I apologize for my lack of posting recently. Work and life have once again gotten in the way. Hopefully, I will be back this weekend with some more recipes and posts but in the meantime, I want to remind my readers of a few things.

First off, Saturday is the the Milwaukee “Cookies for Kid’s Cancer” bake sale. It is being held at Best Place at the Historic Pabst Brewery, in Milwaukee and runs from 1-4pm. My good friends, over at Burp! Where Food Happens have worked hard to gather together a bunch of local and Wisconsin food bloggers to pitch in for this event. Unfortunately, I have to work so I won’t be attending, but I am sending a long a few dozen of my Chocolate Crinkles with Raspberry Jam, and possibly a few other goodies. If you find yourself in the area please stop by, support and great cause, and walk away with some great tasting munchies!!

Other event is for all you barbecue buffs out there. Steven Raichlen will be joining the forums, over at Chef Talk, from May 26th-29th. This is a “not-to-be-missed” event for anyone serious about barbecuing and grilling as Steven has spent years researching and teaching about the art of grilling and barbecuing. He has also written numerous cookbooks on the subject, including one of my all time favorites, “The Barbecue! Bible.” I urge all my readers to click on over to Chef Talk, register for the forums (it’s FREE!) and be part of this great opportunity to learn a little more about backyard cooking. I hope to see you on the forums!!!

On Sunday the family headed a few miles south to Kelley’s Country Creamery, a new ice cream place in the area. We were originally drawn to it because they sell hard pack ice cream, a novelty in this part of Wisconsin where frozen custard reigns supreme. This was our second trip even though the place hasn’t been open for a month yet, and I see many more trips there before the season is over. While we were drawn by the promise of hard pack ice cream, we have been hooked by the excellent quality, and the farm to table approach they take. You see, the Kelley’s also own the farm that produces the milk they use in their ice cream. It is my understanding that they send their milk to a local dairy producer who pasteurizes it and turns it into an ice cream base that the Kelley’s then flavor and churn. Supposedly, they have 61 flavors that they produce, on a rotating basis. While I haven’t seen, or tasted all of them, I have been impressed with the quality of the ice creams I have tried and inspired by their creativity. Of course they offer up the standards of chocolate, vanilla (which looks and tastes like homemade), and strawberry, but they also offer up more interesting flavors such as Purple Cow (grape), Root Beer, Orange-Chocolate Chip, White Chocolate-Raspberry, and Moo Luau (banana split ice cream-banana with swirls of chocolate, strawberry and pineapple). They are located just south of Fond du Lac, WI on County Rd. B (exit off of Hwy. 41 and drive east a few miles). Their website is here. Check it out, and if you find yourself in the area, definitely stop by for a scoop or two.

In the meantime, you can use this Hot Fudge Sauce to make your own Sundaes. This recipe has a great, old fashion flavor and is the perfect foil to a dish of vanilla ice cream. On try of this simple recipe and you’ll never buy store bought again!

Hot Fudge Sauce

1 Tbsp. cocoa powder
1 cup sugar
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup corn syrup
1 Tbsp. butter
3oz. unsweetened chocolate
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Combine cocoa powder, sugar and 3/4 cup of cream in a sauce pot and stir to combine. Add corn syrup, butter and chocolate. Slowly bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Once at a boil stop stirring and cook until mixture reaches 236°F. Remove from heat, allow to cool for 5 minutes then add remaining cream and vanilla extract. Store, covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks. To serve, gently heat over a double boiler or in a microwave at half power.

This past weekend I took the daughter to Indiana to see my parents. This gave my folks a chance to see their granddaughter, but more importantly, it gave my wife a much needed weekend without the kid. Our daughter is almost 3 1/2 years old and my wife has not had more than a 24 hour break from her. It was about time. I could see it in her eyes. She was way overdue for a weekend alone. So I packed up the car and the kid and I road tripped to Indiana.

