A Lighter Shade of Pale

     Remember all those recommendations from health experts telling us to eat colorful fruits and vegetables?  Well Purdue University professor Connie Weaver contends that by overlooking pale produce we are missing out on something.

photograph by Kang Kim

 



     Mushrooms, parsnips, onions, cauliflower and potatoes are an amazing source of fiber, magnesium and other crucial nutrients.  Ms. Weaver states that a potato actually contains more potassium than a banana.  And they are top shelf for nutritional value per penny in the produce aisle.

     So now as the leaves around us are turning color, think pale in the kitchen!

Fresh Fish

     As the name suggests the Midwest is as far from the coastline as possible.  Residents of The Heartland consider seafood a luxury when we on the east coast routinely enjoy such marine delicacies as crab, salmon, scallops and lobster.



     But in the land of 10,000 lakes there is no shortage of fresh water fish for the table.  The Walleye, also known as the pickerel to our northern English speaking Canadian neighbors, is a favorite of kitchen cooks and restaurant chefs.  It is a very flavorful and versatile fish that can be fried, broiled or baked.  In fact, more walleye is eaten in Minnesota than in any other state or jurisdiction.  No wonder it is the state fish of that state, as well as neighboring South Dakota and also Saskatchewan.  Two Minnesota towns, Garrison & Baudette, lay claim to being the walleye capital of the world, both with giant statues dedicated to the species.

       Known scientifically as Sander vitreus it is a native North American fish that grows to about three feet in length and weighs approximately 20 pounds.  It is caught recreationally and also harvested commercially.  The walleye is most often caught at night from dusk to dawn or in the late afternoon on windy days, giving rise to the meteorological term "walleye chop" for winds that kick up waves on the lake.

 

 

     Yes, Minnesota has the walleye as the state fish.  And apparently in St. Paul they also have a state fish restaurant:



A Party or a Stew?

     When the leaves begin to turn in the Twin Cities and Northeastern Wisconsin folks get out their booya kettles and begin to gather ingredients in advance of the hours (and sometimes days) long process of cooking up a thick soup to serve to the community.  The specially designed pots can hold 50 gallons or more that will be consumed by hundreds if not thousands of people who gather at church picnics, county fairs, fire houses and VFW halls.

     While its origin is unclear, the booya is the vehicle for many fund raisers and joyous community gatherings.  Some contend that the name is derived from the French bouillir, to boil.  Others advocate a Walloon Belgian origin from their term bouillier.  Both, however, are the root of the English word bouillon that we associate with a rich stock or soup.  It is thought that the first booya was made from turtle meat and cabbage.  But whatever the origin the foundation of booya is a broth made from meat bones to which vegetables such as carrots, rutabagas, celery and potatoes are added after any combination of beef, chicken and pork are simmered for hours.  Additional seasoning is often included contained in a cheesecloth bag.

     In the Highland Park neighborhood of St. Paul it is an annual fall tradition to cook up booya in 5 immense kettles that yields 350 gallons.  And the Roseville, MN Firefighters have been serving up what they claim is the best booya around since the 1940s.  This year to kick off Fire Prevention Week they will hold their community festival on Sunday October 6 beginning at 11am at the Roseville VFW on Woodhill Drive.  The local newspaper, The Pioneer Press, lists locations around the Twin Cities to find the booya event nearest you.

     If you'd like to try making some of your own, just click on recipe.  And don't worry, no two booyas are exactly alike.  So be creative!



Editor's note:  Following up on yesterday's VinnyPost I located an authentic tater tot hot dish recipe in downtown Mainland, PA!  It comes from the extensive cookbook collection of Susan Cassel.  Here it is:

1 can cheddar cheese soup
1 lb (?) ground beef
one bag tater tots

Spread ground beef in 9" pie plate. Slather cheddar cheese soup on beef. Top with single layer of tater tots.

Bake at 350 (?) until beef is cooked and tots are browned...

Tsk, tsk, Ms. Cassel...no veggies!!!   Vinny

Crowd Pleaser

     What would you prepare for a family reunion, a funeral luncheon, or a church supper?  If you lived in the Midwest, Minnesota in particular, you would make a hotdish.  Howard Mohr, author of How to Talk Minnesotan, says, "A traditional main course, hotdish is cooked and served hot in a single baking dish and commonly appears at family reunions and church suppers."

