Kool-Aid Marinated Dill Pickles By Andrew Zimmern Koolickles are sweet, they’re sour and so easy to make. I was turned onto these beauties a couple of years ago shooting a TV show in the South, and I’ve been addicted ever since. They perfectly compliment barbecue. I prefer using a slightly less salty dill pickle, such… Read More →
Feeding hungry children is not a political issue, it’s a moral one. On Tuesday morning, the White House sent its annual “budget blueprint” to Congress. This budget recommends deep cuts to programs that would be devastating to the children that many organizations work to help each day, like Share Our Strength. I wanted to make… Read More →
Szechuan Spice Of all the great regional Chinese cuisines, Sichuan food holds a special place in my heart. While we don’t have as many great Chinese restaurants as I would like in Minnesota, we do have a few that absolutely blow me away and Szechuan Spice in Uptown is one of them. It’s best to… Read More →
Southern Soul Food Takes Root When you think about Minnesotan food, the first thing that comes to mind is… well, anything BUT fried chicken. Lucky for us Northerners, chef Thomas Boemer filled the city’s Southern-food-void with crunchy, succulent Tennessee hot chicken, Johnnycakes and crispy pigs’ ears. They’re also serving one of the best burgers in town… Read More →
Surly Furious Chocolate Bundt Cake Recipe by Chef Michelle Gayer/The Salty Tart, Minneapolis, MN This recipe celebrates the decadent flavors of chef Gayer’s Surly Furious chocolate cake in the iconic shape of the bundt. Fun fact: the birthplace of the bundt pan is right here in Minnesota, made by the Nordic Ware company. Recipe from Tasting… Read More →
Eat Andrew Zimmern’s favorite fair foods and share your pics for a chance to win. There’s a reason Andrew finds himself at the Minnesota State Fair for every one of its 12 days: the food. Sure, every year brings new booths to peruse and novelties to try, but nothing beats traditional state fair chow from… Read More →
The Best Thing I Ate Last Week Start with fresh, cold, glass-bottled cream from a local dairy—thick and so clotted under the cap you have to break the buttery seal with the back of a spoon before you can pour it out—sweetened with sugar and vanilla, and beaten to stiff pillowy peaks. Add fresh strawberries… Read More →
Rhubarb Marmalade with Figs & Lemon By Madeleine Hill I love rhubarb. As a child I was often wielding the bracingly tart stalks dipped in sugar after a trip to the farmers market; it’s one of my favorite snacks. My garden now grows rampant with rhubarb, which thrives in the damp, cool Minnesota spring. Looking for… Read More →
Help Support Snowbate Snowbate is a vital incentive program for the production industry in Minnesota. These rebates keep film and commercial production in the state, creating jobs and exposure for tourism. We are in the final weeks of this year’s legislative session. Right now, there’s a bill in the Senate that includes additional funds for Snowbate. Meanwhile,… Read More →
Minnesotans Want and Deserve the Right to Know About GMOs By Andrew Zimmern If I’ve learned anything during my 35 years spent cooking in kitchens and traveling to over 160 countries in search of what food teaches us about culture, culinary creations and choices, it’s that the decisions people make when it comes to the… Read More →
Dishes to Make This Winter Winter in Minnesota. End of story. If you live in a climate that’s impacted by bitter arctic air, you need cold weather comfort food recipes in your repertoire. Recipes that’ll warm you from the inside out; dishes that I consider “food with a hug.” Hearty and delicious, here are 12 ways to get through… Read More →
Crafted, Cultivated & Curated Gear for the Adventurous Life For decades, I’ve traveled the world experiencing culture through food. It’s the best job on the planet. Along the way I’ve collected gifts, kitchen gear, clothing and gadgets that I can now share with you through the revamped Shop Andrew Zimmern. We pride ourselves on finding and… Read More →
The Good Acre Food Hub Open House Friday, October 30th The mission of The Good Acre is to enhance how food is grown and shared in the Twin Cities region, to improve marketplace opportunities for diverse independent farmers, and to increase access for all consumers to healthy, locally-grown fresh produce. The acre of land next… Read More →
Minneapolis Taste of the Nation I want people to come to the Share Our Strength dinner on Sunday evening with a big check in hand to raise money to fight hunger in America. In an effort to shatter our records and help Minnesotans get food on their tables Chef Tim McKee of La Belle Vie… Read More →
The Best Dessert for Fall By Andrew Zimmern I make this delicious apple crumb cake throughout the whole Minnesota apple season; it’s one of my favorite autumnal treats. Chock-full of apples, it’s super moist, fruit-forward and really easy to make. I’ll put streusel on anything—I’m obsessed—but it tastes especially great on this cake. And don’t worry… Read More →
