Summer Tomato Salad

My friend Janet has a tomato problem. Luckily
she has friends like me to help her out!

Funny things happen during tomato season in Iowa. Weird, unexplained things. Like UFO sightings, only more delicious. Perhaps you have experienced this bizarre phenomenon. You walk into your office or workplace, just like any other Monday, or Thursday. You drop off your computer bag, maybe a handbag, at your desk and head to the break room to tuck your lunch in the fridge or grab a cup of coffee when you are startled by something on the counter, or tabletop. Red. Round. Lurking. They might even be trying to hide in a bag. They watch you suspiciously as you casually saunter over to these strange objects to see what this is all about. It's tomato season, and lucky for you, your colleague has an over-producing garden! Sharing tomatoes is an annual summer tradition in Iowa, and probably a lot of other places. Today I was pleasantly surprised by the gift of some Iowa homegrown tomatoes from my friend Lia. I had those tomatoes sitting on my desk all day and I daydreamed about eating them. Not in any recipe either. Ohhh no. These first Iowa-grown tomatoes are going to be eaten just as is, sliced. That's it, and it was heaven.

Guess what magically appeared on my desk? Yep!

No summer garden would be complete without an herb patch and an herb patch would never be complete without fresh basil.There are soooo many different kinds of basil, it's crazy! Italian basils, red basil, ruffled basil, giant lettuce leaf basil, Thai basil, lemon, lime and other citrusy flavored basils- it wouldn't be hard to have an entire garden comprised solely of basil! The Chef and I like to grow a couple different types. We like a larger leafy Italian basil, the leaves are substantial but not as big as lettuce leaf basil, and they have a great licorice like flavor, and we always grow a red basil too.

These beautiful ingredients combine with some fresh mozzarella and a drizzle of balsamic to create the most delectable summer salad, Caprese Salad. The history of the salad is pretty hard to pin down. some say it originated in the Campania region. while others call "insalata de caprese" the Salad of Capri, and hails from an island off the coast of Naples. The recipe was found on a menu dating back to 1920 after WWI and was thought to represent the colors of the Italian flag, and came back into favor in the 1950s. In the U.S. the salad started gaining popularity in the 1980s and had remained popular ever since. In Italy ingredients vary by region- some use pesto, others use arugula or other greens. tomatoes and fresh mozz are the constants. In the U.S. chefs and home cooks like to use heirloom tomatoes of different kinds to add beauty and a variety of flavors to add interest to the salad. No matter where in the world you are enjoying the salad, a hefty drizzle of good quality extra virgin olive oil is drizzled over and ties all the flavors together.

Homegrown Iowa heirloom tomatoes

Summer Tomato Salad

variety of heirloom tomatoes

fresh mozzarella

fresh basil

freshly ground black pepper

good quality extra virgin olive oil
good quality balsamic vinegar*

salt

* I have come to love purchased "balsamic drizzle"- I don't have to make my own reduction and the flavor is pretty darn good. Feel free to substitute this if you like, or reduce your own, or just use vinegar as is. It's delicious any way to use it.

Prepare the tomatoes- slice larger tomatoes, quarter or halve small bite sized tomatoes or grape/cherry tomatoes.

Slice the fresh mozzarella.

On a large serving platter or board, lay out a base of sliced tomatoes. Tuck slices of mozzarella in and around the sliced tomatoes, lifting to overlap in places. Scatter the smaller tomatoes around the board.

Season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Sprinkle the basil leaves over. You can tear the basil leaves if they are really large. Drizzle the whole platter with extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar and serve immediately with lots of fresh crusty bread.

Plan on a couple slices of fresh mozzarella per person and at least one to one and a half tomatoes per person for each serving, and build your salad whatever size you need. Throw on as much or as little basil as you like and be generous with that olive oil! Freshly ground black pepper is key for great flavor so if you have a pepper mill, use it.

As for the 15 lbs of tomatoes from Janet, they were roasted
and frozen for use all winter long. I've offered to help her
dispose of even more, if she can spare a few.

