Food, Minnesota Style

Crispy Walleye Sandwich

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Yesterday was the official start to Baking Sunday. I do tend to bake year round on Sundays but since football season started yesterday my true Baking Sunday began as well. I don’t just bake on these “Baking Sundays.” I use them for various activities. I try to blog, make new recipes in general, meal plan, do canning, etc.

I did actually bake something yesterday. I made an apple quick bread. I was going to make pepper jelly as well but didn’t get around to it. I also made lunch for my guy who happened to have the day off which was a nice surprise.

He rarely has weekend days off as he is a fishing guide. Sounds awesome in theory but as a consequence we don’t get many weekends together in the summer. We do get to eat walleye on a fairly regular basis though. Normally I make cajun walleye which is baked in the oven so it’s very light. He eats a lot of fried fish while working so we tend to stay away from beer battered walleye as delicious as it is.

I decided to make a crispy walleye sandwich. I thought it would be the perfect Football Sunday lunch. I have to say I was very pleased with how it turned out. The walleye was perfectly crispy & the garden fresh lettuce & tomatoes gave it just the right touch. Of course the tartar sauce is absolutely necessary as well. I make mine to be a smidge spicy but of course the sweetness of the relish shines through and pairs amazingly well with the pan fried fish.

 

Crispy Walleye Sandwich (serves 2)

  • 2 walleye fillets
  • Blackened Seasoning
  • all-purpose flour
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • panko breadcrumbs
  • vegetable oil (for frying)
  • brat buns (or hoagie buns)
  • lettuce & tomato
  • tartar sauce
    • You can use store bought but homemade is so much better. Mix 2 tbsp mayo, a few splashes lemon juice, 1 tbsp relish, onion powder, garlic powder & dill to taste, 1/2 tsp hot sauce (I used asian chili sauce). Adjust seasonings as needed.

Season the fillets liberally with blackened seasoning (if using salt free seasoning add salt as well). Dredge the fillets in flour, followed by the egg, and finally the panko breadcrumbs.

Place enough oil in a large frypan to be about 1/2 inch deep. Heat oil over medium heat. Place fillets in hot oil and cook over medium heat for 1-2 minutes. Turn heat down to medium-low & cook for an additional 3 minutes. Flip fillets over and cook for about 5 minutes (you may need to turn the heat back up for a minute or so to get a nice crisp & golden color).

Bake or broil buns until warmed through & slightly crispy. Slather with tartar sauce. Top with lettuce, tomato & crispy walleye.

Venison Fajitas

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Last year we counted 13 deer in our front yard. We both had a feeling that our garden was going to be in trouble. Surprisingly it wasn’t really in trouble from the deer too badly. It wasn’t doing as well as we hoped but the deer seemed to leave it alone.

Until they found it. I’m not sure where they were all season but they destroyed our garden once it was getting close to harvest. They dug up the beets. We got 2 beets! 2! That’s it.

They dug up the carrots. We had about 10 total. They ate all my grape tomatoes, early girls, and romas. It’s super frustrating. I love fresh produce and we had a minuscule harvest. Next year we will have to beef up our garden protection. Until then I will keep practicing with my bow and hopefully harvest one of them this year.

I’ve been fortunate enough to harvest a deer the last 2 years of hunting. This year with a bow opportunity and rifle season being hunter’s choice I am hoping the streak will continue. If it does I will enjoy all the benefits that come from hunting which includes putting meat on the table.

One of my new favorite ways to cook venison is venison fajitas. It is so easy & of course you don’t get that gamey flavor. The venison steak is also way more tender than breakfast steak which is what I normally use for fajitas. Give this a try & it  might convert you to actually loving venison.

Venison Fajitas

  • 8oz venison steak
  • 1 oz lime juice
  • worcestshire sauce
  • olive oil
  • salt & pepper
  • taco seasoning, salt free (note I just add roughly these amounts in a dish & keep on hand. Amounts are estimates. Sometimes more or less of each depending on my mood)
    • 2-3 tsp chili powder
    • 1 tsp cumin
    • 1 tsp paprika
    • 1/4 tsp garlic powder
    • 1/4 tsp onion powder
    • 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper or cayenne
    • 1/4 tsp oregano

 

