In Your Face, Second Place!

I did it. I finally won a contest … Like, first place won! Our friends, Missy and Kelly, hosted the second annual Taps 'n' Apps Challenge (beer and appetizer pairing) and Morgan and I took home the big prize!

You may recall last year’s string of second-place finishes; gougeres (from the first Taps 'n' Apps Challenge), crabaroni and cheese, and caprese burgers. Frankly, it was getting a little ridiculous and to that streak, I say good riddance.

When we were driving home from the party, Morgan said, “Honey, I know what it is … the key to winning is inspiration. We just need to continually be inspired.”

After I almost spit out my coffee upon realizing that I’m married to Joe Paterno, I decided he was right. All we needed to do was travel halfway across the world to find and “experience” a first-place worthy recipe.

Our friend Natalie first introduced us to Obatzda in Munich this summer. It’s a super decadent cheese spread, very popular in Bavaria, served with big soft pretzels at all the beer gardens. While we were gobbling it down in Hofbräuhaus München, we were actually chatting about this party and hoping Missy and Kelly would host round two, knowing (or at least really, really hoping) we had found a winner.

Now, even just reading the ingredient list might give you a mild heart attack, but don’t freak out. It’s not “everyday” food and if you’re already chugging beer, who’s counting calories? So mash up your cheese, butter and beer, and go to town. My friend Emily pointed out that it’s perfect football food, and I totally agree. Our other piece of luck — aside from finding the inspiration — came in the form of living close to the best grocery store in the world, Central Market. Special props to their beer buyer, a very wise man who chose to import Hofbräu hefeweizen. When I saw it on the shelf, I suddenly heard angels singing and knew God was smiling on us. I think our outfits helped the cause, too.

We did have some serious competition (you can read all about it here), especially the mini carne asada, green chili, spicy caramelized onion and feta paninis — my personal favorite — and the tough game made the win that much sweeter. The paninis won best stand-alone appetizer, the other category, and rightfully so. Droooool. Missy also whipped up some terrific pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. So cute!
So without further ado, I give you Obatzda, which we paired with the oh-so-great Hofrbräu hefeweizen. I recommend using a food scale to make Obatzda, since I don't have the volume measurements. It's truly a "to taste" mixture. This is as accurate as I can come to what we entered. It's a lot of adding, tasting, mixing, adding some more, etc. ...

Pair this with Hofrbräu hefeweizen for a true winning combination.

Obatzda

• 500g ripe Camembert (Cambozola is the commonly-found imported Bavarian Camembert)
• 40g soft butter
• 200g cream cheese (e.g., Philadelphia)
• ½ red onion, finely diced
• Salt, black pepper to taste (Cambozola is already super salty, but some American Camembert needs extra salt)
• 1 to 2 Tbsp. sweet paprika
• 6-8 Tbsp. wheat beer (or to taste)
• Caraway seeds
• Soft pretzels for serving (in Munich, they always serve Obatzda with thinly sliced red onion rounds, too, but I wasn’t sure how to eat them)

Let the butter and cheese come to room temperature, mash the first seven ingredients together and top with caraway seeds. Best if it rests for a day in the fridge so the flavors can meld.

I left my heart at the farmer's market

Farmer's market season is winding to a close in the Seattle area, which makes me very sad because I didn't visit nearly as many (make that none, to be exact) as I intended this summer. Since last weekend marked the second to last at the Woodinville, Wash. location, I decided to spend some time there with my friend Rebecca on Saturday.

The weather was gorgeous and the woman working the Classic Kettle Korn booth couldn't have been nicer. She invited me to take some close-ups of the corn when she found out I was just there to have fun with my camera. I also picked up some phenomenal $5 flowers (I still can't get over the amazingly low price) and the last pint of fresh blueberries I will probably enjoy for many, many chilly months. That's OK, though, onto the squash and root vegetables!

Crazy about Kladdkaka

While Morgan’s Swedish cousins were visiting this summer, they made a really simple and incredibly delicious dessert. Imagine two thin and perfectly chewy fudge brownies, filled with fresh whipped cream and blueberries. I have made it several times since they left — it’s so fun to discover a new, easy and tasty recipe that everyone loves. One of the best parts is how well the leftovers hold up in the refrigerator. This also makes it really dangerous because it tends to stick around and tempt you night after night. We took it up to our family cabin on Fourth of July and unfortunately, the refrigerator was turned up a bit high and the whipped cream began freezing. It thawed when we took it out, which left a bit of a runny and grainy texture, but that didn’t stop anyone from going to town! The cake is good enough to eat on its own without the filling, too.
I hope you like it as much as we do!

