Autumn Colors: Touring & Tasting Itinerary

October 11, 2017October 13, 2017 / Jason / Leave a comment

Sunday, October 22 at 4pm, the Manitou Winds NEO Trio will unveil their first concert-length program with “Autumn Colors”, an afternoon of soothing autumnal music and poetry to usher in our most colorful season in Northern Michigan.

We invite you to turn October 22nd into a memorable fall color tour complete with wine tastings and nibbles from the heart of Leelanau County. Our trio (Sam Clark, Anne Bara, & Jason McKinney) has gathered up some of their favorite Suttons Bay area destinations to give you tons of options for soaking in a beautiful autumn day in Leelanau County and then topping it all off with an inspiring concert.

EATERIES:
Fig’s Breakfast & Lunch (Lake Leelanau)
Hearth & Vine Café (Suttons Bay)
Martha’s Leelanau Table (Suttons Bay)

Please click the restaurant links to check restaurant hours
and see sample menus.

WINERIES:
45 North Vineyard & Winery (Lake Leelanau)
Black Star Farms (Suttons Bay)
Laurentide Winery (Lake Leelanau) – Jason’s pick
L Mawby Vineyards (Suttons Bay) – Sam’s pick
Willow Vineyard & Winery (Suttons Bay) – Anne’s pick

Fall season hours for most of the wineries include
Sundays 12-5 according to their websites.
Click the links for specific tasting room information and prices.

CIDERS & SPIRITS:
Northern Latitudes Distillery (Lake Leelanau)
Tandem Ciders (Suttons Bay)

Fall season hours include Sundays 12-5 according to their websites.
Click the links for contact info.

SCENIC TOURS:
Clay Cliffs Natural Area (Lake Leelanau)
Whaleback Natural Area (Leland)

Admission to all Leelanau Conservancy natural areas is free.
Click the links for directions and trail information.

Autumn Colors Tasting & Touring Itinerary

Copy the URL to create your own customizeable map to plan your adventure: https://goo.gl/maps/cpRySpVyDQF2

Depending on when you set out and your appetite for adventure, you can visit as many or as few of the destinations as you’d like — maybe even discover a few of your own along the way!

Start with breakfast or brunch at Fig’s in Lake Leelanau or Martha’s Leelanau Table in Suttons Bay. Then go for a color tour through the heart of the county to see sweeping views of Lake Michigan and Lake Leelanau from two of the Leelanau Conservancy’s most popular preserves.

Even if the weather turns damp and dreary, you can still make the best of it. If you’ve worked up a thirst, you can visit one of the excellent wineries or distilleries in the area. One of Jason’s favorite ways to unwind after a performance is a single glass of Riesling from Laurentide Winery. They have a full selection of whites and a few reds for you to try. Sam says her favorite Leelanau County winery is L Mawby Vineyards for all their sparkling varieties. Anne says the wine (especially the Rosé) and the setting are beautiful at Willow Vineyard & Winery.

We hope you’ll join us at Sunday, October 22nd, at 4pm, at Suttons Bay Congregational Church for an inspiring concert — colorful music interwoven with poetry and prose to set your fall aglow. Admission is free. A freewill offering will be taken to benefit ShareCare of Leelanau, providing much needed care for seniors in Leelanau County.

Variety: It’s the Spice!

September 25, 2017September 25, 2017 / Jason / Leave a comment

Our September 24th concert was an experiment: a test to see just how much variety could be crammed into a single concert program performed by a single ensemble. To up the ante, we also added an element of chance; allowing the audience to play a game to randomly select the concert order.

