EJ Lagasse and Emeril Lagasse of Emeril’s in New Orleans are among the chefs participating in Spoon and Stable’s Synergy Series. (Romney Caruso)
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A star-studded lineup of visiting chefs is coming to Minneapolis this year for the Synergy Series, Spoon and Stable’s annual slate of collaborative dinners hosted by chef Gavin Kaysen. Among them: a “Top Chef” finalist turned TV personality, a San Diego-based “culinary anthropologist” of Mexican cuisine and a New Yorker with Italian roots and a Michelin star.
The biggest star of them all? Emeril Lagasse, the New Orleans-based celebrity chef with the catchphrase heard round the world.
Lagasse will be joined by his son, EJ Lagasse, to cook with Kaysen this summer.
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Emeril Lagasse
Courtesy of Spoon and Stable
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April 10th-11th: Stefano Secchi of Rezdôra in New York City.
July 17th-18th: Emeril Lagasse and EJ Lagasse of Emeril’s in New Orleans.
September 11th-12th: Gregory Gourdet of Kann in Portland, Ore.
December 4th-5th: Claudette Zepeda of Chispa Hospitality, San Diego.
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Secchi’s New York City Rezdôra garnered a Michelin star for its evocatively named pastas, such as “Grandma Walking Through Forest in Emilia.” Lagasse is well-known, of course, for his long-running Food Network shows, New Orleans and national restaurant empires, and a line of cooking products. Gourdet, a two-time “Top Chef” finalist and cookbook author, showcases African and Caribbean flavors at his live-fire restaurant Kann. Zepeda, also a “Top Chef” contestant, taps her experiences traveling throughout Mexico for all her concepts, including her latest lounge in San Diego, Leu Leu.
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In addition to preparing, with Kaysen’s team, a full tasting dinner and a shorter bar menu, each chef will speak with leadership coach Alison Arth in a “Dialogue” at the American Swedish Institute.
Kaysen launched the Synergy Series in 2015 as both a collaborative event with other high-profile chefs and a fundraiser for charitable causes, raising more than $300,000 over the past decade. The 2025 events will raise money for Second Harvest Heartland.
Reservations for the full tastings are $495 and include beverage pairings, tax and gratuity. Bookings will become available on the first of the month ahead of each event. (Big spenders can buy a season pass starting at noon on Feb. 17 for $2,500 per person, which includes the full tasting menu, beverage pairings, tax, gratuity, a special gift at each dinner and tickets to each Dialogue.)
The bar and lounge seatings are $195 and can be reserved two weeks in advance, with some walk-in availability.
Dialogue tickets are released on the first of the month prior to the chef appearances and are $10.
Kaysen is also releasing a self-published book, “The Synergy Series,” that looks back at the past 10 years of the series. It will be available for purchase for $50 along with the reservations.
Reservations will be available on Tock.
MINNESOTA STATE FAIR
Sweet Heat Bacon Crunch
RC’s BBQ • North side of West Dan Patch Av. between Liggett & Chambers Sts.
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Sausage Sister and Me • Food Building, east wall
The sausage queens of the State Fair have found a new way to huff, puff and blow their way on to the new food list with three bacon-wrapped smoked sausages stuffed with cream cheese and served with a smoky drizzle of barbecue sauce. Garnished with jalapeño and served just like we like our fair food: on a stick. And it’s gluten-free.
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Afro Deli • Food Building, east wall
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Chompable little pastries infused with an African spice blend of cardamom, cloves, ginger, nutmeg and ground vanilla take a deep-fried bath before being served with toppings of choice: coconut flakes, sugar or plain with drizzles of mango chutney, caramel or chocolate. The flavor combination possibilities are enough to order doubles.
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Baba’s • East side of Underwood St. between Lee & Randall Avs.
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The hummus family has done it again with a combination that’s a taste of Middle East meets Midwest: Sour cream and onion hummus garnished with beef bacon, sumac tots, French onion crème fraîche, black cumin seeds and chive oil. It’s served with their signature mini puffed pitas for dipping.
Dino’s Gyros • North side of Carnes Av. between Nelson & Underwood Sts.
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Looking like a Greek tot, these nuggets are a blend of chickpeas, tomato, roasted red pepper, scallions and a zip of cayenne alongside roasted red pepper hummus. Bonus: They are vegan and gluten-free.
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Richie’s Cheese Curd Tacos • North side of Judson Av. between Liggett & Clough Sts.
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Bring on the Buffalo flavor with these spicy curds and chicken dressed in blue cheese slaw and garnished with even more Buffalo sauce. Served as Richie’s does, in a deep-fried flour tortilla shell.
