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Lemon curd is custard gold. It is so good and there is so much to do with it. I thought it might be good in a pie. But instead of making one traditionally sized pie, I decided to make 8 mini versions. That way everyone could have their own whole pie (or two) to themselves and I wouldn’t have to worry about slicing up a pie.

Instructions
Meyer Lemon Curd
The first step is to make the lemon curd. I used Alton Brown’s recipe and it came out great. I of course used meyer lemons instead of the boring old regular type. You can buy already made lemon curd, but what fun would that be.

For the Pie Crust
I started with a basic pie dough recipe. You can use your favorite. I like one made by Tyler Florence. It has never done me wrong and it easy to put together, without needing to dirty my food processor. His recipe makes enough dough for a top and bottom, so in this case, I just used half the dough.

I rolled the dough out and cut it into pieces so that it would fit into a muffin pan that I added some cooking spray to. Don’t worry about being perfect. If you need to add some extra pieces to make it fit, go right ahead. I got 8 mini pie crusts from half of my dough. Once you have all your pie crusts ready, grab a fork and dock the dough, so that some steam can escape. I then baked my mini pies, empty in the oven at 350 degrees until they were browned about 15-20 minutes. Let cool before carefully removing them from the pan.

Whipped Cream
While your pie crusts are cooling, it’s time to make up some homemade whipped cream. I just used 1 cup of heavy cream that I added about 3 tablespoons of sugar. You simply use a stand or hand mixer to beat the cream until it’s the texture you desire. It’s simple to do. It’s best to keep everything as cold as possible, so I recommend putting your paddles or beaters and a bowl in the freezer before hand.

Finishing Touches
So now that you have all your parts, scoop some lemon curd into each pie crust. Topping it with the whipped cream. For a pretty presentation, put the cream into a pipping bag or a plastic bag with a whole cut it it, attach a pipping tip and pip the cream on top of the curd. For some last finishing touches add a bit of lemon zest on top, along with a slice of lemon.

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I recently wrote a post celebrating the pop (or soda) that is made in Michigan. While doing research for that post, I read about a soda called Northwoods Soda. It is made up in the Grand Traverse area of Michigan. I have never seen it in stores before. That was until yesterday. Meijer stores across Michigan have begun an initiuative to support Michigan made products. There is a new section in select Mejier stores featuring just Michigan made products. One of those products selected to be a part of this program was Northwoods Soda.

Whenever I trying out a new brand of soda pop, I tend to select root beer first. I figure if your root beer isn’t good, then it’s likely the rest of your flavors aren’t going to be good either. Northwoods Soda calls their root beer “Wild Bill’s Root Beer”. “Wild Bill” is company founder, Bill Fosdick. The recipe for this brew has been perfected over a twenty year time period. The bottle boasts the claim “A Rare, Smooth Beverage”. So I keep that in mind as I took my first sip

No false promises on this bottle, it is definitely a smooth root beer. Not over carbonated. It has a nice, bold, but not too bold root beer flavor. It’s not overpowered by vanilla or any other flavoring. It’s pure root beer. It’s as close to getting it right out of the tap as you probably can get. So I will be giving their other flavors a try.

Where to Buy
You can find it in the new Made in Michigan section at your local Meijer store. You can also purchase it directly from the company, through their website.

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Have you ever watched an episode of Food Network’s “Chopped” or “Iron Chef”. You see these chefs preparing complex dishes that include a lot of ingredients and a lot of different flavors. This isn’t a bad thing. But sometimes it’s nice to have a simple dish that is delicious, full of flavor, but not so complex. I was inspired a couple weeks ago, when watching another Food Network show “Rachel vs. Guy: Celebrity Cook-Off”. This show pits two teams of C-list celebrities together in various cooking competitions. One week they had 3 one on one contests, in which a judge from the show “Chopped” each picked a dish for them to cook. One of the dishes was a simple tomato pasta. The judge wanted the tomato to be the star of the dish. I decided to take on the same challenge in my own kitchen. I had in my fridge a package of Nasoya Chinese Style Noodles. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with them, until I thought of doing a simple basic tomato & basil pasta dishes. And what came out of my kitchen as a result of my inspiration was a favorite of both my wife and my kids.

Ingredients
1 package Nasoya Chinese Style Noodles (Bucatini pasta would also be a good option)
2 28-Ounce cans of whole peeled tomatoes (Italian or San Marzanos if you can get them)
A handful of fresh basil, chopped
1 whole head of garlic
olive oil
kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
freshly grated Parmesan, Romano, Asiago, or Dry Jack cheese (whatever your favorite hard cheese is)

Instructions
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Take your head of garlic and cut off enough of the top to expose the cloves. Add a little bit of olive oil. Cover in heavy duty foil. Roast for about a half hour or until the garlic is soft.