I can't tell you how many times each summer I will have this, and sometimes only this, as my entire dinner- twice just this week! The tomatoes are so delicious, and nothing at all like the pasty mealy dry grocery store tomatoes. They are so fresh and juicy and even better if still warm from the sun. If you get a good mix of types of tomatoes, you'll have a great mix of flavors too- some sweeter, some more acidic, some firmer. The fresh mozzarella brings some protein to the plate, the olive oil is so healthy and delicious, and who doesn't love freshly harvested basil leaves, torn and scattered just moments before devouring them? Delicious stuff here, folks.

Foodie Field Trip- Small Town Iowa and the Kitchen Outlet Store

Springtime is springing all around Iowa so Katie, who I would describe as my little sister, suggested we go on a Saturday road trip to somewhere fun. Nothing we have to pack for, or overnight, just a short drive, some interesting sights to see, lunch in a new spot, and maybe a little shopping if we find anything cool. Our original plan called for a very early, up-with-the-chickens day, on the road by 6:30 and headed to Owatonna, Minnesota for some shopping at Cabela's, the outlet mall in Faribault, lunch at Nick's Pizza and then a leisurely drive home. Mother Nature did not agree and her plans for the day included severe thunderstorm watches and warnings, and not wanting to be hundreds of miles from home driving in tornado strength wind, we opted for something a little closer. 

We made our plans Friday night. We'll sleep in a little later and drive about 30 miles away to Ames and then Boone. Lots of things for both of us to discover in Ames, and Boone is home to a very well known bakery. Surely we would find antique shops and cute gift type stores and things like that along the way. We are both chefs' wives so we wanted to track down something good to eat for lunch along the way. Both Ames and Boone have lots of great foodie spots, like The Cafe and Hickory Park.

Our trip started out with a quick stop at a toy store so Katie could pick up her little boy's Easter gift. It just so happens that the toy store was pretty close to a new coffee and bagel shop we've both been wanting to try, 5 Borough Bagels, was right up the street. Every day we have seen them advertising very tempting coffee flavors and since we're both coffeeholics, that had to be the kickoff for our day. Katie got the Birthday Cake latte and I got the Scotcheroo. They were......ok. The coffee flavor was good, but the Birthday Cake latte was awfully sweet even though it's flavor did remind me of birthday cake.The Scotcheroo latte didn't really have that peanut butter/butterscotch flavor at all. It just tasted like a regular latte. Not overly sweet it was good, but not great, and came with a big pile of whipped cream on top, which is something I would rather leave off. Another drawback- the coffee only comes in a 16 oz size. No small, medium, large. No tall, grande or venti. Just one size. It was worth trying but since it's out of the way for most of my running around town, I don't know if I'll go back or not.

We hit the highway after the toy store and while chatting decided to it up and head east instead of north and check out the outlet mall in Williamsburg. Talk about happy happy happy- they have a kitchen outlet!! Foodie heaven! It's a good hour drive and by the time we got there we figured it would be best to feed our young traveling companion before hitting the shops so we headed into the town of Williamsburg, just south of Interstate 80. It's a cute little Iowa town, postcard perfect with a coffee and antique shop in an old Victorian house. Businesses such as banks, shops and restaurants circle to town square which is a grassy park. I'm so glad we visited when we did. The recent spring rains have changed the grass into a lush green carpet and spring flowers are blooming everywhere.

Just off the square is the Sundown Bar and Grill. After googling options in the area we decided to check out the place. Now, I have been to many many mom and pop small town eateries over the years and some are barely mediocre with a menu packed full of deep fried everything but that was not the case here. There were a number of fried things, like onions rings, breaded mushrooms and cheesesticks and fried pickles, but they also offered a nice selection of hand pattied burgers, breaded or grilled pork tenderloins, steaks, broasted chicken and even a wood fired pizza menu. Since we were there at lunch they had not yet fired up the wood oven, so Katie chose a generously sized and juicy cheeseburger with fried mushrooms and I went with the Iowa classic- the tenderloin. The tenderloin was fantastic- one of the best I have ever had and it came with crinkle fries- the absolute BEST crinkle fries I have had in forever. If our simple sandwiches were any indication of the care and quality of the rest of the food, this town has a goldmine right on the main street. 

