sesame beef

buttermilk waffle

with homemade cranberry sauce and bits of candied ginger.

candied walnuts

Sweet & spicy! Amazing on their own, but also fantastic in salad (greens with scallions, apples, goat cheese, and walnuts). I bet they'd also be great on ice cream, or as a garnish on an iced cupcake.

Click here for the recipe.

ham, provolone & roasted red pepper crostini

fried green tomatoes

My method:

-Slice a green tomato (basically, an unripe tomato) into 1/4" slices

-Season both sides with salt & pepper

-Sprinkle lightly with flour, and dip in egg wash 

(a beaten egg with just a little water added)

-Dredge in panko breadcrumbs, seasoned with salt

-Heat a pan with enough oil to generously coat the bottom

-When the oil is nice & hot, add the tomato slices, and cook until both sides are nicely browned, but before the tomatoes start to break down (the unripe tomatoes are pretty firm, so they should hold up well)

beet & apple tart

Recipe from Everyday Food magazine: Take a piece of frozen puff pastry dough (thawed), and prick all over with a fork. Sprinkle a little bit of grated cheddar, then layer with alternating paper-thin slices of apple & beet. Top with more grated cheddar, fresh thyme leaves, salt & pepper. Bake on a parchment-lined baking sheet at 400 for about 15 minutes.

white bean-stuffed portobello

Recipe from Everyday Food magazine: 

-place portobello stem-side down on a rimmed baking sheet, brush with a mixture of olive oil & lemon juice, and season with salt & pepper. Put in a 400 degree oven for 15 minutes.

-while the portobello is baking, heat 1 TBSP olive oil in a pot and add a minced garlic clove. Before it starts to brown, add a can of cannellini beans (rinsed), 1/4 cup water, 1 tsp thyme leaves, salt & pepper. Simmer until liquid is almost gone.

-when the portobello comes out of the oven, drain any juices from the pan, flip it over and top with white beans. For the topping, mix breadcrumbs (I used panko) with just enough olive oil to bind them together a little. Mix in some more thyme leaves and crumbled feta. Bake for another 5 minutes, or until the breadcrumbs are browned.

more minneapolis goodies

Aside from the treats at the fair, here are a few more of the delicious things I ate on a recent trip to visit my dear friend Kim in Minneapolis...

Great start to the day: an apricot vanilla scone at Lucia's—one of the best scones I've ever eaten. Moist, filled with giant chunks of apricot, with a light sugary crust on top.

Sometimes the best meal is a bunch of sides, like this one at Brasa:

slow-roasted pulled pork:

cheesy grits:

jalapeño creamed spinach:

sweet plantains:

yucca fries:

A starter to another delicious meal—this nice plate of meats, pâtés and dried fruit:

food porn turns 2!

In honor of food porn's second birthday, I give you some pictures from my recent trip to the Minnesota State Fair.

And because I like to mark this occasion with something bacony, 

I present the most extreme bacon dish I have eaten to date: 

chicken-fried bacon. Slightly horrifying, yet surprisingly delicious.

A Minnesota fair staple: deep fried cheese curds. It's like a cheese curd and a mozzarella stick had a baby together. A beautiful, delicious baby.

bedtime treat

When I want a sweet treat before bedtime, I usually crave something warm with cinnamon & sugar. So tonight, I made this little impromptu experiment, which hit the spot perfectly. Take a piece of (thawed) frozen puff pastry dough, cut it into 1" slices, sprinkle sugar & cinnamon on it, twist, and bake at 400 for 10 minutes (until they're light golden brown).

trio of homemade pizzas

ricotta, asparagus, lemon zest, prosciutto & fontina:

sautéed mushrooms, olives, prosciutto & fontina:

margherita:

zucchini spice bread

I love to make zucchini bread in the summer. This batch was made from the GIANT zucchini that my colleague Bob brought me from his garden.

This is the sight that greeted me when I came into work (I put the dollar bill there for scale):

This behemoth measured 12" long, and 4" in diameter. I got 2 batches of zucchini bread out of it, and still had a chunk left.

I've brought this zucchini bread in to work a few times, and have had many people ask me for the recipe.  Click here to get it, from Everyday Food magazine.

basil frozen custard

One of my favorite frozen treats of all time: the basil frozen custard from Shake Shack. In addition to their standard vanilla, they have a special flavor of the day—a weekly schedule which changes each month. I can't tell you how delighted I was to find that basil made a comeback as August's Thursday flavor. My coworkers can attest, as they all heard my loud gasp of joy upon checking this month's schedule. They can also tell you that I haven't stopped talking about this basil frozen custard since the last time Shake Shack offered it... which was 2 years ago.

Time to clean out the freezer... I have a feeling it's going to get filled with pint containers :-)

israeli couscous with veggies

Heat 1 TBSP olive oil in a pot on medium heat, add 1 cup israeli couscous, and toast lightly for about 4 minutes. Add 1-1/2 cups water, season with salt, bring to a boil, lower heat, and simmer (covered) until water is absorbed. While couscous is cooking, sauté vegetables (here, I've used cremini mushrooms, corn, and roasted red peppers). When vegetables are done cooking, add in some fresh basil, then combine with the couscous. To finish, season with salt & pepper, and the juice of a lime.

ricotta

Two of my new favorite things to make with ricotta cheese...

Slice a loaf of ciabatta bread into 1/4" slices. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with coarse salt, and stick in the oven to get warm & toasty. Just a little bit crisp around the edges (the idea is to get warm, soft bread—not toast). Season some ricotta with salt & pepper, and spread it onto the warm bread. Top with a kiss of honey.

And, I just discovered this deceptively easy—and incredibly delicious—dessert recipe in the latest issue of Real Simple magazine. It uses only 3 ingredients: 2 (15oz) containers of ricotta, 1 bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips, and chocolate wafer cookies. And there is no baking.

Whip the ricotta with an electric mixer, to get it smooth & airy. Add the melted & cooled chocolate chips and combine thoroughly. Layer the ricotta mixture in a loaf pan, alternating with layers of overlapping cookies. Let chill overnight (for at least 12 hours), and you will end up with a fluffy, cheesecake-esque dessert.