Madden's Resort Food & Wine Extravaganza

Quote of the Day:  

They are not long, the days of wine and roses:

Out of a misty dream

Our path emerges for a while, then closes

Within a dream.

The phrase "days of wine and roses" is originally from the poem "Vitae Summa Brevis" by the English writer Ernest Dowson (1867–1900)

I was invited to the Madden's Resort Food and Wine Extravaganza on Saturday night. Guest chefs from the metro joined forces with the on-site chefs at Madden's for a three day event. It included cooking demos, food and wine tasting, and a charity event on Friday night for Kids Against Hunger. I attended the food and wine sampling on Saturday night with my friend and publicist Krista Rolfzen Soukup.

Mary and Krista

We had a blast, not to mention a tasting adventure, at this event. Some of the chefs were really personable, demonstrating their fare with a flair. The line for the scallops from the St. Paul Grill was always long. The flames from their portable grill heated up an already steamy night. 

Adam Bartos, Executive Sous Chef at the St. Paul Grill

He said, "The next time you're down for a show at The Ordway, come to the St. Paul Grill!"

I think we will!

The swordfish and blue crab from Oceanaire were scrumptuous!

John was all smiles and full of information, explaining why this swordfish is the best I've ever tasted!

Playing to the camera. Give him his own show!

Robert Wohlfeil is the Executive Chef at Oceanaire.
They also invited the Biker Chef and me to come enjoy a meal at Oceanaire next time we're in the cities.
After that delicious bite, I'm in!

It's best to go into an event like this with an open mind, willing to expand your tastes. Sometimes, though, the food is just too far off your palate. I did not try the duck or the lamb tartar because I was skeptical from the start, then the women at my table made faces at it. Sorry. I'm a midwestern farm girl. I always feel safer when I see something I might have grown up with. The Chefs at Madden's Resort came through for me!

The best dish of the night...

Pork! 

Farm raised, naturally fed, handled with care, hog.

The man on the left is Lee. He works for the Compart Duroc company. He explained that their pork can be confused with a good Black Angus steak, it's so good. The Biker Chef made a simple sauce to compliment the pork's natural, good flavor. I felt like I was back home on the farm.

While we love to travel to other lands and seasonings, we always feel most at home with the familiar. Food is personal. We want it to taste good and feel good about eating it. We want to know that it was handled the way our grandparents would do it and served with the same affection. That's why they call it "Culinary Arts". It needs to look good and taste good too. And, of course, there is room for creativity, keeping in mind that not every dish is for every eater.

Bob Schuld, Executive Chef at Madden's, and the Fish Guy served chocolate and orange shrimp, an interesting combination of flavors.

Thanks, Bob, for getting us tickets for this event. Thanks, Madden's, for bringing in guest chefs and letting your own chefs shine. Thanks for the fundraiser for Kids Against Hunger. And, thanks to the sweet people at our table who shared the evening, and their tasting opinions, with us!

A good time was had by all! 

I have more pictures and a few side notes (dishes) to share, but this post is getting too long, and I seem to have overloaded blogger. Actually, I've been having some computer issues lately. Hoping to get those remedied soon!

Go. Create. Inspire!

Journaling Prompt:  What's the weirdest thing you ever tasted?

First Ever Waffle Sunday

Quote of the Day:  You should eat a waffle! You can't be sad if you eat a waffle! Lauren Myracle

Waffles are just awesome bread. John Green
(quotes found on Goodreads)

 

My church closed and I'm feeling a little sad, so I said to my sister, "Let's do something fun on Sunday so I don't feel so sad about not having my church anymore." We chose to have our First Ever Waffle Sunday. We actually have grandiose ideas about Waffle Sundays for our future home of the Primo Art Spa. We'll call it Waffles and Words and people can stop over for these most delicious waffles and have a chance to share their writing - poetry or stories, or have open mic where they could sing or read. I think it would be a hoot.

 

For our First Ever Waffle Sunday, we invited Krista, the publicist extraordinaire, and her four children. Our waffle party had rave reviews. I'll give you a pictoral recap.

 

Here is the recipe for Liege Belgian Waffles with Pearl Sugar from Allrecipes. Joy's friend had been to Europe and raved about the delicious waffles there and vowed to come home and recreate, if not perfect, them.

 

Joy, preparing the dough and the waffle iron.

These waffles have yeast in them, so you need to let them rise a little before frying.

 

You need to form the dough, then put it on the waffle iron.

 

The waiting is the hardest part.

When will the green "ready" light come on?

