While we were in the ramp patch last week, we saw plenty of trout lilies. I learned about the trout lily last year, and knew that you could prepare and eat the leaves. Since they enjoy the same habitat as the ramps, it’s pretty easy to pick a bunch of them at the same time…
Fish/Seafood
Lobster Mushroom Crusted Walleye, Winter Wild Rice
Wondering what to do with all those dried lobster mushrooms? Here’s a great technique. At a restaurant I used to work at, the signature dish was veal tenderloin crusted with ground porcini and espresso. The first night I did a stage trying to get a job, they offered me some chow, whatever I wanted off…
Northern Pike Dumplings in Yellowfoot Chanterelle Consomme
Here’s a refined, elegant recipe for using nothern pike and yellowfoot chanterelles together. The Lyon region of France is famous for a recipe using pike made into fish mousse dumplings, called quenelles de brochet. Since pike is filled with tiny bones, fileting it out to be boneless results in very thin pieces of fish that…
Gnocchi, Northern Pike-Porcini Ragu and Escarole
This recipe is an great example of how Italian and cooking has shaped the recipes that float through my mind. Geographically speaking, you wouldn’t think that Minnesota shares much with Italy, but that just isn’t so. Minnesota is the land of ten thousand lakes, formed by the movement of glaciers so long time ago. Interestingly…
Matsutake Smothered Grouper, with Kohlrabi and Spinach
When I was a kid, fish was typically some frozen fish sticks pulled out of the freezer for a quick meal. I would drown them in lemon juice, the strong, concentrated stuff that comes in a green bottle, and I loved it. The fish, once crispy, would begin to get soggy with the lemon juice,…
Shellfish Ragu, Aborted Entolomas, Heirloom Tomatoes, Mint
I knew a couple people had spoken about these things called aborted entolomas when I started picking mushrooms, but it took me about a year to be confident in recognizing them. Information about their edibility is out there, but there is not tons of it. Guides from the Pacific Northwest did not discuss it, but…
Cisco, Chanterelles, Daylilies, Endamame, and Soy-Vinegar Sauce.
Thinking of cooking chanterelles in the summer fills my head with ideas. Their floral, fruity smell means we need some light accompaniments that won’t take over and steal the show. Thinking of how their smell is so sweet, almost like flowers, reminded me of the daylilies growing outside next to my haggard, midget-mint plant. I…
Fried Perch with Peas, Ham and Yellowfoot Chanterelle Sauce
The combination of peas, meat, mushrooms onions is a tried and true stand one. At an Italian restaurant I used to work at, we had very popular menu item called “Fettuccine Bosciola”(meaning in the style of the forest). This recipe is a fun play on the traditional ingredients, using them as the basis for a…