I don’t like to get political on this blog, which is devoted to food and not politics, but I couldn’t stand by and not comment on the recent happenings here in Wisconsin. We recently saw the passage of bill that would allow the sale of raw milk, to consumers, in the state of Wisconsin (currently it is illegal). Unfortunately, our governor, in his “wisdom,” decided to veto the legislation. Yet another way our government plays babysitter, not allowing us to make these kind of decisions for ourselves. Governor Doyle claims he vetoed the bill due to the concerns of the public health sector, while proponents of the bill claim he was swayed by the lobbyists of the large dairy agribusinesses. No matter what the case, I disagree with his veto and those that chose to buy and/or sell raw milk will continue to be “criminals” in the eyes of our government.

Like so many other things we do, there is risk involved with consuming raw milk. But shouldn’t it be up to the individual to decide what is right for them? Is it the government’s job to “protect us from ourselves” and act as our babysitter?

While I could rant on and on about this, I won’t. If you wish to read more about this issue you can check out the news article here. Hopefully, this will come up again in January once Wisconsin’s new governor is in place. And hopefully, this time the governor will see fit to let us make our own decisions.

America has a passion for grilled cheese sandwiches. From the standard home fare of American cheese stuffed between white bread to the exotic creations dreamt up in fine dining establishments across this country, we can’t seem to get enough of this humble sandwich. Of course, in finer dining establishments they aren’t called grilled cheese sandwiches, but rather they are called paninis. No one in their right mind is going to drop $8 or $9 or more for a “grilled cheese”, but give it an Italian name and stuff it with some roasted veggies and Italian cheese and we’ll snatch them up!

Don’t get me wrong; I love grilled cheese sandwiches in all their guises. There is something just so very satisfying about toasty bread oozing stringy cheese. I’ve mostly graduated from that childhood standard of American processed cheese and Wonder bread, though sometimes even that is just what I am looking for, to more exotic flavors. Gone is the Wonder bread, replaced by sourdough or a hearty whole grain bread. American processed cheese has been replaced by a world of cheese, sometimes something mild and gooey such as fresh mozzarella, sometimes it’s something tangy like asiago or a well aged cheddar and sometimes it’s something pungent (or stinky as my daughter might say) such as a well ripened Gorgonzola, or better yet a mix of cheeses, providing a number of flavors and textures all at once.

Some days I like my grilled cheese plain, with nothing but cheese. On other days, I like to stuff my sandwiches full with meats, vegetables, or even fruits, all depending on my tastes and what cheeses I have hanging around.

Today’s sandwich was a last minute creation, when my wife asked me to pick something up, at the store, for dinner. I would love to be able to tell you that the roasted peppers, marinated artichokes, and roasted tomatoes packed in olive oil were my creations, but they weren’t. This was dinner “on the fly,” after a hard day at work.

Living in Wisconsin, I would be remiss if I didn’t tout the cheeses made here, in this state. Wisconsin gets kind of a bad rap, I should know, I used to kind of laugh at it before I moved here, but this state produces some extraordinary cheeses. Wisconsin has some of the best cheesemakers in the world. It is easy to focus on the vast quantities of bland, “American” cheeses this state produces to supply our countries demand for boring, tasteless cheese, but beyond that there are many great cheesemakers here producing cheeses that are well thought of and sought out the world over. The fresh mozzarella I used comes from Belgioioso. It’s a cow’s milk mozzarella with a delicate milk flavor and a nice soft texture that melts well. To give the sandwich a counterpoint I sprinkled some grated Bellavitano cheese over top. Bellavitano is a line of cheeses from Sartori, another Wisconsin cheesemaker. Paul Sartori emigrated to this country, from a small village just outside of Asiago, Italy in the early part of the 20th century. By 1939 he had started his own cheesemaking company, which eventually became Sartori Foods. They have always focused on Italian and Italian influenced cheeses. One of their newest cheeses is Bellavitano, and I find it’s flavor profile to be somewhere between asiago and parmesan. Not quite as sharp or as dry as parmesan, but a bit more assertive than asiago. This one was then finished off with a soaking in balsamic vinegar adding another layer of flavor and a hint of sweetness, a perfect mix with the fresh mozzarella.