After lunch we headed up to the outlet mall. Kitchen Collection was our destination and I wasn't five feet in the door before I found something I have been wanting- a mandolin. A few feet later was a wall of cast iron. Knives, utensils, linens, gadgets, seasonings, small appliances, cookware, dishware, coffeemakers and tea pots- everything a foodie could possibly want and at incredible prices. A few items mysteriously fell into my cart of course.  After the kitchen store we hit a couple clothing stores, jewelry, chocolate and sporting goods shops, and an Amana store where you can get Amana products like pickles, jams cheeses and so on. 

The sky was darkening and storm clouds threatened so we headed back towards the city, thankfully missing the crummy weather. We didn't make it to the winery because we had Pupcake with us so we made plans to head that way again soon, and you know we'll tell you all about it.

So what did I buy at the kitchen outlet? Just a couple things. A handy small blender for making smoothies and shakes- so I probably will share some recipes and suggestions with that in the future and I also purchased a mandolin. Now, just to get you up to speed about ten years ago I bought a mandolin. LOVED that thing, I was so excited to use it and its many exchangeable blades for different types of cutting. The very first time I used it, I was slicing onions and cucumbers for salad. Silly me, holding that onion, I didn't think I needed that safety guard- I'm a seasoned pro, right? WRONG! I ended up cutting my thumb in a very horrible way which ruined the salad and absolutely ruined my day, and many to follow as the pain was one step away from unbearable. I threw the mandolin away swearing them off for life. Seeing chefs on cooking shows using them with their unprotected hand gave me the creeps- seriously, like it made me queasy. They always WHIZ through slicing things and I fear for every finger on their hands.

Fast forward ten years and here I am again. Wiser. Much wiser, and also very willing to accept the fact that the safety guard is provided for a reason, and I will be using it. I have a couple veggies to play with so let's play with the new mandolin. Since I am such a sucker for a good potato, that was my first vegetable to play with. I had a sweet potato and russets, so I went with the russets. I carefully unpacked the mandolin from its packaging, where it was all safe and snug in a relatively small box. I knew right away this was NOT going back in the same box- no way, no how. Anyway, the unit comes with the v-shaped cutting blade in place. There is a safety cover on and to be honest, I damn near cut mu hand off trying to get the safety cover off. Whoever designed this- let's just say I don't like you much. I did NOT touch the blade but eyeballed it from a safe distance. The attachments include a julienne slicing blade (I left that securely wrapped up) and two more slicing adjuster things- basically you swap them out on the unit for thick, normal and super thin slices. The unit is set up for super this straight out of the box. Those attachments are easy to remove, there is a push button and they pop right off. The base and "runway" are sturdy and don't slip around on the counter.

The food safety guide thing- I wouldn't even think of not sing it this time around. Following the instructions that came in the box I cut the potatoes in half first then stuck them on the pins in the food guide. There are a bunch of pins in there and they held the potatoes firmly in place. I gathered my guts and started slicing and guess what? I got potato slices with NO FINGER MEAT!! So excited! Since I had left the thinnest slice attachment in I had slices you could easily have made homemade potato chips with. Instead, since I don't like deep frying at home, I made a dish similar to Potatoes Anna but I call it Potatoes Erika because my mom always made this.

I used a medium skillet and added a good swirl or rosemary Sinful Food olive oil and heated until the oil was screeching hot and very fragrant, then I placed the slices in the pan overlapping and covering the bottom and built up until I had used all the potatoes and seasoned well with salt and pepper. I turned the heat down to mediumish and covered the pan to make sure the potatoes cooked through. I left them untouched for about 10 minutes and then checked them- the bottom was nicely browned and crisp. Grab a big spatula and flip them over (after drizzling a touch more oil over) and cook uncovered until the bottom is also browned and crisp. Slide out of the pan and slice into wedges to serve.

Get your Sinful Food oils by clicking HERE.

I ate the whole thing. Ha!! It was only two potatoes to begin with so it wasn't piles of food, and you know what? I wasn't that scared! I actually like how this mandolin performed and cleanup was super easy- I used running water and a brush on a LONG handle- piece of cake! As I predicted, it did not go back into the box so I'll have to figure out a good way to store this but I guarantee I'll use this again and again, in fact........ I have something in mind for a post in the very near future! Stay tuned!

