Author: Northerly Nosh

I’m a married mother of 3. Who loves living in Minnesota, prep ahead cooking, and couldn’t live without them now. No more worries about the age old question “What’s for Dinner?”. I am also transitioning my family into the slow food and clean eating movement. I believe it’s best if we can eat food in it’s most natural state. I love to share the information I have been gaining through this whole experience. I’m also a trained personal chef. Cooking is a passion and hobby of mine. Hope your are enjoying the content of my blog.
Posted in - Pork, Side Dish

Minnesota Delights: Bacon Wrapped Pork Pate

Posted on by Northerly Nosh

Bacon Wrapped Pork Pate

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Adapted from Peter Botcher Chef at Butcher and the Boar restaurant

2 pounds ground pork
4 ounces chicken liver, hand chopped fine
3 tablespoons butter
1 medium white or yellow onion, chopped smallish but not perfect by any means
1 bunch Italian parsley, leaves only coarsely chopped
6-7 cloves garlic minced
2 tablespoons kosher salt
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
½ t pink curing salt (optional)
1 ½ teaspoon sugar
1 t cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon Chinese 5 spice or ground nutmeg
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons brandy
1/2 cup heavy cream
½ cup of pistachios
1 lb. of bacon

Prep Day: Whisk the flour, eggs, brandy, and heavy cream in a large bowl until very smooth, getting out any lumps. Add the pistachios and place in the freezer until very cold. Add the ground pork, garlic, parsley and all of the spices to the bowl; place back in the freezer.

Sauté the onion in butter until it is soft and translucent. Add to the bowl with the rest of the ingredients. Chill until very, very cold—almost starting to freeze. Remove the bowl from the freezer and immediately mix it in a standing mixer or mix like hell by hand. The goal is to achieve a kind of cohesive and sticky mixture. This will take 2-3 minutes. Put the pate mixture in the refrigerator.

Cook a small piece in a pan or microwave until it has an internal temperature of 165 degrees. This step is necessary to check for salt content and to ensure that you are happy with the taste. It will and should taste slightly salty when hot. The pate will be perfectly seasoned and flavorful when cold. If you are happy with the flavor, place the pate mix in the fridge for 24 hours—this will allow the seasonings to meld and mature in flavor.

The next day preheat the oven to 200 degrees. If you have a terrine mold, line it with bacon. Overlap the bacon a little and leave some of the bacon hanging over the sides. Pack all of the pate mix into the mold. Even out the top. Cover with bacon. If you don’t have terrine mold a pie tin will also work—simply pack the pate mix into the pie tin and cover the with the bacon. If you have neither you could bake it on a sheet tray covered with the bacon—similar to making a bacon-wrapped meatloaf. Pop the pate into the oven and bake until it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees. It will take a couple of hours but check it frequently. Once its fully cooked place the pate into the fridge for at least 1 day and up to 5 days.

Note: It is important to pay attention to proper mixing and cooking temperatures and to have the right amount of salt content. If you have a meat grinder use pork shoulder instead of ground pork. Before getting started it’s critical to the success of the pate that the meat and all of the ingredients are kept very cold while mixing. If they heat up past 40 degrees while mixing, the pate will render its fat when baking and turn out dry when finished. Once you’ve prepared all of the ingredients up to the point of mixing, place them in the freezer until very, very cold; almost starting to freeze. This will allow the meat some wiggle room while mixing.

Serve Day: When ready slice the pate and serve it with a baguette, Dijon mustard and cornichons.

Posted in Dessert

Minnesota Delights: Not Your Momma’s Butterscotch Pudding

Posted on by Northerly Nosh

Not Your Momma’s Butterscotch Pudding

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Serves 10

Inspired by 112 Eatery

For the pudding:
3 c. heavy cream
1 1/2 c. milk
1 egg
3 egg yolks
5 tbsp. cornstarch
1 c. plus 2 tbsp. dark brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
5 tbsp. butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 tbsp. dark rum

For caramel sauce:
1/2 c. heavy cream
1/8 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
2 tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. corn syrup
1/2 c. sugar

For the topping:
1/4 c. heavy cream
3/4 c. crème fraîche
1 1/4 tsp. good quality course sea salt

Prep Day:

To prepare custard pudding, In a large bowl or pitcher, combine cream and milk and set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together egg, egg yolks and cornstarch and set aside.

In a large heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat, combine brown sugar, 1/2 cup water and salt. Let sit until edges start to brown, then tilt pot as needed to even the browning until mixture becomes a smoking, dark caramel, about 10 to 12 minutes. Sugar will smell caramelized and nutty and turn a deep brown.

Immediately whisk cream mixture carefully into the caramel (the mixture will steam and the sugar will seize). Reduce heat to medium, whisk until caramel is smoothly incorporated into cream and bring mixture to a rapid boil.

Add a cupful of caramel at a time to egg mixture, whisking constantly, until half is incorporated. Pour tempered egg mixture back into remaining caramel. Remove from heat and whisk constantly until custard is very thick and cornstarch is cooked out, about 2 minutes. Whisk in butter and rum.

Pass custard through a fine mesh strainer to remove any lumps and divide among 10 (6-ounce) ramekins or jars or cups, leaving one-half inch at the top. Cover with plastic wrap, allow to cool and refrigerate until chilled, about 3 hours or up to three days.

To prepare caramel sauce, add cream to a medium saucepan over medium heat. Scrape vanilla bean seeds into cream and cook until simmering, about 3 minutes. Add butter and remove from heat. Whisk until butter is melted and incorporated, and set aside.

Fill a large bowl (large enough to accommodate a large heavy-bottomed saucepan) with ice water and set aside.

In a large heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat, combine corn syrup and sugar. Add enough water (3 to 4 tablespoons) to make a wet sandy texture and cook, swirling the pan just slightly to gauge the caramelization, until sugar becomes a medium amber color, about 10 minutes.

Remove from heat, carefully whisk cream mixture into caramel (be careful — it will steam and bubble). Whisk to combine. Place saucepan in prepared bowl of ice water to cool. Refrigerate, then reheat before serving.

Serve Day:

To prepare cream topping – In a chilled bowl using a wire whisk, whip cream until it begins to thicken. Add crème fraîche and whip until thick and fluffy.

To assemble, warm the caramel sauce over medium heat. Spoon 1 tablespoon caramel sauce on each pudding, sprinkle with 1/8 teaspoon sea salt, add a dollop of whipped topping and serve.