Children's Hospital Lasagna Throwdown

Last week there was a throwdown in the ER of Children's Hospital in St. Paul.  No, there wasn't a fight, but rather a lasagna competition among some of the staff.  Each of the three competitor's were very different.  My mom's was more of a classic lasagna, maybe what you would recognize as a Midwestern lasagna night dinner.  Another was a traditional Italian version with a bechamel sauce.  Suzanne Palmquist's was my second choice only because it didn't set properly; if it had, it would have given my mom a run for her money. Third place was Kathy Quinn's unique twist on lasagna with shredded pork.  This one missed the mark a bit, as it had a traditional tomato sauce and cheeses.  I think maybe a twist of BBQ flavor would have sent this to the top as a contender.

The champion by a blind taste test of administrators and myself was the red toothpick, my mom's recipe.  The people's choice was Kathy's pulled pork!  Congrats to all, as everyone who donated $5 received a sample of each competitor's entry, Caesar salad, and garlic bread.  All the proceeds went to the sunshine fund, which sends cards and giftcards to staff out on extended medical leave.  Feels good and tastes good!

Here's my mom's recipe which is adapted from an old McCall's Cooking School Magazine

Lasagna

1 1/2 lbs mild Italian sausage
1/2 cup chopped onion (plus a bit more, mom eyeballs measurements)
2 cloves of garlic crushed
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup chopped parsley
1 can of crushed tomatoes
1 can diced tomatoes- no added flavoring
2  (6 ounce) cans of tomato paste
1 tablespoon salt
12 lasagna noodles
1 container of ricotta cheese or 4% cottage cheese (mom uses cottage cheese, I use ricotta)
1 egg
 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 lb mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced
1 cup Parmesan cheese

Break-up the meat and  cook in a dutch oven with onion and garlic until browned, approximately 20 minutes, drain fat off.  Add sugar 1 tablespoon salt, basil, fennel, pepper and half of the parsley and mix well.  Add tomatoes  tomato paste, and a 1/2 cup of water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer covered for 1 1/2 hours.  Cook noodles in large stockpot with salt until al dente.  Drain and rinse and dry off noodles.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  In a medium bowl combine ricotta/cottage cheese,  egg, parsley, and 1/2 teaspoon salt (omit salt if using cottage cheese as it is salty enough).

In a 9x13 inch baking dish, spoon 1 1/2 cups of sauce. Layer with 6 lasagna noodles to cover the pan. Spread half of the ricotta mixture over noodle, then top with 1/3 of the mozzarella  Spoon 1/2 cups sauce over cheese, sprinkle with 1/4 cup Parmesan. Repeat layering with noodles, sauce, mozzarella, then Parmesan again.  Cover with foil and bake 25 minutes, then remove foil and bake another 25 minutes uncovered, or until bubbly. Cool 15 minutes before serving.

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Minnesota Maple Syrups

Growing up, Sunday's were full of syrup, from pancakes to waffles and french toast.  I remember these amazing teddy bears and hearts my mom used to freehand with pancake batter.  Now people just use pancake or cookie molds to get shapes.  It was not pure maple syrup that graced our table, but rather Mrs. Butterworth's and Hungry Jack.  For a growing family, and with kids who wouldn't have appreciated the deep intense flavor of pure maple syrup it was great.  Now, however I crave the real deal, and wanted to compare some locally made syrup.  We aren't Vermont, but we have some nice producers in the state.



First up was Three River's Farm maple syrup from Elko,MN.  This syrup was the darkest of the three, which I would call a Grade A dark amber. This has a very intense, robust maple syrup flavor.  It works well as table syrup, or in recipes where it needs to cut through a fat or other ingredients to shine through.  I would use this in our maple syrup roasted chicken and other cooking purposes.

Wild Country Store

Second was Wild Country from Lutsen, MN. This is slightly lighter than Three River's and I would call it a Grade A medium amber. Again, a very nice flavor, and not as thick as the previous.  This syrup is light enough that I think it would do nicely in recipes that do not involve heat or reducing the syrup at all.  This is the syrup I used in the Maple Dijon Dressing recipes last week.






 Third was Lutsen's Caribou Cream.  This is a much smaller operation than Wild Country, and maybe this is why it has a much more delicate flavor and I would call it a Grade A light amber. This is fantastic as table syrup, as you can get a clear sense of of the light smokey flavor.  I would also use it in dressings and other simple recipes.

Caribou Cream's Operation

Caribou Cream was my favorite of the three for an everyday syrup, though all three were high quality and I would use for different purposes.  However, with an ounce costing $1 versus $.14 for intimidation maple syrup I see why I grew up with the grocery market variety.  It was a joy to tour both Caribou Cream and Wild Country.  I met both sugerbush operators, and learned how it is a true labor of love.  Everything is done by hand here, from tapping the trees in the snow, repairing lines all year around, and finally the production end.  It takes nearly 60 gallons of sap to produce 1 gallon of syrup.  Pretty amazing! 