Iowa Corn Pudding

September and October is an odd time in Iowa. Take a drive out to the countryside and you will see weird sights. Alien looking vehicles with lights all over, stirring up the dust in the fields. It's harvest time in Iowa. 

I might be a city girl, but I definitely live in an agriculture state. For over 150 years, farmers in Iowa have chosen corn as one of their main crops. In a typical year Iowa farmers produce over 100 billion pounds of corn. Used for food, animal feed, exports, fuel production, and so much more, field corn is THE major crop in this state. For comparison, the sweet corn we all love so much is less than one percent of that total. That was a little hard for me to comprehend considering all the corn stands and corn festivals we have every summer. 

I absolutely love the corn festivals and corn stands. Pulling up to the stand on a warm summer day, loading a few dozen ears of sweet corn into the car and heading home for a day of shucking, blanching, cutting and freezing is absolutely one of my favorite things to do. It's like filling the freezer with summertime. I like to pack one quart bags full of cut corn. It freezes quickly and is easy to measure out of the bag if I need a smaller amount for a recipe. I have tried canning corn at home but the lengthy processing time and high temp int he pressure canner causes the sugars in our very sweet Iowa corn to caramelize. The corn browns slightly and gets a slight burnt sugar taste. With freezing the corn retains its fresh taste and texture.

Bags of summertime, ready for the freezer.

Harvest time is also holiday time, with Thanksgiving right at the end of the season. My family always asks for scalloped corn for Thanksgiving, and I've always made my mom's recipe. Simple and easy, made with store bought canned creamed corn, eggs and saltines it's quite tasty with a browned crunchy cracker crust on top and creamy corn filling. This year I decided to step it up a few notches and pass on the commercial canned corn and use frozen sweet corn, creamy half and half, a hint of cheese and scallions. That crunchy cracker crust will still be there just like Mom's.

Iowa Corn Pudding

6 cups fresh corn kernels

6 scallions, minced

3/4 cup finely shredded Colby Jack cheese

2 eggs, beaten

1 cup half and half
1/2 cup sour cream

salt and pepper

1 cup crumbled saltines, divided

4 tbs melted butter, divided, plus more for dish

Generously butter a 2 quart baking dish. Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl combine the corn, scallions and cheese. Mix in the eggs, half and half, sour cream and 1/2 cup cracker crumbs. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in 2 tablespoons of the butter.

Pour into baking dish. Toss remaining cracker crumbs with remaining butter and sprinkle over the top. Bake for 50 minutes until puffed and golden brown.

Sprinkle with sliced scallion tops to garnish, if desired.

The pudding puffs up during baking and has a delicious custardy texture that's so much better than the old style creamed corn in a can. The cheese adds just a bit of depth and the scallions bring in just enough savory to keep that Iowa sweet corn from being too desserty. This delightful dish is going to be a regular on my family's holiday table from now on!

Foodie Field Trip- Iowa Pork Blogger Tour Part 1- Brenneman Pork

I never cease to amaze myself. Going into this Foodie Field Trip I had some basic ideas for a great post. Post. Singular. One. What happened over this two-day tour was so much more than one post can ever represent. So folks, please stick around for the continuing series. I promise it will be worth it.

Have you ever seen where your food really comes from? I don't mean the grocery store, I mean where your pork chop or bacon is born, nursed, weaned and raised? Not a lot of us have, including me, but that has all changed, thanks to the Iowa Pork Producers Association. Last year I received an invitation to participate in a blogging promotion hosted by the Iowa Pork Producers Association. The requirements were simple- browse their recipe collection, pick a recipe, grab some fresh Iowa pork, prepare the recipe, write a post and hold a giveaway for our readers with the prizes courtesy of the I.P.P.A. It was a great promotion. Up for grabs was a grilling pack including utensils,  a selection of barbeque sauces from Jethro's Restaurants, a grilling apron and $50.00 in free pork coupons. 

