After all the contentious banter on this blog throughout the last few weeks, I thought, “what the heck, let’s take a suggestion from a few posters who all told me I should blog with a recipe today.” They missed them, and quite frankly, in a bald-faced attempt to lower the enmity that seems to be accruing over one man’s opinion, I agreed it might be the thing to do this week. A nice recipe would be a welcome relief to the implosion of our country’s economy, which I keep feeling in my wallet and reading about every day in the newspaper.

There’s something timeless about apples, something reassuring, and, with the vague and hazy images of soup lines dancing in my head, oddly soothing. When I took over the kitchen at Café Un Deux Trios in the summer of 1992, the restaurant had been open for a few months. I began work there as a busboy in May, just after the restaurant’s debut on the local scene. The pastry chef at the time was a young woman named Eileen Connor who made the best tarte tatin I had tasted in a long time, and she made gigantic wagon wheel-sized tarts, quite tasty. Shockingly, she used Red Delicious apples for the simple reason that they held together so well after cooking.

I adapted her recipe, adding some conventional pie spices throughout the years; began using Cortland or Haralson apples; and every time I make this tart, I think of Eileen, one of the nicest and most talented people I have ever worked with.

If you are looking for a good local orchard to check out, here is a great link. My family and I are weekend regulars at Deardorff’s in Waconia. It is a fun farm to explore with flatbed rides out to the orchards, dozens of varietals to pick, a pie house, and fresh juice being pressed in the driveway as you walk in. There is nothing else like it.

Tarte Tatin with Crème Fraiche

24 baking apples, your choice
1 t. cinnamon
2 pinches nutmeg
2 pinches allspice
1/2 t. ground ginger
1 pinch ground cloves
1 stick sweet butter
3/4 c. sugar
1 package Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry (2 sheets per pack)

Peel, core, and halve the apples, reserve. Place the butter and sugar into a 14” no-stick pan, and place it over medium heat. Caramelize until dark (This caramel will break!). That is OK; don’t be concerned.

Place the apples into the pan, beginning with the outer rim, standing them up on their sides with all the open sides facing in the same direction, pinwheel style. Place a second layer inside the first ring, and then fill the center space with a few halves. Place 6 or so pieces on top randomly, and cover the pan with a large steel bowl. Cook for 10 minutes, and wriggle in a few of the apples that you placed on top randomly to tighten your spirals. Cook covered for 5 more minutes, and wriggle in a few more pieces. Let liquids cook down slowly in the pan.

When liquids are syrupy and thick, remove the pan from the heat and let rest for 30 minutes. Then place the two sheets of pastry across the top of the pan, tucking the sides deep down into the tart, inside the edges of the pan. Work them down as far as you can toward the bottom. Prick the pastry with a fork in a few places.

Place the tart into a 400-degree oven for 25 to 30 minutes, until tart in nicely browned.
Remove pan, and let tart rest for 10 minutes. Invert onto a large circular pan. Using a rubber spatula dipped in butter, smooth the apples out across the top of the tart so that they all tilt in the same direction.

Cool and serve tart when it is just warm with sweetened crème fraiche mixed with fresh whipped cream.

Every once in awhile, it is a good idea to clear the e-mail backlog out, so here goes . . . and BTW, thanks to everyone for the great comments re the Palin shot I took last week. I responded to posters two times, so I won’t take up space here except to say to all the Palin apologists out there that to be a card-carrying member of a party and to drink the Kool-Aid is fine. I do it with my party to be sure, but this lady is not qualified to hold national office. Check out Bobby Kennedy Jr.’s great piece on Huffington Post.

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Phil Roberts sent me this link last week, and I laughed my cojones off. No pun intended. Sadly, I have eaten in several of these places.

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My pal Linda e-mailed me about a new restaurant in Bayport, Minnesota, that serves exotic meat such as kangaroo, yak, rattlesnake, and so forth. I get a lot of mail asking me about food sources, especially in restaurants that serve this sort of food. Consider us even for passing this on. The restaurant is named Refuge on the River. Check it out here, and if anyone eats there, let me know how it is.

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My buddies in San Francisco at the Asian Culinary Forum e-mailed me to say they are hosting a huge weekend in the Bay Area with famous chefs, food tours, demos, events, walking tours, lectures, interactive demos, and restaurant visits all in celebration of Asian cuisine. The ACF hopes anyone who wants more info will log onto its site and head out to SF the weekend of October 10-12. This should be an amazing weekend. For all the attention that Aspen, SoBe, and several other food events get, this is the real deal for food lovers.