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Tasti Whip • Northwest corner of Dan Patch Av. & Underwood St.
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A cup lined with chamoy and Tajìn is filled with mango Dole soft serve and garnished with a tamarind straw for a refreshing treat that pairs well with the dog days of summer. Other flavors include pineapple, strawberry or lemon; all are vegan and gluten-free.
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Mini Donuts & Cheese Curds • East side of Underwood Street between Murphy & Lee Avs.
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Grab a bucket full of vanilla mini donuts that have been tossed in vanilla sugar before getting a Biscoff cookie butter garnish and then topped with cookie butter crumbles.
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Loon Lake Iced Tea • West side of Underwood St. between Wright & Dan Patch Avs.
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It’s the tea blend that’s been driving the internet crazy: butterfly pea powder tea with its vibrant purple hue is sweetened with “natural flavor” and cane sugar before getting a dose of fabulosity with edible glitter and a rock candy swizzle stick. Swirl it around and watch the color change. It’s caffeine-free, gluten-free and vegan.
Soul Bowl • Food Building, east wall
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They’re the wings we flipped over at the new Klassics Kitchen, and now they’re ready to come out and play for summer. Chicken wings marinated in hot sauce, grilled and then deep-fried, served up like a proper boil with corn, chicken apple sausage and potatoes. It’s all tossed in crab boil seasoning and melted butter and garnished with lemon and parsley.
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Holy Land • International Bazaar, southeast corner
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It is the fair, after all; cheese must be deep-fried. Holy Land takes halloumi, the sheep and goat milk cheese, and wraps it up in pastry dough before giving it a dunk in the fryers. Served with a side of sweet chili sauce.
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LuLu’s Public House • West End Market
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Tot Boss • East side of Underwood St. between Wright & Dan Patch Avs.
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Exactly what the name implies: These are tots flavored like a dill pickle, with a little vinegar and plenty of dill and seasonings.
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Sabino’s Pizza Pies • Warner Coliseum, north side
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Biscoff cookie butter, banana and honey are sandwiched between two slices of bread, then dunked in sweet pancake batter before a deep-fry. That’s the kind of layered decadence the fair experience requires.
Union Hmong Kitchen • International Bazaar, south wall
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Chef Yia Vang gives us another reason to line up at this stand, with rice that’s formed into a rectangle and grilled on a skewer, served with shredded Hmong beef jerky or a vegetarian option of pickled mushrooms (both are gluten-free). Garnished with fresh herbs and UHK’s Krunchy chili aioli.
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Route 66 Roadhouse Chicken • Food Building, northwest corner
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Hollowed out potato jackets are loaded back up with sour cream, cream cheese, chopped pickles and ham, and garnished for good measure with crumbled potato chips. It’s all gluten-free, too.
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Bridgeman’s • Northeast corner of Judson Av. & Liggett St.
Bridgeman’s newest flavor combination is an ode to our state flower, the Lady’s Slipper — and it’s a trifle. Strawberry ice cream mingles with lemon marshmallow cream and ladyfingers, all served in a cup and topped with whipped cream and a bright red cherry.
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Jammy Sammies by Brim • North End, northwest section
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Like a gathered fresh garden bite, this bowl from Brim combines local rhubarb jam, thyme-marinated tomatoes, farmer cheese and jalapeño honey with a side of grilled gluten-free flatbread. Or go vegan with thyme tofu dip standing in for the cheese and maple syrup instead of honey.
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Minnesnowii Shave Ice • West side of Nelson St. between Dan Patch & Carnes Avs.
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A mound of shaved ice holds a caramel macchiato cold foam center and is doused in caffeine-free coffee flavoring. It’s topped with chocolate syrup and dark chocolate espresso beans for a gluten-free refresher.
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Taste of the Midtown Global Market booth • International Bazaar, east wall (Aug. 28-Sept. 2 only)
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New bites from chef Sean Sherman’s Indigenous Food Lab include bison meatballs or sweet potato dumplings garnished with mixed berry wóžapi sauce. Served on a bed of nixtamal (white corn, blue corn and yellow corn) mixed with wild rice and seasoned with maple and spices — all vegan and gluten-free. There’s also an optional crunch from spiced cricket-and-seed topping.
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West End Creamery • West End Market, northwest section
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Minnesota Dairy Lab once again brings its intrepid flavor creations to the fair with “Patata Frita” — kettle chip-flavored ice cream sandwiched up in focaccia bread from another notable maker, Wrecktangle Pizza. The whole deal is topped with a blend of honey butter, kettle chips and herbs.