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Balsamic Onion Marmalade by the Spoonfull

I am so glad food trucks are all the rage right now and a few cookbooks highlight some of the best.  Wishing the Chef Shack would share their crack Indian-spiced donuts recipe, but that will never happen.  I made Thomas's Balsamic Onion Marmalade from Food Trucks cookbook and it was amazing! We slathered it on pork roast sandwiches, turkey burgers, etc.  Make some for yourself or share to make fast friends.  

Thomas's Balsamic Onion Marmalade

1 Tablespoon vegetable oil

4 yellow onions, thinly sliced

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

3 tablespoons brown sugar

zest of 1/2 orange

2/3 cup balsamic vinegar

Heat oil over medium heat in large skillet.  Add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until they are soft and caramelized  about 20 minutes.  Add the cloves, salt, and pepper, stirring to coat.  Reduce heat to medium-low and add the brown sugar and orange zest. Cook, stirring frequently, until the onions start to shrivel.  Add the vinegar, reduce heat to low and cook for 1 1/2 hours, stirring frequently.  Adjust seasoning if needed and serve warm or room temperature   

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Swing and a miss

The Twins didn't make it to the playoffs this year, and a few recipes did not make the cut to be copied down into my recipe book.  I thought I would share a few reviews to save others some time, or know to tweak.

Chai Latte Bar Cookies: This one I want to try again as I think this might have been user error.  I am not a fan of brownies or bars that are not set in the middle, and these were anything but set.  I think I mixed the cream cheese in too much and that played with the ratio of bar to cream cheese layer.  Flavor was good for the few I could salvage from the edge.

Thai Turkey Burgers: These were good, just not great.  I have a great asian chicken burger/slider that I prefer over these, so they won't make the cut.

Almond-Poppyseed Cakes from Desserts in Jars: Again might have been user error, but I thought the cakes were a bit dry.  I would add just a bit more fat to the batter.

Chilled Oatmeal in a Jar: The consistency wasn't for me.  I think I prefer crockpot oatmeal instead.  It was so quick and easy, I just didn't like the gluteny texture the next day.  Thanks Megan for suggesting it, but just wasn't my preferred oatmeal.


Outlier
Fresh three-bean salad: This one I would make again.  Very light, low fat, and fresh summery flavor.

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Happy 6th Anniversary!

Last month Charlie and I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary!  Oh how the time has flown by.  This summer we had one of the most amazing meals of our life in Las Vegas at Joël Robuchon in early celebration of our anniversary.  Robuchon was named chef of the century, and we understand why.  I am trying to write a post worthy of that experience to follow later.  We celebrated on our actual anniversary with a simple home-cooked meal.  

At a recent gathering at the Minneapolis Central Library numerous food critics discussed food writing, and I remember one person asked what they always order at a restaurant to help evaluate the quality.  One person surprisingly said lemonade, which I couldn't agree with more!  Does a restaurant take the time to squeeze lemons and make a simple syrup for their lemonade, or do they just serve MinuteMaid from the fountain?  The other time tested item is a roast chicken, and that is what I set off to make this year. 

What can I say, this meal was delicious!!!  One of my best ever; winner winner chicken dinner!  I wish I could say they were original recipes, but they weren't.  We dined on a mixed green salad with maple dijon dressing, roast chicken with lemon and thyme butter, roasted potatoes, and the most amazing scalloped tomatoes you will EVER have.  This is my new favorite way to use up a bunch of tomatoes.  Promise me you will try this recipe and fall in love!

Isn't our china beautiful? Homemade biscuits, but they aren't as good as the Flying Biscuits in Georgia! (Those are my benchmark.)

Roast chicken, potatoes and tomatoes

Charlie is a sweetie and we order our wedding cake every year.  Though, who are we kidding, it is all for m, as Charlie isn't much of a cake guy.  Dessert every night for a week and a highlight every year.  This year Buttercream changed their frosting somehow, as the filling did not have as intense almond flavor in the past. :(

Recipes used:

• Andrew Carmellini's World's Best Biscuits 
• Roast Chicken from William's Sonoma Couples Cookbook: I added thyme butter underneath the skin to keep it moist and give it more flavor
• Scalloped Tomatoes from Ina Garten: I added oregano and thyme (seeing a theme here of our thyme going out of control in our herb garden)
• Maple Dijon Dressing from Wild Country maple syrup: 1/4 cup each of pure maple syrup, dijon mustard, olive oil, red wine vinegar; whisk all ingredients together.  

May everyone find true love in this world and be happy!

