Monday, October 31, 2011

Farmers Market Finds and Weekly Menu 10/31 - 11/5/11

Happy Halloween everyone!
This Year's Models
Where the heck did this year go? Here we are showing the the final haul from the Kingfield Farmers Market for the season.
Farmers Market Finds 10/30
Seeing all this bounty makes me sad to see it over for the year. Here's what we got...

Yukon Potatoes
Squash - These store nicely in a cool, dark place for quite a while.
Red Peppers
Leeks
Eggs
Parsnips
Garlis
Green Bean
Ground Beef - To stock the freezer
Italian Sausage
Ribeye Steaks
Foxy Falafel Hummus
Sun Street Buttermilk Biscuits

There will be a Holiday Market in November where we'll be able to stock up on a few more things and our meat vendor has monthly winter drop-offs in the city which is great.

On to Menu Planning Monday...

Buttermilk Biscuits with Sausage and Coffee Gravy

Chicken Enchiladas - Because I never made it last week

Potato and Leek Soup

Thyme and Sea Salt Turkey Burgers

Red Wine Beef Stew

Sausage and Peppers Pasta


If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted. © 2007-2011 Kathy Lewinski

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Korean-Style Crock Pot Short Ribs

We've had some short ribs in the freezer for awhile that I had mental tags for Korean short ribs. I know they are often gilled, but I wanted to do them in a chock pot. Why? Because cooking in the crock pot is so easy.
Korean-Style Crock Pot Short Ribs
I'm sure these are not traditional in anyway, but I looked at lots of different recipes for the sauce and they are seemed to have very similar ingredients. It's a pretty simple mixture yet full of flavor. Cooking the ribs in a crock pot braises them until they are fall off the bone tender. Perfect with just a little jasmine rice.

Once thing I will say is short ribs are quite fatty and a lot of that fat cooks into the sauce. We didn't use any of the sauce left in the pot, so it didn't really matter to us. Though I think that sauce would be really tasty if it was let to set for a bit, the grease skimmed off the top and then reheated.

Korean-Style Crock Pot Short Ribs
(You may feel like you are buying a lot of meat per serving here, but short ribs have a lot of bone and fat in them)

1/2 c soy sauce
1/2 c rice wine
1 T honey
1/2 t sesame oil
1 clove garlic, chopped
2 scallions, sliced
1 - 1.25 lbs Short RIbs, cut into separate ribs

Mix everything but the short ribs in a small crock pot*. Add the ribs, they should be covered about half way by the liquid. Cover and turn the crock pot to high. Let cook for about 3 hours, turning the ribs once. When the ribs are starting to fall off the bone, turn the crock pot to low and let cook another 2 1/2 - 3 hours.

2 servings.

We have a small crock pot that we got at Target for like $7. It is the perfect size to fit these three ribs and have the sauce come up about halfway. If you only have a large crock pot and are doing a small amount of ribs you may need to make more sauce. You could also do this in an oven-proof pan in the oven at a low temp.

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted. © 2007-2011 Kathy Lewinski

Monday, October 24, 2011

Weekly Menu 10/24 - 10/29/11

Some of you may know I write a craft blog as well as this food blog. Recently, that blog changed names to Just Crafty Enough and I'm writing it with my good friend Susi in San Francisco. I've been doing a few posts over there about throwing an adult Halloween party which, of course, calls for a special cocktail.
Harvest Campfire Cocktail
Matt came up with this drink that he calls the Harvest Campfire. It features the fall flavors of apple and cinnamon, plus a very special ingredient, Smoked Club Soda. Head over to Just Crafty Enough to check it out.

Menu Planning Monday...

Pizzeria Lola Anniversary Dinner - Lola's anniversary not ours.

Roast Chicken with Potatoes, Carrots and Onions - I love a roast chicken and it gives me leftover chicken for the rest of the week.

Creamy Chicken WIld Rice Soup - The favorite soup in our house

Braised Korean Short Ribs

Chicken Enchiladas - Using our Chile Verde Sauce

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted. © 2007-2011 Kathy Lewinski

Friday, October 21, 2011

Squash Pizza

Where did this week go? Oh, I know, it's been filled with home remodeling woes from upside-down light to tiles of different dye lots. Ah well, at least we had a really good pizza this week.
Squash Pizza
This is just one of those perfect fall pairings, squash, bacon and goat cheese. It doesn't look like enough toppings, but its full of sweet, salty, spicy and tangy flavors. Have leftover squash from dinner? That would be a great way to make this too.