 

We served them with fresh fruit, home-made granola, an easy egg bake, whipped cream and chocolate sauce (genache).

 

Everything was beautiful and tasty.

 

The company was delightful.

 

 

 

When this expands into serving many guests, we'll make up the waffles ahead of time. They freeze well and can be warmed in an oven.

 

In other news: Tonight, the Minnesota Fringe Fest will be doing their lottery and choosing the lucky 165 (out of over 400 entries) productions for the 2013 Fringe Fest. I'm #116. Does that sound like a lucky number? I don't know. I'll reveal the results on Wednesday during the Insecure Writer's Support Group post. Yay, I'll have lots to write about no matter what the results!!!

 

Now, on to creating, dreaming, and discovering.

 

Go. Create. Inspire!

 

Journaling Prompt:  Have you ever tried out a new recipe on friends or family? Are you in for the Fringe Fest lottery? What's your lucky number?

P.S. I'm a little nervous about the Fringe Fest.

Cookie Exchange with Angela Felstad

Quote of the Day: Book trailer for Chaste by Angela Felstad

When he steps into his physics class on the first day of senior year, Quinn Walker is too exhausted from staying up all night with his three-month-old nephew to deal with moral dilemmas. As a devout Mormon who has vowed to wait until marriage for sex, the last thing he needs is a very hot and very sexy Katarina Jackson as his physics partner. Regrettably, he has no choice.

Kat feels invisible in her mansion of a home six months after losing her older brother in a fatal car crash and will do anything to get her parents’ attention. Since her pastor father has no love for Quinn’s “fake” religion and her ex-boyfriend refuses to leave her alone, she makes an impulsive bet with her friends to seduce her holier-than-thou lab partner by Christmas.

Angela Felstad is on a blog tour promoting her YA novel, Chaste. I just started reading it, and I'm already hooked. Angela is an excellent author. I've enjoyed reading her blog for a couple years and find her writing to be thought-provoking and daring. She does a great job of creating sexual tension from the start of the novel. Her characters are well defined and interesting, and the pacing of the story keeps you turning pages.

As a unique way to promote her book and spread holiday cheer, Angela is having us do a virtual cookie exchange. She's asked that reviewers and book promoters include a favorite cookie recipe in their posts.  I chose The Forgotten Kiss. It's such a fitting cookie for this story and the tardiness of my post. I had intended to get this one ready yesterday, but life got in the way, and here it is, afternoon, Midwestern time. I didn't forget, I just got side-tracked! Also, with the theme of this novel, seduction, sexual purity, and desire, what better cookie to represent it?!

Forgotten Kisses (an Aalgaard favorite)
2 egg whites (or three if smaller eggs) beat well on high
add 3/4 cups of sugar, gradually, to eggs and beat about 12 minutes.
Part way through the beating, add a tsp of vanilla, green food coloring, and a pinch of salt.
Mix in mint chocolate chips and drop onto cookie sheet.
Heat oven to 200 degrees. Place cookies in oven and turn off the heat, leave overnight (forget about it until morning), and you should have crisp, but not sugary, mint drop cookies. It's a tricky recipe. Sometimes, they turn out a little chewy. I'm sure weather and ovens make a difference on how they turn out. Our mom leaves the heat on a little while before she turns it off. You'll have to experiment. Like in relationships, you need the right amount of sugar, heat, and cooling off.

You can get more information from Angela's blog. You can order her book through most book sites.

Go. Create. Inspire!
And, find some great books to read in 2013!

Journaling Prompt:  Have you ever paired food with your reading? Or other art? Seems like a delicious relationship.

Potato Dumplings

Quote of the Day:  Dumplings are a memory food. Jane Aalgaard, my mom

We spent the whole Thanksgiving weekend at my parents' farm, preparing food, eating food, cleaning up the food, doing projects, and playing a few games. I made it a point to photograph the process and take some notes. My food focus today is Potato Dumplings, a favorite of folks of the Norwegian descent.

Picture me following my mom around with my camera and notebook, trying desperately to learn how to make the dumplings and record the stories that accompany them. The truth is, I don't know how to make them. Whenever I called Mom up to ask what to do, she would reply, "Oh, just come out here and have them. I was in the mood to make them, anyway." So, I did. The most I've ever done is grind the potatoes.

First, you peel the potatoes. For our Sunday dinner, "Dad stood in the utility room for three quarters of an hour, peeling," said Mom, which was approximately 10 pounds (probably more).

Then, you run them through the grinder.

Mom and Dad grinding the potatoes

 

Close up of the grinder. I have one just like it that I've never used.

I don't even know where it is!

