Mad City weekend-Day 1

Some people go to Madison, WI to go to college; some go for the beer; some have no choice if they want to get to Chicago from the Twin Cities.  I go to Madison to grocery shop. I bring coolers and a shopping list and hit the ground running.

The first stop is the Norske Nook in Osseo, WI for their award winning pie. Through the years they’ve won a total of 16 ribbons at the National Pie Championship in Florida.  Although their custard (made with 14 egg yolks) is a personal favorite and the butterscotch was hard to pass up, this year we sampled raspberry white chocolate and coconut pineapple dream.  The raspberry white chocolate was our favorite.  Although it’s been a first place winner, I was disappointed in the coconut pineapple dream.  The coconut cream layer just wasn’t very creamy.  They can’t all be home runs.  With leftovers stored in the cooler, it was on to Mauston for award-winning Wisconsin cheese.

I won’t stop at just any cheese store with a giant mouse and a cheddar wedge sitting out front.  I love Carr Valley cheese.  They’ve been in business over 100 years and make cheese the old-fashioned way.  They won 16 ribbons and two Best in Show awards at the 2008 American Cheese Society Competition.  They make traditional cheeses, some incredible artisanal cheeses using cow, goat and sheep milks, and of course, fabulous curds.  They have a new store right off of Interstate 90/94 at the Mauston exit so I can zip in, buy more cheese than I need, and get right back on the road.

My choices this time were wildflower cheddar, cocoa cardona, black sheep truffle, bread cheese, peppa-gouda, fontina, canaria, creama kasa, and sweet vanilla cardona.  And of course a bag of curds in case we got hungry on the road.  Actually I know some people that can make the trip from the Twin Cities to Madison without stopping for any food.  Huh.  That doesn’t sound like much fun.

We made good time to Madison so I decided to go to Bavaria Sausage right away and not wait until Saturday.  I originally heard about this place from a Tony Bourdain cookbook.  If there’s such a thing as a Disneyland of smoked, cured and ground meat, this is it!  I opened the door of the car and the aroma of the smokehouse wafted in.  I couldn’t wait to start shopping.  Their creamy braunschweiger is like butter.  It’s the best I’ve ever had and I’ve been eating braunschweiger for as long as I can remember.  Brats, wursts, kielbasas, summer sausages, dry cured sausages, hams, the list goes on . . . it’s all made,  and cured and smoked in-house. And there’s all the stuff to go with it there plus a wall of imported candy.  We stocked up on our personal favorite, Kinder Buenos.

With one cooler full we finally made it to our destination.  Dinner was at our favorite pizza place, Glass Nickel.  Ben’s favorite is the Pepperoni Pile On sandwich, and my favorite is the Fetalicious pizza with sausage.  Time for bed and dreams of the Dane County Farmer’s Market.

Pork and Greens

I’m already a week into the third box, but I haven’t even finished posting the remains of the second box.  So let’s catch up.

I used my spinach to make Spinach with Chickpeas and Ricotta Salata from the cookbook Urban Italian.  I have really been looking forward to making this and have to admit that the end result fell short of my expectations.  Frying the chickpeas made them very dry.  The highlight of the dish was the Tilsit cheese I substituted for the ricotta salata.  Benjamin, the cheese monger at France 44 cheese shop, made the suggestion and it was a winner.  I didn’t think there was a chance he’d steer me wrong.  I’ll definitely buy the cheese again.

So once the spinach was used it was time for a new box and a more greens.  I felt like I was losing ground. 

The contents of the new box:

Red Leaf or Red Boston lettuce
Kohlrabi
Spinach
French Breakfast Radishes
Purple Scallions
Garlic Scapes
Yukina Savoy
Asparagus
Rhubarb
Sauté Mix
Basil

I have to honestly say I don’t know how I’d keep up with my CSA box without pork products.  You’ll see what I mean.

In the South they make something called “soup beans” which are basically beans cooked with some water and a ham hock and if you want you can  throw in some greens at the end.  I had some really lovely heirloom yellow-eyed beans that I bought at the Asheville Farmer’s Market the last time I was there (which was long enough ago that I worried the beans wouldn’t get soft). 

I cooked the beans with a ham hock and some onions and garlic scapes in my pressure cooker.  They took a little longer to cook than I planned on but when they were done, on my, were they delicious!  Firm yet creamy and full of flavor.  I added some sliced andouille sausage and two bunches of yukina savoy.  This was delicious with a dollop of sour cream mixed in. 

Last week a bouquet of fresh basil came with the farm box.  I was sure it was a goner since basil wasn’t in my plans for the weekend.  I was smoking a pork shoulder on Saturday.  There’s the pork again!

Anyway, I put the bouquet in a glass with water and left it on the kitchen table and it was still fresh a week later.  This is great when you can’t use a delicate green like this right away.

In the summertime this is my go-to pasta recipe from Tigers and Strawberries.  There are endless variations that you can make with this recipe.  Last night’s version included capellinni, onions, garlic scapes, red wine, fresh basil and some of my homemade spicy garlic sausage.  Later in the summer I can throw in zucchini, summer squash, leeks and any greens I have on hand.  No matter the combination it is always delicious and a change of page from a stir-fry.  And don’t be afraid of anchovy paste.  Really. 

I still have the red leaf lettuce and saute mix hanging over my head.

