By Andrew Zimmern Potatoes are one of Maine’s most valuable agricultural commodities, last year the state harvested nearly 2 BILLION pounds. There is a newer varietal, the widely available Caribou Russet, that’s ideal for my favorite gnocchi recipe. This gnocchi dough is so forgiving and simple, so no need to be intimidated. Plus, it makes… Read More →
By Andrew Zimmern
A Classic Northern Italian Combo By Andrew Zimmern There is no better fall treat than this amazingly insane pumpkin gnocchi. I dare you to eat just one bowl.
Craving Carbs? This One’s For You. My carbo-meter goes “ding” every time the weather turns cool. If you can relate to this at all, I suggest you make this recipe right away. There is no better autumnal treat than this amazingly insane gnocchi classic. I dare you to eat just one bowl. This classic northern-Italian… Read More →
Sweet & Sour Braised Pigeon By Andrew Zimmern In this episode of Wild Game Kitchen, I’m preparing one of my favorite recipes, braised squab with olives and vinegar—a perfect meal for a fall evening around the fire. He pairs this comfort food classic with homemade herbed gnocchi drenched in browned butter, and a simple apple… Read More →
Martina Located in Linden Hills in the old Upton 43 space—which got stripped of its sterile Scandinavian decor for a more inviting dining room modeled after traditional estancias, or Argentinian ranches—Martina may be new, but its seafood-centric menu has earned its place among the city’s great restaurants. It’s the first solo endeavor of chef Daniel… Read More →
Spaghetti Squash Crumble By Andrew Zimmern If you’re looking for an alternative to mashed potatoes or roasted vegetables, try this spaghetti squash crumble. A gratin of soft roasted squash topped with crunchy seasoned breadcrumbs, it’s the ultimate sweet-and-savory fall side dish or centerpiece for a wonderful vegetarian meal. Watch Andrew make this recipe:
Rigatoni with Winter Squash, Sausage & Kale By Debi Mazar and Gabriele Corcos In Tuscany, cooks don’t have a lot of uses for hard-shelled winter squash. It is typically roasted as a side dish or turned into soup. At our Brooklyn farmer’s market in autumn and winter, the stands are filled with a huge variety of… Read More →
Bar La Grassa This ode to Italy isn’t your grandparent’s eye-talian eatery. With moody date-night lighting beaming from chandeliers, a steel pasta bar that provides the best seats in the house, and a broad range of shareable plates, Bar La Grassa is one of the great Italian restaurants in the Twin Cities with consistently good… Read More →
112 Eatery Located a few short blocks from Target Field in downtown Minneapolis, James Beard award-winning chef Isaac Becker’s first restaurant is a favorite amongst chefs and service industry folks. That has as much to do with their steak tartare, famous 112 cheeseburger and foie gras meatballs, as it does with their night owl hours… Read More →
Alma: Cafe, Hotel & Restaurant After a major overhaul and grand re-opening, Alma is as gorgeous as ever, filling a hole we didn’t know we had in the Twin Cities dining scene. What was once solely a fantastic restaurant, owned and operated by James Beard award-winning chef Alex Roberts, is now an elegant, design-driven hotel,… Read More →
Where to Find Great Comfort Food in the Windy City By Bob & Sue In addition to three of our favorite fine dining restaurants in Chicago—Grace, Alinea and 16 at the Trump—we enjoyed several first time places for memorable comfort food: Credit: Huge Galdones Momotaro This large Japanese restaurant offers delicious sushi and high-quality small… Read More →
Quintessential Grandmother Cooking at its Best By Masaharu Morimoto This is the Japanese equivalent of Jewish penicillin, also known as chicken noodle soup. Instead of chicken broth, we use smoky dashi, and instead of noodles, we make cool, craggy gnocchi-like dumplings out of just flour and water. Every family throughout the countryside has its own… Read More →
The Taste of Autumn For me, the first squash of fall ranks right up there with the first berries of summer or the first braise of winter. I find the flavor of winter squash infinitely more complex than its summertime cousins, such as zucchini. Hard squash are as versatile as they are varied—look for kabocha,… Read More →
Squash Risotto with Bacon and Leeks By Andrew Zimmern Creamy, comforting and oh-so satisfying, I love this butternut squash risotto. It’s also an easy way to feed a crowd. For a twist, try adding fresh steamed clams and their juices in place of half the stock.
Devour Dublin Few modern European cities can match Dublin’s mix of rough spirit and hip energy. Rife with old-school pubs and scratchy-voiced musicians, there has been a recent influx of young entrepreneurial-types who have been fostering a place where creativity and contemporary ideas can flourish. With this unique meshing of history and modernity, there is… Read More →
Five Great Meals in Milan By Devan Grimsrud Host of the 2015 World’s Fair, Milan is expected to draw a staggering 20 million visitors this summer. The 1 million square meter exhibition area features architecturally stunning pavilions built by participating countries, all exploring the overarching theme of Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life. Learn about the… Read More →
Homemade Basil Pesto By Jenn Louis Basil pesto comes from Genoa, in Liguria, and is a truly beloved sauce. It can be made using different nuts and herbs, but the original is made from fresh basil, garlic, and pine nuts. Basil pesto is a rich and herbaceous sauce that, for many Americans, screams summertime. In… Read More →
Mastering the Art of Risotto By Marc Vetri This dish is forever linked to the centuries-old Duomo cathedral in Milan. Apparently, in 1574, a master glassmaker who was in charge of making stained glass for the cathedral enlisted an able disciple who was given the nickname Zafferano because he used saffron to color the glass.… 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 →
Garganelli with Prosciutto & Peas By Thomas McNaughton Especially if you swap out store-bought penne for the garganelli, this recipe can come together in a matter of minutes. In the restaurant, I like to add in arugula at the end of cooking so that it wilts in the pan, and then garnish the finished plate… Read More →
From the culinary adventures of Bob & Sue By Bob & Sue August John Besh’s signature restaurant features high quality ingredients and creative tasting menus in a clubby setting. Recent choices included a preparation of three fois gras, spaghettini and tripe with a harissa and smoked tomato sauce, a feather like gnocchi with crab in… Read More →
Kitchen Shears Are an Essential Kitchen Tool In my humble opinion, few items can be as useful as a good pair of kitchen shears. They’re more than just a pair of scissors you keep in your kitchen, they’re a versatile tool you can look to for precise, easy cuts. Skipping on the cutting board also… 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 →
A celebration of yesterday’s leftovers, transformed into today’s feast. By Jonathon Sawyer
An Earthy Mushroom Stew By Andrew Zimmern This wild mushroom ragout is incredibly versatile. You can serve it with a poached egg for a great lunch, as a rich gravy for grilled or roasted meat, on top of risotto and gnocchi, or with this creamy polenta for a hearty main course.
A Twist on Spaghetti & Meatballs By Andy Ticer & Michael Hudman A few years after we opened AMIK, we thought it’d be fun to do a take on spaghetti and meatballs. We use a semolina dough and a light, rosemary-infused marinara that really complements our pork meatballs. Drizzled with fonduta, a rich cheese sauce,… Read More →
Quebecois Sugar Shack of Your Dreams Just 30 minutes outside of Montréal you’ll find Cabane à Sucre, a brilliant eatery where Martin Picard is reinterpreting maple-sugar-shack cuisine. Chef Picard is considered the greatest of the great in this neck of the woods, with a handful of restaurant that serve some of the best and most… Read More →
