TRAVEL/FOOD : Page 88 of 96 : On the road and at home, it's always about food and fun!

Sister Pie: The Recipes and Stories of a Big-Hearted Bakery in Detroit

Lisa Ludwinski, owner of Sister Pies, began her business in her parents’ kitchen in Milford, Michigan, making pies and cookies. Within a year, the demand for her baked goods was such that she determined to open a bricks and mortar store. The problem? Money, of course. Winning the Comerica Hatch Detroit Contest which awards up-and-coming entrepreneurs a $50,000 grant was a great start.

brandy pecan pie — Reprinted with permission from Sister Pie, copyright © 2018 Photography by E. E. Berger. Published by Lorena Jones Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House

But Ludwinski still needed more to achieve her dream. Her solution? Hold a 24-hour Dance-A-Thon with the pledge to raise $25,000 by dancing from 9 p.m. on a Friday night to the same time the following night. 11 hours later she’d raised $25,335 and by the end of her dancing, the total was $26,135, Now the award winning Sister Pie is so popular that Ludwinski is planning on opening a second location. Her bakery abuzz and her first cookbook Sister Pie: The Recipes and Stories of a Big-Hearted Bakery in Detroit (Lorena Jones Books 2018; $25) recently released, Ludwinski embarked upon a month long book tour that includes a stop on November 2, at Granor Farm in Three Oaks, Michigan just a few miles north of the Indiana state line.

Granor Farm 2018 Farm Dinner. Three Oaks, Michigan — Photo courtesy of Jamie and Eric Photography

“Lisa’s visit is part of our Book + Supper Club Series, where I build a menu around the author’s work,” says Abra Berens, Chef at Granor Farm. “For me it continues Granor’s original mission to be a place of continued education, especially around food. We started the farm primarily to offer our Farm Camp for kids. That emphasis on education–and food–was part of my initial interest in what Granor was doing. It is a great way to share the knowledge of various experts in the field and, personally, for me to continue to grow as a chef by working with other amazing talents.”

Berens says the dinner will be a mixture of Ludwinski’s recipes and her own interpretation of those recipes.

apple sage gouda — Reprinted with permission from Sister Pie, copyright © 2018 Photography by E. E. Berger.

“At the start we will give a brief overview of Granor Farm and then give Lisa the floor to talk about her bakery, her book, and her general outlook on life,” she says, noting that she is a big fan I’m fan of what Ludwinski does.

Lisa with pie — Reprinted with permission from Sister Pie, copyright © 2018 Photography by E. E. Berger.

Ludwinski, who grew up in Milford and studied Theatre Arts at Kalamazoo College, originally moved to New York to become a director but gravitated instead to baking before returning home to start her own business. Savvy with social media(she has almost 49,000 followers on Instagram (@sisterpiedetroit) and a happy, fun-filled personality, Ludwinski isn’t afraid to mix it up, creating a delicious blend of sweet or savory and sweet and savory pies such salted maple pumpkin, strawberry rhubarb lavender and apple sage gouda. Also on her menu are scones, muffins and cookies. But when she says she uses seasonal, she’s serious.

sweet potato coconut — Reprinted with permission from Sister Pie, copyright © 2018 Photography by E. E. Berger. Published by Lorena Jones Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House.

“There’s no apple pie in May and there’s no cherry pie in December,” she says. “The reason why is it tastes better. That takes people a little while to get used to, but usually when they taste whichever pie we have available, they understand. Working with the seasonal structure allows us to be super creative, too. If I know I’ve got rhubarb, then I can ask myself – ok, what will make a rhubarb pie unique? We love to pair the seasonal ingredients with herbs, floral tones, alternative flours, citrus, nuts, cheese, etc. Basically everything that’s delicious to eat. We’re also big on the sweet-and-salty.”

Those combinations include oatmeal raisin or chocolate chip cookies with a flake or two of sea salt on top and black pepper tarragon and honey shortbread.Jamie and Eric Photography

019GranorDinner2018 (1) — Photo courtesy of Jamie and Eric Photography

Community and people working together is important says Ludwinski.

“That’s another reason we’re not getting strawberries from some huge farm in California that grows them all year long–we’re getting them from Norm who runs a small farm in Ida, Michigan,” she says. “His strawberries are fleeting and delicious, and a special treat.”

_AUTHOR PHOTO Lisa Ludwinski (credit E.E. Berger) (1) — Reprinted with permission from Sister Pie, copyright © 2018 Photography by E. E. Berger. Published by Lorena Jones Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House.

Sister Pie, 8066 Kercheval, Detroit. (313) 447-5550; sisterpie.com

Ifyougo:

What: Granor Farm Book + Supper Club with Lisa Ludwinski

When: Friday, November 2, 5:30-9 CST

Where: Granor Farm, 3480 Warren Woods Road, Three Oaks, MI

Cost: $95 a ticker which includes dinners and a copy of Sister Pie.

FYI: granorfarm.com

The following recipes are courtesy of Sister Pies.

Apple Sage Gouda Pie

Makes one 9-inch pie

2 pounds Northern Spy, Idared, or Golden Delicious apples, peeled and sliced

1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

3⁄4 cup granulated sugar

2 tablespoons minced fresh sage

1⁄4 cup packed light brown sugar

1⁄4 cup tapioca starch

1⁄4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1⁄2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1⁄4 teaspoon kosher salt

1 disc Aged Gouda Pie Dough (see below), rolled out and fitted into a 9-inch pie pan but uncrimped, and refrigerated

6 lattice strips made with Aged Gouda Pie Dough, placed on a parchment-lined baking sheet and refrigerated

1 teaspoon turbinado sugar mixed with 1 teaspoon all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons (1⁄4 stick) unsalted butter, cubed and chilled

1 large egg, beaten

For the filling:

Transfer the apples to a large mixing bowl and toss with the lemon juice.

In a medium bowl, combine the granulated sugar and sage, massaging together with your fingertips. Add the brown sugar, tapioca starch, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Add to the apples and toss with your hands until evenly distributed.

When you’re ready to assemble the pie, remove the unbaked crust and lattice strips from the refrigerator. Sprinkle the sugar-flour mixture all over the bottom of the crust. Layer the apples on top, being careful not to mound them in the center. Dot the apples with butter cubes.

Place one strip of lattice across the center of the pie. Take another strip and lay it on top, perpendicular to the first one, creating a cross. Lay the next two strips on either side of the first strip you laid down, so they are parallel to both each other and the original strip. Next, working with the original strip, fold back both ends toward the center, and then place the last two lattice strips down on either side of the second (perpendicular) strip. Fold the original strip back down, so that it lies across and on top of the newly placed strips. It should look like a woven lattice.

Tear off the ends of the lattice pieces so they are flush with the perimeter of the tin. Roll the edge of the crust in, sealing the lattice. Crimp, using the technique described on page 49, being careful to push the crimps down and into the pie, as opposed to keeping them too loose on the edge. Put the assembled pie in the freezer for a 15-minute rest.

Preheat your oven to 450°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Remove the pie from the freezer, place on the baking sheet, and brush the lattice and crimped edge with the beaten egg. Transfer the baking sheet with the pie on it to the oven and bake for15 to 20 minutes, or until the crust is evenly golden brown. Turn the temperature down to 325°F and continue to bake for 50 to 70 minutes, until the pie juices are bubbling in the center.

Remove the baking sheet from the oven and transfer the pie to a wire rack to cool for 4 to 6 hours. When the pie is at room temperature, slice it into 6 to 8 pieces and serve.

Store leftover pie, well wrapped in plastic wrap or under a pie dome, at room temperature for up to 2 days.

Aged Gouda Pie Dough

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon granulated sugar

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted European-style butter, straight from the fridge

1 ounce aged Gouda, grated

1⁄2 cup ice-cold water and apple cider vinegar mixture, or more if needed

In a large stainless steel bowl, combine the flour, sugar, and salt and stir to mix well. Place the sticks of butter in the bowl and coat on all sides with flour. Using a bench scraper, cut the butter into 1⁄2-inch cubes. Work quickly to separate the cubes with your hands until they are all lightly coated in the flour mixture. Grab that bench scraper once again and cut each cube in half.

Switch to the pastry blender and begin to cut in the butter with one hand while turning the bowl with the other. It’s important not to aim for the same spot at the bottom of the bowl with each stroke of the pastry blender, but to actually slice through butter every time to maximize efficiency. When the pastry blender clogs up, carefully clean it out with your fingers (watch out, it bites!) or a butter knife and use your hands to toss the ingredients a bit. Continue to blend and turn until the largest pieces are the size and shape of peas and the rest of it feels and looks freakishly similar to canned Parmesan cheese. Speaking of cheese, now is the time to add the Gouda and mix it in quickly with the pastry blender until it is evenly distributed.