  • Brine 8 oz venison steak in 3 cups of water & 1 tbsp table salt for about 6 hrs
  • Rinse off the brine & cut into thin strips
  • Marinade the venison for at least 30 minutes or up to 2 hrs in oil, lime juice, worcestershire, taco seasoning, salt, & pepper (note I am not sure how much of everything I added. I drizzled the steak with oil, gave a few splashes of worcestshire sauce, smidge salt & pepper, and 2-3 tsp salt free taco seasoning
  • Cook over medium high heat for about 30 seconds per side

  • Serve with tortillas, sautéed peppers & onions, lettuce, cheese, salsa, & sour cream

 

 

50 States, 50 Cookies: New York

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While doing this cookie challenge of baking a cookie from every state, I have realized a few things thus far. One thing I’ve realized is that a lot of these cookies are hard to actually write about besides giving a general review. This cookie is different. It’s different because of the ingredients I used to make them and it’s different because I have a memory of New York which is the state that these cookies are from.

I visited New York briefly. Very briefly. I think I was there for a whopping 3 nights or a whole 2 days. I went to visit a friend who was home for Christmas (she has been residing in France for 10 years now if you can believe it).

I remember a lot about that trip now that I’m actively thinking about it. I had never been to New York before. I had to fly into New Jersey and take a train the rest of the way. Emily said she’d meet me at the train station in New York. I was wearing a red hoody and had dyed my hair red for the first time a few months prior. I told her this. Seeing as how I’d be completely red I thought she could find me easily.

This was not the case. For whatever reason I could not find her. I heard my name over the intercom, I think. The person did not enunciate well. All the words got mushed together. They repeated it, “Angela….go to…” that’s all I could here. Where was I supposed to go? I had no clue. I tried to find the place where people could page one another. I heard another one. Again, I had no clue what they were saying. Finally we found each other. We must have looked like a bunch of silly school girls running towards each other all smiles and laughing and hugging. I’m pretty sure that scene has been created in movies numerous times and it was probably based on us.

We went to her parents’ apartment in Manhattan and then proceeded to hang out. We didn’t really do a whole lot. There wasn’t really time for it. Plus, we have a certain rhythm together. We are fine not doing “activities” per say but just enjoying one another’s company and whatever fills the time with that is fine. We went to the Met Museum which was fun. I’ve been to many a museum with Miss Monaco who is a great museum partner. We can go and not be rushed and take our own time together or separately. It all works out.

We also went to Carnegie Deli which was one of the only things I had requested we do while I visited. I wanted to eat there and I had a request from a friend to bring back a dried sausage. It was amazing. Emily said we should split a sandwich cause they were huge. She wasn’t joking.

It was served with a side of coleslaw and pickles (which were sooo good). They just look pretty.

After we ate I tried to go buy a salami and the guy handed me a bag with a sandwich. I explained I wanted a dried sausage/hard salami & pointed to the ones hanging up. He laughed and said not many people buy those (i.e. only tourists do).

Those are the only things I can remember except for a few miscellaneous memories. I remember the smell of burnt toast in the morning and Emily explaining that her sister would only eat it when it was basically completely charred. I remember being there for garbage day. I had always heard about garbage day in New York. About the gabage bags being stacked higher than head level all down the streets because there was no where else to put it for collection. People live stacked on one another in apartment buildings so it makes sense that the garbage would be the same. I also remember going out with her and her friends.

We went to a bar and proceeded to drink, talk, laugh, and basically just have a fun night out.

If you look closely at this photo I am in the background staring at Big Buck Hunter. Being from Minnesota everyone assumed I’d kick ass at the game but I had to explain I had never been hunting let alone played that game. Little did I know that I would become a hunter within a few years.

Which brings me to today (7 years later). I have been living in Almost Canada for almost 4 years now. I still haven’t played Big Buck Hunter since that time in New York but I now hunt for real. We also have a garden which is the one of the few things I like about summer. The chance to get to eat fresh veggies all the time. This year we discovered we had an apple tree. A small one but how cool is that!

We also have too many deer eating our garden and tree this year. Not cool. I went out and picked all the apples I could once I realized we had a deer problem. I ended up getting just a handful (I had 4 more but I used them to make these cookies)

 

These apples are definitely a bit tart but still delicious. Finding that apple tree to make these cookies in my 50 States, 50 Cookies challenge couldn’t have timed out any better.