    

     It is a baked casserole containing a starch, meat (protein), canned or frozen vegetables, and mixed with some sort of condensed canned soup.  Most typically the meat is ground beef and the starch is either noodles, wild rice or tater tots.  The consensed soup is almost always cream of mushroom, or as it is commonly called "Lutheran Binder."  Another favorite is the tuna hotdish made with Kraft macaroni and cheese, canned tuna, and peas.

 

    Hotdish is filling, convenient to prepare and easy to transport.  At a communal meal when everyone brings something it pairs easily with potato salad, coleslaw, jello salad and pan baked cookies known as bars.

     Hotdish is also the integral element of the book "Hotdish to Die For," a collection of 6 culinary mystery short stories in which the weapon of choice is hotdish.  Make room at the dinner table, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle...

     And at the Minnesota State Fair:



Heartland Favorites

     It would appear that the folks at Food Network Magazine have been reading my web site.  In the most recent edition there is an article entitled, "Made in the Midwest" that echoes the theme I have been posting on the cuisine of the Heartland.  There's even going to be a new program on the Food Network premiering September 14th called Heartland Table.

     The show will be hosted by Amy Theilen, author of The New Midwestern Table: 200 Heartland Recipes.  She is quoted in the magazine article, saying, "Most Midwesterners share a no-nonsense approach to their food:  It's rustic, gutsy, simple and generous."  Her contention is that Midwestern food is a lot more interesting than steaks and pot roasts.  It is also creative and resourceful. 

     Take for example the bierock.  Also known as a runza, fleischkuche or kraut pirok, it is a meat filled pocket pastry baked in various shapes, determined as much by geography as by ethnicity.  It can look like a half moon, rectangle, a round bun, a triangle or a square.  And it can be filled with beef or pork, cabbage or sauerkraut, onions, and various seasonings.

     Originating in Russia in the 1800s the recipe made its way to Germany and eventually to the United States primarily by German Russian Mennonite immigrants.  The yeast dough bread pocket was baked and then carried by field workers to be eaten during their noontime lunch break.  Sometimes to avoid confusion the bierock would be initialed so each worker would know which one was theirs.

     Today the bierock can be found in the Americas from Argentina to Saskatchewan and in the Heartland in the Dakotas, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois, Kansas and Nebraska. 



Autumnal Equinox

     Yesterday at 4:44pm Autumn officially arrived.  That's the day when there is an equal amount of sunlight and darkness.  But it was also apparent by the arrival of cool mornings and pleasant afternoons.  Yes, the days of Summer are past for now.  And with the change of seasons comes the change in cooking styles.  Picnics are now in the rear view mirror and we are beginning to think about meals like chili and stew.

     In anticipation of Fall's arrival I made up one of my favorite meals, Shrimp and Crab Imperial Stew.  In reality it is more like soup but thick enough to be considered a stew.  It's not difficult to prepare and keeps well under refrigeration.  Here is the recipe for you to consider as you contemplate your Fall menu:

Shrimp & Crab Imperial Stew

 

6 slices bacon, chopped                                            salt and pepper to taste

2 large onions, sliced                                                1 lb large shrimp

1 1/2 quarts chicken stock                                       1 lb lump crabmeat

2 bags fresh spinach, rinsed and chopped           Tabasco sauce to taste

2 tomatoes, chopped                                                assorted chopped fresh herbs

1/2 tsp grated nutmeg

 

     Saute bacon and sliced onion in a large pot for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add stock, spinach, tomatoes, nutmeg, salt and pepper.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and cook for 15 minutes.  Add the shrimp and crabmeat and cook gently until shrimp are pink, 6 to 8 minutes.  Adjust seasonings and add a few dashes of Tabasco sauce to taste.  Garnish with chopped fresh herbs.

 

Serves 12

 

 

Recipe from: The Chesapeake Bay Crabbiest Cookbook by Whitey Schmidt

The Feast of San Gennaro

     On Sunday the 11 day Feast of San Gennaro will come to a conclusion in Little Italy, NYC.  It is quite an amazing event, part celebration of faith and part block party.  As you may recall, San Gennaro is the Patron Saint of Naples and in the lower Manhattan neighborhood which served as the first home in America for hundreds of thousands of Italian immigrants  each year their spirit and faith is celebrated with religious processions, colorful parades, musical entertainment and lots and lots of great ethnic food to go around.

