Cookery Maven Blog

Lovely Hunks Of Pork, Dijon Marinade & Expired Tabs

It was the best trade we've made in a long time— the use of the Rover for a grocery bag of kick-ass beef and pork from a butcher in Hudson.

Hard Cider & Calvados Cheese Fondue

Cheese fondue. Those two words conjure up memories of being a Holly Hobby bell-bottomed wearing kid in the 70's, scooping 'fancy' swiss cheese out of my Mom's fondue pot and feeling pretty fancy myself.

Asiago & Pear Ravioli

I'm on a pasta bender. It just keeps snowing and snowing up here so I'm still in winter, carbo- loading mode. Plus, I love, and I mean absolutely love, working with pasta dough.

Grapefruit & Juniper Gravlax

Salmon cured in salt, sugar, citrus zest and spices— my idea of a very good idea. Maybe it was the name, gravlax, or the idea of safely eating raw fish but I assumed making gravlax was best left to the professionals and my job was to make a tangy sauce and slice the rye bread.

Maple Meringue Cookies- A Spring Superfood

Maple sugar— one of the many gifts of Spring and a good substitute for white sugar. Its subtle maple flavor is a great addition to quick breads and cookies (plus it's loaded with antioxidants).

Bananas & Chocolate- Always A Good Idea

If I've noticed two consistent issues with grocery shopping, it's this: avocados and bananas are never, and I mean never, at the peak of perfect ripeness when you need them.

Alabama BBQ Chicken

When Ted's parents moved to Alabama ten years ago, I was a little skeptical but curious. My Southern knowledge base consisted of an appreciation for monograms, Lilly Pulitzer and a Florida beach vacation every couple of years— I wasn't sure where Alabama figured into the equation.

Roasted Garlic Squash Soup With Apples & Boursin

I have to admit, there's nothing like a good old-fashioned snow storm to make me happy. And a pot of soup on the stove during a snow storm seals the deal, as far as I'm concerned.

Beefy Pies With Stilton & Stout

Ice caves, ice roads, cross-country skiing, quinzee huts and dog sledding— all by-products of our fantastically cold and snowy winter. With the right amount of layering and warm boots, winter has secured a place in my heart with its abbreviated daylight and crystal clear, star strewn night sky.

Seriously Good Bacon & Pancetta Jam

Bacon jam, I've never heard of such a wondrous thing until three weeks ago. And I owe the whole revelation to Martha Stewart (and an internet search for a 'pork in a slow cooker' recipe).

A Sugar Bush Margarita Will Take The Chill Off 22 Below Zero

I have a fondness for tequila, specifically a double Patron on the rocks with three limes. I believe in good quality spirits and leaving well enough alone— no Sex on the Beach, blue Curaçao (what is that stuff??) or Long Island Iced Teas for this girl.

Al Capone's Roast- Even Mobsters Need To Eat

Ted and I spent a lot of time aimlessly driving around northwestern Wisconsin when we were newly married— looking for old farmhouses and cabins, bars in the middle of nowhere and exploring Wisconsin's back roads with our Gazetteer.

It's Not Boun Giorno Sausage But It's Close...Enough

I have high standards for Italian sausage, thanks to Boun Giorno Italian Market in St Paul. Their Sicilian sausage is, hands down, the best sausage I've ever eaten but it's four hours away from Bayfield.

Braised Red Cabbage With Quince, Apple & Cranberries

Ted walked into the kitchen just as I remarked to myself (out loud) about the beautiful symmetry of the head of cabbage I had just cut in half. Thankfully, he's used to my mutterings in an empty room but my cabbage love was a new one.

Venison & Pork Bacheofe

When Charly offered me two venison roasts, I knew exactly what to make for dinner. Earlier in the week, Ted asked me if I could find a recipe for the Black Forest's Alsatian casserole and while I had no luck with the Black Forest version, I found an intriguing recipe for an Alsatian Bacheofe.

Chicken Wellingtons

Any excuse to use puff pastry in my kitchen is a good one, as far as I'm concerned. And the added criteria of wrapping the puff around nearly anything is most definitely a brilliant idea.

Cheddar Beer Bread With Apples & Caramelized Onions

Beer bread— bet you haven't heard that term since the 90's. It reminds me of St Elmo's Fire, my favorite Ralph Lauren barn coat and Anne and Franks's cabin in Cumberland. Specifically, a beer bread mix in a white cloth bag in the kitchen— next to a little brown bag of Carroll Shelby's chili mix.

The Duck Dinner That Wasn't.....Dinner

I've had three major dinner disasters: two with my brother Tom (a horribly tough braised pheasant and an Easter lamb gone wrong) and my newest miss— the duck dinner that wasn't dinner with Julie and Charly.

Spicy Beer Mustard

I'm still hoarding condiments and not only am I hoarding, I'm creating. Ever since I made my first batch two years ago, store-bought mustard just doesn't....cut the mustard.

Winter Salad With Apple Essence Dressing

Carrots are one of my favorite winter vegetables, right up there with red cabbage. And if we are talking about roasted carrots, they are in the running for my favorite food, ever.