Twelve different instruments and one guest musician later (Eric Olson, alto & tenor saxophone), we wound up with a concert that ran the gamut from Handel and Mozart to Hoagy Carmichael and Stevie Wonder! Here’s a list of the selections in the order the were performed:

Overture from “The Barber of Seville” G. Rossini/arr. B. Holcombe
flute, oboe, clarinet, horn, & bassoon

Playground H.A. Curtis
piano solo

Contradanza from “Three Pieces for Clarinet & Piano” P. D’Rivera
tenor saxophone

I. Allegro from “Horn Quintet in E-flat Major”, K. 407 W.A. Mozart/arr. B. Holcombe
flute, english horn, clarinet, horn, & bassoon

Royal Garden Blues C. Williams & S. Williams/arr. Ken Abeling
flute, oboe, clarinet, horn, & bassoon

Sir Duke S. Wonder/arr. J.T. McKinney
flute, oboe, clarinet, horn, & bassoon

The Nearness of You H. Carmichael
tenor saxophone & piano

III. Brazileira from “Scaramouche” D. Milhaud/arr. D. Stewart
piccolo, flute, oboe, clarinet, alto saxophone, horn, & bassoon

Ancient Pines L. McKennitt/arr. J.T. McKinney
flute, clarinet, & lever harp

I. Natalie Fraser (hornpipe) from “A Suite of Cape Breton Tunes” J.T. McKinney
flute, clarinet, & lever harp

Summer Waltz L. Hood
flute, clarinet, guitar, & lever harp

Cranberry Island D. Tolk
piano solo

Overture from “Music for the Royal Fireworks” G.F. Handel/arr. T. Cramer
flute, oboe, clarinet, horn, & bassoon

To facilitate this colorful program based purely on variety and fun, we enlisted the aid of Jan Ross (aka Janice B.), voice-over artist, and our production manager, James Deaton (aka. J.D), to co-host the concert as a game show. Janice B. and J.D. selected audience members at random to come forward and randomly select the concert order. Those audience members were then entered into a special prize pool for a chance to win one of three prizes.

Adding even more flair to the event, we were joined by guest artist, Lori Feldpausch, who brought a dazzling array of paintings from her home studio to create an elaborate exhibit in the church’s narthex.

We were honored to be a part of St. Andrews Presbyterian Church’s “Concert on the Hill” series, and we’re delighted to have played a part in raising funds for Habitat for Humanity of Benzie County and Northwest Michigan Supportive Housing.

Theme & Variations: Dolce e Delizioso III

September 13, 2017September 12, 2017 / Jason / Leave a comment

In our final recipe collection in the Theme & Variations series, we’ll play sweetly in the kitchen; calling upon a single versatile cake recipe to deliver an array of tempting treats fit for finishing a meal or rounding out a special occasion.

Dolce e Delizioso

I really hope you’ve enjoyed following along as we’ve taken the Classical form of “Theme & Variations” into the kitchen — making simple changes to recipes to create exciting new dishes. Marrying food and music — two of my most favorite things — is something of a passion of mine.

To demonstrate the Classical form that inspired this series, here’s probably one of the finest examples of Theme & Variation form: Mozart’s 12 Variations in C major on Ah! vous dirai-je, Maman, K.265. The theme you’ll immediately recognize; in America, we know this tune as “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.” Listen to all the ways Mozart turned this simple tune on its ear. By the end, it’s barely recognizable!

As you can see, performing a piece in Theme & Variations form — while exhilarating — can be quite demanding for a musician. Fortunately, our culinary spin on this form has been both fun and delicious for both the chef (the musician) and the tasters (the audience).

In today’s final variation in our Dolce e Delizioso collection, we take one more layer of that easy-to-make butter cake and turn it into a decadent layered dessert marrying its buttery flavors with toffee and coffee to make a fancy treat that can be made into elegant individual servings or an impressive presentation in a trifle dish.

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Toffee-Coffee Trifle
Serves 8
Trifles make an exciting dessert because their layered presentation and variety of textures offer a different experience in every bite. With ample chilling time, the toffee pieces maintain a bit of crunch, but yield a caramel-odius counterpoint to the coffee and buttery flavors in the rest of the dessert!