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Respite in Lutsen

Last week I needed a respite from work, after planning a library event for all 5,000 incoming freshmen at the University of Minnesota.  Mom came to the rescue, and we went up North to Lutsen for the weekend.  Growing up we went to Lutsen for "leaf peeping."   Though the weekend was anything but relaxing, as I jam packed everything in that we could, it was different from work, so it did the trick and I came back to work on Monday rejuvenated.  Here are a few photos from our trip and restaurant suggestions.

 Duluth is the perfect stop on the way, and oh how it has changed since I was a kid!  I have been a fan of the North Water Smokehaus long before it was featured on DDD.  Their smoked salmon is the best in Minnesota.  This time I tried the Cajun Finn.  A well-balanced sandwich with the rich salmon, green onion cream cheese spread, topped with roasted red peppers and a little kick of banana peppers.

Other Duluth favorites include: Amazing Grace Cafe (great bread and soups), Taste of Saigon (egg roll noodle salad), Sammy's thin crust pizza (taco is a fav), Sara's Table (lobster mac and cheese), and for a splurge there is always the New Scenic Cafe. 

 Canal Park area in Duluth

 We visited two of Minnesota's best sugarbushes: Caribou Cream and Wild Country.  I will be doing a taste test soon comparing Minnesota maple syrups.

 Mom and I even tried sea kayaking for the first time on Lake Superior!

 Chez Jude has been on my restaurant list for some time, and mom was kind enough to be my date.  It was very good food, a quaint location with a beautiful view of sailboats on the Lake, however overpriced a bit.

 The scallops and pork belly were good, but one of mine was a bit sandy.

 Mom was intrigued and also got the Chicken and Waffles.  They were amazing!  The chicken was well seasoned, crispy and perfect with Caribou Cream syrup drizzled over it.  The wild rice waffles with chilli butter was the perfect pairing.  Mom has been converted to the dark side!

 Oberg Mountain is a must, especially in the fall.

 Betsy Bowen's studio with a wonderful demonstration of woodcuts.  I can't wait to get my original piece for Christmas. :)

 Another place on my list is the Naniboujou Lodge.  A beautiful rustic lodge almost at the Canandian border.  The dining room is breathtaking, as it is painted with Cree Indian designs, and has the largest stone fireplace in Minnesota.  The librarian and preservation part of me cringes when I look closely at the flaking painted particle board walls.  I certainly hope money is being set-aside for restoration. 

 Their wild rice burger is delicious!  Unfortunately, the coleslaw is inedible; I don't understand horseradish in coleslaw.

Do we have to go home?

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Olympics Party 2012

Two years ago we started our tradition of always hosting an Olympics potluck party.  All our family brings an international dish to share.  This year we added lawn games into the mix.  Sorry for the post-Olympics post.

Edible Olympic rings for party favors! 

Thanks to my co-worker Jon for borrowing his mini-donut maker.  

Mom making a yummy salad

Our festive table of eats

My in-laws Chuck and Marcia with my hubby watching the swimming

Kait and I are the champions of bocce ball!

Auntie Sue, Uncle Reb and Dad

The torches needed a little bit of explanation

Toasted cheese please!

 My English berry trifle 

Can you see the resemblance? 

Unfortunately, Marcia's tomato tart photo didn't turn out, but it was delicious.  A must make now that tomatoes are ripe!  Please make this over the weekend; you won't be disappointed.  

Tomato Tart

Crust:                 11/4 C. flour

                             1T. fresh thyme, chopped

                             1 t. salt

                              8T. cold butter, cut into small bits

                              2t. dijon mustard

                              4T. ice water

Filling:                   6T. olive oil

                              1lg. onion, thinly sliced

                               2 yellow peppers thinly sliced   

                               2 red peppers thinly sliced

                               1 T. dried thyme

                               1 T. dried rosemary

                               salt and pepper to taste

                               1/2 C. slivered basil

                               1/4 C. chopped parsley

                               4 garlic cloves, minced

Topping:               1 C. grated Gruyere cheese

                                2-3 lg. tomatoes sliced into 1/4" slices

                               2 T. fresh thyme chopped

                               1 T. chopped fresh parsley

                               1 T. olive oil

Combine flour, thyme, salt   in processor. Put in butter. Stir in mustard and ice water. Combine until mixture holds together. Pat into flat disk, wrap in plastic and refrig. for 1 hour.

Heat oil in saute pan over med low heat, add onion, peppers, thyme, rosemary salt and pepper. Cook, stirring until thick, 45 min. Drain in strainer. Put aside.

Preheat oven to 375. On floured surface roll out dough to 12". Put in 11" tart pan with removeable bottom. prick bottom carefully, line with foil and add pie wights or dried beans. Bake 10 min. Remove foil and weights/beans and bake 10 min more. allow to cool slightly. Put cheese on bottom, then spread filling all over carefully. Arrange tomatoe slices in overlapping circles/ Sprinkle with pepper, thyme and parsley. Drizzle with oil. Bake 40 min. Let cool 10 min and removes sides of pan and slide tart from bottom. Serve at room temp.

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