Like most grandparents, my parents had plenty of activities planned for the weekend. To my delight, one of them was “Sugar Camp Days” at Bendix Woods County Park. Sugar Camp Days is a weekend affair, where the public can see the maple syrup making process from beginning to end. I grew up in Vermont and my family had many friends who supplemented their income by sugaring, so for me it was a chance to reminisce about those days and a chance to introduce my daughter to the whole concept.

Of course what was presented was a disneyesque version of the process but I found it very enjoyable and there was a lot of information presented so that someone unfamiliar with the making of maple syrup, would understand where their syrup comes from and just why it is so expensive. My daughter, being 3 years old, couldn’t have cared less about the whole thing, and only found joy in playing on the playground, at the park, but my parents and I had a very enjoyable morning, watching the sugaring process and trying some of the maple products being sold.

The highlight of the day though, at least for me was watching them make Maple Kettle Corn over an open fire. I love kettle corn as it is, and the idea of adding maple had never crossed my mind, but sounded wonderful. Of course it tasted fantastic; sweet with just a hint of maple, offset by a subtle saltiness and a slight smokiness, coming from the fact that it was being cooked over an open fire.

Maple Kettle Corn
This recipe is an adaptation of the recipe they use at Bendix Woods as theirs makes quite a large amount. Doing this on the stove top, you lose that wonderful smokiness that comes from cooking over an open fire, but it is still a great treat!

1/4 cup popcorn, uncooked
2 tsp. vegetable oil
1 Tbsp. sugar, granulated
1 Tbsp. maple syrup
salt

Heat a stove top popcorn popper over medium high heat. Add oil, allow to heat for 30 seconds then add the popcorn, sugar and maple syrup. Cover with lid and stir constantly so that sugar doesn’t burn. Cook until all sounds of popping stop and immediately remove from heat to keep from burning. Pour into a large bowl and season with salt. Allow to cool a couple of minutes before eating so as to not burn yourself.

Okay, it’s a little late in the season, but I just recently discovered the Milwaukee Winter Farmers’ Market and I wish I had learned about it earlier! I came across it quite by accident as I was searching to see if there were any producers of hard cider here, in Wisconsin. I found one producer, Aeppel Treow Winery, which produces bothapple wine and hard cider. In their information I also discovered that they were at the Milwaukee Winter Farmers’ Market on the first Saturday of every month. Bonus, not only had I come across a producer of hard cider, but I also “discovered” a new, off season farmers’ market.

The market is held every Saturday, through April 24th, at the Tommy Thompson Youth Center at State Fair Park. You can access it through Gate 5, on 84th St. While not large, I was impressed by the variety of Wisconsin grown and raised products. Besides, the hard cider and apple wine, there was an apple orchard that still had apples for sale. These over wintered apples were starting to just show their age and were a bit on the mealy side, but they were still sweet and quite flavorful. A little mealiness is small price to pay for their taste which beats any store bought apples hands down. Also included in the days list of producers were a couple of honey producers, a couple of bakeries, numerous farmer’s selling pasture fed beef, pork, poultry and elk, and a few stands selling processed foods made from local, Wisconsin produce, from salsas and jams to pasta and granola.

Rolling Meadows Sorghum Mill is there selling their sorghum syrup and locally produced maple syrup. Of the few cheese producers there, we stopped at Saxon Homstead Creamery and picked up a wedge of their “Saxony” cheese, a washed rind cow’s milk cheese, which they describe as nutty and supple, a description that may be rather vague, but one I agree with. I will definitely be checking out some of their other cheeses. We also picked up some mushrooms from River Valley Ranch, Wisconsin’s oldest mushroom producer.

There wasn’t much in the way of produce, but I didn’t expect to find much at this time of year, in Wisconsin. But a few farmers were displaying some fresh spinach and radishes grown, I’m sure in hoop houses or hot houses.

While I didn’t purchase any, it did get me excited for spring to arrive and the farmer’s markets throughout Wisconsin to get started up again.