Kladdkaka (Swedish sticky chocolate cake)

Ingredients
Cake (this makes one cake — to make the “sandwich” you will need two cakes)
2 eggs
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 Tbsp cocoa powder
1 “good pinch” of salt
2/3 cup plain flour
100 grams melted butter (about 1 Tbsp. less than a full stick of butter)

Filling and topping (this fills two cakes and makes one “sandwich”)
1 cup heavy cream
1 pint fresh blueberries
Powdered sugar for whipped cream and dusting cake

Directions
Preheat the oven to 395 degrees F.

Mix all the cake ingredients in a bowl until moistened, make sure to not whisk / add air! Place a Silpat mat or parchment paper on a large baking sheet and pour (or "plop," rather, it's quite thick ...) the mixture into a round. Literally, just put the batter directly onto the mat and it will form a circle on its own. Don’t use a pan, or it will get too thick. Bake for 15 minutes.

The cake should seem very soft when you take it out; the outside edge will harden as it cools down. The center should be very gooey, but not to the point of being wet / raw.

Set cake(s) on wire racks to cool.

Once cakes are fully cooled, whip the cream to desired thickness and sweeten to taste with powdered sugar. Fold-in washed blueberries.

Spread whipped cream and blueberries on one cake, layering the second cake on top, making a “sandwich.” Dust with powdered sugar.

Slice into wedges and serve.

Store any leftovers (what a novel thought …) in the refrigerator.

Hillary's Pasta Salad

Pasta salad is Morgan's absolute favorite "thing" in my regular repertoire. We usually have it at home as a main course, but it's also our side dish go-to for pot lucks and barbecues.

I love it, too, but it's so easy that I feel a little disappointed when he says it's his favorite. I put so much more effort into other dishes, but I guess the upside is that he's easy to please. I've tweaked this over the years to get it just right and it gets rave reviews. (Didn't have an avocado the day the photo was taken, so that's missing in this shot).

This is a staple in our house and the leftovers are perfect for lunches.

Hillary's Pasta Salad

Salad Ingredients:
1 16 oz. box tri-colored rotini pasta
8 oz. light Italian dry salami, diced
8 oz. pepper jack cheese, cubed to 1/4" (small cubes)
1/2 red onion, finely diced (optional)
1 large cucumber, peeled and diced
1 red, yellow or orange bell pepper, diced
1 (2.25 oz.) can sliced black olives, drained
1 12 oz. package whole grape tomatoes (Do NOT cut these up, or they will get slimy and gross and your leftovers will be contaminated with mushy tomatoes.)
3 Tbsp. chives, minced
1 jar (6 oz.) marinated artichoke hearts, drained and roughly chopped

Dressing:
12 oz. balsamic vinaigrette salad dressing (I like Good Seasons Italian, made with olive oil and balsamic vinegar)

Add the following to the bottle of salad dressing and mix well (the Good Seasons cruet makes this step especially easy, since you can just add and shake):

2 Tbsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. white pepper
1 Tbsp. dried basil
1 Tbsp. dried oregano

Topping:
½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 avocado, diced

Directions:

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil.

Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain and rinse twice in cold water.

While pasta is cooking, whisk together dressing ingredients in separate bowl until well-blended, or shake up your Good Seasons cruet. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine cooked pasta, salami, pepper jack cheese, red onion, cucumber, red bell pepper, olives, whole tomatoes, chives, artichoke hearts and dressing.

Toss well to evenly distribute the dressing.

Top with diced avocado and Parmesan cheese.

Refrigerate at least one hour before serving.

Summer Leftovers

I was sorting through our summer photos and came across the main course from my brother’s birthday dinner that I haven’t yet shared with you. Since there will be a few more weeks of warm-ish weather, I figure it’s not too late to give this one last whirl in at attempt to stretch out the last few days of sun.

Ethan specifically requested something healthy, so I instinctively turned to my summer issue of Eating Well. We enjoyed this dish, but I felt the watermelon made for too “wet” a salsa. It ran all over our plates and was super messy, even with serving it in the butter lettuce leaves. Next time I’ll make it with mango, or a firmer melon, like honeydew. The watermelon lent nice color, but that’s about it. Definitely had to eat the salsa right away, too, as the watermelon turned to mush by the next day and I had to throw it out. And, it made a ton, so I was sad to see it go to waste. I’m guessing Mango would hold up for at least two days.

So, yes, I recommend this recipe, but with some modifications.

Grilled Shrimp with Melon & Pineapple Salsa

4 servings

Active Time: 45 minutes

Total Time: 1 1/4 hours (plus marinating time — 4 to 24 hours)

Equipment
Four 8- to 10-inch skewers

Ingredients
1 pound raw shrimp, (16-20 per pound), peeled and deveined (see Note)
2 tablespoons canola oil, divided
2 teaspoons finely grated fresh ginger, divided
2 teaspoons minced seeded jalapeño, divided
2 cups finely diced firm ripe melon (note: the print edition of the magazine recommends watermelon — too watery! I think mango or a firmer melon, like honeydew, would work and taste better)
1 cup finely diced fresh pineapple
1/4 cup finely diced red bell pepper
1/4 cup finely diced green bell pepper
1/4 cup finely diced red onion
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh mint, plus 4 sprigs for garnish
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
4 large lettuce leaves, such as Boston, romaine or iceberg (I used butter lettuce)
4 lime wedges

Preparation
Combine shrimp, 1 tablespoon oil, 1 teaspoon ginger and 1 teaspoon jalapeño in a medium bowl.

Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours or up to 24 hours.

Combine melon, pineapple, red and green bell pepper, onion, vinegar, chopped mint and salt in a large bowl with the remaining 1 tablespoon oil, 1 teaspoon ginger and 1 teaspoon jalapeño.

Refrigerate until cold, about 30 minutes or up to 4 hours.

About 20 minutes before serving, preheat grill to high.

Thread the shrimp onto skewers, piercing each twice, once through the tail end and once near the head end.

Grill the shrimp until pink and just cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes per side. When cool enough to handle, slide the shrimp off the skewers.

To serve, arrange one large lettuce leaf on each dinner plate. Spoon salsa onto the lettuce and top with shrimp. Garnish each serving with a lime wedge and a mint sprig, if using.

Tips & Notes

Make Ahead Tip
Marinate the shrimp (Step 1) for up to 24 hours. Cover and refrigerate the salsa (Step 2) for up to 4 hours.

Note
To devein shrimp, use a paring knife to make a slit along the length of the shrimp. Under running water, remove the tract with the knife tip.

Nutrition
Per serving: 211 calories; 8 g fat (1 g sat, 5 g mono); 168 mg cholesterol; 16 g carbohydrates; 19 g protein; 2 g fiber; 352 mg sodium; 501 mg potassium.

Tour d’Omdal 2009

We went to Europe for two weeks at the end of August, starting with Morgan’s cousin Helena’s wedding in Sweden (we spent most of our time in Stockholm, but the wedding and reception took place in Vaxholm and Finnhamn); followed by stops in Paris, Brussels and Munich. It could not have been a better vacation and I'm so excited to tell you all about it!

Stockholm
It was great to see Sweden first-hand and experience some of Morgan’s heritage. I failed to meet one Swede who didn’t speak near-perfect English, which amazed me and made it much easier on my end — props to that socialist education system. Although, I have to say I choked a bit on the 25 percent tax. At least my money is helping contribute to an easy English-speaking tourist experience, though, right? Morgan was able to speak / practice quite a bit of Swedish in restaurants and asking for directions, too, which was nice and the Swedes were all very patient and helpful. One waiter even taught us how to be “cool” and ask for another beer without sounding like we were ordering from a 1960s Swedish grammar manual. Don’t ask me how, because I already forgot. I think maybe we ordered too many.
Helena and Daniels’s wedding was absolutely gorgeous and the reception was held on an island in the Stockholm archipelago. We took a chartered ferry to the site and spent the night in a large youth hostel. Dinner was held in an old, rustic barn that was decorated so beautifully — like something out of a magazine. We feasted on crayfish, a summer delicacy that as far as I can tell every citizen is required to love, lest they be deported. Now, don’t get me wrong, crayfish are tasty. They are similar to mini lobsters, but man, (and please pardon me in advance for sounding like a gluttonous American), it is a seriously long journey to satiety. You have to work very, very hard to get a full belly on these little guys and slurping on claws so energetically that your eyeballs may pop out just really isn’t my thing. After three, I moved onto the roast beef option, which was delicious and filled me up enough to continue throwing back the obligatory schnapps and attempting to sing traditional Swedish drinking songs in my best Greta Garbo-inspired accent. It. Was. Awesome. (And by “it,” I mean everything.) Paris
Next up was Paris, which we arrived in the afternoon following the wedding. A little more of a language barrier, but I was able to bust-out enough of my now anciently-learned French to get by. We took a taxi to our hotel from the airport and the sight of the sparkling Eiffel Tower literally brought tears to my eyes when we rounded the corner into the city (it’s rigged with lights that make it shimmer for 10 minutes twice each evening). I can't fully describe the magic, but Paris is every bit as romantic as fabled. We only had three days there, unfortunately, which was way, way too short. I’m already longing to return and immerse myself in food — and by food, I mean wine and cheese — history and ambiance. It’s truly a dreamy place and I think everyone should go there at least once. Brussels
Paris was followed by Brussels; a quick one-day stop via the Thalys train. Morgan’s cousin Helena and her new husband, Daniel, were gracious enough to let us stay in their flat (they’re currently living in Belgium), since they were still away for the wedding and associated activities. Brussels was filled with eating, drinking, more eating and then a little more drinking. The food here is good, folks. The scenery is just OK and can be done in a day (someone told us the Mannequin Pis, along with the Glockenspiel in Munich, were only famous because of Rick Steves and I now tend to agree), but it was definitely a good thing we didn’t stay longer or none of my pants would have fit for the trip home. Street waffles, chocolate, beer, lambic, more beer … you get the picture. A foodie heaven, for sure. I discovered stoemp served with Belgian beer-beef stew and my quest is to find and master a good recipe this winter.
Munich
Our final stop was in Munich to visit Morgan’s friend, Natalie, who lived with his family in the early 2000s while completing an internship in Redmond, Wash. She has a terrific flat near downtown and was nice enough to put us up for four nights in her bed, while sleeping on the couch. We owe her in a big way and hope she will visit us in Seattle so we can repay the favor. Although Paris was the most “romantic” stop on our trip, Munich wins the most fun award without so much as a challenge. Natalie was a great host and kicked off our time in Munich with an authentic beer garden stop on our first night. The next morning, we went on a really entertaining bike tour — mostly entertaining because my bike didn’t fit during the first half of the ride and I almost crashed into a delivery truck. It is really hard to get started on and skillfully ride a bike when your feet can’t reach the ground. FYI. Thank God, a very kind and generous woman whose bike didn’t have a high cross-bar traded me and the rest of the afternoon was much more successful. The tour also included Morgan jumping into the Isar River (wearing his shorts) with a bunch of naked locals watching from the shore (those Munichians really like to take their clothes off), trying to ride the bikes through traffic after yes, you guessed it, another beer garden stop and making friends with some Americans from Florida over more beer. We also bought some stylish European clothing (I'm in the process of getting my items hemmed since no European women are apparently shorter than 5'9") and finished off the trip with an afternoon at Hofbräuhaus (more beer).