At this point, add the water-vinegar mixture all at once, and switch back to the bench scraper. Scrape as much of the mixture as you can from one side of the bowl to the other, until you can’t see visible pools of liquid anymore. Now it’s hand time. Scoop up as much of the mixture as you can, and use the tips of your fingers to press it back down onto the rest of the ingredients. Rotate the bowl a quarter-turn and repeat.

Scoop, press, and turn. With each fold, your intention is to be quickly forming the mixture into one cohesive mass. Remember to incorporate any dry, floury bits that have congregated at the bottom of the bowl, and once those are completely gone and the dough is formed, it’s time to stop.

Remove the dough from the bowl, place it on a lightly floured counter, and use your bench scraper to divide it into two equal pieces. Gently pat one into a 2-inch-thick disc, working quickly to seal any broken edges before wrapping it tightly in a double layer of plastic wrap. Pat the other half into a 6-by-3-inch rectangle.

Refrigerate the dough for at least 2 hours or, ideally, overnight. When you go to roll out the crust, you want the disc to feel as hard and cold as the butter did when you removed it from the fridge to make the dough. This will make the roll-out way easier.

Makes enough for one 9-inch lattice-topped pie.

Jane Simon Ammeson can be contacted via email at janeammeson@gmail.com

All photos of Lisa Ludwinski and her pies are:

Isla Mujeres: Ixchel’s Island

Regional & Ethnic

Isla Mujeres or Island of the Women earned its name in 1517 when Spanish explorers discovered statues of Ixchel, the Mayan Moon Goddess on this island just 25 minutes by ferry from Cancun. Ixchel’s temple is still here, perched atop a rocky cliff overlooking the Caribbean Sea in Garrafon Reef Park – it’s where Mayan women once traveled to pray for a fertile marriage.

Today, visitors come for snorkeling in the fish filled coral reefs, zipling above Mayan ruins, frolicking with dolphins and taking the short jitney ride to the bustling shopping plaza on Avenue Rueda Medina in the island’s only town. Here artisans display their wares – elaborately embroidered Mayan dresses, Talavera pottery and an assortment of pretty trinkets.

Wander the town, past brightly colored stucco homes, stopping at the stalls of local vendors for fresh fruit sprinkled with fiery red pepper and spicy hot meat stuffed into freshly made tortillas.

The following recipe, typical of Isla de Mujeres, is courtesy of Pati Jinich, host of the popular Emmy and James Beard nominated PBS series Pati’s Mexican Table and author of Pati’s Mexican Table: The Secrets of Real Mexican Home Cooking and Mexican Today: New and Rediscovered Recipes for Contemporary Kitchens.

Brocoli y Coloflor Rostizadas con Aderezo de Cotija

Roasted Broccoli & Cauliflower with Queso Cotija Dressing

5 to 6 servings

For the vegetables:

1/2 cup freshly squeezed lime juice

1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

3 chopped chiles de arbol or 1 generous teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/2 cup olive oil plus more for brushing

1 teaspoon kosher or coarse sea salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 pounds broccoli cut into 1/4″ vertical slices, including thick part of stem

2 pounds cauliflower cut into 1/4″ vertical slices, including thick part of stem

For the dressing:

1/2 cup crumbled queso cotija

2/3 cup Mexican crema

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 teaspoons sherry vinegar

2 tablespoons water

1 clove garlic

1/2 teaspoon kosher or coarse sea salt or to taste

Preheat oven to 475 degrees Fahrenheit.

Mix the lime juice, orange juice, olive oil, chile de arbol, 1 teaspoon salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Brush 2 large baking sheets with olive oil. Place the broccoli and cauliflower on each baking sheet, making sure that it is well spread out and not crowded. Evenly pour the orange juice mixture all over the vegetables.

Place in the oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, flipping once in between, until well roasted and considerably charred. Remove from the oven.

In the jar of the blender, combine the queso cotija, Mexican crema, vegetable oil, sherry vinegar, water, garlic, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Puree until smooth.

Serve the broccoli and cauliflower in an extended platter and ladle the queso cotija right on top, or let your guests spoon sauce onto their plates and dip their vegetables in the sauce to their liking.

Isla_Mujeres,_Garrafon_(24032614729) — All photos courtesy of Wikimedia

Website: http://www.garrafon.com/

Hours: The park is open every day from 9:00 am until 5:00 pm in winter and from 9:00 am until 6:00 pm in summer.

Departures from Cancun: 9:30am and 11:00am
Returns from Garrafon: 4:15 pm and 5:30 pm (subject to change)

Carla Hall’s “Soul Food: Everyday and Celebration”

Harper Wave, Regional & Ethnic, Southern cuisine

This spring, just a day or so before she was in Benton Harbor doing her cooking demonstration at the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship at Harbor Shores, both Carla Hall—and the world—learned her long-running show, ABC’s Daytime Emmy-winning lifestyle series The Chew was being canceled.

“I need a job,” she told the crowded roomful of people. “Does anyone know of a job for me?”

And because she is so lovable, the entire audience sighed and I’m sure more than a few thought, what can I do to help Carla find another job.

Those concerned about what Carla was going to do next, quit worrying because this kitchen dynamo seems to be everywhere. Now the food contributor for GMA’s Day, the third hour of Good Morning America, she just made an appearance at the prestigious Chicago Ideas joining others for a panel discussion titled “More than a Meal: Food as a Cultural Nexus “and her newest cookbook, Carla Hall’s Soul Food: Everyday and Celebration with Genevieve Ko (Harper Wave 2018; $29.99) just hit the shelves this Monday, October 23.

Poured Caramel Cake — Photo credit Gabriele Stabile

“It’s so funny when The Chew ended everyone said what are you doing and now I say what am I not doing?” Hall tells me on the phone after apologizing profusely for being late to call due to a scheduling mix-up.

Describing the years she co-anchored, with Clinton Kelly and Michael Symon, The Chew as like wearing gold handcuffs, Hall says it was an amazing experience but the 39 weeks a year she spent filming didn’t leave time for much else.

“Freedom—it’s lovely,” says Hall who is .glad to have the time to explore her food journey in her book. It’s a melting pot of her heritage—ancestors from Nigeria and Portugal and Southern by birth–and career choices– eschewing her training as an accountant to become a fashion model in Paris and then getting into the food scene, graduating from L’Academie de Cuisine in Gaithersburg, Maryland, opening a catering business in New York City and appearing on Bravo’s “Top Chef” and “Top Chef: All Stars.” With her distinctive looks and intelligent dead-pan humor, she connects quickly with audiences whether in person or on screen, showcasing her ability to throw together a quick meal, her philosophy of cooking with love and accenting it all with her famous catch phrase, “Hootie Hoo,” success came quickly.

Yet at some point during her time in Europe and in New York, she found herself not only yearning for the soul food cooking of her grandmother, a hospital nutritionist, but also for a way to explain that type of cookery to others. She also, in her cookbook, strives to differentiate both what she terms celebration and everyday types of southern cuisine.

“On the everyday side I have a recipe for sea island shrimp and grits which is usually really heavy with cream butter, maybe a ham and Tasso gravy and maybe cheese,” she says. “I stripped all of that out after talking to someone in the Carolina coast, making it very simple and on the lighter side—the shrimp with some vegetables and some tomatoes. On the celebration side I wanted to do the smothered chicken—everything goes in a pot, gravy is made with the sauce, the chicken falls off the bone—it’s like a dish my grandmother would make, it’s delicious.”

Of course in every chef’s kitchen there’s a failure here and there.

“I was doing ginger cake with lemon cream and the lemon cream just wasn’t good,” she says. She also worked exceptionally hard on her hot water cornbread recipe.

“I started off trying to change it because I remember doing it in Clinton Kelly competition and just two people picked me out of 10, the winner was a cheesy casserole,” she says with some disdain. “So I was thinking maybe I have to change it. I was cooking, cooking and then it was the day of the shooting for the book and I went back to the tried and true. That was an aha moment.”

Always creative—after all one of the first recipes she demonstrated on GMA’s Day was a wine can chicken—Hall says might be looking outside and see a tree turning brown and think oh, how about a crust.

Spoonbread Dressing — Photo credit Gabriele Stabile

“Someone turned me on to these fruit and nut snacks from Trader Joes and I’m like that looks like a filling for a pastry, so took a pastry and put this round into it and cooked it,” she says. “One of the reasons I love to cook is I love process and cooking is a process. I love puzzles which is why I liked accounting but of course if you get too creative in accounting you go to jail.”