I call this an Antipasto Panini as most of the items in this sandwich you would find on a standard antipasto board.

Antipasto Panini
for each sandwich

4 oz. fresh mozzarella, sliced 1/4 inch thick
1oz. Bellavitano Balsamic cheese, grated (substitute asiago in place if you can’t find Bellavitano by Sartori)
2 slices prosciutto
1 oz. roasted peppers, cut into julienne
2 oz. roasted tomatoes, tossed in olive oil with minced garlic, basil and oregano
2 oz. marinated artichoke hearts
2 slices sourdough bread, at least 1/2 inch thick
olive oil

Preheat a panini grill. Meanwhile place mozzarella on one slice of bread, covering completely. Cover with prosciutto. Top prosciutto with peppers, artichokes and tomatoes. Sprinkle Bellavitano or asiago over top of everything. Cover with second slice of bread. Brush outside of sandwich with olive oil and grill until browned on the outside and the cheese has melted.

Last Saturday I took my daughter out to the woods. Not only would I get a chance to spend some time with my 3 year old as we stomped through the woods, but it also gave my wife a little quite time without the 2 of us. Besides, though a little early, conditions seemed pretty good for hunting down some morels. The trip was both a success and a failure. No morels were found, but the land around the creek was bursting with ramps (wild leeks) of which I grabbed a few handfuls. I’m planning on heading back sometime this weekend to dig some more.

I also got to spend some time in woods with my daughter, which was a delight. She bounced along the paths, stopping at every other flower to point it out to me and to tell me how beautiful it was. Squirrels and birds of various sizes and colors captured her attention at every bend, though it’s surprising that anything ventured within 1/2 a mile of us as she babbled constantly and squealed and laughed with delight at every step. We spent 10 minutes following a toad I had scared up while hunting for morels and another 5 inspecting a dead fish that had washed up on the banks of the creek, though not too closely. She threw rocks at the water and chased after the occasional lone duck, finding fun and delight at every step. I found myself thinking about what a huge difference just a year makes in the life of one so young. Last year at this time, the woods, though wondrous to her, definitely did not hold the same allure that they do now. She explored, but never strayed to far. This time I had to race to keep up and constantly warn her about getting too far ahead. Oh, to be 3 again and once again view the world with awe and wonder, instead of the eyes of a jaded, relatively cynical 40 year old.

Crab Stuffed Shrimp with Linguine and Ramps
serves 4

6oz crabmeat
2 Tbsp. onion, minced
1 Tbsp. celery,minced
1 Tbsp. red bell pepper, minced
8 Club crackers, crushed (or 12 Ritz crackers)
2 Tbsp. mayonnaise
salt
pepper
12 shrimp, large (U-10′s are best)
2 Tbsp. butter melted
12oz linguine
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup white wine
1-2 Tbsp. tarragon, minced
1 cup ramps, cleaned and chopped
1 1/2 cup cream
1/4 cup parmesan cheese

Combine, crabmeat, onion, celery, pepper, crackers and mayo together in a bowl and mix well. Season with salt and pepper. Preheat oven to 450°F. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta, per the directions on the package making sure to cook it al dente. Peel and devein the shrimp, making sure you cut only deep enough to remove the vein. Flip the shrimp over and cut open the shrimp from the underside, being careful not to cut all the way through.

Divide the crabmeat mixture into 12 portions and form into a loose ball. Place crabmeat on butterflied shrimp and curl tail over to hold the crab in place.

Once pasta is done drain in a colander and rinse with cool water to stop the cooking. Place the shrimp on a cookie tray, drizzle with the butter and place in the oven cooking for 7-9 minutes or until the shrimp is done. Meanwhile, in a large, nonreactive skillet place the wine and the garlic. Reduce over high heat until the wine is reduced by 2/3′s. Add the cream and reduce by 1/2. Add the tarragon and ramps, cook for 1 minute then add the pasta. Heat through, add the parmesan cheese and adjust seasoning with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Divide the pasta among 4 plates mounding it in the center. Place three stuffed shrimp around the pasta and serve.