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The Blue Barn • West End Market
Is it even a morning at the fair without a new food from the giant blue barn? This year the eye-opener offering is pancake-battered, thick-cut bacon that’s served with peanut butter whipped cream, grape jelly and banana chips.
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The Herbivorous Butcher • Food Building, west section, south wall
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Deep-fried sesame mochi is stuffed with a vegan cheeseburger filling in this supersized orb. Their proprietary burger mix is combined with vegan cheese, grilled onions and pickles and garnished with bacon-flavored powder sugar. And it’s all vegan and gluten-free.
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At Scenic 61 by New Scenic Cafe • East side of Underwood St. between Lee & Randall Avs., south of Little Farm Hands
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Choose your choux pastry eclair with bánh mì or lobster filling. The bánh mì includes pork confit, chicken liver pâté, pickled carrot and daikon, cucumber and sriracha mayo, garnished with micro cilantro. The lobster mixes lobster meat with celery mayo, Cholula hot sauce, lime and chives.
French Meadow Bakery & Cafe • North side of Carnes Av. between Nelson & Underwood Sts.
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Deep-fried oyster mushrooms stand in for squid in this vegan and gluten-free ode to the crispy seafood bar snack. They’re ready for dunking with a side of chipotle sauce.
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Waffle Chix • Judson Av. between Liggett & Clough Sts.
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Belgian waffle sticks capture the flavors of summery dessert, with strawberry shortcake cookie dough folded into the batter. They’re topped with whipped cream, strawberry sauce and, yes, are served on a stick.
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Fluffy’s Hand Cut Donuts • Between West Dan Patch & Carnes Avs. and Liggett & Chambers Sts., south section
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Salem Lutheran Church Dining Hall • North side of Randall Av.
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The most Swedish of ways to eat ice cream? “Covered” in lingonberry jam. This Nordic sundae is sprinkled with Swedish ginger cookie crumble and garnished with a ginger cookie heart.
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Hamline Church Dining Hall • North side of Dan Patch Av. between Underwood & Cooper Sts.
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The fair’s oldest food concession keeps innovating. This time, it gives us brioche sliders with cranberry-wild rice meatballs, dill Havarti cheese and “red relish” (beets, red onions, red peppers, lingonberries and cranberries).
Blue Moon Dine-In Theater • Northeast corner of Carnes Av. & Chambers St.
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This retro diner introduced sweet corn ice cream to the fair last year; this year, they’ll float it up with Minnesota-made sweet corn cola, topped with whipped cream, popping candy and housemade frozen caramel.
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RC’s BBQ • North side of West Dan Patch Av. between Liggett & Chambers Sts.
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With Charlie “The Meat Guy” Torgerson behind the menu, RC’s BBQ is usually one to watch. This year, he brings us a rice bowl featuring double-smoked slab bacon that’s been tossed in red barbecue sauce and topped with hot honey, chili crunch and green onions.
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Minnesota Farmers Union Coffee Shop • North side of Dan Patch Av. between Cooper & Cosgrove Sts.
The hits keep coming at this fair food stand that represents Minnesota’s farmers. The newest entry? A Monte Cristo done Minnesota-style. Pan-O-Gold Bakery’s Texas toast is the foundation for the sandwich, which gets filled with Ferndale Market turkey, CannonBelles white cheddar, apple butter made from Wescott Orchard apples, spicy mustard-mayo, and a dusting of powdered sugar. Get it with extra cheese instead of turkey to make it vegetarian.
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O’Gara’s at the Fair • Southwest corner of Dan Patch Av. & Cosgrove St.
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O’Gara’s goes for walkable and snackable with the kind of pub fare found in the British Isles: hearty house-made pastry pockets stuffed with ground beef, mashed potatoes, vegetables and gravy.
MINNESOTA STATE FAIR
Nordic Waffles • West End Market, south section
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Yes, the viral pickle lemonade will be back this year. But the newest addition to the popular West End gnome house is a thin and crisp Norwegian waffle inspired by a Texas burger chain. It’s stuffed with a beef patty, American cheese, caramelized onions and the actual patty melt sauce from Texas-based Whataburger.
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East side of Underwood Street between Murphy & Lee Avs.
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The Korean corndog trend — where hot dogs on sticks get battered and fried with cheese, potatoes and all manner of drizzles and dusts — has arrived at the fair. New on the scene, Chan’s Eatery will offer the panko-fried hot dog and mozzarella stick base three ways: dusted with cinnamon sugar; coated in fried potatoes, or topped with hot Cheetos and spicy mayo. Also available: eight flavors of Mochi doughnuts, and fruit and milk boba teas with all the toppings.