Her book is the first step in educating others about soul food.

“I am so excited about the book. When I saw the first copy and I opened it up and cried. I smelled it,” says Hall. “When I talk to people abut soul food and people say oh soul food is having it’s having its moment and I think for me it’s always had this moment. It’s about a person’s culture. Writing it was a very personal journey, about my ancestry, about me trying to change people’s perspective but it was a journey I didn’t expect.”

The following recipes are from Carla Hall’s Soul Food: Everyday and Celebration

Carla’s Spoon Bread

¼ cup unsalted butter, softened

1 onion, finely chopped (1 cup)

1 celery stalk, finely diced (1/2 cup)

1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt

½ teaspoon poultry seasoning

2 cups whole milk

1 cup water

1 tablespoon sugar

1 cup fine stone-ground yellow cornmeal

11 ounce can whole kernel corn, drained

1 teaspoon baking powder

3 eggs

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Use 1 tablespoon of the butter to generously grease a 3-quart rectangular baking dish.

In a large saucepan melt the remaining 3 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, and salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 4 minutes or until just tender. Add the poultry seasoning; cook and stir for 1 minute.

Add the milk, water, and sugar; bring to boiling. Continuously whisk the mixture while you pour in the cornmeal in a slow, steady stream. Cook, whisking constantly, for 5 minutes or until the cornmeal has absorbed all the liquid and is thick and smooth. Remove from heat and stir in the corn and baking powder. Cool for 20 to 30 minutes or until lukewarm, stirring often to avoid clumping.

In a large bowl whisk the eggs for 5 to 7 minutes or until pale yellow and very foamy with no liquid remaining. Add beaten eggs, one-third at a time, to the cornmeal mixture, folding gently until incorporated. Spread evenly in the prepared dish.

Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown and set and top springs back when gently touched. Cool slightly before serving (spoon bread may fall during cooling).

Caribbean Smothered Chicken With Coconut, Lime and Chiles

4 large bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (about 1 1/2 pounds total)

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon vegetable oil

6 large sprigs thyme, plus fresh thyme leaves for serving

2 large onions, thinly sliced

2 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped

1 habanero chile, partially slit open

1 cup low-fat coconut milk

1/4 cup water

Finely grated zest and juice of 1 large lime, plus wedges for serving

1/2 teaspoon curry powder

Season the chicken generously all over with salt and pepper.

Heat the oil in a large, shallow Dutch oven or deep sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the chicken to the pan, skin sides down. Sear for about 5 minutes, turning them over once, until browned on both sides and some of their fat has rendered. (They will not be cooked through.)

Push the thighs to one side of the pan, turning them skin sides up; add the thyme and onions to the other side of the pan and reduce the heat to medium-low. Cook for about 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until they pick up some color.

Add the garlic, chile pepper and 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute, then pour in the coconut milk and water. The browned skin on the thighs should remain above the level of liquid. Increase the heat to medium; once the liquid begins to boil, move the onion mixture around the chicken pieces, as needed. Cover and cook for about 20 minutes, or. until the chicken is cooked through. Discard the thyme sprigs.

Uncover and stir in the lime juice. Cook for about 5 minutes, then stir in the curry powder and lime zest. Scatter some thyme leaves on top.

Serve right away (with or without the chile pepper), with lime wedges.

Poured Caramel Cake

16-20 servings; makes one 9-by-13-inch cake

6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) room-temperature unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons, plus more for the pan

2 cups flour, plus more for the pan

3/4 cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

3 large eggs, at room temperature

For the caramel:

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter

1 3/4 cups sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

12 ounces evaporated milk

For the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Use some butter and then flour to coat a 9-by-13-inch baking pan or dish.

Combine the buttermilk and vanilla extract in a liquid measuring cup.

Combine the 2 cups of flour, the sugar, baking powder and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer or handheld electric mixer. Beat on low speed until well blended. Add the oil (low speed); once that is evenly distributed, add the butter a tablespoon at a time, beating until fully incorporated. The mixture will have the consistency of coarse sand.

Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stop to scrape down the bowl. On medium speed, gradually add the buttermilk mixture, beating to form a smooth batter.

Pour into the pan; bake (middle rack) for about 25 minutes, or until a tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a wire rack; let the cake cool completely.

Meanwhile, make the caramel: Place the butter in a deep saucepan over medium heat. Once the butter is half melted, add the sugar and salt. Cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, until the mixture is dark golden brown. It will look grainy and the fat will separate from the sugar, then come back together.

Remove from the heat.

Jane Ammeson can be contacted via email at janeammeson@gmail.com or by writing to Focus Department, The Herald-Palladium, P.O. Box 128, St. Joseph, MI 49085.

Anne of Green Gables: Read the Book & Visit Prince Edward Island

Family Excursions, Garden Tours, Literary Recipes, PEI, Prince Edward Islands, Regional & Ethnic

I never read Anne of Green Gables, the 1908 novel by L. M. Montgomery about an orphan named Anne Shirley who is sent to live on a farm owned by a middle-aged brother and sister on Prince Edward Island (PEI). I’m not sure why since it’s considered a children’s classic, having been translated into 20 different languages and selling more than 50 million copies and my mother was all about me reading the classics. Besides that, starting around age eight, I worked at the local public library, helping my mother unpack boxes of books that had just been delivered by the binary. It was a strictly off the books payment for me and I’m not sure how much I made but it was fun helping my mom who by the time she retired had worked for the East Chicago Public Library for half a century. Until I graduated college I spent most summers working there and so I had easy access to whatever books I wanted to read and since Laura Wilder’s Little House on the Prairie novels were a favorite, so segueing into Anne and PEI, one eastern Canada’s Maritime Provinces, would seem a good fit.

I still haven’t read any of the Anne books, seen the movies or watched the TV series. But I was in Charlottetown, the charming Victorian-era capital of PEI and decided to take a tour of the Green Gables Heritage Place, part of L.M. Montgomery’s Cavendish National Historic Site.

The drive from Charlottetown to Green Gables meanders past sandy beaches, red roofed lighthouses and cute little fishing hamlets all of which have at least one restaurant offering lobster rolls and mussels as well as a store or two selling jams made from locally grown fruits, wood lobster traps to take home and, of course, Anne paraphernalia. In the turn before we entered Green Gables, a sign for bicycle rentals was written in French, English and Japanese. I got the French part because the Maritimes are near Quebec and some islands are English and others French. As for the Japanese, our guide told me, the Montgomery books (which were translated into Japanese in 1952) are super popular there and many tourists come from Japan to visit the places mentioned in the book.

Fortifying ourselves with ice cream (dairy farms abound on PEI and they’re known for the richness of their milk and, hence, their ice cream) from the Butter Churn Cafe, we wandered through the 19th century gardens with their white picket fencing, arbors, seats and old fashioned blooms such as giant hollyhocks and delphiniums. Interpretative guides wearing early 20^th century country garb and, straw hats took us through the gabled home and then we followed the path way leading towards the Atlantic Ocean. Several times we passed Anne-wannabes, their hair spray colored red and crowned with, of course, straw hats.

In the gift shop, I looked at the prettily illustrated The Anne of Green Gables Cookbook, written by L. M. Montgomery’s granddaughter Kate Macdonald. Each of its recipes ties in with what Anne and her family, neighbors and friends ate in the book and I thought it would be fun to share a few.

The following recipes are from the Anne of Green Gables cookbook by Kate MacDonald.

Poetical Egg Salad Sandwiches

“The girls sat down by the roots and did full justice to Anne’s dainties, even the unpoetical sandwiches being greatly appreciated by hearty, unspoiled appetites sharpened by all the fresh air and exercise they had enjoyed.” —Anne of Avonlea (Chapter 13: A Golden Picnic)

4 eggs

1 stalk celery

3 tablespoons mayonnaise

1⁄2 teaspoon salt

Ground pepper, pinch

1⁄4 cup butter, softened

2 tablespoons dried mint or 2 tablespoons parsley

8 slices bread, fresh

In small saucepan cover the eggs with cold water – at least 1 inch above the eggs. Place the saucepan over high heat and bring to a boil.

Remove the saucepan from the heat and cover it. Let the eggs stand in the hot water for 25 minutes. Uncover the saucepan and put it under cold running water for 10 minutes to cool the eggs.

Meanwhile wash the celery stalk under cold running water. Chop it into tiny pieces on the cutting board.

Peel the eggs. Add them with the chopped celery to the small mixing bowl and mash them together with the fork.

Stir the mayonnaise, salt, and pepper into the egg mixture. Set the egg salad in the refrigerator.

