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Waffle sandwiches: Bacon, Lime Marmalade & Goat Cheese; Cranberry Hot Pepper Jam & Brie; Bacon, Tomato Jam and Aged Cheddar

By on February 27, 2012 in News & Events, Recipes
Cornbread Waffle Sandwich with Bacon, Lime Marmalade & Goat Cheese

Cornbread Waffle Sandwich with Bacon, Lime Marmalade & Goat Cheese

What do you do when your husband forgets to pay the gas bill, it’s the weekend, you want to make dinner, and have no stove?  Pull out the waffle iron!

I had been pondering ways to use the Lime Marmalade that we make for a while now.  I’ve used it in margaritas, with cornbread and chile and on English muffins, but it is so intense that it can be paired with some pretty robust flavors and still shine through.  These waffle sandwiches pictured above were a wonderful foil for the the marmalade: sweet (the jam), salty (bacon), cruncy (waffles) and creamy (goat cheese).  They even managed to distract me from freezing to death in a house with no heat.  If he hadn’t been working so hard on our taxes, I may have been inclined to have “expressed” my frustration.  As it turned out, however, all is well.

While I had the jams out I experimented with a few other flavor combinations in the waffle sandwiches.  They were all pretty good.  I may have to make this a staple for quick and easy dinners.  Here are two more:

Waffle Sandwich with Dried Cranberries, Cranberry Hot Pepper Jam & Goat Cheese

Waffle Sandwich with Dried Cranberries, Cranberry Hot Pepper Jam & Goat Cheese

Using Cranberry Hot Pepper Jelly:  I added some dried cranberries to the cornbread waffle batter for this one, softened the goat cheese just a bit in the microwave, and added the hot pepper cranberry jelly on top rather than inside.  It’s a toss-up on my favorite between this and the lime marmalade.  I really loved the cornbread crunch with the creamy fillings.

 

Waffle Sandwich with Tomato Ginger Jam, Bacon & Aged Cheddar

Waffle Sandwich with Tomato Ginger Jam, Bacon & Aged Cheddar

Using Tomato Ginger Jam:  This one was more savory, as the tomato jam is not as sweet as the jellies.  I used aged cheddar cheese here, and added the bacon to give it that classic flavor combination.  The tomato ginger jam definately added more of a twist, with a hint of sweetness coming through.  You could use any kind of cheese here with good results.

 

 

 

For the waffles themselves, I used a light & crisp waffle recipe from:  Pamela Anderson, Fine Cooking magazine (recipe below).  I substituted 1/2 c.  cornmeal for 1/2 cup flour, and added a handful of dried cranberries to the batter for the Cranberry Hot Pepper Jelly.

Once the waffles are crisp and golden brown, take them out and assemble.  I spread one waffle square with jam, placed cheese on another square and heated it for  10 seconds in the microwave.  Add warm bacon between and stack the two squares together.  Cut in half and you are done.  Easy and very delicious.

You can use any waffle recipe you wish.  I used Fine Cooking’s recipe because I had it handy and it looked good.  Here is their recipe:

Fine Cooking’s Light, Crisp Waffles:

1/4 c. all-purpose flour

1/2 c. cornmeal

1/4 c. cornstarch

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda 3/4 c. buttermilk

1/4 c. milk

6 Tbs. vegetable oil

1 large egg, separated

1 Tbs. sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

Mix the flour, cornstarch, salt, baking powder, and baking soda in a medim bowl.  Measure the buttermilk, milk, and vegetable oil in another bowl or Pyrex measuring cup; mix in the egg yolk and set aside.

In another bowl, beat the egg whilte almost to soft peaks.  Sprinkle in the sugar and continue to beat until the peaks are firma and glossy.  Beat in the vanilla.

Pour the buttermilk mixture into the dry ingredients and whisk until just mixed.  Drop the whipped egg white onto the batter in dollops and fold in with a spatula until just incorporated.

