Krik's Picks

I’ve been a fan of the New York Times food columnist, Mark Bittman’s ‘Minimalist’ videos . They are short, 3-5-minute, videos. They appear nearly every Wednesday in the Times’ food page, and I always make a point of watching them. I’ve even referenced them in previous Krik’s Picks posts. The things I like about them are: · They’re kinda quirky. · Bittman has a funny sense of humor. · The recipes he demonstrates have only a few ingredients and can be completed with a minimum of fuss, and if you believe Bittman’s own testimonial, great results. (Hence the name – Minimalist.) In this Sunday’s NYTimes magazine, there’s an article on homemade pizza. But it’s not the Minimalist. The article is written by Sam Sifton and the video features Jill Santopietro, chef and recipe tester for The New York Times. It’s quirky. It’s funny. And it hit home with me because my wife and I often make homemade pizza on Sunday evenings. Pizzas and martinis are our Sunday night treats. Sinc...

So as I commented in the previous post, homemade pizza is a regular meal in our house. I think there’s some irony to the fact that the recipe that we use is a NYTimes recipe. The recipe we use is from the New York Times Natural Foods Cookbook. I don’t remember when I got my copy. The copyright is 1971. We got married in 1974. Neither of us can remember if this was a wedding present or when we got it. In any case, it’s quite a lot simpler than the pizza recipe cited in the previous post. In contrast to the recipe in the NYTimes Magazine and the video, this is a simpler recipe. We like it because it’s quick and easy and produces a crisp crust. I think that the recipe demonstrated in the previous post is a more puffy and bready. (I suppose I should try it, but I didn’t before this post.) So the main thing in this recipe is the dough. After that’s made, all you have to do is add what you like as toppings. We like to keep it simple. Usually vegetarian. One or two toppings (in addition to c...

By Tovah Domenick I have always been a fan of Big Bowl’s food but after my most recent visit I have come to appreciate Big Bowl even more. Since they have numerous locations in MN I wanted to share on my dad’s blog. Big Bowl is a great Chinese & Thai restaurant offering both a menu as well as a make-your-own stir fry bar. I have tried many items on the menu and everything has always tasted delicious. During my last visit in late March I noticed a new section on the menu listing all the things Big Bowl is doing to set themselves apart in the restaurant community. For those of you who consider yourselves eco-friendly I hope you will appreciate these efforts and support Big Bowl in what they are doing: -A conversation about direct trade coffee and the benefits to the farmers landed the product on their menu. Purchasing locally grown produce came next. Heirloom pork from small family-owned farms in the Midwest followed, and then all-natural chicken and a higher-quality, humanely ...

Sometimes people will ask me what’s my favorite restaurant in the Twin Cities. That’s a hard question to answer because it really depends on the occasion. I really like Barrio and Broder’s Pasta Bar and Al’s Breakfast , but all for different kinds of meals. So usually when I answer that question, I pick my favorite special occasion restaurants. Up until now, those have been Chambers Kitchen and Cue at the Guthrie . I understand that Cue is undergoing a renovation soon, and that it will have a new name and new menu. So for now, I probably will drop that from my list. But I have a new one to add, and I’m really excited about it – Meritage . Are you shocked that I have a St. Paul restaurant on my favorite list? I am. But I don’t need any coaxing to cross the river for a dinner at Meritage, it’s that good! First of all, the décor at Meritage is wonderful. It has a casual feel of a French bistro (the owner actually calls it a brasserie). A long wall of windows provides engaging views of ...

I’ve got a review coming up for a DC restaurant called Agraria . The North Dakota Farmers Union developed the concept and is a part owner. I like entertaining groups of farmers there when I bring them to Washington . The only thing I don’t like about Agraria is that while its location is very scenic, it’s a long way from Capitol Hill . So it’s not ideal for groups who are spending their day tramping the Hill in support of ag issues. So I was excited to hear that a sister restaurant, Founding Farmers , recently opened on Pennsylvania Avenue . Still not the closest to the Hill, but somewhat more convenient than Georgetown . The name is apt for many reasons. It calls to mind the phrase ‘founding fathers,’ an appropriate reference in our nation’s capital. It also should remind us that George Washington and many of our nation’s founders were in fact farmers. And lastly, it’s a reference to the fact that some of the restaurant’s founders are farmers. I invited a friend and colleague to join...

When my kids were little, we had a common Sunday ritual. I would bake fresh bread in the morning, and for lunch, we would have bread and homemade soup. One of their favorites was Cream of Spinach Soup. It was really easy to make and didn’t take long, either. So today, on my Facebook page , my sweet daughter sent me a wall-2-wall request for the recipe. How could I say ‘no?’ Besides, I promised to post two recipes this month because I didn’t post any in February. This is a Land O'Lakes recipe. It appeared in the magazine that we published for the members of the cooperative. The recipe calls for using canned corn. I’m sure you could easily use an equal quantity of fresh corn. But when I make it (which I haven’t done for years), I used frozen corn from my parents’ garden . So here it is, by special request from Tovah , with love to her and her brother: Cream of Spinach Soup 6 tbsp. butter ¼ c. chopped onion ¼ c. chopped celery 1/3 c. flour 7 oz. can of whole kernel corn, drained (or...

In January, my wife and I traveled to Washington, DC , to witness the inauguration of Barak Hussein Obama as President of the United States of America. It was a fantastic experience. We were traveling to DC on the Saturday before the Inauguration. We planned to arrive late afternoon and then have dinner at a nice restaurant near our hotel. My wife had her heart set on scallops. We’d eaten there on a previous visit, and we knew they had a jazz trio performing in the lounge. It sounded like fun – nice dinner followed by jazz music. Our trip to DC required a connection in Chicago. Everything seemed to be going ok. We arrived at the airport with plenty of time to spare. We boarded on time and pushed back without delay. Then came the announcement – we’d have to de-ice. Not to drag this part of the story out too much, but de-icing, and a particularly delays on the ground after we landed in Chicago resulted in us missing our connection. There were plenty of other flights to DC that day. Tr...