Mix the softened butter with the dried mint or parsley in the small bowl. Set aside.

Cut each slice of bread with a large cookie cutter. Save the bread scraps in a little plastic bag for bread crumbs.

Butter one side of each bread shape with the minted butter. On half of the bread shapes spread the egg salad. Place the other half of the bread shapes on top. Makes 4 poetical sandwiches.

Maritime Gingersnaps

“You’ll put down the old brown tea set. But you can open the little crock of cherry preserves. It’s time it was being used anyhow—I believe it’s beginning to work. Any you can cut some fruit-cake and have some of the cookies and snacks.” —Anne of Green Gables (Chapter 16: Diana is Invited to Tea with Tragic Results)

1/2 cup molasses

1⁄4 cup shortening

1 1⁄2 cups all-purpose flour

1⁄4 teaspoon baking powder

2 teaspoons ground ginger

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground cloves

1⁄4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Combine molasses and shortening in a small pan; heat, stirring constantly, just to boiling over medium heat. Remove immediately from heat and allow to cool.

Meanwhile measure remaining ingredients into a large bowl. When molasses mixture has cooled, pour over flour mixture and mix well to combine. Chill dough for 10 minutes.

Shape into small (about quarter-sized) balls and arrange 2 inches apart on baking sheets. Flatten with bottom of a drinking glass or with fingers.

Bake until dry and crisp, about 8-10 minutes. Watch carefully as they may easily burn.

When done, place pan on cooling rack and cool cookies on baking sheet for 5 minutes. Remove from baking sheet to cooling rack and cool completely.

Once completely cooled, store in an airtight container.

Jane Ammeson can be contacted via email at janeammeson@gmail.com

Mackinac Island Cottage Cookbook: Savor Summer All Year Long

Uncategorized

Now with summer officially over, we can hold on to the season by savoring can hold on to the season by savoring the Mackinac Island Cottage Cookbook (Touch Down Books 2017; $29.95) written by two former Southwest Michigan residents, Barbara Toms and her daughter Marcia Dunnigan. For years, their families and friends have been gathering together at Donnybrook Cottage, their place overlooking the waters of Mackinac Island.

Dunnigan, who is good friends with Patricia Trautman Moon of St. Joseph, Michigan—the two graduated from Benton Harbor High School, describes summer days enjoying the island view from their porch and crowding around their large dining room table to enjoy foods prepared with local produce.

“People come to visit and bring their favorite dishes and we also cook a lot of family recipes too,” says Toms. “We always ask for recipes and we’ve also saved the ones we make which are long time favorites. When people stop by, we have them toss their recipes into a wire basket.”

The basket, located in the kitchen sits on “Granny’s cupboard,” a family heirloom, first were organized by Toms in a notebook titled “Donnybrook Cookbook.”

Over the years, Toms added more recipes to the notebook until, wanting to share that sense of family and comradery she and Dunnigan decided to compile their easy-to-make recipes (it is summer after all) into a cookbook.

“We wanted to show the good times and the good food, but also the beauty of the island,” says Toms, adding they chose to organize their cookbook around the theme of “Good food and fine Art – one nurtures the body, the other the soul.”

“That describes not only our cookbook but we think is important in life,” says Dunnigan. “That’s why we asked our good friend, Sharon Griffes Tarr to do the illustrations for the book.”

Tarr, who lives in Williamston, Michigan, holds Master status in the Great Lakes Plein Air Painters Association and paintings can be found in collections in both the USA and overseas. Her work is one display in Michigan galleries such as Coyote Woman Gallery, Harbor Springs and Framer’s Edge, Okemos. For the cottage cookbook, she created dreamy and majestic landscapes and more precise but equally pretty scenes of the cottage, its gardens and life on the island.

Though Toms and Dunnigan no longer live in the area, having moved years ago, they still come back to visit.

“St. Joe is such a beautiful place,” says Dunnigan. “It’s always fun to be back home.”

The following recipes are from the Mackinac Island Cottage Cookbook which is available online from Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Apricot Lime Chicken Thighs

¼ cup apricot preserves

2 large garlic cloves, minced

One tablespoon lime juice

2 teaspoons lime peel, grated

½ teaspoon coarse salt

1/3 teaspoon cayenne pepper

8 bone-in chicken thighs skin removed

One cup whole wheat panko bread crumbs

1 teaspoon curry powder

4 lime wedges

Preheat oven to 400°. Line large rimmed baking sheet with foil and lightly coat with cooking spray.

Stir all ingredients except chicken, panko, curry powder and lime wedges in shallow bowl until combined. Stir Panko and curry powder in small shallow bowl. Coat chicken with apricot mixture; roll in Panko mixture, pressing to coat completely.

Place on baking sheet; lightly coat chicken with cooking spray.

Bake 30 to 35 minutes until done. Serve with lime wedges. Serves 4.

Coca-Cola ribs

1 slab ribs

2 onions, halved

1 cup Coca-Cola

1 cup barbecue sauce

Parboil ribs with onions. Mixed together Coca-Cola and barbecue sauce and pour over ribs.

Bake uncovered, basting and turning until tender about one hour at 350°. Remove from oven and grill just until crispy. Serve with coleslaw and a pile of napkins.

Jill’s Chili Rellenos

12 Cubanelle peppers (see note below)

1½ pounds ground beef

1 large onion, chopped

4 cups Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

8 eggs, separated

1 stick butter, melted

2½ tablespoons flour

½ teaspoon paprika

¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

Steam or roast peppers, cut in half and remove seeds. Fry ground beef and onions together. Drain grease.

In baking dish, layer half of the peppers and cheese. Add the ground beef mixture and then the remaining peppers and cheese.

Separate 8 eggs.

Beat egg yolks, melted butter, flour and seasonings until well blended.

Beat egg whites until stiff. Fold whites into egg yolk mixture and pour over top of casserole.

Bake at 350° for 45 minutes.

Note: Cubanelle peppers are sweet and mild in flavor and if not available, good substitutes are bell peppers, Anaheim or sweet banana peppers.

Pralines Cookies

1 cup condensed milk

2/3 cup brown sugar

6 tablespoons melted butter

2 cups nut meats

2 eggs

½ cups sifted flour

¼ teaspoon maple flavoring

Cook milk and sugar in a double boiler until very thick. Remove from heat and stir in melted butter and nuts. Cool slightly. Beat eggs and add to mixture. Blend in flour. Stir in maple flavoring. Bake about 12 minutes at 350° until lightly browned.

Opening the Doors of Chicago’s Best Places & Spaces: Open House Chicago

Chicago Architecture Center, Chicagoland Area

Open House Chicago (OHC), now in its eighth year, is for anyone who has ever walked past a building, questioning what it was like inside, wanted to investigate a neighborhood and understand its history and visit spaces and places in the city never before explored.

“OHC is a showcase to understand the basic fabric of Chicago’s neighborhoods and what makes the city unique,” says Eric Rogers, Manager, Open House Chicago and Community Outreach for the Chicago Architecture Center. “In choosing more than 250 sites we looked for those that are important to the city and wanted to have several in each of the neighborhoods. We wanted diversity with what each has to offer.”

Making it even more fun, OHC, which runs this Saturday and Sunday, October 13^th and 14^th, is completely free and requires no registration or tickets.

Three new neighborhoods were added this year including Beverly where visitors can explore Givins Castle, Chicago’s only castle, a crenulated home built in 1887 at a cost of $80,000 and now the Beverly Unitarian Church. Also in Beverly, take a taste at Wild Blossom, Chicago’s first meadery and winery and the sole producer of honey wine on the Northern Illinois Wine Trail and then tour Optimo, the city’s only custom men’s hat maker. Here you can see hat making in action. The company, known for their straw Panama hats, trilbys, homburgs, fedoras that come in a variety of styles (who knew?) such as the classic, teardrop and fastback, even designs a limited edition hat modeled after Frank Lloyd Wright’s signature headwear.

“It’s a very unique working museum of hats and hat making,” says Rogers, noting that the old firehouse on 95^th Street where the company is headquartered was renovated by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), consolidating Optimo’s operations into one 7,500-square-foot space.

In architectural speak, the building’s “design imparts an industrial aesthetic enhanced by a palette of refined, understated materials like blackened steel, walnut and cork.”

In nearby Morgan Park, another newly added neighborhood to this year’s OHC line-up, the doors of the Ingersoll-Blackwelder Queen Anne-style mansion, once home to both real estate magnate John Ingersoll and then Isaac Blackwelder, president of what was at the time the independent Village of Morgan Park. More notably, at least to me, Gertrude Blackwelder, his wife, was not only a founder of the Morgan Park Women’s Club but was the first woman to vote in Cook County.