Apple Pie Stuffed Snickerdoodles (from Bob’s Red Mill United States of Cookies)

Ingredients

Apple Pie Filling

  • 2 medium Apples peeled, cored, diced (1-3/4 cups)
  • 3 Tbsp Light Brown Sugar packed
  • 1/2 Tbsp Unbleached White All-Purpose Flour
  • 1 tsp ground Cinnamon
  • 1 Tbsp Butter

Snickerdoodles

  • 1/2 cup Butter room temperature
  • 1/2 cup Shortening
  • 1 cup Granulated Sugar
  • 1/2 cup Light Brown Sugar packed
  • 2 Eggs
  • 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
  • 2+ 3/4 cups Unbleached White All-Purpose Flour
  • 1+ 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
  • 1/4 tsp Salt

Coating

  • 1/2 Tbsp ground Cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup Granulated Sugar
Instructions
Apple Pie Filling
  1. In a medium saucepan, add in the apples, brown sugar, flour, cinnamon and butter. Stir to combine.
  2. Place saucepan over medium heat and let it come up to a simmer and simmer for about 3 – 4 minutes until the syrup is thick. Be sure to stir continuously. The apples will be soft.
  3. Remove from the heat and let cool while you make your cookie dough.
Cookie Dough
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line your cookie sheet with parchment paper.
  2. In the mixing bowl, add in the butter and shortening. Using a paddle attachment on medium speed, mix until combined. Scrape the sides of the bowl down.
  3. Add granulated sugar and the brown sugar. Mix on medium until light and fluffy.
  4. Add in the vanilla and one egg at a time and continue mixing. Once the egg is incorporated add in the second egg and continue mixing. Once both eggs are incorporated, scrape down the sides.
  5. Add in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix on low until the flour starts to combine with the wet mixture. Scrape down the sides and turn the mixer up to medium until everything is combined.
  6. Using a large ice cream scoop, scoop the dough up. Make a well in the center of the cookie using your thumb.
  7. Add a small spoon full of apple pie filling into the cookie.
  8. Cover the well up with more cookie dough. Press to together and even it out with the top of the cookie scoop.
  9. In a shallow bowl, add in the granulated sugar and cinnamon for the coating. Stir together.
  10. Place into the cookie into the cinnamon sugar. Roll the dough into it’s completely covered.
  11. Place on baking sheet to bake. Leave 1 to 2 inches between each cookie.
  12. Once the cookie sheet is full, bake for 12-16 minutes depending on the size of your cookies.
 

Bear Kielbasa, White Bean, & Spinach Skillet

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Summer is here even if the season hasn’t technically started on the calendar. While it might not get as hot as some places most of the time here in Almost Canada, we do not have air conditioning. Once the weather heats up I try to make mainly skillet dishes or those which can strictly be made on the stove so I can avoid running the oven for long periods of time.

Seeing as how my guy provided us with a bear this year from his last hunting season, we have lots of kielbasa to work with. This dish is super yummy. It’s so quick & easy but unbelievably flavorful. This could serve 2 if you both a very hungry but otherwise I’d say it serves 2 for dinner and one lucky person gets left-overs for lunch the next day!

Bear Kielbasa, White Bean, & Spinach Skillet (serves 2-3)

  • 2 bear kielbasa (or regular if you aren’t a hunter) about 6in long fully cooked & cut into 1/4 inch slices
  • small amount olive oil
  • 5 oz spinach
  • 1 can white beans (cannellini, navy, etc) drained & rinsed
  • 1 can diced tomatoes
  • 1 cup beef broth
  • 1/2 tsp each basil, oregano, thyme, garlic powder, onion powder
  • pepper & crushed red pepper to taste
  • grated parmesan
  1. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add sausage and cook, stirring, until nicely browned. Add beef broth, cannellini beans, diced tomatoes, seasonings, and pepper/crushed red pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium and let it simmer, uncovered for 15 minutes to allow broth to reduce a little.
  2. Stir in spinach until wilted. Garnish with Parmesan. Ladle into bowls and serve with garlic bread.

Summer of Rhubarb: Rhubarb Drop Scones

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The summer of rhubarb has begun! Rhubarb screams summer and Minnesota cooking to me. I have grown up with rhubarb & have always loved it (no berry mixing required). These drop scones are not like your traditional scone in texture but are perfect for breakfast or with a coffee or tea.

 

Rhubarb Drop Scones

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces
1 egg
1 egg yolk

1 cup sour milk ( 1 tbsp lemon juice with 1 cup milk & let stand for 5 min)
raw sugar for sprinkling

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add the butter pieces and, using a pastry blender & your hands, mash it all up until the mixture resembles coarse meal and the butter is worked throughout. Add the rhubarb.

In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, egg yolk and sour milk. Add this to the flour-fruit mixture. Stir until combined.

