April 2007

I returned home from the Minnesota Bed and Breakfast Association conference held in New Ulm in 2007. When we left Saturday night it was after 9PM so we didn’t see much of anything, but coming home Tuesday afternoon was a different story. I wish it had been a gorgeous sunny day but even so the light green auras around the trees and the yellow-tinged willow leaf tips, the tulips nodding their cheery heads in every yard, the farmers out in their fields plowing and planting—all cried Spring!

In the world of food, spring ushers in all the fresh produce, one thing at a time, and makes the cook start thinking light and fresh instead of the hearty, heavy food of winter. I love the change of seasons—just when you are getting really weary of certain menus and foods, along comes the change of season or a special holiday to get your interest up again.

Two of the workshops at the conference were about food and both featured locally grown and produced products. The first was called “Crack it up a notch” and was presented by Renewing the Countryside and Green Routes. Chef Jenny Breen (former co-owner of The Good Life Café and current co-owner of Good Life Catering) demonstrated ways of incorporating locally grown foods into your menus. She made 2 dishes and gave us the recipe for a third. Everything was wonderful and made me even more anxious for our exciting and newly expanding farmer’s market to open in Red Wing.

The second workshop was about local wines. Since each board member was asked to bring a wine from a local winery (Zig is a board member) we chose a wine from Falconer Vineyard and were pleased that the seminar was put on by another Minnesota winery; Morgan Creek Vineyards. The tasting was wonderful—and fun, except that we were not forewarned that there would be a full meal served along with 6 different wines to taste and we had all just come from lunch! The food was prepared by Chef Kim Earnest of Kim’s Cuisine and was absolutely wonderful. I only took 2 bites of the Ham and Asparagus Crepes with Mushroom Sauce, three of the Spinach Salad with Raspberry Vinaigrette and Fresh Raspberries, but I (and all the other attendees) ate the entire Double Chocolate Muffin. And yes, the wines they served with the chocolate muffin were wonderful and they weren’t all sweet dessert wines. Two rather robust reds tasted absolutely elegant with chocolate.

I really want to share these recipes with you—every single one was delicious.

From “Crack it up a Notch”—Cooking with local foods:

Fresh Potato and Smoked Salmon Salad

8 medium red or yellow potatoes cut into 1” pieces
1 cup sun-dried tomatoes, cut into pieces and softened in hot water
12 oz. smoked salmon, broken into large pieces
¼ cup olive oil
¼ cup cider vinegar
1 tsp. salt
1/4-1/3 cup regular or soy mayo
2 T. Dijon mustard
4 cloves garlic, well chopped
2 med. leeks or 1 bunch spring onions, minced
½ lb. spinach
¼ cup basil leaves, chopped or 2 T. dry basil

Boil potatoes until soft. Combine potatoes, dried tomatoes, 2 T. of the oil, vinegar, salt, mayo and mustard. Heat the other 2 T. oil and sauté garlic and leeks/onions. When these are soft (about 3 minutes) add basil and spinach; wilt for about 30 seconds and remove from heat. Add to other ingredients and mix well. Mix in salmon. Serve slightly warm or chill until ready to serve. 8 servings.

Grilled Gouda Sandwich with Roasted Beets and Arugula

1 loaf hearty whole grain bread, sliced thinly (enough for 6 sandwiches)
¼ lb. unsalted butter
1 lb. Eichten’s or Gouda cheese of your choice, sliced thinly
4 medium beets (red or yellow) peeled and sliced thinly, lengthwise
¼ cup olive oil
¼ cup balsamic vinegar
1 tsp. salt
½ lb. Arugula
Stone-ground mustard

Heat oven to 400 degrees; cover beets in olive oil, balsamic vinegar and salt; roast in oven, stirring frequently. Meanwhile, brush outsides of bread with butter and insides with mustard. When beets are nicely tender, remove from oven. Remove from pan and reserve remaining liquid. Assemble sandwiches with a layer of arugula, a layer of beets and a few slices of cheese over the top of one half and only cheese on the other half. (Or make open-faced sandwiches). These can be prepared in the oven or on the stovetop. Place sandwiches on baking pan and place in oven (or on griddle, then cover) to melt cheese. Remove from oven when cheese is melted, drizzle with oil and vinegar mixture.

Ham and Asparagus Crepes with Mushroom Sauce
Serves 8

1 cup milk
2 Tbsp. oil
2 eggs
½ cup flour
1 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
8 thin slices ham
8 slices Swiss cheese
16 asparagus spears, blanched

Mushroom Sauce:
8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
3 Tbsp. butter
3 Tbsp flour
½ cup water
½ cup white wine
2 tsp. chicken soup base
1/3 cup cream
¼ cup cheddar cheese, shredded
1 Tbsp. chives, chopped

Beat the milk, oil and eggs. Add flour, baking powder and salt. Beat until smooth. Let batter stand at least 1 hour. Heat an 8-inch skillet over medium heat. Grease lightly. Pour 2 Tbsp. at a time into the skillet, tilting to make a 6-inch round crepe. Turn once briefly. Fill them by placing a ham slice, a cheese slice and 2 asparagus spears on each. Roll up. Place seam side down in a baking pan. Bake in preheated 350 degree oven 20-30 minutes with sauce on top.

Sauce: Cook mushrooms in butter. Stir in flour. Cook 2-3 minutes. Add water, wine base and cream. Cook till thickened. Stir in the cheese and chives. Spoon sauce over crepes. Bake 20-30 minutes.

Spinach Salad with Raspberry Vinaigrette

3 cups fresh spinach, washed and chopped
1 cup fresh mushrooms, sliced
4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
½ cup red onion, diced
1 small can mandarin oranges, drained
¼ cup fresh raspberries, washed
1 clove garlic, crushed
½ cup fresh or frozen raspberries
2 Tbsp. champagne wine vinegar
2 tsp. olive oil
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
2 tsp. poppy seeds

Rub crushed garlic along the bottom and sides of a medium salad bowl. Discard remaining garlic. Add chopped spinach, mushrooms, bacon and onion to bowl and toss to combine. Fold in oranges. Set aside.

For dressing, whisk together olive oil, mustard and poppy seeds. Puree the ½ cup of raspberries in blender with vinegar. Press raspberries through a sieve to strain out seeds. Discard seeds and add pureed raspberries to dressing. Whisk until well combined. Pour over spinach salad and toss to coat. Set remaining fresh raspberries atop salad as a garnish. Makes 6 servings.

Double Chocolate Muffins
Servings: 12

Chocolate Truffle Filling

3 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/3 cup plus 1 Tbsp. cream
½ tsp. vanilla

Chocolate Muffins

1 cup flour
½ cup alkalized cocoa powder
2 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
1 cup plus 2 Tbsp. sour cream, room temperature
1 large egg, lightly beaten, room temp
6 Tbsp butter, melted and cooled
2/3 cup sugar

For the truffles; place chocolate in bowl. Heat cream to boil, pour over chocolate and let stand to melt chocolate. Stir until chocolate is completely melted. Stir in vanilla extract. Chill until firm. Form into ¾ inch balls and freeze until ready to use.

Make muffins: preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter standard muffin cups. Sift together flour, cocoa, powder, soda and salt. In a bowl, whisk sour cream, egg, butter and sugar until combined. Make a well in the center of flour; add sour cream mixture and stir with wooden spoon just until combined. Fill each cup 1/3 full. Place frozen truffle in center of each cup and spoon remaining batter into cups, making sure each truffle is covered. Bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into batter comes out clean. Cool on wire rack for 5 minutes. Remove muffins from cups and finish cooling. Store in air tight container.