The home is filled with antique treasures and built-ins, many salvaged by another owner, artist Jack Simmerling who retrieved them from now destroyed but once imperial mansions in Prairie Avenue, Englewood and other tony Chicago neighborhoods.

The extravagant insides of the neo-Gothic facade Morgan Park Academy’s Alumni Hall are also available for perusal. Now a K-12 independent, co-educational school, Morgan Park was founded shortly after the Civil War and has served as a military academy and preparatory school for the University of Chicago. Unlike the schools most of us attended, its interior boasts dramatic spaces such as an upper school library featuring a vaulted ceiling, double staircase, grand fireplace and wraparound mezzanine. Other accents are wrought-iron chandeliers and ornate woodwork.

Also participating in OHC is the Gold Coast neighborhood with its rich plethora of homes designed by well-known architects Louis Sullivan, Frank Lloyd Wright and Dankmar Adler. Here such sacred places as St. Chrysostom’s Episcopal Church, St. James Chapel and Holy Name Cathedral. There are also cultural centers as the International Museum of Surgical Science, The Newberry Library, The Palette & Chisel Academy of Fine Arts and The Richard H. Driehaus Museum and such cutting-edge hotels, style-wise, as the Millennium Knickerbocker and Fieldhouse Jones.

Neighborhood offerings include Garfield Park, Washington Park, West Ridge, West Town, Ukrainian Village, South Loop/Prairie Avenue/ South Shore, Downtown, Uptown and Hyde Park.

OHC offers such programs as Live Painting Restoration, a LEED Tour of Rotary International, Free Stand-up Comedy at Lincoln Lodge, Artist installation outside Edgewater Beach Apartments, Live Piano at Ingersoll-Blackwelder House and family-friendly activities at the Chicago Architecture Center. All are designed to give visitors a wide range of experiences range different OHC sites.

“We have a full list of those participating, programs and events,” says Rogers. “And to make it easy to decide what to do, our website is very sophisticated with tools that filter by sites and neighborhoods to make it simple to plan where you want to go.”

Ifyougo:

What: Open House Chicago, explore more than 250 cool places all over Chicago, from iconic downtown skyscrapers to hidden gems in the city’s diverse neighborhoods and suburbs.

When: Saturday and Sunday, October 13-14

Where: All over Chicago

Cost: Free

FYI: Visit their website to choose your itinerary. openhousechicago.org

Queretaro: Colonial Charm in the Highlands of Mexico

Historic Restaurants, Regional & Ethnic

My first morning in Queretaro, about a 90 minute drive north of Mexico City, I walked along the cobblestone streets in the city’s historic center to the fairy tale castle-like La Casa de la Marquesa, once a private home built in the 1756, now a restaurant and hotel. The menu reflects the vast citrus groves, ranches, cactus and cornfields that are part of the highland landscape here.

Plump figs, recently picked, sit on platters in the ornate dining room. Fresh oranges squeezed with cactus or beet juice are served on silver platters by waitresses dressed in garb that I at first thought was from another era of Mexico history but which I am told were designed to look like what Mary Poppins might have worn if there had been a Mary Poppins.

My host recommends Encarcelados – layers of fried eggs, beans, and ham topped with green sauce and crispy pork skins (a very popular food here and though not at all healthy, much more tasty than the pork rinds sold in the U.S.).

Accompanying breakfast and served in delicate cups are endless servings of hot coffee and crema caliente or hot cream. I decide not to worry about calories as I will be exploring the historic district, known for its fountains, city gardens and brightly painted buildings with wrought iron balconies, oversized carved wooden doors and, of course, this being Mexico, the most wonderfully ornate churches, many in a Spanish style characterized by elaborate engravings and known as Churrigueresque.

There’s an over the top creativity in this ultra clean city (there always seem to be uniformed groups hosing down the streets) and I peak into a restaurant and bar that was once an old apothecary shop whose interior walls are still stacked with the small drawers that once held pills and another one made of stone where water cascades down the length of a wall. The city is made of public squares, each with a fountain and often a statue or two as well. Food vendors sell candies, cook tacos on hot griddles and slice fruit that is then rolled in spices. A gaggle of school girls in uniforms ask if they can take my photo and want to pose with me. Most restaurants, if there is space, have outside seating since the weather is almost always fair.

Queretaro, though it has sophisticated cuisine, is also famed for its enchiladas, which are stuffed with beans, Oaxaca cheese, potatoes and topped with a red chile sauce or a cream sauce and often served with horachata, a sweet rice water drink common in Mexico. Guacamole with pork rinds for scooping are served with almost every meal, including the oyster and octopus tacos (much better than they sound) we taste later that night at Harry’s Bar, which features a blend of New Orleans and central Mexican cookery.

Evenings, after exploring the cathedrals with their 24 carat gold interiors, end with a stop at one of the many hot chocolate and churros (fried pastries) shops that dot the walkways. And each night I promise myself that I will walk an extra mile or so tomorrow not only to see more sights but to hopefully leave a few calories behind before I go home.

Enchiladas Suizas
(Creamy Enchiladas with Chicken, Tomatoes and Green Chile)

Ingredients:

2 28-ounce cans good-quality whole tomatoes in juice, drained
Fresh hot green chiles to taste (roughly 3 serranos or 2 jalapeños), stemmed
1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil or rich-tasting pork lard, plus a little oil for brushing or spraying the tortillas
1 medium white onion, chopped
2 cups chicken broth, plus a little extra if needed
Salt
1/2 cup homemade crema, crème fraiche or heavy (whipping) cream
About 2 cups coarsely shredded cooked chicken, preferably grilled, roasted or rotisserie chicken
2/3 cup shredded Mexican melting cheese (Chihuahua, quesadilla, asadero or the like) or Monterey Jack, brick or mild cheddar
12 corn tortillas
A few sliced rounds of white onion, separated into rings, for garnish
Fresh cilantro sprigs for garnish

In a small dry skillet, roast the chiles over medium heat, turning regularly, until they’re soft and splotchy-black, about 5 minutes. Place in a blender or food processor along with the drained canned tomatoes. Blend to a smooth puree.

In a medium-size (4- or 5-quart) pot (preferably a Dutch oven or Mexican cazuela), heat the oil or lard over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring regularly, until golden, about 7 minutes. Raise the heat to medium-high, and, when noticeably hotter, stir in the tomato puree. Cook, stirring, until darker in color and thickened to the consistency of tomato paste, about 10 to 15 minutes.

Stir in the broth, partially cover and simmer 15 minutes. Taste and season with salt, usually about 1/2 teaspoon. The sauce should be a slightly soupy consistency—not as thick as spaghetti sauce. If it is too thick, stir in a little additional broth. Keep warm over low heat.

Other preliminaries. Stir the crema into the sauce. Put the chicken in a bowl and stir 1/2 cup of the sauce mixture into it. Taste and season with additional salt if you think it needs it. Have the cheese at the ready.

Heat the oven to 350°. Smear about 1/4 cup of the sauce over the bottom of 4 to 6 nine-inch individual ovenproof baking/serving dishes or smear about 1 cup of the sauce over the bottom of a 13×9-inch baking dish.

Lay the tortillas out on a baking sheet (2 sheets if you have them, for more even heating), and lightly brush or spray both sides of the tortillas with oil. Bake just to warm through and soften, about 3 minutes. Stack the tortillas and cover with a towel to keep warm.

Working quickly so the tortillas stay hot and pliable, roll a portion of the chicken into each tortilla, and then line them all up in the baking dishes.

Douse evenly with the remaining sauce, and then sprinkle with the cheese. Bake until the enchiladas are hot through (the cheese will have begun to brown), about 15 minutes. Garnish with onion rings and cilantro sprigs. These are best served piping hot from the oven.

Tiffani Thiessen Pull Up a Chair

Anderson's Bookshop, Book events, Book signings, Chicagoland Area, Houghton Mifflin Houghton

Honey-Ginger Chicken Wings (c) Rebecca Sanabria — Photography © 2018 by Rebecca Sanabria. Reproduced by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.

Only six or so when she started helping out in the kitchen, Tiffani Thiessen grew up in a family where dinners were a gathering time to enjoy great cooking and conversations. She upped her game from traditional American fare when she and other stars from “Saved by the Bell” toured in Europe.

“It definitely impacted me,” says Thiessen who played Kelly Kapowski on the hit TV show and was 16 at the time. “I learned all about wine, cheese and all types of different foods when we traveled in France, Italy and Holland.”

