Recipes

By now you might know that I'm a fan of Phillips' brand Minnesota-local Prairie Organic Vodka, so when the Phillips' PR folks asked me to share a few of Dean Phillips' new holiday "hot toddy" recipes, I was game from the start.

A hot toddy, as far as I can figure out, is any drink that includes alcohol and is best served warm. Hot toddies warm the belly, and I'm pretty sure the right one can warm the soul too. Here's what Dean Phillips, CEO of Phillips Distilling Company says:

For most of us, the holiday season is synonymous with goodies galore. They seem to be everywhere we turn, from the office to the candy bowl at the local hardware store. Festivities and family get-togethers are what make this time of year so meaningful and a holiday party without multiple goodie platters is like the 4th of July without fireworks.

This is the time of year that finds most people elbow-deep in sugar, butter, vanilla and sprinkles, baking sheet after sheet of Christmas cookies. Me? Not so much. Not that anything would surprise you at this point, but I find myself elbow-deep in something of a more savory nature. Olives, cumin, egg, and ... you guessed it: beef. This is the time of year I make empanadas. Christmas empanadas. OK, maybe it doesn’t have quite the alliterative ring to it that Christmas cookies does, but I don’t think anyone is in a position to quibble with a Christmas empanada.

Last year for Valentine’s Day, I wrote a blog post that asked the question: “Can Food Get You in the Mood?” The subject was aphrodisiacs, e.g. foods that can boost your mood for sex.

Minnesotan psychiatrist and author Dr. Henry Emmons takes it a step further. He claims that the right foods can take mood-boosting into every aspect of your life. Not just your love life.

If you had told me, even two years ago, that one day I would open up the crisp white butcher paper of a package from Clancey’s Meats and Fish, gasp at the stunning beauty of a couple of beef short ribs and run for my camera, I would have told you you were nuts. If you had told me that I would decide to write my next article about short ribs solely because the picture was so fantastic, I would have told you you were double nuts. If you had told me that while I was going all Richard Avedon on the short ribs, I would simultaneously be cursing myself for not having bought more of them, I would have paused, shrugged and agreed that it sounded like something I might do.

In most cases, I don’t like food that replaces its key ingredients with impostors: tofu “chicken” and gluten-free vegan cupcakes come to mind. But last year when Thanksgiving rolled around, I was in the midst of trying a grain-free diet, and was left to figure out ways to maintain tradition and please my family while avoiding wheat. Stuffing had always been one of my holiday favorites, but if you look at the ingredients list on the box, it can be hard to recognize many of its components as food (partially-hydrogenated soybean oil and high fructose corn syrup, anyone?)

Pumpkins and other squash have been accumulating in my house since early October, so with Thanksgiving approaching, I decided to put them to the use they were intended for: delicious baked goods.

The first recipe below is so easy a child could make it (all right, maybe not a small child) -- I've been making it since I was in middle school, when I found a fast, easy pumpkin-pie recipe that didn't even bother with a crust (which I viewed as an annoying impediment to the pumpkin custard filling). I've been making it ever since.

Back then, I made the pie with canned ingredients. Nowadays the process is a little more involved, but a lot more tasty. A few years back I decided to experiment. I roasted a pumpkin from the Eastside Food Co-op and made my usual pie recipe. I expected it to be less good than one made with canned pumpkin. Turns out I was wrong. I'll never go back.

You say brussels sprouts, I say Brussels sprouts, she says brussel sprouts. What’s in a name? That which we call a rose…a rose cabbage, that is. This is what the Germans call these baby brassicas (“rosenkohl” = rose cabbage) that may be the funkiest and prettiest vegetable you’ll ever see growing. A tall, single leaf-topped stalk supports 20 to 40 buds crammed together like peas with no pod.

Whether it be the vibrant yolk of "this morning's eggs," produce fresh from the field, or the treat of that summer's raspberry jam on a cold winter day, local food is something that enhances life in Minnesota all year round. But more than simply bringing enjoyment to our lives, our food choices can also have meaning beyond the plate, as evidenced by the ever-growing Meatless Monday campaign.

It’s November in Minnesota, so the growing season -- for most of us -- is over. All of the garden crops have been gathered, and we're now focused on finding local protein. In our small town, hunting season is a time of celebration and camouflage is back in fashion, especially when it's accessorized with blaze orange vests and hats. Conversations in diners, grocery stores, barber shops, and street corners turn to the number of pheasants in the fields, grouse in the forests, and -- importantly -- where the big bucks are lurking.