I look dazed, but I am so smitten

It was hard to choose a recipe but I settled on Carolina Riesling Pork Chops. Of course I chose Riesling- it's my favorite white wine! The winner of the giveaway was Tracy Carlson, from Ames, Iowa.

The I.P.P.A., originally known as the Iowa Swine Growers Association, has been around since the 1930s, working to improve all aspects of pork production and today they share information with close to 12,000 pork industry leaders in Iowa. Their home office is in the city of Clive in Polk County.

Jenni gives a newborn pig a powder bath

So here we are a year later and the I.P.P.A. has again extended an amazing opportunity to the Iowa bloggers who participated in last year's event. I get to spend 2 days with Jenny Unternahrer from In The Kitchen With Jenny; Kristen Greazel from Make The Best of Everything; The Sustainable Couple's Kelli Lane; Jenni Ward from The Gingered Whisk; Alicia Schmitt of Fit and Farm, and Food and Swine's Cristen Clark. What are we going to be doing? Having a blast!!!

This lil guy is perfectly content in Jenny's arms

Our day starts bright and early at the I.P.P.A. office with a welcome breakfast and presentation. After we enjoy breakfast and getting to meet each other we board the bus for Brenneman Pork in Washington County. It's a bit of a road trip but that gave us lots of time to get to know each other. All I can seem to think about is........will I get to hold a little baby piggie? Typical city girl, right?

Erin is giving a brand new baby pig a good rub down
after a powder bath.

We arrive at the farm and are treated to lunch- Char Brenneman's homemade Iowa Pork Hamballs. Since RTK is all about the food normally I would stop here and share the recipe (don't worry, that will come later) but this tour of the farm was so much more than just amazing hamballs. As a life-long city resident this really was an incredible day for me. So we enjoyed lunch with Erin Brenneman. Rob and Char Brenneman popped in to visit with us but they were soon off to the county fair to look at the 4H winning hogs. Rob shared loads of information about raising hogs. I had no idea how "much" there was to all of it, such as pigs eat between 13 and 16 different diets during their lives. The farm also raises their own grain to feed the pigs (they still purchase grain from other farmers as well) and use the manure to fertilize their own fields. He talked about antibiotic use and changes over the years. The Brennemans are not afraid to tackle the tough subjects, and they are very transparent about farming. I had no idea there were so many facts that I had ever even thought about. Erin shared her story about how a lifelong Chicago girl went off to college, met a man with a work ethic just like hers, common interests, and the rest is history. Today she is absolutely thriving at the farm. You'll hear more about that in a bit. After a video presentation we are ready for the next part of our visit. The tour. Which also means it's time for the unglamorous stuff- shower in. Yep, you heard it, shower in. Times like this naturally curly hair is a great asset. Biosecurity is critical in livestock farming and in order to keep the pigs, and us, safe, showering in and showering out is required. Honestly, for all the dread I felt beforehand, the showering in and out was a piece of cake. 

Josie has a cute lil friend!

The buildings that house the pigs are massive. Incredibly massive. We toured the farrowing portion of the farm and being so close to the pregnant moms and newborn babies (literally newborn.......) really drives home the importance of biosecurity. Like human babies, new baby pigs are susceptible to illness and infection and need and deserve that protection. It's worth giving up our makeup and mascara and hairstyles. 

Jenni was brave enough to pull a pig. What an experience!

This massive barn was divided into a perfectly synced series of sections- the sows who are actively giving birth, the next section over has the sows with piglets just a few days older, another section the piglets are close to weaning. One area houses all the gestational sows and beyond that, the former moms doing what lady pigs do when they don't have kids- eating, fighting over who's the boss and laying around, in big pens. They were fun to watch, how they interact, and they do bicker and fight like a bunch of crabby women! The sows in the gestational pens were very content and comfortable. The sows with piglets were just as you'd expect- moms and babies doing what nature intended. What really surprised me was the air quality inside the barn. Let's be honest, pigs poop. Since they live in the barn, they poop inside the barn, but the carefully engineered ventilation systems in place very effectively take care of any odors. Is it fresh and floral scented like a spa? Of course not. We got the occasional whiff of fertilizer-to-be but overall it was very comfortable inside the building.