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International Bazaar, south center section
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The venerable restaurant, deli and grocery serving Mexican staples in St. Paul since 1979 has finally landed a fair stand, in the International Bazaar. There, you’ll find quesabirria taquitos (fried, rolled beef tacos), esquites (corn and toppings, off the cob), and aqua de sandia loca (watermelon drink with chamoy and dried mango). It’s all gluten-friendly.
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South of the Grandstand Building under the Grandstand Ramp
The Egyptian dish called koshari might be making its fair debut. These bowls start with a base of rice, pasta, chickpeas and lentils; are flavored with tomato and dakkah (garlic-vinegar) sauces; topped with fried onions; and served with your choice of chicken, beef or vegetable. Can be made gluten-free. There’ll be hibiscus tea, too.
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West side of Underwood St. between Wright & Dan Patch Avs.
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Cotton candy iced tea sounds about as State Fair as you can get, and they’ll have that and more at this new stand. All brews are cane sugar-sweetened and come in blood orange, blueberry, peach and strawberry flavors. (Unsweetened is also an option.)
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Taste of the Midtown Global Market booth at the International Bazaar, east wall
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Indigenous Food Lab, a casual counterpart to Sean Sherman’s award-winning Indigenous restaurant Owamni, joins its Midtown Global Market family at the fair, taking up the second week at the market’s International Bazaar stand. On the entirely gluten-free menu: a nixtamal (corn) and wild rice bowl with wóžapi berry sauce and your choice of bison meatballs or sweet potato dumplings. For some crunch, have them add cricket and seed mix on top. Aug. 28-Sept. 2 only.
South side of Judson Av. between Clough & Nelson Sts.
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This farmers market mainstay is bringing large-batch paella to the fair for the first time. Gluten-free and dairy-free bowls of comforting caramelized rice (the crispy bits are a chef’s kiss) come studded with chicken and chorizo and lots of veggies. Seafood and egg are optional add-ons. To drink: aguas frescas in six fruity flavors.
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There’s a chimichanga doused in creamy coconut red curry sauce and a breakfast bành mí loaded with eggs, sausage, herbs, pickled radish and carrots graced with Maggi sauce. But the first dish I’ll be ordering when I go back is the shrimp and tomato omelet ($16).
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“This isn’t like a Marco Pierre White-type omelet,” Vang said. “You know, when the French colonials left, they left some things behind — including the name.” So, we’ll call it an omelet, but the preparation is entirely different. Eggs are whipped up and cooked in a hot wok with oil until puffy. The result is tender, light and served like a blanket over a mound of rice and topped with an herb salad. The succulent little nubs of seasoned shrimp and sliced cherry tomatoes punctuate the dish, and the salad makes the whole affair feel downright healthy and springy.
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Sunday brunch will run each week from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the Lake Street restaurant (the Graze location is still serving the Slurp menu). Prices are $14-$16, and other offerings include steak and eggs and lychee-guava mimosas. (Joy Summers)
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901 West Lake Street
Minneapolis, MN
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Star Tribune: Smoking one’s own food, by many accounts, is not for beginners. There are food safety issues to consider, not to mention the tending of embers and an obsessive control of temperature over the course of several hours, before a perfectly smoked porketta or piece of fish emerges ready to eat.
But the result, says the introduction of “Smoke on the Waterfront: The Northern Waters Smokehaus Cookbook,” is worth the effort. It is the singular alchemy of imbuing food with the flavors of the land — like the “spicy green lick of spring alder smoke” and the essence of “smudgy, dense winter oak.”
“Your wood is your wand. It’s your flourish, your trick, your magic. … Experiment with it. Find your own magic,” the authors write.
That magic has been a key ingredient at Northern Waters Smokehaus for 25 years. The Duluth deli, in the DeWitt-Seitz Marketplace, showcases smoke and other kinds of food preservation techniques — pickling, brining, rendering fat and more. It’s a wildly popular stop for provisions at the gateway to the North Shore.
Now, the recipes for Northern Waters’ favorites are available to everyone. “Smoke on the Waterfront” was released last month, a long-awaited group effort to put to paper the inherent magic of the Smokehaus.
“We’ve been talking about making a cookbook probably ever since the shop opened,” said Mary Tennis, the former general manager, who was with the company for 18 years. “But like most food businesses, we didn’t have time to sit down and write this.”
The challenge was translating the production team’s lists of ingredients — and the knowledge of Northern Waters Smokehaus founder Eric Goerdt — into dishes that could be scaled down and made at home. “A lot of the recipes are things that truly just lived in his brain,” said Nic Peloquin, kitchen manager.