Mint

Despite the near blizzard conditions I experienced in the early morning hours of April 8th, as I drove to work, Spring is starting to really make its presence known here in Wisconsin. And it’s about time!!!! Today, I took the first good look at my herb garden to see what was starting to sprout. Most of my perennial herbs have broken soil. The tarragon, always an early starter, is already a good 3-4″inches high, while the sage has just started to sprout out from the woody remains of last season. The mint, once a joy, and now a beast that needs constant taming less it take over everything, has popped up all over the herb and flower garden. While my lemon balm, my favorite herb for herbal iced tea has just barely peaked out of its winter rest below the soil, the rhubarb is already looking robust and I look forward to my first pie of the season. Rounding out the rest of the lineup is my thyme plant. It’s hit or miss whether it will come back. Some years it makes it through the winter while in others I need to replant, unlike it’s cousin, the creeping thyme. This herb is more of a ground cover and while it can be used culinarily, its flavor is not nearly as refined as that of other thymes. It is also much hardier than other thyme varieties and comes back year after year.

I haven’t decided what to add to the garden this year, but a basil plant or 2 usually make the cut as does cilantro, both of its leaves and for the seeds (coriander). This year I might add some lavender again, another plant that borders on being hardy in this area. It survives mild to normal winters here in Wisconsin, but won’t make it if the winter is harsher than usual. Ultimately though, the decision won’t be made until I get out to the nursery and see what strikes my fancy at that time.

No recipe today, but look for these herbs in the future as I’m sure they will play prominent roles in a number of recipes to come. Until then enjoy a few pictures of my freshly sprouted plants.

Lemon Balm

Tarragon

Sage

Rhubarb

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.

Last night Wanda and I headed up to Appleton, WI to attend the first “Grilling with Beer” cook-off presented by Wisconsin Distributors and held at the Radisson Paper Valley Hotel. It may have not been the most romantic of dates, but we were childless for the next few hours and what’s not to enjoy about beer and grilling? The weather was perfect, warm but not too hot, and the courtyard of the hotel was filled with the mingled scents of grilling meat and charcoal. The cook-off featured 10 chefs, from various styles of restaurants. Each chef was to prepare at least part of their dish on grills during the event and each chef was given a specific beer which they were to use in the creation of their dish, as well as pour during the event. The beers ranged from the mundane such as “Bud Light Lime” and “Landshark” to quirky such as Bud’s newest, “Wild Blue” a blueberry flavored beer, to sublime such as the 2 offerings from New Belgium, “Fat Tire” and “1554.” The food too, ran the gamut from uninspired and poorly executed, such as the boneless rib on a stick that was so tough I couldn’t chew through it try as I might, to well thought out and perfectly presented.

Of all the dishes I tried, three stood out among the rest and 1 tried really hard but just fell short. That dish was a flank steak served with basmati rice and an Indian inspired sauce. Since they were pairing with an IPA (Indian Pale Ale) I thought the Indian influence would be nice, but over cooked basmati and the choice of beef made the dish fail. How often do you see beef in Indian cuisine. They would have been better off with Lamb, which would have been great, or even chicken or pork-anything but beef. The three stand outs that night were the “Urban Shrimp with a 3-1-2 Punch,” the Grilled Pork Eye presented by “Big Tomatoes,” and the Grilled Elk with New Belgium’s “1554.” The shrimp were butterflied open, stuffed with a sliver of jalapeno, wrapped in bacon then grilled and glazed with a sweet BBQ sauce accented with Goose Island’s 312 Urban Wheat Beer. It’s only failing was the couscous salad it was served on. The Israeli couscous had been over cooked and had turned mushy, so on my second trip up to try a shrimp I just tossed the salad aside and ate the shrimp. “Big Tomatoes” Grilled pork was sauced with a Pomegranate BBQ Sauce accented with New Belgium’s “Fat Tire” and served with Grilled Corn and Poblano Ragout. The grilled elk, presented by Stone Cellar Brew Pub had been marinated in “1554″ and served with 2 sauces and marinated artichokes all of which had included “1554″ in some way or another.

