Great Lakes Foodie

Flatbread with Arugula, Asparagus, and Fried Eggs

Great Lakes Foodie — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 00:58:53 +0000

Check out this recipe from Bon Appetit. I found it in a bar food discussion. Talk about amazing bar food!!!

Flatbread with Arugula, Asparagus, and Fried Eggs: Recipe : bonappetit.com.

It’s Fall Liqueur Time!!

Great Lakes Foodie — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 14:17:46 +0000

A few weeks ago, I stopped by Penzey’s Spices to buy some star anise. This beautiful spice was to be used in a dish I was making called Tee Pon Pork. The salesperson at the checkout asked me if I was making liqueur. (I had also picked up some vanilla bean.) When I indicated that I wasn’t, he offered that many people had been in recently purchasing these ingredients to make their “fall liqueurs.” Intrigued, I started reading online about anise-flavored liqueurs. I found several recipes talking about herbal libations made with anise, fennel, and other seeds. Then, I found the anise and vanilla bean recipe. Very simple…very easy.

1 750ML bottle of vodka

3-4 star anise

1 vanilla bean, split in half to expose seeds

Drop the anise and vanilla into a bottle of vodka. Let steep for several weeks. If you’d like a sweeter liqueur, add some simple syrup after straining out the vanilla and anise. I’m going to store mine in the freezer once made so I have the liqueur on hand chilled and ready to go.

Technorati Tags: liqueur, Star anise, Vanilla Bean

Mushroom Risotto

Great Lakes Foodie — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 01:49:26 +0000

Risotto is a traditional Italian dish that capitalizes on rice and its starch. The starch is converted into a creamy, delicious sauce that envelopes the rice in a sauce flavored by whatever you can think of. I made a mushroom risotto tonight for dinner. Shiitake mushrooms looked good today. I found some sliced cremini and dried porcini at the store as well.

Remember to watch salt in this dish. Use low sodium chicken stock and good sherry (don’t buy cooking sherry!!!). You can modify the salt content at the end of the cooking process. As everything reduces into the creamy dish, starting out with a high salt content may ruin your dish! Look below for the recipe that I made tonight. I employed a traditional risotto method and added mushrooms to enhance flavor. The traditional method includes the toasting process for rice, introduction of acid (sherry), and slow incorporation of liquid (chicken/mushroom stock)

Technorati Tags: Mushrooms, Rice, Risotto

Twitter: Bon Appetit – 16 Secret Supermarket Ingredients Chefs Love

Great Lakes Foodie — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 21:35:07 +0000

GreatLakeFoodie

Bon Appetit – 16 Secret Supermarket Ingredients Chefs Love http://bit.ly/9qytoB

[Source]

Alpine Village Changes Face

Great Lakes Foodie — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 02:12:58 +0000

On my way to work this morning, I took a different route. I wanted to mix things up…partly because I need a change of pace; partly because I needed a bit more time to pass before I walked into the office! Driving the side roads of Mequon, a suburb of Milwaukee, I passed a Milwaukee icon: the Alpine Village restaurant. My family frequented this place many times over the years. It reminds me of the years my grandparents moved from restaurant to restaurant via the Entertainment Coupon book. Each year, we’d get to go to Alpine Village as a special treat. We gave a special treat back to my grandmother in 2005 when we celebrated her 80th birthday. We invited all of her sisters, cousins, and last remaining uncles to share in the occasion. This restaurant featured German and Swiss fare. It’s decor was that of a Swiss chalet and it was augmented by live piano music. The music itself really hit home for those born before 1930!!!

A few months ago, it was announced that the owners had enough of the restaurant business. They had decided to retire and sell the place. It will become a Mexican restaurant…kind of a theme of late in our city. I was reminded of the change this morning as I drove past. The cream stucco with dark brown wood beam framing is changing. The cream is turning into a bright, Caribbean blue. The brown is taking on a terra cotta look. (We’re nearing cliche colors for Mexican here!!!)

I will definitely try out the new restaurant being so close to our home. However, I’ll never forget those great family memories of the “Alpine.” So long good friend!

Technorati Tags: Mequon WI