Vanilla Custard:
2 1/4 cups milk
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/8 teaspoon sea salt
1 large egg
3 tablespoons corn starch
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Whipped Cream:
1 cup heavy cream
3 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar

Layer Ingredients:
1 8-inch layer of Golden Butter Cake
(recipe here)
1/2 cup Kahlúa (coffee liqueur)
1 cup crushed toffee pieces (e.g. Skor or Heath)

To make the vanilla custard: heat the milk, sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stirring to dissolve sugar, heat until milk is scalded but not boiling. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together the egg and corn starch until thoroughly combined. While whisking, slowly add the hot milk mixture; whisk until completely incorporated. Return entire mixture to the saucepan and heat over medium heat until thickened and just beginning to boil; remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Pour into a bowl, cover with plastic wrap placed on surface to prevent skin from forming. Allow to reach room temperature, then refrigerate 1-2 hours.

To make the whipped cream: pour the cream into a medium bowl. Beat at medium speed until frothy; add confectioners’ sugar, increase speed, and whip until stiff peaks form. Cover and chill until needed.

To assemble, slice cake layer into bite-size pieces. In individual containers or in a trifle dish, alternate layers of cake pieces, drizzle cake with Kahlúa, sprinkle with toffee pieces, top with vanilla custard, then whipped cream. You can make as many or as few layers as you like. Chill for about two hours before serving.

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Don’t miss

Variety: It’s the Spice!

,

______________________________________

Sunday, September 24th, at 4:00pm

St. Andrews Presbyterian Church
1890 Lincoln Road
Beulah

____________

Admission is free.
Freewill offering for Northwest Michigan Supportive Housing &
Habitat For Humanity of Benzie County .

Theme & Variations: Dolce e Delizioso II

September 6, 2017September 17, 2017 / Jason / Leave a comment

In our final recipe collection in the Theme & Variations series, we’ll play sweetly in the kitchen; calling upon a single versatile cake recipe to deliver an array of tempting treats fit for finishing a meal or rounding out a special occasion.

Dolce e Delizioso

When you start with a cake that’s super-easy to make and tastes great, it takes only a little more embellishment to send it way over the top. Today’s variation turns one cake layer into a simple but decadent layer cake sure to please any fans of the classic Moon Pie sandwich cookie: buttery cake layers separated by fluffy marshmallow creme, all enclosed in a shell made of rich chocolate.

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Mezzaluna Cake
Serves 6-8
Who knew one cake layer could reach such celestial heights? With a little time in the freezer to anchor the layers into place and align the straight side of the cake, you’ll find the chocolate coating will cover a multitude of imperfections (not that anyone will notice once they have a taste!).

1 8-inch layer of Golden Butter Cake (recipe here)
1 1/2 cups marshmallow creme
1 cup semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips
4 tablespoons unsalted butter

Using a long serrated knife, split the cake layer into two rounds; leave stacked atop one another. Split the two round layers down the middle to form four semi-circle layers. Place the layers (still arranged as a single round layer) into the freezer for about 10 minutes to firm them up.

Place one of the bottom semi-circles on a cake plate or cardboard round. Stir the marshmallow creme only until it reaches a fairly spreadable consistency. Spread about a third of the cream onto the cake layer, leaving about 1/4 border all the way around to avoid seeping. Lining up the straight sides as evenly as possible, place a top semi-circle layer over the filling; spread with another third of the marshmallow creme. Continue with remaining cake layers and marshmallow creme. Carefully turn the assembled cake onto its straight side (see photo) and place in the freezer for 15 minutes to firm up the filling and align the layers.

Meanwhile, combine the chocolate chips and butter in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for 20 seconds, stir, and continue microwaving in 10-20 second intervals, stirring between each heating, until mixture is smooth. Remove the cake from the freezer and place it upright. Spread the chocolate glaze over the top and then sides to completely cover (the chocolate will harden and help keep layers and filling in place. Serve slices chilled or at room temperature.

___________________________________________________________

Don’t miss

Variety: It’s the Spice!