Comedy for a Cause The co-creator of The Daily Show and Air America Radio, Lizz Winstead is a brilliant comedian. These days, she’s using her platform to advocate for women’s reproductive rights through a national comedy tour supporting Planned Parenthood and her organization Lady Parts Justice, which uses humor, parodies and events like V to Shining V… Read More →
The State Fair is my favorite Minnesota food celebration, hands down. I adore the Minnesota State Fair so much that I try to go all 12 days. Every year there’s a list of new food booths, but I dig on the classics…. Sweet Martha’s Cookies, Speedy’s About a Foot Long Hot Dog, the Gizmo (an Italian… Read More →
Real Minnesota Farmhouse Food By Andrew Zimmern These beet pickles are simply the best. Don’t throw the brine away when the jar no longer has beets in it. Core and slice a hard, crisp apple. Bring to a simmer in the brine, return to the jar and refrigerate for a day and you will have… Read More →
Last week I spoke at the 75th annual American Public Gardens Association Conference, hosted by the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum and Como Park Zoo & Conservatory. Before the event, I sat down with Lisa Marchand of Minnesota Monthly to chat about our broken food system and the state’s farming potential. Read the article here. When… Read More →
Old Standbys & New Additions at Target Field Home of the Twins, Target Field is a beautiful stadium in the heart of downtown Minneapolis. In just a few years, they’ve really amped up the food program, now offering a host of good eats and craft beverages from local restaurants, breweries and distilleries. So I’d suggest… Read More →
I put bottarga on everything I can. By Andrew Zimmern For me, the intense salinity and oceanic funk of aged, dried mullet roe make it the perfect seasoning agent for most foods. Anything that likes salt loves bottarga. I like to grate it over pasta and finish with bread crumbs, but three times a week for… Read More →
My Favorite Cookie Recipes It’s the holidays. You’re bound to be invited to an annual cookie exchange, take goodies to the office, or be in charge of a Christmas dessert spread at some point. So we thought we’d help you out with my favorite cookie recipes, including a few classics from Minnesota State Fair blue… Read More →
Grape Salad with Shrimp, Parsley & Almonds By Andrew Zimmern The New York Times may have gotten it wrong when they suggested warm grape salad was a Minnesota staple at Thanksgiving, but if done correctly, grape salads can be delicious. Try my version: shrimp marinated in orange zest and spicy Calabrian chiles, paired with a… Read More →
Twin Cities Chef’s Table “With a flair for perfect roast chicken, decadent polenta and risotto dishes, and a vegetable-friendly menu, chef Adam Vickerman is quietly running one of the most comforting kitchens in the Twin Cities. Known in certain food-obsessed circles as The Soup Whisperer, Chef Vickerman shares his recipe for Mushroom Soup with Fall… Read More →
A Few Important Issues Support Local Food The 70/30 law is a twenty-year-old sales ratio that’s no longer compatible with today’s dining culture. It’s antiquated legislation that needs to be removed for small businesses to be able to thrive and grow. Here’s the gist: In 1983, Minneapolis passed a law that required restaurants and bars… Read More →
The largest celebration of local foods in the region. Next Sunday, November 2, check out the best of local food by producers and makers from Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin at Feast! in Rochester, Minnesota. With more than 100 exhibitor booths, you’ll find a variety of specialty foods such as sauerkraut and kimchi, artisan cheese, African simmer sauces,… Read More →
The Best Fall Salad By Andrew Zimmern In Minnesota, we love to hunt. I store plenty of the confit birds (covered in their fat) in the fridge and crisp halves or quarters as needed, served with salads, on root vegetable mash, in tacos with tomatillo salsa or as a hash with fried egg for breakfast… Read More →
State Fair Hangover The Great Minnesota Get-Together Molly tries to recover from a State Fair hangover while Andrew is disappointed about some new fair foods. Plus, they share restaurant recommendations for Boston and their favorite ways to prepare pork. Recommendations: The 38 Essential Boston Restaurants (Eater) This episode is sponsored by: Find out more and get… Read More →
Where to Eat & Drink on the North Shore By Molly Mogren Perched next to the great Gitche Gumee (that would be Lake Superior), Duluth, Minnesota and the North Shore offer up some of the most beautiful vistas in the northern United States. It’s also home to some pretty amazing food. That combo made this… Read More →
Spicy, Sweet, Sour Indian Street Food By Daniel Klein & Mirra Fine One of our favorite dishes in India is also one of the freshest. This dish can be made with all prepared goods, or you can make it all from scratch… we recommend the latter. This is also the first recipe from our cooking… Read More →