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I promise that this is the last time I will write about it until it opens, but at the party that Punch threw to celebrate its newest restaurant on Grand Avenue, the owners seemed most excited when the subject turned to the vacant pizzeria next door, future home of the new Brasa. I am on a never-ending quest to see Grand Avenue become a true restaurant row, and with Salut, Punch, and Brasa opening, I think it is just a matter of time before some slick, small cafes serving inventive modern fare open up. You finally have an everyday restaurant for burgers or a salad (Salut), a great pizza shop (Punch), and an amazing Latin take-away rosticerria. Imagine a restaurant such as the old Levain or the New French Café opening up on Grand. It’ll happen. I think young talent will see other eateries doing very well on Grand and will open up some pretty cool casual eateries in the next few years. The shame of the city is that there are more tanning parlors than good restaurants right now, but that will change. Anyway, as my buddy John Lynden and I chowed down with the kids on two margheritas, one Siciliana, and one salame e funghi, John Sorrano came over to say hi. We chatted awhile, and he brought up the new neighbor pretty darn fast, gushing over the magnetic attraction and leverage multiplier that having two great casual spots side by side will create. I agree, 100,000 percent.

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Anyone shop at Aldi, the place with prices that are cheaper than anyone else's, even Wal-Marts? Aldi focuses on cutting costs with the same laser-like intensity that Sarah Palin cribs for Charlie Gibson interviews. Boy am I glad I live in a country where the woman who one day might sit in the Oval Office (McCain won’t last a term, according to the actuarial numbers) running the most powerful nation on earth has to be coached on the issues . . . how reassuring. But I digress . . . Anyway, Aldi doesn't take checks or credit cards, doesn’t give out bags or employ baggers, and carts are rented for free, assuming you return it for your quarter to the cart dispenser you pull it from. Like its big brother, Trader Joe’s, Aldi is mostly private-label stuff displayed in the boxes it was shipped in, all bound up in a smaller shopping format designed to simplify the shopping experience, guarantee turnover, reduce spoilage and labor, and boost buying power with suppliers. Next year, Aldi plans to add another 100 U.S. stores to the approximately 950 it currently operates. It has 1,800 stores worldwide. There are more than a dozen here in Minnesota, but I have never heard anyone mention shopping there. Any takers?

I am only now just recovering from the weekend. I have been in a major funk ever since the book-banning scourge of Wasilla, Alaska, was nominated for the Veep seat on the GOP ticket. She is a Bush clone of the highest order, and her selection shows that her running mate is no maverick, just a brain-dead moron for selecting her as his potential second in command—or maybe he is the smartest man alive based on her resonance with some of the voting public. Are Americans that easily swayed from what has gone on for the last eight years?

Sadly, the one quote of hers that I just couldn’t shake, the one that dominated the dinner conversation at Heidi’s all night long on Friday, proved to be the one that was purely Internet mythology. Bigger than the secessionist sympathizing, the ‘drill at all costs’ theories, the pork issues, and bigger than Palin’s assertions that the Iraq war is a mission from God and that community organizers are a bunch of do-nothings compared to small-time mayors, the one that really got to me was the Wannabe Veep’s belief that “dinosaurs are 4,000-year-old Satan lizards.”

It’s a funny one and seems to fit Palin like a glove. How can a major party, check that, even a minor one, put forth this lunatic as a candidate for office? Aren’t you amazed? And the scariest thought is that statistically, McCain, due to his age and ill health will probably guarantee that Palin gets to be POTUS at some point, should they win the election. At this rate, Michele Bachmann will be touted as a potential Secretary of State nominee! You can see why I am upset.

So as someone who routinely eats his feelings, I tied on a big-league feedbag this weekend. The wife was out of town, so the kid and I hit the highway looking for some great food. Here are some highlights:

Brasa takeout and Punch pizza takeout are still the best in their class. The sooner Brasa opens on Grand Avenue, the happier I will be. Punch opens on lower Grand Avenue next week.
Mill City Market . . . what an amazing job their board has done creating such a gem.