 

Joy, dancing & grinding

 

Mom, preparing the dumpling mixture.

 

I tried to pay attention to Mom as she was mixing the dumplings. Here's her "recipe."

 

Start a big pot of water boiling with a hambone

Peel about 10 pounds of red potatoes

Grind the potatoes

Put in about 2 Tablespoons of salt (You need lots of salt.)

Mom puts in one cup of whole wheat flour and keeps adding white flour "until it's the right consistency."

 

"How much is that, Mom?" I asked.

"Enough flour to hold them together," answered Mom.

 

Also, if you have some leftover, cooled, mashed or boiled potatoes, it is good to add them to the freshly ground ones. They'll stick together better and be lighter. (As if a dumpling could ever be light.)

 

Be sure the broth is boiling hard the whole time that you're adding the dumplings. If the water stops boiling, the dumplings will fall apart and mush to the bottom.

 

Mom's hands forming the dumplings.

 

 

It looks pretty good to me.

 

I think Mom boiled them for about 45 minutes.

 

Serve them with ham, the juice from the boiled hambone, loads of butter, and maybe some vegetables. Some people put a piece of ham or fat in the center of the dumpling before boiling it, but Mom thinks that it makes them fall apart easier.

 

She said that the biggest crew she ever served potato dumplings was one New Year's Eve, back in the '70's when she invited Dad's siblings and cousins in the area and their families. Plus, all of her six kids were still at home. She couldn't remember the exact number. She served 15 of us on Sunday, more than were there on Thanksgiving. I said, "You probably couldn't even mention that you were making dumplings when you were at church today because everyone would want to come over." In fact, a couple people must have smelled the evidence because they were complaining that they hadn't had potato dumplings in a long time. We did invite Mable, our closest neighbor, but she's like family.

 

When they do a dumpling dinner for a church fundraiser, they peel about 300 pounds of potatoes. Mom's not sure how many they serve. It varies, I suppose, and they "give some away, throw some in the woods and scrape the rest off the bottom of the kettles." Sometimes, they stick so badly, they have to soak the kettle for a week. One year, someone had the bright idea that if they put a plate inside on the bottom of the kettle the dumplings wouldn't stick. "Sure, they didn't stick," said my Mom, "But, you couldn't get the plate out of there."  The pastor spent the whole afternoon trying to pry the thing off the bottom of the kettle.

 

Dumplings are the poor immigrant's food, like lefse and lutefisk. I'll have to take photos and notes at Christmas for the lutefisk post. The wonderful thing about food is that it is a memory trigger. It links us back to the old country, wherever that may be. It brings up cozy times of growing up and eating together. Many times, it is a special occasion that you're sharing with folks you love.

 

 

 

May your tastebuds bring joyful memories, while creating new ones.

Go. Create. Inspire!

 

Journaling Prompt:  Write about a food tradition.

 

 

 

Artist Date Roman Holiday Style

Quote of the Day:  It is not how much we have, but how much we enjoy, that makes happiness. ~ Charles H. Spurgeon

Whenever I'm invited to view and review a show at The Guthrie, I try to think of one new thing I can do when I go to the city. Sometimes, my guest is someone who is attending a show here for the first time. I love watching them experience something new. My publicist/friend Krista has accompanied me the most, so we try to plan something new to do, like eat some place new, or walk around somewhere. We didn't get there early enough for the Stone Arch Festival, but we did  have time for a delicious Greek Salad at the Spoon River restaurant, right outside the Guthrie. They're all about fresh, local ingredients, food that makes you feel good.

You know I love taking pictures of scrumptuous food like this. Plus, I just got a new lens for my Nikon camera. So, Krista and I had fun taking photos here, and again after the show down by the river. Because we were having so much fun with our cameras and our dining experience, we met these two lovely ladies.

Bernie and Chris

We exchanged cards. Chris is a writer, too.

They were going to see Amen Corner.

I invited them to read my reviews on this blog.

They asked Krista to take their picture.

Bernie took one of us.

Then, we all went in to see our shows.

You can read my review by clicking on The Guthrie tab above.

After the show, we went out of the theatre to take a walk and shoot some photos by the river, and discovered this cute motorbike that reminded us of the scene from Roman Holiday.

Just a fun shot using reflection.

One for the website whenever I get that up and going.

Plus, wanted to show off the outfit I found at a local Brainerd shop, The Olde Open Window.

I found the most awesome sandals there. Just like Princess Anne in Roman Holiday, they set my soul (soles) free and I was off on another Artist Date in the MinnieApple.

