Great Taste

And wait! This just in!

The Lake City Sportsman's Club, 2200 S. Oak St., also has a smelt feed from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday. The smelt will be joined onstage by cod.

And while we're on the subject...

 
I ran across a great file of recipes for smelt on the Seagrant website, though we all know the best way to cook smelt is just to toss them on the Weber while you're grilling fresh Lake Superior trout or whitefish. Munch on them, toss the tails into the coals and enjoy the final fragrance of one of nature's perfect creations.

Deep-frying isn't a bad option, either. But you might find it worth risking a few smelt for this recipe, for example:

Smelt Italian Style

• 2 lbs. dressed smelt
• 2 cups sliced onion
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• ¼ cup melted fat or oil
• 1 can (1 lb., 12 oz.) Italian tomatoes, undrained
• 1 can (6 oz.) tomato paste
• 1 ½ tsp. oregano
• 1 ½ tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. sugar
• ¼ tsp. pepper
• ¼ cup chopped parsley
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• ¼ cup shredded parmesan cheese

Cook onion and garlic in melted fat or oil until onion is tender.

Add tomatoes, tomato paste, oregano, 1 teaspoon salt, sugar and pepper; mix well.

Cover and cook slowly, about 30 minutes, until slightly thickened and flavors blend; stir often during cooking. Stir in parsley.

Spread sauce over bottom of 2 or 3 quart, shallow, rectangular baking dish. Arrange smelt on sauce in a single layer down the center of baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining ½ teaspoon salt and cheeses.

Bake in hot oven at 400 degrees, 15 to 20 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork. Serves 6.

Where the smelt are

 

The Answer Man waded into deep water Wednesday when he asked for help in finding smelt feeds in the Rochester area. He revisits the topic today and he offered to share his findings with Great Taste.

Thanks, Answer Man!

You won't believe all the places you can eat smelt in Southeast Minnesota. A2

Dear Most-Knowledgeable Answer Man, I saw your column yesterday about smelt feeds in the area. Well, luckily for your readers that want that "delicacy," they don't need to drive so far...there's a smelt feed this weekend in Kenyon.
    You rock! -- Bill, Wanamingo

Thanks, Bill, and to all you smelt-eaters out there, I have more good news: Two other area towns have smelt feeds this weekend. Rather than wait until Friday's column to run this smelt news, I wanted you to have it today.

Let's start with Kenyon: The Kenyon Firefighters Relief Association Annual Smelt Feed is coming up on Saturday at the VFW club, 601A Second St. in Kenyon. Doors open at 5 p.m. and the little silver fish, lusciously deep-fried to a golden brown, will be served 'til they run out. Tickets are $14 for adults, $5 for children ages 6-12, free for kids under 6, and it's $15 for a takeout meal.

Answer Man fan Wayne Cederberg contributes this kick in the head: "With all of your resources and contacts in finding information, you should consider using your own paper as a valuable tool. In Saturday's paper on page F6, there's an article about a smelt dinner on Saturday in Byron."

Oops! Well, nobody's perfect, which is why I throw myself on the mercy of readers and ask for help. I did find the Byron event yesterday after the press was rolling and put it on Facebook and Twitter, which is another reason to follow the Post-Bulletin feeds on social media.

So, the Byron feed is sponsored by Christ Lutheran Church and is at the Byron Event Center, the former American Legion club, 505 Frontage Road N.W., from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Saturday. The cost is $9 for adults and students in grades 7-12, $8 for senior citizens and students in grades K-6, and free for adults 90 years old or older and preschool-aged children. For more info, call the church at 775-6646.

I like the free fish for 90-year-olds -- what a great motivator for all of us who hope to enjoy smelt in our golden years.

Finally and most urgently, the Spring Valley Sportsmen's Club Smelt Feed is tomorrow, beginning at 4:30 p.m. at the Spring Valley Servicemen's Club, 112 S. Broadway. They'll serve 'til the smelt have run their course. The club's phone number is (507) 346-2971.

If you've never tasted the North Country ambrosia that is smelt, please -- go to Byron, Spring Valley or Kenyon, or perhaps all three.

Violet passion

One of Great Taste's secret loves is the flavor of violet.  