 

     I had hoped to experience all the festivities of the opening day of the celebration and to witness the cannoli eating competition, but bad weather caused me to delay my cultural research there until the following day, Friday the 13th.  That proved to be a lucky day for me as I made my way down Mulberry Street to witness the festivities for myself.  On both sides of the street and down many of the side streets there were vendors eagerly and enthusiastically preparing just about every Italian food ever created.  There were also games of chance for those in attendance to test their skill.

    

 

     That Friday evening there was also a strolling brass band of Italian troubadours who struck up the theme from the movie "Godfather" on one corner.

 

    

     But in an attempt to separate myself from all the noise and commotion I ducked into a dark cafe for dinner.  I'm not sure of the name, since my receipt had one name printed on the top and my credit card slip said another.  But that didn't really matter since my meal was one of the absolute best seafood dinners I can recall.  Lots of shrimp were nestled along side calamari that cradled grilled salmon and pesce azzuro, a whole imported Italian bluefish.  The huge serving plate was barely able to contain it all, including a half steamed lobster.  All the misto frutti de mare was perched on an immense bed of roasted potatoes and broccoli.

 

     I thanked my server from Rome profusely for such a warm welcome and learned a new vocabulary word.  Abbodanza! It means plentiful in Italian.

Fair Factoids

     Here are some interesting facts about the Minnesota State Fair:

It is the second largest state fair in the country.  This year in 12 days nearly 1.8 million people passed through the gates.

The first fair was held in 1859, the first year after Minnesota achieved statehood.

Since 1889 the fair has been located on a 320 acre parcel of land in the Twin Cities.  It has 140 permanent structures and 8 miles of paved roads.

It was at the fair in 1901 that President Teddy Roosevelt delivered his famous "Speak softly and carry a big stick" address.

Each day over 2 dozen local radio and TV stations broadcast live on location from the fair.

     Now about the food:

There are 300 concession booths serving up 450 different kinds of food, including over 70 kinds of food on a stick.

145 tons of spuds are used to make french fries.

2.6 million cheese curds are sold.

25 acres of corn is harvested to be roasted and served.

Fair goers consume half a million corn dogs.

At the All You Can Drink Milk booth 25,000 gallons of white and chocolate milk are consumed.  It would take 1 cow 3-4 years to produce that total.

 

 

Over 4 million mini donuts are eaten.  That's around 338,000 dozen if you're counting.

And finally, to "end" the story...22,000 rolls of toilet paper are used during the 12 day event.

Questionable

     Let me begin by saying that I look forward to attending the Minnesota State Fair each year.  There is always so much to see, do and taste!  And it's always fun to sample the new fair foods and to rate them.

 

     But this year one new item, to me at least, was questionable.  Axel's has always done a fantastic job with their bull bites, skewered pieces of beef cooked to tender perfection.  But this year they offered something new and different, with cheese.  Cocoa dusted cheese bites tasted better than they looked, but that's not saying much.  Not even the Hershey's chocolate dipping sauce could make the little bites more appealing.  In fact, I gave up on the cheese bites and ended up sipping the chocolate syrup by itself.

 

     And then there was this offering:

 

And they weren't even served on an Amoroso roll!

Something New

     There were some new foods at the Fair this year.  The cronut is a combination of a doughnut and a croissant.  And if you wanted one you had to stand in a very long line.  But it was well worth the wait.

 

     Another newbie was comet corn, a freeze dried corn puff, more fluff than substance.

 

     One was a keeper, the other, not so much.

Food on a Stick

     When you think about food on a stick, what comes to mind?  Perhaps kabobs on the grill or maybe a popsicle.  But at The Minnesota State Fair food on a stick includes some things you might not consider.  Yes, they did have bacon wrapped shrimp on a stick, nothing unusual there.

 

     But how about a deep fried twinkie, or ostrich, or SPAM?

 



     And there's also some great breakfast to be had on a stick as well!  Something new this year a breakfast sausage corn dog with a side of syrup.

 



     But if you just want the basics to kick start your day you could order up big fat bacon on a stick.

 

And then to top it all off, how about key lime pie on a stick?

