Minnesota Restaurants Supporting Local Farms I love all four seasons, but there are few greater things in life than the first days of a Minnesota spring. We love celebrating another winter survived, and if you’re anything like me, food plays a huge role. I can’t wait until restaurants unveil their spring menus, teeming with fresh… Read More →
Easter Menu Inspiration Easter is just around the corner, so I’ve rounded up a few of my favorite recipes for the spring holiday. Need to feed a crowd of hungry relatives? Try the fresh ham with Madeira-cider glaze or the wine-braised lamb shoulder—both make for lovely centerpiece roasts. Or stick with a few French classics… Read More →
Roasted Leg of Lamb with Tart Pickled Cherries By Andrew Zimmern Lamb is perfect set against the tartness of cherries. There is no better time of year than now to be eating young lamb legs. About 10 years ago, I watched Jamie Oliver do a demo where he used his oven rack to cook his… Read More →
Pig in the Stable The Cochon 555 weekend takeover kicked off with a Chef’s Course Dinner at Spoon and Stable last Friday—a seated five-course meal prepared by host chef Gavin Kaysen, Steven Brown, Erik Anderson, Doug Flicker, Diane Yang and yours truly. An amazing group of local chefs that have made this city’s food scene what… Read More →
Abalone with Black Bean Sauce By Andrew Zimmern Abalone are simple to prepare and profoundly delicious. You can take the meat out of the shell, slice thin, and eat raw. If you prefer your sea snails cooked, try throwing them on the grill for a few minutes and you’ll find it has takes on sweetness… Read More →
The Year of the Goat By Andrew Zimmern The stunningly beautiful Xinjiang province in northwest China borders many central Asian countries such as India, Russia, Mongolia and Kazakhstan. Muslim communities like the Uighur, who hail from that part of China, have seen their most traditional recipes grow in popularity over the last 10 years. Most… Read More →
The Ultimate British Experience I’ll admit, I am an Anglophile. Long one of world’s trendsetting cities, there’s something intensely reliable about London. From clubs to markets to restaurants, if you think this city is bland, you’re simply wrong. One of my all time favorites is St. John, opened by Fergus Henderson and Trevor Gulliver in… Read More →
Game Day Snacks & Soups I’m a huge football fan and love any excuse I can find to veg out on the couch with family and indulge in my favorite finger foods and one-pot meals. And even if your hometown team didn’t make it to the Super Bowl, I’ll bet you still need some snack-time… Read More →
Da Poke Shack If I could only eat one thing while visiting Hawaii, it’d have to be poke. A Hawaiian word meaning cut or slice, poke is a raw seafood salad typically made with fresh Ahi tuna. It’s refreshing, luxurious, and so simple. The best part? You don’t have to shell out the big bucks… Read More →
From the culinary adventures of Bob & Sue By Bob & Sue We enjoyed three spectacular dinners and several memorable lunches from the best of Chicago: Grace Both the Fauna and Flora tasting menus included a number of dazzling presentations from a highly-trained kitchen staff. Among the highlights were Alaskan king crab in cucumber juice with… Read More →
My Favorite Cookbooks of the Year Every year hundreds of cookbooks are published, dozens of which deserve a spot on your shelf. But we’ve tried to narrow it down to a handful that really impress–whether it’s the private cooking lessons from the world’s best chefs in Dana Cowin’s Mastering My Mistakes in the Kitchen, cooking… Read More →
Brisket ‘a la Guida’ By Andrew Zimmern Serve this braised beef brisket with plenty of potato pancakes and noodle kugel.
Peruvian-Style Roasted Chicken By Danielle Walker Boasting of bold spices, a tangy kick, and crispy skin, this one-pot Peruvian-style chicken is sure to be a crowd-pleaser. My favorite part is the tender and flavorful sweet potatoes that lie underneath!
A Chef’s Weeknight Dinner By Andrew Zimmern Pork with fruit and mustard is one of the greatest combinations. I came up with this recipe as a foolproof way to “achieve it all” in a single pan.