This love of food and conviviality was so intense that though Thiessen continued with her acting career (she was Valerie Malone on “Beverly Hills 90210” and currently stars in “Alexa & Katie”) she also segued into cooking, hosting the long running “Dinner at Tiffani’s” on the Cooking Channel. As if that wasn’t enough to keep any mom of two young children busy enough, Thiessen has spent the last three years writing Pull Up a Chair: Recipes from My Family to Yours (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt $30), which will be released on October 2.

Describing cooking as therapeutic as well as artistic and creative, Thiessen’s recipes include new dishes, those she collected through the years and family favorites, some that she tweaked including her mom’s beef stroganoff which the family ate once a week when she was young.

“I wasn’t a big fan,” says Thiessen, adding that her mom’s stroganoff was very traditional and included stirring sour cream in at the end so that it took on the appearance of dog food—her words not ours, Mrs. Thiessen. Tiffani’s tweaked it into a beef and mushroom Stroganoff with creamy polenta, spinach and a touch of brandy. The sour cream is served on the side.

Did that hurt you mom’s feelings? I ask.

“No, I have one of the most supportive families,” she says.

Tiffani & Mom Making Mom's Cream Cheese Pie (c) Rebecca Sanabria — Tiffani and her mother making cheesecake Photography © 2018 by Rebecca Sanabria. Reproduced by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.

There’s also a cowboy twang to some of her dishes such as the short rib beef enchiladas and three cheese queso, since husband Brady Smith is a meat-loving Texas boy. Her son Holt gobbles up her mac and cheese and Thiessen says Harper her eight-year-old daughter loves to decorate pizzas.

“I don’t think of myself as anything but a home cook and my recipes are easy but everything I cook is with love and passion and that’s what Pull Up a Chair is all about,” says Thiessen, who, during our phone interview, calls me sweetheart and dear.

That friendliness as well as the sumptuousness of her cookbook—125 recipes and lots of full page color photos of both luscious-looking food and family (and yes, her husband is handsome and her children adorable), makes me long to get an invitation to dine at her house.

Pickle & Potato Salad (c) Rebecca Sanabria — Photography © 2018 by Rebecca Sanabria. Reproduced by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.

Since that won’t be happening, I did a little pre-interview stalking watching videos of Thiessen cooking in her kitchen and then displaying part of her cookbook collection.

“I love cookbooks, I love the look, the aesthetics of them” she says when I mention my sleuthing. “Most people I’m close to would say I have a problem. I don’t use some of them that much, as my husband points out, but there’s just something I like about having them around.”

I can identify with that having heard similar comments from both my husband and daughter. Another reason to get that dinner invitation. But until then, I have the cookbook and can create the recipes in my own home.

Pickle & Potato Salad

Serves 6

1½ pounds tricolored small potatoes

1½ teaspoons kosher salt, plus more for the potatoes

½ cup mayonnaise

¼ cup chopped sweet pickles

3 tablespoons pickle juice (from the jar)

1 tablespoon yellow mustard

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste

5 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and chopped

½ medium red onion, thinly sliced

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, for garnish

Paprika, for garnish

Place the potatoes in a large pot and add enough cold water to cover them by 1 inch and a generous pinch of salt. Bring the water to a boil over medium-high heat and cook until the potatoes are fork-tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Drain the potatoes and let them rest until they’re cool enough to handle. Cut each one in half.

In a small bowl, mix together the mayonnaise, sweet pickles, pickle juice, mustard, salt, and pepper.

In a separate large bowl, combine the halved potatoes, eggs, and red onion and toss with the dressing. Taste, adjust the seasoning, and garnish with the parsley and paprika.

Honey-Ginger Chicken Wings

Serves 6 to 8

½ cup honey (preferably wildflower or mesquite)

¼ cup tamari or soy sauce

3 tablespoons toasted sesame oil

2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger

2 scallions, thinly sliced, plus more for garnish

3 garlic cloves, minced

Grated zest and juice of 1 lime, plus more zest for garnish

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

16 chicken wings (about 4 pounds), tips removed, drumettes and flats separated

In a medium bowl, whisk together the honey, tamari, sesame oil, ginger, scallions, garlic, lime zest, lime juice, ¼ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Reserve ¾ cup of the mixture in the fridge.

Pour the remaining marinade into a 2-gallon zip-top bag. Add the chicken and seal the bag, pressing out as much air as possible. Massage the marinade into the wings. Refrigerate for at least 6 hours, preferably overnight. Before cooking, let the wings stand at room temperature for about 2 hours

When ready to cook the wings, preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

Remove the wings from the marinade, reserving the marinade. Season the wings with salt and pepper and place them skin-side down in a single layer on a large rimmed baking sheet. Spoon some of the marinade over them; discard the remaining marinade. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and flip the wings, basting with the pan drippings. Rotate the pan and bake for another 20 to 25 minutes, until the honey has caramelized and the skin is a dark amber color.

In a small saucepan, bring the reserved ¾ cup marinade (from the fridge) to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook until the liquid turns into a thick, syrupy glaze, about 4 minutes.

Coat the wings with the glaze, arrange them on a serving platter, and garnish with scallions and lime zest.

Ifyougo:

What: Tiffani Thiessen will be at two Chicago locations signing copies of her debut cookbook, Pull Up a Chair.

When: Thursday, October 4 at 8 pm (EST)

Where: Anderson’s Bookshop, 123 W. Jefferson Ave., Naperville, IL

Cost: $33 includes copy of the book, a place in the signing line, a chance to meet Thiessen and have you photo taken.

FYI: 630) 355-2665; andersonsbookshop.com

When: Friday, October 5th at 7 pm (EST)

Where: Williams-Sonoma, Lincoln Park

1550 N. Fremont St., Chicago, IL

Cost: $31.89 includes copy of book

FYI: (312) 255-0643; williams-sonoma.com/stores/us/il/chicago-lincoln-park/

You can follow Thiessen at tiffanithiessen.com

Goodbye City Life: Kyle Ferrantella Learns That Farming is the Life for Him

Farm-to-Table, Seasonal Recipes

A handful of tomatillos with the thin paper husks just coming off.

Once a two-room lumberman’s cottage back in the 1860s, today what was first converted into a farm house and now is a weekend home for the Ferrantella family features lush gardens with cascades of brightly colored blooming plants such as lilies and hydrangeas. But beyond that, in the backyard and then further away along a tree-lined path leading into the back acres are vegetable gardens overflowing with tomatoes, peppers, basil, sunflowers (or at least those not eaten by very hungry ground hogs) and tomatillos.

The gardens are the project of Kyle Ferrantella, who with his parents and two older brothers, has spent weekends and summers at this house on Pier Road in Coloma, Michigan just north of St. Joseph and a stone’s throw from Lake Michigan. His earliest memories of the family’s Michigan weekends are gardening and completing outdoor chores with his father, TJ who is also an avid gardener.

“Kyle, our youngest son, and these gardens were born in the same year—1997 and his interest in plants started with frequent trips to the now closed Limberlost Nursery,” says TJ, noting that his three sons were raised between Pier Road and the family home in Chicago’s Old Town neighborhood.

“I remember mortaring the path here when I was about five—I think my dad was trying to give us something else beyond the city experience, ” says Kyle.

The emphasis on country living established a career path.

“The Circle Garden behind the garage was Kyle’s first garden, which he set up in the summer between his sophomore and junior years in high school,” says his dad. “His objective was to establish a fully organic garden and, perhaps, sustain himself with produce from the garden. Since our soils is sandy, he augmented the soil with truckloads of manure from Blessing’s Farm on Hagar Shore Road. Kyle started The Back Garden by clearing the entire area of trees and scrub. This is a production vegetable garden that uses the same methods and techniques that Michigan State University uses at its research farms. Kyle’s perspective on plants, gardening, and agriculture was heavily influenced by Monte Don’s book The Complete Gardener.”

After graduating from Lincoln Park High School in Chicago, Ferrantella moved to the Pier Road house which stands on a 5-acre lot on a round-the-year basis. He recently completed his Associate’s Degree in Fruit and Vegetable Crop Management at Southwest Michigan University which included classes through Michigan State University in plant biology, plant pathology, horticulture and entomology or the study of insects. This fall he’ll start his junior year at Andrews University where he plans to earn a degree in agriculture technology.

Ferrantella also works at the 350-acre Southwest Michigan Research and Extension Center (SWMREC) on Hillandale Road in Benton Harbor. According to their website, they’re located in the most horticulturally diverse region of the state and the work done there includes breeding several types of fruit and conducting variety evaluations of numerous fruits and vegetables as well as evaluating production practices, including the use of high tunnels for fruits and vegetables.

“It’s one of Michigan State University’s research farms,” says Ferrantella whose projects at SWMREC include working on the hybridization of different varieties of peppers.