Squash Pizza

Crust for one pizza
1 small squash, we used an Acorn, you can chose your favorite
1 yellow onion, sliced
olive oil
kosher salt
2 slices bacon, chopped
chevre goat cheese (if you like a really cheese pizza or don't like goat cheese you can use grated provolone like Matt did)
crushed red pepper flakes

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Peel and cube the squash. Put the squash and onion into a small roasting pan or baking sheet. Drizzle with enough olive oil to coat everything. Sprinkle with salt. Roast for about 30 minutes until the squash is soft.

In a small skillet, cook the bacon until crispy. Drain on a paper towel.

Preheat oven to 450 F.

Roll out the pizza dough to your desired thickness.

Crush the squash up a bit. Top the dough with the squash, onions and bacon. Crumble the cheese over the top. Sprinkle as much red pepper as you like.

Bake until the crust is golden brown and the cheese is melted about 15 minutes.

Serves 2 - 3


If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted. © 2007-2011 Kathy Lewinski

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Eating and Drinking Madison

As I mentioned last week we are in the middle of remodeling both the bathrooms in our house. At the end of last week, we had no working bathroom for two days plus it was our fifth wedding anniversary, so it seemed like a good time to get out of town. We packed up the car and headed to Madison, Wisconsin for a beautiful fall weekend of tasty restaurants and microbrews.
Capitol Brewery Capitol Brewery
Our first stop was Capitol Brewery just outside of Madison in Middleton, WI. Capitol offers a short tour with three tastings and a tasting glass you get to keep for $5.
Capitol Brewery Capitol Brewery
Capitol is enjoying its 25th Anniversary this year so along with all their other beers we go to try the special 25th Anniversary brew, Eternal Flame, a blend of their limited Autumnal Fall and an Imperial Dopplebock. My favorite of their beers though had to be the Autumnal Fire, a rich doppelbock. Capitol has some beautiful tasting rooms inside that were being used for private parties, but we were happy to spend the afternoon in their large beer garden with a lot of other neighborhood folks.
The Old Fashioned The Old Fashioned
That night we headed downtown to The Old Fashioned for dinner. Apparently so did half of Madison and everyone there for homecoming. Luckily, we were able to grab a couple of seats at the bar and dive into their list of 150 beers. The Old Fashioned patterns itself after traditional supper clubs, but an updated menu.
The Old Fashioned The Old Fashioned
They have amazing sounding Lazy Susans full of cheese, sausages and other treats, but they all sounded too big for us, so we went with the Wisconsin cheese spread tray. Yes, cheese spread, horseradish, sharp cheddar and garlic, all very good. Since it was Friday night it was fish fry night with three different fish on order. I had the cod and Matt had the Walleye. If we lived in Madison I think we'd be among the half crowding it every night.
Marigold
The next morning we went to the Dane County Farmers Market that surrounds the capitol building. A huge market full of cheese, meat, vegetables, flowers and tons of bakeries. It didn't have the prepared food vendors like the Minneapolis markets do, so we walked a block to Marigold, a restaurant recommended to us by a couple of different people. The had a duck confit hash on the menu so how could I refuse. A bright cheerful place with all the breakfast favorites and some interesting "gourmet" choices.
New Glarus Brewing New Glarus Brewing
Later that day, we drove the 30 minutes to the small Swiss-style village of New Glarus to visit New Glarus Brewing. Their large, modern brewery really reminded us of California wineries. They offer a self-guided tour of the brewery which as nice as the brewery is would benefit from some signage for those of us interested in the brewing process. Really it seems like everyone is there for the gift shop, tasting room and beer depot.
New Glarus Brewing New Glarus Brewing
New Glarus offers three tastings for $3 with a take home tasting glass. You can also purchase a pint glass for $6 with $3 refills or $9 for specialty beer with $8 refills. Since New Glarus beers are only available in Wisconsin we head to pick up s few six-packs at the beer depot to take home. Matt has been a fan of their Moon Man and Fat Squirrel, but on this trip I discovered my love of their Back 40 Bock.
L'Etoile IMG_0095
That night being our anniversary, we had made reservations at what many people told us is the best restaurant in Madison, L'Etoile. A modern glass and steel building warmed with blond woods, white furniture and candlelight, L'Etoile is an elegant downtown spot. The menu is French, but definitely French influenced by what is in season locally. The whole back of the menu lists all the local farms where they get their ingredients. We had a beautifully prepared meal paired with wines that suited each course perfectly. On the pricey side, L'Etoile is not a place to eat out often, but for a special occasion it was worth it.
Taliesin
We capped off our weekend with a tour of Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin. Truly a perfect midwestern fall weekend.

