Mother's Kitchen
My ode to home economics
Monday, May 30, 2022
Maple Soy Marinated Tofu
Thursday, February 17, 2022
The Common Grill: End of an Era
I just learned that Craig Common is retiring and closing his eponymous restaurant in Chelsea, the Common Grill. I was sad to hear it; it was our "go-to" restaurant for every special occasion when we lived downstate. I took numerous cooking classes from Craig at the long ago shuttered Kitchen Port store in Ann Arbor, and I have both of his cookbooks: The Common Grill Cookbook and Return to the Common Grill. Long ago, I shared the recipe for their excellent rolls. I've dug out both of his cookbooks, plus all the recipes from the cooking classes I took and plan on blogging about them for a while.
Common Grill Tuscan Beans |
Tonight, I tried out this recipe for Tuscan Beans, which I modified to make with ham instead of pancetta. It was excellent! It is a hearty dish and something new to make with legumes that isn't traditional baked beans.
Common Grill Tuscan Beans with Ham
1 c. diced ham
½ t dried rosemary
1 t. dried oregano
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can diced tomatoes, including liquid
½ c. white wine
1½ cups chicken broth
kosher salt and ground black pepper, to taste
Soak beans overnight, drain. In a dutch oven, add beans and remaining ingredients. Simmer for about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 300 F. After simmer time, put covered dutch oven in the oven to bake for 2 hours, or until beans are tender.
Makes about 6 servings
Saturday, January 22, 2022
Michigan Tech Favorites
It's getting to be that time of year again! Winter Carnival at Michigan Tech is my favorite winter thing. Over the years, I've put together my favorite Houghton inspired recipes, so I thought I would share a list of them here so my fellow alums might find them all in one place:
Library Bar:
Red Chili This is the chili that Jon Davis used to serve out of the back of a van during the all nighter statue building
Swiss Onion Au Gratin Soup An alum favorite!
Ambassador:
Tostada Pizza My take on their most popular pizza
Fishbowls They are smaller now then they were in the 80s, but still good.
Jampot
Thimbleberry Jam They make theirs with added pectin, I don't.
Mocha Cupcakes So good! It's my first choice when I am there.
Onigaming Supper Club
Spinach Salad The restaurant is no longer, but I sure love this salad. Wish it would come back!
The Summer Place
Steak Marinade It burned down years ago, but the food there was so good. I was happy to finally get a copy of their cookbook they published in the 90s.
Lemon Loaf Perfect with some Chassell strawberries
Local favorites:
Pannukakku Kaleva or Suomi has the best!
Pasties I am pretty particular about my pasties. My favorites in the Keweenaw are Suomi Restaurant in Houghton, Kaleva in Hancock, Connie's Kitchen in Calumet, and the Mohawk Superette. I used to love the vegetarian pasties they served at the MTU Union, so I tried my hand at making them. The Keweenaw Co-op has the best ones currently in the Keweenaw.
Miscowaubik Club Potatoes I never got to go there as a student, but have visited many times as an alum.