The romance began in this writer's youth when she discovered Choward's Violet candies--with its long-lasting flowery taste and unforgettable aroma.

Now Great Taste is finding this fancy flavor more often. Violets seem to be popping up here, there, and everywhere--and not just because it's spring. 

Violets make an eye-catching addition to salads. They can be crystallized and served on cakes. Recently yours truly has been drinking violet tea, or, specifically, "The Violette" from Jardin d'Elen, France. 

Today Great Taste found a violet jelly recipe in a Post-Bulletin sister publication, Radish. This writer has come to realize that it's more than "okay" to love violet....She does not feel alone anymore. Do you love violet, too?    

One of the best Caesar salads ever

Great Taste was recently in Palm Springs, California, where she dined at the famous locally-owned spot for steak, LG's Prime Steakhouse. 

A visit to this classy place was not complete without tableside Caesar Salad presentation. Great Taste always loves the showmanship of the waiter-turned-food performer. But the tossed romaine result was among the tastiest of Caesar salads in which this writer ever plunged her fork.*

LG's "Classic Caesar Salad" recipe is offered in a brochure that staffers cheerfully hand out to patrons. Great Taste may beg to differ that LG's Caesar is a "classic" recipe, but its version is arguably good enough to make it a new standard by which others may be compared.

Here is LG's recipe. 

*Yours truly made her first Caesar--minus the anchovies--when she was quite green herself at age 11.

Family recipe for German potato salad

Looking for a delicious complement to holiday ham?

Give this potato salad a try. It's from mama, with a few subtle updates.  The recipe calls for raw eggs so you will need to prepare and eat the salad the same day. 

Five large, fresh red potatoes, halved
Six slices thick, quality bacon, chopped into one-inch pieces
One-half large or one small white onion, chopped
Two fresh eggs, beaten
One-half cup apple cider vinegar
Three tablespoons (or more) fresh parsley leaves, chopped
Salt and freshly cracked pepper
One chopped green onion, for garnish

Cover potatoes in water and cook until fork tender but not too soft--15 to 20 minutes. Drain off water and allow potatoes to cool slightly. Meanwhile cook bacon in large pan on stovetop. After a few minutes add white onions. Continue to cook over medium to low flame until bacon is slightly crispy and onions are soft. While potatoes are still warm, peel and gently slice. Place sliced potatoes in pan with onions, bacon and fat. Pour over eggs and vinegar, and mix in parsley and seasonings. Carefully blend ingredients, taking care to not break up potatoes in the process. Let stand at least an hour. Transfer to a serving bowl and sprinkle with chopped green onion. Serve with warm ham or cold cuts with rye bread, pumpernickel and/or vollkornbrot. Yield: About eight servings

Want something fluffy and yellow right now?

Check out this Lanesboro cook' s tempting recipe for lemon meringue pie--with plenty of photos to help it along.

http://cookoutofthebox.blogspot.com/

 

Easter grocery shopping idea

Let the Earth Day vibe keep hoppin' towards the holiday.

Get fresh Easter eggs and other farm-direct foods at tomorrow's Rochester Downtown Farmers Market indoor market:  http://www.rochesterdowntownfarmersmarket.org/

 

What do Easter, vichyssoise, and a new blender have in common?

Recently this writer needed to empty out her fridge. Some sad-looking vegetables were transformed into a superlative vichyssoise, without much fuss and muss. (Soup satisfies in so many ways.) 

Thoughts floated to the upcoming holiday and potato-leek soup, aka vichyssoise, as a starter course. Meanwhile an online discovery was made: the Cuisinart all-in-one blender that takes soups from raw ingredients to finish. Here is a link with video: http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/cuisinart-soup-maker-blender-sbc-1000/?pkey=cblenders-juicers%7Celtbjcble   

Another discovery: Chop up and add a couple of stalks of celery to the base ingredients of your vichyssoise. 

Our little Chickadee prepares to re-open

W.C. Fields might have liked the Chickadee Cottage Cafe, a favorite little spot in Lake City that reopens for the season on Wednesday, April 27. Now in its 20th season,  they've added dinner service on Fridays and Saturdays, plus the doll-filed gift room and Bridgeman's ice cream, which never hurts.

The cafe is at 317 N. Lakeshore Drive. For more, call (651) 345-5155.