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted. © 2007-2011 Kathy Lewinski

Friday, October 14, 2011

Tearing the House Up Pizza Nights

I have to be honest with you, there is not a whole lot of cooking, especially interesting cooking, going on at Chez Good Appetite these days. We are currently in the midst of having both of the bathrooms in the house redone, we're talking gutted to the studs redone.
Downstairs Bathroom Day 2
Everything is covered with dust, workmen are in and out and water gets shut off from time to time. Even better, the way the workers get in and out of the house is through the dining room and kitchen. Thus easy pastas, soups and pizzas seem to be our go-to dinners when we eat at home. Not to say some of those pizzas haven't been on the creative side....
Smoked Salmon Pizza
First there was the smaked salmon pizza made with Matt's home smoked salmon. For this one we wanted a creamy cheese, so we went with Fontina. Then added red onions and capers both things you would normally serve with salmon. This one ended up getting mixed results. I really liked it, though thought it could use more capers. Matt on the other hand thought it wasn't great, but wasn't sure what would make it better.
Muffaletta Pizza
Next up was the Muffaletta Pizza, this one was a hands down winner. Matt topped homemade pizza dough with some slices of salami and smoked ham then added some Olive Muffaletta that he ordered from That Pickle Guy. All of that was topped with grated provolone. So tasty! But so greasy from the olives, I felt guilty having a third slice. Next time we'll try to drain the olives a little more, but we will be making this one again.

We have three more weeks of construction on the bathrooms and then a some point all our windows and doors are being replaced. Who know when we'll get back to a complete normal house?

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted. © 2007-2011 Kathy Lewinski

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Brooklyn Brewery Dinner at Haute Dish

Brooklyn Brewery beers are relatively new to Minnesota, but we know they are highly spoken of everywhere they are available. So, when we had a chance to go to a beer tasting dinner to try eight of their beers we jumped on it. Plus Garrett Oliver, Brooklyn Brewery brewmaster, author of The Brewmasters Table and now the editor of The Oxford Companion to Beer would be joining us at the dinner. To top it off, the dinner was at Haute Dish a much talked about restaurant we've been meaning to try.

This was not a dinner for the faint of heart or stomach, eight beers, which at least three had alcohol contents over 9%, and six course of high end comfort food. Let's dive in....

