BOO!


I can't take credit for these beautiful cupcakes, but I still wanted to show how beautiful they are. The artistic director from a non-profit client made them and I snapped a picture when I stopped by their offices today.

Aren't they fun? There are skulls, and rats and a finger. Even candy pumpkins and a skeleton crawling out of one. Beautiful.

Happy Halloween everyone!!

A Warm Autumn Soup and a Fun New Toy.

This Carrot-Ginger soup made a great Sunday lunch on a cool day, after raking the leaves. The carrots provide a subtle flavor and the ginger surprises you with its bite. And like most of the recipes I make, it was easy. Some chopped garlic and ginger, sliced carrot and chicken stock, and simmer. Then I got to use the new Cuisinart Cordless Immersion Blender I picked up at the Chef's Gallery in Stillwater, MN. I had longed for one of these each time I made soup, and now, well, it's just that much easier. No pouring hot liquid into a blender and no exploding blender when I turn it on.

And it makes wicked quick smoothies too!

A favorite (spicy) weeknight meal.

I found this recipe a couple of years ago and immediately fell in love with it. It's called Broiled Tilapia with Thai Coconut-Curry Sauce and I found it in Cooking Light.

And the best part? It's really easy. Shhhh, don't tell your guests that.

Start with a dash of sesame oil, garlic and fresh ginger. When it starts smelling really delicious and you can't pull your nose from the pan, throw in red pepper and green onions (they make it really pretty). A reviewer on the CL site recommended adding shitake mushrooms and unfortunately I forgot them this time, but think they're a great addition. Their soft texture is a contrast to the crunchy red pepper. Saute the vegetables for a minute then throw in curry powder, red curry paste (yum), and cumin. After a minute add a touch of brown sugar, a can of coconut milk, a bit of salt and soy sauce. Warm it all up and toss in some cilantro. Meanwhile, brush the tilapia with sesame oil and salt and broil it for 7 minutes. Serve over rice with a lime wedge.

The sauce has some spice, but not enough to make you uncomfortable (sister didn't agree). Tilapia is an eco-friendly fish, see here, which is really important to me. And of course anything curry has got to be good, right?

Halloween Candy Made Better!!

Who would have thunk, but Chow.com has recipes for our favorite Halloween Candy from childhood. Yes, the Almond Jay (Almond Joy) is/was one of my favorites. They also have my Mother's favorite, the Snickles (Snickers), my second favorite, the Twixt (Twix) and, of course, PB Cups (Reese's). Chow has recipes (and directions) for each. And now that I'm not traveling to Mexico City for Halloweed/Day of the Dead, maybe I'll try to whip something up. Regardless, it's a great article.

http://www.chow.com/stories/10746

City Pages' Iron Fork!

We made it over to the Iron Fork last night. I guess this is the second year of the event, which is a local chef cook-off to benefit Second Harvest Heartland. And it was fun. We got there at 530 when the doors opened to avoid the crowds, and I'm glad we did. The food was really much better, and there was much more, than we expected. Obviously, we headed right towards the wine table.

Yellow Tail was the wine sponsor and was serving pinot grigio, chardonnay and some reds (which we didn't try). We did try plenty of the white. And then we started eating. We had "Marinated pork wraps served with picled carrots, onions and lettuce" from Ngon Vietnamese Bistro. Then "Fresh vegetarian spring rolls and long-grain Hom-Mali rice braised in coconut milk" from Naviya's Thai restaurant. Then we really kicked it into gear. Torta's from Manny's Torta's (Husband's new favorite sandwich shop), Balina smoked salmon served with creamy dill cucumber sauce from O'Donovans, an amazing Grilled miniature lamb chop (I don't eat lamb) marinated in a balsamic vinagrette from Jake O'Connor's Public House, Chicken Chimilttrufias from Salsa A La Salsa, BBQ Fischer Farms pork and wild mushroom pasty from Jay's Cafe and Fresh, live schucked oysters from our favorite restaurant, Sea Salt.

From Jakeeno's we had a beautiful garlicky tomato pesto bruschetta, asparagus wrapped in proscuitto and olives (eaten).
Then we found some more wine and dessert. The View Restaurant and Bar was offering "Chocolate Dreams: Bread pudding with chocolate flavoring and an ice cream center." The Chocolate part was great, but where was the ice cream? And then, the Afton House Inn offered "Mini pumpkins with pumpkin custard (creme brulee), pumpkin seed and spiced anglaise.

And then they started cooking. Five chefs took to the floor and had to create one dish, two plates with the secret ingedient from Pepin Heights orchard. Can you guess what it might be?

There were chefs from Restaurant Alma (not our favorite, its a long story), The Art Institutes Culinary Program, Barbette, Harry's Food and Cocktails, and one other place I had never heard of. They chefs were given an hour to prepare two servings of one dish. So, after about twenty minutes it got boring. But the smells were worth it. There were fresh herbs, and halibut, something being smoked and lots and lots of local, juicy apples. I couldn't see what the chefs across the way were working on, but it was still pretty cool.

I finally made it to Common Roots Cafe

I made it there early this morning and brought a dozen beautiful bagels and some scrumptious cream cheese to the Office. First impressions are important, and the interior of Common Roots is all I could have expected. The atmosphere is clean, and airy and very inviting. The baked goods and pasta salads all looked divine, as did the vegan chili and the cherry tart. It was all I could do to not still the whole thing in my purse. Made with Door County cherries, it was the size of a medium pizza and could have fed me for the day. But, no tart for me today, just the bagels.

There has been a lot of hype around this cafe and these bagels, and I have to say they were good. Now, I've never had an authentic New York bagel, so I have nothing to compare it to, but these were good. They (yes, I had two) are crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. I smothered mine in Pumpkin Spice Cream Cheese (which I could have eaten with a spoon, but my coworkers would have been skinned me for taking it all). Reviews were good. One person said they needed to be microwaved, but others appreciated the tough exterior. I didn't try the toaster, but that may have made them even tougher. Despite the picky people, most people really enjoyed them, or maybe they were just happy with free food.

I'll be going back, next time to for lunch. And a bite of that tart.