Drop large spoonfuls of the dough onto a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Pat them down slightly until they are a uniform thickness (about 1/2 – 3/4 inch). Sprinkle the tops with raw sugar. Bake for about 20 minutes (a little less if you opt for smaller scones) or until the scones are golden and the edges beginning to brown. Cool completely on a wire rack.

 

Korean Venison & Broccoli

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I’m embarrassed to say that my guy has done the majority of cooking with our venison. He has made chicken fried venison, various steaks, and every roast we have had in the past two years. It’s not that I can’t try cooking the roasts, that’s just how it has worked out. He perfected the roast recipe so I have just let him cook all of them. I have made a few dishes with the venison. Most of which I have yet to post.

One of the very first meals I made with my first deer was Asian Venison & Broccoli (which I did actually blog about). That deer is long gone but I was fortunate enough to harvest another deer last season. When I was trying to figure out what to make for dinner I figured I would try something similar. One of the only vegetables I can easily get in my grocery store is broccoli.

I also always have the other ingredients for the marinade in my pantry so figured it would be quick and easy.

The marinade I found was from bon appetite. It’s called bulgogi which is Korean. I’ve used in on chicken and am absolutely in love with the flavors (I do cut out a few of the ingredients for convenience but I like the way it turns out my way). Normally when you cook it you grill it or pan fry it without adding additional sauce to it so that it has a nice char on the outside. I wanted a sauce for the rice & broccoli though.

Korean Venison & Broccoli (serves 2)

  • small amount of sesame & olive oil
  • 8 oz venison steak*sliced into thin strips
  • 1/2 to 3/4 head broccoli, cut into florets and blanched or lightly steamed.
  • 1/2 cup white rice, cook according to package directions

*I did also brine my steaks (before slicing them) in 4 cups water and 2 tsp salt which is a very mild brine but so much salt is being added in the marinade & sauce I didn’t want the salt to be over powering. Rinse the brine off and pat dry before slicing.

Marinade

  • 2 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp sesame oil
  • 1 tbsp brown sugar
  • 1 tbsp hoisin sauce
  • 1 tbsp oyster sauce
  • 1-2 tsp rice vinegar
  • 1 tsp crushed red pepper
  • few dashes ground ginger
  • 1 tsp corn starch
  • few dashes salt

Sauce

  • 1 tbsp each hoisin, oyster, soy sauce, and water
  • 1-2 tsp rice vinegar
  • dash or two ground ginger & garlic powder

 

Add marinade to venison (except for corn starch & salt) and allow to stand for at least 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, mix sauce ingredients together.

Heat a small amount of sesame oil or sesame & olive oil in a skillet (I find too much sesame oil is overwhelming so usually do a blend for stir-fries). Add the corn starch & salt to the venison and stir. Add the marinaded venison and cook briefly over medium to medium high heat (about 30 seconds per side). Add the broccoli and the sauce and allow to come to a boil. Cook for another 2 minutes or so. Add a smidge more corn starch if needed to thicken sauce. Serve over rice.

 

Walleye Cakes for Lunch

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Since moving to Almost Canada my guy and I have not travelled down to the cities for Christmas. With the winter weather neither of us are too keen on driving the 325 miles back to our families. I’ve offered to host Christmas up here but no one has taken me up on it – go figure.

The past two years we have gone fishing on Christmas weekend. This year we decided to make it more of an event, an adventure if you will, and go up north. Well, further north. We took  out the snowmobiles and drove across the lake up to the islands. We figured it was early enough with the fishing still being good on the south shore that no one would be up there. We were right. We had the entire place to ourselves.

The ride up was spectacular. It was a beautiful day outside & the trail was so smooth. It was very peaceful fishing with no one around & the fishing was great. We came home with 2 fish shy of our limit of good eaters.

At the end of the day when my guy was getting stuff ready to head back home I thought I had a monster of a walleye. It turned out to be an eel pout but it sure was fun pulling that guy up through the ice.

 

One of the things I love about fishing is being able to put dinner on the table with ridiculously fresh fish. I think we actually did a fish fry that evening with some of the fish but obviously we had more fish than we could eat in a single sitting. A few days later I made walleye cakes for lunch & served them with coleslaw.