Probably, the biggest coup for the market though this the inclusion of Bolzano Artisan Meats.  Bolzano is Wiscosin’s first and only company dedicated to the art of dry curing meat.  While still relatively unknown in throughout the rest of the country, Bolzano has, in a very short time made quite a name for themselves among upper Midwest foodies.  They currently offer guanciale, dried and cured pork cheek and panchetta, an Italian slow cured “bacon” that remains unsmoked.  Both of their products are some of the best I have tasted and I expect it won’t be long before they gain a reputation from coast to coast.

With only 7 more weeks left before the market closes for the year, I doubt I will make it back,but not for a lack of wanting. Milwaukee is about a 45-60 minute drive and our weekends are pretty full for the next 2 months. So while I might not make it back this year, I will look forward to it’s opening next October, but just because I can’t make it back doesn’t mean you shouldn’t check it out if you are in the area. You’ll be pleasantly surprised.

Just wanted to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!! I had planned on getting in one more post before today, with a great Christmas breakfast, but due to weather we travelled a day early and I wasn’t able to get it in. No problem though as the recipe makes for a great morning after breakfast after a night of drinking on New Year’s Eve, so you can expect my recipe for Eggnog French Toast with Bananas Foster Sauce in the next few days-a perfect way to re-motivate after having done a little too much celebrating.

I hope that if you were travelling, your travels got you to where you wanted to be, safe and sound, and without too much hassle and delay.

May your holidays be filled with love, laughter, and of course great food and drink!!

Happy Holidays!!

Fall is in full swing and I am thrilled! This is my favorite time of year. The crisp, cool air, the sharp scent of burning leaves and fireplaces, the beautiful autumn colors as the trees change, and of course, the food. As the weather starts to turn cooler I leave behind the thoughts of light, refreshing meals and start thinking about warmer, heartier, more comforting types of foods; soups, chili, stews, pastas with rich, hearty meat sauces, and slowly braised or roasted meats. Fall also means many of my favorite fruits and vegetables are being harvested. Apples immediately come to mind as they are my favorite fruit, but also mushrooms, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, mushrooms, winter squashes and many root vegetables. Fall also means the opening of one of my favorite places, The Little Farmer. Technically, they open in summer, early August to be exact, selling early season apples and peaches they bring in from a friend of theirs, in Michigan. I admit, I take my first trip out there, soon after they open, to pick up one of their apple muffins, which are to die for, and for which I usually start craving by mid July. Arriving at The Little Farmer in the midst of the summer heat seems wrong, but I need my muffin fix so you’ll find me out there either opening weekend or the week after.

After that first, initial fix, I usually wait until the weather starts to change and they start to harvest the later varieties of apples.

Some of the varieties they grow and sell are Cortlands, Russets, Jonamac, Honeycrisp, Duchess, Paula Red, Ginger Gold, McIntosh, and Empire. They also grow and sell pumpkins, so there is usually a trip out there with the daughter to pick pumpkins for Halloween.

You can choose any of the many hundreds of pumpkins they have already harvested or you can head out to the fields and harvest your own.

But if you think that The Little Farmer is just a roadside stand and U-Pick farm you would be missing out. It has become a one stop shopping adventure. A place to get out, enjoy the weather and a little rural fun. There are hayrides to be taken, a corn maze to navigate, freshly dipped caramel apples to be eaten, goats to be fed, and a fantastic playground with a twenty foot tall mountain of hay bales to be climbed. There is also a craft barn filled with seasonal bricabrac. The main apple house itself is filled with more knickknacks.

But this is where you can buy many of the food stuffs either prepared right on the premise or manufactured for them. All the wonderful baked goods, including the aforementioned apple muffins are produced on site, as is the cider, while many of the pickles and preserves are manufactured for them, according to their specifications.

Once Labor Day arrives, the place gets busy on weekends and they often offer entertainment or events throughout the autumn, including a Dog Walk, when people can bring their dogs for the day. And what would any weekend event in Wisconsin be without brats. Each weekend The Little Farmer allows a group to come in and do a brat fry to raise money for their group or charity.

My wife laughs at me, but I bet from the time they open, in August to the time they close in mid November, I venture out there at least 6-7 times or more. But I love the place! It reminds me of days gone by when we, as a nation, were much closer to our agricultural roots. I also like to help out local farmers and businesses, and it doesn’t hurt that I really like the product they produce!