,

______________________________________

Sunday, September 24th, at 4:00pm

St. Andrews Presbyterian Church
1890 Lincoln Road
Beulah

____________

Admission is free.
Freewill offering for Northwest Michigan Supportive Housing &
Habitat For Humanity of Benzie County .

Theme & Variations: Dolce e Delizioso I

August 30, 2017August 28, 2017 / Jason / Leave a comment

Our September concert (Variety: It’s the Spice!) is a celebration of musical variety — a daring departure from organization and the expected! The program is a secret, but you may get a few clues from our website and Facebook page in the weeks leading up to the performance. In the meantime, we hope you’ll enjoy a new series of recipes from the Woodwind Gourmet enticing you to embrace variety in the kitchen.

Dolce e Delizioso

Even with the myriad elements of musical notation available, composers often add descriptive words to help musicians read between the lines. How each musician interprets these words is as unique and person as their choice of instrument. One of my favorite words to find in a musical score is dolce which simply asks you to play “sweetly”.

In this final collection of recipes, we’ll play sweetly in the kitchen; calling upon a single versatile cake recipe to deliver an array of tempting treats fit for finishing a meal or rounding out a special occasion.

We’ll start with a golden, buttery theme: butter cake! My first memories of butter cake are thanks to my paternal grandmother who taught me the fine art of adding butter to things! My grandmother always made her cakes from boxed mixes (perish the thought), but I think my simplified recipe would be one that she would have loved to try. There is such a thing as too much butter, of course, and there’s also such a thing as a complicated recipe with too many steps or ingredients. Thankfully, this recipe is the perfect balance of both!

KEY TECHNIQUE: Cutting in Butter — Sadly, many homemade cakes are doomed from the start because the butter was either too soft or too hard (cold) to be creamed with the sugar. In most cake recipes, the softness of the butter affects the entire texture and rise of the cake to follow (not to mention you can also over-mix and cause problems). How soft is too soft?! For this recipe, we soften the butter to room temperature and simply cut it into the dry ingredients, skipping that whole “creaming” step. You won’t miss the extra drama and your cake will turn out perfectly!

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Golden Butter Cake
Serves 12-16
If you have room for only one cake recipe in your recipe box, this one deserves the spot: it’s easily made and versatile. With its rich, buttery taste and moist texture, it can serve as the center attraction or take on myriad toppings, fillings, and frostings.

2 cups all-purpose flour (8.5 ounces)
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar (11.5 ounces)
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature (plus more for pans)
3 large eggs, room temperature
1 cup whole milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Butter two 8-inch round cake pans, line bottoms with parchment rounds, butter parchment lightly; dust pans with flour, tapping out excess.

In the bowl of a stand mixer or a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add the softened butter and cut the butter into the dry ingredients at low speed using the paddle attachment or a handheld mixer (mixture will be uniform and sandy). Add eggs and beat well, scraping down sides of bowl as necessary; add milk and vanilla, beat until just combined.

Divide batter between pans; smooth tops with an offset spatula. Bake until golden and a toothpick inserted into centers comes out clean, 33-35 minutes. Cool in pans on wire racks 15 minutes. Turn out cakes onto racks to cool completely. Serve with one of the berry toppings below or as desired.

*Blueberry-Maple Compote
Serves 6-8

2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen
1 teaspoon corn starch
1/3 cup maple syrup
1/4-1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
pinch of salt
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-3 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

Combine first five ingredients (blueberries through salt) in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until some of the blueberries burst and mixture thickens slightly. Remove from heat; add vanilla and lemon juice to taste. Serve warm or chilled.

*Macerated Strawberries
Serves 4-6

1 pound hulled strawberries, whole or sliced, fresh or frozen
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
pinch of salt

If using fresh berries: combine all ingredients in a non-reactive bowl and allow to sit at room temperature for about an hour. If using frozen berries: combine all ingredients in a non-reactive bowl and allow to sit at room temperature until berries have softened (about 4 hours).

