To see part 1 of our Italian Culinary Journey in Florence, go here. After a day trip to Siena, we returned to sightseeing in Florence. Throughout our trip, we visited stunning cathedrals and museums brimming with classically important art work, but this is a food blog, so that's what we're going to focus on. We returned to the neighbor surrounding the Market at Sant'Ambrogio, which is apparently the…

We started our Italian Culinary Journey in Florence (see Part 1 here) and then spent a day travelling to Siena, the culinary epicenter of Pecorino Toscano. We were searching for a very specific cheese - Pecorino Foglie di Noce. Outside Italy, Pecorino Romano is the most well-known, but Pliny the Elder wrote about Pecorino Tuscano in his Naturalis Historia in the first century, referring to it as the Cheese of March, a reference to the month production traditionally started.

Visiting the birthplace of Dante Aligheri, we open with a sonnet,a tribute to Florence, the start of our Italian culinary journey! For I am one acquainted with the flight -I am Milwaukee to Vienna bound,But connection to Florence far too tight, First to Zurich, then to our Tuscan town.Airborne vision - patch-worked fields of green,Swollen river winding both through and round.

This recipe was adapted from a Faro and Black Rice dish featured in Thomas Keller’s Ad Hoc at Home cookbook. We’ve adapted a number of Keller’s recipes to our Great Lakes tradition (see here and here) and we continue that approach with this recipe that features wild rice and roasted turkey. We are replacing the black rice and farro in the original recipe with…

I have always enjoyed a good beer cheese soup; rich, creamy, satisfying deep in the belly. A traditional German soup prepared since medieval times, it’s simply a combination of stock, beer, and cheese thickened with a starch (such as flour, stale bread, or potato). Here in Wisconsin, with our substantial German heritage, the soup is most often made with a local beer and an aged-cheddar and served with a large, beer-hall-style, soft pretzel.

As I’m watching season 7 of Chef’s Table, episode 3 covers Angel Leon and his quest to promote seafood charcuterie. His restaurant, Aponiente in Cadiz, Spain, has now been awarded 3 Michelin stars and Chef Leon is passionately committed to taking local ingredients and transforming Spanish cuisine. One of the big innovations was to make charcuterie-style sausages with lesser known fish caught off the coast.

The Restaurants page has been updated; always a bittersweet process. There is a bitter taste with the closing of a restaurant and some were real favorites. On a much sweeter note, a number of new restaurants have been added to our lists of Great Lakes representative restaurants, inspired in part by the recent James Beard Finalist announcement. It is incredibly encouraging to see great new restaurants on the list focused on the unique traditions and products from the Great Lakes region.

A recent trip to Harvey House in Madison featured a walleye entree with a horseradish sabayon which was revelatory. The texture of the sabayon was souffle-light and the horseradish created a sensation of enhanced aroma for the entire dish. Paired with rye crusted walleye and spaetzle, it provided a hint to answer a question posed a world away. While on a trip to Japan, the fresh grated wasabi with the sushi provided a dramatic contrast to prepared wasabi typically available in the US.

A delightful dining experience at Harvey House, inspired by its feature on Top Chef. The meal showcased elevated Great Lakes Cuisine, highlighted by dishes like pan-seared walleye with horseradish sabayon. The ambiance complemented the exceptional service.

In Kyoto, the journey included visits to museums, temples, and whisky experiences. Highlights included Sanjusangen-do's 1001 Kannon statues and a distillery on Lake Biwa. Culinary adventures featured seafood and whisky pairings, culminating in a return to Isami Sushi. The trip concluded with a bullet train ride back to Tokyo, reflecting on the journey.

Continuing our culinary journey through Japan, echoing Basho's haiku style. Recounting experiences with traditional and modern Japanese meals, highlighting kaiseki dining and street food. Connecting food with culture, emphasizing the flavors of sushi, matcha, and regional cuisine, while exploring themes of tradition and creativity.

This series details a culinary journey through Japan, mimicking Basho's travelogues. Starting in Tokyo and following the historic Tokaido road, the author shares experiences of local cuisine, including sushi from Odawara and a kaiseki dinner in Hakone. Mist and mountains accompany reflections on food, culture, and Basho’s influence.

Where could we take spaetzle on our journey of Great Lakes flavors?

This is the second of a three part series which utilizes indigenous foods and traditional cooking techniques as inspiration, placing indigenous traditions into a new context. We are taking direct i…

This is the first of a three part series which utilizes indigenous foods and traditional cooking techniques as inspiration, placing indigenous traditions into a new context. We are taking direct in…

Land Acknowledgment for Great Lakes Cuisine.

You will find in my notebook random observations from along the road, experiences and images that linger in the heart and mind – a secluded house in the mountains, a lonely inn on the moor. I…

The post discusses recreating okonomiyaki sauce inspired by Tokyo, using fruit and savory ingredients like apple butter. A recipe for acorn squash stuffed with wild rice and topped with apple butte…

We posted an extended exploration of campfire cooking a while back which you can view here and we recently enjoyed a late autumn treat of walleye over the fire. We have explored a couple of our fav…