Pour the batter into the center of the hot waffle iron, let it spread out a bit and close.  Follow the directions on your waffle iron for how long to cook it.

 

Hope you enjoy these as much as we did (although it still would have been nice to have had gas and be in a warm house!).

 

 

 

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Top 7 (plus 1 maybe) Food Podcasts that I Listen to Without Fail

By on February 21, 2012 in News & Events, Techniques
iron chef photo

Podcasts can help you dream of big things

When I first started farming I became enthralled with (and addicted to) farm auctions.  I brought home so much junk during that period of my life that my husband came close to starting a big, and secretive, bonfire.  Fortunately that phase ended and most of the stuff has been sold (or burned).

As the farm and the business grew, I became more and more interested in marketing.  I mean what good is it to have a great product, if no one really knows about it.  Working on a pretty tight budget, I decided the time was right to try and understand technology and the associated marketing avenues.   But where to start?  I didn’t grow up with technology and could barely text message.  After getting an ipod nano for a gift, my kids introduced me to itunes.  Holy Cow, what a gift that has been.  I discovered there were wonderful podcasts out there where truly knowledgeable, experienced people would teach you anything you desired…and for free!

I quickly became addicted and immersed myself in technology and business podcasts to try and learn about blogging and the technology and marketing world in general.  It was like going to college….for free!  I have learned so much about blogging, photography, marketing, and yes, food.  I was plugged in to my headphones constantly…during pilates, at Target, at home and in the car.  It was a little embarrassing actually, but when you’ve got an addictive personality, you get over embarrassing things pretty quickly.

So, after two years of this immersion into the podcast world, I have developed favorites in each subject.  Since this blog surrounds food, I thought I’d share my favorite food podcasts.  Maybe another day I can talk about the business podcasts.  Those were a godsend for the tech-neaderthal that I was.  I tell my kids I am now “tech-saavy”.  They don’t buy it, but they have to admit I have progressed.  Anyway, here are my favorite food podcasts.  They cover the range of food-related topics, from recipes, to history, to chef interviews, to science, to health.  Enjoy!  And get yourself a nano if you don’t have one.  They’re indestructible.

FAVORITE FOOD-THEMED PODCASTS:

Weekly Dish Podcast

Weekly Dish;  For me, this is the best information on what is happening in the local twin cities food scene.  The two Stephanies, one a food editor of the Minnesota Monthly magazine and one an avowed foodie and radio personality, are fun, knowledgeable and  full of inside information on local chefs, local restaurants, local farms, and markets. They also go beyond the chef interviews and interview the whole gambit of local food people, from butcher to baker to ….well I guess not candlestick makers yet.  Oh, and they give out great recipes.

 

Splendid Table with Lynne Rossetto Kasper

 

Splendid Table:  Want to spend a Saturday afternoon with a warm, experienced Italian chef and cookbook author that will answer your questions in depth and share her vast array of food knowledge in a way that makes you want to be her best friend?  I’m sure I don’t need to introduce Lynne Rossetto Kasper to you, but in case you miss any of her NPR radio shows…podcast it!  Lynne Rossetto Kasper is an icon in the food world and I feel so fortunate that she lives in Minnesota and I am able to talk with her at the St. Paul Farmers’ Market in the summers.

 

 

Stacy Pearl of Mouth of Wonder

Mouth of Wonder:  Stacy Pearl, originally from Brooklyn, New York,  has a diverse history as an artist, a caterer, a restauranteur, a private chef to the rich and famous and a radio host.  She now lives in Santa Fe New Mexico and her show gives me a feel of an area not necessarily known for it’s food and wine.  Her show is hilarious and she does a very good satire of herself as a New York Jewish socialite in a call-in segment called “ask Rula”.   She never fails to give out detailed recipes for food that will make your mouth water.  While very witty, funny and smart, Stacy Pearl doesn’t have that sharp edge that many expect from New Yorkers.  Her show is great fun and fun is a great way to learn in my mind.