___________________________________________________________

Don’t miss

Variety: It’s the Spice!

,

______________________________________

Sunday, September 24th, at 4:00pm

St. Andrews Presbyterian Church
1890 Lincoln Road
Beulah

____________

Admission is free.
Freewill offering for Northwest Michigan Supportive Housing &
Habitat For Humanity of Benzie County .

Theme & Variations: Lines & Spaces III

August 24, 2017September 17, 2017 / Jason / Leave a comment

In our second recipe collection in the Theme & Variations series, I decided we should explore the lines and spaces of the musical staff to uncover what savory surprises we can experience when we use simple ingredients to create a masterpiece.

Lines & Spaces

For the final variation in our Lines & Spaces series, we’ll stick with our vegetarian motif, but throw a few new twists into the taste. Swapping out the greens with some colorful beans and aromatic veggies, next we’ll take out the familiar ricotta cheese and replace it with nutty, creamy fontina for a lasagna like no other.

KEY INGREDIENT: Fontina Cheese — Noted for its nutty, earthy, slightly mushroomy taste, this creamy cow’s milk cheese originally from Italy is right at home in a homespun vegetarian lasagna. You can find it in the fine cheeses case in your supermarket. The best Fontina is Fontina Val D’Aosta (the original fontina), but there are many makers of good fontina, so feel free to use what you like best and is easiest to find. Can’t find Fontina? Try shredding Raclette or thinly sliced Brie or Camembert for an equally cheesy experience.

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Lasagna con Fagioli
Serves 4
Not quite as tomato-y or as saucy as the typical lasagna, the earthy flavors of the beans and fontina cheese are what really stand out to make this a vegetarian lasagna worth coming back to over and over again! Feel free to mix varieties of beans together for a more colorful presentation.

1 15-ounce can cannellini beans or red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
3/4 cup finely chopped carrots (app. 2 medium)
1/3 cup finely chopped celery (app. 1 large rib)
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
3/4 cup white wine (try sauvignon blanc)
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes with juices
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
Salt & Pepper to taste
6 ounces Fontina cheese, shredded
8 no-boil lasagna noodles

Preheat oven to 375-degrees. In a medium bowl, mash half beans together to form a thick paste. Reserve the mashed beans separately from the whole beans.

Heat the oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-heat. Add the onions, carrots, and celery; cook until softened, about 10 minutes. Add the minced garlic, bay leaf, and thyme; cooking, stirring constantly, until fragrant (about a minute). Pour in the wine, scraping the bottom of the pan to deglaze; cook until wine has nearly evaporated. Stir in the tomatoes (including juices), bring to a simmer; lower heat, cover and cook 7-10 minutes until carrots are tender. Stir in the mashed beans and 1/3 cup water; stirring to dissolve thicken the sauce. Remove from the heat, discard bay leaf; stir in parsley, reserved whole beans, and salt and pepper to taste.

Spread 1/2 cup bean sauce in the bottom of an 8-inch square baking dish. Top with 2 lasagna noodles, a fourth of the sauce, and a fourth of the shredded fontina. Repeat layering with remaining noodles, sauce, and cheese. Loosely cover with parchment-lined foil (keeps the cheese from sticking to the foil!). Bake 30 minutes. Uncover and bake until bubbly and delightfully browned, about 15 minutes. Let cool 20 minutes, then slice and serve.

___________________________________________________________

Don’t miss

Variety: It’s the Spice!

,

______________________________________

Sunday, September 24th, at 4:00pm

St. Andrews Presbyterian Church
1890 Lincoln Road
Beulah

____________

Admission is free.
Freewill offering for Northwest Michigan Supportive Housing &
Habitat For Humanity of Benzie County .

Variety: It’s the Spice!

August 21, 2017August 21, 2017 / Jason / Leave a comment

Our concert on September 24th is going to be a celebration of musical variety — a daring departure from organization and the expected! Not only is everything on the program a secret, but even the musicians don’t know the order the concert will be performed in.

