In this episode of Wild Game Kitchen, I’m demystifying cooking clams, mussels and oysters—all three incredible, sustainable seafood options that are fun to forage. First up, chef Zimmern cooks a pot of creamy clam chowder with a fortified clam broth. Then, he shares a simple but impressive recipe for mussels fra diavolo—mussels cooked in a… Read More →
Baked Oysters with Marmite By Derek Dammann Marmite is gross, but this dish is good. I get these amazing beach oysters from Outlandish Shellfish Guild in Harriot Bay on Quadra Island. Kathy and Victor raise the most amazing West Coast shellfish, seriously the best in my opinion. Each oyster is the size of your hand… Read More →
The Best Thing I Ate This Week By Andrew Zimmern In celebration of his latest book, Derek Dammann came down from Montreal to cook a special dinner with Jamie Bissonnette in Toro’s private dining room in New York City. The food was eclectic and lumberjack chic, with a foie gras course incorporating some devilishly delicious apple and maple… Read More →
Ristede østers med friskost By Darra Goldstein One of my favorite food memories is walking out onto the mudflats on the island of Fanø on Denmark’s west coast with my friend Eja and oysterman Jesper Voss on a chilly November morning. Jesper carries a permit to dig the thousands of oysters that poke up out… Read More →
A Taste of Spring By Daniel Rose How to shuck an oyster:
A Sustainable Option By Jamie Malone I like to make this oyster gravy and serve it with our sourdough bread for dipping. It is also excellent over white fish, such as halibut. How to shuck an oyster:
A Classic Seafood Soup By Andrew Zimmern Growing up in NYC and spending summers at a sleep-away camp in Maine, I was exposed to many styles of this classic seafood soup. I think this version is unmatched—a beautiful marriage of intense brininess with decadent creaminess. It’s a comfort food dinner that your whole family will… Read More →
The BEST Clam Chowder By Andrew Zimmerm In this episode of Wild Game Kitchen, I demystify cooking clams, mussels and oysters—all three incredible, sustainable seafood options that are fun to forage. First up is this pot of creamy clam chowder with a fortified clam broth.
By Andrew Zimmern This is a light, refreshing and fun way to celebrate the season’s rhubarb. Not to mention it is a stunner! It’s so easy, yet impressive. Feel free to use red snapper, bay scallops, shrimp, clams and oysters, as an addition or substitution for the scallops.
Like so many other food professionals, I’ve been cooking since I was a little kid tugging at my grandmother’s apron strings. I learned food prep basics sitting in her teeny West End Avenue apartment kitchen on weekends as a young boy. I cooked with my mom and dad every chance I could, and I treasured… Read More →
A Taste of New Orleans in Your Own Kitchen Mardi Gras is an annual excuse to eat, drink and celebrate all day long before the start of Lent. Next to king cake and party beads, you can’t forgo a meal of classic Creole and Cajun flavors. Here are a few of my favorite recipes for… Read More →
Minnesota Honey Producers at the State Fair After you’ve had your cheese curd fix in the Food Building, make your way next door to the iconic octagon-shaped Agriculture & Horticulture Building for a scoop of honey ice cream and a quick lesson on beekeeping. There’s a large footprint dedicated to honey and honey products made… Read More →
Eventide’s Brown Butter Lobster Roll A city that’s tethered to the ocean and everything it produces, Portland, Maine is the pearl of New England. Fresh seafood is the heart and soul of all the great restaurants in this town, from casual dockside butter-drenched lobster rolls to wood oven-roasted Maine mussels at local stalwart Fore Street.… Read More →
Po’ Boys at R&O Restaurant There is no city in the world like New Orleans. Its history, culture and cuisine truly make it a magical and captivating place. From muffuletta sandwiches at Central Grocery to oysters Rockefeller at Galatoire’s, even the most touristy restaurants are irresistible. On my last visit, I discovered a new favorite… Read More →
The Ultimate Seafood Tower By Andrew Zimmern This is Plateau de Fruits de Mer 101. First, learn how to dispatch a lobster and cook it in a court bouillon, and then how to steam crab, mussels and shrimp in a multi-tiered bamboo steamer. I’ll teach you how to shuck oysters and clams with the proper… Read More →
How to Shuck an Oyster First place the oyster in a kitchen towel and lay it firmly on the counter, this is easier for beginners and will help protect your hands, especially if this is your first time shucking. Then, drive the point of an oyster knife into the hinge, and twist to pop open… Read More →
