Cold-smoked Lox

Kevin loves lox (he's such a Finn) and I found an easy way to cold-smoke it on the internet with wood pellets, a tin can, a solder iron and your own grill. It's going to sound silly but bear with me because it works awesome. You start with a nice piece of salmon. Spend some money, don't go cheap. This piece was twenty dollars at Morey's.Plan ahead because the salmon will have to brine for awhile. I lay the salmon in a glass baking dish, cover it with salt and dill, pour enough water in to cover the fish, put plastic wrap over the top and put it in the fridge for a couple of days. Be generous with the salt, I have never measured it but I bet I use about an eighth of a cup of salt. Brine for at least two days, three is better.Now for your trip to the hardware store. You will need a solder iron. Buy a new one because you don't want lead in your food. Look what it did to Mozart, he was crazy. At some hardware stores they will probably carry these little wood pellets for smoking. I get them at Mill's Fleet Farm in the camping aisle. When the salmon is done brining and you are ready to smoke, find a large can and only open it at the top halfway. Peel the paper off the can, wash it out and pour the pellets into the can. Bend the lid so you can get the solder iron to sit nicely. Put the can on its side in your grill. Plug your soldering iron into an extension cord and place it in your can in the pellets. Put the salmon over it and close the lid of the grill. Pretty soon you should see little tufts of smoke coming out of your grill. There won't be a ton of smoke but that's not what you want anyway. You just want enough to flavor the salmon. If you don't see any smoke, readjust your solder iron deeper into the pellets.The smoking is basically for flavor. You won't be doing any cooking with this kind of smoke. The brining process has "cooked" it and killed any bacteria in the salmon. Let this smoke for about six hours. I usually have to use two of the little cans of pellets. Once the smoking process is done, bring the salmon in and slice it thinly with a large knife. You can get right down to the skin of the fish.I liked to serve this with little slices of pumpernickel or rye bread. You can smear them with some cream cheese and that's even better. Look at that! You made your own lox! It's a lot more work than just buying it but I get a whole lot more satisfaction out of doing it myself.

Garbage Tray

My brother, Lem, was coming over and he eats like a horse. I had a few snack things but as I looked at the table I thought I should probably have more food. But what? Even though Kevin and I are doing fine in today's horrible economics, you get into that mode where you know times are tough everywhere and you need to save. So let me introduce you to: the garbage tray! Now there isn't really garbage on here, I call it the garbage tray because I pull everything I can out of my fridge and figure out a way to use it.

Out came all the cheese and lunch meat I had and I sliced it up nicely and arranged it. I took the year-old olives out and put them in a bowl. I even found about two slices of olive loaf that I cut up in little pieces. I had bought a coffee cake the day before and sliced little, tiny slices of that. I garnished it with some cilantro that was starting to go bad, I just used the best pieces. And viola! I kept telling Kevin he couldn't touch it, after all most of the stuff had already been sitting in the fridge for weeks but it's all about the presentation. He just didn't know he wanted to eat it until he saw how pretty it looked! So if you are going to make a tray like this, just start digging in your fridge and pull out anything you can. If it can be eaten with your fingers, slice it up and arrange it, even if there is only a little bit.

I pulled some grapefruits out of the fridge and thought I should use them, too. To make this drink, I cut a grapefruit in half and squeezed the juice out of both halves. Then I mixed it in a cocktail shaker with amaretto and a little bit of diet 7-up. My brother's wife, Marie, loved it.

Lem and Marie left that week for Oklahoma. I probably won't see him for over a year. He just graduated college and now the Air Force owns him for many years. I hope all his big dreams come true!