The team also needed to drill down the focus — was it a book about the deli itself, or about the bigger topic of preserving food?
“Food preservation, how to make food last through the seasons, through life, has kind of been a central problem of humanity as long as we’ve existed,” Peloquin said.
In many ways, this book is an ode to the ancient, passed-down practices of making food last, especially in a place where the growing season is short and winter is harsh. In an age when anything can be delivered, even the food from Northern Waters’ own Duluth shelves, firing up the smoker at home makes a kind of statement.
“It’s glorious,” Tennis said. “It’s an extremely empowering, beautiful way to treat a piece of fish, or to treat an abundance of cabbage. There’s something in it that connects you to the food in a way that is immensely satisfying, and I think it is universal.”
And giving people the tools to make their own versions of Cajun-spiced smoked salmon, for example, is just better for the environment.
“It’s good to eat regionally,” said Ned Netzel, who assists with social media and customer service for the Smokehaus. “I don’t want to tank our mailer business, but there is an amount of carbon footprint involved with that.”
Northern Waters Smokehaus founder Eric Goerdt showed off some elk summer sausage inside the new space in Duluth’s DeWitt Seitz Marketplace.
— Richard Tsong-Taatariii, Star Tribune
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“We bring it to whatever level you’re at, and I think our focus really was to describe those processes really well and make people understand that hey, it’s about time and temperature, and if you can achieve those things consistently, that’s where you’re going to be in your best spot,” said Greg Conley, the Smokehaus’ human resources coordinator, who co-wrote the book’s highly detailed “treatise” on grilling and barbecue smoking.
Not ready to embrace backyard smoking, or a 12-page “duck sequence” that culminates in a recipe for Three-Day Duck Poutine? There are recipes for some simpler composed dishes, such as a pasta with smoked salmon, that could be made with good quality store-bought smoked fish. Recipes for sausage fillings can easily be formed into patties and cooked in a skillet.
No one at Northern Waters is worried about giving away trade secrets about how the sausage is made (literally).
“Somebody that’s not up to these recipes, or even if they are, we know their home-smoked versions are not going to put us out of business,” Conley said. “It’s just too much trouble.”
The book’s release coincided with a move for Northern Waters Smokehaus. Last month, it went from the ground level of DeWitt-Seitz, where, since the pandemic, guests’ only interaction with the deli was through a window, to the basement. Now, instead of cramming into a corner to wait for a Cajun Finn to go, visitors will find a greatly expanded kitchen and indoor dining space about four times the size.
“Just having an indoor dining area post-COVID, it’s like we can invite people back in and really get back to that hospitality that we used to be able to provide even in cramped quarters,” Peloquin said. “It’s kind of like being reborn in a bigger, newer, fresh way.”
But even with this change, Northern Waters Smokehaus remains deeply rooted in the flavors of northern Minnesota, winter and all.
“This place is really, in some ways, a love letter to Duluth,” Conley said.
“I think that’s another aspect of the preservation theme. It’s preserving ourselves,” Peloquin said. “Especially through the winter, we’re creating meals and food that fill you up, and, essentially, fill your soul.”
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Serves 4 to 6.
Most hams are quite large. We’re talking an average somewhere around 10 pounds for a whole boneless ham — so even half a ham will yield a bunch of food. Leftovers are an inevitability. For those interested in really stretching out the usage, we offer this recipe. Keep in mind that the level of seasoning, particularly salt, can be adjusted to your taste. We’ve included recipes for Swedish gravy and sweet ‘n’ sour sauce, but these meatballs would also land favorably in a soup, skewered with peppers on the grill, in a stir-fry, or as a pizza topping. As with any meatball, we recommend making several batches of them at once. Freeze the excess raw on a greased or parchment-lined pan. Once frozen, place them in a sealed container to allow for quick and easy meals in the future. From “Smoke on the Waterfront: The Northern Waters Smokehaus Cookbook” (University of Minnesota Press, 2023).
• 1/4 c. milk
• 1 slice white bread, crust removed
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 c. onion, minced
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 lb. ground beef (or any ground meat)
• 1/2 lb. smoked ham, ground
• 4 tbsp. olive oil or any neutral oil (unsalted butter for the Swedish version)
Directions
Combine milk and slice of bread in a small saucepan. Over low heat, bring milk to a gentle simmer until the bread absorbs it (a couple of minutes).
