Friday food

Today I'll take a break from Burger Quest (sorry!) and examine another aspect of Minnesota food.

This book is widely available locally; I was even lucky enough to find a copy at my local Costco. The subtitle is "Local Food, Local Restaurants, Local Recipes." And what a lovely exploration of those themes.

The book is divided into regions, with about one-third of the book based in the Twin Cities, showing that the rest of the state is also engaged in innovative, interesting cuisine based on local ingredients. The full-color photography is breathtaking:

 

Each chapter spotlights restaurants within that region that are committed to local resources. Those restaurants in turn talk about the local suppliers they use and why they use them, then provide recipes that highlight those local ingredients, be they fruits, vegetables, meat, fish, or dairy products. This book goes a long way in proving that Minnesota is not a culinary backwater. Some of the state's leading chefs are profiled, and the state's food resources and ethnic backgrounds are merged for some exciting recipes.

Among those included are Grand Marais's Angry Trout Cafe (which has its own food book), which uses the Dockside Fish Market as a resource for its Smoked Herring with Cranberry Horseradish Sauce; Grand Rapids's Brewed Awakenings, which uses vegetables from Spica Farm to serve Tomato Coconut Curry Soup; Hallock's Caribou Grill, which sources the meat for its Barbecue Bacon Elk Burger from Double J Elk; and the St. Peter Food Co-op, which makes a killer Caprese Salad with cheese locally produced by Shepherd's Way Farms. Well-known Twin Cities locavore establishments Restaurant Alma, Red Stag, Bayport Cookery, Corner Table, Heartland, and of course Lucia's Restaurant all contribute as well. 

A wonderful view of both the food world here and the state itself, The Minnesota Homegrown Cookbook is an excellent addition to any foodie's collection. 

Comments

[Miss T]

Oooooh. And hey, there's a burger in the book, so that counts!

[Carrie K]

The Angry Trout? If I was closer I would so be eating there tonight.