HeavyTable.com has just released its Atlas of Ethical Eating, a guide to eating + shopping at establishments in the Twin Cities that participate in ethical practices for food. What are the guidelines? In broad terms, the welfare of animals (grass fed, pasture-raised, no hormones), a living wage for employees, and reducing their environmental impact in a variety of ways.
The Atlas is in its infancy, but we look forward to watching it fill up with folks that we will be visiting. Tastebud is thrilled to be included in this list as a caterer with ethical practices. Thanks for taking on this task, Heavy Table! As so many have your commenters have suggested.... when will we get an iPhone app?
Visit HeavyTable.com to view the Atlas for Ethical Eating!
When The Naptime Chef asked me to be a part of a virtual dinner party, re-creating recipes from the Park Avenue Potluck cookbook, I jumped at the chance. My first thought? What do those Park Ave ladies whip up for dinner parties? I was intrigued. The fact that a portion of the proceeds from the Park Avenue Potluck and the newly released Park Avenue Potluck Celebrations go to Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York was icing on the cake.
My contribution to the virtual dinner party is Warm Mushroom Rolls. Before I give you the recipe....
Confession #1: I added some cayenne to the original recipe. Like any good Southern Girl, I like a kick with my cocktail. I paired the Warm Mushroom Rolls with a nice, buttery Chardonnay. It went well with the earthy mushrooms, and enhanced the buttery rolls.
Confession #2: I did not need to make all 60 rolls for my virtual dinner companions, so I stirred the remaining filling into some pasta for our dinner. Yum. The filling would also be dynamite tucked into a chicken breast or swirled into risotto. Versatile, indeed!
And now, for the recipe....
Warm Mushroom Rolls
from Park Avenue Potluck cookbook series
Makes 60 rolls
1 medium onion, chopped
1 shallot, chopped
3 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves
12 ounces white mushrooms
7 tablespoons unsalted butter
1½ tablespoons heavy cream
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1-pound loaf firm sandwich bread (about 15 slices)
Place the onion, shallot, and parsley in a food processor and pulse until finely minced. Remove from the processor, place the mushrooms in the food processor, and pulse until finely chopped. Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet over medium heat, add the mushrooms, and sauté until lightly browned and no liquid remains in the pan. Transfer to a bowl. Add 1 tablespoon of the butter to the pan, then add the onion mixture and sauté until it starts to color. Add to the mushrooms in the bowl and mix with the cream and Worcestershire sauce. Season with salt and pepper. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Remove the crusts from the bread. Use a rolling pin to roll each slice flat. Place a heaping tablespoon of the mushroom filling over one side of the bread, then tightly roll up the bread with the filling. Melt the remaining butter. Use some of the butter to brush a foil-lined baking sheet. Place the rolls seam-side down on the baking sheet. Use the remaining butter to brush on the mushroom rolls. Place in the oven and bake for about 25 minutes, until the bread is lightly toasted. Use a serrated knife to cut each roll in 4 pieces, arrange on a platter, and serve. The finished hors d’oeuvres can be made in advance and reheated for about 10 minutes at 325 degrees.Thanks for the dinner party, Ladies!
Yesterday was the Cheese + Apple Fest at Midtown Global Market, and I gave a cooking demonstration for my Apple + Smoked Gouda Turnovers. I have revised the recipe a little since I last shared with you, so here is the Apple + Smoked Gouda Turnovers v. 2.0!
Apple + Smoked Gouda Turnovers
makes 2 dozen
2 sheets puff pastry, thawed
3 apples, peeled, cored and diced
1/4lb smoked Gouda, diced
juice of 1/2 a lemon
1/4t salt
1-2t smoked paprika (optional)
1T all-purpose flour
dash of cayenne
chili powder for garnish
small bowl of water
egg wash (1 egg beaten + 2T water)
-preheat oven to 400˚F
-combine apples, lemon juice, Gouda, flour and seasonings in large bowl and mix to coat
-cut puff pastry into squares, 12 for each sheet
-place teaspoon full of apple filling (more if it will fit!) on to your puff pastry squares
-dab fingers in water and run along 2 edges of the puff pastry square (this will help seal the edges)
-fold into a triangle over the filling and crimp edges
-repeat until all are folded
-place on a baking sheet, baste with egg wash and dust tops with chili powder
-bake at 400˚F for about 15-20 minutes or until turnovers are golden brown and flaky
I was craving Sweet Potato bread. Having been short on time recently, my roasted sweet potatoes were waiting patiently in the fridge until I could put them to good use. The moment finally came this week when I found myself in my very own kitchen, utterly alone. And it was cold outside. Ah, perfect!
