Your Great Taste blogger weighed in last night almost 9 pounds lighter than a few weeks back.
Time to start dreaming up a sweet little reward. Red Wing, perhaps? Did anyone just think--Jenny Lind Bakery?
Drool over this: http://www.jennylindbakery.net/bakery_menu.html#half
Imagine: Fresh, very light lefse, spread with just the right amount of softened butter and brown sugar, rolled up a few minutes ago, and served to you.
Imagine: Just the right balance of textures and sweet and savory flavors. (So simple, yet so hard to come by.)
Look no further than Monica Brossard's stand at the Rochester Downtown Farmers Market on Saturdays.
Isn't Minnesota nice?
A recipe given to me by a childhood friend of Swedish ancestry.
Swedish Rice Pudding
One-half cup long-grain white rice
Two eggs, separated
One-half cup sugar
One-half teaspoon salt
One-half cup raisins
One-fourth cup chopped almonds
Three cups milk
In medium pot bring one- and one-half cups water to a boil. Add rice,
cover, and cook over very low heat until rice is tender and water is
absorbed, about 20 minutes.
Beat egg yolks slightly; add sugar and salt and stir carefully into
rice. Add raisins and almonds. Stir in milk. Mix thoroughly. Beat egg
whites until stiff and fold into rice mixture.
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Pour into one- and one-half quart
casserole or baking dish. Bake for about one hour and twenty minutes.
Yield: Six to eight servings
GG
Finally! An area restaurant that reflects some local heritage. Great Taste looks forward to the February 5th opening of Kari's.
http://www.postbulletin.com/newsmanager/templates/localnews_story.asp?z=36&a=436298Great Taste is less enthusiastic about community seating though.....But why, you may ask, is that?
For many urbanites Lanesboro is about "getting away from it all" with a partner, family or friends.
What if you are trying to have a private romantic evening and you and significant other get seated with Ole and Lena?
Soooo, didja hear da one about da lovey dovey couple who head to a cute storefront restaurant and get seated mit.....and den Ole says....und Lena say.....Und den uffda! Dar gooes de marriage propoosal!
Readers if you are dining at Kari's this weekend or in the near future please share your impressions.
GG
You can still put out that spinach artichoke dip but why not give them something to talk about?
Dockside Fish Market is still open: http://docksidefishmarket.dreamhosters.com/index.shtml
More on herring: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/488277
And a recipe: http://www.sallybernstein.com/food/cuisines/germany/c.htm
(Scroll down to the second recipe)
Still shopping for presents?
Great Taste adores AUNT ELSE'S 9-HOLE CAST IRON AEBLESKIVER PAN, which comes with its own Aebleskiver mix.
Aebleskiver, a Danish stovetop pastry, is a big hit with Great Taste's family--not only because it's fun to make together in the kitchen but because it's scrumptious.
We like to stuff the little doughnut hole-like aebleskiver with ultra-creamy ricotta cheese from Zzest Culinary Market & Wine Cafe and a little bit of Michigan tart cherry preserve. Luscious. Aunt Else's aebleskiver mix is made from organic, regional ingredients, including Minnesota-grown wheat; results taste fresh and full-flavored.
In Denmark aebleskiver is popular during Advent. It is typically served with glogg, also known as mulled wine.
Aebleskiver kits are available at Uffda Shop, Red Wing, The Cheese Cave, Faribault, and other Minnesota locations.
For more information: http://auntelse.com/default.aspx
GG
While the weather's still hot: We're quenching our thirst on ice cold green tea boba at Sushi Itto, 318 S. Broadway, Rochester.
Boba--a.k.a. bubble drink or bubble tea--is often too syrupy sweet for Great Taste. Sushi Itto's is just right. We even vacuum up all the chewy black tapioca pearls with the oversize straw.
Let us know if you've tried mango, coconut or taro flavors. FYI--Sushi Itto is open Labor Day.
Jenny Lind Bakery pastries raise our spirits, no matter the temperature..
Owner/baker Ruth Raich's chocolate-covered cardamom and cranberry biscotti is slightly softer than genuine biscotti, but no matter. It hits a high note. (The bakery's namesake is a 19th-century Swedish opera star.)
We also sing praises of Tosca almond bar--a compact layered creation of shortbread, almond paste and caramelized sliced almonds.....With few exceptions, we haven't sunk our teeth into something as nuanced and luscious as this since residing among patisseries in the Neuilly-sur-Seine area of Paris in 1995.
Jenny Lind Bakery is part of Smokey Row Cafe at 1926 Old West Main Street, Red Wing. Many JLB goods are sold at Just Food Co-op, Northfield; Bluff Country Co-op, Winona, carries cookies.
GT headed to Thursdays on First, the weekly summer outdoor market at First Avenue SW and First Street SW.
Wayne Flock was selling the lefse that he makes with his wife--this batch produced on Wednesday night-- plus their Scandinavian rosettes and krumkake. Great Taste took some of everything home and all of it was excellent.
The decorative rosettes and rolled krumkake were delicately crisp and just sweet enough to balance ideally with coffee or tea.
Great Taste is not a lefse expert, but Flock's version of this Norwegian tortilla-shaped potato bread had a subtle depth of flavor that would make it a fine addition to many types of foods (sausage or lutefisk are traditional matches) or heavenly if simply spread with butter.
If you weren't raised with lefse or don't have lefse-eating friends/family, here's background: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lefse
More to come about Thursdays on First vendors.
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