 

Walleye Cakes (serves 2)

  • 4 fillets (2 fish that were 12-15inches) previously cooked* with cajun/blackened seasoning
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tbsp mayonnaise
  • 1 tsp spicy brown mustard
  • 2 green onions, chopped
  • splash or two lemon juice or apple cider vinegar
  • 1/2-1 tsp additional cajun seasoning or old bay seasoning
  • 1/4-1/3 cup fine bread crumbs (guesstimate…I don’t actually know how much I added. Enough so that the mixture holds well)
  • oil (for cooking walleye cakes)

*To cook the walleye, place the walleye on a baking sheet lined with foil & spray with cooking spray or lightly coat it in olive oil. Lightly season the fillets on both sides with blackened seasoning or cajun seasoning. Spray fillets with cooking spray or drizzle with olive oil. Bake for 10-15 minutes at 400F depending on the size of the fillets until cooked through. Once cooked, place them in a medium mixing bowl in the fridge covered with plastic wrap to be used the next day or shred into chunks to be used immediately.

Cooking the Walleye Cakes: Shred the fillets if needed. Add all the ingredients except for the oil.

Mix the ingredients & form into patties (makes roughly 4-6 patties, 2-3 patties for each person).

Place a small amount of oil in a skillet over medium heat & cook the walleye cakes for about 3 minutes per side until golden brown & heated through. Place on a paper towel to drain off excess oil.

Serve with coleslaw or side of your choice. (I also like to drizzle my walleye cakes with asian chili sauce).

 

 

Summer of Rhubarb: Vanilla Pudding with Rhubarb Sauce

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My guy asked me the other day if I quit blogging. It’s not so much that I quit it’s just that it’s been hard to try and actually write. I made this dish earlier in the summer when my rhubarb was fresh and never got around to posting it. Now all I can think about is the fact that my cat Oedipus loved this dish and he is no longer with us. Which brings me to my point of why it’s hard to write.

I started a post a few weeks after his death and have not been able to bring myself to finish it. It’s called Saddle Thrombus. Enough said. Now every time I try to blog I get teary eyed. In fact I’m crying a bit right now.

It’s been over 2 months and yes I am doing better but every now and then I still get incredibly sad. I have quit reliving that terrible day in my head and have started to just think of all the good things he brought to my life and the fond memories I have of him, but I still get sad here and there.

Most people out there are thinking…’what the hell? He was just a cat’. Well you people are wrong. He wasn’t just a cat. I’ve had other pets before and still have other pets but it’s not the same. He was special. I’ve had other pets pass before and yes I was sad but it wasn’t a debilitating sadness that consumed me when my honeybun passed.

He was the most personable animal I ever knew. Some cats are stupid and ditzy

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& others are more wise and exhibit more human traits.

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The blank page ones or ones that aren’t as aware aren’t any less lovable but I loved Oedipus the most. He was my baby boy. I know he wasn’t a real child but he acted like one. I treated him more like one. That’s why his death has been so hard. He was the closest thing I will ever have to an actual child as children are not in the cards for me.

There will never be another one like him. One of his favorite things was dairy products. He loved all things dairy…cheese, cottage cheese, yogurt, sour cream, milk (he especially loved it when you ate cereal so he could get a few laps of the leftover milk in your bowl), ice cream, etc. He loved it all.

I made this vanilla pudding and he could smell the dairy in it. He’d sit right beside you begging for some. Obviously he wanted nothing to do with the rhubarb sauce but he liked the pudding part.

Vanilla Pudding with Rhubarb Sauce

Rhubarb Sauce

  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 2 1/2 cups rhubarb (if using frozen make sure it is thawed & drain out excess liquid)
  • lemon juice to taste

In a small saucepan bring sugar and water to a boil. Add the rhubarb. Cook and stir for 5-10 minutes or until rhubarb is tender and mixture is slightly thickened. Remove from the heat. Stir in lemon juice to taste.

Vanila Pudding

  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 3 tbsp corn starch
  • 3 cups milk (I used 2%)
  • 3 beaten egg yolks
  • 1 tbsp butter
  • 1 1/2 tsp vanilla

In a medium heavy saucepan combine sugar and cornstarch. Add milk. Cook and gently stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir for 2 minutes more. Remove from heat. Gradually stir 1 cup of the milk mixture into egg yolks.
Slowly whisk egg yolk mixture back into milk mixture in saucepan. Bring to a gentle boil; reduce heat. Cook and stir for 2 minutes more. Remove from heat. Stir in butter & vanilla. Pour pudding into 4 individual serving bowls. Cover surface of pudding with plastic wrap. Chill in fridge for 1 hour or up to 24 hrs before serving.

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Top with rhubarb sauce if desired.