Using a fork, shred the bread and milk, then place it in a mixing bowl. Add egg, onion, nutmeg and salt to the bread, mixing it into a loose paste. Add the ground meat and ground ham, mixing it by hand until just combined, making sure not to overwork the meat.
Make a small patty — 1 inch wide, ½ inch thick — and fry it over medium heat. It should cook rapidly, 3 to 5 minutes. Taste and adjust salt/seasonings accordingly, and test with every flavor adjustment. When you are satisfied with the flavor, form meatballs to your size preference.
Once the meatballs are formed, bring oil or butter to medium heat in a large skillet, and brown your meatballs on all sides. At this point, you can finish cooking them through, or just par-cook and finish by simmering them in whatever sauce you want to use (see recipes).
You can adjust the amount of sugar to swing the sauce toward your preference — sweeter or more sour.
• 1 1/2 c. water
• 1/2 c. distilled white vinegar
• 1/2 c. ketchup
• 3 tbsp. cornstarch
• 1 (8-oz.) can diced pineapple with juice
• 2 tbsp. sugar
• Diced jalapeño, optional
• Scallions or chives, chopped, for garnish
Directions
Whisk water, vinegar, ketchup, cornstarch, soy sauce, pineapple, pineapple juice, sugar and optional jalapeño together in a large saucepan. You can do this in the same pan in which you cooked the meatballs, but be sure to drain off any excess oil before you add the ingredients.
Allow the sauce to simmer for about 3 minutes. Return meatballs to the pan and simmer until cooked through.
Serve as a stand-alone appetizer, or over rice or lo mein noodles. Garnish with chopped scallions or chives.
• 4 tbsp. butter
• 3 tbsp. flour
• 2 c. beef broth
• 1 tsp. fish sauce
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 c. heavy cream
• Salt and pepper, to taste
Directions
In the pan in which you cooked your meatballs, add butter, then bring to a medium heat until foamy. While the butter is heating, scrape the browned bits off the bottom of the pan.
Once foamy, slowly incorporate flour, whisking until it turns a light brown color. Slowly whisk in broth. Whisk in fish sauce, nutmeg and garlic powder. Slowly whisk in cream. Bring to a light simmer until sauce starts to thicken. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Return meatballs to pan and heat until thoroughly cooked. Serve over mashed potatoes or egg noodles and garnish with chopped parsley.
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Makes 1 sandwich.
The bestseller on our menu by a very wide margin — to the tune of outselling nearly all our other options combined — and while we have many other delicious options, we’re not going to mess with success. The Cajun Finn wouldn’t have made it onto our menu without the combined efforts of then-deli manager Meghann Jones, owner Eric Goerdt, and local/global music legend Alan Sparhawk, who wanted a fish sandwich with our Cajun-seasoned smoked Atlantic salmon. Eric freestyled a sandwich very near to the product we offer today, and suffice it to say, succeeded in making a great sandwich. From “Smoke on the Waterfront: The Northern Waters Smokehaus Cookbook” (University of Minnesota Press, 2023).
• 1 lb. cream cheese
• 1/2 c. green onion
• 3 tbsp. water
The Cajun Finn:
• Stirato roll, cut in half horizontally
• Scallion cream cheese
• Lettuce, preferably spring mix
• Pepperoncini
• Roasted red peppers
• Smoked Atlantic salmon, Cajun-seasoned
Prepare the scallion cream cheese: Allow the cream cheese to soften to room temperature. Slice the green onions all the way to the root. Using a food processor or blender, blend the onions with the water. Add the onion purée into the bottom of a standing mixer, followed by the cream cheese. Mix until smooth and light, adding more water, if necessary.
Assemble the sandwich: Slice a stirato roll in half, and layer bottom piece with scallion cream cheese, lettuce, pepperoncini, roasted red peppers and Cajun-seasoned salmon. Spread scallion cream cheese on the remaining half of the stirato roll and top sandwich.
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Serving size varies.