The farming aspect is completed by the addition of poultry.

“Once Kyle moved here fulltime, adding chickens seemed to be the natural thing to do,” says his dad. “They live in what was initially constructed as a tree house for our sons. The tree house required absolutely no modification to be used as a chicken house so it worked out well.”

Besides taking classes and growing a masses of veggies, Ferrantella sells his produce from the farm he calls Pier Road Produce at the Niles Artisan Market and also from his home. Over the years, though he’s still intent on making a living from the soil, his goal has morphed in some ways.

tomatillos on the vine — Tomatillos growing in Ferrantella’s garden in Southwest Michigan.

“When I first started out I would have told you I wanted a large farm with hundreds of acres,” says Ferrantella. “But you basically have to inherit a farm or have a lot of money to have a big farm. Now it seems like the way to make a living farming is to find a niche and mine right now is growing tomatillos.”

Also known as Mexican husk tomatoes, tomatillos are small green fruit encased within a paper-like covering that despite the name aren’t tomatoes at all. Instead of sweet and juicy, they are tart and firm. Frequently used in Mexican dishes, tomatillos have quite a history and can be traced back 52 million years to the Patagonian region of Argentina.

Ferrantella uses tomatillos to make salsa and also, along with other vegetables from his garden, giardiniera or Italian pickled tomatoes which can be used on sandwiches, particularly Italian beef, as a spread on crackers or as a topping for grilled meats and fish. His mother, Karen, takes whatever vegetables he’s grown to make such dishes as the family favorite, stuffed peppers.

P1070021 — The back of the house with a chicken coop below the old playhouse.

In some ways, the Ferrantella property has come full circle to when the Pratt family owned a multi-acre farm here back in the late 1800s and early 1900s before they turned their land into a large resort that closed in the 1950s.

“It’s great place for farming,” says Ferrantella. “My brother got me a job landscaping in Chicago one summer that paid well and I thought, oh I can make money playing in the dirt.”

Kyle Ferrantella’s Giardiniera (Italian Pickled Vegetables)

1 carrot

1 celery rib

5 to 6 tomatillos, husk removed and cut into small chunks

12 pearl onions or one large sweet onion, diced small

12 pitted green olives

1 red bell pepper

1 yellow bell pepper

1 small jalapeno pepper

1/4 cup salt for the brine

1 clove garlic

1 tablespoon dried oregano or 3 tablespoons fresh oregano

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 cup white vinegar

1 cup extra virgin olive oil

Remove the seeds and ribs from the red, yellow and jalapeno peppers. Cut into 2 inch strips and then 1/2 inch slices.

Cut the celery and carrot in quarters and cut in 1/2 inch slices.

Cut the pearl onion in half or the sweet onion into a small dice

Cut the cauliflower in quarters and cut out the core and large stem. Break the florets into pieces about the same size of the other vegetables.

Place the green, red and serrano peppers, celery, carrots, onion, tomatillos and cauliflower in a bowl. Stir the salt into enough water to cover the vegetables and pour the water into the bowl to cover the vegetables completely. Add more water if necessary.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or aluminum foil and refrigerate overnight.

The next day drain salty water and rinse vegetables well.

Cut the olives in half.

Mix the garlic, oregano, black pepper and olives in a bowl. Pour in vinegar and olive oil and mix well. Pour the mixture over the vegetables and mix well.

Spoon the giardiniera into a large jar, fill to the top with the oil mixture and seal the jar tightly.

Refrigerate for 2 days before eating.

Giardiniera will keep in the refrigerator of at least 2 weeks.

Karen’s Stuffed Peppers

2 pounds lean ground beef

1 pound ground turkey

Brown rice prepared and set aside to cool ( I double the recipe using 2 cups rice and 4 cups water)

6-8 medium to large green peppers (use as many as need to use up the meat mixture once prepared)

1 1/2 – 2 cups chopped tomatoes

1 large onion,–chopped and sautéed until onion appears clear in color

3 large cloves garlic minced and sautéed ( add to onions just before they are done–so you don’t burn the garlic)

1 1/2 – 2 cups grated parmesan cheese

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon dried basil

1 teaspoon dried red pepper

1 1/2 teaspoons ground pepper

I – 2 jars of pasta sauce

Cut off the tops of the green peppers and clean out the seeds. Place peppers in boiling water for about 3-4 minutes. (This is particularly helpful to do before cooking the stuffed peppers especially if the peppers are very hard) You just want to blanche them so the skins are a little less tough before you bake the peppers. Don’t over boil them!

Once they are blanched, place pepper upright in a glass baking dish so they fit next to one another. add about a 1/2 cup water to the bottom of dish.

Combine the ground beef and turkey, Add the cooked and cooled brown rice, chopped tomatoes, sautéed onion and garlic, parmesan cheese, oregano, basil, red pepper, and pepper and about 1/2 the jar of pasta sauce. Mix together thoroughly.

Stuff each pepper with the rice/meat mixture until it is level with the top of the pepper. Top each pepper with about a 1/4 cup of pasta sauce. Tightly cover with tin foil and bake about 1 hour. After one hour, take off foil and bake another 1/2 hour. You may want to add a little more pasta sauce to the tops of each pepper during this last half hour of cooking! (Internal cooking temp of pepper should be at least 160 degrees)

Let peppers sit for about 10 minutes once done, then take some of the juices from the bottom and drizzle over peppers before serving.

Note– I add plain Greek yogurt on the side to my peppers when eating them.

Fried Green Tomatillos with Peach Habanero Sauce

From Turnip Greens & Tortillas: A Mexican Chef Spices Up the Southern Kitchen by Eddie Hernandez (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt 2018; $30).

8 tomatillos, husks removed, rinsed and patted dry

1 cup whole milk

½ cup sour cream

1 large egg

1 cup self-rising cornmeal mix

1 cup cornmeal

1 teaspoon salt

Vegetable oil for frying

Peach-Habanero Sauce (recipe below)

Cut tomatillos into ¼-inch-thick slices.

Whisk together both types of cornmeal and salt in a second shallow bowl. Place a cooling rack in a sheet pan. Line a second sheet pan with paper towels.

Heat ½-inch of vegetable oil in a Dutch oven or a large heavy pot or skillet over medium-high heat until it is 350 degrees.

One at a time, dredge the tomatillo slices in the cornmeal mixture, dip in the egg wash, dip again in the cornmeal mixture and set on the rack. Gently place a few slices at a time into the hot oil; do not crowd. Fry on both sides until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Remove to a paper towel-lined sheet pan. Repeat with the remaining slices, allowing the oil to return to 350 degrees between each batch.

Serve hot with Peach-Habanero Sauce for dipping.

Peach-Habanero Sauce

1 ripe peach, peeled and sliced small, about ½ cup

½ habanero, stemmed and minced (remove some or all of the seeds and membranes for less heat)

1 cup mayonnaise

½ cup sour cream

½ teaspoon salt

Combine all the ingredients in a small bowl and mix until blended. Taste and adjust the seasonings as desired. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Searching for Schweinshaxe: From Heidelberg to Michigan

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My search for started back in 2012 when Frank Buesing of Stevensville, after returning from a trip to Bavaria, wrote asking if I knew where he could find pork knuckles (schweinshaxe in German) in Southwest Michigan. On his trip, his guide had recommended he try some and, liking the dish so much, he’d ordered it again at another restaurant in another city. Buesing sent me several photos of schweinshaxe showing what looked like a weapon size piece of meat on a bone. Buesing had already visited several grocery stores and a butcher shop in our area looking for pork knuckles but to no avail. One butcher even consulted a chart of pork cuts and couldn’t find it. I also made some phone calls and got the same response, no pork knuckles around here as I wrote in my July 25, 2012 column in the Herald Palladium titled “Searching for the Elusive Pork Knuckle.”.

Fast forward to a month or so ago when my friend Victoria Larson took me to Vetter’s Alt Heidelberger Brauhaus. Alt Heidelberg is the term for this southwestern German city’s historic district. Vetter’s is on Steingasse, Europe’s longest carless street, which leads down to the Karl-Theodor-Brücke (bridge) spanning the Neckar River. To give you an idea of the how old this city is, the bridge is considered relatively new, having been built in 1788. The building housing Vetter’s dates back even further and is one of those baronial style Germanic places with high ceilings, large wood beams, long tables and a lot of dark highly polished wood. Famed for their Vetter’s 33, at one time the strongest beer in the world with an alcohol content of—you guessed it—33%– it is also known for its traditional German food including a variety of pork knuckles dishes. Though it was hot outside and I wasn’t that hungry, I felt compelled to order the pork knuckle which came with sauerkraut and dumpling and gravy. After all, it was my job to research pork knuckles, wasn’t it? Afraid I wouldn’t like it (after all—pork knuckles?) Victoria wisely said give it a try and if you don’t like it, don’t eat it.

