Posts filed under 'Seasonal Eating'
Presenting The Glass House Café
By Kara Morris, written on Oct. 30, 2008
The Glass House Café officially introduced itself to students Wednesday at its open house and ribbon-cutting ceremony. Located in Palmer Commons at the Life Sciences Complex, the café offers a locally-based menu at a relatively reasonable price.
The most exciting part of this new eatery is the café’s commitment to incorporate local produce into its dishes. Describing the menu as “upscale seasonal contemporary American cuisine,” executive chef Alan Merhar was contagiously excited about his new café when I spoke to him yesterday.
The name of the café, which reflects its floor-to-ceiling glass windows overlooking Palmer field, hints little about chef Merhar’s passion for local produce. With years of restaurant experience under his belt and a second restaurant in Tecumseh, MI, Merhar attempts to incorporate “as much local [food] as possible” into the dishes at both of his restaurants. Because he buys locally, the menu is highly seasonal; Merhar commented that he would be changing the menu within the next week.
But there is more to appreciate than the ingredients. The Glass House Café introduces an innovative selection of dishes that is a full step ahead of other campus restaurant menus. Offering a breakfast, lunch, and sandwich menu, the new restaurant also provides an equally creative catering service.
A few of the dishes introduced at the opening were:
goat cheese profiteroles featuring goat cheese from the Four Corners Creamery of Tecumseh, MI (whose products can be found exclusively at The Produce Station in Ann Arbor). The strength of the artisanal goat’s cheese was complemented with diced red and green peppers and applewood smoked baco
sliced steak panini with grilled flank steak, roasted garlic, Jarlsberg cheese and spinach greens. The panini’s flatbread was expertly toasted and well-matched with the Jarlsberg for an enjoyable crunch.
butternut squash soup with toasted pecans and bourbon-maple cream. The butternut squash came from Prochaska Farms of Tecumseh, MI; Chef Merhar’s enthusiasm couldn’t have been more apparent than when he showed me a few photos he’d taken on his phone from the far
The restaurant’s innovation is further suggested by its burgers, which can be served with sautéed mushrooms, applewood bacon and a variety of artisanal cheeses–or by its sides: customers have the option of choosing sweet potato hash browns with their sandwich selection and eggs and omelets are served, among other things, with Parmesan-rosemary fries.
Glass House Café
Palmer Commons Plaza, 100 Washtenaw Ave.
Dining Room: M-F 7:30 am - 2 pm
Coffee Counter: M-F: 7 am - 8 pm; Sat 9 am-3 pm
Apple, Brown Rice and Fruit-Stuffed Squash
By Kara Morris, written on Oct. 28, 2008
There are a lot of squash varieties in season right now–butternut, buttercup and acorn can be found at the farmer’s maret, to name a few. What better way to enjoy the all-American vegetable than to stuff it with brown rice, dried fruit, and the season’s apples?
Apple, Brown Rice and Fruit-Stuffed Acorn Squash
This seasonal recipe is perfect as a main course or can be modified and served as a side.
serves 2 as a main or 4 as a side
1 acorn squash
2 tbsp butter
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 servings rice: I recommend brown rice for its texture and flavor
1 medium onion, chopped
1/4 cup raisins, cranberries, or dried fruit: substitute with your favorite seasonal ingredients
1/2 apple, chopped
chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
1. Preheat oven to 400.
2. Cut squash in half from stem to end. Scrape out seeds and strings; rub with salt and pepper and add 1 tbsp butter to each.
3. Fill a baking dish to 1 in deep with water. Insert squash open side up into dish and cook for 40-60 minutes until softened.
4. While the squash is baking, prepare the rice according to package directions. Add in the onion (to soften) and fruit (to hydrate) about 1/2 way through the cooking process.
5. When finished, mix in the apple and chopped nuts and season to taste with salt and pepper. Fill the squash halves with the rice mixture and serve.
Alternatively, you can prepare squash without rice. Follow steps 1-3, but add in a tbsp of honey or brown sugar. After baking, cut halves a second time and serve quarters as a side.
The Fall Harvest: Misfit Pumpkins and Ugly Duckling Squash
By Kara Morris, written on Oct. 21, 2008
Over fall break I visited Hoxie’s Farm Market in Traverse City, Michigan. The farm has a huge selection of pumpkins and squash and, like any good farm stand, makes its own caramel apples and pumpkin donuts.
Although you wouldn’t want to use every variety in a pie, Hoxie’s squash are brilliantly colorful and are truly representative of the season’s fall colors. My favorites are the small squash varieties best characterized by the French term often used to describe supermodels, “jolie-laide,” literally “pretty ugly,” meant to describe unconventional beauty. The uglier the better.
These squash are one of the reasons I get love the fall harvest—they’re naturally colorful and couldn’t be more American. You can buy them at the AA farmer’s market for $2 a bucket (about 8 mini squash) or sometimes $1 at the end of the day.
Hearty Meals and Hot Drinks
By Kara Morris, written on Oct. 21, 2008
Trees are ablaze with fiery red and yellow leaves, providing a warm contrast to the season’s cool gusts of wind. Summer may have its juicy peaches and sun-ripened tomatoes, but there is no season I look forward to more than fall.
The chilly weather invites an abundance of warm seasonal dishes like baked squash, chunky applesauce and spiced pumpkin pie. A glass of mulled wine shared with friends on a cool night couldn’t be more seductive. Other hearty dishes include thick soups, chili, and roasted vegetables.
Homemade doughnuts are best paired with a warm mug of spiced cider. With or without rum, hot cider will keep you warm when you’re standing at the State game or studying in your 60-degree house.
Over the next few months I’ll lay out a few of my favorite recipes. The first one, below, was adapted from an Everyday Food Magazine recipe. The natural sweetness of the apples is intensified when baked; paired with ice cream and cinnamon-sugar syrup, the dish tends to be very sweet. Taking a hint from caramel apples and one of my mother’s favorite snacks—sliced apples with peanut butter—I’ve added in peanuts to cut the sweetness of the dish.
Baked Cinnamon Apples
4 tbsp unsalted butter
¼ cup sugar
½ tsp ground cinnamon
4 whole cinnamon sticks
4 small apples, halved, seeds and stems left intact
¼ cup of plain or slightly salted peanuts
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter in a large ovenproof skillet over medium heat. Stir in sugar, ground cinnamon, and cinnamon sticks. Place apples in skillet, cut sides down.
2. Transfer skillet to oven. Bake apples until tender, about 12 minutes. Place 2 apple halves in each serving dish, cut sides up, and drizzle with butter mixture from skillet.
3. If desired, grind peanuts; garnish with cinnamon sticks and peanuts. Serve immediately.