 

 

KCRW Good Food:  This LA-based food-themed show is hosted by Evan Klieman.  Even though there is a live local farmer’s market report each week and local restaurants are reviewed, there is a lot of information that is much broader than California and keeps me up on current food trends.  I always learn something from this show, and it is interesting to hear about the plethora of fruit and vegetables that are available fresh in Southern California and how they are prepared.

 

KSRO Good Food Hour

KSRO Good Food Hour:  Another California-based show, this time from Sonoma County.  Chef John Ash and radio personality Steve Garner have been hosting this show together since 1987.  It is a very relaxed show and is focused on the “stories” of and by people in the food world.  Chef Ash and Steve Garner frequently  interview people at an outdoor festival or event and they have a really nice easy-going interview style.  Chef John Ash is an internationally recognized chef and while his humility is refreshing, his food knowledge and recipes garner respect right away.

 

Cooking Issues with Dave Arnold

Cooking Issues with Dave Arnold

Cooking Issues:  This is not a casual show for the home cook by any means, but it is certainly entertaining.  Dave Arnold, a technology and science wizard, is the host of this show, recorded in semi-shed behind a pizza place in Brooklyn, New York.  Arnold, who is a brother in law to Wylie Dufresne, is an edgy, smart, don’t-bore-me-with-anything-stupid-or-I-will-use-my-scathing-wit-to-bring-you-to-your-knees kind of guy.  I don’t understand half of the things he talks about, but there is always something fascinating that I have to listen to several times over with pen and paper in hand.  Arnold is the Director of Culinary Technology of The French Culinary Institute at The International Culinary Center and an award winning food writer.  This show is really designed for chefs and technique nerds, but I love it and wouldn’t miss it.

 

Food and Wine with Chef Jamie Gwen

Food and Wine with Chef Jamie Gwen

Food and Wine with Chef Jamie Gwen:  Chef Jamie Gwen is a highly articulate business-woman who is also an acclaimed chef and frequently co-hosts with Martha Stewart.  Because this show is 2 hours, Chef Jamie can delve into food and wine in more depth than some of  the others.  It is not the laid back ambiance of the other California shows, nor is it the sarcastic, edgy New York type of show.  This show is very polished and entertainment-industry focused, but there is a heck of a lot of food information and good recipes here.  There are many recipes for high-end dishes on this show, many of them from highly acclaimed chefs.  There are also a lot of interesting interviews with chefs on this show, and there is always a good segment on wine.

 

Taste Matters with Mitchell Davis

Taste Matters with Mitchell Davis

Taste Matters:  This is a fairly new show for me, but it promises to be quite different than the others.  The host is Mitchell Davis, Vice President of the James Beard Foundation, cookbook author, and restaurant reviewer.  Mr. Davis explores topics that center on “taste” rather than food.  Do women taste things differently than men for example.  He interviews some really interesting people and I am excited to learn about some of the  nuances of taste, as well as some of the social and psychological aspects of taste.  This show promises to examine personal tastes and collective tastes, biological tastes and acquired tastes, good tastes and bad tastes.  Sounds interesting to me.

 

Well there you have it.  I’m sure there are different “tastes” on what kind of food shows you like to listen to.  This collection of podcasts that I listen to gives me a breadth of personality and information that I can’t believe I can access so easily.  It’s kind of an amazing world we’re living in right now.  Enjoy!

Leave me a comment on some of your favorites if you listen to this kind of show.  I couldn’t get the top 10, only the top 9.  What should the 10th one be?

