Join me in the kitchen for #BrisketWeek! I’m sharing my go-to brisket recipe, one of the first dishes I helped my grandmother make and a staple at my family’s holiday table for generations. Braised in the oven with fennel and onions, it’s perfectly melting and tender. I like to cook a whole brisket because the… Read More →
Esker Grove The Walker Art Center, a contemporary art mecca with a newly refinished sculpture garden, is one of the Twin Cities’ most beloved cultural assets. Add a beautifully designed restaurant with a menu from one of the country’s best chefs, and you have a winning combination, whether it’s date night, happy hour or brunch… Read More →
Braised Shellfish 101 By Andrew Zimmern Mussels fra diavolo is a classic, simple shellfish braise loaded with tomato sauce, shallots, garlic and lots of parsley. Be sure to serve with plenty of crusty bread, because the scarpetta, or the ritual of mopping up the remaining sauce in the bowl, is one of the great moments… Read More →
Basic Tomato Sauce I am a huge believer in culinary literacy. Everyone should know how to make a simple tomato sauce because there are so many ways to use it in the kitchen. The best part? This recipe only takes about 20 minutes from start to finish. Once you master the basic recipe, feel free… Read More →
Mixed Berry Crumble By Andrew Zimmern One morning several years ago, I was set up in the kitchen to bake a dessert as my contribution for a family dinner. My son begged me to make cookies, but I had a berry crisp in the works, so a compromise was made and this recipe was born.… Read More →
Kramarczuk’s Sausage Company Kramarczuk’s is an iconic Twin Cities restaurant and deli, serving Eastern European sausages and comfort classics for more than 50 years. Wasyl and Anna Kramarczuk moved to the United States from Ukraine in 1949. In the 50s, they bought an established butcher shop in Northeast Minneapolis, started making sausages and quickly became… Read More →
Japanese-Style Grilled Red Snapper By Andrew Zimmern One of the great traditions in Japanese cookery is robata, or cooking over an open grill with binchotan charcoal. It’s a great technique for cooking red snapper. Paired with my favorite dipping sauce for Japanese-style grilled fish—a mix of soy, lemon, scallion and daikon radish—it doesn’t get much… Read More →
Chicken Thighs & Livers with Yakitori Sauce By Andrew Zimmern The secret to making authentic izakaya-style Japanese chicken skewers is in the fresh ginger juice baste and classic yakitori glaze—a craveable combination of dashi, sake, soy and mirin. I like to cook the skewers on a tabletop grill with binchotan, a charcoal made of compressed… Read More →
Tune in for Bizarre Foods: Paul Revere’s Midnight Ride Aug. 29 at 9|8c on Travel Channel The midnight ride of Paul Revere marked the beginning of a war that changed our world forever. On this episode of Bizarre Foods, I’m following in the footsteps of this great patriot, revealing layers of history and food traditions… Read More →
My Top 3 Favorite New Foods As you probably already know, I’m an evangelist for the classics. Despite my inherent bias, I still think it was one of the weakest years ever for new State Fair foods. There’s just too much gimmick—think deep fried red liquorice— too many unworthy things on a stick, too much… Read More →
Cutting Board Classic at Blue Ribbon Pines Disc Golf Course Save the date! September 30, 2017 Andrew Zimmern is taking his passion for disc golf to the greens with his first ever charity disc golf tournament. As an avid player and Celebrity Ambassador for Innova Disc Golf, Zimmern wants all Minnesotans to come out and… Read More →
Tostones By Andrew Zimmern Twice-fried plantains, known as tostones, are a delicious side dish or snack found all over Latin America. Fry the plantain slices once to cook them through before you smash them, then again to make them perfectly crisp. Watch Andrew make this recipe:
Fried Whole Yellowtail Snapper By Andrew Zimmern In this country, we tend to eat the same fish over and over again, overfishing some species almost to the point of extinction. The easiest way to become a more sustainable seafood eater is to expand your repertoire and consume smaller whole fish. Plus, cooking head-on, bone-in fish… Read More →
Honey Rum Plantains By Andrew Zimmern This classic recipe is the best way to cook really ripe sweet plantains. When the skin is mostly black, the plantains are loaded with sugar and perfect for caramelizing in browned butter with honey and rum. Serve them as a side dish for slow-roasted pork, or over vanilla ice… Read More →
Gizmo Sandwiches I would rather be at the Minnesota State Fair than anywhere else in the world. Why? The people, the food, the sense of community and tradition. Carla Wood and her Gizmo sandwich embody everything I love about the fair. The Gizmo is a ground beef and Italian sausage sandwich covered in their secret… Read More →