Brenda Langton, whom I bumped into while strolling the market, should be sanctified for having the vision and perseverance to make this market happen. And despite the soap and sweater vendors (not my bag), I loved the whole vibe. Shepherd’s Way had the last of the season on one of their more limited-edition cheeses (Shepherd’s Hope), and I bought a bucket load of great tomatoes, Russian fingerling potatoes, and root vegetables. The second-best thing at the market is the demo stage set in a small café atmosphere; it’s a superb venue, and I caught my pal Zoe Francois doing a bread demo there.

The best thing about the market is the meal on wheels food van called the Chef Shack, run by Lisa Carlson and Carrie Summer, which makes some of the best and tastiest treats in town. We had not one but two bags of their mini donuts, simply the best I have ever tried—anywhere. Then we grabbed some of the tongue tacos, piled with fresh salsa and dense sweet wedges of corn kernels. We added pickled vegetables and hot sauce from the homemade fixin’s bar, and had we not been so stuffed, I would have ordered some of fabulous sausage in a bun concoction (they offer several) right away. If you have not eaten at the Chef Shack, don’t be an idiot like me and let one more day slip by without setting aside some time this weekend to stuff yourself silly there.

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Lucia’s Wine Bar now allows dogs to enter the premises. I am thrilled because now Pretzel Zimmern can come out with Mom and Dad to get a bite to eat. Let’s turn the Twin Cities into Belgium, that’s what I say. And thanks to Lucia Watson for getting the ball rolling. And the T-shirts are really cool, too!

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I had a sitter one evening, so I made a reservation at Heidi’s, a restaurant that I have been trying to get to since it opened. The room has not changed much since the days when the space was Pane Vino Dolce, but the vibe is 100 percent different. From the dreary, empty days of overrated food and up and down service, there now stands a complete and whole restaurant in every sense of the word. For my money, based on the meal I had (ten appetizers, three entrees, and two desserts), this is one of the top food experiences in town and finally seems to be the perfect venue for the best of what the superbly talented Stewart Woodman is capable of producing.

GM Frank Thorpe is a charming and affable host, and his jaunty pirate necktie is pretty slick. The wine list is well priced and filled with familiar names as well as some pretty nifty finds, the lighting and the noise level are perfectly fitted to the casual atmosphere, and the only complaint I had all evening would be related to the seating, literally. Much of the seating at Heidi’s is on a thin wooden banquette, a plank that is just screaming out for some casual pillows, nothing fancy, just some relief for the aching tuchus. Other than that, it has been awhile since I have encountered so many diners in an eatery raving to each other about the food or so many locals stopping by for takeout in a restaurant of this caliber.

This restaurant should be a model for what we need in neighborhoods all over this town. Local chefs eager to open up their own businesses should look to neighborhoods deep with customers, spaces perched on streets with sidewalks, you get the idea. The difference maker here, of course, is that only a handful of local chefs can cook like Woodman can. We started with a dewy and fresh shrimp mousse spring roll, slaked our thirst with a zippy cuke-ginger soup with avocado, reveled in the airy genius of the chevre parfait with beets, were thrilled to a textural orgasm due to a sliced and smoked scallop on a garlic and breadcrumb palette with mustard vinaigrette, and were left speechless by a foie gras and crepe composition on beluga lentils. The lamb shank was our fav entrée, so perfectly perfumed with anise that it surprised all my guests with its subtlety. The smoked pork tenderloin amazed me. I hate that cut of pork (it’s spongy and flavorless), but Woodman managed to source a superb hog by smoking the meat before grilling it,and pairing it with a sublime pork belly wedge and light, tomatoey barbeque sauce; it managed to pull off the unimaginable. The peas and carrot risotto with the chicken breast was impressive as well. But the praline semifreddo replete with homemade ‘pop rocks’ was comfy, familiar, and brazen at the same time.

Neighborhood restaurants like this one are special, but in many cities around the country, they are plentiful. I like casual environments that take their food seriously and am thrilled that we have Heidi’s. But as an equal-opportunity diner, I think we need more places like this one—ambitious yet grounded. Too many eateries these days are derivative restaurants seeking only to sling the hash, not caring enough about their product to make it any different from the chophouse down the street. Heidi’s seeks to engage the diner in a way that small modest restaurants like Alma do, and that’s what makes the food world tick in my opinion.