 



Usual & Unusual

     The highlight of the year for many Minnesotans is what has come to be referred to as "The Great Minnesota Get-Together" that is the State Fair.  Once again this year I ate my way from one end of the fair to the other, enjoying many stereotypical kinds of fair food.  There was candy apples and popcorn

 

There was also the standard cotton candy

 

and the foot long hot dog.

 

But there were some things that you might not see anywhere else on the planet.  The Tom Thumb mini-donuts may not be unique,

 

but they have spun off two other items that definitely are.   How about mini-donut ice cream?

 

or mini-donut beer?

 

More on fair food Monday, including the famous and infamous food on a stick!

Getting Personal

     Chances are there's a farmers' market near you.  But the chances of that are even better if you live in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area.  They have more than 50 markets selling local produce, baked goods, flowers and meat & fish 7 days a week.  I had the good fortune to take in the flagship farmers' market in St. Paul one Saturday.  It's located in Lowertown in a dedicated covered space at 5th and Wall Streets.

 

     It is quite literally a cornicopia of color as local agrarians display red heirloom tomatoes, white candy onions, purple potatoes, yellow marigolds and green lettuce for sale.  An agricultural bonanza awaits those who stop by on weekends throughout the growing season.  In addition, other locally sourced items are also available, like honey, soap, flavored olive oils, baked goods, cheese and herbs.  Freshly butchered meats are also for sale as is farm raised trout.

 

     Everyone is the winner at the farmers' market.  It brings us back from the global village and roots us in our own village.  It makes the shopping experience personal.  There we get to know who grew our food, to talk and to sample the best of the land and lake.  I stopped to chat with several merchant farmers about what they had for sale that day.  Never having heard of lunchbox sweet peppers I was encouraged to try one and found them to be something new and tasty.  Likewise the cherry tomatoes were bursting with flavor when I popped one in my mouth.  The woman behind the table mentioned that they were just coming into full season due to a late start because of a May snowfall.  Really?

 

     And if all the fruit, produce and flowers weren't enough to attract customers, they even had a live band performing in the center of the market.  When was the last time you heard someone playing a musical saw?



United Nations on Wheels

     I was looking for Andrew Zimmern's food truck on Marquette Street in Mnpls but I found a whole lot more.  There were nearly 2 dozen food trucks lined up on both sides of the street for 4 blocks.  They represented cuisines from all around the globe.  People from all walks of life were happily ordering their lunch from international fare.  Greek, English, Spanish, Thai, Chilean, Indian, Japanese, American and Korean food was available serving up fafalel, empenadas, tacos, burgers, pasties, gyros, tabbouleh, and pulled pork.  There was also a truck in line serving up vegan specialties.

 

     As you might imagine, that made ordering a difficult matter.  After having already enjoyed a cup of AZ Canteen gumbo I carefully reviewed each menu as I joined in the noon time throng.    Eventually, though, I decided to try a seafood empenada and was not disappointed.  The only disappointment was that I could not sample a little from each truck!

 

 



Road Food

     Those of you who watch The Food Channel know that Andrew Zimmern hosts the Bizarre Food show.  But perhaps you didn't know that he currently resides in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota.  He has also recently begun a new venture, the AZ Canteen.  It is a food truck with, as you might expect, a menu that is not typical.  Of his road food Zimmern says, "I want to create tasty food that might inspire and stretch the average American's idea of what food can and should be."  And he certainly has.  You've probably never eaten a crispy pork belly, a griddled veal tongue slider or a goat sausage grinder.  They are all on the menu at the food truck, parked each week day on Marquette Avenue in Minneapolis.

 

     So of course I wanted to see the AZ Canteen for myself.  Over the lunch hour I made my way to downtown Mnpls, as the locals spell it, and looked down a long row of 19 food trucks that stretched for 4 city blocks.  Wanting to sample food from more than one truck I began with an appetizer, a cup of andouille, oyster & crab gumbo.  It was all that I expected and more.  It was redolent with the hot spices of the sausage and filled to the brim with seafood and vegetables.  The okra provided the substance that gave it body.  It was wonderful!

 

     Unfortunately, the canteen won't stay in the Twin Cities for long.  As the temperature falls the truck will migrate east and then south to milder climes and be spared the brutal Minnesota winter weather.

     Not even the gumbo could stave off that kind of cold!

Where's the Beef?