Ordinarily, we use articles in our Manitou-Zine to fill you in on what will be performed in upcoming programs — insight into the composers who wrote the music, their inspiration for the pieces, and descriptions of what you can expect to hear. For Variety: It’s the Spice!, you’ll get none of that! It’s a complete surprise!

But, since we don’t want to leave you completely in the dark, we’ve promised to provide you with a few clues along the way. The concert order will be decided by audience members participating in a game. Following that same logic, the clues we’re providing you will be in the form of a game: a crossword puzzle!

Click HERE for your free printable crossword puzzle!

Stay tuned to our Facebook Page & this website; we’ll be sharing the puzzle’s key soon.

Our kudos to anyone who can complete the puzzle without consulting Google (or a member of Manitou Winds!). No cheating! So, put on those thinking caps and see if you can guess a few of the pieces on September’s program!

Theme & Variations: Lines & Spaces II

August 16, 2017August 20, 2017 / Jason / Leave a comment

In our second recipe collection in the Theme & Variations series, I decided we should explore the lines and spaces of the musical staff to uncover what savory surprises we can experience when we use simple ingredients to create a masterpiece.

Lines & Spaces

Our first variation spins our lines and spaces in a brand new, green direction — replacing meat with leafy Swiss chard and coarsely chopped onions for a lighter lasagna that still delivers the warm-fuzzies we all expect from comfort food.

KEY INGREDIENT: Swiss Chard — With an earthy, non-bitter taste, the greens and colorful stems of Swiss chard add nutrition and deep flavor that plays so well with tomato sauce, you won’t miss the meat! If you buy frozen greens, be sure to defrost and squeeze them dry before putting them into the skillet. Can’t find Swiss chard? You can substitute equal amounts of spinach or kale to get a slightly different flavor profile, but an equally tasty dish.

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Swiss Chard Lasagna
Serves 4
Easily one of my favorite ways to eat leafy greens! Remember to squeeze dry frozen greens before adding them to the recipe. If you’re using fresh greens, you’ll want to keep the chopped stems separate so you can saute them first to make sure they’re tender before adding in the greens to wilt.

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
1 pound Swiss chard, stems and leaves separated, thinly sliced
Coarse salt and pepper
6 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon red-pepper flakes
1 can (28 ounces) whole peeled plum tomatoes with juices
8 no-boil lasagna noodles
8 oz whole-milk or part-skim mozzarella, shredded

Preheat oven to 375-degrees. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoons oil, onion, and chard stems. Cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 4 minutes. Stir in chard leaves, season with salt, and cook until tender, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a plate. Wipe skillet; return to medium-high heat. Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil, garlic, and pepper flakes. Cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add tomatoes with juices and simmer; simmer, breaking into pieces, until thickened, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Spread 1/2 cup tomato sauce in the bottom of an 8-inch square baking dish. Top with 2 lasagna noodles, 3/4 cup sauce, one-third of chard mixture, and 1 cup cheese. Repeat layering twice. Top with remaining noodles, sauce, and cheese. Loosely cover with parchment-lined foil (keeps the cheese from sticking to the foil!). Bake 30 minutes. Uncover and bake until bubbly and delightfully browned, about 15 minutes. Let cool 20 minutes, then slice and serve.

___________________________________________________________

Don’t miss

Variety: It’s the Spice!

,

______________________________________

Sunday, September 24th, at 4:00pm

St. Andrews Presbyterian Church
1890 Lincoln Road
Beulah

____________

Admission is free.
Freewill offering for Northwest Michigan Supportive Housing &
Habitat For Humanity of Benzie County .