If you are interested in visiting The Little Farmer, they are located on Hwy. 151 about 10-15 minutes north of Fond du Lac, Wi, on the east shore of Lake Winnebago, in Malone, WI. You can find them on the web here. If you are in the area stop by and, at least, grab an apple muffin.

It’s been a week since I last posted, an unusually long time for me, but I had a good excuse.  For the better part of last week I have been on Isle Royale, or traveling to get there and home again.  If you are not familiar with Isle Royale-don’t be ashamed, most people aren’t-it is a large island in the middle of Lake Superior.  To access the island one must travel to the northern most tip of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan then take a 3-5 hour ferry ride out into the lake.  It is truly one of the remotest places in the continuous 48.  As such it is the least visited National Park, making it a haven for those seeking solitude and nature.  It is also an important research center for many scientists wishing to study wildlife, their interactions with their environments and mankind’s impact on that environment.  It is also amazingly beautiful!  It is no wonder that, although it is the least visited National Park, it also has the highest return rate. So what prompted this journey to this remote island?  A wedding of course!  Both my brother and wife have spent numerous summers working on the island as park rangers.  They met on the island, got engaged on the island and felt that the island was the most appropriate place to exchange their vows.  It was a small, intimate wedding held on the shores of one of the 400+ smaller islands that surround the large one.  I’ve been in weddings large and small, extravagant and simple, but this one was one of the most perfect ceremonies I have ever had the pleasure to witness.  For those of you thinking what a great idea for a wedding, please realize that the park discourages larger groups due to their impact on the environment and you won’t find any amenities.  Remember this is first and foremost a nature reserve and everything they do revolves around that. (continue reading…)

Although we live in Fond du Lac, WI it has been a number of years since we have attended Walleye Weekend, Fond du Lac’s biggest festival of the year. Walleye Weekend got its start in 1978, two years after Mercury Marine (the boat makers) started sponsoring the Mercury National Walleye Tournament, and important fishing tournament on the pro circuit and the largest walleye tournament in the country, attracting 300 teams. The tournament takes place on Lake Winnebago, on which Fond du Lac rests on its southernmost shore. In fact Fond du Lac means “foot of the lake” in French.

The festival that has grown up around this fishing tournament has expanded over the years and now covers most of Lakeside Park’s 400+ acres, offering a little something for everyone, from live animal shows to national music acts to local sports tournaments to family oriented activities of all kinds, and let’s not forget about the food. Food is the real reason for the Walleye Weekend festival. While the festival may not offered the large selection of foods that many other fairs do, what it does offered is standard Wisconsin fare, done up right. Of course, this being Wisconsin, the beer stands are plentiful and open with the opening of the festival each day, no waiting until noon here in Wisconsin. Got to love that! There’s roasted corn on the cob, funnel cakes, burgers and hot dogs. There is also the standard brat, to be found at every festival in Wisconsin, Walleye weekend being no exception. While not imaginative, it’s hard to be beat a good brat, grilled over charcoal, while walking around an open air festival. And what would Walleye Weekend be with out walleye. I ate a killer walleye sandwich made up of a 6 or 7 ounce piece of walleye set on a 6 inch sub rolls and served unadorned except for a smear of tartar sauce. While the fish was just slightly overcooked it was beautifully breaded with a light hand, providing a thin crisp crust which held the fish together. One of the local Kiwanis clubs also claims to serve the World’s Largest Walleye Fish Fry every year at the event, offering two sizes of walleye dinners, both of which are big enough to satiate even the most hungry. I did miss the Cream Puffs, another Wisconsin tradition at fairs. Whether I just missed them or they didn’t make an appearance I’m not sure, but I was looking forward to one. I guess I will just have to wait until the Wisconsin State Fair to satisfy that craving.

While Walleye Weekend has come and gone this year, set your calendars to visit next year. It runs on either the first or second weekend of June. Come and join the approximately 100,000 people who visit the event each year.