Erbazzone, also known as scarpazonne, a rustic pie (technically called a torta) of foraged greens from Emilia Romagna in Northern Italy, is one of the first things I’ll be making again this year. This is a traditional, Italian preparation for greens with lots of modern and unique localized variations that may or may not share…
Baking
Wild Rice Flour Cornbread
A few years ago I set out on a mission to make wild rice cornbread to serve 200 people for the Wild Harvest Festival. I tested out a batch using the last of my wild rice flour that I’d bought from the White Earth Reservation, and it came out good, but I needed to test…
Spicebush Gingerbread with Pumpkin Mousse and Butternuts
I asked people on Instagram what they’re favorite things to do with spicebush (Lindera bezoin) was, and I got a big range of answers. One thing that popped up more than others though, was gingerbread, and, I have to say it’s pretty fun. I do think though, that the flavor of spicebush is much more…
Castagnaccio-Inspired Maple and Acorn Flour Torte
When I sat down to write the nut chapter on my book, I knew I had to do some fun things with acorns, and I really wanted to make a dessert to illustrate how acorn flour can be used as a substitute for chestnut flour Italians use to make things like castagnaccio, the chestnut flour…
Spicebush Cream Cheese Frosting
I’ve been having a lot of fun working with a big bag of wild spicebush berries (the seeds of Lindera bezoin) that my friend Val sent me. Spicebush frosting is the first real winner. Granted, I don’t consume lots of frosting, or bake that often, but I suspect that knowing fat and dairy can absorb…
Pine Pollen and Honey Shortbread Cookies
Pollen is so much more than a “medicinal ingredient”. Pollen and honey cookies are a love letter to the life of bees, and a little study in complimentary flavors you can use when cooking with pollen. Although bees (at least to my knowledge) don’t harvest pollen from pine trees or cattails, the flavors of pollen,…
Pollen Bread
My pollen bread is essentially pollen cornbread, with a few tweaks, and it’s a good introductory pollen recipe to start out with if you have some pollen to use. Most of the time, when people talk about cooking with pollen, they might think of pollen pancakes, and they can be good, as well as your…
Candy Cap Tres-Leches Cake
After Lucia’s closed, I didn’t feel like running another restaurant quite yet, so I negotiated a part time job consulting on the menu of a little French restaurant near Edina. I was slumming, but I just couldn’t bear tackling another large operation just yet. It wasn’t a good fit. I ended up turning what was…
