mall. It's a French Bakery and restaurant and we wanted to try them for lunch. I ordered a cup of French Onion Soup and a Croque Monsieur sandwich. Unfortunately, the soup was just average to mediocre. I was surprised. It was not hot and the crouton was one that was pre-done ahead and then tossed into the soup at service. Not good.
Next was the Croque Monsieur which is a ham and cheese sandwich on very soft white bread with the crusts cut off and a layer of very nice Bechamel on the bottom, then the ham, then some Gruyere cheese. More Gruyere grated over the top and then grilled to melt the cheese and heat the Bechamel ( nice nutmeg in there). They placed it in the Salamander to melt the cheese on top to a nice crust. It was very good and made up for the poor soup. We were too full to try their amazing pastries but we'll be back again because Teresa's mother lives about 4 blocks from the place.
We did some shopping and then back to the hotel for a rest before dinner. Again our son gave us his advice for an Asian place called Orchid near his home in Hugo,MN. It was in a small strip mall on Cty Rd. J just off 35E on the west side. Teresa had a stir-fried beef dish which was good but the Vietnamese egg rolls were truly excellent. they were made with pork and chicken and were incredibly tasty. I had Luc Lac Beef which consisted of Tenderloin beef, onions and crispy potatoes in an oyster sauce on a screaming hot plate and served with an egg that was cooked on it's way to the table courtesy of the smoking hot plate. It was very good and the egg cooked as expected. A very interesting presentation and smelled really great in front of me.
Our final stop for the weekend was back on Grand Ave. in St. Paul's Crocus Hill neighborhood which, by the way contains some of he most fun places to visit if you're a foodie like me. My favorite spice store, Penzey's is right there across the street from our Sunday brunch destination, Dixie's. It's a southern food experience and it is very well done. Champagne Brunch on Sunday is a true delight. We were started off with Mimosas and then launched into their wonderful buffet with perfectly cooked scrambled eggs, corn pudding, excellent Jambalaya, bacon, Cajun sausage, Rib eye Roast with beautiful horseradish sauce and some really good scalloped potatoes. There was also some excellent fried chicken and waffles along with fresh shrimp and Crawfish Cardinale in Puff Pastry( marvelous). You can also order Eggs Benedict or an Omelet of your choice and of course, I tried the Benedict which was served on a fresh baked biscuit with diced country ham and a good Hollandaise which was a bit more lemony than the one at Cravings but still very nice. Desserts ranged fro Choc Mousse to cheesecakes to pies and there was just too much to sample. I highly recommend this place for any day of the week and especially on Sunday.
Happy eating, my friend
Tim
Teresa had the best surprise of the day. What a way to start a Saturday! Some folks at the next table, which by the way was REALLY close to ours (typical of the rest of them) suggested the Apple-Walnut Pancakes with Cinnamon Sugar and topped with Maple Butter. UNBELIEVABLE!
There aren't many dishes that cause me to say wow with every bite but this one was more than exceptional. The pancakes were amazingly crisp on the outside and almost ethereal on the inside.
The apples were sliced in small dime-sized pieces and sauteed to make them soft. The walnuts toasted and in fairly large pieces. I think the cinnamon sugar was in the batter because that crust on the outside was sugary-crisp and the inside was so light and airy that it defied description. All of that combined with the Maple butter topping was absolutely amazing! Teresa was eating them but allowed me a few tastes and with each one I couldn't help but say wow. I thoroughly quizzed the servers for information on the ingredients and they gave up a few tips they have seen in the kitchen. I am going to try to replicate these and I'll let you know (along with the recipe) how it comes out.
After a trip to Northern Brewers on Grand Ave. in St Paul to pick up supplies for our first attempt at brewing beer, our next stop was Patrick's Bakery in Edina, MN across the street from SouthDale Mall. It's a French Bakery and restaurant and we wanted to try them for lunch. I ordered a cup of French Onion Soup and a Croque Monsieur sandwich. Unfortunately, the soup was just average to mediocre. I was surprised. It was not hot and the crouton was one that was pre-done ahead and then tossed into the soup at service. Not good.
Next was the Croque Monsieur which is a ham and cheese sandwich on very soft white bread with the crusts cut off and a layer of very nice Bechamel on the bottom, then the ham, then some Gruyere cheese. More Gruyere grated over the top and then grilled to melt the cheese and heat the Bechamel ( nice nutmeg in there). They placed it in the Salamander to melt the cheese on top to a nice crust. It was very good and made up for the poor soup. We were too full to try their amazing pastries but we'll be back again because Teresa's mother lives about 4 blocks from the place.
We did some shopping and then back to the hotel for a rest before dinner. Again our son gave us his advice for an Asian place called Orchid near his home in Hugo,MN. It was in a small strip mall on Cty Rd. J just off 35E on the west side. Teresa had a stir-fried beef dish which was good but the Vietnamese egg rolls were truly excellent. they were made with pork and chicken and were incredibly tasty. I had Luc Lac Beef which consisted of Tenderloin beef, onions and crispy potatoes in an oyster sauce on a screaming hot plate and served with an egg that was cooked on it's way to the table courtesy of the smoking hot plate. It was very good and the egg cooked as expected. A very interesting presentation and smelled really great in front of me.
Our final stop for the weekend was back on Grand Ave. in St. Paul's Crocus Hill neighborhood which, by the way contains some of he most fun places to visit if you're a foodie like me. My favorite spice store, Penzey's is right there across the street from our Sunday brunch destination, Dixie's. It's a southern food experience and it is very well done. Champagne Brunch on Sunday is a true delight. We were started off with Mimosas and then launched into their wonderful buffet with perfectly cooked scrambled eggs, corn pudding, excellent Jambalaya, bacon, Cajun sausage, Rib eye Roast with beautiful horseradish sauce and some really good scalloped potatoes. There was also some excellent fried chicken and waffles along with fresh shrimp and Crawfish Cardinale in Puff Pastry( marvelous). You can also order Eggs Benedict or an Omelet of your choice and of course, I tried the Benedict which was served on a fresh baked biscuit with diced country ham and a good Hollandaise which was a bit more lemony than the one at Cravings but still very nice. Desserts ranged fro Choc Mousse to cheesecakes to pies and there was just too much to sample. I highly recommend this place for any day of the week and especially on Sunday.
Happy eating, my friend
Tim
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