The keys to the braise are the browning and caramelization of the meat and vegetables, and the steady incorporation of those unique flavors into the sauce. Begin with 1 cup of liquid per pound of meat, and adjust as necessary — based on the size of the cooking vessel, for example — to ensure that the surface sits just barely up the side of the roast. Any higher, and you’re effectively just boiling the meat. Braising is a great way to take fatty, sinuous, chewy or otherwise undesirable cuts and turn them into melt-in-your-mouth delicacies. One benefit of living so close to the woods in northern Minnesota is the availability of wild game. Even if you yourself do not hunt, someone you know usually does and hunters trying to pawn off their quarry on anyone who will take it is something of a trope. “My family doesn’t like the taste,” is a common excuse. From “Smoke on the Waterfront: The Northern Waters Smokehaus Cookbook” (University of Minnesota Press, 2023). Provided photos
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Mushroom powder, optional
• 1/2 c. olive oil
• 1 yellow onion
• 4 carrots, diced
• 1/2 bunch celery
• 6 cloves garlic, smashed
• 2 to 3 bay leaves
• 1 tbsp. herbes de Provence
• 6 juniper berries (if using venison)
• 2 tbsp. tomato paste
• 6 c. chicken stock
• 1 1/2 c. red wine
• 2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
• 5 tbsp. unsalted butter
• 5 tbsp. flour
Directions
Season roast liberally with salt, pepper and mushroom powder, if using. Let sit for at least 2 hours to pull moisture from roast and improve browning when roasting.
In a heavy-bottom roasting pan, heat olive oil over medium-high heat, and brown both sides of roast well, about 25 minutes.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Remove roast from pan and set aside. In drippings, sauté onion, carrots, celery and garlic to clean bottom of pan and begin the sauce. Add the bay leaves, herbes de Provence, black pepper, optional juniper berries and tomato paste. Once vegetables begin to stick to the pan, add the stock, wine and balsamic vinegar and bring to a boil.
Carefully remove roast to cutting board, and cover with aluminum foil. Let sit while preparing gravy.
To prepare gravy: Melt butter in a large skillet or saucepan, incorporate flour with whisk to form a roux. Cook for a few minutes over medium heat until it starts to brown. As you toast flour, it loses its ability to absorb liquids, so aim for a light brown roux when preparing this recipe. Strain liquid from vegetables and aromatics into a large saucepan, add roux to strained liquid and whisk to incorporate. Bring to a boil, and allow to thicken, whisking often.
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By
Sharyn Jackson is a features reporter covering the Twin Cities’ vibrant food and drink scene.
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Smoke on the Waterfront: The Northern Waters Smokehaus Cookbook
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ICYMI: In Conversation with Marion Parke … Ergonomic high heels that look cool! – Minneapolis, MN
Minnesota State Fair baking legend Marjorie Johnson in her Robbinsdale home ahead of her 104th birthday.
By Sharyn Jackson Star Tribune
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Marjorie Johnson keeps breaking records — she thinks, anyway.
Is she the oldest person to score a blue ribbon in a Minnesota State Fair baking competition? “Maybe,” said Johnson, a local legend who for decades has trounced the competition for her breads, sweet rolls and cakes, scoring thousands of ribbons since she started competing in the 1970s.
“A 103-year-old winning a blue ribbon,” she mused. “Boy, that’s remarkable.”
On Aug. 9, Johnson turned 104. And maybe, she’ll break another record. She’s entering at least five more baking contests for this year’s fair. After she published a cookbook in 2007, she was no longer eligible to enter the Creative Activities contests she dominated. But she has continued competing in the Honey division, and has never missed a year — except when the fair was closed in 2020 for the pandemic.
New to her this year: a recipe for citrus cake that she’s currently developing in her Robbinsdale kitchen — and mulling over constantly, even when she’s not baking.
“I keep trying, because I really, really want to win a ribbon,” she said. “I think about it when I’m sitting here, and before I go to sleep, my brain starts working really good and comes out with ideas.”
But that’s not all she thinks about.
“Everybody who wants to live and feel good, and not die in their 60s and 70s and 80s, they have to think positive,” she said. “What I do, is I wake up in the morning and say to myself, ‘Today is going to be a wonderful day.’ And at the end of the day, it will be a wonderful day.”
A day made more wonderful by another ribbon to add to her collection, no doubt.
The thrills in Johnson’s later years have come in more forms than baking competitions. She has been a recurring TV talk show guest, and has attended so many red carpet events as a member of the media that she has lost count: the Grammys, the Emmys, even the X Games. (Jay Leno once sent her as a correspondent for “The Tonight Show” to a motorcycle festival in Las Vegas. When she encountered a motorcycle trailing a smoker, she exclaimed: “Finally a bike I can relate to: one with an oven on it.” She proceeded to bake cookies.)
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Days before her milestone birthday — they’re all milestones after 100, aren’t they? — Johnson sat at her dining room table, next to a “hall of fame” of photos of her with talk show hosts, piles of ribbons fanned out on end tables, and a slice of sour cream coffee cake in front of her. The Star Tribune spoke with Johnson about her memories of the fair, her outlook on longevity, and her secret to getting celebrities to talk to her. (It’s gingersnaps.) Here are excerpts from the conversation.
Q: What is your oldest memory of the fair?
