What I could use this Fresh Forkin' Friday is a little deluge of rain. Just a smidgen of cold badness would be better than the awfully bucolic sunny warmth we're being offered up. See, I have a giant stack of November food magazines, and I have to get through them and start assembling ideas and inspirations for The Feast. This is best done with slippers and a hot toddy and no feeling of guilt that I should be putting the kid on the bike one last time before we shut in. Brussels sprouts or creamed corn? Whole wheat rolls or herbed ciabatta? These decisions are best made when there's no chance of a walk in the woods. Focus. Focus. 

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You know what's perplexing me this Fresh Forkin' Friday? The "left-over candy" recipes. Are there really households in this world that have left-over Halloween candy, I mean besides the sad collection of Almond Joys or hard candies left at the bottom of the bowl? Some of these recipes call for chopped up candy bars like Snickers or Butterfinger! Really? In what world are there Snickers left after November 1st?

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Those with milder intentions for the weekend might want to hold a different kind of celebration. Why not honor the Day of the Dead and hold a Dia de los Muertos Feast? Traditionally celebrated on All Souls Day and All Saints Day (Nov. 1-2) the ancient tradition marks the return of those passed with a welcome party featuring a bounty of skeletons, food, and music.

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C is for cookie, and that's good enough for me. This Fresh Forkin' Friday I am on a cookie mission. It's a rough job, but someone has to traverse the metro in search of the yummy goodness being baked around town to be featured in a photo shoot for the December issue. I'm up to the task. I have the skills. I have sniffed out some amazing ginger molasses cookies from Salty Tart but whose French macaroons will make the cut? Do I include the legendary pumpkin cookies from D'Amico, given their limited availability? Which sickerdoodles are worthy enough to grace your holiday plates? I'm on the job people, I working for you with glass of milk in hand and blue monster leanings in my heart.

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This Fresh Forkin' Friday marks the beginning of the end of the season for area farmer's markets. Mill City will ring it out this weekend with a Fall Harvest celebration including pumpkin painting and the Goose Chase Cloggers! The Midtown Farmer's Market is open until the 31st for your pumpkin-buying-apple-bobbing pleasure. Kingfield Market will rock until the 25th, and close with a pumpkin carving contest. Both the Minneapolis Market and St. Paul Market will sally forth through November, and into the festive December for St. Paul. But worry not, Local D'Lish will again host a winter market every other Saturday through the chill.

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This Fresh Forkin' Friday I am madly planning my work and working my plan. I'm cooking for an Oktoberfest party this weekend and that means pork, ja wohl! I'm cooking a pork shoulder overnight in a trough of Surly Furious. I want to pull it, so that the beer lovers can put it on the pretzel rolls and stroll from bonfire to band to beer keg. But because this isn't about barbecue and sauce, it's a little harder. I'm used to dousing the pulled pork in a thin Carolina vinegar sauce to help keep it moist, but there aren't a ton of German versions of this. What I've come up with is a thinner version of Bruce Aidells beer and horseradish mustard. Hopefully it will be tangy and earthy while still letting the pork come through. Wunschen mir Gluck!

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Tonight is the last night of Restaurant Week, and if you don't have rezzies, you may be out of luck. For sure the biggies like LBV, Cosmos, and The Oceanaire are probably booked, but there's hope for the others: as of this morning Al Vento, Saji-Ya, Spasso, Sushi Tango, and Moto-i all still had 7 p.m.-ish openings. So this Fresh Forkin' Friday can be a deal of a night out if you act fast! If you've already blown you RW budget, consider a night at home with a bowl of beautiful soup.

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If you haven't bought your tickets to tonight's Fresh Forkin' Friday Taste! event, you are sadly too late as the event has SOLD OUT! But fear not, there are still tickets available for the shindig on Saturday. Same place (the new TCF Bank Stadium), tons of wines, gobs of food, PLUS you get some serious local chef action with  demos by Isaac Becker, JP Samuelson, Jack Riebel, and our own Beth Dooley and Bill Coy. Did I mention there will be behind-the-scenes tours of the stadium? I only hope they don't just leave the Goldy uniform lying about, that would be one helluva party favor.

 

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While you can’t eat chef Steven Brown’s food at a venue locally right now, you can travel to and throughout Tuscany for 10 days and enjoy his culinary talent. During most evenings of this culinary excursion, Steven will be creating dishes with locally sourced Italian foods.

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This Fresh Forkin' Friday I'm deciding which carb-laden treat I deserve. A big, spicy plate of Bucatini alla Amatriciana from Rinata? A couple (yes, a couple) of meatball and ricotta pizzas from Black Sheep? Or should I just go load up on Tater Tots and fries at the Bulldog NE? The pre-meal is just one of the perks of running in Jack's Run for MPS. The main perk, of course, is kicking my butt around a hilly 5K in honor of Jack Mahony, a swimmingly awesome kid who is one of my little heroes of courage. If you're in EP on Saturday morning, please join us. Then on Sunday, we have the Step Up for Down Syndrome Walk in honor of our fabulously loud Aidan Coughlin, aka The Mayor. Our payoff on Sunday includes a post-walk roast beef sandwich at Maverick's while Aidan canvases the room giving fist bumps, making friends, and singing the U of M fight song. Totally worth it.

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