In the meantime, empty two cans of tomatoes into a large saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer to soften up the tomatoes. The goal is to get the tomatoes to a point in which you can mash them with a spoon. I then run the smashed up tomatoes and all the liquid through a food mill. The purpose is to really get rid of the seeds. The seeds can add bitterness to the sauce if you leave them in. Yes you could cut the tomatoes and remove them, but since I have a food mill I find this to be much easier.

Now it’s time to transfer your tomatoes to a large nonstick frying pan. Add the chopped basil. Take your roasted garlic and remove all the cloves. Smash them into a paste and then add them to the tomatoes. Bring the tomatoes to a boil and simmer until reduced to your desired thickness, remembering to stir often. Once you get there add kosher salt and black pepper to taste. Turn your burner to low to keep the sauce warm, while you prepare your noodles or pasta.

Boil your noodles or pasta in a large pot with about a gallon of water and salt. The water should taste like ocean water. Cook the pasta or noodles to your desired doneness. Nasoya Chinese Noodles only take a few minutes, since they are not a dried pasta. When the noodles are ready, do not drain them!. Grab a pair of tongs and place the noodles directly into the sauce, making sure to let excess water drip off before you do. You don’t want to lose any of the starch that on the outside of the pasta. Then all that is left is serve up, topped off with your favorite grated hard cheese.

My daughter Autumn enjoying her noodles

Continue reading »]]> This article was written exclusively for Eat Like No One Else by Pearson Farm, a fifth-generation family-owned business dedicated to growing Georgia Peaches and Georgia Pecans.

Have you ever wondered where your pecans come from? How much work does it actually take to cultivate a pecan tree? Most likely orchards started small and grew into commercial enterprises so what does it take to maintain this delicious nut? You may be surprised that comparatively, the pecan tree is relatively easy to grow and sustain. It’s surprisingly hardy and provided the grower is ready to do battle with everyday orchard annoyances like diseases and pests, than the success rate can be high. But there is some general information about the pecan tree that any grower should consider to ensure that the pecan harvest is as robust as it could be.

Planting and cultivating a pecan tree or an entire orchard can be both rewarding and taxing. One of the main things to consider is irrigation. Pecan trees are fairly self-sufficient but they do require a steady water source. There has to be adequate water for the tree to sustain. But there is some controversy as to how to achieve this. Some growers advocate periodic flooding while others have had great success with drip and sprinkler systems. Either way, water is the key to the growth of a pecan tree.

Speaking of self-sufficiency, the pecan tree is self-pollinating meaning that both male and female reproductive capabilities are present on one tree. This makes pollination much easier as the tree is not reliant on another source of transfer, such as a bee. For a grower, this is good news as its one less thing to worry about for cultivation.

Late winter into early spring is the best time to plant pecan trees. When the summer months roll around, they will be able to absorb enough sunshine to be ready for harvesting in the fall. The harvesting season for pecans occurs in the fall months and run until November. This is why pecans and pecan pie have become such a staple of holiday meals in the south.

Growing and harvesting pecans is not particularly difficult if you know what you’re doing. Of course it’s much easier just to buy them from a local grower or make a day of picking your own with the family at a local orchard. Pecan trees are extremely resilient and can grow in the northern states as well as the south. But for premium pecans, the natural water sources and abundant sunshine of the southern states makes for perfect growing conditions indeed.

Continue reading »]]> Last summer, chef Jamie Oliver shared with the world the fact that American’s ground beef supply is full of a meat that is treated with ammonia in order to make it “safe” for consumption. This meat he called pink slime. This pink slime was made by Beef Products Inc, the leading ground beef producer in the United States. Fast food companies were known for using this product in their products. Well now news have broken that McDonald’s, Burger King, and Taco Bell have all abandon the use of pink slime. So if you have frequented any of these places, you have eaten pink slime. I applaud these companies for giving up the pink slime. None of the companies want to give Jamie Oliver any credit for this, but I think we had a huge impact as well as the 2010 food documentary, Food Inc (which you can watch online at Amazon’s website)

Pink slime is made from parts of the cow that we use to only feed to dogs. The concern was that salmonella and E. coli could be found in these “cuts” of beef. The used some ammonium hydroxide to make the beef “safe”. By I still heard some reports of salmonella and E. coli found in ammonium treated beef. So it may not even be working. I think the whole thing just need to be stopped. It’s all about profit at the expense of the consumer and maybe their health.

Just because these places gave up pink slime, doesn’t mean that you are safe. Several websites spoke about pink slime is found in school lunch programs. If you are a concerned parent, I urge to to contact your child’s school, and see what you can find out. You make face opposition like Jamie Oliver did during his tv show, but if enough people cry out, then a difference can be made. We just saw a difference made with these 3 fast food joints.