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Rhubarb Muffins

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It took me years to be able to eat breakfast in the morning. In junior high and high school I lived off of slimfasts for breakfast because I just couldn’t bring myself to eat food. I didn’t have an appetite until I had been up for a few hours. Slowly over the years I have trained myself to eat actual food. Not a lot, but enough to get me going and last until lunch. My guy however, is still unable to eat in the morning. He likes to wait. The only problem with this is that he waits and then has no food to eat because he is at work. Consequently he ends up waiting until lunch. This is simply unacceptable in my opinion.  When he told me he wasn’t eating I decided to make muffins. They are perfect for a grab-n-go breakfast. And what a great way to use up more of my rhubarb.

Rhubarb Muffins (makes 12)

  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 3/4 cups sugar (I did half granulated sugar & half brown sugar)
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/3 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 cup buttermilk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 cup chopped rhubarb
  • 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven 350 degrees F. Combine dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients, mixing only until moist. Fold in rhubarb and walnuts. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.

 

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Summer of Rhubarb: Rhubarb Torte

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It has been a long time since I have had time for anything let alone time to bake. This is my first creation on my first Baking Sunday in a long time. The reason I have been absent is because I was busy planning a wedding and European honeymoon. I love planning. I always say that if I weren’t a chemist that I would be an event planner.

Our wedding was small but that doesn’t mean I had any less work to do. The only thing I didn’t have to deal with was the processional and music that coincides with that as well as bridesmaids dresses or bridesmaid flowers since I didn’t have any of those (honestly bridesmaid flowers are super easy because you just make them similar to the bride’s bouquet but have less flowers or simpler flowers). My flowers I spent a lot of time designing. I had a florist do the final arrangement but I gave specific flowers with colors and just told her (Kim from Artemisia) to arrange them.

flowers

Everything else I had to plan and I even had to write an entire ceremony since we did not have a church wedding which is not very easy to do. In addition, finding a venue for a small wedding (50 or less) is very difficult. All venues hold 100-300 so finding one with charm is not an easy task.

We ended up finding W.A. Frost which turned out to be absolutely amazing. It’s a small restaurant in historic St. Paul full of charm & beauty.

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It is gorgeous inside and no decorations were needed.

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The two rooms we rented held 57 max so it was perfect. We went there for lunch before we picked it and I tried the bouillabaisse and my guy got a cheeseburger. We figured that if they could cook a high-end dish and a simple cheeseburger that no matter what we ordered for the reception would be fantastic. We weren’t disappointed. Everything was delicious. For the night of we went with a walleye dish, a pork dish, as well as a bistro steak. I had the steak the night of and it was incredible. For our cake we went with tiramisu for our top layer and strawberry lemon for the bottom layer from Buttercream. Buttercream is expensive but it is worth it. They really are the best for wedding cakes in Minnesota.

cake

I should also mention that my photographer (Angela from Angela Divine Photography) was absolutely amazing and all my wedding photos are from her. I told her we only needed a few hours of coverage and she did better than I could have imagined. I knew I wanted her once I saw her portfolio as she did many small weddings, and with our wedding being under 50 it was a perfect match.

I could talk about all the other details of event planning but this post would go on forever. Needless to say it takes a lot of time to research options for every single item for a wedding and a European trip. There is a lot to consider but just take it one thing at a time while always thinking about the next 20 tasks coming up if that makes any sense. I guess that’s why I am good at planning. I’m great at multitasking & thinking about the future while enjoying & living in the present.

As of now, my rhubarb is growing like crazy. I will have plenty of things to make rhubarb-wise in the future so prepare yourself. Maybe I could actually remember to take a decent photograph of my baked goods before they all get eaten.

Rhubarb Torte

For the crust

  • 1 1/2 C flour
  • 7 T sugar
  • 1 1/2 sticks cold butter, cut into cubes

Heat the oven to 350°F. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour and sugar. Cut in the butter as if you’re making a pie crust. Press the dough into a 9- by 13-inch pan.

For the custard

  •  2 eggs
  • 3/4 C granulated sugar
  • 3/4 C brown sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 C flour
  • 3/4 t baking soda
  • 1/2 t salt
  • 3 C fresh rhubarb (I used the red variety)

In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs and sugar until combined. Stir in the vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking soda, & salt. Stir in the rhubarb. Let sit for 30 minutes. Pour the custard into the crust, and bake for 35–45 minutes, until the torte is set and slightly golden, not toasty brown. Store any leftovers, covered, at room temperature.

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