Tune in for Bizarre Foods: Cajun Country Aug. 15 at 9|8c on Travel Channel On this episode of Bizarre Foods, I’m traversing the heart of Acadiana, an untouched bastion of American history where centuries-old traditions remain a way of life. A region of swamps, bayous and gulf coast marshes, people in Cajun country still live… Read More →
Baltimore-style Country Club Crab Cakes By Andrew Zimmern This is my favorite crab cake recipe. If you don’t overmix and don’t pack your mounds too tightly, you will experience pure, unadulterated crab cake heaven. It’s a true Baltimore-style country club crab cake, without filler ingredients. I make these in double batches and put the leftovers… Read More →
Grilled Octopus with Frisee, Mustard Vinaigrette & Tomato-Pepper Sauce By Andrew Zimmern Octopus is delicious and easy to cook at home, trust me. It may seem intimidating, but I’m hoping this tutorial will encourage you to try it out. This is a set-it-and-forget-it type of meal. Once you’ve cooked the octopus, throw it on a… Read More →
French Dijon Mustard Vinaigrette By Andrew Zimmern Famed French chef Pierre Gagnaire taught me how to make his grandmother’s classic mustard vinaigrette while I was filming an episode of Bizarre Foods in his Paris restaurant. Make a big batch of the dressing base without cream and store it in the fridge to prolong its shelf… Read More →
Tunisian Pepper-Tomato Sauce By Andrew Zimmern I got this recipe from a Tunisian grandmother when I was filming Bizarre Foods nearly a decade ago. It’s become a staple in my house, there’s a jar of this in my fridge at all times.
Shuang Cheng Everyone knows a Chinese restaurant like this one, armed with an enormous 400-item menu that mostly caters to a Westerner’s palate. And while Shuang Cheng offers a dizzying variety of dishes, it defies the stereotype that quantity does not equal quality. I usually skip straight to the seafood page of the menu. If… 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 →
The Easiest Way to Make Fresh Tomato Puree Here’s a great tip for making fresh tomato puree, all you need is a box grater and ripe tomatoes. Make a big batch when tomatoes are at their peak and freeze for use all year long. Ready to cook? Try one of these recipes: Mussels Fra… Read More →
Birchwood Cafe Few Minnesotans have done more for local farmers and purveyors than Tracy Singleton. You can bet everything served at her iconic Seward restaurant was grown organically, sourced ethically, and hails from some cool Midwestern farm. She’s long been an industry leader in sustainable, eco-friendly practices, and has used her restaurant as a vehicle… Read More →
Buttermilk Panna Cotta with Peppercorns & Mixed Berries By Andrew Zimmern Panna cotta, which literally means “cooked cream,” is an Italian custard-like chilled dessert with a luxurious, silky smooth texture. At its core, it’s a simple mixture of cream, sugar and gelatin. It’s not an egg-based custard, nor does it require a water bath or… Read More →
Scallops in Aguachile Recipe by Chef Carlos Salgado from Taco Maria In the Pacific states of Sinaloa and Nayarit, aguachile de callo de hacha (scallops in chile water) is the Rolls Royce of ceviche dishes, in which the luxurious scallop is bathed in a fiery solution of lime and fresh green chile. Traditionally, only two… Read More →
Bizarre Foods: Daniel Boone Wilderness Trail Premieres Tuesday, August 1 at 9|8c on Travel Channel On this episode of Bizarre Foods, I’m following in the footsteps of famed frontiersman Daniel Boone, from colonial Virginia to the fertile lands of Kentucky. While visiting the re-constructed frontier fort at Martin’s Station, reeling in flathead catfish on the Kentucky… Read More →
Griddled Onion Burgers By Andrew Zimmern The first griddled onion burger I tried was made by chef Michael Symon on the set of The Chew—and it was a life changing experience. Last year I visited Sid’s Diner, an American classic in El Reno, Oklahoma famous for onion burgers, while filming Bizarre Foods. Equally delicious but… Read More →
St. Paul’s Hmongtown Marketplace A pillar of the Twin Cities’ Hmong community—which is the largest in the country—the sprawling Hmongtown Marketplace in St. Paul is the next best thing to hopping a flight to Southeast Asia. This market and those making the food represent centuries of Hmong traditions. In warmer months, you’ll find people selling plants,… Read More →
Fried Chicken Summer Rolls with Peanut Dipping Sauce By Andrew Zimmern Served at room temperature or chilled and packed with lots of fresh herbs and crisp vegetables, summer rolls are perfect warm-weather food. They’re commonly filled with shrimp and roast pork, which I love, but more often than not, I’m craving these fried chicken summer… Read More →