Hot dogs and Apple Dip

It was cleanup weekend at the cabin this weekend. Summoning all our military tactics, Kevin, his sister Karla, his mom and I managed to rope Miss Chocoholic and Kevin's niece and nephew into helping pick up sticks along the shoreline. Meanwhile, I had a makeout session with Joe, the tree.
This physical activity worked up an appetite with the kids who had to ask when it was lunchtime every five minutes. Finally we gave in, built a fire and let them roast hot dogs. I have to say that was one of the best hot dogs I ever had, probably due to the crisp, autumn air and the smell of falling leaves.
Karla had an amazing apple dip she made and it was perfect for the mood of the afternoon. The recipe is a block of softened cream cheese, a half cup of brown sugar, a fourth cup of white sugar, butter brickle chips, and a teaspoon of vanilla. The dip almost tasted like it had some cinnamon in it, it was perfect to dip apples into.This was also my birthday weekend. (Those that know me know I love to drag my birthday on and on and milk it for all its worth.) Kevin's mom gave me this really cool wine stand. Yes, it is a piece of wood and the wine bottle balances it! Kevin was playing photographer in the afternoon and every picture he took he called "Wine bottle on a fall day," "Boat on a fall day," "Leaves on a fall day," etc.What a beautiful weekend!

High Tea at the Ritz Carlton

I got two great birthday presents this year so far, probably because my family feels sorry for me because I am turning 35. Kevin gave me an amazing, beautiful set of pearls that I want to wear every day and my mom made a reservation in Chicago to have high tea at the Ritz Carlton.

So off my mom and I went to Chicago to pretend we are rich and fit into the Michigan Avenue crowd. The second night we were there, I met a girl at the hotel bar who was a boutique manager and explained the illusion of Michigan Avenue. I asked her if people really shop in five inch heels and if they can really afford to wear Chanel every day to work. "Oh, no, let me tell you a story!" she says with an accent that reminded me of Boston. The girls who work in the high-end stores get a clothing allowance and they are able to buy about three outfits that they wear day in and day out. When it is quiet, the managers send them to walk up the avenue in their stilettos and their $1500 designer outfit. It's all about marketing. After she told me that, the illusion was over and when I pointed out to my mom a blond girl in heels that were thinner than a pencil and about the same height carrying a baby blue $10,000 Birkin, it was satisfying to realize that she probably didn't own that bag because it should actually be mine. Maybe in another lifetime.But it's always fun to pretend that we are classy and ritzy and high tea was a unique experience. I had English breakfast tea and my mom had Earl Gray. The tea came with a three-tiered tray of goodies.Little finger sandwiches, clotted cream, scones, cookies. My favorite thing on the tray was the little chicken rosemary sandwiches. The cookies were buttery, the strawberry jam was right up there with my own jam and the bread was soft and flavorful.The best thing about the tea was my mom paying the bill at the end. Just kidding, Mom! Thanks for a fun birthday present!

Giordano's Deep Dish Pizza

My mom and I went to Chicago last weekend for a girly shopping weekend and I always have to try the local food. What is more local in Chicago than Chicago deep dish pizza? We were headed over to Uno's, the home of the deep dish pizza and I stopped and asked a guy selling brochures how to get there. He suggested instead of waiting an hour for a table at Uno's to just go up a block and go to Giordanos instead. Just as good, he said and less of a wait. Apprehensively, I decided to take my chances, knowing that I would kick myself if the pizza wasn't delicious. We got a table right away. The atmosphere was laid back and casual with red and white checkered tableclothes. We ordered a small pizza with cheese, olives, pepperoni, sausage and garlic. The waitress brought us our drinks and warned us that it would be about 45 minutes. It was the longest, hungriest 45 minutes of my life. My mom wasn't feeling good and we hadn't eaten since early morning so we were both slightly cranky and starving. I thought several times about tripping the waitresses and grabbing the pizzas they were carrying but since the closest I have come to playing football is staring mindlessly at the TV screen when the Vikings play, I decide I probably wouldn't be able to pull that one off. I can honestly say that was probably the best pizza I have ever had in my life and you know me, the ultimate food critic. The crust had the consistency of a biscuit and you could taste the warm yeast in the crust. I had read on the back of the menu how the guy that owned the place thought he had the perfect amount of garlic on the pizza but he realized that his customers thought it was too garlicy and he reduced the garlic. I thought, why mess with perfection if he thought it was perfect and since my mom and I both love garlic and because Kevin was in Minnesota and I wouldn't be kissing him that night, I ordered it with the extra garlic. And I think that made all the difference on that pizza.We were only able to eat two pieces apiece. Wonderful experiece and worth every calorie!

