Morel Mushroom, Garlic Wine, and Chicken Thigh Tagine
January 26, 2012 By Valerie in the Gallery Leave a Comment
After months of pouring over cook books, experimenting with unfamiliar ingredients, and multiple visits to various ethnic grocers, I was ready to create my own tagine recipe. I wanted the recipe in include as many locally found ingredients as possible.
Lucky for me, new years organization started in my kitchen this year. This summer, a friend had given me a bag of Morel mushrooms he had locally foraged. This inspired me to dig further into my cabinets where I uncovered a bag of wild rice I had bought from a road side stand this summer. I also came found a handful of dried blackberries I bought at a farm in Bayfield. This was my first year buying meat in bulk from a local farm. The Preserved lemon and green olive tagine I made was wonderful, so I decided to use chicken thighs again. This time I trimmed the fat and skin from the thighs. Finally, I chose garlic wine from our local Crow River Winery as the sole seasoning for the dish. After gathering all the ingredients, the recipe just came together. The structure of the dish follows the techniques I have learned through creating other tagine recipes. It starts at the bottom and works its way up. It utilizes the versatility of a tagine for both stove top and oven cooking. I don’t usually measure, so here is roughly how I made my Minnesota Tagine:

Lamb Brains, Bisteeya, and Kunafa… Oh My!
January 12, 2012 By Valerie in the Gallery 2 Comments
Since the focus of this month has primarily been Moroccan cuisine, I thought it was time to taste some of the more exotic and complicated Middle Eastern dishes I have encountered during some of my … Read More

Paula Wolfert’s Orange, Romaine, and Walnut Salad
January 8, 2012 By Valerie in the Gallery Leave a Comment
We once again celebrated the season with our annual Clay Coyote Christmas party. We always include a "few of our favorite things" each year... Local ingredients, a selection of Paula Wolfert … Read More

Mourad Lahlou’s preserved lemons
January 4, 2012 By Valerie in the Gallery 1 Comment
Every culture has their own unique contribution to the culinary world. I was interested by this quote from Chef Mourad Lahlou's new book, and wanted to share it. " I'm going to go out on a limb … Read More