A: I love the Minnesota State Fair. When I was growing up, my mother brought me to the State Fair and what I liked to do was ride the roller coaster. And my aunt and uncle had a building next to the bureau, or something, so they let me work there when I was growing up. It was really fun.
Q: Do you remember the feeling you had when you first won a ribbon?
A: Such elation. So, so happy. I love winning ribbons. I didn’t have any goal about how many, but I just thought ‘Wow, I guess I do know how to bake.’ It was always a thrill.
Q: Do you still get that feeling?
A: Yeah, I get excited as though it were my first ribbon. Oh, boy, I like winning a ribbon. I love to bake and I love to talk. And I think maybe I love to talk more than I love to bake, because talking is so easy. The words just flow out as you can see, it’s no effort. Baking does require some effort.
Q: How do you manage?
A: I do have some helpers, and my three children help me.
Q: What are your plans for your birthday?
A: We’re going, my three children and I, to the “Barbie” movie. I think I lost my eyesight doing those little Barbie clothes; I made so many of them. My mother loved dolls, and I inherited and I love dolls, and my two girls love dolls. Everybody loves dolls.
Q: What’s your exercise regimen?
A: You have to see that you get 30 minutes of exercise every day for your brain and to keep your strength up. And lately, when it’s been so hot, I’m so glad I have this big house, because then we walk around inside. And then we walk [along] that sideboard that has all of those people, we call it our “hall of fame.”
“THE MARTHA STEWART SHOW”
Q: I see Martha Stewart. Who else are you with in these photos?
A: That’s Ellen. Ellen DeGeneres wanted me on her program, and the fellow from New York had me come out and talk to her [Johnson was filmed for the pilot episode], and he said, “Oh, I’ll notify you in a couple months or something.” Well, he didn’t. In the meantime, he got a job in New York and he didn’t want to come to California, so he didn’t tell her. So when Wayne Brady asked if I wanted to be on his show, I said yes. And when Ellen heard that, she was so upset, because she wanted me on her show.
Q: Wow!
A: Jay Leno and I were on with Kelly Clarkson. Jay Leno always wanted to know how old I was, and I wouldn’t tell him, I said it was a secret. Because back in those days if you were over 40 you were a has-been. And I was already about 80 years old when I was on Rosie O’Donnell’s show.
Q: So you would just hang out on red carpets?
A: I was on the carpet so many times. Like about 200? 100? I was there a lot. I would go with a basket of my gingersnaps and say, “Do you want a gingersnap?” And they’d come and I’d interview them. There was a funny story. Helen Mirren said, “Yes, I’ll take one.” And then she walked a couple of steps and said, “No, I guess I need two.” And then she came back and she said, “No, I really need three.”
Q: Any advice for bakers who aspire to be more like you?
A: Just practice, practice. Practice really does make perfect. And the other thing, in case you enter the fair and don’t win a ribbon: Don’t. Give. Up! Just keep practicing some more and enter, because who knows? If they had a sixth ribbon, you might be the one that had it. So many people give up, they don’t persist. You have to persist. If you have a goal, see that you make it.
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SHARYN JACKSON, STAR TRIBUNE
Makes 18 rolls.
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• 1/4 c. water (105-115 degrees)
• 1 pkg. active dry yeast
• 3/4 c. milk
• 1/3 c. honey
• 1 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 c. (1/2 stick) softened butter
• 3 eggs
• 4 1/2 to 5 c. all-purpose flour
• 1 c. chopped dried apricots
• 1/3 c. honey
• 1/3 c. water
• 1/2 c. chopped pecans
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Dissolve yeast in warm water. Combine milk, honey, salt, butter and eggs in a large mixing bowl. Add dissolved yeast and half of the flour. Beat until smooth. Stir in remaining flour, use enough to make a soft dough. Knead 5 minutes until dough is soft and elastic. Place in greased bowl, cover and let rise until double. Punch down. Divide dough in half. Cover while making the filling.
In a small saucepan, place apricots, honey and water. Cook on low to medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes or until thickened, stirring frequently.
Take half of the sweet dough. Roll out to a 9- by 13-inch rectangle. Spread with butter, then the cooked apricot mixture. Sprinkle chopped nuts over half the long side. Fold dough in half. Cut into 1/2-inch strips. Twist each strip and place in a coil on a greased baking sheet. Cover and let rise until double in bulk. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 to 18 minutes. Remove from pan and cool on a wire rack.
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• Use a kitchen scissors to cut the dried apricots into 1/4-in. pieces.
• Use a pizza cutter to cut the strips of dough.
• Use a high-quality local honey.