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Wayne Kostroski just sent me a copy of the newly minted and newly upgraded Taste of the NFL cookbook titled The Sunday Night Football Cookbook. Proceeds benefit food banks in all the NFL cities. Find out more here, and keep your ears open for the opportunity to buy tickets for the local event later in the year.

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Next week in NYC, the Star Chef’s Congress is taking place. Where else can you find all this serious megawattage food freakdom all in one place? Check it out if you are able to go to the Big Apple. Tickets still available at the Starchefs website. Next year’s event is a monster as well; I think it is one of the best food events in the world, and I am heavily involved in the 2009 Congress. Here is just a taste of the event this year . . . pretty darn amazing, isn’t it!?

—Heston Blumenthal, The Fat Duck, England, 
Keynote Address: “Eating is a Multi-Sensory Experience”
—Charlie Trotter,  
Charlie Trotter’s, Chicago, 
”The Evolution of Creativity: “The Responsibility of a Chef”
—“The Role of a Chef” with Michael Ruhlman (moderator), 
Anthony Bourdain, 
Les Halles
, and Marco Pierre White
—Masaharu Morimoto, 
Morimoto, New York, “
Fish: Head to Tail”
—Daniel Boulud, 
Daniel, New York
, Mentor/Protégé Cooking Demonstration
—Grant Achatz
, Alinea, Chicago, “
New Tools of Gastronomy: Service Ware, Re-Imagined”

Workshops and Seminars Highlights:
—Savory: 
Graham Brown & Lyndon Matthews
, The Cookhouse and Cervena Farmer and Owner, Puketira Deer Farm 
A Sustainable Story: Working with New Zealand Cervena Venison
—Pastry: 
Sherry Yard, 
Spago, Beverly Hills, “
The Yummy Factor: Souffles Rising to the Occasion”
—Mixology/Wine:
 Simon Difford, 
Difford's Guide, England, “
How to Consistently Make Great Drinks”
—Junior Merino, 
The Liquid Chef, New York
, “Modern Cocktail Techniques: Exploring Density, Textures and Sensation”

Business:
—Culinary Trailblazers
, Jonathan Waxman (Barbuto, )
Larry Forgione (An American Place), 
Mitchell Davis (James Beard Foundation)
—Raising Money for Your Restauran, t
Kep Sweeney, Acceleron Group
—Sustainability Beyond The Plate
, Richard Young (Food Service Technology Center)
 and Laurel Cudden (BR Guest)

Fans of Fugaise will want to stop in the last weekend in September to help Don Saunders and his staff celebrate their three-year anniversary!  A six-course tasting menu will be offered on the evening of Thursday, September 25. The offerings are a compilation of the best dishes of the year, as chosen by Saunders, and the cost for the tasting menu is $75 per guest with optional wine pairings available as well. The menu will also be available on Friday and Saturday of that weekend. You can make a reservation online.

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I am guessing that Zahtar is so phenomenally successful out at the Lifetime Fitness in Edina that the idea of rolling out this amazing Mediterranean-inspired restaurant in downtown Minneapolis was too good to pass up. September 8 is the VIP Grand Opening Celebration at The Grand Hotel on 2nd Avenue South. The invite calls this eatery “the hottest new spot in downtown,” which I am even now, a day after reading it, recovering from the chutzpah of it all . . . their publicist must have a great sense of humor.

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I am insisting that everyone make plans now to attend the 32nd Annual Trigg County Country Ham Festival in Kentucky, October 11–12, 2008. You can fly into Nashville and then drive the ninety minutes out to Festival Land very easily; you can stay in numerous B and B’s out in the country or base out of Nashville if you like. Trust me when I tell you that if you like pork and bluegrass, you will have the time of your life.

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Did anyone see my fav political pundit dissect Michele Bachmann on Larry King the other evening? Having interviewed her in the past, I can tell you that James Carville understated the crazy factor. I can also tell you that I cannot wait for the RNC to be over. First off, it means I can walk into a restaurant without having to deal with the inevitable CLOSED FOR A PRIVATE PARTY sign that seems to be hanging in every business I stroll into. Secondly, it means I don’t have to wait in line for three hours to get a sausage sandwich at Cossetta.

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Next Tuesday is the debut of the newest season of Bizarre Foods, so I am up to my eyeballs in TV and radio interviews, but I am dining at Heidi’s (finally!) this coming Friday, so I will let you all know what I think next week. I am looking forward to seeing what the Woodmans are doing there, and I have only heard good things . . .