I think Kristin was a little smitten as well

Erin was hoping to have us experience the birth of a piglet, and that we sure did. We saw several pigs born that day, including some members of the group who were brave enough to "pull" pigs- literally reach inside mom and ease out a baby pig. I was not that gutsy! After they are born the piglets are given a powder "bath" to dry them off, and rubbed down with a towel. According to Erin this stimulates the baby and gets them active. The babies are introduced to mom's colostrum just like human babies, and I have to say, they are as precious as I hoped. I got to hold a couple different piggies and I was totally smitten.

Farm life is not all happiness and wiggly babies and smiles. While we were there we also experienced death in the pens, when one of the moms rolled over and suffocated a piglet. That lifeless little baby was a heartbreaking moment, but as they say- that's life on a farm.

Piggy love 

Erin's commitment to her animals and their well being is so obvious. She definitely exudes enthusiasm when talking about the farm, like during lunch, but once we entered that barn she was like a proud mom herself. The phrase "lit up" seems so cliche but she truly was when talking about and handling the sows and piglets. Farming isn't for everyone, that's for sure, but for Erin it's not a job, it's her life.

Brenneman Pork is truly a family farm. Formed in 1980 by Rob and Char Brenneman, the farm is very progressive, changing and growing all the time. It was clear listening to Rob when he was talking with us that he feels a deeply rooted passion for farming and raising hogs. Several members of the family work there including parents, sons, daughters and spouses.

So now that I have seen up close and personal where and how pork is produced it's time to get back to the city for the next part of our amazing journey- an artisinal ham tasting followed by four courses of pork awesomeness. You DON'T want to miss out on that........

**All photos inside the farm were taken by Erin Brenneman. Picture in the bus taken by Josie McQuillen

Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 55: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Younkers' Famous Rarebit Burger Gets a Makeover

As a kid growing up in Des Moines in the seventies downtown was the place to be. Malls weren't a thing yet, and downtown all the big department stores had huge fortress-like buildings. The streets were lined with shops and interesting places, big stores, small stores and lunch counters. The big department store in Des Moines was Younkers, and their flagship store was right in the heart of downtown.

photo from Wikipedia Commons

My mom never drove a car, so going downtown to go shopping was quite an event. We'd wait patiently for the taxi to arrive, and back in the old days taxis were built by Checker Taxi and were big! The backseat area was quite spacious and had kid seats that were round and folded down into the floor. 

photo from Wikipedia Commons

We would make the trip from our home to downtown and hit all the big stores. Sometimes we would have lunch at the King Ying Low Chinese restaurant, sometimes it would be a lunch counter and sometimes we would eat at the Younkers Tea Room.

photo from Pinterest- owner unknown

Younkers was quite an amazing place. The original dry goods store was opened in 1874 in Keokuk and later moved to downtown Des Moines in 1912. The Tea Room was opened in 1913 and became somewhat of a destination restaurant. Many many weddings, receptions and corporate events were held in that beautiful tearoom, with its gorgeous architecture and crystal chandelier. Famous for their sticky rolls and chicken salad, their real claim to fame had to be the Rarebit Burger. The Rarebit Burger was introduced to the world sometime in the 1940s and has been much loved ever since. The recipe is fairly simple- a savory cheesy rarebit sauce is ladled over a hamburger making it a rich and decadent fork and knife sandwich. Rarebit itself is a very old recipe, commonly served over toast for a lighter meal. Some brilliant chef at Younkers decided to go one big step forward and top a burger and created one of the best-loved regional foods.

You can prepare your burger however you like, but for this
recipe nothing beats a cast iron skillet.

Younkers' Famous Rarebit Sauce

1/3 cup cooking oil
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon dry mustard powder
2 cups milk
1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon hot sauce, such as Tabasco
1 cup shredded American cheese

Place the oil in a saucepan, Stir together the flour, paprika, salt and mustard. Add to the oil and cook while stirring for one minute. Add the milk all at once. Continue cooking and stirring until sauce is thickened. Add remaining ingredients;  remove from heat and stir until cheese melts. Pour over prepared hamburger and bun. Makes 2 cups sauce.