Asparagus Tartza

I couldn’t decide if this was more of a rustic tart or a pizza so I just made up a word.

I started with a frozen puff pastry sheet.  Usually I buy Pepperidge Farms or Trader Joes, but I found some at the UBake in Savage.  If you haven’t been there, check it out.  I’ve gone to the one in Madison, WI for years.  They have great frozen ready-to-bake products.  I love their puff pastry because it comes as 2 large unfolded sheets to a packge.  One sheet is the size of an entire package of  other commercial brands, so it fills my half-sheet pan. 

I topped it with a sour cream & chive mixture, sauteed asparagus and green garlic, and cubes of brie, bleu, and swiss cheeses.  I wanted to use up some small pieces of cheese I had left. Also, the Lund’s in my neighborhood keeps a basket of odds and ends pieces of cheese in one of their deli cases. It’s a great way to try a new cheese.

Asparagus Tartza

Puff pastry* for a 12 x 17 half size sheet pan or cookie sheet(line pan with parchment paper or Silpat)
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 lb. asparagus cut into 1-inch lengths
1 stalk green garlic or 2 cloves garlic
1 1/2 cups cubed cheese(Cut into 1/2-inch cubes. Go ahead. Go crazy with some new flavors.)
Kosher or coarse sea salt
Coarsely ground black pepper

Sauce
1/2 cup sour cream
2-3 Tbsp. fresh chives, chopped
1 Tbsp. heavy cream

*If you need to you can pinch together two smaller sheets of pastry.

Preheat oven to 350.

Heat oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Saute asparagus and garlic until asparagus is slightly softened, about 10 minutes. Don’t be afraid to let the asparagus brown in spots. Set aside.

Lay puff pastry on sheet pan. Stir together the sauce ingredients and brush over the pastry. Spoon on the asparagus mixture and distribute cheese cubes over the top. Sprinkle on some coarse salt and grind some pepper over the top.

Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes. Turn the oven up to 400 and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes, checking to make sure it’s browning nicely but not burning.

I think next time I will parbake the puff pastry sheet for about 10 minutes and then top and return to the oven.

I served this as a side to a steak, which was probably overkill. This would go nicely with a salad for a light spring dinner.

Plenty of the Green Stuff: Thai Chicken Basil Stir Fry

Now that the fruit, the favorite part of my CSA box, has been taken care of, it’s on to the green stuff.  Delicate green things, like pea vine, don’t have a long shelf life. When you have multiple delicate green things at once it can put you into a bit of a panic.  Pea vine can wilt in the produce drawer inside of a day if you don’t store it in a glass of water. I also had some han tsai tai which also needed to be used quickly.

A stir fry is always a good solution for this.  My friend Tessa had mentioned Thai basil chicken earlier in the day.  Coincidentally, I planted Thai basil in my garden two weeks ago!  Chicken breasts were thawing in the fridge.  I was halfway to having dinner made.

I added onion, chili pepper, and green garlic to a smoking hot wok. One of the tricks to a successful stir fry at home is to heat the wok over high heat until it starts to wisp smoke, add the oil and bring it almost to smoking.  As you add ingredients, let them sit a bit to carmelize and to bring the heat of the wok back up.  This is especially important for the meat.  Let it sit until it starts to brown on the underside before starting to stir fry.

After I stir-fried the chicken a bit I piled on chopped pea vine and han tsai tai.  They filled the wok to the top but they cook down a lot.

As the greens began to cook down I added the sauce ingredients and Thai basil and continued to stir fry a few more minutes.

I served the stir fry over chuka soba noodles, which are kind of like ramen noodles but without the seasoning packet.

 

Pucker up for Rhubarb Ice Cream

I’m learning that if I throw enough sugar, cream and butter at something, I’ll eat anything. That seems to be what happens to my CSA produce. And I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with that. To quote Alton Brown: “I’m not saying it’s the best thing in the world for you, I’m just saying it’s the best thing in the world.”

This is what was in the box for this round:

Green Garlic
Green Onion
Parsnips
Sunchokes
Spinach
Salad Mix
Spring Radish (red this time)
Pea Vine
Rhubarb
Asparagus
Hon Tsai Tai

Of course the parsnips and the sunchokes were left behind. I was met at the door of the drop site by a little toddler gnawing on a stem of rhubarb. What a little doll-baby. I get a kick out of how babies LOVE sour things. I’m wondering who discovered that rhubarb is not only edible but can be delicious. Have you ever tasted it raw? You’ll think you’ve been poisoned, it’s that SOUR! And I’m someone who can drink lemon juice straight-up. Every year I think, oh it can’t be as bad as I remember, I take a little nibble, and pow. That’ll pucker up your kisser.

I saw last week that someone made ice cream so I decided that sounded good. I supplemented what I received from the CSA with some from my small patch in the backyard. I used the recipe from Sugarlaws, which is accompanied by a funny little story about a guy hitting on her in the grocery story by showing interest in her rhubarb.

The ice cream is super easy to make and tart, in a good way. I can’t decide if I liked it better with strawberries on top or melted marshmallow cream. I can’t believe I didn’t try it with both at the same time! My brain must have been frozen. That would be the way to go. Anyway, it’s a really refreshing ice cream.

Now that I’d polished off the fruit, which is always my favorite part of a CSA box, it’s on to the green stuff.