I got all set up. Preheated the oven. Began whipping the sweet potatoes and sugar together. And then...realized I was completely out of eggs. Ugh. How did that happen? I soooo did not want to go to the store. Wait! I had some flaxseed meal. That can be mixed with water for egg replacement. Ha-ha! Oh, no. How did I get so low on flaxseed meal? Now what? Let me also mention that this was in the middle of the day and no neighbors were at home to borrow from.
Well, a little internet research later, I was mixing 1 t baking soda with 1 T apple cider vinegar to sub for each egg. Now, I am not in the habit of replacing eggs willy-nilly. So, I approached this like an experiment. Let's just see what would happen. Sweet potato bread is a quick bread, and very forgiving (thankfully), so we'll just see what happens. And I REALLY wanted some Sweet Potato Bread.
I proceeded with the rest of the recipe, minus the eggs but with the soda/vinegar mixture, and braced myself for the results. And you know what? It turned out pretty darn good. As a matter of fact, I could not tell there were not eggs in it. The loaves rose beautifully. The bread was moist and dense. However, it was not quite sweet enough for my taste....which is why I added some cream cheese frosting on top. Everyhing is better with cream cheese frosting, right? Perhaps the addition of the baking soda/vinegar meant some correction was needed for the sugar and salt. As I said it was an experiment, and it has not been fully developed (which is why I'm not sharing the bread recipe with you just yet).
So all of that, to say this: in a pinch the following substitution works quite well to replace eggs in baked goods.
1t baking soda + 1T vinegar (white or apple cider)= 1 egg
Now I know, but I won't be letting my larder get that sparse again!
Okay, so this is not a new concept. Not ground-breaking or earth-shattering, but... we switched it up a little at the Herrmann House last week.
It's so easy to get into a rut with meals. Especially when everyone is so busy! We do the pasta, the rice, the wraps, the 'fill-in-the-blank' and add veggies and protein to the mix to make it a complete meal. What we have found, however, is that we're eating a lot of starches and not enough veggies. Another factor to note in this observation is that our refrigerator is still chock full of CSA veggies every week. I can only make so much hash and stir-frys to use it all up! And pickles. Boy, do we have the pickled vegetable collection.
Anyhoo, my point is this: we mixed it up. We started using veggies as our base and 'topping' it with the starch or protein. Okay, we're not doing it everynight, but it's worked out well on the nights we have tried. Our favorite was a PILE of stir-fried veggies with a coconut curry lentil 'sauce'. Really yummy. We're going to try to do 'switch it up' more often.
What do you do to 'switch it up'?
It's cold + rainy here in Minneapolis. Fall has arrived rather hastily this week, and I've been craving soups + stews. This recipe for Lamb Stew is one of most requested recipes. It makes great use of fall veggies that you may be getting in your CSA. I hope you enjoy!
Lamb Stew
serves 6
2 pounds lamb stew meat, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 tablespoon all purpose flour
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 leeks, sliced
3 3x1/2-inch strips lemon peel
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 small bay leaves
2 cups low-salt chicken broth
1 tablespoon tomato paste
4 medium carrots 1” pieces
1.5 # potatoes,cut into 1” cubes
3 stalks celery, chopped
Chopped fresh parsley, for garnish
-Place lamb in large bowl. Sprinkle with salt and pepper
-Add flour and toss to coat
-Heat 2 tablespoons oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat
-Add half of lamb and sauté until brown, about 5 minutes
-Using slotted spoon, transfer lamb to medium bowl. Repeat with remaining lamb
-Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in same pot
-Add leeks, lemon peel, garlic, and bay leaves
-Sauté until leeks begins to soften, about 5 minutes
-Return lamb and any accumulated juices to pot. Add broth and tomato paste
-Bring to boil, scraping up browned bits. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer 50 minutes
-Add carrots + potatoes; cover and simmer until lamb and carrots are tender, about 20 minutes longer
-Simmer uncovered gravy thickens, about 5 minutes
-Discard bay leaves
-Season stew to taste with salt and pepper; ladle into bowls
- Sprinkle with parsley