Theme & Variations: Lines & Spaces I

August 9, 2017August 13, 2017 / Jason / Leave a comment

Party Horse by Margie Guyot, 2017 Collaborating Artist

Our September concert (Variety: It’s the Spice!) is a celebration of musical variety — a daring departure from organization and the expected! The program is a secret, but you may get a few clues from our website and Facebook page in the weeks leading up to the performance. In the meantime, we hope you’ll enjoy a new series of recipes from the Woodwind Gourmet enticing you to embrace variety in the kitchen.

Lines & Spaces

Within the five lines and four spaces of a staff, a composer creates all manner of beauty and complexity. Everything the composer wants to communicate to both the musician and the audience is condensed into the staves on the page. Whether summoning all the colors of a full orchestra or the singular artistry of a solo instrument; it’s all contained within those lines and spaces.

For our second Theme & Variations recipe collection, we take our cue from the staff to make a delicious composition of our own in the kitchen using everyone’s favorite comfort food as our theme: lasagna!

Today’s recipe is what most people imagine when they think of lasagna: layers of hearty meat sauce alternating with luscious lasagna noodles and a tempting mixture of cheeses. It’s a recipe with a fancy look but humble origins — you can find everything you need in almost any grocery store (some of it’s probably already in your kitchen!).

KEY INGREDIENT: No-Boil Lasagna Noodles — Homemade lasagna doesn’t get more convenient than a package of no-boil lasagna sheets. Unlike the traditional lasagna noodles which need to be par-cooked before you layer them into the casserole dish, no-boil or “oven-ready” noodles can go right into the casserole dish. They cook while the casserole bakes, absorbing liquid and flavors from everything around them. Barilla is probably the brand easiest to spot.

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Classic Lasagna
Serves 4
Unlike traditional lasagna recipes with pre-boiled noodles filling a gigantic pan of sauce and cheese to meld together in the oven, this smaller four-serving casserole goes into the oven with very little babysitting required. The hardest part is letting it cool for 20 minutes before digging in.

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
8 ounces mild Italian sausage, casings removed (or 8 ounces lean ground beef or turkey)
1 large onion, finely chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
2 14.5-ounce cans whole tomatoes with juice
salt and pepper
8 ounces whole or part-skim ricotta cheese
1 large egg
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (plus more for garnish)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
8 ounces part-skim mozzarella cheese, shredded (divided)
8 no-boil lasagna noodles

Preheat oven to 375-degrees. Heat the oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until just shimmering. Add the Italian sausage; cook and crumble until evenly browned and no pink remains. Using a slotted spoon, remove crumbled sausage to a plate. To the skillet, add the onion; cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and just beginning to brown. Add the garlic, oregano, and thyme; cook, stirring, just until fragrant (about 30 seconds). Add the canned tomatoes, scraping the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Stir and crush the tomatoes into mixture; bring to a low boil and allow to simmer for 5-10 minutes until slightly thickened; season with salt and pepper to taste. Set sauce aside to cool slightly.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine the ricotta, egg, parsley, grated Parmesan, and half of the mozzarella. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Spread 1/2 cup of the tomato sauce in the bottom of an 8-inch square baking dish. Top with 2 lasagna noodles centered in the dish (the noodles will expand quite a bit during cooking and cover all the way to the edges). Spread 1/3 of the ricotta mixture atop the noodles and top with 1/3 of the remaining sauce. Repeat layers with the remaining noodles, cheese, and sauce. Top the entire casserole with the reserved shredded mozzarella cheese and additional chopped parsley as desired. Loosely cover with parchment then top with foil to seal (keeps the cheese from sticking to the foil!). Bake 30 minutes. Uncover and bake until bubbly and slightly browned on top, about 15 minutes more. Let cool 20 minutes, then slice and serve.

___________________________________________________________

Don’t miss

Variety: It’s the Spice!

,

______________________________________

Sunday, September 24th, at 4:00pm

St. Andrews Presbyterian Church
1890 Lincoln Road
Beulah

____________

Admission is free.
Freewill offering for Northwest Michigan Supportive Housing &
Habitat For Humanity of Benzie County .