Beet & Red Wine Mignonette with Pink Peppercorns By Andrew Zimmern A traditional accouterment for freshly shucked raw oysters and cold seafood platters, mignonette is a simple sauce of minced shallots, vinegar and cracked black pepper. Here, I add beet-infused red wine and pink peppercorns for an earthy depth of flavor. Watch Andrew make this… Read More →
Grand Cafe Important restaurants keep exploding all over the Twin Cities. Grand Cafe joins the list that includes Spoon & Stable, Heyday, Bellecour, Corner Table and many new to the scene like Kado No Mise and Martina, that are proof positive Minnesota is ground zero for some of the best food in America. Photograph… Read More →
Red Rabbit The newest member of the Red Cow family—owner Luke Shimp’s insanely popular burger-centric restaurant with several Twin Cities locations—Red Rabbit strays from the elevated bar food vibe to offer Italian classics, pizzas and wood-fired plates. Located on Washington Avenue with an easily recognizable red tufted exterior, it’s a welcome addition to the North… Read More →
Bellecour My friend Gavin Kaysen’s latest project, Bellecour, is an absolute stunner. The award-winning chef’s return to the Twin Cities in 2014 to open Spoon and Stable came with unprecedented buzz—a few years later and it’s still near impossible to score prime time reservations—but the announcement of Bellecour sent diners into a frenzy, with more… Read More →
Tune in for Bizarre Foods: The Magnificent Mississippi River Aug. 8 at 9|8c on Travel Channel On this episode of Bizarre Foods, I had the pleasure of traveling from Memphis to Natchez by boat, and got a real taste of life on the Mississippi. This majestic river is a refuge for a slower-paced, nature-based way of… Read More →
Shrimp & Blue Grits with Andouille Sausage By Andrew Zimmern Recipes for this classic Southern dish vary greatly—some have sausage or bacon, some are loaded with mushrooms, some have a tomato-based gravy, while others have no gravy at all. Use this recipe as a good base, and feel free to experiment from there. The recipe… Read More →
A Taste of New Orleans in Your Kitchen Mardi Gras is an annual excuse to eat, drink and celebrate all day long before the start of Lent. Next to king cake and party beads, you can’t forgo a meal of classic Creole and Cajun flavors. Here are a few of my favorite recipes for a… Read More →
The Best Thing I Ate Last Week One Fifth is a new concept in Houston owned by my pal Chris Shepherd. Housed in a teeny old church that became an adult film studio before facing the wrecking ball, Chris got a stay of execution and is now putting a new restaurant in the space each… Read More →
Modern Food, Age-Old Technique Defined more than a decade ago by chefs Claus Meyer and Rene Redzepi, the New Nordic food movement is reimagining what Scandinavian cuisine is, with a focus on seasonality, sustainability, animal welfare and traditional Nordic ingredients. And while this ground breaking philosophy has famously fueled avant-garde creativity, exploring old traditions is… Read More →
The Best Thing I Ate Last Week I had meals at some amazing places this week on my clam shack tour, but the best clams were at the Clam Box in Ipswich. Woodman’s was a close second, but the ones at Clam Box were perfect. It helped we went at 4pm when no one was there.… Read More →
How to Buy & Store Asparagus Look for tight tips and small leaves on the side of the stalk that cling to its body. The cut end should be moist, not frayed, browned or dry. Spears should be smooth, not wrinkled. Storing asparagus is simple: keep them standing in a few inches of water in… Read More →
Robert Stehling’s Top Picks for Charleston For the past decade, chef Robert Stehling’s Low Country fare at the acclaimed Hominy Grill has rivaled the best grandmother food in the South. His Charleston Nasty Biscuit—fried chicken, cheddar and sausage gravy, sandwiched in the perfect biscuit—has a loyal following, as do other favorites like catfish po’ boys,… Read More →
Appetizers for a New Year’s Eve Bash Skip the pricey pre-fixe menus and over-crowded bars, and host your own New Year’s Eve soiree. There’s no better way to ring in the new year than a spread of finger foods and a house full of friends and family. Here are a few of my favorite hor d’oeuvres, from… Read More →
Eating Words: A Norton Anthology of Food Writing Edited by literary critic Sandra Gilbert and professor and award-winning restaurant critic Roger Porter, Eating Words is a vast volume of exquisite food writing, from Biblical times through modern day. It’s a historically and conceptually diverse anthology, that goes beyond mere consumption and explores food’s relation to politics,… Read More →