Cheers,

Dorothy

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Smoked Tomato Martini Recipe – rimmed with sun-dried tomato salt

By on February 17, 2012 in heirloom tomatoes, Recipes

Bartending in Portland Oregon got me through graduate school and I do believe I’ve used those bartending skills more in post-college life than the skill set of  my urban planning degree (especially if you include the people skills you pick up while bartending).

fruit beverage syrups

 

Now would be an exciting time to work behind the bar, as bartening has evolved  into mixology, and mixing a good cocktail now is far more creative.  I used to pride myself on speed and memory, but those traits are now shadowed by what you can do with flavor and fresh ingredients.  Fortunately, I did retain a flavor memory of the various liqueurs, and now use that memory of flavors to enhance the different fruits in the jams I make.

Some of the beverage syrups in this picture use liqueurs also, but most of them are non-alcoholic so you can mix them with carbonated water.  Ever since I got the SodaStream, which makes carbonated water out of tap water in an instant, I’ve been experimenting with these syrups.

This winter I have been working with sun-dried and smoked tomatoes however, testing all the ways you can use them in food, and a serendipitous product resulted….tomato water.  The smoked tomatoes usually require a 20-minute soak in warm water and are then drained.  The flavor of these smoked and dried tomatoes is so intense that I thought the soaking water must retain a fairly high flavor.  It did.

sun-dried tomato salt

 

 

Now, what to do with tomato water?  I’m sure there are many uses, but of course the first that came to my mind is a martini.Especially because I had all of this tomato salt I had made, and thought that would be perfect around the rim.  The tomato salt is 50/50 sun-dried tomatoes and Maldon sea salt.  Lately I’ve been using it on everything, from eggs to chicken to cocktails!

 

 

 

Add a little lime juice and a dash of smoked paprika, garnish with smoked mozzarella and cherry tomatoes, and…

 

Voila!  

smoked tomato martini

I don’t really drink very many cocktails, especially at home, but I have to say it was a lot of fun greeting my husband as he came in from work with a rimmed martini in hand.  There’s a reason the show Mad Men is so popular.  It felt very chic…not like the baseball cap and dirty hands I usually have from working on the farm.  Here’s the recipe if you want to give it a try:

Smoky Tomato Martini

2 oz. Absolut Peppar Vodka

2 oz. tomato water (water left over from drained sun-dried or smoked tomatoes)

fresh squeezed lime juice (I used a couple of tsp., but flavor to taste)

pinch of smoked paprika

tomato salt for rim

Directions:

1) Combine vodka, tomato water, lime juice and paprika in tumbler with ice

2) Stirred, not shaken (see this post from Jerry James Stone for an interesting article on the difference between shaken and stirred martinis)

3) garnish with cherry tomato, fresh mozzarella balls, and fresh basil

4) Sip and enjoy!

Cheers,

Dorothy

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Sharpening knives for the home cook: sharpening steel vs. manual sharpener

By on February 11, 2012 in News & Events, Techniques

When a good cook finds a knife that works well with their own hands for their individual cooking purposes, it is a beautiful thing.  Those knives are cherished and cared for.  Never placed in the dishwasher and always kept sharp.  Or at least that is the goal.  Sharpening can be a bit elusive at times for the home cook.  These are my own favorite knives, and below I’ll share my personal findings on how best to sharpen the home cook’s knives.

My favorite Chef's knives


 Favorite Chef’s Knives:

a) the knife on the far left is a Cutco knife and the most expensive one I own.  It is very comfortable to hold and is a bit heavier than the Henckel.  The weight is nicer when cutting with the tip left on the board (i.e., for garlic). This is generally my “go-to” knife for most cooking tasks;

b) the Henckel is next to the Cutco and it is also really comfortable but quite a bit lighter.  I use this one when I’m chopping a large amount of produce and don’t want to wear out my wrist (i.e., for stir fry);

c) the knife on the far right is one that I purchased at a garage sale for $1.00 and I have come to love it for certain tasks.  It is a stainless steel Japanese knife called “Old Homestead” and it is great for cutting pizza, squash and anything larger or bulky.  The wood handle is not too comfortable, but the length and depth of the knife makes it great for the big cuts.

