There is little I love in this world more than cheese. And yesterday on Alberta Street in NE Portland, we stumbled upon my version of heaven: The Grilled Cheese Grill.

It was perfect timing – I was just starting to reach the point of grumpiness from hunger. You know, when you don’t realize that you’re hungry, but you start just being irritable? I find this happens a lot when you’re on vacation with no discernible eating schedule. Anyways, we were walking east on Alberta, sort of away from the majority of the shops, thinking we would turn around and just go to a sit-down restaurant for lunch, when we noticed yet another street food cart.  The others on the street mostly hadn’t yet opened or were serving vegan fair that doesn’t fit my fancy.  This proved disappointing when we had primed ourselves for some BBQ at Dixon’s Rib Pit, only to find them closed.  But, this one had people sitting at tables! One point for being opened. Wait, what does that sign say? Something about cheese…the Grilled Cheese Grill!?! I jumped up and did a little jig. Grilled cheese is my ultimate comfort food. Lunch time.

Can't talk, chewing

Their menu featured everything from the Classic (regular old grilled cheese)  to the Cheesus Burger (a burger with 2 grilled cheeses as buns). I opted for the daily special called the “Pittsburgh, PA” (I think because they had G20 protests there that day) which was apple butter, ham,  Tillamook horseradish cheddar cheese and avocado. It was a taste bud trifecta of sweet, salty and cheesey.

Jason went with one called the BABS; the picture basically says it all.

The BABS: Bacon, Apple, Bleu Cheese, Swiss on Rye

My only complaint is that they don’t have one in Chicago. Bonus: Their twitter feed seems to basically just be links to old cartoon clips. Love it.

Our friend Luis recently attended the Hatch Chili Festival in New Mexico, and came home with a bounty of peppers.  Since the weather in Chicago has been gorgeous, he decided to have a bbq featuring chili burgers, and chili chicken burgers.

Luis and his pepper

He warned us of non-Hispanic heritage that the heat of the pepper was in the seeds, and was kind enough to sort through them to make a”mild” version.

Mild on the left, hot on the right

I needed a couple Coronas to help me through the burger, but man was it delicious. The chilies were roasted so it provided a smoky flavor, and HO BOY was there some heat. Even though I chose my chilies from the mild side of the plate they still cleared out my sinuses. We also feasted on local corn, and grilled zucchini.

Luis was kind enough to send us home with a bag of chilies. Now what should I cook with them?

This is really exciting. The USDA is starting and initiative about how local food is better for the local economy, environment, and nutrition. Here, here! Let’s start the conversation.

I’ve never been a fan of cabbage. Be it broiled, braised,  as a slaw, or kraut, it was just never a vegetable I really enjoyed.  So for a week I had a head of green cabbage from my CSA sitting in my vegetable drawer taunting me. Begging me to figure out a way I could prepare and enjoy this nutritious vegetable.  So I broke out my trusty mandoline, and food processor and let my creative juices flow. I was in the mood for something on the sweet side so I decided to go a more fruity route.  I took some inspiration from my mom who will toss poppy seed dressing with bags of pre-cut coleslaw, and used my favorite poppy seed dressing as the base.  The result was a super tangy and sweet summery salad filled with crushed nuts and dried fruit . The cabbage itself provided a crunch that really made the salad complete.

Chopped Cabbage Salad with Poppy Seed dressing

Yield: 4 large servings

1 head green Cabbage, sliced or shredded

4 small red radishes, choped

1/2 cup Walnuts, crushed

1/2 cup mixed dried fruit (I used Archer Farms brand)

1/2 cup Brianna’s Poppy seed dressing

Directions

I chopped the radishes, walnuts and fruit by pulsing them in the food processor quickly.  Toss all ingredients together and serve. Tastes great with a Mothership Wit.

When I was a kid my neighbor had a raspberry bush. I remember going over into her yard and snacking on the sweet fruit.  I always  ate them a very specific way – cupping one berry on each of my fingertips and then popping them into my mouth one finger at a time. As soon as they were gone I would gather another ten berries and place them on my fingers starting the process over again.

Now whenever I buy raspberries I almost always eat the entire container immediately. Sometimes still using my fingertip method. There just never seem to be enough to justify putting away for later.

This past weekend we went on a mini Michigan tour.  Our first stop was St. Clair, just south of Port Huron where we stayed with Jason’s Grandpa Leo, and his wife Lorraine. They live along a river dividing the United States and Canada and often get the pleasure of viewing 1000 foot ships traveling along the St. Lawrence Seaway.

When we arrived Leo gave us a tour of their idyllic land including what I considered a massive raspberry patch.  It dwarfed the memory of my neighbors backyard bush.