We were greeted with a beer we'd had before, the Brooklyn Pilsner. Just an easy drinking lighter beer.
Brooklyn Brewery Beer Dinner at Haute Dish
The first course was a great take on a favorite lunch, grilled tomato sandwich with cheese soup. The tomato sandwich was served on what I think was an eggy brioche adding some wonderful richness. The cheese in the soup was good and tangy. This was served with the Brooklyner Weisse, a light brisk beer that is only available on tap. It was perfect for cutting the richness of the soup.
Brooklyn Brewery Beer Dinner at Haute Dish
Course two was humorously called the Haute Pocket. Puff pastry stuffed with tongue, cheek, root vegetables and blue cheese over a bed of mushy peas. I think there isn't much that doesn't taste good baked in puff pastry. Matt loved it! The was served with the Companion Ale, a wheat wine made in collaboration with some of the authors of The Oxford Companion to Beer. A really interesting malty ale.
Brooklyn Brewery Beer Dinner at Haute Dish
Course three was a poached artic char in a pumpernickle bread sauce, cream cheese gnocchi and pickled onion rings. The char was nice, but really it was the accompaniments that shined here. That gnocchi was as light as air and using pickled onion in rings is brilliant. The beer here was the Sorachi Ale, a slightly lemony beer made with Japanese Sorachi Ace hops.
Brooklyn Brewery Beer Dinner at Haute Dish
Then came the Pig and Apple course, pork belly, pork tenderloin and blood sausage served with brussels sprouts, gruyere and an apple half. At this point we were so full already, but this plate full of porky goodness was hard to resist. This dish was served with my favorite beer of the night, Local #2. This bottle fermented beer had a great fruity, caramel, chocolate flavor and reminded me a lot of the beers I liked in Belgium.
Brooklyn Brewery Beer Dinner at Haute Dish
Now came the first of two dessert courses, blueberry empanas over taleggio cheese with blueberry ice cream and shortbread. The empana was great, but I felt like serving it with a blueberry ice cream was kind of a waste. We would have liked to have had a great vanilla, cinnamon or even beer ice cream instead. The beer served with this course was the '07 Monster, a barley wine. When I've tried barley wine in the past I haven't been a fan, but I found this one a much easier drinker. It was interesting because this was the one course that Garrett Oliver thought the beer and food did not pair very well together, though cheese and ice cream are suggested pairings.
Brooklyn Brewery Beer Dinner at Haute Dish
Thankfully, the final course was small two chocolate truffles with a monster marshmallow and Black Chocolate Stout ganache. Everyone loved the flavor of the homemade marshmallows, but they were tricky to eat at all politely. This was served with the same Black Chocolate Stout that the ganache was made with. Oh, do I love a good chocolate stout, to me it is dessert in a glass and perfect with the truffles.

Finally, we were offered tastings of two other beers,The Concoction, a beer based on a Scotch-based cocktail called The Penicillin and combining peat smoked malt, minced ginger, lemon juice and wildflower honey or Blast, a double IPA. I had the Blast, which is odd for me as I don't usually care for the hoppiness of IPAs, but this one had a very clean hop flavor that didn't leave the aftertaste that I don't like. Only one person at our table tried The Concoction, no one else was up for it. I can tell you it had quite a pleasant lemony, spicy scent.

This was a wonderful beer dinner, though made for a tough Tuesday morning! We really enjoyed talking to Garrett about how they are working with brewers in places like Denmark, Sweden and Italy to create their own microbrews. We were also very impressed by Haute Dish, serving a dinner like this for a large group of people all at once can often be tricky and effect food quality, we certainly felt none of that issue with this meal.

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted. © 2007-2011 Kathy Lewinski

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Chicken Hash

I think I've mentioned before that Wednesday nights tend to be a little more rushed for dinner at Chez Good Appetite than any other night of the week. Matt is heading off to TC Maker and I'm usually having friends over to knit. That means I typically plan something that can made pretty quickly and easily. Last night, I didn't have anything planned beyond using the chicken thighs in the fridge somehow. Luckily, I also have lots of other things around from the farmers market and garden. I just started throwing things together and this hash was born.
Chicken Hash
To tell you the truth, it was much better than I expected. A really comforting dish that was full of flavor and a little spice. It took me about 15 minutes to prep the vegetables and then about a half hour to cook everything up. Even better it left me with only one pan to wash!

Chicken Hash
Quantities of the vegetables aren't really exact here because you can really just throw what you have in.

1 T olive oil
4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
1/2 - 3/4 c chopped red peppers, I used a mix of sweet Jimmy Nordellos and spicy Fresnos
1/2 - 3/4 c sliced red onion
1 clove garlic minced
4 small yukon potatoes, cut into small cubes, about 1/4 inch
1/2 c chicken stock
1 T white wine vinegar
freshly ground pepper
salt

In a large skillet with a lid, heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Add the chicken and sauté until the it no longer looks pink on the outside. Add the peppers, onion, garlic and potatoes. Sauté until the onion is just starting to get tender. Pour in the chicken stock and vinegar. Season with a few grounds of fresh pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes.

Remove the cover and let simmer briskly for about another 15 minutes, until most of the liquid is absorbed and everything looks a little creamy. Taste for seasoning and add salt as needed (the amount will really depend on how salty your stock is.)

Makes 2 servings.