Sadly, the downtown Younkers store closed in 2005 and the building was destroyed by fire in 2014, meaning the Tea Room and it's beautiful interior was lost forever. 

photo from The Des Moines Register

Now that we've talked about the rarebit sauce and burger, it's time to talk about MY version. Plain cheese sauce over a burger doesn't do much for me, and over bun top and bottom is a bit much, so I like to kick mine up with the addition of salsa and taco seasonings, changing the Rarebit Burger into a Queso Burger! 

Double-stacked cheesy spicy happiness

To make the queso sauce, melt 1/4 cup butter in a saucepan. Sprinkle 3 tablespoons flour over and whisk over medium heat for a minute. Add 2 cups milk all at once, and continue whisking. Cook over medium heat until thickened. Remove from heat and add at least a cup of shredded cheese. Mild cheddar, Colby Jack, or even pepperjack cheese are all delicious. Stir until melted.

Spoon the hot queso sauce over the burger. I made double
burgers with queso between and on top of the patties.

Drain most of the liquid from 1 cup of salsa. Add to the cheese sauce and return to low heat until heated through. Use whatever heat level you like in your salsa.

Cook your burger to desired doneness and place on toasted bun bottom on a place. I made two thin burgers for each sandwich, placing one on the bun, topping with sauce, and repeating. Pour the queso sauce over and garnish with your favorite taco toppings. Toast the bun top and place it on the burger. I like to top mine with sour cream, guacamole, sliced black olives, sliced scallions and a bit more salsa. Sometimes I add a few slices of jalapeno.

You'll still need a knife and fork for this one!

No ammo needed for this hunt!

Every spring Iowans all over lose their minds, and their sense of direction, wandering the woods and hillsides, climbing over dead logs and muddy creeks with their minds fixated on their prey. They stalk through the trees, eyes scanning like lazers, searching.....searching. Part of the time it's turkey season, but no one seems to have a gun. What in the world are they looking for?

Morels!

Yes, the elusive morel mushroom. That springtime delight that can be quite hard to track down. They are finicky little buggers- they need the right kind of spring, the right amount of rain and the right temperatures and if you're lucky and have a spot other people don't know about already, you just might find a few handfuls, or a few bagfuls!

Morels are a very delicious mushroom and can be used in so many different ways. Michelin star chefs use them in amazing and complex dishes. Your everyday guy breads and fries them. They can be stuffed, sauteed, frozen or dehydrated. Sauteed in butter and served alongside a tender, juicy steak, they are absolutely fantastic. I have been dreaming for three springs now about the perfect recipe for a blog post. Sadly, I think this spring has come and gone with again, no morels for me. Maybe next year!

Product Review: Perfect Iowa pork on the grill with some sass rubbed on

My good friend Gloria owns a business that sells an awesome variety of sauces, salsas and rubs, Carolina Sauce Company, and a few months ago she sent me several items to play with in the kitchen. I love trying out new products and playing with flavors. I love repurposing things as well, creating something totally different in the end. One of the items she sent me ended up on the shelf over the cold months of winter, no thanks to the nasty polar vortex that made so many of us miserable.

Now spring has sprung and it's time to start thinking about grilling and smoking again. That means meat rubs. Lots and lots of meat rubs. The Chef and I love grilling and smoking different meats, especially ribs and chicken, and we have tried loads of different rubs, including making up our own on occasion. Some have been good, some ok, some bad enough to ruin the meal, and others outstanding. Since we own a smoker and like playing with barbeque techniques we have some basic things we look for in a good rub- it must NOT be salty, must not be overly sugary- just enough to encourage good caramelization, and must have the right amount of heat. Good pepper flavor and HEAT but not just melt your face off heat. That's fine for some things but we want a flavor underneath the heat.

Awwww the smell of summer...... smoking a hunk of pig.

So Gloria included a package of Adams Ultimate Rubb in our goodie package. It's an "all purpose meat, fish and poultry rub (that) has become the favorite among great cooks everywhere." Sounds promising! It also says "spicy" on the package, so that's a good thing. The back of the package has some great suggested uses- sprinkle on meat of choice and let marinate for 30 minute to 2 hours. Put a little in baked beans; sprinkle lightly on salmon; vegetables; french fries; use one part rub to 4 parts flour for fish or chicken breading. Sounds like fantastic ideas!

