A Preview to My First Ever Cooking Competition

On Tuesday, October 10, I will be participating in the first ever Minneapolis Public Schools Junior Iron Chef Super Bowl Edition. I will be cooking in this competition with Mike Brown of Travail Kitchen and Amusements, one of the best chefs in the U.S. This morning I had the opportunity to promote the upcoming event with Chef Brown on the local Fox Morning News.  Click Here to watch the full segment. Stay tuned for a post-competition reflection...

What do you do when life gives you a case of tomatoes?

One day as I was walking home from school I noticed a large box by my front door. Curious,  I walked up the stairs. It obviously wasn't a delivery from Amazon. When I opened up the box I was surprised to see 75 freshly picked tomatoes from Southern Minnesota.

This summer's tomato crop was so abundant that it was considered a bumper crop. Our CSA farmer who is located in the Driftless region of Southern Minnesota was able to drop off the box that morning. Our family was able to make multiple Caprese Salads, fresh salsas, a variety of sauces, and a batch of tomato soup from this case of tomatoes. These are some of my favorite ways to use fresh summer tomatoes to create amazing dishes.

A Jar of Fresh Tomato Salsa

Culinary Adventures in Montana

On a recent road trip through Dakotas and Montana, I was able to taste an endless amount of good food. Along the way, our family stopped at Roadside Saloons, BBQ Grills, and a variety of local establishments. Here are some of our most memorable meals:

Custer State Park:

One of our first excellent meals was at Custer State Park in South Dakota at the Sylvan Lake Lodge and Dining Room. My meal began with a fresh and crunchy Cobb Salad. For my main course, I ordered the Buffalo Short Rib. When the plate arrived, I was greeted by a 2-inch thick piece of short rib, which consisted of four bones. The Buffalo was served on a bed of asiago mashed potatoes and roasted vegetables. The short rib was slow roasted in a zesty Korean BBQ sauce. 

The BBQ Bison Short Ribs

Chico Hot Springs:

Our next destination was Chico Hot Springs Resort in Montana. After a long day of hiking and a quick swim in the natural hot spring pool, our whole family felt like we needed a good meal. We knew that the dining room at Chico would provide us with an exceptional one. For dinner, I had two appetizers, the Big Sky Crab Cake, and the BBQ Bison Short Rib Ravioli. The Crab Cake was served with Crispy Cellophane Noodles, a Lobster Cream Sauce, and was finished with a chilled Cucumber Pepper Relish. The Short Rib Ravioli was filled with slowly braised Bison Short Rib, wrapped in a homemade pasta which was made from locally sourced Montana Flour and Paradise Valley Eggs. It was finished with a sweet corn cream sauce and chili oil. After an amazing meal of fresh and tasty food, we couldn't resist their dessert selection. My brother and I decided to share the Mud Pie and the Orange Flambe.  

The Big Sky Crab Cake

The Short Rib Ravioli

Mud Pie

Desoto Grill:

Towards the end of our trip, we stayed in Kalispell Montana. It was a small town but provided us with three amazing dinners. Our last dinner before we started making our way home was at  The Desoto Grill. The restaurant is in an old car mechanic shop. We sat outside where we could smell the meat being smoked and grilled. This brought our hunger to a whole new level. Sitting outside also provided us with the opportunity to listen to a local Irish band. It was a perfect evening - sitting outside, smelling the fresh aromas of meat being smoked and listening to beautiful music. My brother and I split the Brisket Cheesesteak Sandwich and the Supercharged BLT for dinner. The BLT was aptly named as it was comprised of pork belly that had been smoked all day and finished with a spicy maple glaze. We concluded this meal with a fresh Banana Pudding with vanilla wafers, topped with whipped cream. 

The Brisket Cheesesteak Sandwich

Banana Pudding

Pork Belly BLT

Ice Cream that Jams

Milkjam Creamery is currently one of the most popular ice cream shops in Minneapolis. Every evening, rain or shine, there is a line out the door twisting and turning down the sidewalk. Milkjam's menu consists of your traditional scoops of ice cream, ice cream drinks for the crowd that is 21+, and Jam Buns which is an ice cream sandwich consists of locally made doughnuts and Milkjam's amazing ice cream. This combination creates a sandwich of complete goodness. One cool thing about this creamery is that the frozen dessert  is  custard based. The owner is lactose  intolerant but has a great appreciation for ice cream. Knowing that he didn't want to give up this dessert forever, he decided to open a creamery that sells  an amazing alternative that is good for people that are lactose intolerant to, as well as everyone else to enjoy.

A classic single scoop inside the shop 

One Bowl Banana Bread

One of my favorite things to bake is banana bread. My whole family loves it. In fact, it is so appreciated in our household, that I always double the recipe in order to make two loaves.  I recently found a recipe for a one bowl preparation for banana bread, by Heidi Swanson. This recipe is the easiest but also makes some of the very tastiest banana breads.

A Southern Meal in the City

One of my favorite restaurants right now is Revival. Revival has become a favorite in our family because of their amazing fried chicken and their classical Southern food. Our recent meal at Revival was out of this world. The meal started with Fried Green Tomatoes in a pickle sauce. Then for the main course we ordered a whole fried bird with hush puppies, mac + cheese, white cheddar grits, collard greens, and white slaw as sides. We finished our meal with a slice of graham cracker crust banana cream pie.

The Main Course

The Fried Green Tomato with a Pickle Sauce

Slice of Graham Cracker Crust Banana Cream Pie

Cold Sesame Noodles

Cold Sesame Noodles is something that I almost always crave. The oily richness with something fresh and crunchy always appeals to me. This dish can be made with just fresh and crunchy vegetables but can also be served with crunchy or sauteed tofu which will add some extra crunch. I found this recipe for Cold Sesame Noodles in Dinner Changing The Game by Melissa Clark. This is a cookbook that I absolutely love. The book is stacked with an endless amount of recipes that I hope I can make before summer ends. I will be posting a lot of recipes from this book this summer. So get ready for tons of delicious looking and tasting food.