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted. © 2007-2011 Kathy Lewinski

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Bacon and Brussels Sprouts Mac and Cheese

A couple weekends ago, Matt and I stopped by the Modern Cafe for dinner. While there we tried their amazing brussels sprouts special, brussels sprouts and pork belly with a cheese fonduta. I had the flavors of that dish in mind when I made this mac and cheese.
Bacon and Brussels Sprout Mac & Cheese
This was such a great combination. The brussels sprouts get roasted before being added to the cheese sauce to soften them and give them a slow roasted nutty flavor. I used the bacon fat to make the cheese sauce which really bumps up the flavor. This version of mac and cheese has found its way into our winter comfort food rotation. Bonus, I think this would be a great way to get someone who isn't the biggest brussels sprouts fan to give them a try, I mean what isn't good covered with cheese and eaten with bacon?!
Bacon and Brussels Sprout Mac & Cheese

Bacon and Brussels Sprouts Mac and Cheese
I often make mac and cheese early in the day, put it in the casserole dish, cover it then leave it in the fridge until I'm ready to bake it for dinner.

1 c or so brussels sprout, halved or quartered depending on the size (I used a little less than a cup and wished there was more)
olive oil
3/4 lb elbow macaroni
1 slices bacon, chopped
1/2 c chopped onion
2 T all-purpose flour
1 1/2 c half and half (or 3/4 c each milk and cream)
9 oz sharp cheddar, chopped (I like the look of a white cheddar)
pinch dry mustard
dash worcestershire sauce
few grounds fresh pepper
salt

Preheat oven to 350F.

Put the brussels sprouts in a small roasting pan. Drizzle with enough olive oil to coat them. Roast in the oven for 20 - 30 minutes until softened and browned. (The time will depend on how small you cut your sprouts. Keep an eye on them as they can burn quickly.). Set aside.

Cook the macaroni according to the directions on the box. Drain and set aside.

In a large saucepan, cook the bacon over medium-heat until it has released its fat and is crisp. Use a slotted spoon to remove the bacon to a paper towel to drain, leaving the fat in the pan. Check to see how much fat is in the pan, you want about 1 tablespoon. If you have less than that add a little butter to make up the difference. Add the onion and sauté until translucent.

Sprinkle the flour over the onion. Cook while stirring for 1 minute. Slowly stir in the half and half. Stir until the sauce is bubbly and thickened. Add the cheese and stir until melted. Stir in the mustard, worcestershire and pepper. Add the bacon to the sauce. Taste for seasoning and add salt as needed (the amount will depend on how salty your cheese and bacon are). Stir the brussels sprouts and macaroni into the sauce.

Pour the whole mixture into a large casserole dish and bake at 350F for 30 minutes. It should be golden brown on top with lots of nice crispy bits.

Makes 5 - 6 servings.


If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted. © 2007-2011 Kathy Lewinski

Monday, October 3, 2011

Farmers Market Finds and Weekly Menu 10/3-10/8/11

We are enjoying a bit of Indian summer here in the Twin Cities which makes it a perfect time of year to wander the farmers market (and hopefully means my tomatoes will ripen).
IMG_0487
It's also time for us to start thinking about filling our freezer with meat for the winter. We are picking up a few interesting things here and there, but really need to place a big order before the time comes we can't see our meat vendor every Sunday.

Apple Cider - Matt is addicted
Hot Pepper Mixture - Want to try my hand at some smoked chili sauce
St. Louis Style Pork Ribs
Festival Squash
Butternut Squash
Ox Tail - I've never cooked with it before, but couldn't resist picking these up to try in soup or stew.
Broccoli
Stew Beef
Cottage Bacon - We're told this bacon is good for sandwiches and wraps
Storage Onion Mixture

On to Menu Planning Monday...

Chicken and Edamame Stir-Fry - A left over from last week as I never got around to making it

Muffaletta Pizza - An idea of Matt's that I think sounds fabulous

Smoked Ribs with potatoes and broccoli

Something else with chicken, but not sure what yet.

We'll also be heading to Pizzeria Lola this week to try their Oktoberfest Pizza with sauerkraut and Ukrainian sausage, yum!


If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted. © 2007-2011 Kathy Lewinski