Theme & Variations: Musical Fruit II

July 26, 2017July 27, 2017 / Jason / Leave a comment

For our first recipe collection in the Theme & Variations series, I decided we should explore the musical fruit (beans!) by starting with a very basic recipe and then expanding its flavor horizons a bit…

The Musical Fruit

Our first variation on the theme crackles with color and fiery flavors! We’ll swap out the red beans and replace them with pinto beans… and that’s just the beginning. We’ll transform the dish into a Tex-Mex style pot of beans that’s just this side of chili, but I think you’ll agree this particular bowl of beans has a lot more going for it than the average chili!

If you’re afraid this variation will be too spicy for you, removing half or all of the seeds from the jalapeño will significantly lower the heat level. Or, you could opt for a still flavorful but milder chili pepper such as an Anaheim or Poblano. Or, you could leave out the green chili pepper altogether and still have a zesty pot of beans.

Today’s variation is right at home served atop rice, but you might enjoy it even more served with cornbread. I’ve included my maple-sweetened version, below, to tame the heat a bit!

KEY INGREDIENT: Mexican Chorizo — Unlike the dried and cured Spanish variety, Mexican chorizo is a spicy ground meat sausage most commonly sold fresh and uncooked. You’ll find it with other raw meats or sausages at the grocery store. Whether made with pork or beef, most versions are bright or dark red in color due to the paprika and other seasonings inside. While cooking, it releases brightly-colored, flavorful juices you can use to sauté vegetables like a boss!

Just joining in? Here’s the theme recipe for this series: Cajun-Style Red Beans & Ham

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Tex-Mex Pinto Beans with Chorizo
Serves 4
Can’t stand the heat? Remove some or all of the seeds of the jalapeño or use a milder chili pepper such as an Anaheim. If you can’t find smoked paprika, regular paprika is also tasty in this dish. Slide a slice of cornbread alongside and dig in (easy cornbread recipe below).

8 ounces Mexican-style chorizo
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
1 jalapeño chili, finely chopped
1 red bell pepper, coarsely chopped
1 green bell pepper, coarsely chopped
1 cup dried pinto beans, sorted and sorted
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 14.5-ounce can whole or diced tomatoes, with juices
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

In a 12-inch skillet over medium heat, crumble the chorizo; cook until browned, breaking into smaller pieces while stirring. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the cooked chorizo to the slow cooker. To the juices in the skillet, add the chopped onion and jalapeño; cook, stirring occasionally, just until softened. Add the chopped bell peppers; cook, stirring until just softened. Pour the vegetable mixture into the slow cooker along with any remaining juices.

Add 2 cups of water and the remaining ingredients (except the cilantro); stir to combine. Cover with lid, cook on high 5 hours or until beans are thoroughly tender.

Using a slotted spoon, remove 1 cup of cooked bean mixture to a medium mixing bowl; mash with a fork to form a paste. Stir the mashed beans back into the slow cooker to thicken the beans. Add salt to taste.

To serve, divide evenly into four shallow serving bowls, top with cilantro.

* Uncle Jason’s Maple Cornbread
Serves 8

1 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup buttermilk
3 tablespoons maple syrup
1 large egg
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Preheat oven to 425-degrees. Coat an 8-inch square baking dish or muffin pan with cooking spray. (Can also be baked in a preheated, 10-inch iron skillet lightly brushed with oil)

In a large bowl, combine cornmeal, both flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a small bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, maple syrup, egg, and melted butter. Add the buttermilk mixture to the cornmeal mixture; stirring just until combined.

Pour into prepared baking dish. Bake at 425-degrees for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown in baking pan, 15-20 minutes in iron skillet; 15-20 minutes in muffin pan.

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Don’t miss

Variety: It’s the Spice!

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Sunday, September 24th, at 4:00pm

St. Andrews Presbyterian Church
1890 Lincoln Road
Beulah

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Admission is free.
A freewill offering will be taken to benefit a local charity.