Unfortunately, as far as calories are concerned, I liked it and what I didn’t share with everyone else sitting with us, I ate. And like Buesing, in the next city I visited, I ordered it again. I wanted to tell Buesing, only I couldn’t remember how to spell his name and being far from home didn’t have access to my files. Luckily, Valerie Kowerduck of Stevensville saw my Facebook photo of the schweinshaxe at Vetter’s s and posted a link to my column. Six years after we first talked about pork knuckles, Buesing still hadn’t found any around here. So I called around again getting a more positive response. Bob’s Meat in South Haven told me they carried them while Roger’s Foodland and Zick’s Specialty Meats said they could be ordered if people called ahead. Voila! Pork knuckles.

Buying schweinshaxe in Southwestern Michigan, which has a large percentage of Germans and German-Americans, wasn’t always so difficult.

Robin Christopher, a Journeyman Meat Cutter at United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, who worked as a butcher for decades at such area stores as Family Foods and Eagles, says back then he sold many pig knuckles—later called pork knuckles (“to soften the image to customers”).

“We sold pig knuckles to a variety of people,” he says, noting they’re often used in Mexican dishes such as tacos, Asian dishes served with rice and, of course German foods. “They came in two ways—fresh, meaning raw or uncooked and smoked which are generally called smoked pork ham hocks and are used for seasoning and meat in beans or greens and are great for flavor. The fresh ones are a little more versatile. They can be baked in the oven or they can be par boiled and then finished by braising, pan frying, grilling, deep frying or grilling. They can be eaten whole or they can be cut up or de-boned and the meat used in other recipes.”

At Vetter’s they came with a variety of sides—sauerkraut, mashed potatoes, spätzle (tiny little dumplings cooked by dropping batter into boiling water), big dumplings, noodles, gravy, mustard and bread, depending on what your ordered.

I like to research and when Christopher told me that pig knuckles were big sellers in Southwestern Michigan years ago, I decided to look them up on newspapers.com, an online archive of old newspapers. Sure enough, going back to the late 1800s up to 1960, there were a lot of groceries, butchers and even restaurants advertising them. In the December 17, 1920 issue of the News Palladium, you could buy pig knuckles as well as something called nut-oleo at during Banyon’s Saturday Cash Specials. Kelm’s Market at 222 State Street sold two pounds of pig knuckles and two pounds of sauerkraut all for 19 centers according the January 12, 1934 Herald Press. Kelm’s also sold something called leaf lard (lard must have been big back then because there’s all sorts of types for sale). For15 cents, according to an ad in the February 2, 1937 edition of the News Palladium, you could get pork knuckles and sauerkraut and listen to the music of the 6-piece Old Heidelberg Band at the Higman Park Villa, a beach place in Benton Harbor.

Deutschamerikaner or people of German heritage (including me as my maternal grandfather was from Germany) constitute the largest ancestry group according to the US Census Bureau in its American Community Survey with an estimated number of 44 million German Americans living this country as of 2016 which is one third of the total ethnic German population in the world.

I talked to Sheila Schultz and Betty Timmreck, both members of Napier Parkview Baptist Church on Napier Avenue in Fairplain. More than a century ago it was the First German Baptist Church.

Timmreck and her husband, Dave, are both of German descent and their last name

“My mom was going to the church when it was all German preaching,” she says. “Preaching in German ended a little after 1947 when William Hoover became the pastor.”

But that wasn’t quite the end of the German language at Napier Parkview. Schultz says that up until a few years ago there was a German Sunday School class as well.

Timmreck shared recipes from “The Ladies Missionary Society Cookbook” which was published by her church. The missionary society is now called the more modern sounding W2W (Women to Women).

“I learned to make German food from growing up German,” says Schultz who is German-American and married Armin Schultz, who immigrated as a child from Germany.

“That makes me ever more ‘Germany’,” she says with a laugh.

Schultz likes to take the old recipes, many of them she originally learned to make from her aunts, Maria Schultz and Getrud (there’s no e at the end of her name) Schultz, such as the family’s pork and sauerkraut and tweak them, creating her own signature dishes. She typically makes roulade, a type of meat roll for the holidays and three-to-five days before Christmas begins marinating the ingredients for rotkohl—a seasoned red cabbage dish with apples, red wine and brown sugar. Also on the list of German dishes she occasionally makes our tortes and kuchens or cakes.

“A lot of these dishes my aunts would make when we came over,” she recalls.

Hanns Heil (now there is a serious German name) of Coloma says the beauty of a good recipe is you can add other things to it. And for her and his wife, Sara, an adaptation of brats and sauerkraut, a German dish if there ever was one, can be made in a crockpot with such additions as using jalapeno brats instead of regular ones or even substituting Polish sausage. They add a light beer to the meat and kraut mixture such as a lemon shandy.

“We also use a package of French onion soup like the kind you use to make dip,” he says. “It takes the punch out of the sauerkraut.”

Sheila Schultz’s Rotkohl

(Red Cabbage)

½ pound bacon, I prefer thick sliced

I large onion, peeled and thinly sliced

About 3 pounds red cabbage thinly sliced, not shredded

2 or 3 tart apples, peeled and thinly sliced

¼ cup packed brown sugar

1 or 1 ½ cups chicken broth or stock

¼ cup red wine

¼ cup white vinegar

1 to 1 ½ teaspoon kosher salt

pepper to taste

In a large pot/Dutch oven sauté bacon, add onion, cabbage, and apples. Simmer until cabbage starts to collapse, stir gently and add broth, wine, vinegar, brown sugar, salt, and pepper.

*To do ahead I like to let the cabbage mix cool and refrigerate overnight, then complete the final cooking step.

Cook over medium/low heat for about 1 hour, till cabbage is tender. Serve warm.

Hanns and Sara Heil’s Crockpot Sauerkraut and Sausage

1 bag sauerkraut

3 to 4 sausage links such as bratwurst, Polish or jalapeno brats

1 package French onion soup

1 bottle of light beer

Place all ingredients into a crockpot and cook on low for 4 to 6 hours.

The following recipes are from “The Ladies Missionary Society Cookbook.”

Potato Pancakes

6 large potatoes, shredded

1medium onion, grated

4 eggs

¼ cup flour

Salt and pepper

Blend all ingredients together and fry in a hot frying pan with vegetable oil until nice and brown and crispy.

Spätzle

4 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

Four eggs

1 cup milk

Mix all together. Bring 2 quarts of water and one half teaspoon salt to a boil. Suck a large colander with large holes over pot. With a spoon, Press Tell a few tablespoons at a time to cut the colander directly into the boiling water. Stir gently to keep dumplings from sticking. Boil briskly for five days minutes or until tender.

Kraut and Ribs

2 pounds or two glass jars kraut

2 cups fresh shredded cabbage

One medium onion, cut

One or two fresh garlic cloves

1 tart apple

1 bay leaf

2 to 3 pounds country ribs, browned

One package bratwurst cut and browned

½ cup brown sugar

8 to 9 peppercorns

Rinse canned kraut and drain; add fresh cabbage, what in heavy pan or slow cooker. Fried onions, apples and garlic. Brown ribs and add to kraut. Add bay leaves, peppercorns and brown sugar to taste. Let’s cook for 2 ½ hours. Drain if there’s too much liquid. Put in large casserole; add brown bratwurst and bake for about one hour at 350° in covered casserole.

Schweinshaxe or Pork Knuckle

2 to 3 pounds schweinshaxe or pork knuckle

Salt

Pepper

garlic clove

1 bottle Beer, preferably a dark beer

1 garlic clove, finely minced

Preheat oven to 350° F.

Because crispy skin is one of the hallmarks of a good pork knuckle, place the schweinshaxe, unwrapped, in the refrigerator overnight so that the skin dries out.

The next day, place in a roasting pan with just a little of the beer. Sprinkle skin with salt and pepper and rub the minced garlic into the skin. If you’d rather not use beer, rub with a light oil. This keeps it from sticking to the pan and also produces good pan drippings if making gravy.

Roast in an oven for about 4 hours, adding a little more about an hour into the roasting to keep te bottom of the knuckle moist. After the skin has started to crisp, baste with beer about every 45 minutes or so. When the pork reaches an internal temperature of approximately 200 degrees, turn the oven up to 450 degrees, pour beer over the knuckle and cook for about 10 -15 minutes. Serve with potato pancakes, spätzle and/or rotkohl.