How about some smokey, fall-off-the-bone ribs?

I open the cute brown package and there is an airtight bag containing the rub- I can already smell it and it smells delicious. I check the ingredients- everything I'm looking for is there, brown sugar (can't have meat rub without it), red pepper, garlic, onion, smokey flavors and a papaya extract. Of course I can't resist a quick taste test. It's delicious, with a nice sweet base and spicy, smoky undertones.

Now all we need is some meat! Decisions, decisions. Pork butt...... chicken...... turkey breast...... brisket? Ribs are awesome, a smoker full of wings makes me happy too. We have to make a decision at this point so we go with boneless pork "country style ribs" and head for home to get cooking. In Iowa, pork is big business. BIG business. From bacon to chops, Iowa is definitely pork country. In fact, there are more pigs in Iowa than humans with around 30 million hogs raised every year. That is one-third of the nation's total pork production, making Iowa the top pork producing state in the entire nation. Pretty BIG business!

Now if you are unfamiliar with "country style ribs" let's talk about that a little bit. These ribs are cut from the sirloin end of the pork loin, also known as the rib end. They have no bones. Most of the time you find them cut into individual pieces already. They are perfect for barbeque cooking or grilling, even roasting. They also lend well to rub-type seasonings because they have a lot of surface area to hold on to the flavors.  These are by far meatier than bone-in rib cuts and are meant to be eaten with a knife and fork. Unlike the old days of Grandma cooking the life out of the pork chops, today's pork is leaner and needs to be cooked to only 145 degrees with a few minutes rest time before serving. **TIP- when cooking meat it's important to keep it as juicy as possible, so always use tongs to turn meat, never use a fork. Poking holes in the meat causes the juices to run out, leaving you with a dried out piece of shoe leather.

Ok, so I've got my rub. I've got my country style ribs. I'm ready to get cooking. The package says the longer you leave the rub on, the better, so I'm going to do that FIRST and foremost and get the meat resting. Pork country style ribs are very lean so you probably won't have much extra fat to trim off. I am going to sprinkle the rub very liberally over the ribs and really get them covered nicely. Place on clean plate and wrap or place in a ziptop bag and refrigerate, until shortly before cooking- then allow meat to rest at room temperature for a short bit.

When I'm ready to cook (I'll be using the grill pan for these since.....sigh........we have not yet filled the tank on the grill and have zero charcoal around) I like to drizzle the meat with just a touch of olive oil. It helps to NOT stick to the grill and I think helps caramelize and brown the crust a little better. Always add meat to a hot grill (or pan) or you will be picking mutilated meat shreds that are stuck to the surface. Plus you wreck your lovely meat surface. Country style ribs are more like thick rectangles than pork chops so I will grill on all four sides, turning each side to the heat just ONCE, and cook until the internal temperature is 145 degrees. It doesn't take very long to cook, so have your sides ready to go before hand. I am going to saute some fresh green beans (like they do in Chinese restaurants) and make a very quick and simple French-style potato salad (with a vinaigrette instead of mayo). Since I don't have store-bought dijon for the dressing I am going to use some of my Jalapeno Pepper Ale Mustard in the dressing- I'll toss some cooked potatoes with chopped Vidalia onion and dressing, freshly ground pepper- simple and delicious.

The results are, as expected, fantastic. The pork was juicy and tender. The rub added the right amount of spice and just a kick of heat. The brown sugar caramelized the meat beautifully. The papaya added a hint of fruity sweetness I didn't expect after cooking. I even sauteed the green beans with a hit of the rub and got the same sweet spicy delicious almost glaze-like sauce with the beans. I HIGHLY recommend you try this product. In fact, if you visit the Carolina Sauce Company, you will find a huge assortment of sauces and rubs to try. We are hot sauce nuts and they even have sample-size bottles so you can test several kinds to find the perfect sauce for you.

Now, fire up those grills, people! It's grilling season!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I believe are of good quality and safe. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."