Halibut Tacos

Meet Allison Laffen. She is a friend, a blog reader and a hot lawyer. She is here in Minnesota on an extended vacation from Alaska where she works saving the children of Alaska from lives of crime and abuse. She likes to downplay what she does but personally, I think it is pretty noble and amazing. She also likes to cook. No, this is not a personal ad. Her boyfriend is a cool as she is. Both of them love good food and good adult beverages.

I met Allison through Kevin's friend, Brett Cote, who is her boyfriend and we hang out, cook, eat, drink, discuss politics and party with them whenever they are in Minnesota. One of these times we are going to visit them in Alaska. Allison has been practicing these Alaskan halibut tacos since she had them at a friend's house. You know what they say...practice makes perfect and these tacos were as good or better than the ones we had in Mexico.

She started by putting a huge halibut steak that had been seasoned on a skillet and cooking it until it started to flake.

She already had a bean and tomato mixture done. It was cherry tomatos, onions, beans and lots of cilantro. (I love cilantro.)She had made guacamole that had a kick to it.As I watched her cook, I couldn't get enough of this smoky salmon dip that Brett had made. Not only did he catch and clean these Alaskan salmon, he also smoked them and make this dip that no one can stop eating.
After the fish was done, Allison broke it up and put some in a flour tortilla with the guacamole and tomato mixture and sprinkled parmesan cheese on top.Brett is always a happy guy but he looks even happier with a halibut taco in his hand! Definitely a blog-worthy dinner!

Guest Blog! Guest Blog! Guest Blog!

Ok, now I have your attention. Yes, my wife does most of the cooking at home but I thought it was time to show everyone a real man's camping trip menu. Recently I was invited on a fishing trip to Lake of the Woods with Maury Halverson and his son Taylor. We had a fabulous time talking about boy things and beating up on the local walleyes! (gotta love the smell of that '67 Forester Camper.) Downrigging crank baits was the meal ticket and what a time we had!

It's a simple menu,,,,,

Breakfast,

Lunch,

and Dinner :) (Taylor had Orange Crush of course)

Thank you Maury and Taylor for a great trip!

Chapman Street Market

One of my favorite shops in Ely is Chapman Street Market. I have a horrible, dark, cheese obsession and this shop caters to that sickness in me. I think in a former life I may have been a mouse. This weekend I decided to share that disease with our friends Chris and Abby and show them my secret, guilty place.

Chapman Street Market is more than a cheese shop, they do catering and lunches and all kinds of other foodie things. Here is their website: http://www.chapmanstreetmarket.com/ However, the main reason I go there is for the cheese and have been known to easily drop sixty dollars in this store just on cheese and baugettes.How can you not spend money in a place that holds almost every kind of cheese known to mankind? Although they didn't have my favorite cheese, which is sottocenre, a black truffle cheese. I will have to do an article strictly on that cheese.We bought a brie with mushrooms, a chunk of prima donna and taleggio and a warm, crusty baugette and wasted no time setting it all up with a couple of bottles of wine in the pontoon boat. We torn the baugette into pieces and topped them with chunks of rich cheese. The mushroom brie went well with the bottle of moscato I brought and the taleggio went well with the bottle of Root 1 that Chris brought. I love new things and Root 1 was something new to me. It was a red wine that wasn't real dry or sweet, but had a lots of berry and fruit flavors. It would be an excellent steak wine. Chris was dunking his bread and cheese into the wine and told me how his dad taught him to do that. He said his parents started giving the kids watered down wine when they were young and how his dad would walk around to each wine glass and grate a little Parmesan into it. It all winds up in your tummy anyway, he said. So I had to try a little piece of baugette and cheese dunked into Root 1 and while it was pretty good, I just don't like the texture of soggy bread. So I don't know if that would be something I could do all the time but the story was interesting! Chris' family is a large Irish-Italian family that loves each other to death, is very passionate, very into their food and wine and hugs everyone. They are fun people to hang around.The cheese was a wonderful treat and we put a pretty good dent in all the food. I loved how the prima donna Gouda cheese had these little pieces of crystallized salt in it. Chris said it wasn't salt, it was "coagulated enzymes" in the cheese. Well ok, I love coagulated enzymes!