You can avoid bringing home pink slime beef from the grocery store by only buying beef that says 100% ground round, 100% ground sirloin, or 100% chuck (read all about the differences in these types). Never buy any beef when you don’t know what part of the cow the meat is coming from, that includes stew meat. Any good grocery store should be able to cut stew meat for you out of any cut you want that you find in the meat case.

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Today is Michigan’s 175th birthday! It was January 26, 1837 when Michigan officially entered the Union after receiving the Upper Peninsula in concession for losing Toledo. In honor of Michigan’s b-day, I wanted to do a Michigan related post. So I decided to provide a list of the pop (it’s not soda in Michigan) that is made in the Great Lakes State. There is a lot of great stuff being made here, some which you may know, some you may want to know.

Vernors
Without question, the most popular drink to come out of Michigan is Vernors Ginger Ale. The drink was invented by James Vernor. He was looking to make a ginger ale like the one made in Dublin, Ireland at the time. As he was working on his drink he was called into serving in the Civil War. When he got back, his ingredients has been aging in a oak barrel. What resulted lead to the Vernors we have today. Today, the drink is under the Dr. Pepper/Snapple brand, I don’t even know it it’s produced in Michigan still, but it’s still a Michigan original.

Faygo
I have found time and time again when someone has left Michigan, and comes back, they head to the nearest store for some Faygo! This brand is found all over Michigan and into some other states as well. Faygo began in Monroe, Michigan in 1907. The company was bought by National Beverage Corp in 1987. However Faygo is still made right here in Michigan. In recent years, they have brought back the glass bottle version using pure cane sugar. These bottles have popped up in gourmet stores and soda shops all across the country. Some of my personal favorite flavors are Grape, Rock ‘n’ Rye, and Peach.

Towne Club
Towne Club started up in the 1960s. It was unique in that you would go right to the company to buy the pop. You would take a wood case and walk around picking out different flavors. Each case fit 24 bottles. In the 1980s this practice came to an end. Towne Club was suffering on hard times for quite a while. People thought they disappeared. However in recent years they have been making a comeback in a major way. They have a newly designed glass bottle that holds 16 oz and sells for 99 cents. They have introduced 2 new flavors in the last year: Honolulu Blue Cream Soda (referring the blue in the Detroit Lions uniform) and Michigan Cherry, which contains real Michigan cherry juice. Here are the flavors I have reviewed:
Michigan Cherry
City Rush
Strawberry

Frostie’s
While not being an Michigan original, the brand was sold in 2009, to the Michigan based Intrastate Distributors Inc of Detroit (they also have the rights to Towne Club). So this brand has increased it’s presence throughout Michigan in the last couple years, especially around Christmas time where many stores (including Busch’s) carry their 4 packs of glass bottle pop. Here are the flavors I have reviewed:
Vanilla Root Beer
Blue Cream Soda
Cherry Limeade
Orange

Cherry Republic
The Straight from the Cherry Capital of the World, Cherry Republic is a company that sells nothing but cherry products from jam to jelly to of course pop. Their Boom Chugga Lugga brand has several flavors, all using real Michigan cherry juice. Those flavors include: Black Cherry Cream Soda, True Cherry Cola, Cherry Ginger Ale, Cherry, and Cherry Root Bear. Every one of these flavors is 5 star worthy. Their pop can be found at their stores in Ann Arbor, Traverse City, Glen Arbor, and Charlevoix. You cam also find them in the Michigan product section at Westborn Market in Berkeley.

Frankie’s Root Beer
Frankie’s Root Beer is a bold brew made up in one of Michigan’s top tourist locations – Frankenmuth. This root beer is made at the Frankenmuth Brewery.

Powers Root Beer
I discovered this root beer at Westborn Market in Berkeley. It was made by the Michigan Brewing Company out of Webberville. Michigander and musician Kid Rock developed a beer at this brewery. They also produce a nice, quality root beer under the name “Powers”.

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Question: Where Can I Buy Purple (or Blue) Potatoes?

Answer: Last winter, I wrote a post on what are some sources to purchase purple potatoes to grow in your garden. I have gotten a lot of hits on this post recently. However I think a lot of people are just searching for where to buy the potatoes, not necessarily desiring to grow them. So I decided to answer that question in a post today.

Purple potatoes are becoming more popular. People like the pretty color, plus the beta-carotene that gives the potatoes their purple color is very good for us. Here are some sources that I know of where you can get purple potatoes. I will add more to the list as I find more sources (so feel free to share where you have found them in the past). Keep in mind, the best place to check might be your local farmer’s market. A nice sized farmer’s market, should at least have one vendor selling them at some point in the year.

Source for Purple or Blue Potatoes
1. Meijer stores sell bags of Green Giant Klondike Medley. This medley includes some purple potatoes.
2. Plum Market (Ann Arbor, MI) has had purple potatoes in stock before.
3. Trader Joe’s sells bags of mixed potatoes that include purple.
4. Melissa’s Produce (http://www.melissas.com/) carries purple potatoes. Their produce can be found in stores all over the country. Check their website to see what stores carry their products. You can then contact those stores to see if they carry them.