     I realize that when it comes to the world of the culinary arts I am a neophyte.  There is a lot I have yet to learn.  But I am an enthusiastic student and eager to increase my fund of knowledge on the subject.  That's why I did some research on a portion of the meal I recently enjoyed at The Heartland Restaurant.

     When I took notice to one item on the menu I wasn't sure what exactly it was.  Is Limousin beef a type of cut, like a tenderloin, or a style of cooking, like braising?  Turns out it is neither.  The term Limousin refers to an area in France where the beef breed originated over 20,000 years ago.  Cave drawings there clearly depict the highly muscled cattle bred in the Limousin and Marche regions.  But it wasn't until about 50 years ago that the characteristically reddish hued cattle were exported outside of France.  Today they can be found in over 70 countries world wide and in all 50 of our United States.



     They are genetically leaner beef and documented research by such august Midwestern universities as Iowa State have concluded that Limousin beef is 95% fat free.  The breed excels in converting grain into lean, red meat, not fat.  In fact, the meat contains only 2.5% fat which is half the amount found in other Choice beef.  It contains no more cholesterol than chicken or pork.  It is lower in calories and saturated fat than any other cut of beef on the market and has been found to be more tender, juicy and flavorful.

     No wonder the industry's slogan is "Lean on Limousin."

The Heartland

     The Midwest is the portion of our great country that is nestled in between the West Coast and the East Coast.  Many refer to it as The Heartland, the heart and soul of the nation.  Folks there are straightforward and uncomplicated, without pretense.  They are meat and potato kind of people.  And so is the cuisine.

     Only in the Midwest can you find things like bierock and breaded steak, hoppel poppel and halushka, and Green Bay chili.  All local delicacies but with a common theme.  They all get to the point of satiating an appetite without a lot of bells and whistles.  It's good food prepared well and heartily enjoyed.  Such is life in the Heartland.

 

     So I guess it's no coincidence that I found a restaurant in St. Paul called appropriately enough, The Heartland.  Located in an old warehouse down in the Lowertown district it is strategically right across 5th Street from the farmers' market.  One of many interesting features about the place is that they print their menu daily.  That's because it changes each day, depending on what is delivered that is fresh and local.  I stopped by on August 30 and the menu reflected the best of the land and lake.  Consider some of the small plate items listed that Friday: chilled sweet corn soup, field greens, tempura squash blossoms and elk terrine.  The large plates included steelhead trout, Duroc pork chop, whitefish and black Angus strip streak.  Sides were equally tantalizing, serving up golden potatoes, cauliflower, tricolor string beans and summer squash.

     But for my meal I opted to try the 3 course fixed price dinner under the heading of Fauna.  Here's how the menu described it:

     Rainbow trout/baby tomatoes/pickled cauliflower/mustard sauce/basil sprouts
     Limousin beef/cornbread gnocchi/eggplant/red onions/maitake mushrooms/ smoke pepper coulis
     Chocolate pot de creme/heirloom pear relish/hazelnut shortbread ice cream sandwich

     It was an amazing meal indeed!  And each course came to the table ready for complete consumption, not adorned with useless decoration like ornamental kale or inedible flowers.  The food, the service, and the ambiance all reflected the friendly, but let's get down to business style of the Midwest.

     After dinner I strolled through their market place and found some local delights for sale.  Rainbow trout, honey and even pickled peppers!  Life is good in The Heartland. 



Real American Food

     "Whether you see the national diet as a melting pot or a smorgasbord, as something to be celebrated for its cultural diversity or fretted over for its worrisome homogenization, the fact is that ours is a cuisine that has always been happy to hyphenate with the rest of the world."  So say Jane and Michael Stern in their introduction of The Lexicon of Real American Food.  They contend that American food, like the population that eats it, is wildly diverse.

     I would whole hearted agree, especially after my recent trip out to Minnesota over the Labor Day holiday.  Out there "on the edge of the Prairie" certain cultures predominate.  But they are by no means the only fare on the plate.  Yes, you can get lutefisk and lefse and  hotdish at a Lutheran church supper.  But you can also enjoy a juicy Lucy or Banh Mi there as well.

     For the next several days I will be reporting on my findings as I conducted culinary research in the upper Midwest.  I researched a local restaurant, a fabulous farmers' market and the famous Minnesota State Fair for food that represents the region.