Leo and Lorraine showing off their raspberry patch

They were everbearing raspberry plants, Leo told us.  Soon he would begin harvesting them for the second time this season. We could see flicks of red all through the bushes indicating they would be in for a terrific bounty as the berries ripened.  Unfortunately they weren’t ripe enough for us to enjoy any this trip, but I do plan on picking up some this weekend at the Green City Market.

The perfect local summer dinner.  CSA vegetables tossed with fresh pasta and some chicken from Arnold’s Farm.  For the pasta I used mix of 1/2 semolina and 1/2 unbleached all-purpose flour. It gave it a firmer texture and deeper flavor than when I’ve used all-purpose flour on its own.  I made this the night before the hubs swam in the relay of the Chicago Triathalon.  Not a bad way to carbo-load.

Fresh Pasta

1 1/2 cups semolina flour

1 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour

4 Large Eggs

Kosher Salt (just a pinch)

1) Combine flour into a bowl. Make a well in the center of the flour and crack the eggs into it.

2) With a fork beat the eggs a bit and then incorporate them into the dough using a circular motion. Once the flour and eggs are mostly combined get rid of the fork and dive in with your hands

3) Gently kneed the dough by turning it about 1/4 of a turn and pushing it up into itself from the bottom continuously. Don’t over work the dough.  If it is to dry add a tiny bit of water.  It should form a smooth ball.

4) Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 20 minutes

5) Once dough has rested roll it out with a rolling pin (I do this in 2 sets) and then run it through a pasta machine

6) Let dough dry for about 1/2 hour before cooking in lots of salted boiling water (at least 1 gallon of water for each pound of pasta)

This was the first of 2 pâtés my station partner and I were lucky enough to make in our Intro to Garde Manger class a few weeks ago. Typically this isn’t part of the certificate curriculum, but our Chef instructor was kind enough to let us give it a shot.  The Pâté De Campagne (country pâté) shown above was a big hit when served to our class with some toast points, some mustard, and of course cornichons. The recipe included liver in the force meat which added a terrific depth of flavor. The entire terrine was also wrapped in bacon, which can never be a bad thing.

Our second pâté didn’t taste quite as good. It didn’t include the liver, and instead had a pork tenderloin in the center surrounded by the force meat. I felt the flavor was bland, and the texture not as smooth.  It’s going to need some dressing up before I serve it to the husband. I’m thinking a whole grain spicy mustard, and some dark rye or pumpernickel bread might do it some good.

I’m definitely going to have to get a meat grinding attachment for my Kitchen Aid so I can remake the first recipe at home.

Last night I overcame a fear I didn’t know I had.  It was seafood night in our Intro to Garde Manger class, and all day long I was looking forward to some salty water deliciousness.

In the cafe before class I ran into my station partner, Kelly. We’re kind of inseparable at school. Anyway, she was nervous about the inevitable shucking of  clams and oysters that would be taking place. She believes she will slice her hand open. I encourage her that she will be just fine. This will be fun! And think of all the yummy oysters we get to eat (tummy grumbles).

Flash forward to the class demo where our Chef instructor is presents us with some GIANT clams. They’re approximately twice the size of my palms. Disclaimer here: I have ity bity  hands (and ears and feet – but those are besides the point). Anyway, I’m struggling to fit this baseball sized clam in my grasp and I’m supposed to jam a knife into it in the direction of my palm. I froze. A kind of weird paralyzing feeling took over me and I could not bring myself to put any amount of pressure onto the knife into the clam (or my palm). I really didn’t want to go to the emergency room.

Our chef instructor must have seen my hesitation because at that point he grabbed both my hands and with a serious amount of pressure guided the knife stiffly into the clam popping it open (and avoiding my palm). The paralysis washed away. That wasn’t so hard.

But as I reached for the rest of my clams I selectively chose  the ones that appeared to be slightly open (though still alive mind you, they would pinch shut if you tapped them.) I found these didn’t cause the same paralysis as the ones that were practically glued shut.

Claims Casino

Yield: 6 claims

6 claims in the half shell

1 piece bacon, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tbs butter

2 tbs onion, minced

dash Worcester Sauce

dash Tabasco

1/4 cup bread crumbs

Directions:

1) Render the bacon in a saute pan, then set aside on a paper towel

2) saute onion and garlic in remaining bacon fat and move to hold with bacon

3) mix the onion, garlic and bacon with the butter and add Tabasco and Worcester sauce

4) add the breadcrumb to the remaining bacon fat to moisten

5) put a dollop of the butter mixture on each clam and cover with the breadcrumbs

6) bake in a 400 degree oven until golden brown on top (about 8 minutes)

So, the last wordpress installation crapped out on me and here I am at blog building square one.  Only a few posts were lost in the process. I guess that’s part of the trial and error of building a site with little programming knowledge.