If you are having trouble finding some, again check the Farmer’s markets and also specialty grocery stores that specialize in organic produce. They often have purple potatoes. Or you could also grow them yourself! Check out my page on sources to buy seed potatoes. I grew Adirondack Blue last year.

Want to make your own potato potato chips? Follow these instructions. Or you could purchase them already made for you from Amazon.

Continue reading »]]> Make no mistake about it, I love Sprecher. Everything I have had from this company has been amazing. Some how I keep missing their ginger ale. I finally set out to try it. On a recent trip to Plum Market in Ann Arbor, Michigan, I picked out a bottle of Sprecher Ginger Ale and headed home eager to try it. I have grown up with Vernors Ginger Ale, a Michigan original. So every ginger ale I have had I naturally compare to Vernors. I knew going in this would be a different type of ale, just by reading the words on the neck of the bottle:

“Our ginger ale is a sophisticated soda, pale in color and reminiscent of a light, sparkling chardonnay. Its complex flavor is very dry on the palate, combining the bite of ginger ale with a surprising hint of oak. A truly unique taste experience. Nothing like the ginger ale you are used to!”

Never have a seen a drink that says to have a “surprising hint of oak”. I admit I never thought about wanting a drink that tastes like oak, but I am willing to give it a try.

If you are use to Vernors, this is going to be a shock to your system. It’s a more powerful, more earthy drink. It’s a bold ginger taste but not overbearing. I have had ginger ales and ginger beers that were just too much to handle. This approaches that but managed not to step over the line. The carbonation is perfect just what I like in a good soda pop. Overall I was pleased. It’s not something I would want everyday, but I might grab a bottle again somewhere down the road.

Continue reading »]]> One of my favorite sources for citrus is Plum Market in Ann Arbor, MI. They are the second best thing to go directly to California and buying mandarins directly from a farmer’s market (which I did in 2011). So when my food budget started over again for the month of January, I headed over to Plum to see what they had in the way of citrus. I was not disappointed when I discovered another mandarin I have had not before – the Kishu. This was the smallest mandarin I have ever seen, even smaller than the Pixie. It’s not bigger than a walnut. I bought a handful to take home and try.

The Kishu belongs to a family of small mandarins that have their origins in China. The Kishua is available in the U.S. from December through February.

My Experience with this Mandarins (Rating Scale 1-10)
Seeded or Seedless: Seedless
Sweetness: 7
Acidity : 7
Flavor: 7
Juiciness: 7

It’s a nice mandarin. It’s equally balance between sweet and acidic. The flavor is a set up from the popular Clementine mandarin. It is extremely easy to peel. The segments are really small. You probably could pop the entire thing in your mouth at one time (I resisted the urge to do so). Not the best mandarin I ever had, but a good one none the less. They make a good choice for kid’s lunches and salads. Too small for juice and zesting (would be a lot of work).

Continue reading »]]> Selecting beef is the grocery store can be an overwhelming task. What can be even more overwhelming is trying to figure out what to do with that cut once you get it at home. Hopefully I can decrease your anxiety today by giving you some ideas on what to do with a flank steak.

What is a Flank Steak
A flank steak is a long and flat cut of meat. It comes from the abdominal area of the cow, located underneath the short loin. It can be a tough piece of meat if not cooked properly. But if cooked right and then sliced against the grain, then it can be one of the best things you ever ate!

Broiling a Flank Steak?
The most common thing that I do with flank steak is broil it. It’s that type of meat that needs to be cooked fast if you are using a dry cooking method. In your oven’s broiler all you need is 3-4 mintues per side and it’s dinner time. As said above it’s important to slice it against the grain (which is why I am saying it twice!). This makes it easier to chew, so more tender in your mouth.

Before I broil a flank steak, I always marinate first. Because of the way a flank steak is designed it makes for one of the best cuts of beef to marinate. I like to use some soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, olive oil, and garlic in my marinade. The flavors get into the meat so easily and provide a burst of flavor in your mouth.

If you run out of time to marinate, you can always try a dry rub with things like mustard seeds, black pepper, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, etc.

Flank Steak Makes Great Fajitas
Another way to use your flank steak is in making fajitas. Slice thin against the grain (third time!) along with all of your favorite fajitas fixings is a great way to go. Sunny Anderson from Food Network has a recipe for flank steak fajitas you might want to check out.

Other Flank Steak Recipes
Below you will find a list of some recipes that I found around the World Wide Web.

Rachel Ray’s Flank Steak Pinwheels
Blackened Flank Steak
Cuban Flank Steak
Slow Cooker Flank Steak Faijtas