Where to Eat in Mexico City When I first started traveling, Mexico City’s fine dining scene was peppered with Mexican chefs cooking other countries’ food, like Italian or French cuisine. That’s no longer the case. These days the best Mexican food is once again being cooked for Mexicans, by Mexicans. Here are five restaurants you… Read More →
12 Winter Squash Varieties These days, hard squash are all I am thinking about. Harvested in the fall, these gourds will last throughout the cold winter months, hence the name winter squash. Beyond the popular sugar pumpkins, acorn and butternut squashes you’re probably familiar with, varieties come in a staggering diversity of sizes, shapes and… Read More →
Music City Food + Wine 2014 was the most intimate and fun food fest I have been to in years… Great out-of-town chefs, amazing local restaurateurs and food talent, superb food entrepreneurs and the most carefully-curated Grand Tasting Tent I have ever walked through. You gotta get there next year. Here are a few observations:… Read More →
I’m serving veal tongue sliders with tonnato sauce and arugula at this year’s Music City Food + Wine Festival Harvest Night. If you’re feeling ambitious and want to make them at home, here’s the recipe!
Decadent and Delicious By Gunnar Gislason In the town of Stykkishólmur where Simon Sturluson harvests his blue mussels and dulse, there is a cozy restaurant that serves a beer called Black Death, which features a skull and crossbones on its label. The beer dates back to only 2011, but it was inspired by the story… Read More →
Family-Friendly Meal Inspiration It’s that time of year again. Summer is coming to a close, kids are going back to school, and it’s time to get back into the routine of family dinners. So I dug through the archives to find recipes for my family’s favorite meals and, while these are especially appropriate for fall,… Read More →
New State Fair Foods for 2014 Every year there’s a host of new foods at the Great Minnesota Get-Together, and while the imaginative deep-fried-on-a-stick creations can be hit or miss, sometimes the shear novelty is worth shelling out a few bucks to try. Without further ado, here’s the line up for 2014: Photographs courtesy… Read More →
Our Picks for Pre- & Post-Game Dining Lucky for hungry baseball fans, Target Field sits next to some of Minneapolis’ best restaurants and bars. Just in time for the 2014 All-Star Game, here’s a round-up our favorite Downtown and North Loop establishments, from raucous pubs and local breweries to after hours fine dining. Pre-Game… Read More →
Cleveland Rocks. After being named Best New Chef by Food & Wine magazine in 1998, Michael Symon shot into the national spotlight. Since then he’s become a James Beard Award winner, an Iron Chef, a cookbook author, and a host of ABC’s The Chew. Symon’s work in his hometown of Cleveland put it on the… Read More →
Eat Clean. Live Loud. Melissa Joulwan is a badass. A retired Texas Rollergirl, Mel J has a serious thing for friendly competition, the band Social Disortion and cooking up a storm. In 2008, she launched her blog, Clothes Make the Girl, which kinda started out as a lifestyle/style site and eventually became one of the… Read More →
Sin City Recommendations Las Vegas is wholly intoxicating, a city dedicated to sensory overload that’s all about being the biggest and the best. And while chefs from all over the country are generating a lot of great food in glamorous settings on the Strip, you won’t be sorry if you venture off the main drag… Read More →
How to Cook & Entertain for a Crowd By Andrew Zimmern Ben Ford is a true gem of the culinary world. His new book, Taming the Feast, is a departure from your run-of-the-mill cookbook. I am not looking for another way to make a Caesar salad. I want to know how to make wood-fired paella and roast… Read More →
Herb & Citrus-Studded Barbecue By Andrew Zimmern These marinated and grilled Cornish hens with a bright, herby salsa verde are a dynamite summertime crowd-pleaser.
Congratulations JBF Award Winners! I had a fantastic weekend at the James Beard Foundation Awards in NYC, the nation’s most prestigious awards ceremony honoring professionals in the food and beverage biz. Winners of the Foundation’s annual Book, Broadcast, and Journalism Awards were presented on May 2, at Gotham Hall in New York City, during a… Read More →
Estofado de Carne, Paleo-style By Andrew Zimmern Only a few minor tweaks make this satisfying & flavorful Spanish-style beef stew a reliable paleo option. The addition of currants, capers and pine nuts give this stew a sweet-nutty-saltiness that compliments the rich beef. It’s a simple, one-pot meal that’s deeply comforting. If you’re sticking to the Whole30/paleo… Read More →
Classic Spring Lamb By Andrew Zimmern One of my favorite rites of spring is the first lamb dinner of the season. Lamb shoulder is best in a slow braise, melting the fat and connective tissue. To ensure the lamb stays moist while braising, have the butcher roll and tie the roast for you, running a… Read More →