I love picnics on the boat, I love cheese and I love spending a weekend with fun, real people! I hope we will have many more weekends with Chris and Abby!

Stony Ridge in Ely

Well, what can I say? It's been a busy summer and I have neglected my blog. So I'm sitting here very sorry and determined to make it up to the few readers I have left!

Kevin, Miss Chocoholic and I just got back from a week in Ely. One of the things that made that week special was the first weekend we were up there, our friends Chris and Abby shared a nice, long weekend with us. That is them on the first picture. Aren't they cute? They just got engaged! One of the things I love about them is that they are both so passionate about everything and they love food, wine and good coffee. So we went to a little resort cafe in Ely called Stony Ridge where they are famous for their mammoth stuffed hashbrowns. Here is their website: http://www.stonyridgeresort.com After a cup of Gene Hick's coffee, (Kevin's favorite, if you need an idea for a gift for him) we turned our attention to cleaning our plates like our mothers taught us.You know I love Vertin's stuffed hashbrowns and they are still the best in my opinion but only because it is like comparing an evening with a campfire and a bottle of wine to going to a Broadway play. The Broadway play is absolutely wonderful but you can't do that every night. But you can sure drink a bottle of wine around the campfire a couple of nights a week!This was my Broadway play and I finished everything except the toast. The menu item is actually called Killer Browns. It was delicious! Kevin and Abby opted for omelets and while they looked scrumptious, you just can't compare them to Killer Browns.This cafe is very quaint and homey. It does get busy sometimes so go early if you can. The breakfast is the best anyway!You can share your meal with the mosquitos on a nice day if you want and enjoy a view of the lake. Check this cafe in Ely out, you will be glad you did!

Shrimp and Couscous in Parchment Paper

It's been awhile since I've posted a yummy, cozy meal. Actually, with everything Miss Chocoholic has going on and since I have been working later, it's been awhile since I experimented with anything lately and it's about time! I decided to try a complete meal of couscous and shrimp cooked together in parchment paper. So I headed off to the store for a roll of parchment paper, hoping that it wouldn't burn in the oven!
The meal starts out by heating up 2/3 cup broth and adding a package of couscous to it, along with a chopped up bell pepper and shallot, 2 tablespoons of olive oil and salt and pepper. I stirred that and let it sit while thawed and peeled the shrimp. I combined some basil leaves and lemon juice in my mortar and ground them up. You could also use a basil or tomato pesto for this.I pulled off a foot long piece of parchment paper and folded it in half and then cut a half-circle in it, kind of like a crude heart shape. The couscous mixture went on there, then a handful of shrimp, then a couple of spoons of the basil mixture. It was smelling very fragrant before I even cooked it, I couldn't wait to smell it when it was cooked!The sides got folded up and flipped over into a preheated oven for fifteen minutes.The end result was the best home-cooked meal I have had in a long time. The bell peppers and the lemon juice gave the couscous a citrus taste that went well with the shrimp. This made five little packages and they all mysteriously disappeared that night! And the smell lingered in the kitchen long after the last I scraped the last bit of leftover's off Miss Chocoholic's plate into my own mouth!