No self-respecting local will set foot in Hofbräuhaus, so Natalie didn’t join us there. She is very proud of the fact that she has never once visited and didn’t want to break her streak. That’s OK. More beer for us (like we needed any more at this point)! There is a lot of beer in Munich if you haven’t already gathered. They need help drinking it, so we obliged. Don’t judge. When in Rome … or Munich … or Belgium … or Paris … or Stockholm.
Europe, I ♥ you.

America, the land of Corny McFatterson

I watched a funny, disturbing and occasionally nauseating documentary a few weeks ago, “King Corn.” The film traces the invasive nature of corn into America’s food system — mainly via high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) — its role in the obesity epidemic and the seemingly backwards and frankly, upsetting government-subsidized program that fuels the growth of trillions of bushels of “non-edible” corn in Iowa each year. The mountains — literally — of excess corn go on for days because the silos are so full … Why isn’t the government subsidizing the growth of heirloom tomatoes, radicchio, and kumquats? I am convinced they are afraid we would wither away to mere shadows of our former corn-fed selves. Especially disconcerting is the revelation that the average American’s biological makeup is about 40 percent corn-based. That is, the amount of your body made from corn, a.k.a. your corn carbon count. “You are what you eat” is right on. Corn is in everything — even Tylenol!

I like to think I eat fairly well; watching what I put in my mouth and reading ingredient lists, but this film set-off screeching alarm bells and has caused me to become especially cautious / conscious as of late — issues such as buying local and eating non-processed foods are becoming more of a priority. The film also profiles the slow extinction of the American family homestead and it’s terribly, terribly depressing. I encourage you to support your local family farms — even if your pocketbook and/or your husband complain! On the upside, however, some corn has its place. We just need to steer farther away from the variety that finds its way into our food via the HFCS highway and stick to the unprocessed stuff. Here’s a great recipe that I’ve made a few times this summer (including for my brother's birthday dinner) — thanks to my friend, Jen, a fabulous cook, who introduced me to it. The salad is crisp, tangy and refreshing and pairs perfectly with just about anything else you throw on the grill. It may be the most perfect summer side dish I’ve ever encountered. Bobby Flay definitely moved up a notch in my book with this one.

Grilled Corn and Tomato-Sweet Onion Salad with Fresh Basil Dressing and Crumbled Blue Cheese

Ingredients
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
1 teaspoon sugar
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
8 ears corn, grilled in the husk, kernels removed
1 sweet onion (such as Vidalia or Walla Walla), halved and thinly sliced
1 pint Sweet 100 tomatoes or cherry tomatoes, halved
8 ounces blue cheese, crumbled
Fresh basil sprigs, for garnish

Directions
Combine the vinegar, basil, sugar, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1/4 teaspoon of pepper and oil in a blender and blend until smooth. Can be made two hours in advance and refrigerated. Bring to room temperature before using.

Combine the corn kernels, onion and tomato in a large bowl. Add the dressing and toss to coat, season with salt and pepper. Let sit at room temperature 30 minutes before serving. Top with crumbled blue cheese and garnish with basil sprigs just before serving. Salad can be made one day in advance and served cold or at room temperature.