We never did get to see who eventually won, though my guess is the shrimp dish, as our time was running out and our daughter was waiting for us to pick her up. We reluctantly grabbed one last nibble, cast our votes for the people’s choice and headed home.

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.

One thing I’ve learned, living here in Wisconsin, is that this state is obsessed with Bratwursts. It’s a passion that seems on the verge of mania. If you think I exaggerate I invite any of you to drive through any number of towns on any given weekend and you will see plenty of evidence. On any weekend from May through October you would be hard pressed to find a town that doesn’t have at least one “Brat Fry” going on, and oftentimes larger towns will have 2, 3, 4 or more going on simultaneously. These are usually fundraisers for community or high school groups from the Lions, to Rotary, to Band Boosters. The obsession doesn’t stop there either. Ask most people what is on the menu for their summer celebration and I bet brats are included somewhere on that list. On nice weekends throughout the summer it almost becomes impossible to escape the sweet smell of brats sizzling over an outdoor grill. I can almost envision the entire state being blanketed by a giant cloud of smoke from all the grills frying up the thousands upon thousands of brats required to satiate this state’s collective hunger for these humble sausages.

Brat making in Wisconsin is a local affair. Sure there are a number of companies mass producing brats for nationwide distribution and you’ll find these same brands in any of the large grocery stores in any town in Wisconsin, but Wisconsin is still one area where local butchers still flourish and most of these butchers produce their own brats. These handcrafted sausages are flavorful and complex, easily rivaling any of the great fresh sausages of Europe. Brats make a great addition to a traditional Choucroute and bring a wonderful flavor to any recipe calling for sausage, but grilling is where the brat really shines. There are 3 basic philosophies to grilling brats: 1. is to gently grill the brats over medium heat. Cook them too quickly or at too high a heat and they burst open spilling their flavorful juices and fat all over the grill, 2. is to first poach the brats in a mixture of beer and onions until cooked all the way through and finishing them on the grill, and finally, 3. is to first grill the brats quickly then finish them in the beer and onion poaching liquid. I prefer the straight grilling method though if I am not serving them directly off of the grill I do place them in a warm bath of beer and onions to keep them warm.

Most local grocery stores sell “brat buns” which are basically a larger version of a hot dog bun. That’s one of things I hated about living in Chicago and trying to make Italian Sausage Sandwiches; you either had the choice of hot dog buns which were too small or sub rolls, which were too large and, oftentimes, too hard. These brat buns perfectly fit the larger sausage. As far as toppings are concerned, brats should be topped with mustard, onions and sauerkraut, in my opinion. Forget the ketchup, it has no place on top of a brat. Use it for your burger and fries. One word about sauerkraut; sauerkraut should always be rinsed before using whether you are serving it cold or hot. Most people miss this step and end up serving a product that is so overpowering it obscures most of the other flavors in the dish.

The Beer Braised Onion recipe I offer below is a great accompaniment to a brat. This recipe was created with brats in mind. It would also make a great topping for burgers or other grilled sandwiches though if not planning on serving it over brats you might want to consider substituting other flavors for the cinnamon and nutmeg.

Beer Braised Onions

2 Tbsp. Butter
1 large Onion, peeled and cut into a julienne
8 oz. Beer, preferably something a little sweet and malty
2 tsp. Sugar
½ tsp. Salt
½ tsp. Black Pepper
1 pinch Cinnamon
½ pinch Nutmeg

Melt the butter in s sauté pan and add the onions. Season with the salt and pepper and cook until wilted and just starting to brown. Add the beer and simmer uncovered until the liquid is reduced by half. Add the sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg and continue to cook until almost all the liquid has evaporated, stirring regularly to prevent the mixture from burning. Remove from the heat, taste and adjust seasoning to your liking.