 


Boning Knife

Favorite Knife for Making Marmalades and Jams:

This is a boning knife that I have had for ages, but the size and style of this knife are just right for slicing citrus peels, taking pith off, and slicing small soft fruit.  It works far better for me than a paring knife or anything else I have tried.

 

 

Favorite Specialty Knife (actually this is a cleaver):

My pumpkin cleaver

 

I love this old cleaver that I picked up at a garage sale.  I always had trouble cutting through large winter squash and pumpkins for the fruit butters until I found this big guy.  I also just love the look of it, and the thoughts of its past history whenever I use it.  It makes me feel a little connected to some old Italian butcher with gnarly hands and chickens running around outside.

 

 

 

 

Sharpening Knives

With a Sharpening Steel:  I’ve always been a bit mystified at how quickly and efficiently chefs sharpen their knives with a sharpening steel.  I know the value of a consistently sharp knife in the kitchen, but knowing the correct angle and bevel for each particular knife and deftly achieving that angle with a sharpening steel, has always been a bit of an elusive holy grail for me.

My cooking/science guru Dave Arnold explained the process in a way that made sense in his 2/5/12 podcast at Cooking Issues.  He went into quite a bit of detail for sharpening Japanese Knives, Western knives and hybrid knives, and I thought I’d try the process for Western knives on my own knives.  The question is:  For the home cook, is this process really that much better than the very straightforward use of a good manual sharpener?

marking the manufacturer's bevel

 

Here’s a summary of my non-scientific test using information I gleaned from Dave Arnold’s podcast:

1) Mark the manufacturer’s bevel:  A traditional Western knife has an identical bevel on both sides.  This would be considered a 50/50 percentage bevel.  The trick is to get the angle right when using a steel.  First, mark the edge of the blade with a sharpie on both sides of the knife.

 

 

 

Sharpening with a Steel

2) Take the knife gently, but firmly across the steel/stone until you see that the sharpie marking is worn away flat and evenly down the blade.

 

3) When the sharpie is worn down evenly flat across the blade, you have achieved the same angle as the manufacturer had.

 

*Notes:  Dave Arnold explains that the bigger the angle, the less fragile the blade but the duller the knife is.  He notes that 17 degrees is common for newer knives and 30 degrees for older knives.

 

Chef's choice 450 Manual Sharpener

 

Sharpening Knives with a good manual sharpener:

While the use of the sharpening steel was much clearer to me now, I still wondered if it was that much better than just using a manual sharpener (for the home cook’s purposes anyway)?  Yes, it looks really cool to see chef’s expertly sharpening their knives, but was the benefit in sharpness worth the room for error?  I had done a little research over Christmas on finding the best manual sharpener, and ended up getting the chefs choice 450.

 

We used this manual sharpener on some of the knives and tried to compare.  This was a pretty simplistic and subjective comparison, but that’s what we are here at home…simple.


manual sharpening results

 

Results:

The Chef’s Choice 450 gave great results and was easier for the home cook to use with confidence.  I’m sure with practice, the sharpening steel is more accurate (and more fun), but for me the confidence that I was at least getting a similar and sharp angle on both sides, and the luxury of not having to think about it, was worth it.  I love my knives, and I love working with sharp knives, but for now I’ll just watch the chef’s sharpen their knives on TV and secretly sharpen my own with the manual sharpener.

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Cheese & Jam Pairings for Easy, but Delicious Appetizer Plates

By on February 3, 2012 in Recipes

We traditionally have a “smorgasboard” of different appetizer trays for New Years Day during laid back football games (well, laid back for me anyway).   This year for Superbowl I worked on getting the right type of cheese with the perfect pairing of one of our specialty jams and chutneys.  There are quite a few that worked really well, but these were my favorites:

 

By the way, good beer goes well with these pairing also…thinking Superbowl.  NewCastle Brown Ale is my current favorite.

Disclosure:  I don’t watch football and don’t have a clue who is playing, but I sure like to eat during the festivities.  Go Team!

 

 

 

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