You can have an Artist Date wherever you go, or even if you stay at home. Do something new. Find a hot, new pair of shoes and a new place to where them. Invite a friend along, and don't be afraid to talk to strangers, at least not the ones who smile and say, "Hi." Life is an adventure...

Go. Create. Inspire!

Journaling Prompt:  Where have your soles (or souls) taken you lately?

Change Time

Quote of the Day:  Eliminate something superfluous from your life.  Break a habit.  Do something that makes you feel insecure. - Piero Ferrucci (found in The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron)

I thought this was a cool way to use army guys.  It was hard to photograph, though.  This sculpture is taller and in dark entryway.  I had to break the rules and use my flash. Sorry, Jon (my teacher)!

March has been a time of change.  I tried a few new things, like a photography class and having a reading of my play.

I tried to look at things from a new perspective.

For a change, I wasn't completely terrified to share my creative work.  I didn't let myself get blocked when I realized that I'd need original music for my play - that turned into a musical.  And, I approached another artist, a composer, and asked him if I could use his songs in my play.  He said he'd ask the band.  It's a start.  He might not be the one, but I have taken a huge step in reaching out, talking about my art, and inviting someone else in.

Today, I was the musician at my church.  I checked and double-checked about the time change, headed out early, and told my 10-year-olds that today they could bring their sleds to church.  They've been wanting to slide down the hills at Camp Confidence ever since we started meeting there this fall.

Then, I came home and made a Sunday dinner (in the afternoon) for myself.  I didn't have the ingredients for my usual sauce, so I opened a cookbook, looked at the picture and read the ingredients. Then, I opened my cupboards and fridge and tossed together my own sauce: Calamata olives, a blend of spices, a splash of lemon juice and Worchestershire sauce.  I threw a sweet potato in the oven and stir-fried some broccoli.  The salmon was done, but the sweet potato was like a big stone, still solid.  I didn't think it would be ready to eat until sometime on Tuesday, so I sliced off one end and threw it in the stir-fry.

Turned out delicious!

And, it looks so healthy!

Julia Cameron tells us that a good way to open up our creativity is to take a new path now and then.  Drive a new way home.  Take a walk in a different neighborhood.  Try something new.  Make a change. 

Go. Create. Inspire!

Journaling Prompt:  What is one way you can do something different and embrace a change?

Writing is Like Stir-Fry

Quote of the Day: Every great and original writer, in proportion as he is great and original, must himself create the taste by which he is to be relished. - William Wordsworth

(Salmon stir-fry with broccoli, carrots, green onion, and a sweet sauce over steamed rice)

I have this great journal called The Art of Writing, and it's filled with quotes like the one above. I opened it right to this page. What a perfect quote for my idea that Writing is Like Stir-Fry. Last Saturday, I was craving both. Although I love writing as much as I enjoy a good stir-fry, I find myself often avoiding both, or taking short cuts for less than satisfying results.

The desire to write, to create something original, is like a hunger for good food. You crave it. You dream about it. Your mouth waters to taste the fruits of your labors. But, first you must prepare. You need to do your research, find the recipe. You need to assemble the ingredients and have all the tools in place. The best is if you have fresh produce. Well, it's January in Minnesota. They only thing growing here right now is my pile of miss-matched socks in the laundry room, not to mention the dirty clothes themselves.

The thing is, you need to let those chores move down the list of priorities and get to work. Once you start, you find that the task is really quite soothing. The chopping of the vegetables is cathartic, like the clicking away at the keyboard as idea flows into words that flow into sentences, that turn into pages. Just like the stirring, the frying, the oil splattering, the smells mingling, your words and sentences turn into a story. You see it all coming together.

And, when you're done, you serve it up in a beautiful presentation. You sit down with a glass of wine, in my case one called Minnesota Nice (really, it was Walleye White), and you taste and see what you have made. It is wonderful, beautiful, full of flavor, and you're proud of the work you've done to make it. You know that it is good. And, you want to invite others in to share it with you.

What I wonder is, why do I avoid it? Why do I sometimes settle for fast food that is less healthy and far less satisfying? It feels good to make something, so why don't I jump up to do it? Why don't I sit down eagerly every day to write? Why do I resist that creative energy? It's like exercising. You know you'll feel better for doing it, yet you choose to lie on the couch and watch a rerun of an old sitcom.

This year, I will respond to my cravings and make something good. When I start to feel that schlumping urge to do something less satisfying, I'll remember my stir-fry and work for that sweet reward.

Journaling Prompt: What's a comparison for your artistic goals and habits? How do you stay focused on your goals?